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We spent hours scrubbing the floors and looking for ways to neutralize the odor. I found incense in the other room, which was a combination bedroom and laundry. The incense was labeled Tiger’s Blood and smelled like burnt flowers. Still, it was far better than the stink left behind by the witch and her gruesome companions. As the day grew tired and the light faded, we left the window open since it was so far up from the ground and double checked the lock on the front door. The bathroom and bedroom, each on opposite ends of the cylindrical home, were both somewhat light tight as their single windows were placed in the ceiling panels; we’d have to worry less about lit candles or flashlights being seen from the outside. A kitchen cabinet had provided us with candles and we still had hand-held flashlights from our bug-out bags. We didn’t find any spare batteries, so decided to use the flashlight as little as possible. We both agreed to not use any lights in the main cabin after dark. As an added level of safety, we took it a step further and agreed to only light the candles in the two end rooms once we were inside and the doors closed behind us.
I excused myself to the bathroom, where I lit a tealight candle and stripped out of my clothes. The water that flowed from the shower was pleasantly warm, despite there being no electricity. I wondered briefly, through my fatigue, how that worked. Not knowing what exactly the source of the water supply was, or how much there was, I wet my body and turned the faucet off while I used body wash and shampoo. Both were labeled ‘for men’ and smelled masculine. I rinsed off, repeated, and stepped out. A single towel remained after our clean-up, so I dried myself off the best I could and hung it up for Ellis to use after his shower. I blew the candle out, opened the door, and stepped out naked into the darkness of the main room.
“My turn?” came Ellis’ voice from the dark.
“Yeah. I left the towel on the bar. I hope it’s not too damp.”
“Thanks.”
We made it a point to memorize where most of the trip hazards were before we lost daylight, so I felt my way across the cabin and to the door of the bedroom. Before I opened it, I turned back and spoke into the dark.
“I’m heading in. I’ll light the candle and look for some clean clothes. I’ll set some out for you and blow out the candle, so you can come in when you’re done. I promise I won’t peek...”
He chuckled. “That’s the least of my concerns.”
“See ya later,” I said as I yawned.
“In a while,” he replied, sounding as sleepy as I felt.
Still in the dark, I felt for the bedroom doorknob. I gratefully stepped inside and closed the door behind me, sealing out much of the lingering stench from the main room. Feeling with my arms outstretched, I found the small side table that I knew was to my left. In short order, I sparked the lighter to life and lit the candle; soon the room was bathed in the soft glow of the flame. The room was cold, so I hurried over to a built-in bank of drawers in search of clothes. The first held an assortment of papers and odds-n-ends. Under one stack of nudie magazines, the telltale outline of the butt of a handgun stuck out. I retrieved it and checked the chamber, making sure there wasn’t a round loaded. Seeing none, I set the weapon on the bed and focused my attention back to the bank of drawers. I quickly sorted through random articles of clothing and pulled out several pieces that looked warm. It was clear that a man lived there by the lack of women’s clothing. I pulled a cream-colored Henley over my head and followed that with a pair of dark blue long johns. Still cold, I also donned a pair of thick white socks.
I made quick work setting out sweat pants and a t-shirt for Ellis. I placed the handgun back in the drawer with the intention of searching for a clip and ammunition once the sun came up. I walked to the small table, blew the candle out and carefully made my way back to the bed. Climbing onto the bed and slipping under the covers was a welcome change from the insanity of our travels thus far; it felt almost normal. I closed my eyes and curled up under the covers, trying to get warm.
On the edge of sleep, light tapping on the door brought my eyes wide open.
“Poppy?” Ellis’ voice was nearly inaudible.
“Yeah you can come in,” I called back.
“Thanks,” he whispered.
“I left some clothes on the bed for you,” I said softly after I heard the door click shut.
“Good. It’s cold in here.”
I heard the telltale sound of the lighter sparking as I sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from Ellis. I quickly laid down and covered up, watching the candlelight and shadows from Ellis dressing dance on the far wall.
“I found a pistol,” I said quietly.
“Really? Where?”
“It’s in the top left dresser drawer. I put it back figuring we can look for ammo in the morning. It’s just so dark in here, even with the candle.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said, followed by a yawn. “I can sleep in the other room on the couch, listen for anything threatening.”
“It stinks too bad in there. And it’s too cold to sleep alone.”
Sharing a bed seemed only logical under the circumstances, and I doubted either of us were interested in anything but surviving. The smell of candle smoke quickly followed the darkening of the room and the bed creaked quietly as he lay down beside me.
“What should we do next?” I asked.
“Sleep.”
I rolled my eyes in the dark. “I mean tomorrow.”
He chuckled softly. “I know what you meant. I think we should stay here until your ankle’s healed. Just lay low, keep acting like we’re not here if you know what I mean.”
“What if the owner comes back?”
“We’ll deal with that if it happens. Whoever it was left it unlocked and left the pistol you said you found, so my guess is they meant to come back but haven’t...” his thought trailed off.
“Think they’re dead?”
The sound of his breathing slowed, and I knew he was falling asleep. I rolled over to face him, drew my knees up, and closed my eyes.
“Sleep tight,” he whispered.
One of his hands reached out and wrapped around mine. I scooted closer to him and nestled into his warmth.
“Sweet dreams,” I whispered back.
His other arm wrapped around me and we fell asleep.
***
Dreams came rapidly, and they quickly turned to nightmares. Blood and brains spilled on the ground, shards of charred bone, faces covered in blood. Horrible, evil things. Screams filtered through scenes of death and mayhem and panic set in when someone began holding me down.
“Poppy,” a man whispered.
My eyes opened wide. It was dark, and I could see nothing. I struggled, but only briefly, confused but knowing whoever it was meant no harm.
“Shh. Poppy, it’s Ellis. You have to be quiet.”
I drew a few deep breaths, still shaken by the nightmares.
“Ellis,” I echoed in a whisper.
“Yeah. It’s just me. You must have been having a bad nightmare.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“It’s not just that. I heard someone outside screaming.”
A chill ran through my spine when another scream sounded.
“Joey!” It was a woman’s voice and she was clearly terrified. “Joey, run!”
“I can’t, Em! I can’t breathe!”
My stomach dropped. Whoever answered her was just a child.
Without meaning to, I began hyperventilating.
“Shhh,” Ellis soothed again.
“We have to help them.”
“We can’t go out there. I’m sorry Poppy, but we can’t.”
“Joey! Joey! Oh God run!” the woman’s voice was desperate and cut short by the ear-piercing sound of someone in great pain. “Get off him!” the woman screamed, her voice both feral and terrified. Her pained shrieks were muted by the intense screaming of the child as he was clearly being attacked. The boy’s screams continued for what felt like an eternity. As the cries of agony finally subsided, the woman’s weeping took its place. I could only assume the child was dead. Her sobbing turned to screams of anger and was answered by feral groaning and the same clicking we’d heard the day before.
I put my face against Ellis’ chest and let him hold me tight. “There’s nothing we can do,” he whispered near my ear. “I’m so sorry.”
I nodded against him.
“There’s a lot of them out there. I can hear them running after her,” he said. “If we go out, we’ll die.”
I nodded again.
“Try to sleep.”
I moved my head back a few inches. “I don’t think I can.”
“Try.”
“Do you think this is everywhere?” I asked. “Do you think there’s anywhere safe?”
“I wish I knew, but we have to hope there is.”
“Don’t let me die like that,” I begged, panic setting in.
“What do you mean?”
“It sounded like they tore that kid apart. Don’t let that happen to me. Please...”
Unable to hold myself together any longer, I began sobbing against him. My whole body shook uncontrollably.
“It’s okay,” he soothed.
“Not, it’s not,” I moaned against his chest.
“I know, but we have to go on. Try to take some deep breaths; we have to keep quiet.”
I did as he suggested and drew a deep breath in and let it out slowly. I repeated this until I felt more in control of myself. Time was lost in the darkness of the room. The only sound was our breathing; I continued to shiver until I finally fell into a fitful sleep.
***
When I woke, I was startled to see daylight coming through the open bedroom door. Even more alarming, I was alone in the bed. Not wanting to make noise calling out his name, I threw the covers off and swung my legs off the side of the bed. Slightly dizzy, I sat for a few moments before standing. The room was cold, making me glad I had worn socks to bed. I quietly made my way into the main living space of the unusual home. I sighed in relief when I saw Ellis sitting at the small kitchen table. In front of him, I recognized the pistol from the dresser drawer. He looked up and winked at me. I forced a smile in reply and continued across the room.
“Mind if I sit down?” I whispered.
He gestured with one hand to the empty seat. I promptly sat and drew my feet up into the seat with me.
“How’s it look?” I asked as I glanced down at the gun.
“Good. I found two clips and a couple boxes of ammo. I think we should keep it on hand while we’re here and put our others in the bag in case we need to leave in a hurry. Are you hungry?”
I nodded. He set a full clip on the table beside the gun and stood. I watched as he went to one of the cabinets in the small kitchen and retrieved a can of green beans and a small jar of Ragu. Two bowls and a couple of forks later, he popped the top on the beans, drained the water into the sink, and split them evenly. Next, he poured Ragu on top and brought the bowls to the table.
“It’s not as bad as it looks. I used to eat it when I was watching carbs,” he said.
“I’d eat just about anything right now,” I admitted. “Even cold green-bean-spaghetti.”
I stabbed a few of the sauce covered beans with my fork and gladly ate them.
“It smells better in here this morning,” I said as I chewed.
“Yeah the windows being open all night helped.”
“Thanks for breakfast.” I paused. “And for last night. Sorry I was such a baby, crying like that.”
“You’re welcome...and don’t sweat it.”
I continued to eat, wishing the food were at least warm.
“I think we should spend the day inside, assess what supplies are here, and prepare in case we need to move fast.”
“Okay.”
“So, Poppy, tell me about you,” he said.
I looked up, finished chewing, and swallowed. “What do you want to know?”
He shrugged. “Anything.”
I took another bite, chewing while I thought. “When I was sixteen I almost died.”
“What happened?” he asked, looking surprised by my answer.
“I fell off a cliff.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Yeah. I was out hiking with my dad. We used to hike for miles and miles, just me and him. We got to a ridge we’d hiked to a hundred times and it started to rain. It was stupid, really. I wasn’t paying attention and the ground just gave out. I fell about thirty feet down a really steep rock face and landed on a ledge.”
“Did you get hurt?”
I took another bite before continuing. “I broke my arm and had a pretty bad concussion. They said I was lucky it wasn’t worse.”
“What did your dad do?”
“Oh man. I think that was maybe the worst part; seeing my dad cry. He freaked out. He was terrified. We were too far out for cell service, and there was no one around. He lost it and almost climbed down after me. I was able to talk him into not getting himself stuck too and finally convinced him to go for help. I swear he must have run the two miles back to the trailhead. After about three hours Search and Rescue did their magic and got me out. I was hypothermic and in shock and had lost a bit of blood.”
“You had a compound fracture? The bone was exposed?”
“Yeah. It sucked.” I pushed my sleeve up past my elbow and showed him a four-inch scar from where they surgically repaired the open fracture. “It still aches if I get really cold.”
“Damn,” he said. “How long ago was that?”
I pulled my sleeve back down and thought. “I was sixteen, so almost ten years ago. Okay. Your turn.”
“Nope. I’m not breaking my arm.”
I looked at him, laughing. “Hardee har har!” I said. He chuckled under his breath.
“Okay, okay. When I was in seventh grade I had a mad huge crush on my science teacher, Miss Bowen. I’d leave her secret admirer notes when no one was looking, but one Friday I got busted.”
“Who caught you?” I asked, trying not to laugh.
“Mike...” his thoughts drifted off as he said his best friend’s name.
I reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry,” I said.
He shook his head side to side.
“It’s okay. We can talk about something else.” The mood of the question game was darkened by the gravity of our situation, and by our losses.
“You done?” he asked, gesturing toward my empty bowl.
“Yup.”
“I’ll do the dishes. Do you want to start looking for supplies that might be useful?”
“Sure. I’ll start in the bathroom.” I desperately needed to empty my bladder but didn’t want to say as much.
The bathroom cabinet held little in the way of useful items. A bottle of aspirin sat nearly empty in the small medicine cabinet, and I was perplexed on why someone would keep a container of brown shoe polish under the sink.
Returning to the main room with only a few aspirin in hand, I found Ellis on his knees rummaging through a small closet that I hadn’t noticed before. I walked up behind him and cleared my throat, causing him to hit his head against the door opening.
“Fuck!” he grumbled under his breath.
Immediately feeling bad, I knelt down next to him and put my hand over my mouth. “I’m so sorry,” I said, the sentiment muffled by my own hand. “Are you okay?” I asked after I let go of my mouth.
“I’ll be fine.”
I couldn’t tell if he was pissed or embarrassed.
“It’s already swelling.”
I reached up and lightly touched a lump that was forming on his left temple. He flinched away, and I stilled my hand until he settled. Upon my next attempt, he let me inspect the goose egg. I pouted, feeling responsible. He reached up and covered my hand in his, gently guiding it away. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and gently touched my cheek with his free hand.
“I’ll be fine.”
I looked at the floor.
“Poppy, look at me.”
The truth was I felt horrible and was embarrassed, but figured I at least owed him some eye contact. I looked up.
“It’s not that bad, and it’s not like you did it on purpose.”
“Yeah I know. I just feel bad.”
“Don’t.”
Realizing he was still holding my hand, I looked away awkwardly.
“I’m going to look through the bedroom,” I said, changing the subject.
As I stood, he gave my hand one last squeeze. I knew he was only trying to reassure me that he was okay, but it led to an uncomfortable if not awkward moment of silence and uncertainty. We had literally just met and didn’t know each other. Still, he already felt familiar.
“Okay,” he said as he let go of my hand.
I walked back to the bedroom, where I began looking through the drawers. The room wasn’t well lit, but enough daylight streamed in from the single small window above that I hoped to find more than my quick before-bed search the night before. The messiest drawer was the same one I’d found the handgun in. The others each held neatly folded clothes; mostly t-shirts, sweat pants, and socks. One small drawer held neatly folded casual dress pants. I picked out spare clothes for both of us, just one change each, and the only two belts. Possibly the best find of all was an empty backpack. It wasn’t very large, just about the size of a gym bag, but would work well for carrying new supplies.
I stuffed the to-keep items into the bag and quickly tidied the bed. I looked up when Ellis’ shadow from the doorway alerted me.
“Need help?” he asked.
“No. I’ve been through all the drawers. Whoever lives here is a minimalist.”
“I agree. Find anything good?”
“A backpack. I put a pair of extra clothes in for each of us.”
“Great. There’s not much in the kitchen. We have enough food for a few days. We’ll eat the canned food here and pack the lighter things. Honestly the best find was a deck of cards.”
I looked at him a bit confused. “Cards?”
“Uh-huh. Wanna play?”
“Maybe later. If you don’t mind I want to take another quick shower.”
“Suit yourself, but prepare to be beat at blackjack soon,” he said, followed by a menacing smile.
“Yeah right,” I taunted as I slipped past him and back into the living room.
***
The hot water finally gone, my shower was brief. When I returned to the living room, Ellis had cards already dealt into piles on the coffee table. I knew he was anxious to play, likely as a distraction to the hell going on around us, but my headache had begun to kick in again and taking a nap was heavily on my mind.
“Ellis?” I called out quietly, not wanting to be heard through the still-open window.
He didn’t answer, so I walked into the bedroom.
“Ellis?” I repeated, finding the room empty aside from furniture and the shoes I had kicked into a corner.
My heart sank at his absence, my mind suddenly going wild with possibilities of what might have happened to him. I all but ran to the front hatch, which I found ominously unlocked. I forced myself to take a deep breath. Think, I said to myself silently. I looked at the small table beside the hatch. Only one of the bug-out bags remained where we’d set them. “He left me,” I whispered. My fear quickly turned to anger. I unlatched the hatch and stepped out onto the landing. The sky was gray and looked heavy with moisture. I briefly considered going for my shoes and trying to track him, but my ankle wasn’t healed well enough to keep pace. I looked around the clearing. The bodies of the dead were no longer present, causing me to pause and consider.
Seeing no sign of Ellis, I returned to the safety of the renovated aircraft. I thought about locking the hatch, but let it be in case Ellis came back.
I searched the remaining bug-out bag, relieved to see my pistol still inside as well as a bottle of water and two cans of corned beef hash, and the clothes I had packed into it earlier. As I contemplated staying or leaving, it didn’t take long to realize that staying only made sense. I was still healing, and my companion might be back; at least I hoped he would return. I zipped the pack closed and sat on the couch. I didn’t have time to waste on anger or worry. I needed a plan of action.
“Fuck,” I mumbled, not at all excited by the prospect of being on my own amidst the horrors going on around me. “Think, Poppy.”
The sound of footfalls on the stairway outside caused my heart to race. The pace was fast, if not frantic. I stood, hoping for the best but preparing for a monster. Well before I could reach the lock on the hatch, it flung open and Ellis rushed inside. I watched as he rushed to engage the slide lock.
“What is it, and where the fuck did you go?” I asked.
“One of those fucking things,” he answered. “Help me shut the window and then get in the bedroom.”
I didn’t question him. I limped to the window and slid it shut, quickly locking it. Ellis rushed to me and grabbed my arm as he pulled me to the bedroom.
“Get on the floor behind the bed. I need room to barricade the door.”
“What is it?” I asked, not understanding the urgency.
“It’s strong. I’m not sure the windows will keep it out.”
He was already manhandling the bed, pushing it in front of the door. I made sure I was out of the way while he worked. He was shaky and pale. A bone-chilling noise pierced the quiet of the room. It was half-scream and half-fury, and immediately followed by the cracking of glass, bending of metal, and splintering of wood.
“Did it just tear through a window?” I mouthed.
Ellis looked at me. I hadn’t seen terror in his eyes until that moment. The screeching of whatever it was continued, followed by now-familiar clicking. Ellis held his finger up to his lips and I nodded. The smell of fresh blood and rotten meat was strong enough to creep in under the door, and I had to hold my hand over my mouth to keep from gagging. We kept our eyes locked on each other and I wondered if he felt my fear as I felt his. I crawled to where he sat on the floor and let him wrap his arms around me. If we were going to die, it might as well be together.
Once the creature reached the bedroom door, it stopped and breathed heavily. I closed my eyes and willed it to go away.
“Where’s your gun?” he whispered in my ear.
“By the hatch,” I replied, as quietly as possible.
“Fuck.”
“Where’s yours?”
“That fucker jumped me. I lost the gun and barely got away.”
“There’s no way out,” I whispered, stating the obvious.
He stroked my hair. “I know.”
The creature on the other side of the door began frantically trying to break in. The sound of wood splintering made me nauseous and the subsequent growl made me wish for a quick death.
“I’m so sorry,” said Ellis, his voice catching on itself.
The smell of the creature was overwhelming. Knowing it had breached the room, I closed my eyes, not wanting to see it. I shrank against Ellis as best I could and held my breath. The sound of a single gunshot caused us both to jump. The growling and advancing of the creature immediately ceased.
“Hey, you guys okay in there?” called a man’s voice.
I was still too scared to open my eyes.
“It’s okay,” Ellis soothed. “He’s human.”
“We heard the racket and thought you might need help,” the man continued.
“We sure as hell did. Thanks,” replied Ellis, who still held me.
“My buddy and I have been tracking that bastard for the better part of a day.”
I slowly opened my eyes, but kept my sights set on Ellis. “I don’t want to see it...whatever it was.”
“Fair enough. I’ll help haul this thing’s ass outside,” said Ellis.
I nodded and turned away while he stood up and they dragged the dead body outside. My arms were shaking, and my chest felt tight. I drew my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs; it was something I used to do when I was a very little girl and got scared. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down, which was made difficult by the smell of death and decay. In the background I heard male voices. Ellis. The man who had asked if we were okay. Someone new. The hatch opening and closing again. Heavy footfalls – boots, maybe.
“Poppy, can you come out here?” Ellis called out.
I knew I had to buck up and pull myself out of the cloud of fear that currently consumed me. I took another deep breath, opened my eyes, and shakily called back.
“Yup.”
I pushed myself up, wiped my sweaty palms on my pants, and I limped out of the room.
Ellis stood in the living room with two other men. One was about the same height as Ellis, the other a bit shorter. Both wore long camo pants and combat style boots and matching heavy-weight jackets that looked well suited to cold temperatures. The taller of the two was fair with short blonde hair and a thick medium-length ginger beard. The other was dark-skinned with straight black hair pulled into a low ponytail. I thought he might be Native or Hispanic and his large brown eyes were kind.
“Ma’am,” the man with the ginger beard said.
The shorter man held a hand out, which I reluctantly took. “I’m Braylen.”
“Poppy.”
“Nice to meet you,” said the taller man. “I’m Matt.”
“Thanks for the help,” said Ellis, offering his own hand. “Ellis.”
“We’d been tracking that thing for hours. You can’t get too close or they smell you. We saw you in the meadow and watched it watching you.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“We’re not really sure. It’s the second one we’ve come across. Most of them are slow; the dead I mean. But we’ve seen these two, one that was fast as hell, and a couple of crazy people we think were half alive and half dead,” said Matt. “If that’s even possible.”
I looked sideways at Ellis. “The witch.”
He furrowed his brow as if confused.
“The woman in the woods yesterday,” I clarified before looking back at the two newcomers. “It was an old lady who seemed loonier than a tune. She followed us here with two men who were slower and without a doubt dead and rotting. I guess I’ve just been thinking of her as a witch.”
“Sounds similar to what we’ve seen,” added Braylen.
“We need to get that broken window of yours sealed up,” suggested Matt.
“You guys have a hammer and nails for the window?” Braylen asked.
I looked at Ellis.
“I saw a hammer in the closet off the kitchen and a few nails in the drawer next to the sink,” he said.
“I’ll grab them,” I said.
“Got anything we can use to patch it?” asked Matt.
“Maybe a cabinet door from the bathroom or kitchen,” I suggested.
“I’ll take a cabinet door off,” said Ellis.
“No. I can do that,” I said.
“You know how?”
I looked at Ellis wondering if he was serious. “Of course.”
While all three men worked at removing chunks of torn material from where the creature had breached the bulkhead, I retrieved the tools from the kitchen. I was glad to make myself busy. I opted for a lower kitchen cabinet door after comparing them to the one in the bathroom. The kitchen cabinets were made of solid wood while the bathroom vanity was a thin veneer. Removing the pins from the hinges was easy and by the time the men had smoothed the bulkhead surface, I had the wood and tools ready to cover the broken window. The small room quickly grew crowded, so I excused myself while Ellis and Matt placed the wood over the opening.
I headed to the kitchen and stood at the sink where I busied myself washing a drinking glass that Ellis must have left in the sink.
“How long have you two been here?”
Surprised, I turned to find the man named Braylen leaning against the counter.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay. We just found it yesterday. We’re hoping to stay until my ankle’s healed.”
“What happened to your ankle?”
“I just twisted it in the woods.”
“What about your head? That’s a nasty laceration and bruise.”
I absently reached up to the wound on my temple. “I’m not sure I want to talk about it.”
“Okay. Sorry to ask, but I need to. Your guy in there...did he do this to you? You can answer honestly.”
I looked at him, puzzled. “Ellis? He’s just a friend, and no. I was in a car accident. He actually pulled me out of the car; he saved me.”
Braylen nodded. “Okay.”
The conversation was awkward, but it was nice that he was concerned about my safety.
“Bray,” called out Matt.
The dark-haired man stood upright and began walking back to the living room. I followed him, curious as to the status of the window. Ellis was holding the cabinet door in place while Matt manhandled a screw driver.
“What’s up, bro?” asked Braylen.
“You’re the carpenter. Come look at this.”
I sat on the couch and put my foot up on a pillow. “Let me know if you guys need help,” I said.
Ellis winked at me while Braylen inspected the work his buddy was attempting.
“It’s not going to hold with the wood splitting like that,” explained Braylen.
“No shit, Sherlock. What’s the fix?” asked Matt.
“Different wood. This one’s from the kitchen?”
“Yeah,” I added to the conversation. “The ones in the bathroom seem flimsy.”
“Ellis, mind grabbing one from the john? Flimsy or not it may be our best option.” asked Braylen.
“Already on it.”
I was relieved. My ankle ached, and I didn’t want to walk on it. I watched the others work and wondered about the two newcomers.
“Did you guys know each other before all this?” I asked.
Matt set the split cabinet door against the bulkhead while Braylen answered me.
“We worked together at Costco. What’s it been now, Matt? Four years?”
“Yeah, a little more than four. What about you two?”
“We just met the day the other day.”
“Son of a bitch,” came Ellis’ strained voice from the bathroom.
“You okay in there?” called out Matt.
“Yeah, I just jammed a flathead into my thumb.”
“Look,” said Braylen, his voice tense.
“What is it, bro?” asked Matt, instantly alert.
Ignoring my ankle, I swung my legs over the edge of the small sofa and stood up. Ellis reached the opening in the bulkhead only a moment after I did.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Look to about ten o’clock. There’s a figure just inside the tree line,” answered Matt.
“How many?” asked Braylen, who I noticed already held his rifle.
“I only saw one.”
“Dead or alive?” I asked.
“Can’t tell.”
I made my way to the bug-out bags and grabbed the spare pistol. The clip was in place.
“Ellis, did you load this clip?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah. It’s all ready.”
“There. See it?” asked Matt.
“Yeah.”
“Me too,” Ellis added.
The broken-in window was too small for all four of us to look through at the same time, so I ducked down low enough to see out the smaller pane in the hatch door.
“I see her too,” I said.
“Her?” one of the guys asked. I thought it was Matt but didn’t want to look away from the female form that walked in the shadows of the trees.
“Yeah. Assuming by the dress, I mean.”
“Can you tell if she’s...”
“Dead?” I asked. “I don’t think so. Maybe. She’s walking normally, though, so I don’t think so.”
“We should go help her,” said Braylen.
“Too risky. We should wait and watch,” answered his friend.
“She might need help,” I added.
“I agree with Poppy. Can we afford not to help?” asked Braylen.
“What do you mean?” asked Matt.
“Safety in numbers?” I interrupted.
Ellis cleared his throat. “Well, there’s that, but I was thinking more along the lines of leaving someone out there might attract more of the infected.”
“Oh,” was all I said.
“He’s right. I’ll go out,” said Braylen.
“No need. She’s headed our way,” I said.
It was nearly impossible to make out fine details, but the woman was young and small, maybe in her teens. She had shoulder length blonde hair and wore a short yellow dress that left little to the imagination. She picked up her pace as she got near the center of the clearing, looking over her shoulder several times. The closer she got, the clearer her features became. Her left leg was covered in blood.
“Shit,” said Ellis. “Should we go out and wave her over?”
“Only if we see some of those things following her. Fuck,” I said. “But then they’d know we’re in here.”
“Let her come to us. Get a good look at her face if she makes it to the door. Just make sure she’s not one of those damned crazy-ass witches.”
“She looks young. And scared,” said Braylen.
“C’mon, c’mon,” I said under my breath. “Hurry up.”
I grew nervous as I waited to see what horrors might emerge behind her.
Finally, she reached the staircase. I lost sight of her but knew she was ascending the stairs by her frantic footfalls. Even with expecting her to appear, I was startled when she did. She was younger than I thought. Her face was streaked with dirt and the telltale lines of dried tears mixed with makeup. She seemed as surprised to see me through the glass pane as I was of her; for a moment I expected her to scream. Instead, she turned away from me as if she intended to run away.
“Son of a bitch, there’s a shitload of them!” yelled Braylen.
Without giving it much thought, I released the lock on the hatch. The girl was leaning against the opening, making sliding it difficult. Eventually she moved, and the door opened inward.
“Hurry!” I yelled. I could clearly see several figures entering the clearing at once. Some were on the right, others straight ahead, and oddly a dog was off to our left.
The girl whipped around and looked at me with large, frightened brown eyes.
“Get in,” I urged.
Seemingly not comprehending me, I grabbed onto one of her arms and pulled. She stumbled inside but didn’t say a word. Before I could reach for the hatch handle, Matt was at the opening and stepped onto the landing.
“We can take them,” he said.
“Ellis, you got the window?” Braylen asked.
“Yeah. My aim is best on the center group.”
“Matt, dude, I’m with you,” Braylen continued as he quickly made his way to the landing where his friend stood, already aiming his rifle.
The first shot came from Ellis at the window. It was deafening, and the girl covered her ears with her hands., I grabbed the girl by the arm and led her to the small sofa. Gunfire continued, bullet after bullet. During the first pause, Matt instructed the other two shooters to concentrate their firing to the right.
Almost as soon as it began, the gunfire stopped.
“Is that all of them?” Ellis asked, his breathing labored.
“I don’t see anymore,” answered Matt.
“Doogie,” the girl said.
We all looked at her.
“Who’s Doogie?” I asked, concerned she may have lost a companion.
“My dog. I heard him barking. Is he okay?”
Her eyes filled with tears and I instantly felt sorry for her. I looked to Ellis questioningly. He shook his head side to side.
“I don’t think he made it. I’m sorry,” I said softly.
She bowed her head in defeat. “I was so close to getting him back. He didn’t know it was dangerous.”
“How long have you been out there?”
She lifted her head and looked at me. “I don’t even know. A day. Two. It’s just all blending together.”
“Is anyone with you?” asked Matt.
She shook her head side-to-side. “Not anymore. It was just me and my mom...”
I reached out and took hold of one of her hands, to find it nearly frozen.
“Were you out overnight like this?” I asked.
She nodded. I looked up at the others. “She’s freezing.”
“I’ll grab a blanket,” offered Ellis, who promptly headed to the small bedroom we had shared only hours earlier.
“What’s your name?” I asked, giving her hand a slight squeeze.
“Janet,” she said with a sniffle.
“Help her clean up?” asked Matt. “Braylen and I’ll finish patching the window.”
“Thanks,” I said before looking back at the girl.
“I’m Poppy. That’s Matt and Braylen, and my friend Ellis is getting the blanket.”
On cue, Ellis emerged with the comforter from the bed. I helped him wrap it around the newcomer, who was shivering. There was only room for two on the small couch, so I stayed with Janet. Before long, I heard Ellis preparing food in the kitchen while the other two men managed to block the broken window with one of the cabinet doors from the bathroom. Janet broke down crying from time to time. I wished I could do something to comfort her.
“Janet. Do you want to eat something now, or take a shower?”
She looked at me like I was crazy but didn’t answer.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, trying to simplify the choice.
She nodded.
“Okay. We’ll start there.
I stood up and limped to the kitchen, where Ellis was busy mixing a can of tuna fish with a
single-serve packet of mayonnaise. There wasn’t much but I hoped we’d all be glad to share.
“How’s she doing?” he asked me as he added a dash of ground pepper to the fish and stirred.
“It’s hard to say. I’m sure she’s been through hell.” .”
“The sun will be setting soon.”
“Yeah. We need to get everyone settled while there’s still light.”
“Window’s done,” said Matt as he joined us in the small kitchen.
“Thanks, man. We don’t have a ton of food, but it’ll be ready soon.”
“Awesome.”
“What’s the talk about the sun going down?” asked Braylen, who stood by the front hatch, looking out over the clearing.
“Last night we kept this room dark, in case any of those things were watching,” I explained. “We lit candles in the back rooms, but only with the doors closed.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Matt said with approval.
“There’s the small couch and a chair, but otherwise just the one bed,” said Ellis.
“I can’t go back in there,” I said, panic suddenly taking over my core.
Ellis looked up, alarmed. “Why?”
“That thing was in there...”
He frowned at me. “It’s gone now, Poppy.”
I sighed. “Still...”
“Let’s just eat something,” said Ellis. “You’re being dramatic.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Matt, in the cabinet above the sink there’s a bag of corn chips. Mind grabbing them?”
“You got it.”
