Chapter 15
A note.
A note is what greeted me at my front door. Not Brianna. Not my father. But, a stupid piece of paper.
I saw it wedged in-between the door and its frame as I was walking up the driveway.
I couldn't wait for Cameron. I needed to read the note right then and there, and when I did, my heart shattered.
Summer,
We went looking for you in the city. It's been 3 days since you left. If you happen to come back home, stay here. Don't come looking for us. We will be back by Tuesday.
Ps. Brianna made us take the cat.
- Dad
Tuesday was two days ago.
They should be back by now, and they aren't.
It baffles me. Why would my father take a child into the city to look for me and Cameron? Is he really that stupid? Don't even get me started on the damned cat.
"What's wrong?" Cameron says as he walks up to me. I guess he saw my body go white and knew there was something wrong.
I can't trust my voice. I don't know if it would crack from either anger or sadness, but I keep silent and hand Cameron the note so he can see for himself.
After reading the note, Cameron's hand rubs his forehead in frustration.
"What do we do?" He asks.
"We need to go find them," I say trusting my voice a little more now.
"Summer, do you know how many infected are in the city?"
"Yes, Cameron. I've been there many times. That's why we have to go looking for them. They could be stuck there or need help. I don't want to risk it."
"We can't go ourselves. It's too dangerous." Cameron says.
I sigh. "Well, if Robbie and them help us,"
"We can't ask them that." Cameron interrupts. "They are supposed to be staying here for tonight and then leaving tomorrow morning. We've caused them enough trouble."
"I don't care. Brianna's out there and could be in danger. I'm going to ask them right now." I push Cameron out of my way and stomp up to the van. They are all gathering up their stuff to take inside the house.
"I wouldn't bother getting your stuff out of the car."
"Why?" Layke asks.
"They're not here. They went looking for me."
"Are they coming back?" Linda asks.
"The note they left said they would be back two days ago."
"Well, that doesn't mean they're not coming back," Layke says.
"I need to find them. I'm going to go with or without you, but I'm asking you guys to help me. I need more people than Cameron and me. We will cover more ground with more people. We'll find them, then come back, and you guys can leave in the morning."
"No. We're staying here." Robbie says as he slams the front door of the van shut. The sound makes me jump back. Robbie walks up to us. His boots make a heavy clunking sound with every step he takes. The rifle slung around his shoulder is intimidating, and I can't help but shrivel up inside as he draws near.
"Come on man," Layke says. "We have to help, they don't have a car."
"No." His answer is firm.
Linda walks up to Robbie and gently rubs his arm. "Robbie, I think we should help them."
"Linda, please." Robbie sighs. "Don't argue with me."
"Think about if we were in their shoes, hun. You know darn well they'd help us without a thought."
"Why does that matter?"
Linda bats her eyes and runs her hand through her hair. "Can we please just do this for me, sweetheart?"
If I didn't know any better I'd say Linda is a great manipulator. She sure knows how to control Robbie.
Robbie sighs and then forces a smile. "Only for a couple of hours."
"Thank you," I say with a wink to Linda.
...
After driving for about half an hour, we finally make it to the city. We take the back roads since the main ones are usually filled with infected. The city is the most dangerous place around here. For some reason, the infected like to clump up in groups. Before they had a couple of months to decompose, they were almost impossible to run away from. They could still run, jump and sometimes even climb like normal humans. I stayed away from the city then. But once their muscles and limbs began to rot and wither away, they were confined to only a slow pace.
It feels weird being in the city with people other then Cameron. I either went by myself or with him to do my supply runs. I'm not used to bigger groups and frankly, they make me nervous. Bigger groups mean more people to fuck up and get me killed. However, I need them. My sister's life is at stake and I'd rather deal with having a bigger group if that means getting my sister back home safe.
"So how we gunna do this?" Layke asks. He's sitting next to me and our shoulders are grazing each other with the van's every bump. I can't help but blush a bit.
"We can't just walk up and down the streets. We'll get eaten," Robbie says. I roll my eyes. Of course we can't do that. Does he think I have no idea how to survive? Ive been coming to the city for the past two months. I know what to do and what not to do.
"Why don't we hop roofs and look at the roads from up there," Cameron suggests.
"I really doubt they're going to be walking out in the open, Cameron." Layke rolls his eyes.
A breath comes out of Cameron's nose. "Of course not."
"Most likely they will be hiding away in a building." Linda says.
"You're probably right." Scooter says from the front seat. "But there are hundreds of buildings here. We can't possibly look through them all."
He's right. That's impossible. The only way we're going to be able to find them is by splitting up and having luck on our sides.
"We split up," I say.
"No way in hell are we splitting up." Robbie barks. "I want my eyes on everyone at all times."
"Hun, there's no way we're going to find them like that. We have too, especially if you want to get back to Summer's house before the sun goes down." Linda says.
"So it's decided." Scooter says. "We split up."
...
Robbie pulls the van into a parking garage and parks it in a space on the bottom floor. Before we all get out of the car, Robbie passes out the guns. I'm given a handgun, which surprises me since I thought I wasn't going to get handed anything. Of course, Cameorn gets his rifle. I'm thankful. We were never going to hear the end of that if Robbie handed it to someone else. Layke is the only one, other than Pheobe, who didn't get a gun. Robbie hands him the machete Cameron and I found in the van.
The plan is for Linda to take watch at the top of the parking garage and for Pheobe to stay inside the van so there's no way for her to get hurt. The rest of us will go building to building looking for my father and sister. Scooter and Robbie will be a team, and sadly, Cameron, Layke and I will be the other. I'm not ready for the bickering. We will meet back at the van before dark, which gives us a couple of hours of searching.
We all get out of the van quietly and make sure the doors don't slam shut. The garage is strangely quiet. You'd normally hear the infected shuffling around or hear their throaty snarls, but the garage and the roads outside of it are dead silent.
Layke puts his machete into the waistband of his jeans and with a sway in his step, he walks up to the rest of the group. "So, what happens if we get in trouble and we need help?"
"I guess just make your way back to the van. I'll leave the keys with Linda." Robbie says.
With a nod, our groups go thier seperate ways. Cameron and I make sure the road is clear before we leave the parking garage. We sprint across the road to hide behind an abandoned car. Next to the car is the first building we decide to look in. It's not a big building. It's only about two stories high. Hopfully it wont take long to search through. I motion for Cameron to open the glass doors of the building with my gun in my hands. The door is yanked open, and we slip inside without a sound.
We walked into a bank. It has a very high ceiling with a diamond chandelier hanging from the center. Glass walls separate each office, and some of them are covered in blood stains. The lobby's chairs looked like they were pushed up against one of the office doors since they are all scattered at the opening. The door is shattered. I guess whatever the bankers were trying to keep out, got in. There's a dead body leaning over the front desk. It's decomposing. Dozens of flies buzz around it and I can see maggots burrowing in it's soggy skin. On the other side of the bank, past the offices, is a staircase. We search the room for supplies before we go upstairs. The second story is full of more offices. We find nothing useful.
We exit the building and make our way to the one next door. It's an apartment building. We do the same thing as before and check the lobby for infected. Instead of going through every single apartment, we scan the hallways and look for any high traffic areas. Meaning, that we can tell things were moved, doors were unlocked, and things were taken. It doesn't look like anyone has been in this building in a while.
We move on to the next building. This is a bigger one. We find the stairway and walk up the eleven stories to the roof. We can see most of the street but there's no sign of any people or my father and sister.
Cameron sits on the roof's concrete ledge as Layke kicks around the debris that covers the ground.
"I feel like we're getting nowhere Summer," Layke says. A rock flies across the roof and hits the ledge on the other side.
"Let's just stick to the plan." Cameron rolls his eyes.
Layke's right. There has to be a better way to look.
"I'm with Layke on this one."
Cameron glares at me. His cheeks flush. "So, now you're all about him, aren't you?"
"What are you talking about?" I give him a dirty look.
"Are you agreeing with Layke because you like him more?"
"No? I just think there's a better way this could be done."
"Jealous much?" Layke says under his breath as he kicks another rock.
Cameron gets off the ledge in a swift motion. He walks up to Layke and pushes him. "Look man, if you have a problem say it to my face."
"I just did." Layke smirks.
"Do you really want to do this right now?" Cameron raises his voice.
"Do you?" Layke gets into his face. "Last time I beat your face in. It still looks like shit. Do you want to be pounded unconscious this time?"
I step in between them and push them back with both my arms. "Guys, stop. Seriously. This is not the time for this!"
"Fuck you!" Cameron screams at Layke so loud it echoes through the empty streets.
"Why would I do that with you if I can do it with Summer?" Layke lifts an eyebrow.
"What the fuck, Layke!" I push him. He takes a couple of steps back to make sure he doesn't loose his balance. Then, he gives me a wink.
Before I could respond, the sound of a gun popping off nearby makes me freeze. It's close. It sounds like it's down the street. Wihtout thinking, we all duck behind the concrete ledge.
"Are Robbie and Scooter in trouble?" Layke says as he breathes heavy.
"I don't see anything." Cameorn scans the road while still hiding behind the ledge.
"We have to go find where it came from."
"Are you stupid?" Cameron barks. "We could get shot at. Or worse, killed."
I honestly don't care if Scooter and Robbie are in trouble. I'm more worried about my father and sister. There's the smallest chance that it could be them. And if they are in trouble, I'm sure as hell going to go and help them. I'm not going to sit here and just hope that those gunshots came from Robbie and Scooter or some other dumbass getting chased by infected.
"I think we should check it out." I say.
Layke slaps Cameron's shoulder. "Ha! Two against one, asshole."
...
As more gunshots go off, we hide behind what's left of a scorched SUV to catch our breath. Once we're ready to move again, we make a run for the gunshots. We move through an alley and around some dumpsters. We put our backs up against the wall of a building and Layke peers around its corner.
"I see something." He says. "There's a man and a girl. They're trapped by a group of infected about a couple of blocks away."
I smile. I knew it was Brianna. I just knew it.
I push Layke out of the way and run towards the infected. I shoot at one but I miss. I hear a gun go off from behind me and the same infected I shot at falls to the ground. I look behind me to see Cameron shooting at them with his rifle. Some of the infected start straggling toward us but Cameron shoots them before they can get close. I let Cameron finish them off. I don't want to waste bullets. He's a better shot than me.
I see Brianna hiding behind my father. He has a gun in one hand and my sister's hand in the other. He's wearing the same white tank top he always does but now its covered in blood. His bald head is glissining with sweat and I can tell he's not far from passing out. Brianna peeks her head from around my father. When she sees me, her eyes light up. She drops my dad's hand and runs towards us.
Before my arms even connect with her body, my eyes are already wet. I pick her up, my hands grasping her dirty shirt, and spin her around in an embrace.
"I thought you were gone." She says through her sniffles.
"I'm not. I'm right here."
I see my father shaking Cameron's hand and telling him thank you for keeping me safe. Once I let go of Brianna, my father comes and gives me a hug. At first, I feel weird about it. But when he holds me tight, the first time since I was a little kid, I feel a burning in my heart. I feel so bad for being such a bitch to him for these past five months. I've taken my mother's death out of him, like it was his fault. But truly, it was mine. Maybe I didn't want to come to that realization.
When I'm done hugging my father, I see a pet carrier on the ground. I see Wilbur's small nose poke out from in-between the bars.
"Hi, little guy," I say.
"There's no time for small talk," My father says, his voice filled with worry. "We have to go."
"Why?"
"I'll explain later. Follow me."
"Wait, what about everyone else?" Layke cuts in.
"There's no time." He grabs my hand and tries to pull me with him.
"Dad, I can't leave the others." I pull my wrist out of his grip.
"Summer, you don't understand. We need to leave now. They're probably coming." He says sternly.
"Who?" Cameron asks.
"Just come on."
"We're getting everyone else whether you like it or not. You don't have to follow me but if you want me safe then you should." I say.
He nods. Quickly, we all run down the street toward the parking garage. By the time we get back to the van, the sun has set. There's only a soft glow in the distance.
We see Linda, Robbie, and Scooter all standing by the back of the van.
"Thank God. We thought we would have to go find you guys," Layke says as we all run up to them.
"We heard guns shots so we came back here. I told you guys to come back if you got in trouble!" Robbie raises his voice.
"It doesn't matter. We found them," I say as I point to my father and Brianna. "My father says we have to leave, like right now."
"Okay, everyone in the van and we'll go back to your house."
"No, we can't." My father says.
"Why?" Robbie's eyebrow raises.
"They'll follow us back and find where we live. We need to lose them before we leave the city. That's why we've been stuck here."
"Who?" Scooter asks.
"The military."