by Amber Garr
The leftover beasts snarled and barked at us but didn’t make another move forward. Maybe that was because Vee kept swinging her sword each time they’d get even an inch closer. I heard a thump behind me and turned to see that Hunter had dropped from the tree. “Come here,” I said, pulling him closer behind my back. “Stay close.”
“Did she just cut that dog in half?” he asked with a tiny voice and way too much admiration.
I ignored him and instead focused on Vee. “Do you think they’ll leave us alone?” I asked.
She shook her head, eyes still staring down the wild animals. “I don’t know. Let’s start moving away slowly.”
“Come on, Hunter.” I wrapped my arm around his thin shoulders and helped guide him back the way we came. “Where are your parents?” I asked.
“Dead,” he said.
“Are you alone?”
“Not anymore,” he replied. “Can I have a knife?”
“What?” I asked, then noticed him staring at my hand. “Absolutely not.”
Vee started following us, walking backward and still wielding the sword in warning. “I’m not sure if they’re going to let us go,” she mumbled.
I looked around us and saw a new weapon. Grabbing the rock, I tossed it at the closest dog. It didn’t hit him, and a part of me was kind of glad, but it did seem to frazzle him a bit. The remaining five dogs began to shuffle back away from us. “Go!” I screamed, tossing another rock in their direction.
“Yeah, get out of here!” Hunter said, slinging his own rock. The smallest, reddish dog took the hit in his side and yelped out in fear. “That’s right. Run!” Hunter threw something else at them.
Vee and I exchanged a look. “We need to go,” she said.
“Hunter, let’s go.” I pulled the boy closer to me and turned to start our hike back up the embankment. “You coming?” I asked Vee, who still walked backwards even though the dogs were now retreating.
“Yeah, I’m right behind you.”
“Where are we going?” Hunter asked.
I took a second to think about the answer although I didn’t really need to. “You’re coming with us,” I said.
“Cool.” Hunter’s ability to either quickly process the situation or completely ignore what had just happened was surprisingly refreshing to my ears.
So as we retraced our steps back to camp, I smiled at the way a small boy looked at this horrid world and took a lesson from his book.
Hunter’s parents had died several months ago. Just like Zach and mine. Or, soon to be me. I knew my mom wouldn’t be alive much longer and that’s why I walked back to camp with heavy feet and a slow gait.
I didn’t want to see what was waiting for me.
“You okay?” Zach asked just before we reached the hill overlooking our temporary home.
I shrugged, unable to speak for fear of losing it in front of him. Zach grabbed my hand and gave it a quick squeeze.
“You should go be with her,” he whispered. “She shouldn’t be alone.”
He was right. She shouldn’t have to die alone. No one should. Although in the world we now lived in, too many people faced that fate.
“What’s going on?’ Hunter asked us.
“Nothing,” I said with a forced smile. “Our camp’s just right over there.” As Zach led us forward, Hunter wrapped his tiny hand around mine. Surprised, I glanced down to see him looking out ahead; ready to take on whatever faced him next. If only I could have that kind of hope.
As our feet crunched over the dead leaves and rotten sticks, we started to hear a chorus of shouts and profanities. Sharing a quick look between us, Zach and I picked up the pace and jogged to the edge of the embankment that would lead us home. There, amidst the trees and sick bodies, our once cohesive group stood divided. With Sasha in the middle, shouting back and forth to those that had circled her, it appeared that the tempers boiling at the surface for weeks had finally exploded.
“We can’t risk it!” A man shouted as the three of us scrambled down the hill. His name was Jonathon and he constantly challenged Sasha’s authority. Older than our parents, he already had about half our group standing on his side in support. With graying hair and a formidable height, he towered over Sasha. “How many more have to die before you get it through your thick skull? Raiding a government facility will only get us killed!”
“We need the medicine,” Sasha yelled back. “Look around, Jonathon. It’s spreading.”
At her words, my attention focused on the bodies lying on the ground behind everyone. My mom was the sickest, but two others had fallen ill within the past day. My heart clenched a little when I saw Josh kneeling next to my mom and coughing every few minutes. Was he sick too?
“Then we’ll find some place new to live,” he stated.
“And leave them behind?” Sasha spat, pointing at the sick.
“Yes!” The clearing fell eerily silent with Jonathan’s words. “Look, I know that’s not ideal, but it’s the best option we have right now. There’s no cure for them. There’s nothing we can do.”
“I’m not leaving my mother,” I said without thinking. Stepping forward, I pushed Hunter toward Zach and walked right up to Jonathan. He liked to intimidate with his size and his attitude. But today I wouldn’t be intimidated. Not by anyone. “It’s our responsibility to take care of the sick. If we don’t do that, then we’re no better than the rest of them.”
Jonathan’s dark eyes narrowed in sympathy. “I understand that you don’t want to leave your mother. But, Vivienne, she’s not going to make it much longer and she’ll only slow us down. All of them will.”
Over the past year on the run, I’d really tried to work on controlling my temper. Zach had been a big part of that training, so I knew he’d probably be disappointed for what I did next.
The sting of my hand slapping Jonathan across the cheek raced through my body like poisoned adrenaline. One second he was standing there, telling me that my mother was dead weight, and then next moment I found myself restrained by the strong arms of Max.
“How dare you!” I shouted, trying hard to break free. “She’s my mother!”
Jonathan rubbed his cheek and glared at me. “Don’t be such an idiot, Vivienne. Medicine isn’t going to save her and you know it!”
I kicked out at him, letting all of my frustration and sadness rush through my legs. When I made contact with his stomach, he gasped. And then he got mad. With spread fingers, he slapped me. Hard. My body fell to the side, only staying upright because of Max’s grip.
“Hey!” Zach yelled as he started to rush forward. But Max beat him to his target, and punched Jonathan in the jaw before the man even knew what happened. He collapsed to his knees, fingers rubbing the spot that had just been hit. One of the women on his side stepped around his body the second he went down.
“Enough!” Melissa called out. She was Jonathan’s closest friend and now she pointed a gun at Max’s head. “Take one more step and I’ll pull this trigger!” Max gave her a look and she lifted the gun a little higher. “Don’t even test me on this one, Max.”
“What are you doing?” Sasha called out from behind Max. Slowly, she walked around him so that she had a clear view of Jonathan and Melissa and the four others standing behind them. “Put the gun down before you hurt someone.”
Melissa quickly turned the gun on Sasha. Similar in size, Melissa’s arms didn’t even shake as she held the hand gun straight out in front of her like a cop. “Stay there, Sasha,” she warned.
“What are you thinking?” Zach asked. He stepped back a bit, tucking Hunter behind him as much as he could.
“Zach, be quiet,” Sasha said without dropping her eyes from Melissa. She held out her arm, keeping Max firmly planted behind her. Addressing the others, she said, “You are free to leave any time you want. No one is going to stop you.”
“We’re not raiding another facility,” Melissa said.
“And we’re not lea
ving them behind.” Sasha jerked her chin toward the sick people. “It’s not right.”
Melissa huffed. “Nothing’s right in this place.” She shifted on her feet, back and forth. Arms still solid. “You’re going to get everyone killed.”
Sasha tried to step closer, but Melissa jerked the gun up in warning. “We won’t survive if we don’t have medicine,” Sasha said.
“We’ll survive if we leave,” Jonathan said, finally getting to his feet again.
Sasha shrugged. “I told you that you could leave whenever you wanted.”
“We’re taking the supplies.” Danny, a middle-aged man who had aligned himself with Jonathan’s group, lifted a shotgun and cocked it. The sound pierced through the air like a piece of foundation cracking. Our home was about to change.
“Take what you have on you right now,” Sasha conceded.
“No,” Jonathan said, suddenly finding his courage again. “We’re taking everything.”
Sasha swallowed and Max left my side to be slightly closer to her. “I can’t let you do that,” she said calmly.
“Well, Sasha,” Melissa spat, “you don’t have much of a choice.” Danny, Melissa, and Jonathan, who’d pulled one out of his bag, all pointed guns at us while the other three deserters, two women and a young man, started gathering up pieces of bedding, supply bags, and ammunition. “You’re reign has come to an end, Queen Sasha.”
That was the first time I’d heard anyone call her that, but by the small smirk that danced across Sasha’s lips, I had a feeling she’d known about that endearment. I caught Sasha’s eyes just before she gave a similar look to Max. She wanted us to fight back.
Lifting her hands in a peaceful gesture, she hung her head slightly. “Fine, Melissa. You win. But you won’t survive more than a week on your own. I promise you that.”
Melissa narrowed her eyes and tried to hide the fear that flitted across her face. They didn’t really have a plan. And Sasha was right, their survival skills were pretty weak and the only reason they’ve lived as long as they have is because they were with all of us. “We’ll be just fine,” Melissa stated.
“And if you leave here with our supplies, we will hunt you down.” The threat in Sasha’s voice made my skin crawl. I felt like I was trapped in a movie and we’d reached the scene where all hell was about to break loose. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh creep a little closer. Everyone with the guns has their backs to him.
For a flash, Melissa looked scared. And then she realized that appearing weak wasn’t an option. She took two steps, closing the gap between her and Sasha. She pushed her gun forward, now only a few inches from Sasha’s forehead. “You do that, and it will be the last thing you ever do—”
Just as she finished her threat, Sasha’s arm swung out and in two quick moves, she had Melissa’s gun in her hand. In the same instant, Max jumped forward and knocked Jonathan to the ground, while Danny whipped his body around to aim the shotgun at Max.
“No!” I yelled and leapt at Danny. He got a shot off and I prayed that it hadn’t hit anyone standing nearby. My chest slammed into his shoulder, knocking the breath out of me and sending waves of pain through my sternum. We fell to the ground, Danny struggling to get out from underneath me. I squeezed my arms and legs tightly around him, acting more like a monkey than executing any real fighting moves, but it worked. A few seconds later, Josh had ripped the shotgun from Danny’s hands and had it pointed at his head.
“I’ve got him,” Josh said. His voice sounded hoarse from the cough he’d been fighting.
Giving Danny a little extra knee in the ribs as I stood, I stepped back to survey the situation. Josh, Sasha, Max, and now Zach all had various types of guns pointed at the six people who’d tried to walk away with our supplies. Hunter was standing by Zach’s side, hands on hips and glaring at the other deserters. It almost made me smile.
“Take one bag of food and one bag of water and get out of here,” Sasha growled.
“We need our weapons,” Jonathan said. He wiped his bloodied nose again looking every bit as defeated as he was.
Sasha glanced at Max, an unspoken conversation occurring between them. Max suddenly dropped his arms and lowered the rifle he’d stolen from Jonathan. He popped open the bolt four times in a row, dispelling the unused bullets. Then he clicked it all back together and handed it to Jonathan with a smirk on his face.
“Where are we supposed to find ammo?” he asked as he took the gun back.
Sasha shook her head. “Not my problem.”
“Can I have my gun?” Melissa asked.
“Absolutely not,” Sasha said and Zach chuckled. “Now get out of here before I change my mind.”
Danny and Melissa started to shuffle away, but Jonathan took a long minute to stare at each one of us. He still didn’t intimidate me. When he backed away and bent over to pick up a bag, Zach lifted the gun he must have grabbed from somewhere else earlier. “Drop it,” he said.
“No,” Jonathan replied in disgust.
“He’s right,” Sasha added. “You guys already have your two bags. That one belongs to us.” She gestured toward the rest of his crew who carried two large duffels filled with food and water. Jonathan followed with his eyes and finally sighed. Without looking at us again, he dropped the bag and jogged up the hill to catch up to the others. Only Melissa dared to turn back around and glare in our direction. I waved at her and then smiled when she flipped me off. I never really liked her anyway.
Once they were out of sight, we all gathered closer together. Aside from my mom and one other from our group that were too sick to move, we’d lost half our friends. I use “friends” loosely, but still, they were people that we’d lived with for many months. The camp suddenly felt very empty.
“Well, that was interesting,” Sasha finally said, relieving some of the tension.
“No shit,” Zach said and Hunter giggled.
He caught Sasha’s attention. “And who is this?” she asked with a slight teasing in her voice.
“I’m Hunter and I’m joining your group.”
Sasha crossed her arms and pretended to size him up. “You are, huh? Well what can you offer us?”
Hunter tapped his chin and looked up like he was thinking hard. “I’m fast. And Vee’s going to teach me how to use a sword.”
I hadn’t even noticed that he’d picked up my discarded sword and had been holding it this whole time. It was almost as tall as him.
Zach gracefully grabbed the weapon from his hands and shook his head. “Maybe a little later, bud.”
Sasha shared another one of those looks with Max before speaking again. “Okay then, Hunter. Looks like we could use you around here. You hungry?”
“Yes!” he said quickly.
“And it looks like you need a pair of shoes…” Sasha’s voice trailed off as she took in his torn pants and tattered clothes. “And maybe a new shirt.” Lifting her gaze to Zach, she asked, “What happened to him?”
Just as Zach began to fill her in, someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned to see Josh, and I knew whatever he was about to tell me wouldn’t be good.
“It’s your mother. She needs you,” he said quietly.
I ran away from the group to reach my mom as quickly as possible. Even before I got to her, I could see the spastic breaths lifting her chest up and down like she had no control. When I lowered myself to the ground, all I could do was watch as she struggled to live. Her eyes were closed, her skin pale, and her hair sticking to her forehead and looking like the dark fingers of death that were slowly claiming her.
I wanted to cry but could do nothing but sit there, listening to her inhalations come fewer and farther in between the silence. She never opened her eyes again. She never squeezed my hand. And when she didn’t breathe anymore, I waited with more patience than I’d ever shown before. I waited to hear just one more inhalation; one more sign of life. But it didn’t come. After surviving all of the evil people that
now inhabited this place, my mom had died from pneumonia.
And I felt more alone than ever before.
The next afternoon, we buried Valerie in a small meadow under a large oak tree. The tree had been damaged by the acidic air and contaminated water and now towered over us like a skeleton. But Vee had seen beauty in it still, and I knew Valerie would have approved.
When finished, we regrouped around the small camp and took inventory of all of our supplies. After the desertion yesterday, we felt surprisingly vulnerable to another attack. Losing six people meant we had only half our numbers. And one of them, and older lady named Karen, didn’t look like she’d make it through the night. Vee sat with her now, refusing to leave her side. I worried that she wouldn’t be able to watch the pneumonia take yet another person away from her.
“We need supplies and medicine,” Sasha finally said, drawing my attention back to the issue. Hands on her hips, she looked around at the small pile of belongings we had left.
“And ammunition,” Max said.
“And water,” I added.
Sasha sighed and then pulled a map from her back pocket. “There’s a government check-in station set up here. At Pikeville.” She trailed her finger along a small highway. “We’re probably about ten miles away if we could fly straight there. But we need to avoid the main roads. So it’s going to be a bit of a hike.” She looked up at Max.
“I can go,” he said. “Zach, will go with me.”
Surprised at his declaration, I stood up and shrugged. “Okay. Sure. Sounds good.”
Max smiled at me. This was the first time he’d asked me to go anywhere with him, and I took that as a huge compliment. “We should take Josh too,” he added.
“I don’t know about that,” I said. Not that Josh wouldn’t normally be a good addition, but he’d gotten worse overnight, and from the sounds of his cough, he wasn’t going to heal anytime soon.
“I’ll go,” Vee said, suddenly joining us. “Where are we going?”
Sasha, still hunched over the map, turned her body to look at Vee. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”