Broken Dreams (57 page)

“Where’s it?” Henry asked, as he rolled his neck and rubbed it. Nick and Thomas noticed his issue, and looked at one another.

“The second floor,” Rosa said with fear.

“Have you cleared that floor?” Henry asked, and Rosa shook her head.

“We just tied the door handles together. All the bodies on the stairs came from up here and on the landings.”

Henry looked at Thomas and Nick, then pulled them aside. The kids stood there, watching them intently, while the three of them whispered back and forth. They walked back over.

“Here’s the plan. We’re all going to go at once. I don’t want to have to backtrack, unless we absolutely have no choice in the matter. I have a few rules, though.” Justin rolled his eyes. “You may not like that but, I can assure you, I’m well equipped for this.”

“What are you? Some sort of comic book freak zombie fighter?” Justin’s words were dripping with sarcasm.

“You would get along well with my fiancée,” Henry added, smiling.

“Whatever, dude. I just want to get the fuck out of here.” Everyone looked at Justin. “What?”

“Anyway…” Henry piped up, “we’ll be going in this order, and we do not break our order unless I instruct otherwise. Nick is second-in-command. I will be first. Rosa will follow me, then Julianna, Shay, Justin, Thomas, and Nick. Are we clear?” Justin and Rosa looked at one another and nodded.

“Yes.” Justin passed out the weapons that they had been using.

“We’ll stick together. We mustn’t separate. Oh, and one more thing…” He grabbed his torn shirt from his pack and tore off sections for each of the kids to put around their mouth and nose. “It doesn’t help much, but it’s better than nothing at all.”

They began their slow descent down the stairs to the second floor. It was exhausting, climbing over the rotting, sludge-oozing corpses. They stopped once for Shay to throw up. Rosa ended up carrying Julianna so she could hide her face from the gore.

They made it to the second floor landing. Rosa set Julianna down and kept her face pressed into her abdomen. Henry pressed his ear up to the doors, then looked at Nick. “Thomas, hop up on my shoulders.” Henry squatted down and lifted Thomas up. Henry grimaced, even though he was a lightweight. His body aches were getting worse.

“Holy shit,” Thomas said quietly, a slight edge of panic in his voice. That was all Henry needed to hear. He lowered him back down.

“Have your guns ready. On three, people. Be ready because they won’t hesitate.” Fear hung heavier than the smell of death in the stairwell. Henry rolled his neck again.

“You okay?” Nick asked with concern.

“I’m fine!” he snapped, but then realized that the venom in his words frightened the kids. “Sorry. Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for asking,” he corrected and turned back around.

Henry took a couple deep breaths. He pulled the chain that held the door shut off of the handles. When he placed his left hand on the handle, he gripped his Sig in his right. A sharp pain ran up his arm. Thinking he must have injured his hand further, he switched his gun to his left.

Henry knew that he had been trained to shoot with his left as well as he did with his right, but he had some doubt of his abilities. It was not the time to let a flicker of self-doubt enter his mind. He closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them. He forced himself into program mode. Instinctive behavior is a survivalist’s best friend, and Henry was in form.

He counted, “One, two…” He paused momentarily, worrying that he was putting these kids in jeopardy. Stop thinking, he thought to himself, pulling himself back into program mode. “Three!” he yelled. Henry whipped open the door and forced his way in. There were several undeads staggering toward him. Julianna and Shay screamed, as he shot all of them. They dropped to the floor in awkward piles of gore and grimy fabrics.

“Stab their heads!” Thomas yelled at Shay and handed her his machete. He started shooting the undeads that were rounding the corner. She stood paralyzed with fear, holding it in midair. Justin snatched the machete, and stabbed every one of their heads. He stood over them, bat in one hand and sludge-covered machete in the other, with his chest pumping with adrenaline. Henry had already moved forward.

Nick yelled, “Henry! Three o’clock!” Henry spun and shot the two undeads. They fell into a crumpled mess. Again, Justin jammed the machete through their soft rotting flesh. Julianna was pressed right up against Rosa, who was protecting her the entire time. They battled for what seemed like hours. Henry had run out of bullets so he grabbed the bat from Justin. Every undead he hit exploded. He kept hearing retching behind him as they went.

Then Nick yelled again, “Six o’clock, six o’clock, six o’clock!” Henry turned around, and there was another herd narrowing in on Nick. He pulled the rifle out of his pack. All five went down with close range shots.

“Julianna!” Henry yelled. “Which one was your mother’s room?!” He waited a split second for her response. “Julianna!” He turned around, only to see her standing in front of a classroom door.

An undead woman was clawing and biting at the window in the door. She was working hard trying to open the door, but undeads have a serious lack of coordination. Henry ran up to Julianna.

“Is that her?” She stood staring, tears flowing down her filthy face.

“Momma,” she whispered.

Henry knelt down in front on Julianna and grabbed her shoulders. “Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me carefully. That may be your mum’s body, but that is not her. Your mum’s soul left when the virus took over. That is not her. Your mum is already in heaven, little love.” Julianna kept shaking her head. “Julianna, did you hear what I said?”

“Yes,” she choked out.

“I’m going to help her. Let’s go back to Rosa.” She grabbed Julianna and dragged her away from the door. “Thomas! Do you have anything left in your Sig?” Thomas handed him his gun.

“Jus’ a couple, I think.” Henry nodded. He looked back at Julianna. She was pushing her face into Rosa’s body. Rosa nodded at Henry. He grabbed the handle and swiftly pushed the door open, which trapped Julianna’s mother between the door and the classroom wall. He reached around the door, jammed the muzzle of the Sig to her temple and pulled the trigger.

Julianna screamed. “Momma!” She struggled against Rosa while Rosa tried to comfort her.

Henry let the door swing back just enough to allow Julianna’s mother to fall to the floor in a grotesque pile of blood and rotten flesh. He paused. His heart ached for Julianna, as he understood how she was feeling.

He swallowed hard, and his body filled with rage. Henry was working hard to keep the demon at bay. He walked his aching body into the classroom and cleared it. He grabbed a sweater that was hanging around Julianna’s mom’s chair.

Rosa brought her inside the classroom, shielding her from her mother’s rotting corpse. Henry handed Julianna the sweater, and helped wrap it around her slight body. She went to her mother’s desk and opened all the drawers.

Julianna looked back at Henry. He walked over to the desk again, and saw a large stash of snacks and candy. He pulled off his pack and unzipped it. Julianna loaded his bag up with all of the food stash. Then she grabbed the picture of her and her family off of the desk, and held it close to her body.

“Is there anything else you would like to take?” Henry softly asked her. Julianna went to the closet in the back of the classroom. “Wait. Let me open it.” He swung open the door in haste, but it was more like a pantry closet. There were cases of water on the floor. Henry looked around and saw a couple backpacks still in the room.

“Thomas, give me a hand and empty those packs.” He filled the backpacks with the bottles as Henry handed them over.

He looked around the closet for anything else that would be useful. Henry grabbed a few more items, such as paper products and some jackets that were left there by the students.

They gathered their goods and headed back to the hall to make their way back down the stairs. Julianna stopped just short of the door and turned around, giving one last look at the classroom.

“Come on. We have to go.” Rosa gently tugged Julianna away from the doorway. She resisted, but it was time to move on.

Before they made their way to the first floor, Justin stopped them. “Which way did you come in?” he asked Henry.

“Off to the side, behind the cafeteria. The front entrance was loaded with undeads.”

Justin nodded. “I know another way we can go, if we can’t get through that way.” Henry began the slow climb down the stairs again, careful not to slip on the sludge of decay that was oozing all around the true deads. They made it to the bottom without incident.

Henry led them into the corridor. His muscles and joints were really starting to ache. He shook it off for the time being. The hallway seemed to be clear so he signaled everyone to advance. The bat was ready for action, resting on Henry’s shoulder.

He stole a glance around the corner. Holding up his hand, he held up three fingers indicating there were three undeads. Nick walked up to Henry. They nodded at each other, and Nick jumped out and shot all three of them. The outside door was at the end of the hall. Knowing it was a straight shot to the door, Henry said just above a whisper, “Let’s haul ass.”

All of them sprinted toward the door. Henry pushed it open and pulled the shirt from his nose and mouth. He bent over, catching his breath, grabbing his ribs. He dropped to his knees because the pain had become unbearable.

“Henry?” Nick knelt down in front of him and saw that his eyes were graying. He whispered, “I’ll drive. Let’s go. We need to get you back now.” Nick dug around in Henry’s pockets and pulled his keys out.

“Is he okay?” Justin looked stunned.

“He will be,” Nick said. “He just needs to rest. He’s been injured for a while and is still in the process of healing.” Supporting Henry, Nick led the crew back toward the truck.

“Broken ribs?” Rosa asked.

“Not one hundred percent sure. But it was a nasty injury, and it’s been a difficult recovery since we always seem to be fighting or running.” Nick unlocked the truck and helped Henry into the passenger seat. Rosa, Julianna, and Shay sat in the back seat. Thomas and Justin jumped into the very back.

“I can’t believe this,” Rosa whispered. “I never thought we would get out of there.” Justin put his hand on her shoulder, and she reached up to his hand and held it. She was in awe that she was really going home.

“Hurry, Nick,” Henry grumbled. He laid his head up against the window, hugging his ribs. Nick started the truck and threw it into drive. He floored it, and they left that school parking lot like a bat out of hell. Nick had to get Henry back before he was in real danger of turning. Then he realized his neck and spine were aching, as well. He pushed the truck harder, hoping that they would make it.

Chapter 36

nce again, I put my big girl panties on and forced myself off the couch, only to continually pace the floor. It seemed like hours since they had left. That was the moment I wished I had a working watch. Not that counting the seconds would’ve been helpful, either.

Addie was crocheting like a wild woman. I wasn’t sure what she was making, but she surely was making good use of her time. Unlike me, who was wearing a path in her floor.

Claire had gone up to lay down in bed, her fatigue catching up to her. I had a feeling she was just feeling guilty for the way she had been acting, too. I decided that I should go and check on her.

I knocked on the door. “Come in,” Claire said, barely audible. I opened the door with some hesitation.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Can we talk?”

“Yeah.” Claire sat up in bed. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were tear-stained. I could see the remorse just pouring off of her. I sat down on the end of the bed, not saying anything for several minutes. I sat there and tried to form my thoughts together into logical, sarcasm-free sentences.

“I just want to say that I understand you’re worried and full of fear, but don’t push us all away. We all love you, and we want to help you. We don’t think you will be a burden. I’m not saying it won’t be difficult because it’s going to be like going into hell with an iced beverage and expecting it to remain chilled.” I sighed. “My point is, we want to be here for you, and we want to help you. You are my best friend, and I can’t live without you...” My last words faded as I said them. I continued to look at the door of the bedroom, hoping Henry would burst through at any moment. Claire got up and wrapped her arms around me.

“What if the baby is like him?” she whispered.

“I don’t know. Henry said it doesn’t work that way. It has to be a blood/saliva mix from them,” I whispered. We heard a vehicle pull into Addie’s driveway. I jumped up and yelled, “Henry!”

Claire and I ran out into the living room, as Addie swung open the door and we all sprinted out. She screamed with joy when she saw a girl, who must have been Rosa, open the door and jump out. They embraced each other, sobbing and collapsing to the ground. I looked back at the truck, and Nick jumped out of the driver’s side.

“Oh no. No!” I ran to the passenger side. “Henry!”

“He needs you now! Let’s go!” Nick took on the task of pulling Henry out of the truck. I grabbed his right side, and Nick was on his left. “Claire, we’re taking him to the bedroom.” His eyes were slits of gray, and we were practically dragging him into the house. He was grimacing in pain the entire way. I was so focused on saving Henry that I was oblivious to everything else.

We got Henry to the bed and I shouted, “Claire! Go grab his pack.” She stood still in shock. “Claire! Now! We don’t have much time.”

***

“Henry, stay with me. I’m here.” I stroked the top of his head, pushing his grime-filled hair from his eyes. “It’s alright, lover. You stay with me. I’m going to give you what you need soon.” Henry was clenching his jaw, growling in pain. “I know you’re in there. You have to fight it.” He was breathing short, quick breaths through his teeth. “Nick, what the fuck happened?” Claire slammed the door and ran to the bed, then began hooking me up.

“I don’t know. I saw him rolling and rubbing his neck. He hurt his hand again, and then when we ran out of the building, it was like he reinjured his ribs or something. I looked at him and his eyes were graying.”

With Henry incapacitated, having Sophie around to answer questions would have been helpful. My breath hitched and tears formed in my eyes. I watched Henry rolling in the bed in complete agony.

Claire reached for him to try to stabilize him. “Henry. Henry. I need to know where it hurts.”

“Ev-ery wh-ere,” he groaned out.

“I’m going to try to assess you. Please don’t fight me.” I watched Claire tending to my ailing Henry. I looked down at the needle with the bag attached, willing my blood to leave me faster. I moved closer to him and held my wrist over his lips.

“Bite me.”

Claire looked at me like I was insane. “No! No way! I am not letting him bite you! Are you out of your fucking mind?!”

“No. He could be dying! He needs me. I have to save him. Henry, it’s okay.” He cracked his eyes open, and tears ran down the sides of his face. Then I felt a pair of strong arms yank me back. “Ow! What the fuck?!”

“I will not allow it,” Nick argued.

“You are not the boss of me!” Then I saw his eyes graying, as well. “Nick! What happened in there?” He stood there, fighting himself. A near constant growl was coming out of Henry. We were running out of time. “Where’s Thomas?!” Nick opened the door, and Thomas was standing right outside. He grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him inside.

“Here,” Nick growled.

“Claire, set him up for a vial. This is taking way too long. Nick needs some, too.” Claire pulled out what she needed from Henry’s pack, and hooked up Thomas. I scooted up the bed and tried to comfort Henry as much as I could.

Then there was a knock on the door, which was not what we needed. Everyone went quiet but Henry, who was still writhing in pain on the bed. Claire jumped up, went to the door, and cracked it open just enough to see Addie standing just outside the door.

“Is everything okay in there?” She was concerned. Claire bit down on her lip, searching for the words.

“Umm, yeah. He’s just injured, and tends to be a big baby about it.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, if you need anything…I’ll be just out in the kitchen with Rosa. Please, thank him for me.”

“I will. Thanks.” Claire slammed the door shut, making sure to lock it. She ran over to Thomas and swapped out his vials. She handed me the first one.

“Henry. Henry, try and sit up.” His whole body was trembling and rigid. He cracked open his eyes again. “It’s going to be okay. Here, open up.”

He parted his chapped, scarred lips and I poured the vial down. He swallowed hard, and continued his harsh breathing pattern. I stroked his face gently with my fingers.

“Shhh… It’s going to be okay.” He seemed to have started to calm down, but not enough. Claire pulled off the next vial and tried to hand it to Nick. He pushed it away, and nodded toward Henry.

“But Ni…”

“He needs it more than I do right now!”

“But…”

“Give it to him!” Nick snapped. She handed it to me just as I handed her back the empty vial. I looked at Nick. “It’s okay, Elaina. I’ll be fine until you’re done with that.” He slouched down against the wall. Claire unhooked Thomas, and I poured the last vial down Henry’s throat.

Within a couple minutes, Henry’s breathing had slowed down, and was at a more normal pace. His muscles were no longer contracting, and his growling had ceased. Relief swept over me, but he still needed a good dose. Those vials were just a Band-Aid to a larger problem.

“Open your eyes, Henry.” He slowly cracked them open and I could see the faintest green coming through. “Henry...” I grabbed his face to kiss him, completely ignoring the fact that I was filling a bag. “Ow! Claire, help me!”

“Thomas,” Claire said as she unhooked me. “Go and get a cup or something.” He ran out of the room.

***

Addie and all of the kids were sitting, talking and eating when Thomas flew into the kitchen. Addie stood up. “Is everything alright with him?” She was still very concerned.

“I…I jus’ need a cup or somethin’ like tha’.”

She tilted her head to one side, and looked at him with confusion. “Why on earth would you need a cup?”

“Water. Jus’ some water. He is havin’ a hard time wit’ the water bottle at the moment.”

“Alright.” She reached into the cabinet, cautiously handing him a small juice glass. “Is there anything you need me to help with?”

“No!” Addie looked shocked that he spoke to her in that way. “Sorry. No, ma’am. We’re fine. Like Claire said, Henry’s a big baby.” Thomas turned on a dime, ran back to the bedroom, and slammed the door.

***

Thomas tossed the cup to Claire, and she filled for Nick. He didn’t sip like he normally would. He dumped it back like he was doing a shot at the bar. He passed the cup back to Claire, and she filled it for Henry. The cup of blood nauseated me more than the vial. I hesitated.

“Take it! Give it to him!” Claire insisted as she shoved the cup at me.

“Okay,” I said, with a meekness that I rarely possessed. I stroked his face. “Henry…” I held the cup to his lips. “Drink up.” He cracked open his eyes again. I was careful not to spill a drop as I tipped it up, and he drank at a slow and steady pace until the glass was empty. I wiped his lips, and handed the cup back to Claire. “Henry?” I whispered while holding his face.

“Yeah…?” he drawled out with a harsh rasp in his voice.

“Oh, Henry!” I wrapped my arms around his neck, and began to weep into his chest.

“Hey… hey…” He was trying to console me. “It’s alright.” He rubbed my back with his unbroken hand. “Love, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” Each word sounded better than the last. He looked at the rest of our little family. “Thank you,” he said. Everyone nodded once. “Oh, and thanks for telling them I’m a big baby.” Henry smirked, as did I. Everyone laughed in relief.

“I’m going to go rinse these out,” Claire held up the vials and cup.

She made it to the door, when Thomas warned, “Go out the front. They’re in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.”

***

Claire, oozing with suspicion, crept through the house and then quickly headed out the front door. Addie stood up when she saw Claire go outside, and decided she was going into the bedroom again. She listened at the door before she knocked with a heavy fist.

***

“Open this door!” Addie yelled from the hallway. I was cramming all the tubing and needles into Henry’s pack. Just as I zipped it up, Addie opened the door on her own. “If you don’t tell me what is going on in here, I’ll throw every one of you out!” I contemplated telling her the truth. “First, I hear Henry yelling in agony, and then laughing? Then I see Claire sneaking out the front door!” She was angry, and she looked like a snake ready to strike. Nick looked at me, wondering what my response would be.

“Well, Henry was injured several weeks ago. He got into a nasty fight with some jerk who was trying to steal our ammo and supplies. Let’s just say Henry fared better than the other guy.” I looked back at Henry, and he was staring out the window, trying to avoid eye contact. “We think his ribs were fractured or something when the guy planted his boot into Henry’s side. I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell you for sure.”

“What happened to the other guy?” I just looked at Addie with a quirked brow, and she knew. “Oh. Right.”

“Nick said that once they sprinted out of the school, he buckled over in pain. We think he may have reinjured them. Plus, he reinjured his hand. And he has a few other nagging issues that haven’t healed yet, due to him trying to be the hero all of the time.” I said it with some attitude. Nick looked relieved at my explanation. Addie came over and picked up his hand. Henry hissed and yanked it back.

“I think we should splint this for more support.” Addie sounded concerned. “I have just the thing. Be right back.” She walked out of the room. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Nick gave me a thumbs up. I helped Henry sit up at the head of the bed.

Claire came back with water and an armload of snacks, all the while cramming a small candy bar into her mouth. She passed out the snacks and waters, and handed me the clean glass.

“Where did you find that?” I asked with an absurd amount of excitement. My mouth was watering because I had a major weakness for anything candy. I poured water in the glass for Henry.

“Back of his truck,” she said with a mouthful of chocolate and caramel. “There’s some food in his pack, as well.” Apparently, I didn’t notice that while I was trying to cram some of our draw supplies back in.

Addie came back in, holding a couple short rulers and a roll of medical tape. She looked at Claire with a raised eyebrow while she chowed down on a small bag of potato chips.

“Why did you run out so fast?” Claire chewed and swallowed, trying to have some manners to answer Addie’s question. I would have just spoken with my mouth full.

“Oh, he kept asking for more water. Plus, he said he was hungry.”

“Y’all just cater to him like he is the king, huh?”

“Oh, yes. My King Henry.” I winked at him, and he smirked. Everyone stood silent. I sat down beside him and opened up the pack of crackers with peanut butter sandwiched in the middle. I held the cup to his lips and he sipped. I handed him a cracker, and he ate it in one bite.

Addie sat down on the bed and began unwrapping Henry’s injured hand. He hissed, over and over again. “Oh, geez. You really banged it up good.” Nick and Thomas chuckled a little. “I see,” Addie said when she heard them laugh. “So you punched something.”

“Yeah. It was a moment of stupidity. I have several of those on a daily basis.” Then I laughed because it was the truth.

“Ms. Addie?” I spun around with my Sig out, pointed at the door. The girl screamed.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“Elaina…put away your gun,” Henry demanded. “Julianna. Come in. It’s okay. She won’t harm you. I promise. Well, if you try to steal that chocolate out of her hand she might.” He softly smiled at her. Julianna took a hesitant step toward the bed.

“I just wanted to see if Mr. Henry was doing alright.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. I’m doing better.” I was still confused. “Elaina, this is Julianna. She was at the school with Rosa. And that’s Justin, his sister Shay, and that, of course, is Rosa.”

“Hi. Sorry about the gun, I just got startled,” I was mumbling over my embarrassment.

“It’s fine,” Rosa said, as she wrapped her protective arms around Julianna. I noticed she was very much like Addie, with her mothering mannerisms.

As Addie finished splinting and rewrapping Henry’s hand, she said, “I cannot thank you boys enough for rescuing my daughter…and these wonderful kids.” Addie became emotional. She walked up to Thomas and hugged him, then Nick.