“Got it ok?” he called from below.
“Ya, it’s just stuck. Hang on.”
I wiggled the window frame, finally freeing it. Once it was open wide enough, I pulled myself up and toppled into the room beyond. My landing was a bit rough, as the floor on the inside was farther down than I had anticipated.
“Coming up,” Gus called.
I stood, rubbing an ache that the fall had caused. The room in which I stood was dark, but the emerging daylight outlines basics. A chair, a bed, a dresser, a TV, and a crib. I turned toward the window when I heard Gus climbing through.
“It doesn’t look like a candle shop to me,” I whispered as Gus shut the window.
He turned and looked around. “Ayup. But let’s not question it.”
“I’ll look through the dresser,” I offered.
“We need to warm up first,” said Gus as he walked to the closed door on the other side of the room. “The door has a lock, but let’s move the dresser over to block it.”
I joined him beside the dresser and together we lifted it. It wasn’t far to the door, thankfully, as the dresser was heavy. I knew that Gus would have moved it without my help, but with us both working we were able to move it quietly.
We walked to the double-sized bed together and climbed under the down comforter. I wished we had more blankets, but was grateful for what was there. Our cold bodies eventually began to warm.
“Gus?” I whispered after a long moment of silence.
“Ya?”
“What happened back there? In the pond?”
“My damn foot got stuck.”
“Well, I know that. But it felt like you were…gone. I couldn’t feel you anymore, you know, inside myself, and your hand went slack.”
“Honestly, Zoe? I think my body was in shock. I held my breath as long as I could, but eventually breathed in water.”
“Did you die?”
He laughed.
“It’s not funny, Gus!” I said harshly.
“Shhhh. I know, sorry.” He kissed me on the forehead, still chuckling. “I don’t think I died, babe. I think I inhaled water and it shocked my body. Kinda like I passed out. I’m really not sure how I came to and got the water out of my lungs.”
I scooted closer to him, craving his body heat. “You stink.”
“Thanks.”
I rested my head near his shoulder and allowed him to wrap his arms and a leg around me. We lay like that for an undetermined amount of time. Eventually my chills began to calm. My feet began to ache from what I knew had to be wounds from fleeing the dead in bare feet.
“We should go soon,” I said. “We need to get back.”
“Ayup. I’ll look for clothes.”
Gus kissed me tenderly on the cheek before rolling out of bed. I was suddenly overcome by a feeling of dread. I tucked the blankets under my chin and watched as Gus searched the drawers of the dresser. Daylight was now streaming in through the window, making it much easier to see. I frowned to myself when I noticed that Gus was covered in fresh bruises. By the way my body was feeling I probably was as well.
***
Gus had found a pair of nylon shorts in a lovely shade of vomit-green for himself as well as a baggy yellow t-shirt. He topped the outfit off with a couple of pairs of men’s tube socks. There hadn’t been any other clothes aside from an old nightgown that was once white. It was dingy now, more of a gray-yellow. It had two-inch straps and a low cut neck and the hem fell to my ankles. I copied him with two pair of socks. We surely looked silly, but it was a step above being fully nude.
We opted to not move the dresser to explore the rest of the building. The crib in the room was starting to wear on me, bringing back memories of Molly that would best be left for another day. Gus seemed aware of my inner turmoil and suggested we leave and search for a vehicle. I had a nagging feeling that we needed to be back at the motel.
Gus climbed out the window first so that he could help me to the ground. I hoisted myself onto the window ledge and sat on my butt. The street we were on seemed to lead nowhere. The sun was shining and it was unusually calm with no breeze. The air smelled fresh. I wasn’t accustomed to that anymore. I inhaled deeply, savoring the smell, before climbing down into Gus’ arms.
“You’re still so cold, Gus,” I said.
“I’ll be fine, darlin’.” He took my hand in his and we began walking back the way we had come. “We’ll head back to the neighborhood. Take our chances on the car we left.”
“’Kay. There’s sure nothing around here. It’s like everyone just disappeared.”
“Ya, I noticed. It’s different than other towns we’ve come across. No cars sitting around. No signs of the people that were here.”
We continued walking, hand-in-hand.
“Zoe! Gus!”
We both turned at the sound of a vaguely familiar voice calling our names.
I put my hand up to shield my eyes from the rising sun. In the distance I saw two figures running toward us. Gus immediately took a protective stance beside me.
“Zoe!” called the female voice again, followed by joyous laughter. “Zoe!”
“Oh God, Gus, it’s Agnes!” I choked out as I began running toward the other woman. “Agnes!”
The other figure walked toward us, limping. As Agnes and I met in the middle of the road, we embraced tightly.
“I thought we’d never see you again,” I said.
I hadn’t gotten a chance to know either of them well, but was beyond thrilled to see them again.
“Hey Zoe. Gus,” said Linus as he caught up. “Good to see you, man,” he said with a smile as he clutched Gus’ hand in a manly exchange.
“Likewise, brother. Where’d you two come from?” asked Gus.
Agnes’ face lit up. “Once we left the group we ran into a pretty messed up situation,” she said. Her face fell under a shadow of sorrow as she recounted events. “We almost stumbled over a small horde. It was dumb luck that they didn’t see or hear us. Linus twisted his ankle pretty bad pulling me back from their view. We hid in a pile of concrete rubble for hours until the dead moved on. Oh Zoe, it was so horrible. They had humans with them and we could hear their agony the whole time. There was nothing we could do to help them.”
The girl began crying, and I simply wrapped my arms around her. I knew all too well how horrible the feeling of not being able to save others was.
“I finally talked some sense into Agnes,” explained Linus. “Talked her into coming back to find the rest of you.”
“How the hell did you find us?” asked Gus.
“The others told us their general plan,” said Agnes through a sniffle. “We’ve been trying to get this far for days.”
“Let’s get moving,” said Gus. “I don’t like being out in the open for this long. We’re trying to find a rig to haul the others.”
“Where are they?” asked Linus as we all began walking down the road as a group.
“We lost Bobby, the girl Zoe and I picked up. You hadn’t met her. Nathan and Boggs are at the motel with Abbey and Susan. Zoe and I came looking for a big rig to drive out of this place. There’s some bad shit here. New kinds of dead. And Susan’s hurt bad.”
“How far is the motel?” asked Agnes.
“Just a few miles. We have a small run down car we had to leave back at a neighborhood. We’re making our way back there now.”
“How’d you get here?” asked Linus.
“We were chased,” I explained. “By the dead.”
“Linus, are you ok to walk?” asked Gus. “We can come back for you if you want.”
“No, I’ll be ok.”
“What happened to Susan?” asked Agnes. “Is she ok?”
“She got banged up really bad by a Runner. To be honest we’re just hoping she pulls through,” sighed Gus.
“Where are you all headed next?” she asked him.
“Not too sure yet. I assume you came over the washed out bridge?”
“No. We came t
o a huge wreck. We walked over it.”
“That was before I twisted my ankle,” added Linus. Something about his words sounded scripted.
“We had to backtrack at that wreck,” I added. The only other road over here ended at a washed-out bridge. We had to cross on foot.”
Gus took over the conversation. “I imagine we’ll go back to the bridge and cross on foot again. There’s a Ford Excursion on the other side. It may come in handy.”
As we reached the pond we had crossed during the night, I took note that birds had stopped singing and the area was eerily quiet. Gus grabbed my hand and pulled me off of the roadway and into the surrounding marshy area. My feet were burning from wounds and the socks I wore offered little comfort. Linus and Agnes followed us, unquestioning as to why we were headed into mud and twigs and underbrush. I could sense something from Gus, but wasn’t quite sure what. We looked at each other at the same time, our eyes both full of unanswered questions.
I looked back to our companions, who were also holding hands now. Linus was limping and I was pretty certain he was trying to mask intense pain. He looked tired. Agnes didn’t look much better.
We reached the edge of the swamp, where we found our shed clothing. Gus and I silently picked up our own items before turning to the other two.
“We’ll explain later,” whispered Gus. “We came through the water last night. I suggest we find a way around for now.”
“No,” muttered Agnes. “Something’s wrong here. I don’t want to be here. Linus…” she begged her brother. For what, I wasn’t sure. Her tone was alarming enough to make the hairs on my arms stand on end. I had learned to listen to my own instincts, as well as those of others.
“I feel it too,” whispered Gus. I was already aware of that fact as his feelings wrapped themselves around my own on a level I seriously doubted two other humans had ever felt.
I wanted desperately to reach for Gus’ hand, but knew that it made more sense for us to take a stance where we could each watch a different direction. Something was coming
“There’s no sounds,” whispered Agnes as quietly as she could. “No birds. No squirrels. Nothing.”
We were weaponless, nearly clothes-less, and I sensed imminent danger. I desperately looked around for anything that might suffice as a weapon. The best I came up with was a fallen branch from a nearby holly tree. Gus followed suit. I nodded to Agnes and Linus, encouraging them to do the same. Agnes wore a look of pain on her face. Before I understood what was happening, Linus began making a guttural moan from deep in his chest.
“Linus, let go,” pleaded Agnes in a strained and panicked voice.
I studied Linus’ face. He was pale and looked off in indescribable ways. I tightened my grip on the branch I held as a familiar buzz began in my brain. A ripple traveled through the man’s body as he cracked his neck to one side. His free hand shuddered. In the silence of the area, I could hear the bones of Agnes’ hand creak.
“Fuck,” I moaned. “He’s turning.”
Agnes had dropped to her knees, her arm now twisted unnaturally. Tears streamed down her face and her eyes were clenched shut. The color had drained from her face.
I boldly ran toward the man-turning-living-dead and brought my branch up toward his face. I knew I only had a brief window of opportunity where he hung in balance on the fine line between his life as one of us and his life as a walking dead man. I jammed the sharp end of the stick into his face. I had figured it would pierce him easily, but instead it bounced off of the bony structures beneath his skin. His glasses were knocked off, falling to the ground. Gus was already beside me, and kicked Linus until he fell to the ground. The turning man still clutched his sister’s hand, and the movement caused her to shriek in agony. Gus rushed forward and stepped on the man’s chest. He held a large stone in his hands and brought it down on Linus’ head. Fresh crimson poured from the resulting wound. The man sputtered as blood flowed from his mouth and nose. Gus repeated the blow two more times until scalp, skull, and brain matter were mixed in a fashion where nothing left was recognizable.
I walked to where Agnes’ hand was still held in a death grip and pried it from her brother’s. She whimpered pathetically from the pain of both her injury and the loss of her twin. Eventually, she vomited violently next to the remains of his head.
CHAPTER 10
Standing over Linus’ fallen body, Gus tried to slow his breathing.
“Fuck!” he shouted. “What the fuck!”
He looked like he wanted to kick the body, but had no shoes on with which to do it. I looked at the girl who was still on the ground, now crouched near her brother’s feet. She was sobbing and looked scared.
“Agnes, what happened?” I asked, still shocked. “What happened? It was more than a sprained ankle, wasn’t it?”
Gus was already pulling the shoe off of Linus’ injured foot. Agnes was unable to speak, but nodded.
“Holy shit,” expressed Gus. “Holy fucking shit! He was fucking bit, wasn’t he Agnes? You tell me the truth and you tell me right now,” he ordered her, as if speaking to a child.
“One…of…them…” she sobbed, trying to catch her breath. “When we… climbed …over…the…wreck.”
“Gus, settle down,” I said under my breath. The poor girl was scared and obviously traumatized.
“No, Zoe. They should have told us.” Gus’ eyes were dark and full of anger. “They put us both in danger. I will not settle down.”
He took a few steps away from us and took a deep breath before turning back. His face was full of rage.
“Jesus Christ, Agnes! What the fuck were you thinking!” he screamed.
“I…I…I” she stammered.
“Answer me, Goddamnit!”
“Gus, stop!” I shouted, getting angry with him. “Just stop!”
He ran his fingers through his hair and ended up looking half wild. He walked away several feet to cool down again. I heard him mumble a few obscenities.
I walked to Agnes and knelt down on the ground with her.
“Zoe, it didn’t break his skin. I swear it didn’t. It bit onto his shoe and barely made marks on his ankle. I didn’t think…” she broke down sobbing.
“Ok, ok…” I tried to soothe her.
“Take me away from here, please,” she begged. “Oh God…Linus…”
Gus walked back over to us, very obviously still pissed off. “Agnes,” he began to say, his tone just a bit too threatening. “Agnes,” he said more calmly. “I’m sorry I yelled. I’m sorry about Linus. You have to understand, though, that if any of us comes into contact with one of those fucking dead bastards we all have a responsibility to inform the others. There’s no other way to put it.”
Agnes nodded while trying to calm her own crying.
Gus, seriously, chill out. I hoped he got my silent message loud and clear. I followed it with a glare of my eyes.
“Agnes, did you make contact with any of the dead?” I asked as gently as I could. “Any at all?”
“I only kicked the one that had hold of Linus’ foot,” she managed to say in a moan. She suddenly sounded so young; almost child-like.
“So help me, you better be telling us the truth,” spat Gus. “I will not tolerate anyone putting the rest of us in danger.”
Agnes nodded and I glared at Gus again. I could sense from him that his anger stemmed from me being put in danger in particular. It was an emotion as strong as jealousy, or perhaps love. I knew he loved me in his own way but I hadn’t stopped to consider he might actually be in love with me. I frowned for a moment before looking away.
“We need to go,” I said. “Susan needs us.”
I took hold of Agnes’ uninjured hand and helped her up off the ground.
“Let me say good-bye?” she begged.
“No,” I said to her. “You don’t want to see him like he is now.”
“I can’t live without him. I’ve never been without him,” she moaned again.
“All we can do is live
,” said Gus under his breath. “Let’s go.”
***
It had taken us another half-hour to skirt the swamp and get back to the neighborhood from which we had fled the night before. The sun was now high in the sky and birds were once again twittering. Gus tried to reach for my hand as we left the trees, but I pulled away. I had hated how he treated poor Agnes. Instead, I took Agnes’ hand. She wasn’t crying anymore but she also wasn’t speaking. She had a glazed-over look of deep grief and despair.
We decided to walk up the middle of the street, hoping we were close to the car that we had left behind. Going through back yards would have given us more cover but taken far longer. The street we were currently walking was lined with cherry blossom trees that were just forming new buds. I had always loved how they looked; like pink or white fluffs of snow suspended in a cloud. I idly wondered which color these were. Nothing looked familiar, and with my terrible sense of direction I trusted that Gus knew which way to go. Home after home passed by and my feet were beyond uncomfortable. I could see blood staining my socks and knew they’d be a sore sight once I peeled the socks off.
“There it is,” I said, breathless from our quick pace.
“I see it. Agnes, we’re almost there.”
She didn’t respond, but rather just followed as if in a trance.
Soon we were at the car. I was glad to see the pathetic little thing, knowing it was temporary shelter from the dead, a means back to the rest of the group, and a break for my poor feet. I opened the back door for Agnes, and held a hand on her back to encourage her to get in. Gus slid into the driver’s seat as I shut Agnes’ door behind her. He opened my door for me from the inside. I jumped in and slammed my door closed.
“Strap in,” said Gus through a clenched jaw.
I looked back at Agnes, who just sat there unmoving. The car started, hesitantly, and as Gus began backing out I sensed the dead in the distance.
“I know,” he grumbled.
“I’ll buckle her in.”
I climbed between the cramped front seats, wincing as my feet worked to propel me into the backseat.
Fallen Grace (The Grace Series) Page 8