Darcy winced but didn’t complain as Shane wrapped the meaty part of her forearm, where the damage was most severe. “I want to get to where we need to go as soon as we can. I can drive one-handed as long as the storm doesn’t get any worse and the snow doesn’t come and mess up the roads.”
Shane nodded and finished the wrapping. He pinned the material with two silver clips and rubbed his hands together. “We didn’t grab a sling. I don’t even know if the pharmacies would have had any.”
“They did,” Darcy interjected. “Damn it, I should have grabbed at least a couple.”
Shane cupped her face with one hand and smiled as he patted her cheek. “Don’t worry about it, kid. You can’t think of everything.”
Darcy returned the smile and sighed as Shane dropped his hand. “If we don’t think of everything, we’re going to end up slipping. We have to be smarter than what it seems most people have become.”
“Hey,” Shane said in an encouraging tone, “we’re working on it. When we can hunker down and start defending a place, we’re going to have a better chance to prepare and keep ourselves safe.”
Darcy looked at the truck, where Stephanie had mixed a bottle of formula and begun feeding Leila. “That didn’t work out so well at the motel,” she reminded Shane.
“That wasn’t intended to be our permanent place, though. The island is remote. We can make it secure.” He sighed and pulled his coat closer around his chest. He’d slipped his thick, fur-lined leather gloves back on but he couldn’t banish the chill from his skin.
“It’s going to be dark by the time we get there now, isn’t it?”
Shane nodded. “We took longer than expected gathering our supplies and you need to rest your arm. If we hadn’t fallen for what Gina was selling…”
“Hey, it’s hard to believe everyone’s an asshole. Even before they wanted to eat us, I didn’t do a very good job judging most people.”
“Well, hopefully we won’t have to do much of it when we get to the island.” Switching topics, he gestured to Dylan. “Do you want to take the little man out for a bit? I’ll start moving this stuff to Stephanie’s open seat.”
“We didn’t pack the overhead storage hardly at all, either,” Darcy reminded Shane. “Some of it can go up there, too.”
With a nod, Shane moved to the back seat and started to grab things that could be put inside the topper storage. After a few minutes of moving supplies around, his skin glowed warmly within his heavy clothing. A thin film of sweat had appeared on his forehead and he wiped at it with the sleep of his thick wool coat before returning to his own vehicle.
Stephanie held Leila against her, cocooning the girl in warmth and steady arms. Leila snuggled comfortably with the soft-hearted blonde, choosing to lay contentedly instead of struggling to be released.
“You’ve still got a seat free,” Shane told her as he hopped into the driver’s seat. Without doing physical work, the cold had quickly crept back in and stolen his warmth from him. He sighed his relief as the warmth of the truck’s cab warmed him once more.
Stephanie nodded as Leila peeked her little head up so she could look at Shane. Stephanie handed him the infant girl with a smile. “I saw you were putting things in the toppers. Not likely that I’ll try to pick someone up again, though. Believe me, I can do without another screw up like that.”
“Steph, they plotted it to go that way.” Shane’s voice scolded, but his dark eyes were gentle. “It’s hard to trust instincts with what’s going on right now. You’re a fighter and a survivor. Even if it’s hard to find a way right now, we’re going to find it eventually.”
Stephanie chuckled and stroked Leila’s silky hair. “I believe it, Shane. But let’s stick with your instincts from now on. I won’t have to fight as hard to survive if you keep us out of shit like that.”
Shane grinned. “Haven’t I been telling you that for years? ‘Just listen to me, Stephanie,’ ‘Just trust me, Stephanie,’ ‘Have I ever, ever steered you wrong, woman?’ I don’t know why it took the world ending for you to admit I’m usually right.”
“Oh, ha ha. You’re fuckin’ hilarious,” she said wryly.
“Hey, watch the language. You have to be a good role model now.”
“Uh uh, buddy. I didn’t sign on for baby-raising duties.” Stephanie’s words of objection were tempered by a sweet smile as she stroked a finger down Leila’s cheek. “Of course, I shouldn’t swear so much anyway. Maybe I can work on it.”
Shane steered the conversation to the more dire matter at hand. “We have to go soon. I want to be to the marina as soon as we can.”
“Does it even matter right now?” Stephanie asked with a frown. “I mean, they can come out in the storm, obviously. Enough cloud cover keeps them safe. Should we wait out the storm somewhere before we try to make it to the marina?”
Shane shook his head. “At least one of them would see us and follow us if we tried to park anywhere. We don’t have the gas to drive until the storm and the night passes. Plus, I doubt any of us could stay awake that long.”
“We could pump ourselves full of Red Bull and caffeine pills,” Stephanie suggested in a half-joking tone.
“Darcy wouldn’t,” Shane objected. “She breastfeeds Dylan and I’m sure she doesn’t want that shit keeping her from being able to produce healthy milk for him.”
“Are you sure you’re a guy?” Stephanie teased. “I feel like an ass for not thinking of that and I’m a woman.”
“Three nephews, remember? I had to hear the breastfeeding spiel every time my sister had another.”
He stared out the windshield for a moment, letting his eyes focus on the storm clouds. Hoping it would distract him from thoughts of his family was in vain. Whenever he had a spare moments, he wondered how Trinity was doing through the upheaval of the world around them. She’d be taking care of her boys in whatever way she could, Shane knew. She was stronger and more determined than either of the men who’d fathered her children. Shane trusted her to keep Jeremiah, Nathan, and Brandon safe. He just hoped beyond hope that he’d see them again one day.
“I’m sure they’re fine, Shane.” Stephanie put a hand on his arm and gave him her most encouraging smile.
He nodded and gave Leila a hug. “Well, sweets, we should get you back into your seat and get ready to head out. I’m going to go check on Darcy again. Do you think you can handle getting Leila strapped in?”
Stephanie reached out to take the girl. “Absolutely, but you’d best check to make sure I did it right when you come back. I don’t have as much kid experience as you do.”
Shane approached the van and saw that Darcy had Dylan out in the backseat. He was eating a pack of snack crackers and playing with a small stuffed kitty Shane hadn’t seen before.
“This is Pink,” Darcy said as she waved at the soft blue cat. “Maggie named it. I didn’t get the joke but I couldn’t call it any other name. Some things just stick.”
“It gives him some character, I’m sure,” Shane said with a smile. “We’re about ready to head out. You ready?”
Darcy nodded and stepped out of the van. “I’ll get Dylan back in his seat.”
Shane moved around the vehicle instead and waved her back to the driver’s side. “I’ve got this. Try to put as little strain on your arm as you can, okay?”
Hesitant but still hurting, Darcy agreed although she didn’t like it. She watched closely as Shane strapped her boy in.
Shane stepped back after giving the boy a hand squeeze. “He’s good to go. Want to check out my work, Mama?”
Darcy gave Shane an exasperated smile. Even though he was teasing her, she didn’t mind. “He looks fine. Lead on, fearless leader.”
“Fearless, my ass,” Shane replied before he came around and shut Darcy’s door for her.
He got back in his truck and they drove into the darker clouds of an even nastier storm front approaching. He knew that by the time they got to the marina, there wouldn’t be a chance of the sun peeking
through those rolling black monsters to deliver them from certain death in the event of a corrupted attack. They would have to get to the marina unnoticed if they hoped to transport themselves and the majority of their supplies to the island.
He lifted the walkie talkie he’d gotten from Stephanie, depressed the button to speak, and said, “Can everyone still hear me?”
They’d checked the frequencies before they’d departed but he wanted to make sure that even while they drove, they’d be able to contact each other.
Darcy and Stephanie’s voices came through at once, jumbling their responses to his question.
He chuckled. “I take it that’s a yes. How about it one of us addresses everyone, we say who we want to speak next, if we’re in a situation that allows for it. Sound good? Stephanie, answer first.”
“Sounds good to me.” Her voice was bright even over the slight crackle carried by the walkie talkies. “Darcy, you think that will work.”
“Sure,” Darcy answered. “Just like volleyball. Call it out.” She quit depressing her button midway through a genuine laugh.
Shane echoed Darcy’s laughter and shook his head before depressing the button to communicate again. “We have to get in there unobserved. Anyone have an idea of how we can do that? Stephanie, suggestions?”
“Distraction tactic!” Stephanie proposed enthusiastically. “Shane, what do you think? Is there anything we can set off to draw the crazy bastards away?”
Shane thought about it for a moment before he spoke into the walkie talkie again. “If it was summer, we could do any number of things. They always have those little fireworks tents set up in grocery store parking lots and gas stations. Is there anything we could blow up that would draw them in? Darcy, what are you thinking?”
“They seem to like fire,” Darcy offered. “What if we set a really big bonfire somehow?”
“We’d probably have to use gasoline,” Shane said before continuing, “Oh, oops. Sorry I didn’t wait my turn. Stephanie, what do you think?”
“I think we’re pretty limited in what we can use to set fires,” she admitted. “I mean, it isn’t as easy as you’d think to get a big blaze going. Anything to add to that, Shane?”
“I’ll bow down to your fire starting skills but that still leaves us without any idea what to use as a distraction. Steph, take it or pass it.”
Stephanie’s voice crackled out. Her frustration was obvious in her tone. “Pass.”
“Why don’t we crash a car into a gas station or something?” Darcy asked. “I mean, not have someone in the car to crash it, but put a brick on a gas pedal or something and send some big bastard of a truck at the pumps? Stephanie?”
Stephanie hesitated for a long moment. The sight of their exit rushed her along, insisting she answer before the three vehicles turned off into the road which would lead them to the small town housing the marina Shane had suggested.
“I love the creativity but I just…I don’t think it would work. How are we going to do this, guys?”
As they drove down the main street of the town, Darcy saw a large red, white, and silver building. The monstrous rigs that typically sat outside the tall garage doors were nowhere to be seen but at least one of the doors was open.
“Fire station!” Darcy called out. She realized she didn’t have the button on the walkie depressed, so she hit it and said, “The fire station, guys!”
The police and fire station sat next to each other on the right side of the road. Darcy thought they might both have sirens that could be turned on. If so, the corrupted would be drawn to the sounds.
It was just as likely to draw survivors, though. Darcy thought about it as she slowed the van. Was she willing to be responsible for any deaths the plan would cause? If people went to the stations to seek salvation and instead found themselves walking into a group of corrupted, could Darcy live with herself?
You don’t even know if anyone would come, if there’s even anyone left, her coldly logical internal voice murmured. But if there were people still alive, Darcy knew, the risk was present. You wouldn’t see… the devious voice inside whispered. But I’d know, Darcy sent back in her last volley in the internal argument she waged.
She pulled the van into the parking lot of the station. The risk was worth the reward. Otherwise, they probably weren’t getting anywhere near the marina.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ken Larson had run away from things as often as he’d pursued them in his life. He’d run from sports and friends and women, from emotional connections he thought were too clingy, too intense, too personal for him to handle. He’d established himself as a responsible man, a cool associate, a level-headed professional.
He didn’t feel like any of those things now.
Crashing through the brush and fallen leaves on the forest floor, Ken ran like he’d never run before. He’d seen everything happening at the church in almost slow motion. Gwen, then Ivy, then Brooke. They’d changed. He’d felt the call, too but, as with many things in his life, he’d run from it.
He didn’t want to be one of those things existing without an identity, killing without a conscience, dying without a soul. The only thing he could think to do to get away from that eventuality had been to run.
Ken felt bad about leaving the others. They might have needed his expertise to deal with the wounds, grievous as they might have been, from the unexpected turning of the members of their group within their supposed sanctuary. Ken regretted that. He also regretted that he couldn’t move faster.
A small, stout tree appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Ken smacked his shin into it. Running at full speed, the impact against the rough bark was almost enough to draw blood, definitely enough to bruise. He bent over and grabbed himself around the calf, closing his eyes against the pain and panting heavily.
He pulled himself to his feet and wondered if he’d gotten far enough away. He might be a safe distance from the church now but he wondered if other people from the town were out and about in the woods, cavorting in the moonlight like the worshippers of darkness and evil desires they’d become.
Standing as still as he could, Ken executed several deep breathing exercises to make himself stop taking such quick, shallow breaths. He needed to be calm if he was to figure out what he could do now with any reliable logic. He hoped the lessened noise and panic-fueled adrenaline rush abating would leave him more open to the surrounding area.
The first thing he realized was that the forest was dark as it was deep. Sound expelled from his mouth or footsteps drifted into the darkness and vanished as though something snapped them up in a quick, hungry mouth. The snow had a dampening effect. Noises were muffled and hard to identify. A deer bounding through the trees might send the same amount of noise as a rushing corrupted pounding across the frozen ground toward him.
Though the winter weather and thickness of the trees played their part, the forest was silent for other reasons. No bird calls or animal chirps interrupted the almost otherworldly hush. No owls hooted amongst themselves; their big eyes following this man exiled into the primordial part of his world. He was a confident, intelligent mover where he’d existed previously. Here, he was more frozen than the solid ground. He didn’t know what to do or where to go.
He heard the noise of footsteps only moments before he saw another lifeform. Because he knew he couldn’t trust anyone this night, Ken tried to hide in a thick copse of trees to the left of him. It wasn’t as though there was a trail to veer off of. Anything in the woods would be as lost as he was, wandering around until something or someone awakened their curiosity. Or their hunger. Ken didn’t want to confront one of those things, especially if its only intention was to eat him.
From between the crisp, prickly needles of a short pine tree, Ken saw a boy slow his pace to an easy job. Ken squinted his eyes at the child, wondering at his age and why he was alone as well as whether or not he was afflicted.
Something was different about this one. Ken knew it almost as soon as he
focused his whole attention on the youth. The thing inside of Ken swelled within his chest, as though reaching toward the energy of the boy. It didn’t claw against the insides of Ken’s body, and for that he was grateful. However, the feeling of it pulsing inside of him made Ken shudder. The shadow in residence alongside his own soul longed to do whatever was in possession of the boy wanted. The feeling was so intense, so pure, that Ken almost felt it was an emotion he was experiencing completely on his own.
The boy stopped. He turned in a circle once, looking at the trees around him. When he turned to glance at Ken’s hiding place, the doctor saw his dark eyes glitter, as though light shined from within them instead of merely reflecting the glow of the cold moon.
He knows I’m here, Ken thought. There was no question in his mind. Whatever the boy was, whatever it had inside of him, it was aware of Ken’s presence.
The child smirked and held out one small hand. With a slight wave, he gestured for Ken to move forward.
Indecision rooted him to the spot, same as any of the trees around him.
“You won’t like what I’m going to do to you,” the child’s voice rang out, “but you’ll like it even less if I have to drag you out of there.”
Ken couldn’t explain how mocking and menacing the boy’s voice was. There was some abundance of knowledge within his words, echoing and ageless. The words could have come from a dark god; horned, scaly, with a viper’s tongue and eyes of molten copper. Instead, it was issued from the body of a child who could have been no more than ten years old. It frightened Ken just the same.
With raised hands, Ken moved from the pathetic protection of the trees. “Please,” he said, even though he didn’t know what he could possibly be begging for. It wasn’t as though the entity would give him anything he asked for.
“You’ve lost your group,” the child observed. “I called for you to bring the uncorrupted to me. You don’t have any. How do you come before the Bringer of Wounds empty handed?”
Out of the Dark: An apocalyptic thriller Page 33