Flesh-Eater (Book 1): Fear the Fever (10 page)

S
tep by step, they sluggishly made their way back to Zeke’s place.  Millie was cradled in his arms, her head tucked under his chin to stop it from lolling about.

They didn’t speak.  There were no words left to say at this point, as each one mourned the life of the person who had meant so much to them.  The sweet, innocent girl who had been so full of life and love.  It was hard to comprehend that they would no longer hear her singing in the fields, or see her face light up in childlike wonder at the sight of a butterfly.  She would no longer grace them with her brilliant smile that could light up any room she entered.

Even knowing what her fate was likely to be, they couldn’t just abandon her.  Her skin had begun to fade to a dull grey colour and her cheekbones were protruding from her face, but she was still Millie.  If you looked hard enough, you could still make out her gentle beauty.

Once it had sunk in that she wasn’t coming back, they had decided to take her with them and bury her, along with Mary, under the big oak tree.  She would like that.

Zeke had ever so carefully picked her back up and tenderly kissed the top of her head, whispering, “I know you’re still in there, Millie.  Please stay calm.  Try to fight it.”

He had pinned her arms between his chest and her body so that he could feel the moment she began to reanimate.  He held his chin firmly against her forehead so that she wouldn’t be able to bite him.

Never had the distance between their homes, felt so vast before.  He knew it was only a matter of time before she came back to life, so to speak.  What they would do when that happened… it didn’t bear thinking about.

Harper was staring off into the distance, her fingers picking at the bottom of her sweater.  He knew he should say something to make her feel better, but he was struggling to find the words.  They had both lost so much today.

“Do you think, if we pray, God will save her?” her voice was barely more than a whisper.  She turned to face him, her eyes glistening with tears.  “Do you think he could stop her from… becoming one of them?”

“I don’t know, Harper.  It wouldn’t hurt to try,” he said to humour her, not really believing his words. 
God?
He thought,
what kind of God would bestow this kind of plague upon us?  On Millie?

“Will you pray with me?” she asked.

“Sure.”  He stopped walking and she placed a hand on his shoulder, bowing her head.

“God, we pray that you will look after my sister, Millie, and that you will guide her to you and not let her suffer in the hell that is on Earth at this time.  We pray that you will free her soul from this body and let her join you in heaven.  Don’t turn my baby sister into one of those monsters.  Please, God,” she begged, making the sign of the cross across her chest.  “Amen.”

“Amen.”

She looked up at him and smiled.  “Thank you for doing that.”

“I’d do anything to save her, you know that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Zeke turned back towards his house.  It was finally in sight.  “Not much further to go now,” he said, as he began to trudge along once more.

A flicker of movement by the house caught his eye.  He squinted, trying to see what it was.  The last thing they needed was to run into more of the ‘undead’.  All he really wanted to do, was lay Millie and his mother to rest.  He didn’t think he could take much more today.

Keeping his eyes focused on the house, he led Harper to the edge of the field, giving them a bit more cover.  He noticed a beat-up Ford Escort parked behind his car, making his heart jump into his throat.  That hadn’t been there before.

“Get down!” he hissed at Harper, crouching as best as he could with Millie in his arms.

“What?  Why?” she asked, confused.

He pointed to the car.  “Someone’s there.  That car’s not mine, and I saw something move by the house.”

Harper’s eyes widened, reminding him of her sister.  “What do we do?”

“We need to get closer without them seeing us.  Follow me.”  Keeping low, he weaved his way through the crops, Harper trailing behind.  He stopped, waiting for her to catch up.  “I’m going to have to put her down,” he said apologetically.  “I can’t be as inconspicuous with her in my arms.  We can come back for her after we’ve sussed out who these people are, and what they want.”

Harper’s lip trembled but she nodded in agreement anyway.

“We’ll come back.  I promise.”  He lay Millie in between two rows; they were still far enough away that she wouldn’t be seen.  Grabbing hold of Harper’s hand, he coaxed her forward.  She stumbled along, her eyes still on Millie as they made their way further into the crops, leaving her baby sister all alone.

“W
here did they go?” she whispered from her perch behind Chad.  “I can’t see them anymore, can you?”

“No, I can’t.  I think they may have spotted us,” he said uneasily.

“This is a bad idea.  We’re like sitting ducks.  What if they find another way around and attack us from behind?  I think we should run for the car now, while we still can.”  Zuckerman was pacing back and forth down the side of the house.  “Don’t forget, they may be armed.  All we have are a few tools.  That ain’t gonna cut it against a bullet.”

“Can you just try to stay calm a little bit longer?  We need all the help we can get,” Chad said.  “Zeke is our best shot at finding any answers.”

“You don’t even know that it’s him out there!”  Zuckerman threw his hand in the air in frustration.

Tammy was unsure how she felt about any of it.  The only thing she
was
sure about was that she wished Zuckerman would quit pacing; he was making her nervous.  He had seemed so calm and in control in the house, the complete opposite to his behaviour now.  She was worried that perhaps he was beginning to turn.

“Is he alright?” she breathed into Chad’s ear, so only he could hear.  “He seems a little… on edge.”  She craned her neck to watch him as she chewed the corner of her lip.  “You don’t think he could be, you know… sick?”

Chad scoffed, “you haven’t seen it happen yet have you?”

“I’ve seen enough.”

“In that staffroom of yours?” he glanced over his shoulder at her, one side of his mouth curled up in a grin.

“I was scared,” she said quietly, looking down at her hands.

“Hey,” he lifted her chin with his thumb, “it’s okay, I know.  I was only joking.  You did a smart thing, staying in there and keeping your distance.”  He looked back out to the fields, “I wish you didn’t have to see any of it.”

“What’s it like?” she asked, leaning her head back against the wall, twisting a strand of hair around her fingers.

“When they turn?  It’s really fuckin’ scary.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

“They get this fever first, like, real bad.  Then they start coughing and struggling to breathe.  That’s when they pass out and don’t wake up.  Until… you know… the change.”

“Wow, that’s horrible.”

“Yeah, it is,” he stated.  “The worst part is, people seem to be getting sick without being bit.  It’s like it picks and chooses who to take down.”

“Then why are we still okay?”

“Good question.  That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to come out here, to see if we could find some answers.  Anything is better than nothing.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Tammy agreed.  Even if they
were
on a wild goose chase, it was still better than sitting around, waiting for someone to save them.  Like he’d said, anything was better than nothing.

She studied him while he kept a lookout.  He had broad shoulders, and lean muscles.  His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his tanned skin.  His black hair was shaved around the back and sides, with the top tousled in what would have been a fashionable style on any normal day.  Aside from the blood splatters on his shirt, he looked like a respectable guy.

Outside of her little staffroom hideaway, it was pretty scary, but all the same, she was glad she wasn’t still in there.  She doubted she would have survived for long without these guys helping her.  Sure, she had plenty of food and water on hand, but how long before the place was looted and she was found?  People can get crazy in times of disaster.  There’s no telling what would have happened to her if they hadn’t come along.

She shuffled over to sit beside Chad.  “Hey, thanks,” she said, nudging his arm with her shoulder.

“What for?”

“Rescuing me.”

Chad smiled down at her, “I don’t see it that way.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope.  You would’ve been fine without us.  You’re stronger than you think.”  He winked at her.  She ducked her head shyly, unsure what to say.  Chad chuckled, reaching over, he grabbed her hand in his, giving it a light kiss.

Tammy, feeling the heat in her cheeks, glanced up at him.  Her eyes were drawn to something over his shoulder.

“Oh my God!”

A
aaaaarrgggggghhhhhhhhh! 
Pain shot through Millie’s middle as the fever began to take over her body.  She was trying desperately to fight it as Zeke had told her to, but the pain was too strong.

She died of a fever…

The words kept repeating over in her head.

And no-one could save her…

Her entire body felt as though it was on fire.  Like she had been doused in acid and her body was slowly melting into nothing.  She wanted to run from the pain, to leave it behind, but she couldn’t make her legs move.

And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone…

She had heard Harper and Zeke crying over her.  She had tried to tell them she was still there, that she could hear their voices, but it was no good.  Nothing would work.  Her body had begun to shut down and there was nothing she could do about it.

What was even more upsetting, was that she had heard them talk about burying her.  She didn’t want to be buried!  She was still in here!  Why couldn’t they see that?

She died of a fever…

She had felt her body being hoisted up and the steady sway as she had been carried.  She had tried to move, tried to make them see.

And no-one could save her…

Now she was lying on the cold ground.  Zeke and Harper had abandoned her.  They had left her on her own, with those things out there.

And that was the end of sweet Millie Malone…

T
hey had gone as far as they could without being seen.  The edge of the field was in front of them, and they were both on hands and knees, peering through the wheat.

“Now what?” Harper asked.

“Good question.”  He looked around, trying to come up with a plan.  “They’re on that side of the house.”  He pointed.  “We could crawl through a little further that way, see if we can get a glimpse of them.”  He handed her one of the guns he had slung across his back, and drew the other one up for himself.  “Don’t fire unless you have to,” he said.

They moved slowly, careful not to disturb the crops too much and draw attention to their whereabouts.  Zeke kept one eye on the house, and one eye on Harper.  She hadn’t let him down so far, and Lord knows she had every reason to, but he worried that she would snap soon.  She had single-handedly taken down a pack of flesh-eaters, and then watched her sister die.  That was more than enough to send anyone crazy.  He had to admire her strength.

Once they were almost parallel to the side of the house, Zeke held his hand up, signalling for them to stop.  He could just make out a figure sitting by the corner.  There was someone else with them, he kept seeing flickers of movement behind.

“There’s at least two of them,” he whispered.

“What do you think?  Do they look dangerous?” Harper asked.

“Hard to say.  I don’t think they have any weapons.  Shhh!” he ducked down, as a smaller framed person joined the first figure.  It had to be a guy and a girl.

“Did you hear that?” Harper asked, turning her head to look behind her.

“No, what?”  Zeke kept his eyes forward, not wanting to let them out of his sight.

“I thought I heard something moving back there.”

“It’s probably a rabbit.”

“I don’t think so, it sounded bigger than that.”  She kept scanning the area, her heart pounding at the all-too-familiar sound.  There was something out there.  “Maybe we should get out of here.  You said they don’t look armed, so we should just get up, and walk over.”  She was panting now, sweat dripping down her face.  “Please, Zeke?  I can’t stay in here anymore.”  She was already scrambling to her feet.  “We have to move!”

“Harper!” Zeke hissed, reaching for her leg, but she was already standing, her gun held up as she spun around to see what was out there.

“Hey!” a man’s voice boomed from behind the house.  Harper whirled around, her finger on the trigger.

“Stay back!” she yelled.  He put his hands in the air, as he stepped a little closer.

“Please don’t shoot!  We’re not going to hurt you!” he called out.  “Just put the gun down!”

“Who are you?  What do you want?” Harper demanded.  Zeke joined her, his gun raised also.

“Woah!  Come on, can’t we just talk?”

“Zeke?” Tammy said, “Is that you?”  She was walking slowly, her hands in the air.

“Tammy?”  He lowered his gun.  “It’s okay, Harper.  I know her.”  He motioned for her to drop her guard too.  “What are you guys doing here?” he questioned.

“We were looking for you.  We thought you might be able to help us,” Tammy said.  “Can we put our arms down now?”

“Yeah, of course.  Sorry.”  Zeke touched Harper on the shoulder as she eyed them warily.  “We can trust her.”

He slung his gun behind him, as he stepped away from the field, walking towards them.  Harper went with him, the noises from the field forgotten.

They had barely made it out of the field when a low growl came from behind them.  Tammy clutched Chad’s arm and pointed.  “Look out!” she screamed.

Harper, her finger still on the trigger, spun around to face their pursuer.  She could see the glow of red eyes in between the shafts of wheat.  It was one of them.

It all happened in a split second.  At the same time as it leapt from the crops, Harper cried out and pulled the trigger.  A puff of dark red bloomed in the centre of the body as it was thrown backwards.  There was a look of terror in its eyes before the fever took over once more, and it came flying towards them again.

Harper had dropped to her knees as soon as she had realised who it was.  She hadn’t meant to shoot her.

“Harper get up!” Zeke’s muffled voice rang in her ears as tears fell down her face.  “Harper!”  He was tugging at her, dragging her with him.  “Take her!”  He threw her at Chad.  “Get in the house!”

“What about you?” Tammy cried.

“Go!”

He turned back to face the once beautiful girl he had loved.  “Millie,” he whispered, slowly raising his gun.  She was right in front of him, the barrel of his gun pressed against her forehead as she clawed at him, her lips curled back in a snarl.  He could hear Harper screaming as she was dragged into the house.

“Noooooooo!”

He closed his eyes, blocking it out.  He knew what he had to do, he just didn’t know if he
could
do it.

Millie kept clawing at him, gnashing her teeth.

It’s not her.  It’s not her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, as tears cascaded down his cheeks.  He squeezed his eyes shut, and screamed as he pulled the trigger.