A Thousand Nights with You - 16. Empty shells

“NO! We can’t run.” Tristan grabs me by my shoulders. “The Colonel will hunt us down like animals.”

He paces back and forth, and arguing with Mark about whether we should go with Grey’s plans.

“How far can he chase us without food supply? Think about it.” Mark argued.

“He would die trying, if what Major Craig says about the virus evolving is true.” Tristan said.

“I don’t know why, but I too feel the virus is turning into something else. I don’t know if it’s my imagination but the infected seems to be more… organized now.” Tristan said.

My brother looks at the descending darkness across the fields where the infected are chained. We can barely make out their shadows in the distance.

“I feel it too.” I said to my brother. The infected aren’t hibernating because they had no food. Didn’t you sense it when we are in the city? They are like going through a metamorphosis, changing into something else. Like a human barnacle or something.

“The Colonel wouldn’t keep Elena alive if our survival hadn’t depended on her.” Tristan said.

“Both of you can’t be serious. How can you actually trust the Colonel? Must I remind you what he almost forced your brother into doing?” Mark raised his voice, getting all worked up.

Tristan glared back and said, “The Colonel is ruthless. You might not agree with his methods, but he is no coward. I don’t believe he will cook up a story for the President, just to get himself evacuated. I mean, look at the army. They have weapons and vehicles. I asked him didn’t we get out of the city and rebuild a community in the rural areas where it is safer. He said there is no point running because the virus will get us eventually. Now I finally understood what he meant.”

“A-Are you saying that we let the Colonel have Grey’s wife?” I said.

“I am saying that I would rather trust the devil I know.” Tristan replied.

“Think about your brother.” Mark said.

“I AM THINKING ABOUT DANIEL.” Tristan shouts. “Without a cure, there will be no future for him, for any of us.”

Mark shook his head, as if Tristan missed his point. “If this is Daniel, and not Grey’s wife, will you sacrifice him to save the world?”

Mark turns to me, both hands on my arms. He says to me with gentle eyes, “When I first met you Dan, you shared whatever little you had with me. You believed in people. That’s what makes us humans. That’s what drew me to you. If we have to give that up just to live another day, then we would have already been dead before the Colonel could kill us.”

I had never seen Mark so worked up before. I’m scared to death about the future, life on the run without a solid wall to keep us safe. And when the infection spreads to every corner of the world, in months or if we’re lucky – years - all that is left for us will be each other. What Mark said reminds me of what Mom told us about growing up and finally becoming an adult. You learn to care about things greater than yourself. I stared at Mark, his broad shoulders heaving with passion and rage, and I suddenly realized why I fell in love with him. He is a man, a grown man with strength that comes from his heart and not those taut muscles. The way he got so fired up on Grey’s cause made me believe beyond doubt that if it was my life that’s on the line, Mark would have done the same thing too.

Tristan turns to me, saying softly. “You are my brother, Dan. I will go wherever you go.”

“I’m scared, Tristan. I thought I knew Grey, but after I found out that he did stole the medical supplies, I don’t dare to trust my own judgment anymore. I don’t care about what happens to me. But I will never forgive myself if anything happens to one of you.” I said.

“I won’t forgive you if anything happens to you too. You little idiot.” Tristan pulls me in for a hug, ruffling up my hair and kissed my head.

We made our choice.

Mark’s words struck me deeply. He used to be the more suspicious one between the two of us, being older, wiser and more guarded as well. He said I had changed how he sees the world. I didn’t know if I had actually done that, even though he sounds like he means it. Tristan was right about Mark. He cared about me more than I thought he did. Mark isn’t really friends with Grey, or Grace for that matter. So there’s no real reasons why he wants to help Grey. Tristan was worried for my safety, but Mark was worried about me turning into someone whom I’m not – cynical and cold.

The three of us made our way to the dumpster in the dark, feeling our ways through the walls so that the sentries won’t spot us. Tristan’s hand is on my shoulders, making sure that he doesn’t lose me in the dark. I tried to do the same for Mark, since he is walking ahead of us. But instead, he lifts my hand away from his shoulder, holding it and guiding me in the dark instead. His strong grasp made me feel protected and thankfully, he can’t see my face flushing in the dark. It’s almost like he’s afraid to let go, like I will disappear into the darkness if he releases his hand. And somehow, that feels different from how Tristan would have watched over me. To me, the way he holds my hand feels almost like a kiss. I walk behind him closely - more than I need to – so that I can inhale his familiar musk that makes me feel safe. Once we are outside these safe walls, we may never have a good night sleep again.

We saw flash lights near the dumpster, which I thought it was odd. Grey is a soldier, he won’t be so careless as to draw the sentry’s attention. As we approach slowly, Mark puts a hand to stop us.

“Something is not right. I hear people talking.” He whispers. In the darkness, I hear nothing but the crickets and the soft contact of our heels against the mud. We move forward slowly and quietly. From afar, I could see Grey and the rest are kneeling on the ground. Flashlights and guns surrounded them.

The Colonel found out about their plan. How can it be?

There are about ten soldiers flanking the Colonel. Those are the lieutenants who are loyal to him. Three of them, the quartermaster and the two guards who caught Grey that night were also there. They pointed at Peter, the petite ginger soldier, and kicked him to the floor. I remembered they went in to see the Colonel privately before I was asked into his office. It seems that they knew who stole the medical supplies all along.

Beside them, I can see the truck is all loaded with the supplies. That means the Colonel only arrived shortly before we did. I cursed myself. If we had made a decision sooner than maybe they won’t be caught in time. Two of the soldiers went up to the back of the truck and brought Elena out. She is strapped and gagged like a lunatic. The tranquilizer apparently has lost its effects, either that she is aware that she is being taken away from her husband. She is struggling violently like an infected. The Colonel gave a nod and they head back towards the school compound. Major Craig is nowhere to be found. That means the Colonel might not have known about our involvement yet. But that won’t last long because as soon as the soldier returns her to the medical bay, they will find him there and we would be in deep trouble. The remaining eight soldiers look to the Colonel, who appears to be speaking.

“The Colonel knew Peter had accomplices. That’s why he didn’t arrest him immediately.” Tristan whispers.

“How do you know?” Mark asked.

“I can read lips.” He whispered.

“Boy scouts learn how to do that?” Mark asked again.

“No. I grow up watching TV with the volume muted.” Tristan sticks out his tongue. “My parents wouldn’t know I wasn’t sleeping in my room.”

“Does he know about me?” I asked my brother.

He shakes his head and shrugs. “I don’t know. Right now he seems to be interrogating Grey or something.”

The soldiers are gathering everyone in front of the truck. Jody was lying on the ground, struggling to get up while a soldier kicked him back down. Two soldiers dragged Felicia out from the truck, and one of them zipped up his pants as they emerged. They threw her onto the ground besides the rest. She was bruised and crying. The soldiers raised their rifles at them, the Colonel was shouting by now, loud enough for us to hear from this distance. He demands to know if there are any more accomplices.

“Do something!” Mark said.

“If I shoot now, they will kill them immediately.” My brother cried. “Besides, there are eight of them carrying weapons. Nine, if you include the Colonel. We can’t out fire them.”

“Take out the ones holding the flashlight. They can’t see in the dark.” Mark said. Tristan raised his rifle, getting ready to aim.

We are seriously outnumbered and underpowered. There are nine of them with assault rifles whereas there are only three of us. Only Tristan has a normal rifle and a small handgun. We will get killed in a direct cross fire. I thought about how the spotted hyenas hunt in Africa. They can even take down larger predators like lions when they capitalize on their advantage. They can see in the dark, but not the lions.

“No!” I stopped him. “We can’t get them out safely in the dark. I have a plan.”

One thing the three of us had in common is that we all understand Morse code. I told my brother and Mark that we have the element of surprise. We can see them in the dark, but they can’t see us until we start firing. We have the element of surprise. And with one hand holding the flashlight, their aim is going to be affected by the recoil. All we needed to do, is for me to sneak up ahead to distract them. The whole idea is to get all of them to turn their backs on Tristan and Mark. Since Grey and the rest are already kneeling down, they will instinctively lie flat once the shooting begins. My brother hands Mark a pistol and told him,

“Aim for their heads or their chests. This way our friends won’t get caught by the crossfire.”

“Once I distract them, they will fire blindly at my direction. It will take them a while to realize that both of you are shooting from behind.” Then I turn to Mark and said, “You take the other corner and fire from the left. They will be confused by how many of us there are when we start shooting from both sides. By the time they figure out our positions, we would have taken down quite a few. If we are lucky, and if they are smart, they will drop their lights and start running for their lives.”

“Dan, you got to be careful. They will aim at your direction first.” Tristan said.

“I know. Don’t shoot until I give the signal. Your muzzle will give your position away once you start firing.” I said.

My brother broke a small piece of pocket mirror and hand a shard to me and Mark each. He moves ahead and found a spot near the shrubs to get some concealment. Mark sneaks up to the right, hiding in the shadows beyond the slope. He uses the shard to indicate that he’s in position. Meanwhile, I feel my way around the walls and found myself a few yards away from the truck.

I flashed my mirror shard to indicate that I’m in position. My brother and Mark responded to let me know that they are ready. I reach for the ground and feel grass until my hands found a rock. I picked it up and threw it at the truck door.

A loud clank sounded when the rock hit the truck door. I lie flat down immediately once all of the soldiers turn towards the truck’s direction. Mark and Tristan started firing from behind them, taking down two soldiers immediately. The soldiers fired a few shots at my directions but I rolled away in time. When the third soldier dropped, they realized they were being shot from behind. Mark and Tristan fired from both sides, confusing them to think that there were more of us hidden away. One of them tried to take cover behind the truck. He was searching for Tristan’s location, but not knowing his back was fully exposed to Mark. He was shot in the shoulders and ran away

Another soldier fell as they fired blindly into the dark. Meanwhile, the Colonel and one of the Lieutenants ran back to the school. Peter and Grey picked up the guns from the dead soldiers and shoot them from behind. Meanwhile, Grace crouched towards Felicia and Jody to lead them to take cover from behind the truck. Another soldier dropped dead and the remaining ones dropped their flash lights and ran into the dark.

Within a minute, the soldiers were either dead or gone. I came out from the bushes and shouted to Grey.

“Don’t shoot. It’s us!”

In the meantime, Grace started the truck engine.

My brother and Mark emerged from the darkness. Tristan yelled, “They will come back soon! We need to get out immediately.”

“I can’t leave, they got Elena!” Grey cried.

“You can’t do shit now, Greyson!” Peter tries to drag him into the truck. From afar, I can see dozens of flashlight heading our way.

“More are coming! We need to leave now.” I yelled.

They started firing at us from a distance. A stray bullet hits Grey in the thigh as he lurches over. As soon as Peter and I pushed Grey up, Jody started driving and crashed through the metal gate.

The truck hits out to the road and heads towards the interstate highway. Finally, we are free from this place. Behind us, the Colonel’s rovers are in hot pursuit. We may have more fuel, but the truck is slower than the unencumbered vehicles that are chasing us behind. At the back of the truck, I can hear a few of them firing at the cars behind.

A bullet smashed the truck’s side mirror, causing me to jump.

“Press down on his wound!” Peter ordered me while he climbs over to the back of the truck.

“Save your bullets! Those rovers are armoured.” Grace shouts at them behind.

I ducked my head low so that the bullet wouldn’t hit me. Despite what Grace said, they continued to fire at them. Even if their rovers are armoured, the shooting will keep them from firing at us freely. We don’t have a lot of ammunition, but we have… nails? I found a box of nails in the truck dashboard cabinet. I turn towards the back and shouted.

“Tristan! Throw these onto the road, it will puncture their tires!”

My brother took the box from me and did what I’ve said. The rovers behind couldn’t see in the dark. One of the rovers skidded and caused a chain collision behind us. Before we could cheer, I felt the truck tumbled and skidded to the side.

Jody was shot in the head. His collapsed on to the steering wheel and caused the truck to swerve. I climbed over immediately and took over the steering wheel.

FUCK.

I didn’t know how to drive a car, not to mention a truck. All I could do is to keep the steering wheel steady while Jody’s dead body leans heavily on to it.

“Let me take this, kid.” Grey said. He grimaced in pain as he climbs over and pushes Jody’s dead body out from the truck door. He took over the driver’s seat and stepped onto the pedal. We drove full speed ahead, driving into the darkness ahead.

We drove for a long, long time, stopping only for a few minutes to refuel and for them to take turns at the wheel. When we finally realized we lost the Colonel’s men on our trails, we drove the truck into the woods to rest for the night. While the rest of us eat, Grace took a look at Grey’s injury. He grits his teeth and bites his shirt when Grace took out the bullet from him. The truck was filled with silence except for Grey groaning in pain. She could have used the morphine, but she said that was meant for emergencies. If this wasn’t an emergency, I can’t imagine what she meant by one.

Felicia was equally sullen. She is no longer the same curious girl who stole my first kiss. I sat down next to her, trying to offer her some comfort. She simply broke down and cried on my shoulders for a long, long time. With Jody dead, Mark and I am the only person she knew. She knew Jody as long as I had known Mark. I felt guilty because Jody wouldn’t have died if I haven’t got him involved. For all I know he might not have wanted to leave, maybe he was simply caught being there at the wrong time. Felicia stayed away from the group, not responding to anyone who talks to her. Peter offered her some food but she turned it down, hugging her knees in one corner with her head buried in between. Everyone else huddle up to sleep from the cold. We are finally free, but it came at a terrible price.

Grace turns off the flashlight, but not before I see the same vacant stare in Grey’s eyes. It wasn’t pain or sadness in them. It was that cold, numb look he had when I first saw him. I pull myself away from my brother’s embrace gently, trying not to wake him up. I crawled up to Grey, asking him softly if he was okay. He didn’t answer me back. Instead, he pulls me in the dark and holds me close. I couldn’t see his face, and he didn’t make a sound, but I can feel the wetness on his cheeks. I wished that I can comfort him somehow, telling him that we can go back and save Elena from the Colonel. But I know it would be a cruel lie. In a few hours’ time, she will be flown off to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in a military aircraft. Even if turn back now, she would be gone and we wouldn’t be able to find her. All I can do is to offer Grey a shoulder to cry on. Only this time, he is not pretending I’m his wife anymore.

The next morning, I find myself the first to wake up. Or so I thought until I realize that Felicia was missing. I jumped out of the truck, looking for her frantically. I found her on the highway, some distance away. She was sitting alone by the side of the road like a lost hitchhiker. She is cutting away her long blonde tresses using a small pocket knife. Her hair is short like a boy now. She looks at me and musters a weak smile, saying nothing at all. On her feet is a new pair of boots. And under her heels is the body of an infected with fresh blood oozing out from his eye.

“Felicia…”

“Hey, Daniel.” She greeted me.

“Where did you go? I was worried about you.” I said.

“I came out for a walk. Then I saw it.” She looks down at the infected corpse.

“You killed him, by yourself?”

Then she looks at me and smile, like I was asking a ridiculous question. Even though she was smiling, her expression is cold and hard. She isn’t the same curious girl who stole my first kiss anymore. She dug the heels of her boots into the face of the infected corpse, like it was a foot rest for her. I cringed and walked away.

I returned to the truck, but I didn’t climb back up. Instead I sat down alone by the stump of a tree, watching the morning sun rises in the horizon.

A hand rests on my shoulders. I turn around expecting to see Mark or Tristan, but it was Peter, the redhead. He offers me some food, which I took and thanked. He surprised me even more by sitting down next to me, and started eating quietly. I thought he didn’t like me from day one. Tristan called him a redneck homophobe, but Grace said he’s just a foul-mouthed runt with a Napoleon’s complex. But once you earn his respect, he is loyal like a Pit Bull. I couldn’t quite imagine him as a friend to anyone. His face always seems perpetually angry. At times, I would doze off at the back of the truck, finding my face buried against Mark’s shoulders when I wake up. I would wipe away my drool in embarrassment, hoping that everyone is also dozing off and didn’t notice me. . He reminds me of one of those super spicy jalapenos; small, fiery but essentially harmless. Compared to Felicia, I don’t feel so scared around him anymore.

After a few days on the road without any trail of the Colonel’s men, we finally allowed ourselves to slow down and start thinking about where we want to go. Soon, our fuel will run out and there are fewer and fewer abandoned cars on the road for us to pilfer. We don’t even know where we are, or where we are heading, but it seems that we have driven past the woods and onto the mountain roads. The lanes are narrow and treacherous for a large vehicle like this. One wrong turn will find us tumbling over the edge. Whoever takes the wheel now needs to be well rested.

All of us are exhausted from spending days on the road. Tristan made a fire next to the truck so that everyone can gather around for warmth. The chilling wind howls and I shivered even with the warm clothing I got from home. Everyone looked to Grey when Grace brought up the matter about where we should go. He was our leader, after all.

Grey looks up, realizing that everyone is waiting for him to say something. His eyes are red and his face unshaven, this is the first time I’ve seen him looking like this. He stood up, turning his body away. We thought he is going to zone out and walk off, but he simply stood there and look up at the mountain.

For a long time, he remained silent. I was beginning to worry that he will turn creepy like Felicia.

“Grey, did you hear what I’ve said?” Grace asked.

He ignored her. Instead, he continues to look up and limps away.

We thought that he is going to leave us, but instead, he walks towards the cable car pole and says, “We need to find shelter for the winter. We can go to the mountain top where the infected can’t reach us easily. If there are cable cars leading up, it means there are houses or buildings up there.”

His eyes are still vacant and his voice is soft and defeated. But yet, I can tell that he is trying to pull himself together again. Grace and Peter looks at each other and smiles.

“Good to see you back Grey.” Peter said.

“All of you are here because of me or have saved my life at some point of time.” Grey said to us, scanning his eyes from Grace to Peter and then towards me. “I failed Elena, but there is nothing I can do for her now. She is probably in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where I can no longer protect her.

Grace stood up and puts a hand on him gently. “We all lost our families, Grey. But we will always find new ones.”

He turns around, nodding at her gently. Then he faces us, straightening his back and lifts his head. He said, “My friends. Today, we will start a new life here together.”

And when all of our attention falls on him, he continues, saying, “As a family.”