Sanctuary (2 page)

Two down
, she thought.
 

She watched him circle the remaining creature. The thing was stumbling forward, hands outstretched, making a half-hearted attempt to get to him. In the moonlight, it resembled a broken puppet, a figurine dangling on half of its strings. Dan lashed out at it.
 

He missed. The thing lunged.

Meredith watched as Dan lost his balance and pitched sideways onto the grass. The creature, which had looked weak just moments before, seemed to regain its strength. It leapt for Dan and toppled him over. The two combatants slipped out of sight. Meredith shot to her feet, adrenaline coursing through her body.
 

Dammit. What have I done? Why did I let him go out there alone?
 

Oh God.
 

She darted for the door, unlocked it, and threw it open. The night air rushed in to greet her. She charged into the yard and to the front of the house, gun drawn. When she cleared the building, she scoured the landscape for her brother-in-law, but there was no sign of him. The moon had skirted behind the clouds, pitching the yard into near darkness.
 

Where the hell was he?

She ran in the direction she remembered him being, her feet pounding the grass. Gone were the moving shadows she'd seen before. All she could see were the tips of the grass. In her panic, she hadn't grabbed a flashlight.

A string of scenarios tumbled through her mind as she ran—each worse than the last. Was Dan injured? Dead?
 

She was halfway across the front lawn when she heard ragged breathing from the ground. She slowed her gait and advanced, pointing her gun.

"Dan?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

A figure sat upright on the lawn. Meredith scrambled to make sense of the scene. She could see the outline of several bodies. But who was who? Her hands shook.

"Is that you?" she asked again.

Silence prevailed. Then a voice surprised her.

"That one gave me a run for my money," Dan whispered, out of breath.

She exhaled loudly. "You had me worried, Dan."

"I'm fine."
 

Meredith shook her head. Her fear had abated, and in its place was a wave of anger. "You should've let me come with you."

"I didn't mean to scare you."

She offered her arm, and Dan took it and got to his feet. When he'd regained his breath, they started back toward the house.

Meredith and Dan trekked across the lawn. Meredith's heart rate, formerly a gallop, had decreased to something near normal. She stared at the dark shape of the house. In spite of their situation, the Sanders' house had become a safe haven, and she'd started to think of it as home.
 

A few days prior, she'd reunited with John, and they'd grown closer than ever. In addition, Dan and Quinn had survived a journey from St. Matthews, Arizona, reaching her alive and well.

Given the circumstances, what more could Meredith ask for?

They walked past the side of the house and headed around back. In her haste, Meredith had left the back door open. A faint glow was coming from the kitchen.
 

A shadow stood at the threshold.
John
. They must've woken him. She smiled. She could see her boyfriend's face in the glow of a flashlight. He cast the beam in their direction, his face creased with worry. Ernie stood by his feet.

"It's okay!" Meredith called out. "There were a few infected in the yard, but Dan took care of them!"

John's face didn't relax.

"I need you both inside!" he said. "Something's wrong with Quinn!"

Meredith's stomach turned end over end as she raced for the doorway. All thoughts of the prior battle had been cast aside, replaced by thoughts of getting to her niece.

Quinn was in danger.

The thought was almost more than Meredith could handle. She yelled for John, but he'd already fled the doorway and was starting back inside the house. She cleared the threshold, competing for space with Dan, following the bob of John's flashlight.
 

When she reached Quinn's bedroom, John was kneeling on the floor next to her, shining the light on the little girl's face. Her complexion was ashen, and she was gagging and coughing.

"Quinn, what's wrong?" Meredith asked.

She placed her hand on the girl's forehead. Dan crouched next to her, his face twisted with worry. Quinn pointed to her throat.

"I can't breathe," she managed.

In the midst of her coughing fit, the little girl had kicked off the blankets, and her body looked thin and pale.
 

"I'll get her some water," John said, darting for the kitchen.

"Relax, honey," Dan said. "Tell me what hurts."
 

John returned with a bottle of water, and he uncapped it and handed it to Quinn. She managed to sit up and take a few sips. The girl had stopped coughing, but she was wheezing. Underneath her head were two pillows. Dan reached over and pulled one out. He frowned. "This is a feather pillow. I don't remember her having this last night."

"Did you pull that from the closet, sweetie?" Meredith asked.

The little girl nodded.
 

"This probably triggered her asthma. It's been getting worse lately," Dan said, placing it on the floor. He brushed the hair from her face. "It's going to be okay, sweetie. We're here with you. You're going to be fine."

Meredith smiled.

They stayed with her awhile, until her wheezing had subsided. When she was breathing normally again, Dan looked at Meredith.

"Is there a pharmacy in town?" he asked.

"Yes, a few miles away."

"I'd feel better if we had an inhaler on hand, just in case."

"I can go to the pharmacy," Meredith offered.

"I'll go," Dan argued. "It's too dangerous. Why don't you stay here and I'll—"

"I'm more familiar with Settler's Creek than you are. I can get in and out in a hurry."

"Meredith's got a point," John piped up. "She knows this town better than anyone. I'll go with her, and we'll be in and out in no time."

"Why don't you wait until daytime," Dan said.

"It's almost daylight," John said. "Don't worry, Dan. We'll take care of it."

Meredith nodded in agreement. She brushed the hair from Quinn's face, then kissed her forehead. The little girl's skin was hot and clammy.

"We'll be back in a while, sweetheart. Just stay with your daddy and hang tight. Okay?"

"All right," Quinn said, putting on a brave face.
 

Despite the little girl's words, Meredith could sense that she was frightened. It didn't seem fair this should happen—not after losing her mother, not after all the violence she'd seen.

Meredith and John walked out of the bedroom with Dan close behind.

"Don't take any chances. If things look too bad out there…"

"We'll turn right around and come back," Meredith promised.

Dan nodded grimly. He gave her a quick hug, then returned to the bedroom.
 

Meredith walked through the hallway and into the kitchen. As she maneuvered through the house, she surveyed the objects on the counter. The group had amassed a stash of food and supplies. Their original plan had been to stay at the Sanders' as long as they could, living off the land and making use of their provisions.
 

Meredith couldn't help but think that plan would change soon.

She snatched a set of car keys from the counter and stuffed them into her pocket. John was already at the back door, and she heard him sigh as he unlocked it.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded. "As I'll ever be."

As Meredith crossed the threshold, the fear she'd felt moments earlier crawled back inside her, as if it'd been waiting outside by the door. She and John crept across the property, rounding the house and entering the front yard. The moon glinted off the tips of the grass and cast vague shadows, but when she strained, she could discern the lumps of the three dead creatures on the lawn.
 

To her left were the outlines of the two cars they'd kept at the property—Meredith's pickup truck with its shattered front window and the graffiti-covered SUV Dan had found on I-40.

Meredith walked toward the SUV. Of the two vehicles, the SUV was more protected. The sides were reinforced with sheets of metal. Sharp objects protruded from the side. Unlike the pickup truck's, its windshield was intact.

She unlocked the doors, got inside, and stuck the key in the ignition. John scooted in the front passenger seat. Through the windshield, she could see the dim outline of the house they'd left. She started the car and turned on the headlights, then reversed. As she pulled down the driveway, she thought she saw the glow of a flashlight behind one of the boarded windows—Dan watching her, perhaps—but couldn't be certain.

She turned her attention to the road. It'd been several days since they'd been to the center of town. The thought of it had her stomach in tangles.

"You don't have to do this, Meredith," John said, sensing her unease. "If you give me directions, I can take care of it."

"No. I'm going, John."

John fell silent, as if he knew not to argue, and Meredith felt both guilty and grateful at the same time. Through all the obstacles they'd faced, John had been her pillar of support, her link to sanity, and she appreciated every minute she was able to spend with him. The headlights bobbed up and down on the asphalt as they backed down the driveway.
 

Out of habit, Meredith stopped at the end, checking the rural two-lane road for traffic. The street was empty. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a moving car other than her own. She hit the gas and reversed into the street, then started for town.

As they drove, the streetlights passed over them like sightless orbs, dim and menacing. She kept her speed even and her vehicle in the lane, despite having little expectation they'd have company on the road.

"I hate leaving them," Meredith said, referring to Dan and Quinn.

She watched the Sanders' house disappear in the rearview mirror. It was one of the few times they'd been separated since Dan and Quinn had arrived. On most of the supply runs they'd taken, they'd gone together.

"I know what you mean," John said.
 

Meredith smiled. John had only recently met her brother-in-law and niece, but they'd gotten along like old friends.

"I can't believe how grown-up Quinn has gotten. You wouldn't believe it, John. When I last saw her, she was only this high." She held her hand near her waist. "I hope she'll be okay. That asthma attack had me worried."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," John reassured her. "Once we get her medicine, she'll be in good shape."

Meredith smiled. In spite of John's optimism, she was nervous.

She reached over and brushed his hand, searching for his fingers. He took hold of her. She noticed his other hand didn't leave his pistol.

When Meredith and John reached the edge of town, the first corners of daylight were creeping into the sky. It'd been days since they'd traveled, and the streets filled Meredith with a sense of foreboding. Even though the roads were empty, the painted white and yellow lines were like a roadmap to the death and destruction that awaited them.

As they rounded a bend, she saw a familiar building.
 

John's furniture store.

She let her foot off the gas as they passed, allowing them to get a better look. The place where John had worked seemed foreign and strange, as if they'd left it behind years ago instead of days. The door hung open; the exterior was battered and stained.

Meredith glanced at her riding companion. The building had once been his dream, his livelihood. Now it was nothing more than a reminder of the horrors they'd both endured.
   

John stared at it in silence.

She swallowed and hit the gas, paying attention to the road. A mile down the road, the scenery gave way to buildings. Several abandoned cars lined the roadside, and she studied them for signs of life.

"I don't remember those cars." She pointed to the roadside.

"I don't either. We'll have to keep a lookout. Maybe there are other survivors in town."

The two of them fell silent. Meredith had grown so accustomed to her small group that it almost seemed odd to think others might be occupying Settler's Creek. It felt like the entire town had become their own personal refuge, and the rest of the world had succumbed to chaos.
 

Farther down the road, a group of infected congregated in the street, their bodies swaying as they walked. Meredith swerved to avoid them, as if they were nothing more than cones on an obstacle course.
 

"They really are getting slower," she observed.

John shifted in his seat.
 

"Hopefully this'll be over soon," he said. "I can't wait to get out of here for good."

The infected moaned, answering some unspoken question. Meredith scanned the faces for people she recognized, but was relieved to find only strangers.