World of Anarchy/Chapter 33

This is a preview chapter 33 of World of Anarchy entitled: Rage

Chapter 33 - Rage
Leo limped down the darkening road as fast as he could. He was so certain that he would die after deciding to stay behind to take out as many of the bandits as he could so the others could escape. And of course he was willing to if it meant his daughter would survive. Somehow though he managed to get away. He was beaten to the point where he could only see out of one eye, walk on one leg, and barely move his arms...but he was still alive. And now he had to get to Penny.

If there was any hope that the others, and his daughter, were still okay then he knew that they would have gone to the safe-zone. They had to. The only other option was that they hadn’t gotten out of the city and he refused to believe that.

Just ahead of him in the road he could make out a large shadow on the side of the road. As he got closer he began to see that it was an abandoned car. He checked if it still worked but unfortunately found that it was out of gas.

As soon as he began to continue down the road he heard gunfire and stopped to listen. It sounded like it was coming from a little down the road in the direction he was heading. At first, he thought about getting off the road to go around the source but then realized something. The people firing the gun might be from his group which meant Penny would be with them. Of course he knew it was a long shot and it may have been anybody firing the gun, but he was thinking clearly. If there was any chance Penny and his group might be there he had to take it.

Riley picked up the brick beside her and tossed into the window of the store front. Before the shattered glass even hit the floor, she was hoping through the entrance she had just made and ducking right under to avoid being seen by a truck passing by. The truck, that was full of the bandits that occupied the town, had separated her from Abby after it began chasing them down. Luckily, she peeked over the edge to see the truck turn the corner.

She cursed under her breath as she stood and began to glance around the room. The store she was standing in was a weapon shop. It looked as though it once had everything from modern guns to antique swords. All it currently had left was a bow, a quiver, and about fifteen or so arrows which was fine by her. Back when she was younger her father would take her out to an archery range every summer break.

After grabbing her new gear she figured she could use some practice. She step out into the back alley and, like she had figured, an infected roamed aimlessly around. Readying her bow and arrow, she held her breath and waited for the undead monster a feet from her to face her. In only a few seconds it did just in time to see an arrow fly into its skull knocking it to the floor. She smiled. It seemed like all those summers practicing was finally going to pay off.

Her smile faded soon after when she heard a noise coming from in the store. She cocked her head and listened. About four different men, maybe more, where talking inside. They were looking for her. Wasting no time she ran over and retrieved her arrow before taking off down the alley. There were only a few hours left before sunset and she intended to be away from those bandits and the city.

“You okay?” David asked as he broke his gaze on the road to look at Jane.

She had been quiet since leaving the city. At first he had thought that she was tired and need rest to heal from her injuries but he began to suspect that it may be something more. Even though the sun was currently setting, he could tell that her skin had become very pale almost like she had a cold or something.

“Yeah.” She exhaled after struggling to form the words. “I’m okay...just really exhausted...I guess.” Still in doubt that she was okay, he reached over and put his hand over her forehead. She had a fever. One that felt a little too hot

“You’re not fine.” He stated as he pulled over the car. “Did you find any cuts on you from when you got hurt earlier?” He continued believing it might be a simple bacterial infection.

“No, I don’t--” She began to say before stopping. Her face lost its expression fast and was replaced with a stoic one.

“What is it?”

“After I woke up...I...an infected scratched me...” Jane trailed off as she looked at her arm. Sure enough three long claw-like marks were there. That couldn’t have been good. David thought back to when Anna had gotten bitten back at the hotel and when he and Chris found Sid shortly before his death. Both had gotten pale and developed a fever like Jane, but unlike her their irises began to turn red. Her eyes were red and glazed, but her irises hadn’t began turning red. Then again, maybe it was too early to tell.

“I’m going to turn.” She said simply as her voice fell.

“No. You’re not.” He said as he pulled back on to the middle of the road.

“Stop. David...just stop. I’m going to die. I was scratched.”

“No, you’re not going to die.” He told her as he began picking up speed again on the road. “We have no idea how this all works--for all we know you could be fine.”

But Jane wasn’t listening. “You...you need to kill me before I turn. I..can’t become one of those things.”

After hearing hearing that he stopped the car again. “Listen to me. You--are not going to die. You--are not going to become an infected. Just think of Omid. Of the safe-zone and being back in civilization. Okay? Just think of being there with him.”

Somehow his words seemed to snap her back to reality. They stared at each other for a moment without saying anything. Then Jane nodded and he knew that she wasn’t going to give up yet. He then turned to face the road again and, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something move in the rear view mirror. It was Riley walking down the road toward the road to them having come out of the nearby woods.

“Are we going to talk about what happened back there.” Chris asked as he Teresa and Penny began to walk up to a nearby rest stop to rest up.

“We would but…” Teresa said as her mind replayed meeting Claudia and those two kids--or whatever they were. “I’m not even sure what happened. Are either of you?”

“Well...no. But those kids just disappeared after the woman waved her hands.” Penny said looking up at her. “She seemed like she knew you. And David too.”

“Well, I don’t know her.” She said as she checked the bandage she had put over her gunshot wound. But in the back of her mind she thought she might of. Claudia had mentioned something about her and David’s memories. Was it somehow connect to the headache and nosebleed she had gotten the other day when she had that dream about her and David in elementary school. She remembered that the dream had felt like a memory but knew that it couldn’t have been...now she wasn’t so sure.

When they reached the female restrooms she pulled out her gun and had Chris and Penny wait while she made sure it was clear. She went from stall to stall pushing open the doors making sure that no infected was lurking in them. As luck would have it she didn’t find find any of the infected but did find a small teddy bear on the counter before returning to the kids.

“No trouble?” Chris asked.

“Actually there was some.” She said with a smirk.

“This little guy here put up one heck of a fight.” She said showing them the teddy bear. Penny laughed and took the bear from her, but Chris just shook his head.

“So I can use the bathroom, then?” Penny asked. Teresa nodded. “Go right ahead.”

Teresa began to follow right after Penny to go check on her gunshot, but stopped when she noticed Chris wasn’t following them.

“What’s the matter?” She inquired.

“I can’t go in there.” Chris stated as he began to blush.

“Why not?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Because that’s the woman’s restroom. And I was always told boys couldn’t go in there.”

Teresa rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure things like that don’t really matter anymore. So come on in.” She said as she pulled him in. “We’re staying in here for the night. At least, we are if I can find a way to keep anyone from opening the door while we sleep. So you better get comfortable with it.”

While Penny emptied her platter, Teresa unwrapped her bandage and looked at her arm. Since the bullet went straight through she didn’t have to worry about getting the bullet out. She was about to clean the makeshift bandage, surprised there was still running water in the sinks, before she thought better of it and retied it around her wound. A flush came from one of the stalls and Penny appeared right beside her and was about to wash her hands before Teresa stopped her.

“Cool. Looks like we got something to drink.” Chris, who was standing awkwardly beside the wall, exclaimed as he looked at the water pouring from the faucet.

“We can’t use this.” Teresa said turning the water off.

“Why can’t we?” Penny asked.

“Just because the water is running doesn’t mean that its been treated. If we drink that we’re gonna get really sick--” Teresa began but stopped when she heard footsteps just outside the restroom.

The three of them reacted at the same time, moving into the closest stall and getting on top of the toilet just as the entrance opened and the person stepped in. They were somehow each able to stand on the one toilet albeit awkwardly with each of the kids on the side and Teresa leaning on the wall. She and the kids were careful not to make a sound as they strained their ears listening.

Much to Teresa’s surprise she heard a baby whining and what sounded like a young girl trying to calm it down. When she heard the person with the baby step in front of the sinks she stepped of the toilet and crept over to the stall door to get a peek at the stranger. But much to her surprise and excitement it wasn’t a stranger at all. It was Emily with Claire.

“So, Keith was with the bandits?” Riley asked from the backseat confused.

“No he was with...look I’ll explain everything was we find the others.” David said as he squinted to see more on the roads. Even with the headlights on he still couldn’t see too much of the area around them.

“The light down the tunnel is pretty, isn’t it?” Keith blurted out as he traced his finger on the window that he stared blankly out of before begging to hum a song. The words he spoke made David, Jane, and Riley unconfortable enough to want to change the subject.

“What about Abby?” Jane asked shortly before letting out a chesty cough. “You were with her after you were seperated from us. Is she dead?”

“I’m not sure. Those bandit assholes were chasing after us both...if she didn’t make out of the city--” Riley began before Keith interrupted.

“There! The light! Can’t you see it?!” The outburst caused the three of them to jump a little before they relized what had gotten Keith so worked up.

A little ahead of them was a rest stop, although David had no idea why he was freaking out. The rest stop was completely darkend and as far as he knew showed no signs that anyone had been there since the outbreak. But clearly he saw something that they didn’t. Or at least thought he did. They didn’t have time to waste though, so David kept on driving. Before David could get passed it however, his friend jumped out and continued rambling on nonsense about light.

“Keith! What the hell are you doing?” Riley called to him as he raced to the rest stop.

“I’ll get him.” David said as he hopped out of the car and followed after.

After nearly tripping over something he couldn’t see, he regained his footing and managed to catch his friend before he made it to the restroom. Much to his surprise Keith managed to wiggle lose from his grip and sprint the rest of the distance acting as if David wasn’t even there. But when he reached the door he stopped and simply stared at it. As he reapproached Keith he began to have a sinking feeling, like something big was about to happen.

“Isn’t it brilliant? Like stars in the night sky.” Keith nearly whispered as he placed his hand on the door.

Looking back to the car he could see that Riley and Jane were now following after them. Then out of the corner of his eye he could just make out a slight movement. The handle of the door began to move. He moved Keith away from it and readied himself for whatever was about to happen next. But no amount of readiness could have prepared him for when the door opend, because it was Teresa and the others behind it.