Outbreak The Living (The Outbreak Series) (6 page)

I must have fallen to sleep, looking around I see that I am still alone. It is getting dark out. How long was I sleeping?  I feel that I am covered up now and there’s a light on in the corner. I try again to get free and I still cannot. I hear a noise coming from the bathroom and my heart starts to race. Jake is back. I watch the door for a few minutes and do not hear anything again. I settle down and see a shadow on the wall. I start to struggle again to get free.  Looking over I see Mack! I must be seeing things. How would he be here. I see him lock the door and drag a chair in front of it.  He starts to walk over to the bed and bends down to take the gag out of my mouth….

“Shhh. Egypt, we have to be quiet. They are just in the other room. You have to get up and get moving,” he says.

I look at him and can’t believe he’s here, and that were going to get out of here.

“Mack, I can’t get up I’m tied to the bed,” I whisper. I know that I have to be turning all shades of red. He reaches for the blanket and pulls it down. I can’t look him in the eyes, I know what I’ll see there.

“What the fuck, Egypt? What did he do? Never mind that now. Listen, you need to get your clothes on and grab your bag over there in the corner. We have to move fast. Are you going to be able to run, Egypt?" he asks as he’s untying me. 

“Yeah, Mack, I can run,” I say. I sit up after my arms are untied, they hurt like hell with the blood rushing to them. He does not look at me and goes to untie my legs. I am glad he doesn’t because it is taking everything I have not to just lose it here.

“OK, get ready. I’m going to go listen at the door," he says.

I slowly get up and move my legs to get the blood back. Bending down I grab my jeans and slip them on. I grab my socks and boots and do the same. Walking over to the chair I grab the hoodie and put it on. And sling my backpack on my back.

“Mack, I’m ready.” Looking around the room that was my prison, I wait for him. He takes me by the hand and leads me to the bathroom. He steps in the bathtub and looks out the window.

“OK, Egypt, I’m going to help you out the window, just stay close to the side of the house," he says.

He gently grabs hold of me almost like he is afraid to touch me and helps lift me up. Grabbing hold of the window sill, I lift myself up and onto it. Looking down it is really not that far to jump.

“I’ll be right behind you. I promise, Egypt,” he says.

I jump down and move myself to the side of the house to wait for him. Looking up at the window, I see he starts to come out.  He lands softly beside me and grabs my hand again.

“Now, we need to run. Stay with me, Egypt. No matter what you hear, keep running to the woods,” he whispers.

Nodding my head, we slowly make our way to the end of the house. It is a really dark night. The moon is cloud covered. That is perfect for us. It takes my eyes awhile to adjust to the dark. Mack stops at the corner of the house and slowly looks around the corner. I can hear guys up front. They are talking about what they are doing tomorrow. Mack bends down to my ear and whispers.

“Listen, Egypt, there’s no easy way about this. We’re just going to have to run. I have a truck a few miles up the road in a garage, we have to stay in the woods as much as possible,” he says.

“OK, Mack, I just want to get out of here,” I whisper.

He squeezes my hand and pulls me forward. I know Mack is not running as fast as he can. There would be no way for me to keep up.  The grass is wet and slippery. I am glad he is holding my hand. We run for about five minutes and stop at the barn. We duck behind it and stop. My knee starts to hurt me and I know I will not be able to keep this pace up for long.

“Egypt, stay here; I’m going to go around the barn and see if they have noticed you gone yet. Stay here and catch your breath, I’ll be back,” Mack says looking at me.

“I’ll be okay. Go do what you need to do, Mack.” Leaning back against the barn, to rest a bit.

Mack makes his way around the barn and out of sight.  Bending down, I catch my breath. Taking my hands, I run them over my knee. It is starting to swell up again. Shit, I give it a few hours and I will be limping again. Feeling my ribs, they are tender. I am sure this running is causing this. Still bent over, I look around, the woods are about 500 yards away. If we can get to them, we will have better cover. Hearing a noise, I look over to where Mack went.  Seeing him coming around the corner, he doesn’t seem freaked out. He’s taking his time so that would mean nothing is going on yet. I know it is only a matter of time before they raise the alarm. Jake will be going into that room and find me gone.

“OK, Egypt, I don’t think they know you’re gone yet. We need to move and fast. I want to get as much distance between us and them as we can, babe,” Mack says.

“OK, let’s get moving then. The sooner we get away, the sooner we can slow down, Mack. I’m still messed up from that fight with Hunter,” I say.

I really don’t want to bring that up, I’m not a weak woman, but I did get the shit beat out of me. Looking over at Mack I wonder what he’s thinking. Does he think I am weak? This is no time for thinking that way. I can feel sorry for myself later, once were safe. Shaking my head to clear it, I grab Mack’s hand. Suddenly we hear a big crash from the house. Jumping, I squeeze Mack’s hand.

“We need to go NOW, Egypt. They know you’re gone,” Mack says. I can hear the urgency in his voice. We start running again, this time towards the woods. I do not look back, but I can hear yelling and trucks starting up and leaving. I see that Mack looks behind us as he mumbles something I cannot make out. We do not slow down. We keep running.

“Egypt, keep going straight into the woods about 300 feet the turn left and keep moving, I’ll find you GO, GO, GO!” Mack yells.

“Mack?”

“Just go, Egypt! They are following us and I have to stop them or get them off our trail. GO! I will find you, I promise,” he says.

He drops my hand and slows down. I keep running seeing the woods coming up quick. Throwing my arms up in front of me, I head into the woods, not slowing down. Tree branches and weeds are ripping at my arms and clothes. I know they have drawn blood, but I keep going. It starts to thin out and there is not as many pricker bushes. When I think I have gone deep enough into the woods, I slow down. Coming up to a huge tree I stop. Looking around I do not see anyone near me. Looking back the way I came I can see flashlights bouncing around and a few are heading into the woods. Fixing the pack on my back, I turn to the left and start running again. It’s hard to see in the woods so it is slow going. I hear the men yelling and I keep running losing track of the time. I must have been running for fifteen minutes. Slowing down, I start to walk. My knee is not holding up very well.

Looking around, I don’t see the flashlights anymore. Holding on to my side I keep going but slow down. Stopping I see there is a road in front of me. Stopping by a big tree that I can hide behind if I need to. I look around. Across the street, diagonally to the right, is an old house, there are no lights on and it has a few broken windows. It does have a garage to the right of it. I wonder if that is the house Mack was talking about. There’s four or five houses to the right and left of it. What do I do? I could stay out in the woods and chance getting caught or go to that house and I can hide out and watch out the window. Making up my mind, I slowly make my way out of the woods. Walking along the ditch, I wait until I am right across from the old house. Looking both ways, I do not see anything so I run across the street. I get to the tree that is out front and stop next to it. The house looks abandoned.

Walking up to the front door I turn the door knob and find it unlocked. Turning it, I open the door and walk in. Shutting the door behind me I stand there and listen. I do not hear anything. I better look around and make sure I am alone. Heading into the kitchen there are dirty dishes in the sink that look like they were there for a few months. There is mold on them.  Walking into the other rooms, I do the same, not finding anything.

Going into the living room I see a pack on the ground. Walking over to it I bend down and look through it. This is Mack’s! At the bottom of it there is a .9mm; grabbing it I check the clip and find it full, sliding it back into place I cock it and put it in the waistband of my jeans. Grabbing a bottled water I make my way to the chair in front of the window.

Sitting down, I look out the window. It is so dark and quiet, it is freaking me out a bit. I never did like being by myself at night. What a wimp. Opening the water, I drink the bottle almost gone. Sitting back I put my leg up and keep watch. I wonder where Mack is.  Is he OK or did they get him? Seeing movement to the left, I get out of the chair and get on my knees in front of the window so that I can see out. Watching for a while I know the group coming down the road are zombies. You always can tell them apart from others. They just do not act right. Staying where I am, I watch as they slowly go by. When they finally passed the house, I get back in the chair. I have not seen any of them in a few weeks. Then again I haven’t been myself lately.

Watching out the window, I look to the woods and I see a figure by the same big tree looking at the house. Shit, I can’t make out who it is. Grabbing the gun from my jeans I put it in my lap. Where is that light coming from? Looking to the right I see headlights. Shit, this keeps getting better and better. Getting out of the chair I get down and watch out the window. The person in the woods has ducked behind the tree. So I think it might be Mack. The truck is going slow, down the road shining the lights into the houses. At least they are not getting out and searching them. They get to the house right before the one I am in so I crawl over to the side of the window and sit on the floor. Holding my breath as the lights shine into the house I push back on the wall and hold still. As the lights go by I start to breathe again!

Getting up, I crawl to the window and look out. The truck is a few houses down now. Looking towards the woods I see Mack coming out from behind the tree. Looking back at the truck, I see it go around the corner. Making my way to the door I wait on the side of it. I cannot be too careful if it isn’t Mack. I hear footsteps on the porch and the front door slowly opens. Lifting the gun I have it right at the guy’s temple.

“Egypt, it’s me,” Mack says.

Looking up into his face I see that it is. Lowering the gun, I put it in the waistband of my jeans.

“Nice of you to join me, Mack,” I say smiling.

Walking back into the living room I sit in the chair and look out the window. Mack goes to his pack and shuffles around in it. He pulls out some beef jerky and two Dr. Pepper Cherry’s. A man after my own heart. I think laughing to myself.

“Here Egypt eat and get some sleep. We will leave here in a few hours and you look exhausted, I have a sleeping bag over in the corner, I’ll keep watch.” He says.

He comes over and sits on the floor next to me and hands me the stuff.

“Thanks, Mack, for coming for me,” I say tearing up.

“Egypt, I would go to the ends of the earth and face hordes of zombies to get you. We will talk later after you have rested,” he says.

Taking my hand, he squeezes it and does not let go. That’s my Mack. Letting go of his hand, I make my way over to the sleeping bag. Sitting down, I start to take off my boots. Getting them off, I slip into the sleeping bag. Getting comfortable, I snuggle down into it. Closing my eyes, I listen to Mack moving around on the other side of the room.

When I get up, I have to call home and make sure everyone is OK. I did not realize how much I have missed everyone including all the chaos and kids running around. I wonder what Sal’s doing and why he did not come with Mack. I know I do not have the same feelings for him as I did in the beginning. I do not know what they were really. Why did I go to Mack that morning in the woods? I will have enough time to figure it all out but for now I am going to sleep.  I feel my eyes getting tired. Closing them, I feel that I can finally breathe without all of the added stress.

Stretching, I snuggle back down into the blankets. Opening my eyes, I don’t see Mack anywhere. Getting up I put my boots on and tie them up. Walking to the picture window, I push the curtain back and look out. The sun is starting to come up. I can hear the birds chirping. Looking up at the sky it has dark, angry clouds that look like the promise of rain and a lot of it.

Letting the curtain fall back to where it was, I go looking for Mack.  Looking around the old house I wonder who lived here. What were they like? I look over to where I see some pictures on the wall. Walking over to them I see that it is an entire family.  A mother and father with three kids.  I wonder what happened to them. I guess it really does not matter, now does it? Hearing someone behind me I turn around as Mack’s arms go around my waist, I can tell that he’s not too sure what to do. Wrapping my arms around him I hug him tight.

“Morning, Mack. I thought we were going to leave sometime late last night?” I ask.

Loosening my arms, I look up into his eyes. I try to read how he is feeling. But Mack is Mack and he is stoned-faced.

“You needed to rest. So after you eat and get cleaned up, we’ll head out.” Looking down at me, I can tell that there’s something else he’s not telling me.

“Mack, you’ve always been straight with me, please don’t stop now,” I say.

“OK, Egypt, in three days we have to meet up with Sal. When we followed Hunter and that other guy from the house, Sal decided to follow the other guy because he was going after a woman and a kid. I came for you,” he says, looking everywhere but at me.

Looking at his chest, I let out a heavy breath. I can see I was not the only one that felt the way I do as I give Mack another hug.

“Does the shower work, Mack?” I ask.

“Yep, hot water and all. Why don’t you go get cleaned up and we will head out,” he says.

Looking up at him, I let go and back up.

“You got it, I’ll be twenty minutes and we can head out,” I say smiling.

Walking to where I dropped my backpack, I bend down and grab it, heading towards the stairs. Looking back Mack is rolling up the sleeping bag, getting the stuff together. Reaching the top of the stairs I see that the bathroom is at the back of the house. Heading to the door I walk in and close it. Walking to the shower I turn it on, as it warms up I get out of my dirty clothes. Grabbing my pack, I pull out clean clothes- a tank top and jeans.  Jumping into the shower I make short work of washing my hair, it is getting a bit too long. When we get back home I am going to have my mom cut it. Grabbing the body wash that was there, I start to wash off.

What the hell is up with Sal? He goes after another woman and leaves saving me to Mack? That is just crazy, I know that I would have never slept with him. I know we came close. He just feels like a close friend but to up and ditch me. That hurts.  I would have never done that to him. I guess when we meet up, we are really going to need to talk. Mack was right, it has always been him but I have been too blind to see it. Turning off the water I grab a towel and get out. The air is a bit chilly so I hurry up and get dressed. Brushing out my hair I pull it up into a ponytail.  Grabbing my things, I stuff them into the backpack. Slinging it over my shoulder I open the door and head down the stairs. My knee is still bothering me but not as bad as before. Taking my hand I run it down my ribs, they're still sore too, but again, not that bad.

Making my way into the living room, Mack has some food set out. Dropping my bag by the door, I sit down and open the can of pop, grabbing the beef jerky I rip it open and throw a piece into my mouth.  Mack comes walking in from the kitchen.

“You ready to go?” I ask.

“Whenever you are, Egypt,” he says.

Hmm, I see that he is back to his oh so cocky self. Just like when I first met him. Finishing up with the jerky, I get up and stuff the rest in my pack. Throwing it over my shoulder, I look back at Mack.

“Ready when you are,” I say.

Mack walks up behind me and hands me my 9mm. I take hold of it. Mack walks past and heads out the back door while I stare out after him. Looking down at my gun, I wonder how he got it. Smiling to myself, I put it in the waistband of my jeans. I am starting to feel like my old self again.  Walking fast I catch up with Mack outside right before the garage door.

“Thanks, Mack, for, for everything,” I say.

I can’t look him in the eyes. I know I will tear up. To be honest, I have done enough crying to last a lifetime. I head to the passenger side of the truck. This is Nate’s truck, smiling I open the door and get in. I toss my pack in the back. Mack opens the door and gets in, he starts the truck and puts it in gear.

“You’re welcome, Egypt. We got around 200 miles I’d like to get done today. We shouldn’t drive at night because people will be able to see our lights. We have three days until we meet up with Sal, like I said before. So I thought we could hit a few pharmaceutical companies and get your mom’s meds that she needs. You know, kill two birds with one stone kinda thing,” he says.

Looking out the window I see a few zombies heading towards us, they won’t catch up, but it is still kind of creepy. Seeing a sign that says "Welcome to Georgia," I can’t believe that we are this far away from home.

“Sounds like a plan and we would have to figure out something when we got home anyway. So where are we headed anyway?” I ask.

“Atlanta, that’s where the companies are,” he says.

Looking over at him I start to laugh, Mack looks at me like I’m losing it. Maybe I am because I sure cannot stop.

“Egypt what’s so funny?” He asks. Looking at me sideways as he is trying to drive and keep a straight face.

“Atlanta? Really, Mack? That’s where all the zombies are going to be at!" I say still laughing.

“You know, Mack, like the Walking Dead TV series!!!” I say. Looking over at him, rolling my eyes

“Come on, Mack! Really?” He looks like he’s really thinking about it and all of a sudden he busts out laughing.

“OK, OK, Egypt, you got me on that one,” he says, still laughing. Smiling to myself I settle in for the long drive. We will be in Atlanta later today, but Mack wants to wait until morning to hit those places. I have always wanted to visit Georgia, it is absolutely gorgeous. But very, very hot. Not today though were going to have storms. Honestly, I hate storms they scare the shit out of me.

“Hey, Mack, have you talked to anyone from home?” I ask.

Looking over at me, he smiles and it makes my heart flutter.

“Yeah, talked to Hank. They all know you’re OK and we will be home within the week. Everyone is fine there, phones are starting to go in and out, so we didn’t stay on long,” he says.

Scratching my head. “I guess it’s just a matter of time for everything to stop working. It’s going to get dangerous then.”

Taking my seatbelt off, I turn in my seat to grab a cooler back there, suddenly Mack slams the brakes and I pitch forward, then backward. His arm comes around me so that I don’t slam into the dash and windshield. When the truck comes to a stop I am tucked up next to him, his arm is still around me.

“Mack what the hell going on?” I ask.

He doesn’t need to tell me looking out the window I see why we have stopped. There're huge trucks blocking the road and there're around twenty men with guns pointed right at us. What the fuck.

“Mack…” I say.

“Egypt, stay in the truck I’ll go see what they want…” I don’t let him finish.

“Mack, that’s Lane I know him I’m going out too,” I say.

“Egypt, how do you know him? Never mind, I’m sure we will talk about all that later,” he says.

Grabbing my 9mm, I open the door and get out. Tucking it at my waist I start to walk forward. Mack is right next to me.  We walk about twenty feet and stop. I know Lane knows who I am now that we closer because he is smiling and walking right up to meet us.

“Well, well Egypt, How are you doing, my dear?” Lane asks.

“Hey Lane, I’m great thanks. What about you?”

“I’m perfect, Egypt.” He looks over to Mack and frowns a bit. “Who do you have with you there, Egypt?” he asks.

“This is Mack, Mack this is Lane. We have, ah, met before briefly,” I say.

Mack doesn’t make a move to shake hands. I know he can read my body language seeing that I am stiffer than a board.

“Oh briefly? Really darling?" Lane says smirking.

“We need to drive through if you don’t mind, Lane.”

“Why do you need to go this way, Egypt? And what would Jake say you being all close with Mack?” he asks.

You can hear the sarcasm dripping from him. Shit, this is going to go wrong. I can feel Mack stiffening up next to me. Putting my hand on his arm, I have to defuse this situation quickly.

“Lane, we need to get some meds for my mom that are lifesaving,” I say.  I really hope that honesty is the right thing here. I know Mack is getting pissed at the situation, but there is no way around this. I know he knows this.

“Why don’t you guys join us for lunch, I promise no harm will come to you here with us. Well from the human kind anyway,” he says smiling.

Looking up at Mack, he shakes his head yes.

“We’re keeping our guns,” Mack says.

“But of course, Mack, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Lane says.

Mack takes my hand and squeezes it, walking over to where Lane is he leads us behind the barricade of trucks. There is a tent set up with tables and chairs. The closer we get I can see a grill and something smells delicious on there. Getting to the tent we all sit down. Lane makes it so that I’m sitting next to him. I can tell Mack does not like it, but does not say anything.

Drinks are brought to us, it looks like sweet tea and it even has ice in it. This is something I will miss once the power goes out. It is just a matter of time.

“So you need to get meds for your mom, Egypt?” Lane asks.

Taking a drink, I don’t answer right away. Lane is watching me closely. I know we will be having a discussion about the farm and Jake. It is not something I want to have in front of Mack, but I guess he does have a right to know. Looking at Lane I go to answer but Mack beats me to it.

“Yes, we do. I figure it would save time going now, rather than going home and having to come back here for a second time,” Mack says.

Lane looks from Mack to me, I know he’s trying to figure us out.  Setting my glass down, I say, “Mack and I are part of the same group. We have all been together since this started a few months ago.”

Lane looks over at me, you can tell that he’s really thinking. “What about Jake? I thought you guys were an item.”

I see Mack tense up beside me. I better get this all out, at least part of it. Some of it I’m not going to say in front of Lane. I know Lane is doing this on purpose, he thinks this is funny.

“Jake kidnapped me and was holding me against my will, I’m sorry about your girlfriend, all she had to do was leave well enough alone but she wouldn’t.”

“What happened to his girlfriend, Egypt?” asks Mack. Just as I was going to answer him, Lane jumps in.

“Egypt killed her,” Lane says.

Looking over at Mack I can see he has more questions, but he is smart and lets it drop for now. Two women walk over with trays full of food. As they set the plates down, there are burgers and salmon on one and the other had three bowls, one has a salad, fruit, and the last one has grilled veggies. I wonder how long we will be able to eat like this. I know at home we have six cows, some chickens, and three pigs. We will be OK for a while.

“Please help yourselves to some food. What’s mine is yours, while you’re here with us,” Lane says.

Looking over to Mack, he nods and we all help ourselves. We really do not talk while we are eating. Looking around I see that Lane has a nice setup here. It is huge and tons of people. They are all armed too.  It sounds like they have barricaded six blocks off and are using it. There are even kids running around.

“Why don’t you guys stay the night and leave first thing in the morning? I can get a few men to help you guys out. Atlanta isn’t going to be easy; the dead have overrun it,” Lane says.

“We don’t want to be a bother. Jake, and his men will be looking for us. We could be bringing a whole lot of trouble your way, Lane,” Mack says.

Looking between them, something silent passes between them.

“We can take care of own, Mack, you’re welcome to stay,” he says.

“Thank you, we will take you up on that,” Mack says.

“I’ll have one of my men show you were to can sleep,” Lane says.

Lane gets up and walks over to some short chunky guy, they talk for a while, but I can’t hear what they are saying. It is starting to get dark and I guess it is better to stay than to try and find a place. Looking over to Mack, he is watching me. I wonder how long he has been watching.

“You think this is a good idea to stay here tonight, Mack?”

“I don’t see it being a problem, I don’t think Lane will do anything, Egypt.”

Looking over at Lane, he turns and looks right back at me smiling he heads over to us.

“This here is Ronny. He’ll take you to your rooms if you’re ready to go,” he says.