Sundown Series | Book 5 | Vengeance Page 9

  The rest of the day was spent with Griffin floating between sleep and wakefulness. Max left him during a time he was awake to find a water source. Griffin argued with her, not wanting her wandering off on her own, in which Max only reminded him that he was the one that fell from a cliff. He just glared at her when she said that, and she stared at him with her hands on her hips. Eventually he agreed at least that they needed water, or they weren’t going to survive. Max set him up with a rifle and ammo, just in the off chance someone stumbled upon their hideout. His voice stopped her as she packed their empty bottles in her pack.

  “You’re coming straight back here, right?”

  She looked at him, her face a mask of exasperation. “I told you I’m not going to leave you out here. We both go back together, got it?”

  “Yeah, I hear you. Be careful. And hurry the hell up.”

  With that, she flashed him a wink and headed further down the small hill they were on. Water flowed downhill, so the best she could guess was hopefully there was some sort of creek nearby the bottom. They had water purification tablets, but Max decided she would take the water back to Griffin and they would boil it over the fire they built in the evening. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts. She knew they couldn’t wait too long to get back home. They needed Griffin to be with Charlie so she could hopefully splint his broken leg. Maybe they could even find the supplies she needed to put a cast on him, if Charlie didn’t already have them. Max knew the doctor collected medical supplies everywhere they went.

  Without thinking about safety, Max walked directly into a clearing and seemed to lead to a dirt road. She froze as she realized she had revealed herself, without checking for danger. Get a grip, Max, she thought to herself. She stepped back near the trees again as she surveyed the small area. A beat up station wagon was parked on the opposite side of the clearing. The vehicle was dusty and seemed to indicate it hadn’t been moved in a great long while. A large tent had been erected near the back of the vehicle. Though the tent looked like it was more recently used, the walls were splashed with what Max guessed was dried blood.

  Max pulled her own gun and held it up as she swept the area constantly. She slowly moved toward the tent, while keeping her eyes moving around. Upon closer inspection, Max saw the tent had small holes in it, bullet holes of a small caliber weapon. The amount of blood told her that the small gun didn’t save whoever was hiding in the tent. She wondered how an infected got that far into the trees and found the living people. Her only guess was that one of the people were infected when they came to hide in the woods. Carefully, Max pushed the open door flap aside. The inside of the tent was no better than the outside. Blood and pieces of flesh were pooled on sleeping bags and the floor of the tent.

  She tried to focus on the facts, not the putrid smell of the decomposing pieces left behind. She counted three sleeping bags in the tent, so that gave her a possible headcount. Since there were no bodies in the tent, she knew there were infected in the woods. She looked back the way she had come and pictured Griffin stuck sitting against the rock wall. Max hoped he didn’t fall asleep before she returned. He would be a sitting duck if the infected found him. She moved her search to the station wagon. The back hatch was unlocked and she allowed it to lift open. There were two more sleeping bags in the vehicle, increasing her count to five infected. No blood could be seen in the car, so the people either made it away alive after the attack, or they weren’t inside the car when it all went down.

  The inside of the car was cluttered with belongings. Max sorted through a few things, finding two insulated water bottles that would be helpful. She packed those away just as she found a book tucked under a pillow. She pulled it out and realized it was a photo album. When she flipped through it, her heart sank when she saw the wedding photos. A beautiful couple in a suit and white dress smiled and laughed into the camera. A photo of the two of them smashing cake into each other’s faces and then what must have been their first dance, their heads close and their eyes closed. Max felt herself hoping that whatever happened in the area, this couple somehow escaped. In a strange symbol of respect, Max tucked the book back under the pillow. She wanted to let that book be the reminder of the people that had tried to escape the apocalypse.

  Max climbed out of the station wagon and knew that water had to be close by. She continued the same way she was moving before the clearing. As she moved, her eyes were caught by movement, causing her to freeze. She knelt down low, hoping to avoid whatever was moving between the trees. She knew that it was walking upright, which eliminated all known animals in the area. When the figure was finally clear between two tree trunks, Max knew immediately by the uncoordinated steps that it was an infected. She debated about taking it out, the decision made quickly when she realized it was headed the direct way she had come.

  She pulled her tactical tomahawk and spun it carefully in her hand. She quietly removed her pack and leaned it against a tree. The weight would throw her off balance as she fought, and she didn’t need to worry about it being stolen. Crouched down slightly, Max stalked toward the infected. As she approached, she realized it was completely aimless. The black eyes swung from tree to tree, as if it wasn’t sure the trees weren’t food. It was eerie to Max, as she realized the infected didn’t look like others she had seen. The clothes were pretty much in place, not much blood was visible. She slowed, to make sure she wasn’t wrong about the figure. It was then she noticed the bite just below the elbow on the left arm. A huge chunk was missing, but that was all the infected got from the man while he was alive.

  With her mind settled, Max rushed her steps, creating more noise. A loud snap beneath her boot brought the dead orbs swinging her way. As soon as the infected realized she was fresh meat, a deep growl escaped from between dead lips. Max hated that sound as it caused the hair on her arms to raise. She shook away her discomfort and ran the last few steps with her tomahawk blade above her head. With strength and swiftness, she brought the weapon down across the temple of the infected. The body fell to the side and Max waited a beat to see if it moved again. Her blow proved to be the ending death for the infected and she was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

  A whining groan from behind her caused her relief to be short lived. She pivoted toward the sound, her hand tightening around her tomahawk. Her stomach turned for a moment at the sight of a group of infected making their way through the trees. Two of them were running from the back of the group. Max began to back pedal, knowing she needed more space to handle five more infected on her own. How she hadn’t realized there were more coming, she didn’t know. But the sounds of her quick fight with the already dead infected had somehow drawn their attention. And just her luck, two of them were the faster infected that no one knew how to deal with.

  Max pulled her 9mm from her hip and aimed at one of the running infected. Her shot landed in the shoulder, spinning the body to one side. Luck was on her side as the infected collided with his running buddy, and both of them tripped to the ground in a mass of limbs. She turned her aim to one of the group. Max noticed that the infected’s injuries were black and no longer oozing, time causing the body to start desiccating. What used to be a woman, was missing the bottom of her right arm, skin and sinew swung as it ambled toward her meal. Max took careful aim and her shot entered into the infected’s cheek and exploded out the back.

  It didn’t take long for the fast infected to untangle themselves and get back to their feet. Max took two more shots at one of them, but she couldn’t get a bead on the head. Max bounced on the balls of her feet, waiting for the infected to get closer. Just as it reached out its fingers, the nails black and cracked reaching to tear into her flesh, Max side stepped and pivoted. The incoordination of the infected hadn’t improved with its speed and it skidded and ran into a tree as it tried to change direction. Max ran and hefted her tomahawk, bringing it down on its head with a crack.

  Two down and Max threw herself behind the tree as the second fast infected almost grabbed her arm.
The infected tried to follow, but Max was faster as she spun and struck the infected on the side of the head with her blade. The infected hit a tree and crashed into bushes, hiding it from view. Max hated to turn her back on it, but she knew she had two more coming at her and she didn’t have time to wait and check if the infected was truly dead. When she turned back toward the approaching infected, Max found them almost on top of her and she backed up again. She looked around, trying to mark where she was, so she didn’t find herself lost after it was all done.

  One infected was in a sundress and Max wondered where the woman was when she had been infected. Her shoulder was ripped to shreds and the infected that feasted on her had started toward her throat. Max could just make out what was once the white of her shoulder blade and collarbone. She shook her head, wiping away the gruesome image of the woman being eaten. Max easily sliced the infected down with her tomahawk. The second was a smaller woman and as Max ended her, she thought maybe the women had been friends. She double checked the infected, making sure they were all completely dead. Then, sitting against a tree a ways away, Max sipped water, catching her breath before she continued the search for a fresh source.

  Max turned her head, looking at her surroundings. Jumping up, she smiled when she noticed small red berries on a large bush. She was careful of thorns, but she collected a large bag of wild raspberries. They had enough food for a few days, but fresh fruit was something she could not pass up. She arranged the berries to hang off her pack, so they wouldn’t be smashed by anything else. Max smiled again when she thought about Griffin. He would be excited for fresh fruit too. She popped a few berries in her mouth as she hiked and was rewarded with a juicy, sweet snack. If she hadn’t just killed six infected dead, she would start humming and feel like she was on any other hike she had taken in her life.

  While she walked, Max thought about how Rafe had always been her favorite hiking partner. However, when she looked back on her childhood, all she really wanted was Alex to spend time with her. Her older sister just wasn’t as happy in the wild as Max was. And wild was what Max knew the best. She enjoyed being away from the house, away from school, just enjoying the fresh air and nature around her. Now, with the plague ravaging the human population, the chance to honestly enjoy quiet moments was so rare. She remembered a day hike she and Rafe took when Max was around ten. They hiked in silence the entire time. Anytime they needed each other’s attention, they would point and gesture. It was as if the children had known they both needed the silence and calm of their time in the woods.

  Hiking now, searching for a water source, wasn’t nearly as calming for Max. Her mind would bounce between Griffin and the chance she knew they had to get Callahan finally. She knew she had already decided to not leave Griffin on his own, but it pulled at her in so many ways. Callahan was a threat directly to her family and their survival. Even Max couldn’t understand where the Major’s mind was, that he couldn’t just let them go. After he’d murdered Marcus, Max knew that Alex wouldn’t stop and let Callahan walk away. Even if the dangerous man would.

  Max loved Griffin too much to even consider leaving him alone with his injuries. Just looking for water was taking too long and she found herself thinking about turning back. She even stopped at one moment, looking back and thinking they could get water another way. As soon as that thought entered her mind, she knew it was ridiculous. She walked for a few more minutes and was again thinking about what dangers could befall Griffin when she heard a sound. She froze for a moment, listening intently. She wouldn’t be surprised by the infected again. But as the sound became more clear, she smiled. She knew the sound well. Water babbling freely around rocks as it flowed.

  A few moments later Max pushed through waist high grass and brush. The small creek was just below her, surrounded by a steep ledge that looked to be made of mostly mud and rocks. She imagined that when there was snow pack melting, the level of the creek probably swelled and cut into the surrounding ground. Now, without the heat needed, the water hadn’t reached its peak. Max surveyed the area and found a small path that was probably used by the animals in the area. She took her time on the path, feeling that the wrong move would send her tumbling into the water below. She wouldn’t drown, but she didn’t want to be soaking wet either.

  The water was moving quickly, but Max knew the best idea was still to sanitize it however they needed to. She first filled a plastic bottle and used her Lifestraw to drink deeply. The device was great for easy filtration in an emergency situation. Max wanted to drink her fill and then refill the bottles so she could take back as much as possible to their temporary campsite. She would boil the later amount of water, so they were stocked for a day or so. She had done calculations in her mind and was annoyed to realize she didn’t have enough containers to last more than that. Uncharacteristically, Max tried to look on the bright side. She now knew where the creek was and as long as no more infected wandered into the trees, she could easily go back and forth to get water.

  Max struggled with intricate plans that didn’t directly serve the purpose she saw as being the most important. Her heart and mind still had different ideas of what needed to be done. As she walked back to Griffin, Max accepted that she wasn’t leaving him to get Callahan. But her mind still had its reel of what ifs running in her mind. What if this was the only chance they got? What if Callahan attacked again? What if he made it to California, got patched up and was more dangerous than before? It was these thoughts that made it difficult for Max to decide on next steps. She didn’t know how long she could wait before getting Griffin to Charlie. She knew his leg needed attention, but she couldn’t carry him.

  She felt lost, and that was enough to make her panic. She swallowed it down as she began to approach their camp.

  “Thank god, I heard the shots,” Griffin said as soon as he saw Max approaching.

  She was feeling tired and emotionally worn down after all of her mental beating of the dead horse. She wasn’t leaving him alone. That was the end of it.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to worry you. Ran into a group of infected. I would have snuck by, but they were headed this way. Two of them were fast. I didn’t want to risk them finding you.”

  “Proud of you. I thought maybe you would take off and go after Callahan.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. But really, if you piss me off, I might just do that,” Max shot back.

  The sun was still bright in the sky, so Max took the time to build a proper fire circle to boil their water. She used two empty cans they had kept from vegetables they had in their packs. Boiling the water would be a long process with only two cans, but safe was better than sick. She wandered the area and collected enough firewood to keep the fire burning for a few hours. By the time she was done with the work, Max was hot and sticky. She wished she had gotten into the creek after all.

  As Max worked, Griffin nodded in and out of sleep. Max knew his body needed to recoup, but she worried about the severity of his leg. An hour later, all the water Max had brought was boiled and cooling. She held a bottle to Griffin’s lips, having him sip slowly. When the sun began to lower, she opened dehydrated strawberries and green beans for their dinner. She surprised Griffin with the fresh berries she found, and they ate everything she had picked. They had a few more MRE meals between the two of them, but without knowing how long they would be away from supplies, she wanted to be careful with their intake. Griffin didn’t complain. Max knew it was mainly because of the pain he was in. She counted the pain pills and she knew they didn’t have enough to get him back to their car. If she could even get him there herself.

  Chapter Eight

  They made the decision on day three. Griffin’s shoulder was feeling much better. He told Max he was getting used to the pain in his leg, and Max didn’t believe him for a second. While they had camped, Max had scoured the woods nearby until she found a strong and tall limb. She chopped and smoothed it until it created a somewhat comfortable crutch for Griffin. She could support his weight for some
of the time, but she knew they wouldn’t get far if she got too exhausted to help him.

  The meds were almost gone. Their food was dangerously low. Max had collected and sterilized water, filling their bottles and canteens for the trip. She gathered more raspberries, which she stored in the empty bags from their other supplies. The overabundance of fruit wasn’t doing Max’s stomach any good, but it was better than starving.

  Griffin insisted on carrying his own pack. He tried to argue as Max removed most of the heavy items and added them to her pack. She knew it was hard on Griffin to not take care of her. He just needs to deal, she thought to herself. When dawn broke and before the sun came over the peaks, Griffin and Max began to make their way through the trees. They knew their heading, based on the supply warehouse they found the military party at. The days following Griffin’s fall, they hadn’t heard any search parties looking for their missing men. Max guessed that meant they either didn’t know they were missing, or they didn’t know where to look. Either way, they didn’t want to be easy targets. So they stayed in the trees.

  Max helped Griffin as long as she could. They had to step carefully. If he took a fall on the broken leg, Max knew he would cause irreparable damage. They didn’t talk as they moved. Griffin’s breathing was ragged and labored. After the first thirty minutes, Max made him sit on a large fallen tree.

  “I’m fine. I… can…keep…going,” Griffin gasped.

  “Sure you are, soldier. Well, I’m not. I’m tired.”

  “That’s bull. Max Duncan hikes days without rest. I know you can keep going,” he said. But when she handed him a water bottle, she couldn’t stop him from gulping it down.

  “Well, I usually don’t have a full grown man on my shoulder,” she joked.

  “I’ll use the crutch. Let’s keep going.”

  That continued for another two hours. They were moving so slow that Max was afraid they would never find the truck before they ran out of food. It was only around lunchtime when Max knew Griffin had pushed himself too far. His skin was clammy and he was pale. She found a copse of large trees that were perfect for them to camp against. Griffin tried to continue to argue, but his words were even weakening as Max settled him against the trees. She hung the tarp to give them some cover from the elements, though she doubted they would see rain from the pieces of blue sky she could see.