Dead Living (22 page)

“I think she likes you,” she whispered,
pointing at Sam.

He never thought he'd ever wake up with a
beautiful woman in his arms. If the children weren't watching, he
might have let her sleep.

He gently shook her shoulder. “Uh, Sam?”

She stirred slightly, and gave him a gentle
squeeze. She was aware of the position they were in, half her body
thrown over his. She liked it.

She heard the children giggling, and jumped
up. They started laughing like only kids do can, loud and long.
Nikki couldn't hold it in anymore.

Sam looked at their young audience. Most of
the kids were afraid to look her in the eye before. Now they
laughed right in her face.

Aaron smiled too as he climbed to his feet.
He grabbed his book from the floor and tossed it on the table.

“I must have rolled off the couch in the
middle of the night,” Sam explained, loud enough for everyone to
hear. “Sorry about that.”

Aaron nodded. “Hey, I slept fine.”

He could see the embarrassment on her face.
She looked over at Nikki and the children. “Well, I'll see you
later.”

Sam left through the emergency exit into the
morning sun.

“How long have you all been here?” he asked
Nikki.

She smiled. “Long enough
to know there's no way Samantha just falls off the couch. She
looked
very
comfortable.”

“Aaron, could you show us the talking picture
again?” one of the children asked.

They cheered with excitement. Nikki watched
Aaron for his reaction.

“If I can find some more gasoline, I'll
definitely show you again. But we need the gas for other things
right now.”

They groaned a bit. Aaron smiled. He was glad
they liked the movie so much.

He gave Nikki a nod. “I'll be out lending a
hand if you need me.”

She waved and looked at the children. “Okay.
We'll be in here playing hide and seek.”

The kids cheered again as Aaron left.

He worked for the next few
hours, helping anyone that needed it. Everyone wanted to talk about
the movie he'd shown, and how much it meant to them. A few of the
older crowd shared their first experiences with movies. Travis said
he kissed his wife-to-be for the first time watching a reshowing
of
Gone With The Wind
.

As Aaron worked throughout the day, he
noticed Richardson sitting near the garden, where the teenagers
used to play football in the old world. He sat on the bleachers and
wrote in his notebook. He didn't move the entire morning.

It was the middle of the afternoon when Aaron
approached him. Richardson didn't see him coming and jumped.

“Shit, Aaron! Don't sneak up on people.”

“Sorry about that. Everything okay?”

Richardson gestured to the spot next to him.
Aaron took a seat, glancing at some of the notes and sketches
Richardson had in his book. He was always thinking of ways to make
things better.

“Is everything okay?” Richardson repeated.
“It's kinda hard to say. I mean, a person dies, they get back up.
That's not really okay.”

Aaron didn't respond. He just watched Susan
move through the garden and pick vegetables.

“That was a good thing you
did last night,” Richardson said. “We're starting to get to where
there's more young people than old. I bet half the people here
never even seen
Star
Wars
.”

“Glad everyone liked it.”

Richardson continued to just look around. He
closed his notebook and dropped it to the bleacher in front of
them.

“I was here when it all
started.
Right
here, in this spot. My ten-year-old niece had a soccer game.
I picked her up and brought her here so my brother and his wife
could setup a huge birthday party for her. One of the girls was
infected. We thought it was just another soccer fight. You wouldn't
believe how competitive the girls used to get.” Richardson smiled
for only a second, then frowned once again. “She was bitten, and I
had to kill her myself. I never saw my brother and his wife again.
I still don't know what happened to them.”

Aaron waved around them. He wanted to get
Richardson's mind off the past. “Looks like you've done a great
thing here. I've seen plenty of places out there, but nothing like
this. Most people will kill each other over scraps of food.”

“This place will die eventually. The walkers
will get in, our luck will run out. We all know we're on borrowed
time.”

This didn't sound like the upbeat leader
Aaron had gotten to know.

“Then do something before that happens.”

Aaron pulled his own memo pad from his back
pocket and opened it.

“Grow, expand,” he said. “Block off both ends
of the street. Make sure every single house is clear of walkers.
Make this whole area yours.”

Richardson smirked at Aaron's notes. He was
still impressed the young man knew how to write. “Got any more
bright ideas in there?”

“We need more gas and generators, or a
windmill.”

“Now how do you even know what a windmill
is?”

“My father taught me. We always talked about
making one. We need to get power back here. Just some little things
to make things easier. Wouldn't you rather use a chainsaw than an
ax to cut down trees?”

“Last time I checked, Aaron, getting a
chainsaw from the hardware store isn't the easiest thing to do with
a million dead corpses in the way.”

“That's the easy part.”

“Oh yeah? How?”

Aaron said nothing, and Richardson knew he
was hiding something.

He didn't get a chance to press the matter
further.

They both heard shouts in the distance.
Carrie was running and shouting at the top of her lungs.

“Travis is hurt! We need some help!”

Aaron and Richardson exchanged looks before
jumping off the bleachers and sprinting to Carrie. Susan had
already made it to her and held her by the shoulders.

“Carrie, what's going on?”

She could barely catch her breath. “Travis.
He was trying to fix the smokehouse by himself. He fell off the
ladder. The side wall came apart and fell on him.”

They ran toward the smokehouse. Most everyone
was funneling in that direction. Aaron could see a crowd gathering.
Travis was motionless under a pile of cinder-blocks, the ladder on
top of him.

No one dared approach him.

Even Richardson stopped at the front of the
crowd, at least ten feet away from the injured man.

“What's going on?” Aaron asked.

“He'll probably turn into one of them,” Susan
said.

Aaron rushed forward and started moving
cinder-blocks.

“Aaron! Be careful!” Richardson called. “If
he bites you-”

Aaron ignored him. He moved as quickly and
carefully as possible. He threw the ladder to the side and started
clearing the area around Travis, making sure not to touch him. As
he worked, a new set of hands joined in to help. He looked up to
see Sam.

They didn't say anything, just looked at one
another for a second.

Slowly, other people started to help.
Richardson joined in, then Larry, then Susan. Soon, at least ten
people were clearing away the rubble. After they were done Aaron
knelt next to Travis.

He didn't move, but Aaron could see he was
alive. His chest moved slowly. He had a head wound that bled, but
the worst injury was his right leg. It was bent backwards at the
knee, and they could see the bone.

Carrie took a few steps back and vomited.

“Travis? You okay, buddy?” Aaron
whispered.

He started to stir. “I think I fell.”

He tried to move. Aaron put a hand on his
chest.

“No, no. Don't move. Just be still.”

A voice came from behind Aaron. “What should
we do?”

He thought back to some of the training Aunt
Denise gave him, so long ago. He knew they had to keep Travis
conscious, perhaps set the bone. Beyond that, he didn't know what
to do, and Travis' leg didn't look to be in any condition to be
set.

Richardson searched the faces of the crowd.
Most of Lexington had gathered. Nikki was near the back with the
children, trying to keep them from seeing the grisly sight.

“James! Where are you?”

An elderly man pushed his way through the
crowd. He had very pale skin and thinning white hair.

“I'm here, Richardson. I'm here.”

He froze when he saw Travis. Aaron could tell
from the man's face he didn't like what he saw.

“Severe dislocation. Probably compound
fracture.”

Richardson nodded. “Okay, what do we do?”

James said nothing, just motioned for
Richardson to follow. A younger man that Aaron didn't know left the
crowd and joined the both of them. Larry did so too, a meeting of
the minds.

The crowd started whispering amongst
themselves. Sam stood close to Aaron and put a hand on his
shoulder.

“James used to be a doctor back in the old
world. The young guy there is Eric. James is training him.”

Aaron didn't like what was happening. James
almost didn't even look at Travis. He didn't check his pulse or for
signs of a concussion.

“Let's go see what they're talking
about.”

Sam tried to protest, but Aaron was already
moving, and she wouldn't let him do anything alone. The three men
lowered their voices as Aaron and Sam approached.

“What's going on?”

The three men traded glances.

“We're trying to figure out what to do with
Travis,” James said.

“How about helping him?”

“How do you figure we do that?”

“You're a doctor, right?”

“Look, this isn't exactly a hospital. We can
try to set the bone, elevate his leg. But if it gets infected, and
he dies, then we're all in danger.”

Aaron searched everyone's faces. “I can't
believe what I'm hearing here. So you don't want to go over there
and help him? Is that it?”

“Aaron, keep your voice down,” Richardson
said. “We're just trying to think of everyone. We'll do what we
can, but we should probably isolate him. I know it's sad, but he
could very well die.”

“Okay, if this was the old world, what would
you need?”

James thought a moment. “Morphine,
antibiotics, bandages, stitches. After the puncture wound heals,
we'd have to put the leg in a cast.”

“I'll go out and get what we need.”

Larry shook his head. “Aaron, the local
hospital is crawling with walkers. And James, do you think even if
there were drugs there, they'd still be any good?”

James scratched his chin. “Morphine does have
an expiration date. But if it's stored properly, kept out of direct
sunlight, there's a chance.”

Aaron looked at James. “Okay, what am I
looking for?”

“You can't go alone.”

“I do better alone.”

Sam gave him an angry look.

“You don't know hospitals,” James said. “You
won't even know where to look.”

Aaron opened his mouth to argue, but James
was right. He wouldn't be in any danger, but it would take him
forever to find medicine or supplies.

“I'll go,” Eric said.

“No,” James said. “You stay here. You watch
after Travis. Get some help getting him moved. Make sure he stays
conscious, concussion or not. I'll go with Aaron.”

Aaron turned to the Lexington crowd. Carrie
had soaked a rag in cold water and set it on Travis' head, which
was more than anyone else had done. He spotted Garrett and Ray by
themselves, whispering to each other.

“Hey Garrett,” Aaron called. “You up for a
supply run?”

Garrett looked at Travis. “For that dumb old
fuck over there? Fuck him, and fuck you.”

He spit on the ground and walked away, Ray a
step behind.

Aaron shook his
head.
What an asshole.

“I need volunteers,” he said. “James and I
are going to the hospital to get supplies for Travis.”

Larry tapped Aaron on the shoulder from
behind. “I'm in.”

Nikki pushed her way through the crowd. “If
you're going, Aaron, I'll go.”

“No, Nikki, you're needed here.”

“I'm coming,” Sam said.

He looked at his best
friend. “I guess telling you
no
is a bad idea?”

“Very
bad idea.”

To Aaron's surprise, half of Lexington
stepped forward, all volunteering. He was amazed. He knew the world
of the dead brought out the worst in people, but it could also
bring out the best. Lexington proved that.

Aaron's eyes fell on Scott, who ran the
forge. He had the look of a man who could take care of himself.

“Okay, Scott, you're in.”

Larry took a deep breath. “I'll drive.”

Aaron walked over to Travis, who actually had
a smile on his face, despite the pain. Carrie held his hand, which
might have had something to do with his good mood.

“You just do what Eric says, okay? We're
gonna go get what you need.”

Travis nodded. “Thanks. Don't get yourself
killed for me.”

“We'll do our part. You just stay awake and
be strong. Eric's gonna have to set your leg, and it'll hurt like
hell.”

“Yeah, I know. Fell off a swing and broke my
arm when I was a kid. No stranger to pain here.”

Aaron smiled, then looked at his crew. James,
Larry, Scott, himself, and of course, Sam. He gave them a nod, then
they headed to the storeroom for guns.

Richardson watched them leave. He knew they
all wanted to help Travis, but he also knew if Aaron wasn't leading
the way, there wouldn't have been as many volunteers, especially
Sam.

The young man was slowly becoming their
leader.

*****

Fifteen minutes later Larry drove the truck
while everyone else was in the back. The back door was open, and
walkers grasped at the truck, but they couldn't get a good grip.
They moaned in frustration as the fresh food drove by, and they
were unable to do anything about it.