“
Look Em, I’m not going to lie to you alright. Things have been pretty bad, and we can’t know for sure what we’ll find in your house. All I know for certain is that you don’t have to go in alone. I can’t speak for everyone else, but I have your back.”
I swear I could have heard a pin drop at that moment. I think all of us are just gazing up at him in aw, especially Emily. I try to squash the tiny ball of jealousy that’s floating in me, now isn’t the time for it.
“
I don’t know what to say, but thank you.” She gives him an uncertain smile, and as he steps back, she jumps down from her seat.
She’s holding a small butcher knife that we got from Austin’s and without waiting for the rest of us, she starts for her house. As Gabe turns to follow her, the rest of us get out, not bothering to leave someone in the truck. It’s almost fully dark now, and it can’t be safe to out here alone. Dan goes inside the door right after Gabe, and I’m right at his heels. The others follow close behind me.
I try to mentally prepare what could be in the darkened house.
The first thing I notice is that no one is screaming and it’s eerily quiet. The second thing is the smell. It’s a good smell though, a freshly clean smell like nothing bad happened here. I only walk far enough into the house to make room for the others. I’ve never been here before, and it’s a little creepy with no lights.
I can’t even make out Dan before me.
A small flickering light forms across the room, and as it gets closer, I see Emily holding a candle. Gabe and Dan are flanking her, and they don’t look worried.
“
There’s no one here, but it looks like my folks and sisters never came home. There are no cars, so maybe they got to somewhere safe already?”
I can see the hesitation on everyone’s faces, but we offer her nods and smiles of encouragement. We all walk away from the door and merge toward the light, like moths to a flame.
“
Hey Em, maybe we should stay here for the night. Would that be alright with you?” Maria asks, as Michael huddles closer to her.
“
We really shouldn’t be out after dark anyway I suppose. There are flashlights and candles under the sink in the kitchen.” She points to the beyond behind her. “The closet in the living room has spare pillows and blankets, if you all want to help yourselves. I’ll be upstairs, really need to change.” With a smile she makes her way up the stairs to her left.
The rest of us split up then, the guys go off to the kitchen for light and I hope food. Me, Claire, and Maria find the linens in the closet and begin to set piles out for everyone. I guess it’s kind of implied that we’ll be sleeping in the living room tonight. Not that I mind, the closer everyone is the better. After the guys join us and share the new found light we begin sorting through the supplies. When we start passing around peanut butter sandwiches, Maria and Claire go in search of a bathroom to clean up in.
I opt out though, I’m pretty much as clean as I’m going to get.
As I sit down on the couch with a yawn, the guys start debating what we should do in the morning. At the other end of the couch are Gabe and he keeps checking his gun to make sure the safety is still on. Across from us, on the loveseat are Dan and a still pretty shaken up Michael. Sam is perched on the recliner between us, and he keeps fidgeting nervously.
“
Should we really try to get to the places the TV alert talked about?” Sam asks.
“
What else can we do? We can’t exactly hold up here forever.” Dan retorts.
“
But that message we saw was on yesterday, before, the power went out. So how are we going to find it?”
“
They couldn’t have gone that far. The whole town isn’t walking down Main Street, so I assume some of them got away. What do you think Gabe?” Dan asks as he turns to him.
“
I don’t really know. Staying or going doesn’t really matter either way; both options can’t turn out that well.” He has his head bowed and finally places the gun on the coffee table and leans back on the couch.
“
How can you even think like that?” Dan replies, and I can’t help but notice the hurt tone in his voice.
“
How can I not Daniel, have you not seen the shit I have? Do we really want to go down a path that could get more of us killed?” His voice rises a little bit, but he doesn’t move from his spot.
Rather than get worked up like the guys, I can’t seem to keep my eyes open. I try to remember the last time I slept, but I can’t. All I know for sure is that my eyes are so heavy they feel like lead. Shifting to my right, I lean on the side of the couch. Laying my head down, I bring my legs up on the couch and tuck them to my chest.
“
Guys, calm down. We all know things are bad, but we need to be smart here. We’re just kids; we could just hide here until help comes.” Sam says as he gets out of the chair.
“
What about our families then Sam? Are we just supposed to forget about them, and hope they are all right? Sorry, but I can’t. If there is a chance I could find them, I will.” Dan stands up now and is facing off with Sam.
My eye’s close again and I try to pay attention, since what they are saying includes all of us. But each time I shut my eyes, they’re voices get smaller and smaller. My breathing is getting slower and my body feels weightless. The voices are so quiet now, that they just sound like static. My head feels like it’s spinning in a funnel and the static sound rises and falls around me. As the static fills my ears, it changes; it becomes the sound of waves crashing into one another. I lose the funnel feeling then, and it’s replaced with the sensation that my body is being pulled into different directions.
I know I’m dreaming when I see a wide expanse of water.
It’s night, so the water looks dark grey, and the waves roar into each other violently. But the sky above is getting lighter, and the color of the water is more visible. Slowly it gets darker and lighter at the same time, and when a wave crashes and sprays, it’s the color of blood. The water seems endless to me then, and not peaceful. The feeling of being tossed around in the waves returns, and I see a hand rising from the water. I try to reach for it, but I’m just watching and not a participant.
The whole arm is extended now, and another is right beside it. A head appears and the hair is darkened by the blood. As the face breaks the surface, its mouth is open in a silent scream. And I scream with it, because it’s me that’s coming from the water. I shift in the dream then, and now I’m the one in the water trying to break free. But the current is strong and I get pushed under by a wave. My lungs fill up with blood as I scream trying to pull myself to the surface. I’m spinning now, and the surface is getting farther and farther away. I look down below, and I see arms reach for me. And even over the roaring sound of the water I can hear their deathly moans. Something grabs my arms, and I kick wildly stretching for the light above me.
A body floats in front of me, and as it gets close I can hear it calling my name.
It’s Gabe.
He says my name again and the nightmare disappears.
Chapter Twenty Seven
I open my eyes, to see Gabe leaning over me so close that his face fills my vision. His eyes are dark and wide, and I suddenly feel his hands on my arms. I’m covered in sweat and I can’t stop shaking, with the dream still fresh in my mind. I must have been moving around in my sleep, because his body is lying on top of mine as if to still me.
I can feel the weight of him and I notice there is a blanket between us, and my breathing picks up. He leans in a little closer to me and I can feel him shaking now too. His face is so close to mine now, that there is very little space between our lips. I hold my breath, knowing that if we even breathed our lips would touch. His hands squeeze my arms and he closes his eyes. I’m about to break the space between us, when he pushes himself up on his arms. With a sigh, he leans back from me and sits up.
Pulling myself up in a sitting position, I notice now that there is no light in the room, and it’s a lot quieter than earlier. Squinting my eyes and taking in the room, I can see blanket covered bumps around the living room. I suddenly feel confused, and unsure of how long I was asleep. Bringing my gaze back to Gabe, I can see that his arms are resting on his knees and he has his head buried in his hands.
I toss the blanket off of me, and slide over so we’re side by side. I place my hand on his back, and only have time to feel that he’s sweating too, before he flinches from my touch.
“
Don’t do that Maggie.” He grumbles into his hands.
“
Don’t do what?”
“
I shouldn’t have tried-. It’s just not right, I’m sorry.” He lowers his hands and looks at me.
My eyes widen and I know what he’s talking about. I’m pretty certain we were about to kiss, and just yesterday I killed my boyfriend. My chest feels tight, and I can’t help to feel guilty. What kind of person am I? At least he has the decency to not take advantage. Feeling like I might be sick, I lean back into the couch.
“
You were yelling in your sleep before, bad dream?” He asks after a moment of silence, and he leans back beside me. I do notice that he’s not close enough to touch me though.
“
Sort of. Did I wake you up?”
“
I wasn’t asleep. We needed someone to keep watch, and I offered. I don’t think I could ever fall asleep again.”
I remember then, that I’m not the only one to kill someone I cared about. Just a few hours ago he killed his father. I know it’s not the same, but the hurt and guilt is still there, and I can understand that.
“
Do you want to talk about why you can’t sleep?”
“
Not really no. That’s something I’d rather forget about. I’m sure you’d understand that.” He glances at me and he tries to smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
“
I do, but the offer still stands. Did you guys ever come to a decision?” I ask remembering them fighting over what to do.
“
I suppose we did I guess. After you fell asleep, the girls came into the room. And after a heated debate, we thought it would be best to move on and find help.”
“
When are we leaving?” I ask, even though I can already guess.
“
As soon as everyone wakes up, the plan is to just drive right into the city. Head for the biggest buildings we see.”
“
The biggest buildings you see? That really seems like a long shot, you know that right?”
“
I do. But everyone is pretty adamant on finding help or at least someone else who knows what’s going on.”
“
Finding people makes sense, but if the main square of town is filled with the dead. Then it’s probably safe to say that the city will be filled too.” I can’t help the terror that fills my voice.
The thought of going up against more of the dead makes my blood chill inside my veins.
“
I don’t really agree with the way we’re doing things, but the end result should make it worth it.”
“
And what’s that?”
“
Answers...” He turns so that he’s facing me, and he’s so animated that I know he really means it.
“
That does make sense. I just hope we can actually find our parents, if they’re still alive that is.” I whisper that last part, a part of me knows I should just give up. But I can’t.
“
Mags, I promise you we’ll find your parents one way or another.” He raises his hand and gently caresses my temple and then down my cheek.
Closing my eyes, I sigh and hope that he’s right.
Gabe pulls his hand away, and leans away from me. When he gets up off the couch, I finally have to be honest with myself. As hard as I’ve tried to not have feelings for Gabe, it hasn’t worked at all. It just doesn’t make sense to not admit anything, especially the way things are.
Hell, we could all die tomorrow, and then where would we be?
“
I should go and check the doors and windows. It’ll be light soon, and it would be nice to know we’re alone here.”
Without waiting for a reply he walks away from me. He has to walk around everyone in the room, and goes off around the corner and disappears.
Chapter Twenty Eight
As he leaves, I take the chance to survey the room. Now that it’s starting to get brighter in here, I can see them all more clearly. In the middle of the room near the entertainment center is Daniel and Maria sleep huddled together. Next to them is Michael, and now that Gabe and I aren’t talking, I can hear his whining in his sleep. Sam is on the loveseat, and he’s clutching the fire poker to his chest. Claire is beneath the loveseat, and has the blankets snuggled up close, so that I can only see the top of her head.
I don’t see Emily, so I’m assuming she’s in her room.
Before Gabe can come back into the room, I sneak off to the bathroom. I quickly wash my face and rinse out my mouth, and desperately with I could take a shower. I stare into the mirror and almost don’t recognize myself. My hair looks very black next to my pale face. There are dark circles under my eyes, and already my cheeks look shrunken. Pulling my hair up into a knot, I go back to the living room.
By the time I get there though, I can hear that the others have woken up.
No one is really in the mood for chit chat today, so we pretty much pack and organize most of the things we’re taking with us. I do notice though, that Claire, Maria, Michael, and Sam are all wearing new clothes. They don’t fit that well, and when I asked Claire, she just said they were some of Emily’s brother and sister’s stuff.