Chapter 7- The need for help.
The others in the group began to emerge from their rooms, Benji and Eli climbed back down off the roof.
"How the hell did thirty-two lurkers get into the nursery?" Aubree screamed, storming out of her room and into the play area, followed by an unsteadily walking Xavier.
I shared a look with Xavier; he looked uncomfortable with everything that went on. As much as I was pissed off with him, he didn't need the rest of the group on his back.
"I don't know, I was looking out the window and they just came in force." Aubree seemed to believe me and she sat down on the kiddie table and cupped her head into her hands.
"I think we should be talking about who was on patrol, who was supposed to be looking after all of us?" Jayden stepped forward and stood upright.
"I was just about to go on patrol, after Xavier." Eli explained to the group. With that, without hesitation; Jayden flung himself at Xavier, pushing him against the wall.
"Do you realise what you've done!" Jayden screamed in Xavier's face. He quivered in reply, too scared to open his mouth. Benji stood forward at touched his brother's shoulder.
"Come on, calm down." Jayden surprisingly slowly turned around and walked into his room, followed by Benji. Just before they entered their room, Jayden screamed.
"Who's on patrol?" Jayden knew how to work us all up; the group immediately began to flurry around aimlessly.
"I'll go." Eli sighed, obviously; it was his turn on the schedule… it was just us worrying. Eli climbed onto the roof as Edith weakly limped out of her room.
"Mum?" Carolynne darted over to her mother, who was as pale as the moon. She and Scarlett both hurled themselves under each of Edith's arms.
"Put her on the table." Xavier told the girls. They done as he asked and he pulled up a seat beside her. "Get the first-aid box; it's by the side of my bed on the cabinet."
I repeated the instructions to Jaxson who nodded and ran down the corridor. Xavier gently placed his forehand on Edith's forehead; he quickly pulled away in surprise.
"She's boiling up."
Jaxson ran in with the first-aid kit. Xavier yanked it open, pulling out a thermometer. He placed it in Edith's mouth and closed it.
Jaxson scurried over to where I was standing, observing all of this; next to Aubree, in the background. I was witnessing my wife breaking down in tears over her mother's ailing body. Jaxson looked up to me and I didn't know what to do, I just looked away.
"She has a really high temperature!" Xavier bellowed. He pulled out the bag of medicine from the kit, the meds that Jayden and I brought back from the pharmacy.
He threw bottles of tablets around, groaning to himself.
"What's wrong?" Carolynne quivered.
He jolted his head to reply, "There are just no tablets here to treat septicaemia."
"Septicaemia, is that what you thinks wrong with my mother?"
Xavier nodded.
"What's that, Jaxson asked."
"Poisoning of the blood."
Jaxson gave me a quizzical look but I dismissed him. "She's had it before, back in 2010, she was hospitalized."
"My mother had it too, when I was little." I was surprised in realising that Chase and Maddie were in the room and it was Maddie who told us that.
"It can be dangerous if Edith does not get a dosage of Insulin as soon as possible." Xavier looked at me extremely worried. Carolynne walked over to me looking strong.
"We'll go and get it for her." I was shocked, she really thought I'd let her go out into the danger.
"Carolynne, you can't go, I'll go alone." She looked at me, concerned but she saw the look in my eye and understood that I couldn't put her in any danger, she walked slowly back over to Edith. "Where can I find some?"
"There's a little village a few miles back from the way we came here, there's a hospital there, where my mother was being treated, and the hospital would have the insulin we need."
"I'll get ready and go straight away." I explained. Chase stood up from where he was seated.
"I'll go with you." It was nice to hear that someone was not willing for me to just go alone, but Xavier lifted his hand and he stood up from his kneeling position.
"No. I'll go, he will need help getting to the hospital and getting the insulin." There were no objections against him coming with me.
/
Filling my gun with ammo, I looked around the room, Jayden and Benji were still in their room, Aubree was up on the roof talking to Eli, I saw Maddie and Chase romancing in the corner and Scarlett was consoling Carolynne.
I felt a tug on my trouser leg, Jaxson sat on the ground beneath me.
"Is Grandma going to be okay?" It was horrible that he had to ask me this question, but I had no answer.
I tucked my pistol into my waist and lifted him off the floor. I brushed the specs of dust off his shoulders and looked into his eyes. How could I tell my son that his Grandmother is close to death?
"Xavier and I will get the medicine we need for Granny Edith and then she'll be as good as new by the morning." A smile slapped onto his face, the first smile I'd seen for a while.
"You ready?" Xavier stood at the door with his backpack on; he had briefed Scarlett on how to keep Edith stable until we come back.
I said goodbye to everyone and kissed Carolynne, promising her I'd be back. We were about to leave when Eli and Chase switched shifts.
When we left the stench hit us immediately, the 32 corpses lying on the ground. We had no time to move them or burn them, or do anything.
"Jayden will probably move them later." Xavier exclaimed.
We journeyed over to the Audi and jumped in. Xavier threw his backpack onto the back seat and I turned on the ignition.
As we began driving, Xavier pulled out a dark blue old-school radio; he stared at it, lifelessly.
"What's that?" I asked; I saw in the corner of my eye that he just sat still, staring at it.
"It was given to me… by my sister." He wiped a tear from his quickly reddening eye and looked away from me, out of the window.
"So you have a sister." I asked, keeping the conversation going.
"I guess we should be saying 'had' now..."
"Hey, don't think like that, your sister could me perfectly fine, keep up hope because without that, we don't have anything."
He seemed to have blanked me out, just staring out of the window, then looking at his gun. Then back out the window.
I continued to focus on the road when I heard Xavier's teary voice speaking into the radio. The static noise was fighting against it.
"Kym, if you're listening, just know I'm okay and I'll find you soon. Please contact me back to tell me where to find you." He cried into the radio as he pushed it against his face.
I didn't want to interfere so just focused on the road; there was a large corner in the distance which was just a couple of minutes away from the hospital.
I looked at Xavier as we hit the corner, he was still sobbing into the radio, fidgeting with his thumbs. I drew my attention back onto the road when I was met by a lurker, standing in the middle.
I slammed my foot down, jolting the car, along with Xavier who was struck into an upright position. I swung the steering wheel which set the car into a panic; it swerved into the lurker and flew off the road and into a wall.
The windscreen smashed and shards of glass stuck into my face and into Xavier's chest. The hood of the car was flung up, the car's alarm began to ring and my head was pushed into the dashboard. I turned my weakening head to see Xavier in a symmetric position to mine, unconscious.
