Jason Morrow - Anywhere but Here

“What?” he says. He looks like he hasn’t gotten any sleep in days.

“Something weird is happening,” Gilbert says. “You know we didn’t steal anything, don’t you?”

“Not right now,” Gabe says. “You can say what you want to when we’re in the car, but for now, keep quiet.”

The rain pelts us hard as Gabe leads us to a large SUV parked just inside the town gates. Streams flow into the storm drains next to the sidewalks and I have to sidestep a few puddles before we’re inside. Gabe drives, Gilbert sits up front, and Ethan and I sit in the back seat. Even though the heat is on in the vehicle, I can still see vapor every time one of us breathes.

“I’m not going to need to cuff any of you, am I?” Gabe asks. He gets no argument from us.

The gate opens in front of us and Gabe eases on the gas until we’re on the road. As we pass through the gate, I can’t help but feel sick at the thought of leaving already. The vision of Gilbert had seemed like an impossibility, but it was becoming a reality now, and so far I have failed at altering it.

I never see the sun come up because of the grey clouds above us, but the light still manages to illuminate the road ahead of us. We drive in silence for almost ten minutes before Gabe finally pulls the SUV over and stops on the side.

“What, you’re just going to drop us off here?” Gilbert says.

“Yes,” Gabe answers. “You were correct earlier when you said something wasn’t right.” He turns in his seat to look at each of us. “I don’t know what’s happening in Crestwood, but it’s not good. I’ve been trying to investigate it, but things have gotten a little dangerous.”

“With Paxton?” I ask.

He nods. “Not just him though. He answers to someone else. Goes by the name Shadowface. I’m trying to figure it all out.”

“Sounds dark,” Gilbert says, rolling his eyes.

Gabe ignores him. “Anyway, I think this Shadowface might have something to do with you leaving. I don’t know what it’s about, but I have it on good authority that you’ve got some raiders on your trail.”

“Scarecrow,” I whisper. I can feel my hands begin to tremble.

“Yeah, well, I’m supposed to drop you off at a warehouse just a few miles from here so this guy can capture you. He says you all have something of his.”

Ethan and I both look at Gilbert immediately and we can see the blood drain from his face.

“Do you still have the cylinder?” Ethan asks.

Gilbert reaches into his pocket and pulls it out. His lips move like he wants to say something, but the words can’t seem to form.

“Well,” Gabe says, “whatever that thing is, you took it from the wrong guy, and it’s my job to deliver you to him.”

“How do you know all this?” I ask. “Did Paxton tell you these things?”

“Did any of you hear about a banishment from a couple of days ago?” Gabe asks.

“Yeah,” Ethan says. “But we didn’t want to ask too many questions.”

“I didn’t hear about it,” Gilbert says.

“She has a special ability like you, Waverly,” Gabe says. “Or was that just something this jerk came up with?” He points a thumb at Gilbert.

“No,” I say. “It’s real.”

“Yeah, well,” Gabe says. “This girl overheard Paxton talking with the raider. She has some crazy ability to hear things from far away or something, I don’t know. I’m looking to get to the bottom of it all.”

“So what about us?” Ethan asks. “Won’t they find out when you haven’t dropped us off at the warehouse?”

“I’m giving you the SUV,” he says. “There are weapons and supplies in the trunk space. I’ll tell them you three jumped me and took it so I had to walk back. They won’t be able to argue with that.”

“And where do you suggest we go from here?” Gilbert asks.

A bullet smashing through the windshield is his answer. The four of us duck down as more bullets slam into the SUV, ripping holes through the metal. I throw open my door and duck down. I can see Gabe running toward the woods to our left and I follow him. Bullets whiz by my head and I’m almost to the edge of the woods when my foot catches a rock and I fall hard to the ground. I’m about to pull myself from the ground when I look up and see that Scarecrow and his men are right on top of me.

It’s weird being back in Elkhorn after three years and it pains me to see everything that used to be beautiful and welcoming look like crap. The streets are littered with trash and abandoned cars. Many of the columns in front of the buildings are stained with blood which are remnants of when the military came in, trying to stop the chaos. The once-bustling buildings are now silent and empty. Well, I know they aren’t empty. I suppose I mean that they are empty of life. I can smell the decay in the air, the three years of rotting greyskins. People have another name for this place: the Epicenter. Most believe that this is where it all began. I guess it’s true. As a student here I didn’t think much about where the madness came from. None of us really had time to think. One day students were going to class, the next we were being attacked by these monsters that used to be people.

I will never forget the first greyskin I encountered. His name was Andy. I sat next to him in English class before the outbreak. He was a smart guy, but he didn’t talk much. That day, so many of us were running in a panic. I couldn’t find my friends. I remember seeing Andy and calling out to him. When he turned his head I could see that he had changed into one of them…one of those creatures. At that time, the greyskins were nameless. I’m not exactly sure where the word greyskin came from, probably the news, but the name described Andy well. His skin looked like ash and his eyes had darkened. I remember trying to call out to him, but when he came toward me I knew he wasn’t coming to my aid. He was coming to bite me, to scratch me, eat me. I remember seeing a police officer shoot him down right in front of me. I was in shock. The police officer was telling me to get somewhere safe, but before he could finish his sentence, two more greyskins were on top of him, ripping his skin from his bones.

Elkhorn is one of the last places I want to be right now. I’d rather be anywhere but here, but if I’m going to be allowed back into Crestwood, I need to find something out about Jessi Paxton. I know it’s probably a stupid idea. I know Paxton has probably sent me on a death mission, but what else can I do? It’s not like I know of any other safe haven. But if I can, I would like to be back at Crestwood, even if that means helping Gabe uncover whatever this plot is about Shadowface.

The grey clouds roll in through the distance, casting a dark shadow across the university. It’s going to rain, I think to myself. Rain is good for disguising steps, but it’s bad for keeping warm. As a gust of wind hits me from behind, I become more thankful of the coat Gabe gave me.

My enhanced hearing can sense the shuffling of greyskins all around me, though none of them have noticed my presence. I can see one or two in the street up ahead, but I won’t be going that way. I cut through an alley (something I hate to do with the limited space) because on the other side I will come to the road directly across from the university hospital.

It’s one of the last places that I want to go, but if Robert Paxton’s daughter is the same Jessi Paxton that I knew in college, then she was pregnant. If she was pregnant then she would have more than likely gone to the Elkhorn University Hospital to have the baby. If that was true, then they would have a medical record on her at the maternity ward. I know it’s a shot in the dark. There are so many factors that could go against me.