Jade: Earth's Last Hope Against the Undead (3 page)

When they came to the bridge, Jade was
skeptical. She knew where it led, what they would find there. This
was the Ben Franklin Bridge, leading from New Jersey into
Philadelphia. And what would be there waiting for them? Zombies of
course, and lots of them.

Trent started across, but she delayed,
taking the time to tie her shoe as she contemplated what to say.
From this vantage point she could no longer see the middle of the
bridge, although she was certain she would be able to once she
stood up. He turned and waited for her.

“It’s okay. Go on ahead.”

And she wanted him to continue on because
she needed to reflect on things alone. Though their talk had been
sparse, if he suddenly did start a conversation she wouldn’t be
able to think straight. Perhaps then she would be better able to
convey her concerns to Trent.

“I can wait,” Trent said, leaning on the
large stick he had procured and sharpened to a point while they
walked.

Still, he tapped his foot, showing his
impatience. She finished quickly, springing up with a smile. But
she wasn’t smiling on the inside.

“Come on. Let’s go,” Trent said.

She followed, finding herself drifting
closer to him as they crossed. Abandoned cars lay scattered about,
some overturned and others breaching the protective barrier into
oncoming traffic. Some even jutted out over the edge of the bridge,
dangling precariously as if tempting the air. She felt at any
moment those cars could break loose and fall to the river
below.

As they closed in upon the city, its
glorious shadow of destruction fell over them, a shroud of darkness
she had not been expecting. She grew anxious, unsure of whether
such dark shadows would be traversable by vampires. She believed
they would.

Jade stared at the city as they paralleled
it, not moving into it, but close enough if zombies smelled them,
they might come running. Jade’s fear of the vampires intensified as
the shadows ebbed and swallowed them up entirely.

Trent didn't seem afraid. He ventured on,
brave as any man she'd encountered thus far. But Jade also knew
what happened to brave men. She'd seen it firsthand.

Her brother, father, neighbor, principal,
all of them—these men had been courageous. Every last one of them
had fallen victim to the vampires or the zombies because they took
chances. This was exactly what they were doing now, taking
unnecessary chances.

Settle down, Jade. He’s
only doing what he thinks is right
.

But did she really believe that was the
truth? Could it be he was too bold for his own sake? Maybe. It was
too soon to tell and her attraction to him clouded her judgment.
Jade continued to follow like a sheep and she cursed herself for it
the entire way.

When they passed the halfway mark on the
bridge, Jade peered to the other side. She didn’t see a single
soul, but she knew they would be nearby. If they made one wrong
turn, any error, they could find themselves confronted by a sea of
undead. That would spell their demise.

Yet remarkably, thus far the city outskirts
had proven uninhabited by the living or the dead. Jade thought both
were there, either hidden or trapped, but definitely somewhere.

When they made it to the other side, now in
utter darkness, Jade regretted having come this far. She stared
back over the bridge, seeing the bright light over a small section
of New Jersey.

Damn, I wish I'd stayed.

“It’s so dark here.” It was an obvious
statement for her to make. “I wonder—”

His eyes peered at her, his voice quiet and
paranoid. “Don’t say it.”

So she didn’t. She watched as he held the
handmade spear out in front of them, ready to strike at any threat.
She couldn’t remember who she'd last seen doing this, her brother
or their neighbor. She prayed Trent would have better luck.

They made their way through the rubble,
moving away from Philadelphia toward the less-dense suburbs. Trent
had an idea where he wanted to go, but getting there would prove
difficult. Yet he also thought it would be safe and seemed
confident they could reach it before nightfall, which was even more
important.

As they arrived at the edge of the city’s
shadow, they took a short reprieve in a small subway station, which
ultimately ended up being a mistake. As Jade sat on a bench
stretching her legs and resting her feet, Trent left his stick and
wandered away in search of food.

While stretching, her foot knocked over the
stick and it rolled under the bench. A frustrated Jade dropped to
her knees and reached for the stick. Before she could get back up,
something stopped her and she froze.

She glanced up and saw the most delicate
face. The woman's eyebrows were long and dark, eyes a piercing
blue. Blonde locks framed a dainty face with bright red lips. She
said nothing at first. A slight hum from the woman expressed her
amusement in Jade.

Would Jade just be another victim, her blood
drained or worse? She didn’t know. The vampire's eyes never left
Jade. Knowing nothing else she could do, Jade said the only thing
that came to mind, “Hello?”

The vampire smiled. “Relax. I’m not going to
hurt you.”

Jade didn’t trust her and kept her hand on
the stick. She said nothing, not daring to tempt the woman.

“Seriously.” She bent over and helped Jade
to her feet, forcing her to abandon the spear. Jade was sure she
had glimpsed the makeshift weapon. “What a lovely stick. Is that
for me?”

Jade said nothing.

“I see. Yes, I’ve likely surprised you. My
name is Hiru.”

Jade nodded.

“I see, still nervous. Listen, I didn’t mean
to surprise you, but I’m certainly not going to hurt you. What’s
your name?”

Jade rubbed one arm with her hand, feeling
nervous. “Jade. It’s Jade.”

Hiru’s eyes beamed. “What a lovely
name.”

Jade thought Hiru was toying with her. Then
Hiru stepped forward, taking Jade’s chin in her long fingernails,
lifting Jade’s eyes to hers.

Jade trembled.

By the time Trent returned a mere few
minutes later, Jade could remember nothing of the time he'd been
gone. Although he might have noticed the distress showing on her
face, he dismissed it. He hadn't a clue what had happened either.
For all Jade knew it could have been a near-death experience or
maybe worse.

“Here, I got you one of these.” He handed
her some unidentifiable snack bar. He'd already removed the wrapper
on the second item and taken a bite. “And one of these.”

Jade appreciated the snack bar and the
Snickers. She liked them both. But truth was she didn’t feel much
like eating.

He saw this and asked. “Aren’t you
hungry?”

Jade nodded. “Not just yet.” Feeling
somewhat woozy, she put on her best fake smile. “Can I save them
for later?”

He bowed, his forearm deep in his stomach,
and laughed. “As you wish, m'lady.”

“Can we go now?” Jade asked.

Trent stared at her for a long moment,
perhaps hoping to gain some sudden insight. She offered nothing, as
she could recall nothing. Seeming to sense this, he agreed and
began picking up their belongings.

“Yes, we should go,” he said.

She followed him down the street. And even
after they were in the sunlight and heading toward their
destination, unease of her safety made the hairs on her neck
continue to prickle. Night approached fast, chasing them. If they
didn’t find shelter soon, she was sure the vampires would come for
them.

As they arrived at Valley Forge a
single name echoed in her thoughts, although she couldn't quite
understand why.
Hiru
.

As Valley Forge was long ago a place of war,
so was it now in an emotional sense for Jade. Perhaps it was the
rain or the light fog drifting among the structures. Whatever the
case she felt absolutely taken back by the landscape.

Thus far their travels had been relatively
uneventful. They hadn’t seen a single zombie and Jade almost
thought they no longer had to worry about such things. They took a
respite in one of the old restored cottages. Then came the rains,
and with them a dreadful sense something bad was going to
happen.

“What was that?” he said.

Jade listened, trying very hard to remain
patient. She hadn’t heard anything and for a moment she thought
Trent was playing with her emotions. Then it came through very
clear.

She heard the steady dragging march of the
undead, including some that shouldn’t be able to stagger around in
these conditions, but still did. Their bodies didn't feel the pain
of trying to walk on a broken leg or a stomach that had been torn
open and its guts spilled out. These creatures endured the most
horrid injuries and still continued, ever relentless and hungry for
flesh.

“Zombies.” Jade looked around. “Where do we
go?”

Trent scanned the horizon, as if daring them
to show themselves. They still couldn’t see them and she shook his
arm, trying to refocus his attention where it belonged. Still he
ignored her and Jade’s emotions got the best of her.

“Trent. Wake up!”

He turned, gazed into her bewildered eyes,
and then shook his head as if trying to clear the fog. He glanced
at the old cottage they'd just left, perhaps considering returning
to it and likely wishing it offered better protection. Surely the
zombies would mow it over should they stay put. His panicked eyes
sprang from building to building, finding none of them suitable
enough for survival.

A single moan drew his attention back, and
even Jade took a second to glance. She saw the dirt-ridden mops of
tangled hair bobbing just over the slight incline ahead of them. It
wouldn’t be long before the undead saw them.

As the first of them appeared, she felt her
wrist being pulled. She turned, expecting to find Trent, but even
he looked surprised. The small woman was but five or so feet tall
and thin, leading them away like a kite caught in a strong wind.
They followed willingly, glancing back often, glad the zombies
hadn’t yet seen them.

“My name is Kat.” Her nose twitched as she
spoke. “Follow me if you want to live. And mind your step.”

She let their arms go, allowing them the
choice of following or not. Surely she knew they would, given the
sizable horde of undead approaching their position steadfastly. She
led them into the woods, dodging limbs with haste and pushing
through those she could not.

Some branches slapped back at Jade,
hindering her progress. Trent tried to subdue some of this abuse by
taking the brunt of the hits for her, but it wasn’t enough. She was
beginning to lose her way and more so, her patience. Then Trent had
her hand and was pulling her along, clearing the way for her.

He can be so sweet when he
wants to
. She felt herself gushing even now, so close
to the threat of death.

“Hurry now,” Kat said.

The base of a large tree came into view and
they paused there for several seconds. Jade worried about where
they could possibly go from here. It appeared Kat hadn’t been
leading them anywhere at all. Then she heard the straining ropes,
the squeaking of a wheel high above. Upon further inspection she
saw them lowering the scaffolding from high above and prayed they
would hurry. But they didn’t. They were patient, ever calculated in
their precise movements. They drew no attention because they were
so calm, so well hidden. Staring up into the canopy of trees she
thought there would be very few of them in such an impossibly tiny
space.

The three of them stepped onto the
scaffolding and were drawn upward. As the zombies closed in around
them, they paused, not drawing the scaffolding an inch farther
until the zombies dispersed.

A horde of undead swarmed some forty or
fifty feet beneath them, never looking up, seemingly more concerned
with the possibility of finding low hanging fruit on foot up ahead.
Up here she offered no sustenance to the undead, yet still there
was no sense in alarming them for fear of what else they might
attract.