Rotten Page 7

  “Looks like this may work,” Ellis called back to us.

  “Where are we?” I asked as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stretched.

  “Sign says it’s a rental hall. It’s not on the map.”

  Mike and Hazel both woke up, looking even more tired than they had before their nap.

  “Where are we?” asked Mike.

  “Maybe a mile past the hatchery. It was right alongside the highway and crawling with infected, so I didn’t stop.”

  “Damn,” said Mike.

  “Look on the right, just past the sign. You can see the rental hall but it’s not that obvious unless you know where to look,” said Ellis.

  “Should we drive down or walk?” I asked.

  “Drive down,” answered Hazel. “But we should park and maybe just observe for a while.”

  “Everyone agree?” asked Ellis.

  “Yeah, but if anything feels off we head straight back for the road,” added Mike.

  “Sure,” was all I said. I didn’t feel like my opinion was very important since I was really just a guest of theirs.

  “Okay. Here goes nothing,” said Ellis as he put the RV back into drive and crept toward the turn off.

  The roadway was narrow, allowing for only one vehicle at a time. It was also overgrown with weeds and shrubs that were fighting for more room to grow. Leaves were just starting to change color for the season.

  “Looks like the road hasn’t been used in a while,” I said.

  “My thought too,” said Ellis.

  We continued down the narrow roadway, shallow potholes causing the motorhome to sway harshly. Thankfully the street opened up after about fifty feet, revealing a paved parking lot that was in much better shape than the road. It was wide and continued around a modest-sized two-story white building. Elis drove the RV around back, where parking slots dotted a small lot. The white paint was faded and a mixture of leaves, pine needles, and trash collected around the curbs. A lone car parked in front of the back door stood out, as it was clean and seemingly untouched by nature.

  “That car hasn’t been here long. I think someone’s here,” I said.

  “I think you’re right,” agreed Mike.

  Ellis parked on the far side of the lone car and shut off the engine. For several minutes, we all sat quietly and watched the building for signs of occupancy. The windows were old with peeling paint on their sills and dirty panes.

  “Anyone see anything?” asked Hazel.

  “There,” I said quietly. “On the far left. I saw something move. Just inside the far-left window.”

  “You sure?” queried Ellis.

  “I think so.”

  “Yeah. I saw it too, just now,” added Mike.

  “Should we go in?” asked Hazel.

  “Maybe just two of us, just to assess any dangers. And, assuming whoever inside is alive we don’t want to panic them,” answered Ellis.

  “What if they’re infected?” I asked.

  “We’ll know soon enough. I’ll volunteer to go in,” said Mike. “Ellis, Hazel, which one of you wants to come with me?”

  “I’ll go,” said Hazel as she pulled her pistol from her waistband.

  “I don’t like it,” said Ellis.

  “I don’t think any of us do, but we need to get inside, and figure shit out,” said Hazel. She sounded tired. “And don’t even say I’m not up to it. I’m a better shot than you.”

  “I know that, Sis. Dad taught you well. Just be careful in there. Both of you.”

  Ellis and I watched as Mike and his sister stepped out of the RV and walked toward the building. Neither of us spoke, and I could sense Ellis’ nervousness.

  “You want to go with them, don’t you?” I asked.

  “I just worry about them. I should be there to back them up.”

  “You don’t have to stay here with me,” I said.

  He looked at me with a straight face.

  “I have to make sure you don’t drive off with the RV.”

  A lump formed in my throat, assuming by his intense gaze that he was serious. I felt my face redden. After a moment, he cracked a smile and chuckled. Not finding it amusing, I smacked him on the arm slightly harder than just playfully.

  “Ow! Okay, okay, I’m sorry...” he said as he tried to stop his laughter.

  “Not funny.”

  “Yeah but the look on your face,” he teased.

  I glared at him like I was truly angry, and once he began to look like he was sorry I stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the building. I followed his gaze and watched as Hazel knocked on the only door on that side of the building. Mike stood off to the side, his pistol held in front of him and aimed in the general direction of the door. Hazel looked at him and shrugged.

  “Think we should head out to help them?” I asked quietly. I was quickly developing a sinking feeling in my stomach.

  “I’m thinking about it,” he answered, as quietly as I had spoken.

  As soon as his words escaped his lips, Hazel scuttled back from the still-closed door and crouched down. Mike raised his pistol higher, maintaining his aim at the door. Even from inside the RV, the sound of glass breaking was loud. Ellis and I were both up and standing as Mike spun around and nearly fell to the ground. Shards of glass from the nearest window covered the ground and speckled his hair.

  “Shit,” grumbled Ellis.

  “He’s bleeding,” I hollered.

  I watched in horror through the windshield as Mike’s face began streaming blood. I couldn’t see Hazel from the new vantage point.

  “Stay here,” said Ellis. “The keys are still in the ignition in case we need to haul ass out of here.”

  Before I could answer, he was out the side door. Unwilling to sit idly by, I followed him outside and limped after him. By the time I reached the building, Mike was slumped to his knees on the ground. Blood pooled beneath him and he looked pale. Hazel aimed her gun above Mike’s head, at the broken window. One of the infected wildly reached its arms through the broken panel, snarling and hissing as it did its best to exit the building. Ellis slowed down as he took in the scene, holding a hand up to stop Hazel in her tracks.

  “Don’t shoot it, Haze. We can’t risk the noise attracting attention. It’s not getting out anytime soon.”

  “Mike’s hurt,” she said. Her arms were shaking, and she seemed to be dazed.

  “Mike, what happened?” asked Ellis as he quickly walked to where his friend remained on his knees, his chin now slumped toward his chest with one hand holding the side of his neck. “Mike?” he called his name again.

  The other man didn’t respond, and the pool of blood at his knees grew at an alarming rate Hazel kept her gun aimed on the infected, whose flesh was beginning to strip from its arms as the broken glass dug in with each thrashing motion it made. The stench of death and blood mingled and caused my stomach to lurch in objection. I wasn’t sure if I should keep my eyes on Ellis and Mike, Hazel and her pistol, or the infected that was mutilating itself. The question was answered when Ellis knelt next to his best friend, who fell face forward.

  “Mike!” cried out Hazel, her voice strained.

  Ellis held his friend in his arms. “Mike, oh God...”

  Hazel rushed toward them both and dropped beside them, sitting awkwardly on one hip. Her face was twisted in horror and she began sobbing.

  “What happened?” asked Ellis, his voice shaky and full of confusion.

  Hazel’s mouth moved as if she was trying to answer, but no sound came out.

  “Hazel, God, what happened?” he repeated.

  “The...the...the window. It just broke...he...he...he...” she stammered.

  I limped toward them, skirting the wild creature that still thrashed at the window.

  “His neck,” I said, feeling as if I were interrupting a family moment in which I didn’t belong. No one responded to me. “That glass shard sliced his throat. Oh my God,” I continued.

  Hazel looked up at me, her eyes red and swollen. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her gaze was blank and unrecognizing.

  “He’s gone,” Ellis said in the calmest voice he could muster. He held the man’s lifeless body against him, struggling with the dead weight.

  “No,” said Hazel, who quickly looked away from me and back to her brothers. “He can’t die...wake him up!” she yelled.

  “He’s gone, Hazel” Ellis said, trying not to cry. “He’s gone...”

  The infected at the broken window continued to grunt and snarl. It’s arms nearly scraped bare of flesh, muscle and skin mixed in a mess of deep brown slime that dripped to the concrete walkway below. Hazel reached for Mike, her cries growing louder. I hobbled to the gruesome scene at the window and stood just outside of the creature’s reach. I calmly looked at it as it reached for me. Its eyes were far too human for comfort; brilliant gray with light reflecting off their surface. Skin pale and sagging, its hair hung loosely, framing its face almost comically. Whoever it was, she looked feral. Dressed in a pale-yellow dress, the bodice was covered in what I assumed was vomit. I reached down and pulled up my pant leg, retrieving the knife Mike gave me back at Ellis’ house. Holding it firmly in my right hand, I stared into those grey eyes. While I wanted to keep gazing into them, I forced myself to look away. I stepped forward, doing my best to avoid its gnarled arms. My foot landed in a clump of the mangled skin and muscle, resulting in a sloshing sound that churned my stomach and sent shooting pain up my injured ankle. I ducked to one side as the infected woman nearly made contact with me, raised the hunting knife, and brought it down. My aim was off, striking her in the ear. As my arm followed through with the downward motion, it managed to grab onto my hair. It pulled me toward it, jaws snapping hungrily. I cou
ld feel its cold breath on my cheek as it threatened to sink its teeth into my flesh; the smell was putrid and stung my nose. While I wanted to scream out for help, everything happened too fast. I used my free arm to push back on its face, staying away from its jaws only by chance. I brought the knife back up and shoved the blade upward into what I hoped was its palate and beyond to its brain. I knew I was successful when it released its painful grip on my hair and slumped forward against me.

  I fell backward and scuttled away, finding it difficult to gain traction where sludge splattered the walkway. I gasped for air and began to shake as the reality of what was happening around us hit me. Hazel was still wailing in the background. I kept my eyes focused on the creature that now hung halfway out the window.

  I was barely aware of Ellis wrapping his arms around me from behind. He didn’t say anything but pulled me upward and helped me walk toward Hazel.

  “Hazel, you have to let him go,” said Mike.

  She stayed beside her brother’s dead body, clinging to him. I could barely hear her whispered pleas for him to wake up.

  “Hazel, you have to let him go. There’s more of them out there...” he paused. “Listen.”

  I looked at him in confusion, and he met my eyes. He closed his eyelids for a moment and I listened: Hazel crying and pleading, Ellis breathing, and something in the distance. Crying like a trapped animal. No, it was more than one.

  “Hazel, you have to come with us,” I moaned. My fear ran deep as the sounds in the distance reached to my core.

  “Hang on,” said Ellis.

  Before I could protest, he lifted me off my feet and sprinted toward the RV. Less than halfway there, he stopped as if a brick wall blocked our way when Hazel screamed in pain, a sound that was almost unearthly. Ellis turned with me still in his arms. Trapped beneath her brother, Hazel thrashed as he forced himself upon her, ripping flesh from one of her arms.

  Ellis set me down roughly and ran to Hazel’s side, where he promptly pulled Mike from her. Drawing his right arm back, he dealt Mike a hard blow to the side of his head. The strike was audible, even above Hazel’s continued screaming. Mike, or whatever he now was, staggered backward and immediately righted himself and proceeded to awkwardly propel himself toward Hazel and Mike.

  “Stop! Dude don’t make me do this,” moaned Ellis.

  Mike ignored him and continued to advance. His jaws snapped hungrily, and I was sure I saw flesh dangling from his lips. Hazel lay on the ground, gripping the bleeding wound on her arm. She watched her brother, covered in blood and struggling to walk toward her, with fear in her eyes. I did the only thing I could think of; I drew the gun from my waistband and aimed at Mike’s head. I had no doubt he was dead already, despite his animation. I made sure my aim was clear of Hazel and Ellis and fired. And missed. The bullet hit the side of the building, further shattering the broken window where the infected remained slumped forward and unmoving. Wood splintered, and Ellis jumped back. The distraction gave Mike just enough time to get between Ellis and his sister, where he lunged to the ground and latched onto her arm once again. Hazel shrieked in pain and my heart sank.

  The window for shooting now gone, I ran forward the best I could, ignoring the pain in my ankle. Ellis got there first, wrapping his arms around his brother. He struggled to pull the other man off. I limped into position behind Ellis, careful to not get in the way, and aimed my pistol at Mike’s head. Making sure the angle of my aim wasn’t putting Hazel in harm’s way, or at least praying so, I got as close as I could before pulling the trigger. Mike’s final death was fast. The bullet hit him though the back of his head and he went limp in Ellis’ arms. Hazel continued to cry, but her screams quieted. Blood ran from her arm and she grew pale.

  “She’s in shock,” said Ellis. “Can you get back to the RV on your own?”

  My ears rang from the gunshot, so it took me a few extra seconds to decipher his words. I nodded. He bent over and pulled Hazel to her feet just long enough to lift her into his arms.

  I hobbled to the door of the RV as fast as I could, now more acutely aware of my injury as pain traveled up my shin. I reached the entry just ahead of Ellis and threw the door open. I hoisted myself into the vehicle first, hoping that I’d at least be able to help get Hazel inside. Cries from the surrounding woods filled my ears as the ringing from the gunshot subsided. As Ellis hurriedly stepped up, Hazel still in his arms, I reached to grab the door in order to swing it shut. At the far side of the parking lot, several figures emerged from the tree line that surrounded the parking lot. I knew without hesitation that they were infected by how they moved.

  “Poppy!” shouted Ellis.

  I turned to face him, swinging the door shut as I did so. Hazel was on her side on the small bed across from the doorway.

  “I have to stop the bleeding,” he said quickly. The fear in his eyes frightened me.

  “We have to get out of here,” I nearly yelled. “There’s more of them in the parking lot. Let me apply pressure while you get us the hell out of here!”

  He ran a hand through his hair, pulling at it while he looked back at her. Without saying anything, he jumped into the driver’s seat. Hazel continued to grip her arm with her other hand. She was no longer thrashing, and her cries were muted whimpers.

  I grabbed that musty blanket and applied it to the wound, applying pressure and then looked around for the first aid kit, wishing I had paid closer attention to where Ellis had stashed it. I checked under the table.

  “Where’s the first aid kit?” I called up to him.

  The engine roared to life the same time he answered.

  “Under the sink.”

  I took two steps to the cabinet and found it easily once I opened the cabinet door. I knew the RV was moving by the sway that threw me off balance. I caught myself on the edge of the sink and managed to grab the medical kit at the same time. Hazel cried out briefly from the jostling and my heart ached for her.

  “Hold on back there...son of a bitch!” shouted Ellis as the RV ran into something and swerved.

  I used the momentum of the vehicle to swing myself onto the table-bed next to Hazel. She looked sickly. Her pale skin was clammy, and perspiration coated her face and neck. I opened the first aid kit and dumped the supplies next to her, where I grabbed a roll of gauze and quickly placed it against her wound. The blood continued to flow freely, soaking the still-rolled gauze and the cushion beneath us.

  “Oh God it hurts...” cried Hazel through clenched jaws. “Make it stop...”

  “I know honey. Hang in there, I’m trying.”

  Her teeth began to clatter as I held pressure on the saturated gauze.

  “Cold...”

  “Ellis, I can’t get the bleeding to stop,” I called up to him, hoping he could hear the urgency in my voice.

  “Hold on, we’re almost back to the highway. I’ll stop as soon as I can. Apply pressure!”

  I looked back at Hazel, who continued to bleed profusely. Her breathing was shallow, and she was shivering. “Hang on,” I whispered. “Just hang on...”

  The RV swerved dramatically again before straightening out. For a moment I fear the RV might topple over. The jostling resulted in Hazel’s uninjured arm falling away from her wound. I grabbed the already saturated gauze roll and held it against the injury, applying pressure. Hazel arched her back and the muscles in her arms tightened. Her jaw clenched and the muscles of her face strained. After several seconds of posturing, she relaxed; the flow of blood from the injury on her arm finally slowed. I kept applying pressure, even though deep down I knew what had just happened. Tears began to roll down my face, and I forced myself to breathe evenly. I wanted to call her name but was unable to find my voice. I wasn’t aware the motorhome had come to a stop until Ellis placed his hands on my shoulders. That human touch broke me from my state, and I began sobbing.

  “She’s gone,” Ellis whispered.

  I didn’t respond, other than using my right forearm to wipe tears from my face. My vision was blurred and my left arm, still holding pressure to Hazel’s wound, began to shake. Ellis’ hand slid from my shoulder down my arm, where he stopped at my wrist.

  “Poppy, you can let go.”

  “No,” I said, my voice as shaky as my arm. “She just stopped bleeding. If I let go...” my voice broke off.