They hit the road in silence. The glow of the dead gas station faded in the rearview. Jackson stared ahead, knuckles white on the dash.
Matthew glanced at Jackson. "What happened in there?"
Jackson didn't answer. Just wiped his hands on his jeans and kept breathing. They drove down the highway silent and the sky became a dark blood red. Somewhere in the distance thunder rolled low.
"You think it's getting worse?" Matthew asked.
Jackson finally spoke. "They're starting to move in packs now."
Matthew blinked. "Wait what?"
Jackson looked out the window. "I saw it yesterday. 9 of them moving together in unison."
Matthew gritted his teeth. "I hate this shit."
They drove another few miles before a sign creaked past "Welcome to Eldenville"
"Wanna stop here?" Matthew asked.
"We have to." Jackson said. "We need supplies and food and medicine just to be safe."
They pulled into a rundown neighborhood. A few cars sat there with their windows smashed in. One house had the door open. Another had bloodstains on the steps. But the last was in decent condition and had intact windows and a hand-painted sign that read "SAFE HERE"
Jackson and Matthew stepped out slow holding their knives.
Jackson started to walk slowly his feet not making a sound.
"Think it's a trap?" Matthew whispered.
Jackson tapped the side of his head. "Always."
They walked up to the house and Jackson knocked three times.
Nothing.
Again.
Silence.
Then a small sound. The click of a latch.
The door creaked open. A woman stood there. Late twenties, purple eyes, dark olive skin and long black hair with purple streaks. She slid a shotgun through the small opening.
"You guys got bit or scratched? If you are then leave or ill blow your fucking heads off." she smirked.
"We're not sick" Jackson said calmly. "We just need supplies. We can trade."
The woman eyed them both. Then stepped aside. "Come in you guys got two minutes to talk. Try anything and you know what happens."
Inside, the place looked well kept, windows barricaded, boxes of food and water sat in the kitchen.
Jackson scanned the place. "You here alone?"
The woman eyes narrowed. From the back room a child coughed.
Jackson's jaw clenched. "We'll make it fast."
Then, something made sounds from the front yard. Everyone froze.
The woman raised the shotgun. "You brought one with you?"
Jackson shook his head slowly. "That's not us."
The thudding came again. Louder. The sound of dragging came closer
Jackson moved for the front yard holding his knife without a word.
(If I don't do this, we could die... I could die... I need to find him and protect him... I need to live.)
Matthew grabbed his sleeve. "What are you doing?"
The light in Jackson's eyes dimmed "Ending it before it ends us."
Jackson stepped out and started walking towards the front yard. The air felt thicker, and thunder rolled roared again closer this time but there was no rain just that endless red fog. Jackson was right Infront of it a corpse, half of it gone below the waist crawling... no clawing its way up the cracked pavement. Its fingers left a trail of blood on the concrete. One eye bulged from its face the other was missing its eye socket was full of writhing maggots. Jackson didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and drove the knife down through the skull. It twitched a couple times then stopped. Jackson stood over it breathing heavily. His hand didn't tremble this time. Not even a little. Something inside him was changing. Jackson walked back to the house gripping the bloody knife the light in his eyes dimmed even further.
The woman stood in the doorway, watching him her expression unreadable. "Nice work!"
Matthew raised an eyebrow. "You, ok?"
Jackson nodded and forced a smile. "It was crawling, so it was easy to kill haha"
He didn't say how his body moved without a second thought or how he barely felt a thing when ending it.
Jackson stepped back in, and they all moved to the living room. The women placed her gun on the table near her and spoke "I'm Sofia. Sofia Bellanti."
"You Italian?" Matthew asked, stepping in behind Jackson.
"Florence," she said flatly. "Came here a year ago with my little sister and now the world went to shit"
Jackson wiped the knife on his shirt. "I heard a kid cough earlier is your sister sick?"
Sofia's eye twitched. Her mouth tightened just slightly. "Fever. Bad. She's only eight."
"She get bit?" Jackson asked.
"No!" she snapped. "She's just a kid. Got caught in the rain two days ago. Now she's burning up."
Matthew glanced toward the back room. "We can try and go get medicine for you if you'd like?"
Sofia's purple eyes lit, only for a second, then dulled again.
"If you bring back antibiotics, I'll give you food and water as much as you need."
Jackson looked at her suspiciously. "Why don't you go yourself?"
She hesitated.
Then softly: "Theres no pharmacy's nearby only a hospital and if I don't come back… no one's left to protect her."
Silence.
Matthew nodded.
"Alright," he said. "We'll go first thing in the morning."
Jackson quickly glanced at Matthew his brow furrowing.
Sofia nodded and turned away, walking toward the kitchen. "You hungry? I can make some Gnocchi."
Jackson watched her go then loudly whispered to Matthew "Why did you agree to that Matt? We could easily find food elsewhere do you know what you agreed to could get us both killed?"
Matthew looked at Jackson a glint in his eye. "I know and I'm sorry man, but she's got her little sister and no one else. I know it's dangerous but if we don't help what happens next? She goes gets killed then her sister dies from her illness, starvation or those... monsters..."
Jackson sighs. "I know man... I know."
Sofia then called for them. "Come on in guys the foods almost done."
Matthew got up and started walking to the kitchen. "You coming bro?"
"Yea I'll be there in a second just need a minute to myself.'
Jackson sat there for a couple minutes thinking of what he did. He sat there thinking why and that he needed to and why he feels less guilt about it. Jackson stood up to go join them in the kitchen but then something caught his eye on the table. The shotgun it was still lying there barrel was chipped, but clean. Safety on. He picked it up cracked it open. Empty. Not a single shell inside.
His jaw tensed. "She'd been bluffing... Bluffing hard." With a kid in the back and worry in her heart. But standing tall like she'd mow them down without blinking.
Jackson looked toward the kitchen, where Sofia was setting plates down at the table. Maybe she was scared... Maybe she was broken in places no one could see. But so was he. And for the first time in days… maybe that meant something.
He joined them at the table and ate
Morning would come.
And when it did, the road to that hospital was going to be hell.