After Everything Else (Book 3): Creeper Revelation

by Brett D. Houser

  Sonya’s hair had grown out. It now framed her face and stirred in the breeze, feathering slightly. Marilyn would never have said Sonya was beautiful, at least not in a classic sense. She was cute, she had nice features, but she wasn’t beautiful. In the angled sunlight, though, with the slight smile playing around her lips, anyone who saw her would have had to think she was something special. At last, Marilyn spoke.

  “Chase’s plan might work,” Marilyn said. Sonya tensed, and Cherokee’s step faltered and halted.

  “It might not,” Sonya said, all traces of her smile gone. “And if something happens to him, it’s not worth it.”

  “I don’t know about that. Everything that has happened to us, everything that we’ve done, has been to get to this point. Traveling around the countryside was dangerous. We could have holed up. We could have stayed at the camp. We can’t stop now just because it’s dangerous for one of us. Just being here is dangerous for us all.” They resumed walking. Marilyn glanced up at Sonya’s face. She was frowning.

  “I know that. And I still want to find my dad. But it’s Chase. You know I’m in love with him, right?” She said the last part quietly, looking at Marilyn. Marilyn nodded. “It sounds stupid, I know. All of this, everything going on, and I’m crushing on the quarterback.”

  “But he wants this as much as you do. Not the crush thing, I mean, but maybe that, too. He wants to find your dad, to find out what happened. I think he is taking a chance with his plan, and maybe more of a chance than he needs to. Something happened back in the church. Something with Josh. Chase hasn’t been the same since then. Some of the stuff he’s done since then. He takes chances. He gets angry over little things.” She tried to find the right words. “At first I thought it was just living like this every day. But it’s something else.”

  “I know,” Sonya said. “I thought back at camp we’d get this whole liking each other thing resolved somehow. We’d just go ahead and say, ‘Okay, so we like each other and we’re together.’ But it didn’t happen. There’s something that keeps that from happening.”

  “I think that something is whatever happened at the church. Somehow we’ve got to get him to talk about it.” They reached the end of the lane. Marilyn peered through the trees at the fence line. The houses in the subdivision were barely visible through the trunks and underbrush, but she could see them. It looked like it had been a nice place to live. “But right now, let’s see what we can do about finding your dad. I think the plan will work, but with one big change. It’s not going to be easy to talk Chase into it, though.” She told Sonya how she wanted to change the plan. Sonya looked troubled, but she nodded.

  Chapter 12 – Sonya

  Riding a horse was a first time experience for Sonya. Since leaving Omaha, she had experienced a lot of firsts, but this was one of the good ones, and out of all the good ones, the least complicated. She and Marilyn were almost back to the Humvee, and Honey ran on ahead to greet Chase, who was watching them approach. He was another of her firsts. Nothing complicated about that situation, she thought. Sonya knew Chase was a good thing in her life, but also one of the most troubling. She turned her face to the sky and let the warmth of the sun soak in. Warm, but not too warm. A breeze was blowing in, and storm clouds were growing nearer. Sonya was glad to be somewhere they could be inside. The night on the lake in the storm was still fresh in her memory.

  “Okay, if you guys are done playing cowboy, I’ve got us set up, a little,” Chase said. He indicated one of the outbuildings.

  Sonya slipped from Cherokee’s back without Marilyn’s help. “Why not the main house?” she asked.

  “It just didn’t feel right,” Chase answered. “I went in, explored a little, but it was too full of people or something. Too many reminders of the people that lived there. I felt like I was intruding.” He pointed to the outbuilding he had selected. “That’s kind of a bunkhouse or something, though. Nice. If I guessed, I’d say it was set up for visiting riders or people that work with horses. Plain, comfortable beds in their own little rooms, a little kitchen area, little living room area. Perfect for us.”

  “Sounds good,” Marilyn said. “Gas stove, or do we need the propane?”

  “No stove,” Chase replied. “Microwave, for all the good that does. It has a sink, though, and I carried in some water. I’ve already set up the camp stove in there. Just need to carry in the bedding, if you want it. The beds are made, though. They look clean enough.”

  “Works for me,” Sonya said.

  “Getting close to lunch time,” Marilyn said. “Let’s talk about Chase’s plan over lunch. Sonya’s okay with it now, Chase. Just one little change.” Chase looked at Sonya questioningly, and Sonya smiled back at him. She knew he would balk at the change, but she also thought it would work. And she knew he would give in.

  “Okay,” Chase said resignedly. “Not ideal, but okay. I think we still have time today, but with that storm moving in, we better wait until tomorrow.” As if in answer to Chase’s words, thunder rumbled in the distance.

  “So now what?” Marilyn asked.

  “I don’t know,” Chase said. “Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, we go to the truck stop. Right now, I guess we just chill. Do what you want. Eat, drink, and be merry, because tomorrow we get stupid.”

  “Then I’m going to go hang out with Cherokee,” Marilyn said. “No offense to you guys, but I’ve spent enough time with you.”

  “None taken,” Sonya said. “She’s good people. What are you going to do if it starts raining?”

  “Probably go in one of the barns, if she will. Not one of the stables. There’s a bigger barn with a workout area. We’ll hang out there.” She stood. “I’ll let you guys clean up.”

  Then she was gone, taking Honey with her, and Sonya was alone with Chase. “Not much to clean up,” Sonya said. She gathered the wrappers and cans from their hasty lunch and put them in a trash bag. She poured a little water from the five gallon jug into the sink with a little dish soap, mixed it with her hand, and used a cloth to wipe off the small table.

  “Why are you doing that?” Chase asked. He hadn’t moved from his chair.

  “I don’t know. It’s just what you do when you finish eating,” Sonya said. She thought it was a strange question. “I should just leave it like it was?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Chase said. “Wasn’t that dirty, and we probably won’t be here that long.”

  “We might be. We don’t know. This isn’t a bad place.” She let the water out and wrung out the cloth and put it on a dish draining rack she had found under the sink. Chase stood and began pacing. Lightning flashed outside the window and thunder quickly followed. The patter of scattered rain drops sounded on the roof.

  “Storm’s getting closer,” he said. “Hope it’s not as bad as the one…that night.”

  Sonya made a decision. She walked over to him and grabbed his hand. She brought it up to her lips and kissed it. She was surprised at her own boldness, but not as surprised as Chase based on his expression. He didn’t pull away, though. She dropped his hand and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. He put his arms around her and returned the embrace. Her heart beat so hard she wondered if he could feel it. She held her ear against his chest and listened to his heart. She thought it was beating hard, too.

  “I don’t think I’ve been a very nice person lately,” Chase said. “I’m sorry.”

  “I think there’s something bothering you that’s causing that,” Sonya said. “I think you should talk about that night.” She felt him pull away, but she held him tighter. “No,” she said. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But don’t let go of me. Hold on to me.” She didn’t say how good it felt to hold him. She didn’t say that she wanted to kiss him. They stood holding each other, and then the storm arrived. A flash of lightning outside the window was immediately followed by a crash of thunder that shook the bunkhouse. They both jumped, and she looked up at him. The sound of heavier rain bega
n on the metal roof. He looked down at her, and he leaned into kiss her. She kissed him, and she knew nothing was going to be the same.

  For half an hour the steady sound of pouring rain on the roof made conversation difficult, so they didn’t talk. They sat on a sofa in the living room, he with his arm around her, she snuggled into his side. After only a short time, she felt his breath even out and she guessed he was asleep. She didn’t move, though. She knew he didn’t sleep much, so she just enjoyed being close to him. She wanted it to feel just right, but it didn’t. She wasn’t about to move away, but there was still something between them, something he was keeping from her, something he wouldn’t share. She thought it would be something difficult to remove, but she wasn’t going to give up.

  She wondered if it was her inexperience. She had never had a boyfriend. She had once kissed a boy on a dare, and for a week in middle school she had been “dating” a boy. But when some of the more popular girls noticed and made fun of her, she had pushed the boy away. The kiss with Chase had been her first real kiss as an adult. That was a startling thought. She wondered if she was an adult now. The rules had always been clear before, but things were different now. This wasn’t the same world where people had to be eighteen to vote, get married, own property, whatever. She didn’t have to be eighteen to vote because she didn’t think anyone would be voting now and there was nothing to vote for. She could own property if she could hold onto it. If she wanted, she could do anything. She could drink alcohol, get married, have babies…and that was a scary thought.

  Everything was all about survival, but it wouldn’t always be. Even at the camp, the safest place they had found so far, it had been survival and putting things together for the kids, and there had been real adults there. Was she a real adult? The adults listened when she or Chase or Marilyn had an idea like they had never listened before the plague. They, the young people, contributed just as much and maybe even more. So maybe she was an adult now, but she decided that really didn’t matter. What did matter was Chase, her father (not in that particular order), Marilyn, and someday getting back to the camp. Thinking about the camp made her think about Hot Wheels, the little boy she had befriended. She wanted to see him again. Daydreaming about him and being back at the camp, she half-dozed.

  When the door to the cabin opened, she started fully awake, but Chase didn’t move. Marilyn walked in with Honey trailing her. She started to speak, but when she saw Chase sleeping she smiled and put her finger to her lips. Sonya realized the rain had stopped. Marilyn tiptoed across the small living area and back into the bedroom she had claimed, snapping her fingers for Honey to follow her. She quietly closed the door behind her. Sonya watched her the whole time, trying to read her face. She wondered how this could change things in their little group, but she didn’t think it would. Marilyn was part of the group, a key part, but there was always something a little distant about her, too. Not that she wasn’t caring. She was one of the most caring people Sonya had ever met. But there was a part of Marilyn that she didn’t share. Sonya thought of it as Marilyn’s “God-thing.” Sonya didn’t question it, and she didn’t consider it anything to be made fun of or trivialized. It was a part of who Marilyn was, an important part, the part that had helped her survive all the loss and changes in this world. She would accept the change in the group as she seemed to accept all things, even the death of Jami back at the church. Thinking about it made Sonya sad. She settled back into Chase’s side. In his sleep, he brought his arm down and around her, pulling her tighter to him. She dozed again.

  When Sonya woke again, the rain had returned, although not as hard as before. She thought it was still late afternoon, early evening, but the lack of sunlight made it hard to tell. She looked up at Chase, who was awake and staring at the window.

  “Hey,” he said. “Sorry.” She shrugged. “How long was I out?”

  “I don’t know. I fell asleep, too. Marilyn’s back in her room.”

  “Okay.” Sonya closed her eyes, snuggled down into Chase’s side. It didn’t matter what time it was. When they grew hungry, they would eat. When they were tired, they would sleep. If the rain passed and tomorrow was clear, they would go looking for her dad. The thought filled her with joy and dread.

  Chapter 13 – Chase

  Chase watched as Marilyn idled the ATV toward the backside of the truck stop parking lot. Honey trailed after her. He thought about calling the dog back, wished they had left her behind, but Honey was probably the one in the least amount of danger today. That should be me on the ATV, he thought, but he knew it wasn’t true. She had more experience on a four-wheeler than he did. When she had started it and took out across the field at the ranch, her superior skill had been apparent. Where he had been tentative, she had been bold, confident. After a few laps, she had done things he would never consider doing without a few days of practice.

  Before she was able to get very close to the assembly of trucks, the outermost of the creepers began to turn toward her. Honey let out a few short barks, but the creepers ignored her. Sonya stood beside him watching Marilyn’s progress. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her occasionally looking up at him to see his reaction. He tried not to show her how nervous he felt.

  The creepers closest to Marilyn started moving toward her, but the ones he could see staggering around closer to the middle and at the far end hadn’t reacted yet. He guessed that since there were so many moving in the parking lot they couldn’t sense her presence. They certainly hadn’t seemed to hear the Humvee as it pulled up or the noise as they had unloaded the ATV from the trailer and then unhooked the trailer. But as she approached them, she revved the engine, and the blatting of the performance muffler on the ATV was finally getting the attention of all the creepers. The outermost of them, the ones closest to her, were drawing alarmingly near to her. Honey had retreated away from the crowd, staying very close to Marilyn on the ATV. Under his breath he muttered, “Go, Marilyn. Get away from them.” He knew that wasn’t the right move, though. She wanted to get as many moving toward her as possible before she took off. She continued revving the engine and the strident whine of the ATV rose and fell, rose and fell. Now it seemed all of the creepers staggering around the parking lot were moving toward her. Then she did something Chase hadn’t considered.

  He watched in nervous admiration as she rode back and forth in front of the approaching horde of corpses, cutting the front wheels sharply and throwing up a rooster tail of mud and grass. He hoped she was watching the interstate as well. A large number of creepers were beginning to press against the fence between the field and the ramp to the interstate. He thought it would hold for a while, hopefully long enough, but he could see a lot more creepers coming from the interstate itself. That much weight moving in one direction could push through that fence eventually.

  Finally, Marilyn began moving away from the creepers, Honey following. She would move ahead a little bit, then stop and rev the engine. Chase watched as the least damaged creepers moved to the front of the crowd. At the middle of the crowd he could see more decomposed creepers dragging limbs and lurching along. At the back were crawlers. The whole group wasn’t moving fast enough for Chase, though. He wanted the back of the pack to be at least a hundred feet from the asphalt before he and Sonya went in to begin searching the trucks. They could start getting into position, though. “Come on,” he whispered. He gripped the hickory branch he had shaped while recuperating at the camp. It was heavy, about two inches in diameter and six feet long. He had shaped one end so he could securely attach a large bowie knife with rawhide thongs. It looked a bit like a spear, but he had no intentions of throwing it.

  They skirted through the trees around the open area, staying back, trying to be as quiet as possible. Chase felt electric, alive. He sensed the first creeper before he saw it. It was not after them, though. It crossed their path ten feet ahead of them, intent on the noise and commotion Marilyn was causing. Chase could have let it go, but he didn’t want it behind them. He l
unged forward, pushing the blade at the end of the heavy staff through the thing’s skull. It dropped and didn’t move. He motioned Sonya to stay close to him. He saw with approval that she had her pistol drawn and at the ready, but he hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. A gunshot right now would ruin the plan.

  At last they were even with the middle of the parking lot. The intervening open space was free of creepers, at least for the moment. He tried to peer between the trucks in the lot to see if there was any movement, but they were pretty tightly packed. He couldn’t really see anything. He looked at Sonya and whispered, “You know what your dad’s truck looks like. You lead. I’ll stay close behind. If anything pops up in front of you, duck and fall back. Use the pistol only as a last resort. If I yell ‘fall back,’ clear out and head back toward the Hummer. Don’t stop, don’t look back. If I’m not with you, you can wait for me a little bit, but it will be important that you go meet Marilyn down at the house at the end.”

  “Let’s just do this right and forget about all the back up plans,” Sonya said.

  “Sounds good, but you know what to do,” Chase replied, a little irritated.

  “Yeah. I know what you want me to do,” Sonya said, stepping out into the open.

  He followed her. She moved at a half jog, carefully avoiding the mud and water standing in small ditches from the previous day’s rain. As they crossed the access road, Chase looked to the right, back toward the road. A barricade of two highway patrol cars and a military tractor and flatbed trailer stood at the end. When they reached the parking lot, they had to move more carefully. The trucks were packed in with no regard for the parking spaces. Chase imagined they had been forced in here and forced to stay.