by Lake, D. K.
"No, I'm sorry, I think this zone has been cleared of any medical supplies. But if you can get into one of the safe zones I've heard they hand out free medicine in the shelters."
"Shelters?"
"Um, places designed to take in survivors or wanderers, kind of like a relief center, and they care for any sick people that can't stay in the hospitals."
"Are they easy to spot?"
"Yes, they have green banners, or so I'm told."
"Thanks."
"Are you sick?" Lawrence asked, his face etched with concern.
"No, not me, but one of our group is sick and they think it's pneumonia. He got the flu and it spread to his lungs. We thought he was getting better but then he went downhill and now we are desperately looking for meds."
"Pneumonia can be deadly if left untreated."
"Yes, that's what they keep telling me. It's why we were out there, searching for meds before the army showed up."
"Oh, I see. You'd be better off searching in the safe zone. There you go. I think that's you sorted." Lawrence said, rolling back the covers for me. "If you need anything I will be just down the hallway."
"Thank you." I said.
"Oooh, what do we have here?" Margo had found a Playboy magazine hidden under Lawrence's pillow.
"Oh uh...that's not mine." Lawrence blushed.
"Of course it's not. Don't worry, I won't tell dad, Freckles." Margo winked at Lawrence and his cheeks turned the same color as the cherry red of the sheets we had just covered the futon in.
Margo flopped onto the bed, flipping through the magazine.
"I bet those aren't real." she snorted.
Lawrence suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"Hey, I need water." I said to distract him, he looked so embarrassed and flustered I was afraid he might pass out or something.
I gently nudged him to the doorway and we stepped into the hallway.
"I'm sorry about her, she can be a little too brash sometimes. She's harmless though." I explained.
"I can still hear you!" Margo called.
"Um, do you like hot chocolate?" Lawrence asked after he had cooled off.
"Yes, I love it."
"Me too!" Margo shouted. She didn't miss anything.
Lawrence went about making us all a hot chocolate and I sat by the window to drink mine.
"Here, you can't drink hot chocolate without a cookie to dunk in it." Ansel said, leaning down next to his wheelchair and producing a large cookie tin which was full of all sorts.
"Thank you so much, you two have thoroughly spoiled us." I said, glancing back out the window. Lawrence walked around the living room area and covered all the windows with blackout curtains and lit a few candles in the kitchen and we all sat in the dim light.
The sudden flash of lightning lit up the sky outside and caught my attention which was soon followed by the pitter-patter of rain on the windows. Huh? Drew was right. I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself. Wherever he was right now I knew he would have a smirk on his face because he had won and I had lost, and he loved winding me up and this was going to wind me up no end. He never did tell me what it was he wanted me to agree to and the possibility that I may never see him again made it worse.
"Here comes the storm, it's been circling us for the last hour and it's finally decided to make an appearance," Ansel said, excitedly. "I do love a good storm."
I didn't. The last time I had been caught in a storm was back in Ohio when a tornado showed up and took the truck with it and all our supplies flew off.
I finished my hot chocolate and rested my elbow on the window ledge but I was so exhausted I think the last few days of walking were suddenly catching up with me and I kept dozing off. It was so late and I knew I needed to rest but all I wanted to do was keep checking out the window for Drew and Pope.
"You should get some rest. I can keep an eye out for your friends." Ansel assured me as my arm slipped off the ledge and I nearly fell headfirst onto the floor from my sitting position.
I reluctantly gave in and trudged off to bed, leaving Ansel on watch and Lawrence gluing together a wooden airplane next to the candlelight. I took a candle to the bedroom and found Margo was already passed out, snoring her head off. I flopped onto the futon and stared at the swirls on the ceiling. How could Margo fall asleep in two seconds flat? My brain wouldn't stop and I was overthinking everything and couldn't get comfortable, tossing and turning, worrying my little head off. I was desperate to take off these horrid contacts but I couldn't do that until I was back with the group. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep but the loud thunderstorm outside had me on edge. I blew out the candle and tried to go to sleep again. Another loud bang made me jump and a second later I felt a warm body sliding into the tiny space beside me. I knew it was Margo from the scent of her. She smelled like a perfume store the amount of crap she sprayed onto herself.
"What do you think you're doing?" I deadpanned, moving over to get away from her.
Another bang made her jump and squeal, and she threw the covers over her head and cuddled up beside me. Just great. Bitch-face-Margo was scared of a little thunderstorm. I said nothing else and rolled onto my side to face the wall and Margo squished herself up as close as possible to my back, making me feel all hot and cramped. I didn't get much sleep that night, thinking about Drew, and worrying about Lane.
The thunderstorm kept me awake and went on for hours as it circled above us causing Margo to squeal and squeak beside me, and whimpering like a small puppy, leaving me little room to breathe. I gave up trying to get comfortable and finally fell asleep with my nose pressed up against the wall.
Chapter 17
- Drew -
"Sorry, man. I really thought we were gonna find something good in there." Pope exhaled as we walked back out into the alleyway.
"It's ok. We'll come back out tomorrow." I responded.
Lane was slowing us down. I just wanted to get Nick to the White House and get the hell outta here with Alex. Now we were out scavenging for medicine.
"Do you think he'll get better?" Pope mused, talking about Lane.
"I dunno. To be honest I couldn't care less about what happens to the guy but Alex will be cut up if anything was to happen to him."
"Not much love for Lane, huh? What's the deal with you guys?"
"Alex used to be with him before she was with me." I said, searching my pockets for my smokes.
"Ah, so that explains the awkwardness between the three of you. So what made her switch?" Pope asked curiously as we made our way down the alleyway.
"She finally figured out the guy is a tool." I said and Pope laughed.
"Yep, he is definitely a tool. I can't believe he's hooking up with Margo. She's been around a bit, and she's bedded half the guys at the mill. I wouldn't touch that girl with a ten-foot pole. Sober." The crooked smile on his face told me had slept with her more than once.
I pulled out my smokes but didn't light one, looking up and down the street for Alex and the other one.
"Huh. Where'd the girls go?" Pope murmured, pacing back and forth in front of me.
I pocketed the smokes again and lifted the crossbow off my shoulder. Something wasn't right. I had specifically told Alex not to go off without me as we entered Washington. I trusted no one and I hadn't let Alex out of my sight until five minutes ago and now she had vanished.
"They were just here?" Pope said, confused.
I felt on edge. Alex wouldn't have gone off on her own without telling me so either something happened and she had to go with Margo or someone had been here and taken her. My whole body stiffened. The idea of anyone laying their hands on her made me want to crush skulls. No one touched Alex but me. I had to admit that since her eyes had changed I had been super protective over her. I mean, I was protective before but now I was losing even more sleep, always watching over her and keeping an eye on everyone else as they moved around her. She never noticed these things though as she was too busy worrying about Lane getting sick. He picked a shit
ty time to get sick. I think it would have been easier if he had caught the virus, we would have already buried him and we wouldn't be out here right now looking for meds for his dumbass. I really didn't like that guy.
"What do you think?" Pope asked.
"I dunno, let's check the buildings nearby, they might have wandered off to look inside." I said but my gut felt like I was lying to myself.
We searched the two buildings next to the alleyway but they were empty. We were still standing inside when we both heard footsteps pounding the street outside. I crouched down and peered over the edge of the window ledge. The windows had been smashed in a long time ago. Pope edged closer to me.
Two men in army camouflage ran past the broken windows and raced down the street, followed by a van driving slowly with another army man in the passenger seat, scanning the buildings out the window.
"What is that?" Pope muttered.
"I don't know. Army?"
"What are they looking for? We haven't seen any zombies."
The van parked at the other end of the street but from back here we couldn't see much.
"Come on. Stay low." I said, and crept out of the building and dashed across the street and into another opening between the buildings. I crouched down again and Pope peered over my shoulder. From here I had a better view. Of what I wasn't so sure.
One of the men appeared from a building, dragging an older man with him. The other army man followed them with a gun in his hands, his eyes scanning the street. Pope and I moved back a fraction. One of the men hopped out of the van and threw the back doors open. Inside there was another man tied up.
"That doesn't look good." Pope muttered.
I heard a scream and my head whipped around. I took off running between the buildings, stopping sharply at the end just as another van drove past and parked beside another one.
"They're everywhere." Pope gasped for air, coming up behind me.
He wasn't as fit as I was and it took him a moment to get his breath back.
I stole another peek around the corner wall and saw two men struggling to get a woman into the back of the van. One of her hands was tied and it looked as though she had just escaped and they were bringing her back again. Inside the van, I saw a man sitting on the floor with his hands tied behind his back but he wasn't putting up a fight like the woman was.
"What are they doing?" Pope asked, crouching down beside me.
"Collecting humans. Alex told me that the other girl Nick was treating had been picked up in Washington. She must have been in one of the neutral zones."
"Picked up?"
"Stolen. They take healthy people and send them off to get infected and then transport them to science labs to become lab rats."
"We're so close to the White House now." Pope mused.
"They probably started stealing people from the zones further out, the ones that appeared empty, but now they're closing in, widening their search for humans." I said.
"Should we help them?"
"Do you think that's wise?"
"No, I just thought I'd put it out there."
"If we stepped in to help them we might fail and get tossed into one of those vans."
"I know. I want to help. I know it's the right thing to do, but we can't."
"No, we can't." I said firmly before Pope got some hero complex.
It sounded selfish but there was no way I was risking my life-my freedom-for some strangers that had been picked up off the street.
"You don't think Alex and Margo are in one of those vans?"
The very thought of it made me see red. I tensed all over and Pope must have noticed.
"We should skulk around, lay low, check the other vans." I nodded in agreement and stood up. "Hey," Pope put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure Alex is safe. She probably saw the vans and got off the streets. She's smart like that. And if they had caught Margo we would have heard her by now, her scream is ridiculously high-pitched it's almost abnormal."
He was right. If they had caught up with Margo we would have heard. They couldn't have gone far. But where? We stayed in the shadows as the light started to fade, hiding in different buildings and watching as the vans went from street to street, collecting more humans and shoving them into the vans. The light completely faded but the street lights soon came on to light our way. I was still confused as to how the electric was on everywhere. Every other town had been lights out. This place still had the street signs flashing. The five vans eventually parked up for a break, the men were all chatting and having a smoke, standing under the streetlights while another one checked on the prisoners, but Alex and Margo were not with them. I felt bad for the people inside the vans but what could we do? It would be a suicide mission if we tried to help any of them.
I'd heard the thunder in the distance and it had gradually been getting closer. A streak of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. We hurried along the streets, both not wanting to get caught in the downpour. We ducked into a doorway to avoid getting seen by a group of people with bats. They didn't look too friendly. The rain started to come down hard. Another flash of lightning lit up our hiding spot and Pope gave me an odd look.
"Are you ok?" Pope asked, studying my face.
"Just peachy."
"Really? 'Cause you look like a psycho smiling to yourself. Please tell me you're not hearing voices inside your head?"
"My girl is missing and it's about to piss it down." I choked out a laugh.
Maybe I was losing it. There was only so long I could go without enough sleep. And today was already catching up with me. I just wanted to find Alex and get back to the hideout and hold her close as I got some sleep. I knew wherever she was she would be thinking the same thing right about now. I told her it was going to rain. I won the bet. She had no choice but to say yes now. But I had to find her first.
"Then why are you smiling? That makes no sense." Pope said.
"Not to you."
"Not to me? But Alex would understand why you're smiling menacingly into the night, watching the rain come down? You two are so strange."
I nodded in agreement. Not many people understood Alex and me. We were like the same person some days. The way she knew what I was thinking by just one look at me. Things had really changed between us since that night in the duck hut...and now I felt as though I couldn't breathe without her. I swear she could read my soul the way she looked at me sometimes. I couldn't lose her. Not now. We were so close to getting out of here and leaving all this behind us.
"We should head back and find the others. It's where Alex would go." Pope said.
I knew he was right. She would know to return to the others if she couldn't find us. But I was torn between wanting to go back and wanting to stay out just in case she was still out here.
"They'll be wondering where we are by now." Pope reminded me.
I didn't give a shit about the others, not really. They meant nothing to me. All I wanted was to find Alex. She was all I cared about.
I ran a hand through my hair. We had been out searching, going from building to building all the while keeping tabs on the vans and where they were and how many people they had caught.
"Ok." I finally gave in and agreed to go back with him. "She better be there." I grunted.
"If she isn't we'll come back." Pope assured me.
Pope was genuine. You know that saying, what you see is what you get, well, that's Pope. He was easy enough to get along with and he didn't talk as much as some people had the tendency to do so I didn't mind having him around so much.
We kept to the shadows, avoiding human contact. It was strange, even with the threat of the vans there were still people coming out of the woodwork, darting down alleyways and ducking through door frames. It was like everyone came out at night but no one stopped, they all minded their own business and hurried to where it was they were going. I saw deals happening on street corners, packages being
exchanged for other packages. I got the fee
ling there was an underground network here, the way people were making exchanges. You asked and they supplied you just had to have something they wanted. We hurried through the streets, passing buildings with large black Xs on the side. Black meaning death. I had already come to the conclusion that those were full of the dead and made sure to avoid them.
We made it back to the store where we had originally stopped at and I carefully climbed through.
"Shit." Pope muttered behind me and when I looked over my shoulder I saw that he had caught his arm on a jagged piece of glass and it was bleeding.
Hutch had already spotted the pair of us from his lookout by the window. He jumped down and walked over to greet us.
"You're back. We were starting to think you'd got lost. Where's Alex?" Hutch said, looking out the window behind us and my stomach dropped. She wasn't here. Fucking great. My eyes slid to Pope. I wanted to hit him. He had told me over and over we should come back, that she'd be here. But she wasn't. I knew none of this was his fault but I still wanted to hit someone.
"I honestly thought they would be here. This is where she would go." Pope said, shaking his head, his hand on his arm where the glass had sliced through his sweatshirt and cut his skin. He marched past Hutch and into the back room.
Sully finally decided to get up from the corner he was sitting in. He was supposed to be keeping watch with Hutch but instead, he was flipping through a magazine, being completely useless.
"Get over there and keep watch. There are guys dressed in army camouflage with guns hunting people and shoving them in vans." I ground out, wiping the back of my arm over my face to get the rain off.
"What?" Hutch blinked.
"Just stay alert." I said, eyeballing Sully and he went over to the shattered window and stood guard, his eyes scanning the shadows outside.
"What happened? Where is she?" Hutch asked.
"I don't know. We separated for all of two seconds and then these guys in vans showed up and I think Alex and Margo took off somewhere."
"I was just going to come looking for you."
"What time is it?" I asked.
I knew it was late, we'd been searching for countless hours but I had lost track of the time and I had lost my trusty pocket watch a few weeks ago.