Out of Time

Chapter 6

More than twenty minutes into my ride and I couldn't keep my eyes dry. The last time I had been in this car my whole family had been with me. Safe, happy and healthy. Now, I'm alone. On my way to some place I don't know to meet someone who is, for all intents and purposes, a stranger.

I had misread the GPS on my phone more than once due to blurry vision. The trip already had my nerves buzzing and the fact I kept missing my turn was starting to piss me off. Focus. If only I could focus.

My mind was alternating between memories of my family and my conversation with Owen. If he was out there, there must be other people that are healthy like us. Not that I was inclined to search for them. I wanted to go somewhere that was safe and stay there. For however long it took for whatever this nonsense was to pass.

I kept getting stuck on one big question. Why wasn't I affected like my mom, Isla and Weston? And then from that question, I considered why Weston seemed okay when I first saw him but ended up like Isla and mom. And mom was worse off than Isla, but Isla got there eventually. 

'Round and 'round I went. All questions and no answers and it was making me feel even crazier than I already did. Focus. I have to focus. 

According to the GPS, I was due to arrive at the shopping center in fourteen minutes. I hadn't realized I had covered that much road, but I'm glad I was closer than I thought. So far, aside from my constant questions, my ride was uneventful. Which I was happy about. But I knew it was only because I was surrounded by trees. 

The cabin we were at was one my dads dad had left him when he died. It was a place we had gone to every summer of my life. One of my favorite places to be. Where I felt at peace. Or, where I used to feel at peace. I doubt I could even look at pictures of the place without the carnage consuming them. Focus. Seriously, must focus.

By the time my phone app showed five minutes left of my journey, the trees had thinned considerably. Even without using the map I would be able to tell I was nearing civilization. More and more houses were dotting the side of the road and signs for near by restaurants and shops were becoming more frequent. 

I could clearly see the sign for Ridgeway Shopping Plaza from where I was stopped at a light. Looking down, I turned my phone off to save my battery and waited for the light to change. I always kept both hands on the wheel when I was driving, but while I waited my turn I reached over to turn the radio up. 

Later, I would realize that there were no other cars at the intersection and there was no point in waiting. With the volume turned up, I listened carefully to the radio dj announcing that everyone should stay inside. Keep doors and windows locked. Drink only bottled water. Do not eat from your garden. Cook only prepackaged food. He kept going on and on with a list of what to do and what not to do. There was no mention of what was happening and how to fix it. Or cure it. 

I glanced up again at the light, just in time to see a tall, dark haired man running across the street. He had one shoe on. His shirt was unbuttoned and he was screaming. 

Immediately, I checked the door locks, thankful they automatically engaged when the truck was in drive. I watched as he glanced my way, frantic about something. There was nothing chasing him, but he sure was running like there was.

"HEY!" his voice pierced through the window and radio sending shivers up my spine.

"HEY! STOP! HELP ME!" he continued screaming and now my light was green. 

Drive or help? Drive or help? 

God, I can't make any more life altering decisions right now. 

Before I could decide anything, the man that had been screaming tripped and fell face first into the road. That's when I saw it. Whatever he had been running from had caught up to him without me even realizing it. 

I watched in sick fascination as this thing, in a dress, tore into the man. It was all hands and mouth as it attempted to devour the man all at once. Briefly, it looked up. Like it could sense it was being watched. As it made eye contact with me, the gray lifeless eyes piercing mine, a bloody flesh filled smile spread across its face. Her face, I decided. Wearing a dress and with obvious cleavage and long hair this thing eating the man in the road was, once upon a time, a woman. 

Maybe his wife. Or daughter. Or mother. 

Knowing there was nothing left I could do for the man in the road I slammed my foot down on my gas pedal and flew through the intersection. I forced myself to keep my eyes ahead and not look in the rear view mirror. Nothing good was back there. 

With the speedometer reaching 45 mph, I whipped my parents SUV into the parking lot of the plaza with squealing tires. 

The parking lot was full, but no one was walking around. No one parking, no one leaving. Nothing. No one.

Except one taller than average, young guy leaning against a black pick up truck. 

Owen would have stood out anyway, even if the parking lot was full of people. He stood over six feet, my guess would be 6'3", but I would have to stand next to him to know for sure. His shoulders were broad from years of playing sports and his face held a constant five o'clock shadow. 

With his hand in the air to grab my attention, I continued racing towards him. Momentarily, I forgot how to use the pedals, because I had to slam on the brakes to get the SUV to stop. Again, the tires squealed.

"Well, you sure know how to make an entrance!" he lightly chuckled when I rolled my window down. 

"It wasn't my plan to announce my arrival, but I had to get away from it," I only now realized I was breathing heavy. 

"Away from what, Mackenzie?" he started toward my truck.

"That thing back there. The lady or whatever.  I watched a guy running from something, screaming for help and then there she was. Mauling him in the middle of the road. She saw me, too. Looked right at me!" my hands were waving every which way as I explained what I saw.

"Okay, calm down. You're here now. You made it," he checked his wrist where a watch would be, "good thing, too, I was getting ready to leave here in about two minutes."

"I would have just called you to find out where you were."

"Would have just called? How did you plan on doing that?" he was clearly skeptical.

"I may not be great with directions, but I certainly know my technology. I would have used the Facebook messenger app we were talking on earlier and called you from that. You do know that's a thing, right?" now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows at him. 

Owen did that guy thing. Where they refuse to admit you knew something they didn't. He shrugged his shoulders and looked away. His hand went to the back of his neck and his feet shuffled where he stood.

"Yeah, obviously I knew that was a thing. You'd have to be a dumbass not to know you can Facebook call people."

While he was talking, my attention was pulled from him and brought to the road I had just pulled off of. My breath froze in my throat and my hands started shaking.

"Mackenzie, you look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong?" He turned around to see what I was staring at.

"It's her, Owen. She followed me," my voice barely reached a whisper.

"Who? Who followed you? There's no one there," he turned back towards me now, looking slightly annoyed.

"Her, right there!" I was getting a little louder now.

"Seriously, what the hell are you talking about? There is no one there!" his voice raised above mine.

I lost it. I could feel the scream building in my throat before it escaped my lips. With my shaking hand raised, my finger pointed outwards.

"My MOM!"