Endgame (Book 1)

by W. A. R.

  Amber finally gained her footing, her hand reaching for the knife holster on her thigh. She swerved in her running, stumbling against the dizziness she was feeling while George emptied the barrel of the bolt action rifle and inserted a new one in one movement. She fell again, searching for air that she couldn’t find. The other two men continued to take out Biters from closing in on them and George couldn’t have been anymore grateful for them than he was then. He raised the gun to his shoulder as Amber regained her shoddy footing and charged at the pair, intending to take out the Biter before any more damage could be done. The shadows crept in and out of his focus, and as soon as he thought he had a clear shot, pulled the trigger. He missed, although he heard the hollow sound of bullet hitting flesh. “Fuck.” He muttered to himself, emptying out the barrel once again. Amber was almost there, and the Biter seemed unfazed by all of the action surrounding him. George understood that the Biter was torturing Miles; knew that if the Biter wanted to, he could snap his neck like a twig, as he had done the other man’s back. They were strong, and the sight of the Biter toying with Miles made him sick. Before he could aim the rifle again, however, Amber stumbled onto the Biter’s back, driving her knife down into his skull before he even knew she was there. For a moment all movement ceased, among them, with the exception of the other two men who continued slaying Biters. It was almost as if the past three minutes hadn’t happened, but George knew otherwise. He felt his entire body shake from relief before rushing to Brian’s now unconscious body. With effort, Amber rolled off of the massive Biter and shoved with all of her strength the creature’s heavy body off of Miles, who rolled to his side, gasping for air once the creature’s weight was off of him. Amber scrambled forward on her hands and knees towards Miles while searching the area for any more of them. All she saw was a few regular, slow moving Biters heading their way from overhearing the commotion and two men rushing to their aid from the wood line. She felt sick.

  “Brian? George?” she called, her eyes searching the darkness for them. Tears filled her eyes as she waited for a response. The Biters’ growl grew closer. George pressed his fingers against the warm skin of Brian’s neck, feeling for a pulse. He sighed in relief at the steady thrumming of his heartbeat. He spread his fingers across his chest, pressing down, searching for any signs of broken bones or bloating from internal bleeding. There were none that he immediately saw. One of the two men knelt down beside him as George began adjusting Brian’s arm to be lifted. The other man did the same on the opposite side.

  “He’s fine! We are fine! Let’s go!” he called to Amber, who stood then, beginning to help Miles to his feet as George stood and grunted, attempting to pull Brian’s limp body up with the aid of a stranger. Amber pulled Miles’s arm around her shoulders, one arm securely around his waist, and helped him walk over to Brian and George, who now stood struggling to hold Brian up with the support of another man. He could see the vertigo in her eyes and she stumbled, bringing Miles down with her until the other of the two men caught her side, righting them and assisting them through the gate. They grunted with the force it took of assisting both unconscious and semiconscious people, but they quickly began moving, meeting a hysterical Cassie at the entrance of the gate. George looked at her in surprise.

  “What is going on?” she asked Amber in worry. George opened his mouth to reprimand her before Amber took action.

  “Lock the gate and get back to the house NOW!” she ordered thickly, her head dropping, and they continued on toward the house as Cassie did what she was ordered to do. They began breathing heavily; sweat dripping from their hair as they trudged toward the house. Brian’s feet drug the ground behind them, making their advancement only harder. The sound of running footsteps sounded behind them and George immediately knew it was Cassie. She passed them and wound her way through the maze of what few people there were that stood before them, making her way towards the porch. As they neared the porch, the people that stood before them from the group they helped spread apart, watching in awe as they struggled up the steps. Shelly stood, her hand covering her mouth as tears ran down her face.

  “Brian…?” she cried on a soft whisper before Bobby-Jean hurriedly opened the door to the house, where Jackson waited for them with a flashlight, directing them to the kitchen. Once there, Amber released Miles who collapsed into a chair and she pulled clumsily away from the man that had helped her, searching for George. Her eyes found him and she trudged forward, taking the place of the man that had assisted George. He stepped to the side before George and Amber eased Brian onto the kitchen table, sliding him across the length of it and laying him out. Amber immediately let go and turned towards the two men who had taken refuge against one of the counters.

  “Do you have a doctor or a nurse in your group?” she gasped, placing a hand on the table to steady herself. They glanced at one another before one of the two answered.

  “We aren’t sure.” He said and quickly she turned, storming towards the front porch. She stood angrily, staring at the crowd of people before her, George and the two men behind, his fists clenched at his sides. The two men stepped past her and down the steps to the ground below with the rest of their people.

  “Was anyone here a nurse or a doctor before the outbreak?” she asked, and George immediately pulled his flashlight from his pocket, clicking it on and shining it amongst the group. A younger woman stepped forwards cautiously, her hazel eyes full of fear. She had blood on her clothes, on her face, and her hair was in complete disarray, but she lifted her chin in determination.

  “I was a LPN.” She offered as everyone stared at her. Amber nodded, stepping forward and grabbing her elbow, wheezing slightly from her experience. She jerked the woman forward unexpectedly, causing her to stumble up the stairs.

  “What is your name?”

  “Katie.” The frightened woman replied. Amber nodded before letting go of her elbow, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, wobbling slightly. George stepped forward but Bobby-Jean stopped him. He stared at her crossly for a moment before he understood. If he attempted to help her, then it would show weakness, and they couldn’t quite afford that.

  “I’m Amber and I need your help.” She told her plainly, forcefully. She left no room for disagreement and the woman caught this.

  Katie nodded openly. “Show me what you need. I will be more than happy to help.” She replied before glancing at Shelly. Amber followed her gaze and eyed Shelly hard before speaking. George lifted his light to her, grimacing at the swelling of Shelly’s arm.

  “Have you been hurt?” Amber asked her hurriedly, and Shelly lowered her head as if in shame, nodding. Tears flowed across her cheeks and Amber motioned for her to go into the house with Brian and Miles, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before letting her go, Cassie running in with her. Amber turned back to the woman. “You will only be doing what is necessary. Whatever I am capable of doing, I will handle myself, or one of my people will. Understood?” she asked Katie, who nodded vigorously, completely understanding of the situation. She then turned to the rest of the group where the other two men had gone, her eyes searching the darkness for them.

  “Are any of you hurt or injured?” she asked them all. There were murmurings of decline and she sighed. With that, she turned and, sparing George a weary glance, Amber ushered Katie in as Jackson stepped outside, standing beside George. George handed his flashlight to Amber, who stared hard between him, Jackson, and Bobby-Jean.

  “I need you three to stand guard. Whatever you hear, do not come in. I need you to watch the rest of them.” she told them roughly and they nodded, immediately readying their weapons. The other group stood dumbstruck and silent, staring at them as they spread out among the porch, precariously placing themselves and aiming their weapons. Amber nodded, and urged Katie forward, who stumbled over the threshold. Amber shined her flashlight ahead of her, stepping around Katie and grabbing her elbow once again, dragging her to the kitchen. The flashlight reflected against the white of She
lly’s shirt as she rushed around the room, lighting whatever candles she could.

  Katie immediately stood next to Brian, checking for a pulse. “What happened here?” she asked Amber, who rushed to the other side of him. She sighed, wheezing slightly.

  She cleared her throat, but her voice was still rough and thick. “He was hit in the chest. I need you to make sure he doesn’t have any broken bones or internal bleeding or a concussion….just check him out please.” She said, and Katie swiftly began to work. After watching her for a moment to ensure that the woman knew what she was doing, she decided to tend to the others. Amber turned to Shelly, who leaned against the kitchen counter, silent, watching as the strange woman pressed her fingers against Brian’s chest and ribcage. Brian moaned slightly at one point, but the woman kept searching.

  “Where are you injured?” Amber asked Shelly, catching her attention. Shelly shook her head, nodding towards Miles’s still figure.

  “Worry about him. I can wait. He is in worse shape.” She replied, and Miles slowly turned his half-lidded gaze towards the two. Shelly felt her skin crawl at the sight of him. His head and entire face was bloodied, his jaw and nose swollen and dark in the candlelight. Dark bruises were beginning to appear around his neck, and Shelly was even more anxious to know what in the hell had happened outside the fence. She once again eyed the woman across the table warily. Then she saw Brian tilt his head slightly; the woman was checking the swollen knot on the back of his head. And for the second time that night, she was grateful for the woman and her people’s presence.

  “I don’t want to be touched right now.” He demanded, his words jumbled because of the swell of his jaw, before lowering his head into his hands once more. Both women stared hard at him before Amber nodded understandingly, turning back to Shelly.

  “You heard the man. Now fess up.” She demanded, and Shelly caved, sighing.

  “My arm; I was hit with a bat.” She told Amber, and she noticed the woman hesitate in her movements for only a split-second. Amber cleared her throat once again.

  “Let’s have a look.” She said, taking the flashlight and placing the end of it between her teeth, clamping down on it. She reached for the arm Shelly offered, slowly raising the short sleeve. Shelly gasped, wincing with the motions. Amber applied a little pressure to her shoulder, making Shelly cry out slightly. Having a hunch, she decided to try something else. Very slowly, Amber began raising her arm, and Shelly cried out louder. Lowering her arm, Amber reached down and began unbuckling her thigh holster, the knife that belonged there still in the head of the Biter that lay dead outside the fence. “It’s dislocated at the very least, and possibly a fracture on your shoulder. It doesn’t seem too serious, but needs to be fixed immediately. I’m sorry, but there is no easy way to do this honey. It is going to hurt like hell.” Shelly’s eyes widened, tears brimming along her eyelashes as Amber turned her attention to the woman, who now had her ear to his chest. She rose up to her full height, stepped towards Brian’s head.

  She tossed an apprehensive glance at Amber. “May I see your flashlight?” she asked and Amber immediately stepped over to her, handing her the flashlight over Brian’s chest. She raised his eyelids, flashing the light in his eyes a time or two. Everything was silent as the woman finished her examination of Brian. After a moment, she handed Amber the flashlight. She set it on the counter next to her holster.

  “He’s fine. His sternum may be bruised, and when he hit his head he just blacked out. He is just unconscious, and his pupils are responding. He just needs rest, and to be checked on every few hours, just in case. He will wake up with a horrible headache, but he should be fine.” She told Amber. Amber looked across the kitchen where Cassie stood in the dark, watching the events unfolding around her. Tears stained her cheeks from the sight, and Shelly realized she had forgotten she was there. It had just completely slipped her mind, and she felt a pang of guilt at the realization.

  “Cassie, help me get Uncle Brian to his bed. Shelly, wait here for me.” She ordered, her words almost undecipherable and Cassie was instantly by her side, shoving Katie away from him. The woman stumbled back into the counter, watching as the young woman and her mother assisted one another without words. Together, they eased him from the table and pulled him up, Amber shouldering most of his weight, and they began for the stairs. A low growl was heard from upstairs, where Zeus rested in the kid’s room. “Easy boy; it’s just us.” Amber replied breathlessly as they began up the long flight of stairs. The sound of Brian’s feet dragging and banging up the stairs resounding throughout the house.

  Everything in the kitchen was silent aside from their footsteps and Miles’s wheezing. Shelly felt the tension in the room grow in Amber’s absence. Katie must have felt it too, as she shifted and took a step towards the opposite counter, reaching for the somewhat dirty rag that rested on the granite countertop. Miles swiftly stood, the chair sliding back against the tile loudly. Katie and Shelly both jumped at the sudden sound, Katie jerking her trembling hands back against her chest as if she had been burned. He glowered at her from across the room, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

  “Where do you think you are going?” he bit out angrily, and Katie looked at Shelly helplessly. Shelly simply stared at the woman, wondering as well what she was doing. She turned back to Miles.

  “I was just…I have blood on my hands from…from the man and…and I just assumed I could…” she stammered before he took a step towards her. She visibly shook under his dark stare. Shelly wanted to intervene but had no idea what to say, or who she really sided with.

  “Your people brought this on us. I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you.” He told her sternly and she timidly stepped back against the counter she was against previously. Shelly wanted to feel sorry for the woman, she really did, but the simple fact of the matter was that she couldn’t bring herself to do it. On some level, Miles was right, and Brian lay unconscious because of their mindless actions. But then again, Brian, Amber, and Miles were all alive because of them. She again questioned what happened outside the fence.

  “I…I wasn’t….we didn’t mean…” she began, stuttering in her anxiousness but she was interrupted by Jackson who stepped hurriedly into the kitchen. Miles turned to face him, and saw him grimace in reaction to Miles’s appearance. Shelly leaned to the right, looking around Miles to Jackson as Amber eased down the top of the stairs, heading their way.

  “Biters are comin’ in. We need to check the fences. I came in to see if you were up to helping me but…” Jackson began before Miles quickly turned and brushed past him.

  “Gladly.” He bit out before catching Amber’s concerned stare. He shook his head at her, continuing his trek out the door. Jackson sighed and turned away, following after him. Amber stood still and watched as the door shut behind them before heading again towards the kitchen.

  “I made Cassie stay upstairs. Shelly, I need you to lie on your stomach on the table with you bad arm closest to the edge. Katie get on the other side of her.” Amber quickly said, jumping to action and changing the subject. Shelly numbly made her way towards the end of the table closest her, swallowing the fear of excruciating pain that threatened to overwhelm her. Katie touched her good arm gently, giving her some sense of balance as she crawled across the table. She slowly eased onto her stomach and Amber rounded the table in front of her, kneeling down to eye level. Her eyes expressed an empathy that scared Shelly. She held up her leather holster. “It is going to hurt like hell, so I will need you to bite this. Are you ready?”