"I don't believe you Travis." Madison snapped as soon as the office door was shut, "How can you be okay with that woman putting weapons into the hands of children?"
"Hey, calm down Madi." He put his hands on her arms, "Anya was just trying to look out for the kids. Liza and I don't approve any more than you do, but she's just being practical, and we have to as well. If something happens, they should be able to protect themselves."
"You and Liza?" Madison scoffed, "Of course, I forgot you and your wife were taking care of your son. Who cares that your bitch of a half-sister is not only undermining my authority, but endangering the lives of my children. But it's fine because you and Liza agree right?"
"Madison," Travis sighed, "I didn't mean it like that okay? I get that you're angry, I am too-"
"Oh you are?" Madison shoved his hands off her, "Because it really looks like you're fine with all of this." She gestured towards the rest of the house. "You said it would be safe here!"
"It is!" Travis insisted, "But to be safe we have to be willing to protect ourselves, and sometimes that means weapons."
"What happened to you? I thought we were on the same page about this. Hurting people only makes all of this worse."
Travis sighed, running a hand over his face, "I don't know what to say, Anya has more experience in situations like this than any of us. I think that if she trusts the kids to be careful, then maybe we should too."
"That's just perfect Travis, let's give guns to babies then." She threw her hands up in the air, "Why don't we let Nick detox on his own too, see how that works out? Since we're going to trust them to be adults and take care of themselves we might as well right? I should have known that you would let your crazy sister run right over you, you always do this!"
"And what am I supposed to do about it huh?" He snapped, "Let her kick us out so we can pick between the riots and the city full of who knows how many thousands of sick people? Are you really going to risk Nick and Alicia's lives on the principle that holding a gun is going to make them into murderers? She's not telling them to shoot anyone, she trying to give them a way to protect themselves! I thought you would understand that!"
Madison looked away from him, still fuming but unable to come up with anything that made sense. Travis crouched down to look her in the eye, taking her hands, "Hey, I'm not saying we let them run wild. Just, when they're outside, we give them a way to protect themselves, to signal for help. Okay?"
"Fine." She refused to meet his gaze.
"Madi?"
"No, do what you like. I can't stop you anymore than I can stop her." Madison folded her arms and tried to contain her frustration.
"Madi…."
"I need to get Nick his dose." She dug into her bag and pulled a single pill from the bottle. They were down to four a day, hopefully that would be enough.
"Do they realize we can hear them?" Nick asked, looking towards the door his mom and Travis were arguing behind.
"They don't really care, Nick." Alicia shrugged, "I think Liza and Anya are the only reasons they didn't just stay here to have the argument."
"Ouch." Nick muttered, "You ever think about just wandering into the room, just to be there, see if they notice? I think about that sometimes."
"I wouldn't have to wander into the room. They've had fights like this over the table while I'm right there. I just put in my earphones." Alicia looked away from her brother, not wanting to see his face.
"I think that's just how parents are." Chris butted in, trying to comfort Alicia with a hand on her arm, "Mom and dad are always like that. At least now it's mostly over the phone."
"Well I guess it moved from your house to mine." Alicia stood up and walked into the kitchen.
"You good kid?" Anya looked up from the dishwasher.
"I just get tired of it all. It'll be fine." Alicia moved to help with the dishes.
"Just do what I did." Anya grinned, "Build a shack in the middle of nowhere with more guns than neighbors and all that shit has a tendency of staying far away."
"Berkley was my shack and no one is as bad as they are." Alicia sighed a little, "Now I don't think it'll work out for either one of us."
"Gee thanks kid." Anya drawled, "Just rub it in." She started scrubbing the pans that couldn't go in the dishwasher with more force than was really necessary, "The mom squad is helpless."
Alicia laughed, "Just don't ever let me join the mom squad, I'd rather be eaten alive."
Anya pointed a fry pan at her, intent on telling her not to tempt fate and then she paused, "Deal. I'll feed you to the zoo if it's ever a risk."
"Thank God." Alicia grabbed a towel and started to dry the cleaned dishes. "So what do you think is going on? Mom, Nick and Travis don't make any sense with the little they do tell me."
"Well Travis is delusional on the best of days, and the other two aren't much better." Anya snorted, "I figure we won't get the big picture until we ditch the paddles. For now I'm going to assume the country of FUBAR has taken command and prepare accordingly."
"Ok so what does that mean? We know how to shoot, but that can't be all we should be doing." Alicia asked
"You shouldn't be doing anything." Madison interjected, "You Nick and Chris need to stay here where it's safe and let the adults take care of things."
Anya looked to Alicia for her response. "And how did letting the adults take care of things work out for Nick?" Alicia glared at her mother.
"That's a different situation and you need to let it go. He's with us again, and we're weaning him off the drugs."
"Really, Mom? Either this is a situation we have never been in before so you are as clueless and helpless as the rest of us. Or Nick will be gone in a few weeks, back on the damn drugs and you'll be gone trying to find him." Alicia threw the towel on the counter.
Madison's hands were clenched so tightly that her arms shook from the effort and she took a step forward with a foreign look in her eyes. "You don't know the first thing-!"
"Okay." Anya stepped between the two women, "Let's take a big step back. Madison, I get that things are stressful right now but you need to take a walk." She met the older woman's eyes and didn't look away until Madison stormed out of the kitchen. "Alicia," She raised her eyebrows, "I don't know what you're looking for, but that is not the way to go for it."
Alicia nodded her head, "I'm going out to the deck for some air."
"Stick to the back of the house." Anya patted her on the back, "Wouldn't want to have to break up a catfight on the second day. It'd be worse than our family reunions."
"Hey Anya, would you come look at Tris? She doesn't seem to be getting any better..." Liza paused, seeming like she wanted to say more.
"Yeah." Anya sighed and walked into the living room while she dried her hands. There was so much going on around them, it felt like she never had a second to breathe. "Did she ever drink that water?"
"She did. I actually got her two more cups, she said she's really thirsty." Liza turned back into the living room and moved to Tris' side.
"Well that's good." Anya checked Tris' head, "She's clammy and," Anya frowned, "Her pulse is elevated too."
"I haven't spoken to her in almost 2 hours. That was when she drank the last of the water." Liza pushed Tris' hair back from her eyes, "Should we wake her?"
"No, I spoke to her at breakfast." Anya shook her head, "Just keep an eye on her? Wake her up in an hour and see how she's doing. Where is she, what's her name, basic stuff."
Liza's face pinched in concern, "What are you worried about?"
Anya sighed, "Snake bites are never good and we don't have access to proper medical care and antivenin." Anya shook her head again. "This has always been about doing what we can and hoping for the best, but at this point any symptoms are a concern."
"Got it." Liza nodded, grabbing Tris' cup to refill it. "I'll keep you posted?"
"Yeah." Anya pushed up and away from the sofa. "I'll be in my room for the next little while, get me if you need me."
"Sure thing Anya."
Anya walked into her bedroom pulling the door mostly closed behind her and took just a minute to take a deep breath. This morning had been good at keeping her busy, but she wouldn't be able to ignore what she had seen during her run forever. It would have to be dealt with.
For now though, it was time to see if the radio would give her any more details. Maybe even contact with Indra again. Anya sat on the edge of her bed and pulled the radio setup closer to her on the nightstand. She turned everything on and began on the channel she had last contacted Indra. "This is Sergeant Forester of the SASR hailing Colonel Pines at the Pendleton base, does anyone read me? Over."
"This is Master Chief Woods speaking, Sergeant Forester I need you to move to our private channel."
"Yes, Sir. Switching now." Anya began turning the dials, tuning to their preferred frequency for covert missions, it was something Indra had established years ago in case of emergency.
"Anya where the hell are you? Indra said something about you being with civvies and then the connection cut out before she could get anything else." Gustus wasted no time on pleasantries.
"I'm at home with my family." Anya allowed no inflection into her tone. "I've received no verified information on what's happening, Sir, but some weird shit is happening." Anya wouldn't normally cuss while speaking to a superior officer, but there was just no other way to phrase it.
"I'll second that." He scoffed, "I've got more guns than I can count pointing in every direction and I'm starting to think hedgehogs feel a lot more anxious than they let on. Have you been briefed about the infection yet?"
"No Sir, only rumor from civilians with more adrenaline than sense." Anya responded.
"Adrenaline is about all we have going for us right now Anya. As far as we can tell the infection is spread through contact with bodily fluids, specifically blood and saliva. They bite. Hard. So don't let them get their hands on you. Current prescription for any infected is a bullet to the brain." He sounded normal at the beginning of his little speech, but by the end Gustus was dead tired. There were only so many civilians and fellow soldiers you could shoot before it started getting to you, and as far as he was concerned, one was more than enough.
"What does the infection do, Sir?" Anya was wary and a little confused. A bullet to any kill zone was enough to put down any diseased individual she had ever heard of, and head shots could be iffy, especially on the move.
"The short version?" He paused, reluctant to even voice what was going on. "They're dead. As doornails. The infection kills you, and some period of time after your heart stops, you get back up and start attacking anything living."
Anya choked on air a bit, not sure she understood, or really didn't want to understand. "Sir, are you saying that this infection reanimates the dead?"
"That is exactly what I'm saying Anya."
Anya just couldn't come up with an appropriate response to that.
"Yeah." Gustus gave a chuckle, "It's a lot right? It makes more sense when you see it, just be sure not to miss when it happens, got it? You're a good soldier and I'd hate to lose you to something as stupid as panic."
"No Sir. What are my orders?" Anya asked, unsure for the first time in her life about what was coming.
"Get your ass to San Diego."
"And the civilians with me?"
"We're taking in anyone who isn't bitten. They would get first class seats on the first bird or boat out of here. The plan is to evac the civilians, drop napalm on the major nests of infected and clean house."
Anya took a deep breath and slowly release it. Napalm was a last resort and there would be no returning once it had dropped. This was end of world shit. "I've got injured with me, what's the medical situation look like?"
He paused a lot longer than Anya would have liked before he responded. "We have limited resources Sergeant, you know we can't take on any additional risks."
Anya swore, violently and loudly.
"Anya? Is everything okay in there?" Liza called.
"Yeah it's fine!" Anya called back to Liza. "Sir, the injured with me won't make it more than 24 hours without medical attention." Anya spoke quietly into the radio, not wanting anyone else to overhear.
Gustus sighed and Anya could practically see him rubbing the ever growing bald spot on his head. "The order comes from brass, we aren't to take on any medical risks. All supplies are being stockpiled until the country can get back on its feet. We've established martial law until the crisis is over."
"Sir," Anya paused and then began again. "Sir, I've got a twelve year old with a rattlesnake bite and it's going to kill her. I can't just leave her here to die alone."
"No exceptions Sergeant." Gustus knew what she was asking for, "I expect you to report to the Pendleton base in three days. Get your affairs in order, and get your ass out here."
"Yes, Sir. Sergeant Forester out." Anya reset the handset with slightly shaky hands. What. The. Fuck. Get my fucking affairs in order? My affairs have always been in fucking order, so it isn't so simple as writing a damn will. Did he mean to get family down to Pendleton too? Except that Gustus would've just said that, its not like we had to be worried about civilian ears hearing classified information. Three days would be more than enough time to bury Tris, pack up and haul ass to San Diego.
What the hell would take three days to get done? Anya got up and started pacing, needing some kind of outlet for the nervous energy that Gustus' words had evoked. She mulled over his words half a dozen times before she stopped in her tracks. He's giving me time to run.
Master Chief Gustus Woods, the man she had dragged out of more tight spots than she could count, the man who was even more dedicated to his career than she was, that man was offering her a chance to desert before the going got tough. "What does that dumb bastard think he's doing?" She made two more laps of her room before she realized. I can't think about this right now.
Anya grabbed her jacket and keys and strode to the back porch with a clear mission in mind. Something to get her out of this stupid cycle of doubt. "Get your shit, we're checking the well." Anya informed Alicia.
"Uh, what?" Alicia leaned on the railing to try and talk to Anya's back as she circled the house.
"Knife or gun." Anya stopped in front of Madison, determined to make someone else deal with their shit instead of dealing with her own.
"Excuse me?"
"Do you want a knife or a gun." Anya stated more than she asked.
"I don't want either." Madison replied looking confused.
"I'm taking Alicia to check out the well. I figured that as her mother you would like to get involved." Anya bit back the snarky remark about Madison always wanting to be involved when she wasn't needed. "So would you like a knife or a gun?" She did her best to sound polite, but it mostly sounded like she was bleeding internally.
"A gun."
"Perfect. I'll meet you at the jeep in five." Anya turned around and dug through the safe for the appropriate weapons and holsters. She checked each one for wear and tear and grabbed ammunition for all of them before returning to the Jeep. "Madison, Travis mentioned you used to go hunting with your dad." She passed the woman a shotgun, "12 gauge."
Anya watched as Madison took the weapon, keeping the barrel pointed at the ground as she popped the clasp and checked if it was loaded. "Shells?"
With an approving nod, Anya passed the small box to Madison. "No loaded weapons in Baby." Madison rolled her eyes and got into the passenger seat. "Kid." Anya turned around, "Glock and a knife." She held out both to Alicia, careful to keep her hand on the barrel of the handgun as she passed it.
Alicia smiled, "I've still got the butterfly you gave me for christmas last year." She took the Glock and hit the chamber release, catching the clip as it slid out. Alicia slid it back in with a nod and drew back the slide with her thumb to the trigger to ensure it wasn't loaded. It dropped back into place with a click and Alicia engaged the safety before sliding it into the holster that Anya was holding out for her. "Do I pass inspection?" She asked with a shy grin.
"Don't get cocky." Anya clipped the spare knife to her belt and climbed into the driver's seat. Alicia's smile only grew as she joined them in the jeep. Not even Madison's murderous glare could quell her pleased grin. Anya approved.
"A butterfly knife, Anya?" Madison hissed
"Oh please," Anya rolled her eyes, "It's a gentleman's weapon." The jeep roared to life beneath them and Anya stepped on the gas.
"What does that even mean?" Madison muttered under the roar of Anya's overpowered engine.
"Keep an eye out for trespassers. No one you don't recognize should be on this land." Anya spoke while driving away from the house. Despite the other two keeping a lookout, she made a point to watch the landscape for anything moving that was bigger than a tumbleweed.
"Why do we need to check the well?" Madison asked.
"Because it's the only reliable water source within twenty miles, and I'd like to make sure it's ours." Anya snarked, "That tent city out there is going to run dry faster than a water balloon fight at burning man. My well is going to be their first target."
"How are we going to keep the well safe?" Madison asked with sudden fear tinging her voice.
"We start with making sure that it's in good shape." Anya jerked to a stop next to a stand of rocks and looked around before flipping one of the rocks over to reveal the well head. "After that we're going to secure this bitch to the rocks and call it a day. The fewer times we come out here, the less likely it is for some asshole to trip over it."
"You hide your well under a rock?" Madison was confused. Again.
"It's fake." Anya tossed the fake cover at Madison like it was a frisbee. "Plastic." She opened a panel in the side of the stand of rocks and checked the display on the pump itself. "Alicia can you bring me the gas can from the trunk?"
Alicia came jogging over, eyes peeled for movement on the horizon. "Here."
"Thanks." Anya filled the pump's generator and closed the panel. "Get that facade back over the wellhead and we can get out of here."
"Yes auntie." Alicia smirked.
"That's all?" Madison had expected something much more dangerous with the way Anya had treated them, and the weapon inspection she seemingly expected from Alicia. It all felt so over the top.
"That's another month of water." Anya shrugged, "It seemed easier than mounting an offensive against the nearest populated area."
Madison blinked. Was that a joke?
"Let's get back to the house, we don't want anyone to see us out here." Anya climbed back into the jeep and started it back up.
As they pulled up to the shack, Liza ran out to meet them "Anya! Tris needs you!"
Anya stomped on the brakes, jerking the vehicle to a stop and leapt out as soon as the jeep was in park. "What's going on?" She demanded, jogging to the house.
"She's cold, but drenched in sweat, she says her head and stomach hurt and she keeps getting confused." Liza pulled open the door so that Anya didn't have to slow down.
Anya brushed past the boys gathered in the living room and knelt by Tris, her hands frantic as she checked the girl's forehead for a temperature. Cold. She moved down to her dressings. Still secure and clean. What the hell went so wrong? Anya moved all the way up the dressing and lifted the girl's shirt to check the upper end, and that's when she saw it. A massive bruise spreading across Tris' abdomen, her stomach distended from internal bleeding.
"A bleed? How?" Liza couldn't remember Tris even moving that far, let alone taking an impact of that magnitude to her stomach.
"She must have hit something when she was outside." Anya softly probed Tris' stomach, the skin pulled taut with little give and sighed. "Try to call medical services again, but if you get through to them tell them no rush."
"You know she's not gonna make it." Nick pointed out.
"I'm aware of what is happening, Nick." Anya glared at him, "Medical services will be who her parents contact to find her."
Tris stared between them both, "I'm gonna die?" Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes, not just from the pain but from fear now.
The room was uncomfortably silent. "Of course not." Travis reassured her, "Liza is going to get through to the hospital, and they're gonna send someone to come get you. You're going to be just fine."
"Travis." Anya reproached. She turned to more fully face the little girl on her sofa. "Tris, I'm really sorry, but yes. You are going to die. There is nothing I can do and we are too far away for help to get here in time."
"Anya! Stop saying that, she's just a little girl!" Madison snapped.
"No, she's a person, and she deserves to know the truth." Anya wasn't dealing with any of their idealistic bullshit. "Tris, I know your scared, I would be too, but do you have anything you would like to say to your family? I can write it down for you and give it to them when we find your parents."
Tris was quietly sobbing now, but she nodded her head. "I just want to tell them I love them, and that I'm sorry I wandered off." The words were barely understandable through the crying, but clear enough to break the hearts of those listening.
Anya nodded and stroked Tris' hair, "That's perfect. Do you know their names, so we can find them?"
"It's Howard and Emma Haywood."
Anya jotted the names down above Tris' words and did her best to smile. "Perfect, now they'll know just how much you love them. You did a good job kid." She showed Tris the short letter so that she could make any changes she wanted to it.
"I still can't get through to medical services." Liza said, phone still in hand as she came back into the room.
"That's fine." Anya took a deep breath, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Now Tris," She did a little better at smiling this time, "Why don't you tell me about your favorite place in the world."
"My favorite place?" Tris asked, her crying had slowed to just streams of tears rolling down her cheeks. "My favorite place is the park near the soccer fields. My dad would take me there with henry, my dog, when my mom had to work. We would stop before we got there and get these huge ice cream cones. And then we would walk through the park into the back trails. There was this one path we would always take that would lead us to a lake. Henry would splash in the water while we would sit on the rocks and eat our ice cream." Tris drifted off.
"What flavor would you get?" Alicia asked.
"What?" Tris asked.
"What flavor of ice cream?"
"What kind of ice cream do you have?"
Alicia frowned and Anya interrupted her before she could try to clarify again, "That sounds like a wonderful place kid. Why don't you go back to sleep for a little bit while we get lunch ready."
"I eat lunch after math class. Is this math class?" Tris tried to sit up.
"No kid, it's nap time." Anya put a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder, not needing much force to keep her down, "So close your eyes and take deep breaths."
Tris settled back onto the sofa and followed Anya's instructions. Soon she relaxed in sleep and the room took a breath themselves. Anya sat back on her heels, "Go find something to do. The kid isn't gonna sleep long with all of you staring at her."
As the others began to leave the room Alicia walked over to the bookcase in the corner of the room and began reading through the titles. Finding one, she pulled it from its place on the shelf and settled into an armchair. She didn't really intend to get much out of the book, but she had seen how hard it could be to be the only one in a room when someone passed while she worked in the hospital. Anya shouldn't be alone.
Nick didn't stray far either, hanging out in the dining room, right on the edge of straying into the living room, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the inevitable. No one believed him yet, so it was his job to make sure nothing else happened.
Tris' light breathing was the sound that dominated the house, no one else felt comfortable enough to speak or even whisper. They were all waiting. So when Tris stopped breathing, they all knew it.
Anya clenched her fists and pulled the sheet over the girl's head. Alicia watched from her chair. Nick waited. The others gathered into the room. "Should I try medical services again?" Liza asked, her voice feeling unnaturally loud.
"No. We have her parents information. I'll write her time of death down for documentation and that'll be enough." Anya made a note on the back of the letter. "I'll take her out and bury her under the tree in the back."
"Here, let me get her cleaned up first." Liza offered, grabbing a washcloth from the kitchen and some water. Anya stood back and watched. Alicia squeezed Anya's hand gently, "Get some air, we'll take care of her."
Anya nodded and walked out and grabbed the shovel leaning against the back of the house. Metal hit dirt with a dull crunch and the hiss of the sand making a small pile to her left. Crunch and hiss. Crunch and hiss. The noise was rhythmic, almost soothing.
All too soon, she was finished.
Anya walked back into the house covered in dust and sweat. On her couch was a bundle wrapped in one of her old sheets, if she didn't think about it, it could have been an oddly shaped pile of bedding, or the kids being stupid with the pillows. She wasn't good at pretending. Anya scooped up the limp girl with a small grunt and began walking outside.
Her steps stuttered when they all heard the rattling gasp of air from the body.
"Fuck. She's back." Nick began to scramble for a weapon.
"Back? What do you mean back?" Alicia asked, her face twisted in confusion.
A low rumbling growl began to fill the air as the form wrapped in sheets began moving. The body twisting and the head snapping forward towards Anya. Anya lowered the body down onto the floor, keeping her grip firm. She grasped the head and began to unwrap the sheet before pausing. "Alicia, pull your weapon." She instructed, waiting before continuing.
Alicia planted her feet and drew her weapon in a smooth motion. Cock the slide, safety off, both hands braced on the grip and base, sight lined up on Tris' chest. Uncertainly, she questioned her aunt. "Anya?"
"I...I don't know what's going to happen. Just be ready." Nothing about this felt right, but things hadn't felt right since her idiot brother and his families showed up and with Indra and Gustus' warnings ringing in her ears, Anya needed to be sure.
After giving Alicia's stance a quick once over, Anya turned back to unwrapping the makeshift shroud. As she shifted the fabric, the body underneath her began thrashing with more force, making Anya shift her grip to Tris' now exposed hair. It wasn't ideal to have to manhandle the little girl, but it was better to be safe.
Anya bit back a gasp when she saw Tris' milky eyes wide open and staring at her. The girl looked pale but otherwise fine as she flailed, trying to break free of Anya's grasp. She arched forward, straining at Anya's grip on her hair as she snapped at the air between them, desperate for something.
Alicia maintained her stance, weapon moving to aim on what little of Tris' body she thought she could hit without harming Anya while the others broke into chaos. Nick began yelling almost incoherently about bites and killing it. Liza and Chris both falling over furniture in their attempts to escape the room, while Madison and Travis moved forward not even paying attention when they came between Alicia and her target.
Alicia moved, shifting into a better position. Now standing over Tris' body, a clear shot available if needed. "What do we do now, Anya?" Alicia asked, her voice shaking, but her hands still surprisingly steady.
Anya drew her own weapon, remembering Gustus' words. The only cure was a bullet to the brain. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Madison yelled.
"Anya just stop and think about what you're doing! This is a little girl." Travis pled, afraid to touch Anya and have her accidentally shoot someone.
Anya ignored all of them, holding Tris' head down to the wood floor and carefully placed the barrel of her gun against the child's head. The child she spent the last day trying to nurse back to health and comfort in her last moments. The child straining against her grip to try and eat Anya and her family alive. She pulled the trigger.
Everything stilled in the aftermath of the shot, but as soon as their ears stopped ringing Travis and Madison fell on her, pulling her away from the child. "Are you crazy? You just killed her!"
"What's wrong with you, she was fine, she was alive."
"Mom she wasn't fine, she was crazy!"
"She wasn't going to do anything to us, she was just scared."
"Shut up." Anya yanked herself out of Madison's grip, "She's dead." Anya scooped the girl up into her arms again and resumed her march outside.
Alicia took that as a signal to relax and dropped the barrel of her gun to the floor, turning the safety back on and releasing the trigger in a slow practiced motion. She stared wide eyed at Anya as the intensity of the moment hit her and she slumped back against the wall.
Anya's hands shook as she laid the small body into the shallow trench, carefully she recovered Tris' shroud and began to cover her with a cairn of dirt and rocks.