The Withered Series (Book 1): Wither (21 page)

Leaving
Cable to his rest, I sneak over to Alex’s side.  “You
look lost.”

He
stuffs his fists into his pack, trying to shift the contents around
to find a more comfortable position. “I’ve got a map.”

“That’s
not what I’m talking about.”

“I
know.”  He stares up at the ceiling. Small cracks in the
roof allow moonlight to filter in from above, creating trails on the
floor.  “Sal is acting a bit off.”

“More
than usual?”

He
nods and rolls his head to the side to stare at the snoring man.
 “He’s been complaining more than usual today. Small
things.  Like how his teeth ache or he can’t stand being
too close to the fire because it’s too strong a smell.  He’s
irritable.”

I
frown and look over at his slumped figure.  “That’s
nothing new.”

“But
it is.”  I turn to look at Alex, peering through the dark
to see him. “Normally he’s just ticked about the cold,
about being hungry or that his feet hurt. Now…” he
sighs. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being hyper
sensitive about everything.”

“No.”
 I rub my hands together to warm them. With the sun hiding for
the night the cold has returned and what warmth the day brought has
been stolen away.  “That’s good.  We need to
be.”

He
rolls onto his side and looks past me.  Victoria’s
muttering rises and falls, even in sleep.  She is speaking to
someone, her mom by the sounds of it.  She keeps talking about a
puzzle but it makes little sense.  “How’s your
friend?”

“He’s
mending.  Too stubborn to stop long enough to properly heal.”

“Have
you looked him over to make sure he doesn’t have any internal
bleeding?  Looks like that other guy roughed him up pretty
good.”

I
swallow down my guilt.  Alex still doesn’t know that Devon
was the man who left Cable in this condition and I have no intention
of ever revealing that, especially not if it could put Cable’s
life in danger.  “I haven’t had time.”

Alex
snorts.  

“What?”

“Nothing.”
 He crosses his legs out before him and places his hands behind
his head.

“Tell
me.”

“What’s
there to tell? It’s obvious you like the guy.”

“I
don’t...no.  We’re friends.”

He
whistles low and soft.  “If I had a dollar for every time
I heard a girl say that.”

“It’s
true.”

“Sure
it is.  You tell yourself whatever it is that you need to get
through the day, but I believe what I see.”

I
cross my arms over my chest, annoyed by his insinuation. “You’re
wrong.”

“Could
be.”  He rolls onto his side, placing his back facing me.
 “Guess you’re the only one who would know.”

As
the silence falls around us, I return to Cable’s side.  His
breathing is steady.  His eyes shift back and forth, evidence of
a deep, restful sleep. I lie down beside him and press my back
against him for warmth.  Cable stirs and shifts his arm. His
hand falls along my upper thigh and I lie perfectly still. After
that, sleep takes half the night to find me.

When
I wake, I discover I’m the last to rise.  Cable and Alex
stand beside the open train car door, looking out in the direction of
the town.  My stomach clenches as I see them motion toward it.
 I don’t trust towns.  Not anymore. We’ve done
just fine staying clear of them, but our supplies won’t last
long.  Sal is a bigger guy and eats more than his fair share.
 The rest of us try to compensate, but we can only do that so
long.  Cable needs proper nourishment to finish healing.

I
groan as I force myself to rise. My back aches and the muscles in my
neck are stiff.  I stretch out my arms overhead and then attempt
to touch my toes.

“Sure
must be nice to be so limber.”

I
raise back up and find Sal openly staring at me, or rather straight
down the drooping neckline of my shirt. “You’re an ass.”

“Never
claimed not to be.”  He chucks me a stale crust of bread
and moves away.  I grab it off the ground and dust it off,
irritated that life has become a subsistence of such meager rations.
 

“He
bothering you?”  I look up to see Cable towering over me.
 His fingers loop over the bottom of his camo pants pockets, his
stance portraying a casualness that I know he doesn’t feel.
 The planes of his face are too hard.  His eyes narrowed
and piercing.

“I’ve
handled worse than the likes of him.”

Cable
emits a throaty grunt.  “I’d like to handle him a
bit myself.”

I
laugh and stretch out my hand.  “Help me up, will you?”

The
muscles in his arms flex as he easily pulls me up.  “You
must be feeling better,” I muse, standing awkwardly with my
hand in his. I know I should step back, to draw my hand away and
gather my pack, but I don’t.  I spent all night thinking
about him, wondering if Alex was right. Am I starting to like Cable
too much?  Is it noticeable to everyone except me?

“I
am, thanks to you.  You’d have made quite the nurse, you
know?”

I
finally pull away, making sure to shove that hand deep into my pocket
so he can’t see how it trembles slightly. I brush my hair back
from my face and tuck it behind my ear.  “I never really
liked blood, or math, science, or even school for that matter.”

He
leans in and bumps me with his shoulder. “Then it will be our
little secret.”

I
watch as he walks away.  
Should
I have secrets with him?  
I
frown at the thought, knowing that I am heading for trouble. I need
to space myself from him or risk giving him the wrong impression.
Even though I like Cable, I can’t afford to feel anything more
than general friendship for him.  Not in the world we live in
now. Too many people are lost.  Too many go to an early grave.
 It’s best to not let yourself care. That’s how you
survive.

I
turn and scowl at Sal, who appraises me openly again. “What are
you looking at?”

“The
only show worth watching in this shithole.  I think you’ll
find I’m not the only one entertained.”

I
follow his gaze and find Alex and Victoria standing near the back end
of the train car.  Both watch me and then swiftly look away.  I
sigh and grab my pack off the ground.  “I’m going
for a walk.”

“Need
some company?” Sal calls.

“Not
from a worm like you!”

As
I leap down through the door, I hear his laughter.  It sounds
wheezy in his chest.

I
tug hard on the straps of my pack and march away, head lowered
against the winds.  I need to be alone, to set my thoughts
straight.  Ever since this crap started I’ve been forced
to be around people and I don’t like it.  My mother always
used to harp on at me about how unhealthy it was to be a loner. She
never really got that it’s what I like, what I thrive off of.
 Not everyone can be a people person.  

With
no conscious decision, I head for the backside of the town, hugging
the woods for cover as I scope it out.  Alex and Cable were
planning to do the same, but if I can save them the trip while
working through my frustrations, it’s a win-win in my eyes.

As
I near the first building, I duck low, my back pressed against the
vinyl siding.  Somewhere up ahead a screen door slams shut, only
to be caught up by the wind and slammed again.  The foundation
of this home seems a bit off kilter, as if the whole right side has
begun to sink into the dirt.  The neighborhood looks a bit rough
around the edges.  Not really the most ideal place to live, but
I guess someone had to do it.

Craning
my head, I peer through the window.  The interior is dark.
 Sheets hang over the windows to block out the sunlight, or
other things.  Tables are overturned. A recliner sits upended.
 I turn to look back in toward the house and scream, rearing
back from the window.

A
hand claps down over my mouth and I buck against the strong grip.
 “Easy,” a voice calls in my ear.  “It’s
just me.”

Growling
in frustration, I shove Cable’s hand away.  “I
wanted to be alone.”

“And
I wanted to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid.”  He
raises his eyebrows and jerks his head toward the house.

Point
taken.

I
rub my hands down the front of my pants, trying to ease the quaking
in my fingers. “What made you scream like that?”

“Be
my guest.” I point to the window and step back, leaning against
the wall.  I watch him, waiting for the same horror that I
experienced but his expression hardly changes. “Really?
 Nothing?”

Cable
pulls away from the window.  “I’ve seen suicides
before.”

“That
woman’s face is wallpapered to the drywall.   Her
brain is coating the window. How you can be so blasé about
it?”

He
shrugs.  “Maybe because it was her choice?”

“Her...her
choice?”  My voice shakes as I stare at him with open
incredulity.  “How is that a choice?  She shoved a
gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger.  That’s not a
choice.  That’s the epitome of cowardice.”

He
shakes his head.  “You didn’t see, did you?”

“See
what?”  I look toward the window.

“The
baby.”

My
breath catches as I rush forward and peer in again.  This time,
cradled in the woman’s lap, I spy the child.  Its face is
pale, its eyes open and unseeing.  Its mouth opens and closes,
its arms pawing at the air.

I
sink back and feel Cable standing behind me, offering me help to
remain upright.  “She knew…”

His
grip tightens on my arms.  “Imagine what that must be
like, to know that your child is going to become the thing that has
everyone terrified and there is nothing you can do to stop it.  Could
you live with that?  With knowing that you couldn’t save
your own child?”

A
penetrating cold sinks into my soul at the thought.  “It’s
always the people you love most that hurt you deepest.”

Cable
slowly turns me around.  “It doesn’t have to be that
way.”

“But
it is. It always has been.  Why should things change?
 Especially now?”  Warm tears seep from the corners
of my eyes, trailing down my cheeks.  I didn’t mean to
cry, don’t want to, but staring up into Cable’s knowing
gaze I feel exposed.

“You
shouldn’t be here, Cable.”

“Why
not?” He asks.  His grip loosens against my arms as his
hands trail down to take my hands in his.  I hate that I crave
his touch, that I find myself needing it.

“Because
I don’t need you.”

His
smile nearly breaks me completely as he steps closer.  “I
thought you would have figured it out by now.”

“Figured
what out?”

He
leans in so close that I’m sure he means to kiss me, but he
pulls up just shy of my lips.  He stares intently into my eyes
before his face shifts away, his breath trails along my cheek as he
pauses beside my ear.  “I’m more stubborn than you.
 I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for you to
realize that you may not need me, but you
do
want
me.”

Sparks
flicker.  The hum of electricity is lost over the roar of an
engine.

“Yes!”
I cheer.

Cable
emerges from the driver’s side of a beat up quad cab pickup
that may have at one time been considered a sports model, judging by
the attempt at a spoiler on the rear tailgate.  He leans over
the wheel and taps the fuel gage.  “It won’t get us
far, but it’s something.”

I
rest my head back on the bench seat beside him and grin.  “A
day without walking is bliss.  I’ll take it!”

Cable
grins at me and closes the door.  He twists his torso gingerly
and puts the seatbelt on.  He starts to put the truck in gear
when he senses me looking at him.  “What?”

“Nothing.”
 I smirk.  “It’s just that I didn’t take
you for the seat belt wearing kind of guy.”

A
broad smile crosses his lips.  “Well, when you’ve
got precious cargo on board you tend to take every precaution.”

I
look away, knowing that he can see the flames licking at my cheeks.
 My fair skin does little to hide it.  

“We
won’t all fit in the cab,” he says, as if nothing were
amiss with his previous statement.  “I’ll take the
back with Sal for a while.  We can trade off later.”

“Why
you?  You’re still trying to heal. I can sit back there
just as easily.”

He
glances at me from the corner of his eye but says nothing. He doesn’t
have to. I already know what he’s thinking.

“We’ve
got some supplies.  A couple blankets and enough water to last
us for a while.  If we load the food and water near the back, I
can huddle against the cab to block most of the wind.”

“Are
you always this logical?” He asks as the truck jerks into gear
and begins rolling forward.  We are on the far end of town.  By
now Alex, Victoria and Sal should have cleaned out the houses nearest
the train car. After finding that baby, I couldn’t bring myself
to search the houses so I stuck to the shops.

The
pharmacy offered some supplies.  Antibiotics.  Pain meds.
Fresh bandages to wrap Cable’s bruised ribs, though they seem
to be improving greatly with each day that passes.  My nasty
bandages were used as kindling two nights ago when the cold become
too much to bear.  In the final store I found ointment to heal
the blisters on Alex’s face.

“Only
when I want to get my own way.”

He
laughs and reaches out to turn on the radio.  I don’t know
if he does it out of habit or if he’s searching for something,
but when only static bounces back at us, he turns the knob and falls
silent.

I
stare out the window at the faceless homes, at the drawn curtains and
doors left open and forgotten.  Christmas lights nailed to
rooftops flap in the wind, nearly three months overdue. The cheer of
the holiday season gone forever.  

We
weave around abandoned cars and Withered Ones wandering the streets.
I watch them as I pass, realizing that in the past week I have nearly
grown immune to their presence.  The scent of decay isn’t
quite so strong anymore.  The sight of torn limbs and maggots
feasting on rotting flesh doesn't turn my stomach now.  I never
dreamed that I would become immune to it all, but I guess it becomes
a matter of perspective.