The day before Christmas, they packed their new truck- commandeered from the neighbor behind the Crane’s who’d also died. They also packed Jamie’s SUV and Alex’s truck full of every last bit of their supplies. It was time to leave. Last week, their house had been surrounded. Wren had been scared out of her mind as those things tried for hours to get in. She sat in the bedroom with her hands over her ears and Dixie at her side. Jamie and Alex sniped about a dozen of them, and Elijah kept the ones in the long front yard at bay by shooting at them. He’d hit four. Then he had to help haul away their dead corpses the next morning to be burned down the street. As they’d dragged and wheeled them down the street to be burned, he’d noticed how many of their neighbors’ homes seemed abandoned. People were either fleeing or dead. Killing the violent night crawlers had not bothered him. The longer this thing dragged on and the more frequency with which he encountered them, Elijah had stopped thinking of the night crawlers as people. Getting rid of fourteen was not even going to put a dent in their numbers, though. There were dozens that still escaped unscathed. Mostly they only saw one or two at a time. Alex speculated that they were hunting in packs like wild dogs now. Jamie wasn’t sure about that theory, but he also couldn’t come up with a good reason for them to have been clustered together, either.
The four of them would be leaving in the morning. The city was unlivable now. The infected were taking it over, and he and Jamie noticed the decreasing number of military and police patrols. Alex said he thought they were either being pulled away for a reason, or there were too few to make a strong presence because their own troops were dying off, too. Either way, they couldn’t afford to stay another month, not even another week. If groups of night crawlers continued to attack their home trying to get in, then they’d run out of ammo, or eventually, they would find a way in.
“Okay, just to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Jamie said, pointing at the hand-drawn map Alex had made for each person in their caravan. “This here is route 43, right?”
Alex nodded, “Yeah, that’s right. First, this is route 30. We have to get there before we get off here.” He pointed with his thick forefinger to the small red circle he’d drawn on each of the maps. “You’ll go through some small towns. Stay on 43. If you get off course, you’re gonna be seriously lost. It’s hill country out there, man. GPS, cell phones, not much works out there.”
“Got it,” Jamie stated. “If we get separated for some reason, just get to the family farm. If anyone doesn’t make it, we’ll give them until the next morning to get there. Then we’ll have to come looking for you. Try to use the markers we made. Tracking a flagged spot is a whole hell of a lot easier than tracking a car. Use the markers.”
The markers were white towels they’d gone back and taken from the rec center. It was decidedly less occupied that time. They were to get out of their vehicle and tie one to a stop sign or a tree alongside the road in plain sight every mile or so to let the group find their path. Elijah just didn’t want anyone to get separated.
“Got it,” Wren answered, although she was already going to be riding with him in the new truck while Jamie drove his SUV and Alex brought up the rear in his new truck, the one they took from their FBI contacts at the feed mill that day. Jamie was loaded with the guns and ammunition, other than the ones each person would have in their vehicles with them.
“Wren, you keep a good watch for Elijah,” Jamie instructed. “Anyone comes up on you guys from the side, shoot at them. I don’t care who it is. Keep an eye on Alex, too, since he’s bringing up the rear.”
Two days ago, he and Alex had taken a trip to Canton to search for more food and supplies to make their trip and had been attacked not by the night crawlers but by a group of armed citizens. They’d made it out, barely. Alex had shot three and didn’t seem to care. His brother was changing, becoming even harder and colder than he was before, which was already a lot different from the brother he knew before he joined the military. Stuff happened in the short time he was enlisted, but Alex never talked about it. He trusted his brother, though. Alex was smart about things that Elijah didn’t even understand yet. Maybe he was always this way, and Elijah had been too young to see it, but the Army had seen it.
“Yes, I will. I promise,” she swore and let her eyes travel to her left to stare vacantly at the wallpaper in the dining room.
She was sinking further and further into depression. He and Jamie had both noticed it and discussed the state of her mental health while on a quick run for supplies from the military drop-off spot. Most of the time, she stayed inside and kept that dog next to her. Dixie was becoming a security blanket, and Wren was becoming withdrawn and depressed. Elijah didn’t know what to do for her. It was hard enough keeping his own head above water. Burying Hope’s charred remains had done something to him, as well. Little kids shouldn’t have their lives cut short at the age of four.
They concluded their meeting, and each went through the house looking for any other items they could take with them, which ended up being some pillows, a throw blanket, and Dixie’s dog food. That got stacked in the bed of the pickup truck on top of some boxes. Wren stowed her doggie dishes in the cab. When they were done, Elijah looked around at the bare cupboards and empty cabinets. Everything that would keep them alive another day was in the trucks or the SUV. The furniture was still going to be left behind, but the sparseness from everything being packed made the house seem like a model home on display. It also made Elijah feel a burning mixture of anger and weariness knowing he was abandoning his parents’ dreams in this house. Eventually, it would probably be looted like so many other houses in their neighborhood. He was leaving his car in the garage but hoped to come back to get it soon. They’d also taken all the remaining food from the Crane residence next door. There was a lot of medicine and pills in their bathroom cabinet, and Jamie said they should take it because even if they didn’t need it, someone else might, and they could trade it.
They sat down to dinner, baked fish, canned green beans, baked potatoes, and the last of the rolls they’d looted from the Italian restaurant. After dinner, he and Wren washed the dishes and put them away in the cupboards. It felt a little silly doing it, but Elijah didn’t want to further disrespect the memory of his parents and all their hard work they put into the old house, including the antique dishes his mother found at estate sales.
Everyone went to bed, but Elijah was pretty sure that nobody was actually going to sleep very heavily. At five a.m., Jamie and Alex came and woke him to go. He went down the hall and woke Wren, who was sleeping on her side with Dixie tucked into her back.
“Wren, it’s time to go,” he whispered and stroked her dark hair. She blinked once, twice, and sat up. “Get ready. Jamie said it’s time to go.”
She nodded, didn’t turn on a light, which was how they moved around now. Jamie figured that lights at night drew the night crawlers just as much as sound. So now they went without light and had learned to adjust.
“It’ll be dawn soon. We need to go,” he reiterated, getting a sleepy nod. She didn’t look like she’d slept much, either, but Wren was still gorgeous.
They took their backpacks downstairs with them where Jamie and Alex were doing final checks and inspections.
“Wren, make sure you’re locked and loaded,” Jamie instructed. “You, too, Elijah.”
“Yes, sir,” he answered. He didn’t particularly harbor a lot of kinship toward Jamie, but he did at least respect the man and definitely respected his abilities to keep them alive. He’d proven that time and again. And he was staunchly devoted to Wren.
“Change of plans,” Alex announced. “Jamie’s bringing up the rear since I know where we’re going. I can lead better, so I’ll be driving the lead car.”
Jamie nodded, “And I’ll pull up the rear.”
“I’m more worried about you getting separated from us and lost.”
“I’ve got this route memorized. I’ll be fine even if we get separated.”
Wren jumped in to say, “Just don’t let that happen.”
Jamie rubbed the top of her head affectionately.
“Let’s get ready to move. Everyone, get some breakfast. I’m gonna do a quick perimeter search.”
He left without waiting for a reply, which was how Jamie always left. They ate pre-packaged donuts that were slightly stale and drank the rest of the powdered orange juice from their military shipment. Elijah bundled the trash into zippered plastic bags and put it out on the front stoop. They were just empty containers, but he still wanted to leave the house as void of trash as possible. When he came back, Wren wasn’t there, to which Alex explained she had gone upstairs to check one last time and use the bathroom.
A moment later, the back door was wrenched open, and Jamie ran in.
“Let’s go!” he yelled out. “We need to move. Now!”
“What’s going on?” Elijah asked with concern, seeing Jamie’s panicked expression. He was usually cool under pressure.
“Huge group of ‘em coming this direction. And we’ve got an armed group of people moving in our neighborhood, too. Scavengers. We gotta go before they find our vehicles with all our supplies in them. Wren!”
“She’s upstairs,” Elijah told him. “I’ll get her.”
He sprinted up the winding staircase, probably for the last time in the foreseeable future. Maybe for the last time ever. He took them two and three at a time and called her name as he went. She was just coming out of the bathroom when he entered his parents’ bedroom. She was talking to the dog, who was right behind her.
“It’s okay, girl. It’s okay,” she cooed and startled at the sight of Elijah.
“We need to go. Now. Right now. Jamie said we’re about to be overrun by crawlers and people, a mob with guns and weapons,” he blurted as she tugged her jacket back down. “Do you have everything from up here?”
“Yes. Yes, I’m ready.”
He snatched her hand and took off with Dixie on their heels doing that creepy as hell whining sound she made. He wished they’d muzzled her.
When they got to the kitchen, Jamie said, “I don’t think we’re getting out of here all together. We gotta split up.”
“What? No way, Jamie,” Wren argued immediately as something slammed into the front door. Dixie whined again and pranced in place. Wren actually yelped a high-pitched squeak.
“Too late,” Jamie said. He paused a moment, looked at the ground and then at them. “Take her. Go. I’ll hold them off.”
“What? No!” she yelled and rushed him.
“Wren, go with Elijah,” he stated firmly. “I’ll be right behind you. I’m going to take my car and head right toward the crawlers, lead them away. I figure if they make enough noise, it’ll draw the mob of people, too. My vehicle is the only one that’s bulletproof.”
“We should stick together, Jamie,” Elijah countered.
“There’s no time to argue, dammit!” Jamie yelled. “They’re almost on us.”
“He’s right,” Alex butted in. “Let’s go, E. Now.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Wren argued as his brother went to the back door again. “Stop. Wait. Let’s just stay here another day, leave tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll be dead, honey,” Jamie said in a calmer voice.
“Don’t do this,” she teared up in a panic. “Please, Jamie.”
He yanked her to him and hugged Wren tightly. “I’ll be right behind you. Go with Elijah.”
Over her head, he lifted his chin to Elijah, who understood what he wanted. Behind him, Alex opened the door and stepped out cautiously as Elijah pried her away. Alex snatched Wren’s hand, who tried to pull away.
“C’mon, dammit, Wren,” his brother said and tugged her after him. “We don’t have time for this shit.”
Elijah took a step toward them as the front door was pounded again. Jamie reached out and clasped Elijah’s shoulder.
“Take care of her,” he told Elijah, his eyes narrowing in on him.
“But…”
“I’m counting on you, Elijah,” Jamie said. “Now, go.”
He shoved at Elijah’s shoulder, and they both exited right behind Alex, who was still pulling on Wren. She was being quiet now, though. And Elijah understood why that was. He could hear them, too. It sounded like the whole neighborhood was occupied. Voices, some human and some not so much anymore. Then he heard shots fired probably one street over. A woman’s scream.
“Move it!” Jamie whispered behind him.
Elijah locked his parents’ house and sprinted toward the vehicles right as one of the night crawlers came around the corner of the garage. His brother shot and killed it before climbing into his own truck. Elijah ran past him and climbed into the truck beside Wren, who was staring frantically out the back window toward Jamie. He was in and backing out of the driveway already.
“Jamie,” she whispered and stroked the dog’s head rhythmically as if it gave her comfort.
“He’ll catch up, Wren,” he said, lied. “Don’t worry. Put on your seatbelt.”
He slammed the truck into gear as another crawler came at them from the side yard. Jamie sped ahead of them and turned to the right, honking his horn and drawing a lot of attention in that big black SUV. Alex turned left, taking up the wrong side of the road at the same time. Elijah looked in the rearview mirror as about a dozen night crawlers ran after the SUV. Jamie paused in the middle of the street and hit the button for his bright lights about three times, causing the red taillights to blink at them. Elijah understood. He hit his own lights a few times signaling back. Then Jamie drove away.
“He’ll catch up,” he tried reassuring her. He wasn’t sure. Elijah didn’t even find comfort in his own words, so he didn’t know how she would.
After a long time, even after they turned another street and so did Jamie in the rearview mirror, Wren finally turned facing forward. There were tears wetting her cheeks.
“Don’t worry, okay? Just help me keep watch,” he said, trying to distract her. The walkie-talkie on the dash erupted in static a moment before Alex came on.
“Elijah, we’ve got trouble up ahead. Roadblock. Cars. Looks like someone’s trying to send us in a specific direction. Or fuckin’ trapping us. Not happenin’, bitches. I’m takin’ the sidewalk. Do the same. Do not fucking stop, ya’ hear me?”
“Got it, Alex,” he answered and followed his brother up onto the sidewalk.
Wren screamed, reared back, pushed open the slider window on the back of the truck. She fired two rounds. Elijah dared to take his eyes from the sidewalk for a glimmer of a second in time to see three men chasing after them on foot. They were not crawlers. She took the walkie-talkie and pressed the button.
“Go, Alex! It’s an ambush!”
His brother ahead of them floored it, and the truck bounced back onto the road again. Elijah watched as his vehicle took some rounds to the tailgate. Jamie’s SUV was bullet-proof. Theirs were not. He grabbed the back of Wren’s head and shoved her down on the seat.
“Stay down!” he yelled and swerved onto the road, tramping on the gas pedal.
Nothing would bounce out of the bed this time because they’d secured their heaping load with tarps and straps and ropes. Nothing was getting out. And nobody was getting into it.
“Okay, they’re gone,” he told her, letting her rise again.
He followed his brother through town, but when they turned to head to the on-ramp for the freeway, there was a group of men outside of their parked vehicles blocking the way. They both hit their brakes and began backing up.
“Elijah, watch out!” she screamed as someone flew in behind them. They were only a few hundred feet from them and looked like they were going to ram them in the rear.
“They’re trying to block us in,” he growled. “Tell Alex.”
She did. His brother’s response came immediately, “Get outta’ my way, E. I got this.”
Elijah sped back up but swung the truck hard to the left to veer out of Alex’s path. His brother made a wide circuit and hit the gas the second he had it turned around. Then he rolled down his window and opened up on the car coming toward them with his AR15 rifle, newly confiscated from a neighbor’s house. Wren rolled down her window and stuck her pistol out doing the same. Alex or Wren, Elijah wasn’t sure which, shot through the front windshield of the sedan killing the man driving it. The car rolled forward and crashed into a fire hydrant.
A crack of lightning split the pre-dawn sky as Alex veered a hard left and up the bridge that held flags from the poles with Elijah and the rest of the starters on their team’s pictures on them. Some were missing. His was not. He was just as embarrassed seeing that flag there now as he had been any other time going by it. This time was worse. He was with Wren. They were in the middle of an economic and social meltdown in the country, and here was his stupid banner waving in the hard winds that had just picked up since they left the house. It seemed so stupid and pointless. Made his life feel pointless again, all that time and effort spent on wasted efforts.
Elijah tried not to think about it as they ran three red lights and headed out of town in a different direction.
“Jamie!” she cried into the walkie-talkie. “Are you there?”
Silence was their answer.
“Don’t worry. He knows this same alternative route. Just warn him about the downtown area and that on-ramp. We don’t want him walking into that alone. He may also be out of range.”
She nodded and did as he said. Elijah didn’t want to say it out loud, but he was also worried because Jamie was driving the vehicle with all the extra guns and ammunition. If he didn’t make it to Uncle Jasper’s farm, they’d only have what they each had on them. It wasn’t much. It certainly wasn’t enough. She stared at him with big, frightened aqua eyes. Elijah understood her fear. It wasn’t for the loss of the guns.