Panacea

By nightfall they had made it to the outskirts of a dingy community, and after an hour or so spent scavenging through abandoned houses they continued on their way. If Ella was tired she did not once complain, instead keeping a smile on her face as she walked at his side, occasionally spurting off random facts about her life.

Thankfully he had managed to find more food in one of the smaller houses — one that previous visitors had clearly found of no use. He had allowed Ella to eat what was left of the cereal, and though he was starving he simply nibbled on a few cashews that he found in the bottom of a tub.

He remembered his father’s words; the words that he had spoken years before he’d left. Pain brings strength. Will wondered whether the aching of his legs and the gnawing of his stomach made him stronger than he’d been back at home.

A large yawn distracted him from his thoughts, and Will turned to the side to see Ella flushing in embarrassment. Hiding behind her hair she ignored his gaze, instead focusing on stepping over the rocks that littered the ground.

“We’ll rest for a bit down further,” he said gruffly, pointedly ignoring the grateful stare she sent him. “Can’t keep walking forever.”

They walked for a tiny bit more as she chattered about the moon, and he listened idly though his mind was elsewhere. They had been walking for a few days and yet they hadn’t once stumbled upon one of the creatures, and Will didn’t know which he felt more — thankful or confused. Maybe they’d been wrong when they’d made the announcement… maybe it was all one big misunderstanding. It would certainly make him feel better — if not only for himself, for her.

“Doesn’t it look lovely?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, he glanced at the young girl beside him, giving her an odd look. Realising that he wasn’t going to respond, she continued. “The moon,” she explained. “It’s lovely considering that the world is essentially dead, isn’t it?”

He was startled for a moment; freezing in his step. Ella glanced up at him kindly, blue eyes hidden behind clumps of dirty blonde hair. She seemed far older than she looked, he mused with an odd feeling in his heart. Far wiser at the very least. “The world isn’t dead,” he responded finally, pulling his eyes away and starting to walk again. “And nothing is lovely.”

They continued on in silence until they reached a place in the bush where the trees seemed to be more vast, and Will reluctantly dropped his bag on the dirt. “We’ll sleep here,” he said, sending her a fleeting glance. “I’ll keep watch,” he added at her uneasy stare.

She grinned gratefully, lowering herself to the ground and letting out a soft yawn. She settled onto her back, staring up at the sky with a slight smile on her face. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable and cold but she simply gave him a quick look before closing her eyes and rolling onto her side. “Wake me up when you want to switch,” she mumbled tiredly.

His lips twitched upwards despite himself, and he glanced quickly at the resting girl. Her arms were placed uncomfortably by her sides, and she was shifting restlessly as she tried to get to sleep. Noticing the goosebumps on her skin he quietly unzipped his jacket, giving her an embarrassed look to gauge whether she was asleep or not before hesitantly settling it over her body.

She let out a mumble and he tensed, a flush creeping up the back of his neck at the thought of her being awake. Instead she simply curled her body further into itself, wrapping her arms around her chest as she drifted off to sleep.

“You know,” she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep, “for someone who didn’t want me to come along, you’re being awfully kind.”

Tensing, he cleared his throat before decidedly looking away into the distance, watching tiredly for any hint that something was wrong.

A few hours passed. His eyes began to hurt and he settled himself down onto a tree stump, rubbing at his eyes and pushing his hair away from his forehead. Before he knew it his eyes were fluttering shut and he was unwillingly drifting off into an uncomfortable sleep.

——————

“What are you doing?”

Will flinched, falling from where he was seated on the tree stump as his eyes snapped open. Jumping to his feet, his eyes first sought out Ella to ensure that she was alright before he straightened his body protectively and turned towards the voice.

It was a boy who seemed to be in his late teen years — a large, plump thing with beady eyes and red cheeks. His hair was white blonde and and fell in a slight curl in front of his eyes, and he was dressed in a shirt that screamed wealth despite the circumstances.

Will sent the boy a glare, trying to calm his racing heart as he reached down to grab his backpack. Though the boy barely seemed intelligent enough to rob them one could never be to certain, and Will certainly did not have enough supplies to spare.

Ella was rubbing her eyes and sitting up, sending an alarmed look to Will before pulling down his jacket from her body. “Who are you?” she asked lowly, pushing her hair away with her fingers. “What on earth are you doing out here?”

The boy narrowed his eyebrows, crossing his arms over his chest and puffing out his already pudgy cheeks in indignation. “Callum McQuillen,” he answered haughtily, giving the younger girl a sneering look. “Dear god you are in need of a shower. Look at your hair,” he added, face screwing up slightly in disgust.

Will didn’t know whether to laugh or to frown, so instead he simply let out a sigh. Ella, on the other hand, was looking at the newcomer with a look that seemed fiercer than anything he’d seen on the girl, her eyebrows narrowed in annoyance.

Deciding to diffuse the situation, Will ignored the boy, instead turning to look at Ella. “We better get moving. It’s not safe to stay in one position for so long.”

The young girl relaxed slowly and nodded, pulling his jacket off her legs and handing it to him with a small smile. She then hoisted herself up, patting down her backside and pushing her hair behind her shoulders.

When he was sure that she was ready Will began to walk back towards the highway, striding past the boy without a second glance. He heard a huff of annoyance before thick steps began to follow him, and Will let out a sigh of frustration.

Nonetheless, with Ella beside him he began to trek his way back towards the main road, hoping that by the time they reached it the boy would return to wherever he had come from. Ella was being uncharacteristically quiet, keeping her eyes on the ground and she walked along beside him.

“I’m bored,” came a voice. “This is boring.”

Ella glanced over her shoulders with a sigh but Will ignored the boy completely, keen eyes narrowed ahead of him as he tried to navigate his way.

There was a grumble of words before the padding of feet and Callum began to match their strides, breathing heavily as his cheeks flushed with heat. “I’m hungry,” he said grumpily, beady eyes glancing up at Will. “Do you have food in that backpack?”

“No,” Will said fiercely, giving the boy an annoyed glance. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Ella snickered at his side but Will ignored her, pulling his eyes away from the indignant boy with a sigh. He couldn’t afford to have any more people with him. The more there were the weaker he became, and the less likely he was to ever reach Grace. And despite his instinct to protect he knew that that was his absolute priority.

“Why is she following you, then?” the boy asked rudely, his breathing becoming more heavy as the hill became steeper.

Will didn’t respond, trying to fight off his growing frustration as he clenched his jaw.

A few moments passed in silence — save for the padding of three pairs of feet against the uneven ground, and eventually Will could make out the road in the distance. Wordlessly, they headed towards it, legs aching as the trekked up the hill.

“I’m thirsty. Can I have some water?”

“Please,” Ella muttered sarcastically, giving the boy an annoyed glance.

Will sighed. “No,” he said lowly, flicking his eyes to look at Callum in irritation. “We don’t have enough.”

The boy huffed. “When will we get more?”

Will groaned, rubbing at his eyes in exasperation. “I don’t know.”

“There’s a house up there,” Ella said quietly, looking up at Will through her lashes with a slight smile.

Will followed her line of vision — indeed there was a house, a large one made of bricks that was sitting alone a little distance away from the road.

Something in his gut warned him against entering a house placed in such a desolate area, but a glance at Callum and subsequently Ella told him that they would need to find more resources soon.

“We’ll check it out,” he said cautiously, giving the two of them a look. “You’ll have to stay quiet. You don’t know what’s up there.”

“Shut up,” Callum said with a glare. “If my father knew that you were bossing me around like this he would beat you up.”

Will stopped in his tracks, wheeling around and and grabbing the boy by his shirt. Callum immediately quietened, looking terrified as he glanced up at the older man. “Get your hands off me,” he said roughly, though his voice was croaky with fear. “I’ll have you arrested for assault.”

Will’s fierce look silenced him. “If you don’t be quiet,” he said lowly, jaw clenched, “you might not ever see your father again.”

The boy swallowed, eyes wide as his legs turned to jelly. “Are you… are you threatening to kill me?” he questioned loudly, his voice raising in volume with each word.

Breathing in deeply to relieve his frustration, Will let go of the boy’s shirt and turned away. “Just stay quiet,” he muttered, veering off the road to walk towards the house.

The two followed along behind him, the large boy still huffing in indignation whilst Ella had an amused look about her features. When the reached the door Will shushed them both, listening intently for the sound of anything out of the ordinary.

“Hurry up,” Callum said. “What are you waiting for?”

Letting out an irritated sigh, Will tested the doorknob. It was unlocked, which — while convenient, was also slightly worrying. He reasoned with himself that the door being shut was a positive sign (the brainless creatures wouldn’t have thought to leave it that way) and he reluctantly twisted it open and stepped into the house.

It had a dingy smell. It was dimly lit — the sun streaking in through the windows, though the house itself seemed rather empty at first glance.

“Stay close,” Will warned. “Just in case.”

Ella sent him a worried glance, but he couldn’t find it in him to reassure her. He hadn’t quite accepted the fact that he wasn’t alone on his journey anymore, much less that he’d been joined by two teenagers. But nonetheless he allowed them to step into the house, glancing around him cautiously with every step.

“Move,” came a voice, and then Will was shoved in the back as a large body stumbled past. Cursing to himself and whispering angrily for them to stay quiet, Will followed along behind the boy, who had seemingly headed straight for the kitchen.

He was startled as he felt a sweaty hand clasp his, and he looked down to see Ella staring at the ground. She looked like she was attempting not to appear too worried, and while his instinct was to drop her hand he simply gripped it tightly and looked forcibly away, leading them towards the kitchen.

The smell seemed to be getting worse. It was worrying, and as they reached the kitchen Will was tempted to turn around and head back. Something didn’t seem right and Ella seemed to sense it too, because he could hear the sound of her staggered breathing coming from beside him.

Callum was clambering loudly through the cupboards for food, seeming not to have the same fear as the others. He had just grabbed a tub of cookies when something startled them all — a loud moan coming from the distance.

They all froze. The smell of rotten garbage got more intense as the sound of feet stumbling lazily reached their ears, and when a second, slow groan sounded Will realised what it was.

It was one of them. They were caught — caught with nowhere to go, caught in what would probably be the end of their lives.

Which meant never seeing Grace. Never reaching the beach. Letting her… letting her down.

It was too much to bear.

That thought snapped him into action and he rushed forward to grab a large kitchen knife, even though a part of him knew that it would be useless. Ella started to cry and her hand trembled in his grip, but he clenched it more tightly and dragged her towards the back of the kitchen.

Callum looked terrified. His eyes were open wide and his hands had frozen around the jar, and he looked like he was about to start screaming. Another moan sounded — louder this time, and the smell became more putrid and consuming as feet clumsily shuffled closer.

In a second he was moving. Grabbing Callum and dragging him and Ella back inside the cupboard, pulling the doors shut hastily behind them. They were left in darkness, perched awkwardly against the shelves, purged into silence save for their ragged breathing.

“What is i-”

Will clapped his hand over the boy’s mouth, trying to ignore the way it trembled. He felt a wet tear hit his shoulder and he glanced down to his side, his heart aching at the sight of Ella crying. Her lower lip was trembling and her entire body was shaking, and her grip on his hand was so tight that he could barely feel it.

Another moan. Feet shuffling closer. Callum let out a moan of fear against his hand and Ella’s cries became audible, though Will could barely hear them over the frantic beating of his heart.

Wordlessly, he let go of Ella’s hand to wrap his arm around her waist, allowing her to bury her head against his side, her sobs muffled against his shirt. He could feel the wetness of her tears and to his alarm he felt his his own eyes beginning to well up too as he thought of never making it to Grace.

The moans became louder. Feet shuffled just in front of them, the horrific smell seeping through the doors. Will grabbed the knife from behind him and clenched it tightly in his fingers, trying to ignore the way they trembled mercilessly. He found himself praying — praying for the first time since the beginning of it all — that they would make it out of this alive. Maybe the monsters couldn’t hear that well. He could only hope.

To his relief the moans began to quieten as the feet shuffled away from them. He heaved out a breath as he lowered the knife, placing it gently on the shelf behind them. Then he reached down and pulled Ella against him, allowing her to cry into his shirt. Before he could stop himself he was placing a kiss against her head, brushing her hair behind her ears with trembling fingers.

They must’ve stayed in that position for hours. Even Callum didn’t make a sound — barely moved at all. When the light from the sun began to stop peeping underneath the gap on the door he decided that it would be safe to leave and he gently dropped his hand from Callum’s mouth, giving Ella one last squeeze before letting her go. A gasping breath that he hadn’t even know that he was holding in was released as he carefully pried open the door, glancing out around him to make sure that it was safe.

Eventually they walked out, eyes watching around them at all moments. Ella’s face was red and blotchy from crying and Callum’s face a stark white, and as soon as they’d made it through the front door they broke out into a sprint towards the road.

It was then that Ella started sobbing — sobbing so fiercely that he could barely breathe. He knew that she needed comfort — that Callum did too, but he couldn’t find it in him to give it to them.

“How could you be so stupid,” he said loudly, refusing to look them in the eye. “The world isn’t safe anymore.”

Ella eyed him in misery but he avoided her gaze. Callum was staring at the ground, his chest heaving.

“Keep moving,” Will said finally, rubbing at his brow to wipe away the sweat. “There could be more.”

The sun was setting as the trio continued on down the road in silence.