I turned back around and stared numbly out the window, wondering what the hell we were going to do now. Where were we even going to go? Fires still burned in the distance, smoke billowing up into the sky creating black clouds of death. I could still hear the occasional wail of an alarm going off somewhere, but there were no screams anymore. The world and its occupants had grown silent.
Nolan reached over and patted my hand. He gripped it, squeezing gently and offering me a brief look of remorse, before putting his hand back on the steering wheel. It was a sad attempt at soothing me, no doubt; he wasn’t exactly Mr. Emotions, but I appreciated the sentiment, nonetheless.
“Shiiiiit, that was intense!” Barrett barked out a laugh, startling me and breaking into my morbid thoughts.
“There’s nothing to laugh about, dude,” Leon replied. “Two of our friends just fucking died.”
He sounded angry, really angry, and I turned in my seat to look at him. His normally light-hearted eyes were hard and cold as they bored into Barrett. He still had smears of blood all over him, which only made him look more frightening.
“Leon,” I said his name gently, intending for more words to follow, but when his cold stare turned to me, nothing else came out.
Barrett was a complete dickhead, no doubt. But we all dealt with stressful situations in our own way. Maybe this was his? Or maybe I was giving him the benefit of the doubt when it was undeserved. I had no idea on anything anymore. Sam looked over to me. There was still a pink hint in the whites of her eyes that likely no one else but Nolan and I would notice, but it was there all the same. She was sat close to Barrett, certainly close enough for me to take note of it.
He didn’t seem her type at all; he was too rough, too cocky, and she was too pretty and perfect. But then again, it wasn’t like I knew her all that well either. She seemed the prim and proper type, but clearly she had a taste for the dark and dangerous too.
“Well, excuuuuse motherfucking me,” Barrett said with exaggerated sarcasm. “I am so sorry, son, I didn’t realize that you had known them more than a handful of days. If I would have known that y’all were best buddies I would have kept my devilish tongue quiet.” He chuckled again, sarcasm dripping from him.
“We might not have known them that long, but that doesn’t change the fact that we were friends,” Leon snapped back. His hand was at his waist, and I had a feeling that it was on whatever weapon he had there.
I frowned, wondering just how far he was prepared to go with this argument. He didn’t seem the sort to lose his cool so easily, yet he seemed unhinged. A fire in his belly I’d not seen before.
“It’s done now,” I said, my voice soft and empty. “Barrett’s right, we weren’t exactly friends—”
“How can you say—”
“I haven’t finished, Leon!” I snapped. I felt angry, sad, sick to my stomach with the whole world. “We weren’t exactly friends, Barrett, clearly not by your standards, but it doesn’t make it any less painful. So maybe you could keep your mouth shut if you haven’t got anything useful to say. You’re causing more pain and stress in an already horrible situation, damn it!”
Barrett held his hands up in mock surrender. “Damn, UK, I feel like I’m being told off by God damn Mary Poppins. Gotta say, I like it.” He continued to chuckle, and I turned back around in my seat. I was so over all of this. Over him. And Leon. And the bloody zombies! It was hard to believe that this was really my life.
The van fell silent, all of us trying to ignore the deadly abominations beyond the glass and metal. Nolan dodged as many as he could, occasionally clipping one, but as we ventured further from the terminal, there seemed to be less of them.
“So, where am I heading? Anyone have any thoughts?” Nolan asked, his gaze firmly on dodging crashed vehicles and zombies that got in our path as he continued to get us out of the car park.
Karla leaned forwards. “I have my sister that I need to check on. She has two little kids. Her husband Andrew used to be in the army so I’m sure he’s taken real good care of them, but I need to get to them. Need to know for myself that they’re all okay.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Nolan replied.
“Shouldn’t shit like this be put to a vote? Since we’re all such good friends an’ all,” Barrett cooed.
“I vote we let you out right here, right now,” Leon bit out.
“I’d vote for that,” Karla snarked, raising an eyebrow at Barrett as her lips pursed together.
Barrett laughed, seemingly unconcerned. He rolled his shoulders, his steely gaze fixing in on Leon. Jesus, there was too much testosterone in this truck.
“There’s nothing to vote on. No one is going out in this alone. We stick together. And that means getting Karla to her family. You don’t like it, then get the fuck out of my truck,” Nolan said, sounding completely calm.
Barrett laughed again. “Get out of your truck? Who says it’s yours? And y’all need to make your minds up, because I thought no one was going out in this alone.”
Nolan slammed on the brakes and the truck came to an abrupt stop. He glanced sideways at me before slowly turning in his chair to face Barrett.
“Are you purposefully trying to piss everyone off? Because you’re definitely beginning to piss me off, and I can assure you, you really don’t want to do that. If you want to leave—get your own truck and head on out—be my guest. I don’t think you’ll find anyone trying to stop you from leaving. If not, shut the fuck up, sit the fuck back, and enjoy the fucking ride.”
I glanced at Sam, sensing her unease with the thought of Barrett leaving; her hand lay on top of his thigh, resting there like they were an old married couple. I frowned, confused as to when this had happened and how I had missed it.
Thick silence descended between the two men, and I slowly put my hand to my hip and rested it on my gun. Barrett continued to smile, his body relaxed, whereas everyone else was tense and stressed. The only telltale signs that he was bothered by what Nolan had said were the tight lines around his eyes and his cold stare.
“Barrett,” Sam said his name softly and he looked down at her. “Come on, we all need to stick together.”
His smile widened. “You’re right, Sam.” His hand went to the back of her neck and he leaned down, pulling her in with his hand, and planted a heavy kiss on her mouth. He kissed her roughly, laying claim to her mouth like it was a possession to keep. I stared in shock like I waiting for the other shoe to drop because I just couldn’t see it. Sam and Barrett?
When he was done, he pulled out of the kiss and sat back in his chair. “Better get moving, boss man. The rotters are on their way.”
Nolan grumbled something and turned in his chair. He put the truck into gear and started driving again. We were nearly to the main terminal exit when we saw someone running down the road, zombies coming at them from all angles.
“Shit, Nolan!” I said, pointing to the man.
Nolan started to speed up and we all moved over to get a clearer view, willing the man to run faster as the horde got closer.
“Lord, he’s not going to make it!” Karla gasped.
Nolan sped up more, the engine revving as he swung the truck around three zombies that had shambled out to join the rest of their brethren. They reached for us as we passed them and I swallowed down the sickly feeling in my stomach at the sight of their burnt-away faces, their clothes melted to their bloody bodies.
“Wait,” Sam said from the backseat. “Nolan, wait!”
I threw her a look. “Wait? We don’t have time to bloody well wait!”
“That’s Trent,” she said, anger in her voice, her teeth gritted. She glared at the back of Nolan’s head. “You guys didn’t kill him…”
There was a coldness in her tone, a hardness that I hadn’t heard before, and I shuddered. Her hair was plastered to her head by sweat and zombie blood, her face pale and her pink-tinged eyes staring out at me, and my god she scared me in that moment. Maybe this was the way it was going to b
e now: taking life without a second thought. God, I hoped not. I turned back to the window, staring hard at the figure as we approached him.
“What? Nolan?” I said, frowning as I focused on the man running. Jesus, it was Trent, I realized, a sick feeling pooling in my empty gut. I couldn’t blame Sam for wanting Trent dead; I did too, deep down. And those feelings bubbled to the surface as I saw him. “You didn’t kill him?” I gritted out. The same hardness I’d heard in Sam’s tone only moments ago, I now heard in my own.
Barrett started to laugh again—a deep, bellowing laugh that echoed throughout the truck and rattled around my skull. “That guy’s like a fucking roach! I thought we’d left him for dead for sure!”
Trent turned when he heard the sound of our truck. He started to wave his arms in the air and shout at us to stop, and I wound my window down as Nolan slowed the truck enough for Trent to see that it was us inside of it. His eyes went wide, his arms hitting out at anything that got too close to him as he continued to run alongside of us.
“Wait, let me in! Please, you can’t leave me here!” he begged, rivers of sweat trailing down his face.
I stared at him through the glass as I rolled my window up completely, an uncontrollable sneer on my face as I watched the desperation in his eyes. Seeing him just made me think of Alexa again. And thinking of her made the realization that she was gone all the harder to accept. I shook my head at Trent and he slammed a hand on the side of the truck.
What had he done to her?
What had he intended to do?
And dear God, how many others had he harmed?
I felt sick.
I felt full of rage and hate.
“This ain’t right,” Karla sobbed from the back, her feelings mixed up on what was right and what was wrong to do. But right and wrong had gone out the window when the dead had started to walk the earth. Things had changed.
“Hey, fuckface!” Barrett bellowed with a loud laugh, drawing Trent’s gaze to him. Barrett held up his middle finger and laughed louder.
Trent tripped over his own feet, slamming down to his knees. He dived back up and continued to run as bloody hands grabbed on to the back of his shirt and blood soaked through the knees of his jeans. “Please!” he screamed. “I’m sorry, I’m fucking sorry, okay! I shouldn’t have opened the doors, shouldn’t have let them in. I was just angry at you all, I’m sorry, please!”
I sucked in a breath as the meaning behind his words swirled around in my brain. He’d opened the doors and let them in… I swallowed around the knot in my throat and glared at him. Jamie and Alexa were dead now, all because of him. Maybe it was fate, because it seemed that no matter what we did, Trent was destined to destroy Alexa.
“Get us out of here, Nolan,” I said bitterly.
As the dead caught up with him, converging on all sides and dragging him to the ground, I left my window down, enjoying the sound of him being torn apart as Nolan floored the gas and we sped away.
Chapter three.
Sam
My mouth was tingling, like Barrett’s lips were still pressed against them.
I shook my head a little to try to stop thinking about it, but it didn’t help—considering my head was leaning against his firm chest, and moving only reminded me of that fact. My senses seemed heightened, every sound, every touch, every scent stronger than anything I had felt before. My stomach clenched as Barrett moved and his masculine scent washed over me again. I almost moaned out loud, my head feeling dizzy.
What I should have been thinking about were the people we’d lost. Not Trent—fuck Trent. But Alexa and Jamie. And possibly Akhira. That sobered me, at least enough for my lips to stop humming with the memory of the firm kiss.
Karla was giving Nolan directions. Her voice was a murmur to me, all mutated and muffled. She’d stopped crying over Trent, though, once Rose conveyed the meaning behind his last words and pitiful apology. But Karla was a God-fearing woman, despite everything we were currently living, and she was struggling with the thought that we’d left him to die. Honestly, I couldn’t see how anyone could have shed a single tear for him, but we were all different people in a godforsaken world, so who was I to judge?
I couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything. Even thinking about our dead wasn’t enough to hold my attention for long.
I stared out at the landscape as we moved past it; everything was a kaleidoscope of color. The green-hued grass was nearly an artificial shade of emerald. Signs sprouted out of the ground like flowers. Punches of white in the form of painted businesses. Riots of silver gave way to windows of corporate buildings. Everything in the faraway distance.
And it all seemed to be burning or veiled in smoke.
That fact caused a great and terrible hole to spring to life in my stomach. It grew into a dark abyss. I could feel myself sinking into real grief, real sorrow, real terror.
A hand touched my cheek then. I looked up to find Barrett watching me, his eyes narrowed yet his face still somehow unreadable. It was then that I realized I was silently crying, tears slicking down my face like tiny rivers.
“Sorry, I’m fine.” I said the words quickly, swiping a hand across my eyes to steal away some of the dampness.
“None of us are fine,” he responded in an unusually sentimental way, his voice rounded and soft-edged. Nothing sharp about his tone anymore. It was the polar opposite of how he’d spoken to Nolan only moments before.
“Well, I don’t want to die.” I averted my gaze, looking back at the mayhem beyond the vehicle. “And so I need to be fine. I have to be okay.”
“I get that.” He wrapped one arm around me tighter, his fingers digging into my waist almost painfully. It was reassuring though, as if he were saying with his body what he couldn’t with his words. It wasn’t like the kiss—which I felt was, at least in part, done for show.
Karla had gone quiet, I realized as I sat there in comfortable quietude, drawing strength from Barrett’s embrace. Everyone was quiet. We drove in silence for a long while, and at some point I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke, the airport was gone from sight.
I stayed where I was, breathing in Barrett’s strength, hoping it would find purchase inside me. I felt someone staring at me, and when I looked up, I saw it was Rose. She was worried, as always. Were my eyes still red? Were my cheeks flushing with new fever? But I felt good—better than good. I felt strangely alive. Like I could sense everything around me. Hear everything. And my sense of smell was incredibly sensitive to the fact that we all stunk of zombie gore. Nolan and Leon had cracked a window, but it did little to help. In fact, in some ways it was worse because now I could smell the world. The fires and the death and the blood.
So
much
blood…
I mouthed you okay? to her. She nodded, giving me a small smile. All the while, her hand did not leave the gun resting against her hip. I wondered if it was for her comfort. Or for mine.
“This is it,” Karla piped up from the back. “The blue one with the wonky shutter on the bottom window.”
Nolan turned deftly into a small driveway. I stared at the townhome that was in relatively good shape, though the surrounding homes looked a little beaten up. It was an older neighborhood, definitely not for the LA elite. I glanced up and down the street, happy not to see any zombies nearby.
“Her car should have been here,” Karla spoke again from the back. “I don’t like that she’s not here.”
“Would she have been at work when everything happened?” Rose leaned forward in her seat, looking up at the only large window on the first floor above the garage. The door was to the right of the vehicle parking, a bright red jolt of color that somehow worked with the colonial shade of blue.
“No, she’s a stay-at-home mom. Got my niece and nephew to look after. Benji works downtown. Security head at a big company. I’m sure he came home though, as soon as crap started happening. He wouldn’t leave Kandace alone.”
“Then I’m sure he c
ame home and took them someplace safe. Or maybe she’s got her car in the garage.” Rose tried to make Karla feel better. Her tone was soft and kind, mature past her years. The accent, somehow, made everything she said more soothing too.
Karla chuckled; the sound was nervous. “Not even a teensy electric car would fit in that space, and Kandace has a gas-guzzler.”
“Let’s just get inside and plan our next move. We’ve got nowhere else to go and it’s not safe to just idle here.” Nolan shifted into park and shut off the engine. “You got a key?”
“No, but I know where they hide the extra.” Karla moved her bulk impatiently, obviously ready to jump out of the van and see if her sister was, indeed, gone.
Rose hopped out first, taking out her gun and holding it firmly with one hand while using the other to open the van’s sliding door. The rest of us piled out, most of us still looking fight-worn and bloody. Somehow, Barrett—though equally as blood-spattered as the rest of us—looked at ease in his clothes and skin. His eyes were bright, twinkling. It was almost as if he was in his element. Which wasn’t possible…since, to my knowledge, the world had never gone through a damn zombie Armageddon before. But maybe blood and carnage, without the zombies, was his world.
Shuffling to the side of the townhome—it was an end unit—Karla picked up a fake rock, which was more realistic than average, and came back to the front door holding a silver key, catching the sunlight in her hand like a shard of starlight hope.
A house we could lock up. Only so many entrances, no ground-floor windows that I could see unless there was one on the back side of the building. We could sleep soundly—maybe some of us on couches and beds.
Nolan insisted on entering first, in case danger lurked. Rose went after him, wordlessly refusing to leave his side. Barrett entered next, tugging at my hand before letting go and giving me a quirked smile. I just wanted to stand outside for a few moments longer. There was no movement around us. It felt relatively safe. I wanted to soak up the UV rays like they were an outlet and I was plugging into them, a phone on its last bar of charge. But more than that, now that I was out of the cramped vehicle, I was feeling less restless. It was too intense in that truck, with the scent of the dead on us all, and being so close to so many people, their blood frantically pumping through them…
Red Eye | Season 1 | Episode 4 Page 3