Endgame (Book 1)

by W. A. R.

  Shelly sighed. It wasn’t that Amber was weak or unable to handle herself. As a matter of fact, she was the opposite, Shelly thought. She was capable, careful and responsible, and strong. Amber was simply a product of ‘wrong place, wrong time’ and was always protected through either divine intervention or quick-witted thinking. However, she also knew the other side to Amber; the side that was slowly rearing its head in the wake of a new world, and it was independent, confident, and slowly accepting the hell in which they resided. Shelly had seen this person come out slowly and, glancing at Brian who now looked up at the blacks clouds of smoke, knew that Amber could more than protect herself and anyone around her if it came to it. That was one development in Amber that Shelly did not want to cross. She sparred on a regular basis, either with Brian or the children, and she had become quick and lethal. Shelly shuddered at the thought. Her friend was already agile and quick before the outbreak thanks to classes that were well….necessary; the outbreak only added to her skill.

  “She’s ok.” Shelly whispered tenderly against Brian’s ear, twisting his dark blonde hair between her slender fingers. “She can take care of herself.” She reassured him even further, and she felt his shift once more, raising his head to meet her gaze head on. She couldn’t help but smile. The laughter from those on the ground carried up the stairs, and she saw Brian smile back at her, desire and playfulness eager in his eyes. She loved delving into who he was and bringing about his best. He pressed his forehead against hers.

  “Have I told you yet today how absolutely beautiful you are?” he asked her and she scoffed at him. He couldn’t be serious. “Oh, but I am.” He told her quickly, reading her mind. She couldn’t help but laugh at his antics as his hand began sliding around her torso, securing her to him once more. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to take him away from there and hide, making love to one another, satisfying nothing but their most primal need, feasting on each other until they absolutely had no other choice but to remove themselves from sanctuary and throw themselves into the real world. Brian leaned forward, nuzzling his nose against her ear and she shivered involuntarily. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment and the intimacy offered by him. She inhaled the cool night breeze, and for just a moment, she forgot about the smoke in the sky; she forgot about the Biters; she forgot about her possible pregnancy….it all drifted away.

  But, the selfish bitch that is reality had to puncture her fantasy world and she growled under her breath. The front door clicked shut and she looked up to see Jackson standing and staring up at the sky. The older man shoved his hands into his pockets and rolled his shoulders. Shelly snuggled in closer to Brian. If she were honest, she told herself, she would have to admit to herself that Jackson was definitely where Brian got his smoldering good looks from. Bobby-Jean’s features were more natural, kind, and inviting. Jackson however…well, if his personality wasn’t so open and compassionate, you would probably never think that he was. They both carried themselves with confidence and strength, exuded stubbornness, but once in their presence, they are open-minded, friendly, and just genuine big kids; although, Jackson has eased out of the big kid stage and moved toward wise. Shelly could only hope that Brian did the same when the time came.

  “Anything yet?” he asked, and if Shelly wasn’t already in the physical world, she certainly was then. Did everyone have to ask that question? His voice alerted everyone else of his presence and they all turned to him in the pale light, Bobby-Jean standing and climbing the stairs to appear at his side. Shelly exhaled on a mumble, realizing that no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn’t be able to avoid the present.

  “No, sir.” She replied to Jackson, who offered her a warm smile in return. It didn’t reach his eyes, but she understood why. She easily stood from Brian’s lap, and Amber stood as well. Everyone subconsciously eased themselves into a circle on the porch. Amber kicked at the dirt, crossing her arms.

  “What are we going to do if they aren’t a threat to us? Have we prepared for that possible outcome?” she asked the question that was hanging on everyone’s minds. And again, if she were honest, Shelly had to admit the thought had indeed crossed her mind multiple times, she just kept shoving it away, too scared to dwell on it. Shelly glanced around at the lack of light, around them, all candles and flashlights gone from view so as not to risk being seen and bit her tongue. She wanted to protest that they weren’t completely sure anyone would be coming their direction, or if there was in fact, anyone at all, but saw it to be pointless. Everyone had their handheld weapons and pistols on their bodies, and George had a shotgun strapped across his chest while Brian had his 30.06 rested against the column beside his rocking chair. No one answered her readily and she shifted once again, her eyes pleading with everyone around her. “Can we provide shelter for them? I mean what do we do?”

  Brian looked around at everyone and Shelly shifted uncomfortably. “I guess we can just figure that out if things get that far. We have room for them if that is the case.” He then glanced at Shelly curiously. Oh, now he wanted to pay attention to her. “What are you thinking?” he asked her, and she knew she would have to come up with a plausible answer. She began to wonder why she was beginning to become so selfish and bitter. The prospect of that change in herself bothered her immensely, and for the first time since adolescence she began to question who she was.

  “Everyone is just so calm about this possible threat…” she trailed off and she heard everyone chuckle. It was a lie and it tasted bitter on rolling off of her lips. Brian eyed her with an odd expression on his face, and she knew that he could tell she had lied. The truth was the entire day had gone by and there had been no sign of anyone. It was dark and dangerous and they had no idea who they were. If she were completely honest with herself, she would admit that she wanted everyone to just sit quietly and ignore the people, should these people ever come. Ignore the screams, the terrified yells, and the Biter’s snarls as they feasted on human flesh or, should they be hostile ignore their presence and pretend they simply aren’t there until they go away. Shelly was good either way, and that horrified her.

  “I am terrified.” Amber said, hooking her thumbs into her belt loops, responding to Shelly’s statement. Shelly jerked her head to her friend, surprised at her response whenever George spoke up as well.

  George grinned. “Same here.”

  “I’m pretty shook up about it.” Was Miles’s response.

  Brian placed all of his weight on his right foot. “We all are babe.” He told her, and she stared at him awestruck. That was the second time he had tapped into all that she was and read her mind. He shifted off of his right foot and looked at the dimly lit landscape around them, and Shelly could feel the pressure radiating from him. “Which is why we have to be prepared either way.” He spoke vaguely to everyone, but his voice was now distant, as if he were listening for…something…or possibly even convincing himself. “We know what it feels like to be helpless, weak, and scared. We may not be sure exactly what to do, and if they are a threat we should protect what is ours, but should they be good people, we can’t just stand here and let something hap…”

  A sudden chill snaked its way up Shelly’s spine as the cool wind shifted, blowing her hair wildly about her face. Everyone had quieted then, an ominous foreboding settling over everyone. And then it was there, in just a split second, the bone-chilling cries begging for mercy carrying through the trees.

  Everyone jumped into action but Shelly; she couldn’t move. She stared at the silhouetted wood line across the road in disbelief. Those cries…they were a child’s…She felt someone shaking her, and she turned to see Amber gripping her arm, dragging her towards the building in the back. She was stumbling over the grass and rocks, her body moving for her without her mind having to tell it to. She was on autopilot and needed to drag herself out of it. Forcing herself to snap back to reality, she glanced back to see Bobby-Jean and Jackson hurriedly closing the door. She knew that it was locked and they were making their way
up the stairs to watch through a window while keeping an eye on the children. The hustling movements of the guys checking that their weapons were loaded and strapped on securely caught Shelly’s ears, and she saw that Amber had let her go and was ensuring that her pistol was in the waistband of her jeans. Amber turned, catching her eye, and Shelly saw the fierce determination that was becoming of her friend. Wait, her lips moved…she was talking to Shelly and Shelly hadn’t heard her over the roaring of blood in her ears. All she could think was her earlier thoughts and how she was utterly repulsed by them. She hated herself in that moment. How could she wish to ignore that? She began to feel sick. A child…an innocent, helpless baby begging to be saved and no one was there to save it; Shelly knew it, she could feel it in her gut. Amber was now shaking her slightly.

  “Shelly?” she asked, her voice hollow and distant, and Shelly almost couldn’t hear her. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, and her lungs felt as if they were going to explode.

  ‘What?” she asked Amber, her tongue heavy. She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat as more screams rent the air. It was the cold slap of certainty that she needed, and when she looked around her once more, the three guys were at the back gate, Brian trying quickly to unlock it.

  “Can you handle this?” Amber asked, strapping her 30-30 across her chest. When had she grabbed that?

  “Handle what?” she asked confused. Amber studied her for a brief moment before placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

  “Go in the house and help Mom and Dad with the kids. You are off your game and we can’t risk you.” When she said this, Shelly watched as her eyes glanced briefly down at her still flat abdomen before bringing her eyes back to Shelly’s. Shelly swallowed thickly, forcing all emotion back before quickly grabbing a 20 gauge rifle from the building and checking its chamber. It was loaded.

  “No, I’m fine. Let’s go.” She said as the guys wound their way around the property along the fence line. She wished that she could just admit defeat and venture away from the danger instead of facing it head on as they were, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t who she was; then again, she wasn’t sure who that person was anymore. All she knew was that her hands shook and her feet were heavy, her mind was sluggish and all she could do was follow her friend through the darkness. Amber nodded without further question and ran to the gate, Shelly right behind her and then wound around the fence line the opposite way. Jackson ran from the back door to the gate, locking it back quickly, watching as his own children ran to protect their family, and possibly someone else’s.

  And this was where the others had an advantage on her. Though she had gone out with Brian and Amber on their little trysts at times, Brian never allowed her to be put in any danger. The others had dealt with the danger of impending doom for months, ever since the outbreak began. She, however, had been kept safe, like some fragile doll…which, she reasoned, she was in a sense. Now, she had to follow her family and hope that she had good aim and could make it out alive.

  Shelly shifted the 20 gauge on her shoulder, her other hand gripping the knife on her hip. Her adrenaline pumping in her veins as they ran through the trees to the front of the property. She watched the silhouette of Amber driving her handheld ax through a Biter’s skull, the dead corpse sliding down the fence, leaving bits of flesh clinging to the fence as it fell limply to the ground. Amber turned to ensure that Shelly was following her and they rounded the corner of the fence. They never stopped, continuing on, and Shelly watched as the three silhouettes of the men separated into the blanket of the night. Amber held her hand out for Shelly, who now stood against the fence, in the shadow of the tree overhead. Her mouth was dry and she desperately tried to ease it, but her tongue was still heavy and she hated it. If she were honest with herself, she thought, she would admit that she were scared out of her mind. She faintly saw Amber lower her hand, motioning for her to kneel down and wait. She felt in her pocket for a flashlight as Amber disappeared somewhere in the wood line to the right. It bulged through the denim of her pocket and she eased against the fence, releasing a shaky breath.

  And they waited.

  The silence drew on, no more screams, no sounds at all. Shelly began to calm down, but then again, she was reminded of the calm before the storm. It was too quiet really, and she wasn’t sure what to think, what to do. The deafening silence began to mess with her mind and her bottom lip trembled in anticipation. Something needed to happen, as Shelly was sitting on pins and needles, and her anxiousness was beginning to hurt, her chest heaving from every shaky breath. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, willing herself to calm down, telling herself that she had to be brave; that she was not going to be this scared, shell of the woman she used to be.

  “Run!” the sudden and shrill cry of a woman pierced her ears and her eyes shot open. Her entire body went rigid as she searched frantically in the dark for where the yell had come from. The scraping, hollow sounds of footsteps running carried through the wood line and padded across the asphalt. Panicked breaths and shallow cries sounded out, and Shelly saw them, watched them. There were maybe ten; men, women, and older children alike, but no really young ones and Shelly felt sick. The child she had heard really was gone. She swallowed, standing in the dark, listening as the children cried. Her heart ached, and she wanted to reach out to them but she couldn’t, at least not yet. They had to ensure that they were relatively safe and wouldn’t harm any of their people…that was the plan. That was the plan. That was the plan. That was the plan…she continued repeating to herself, her lips moving in tandem with the thoughts that repeated through her mind.

  “No!” a man cried out as they all hit the chain link fence, fingers gripping and pulling at the cold metal, but to no avail. The fence shook vigorously beside her, and she fought the urge to make her presence known. The women began crying, holding the children close to them. “Get the kids and run, we will be a distraction.” One man told the women firmly, and the children began crying harder. A sudden roar through the woods caused everyone to freeze in place, staring with unadulterated fear into the woods. What in the hell made that sound? What were they running from? Shelly asked herself, still finding herself unable to move. Where was Brian? Her overwhelmed mind began asking, and she felt her hands tremble from the weight of the situation.

  “No. I am not going to die here! We have come too far! I am going over!” one woman declared forcefully as she began climbing the fence. This caught Shelly’s attention, and she watched in horror as the woman struggled until she reached the top, where she grabbed the razor wire with no shame. Shelly winced, imagining the sound of the razor wire slicing her palm wide open. Her ignorance cost her, and she shrieked falling to the ground. No sooner had her back slapped against the hard clay, did a Biter sink his teeth into her flesh. She screamed and everyone began scurrying, panicking. “No!” the woman screamed, struggling. Shelly couldn’t take it anymore and ran to the group that was falling to pieces. Brian, Miles, George, and Amber seemed to have the same idea, racing to their aid. Shelly heard the woman gurgling between hysterical cries, and watched vaguely as George took care of the Biter that hovered over her, eating away at her neck, and Brian ran to the gate, fishing out his keys and attempting to unlock the gate when another roar resounded through the air, ripping it apart. Shelly handed her flashlight to George, who rushed away from her and towards Brian. She felt helpless as she stood, being bumped into and bombarded by these strangers trying to make sense of what was going on.

  “Everyone! Please calm down! We can help you!” Amber called out to them, raising her hands in the air. Shelly barely saw her in the moonlight, but it didn’t stop others from noticing her. This seemed to calm most everyone, their eyes searching the darkness for whoever had spoken, their sight skimming over every blank space before them. But, everyone hadn’t heard that they were safe, that they had help. George was now helping Brian struggle to find the right key in the black hole that is night, while Miles was attempting to help Amber, reaching out to co
nsole a hysterical woman who couldn’t stop crying. He touched her shoulder and she panicked, screaming that he was a Biter, and surged forward with her hand. Shelly watched in shock as he cursed in pain, stumbling back, the left side of his face turning black with blood. She gasped and began reaching for him as Amber darted across her vison and grabbed the woman by her hair, making her yelp in surprise. She forced the woman to turn around, eye to eye with her. “Touch another one of my crew and I will personally make you pay for it.” Amber growled before letting her go. The woman staggered, regaining her balance and stared after Amber; calm then, but in shock. She nodded at Shelly, who was still searching for Miles, but it was fruitless. He had disappeared into the night. A nervous feeling settled into the pit of her stomach and she prayed that he was alright.

  “Where did he go?” Amber asked, worry evident in her voice. Shelly shrugged, tears pricking at the backs of her eyes. “Miles?” she called over the hurried and panicked shrieks and begs for mercy around them. Shelly could feel Amber’s anticipation until Miles answered her from somewhere along the fence.

  “I’m fine! Get everyone else in!” he demanded of her and she quickly turned from Shelly, releasing her hold on Shelly’s arm and disappearing into the crowd of people in the moonlight. Shelly inhaled a big gulp of air, an attempt at calming herself down as Amber tried consoling the rest of the crazed group. Everything was happening so quickly, yet slowly; seconds seeming like minutes, or even hours and Shelly…it didn’t seem as if she could keep up. She had no idea what to do to help in the situation, at least not until she saw a girl. She guessed the girl was about Cassie’s age and all alone amongst the mass of people shoving and screaming around her. Instinct kicked in finally, and she surged forward to help the child up from the ground when she heard a savage yell and an excruciating pain ran up the length of her arm, her shoulder suddenly on fire. She shrieked, and fell, her hand reflexively coming to gently grip her shoulder. The pain raced to her head, and her vision became dizzy. George caught her before she hit the ground and he steadied her before grabbing the other man by his shirt collar and shoving him against the fence. Tears sprang to her eyes and she began hurrying away from the people and towards the gate where she last saw Brian. The man was terrified, dropping his baseball bat at his feet. George swung back and drove his fist into the man’s jaw, his head snapping to the right and whenever George released him, he fell limply to the ground with a solid thud. He was conscious, but Shelly knew he had to be in pain.