I know he's watching me but I ignore him.
Leo stalks out of the woods forcing momentary panicked looks, until they realize it's my friend. He nestles in next to me and waits for the food.
I pluck and try to ignore the hollow feeling in my chest.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Her name is Muriel. I've never heard the name before and I'm afraid she is going to die in the crossfire and I will never hear the name again.
She is twenty-three and has a sister in the breeder farms. She got taken on the way to the towns. Probably by the same assholes who stole me in the woods.
When I hear the truck coming I feel a sickening panic overwhelm me. I want to tell her to abort and run like a wild woman into the woods. I don’t want to go back. It's fleeting but more powerful than any emotion I've ever felt.
Instead I take a deep breath and run my fingers through his thick fur for a moment. It's cathartic and brings me peace.
I pull my arrow and line it up. Muriel sells it. She hugs herself and stumbles.
Her dark hair is ragged and dirty. She naturally has the face of a tortured soul. She is the perfect bait.
I see movement to the west, something I never expected to see. It's a group of them. Leo must be able to smell them or sense them. He licks his lips and makes a low growl. I turn my bow and gauge the distance. They walk with the gracefulness of a mummy. Their bodies are seizing up from the scurvy and diseases they are riddled with. How they live through it is beyond me.
It's the largest pack I've ever seen.
I put my arrow in the quiver and slide the bow over my shoulder. I look at Leo and burst into a sprint. The bushes are flying past me. I see a colorful blur in my peripheral vision. I forgot I wasn’t alone.
"The infected. To the west. They have to die silently." I don’t shout but I speak loud enough that they can spread the word.
At the base of the hill I scramble up a tree. Leo hides in a bush at the base, as he always does.
I feel my tree moving as if a windstorm has taken it. I look down and see Will climbing the same large tree as I am.
I climb faster.
Finding a fat enough branch to sit in, I wrap my legs around it and steady myself.
"Where?"
I pull my arrow and bow and ready myself. Dust is starting to rise in the east. The truck is closing in on Muriel. They will see her soon.
I steady my shot and wait. The infected don't see her yet. She has stopped and started to walk toward the truck.
"Stay calm Emma." Will whispers. I release the arrow when I think they are close enough.
The arrow lands a few feet in front of the one I was aiming at.
There is no breeze thankfully. My aim was dead on. I give it a few more seconds and release the arrow I have at the ready. The arrow drops the taller one.
Nine left.
A scream fills the forest.
Muriel has spotted them. She is making her own bit of dust on the gravel road. She runs fast but the infected have heard her scream. Somehow they move faster than she does. They're gaining on her.
"Fuck." Will is shaking the tree and nearly knocking me out of it as he climbs down. He jumps when he's close enough to the ground and sprints through the forest. I release another arrow as soon as he is out of the tree. Another drops.
Eight.
They are running fast. My next arrow misses.
I climb down fast but by the time I reach the ground the gunfire has filled the forest. The truck has rounded the corner.
Leo and I run for the disaster the infected have created.
I want to run away. I've made the mess in front of me.
I push my legs. When I arrive the truck is pulled over and Muriel is being dragged behind it. Guns are firing like mad. Bullets come from the truck and the forest. No one notices at first that the infected are running hard for the truck.
"Holy shit Blake." A man shouts and one of the others turns to the infected. He shoots his automatic weapon and drops them to the their knees. They crawl and drag themselves. I pull an arrow and from the woods I hit the man in front of the truck in the eye. He drops a massive gun.
I fire another arrow but I miss the man holding Muriel by the throat. He drags her to the far side of the truck.
Four men with guns surround the huge white truck. Bullets are being sprayed into the woods. I hear the bullets knocking on the trees around me. I duck and wait. My heart is pounding in my throat.The truck door opens and Muriel screams for a second. The closing door cuts her screams short.
"Let's go." One of the other's shouts.
The truck drives away but the bullets still pelt the forest. When I glance up I see the bullets come from the man standing on the side of truck holding onto the mirror and shooting as the truck speeds away.
I cover my eyes and wait for the panic to subside.
I am tackled and thrown to the ground.
Fingers grip my skin and my throat. I feel something hard against me. A loud growl fills the forest followed by a scream. My back is against a stick. It's stabbing in. It hurts a lot.
I see something black flash across the canopy.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Stars flash in front of my eyes like when my granny used to take pictures of me. I try to focus but my head hurts. I see things go black but I can feel his fur and hear his growl. I know he'll kill anything that comes for me.
xxxx
Waking from a blackout is a bad experience. The pain is the first thing I feel. Then the alarming sense of confusion takes over. As the light hits my eyes I wince and lean to the side. I throw up and try not to notice the pain everywhere.
A cold nose is pressed against my cheek. The weak sickening feeling is everywhere at once. I want to close my eyes again but her scream is locked in my memory. She is caught because of me.
I hear his voice, "You are not responsible for everyone on the planet. It's us and them. You need to take care of you. That's survival Em."
I can't make that my mantra anymore. I cost a life today. I am responsible. Like the women who were taken when I was in the town. Meg's mom and aunt. I am to blame.
"You know the rules." I hear talking. I open my eyes.
I can't see much, it's dark. I put a hand out and feel fur. Leo is sitting guarding me.
"A life for a life Will. You made the fucking rule."
"I made the rule for reckless loss of life. Muriel might not be dead firstly and secondly Emma never cost her life on purpose."
"I want her back, god dammed. I don’t care how you feel about that fucking kid."
"Your vision is clouded Will. This is just like Star. You're risking the good of everyone for a piece of ass. Now that a new piece of ass has come along you're doing it again."
"I told you already once you don’t bring Star up. She's off limits."
"Yeah well you always have had a thing for a pretty face and a tight ass. I vote we take her to Marshall and he chooses. It's fair."
"You guys want to kill her you come through me." Will's voice sounds frightening.
"Marshall is going to be the one to decide. We leave at dawn." A scuffle starts up. I hear branches breaking and a man grunting.
The light of fire flickers on the trees high up. I look around me. I am on my bedroll. I see my bow and quiver next to me. They are leaning against my backpack. I drag them slowly to me. I pull the backpack on. Leo doesn’t move but I feel his awareness of me. I put a hand on his back and whisper, "Shhh Leo. Down low buddy. Down low."
He knows the command. He stays put. I roll away from the bedroll and slither through the woods. I make no noise. I might not have been born into this world but I have mastered surviving it.
When I am in the lower part of the hillside they're camped on, I stand but maintain a crouch. I run.
My head hurts and I want to throw up again but I hold my breath. I can only breathe short inhales and exhales.
I stumble and trip. I'm far enough away that they don’t hear me. I can't hear their bickering.
I hear a crunch behind me and sigh when I see the yellow eyes. I'm sprawled out on the ground. Leo nudges me and helps me stand. We run.
We reach the bottom of the hill where the road was. I feel the gravel beneath my feet. I don’t know if it’s the same road. I can't see anything. The moon isn’t out.
I am lost. Leo growls.
I stop and wait for him. My hand is out. His fur is suddenly in my hand. I grip it lightly and let him pull me. My eyes are still fuzzy from my knockout. I hear something. A scratch on the gravel and a high moan. Shivers tickle up and down my spine. We are on the same road as before. The infected are here.
The gravel beneath my feet makes a thousand noises I wish could be silenced. I know they can hear me. If they have upper body strength the infected are dragging themselves to me. Madness could overwhelm me if I had listen to their scratches on the gravel.
My knees nearly buckle as the ground slants into the ditch on the other side. My eyes are clearing and I'm able to focus. I can see a log in front of me. I jump over it with Leo and we start to run again. My back is aching and my neck feels like it's been cracked the wrong way. My throat hurts to swallow. I'm sure I couldn’t scream if I had to.
I ignore it all and run into the woods. When we reach a place with a high canopy I climb into a tree. I hug the tree and try to piece together what I can. The villagers no doubt blame me for the Muriel fiasco, which is entirely my fault. Will had sex with Star and for whatever reason that makes me angrier than the guys trying to kill me. The rough bark of the tree reminds me of the last time I felt this alone. I was happier then. It was Leo and me and no one else in the world mattered.
I wait for the night to feel less intimidating but it never does. I want Will as deeply as I loath him. I smile and think about Jake. His soft touch, his shy kisses, his funny smile. He is everywhere but where it matters. My heart belongs to Will.
I am fickle in love, just like my mother. I never would have imagined her two years with me were enough to influence me. There is a place reserved for her in the back of my mind. It's a dark little corner where the things I remember about her tend to cower. The memories of her have a stain that taints them. The only untouched memory is the one of us in the hospital bed. The stain of my father's contempt ruins all the others. Long before I was born my mother had an affair with my father's little brother, my uncle Rick. My father discovered Rick and my mother. My mother swore it meant nothing and it would never happen again and my father believed her. He loved her and he let it fool him until she died and he was able to see things for they really were. My mother loved two men at the same time. She never gave up my uncle to be with my father. She just kept the secret better.