Rage Within (35 page)

“Can you fetch Jack?” Joy asked.

A twinge of pain shot through her stomach. How was she going to explain all of this once they were safe at the abandoned house they’d already marked a few weeks ago as their escape location?

She’d have to worry about it then. Right now there were more important factors to face.

“I’m on it,” she said.

Joy smiled in relief.

She left them in the room and raced down the hall, stopping to pick up a discarded baseball bat that had been left haphazardly on the floor by the bathroom. For a moment she
regretted her decision to toss the machine gun, but it was too late for regrets now.

Suddenly the image of Daniel looking up at her, the black veins shadowing his beautiful brown eyes, hit her so hard, she had to steady herself by leaning against the wall. A painful emptiness spread through her stomach like wildfire, making her want to curl up in a small ball and drop to the floor.

No! She wasn’t going to think about it. Not now.

Not with such little time.

Pushing herself away from the wall, she stumbled down the hall, stopping at the next bedroom door. She didn’t knock, but turned the handle with sweat-drenched hands and went inside.

“Jack.”

The boy on the bed was sitting up, his back against the headboard.

“Go away, Aries.”

Her mouth opened, and a small sob escaped her.

“No,” Jack said. The expression on his face was serene. “We made this decision. You and I. We’re not going to go back on it now. Consider this our good-byes.”

“I can’t—” She paused, inhaling deeply. “I can’t do it.”

He waved her over to the bed and she went to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he stared blindly at the wall. “You can and you will. I’m cool with it. I want this. Respect my wishes.”

She stayed with him for a few more seconds before he gently pushed her away. Standing, she nodded, and then felt stupid because he couldn’t see.

“I’ll miss you,” she said, tucking in the blankets around his body so he wouldn’t get cold. “You’ve been a good friend.”

“Me too.”

She stood, listening to the sounds of the others rushing through the house in a mad panic. Walking over to the door, she paused one last time. “Merry Christmas.” The words sounded so sad, she instantly regretted saying them. She should be sounding more positive, more leaderlike.

“Say good-bye for me,” Jack said. “They’ll understand.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

*   *   *

Somehow everyone managed to get out of the house. As they ran into the dark cover of the football field, she heard the white vans, engines screaming, turn the corner and slam on the brakes.

They didn’t look back. Moving at a decent pace, Raj carried the half-asleep Eve as he’d carried Nathan earlier.

Joy was waiting for them around the side of the high school building.

“Where’s Jack?”

Aries pursed her lips together tightly. She had hoped they’d be farther away before the question came up. It was going to be hard to convince them all not to go back at this point.

“He doesn’t want to come,” she finally said. “It was his choice. We have to respect his wishes.”

Joy instantly began to cry. Michael and Clementine exchanged looks.

“We can’t do that to him,” Joy said between huge sobs. “We have to go back.”

Aries went over to her and tried to put her arm around Joy’s shoulders, but her friend pushed her away. “We’ve done everything we can,” Aries said. “We can’t go back. Do you see how many of them are there? They’ll kill us all.”

“But we have to,” Joy said. The tears were slowing down,
replaced by anger. “He doesn’t get to make that decision. I won’t allow it.”

She broke free from the group, but Michael was too fast. Grabbing hold of her arms, he held on tightly. She fought him like a madwoman, kicking and screaming. Panic welled up inside of Aries; the Baggers were going to hear them.

“We have to get her out of here,” she snapped. “Or we’re all dead.”

Michael nodded, trying to pull Joy back, even lifting her up off the ground, but she continued to fight, scratching his face with her nails.

“He doesn’t get to make this choice,” Joy screamed again. “He doesn’t know!”

“Know what?”

“That I’m pregnant.”

Michael let go of her instantly.

Joy dropped to the ground, landing on her knees, and every single one of them flinched in shock. She picked herself up, wiping the tears from her cheeks and neck, and walked straight up to Aries.

“I’m pregnant.” She was out of breath, panting from the struggle. “And he needs to know. He’ll change his mind if you tell him.”

“Are you sure?”

Joy nodded. “I picked up one of those home pregnancy tests last week while getting supplies. It was positive.”

Aries nodded. “You’re right, then.” She thought about the white vans that were probably piled up in the driveway by now and how the Baggers were most likely in the house and running up the stairs to the second floor as they spoke. “You all head on. Don’t stop till you reach safety. You know the address. I’ll get him.”

“Are you sure, babes?” Raj asked. “The place is swarming with ’em. It might already be too late.”

“I can still try.”

Michael caught her by the arm. “This is a bad idea,” he said.

She shook her head. “No, this is the only idea.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

JACK

He had told himself he’d be brave when it happened. There would be no begging or pleading for his life. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

It sounded like a herd of elephants tearing through the house. It was only a matter of time before they came up the stairs and opened his bedroom door.

Breathing deeply, he tried to control the panicky feeling in his chest. He chose this. He needed to be strong.

Would it hurt? Dying?

Jack didn’t believe in heaven. The thought of an afterlife where everything was calm and peaceful didn’t make much sense to him. Dying, he believed, was like going to sleep and never waking up, and in the long run, that didn’t sound so bad. He enjoyed sleeping. At least there would be no pain.

I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

His brain continuously banged against his skull. Some days were better than others. But although he tried to play them down, the migraines were immeasurable. He’d never experienced such pain. He hadn’t thought such agony was even possible. On the bad days he couldn’t even get a basic
thought out. No amount of drugs could lessen the burden.

Sometimes the insides of his worthless eyes flashed bright white as the pain hit, knocking him back, making him useless. When it got that bad he couldn’t do anything except wish he was dead.

He hadn’t told anyone that. Not even Joy, who pretty much knew everything about him these days. She’d only worry and he didn’t want that.

Sleep sounded good.

When he heard the door handle turn, his body involuntarily froze. Breathing deeply, he pulled himself up till he was sitting as straight as possible. His ears perked, waiting.

Footsteps entered the room.

Silence.

“I’m not afraid of you,” he said as bravely as he possibly could.

Silence. The sound of someone breathing softly.

“Come on,” Jack said. “Let’s get this over with. I’m tired.”

The footsteps moved in closer until Jack could feel the Bagger standing beside him at the bed.

He closed his eyes and waited.

MICHAEL

They moved carefully back across the football field, bent low to the ground, trying to be as invisible as possible. Michael thought about the situation as they walked. Between them, they each had a baseball bat and Aries was carrying Clementine’s Taser. Three weapons. Two of them. Not nearly enough for an ambush.

And if by some miracle they managed to get back inside the house, how on earth were they going to walk out with a blind boy leaning on their shoulders?

It was suicide.

“We could always tell them we tried and it was too late,” he whispered to Aries as they approached the back lane. “They don’t need to know. That’s a secret I don’t mind taking to the grave.”

“I’m not backing out,” Aries said.

It suddenly dawned on Michael that they were missing a group member. He hadn’t seen Nathan since they got back. And Eve, who was obviously drugged, couldn’t even get sober enough to run.

Something had happened.

Was this some sort of rescue mission based on guilt? Had something happened to Nathan, and Aries hadn’t been able to save him? Suddenly everything made a bit more sense and he mentally reminded himself to ask Clementine about it when they were alone.

If he got the opportunity.

They paused at the back gate, ducking behind the white boards, their knees sinking into the dirt. From their spot, they had a clear view of the house. The door was open and they could see the Baggers moving around inside the kitchen. Michael caught a glimpse of the fake Heath. He had a dish towel pressed against his head and was being screamed at by another Bagger. Michael couldn’t help but smile to see the bastard’s discomfort.

There were a lot of them.

“I don’t know what to do,” Aries whispered. She was clearly distraught, chewing on a fingernail, mesmerized as the monsters tore through the house. “There’s no way we can get in there.”

“This is pointless,” he said. “We should go back.”

“Just a few more minutes. Let’s wait and see if they bring him out. They captured Mason and—” She paused. “Daniel. They might take Jack, too.”

Michael thought about pointing out the low odds of that. The Baggers wouldn’t want to keep Jack around, being blind and all. He was as useless in this new world as a three-dollar bill at a 7-Eleven.

But if Aries didn’t know what to do, Michael realized he was going to have to be the one to lead her back to safety.

“Let’s go,” he said. “Even if they do bring him out, there’s nothing we can do. We need to get back to the others.
Clementine and Raj are under enough stress as it is with Joy and Eve. And Colin’s so bloody useless.”

Aries shook her head.

“Listen to me, Aries.” Michael grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him. “They are the ones who need us. Not Jack. We look to you for leadership.” He spoke the words, wondering how long that would remain true. She looked like she might crack any minute. “So you have to lead. Back at UBC I met a guy named Ryder who said something to me. Leaders lead. They make decisions that aren’t always easy. You need to stop feeling sorry for the people you can’t help, and kick some ass for the ones you can. You can’t keep second-guessing yourself or you’re just going to go crazy. Get it?”

She nodded.

“Then let’s go.”

They stood up together and turned. Michael almost didn’t see the Bagger until it was too late. A woman, dressed in dirty clothes and carrying a huge kitchen knife, had snuck up behind them. A few more steps and it would have been over for at least one of them.

The woman opened her mouth, letting out a loud shriek as she raised the knife.

Michael tackled her, sending her flying backward into a recycling Dumpster. They both crashed to the ground and rolled around as he tried to get the knife out of her grasp. She continued to scream, and he half covered her mouth with his hand while fighting for control of the knife. She bit down hard on his wrist, sending hot pain up his arm.

“Shut up!” he grunted.

Aries swooped down, holding the Taser up against the Bagger’s body and pressing the button. Nothing happened. Michael could see the bewildered expression on Aries’s
face, so comical it almost made him want to laugh.

Yeah, hysterical.

Pulling back, he managed to free his hand, but not before the Bagger swiped at him with her knife. He felt the blade scratch against his chest, tearing a ragged hole in his shirt, but enough adrenaline raced through his veins that he barely registered the pain. He punched the Bagger twice, blood flying from the gash in his wrist; he managed to push away from her enough to grab the baseball bat.

He hit her squarely on the second try. The Bagger dropped to the ground instantly, unmoving except for a few sporadic twitches.

The other Baggers were piling out into the yard. Of course they’d been heard.

“Time to go,” Aries said.

Michael couldn’t agree more.

They raced across the football field with the Baggers in pursuit. If they could make it to the other side, the tangle of abandoned houses might give them better shelter. Footsteps stomped behind him and his shirt pulled tight as one of them grabbed hold. Michael swung the bat around, making contact, and heard a loud grunting noise as the Bagger tripped over his own feet. Michael didn’t even pause to look back. He didn’t want to know how close the others were.

By some miracle, they made it across the field and managed to escape between two houses and into a yard where a moldy pool waited in the darkness. Several months’ worth of dead leaves and garbage seemed to occupy the space where the chlorinated water should have been.

“Come on,” Michael said. “We need to hide.”

Aries understood and they both raced down the steps into the pool’s shallow end. Michael’s sneakers instantly became
soaked. There was at least a foot of rainwater underneath all those dead leaves. Ignoring the freezing shock blasting through his body, he moved in farther until he was waist deep.

From between the houses, they could hear the shouts of the Baggers. Not much time now.

Michael took a deep breath and plunged his head under. The shock of icy rainwater tore into his system, and it took all the strength he had not to burst back to the surface, gasping for air.

He held his breath until he couldn’t bear it any longer. Raising himself up a bit, he tilted his face out of the liquid and inhaled lightly. It meant swallowing dirt and bits of moldy leaves along with his oxygen.

But at least he remained hidden under all that mess.

He could hear the muffled shouts of the Baggers, but it didn’t last long. The voices faded as the Baggers moved on, oblivious to the two of them hiding beneath the pool surface.