Quarantined in Chaos (Nova Nocte) (18 page)

             
“You are more of a danger than a help since you’ve turned. The four of us can manage just fine without you here. Take the new guy and fly on up to the border.” He glared at me and gestured with his hand and stump. “Just take out as many Dead as you can on the way and have someone at the border to help us when we get there in a few weeks.”

             
My mind raced with responses and thoughts whirred as I processed this statement.

             
“Squirrel, Daemon, and I can do that if you are absolutely certain that
all
of you want this.”

             
Daemon’s jaw dropped. I felt myself start to rock gently to lessen the pressure in my head. Strong hands held me tighter, stopping the calming motion. Daemon’s words seemed to emerge from the befuddled creases in his eyebrows.

             
“Cal, you can’t be serious?”

             
“I am.”

             
“But what about all of the fleshies and the crazed gunmen and Sunny’s pregnant and we should be together to keep them safe.”

             
Sunny stepped between them.

             
“I don’t feel safe now.”

             
The urge to withdraw skyrocketed and sank deep talons into my psyche.

             
“Sunny, I would never...”

             
“But you did. You didn’t mean to, but you did. You killed Vincent and it could just as easily been Chase or me or anyone. You can’t stay, Squirrel. I love you like family, but you have to go.”

             
I slouched into the reality of things. My head and shoulders drooped and the weight of everything pulled me deeper into my mind. I think I agreed, but my voice sounded distant and unfamiliar.

             
Allen argued to stay but was turned out; we needed a donor and he wasn’t trusted yet. Garret and the Nurse agreed via silence.

             
Sometimes not disputing something is good enough consent. I’ll miss them. Hope they make it.

             
A hasty bag was packed for Allen. He was annoyed that most of his weapons were being left with the others. Daemon put it in perspective for him while I was guided to a seat outside the bike-filled home.

             
“By flying, you’ll be at the border within a week instead of several weeks. You’ll have a new life, plenty of food in no time, and you’ve got three vampires who need to keep you alive. Get over it.”

             
“But I hate donating blood.”

             
“It’s not like we’re using needles to draw it. Just a quick nip and sip and you’re done. Squirrel is going to be fine for a few days and we’ll probably come across other people to feed on during the trip. Relax.”

             
“Easy for you to say, it’s not your blood getting sucked out.”

             
“Actually,” Daemon winked at me. “...it can be pretty nice getting sucked on.”

             
Cal popped his protégé on the back of the head.

             
“Daemon, quit being cocky and grab his bag. If I’m flying Allen, you can at least wear the bag and help Squirrel clear the Dead as we go.”

             
“Sorry, yeah, I got it.” He threw the rucksack on his back and adjusted the straps.

             
They floated up and I let the cloud of energy propel me upwards. We flew north. Cal led us, landing occasionally to let his cargo walk around or eat.

             
I didn’t say goodbye. I hope I get the chance one day.

             
“Cal, we can’t just keep flying north as fast as possible. We need to try to clear some of the fleshies for the others.”

             
The elder Undead didn’t turn his head, only kept his eyes focused straight ahead in the chilled night. I flew quicker to keep up with him. Daemon drifted beside me, observing the world below with curiosity.

             
“No, we don’t. We aren’t even over the roads they will be biking, Squirrel. We will rejoin Reggie and wish them the best; Sunny and Chase don’t want our help.”

             
“That doesn’t mean they don’t need it.”

             
He stopped midair with such exactness I overshot and had to veer back around. Daemon stuck by me, but was pushed slightly to the side by the force of the air particles Cal had displaced with his sudden halt. He recovered with a nice barrel roll.

             
“How about a little warning, Cal?”

             
“Sorry, Daemon.” He hovered and waited. “I just think we need to set things to crystal clarity before we venture on.”

             
I wobbled like a marionette with a snagged string.

             
“I’d say so. I’m not sure why we’re booking out of here like a bat out of hell.”

             
Daemon grinned.

             
“Good analogy for a trio of vampires.”

             
We both looked at him. He saw perked eyebrows and the grin drooped.

“I think I’ll clear a couple of zombies below while you two talk.”

              I watched him descend smoothly to the city beneath us. He landed with a squelching thud on one of the Dead and swung a katana around him decapitating two more. 70’s kung fu movie sounds punctuated each strike.

             
Ever since he found that sword...

             
“Cal, I know you’re upset that they wanted us to go and I’m sorry. But,”

             
“You’re sorry? Well everything is fine then. They didn’t want us gone, Squirrel; they needed
you
gone.”

             
I stammered and blinked each thought away.

“They’ve wanted you gone since you were brought across.” His fists were clenched and his eyes glowed green. “I told you early on not to get involved with Daemon because it would end poorly and you couldn’t resist. Then you finally listen, but he’s too taken with you not to ‘save’ you when you are infected. And then there’s the problem with you not coming across properly.”

              “I’m fine now. Cal, I know I messed up, but I’m okay.”

             
“No you’re not!” He was in my face so close our noses brushed. For some reason he smelled like baby powder. “Do you think I haven’t noticed you drifting off into your mind regularly? Am I such a fool I don’t see you still struggling to maintain a hold in this realm? Give me some credit, girl.”

             
The thwacks and commentary below stopped. Embarrassment covered me and I looked at my feet.

             
I thought I hid it well.

             
“You didn’t. Daemon has ignored the signs because he knows what it means if you withdraw too long or too deeply. I see it because I must. I also see that your instincts hold your control in check when it should be the other way around. You can’t be near the others; you would kill all of them. Whether or not you ‘mean to’ is completely irrelevant.”

             
Tears streamed down my face. I thought of Vincent. And Marley Guy. I was aware of the constant pull to delve within myself.

             
I could’ve killed any of them. Cal’s right.

             
“While I’m pleased that you are agreeing with me, you need to come out of your mind to discuss it. Your thoughts are quieter the more you sink into your head.”

             
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. I’m open to ideas.”

             
Daemon floated between us. An ear dangled from his left sleeve.

             
“You guys all square now?”

             
“I think so.” The Roman eased a few feet away and his eyes faded back to normal. “We are going to travel on as quickly as possible, meeting Reggie near the border in a few days, maybe a week.”

             
Daemon looked at me. I bobbed my head once in acknowledgement of the plan.

             
“But what about the rest of our people? We already left half of them at Edith’s and lost most of the rest on the trip. We can’t just abandon them; they’re our friends.”

             
I held back the next wave of tears. I lost my right to cry when I made the wrong decisions. Caelinus answered him after a pause.

             
“We will come back for them.”

             
My chin popped up like a beach ball erupts from being held under water.

             
“We are?”

             
“Of course.” He sighed for effect and stared at me like I should have already known. “Once we get out of the quarantine, we will pawn some gold of our own, purchase some five gallon fuel canisters, fill them, and fly back across the border. After properly feeding of course.”

             
“Um, lost me, Cal. Why?”

             
The light bulb finally went off in my head.

             
“So we can find a decent car, gas it up, and pick up Sunny, Chase, Nurse, Garret, and that Allen guy.”

             
“Precisely. We will cut the trip down to a few days or week for them.”

             
Daemon smiled wide.

             
“Coolies. So we can clear the road as we drive to meet them and just pull a U-turn when we find them. I like it, let’s go.”

             
Cal soared off after the North Star and we did our best to keep up. I laughed in relief as we skirted the lower clouds. My clothes grew damp from some of the almost-formed snow.

             
Just hang on for a week or two, and we will be back. Just survive for now guys. Please survive.

              The small sack of gold coins and chains rattled when I tossed them on the couch. I laughed at the ease of robbing the gold and silver shop in the mall. When we finished gutting the twenty or so Dead who were trapped inside the building, I still hesitated to break into the displays. When the alarm didn’t start blaring, I finally relaxed.

             
It’s not really stealing if there’s no one around to own this stuff, right?

             
Daemon advised us on the kinds of coins collectors would want most. Cal stared at him in shock when he corrected his mentor on the importance of taking valuable coins rather than just more chains.

             
“Gold may be scarcer so the chains can be melted down, but these coins are finite items for numismatists to get their hands on. Far higher intrinsic valu
e
when they are irreplaceable.”

             
“Holy crap, I’m dating a coin collector.”

             
Daemon blushed. Cal put his hand over his mouth to stifle his chuckling.

             
“No, I’m a numismatist. I collect and examine all kinds of currency. Or I did. Why is that so funny Cal? Money is as old as time and it’s interesting how different cultures evolve their own exchanges. Cal, seriously, knock it off.”

             
“I’m sorry, but you try so hard to look like a rock star dimwit and then you let slip your inner geek and I find it amusing.”

             
“I’m not a geek.” Daemon growled. “I’m a dork, get it straight.”

             
We all gave over to laughter and settled into arranging our bedrolls for the day. The sun was a couple of hours off, but the weather outside was building; we wouldn’t find a better place to rest before dawn. I wound my flashlight and picked up an empty satchel.

             
“I’m going to look around for anything of use. Back soon.”

             
Daemon started to wind his light.

             
“I’ll go with you.”

             
Cal snatched the electric torch form his hands.

             
“No you won’t. You just want a little nookie. You stay here and stand watch until we return. I’ll assist Squirrel.” He left the neon green glow of the battery powered lantern. “Distracted little horndog...”

             
I looked back to see Daemon setting out blankets and mumbling to himself.

             
###

             
My bag expanded little now that we were only searching for valuables. I fought the instinct to grab edibles and tools; at one point Cal reminded me that I probably wouldn’t need tampons. We reached the gated Sears at the end of the mall and started to turn around. Then we heard it.

             
Someone inside the shop whispering. A fervent “Shhh.” perked my ears. We shared a look and peered at the security gate.

             
We could break it, but it’ll be loud.

             
He replied so low, I barely heard him,

             
“It will be loud however we move it. Go get Daemon. Bring our supplies here as well.”

             
I was off. I pounced on Daemon, covering his mouth and whispering the situation to him. I couldn’t be sure there weren’t others nearby. We threw everything into the bags and turned off the lantern so we wouldn’t be easily spotted. Cal stood to the right of the gate. We sat our gear down and waited for him to speak. He didn’t.

             
“Cal, what’s the plan?”

             
“Haven’t got one. Do you?”

             
“You two suck at this.” Daemon spoke normally. He walked to the center of the gate. I reached over to pull him back while Cal tried to quiet him. Frantic mutterings came from within and something scraped the linoleum as it was dragged across the floor.

             
“Daemon, what are you doing?”

             
“I’m going to find out who’s here. I only hear a couple of heartbeats and they already know we’re waiting. Besides, the gate will be loud as hell when we open it. Why not just say hello and see what happens?”

             
I blinked and glanced at the Roman. I couldn’t think of a better idea. I walked out to join my sire. Cal cursed and hefted his bag. We stood looking through the slots in the gate with our belongings in hand. I turned on the lantern and urged Daemon to make the introduction.

             
“Hello? Um hi, we don’t mean any harm. We just want to know who else is here. We only plan to stay for the day, um, until the weather clears a little. Can you come out?”

             
“No. We’re not going anywhere.”

             
We shuffled our feet and shrugged. Daemon turned to me. We had a quick argument in gestures of what to do. I exhaled and stepped forward to try to win over our new neighbors.

             
“Okay, then can we open the gate and come in?” I felt around in my back for the cans of food I’d absently grabbed in our last rest stop. “We have some food to spare if you want it.”

             
A hushed dispute came from behind an overturned table. Two clicks signaled that we had guns drawn on us.

             
Not the best start, but not our worst yet either.

             
“We aren’t carrying any firearms if it helps. Could you please not aim yours at us?”

             
“How did you know we had guns?”

             
Cal rolled his eyes. Daemon checked out the latches on the gate.

             
“Because you just cocked them and it’s pretty quiet in here; sound travels.”

             
“It’s just the three of you? No weapons?”

             
“Yes, just three of us and no guns, just swords and such. Wait, you can see us? You aren’t pointing those guns at us are you?”

             
Two little clicks and some shuffling.

             
“Nope, not anymore. Sorry, can’t be too cautious. You can open the gate. Be quiet though, the mall is a bit overrun with zombie shoppers. You did say you have food, right?”

             
We lifted the gate, letting it slam into the ceiling. The crash echoed down the darkened avenue of empty storefronts.

             
“It’s only a couple of cans, but you’re welcome to them. And don’t worry we cleared the fleshies out.”

             
A lone figure stepped out from behind his shelter. The man was my height, skeletal, and carrying a revolver. Daemon stumbled backwards a step. The skin on the stranger’s face clung to his skull reminding me of seeing a mummy at the museum. His movements were slow and his breathing ragged and uneven. The hand holding the firearm shook with the strain of bearing the weight.

             
“You killed all of them? Really?”

             
I tried to recall how to blink; the image seared into my retinas.

             
“Yeah. There were about twenty. Outside is a different matter, but in here, we are all safe.”

             
I held out the few cans of corn and soup. Cal’s eyebrows frowned and he peered past the lone figure to the table. The skin-wrapped twigs accepted the cans with a small umph, wide eyes, and a wide smile. His patchy heartbeat sped up. He gave a low whistle and two more living stick figures crawled out from their hiding place.

             
One had long pale hair with patches missing and blue sweats covered in bloodstains. The child she half-carried had anime eyes and shaggy brown curls. Only the child had any weight to her. I listened to her pulse and was relieved when it wasn’t irregular.

             
“Thank you. Come on in.”

             
The man dragged his feet and towed his petite frame to the corner of the shop. A small cook stove was set up. We all looked away as he wiped the dust off it before warming the contents of the cans. Daemon attempted to amuse the child; she only stared at him without reaction.

             
“So, I’m Squirrel and this is Cal and Daemon.”

             
Please let this day pass quickly. This is too much, they’re so close to the border. Hell, we’re almost to Pittsburgh.

             
“Oh. I’m Phil, that’s my wife Bonny and our daughter Robin. She doesn’t talk anymore, just stopped chatting after we lost...” He dropped the can opener. Cal bent to retrieve it. The elder Undead took the aluminum tin from Phil and opened it.

             
“We understand. Things have been bad, doubly so for the young ones. If you’d like, we could help you.”

             
I sat watching Daemon play paper-rock-scissors with Robin. The girl let slip a tiny laugh when she won and he did a fake pout. Bonny teared up at the sight.

             
Please let them accept our help. We can get them out of here and save them. Cal, make them come with us.

             
Phil scooped half of the can into a bowl and handed it to his daughter. Steam rose from the creamed corn. Robin leaned over the dish letting the heat wash over her wan face. Phil offered us some and Cal waved him off. He split the other half of the can between his wife and himself.

             
They must know they can’t survive on so little food for much longer.

             
After the silent meal, Phil rationed away the other two cans. He took Cal aside for a father-to-father talk. He’s assumed Cal was Daemon’s father and deduced Daemon and I were dating/married/definitely not siblings.

             
Bonny and I struck up a conversation. Unsure of what we could say, I kept things vague and completely left out the fact that I wanted to bite her and siphon out her lifeblood.

             
“So you all came up from Florida. You do realize that it’s just as infested up here, but with snow?”

             
“Learning that, yes. And you guys lived near here?”

             
“Yes, in Bridgeville. I used to teach and Phil was an assistant manager here. What did you do?”

             
“Worked in the theme parks. Nothing big.”

             
“That must’ve been fun. I remember having vacations at the beach and playing with Robin all day.”

             
Her eyes fogged over with the wistfulness of pleasant thoughts. Robin giggled as Daemon pulled a gold coin from her ear. Bonny was drawn to the sound. Her face fell when she remembered the current situation. She pulled my elbow and whispered to me.

             
“I want you to take care of her for us. Please?”

             
“I’ll be happy to help you, we all will. You’ll be with her.”

             
“No, we both know we’re too far gone. We just wanted to keep her fed enough to be rescued. Please take her somewhere safe and nice after you kill us.”

             
I made the most awkward -- and slightly painful -- face I’d ever had.

             
“What? No, we aren’t here to kill you. What makes you think that?”

             
“Well, you’re all vampires aren’t you? We had one who kept picking our group off before, so I know I’m right. All I ask is that you save my baby after you drain us. Please?”

             
Surprise carried me to my feet. I shook my head and went to find Cal. Daemon noticed and followed me with his gaze. I turned the corner and found Cal bent over the prone body of Phil. His fangs pierced the man’s gaunt neck.

             
“Cal, no.”

             
I tried to pull him off of his emaciated victim. His age and strength prevailed and Phil’s heart stopped. The Roman separated from the dead man. I glared at Caelinus and railed internally at his actions.

             
You misbegotten son of a bachelor, douchecanoe, asshat, wanker...

             
“You can cease your mental curses at me. This was his wish as it is his wife’s.”

             
“That doesn’t make it okay. You told them we would help them.”

             
“And we are. They are too far gone to survive, and we need to feed if we are to live. I made sure he went without suffering further. Daemon and you will do the same.”

             
“No. I won’t do this.”

             
I clenched my teeth, ignoring the descent of my canines at the prospect of fresh blood.