Becca (17 page)

“Oh my gosh, we’re engaged!”

“I wish my Mom were around so I could tell her.” Tasha said. “She’d be so happy.”

“Really? You think she’d be okay with this? I mean with it being me?”

“My mom loved you. She used to tell me I better never screw up our friendship or she was kicking me out and inviting you to stay with them.”

“I hope they’re okay somewhere.”

We pulled into the drive and there was a man sitting on the porch. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t figure out who he looked like. We walked up the steps with the sacks in our hands, and he stared at us all the way up. He never moved to help, didn’t open the door, just sat there.

“Becca!” Bridget shouted. She knocked the sack from my hand as she hugged me.

“Be careful, there’re propane bottles in there.” I said.

“You look horrible.” David said. He was looking at Tasha.

“We were attacked.” she told him.

“Where have you been, young lady?” Dad asked me.

There’s a man sitting on the sofa. Two men, actually, but one of them I recognize. One of them I saw carrying a huge gun and shoving women around.

“We were surrounded. We had to hide out on a roof over night.”

“Is that a bite?” Amber asked.

“Yeah, we got attacked by a bunch of them.”

“Are you okay?” Her eyes filled with tears. “Are you going to get sick?”

“It was yesterday. We would have been sick by now if we were going to be.” Tasha told her.

“Who’s this?” I asked Dad.

“Oh, this is Ken and Loren.” Dad said. “They were just passing by and saw us.”

“They want to stay a couple of nights.” Bridget said. She looked uneasy about it, too.

“We’re out of bedrooms.” I said, directing it toward Ken.

“I told them we could probably set them up here in the living room.” Dad said.

“We don’t have the room.” I said.

“I thought we could lay some blankets out for them. Maybe spare a couple of pillows.”

“Sorry, we just can’t do it.”

“Don’t be rude, Rebecca.”

“Dad, we aren’t letting a bunch of strangers stay here.”

“That’s not really your call there, little girl.” Ken said. He had a crooked smile on his face, but his eyes were full of hatred. 

“You should let the men do the talking.” Loren added.

“It
is
my call, and you’re not staying here. I’m sorry. You understand, we don’t know who we can trust.”
 

“Robert,” Ken said, speaking to my dad. “Are you going to put up with this kind of attitude from a little girl?”

“I just don’t know.” Dad said.

“You should all leave now.” I said.

“You should mind your business.” Ken told me.

“This is my business. I’m in charge here.” Eww, I really didn’t want to say that in front of anyone, especially Dad. “You need to leave now.”

“Robert?”

“I’m sorry gentlemen.” he said. “You have a nice day.”

He got up and left the room. What, he just leaves us out here with these strange men? Nice, Dad. At least I know where this really stands now. I really am in charge. I guess I knew that. I didn't want to humiliate him, though. It has to be tough for your little girl to take over like this, but he just is not up to it. He has proven that.  

“You’re making a bad mistake.” Loren told me.

“What is your problem, Becca?” Bridget asked.

“Would you please leave now.” I said to the men.

“Your lack of hospitality is disconcerting.” Ken told me. He looks about ready to explode.

“Well I don’t beat women and keep them captive, so I guess I’m at least a little above you in how I treat people, aren’t I?”

“That’s not a very nice thing to accuse someone of.”

“Just please go.”

I glanced over and noticed that Tasha, like me, had her hand on her gun. I wish everyone else would at least get out of the way, in case I have to shoot these guys. There is absolutely no way these people are staying here. Not with my sister. She isn’t going to wind up a part of their little harem.

They slowly walked past me, glaring at me the whole way. This is bad. This is really, really bad. There’s more of them, and they have bigger guns. This won’t go well.

As soon as they were gone I sat down for a second. This can’t be happening. Okay, I just said I was in control. I’m making the decisions. Someone has to. So come on, Becca, make a decision.

“Everyone go pack what you need to take with you. You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

“What? Becca,”

“Don’t argue with me, Bridget. Those guys aren’t going to drop this, they’ll be back.”

“Well then you shouldn’t have pissed them off!”

“Those are the guys I saw! Do you want to be one of their little sex slaves, Bridget? I’m pretty sure that’s what would happen.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes.”

“Come on, let’s hurry.” Amber told her. “David, get your ass in gear.” She paused and looked over at me. “We’ll be ready, Becca.”

“What are we doing, hon?” Tasha asked. “What’s the plan?”

“We have to load up what we can and get out. Quick.”

“But where will we go?”

“I don’t know yet.”

She’s right, where do we go? We couldn’t stay here forever anyway, because it will be bad here in the winter and I don’t think we’ll be able to keep warm with no gas and nobody capable of chopping wood. Maybe some place warmer. And if we could head to a major city we would have plenty of stores to raid. Granted, that probably means a lot of infected people around, but we sat on that roof for most of a day without problems. Maybe we could find a place that is easily defended.

“Dad, we need to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“No, we. Us. All of us. Those guys are the ones that I saw, the ones beating those women. They’re going to come back, and they have a lot of guns. We have to be gone.”

“I don’t think your mother is able to...”

“I’m not asking, I’m telling you we have to go.”

“Rebecca,”

“Dad, we’re leaving. Get things gathered. I’ll help you get Mom to the car.”

“Do you think this is a good idea?”

“Yes. We have to. We’re heading south. Some place that will be warm in the winter.”

“If you think that’s best.”

We hurried to pack the cars with as much as they would carry. Everyone looked really upset to be leaving. I think they’re blaming me. I don’t really care. Well, I care, I just can’t let it stop me from making the right decision.

“You should ride with Mom and Dad, Bridge.” I told her.

“Yeah. I guess.” She glanced over at Dad’s car. “We’re going to be okay, right?”

“We’ll be fine.”

“We made it this far, didn’t we?” Tasha said. “We’re going to be fine, Bridget.”

“Can I ride with them, Becca?” David asked me.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“I’m riding with you.” Amber told me. “It’ll be nice to have the back seat all to myself.”

Mom was not happy to have to leave. I helped her to the car, and she kept glaring at me like she thought I was being ridiculous. But she didn’t argue. I guess I really am in charge. Even Mom isn’t questioning me. I hate this.

We stopped for the night just across the border into Kansas. It wasn’t dark yet, but both Tasha and I are too exhausted to continue. We found a big garage that seemed easily protected, and we pulled the cars inside. We spread blankets on the concrete and slept that way. What sleep we got, that is.

Saturday, May 14
^th
 

“I can’t believe this.” Amber mumbled.

We were driving back into our neighborhood back home. Houses were still burning. Half the town was gone, burnt to the foundations. Our house was gone. We went a few blocks to Amber and David’s house. It was still there.

“I don’t know if I want to even go in.” Amber said. Her face was covered with tears.

“If you want, I can go in and check around for you.” I told her. 

“What if Mom is in there? Or Dad. What if they’re... like one of those things, or even dead?”

“You just stay out here with Tasha.”  

“You shouldn’t go alone.” Tasha told me. She grabbed my hand.

“I’ll be okay.”

Tasha leaned over and kissed me, and then I got out of the car. David was climbing from the back of Dad’s car.

“Stay out here, David. Go sit with your sister.”

“I want to go in.”

“Not yet. Let me check it first, okay?”

“I want to go in.”

“Please just wait a few minutes, David. Just a couple. I’ll check it real quick first.”

I held the gun up, ready to fire on anyone I might come across. The place looked exactly the same as when we left it. Even the note we left was still in the same place. I walked through, checking each room carefully. Nobody was there. It looked like nobody had been in the place at all.

“It’s clear. They haven’t been here.” I told Amber and David. “You can go in.”

“There’s no point then.” Amber said.

“Nah. Let’s just go.” David said, already turning to head back to the car with Mom and Dad.

“Hey guys, please do me a favor. Just go in and get a few things. Some stuff from your Mom and Dad.”

“What’s the point?” he asked.

“I’d feel better. Please.”

“Do we have to?”

“No. But I wish you would.”

They went inside. I made them take a gun and promise to stay together. There’s a chance I missed something, and there’s a chance someone could come in the back.

“Dad. How are you guys doing? Need a break or anything?”

“We’re doing alright.” he said. “Any idea where we’re heading?”

“We should go to south Texas.” Tasha said. She put her arm around my waist. “It doesn’t get very cold there in the winter. It might be a little hot right now, but we can deal with that if we have to. Open windows, or even get a generator to run an air conditioner or a fan or something.”

“Dad?”

“I don’t know. What do you think, Rebecca?”

I think you should step up and make a decision, Dad. Why do I get stuck doing this? I’m seventeen, I shouldn’t be in charge of everything. I’m not the parent here.

“I think Tasha is right.” I finally said.

“If you think that’s best, honey.” Dad said.