Breathless Bodies (8 page)

Chapter 12

"S
he's cooled down
a lot so the fever is gone. She still has night frights, but nothing too bad." I think it was Malcolm's voice.

"Thank you for looking after her and the kids. I greatly appreciate it." Sean. That was Sean's voice! I opened my eyes and looked around the room. It took me a second but I realized we were still in the camper. My husband sat next to me, holding my hand. I squeezed it and tried to talk, but my throat was as dry as the desert. He looked at me and relief flooded his face.

"You're awake! Thank god." He leaned over and kissed me all over the face. "Oh my god I thought you weren't going to wake up." I wanted to talk so bad but swallowing hurt. I managed to squeak out a request for water. Malcolm was already holding a full glass out to me. I grabbed it and drank as much as I could.

"Oh, so much better." I said. "Thank you Malcolm." I turned to Sean, my eyes filling with tears and burning my throat all over again. I flung myself at him and held on for dear life, afraid if I ever let go I would never see him again. He lifted my face to his and we shared a long kiss. That was the first time in years we had kissed like that. Malcolm had left the room quietly before we could turn and ask him to.

As we walked out of the RV a few hours later, I recognized the camping spot in the Sandia mountains. We had made it! There was a fire pit in the middle of a large clearing. The in-laws had gotten themselves and the teen agers a small tow behind travel trailer that was parked diagonally to ours. Sean's truck was pointed west in front of our mobile home so we formed a triangle. It looked like everyone was gathered around the campfire except Malcolm and Kato who were looking out over the side of the mountain to the city below. From where the sun was, I guessed it to be about 2 pm. As soon as the kids saw us, they came running over.

"Mommy! We were so scared you wouldn't wake up like last time! Did daddy kiss you?" I blushed and glanced at Sean who just chuckled.

"Yes, I had to kiss mommy a couple of times though. You know she's a heavy sleeper." Kenny grabbed at my shirt until I picked him up, then he rested his head on my shoulder. Sean picked up Lin and we headed to the others.

"How long was I unconscious?" I asked Sean. From the RV dealership in Barstow it would have been a ten-hour drive, but with the condition of the roads, it must have taken a lot longer.

"Almost three days. We've been here since five this morning though. You had us all really worried." He grabbed my left arm making me hiss in pain. Seeing his look of confusion, I lifted my shirt to expose Niobe's cut, red and swollen. Sean was instantly furious.

"Didn't anyone think to check her cut!?" He shouted at everyone. "No freakin wonder she had a fever!" Handing Kaylin to his mom, he handed Kenny to my mom, then took me to the closest boulder and ripped the sleeve off.

"I'm not going to lie; this is going to hurt." He said as he reached for the cut.
"Now you hold on just one minute" Liz said, walking up to us with a white first aid kit in her hand. "If you're going to do this then do it right." She handed Sean the kit and me a flask, winking as she walked away. I took along pull from it and set my jaw as Sean started working on my arm. Now I'm not a stranger to pain, but it hurt. I mean, it was like being stabbed a hundred times over again. I tried not to scream but I couldn't help it. I beat my fist on my thigh to keep from hitting Sean.

After about ten minutes of him squeezing and scraping, he held my arm out to pour rubbing alcohol on it. I couldn't even scream the pain that came with that. Finally, it was done.

"You need stitches. Who did you say sewed Lin up?" He looked up at me from where he crouched. My throat was raw from growling so I pointed at Malcolm. Sean yelled across the campsite.

"Hey Malcolm, come here for a minute." Sean was angry. I could see it in the way he perched on the balls of his feet, wanting something to punch.

"Sean..." He held up his hand to me. I saw it before it even happened. As soon as Malcolm was close enough, Sean came up and caught him square in the jaw. Malcolm's head snapped back, forcing his body to follow. As he sat up shaking his head, Sean talked to him.

"I don't know what the hell kind of vet you were but how the hell did you not think to check on her cut for infection? It's a wonder she made it here in one piece at all!"

"I didn't get the chance." Malcolm said slowly. He glanced at me and I saw a hesitation. There was something he wasn't telling me.

"What do you mean? You were in there with her for two whole days. How the hell wasn't there time?" Sean took a step forward but Malcolm held up his hand. "There had better be a damn good reason." Sean stepped back beside me giving Malcolm room to sit up. Resting elbows on knees, his head bowed between them, he took a deep breath and then looked up.

"After you fell and hit your head on the table, Niobe went kind of nuts. I had gotten you into the back on the bed and she was determined to show us that you didn't have what it took to be the leader. That you were just going to get us all killed. Her reasoning was you couldn't keep from passing out for one day since we've known you." He propped himself up on his right hand, moving his right leg under his other knee. "Well Kato and I had been running with her for a few weeks before we ran into you so, out of courtesy, we tried to talk some sense into her. It worked until we got to Gallup. Ragnar tried to talk with her but she attacked him. He tied her to a chair. I stood guard outside the room until we were about 30 miles outside of Albuquerque. I wanted to throw her out of the RV but it wasn't my call. Ragnar was in love with her." I stopped him

"Was? What do you mean?" I looked around, expecting to see him by the fire. He wasn't there. I didn't see him at all. "Where's my brother?" I looked at Malcolm and he looked back with regret.

"We pulled over at a gas station to fuel up. We had just filled the tank when they came out of the station. Niobe didn't see them; no one saw them. They almost got her but Ragnar called out at the last second and she barely managed to avoid being bitten. Ragnar hopped out and told us to leave before we all died." I started to tear up. "She ran back into the station and the zombies followed. He came up behind them and as soon as we were clear, he shot the gas pumps."

I couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. I slid from the rock to the ground, burying my face in my hands. I cried to myself, huge racking sobs that left me drained after only a few minutes. I couldn't do it anymore. I didn't want to. When would this end? Where could we be safe? I already knew the answer. Never.

I was finally able to pull myself together. I stood up and told them that before any big decision were to be made we needed to eat. Kato had gone to the RV to get some meat. I sat down next to my little girl. She pulled at my shirt.

"Mom, you should change your shirt. You kind of stink." I took a big sniff but because I had been crying, I couldn't smell anything. Then Momma Bea, who was sitting across from me, popped her eyes wide and went very still. One by one, we all turned to see what it was. When I looked, I had a hard time not fainting. It was a bear. The animal stood on all fours with matted fur and chunks missing all over its body. I held Lin so she couldn't see and looked her in the eye.

"Lin, I want you to pick up your little brother and walk very slowly to our camper." Confusion and remembered terror showed in her eyes. "Please Lin, I need you to do this. Not like the log and the bunker, I really need you to listen to me, okay?" She looked at me and nodded. Standing up and slowly, she picked up her brother who protested and started fussing, drawing the bear's attention. Kaylin looked at it and screamed. She held her brother tight and ran the rest of the way, the animal charging. She got the door closed before it could get there.

"Hey, over here! Hey come on, over here." Sean was yelling and waving his arms to distract the bear. It worked, the bear stopped and looked at him. They stood there for a few moments staring at each other while the others either got to safety or surrounded the area. The bear started to come towards us.

"When the bear gets closer, run to the kids." Sean whispered to me.

"I just got you back, I won't let you go again." He turned a hard look at me.

"You can't fight a bunny with your arm the way it is. The kids need you to keep them safe. Please, don't fight me on this." He was right, I was useless at the moment so I nodded 'yes'.

The bear was coming closer and Sean told me to go. I ran to the camper and reached for the door. Lin had locked it. I looked over my shoulder. Sean's plan hadn't worked. The bear had followed me. I turned around and put my back to the RV to keep an eye on the bear. It stalked towards me with dead eyes and a broken jaw. How was I going to survive this? Malcolm ran in front of the bear drawing its attention. The bear turned and followed him. That's it!

"Everyone, distract the bear. I'll get to the gun on the truck!" As the bear chased Malcolm, Kato dashed in front of it drawing its attention to him. I sprinted to the bed of the truck, unlocked the gun and took aim. One of the teens got a little too close and the bear swiped at him, cutting his chest open. As soon as I had a clear shot, I fired. I hit the bear's body at its hip destroying its back legs. Big mistake. Shooting the bear just made it angry.

It began pulling itself along with its front paws, panting and growling. I aimed for its head but it was too late. Rocking the truck in its rage, the gun swung around, knocking me over the side. I landed on my back, winded and struggling to sit up. It took me several moments to realize that the bear was dragging itself toward me. I did the only thing which came to mind. Waiting until the bear was within grabbing distance, I rolled over the edge of a nearby cliff. I hoped that it would follow me. I slid off the edge, grasping at anything I could. My hands found a bush as the bear came tumbling down. The huge weight hit me, knocking my grip from the bush. Sliding another ten feet, I managed to hook my fingers on a rock. It was awkward and I knew I couldn't hold on for long.

It seemed ages before anyone came. I was holding on with only one hand, my left arm having given out from the pain. Then Sean was there, sliding at the cliff edge, Malcolm and the others behind him.

"Alex, hold on, well get a rope." Sean shouted at me. He backed up and left to fetch it. I looked at the people crowding the cliff and saw the high schooler the bear had swiped. He was swaying on his feet, about to collapse. Oh no.

"Push him off the cliff, hurry." I tried to shout but couldn't spare breath for a whisper. I wanted to cry but it was too much effort, then Sean was there lowering a noose. Focusing hard, I slid as much of me into it as I could, pulling my useless left arm along as they started to pull me up.

I had ascended no more than six feet before the teen collapsed. My mom and Bea went to him as the others continued to pull me up. Dimly I heard a scream, the teen had changed. Sean shot a glance at Malcolm who nodded, then rushed over to save his mom. The rope dropped a bit, then came a steady pull until I could get my feet under me. Through a haze of pain and fatigue, I saw Sean struggling with the teen. He was pinned to the ground with the boy on top of him. Malcolm grabbed my good arm and pulled me over the edge, before rushing to help Sean. The other two teens were gawking as Sean got his feet under the boy and threw him backwards. As soon as the boy hit the ground, Malcolm was there with his axe and chopped his head off.

We all stood around panting. The sound of Kenny crying hysterically came from the camper. I picked myself up and took off in a staggering run and pounded on the locked door.

"Lin, baby, It's mom. Open the door, it's safe now." My brave little girl, opened up and hurled herself at me. Hoisting her in my good arm, I pulled myself up the steps looking for Kendrick.

"Where is he Lin? Where's your brother?" She pointed to the bathroom. My bright little five-year-old had placed her brother in the shower and wedged that door closed as well. I removed her barricade, then sat in the shower holding them both. We all sat there crying and rocking, trying to cope with what had just happened. Sean came in and sat outside the shower. I looked at him over the top of their heads while I tried to stop crying.

"What do we do now?" I asked him, a catch in my voice. Sean shook his head.

"I don't know. We could move camp, but it's going to be the same wherever we go. Where's that list of bunkers Tony gave you?"

It was my turn to shake my head.

"No, we're not going back underground. It was hell on the kids and I won't put them through that again. There has to be something that's not military that's safe." We sat there for a while until the kids fell asleep. After tucking them into the bed, we joined the others at the fire. It was dusk now, the sun setting the sky on fire for another evening.

"How's your arm?" Malcolm asked from across the pit. I looked at it and saw the dirt that had manage to find its way in.

"It'll have to be cleaned again, but it doesn't hurt as bad as before." That might have been because I could barely feel my body. Malcolm walked over to where the first aid kit had been left and gathered everything up. As he walked over to me, Sean moved to my right side so Malcolm could fix me up. I looked over to my in-laws and they looked pretty shaken up but holding together. The two teenagers just stared at what had once been their friend.

"We should do something about the body." I told Sean quietly. He nodded and stood up.

"Samuel, come give me a hand." The two men walked away. Malcolm knelt down in the dirt in front of me and started cleaning my arm. Beatrice stood up, looking a little queasy

"Would anyone like some coffee? I'll go make a pot." Then she and Ernest went into their tow-behind. My mom was walking around the campsite looking at the plants, Liz and Steven trailing along.

"Ahh, that stings!" I gasped as Malcolm poured the alcohol on the gash.

"Sorry." He said as he looked up at me. He looked angry again. Why was this man so emotional? He wiped off the dirt and dried blood.