The Withered Series (Book 1): Wither Read online

  She nods. “Felt like a kid with those stewardesses watching over me. Might as well have stuck a little name tag on me and handed me some cookies and milk.”

  I grin at the imagery. “Any who, maybe that knock I took to the head last night set things right again. Guess old timer’s was bound to catch up with me sooner or later. I’m no spring chicken anymore.”

  I laugh, a deep genuine laugh. “You’re one tough broad, Victoria. You know that?”

  “You may call me Vicky now, I think. The name has begun to grow on me after all this time.”

  Smiling, I reach out and place my hand over hers. Veins rise through papery thin flesh. “I never thought I’d say it, but I’m kinda glad you’re back. Being the only girl sucked.”

  She seems genuinely pleased when she squeezes my hand. “I suppose you and I didn’t start out on the proper foot, did we?”

  “Not so much.” She lifts the tape to her mouth and tears off the piece, tucking it under. I try lifting my arm and know that it’s going to take a few days before the pain begins to fade. “I’m sorry about Eva.”

  At the sound of my friend’s name, my breath catches and I fall silent. “I should have helped more, been kinder. I suppose I was afraid. Afraid of not being needed. Of being left behind. When you reach my age you'll understand what it’s like.”

  If I reach your age, I amend silently.

  Clearing my throat and making the decision to shove the past right back where it belongs, I pat my bandage. For a retired science teacher she seems fairly handy with gauze and tape. “Where are Alex and Cable?”

  Vicky looks toward the woods. I follow her gaze, realizing that a massive slit has been sliced through the zippered door. “He couldn’t get the zipper to work so he burst in here, knife at the ready.” She turns to look at me. “That man cares for you.”

  “I know.” And I do for him, far more than I’d like to admit.

  “Well,” she dusts her hands off and gingerly rises. “They should be back soon. I’d best make myself useful while I still can.”

  I stare after her, amazed at how easily she bounces back. Was it all just a survival technique to shut down or something else? Beginning stages of dementia? Her body's way of dealing with shock?

  It could have gone the wrong way. Alex could have decided to leave her behind on the side of the road. Deemed her too big of a liability.

  No. Alex may be many things, but cruel for the sake of being cruel does not seem to be one of them. He cares about his people, no matter how motley the crew may be.

  Grabbing a pack nearby, I search for clothes to put on. My pack is nowhere to be seen, so I grab Cable’s and dig out a long sleeve black shirt. I manage to wiggle my way inside fairly well, and with only minimal swearing but by the time I’m done I feel exhausted.

  Pushing aside my weariness, I crawl out of the tent and discover a battle scene. Boot prints disturb the dirt. Blood splatters the rocky path and trees beyond. Staring at the blood, I feel weak in the knees and sink down onto a nearby rock.

  “Only a little of that belongs to Cable.” I look up to find Victoria watching me. I hate that my fear is so transparent. “Sal got in a few good swings before the end.”

  “That sounds like him.” My voice is weaker than it should be. The sight of Cable’s shed blood shouldn’t affect me so. Heck, it shouldn't bother me at all beyond a general concern for his well-being, but it does.

  At the sound of approaching footsteps, I turn to see Cable marching a few steps ahead Alex. They are covered in blood, sweat and dirt. It covers their hands and arms, soiling their shirts and caked to their pants. There is a haggardness on Alex’s face that was not there yesterday. A look that only death can bring, up close and personal.

  I push down on the rock and rise. A moment of dizziness nearly topples me back to the ground but I fight through it and manage to rise fully before Cable crushes me in his embrace. I want to resist the tears that swell in my eyes, but I don’t. I cling to him, digging my fingers into his back as the tears come, uncaring of the blood that soaks through his shirt into mine.

  “It’s ok. You’re safe now.”

  “Am I?” I choke out and bury my face in the crook of his arm. The scent of blood is less strong here. “Are any of us really safe?”

  He doesn’t answer me and I know why. The truth, no matter how grim, is still the reality that we face. Uncertainty. Death. A fight for survival. The trouble is that I fear this is only the beginning.

  Heat radiates out from him like a warm blanket straight out of a dryer. I noticed that color sits high in his cheeks once more, but assume it’s from the hike.

  “I thought he was going to kill me. Maybe he already has,” I whisper, hating how hoarse my voice sounds as draw back and cup my shoulder. My neck is raw, my windpipe bruised from Sal’s squeezing. It will take some time to recover fully, if ever. It seems like this new life isn’t interested in allowing recovery time before another disaster strikes. Each morning I wake up a little more tired, a little more sore, and with a heck of a lot less hope.

  Cable presses his lips to the top of my head. “I would never let that happen. You know that, right?”

  I nod and pull back, releasing my death grip on him to wipe at my nose. “I know you would try, but you won’t always be around.”

  “Sure I will.”

  “No.” I place my hand on his chest to stop him from hugging me again. “You won’t. None of us know what will happen today, or tomorrow or a week from now. We’ve made it this long because we hid, but how long can we keep that up? We don’t have any food. After we leave this place we’ll have enough water for three days. Then what?”

  He remains silent. I didn't expect him to give me some bullshit, sugarcoated answer. For all the optimism Cable tries to provide, he is at the core a realist. I think you have to be in times like these.

  “We both know that towns are dangerous,” I continue. “We’ve been lucky so far, but we won’t always be. Sooner or later we are going to run into trouble.”

  “And I...we,” he amends quickly, “will be there to help.”

  I lower my head. “I can’t do this, Cable.”

  He reaches down and lifts my chin. I try to resist, knowing that if I meet his gaze I will be tempted to weaken, but he persists. “I’m not asking for anything from you, Avery. You know that, right?”

  I want to say yes, to say that I know he’s never officially asked me for a commitment, but it’s there, in his eyes, every time he looks at me. Try as I might to ignore it, I know that I crave that look.

  “One night. That’s what you promised.”

  His hand falls away from my chin and I step back. An ache grows in my chest as I watch a shifting of emotions play across his face. He’s usually very good at hiding them behind his stony exterior, but not now.

  “We should go.” I turn my back on him and wrap my arms around my waist, knowing that I’ve hurt him, hurt myself, but it’s the way it has to be. For us to survive. For us to say goodbye when the time comes, because I know it is. It’s inevitable.

  Alex cautiously meets my glance and I nod at him. Pressing back my shoulders I move to stand beside him. “What’s the plan?”

  “We need supplies.” I’ve heard that sentiment so many times it makes me want to vomit. Food, water, shelter...they are all that matter now. If I focus on that maybe, just maybe, I can make it. I’ve done it before. I just need to find a way to put Cable in the past.

  Alex points to a map at his feet and I see that if we continue on this path, within half a day’s hike, perhaps a little more we will reach a town that sits a couple miles off the main interstate heading south in Kentucky. If we can find a car we might be able to make it to the border within an hour.

  Looking at the town on the map, I feel apprehension coil in my gut. It’s always hard to tell just how populated that town may have once been, how many survivors may still linger. Being on the main road ups the danger. It’s a risk, no matter how you look at it, but
some risks I would rather leave alone.

  Cable moves past me, careful not to touch me as he ducks into the tent. Alex watches me and I’m careful not to show any emotion. “You ok?”

  I bite my lip and nod. “How long till tear down?”

  He cocks his head to look up at the sun. “Quarter of an hour give you enough time to get yourself cleaned up?”

  I grab a faded towel Victoria holds out to me. I must look pretty bad for them to already have stuff prepped for me. “Give me five minutes. That water isn’t warm enough to soak in!”

  TWENTY

  The winds are still for the first time in weeks. A brief storm passed through during the afternoon hours, forcing us to take refuge in a small cave. We huddled together as the temperatures plummeted and the sleet came. Cable, being the largest in our group, took the outer edge, creating a makeshift wall. I huddled in the middle with Victoria. Only the chattering of our teeth could be heard. I would trade all four layers of shirts that I wear for one decent wool coat, a pair of gloves and a hat.

  We continued our hike, no longer driven by the hope of reaching safety in the light of the sun, but by the need for shelter. I glance back over my shoulder at Cable and the deep seated fear that began earlier doubles.

  His fever burns high once again. His face is flushed despite the freezing temperatures. The cold doesn’t faze him.

  His steps are unsteady. From time to time he raises a hand to bat away unseen things. We stop frequently to drink but water is not enough and we can’t risk giving him too much too soon. Who knows when we will find another reliable water source?

  I should have known he was feverish the instant I saw he return from the woods. Thinking back to the farmhouse when he seemed unusually warm, camping in the woods or the shack when a fire wasn’t enough to warm him, but he’d improved, hadn’t he? Days went by with little signs of discomfort, so much so that I’d let my fears slip away. Then I think on two nights before, sleeping beside him at the cabin, snuggling up to his radiating warmth. My hands upon his flaming skin…

  He should have said something. Warned us. Surely he has known he was ill for several days. Maybe he’s been ill since the night he broke us out of the military base and it’s just taken this long to really settle in.

  I have not noticed any other symptoms yet, but maybe he is hiding those as well. It doesn’t matter now. Alex and Victoria see it but I pray that they fear only that he has fallen ill with the flu, though I doubt it. Everyone jumps to the worst conclusion these days.

  Both refuse to meet my gaze so I take the lead, marching ahead with purpose. The trek through the hills is arduous. The path is steep, the crevices slick from the recently fallen sleet.

  When we finally reach the edge of the forest, I halt. Ducking low, I motion for the group to do the same. Alex kneels beside me. Cable on the other side. I can feel the heat flowing in waves off him. I want to say something but I bite my tongue. Now is not the time.

  There is a gully before us, no steeper than any that we have hiked today but this one gleams in the broken moonlight. The storm must have been worse here. A sheet of ice lies between us and the highway below.

  On the other side of the road I spy a large building. A tall gas sign rises to the sky. Several semi-trucks sit in the parking lot. A pile up of cars betrays the panic travelers experienced in an attempt to escape a fate that was already sealed.

  “I don’t like this,” Alex mutters. Victoria nods in agreement.

  I glance toward Cable and sigh, knowing we have no choice. “Our need hasn’t changed. That building looks like an old truck stop. It probably still has food, clothes, maybe even some camping supplies that we could use. That meal we had last night will only take us so far. We need to keep up our strength if we hope to keep going.”

  “There are probably survivors holed up inside enjoying all of those things right now.” I glance at Alex but he shrugs, agreeing with Victoria’s assessment.

  “How far is the nearest town?” I ask, tugging the map from the side pocket of Alex’s backpack. I open the worn pages carefully. They have been beaten and battered over the past two weeks. I don't know how much longer it will remain intact. Another reason why we need to risk going into that truck stop. We can find maps out of this state.

  I watch his finger trail down the dimly lit page and blow out a breath of frustration. “Twenty miles at best. Maybe a little more.”

  From the corner of my eye I see Cable close his eyes. I know he’s suffering in silence, trying not to be a burden. “I’ll go,” I say as I try to fold the map but finally give up when I realize it’s a puzzle I’m not going to figure out in the dark.

  “No!” Alex and Cable shout at the same time.

  “Keep your voices down,” I growl, sweeping my gaze on the road before. Abandoned cars dot the highway, some heading in a northerly direction along the road but many plunged hood first into an embankment. Several are little more than charred remains and I try not to wonder if the driver made it out or if they now wander this road with their flesh completely melted away.

  I see movement among the cars, halting and labored. I point to where several Withered Ones walk repeatedly into car doors, slamming their torsos into the metal until the door finally gives way and they can continue on their path. I shudder at the sight.

  As the clouds shift overhead, casting us in darkness, it illuminates the road in the distance and my throat feels parched as I stare out over the expanse.

  “There are hundreds of them,” Victoria whispers. She wraps her hand around Alex’s arm as she kneels beside him. She is hurting. Her limp has become more pronounced. She blames it on bad hips but I think all of this traveling has just been hard on her. I’ve never asked her age but I’d guess she’s at least in her mid-sixties. She should be bouncing grandkids on her knee instead of trekking through the woods at night.

  “We should go,” Alex says and starts to rise.

  “No.” I grab onto him. “Wait.”

  He turns back, shielding his face as the wind whips globs of slush from the trees. It pelts down on us. “This is insane, Avery. We need to find shelter.”

  “Just watch them,” I whisper.

  Never has there been an opportunity as great as this to just observe their behavior. From this vantage point we are safe, relatively at least. The woods are to our back and we only saw three Moaners all day.

  “Can you see it?”

  Alex casts a glance toward me then follows the direction I’m pointing in. In the ever shifting clouds, our window of sight narrows and expands without warning. It makes it hard to focus on any one place for long, but it’s long enough. I hear the inhalation of breath from beside me.

  “They are moving together,” Alex says in a hushed tone.

  I nod. “A herd with one apparent goal in mind.”

  Victoria leans out around Alex to look at me. “What goal?”

  I swallow before answering. “To head south.”

  “Figured you would say that,” Alex mutters and glances over the top of the overpass less than an eighth of a mile from us. Though that area isn’t currently lit by the moon, I can still decipher movement.

  “Maybe they really don’t like the cold.” I glance over at Cable. The dark circles under his eyes seem more prominent than before.

  “We have two choices.” I turn back to look at Alex. “Ride this ridge and walk parallel to those Moaners and hope we stumble across a cave or shanty to sleep in, or we head for that truck stop and find somewhere to hole up for the night. Maybe even find something to eat.”

  Alex glances toward Victoria. “What do you think?”

  I notice that her glasses no longer perch on her nose and she’s given up trying to tame her hair, instead embracing reality. Fear pinches her wrinkled features, but as she glances down at the movement on the road below, I know which she views as the lesser danger.

  “I’d rather be able to see them in the light of day,” is her response. I hide my smile, knowing that Cab
le will side with me, if for no other reason than to rest for a few moments. The tent, with its massive slit down the middle, is useless against the elements. We left it set up in the woods. Who knows, maybe it will save some poor soul’s life one day?

  Alex sighs heavily. “What’s the good in being a leader when my vote never counts?”

  I clap him on the back. “A good leader knows when to take counsel.”

  “Oh?” He rises beside me. “Is that what it is? And here I thought you guys just liked telling me what to do.”

  Alex and Victoria lead the way toward the overpass. It is the easier of the two paths, but also far more dangerous. Despite the six cars abandoned across the bridge, there will be far too much time when we are out in the open, exposed to the naked eye.

  I’m not fool enough to think that the truck stop will be empty. And if it is, I’d bet the last drops of water in my bottle that it’s being watched.

  Grasping Cable’s hand, I follow behind, my gaze steadily sweeping our surroundings. For once I would welcome the wind to help conceal the sound of our passing. Even the raspy moans below bring a bit of relief.

  “This is a bad idea,” Cable mutters. I feel the tension in his body, his muscles taut as he searches the shadows before us.

  “I know, but we didn’t have a choice.”

  “Of course we did.” He looks down at me and I see his eyebrows pinched into a frown. “I know why you pushed for this.”

  “Yeah, cause I’m hungry.”

  He yanks on my arm. “Don’t play dumb, Avery. It doesn’t suit you.”

  Ducking down behind the first car, I crane my neck to see through the passenger side window. Alex and Victoria have reached the second car but are only twenty feet ahead.

  “You should have told me.” I crouch back down and search the ground, wishing I had a weapon. As if sensing my frustration, Cable hands me his knife but I push it back at him. “You know how to use it better than me.”

  Grabbing my wrist, he uncurls my hand and places the handle in my palm. “You need to learn.”

  “Trial by fire, huh?”