by White, A. L.
“I didn’t name them. They belonged to an old friend and have since become part of the family. They don’t belong to me. They stay because they want to. Zeus knows he can leave whenever he chooses.” Virginia surveyed the tall grass and thick trees. “We should move into the field, so I can feel a bit better that an ambush isn’t waiting for me.”
Pippa rolled her eyes and nodded her agreement. “Like I had planned to run into the woods and climb that tree? You’re giving me a whole lot of credit, thank you.”
Just past the thistle, Virginia pointed to a spot where the ground didn’t look as hard and rocky.
Pippa nodded and sat down, keeping a close eye on Virginia and the dogs.
“Judging by your looks, you’ve had it hard recently,” Virginia said. “Don’t be mistaken by thinking we haven’t had it hard too.”
“We?”
“My friends. Charlie and Jermaine are up the street searching the shops for supplies.”
“Good luck. Most of what’s left here has spoiled over time.” Pippa stood and stretched her legs. “Okay, lead the way then. We might as well get this over with.”
“You can tell them that when you meet them.” Virginia noticed the change in Pippa’s facial expression from a casual look to fear. “We’re looking for my sister. You’re more than welcome to come along, or we can give you directions to the town we came from. People like us are there, and you’ll be safe.” With Pippa still looking like she would run at any moment, Virginia added, “You can decide when you meet them. If you want to be on your way, we can send you with some supplies and a better gun than this old twenty-two.”
Chapter 7
Stu lead Lori through side streets lined with trees and neatly manicured lawns. People sat on the front porches, drinking refreshments and having a game of catch in the front yard while kids played with jump ropes and riding bikes. It was a dream she’d had so many times since they’d taken away her father. It warmed her soul to see the children being children and not cowering from the evils that lurked in the unknown. Soul? That was a thought Lori wasn’t so sure of. Did she still have a soul? Could the Almighty have let this happen? Shaking her head to rattle the thought free, Lori resumed marveling at this world.
Stu turned into the courtyard of a condominium complex. “Well, here we are. Number six has been assigned to you for as long as you want it or are here.”
“Assigned to me?”
“We have a number of places for new arrivals to settle into. Later, if you find a place in the newer sections, you can request them. Lately, we’ve been adding whole subdivisions at a blink of an eye. Don’t worry, it’s a lot to process the first few days. After that, you’ll think you’ve been here for years.”
“Thank you. Keys?”
“No need here. You may find some in the unit itself, but no one locks their doors.” Stu clapped her on the shoulder, hoping to offer assurances.
Lori found number six on the second floor. A cool breeze flowed through the open windows. The curtains fluttered like banners waving in the wind. The furnishing was spartan but looked new, not necessarily her choice but far better than what she had grown used to on the road with Walter.
The children’s voices and laughter carried in the wind.
Lori looked out the windows and watched the few below playing tag. She wondered if Walter would adjust and become part of them. She also wondered if these children were like Walter. Had they become half human and half creature?
A knock on the doorframe startled Lori, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. Her instinct was to reach for a weapon; there was none to be found.
“Hi. I hope I didn’t alarm you,” Doctor Newman said, entering without an invitation.
“My second injection?” Lori asked.
Doctor Newman sat on the sofa and motioned for Lori to join her. “That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
Lori sat, feeling the empty pit returning to her stomach.
“Marius and I don’t think you’ll need a second or even a third injection.”
“Doctor, I don’t think I could stay here without them. From what you people have told me, it erases the impulse to eat flesh.”
“It does, completely removes the want or need to react to the smell of human flesh.”
“Then I don’t understand why I wouldn’t need it like everyone else.”
“You know Marius has had them watching you, right?”
“Again, you people have told me that, but I don’t know why or how.”
“We watch a lot of people out there, both new people and the before people. That just keeps us here in the new world safe. Nothing sinister there, if that’s what you’re looking for. We can’t very well have a before coming into town with a small army and wipe us all out, nor could we have a new come in, thinking they found a smorgasbord of free food for the taking.”
“I think I can understand that, I guess.”
“You were watched because it came to our attention that you’re different.” Katrina paused to let that sink in. “You are, shall we say for lack of a better term, a new, new. You’ve achieved on your own what we’ve been accomplishing with multiple injections.”
Lori threw back her head in disbelief. “I still have times when I crave human flesh. The smell of a human can cause it to emerge and take control, leaving me helpless to watch in horror. I have eaten human flesh and felt a satisfaction that words could never describe.”
“I’ll let you in on a little secret that may just help. We’ve all eaten human flesh before the breakthrough.”
“So, I don’t get the other injections? Am I to be a guinea pig for you people?”
“Of course not! We would never do that with anyone here. Not only would it be a waste of lives, it would be immoral. You don’t need the injections, is what I’m telling you. You’ll have to take your pills every day, just like the rest of us. That will control the urge to eat flesh.”
“That will keep the creature from coming out?”
Katrin retrieved a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from a jug sitting on the counter. “Marius says that soon we’ll have running water again. It’ll be a great day, if you asked me.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Katrina turned and took a slow sip. “Our person reported that, at Rivers Crossing, you turned into the creature when you needed it. Then you turned back as soon as the danger was eliminated.”
“I don’t know how I did that.”
“At Clarksville, you did the same thing. You saw a threat and needed the extra strength of the beast, so you, you brought it out once again until the threat was eliminated.”
“You make it sound like I did that on purpose. It just happens. I can’t control it.”
“In some way, you do control it, and we can teach you to summon its fury on demand. Every officer you see here in town can do that, and, in time, so will you. Marius and I suspect you already know how to do it subconsciously. The trick will be to find that knowledge and bring it to light.”
“Why would I want that? I want it to just go away forever.”
“Bullets, arrows, and blades are useful tools. A creature with the strength and fury of a marine squad is also a very useful in certain instances. Never discard a tool that might come in handy at some point in the future.”
It was a lot for Lori to process. This threw the world that she knew into as much of a shamble as the zombie plague had. It seemed like every time she had a handle on what the world had become and adapted, another life-altering change was thrown at her.
“Walter?’ Lori asked.
Katrina handed Lori a bottle of pills with written instructions to take them three times a day. If she missed one, it stated she should take two for the next dose. “Children are hard to predict with this issue. Sometimes the parasite gets too strong of a hold on their fragile minds.”
“What are you saying?”
“You’ll get to see him tomorrow at the c
hildren’s detention center. Perhaps the sight and smell of you will be what brings him back.”
Chapter 8
On the horizon, Tressa noticed the outline of a house with two outbuildings. Zoe had the guys put supplies in the back of the wagon. Not having time to look through them, Tressa was unsure if it would be enough. Time had taught her that there was no such thing as having too much. Besides, if it had been a working farm, there was a chance to top off the tank. It had been difficult to find gas just after the apocalypse; now it was near impossible at times. Survivors had looted almost everything out there. A few had left fuel tanks open to the elements, rendering the content useless to anyone who had followed.
“Look, Tressa, a house,” Todd exclaimed.
“I see it, Todd. Maybe we will stop there.”
“I think we should, Tressa, I really do.”
Tressa squinted to get a clearer view of the farm. “We’ll see, Todd. We need to decide if it’s safe first.”
“I got real good eyes, Tressa. You know how good my eyes are.”
“Yes, Todd. You have good eyesight.”
“Not just good, Tressa, really good.”
“Okay, they are really good. I still want to see with my own eyes.”
“Maybe they’ll have treats for the puppies? Maybe, if I’m really lucky, there’ll be a backpack. Maybe one with a superhero on it. Yes, I bet there’s one with a superhero just waiting for me to find it.”
“How long do you think we’ll be there?”
“We can sleep there tonight, if you want, Tressa. My back is hurting from all this riding.”
“All this riding, Todd? We’ve only been in the car a few hours.”
“I think it has been longer than that, Tressa. Way longer than that, I think.”
Tressa slowed by the long, single-lane gravel road leading to the farmhouse. It sat nestled between the largest oak trees Tressa had ever seen. It looked quiet with no movement other than the trees swaying. She knew that didn’t mean much when it came to safety; something was always hidden, because the threat didn’t want to reveal its full hand.
The road winded to the rear of the house, ending between the main barn and a deck built off the rear. Tressa had more than enough room to make a U-turn, so she turned the wagon around and stopped with the nose facing toward the way to the road. She started to get out when the sound of Todd unlocking his door caught her attention. Slowly sitting back, Tressa took a deep breath and got ready for any argument Todd could throw at her.
“I need you to stay in the car and keep guard that no one steals it Todd.”
Todd harrumphed and slammed his arms into a fold across his chest. “I want to look for a backpack, Tressa.”
“You will, Todd. But right now, one of us needs to stay with the car and the other needs to check the house for creatures.” Tressa waited for Todd’s response. When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “Okay, I’ll stay in the safe car, and you go take care of the zombies.”
“I better watch the car, Tressa! If someone was to take the car, we would have a long walk.”
Tressa smiled as she climbed from the wagon and looked around. Not even a breeze offered any respite from the heat now that they were stopped. No breeze also meant her scent wouldn’t travel very far from anything up wind.
From the deck, she had a great view of the farm’s rolling hills. At one time, this must have been a great spot to have a drink in the late afternoon under the shade of the oak trees and behold those fields, she thought. Now something seemed to be out there, but nothing moved. Letting the question of what it was pass, Tressa entered the house, finding herself in the kitchen. The family had left fast—so fast that the spoiled remnants of the last meal were still set around the table. Traversing the narrow hallway, Tressa reached a door with a taped poster board sign that looked to have been created in haste.
DO NOT GO INTO THE CELLAR!
STAY OUT OF THE BARN!
STAY OUT OF THE FIELDS!
Take anything you find that you need.
God be with you, and may He keep you safe on your way.
Tressa placed her ear against the door and held her breath. She wasn’t positive, but she thought she heard scuffling or perhaps shuffling around. A chill ran up her spine, causing her to break away from the door and continue down the hallway. The rest of the house was neat, and everything was in order. Two of the bedrooms upstairs had been children’s rooms, and that would make Todd happy.
***
The car was hotter than Todd thought it would get. After Tressa went inside, he didn’t feel safe with the windows down, so he rolled them up, leaving a sliver opened just enough to let in a little air—just enough, he thought. The wings on the front doors were a different matter. Try as he might to get the mechanism to open the small windows like he had seen Tressa do on her side just kept escaping him. He didn’t try very long before he noticed words painted on the barn doors. Looking at the house to see if he could catch a glimpse of Tressa through the dirty windows, he could not see anything. Todd resumed work on the wagon’s wing for a few minutes.
Scanning to ensure no nasty creatures were sneaking up on him, he felt satisfied he was safe and checked the house one more time. Tressa was still inside; maybe she had found his backpack and a lot of neat things to fill it with. Maybe there were even treats for the puppies. Unconsciously, Todd pumped his hands up and down, thinking how great that would be. It was his way of doing what Charlie had called a victory dance.
The barn kept beckoning him, like a fly to honey. He tried to think of other things, like when they had found the puppies and Virginia, but it kept drawing his attention.
“Do not open. Stay out.” Todd read the words aloud. “Tressa would say that means don’t go in there, Todd. But there could be little baby animals in there, and they didn’t want no one to let them out.” He pondered all the baby animals no one was taking care of. Someone should see if they needed food or water.
Before Todd knew what he was doing, he was standing in front of the barn doors, tracing the letters with his fingers as he read them. He craned his neck as far as he could to the left to see if Tressa was coming, then to the right in case he had missed her coming down the stairs. Todd smiled at his good fortune. He wondered what kind of animals would be in there. Maybe baby chickens, kittens, puppies, or even baby cows!
The doorlatch was large and heavy, but Todd had no problems lifting it and sliding it out of the way. The door dug into the ground at first then popped free when Todd applied more muscle. He stopped when it opened enough for him to pop in his head to see how many animals were in there and if it was dark. Todd hated being in the dark alone, and that changed his mind about entering.
Something in the barn caught his attention. Todd could hear something moving around. His arms did the pumping action as the excitement built. There are babies in there!
Pain shot through Todd’s forehead to the back of his skull. The door had been shoved open, smacking him in the head; even his teeth hurt from the collision of wood and bone. Tears streaked his cheeks as he stumbled backward, almost tripping over his own feet. Raising massive hands to his head, a high-pitched scream escaped his mouth. He started to yell for Tressa to help him when he saw the creatures emerging from the barn—at first slow because the light was blinding them, but then quicker when they sensed his presence.
Todd fought to overcome the pain in his head and dizziness. When it came to fear or pain in Todd’s world, fear would always win. This was no case where pain could rule the day, especially when it involved creatures. Running as fast as he could, Todd put some distance between the creatures and himself. Reaching the stairs to the deck, he was happy to see Tressa exiting. He collapsed on the stairs and curled into a tight ball when Tressa fired the first of three shots. A wet slimy hunk of flesh landed on Todd’s arm, bringing him back to reality, and he climbed the stairs on all fours.
Tressa fired two more shots then pushed Todd into the doorway and slammed
the door behind them. “I told you to wait in the car!”
“I know you did, Tressa,” Todd replied through sobs.
“Then why were you out of the car?”
Todd studied his feet and mumbled, “I thought baby animals were in the barn.”
“What in the hell made you think that?”
“The words said not to open. I thought they didn’t want anyone to let out the babies.”
“What does don’t open mean, Todd?
“Tressa …”
“Todd! What does do not open mean?”
“It means Todd shouldn’t open it,” Todd mumbled.
“That’s right! It means you do not open the door or whatever it is.”
“There could have been baby animals that needed food and water, Tressa.”
“Did you find babies? No! You did not.”
Looking out the window, Tressa noticed the herd had tripled in size—far too many to have been locked in the barn alone. Moving into the dining room and flinging open the curtains, her heart stopped for a second. It looked like hundreds were coming from the hedgerow surrounding the fields. A pit grew in her stomach as she popped the clip from the gun and saw she only had four shots left.
They were trapped in the house with no exit that would provide a safe place to reach. Nothing but the outbuildings and open fields surrounded them. She could easily outrun most of the herd if she didn’t have Todd with her. She never knew when he would freeze up and drop to the ground, crying. If the dogs were here, Todd would follow them to safety, because he felt they were like superheroes and couldn’t be hurt. The car was out of the question; there were too many to get through with only four bullets. They would have to settle in and hope the herd relocated after a while.
Tressa would let Todd look through the children’s bedrooms upstairs. That would keep his mind occupied until the creatures migrated.
Chapter 9
The shelves weren’t bare, like Charlie had grown accustomed to—not full either but stocked with canned goods and powder mixes. Bare spots were here and there, but, overall, Charlie thought they had hit a goldmine. Lack of power meant, as usual, anything in the frozen section would be spoiled by now. Still, something didn’t add up to Charlie.