| |
––––––––
I walked back to the living room with Ellis at my side. Janet was leaning forward with her face in her hands.
“Janet, will you eat a little something?” I asked.
She looked up and stared at me blankly. I sat beside her and loosely wrapped an arm around her. “Try to at least eat a few bites. It’s not much, but you’ll feel better.”
We sat around the table as a group, Braylen occupying the other chair and Matt and Ellis on the floor. We ate chips dipped in tuna fish and drank water while talking about what to do next. Everyone agreed that we’d have to leave the airplane home as soon as possible. Not only were food supplies low, but escape routes were almost nonexistent. We’d stay put for another day or two until my ankle was stable, and then leave in search of better shelter. Janet didn’t say much, just that she’d come from the west and that roads were nearly impassable. She’d witnessed a helicopter crash into the Everett prison and the resulting raging fire. She wasn’t ready to talk about her mom, or Doogie her dog.
With daylight quickly fading, I showed her where the shower was and left her to clean up. While she was washing up, I picked out clean clothes from the bedroom that she might be able to wear. She was so small I feared anything in the house might fall off her.
***
“Ellis, we’ve talked it over and think one of us should stay awake and keep watch. Braylen’s been awake for longer than me, so I’d be happy to take the first shift.”
“That’d be awesome. We had a rough night here with someone getting attacked outside. I should probably put Janet in the bedroom with Poppy.”
Folded clothes in hand, I walked past Ellis and frowned. “Not happening, no way, I’m not sleeping in that room.”
As I waked to the bathroom, I heard Ellis sigh behind me.
I knocked on the door lightly. She didn’t answer, so I knocked louder and waited for a moment.
“Janet?” I called out. Getting no reply, I knocked again. “Janet? You okay in there?”
When she still didn’t answer, I tried to turn the knob but found it locked, not surprisingly. I looked over my shoulder at the three men behind me. They were all watching with concern etched onto their faces. Matt took the initiative and crossed the short floor span in only a few strides. He slid up next to me and knocked on the door considerably louder than I had.
“Janet, open the goddamn door!” he commanded sternly.
I looked at him sideways. In turn, he looked at the other guys and nodded. They walked toward us without hesitating. I was closest to the bulkhead that ran perpendicular to the door and backed up as they crowded around.
“Janet!” yelled Matt.
“Kick it in,” instructed Ellis.
“Back up,” said Matt.
Braylen, Ellis, and I backed up to give Matt room. He took a stride back himself and prepared to kick the door.
“Wait!” I urged, causing Matt to stop. “The floor. Look.”
They all focused on the bottom of the door, where blood spread out in an eerie pool of deep crimson.
“Fuck!” yelled Matt as his boot struck the door.
Wood from the door jamb splintered outward from the force. My heart beating wildly, I rushed forward as the door swung inward. Pain shot through my arm, which I ignored. Janet lay nude in the half-full bathtub; one arm hung awkwardly over the edge while the other lay straight and palm-up on her lap. Both bled extensively from wounds that ran from wrist to elbow. A dirty pocket knife dropped from her left arm and onto the floor as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Oh God, Janet!” I choked out, my voice shaky. “She’s still alive! Get me towels!” I shouted as I knelt beside the bathtub. “Janet, look at me. We’ve got you.”
The girl kept her eyes aimed forward. She didn’t blink, and her pupils began to dilate. Her skin was pale before, but quickly took on a hue of blue. Her throat contracted as she swallowed one last time. It seemed an eternity before someone placed a towel on my shoulder. I reached up and grabbed it with one hand and dropped it to the bloodied floor at my knees.
“It’s too late,” I said. “She’s gone.”
“Guys? Give me a minute with Poppy?” asked Ellis.
No one else spoke, but I heard their footfalls fade in the distance.
I looked to my side as Ellis knelt beside me.
“Why?” I wailed, not expecting an answer.
“I imagine she’s seen things she just couldn’t live with.”
“We could have helped her.”
“No. She wanted to go.”
“No, I mean we could have helped her overall. To live in this nightmare.”
He wrapped an arm around me and held me close. I hadn’t realized I was shivering until his warmth hit me.
“You gonna be okay?” he asked me.
I found one of his hands and squeezed it. “I don’t think so, but I guess I don’t really have a choice.”
“Do me a favor?”
I looked at him as he laced his fingers through mine.
“If you feel like taking her way out...”
I shook my head and interrupted him. “It’s not for me. No way...”
“Shh. Just...talk to me first, okay?”
I tilted my head slightly, trying to figure him out. I nodded. “Okay.”
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. Before moving away from my face, he rested his forehead against mine and whispered, “thank you.”
“Ellis?” I whispered back.
“Yeah?”
“My knees are getting soaked with her blood.”
He leaned back and sighed but didn’t let go of my hand. When he stood, I naturally stood with him.
“I think we need to leave,” he said quietly.
“My ankle’s feeling better.”
“That’s good. It’s getting too dark now, but we’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
Still holding my hand, he led me out of the bathroom and back to the living room where the other two men waited. Braylen sat on the small couch while Matt looked out the hatch window. They were both shrouded in the darkness of late evening.
“This sucks,” said Braylen casually. “Sorry she opted out.”
“Yeah me too,” I said.
Ellis cleared his throat. “We need to settle in. It’s too risky to carry her outside after dark and Poppy’s covered in blood. I’m getting a bit nervous about staying here.”
“Me too, in all honesty,” said Matt in a smooth voice. “There’s too much traffic here.”
“Ellis wants to head out in the morning,” I added.
“You gonna be okay with your sprained ankle?” asked Matt.
“Yeah. I’ll manage. I’ve told Ellis before and it goes for you guys too; if I slow you down leave me behind.”
Braylen snickered, nearly laughing. “Yeah we’re not that type.”
“What about Janet?” I asked.
“There won’t be time to bury her, so we’ll have to leave her,” answered Matt.
I frowned. Even only having just met her, leaving her to rot in the bathtub felt wrong.
“You sure we shouldn’t at least carry her outside?” I asked.
“No. With all the gunfire there’s too big a chance there’s more of those things lurking around. Let’s settle in for the night. Tomorrow’s bound to be intense,” said Ellis.
“I’ll take the first shift,” said Matt. “Bray, you’ve got the couch. I’ll shut the bathroom door. If anyone needs to use the loo during the night ...just don’t.”
I didn’t answer or wait for anyone else to speak. My reluctance to go to the bedroom was long gone by now. My pant legs were soaked in blood and all I wanted was to take them off and climb into bed. I didn’t wait to cross the threshold into the bedroom before pulling them down and letting them fall to the floor; it was too dark for anyone to see anything. I made the rest of the brief walk on auto-mode, and once to the side of the bed pulled off my shirt. I proceeded to climb onto the mattress and wrapped myself in the sheet. As I curled into a ball, Ellis sat on the mattress beside me. He covered me with a thin blanket, for which I was grateful, and he remained seated next to me.
“I left the comforter with Braylen.”
“That’s good.”
“Are you doing okay?” he asked me.
Still facing away from him and the room now nearly in full-dark, I shook my head side-to-side. “Not really. It’s all too much...too much death...too much blood...”
“Yeah. I hear you.”
He squeezed my shoulder gently, his hand lingering for just a moment longer than it should have and I wondered what he was thinking. Once I felt his body weight shift as he lay down, I curled up into myself and closed my eyes, desperately trying to keep from sniffling as tears fell onto my pillow.
“Hey...” he whispered. “If you need to cry it’s okay.”
I didn’t answer but wiped my face with the back of my hand.
“Poppy...”
“It’s okay. I’ll be okay. I’ll stop,” I fumbled, struggling to avoid falling apart.
He sighed lightly and shifted his weight in the bed again. “You don’t have to stop crying. I just wish I could help.”
I involuntarily chuckled.
“C’mon. Roll over. We can talk about it.”
“I’m too tired.” I noisily sucked air in through my nose, trying to combat the runniness that crying had caused.
“Fine...”
The bed shifted and squeaked as he climbed over me and plopped down, facing me. I could barely see his outline and was glad that it meant he couldn’t see my tear-reddened face.
“We’ll head out tomorrow and try to find somewhere safer. Hopefully we can find out what’s going on. Maybe the government has opened shelters somewhere.
“I know. It’s just that I’m so scared.”
“I guarantee you’re not the only one,” he reassured me.
He pulled on the blanket, covering himself. Left in only my underthings after taking my clothes off, I was glad to be wrapped in the bed sheet.
“I thought you left me,” I said very quietly.
“What?” he asked, his tone exasperated yet semi-humored.
“When I woke up earlier and you were gone. I thought you weren’t coming back.” I allowed new tears to fall.
“No. I won’t do that to you, Flower. I promise.”
He used a thumb to wipe a tear from my cheek. “Fuck,” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d thought that.”
“Can you do me a favor?” I asked, needing to change the subject to avoid falling apart.
“Of course. Name it.”
“Can you just...hold me till I fall asleep?”
It was something he’d done twice now, and while it felt childish to ask such a favor, I did find comfort in his arms. He inched closer and wrapped an arm around me. I nestled my head near his chest and took a shuddering breath inward. He found the back of my head and stroked my hair soothingly. His breathing deepened, and his breath was warm on the top of my head, where his chin rested. We remained like that for several minutes.
“Poppy?” he whispered very quietly, as if checking to see if I was asleep.
“Hmm?”
He remained quiet as if thinking. “Nothing.”
I leaned my head back to look up at him. The arm that remained draped over me tensed. I brought a hand to his chest.
“What is it?” I asked.
He shifted slightly and propped himself on his elbow. “Probably bad timing.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
He answered by leaning down, and when I felt his breath on my cheek I tensed. He paused before placing his lips upon mine. The kiss was light. Gentle. As my body responded, relaxing, he took the cue and deepened the kiss. His hand fell to my side, where he lightly rested it on top of the sheet.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, breaking from the kiss. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
I turned slightly onto my back and reached up with both hands. I found his face and held him gently. His beard stubble was soft. He leaned down and resumed the kiss, which I softly returned. It was tender and caring and made me feel safe but mixed in was sorrow and fear. He ended the moment by lying on his back and pulling me to his side. We both adjusted the blanket and I relaxed with my head on his chest while he held me close.
“I know that was terrible timing,” he whispered. “I’m sorry if it was unwelcome.”
“It wasn’t,” I answered.
“Good. I know we just met, and it’s been hell ever since.”
I yawned. He kissed my temple and rested his hand on my shoulder.
***
The sound of a struggle woke us both. Wood splintering, glass breaking, and one of the men in the living room cussing while the other yelled.
“I can’t see!” someone shouted.
“Fuck, Bray, just grab your gun and walk toward my voice!”
Ellis and I both bolted out of bed. Snarling sounded, along with a guttural moan.
“You have to shoot it in the head!” yelled Matt. His voice was strained and near panic.
“Poppy, light the candle,” said Ellis. “Hurry!”
“Fucking God damnit!”
“Where is she?” yelled Braylen.
“I have her fucking under me. She’s so fucking small but I can’t hold her much longer. Christ!”
I felt my way through the bedroom until I found the table that held the candle and lighter. The flashlight would be quicker but was in the other room by the exit hatch. Despite my hands shaking, I found the lighter and I managed to srike it with the first try. The dim glow barely reached into the next room, so I picked the candle up and reluctantly joined the chaos in the other room.
Braylen was already beside Matt, who was holding down the gray and mottled naked body of Janet. In death, she had soiled herself and the smell of blood, piss, and feces filled the room. Matt looked like a wild man, his face twisted as if in pain with blood streaking his face and beard. Braylen was desperately trying to work his pistol into the struggle to aim at her head. Ellis held an arm out, encouraging me to stay back.
“Don’t shoot her!” I said loud enough to be heard over Matt’s grunting and the corpse’s groans and snapping jaws. “It’s too loud! You can’t shoot!”
Ellis rushed to the men and knelt down, so he was head-to-head with Matt. He reached under Matt, his arms dangerously close to the dead girl’s gnashing mouth, and gripped Janet’s now-tangled hair. It proved an effective way to keep her head still and allowed Matt the chance to shift his weight so that his knees held her shoulders down, freeing his hands.
“Give me the pistol,” he grumbled to Braylen.
“Poppy’s right. Shooting’s gonna be too loud,” argued Ellis.
“I’m not gonna shoot,” said Matt.
Braylen handed him the pistol. Matt took it and stared at Janet’s eyes, which looked back at him blankly. He brought the stock of the gun up and proceeded to beat her head with it. Each blow produced a splatter of blood, and he continued with the death-strikes until her face was unrecognizable as being human and her body stilled. Even then, he lifted the bloodied pistol and struck her pulverized head two more times. Finally, Braylen gently grabbed his wrist to let him know he was done.
“She’s dead, bro. You can stop.”
Matt’s breathing was labored, his face covered in blood and likely other bodily bits of gore. He looked like a mad man. Ellis had let go of Janet’s hair when it became clear that she was no longer a danger. Like Matt, his breathing was labored. Aside from their breathing, the room was quiet.
“Why did she come back?” I asked.
Ellis looked at me quizzically before looking back at Matt.
“She wasn’t sick. At least nothing that showed,” I elaborated.
“It’s a good question,” said Braylen.
“It’s got to be everyone,” said Ellis.
“What?” asked Matt.
“Everyone. It’s got to be affecting everyone. The sick. The dead. Fuck me...”
“We should have destroyed her brain,” I whispered. “You know, to keep her from coming back. That’s what they do in the movies.”
“That sounds crazy, but I think you’re on to something,” admitted Matt.
Ellis and Matt both stood.
“We need to leave,” added Braylen, stating the obvious.
“It stinks like crap in here. And blood,” I said quietly.
“Matt, she didn’t bite you, did she?” asked Braylen, who was staring at a wound on Matt’s forearm.
“That? No. That’s from the fucking kitchen table we smashed.”
“We saw someone get bit. They looked fine the morning it happened, but by midafternoon they got clammy and shaky all over. About an hour later they stopped breathing and a few minutes later they were just like her,” Braylen said, gesturing toward Janet’s body.
“I’m gonna get dressed,” I said. I left the candle on the coffee table and returned to the bedroom. While the candlelight barely reached the bank of drawers in the wall, I managed to fumble through the remaining clothes and found a sweatshirt and pair of pajama pants that were much too large, but do-able with the tie at the waist. I left the sheet I’d been wrapped in on the floor and slipped my tennis shoes on. Vaguely aware that the three men were conversating around Janet’s body, I rejoined the in the living room.
“We’re going to head northeast,” Ellis said once he saw me.
“What’s northeast?” I asked.
“There’s a neighborhood Matt knows of about two miles from here. We can be there in half an hour and hope to find shelter,” he continued.
“And hopefully no more of these monsters,” added Braylen.
“You guys ready to go?” I asked.
“I need to clean up,” said Matt, sounding exhausted.
“Me too,” added Ellis as he looked at his wristwatch. “Sunrise is in about twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be ready,” I said.
I grabbed our bug-out bags and once again checked through them while I waited for the bloodied men to clean up. Braylen did the same with his pack, as well as Matt’s. I watched him quietly wipe down the pistol Matt had used to pummel Janet’s face; he looked sad.
“I felt really bad for her,” he said, breaking a long silence.
I looked up. “Janet?”
He nodded. “She seemed really messed up. I mean from what’s happening. She must have just seen too much...”
“I suppose so. I guess we’ll never know,” I said absently.
“How’s your ankle?”
“Better. I’ll be fine.”
“Let us know if our pace is too fast, okay?”
“I will.”
We returned to silence and waited until Matt and Ellis were both ready to leave. As they got ready to open the hatch, I retrieved the sheet from the bedroom floor and used it to cover Janet’s body. As soon as it touched her missing face, it wicked still-wet blood into a growing irregular oval of crimson and brown. I silently said a prayer, turned, and joined the men at the hatch. I was the last to exit the building. I didn’t look back.
