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Infected

Chapter 7 - Wouldn't It Be Nice

“It’s been a week, Vi. Nothing’s changed except for we’re running low on food and I’m going batshit without daylight,” I complained, cuddling Esther into me as she slept. Hallie was gently snoring on Viola’s lap, arms and legs sprawled.
“But the message on the radio hasn’t changed yet,” Viola whispered back, her fingers softly playing with Hallie’s dark hair.
“I don’t think it’s going to,” I murmured, darkly.
After the first 24 hours of our basement dwelling, I’d started losing hope that anyone was coming. After 48 hours, I’d completely given up on the idea. It had now been a week since we’d holed up down here and I knew that we were wasting the opportunity to move while we had supplies left. The last thing we wanted to do was try and leave here when we were forced to by starvation or dehydration; that would leave us no chance of survival at all. I’d checked the radio in hope of news every hour at first, then every few hours and eventually just twice a day. As the days crept by after that, I became more and more aware that we were just waiting to die down here. So I’d started working on Viola, who, true to her cautious temperament, was vehemently against the idea of exploring outside of the basement.
“What if there’s something up there?” she worried, instinctively pulling Hallie a little closer.
“Like what? You think it’s going to be like a scene out of Mad Max or something?” I raised an eyebrow. Our undisturbed time in the basement had emboldened me. There’d been no nails scratching at the door, no spooky voices calling out. Things had been peaceful and my sense of security had grown strong. I didn’t think for a second that this thing was over, but it had become clear that we were not being rescued any time soon and so it would have to be us that made the first move. I checked my watch – 8am. I very gently shifted Esther onto a nearby blanket, without even causing her to stir. It never ceased to amaze me that 3 years olds can sleep through anything.
“You stay here, I’m going to check out upstairs,” I declared, jumping to my feet. I stretched myself out, my body aching from being sat in one position for a few hours. Viola looked suitably alarmed.
“By yourself?” she questioned, her mouth agape.
“Yes, because if something happens to the both of us then who looks after the girls?” I reminded her, causing her to wince at the idea.
“Be careful,” she cautioned, not arguing with being excused from the activity. “Maybe you could empty the bucket while you’re up there,” she laughed, trying to make light of the situation to hide her fear.
“Please don’t remind me that we’ve been doing that,” I groaned as I dug around, looking for anything I could take with me to defend myself. I came up short, cursing myself for not bringing my penknife down with me. Turning to the steps, I looked back and gave Viola a weak smile, trying to ignore the apprehension that was creeping up on me, and began to climb up the dusty wooden stairs. I cursed each creak under my breath as I ascended. My hand finally rested on the lock, which I undid as quietly as possible. Slowly, carefully, I cracked the door open and listened.


Complete silence. The slither of light creeping through the crack was blinding. I cautiously pressed forwards, opening the door an inch at a time as I surveyed the hallway. The house appeared to be just as we’d left it before retreating into our dark dungeon. The light from the window stung my eyes, causing me to squint, and yet the rays felt welcoming, making me realise how close to madness I’d been with just torches and lanterns for company. The quiet was eerie, though. Contrary to relaxing me, the lack of noise had me completely on edge. Once I was fairly confident that nothing was going to jump out at me, I stepped out into the light corridor. I blinked a few times, trying to force my eyes to adjust to the brightness that was assaulting my senses. My breathing was uneven, my nerves refusing to comply with my attempt to calm them. I looked up and down the hallway once more before gingerly stepping up to the nearest window. There was nothing of interest in view except for Viola’s car, which was still in the driveway, seemingly untouched. That would make travelling easier for a while, until we ran out of gas. I had no expectations that there would be any fuel left in the gas stations at this point, so there was only so far it would get us. There was no guarantee that the roads would even be clear to drive on, and Vi’s car would definitely not last for long off-roading it. Taking a deep breath, I tiptoed towards the kitchen. Probably smartest to go the room I was most likely to glean a weapon from, right?


I inspected each knife in the block, carefully assessing which one would likely be best to wield in an emergency. I had no idea what would be waiting for us outside and I wasn’t about to leave us defenceless. Each room had the same sense of foreboding as I approached and then the same wave of relief as I discovered it empty. No person, healthy or otherwise, had been here. I praised on the back for being such an introvert – whoever thought
that would have come in handy - and buying a house off the beaten track. I double checked each room before creaking the basement door open again.
“You can come up, it’s all clear up here,” I called down to Viola. After a couple of minutes had passed, she emerged alone.
“Kids are still sleeping,” she said, softly, nervously glancing around.
“I’ve checked twice,” I reassured her, “No one here, I promise.”
“Ok, so what now?” she asked, looking to me for the answer.
I shrugged, “How am I supposed to know?”
“You don’t have a plan ready, Miss Prepared-For-Anything?” she teased, earning herself a playful look of distaste.
“I’m prepared for a hurricane, not a zombie apocalypse,” I rolled my eyes. “I never planned as far ahead as this.”
She followed me to the kitchen testing the light switches, watching as I dug through the cupboards.
“No power,” she scowled, though neither of us had expected there to be. I had no idea how long water would last if unmanned. We had already started losing things like the internet and cell phone reception; that had all happened pretty quickly.
I heaved a sigh, turning away from the cupboard I’d been elbow deep in, “We’ll need a map, the car, food and water. I guess we decide whether to go east or west and then we look for other people. Maybe they will know what to do?”
“East,” Viola said, decidedly, as she inspected a jar of pickles that I'd retrieved from the back of the cupboard.
“Why?” I asked, taken aback by the speed of her decision.
She fished out a pickle and took a bite, letting out a sigh of contentment. Then she looked at me, an odd expression on her face. A sort of sorrowful acceptance.
“I want to see California before I die.”


The sun beat down on my back as I stepped out from the porch. I’d be drenched in sweat before midday even hit. I got halfway down the track to the road and hesitated slightly, forcing myself to look back at the house. I couldn’t leave Hallie behind. I’d hoped that she wouldn’t call my bluff, but she was developing a headstrong attitude like her mother. Fucking dammit. If I gave in now, she’d have the upper hand forever. Perhaps I should just go back and try dragging her out again. She wouldn’t fight it forever and she certainly wouldn’t be stupid enough to run from me. Or, at least, I hoped she wouldn’t be. After all, the last 2 years had been one long health and safety survival lesson.
“Marina,” her voice called out from the doorway. I closed my eyes, thanking whoever was on my side today. I turned back to her, not hiding the relief on my face, but was met with a small army of panicked faces advancing on me at speed.
“What’s happened?” I asked, the dread exploding in my chest as they reached me. They didn’t slow as they passed me.
“No time,” Brian rushed, grabbing my arm and yanking me along until I matched their pace. Bewildered and in the dark, I followed them without question as they raced down to the roadside and then crossed over onto a small path through the woods. I dared to look back as I ran, the sight over my shoulder causing my stride to falter. I quickly counted maybe 30 infected heading our way at an immense speed.
“Come on, halfwit!” Johnny shouted at me, spurring me back into action. I pounded my feet into the ground as hard as I could to catch up to where they had stopped and were fussing over a black van.
“Get in,” Matt instructed, holding the back doors open for us as Jimmy and Johnny hopped into the front together, Jimmy in the driver’s seat. Without question, I shoved Hallie in and then climbed in after her, hovering in the doorway to catch bags as Matt threw them up to me. As he threw up the last one, he swung himself into the van, followed closely by Zach and Brian. Brian slammed the door behind him and banged his fist on the partition at the front of the van twice, impatiently. Immediately, the van took off, the wheels spinning wildly for a second before they gained traction. Jimmy wasted no time putting his foot down and hurtling back towards the road. Johnny whooped with glee as a thud resounded around the car, and another, and then another. I pulled Hallie in close, realising what Jimmy was hitting. She wrapped her arms around me tightly, clearly having forgiven me for our earlier exchange. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, whimpering as another thud rattled our bones. I winced as we ran over something, making us all jerk back and forth. I licked my lips, swallowing my discomfort and sang softly to her,

Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older
Then we wouldn’t have to wait so long
And wouldn’t it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong,”


Hallie’s mouth twisted in a mixture of comfort and grief as I fumbled my way poorly through her mother’s favourite. I grabbed the nearest part of the inner frame as Jimmy screeched around the corner onto the road, and tried to keep us in one place. I gritted my teeth, trailing off from the song as another jolt vibrated through the car.
“You know it’s going to make it that much better,” Matt picked up, his voice an infinite number of leagues above mine. Zach joined in, and even Brian. Huh, I hadn’t pegged them for Beach Boys fans. I raised an eyebrow at their almost seamless harmony. Apparently I was the only appalling singer in this van. They treated us only to a few lines, stopping abruptly as Jimmy cheered from the front.
“The road is now clear, kids!” he called back, triumphantly, without slowing his driving down. I glanced around at them, none of them seeming to appreciate the moment as much as I had.
“You guys are like a frickin’ barber shop quartet. Very professional,” I teased, though I was sure that my amazement was written pretty obviously all over my face. Brian and Matt smirked at each other knowingly as Zach chuckled. Jimmy swerved us round a corner as him and Johnny bickered softly in the front, pulling my attention away from the strange interaction.
“Where are we going?” Matt called out to Jimmy.
“Who knows?” Jimmy cackled back, causing Matt to roll his eyes.
“Yeah, well, no handbrake turns this time, alright?” He replied sternly.
Jimmy let out a loud groan, “You’re no fun, Sanders.”
Zach shifted in his seat uncomfortably before making eye contact with me and smiled sheepishly.

“Guess you are coming along with us, then?”

Notes

Oh man, I'm so unplanned with this story, I still haven't decided to who to work towards getting together.
Zacharina, Mattrina, Marian, Jorina or Marimmy? So many choices. And don't forget our late coming contender who has yet to arrive - Maradam....

Comments

How did we get to fifty chapters?!!?? That fucking flew!!!!
But, most importantly...
REVRINA!!!!!!!!!

kiss my sas kiss my sas
6/15/19

Woot! Revarina is official!!

Buggaloo Buggaloo
6/12/19

@RamonaFoREVer
FUCKIN' YEAH THEY ARE

fyction fyction
6/11/19

@fyction
OFFICIAL Revrina <3

RamonaFoREVer RamonaFoREVer
6/11/19

REVRINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all.

fyction fyction
6/11/19