A Thousand Nights with You - 14. The world on his shoulders

Smoke and dust shrouded our vision. For a short while, the moans came to a chilling halt. I shield my eyes, squinting for any signs of Grey. Please come soon. I prayed. Otherwise, the infected from a mile away will be here in no time.

“Ten seconds. If he doesn’t show up, we leave.” She steeled herself, but her eyes searched for him everywhere through the dust and smoke.

One.

A few dark shadows appear from the street corners. Tristan and Grace raised their weapons.

Two.

The haunting chorus of moans begin again. I rubbed my eyes to get rid of the dusts.

Three.

The infected appears, some from behind us. Mark charges at them and take them out with his crowbar.

Four.

More infected are coming. The dust settles, but thick heavy smoke rises from the burning rubbles. There is still no sign of him.

“We must leave now!” Mark shouts as he takes down another infected.

A few straggling infected trickles out from the street corners. Soon, hordes of black shambling figures appear beyond the fire. The smoke obscures our scent for now, but they will soon realize we are fresh meat. Grey might still be inside the smoke, knocked off balance by the blast.

“Let’s go…” Her face is a pained mask as she takes a deep breath and dashed back into the car.

“No, wait. You said ten seconds.” I begged.

Mark pulled me back into the vehicle as I protest. Tristan drove off immediately. There are about a dozen infected blocking us in the narrow side alley. Tristan stepped down on the pedal and run them over at full speed. Our wind screen almost cracked from the impact. The Rover shook as a few loud thuds almost slowed us down. We barely made it out.

I turn my head towards the back of the car, hoping to catch a glimpse of Grey before we leave. Instead, I see a swarm of dark, scabby cannibals behind us filling up the road and picking up blown up flesh and limbs, thinking it is a feast. It is like a gruesome image from hell. It cuts me deeply.

My eyes are wet. This isn’t like the supermarket where things happened so fast that we can’t save our friends. We made a choice to leave him behind. How could we do this?

Mark puts a hand on me and I shrugged him off. I am angry and disappointed. But most of all, I wanted to cry. I thought we are all better than this. Mark wanted to say something, but Grace shook her head. I look out to the window, not wanting anyone to see the tears falling down my cheeks.

I stared out at the empty streets outside. The stone cold walls, the heaps of debris, there are so few of us left in this world.

“Grow up, kid.” Grace said to me. Her voice is so soft that I could barely hear her. She looks straight ahead, her face stoic but the corner of her eye shimmers with pain.

“Leave him alone, Grace.” My brother said.

My dad said growing up means having to hide how you feel. But mom always taught us that growing up means being honourable and decent. That’s why she says everyone grows old, but not everyone grows up. I felt like we had abandoned him.

“He wouldn’t have wanted us to die with him.” Mark said softly.

“He is right, Dan. Think about the people starving in winter. We can’t fail this mission.” Tristan said.

I look at my brother, and then to Mark. Grace is probably closest to Grey among us, but she took it all in. Right now, many people depends on us. That’s why Grey chose to risk himself. I have no right to be angry, but I felt like a part of me died today. Or maybe that’s how growing up really feels like.

For the rest of the journey, no one spoke at all.

The plan worked, there is no infected in the surrounding streets into Holborn. Some of the streets are so empty and quiet that it almost feels like a lazy Sunday morning where everyone is sleeping in. If you don’t look at the old newspapers flying down the streets or that single abandoned car overturned at the sidewalk, you may just forget for a single moment, that the apocalypse is here. Grey didn’t die for nothing.

We parked the rover near the fire exit. Mark led the way with a massive crowbar. Infected lurking in buildings may be too dumb to get out when they hear the blast. They are solely driven by instincts.

“The fire escape stairs don’t look very sturdy. Are you sure they won’t fall apart?” Grace runs her hand over the railing that comes a little loose.

“We have no choice. It’s safer climb up out in the open. At least we can see them coming from afar.” Mark said. The fire escape stairs are made of metal steps fastened together with rusty screws and pipes. No one had used them for years and it barely held our weight when Mark and I got off the building. If we take the stairs inside the building, there is no way of knowing how many of them remained inside the building. Not to mention the stairs inside are totally dark right now. We decided to take our chances with the fire escape.

It turns out to be a good decision. As we climb up, we saw some infected banging at the windows at us. This means we need to be extra careful when we move the algae tanks. If they figure out how to get out of the building, we will be in deep shit. Tristan isn’t terribly pleased to see infected still lurking around, but we learned something. The infected only sees a straight line. They don’t know how to get around or avoid an obstacle. The infected inside the windows simply banged on the windows fruitlessly. All they had to do is to get out from the flat and open the door from the hallways to get to us.

The four of us stopped at the top floor where our old apartment is.

“Wait, I need to get something.” Tristan said.

“So do I.” I look at him. Both of us shared a smile, looking a little embarrassed. We are just finding excuses to go home.

Mark and Grace didn’t object, especially when they open our wardrobe and find tons of clothing for the colder weather. All of us strip out of our grimy garments without a second thought about modesty. I’ve seen Mark and Tristan naked. But I’ve never seen a woman naked in my life before. Not in real life at least.

Grace puts on mom’s bras as if we aren’t around. It feels a little awkward, not because she’s female, but because she kind of reminds me of mom. They are probably around the same age. I looked around and find that I’m the only one feeling conscious about it. I guess nothing is really weird anymore these days. Right now, the only thing on everyone’s minds is how these fresh, warm clothes feel like utter bliss.

“Do we have to turn these clothes in?” I asked Grace.

There’s a rule that says whatever you find during a run belongs to the community. You will have to pay for them if you want to keep it.

“Not unless you are wearing them.” She said, not without a sly grin. She saw me taking a blanket from my parent’s drawer and she said, “You can’t keep that. It’s too obvious.”

“Actually I’m taking this for Grey’s wife. I think she needs one.”

“She’s an infected, Dan.” She sounds as if I am delusional. No one knows if an infected can feel cold. No one probably cares either. I suspect the infected don’t really care about the cold themselves.

“I think Grey will want that.” I said.

She looks at me briefly, and then she said, “Give it to me.”

She wraps the blanket around her shoulders like a shawl. She returns a smile as I beam. This way, no one will know we took it from a run.

Mark and Tristan helped themselves with some leftover combat rations that we left behind. We couldn’t fit it inside our bags when we left home the last time. I took a few more engineering books from dad’s library – how to make a solar panel from scratch, plans for building a log cabin, books on hydroponic farming. Grace makes some snarky remarks about them being useful to keep the fire going during winter.

My brother offered me a biscuit. I ate so fast that I ended up choking on it. He pats on my back so hard that I coughed up the most of it. I didn’t realize I was picking up the crumbs on the floor until I realize everyone was staring at me.

We climbed up to my room, planning to get to the roof top from there. I was supposed to give instructions, but I lost my train of thoughts when I stare at my soft, warm bed. I forgot how exhausted I am. Just like I forgot I was starving until I ate the biscuits.

“Dan?” Mark’s voice stirred me out from my stupor. “Tell us what you want us to do.”

Everyone is waiting for my orders. Suddenly, I feel like an adult.

Grow up.

I can almost imagine Grey’s voice echoing what Grace had said. I also can imagine Grace saying that to Grey a thousand times when he is a fresh recruit away from home by a few thousand miles away. I have to focus and get this over quickly.

Once we climbed onto the roof, we gathered around the junkyard. There are heaps of small jars lying about. They must have been blown off the racks during one of the storms. I picked up one of them and told the rest to pack the algae from the tanks into these smaller jars. They will be easier to carry that way.

“Algae should only fill half the jar. The rest of it must be water.” I instructed them as I take out the empty backpacks and hand it out to them. Grace came back from a corner, her eyes wide with concern.

“You should see this.” She said.

I stood up immediately and made a dash to the racks. My heart stopped.

More than half of the algae are gone.

“How can this be possible?” I gasped.

This is it. My last hope is gone. How am I going to produce that much food in two weeks? I will be exiled. Tristan looks at me sadly, putting a hand on my shoulder. Mark takes a deep breath, surveying the damage done to the tanks and the algae.

“Is it the storm?” Tristan said as he runs a finger along the crack on the tank.

“It must be the couple. They took more food than the algae can grow.” Mark said.

“Crap! How can two people eat so much in a week?” Grace cursed.

Suddenly, a man grabbed Grace from behind and held a knife over her throat. The pistol dropped from her hands onto the ground.

“It’s three people.” The balding man said. A woman appeared hesitantly around the corner. He ordered her to pick up the gun.

“Steve? Sharon? You’re still alive…” Grace gasped.

“Shut up!” The balding man pressed the knife over her throat.

He warns Tristan, “Sharon is pregnant. We are not going back there.”

My brother nodded slowly, he knows what the man means. If they return, the woman will have to whore herself. Tristan and Grace apparently know them well, but the balding man doesn’t trust them at all. They are the couple who killed the soldier who travelled with them.

“We are not here to hurt you, Steve. We just want the algae.” Tristan said.

“You are stealing our food? You are not going to steal our food!” He raised his voice.

“Calm down, calm down. No one is stealing.” My brother panders to him.

“Come back with us, Sharon. Your baby won’t survive through winter.” Grace tries to reason with the woman, the knife comes very close to her throat.

“I knew it, Sharon! They are coming for us.” The man shouts.

Tristan tries to placate him again. But this time, the balding man threatens to kill Grace unless he puts down his weapon.

“Leave everything behind. Your food, your guns. I count to three!” He shrieked.

Tristan lowers his weapon slowly, but he didn’t put it down completely. Suddenly, he said, “Steve, where is Matt? I thought both of you left with him.”

“Matt? Matt...” The menace in his eyes is gone for a moment. He looks disoriented, guilt overcome his face. I understood what Tristan is trying to do. I had told him what happened to the burly soldier. He is trying to distract him and buy for time.

“You killed him didn’t you?” I said. “You stole from him and killed your friend.”

“He… He’s not my friend! He made Sharon pregnant. He protected us only because the baby was his…” He shook his head violently. Meanwhile, Grace tried to remain calm. She breathes heavily as the pointed tip dug deeper into her throat.

“Stop it Steve, we have no quarrel with Grace.” The woman begged her husband. Her hands are trembling as she held up the pistol. She obviously had never used one before. The safety lock was on.

Meanwhile my brother fixed his gaze on the balding man, waiting for an opening to save Grace. The women is hesitating.

“Matt loved you, Sharon. He never sleeps with the rest of us.” Grace said, both of her hands still up in the air.

“She’s my wife! That asshole fucked my wife!” He yelled angrily and slashed her throat.

Blood spilled as Grace’s gurgled cry sprung my brother into action. He raised his gun and fired.

His wife screamed as the bullet shot through the bald man’s head. She raised the pistol and aimed at me.

Mark dived in front, shielding me as she pulls the trigger.

It was locked.

A split second later, Tristan fired a second shot. She drops to her knees, dropping the pistol and clutching her bloodied abdomen.

Blood spreads across the cold, hard ground, soaking the soles of our shoes. The bald man and his wife lie on the floor, both stares at my brother. The man is dead, the woman is barely alive. He probably aimed for her heart, but he shot her abdomen instead. Her baby is dead, for sure.

She is bleeding profusely; it will be a slow, painful death for her.

“Fuck… Sharon, I’m sorry.” My brother cried. His face turns pale.

Mark rushed to stop Grace from bleeding. I stood shocked, unable to do anything but tremble.

“I… didn’t mean to. I-I’m so sorry.” My brother stood there, shocked and crying.

Her are eyes wide open, staring at him as her body shook and curled up in pain.

“Help me, Dan!” Mark cried.

I stirred from my stupor and held up Grace. The gash was deep, and came terribly close to her throat. She is still breathing, but she didn’t dare to make a sound. I am afraid blood will start gushing out if she does. Mark took out her morphine and gave her a jab. Other than that, we didn’t know what else we can do for her. None of us had any training in first aid.

“Let me do this.” Tristan said. His face is still white with shock, but he had steeled himself. From the way he looks, I know this is not the first time he killed someone who isn’t an infected. Kill or die. He had told me before, it never gets easier.

Mark turns aside and supports Grace. Tristan knelt down and took out the disinfectants, sutures and needle. The morphine took some sting away but I can’t help but cringed as I watch the needle piercing her skin as he sews up her wounds. Once she stabilized, we stood there and stared at the pregnant woman. Her breathing is shallow and rapid now. She is dying.

“We can’t leave her to die like this.” I said.

“She lost too much blood, Dan. There is nothing we can do.” Mark said.

Tristan avoided looking at her. The moment he is done patching up Grace, he sat there in a daze.

Among us, only Mark still had things together. He stood up and took charge of the situation, “We don’t have much time left till sundown. We need to salvage whatever we can from here.”

He ordered Tristan to help Grace down onto the rover. He is trying to get my brother away from here as soon as possible. After all, the couples he shot are people he knew. Meanwhile, the two of us pack whatever algae that are left. Even though I grew them, I felt like I was robbing.

The woman struggled to reach for her husband. I stood up and helped moved his body so that he lies next to her. She couldn’t speak and can barely hold up her head to look at me.

“What are you doing, Dan?” Mark asked as I pick up the pistol from the ground.

“I can’t abandon her like this.” I pointed the gun at her temple, closing my eyes.

“Let me do it.” He said.

“No, Mark. I’m doing this for my brother.”

Then I fired a shot into her head.

She looks peaceful now. I closed their eyes and put their hands together. Mark looks at me, but he didn’t say a word. I look down at my hands and wonder if the blood will ever truly be washed away.

Back at the vehicle, Tristan told Mark to drive while he cares for Grace. She is stable now, but weak. My brother is the only one who knows what to do in such situations. But he is still recovering from the shock and guilt. I know what he is going through. He walked away to let her die. Just like he had left mom trapped under the car because he couldn’t bear to kill her. Guilt is tearing him apart. His hands trembled slightly as I hold him.

“She is at peace now.” I said. “I put her to sleep.”

He looks at me, eyes wide with surprise and relief. Then he nods and said softly, “Thanks, bro.”

“I never had to kill someone who’s not infected.” I said to my brother. “But I guess if anyone threatens you, I would have done the same too.”

Tristan smiled as the guilt eased on his face.

“Dan.” Mark calls out to me as he starts the engine. “We can’t go back to the school. They will throw you out without a shit.”

“We can’t go anywhere. Winter will kill us, if we don’t starve to death first.” Tristan murmured.

“Not if we have these.” Mark looks at the algae jars and condensers we placed at the back of the vehicle. I understood him. If we return, they will throw me out without the warm clothes, food and weapons. Even if my brother and Mark left, we won’t last a week.

“What about Jody, we’re leaving him behind? He saved our lives, Mark.” I said, and I turn to look at Grace. “She won’t make it without a doctor too.”

Tristan stares at the algae jars, deep in thought. Suddenly, he turns to me and says. “Dan, where did you get all these algae from?”

“What do you mean? I grew them.” I said.

“No, before that. Didn’t mom and you buy these from somewhere?” His face lit up.

“Oh.”

I got what he means. We bought the raw Spirulina from the ecological food wholesaler off Holborn. It’s not too far away from here. We would be able to get much more algae and other stuff from there. Provided that the place hadn’t been looted like everywhere else.

Mark drove out as Tristan gave him directions. It is close to the blast site earlier. In fact, it might be too close for comfort.

“There’s no choice, we have to take the chance.” Mark said as he drives back to the boulevard.

We parked the car about fifty yards away from the warehouse building. We have to get inside one of the side alleys to enter. The moans are loud and the car engine will attract their attention. It’s safer to walk a little.

As we get down the car, we can hear the infected swarming the road just behind the block. We are taking a huge risk here.

“Dan, you stay here with Grace.” Tristan said.

“No, we should stick together.” I protested, not wanting my brother to risk himself alone.

“She’s in no condition to move.” Mark reasoned.

Grace sits up slightly, her hands pressing down on the cotton swab around her throat. “Go, Dan. Just leave my pistol behind.”

Her voice is scratchy, but she looks alright otherwise.

“But there’s only a bullet left.” Mark said.

“That’s all I need.” She smiles as she grimaced in pain. The morphine is wearing out already.

Before we go, Tristan told us to powder our bodies.

“We’ll be getting close to the horde. We need to hide our scent from them.” My brother said as he takes out the dark green sachet and tosses a couple at us. I remember the drill Grace taught us: One sachet for the upper body, one for the lower. Make sure all the pulse and sweat points are covered; neck, wrists, balls, ass, armpits, those are our sweat glands that produces our scent. One group loss half their team because an idiot didn’t powder his balls. The infected could smell him from yards away.

“Pull up your shirt.” My brother orders me as he checks my body is fully powdered. I feel like a six year old, up for a body inspection. After I did the same for him, he said to me, “Go help your boyfriend.”

I glare at Tristan as Mark pretends not to hear what he said.

“What’s wrong?” Tristan raised an eye. He obviously didn’t hear what he said.

“It’s all right, Dan. I got it covered.” Mark gives me an awkward grin. We avoid each other’s eyes.

“Don’t say that unless you have eyes on your ass.” Tristan turns to him and chided in serious tones. “I’m not joking. Make sure you covered everything. They can smell us from afar.”

That’s why no one wants rookies for their run. Grey taught us how to check if we are properly powdered. If we can sniff a scent an inch away, the infected can sense us a yard away. Mark turns around for me as he lifts his shirt. I can pick up his musky scent from where I stand.

“Remember to check out his ass.” Tristan said as he rubs another layer of powder onto himself. I glared at him again. This time, he realized what he had said. “Sorry, I mean check his ass.”

I threw some powder at him.

“It’s okay Dan. It’s not like you haven’t seen me before.” Mark shrugs and offers a sheepish smile.

My face turns a deep shade of red. That. Is. So. Not. Helping.

“Just… shut up. Both of you.” I muttered under my breath.

Mark isn’t as flexible as Tristan with all those muscles around. Many spots aren’t covered properly, plus he exudes a thick musky scent. I don’t need to be an infected to smell him from a mile away. I have to lean close and sniff him every time to make sure there’s enough powder on him.

I finished powdering him up as soon as I can. The last thing I want is sneaking up to the infected with a hard on poking through my pants. It’s like taunting the piranhas with a sausage with your fingers into the water. Tristan barely conceals a snigger when I look at him.

The warehouse entrance is in a narrow alley connected to the main boulevard of the blast site. It’s a little tricky to get in with all the turns and corners. The place isn’t easy to find even when mom and I used to come here every month. Their customers are normally retailers who orders over the internet, not walk-in housewives like my mom. That’s why their shop isn’t on the main road.

The powder worked like magic. Even though we are only about ten, twenty yards away from the infected horde at some point, none of them paid any attention to us. But even then, it was extremely unnerving to stand so close to so many of them.

“Just stay calm and no sudden movements.” Tristan whispered to us as Mark tries to break into the warehouse as quietly as he can.

“Be careful, there might be more inside.” I said softly.

I try not to get my hopes up too high. Most shops selling food and essentials are looted. As we drove past earlier, we see only a few shop windows remained unbroken. Mark lifts the metal shutter slowly as we enter into a dark corridor with a few wooden doors lining the side. The sign hanged lopsided at the top. The ‘Eco’ in the Ecological wholesaler private limited are smeared with blood stains. The door creaked as we pushed it open. It’s unlocked.

The warehouse is almost dark except for a few beams of light from the windows at the side. Outside the main boulevard, the blast created a huge crater. Some of the walls further down this building were blown apart.

They call this a warehouse but it is only a little bigger than our store at the school. Packets of wheatgrass, wheatgrass racks, dried algae, bottles of wet algae, living sprouts, sprouted nuts and seeds, loads of them filled the shelves. It’s a good thing that no one thought about looting this place.

A wide smile beamed on our faces. Mark and Tristan hugged me in joy. With all these food, none of us will starve in winter. This is so much better than what we had at the rooftop.

“Thank God. I thought my teeth are going to turn green from eating algae for the rest of my life.” Tristan said as he picks up a packet of chia seeds.

“Will they grow in the winter?” Mark asked.

“Some farms used LED lights instead of sunlight.” I said.

“You mean these?” Tristan picks up a LED lamp from the rack. My face light up immediately.

“Yes! These are the ones. We just need to find a way to get power and we can grow food through the winter.”

“Why didn’t they rot? There’s no freezer here.” Mark picks up a packet of wheatgrass, flipping it around and look for expiry dates.

“These are living food. They lasts quite a while with moisture and sunlight.” I explained.

The three of us wasted no time in stuffing our backpacks with all the bounty. Besides all the food and LED lamps, Mark even found a solar panel which we can use.

“Get the wet ones, and those that are sprouted.” I told Mark and my brother. Those dried algae with preservatives can’t be grown anymore.

We had to make a few trips to and fro from our car. The trunk can barely contain all the food, so we packed some at the backseat as well. Now that there’re only four of us, we don’t need that much space behind. Grace woke up and smiles weakly. Our mission didn’t fail after all. There is hope for winter after all.

“One last trip and we’re done.” Tristan smiled as we turn back into the narrow alley.

“Aren’t we being greedy? We have more than enough.” I said.

“There will be never enough food.” Mark said, wiping off the sweat from his forehead.

“Fuck! No.” Tristan tried to stop him. But it was too late. Mark had wiped off the powder from his face.

The infected horde that didn’t pay us any attention earlier got a whiff in the air. A moan is all it takes to get the rest to notice us. The swarm start flooding into the alley. The three of us turned back and ran like the wind, jumping over the debris and garbage cans along the way. Only one more turn to the main road, but the infected are coming in from the other side of the alley.

We are trapped.

The ones behind us are quickly catching up. The ones ahead are less than a couple of yards away. Only Tristan had a rifle. Not even an assault rifle. There is no way out for us.

The alley ahead of us exploded as the three of us raised our hands to shield our bodies.

“Climb up the pipes!” The voice shouted from above.

“GREY!” I yelped in joy.

Tristan pushed me up the pipe as Mark swung at an infected that got too close.

Grey threw another grenade at the infected catching from behind. He fired at them with his assault rifle. I helped to pull up my brother and Mark. As soon as the three of us got up to the roof, we ran across to the other side of the road towards our vehicle.

The smell of sweat, the sound of our rapid, shallow breaths, time seems to slow down as we race to get back to the car. Once they swarm the other road, there’s no driving out. From the rooftop, we can see the infected are leaving the blast site. Some has even gone to the main road where we are. Mark and Tristan climbed down the pipe from the other side. Grey covered us while I made my way down.

The moans are getting louder and closer.

“Hurry!” Tristan shouts.

I jumped down from the remaining length of the pipe and sprained my ankle. Mark picked me up and piggy-backed me to the car. Meanwhile, Tristan fired at the infected coming out from the alley, covering Grey’s descent. Once Grey landed, he caught up with us along with my brother. Tristan took the car while Grey sat in front. With the algae and wheatgrass packs filled the backseats, I have no choice but to sit on Mark’s lap behind.

The car shook and tumbled. Tristan drove like he’s playing GTA, knocking aside many infected to get out from the clutter. The rover almost overturned when the horde was almost big enough to stop the car. We made it, but our windshield finally cracked. Grey fired randomly ahead to clear the way for Tristan to drive through.

“Turn right!” Mark shouted.

About fifty yards ahead, we spotted another horde swarming out from the alley. Tristan made a sharp turn into a side road as we watch the infected chasing behind us.

“Turn right again!” Mark shouted.

“We’ll getting deeper in! We need to get out of the city before we run out of gas.” Tristan yelled.

Suddenly, I had an idea. “Drive towards the tower bridge beside the river.”

“That’s a big detour! The tank’s almost empty.” My brother said.

“We won’t make it at this rate either.” Mark said, holding on to me as the car tumbles.

The infected spreads across the city like wild fire. They can’t outrun us, but they are everywhere. Many roads are blockaded by abandoned cars. And the further we stray, the more likely we will run into other hordes that didn’t hear the blast. There are probably more than ten million infected inside the city.

The bridge is actually a flyover for cars used to cross it to get over to the other side of the river.

“What’s next?” Tristan yelped.

“We drive up to the bridge and siphon gas from one of the abandoned cars.” I pointed up to the bridge ahead.

“What? Are you crazy?” He cried. “The moment we get off the vehicle, we’re dead.”

“Remember how we used to watch the Christmas parade from the tower?” I asked my brother. “We stand so close to the river bank and you fell right into the river.”

Tristan shot at look at me. His face is in disbelief.

“We don’t have enough gas anyway. It’s our only chance.” I said.

As soon as the car stopped, Grey and Mark got off the refill our tank. Me and my brother stand close to the highway railings, waving like madmen at the approaching infected hoard. The entire street is filled with them, like a swarm of black cloud. There must be hundreds and thousands of them. Tristan and I took a deep breath and yelled to get their attention. We must not let them spread anywhere else except towards us.

When they come close to the river bank, I held my breath. The ones leading the charge heard and saw us waving from above. They ran straight towards us.

As I thought, the infected didn’t make the detour to get around the highway. They jumped straight into the river towards us. We watched them from above as they drowned. We need to keep doing this until the horde thins out enough for us to drive away from this mess.

The haunting moans soon drowned by gurgled screams. There are more approaching and the river is slowly piling up with their bodies. Even if they are infected, it’s too hard to watch.

“We’re full, let’s go.” Grey said.

 ***

Day 67

We returned as heroes.

The few of us spent a few days to transform the roof top and the greenhouse into a hydroponic farm. With the weather turning colder and dryer, we rely more on the massive condensers we built for water. It’s hardly enough, but at least we are not at nature’s mercy. The prices for water now are no longer insane.

Soldiers salute us as we walk past them. Civilians will nod their head as my brother and I gather around the Quartermaster store and watch the food prices plummet. There are more food going around, and for now, rumours of robbing the Quartermaster store has died down. The armed soldiers guarding the store looked less on edge. Everyone looked happier, except the Colonel. Despite things turning for the better, he looked more troubled than before.

Grey is getting more popular by the day. Soldiers and civilians respect him more than they do towards the Colonel. More people are helping us out at the greenhouse, even though the pay is lower. With hydroponic farming, we filled the greenhouse will rows and rows of plants and vegetables. We don’t need the soil at all. Algae are like weeds, they grow naturally in the wild and it doesn’t take them long to fill out the tanks Jody had lined up across the terrace. Life is finally looking up in the school. But the Colonel isn’t happy that people are pulling away from his southern wall construction project. Even some of the soldiers volunteered to help us conduct runs to find more solar panels and LED lights.

Meanwhile, Grace is recovering well at the medical bay. The doctor had to do a little surgery on her but she made it. I paid her a couple of visits and often find Grey there as well. I have a feeling he isn’t there just to see her. That afternoon, I find him sitting by her bed, watching her sleep soundly.

His golden hair caught the sun and for once, his broad shoulders don’t stoop like they bear the weight of the world. Without his uniform, Grey looks just like a corn-fed farm boy with his easy smile and earnest eyes. I sat beside him quietly.

He smiles says to me softly, “I was shell shocked five years ago when the bomb blew up my commander. She brought me out of there alive. It was my first deployment overseas, and I won’t get to see my wife for a year. Grace told me to grow up. And I won’t be alive today if I didn’t listen to her.”

“She said that to me too.” I said, but I left out why she had said it.

He smiled at me, “That’s her idea of being motherly.”

Silence fills the room as we look at her. The shadow lengthens as the evening sun descends. The room gets colder by the minute. He covers her with the blanket which she used as a shawl.

“She took that for Elena. We thought you were dead.”

Grey didn’t acknowledge what I’ve said. Talking about his wife always upsets him. I should have known better. After a while, he finally said,

“I thought I was dead too. But thanks.”

“How did you survive? We didn’t see you anywhere.” I asked.

“I can’t see anything through the dust and smoke, so I kept running till I hit a wall. Then I climbed up the pipe and found myself trapped on the roof. The rest of it is history.”

“No wonder. We thought you were trapped in the smoke.” I said.

He smiles at my concern. And he says, “I know. I heard you screaming when they drag you back into the car. It’s good to know someone cares.”

I blushed and smiled. We hadn’t known each other for long, but time is hardly a good measure for friendship - especially when life now is measured in days and not in years. I thought we lost Grey and Grace. But in the end, we made it back in one piece. More or less.

I spent more nights with Tristan since we got back. All his jokes and pranks are just an act to hide his pain. He kept having nightmares when he sleeps at night. I told Mark about this, and both of us tried to get him to talk about it. My brother didn’t want to talk. Every time he will just evade it with a joke or tease me about Mark until I learn to back off. We didn’t have much time to check on him for the past two weeks. Jody, Mark and I are working tirelessly, barely having five hours of sleep a day. I have to produce enough food for two hundred in order to stay.

“Tomorrow the Colonel asked to see me. It’s my deadline.” I said.

“You got nothing to worry about. You delivered your side of the bargain.”

“I hope so.” I shrugged.

He puts a hand on my shoulders awkwardly and smiles. “Guess you won’t be for hire anymore.”

“I don’t look good in lingerie anyway.” I chuckled and blushed again.

“But I’m still your friend. If you ever need company…” I said.

“You will make a special appearance?”

We laughed.

This is the first time I hear him joke. He feels a lot lighter now.

“Maybe we can talk to the Colonel tomorrow. He shouldn’t do this to your wife. At most we kidnap an infected for him to be his guinea pig.” I said.

Grey smiled bitterly. He really doesn’t want to talk about his wife now. I should learn when to shut up. He looks as if I have said something naïve, but he nodded anyway. I know he is being patronizing, but I’m used to people treating me like a kid.

After a while, he gets up from the side of Grace’s bed and beckons me to follow him. “I need to tell you something.”

The guards saluted him but they won’t let him bring me in. Grey pleaded with them, and they look at the Major. He simply ignores us and focuses on examining under the microscope.

“Please guys, he’s just a kid. What harm can he do?” Grey said.

The taller soldier hesitated but the shorter one looks at him and said, “All right, five minutes Grey. We don’t want any trouble with the Colonel.”

Both of them stepped aside to let us through. I followed Grey down the stairs into the same small cell he brought me into. His wife is sleeping, or heavily sedated. She didn’t turn towards us this time.

I stood there, waiting for Grey to say something. He said he has something to tell me after all. Why does he have to say it here?

Grey said nothing. Instead, he sits at the side of her bed, leaning in really close to her. My heart almost stopped. Even though she is strapped and gagged, she is still an infected. This is far too dangerous.

“Grey, this isn’t a good idea.” I tugged at his sleeves gently.

He ignored me and he unfastened the straps around her. I gasped, “No! Don’t do this.”

She stirs from the bed.

Grey removes the gag as he looks at her groggy eyes. I tried to pull him away, but he stopped me. I froze on the spot, torn between running out and saving Grey from this insanity. And my eyes widened in fear as she raised an arm. She utters a guttural sound.

“You’re here, Grey.”

I can’t believe my ears. An infected had actually spoken.