Resurrection (Apocalypse Chronicles Part II) (23 page)

“I am…”

“I am my own hero,” he repeated slowly. “
Say…it
.”

Claire said it hesitantly. “I am my own hero.”

“Say it again.”

“I am my own hero.”

“SAY IT AGAIN!” he shouted.

“I AM MY OWN HERO!”

“SAY IT AGAIN!”

“I AM MY OWN HERO!”

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE, CLAIRE?”

“MY OWN HERO.”

“WHO
ARE
YOU, CLAIRE?”

“MY OWN HERO!”

“
WHAT
ARE YOU, CLAIRE?”

“MY OWN HERO!”

“WHAT ARE YOU?”

“MY OWN HERO!”

“
WHAT
ARE YOU?”

“MY OWN HERO!”

“NOW JUMP, CLAIRE! JUMP!” This command was given by both Harrison and me, simultaneously screaming from the depths of our lungs.

To my absolute shock, she did, casting herself forward over the tip of the branch and into Harrison’s outstretched arms.

Any other man couldn’t have done what he did from there. It took core muscles, arm strength, agility and reflex fast enough to catch and swing Claire’s dangling body over the wall without tipping over himself.

I wasn’t sure where Claire landed, although several men had collected below Harrison on our side of the wall. I couldn’t tell you how many Infected made a grab for her as she sailed overhead. All I knew was that Harrison remained steady in his position until she was safely on the ground before he allowed himself to jump down.

She ran to him and hugged him, leaving a sopping mess on his jacket as she thanked him and then came for me. Beverly was so disgusted by it she was the first to disrupt the scene Claire was making. With Claire’s sobs as a backdrop, she rolled her eyes until they landed on the gate.

“Think that will hold?” she asked, “or will little Claire’s life be endangered again?”

Claire stopped her sobbing to send an appalled look at Beverly not realizing it would easily be dismissed.

By then, the Infected had drifted back to press their bodies against the bars in an effort to reach us, having no idea that one of their weaknesses was their willingness to expose themselves to us. In fact, they were giving us a clear shot now that Claire was no longer drawing them out of our view, and Christina didn’t wait for that opportunity to pass.

She marched up to the gate, the rest of the group following her lead as she prepared to ram her sword through the bars and into the heads of the Infected.

“Stop!” Harrison roared, his palm lifting in the universal gesture that reflected the command he’d used.

Christina came to a halt and turned wide, intimidated eyes on him.

“They’ll be gone by morning,” he explained.

Beverly muttered, “Bullsh-”

“If they aren’t, you can kill them. The gate will hold until then.” Before anyone else could refute him, he added, “I’ll guard it tonight.”

“How do you know they’ll be gone?” Christina questioned, although she asked this while lowering her weapon.

Stepping up beside Harrison, impatience coming forward in my tone, I reiterated, “If they aren’t, you can kill them.”

This seemed to stir the crowd, confusing them on why we’d wait. In truth, the reason was unclear to me too. Yet, the crowd followed our instructions and shifted away from the Infected. Their movement led us to find the rest of the survivors had filtered back at varying distances from the gate depending on their courage. They were beginning to make their way back inside the school as Caroline quietly addressed us.

“We’ve chosen well,” she said, smiling thoughtfully.

“Chosen what?” Harrison asked, surveying the crowd.

“Look at what’s happening around you,” she said sweeping her hand in the direction of the survivors. “We’re allowing you to make decisions for us and following commands we ordinarily wouldn’t. So, it’s time to suit up,

kids.”

“I’m not understanding,” Harrison admitted.

Neither was I. “Suit up for what?” I asked.

She leaned in and firmly, kindly, and in a finite way summed it up for us. “You two are these peoples’ last hope. They’re relying on you to keep them alive. Don’t let them down.”

Without waiting for a reaction, and figuring there was no other option for us other than to concede, she walked away. With her back to us, another woman so similar to Caroline emerged in my mind. Both had used almost the very same words in warning.

You two are our last hope.

After recalling this, I didn’t move. Harrison remained still also, and I wondered if he had picked up on the similarity. Together, we watched the survivors funnel into the reformatory’s primary building with Caroline the last to disappear, a single thought fixed in my mind.

Maybe Ms. Kremil had been right after all…

“I’ve heard that before,” Harrison remarked, shaking me from my thoughts. His tone was casual but there was something quieter, less obvious, and almost indistinguishable that contradicted it.

Caution…
because he understood the jeopardy of failure as much as I did.

“I’m going to stay here,” he said. “To keep an eye on the gate.”

I nodded in agreement, hiked my rifle into the field position and prepared to do the same.

“They’re not going anywhere,” he said, tipping his head to the Infected, growling and swiping at us through the bars.

I chuckled, understanding his insinuation. “All right, I’ll get food.”

“Thank you.”

His appreciative smile teased me, made me want to stay, but I found the resolve to head inside. The image of him, so attentive to me, hovered in my mind until I saw the first survivor in the hallway and the admonition came flooding back. From that point on, it never left.

The move into the reformatory was like finding a watering hole in the desert. It refreshed the survivors, gave them mental and physical comfort, but most of all it gave them hope. They had been given a reprieve, a stay of execution in the midst of their misfortunes. This was visible in their expressions as I passed them in the halls, their eyes were lit, the corners of their lips were lifted. Finally, rest for the weary. I would have shared their enthusiasm if I didn’t already know it wouldn’t last long, at least not for our team. Our mission remained unfinished, and would until a cure had been found.

For one reason or another, the majority of everyone at the reformatory congregated in the dining area. Only a few occupied the rooms upstairs. This was good because the faculty was still wading through the snow in the pool outside and I wasn’t sure these people could handle another scare. I could almost hear them thinking it earlier when the Infected had found them at the gate…E
nough already
.

Night was coming so a group designated themselves as cooks and delivered Styrofoam bowls of food to those sitting at the horizontal white tables crossing the room. The mixture was odd, but tasty…Campbell’s Beef and Barley Soup and Lyons Apple Pie Filling. Sweet and salty. I couldn’t wait to dig in, even if the food was just above freezing. As Doc, Mei, Beverly, and Christina took a seat at a table, I carried my dinner out to Harrison who sat on the steps outside.

“You’re going to need to come in or they’ll start to wonder,” I warned, taking a seat.

“Right,” he said through a chuckle. “They would be cold.”

“They would be,” I agreed. “I saw someone carrying blankets to the bedrooms.”

“That’s good. Their bodies will need to be the heating system until this cold weather breaks.”

I dipped my spoon into the bowl with the soup, wondering if it would taste as good as I imagined it might. It did. I relished it, chewing slowly, enjoying every second it was in my mouth.

After swallowing, I pointed out, “You haven’t eaten in a while.”

“Right,” he said again. “I’ll make sure to have breakfast with them.”

“No,” I said, placing my hand on his forearm. “I meant you really haven’t eaten.”

Understanding, he laughed. “No, you’re right. I haven’t.”

I removed my hand and set my soup on the step next to my apple pie filling.

“Don’t stop because of me.”

“I’m not going to eat in front of you, Harrison.”

He opened his mouth to object but then closed it quickly to consider his words before he spoke.

“You shouldn’t suffer because I am,” he said, solemnly, and my heart tightened at his misery.

“What can we do for you?”

“Know of any cows in the area?” he said, half-joking.

My shoulders fell.

“Seriously, Kennedy, finish your dinner.”

I didn’t move.

“You won’t until you know you can help me…,” he muttered to himself and groaned.

A few seconds passed in silence before he began smiling to himself.

“All right. This is what you can do. Eat, get some sleep. I’ll wake you when I’m ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“For your help,” he said, standing.

“And what exactly will I be doing?”

He knelt down, kissed me on the lips, paused and returned for another one, lingering there until he was able to pull away. When he stood, he drew in a breath to control his emotions, exhaled, and allowed me to see the mischievous glint that came to his eyes.

“Harrison, what will I be doing?” I asked, insisting he answer me.

He turned and began a steady stroll down the muddy road, but he pivoted his head until I saw his expression. He was still smiling to himself.

“Acting as hostess.”

“Acting as…” I muttered in confusion, but he’d already disappeared into the night.

CHAPTER 13

H
ARRISON’S EARTHY SCENT WOKE ME SEVERAL
hours before dawn.

I breathed him in deeply before opening my eyes and greeting him with a smile.

“Are you ready?” he whispered.

I nodded and he took my hand, the warmth of his touch sending a heated excitement through me. It actually cut through the frosty air settling over my body as I lifted the covers off. I was disappointed when I had to pull away and slip on my jacket.

He waited for me in the hall, the full moon casting a silver stream along the floor up his muscled body to the warm eyes taking me in. He seemed relaxed, which made me think he wasn’t nervous about whatever night mission he had planned. Still, I took my rifle with me.

Silently, he led me out of my designated dormitory room, down the stairwell, and up to the front entrance. When he opened it, the bitter cold surged inside making me brace against it.

Harrison noted it, uncomfortably.

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” he said, closing the door.

I wrapped my fingers around the edge and stopped it. “You need to eat.”

He stared at me, unconvinced, but I pulled the door in and he allowed me to slip through to the outside.

The blast of night air brought me fully awake then. I took in the crisp, dryness of it, bracing myself against a budding shiver, and looked around.

As I expected, given the way the air burned my lungs, there were no clouds above granting the stars and the full, round moon a chance to shine down on us. Across the reformatory’s grounds, the trees stretched their spindly tentacles up toward the sources of light and the shadows they dropped laid like shredded cloaks across the ground. In the distance, at the end of the muddy drive leading to the gate, the Infected gathered in waiting, their bodies forming a distinct, quivering mass in the shadows.

“No matter what you see in the next few minutes, don’t open the gate.”

“What do you expect me to see?” I asked nervously, even though he was already walking away, to the left, in the direction of the soccer posts.

“I’m not really sure,” he said speculatively. His pitch rose slightly when he reiterated. “Just don’t open the gate.”

I sighed nervously and then he was gone, the last of him being consumed by the darkness.

Despite the mud, his footsteps made no discernible noise. It was as if he’d vanished. I was left both unnerved, and despite my frustration, impressed. I knew of no one else who would walk out alone into the night when ferocious cannibals stalked us just a hundred yards away.

I stood alone now in the wintry quiet, the condensation from my breathing and the hazy movement of the Infected being the only signs of life.

Without Harrison there to keep my heart rate slightly elevated, the cold set in quickly and soon I was dancing from one foot to the other, biding my time, keeping my sights on the Infected and the gate that kept them separated from us.

Then I saw something that I never thought possible take place…

The Infected at the fence turned around, slowly but in unison. They faced away from me for no longer than it took for me to draw a breath and suddenly sprinted forward until they became engulfed by the night. Their growls rose with excitement, rattling up from somewhere in the dark for a few seconds before fading away.