Grace Lost (10 page)

“C’mon Emilie, let’s go get some
fresh air,” I said.  The girl slid out her door and walked to the edge of
the road that met the mountainside.  She was obviously in need of some
privacy, so I called to her.  “It’s ok Em, Boggs will look away and I’ll
make sure Gus behaves.”   She looked back as I was joining Gus at the
tailgate.

“Thanks,” she called before she
squatted and took care of personal business. 

I sat down on the back bumper next
to Gus.   He looked at me sideways as he took a drink of water.

“I’m sorry I hurt your arm last
night,” he said after he swallowed.

I shrugged.  “It’s ok. 
I know you were just keeping me safe.  Sorry Boggs punched you.”

He made a funny noise with his
throat.  “It’s fine.  If someone touched my girl I’d clock them too.”

Boggs and Emilie met us at the
tailgate.  Gus stood and spoke.  “Emilie, will you join me at the
overlook?”

Emilie looked at me, almost as if
she wanted permission.  I smiled softly, and she nodded to Gus.  He
held his hand out, and she sheepishly took it.  They walked together until
they reached the metal barrier at the side of the road.

Boggs sat next to me at the back
of the car.  There was an awkward pause between us before he spoke. 
“Are we ok, Zoe?”

I looked at him thoughtfully,
dreading this talk.  I looked over to where Gus and Emilie stood and
sighed, figuring Boggs had arranged this time alone with me.  Gus was busy
instructing the young red-head on how to hold Boggs’ handgun.  I popped a
couple cocoa puffs into my mouth and crunched on them, then looked down at my
lap.

Boggs sighed heavily.  “Zo,
speak to me? I can’t bear not talking like usual.”   We had said very
little to each other since the day before.  He tucked my hair behind my
ear, gently sliding the back of his hand down my cheek before taking my hand in
both of his.

I looked up at him and shook my
head.  “Boggs, I’m not sure what to say, or how to act.” I spoke
quietly.  “I’ve always thought of you as a big brother.  I’m not like
you.  I’ve never even…”

He squeezed my hand before
bringing it to his lips, where he let it linger for a moment.

“I’ve never even had a boyfriend,
or been kissed till yesterday, or…or…”  I fell short on words as my cheeks
reddened.

He shushed me by placing his hand
on my chin and leaned in, offering me a proper kiss. His lips were warm, and he
smelled familiar.  He kept his lips next to mine, waiting for me to
respond.  My arms had come up in fear, and to keep him from coming too
close.  I soon found my body relaxing and he sensed it, deepening the
kiss.  He parted my lips with his tongue and put his arms around me to
embrace me more closely.  His beard stubble scratched my chin, but I found
the sensation exciting and something stirred deep inside of me.

The kiss broke with the sound of a
gunshot, causing us to both flinch.  He kept his mouth near, whispering to
soothe me.  “It’s ok.  Gus is just showing Emilie how to
shoot.”   He leaned back far enough to look into my eyes.  I
looked back, still unsure of how to act in the situation.  It was new to
me, and I had no idea how intimacy of this sort works.  “I don’t want to
do anything to hurt you, Zoe, so if you need me to back off I
will.”   He took my hand again and I squeezed back.  I nodded my
head, nearly imperceptibly, and he wrapped his arms around me, this time just
an embrace between friends.

I whispered to him “give me time,
Adam.  Life is spinning out of control right now.”  I felt him tense
slightly.

“What’s up with the ‘Adam’ crap?”
he asked, trying to make me laugh.  He kissed my cheek.

Emilie fired several more rounds,
the sounds echoing in the valley below.  We heard her shout out “got that
bastard!”  Boggs stood and offered his hand to me.  I took it and
sprang up. He kept hold of me and we walked hand-in-hand to the vantage point
to join our companions.

“What’s going on, Gus?” asked
Boggs.

Gus turned and winked at me. 
“Emilie here just shot a rock!”   He snickered and smacked the girl
lightly on the shoulder.   “Turns out she’s a fair shot.”

The girl smiled genuinely for the
first time since she came into our lives.  “My dad used to take me out on
the weekends.  He’d let me practice but it was always with a small rifle,
not a handgun.  And it’s been years.”

Boggs put an arm around my
shoulders.  The sun was working its way west, no longer high above our
heads.   “We should figure out where we’re heading before dark,” I
said.

“Where are we, anyway?” asked
Emilie.

“Almost to the top of the pass,”
answered Boggs.  The North Cascades Pass was still open this time of year
but with weather at the summit being unpredictable, there were few
travelers.  At some point the men had decided it might be our safest route
to avoid people, both living and dead.  “We need to start thinking about
shelter for the night.  We shouldn’t be on the road in the dark. 
Any suggestions?”

Emilie cleared her throat. 
“When I was little our family used to stay at a little rental cabin
on Lake Arrow.
  We always went in September because they closed for
the season the end of the month and rates were cheaper.   It’s really
secluded.  Maybe it’s still there?”

Gus looked thoughtful. 
“On this highway, Emilie?
  Do you think you can find
it?”

Emilie nodded her head.  “I
can try.  It’s been a long time, though.  I know the turn off is on
the left, after going down the other side of the pass. 
Just
before a little town called Twisp.”

Gus smiled.  “That’s a good
start.  How about I drive, and you sit up front with me for a while? 
Tell me if something looks familiar?”

“Sure. Ok,” she said.

We piled back into the SUV and
started east again.  The sun was behind us as we drove.   The
ascent to the peak was fairly quiet.  Boggs had let his head fall against
the window and dozed beside me.  An elevation marker that read
5477
announced
we were at the summit, and ready to descend.  Gus cleared his throat,
getting the attention of both me and Emilie.

“Okay ladies, we need to start by
watching for a source of gasoline.  The needle’s getting close to a
quarter tank and I don’t like it being that low.  Zoe, do you mind waking
up Boggs?”

I shook Boggs’ shoulder, causing
him to stretch and lift his head, leaving a small trail of drool running from
the corner of his mouth to his shoulder.

“Hmm?” he seemed dazed.

“Time to gas up, buddy” said Gus
from the driver’s seat.

“Ok,”
yawned
Boggs.

“
Emilie,
does any of this look familiar?” asked Gus.  He sounded worried.  I
peeked over the seat and looked at the gas gauge.  It was closer to an
eighth of a tank, not a quarter like he had said.

She shook her head.  “I’m
just not sure.”

“That’s ok.  Just holler if
you recognize anything,” said Gus as he smiled at her softly. 
“Back to the gas situation.
  We’ll need to take
whatever we come across first.  A gas station will be useless if the
power’s out, so more likely another vehicle we can siphon.”

I scooted closer to Boggs and
whispered in his ear.  “I don’t think Gus wants Em to know, but it looks
like the tank is almost at empty.”  He squeezed my shoulder and nodded,
and then kissed the top of my head.

We continued to head downhill,
following the curves of the highway until finally the road started to level
out.  Emilie pointed at something far off.  “I think I see something
up there.”   Her voice was flat and still full of despair. 

The object she pointed to in the
distance slowly came into view as we got closer.  It was an old Ford
flatbed with a blown out tire and peeling blue paint.  Gus let the
Explorer coast to a stop, leaving several yards between the two vehicles. 
He left the engine idling. There was nothing significant around, just a few
large boulders and a couple of pine trees with thicker woods not too terribly
far in the distance.  It looked relatively safe, but by now we all knew
looks can be deceiving.  Emilie started to open her door, but Gus pulled
her back quickly.

“Hold on, girl. Something feels
off.  Let me and Bogsie Boy check it out first.”  Gus looked back to
Boggs for confirmation.

They both got out of the car, and
without needing to be asked I climbed over the center console and the shoeboxes
of pot to get into the driver’s seat.  Emilie and I sat impatiently as the
men split up, firearms at the ready, and walked toward the old truck and the
boulders.

I kept my voice low, suddenly
nervous about being without a gun.  “Emilie, something’s wrong. 
Watch the back of the car, ok?”  I turned and she had already started to position
herself for a better view of what lay behind us.

“Zoe, just keep telling me what’s
going on.”  She said.

“’Kay.”
  I said then watched as Gus stealthily scoped out the
boulders, making sure nothing was hiding in their shadows.  “Gus is
looking behind the boulders.”

“Nothing back here,” Emilie
added,
a hint of excitement in her voice.

Boggs was standing near the cab of
the old pickup.  He had the Kahr pointed to the ground and stepped to the
passenger window to look inside.  Gus was approaching from the other side.
I saw it before either of them, and without thinking screamed inside the car
the same time a hand reached out from under the old flatbed and grabbed Boggs’
ankle.  I opened the car door and tripped in my hurry to get out, falling
forward onto the weathered pavement.  I heard the gun fire, and saw Boggs
falling onto his back.  The commotion of my exit had caused his aim to be
off, missing the target that was attached to his leg. 

In the time it took Gus to move
into position and aim his shotgun, the creature had used Boggs’ leg to pull
itself out from under the truck and it was preparing to feast on his
shin.  It was missing its entire lower half, and sickly darkened blood
spread along the roadway as it progressed forward.  Boggs kicked at its
head with his free foot, his boot striking it in the nose.  It widened its
clouded eyes and emitted a shrill sound, appearing enraged.  Thick bloody
discharge flowed down its chin from its nose.  Terrified, I fought to gain
my footing and started to run toward Boggs and the monster attacking him.

Emilie exited the SUV and quickly
came to my side.  She clutched my arm and held me back.  I could feel
her body trembling.  Gus raised his shot gun, and just as the creature
with the now flattened face opened its mouth and prepared to sink its teeth
into Boggs’ leg, we heard the shot ring out.  His aim was true, removing
the head of the dead man.

Boggs continued to lie on the
roadway, the creature’s hands still clutching his leg.  Everything was
quiet aside from his gasping for air, and Emilie’s quiet sobs beside me. 
I looked from Boggs back to Gus, who still had his shotgun raised.  My
eyes widened realizing Gus was aiming at my best friend.

“Boggs,” said Gus in a level,
strong voice.  “Stand up, brother.”

Boggs looked back at the cowboy,
seemingly lost for words.  He kicked at the headless torso to rid his leg
of it, and slowly stood.  He carefully raised his hands above his head.

“Gus?” I cried out.  “What
are you doing?”

Emilie clutched at my arm more
tightly.  “He thinks Boggs was bit,” she whispered with sadness.

“Gus!” I shouted.  “We saw it
all, nothing happened!  Gus! 
Stop!”

Gus kept his aim on Boggs,
ignoring me.  He focused on the man in front of him, who was still trying
to catch his breath and now had his hands on top of his head.

“Gus, man, I wasn’t bit.  I
swear,” said Boggs calmly.  How he could be calm at the moment was beyond
me.

“Boggs, you know how it
works.  Slowly reach down and pull your pant legs up.”

Boggs took his hands from his head
and held them out to his sides, then reached for his left pant leg.  He
pulled it up to his knee.  “See?  He didn’t get me, man.”

“Other leg,” instructed Gus.

“No problem, Gus.”  Boggs
repeated the task with his right leg, showing his skin was intact.  “Satisfied?”
he asked the man holding the gun.  I thought Boggs was being far too nice
to Gus under the circumstances.

“I’ll feel better if you take your
shirt off,” said Gus.

Boggs began to pull his shirt over
his head.  The sound of the shotgun firing brought me to my
knees.   Caught up in his shirt, Boggs fell to the ground.

“Girls!” yelled Gus.  “Get
back in the car,
now
!”

I watched Gus run toward Boggs,
who had freed his head of the t-shirt and worked at standing again. 
Emilie pulled on my arm, urging me back into the vehicle.   I looked
back to see Gus pulling Boggs upward.  That’s when I saw them, quickly
approaching from the tree line in the distance.  There were too many to
count.   Some were badly damaged and others looked like they were
people just out for a walk.  I knew better.  They way they moved was
a dead give-away.