Out of the Dark: An apocalyptic thriller (15 page)

     “Bring them. They may have something we don’t.”

     “Penicillin, I think.”

     “That’s better than I could have hoped for. Definitely bring it. If there’s enough, Sam, you should take one a day for at least a week.”

     Content that Leila was safe where she was, Shane left in order to procure the pills. He thought there had also been bandages and other useful items. He’d offer them all to Austin.

     “You training to be a doctor, kid?” Shane asked upon his return as he handed the bottle of pills over to Austin. The teen smelled strongly of soap and the upper parts of his forearms were still damp. Shane assumed he’d washed up while he’d been outside grabbing the supplies.

     “Mom’s a nurse,” Austin explained distractedly. Sam was now shirtless, and the waistband of his pants had been cut away around the knife. It was lodged in the flesh about half-way up the blade. The blade was slim and short, so only about two inches of metal was inside of Sam. He was lucky the man hadn’t been carrying a larger or longer blade.

     “I want to be one, too,” Austin continued. “She’s given me some pretty good first aid training so far. Can never start too early.”

     “Can’t argue with you there,” Shane said as he knelt beside Austin. Sam stared determinedly away from the both of them.

     “Do you have experience with knife wounds?” Austin asked the older man, and no matter how confident he’d seemed, his inexperience, which he was well-aware of, made him hesitant to continue.

     “I’ve seen some, but I leave treatment to the docs most of the time,” Shane admitted. “And I haven’t had too much experience with lodged items. I’ve never pulled one out, if that’s what you’re asking.”

     “That’s what I’m asking,” Austin concurred.

     “If you don’t pull it out soon, I’m going to,” Sam warned, though he was still focusing hard somewhere away from the situation.

     “It’s not that deep,” Shane began his evaluation of the wound, both to calm Austin and to distract Sam further. He intended to pull the blade out midway through the assessment. “Obviously no major organs were hit. We can’t leave it in for a doctor to take out later because, frankly, if there are doctors left, they aren’t at the hospital.”

     He paused, took hold of the blade, and jerked it out. Sam lost all color, even the gray in his cheeks, and bit down hard. The clink of his teeth together sounded painful to Shane.

     “Sorry, big guy,” Shane said. “I’ll let you owe me a free hit later, all right?”

     “Sounds good,” Sam agreed as Austin immediately moved in with a folded bandage and pressed it hard against the injury.

     “Do we have any pain pills?” Austin asked.

     “Motrin,” Shane responded. “Blood thinner. Probably not a good idea.” Austin pensively nodded and pressed harder. Sam gained a little color, but it was green; not a good color.

     “Sam, you’re out of commission for the night,” Austin ordered. “Lay down in here or in your room and Trevor can sit near you. One of us will make sure he’s always touching you. You need rest. You’ve lost blood and we can’t exactly go to the E.R. for them to replace it.”

     “I have to ask Shane something first,” Sam said stubbornly, and his voice was wheezy with pain.

     “Ask away,” Shane offered. “I kind of owe you.”

     “Laura’s dad,” Sam began. “Name’s Bill. Lives over on Willard Avenue. He’s our only family here. I can tell you the way, but if you’re going to stay here, I need you to do this for me. I can’t leave my family alone to go get him myself, but I promised Laura he’d be with us if something like this ever happened.”

     Shane looked surprised. “You thought something like this would ever happen?” he asked incredulously.

     “Well, not
this
,” Sam admitted as Austin dressed his newest wound. “Never something like this. But we planned for several world-shaking events. The movies have been preparing us mentally for it for years. We just got a little more physical about our preparation.”

     “Survivalists,” Shane guessed and Sam shrugged.

     “You could call us that. But if I was a true survivalist, we wouldn’t be near any city. We’re too close to enemy forces here.”

     “You think we’re in a war?” Shane asked.

     “I think we’re behind enemy lines,” Sam responded grimly.

Chapter Twelve

     Sam was asleep on the couch, lying on his uninjured hip. Trevor sat beside him in a comfortable chair pulled up beside the couch for that purpose. He had his right hand on his father’s lower leg and held a book with his left. A single lamp was on near him. As with every room, they were trying to keep the lighting to a minimum. If possible, they wanted to appear as deserted as they could.

     “You don’t have to go tonight,” Laura said under her breath to Shane as he studied the directions Sam had written out for him before he dropped off into his exhausted slumber. The words were shaky, but easy to follow. Shane would do it, because he thought Sam was a good man who needed this done for him. He didn’t have to say it out loud, but Shane knew Sam took it as a personal failure that Bill wasn’t with them yet.

     “Sam needs me to go tonight,” Shane told Laura. He appreciated that her bright brown eyes–an exotic color that almost looked metallic–burned with agitated concern for him.

     “You don’t even know him,” Laura said sharply. “You don’t know any of us. Why would you risk yourself for an old man you’ve never met, related to people you’ve just seen for the first time today?”

     “We’re all each other has anymore, Laura,” Shane explained quietly. “If that’s not enough reason for us to do for each other, nothing is.”

     “I’m going with you,” Ray said, already pulling on his jacket. Amy was behind him. They had obviously been arguing, and continued to do so as Ray moved to stand near Shane.

     “You don’t have to go!” Amy nearly shouted, and it was clear that it was not the first time she’d said those words. “There are more people around now. You’re safe to be near me, Ray. No one’s going to let you hurt me!”

     “It’s not because of that,” Ray said, quietly to match her volume, calm to match her fury.

     “Bullshit!” Amy yelled, and Laura hushed her. Sam was still sleeping. Amy lowered her voice and repeated, “Bullshit,” with tears in her eyes.

     “He’s uncorrupted,” Ray explained insistently. “None of you can leave here, but he can’t go alone. I can go. The uncorrupted have to be protected at all costs, Amy.”

     “And you’re expendable enough to be that protection,” Amy said, pointing out what Ray was dancing around.

     “I’m the only one here who can be
dependable
protection, expendable or otherwise,” he declared.

     “Fine,” Amy said, and her formerly enraged voice was now empty. She crossed her arms and turned away. “Go before the night gets too dark.”

     “Any part of the night is too dark now,” Shane complained bleakly as he opened the door. It was barely twilight, but the encroaching shadows made up a great and terrible army.

     “Be careful,” Laura said, but the sentiment was hollow.

     “Amy,” Ray said invitingly, holding his arms out for a hug. She embraced him, not mad enough to ignore the offer.

     “Don’t be stupid, and don’t be brave. Come back,” Amy whispered against his neck as she hugged him tightly.

     “No promises,” Ray said. “But I’ll try.”

     Having no choice but to take that meager sentiment, Amy nodded and backed away.

     “I don’t need a babysitter, bud,” Shane told Ray as he walked out the door. Ray followed, the recently cleaned tire iron in his hand.

     “I don’t need any more argument,” Ray responded quietly as he shut the door behind him. “And don’t call me ‘bud’.”

     Shane nodded. They got in the van. Ray buckled his seatbelt, Shane complained momentarily about the lack of music choices, and then silence reigned inside the vehicle. They left with Shane driving.

     The drive took less than twenty minutes, even driving cautiously and more slowly than usual. Midway through, Shane broke the silence. He wanted to know more about Ray Barrett.

     “You and Amy, are you…” he let the question trail off, knowing Ray would pick up on what he was asking.

     “Not currently, not previously,” Ray responded, staring out the window.

     “And in a future sense?” Shane pressed.

     “Only time will tell, I suppose.”

     Shane had known pretty much from the get-go how Ray had felt about Amy. She was the typical gorgeous friend who considered herself one of the guys but never really was. Sure, maybe she could kick ass in Call of Duty, maybe she could bluff you in poker and curse you out over the course of a night-long Euchre tournament, but Amy was a girl. A pretty girl, a desirable girl and even if she thought she was, none of the men around her had ever seen her as one of the guys. Shane knew a couple of those kinds, had yearned for some and simply been friends with others. He knew Ray had never been interested in being just friends with Amy.

     “You’ve shown her what kind of man you are, and it’s a good man,” Shane said, trying to make his admiration evident in his voice. “You need to show her what you want to be for her, if it’s more than a friend.”

     “My dad had the talk with me when I was twelve, Shane,” Ray told the other man derisively. “No offense, but I really don’t need it from you.”

     “Just trying to help.” Shane held his tongue, refrained from calling Ray any other friendly names.

     “Thanks for the attempt,” Ray said, though he sounded more annoyed than grateful.

     “What do you expect we’ll find when we go looking for the old man?” Shane asked, switching the topic and his tactic. If he could get Ray talking about the situation, he could learn more about his personality and intelligence as he wanted to.

     “There are only a few options,” Ray answered. “If he’s alive, he’s either uncorrupted, half-corrupted, or the blight has taken him completely. If it’s the last option, chances are he wouldn’t even be home. Night’s fallen now, and the fully corrupted walk freely. If he’s dead, he’s dead. If he’s gone, chances are he’s either corrupted or dead somewhere out there.”

     “Not very many comforting options, are there?” Ray caught the hint of sarcasm in Shane’s voice.

     “I don’t see any reason to sugarcoat things,” Ray said simply. “Laura’s not here and the probability that her dad is turned or dead is high.”

     “You’re a good guy, Ray, I mean that. But you’re bleak as a mother fucker.”

     Ray snorted, but didn’t otherwise respond.

     They pulled into the driveway of Bill Atkinson’s home moments later.

     The house was single story and plainly built; white siding, brown window frames, and a porch that had only one step up. Minimal seemed to be the keyword of Bill Atkinson’s home. There were no trees or bushes to maintain, a small but tidy lawn that was kept green by sprinklers in the summer and mowed by Sam on Saturdays. There was a fence around the backyard.

     Sam had told Shane that Bill had a dog named Betty. She was his well-loved, four-legged child and in his older age made the perfect companion for him. A Jack Russell, Betty was rambunctious and loud, and would create quite a ruckus if she wasn’t calmed immediately when Shane and Ray went to the door. Sam had said that was one of the best early indicators if something was wrong. If Betty didn’t make a noise, they were either gone or there was something bad to anticipate within.

     Ray was the first one at the door, having already told Shane that he’d simply feel better if the uncorrupted man let Ray take point. Shane had reluctantly agreed. Therefore, it was Ray who knocked lightly on Bill’s door and Ray who twisted the knob when no one answered after a full minute of waiting.

     The door was unlocked, and Ray pushed it open. It swung into darkness. None of the lights in the home were on and there was no sound of a dog barking.

     “First indicator, right?” Shane asked, and he sounded uneasy.

     “I’d be more comfortable if you stayed here,” Ray admitted.

     “Not on your life. You can be point man, but no way are you going in there alone. Not only does it go against all my better instincts, but Amy would kick my ass.”

     Ray raised an eyebrow to that. “You’re two of her, man. Grow some balls, for God’s sake.”

     Shane chuckled. He was pretty sure this discussion was just the two of them stalling. “I know girls like her, bro. I’m more afraid of her than I am most men my size.”

     “Wow. That’s really sad,” Ray retorted. “Well, let’s get this over with.” When Ray tried to hit a light switch on the wall to the left of them, nothing happened. He mentioned it nonchalantly, but the lack of light made his nerves taut.

     “Good thing we brought flashlights,” Shane commented as he pulled one from his pocket and switched it on. Ray already has his out and glowing.