Infected the series Book 1 chapter 8

            I woke to the blaring sound of my phone exploding in my ear. It was too early to move. I fumbled with it as is screamed and shook in my hands. The front read out “KAYLEIGH.” Why is she calling so early?

            “Hello?” I dribble onto the phone.

            “You forgot to call me!!” Kayleigh voice shouted through the speaker. “Do you know how worried I was?! I did not sleep, I did not eat. What happened to calling us when you got to the Hospital?”  I did forget to call her but she is definitely overreacting. I still blame hormones. “I was going to send Casey and Erik out to see if you guys were safe, and then kill you.” I know that she worries but this is still a bit too much.

            “Kayleigh” She continues to babble. “Kayleigh”

            “God it is like dealing with a little kid”

            “KAYLEIGH!” Suddenly she goes quiet. “Thank you for worrying, I am sorry I forgot to call, things got pretty hectic last night.” My tone is calming and soft. I did not intend for it to be like that, I am just that tired. “We are all here and safe. How is everyone with you?” Who is everyone?

            “You mean Erik and Casey?” She is almost as confused as I am “They were worried, Casey was ready to leave and go find you guys.”

            “Why didn’t you call?” There is an awkward silence odds are Kayleigh did not think of it. When she gets excited or angry or upset she sometimes forgets stuff like that.

            “That is not the point Sam.” She definitely forgot “Whatever, as long as you guys are safe that is fine.”

            “Alright Kayleigh well I have to go make breakfast, talk to you later.” The Conversation ended. My head hit the pillow hard. The sun shined onto the back of my neck. It was warm and tingled on my hairs. I could not help but smile at the delicate feeling like fingers running softly down my neck. A beautiful voice of a woman whispers my name softly. I turned and no one there. The clock on the wall read out eleven A.M. In the distance the sound of dogs barking and jumping slammed up the hallway. My body slowly began to twinge to life and rise off of my tattered mattress of dogs beds that seemed to fallen apart along the floor. I can see a light reflection of myself in the window. I look ratty my face is developing a few zits and stubble. There are some bags under my eyes but the worst of all are my clothes. They were caked with blood dirt and mud. I have not changed at all since our trip began. My clothes smell, I smell.

            I needed to shower. All we had was a dog bath. It would have to do, as I changed into a clean pair of cargo shorts and a red shirt. Down the hall was the bathing room. It also served as a storage room for cat and dog food. In the corner sat a large stainless steel tub. On the side of it is a long hose that is hooked up to a series of shampoos and soaps. I began to pull off my shirt when I suddenly noticed. The door was glass. Anyone could clearly see me from the hall.

            I ran and grabbed a large sheet and two towels from the laundry room. I draped the thin white sheet it across the glass door. Finally away from the outside world I stripped out of my clothing and climbed into the tub. It was bitterly cold. The bright stainless steel stuck to my body and sent shivers up my back. I turned the handle and water began to flow out of the hose and onto my legs. The water was cold; it was not a nice cold like my shower back home. It was degrading almost as if I was not even human enough for some warm water. I sat there and sprayed myself down with water and soap. It all came from the same hose and it all smelled horrible. I hated every moment of this. I lifted myself out of the tub which groaned with every movement I made.

            After toweling off and dressing up I went out to the back where everyone sat around a new fire. They all turned to me and smiled. I was the last one out. Even Cleo, Leila and Babe made it out before me. They were all eating from cans of what looked to be dog food. Sean handed me a can, its lead read chicken and rice. I opened it and tossed it into the fire where it cooked and bubbled.

            There was an awkward silence about this meal. It seemed like no person wanted to say something. Sarah looked at me then quickly away. She was hiding something. I don’t know what but she definitely was not telling me something.

            I won’t question it. It is not worth it, I will find out eventually. “So, I am thinking that after we eat we should walk all the dogs.” I break the silence as I carefully pull my steaming can from the pit of flames.

            “Already did,” Matt nonchalantly remarks as he shoves a piece of mystery meat into his mouth. “We cleaned all the cages and fed every animal too.” He did not even look at me. It was no big deal to Matt, not one at all.

            I wanted to say something, something witty and smart. I wanted to really let him know that I don’t even care that they don’t need me but all I could muster was “Oh, ok”

            I sat there and looked at the burned label hanging onto the can, there was a phone number printed onto the charred white paper. Suddenly something came to me.

            “I will be right back” I jumped out of my seat and ran towards the door ignoring the sound of my chair falling over onto the ground. My body flew through the halls and hit the wall as I slid around the corner. My cell phone flew into the air and landed back into my hands.  My back collapsed onto one of the chairs and in a frenzy of fingers, the phone rang. My fingers impatiently tapped against the desk.

            “Hello?” a feminine voice rang from my speaker. My face lit up with excitement, on the other line was my friend Nikki. Nikki was a short girl, with a dark hair that seemed to be lost somewhere between red and brown. I had not seen her for a while so my idea of exactly what she looks like may be off by about two years.

            “Hey Nikki, it is Sam,” I start off the conversation with excited whisper. There is a lot of static on the other end of the line but barely made out her say,

            “Sam who?” Well with that my heart sank. She did not remember me, and to top it all off that means she also deleted me from her phone contacts.

            “Sam, from camp.”

            “Oh Sam, it has been so long, how are you?” I am great my family is dead, zombies are destroying the human race, I live off the flesh of dogs and cats, but other than all that I am just perfect.

            “Good, I actually called to talk with Brandon is he…” My voice trailed off I don’t want to say is he alive. “around?” the static on the other end of the phone seems to be getting louder and more violent I can hardly hear Nikki’s response.

            “He is outside, with my dad,” the sound is barely legible I’ll go get him wait here.”

            “I am not going anywhere” I half heartedly respond.

            “Hello?” The voice on the phone now is much more masculine. I knew it was Brandon’s he had something very distinct in his voice that made it very noticeable. Brandon and I were in the same cabin at camp as long as I could remember. He was short with blonde hair and very large muscles. He worked out a lot and it was very intimidating. His personality was completely different though, he was a very exciting and vibrant guy. He was more often than not in a really good mood.

            “Hey Brandon, it is Sam from camp.”

            “Oh, hey man”  His deep voice echoes confusion “What is up?”

            “I have been working on getting a group of people together; do you want to join us?” Suddenly a series barrage of static slapped against my ear.

            “Sorry my dad and I are up on the roof playing a game of target practice against the infected.” So the gun shots must have been creating all of the static. See this is why we could really use someone like Brandon. His father worked for the Department of Homeland Security before the Infection broke out. Brandon was strong and it was a very noticeable strength. Even when were kids at camp he always seemed to have these huge muscles that seemed to rise out of his pale white skin. It was how he was raised living around weight training and guns. He could shoot really well and could operate any gun proficiently. That is why we need him.

            “So, do you want to come with us?” There seemed to be a long silence. Brandon was definitely talking with his father and that is never a good sign. If I was Brandon’s dad I would not let him go.

            “No man,” his voice dropped to a near whisper, “I’ll talk to you bout it later man,” Suddenly the conversation ended. ‘I’ll talk to you about it later’ what does that mean.

            I sat there in silence, just thinking about what Brandon said for what felt like hours, now what. Clearly my group did not need me with them. So I just sat there. When, the hospital phone rang. It caught me by surprise as I walked over to the little black box. I pushed the speaker phone. It seemed we were not the only ones who thought of this place.

            “AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” The speaker blasted the deep screams of terror through the room. There was a shuffling like the sounds of running and screaming as a random man who seemed to be trying and make a last ditch effort to find safety from me. The sound was so shocking it knocked me straight onto the ground. My body trembled at the horrible sounds that seemed to float about the room. I wanted to hang up but I didn’t. It was intriguing. Foreign yet so primal and close to us. Those sounds of fear as we desperately try to cling to life, we all know it. There is something amazingly beautiful.

So no I sat there and let the tears roll down my mind’s eye as I imagined this man he could not be more than twenty three. I bet he was tall, probably with brown hair and eyes. I bet he had not shaven in weeks but his gruff beard seemed clean and fresh, not gross and dirty like his shirt. I feel like it must have been a dark blue covered with the scent of blood and fresh, with raw tears in it. I sat there as it became eerily silent. I waited on the ground for about a minute waiting for some last minute closure, there wasn’t any.

With that I stood up and walked over to the little black phone with the red flashing light and pushed “END.” I was not alone in the room. There was this feeling of another person here with me. I turned and Sarah was just standing there looking at me. I caught her eyes. There seemed to be a little bit of fear in them, something I rarely saw from someone like Sarah.

“How long were you standing there Sarah?”

“Just for a little while, I heard the entire thing though.”

“There was nothing we could for him”

“You did not even want to”

“Even if I did, then what?”

“We could have gotten to him-”

“Just in time to need to kill him as part of this Infection. We need to protect ourselves. I can’t let us just go out and get ourselves killed for nothing.”

“So that is it?” Sarah looks to be getting angry. “We just let everyone else die and just care about ourselves?”

“Yes” Boom! Sarah’s fist hit my face hard and knocked me to the ground.

“I don’t know what happened to you Sam but I don’t like it.” Sarah stormed out of the office. I felt a little bit of blood drip from my mouth. I spit it up on the ground and stood up. She really just hit me. Has the whole world gone crazy?! Are we not in the middle of the zombie apocalypse? It is only one in the afternoon and I have been disowned as leader forgotten by my friends and hit. I sat them grumbling on the floor for hours. Until I finally just made myself tired and fell asleep.

I woke up, my jaw was throbbing the darkness of an empty room. It was cold, the hair on my neck stood up on end. I felt a hand on my back but there was no one there. I was not alone. I reached for my knife but it was gone. So were the war hammers, chain whip and knuckleduster. In the distance there was glimmer of light that seemed to flicker like a small dying flame. My legs began to move towards the light when something blindsided me. I hit the ground and saw my shadow standing over me with all of my weaponry in hand. Slowly his form came into shape his eyes similar to mine. He smiled quietly and just watched me. Jacob wrestled with his shadows back in Genesis. It was a battle to destroy fear. Fear of his brother and of himself. Jacob was one of the founding fathers and he was afraid, of himself. The battle lasted all night but Jacob came out victorious with two broken ribs and a broken hip. The next day Jacob confronted his brother who was just happy to see him. Jacob was stronger from his victory. A man wrestled with god and won.

The night held a new feeling for me, a feeling of growth and comfort. I am here and I am who I am. The clock read that it was one in the morning, I was not tired anymore. I am not going to fall asleep for the rest of the night. In the corner my bag glowed in the darkness. I grabbed my bible and looked for a place to read. The hospital seemed to be unbearably warm. I can’t stay in this building any longer, I am burning up.

I climbed the ladder up to the roof. It was a little bit chillier out here but best of all a slight breeze flew through the air. There was a small light placed perfectly along the wall that provided just enough light for me to sit there and read. Exodus1-1 “-“

“Sam?” I turned and Sarah stood halfway through the door “what are you doing up here?” I held the book up in the air to show her exactly what I am doing. She smiles and pulls herself up onto the roof. She was in a bright pink tank top and sweats and shivered at the chilly wind that comfortably caressed my skin. “Sorry about before”

“No, you were right.” I smiled from the pages of my book. See it was almost always like this with Sarah and I. People used to think that we would end up dating but, that would never happen. She was like my sister and our relationship was something compared to an old married couple. We would always joke laugh and argue, most times the arguments were stupid. I remember I once told her to suck on a railroad spike, I don’t know why but I did. The thing that I think I liked most about Sarah was that she was always willing to let me know when I was being an idiot, which was often.

“So, why are you up here reading?”

“Well, I am not tired and I did not want to bother anyone.” She is not really focusing me as much as the wind in the distance. Are you okay Sarah?” she turned to look at me. “You seem a little bit nervous.”

“Nervous,” surprise runs over her face “Sam, we have all lost so much” she paused “how can I not be worried about losing anything else.”

“We are all nervous Sarah”

“You never seem nervous” Really I thought that everyone else saw me as an emotional wreck. I did not answer that with words, I could not find the words without ruining the moment. I just hugged her. She squeezed me back tightly. It was honestly a slightly awkward hug. Sarah was shorter than me so I could clearly see over her head.

That is when I saw him in the distance. His bright red hair stood out along the black of the night sky. A young man stood atop the roof of the car lot. He just stood there watching us; his eyes seemed glassy and sparkled in the pale moon light. There was no expression on this guy’s freckly face which shattered the silhouette of calm in the air. He seemed to be in a light leather jacket and jeans which hung over the side of the building.

“Sarah, do you see that guy over there?’ Her body cautiously turned towards the boy’s location but when she looked up he was gone. Sarah eyes gave me a curious and worried look. A wind blew by creating flaps in my tee shirt and sent loose leaves swirling through the air. I know I saw him there but I must have been wrong. I shrugged it off as my mind playing tricks on me. That was all it was.