We moved by foot in a crouched position, lowering Max into the ditch first, he softly complained that it was wet and cold. I slid down second, the wet muck was freezing in the night and soaked me up to my midriff. I reached for Violets hands as I helped her down, her fingers cold in the late autumn air, she slipped on foot contact, making a soft splash as she sat in the wet mud.
I helped her up slowly, her teeth chattering slightly, holding her coat tighter around her with her muddy fingers.
Houston came down, his large combat boots sinking into the muck and making a squish with his feet, he slicks his shoulder length, greasy hair into a quick ponytail on the back of his head, beckoning us to move forward as my dads feet touch the ground. I keep my hand on the knife my dad gave me, it's longer than his, a carving knife with a slightly curve to it. It was sharp and the handle was rough against my palm. We huddle in a crouch silently, I keep my ears open and pay close attention to the sounds of approaching feet.
The sound of laughter and footsteps reach near our hiding spot, and then fades as they walk past. Houston, as tall as he was, peered over the top of the ditch, keeping eye on their retreating forms.
"We need to get going now." Houston whispered hastily to my dad, who nodded in approval, lifting Max from under his armpits he lifts him out of the ditch and back onto the road.
"Stay low and quiet." Dad directed him before helping up Violet, me and then himself. He reached down towards Houston before pulling him out also. We crouched low and made our way around the car and down to the other side of the highway. Looking back behind us, the men from earlier were no longer visible.
Following my gaze, Houston shakes his head and stands, "We need to haul ass, now. They are probably almost at the house and will be radio'ing that I did not get that job done. They'll be sending people."
"We need to get a vehicle with gas." Violet pipes up, her pace picking up as she drags Max along side by his upper arm. The two duffel bags under my arms was reminding me I should've been focused more on bulking up than reading back home.
"We have to walk the highway to the next exit, its where the traffic jam lets up. We can drive from there." Houston states, our paces picking up almost into a jog on the side of the highway. So far the infected on the highway are just stuck in their cars, starving.
*
"Here!" Houston says, pointing outwardly towards the aged police blockade, clearing the traffic jammed highway. My dad says nothing, just takes the lead and hurries forward, making his way towards a large SUV police vehicle. We follow him in tow.
Piling in, Violet, Max and I squeeze ourselves into the back as my dad gets to work on starting the car. "Theres no keys so this will take me a minute." My dad mumbles, his voice dry and hoarse as he pops open the console. Max's teeth chatter slightly as he shivers against my side, his cold hands grasping my upper arm.
I pull out my water bottle from my bag and share it around the car, as my dad brings the car to life.
*
Max had fallen asleep, Violet also has fallen asleep against the window as we drive. The rest of us just sat in silence, the hum of a radio and the sound of tires on gravel was the only shared sounds during our commute.
It's the dead of night and we have to stop soon, we have been driving for a few hours and we're running low on gas. We need clean and dry clothes or else we're going to get sick, and I don't know what to do if any of us get really sick.
*
We arrive into the next town, my eyelids feeling quite heavy as we approach a secluded house up on a hill. My dad parks and turns the car off, I rub my eyes and lean Max into the other side of the car, letting him rest. I wake up Violet, not really trusting Houston enough to be alone with him. She stirs awake with a small noise of disapproval.
"Where are we?" She mutters, a yawn escaping her lips as she blinks her eyes open, looking out into the night.
"New home for the night, we just have to sweep it out." I say, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.
She grabs a hold of the bat my dad gave her and steps herself out of the car. My dad pauses at the door and waits for us to meet with him, leaving Max asleep in the car.
"I don't know about you Houston, but my girls have not cleared a house yet, and you both need to learn quicker than I'd like to shelter you from." My dad hands me his shorter knife, and I feel the air leave my lungs, and my hands clam up against the cool metal handle.
"Ladies first." Houston beckons, a smile dropping from his lips at my dads sour reaction to him talking.
I hesitate before wedging the blade into the door frame and cracking it open. Twisting the handle, I open it fully, peering into the hallway, before gazing behind me at my dad.
"Go on then." He forces a smile onto his lips, his brown eyes beckoning me forward. I gulp my fear and walk into the dark hallway, Violet following suit, and the boys shortly after.
Taking in our surroundings, nothing seems to be amiss. Lots of dust, clutter and maybe a bit of a mess was all we could tell from downstairs.
"When checking upstairs, there might be some nasty sights or someone infected. Make sure you are swift and aim for the brain. Don't get anything in your mouth, so no screamin'." My dad directs, "We'll be right behind you, but I'll be letting you two handle it."
We hesitantly make our way upstairs, the creak of the floorboards sounding like they're attached to a speaker in comparison to the silence.
Getting to the top floor, we let ourselves into the rooms and look at our surroundings, we begin looking for anything amiss or may come in handy. Violet finds some painkillers, and some first aid things in the bathroom cabinet and I leave her to it, making my way into the master bedroom.
The smell hit my nose instantly, and I gag at the site, strung up to the bed was what use to be a woman. Adorned in a robe, her wired dead hair was pinned in messy curling bobbins, her cheeks sunken and skin of blue and purple-ish hue. Rotted and falling apart in clumps, her fluids stained most of the sheets. I turn my nose up in disgust.
Her arms were handcuffed to the headboard and, her feet cut off from the knee caps down, straining the entire half of the bed in blood.
"Why would someone string her up here like this?" Violet finally says, her tone from scared to sad from behind me. She breathes in deep and steps forward past me, grabbing a blanket from the nearby chair and drapes it over her unmoving form.
"Gross." She mutters, dusting her hands on her jeans and shivering in disgust. "Lets leave." She makes a funny face in my direction, before walking back out the room, "I need to wash my hands!"
*
We all meet in the hallway after clearing the house, going back to the car we unload it, Dad carries Max bridal style into the house as he sleeps, placing him gently on one of the beds. I get in bed cuddled up beside him, and Violet beside me.
"Houston and I are going to be sleeping in the front foyer. You guys sleep well in a bed tonight, you earned it." He kisses Max's forehead, ruffles Violets and I's hair and smiles genuinely, his eyes full before leaving us to sleep.
We lay there in the dark in silence, close together for warmth, our soft breaths filling the room and for the first time in what feels like forever, I slept.
____________________________________________________________________
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YOU ARE READING
The Infected.
Mystery / Thriller"Pretty girls like you shouldn't be out of town on your own." His raggedy silver beard, smell of sweat, cigarettes and just the persona of dominance made me want to recoil back in fear as a sick Cheshire grin creeped up his face. "Good thing I have...
