Page 49 of Resurrection
There’s been no sign of anyone tailing us, thank God, and only a few straggling zombies milling about. Between the four of us, they were easy enough to take care of.
Another hour goes by, and with it, the sun. My steps slow as the world becomes shadowed. More dangerous. More unpredictable.
Walking around in the dark isn’t ideal at the best of times, so it certainly isn’t the smartest to do so at the worst. Unfortunately, that’s exactly where I’m at. The long trek has also left me drained, covered in sweat, depleted of energy...and apparently...hallucinating.
“The trees are moving…,” I mutter, stopping on the side of the road while peering up into the dense canopy of large pines.
“What?” Hawk stops next to me, as does Cole and Jax.
“The trees are moving,” I whisper, jutting my chin to the forest and beyond.
“The trees?” Jax asks.
I nod and point to one just off the side of the highway. “Look.”
It’s twilight, so I’m just able to make them out still as I focus my gaze about halfway up the tall, lanky trunk where I saw leaves moving... only... there’s no wind. Nothing else was moving, but those leaveswere. Almost like it was waving at me to notice.
Of course, it could have been squirrels or a bird or some other woodland creature, but it’s too quiet.Silent. If it were an animal, surely there would be some sort of noise giving away its location. The only other timeit’s been this quiet was just before the horde made its appearance back on the bridge.
Straining my ears, I try to catch any sort of life, but there’s nothing. Simply nothing. No birds. No squirrels. Not even a cricket. Silence.
I peer through the waning light, urging the leaves to move once more but they refuse to heed my call, staying as still as everything else out here. The guys look to the direction I’ve indicated, no doubt using their military mojo to mentally fly through the trees in search of danger. After a few minutes, they look to each other & shake their heads, returning my gaze with skepticism in theirs.
“I’m not crazy. Like, I mean Iamcrazy. I talk to myself and shit but I’m notthatcrazy. I’ve seen stuff before that wasn’t actually there at the time but that’s not the case right now,” I plead to their questionable stares. “Isawsomething. I amnotcrazy. I’m not.”
“We know you’re not, sweetheart,” Hawk steps closer and kisses the top of my head before doing another visual sweep. His eyes, focused and lethal as they survey the wooded area around us.
“Itisgetting late, though. And we’ve all been walking for hours and are definitely on high alert after walking through that town. The shadows are starting to play tricks on all of us,” Cole supplies as he takes my hand in his, rubbing the top of it softly as Jax comes over with Sadie.
“Let’s just find a place to crash for the night. We’re all in need of some decent shut-eye. Quality. Quantity. At this point, it doesn’t matter. We just need something substantial. We’re all practically dead on our feet.” Jax pulls me out of Hawk’s embrace and places me at the head of our little pack, right in between him and Sadie. “Lead the way, baby doll. Show me you can push yourself to the finish once again.”
Don’t have to tell me twice, boss man!
I force myself into a more upright position, squaring my shoulders and readjusting my pack—and let’s be real here...my pants as well—as I mentally try to muster up whatever gumption I have left in order for us to find a place to stay for the night. That is, before we all fall into a ditch and call it an extremely rustic bed and breakfast.
Mile after mile, we push ourselves past the point of comfort. Backs aching. Legs trembling with exhaustion. Even with Hawk’s quiet singing offering a cadence to our journey, my mind crumbles into nothingness—a barren wasteland apart from reaching a safe point. Occasionally, movements from either side of me catch my attention. I feel Sadie panting next to me, her nose nuzzling my hand with reassurance. A moment later, Jax steps closer to mutter,“Atta girl,” next to my ear. From the corner of my eye, I see Hawk as he subtly lifts the hook at the top of my pack to relieve my aching bones for a second or two. Then, there’s Cole, offering a canteen of water, his eyebrow lifting dramatically to remind me to listen. I drink greedily, soothing my throatand reawakening my body even for just a few more moments. A soft “Good girl”barely reaches my ears, but causes my pulse to thrum wildly at the praise. Our march has become forced, slow and diminishing in progress as the night progresses, while the occasional grumble of dead things lingers out from the tree line.
“Up ahead. Let’s set up camp there tonight.” Jax calls out, pointing to a dilapidated wooden barn off in the distance made to fit hay and maybe a tractor. I can just barely make out its shape in the moonlight but, thankfully, it doesn’t look too far away.
The sudden news lifts our spirits enough to pick up our pace and head straight for it. As we get closer, we see just how rundown the barn is, with bits of siding missing and a roof that I can guarantee won’t keep out the rain. It’s definitely not home, but it’s better than a ditch or a freakyAmerican Horror Storytown, so it’ll do for the night.
“Get ready,” Jax says to Cole, who, with a single nod, lifts his weapon and aims it at the barn’s entrance.
The door’s hinges squeak and screech in protest as the guys push and pull on them, the weight of the wood evident by the strain on Hawk’s and Jax’s faces. After a few heavy shoulder rams and well-placed kicks, they finally pry them open, allowing Cole to shine his flashlight into the darkened space. As predicted, it’s filled to the rafters with bundles and bundles of hay, pitch forks, and other various farm equipment. A few rodents scurry away as we enter the building, causing me to jump right into Jax’s arms as one races across my feet.
“Oomph,” he grunts, catching me easily in a bridal sweep but never taking his eyes off the barn’s interior. His hold on me adjusts, lifting me higher before he finally tears his eyes away from whatever else may lurk inside. “All good?”
“Yeah... stupid mouse.” Jax chuckles quietly under his breath as I wiggle out of his arms and back onto my own two panicky feet, resituating myself and lifting my rifle once again.
If a few tiny mice are going to have me go all scaredy cat, I’m not going to last at all. This is fucking embarrassing.
“At least it’s not fucking clowns.”
In the darkness, Hawk and Cole stalk further into the building with Hawk taking point. Slowly. Quietly. They each hold a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other, the long-ranged weapons they originally were armed with now strapped across their backs. Bright beams, shining from a mounted flashlight affixed to each of their pack’s shoulder straps, illuminate the area. Suddenly, Hawk lifts a fisted hand, a silent call for all of us to freeze where we are. Bending down, he lifts something from the ground and tosses it into a corner. The sudden noise and movement stir the area to life, the distinct groans of the infected echoing around us. Out of the shadows, three zombies emerge, slowly at first but then in an all-out sprint as they spot Hawk and Cole. Vicious snarls and snapping jaws race towards them, but are quickly vanquished as Hawk lifts his knife, stabbing the first through the underside of its jaw, before turningand swinging his arm wide, decapitating the next in a move I’ve only seen in anime films. At the same time, Cole rushes the other, his seven-inch Kabar piercing its skull right through the top, halting the zombie in its steps.
Nodding to each other, and then back at Jax and me, Hawk and Cole continue their search, meticulously sweeping through every nook and cranny in an attempt to flush out any other threats.
“All clear,” Hawk calls out a few moments later, returning to the dispatched zombies with Cole. Together, they maneuver the decaying corpses out of the barn and spread hay over the floor to cover any bodily fluids that may have gotten left behind in the fight. Once done, they reach for their sanitary wipes, ridding themselves of the blood that managed to splatter on them as well. Hawk’s in the middle of wiping down an arm when he juts his chin to the far side of the building. “Let’s set up right over here. There are high walls of hay for warmth and it protects us on three sides just in case something tries to get in.” Without another word, he goes over to where he indicated, setting his bags down with a thud as his body slumps to the ground after it. Cole follows, mirroring Hawk’s exhaustion as he, more gracefully, places his bag down before settling in next to him with a groan.
