Yield (49 page)

“
Devin!
”
Chris says more intensely. The writhing motions of darkness are coming to life all around them.

“
Damn it, Devin,
”
Isabel shouts, her strong eyes filling with tears.
“
Don
’
t go off on us now!
”

“
I
’
m not your bloody leader, alright?
”
Devin slurs. He continues on, barely turning toward her.
“
I do enough babysitting at home.
”

Chris grabs the fireman
’
s shoulder and pulls him around. His voice lowers to an angry rumble.
“
Look around, man. We
’
re not the only ones out here!
”

Devin
’
s unfocused eyes stare past him. Without sympathy. Without concern. A growing part of him is ready to be done with the stragglers and all of the problems they
’
ve brought. The thought lingers, festering. An overwhelming desire to see his family washes over him.

“
Not my problem, mate,
”
Devin snaps. He pushes the hands away with his shotgun and starts unsteadily forward again. His pace quickens.

Family. It
’
s all he wants to get back to. Images of their smiling faces and the memories of a life so far away rip through Devin
’
s mind. They pull his feet towards home like an irresistible magnet. If only he were free, he could run
—
force his body to endure and soon feel the love of their forgiving embrace
…
They need you
…

Without a moment
’
s hesitation, Abd moves past the others. The Arab
’
s thin legs churn to catch up with the man now carrying their best chance for survival.

“
Where you going?
”
Chris yells. Rage pulses from his eyes.
“
Don
’
t you leave us!
”
He watches in disgust at the dimming shapes of both men. They stumble away faster into the night, all hope leaving with them.
“
Damn towelhead,
”
he mutters through clenched teeth.
“
You better run.
”

The basketball star
’
s palms begin to sweat. His heart thunders inside his chest. The thought of enduring the unknown, waiting within the dead city
’
s abyss, sends ice shooting through his veins.

“
Devin!
”
Isabel yells after them. Her echoes are the only response from the black. Terra begins to shake violently in her arms. Isabel pulls the girl closer.
“
Easy now,
”
she soothes, wiping away the tears now flowing freely down both of their faces.

Terra
’
s sapphire eyes look on in terror at the shadows closing in all around.

Dark shapes continue to move and spread throughout the black, eager to feast upon the dissent of the living. Thick clouds creep in front of the waning moon, plunging the ruins into nothingness. A horde of eyes begins to flicker in the night, advancing on their prey.

Footsteps slowly shuffle along the moonlit streets of Seattle. Isabel and Chris walk on either side of Terra through pockets of clouded shadow. A voice behind them prays in Arabic for peace in the night.

The steel barrel of a shotgun glimmers in Devin
’
s hands, several feet to the front. The fireman stares without expression at the rugged city blocks ahead. Blood spatters now stain his unbuttoned white dress shirt
—
the shirt he wore for an interview in the city that no longer exists.

His normally cheerful green eyes flicker. Storms build just below the surface, testing him. Always testing him.
Murderer
…
He grits his teeth to quiet the voices.
He pleaded
…
begged. But you still pulled the trigger
…
over
…
and over
…

Devin glances down into the open bag slung over his shoulder. A long, square bottle sparkles back in the blue moonlight. The amber liquid swirls inside, beckoning like an old friend too long forgotten.
It
’
s alright. You just need to relax
…
.

He pulls out the bottle of Jack Daniel
’
s and stares at the familiar black label for a moment. The voices are all suddenly silent.

Devin cracks the seal and takes an exploratory drink. Soothing fires of ignorance cascade down inside of him. His eyes close. Blissful oblivion slows his stride. The fireman takes deep advice from Jack
’
s beloved counsel. Devin lets the liquid burn in his mouth before slowly allowing it to pass.
Hello, old friend.
I
’
ve missed you
…

The elated feeling of warmth pours through his entire body. It flows down through his tingling nerves and wraps his skin in an ephemeral embrace. All noise slowly fades. All panic, all regret, washes away.

“
Yeah, that
’
ll make it better,
”
Isabel shouts. She shakes her head disapprovingly. They cross several more blocks before Devin
’
s fevered drinking pace finally slows. The buzzed fireman turns and smiles back.

“
Done yet?
”
Isabel scolds. Her eyes could cut metal.

“
Let him be,
”
Chris whispers. His own demons claw from just within.

As the blocks continue on, an eerie feeling grows inside Isabel. She looks around. The streets feel uncomfortably deserted. Her sharp Latino eyes see nothing. All life seems to have abandoned the dark shadows of this neighborhood.

They approach a series of fences lined with razor-wire surrounding the remnants of a massive government building. Its security gate stands unmanned. Several holes are ripped into the fence on either side. The sounds of cut metal scraping against itself in the wind are chilling
,
l
ike daggers sliding along exposed bone.

SKRIT
…
.SKRIT
…………
.

Chris looks over at a rusted sign. Spray-painted graffiti tags now partially obscure it.

KING COUNTY DETENTION CENTER

The 6
’
7
”
teenager feels his stomach tighten. His eyes dart across the streets.
“
It
’
s not much longer to the freeway,
”
Chris says. He forces Isabel and Terra to quicken their pace.
“
Pick it up unless you want to walk alone,
”
he yells back to Abd.

The Arab
’
s muttered prayer trails off as he lumbers forward to join the others. The buildings rise higher beside them. They cast deep lines of black along the silvery sheen of the roadway.

Suddenly, Isabel gasps. The faint glint of eyes moves through an alley to their left. She stops, trying to distinguish shapes in the dark. Only the shadows stare back at her.

The silence around them grows. The deadly still is unnerving. She begins walking again, her eyes darting from side to side.

The sound of shuffling feet echoes out of an alley mouth fifteen paces to their right. The flight attendant spins, reaching for Chris
’
s arm.
“
You hear that?
”

Chris strains to look into the shadows on his side. Nothing moves.

“
I heard it, too,
”
Abd says. He digs inside his left arm sling for the sharp metal shiv.

Chris gazes into the black for another moment. His heart pounds. Several hulking shapes shift within the darkness. Squinted eyes shine back at him. More appear, growing in the shadows.

“
Come on,
”
Chris barks. He pushes the two women forward, quickly closing the ground to the shotgun in Devin
’
s hands.

The fireman clutches tightly to a half-consumed bottle of liquor in the other hand. A narcissistic haze clouds his emerald eyes.

“
We gotta get out of here,
”
Chris whispers.

Devin keeps walking, lost in his own dark thoughts.
They
’
re slowing you down, mate. You could get home a lot blooming faster without four ungrateful chains dangling from your knickers.
The drunken fireman stumbles on. Cracks in his slick black dress shoes scrape along the roughened pavement.
They
’
re not worth it. They
’
re strangers. Scrape
‘
em off.

“
Devin!
”
Chris says more intensely. The writhing motions of darkness are coming to life all around them.

“
Damn it, Devin,
”
Isabel shouts, her strong eyes filling with tears.
“
Don
’
t go off on us now!
”

“
I
’
m not your bloody leader, alright?
”
Devin slurs. He continues on, barely turning toward her.
“
I do enough babysitting at home.
”

Chris grabs the fireman
’
s shoulder and pulls him around. His voice lowers to an angry rumble.
“
Look around, man. We
’
re not the only ones out here!
”

Devin
’
s unfocused eyes stare past him. Without sympathy. Without concern. A growing part of him is ready to be done with the stragglers and all of the problems they
’
ve brought. The thought lingers, festering. An overwhelming desire to see his family washes over him.

“
Not my problem, mate,
”
Devin snaps. He pushes the hands away with his shotgun and starts unsteadily forward again. His pace quickens.

Family. It
’
s all he wants to get back to. Images of their smiling faces and the memories of a life so far away rip through Devin
’
s mind. They pull his feet towards home like an irresistible magnet. If only he were free, he could run
—
force his body to endure and soon feel the love of their forgiving embrace
…
They need you
…

Without a moment
’
s hesitation, Abd moves past the others. The Arab
’
s thin legs churn to catch up with the man now carrying their best chance for survival.

“
Where you going?
”
Chris yells. Rage pulses from his eyes.
“
Don
’
t you leave us!
”
He watches in disgust at the dimming shapes of both men. They stumble away faster into the night, all hope leaving with them.
“
Damn towelhead,
”
he mutters through clenched teeth.
“
You better run.
”

The basketball star
’
s palms begin to sweat. His heart thunders inside his chest. The thought of enduring the unknown, waiting within the dead city
’
s abyss, sends ice shooting through his veins.

“
Devin!
”
Isabel yells after them. Her echoes are the only response from the black. Terra begins to shake violently in her arms. Isabel pulls the girl closer.
“
Easy now,
”
she soothes, wiping away the tears now flowing freely down both of their faces.

Terra
’
s sapphire eyes look on in terror at the shadows closing in all around.

Dark shapes continue to move and spread throughout the black, eager to feast upon the dissent of the living. Thick clouds creep in front of the waning moon, plunging the ruins into nothingness. A horde of eyes begins to flicker in the night, advancing on their prey.