Thicker than Blood (19 page)

It was a beautiful thing to see, two people
released of their burdens, if only temporarily. And for a moment,
seeing them released me of mine.

Leaning back against the wall, letting my
blade fall away, I continued watching them sleep, imagining a life
for them. A softer life, with chocolate Christmas cakes and
backyard barbeques.

Time passed slowly, the soft, soothing
sound of their heavy breathing comforting me to the point that I
began to drift off again. Still thinking of better days, I closed
my eyes, envisioning the four of us—Leisel and Alex, me and Jami—at
the beach, laying out in the sun, cold beers in our hands. There’s
a live band playing off in the distance, the sound of music
floating on the summer breeze. Maybe there are even children
playing beside us. Their tiny voices, and innocent, tinkling
laughter. I’d always wanted children. Shawn and I had planned to
have at least two.

But then I saw Shawn as I’d last seen him,
infected and dying, begging me to kill him before he ended up
hurting me.

Gritting my teeth, I quickly shook away the
image of Shawn’s face, replacing it with Jami’s. Picturing our
children with my strawberry-blonde coloring and his impish
smile.

He’d kissed me good-bye.

A sob lodged in my throat, choking me out of
my daydream and back into reality, into this harsh, ugly reality
where Leisel, Alex, and I were inside a boarded-up ramshackle cabin
where only a day ago a little girl had died.

Rubbing my eyes, I moved to sit up straighter
when a growling sort of groan sounded from just outside the cabin.
Immediately I jumped out of bed, once again clutching my blade.

The sound of my feet hitting the floor woke
Alex, his eyes instantly alert and his body rigid. Leisel’s eyes
were now open as well, wide and unblinking, and focused on the
door.

Another growl sounded, this time followed
by a
thump-thump
on
the wall, causing the door and windows to rattle.

“Think we’ve been spotted?” I whispered
dryly, already moving toward the boarded-up window.

“It’s the blood,” Alex whispered back. He and
Leisel had gotten to their feet and were quietly creeping toward
me.

I cursed quietly, silently berating myself
for not remembering the trail of blood that little girl had left in
her wake. It was probably all through the forest, leading the
infected straight to us. I should have covered it, attempted to
mask it somehow.

“Shit,” I muttered, peeking through the
boards. “This is bad.”

I counted six infected, and that was only
what I could readily see through the small gaps between the boards.
There could be many more, and probably were. Worse, they clearly
knew we were inside, and once they had their sights set on
something or someone, nothing could divert their attention.

As Alex joined me at the window, I moved
aside, allowing him room to bend down and take a look for himself.
He said nothing as he stared through the small space, though his
hands curled into fists, his knuckles turning white.

R
unning his hands through his hair, worry etched on his
features, Alex moved away from the window and back to Leisel’s
side, his body language fiercely protective. “We’re going to have
to run for it.”

“Run for it?” Leisel exclaimed softly,
stepping around Alex. “But how many are there?”

Rising up on her tiptoes, she peered through
one of the cracks, her breath hitching. Backing slowly away, her
shoulders trembling, she looked from me to Alex. “Are you kidding
me?” she said shrilly, her eyes as round as saucers. “We can’t make
it through that many. They’ll charge the door the second we open
it!”

At the sound of her voice, another
thump-thump
sounded on the wall of the
cabin, followed by another and another.

“Leisel!” Alex growled, glaring at her. “Keep
your voice down.”

Pulling my hands through my hair, I began to
pace the room. They became noisier, more agitated, and the louder
they became, the more attention they were going to attract. Soon
we’d be blocked in by any and all nearby infected, and who knew how
many that was. Fifty? A hundred?

“Shit, what are we going to do?” I whispered
frantically.

“I told you,” Alex said. “We’re going to run
for it.”

Heading past me, Alex looked at the ceiling,
probably for any sign of an alternative escape route. Shaking his
head and muttering to himself, he moved toward the back wall, where
he gently rapped his knuckles against the slatted wood. The
answering sound was a hollow one, especially against the backdrop
of all the noise the infected were making.

“Alex?” Leisel whispered. “What are you
doing?”

“We make as much noise as we can on this
wall,” he said, pointing. “We attract as many of them as possible
to the back of the cabin, and then we make a run for it through the
door.” Turning, he looked at us both, his expression determined.
“It’s the only way out of here.”

Leisel looked terrified, and though I refused
to show it, I felt much the same. It was a shitty plan, yet it was
the only plan we had.

“
Let’s do it,” I said, then lifted the
makeshift bag of items we’d packed the night before and strapped it
tightly to my back. Gripping my blade in one hand, I handed Leisel
the hammer we’d found.

“Leisel,” Alex said. “Be ready to open the
door when I say to.”

Holding the hammer like one would a baseball
bat, she swallowed hard and nodded. Creeping slowly toward the
door, she placed one hand on the lock, ready to flip it open when
Alex told her to do so.

Jerking his chin toward the wall, Alex began
to bang on the wood, signaling for me to do the same. As his large
fists repeatedly bashed against the wall, I both slapped and kicked
at it, making as much noise as I could.

“It’s working,” Leisel whispered loudly.
“They’re moving, not all of them, but some are moving away.”

We doubled our efforts, banging against the
wall even harder and more enthusiastically than before, until
eventually a thin sheen of sweat lined my forehead. I found myself
envious of Alex’s strength; he wasn’t even remotely winded by the
physical exertion, whereas I was quickly tiring. More determined
than ever, I gritted my teeth and pounded harder. I would survive
this world; Leisel and I would both survive this world.

Soon, we weren’t the only ones pounding on
the back wall. The infected were on the other side, their fists
pounding in answer to ours, the growls and groans even louder than
before.

Looking over his shoulder, Alex glanced at
Leisel. “How’s it look?”

“There’s three that I can see,” she whispered
back.

Still banging on the wall, he glanced back to
me. “On three, we run.” He waited for us both to nod in agreement
before beginning to count, “One, two…three. Open the door!”

We grabbed our weapons, Alex pausing to pick
up a nearby chair as Leisel popped the lock open on the door.

The door swung open, revealing three
infected. They were older ones, their skin sunken in and blackened
from exposure, their limbs little more than skin covering bone.
They were missing their eyes, the reason they hadn’t followed the
others, yet their ears seemed just fine as they growled ferociously
in our direction, already bumbling toward the noise we’d made by
simply opening the door.

Using the chair, Alex shoved them backward
and onto their backs, and then he grabbed Leisel’s hand and yanked
her out of the cabin. We ran blindly through the clearing, not
bothering to see if the other infected had spotted us.

The trees were a blur as we ran, our
footsteps loud and clumsy in the underbrush. Branches snagged my
hair as I sped by but I never slowed, not even when my lungs burned
and my muscles ached. Not even when sweat was slipping down my face
and burning my eyes.

Outside the clearing, the trees were denser,
making it difficult to see where we were or where we were going.
Yet we didn’t stop, not until we came to a steep bank that dropped
to a wide river, another bank just as steep on the opposite
side.

Dizzy, I dropped to my knees and bent
forward, my hands digging in the dirt as I tried to catch my
breath. Leisel slumped to the ground beside me, her pale skin
reddened from exertion, her dark hair slick with sweat. Together,
we sucked in air at a rapid pace.

“We…need…” Alex gasped, taking a moment to
steady his breathing. “We need to…get across this.”

Wiping her sleeve across her forehead, Leisel
glanced up at him. “Why can’t we go around?” she asked, still
breathless.

“You don’t normally go around rivers,” he
told her. “They could go on for miles.”

“So, over?” she asked. “Or through it?”

“Too dangerous to go through it,” Alex said,
frowning as he surveyed the water below us. “If the current is
strong enough, we’ll be pulled away.” Looking frustrated, he shook
his head. “There are too many variables to consider.”

Getting to my feet, my entire body
protesting any sort of movement, I placed my hands on my hips and
sighed noisily. “Then we go around,” I said pointedly, annoyed at
our indecision. “There’s no point in just standing here talking
about it.”

About to offer my hand to Leisel, I found
that Alex was already doing so. Taking her hand in his, he pulled
her easily to her feet. For a moment the two of them just stood
there, him looking down at her, her looking up at him, leaving me
feeling incredibly awkward.

Clearing my throat, I turned away, purposely
letting my steps fall heavier than usual. Soon, I heard the two of
them walking behind me and I slowed, allowing them to catch up.

As we walked on in silence, constantly on
guard, I couldn’t help but think how fortunate it was that we’d
woken up as early as we had. We were going to need as much daylight
as possible in order to find a safe place to spend the night.

Leisel

“What do you miss the most, Eve?” I asked, slowing
my pace until we walked side by side. We hadn’t seen an infected
for hours, something that wasn’t surprising considering how deep in
the woods we were. The trees were unbelievably thick here, proving
to be formidable obstacles in some places, and the ground wholly
uneven, all of it making for a tiresome journey. Still, it was
beautiful to look at. The normally green leaves, having begun to
succumb to the changing seasons, were turning vibrant shades of
amber, crimson, and violet. It had been so long since I’d had the
peace of mind to simply enjoy nature in its true glory.

Peace of mind aside, by mid-afternoon, the
sun high in the sky, I was growing weary and in desperate need of a
distraction, something to keep my mind from dwelling on my mounting
aches and pains.

“
That’s a silly question,” Evelyn said,
wrinkling her nose at me. “You know what I miss the most.
Who
I miss the most.”

“No.” I hurried to fix my mistake. “I didn’t
mean it like that. I meant what stupid and insignificant things do
you miss? Not from Fredericksville, but from…before?”

I was taking a risk by bringing up the
past yet again; Evelyn never talked about it. But after our
heart-to-heart she seemed more open to it, finally willing to
remember what life had been like before the virus had taken a
foothold in our lives. At least, until the incident back at the
cabin.

“Oh.” She pursed her lips. “Hmm, you mean
other than Starbucks and cold beer and bikinis?” She smirked at me.
“I miss ice.” Sighing happily, she said, “I miss ice and ice cream
and popsicles and frozen margaritas. I miss anything that isn’t
room temperature.” She shrugged her shoulders and sighed again.
“What do you miss the most, Lei?”

“Hot showers that don’t require boiling
water,” I offered. “And shaving. God, I really miss shaving. Oh,
and Butterfingers, water that doesn’t taste tinny… Oh! And I really
miss my slipper boots, you remember the ones, right? Pink
with—”

“How could I forget them?” Evelyn
interrupted, making a face. “They looked like giant fuzzy pink
marshmallows.”

“They were really comfortable.”

“No, Lei, they were really ugly.”

I stuck my tongue out at her before sparing a
quick glance down at my baggy outfit. Letting out a little huff, I
said, “I miss my clothes too.”

“You have never cared about your clothes!”
Evelyn protested. “I had to practically drag you to the mall with
me.”

“
I didn’t care
much
about my clothes,” I said, correcting her. “But
the difference is they were my clothes, and I happened to like them
very much.” I gestured down at my ridiculous ensemble. “This,” I
said pointedly, “I dislike very much.”

Evelyn slowed her pace, leveling me with a
look of disbelief. “Are you the one wearing a skintight pink
nightie, Lei? With hearts and stars on it?”

Ahead of us, Alex barked out a
harsh-sounding laugh, startling me. Evelyn and I looked at each
other, our eyes wide with surprise. Had Alex
just…
laughed
?

Readjusting her makeshift sack, Evelyn
brought a hand to her face, cupping her mouth. “I think that’s the
first time Alex has ever laughed,” she whispered.
“
Ever
.”

“I agree,” I whispered back. “It did sound a
little rusty.”

“I can hear you,” Alex muttered, not
bothering to spare us a glance. “And I think you both sound like
spoiled little girls. Your clothes are clean and dry—it shouldn’t
matter what the hell they look like.”

Evelyn turned to me, her eyes wide with
amusement.
You both sound like spoiled little girls
, she mouthed mockingly.