Fractured: Outbreak ZOM-813 (15 page)

Jaxon ran to assist.

The soldiers fought back, firing their weapons at the infected and using their knives when they were in reach. More soldiers ran to the fight while others stayed to guard the convoy.

Both Miller and Hart moved toward the house with their guns drawn.

I lost sight of Jaxon in the chaos.

The soldiers pushed their way past the infected and headed inside the house, blending into the darkness.

Shots fired.

A blood curdling scream.

More gun shots.

“Honey, let’s get ready to drive the hell out of here.” Dan didn’t take his eyes off the house. He pulled his gun. “There’s no way we’re staying here.”

There was nothing.

Everyone waited for something. No one called out, no one approached the house. We just waited and watched for movement.

Soldiers began slowly filtering out of the house.

The men that had stayed outside moved in with their guns drawn on their fellow soldiers.

Those who cleared the house knew the protocol; they quietly lined up, each raising their hands, holding their weapons in the air. Each were checked for bites and scratches.

I still couldn’t see Jaxon.

Dan approached the scene, and I followed close behind. I glanced over my shoulder to look back at the truck; Ethan was sitting with Mayhem, staring out the window. I brought my attention back to the house.

One by one, the rest of the soldiers stepped out and went through the inspection before going back on guard.

A moment later, Jaxon came from around the back of the house; he was clearly limping.

I tugged at Dan as soon as I saw him come around the corner.

Jaxon was breathing heavily, and the limp in his leg was concerning. But worse, when we got closer, we noticed he was covered in blood.

* * *

“Are you infected?” a soldier shouted.

Dan turned to the voices.

I took a long look at Jaxon and turned to the voices behind us.

All guns were aimed on us as if Jaxon was a most wanted criminal.

Jaxon raised his hands in the air, demonstrating his surrender.

It hit me.

Jaxon could be infected.

“I asked you a question, sir. Are you infected?” the soldier shouted again.

“I’m not infected!” Jaxon responded back over the commotion.

“There’s a lot of blood on you, Jaxon,” Hart fired back.

Dan took a glance behind him then back to the soldiers. “He said he’s not infected!”

“Get out of the way! This is standard procedure,” Hart commanded Dan.

“There are no standard procedures anymore.” Dan had pure defiance in his voice.

I pulled my gun and joined Dan, nervously pointing it from soldier to soldier.

We were in a standoff with no chance of survival if this went badly.

Looking at Jaxon wasn’t reassuring. His breathing was heavy, he could barely stand, covered in blood and his clothes were torn.

“Just let us go. We’ll take him,” I suggested.

Neither of us had any idea whether or not Jaxon was infected, but we certainly weren’t going to let him get killed in front of his own son.

“Put your weapons down!” Miller ordered. “Weapons down!”

A few soldiers followed the order while others kept their guns drawn.

“Jaxon, were you injured?” Hart asked.

Jaxon didn’t answer.

I looked back at him. “Jaxon?”

Dan kept his weapon aimed. “We’ll leave. Just let us leave.”

“It’s not my blood. I wasn’t bit. I just rolled my ankle,” Jaxon finally answered.

“You heard him. OK?” I begged, keeping my gun aimed. It was time to hide the scared little girl that wanted to burst out crying.

“This is the end of the road with us, Jaxon.” Miller stepped forward.

“I had a fall, it’s just a twisted ankle and some scratches.” Jaxon finally put his arms down.

“We can’t take that risk,” Hart said.

“It’s fine. We’ll leave,” Dan spoke for Jaxon.

“Jaxon, let’s get back to the truck, OK? Ethan is waiting.”

One by one the soldiers backed away from us, always keeping their weapons carefully aimed as they made room for us to move to the truck. Jaxon and I began slowly walking back to the truck while Dan followed closely behind, gun trained on the soldiers.

At the truck, I opened the back and pulled out a jug of water.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Ethan must have been so scared and confused watching the ordeal from the car.

“Just a misunderstanding, buddy.” Jaxon couldn’t even fake a smile. “What were you guys thinking?” Jaxon removed his bloodied shirt and took the water jug from me. He began pouring it slowly over one of his hands, washing the blood away.

I took the water jug back from him. “Dan and I never thought stopping here was a good idea. We should just drive through the night….”

“Harmony, I mean what were you thinking pulling your weapons?” Jaxon rubbed his hands together and splashed the water up his arms. “We are lucky they didn’t blow all of us to hell.”

“Well, they didn’t.” Dan made it back to the truck and reached in the back, pulling out a bag. He took out a clean t-shirt and handed it to Jaxon. “But let’s get out of here before they change their minds.”

The water washed most of the blood from Jaxon’s hands and arms. As he put on the t-shirt he winced in pain. “How bad is it?” Jaxon turned his back to us… his back had large bleeding lacerations.

CHAPTER 13

It was bad.

Even if the lacerations down Jaxon’s back hadn’t been made by an infected, it was still highly possible he was exposed. The amount of blood on his body could have easily contacted the open wounds.

Jaxon pulled the t-shirt down over his back and turned around to Dan and me. “We’ll clean it later. I don’t want Ethan to see this,” Jaxon whispered so not to let his son hear.

“I’m so sorry, Jaxon.” There was nothing else I could say to him. The feeling of helplessness was devastating. 

“Jaxon.” Hart approached us holding a gas can. “For the road.”

“Thanks.” Jaxon took the can.

“Good luck.” Hart walked away without another word.

“Let’s get out of here.” Dan walked over and opened the door to the back seat. “Hey, little guy, wanna sit up front with me?”

Ethan hopped into Dan’s arms. Dan carried him to the passenger seat, and Ethan scrambled into the truck.

“I got the back seat with you,” I said. “It’s for the best, Jaxon.”

Jaxon nodded in agreement.

The lights of the convoy disappeared into the darkness as we drove away. Dan took the dirt road to the highway and turned left heading west. None of us looked back.

I was happy to be leaving the group behind but anxious that we were now alone with Jaxon; his mind could begin falling into the darkness of those raging monsters at any moment. If he was infected, we still had no way of knowing when the transition would begin. For all we knew, it could have already started.

I felt Jaxon’s eyes on me. When I turned to him, it wasn’t me that he was staring at, but rather the gun in my hand. I never put it away when we got in the truck. The reason didn’t have to be spoken. Our eyes met, and then without a word he looked away from me and out the window.

I couldn’t imagine what he was going through internally.

What would it be like to watch him go through the transition of infection?

How long until he lost his sanity and forgets who we are?

There was no way of truly knowing until the process began or didn’t. There were no hospitals, no doctors to give him an exam. It was all a matter of waiting. And wait we did, with my gun pointed at him in case he quickly fell into insanity and tried to rip out our throats.

I didn’t want to imagine what it was like for Jaxon, knowing Ethan would be without either parent, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. It had to be a pain worse than death.

It didn’t take long for Ethan to fall asleep in the front seat.

We drove for an hour that never seemed to end before Dan pulled off the road. He didn’t ask what anyone thought, we didn’t discuss a damn thing. I was sure he was exhausted.

The area looked like it was once an industrial farm land. Dan parked the truck behind the first building, just far enough off the road where anyone passing by on the highway wouldn’t see us.

“I think this is as good as any for tonight. We should make it to Summer Springs by tomorrow.” Dan didn’t turn around as he spoke. He just stared out the window into the pitch black surroundings.

“I’m gonna sleep on the roof. You should feel somewhat safe while you sleep,” said Jaxon.

I wasn’t going to talk Jaxon out of it, and neither was Dan. It absolutely did make us feel better. We couldn’t take the chance that he might change while we were sleeping. So we let him have a few moments to check his weapon, check his sheath for his bayonet, and then pick up a bottle of water to take with him for the night.

“I want you both to know how grateful I am for everything. For picking me up off the side of the road, helping me with my son. If something happens…. if I change tonight, tell Ethan I loved him. I don’t have to ask you to protect him because I know you will. And put me out of my fucking misery before you drive out of here.” Jaxon reached for the door….

“Jaxon…”

Jaxon turned around before he exited.

I handed Jaxon a blanket to take with him. He accepted it and stepped out of the truck.

The truck bobbed down, then up, with Jaxon’s weight as he climbed up from the back. Dan and I sat quietly just listening to him adjust his body on the roof. I guess he figured it was the safest place given that staying inside the car wasn’t an option, and going into one of the buildings could mean running into another infected. I didn’t know if he had any fight left in him tonight. So the roof of the truck would have to do. It was high enough to where infected couldn’t easily reach him, yet close enough to us that he could offer some protection.  

“We should have said something.” I broke the silence.

“He doesn’t want to hear anything right now, honey.” Dan said it like it was just a simple statement of fact. Like there was no other alternative.

But I labored and obsessed over any other alternative aside from this one. Instead of Jaxon wanting to be alone, maybe he wanted to talk. Maybe he wanted to talk out loud and have us listen to whatever he was going through. Maybe he just needed someone to comfort him in what may be his final hours. I couldn’t stand this part of the stubbornness that came with men. And in this moment, the stubbornness felt amplified because of the dire situation in which we found ourselves.

I watched Dan get situated in the front seat so that he could sleep. I was so unsettled in both my mind and my body. My stomach felt nauseous. We should have said something to Jaxon. Dan couldn’t be right about this.
Who wants to be alone in what potentially could be their final moments?

I wasn’t sure when I fell asleep, but before I knew it, the sun was blazing through the windows, blinding my vision.

Mayhem rubbed his nose in my face and licked my cheek. His way of telling me he had to go to the bathroom.

“Dan?” I wasn’t sure if he was still sleeping or not.

“I’m awake.”

“Have we heard anything?”

“Nothing”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

“Mayhem needs to pee.”

Dan adjusted his seat to sit back up. He looked around the area, down at Ethan who was still sleeping, then back at me before picking up his gun that he had placed on the dash board. “Alright, I’ll take him.” He took another look around the truck before opening the door. He paused and listened.

If Jaxon was infected and still up there, he could very well come crashing down on Dan.

Dan waited.

Ethan stirred in the front seat.

Mayhem’s whimpered desperately to be let out.

Dan awkwardly reached into the back seat and opened the back door. Mayhem shot out before it was even half way open. Dan carefully opened his door, and raising his gun, took a look at the roof then back down at me, eyes wide, filled with concern. He shook his head and shrugged.

Jaxon was gone.

I jumped out of the truck and looked for myself. “I knew we should have talked to him. He wouldn’t have left like this if we had. What kind of people are we? I told you we should have talked to him. We let him just walk away.”

“We didn’t just let him walk away. It was his way of protecting us and Ethan. Not everyone wants to talk about their feelings, Harmony. You think he’s the kind of guy that wants to sit around and sulk over his own death?”

“Where’s daddy?” Ethan’s tired voice broke up our argument.

I hoped with all my heart that he didn’t understand what we were saying. He didn’t look as though he heard us, just tired and a little confused. Ethan’s precious innocence always caught me off guard. The loss he was going to experience broke my heart.

Neither of us knew what to say to him. How would we explain this to him? We didn’t have any time to prepare our words.
Sweetheart, daddy went for a walk, and we’re waiting on him. Sweetheart, daddy went away but he
….. Nothing was going to come out right. It was all wrong.

I looked to Dan, hoping he had an idea as to the best way to gently let a child know his dad was gone.

Ethan looked at us blankly, waiting for an answer. It was almost as if he knew; his eyes spoke volumes, filled with concern. He looked so lost. It was as though he just wanted us to say the words.
Daddy is gone.

“Ethan, buddy…”

“Hi Daddy!” Ethan looked right through me, smiling from ear to ear. 

Dan and I turned around to see Jaxon approaching the truck carrying a bag in one hand and his gun in the other.

“Jaxon?”

“You two look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Mayhem sniffed the bag Jaxon was carrying and walked calmly beside the officer.

“We were….” I didn’t want to say the words.

“I think the only thing I have to worry about is tetanus.” Jaxon lifted the bag, “Found some supplies, including another medical kit.”

“We should take a look at your back,” Dan suggested.

Jaxon agreed and lifted his shirt to his shoulders.

“Daddy, did you get hurt?”

“Yeah. buddy, I took a good tumble last night.”

I opened the medical kit and found a bottle of saline solution and butterfly bandages. The lacerations on Jaxon’s back were still red and swollen, but nothing looked infected. As I cleaned the area, Jaxon winced and pulled away when I touched on the wounds that were more open than others. I bandaged the wounds and wrapped gauze around his body as extra protection.

“This should at least make you a little more comfortable.”

Jaxon pulled his shirt back down when we were finished.

“Jaxon, I’m sorry we….”

“Don’t. There’s no need.” Jaxon gave me a small grin and looked to Dan.

Dan reached out his hand, Jaxon shook it. It was all they needed to express their shared feelings of relief that Jaxon was OK, as well as gratitude that Jaxon knew we would always be there for them.

“Now let’s get back on the road.” Dan climbed in the driver seat.

“Daddy, can I sit up front some more?”

“Good with me,” Jaxon said.

The relief was overwhelming; I wanted to burst into tears of joy. Jaxon and Ethan had become our family members, and today we would remain whole.

I climbed in the truck and took the back seat with Jaxon and Mayhem.

* * *

We drove with the windows down. The breeze against our faces became cooler as we got closer to the ocean. I never had gotten used to the stench of the dead air, and these fresh breezes were something I had longed for.

The highway twisted and turned by what were once beautiful vineyards, now just a remnant.

I remembered what those plantations of grapevines may have looked like not long ago. There had been row after row of greenery with plump purple or green grapes hanging from the vines, a never-ending parade of nature’s finery. The deep colors of green against the light tan fields of grass were always one of my favorite contrasts in nature. Walking down the aisles of vines holding a glass of wine, enjoying conversation with Dan—it seemed like a distant memory of another life.

As we drove, I watched an infected walk through the fields. Maybe they once worked these fields, maybe worked in a winery; but now they’ll wander these grounds for as long as their body carries them or until they’re put out of their misery.

I caught Dan’s eyes staring at me through the rear view mirror. I was sure he was having the same memories as we continued down the highway. Fond memories we may never experience the like of again.

We passed a road sign reading
Summer Springs Valley 5 miles
.

My stomach jumped with excitement, the feeling of a roller coaster drop that tickles your insides until you hit the bottom.

Dan slowed the truck, grabbing my attention to face forward. We were coming up to the small town of Summer Springs. He turned right down the main street that took us through town.

Red brick buildings crowned with white rooftops and blown out windows lined the street. There were no street lights, just stop signs. Cars barricaded alleys, some riddled with bullet holes.  

Mel used to tell me all about this community. She was always telling Dan and me that when we were coming up this way we should stop by to visit her in-laws. Her description seemed like yet another thing that was but a distant memory.  

It would be a great girl’s weekend, she would say.

“It looks like survivors took a stand here,” Jaxon said, staring out of the window.

Dan and I didn’t respond.

I just wanted to get to the house.

As we came up to the edge of the small town, we found the residents. Pile after pile of bodies that had been set on fire.

It seemed there was nothing left, either dead or alive, in the entire area.

Jason’s parents’ home was a few miles outside of town, looking over the ocean.

Forest Road.

It was all we had to go by. I hoped it was a small neighborhood, but for all we knew, Forest Road could have gone for miles.