Break Free The Night (Book 2): Loss of Light (27 page)

              "It is enough," Emma muttered. "We have nothing but problems. No idea where we're going or when we'll leave. My leg is a walking target. There's no food. And all you two do is-"

              "She's coping," Jack hissed, moving closer to Emma and lowering his voice. Kaylee stood as though frozen, hearing the words but unable to react to them.

              "Yeah, she's coping all over you."

              "She put an axe through someone, Em, she's dealing with it the best way she knows how," Jack said, his voice low and directed away from Kaylee. She heard the words as though through a veil.

              "She's been through a lot, give her time," Andrew added, his voice weary. He was strolling towards them, resting one foot on the first step of the porch. Emma's jaw set and her eyes narrowed as she glared at him.

              "Of course. Of course, you defend
her
! I lost my dad too," Emma bit back, her chin wobbled but her lips were set in a hard line. "But all you do is
fight
with me."

              "That is not
fair
!" Andrew shouted.

              It broke out from all sides. Anna and Bill lowly arguing about where they should go and when. Andrew shouting at Emma, her threatening to just leave. Bill said he agreed with Emma and Andrew lost it. Kaylee's eyes darted from one to the other, watching Andrew turn on his father, seeing the exasperation in Anna's eyes as she shook her head. They were hungry; they were tired and hurt. They were all falling apart.

              Emma moved away from the group, her eyes on the empty yard in front of her. She hunched over the railing, her back to everyone. Something clenched tight in Kaylee's chest.

             
I did it again
.
Left her alone to grieve a dead parent. Again.

              The void in her chest cracked and a new sensation surged in her belly. Regret. Shame. It wasn't pleasant, but it was different. It was powerful enough to stay, her mind racing to keep up.

              "Quiet," she said. When nothing changed she shouted. "Quiet!"

              They turned, even Emma, to look at her. "Emma, why are you talking about leaving?"

            
 “
I'm-" she broke off in a sigh. "I'm not, that's not what I-"

              Andrew growled in frustration
.“
As if w
e’
d just let yo
u
—’

            
 “
You ca
n’
t guard me all night
!”
Emma shouted, losing any of the calm she had managed to show
.“
If I want to run, I can. And ther
e’
s nothin
g
—”

              "Stop!" Kaylee shouted, her breath coming fast as anger boiled up in her stomach. "We can't fall apart. Not now. Emma's right. There's too much to do, too much going on. We're hurt, all of us. Sick of this, sick of the infected and the hunger and the pain. But we have to stop shouting!"

              Emma locked eyes with her sister, her breathing evening out. "I want to get rid of my scar."

            
 “
Get rid of it? What do you mean? How
?
”

            
 “
You saw what happened
,”
Emma continued, ignoring Kaylee's confused words and the way Andrew glared from where he was perched, shoulders tense
.“
He knew. Danny saw it and he knew. Anyone else we meet will know too. The
y’
ll either kill me on the spot or the
y’
ll just kill all of us as a precaution. I need to get rid of it now or I wo
n’
t be here in the morning, no matter what anyone says
.
”

              Kaylee stared at the only family she had left. She knew Emma meant what she said. And moreover, she knew she was right. It had to be done before they left, before they went to find others. This was their chance. If there was a way to do it safely, it should be done. "Anna? What are our options
?
”

            
 “
But, no
,”
Andrew started, jumping off the railing he had perched on. His eyes darted back and forth between the girls. "Kaylee, you can't be serious. Your father would never-"

              "Don't you dare use Dad against me! He'd still be alive if it wasn't for this scar," Emma hissed. "Out of line, Andrew!"

              "He'd never stand for it! And you don't need to hide it. You're immune, not infected. You're fine
!
”

            
 “
Sh
e’
s fine in many ways, but not all," Bill said quietly. "You know that, Andrew. Anna, what do we do
?
”

              Anna mouthed soundlessly for a moment, looking from Kaylee to Andrew to Bill
.“
Em
,”
she started finally and Kaylee felt her sister shift to look Anna in the eye
,“I…
Tonight? Now?
I’
m not sure what the best, how t
o…
We do
n’
t even have any morphine. Everything I had was in the motor home, everything. I would
n’
t even know how to go abou
t
—”

            
 “
We have to disguise the original bite scarring permanently. It seems to me that there are two options
,”
Jack interrupted Ann
a’
s rambling.

            
 “
Both will be really painful
,”
Anna whispered, looking from Jack to Emma. The girl squared her shoulders, facing Anna.

            
 “
I do
n’
t understand how you can even think
-”
Andrew started, swallowing thickly. "How can you even consider doing this to her
?
”

            
 “
We don't have to get rid of it completely
,”
Emma said, her eyes lowered, avoiding Andrew
.“
Just... mess with it a bit so it does
n’
t look like a bite mark anymore
.
”

            
 “
Like what
?”
Andrew bit out scathingly
.“
Carve you up a bit? Take a knife to your leg so you just look deformed instead of bit
?
”

            
 “
Andrew
!
”

            
 “
I
t’
s what she means
!”
he shouted back
.“
I
t’
s what you all mean
!‘
Mess with it a bit
,
’
”
he sneered, pushing away from the railing and walking off the porch to a nearby tree line. Kaylee could just see the outline of him slump against a pine tree.

            
 “
He did
n’
t mean that
,”
Kaylee murmured to Emma. Her jaw set and Kaylee knew that Andrew's words cut deeply
.“
Not really. H
e’
s just scared
.
”

            
 “
I do
n’
t know if tha
t’
s the best way regardless
,”
Jack said, looking from Emma to Anna
.“
No matter how talented you might be, it still may come off as too obvious
.
”

              Anna was nodding
.“
I think so too. And I do
n’
t know if I even coul
d…
i
t’
s to
o
…”

              Bill nodded
.“
And dangerous, too much bleeding when she may be contagious."

              "So you thin
k
—” Jack started.

            
 “
I
t’
s the only other thing I could think of, but the aftercar
e
—”

            
 “
Nothing we could
n’
t find in your average house."

              "It's not that simple, Jack," Anna shook her head. She motioned towards Emma's leg. "It'll have to be a second degree for sure, maybe even closer to third to really hide it. I'd need I.V. fluid, serious antibiotics, something for pain."

              "She's right though, we need to hide it."

              "Tonight," Emma added firmly. She turned from Jack to face the rest of the group, wiping the tears off her cheek as she stared them down with grit teeth. "I'll be fine with Anna to watch me. And I've already got most of what you need, Anna."

              "That's what you've been doing?" Anna asked. Emma nodded. She disappeared off the porch, skirting around the tree line where Andrew skulked. She took a direct line then, walking to the shed on the neighboring property. She returned heaving a bag and spilled the contents onto the porch. Bottles of sterile water, an old IV bag and tubing, and clear vials of medicine all spilled out onto the warn wooden planks, flashes of orange firelight reflecting in the glass.

              "Where did you get these?" Anna asked, stooping and picking through Emma's things.

              "A couple houses and an overturned ambulance."

              "I'd still need something for pain, there's nothing-"

              "Couldn't find any," Emma answered, shrugging through obvious trepidation. "I can deal with it."

              "No, Em," Anna disagreed. "You couldn't."

              Kaylee felt her throat go dry at the thought. Her stomach swirled with a new sensation, nausea. Anna asked Jack and Bill to scrounge around a bit, see if they could find anything as she got ready. Jack nodded his consent and moments later, he and Bill had vanished into the night, calling out a warning to Andrew as they passed. Anna was left shaking her head.

              "Em, I'll do it, I will. But it shouldn't be tonight, give us some time to find something. Especially if they come back empty handed."

              "Please Anna, please tonight," Emma started, shaking her head when Anna went to interrupt. "It'd be easier to run. For me. It would be so much easier to tuck tail and run. 'Cause I know it's gonna be painful. I've waited. Three days. Knowing I have to do this. It has to be tonight. I can't... I mean I might not be able to do it if I have to wait and think about this any longer."

            
 “
Wha
t’
s the other way, Anna? How would you do it
?”
Kaylee questioned, sparing a glance towards her sister. Anna offered a strained smile.

            
 “
A burn. I
t’
s the only other thing I can think of
.
”

              Kaylee felt the bile leaved her stomach and rise in her throat.