The Grace Series (Book 3): Dark Grace (18 page)

When I woke, it was nearly full dark outside.  Gus had pulled the car over and nudged me awake. 

“Where are we?” I asked. 

“Highway 112, almost to Clallam Bay.  Looks like we’ll need to backtrack, though.”

I looked out the front windshield and saw a massive crash site blocking our path.  There were at least nine cars that I could count, in a tangled mess of crushed metal and shattered glass.

“There were people trapped in the accident,” I said flatly.  “There’s Roamers in that pile.”

“Can you tell how many?”

“At least five.  They’ve been stuck in there for a long time.  One of them re
members being killed by another; it remembers being eaten alive.”

My brain was on fire with their hunger.  Their signatures in my mind were stronger than I had experienced in weeks.

“We might as well get out and stretch, and then head back to highway 101.  I’m pretty sure highway 113 will get us past the crash but it’ll add a few hours onto the trip.”

“Ok.”

“Do you sense any dead that can get to us, or are they all trapped in the accident?”

“They’re all trapped.”

Gus opened his door and stood.  I watched as he stretched.  He leaned back down to the open door to talk to me.

“Don’t get out until I’m over there to help you.  You passed out at our last stop.”

Memories of Molly’s tiny grave filled my mind.  In a moment’s time Gus was beside me and had opened my door.

“Ok, darlin’, let’s get you out.”

I looked up at him and took hold of his hand.  He held a white hand towel that he must have brought with from the hotel in his free hand.  We walked to the side of the road.  My legs felt shakier than I had anticipated.  The air smelled of the sea and rotting flesh. 

“We need to empty your bladder, get you cleaned up, and find you some food soon.”

“I’m not hungry,” I said.

“You have to eat, Zoe.  You’ve lost a bit of blood and already passed out once.”

I looked down as Gus started to pull my pants down.  I was too devastated to care, so allowed him to do so.  I had one of the hand towels stuffed into my panties and was alarmed to see how bloody it was.

“Hold my hands while you squat, darlin’.  Empty your bladder and I’ll help you with a fresh towel.”

“My pants are bloody,” I muttered.

“Ya.  I know.  We’ll get you new ones as soon as we can.”

“The Roamers can smell the blood.  I need to get out of here soon before they give me a headache.”  My hip and belly were also aching. 

It took longer to relieve myself that I had expected, but soon Gus had my towel changed and we were back in the car.  We shared the last of our distilled water before turning the car around and heading back to Port Angeles.

***

“I’m not liking being on the road after dark, Zoe.  I think we should find somewhere to hole up for the night.”

“There isn’t much out here,” I said lazily.

“I saw an old motor home on the side of the highway not far from here.  It might be a good bet.”

“’Kay.”

I didn’t care much where we ended up.  All I wanted was my baby back in my arms.  The next best thing would be dreamless sleep.  We drove for about two miles before he spoke.

“There it is.”

I looked up half-heartedly and saw the motor home he spoke of.  It was small and old with faded green stripes down the sides.  The front end was flat with a large windshield.  It was parked in a
narrow turn off with just enough room for our car to park behind it.  The manner in which it had been left there made me assume it had been abandoned mid route.

Gus pulled the car to a stop and fiddled with the wires under the steering column until the engine shut off.

“I want you to stay here with the doors locked while I check the RV out.”

“I can come with,” I argued weakly.

“No offense, but you’re so weak you’d get in the way if there’s trouble.  I promise I won’t be long.”

“I don’t sense anything, Gus.  I don’t want to wait out here.”

“Don’t argue.  I’ll be right back.  Lock the doors.”

I sighed as he closed my door and walked away.  I pressed the automatic lock button and watched Gus open the door and step up into the RV.  I looked down at my belly, hating how my bump was no longer there.   I wondered briefly if I might ever find joy or happiness in life again.  Gus was back within a few minutes, and helped me out of the car.  My legs still felt weak and the surrounding landscape spun around me slightly.  I looked down and saw that my pants were covered in fresh blood.

“C’mon, darlin’, let’s get you inside.”

Gus picked me up and cradled
me in his arms.  I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around him.  I was so tired.

“Ok, let’s get you up the steps,” I heard Gus say as he set me on my feet.  “Doorway’s not big enough for us both,” he explained.  “Think you can climb in?”

I nodded and stepped up into the RV.  The interior was as outdated looking as the exterior with avocado green counter tops and orange floral upholstery on the seats.  The air inside smelled dank.

“Zoe, head to the back bed.  I set some towels out for you to sit on.  Take your pants off and lay down so I can check out all this bleeding?”

All I wanted to do was sleep, but I did as instructed.  By the time I had undressed from the waist down and lay back, I was nearly asleep.  I felt Gus sit beside me and gently spread my legs. 

“It looks like it’s easing up.  I’m just gonna put the end of the towel between your legs and let you sleep for a bit.”

“Ok,” I whispered.

***

When I woke, I was in complete darkness. 

“Boggs?” I called out.

“No Zoe, it’s just you and me, remember?” replied Gus.

I was quiet while I oriented myself. 

“Where are we?”

“We stopped for the night.  You were bleeding and I didn’t want to drive after dark.”

“That’s right: the motor home.”

I heard him walking toward me.  His hand searched out for me in the darkness, making sure he didn’t sit on me.

“You’ve been asleep for a few hours.  How are you feeling?”

“A little better,” I admitted.  “Thirsty.”

“Whoever left this rig here left it stocked.  It’s been pillaged, but I found a few things stored in an under-seat compartment that we can use.”

“It’s dark in here.”

“I know,” he sighed.  “I haven’t wanted to attract attention with the lights.  I just have a creepy feeling that I can’t shake.”

“I don’t hear any of them in my head.”

“Good. So, I found a box of Capri Suns and a Tupperware container of trail mix.  Want some?”

“Please.”

He stood and I listened to his footfalls as he walked slowly in the dark to wherever the supplies were.  He sounded tired in how he was moving, if that’s possible.  I used my elbows to push myself into a sitting position and swung my legs over the edge of the bed I was lying upon.  This time my head didn’t spin and I was able to sit upright without feeling as if I would pass out.

“The place was pretty trashed, so I moved most of the junk the scavengers left to the front.  We’re lucky they didn’t find this stuff.”

I felt Gus take my hand in his.  He placed the juice pouch in my palm and warned me to not squeeze it since the straw was already inserted.  His kids used to spill them that way, he explained.

I
sipped through the small straw and enjoyed the cool fruit-flavored drink. 

“Thanks,” I whispered. 

“Try eating something.  You need to get your strength back.”

He set the container of trail mix down beside me.  I could actually smell the raisins
and peanuts and my stomach growled.  I felt for it with my hand and quickly began eating.  Gus joined me in the feast and we sat quietly eating for what felt like a long time.

“When will we get back on the road?” I asked.  I was desperate to get back to the others.

“I imagine as soon as you feel up to it.”

“I’m actually feeling better since I slept.”

“First light then, sound good?”

“Ya.”

“Let’s both get some sleep then.  I don’t think I can stay awake.”

“You sound exhausted, Gus.”

“Ayup.”

I lay back down, and Gus collapsed onto the small bed beside me.  Within moments, his breathing pattern signaled that he was
sleeping.  I fell asleep picturing Molly’s beautiful and perfect face in my mind.

***

Daylight was streaming in through the RV windows.  I looked over at Gus, who was still asleep beside me.  He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his covers were coming off.  I went to pull the thin blanket up and noticed that his stab wounds were now fully healed; the thin scars a pale green.  I carefully climbed out of the bed, hoping to not wake him.  I knew he needed sleep desperately.  Once standing, I walked to the other end of the motor home and looked over the pile of trash and debris that Gus had moved out of the way.  I saw an empty jar of peanut butter and picked it up, knowing that we could scrape the sides of the jar.  I was still nude from the waist down, and the dried blood on my legs made me sick to my stomach.  At least there was no fresh blood.  My belly wasn’t as sore as it had been the day before.  My breasts, on the other hand, felt swollen and tender.  I knew it was my milk coming in.  I changed my train of thought, knowing that dwelling on my baby would send me into a downward spiral, and Gus and I could not manage if I turned into a blubbering mess.  I knew that one day the losses of Emilie, Jane, and my sweet tiny Molly would catch up to me.  They had all died in such a short period of time.  It was so utterly unfair.  I began looking through all of the cabinets and drawers, hoping to find something that someone else had missed.  Coming up empty, I tried to open a door that I assumed led to either a storage closet or a restroom.  The knob was locked, which actually gave me some hope that there may be supplies left undiscovered inside.   I sat at the small table and opened the Tupperware container of trail mix.  I had pulled my t-shirt down as far as I could to cover my bare bottom.  I ate the trail mix one small bit at a time, just enough to stop my stomach’s complaining.

“Morning,” said Gus quietly.

I jumped, slightly startled.

“Morning,” I said back to him.  “There’s a locked door.  I’m hoping maybe there’s something useful left.”

“Ya, I noticed that last night but didn’t want to break the door open while it was dark.”

I nodded
my understanding.

“Has your bleeding gotten any lighter?”

“It’s stopped.  Maybe the same reason your wounds healed so fast?”

“Maybe.  You look stronger today.”

I nodded again.  “I’m just trying to not think about everything; about everyone we’ve lost.”

He sighed deeply.  “Me too, darlin’.  Me too.”

He grabbed a small handful of the trail mix and tossed it into his mouth.

“Ya, I was thinking about that last night.  It’s a good idea.”

“Uh, Gus?”

“Huh?”

“What’s a good idea?”

“Scraping the peanut butter jar.  I shouldn’t have tossed it aside so quick.”

I looked at him, not sure what to say.

“I hadn’t mentioned it, Gus.  I was about to.”

“Ya you did.”

“No.”

“I heard you, Zoe.”

“No, Gus, seriously.  I was just thinking about it.”

“Think of something else.”

“What?”

“Just think about something else for a minute.”

I kept looking at him like he was crazy, but decided to think about a family picnic
I had enjoyed when I was thirteen, on the Fourth of July.  It had been a happy day.  My sister had told me about her first kiss.

“Fireworks, and a kiss,” said Gus.

“How?” I asked.

“I’m not sure.  Maybe the same reason you can sense the dead.”  He looked at his green-tinged scars.  “I obviously have it in me now, too.”

“You can read my mind?”

He shrugged.  “I guess.”

The idea freaked me out a little.  “Try again.”

“You’re worried that you might think about something you don’t want me to know.”

“Ya.”  Indeed, that was what I had been running through my mind just before trying to change my thoughts to something else to test him.  “Crap,” I mumbled.

“I heard running water down the embankment.  We should get cleaned up and then back on the road.  We’ll deal with the rest later.”

***

The embankment wasn’t very steep, but Gus kept hold of my hand to keep me steady.  He knew me well enough by now to know how clumsy I was.  There were a few tall trees, and a lot of shorter shrubs.  We walked about twenty yards until we came to a small stream.  The water was shallow and slow moving, and very cold.  I made my way to the middle, where the water came halfway up my shins.  Gus had broken into the small locked room in the motor home, which was
indeed a small bathroom, and had luckily held a supply of several old washcloths, hand towels, and bath towels in various colors.  I used one of the wash cloths to scrub the dried blood off of my legs.  I had to rinse the cloth several times.  I was so chilled that I decided I might as well wash the rest of myself, so like Gus I stripped down to nothing.  My belly was still slightly distended and reminded me of Jell-O.  I would have given anything to have Molly back inside of me, filling it out.  Soon I had given my upper body a sponge bath and washed my hair with bar soap that we had found near the towels.  Gus and I made our way out of the stream together.  We each wrapped in a bath towel, and I did my best to fit a smaller hand towel around my wet head of hair.  The day was chilly still, but it felt like spring was making an appearance.  Gus stopped me on the bank, and wrapped his arms around me.  He held me close for a long moment, and I welcomed the gentle affection.  We slowly made our way back up the embankment.  When we reached the top there was a small Toyota pickup truck parked beside our car.