We avoided dark ally's and closed in areas, that might prove fatal. Working our way around buildings and avoiding attention anyway would could. I continued to sniff the sleeve on my coat, wondering how long the smell would stick around before it wore off and we would leave our own sent everywhere. But the coats had been sitting in those bags for years… much longer then they had been intended to, but long enough to hold a stench deep in the fibers, masking our human smell. We stopped by a Hastings, it's windows shattered allowing us an easy entrance. I looked through the limited electronics, and found nothing.
"I remember this game…" Dani said. I looked over and found him peering through the glass window at Xbox 360 games. I slid back the glass, and pulled one out. Skyrim: Elder Scrolls.
"Gosh when this came out I was like the first one that bought it." Dani said looking it over.
"Isn't that the one that caused all those fights in waiting lines?" I asked. Dani laughed and nodded.
"I was like 7 when it came out. No one picked on a seven year old at the front of the line with a jar of saved up change."
"I remember my brother playing that…" I said, "He was really into that game."
"I loved this game… man all the quests and stuff you could do. I was like an expert archer and blacksmith, and had some many dragon calls it wasn't even funny. And the dragons! Oh gosh I remember those dragons being the coolest things ever… There was this one guy, I played online with, who was like an expert on Skyrim. He always gave me tips and cheats and then my account got hacked by some jerk, and he found all my stuff for me again… oh gosh I lost all my dragon armor and everything…" I had to smile. DRAGON ARMOR? That was xbox games for you.
"Geeze what was his name… Baaa… Bronze…tack… something…"
"BrawnTank85" I asked. Dani looked at me.
"Ya…" I raised my eyebrows and gave him 'are you serious' look.
"That was my brother…" I said. Dani stared at me hesitating.
"You're kidding…" he said. I shook my head, and we both laughed, "Small world…" He put the game back, "Remind me to thank him for returning all my weapons and armor to me…" I said. I smiled and nodded.
We got on our way again, the sun beginning to sink behind the skyline of buildings. I knew we were in trouble… but it was my fault. We were moving slow because of me. I was having a hard time moving as fast. Usually, I would have practically been done and we would be heading back to the car. But I didn't have enough strength to move like that. Fact is, the longer we walked the slower I was getting. I just didn't have energy. I ran out of breath quickly, found myself dragging my feet, and stumbled on a few things. I had hoped Dani didn't notice, but I had a feeling he was keeping count.
"Why don't we take a break?" Dani said. I glanced up and down a street before looking at him.
"No." I said, "Not this time… we're almost there…" I said.
"Vera…" he said. I stopped, realizing he had never said my name before, "We should take a break."
"We will… when we get there. I promise. Please? I won't fight you for a break if we are there… but it's almost dark and we don't have cover…" I saw Dani think it over.
"Fine…" he muttered, dropping a strap of his backpack and throwing it around in front of him. He reached in and pulled out Harvest healthy bars, handing one to me. I took it.
"We'll camp out in Circuit City tonight…" Dani said, "Or if we find a better place to set up. But we need to keep in mind we might not make it there by tonight…" I took a bite of the bar, and chewed. Without a word I started off, at a little faster pace. I needed to pick it up. I needed to move faster. Which is what I was going to do.
We got about another block down and hit a road block… literally. Big cement blocks and cars made it almost impossible to walk through. We had to move slowly, checking every car we passed. By the time we saw the end of the trail of crashed cars… it was dusk. Dark, but enough light to see. We could see circuit city in the distance… or at least the familiar street it was suppose to be on. But we also began to hear more and see more movement. The city was going to come alive soon… with the infected. Dani jumped up on a car hood, his rifle out, looking through the scope.
"We're clear for a couple hundred yards…" he said. He looked back and found me sliding off another hood further down. I had pushed myself and now I was regretting it. Dani held a hand down to me, and again I took it. He helped me onto the hood, and as soon as I stood up, I felt my head go light. Eventually I focused again. I glanced at Dani to see if he noticed… he hand't. He was looking though is scope again.
"Alright… we clear these cars, and follow the canal. We can't cross the bridge… to many of them. We see if there's another crossing…" He jumped down slinging his rifle across his back and held both hands up to me. I hesitated…
I stepped over and put my hands on his shoulders, his hands on my waist and I jumped down. This time, I visibly wavered on my feet, and my vision blacked out for a second.
"Whoa…" I heard Dani. I shook my head, my vision coming back. I realized Dani's hands were still on my waist and my hands were still on his shoulders… "You alright?" he asked. I swear I could feel the heat from his face he was so close.
"Fine…" I said, hesitating before pulling away.
"We'll cross the canal and move around…" Dani said. He started off, and I followed.
Once we cleared the stock of cars, we moved off road. High weeks snagged our pants, and crickets jumped left and right, their music surfacing. We got to the canal a few hundred yards from the bridge, and to our disappointment… it was full of water, the dark liquid glistening in the moonlight.
"We'll have to swim…" Dani said, dropping his backpack on the ground, and pulled out a rope.
"Well don't you just come prepared…" I said quietly. Dani smiled. He tied one end off on the fence that was suppose to fence off the canal, tugging on it hard to test it's strength. He grabbed his backpack.
"I'll go first…" Dani said. He slid down the edge of the canal towards the water, and slid in. I heard him let a hasty breath out from the cold, and watched him disappear across the canal, holding the rope, and his backpack over his head.
For a while I stood there in the dark alone. I could still hear the crickets… and then there was a twig snap… I I thought it was. I spun around, my gun already drawn, going down on one knee. My eyes scanned the dark trying to see. My breath came heavy.
"Ok… Vera…" I heard Dani call to me from across the canal, "You're good." I hesitated, still waiting for something to move. Nothing did… and I swallowed. I had an idea what it was… what was out there. And I had an idea of why it wasn't attacking me. Or maybe it was just my imagination.
But then I saw something move. I didn't know if it was a trick of my eye… but I doubted it.
Quickly, I slid down the side of the canal and into the water, grabbing the rope. I took in a sharp gasp, the cold water biting at what warmth I had left. The current of the water was stronger then I thought, and I was glad I had a rope to help pull me across. I wondered how Dani had done it with a backpack and gun over his head. I got about halfway across when I felt my body ware out. I felt exhaustion settle in.
"Vera…" I heard Dani call out again. He was listening to my splashing, and heard I had stopped moving across, "Vera…" he said again a little more paniced.
"Fine…" I called out, my voice shaking. Just as I said it I heard a splash coming from behind me… like a body had jumped into the water. Then the rope I was holding onto, started to jerk.
I started to move again. As I got closer I could make Dani's dark figure out. When he saw me, he quickly slid down the side of the canal and met me at the water's edge. He grabbed me and pulled me up to flat dry ground.
"Cut the rope… quick…" I breathed.
"What?"
"Cut it!" I hissed. Dani drew his knife and slashed at the rope. It snapped and we heard a scream… a gargling scream from a bloody throat. Dani suddenly had his rifle out, aiming it at the water, frantically searching for the source of the scream.
"Come on… they would have heard that…" I said, getting on my knees to stand up. Dani came over and steadied me, a hand on my shoulder.
"Think the smell off the jackets are wearing off?" Dani asked.
"The water probably didn't help… but he smelt us before that…" I said.
"How?" I asked.
"He recognized the scent…" I muttered. Dani glanced uneasily at me.
We got around the bridge, before we stopped to shed some of our wet clothes, and all the paper stuffing, threw them out, wrung our clothes, and dried them as best we could before slipping them back on again, under our soaked jackets.
"This is not good.." Dani said putting his coat back on, "Even I can smell us now."
"We best get to Circuit City fast. We can hide there until morning." I said. My chest wheezed and I suppressed a cough. I didn't want to take another break until we got there. Not now. We had to get to Circuit City."
"This way…" Dani whispered. We now ran through the dark, with our guns out, working our way through and around buildings block by block. We had a close run-in with the infected quite a few times. One of which happened in a house we had decided to cut through.
We came in through the back door, and found ourselves in the kitchen. Dani scanned the room and motioned me forward. Without a sound, I moved quickly the open doorway, while Dani moved over to a door at the far wall. We stopped and listened… nothing. Dani opened the door… it was a pantry. Empty with a few broken jars and torn tin cans. Dani moved to me, and we both moved from the kitchen to the living room. I could see the entry way, through the stair railings… and just beyond that a door. But we didn't make it that far. There was a roar from up stairs. A roar that made my blood go cold. Imedietly Dani and I went back to the back door. We had just barley got back to the kitchen before we both saw the drunken figure lunging across the living room. We both knew a gun shot would save us now… but kill us both later… so I took up a pan, and swung wide getting the monster on the head… but he still fell towards me. Dani came out of nowhere, throwing his entire body into the infected, tackling him across the kitchen, and into the fridge, knocking both doors open. The infected clawed and growled, but Dani held him back, pushing his head away from his neck. I ran at them, and jumped, kicking the door to the fridge shut across his throat. There was a loud crack, and the infected let loose his grip on Dani's coat, and went limp. Dani let go and stepped back, letting the body fall to the ground. I could see the blood start to drip from the bottom of the door. I saw Dani step back, a little shaky. I starred hard, wondering if he had gotten bitten or hurt.
"Dani?" I asked him. He looked at me, and saw the concern on my face. He held a hand up to reassure me.
"No I'm fine…" he said, and turned his shoulder in my direction. He coat was shredded, a little bit of blood seeping through.
"Did he do that?" I asked. Dani shook his head, and motioned across the counter.
"The knife on the counter… didn't see it." Dani said. I saw the knife on the counter… a silver glint in the moonlight. He must of fallen across it when he tackled the infected. We looked at each other, knowing all too well what blood meant. Dani swore, holding his arm and slid down the counter to the floor. I looked at Dani… then his arm. He wasn't bleeding horribly… but enough. And he looked like he was in pain. I looked at the infected… a body that should have been dead long ago but never found it's way through that last stretch of actually dying. It's stench was already starting to fill the room. I swallowed. My dad had told me a story… something that may save me and Dani now.
I moved fast, pulling a bottle of bleach from Dani's backpack. He pulled off his coat, and rolled his sleeve up. I tore a long strip of material from one of my coats, and then another smaller piece and folded it. I unscrewed the cap off the bottle, and looked at Dani. He saw the bleach and licked his lips, shifting.
"Whatever you do, don't make a sound…" I said. Dani looked at me, and hesitated before nodding. I pulled back the last sleeve, and raised the bottle. I saw Dani tense.
I pored a little across his arm, where the knife had gotten him. His arm flexed hard, and his eyes shut tight, face twisted in pain. His jaw clamped shut, fingers in a tight white knuckled fist. I poured a little more. I heard him groan deep in his chest, trying hard to surpress a yell. Finally I put the folded piece directly on the wound, and then used the longer piece to tie it to his arm, good and tight. I pulled his sleeve down, and helped him with his coat.
"We got to get to Circuit City…" He breathed as he dragged himself to his feet. I nodded, and then turned my head to the knife on the counter. I swallowed, and picked it up. Dani looked at me confused, until I looked over at the corpse on the floor. It took him a second to realize my intentions.
"Will it work?" he asked. I shrugged.
"I've never done it…" I said.
"What's to loose…" he muttered. I took a big breath and stepped towards the body. I set the blade against it's stomach, and let my breath out slowly. My hand was shaking. I didn't know if I could do it… but I had to.
I dug the knife deep into the skin, and pulled down across it's stomach. Fluid and guts gushed out onto the floor, it's stench making me gag. Eventually I pulled the knife out and dropped it on the floor. Dani and I covered our mouth and noses and quickly left.
"That stench should keep us covered for a while… especially if we left any blood in the house…" Dani said as we exited the house in a hasty fashion. I nodded.
Again we started on our way, avoiding houses altogether.
We got to circuit city a few hours after sun set. I was exhausted, and Dani had little use of his arm. But we had made it. Dani and I shut the door behind us, and I dumped the last of the bleach around the entrance. We shoved a shelf in front of the door, and slid down to sit.
"We should do this… every year…" I breathed.
"What do we need in here?" Dani asked.
"A certain wire" i answered.
"You look flushed..." Dani siad after a moment. I waved him off.
"No one's perfect." I siad, and started to push myself up to go look for the wire. Dani grabbed my arm and stood up faster.
"I got it. Just tell me what you're looking for..." He siad. I explained it as best detail as I could get... but explaining a WIRE? It wasn't exactly easy to narrow it down to what i wanted. But Dani wouldn't let me get up.
After i explained it to him, and he clarified a few points, he left. I was left alone, leaning against the shelf. It didn't take long before i checked my rounds, and pulled off my soaking jacket. I could tell the smell was wearing off fast, the water ruining a perfectly good mask. We had one more place to stop at... and it wasn't exactly necessary. Or was it? The room was more of a bomb shelter the older men in the family had built. It's where we stored a back up of food, ammo, tools, and anything else we might need. So far, we were good on ammo. We had only used one shot between the both of us. But what i really wanted, where the flat end guns that sat at the back, in a metal box. My family had accesses to all sorts of weapons... including tazers. What better object to use to take down the leeches back home? You wouldn't kill them... but it sure as heck wouldn't feel good. Besides... whatever food they had eaten needed to be replenished. I would take enough food and seeds to get us back on our feet again. But now i wasn't sure... the more canned foods and jars of foods we stacked, the heavier and slower we would be... and the taster we would smell.
My thoughts were interrupted, and I surfaced back to reality. What was that sound? I looked up... and saw an empty room. Dani wasn't to be seen. Then i heard it again. A weighted breath... a labored one. One that came from behind. I swallowed and flashed a look at my jacket... and then tried to focus on the draft. I couldn't feel one... the air was dead like everything else. But i could still feel that presence in the silent empty air... I looked around quickly and quietly, trying to avoid moving my head or body. I saw the computer screen used to check out customers... just as i heard a THUNK.
I turned my head ever so slowly to look directly at the computer screen. It had been smashed, and the jaged pieces lay everywhere on the counter and floor. But I could still make out a reflection. I could see a distorted me, laying stil and flat against the shelf, pushed up to the doors. BEyond the doors, though, i couldn't make out clear details... but i saw something was moving beyond the glass doors. I swallowed again. Crap.