Break Free The Night (Book 2): Loss of Light (6 page)

              "Who's there?

              "It's me," came Andrew's unmistakeable voice. "Can I come down? Are you wearing clothes?"

              "See? He says shit like this to me and expects me not to make fun of him?" Emma said, her hands on her hips as though she was daring Kaylee to contradict her.

              "Everyone's decent, Drew," Kaylee called back up, rolling her eyes at her sister.

              "Puritan," Emma muttered, smirking at Andrew as his head appeared over the guard rail. He huffed.

              "Just 'cause I'm a gentleman doesn't-"

              "Anna! Andrew!"

              It was Quinton. Shouting. A panicked shout that Kaylee could never have imagined coming from his deep and somber voice. Quinton wasn't supposed to panic. Quinton was calm and collected because nothing could rattle him.

              What happened?

              "Anna! Help! I need help!"

              He wasn't that far, couldn't be, because his voice was clear and strong. Andrew took off and without thinking Kaylee followed him. Through the stream, her boots soaking in the current, up a small embankment and into the trees, she followed Andrew and that voice. She could hear crashing in the woods, closing in on her, and momentarily she prayed it wasn't an infected. She had no weapon, no defense but running, and whatever was coming after her was as fast as she was.

              But then he appeared, rifle slung over his back, a rabbit tucked into his belt. Jack. He found her and paced her, dodging through the trees at her side even as low branches whipped at their faces. The forest floor was mostly soft pine needles, no roots. But it was also uphill, and though she wasn't tripping; she kept slipping on the silky needles as she climbed higher upstream towards Quinton's voice.  She couldn't focus, couldn't think. She could only follow the voice that just kept calling for Anna, over and over again.

              Kaylee was trying to remember when she heard the last pop of gun fire, surely it was before Andrew showed up. Wasn't it? It was hard to remember.

              The forest was evening out, sloping less until it was flat, the trees thinning. Up ahead, Kaylee could make out the clear sky, settling into the orange haze of sunset over a meadow. The sun was still visible, but lower on the horizon as it sank towards the tree line. And finally, she saw Quinton. His back was hunched away from them, crouched over something.

              No, not something. Someone.

              Kaylee cried out in recognition and Andrew dropped to his knees at his father's head.

              "What happened?"

              Quinton whipped around. "Where's Anna? I need Anna."

              "Right here," she panted, sliding past Kaylee and kneeling next to Quinton. Emma burst through the trees next, knocking into her sister and pushing her forward.

              "Don't touch that fence!" Quinton barked and Jack stepped up, yanking Kaylee and Emma back. His fingers bit into the skin of her arm. Kaylee's eyes darting around, past the man laying on the forest floor and to the surrounding trees. She saw it now. Thin metal wires strung horizontally from tree to skinny tree, only a few feet from where they stood. Innocuous enough, not barbed, not razor wire.

              "Emma, I need you," Anna grunted. Kaylee dragged her eyes from the fence to the forest floor, forcing her eyes on Bill's prone form. She didn't want to see, she wanted to keep running because it had seemed easier then, as though the act of running was solving some problem in some way. Now that she was here, she didn't know what to do. But Bill needed help; he wasn't moving.

              What was wrong with him?

              "The defibrillator. You know what it looks like? You remember what I showed you? I need it. And my bag, the emergency one. Fast!"

              Emma turned and ran. And because she could be no use where she was, Kaylee turned and ran too. The run back was easier, not just because it was downhill, but because there was clear purpose.

              "What happened?" Nick shouted as soon as the girls crashed into view. He must have come back to the camp and found it empty because he looked panicked. Emma didn't answer, she ran right for the camper and ripped cabinets open, pulling bags out and tossing them to Kaylee who was waiting with open arms.

              "It's Bill, he's hurt," was all she needed to say through rushed breath for her father to stop asking questions and sprint back with them. When they got back, Anna had Bill's shirt ripped open, his bare chest noticeably not rising except for when Quinton forced breath in through his mouth.

              No.

              Kaylee's chest caved in. She thought he was passed out, hurt. Not dead.

              But he wasn't breathing, wasn't moving. Andrew was staring with unveiled shock as Anna ripped the items from their hands.

              Kaylee tore her eyes from Bill's lifeless chest, sought out that innocent looking fence. She let out an involuntary scream. There was a man, his gait steady and sure, crossing the meadow and headed towards them. The sun was not sunk behind the field yet, but it was getting closer, and it silhouetted him so that Kaylee could only make out that he was tall and lanky and nothing more. Jack and her father followed her line of sight and pulled their rifles from their shoulders, positioning themselves behind two pines.

              "Clear!" Anna called out in a strong voice and Kaylee looked down to watch Emma and Quinton's hands fly from Bill. There were two white pads stuck to his chest and after Anna pressed a button labeled "shock" his body rose off the ground for a second before falling back.

              Kaylee felt grief choke her. It was surreal and terrible, to be standing here, immobilized, as Andrew's father, a man she had known since birth, lay still and quite possibly dead.

              What would she do? What would Andrew do? Bill couldn't leave his son alone. He couldn't.

              "Resume CPR," Anna spoke, watching the tiny machine attached to the white pads. Quinton got in tripod position, the heel of his hands on Bill's chest. He counted softly while Emma watched. When Quinton told her to, she compressed a blue rubbery looking bag that was attached to a mouth piece that she had sealed over Bill's face. His chest rose each time Emma squeezed the blue bag.

              Anna was ripping vials out of her bag. She settled a few on the forest floor in front of her and drew out a syringe. Kaylee watched as she plunged the long metal needle into a vial, extracting the medicine when she pulled back on the plunger. She thrust it at Kaylee. "Hold this, don't touch the tip."

              The plastic felt foreign in her hand, clean and smooth. She held it gingerly, her eyes locked on prone man on the forest floor.

              Anna was telling Quinton to move, setting a small piece of plastic in Bill's arm. Blood leaked from the tip before Anna could secure a short piece of tubing to the plastic nub and Kaylee saw red.

              "Kay!"

              Anna had her hand out and Kaylee placed the syringe in her waiting fingers. Anna shot the medicine into the small, plastic port at the end of the tubing followed by another vial of liquid. "Clear," she murmured again, stopping Quinton and Emma and hitting buttons on the defibrillator again.

              "You have about two minutes before we have company," Jack warned. He and Nick had their rifles pressed to their shoulders and were leaning around the trees, the still advancing lanky stranger firm in their sights.

              Bill jolted from the ground again as Anna shocked him and the world seemed to go into slow motion as Anna leaned over to check his pulse.

              Please, please, please...

              Kaylee pleaded weakly. Hoping.

              "It's weak," Anna finally said, "but he has a pulse."

              Kaylee clutched her fingers over her mouth as she sobbed aloud in relief. Andrew wilted at his father's head, whispering "Dad" over and over. She went to move towards him, but her sister beat her to it. Emma reached over and gripped his hand. Andrew's knuckles went white with how hard he gripped her fingers in return.

              "I need to get him somewhere safe," Anna said, not moving to disconnect him from any of the tubing or the defibrillator. "He needs to be watched."

              "This guy's almost on us," Jack said, not taking his eyes from the meadow.

              "Hey you!" came an unfamiliar voice. Kaylee was still floating in a daze. She was on her knees, close to Bill's head though she didn't really remember kneeling. Quinton stood and moved past her, squeezing her shoulder as he did. "Hey! Don't touch that fence! It's electric!"

              "Yeah, we found that out," Jack shouted back.

              "Anyone hurt?"

              "Yes," Quinton answered, stepping forward in front of Nick and Jack. He gestured for Jack to stay hidden and Kaylee noticed that neither man lowered their weapons.

              "We have shelter, food, electricity," the lanky man said, stopping about thirty yards from the edge of the trees. "You can come with me to rest, if you'd like."

              Quinton didn't answer right away. His penetrating stare had frozen Kaylee on occasion and it stopped this lanky man right in his tracks.

              "I need a safe place," Anna said, her voice low so it wouldn't carry to the stranger.

              "We keep our guns," Quinton said firmly, addressing the stranger.

              "I don't make the rules, pal, but you can ask Marsden. He's in charge."

              The pause from Quinton was longer this time, and he turned slightly to watch Bill's shallow, but even, breathing before he locked eyes with Jack.

              "Where?" he asked the stranger.

              The lanky man, he was not much older than Jack, Kaylee realized, squinted at the group.

              "I'll take you now," he offered, jerking his head in the direction he had come.

              "We have to collect our things," Quinton hedged, even as Anna shot him a look of impatience. "But this man needs help. So, I'll do that and meet you at your place. Where?"

              The stranger paused, watching Quinton. "Is there more of you?"

              "No. Just have to get our vehicle."

              Kaylee noticed Quinton didn't say vehicles. He just mentioned the one. Somehow, she knew he wouldn't be bringing the tanker. He didn't trust this man. And if Quinton didn't, maybe they shouldn't either. But they needed to get Bill somewhere safe. Their camp was nicely laid out and the stream was ideal. But if a swarm of infected came through, Bill wouldn't be able to run. And the stranger did offer shelter, food, electricity...

              "I only mention it 'cause it's not safe in these woods. Lots of biters."

              "Haven't seen any infected," Jack answered, his gun was lowered but his finger still hovered near the trigger.

              "Why else would there be a fence?" the man said.

              Kaylee wasn't sure she wanted to think about that.

              "It's your call," the man shrugged, turning from the group and heading back through the field. Jack turned to Quinton.

              "I'll meet you here just after dark," he said, taking the rabbit from his belt and handing it to Quinton. Kaylee got the impression this was not the first time these two had to plan for something like this.