Endgame (Book 1)

by W. A. R.

  “MILES!!!” she screamed, choking. He entered the field and ran towards where he had last seen her. She wasn’t there. He stumbled to a stop and began searching around him desperately. The edge where she had been standing was now gone and what was left of it was a steep and muddy embankment. And then he saw her arm flash through the water, and then her head as she gasped for air. She was just at the bottom of the embankment and a little ways towards the middle of the pond. She looked around hysterically while she struggled and caught his eye.

  “No!” she shouted before going under and he quickly slid down the embankment, only aware of her presence in the water before him. She came back up, splashing, struggling. “No! Biter…” she gurgled going under again, and he felt his heart stop. His entire body went cold. No, no, no…he dove into the water and his hands searched frantically for her, the only thought on his mind getting her safely out of the water. His hand brushed against fabric and he grabbed it jerking up on it, gripping it with both hands and Amber’s face broke through the water, gasping and coughing. Her arms splashed around him as she struggled. She looked at him desperately. “Get out of here!” she exclaimed, kicking her legs in vain attempts. He pulled back on her, and she didn’t budge, not even an inch. Trying again, he pulled harder, grunting with the effort. He heard her whimper right before he lost his balance and slipped on the slimy pond bottom. They both went under, and he released his hold on her. He had to find out where she was stuck.

  The murky water stung his eyes as he searched through the blurred images before him to find the obstacle he had to overcome. He reached a hand out and found her hip while she continuously tried to push away. She was under water, struggling, and he knew she couldn’t find traction or stability to pull herself up. Knowing he had to act fast, he grabbed her roughly to hold her still enough and trailed his other hand quickly down her right leg, searching for the complication while she kicked furiously. Her right leg was definitely stuck on something. He trailed it all of the way down to her ankle and found it stuck under a large pile of mud and rock from the collapsed embankment. His lungs were beginning to burn as he shifted all of the mud and rock off of her foot.

  Suddenly she shifted, moving her right leg out of the way, but her movements were still limited. She was still struggling with something. He eased towards her frantic form that was steadily moving farther away now and removed his knife remembering her warning. He grabbed her shirt to steady her and ran his fingers down her left leg. His lungs were screaming for oxygen, but he couldn’t stop. Amber’s movements unexpectedly ceased and his heart burned as he tried to hurry. His fingers ran across something slimy and he jerked his hand back, seeing the blurred image of a Biter just as it bit down on Amber’s other ankle. He felt everything inside him go numb. Quickly, knowing he wouldn’t have the force behind the knife in the water to kill the Biter, he pushed the knife into its mouth. Miles forced the Biter off of Amber and it bit down on the knife. In a flash, Miles quickly rose above the surface, grabbing Amber, who was now limp and lifeless, and dragging her out of the water, struggling to get her up the bank.

  He vaguely saw Brian and George grab her from him and Miles let go once they had her. His eyes were burning and he could hardly see anything in the light. Still, when they reached forward and pulled a breathless Miles onto stable land, he crawled desperately to Amber’s unmoving body. George was already there, soaking wet, checking for a pulse.

  “She isn’t breathing!” he shouted, and he began pressing against her chest. Were they really under that long? No…no….he struggled to see, but couldn’t make out anything more than vague images.

  “Check her left leg…Biter…in the water…” he coughed out, and Brian was there in an instant. Miles sat on his knees and rubbed at his eyes, his vision slowly becoming clearer. His ears were ringing; a listless whistle and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly against the sound, his heart pounding against his ribs. He opened his eyes at the sound of running footsteps as they neared the four by the pond.

  “Come on…” George muttered, pressing his mouth to hers and forcing air into her lungs. Miles began to feel sick, and started to reach for her when he was jerked back and bright light was shone in his eyes. He dodged the light and began for Amber again, his hands clawing at the dirt.

  “Miles, look at me!” Shelly told him sternly and she pushed him onto his back in the dirt. Her voice sounded distant even though she was within inches. She flashed the light in front of his face once again. He glanced over and saw George performing compressions again, and Amber’s head lolled to the side, facing him, her half-lidded and bloodshot blue eyes staring through him and to oblivion.

  “No…” he cried before struggling to get up and get to her as George turned her face, forcing air once again into her lungs. Her lips were tainted blue, her skin pale.

  1…

  2…

  3… The compressions started again, and he felt another pair of hands on him, shoving him down.

  “Miles we need you to calm down.” Jackson said, as he helped Shelly pin him down. Bobby-Jean was searching his body for wounds or bite marks of any kind before standing abruptly and demolishing a Biter that was coming close to them. He closed his eyes tightly against the pain.

  “Miles…are you ok? I need you to talk to me.” Shelly said calmly but firmly, grabbing his wrist and checking his pulse.

  “I’m fine!” he lied through his teeth, struggling a little more. “Why won’t you let me go to her?”

  Jackson sighed, and Miles opened his eyes, things becoming ever clearer. The old man had tears in his eyes. “Not until you calm down.” Miles shuddered and turned his head to face George and Brian, who was now performing the compressions while George breathed for her.

  “She needs me! Please!” he shouted, trying desperately to pull from Jackson and Shelly. He had never been more afraid than he was in that moment. They pushed down harder, and the rocks dug into his back.

  And then he heard it; the blessed sound of life. He watched as she coughed and sputtered, water coming from her lungs and out of her mouth and nose. Her back arched from her cough, and she inhaled a large lungful of air. She struggled for breath, and began to cry, fighting against her captors. Her eyes were wild and George and Brian held her still for a moment until she calmed down and began taking deep even breaths. Immense relief washed over Miles and he sighed in resignation, laughing to himself in release. He dropped his head back against the hard ground and began once again to rub the pain from his eyes. Shelly and Jackson freed him but he found that he couldn’t move.

  “Her leg…did you check her leg…” Miles croaked out, and Amber rolled her head to look at him, breathing heavily, her chest heaving with every breath. Brian reached down to her pulled up her pants leg, revealing her mid-length leather boots. A definitive bite mark, along with many deep scratches, was imprinted on the leather, but hadn’t gotten through the touch fabric. Relief once again consumed him.

  “He bit her boot. She’s fine….she’s fine…” Brian exhaled a rough breath and stood, running a hand across his face. Shelly looked between Miles and Amber, ensuring that they were ok before standing to comfort Brian. Everyone relaxed and began shifting, standing, trying to get their emotions in check. Jackson and Bobby-Jean stayed stationed between Amber and Miles, reassuring hands on the two of them, double checking their vision, hearing, and vitals, while George stood looking over them.

  “That was a mighty close call.” George said, kneeling down by her side. Brian shrugged, refusing to say anything more in his state of shock as he paced around everyone else. Miles simply stared at Amber, and she turned from him to the others that were standing, still trying to catch her breath.

  “Yes it was…” She began hoarsely before easing herself up into a sitting position with George’s help. He released a shaky breath, grateful for the very breath she was breathing. She scanned every face around her, and Miles eased himself up to his feet, and though his head was swimming he turned and gripped und
er her right arm while George did the same to her left. They hauled her up and steadied her. And then she voiced the concern that was on everyone’s minds. “What in the hell just happened?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Shelly sat rested on Brian’s lap, wishing Amber or Miles would come out of the house and accompany them. Being alone with him was about to drive her up the wall, her nerves short and her temper even shorter. She groaned inwardly at the thought of everything else going on, and she stole a glance the dark sky, smoky clouds covering the pale moon. George sauntered about the fence line, checking for any Biters, while Miles assisted Amber with the kids. They had to review the escape plan, should it come down to it, and ensure that the kids knew exactly what to do.

  The escape plan.

  Just the thought of having to leave and endure a rough life on the run as they had over two months earlier made her not want to tell Brian the news. Shelly was pregnant. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure, then again, she probably wouldn’t be until she was farther along, but she had missed her last three monthly cycles and now she was so insanely stressed about it, it wouldn’t surprise her if she had a miscarriage and immediately that thought left her mind, leaving her disgusted with herself and wondering why she had even thought that in the first place. She understood that stress also could cause women to miss their cycles, but she knew that wasn’t the case; her tender breasts and infinite nausea telling her otherwise. She loved children, or once did, but when the world went to shit, the thought of and longing to have children left her. And now she just…she had no idea what she was going to do about it. Brian wouldn’t be happy…how were they going to raise a baby in the world as it was? Amber had two kids of her own, raising them and little Elliot in a world surrounded by corruption, death, and evil incarnate, and Shelly needed her friend’s advice.

  Bobby-Jean opened the front door and stepped towards the swing, followed by Miles who escorted Amber out, hand resting on the small of her back. If she were honest, she thought to herself, Shelly had to admit that it was nice to see the two of them finally coming together, even if they wouldn’t admit it. She would never forget Miles’s desperate cries for Amber as he reached for her pale limp body; it was something that would trouble her for the rest of her natural born life. However, once they had gathered their strength, they had accompanied the two of them back to the house. Miles hadn’t left her side since, and Amber didn’t seem to mind…or maybe she didn’t notice. Shelly wasn’t sure. She had been really out of it since that morning; unusually quiet.

  The crippling moment by the pond was readily discussed. Amber had explained that she was standing on the edge of the pond when the tremors started and within seconds the embankment crumbled beneath her, the cause being the vibrations shifting the faulty foundation under her weight. She had tumbled down with the mud and rock, becoming trapped and that was where a Biter found her. Shelly shuddered, uncertain at how long the Biter had been in the water, and if they had eaten any fish contaminated from it. She questioned the tremors, just as they all did and it was after the question was asked out loud that they had glanced up at the bright morning sky and had witnessed the rising of smoke towards the sun.

  She sighed and then glanced at Brian, who slowly released his hold on her, settling his arms on the arm rests of the chair. She couldn’t help but smile; oh, but did she love that man. He had sacrificed everything for her; and she knew that she would never show him enough appreciation. He never seemed to notice though, always blissfully happy, and always trying to make others smile. Although, he did have his moments, and when he had them they were bad. He had never been one to handle his emotions very well, and she had played on that in the beginning of their relationship. She used to push him until he would go off the handle, and there were even times they would scream and fight and yell, and she would get scared because he was so close to losing all control. He enjoyed fighting, and whenever another man ever crossed him, he found a good enough reason to do so. She had only seen him black out once however, and that time he had almost killed the man with only his fists. She couldn’t remember what the reasoning behind the fight was, but she remembered the aftermath.

  That was whenever they both realized that something had to change, and change it did. He grew up, as did she, and they both became more docile people. Shelly hadn’t even realized how much people had avoided them and their hostility until they changed and opened themselves up for others. The new them made her feel welcome and whole, and when Brian had proposed to her via candles and rose petals, she knew that her life was complete. She didn’t even have time to plan for the wedding, however, when the world came to a screeching halt. She glanced at her ringless finger, wishing she hadn’t taken it to get cleaned and adjusted before the outbreak happened. Now, she would never see it again.

  “Anything yet?” Bobby-Jean asked, and Shelly sighed. Here they went again, off on the tangent that someone was going to arrive at the house and try to force their way in. Shelly didn’t see it happening, but she couldn’t strike out the possibility. She honestly just wished they would all stop talking about it; the whole thing upset her. She was reminded of Selene and the explosion and chaos that surrounded her demise, and reflexively, she glanced up in the direction of the kids’ room, wrapping an arm around her abdomen. And yet again, every bit of stress she held and every morbid thought came back to her: her pregnancy, distancing herself, her grandmother’s death, the Biter that ran, the explosion…it tore at her. Turning, she saw Amber watching her, eyes wide. Her eyes darted from Shelly’s protective hand to her face. Shelly forced a grin; Amber knew her too well, and she knew that they would be having a discussion about it later. It would be a discussion that she wanted to have anyways; should they ever find a chance to talk alone.

  “No, but we are ready if there is. Every weapon in the building is locked and loaded, and everyone knows the escape plan should we get overpowered.” Brian spoke up, his voice loud in her ear. She shifted away from him easily, and he brought his arm up to stroke her arm in an apology. She patted his leg in return shuddering at the thought of other people, harmful people.

  “Do you really think anyone will show? I mean, we don’t know how those fires, or explosions, or whatever, happened. It could have been a freak occurrence.” Shelly said optimistically. Even she didn’t believe the words that came out of her mouth. She knew better; after all, she wasn’t stupid. Bobby-Jean offered her a sad look and Shelly gathered that the woman knew Shelly was simply trying to be positive.

  “I think it is more of a possibility that someone caused that blast rather than it occurring on its own.” Bobby-Jean replied, and though she meant well, Shelly fumed. She only wanted to stop thinking of the possible threat, the possible outcome. She had so much on her mind as it was. Couldn’t these people understand that she only wanted a little peace from the everyday chaos? Was that really so much to ask for?

  “A Biter could have…” Shelly began and Brian cut her off.

  “No, baby, you know better. Someone is out there, and we don’t know what kind of person…or people…they are. We have to be prepared for this…or as prepared as we can be.” Brian scolded her gently, and she snapped her mouth shut in defeat. She grew anxious, the apprehension eating away at her. She wasn’t stupid, and she wasn’t naïve. She understood that someone had to cause the explosion that morning; she just didn’t want to accept it. Everything had been going so well, with no outside problems until that morning. In a world full of hate and depravity, they had found a small patch of paradise and had been living in it with no worries…until that morning. A part of her just wanted to tell Brian to run with her to the old house place, to be alone for a few days and remember what old life was like when it was just the two of them with no care in the world, and what saddened her the most was that the very idea was an impossibility. Footsteps could be heard as they rose up from behind them, and she turned to see George advancing towards the group. She sighed inwardly at his presence, grateful for his abrup
t appearance because she knew that he would indeed change the more tense subject to something lighter, or possibly even to anyone else, asking how they were dealing with the incidents of that morning. Shelly could handle that, and was indeed curious about it; she could just about handle any other subject except for the smoke hovering overhead in the clouds. He looked up at the smoke-filled sky and sighed before turning to Amber, his inquisitive eyes staring at her.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked her, and Shelly realized that no one had asked her that one simple question. It wasn’t that they weren’t concerned; it was simply forgotten, the group focusing rather on the billowing smoke that clouded the moon and stars, on the explosion that had shaken them to their very cores. It was out of respect, really, Shelly thought; Amber never cared for such attention. Amber turned and looked at George sincerely as Bobby-Jean easily made her way down the stairs, wrapping her tan pullover tighter around her body against the evening chill.

  “I’m fine, actually. It takes a lot more than that to take me down.” She told him, and he stepped closer to her, holding an arm out for her. She easily stepped forward and embraced George readily. Shelly grinned. It was surprising the amount of trust that their little family had given to George and Miles. They had completely entrusted them with their lives, knowing without a doubt, should anything happen, the family would have their support. Hell, they were family.

  “Don’t I know it?” George chuckled, before releasing Amber and turning to Miles, shaking his hand. Miles stared at George curiously while Bobby-Jean eased down to sit on the steps. Amber smiled sadly and sat beside her, wrapping her arms around Bobby-Jean’s shoulders. Entranced by the emotion of the scene before her, she almost didn’t feel Brian shift uneasily. She turned to look at him and found him staring at the people on the ground before them. He was lost in his own world, tears forming in his deep blue eyes and Shelly’s attitude softened. Although he would never freely admit it, he wore his heart on his sleeve, and in that moment, he was remembering what it felt like to once again lose his sister. That characteristic was one of her favorite things about him. She leaned back, wrapping her left arm around his neck and cradled his head against her chest. She knew that he wouldn’t let those tears fall, but she could at let him know that she understands. And at that point, that was all that mattered.