Desolation (18 page)

 

Jerri rolled her eyes.

 

“He’s not my fucking boyfriend, Mitch,” she snarled. “Stop being
so jealous and childish. I don’t even like him like that.”

 

Mitch looked at her with a cattish smirk.

“And yet… you don’t deny that he is hiding something from
you,” he mused. He took one last hit, held it in, and let the smoke out,
coughing violently.

Jerri waved her hand in front of her face. She hated the smell of
the stuff.

 

“What do you want?” Jerri asked, looking away. She knew that
Mitch wasn’t really there; he couldn’t be. “Why are you here?”

Her dorm room door opened and made her startle.
“I just want you to know the truth,” Mitch said, flicking what
remained of his joint across the room. “Your boyfriend isn’t what he
seems, babe.”

Jerri stood.

 

“And what’s the truth? What is he?” she half-heartedly asked as
she walked towards the door. She was going to check on Krystal.

A skeletal humanoid frame shambled into the room, body
twitching erratically. The creature’s eye sockets were hollow, its hair had
fallen out, and its decayed flesh fell onto the floor in clumps. It reached
out towards Jerri with a boney hand and swiped at her, making a guttural
gurgling noise.

Countless others were inside the hall behind it and they were all
clamoring to get inside Jerri’s room.

 

Jerri screamed and ran away from the door, back towards her
bed.

 

Mitch stood and grabbed hold of her. His hands were ice cold.
She struggled in a vain attempt to get free but froze when she saw
Mitch’s face.

Mitch looked pale and his eyes were clouded over. Flaps of dead
skin hung off of his cheeks and black drool oozed out the corner of his
mouth.

“La…za…rus,” Mitch said, voice garbled. He leaned in and sunk
his yellow teeth into the side of her neck.

Jerri’s eyes shot open and she gasped for breath, covered in sweat
despite the cold air. Jacob lay next to her, deep asleep; his breaths were
labored and heavy. She found herself still lying on the uncomfortable cot
in the shack.

“C-c-can’t sleep?” Chris asked from the corner, startling Jerri. He
was trembling and a small puddle of murky vomit lay next to him.
“No,” Jerri muttered, shaking the dream out of her head. She
looked over at the man in the corner. “You?”

Chris gave a pathetic laugh.
“No,” he said. “T-h-he shakes are hitting me h-h-hard.”

Jerri turned away from the man and stared at the wall, trying not
to fall back asleep.

 

“What did you do before all this?” she asked.

 

Chris hugged his legs against his chest and tried to keep himself
from shaking.

“I u-s-s-sed to be a nurse practitioner-er-r, believe it or not,” he
said, chuckling, teeth chattering. “Gues-s-s-s I got one hell of a promotion
after the flu struck-ck.”

Jerri turned towards him, curious.
“How did you let yourself get this way?”
Chris thought about the question, chewing on his bottom lip.

“When I fi-fi-first started, in the camp, I was-I was p-p-proud,
you know? I was a doctor… I was somebody,” he said reflectively, staring
at the ceiling. “The hos-hos-ospital was full back then… we had a staff of
ill-trained nurses and s-s-some orderlies and lots of supplies. Things
started changing for me after Alison-on-n.”

“Alison?”

“Yes-s, Alison,” Chris nodded. “She-she was the final straw, the
one who did it. Sure, there were other things before… Like people who
died under my ca-c-c-care. It got to me because-because I know a real
doctor could have helped most-st of them.

“The thing is… they ca-ca-called me a doctor, but honestly I was
in over my head. The more patients that died… all I could do is watch.
The staph infection wiped out most of the staff… somehow I was spared.
Funny the way st-stuff works, huh?

“It was all I could do to escape-pe-e…. It st-st-started with one
hit. I guess that way all addicts st-st-start, isn’t it?”

 

“I’m sorry,” Jerri said as she lay back down and faced the wall.

“Me too,” Chris said, thinking about Alison. He thought about
the day Andrew brought her down into the lab, kicking and screaming.
She tried to fight… they always tried to fight. He remembered the sound
her body made when Andrew pushed her down the spiral staircase.

It was okay though because they didn’t have to be alive.
They didn’t have to be alive.

His teeth chattered and his stomach churned; he felt like he was
going to vomit again.

 

“Chris,” Jerri said, “what’s Lazarus?”

 

Chris didn’t say anything. He simply stared down at the floor,
shaking, trembling.

“Chris?”
“Where d-d-d-did you hear about that?” he finally answered.

“Andrew said Lazarus when he saw one of the creatures inside
the dorm,” she said.

Chris shook his head and convulsed, scratching his arm.
“As-s-s-sk Andrew,” he said sharply.

“I’m asking you,” she responded quickly. “What were those
monsters?”

 

“No wors-s-se than the one sleeping outside,” Chris said. “A-s-ss-k him about Alison.”

Andrew could have brought anybody from the camp so why did
he bring her? Why did he pick the one girl who Chris actually had feelings
for? Chris knew Andrew didn’t do it on purpose… He never told
anybody about their relationship so how was Andrew supposed to know
not to take her? Chris told him that he forgave him. It was a lie; he
harbored certain resentment ever since that day and it forever tarnished
their friendship.

Jerri was stunned by his response.
“What?” she asked, taken aback.
“I s-s-said go to sleep,” Chris stammered, shaking his head.

Jerri didn’t respond and simply lay with her eyes open, quiet. She
cradled the sleeping baby against her and churned over the muddled
thoughts in her head.

Andrew lay restless inside the jeep. The jeep's windows were
down.

 

He heard everything.
28

C
hris sat shivering in the corner of the room while Jerri and the
baby slept on the cot. It amazed him how cold the desert got at night. Of
course, he wasn’t trembling just from the cold. The detox was proving
very hard on his body. He didn’t even have the strength or coordination
to stand. It took everything he had just to keep his head from knocking
against the wall as he rocked back and forth.

He quietly sat in the shadows and watched Jerri sleep, envious of
her slumber.

 

It was around three in the morning when Andrew opened the
door and walked inside.

 

Chris stared at the intimidating figure as it encroached towards
him. His eyes widened, but he couldn’t move.

 

Andrew knelt down on his haunches and brought his eyes level
with Chris' as he rested his arms across his knees

 

“You’re not looking so well Chris,” Andrew said quietly with a
tsk
.

 

Chris tried to put on a false smile but it fell flat as his body
trembled.

“I’ve f-f-f-felt better,” Chris said between chattering teeth.
Andrew nodded and then looked down.
“How many times do I have to apologize?” Andrew asked.
Chris looked horrified.
“I-I-I don’t k-k-know what you’re ta-t-t-alking–”
Andrew waved a dismissive hand.

“Spare me your bullshit,” Andrew said through clenched teeth. “I
heard you. Is that how you thank someone who just saved your
life
? I
actually considered you a friend.”

Chris narrowed his eyes.

“A f-friend? Y-y-you ruined m-my life when you took her,” Chris
struggled to say coherently, enunciating each word. “Y-you saved the girl
you liked a-a-and now you’re helping her escape. How is that fair?”

“I–” Andrew started to say, trying to stay calm as he rolled his
eyes.

“
You
used the civilian m-m-m-monitoring program as a dating
service instead of for its intended p-pur-purpose,” Chris interrupted.
“You had a hidden agenda while I n-n-never d-deviated from the
mission!”

Andrew looked at him with disgust and shook his head.

“You deviated the day you stuck that needle in your arm so save
your grandiose speech for someone who doesn’t know what you really
are,” Andrew said quietly under his breath.

Chris looked at him as cold sweat beaded across his forehead.

“I-I won’t let you h-h-hurt that girl or her child,” Chris
stammered. “I’m going to t-t-t-t-tell her about the plans for the cities andthe-the Lazarus gas and the t-t-tests and-and…”

Chris started to nod as his body convulsed and saliva bubbled out
from his mouth and dribbled down onto his shirt.

Andrew offered a polite smile and shook his head.
“No, Chris,” Andrew whispered softly. “You’re not.”

Andrew reached up and pinched Chris’ nose shut with one hand
while covering the man’s mouth with the other.

Chris convulsed weakly as his lungs struggled to take air. He
made a muffled choking sound as his body convulsed and twitched. After
several minutes, his eyes rolled up in their sockets, his chest stopped
rising, and his body sunk against the corner.

Andrew kept Chris’ nose pinched shut and his mouth covered for
what felt like a solid thirty minutes after the man stopped moving and all
signs of life ceased. He finally let go of Chris, wiped his saliva-covered
hands on Chris’ shirt and walked out of the shack.

A few hours later, Jerri awoke to the sound of cicadas and the
glare of harsh sunlight. It was scorching inside the shack and she was
soaked with sweat. Jacob lay beside her on the cot, still deep asleep.

She quickly sat up.

“Morning,” Andrew said from the other side of the room, unsure
how to proceed. He smiled at her and then frowned as he looked uneasily
at Jacob.

Jerri stared at the corner of the room in horror.

 

Chris was covered by a tattered old sheet and sat motionless in
the corner of the room. His lifeless body reeked of defecation and urine.
“Is he…” Jerri started to ask in a weak voice.

 

Andrew looked down with a sullen expression and shook his
head.

 

“The detox was too much for him to handle,” Andrew said
quietly.

Jerri was troubled by the news. She didn’t much care for Chris,
but she never wished death on him… She was so tired of death. It was all
too much for her.

Andrew said nothing and kept his eyes on the floor. His eyes
were red and watery. He appeared to be on the verge of crying.

Judging by his reaction, Jerri knew that the man must have been
someone special to Andrew, even more than Andrew had led her to
believe; friends were a rare thing. Sometimes you can’t pick your friends.
Her thoughts inevitably shifted to the conversation she had with Chris
and grew concerned as it had left her with far more questions than it did
answers.

Jerri picked up Jacob and cradled him against her. The only
positive thing that came out of the camp was Jacob; she viewed the child
as the only glimmer of a future humanity had left in the desolate
aftermath of the outbreak. She covered the baby with a blanket,
protecting him from the harsh desert elements inside a shawl.

Andrew shifted uncomfortably.

“I managed to get the tire changed and I think I can prime the
jeep to get it started. We should be on the road soon before company
finds us,” he said as he walked towards the door drying his eyes with his
hands.

“Andrew,” Jerri asked as she took a deep breath. She wanted to
know the answers and ask him about what Chris meant.

 

She wanted to know about Lazarus and the girl that Chris had
mentioned.

 

Andrew stopped and turned towards her, letting her see his red
eyes.

 

When she saw the pain in the man’s eyes, she decided it wasn’t
the right time.

She would ask later.
Before Jerri could think of something else to say, Andrew
sauntered outside and let the door slam shut behind him. The whole
situation didn’t sit well with her at all. Her natural instinct was to run away
from him. The only problem was that she had nowhere left to go.

Mitch was dead.
Krystal was dead.
Teddy was dead.
Her parents were dead.

The only person who could help her was a man she couldn’t
trust. Regrettably, his protection had become a matter of necessity due to
the small bundle of life she carried in her arms.

Jacob, despite being asleep, already was looking in better health
and had started to gain some weight.

 

Jerri smiled down at him and tickled his stomach.

For Jacob’s sake, she knew it would be best to get away from
Andrew. She knew the man held many secrets and suspected that he was
dangerous in a way she didn’t quite understand.

When the time was right and the opportunity presented itself, she
would run. She refused to allow circumstance to force her to play house
with him.

She heard the jeep’s exhaust cough outside and heard the ancient
engine turn over as the jeep started. She went outside with Jacob and
turned the corner just as Andrew slammed the hood shut.

“Ready?” Andrew asked with a slight smile.

 

Jerri nodded and sat in the passenger’s seat. His smile made her
uneasy, somehow.

 

Andrew plopped in the driver’s seat and patted her knee
reassuringly.

 

Jerri felt a chill run up her spine but she forced a smile. There was
no reason for her not to try to be cordial until she figured out what to do.
Andrew was all she had for the time being, the only way to
protect Jacob and everything the child represented to her.

 

That was truly troubling.
29
T
he drive across the desert was insufferable.

Constant jolts and bumps across the uneven terrain made Jerri
nauseated. It amazed her how sensitive she had become to motion after
not being inside a moving vehicle for so long.

Jacob slept like a stone through the ride. She felt a little envious.

The inside of the military jeep was not very accommodating. The
seats were hard and stained, the dashboard was cracked, and the
floorboards were full of sand. The canvas roof was tattered and allowed
the scorching sun to shine through. Of course, the air conditioner didn’t
work and the only relief from the blistering heat was the hot air blowing
through the open windows.