The Life Beyond (3 page)

Chapter 3

Two Weepers were sprawled out in the garden, their milky eyes open and empty. Blood covered their chests.

Geoffrey crouched beside them, fumbling with something at their neck while Tyler stood a few feet away, clenching and unclenching his hands.

“Tyler saw them in the vineyard. We shot them before they got near the house,” Joshua said. “Everyone’s safe.”

Geoffrey shook his head. “We’re far from safe.” With a screwdriver he was working on what looked like a collar around the Weeper’s throat, latex gloves shielding his hands.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” said Geoffrey.

I got down beside him to take a better look. A black box with a little bulb was attached to the collar. It looked like the things scientists used to track geese or other animals.

“It looks like it’s connected to their nervous system,” Geoffrey said. He sat back on his haunches, puzzlement on his face.

Tyler moved closer, eyes flickering. “I’ve seen something like that before.”

Joshua raised his eyebrows. “You have?”

“In the lab,” Tyler said.

“But what’s it for?”

Geoffrey frowned. “I think the scientists might be using it to study the behavioural patterns of the Weepers … or maybe it transmits data about their synapses to a central computer. Whatever it’s for, it’s from the other side of the fence.”

I was now more confused than ever. “So, they’re definitely doing research on the Weepers? For a cure?”

“Maybe,” Geoffrey agreed but his focus was on the Weeper’s collar. “Either way this is outstanding technology. You need money and the necessary facilities for something like that. The government is working on
something
, that’s for sure.”

Joshua stood. “I don’t like that Weepers found Safe-haven again. This is getting too dangerous.”

“We have to leave,” I said, even though it meant moving further away from Dad. But I wasn’t giving up on him. I’d made my mind up I was going to talk to Joshua about the cure.

“I’ll try to get the collars off, so I can analyze them,” Geoffrey said.

“And I’ll tell the others we’re leaving.” Tyler hurried away.

“I need to talk to you – alone,” I said to Joshua.

He looked at me reluctantly. I could see the hurt simmering in his eyes. I held out my hand and after a brief hesitation, he took it. I led him away from the others and over to the brick wall surrounding the winery. We’d be able to get some privacy here. Ivy built an armor of green over the stone. We climbed up, using the thick vines as ladders, until we were sitting on top of the wall.

“Joshua —,” I began.

“I know what this is about,” he interrupted gently. “You want to get past the fence to search for the cure. I saw it on your face when Geoffrey mentioned the research program.”

There was no use denying it. I linked our fingers. “I have to. For my dad. For everyone.”

“I knew you’d say that.” He looked at me, a half-smile playing across his lips. “I’ve been thinking about the cure a lot since Geoffrey told us about it.” His grip on my hand tightened. “You know I’m coming with you, right? Just promise me you won’t do anything without telling me ever again.”

His eyes were wide and intense, and for a moment, he looked so vulnerable. A stab of guilt rippled through me, followed by a feeling of tenderness. Joshua always worked so hard to stay strong and look out for other people; only I got to see this other side of him.

“I promise,” I said, leaning over and brushing my lips against his. He edged toward me, kissing me back with just a little more force, his hand caressing the back of my neck. As he gently pulled away I could tell that he wasn’t angry with me any more; that he understood why I had left in search of Dad.

We sat side by side, looking out across the vineyard.

“I know it’ll be hard to get past the fence,” I said. “But I have to know if it’s true - if there really is a cure. We could save so many people.”

“Sherry,” Joshua said, a new determination in his voice. “I will be with you every step of the way. I’m sick of all this killing.”

I stroked his head. “I know.”

He sighed. “You know … maybe this could even be my chance to save Zoe.”

Joshua’s sister had been a Weeper for years. I nodded, but inside my heart sank. It sounded impossible. And besides, could a cure help her after all this time?

I didn’t say it, though. Hope was such a difficult thing to find in this world. I couldn’t be the one to take it from him.

“How quickly do you think we can find the fence?” I asked.

Joshua shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to ask Tyler.”

My feet carried me across the courtyard and through the garden toward the little meadow with wooden crosses. We hadn’t inscribed the newest two yet. Grandma and Grandpa deserved better, but now there wasn’t time. Nobody would know who was buried here if we never returned.

I still remembered how Grandpa had always pinched a bite of Grandma’s dough before she put it in the oven. She’d caught him every time and slapped his hand away with a smile.

12 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes since Grandma had died;

17,999 minutes since her prayers had been answered and she was finally reunited with Grandpa.

What would they say if they knew about Dad? What would they do? Grandpa had always known what to do, had always made even the trickiest situation look easy. Would he try to get past the fence to search for something that might not even exist?

I brushed my fingers over the rough wood of the crosses, saying one last good-bye before I headed toward the house. I didn’t look back.

Mom and Bobby sat on the couch in the living room. She was still wearing yesterday’s clothes and her long blonde hair was tangled. She looked up. Her eyes were blank.

Click. Click.

She was knitting. She’d started after Dad had left.

Click. Click.

Grandma’s knitting had driven me close to insanity in the bunker.

Click. Click.

Only 16 days, 3 hours and 11 minutes since I’d left the bunker with Dad, since I’d realized that whatever I’d hoped for over the years would never happen.

23,251 minutes.

That number came much closer to the way I felt. 16 days couldn’t express how every day in this world seemed like an eternity. Now my entire family was unravelling before my eyes.

Click. Click.

What would happen to Mom after she realized I’d gone to the fence? Would Bobby be able to take care of her? Would he be okay? And my little sister? Would she suffer?

“Where’s Mia?” I asked.

“She’s with Marie and Emma,” said Bobby, his voice flat.

“Make sure she’s been to the bathroom. It’s time to leave,” I said. A strange numbness was spreading through my body and I welcomed it.

I watched as Bobby, Mom and Mia got in a car with Geoffrey, As they drove away, Mia sat up on the back seat, gazing out at Safe-haven. A dull pain ached in my chest as I realized how hard this must be for her. I swore myself that one day I’d find a home for her - somewhere our family could stay forever and be happy.

“Come on,” whispered Joshua, putting his arm around me and leading me over to the car where Rachel and Tyler stood waiting.

Silence settled around us as we pulled away from Safe-haven. Its beautiful slopes were coated with a hint of mist, glittering in the sunlight. This place had started to feel like home – a place where we could live under the pretense of normalcy. Now I could add it to the list of things I’d lost.

I didn’t dare look back.

During our drive, I kept glancing out the window, making sure there wasn’t a helicopter following us. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were still being watched by the military. But I hadn’t seen another helicopter since the one that had appeared over Safe-haven, before Tyler had told us about the fence which separated us from the rest of the country. It was still hard to believe that the government had abandoned us like this.

Rachel and Tyler sat in the backseat, not saying a word, not making any noise at all. Rachel had her head on Tyler’s shoulder, her dark hair blanketing her cheeks, her eyes half-closed, and they sat so close that their legs were pressed against each other. Still, I’d never seen them kiss. I wasn’t really sure what was going on between them.

Just then, Rachel sat up and began to rub the cross around her neck, her lips moving silently. It looked like she was praying.

Joshua’s thumb drew circles on the back of my hand while he steered the car single-handed. I slumped against the window. Rotting carcasses, empty roads, abandoned houses flew by. What would people on the other side of the fence say if they knew we had been living like this? Would they care?

Suddenly a thought, dim and previously only pricking at the very edge of my consciousness, bloomed in my mind. If we crossed the fence,
we
could tell people what the government had done to us. What they had done to Tyler.

Neither of us had talked to Tyler about our plan yet. He always got that haunted look when someone mentioned labs or the fence.

“Where are we going anyway?” I asked.

“Santa Barbara. Karen and Larry visited a mission there a few years ago – before the rabies broke out. There’s a courtyard where we can grow our own vegetables. Larry’s hoping we might find more survivors there,” said Joshua.

“But is it safe?” I asked.

“As safe as anywhere,” Joshua said. “It’s been a while since I was there but back then there weren’t any Weepers that we knew of in Santa Barbara. For a while we’d even debated on moving there. Larry always said it would be safer not to stay at a place for too long but the vineyard felt too much like home. No one wanted to leave.”

Sadness rang in his words. The vinery had been his home for much longer than it had been for me. I was heartbroken we had left. I couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling.

I wondered what Dad was doing now? How long would it be before he turned?

“Do you think Karen is right that it takes six to eight days for an infected person to turn into a Weeper?”

“I don’t know. But I guess that’s how long it took with most of the people I brought to Safe-haven,” Joshua said.

The cure. That was Dad’s only chance. It was
the
only chance. Just then we passed a sign welcoming us to Santa Barbara. We’d be at the mission soon. I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Joshua and I had a talk.” I glanced at Joshua, tension worming its way into my muscles. He gave a small nod. Tyler sat up and Rachel raised her head from his shoulders. She looked paler than usual.

“We don’t want to carry on like this. We’ve had enough. We want to search for the cure.”

“You heard what Karen said. It’s too late for your dad,” Tyler said.

“You don’t know that for sure,” I interrupted. “And what about everybody else. Think of how many other people we could save.”

Then I hesitated. The next thing seemed like such an impossible goal that voicing it filled me with embarrassment. “And if we get beyond the fence, maybe we could tell people on the other side what’s really going on.”

Tyler’s expression was hard to read. “And how do you think you can do that?”

Joshua grabbed my hand. Just knowing he supported me made me feel stronger. “We haven’t worked out the details yet,” he said. “But we need to travel under the fence via the tunnel and find the lab.” He looked at Tyler through the rear view mirror. “We thought you could help us. You’ve been there. You could show us.”

Tyler blanched.

Rachel took his hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to.”

Silence settled over us; heavy and claustrophobic.

I felt rage building up inside me. How could Tyler not help us? Would he not even consider it? Didn’t he want revenge against the government? With or without his help, I knew I didn’t have a choice. I had to find the cure to save Dad. And I had to speak out about our life behind the fence if we were ever going to have a life beyond it.

Nobody spoke. Eventually we drove up toward the old mission. Its façade was white stone with red shingles covering the roof. The main building looked intact, but a part of the attached chapel was destroyed. One of the two red domes had caved in and a stone statue of a saint had toppled off the pediment above the entrance, its broken remains littering the steps. The mountains rose in the distance and the sun was setting, casting its golden glow over the surrounding hills.

A huge stone fountain stood next to an old tree. The dark grey stone was tinged green with moss. A few birds perched on the edge but our arrival roused them and they rose as a brown cloud of fluttering wings into the sky.

Joshua drew up in front of the chapel. We were just about to get out of the car, guns in hand, when Tyler broke the silence.

“We should discuss everything tonight when the others are asleep,” he said.

Hope surged within me. Hastily I pushed it back down, knowing how dangerous it could be in this life.

“Tonight,” we agreed, before stepping outside.

Geoffrey parked behind us but we didn’t wait for them before checking our surroundings. Even the birds had fallen silent and the soft rushing of the wind was the only sound. But were we alone? We walked up to the entrance of the chapel where an old rusted sign announced its opening hours.

The wooden door felt rough against my palm as I pushed it open. Joshua aimed a gun at the inside but it was empty. We stepped into the gloomy building. Saints watched us from high above on the walls, their benevolent faces smiling eternally. Plaster and chunks of concrete littered the right-hand side of the chapel where the ceiling had caved in beneath the dome. Light streamed through the hole and the small windows. The pews emitted a smell of rotten wood. A side-door led into the inner courtyard. I raised my gun and went outside.

The rose bushes had grown out of control; creating a riot of yellow, red and pink. Their wild beauty provided the perfect hiding place for any predators. We inched forward onto the narrow walkway that led to the center. A palm tree had toppled over and fallen on the roof of the inner archway. Several broken red shingles peeked through the overgrown lawn. We moved along the arcade toward another wooden door that led into the main building. My heart sank as I realized that there were no other survivors here. A tiny part of me had hoped we’d find someone.