The Withered Series (Book 1): Wither Read online

  A hand claps down over my mouth and I buck against the strong grip. “Easy,” a voice calls in my ear. “It’s just me.”

  Growling in frustration, I shove Cable’s hand away. “I wanted to be alone.”

  “And I wanted to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid.” He raises his eyebrows and jerks his head toward the house.

  Point taken.

  I rub my hands down the front of my pants, trying to ease the quaking in my fingers. “What made you scream like that?”

  “Be my guest.” I point to the window and step back, leaning against the wall. I watch him, waiting for the same horror that I experienced but his expression hardly changes. “Really? Nothing?”

  Cable pulls away from the window. “I’ve seen suicides before.”

  “That woman’s face is wallpapered to the drywall. Her brain is coating the window. How you can be so blasé about it?”

  He shrugs. “Maybe because it was her choice?”

  “Her...her choice?” My voice shakes as I stare at him with open incredulity. “How is that a choice? She shoved a gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger. That’s not a choice. That’s the epitome of cowardice.”

  He shakes his head. “You didn’t see, did you?”

  “See what?” I look toward the window.

  “The baby.”

  My breath catches as I rush forward and peer in again. This time, cradled in the woman’s lap, I spy the child. Its face is pale, its eyes open and unseeing. Its mouth opens and closes, its arms pawing at the air.

  I sink back and feel Cable standing behind me, offering me help to remain upright. “She knew…”

  His grip tightens on my arms. “Imagine what that must be like, to know that your child is going to become the thing that has everyone terrified and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Could you live with that? With knowing that you couldn’t save your own child?”

  A penetrating cold sinks into my soul at the thought. “It’s always the people you love most that hurt you deepest.”

  Cable slowly turns me around. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

  “But it is. It always has been. Why should things change? Especially now?” Warm tears seep from the corners of my eyes, trailing down my cheeks. I didn’t mean to cry, don’t want to, but staring up into Cable’s knowing gaze I feel exposed.

  “You shouldn’t be here, Cable.”

  “Why not?” He asks. His grip loosens against my arms as his hands trail down to take my hands in his. I hate that I crave his touch, that I find myself needing it.

  “Because I don’t need you.”

  His smile nearly breaks me completely as he steps closer. “I thought you would have figured it out by now.”

  “Figured what out?”

  He leans in so close that I’m sure he means to kiss me, but he pulls up just shy of my lips. He stares intently into my eyes before his face shifts away, his breath trails along my cheek as he pauses beside my ear. “I’m more stubborn than you. I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for you to realize that you may not need me, but you do want me.”

  FOURTEEN

  Sparks flicker. The hum of electricity is lost over the roar of an engine.

  “Yes!” I cheer.

  Cable emerges from the driver’s side of a beat up quad cab pickup that may have at one time been considered a sports model, judging by the attempt at a spoiler on the rear tailgate. He leans over the wheel and taps the fuel gage. “It won’t get us far, but it’s something.”

  I rest my head back on the bench seat beside him and grin. “A day without walking is bliss. I’ll take it!”

  Cable grins at me and closes the door. He twists his torso gingerly and puts the seatbelt on. He starts to put the truck in gear when he senses me looking at him. “What?”

  “Nothing.” I smirk. “It’s just that I didn’t take you for the seat belt wearing kind of guy.”

  A broad smile crosses his lips. “Well, when you’ve got precious cargo on board you tend to take every precaution.”

  I look away, knowing that he can see the flames licking at my cheeks. My fair skin does little to hide it.

  “We won’t all fit in the cab,” he says, as if nothing were amiss with his previous statement. “I’ll take the back with Sal for a while. We can trade off later.”

  “Why you? You’re still trying to heal. I can sit back there just as easily.”

  He glances at me from the corner of his eye but says nothing. He doesn’t have to. I already know what he’s thinking.

  “We’ve got some supplies. A couple blankets and enough water to last us for a while. If we load the food and water near the back, I can huddle against the cab to block most of the wind.”

  “Are you always this logical?” He asks as the truck jerks into gear and begins rolling forward. We are on the far end of town. By now Alex, Victoria and Sal should have cleaned out the houses nearest the train car. After finding that baby, I couldn’t bring myself to search the houses so I stuck to the shops.

  The pharmacy offered some supplies. Antibiotics. Pain meds. Fresh bandages to wrap Cable’s bruised ribs, though they seem to be improving greatly with each day that passes. My nasty bandages were used as kindling two nights ago when the cold become too much to bear. In the final store I found ointment to heal the blisters on Alex’s face.

  “Only when I want to get my own way.”

  He laughs and reaches out to turn on the radio. I don’t know if he does it out of habit or if he’s searching for something, but when only static bounces back at us, he turns the knob and falls silent.

  I stare out the window at the faceless homes, at the drawn curtains and doors left open and forgotten. Christmas lights nailed to rooftops flap in the wind, nearly three months overdue. The cheer of the holiday season gone forever.

  We weave around abandoned cars and Withered Ones wandering the streets. I watch them as I pass, realizing that in the past week I have nearly grown immune to their presence. The scent of decay isn’t quite so strong anymore. The sight of torn limbs and maggots feasting on rotting flesh doesn't turn my stomach now. I never dreamed that I would become immune to it all, but I guess it becomes a matter of perspective.

  Watching their endless walk brings two emotions now: sadness and wariness. Though I know no one else shares my ideas, I can't shake the feeling that something isn’t right with them.

  “Do you even see them anymore?” I ask, without turning away from the window.

  “I’m swerving around them, if that’s what you mean.”

  “No.” I press my nose against the glass as Cable slows the truck. We inch through a herd of Moaners. Several bump repeatedly against the hood. Cable slows to a near halt in an attempt to let them veer off in a new direction. When they don't, he pushes the accelerator. The truck rises and falls over the crushed bodies and we continue on our way. “I mean, as people. Or former people, I guess. Are they just things to you now?”

  Cable is silent long enough to draw my gaze back toward him. His fingers grip the steering wheel as we are forced to slow again. We went nearly all morning without seeing a Withered One and now they flock to the one street we need to be on to get us back to our group.

  Putting the truck in park, Cable sighs and drops his hands from the wheel as we wait for them to pass. “I can’t think of them as things.”

  “Why not?” I draw one leg up onto the seat and turn to face him. I note that the deep bruising along his cheek and temple have faded into an ugly yellow now. The cut on his lip has begun to heal nicely. He no longer holds his side when he breathes.

  “My brother is out there.” He speaks to the windshield instead of me. His gaze is fixated on the grotesque faces before us. I try to ignore the strips of flesh being torn from the passing bodies by the sharp edge of the broken side mirrors, or hear the raspy moans that make goosebumps rise on my arms.

  “You never spoke of a brother before.”

  “Lenny and I never really got along too well
. I guess that comes with the territory, though. Half-brothers tend to butt heads a lot.”

  “Sounds like you care about him, though.”

  “He’s family, even if my scumbag dad decided to mess around. I don't hold that against him.”

  I pick at a scab on my arm where thorn bushes tore at my skin a few days ago. By the time we figured out we’d marched straight into a massive briar patch, there was no choice but to keep going.

  “My dad ran out on us when I was younger. I remember hurrying home each day after school and waiting on the front step of our porch for him to come back. He never did, of course. My mother moved us to St. Louis not long after. Never really forgave her for that. I was sure one day my dad would walk up that path for me and wonder where I’d gone. When I got older I figured out the truth.”

  “What was that?” Cable flicks on the windshield wipers and I grimace at the smear of blood as he tries to clean away the carnage left behind.

  “That sometimes no matter how hard you try, things don't work out. People leave for their own reasons. You just gotta suck it up and move on. Put them in the past so they can’t hurt you anymore.”

  Cable looks over at me. The path before us is clear, if blurred by the red haze predominate on the windshield now. “Sounds like that didn’t work out too well for you.”

  I blow out a weighted breath. “I’m still working on it.”

  The truck begins a slow roll forward. Cable ducks his chin to see through a clear patch. “You can’t keep the whole world out, you know?”

  “I can try.”

  “Sure.” He yanks a bit of the fabric off the torn seat cover and leans out the window to wipe the glass before him. It helps a little but we’ll have to do a better job before we hit the road. “Just make sure you don’t include me in that, huh?”

  I turn away so he doesn’t see the tiny smile that betrays me. My eyes widen and I grip his arm. “Cable!”

  The truck jerks as he slams his foot on the brake. He follows my gaze in silence. There, standing between two houses is a Moaner. Most of his face has been torn away. His shirt is ragged, his scalp bald apart from a few stray tufts of hair.

  “Are you seeing this?” I ask, unable to tear myself away from the man. His eyes are a milky blue. He stands with an unblinking stare into the distance.

  “He’s not moving,” Cable whispers. His voice sounds hoarse.

  I turn to look at him. “I’ve never seen one do that before.”

  “Me either.” I can tell by the color leaching from his face that he’s freaked out but trying hard not to show it. “Let’s get back. The others will be waiting for us.”

  I nod in agreement but the truck is already moving at a faster pace than before. It only takes us five minutes to maneuver the debris in the road and arrive back at the train car. Victoria paces near the steps, her hands tucked around her waist. Her lips move rapidly and I realize that she’s slipped into another muttering phase. She’s been doing that a lot more lately. She’s taking to speaking with her deceased mother a lot, sometimes about trivial things like the cold or how hungry she is. At other times it seems as if she’s trying to puzzle through the outbreak. It’s scary that some of her mutterings are beginning to make sense.

  Alex looks up as we roll to a stop near the overgrown track. Sal sits with one leg dangling from the car, appearing unconcerned and indifferent to our arrival.

  “You’re late.” Alex opens my side of the truck and helps me out. I feel a bit unsteady on my feet, still shaken by the Withered Ones.

  “Got trapped by a herd in town.” The driver’s side door squeals as Cable shoves it closed.

  Alex glances back toward town. A deep frown settles onto his handsome features. “It’s been a while since we saw any of those.”

  “Well,” I grunt as I toss a cloth grocery bag full of bottled water into the truck bed, “we found one.”

  “But all together?” Alex hefts two large black grocery sacks of clothes, towels and medical supplies into the back. “I know you two told me you’d seen it before but I was kinda hoping you were just yanking my chain.”

  “There’s something else.” Cable grabs a cardboard box from beside Alex. I’m relieved to see it filled with boxed foods and canned goods. The homes must not have been completely emptied.

  Alex pauses. He looks between us, but I let Cable tell him about the Withered man that we saw. Alex reacts similarly to how we did. Visible disbelief that is quickly followed by a deep seated fear that begins to spread with alarming speed. He looks hollow, his face haggard.

  “What do you think it means?” He asks as he shoves the tailgate closed. The supplies won't last long, but we should be good for a week, maybe more if we are lucky. That means we can head back into the woods where we can be safe.

  “It means we need to stop sleeping where we are exposed,” Cable responds.

  “The Moaners have never been a threat before.” Alex glances back at Sal and Victoria, keeping his voice low enough that it doesn’t carry.

  Cable looks to me. “Avery noticed they are starting to alter their behaviors. Small things, but still enough to be concerned about. I’d rather play it safe. If we can’t find a house or abandoned building to crash in we need to find a way to make this truck more secure. Just in case.”

  Alex glances at the cab. “It’s too small.”

  “Then we find a cover.” I turn to look back into town, knowing that I really don’t want to go back in. I’m spooked and not afraid to admit that. “Maybe at the next town we can find a truck cover, plywood, or something to give us some shelter.”

  “Agreed.” Alex wipes his brow. His cheeks are flushed. I wonder how many houses they had to search through to find what few supplies they brought back. Or how much help Sal and Victoria actually were. “Do we tell them?”

  “No.” Cable rests his arms over the side of the truck. He looks tired. He hasn’t been sleeping well. At first I thought it was nightmares but now I’ve begun to wonder if his time clock is all out of sorts. “There’s no sense worrying them.”

  He looks to me and I nod in agreement, though not for the same reasons. I don’t think Victoria could handle the stress and Sal…the less he knows the better.

  Within ten minutes we are prepped and ready to leave. After a heated debate of who would be sitting in the truck bed with me, Alex finally wins and Cable takes the wheel with Victoria pressed in next to him and Sal on the far right. I huddle into my blankets as we turn onto a dirt road leading away from the town.

  I don’t know its name or anything about the people who once lived here, but I do know that I hope to never see it again.

  Alex remains unusually quiet over the next few hours. We huddle close for warmth. With a blanket beneath us and one wrapped around us, we savor the trapped body heat but little can protect us from the winds that bite at our cheeks. It’s slow going even on the back roads. Weaving around abandoned cars and back tracking to avoid major pileups takes up precious daylight.

  The sun beats down on us from overhead, warming the top of my head. I lift my face to the light, enjoying this rare time of travel during day.

  “I’m worried about Sal.” Alex breaks the silence, glancing back over his shoulder.

  “More than earlier?”

  He nods and tucks the blanket high under his chin. “I noticed something this morning. Something I’ve seen before.”

  I shift and knock knees with him. I start to apologize but realize he’s too lost in thought to care. “There are spots on his mouth. At first I thought they were blood, maybe he bit his lip in his sleep or something, but there are more. The idiot chews with his mouth wide open so I noticed a few more on his gums.”

  “Maybe it was just food. I saw him tucking into a candy bar before we left.” The fact that he never bothered to share with the rest of us angered me but didn’t surprise me. He’s not the sharing type. Sal is one of those guys who is in it for himself and holds no pretense otherwise.

  “No.” Al
ex glances over his shoulder at Sal. I follow his gaze and frown. There is a red patch of skin just below his left ear. It seems to be trailing up into his hair. As I follow the trail I see a large patch peeking out near his ample bald spot near the crown of his scalp.

  “You think he’s turning, don’t you?”

  Alex scrunches up his face then wipes his nose on the blanket. “Maybe not, but I’ve seen the signs before.”

  “In who?”

  “My co-pilot, right before we were grounded in St. Louis. At first I thought it was just stress. We’d done two long hauls back to back and that was against regulation. We were bone tired. Anyone would be. I was almost relieved when they grounded us.”

  “But it wasn’t because of your work schedule, was it?”

  He shakes his head. His teeth clatter together and he shrinks further under the blanket. “Charles lost his wife and son while we were in the air. He never even knew they were sick. That was the excuse the airline gave us when we landed but I could see it was more than that. There were soldiers everywhere toting guns big enough to take down a jumbo jet. We were put in some sort of quarantine. Never saw him again.”

  “What happened to him?”

  He shrugs. His wind burned cheeks look dry and near cracking. I duck my head under the blanket and feel around in my pack, searching for the ointment. I’d forgotten that I had it.

  “Here,” I hold out the bottle to him. “It might help.”

  Alex offers me a smile and dabs the clear medicine on his cheeks then slathers it over his burns. His sigh of relief is audible over the winds. “Thanks.”

  “Must hurt like a bitch.”

  He laughs. “I’m tougher than I look.”

  “A survivor.”

  He nods. “I’ve learned to do what has to be done.”

  As a new silence hangs in the air between us, broken only by the chattering of teeth, I can’t help but wonder if that goes so far as to betraying us back at the farm. Though Alex has shown no signs of wanting to harm us, I know that the doubts Cable put in my mind about him will linger for quite some time.