Among Monsters Page 10

  Just inside the door, in a small kitchen in the back of the church, I saw a few cupboards. I found an opened case of water, a big bag of chips, a mixed bag of apples and oranges, half a dozen cans of various vegetables, and cans of Spam.

  It all went into my backpack, and then I walked down a hall before seeing a flight of stairs leading up to a doorway. Corpses of infected lay in a pile at the bottom, and a few were draped over the stairs.

  "Should we check up there?" I asked.

  "We're going to have to. They're coming in. Go. Go!" Dad ran past me to the top.

  He opened the door, getting ready to swing at anything in his way. He checked behind the door and then motioned for me to follow him inside just as I heard infected pawing at the back door downstairs along with moans coming from another part of the church below.

  Dad shut the door behind me, and I looked around. It was just one big room with a few tables, chairs, and a corkboard. There was also a television on a rolling stand and a gaming console. The walls were decorated with pictures illustrating stories from the Bible, from Jesus walking on water to Noah and the ark.

  I laughed once.

  "What?" Dad asked.

  "They're all white."

  "So?"

  I shrugged. "I've just always thought that it's funny how all the people in Bible pictures are depicted as white. They weren't all white."

  Dad glanced at me and laughed, shaking his head. "Don't let your grandma hear you say that."

  He was right. Grandma was very strict on the way things happened in the Bible, history and science be damned.

  We both chuckled until realizing at the same time that Grandma wouldn't hear me say that because Grandma was probably dead. My mom's mom was always serious about religion and church, and she'd tend to give Mom a hard time about everything. It just hit me that I'd probably never see her or Meme again. I might not see Chloe again. That freak-out that Dad and I had just discussed didn't seem so far away.

  That was, until a sound from below had us scrambling over bodies on the floor to the already open window.

  "I bet this is the window Connor came in and out of when they were here," I said, climbing out.

  I looked down, seeing the AC unit. The infected were following each other to the back of the church, and there were more than before. When the moaning began, it was almost as if they were calling each other, signaling that there was food.

  "We can make it, but we have to hurry," Dad said before jumping down.

  He reached up for me, and I jumped down, too. We climbed down the unit together and ran across the street, retracing the route we'd taken to the church so that we wouldn't lead any infected to the house.

  When we got to the school, I rested my hands on my knees. Dad kept an eye out while we caught our breath.

  "My pack is heavier. I didn't account for that," I said. "If we end up on foot to Red Hill, we'll have to pack light."

  "If we can get to Shallot, we can spend one night, leave there in the morning and make to Red Hill by evening. I hope. I'm not sure."

  "So, we're going?" I asked.

  At the same time, a low moan sounded behind me, and something lunged at Dad from around the corner. I didn't look. I just swung my bat at what I thought to be at head level. It wasn't like the video games or television shows. I hadn't seen it coming. No scary music had built the suspense or indicated foreshadowing.

  I could hear Dad struggling behind me, but all I could think about was the mouth belonging to the infected coming at me and keeping it away from my skin. The adrenaline made everything both sharp and blurry. In one moment, I was next to its bloodstained clothes and dry, scratchy skin, and the next, it was standing in front of me, reaching out again. I wasn't quite sure how I'd gotten away.

  He was tall. I couldn't kick his knees out from under him, so I swung the bat as hard as I could. That wasn't like the video game either. The vibration from the impact traveled up the bat and into my arms, startling me, but the creature fell, and I swung at his head. The bat met his skull with a crack, but I didn't stop until the bone gave way.

  Dad grabbed my collar, and we ran south--away from the school, away from the house. The groans from the infected had attracted more.

  "We've got to lead them away from the house!" Dad said. "This way!"

  We sprinted through backyards, hopped over fences, and dodged plastic pools and swing sets until we made a full circle, sneaking into April's backyard once we were sure it was clear.

  "Oh," I said, noticing Dad was covered in dark goo.

  "I panicked," he said. "I was trying to get him off me, so I could help you."

  "I held my own," I said.

  "I noticed. You weren't bit?" he asked.

  "No," I said, shaking my head. "You?"

  Until that moment, I hadn't been truly afraid. I hadn't realized that something as simple as a bite could take Dad away from me. He would die, and Halle and I would be on our own.

  He pulled open the back door of April's house, and once it was closed behind us, he hugged me, and I sobbed into his chest.

  TAVIA FANNED TOBIN, who was playing quietly on the floor. She had already tried to turn on the television in hopes that basic cable might have the smallest bit of news, but every channel was snow.

  We had been at April's for nearly a month. Almost a week after we had fled Anderson, we had been putting together a puzzle on the floor when we heard a loud boom, and the house had even shaken a bit. Dad had run outside, afraid the military were bombing the cities, but all we had seen was a thick black pillar of smoke.

  After that, aside from that, life had consisted of trying to keep the kids quiet when an infected wandered close and fighting boredom. Dad had been trying to convince April and Tavia to help him clear out the school, so we could move there, but they were afraid the effort and risk wouldn't be worth it. April had argued that there were too many windows to secure. After they had returned from a scouting trip, Tavia had reasoned that the three of them would quickly be overtaken by the number of infected children and the few adults who were still inside--and she didn't think she could bring herself to kill them, no matter how desperate we were for shelter, and despite the many times Dad and I tried to convince her that they were already dead.

  Neither of them knew that Dad was trying to help them find something more secure if we couldn't find a vehicle for everyone--and we hadn't yet.

  Summer was in full swing. By mid-morning, we would be sweating. By some miracle, we still had electricity, but April was afraid to turn on the air conditioning. She was worried that when the outside unit kicked on, the noise would draw the infected. She was right, but with no air conditioning and no open windows, the house had become stuffier with each passing day. Dad had scavenged several box fans and a single tall oscillating fan, which helped with the heat.

  The younger kids were becoming depressed, getting turned down every time they'd beg to go outside and play. We were all afraid their giggling and screams would attract the infected, and if we took the kids away from the house, we would get into trouble and be too far from safety. Dad and I would try to bring back a new toy every time we went out to keep the kids busy and happy.

  I was more worried about the food situation. April's once-packed pantry was looking sparse. The adults had talked about rationing. Dad and I would rummage through the houses in the tiny town every day. We only had a few houses left to search, and a lot of the food we found had spoiled.

  "Are you going out today?" Connor asked, watching me fold towels with a bored look on his face.

  "For food? I don't know," I said. "Dad hasn't mentioned it."

  "I've gotta get out of this house. I want to go with you next time."

  I looked over at Dad, who was sitting on the floor with April, Nora, and Tobin. Jud was walking around them, patting their heads, while calling each of them a duck.

  "Goose!" Jud said when he patted Dad's head.

  Dad scrambled up and tried to catch him before Jud got to hi
s spot, but Dad wasn't trying very hard.

  Tavia was napping in the recliner, in and out of consciousness.

  "It's dangerous, Connor. It's not an errand."

  "I know. I was thinking maybe...that maybe your dad would teach me how to shoot a gun."

  I snorted. "He won't even teach me."

  "Maybe he should."

  I stopped folding towels and watched as Dad tapped April on the head and called her a goose. They ran around the circle as the kids laughed hysterically.

  "I'll talk to him," I said.

  "Good." Connor went back to his window, watching the world go on without us.

  April clapped once and stood, directing all the kids to the bathrooms to get ready for bed.

  Within the hour, the candles were blown out, and the kids were tucked in. I sat next to Halle while she lay in bed next to Tobin.

  "Do you remember how we used to find songs on the radio when Mom picked us up after school, and we would sing them really loud?" I asked. "Mom would roll down the windows and sing with us, and people would look at us like we were crazy."

  Halle giggled. "And we would bounce our heads and dance! That was fun. I miss school."

  "Me, too," I said. Mostly, I just missed Chloe.

  I waited for Dad to kiss her good night, and then I followed him into April's bedroom.

  She was taking a shower. We were alone.

  "Connor made a good point today," I said, watching Dad turn down the covers.

  "About what?" He had a smirk on his face. He already knew I had an agenda.

  "He mentioned you taking us out and teaching us how to shoot."

  Dad's face twisted into confusion, like I'd just spoken a foreign language. Whatever he had expected, it wasn't that.

  "It's a reasonable point. If you're taking me out with you, I need to know how to use a gun--not just to defend myself, but to also keep from shooting anyone I don't want to shoot."

  "No, Jenna. You're not old enough."

  "I'm old enough to go out scavenging with you. I took out that zombie a couple of days ago."

  "That was your second one."

  "So? What does that have to do with learning how to shoot?"

  "It's a gun," he said, already getting flustered, "and you're thirteen."

  "Why does it matter how old I am? Dead people are walking around outside."

  Dad glared at me. "You're not ready."

  "You're not ready."

  "No, I'm not."

  "That's an emotional response, and emotion is irrelevant."

  "Says who?" he asked. "And stop talking like you're a forty-year-old psychologist. It's creeping me out."

  "Connor needs to learn, too."

  "He's Halle's age, Jenna! You think Halle could handle a gun? Or should?"

  "You're not listening. It's been a month."

  "Not this again."

  "You said we were going to find Mom. You said, if we didn't find a vehicle as of a week ago, we would leave. That was supposed to happen yesterday. Why are we still here?"

  "Because we're not ready. Your sister is not ready."

  "She's waiting on us," I said, a ball forming in my throat.

  "You're starting to sound like a CD on repeat, Jenna, and I'm getting really tired of the song."

  I rolled my eyes at his analogy. Nobody used CDs anymore.

  "When we're out there, I might need more than a baseball bat. What if something happens to you? You can't always be there to protect us. You have to teach me how to protect Halle."

  Dad's face flushed. "Enough, Jenna."

  "And Connor. If he's going to be the man of the house once we leave, he needs to know how to use a gun."

  "You're leaving?" April said from the doorway. A yellow towel was wrapped around her, and water dripped from her hair.

  Dad looked like he'd been caught, and he stuttered, "She's...she's just arguing."

  "You're going to leave us here?" April said, her eyes wide.

  "No!" Dad said, but his lie face betrayed him.

  "Just you and the girls? Is it because you want to be with Scarlet?"

  "April, honey, that's not it," Dad said, walking around the foot of the bed.

  "Then, why would you need to leave us behind? I don't understand," she said, her voice cracking.

  "Jenna," he snapped, "go to bed."

  My shoulders fell, and I walked to the couch in the living room where I'd been sleeping for four weeks. Every night, I would lie there, hoping that it would be our last, that Dad would decide the next day that it was time to go. At the same time, I would be terrified of being on foot and getting caught out in the open without shelter. We wouldn't have the safety and routine of April's house, and I'd worry about how Halle would do between here and Red Hill. But we were running out of food, and this many of us in one house was a burden on everyone.

  Dad and April's tense conversation was muffled by the walls, but I could still hear them.

  I sighed.

  "Didn't go so well?" Connor asked.

  "April knows we're leaving."

  "Everyone knows you're leaving."

  "They do?"

  "We're not stupid. You want to be with your mom. You should be with your mom. April's just scared and maybe being a little selfish."

  "Then, why did she act so surprised?"

  "Maybe she was hoping he would change his mind."

  Guilt settled in, making me kick off the sheet and sit up. I pulled my knees to my chest. "I don't want anything to happen to any of you, but...it's not...we can't--"

  "Your mom is more important. I get that, and April gets that even though she doesn't want to admit it. She has kids. She wouldn't want to be separated from them, and she knows the little kids can't make the trip."

  "You could," I said.

  He sighed. "Someone has to stay here and help. They can't do it on their own."

  I lay back down, turning on my side and using my bent arm as a pillow.

  Dad's and April's voices had turned sweeter and less angry. He was defusing the situation, which wasn't like him at all. Soon, it quieted down, and Connor's breathing slowed to a relaxing rhythm. My eyes grew heavy, and after a few slow blinks, I was out.

  April, Dad, and Tavia were sitting at the kitchen table, having a low conversation, when my eyes finally peeled open. The sun was shining through where the plywood met the windowsill. They were that was now fortified with wooden planks that Dad had nailed to the wood bordering the glass.

  I lay still, trying to hear what they were saying, but it was no use. Whatever they were talking about, none of them were happy.

  Finally, I sat up and invited myself to the table. In unison, they all sat back against their seats, realizing how rigid their postures had been.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  April didn't take her eyes away from Dad. "We're discussing your departure."

  Tavia looked down at the table, her nostrils flaring.

  Dad shifted nervously in his chair. "April will allow us to stay a few more days. In return, you and I will gather more supplies for them and teach her and Connor how to use a gun."

  "Wait, what?" I said, instantly incensed. "You're kicking us out with conditions?"

  April tried to retain her reserve. "I'm not kicking you out, Jenna. You want to leave, don't you?"

  "Yes, but this is extortion."

  Tavia looked up at me then. "Jenna, you want to get to your mother. We all understand that. But we are being left here to fend for ourselves--"

  "Which you would be doing anyway!" I interrupted.

  "Jenna," Dad chided.

  Tavia continued, "To fend for ourselves, so we need to get everything in line in order to do that the best way we can. We're two women with three small children to feed and protect. We're just trying to do keep everyone safe."

  "You're two women who have been depending on my dad and me to do all the heavy lifting while you sit in the safety of this home and keep the kids entertained."

  Tavia ra
ised an eyebrow. "You've been living in April's home and eating her food, too, young lady."

  "And where do you fit into all of that, Tavia?" I seethed. "What have you done besides babysit?"

  Dad held up his hands. "All right, all right. I'm going to teach April and Connor how to shoot. Jenna, I'm also going to teach you."

  I blinked.

  "You and I are going to do one last sweep of the entire town to make sure April, Tavia, and the kids have plenty of supplies, including seeds and equipment for planting, and then we'll be on our way."

  I crossed my arms. "You were planning to do that anyway--without the threat," I said, glaring at the women. "And just so you know, he has scoured this whole town trying to find a vehicle or two vehicles to fit us all. He hates that he has to leave you behind, but he knows the kids can't make the trip! And you're treating him like a traitor!"

  Tavia and April looked down, unable to respond. I was fully aware that I was in the middle of a juvenile temper tantrum, but I was allowed to behave like a thirteen-year-old on occasion, especially when people were being mean to my dad. That was my job.

  Dad stood. "Okay then, we should get started."

  I DOUBLE-KNOTTED HALLE'S SHOES and tightened the straps on her backpack. "You're sure it's not too heavy? We've got a long walk today and an even longer one tomorrow."

  "I'm sure," she said, pushing up her glasses. "I can do it."

  I winked at her. "I know you can. Just don't want you to wear out too fast."

  Dad had his hiking pack on, complete with the tent on top--just like he'd worn five weeks ago, that Friday when we'd last seen our mom. Dad's skin was tanned from spending time outside in the summer sun, and he now had more scruff on his face than I'd ever seen. I wondered if Mom looked any different--or if Halle or I did.

  As scared as I was to start the journey, not knowing what was between here and there and not sure how Halle would do, the thought of finally being on our way to get to Mom surpassed all my fears and trepidation.

  Halle was in a good mood, too. It had taken a long time for both of us to fall asleep the night before. It all reminded me of what it had felt like on the first day of school. I was sure it would be a lot like that, too. When the excitement wore off, it would be torture just to get through the day, running into bullies and being exhausted by the end of the day. Mom would be like summer break.

  I put a hat on Halle's head. Dad hugged Tavia and Tobin, and Jud and Nora, and then he shook Connor's hand. He kissed April, who wiped a tear that had escaped down her cheek.