I nod. The others flinch at her words; apparently they were supposed to confess all to me.
She continues. “Okay good, that makes this easier. Well, from what I was told, you had quite the hit to your head a while back. That hit led to some problems for you I imagine. The reason for that was a blood clot that formed at the point of contact. Which eventually lead to a bleed when it went and ruptured on you. That is why you passed out; it was killing you so to speak.”
The pain in everyone’s expression brings tears to my eyes again. Not Gabe though, he’s seriously glaring daggers at the woman. I kind of want to too, but I don’t, the drug she has to offer makes me want to be nice.
“
So how is it that I’m not dead, so to speak?” I ask.
Yes I know I’m being rude, I can’t help it, my heard hurts.
She smiles warmly. “I operated on you and stopped the bleed.”
Operated? I stare around the third world conditions of my “hospital room” in alarm.
“
Wait what?” I squeak. Oh good, my voice is back.
She shrugs. “I did what I had to and worked with what we had available. You’re alive aren’t you? Stop complaining.” There is a nervous jitter to her voice. “So how about some of that pain medication you needed? It’ll make the pain less severe so you can rest up to heal.”
I nod. She injects the syringe in one of the tubes in my arms and quickly makes her exit when she is finished. Obviously her brain surgery skills are new; otherwise she wouldn’t be so nervous around me. Whatever. She is right. At least I’m alive, so that’s something. I guess. Depends on what infections I’ve acquired over my little siesta. Preferably none, I’m just saying.
“
What the heck happened to me you guys? No half assed answers either, so spill.” My voice is stronger; some of my pain is already ebbing away.
“
You really want to know?” Dan asks warily.
I nod. He starts like he’s going to spill the beans, but stops at a look from Gabe. He takes over for my brother. I nearly pass out when he’s finished. Turns out I’ve been in a coma for over two weeks that explains why my body doesn’t really feel like my own and the doctor lady’s problem. She really was nervous and with good reason. I almost died, a couple times. She told them that I might never wake up because of all the physical and mental trauma I suffered. The healing process is a long one she said. No wonder my head hurts. I had freaking brain surgery.
What are the odds of that during a zombie apocalypse?
While I was asleep, they all got used to taking up shop here with me and ’m grateful for that. Gabe also told me the good news too. We all made it over the border and into safe territory, thank goodness. Not that the problem of all the dead out and about has been solved. The little bastards are resilient I’ll give them that. No one knew what’s going to happen next other than just basically surviving to the next day. When I asked them about the giant wall I’d seen, it got a laugh from all of them. That part must have been from the brain bleed, go figure. They did tell me that there are some sturdy fences up though, so that makes me feel relatively safe.
By the time all the air is cleared and I’m fading in and out of consciousness from those miracle drugs, I can’t help thinking about what’s going to happen now. This can’t be the end can it? After everything we’ve been through, that I’ve been through, this can’t end with just me in a makeshift hospital bed. I mean I hope not anyway. How sucky would that be? Me, no longer being a zombie killing warrior princess, but an invalid instead.
Lame.
I close my eyes with a sigh. “So what happens now?”
“
I was thinking we should try to go back for mom and dad.” Dan pauses until I glance at him with wide eyes. “That is…when you’re up for it.”
Gabe shocks me by laughing hysterically. It’s not long before Maria and Michael join in on it with him. The irony of this similar situation isn’t lost on me, but I can’t laugh with them. I’m seriously thinking about it. So is Dan. We hold each other’s stare. He knows what I want to do, the question wasn’t needed. Maybe it’s a twin thing, or maybe just a sibling thing, but we’re so similar it’s scary. We smile at the same time. My heart fills full and warm.
“
Yes Dan, when I’m up for it, I think that would be a wonderful idea.”
The laughter stops. My gaze shifts to Gabe as if magnetically drawn. As he sits on the bed beside me, I see Maria moving to Dan with tears in her eyes. They are scared, of going back, me too if I’m being honest here. What if there is nothing or no one left?
Gabe cups my cheeks in his hands again. “You just get some rest you hear me? Worry about running off later. We have some time to figure out our next move. Don’t think you’re going alone either.”
Alone? No chance of that. I so need my little team of warriors or no deal.
I smile and nod. He relaxes, and so do the others. Soon I’m drifting off to sleep again. The last thought I have is that I really hope I can start having normal sleeping patterns. All this irregular interval crap is totally for the birds, or however that weird saying goes. A giggle bubbles inside and just barely slips out when I’m down for the count.
Epilogue
I stare out into the horde of all the people waiting in line before us and I try not to be afraid. Gabe is standing beside me. He seems to think this part will be a breeze, I beg to differ, not that I’d admit that to him. It took a lot of convincing on my part to even get here as it is, I can’t blow it on doubt. Then he glances at me, a small confident smile playing across his beautiful lips. My body eases into relaxation.
He gives me courage. Or comfort. Take your pick, I like both.
The line moves up a body or two, bringing us closer to the heavily armed security at the border. Anticipation rushes through me. A bouncing starts at the soles of my feet and gets swept away by my entire body. I wouldn’t be surprised if I shot off like a rocket at this point, but a firm hand on my shoulder stills me. It’s my brother Dan, who’s standing right behind me. Clearly my eager bouncing is hindering his view. I stop and bite my lip instead.
It’s been almost a year since I woke up in that pitiful excuse of a hospital room. Even before I was “released” Gabe and I talked about leaving to go back home, wherever that might be now. Surprisingly, we weren’t the only ones. Obviously Dan wanted to go. He’s do just about anything to get back together with our parents. Being here now with me, proves that. Peeking over the hand still on my shoulder, I search out his for his eyes. Oddly enough he’s not watching the way too long line. No, he’s watching me. Surprising us both, I reach up my smaller hand and cover his still on my shoulder. I hang on to him. We both squeeze as if our lives depended on it.
In a way…they still kind of do.
Things are more different these days than anyone ever thought possible a year ago. Half of the once thriving United States is now either dead and obliterated or alive and trying to start over. Luckily we qualify in the latter. It took a long time for the survivors to gain some semblance of a life again, I know because I’m one of them. I wish I could say that all of the walking dead were destroyed in the bombs last year, but that would be a lie. Sure, most of them were flayed into ash and dust, but most of them are still walking about searching for something living to munch on.
That alone makes going back kind of tricky, not to mention uber difficult and dangerous.
On a plus though, our remade joint government is kind of kickass. They know all the dead can’t be destroyed in one swoop, heck they kind of know the dead might not be able to be destroyed at all. This is why they came up with this super system. It’s like a lottery and a death sentence at the same time. Anyone who wants to stay in the clear zones can and anyone who wants to leave also can, but it comes with a price. Once you choose, it’s final. No going back, no do-overs, no game changing.
Scary yes, but needed. It’s even recorded, so no tricky is allowed.
I even understand the reasoning. We, the people that survived, need to feel that we are still a free nation. So it makes sense for this first law, so to speak, to be passed and ordered. I even understand the reason behind the simple logistics of it. If someone were to leave and come back the virus could spread into the safe zone. It would be a disaster all over again. I don’t want that, they don’t want that, no one wants that. Surprisingly though, I’m not the only one hoping to find survivors among the ashes back home. Makes since for the long line huh? Oh yeah, people are just crazy and I’m one of them.
Besides Gabe and Dan, a few others are accompanying us on this semi-suicidal thrill ride. Okay, I should really just say two others are coming with us and its Maria and Michael. Personally I’m just shocked that they wanted to go with us, especially after all the close calls we had last year. But then again, maybe it should be such a surprise. I mean Maria loves Dan, she always has. It’s clear she would walk to the end of the earth for him. I know for a fact that he would’ve stayed for her if she asked, but she didn’t. That’s why she rocks basically. The same can be said for her brother Michael. Since he goes where she goes, he is coming too.
He can be jumpy at times, but when it counts he comes through in the end. This I know for a fact and only because he very nearly saved my life once upon a time. I still can’t believe that I thought Gabe was the one carrying me so long ago. I feel like I should know the difference between the arms of my boyfriend and those of a goofball. The mistake won’t be happening anytime soon. The arms of Gabe is something I’ve come intimately involved in and would recognize them if they were my own.
Speaking of which, there are two someone’s that have the same kind of closeness, Claire and Noah. Weird right? I thought so too when we ran into them a couple of months ago. It would seem that they have been pretty much involved with one another since they meant, even though they tried to deny it. The reason on her going with him instead of with me makes sense now in a way that it didn’t before. It also makes sense that they decided to stay in the safe zone, even if I wish they could come with us. I’d like to think that this won’t be the last time we see one another, but I know the truth, and it sucks.
However lame the rules might be, it definitely makes room for possibilities. Like maybe seeing my mom and dad again, if they are still alive. The last time I saw them, they were in the ground with my mom healing from a gunshot wound. The odd aren’t really in their favor, but I’m hopeful and so are the others. They keep me going. I really don’t know what I’d do without them, die probably. In fact I nearly did huh? Well, there is still time for that. The dead love to play with our waning strengths and weaknesses so I’m sure there will come a time when I’m in a pickle that won’t have a solution. I prefer not, but we’ll see.
It’s a good thing we’re allowed to take some precautions with us. Among the obvious choice of weapons we also get food, water, clothes and even some form of transportation. All of these are earned on a sliding scale though. So for someone who is an unemployed homeless orphan such, as me and mine, the options are severely limited. All we were allotted was a simple change of clothes and a single weapon each.
Together we were able to scrounge up some food and water to take, thankfully. And at the last minute we even came up with enough points to afford public transport as far as Vermont. Or I should say Noah did. Gabe won’t admit that we had some help with transportation, but how else could we afford it? I can accept help and there is no problem admitting that. Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter now, at least we have it.
The line we are in takes forever to bring us to the front of it. It’s positively sweltering in this late June heat. For once I’m grateful for it though. Walking back to Maine in the snow is not my idea of a good time. It might be an issue when we reach the state as it is. Who knows how long it’ll take to walk there and fight off any surviving dead? It’s a gamble for sure. Soon enough it’s our turn to go through the check point. This is a series of lists to be sure we have what we afforded ourselves and that we know for a fact that there is no coming back after crossing the border.
The wall that I once imagined has been built to a fault all around the north, south, west, and eastern points on the United States. Each checkpoint is set up in four different layers of locked cages within the wall. This makes for a long struggle of passage, but it keeps the clear zone safe from contamination. By the time we make it to the last step, I’m close to passing out from equal amounts of excitement and terror. And so is everyone else.
Standing at the last thing separating us from safety and the possible walking dead, I know we’re going to need all the luck we can get. I grip the ax in my right hand, and shifting the pack of clothes over my shoulder, I try to be brave. Beside me, Maria has a bow in her arms, with a pack of arrows over her shoulders. We both have pretty awesome leg sheaths with knives in them (secretly of course – only one weapon per person and all that). Michael has a new handgun in his belt, his hands twitch with the need to take it out. This took a lot of reminders for him to keep the safety on. He’s also holding a pack of food for us over his shoulder.
Next to me Gabe has the freshly loaded rifle over his shoulder. In his other hand he’s holding two gallons of water. Beside him is Dan, who has another handgun. He too has a gallon of fuel in his other hand. We are all just staring out the gate at what waits us when we step through, and wondering how the hell we’re going to get the many busses that are sitting out there in time.