Come and get it from me - Sun Heat
424 Willow Berry Drive was an old abandoned paper mill. Big tube like structures of gray stone poked out into the sky, the tips pitch black like they had been burned. Huge cracks ran along the outer walls, all along the building. Two huge metal shutter door were at either side of the factory.
To the far left of the property, stood one lonely building, tiny in comparison to the old factory. There wasn't a window that wasn't smashed and the door hung loosely on it's hinges.
Up ahead in the road you couldn't see the building until you reached the last turn and the bumpy driveway was long and narrow. My scooter bounced on the dirt road and more than once I felt the tires slip on the loose sand.
This place was perfect. It was secluded, a little hard to reach and abandoned. I still wondered how we would be able to contain Noah. Sure the building was big but I saw a multitude of places where he could escape. And a crazed zombie on the loose was the last thing we needed.
I sent Peter a text, telling him I was outside and pretty soon the roller door started to lift slowly. It's rusted hinges squealed in protest and punctured the silence. A few short meters from the ground, the doors cranked loudly and stopped moving altogether.
I only saw a pair of legs before Peter poked his head out at the bottom, "It won't go any further, think you can fit your bike through?"
I raised an eyebrow and Peter just shook his head. After tipping the bike to the side a little, we managed to get it inside the factory. The air was fridget inside the building with only a few burning gas lamps scattered around. Biotech's ugly ice cream truck was standing right next to a huge machine that was more rust than metal. It looked like a massive wheel attached to a big tub at the far back. Behind that and old conveyor belt was frayed and dangling in loose strips of fabric to the floor. Paper was scattered everywhere on the floors.
My eyes came back to Peter, "This place is great and all but I see so many places where he can get out."
"You haven't seen the best part yet," Peter started walking to the far end of the building, "Follow me."
I followed behind Peter, where he lead me to a large metal door. When he pushed the door open I saw that it was a big safe in the wall, inside it was bigger than my bedroom. There were no windows and only solid concrete walls.
"Always thought I'd find a nice dark hole for Noah," Peter said.
I cut my eyes to him, "That's not funny."
"It's a little bit funny." Peter said with a careless shrug.
I turned until I was standing directly in front of him, "Say that again and I'll put you in there with him."
Peter chuckled, "Relax, Syd. I'm on your side."
I turned away from Peter and inspected the door. The slots inside were broken so there was no way to lock the door.
"This is perfect for Noah but how are we going to lock it?"
"Hold on." Peter said holding up one hand before he ran to the truck.
When he came back he was holding a new shiny silver latch and the biggest lock I've ever seen.
"I'm going to weld this onto the steel door then we can use the lock to secure it from outside."
That was actually a good idea and based on what was around us and available to us, this was our best bet. Actually, it was our only bet. It's not like we had options.
For the next half hour or so, Peter welded the latch onto the steel door. We then backed the truck to the door so that we could open the truck doors and hopefully get Noah out without too much struggle.
When Peter gave me the signal, I opened the truck door, since I was the only one who could be near Noah without turning into zombie chow, it made sense.
The doors opened and Noah jumped out ferociously hissing, eyes blazing red. My heart sunk to the bottoms of my feet. He looked even worse than last time. The wound on his neck and forehead were blackened, gaping sores.
The skin around it was puckred in an angry red shade contrasting brightly against his too pale skin. His cheeks had sunken in and his clothes looked more haggard than before. I knew he needed to feed, heck I needed to feed.
It's only been two days since my world crumbled around me but it feels like a lifetime has passed. I turned and walked out of the safe, tightly shutting the door behind me. The image of Noah was seared into my brain, etched there forever.
When I threw the lock in place the click echoed through the empty room.
Peter was leaning against the hood of the truck, "I think that will hold him for now."
"Good, now we need a plan. Do you have contact with anyone who worked with your sister at Biotech?"
Peter shook his head, "No, I was only eight when she disappeared and by then she was a parriah at work. No one would talk to me when i asked questions. They said she left."
"Well we need to get at least a name, so where's the next best place to look."
"Her journal, it's the only thing I have of her and that's how I knew she didn't just leave."
I walked to my bag and started packing it out to find the journal. A minute later I had all my books on the floor and even turned the bag around. Then I remembered that I put it in my locker after Shawna basically attacked me.
"Shit! I left it at school."
"Why would you take it school?" Peter asked with his hands in his hair.
I sighed, "I didn't want to leave it home for my mom to find."
"We have to get it."
"I'll get it tomorrow at school." I said.
I started packing my books back into my school bag and Peter sat down on the floor next to me. He gently took my hands and I clenched my jaw . When my eyes finally met his I felt the crumbling start.
No, be angry.
The anger started at a low rumbling until it was a roaring inferno inside of me. I felt my feature's distort and the hunger slowly creep back in. Peter kept my hand in his, his eyes gently searching mine until the anger simmered down.
"You're angry and I get it but we need to stay focused."
"The anger focuses me. If it wasn't for the anger, I'd be a mess right now."
Peter shook his head, "Syd, you're a ticking time bomb right now. I can see it in your eyes and honestly, it's a little scary."
My lips quirked around the corner, "Good, if it scares you, it should scare Biotech too."
Peter sighed, "I know you want to make them pay. God knows I want to do that too but we have to find a cure for Noah first."
I jumped to my feet taking the book bag with me, "You think I don't know that? That's all I can think about. It kills me to see him like this but if I let myself crumble I won't be able to help him. So, I'm angry and that's not going to change until I can help him."
"Okay," Peter said slowly standing up. He held his hands out in a placating gesture, "if you're sure, I trust your judgment."
I nodded my head, "Good, we need that journal."
Peter crossed his arms over his chest, "You know we might have to leave Brookfield."
"I'm not leaving Noah behind."
"Syd, we might not have a choice. Right now, we can't even move in this town. How are we supposed to help Noah if we're constantly being watched?"
I knew Peter was making good points but the thought of leaving Noah and my mom cracked my chest wide open. If we left that would just make us look all the more guilty.
"If we leave, we will look guilty."
"In their eyes, we already are. Besides we might have to leave to find someone who can help. You said it yourself, Biotech in Brookfield burned to the ground. Noah will be safe here, I checked this place hasn't been used in years and he won't be able to get out."
I bit the inside of my lip because Peter was right and I hated it when he was right. I wondered what Noah would have said if he was here.
Something like, are you crazy? You can't go running out of town! This is a terrible idea.
I smiled at the thought. Peter was right, we wouldn't be able to help Noah if we were being watched and if we left Biotech would leave to find us. I was surprised that they haven't made a move yet but to be fair we did burn their facility to the ground. They wouldn't be busy with that forever, so maybe it was best if we left before they could find us.
When the idea solidified in my mind, I looked back at Peter, "Fine, we leave tomorrow."
Peter shook his head, "Let's do it tonight. The longer we wait the more chance we give Biotech and the police."
"We still need your sister's journal and we can't leave without it."
A slow smile spread over Peter's mouth, "Then we break into your school and get it."
I rolled my eyes, "That's too reckless."
"I think this situation calls for a little bit of recklessness."
"If Noah were here, he would tell us this is a stupid idea." I laughed.
"All the more reason to do it."
I laughed and flung my bag over my shoulder, "So, we have a plan then?"
"I'll wait for you at the edge of the woods later tonight, then we can get the journal and head to Sunnyvale after."
I nodded my head then Peter helped me to get my scooter outside. I waved goodbye before driving back down the twisted, narrow driveway.
It was already late but I held out hope that mom was still at work and she wouldn't know that I came home late. That was until I rounded the corner to our street and saw mom's car in the driveway.
What's scarier than that, was the fact that she was standing on the porch waiting for me. I could see her face and that alone made me want to turn the next corner and just run.
I pulled into the driveway with our plan still running in my head. I wanted to say goodbye to my mom, I wanted to leave with her knowing that I still loved her but the way she was looking at me in that moment made me feel like that wasn't possible.
I kicked put the stand and looked over to mom. When I walked to the porch mom crossed her arms over her chest, "Was I not clear this morning?"
"No, you were pretty clear with your fridge letter."
Mom's face went bright red and I saw her jaw twitch, "Yet you still stayed out late."
I walked up the porch steps like an inmate to his court hearing. It killed me that I felt like a prisoner in my own home but I didn't have much of choice.
"I had to study."
Mom grabbed my arm, "Just, stop lying to me. I feel like I don't even know you anymore. What did I do to push you away?"
I looked up confused, "What?"
Mom's eyes pooled with tears, "What did I to make you not trust me?"