Dead Friends Series (Book 2): Dead Friends Running

by Carlisle, Natalie

  They were good intentions. I did have good intentions. That was my only comeback. Mostly, I just freaked and ran off without thinking. It was better than sitting in that hospital room, lying to Spencer.

  The next message that played was silent. There was no message. Just empty air. Like someone tried to call but disconnected or lost reception.

  Ninth. “Dee, if you get this, I need your help. Call someone, please. Tell them…” A long bout of silence followed. Heavy, labored breath created a round of static into the phone. Even more static than the call started with. I waited for more, but nothing more came. That static ended the call.

  It wasn’t Spencer.

  It was Jason again, asking for my help.

  I didn’t think. I just reacted. “Lew-Lewis!” I shouted, and Missy immediately cursed, covering her ear.

  Wasn’t knee-jerk reactions what got me here in the first place?

  “Calm the hell down,” Missy grumbled. “You don’t know anything. That call didn’t tell you anything.”

  I was already spinning to the open window with the phone in hand. “It told me he’s in trouble. That’s enough.”

  “You still have another message,” she blurted. “Listen to it.”

  I wasn’t. The moment I realized it wasn’t Jason or Spencer, I stopped listening. I was staring into the bedroom. Lew sprinted into the room, carrying his gun. “What? What is it? What’s happening?”

  I tossed the phone onto the bed, but the tangled cord made it fall short, slinking to the floor. “We need to go. It’s Jason. He’s in trouble.”

  Lew halted. “That’s what the hysteria was about?”

  “He’s in trouble,” I repeated with emphasis.

  He blew out a breath, shaking his. “Girls and their damn dramatics.” Tucking his gun back into his waistband, he padded over to the phone dangling off the nightstand.

  I wanted to crawl through that window and wring his neck until he understood the seriousness of this.

  Jason would never ask me for help, never, not unless he really needed it.

  Leaning over, Lew picked up the phone and I guess having heard someone talking, he brought it to his ear. His brow furrowed.

  “Stop listening to my voicemail and let’s go!” I demanded. Not that I had any real authority. I just really was desperate to go. And seriously, who did he think he was listening to my messages anyway?

  Almost simultaneously he slammed the phone on the receiver. I would have been almost impressed with myself, had I not caught the look on his face right before he did it.

  Lew wasn’t listening to me.

  He was listening to whoever was on that message.

  A sudden urge to re-call my phone number hit me then, but before I could do anything about it Lew was at the window, slamming it shut. “Get in the car,” he said behind the glass. “We got to run.”

  If my words about Jason weren’t enough to motivate him to rush, I began to really worry about the call that came after.

  Who did call me? And what the hell has happened?

  25

  Lew stormed out of the house with three bags. Two were tote bags, one was a backpack.

  As soon as he reached the Jeep and tossed the bags inside, he whipped something my way. “Couldn’t find what I wanted but you can wear that if you want.”

  When it hit me in the side of the face, he quickly apologized.

  The black fabric dropped to my lap. Brushing my bangs back out of my eyes, I tentatively picked up whatever it was.

  My skepticism turned slowly to understanding. “A sling?”

  He was standing at the back of the Jeep. I was glancing over my shoulder, staring at him. “Yeah. I had surgery on my hand a few years back. I was hoping to find my actual brace I had to wear, but I couldn’t. I guess I pitched it. Anyway,” he started to move around the bumper to the driver’s side. “Figured maybe that might help.”

  The windows were open on the Jeep, so I heard him clearly as he walked swiftly past me.

  He swung the driver’s door open, tossed in one of the bags I hadn’t realized he was still carrying, and jumped in. The bag landed on the center console between him and Melissa.

  I realized somehow though unspoken Missy had claimed the shot gun position. It didn’t matter to me really, it was just an observation. I didn’t want to be that close to him anyway.

  “I packed a few things to eat and some waters. If you ladies need anything it’s in that bag.”

  “What’s in the other bags?” Missy eyed him skeptically.

  “Weapons, first aid kit, rope.” He threw the Jeep into reverse, peeling out of the driveway. I threw my hand up to the old shit handle to steady myself, crinkling the sling still in my grip.

  “They found Buck?” I said in bewilderment. That would make sense why he was in such a hurry all of sudden.

  And why there was rope.

  “No.” He cut the steering wheel sharply, spinning the Jeep in a fast circle. Dirt kicked up from the tires, creating a cloud of dust that he drove through. Some of the haze came in through the open windows. I wrinkled my nose at it, coughing.

  “No?” I repeated.

  “Well not that I know of anyway,” he specified, accelerating. The cloud of dirt disappeared quickly behind us, leaving only an obnoxious sun glare obstructing the otherwise clear line of sight.

  Lew yanked down the visor and kept driving. Squinting my eyes, I continued to look forward.

  “Is it about Spencer then?” I gasped. Maybe the call wasn’t from him but maybe it was Spencer’s dad calling to tell me he died. “Did he?”

  “No,” he responded quickly.

  I exhaled in relief. My momentary spike of panic, subsiding. I let go of the handle I was holding. Luckily, Missy had helped buckle me in before she got into the Jeep. The road was bumpy, and Lew was driving entirely too fast.

  “I mean, I heard mention of his name but I don’t think it was anything serious,” Lew continued. “Only got the end of that message, ya know, so I don’t know what exactly was said.”

  I considered that. If they didn’t find Buck and Spencer wasn’t dead or in a real emergency of dying, what in the world was happening? “Then what is—” The Jeep hit an unexpected bump, and we all jolted, rocking back and forth. Lew struggled to stabilize us as the Jeep fishtailed. My hand was back on the oh, shit handle, the rest of my question turning to a scream caught somewhere in the back of my throat, along with my breath. The moment didn’t last long, but it was too late. My heart was already racing and I was bugging out. As Lew managed to regain control I started yelling. “Holy crap! What is the matter with you? Slow the eff down! You are going to flip us at this speed!”

  Usually it was Missy who lost it, but this time, it was me. I get he was in some unstated hurry now, but if he totaled the Jeep we wouldn’t get there any faster.

  That is if we walked away from it at all.

  “Trust me, you wouldn’t want me to,” Lew implied, but he eased up on the accelerator anyway by ramming the brakes. He seemed a bit shaken.

  “We wouldn’t?” Missy exasperated, catching herself by slamming her hands down on the dashboard. “What the hell Lewis, do you even know how to drive?” When he hit the brakes, we ricocheted forward.

  I caught myself from hitting the back of his seat because I was still holding the handle, thankfully. My grip was as tight as I could clench it. The sling still hung from my grasp too.

  “Sorry,” he grumbled, as he resumed at a more manageable speed. I don’t even think he realized how reckless he was driving. It was almost as if he had tunnel vision. He was clearly concentrating on only one thing.

  That voicemail.

  “What is going on, Lew?” I persisted. “Who was on that message?” Feeling somewhat stable again, I tentatively let go and sank back against the seat cushion, dropping the sling to my lap.

  He didn’t answer right away.

  “Lewis! Who?”

  “Jacob, alright,” he snapped, as if we wer
e annoying him. “Jacob Romero.”

  “Jacob?” Missy and I blurted in unison. My voice must have raised at least two octaves. Missy’s actually cracked.

  “What happened to Jacob?” Missy recovered first. I was still shocked. I hadn’t been expecting that response that’s for sure. “Is he okay?” She immediately regretted her word choice, correcting herself. “I mean, he’s supposed to be in Spain. Did something happen in Spain? Has the virus spread there now too? Are you taking us into hiding or some shit? Is that why you brought the food and weapons?” Now, she was starting to panic. I could tell by her blabbering.

  At the mention of food, I saw her glance down at her feet. The food tote at some point tipped over and some contents had fallen to the floor mat. On reflex she bent over to retrieve them, anxious no doubt to do something.

  Jacob was the guy that took in Spencer when he ran away. He also helped us find him. He was a Spanish flirt that made Missy completely unnerved, but it was all harmless. He was also a great friend of Jason’s. Once we all skipped town after the outbreak, he went to visit his mother in Spain and for all we knew, he was still there.

  “Jacob’s fine. A bit rattled. According to the message he should be landing soon, if not already.”

  “So he’s coming back?” Missy paused in the act of picking up what looked like a jar of peanut butter.

  I ignored her obvious stupid question, and glared at Lew. Not that he would know. It’s not like he had eyes behind his head. But something wasn’t adding up and the guy wasn’t offering much details. It’s like he was being evasive on purpose and that bothered me.

  The idea of Jacob coming back shouldn’t be a big deal. He lived in this town, near the far edge of it, in a small ranch. He ran some sort of landscape business here. Naturally, he would have to come back. It was inevitable. Plus if Missy was thinking clearly she would know Jacob didn’t have the virus. He had been tested before he went, unless the virus was spreading in Spain now? If that was the case, then it definitely wasn’t the mosquitos causing this outbreak. And it would make sense why Lew was so rattled. The idea of this outbreak spreading worldwide was terrifying.

  “So has the virus spread in Spain?” I asked, worriedly. “Like Missy just said?”

  “No,” Lew retorted, hesitantly. “Not that was said anyway.”

  I didn’t like the way he paused. “Are you purposely being vague?” I accused. “Talk to us. Tell us what’s going on. What did Jacob say?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Lew! Damn it,” I hissed. “It was my voicemail after all.”

  “I told you to listen to it,” Missy grumbled, putting the last piece of food back in the bag, and sitting up right again, the bag correctly placed on the center console once more.

  “Let’s just leave it at Jacob called and we need to get to the woods right now.”

  “What’s the emergency? What happened?” I wasn’t just leaving it at anything. I wanted to know. I tried to rack my brain for some sort of memory of the message but honestly, I came up with nothing. Once I heard Jason needed me, I stopped listening. And besides there would be no reason Jacob would be calling me. If anyone he’d call Missy, unless he tried Missy and couldn’t get a hold of her because her phone was dead.

  Still, what could be so dire that Jacob would be calling us all the way from Spain and it had nothing to do with Spencer or Buck? What else did we have in common?

  And just like that, it hit me.

  Jason.

  Ohmigod. Jason had called me asking me for help. What if he was so desperate he even called Jacob. Jacob who was in Spain?

  I took a deep breath, counting to five. Trying to stop the sudden onslaught of panic.

  “It’s Jason,” I exhaled, my voice quivering, a sudden shakiness that coincided with the tremble beginning in my hands. “Isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” Lew finally admitted. “You were right. He needs help. He’s in pretty bad shape.” He sounded ashamed for blowing me off before and yet his voice was curt. Anger. He definitely handled his emotions with anger.

  My heart despite my efforts, pounded against my chest, fast and faster. Tears started to sprout in my eyes, and I squeezed them tightly shut to stop them from falling. “How bad?”

  Now I truly hated myself for not listening to that message. I kept my eyes closed while I waited for his answer, all the while wanting to plug my ears and rock back and forth like the panicking child I now felt like. I wanted to hear his answer, and I didn’t want to hear his answer.

  “Bad,” he concluded, not offering anything more descriptive than that. “We need to find him right away. In fact we need to just get everyone out of those woods now before it gets worse.”

  All my brain could comprehend was that Jason was hurt and as that thought excessively overplayed in my head, I lost my control over the tears. Worst case scenarios flashing through my mind. Him shot, him bleeding out, him lying on the ground dying. Buck and that crazy red head eating him. Him turning into one of those zombie wannabes.

  “Shit,” Lew mumbled, glancing in the rear view mirror. “Are you crying?”

  “Of course she’s crying, you asshat. That’s her boyfriend.” Missy half-spun toward me in the passenger seat, and started to say something else but quickly changed her mind. She was never good at knowing what to say in uncomfortable situations. Why should I expect anything different right now?

  Truth was I hated myself for crying. Crying wasn’t going to save Jason. I needed to push Lew out of the driver’s seat and gun the Jeep faster. I totally got why he was speeding now and it pissed me off that I told him to slow down. My dumb mouth had wasted valuable minutes already.

  “Just step on it,” I sputtered through my sobs. Jason might have already been dead for all I knew. I had no clue when that call came in. We may have been too late already.

  “But you just said--”

  “Forget what I said.” I swiped my hand across my cheeks and reached for the handle above the door again. “Just hurry. And damn it, tell us word for word exactly what Jacob said on that message.”

  Lew accelerated, and the Jeep sped forward, but nothing crazy like before. I almost kicked his seat in frustration, but I knew he was just being smart about it. We couldn’t risk an accident.

  Not right now.

  The mountain was just up ahead, clearly visible and fast approaching, but there was still some mileage to cover.

  So I sulked silently in my impatience, and waited, my tears slowly vanishing and being replaced by aggravation and determination. I couldn’t get back on that mountain fast enough. In fact, I let go of the handle and already begun to put my right arm into the sling as Lew began talking.

  “When I picked up the phone, I had no idea how long Jacob was talking. I caught the end of him saying something about Spencer and that he tried calling him too. Said the message from Jason wasn’t very clear. Again, just something about being in really bad shape on the mountain and him needing help immediately. He said he was boarding a plane now, but if you guys hurried, you could get to him before he even landed.”

  “And really, that’s all he said?” I asked, throwing the strap over my head, and adjusting it comfortably.

  “That’s all I heard,” he corrected. “It seems like there was a more detailed first half of that message. But by the tone of his voice, and that he was flying back because of him, I knew this was serious and we had to get going. ”

  “Do you have any idea when Jacob called?”

  “No, that’s another reason I rushed out of my place. It could have been yesterday for all I know.”

  My stomach started to feel sour again, and my heart still raced. “Ugh, I just want to find him. I’m so freaking worried.”

  I fiddled with the fabric a few more times until my right arm was securely snug inside the sling, resting against my side. It was kind of big and felt like it was swallowing up my arm but at least it would prevent me from using it.

  “Yeah…” His voice slow
ly trailed off to silence. He drove another two or three minutes, the silence stretching throughout the whole vehicle. It wasn’t awkward, just noticeable.

  Finally, Missy who had been biting her thumb nail, with a concerned look on her face, spoke. “I’m kind of worried about what Jacob said to Spencer, honestly. I mean, Spencer is already suspicious about us, what if this makes him do something drastic?”

  “He’s in a hospital bed, correct?” Lew pointed out. “There isn’t much he can do.”

  “That’s true, Miss,” I prompted. “Plus his parents and our parents are all with him. And I think the only drastic thing he is physically capable of at this point anyway, is turning like Buck. And that’s a problem for another time.”

  “And maybe he won’t even turn,” I added. “He could be one of the lucky ones. Think of how long he lived with the virus in his system before he got this sick anyway.”

  “You saw how bad he was.” Missy shook his head. “But hey, anything is possible I guess.” She didn’t believe a word of what she said.

  I didn’t either.

  Lew started to slow down, and I instantly reacted. “Why are you slowing?” I already felt he was going too slow.

  “Turn’s up ahead. It’s kind of sharp.”

  Oh.

  I leaned to my side, and peered around the front seat to look out the windshield. Sure enough, a dirt road jutted off the main road on the left. The mountain was right there, in front of us, silently beckoning us to rejoin it in an eerily, intimidating matter.

  I knew what going on that mountain again could result in, but I also knew who was on that mountain. And not a damn thing was keeping me off it.

  As if it was purposely taunting me to reconsider, the familiar sound of gunshots sounded in that instant outside our windows.

  “Shit,” Lew said, his foot finding the gas pedal again. “Those shots are close.”

  He sped up, hurrying, I guess not thinking clearly about why he slowed in the first place.

  The turn was suddenly right there, and he cursed, quickly turning the wheel on high speed, on a sharp curve.

  He took the turn wide.

  He plowed off the dirt, into wild vegetation, at least half the Jeep did, the back bumper just missing a couple trees.