Chapter 11
Where To Begin
Nighttime came faster than one would think, and the danger became so much worse in the darkness. It truly was winter.
"Where are we going to sleep?" Sadie asked, after walking at least 5 miles and the sun setting.
"How about we use some of these empty houses?" Leo asked in his smart-ass tone.
"Isn't that breaking and entering?" Amber asked sheepishly.
"Who's gonna tell? Not like there's anyone around here. And if they are, we can just go to their neighbors, or their neighbors, and so on."
"We need to get some food anyway. The stuff in your backpack got squished and the box broke the bags. We probably also need a new backpack" Ryan said quietly.
"I could definitely go for some food" Jason grumbled loudly.
"The food isn't the most appealing, just so everyone knows." I stated, holding back a laugh at the thought of their reactions.
Leo went ahead of me and opened the closest door. The door tore off the hinges and Leo set it against the porch railing. It disturbed me, seeing the increased strength from an outsider position. Jason ran up the stairs, into the house and went straight to the kitchen. He pulled out every package of lunch meat and cheese he could find.
"You don't want that" I stated, rounding the counter in the kitchen.
"Of course I want it. Who wouldn't want food?" He argued, pulling out a piece of turkey and shoving it into his mouth with no regard of table manners.
Seconds passed, as silence fell in the room. Then it happened. He ran to the sink and hacked up the food he had just ingested.
"What the fuck!!" he spat "Why does this taste so awful. It's not like it's expired, is it?"
"Our stomachs can't handle normal food, that much we know for sure."
"Then what can we eat?" Sadie demanded angrily.
I opened the freezer door and pulled out a package of raw steaks that happened to be on the top shelf.
"Anyone want some top of the line beef steaks?" I cheered and set the package on the table. "Don't hold back, looks like they have plenty of meat."
Leo and Ryan were the only ones not looking at me like I was crazy, and I found it amusing seeing them looking at me in disbelief. I pulled the cold out of the meat, almost relishing in the chill it gave me, and ripped the package open. I ripped off a chunk of the meat and quickly put it in my mouth, chewing it as it refroze, and swallowed. Sadie looked disgusted, Mariah was looking away from me and Justin was practically bouncing in anticipation. Amber looked afraid, exactly how a normal person would react if they saw what she'd just seen.
"Guys, this isn't the time to be choosy with our food. This is all I know that we can eat. Raw meat is on the menu until Mother is gone and we have time to correct our altered appetites" I lectured, remembering how my mom had lectured me when I was being picky as I grew up.
I looked back down and pulled off another chunk, and ate it just as quickly as the first. Leo grabbed a chunk and Ryan followed suit after a moment. Even the others started to eat the meat. We'd had to pull out another 2 packages, just to feed all of us. And for once, I let everyone eat their fill. I didn't know how many others like us there were, but we finally stood a chance at surviving.
"Are we sleeping here tonight?" Amber looked at me anxiously. I could only guess that she was naturally withdrawn and wasn't the most comfortable with making any kind of requests.
I thought, plans not completely formed in my mind, then nodded.
"We can stay here for the night. But we need to keep in mind that not every night will be like this."
Amber almost jumped in giddiness, then ran out of the kitchen, followed by Mariah who was clearly not willing to share any room with the guys. Not that I didn't understand that. I left the kitchen and looked around at the pictures in the living room. Pictures of kids, a woman, and an elderly man and woman were scattered around. This was clearly a loving home, most likely to belong to the elderly people, who were probably the parents of the woman, and grandparents to her children. This home that was once filled with love, was now empty and lifeless. I hoped that once everything was said and done, maybe another family would come along and take care of the house with the love it deserved.
"Kim?" Leo stepped quietly into the room and was watching me cautiously.
"I wonder what this family was like. Were they close to each other? Could it be that this elderly couple hadn't seen their family in so long that they only have the pictures to remember them by? Maybe the mother of these kids married and had to live far away. Or maybe she just lived down the road... Pictures really do make one wonder."
I her footsteps all around the house, as each of our group went in search of a room, or maybe just wanted to explore.
"You shouldn't think so much on it" Leo stepped closer.
"I nonchalantly moved to look at the rest of the room, careful not to be too obvious. He wasn't the observant type, from what I'd seen of him, but I still had to be cautious. I doubted he would understand that we needed to stay together, if I rejected him flat out.
"They have one of those grandfather clocks here" I smiled over my shoulder.
"Yeah? What time is it?"
I squinted my eyes in the darkness, look as closely as I could to get the time right.
"Looks like a quarter to midnight."
"Almost time for your next dose of medicine."
"And yours" neither one of us laughed.
"Should we arrange that everyone get their injections at the same time?" He suggested.
"I'm not sure. I don't know if it would cause any problems for those who only recently got recovered."
"I'll volunteer if you want to test that theory" Jason walked into the room, smiling brightly in the darkness.
"You sure you want to take that chance?" I asked skeptically
"Hey, you proved that we can eat raw meat, I'm sure that I can put my faith in you on this." His smiled had all kinds of implications that I chose to ignore.
I almost thought I heard Leo growl and I thought I could see sparks forming between them both.
I left them in the living room, not wanting to deal with their drama. I had more important things to deal with. Ryan had been right about what happened in my back pack. The box had crushed the packages of meat and the bags were ripped open, leaving the half thawed meat in a mess. I took a towel from one of the kitchen drawers and wiped off the box, lecturing myself for the damage the box could have taken.
The notes were still in the box, not that I could read them in the dark. It still felt nice knowing that I still had a piece of my mom with me. Something that would make it so that I never forgot her or my dad, and the effort they put into protecting me and making it possible to help the others. I was sure that they hadn't considered that I could cure everyone else, but I was still grateful for it. I pulled a syringe from the half empty shelf, leaving the one to sit in it's position in the box. The needle felt durable and slightly heavy. It was clearly made to match the older box. My mom had always liked the classic stuff and would sometimes custom order equipment just for the older appeal. I didn't know where to use the needle on my body. I only knew that I had gotten the shot in my left shoulder before. I guessed that it didn't require a vein to be effective, not that I could feel any veins to begin with.
"Need a hand?" Ryan stepped into the room, bringing his light with him.
"I got it...I'm used to needles." I still hesitated. He stepped next to me and looked at the open box with the papers now in disarray.
"This is the medicine you were talking about? The stuff that only works on you?"
"Yeah, my mom managed to finish these syringes before leaving the house to find me. I ran away from the house after I almost killed my dad. I hadn't meant to lose control like I did, and my dad almost paid the price for it." I held back the tears burning the back of my eyes.
"...I almost blinded a nurse." he said quietly.
I looked at him sympathetically.
"And Amber and Mr. Monroe both destroyed their beds and burned the nurses when they lost control...what I'm getting is, we all had our moments of control breaking."
I nodded, looking at the medicine in my hands.
"We'll figure this out" I declared angrily.
I tightened my grip on the needle and moved before fear could stop me. The needle pierced my left forearm painfully, but I had already started, and I had to finish. I pressed the electronic trigger that my mom had loved so much, and the medicine was forced into my body. The purple liquid flooded my system, creating a temporary feeling of warmth. I dropped the syringe and it fell to the floor with a shattering of the glass tube.
My body felt weak and I stepped back until I hit the fridge, and slid down the surface into a sitting position.
"Kim?!" Ryan ran to my side and I heard footsteps rushing to the room.
Leo stood at the door, looking at me in terrified concern. I felt the air constrict in my lungs and my head felt light and dizzy. I felt someone lift me up, and I guessed it was Leo, considering his obsession with me. Air moved around me as I was being carried , then I was being lowered onto a soft, comfortable surface. I assumed it was either a couch or a bed.
"Is she okay?" A female voice asked.
"She took her medicine, and now she's like this. What kind of medicine does this kind of damage?!" Leo spat angrily.
"Relax, it's the parasite that's causing this" Ryan spoke up.
"How do you know that?" Leo asked.
"It was in the notes. The parasite is lightly to fight the medicine, and that's most likely why she is like this now. Let's give her a few minutes.
I groaned, fighting against the pain in my body, needing to move or just do something.
"Kim? Are you alright?" Leo appeared in front of me.
I managed to rotate my head. Jason and Sadie were standing a couple feet away. Ryan was standing next to Leo. Kelsey stood at the edge of the light, seeming to find comfort in the darkness. Amber ran into the room and looked concerned.
"What's wrong? What happened?" She asked in a panic.
"Kim is just resting after getting her shot." Ryan answered.
"She got shot?!" she squeaked.
"Not got shot, she took her shot. Her medicine."
"Oh, phew, I thought something life threatening had happened. She'll be okay, right?"
"I'm...fine" I grumbled.
My body ached as I tried moving. My arms felt like lead as I pushed myself up, into a sitting position. I saw that I was in the living room, layer in a black wool covered couch that sunk in slightly from years of use.
"Don't push yourself too much, you just collapsed, there's no telling how long it will take you to recover" Ryan soothed awkwardly.
"I think it's more everyone else who has to worry. I can't be sure if anyone else will react the same way." I smiled stiffly.
"I'll end up collapsing?!" Sadie asked defiantly "I'm so not going for that."
"Would you rather be a mindless drone, going around killing and eating people?" Leo growled, leaving my side to look at her.
She looked shocked at Leo's venom.
"Stop fighting" I demanded, drawing back their attention. "We have to stick together through this, or we're all doomed."
The pain ebbed away slowly at first, then faster. My head no longer spun and I felt that I could move.
"Leo, sit down, I'm giving you your dose when you're ready."
He grimaced, but nodded. I moved to get off of the couch and he sat where I had been lay8ing. I grabbed the knife and created the spear of ice.
"What? No kiss?" he teased.
I chuckled and leaned over his arm. The shirt he wore had tears and burns in various spots, but it still made me think of my dad and how he would react to the damage. I knew it was pointless to keep thinking about the past, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't get any of the people I loved out of my mind. Still I had to focus on the present.
In between one of the holes of the shirt, I stuck the spear into his arm. He winced as the ice broke skin. As I pulled the ice out, I saw the darkness encase the wound, and I guessed everyone would be like that. His body went lip and his eyes closed loosely, and the others all looked at him in curious concern.
"Who's next?" I asked sarcastically.
"Do we have to do that now? I mean, weren't we returned to humanity just a few hours ago?" Sadie argued.
I looked from Leo, back to her, and said "We can't spread out stops like this throughout the whole day. If we're attacked, we're going to need everyone at the ready."
Everyone looked around at the others, as if they would find the answers they needed.
"I'll go" Jason stepped forward and sat on the couch next to the recovering Leo.
He pulled off his jacket and winked at me, flecking the muscles that his jacket had hidden. He really was well built, but his personality left much to be desired. The spear was still solid and pointed, so I didn't need to make a new one yet. I pushed the crystal into his arm and he took in a sharp breath.
At first he looked at me with expectations of what would happen, and then his fists clenched on his shirt. His eyes squinted in pain and his body relaxed, while his eyes remained open, looking exhausted.
"Didn't expect...that" he groaned.
Leo seemed to be coming out of his stupor, his eyes fluttering open and his fists clenching and releasing.
"I-I'll go next" Amber stepped up to me.
My need to shelter her was eating at me as she pulled up the sleeve of her shirt. But I couldn't protect her from this. She sat on the only other furniture, a recliner, and I pressed the needle into her skin and watched it just barely managed to break the skin before melting. I had to hope that it had had enough force to get into her body. And, sure enough, her body tensed before relaxing as she passed out. She was the most unprepared for this situation, but she was brave enough to step forward and take the shot.
Leo stood up, shakily, and Ryan sat down where he had been. He rolled up his long-sleeve shirt and I reopened the wound to make a new crystal. It entered his skin smoothly, light glowing from the hole. I had to roll his sleeve back down over his arm to keep the light from flooding the room dangerously. Even with the fabric, the room glowed brightly.
"What now?" Kelsey asked, looking at the full couch and recliner.
"We lay on the floor" Mariah answered blankly, walking into the room from the darkness of the stairway.
She walked over to me and moved her sleeve out of the way. She lowered herself to lay flat on the floor. It was awkward having to lean over her and push the spear into her skin. She was the first one of us to have natural blood, but it figured that was because she was of a mammal class. Not really an element, but still part of nature. Her body shook with the injection and her eyes fluttered.
Jason returned to consciousness, looking around in a daze for several seconds.
"That kinda sucked" He groaned.
"Better get used to it" Sadie stated, and stepped up to me. "Let's get this over with."
I nodded, knowing that I didn't actually want to hurt anyone in our group, but seeing no other option.