A Thousand Nights with You - 7. Leave none behind

Day 46

As soon as I run into the storeroom, I slam and lock the door. A few of the infected followed and pounded furiously. Mark and a few of them came out from the supervisor’s office to check the commotion.

“RUN!”

I yelled. The horror on my face explained everything. Everyone bolt for their lives. Felicia and Francesca ran towards the locked door, heading towards the air vent.

“Not that way!” I shouted.

It was too late. Francesca opened it and three infected jumped on her.

Felicia screamed.

Blood and entrails spilled everywhere as they heap on her mother. Felicia was too shocked to move. Jody ran and dragged her back.

Mark climbed up the rack where our bags and guns are.

“Throw down my pike!” I said to him.

One of the infected at the front door bypassed Francesca and head straight towards Felicia and Jody. I charged and impaled and another two turned their attention to us.

We turned and run.

Mark fired a few shots from above, taking the infected behind us. We climb up the rack but one of them grabbed on to Jody’s feet. I stabbed its eye with my pike and helped Jody up quickly. Akim ran towards the loading bay exit. For a while, we thought he made it. But within seconds we heard his screams.

I grabbed my bag while Jody pushed Felicia up to the roof window. Mark fire at the ones he got a clear shot. Meanwhile I stab the infected directly below the racks.

Soon, more of them swarm around the racks.

“They’ll topple us at this rate!” I said.

“I’ll push you up!” Jody said.

The infected pour in from the front and the loading bay exit. Most joined in the feast, but some turn their sights towards us. Jody climbed up after me. Only Mark is left behind. But the rack toppled before he can climb up to the roof window.

He lost his balance.

Mark fell onto the racks and it crushed some of the infected below. He is too far below to climb up to the roof window.

The toppled rack bought him some time since the infected cannot climb. But it is only a metre tall. Some manage to crawl over the rack when they trip on it. Soon, a few got up and circled him. Mark retreated to the wall and fired the remaining bullets in his magazine.

Then he ran out of ammo.

“No!” I yelped.

I pull off my bag and jumped down next to him. My fall was broken by several soft cardboard boxes.

Mark kicks an infected crawling towards him. Then he smashed its skull with the butt of his rifle. I fired at one of them with my hand gun. There are now five bullets left.

“Why did you come back?” He shouted at me.

I fired another. Four left.

I can’t bear to meet his eyes. Not even when we are about to die.

Three bullets left.

“Never leave each other behind.” I said to him.

It was our rule.

From the corner of my eyes, I thought I saw a faint smile. I’m not sure because my eyes are wet. I’m not scared to die. Not right now. Not with him. But I’m sad that we would end this way.

Two bullets left.

Another infected crawled up.

One left.

Three of them crawled onto the rack at once. Four more are approaching. The infected behind moved towards us, they are done with Francesca. More appeared from the loading bay exit, they are done with Akim and Craig too.

I fired our last bullet and my hand hangs limp by my side. We stand shoulder to shoulder, bracing for our end. In that suddenly, I can only remember the warmth of his hand brushing against mine and the next thing I know, our fingers are entwined.

We held each other’s hand and was about to close our eyes. Suddenly, George charge out from the supervisor’s office and swung a crow bar at the infected. They turned their attention towards him. Above us, Jody extended the metal pike from the roof. He shouted,

“Grab on!”

At the same time, Felicia throws down a magazine while Mark loads and fired at the infected that are closing in. I jumped and held on to the pike while Jody and Felicia pull me up. By the time I hit the roof, they had taken George as well.

“Mark, stop it! You can’t save him anymore!” I cried.

He fired a few more shots and then he jumped to grab the pike.

“Don’t let go!” I yelped.

Below him, a few infected crawled and reach for his legs.

The three of us tug with all our might. They missed him by a hair’s breath as he finally got out of their reach.

From the roof top, the back alley and the front street are swarming with the infected. We skirt around the roof until we find an opening to get down at the diagonal end. The subway entrance is within our sight.

“We have to get in there.” Mark said.

“What if they are inside?” Felicia cried.

“We’ll die if we get stuck here.” Jody said.

“Stay close.”

Mark took out his night vision googles as we climb down the roof with the water pipe. Before we descend into the subway, he grabbed my hand,

“We’ll use Morse code to communicate.”

He taps his finger on my hand quickly.

O-K-?

I nod.

Mark told Felicia to hold on to my waist while Jody will hold on to hers. We will walk in the dark like a human centipede. And with a deep breath, I followed him and descend into darkness.

Pitch black.

Darker than any of the nights I ever had.

Felicia breathes rapidly. Her fingers dug into my ribs.

G-o--S-l-o-w. I tapped on Mark’s hand. I almost tripped myself in the darkness.

T-e-n. He tapped. There are ten of them inside.

As we took a few steps, we heard a moan. Mark suddenly stopped. Felicia bumped into my back and I felt her shallow rapid breath.

W-h-a-t? I tapped.

He didn’t respond. He removed his hand from mine. I hear a flip. It sounded like the rifle’s safety lock. I shivered. Everyone huddled so close that we can smell each other’s sweat.

Excruciating silence hangs in the air.

I felt his fingers on mine again. G-o –f-a-s-t!

Felicia is unprepared for the sudden pick up in pace. She grabbed me and I felt her slip.

Squeak.

She bumped into my back and quickly regained her balance.

Then the moaning begins.

Mark hastened his pace.

Then he stopped. He puts my hand on the railing and I felt him climb across. Then he takes my hand again and guides me over.

The moaning gets louder. And another moaning soon joined in.

Mark pushed me aside and helped the rest to get across the barrier. Their legs hit the metal railings and made a sound. Then Mark whispered,

“Hurry!”

The moaning got closer.

I stand in total darkness, frantically waiting for Mark to grab me, too scared to move an inch.

Thud.

Their shoes hit the floor. One of them got through. Felicia lets out a soft whimper.

Thud. Again. This time, Jody lets out a gasp.

I jumped when I felt hands on my waist.

“It’s me.” Felicia whispered.

Then suddenly Mark cried, “Run!”

It is impossible to run blind. But we did. Mark grabbed my hand and I followed him blindly in the dark, trusting him not to let me fall. Several times, I almost tripped myself. My heart pounds louder than the growing moans behind and in front of us.

“Left. Now!”

Mark pushed me and I shuffled quickly until I hit a wall. Felicia and Jody staggered behind me.

The moaning is very close. Too close. I hear a loud thud. And then another.

Mark grabbed my hands and guides us to the railings on the wall. “Hold on to this and keep running!”

Everyone broke rank and run.

The moaning sounds like it’s a few feet away right now. Suddenly, I hear gun shots and a few loud thuds.

I kept running ahead, keeping myself balanced with both hands on the railings. There are several footsteps very close behind me. I can’t tell if it’s them or the infected.

Then my hand was grabbed, and then my waist. Next thing I know I was being tugged along like rag dog. The moaning echoes in the darkness. We must be in some kind of enclosed tunnel. Then we stopped.

A loud squeak drags along the floor.

“Jump down, I’ll catch you.”

I have no idea how big is the jump but in the dark, it felt like I’m leaping into the abyss. I fall right into Mark’s arm. Then I heard a thud, and then another thud.

Suddenly, a beam of light burst in the darkness.

Mark turned on the flash light.

We are already in the subway train tunnel. They can’t see in the dark but the infected somehow are able to sense our presence. We ran as fast as we can. The flashlight focused on a single beam ahead, illuminating the ground so that we don’t trip on the train tracks.

Our footsteps echoed in the tunnel, its rhythm drums to our heavy breaths.

My lungs felt white hot.

We ran until the moaning is out of our hearing range. All of us bent over to catch our breath. Mark took out his canister and passes the water around.

“Let’s rest for a few minutes.” He said.

At a corner, Jody helped Felicia with a sprained ankle. Using whatever meagre supplies we brought along from my first aid box.

I sat apart from them in a corner. I hugged my knees and face down, closing my eyes to forget the horrors I saw today.

A hand lay gently on my shoulders.

Mark.

He squat down in front of me. I am expecting him to ask me if I’m okay. No one is okay. But he said something else instead.

“You came back for me.” He said softly.

I looked at him. Then he said,

“That was the dumbest thing you did.”

“You’re welcome.”

His smile is tinged with shock and sadness. He puts a hand on my knee and gave it a squeeze.

Did he come here to express his gratitude? Or is here to ask me why I did it? Somehow, his eyes are unable to meet the intensity of my gaze. I don’t know what came over me. I am never this brazen. Having thrown your life away and having it back by dumb luck really puts things into perspective.

Except that it wasn’t dumb luck that saved us. George sacrificed himself. If he stayed inside the supervisor office, they might never know he’s there.

I might as well throw in my dignity as well and place all my emotions at his feet.

Mark wipes a tear away from my cheek. He said softly, “And I thought you are a big boy.”

It’s my turn to smile sadly. My words are almost a whisper.

“When I was eight, dad brought us to this tribe. Their warriors shed tears for their fallen enemies and comrades. To them, it is a sign of bravery.”

He listened, but his face tells me he doesn’t what I’m trying to let him know.

It takes courage to show how you feel. And when my eyes bore into him, my feelings are on naked display. Even though, my words are tentative and cowardly,

“In another life…” I said softly, “we will be exchanging song lists. We would be hanging out, playing computer games during sleepovers.”

I said all these like I’m telling him my bucket list. I don’t care if he can’t reads between the lines.

I was prepared to die with him, why can’t I bring myself to say it to his face? He should know from the way I look at him right now.

I search his eyes for an answer, and then I risked an inch forward, “Would we?”

He looks at me and nods, “Yes, in another life.”

His voice is sombre and regret tinged his smile. His eyes are as opaque as his words. Does he mean that he mourns for the old days? Or does he mean that he could only return my affection in another life?

I don’t dare to ask. And then Jody came over.

“We should get going before sun down.”

The battery in our flash light is gone. Mark scout the way ahead with his night vision goggles. The rest of us put our hands on the wall to guide our long march.

It is the longest walk in the dark ever in my life.

Silence and the stale heavy air accompany our journey. Occasionally, I can hear Felicia sobbing softly.

Now is not the time to grieve. The same horror will greet us at the other side of the tunnel. I don’t how long or how far we have walked. It felt like eternity. Then finally, Mark stop and said,

“We are here.”

The rest of us froze.

“Stay here while I go ahead to scout.” And then Mark left us in the darkness.

Felicia stands between me and Jody.

“Are you okay?” I asked her quietly.

“Yeah.” Her voice sound so weary that I almost thought she’s Francesca.

I put and arm around Felicia to comfort her. She leans her head on my shoulders and sniffed softly. No one deserves to see their parents die in front of them. But I can’t imagine whether it’s worse to live in uncertainty or not knowing whether they are dead or alive.

Soon, Mark returned.

“There are too many of them.” He said.

“What do we do?” Jody asked.

“There is a ladder further down in the tunnel. But I don’t know where it will lead us to.”

“What if it leads us to a horde of them?” Felicia asked.

We can end up in the middle of the street surrounded by them. And once we open the hatch, it might be too late close it and come back down.

“We have to take our chances.” Mark said with the finality in his tone and we understand immediately. Whatever he saw at the subway station is definitely worse than whatever surprises that could lie beyond the hatch.

When we are there, Jody runs his hand along the ladder and said, “I think I know what this is. The engineers get down from here to do track maintenance.”

“Then probably we won’t end up in the middle of a road.” I said.

And we opened the Pandora’s Box.

Light burst through when the rusty metal hatch screeched at its hinge. We emerge on a sheltered platform close to the station building, standing a few metres above the grassy ground. We hit the jackpot; there are no infected in sight.

The fiery evening sky cast long shadows beneath our feet. We stand quietly and surveyed the faux serenity of our surroundings. The trees in the park swayed gently in the evening breeze. But the silence is dead and heavy. From a distance, we can see Lincoln High shrouded by the trees in the park and a road beyond.

The four of us approach the park cautiously. Not a single bird sings, nor an insect cries. When we hit the road, we are greeted by a lone moaning, coming out from an overturned vehicle. The sight of that familiar blue Chrysler stabs me.

The vehicle number, the colour, the make, the infected trapped in the car moans softly in this tranquil neighbourhood. The gaunt grey hand that reaches out from the window is unrecognizable, but I know the small diamond ring on her finger immediately. She wore the same yellow flora dress as that day. The same apron as well. She rushed out with dad will she was cooking lunch halfway.

I knelt down next to her, “Mom…”

My hands cupped my mouth to hold in my whimper. Her moans sounded almost like she is echoing me.

Next to her, is what remains of Dad: A bloody mess of leftover entrails dragged out from the other side of the car window.

I choked, “They almost made it… The school is just right ahead.”

“Let’s go Dan. You shouldn’t be seeing this.” Mark said to me gently.

“I can’t leave her like this.”

“There’s nothing you can do.”

I wiped away my tears and steeled myself. “I have to end her misery.”

I stand up. I take a last look at her and raised the metal pike in my hand. Jody stopped me.

“I will do this for you.” He said.

I turn away as he takes the metal pike from me. In a second, I hear it cracks through her skull.

Finally, the dead silence returns. Her moaning has ceased.

Felicia squeezed my shoulders gently. Now is not the time to grieve.

“Let’s go.”

My chest feels tight and numb right now. No time to feel sorry for myself. I still need to look for Tristan. I have to finish what mom and dad had set out to do.

The school is surrounded by long creamy white walls. Mark pushed me up and I see no sign of the army. When I squint, I saw something in the middle of the football field. I took out the binocoluars and gasped.

It was a chilling sight.

About a dozen infected are chained to several poles on the ground. All of them are in hibernation. Some are wearing army uniform, and some are civilians. I told them what I saw.

“They are here.” Jody said. No one would do this, but the army. It felt cruel to me. I wondered what they hoped to achieve with such a display of cruelty.

One by one, we climbed over the wall and stayed away from the field. The infected will start moaning if they sense our presence.

Suddenly, a shot fired at our feet. We jumped. From afar, we hear a lone voice. But no one is in sight.

“Drop all your weapons and belongings.” Someone said.

We raised our hands and did what he said.

“Move down ten metres and face the wall with your hands up.”

And we did.

From behind, we hear footsteps approaching us. Then guns pointed at our backs. We are told to stand still and we waited for a very long time. Finally, we hear more footsteps and a man spoke.

“Turn around slowly.”

There are four of them and three of them carry an assault rifle. The one who spoke have grey hair at his sides. They are wearing army uniforms.

“Where did you get this?” He picks up Mark’s rifle.

“From a dead soldier.” Mark said.

“And this?” He picks up the army bag and takes out the dry ration supplies.

“From my dad, Major Woodforde.” Mark said. Then he adds with a tinge of awe in his voice, “Sir.”

“You’re Woodforde’s son?” The man looks at Mark and weighs him in. Then he said to the soldiers,

“Bring them inside.”

I thought we would have a better welcome reception. I didn’t expect them to prod us along with a gun tip.

We followed the soldiers back into the school building. As we passed by some of the classroom, we saw only a handful of civilians and they look gaunt and miserable. Many of them wore tattered clothes and looked filthy. There are at most thirty civilians in there. But what is strange is that there are only two females among them and they are in their fifties. Their clothes are so worn that it barely conceals their modesty.

Tristan is nowhere to be seen.

In fact, there are no kids at all. Only one of the guys could be a High School senior. I would ask him later if he knows my brother.

They brought us to the school hall where a dozen soldiers sort out the paltry amount of supplies and weapons. Those are not the standard army issued supplies. The food, the guns, they look they have been raided from shops and houses. It seems that their supplies had been exhausted and there are no backups, no relief, and no support from the central army. All of them looked gaunt and highly on edge. They stared at us as we entered, especially at Felicia. Their eyes look so dead that it chills me to the bones. It’s like any moment they will lose it and start shooting everyone they see.

The man brought us to the front where he sits on one of the desk. The four of us are lined up in a row like we are facing a firing squad.

“My name is Colonel Walter. This is what remains of my troops. You will answer all my questions truthfully. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.” Mark said, while the rest of us nodded.

“Good. How do you get here unpowdered?”

“Unpowdered? We don’t understand.” I said.

“These creatures,” the man points outside to the field, “sense that you are different from them by the way you smell. They are not very bright. But your sweat glands tell them you are dinner.”

Mark and I looked at each other. The army powder. No wonder he got across the streets to get me so easily. He was powdered then.

“We came here by the subway tunnel.” Mark told him.

“Resourceful.” The colonel raised his brows, he looked impressed. “As you can see, supplies are scarce these days. We need all the civilian support to help us gather supplies to fight the war.”

I was puzzled. The army send the civilians out to gather food so that they can feed the army, and for what? To fight a war that’s already lost?

“Seriously?” I said. “You are sending people out to die?”

I expected the Colonel to get angry, but he didn’t. He looked at me coldly and said, “They either die out there or die in here. There is no difference.”

The Colonel strolled a few steps and turn to us. He points to me and said, “I’m afraid you have to leave. Your properties shall remain here to contribute to the war effort. The rest of you can stay.”

“What? No! He stays with me.” Mark exclaimed.

“No dependents in this camp. All who stay must contribute.” The Colonel explained. Then he turns to Jody and Mark and he said, “The two of you look sturdy enough to go for supply runs. But as for you…”

He points at my chest and said, “I suggest you take your chances elsewhere.”

“What? This is nonsense! Why can’t Daniel stay? If he’s leaving, so am I.” Felicia snapped.

“You are not going anywhere, young lady.”

A couple of solders circled around her, leering at her outright. She takes a step back.

“You can’t be serious. She’s only fifteen.” Jody gasped.

“Morale is low.” The Colonel bowed his head and sighed, “I’m not proud but I will do whatever it takes. The men will be respectful.”

I didn’t quite understand what he meant until I saw the horror on Mark and Jody’s face.

Felicia shakes her head and takes another step back, “No…”

Suddenly, she turns around and run. A soldier grabs her by the hand. She struggled and bit his shoulders. He screamed.

BANG!

We cried when the soldier shot Felicia in her chest. She fell to the ground, blood spreading out from her white short dress.

“IDIOT!” Few of the soldiers hit the one who fired the shot. The Colonel stepped forward and pulled them apart. He glared at the soldier, and smacked him down so hard that he fell onto the floor. His face is red and his veins are showing.

“That… was an accident.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. These soldiers are supposed to protect people. They are no better than bandits. My whole body shook.

“You may leave now, son.” His tone is civil, if not gentle. And he almost sounded earnest when he said, “I wish you the best of luck out there.”

I am petrified. He is sending me out there alone without anything. Will Mark leave me alone out there? Will they shoot him too if he leaves? They might as well kill me with a bullet right now.

Rage, white hot fills my chest like I’ve never known before. I stared at Felicia’s lifeless body lying there like she’s asleep. My fist and jaw clenched, and my eyes fixed on the gun holstered at the Colonel’s belt.

The bastard will pay.

I took a step and I heard a familiar voice.

“Colonel, if I may?”

He turns around and looks at him. “Speak, recruit.”

The soldier who spoke wore his cap low. He said, “The boy looks pretty enough. Why not let us have him instead?”

“You motherfuc-” Mark stepped forward but Jody pulled him back. Jody shook his head. My fate out there and in here will not be any much better. I am condemned anyway.

A ginger jarhead snorted, “I knew you’re a fag when you refused to fuck Martha and Grace.”

From the side of my eyes, I know Mark is staring at me. But I couldn’t meet his gaze. I hope he won’t do something stupid and get himself killed.

An awkward silence filled the hall.

Then another soldier with a blonde buzz spoke up, “Well, I’d rather do him. Those two ladies… remind me of mom.”

Some of them chuckled, but the blonde soldier’s eyes are filled with regret when he looks at me. I don’t know if he’s saying this to save my skin or he really wanted to fuck me.

The soldier who wore the low cap said, “With your permission, sir.”

The Colonel scanned his men. Many of them are apathetic, some shrugged, and then he turns to me but said to the recruit,

“Ok. But he’ll be your responsibility.”

The Colonel left the room and the rest of the soldiers cleaned up Felicia’s body. The soldier with the low cap walked towards me. I recognized that familiar impish grin. He takes off his cap and smiled. And I smiled back at him.

It is my brother Tristan.