We were getting close. I could feel it. We'd been walking for a couple days, I think, but I'd lost track. I considered asking the others, but if they were like me, it was taking everything they had just to keep putting one foot in from of the other without tripping. We'd found enough fresh water to keep us hydrated, but we hadn't found much to eat since finishing the last of the boar, and it was taking its toll.
Time didn't really have any meaning beyond light and dark, and even that didn't seem to matter much. We drifted closer to the logging trail the longer we walked, simply because I didn't have the concentration to keep us at the right distance anymore. Still, I tried to keep us as close to out of sight as possible. I was determined that no one else was going to die. And it was only that single thought that continued to drive me, keeping me just a bit more aware than the others.
Les was suffering the worst of it. He was being carried all the time now. We took turns switching him back and forth between the four of us. Kieran carried him the most, since we only had one weapon and I was carrying that. But Lilly was carrying him when it happened.
It was mid-morning on our third day—maybe the fourth, I wasn't sure—and we were still plodding along. When we stopped for a break, I tried bolstering everyone's spirits by telling them how close I thought we were, but the attempt had fallen flat. Probably because I'd told them the same thing the day before. Anyway, we were about to move out when I heard a faint twanging sound, a thud, and then a yelp of pain. I spun around just in time to see Kieran stumble forward, an arrow in his calf. My mom screamed.
Another twang, and a second arrow skewered Kieran in the side. At that point, I knew he was done for. We might've been able to save him with just an injured leg, but the second wound would require immediate medical attention or else he would bleed out quickly.
Kieran looked at my mom, and said, "I love you, Susanna." Then his eyes shifted to the crimson stain growing on his shirt, then he looked me dead in the eye and said, "Run!"
The word had barely left his mouth before a third arrow went through his neck. I wished I could've spared my mother the sight of blood spewing from Kieran's mouth. It had all happened in a matter of seconds, yet it seemed much longer. Then my mother screamed again and broke my paralysis. I spun her around, and shoved her in the direction Lilly was going, but she started to turn back immediately.
"Run!" I shouted.
My wife must've started running as soon as the second arrow had hit Kieran, because she'd gotten a good head start on Mom and me. But with Les, she needed it.
I grabbed my mother's arm and pulled her with me, knowing that if I let go, she'd run back to Kieran. She knew it was hopeless, but she'd try to help him anyway. I knew that's what she'd do, because that's what I'd do if it was Lilly or her on the ground back there. And if I wasn't trying to save my family, I would've done the same for Kieran. He wasn't my father, but he'd been a good man. If I'd been younger when Mom and he had met, he would've made a great stepdad. He'd certainly taken good care of my mother, and for that I was grateful. Now, I felt guilty dragging her away, leaving the man she loved to die alone. But he was already dead. The only thing we could do now, to make his death not be in vain, was save ourselves.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to explain all of that to my mom, so I just ran and pulled her with me. My feet tangled and I stumbled, but I somehow stayed upright and forced myself to keep going. Lilly was ahead of me, her own stride looking awkward from the infection and the extra weight she carried. Mom struggled to break free, to turn back. Her cries broke my heart, but I didn't falter. I would protect her, not just because I loved her, but also because a man I had respected and called a friend had loved her too. And his dying wish was for me to do exactly what I was doing—trying to save her.
"To the left!" I shouted. I wasn't sure if GW could hear us or not, but I had to make sure Lilly didn't get too far away from the trail. It wouldn't do us any good if we got away from him only to be lost in the forest. She heard me and swerved, angling back toward the logging trail, staying just inside the tree-line. I wasn't sure it mattered anymore—we just needed to keep running.
I looked back several times and strained my ears, but I couldn't see or hear anyone coming after us. But with the amount of noise we were making, that probably didn't mean much. My lungs burned and my heart thudded against my ribcage so hard that I was half expecting it to break through. At least my legs didn't hurt, but that was only because I couldn't feel them. They were numb, and so were my feet. They'd been numb for days.
Finally, when I didn't think I could go another step further, Lilly dropped to her knees, cradling Les against her chest. I skidded to a stop next to her, barely staying on my feet. Mom didn't even try to keep standing. She dropped to her knees next to Lilly, covered her face with her hands, and sobbed uncontrollably, gasping for air.
"Are you hurt?" I barely got the words out.
Lilly shook her head, sucking in great gulps of air. "Can't run anymore." She looked up at me and then down at Les, who was staring at us with dull, emotionless eyes. "Take him. Go."
I shook my head and straightened. Pain shot through my side, almost bending me over, but I managed to stay upright. I brandished my spear. "No. I'm not leaving." I turned back and faced the direction from which we came. If GW was coming, I wasn't going to let him get any closer to my family. No, I was going to make my stand here while Lilly and my mother kept going. I was going to kill GW or die trying. And if I died, I'd try to drag it out long enough for them to get away. Not my preference, but it was an acceptable outcome. I'd known it might come to this, and now it was time to make a choice.
"You go—both of you." My breathing was easing up now, and the pain in my side had dissipated. "Take Les and keep following the logging trail. Send your dad back for me."
"No." Lilly's voice was firm. "We're all going home. Together."
I started to argue, but felt an arm on my shoulder. It was Mom.
"I lost Kieran," she said. Her cheeks were streaked with lines where tears had carved little trails through the dirt and grime that covered her face. But her eyes were dry now. "I'm not losing you too. Now let's go."
"I don't think I can run anymore," I said.
"So we walk as far and as long as we can," Lilly said.
I hadn't been able to hear anyone behind us, so either GW wasn't coming, or he just hadn't caught up yet. Either way, it meant we had a little time. With luck, that would be all we needed. And with a lot of luck, we'd find civilization before GW caught up with us. But I wasn't betting on it.
We didn't bother trying to walk in a single file line now. There were only three of us, and Les. GW wasn't coming at us from the front. The danger wasn't us walking into the unknown—it was not seeing what was behind us. That was the problem. I walked on the side closest to the trail, spear at the ready, with Mom in the middle and Lilly on the other side of her. Mom had Les, giving Lilly a much needed break.
"He's not going to stop, is he?" Lilly said, breaking the silence. "Whoever this is, he's not going to stop coming after us, even if we make it out."
I shook my head. I'd already come to that conclusion. Initially, I thought GW's plan was to just leave us in the middle of nowhere to starve. But when he'd started killing people, that's when I knew he wasn't taking any chances on any of us surviving. He was hell bent on personally making sure that none of us lived to tell the tale.
"Let him come," I said grimly. "Once we're home, your dad will have a dozen men around the house and a hundred out looking for that bastard."
She didn't comment.
I looked over at my wife. "But no matter what happens, just remember—I love you. You know that, right?"
"Please tell me you're not about to do something stupid," she said.
I rolled my eyes. "What kind of response is that? I say I love you and you accuse me of getting ready to do something stupid."
"Well, it sounded an awful lot like something somebody says right before they make some sort of heroic sacrifice."
"Nope," I said. "Just wanted to make sure you knew."
"Well," she said, smiling, "In that case, I love you t . . ."
Her words trailed off as we began to hear the sound of something crashing through the underbrush. At first it was faint, but it quickly grew louder. Whatever it was, was coming in fast and hard, and sounded far too large to be GW. The sound was all around us, and we stood there in a half-dazed panic, trying to decide which way to run. But before we could decide what to do, a massive grizzly bear, bigger than any I'd ever seen at the zoo, came out of the trees straight at us.
Lilly was the closest and she instinctively shoved my mom and Les behind her, making Mom stumble and fall into me as I attempted to navigate around her. I went down on one knee and heard Lilly scream in pain. Fear sliced through my Zombie fatigue, like a samurai sword through butter, and I moved like a man possessed, operating on pure adrenaline. I pushed myself to my feet, still clutching my spear, and rushed past Mom, shouting for her to stay back. What I saw before me was a nightmare.
Lilly was on the ground, clutching her leg, which was covered in blood. She was crying, but her eyes burned with rage.
The bear had its massive paw raised. Blood dripped from its claws.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered being told, or reading, or seeing on TV that if confronted by a bear, be big and loud. I didn't have the time to decide if my memory was accurate or not. I just did it.
I threw my arms in the air, waving them back and forth wildly, and yelled at that damn grizzly with everything I had. It was easily twice the size of me, but instead of showing me who was boss, it merely gave me a disinterested look, as if to say, I don't have time for you little man, and turned its attention back to Lilly. I swore loudly. There wasn't enough room for me to get between the two of them. I raised my spear and prepared to hurl it with all of my might.
Suddenly, from behind me, a rock flew through the air and hit the bear just below the ear. It bellowed in rage and turned on its attacker. I didn't have to look behind me to know that it was now eyeing my mother and son. I was torn. If I moved to defend them, it would leave Lilly unprotected. But if I stayed where I was, everyone was at risk.
"Jack!" Lilly shouted. "You promised."
Those two words cut me to the bone, and I knew what I had to do, even though it would kill me to do it. I backed up slowly, putting myself between the bear and my mother and son. This left Lilly exposed. I screamed at the bear, putting all of my rage and pain into it, channeling all of my hurt and emotion since the ordeal had started—the kidnappings, the infection, the hunger, the fear, watching the people I loved die. And now, having to make an impossible choice.
Suddenly the bear advanced on me, reared up on its hind legs and roared, its fetid breath washing over me. I gagged, throwing up a little in my mouth. It wasn't the smell of a fresh kill, still warm and dripping blood. This was more like spoiled, maggot infested meat that had been rotting in the sun for days. For once, I was glad I didn't have anything in my stomach to lose.
"Get out of here!" I screamed, waving my spear in the air. I doubted it had any clue what the metal at the end of it meant, but I hoped some dim part of its stupid animal brain recognized a weapon when it saw one. "Go on! Get!"
It must have caught my drift, because it dropped back down on all fours, its beady eyes fixated on me. I could see the hatred behind those eyes, but still, I felt the tide was turning. It was going to leave us alone now. Sure, Lilly was hurt, but not too bad. We were finally going to catch a break.
What happened next was a blur. The bear turned quickly back to Lilly, clamped back down on her bloody calf and began to drag her deeper into the woods.
Lilly and I screamed at the same time, her in pain and horror and me in bitterness and rage. I threw the spear as hard as I could, but missed as the bear began to run. I started after her, but only got two steps before my mom caught the back of my shirt. I struggled, raging to get free, and if my mother hadn't been holding Les, I probably would've punched her in the face.
"Lilly!" I yelled, still fighting against my mom, praying my shirt would rip. It felt like she held me there for an eternity, both of us crying, my throat raw from calling after my wife. I didn't know how long it was, probably only a few minutes, but when my voice was finally gone and everything was quiet, I couldn't hear the bear or Lilly anymore.
I fell to my knees and my mom knelt beside me. Les was crying and saying my name. I opened my arms to him, but even holding my son wasn't a comfort. I'd failed him. I couldn't protect my friends and I couldn't protect my wife. How was I supposed to keep my promise to Lilly? I'd failed to save her and I would fail Les too.
"Jack." Mom's voice was quiet but firm. "We have to go. That man's still out there. He's still after us. And if he finds us here, he's going to kill you, me, and your son."
A part of me wanted to tell her that I'd rather be dead than living with the knowledge that I'd killed Lilly. But Les's arms were tight around my neck and I could feel his heartbeat under my hand. I'd made a promise that I'd get him out, no matter what. I wiped my eyes. I'd promised that Les would make it. But I'd made no such promise about myself. If I was right and GW was after me, then I knew what I had to do. I stood. All the emotional drain had taken its toll. If I was going to do this, I'd have to do it now, before I got worse.
The sun was directly overhead, which meant I had a few hours before it got dark. I turned to my mother and handed her Les. He curled up against her, his thumb in his mouth. He hadn't done that since he was a baby. A new anger shot through me. Not only had GW killed people I loved, he'd turned my son into a Zombie and forced him to watch people die. Even if Les got out of this and was cured, he'd likely never be able to forget what happened. Even if the details went away, the experience would always be with him.
I walked over to where my spear had fallen, trying not to look at the bloody ground. I picked it up and went back to my mom. She stared at me for a long hard moment.
"I know what you're going to say," she said. "You're going after him."
I nodded.
"It won't bring her back."
"I know." I swallowed hard, pushing back the hurt and pain. I would feel it later—and forever—but right now, I wanted Zombie numbness. At least enough to keep my grief from being debilitating. I needed to be strong.
"You have a son, Jack," Mom reminded me.
"Which is why I have to do this," I said, brushing my fingers over Les's hair. "Whoever this guy is, I'm his main target. His plan all along was to make me watch those around me suffer and die. He's saving me for last, which means you and Les are next. But if I go after him, if I make him the hunted, it changes things. He'll have to face me and let you go." She was shaking her head, but I kept going. "We're almost to a road." I pointed at the trail. "There are tire tracks. Fresher ones. Someone's used this part of the trail in the last couple months. Just keep walking as fast and as far as you can."
"And you?"
A grim expression settled on my face. "I'll meet you back home. And if not, you have to promise to take care of my son. Make sure he knows that his mother and I loved him more than anything in the world"
"I will, Jack." The sadness in her voice almost brought my tears back, but I steeled myself. Then she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "I'm proud of you."
I gave her a faint smile. "I love you, Mom." Then,before the moment could weaken my resolve, I turned back the way we'd come andstarted walking. I was going hunting, and this time, it wasn't for boar. Roman",H-