The Remnants of Yesterday (15 page)

44

WE TURNED IN AT AROUND midnight, the text message still weighing heavy on my mind. I wanted to believe it was from Jeff. I didn’t want to think about the contents of the message. Was the storm we just passed through what he was talking about when he said north not safe? I also wondered about the Crazies. Was the virus referencing them, the strange beasts at the motel, or did it allude to some other, more frightening thing that we had yet to discover?

We only had two blankets, which meant that the girls shared one, and Darwin and I split the other one. Since we didn’t feel safe with everyone sleeping at once, it was decided that we would take turns keeping watch, as we had done the previous evening.

With one exception.

Clara and Emily both insisted on taking turns. They had been spared guard duty the night before, and said it wasn’t fair to burden Darwin and myself again. Not looking forward to another sleepless night, I reluctantly agreed.

Clara took the first shift. She sat down in front of the fire, throwing another log on and stoking it with a long stick until the flames lit the clearing in a comforting orange glow. Darwin would be next up, followed by Emily, and finally, I would take my turn until dawn.

It was a good arrangement that afforded each of us at least six hours of sleep, and considering the ordeals we had already been through, we would need that sleep if we were to ever reach New Haven, which now seemed just as distant as it had two nights before in the barn when the first message arrived.

I settled down to sleep, my mind wandering to Clay. I wondered if he was still walking toward Canada, convinced that it was spared whatever misfortune had been wrought on the United States. I hoped the Crazies hadn’t gotten him. If anyone was equipped to fend them off, it would be him. Of course, now we knew that Crazies weren’t the only things to be afraid of, and I feared he might not fare so well on his own against a pack of the motel beasts. I pushed the thought from my mind, and closed my eyes, a fitful sleep finding me within moments.

45

SOMEONE WAS MOVING next to me.

I awoke, groggy and confused.

For a moment, I wondered why my mattress was so hard. Then I remembered that I wasn’t in my comfortable bed. I was on the floor of a forest in the middle of nowhere, sharing a blanket with a pot smoking desk clerk.

“Darwin,” I said. “What are you doing?”

“Shhh. Keep your voice down.” Came the reply. It didn’t sound like Darwin. It sounded like Clara.

What was she doing under the covers with me?

“What’s going on,” I whispered. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine.” I felt a body press against mine, felt Clara’s breasts push into my back. “Darwin is keeping watch now. It was his turn.”

“Oh.” I was confused, but certainly not complaining. “Aren’t you supposed to be sharing a blanket with Emily?”

“She looked so peaceful, I didn’t have the heart to disturb her,” Clara said, snaking an arm around me. “Besides, I feel safer sleeping with you.”

“It’s going to be awfully cozy in here when Darwin comes back after his shift,” I said. “I’m not sure there will be enough blanket for all three of us.”

“Funny,” she whispered in my ear.

“I’m just saying.”

“I told him to take Emily’s blanket when he swaps out with her. It’s a win, win situation.”

“I see.”

“Now shut up,” She said. “Go back to sleep.”

I felt her breath tickle the back of my neck, warm and pleasant. I wanted to roll over to face her, hold her close and look into her eyes, to kiss her and never let her go ever again. Sleep was the furthest thing from my mind at that moment. It was strange how attached to her I seemed to have become in the space of just a few short days. She was an attractive girl, but there was something deeper than that. Perhaps our journey, the things we’d been through side by side, drew us closer. What’s more, I suspected she felt the same way. However I didn’t turn and kiss her. It was not the right time or place. Instead, I just said, “Sleep tight Clara.”

46

I AWOKE WITH an urgent need to pee. Clara was still snuggled into my back with her arm draped over me, her breathing soft and rhythmic. Occasionally she mumbled something in her sleep, and when she did, the fall and rise of her chest became labored.

She was having a bad dream.

It was not surprising given all that she had witnessed over the past few days, from the Crazies that tore Emily’s friend Rob apart, to the burned up corpses on the highway, and the creatures at the motel. It was enough to give anyone nightmares, and we were still in peril, which only exacerbated the situation.

I lifted Clara’s arm and turned over, careful not to  disturb her. I stroked her forehead, whispering in her ear until she calmed down and her breathing returned became regular again. Thankfully she did not stir.

I lay there for a while, watching her sleep. Then, as quietly as I could, I slipped out from under the blanket, tucked it back around her to keep the warmth in, and made my way to the fire where Darwin still kept watch.

“Hey,” I said in a half whisper.

He looked up at my approach, dark bags under his eyes. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Bathroom break.” I warmed my hands on the fire. “All quiet?”

“So far.” He nodded toward Emily. “I should have switched with her ten minutes ago, but I don’t have the heart.”

“You need your sleep as much as the rest of us,” I said.

“I know I do. I’ll wake her in a minute.” He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m not sure I can stay awake much longer anyway.”

“Make sure you do.” I stepped past him in the direction of the woods and stepped between the trees.

It was darker out of the comforting glow of the fire. I kept to the edge of the clearing, not wanting to stray too far, but also wanting a little privacy to do my business. I found a suitable tree trunk and reached down to unzip, then stopped.

Something moved off to my left. It was not much, barely more than a brief sense of the shadows shifting, but it was enough.

I froze, my hand on my zipper, and waited, hardly daring to breathe. Every second seemed like an eternity.

Had the Crazies found us? Worse, maybe one those beasts, the creatures from the hotel, tracked us through the storm. It didn’t seem likely, but…

I glanced around, my ears straining for any slight sound, any indication of an intruder skulking around our camp, but there was nothing. Everything seemed normal. Maybe it was my imagination. It was hardly surprising that I was jumpy given the circumstances. I pulled down my zipper and took care of business, telling myself that there was nothing to worry about. I was alone and anything I thought I heard, or saw, was just my overactive imagination.

Finished, I zipped up, intent on returning to the camp. I had barely taken a step however, before my head started to spin. I felt like I was floating, detached and out of control. It was a weird feeling.

I reached out and grabbed the nearest tree trunk, waiting for the lightheadedness to pass. I closed my eyes for a moment to stop the forest from spinning.

When I opened them again, I was not alone.

Someone was watching me from the darkness of the woods, the same vague figure I’d encountered at the motel. He stood motionless, for somehow I knew the figure was male despite his lack of discernable features.

He raised an arm and beckoned to me, his lips speaking silent words, just like before, inviting me to come closer.

I didn’t want to go to him.

I took a step backward, then another, desperate to run, but not willing to let the ghastly figure out of my sight.

My heel caught on a root.

I toppled backward, letting out a small cry as I did so. At the last moment, just when I thought it was too late, that I would hit the ground and possibly crack my head open, I shot my arm out and found a tree branch. I held on, praying it would not snap, and fought to get my feet back under my body. Finally, with much effort, I was able to right myself again.

When I looked toward the trees, to where the figure stood just moments before, it was gone, and strangely so was my feeling of faintness.

A cold tingle of fear twisted its way up my spine. What was happening to me? Was I getting the virus, hallucinating? I had no idea. But if I wasn’t, there was only one other explanation. Incredible as it seemed, I might have just seen a ghost.

47

WE SET OUT at first light, continuing on through the forest with no clear idea where we were. As long as we were heading away from the motel, any direction worked just fine for me, especially since I figured we would surely come across a road and some point and get our bearings, maybe even find our way back to the highway.

I didn’t tell anyone about my strange encounter with the ghostly figure in the early hours. I was still not sure what was happening, and until I had something concrete, or at least a workable theory, I didn’t want to alarm the rest of the group, and Clara in particular. Besides, I had managed to reason myself out of the belief that I’d somehow contracted the virus that was turning ordinary people into homicidal maniacs with a taste for human flesh. After all, I still had all my marbles, and the idea of munching on an arm or a nice meaty thigh still repulsed me as much as it did before it all got weird. Not that I’d ever spent much time thinking about such things.

None of this helped to explain what I’d experienced over the last couple nights, or the sudden dizziness that seemed to accompany the sightings, and that troubled me. In the grand scheme of things, it was merely a side note to the more dangerous issues at hand, such as avoiding Crazies, and making sure we didn’t run into any of the motel beasts.

After about an hour of walking, we came across a stream running through the woods. The pristine, clear, water bubbled over rocks and around boulders on its way downhill. Here and there, a larger slab of bedrock was exposed, and in these places the water flowed down over the edge in mini waterfalls. 

“We should stop here for a moment.” I squatted down and let the cool water run over my hand, then scooped some up in my palms and drank before reaching into my pack and pulling out a couple of empty plastic water bottles saved for just such a fortuitous occasion. “We can restock on water.”

“Good idea.” Clara knelt beside me and started to fill her own water bottles. “Now if only we could find some food that wasn’t baked beans and sandwich bread.”

“Really?” I laughed. “A few days ago you were complaining about having nothing to eat but chocolate and chips.”

“What I’d really like is a big fat cheeseburger with extra pickles.” She pushed the bottles back into her pack and splashed water on her face. “With a side of fries.”

Emily finished filling her own bottle. “Would you quit it? You’re making the rest of us hungry now.”

“Sorry.” Clara grinned.

“Fried chicken.” Darwin spoke up. “If I could eat anything in the world right now it would be fried chicken.”

“Fairground fried dough covered in powdered sugar,” Emily said. “See, now you’ve got me at it.”

“Movie theater popcorn,” I weighed in, “dripping in butter.”

“Ohh. That sounds so good,” Clara agreed. “Not much chance of finding a movie theater around here, I’m afraid.”

“That’s alright. There aren’t any good movies playing anyhow.” I joked.

Clara laughed, the sound music to my ears. “Who cares what the movie is… It’s all about the popcorn.”

“You are so right. I stand corrected.” I stood up and stretched. “Tell you what, if we ever get out of this-”

“Shhh.” Darwin waved at me to keep quiet. “Do you hear that?”

“What now.” The sparkle left Clara’s eyes, replaced by a look of sheer desperation. “Please tell me we’re not going to have to run again. I’m so sick of running away from things.”

“Hush.” Darwin frowned. “Just keep quiet for a moment and listen.”

For a while no one spoke, each of us straining our ears, listening for whatever Darwin had heard. High above, in the canopy, a bird chirped, eliciting an answering chorus of tweets from somewhere off to our left, the wind rustled the leaves, and the stream made small gurgling sounds as it wound through the landscape. None of this was out of the ordinary.

“I don’t hear anything,” I said at last.

“I don’t hear it now either.” Darwin looked perplexed. “Maybe I imagined it.”

“We are all very tired,” Clara said. “Lack of sleep can do odd things to a person.”

“I’m pretty sure it was real,” Darwin said. “Besides, I don’t feel all that tired right now.”

“What did you think you heard anyway,” Emily Asked.

“Music,” Darwin replied. “I heard music. It was faint, but definitely there.”

“What?” I found it hard to believe anyone would be playing music in the middle of the woods. Even if there was somebody else out here, which I highly doubted, they would have to be insane to go around playing music given the circumstances. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Darwin looked indignant. “Yes, I’m sure. It was Madonna I think.”

“Madonna.” I repeated, incredulous. “Is it possible to get flashbacks from too much pot?”

“Very funny.” Darwin stuck his lip out. “I know what I heard. It was Madonna.”

“I believe you.” Emily put a hand on his shoulder. “What song was it?”

“I didn’t hear much of it, just a few snatches,” Darwin said, “but I think it was
Like a Virgin
, the old Eighties song.”

“Well, I’m convinced. How about you?” I turned to Clara, a grin on my face.

“Stop it.” Clara punched me playfully on the arm. “You’re teasing him.”

“Maybe a little bit.” I rubbed my arm in mock distress. “You have quite a left hook there. Let me guess, your father taught you in between showing you how to break in to diners with crow bars.”

“Of course. Who else.”

“Shh.” This time it was Emily. “Darwin’s right. I can hear music.”

I glanced at Clara and raised my eyebrows, because now I heard it too. From somewhere out in the woods, drifting on the breeze, came the unmistakable sound of Katrina and the Waves.