Chapter 60
Noah
A little bit over a week had passed and I had learned that Kiki definitely held on to a grudge. It was a sore topic to bring up her mother and she was dead set on giving me the silent treatment.
The sound of dirt and peddle under heavy footsteps filled the air for some time while we walked along the road.
The road we had been following suddenly stopped and became a dirt road that cut right down a deep woods that hadn’t seen a trace of human life or civilization in years. Kiki marched ahead and so did I into the woods.
About an hour into our silent march I was leading us through the woods Kiki spoke, “I’m starting to get tired here.”
I glanced back at Kiki to make sure that she was close to my side. It was very late, we were isolated, and there was hardly any telling what was out there in the woods tonight.
“I we need to keep going and rest once we make it to the next town,” I told Kiki, but I stopped for a moment to glance around us.
Kiki was my guide through the woods, but she was still just a kid. She needed her rest and energy to properly guide us the rest of the way and to be ready for an attack from any type of enemy.
I wasn't that much of an asshole to walk a child to death.
“Yeah, let’s rest for a moment", Kiki was actually getting a little sleepy, but when she heard me actually say 'let's rest' she smiled.
Kiki sunk down to the ground resting up against a tree. She viciously attacked a bag of snacks she had in her backpack,"Do you want yours?"
"I'm good", I said walking over to her. The keaves had a soft crunch under my feet when I walked through the under bush, and pushed aside any shrubs and bushes that got in my way. This forest was dense and a bit hard to navigate through. The only real light we had was from our flashlights, the fireflies, and the flickers of star and moonlight that trickled in.
Other than that, we had been plunged into the darkness with the sounds of nightlife nature around us along with our grassy footsteps. The night was cool and smelled like the greenery.
It was surprisingly relaxing, but also unsettling. It almost felt too peaceful to me. The world around me was easing my mind too much. I tensed up all over again and listened.
“You think this would be a good spot for camp? I mean I can dig you a hole and bury you alive. Honestly, we should have–” I hushed Kiki and stopped her from talking anymore.
"Don't you fucking shhh me!" I swiftly dove in and covered her mouth before she could say another word. There were muffled words against my palm, but I didn’t bother to listen to what she was saying. When she was probably cussing up a storm.
Then it was there; rustling in the bushes and the sounds of bodies coming towards there. It sounded like a group of something in the woods. Kiki gave up her struggle against me and just listened. She was so still, like a deer that was about to pounce away in fear but that was the instinct of her body telling her to do that.
Soon enough, the approaching creatures were in my sight I gritted my teeth at the decaying flesh and rotting smell of the monsters.
“Revenants", I hissed out and removed my hand from Kiki’s mouth. I moved her behind me and away from the danger. “We gotta get outta here.”
I quickly ordered Kiki to turn and hightail it back to the dirt road. I would be behind her with gun in hand. Kiki had her own gun at her hip and when we started to run away from the approaching zombies, the undead monstrosities let out a blood-curdling scream and rushed after us with as much speed as their undead legs could carry them.
Kiki ran hard and as fast as she could through the woods and kept her gun clenched in one hand while I followed behind with a gun in his hand as well. With my sight I could see that the Revenants were coming in from both our sides.
This was seriously bad! It was like an entire town-sized outbreak was going to come in on us!
I didn’t want to scare Kiki, but she gasped and cried out, “Another one!”
There were a few coming in from the front now too. We were surrounded.
“No good… we have no other choice!” I pulled up my gun and let loose two head shots at the Revenants that were closest to them on their right. “Shoot them, Kiki! Make a path for us!”
In this moment, the military history of barking orders and the urgency to act was kicking back into my voice. I could hear how nervous Kiki was on the sound of her pounding heart, but she knew how to shoot a gun.
“God damn it, don’t yell at me like that!” She snapped back at me as she pointed her gun and shot the first zombie in front of her in the shoulder. That did nothing to help. It was the head that mattered in this situation, and she knew that. Kiki steadied her aim on the zombie again and fired her gun a second time. This time she struck the head and all of the undead brain matter splattered the immediate area. Kiki grimaced with a face of disgust, but Noah snapped at her, “Hey! If the path is clear, then keep running, Kiki!”
“I know that already, jeez!” She huffed and started to take off back to the dirt path again. She used her gun along the way as she went. The next two or three zombies that came out to grab and bite at her instead bit her lead bullets as they were shot at point blank into their ugly maws.
I kept my attention on our rear while we fled the forest. The majority of the zombies were approaching them from behind in a flood of groans and moans while stumbling quickly after them. We're we near a town that was deeply infected by the outbreak and these were all the people rushing after us.
A Revenant on my left got especially close to me – so close, in fact, that I was able to fit the barrel of the gun right into the creature’s disgusting mouth and fire off a shot that blew the cranium right off of the thing and splatter its brains all along the grass.
The Revenants were so aggressive in their pursuit and set on capturing us to feast on our bodies that I turned around for a moment to focus on shooting off the ones that got ridiculously close to us in the moments of our escape.
These woods made running away difficult because of denseness of the trees and foliage. If we weren’t careful, one of us could trip, fall, and be overwhelmed by the mass of Revenants that was on our tail. The escape was slow because of all of this, but as long as we kept the Revenants at bay, I knew we still had a chance to escape.
I kept firing, reloaded my gun twice and going on three times at this point, and went right back to executing one zombie right after the other. After a few seconds of rapid firing and killing off the undead bastards, I turned back around to catch up to Kiki. I still had to make sure she was safe. I couldn’t let Kiki die out here. I picked up my speed a bit to catch back up to her.
She was carrying on.
Good.
She really is a strong kid. I thought to myself when I saw her safe and shooting off any Revenants that were in our way of escape.
As we hurried though, Kiki tripped over an uprooted tree root, but when she fell forward onto her hands and knees, she I saw something grab her ankle. The stinging in her cut up hands and knees were the least of her problems now as a hand on her ankle pull her back towards the bushes. I heard her heart pounding out of her ears and I could smell the rush of adrenaline-induced terror coursed through her veins.
A Revenant had gotten a hold of her and she was struggling to get out of its grasp. She kicked and flailed, but those rotting fingers had a vice grip on her. So she screamed.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” She cried with an exceptional amount of desperation and plea in her voice.
It was hard to miss the cries when I was running close behind her. I stopped firing behind ud and now focused the barrel of my gun at the bush zombie that was trying to steal Kiki.
I shot once – twice – before the Revenant made ugly guttural sounds before it officially died with a slightly loosened grip on Kiki’s ankle.
I hurried over to Kiki and pried the curled fingers off of her and helped her to her feet. She was shaking a bit, but she refused to acknowledge her fear. I wasn’t about to dwell on it right now either. We were still being pursued.
“Come on; let’s get the hell out of here.” I told her and started to hurry away with her again.
Thanks to Kiki’s sharpshooting skills, the path ahead of us had been cleared and little by little we got further ahead of the Revenants. I had to shoot a few stragglers that popped out on occasion in order to keep our path cleared and safe.
We ran and hurried back the way we had come, and soon enough, we made it to the dirt road and took off running down the road. We ran faster since we had no trees and foliage to be cautious of anymore. This road was long and free for us to flee. Now it was just a matter of how much energy and stamina we had to use to cover as much ground as possible.
Haley
Time went by slowly especially since it felt like I didn't have a purpose. My morning chores were reduced to basically getting eggs, helping clear the table and being my mother's shadow. I asked my dad why the barn was locked and he told me not to worry about it which only made me want to know what was in there more but I didn't push it. I cleaned water every once in awhile and on occasion I took Anna to work. I hung out in the watchtower when my mom came back to the house with Jesse and that was pretty much my day. I didn't feel productive. Or really even useful.
Nikolai still wasn't back and it was now going on two weeks. The snow hadn't started to fall but I could feel the chill in the air telling me it was coming. Now we should be out more than ever trying to get the last bit of supplies we can. Jesse had heard on the radio about a town not far from us just across the river that had recently been overtaken by Revenants. We should be there taking all the supplies we can helping anyone that may have survived. Instead what was I doing?
Sitting down for dinner.
"So I heard from Stephanie, who heard from Tiffany who heard from Mrs. Galloway in Bremen. That Sasha's sister had a boy. Cutest little thing I heard but so tiny. Everyone thinks hes a preemie baby he may not survive winter", Gloria said next to me dressed in a long sleeve red dress. She even put makeup on today making her eyes pop even more than they already did and braided her hair and a crown with my pink ribbon.
"Don't wish death on anyone", Dad said at the head of the table enjoying his stew.
"I'm not wishing death on him. I'm just saying what Mrs. Galloway said. You know if more people started having babies in this town I could probably get some work", Gloria was a midwife and occasional nurse. She got all of her experience when the town all of a sudden had a boom in babies all around Anna's age.
Mom had always said there was something in the water that year. I did not like that I now knew what she meant. "I heard there's going to be a boom in Campbell Hill. If you think about it that's probably where I should be going---"
"No", Dad immediately shot down. They always butted heads on Gloria wanting to leave town. But Dad always shot it down,"You have no husband, no family out there. What would you do if you got robbed or came across a Revenant. It's too dangerous".
"Haley went to Therap", She argued,"And I can't go three towns over...for work".
"No you cannot. There's plenty for you to do here", Dad said leaving no room for discussion.
"But I'm not getting paid".
Here we go.
The same argument they always had. And we all knew to just eat our food and keep our mouths shut.
"You have clothes on your back, a roof over your head, food in your belly, a family who loves and supports you. What more do you need?"
"I want to use the skills I have to actually do something. I can support myself if you just give me the chance to", she fumed.
"You have no idea what the world is like beyond these walls. Why are you always so desperate to go out and fail so far from home?" I could see Dad was getting angry by that vein that was popping out of his forehead. Only Gloria was able to make that vein pop out.
"Why would I fail? I'm more than capable of succeeding in the world. You let Haley go on runs. And you never assume she's going to fail", I didn't like being brought into this conversation.
"Because failing for her has consequences. It means this village doesn't survive and she becomes a Revenant. It's a completely different situation that she's been trained to do. You just want to wander the streets".
"Pass the water", Samuel said quietly as I reached for the pitcher to hand it to him. "Thank you".
"Yeah".
"Of course there's always different rules for Haley", I just wanted to fade from existence. Gloria knew exactly what to say to make everyone uncomfortable and she was doing a great day job of it right now.
"You want to do runs now?" My dad laughed which only sent Gloria off more.
"Honey", my mom said trying to keep the peace before this absolute shit storm backfired on all of us,"If you want to leave Chester, there are ways to do it safely. We just don't want you to end up in a bad situation where we can't help you".
"Bye-bye", Lilly stuttered out.
"The answer is no", Dad said doubling down,"The roads from here to Campbell Hill are crawling with revenants and highwaymen".
"The answer isn't no forever. It's no right now. Winter is almost here and the revenants become extra vigilant for food. We just don't want you to become food", Mom calmly explained putting green beans on Jackson's plate.
"I don't want anymore", He complained.
"Yes you do", She corrected. If it wasn't for my mom I'm pretty sure Jackson would never eat a vegetable or anything green.
"But it's okay if Haley becomes food", Gloria said also digging her feet into this argument.
"She knows how to use a gun", Marc said feeling the need to speak up,"She's not going to become food because she knew how to use an actual weapon and not just words".
"I don't remember anyone asking for your opinion", Gloria said with crazy eyes. That told him he better shut the fuck up or she beat him with rocks in his sleep.
"My sister is in Welge. You could try there. It's only 2 hours away", Kevin said as Laura gave his shoulder a tight squeeze telling him to shut up. He took the hint and went back to his meal. Just like Amy had to learn when to speak and went not to Kevin would too. This was his first dinner with all of us now that he and Laura were married.
"Why don't you just come work in the dress shop with me? Anna offered in a a floral purple long sleeved high neck line dress that I knew she made,"Madam's always looking for girls with half-decent sewing skills".
"Because I don't want to be a seamstress", Gloria said with a role of her eyes.
"I'm just saying, if it's about money you can make plenty of it here", Anna stated.
"I know I'm going to kick myself for asking but how'd you even know there's work in Campbell Hill?" Samuel questioned.
"I heard it on the radio".
"You were playing on the radio", I gasped. "It's not a toy. What if someone was actually trying to reach out to us for help---"
"Oh spare me, it was for two minutes. And Emmanuel wasn't doing anything anyway".
"You can't do that! People send distress calls to us. Two minutes is the difference between life and death. The radio isn't a phone for you to play with to see what's going on in other towns", I couldn't be mad at Gloria because she was going to do what she wanted to do but Emmanuel should have known better. He should have said no. and as much as I hated to be a tattletale if he couldn't say no to Gloria maybe he shouldn't be in the tower.
"More", Lilly said pointing to the loaf of bread in the center of the table.
Laura reached for the bread and cut Lilly a slice.
"What do you say?" Mom reminded her.
"Butter", Lilly demanded.
Amy handed Laura the butter and before she could pass it off to Lilly mom gently slapped her hand to get her attention,"What do you say?"
"Thank you".
"No".
"Good enough for me", Laura handed Lily the butter and Mom helped her spread it on her bread.
"So my options are get married or become a runner to get out of town?" I guess we're just blowing past the fact that she used an emergency radio for gossip.
"Yes", Dad said rubbing his temples.
"Fine, I'll marry Drew", and the same part was if Gloria brought up marriage to any guy they would happily get down on one knee and propose. She was just that sort of girl. She had options and she knew it. This week It was true next week it would be any number of guys. For a second I thought she was going to go back to Peter But she completely dismissed him on sight.
"I think we're done with weddings for this year", Mom stated.
"Not if I have anything to say about it", Gloria just had to add.
"You know the Winter Formal is coming up", Laura said completely diffusing the conversation and changing the topic.
"And I will be the queen of Chester", Gloria smiled proudly. I always volunteer to work during the formals but I know that there are prizes giving out for best dress, smile, and most admirers. Gloria always wins, I kind of felt bad for the other girls that actually wanted their turn in the spotlight. Gloria has won every single year except her first one. First prize gets a crown and a slash and on the final night of the festivities wherever it's at they ride around on this big float and wave down to the peasants. I remember one year the winter formal was broken up between six different towns and you bet your ass Gloria was there for every single one and still by a landslide won.
"I don't know you getting pretty old", Samuel laughed along with Marc.
"Boys!" Mom scolded.
"I'm just saying, this you could be someone else's year", over Gloria's dead body.
"I was thinking I was around Haley's age when I started going to the formals", Laura smoothly added in.
"Were we?" Kevin said looking confused.
"Yes", Laura turned her attention completely to Mom.
"You two always had such fun dancing", Mom said sweetly.
"Yeah, I mean that's where you make it clear you're looking for a husband...or wife", Laura stated.
"Hmmm, I have a feeling this year is going to be Samuel's year. You'll find the perfect girl", I wanted to ask Samuel about what I had heard from the first lady. I didn't care if he was gay I cared that he didn't feel like he could tell us if he was.
"Ha, ha, ha I'm going to pass that torch on to Gloria", Samuel said nervously.
"Or Haley. Don't you think it's time to start seriously looking at your options?" Laura asked.
My heart was saying no. But my brain knew we needed to say yes. But before I could answer Dad answered for me,"Not this year".
Mom came to my defense,"And why ever not? In fact I think it's time Anna start going to the formals. It's long overdue for Haley".
"Next year", my dad's shrugged. He turned to look at me,"And you're not interested in the formal".
I guess not.
"That's not what the formal is about. It's about putting yourself out there to see what potential matches you can make. All of the girls are old enough to go. But Gloria and Haley should be taking this seriously", Mom said breaking down this concept to Dad.
"Haley tell your mother you're not interested".
"Well, I kind of am", I heard my dad's fork scrape across his plate.
"Excuse me?" He said shocked.
"I am. I've never gone before. I'm not planning on finding my dream match. But I would like to go this year".
My mom smiled warmly at my dad with a smug expression,"Then it's settled".
"Great, I'll make your dress", Laura said like she didn't just manufacture this whole conversation.
"Me too", Gloria said throwing her name out there too.
"Absolutely not. You'll have to go to Anna and you'll have to pay her for it. You're too picky and I'm not trying to get my feelings hurt", I smiled to myself as Gloria and Laura bickered back and forth. Did I think I would find anyone that was even close to Noah?
No.
But everyone keeps telling me the first one hurts the worse. As much as I didn't want to move on I had to. And this was a baby step towards moving on.