Barely Alive (26 page)

The scent of manure and hay filled the van through the open windows and vents. I snapped my head up. “Find the field and let us out. James needs food.”

Chapter 21

The two hour drive to Coeur d’Alene might have cost me a week of my short life in stress.

Connie had James under control. After a cow each, the outlook seemed more possible versus the Bonnie and Clyde feel we’d been clinging to. James’s young peachy color returned and his wound had a more aged look. The hole had finally stopped bleeding. We hoped Heather’s grandma would look at it when we arrived.

I’d taken up a post at the back window, watching for any cars or odd activity.

Travis drove exactly the speed limit and every vehicle that did pull up behind us didn’t stay there long. Helping our safe travel, the darkness hid the stolen vehicle’s identifiable features.

The highway took us by the corner of a large lake. Moonlight from the low orb glinted off the mild waves through dark tree shadows.

We had to get through town. Careful not to jar James or get in Connie’s way, I crawled to kneel between the front seats, watching as we approached the city.

The forest didn’t stop. Each building seemed built amongst the trees. Evergreens lined the roads and parking lots. The city felt alive with headlights and taillights and all kinds of activity in sight. Humans. People worth saving. They had no idea what had just arrived to walk amongst them, drawing other monsters into their midst.

I avoided Heather. She had every right to be pissed at me. I didn’t blame her and I refused to put her in the position to have to talk to me or deal with me when she couldn’t stand the sight of me. “Travis, we don’t need to stop for gas. Our stop shouldn’t be that far. We’ll be switching vehicles. Just keep going on 95.” He nodded, checking his mirrors.

Heather glanced at me, but it wasn’t attached to a smile. I think she singed my hair with her ire.

We cleared the city without mishap. I held my breath at each intersection, certain a cop was going to pull alongside.

City lights faded and thicker woods closed around the two lane highway. Fields popped open and disappeared along the roadside. A deer’s eyes glowed in our headlights. We were in too big a hurry to hunt.

Lit up by spotlights, a large wooden rollercoaster skyscraped into the night. Signs pointing left and right directed us all over the large lot.

A black SUV waited by the entrance with a ticket booth. Only a few empty cars were parked in the section marked employees.

I couldn’t stop staring at the rental car. I hadn’t seen my mom in a month. Screw butterflies, pterodactyls flew in my stomach.

“
That’s her.” I pointed and turned to my brother. “We’re going with Mom, James. She’s not ditching me that easy and you need us.”

Travis stopped the van. The door took more effort to open with my arm sliding it behind me. I backed out, supporting James’s upper body in my arms. Connie moved to grab his legs before they fell to the ground as I moved toward the SUV.

My mom stepped out of the driver’s side. Her wavy auburn hair moved in the breeze. She stopped moving when she saw me. Her hand pressed over her mouth, smothering what sounded like, “Paul.”

I refused to let her manipulate me with her emotional displays. “Open the back. We need to get James inside. He’s been shot.”

“
What!” She abandoned the open front door and rushed to the rear. She didn’t question our moving him in. I back-crawled into the spacious back and left him to Connie’s care.

I clicked the door shut on Connie with James and turned toward the van. My mom stood in my way.

The distraction worked well. Travis slid into the driver’s seat of the SUV, Heather slammed her door shut and climbed into the passenger’s seat beside Travis. All of it happened behind my mom’s back. I’d smirk, but she’d see that.

“
What happened?” Mom poked me in the chest with her glossy pink nails. “Did you do this to him?”

“
Yeah, I shot him. It’s initiation into the gang I’m in now, you know?” I jutted my face towards her at the end. I strode to the van and bent to retrieve the science bag – the only thing with any value left in the vehicle. I closed the side door.

“
I don’t deserve your attitude. You owe me an apology after the way you treated me. Treated your brother.” She crossed her arms and tilted up her chin. The famous Ledger stubbornness.

One step forward, I forced myself to stop. She didn’t smell edible. Maybe she was already a zombie. But her lack of interest in Heather and Travis gave her away as human. “What happened between James and me is staying between us. I might owe you an apology, but it’s not happening at this moment and definitely not after that call you made.” I narrowed my eyes and ignored a catch in my voice. “You would seriously ditch me without finding out what’s going on?”

She had the grace to break eye contact, but she didn’t alter her stance. “I can’t have your choices altering James’s potential. You blew yours away, why should you get to do the same to him?” She slapped her upper thigh. “But apparently that doesn’t stop you from getting him shot. Way to watch out for your little brother, Paul.”

Mom had me there. He’d tried protecting me and gotten shot in the process. Because of my change, Dominic chased him down and infected him against his will. My actions had stolen James’s choices out from under him. His life had been relegated to reaction.

But I wouldn’t let her see the effect her words had on me. I opened the rear passenger door to her car. “Are you coming or are you taking responsibility for the stolen van?” I pointed at the green VW. I curled my lip in a snarl. “Yep, I stole that, too. Kidnapped everyone with me. Might even rob a bank. Who knows.”

And it was like she woke up. Her focus tripped between the empty van and the newly occupied SUV. I enjoyed the shock that wiped the haughty righteousness riding high in her green eyes.

“
You-why-you can’t take my car.” She stared at me, studying my face like she’d never seen me before.

“
Oh, but I am.” I lifted my chin and stood straighter, hand on the open door. She’d see the monster I’d become, not the son I would always be. But how I saw myself was more important. “Choose now. We have to go.”

She swallowed. Her decisions ricocheted between reason and emotion. Emotion won. She turned and walked to the opposite side of the vehicle and climbed in. She ignored me when I settled onto the bench seat beside her. Soft Chanel reached me, her perfume she’d worn since I was small. Mom might be pissed at me, but the scent gave me back a peace of mind I’d missed for four weeks.

I leaned forward and patted Travis’s shoulder. He drove out of the parking lot.

I was on a roll. Two women in the group weren’t talking to me. The only one who was didn’t have anything positive to say. We had a lot to do in the next few days. One, get to Heather’s grandmother’s house. Two, fix up Heather’s arm and James’s shoulder. Three, feed. Four, get more information on the situation in Vegas. Five, work on a vaccine or cure for the disease. Six, oh, my head hurt. Five would have to be enough until something more immediate shoved the list to six. Hell, I forgot to tack save the world on there. Why list the trivial stuff though, right?

The rental SUV was equipped with TVs and satellite television stations. I grabbed a remote and channel guide from the consoles lining the sides of the rear compartment. Channel 82 covered national news.

While figuring out the controls, I leaned back toward Connie and James. “How’s he doing?”

“
He’s fine… right now. He needs stitches, Paul, if he’s going to get better. I think he’s running through his calories faster than normal.” Connie pressed her hand to his forehead. “I didn’t think it’d be possible, but he has a fever. He either has an infection or he’s burning hotter in the healing process.” She shrugged and met my eyes. “I don’t know. I need time to research this, study it. Travis has a different area of expertise than I do, as well. We really need to get to a safe zone.”

A safe zone. Was there such a thing? I nodded and faced the man speaking in grave tones on the ceiling mounted monitor.

I turned the volume up. The man’s voice rumbled in the speakers at our sides. “The Air Force awaits the order from the President on performing an air strike on Sin City. The situation mounting in Nevada has grown dire. It is questionable if any person is left in the entire state unaffected by this event.” An aerial shot of a smoking Bellagio replaced the over-tan announcer. His report continued in voice-over. “As you can see, the city has been reduced to rubble. Our helicopters have been shot at and attacked from the highest hotels.”

A fly-by to the Stratosphere showed the empty deck. An image of the people jumping as we escaped the damaged city flashed in my memory, reminding me that I’d seen the worst part. The images on the TV were after the fall, we’d been there during.

Another shot, this one of a man hanging out of the helicopter at an angle with a large camera strapped to his shoulder. Beyond him, smoke covered the city in a hazy cloud. I could almost smell it. The city burning. Had Dominic gone into any of the heat? Had he been destroyed?

The news reporter returned to the screen. “Since the first reports came in, we have been under the impression that this has been a rogue virus spread without design.” He shuffled papers, adding to the autonomy of his position. “But a phone call from the lead designer of the virus has given us new insight. Here is a portion of the recorded conversation.”

Dominic’s voice filled the vehicle. I shivered. He had his charm on, his silky smooth tone filled with fear and pleas. “We need help getting out. I can’t believe the research project went so horribly wrong. Dr. Duncan said we’d be fine.”

Travis snorted.

My old boss’s voice raised. “Please, help us get out. I think I know how to fix this, but I can’t do it from in here. We have a cure. We just need help out.”

The reporter pointed at the screen. “You heard it here first, folks. One of the creators is in the city and needs to get out. He claims to have a cure. For those of you close to the borders this could be very important to you. We will report on further information we receive. Stay tuned.”

Heather spoke to Travis. “Why did he say that about you?”

He slapped the steering wheel. “Dominic wants to discredit me so that when we do find a resolution, no one will believe us. He took the first step toward making sure very few people will utilize what we discover.” Travis checked his mirrors. The night muted the scenery under a cloak of darkness.

Mom leaned forward. “Are you Dr. Duncan?”

Travis nodded. “In the flesh.” He pointed to the back. “My wife is with your other son.”

“
I’m Heather.” She turned in her seat, looked right at me. “I’m with Paul.”
With me?
Holy crap, what did that mean?

My mom folded her hands. “Are you… like
them
?”

“
Like what, Mom? You just know
something
is different.” I growled. “But you don’t know what, right?”

James stirred behind me. “Calm down, Paul.”

I didn’t bother facing him, but stared my mother down. To give her credit, she didn’t flinch away from the anger in my face. “Take a good look. ‘Cause James is just like me. He’s doomed. I didn’t do it, but I might as well have.” She glanced at James and her anger faded, slid away to reveal deep and utter sadness in its wake. She looked back at me, but I couldn’t soften. Wouldn’t. “
We
are the monsters, Mom. These people we brought with us are going to help us fix it. If not cure us, then vaccinate the people who haven’t been infected yet…” I tilted my head at her. “People like you.”

Her spine stiffened. I’d seen the expression of prissy pinched lips and tightened eyelids more times than I cared to recall. “People like me? I’d rather be in the same boat as you, than have you leave again.” She looked from me to my damaged brother and back. Dr. Duncan, can you fix this?” She leaned back and crossed her arms. “If not, then I might as well have it.”

I scoffed. “Mom, this is serious. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.” Even though my worst enemy had designed it and eventually got it. Semantics. “And least of all on my mom. You and I may have our problems, but I love you and you’re not becoming one of us.” I bit out my confession. She had to know I loved her, even if I didn’t say it the rest of my weeks on Earth, at least she could say she’d heard me say it and I had witnesses. “Dr. Duncan might be able to fix it, but we’re not sure.”

She bit her lower lip and in the green digital lighting her eyes glistened. Great, Heather and Mom both overloaded on sentimental emotion. Chicks make me nervous.

I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat.

Mom lunged across the space between us and wrapped her arms around me. She smelled good, but not edible, just good. Like home. After a second, I returned the hug. Oh, man, I’d missed her.

“
I love you, too, Paul.” She whispered, with her chin resting on my shoulder.

More regret that I hadn’t returned that night after the fight piled on top of the already stored guilt and reprobative choices. I patted her back and we separated.

James, his normal smart ass self, said, “Awww.”