Trepidation (13 page)

Boxes of cereal flew all over the place as I headed down an aisle.
Snap, crackle, pop,
I thought, laughing, as zombies, gore, and guts flew everywhere. I smashed countless bodies under the treads, plowing through them like they were nothing. I saw the pharmacy section up ahead, and I was happy to see it; now all I had to do was rescue the girl, get the medicine, and get out. Hordes of zombies were coming, so I just fired away, watching their bodies jerk as bullets tore through them.

When I didn’t see any activity, I grabbed my flashlight and rifle. I climbed down from the tank, which wasn’t the easiest to do. “Megan!” I shouted. “I’m here to rescue you. Your aunt sent me.”

A door clicked open, and a girl with long brown hair ran out.

“It’s okay,” I said. “You’ll be all right now.”

“Let’s go.”

“I have to get some antibiotics first,” I said, grabbing the list from my pocket. “Can you help me find these?”

“There’s no time for a shopping spree!” she yelled.

“We’ve got to get them,” I said. “Without them, my sister will die.”

She swallowed hard and reached for the list, then motioned me over to where the drugs were kept. The medicine supply had been raided, but there were still some left.

A low
hiss,
followed by a moan, echoed through the dark building, and I suddenly had a grim since of déjà vu, as if I was back in the eerie lab again. I cringed, and my heart began to race.

“Let’s go!” she said.

Just as a zombie came into view, I aimed and fired. The girl screamed, but I handed the list to her. “Please find as many as you can. I’ll hold ‘em off.”

She darted off to the medications and started sifting through them.

I hurried over to the place where I heard more hisses. I knew we couldn’t stay there very long, and we had to get back to the tank. A naked zombie with green, tattered skin snapped its jaws. I shot it, but then another one came out of nowhere. Its black fingernails reached for me, and I fired a single shot into its brain. Two more stumbled over all the supplies, litter, and debris, and more came from the left. I swallowed nervously. “How much longer?” I asked.

She held up three large bottles. “I’ve got them!”

“Let’s get outta Dodge then!”

She hurried over, and I fired away as she climbed inside the tank. I told her where to sit, then climbed in myself and shut the hatch. I fussed with the switches for a minute before the tank whirred to life. I immediately backed up.

Megan was holding tightly to a metal rod, not letting go, gasping for air. She was absolutely terrified and looked like she might pass out.

I tried to comfort her, but it did little good. I started back down one of the aisles, this time toppling over drink displays and candy bars. When I tried to turn toward the door, the tank went the other direction and rammed into the wall. I tried to back up and get back on track, but it wasn’t working.

“What’s happening?” my petrified passenger screamed hysterically.

“I’ll get it,” I said, fumbling with the buttons.

“And just how long is that gonna take?” she said. “Some rescue this is! You can’t even drive!”

Fear rose in my voice. “I’m trying, okay?”

“We’ve gotta get out of here before more come.”

“I shot lots of them,” I said.

“That doesn’t matter. For every one you kill, there are five more out there. They’re like freaking rats! Let’s leave the tank. You can come back and get it another time.”

“We can’t go out there,” I said, looking through the periscope. “There must be fifty of them.”

“We can’t stay here and wait for more to surround us. We have to move!”

“I know!” I shouted, frustrated and trying to think. “But I don’t wanna get killed in the process!”

“I
’ve got an idea,” I said.

“What?”

“We can lay down a smokescreen,” I said.

“A what?”

“This tank can do that. It’ll confuse the zombies, and they won’t be able to see us.”

“I like it!”

After shooting off another round of bullets, I flipped a toggle switch next to the ignition, and a gallon of fuel went through the turbine’s exhaust manifold, causing huge clouds of white smoke. I lifted the hatch, which was big enough to swallow at least nine or ten tanks. The white cloud gobbled us up, and we were able to climb down under the cover of smog. I used my rifle to poke through the smoke, because I couldn’t see a thing. When I felt the barrel of my gun touch a body, I instinctively shot at it. We carefully maneuvered our way through and hurried out the door, with zombies shuffling in our direction. I grabbed Megan’s hand, and we bolted to the right.

Much to both of our surprise, we made it back to the doctor’s office in one piece, with the antibiotics in hand.

Dr. Willows ran over and pulled Megan into a tight hug. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she checked her niece over. Then she hugged me tightly. “Thank you, Dean. Thank you so much for bringing her back to us!”

I held her at arm’s length. “How’s Val?”

She frowned. “Not good. I’m afraid...well, we don’t expect her to make it through the night without a miracle.”

Her words hit me like lightning, stealing my breath and words away. 

She touched my shoulder. “But Nick is awake, and so is Lucas. Also, I was able to stabilize Kate.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Can I see them?”

“Sure,” she said and motioned me to follow her. She led me to an exam room to see Val.

On the hospital bed, under a white blanket, my sister looked so peaceful, as if she was merely sleeping. There was an IV hooked to her arm, but it just led to a bag on a pole, and it wasn’t the electronic kind. She looked pale and tired.

I reached for her hand as tears welled up in my eyes. I didn’t know what to say or do, since I’d just been told she wouldn’t make it through the night. She was my sister, and I’d grown so close to her that I also thought of her as a friend. “I-I love you so much, Val,” I whispered as a tear rolled down my face.

The door creaked open, and Nick walked in.

Thankful to see that he was okay, I quickly wiped my face and embraced him. It was the most emotional moment we’d ever shared, both of us consoling one another about Val. My throat constricted, and more tears threatened to spill from my eyes. Neither of us could speak for a moment, so we just looked at each other. I could tell by the horrified look on my brother’s face that the doctor had told him the awful news. 

“I-I can’t bear to lose her,” he said, his voice trembling uncharacteristically.

I wiped my eyes. “Me neither.”

Nick sat on the edge of the bed and held Val’s hand. “If she doesn’t make it, I’ll never forget this time we had with her. If she hadn’t come to the island, we never would have met her or even knew she existed. Just knowing that kills me.”

“She’s a beautiful person,” I said. “We have to keep the faith, Nick, even when there’s no hope.”

He looked away and pondered. “I heard you rescued Megan. A tank? Wow. Nothing short of amazing.”

“Thanks.”

“I was kind of sketchy about what happened back at Rita’s,” he said, “but Lucas filled me in on a little of it. He told me Rita was crazy and wanted to cannibalize us. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“It’s not your fault. You were drugged.”

“I wanted to leave, but I let everyone convince me to stay. I should have insisted,” he said.

“It wasn’t your fault, Nick. We outvoted you. How’s your shoulder?”

“Better. Just bruised now, and that’ll heal.”

“Claire has to be worried sick about us,” I said.

He nodded. “I know. I wish we could phone her.”

I looked away. “We can’t go back without Val.”

“I don’t think Claire’s heart can take losing her.” He paused. “I don’t even think my heart can.”

There was a knock at the door, and Lucas and Kate came inside. I hugged both of them, and they told me they were glad I was okay and that they’d been worried about me. We all said a prayer for Val, and it took everything I had not to burst out in tears.

“You should’ve taken me with you to that store,” Lucas said.

“You were out cold,” I said.

“I’m sorry about that whole Rita thing, man,” he said. “A lot of it’s still fuzzy though. How’d you get us all outta there and here? Give us Cliff’s Notes version, would ya?”

“Well, Rita drugged you with valium, and us with something like roofies. I didn’t eat that much, so it didn’t affect me that long. Val was affected at first but snapped out of it, probably because of that serum in her blood. We carried you out of here, but Rita and her crazy sons tried to stop us. We shot most of them, and we drove off. Zombies showed up just in the nick of time to distract Rita, so I rushed out of there and drove here to get bandages and antibiotics, only to run into Dr. Willows, who offered to help Val and you guys if I rescued her niece. I did my part and...well, I guess she did the best she could to help all of you.” 

Nick looked at Lucas in stunned confusion.

“What if Dean and Val hadn’t been able to overcome the drug?” Kate asked.

“We’d be dead,” Lucas said, “probably on a sandwich with mayonnaise.”

“Man, that old broad was sicker than I thought,” Nick said.

“A few more things happened, but I’ll fill you in later. Right now, I just want to be with my sister and send her all the positive energy I can.”

Dr. Willows came in and checked Val’s vital signs, then looked at us.

“I know you gave us all IVs,” Kate said. “I’m sorry you had to use up so many precious medical supplies.”

“You’re all paid up,” she said. “Dean saved my niece, and I’m forever in his debt.”

“No,” I said. “I owe you...for everything you did for Val, my brother, and our friends.”

“I wish things would...turn out differently,” the doctor said. “I really do.” She then turned and left the room.

Val suddenly opened her eyes and called for people I’d never heard of.

“Kyle,” she said, “is that you?”

“It’s me, Dean,” I said, softly.

“Where’s Kyle?” she asked. “I need to tell him that the bite didn’t kill me.”

Lucas looked at me. “That was the guy she came to the island with.”

“Her boyfriend?” I asked.

“It’s somebody she got romantically involved with along the way. She doesn’t talk about it at all.”

Val reached for Lucas’s hand. “Lucas? Is that you?”

“Yes,” he said.

“We can’t be together. I’m seeing somebody else.”

“Kyle’s not here,” I said.

“It’s not Kyle,” she said.

“She’s delusional,” Kate said. She thinks her and Lucas are still dating.”

Val’s eyes fluttered open. “Sammy, is that you?”

“It’s me, Kate.”

“Where’s Sammy? She was so devastated when we were ripped apart. I have to tell her that I didn’t die. She thinks I’m dead. I can’t bear for her to suffer any longer.”

Lucas explained. “She came with this teenage girl who was about seventeen with turquoise hair. I guess she was a family friend and Val used to babysit her. And then there was Kyle and his little daughter, Jenny. When Val was placed into isolation, she was allowed one last visit with them. It was so sad. It about ripped me apart. The little girl, about ten or so, was crying and Sammy wouldn’t let go of Val. Kyle told Val he loved her as the soldiers ripped him away.”

“What happened to them?” Kate asked.

“Dean’s dad got them safely off the island and they were told not to return. Val was bitten and Kyle was told Val would be humanely put down. He was heartbroken. He vowed to take care of Sammy for Val and to keep her safe. As far as the three of them know, Val died from the zombie bite.”

“That’s so sad,” I said.

“Kyle,” Val said. “You promised to be with me to the end. Where are you when I need you the most? You said we’d face this bite together.”

“She thinks she’s dying of a zombie bite,” I said. 

“Val,” Kate said. “You were shot. You were cured from the zombie bite. Don’t you remember?”

She took a deep breath. “I was cured. But there’s no cure.”

Kate patted her hand. “Yes, there is. You’re living proof.”

“Then I’m going to live?” she asked. “You’ve got to tell Sammy, Kyle, and Jenny. They’ll be so happy to hear I’m going to be okay.”

“They’re not here,” I said.

“Kyle left me?” she asked, as a tear fell down her cheek. “Then get Sammy. She’d never leave me, not in a million years.”

“Your friends were escorted off the island,” I said. “They didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

She gripped the blankets tight. “Then they think I’m dead? They don’t know I’m alive?”

“I’m so sorry,” Kate said.

“Sammy has to be heartbroken. We were so close. I took care of her when she had nobody else.” She let out a long breath, then met my gaze. “Everything is cloudy, but it’s all coming back.  I see Lucas and Kate are okay. I’m so thankful for that. But how’s Nick? Where is he?”

He ran out to run an errand. She let out a sigh of relief, then fluttered her eyes closed. She didn’t say anything else. She ran a high fever and I’d never seen her look so pale. We were losing her and my heart couldn’t take it. She grew worse with every passing minute. We stayed up all night and kept a vigil for Val. None of us left her room. Dr. Willows brought us in food and drinks, though we didn’t really have much of an appetite. My pants were loose, and I knew I’d lost quite a bit of weight, but my stomach was in constant knots, so I seldom felt like eating. I thought back to the nursing home, when Val, Claire, and Jackie had given me those speeches. My mind drifted back to Val’s words, and I teared up all over again:

“I was living a perfect life, something of a fairytale, I suppose. Then, in the blink of an eye, my world crashed down around me. I lost my home, my family, my fiancé, my job, my dogs, and my life. Just before the world turned into a zombie hell, I found out the shocking news that I’d been adopted. My biological grandma begged me to come to the island, so I did. On my way, I was bitten, but I really couldn’t have cared less. As far as I was concerned, my life was already over anyway, but I did still want to meet my family before I took my last breath...