Among Monsters Read online

  Despite the fact that we'd become enemies fighting over my dad since we arrived, I hugged Tavia and April, too. They'd been our family for a time, and Tavia was a big reason we'd survived the first day.

  I knelt down in front of Tobin and gave him a hug.

  He squeezed me back. "Bye-bye, Jenna," he said, wiping his nose with the top of his wrist.

  He still had his train in his pudgy palm. His hair had grown out to a cute puffball. I wasn't sure if I'd just tried not to think about it or if I had just been too focused on leaving, but it was the first time I realized that Tobin wasn't coming with us. It was devastating.

  That was why Dad had taken so long to make his decision. He'd known it would feel like this. He'd known what it would mean for us to leave them behind. I had been too focused on Mom to even think about it. Now that it was here and I understood, I needed to say my good-byes and leave. It was an awful, horrible situation, but it was always going to end this way.

  I hugged him again and kissed his cheek, and then I hugged Nora and Jud. Connor, always stoic, barely seemed to notice that we were saying good-bye, but I hugged him anyway even though he didn't hug me back.

  "I'll miss you," I said, wiping my cheeks.

  Dad opened the door, looked out, and then turned back one last time. "Take care."

  Halle and I followed him out the door, and we walked in a line--Dad first, Halle in the middle, and I brought up the rear, just like we'd discussed. In my right hand, I held the aluminum bat Jud had given me as a going-away present. Dad's rifle was hanging from a strap on my shoulder. I had gotten a lot of practice over the past forty-eight hours, and I was a decent shot, but Dad had said the hardest part was knowing what to do under pressure. I hoped that I would make him proud.

  The sky looked like a watercolor painting. Blues, purples, pinks, and yellows were bursting from the horizon as the sun erupted and lit up the sky. The crickets and cicadas chirped and buzzed in the background as the grass hissed under our feet with each step.

  We reached Kellyville just inside of two hours. Rotting bodies were lying flat in the grass and in the streets and hanging over porch railings. Vacant cars were everywhere, and Dad checked each one for keys. He even searched a few of the bodies nearby for keys. The infected had moved on, so I took special care in looking for any signs of life in the houses, but I found nothing--no curious eyes peeking out from covered windows, no women trying to flag us down.

  "It's completely empty," I said.

  "Looks that way. Let's keep moving," Dad said.

  Just twenty minutes after we left the city limits of Kellyville and turned north onto Highway 123, Halle made the first comment. I was surprised she'd lasted that long.

  "My feet hurt," she said. "My toes are rubbing."

  "Your feet are growing," Dad said. "We'll have to find you some bigger shoes."

  We tried to keep her mind off the hike, but another twenty minutes later, she whined again, "I'm hungry."

  "Already?" Dad asked.

  "Yes. Can we get a snack?" she said.

  "Not yet," Dad said. "We have to walk for five-and-a-half hours today, remember? Another hour, and we'll be more than halfway done for the day. That'll be lunchtime."

  "That's going to take forever," she grumbled.

  "We're more than halfway to lunch, if you can think about it that way," I said.

  "Really?" she asked.

  "Really," I said.

  At lunchtime, we found a shaded spot that had a little bit of elevation, so we could see if anything was coming. Dad unfolded the paper towels and handed us our sandwiches, and I divvied out the water.

  "Look at that," Halle said, pointing to the sky.

  The pillar of smoke was still billowing from something, but now, it was white instead of black.

  "Is that Shallot?" I asked.

  Dad looked up. "No, it's too close. Shallot is farther away."

  I stared up at it, squinting against the sun. "It's been burning for a long time."

  Dad shrugged. "It's not burning. The smoke is white. It's smoldering. Debris from an explosion can smolder for months."

  "What do you think exploded?" I asked.

  "Most likely, something made of metal. I guess we'll find out when we pass it by," he said.

  Halle was surprisingly upbeat. "When we see Mom, I'm going to hug her first, okay, Jenna? I got dropped off at school first, so it's been longer since I've seen her."

  "Good point," I said. "Okay, you can hug her first."

  Dad winked at me.

  "And I'm going to sleep with her the first night," Halle proclaimed.

  "Where am I going to sleep?" I asked.

  "I don't know. I don't remember the farmhouse that well. I bet the doctor has a couch."

  "What if I want to sleep with her, too?" I asked.

  Halle made a face. "Where are you going to sleep, Daddy? Will you and Mom get married again?"

  Dad nearly spit out his water. "Your mom and I are friends. I think we get along better that way, don't you? We can still all live together at the farmhouse."

  "Do you think anyone else is there?" I took a bite of my sandwich.

  "What do you mean?" Dad asked.

  "Like, maybe the doctor. It is his house, and it's a good place to go. Maybe his family is there. He has two daughters, but they have boyfriends," I said, feeling inclined to warn him.

  He chuckled. "I think I'll live."

  "What if someone else came along whom Mom liked? What if she's there with him? Kind of like you and April?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

  Halle giggled, and Dad began to pack up.

  "All right, girls. Lunch break is over. We have another few hours to walk, and we need to find a good place to set up camp unless we come across a house. Keep your eyes open."

  "What?" Halle asked, frozen.

  Dad stood, looking down at her. "We need to find a safe place to set up the tent.

  "We're sleeping outside?" she asked, her eyes wide. She actually began to tremble at the thought. "I don't want to, Daddy. I want to sleep with Mom tonight."

  Dad offered an apologetic half smile. "We're not going to make it to Red Hill tonight, Pop Can. We'll make it most of the way to Shallot before dark. We'll set up camp, and then we'll walk again tomorrow. It'll be okay. Jenna and I are going to take turns keeping watch, and it's a full moon, so we'll be able to see before anything gets too close."

  She shook her head. "No. No, Daddy."

  Dad hugged her. "I won't let anything happen to you, Halle. I promise."

  He helped her put on her backpack, and then we set out again, walking down the hill. We returned to the road, heading north on Highway 123. The tune began to play in my head, Halle's high-pitched voice singing her made-up song, as it did every time I thought about the directions Mom had taught us.

  123? 123!

  We crossed the paths of just a few infected and one small group of four or five, and we had no trouble either sneaking past them or waiting while Dad took them out. The sun bore down on us, and every part of my exposed skin was turning pink and feeling raw. We had less than half a bottle of sunscreen, and Dad and I had agreed that Halle's pale skin would need it more than either of us, who tended to tan instead of peel.

  By late afternoon, we still hadn't found a good place to camp, so we continued on. I was beginning to wonder if Dad was hoping to come across a house, but I didn't remember anything but pasture and cattle being between Fairview and Shallot.

  I ended up putting on Dad's pack and carrying mine, so Dad could give Halle a piggyback ride for a few miles. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and I was getting nervous.

  "Dad?" I said finally.

  "I know."

  "It's getting late."

  "I know."

  We walked another two miles, and I wrinkled my nose. "What is that?"

  Halle held her wrist to her face. "Ugh! What is that smell?"

  Dad stopped abruptly. "I don't believe it."

  H
alle peeked over his shoulder. "What is that?"

  I caught up to him and stood there with my mouth hanging open. On the top of a hill was a rock that said Shallot.

  "We made it. We're here," Dad said.

  "Look," Halle said, pointing to the sky. "The white smoke is from here."

  Dad's expression changed from surprise to relief to intenseness. "The hill is obscuring what could be on the other side. I don't know what the smoke is about. If Shallot has a lot of infected, we might have to run or act quickly. Jenna, don't shoot unless it's absolutely necessary. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves. You have to do what I say, when I say. Understood?"

  Halle and I agreed, and I set her back on her feet.

  I gripped Halle's hand. "Don't let go, no matter what."

  Halle nodded, worry beginning to shadow her face. We had no clue what we were walking into. Shallot was about the same size as Fairview. A stalled car was on the highway, and there was no way to know how many people had stopped here on their way to wherever.

  I hoped that we would run into Brad and Darla right off the bat, and then they could take us to where they were staying.

  Dad walked along the road into town. We had barely reached the other side of the hill with the rock before Dad hissed at us to hide. We retreated behind a tree, standing behind Dad, and he peeked out from behind it.

  "Damn it," he whispered. "It's overrun."

  "Why does it smell like that?" I asked, my face twisting into disgust. It was the worst thing that had ever hit my nose. It was like charred dirty feet, skunk, and musk all rolled into one.

  Dad's eyes danced around, taking everything in. "Smells like a bloater."

  "A what?"

  "A decomposed body after it catches fire. They are full of bacteria and built-up gases. When they catch fire, it releases that into the air. I think some of the infected must have either been caught in the explosion or walked into the fire."

  "Let's go," Halle whispered. "I don't want to stay here."

  "We can't make it to Red Hill before dark," I said.

  "Agreed," Dad said. "We'll just walk down this road and try to get into the first house we see. We'll be sure to sneak in undetected, so that means quickly and quietly."

  "Okay, Dad," Halle said in her small voice.

  "Let's go," he said softly.

  We stuck to the trees and then went down the back alley of a line of houses.

  Dad hopped the chain-link fence of a two-story house that already had wooden slats on the windows. He tried to open the back door, but it was locked.

  A familiar low moan sent a shiver up my spine, and I pulled Halle closer, looking all around. I couldn't see it, but it had seen us--or maybe he could smell us.

  Dad went to the next house, also a two-story. The outside slats had been painted dark green, and the windows had hideous brown shutters. The back door opened immediately. He disappeared inside for a bit and then came back out, waving at us. I helped Halle over the fence, and then I hopped over myself. We began to run to the back door.

  A moan sounded from the fence, and I turned. An infected, a man in overalls, was reaching for us over the chain-link. I looked to Dad, who was signaling frantically for me to come inside, but I knew if we left that thing at the back fence, it would alert others to food, and we would be in real danger, real fast.

  I held the bat low in both hands, twisting my palms on the grip, as I walked over to the infected.

  "Jenna!" Dad hissed.

  I took the first swing, stunning the creature. A month's worth of decay had made him squishier, his skin and muscles not protecting his bones. I hit him again, and he fell.

  "What are you doing? Get your ass in here!"

  I jumped over the fence and hit him two more times until he stopped reaching out for me. I nudged him with my foot and then hopped back over the fence. I ran at full speed to the door as if something were after me. I closed the door behind me, my heart trying to beat out of my chest.

  "What were you doing?" Dad growled. "Trying to get yourself killed?"

  "They call to each other," I said. "If I had left him out there, he would have drawn others here, and if enough came, they could knock over the fence and get inside the house."

  Dad was taken aback. He thought about that for a moment. "Good call, kiddo. Just...be careful. I'm going to have a coronary before we get to Red Hill. Do you know what your mother would do to me if I showed up without you?"

  "Let's just not do that, okay?" I said with a smile, still breathing hard.

  Dad hugged me tight. He took in a deep breath and then kissed my hair. "I'm glad you're with me, kid."

  DAD IMMEDIATELY BEGAN CHECKING THE LOCKS on the front and back doors, and then he looked for materials to fortify the windows. We searched every room for something, anything to keep the infected from breaking through. We had no luck with wooden slats like the ones on the church or plywood sheets like the ones at April's. So, we used furniture and made sure all the curtains were drawn.

  "No flashlights or candles unless absolutely necessary," Dad said. "Keep your voices low. We just need to keep them out for the night."

  "I don't like this house," Halle whined.

  Dad gently touched her cheek with his fingertips. "We'll just sleep upstairs. I'll put breakables at the top and bottom of the stairs. If anything knocks into them, we'll hear."

  Halle's bottom lip trembled.

  I went into the kitchen to look for food, and when I opened the pantry door, I gasped. "Dad!" I whispered as loud as I dared. "Dad!"

  He rushed in, dragging Halle with him. Surprise brightened his face. "Whoa!"

  The pantry was stocked with cans of fruit and vegetables, rice, potted meat, potato chips, peanut butter, pickles, and bottled water. There were two loaves of moldy bread and rotted fruit as well, but I couldn't stop staring at the potatoes. I reached in and gave one a squeeze.

  "They're still good!" I picked up a package of powdered gravy. "Mashed potatoes and gravy!"

  Dad opened the refrigerator. "I don't believe it. They still have electricity!"

  "Then, I bet Mom does, too!" Halle pushed up her glasses and showed off her oversized teeth.

  We spent the evening cooking and whispering, discussing how Mom would react when we showed up the next day at Red Hill. Dinner consisted of mashed potatoes and Spam, both drenched in dark gravy, and green beans. We hadn't eaten this well in weeks.

  "I wish we could take this pantry with us," I said. "We don't know what they'll have left at the ranch."

  Dad paused. "Maybe I should go get her, along with anyone else there, and bring them back here. We can come back to get you and load up on supplies."

  "You don't think they do that once in a while anyway?"

  Halle's eyes bulged, and her mouth formed an O. "What if they did that tomorrow, and we didn't have to walk to Red Hill alone?"

  "That," I said, "would be the best luck we've had in a long time."

  Dad snorted. "If they have a scavenging party, I don't think your mom would be on it."

  "Why not? I'm on yours," I said.

  "Your mom's not really the type," Dad said.

  "Neither am I."

  "Okay, okay," he said. "I just can't imagine her bashing in skulls on her way to Shallot to pick up supplies. But you're right. We're in different times."

  Halle's grin faded. "Is that what we're going to have to do? Bash in skulls to get to Red Hill?"

  "No, honey. I'm sorry," Dad said, realizing his mistake too late. "I was just teasing Jenna about your mom. I wasn't being serious."

  But that was our reality now, and we all knew it was a possibility even if Dad didn't want to admit it.

  "There are so many infected in town. Shallot's even smaller than Fairview. I don't get it."

  "I don't know," Dad said before shoveling a bite of potato into his mouth.

  After dinner, we all pitched in to clean up, and then Dad and I moved a desk to the bottom of the stairs before covering it with drinki
ng glasses and some jars I'd found on the top shelf of a cabinet. We dragged two nightstands from one of the bedrooms to the top of the stairs before covering it with decorative vases and figurines.

  I looked in all the closets for clothes my size, but I had no luck. I thought I found Halle a pair of shoes, but when I called her in to try them on, they were too big.

  "I don't want to put my shoes back on," Halle said, disappointed.

  "You don't have to tonight. Just be sure to keep them together by the bed in case we need to put them on fast."

  She looked longingly at the bigger shoes. I felt so sorry for her. I pulled off her socks and began rubbing her feet. Her big toes were red and angry. We would have to find her new shoes sooner rather than later.

  She leaned back on her hands and grinned. "You are the bestest sister ever."

  "You're not kidding. Your feet don't smell the greatest, and they're...moist."

  Halle giggled, and I giggled with her.

  Dad stood in the doorway, smiling at us. "All right, let's get showered and in bed before dark. No lights, remember?"

  We stood and made our way to the bathroom. The situation struck me as funny. Five weeks ago, Halle would have pitched a fit and begged to stay up. But without a television or toys to play with, there was nothing to stay up for.

  I scrubbed my body and then helped Halle. We rinsed off a day's worth of road dirt and sweat and then dried off before getting dressed again. I hated getting clean and then putting on my smelly clothes, but without the windows boarded, it was too risky to try to wash clothes and hang them to dry.

  I collapsed on the queen-sized bed next to Halle. Dad had pulled a twin-sized mattress from the other room and laid it on the floor next to our bed. Dad wanted us all to have plenty of room while we slept, so we would be well-rested the next day.

  We all lay in the dark, waiting to fall asleep. It was too quiet again. The old house creaked and made noises we weren't used to. Every time something cracked or knocked, Dad would hold his breath and listen before relaxing again.

  Halle was too exhausted to worry, and she fell asleep within minutes. She began to snore, and I turned on my side to face Dad, bunching up the down pillow under my arm. The bed was much more comfortable than April's couch.

  "What's the plan for tomorrow?" I whispered. "You're not serious about going on without us?"

  "I don't know. What do you think?"

  His question took me off guard. I wasn't used to him asking for my opinion on anything.