the fool
At the age of thirty-two Olivia Spencer was classified an overachiever by her friends and peers. Her loving parents took great pride in her academic success through medicine at Cambridge and how quickly her career progressed to international recognition. Whether it was working on severe cases in Northern Africa or being a part of a think tank in Stockholm, Olivia excelled. As her old school friends moved from their adventurous twenties to houses with large gardens in posh London suburbs, maybe a dog or child tossed in, she found herself teased at fortnightly dinner parties about being a slave to the white coat. And every fortnight with a bright smile on her lips and swish of the red wine in hand she would declare her loyalty and undying love to Sir Coat to everyone's amusement in the room.
A workaholic, passionate, driven, intelligent, and a smartypants were terms used by the people at those fortnightly get togethers to describe Miss Spencer. Unfortunately, Olivia did not think one of those adjectives described herself due to her current predicament.
...
Sharp bursts of sunlight blurred her vision and the buzzing sound she had awoken too was now causing a thunderous headache. Disoriented and confused Olivia tried desperately to work out the visual puzzle in front of her. Squinting against the streams of mid morning sun her brain finally processed the shapes of branches and leaves passing above her, a forest was the word her mind finally conjured up. For some reason that escaped her presently, she appeared to be lying on the ground below a shifting forest canopy.
She tried to recall why she was lying there but the thumping heartache forced her to squeeze her eyes shut as a wave of nausea descended upon her. As she waited for the unsettling feeling to pass she felt the odd sensation of her body moving on it's on accord. Her mind slowly processed this new information when the sudden thought dawned upon her. The trees above her weren't shifting, she was the one moving. Her eyes shot open in panic as she tried to grasp onto her surroundings in a desperate hope to figure out what was happening. The sight that assaulted her clearing vision was of her body being dragged harshly though the dirt and vegetation by a strong grip clasped onto the collar of her khaki military coat.
Swivelling her head drunkenly to the left and right she could not catch a glimpse of the unwavering force locked tightly onto her collar. The buzzing in her ears was fading, allowing drips and drabs of noise from the lush environment around her. Taking a deep breath Olivia prepared to shift her head again when the flesh around her left hip became ensnared by a jagged rock lying beneath her. A harsh tug from her collar torn her away from the rock and suddenly the feeling in her once docile limps erupted in pain. Everything ached and burned but nothing compared to the inferno engulfing where she had been snagged on the rock. She couldn't stop the tears that threatened to fall or contain the scream which burst from her throat. The back of her coat was unceremoniously dropped and she hardly heard the series of colourful curses from behind as her head made impact with the solid ground. A wave of light headiness hit, causing Olivia to mentally self diagnose herself with a concussion amongst a growing list of other well-being concerns.
She choked and splattered as she pushed herself to look towards her left side to determine the damage. Her once white button down silk shirt was speckled with dirt, grim and blood. Blood was not something Olivia shied away from, especially since her profession had desensitised her to the sight. The large dark patch encircling her left hip didn't cause her to bat an eyelid but the air left her lungs when she spotted what looked to be half of a metal clasp from a seatbelt protruding from her side. Her fingers involuntarily twitched on the ground beside her as she controlled the sudden need to pull it out. She inwardly scolded herself for jumping to such a rash decision which would lead to further blood loss or a nasty infection.
Closing her eyes Olivia found herself mentally chanting her university roommates favourite pre-exam phrase, 'I am so zen right now', to calm herself. If only Rebecca Wilson could see how her charming phrase was being used now, she thought to herself. After several minutes of deep breathing Olivia turned her thoughts to the task at hand. As she began her checklist to prepare for action she was interrupted by the sound of hushed, heated voices. Pieces of dirty blonde hair whipped across her face as she turned towards the noise.
Several metres away between the trees stood two men in camouflage gear conversing with each other. Relief washed over her at the thought of assistance only a stone's throw away but she clasped her mouth shut instantly when she spied the pistols strapped to their belts and the dark stains decorating the front of their jackets. Fear and uncertainly gripped her when she came to the conclusion one of them must have be dragging her previously before her little outburst. But why? was the next question to pop into her conscious. The younger looking of the two men suddenly shoved his partner away with a loud colourful outburst. Olivia stilled her heavy breathing to catch wind of their conversation.
The young dark haired man planted his heavy hiking boots on the ground and declared, "I ain't doing it anymore, man. I ain't dragging her anymore, so why don't you just do it since you want her so much. I don't want to be around when a bunch of 'em creepers turn up due to all the fuss she's making."
The other male jerked his head to the side and spat before turning himself to face his not so willing co-worker. "Listen here boy" he croaked in a voice which sounded like sandpaper, "You best do what Uncle Jerry says, since it's been Uncle Jerry that has kept you alive this whole time. Feed you, protected you and given you a sweet haven to rest your head at night. So stop your belly-aching and finish what we started."
Uncle Jerry's response only seemed to antagonise the young man.
Finish what we started old man?! I'm the one doing all the work. I'm the one that managed to get those folks to stop. I'm the one who got us all these sweet new weapons and now I'm the one dragging your pretty little pet through the god-damn woods. She's bleeding out, so forget about what ever action you hoped of ever getting as there's just no way it's happening. Just give up already!", he proclaimed.
Jerry didn't seem to take too kindly to the spiteful words spoken by his kin as he lunged towards him, causing a scuffle to brake out on the forest floor. Meanwhile, Olivia's head was wheeling from the conversation she had witnessed. Fragments of places, events and people flickered before her eyes from the young man's words hinting at the circumstances of the morning. The fleeting knowledge of travelling towards Atlanta in a two car convoy seeking sanctuary, being handed a bottle of water by a friendly military personal named Marcus, the young defenceless man on the side of the road, the impressive view of a nameless river from a bridge and the bright red tail lights of the land cruiser in front of their car lighting up causing Marcus to swerve off the road towards the tree line.
She was a fool.
Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes at the thought of her actions causing the possible deaths of her colleagues and the good people risking their lives on a whim. They were one of the fifty or so groups assembled to determine the strain of the outbreak in the early days of the quarantine. Their lab work proved fruitless and the information released by the CDC was just as baffling. They had risked everything travelling that nightmarish road south only to be thwarted by her idiotic moral conscious. She had pleaded with the group to allow the young man to join them as she felt it inhumane to just leave him to the cruelty of the open road alone. She should have listened to Marcus' doubts but she was too stubborn and determined to save everyone she was blinded to the affect this new world had on the living. America was always the land of opportunity and she was the fool who had allowed the opportunity for that young man to take advantage.
The sound of a fist hitting flesh broke Olivia from her self loathing, bringing her attention back to the two men. Regretfully, it appeared Jerry was the winner of the dispute between the kinsman as his bulky frame dominated the hunched figure of his nephew. A gurgled groan and a steady stream of blood confirmed for Olivia that Jerry's fist had made contact with the dark haired man's nose, resulting in a fracture.
Jerry's body was heaving with every breath as he straightened himself and placed a strong hand on his nephew's shoulder. "I'm still in charge here, skip. So don't you be thinking I'll take any of your sass mouthing. Since you're being such a pansy about carrying a little extra weight why don't you go back and collect the ammunition bag you had me drop when you came running through the bush with your panties in such a twist over a little noise. That should be a simple enough job for you, huh?"
The defeated young man managed to give a single nod to his Uncle's new orders. With his left hand still gripping his nose in an attempt to stop the rapid flow of blood, he awkwardly moved past his Uncle in the direction where Olivia would only presume the ammunition bag had been dropped. Her eyes however, had not left the rigid form of Jerry who seemed bent on lording over his victory by watching the retreating back of his nephew. Alarm bells wailed in her head at the danger she now faced in her condition against such a man. It was simply impossible to flee with her injury without causing further damage and she wasn't sure if her legs were able to function, yet alone carry her away from this place. It seemed flight was out of the equation, so she would have to fight. She would have to be quick and efficient as she only had one chance to grab him by surprise.
Her right hand leapt towards her belt searching for the wickedly sharp kitchen knife which had been constantly stationed there these past few months. To her disappointment the knife's holster was barren, the two men had properly removed it before taking her on a stroll through the woods. Muttering a silent curse Olivia fanned her hands out trying to find anything she could use to her advantage. The fingers of her right hand skimmed the form of a stick which drew her scrutinising eye to evaluate if it was thick enough for her intended use. The sturdy stick gained her approval and as her fingers wrapped around it, she heard the sounds alerting her Jerry was on the move.
Her eyes snapped shut and she tried desperately to calm her pounding heart. As the sound of heavy footsteps drew closer Olivia mentally prepared herself for the physical struggle which lay ahead. She could do this, no she had to do this, she told herself. The morning sun seeping through her closed eyelids vanished as a shadow fell upon her. Inwardly fighting the terror which gripped her to flinch away, a rough calloused hand brushed a few locks of hair from her face before moving south to trace her cracked lips. Puffs of warm air smelling of cigarettes and ash washed against her face, making bile rise to her throat as it dawned on her he was planning on kissing her. The fingers of her right hand coiled tightly around her only lifeline as she waited for the opportune moment. The calloused digits caressing her mouth inched towards her jawline where they anchored themselves to pivot her head towards the source of warm air. Through closed eyes Olivia watched as the shadow grew closer until it absolved the remaining light.
Flinging her eyes open she brought the broken end of the stick towards Jerry's exposed jugular with a quickness and power she never knew she possessed. A familiar metallic smell assaulted her nose as warm stinky blood cascaded from the stick impaled in his throat, coating the side of her face and hair in crimson. She watched the shocked expression on Jerry's face turn to pain then anger before he collapsed onto his side grappling with the new external appendage she had bestowed him with. A choked sob of relief escaped her when she released that the stick had actually worked. Carefully avoiding putting pressure on her left side Olivia managed to hoist herself up into sitting position and slowly rotated to her right to confront her captor. Jerry lay on his side struggling to stop the blood flowing from his neck and was hopelessly attempting to remove the stick imbedded in his vulnerable flesh.
Laboured breaths filled the woods as the blood flooded Jerry's air way, a loud gurgled groan brought Olivia forth from her stupor causing a flush of urgency and adrenaline to pump through her veins. She needed to move before the young man or something far worse stumbled upon her. She dodged Jerry's swatting hand as she quickly removed the hand gun and hunters knife dangling from his belt. Threading the newly acquired knife through her own belt and tucking the gun into her coat pocket she attempted to stand using a nearby tree. With a great amount of effort she managed to stand on her own two feet with a slight sway.
Feeling confident her legs were capable of supporting her weight she pushed aside her coat to analyse the metal still imbedded above her hip. Without the proper sterilising equipment and time she couldn't risk removing it knowing it could render her helpless. Shaking fingers fumbled with the bottom buttons of her blouse to release them from there anchors. She unbuttoned her blouse to her hip bone and with a deep breath pulled the two free pieces of fabric together to act as a tourniquet. She whimpered as the tightening knot pulled on her tender side and with one last satistified tug she moved onto zipping her coat together to cover her exposed skin.
Her gaze turned to the seemingly endless woods surrounding her. Chewing on her bottom lip she tried to calculate the best course to take; head in the direction the young man disappeared, hoping it would lead her back to the road or try her luck in the forest. She had limited skills as a navigator and knew she would only get yourself lost in these woods. There was also the slight hope her travelling companions may be back on the road searching for her. Her right hand sought the gun in her pocket for courage as she made the decision to follow the same path as the young man.
Olivia did not glance back at the suffering of Jerry as she lurched forward in a clumsy stumble through the trees.