Chapter 10- Forgotten
56 Days After the National Outbreak
BPOV:
The fire's heat caresses my skin, relaxing me as I lay beside it, watching its flames dance in the wind. The crackling sound provides me with such comfort. It's nice having moments like these - moments without the crunching sounds of bones rubbing against bones and moans from the living dead. In these peaceful moments, I feel like I've traveled back in time to the world before the virus outbreak. I snuggle up in my sleeping bag, letting images from those days dance in my mind.
After a few minutes, the sounds of footsteps rouse me from my thoughts and I open my eyes to find Edward, hobbling toward me with more firewood. The exhausted look on his face twists into a smile as his eyes meet mine. Although I didn't want to stop and rest, I'm thankful he made me. I don't think I would have fared well if I kept overexerting myself. This near to the city is the last place I need an injury.
"You feeling any better?"
He throws the branches into the flames and plops down beside me, sitting partially on my sleeping bag. I like him close like this, I feel safe. I know if Jake were here right now - human - he would be shielding me from every horror this new world has to offer. He would protect me until his final breath. And now, I'm the one protecting him. I'm the one risking my own life everyday to save him and Seth. I don't mind. I missed having a purpose like this. Before the outbreak, I quit work to be a stay at home mom with Seth. Even though I loved him more than anything, I quickly became depressed, being shut away in my home every day. While some women thrive, I hated it. I felt like my life was taking a inconsequential path; a path I didn't want to be on. Here, now, I feel like my old self again. Which is strange, considering the eccentric circumstances.
"It's still sore," I mumble, sitting up so I'm facing the fire, as well.
"Well, you were walking on it for far too long." He pauses for a moment, studying me. "You hungry?"
"I could eat." I shrug.
He chuckles at this, stares off into space for a moment, and then laughs even harder.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing," he replies, gaining control of himself. "It's just, my friend, Paul, used to say that all the time. He'd always be like, 'I'm not hungry, but I can eat.' You reminded me of him for a moment."
I open my mouth to speak, but my mind quickly stops me. I want to ask about his friend, but what if it's a touchy subject? Everything feels like a touchy subject these days. So many lives have been lost; so many families have been torn apart. Nothing is how it once was, so, you're bound to hit a sore spot with people every now and then. Or at least, I think. Edward is the first person I've run into while on the road. When I first started off, I stayed well hidden - slept far from any paths and even climbed trees to hide out when I heard any groups approaching. I didn't want to be seen. It was too risky. It's still too risky. Sure, I have Edward, now, but I can't allow another in our tiny group. More people means more trouble. The more people we surround ourselves with, the more risk we surround ourselves with. Even when I craved human interaction early on in my quest, I understood that.
Bored, and too curious to help myself, I finally ask, "Where is your best friend now?"
Edward grows still by my side, ponders for a moment, and then answers, "Honestly, I have no idea. I hope he's with Kate. We all lived together at the beginning of all this," he explains. "We lived in a mall with a group of people and survived as one unit… until we were raided. I was shot, but you know that. I was shot during the raid and passed out. They left me for dead, or thought I was dead when they left, then I awoke to find bodies everywhere. Bodies of my friends and their families. Bodies of people that I got to know that joined our group. Adults and children, all killed to gain excess to our sanctuary. Funny thing is, when I woke up, all I saw were the bodies. I didn't see any of those raiders' bodies anywhere. Paul wasn't among the dead. At least, not from what I saw. I think I checked every single body that was there; I was looking for Kate."
Edward's monologue comes to an abrupt end before he stares off into the darkness before us, seemingly forgetting about me - forgetting about everything. Before I realize what I'm doing, I reach out and place my hand on top of his, wanting him to know that I'm here for him, for whatever he needs. Although he doesn't thank me for the small comfort, he doesn't shoo me away, either. Instead, we sit in a comfortable silence. Well, comfortable until the realization of what he saw that day comes creeping in. How is he not traumatized from that? Or maybe he is, and he just holds it in very, very well.
"I'm sorry," I whisper into the wind as it picks up around us, blowing the flames from the fire in many different directions.
"Don't be," he answers, just as quietly. "We've both seen our fair share of carnage. More than any one person should ever have to see."
"It doesn't make things less painful," I whisper.
"What?"
"Seeing all these horrors, it doesn't make anything any easier for either of us. Sure, part of me has grown numb to it, but there will always be a part of me that still struggles with the new world."
Edward turns to look at me, the flames from the fire dancing in his emerald colored eyes. I'm lost for a moment, and then I remember where we are and what lies ahead.
"Rest, Bella. We need you healthy for when we get back on the road."
And with that, the captivating moment between us fades and he looks away from me. Who knew, surrounded by so much death and destruction, I would find a new friend. He is my friend, isn't he? His brows knit together and he peers back at me, giving me a percular look.
"Of course, I'm your friend."
I feel my cheeks flush, feeling so young all of a sudden. "Good. I could use a friend." Especially in a world like this. While I've let my guard down and I should be terrified - I'm not. I feel positively safe.
The next morning Edward's awake long before I am. The hot sun burns my face, rousing me from my sleep. I nestle in my sleeping bag a moment longer, not wanting to face the day. I don't know what it is - perhaps an energy in the air? - but I have a bad feeling about what lies ahead. Something in my gut is warning me. Warning me of what, I don't know. There's something dangerous on the horizon, it says. I can't ignore it, as much as I want to. The feeling sends a chill down my spine and causes my heart to race against my chest. Something isn't right.
I used to feel this way when a full moon was rising. I could feel the change in the air and would see the difference in the way people were behaving. It was as though we were all wired to know when a change was coming. Perhaps it's a survival instinct. Maybe that's what I'm experiencing right now. All my senses are alerting me to something horrible, but I don't know how to listen to them. How can I protect myself against something which has yet to happen? Maybe I'm just being silly… or paranoid… possibly both. After all that has happened, paranoia is a reasonable explanation. I've seen too much - done too much. Closing my eyes, I shut out the rest of the world. Until, Edward comes back to our campsite.
"It's just past noon, I think. You ready to get on the road?"
He squats down beside me and, believing I'm still asleep, reaches into my unzipped sleeping bag and gently pulls out my injured leg, assessing it. Feeling embarrassed, I keep my eyes tightly shut and keep my breathing even as he gently touches the swelling of my ankle before carefully setting my leg down, back inside my sleeping bag.
"It still looks pretty bad," I hear him whisper to himself.
I keep my eyes closed for another minute and then I grow restless. Knowing his eyes are still studying me, I fake the steps of waking up: fluttering my eyes, yawning, and stretching before I open my sleepy eyes and look in his direction. I force my eyes to widen slightly as I take him in, wanting him to believe I had no idea he was watching me.
"Hey," I mumble. "Did I oversleep?"
"No. Is your leg feeling better?"
"It's still tender," I answer honestly. "But, I'll be fine walking on it. I've dealt with much worse."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Besides, we can't camp out here forever. We're only safe, if we keep moving."
Edward stares at me for a moment, as if he were trying to assess if I'm lying or not, before finally nodding.
"Okay, if you say so. Take your time getting ready. There's no rush."
He leaves me alone to "wash up." I take the tube of toothpaste out of my backpack and squeeze a small amount of it onto my index finger. I "brush" my teeth for thirty seconds and then take a small sip of water, rinsing my mouth out before sitting it on the ground next to me. I then take a small amount of water from the same bottle and splash it on my face before pouring a little bit more into my hand to wash my armpits and between my legs, having to awkwardly shove my hand down my pants in the process. I try to do this with natural water, normally, but we haven't come across a natural source of water for the past few days. So bottles of water are the only choice for now. I've been saving the empty bottles so when we do come across water, I'll be able to bottle some up for washing purposes. If I can snag a water filtration system from somewhere, it would make things far easier. Then, I wouldn't have to feel so worried about finding distilled water from the looted stores around town. I finish getting ready by running a comb through my hair and applying the tiniest amount of lotion to my face. Until we reach this settlement, I know I have to be sparing with everything I use.
When I'm ready, I stand up and roll up my sleeping bag, attaching it to my backpack before I walk off to find Edward, who's already packed and ready to go. Although he's been patient for my sake, I can tell he's desperate to get back on the road. Who could blame him? His girlfriend is out there somewhere, possibly suffering, and he's stuck here with me - some random girl he met on the road. Although he cares about me, in a friendly sort of way, I know he'll never care about my well-being the way he cares about hers. Which makes sense. As strange as it is, I care about his well-being a lot. Possibly more than I should. But I can't help it. My own family may be beyond saving… even though I absolutely hate admitting it. I'm hopeful, of course, but I have to be realistic, as well. And realistically, I have no idea what the future has in store for them.
"I'm all set," I call out as soon as Edward's within my view.
He turns and smiles at me with a smile that doesn't quite meet his eyes. He's worried. Maybe he feels the weird energy in the air, too. Perhaps I'm not the only one with a feeling that something is off. I wish that would make me feel better, but it doesn't. If anything, it makes me feel far more afraid. If he feels it too, maybe there really is danger close by. Of course, he could just be worried about his estranged girlfriend. One could only hope…
"Well, I searched this morning and I haven't found any more signs pointing in a certain direction. So, I thought we could continue north. I think we'll probably run into the camp."
I nod in agreement. "That sounds fine to me. I'll just be following you."
"You want to follow me? You seem better with directions."
Despite myself, I snort out a laugh. "I think you must be the first man to ever say a woman is better with directions."
He smiles at this, and this time the smile does reach his eyes. "I might as well be honest. With the living dead crawling all over the place, this isn't exactly the time to be prideful."
"I suppose so. I'll lead the way, but don't get frustrated if I get us lost."
"How can you get us lost? We don't even know where we're going."
"True."
I cross the grass, now long and nearly reaching my kneecap, and make my way toward the street with Edward following quickly behind. I walk fast, despite the tenderness in my ankle. It will hurt no matter what, so I might as well move with confidence. I believe the dead can sense our fear from a mile away; they're nourished by our fear just as much as they're nourished from our bodies, I think. Of course, I'm no expert. If I was, I wouldn't be on this long and bloody journey to DC.
The sun is unforgiving as it shines down on our exposed faces. I wish I still had Jake's hat, something to cover my face from the sun's rays. I lick my chapped lips and tilt my head toward the sun. Although it's relentless, it's peaceful in a way. The change from night to day seems to be the only thing I can rely on these days. It's certainty provides me with such a profound sense of peace.
My legs ache as our journey for the day begins, but I keep pushing forward. We manage to make small talk for a while, but the strange energy in the air silences us both. As we continue, the uneasy feeling that something bad is on the horizon grows more intense. Neither of us comments on it, but both of us acknowledge it. Edward's so stiff at my side, his eyes constantly scanning the area around us.
It's been miles and miles and finally, we find an array of abandoned cars. I smile, and then ignoring the pain of my splitting lips and swollen ankle, I break into a jog, moving toward the cars as if they were my lifeline. My feet become numb, but I make it to a SUV and immediately yank the passenger door open. What's inside, nearly brings me to my knees. Its cloudy, blue eyes stare straight through me and its jaw begins to grind, as if it were chewing on something. Before I can react or even scream, it falls onto me, chomping its jaw as it takes us both to the ground.
"Bella!"
I hear Edward running toward me as I lay paralyzed beneath my dead attacker. It smells putrid; I fear I'll never forget the smell of its decaying flesh until the day I die. As if it was all happening in slow motion, I watch its jaw stretch and grind, biting the air as it attempts to dig into my flesh. And as if a switch was being flipped on in my brain, I reach for my knife. I cringe, tightly closing my mouth as I reach with the knife firmly in my right hand, my left holding the walker's head in place, and plunge my knife into its neck. I squeeze my eyes shut as I feel its blood hit me in the face.
"Bella!" I hear Edward cry again, closer this time.
And then, I hear the rest of them - a swarm of voices moving toward us. My eyes fill with tears as my body fills with adrenaline. I push the dead zombie off of me and sit up, gazing ahead at the atrocity heading toward us. There's so many of them! All shapes and sizes, moving toward us in an eerie unison. I pull out my pistol and set it beside me before pulling out my second gun to load it. I shoot a glance at Edward and find he's doing the same. Maybe we could just run?
"They're everywhere, Bella," my partner says grimly, causing me to cast a glance over my shoulder.
He's right; they're surrounding us. Nausea sweeps over me as I realize the only way out of this involves bloodshed. Death. I'm numb to it now, aren't I? I rise as they come toward us, guns ready. I feel tears trail down my cheeks as my body's nearly sparking with intensity. I'm ready for this. We will get through this and move on - I know we will.
Edward comes to press his back against mine so he's facing one direction and I'm facing the other, both of us facing different hoards of the same monster. I feel his body shaking and I wonder if he can feel mine doing the same thing. Maybe it's all the adrenaline… or maybe it's just my uncontrollable nerves. Regardless, my body is buzzing, waiting for a fight.
"We'll get through this, Bella."
"I know."
"This is just a bump in the road for us."
"I know."
"Are you nervous?"
"No."
A strained chuckle escapes his lips. "Good. Let's give them hell, then."
The first zombie reaches me and I fire the first shot. My ears ring and I smile. Let's give them hell.
A/N: And here's tomorrow's update! I might be motivated before my concert and will update again… but that's a big "might." Lol. Otherwise, I'll be back on Tuesday! If you want to stalk me while I'm away, you can always follow me on instagram at lizzieleeauthor because I'll be posting some concert pics there. And on Facebook! (I'm sure I'm already friends with all of you on there.)
See you next time!
