Joshua laughed. “I’d have ignored all warnings and gone on my own rescue mission.”
“Exactly.”
The entrance loomed a few steps in front of us. I pulled my gun, and Joshua and I slowed. The ragged remains of the broken glass front glittered in the sunlight like fangs. We stepped inside.
Most of the shop was dark. I couldn’t make out more than dim, shadowy outlines. Joshua turned on his flashlight as we walked further in. Everything looked eerily neat and tidy, with only a few items littering the floor. Apparently there hadn’t been enough survivors in this area to raid the store.
“Where should we head first?” I whispered.
“Pharmacy. I think it’s over there.” He pointed the beam of the flashlight toward a sign a little way down that said “Prescriptions”. I stayed close to Joshua. Except for the glow from the flashlight everything was black. Joshua shone the beam on the row of small packages and pill bottles. I didn’t recognize most of the drugs.
“What will help Rachel?” I asked, anxiously.
“I’m not sure,” Joshua said.
My fingers froze on a pack of Tamiflu. I grabbed all the remaining packs and stuffed them into Joshua’s backpack. I picked up bottles of pills I’d never heard of and thrust them at Joshua, desperately. Without a word he stuffed them in our bag, before taking my hands in his. In the dim light, his face looked grim and hopeless. “That’s enough, Sherry.”
I nodded, suddenly aware that my hands were shaking.
“Come on, we need to look for cameras and food,” said Joshua, putting his arm around me for a moment.
We were silent as we crept through dark rows of cleaning supplies and toilet paper. A promotional display was stacked with chocolate bars as high as my shoulder. Maybe they were better than the one in the gas station store. At least, these had been in the shade all the time. I unwrapped one. The chocolate had lost its shape in the heat and tasted stale and bitter. Not really tasty, but definitely better than nothing, in case we didn’t find anything else on our journey to the fence. Joshua grabbed one for himself and I stuffed a few more into my backback before we continued our search. The noise of our teeth working on the chewy mass accompanied us through the gloomy, silent halls.
Soon we reached the electronics department. I felt my pulse race with excitement as I saw the shelves, stocked with cell phones, home security equipment and camcorders. Everything was still locked behind glass. Using the handle of my gun I shattered it and picked up the nearest camcorder. I tested it, but it didn’t work.
“Check the batteries,” Joshua whispered.
“I know.” I opened the latch at the back. “They’ve leaked.”
“Here, try these,” he said, handing me a fresh pack from a nearby stand.
After I’d fumbled the new batteries into the camcorder, I pressed the “on” button again. A red light flashed.
“It works!”
I swung out the display screen and it showed the blurry shape of Joshua. “It’s too dark to film.”
“Maybe there’s a night vision mode,” Joshua said. He took another camera out of the glass case and tested it.
I pressed several buttons and the picture on the screen lost its blurriness. I swiveled the camera around, my eyes focused on the display. The words “recording” flashed in its right upper corner. I turned around and filmed the dark aisle until Joshua came back into focus. He grinned as he pointed his own camera at me and filmed me in return. But there was something in the shelf behind his left shoulder. The white of someone’s eyes. It blinked and shifted. A Weeper.
My hands began to shake. “Joshua,” I whispered.
He lowered the camera. His smile disappeared.
“There’s a Weeper behind you. It’s very close.”
One clawed hand curled around the edge of the shelf. Joshua reached for his gun but it would take too long for him to turn.
I edged my fingers toward my halter. The Weeper tensed. I ripped my gun out and at the same time the Weeper propelled itself out of the shelf. Cell phones crashed to the floor. I shot but the beast collided with Joshua’s side. A sickening crunch sounded at the impact of their bodies on the ground. I screamed and stumbled forward. I gripped the unmoving Weeper by the gruff of its stained shirt and pulled it off. The bullet hole oozed blood between its brows.
I knelt beside Joshua who blinked at me, dazed.
“Are you okay?” I said, as I helped him sit up.
He rested his forehead against mine. “Thanks.” I leant against him, feeling the beat of his heart against my chest.
“Come on, we should get going. They’ll be more where that came from,” whispered Joshua, his breath warm against my cheek. He kissed me softly, before struggling to his feet, gripping a shelf for balance. His camcorder lay shattered on the ground.
I was still clutching mine in the hand that wasn’t holding the gun. Quickly, Joshua snatched two more cameras from the glass case, stuffed them into the bag and slung it over his shoulder.
“Don’t forget your gun,” I said.
A wry smile played across his lips. “Those are my words,” he said as he picked his weapon up from the ground.
“You were a good teacher,” I said teasingly. “Give me the flashlight. I’ll lead the way.”
He handed it to me without protest and with another look at the dead Weeper, we made our way quickly toward the entrance.
I pointed my gun ahead and directed the beam of the flashlight at the ground as I listened for noises. As we neared the door, light streamed through the broken glass front. Something rushed past it. “Weepers!” I hissed.
Staying low, Joshua and I hurried outside. Two creatures, their hair a matted mass atop their heads, staggered away from the mall and toward —
“The gas station!” Joshua hissed.
Together we ran. I brought up my gun, aimed it at the back of one of the Weepers and pulled the trigger. The creature jerked but didn’t slow. Gunshots rang out beside me as Joshua shot too. The first Weeper went down. Up ahead I could see Tyler, his eyes wide, hands fumbling for his gun, as the second Weeper barrelled toward him. I couldn’t see Bobby or Rachel.
I raised my gun and aimed at the Weeper. A second later, it fell to the ground, dust clouds floating up.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Joshua shouted, running toward the car.
Tyler was staring at the dead Weepers. He looked like he was going to be sick. “We have to go now,” I panted. “Where are Bobby and Rachel?”
Tyler glanced between Joshua and me, his face flooded with guilt.
“What’s wrong?” I said. “What’s happened?”
“Rachel’s resting in the shade,” Tyler said, his voice hoarse. He took a deep breath. “Bobby’s gone. He … he stole our car and drove off.”
“What?” Joshua said. “How’s that possible?”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. I was trying to fix the car and when I heard the Lincoln, it was too late. Your brother was already gone.”
I couldn’t believe it. Panic clutched at my insides. “He’s trying to get to the fence.”
My knees wobbled as I leaned against a gas pump. He’d get himself killed, all because of his stubbornness. Even though he’d said he’d felt useless and guilty for letting me risk my life alone, I never would have thought that he’d go this far. Oh, Bobby.
“Are you sure he’s on his way to the fence? Could he have decided to drive himself back to Santa Barbara?” Joshua said.
I shook my head. I knew Bobby. He loved Dad; he would do anything to save him. Why couldn’t he understand that I just wanted to protect him, too?
Joshua wrapped his arms around me. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him before he reaches the fence. Do you think I’d let him get away without a thorough ass-kicking?”
But I couldn’t smile. “We have to find him.”
Joshua squeezed my hand. “We will.” He turned to Tyler. “Is this car good to go? We need to leave now. There are Weepers inside, and
I don’t know how long it’ll be before more of them come out to play.”
“Yes, I’d just got it started,” Tyler replied.
I hurried over to Rachel, who was resting in the shade of an abandoned car. Joshua and I helped her up, and she leaned her head against his chest as he led her toward the Mustang and guided her into the backseat.
“Here, try these,” I said, handing her the pack of tamiflu and a bottle of water. Despite my resolution to stay calm, my hands were shaking. Rachel swallowed the pills greedily and Tyler sat down beside her.
Joshua and I sat in the front. “Bobby is clever,” he said, turning to me. “He’ll realize that he’s got to be careful.”
Then Joshua pressed down on the accelerator and we shot forward. My hands trembled as I slumped against the seat. If Bobby got killed, it would be my fault. I should have kept watch over him … Mom would never forgive me. First Dad, now Bobby. I couldn’t contemplate being too late to save him.
Dust storms whirled in intricate patterns. Beautiful to watch. Much better than broken-down cars, run-down houses or animal carcasses. An image of Bobby as nothing but a carcass crept into my head. I pressed my lips together, swallowing a sob.
A group of coyotes lay in the shade of a broken truck. They jumped up when they saw the car approaching and scattered.
“Only a few more miles,” Tyler warned.
I sat up and stared out of the window, until I saw what we’d been looking for.
A high wall towered over its surroundings. I had only half believed it was real until now. But there it was; as far as I could see, stretching to the right and the left. The fence. It was at least seven feet high, topped with barb wire and metal thorns. Below, two rows of razor wire ran along the main fence.
“Don’t get too close. We should stay out of the camera’s range,” Tyler said, his voice shaky.
Joshua slowed the Mustang and parked a good distance from the fence.
“Let’s get out. But be careful.” he said, taking my hand in his.
As we moved closer, the fence was even more imposing, I bet it could be seen from space, like the Great Wall of China. Only this was made from steel and skeletons.
Bodies – so many of them – hung off the wire, their rags swaying in the wind like scarecrows. Smaller animals – jackrabbits maybe – had got entangled in the wires, bodies spiked by the sharp-edged metal plates. The scent of death – sweet and heavy – hung in the air.
Tyler took the camcorder from Joshua, who was now still, staring at the horrors before us. I guessed it was easier for Tyler to stay calm – he’d already seen it before.
Sunlight reflected off the steel, dazzling us. The bodies that hadn’t decayed to skeletons showed horrible burns. A soft buzz came from the fence – it was electric. Cameras were attached to the poles every few feet, keeping watch over their surroundings.
And then I spotted the Lincoln a few hundred feet to our left.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was running, the hot air burning in my lungs. The others were behind me, their steps pounding on the dry earth. The car was littered with gunholes, the tires were flat, the windows broken and smoke rose from under the hood.
Joshua stormed past me and ripped at the driver’s door. It opened with a screech. I stumbled after him but he stepped in my way, blocking the Lincoln from my view. I shook off his grip and looked inside the car.
The grey material of the driver’s seat was drenched with blood. But there wasn’t a body. My vision swam and I stumbled back, my legs giving way. Joshua caught me and pressed me against his chest. I heard Rachel crying and voices picked up but my ears were filled with whooshing. It felt like someone was clawing at my insides, tearing them to shreds.
I shook free of Joshua’s hold and stumbled toward the fence. “I hate you!”
“Sherry, stop it!” Joshua’s voice was harsh and his fingers dug into my upper arms. A buzzing set my teeth on edge. “Spring guns,” he said, nodding toward the bottom of the fence. I followed his gaze. Bones littered the ground, some bleached white by the sun, others still covered with flesh. Thigh bones, skulls, sternums.
I’d thought Weepers were the worst thing in this world. But I realized I was wrong. Humans, the people who were responsible for this, were the real monsters. Worse, because they hadn’t lost their conscience and humanity.
At once, every camera in range zoomed in on us. The air seemed to buzz with static as if they’d upped the current to the fence. It raised the little hairs on my arms.
“They know we’re here,” Tyler said, his eyes wide with fear.
“Come on,” Joshua said. Rachel and Tyler were almost back at the car.
It was then that I saw it. Just before the fence was one of Bobby’s shoes, dented in the front where Bobby’s toe had been pushing against the fake leather because his feet had grown too much. It was soaked in blood.
And I knew in that moment that my brother was dead.
The smell of disinfectant hung in the air. I tightened my hold on Dad’s hand and he smiled down at me and Bobby. Nurses in scrubs and doctors with serious expressions walked past us. We came up to a white door.
“Wait here. I’ll be back in a sec,” Dad said. “Keep an eye on your brother, Sherry.”
I nodded. Bobby pulled a face when Dad disappeared into the room. “I don’t need a babysitter.” But he slipped his hand into mine.
A moment later Dad returned and led us inside where Mom was lying in a narrow bed. She smiled. Bobby and I dashed toward her and she flung her arms around us.
“Careful, your Mom’s still weak.”
But Mom patted our heads with a laugh. “Don’t you want to meet your sister Mia?”
Dad pushed a small cot toward us. Bobby and I gathered around it and stared down at the wrinkled baby inside.
“It’s all red and crinkly,” Bobby said, scrunching up his nose.
“And she’s got no hair,” I added, not able to believe that the little bald thing was my sister.
Bobby reached out and nudged her arm. Her eyes peeled open and she began wailing. Mom and Dad gushed at Mia but Bobby and I exchanged a look.
Chapter 5
“That’s the tunnel?” Joshua knelt in front of an opening that could have been the entrance to a fox’s den. Shrubs surrounded it and hid it from curious eyes. “Do you know who dug it?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe other escapees from the labs?” Tyler said.
Joshua sank down on the hot ground. “It looks like it’ll bury us alive.”
I swallowed.
Tyler crouched beside Joshua. “It’s supposed to look inconspicuous. We’ll just have to remove the earth from the entrance. The tunnel itself should be intact.” I could hear the uncertainty in his tone.
“How long is it?” I asked, looking toward the fence. It was nothing but a blurry wall in the distance. I struggled to push away the image of the gun holes in the Lincoln and Bobby’s bloody shoe that flickered persistently in my head. First dad, now Bobby.
I sucked in a breath and banished those thoughts. We had to save Dad and bring down the bastards who’d killed Bobby. That was all that mattered now.
“About a half mile. The openings of the tunnel are out of camera range,” Tyler said.
A half mile crawling through a narrow tunnel? I shivered.
Joshua and Tyler began removing the dried earth from the entrance and slowly the expanse of the tunnel became clear. It wasn’t as small as it had seemed at first.
“Pass me the flashlight,” Tyler said, his upper body already inside the tunnel.
Rachel rummaged in the backpack. Her fingers jerked and the flashlight dropped to the ground. For a moment she looked at her hand as if she’d never seen it. With a trembling arm, she reached for the flashlight. She tried grabbing it but her fingers refused to close around the handle. She reminded me of Grandpa after his stroke, when his limbs stopped obeying him.
Rachel’s face scrunched up with despair.
I grabbed the
flashlight and handed it to Tyler. He took it but his eyes were on Rachel, who cradled her left hand against her chest.
The silence expanded.
“Maybe Rachel and Tyler should return to Santa Barbara. They can take the Mustang. We don’t need it,” I said.
“But you’ll need it for when you come back,” Tyler said. “You can’t get back to Safe-haven on foot.”
Rachel looked embarrassed. “I’m okay. I think the pills are working.”
Joshua and I exchanged a look. I wished it was true but Rachel looked deathly pale again.
“So it’s decided,” Tyler said curtly like he wanted the topic to be over fast. He shone the beam of the flashlight into the darkness of the tunnel. There was nothing but black and no end in sight.
“Isn’t there another way to get over the fence?” Rachel asked, gnawing on her lower lip.
“No, it’s the safest way.” Tyler stood and touched her shoulder. A look passed between them.
I dropped my eyes and watched my fingers as they traced patterns in the dust-dry earth. Joshua handed me a bottle with the same concerned look he’d worn since we found the Lincoln. I gulped down some water. It cooled my burning throat.
We can still go back to Santa Barbara. Everyone would understand,” Joshua said, his hand on my arm.
“No.” I looked at him, my gaze fixed and determined. He knew that I’d never give up – not as long as there was a chance we could save Dad. And we had to put a stop to all the killing and violence. I knew I could not rest until we had brought down the people responsible for the virus; for the fence. I made up my mind right then that Bobby’s death would not be in vain.
Joshua got to his feet and hesitated. “Okay, so I guess we don’t have a choice. Let’s get started.”
We fetched the remaining water bottles from the Mustang, one for each of us and fastened them to our waistbands. We’d decided against letting one of us carry them in a backpack – in case that person got buried under a ton of earth. If I was going to get through this, then I had to ignore the fact that I was terrified. I didn’t like narrow spaces; I’d always preferred taking the stairs instead of an elevator. If we got stuck in the tunnel and it caved in, we’d suffocate. I could almost feel the dry earth clogging my throat, making me gag and depriving my lungs of oxygen …