Chapter 22
One month. Two weeks. Four days. Twelve hours. Thirty-eight minutes. Forty-seven seconds. Forty-eight. And counting.
Three towns. Two fast-food joints. A gun store that hadn't been completely clean by sheer luck. Five truck stops and gas stations. Two motels. The moth-eaten, cockroach crawling kind that only has one floor. One floor was good. Less chance of getting cornered. The maid service was terrible, however. The room service wasn't much better.
The truck and camper died and left behind miles ago. The horse was still standing surprisingly.
The sun was blistering. Everybody was getting the tan of a lifetime. But, when it did rain it rained hard. Sometimes it was impossible to see.
Ryan exhaled shakily, out of breath and dehydrated. Today, the sun beat down with hot fists. She was a sweaty mess. She breathed heavily and steadily through her lips. Her nostrils stung from trying to breathe through them Tendrils of her dark hair clung to the sides of her face and the back of her neck. Though, to be honest, nobody was looking much better than her.
"Ry?"
She turned. Celia, Mary, and Sophie were right behind her.
"Anything?"
Ryan's nose scrunched. She turned and looked forward once more. To answer Sophie's question: not a damn thing. She didn't hear a single thing either. No birds or scuffling of other animals. That made her more nervous. She resisted the urge to touch her aching chest. The arrhythmia was still happening. It was like having Thumper from Bambi in her chest half the time. Kind of annoying. But, the blood spit-up had lessened. Jasper was still picking on her. One, for working too hard, and two, for not saying anything to anyone. She was fine for now. What was the average lifespan on a borrowed heart anyway? Five to seven years? Maybe? If all went well? How about in the apocalypse?
Aside from ditching a massive-ass herd last month, the group had been doing pretty well with avoiding not only walkers but regular humans, too. It had been unanimous that joining or allowing any joiners was not happening. They'd experienced enough hell.
Sophie deemed them the Travelers as if they were fucking gypsies or some circus caravan. But, it made sense since they never stopped moving for long.
Celia flipped her machete back into its holster that was plastered across her back. She'd found it on a stray farm they came across a month ago. It was a nice place, but there wasn't much to salvage.
"Let's go regroup," Ryan told them.
The moment the three girls turned their backs and made their way back the way they came, Ryan rubbed her chest. She inhaled deeply and out slowly, almost meditatively. Her heart was beating a little faster today. They'd done a bit of running.
The others weren't far off. Everybody had scouting positions that were taken up when they were approaching a possible population zone. Unless it was a massive city, which they vowed to avoid, they broke up into formations.
Girls to the front. Alcoholics to the west. Sharpshooters to stay back and cover their asses. Then there was the quiet trio to the east. They were already in the small town. It had been advertised on a sign a while back. Southern Shade. It was a college town. Even from here Ryan could see the main buildings of the campus, one being a steeple that sprang up in the very center. Three-fourths was college and less than a mile out from it was a neighborhood and the small town.
Sounded like a damn Winnie-the-Pooh spin-off. From up here, the neighborhood they were coming up on looked as nice as the town sounded. A complete suburb, except the house, seemed to have their own personalities instead of looking like creepy identicals for the nuclear family.
The four of them headed down the hill, along the edges of the woods. There were two football fields worth of field. Lucky for them it was all tall grass. That was also unlucky. Snakes lurked in it. So did walkers.
Ryan rubbed her chest. Her heart was steadying. Good. She twirled her sickled once with a flick of her wrist. Sophie, beside her, had her hand on the hilt of her short sword.
"So?" she said. Her green eyes scanned around.
Ryan looked around.
"Seems clear. Too clear. Too quiet."
"Not always bad."
Ryan shrugged. Sophie added,
"There wasn't anybody in the last town."
"Not every town is a desolate wasteland," Ryan mumbled.
"Then why didn't we stay longer?" Sophie asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Ryan smirked, trying to hold back a bout of chuckles.
"Because it was a desolate wasteland."
Celia snickered behind them.
Coming up onto the road into town, the grass grew shorter and trees lightly scattered about, and then soon, shops and a gas station. Ryan kept her eyes front. The other three kept their eyes peeled. A crackle of white noise filtered over the walkie-talkie on her hip. They'd found them at the gun supply shop they'd hit two and half weeks ago. The crackle spit some more than stopped. She counted the seconds it lasted. Two. It was Morse code or at least as close as it'd get. Her brother preferred it to talking. More private.
Most of the shops were empty for what Ryan could see through the shop fronts. Cars were askew across Main St. Some never even left their parking spots. Others left in dead in traffic. A small, metal, grated bridge up ahead led to the college.
"This place—" Mary began.
"Is dead." Sophie finished.
"Isn't that odd?" Mary asked.
Ryan stopped. She squinted her eyes as she looked around. This place, like other towns, had been abandoned, or worse. They're all dead. Or hiding.
"Let's move forward," Ryan said. "Stay alert."
Their footsteps clanked across the bridge, echoing eerily. The campus was deserted, but it looked as if it hadn't been touched at all by the nastiness of the current world. There wasn't a speck out of order. Not a bit of trash on the grass. Some windows were broken but cleaned up. There were no shards glittering anywhere.
The trees and bushes were beautifully in bloom in the midsummer
"I'm getting seriously creeped out," Sophie muttered.
"Me too," Ryan said.
She pressed her free hand down to her walkie and pressed the button on the side. The air crackled through the speaker.
"I'm not seeing a thing," she said low into it. She pressed the button a few times. After a sigh, she added, "A few strays stay in town. This place gives me a Stephen King vibe."
She received twin blank stares from Celia and Mary. Sophie knew who it was though, which made her feel better
She placed the walkie back at her hip and turned to look back over her shoulder. She saw a flash of mirror from a rooftop in town. It was more of a flicker, but she still caught it. Lindsey and Zane had gotten the message. A two-second crackle in return was enough that she knew her brother heard her.
"This place had to of at least held two-thousand students. Maybe twenty-five hundred. The town probably thirty-seven hundred" Ryan commented. It was mostly guessing, but college towns were always alive with folks. "How do that many people disappear just like that? I'm not even seeing walkers."
They moved toward one of the buildings: Herbert Hall. It was also clean. Too clean.
"It smells like lemons," Celia choked out after they stepped inside.
Ryan's eyes hardened. A part of her knew they should leave, but she wondered…
They were running low on supplies. But, by the looks of the cases with physics and meteorology projects and some of the posters on the walls, this was the science building. Ryan broke into a grin. Her eyes glittered with glee. She didn't forget about the possibility of lurking people, but this was a rare occasion.
"C'mon," she said, leading them onward.
Down the hallway were stairs. The girls stopped short as the door by them opened. The girls split and dove into rooms on the opposite side of the hall. Celia and Sophie in one and Ryan and Mary in another. All of them held their breaths, ready to defend themselves from whoever was out there. Ryan noted the lack of dust coating the computers. All of them held their breath.
"I saw them come in here."
Ryan relieved a breath and then rolled her eyes. She waited until the bodies the voices belonged to strolled past the door and then stepped out noiselessly and nudged her sickle into her twin. He spun fast, his gun raised. The barrel was pointed at her forehead. Ryan didn't flinch or even duck.
Troy and Alicia stood on either side of him. Alicia relaxed. Troy didn't. He hadn't since the Plantation.
"I'm beginning to wonder why you aren't fish bait," Reed said.
"Not many adorable and mouthy women left in the world," Ryan winked.
Reed snorted, lowering his gun. "You're right. This place is creepy."
"We should leave," Troy said. His eyes darted up and down the hallway.
"Definitely. But, there's something I want to check out."
"Please don't say the library," Alicia groaned.
"You don't know me at all," Ryan chuckled. Her eyebrows flicked up once, in a sly, taunting kind of way.
"The chem labs," Reed said. He shook his head, only just realizing now what she was up to. "Of course. Make it fast."
"We'll see," Ryan said, already traveling up the stairs.
"Let's split up. See what we can find," Alicia said.
Troy went up the stairs with Sophie, following Ryan. Mary and Celia went down the hallway to the right, leaving Alicia and Reed to travel the way the girls had come from.
"It's so hot," Lindsey groaned.
She swiped the back of her hand against her sweaty forehead. Zane passed her his canteen. The water was hot on her tongue but it quenched her thirst. She passed it back over her shoulder to Jasper.
"Got eyes on Strand and Grant."
The two were casually strolling down the sidewalk in town. They stopped from window to window. Grant would cup his hands around his eyes as he peeked in storefronts.
"A gang coming down the alley. See it?" Zane nodded.
"Yeah. I see it," Lindsey said. She had her scope fixated on the walkers. A walked at a crawling, numbing pace.
"Give them a minute now," Jasper said, his voice gravelly. He waved his hand as if patting an invisible shoulder, calling for them to hold.
Lindsey's finger had been doing nothing but playing with the trigger, tickling it. She twitched her nose to the side.
They watched as the small gang of walkers—really only six or seven of them—followed the two.
"Bet you a pack of Poptarts you won't be able to nail two of 'em at once," Zane said.
Lindsey smirked. Though her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton, it watered at the thought of those stale pastries. She peered through the scope. Grant and Strand had already sprung into action and were working through the walkers. She had two in her sight though. Slipping her finger over the trigger, she breathed out through her mouth and pulled it. The shot rang out, ringing in her ears for a good minute. She braved the kickback like it was nothing. God, she loved this gun.
"Shit!" Zane muttered harshly, annoyed that he'd lost the bet.
Jasper laughed, his whole upper body shaking, on his bucket seat.
"Boy, she a better shot than you," he said between bouts.
Zane shook his head and reached back into his pack. He handed her a silver-wrapped package that shined like metal under the hot sun. Lindsey took it gleefully and opened it immediately. She was starving. Taking one for herself, she handed the other one to him. She chowed down and nearly groaned. Artificial strawberry oozed over her tongue, gumming up her mouth. She chewed and swallowed it down with water.
Ryan wandered down the hallway. Her boots thudded on the green linoleum, each step filled with a bit of pep. It had been a little while since she felt any kind of jolt of excitement. She peeked through the windows of classrooms. Sophie and Troy watched bemused.
"Did I ever tell you what I was going to study in college?" She looked back at them. A shadow of a smile lit her face. "Well, if my heart hadn't been a piece of crap."
"What?" Sophie asked.
"Bio-Chemistry and Nuclear Physics as a double major." Ryan grinned smugly now.
Troy's eyebrows rose up into his bangs. Did not see that coming, he thought.
"Oh yes, I wanted to make bombs…you know, probably the ones that did all of this, not that we'll ever know," Ryan said. "I even sent in a video with my application of me building a homemade stun grenade. Non-toxic, but did the job of halting a riot. Reed was the guinea pig. He fell over like a lump."
"Damn," Sophie said, now looking at her wearily. "You're scary."
"It lasted close to three hours," Ryan added. "Mom and Dad were not happy."
"So we're…" Troy trailed off, catching up to her in a couple of long strides.
"Shopping of course."
Looking through the next window, she spotted the cabinet of chemicals and shelves of beakers on the back wall. There was the emergency shower too. Score, she thought. She went inside and held the door for them. The black tops of the lab tables gleamed.
Ryan nearly remembered where everything was stored. Almost every chemistry lab was the same. The dangerous chemicals were locked up behind a glass cupboard. Sometimes in a back room. The beakers, all varying in size and shape were on a metal shelf.
"Never know when you might need to blow something up…or melt somebody's face off," Ryan muttered.
Troy checked the room first for walkers. It was clean. He then sat down at one of the tables, setting his pistol on the countertop and watched as Ryan pulled down beakers and chemicals. The confidence in it was mesmerizing. She plucked a few books from the shelf by the professor's desk up at the front of the room. She knew what she was doing. It was new to see her in her element like this. Did everyone else know she could build something this deadly?
He glanced over at Sophie. She was staring at the poster of the periodic table. Her fingers tapped on her chin.
As Ryan worked, he watched, half fascinated and half unnerved that he didn't know this about her. Did that make her more dangerous than him all this time? Why did it matter anyway? It's not as if it was a lie by omission. It just never came up and why would it have?
Reed and Alicia wandered in fifteen minutes later. Grant and Strand had already checked in over the walkie. There'd been a few walkers, but they were taken care of. The two were now at a Mexican restaurant.
"What was it you always said?" Reed said to Ryan.
She looked up. She flicked her fingers over the flame of the Bunsen burner.
"Fire pretty," she said.
"That's it." Reed grimaced. "Extremely creepy. Especially when you got the twinkle in your eye."
Alicia observed the bottles scattered about the two lab tables on each side of Ryan.
"I had no idea what I wanted to study for college. I didn't even know if I wanted to go," she said.
"Better than me," Troy said. "I wasn't even given the option."
Ryan paused briefly, looking over at him, struck once again by his words. It constantly surprised her, the things she didn't expect or think about. Though Troy didn't say anything, she figured most, if not all, of his memories, had returned. Even the ones he didn't want. She could see the weight of them on his shoulders in his eyes.
"My choice was taken away from me." Ryan shrugged as she poured liquid into an empty beaker. "For the record though," she looked up, "I really wanted to fucking go."
"Did she tell you about how she paralyzed me for three hours?" Reed said.
Troy smirked and then dipped his chin down, shaking his head. Alicia's eyebrows raised at Ryan.
"Yeah. That was something else," Reed said. "Good times."
"What is this?" Alicia asked though she sounded like she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Ryan got up and started looking around the room. She knew exactly what she needed. She worked like an artist, knowing that she could make something explosive and beautiful. Well, beautiful to her. Once she finished putting her best work together, which was no bigger than two water bottles put together with a manufactured pull-tab like a grenade, she put it in her pack. It would a nice surprise for later.
Troy was eyeing it and it gave her a sense of pride.
"Pull the tab, mix the special ingredients, and poof! Pretty fire. Big boom," she explained to him.
"How the hell do you know that?" Troy dared ask. He was afraid to touch it, but she handled it like it was a jug of water.
Ryan just shrugged. It wasn't a big deal like it seemed to be to him and Alicia. Both of them shared feelings of shock.
"I was born with a brain. You know, the thing you lack," she snorted, and playfully batted the side of his head as if her hand was a brain-sucker. He sneered and shoved her hand away, but it was obvious he was trying not to laugh.
"The things you discover about people," Alicia sighed.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on blowing us up. This homemade toy could help clear out a mini-horde," Ryan said. "Or at least a chunk of one."
"I saw dorms on our way over this way," Reed said. "And the dining hall. We can stay there tonight."
Ryan froze. She didn't feel too good about that. She looked at Troy and could tell he felt the same. There was something wrong with this place. She'd rather travel all night instead of staying here. Reed and Alicia looked as if they'd already made the decision, however.
"The others?" Ryan sighed.
"I'll radio them real quick," Alicia said. She waved for Reed to toss her the walkie. He followed her out into the hall after tossing it.
"Those two are close," Troy said, tight-lipped. "And suddenly in leader mode."
"I noticed," Ryan mumbled. It wasn't obvious, but the shift between had been noticeable. Alicia was more open around him. They were in sync and not in the way she was as his twin. "Should I be worried about the pageant princess? That she'll leave him to rot. You know, if I go before he does?"
And Ryan knew it was a strong possibility that she'd die before him. Even now, as she felt fine, she knew she wasn't.
Troy, now standing next to her, looked down at her with raised eyebrows. It was almost as if he were offended and pretending not to know that she'd thought about this ever since the Plantation. She rolled her eyes at him.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm being logical. I don't want him surrounded by people he can't trust. He's a good guy with a good heart. Those kind have a habit of trying to have it all," she said, lowering her head.
"And you?" Troy dared inquire like she half-hoped he wouldn't.
"Pretty sure I figured out where I am."
He tilted his head and then scooped his hand under her chin gently and lifted it so she looked at him. It was an intense he'd only bore down on her on extreme rare occasion. Serious and ingraining and vulnerability-inducing.
"You are where you are. With me. And that means you're not going anywhere. You're safe." He'd said the words before. A long time ago, but they felt different this time. This time he was trying to beat back death, as if he could do that.
She smirked. He was extremely serious. She turned her head away.
"We'll see, huh?" She joked because it was easier than continuing to talk about this.
Sophie looked out the window, pretending not to hear them.
Reed and Alicia returned.
"Grant and Strand are on their way. Lindsey, Zane, and Jasper will be on their way tomorrow. For tonight, they'll stay in town. Keep an eye out," Reed said.
With their newly acquired explosive, which Ryan carried on her back with glee, they left the science department. Alicia swiped the bottle of sulfuric acid as well.
"Anybody else creeped out by this place?" Sophie said. Her eyebrows scrunched together. "There's nothing here. No people, it's clean, and no walkers."
Ryan paused and so did Troy, but for a different reason. He seemed to be just as on edge. For Ryan, she was seeing Sophie for the first time so differently. They'd been moving non-stop, so she hadn't noticed her change. She was just inches from being as tall as her and she was filling out. Her hair was longer. Here words were firmer and less timid.
"Yeah," Troy agreed.
This place was strange. And clean. A campus would be messy from the thousands of students trying to escape.
"Keep your eyes peeled," Ryan said before going to catch up with her brother.
"So, you're finally at college," he joked. "How does it feel?"
"Not what I expected. Kind of glad I got a broken heart instead," Ryan replied.
"The dorms are right up here," Alicia said. "We skimmed past them, but didn't go inside."
"Oy!"
The group froze. Grant's voice echoed loudly across the open space. It jarred Ryan. It had been so quiet and she felt as if that shout would alert something they didn't want to alert. Something bad. Her heart accelerated and jolted painfully in her chest from the scare. She looked at the others. Reed was tense, though he smirked. Alicia's grip on her semi-automatic was tight and her stare hardened. Troy's jaw ticked. His shoulders relaxed as he breathed out.
Sophie was the one to raise her gun. It was only a small handgun, but still. Her finger was clear of the trigger.
"Easy," Grant laughed heartily. Sophie lowered the gun, shaking her head in dismay. "Nice place, eh?"
"Too nice," Strand said, next to him.
"Let's get out of sight," Reed said. He glanced around. "We'll head out in the morning."
"Hickler looks good," Alicia said with a shrug.
The door of the dorm building was unlocked.
"Where are Mary and Celia?" Sophie asked as they went inside. "Shouldn't they have checked in by now?"
"They did. Morse. They're on their way," Alicia said.
Celia whimpered. A large boot pressed down in the center of her back. She could barely breathe. Less than a foot away, Mary lay motionless with a blank stare directed at her. There was no life in it. Her body jerked a little as two walkers bit into her. One in her thigh and the other in her side. Celia let out a hoarse cry.
"Cry all you like, sweetheart. Nobody will hear you since I snipped your vocal cords." The boot pressed harder into her back and she rasped out a whimper. His breath was hot on her ear suddenly. "And I'll be doing a lot more. It's been a while since I've had a cadaver to practice on."
Celia croaked and hiccupped.
