Outbreak

Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Marlowe

The small, tired, and dirty group step back when I hold my pistol out in front of me, emerging from the shadows.

"Hey, hey we don't want any trouble." A boy, my age, with brown hair and green eyes says cautiously.

"Who are they?" I demand. Avi acted irrationally, and to make matters worse, she turned the walkie-talkie off on me, leaving me with nothing but silence for assurance.

Avi tries to introduce them, almost like they're her friends. God.

"Well, this is Toni," She points to the boy with green eyes, "and this is Easton." She motions to the taller boy. He has relatively short, but shaggy black hair that falls past his eye brows. He is very tall, with a toned, athletic body. He stares at me, with his dark, almond shaped eyes. I realize I am still holding the gun, and lower it. "And you are...?" she asks the small family.

"I'm Jon." The man says. "And this is my daughter, Nikki, and wife Vanessa. we can't tell you how much we appreciate this."

The little girl hides behind her mother, peeking out from her legs. The mother adjusts her sleeve, then she smiles at me nervously.

Easton still stares at me. I stare back at him, and he blushes, looking at the ground, embarrassed. I turn to observe at Vanessa, who now holds her arm behind her back. I am suspicious of her when I see her eyes dart from me back to her husband.

Jon holds out his hand, and I shake it quickly, my eyes still on Vanessa.

Seeming to sense my discomfort, Jon motions for his wife to introduce herself. She smiles again, then holds out her hand. I take it, then before she can react, I turn her arm over, revealing a blood soaked sleeve. She tries to pull her arm back, but I look her deep in the eyes, and hold her arm tighter. I can see the reflection of my brown eyes in her teary ones. I push up her sleeve, and see the bite mark. black lines have already begun to span from it.

"You've been bit. C'mon Avi, we've gotta go." I say quietly. Backing away, I hike my pack up on my shoulders. "C'mon!" I bark when she just stares at me incredulously. I am now holding the pistol up again, so none of them get the idea to follow me.

Avi doesn't move. Vanessa stands still, shaking, tears streaming down her face. Jon walks over to her and hugs her. "That..." he chokes out, "that could be anything."

"No." I state. "Black lines, only one of the infected could have done that. We have to go."

"No, we have to help them." Avi says, standing her ground. "I'm staying to help these people."

"Well then you do that! I'm sure as hell not going to be anywhere near here when she goes zeke on you." I hiss, and begin to walk away.

Toni and Easton hang their heads in sorrow. Easton holds the back of his neck in frustration, while Toni leans against the wall.

"No! You can't just give up on them! Remember what happened to your dad? Remember how no one would help us? And then your parents turned, right in front of us, and no one did anything! They were just bystanders who left you to fend for yourself...Don't be a bystander." Avi pleads.

I stop when she mentions my parents. My dad. I try to force the tears back. How could she even bring that up?

Still, I see myself in Nikki, and if someone had just given us a chance...

I put my bag on the ground, and rummage through it. I walk over to Vanessa, but Jon steps protectively in front of her. I realize I'm still holding the gun. I put it into the special holster strapped around my thigh. Reyes gave it to me. He got it when he was in the navy.

I step around Jon. "Give me your arm." I try to demand it, but it comes out as a croak. She trembles as she holds out. "This is going to hurt... A lot." She nods, and holds out her arm. The bite has scabbed over black, but pus still oozes out of it. I spray the antiseptic spray and she flinches. The scab foams up and bubbles.

"Sorry..." I whisper. "Last part." I pick up the antibiotic ointment and dab some on. I don't give her a lot, because she is a complete lost cause. "This will slow the infection, but there isn't anything else I can do. If I were you, I'd just spend a lot of time with your family." I mutter.

Vanessa surprises me when she hugs me. At first I try to back out, but then she softly says, "I'm sorry about your family." I step back. This is too much.

"I'm going to get supplies. Avi, just... Just go get the food, alright?" My voice cracks and I spin on my heels and walk up the frozen escalator, wiping my nose.

I jog towards the fish and game store, not wanting to let them see me.

I grab a few pairs of cargo pants at the front of the dimly lot store. They only come in two colors, olive and beige, but style is the least I'm worried about right now. We need to get out before Vanessa turns and gets the others.

I grab a few light t shirts for good measure, and tightly roll up the clothes and stuff them in my bag. I jog to the back of the store, pistol ready, and look through the already broken glass case for bullets. When I find the right kind, I put several boxes in my bag. I remember I left my rifle back with Avi at the entrance. Now I have to go back. I sigh, then stand up from my crouch.

I sway a little, and blood rushes to my legs. I have a throbbing headache. I hold onto the counter in front of me for support. I hear rustling behind me and quickly turn my head, not helping my headache.

When I focus on the form moving towards me, I realize it is only that boy, Easton.

"Are you okay?" he asks. He looks genuinely concerned. Something about him makes me sort of trust him right away. Maybe his eyes.

"Yeah. Just a little dehydrated, I think." I answer. "What are you doing here?"

We both look at each other for a second, then he apologizes. "Sorry, I didn't know you were in here. I was just going to try and find some new clothes, I've been wearing these for two weeks."

"Yeah, I can tell." I wrinkle my nose."Sorry, that was mean." I mutter. Better not make any enemies in here.

"Nah, it's true." He pretends to smell his armpit, then gags exaggeratedly.

A small smile graces my mouth.

"Any idea where the little boys clothes are?" He asks.

I point him in the general direction of the mens department, only for him to return a few minutes later. "I can't find it." He looks at me, disappointed.

"You want me to help you?" I ask teasingly. I forget about everything for a minute when he beams at me, innocently excited.

"You'd do that?" I was joking, but I guess he is serious.

"Ok, fine." I answer.

We walk in the dim store towards the mens department.

Suddenly, we hear a moan from behind the next shelf. We both crouch instinctively, and hide behind it. There is a lone infected wandering around the store. It hasn't spotted us.

Easton taps my shoulder and stands up. He pulls out a serrated knife, and creeps toward it. When it spots him, it picks up surprising speed. He quickly stabs it's head, and black syrupy blood runs down the knife.

It's momentum drives it forward and I have no time to react. It falls on top of me and I yelp in horror.

Easton quickly shoves it off me and helps me up.

"God, I feel like an idiot." He laughs, and holds the back of his neck. "I tried to... Well....impress you, and then I just let a biter fall right on top of you."

"And you were doing so well." I sympathize, smiling. He's so down to earth.

"I was?" He asks innocently. I feel like I've known him forever, and I can see right through his sheepish smile.

"Oh yeah, sure. I mean I love the guys who can't follow directions. Impressive." I point at a worn sign that dangles above my head. It reads 'Men's Department' and has an arrow pointing to the next aisle. I grin at him teasingly.

"Oh, stop." He smiles back and shoves me gently. I shove him back and we both laugh.