“I’m sure it’s because you’re hungry. I’ll make you something. What do you want?”
Bree quickly climbed over Christa and ran to the bathroom.
“Bree are you ok?” Christa got up and walked towards the bathroom. Bree started to vomit in the toilet. Christa went over to Bree and pulled her hair back in a ponytail.
Between vomiting and a faint crying Bree spoke, “Just give me a few minutes mommy. I don’t feel so good.”
“Ok baby. Mommy will be right in here.” Christa went back into the bedroom and sat on the bed next to Damion. Christa wanted to say something but the words wouldn’t come out. Damion placed his hand on her thigh and she covered his hand with hers. It was so quiet in that moment. The only thing they could hear were their thoughts. Lost in the middle of a moment Christa realized what was missing. Noise. It was too quiet. Christa looks at Damion.
“Christa, do you think she’s ok? It’s awful quiet in there. Maybe you should check on her.”
Christa stared at the doorway terrified of what she might find in there. She hadn’t moved a muscle. Her breathing got deeper and more labored as she slowly moved off the bed. Every footstep was slow and methodical. As she got closer and closer to the bathroom she could hear Bree making this hoarse noise as if she was coughing up something.
Christa could make out Bree still bent over the toilet. She walked a few feet from her and noticed she was making this groaning noise. As she closed the remaining distance between them, Christa noticed the toilet bowl filled with blood. She immediately knelt down beside Bree and pulled her hair back on the right side of her face.
“Oh...my…god…Bree…baby…are you ok?” Christa noticed the drastic discoloration on the side of Bree’s face. There was this darker tone to her skin and it wasn’t everywhere but in random blotchy spots.
“Mommy….I don’t feel so good,” Bree turned to Christa with a desperate look. It took all Christa had not to show her sheer terror at what she saw. Bree’s left eye had turned colors. The blood vessels in the eye were more prominent and the smaller ones appeared to have burst. There was a dark ring around Bree’s iris and it seemed to be slowly growing. Christa wanted to believe Bree would pull through this but deep down inside she knew the inevitable outcome and what it meant. She knew that if that time came she wouldn’t have it in her to put Bree out of her misery.
Christa motions Bree around till she’s facing her and places her hands on the sides of her face, “Baby, I know you don’t feel good. You want to lay in my lap?” Bree shakes her head yes. Christa turns Bree around till her back is facing her, pulls her close and wraps her arms tightly around her.
They stay there for what seems like forever. Christa runs her fingers through Bree’s hair as she sleeps there in her arms. “I never noticed how soft her hair was until now. Funny some of the things you don’t notice until the world stops turning; until your world is falling apart.” A tear rolls down Christa’s face as she realizes beneath her one hand she can’t feel Bree’s chest moving anymore. Christa tries to hold back the tears to no avail all while fighting the realization that her daughter was gone.
Leaning her head down, she places her nose on top of Bree’s head and smells her hair as the tears roll down her face at a rapid pace. Christa places a kiss on Bree’s cheek as she continues to hold her rocking back and forth.
“Christa? Is everything ok?” Damion couldn’t help but inquire due to how long she had been in the bathroom with Bree. Christa didn’t respond and when she didn’t Damion headed for the bathroom. There he saw her. Christa on the floor holding Bree rocking her back and forth all while crying. Damion put his hand over his mouth, “Oh my god. No, no, no, no, no, no…NO! This isn’t happening!” His legs couldn’t hold him any longer and he collapses to them right beside Christa. “I should’ve kept her safe. This is all my fault. If I had kept her by me at all times this never would’ve happened. This is all my fault, my fault.”
Christa came out of her inconsolable haze and turned to Damion, placing a hand on the side of his face and wiping away his years with her thumb. “This isn’t your fault Damion. It’s not. Don’t do this to yourself. It’s a tragic, horrible circumstance that in no way was because of you. Bree couldn’t have asked for a better father than you. It does no good blaming anyone. She’s gone and nothing we say or do will change that. I realize this, I don’t want to but I do. We are going to need each other more than anything right now. I know I need you more than words can say. You are the only thing keeping me from absolutely losing it. Don’t take that away from me when already so much has been taken away.”
Damion looks up at Christa, “I need you too. I promise I’ll never leave you again.” Those words gave Christa an ounce of solace when she had none.
“I know you won’t baby. I know.”
Just then Bree’s foot twitched ever so slightly. Christa’s hands, already wrapped around Bree, clutched her tighter as if trying to stop what is coming. The tension in the air was thick as every second seemed like an eternity. Bree’s other leg twitched for a moment, then her body started to jerk. Christa held onto her tightly so she wouldn’t get loose. Her body kept convulsing and then came to a dead stop. Christa looked at Damion not knowing what to do. A faint noise could be heard. It was Bree or at least it was coming from Bree’s body. It was a deep, hoarse moan. It was so low that it was barely noticeable. Christa turned Bree around and laid her down on her back on the floor. She placed her hand upon Bree’s chest and the other on the side of her face.
Bree’s eyes started to flitter and then they opened. Her eyes were totally transformed. They were totally bloodshot and the circle around the iris was larger than before. There was this opaque look about her eyes as well. Christa and Damion knew that their daughter was long gone and this flesh hungry monster was all that was left.
Bree’s expression was emotionless, almost confused. Then when her eyes locked with Christa’s her face contorted as she showed her teeth and tried to lunge for Christa. Christa pushed down harder on her chest, with two hands now, so she wouldn’t get up.
Damion reached for Christa’s wrist, “Come on Christa, let’s hurry and shut the door and leave her inside for the moment. There is nothing we can do.”
Christa tried to let go. She wanted to let go but was having a hard time as she sat there just staring at Bree. Christa was in sheer shock. She ‘just’ got her baby girl back and it seems as fast as she got her back she lost her. Staring one last time at Bree’s face she relents to Damion’s tugging of her arm and let’s go and quickly shuts the door behind her. Not long after that they can hear Bree clawing at the door as she moans.
Christa leans back against the door and looks at Damion, “I can’t stay here. I just can’t. I can’t leave her like that either but god help me I can’t put her out of her misery either.”
“I know baby, I know. I’ll take care of it and then we’ll gather some supplies and leave.”
Christa wanted Bree to be put out of her misery but she didn’t feel that was a good image for Damion to have in his head. That was a lot to ask of him and a lot to endure. Christa grabbed Damion’s arm as he went to put his hand on the doorknob, “No baby, don’t. I can’t ask that of you and I couldn’t live with that image so how would you possibly endure that yourself? Let me get someone else to do it.”
“No. She’s my daughter. I was there when she took her first breath and came into this world and I’m going to be there when she goes out. Please Christa. I couldn’t live with myself if someone else did it. That’s how much this means to me.”
Christa gave in to Damion’s wishes but couldn’t help but feel that it was a terrible choice. All she could do is hope that he was right and that he could live with it. Damion grabbed the knife off the dresser and proceeded to open the door. The opening of the door knocked Bree backwards which gave Damion an opportune time to grab her. She was laying on her back on the floor as Damion straddled her so he could hold her down. He raised the knife a
bove his head, “I’m so sorry Bree. Daddy loves you baby girl.” After his last word he brought down the knife with great force and stuck it deep into her forehead. After the knife was in Bree’s forehead her head flopped to the left and her body was lifeless. Damion caressed Bree’s cheek one last time before he opened the door and shut it behind him. Christa looked at Damion with tears in her eyes. She knew it was over with and by the look on Damion’s face he wasn’t handling it the greatest. Christa walked over to Damion and put her arms around him as he sobbed into her shoulder.
“I don’t want to stay one more night in this place. Let’s gather our stuff together and go baby.” Christa knew this day was hard for them both but especially for Damion. Not only did Damion lose Bree but he lost both his parents as well. Christa squeezed Damion tighter as she thought about that. Christa closed her eyes and wished she was back in the cabin but with Damion and Bree. For a brief moment in her mind she found peace and thought to herself that maybe she would just pretend they all were back there somehow. She would remember Bree’s smiling face and pretend she was somewhere safe waiting on her. She would see her again.
The room was silent as they gathered some clothes. Damion walked over to Christa and took her hand. Slowly they walked down the stairs and noticed Gerard, Darren and Tara sitting in the living room.
“How is Bree doing? She sleeping?” The moment Gerard asked the question he wished he hadn’t. He could tell by the look on Christa’s face that Bree was gone. It was hard for Gerard to fathom that he would never see her smiling face again. He couldn’t help but stare at Christa. He could see the pain in her eyes, in her face. “Christa, if you need anything-“
“She’ll ask me,” Damion stood in between Christa and Gerard as he spoke up. Gerard didn’t say a word. He just looked away. “We’re gathering supplies and heading out shortly. We can’t stay here anymore.”
Darren and Tara looked at one another confused. Tara inquired, “Why? I mean, this place looks pretty secluded and there aren’t really any undead around here, not to mention there are supplies to last a while here. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Gerard interjected, “Tara, please. They just lost their daughter and staying here is the last thing they want to do. Can’t you understand that?”
“I understand that but can you understand that out there we could possibly die? Do you understand that we barely got here in the first place? We don’t really have the luxury of just picking up and leaving whenever we decide to. I think we should make the most of this place and then leave. I mean seriously it just makes more sense.”
Darren puts his hand on Tara’s, “Sis, please. I wouldn’t want to stay some place if you were dead upstairs. I know you’re scared. I know, but I promise I won’t let anything happen to you and you know we can’t stay here forever. So let’s just go, please.”
Tara sighs, “Fine Darren. Let me just go on record though stating I think this is a bad idea but I’ll go along with it.”
“Thank you,” Christa said.
Tara looked over at Christa with empathetic eyes and nods.
They all proceeded to gather things about the house. Christa went back upstairs to go to her former in-laws bedroom and see what clothing she could find in there. She walked past the door where Bree was. She paused outside for only a moment and then proceeded to the end of the hallway.
Going into the room wasn’t any better because it was littered with pictures of her, Damion and Bree. Slowly she walked over to the dresser and picked the family picture up. Walking over to the bed she sits down on it while she looks at how happy they all use to be.
“I remember that day. You wanted Bree to match and she was dead set against it. She just had to wear that purple unicorn shirt with her bright green shorts. I distinctly remember you relenting and letting her.”
“Never could say no to that face.”
“I know. She has a lot in common with her mommy. Never could say no to you either.” Damion sits down next to Christa. “I promise to keep you safe.”
“I don’t even care anymore at this point Damion. That’s the easy part, not caring. If I weren’t here anymore then the pain would stop. I can’t stand it. It hurts like I’m dying over and over again and I don’t know how to stop the pain.”
“You can’t stop it Christa. You just have to embrace it and really feel it. Denying it does no good and giving into it doesn’t do any good either. Feel it but don’t let it control you. You think I hurt any less? It’s killing me but I have to keep it together on some level because I know Bree would want me to take care of her mommy. I intend on doing just that. Don’t give up on life. Don’t give up on me and damn sure don’t give up on yourself. Like it or not Christa I need you.”
Christa looks at the picture and places it down. She turns to Damion and kisses him, “I know. I need you too.”
“Now let’s get this stuff and get out of here. The sooner the better.”
They gathered their stuff and headed out to the vehicles. Darren proceeded to put a few last things into his car while Christa and Damion put stuff in Damion’s dad’s truck.
“I guess we’ll follow you guys,” Gerard told Christa and Damion.
“Be careful,” said Christa.
“Yeah, you too.”
Christa took one last look at the house as they drove off. She knew all the bad memories she incurred there would have to be buried there if she was going to survive. Looking over at Damion he gives her a smile and takes her hand in his.
It was still daylight when they took off and would be for quite some time. The freshly fallen snow just made the traveling more tedious and slow. Damion and Christa were at an advantage because Damion’s truck had snow tires which helped quite a bit. They often found themselves stopping to wait for Darren and the rest. His car would get stuck ever so often. Christa would think to herself what would happen if they needed to get away fast but couldn’t because they got stuck. It was hard to not have certain situations or possibilities go through your mind. You had to be ready for any scenario.
Christa looked out the window and watched the scenery roll by. Everything was so white it was hard to tell which direction they were going. She realized she didn’t even know where they were headed.
“Damion, where are we going exactly?”
Damion paused before he spoke, “You know, I have no clue. I hadn’t really thought about it. I just figured we would drive and if we ran across some place that seemed promising we would take shelter there.”
“I guess that is as good an idea as any. What other options do we have really anyhow.” Christa was resolved in the fact that from this moment on things would be very different. Things would be a question mark and every day would bring something knew. Something unknown.
Chapter 8
The sun was quickly heading down as they came upon an armory. It looked abandoned so they pulled into the parking lot. After they parked Christa started to get out of the vehicle.
“No Christa. You stay here. Let me check it out first.”
“I’m not letting you go inside without me. That’s not going to happen.” Christa proceeded to get out of the truck. Christa walked over to Damion and grabbed his hand, “You’re not going anywhere without me.” Damion gave her a smile and gripped her hand tighter.
“Hey love birds are we gonna do this or what?” Gerard’s sarcasm was made quite evident. Christa just gave Gerard a slight glare in response.
“Sure princess, just make sure you pay attention,” it was obvious Damion couldn’t help himself. And it was obvious by Gerard’s scowl he wasn’t amused.
Walking up to the door Damion puts his hand on the knob and tries to turn it. It’s unlocked. He turns around to make sure everyone was ready. They all stood there weapons in hand giving nods. Damion turned back around, twisted the knob, and flung the door open. There was nothing but debris everywhere.
Damion turned to Christa, “You stay close to me.” Christa nods.
The door
opened up into a narrow hallway with rooms stemming off from it. The hallway got darker the further in it went which gave off an ominous feel. There was no noise except for the occasional creak of some part of the building settling or the rattle of something from the wind.
“I’m not sure if being at the back is a good thing or not,” Tara said while clutching the hammer in her hands.
“Just look at it this way, if we have to go back the way we came you will be first,” Gerard was trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”
Damion walked silently towards the first door on the left and reached for the knob but pausing. Slowly Damion tries to turn the knob and it turns all the way till it clicks open. Damion takes a deep breath and pushes open the door swiftly. There in the half lit room was a desk with scattered papers and traces of blood everywhere. On the desk the name plate said Sgt. Donaldson and to the right of it was a picture of a blonde haired man with a woman and two little girls. Christa went and picked up the photograph and couldn’t help but think about Bree. She wondered how many other tragic tales were untold. Lives lost that no one would know about because there was no one to tell the stories.
“This room is clear. I don’t even think there is anything in here that we can use. We can clear the other room. The one that is adjacent to this one,” Damion said.
“How about we divide into two groups but stay relatively close and clear rooms that way? We can make a bigger impact and move this along,” Gerard suggested.
Each person looked at one another and gave their affirming nods of approval before moving back into the hallway. After they stepped back out into the hallway they discussed how they would divide and decided upon Darren, Tara and Gerard in one group, which left Christa and Damion in the other.
“I’m not comfortable with this division but I’ll agree to it,” Gerard said aloud but was clearly making eye contact with Christa.
His eye contact didn’t go unnoticed by Damion, “It will be fine. We’re just two but I got her back and she has mine. If for some reason we need more help we’ll let you know and vice versa. Ok”
Day Beyond the Dead (Book 1) Page 6