Yield (34 page)

She stretches her 5
’
8
”
body while she walks, straining to look over the crowd. Her head whips from side to side. A single lock of pink-streaked blond hair shimmers in the light behind rows of blurred faces. That color is the most beautiful shade Katherine has ever seen.

“
Mom!!
”
Haley shouts, locking eyes with her mother.

The air thunders out of Kat
’
s chest, almost sending her to her knees. She stumbles forward and forces her way through the mob.
“
Thank God,
”
she cries, pulling her daughter tight.

The crowd coming in and out of the school
’
s front doors pushes through them in search of their own happy reunions. Katherine hesitantly lets go. She looks around, new worry filling her hazel eyes.
“
Where
’
s your brother?!
”

“
I don
’
t know!
”
Haley screams.
“
I couldn
’
t find him. What happened? They wouldn
’
t tell us anything!
”

“
Just help me find Tyler!
”
Katherine yells. She grabs her daughter
’
s hand and pulls her into the running horde. They work their way through the entrance, looking uncertainly down both crowded halls.

“
Tyler Bane!
”
Kat
’
s voice echoes down the hallways.
“
Has anyone seen my son?
”
Blank faces continue on without slowing.

“
Tyler!
”
Haley shouts.

They push over to a frantic teacher still trying to maintain order within the busy hallway.
“
Slow down!
”
the stern Catholic woman yells to the children around her.
“
Stop running, please!
”

“
Have you seen Tyler Bane?
”
Katherine asks.

The teacher
’
s head swivels back and forth, counting heads while she ushers her class out of the chaos.
“
What grade?
”
she asks without looking up.

“
Third.
”

The nimble Catholic woman deflects a thrown ball of paper as it approaches, quickly spotting the troublemaker.
“
Knock it off!
”

“
Have you seen him?!
”
Katherine screams into the woman
’
s face. The teacher
’
s scared eyes finally dart back to Kat
’
s.

“
No. But t
hird and fourth are at the end of the hall,
”
the woman gestures to their left.
“
That way!
”

Katherine and Haley take off again, deeper into the school. Rumbling voices fade behind them. The fire alarm begins to sound overhead as they move, its loud bells adding to the madness.

They slide to a stop on the smooth tiles at the end of the corridor.
“
Check over there!
”
Kat shouts, pointing Haley to the other side of the hallway. Katherine yanks open the door on the right and darts inside.
“
Tyler!!
”

“
Tyler!
”
Haley echoes behind her.

Both are greeted with empty rooms. There
’
s no sign of the 8-year-old. Katherine takes another step in, craning her head. Her stomach drops to the floor when she hears the horrible scream.

“
Mom!
”
Haley
’
s voice shudders from across the hall.

Katherine spins and bursts into the room like a lightning strike.

“
Over here!
”
Haley calls from the back of the class. The teenager
’
s eyes are terrified. The look sends shivers through Katherine
’
s body.

She sprints to the back of the room, but her feet stop short. An icy paralysis instantly shoots into Katherine. Tyler is lying on the floor behind a desk, deathly pale and starting to shake.

Please, no
…
,
her heart screams out. She looks down at her baby boy, unable to move. Her body heaves.

Katherine closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to summon the strength her family needs. She kneels, smoothing back Tyler
’
s hair.
“
It
’
s going to be okay, honey,
”
she chokes.
“
Mommy
’
s here.
”

Haley
’
s rebellious eyes crack. Tears run down her face as she watches her gentle brother convulsing violently on the floor.

“
Haley,
”
Katherine says, wiping at her own tears.
“
Get the insulin kit in my purse.
”

“
Come on, Ty,
”
Haley whispers. The teenager stares down at her brother
’
s twitching body, unable to look away.

“
Haley!
”
Katherine shouts. She grabs Haley
’
s arm and forces the young woman to look into her eyes.

They
’
re filled with a fear more crippling and uncertain than anything Haley has ever seen.

“
Get the kit. It
’
s on the passenger side of the van,
”
Kat barks, squeezing painfully on Haley
’
s arm.
“
Go!
”

Haley wipes her eyes. She hesitates just long enough to nod before taking off as fast as she can into the school.

Katherine clutches her son
’
s head softly to her chest, rocking him back and forth.
“
Shh. You
’
re okay, baby boy. Just breathe. Nice and easy. I
’
ve got you
,
”
Kat whispers.
“
I
’
ve got you.
”

She glances up, watching the seconds each tick like an eternity off the wall clock. Tick
…
Tick
…

The beating sound of life escaping echoes coldly across the colorful room. Katherine looks down at her son
’
s pasty, white skin, gently caressing the side of his face.

Tick
…
.

“
We
’
re gonna go on that trip to Disneyland you wanted,
”
she says.
“
Daddy
’
s taking some time off work. It
’
ll be so much fun. Castles and games and rides
…
You
’
ll love it, Ty.
”
Katherine tries to smile, imagining her children playing in the warm sunlight of a midsummer day.

Tick
…
..

Her smile quickly fades. Tears roll down her cheeks as she cradles her dying son.

Tick
……

“
Come on, baby,
”
she pleads. His thin body begins to shake harder in her arms.

Tick
……
.

Suddenly the convulsions stop. His body goes limp.
“
Stay with me,
”
she cries. Her son
’
s eyes are barely open. Unmoving.
“
Tyler!
”

Tick
……
..

“
Tyler!!
”
Katherine screams. His lips are blue, his breathing ragged and shallow.

Tick
………
.

Tyler
’
s eyelids twitch and flutter as Haley scrambles back into the room. The teenager fumbles with a black pouch, her hands shaking. She drops to her knees beside them. Looking back and forth from the kit
’
s zipper to her brother
’
s motionless body, the bag slips from her hands.

Tick
…………

“
Take his head!
”
Katherine orders. She lifts the boy
’
s head gently over to his sister and snatches the black pouch off the ground.

Tick
…………
..

She pulls out the syringe and quickly loads it with insulin. Katherine blinks back her tears, checking the needle one last time. She pulls up the boy
’
s shirt slightly and quickly administers the shot to her son
’
s still abdomen.

Katherine tosses the needle aside, watching Tyler
’
s body in desperation. Every hope and desire within her begs that they aren
’
t too late.

Tick
…
.. Tick
…………………

Slowly at first, Tyler
’
s breathing becomes deeper. Even. Faintly, the boy groans. His body moves weakly in her arms.

“
That
’
s my boy,
”
Katherine whispers. A feeling of immeasurable gratitude and relief floods through her. It fills Kat with an appreciation so deep, so profound
,
that nothing will ever be the same
. She pulls her son tight to her chest.

As the dark clouds break, sunlight begins to pour through the large row of windows beside them. She gives Tyler a long, loving kiss on the forehead.
“
Let
’
s get you home,
”
Kat
says. The thought of their Eden forcefully beckons.

Tyler in her arms, Katherine walks through the brilliant rays of light and heads back out through the classroom door. Her daughter soon follows, slowly moving from the shadows and into the sun.

The survivors from what
’
s left of Seattle slowly fill the eight-lane I-5, migrating away from the damage one indecisive step at a time. Their clothing is ripped or stained with blood. Walking steadily onward, they clutch what meager possessions are left to them. Sacrifice haunts their eyes. These walking dead bring stories of survival, moving in a daze through the dwindling rain.

Fires continue to burn from remnants of the city all around them. The smell of death is everywhere. A jungle gym sits melted beside what used to be an elementary school. The school itself is now just rubble upon a scorched earth.

Turning from the group of plane crash survivors still standing around a battery-powered radio, Devin watches the growing number of people heading south. An alert tone sounds hollowly behind him. It
’
s replaced sporadically with static as a weary hand tries to find anything left inside the noise. Only the oppressive tone of dissonance greets them
—
blaring out across all radio bands.

Taking their cue, the remaining survivors grab what they can off the ground or out of burnt vehicles before joining the exodus. One after another, they leave the clustered pack until only a handful remains. Those left behind stand without purpose. They hope for answers from the box resting mockingly upon the car hood in front of them.

Abd
’
s eyes dart around. He strides up to the radio and begins moving the dial with his good hand. The Arab shifts through every frequency, compelled to verify for himself that there
’
s truly nothing
left
to find.

“
You should think about moving on, too,
”
Devin says, looking over to Chris and Isabel. Terra sits on the ground beside him, staring blankly ahead.