The Seventh Day (15 page)

“He said he didn't want you guys to worry, and he
didn't want to tell the little girls. He said they loved her.”

“They did. They loved her.” I have to nearly jog to
keep pace with his long strides. His legs are nearly twice the length of mine, with
me being five foot five and
him
being six foot two. I
always liked the size of him. Even when we were kids, he was huge.

He saved me when I was in grade three. I had
wandered over to the big-kid playground to go on the slide that was legendary
for being too tall and too dangerous for an elementary school. Just as I got to
the top, a grade seven boy tried to push me off the slide. I was hanging off
the side, gripping to the railing as the boy laughed and pried my fingers
loose. I choked on my screams as tears flooded my eyes and mouth. A flash of
color whipped past my eyes and suddenly a hand was lifting me back up onto the
slide. It was Miles holding me and stroking my hair and telling me I was okay.
He helped me down the slide, but he didn't come down the same way I did. He
went down the stairs, jumping halfway and shoving the older boy. When the kid
took a swing at him, Miles kicked his ass. The kids on the playground were
chanting Red Giant as he did it. He was my hero from then on.

Everyone called him the Red Giant for years after
that, until all the other boys caught up, hovering around the six-foot mark.
And as he got older his red hair darkened, becoming more of a dark auburn. He
stopped being so red and so giant, but I never stopped liking him.

The memory brings a smile to my lips.

“Well, you’ll have to tell them tomorrow that she
got sick and she passed in her sleep, peacefully. Joey is kind of a softie.” I
realize he’s been talking this entire time. “You know?” he says as he looks
back at the cabin. “All you kids are so young to be dealing with this.”

I look up at him, wishing he could see me as
anything other than a little sister.

Footsteps behind us make us both turn around to see
Lee running after us in the dark. “We need to leave tonight, if we’re gonna
make it to the coast and back before anything gets worse.” She catches up,
smiling up at Miles. “Your sister wants to go with us. She doesn't want to stay
here. She’s scared of those boys.”

His face darkens but he doesn't speak. I don't know
if he’s annoyed with us or her, or the boys, and I don't really care to know.
If it
is
us, I’d rather be in the dark.

He and Lee each grab a huge case of food and
saunter off, but I get caught up in the photos on the walls.
Mrs.
Milson and the kids, their son and daughter when they were young.
There’s a picture of my family on the wall. We’re all wearing Christmas sweaters.
I’m ten and Joey’s only a toddler but we have on the matching sweaters Mrs.
Milson knitted for us.

My father is laughing in the picture, making the
laugh lines around his eyes look like thick wrinkles. My mom, the only person
not wearing a sweater, is hardly even smiling. She is rocking her resting-bitch
face, my favorite. I realize it is the single thing I miss the most in the
world. She died thinking I hated her.

Seeing her fills my eyes with tears. I lift a
finger, brushing it softly against the picture.

“That your family?” Suddenly, I realize Kyle has
snuck up on me and is directly behind me. Everything hurts so much that I don't
really care. I nod, sniffling a little. He points to the picture of the Milsons
standing outside in one of largest snowfalls we ever had. “That's insane.”

I look back, nodding. “It was over my head in the
tree wells on the slopes.”

He whistles. “Wish I had known you then.”

I scowl but he just grins. “I would have totally ingratiated
myself into the family to come skiing.”

It makes me laugh.

He takes the picture of my family off the wall and
pulls it from the frame. He folds it and slips it into my pocket, acting like
we’ve been friends for ten years and not acquaintances for ten hours. “How do
you know Miles?” I ask as I lift a case of food from the counter.

“Same frat.” He chuckles. “Mostly though we bonded
last Christmas when the
Die Hard
marathon was on. His flight was canceled so he stayed. My family was in Europe
and I didn't feel like joining so we hung out and did Christmas, just the two
of us—and of course, John McClane.”

I roll my eyes but I watched it too with my dad. I
was home and bummed because Miles wasn't able to come home.
Too
much snow and stormy weather.
Jamie had made fun of me for it, she and
Sasha.

When we finish bringing all the food over to our
cabin, it seems like a lot, filling the entire storage room my parents had made
for ski gear.

“Don't wake her up. She’ll worry.” Mr. Milson gives
me a look as I head up the stairs to the room to kiss Joey goodbye. “Just go
and get supplies and hurry back.”

“She’ll be mad if I don't say goodbye.”

He shakes his head. “She’ll beg you to stay and won’t
understand the need to get food and rations.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I nod, glancing at the
stunned look on Miles’ face. He shakes his head. “Mr. Milson, if you’ll stay
here with the girls and my sister and Sasha, I’ll go with these morons and keep
them safe.”

Mr. Milson looks at me for the answer. “You
comfortable with that?”

I open my lips to answer but Jamie pushes past me,
shoving her brother. “You can’t make me stay.”

He grips her arms, holding her still. “You need to
rest. You were drinking too much. You look exhausted, James. You can’t actually
shoot a gun and have no experience looting. What exactly are you going to do
for us?” He sounds a little softer when he uses the pet name he always calls
her. She’s always been James to him.

Jamie’s lip quivers. “I just wanna go. I don't
wanna be here when they come up here.”

Mr. Milson nods at the door, telling us to hurry
and go. “Jamie, why don't you let me teach you how to shoot so that the next
time we have a supply run, you can go?”

She looks back at him, defeated but still nodding
in agreement. “Okay.”

Miles hugs his sister and mutters something to Mr.
Milson. I don't hear because I am busy giving Sasha a hug. “If we find anything
on the coast, we’ll be back in two days to take you guys there. If we don't
find anything, we’ll be back with an ass ton of supplies. Don't tell Mr. Milson
about the trip. I don't want him trying to come and then having a dizzy spell
or anything like that.”

Her blue eyes narrow.
“If
you find something, hurry.”

“We will.” I hug her, letting myself relax into the
embrace for a solid second. Then I bend down, letting my face rub against
Furgus.’ He pants peacefully. He’s truly the gentlest dog on the planet. “Take
care of Joey, Gus. Don't let her out of your sight.” He continues to pant,
oblivious to what I’ve said. Sasha rubs his head. “We won’t.”

When we get into the Hummer we stole in town, Miles
shakes his head at Erin and me. “You two think you’re going to make the coast
and find some sanctuary? You’re nuts. But if you have to see, let’s make this a
record trip. I wanna be back here in twenty-four hours.”

I raise my eyebrows as he starts the vehicle and
begins the trip down the hill.

“Someone else’s turn to drive.” Kyle yawns. Miles
drove for the first four hours, getting us farther than I had imagined he
might. When we stopped for gas in a small town along the freeway, Kyle took
over. The gas station had been deserted.

Now, as Kyle pulls into another, I see a small
crowd of them, biters. Erin, Kyle, Lee, and Miles don't seem bothered by the
sight at all. He drives the Hummer directly to the gas station and pulls up to
the pump. My skin crawls and my stomach tightens as the group of ragged-looking
biters jerk to life, each twitching their heads to the right.

I’m crawling up the back of the seat when Miles
racks the shotgun and Erin pulls a sawed-off shotgun from beside her chair.
Kyle jumps out, opening the back of the vehicle and grabbing two guns.

Something insane happens. Miles lifts the gun and
shoots the first person, pelting him with shotgun pellets and making dark blood
appear in a pattern on the others’ chests and arms as the spray hits them all. But
a man looking weak and exhausted, with a large bloody stain on his shoulder
emerges from the crowd. He walks through them, rubbing against them, but I can
see panic in his stare. His eyes cry out to me, while his lips don't seem to be
able to.

I jump from the car, remembering the story Mr.
Milson had about his neighbor. Kyle lifts his handgun as I shout, “DON’T SHOOT
HIM!”

The man reaches with a filthy hand, shaking his
bloody face. He whispers as if he’s on his deathbed. “Please, don't shoot,” His
words are hissed as he staggers toward us, just ahead of the biters. Miles
gives me a look as I take the man’s arm and drag him past the pumps as the
gunfire opens up, dropping bodies to the ground.

The man, maybe as old as my dad, gives me a
weakened smile. “Thanks.”

“You were bitten?” I peek over the top of his shirt
as he takes a knee, gripping to the back of a car with the door still open. I
grab a bottle of water from the back of the SUV and slowly dribble it into his
parted lips.

“I was, but I don't remember much of anything else.
There was a light.” He sips the water slowly, swallowing like his throat is raw
and wincing when he gets too much. “I woke up and I was on the ground over
there. The biters were there, just standing perfectly still. When I got up,
they jerked their heads three times but they never attacked me. They let me
be.” He swallows more water, his eyes darting behind me as I feel warmth coming
up on my back. My entire body freezes as I glance back, almost jumping when I
see Miles staring down on us.

“What the hell?”

I help the man drink the water. “Mr. Milson told me
a story about his neighbor being a biter and then being okay afterward.
I think some of the people, after they bite
,
they heal
. The man was fine after Mrs. Milson nursed him
back to health.”

Erin and Lee join our little group. “I’ve never
seen that before.” Erin gives me a dubious look.

“Me either, but Mr. Milson doesn’t lie. If he says
it happened, I believe it. Besides, this guy
kinda
proves it. That bite looks old. It’s half healed and he walked right through
the biters.” I point at the puddle of feet behind us, all twitchy still, in an
awkward way that might suggest they are still alive.

Miles lowers his face close to the man’s wound and
nods. “Yeah, it’s old.” He slaps the man on the other shoulder. “Welcome back,
I guess.” He gives me a look. “We gotta go.”

Kyle comes running over, shaking his head. “No
backup generators here. We gotta siphon again.” He jumps in and drives the SUV
to a manhole-looking thing in the ground and hops out. He pulls the lid off,
twists a cap off, and drops a hose down into it. I gag when he sucks on the
other side and liquid squirts out, getting a little on him before he puts it in
the gas tank fast. I shudder watching but no one else bats an eyelash. I
realize then that they have been through something more while I was sitting on
my mountain and hiding in my house. They have been surviving, and it wasn't
pretty. It still isn’t.

Something in my peripheral moves.
The
bodies on the ground start twitching harder. I back away, dragging the man with
me. I pull him into the gas station. Lee is on my heels. We close the door and
watch as the dead people flop about on the ground, moving as if they’re having
a seizure.

“They’re moving closer to each other. Look.” Lee
points.

Her words make my stomach hurt and make it feel
like I have to pee but I’m way too scared for that. My face is pressed against
the glass, making a foggy breath mark. The man next to me is trembling. He
backs up slowly and it’s then I notice the nametag on his coveralls. “Stan, is
this your gas station?”

He nods but his eyes don't leave the frothing
ground of dead bodies trying to form a pile or circle.

“Do you have food and water?”

His eyes dart to mine, skeptical of my reasons for
asking.

“We’re leaving you here. We just want to make sure
you’re okay.” Lee sighs, shaking her head. “We aren’t gonna jack you, dude.”

“I will be okay. I live above.” He sighs too but
his is in relief and not annoyance.

Lee grabs my hand, not giving him a second more of attention,
and drags me from the glass door. She runs for the Hummer, jumping in and
closing the door. Miles and Erin stand with guns and confusion pointed at the
crowd as Kyle finishes. He drags the hose out, spilling gas everywhere. I
notice how he’s spilling it as he tosses the hose off to the side. Miles is
screwing around with some dust and the manhole cover.

Kyle jumps in and starts the vehicle, driving us
several feet away.

Erin backs up slowly, aiming her gun at the gas and
shooting. Instantly fire jumps up from the ground. It follows the spill trail
to the group of frothing dead biters. As they catch fire, no noise leaves their
mouths, but they squirm harder as the fire licks and peels at their skin and
ragged clothes.

Miles watches, waiting until the last body stops
moving before he gets inside of the SUV. We drive away as the smoke turns
black.

“The tank is
gonna
blow if
the fire leads back there,” I mention, wondering how they can care so little
about Stan inside.

“I put the kitty litter oil-spill stuff on the
ground, separating the spill from the manhole cover.”

I nod, hoping that will make a difference for Stan.
I don't like that we’ve left him behind.

Miles gives me a look. “Your turn to drive, Lou.”

I squint at him. "Why?"

He grins like it isn’t the end of the world.
"Firstly, you're obsessed with Red Bull.” He tosses a can of it at me. “Secondly,
I know you stay up and play
World of
Warcraft
for sixteen hours at a time. I think we both know you don’t need
sleep.”

My cheeks brighten up, but I look down at my feet
so he won’t see. “Whatever. Okay.” I can’t believe he just outed me as a LARP
nerd. I also can’t believe he remembers that I play and drink Red Bull. So much
for him ever seeing me as a regular girl—ever.

He chuckles. “Thirdly, because I'm better with maps
than you and Kyle and these two have no idea where we are. You and I both know
this highway pretty well."

Kyle pulls over and we trade seats. In the rearview
I catch him grinning at Erin. She rolls her eyes and mouths, “You wish.” He
nods and mutters. “I do.”

I put the Hummer in drive and start back on the
highway. Being the driver I see so many things I didn't notice on the way from
the mountain in the dark. Straggler biters stand, alone and frozen on the side
of the highway. They look emaciated and dying but they don't move their feet.
Their clothes rustle in the wind, whipping about as Mother Nature tries to
convince them to move before they die there.

My brain takes trips, many along the mostly clear
highway. I can’t help but think about Mom and Dad. I can’t help but wonder if
they’ve both died alone, leaving us. My brain refuses to believe my dad is also
gone. I am certain he is alive and desperately trying to find a way to get to
me. I start to panic a little.

Miles gives me a look. "It'll be okay. If we
have to drive back home because there is nothing at the coast, we will."

I nod but I don't say anything. In all honesty, I’m
still
kinda
pissed about the
World of Warcraft
comment. I hate that he sees me this way.

“You still have that crappy red car?” He has a smug
grin on his face that I want to whack off.

“No.” My crappy little red Honda civic died six
months ago. It was my first car ever and I had loved it. I still miss it. “It
died and Dad was going to take me car shopping when he got home.”

He whacks my arm like I am one of the boys. “You
remember when it died at school and we pushed it and got it to start?”

I can’t fight the smile on my face. He made half
the seniors push my car so Jamie, Sasha, and me could get home. We were so
embarrassed.

“What was the name of that hunk of junk?”

"Don't hurt Betsy's feelings. It’s bad juju to
make fun of the car after it’s died."

"You're bad juju," he mutters. “Betsy!
How did I ever forget a name like Betsy?”

I lift my middle finger into the air and sip my Red
Bull.

“How do you not get rashes from that stuff? It gives
me hives.”

I stick my lower lip out. “Awww, muffin. Everyone
gets a rash from Red Bull but only the strong fight through it.” I cock an
eyebrow and sneer. “And dude,
World of
Warcraft
has maps. I'm great with maps."

He laughs, shaking his head. “I have missed you,
Lou. You’re a funny girl.” He hits me in the arm again playfully. “But now that
I’m closer, I bet my odds of hitting you are better, huh?”

I roll my eyes. “Someone needs some new material.”
I glance up into the rearview to see the three of them in the back are
sleeping. Erin is resting her head on Kyle’s shoulder. Miles follows my stare.
“Look at him, he’s grinning in his sleep because she’s touching him.” He shakes
his head and I swear I see a jealous look in his eyes.

We drive for two hours of clear highway, swerving
around only a handful of cars. When we enter Spokane city limits my insides
tighten. I’ve only been here a few times, but the city doesn't look the way it
did the last time I was here. It’s not like
Laurel
or
the small places we’ve seen along the freeway. In fact, if I hadn’t ever been
here before, I’d say it was a slum city in a less developed country.

Cars line the sides of the highway near every exit
we pass, but they sit in a way that might suggest they were pushed to clear a
path for something large. On the horizon
smoke lifts from
buildings and vehicles, but it’s
not billowing—it’s a trickle of
what I assume was once filling the skies. I slow down, as the highway gets
busier with stopped vehicles and small herds of frozen biters. They jerk in one
wave as if a dancer choreographed it. Each moves forward with a faster, more
aggressive speed than the biters back home. The temperature here is warmer,
making their bodies more malleable.

“Stay calm, Lou. Just focus on where we’re going,
not what’s behind us.” Miles’ voice is calm but it scares me more than if he’d
just freak out like I am inside. I take a deep breath, wincing as I squeeze the
huge vehicle between two small cars. I hit on both sides, jarring everyone in
the back awake. The cars spin, blocking the path behind us a bit. The biters
have no problem climbing over the debris and wreckage. They pick up speed as
they hit the cement again, some falling as others trample them. I hit the gas a
little, trying to go faster. The freeway blocks ahead of us with a traffic jam.
I can see there’s no way around it and the meridian in the middle prevents us
from going on the other side of the road. “Uhhh, Miles—”

“Take the exit.” Miles points at the sign to the
right. I swerve, taking the exit and maneuvering around the cars in the way. I
brace for the hit as I push us past a van in the way. “Keep driving in the same
direction as the freeway, another exit will come.”

Kyle racks his shotgun, giving me a wicked grin in
the rearview. “Don't get us stuck. We only have so much ammunition.”

Lee leans forward, pushing her sister onto him.
“Ignore him. You’re doing great.” She shoots him a look that could kill.

My palms start sweating as I am forced to round a
corner, driving over rubble from a building with a vehicle crashed into the
side of it. A man runs past us, screaming as a herd of them chase him down a
side road.

“There are people still alive here.”

Kyle nods at me in the rearview. “There were all
the way across the country too.”

As we drive to the top of a small hill, I notice a
woman peering from a window in a house, looking scared in the dark. She waves
at us violently, as if we might be able to help her.
Her
hands lower when she sees what’s behind us.
She ducks, vanishing from my
sight as I skid around the corner of her street. I end up in a hilly spot, a
suburb of the city in the north side of town.