8. 8
The bridge was drawn.
The only bridge between us and freedom was drawn.
Elias pulled the car up to it, and we got out to see if we could break into the control booth. It was a small green building just to the right of the road. It was chained and padlocked, but I knew a little padlock would be no match for us.
While we were far from the city, Elias was still rightfully on edge, constantly looking over his shoulder, his hand jerking toward his gun at the most miniscule sound.
He removed his fixed-blade knife from his holster, and slammed the padlock with the handle. It popped open immediately. Elias rolled his shoulders after a job well done. He unraveled the chains, letting them pool on the ground, and slid open the door.
Like God himself was shining a light on the button, it was bright green, begging to be pressed. Elias pressed it, and nothing happened.
“Okay, what the hell,” I said, defeated.
“I really hoped I wouldn’t have to do this,” he sighed.
“Do what, exactly?”
He pointed across the bridge to a matching green shack. “We’re going to have to press them at the same time."
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not that funny. I’ll swim across and we’ll hit the buttons and then we’ll move on.”
My eyes darted around, trying to peer through the trees. “I don’t like this.”
“My pants are covered in sewage. I’ve slept six hours in the last two days. I want to leave. It’ll be fine. Just stand here in the booth, and hit the button when I signal.” He pointed to the car. “Then you’re going to drive my car across the bridge. Consider it a privilege.”
I nodded and took my place in the booth, and watched Elias descend out of view.
He was fast, and was swimming in no time, one arm after another. He could’ve been an olympian if he wasn’t so good at shooting guns. . . though that happened to be a category, too.
Scaling the other side of the river with ease, hopping back and forth like a cougar, Elias emerged victorious, and jogged to the matching booth. He was far, but I could see him unlocking the small building in the same manner he had on this side of the river.
I knew his shirt was clinging to his body, heavy with water. I couldn’t wait to verify.
He waved his hand out the little window and I hit my button.
Loud. So loud.
The bridge began to lower, lights flashing all over the place. Oh, god.
I heard the infected yell behind me, and I ran out toward the car, three creatures in my way.
Pop. Pop.
No hesitation. First one down.
“Get in the car!” Elias yelled, his voice faint under the sound of the bridge.
Second one.
Pop.
I missed. She tripped over the first creature and the shot went right past her. She stumbled forward, vocalizing, but I stepped back to give us some space. This upset her, and she lunged, nearly knocking the gun out of my hand.
Pop. Pop.
Got her that time.
Behind me, a growl. A large infected man, far over six feet and at least 300 pounds. I gave him a test shot, and it didn’t affect him. He was slow moving, so I turned my back on him.
“Cassia. Get in the fucking car!” He yelled again.
I was close now, to the door, but there was one more only a few feet away. I had misjudged how much time I had and it was nearly on top of me. I leaned forward, shoving the gun into the creature’s mouth, and blew its head to bits. Phew.
I moved quickly now, not worrying about the seatbelt, and jumped into the car. Not expecting it to accelerate as quickly as it did, I slammed my foot on the gas, scaring myself into letting off before finding a healthy medium.
The infection hadn’t reached this side of the river yet, so Elias could only watch in terror.
He’d started to run across the bridge and had to jump out of the way before I had the mind to slam on the brakes.
Putting the car in park, I crawled over the center console and resumed my place in the passenger seat.
He leaped in behind me, slamming the door shut. “That was. . .” He pressed the accelerator.
“Exhilarating,” I answered.
“No, I wouldn’t say that. Terrifying. Nightmare inducing, even.”
“That was amazing,” I breathed. “I didn’t know I was even capable of something like that.”
“I can’t lie to you, I’m impressed. But I hated every second of it.”
I sat there, catching my breath, with a giant smile on my face. There was something so special in being able to take care of myself like that.
“It’s not far from here,” Elias said. “Just ten miles or so.”
“And look at that, it’s not even dark out, yet.” Somehow, it felt like the longest day of my life.
Deep in the woods up a skinny dirt road was Elias’s cabin.
Cabin was definitely stretching the definition of the word–it was pretty big, and had a detached garage.
It made me feel a little safer, knowing that the car wouldn’t be visible, though I doubted whoever was after us would even be able to find the place.
The start of his “driveway” was just grass.
I would have missed it even with a map and the exact coordinates.
After Elias pulled into the garage, I tried to grab something, anything, but he insisted on carrying everything besides the backpack himself.
He gave no sign of trouble, carrying at least a hundred pounds, and I let him have his moment.
I certainly didn’t need any help being impressed at this point.
“Aw, man,” he said, stopping just short of the door. “You’re going to have to unlock it.”
“No worries. Where’s the key?” I asked.
“On my key fob,” he said.
I unzipped the duffle bag in his hands. “And where is that?”
“My pocket.”
I stepped closer to him, nearly chest to chest. “I hope I can find them,” I said, looking up at him. I could see which pocket the keys were in, but I’d rather have fun. I reached my hand into his back pocket. “Hmm, not here.” My hand slid into his other back pocket. “Bummer. Not here either.”
I dropped to my knees for the front pockets.
We locked eyes while my hand checked the first pocket.
“No luck,” I said, dragging my hand out at a snail's pace. I was enjoying myself. In no scenario would he drop his bag of weapons worth thousands of dollars on the ground, and I had a feeling that he’d hold all the weight out of spite, even if I played with him all day.
At last, I retrieved the key, dragging my body against his as I stood. “Phew,” I said. “Found them.”
I unlocked the door slowly, forcing Elias to hold on just a little longer, before stepping inside and kicking off my socks and shoes.
He hadn’t said a word, opting for silence while he followed behind me.
He locked the doorknob, the deadbolt, and the chain lock, and kicked off his shoes.
Bent over his duffle bag, he pulled out an old school flip phone, tossing it to me.
I barely caught it, fumbling it a few times before recovering.
“Call your parents,” he barked. “I’m taking a shower.”
“Thank you,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.
“A cold shower,” he clarified, half heartedly hugging me back. He stepped away.
“My dad is going to want to talk to you,” I said. He was halfway across the room now, but he stopped to turn back to face me.
“I don’t think I’m ready to meet the family yet.” He wasn’t being harsh, but he wasn’t being funny.
“If you don’t reassure him that I’m not going to die, he’s going to come to Richmond.”
He sighed, the energy to put up a fight long gone. “Alright, I’ll be out in ten.”
My mother had the same phone number she’d had when I was a child, so I had no problem remembering what to dial. She was inundated with spam calls, and though she’d never admit it, I really thought she kept it so I’d always know how to reach her.
I opened the small flip phone, and typed in the familiar number. It went to voicemail, as I suspected. A woman of many passions but few talents, she was probably crafting something she thought looked neat online. I’d received too many niche projects of hers as Christmas presents.
She didn’t want any scammers to have her name, so the automated voice just read her number back and asked me to leave a message after the tone.
“Hey mom, it’s Cassie. I lost my phone, and I’m using a friend’s phone to call you. I’m going to call dad next, but if you need to reach me, you can call this number back and I’ll answer. Love you, bye.”
My dad was far more sensible, and had changed his number many times, but I always made it a goal to memorize his number because he would actually pick up if I were dying.
He answered on the second ring.
“Who is this?” He asked, voice gruff.
“Hey,” I said. “It’s Cassie.”
“Rose!” he shouted. “It’s Cass!” There was some shuffling in the background, and my mom telling him to put it on speakerphone. “Are you okay, kiddo? We’ve been trying to call you all day.”
“Yeah, I lost my phone. I’m using a friend’s.” I was so happy to hear their voice, I could hear the tremble in my own.
“I’ve seen some rough looking stuff on the news. What’s going on over there?” He asked.
“I don’t think I should say anything, really. I just wanted you to know I’m okay, and to make sure that you could reach me.” Anyone could be listening, and I didn’t know what I could or couldn’t say.
“There’s some kind of sickness going on. Turning people crazy.”
I was shocked. “They put that on the news?”
“I mean, they’re not saying much, but people are posting about it online. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s fake these days.”
“I really don’t know how much I can say,” I admitted.
“Are you safe? Where are you?” My mom interjected.
“I’m safe, I’m with a friend from work. I can’t tell you where I am.”
I could almost hear my father pacing. “Is someone listening, or something?”
“They might be. I’m not sure.”
“Oh, god,” my mother said, and I imagined her hands covering her mouth. She was so her, and I missed that.
“What the hell is going on? Are you in danger?” My dad asked, his voice picking up speed and volume.
“I know too much, that’s the problem. I saw what I wasn’t supposed to see,” I said slowly. “But I think I’ll be okay.”