Surviving Earth: Makayla's Journey (7 page)

After two days of sleepless nights, we pull off the road in Aspen, still deeply imbedded in Colorado. It finally turned cool and crisp. Gage is still asleep as his body battles for his life. His fever is down though and he almost feels normal again. The infection took a toll on his body, however. He's lost weight and his eyes now have dark circles surrounding them. Lainey said it may take awhile for him to recover from his coma, but I am ready to hear him talk once again.

Biting my lip, I run my hand softly through his dark locks. I am deeply concerned for him and his well-being. "Gage, please honey, come back to us." I say pleadingly.

"Mak?" I look up from Gage's still form to see Tessa watching me.

"Hmmm?" I mutter.

"Gage, is going to be ok. We just need to give him some time." She says, leaning over to give both Gage and I a hug.

Stepping down from the truck, I scan the horizon for any signs of movement. When I see none, I move to the front of the truck where Blu, Logan and Lainey have gathered.

"So, we all know we need supplies, but I for one don't think Mak should have to search these out alone and you know her; she's going to want to keep the rest of us safe while she looks." I overhear Blu telling the others.

Patting Blu on the shoulder, he turns knowing he's been caught. "You're right. I'm going alone to look for supplies, but after I find them we can all gather them together. I'd also like to find a good fuel source while I'm at it." I say while leaning against the truck.

“You're going to have company this time. I'm coming whether you like it or not!" Logan declares.

"Look." I start, but I'm immediately cut off.

"No, you look. You can't do all this on your own. We expect to help from this moment forward." He says rather angrily.

"I need you to help look after Lainey, Ricky, Gage and Tessa while I'm gone." I state, hands on my hips ready for a fight.

"I'll be here to help. Get over it, Makayla, Logan is going." Lainey states in a no nonsense tone while she’s gathering up supplies from the SUV to transfer to the truck.

I am not a happy camper as we drive into an upscale neighborhood. Blu and everyone else is behind us in the truck.

"Wait! Wait, Logan, did you see that?" I ask.

"What?" He asks, looking over at me.

"Go around. I swear I saw a sign that says,
Please Help
." I say urgently.

"Mak, you can't save the whole world." He says, with a frown.

"Well, Logan, I can damn sure try. Follow those signs!" I say without even looking in his direction.

"Shit!" I hear him mutter under his breath, but he turns the wheel in the right direction.

We travel three lanes over and see a house with a big white flag outside that has HELP written across it in red. The moment the front yard comes into view I want to vomit. Both flesh eaters and humans lay scattered across the yard. We are too late to help, but I still want to check the house, just in case. The look on Logan's face tells me he has no intention of stopping.

"Logan, I'm going inside whether you stop here or not. I have to make sure there are no survivors." I say sternly.

"Makayla, look around you. There is no one alive in that house." Logan says.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I pull my Glock from its place at my side. "I'm going in there. You can stay here or you can come along. Your choice!" I state, opening my door as the truck is still moving slowly.

The yard is truly disgusting. Half chewed body parts lay scattered about and I know this had been a big fight, but I’m not sure there was winner. I walk alert and ready for anything as I feel Logan come up behind me.

"You know you're crazy as hell, right?" Logan asks at my side.

"Yeah, but saving the world is up to us now!" I respond with a slight grin.

Walking through the gruesome mess is nauseating to say the least. Blood and gore is everywhere we look, but at least before dying they had put up a valiant effort!

"Don't come any closer." Someone says from behind the door.

"We're here to help." I reply, pointing my pistol toward the ground.

"How can you help? You're just a ragtag group of youngins." The man behind the door says.

"Gramps, let them in." I hear a young child say. 

Opening the door, we see an older gentleman surrounded by three children and off to the side stands a woman who looks very frazzled.

"Thank you for coming. My name's Melanie, this is gramps, my brother Micael, my sister Melody and my mom Chrissy. We don't have much food, but you're welcome to come in and rest for awhile." Smiles the girl.

"Looks like y'all had some trouble." I say, still not trusting any of them. "We did. We were attacked a couple nights ago." She says with a slight frown.

"A couple nights ago? Why haven't you cleaned up the mess? It's going to call out to more." I say quizzically, my brow lifted.

Something isn't right here. I look to Logan and he seems to have figured it out right along with me.

"Well, as you can see, Gramps is a little too old to be out moving bodies and we're all just a little too young and frightened to be outside." She says looking to her family. Now that I notice it her mom is a little more than frazzled, she is tied to something.

Backing up, I grab Logan by the arm and he cuts his eyes my way. "Please don't go. We need your help. My Mom needs some food." She laughs. Lifting my Glock, I aim it at her Mom, or what had once been her Mom, but before I can get the shot off Melanie screams. "No, no, don't you dare hurt her!" All three children come running at us, fists flying. 

We just make it to the door before we hear the first shot. Turning I see the old man has put a shot through his daughter’s head. The crazed kids cover him on the floor, fists flailing at his old body.

"You killed our Mommy. Why, Gramps, why?" I hear them cry in unison. Just before opening the door to leave these sick people behind, I hear him say, "She wasn't your Mommy anymore."

Logan and I have just reached the Land Rover when I hear a shot ring out, followed quickly by three more. Jumping inside, we roar away. I feel so disheartened and sickened by the happenings in that house. For the first time in a long time I want to cry for humanity. I want to sob for those poor, disillusioned children.

"Should we take down the help sign?" I ask sadly.

Brushing the hair from my face, Logan just shakes his head no. This is the first sign of compassion I've seen from him. Maybe there is hope after all.

Driving down the road we stop at the first nice house we come to that is far enough away from the tragedy we just left behind. We don't want to be reminded of the events from moments earlier and we know we can't stay around the mess left in the yard. Any house close is out of the question because that mess will call to the zombies.

After a thorough search of the house, we find clothes for the kids. With it getting colder they will need coats and warmer clothing. We have blankets piled high in the back of the truck in hopes of finding a permanent place to stay after finding Clara and Beth, if indeed a safe place can be found. Cleaning out the pantry, we find cans of vegetables and soup. Each will sustain us so we grab it up and put it in boxes before we move on. There isn’t any water, but there is a couple of twenty-four packs of cola, which will make Tessa, Gage and Ricky happy. If Gage will ever wake up.

After today's events I am exhausted and ready to get somewhere we can just rest for a day or two, but I know we need to keep going. Gathering as much as we can find, we move from house to house until the truck and SUV are full. We find more gas cans, some with gas some without, but at least we have something to hold more fuel.

The sun’s rays are beginning to fall toward the horizon when we finally reach the last house on the block. I am tired, but today had been productive. We found lots of supplies to not only keep us warm, but to feed us as well.

I am interrupted from my thoughts by Logan, "We might as well get comfy and stay here tonight."

"Hell no. This is still too close to that other house." I say pointing down the road.

Grabbing up the supplies I found, I walk out the door, heading straight for the truck. Once inside I turn the ignition switch only to have the truck turn over, but not crank. Banging my hand down on the steering wheel, I let the deep exhaustion and sadness creep in. Tears come to my eyes as I feel hands grip my shoulder, pushing me into the passenger seat.

"Mak, shh. It's going to be ok." Tessa whispers as she hugs me tighter.

"Come on guys. Grab some supplies and let's make camp inside for the night." Logan says, walking back inside.

"Come on Makayla, let's go inside." Tessa says as she leads me out of the truck.

When did I become so weak? This isn't who I am. This isn't the way my dad raised me. Standing up straighter, I look around and see that night is falling around us. "Come on, we need to get inside and bunker down." I say as I search the dusk for flesh eaters.

"Mak! Mak, hurry! It's Gage!" Lainey yells excitedly.

Rushing inside, I see Gage sitting up on the sofa looking around, his face scrunched in confusion. Brushing a hand through his soft hair, I ask, "Gage, how are you feeling?"

"I'm not sure. Where are we?" He asks, still confused.

"Hey bro, you've been out for over a week." Blu says.

"Really, wow. What happened?" Gage asks.

"We have no clue, but thanks to Mak and Lainey, you're back with the living." Blu says teasingly.

With a shrug of his shoulders he says, "Thanks Mak and Lainey. Whoa, wait I don't know who Lainey is, who are you?" Gage asks looking at the three new faces.

Stepping forward, Lainey introduces herself and the rest, "Hi, I'm Lainey. This is my brother, Logan, and my son, Ricky."

Checking Gage over quickly, we give him two more antibiotics, then make fast work of sliding the fridge in front of the backdoor, the big sofa in front of the front door and the dining room table so it covered the large picture window in the living room.

This isn't going to be enough. I can feel it in my bones. With the massacre lying about on the ground a few houses down, this place is going to be overrun by zombies. Running upstairs, I check the house again, knowing we've covered every square inch of space. Then I see, out of the corner of my eye, our salvation; the attic.

Rushing downstairs, I hear the kids screaming and I know zombies are everywhere trying to get in, shit. Grabbing up my Glock and shotgun, I yell, "Follow me! It's our only choice!"

They all run after me, but Gage is still drained from the infection so Blu runs back, lifting him over his shoulder. They run up the stairs just as we hear a crash from one of the windows. Pulling the attic chain, the stairs fall and I push the kids up. Lainey goes up right behind them, then Blu and Gage, with Logan and I in the rear. The moaning of the zombies is getting closer and closer. As I look over my shoulder I see three walking up the stairs. Reaching the landing of the attic, I reach down to pull the steps up when a hand reaches out, pulling them back down.

"Help me or they will be up here with us in a matter of seconds!" I yell frantically.

When the steps are finally pulled up out of the zombies’ reach, we all lean back and breathe deeply. Each of us feeling relief for the first time since coming into this house.

"Did anyone think to grab some water?" I ask, leaning back on an old trunk.

"I have mine." Tessa says softly, holding the bottle up.

"Good girl, that will help." Blu says running a hand down her back trying to instill a sense of calm.

Pulling the flashlight from my pocket, I move around, being very careful not to fall through the ceiling. "Stay put. We don't want anyone falling through!" I state, looking each person in the eye.

Logan looks around the floor, the space that isn’t covered is small. There is just enough room for everyone to stretch out, but not move around. "If they want us bad enough, they may come through the ceiling." He says, rubbing a hand over his beard.

The attic isn't huge so maybe we can cover up most it. I am hoping this is a safe enough place for all of us to get some rest, but, like usual, nothing ever works out the way I want. "Ok, let's move some of these boxes to straddle the boards. Make it harder for them to get to us." I say, sighing. I can hear the moans and sweeping of feet from the zombies below, they are not giving up their hunt. Maybe they are smarter than we originally thought.

Finally getting the boxes settled around the attic, I start the chore of going through some of them, finding blankets a must for the kids to sleep on. I was exhausted, but knew sleep would be a long way off for me this night.

"Mak, I'll take first watch. You need to get some rest.” Logan says, standing.

"I think we need more than one person to keep watch tonight. This is a dangerous situation we're in." I say, rubbing a hand over my eyes.

Stepping forward, Blu says, "Then let us take this watch. You and Lainey can take the next in a few hours."

I am too tired to argue. My body is on the point of passing out from sheer exhaustion. "Ok, but wake me at the first sign of trouble or in three hours." I say.

"We will." Both Blu and Logan say in unison.

Wrapping up in the thin blanket I'd found earlier, I snuggle beside Tessa and Survivor. The nights are much colder now and I hope the few blankets we found will keep the kids warm, Gage doesn't need to catch anything else. My last thoughts before closing my eyes are of Clara and Beth. I keep repeating over and over in my head,
I'm coming. Please, please be alive
. 

I awake with a start and hear banging coming from several places. A hand covers my mouth before I can move. "Shhhh, Mak. They're trying to get in." Blu says from beside me, fright clearly evident in his eyes.

Patting him on the arm, I sit up grabbing first my katana then my Glock. I see Logan's shadow standing against the back wall. He looks up, he's clearly unsure what to do.

"Should we wake them!" He asks, pointing to Lainey, Gage, Tessa, and Ricky.

"Let's not, yet." I say softly. 

He just shakes his head.

"Damn, I thought this was the safest place to be. Now I feel trapped." I say, stroking Survivor's back. He was now awake and growling. "Shhh boy, let's not wake the kids."

Just as I move from his side the box at the end of the attic bounces in the air. Aiming my Glock, I'm ready for whatever tries coming in this room.

"Blu, wake them, but keep them quiet." I say, looking around for an exit. At the end of the room, I see a bright light shining through a small round window, at least we can get the kids out of here. "Find something to break the window with, Logan." I say directing his attention to the window.

"On it." Seconds later I hear the window shatter.

Shaking Tessa and Gage I say, "Come on wake up. You have to get out of here."

Gage looks around and shakes his head no. " I can help, Mak. Let me help." He says, stifling a yawn.

"You will be helping if you can take my gun and look after your little sister and Ricky." I say softly, running my hand through his hair.

Even without any light I can see he is still pale, the dark circles under his eyes more pronounced. He needs some food and water so he can rebound from the infection he had.

Bundling each child up, we lower them out the window. As soon as they drop down on the roof, I hand my Glock to Gage, "Watch over them for me, ok?" I ask, my brow lifted. I know I am putting heavy pressure on a sick child, but he wants to be in here to help. "Lainey, come on you can fit." I look at her and nod at the window.

"Y'all will need my help." She states simply.

"No, I need you to watch over those kids if something happens to me." I say, wrapping her in the thin blank. Tears come to her eyes as she hugs each of us, reaching for Survivor.

"Please be careful." Lainey says, holding Survivor in her arms.

"Blu, go." I say directing him to the window.

"Hell no! I'm not leaving you two in here alone, I can't go, it's not right." He says, while clutching his gun to his chest.

"Please, I need you to look after all of them, please Blu." Grabbing him I give him a fierce hug. "Now go."

Turning away from the window, I look at Logan, he's staring back at me. A couple more boxes bounce off the floor. They are looking for weak spots.  "So this is it, huh?" Logan asks softly.

"I hope not. I want all of them safe. Logan, if you can fit through the window I need you to go as well. Look after my little adopted family. Go find my bestie for me.” I say as a tear slips from the corner of my eye.

"Sorry, but I'm not leaving you, Makayla, we’re in this together." Logan says, drawing me into a tight hug.

"Mak, Mak?" I hear Tessa yell for me from the open window.

"Shhhh, Tessa." I respond.

"Mak, the sun is coming up. We're going to be ok." She whimpers.

Logan and I both walk to the window. The sun is indeed raising, but will it be soon enough?

Just as that thought hits, the box on the end closest to my left foot shoots to the ceiling of the attic and falls through.

"Shit, Logan. Please go." I beg.

Shaking his head, he edges closer to the gaping hole and we look down into the eyes of way too many zombies. Their arms reaching up, trying to grab hold of one of us, the hunger for human flesh and bone shining from their cold, dead eyes. Their moans growing louder as they see us standing just beyond reach.

Grouping together, they start knocking each other down, standing on top of the ones on the bottom of the pile.
Oh my gawd, they will reach us sooner or later
, I think as they creep closer to the ceiling. Logan and I back up until we hit the back wall, guns aimed and ready to start shooting anything that comes through the hole. Logan’s hand reaches for mine, pulling me closer to his side.

The first head comes into view as the shadows are still cast around the attic, the sun not yet completely risen. Logan's gun goes off and the zombie falls back through the hole, but he is soon replaced by another. I shoot, he falls. This continues for five minutes.

The next one’s head comes through the hole, my gun clicks. I'm out of bullets. Then I hear Logan's click as well. Pulling my katana from the sheath at my back, I slice the flesh eater’s head off. Two more replace that one. Twirling, I cut through one’s head, the second going for Logan. With my boot, I push him back toward the hole. He falls through, only to be replaced by more. Damn this is getting worse by the second.

Looking to the side, I see Blu and Gage stepping through the window, both with their guns raised and shooting zombies as they appeared. The attic is lighting up, the sun raising higher and the moaning from below not as loud as it once was.

"They are leaving, come look." Tessa yells, jumping up and down.

Leaning out the window, I see that, thanks to God and close friends, we have survived this night. Sinking to the floor, I lean my head back against the wall, taking the first easy breath since waking earlier.

Logan sits beside me, resting his head on his knees. "I was afraid it was over there for a while." He says, reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Me, too." I say, gently returning his squeeze.