by D. K Lake
“I can't believe Luke's gone. One minute we were all laughing and joking, the next Luke's dead and we're running for our lives. Who were those men?”
He lit a cigarette, not in any rush to answer me.
“The world is full of men like that, they take what they want and kill who they please, and that's how they survive.”
“That's not surviving, that's just murder.”
“Like it matters anymore. There ain't no laws no more telling you right from wrong. People do what they want now.”
I looked over at him. “Drew, what are we going to do? All our stuff is back at the camp.”
The only things we had on us were the clothes we were currently wearing, Drew's crossbow, Luke's knife, and various other tools that I considered weapons. We had no food, no map, no water... nothing.
“I'll go back when it's dark.” he said, taking a drag.
“It's already dark. What if it's too late and they've already caught another one of us and killed...” I stopped mid-sentence, hoping I was wrong and they had got away safely.
“Life's a bitch sometimes.”
“That's your answer.”
“That's all I got. People die.” he said, tapping his cigarette out the window.
“But you could stop it. We could stop it.”
“The best thing we can do is wait until nightfall, then I'll go back and see if our bags are still there.”
“Or you might get your throat cut too, with no one to watch your back.”
“Look, you're with me right now and while you're with me you're gonna do as I say.”
I let out a laugh.
“What's so funny?” he said deadpan.
“I think it's funny you think you can boss me around and tell me what to do.”
“I ain't taking you back with me and that's final. I ain't gonna risk you getting caught as well. We do it my way.”
I shook my head, lifted up my knees and hugged my legs.
After a few awkward minutes of silence, he climbed back down the ladder.
“Where are you going now?”
He didn't answer, instead, he picked up a few tools and a pitchfork, and walked back to the ladder, then he raised the pitchfork above his head.
“What are you doing?” I asked, yawning.
“Duck!” he said.
“What?” But before I got a reply the pitchfork came flying up onto the balcony, soon followed by more tools.
I collected the items he threw up and made a pile next to the wall, then when he was happy with the number of accumulated weapons he climbed back up the ladder.
“So you gonna tell me what we're gonna do with these?” I asked, picking up the pitchfork, liking it more than the knife... I couldn't do any worse with it.
“I'm not doing anything with them. You are.”
“Huh?”
He ignored me and walked to the other end of the balcony.
“You should be safe up here while I'm gone.”
“Drew. No. I'm coming with you.”
He let out a sigh and sat down on a small hay bale.
“You should rest.”
“No, I'm not that dumb, the second I close my eyes you'll disappear.”
“No, I'll wait for you to wake up.”
I sat down on the floor with my back against the wall, watching him.
“I'm fine.” I insisted, even though my eyes felt heavy.
“No, you're not.”
I turned away from his gaze and picked up a piece of straw and twirled it between my fingers.
“I never wanted to go. This journey was a waste of time, and now Luke's dead, possibly the others as well. And it was all for nothing.”
“Lane didn't seem to think so.”
“Well, Lane's wrong.” I muttered.
I yawned again, covering my mouth, and I told myself my watery eyes were from all the yawning, not the fact that everyone could be dead and it was because of me. I closed my eyes and used my sleeve to rub the tears away. I was turning into a soppy mess. Whatever this virus was doing to me it was playing havoc with my hormones. I felt grouchy, sad, and extremely anxious.
Drew stood up abruptly and went over to the window.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, just a deadbie.”
“Just one?”
“Yeah.”
I relaxed a little and rested my head on my knees. I'll just rest my eyes for a minute. I thought.
Then we'll go back together.
“Hey, Alex?”
“Hmm.” I tried to lift my head but it suddenly felt like dead weight. I lifted it and saw Drew crouching in front of me with his lighter flicked on. I was suddenly aware the barn was much darker than before, then I realized my neck was sore from falling asleep with my forehead resting on my knees.
“How long was I out for?”
“A while.” he said, flicking the lighter off and putting it in my hand.
I wiped my eyes and tried to wake myself up.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked.
“Yes, but you're still not coming.”
“I'm not staying!”
“Yeah, you are! Even if I have to tie you up. So which is it going to be?”
“Drew, no!”
“It will be quicker if I go on my own, you'll only slow me down.”
“And what if you get lost? It's dark out there.”
“That's the idea, they won't see me coming.”
“No, but they might hear you.”
“No one hears me.”
“Okay, but what if you do get lost?”
“I won't.”
“What if you run into that army of zombies again?”
“Deadbies?”
“Whatever, same thing.”
“They won't even know I'm there.”
“What if those men catch you?”
“They won't.”
“What if you don't come back?”
“Did you have this conversation with Lane every time he went for a piss?”
“No... I always went with him.”
“Alex, I'm coming back.”
I wanted to believe him, but in all honesty, I didn't know him very well, and I wouldn't be surprised if I never saw him again.
“You're not coming back, are you?”
“What?”
“It's okay, I'll understand if you don't.”
He grunted a laugh and a moment later he placed what felt like a pocket knife in my hand.
“I already have a knife, Luke's knife, remember?”
“I know, but this one belonged to my dad when he was little, and then it was given to me. I never go anywhere without this pocket knife... and I will come back for it, that's a promise.”
I closed my fingers around the pocket knife.
“Okay?” he said.
“Okay.” I repeated, finally giving into his request to stay behind.
I stood up and watched him as he started to climb down the ladder, but he stopped and looked back over the top of the balcony.
“I'll know if you follow me.”
“I know.”
“You can stay hidden over there, and if anything tries to climb up the ladder you can use those weapons.”
“You mean anything not dead?”
Deadbies couldn't climb ladders which only left humans. I think I could manage to prong someone in the face if they climbed up the ladder.
The lower half of the barn was dark and I couldn't see Drew anymore, I only heard the door creak when he opened it to leave. I crawled further along the balcony and slouched against the wall. Of all the things I thought we'd come into contact with on this journey, a group of murdering psychos was not one of them. My thoughts drifted to Lane. I was worried about him, which was nothing new, worrying about Lane was second nature to me now. But I was also worried about Josh, but he was trained in survival and I knew he was a fighter, he would be okay, and so would Lane. And as for the others, I only hoped they had gotten away as well. I told
myself this over and over until my eyelids felt heavy and I thought I might fall asleep again, but my ears started playing tricks on me. Every little noise-the trees rustling in the wind, a twig snapping in the distance, had me peeking out the tiny window, not that I could see much, outside was a sea of darkness. Even my own stomach grumbling made me jump. I kept the pitchfork across my lap and listened to the crickets. My throat started to feel sore again, so I unwrapped another soother. My stomach was also starting to hurt. I couldn't tell if it was from being hungry and all that traveling on foot had worked up an appetite, or whether it was another side effect. I had no idea what the time was, or how long Drew had been gone. I had taken off my watch to shower that first day back after I had been bitten, and left it on the bench while I showered, it had disappeared along with my other bloodstained clothes. I didn't fuss over it, a missing watch wasn't top of my priority list. I calculated it would take Drew an hour and a half to get there, but possibly longer because it was dark. Twenty minutes should be enough time to have a quick look around, then add another hour and a half for the trek back to this place, (praying he finds it), and that's if everything went to plan.
Chapter 10
Day 4
My appetite's back again, and I'm soooo hungry, the phrase I could eat a horse is spot on.
Something nudged my leg and considering how out of it I was, I was as surprised as he was when I tried to plunge the pitchfork into him. But lucky for us, Drew's reflexes were quicker than mine and he dodged my attack.
I lowered the pitchfork, catching my breath.
“I nearly pronged you.”
“Pronged me? That's a new one.” he said, taking the pitchfork from me and leaning it up against the wall.
“What happened? Wait... what time is it?” I asked, already hearing the familiar sounds of the early birds at dawn, and a slither of light was coming through the window.
“Early.” he replied, squatting down in front of me, and placing his crossbow beside me.
“Whose bag is that?” I asked, having spotted the bag slung over his shoulder.
“Dunno,”
“It looks like Josh's bag.” I said, having another look.
“Let's hope your boyfriend has something useful in his bag.”
“He's not boyfriend.”
“Uh-huh.”
He opened it and started handing me things.
Clean T-shirts, socks, deodorant, a toothbrush.
“Did you see anything else while you were there?”
“No, just a graveyard of deadbies, this is all I could find, I think they took everything else.”
Band-Aids, shower gel, a box of matches. I listed the things as he passed them to me.
“And?”
“And what?”
He placed two more things into my hands, a wallet and a flashlight.
“And what else have you been doing that took all night?”
“I was out looking for the rest of our group.”
“So the fact that you just told me you were out looking for them means they got away, right?”
“Well, I didn't find any dead bodies that I recognized, so... and Luke's body is still... where...” he trailed off.
“Water bottle, three packs of slushie-shit, a spoon, a protein bar, rather questionable underwear,” Drew laughed, holding up a pair of floral boxer briefs. “And, one toilet roll, a handful of batteries for the flashlight, and a Mars bar.”
“Mars bar, he kept that quiet. This stuff is better than nothing,” I said, distracted, looking through Josh's wallet, being nosy.
I switched the flashlight on for a better look inside his wallet and found a family photo tucked in the back. I looked at each of the faces, his mother was a tall, brunette, and his father was a lot shorter than I would have imagined, shorter than his mother, nearly bald, and rather round. Then there was Josh, looking a lot younger than he does now, maybe fifteen, maybe younger, he had a little more weight on him, with pudgy cheeks, and a wide grin I was familiar with. There was one more person in the picture, another boy, he looked younger than Josh but was taller than him, with a lighter shade of brown hair, and a skinny frame. I stared at the boy's eyes, not believing what I was seeing.
“Alex?”
The sound of Drew's voice made me jump and I dropped the flashlight.
“What is it?” he asked, taking the photo from me, squinting to get a better look in the dim light.
I picked it back out of his hand and placed it back in Josh's wallet, then I packed all the stuff away again, leaving out one pack of mush.
“You hungry?” I asked him.
“God, no, I'd rather eat rabbit droppings than the shit that comes in those packets.”
“You know they say you've gotta try everything once before you die.” Then we both realized what I had said without thinking about it.
“Still no. We need to start moving, you can eat on the way.”
He picked up the pitchfork. “You bringing this?” he asked.
“Err... yeah, you've seen what I'm like with the knife.”
Drew leaned over the balcony and speared the pitchfork into a hay bale. Then he picked up his crossbow and climbed down the ladder.
I quickly shoved the packet of food in the bag and put it on my back and climbed down after him. By the time I had made it down and grabbed my newly acquired weapon, Drew was already waiting outside for me.
“What now?” I asked, using the pitchfork more as a walking stick than a weapon as it was heavy.
He didn't answer and just pointed in the direction he wanted to walk. The sun was starting to spill through the trees as we trekked through the woods. I had no idea where we were, or where we were heading, if Drew was to up and leave me now, I would be completely lost.
I somehow managed to hold onto the pitchfork while pulling Josh's bag around to get into it.
I grabbed the spoon and the packet of mush. My insides were growling something wicked. I was actually worried it might bring out my inner-zombie, craving anything I could get my hands on. I ripped open the packet, and looked at the spoon, wondering how we were going to do this. I sort of felt bad for even considering eating it, when I was the one dying, and Drew was the healthy one that needed the food more than me, but I was that hungry so I wasn't thinking straight. I looked up to see where he was, he was cautiously walking in front of me, watching the trees.
“So how we gonna do this?”
He didn't answer me or turn around to look at me.
“Okay, well, I think you should eat first and then I'll finish off the scraps, if you leave me, like, four mouthfuls that should be enough.”
Oh, who was I kidding, I was starving! “Maybe six, if you're feeling generous toward the dying girl.”
“I said you can have it. I ain't eatin' that shit.”
“What will you eat?”
Instead of answering me, he dashed off through the trees, and I was left dawdling at a snail's pace, eating my mush dinner with the spoon-pretending I was enjoying a McFlurry. Eating while holding a pitchfork was harder than I thought it would be, I dropped it a few times.
Drew was always in my line of sight, I wasn't quite sure what he was up to, I assumed if I slowed him down too much he would just leave me, but then I remembered I still had his father's pocket knife in my pocket, so he would have to come back to me at some point.
When I had just about finished the whole packet, not something I would have ever down before, I was all about rationing before, but I was that hungry and I needed the energy, Drew started heading back to me. I spotted something dangling from his hand, as he got nearer I realized it was a dead rabbit.
I turned my face up in disgust. I wasn't against killing animals for a good reason, like, to put food on the table, but I didn't like the idea of what he was going to have to do to it before he could cook it and eat it.
“I found dinner.” he said, holding it up in the air.
“Yummy.” I said, trying not to pull a face.
> “This is better for you than that crap in the packet, and tastier.”
“I think I'll stick to the pre-packed stuff.”
He took a step toward me and I stepped back out of the way not wanting him to get dead rabbit on me.
Then he took another step toward me.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He held up the rabbit waiting for me to connect the dots.
“No!” I backed off, half-laughing. “You're not putting that in Josh's bag.”
“Why not?”
“'Cause it's gross, that's why. If you're not planning on eating it right away then you can carry it.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “You afraid of a little rabbit blood?”
“No, I just don't want rabbit disease or any disgusting fleas crawling around in the bag, and don't those things leak pee when they're dead?”
“We're walking around with deadbies and you're worried about a little rabbit piss?”
“Well... yeah, and maybe I don't want rabbit blood on the clean clothes, you know, just in case Josh wants them back.”
Drew shook his head in amusement and took another step toward me, and I stepped back. He tilted his head and looked down at the knife I had attached to my waist belt, then he leaned his crossbow next to his leg and reached over and slipped the knife out without asking.
“Wait.. didn't you have your own knife before?” I asked, remembering I had seen him with one before, but then I noticed he had an empty knife holder attached to his pants.
“Yup, stabbed one of those guys with it back at the camp during that deadbie rampage. I got knocked down and had to leave it. I did check when I went back to see if it was still lodged in the guy's gut, but it was gone.”
“What are you doing?” I asked, watching him stab the rabbit in the leg.
He didn't answer and I watched as he hooked the rabbit onto his belt loop and poked one of the rabbit's legs through the hole he had made in the other leg so he could hook it on.
Then he handed the knife back to me and picked up his crossbow, and started walking again.
“You need to eat something now.” I said, walking behind him.
“I'm fine.”
“Drew, please, at least drink something.”
He stopped and looked back at me.