Begin and End - a zombie short ⚒

Part 5

They were being followed.

"I tried not to leave a trail, but ever since the road..." Shauna stopped there.

Gavin tromped through the creek, not willing to listen until they were on the other side.

When Shauna realized they were being followed (and not by Eaters), she set up a dummy trail, and instructed them to head for a nearby creek.

Brian now took what she said with suspicion. For the last day, he'd been burning with unanswered questions. Unfortunately, confessional opportunities had been lacking.

"You go, Brian!" She tightened the straps on her gear and waited for him to cross.

He narrowed his eyes and stepped aside. "You first."

"Whatever," Shauna said, wading through the slow-moving water with grace.

The back of her neck was exposed, and he gripped his hunting knife, wondering just how many lives her betrayal had cost. Details on the newspaper clipping had been smudged away, and he'd been left to guess at her duplicity, listing ideas in his journal with gusto:

State secrets?
Nuclear codes?
Military strategies?

If interrogated, she would probably come up with a plausible excuse, dissuading his misgivings.

I’ve spent my adult life at levels of not knowing.

She had meant clearance levels.

What kind of betrayal had occurred? Jesus, she was worse than soft-headed Gavin. A far-left Liberal. She probably had a RESIST tattoo on her ass.

Not much was known about what brought down the Before, but plenty was known about the effects of After. The destruction of D.C. Nuclear fallout from major cities. Eaters roaming the countryside.

Someone had fucked shit up, and Brian damn well knew it hadn’t been him. Here he was, traipsing about the lower reaches of Texas with a known political traitor. It had to mean something.

His father's warning, don't trust women, flashed through his head. Brian's father had also told him to do what needed to be done. He was sure that if she proved herself a traitor, he would do what needed to be done.

Branches snapped to his left, and he raised his knife in preparation. A harmless squirrel bounced on by. He relaxed, focusing once more on Shauna. She had reached the halfway mark, taking it slower and quieter than Gavin, who was already across and sitting on a log, watching the path to the south. With the flow of the water, he might not even hear anything. Large rocks jutted from the creek bed. Brian tested the weight of the closest one, finding it surprisingly easy to move. He would tell Gavin that she tripped, became wedged in between the rocks. This could be his chance, his only chance.

Brian stepped a few feet into the creek, readying the knife at his side. Shauna glanced back at him, asking if he was okay. Damnit, why did she have to speak?

Suddenly, a familiar scream carried over the water. The log near the creek bed was overturned, with no Gavin in sight. Shauna emerged from the water and checked the surrounding woods. She mouthed to Brian: Nothing. However, behind her, two descending figures contradicted her statement.

Their clothes were dirty and bulky, the perfect complement to their grime-covered faces. Brian didn't see much else, because he dove between two boulders, briefly submerging his entire body.

He held true for a minute, two, and by the third, his lungs were screaming for air. Although his instinct was to break for the surface and rake in air by the gasp-fuls, he quietly dipped his head above water and drew in quiet breaths. He checked the area where Gavin and Shauna had met the strangers, and saw no one.

The water streamed by in a calm babble, and except for the log, the woods appeared undisturbed. It was as if nothing had happened.
Brian bobbed in the water, alone, and maybe always had been.

His family was gone. Everyone he knew, wiped out in an instant, like so many others. Now, his companions were also gone, and hey, he hadn't liked 'em anyway.

Someone upstairs had solved his problems. He tried to cheer himself with the thought, but had little luck.

After five minutes, no one retrieved him from the water, and he supposed it safe to cross to the other side.

Brian sat on a bed of moss, gathering his breath.
Alone.

He knew he could do it, but he wasn't sure for how long.

~*~