Dead World (Book 2): Headed North (6 page)

Daniel is moving without thought now, swinging and sprinting, just trying to keep them all facing him he is forced to back pedal. If he gets surrounded it is over. So he moves around the outside of the group. Like wolves singling out the weakest. He is the wolf. He will be their swift death. He strikes whenever he has a chance.

It seems as though it lasts forever. His arms burn from the exertion and his face is flecked with the black blood of the zombies he brings down. His breath comes in short gasps, and his fingers are numb from cold and the grip on the axe.

The moaning and the wet thud of the axe are all he hears. Oblivious to everything going on outside of him. A couple times he feels arms reach out and grab at his sweater. Feels the fingers trying to get a firm grip but he is moving too fast. Faster than he ever knew he could.

Swinging wildly he plants the axe in the skull of an older man. It lodges, stuck. Like cutting through wood and as the thing falls back Daniel’s arm finally gives out and the axe is pulled out of his hands, slick with gore.

He falls to his back heavily. The wind is knocked from him and he gasps for breath as a zombie falls bodily on top of him.

Daniel thrusts his hands out catching the thing by the neck. snow is turning the grass around him to mud. His fingers are frozen from the cold but even against that he can feel how damp and clammy the flesh of the dead is.

Jaws snap perilously close to his face as he tries to force the thing back. He knows he can’t hold out for long and his arms are shaking from the effort of forcing the thing back. It is a war of attrition that he knows he will lose. These things never feel fear or tiredness. Never lose their desire to kill and maim.

Just as he feels his arms losing their grip the things head snaps to the side. Isaiah stands over him with the rifle held in his hands like a club. He reaches a hand out to help Daniel up.

Daniel reaches up to grab the hand before the world shrinks around him and he falls back into the freezing mud, the world going dark on him at last.

11

Hardin, Montana

Nightmares are nothing new to Peter. The only one he can’t handle is his wife face as she tears into their son. The son she loved and carried. That one nearly broke him. But for the first time in weeks he slept without her face haunting him.

He shakes his head to clear the thoughts. The sun is up now and it casts a cold light on the wall, reflecting dully off the corrugated metal.

“What do you think, Terry?” Peter asks, “How much time do we have?”

“I think everyone is doing the best they can,” Terry replies, “We have been holed up in here for nearly a month now and we haven’t gone at each other’s throats. I think that is better than we could have expected for.”

“It’s the constant threat of dying at every turn.” Peter says, “It has everyone on edge. You and I, we spent our time in hell. These people were not ready for this,” he nods at an older man, his eyes look lost and empty. “Any of this. It’s just too much for them to handle”

“We can’t give up sir,” Terry says, “We will continue to reinforce the wall and in a couple weeks the ground and everything else will be frozen solid. These winters could freeze a witch‘s tit sir,” he says, drawing a strained smile from peter. His battlefield humor always helped make the worst situations bearable. Even though they are rare and often confusing Terry seems to get a kick out of his own terrible jokes. He is the type of guy who you laugh at because of their laugh.

“You may be right. If we can keep everyone focused. Keep everyone working on rationing supplies,” Peter says, “Speaking of that, how are the food details coming along?”

“We found enough food, sir. If we ration it we can buy ourselves a couple months just on the canned stuff. Of course no one is going to like going hungry for the most part but if anyone wants they can go outside the walls to find something fresh.”

They both know that no one will offer so they figure hunger is just going to have to be faced. No more stuffing themselves. These people are going to have to become harder than they ever thought possible

“Well that’s a spot of good news,” Peter replies, “So if we can just hold the wall then we should be safe at least until they freeze over then we can figure out what to do next.”

“What about the safe zones? We could always try up north,” Terry says.

“I don’t know if that is the best bet. I mean where is the military anyways?” Peter asks harshly. In the first few weeks he wondered why they didn’t respond. Probably the same crippling democratic situation that caused the war in Iraq to be such a mess. No one willing to make the necessary calls. And here they were not reacting again, and now it was way too late. Nothing left to save.

“I see your point, sir. But it might be the best long term solution.”

“We will wait out these next couple weeks. Maybe we will just need to hold a vote and see what the others think. They may have nominated me de facto leader but this isn’t what I was born to do. I’m just trying to keep as many safe as I can. Once this is over it is someone else’s job. I quit,” he says.

This time it is Terry’s turn to laugh. “I know that, sir. I will have you out of office as soon as I can.”

12

North of Cheyenne, Wyoming

Valentine grips the steering wheel, still in shock. The way Daniel looked at her, the way he stared into her eyes. “Protect them.” That’s all he said to Isaiah before he threw himself into the mob of dead. It was reckless and dangerous and most of all stupid. But her heart clenches because it was her fault.

Anger at her inability to act eats at her, twisting her stomach in knots. Getting the car moving, that’s all that mattered. Get them far away. Sure they didn’t get the food. Sure they used up the bullets but that’s not as bad as being a meal for those things. And now as she looks out the window at Daniel lying prone in the freezing mud. Snow still drifting down on top of him she can’t help but despise herself.

Truth be told she has been growing fond of Daniel. He was always the nice guy who came into her work. Always ordered the same thing. Sat by himself. Didn’t seem to have many friends. But he was a genuinely good guy.

Even though they had never really talked she just had a feeling. It was the small things. Like the way he would always take care to clean up after himself, organizing his table and pushing in the chair before he left. The way he smiled at her like he wanted to talk but didn’t know the words to say. The way he was so nice to Faraday, always one of the only people to talk to him.

But all of that was so long ago. Only a month that feels like a lifetime. They say that when you are having fun time flies. Well it turns out that the reciprocal is true as well. Pain and suffering can turn moments into an eternity.

She opens the door finally. Slowly. As if she is still unsure. And she is. But the motion galvanizes her. She jumps to the ground and rushes over to Daniel. Isaiah saved him, he was out of the car and acting before the others, but even he was surprised by the way Daniel moved. The utter lunacy of the action.

Isaiah is bent over him now trying to pull him out of the mud. Valentine runs up to both of them. “Are you OK?” dies on her lips. There is blood and viscera all over him. the hacking apart of so many bodies has left obvious marks all over him.

It is impossible to tell if he was bitten in all of it. If he will even wake up as Daniel, or if he will wake as one of them.

Valentine grabs his arm.

“On three,” says Isaiah and then counts down. They haul him free from the mud dragging him back towards the truck. Despite how insane it was Daniel did it. He was able to save them. Maybe at the cost of his own life. But it would keep them all fed for days. And in this world life was counted in days rather than years.

They put him into the passenger seat as gently as possible. Isaiah offers to drive the car and Valentine takes it as a mercy. She is too shaken to even think about it. Everything is passing in a blur.

Isaiah drives them out of the yard, over the sidewalk and back onto the street. “We will go into one of these other houses. We need to see what we can do about getting him cleaned up. I’ll get the food later.”

“Is he OK?” Chloe asks.

“I’m not sure honey,” Isaiah replies, “We need to get him cleaned up. Make sure he didn’t get bitten or anything, that’s all.”

“He will be fine,” Sasha reassures her, pulling her head closer to her chest. They are all shaken though. They have been together the whole time and even thinking about losing one of their own is overwhelming. Losing Faraday was hard enough, and then Jason. But neither of them were around from the beginning.

Isaiah pulls the car into the driveway of another abandoned mansion. The door is open and swaying in the snowy breeze. He takes this as a sign that the place is empty. “It’s the best we are going to be able to do for now,” he says to them.

Valentine nods still numb from the ordeal. And they set about getting Daniel inside so they can try to clean him up and decide on what is going to happen next.

***

Daniel wakes with a start and bolts up in bed. Sudden pain lances through his head and he falls back to the bed gripping his skull. It throbs in time to his heartbeat. Slowly he becomes aware of his body. Everything hurts. There is bone deep soreness in his extremities. His heart thunders inside his chest and his breathing comes in painful gasps.

He tries to calm himself. Focusing on tiny things, the feeling of the sheets against his skin. The sun spilling in through the curtains across his face. The cool air in the room. The smell of food coming from somewhere he can’t be sure of. And with that the realization that he is starving hits him. His stomach gnaws at him trying to eat him from the inside out.

He opens his eyes the smallest fraction but the light, even the wane light coming in through the curtains is brutal. He tries to roll over but that immediately sets his body on fire again. Instead he tries to do small things. Move his hands. Open, close. Open, close. Then his feet, he circles them around stretching out his ankles. His limbs feel leaden and so hard to move.

“Are you awake?” the voice calls to him feeling impossibly distant. Valentine’s voice, drifting to him, just like all those times she had asked for his drink order. This is different though. This is sweet and caring. Her hand brushes his forehead.

He nods the slightest amount.

“Oh my god, I was so nervous,” she says, “I was so afraid you wouldn’t wake up. I’m so sorry.” She brushes his hair lightly with her hand.

“It’s OK,” he says through a parched throat. He tries to speak again but nothing issues forth.

“Let me get you some water,” she says and is gone for a moment. Daniel lies prone willing himself back into the comfort of sleep. But it will not come. Like being in the middle of an ocean on a raft and dying of thirst. So close to all that water but it wouldn’t help.

He hears her footsteps and then a door shuts. She walks to stand next to him and then tries to ease him up so he can take a sip of the water. It feels like it takes an eternity to get him to drink enough water but he can feel it revitalizing him. His limbs go from fire to a dull ache. Everything is still more sore than he ever imagined possible but he is moving and that is something.

After a long while he sits up in the bed fully, his eyes taking in the scene. It is a bedroom. Very nice by the look of it. He sits in a massive king bed with just his boxers on. The room is decorated lavishly. Stuff he would never think to own. A duvet, a dresser hanging open with clothes and shoes more than he can count. A walk in bathroom that looks massive from where he sits. All of it accented with the furnishings of the rich.

“Here try to eat something,” Valentine says. She is clean. That is the first thing he notices as she offers some soup on a spoon. Tomato soup has never tasted so good.

“Did you find a shower?” Daniel asks her.

“We all did,” she says smiling. “These people had a back-up generator. It took a little while to get the thing running but Isaiah figured it out so we had hot water. The first time in a month,” she sounds so relieved it is hard to believe.

“What happened?” Daniel asks. Everything is a foggy mess in his head. He remembers the brutal flight through the house. Being surrounded but fighting their way out. Then they stopped. They went back for supplies. Something went wrong and he tried to save them. That’s all he can remember, wanting to protect Valentine.

“We went back for the food. I froze and crashed the car. I was so afraid I’m so sorry,” she apologizes again gripping his right hand and looking into his eyes. He realizes that he has never been this close to her. Of course he had held her hand leaving Denver. He had a chance to be near her on so many occasions. But this is the first time it has felt this way. He smiles despite himself.

“Well at least everyone made it,” Daniel says.

“Yeah, you saved us,” she looks at him sternly. “You know maybe we could have just left. I know I messed up bad but you didn’t have to go out there like you did.”

He can’t remember exactly what she is talking about. Flashes of the fight return to him but it is mostly a red haze in his mind. The harder he tries to focus on any of it the farther away it all seems.

“I was afraid,” he says, “I had to protect you. I guess I didn’t think,” he pats her arm lightly, trying to reassure her.

“You’re damn right you didn’t think,” her face is deadly serious. “Don’t do that again or I’ll kill you myself,” she laughs and it breaks the tension. Daniel cannot help but laugh with her.

“Where are Isaiah and Sasha?” Daniel asks. “Is Chloe ok?”

“She was as nervous as me. We were all terrified. When you collapsed into the snow we thought you had been bitten. Oh god I don’t know what I would do if they got you Daniel,” tears form in her eyes and she brushes them away, “but you’re fine. Everything is fine,” she pauses for a moment, “They are downstairs though. Would you like me to get them? We’ve all been waiting for you to wake up.”

“How long was I out?”

“It was quite a while. All through yesterday and into today.” She says.

“Wait what time is it?”

“It’s almost ten,” she looks out through the window, “Once you’re feeling better we were thinking about moving on. We have everything we could find in this neighborhood packed up. We even took yesterday to make some modifications. Nothing fancy but it should be enough to get us the rest of the way to Canada if we are lucky,” she smiles at him again. He has always loved her smile.

“Well then I guess we better get moving,” he smiles back. “Wait,” he says as he notices he is naked. “It’s not a big deal, but who washed me up?”

She winks at him. This is the most normal he has felt since the world went to hell last month and he wishes this moment would last forever.

He rests his head back against the bed. They are waiting downstairs for him but he decides to take a moment more to just enjoy the warmth of the sunshine on his face. To close his eyes and pretend like everything is fine for just a little while longer.

After a moment he rises out of bed. The room is clean and there is a change of clothes lying at the foot of the bed. He scoops them up and heads to the bathroom. When he sees himself in the mirror he is shocked at how rough he looks. Whatever happened out there was savage. His head is wrapped in a bandage and as he tries to unwrap it he can feel a tender spot on the back of his skull.

He realizes that he must have fallen. He vaguely recalls one of them knocking him to the ground. A frantic struggle to stop from being bitten. The feeling of cold hands grasping him and pushing against grey pallid flesh so that the broken teeth could not get any closer. He forces his eyes shut and tries to think of anything else. But now that he has started it all rushes back to him in a flood. Stumbling he reaches out and grabs onto the towel rack to regains his balance. The spinning whirlwind of memories slowly starts to sort itself out and he is able to make sense of everything that happened.

He turns on the shower as hot as he can stand and steps in letting the water run over his body. This is one of the rarities he sorely missed on their long trip here so he takes a few moments to enjoy it.

Eventually the water begins to run cold. He turns off the faucet and dries himself off. He throws on the clothes they gather and heads downstairs. Everyone is gathered around the large kitchen eating a meal.

They smile to see him and he smiles back, genuinely happy that despite everything they have each other. He is amazed at how fast they have become so close. Just over a month ago they were total strangers but now they have formed something of a family.

It may have been forced at first, but it still feels so right to him.

“Hey guys,” he says taking a seat at the table. It is a fine mahogany and there are placemats set around.

“Hey Daniel,” Chloe says excitedly. She hops out of her chair and gives him a hug. “We were so worried something bad happened,” she smiles at him in a way that only a child can smile.

“No, no, I’m ok Chloe. It was a close call but everything is going to be alright.”

She nods at him and heads back to her own spot by Sasha.

“Well I’m starving.” Daniel says looking at the meager feast they have prepared. It is the last day here so they decided to eat everything they could not carry. It isn’t great. Just what was available in the house and hadn’t spoiled but it was food and that was better than being hungry.

“Being hungry for a couple weeks will make anything look good,” Isaiah says and takes a bite out of a slice of bread covered in peanut butter.

“We are all looking very thin,” Sasha says, “We need to try and pack on as many calories as we can because it could be a while before we find food like this again.”

Chloe digs a giant spoon into a half melted container of ice cream happily. “Daddy said the generator is dead so I get to eat as much of this as I can.”

Isaiah nods at her. “Yeah, the thing has been powering everything for the past couple days and they didn’t have much fuel left for it. But we got what we could out of it,” he smiles at Chloe, “Eat up darling.”

Daniel reaches for a piece of bread and begins spreading peanut butter on it. “So what’s next?”

“Well we talked about just heading straight up I-90,” Valentine says, “We could make a straight shot up through Wyoming and Montana and be into Canada within a couple days. We have the food for it now.”