Code of Honor

“Grace!”

I snapped out of my reverie. Jamison was beside Dad and the one yelling my name.

Suddenly we were moving faster again.

“She’ll be okay Cameron...we just have to keep her awake.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s taken a few knocks to the head. She’s probably concussed. We have to get her back and let her rest...I have to make sure there’s no pressure or bleeding on the brain.”

“If there is?”

“There’s nothing we can do....”

Dad pulled me closer into his chest and held me tighter. I felt safe here in his arms. Nothing could get me here. My eyes fell closed again. I couldn’t find the strength to keep them open anymore. Suddenly we skidded to a halt.

“Hide!”

Then we were moving faster again but back in the other direction. I struggled to pull my sore eyes open as we came to a stop in the dark. I glanced around. We were still in the city itself. On the outskirts of the business district. Apartment buildings and stall scrapers would have surrounded us had we been here before the bombing.

Now few stood very high, if at all. Some had crumbled completely to the ground providing good cover and hiding spots but also leaving us with a good hike and a climb. Sometimes there were large craters we had to walk through and they had a creepy vibe to them. Maybe because I still remembered walking down these streets before they were blown away. But where the destruction lifted, so did the decay.

I watched my father’s eyes move with something outside out hiding spot. I looked out to see an army truck driving slowly down the road. They were no doubt looking for us. After what they just pulled to save me it was a good possibility. The army hated nothing more than being embarrassed and losing. We’d just pulled both.

They needed to keep an image so they could remain on top. People had to be scared of them and if a small group of rebellious citizens could take them on and walk away, other would have the same thoughts. They’d turn away from the protection the army offered for the protection of the rebellion groups. This isn’t what the government wanted. This was why we had to be wiped out in their eyes.

We sat there for a long time. Dad had to keep shaking me awake. I could see the panic start to settle in his eyes. He started whispering in my ear trying to make me talk to him. Trying to keep me conscious. He made me talk about the old days. Before the war had ever broken out. About things I should have been doing now instead of fighting for my life in a war zone. We talked about school, boys, friends and home.

We joked about mum’s lack of cooking skills though she always tried and always had a pizza hidden close by just in case. Soon I started to forget where I was. I was home again. Sitting at the kitchen table pouring over school books. Complaining that it was too hard. Mum was on the other side of the room telling me I’d wish for these days back one day. I didn’t believe her.

Dad starting moving, bringing me back to the real world. I forced my eyes open. We were on the move again. The stench of death was strong here. It filled my nostrils and made me want to gag but I pushed through it. This used to be a populated area, it always had been since most worked here during the day. I tried not to think of all those who were now buried beneath the rubble we were walking on. It just reminded me how lucky I was too be alive today. Unfortunately sometimes the dead weren’t buried. On occasion we walked past a rotting corpse out in the open and today was one of those days.

We climbed over a considerably difficult pile of rubble that had once been a twelve story building only to find a body lying on the other side. I pulled myself closer to my father trying to get away from it. It was a lot closer than I would have ever wanted one. The first thing that hit was the smell. You could deal with the distant smell of death but when it was right under your nose, it was horrible. I held my breath.

It was fresh I realized, they only would have died in the last couple of days. Even with the limited time for decay it still didn’t look human. The skin was peeling back, revealing the muscle underneath. But that I knew was something that would have happened before they died.

It was all thanks to chemical warfare. Some people feel prey to diseases that were engineered in a laboratories. Made for exactly this reason. War. To kill out a large amount of people with less effort and to take them out painfully. Some were worse than others. Some showed cold like symptoms and died slowly and peacefully in their sleep within the day. It was a quick acting virus. But you had to be lucky for that. Some weren’t so lucky. I guess you could call them zombies. But it wasn’t like the zombie’s Hollywood or game creators painted.

Some had the look, their skin was falling off slowly and painfully. Their hair would die, along with their teeth and slowly fall out. But they weren’t flesh eating maniacs. Some laid in wait to die, some would move around begging for help. Some lost their minds and they were the ones you had to watch out for. They could attack for no reason.

This poor man lying before me looked to be one of the unlucky ones. I swallowed the bile back hard and looked away. When I died I wanted to go quickly. I didn’t care how as long as it was as painless as possible. Nothing like the fate of the poor soul now lying behind me. A gun-shot I decided. That was quick and very likely these days.

“Do you want me to take her Cameron, we’re almost there?” Jamison asked softly.

“No,” he replied firmly but he sounded breathless. “I’ll be fine.”

“Dimitri run ahead and get the door open,” Jamison said and footsteps ran off. “Open your eyes Grace,” he scolded.

I forced them open. I hadn’t even realized they were closed. We were still surrounded by destruction but ahead I could see a small apartment building was still standing. I had a feeling it used to be taller than it was but for the most part it looked intact. Dad followed Jamison as he walked towards this building letting his gun hang loosely at his side. We must have been out of danger.

Dad took the last stumble over a pile of rubble and ducked inside the doorway to the building. I didn’t get to see much of the inside it was too dark. Dimitri meet us atop one of the sets of stairs and held a door open for dad. For the first time since we’d lost our home I felt my back meet a soft mattress. It felt really good.
I sighed and dad sat on the bed beside me. Running his cold hand over my head. Jamison was there in seconds. Poking at my head again and ordering Dimitri around like a nurse. If I wasn’t feeling so crappy I would have laughed at him.

“How are you going to know if she’s bleeding on the brain?” Dad asked quietly.

“I have to look for the symptoms,” Jamison sighed. “It’s the only way to tell. Grace is your head hurting?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled.

“Hurting we’re you’ve been hit or a headache?”

“Both.”

He didn’t seemed pleased with this.

“Lift your arms for me Grace, one at a time.”

I did as I was told quite easily.

“Try your legs for me.” Again it was simple.

“This is good,” Jamison commented slowly. “Is your vision blurring around the edges?”

I shook my head. “It was when he first...hit me. But not anymore.” I muttered groggily.

“I can’t say for certain until the concussion clears up,” Jamison said. “Some of the main symptoms coincide with bleeding. But she’s talking that’s a good sign Cameron. Just keep her awake for a bit longer I don’t want to risk her sleeping yet.”

“I thought that was bogus,” Dimitri piped in. “When I came off my bike I was told I could sleep with a concussion.”

“And are you a doctor?” I muttered. Dad smirked.

Dimitri pulled a face at me. Jamison chuckled. “It’s always been up in the air. Some say you can but I still it’s safer not to. The brain can swell and I’d rather keep an eye on her. But I think she’s going to be fine...once we get her something to eat.”

As if on cue Penny walked into the room. Her face was drawn and she looked as tired as I felt. I wondered if it was the pregnancy doing it to her and if she’d told anyone yet. If I had noticed why hadn’t Jamison? I guess no one else was looking. I could see a small bump already forming under her shirt when she sat on the bed beside dad.

“Already on it James,” she replied with a smile handing me a can of soup.

Can food was our staple these days. It was about the only thing left to eat. Any source of fruits and vegetables were long gone. It was all infected and rotten. Another effect of the chemical warfare we’d endured. So the only things that were safe to eat were those that were safely in closed cans or wrapped in plastic. But even those could be dangerous.
I sat up groggily. The temptation of food cutting through the haze.

Dad leaned over to help me up and pulled me over. So I was leaning into his chest. Penny handed me the can. I was too hungry to feel awkward as everyone watched me bring the can to my lips. Careful not to cut myself on the jagged edges. Dads hands came up gently and helped support the can as I drank a small mouthful from it.

My stomach welcomed the cold liquid. Hot food was a thing of the past. Sometimes when we felt like a bit of luxury and had the time the time would be taken to heat up a meal. Which usually consisted of starting a fire and throwing the can in it, pulling it back out before it exploded. But that took a long time and I was hungry. I didn’t want to wait.

Slowly people moved out of the room and left Dad and I alone. He sat with me while I ate and rubbed his hand over my hair gently like he used to when I was a kid. Whenever I got hurt I always went to him and he’d always hold me and stroke my hair until I calmed.
We sat in silence for a long time. Occasionally we would lean around to make sure I was still awake but other than that I had plenty of time to think. My thoughts strayed to the dead body we’d seen today and I started to wonder why I was still alive.

Maybe it was the fact that I’d skipped school had kept me alive.
Unlike my siblings I wasn’t at school. I was laying in the local park on the outskirts of the city with my boyfriend. Oliver. He was your typical jock boy with blue eyes and dark hair. He was the boy my friends expected me to date. I may not have loved him but I did have deep feelings for him.

Sometimes I still dreamt about him and I woke with a dull ache in my chest. I missed him I couldn’t deny that. He was my best friend and it was only thanks to him I was still alive. Unfortunately he didn’t make it like I had. I let my head loll back into my father’s chest as thought of Oliver filled me. I usually didn’t let myself think of him but right now I think I needed it.