Ch. 7
'Friend or Foe Pt. One'
[Four days later, Near Chattanooga, TN, Dusk]
How far had they walked? It felt like forever. Summer thought to herself as she walked along the highway ninety. Blake had to start carrying Genevieve a couple miles ago.
"We... can't keep this up Blake.." Summer said, weary from walking.
"We'll get a car .. When we get to Chattanooga." Blake answered hoping not to wake Genevieve.
"How far..?" Jenny asked tired from their long walk.
"Looks like... two miles." Blake announced.
"Two miles.." Jenny repeated to herself not satisfied with the answer.
Genevieve woke up and shifted on Blake's back.
Blake switched up his demeanor. "Sup lil lady? Sleep good?" Blake asked in a tired but cheery tone.
"It was uncomfortable.. But I slept ok." Genevieve said relaxing her head on his shoulder.
"Good." Blake said with an enthusiastic element.
After a minute Genevieve started to squirm a bit. "Can you let me down?" Genevieve asked stopping mid squirm.
"Aren't your feet hurting?" Blake asked looking over his shoulder at her.
"Yes. But you're pretty tired from carrying me right?" Genevieve questioned.
"Not if you need me to carry you..." Blake said honestly looking at the little girl's eyes.
"It's ok Blake." Genevieve said softly not breaking eye contact.
Blake sighed and let her down gently. "If you need up I'll do it ok?" Blake said as the girl started walking gingerly as if on hot coals along next to him.
"Ok." Came the girl's reply.
Summer and the rest of the girl's were walking behind the man and child.
"What a trooper." Melissa said under her breath.
"Who? Blake?" Summer asked hearing Melissa's comment.
"Genevieve." Melissa clarified. "It's been over a hundred miles of walking since Monterrey. She hasn't whined once and has walked all but what.. Ten miles?" Melissa explained in awe at this prospect.
Summer's eyes widened in disbelief when she heard this eyeing the little girl as she hobbled along filled with a new sadness at the idea of this kid walking one hundred miles in dress shoes.
"Wow." Summer muttered in awe.
[One hour later, nighttime]
The group finally were within a stone's throw of the city they could already see abandoned cars with almost skeletal remains of people looking as if they were dragged out and shot the smell of it all made the gruesome scene even worse.
"Shit..." Blake lamented the deaths of all the people strewn across the highway.
"Bad word." Genevieve interjected squeezing Blake's hand.
"Crap." Blake corrected himself as if he had said that was what he had meant to say.
"Oh my gosh!" Jenny exclaimed covering her mouth and nose when she saw the layout of the scene before them.
"I bet with all these cars I can get one running. When it's lighter out." Blake said as he opened an empty car to check for corpses. "Alright c'mon hop in." Blake said ending hos search and ushering the group into the four-door car.
"Blake." Jenny whispered as she came by. "Need to talk to you." She said pulling him aside.
Summer waited for her turn to get in the car but watched Blake and Jenny until the two quit speaking and Blake sighed.
"What's up?" Summer asked walking up next to her brother.
"I gotta go look for food.." Blake announced quietly.
"What? Can't you wait til the morning?" Summer asked getting closer so the others didn't hear.
"No.." Genevieve hasn't eaten anything in a day or two. I sure as shit ain't letting her starve." Blake explained. "I'll be back in a flash don't worry. Ok?" Blake said trying to downplay the danger of the mission he set for himself.
Summer looked down not ready to lose someone else in her life.
"Be back before you know it." Blake said after emptying his backpack and leaving for the city.
Summer sat in the car worrying about her brother watching and waiting for his return.
A couple of hours had passed with no sign of Blake. Summer was getting worried.
"Guys." Summer said turning around in her seat. "We need to go find him." Summer declared.
The girls in the back looked up at her sudden statement.
"He might be on his way back." Melissa said in a quiet calming voice.
"I have to be sure. But I don't wanna go alone." Summer admitted to the other girls.
"I'll go with you." Genevieve piped up from the middle seat in the back receiving glances from everyone in the car.
"It... could be dangerous." Summer said honestly, trying to dissuade the child.
"I know.. But if Blake's in trouble I want to help." Genevieve replied.
"We'll all go." Jenny chimed in matter of factly, Melissa nodding in agreement.
"Really?" Summer asked happy her friend was going to help .
"Ok." Summer said accepting the group's help together they set off for Chattanooga in search of Blake.
Upon arrival in the city they noticed the amount of corpses walking the streets.
"There's so many of them." Jenny said slight fear evident in her voice.
"Stay calm." Melissa said in a hushed voice.
"He's gotta be close right?" Jenny asked looking over her shoulder for any danger.
"Lets hope so. C'mon." Summer said sneaking behind a car the others following her lead.
Poking her head up she saw a swarm of undead. "How'd you do it.." Summer asked Blake under her breath, scanning the area for a route through.
After a minute Summer noted a fire escape ladder hanging down. "Guys look up." Summer said as she pointed upwards.
The girls looked up and saw the same thing. "Look! We can jump from the balconies." Genevieve exclaimed quietly to the group.
Summer turned around with look of disbelief at the little girl. "How does a five-year-old know the correct term for those?" Summer asked in astonishment.
"There was one in Rapunzel.." Genevieve said losing all of her excitement. "I asked mommy what it was. Genevieve added.
"Hm." Summer thought to herself. "Melissa can you jump up to that?" Summer asked.
"Not sure.." Melissa admitted.
"We'll boost you up." Summer said motioning Jenny as the two set up a step for Melissa.
Climbing up Melissa made it to the top as Jenny jumped up and grabbed the bottom rung and pulled herself up and started climbing.
"Can you climb this?" Summer asked Genevieve.
"Yes. I think I can." Genevieve confirmed with a nod.
"Ok." Summer said as she lifted Genevieve up, holding her by the waist.
Once on the ladder Genevieve made her way up as Summer jumped up and started her climb.
Once at the top the girls had started climbing to the balcony next to them.
Melissa went first than Jenny Summer lifted Genevieve to Melissa then Summer made her way over. The group did this until one of the balconies was broken, so they used it as a slide once on the ground the group saw Blake and a girl taking down some corpses with more on the way.
"Blake!" Summer exclaimed pulling her bow out and nocking an arrow before firing it hitting a corpse in the neck causing it to stagger but continue its pursuit.
The girl kicked a corpse in the knee bending it backwards and stuck a knife in its head she then turned and threw the knife hitting another in the face she turned just as one was lunging at her she braced her arms in front of her to hold it off then swept its legs with her left leg then followed up by stomping its head noticing it move she slammed her foot down again then turned and side kicked one knocking it into one of its fellow corpses toppling them both.
Blake swung an entire corpse at another one then push kicked another one then lunged he caught it and shoved it away.
Summer fired another arrow hitting the corpse in the temple killing it. Again.
The girl got blind sided knocking her over to the ground she countered by setting her foot on the monster's stomach as her back hit the ground she pushed the corpse over herself then got up quickly seeing the quantity of corpses she decides to make an exit rolling over a dead corpse grabbing her knife mid roll then ran up to a wall and kicked off it catching a fire escape pulling herself up quickly.
"Hey! Wait! What are you doing!?" Blake yelled up to the girl.
"Living to fight another day!" The girl yelled back.
"We have a child!" Blake shouted.
"Blake! Hurry!" Summer cried as she fired another arrow.
"You will be killing us!" Blake yelled with desperation.
"Not my.." The girl trailed off looking into space for a brief moment. "Fine. Let's go!" The girl said letting the ladder down.
The group scrambled up the ladder.
"Thank you." Blake said short of breath and shaking from fear.
"Don't thank me." The girl answered dismissively looking for a route off of this construction site.
"Blake!" Genevieve cried as she the her arms around Blake's waist, Summer giving him a hug as well.
"Glad to see you guys safe.." Blake said with relief.
"Us? We were worried about you!" Summer exclaimed hugging tighter.
"Fuck.." the girl cursed as she sighed not seeing an easy way out of this place.
"What do we so now?" Jenny asked.
"We wait for them to move on." Blake said with a sigh.
"Not even." The girl interjected causing the group to look at her. "That size of a horde isn't going anywhere.. not for a couple days unless something attracts them." The girl explained.
"Well.. How do you know." Summer asked.
"I spend my days watching them and manipulating them." The girl replied.
"What's your name?" Genevieve asked filled with curiosity.
The girl recoiled at the thought of telling stranger her name. "You guys aren't bandits so..." the girl trailed off fighting internally whether to tell them. "Amanda. My friends call me Mandy." Amanda said sternly.
"Glad to meet ya Mandy." Blake said trying to be civil.
"I said my friends call me that." Amanda said with slight venom in her voice.
"Noted.." Blake said simply.
"You guys bed down over there. I'll be over here. First watch.." Amanda ordered. "Your next watch big guy." She added.
"Blake." The young man corrected as she walked by him.
The group settled down Melissa laid in the center of the platform they were on, Jenny was near the edge, Genevieve was near the edge as well.
"I got her some different shoes while I was looking for food." Blake said handing a pair of children's tennis shoes to Summer.
"Why don't you give them to her?" Summer asked not wanting to deal with it.
"I gotta talk to Edgy girl over there." Blake said sarcastically as he nodded over to Amanda leaning against a support pole.
Summer let out a sigh and took the shoes. "Fine." Summer relented as she walked to the child who was trying to nurse her feet.
"Here ya go kid." Summer said kneeling and handing the shoes to the child.
"Thank you." Genevieve said taking the pair of shoes.
Summer got up and walked a couple steps before stopping in her tracks.
"C-could you help me?" Genevieve asked in a small voice. "Please?"
Summer turned around slowly. "Sure." Said unamused.
Walking back over she sat down and started to hastily take the shoes off. "So you know big words but can't take your own shoes off." Summer jabbed at the child.
"Ah. Slow down." Genevieve said tensing up lightly.
"There aren't even straps." Summer said trying to pull the shoes off.
"Summer. Please!" The little girl almost screamed.
Summer froze when Genevieve raised her voice looking up to see her eyes wet.
"Please." Genevieve pleaded again. "Be gentle." She added quietly.
Summer slowly pulled on the shoes now noticing the swollen feet the girl had.
"Ok.." Summer said quietly as she saw the blood on the bottom of the socks and inside her shoes. "Melissa." Summer called to the nurse relaxing a short distance away.
"What's up... oh my." Melissa said noticing the blood on top of dried blood.
"What do we do?" Summer asked looking up at Melissa.
"Well uh.. Amanda." Melissa called over to the teenage girl getting her attention. "Can we borrow a knife?" Melissa asked pleadingly.
"You guys don't even have knives?" Amanda scoffed at the thought. "Here" Amanda said handing a Bowie knife to Summer. "Keep it." She added.
Summer took the knife and cut the white leggings the child wore into shorts and pulled the rest of the hosen off slowly, receiving heavy breathing and whimpers from Genevieve the bottoms of the socks were stuck to the bottoms of her feet.
"In sorry about this Genevieve." Summer said trying to be gentle.
After exposing Genevieve's bare feet Melissa could see that the girl's feet has blistered then popped and reblistered several times leaving them barely recognizable.
"I can't believe you're still walking." Melissa said sadly.
Summer sat back on her heels almost admiring the girl's toughness.
"She's gonna need medicine. We won't want that getting infected." Melissa said.
"Meds.. Those won't be easy for you guys to get to." Amanda said not liking the idea of leaving the kid to die.
"You know where to find some?" Blake asked looking at Amanda seriously.
"Local bandits have stockpiled all important shit in the mall south of here. Amanda briefed with a sigh.
"Well let's go." Blake said full of zeal.
"Hold your horses there bucko. Too damn dark. You can go tomorrow.
[One hour later]
The group lay silently trying to sleep with the sound of hundreds of corpses shuffling only a few feet beneath them little did they know the corpses were bumping into something important.
Very important.
