Breathing the Dead ~ H.S

Chapter Forty-Four

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: THE ROAD TO HOME

"Are you ready for this?" I asked Harry with an anxious bite of my lip.

Harry took a deep breath and lowered his eyes towards Lilly – who was sleeping in his arms.

"No," he said quietly, "but we don't have a choice. While we still have a week's worth of supplies left...we have to go."

"Yeah..." I sighed shakily, "it's going to be hard, but you're right. We need to get her back to Norcrest...where she'll be safe. But...it's still so far away..."

"We'll get her there," Harry promised, "it's going to be OK, Laura," he then gave me a serious look, "but are you sure you've rested enough to start travelling?"

I nodded. "I'd say that the worst part's over. The baby blues are gone, I've been losing weight, I hardly have any incontinence, and my discharge is nearly back to normal. I'll be fine, Harry."

"You sure you're not losing that much blood anymore?" Liam came forward to ask, "Because they'll be able to smell it if you are."

I nodded slowly. "I'll be fine."

"Do you guys want to put Lilly in, er...this..?" Penny awkwardly held up the baby carrier we'd taken from the baby store, "It might be good to give your arms a rest."

Harry shook his head. "If we carry her in that...she could open her eyes at any moment and see something awful. And I don't want her catching any glimpse of what's out there."

"Fair enough," said Penny, "we'll just keep it in the back of the van then."

"How's it looking out there, Hails?" Liam asked Hailee – who was peeking out of a small gap she had opened in the attic doorway.

"It looks pretty clear," she replied, "there's a chance that a few of them are still wandering around down there, but I'm pretty sure we can deal with them – either with stealth or just bumping them off."

"OK. Good," Liam nodded, "did we leave anything back at the motel that we should pick up before we leave?"

Hailee nodded as she pulled the attic door back up. "A few things, like clothes and some ammo. But Penny & I packed all the food, all the water, and all the meds to take with us. I didn't want to leave anything important behind in case someone tried to ambush the place while we were up here."

"And Lucas is still there," said Penny, "I gathered a whole lot of grass and other goat food to keep him fed during our absence...but he eats a lot and I don't know how much of that would be left."

"OK," Liam spoke up again, "clothes aren't really important, but the ammo is. And I suppose Penny will want her goat back. So we'll go back to the motel, collect the rest of our stuff – and the goat, and then we'll begin the drive back to Norcrest."

"Wait," said Penny, "you guys...you guys are gonna take me with you?"

"Why not? You've certainly helped us a lot these past three months. It's about time we return the favour," said Harry, "Is...that what you want?"

"Wow..." I saw a smile begin to spread across her face, "yeah, that...that'd be cool. Thanks, you guys."

"No problem, Pen," I said with a smile.

"So are we ready to go?" Hailee asked.

"I guess..." I bit my lip anxiously.

"Then we'd better get moving," said Liam, "we still have a long way to go."

"I have an idea," Penny spoke up again, "Hails, why don't you & I go down first, and clear any walkers that might still be in the house? It'd be much safer for Laura and Harry. And Lilly."