Dawnland (Book 1): Pockets of the Dead

by Karen Carr

  Several deer ran toward us followed by a pack of dogs. The deer were a vision, so full of life and fear. They pranced through the streets and sidewalks, being quickly tailed by the dogs. The dogs, over a dozen of them, reminded me of the wild dogs from my youth and sent a river of Goosebumps down my arm.

  “Up the steps, quick,” Huck said.

  The Reverend, Huck, Trevan and I all raced up the Reverend’s steep steps. I grabbed the rail to steady myself and to maneuver around two giant planters that sat at the top of the stairs.

  “Trevan, left,” Huck called out.

  Reverend Mac took out his key and unlocked the door.

  “Come in, quick,” Reverend Mac said.

  “Hella, inside.” Huck gently pushed my shoulder.

  I went inside with the Reverend, knowing that it was useless to argue with Huck when he was in full protective mode. I suppose that since I didn’t have a gun, and I was scared of those dogs, it was the smartest thing to do. The Reverend’s house smelled stale, dank, and unwelcome, but everything in it was perfectly placed and organized.

  Reverend Mac guided me into the living room which was furnished with antiques, including an old spinning wheel, player piano and a pedestal chair. The walls were lined with travel books and unusual knick knacks that could have been collected from all over the world.

  Reverend Mac seemed to be ashamed of the smell, but I was more interested in making sure Huck was not hurt. I peeked through the window and saw Trevan and Huck on the porch.

  The street was again quiet, but a glimmer of yellow from the window of the house across the street attracted my attention. In the house, hanging out one of the windows, was a dead body. The arm, shoulder and head framed in blonde hair, dangled out of the window. The woman’s head, with the unmistakable dribble of brains dripping from her eyes, swung in the wind, her gorgeous blond hair dancing and playing in the breeze.

  Huck poked his head in; I hoped he wasn’t going to tell me he saw her. How would I explain that one? “We’re going to stay out here, and walk around the back. You ok?”

  “Yea, I'm fine,” I said, and then added, “there’s something I want to tell you.”

  “Now?” Huck asked, looking over his shoulder and then back again. “Can it wait?”

  “Yea, sure.” I was going to do it, finally tell him about my virus, although my timing sucked. The Reverend’s house wasn’t a very likely place for a private conversation, but that dead body across the street was like a beacon heralding my lie.

  Reverend Mac took me upstairs to their bedroom. He brought out a suitcase and started searching through his wife’s clothes, picking out a few items.

  “I wish we could stay here,” he said as he gazed around the room, focusing on the wide-screened television on the dresser.

  The house wasn’t that far from the center of town. I could start increasing my walk radius. “Maybe sometime soon you can,” I said.

  “Do you miss your old life?” Reverend Mac asked. He was holding a pale salmon dress with lace insets. He held it up to me, and then put it back into the closet after he seemed to determine his wife wouldn’t need it for a while.

  “Yes,” I said. “Mostly I miss learning, and my friends. There’s no more school, but they could be out there somewhere, my friends, waiting for me to find them.”

  “They could be,” he said. He placed a pile of white garments into the suitcase and then took them back out again, placing them on the bed. “I really don’t know what to bring.” He looked at me for advice.

  “Maybe just some gardening clothes, casual stuff?” I asked. Most of what she had was for formal occasions.

  “She’ll need something nice to wear to church,” he said. “Even if you won’t go, we still will be holding services every Sunday.”

  “I know.” Reverend Mac had invited me to church a while back, but I never went. I was aware that most of the new people went, Zora, Zeke and Archie and Easter and all the children went. I supposed it would be good of me to show my face, to learn more about my new neighbors, but I had so much other stuff to do. “Maybe I can come next Sunday.”

  “That would be nice,” he said. “Can you finish? I have to get the chicken wire.” He heaved a heavy sigh.

  “I’ll try,” I said. He left the room.

  Thinking of the sermons reminded me that everyone would be in church for at least two hours every Sunday. Everyone would be safe for that length of time. If anything weird happened, they could go down to the mysterious sanctuary where the Reverend and Shelly Mac had survived all these months.

  I could go find my friends. I had thought about going at night, which I did before, but felt there were too many sleeping people to risk going that far. At least if they were awake, they would be alert to the coming doom.

  I finished packing by the time Huck knocked on the door and poked his head in the room. “You ready to go?”

  “Sure.” I stuffed the remaining outfit in the suitcase and zipped it up.

  Reverend Mac met us outside with a bundle of chicken wire. We headed back to the village, with Trevan and Reverend Mac carrying the chicken wire, me rolling the suitcase and Huck holding the gun. On the way, I told Huck I wanted to find my friends. At least, I wanted to go to Saudah’s house downtown.

  “Downtown?” Huck asked. “How far is that?” His attention was focused on the street.

  Trevan overheard me. “About three miles,” he said.

  Reverend Mac dropped the chicken wire and started rubbing his hands. Huck went over to him.

  “Can you shoot?” Huck asked. Reverend Mac nodded and they switched places. Huck and Trevan picked up the chicken wire again.

  Huck came up next to me. “You are not going. No way.”

  “I am.” The suitcase rumbled over the sidewalk. Thankfully it had wheels.

  I told Huck my plans, how I wanted to go on motorcycles. I knew he wouldn’t let me go alone, so I asked him to drive me on the back of his bike. We would be able to get there in a few minutes. I knew it meant that my aura wouldn’t be working when we arrived downtown, but I was actually counting on that. From what Lily and Trevan had told me there weren’t many undeads downtown and if there were, I was sure that Huck could take care of them. That way, my secret would still be safe.

  By the time my aura caught up with me, I hoped we’d already be in Saudah’s apartment. Once we swept it for clues, we could head out again, fast on the bike, back to the village. The whole excursion wouldn’t take longer than an hour. When I was done convincing him, convincing myself to try it, we were back at the green.

  I handed Reverend Mac his wife’s suitcase and he went back to the church with her belongings. Trevan and Huck continued to carry the chicken wire to the green.

  “Can you wait a few days?” Huck asked me.

  “I’ve waited too long already and tomorrow is Sunday.” I glared at Huck with blaming eyes while I explained the details of my plan.

  “She’s going,” Trevan said as we reached the green. “It might take her a long time to make up her mind, but once she does, and once she has a plan, you’re not changing it.”

  “Dammit, Hella. We all just got back here. Can’t we have a relaxing few days before you storm off?” Huck and Trevan put down the chicken wire and Trevan rolled it to the stage. I was alone with Huck.

  “That’s exactly why I want to go now.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Because it’s not winter. It’s not looking like rain. It should be nice tomorrow. It will just take a second.”

  “Then what?” he asked, mirroring my folded arms. “You know she’s not there. Then what? You find a clue? Where does it lead?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. My brain felt weak from overanalyzing. I had a million different scenarios running through my mind. “Maybe we go there.”

  “And how far is there?” he asked. “Ten miles? Fifteen? You know three miles is too far, anything more is out of the question.”

  “Stop yelling at me,” I said. I knew he had a g
reat point. I didn’t know what I would do if I found a clue, a map, a postcard. I had the people in the village to protect. If Stan and Saudah had gone far north, I wouldn’t be able to track them down.

  “Ok,” Huck finally said, letting out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll go with you.”

  “I’ll go too,” Trevan said, having just returned from the stage where he left the chicken wire. We both looked at him with wide eyes. “Hella, you saved my life. I would have killed myself and Lily if it weren’t for you. I owe you one.”

  “You know how to ride a motorcycle?” Huck asked.

  “Sure,” Trevan said. “What self-respecting country boy doesn't?”

  “I am sure Zeke would let you borrow his,” Huck said.

  “No kidding?” Trevan asked. “I’m pretty tired of riding the moped around. Lily wouldn’t let me buy anything bigger.” He grinned widely. “And that’s a nice bike.”

  I was surprised that Huck said Zeke would let Trevan borrow his bike. Zeke didn’t seem very altruistic. But stranger things had happened and Huck knew him better than I did.

  Chapter 21: Sunday

  March 26th

  Downtown, Main Street

  North of Haverlyn Village

  Sure enough, Zeke let Trevan borrow his motorcycle once Huck told him our plan—even though he thought it was stupid to jeopardize our lives for my friends. Lily was upset that Trevan wanted to go, and she wanted to come with us, but he convinced her that he would be better able to defend the group if she weren't riding along behind him.

  Huck tried one last time with the same logic on me, he said he could go to Saudah’s himself, but I pointed out that he didn’t know what to look for.

  I picked a different route than my first adventure downtown because I didn’t want Huck to see the rotting mound of zeroes that I had created from my lunch break. The new route wound down side streets and was quicker too, as long as the roads were clear. We’d race through the village, out the other side, then down Tabreth to Jones Level. In a few short miles, we would arrive at Saudah’s apartment, on the west side of downtown.

  Once everyone was in church for the service, including Lily who agreed to monitor the group, Huck and Trevan checked our gear. Besides guns for the guys, we each brought a water bottle and snacks. I also brought binoculars, a compass, and a knife.

  “Sling this around your back,” Huck said, handing me his rifle. When I hesitated, he slipped the strap over my head and arm. “I need you to hold it while we ride.” His mouth moved to mine, and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me, but he moved away.

  Trevan made a clucking noise with his tongue. “Come on, you two.” He was on Zeke’s bike and had already started the engine.

  Huck grasped my hand as we walked the few short steps to his bike. “You sure you want to do this?”

  “Yes,” I said without hesitation, trying to stop my mind from thinking of massive zero hordes wandering into the village and eating all of the villagers. “But, we have to hurry. I want to get in and get out as fast as possible.”

  Huck must have sensed my nervousness because his head tilted toward mine in a reassuring gesture. “I’ll go as fast as I can,” he said with a tinge of humor in his voice. He mounted his bike, started the engine and patted the seat for me.

  I swung my leg over the back wheel and spooned up next to Huck’s body. His flesh touched mine through our thin shirts. He gasped a sigh of arousal before he took off down the road. I clung to his body because of the abrupt start and super speed.

  We quickly made it to the border where my zombie-killing bubble stopped. We drove past several piles of bodies. The stink was awful, making me reach for my yellow bandana. The zeroes were out there. They were always out there. Huck and Trevan coiled around the piles of dead, some more decomposed than others, cautiously watching the surroundings. Once we turned down Tabreth, the road was straight and smooth and empty, with the exception of a garbage truck that had flipped on its side and spilled out its contents.

  Bunches of cereal boxes, plastic bottles, loose paper, and other floating debris filled the side of the road. Huck turned on some music and cranked it high enough for us to hear over the roar of the engine. He raced forward, faster than the speed limit, faster than my comfort zone but for the sake of the mission I kept my mouth shut.

  Trevan sped past us on Zeke’s Japanese racer and waved for Huck to catch up. Huck took him up on that offer and gunned the engine. The noise of our bikes caused the neighboring animals to stir and dart across the road, making my guts wrench every time they did so.

  My aura would have blown away at the first sign of speed. I had relied on it for so long. It was terrifying and releasing to be free of it, like I was free of my deep-dark secret but the freedom could kill me. The noise of the motorcycles would surely attract evil dead things, or flesh dolls as Zeke called them, but we were going fast enough to avoid their attacks.

  Once we arrived downtown, I showed Trevan and Huck where Saudah’s house was, and we pulled up right next to it. Huck and Trevan stopped the bikes and we ran to the house as quickly as possible. I knew the noise would’ve attracted the walkers, and I didn’t want to encounter any without the speed of the bikes to use in our defense.

  Saudah lived with four other people in a small two bedroom house with a den. The house looked vacant, giving me the chilling feeling of haunted. The walkway and porch were covered with leaves from the big oak trees stationed on either side. A storm must have driven through and scattered broken branches all over the yard. The rail and a window were busted as well.

  When we tried the front door, it was locked. We were in plain sight, so we decided to try and get in through the more private back door. There was a large fence that needed scaling, so the plan was for Huck to hoist me up and over and for me to find the spare key to unlock the door. I had done this before when Saudah wasn’t home.

  Huck gave me a boost with his hand, and I made it to the top of the fence. That’s when I saw them. Three of Saudah’s roommates were in the back yard, and they were all zombified. Unfortunately they saw me, too, and immediately made the gurgling sound that meant they had found their lunch. My aura wasn’t working and wouldn’t be for minutes.

  “Hella, get down,” Huck said, pulling on my pant waist. “Quick.”

  When I dropped to the ground, I thought Huck had heard the zeroes on the other side of the fence, but Trevan was pointing his gun down the alley in a completely different direction. Six zeroes were coming down the alley from one direction and another larger group came from the other. We were trapped in between two rotting hordes.

  “Take the right, I’ll take the left,” Huck said to Trevan.

  Trevan shot two on the right; Huck took out three more on the left. More appeared in the alley, all wearing sports uniforms. By their height and size, they had to be basketball players. Trevan and Huck couldn’t kill them all. We had a few more minutes for my aura to catch up to me, and a few more seconds before the zeroes did. Trevan and Huck kept shooting, but beasts were closing in on us.

  “Over the fence, it’s the only way,” Huck said. He pushed into me, trying to get me up the fence.

  “But there are zeroes in there.” I pushed back at him.

  “Huck!” Trevan shouted.

  A zero had grabbed at Trevan, one with an especially long reach, and another was close behind. Suddenly I felt adrenaline rush through my body. Huck rushed two Zeroes that were coming close to us from the other side. The one near Trevan grabbed his arm and made him drop his weapon. I rushed over and picked up Trevan’s gun. Trevan was wrestling with the Zero.

  Another one was staggering toward me. Instead of running away, I rushed it forward, as close as I could get to it, and shot it in the head point-blank range. Glancing at Huck, I saw that he couldn’t help Trevan so it was up to me. I got in as close as I could. The thing dropped Trevan’s arm and lunged at me just as I pulled the trigger for a second time. The Zero dropped to my feet and Trevan took his gun.


  “Good job, Hella,” Trevan said. “We’ll make a fighter out of you yet.”

  “How many are over the fence?” Huck asked, not taking his eyes off of the incoming monsters.

  “Three,” I said.

  Huck handed me a gun. “I’ll hoist you over, aim for their head. We have no choice.”

  Huck hoisted me over the fence. My shirt rode up and his hand touched my bite-mark scar. By the look in his eyes, I could tell he had seen it, but there was no time. I jumped over the fence, landing smack-dab in the middle of Saudah’s backyard and facing her three zombified roommates. I then noticed the strangest thing—they were all shackled together by one long chain which was drilled into the fence. I was not in danger.

  “Huck, hurry over,” I yelled. “It’s safe.”

  Trevan appeared at the top of the fence and quickly dropped over. He regarded the zeroes and once he saw they weren’t a threat, he proceeded to look around the yard. “He needs something to stand on,” Trevan said. “Help me find something, fast.”

  I ran to the porch, where I knew Saudah kept a couple of folding chairs, snatched one and raced back to Trevan. Trevan called to Huck and hurled the chair over the fence. A few long seconds later, Huck appeared at the top and jumped to the ground in front of me.

  The creatures on the outside scratched and banged at the fence, but it was strong and didn’t budge with their weight. When Huck saw Saudah’s three chained roommates, he took his pistol, reloaded it, and shot all three of them in the head one at a time, perfect aim.

  “Who would chain them up like that?” Trevan asked, regarding the bodies. “That’s really creepy. Is your friend creepy, Hella?” I didn’t bother to respond. “I hope she wasn’t one of those.” I shook my head, no, thank goodness.

  “Let’s be extra cautious when we go inside,” Huck said, and then turned to me. “Where’s her room?”

  I pointed to the room next to the porch. “There, that one. You go in the back door, through the kitchen and it’s the room on the left.”