Jacqueline Druga - No Man's Land

The final leg of the trip was ahead of us and I just wanted to get there safely, rain or shine, light or dark.

Hannah slept for three hours straight. When she woke up she looked better and felt better. She started rambling and I knew she was getting back to her old self. I was glad.

I asked her if she wanted to stay, but she was insistent that we leave. So we packed up and would be on the road two hours before sundown. To my surprise and a little relief, Leah was at the bottom of the driveway.

“She must have a wife GPS on your rear end,” Hannah said. “I can’t believe she found us.”

“It’s weird.”

“Yeah, but I saw her back when we left the underpass and then again when you stopped to pee. She was closing in.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked.

“Because you didn’t mention her and I thought maybe you were mad that she ate a person.”

“No, I’m not mad.”

We started moving and Leah tagged behind. There was a steady slight drizzle, but the tarp kept us dry.

“We should have stayed at the school,” I said. “Really. We were safe.”

“They were coming, Calvin. I don’t think they’d go past that town, but they were coming there.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“Because you told that woman everything.”

I nodded in agreement. “True.”

“I told you not to trust her, but there you went trusting her, and telling her your inner most secrets.”

“Oh, please, I did not.”

“You did. Didn’t I tell you Leah was gonna get jealous? Ate her right up. Speaking of Leah…” Hannah looked behind us. “Whatcha gonna do about her? She can’t come into Sanctuary with us.”

“I know.”

“She’ll follow us there. She’ll get there after us and they’ll shoot her.”

“I know.”

“Think you should do it first?”

“Hannah, I don’t know if I can. I mean… I know what she is.”

“It’ll hurt your feelings if someone else does it. I know. I know how I felt when Pastor Jim killed my dad.”

“You saw it though, maybe it won’t hurt if I don’t.”

“Maybe.”

As I thought it over, we lost Leah again. She trailed behind unable to keep up. She was back there and I knew it.

After it turned dark, we stopped for an hour. Edward was out of control, even Hannah taking him aside, walking him and feeding him didn’t help.

I felt inside of me he was sick. He had caught pneumonia or something. He didn’t sound right. After all he had been through I was surprised that he was still moving. His crying was a calling card for Leah, a way to find us in the night, and she did.

I gave the choice to Hannah if she wanted to stay put or move forward. We had less than ten miles to go and Hannah wanted to forge ahead. She managed to calm him down with the pacifier.

After getting her in the cart, I stood by the side, Edward strapped to my chest, and looked at Leah.

“This is goodbye you know,” I told her. “I know you don’t understand me, but we’ll lose you before we get there. I just needed to say goodbye.”

Of course, Leah tilted her head. She stared back, the skin on her face was drawing in giving her an anorexic appearance. I looked once more then got in the cart and drove.

The homemade headlights worked but we had to slow down the pace. Then just as we saw a sign for Morehead, KY that we had three miles remaining, a massive storm blew in. I felt it coming earlier. The wind picked up and phantom lightning flashed in the sky without the sound of thunder.

Then it hit. The rain blew sideways and the tarp sailed off. Edward squirmed in the carrier and I tried my hardest to keep that covered.

There was absolutely nowhere to stop. Those last couple of miles seemed like hundreds. The wind and rain hit us so hard, we were moving against a huge wet current. We inched our way down the road

The first spotlight went out, then the next.

“I have to stop!” I shouted, the only way Hannah could hear me.

“No! Keep going.”

“It’s not safe. It’s too wet for the baby.”

“He’s fine. You have him covered. We’re so close, Calvin we’re…” She stopped.

I pulled the reins, stopping the horse. The sight took my breath away and I finished her sentence. “Here.”

Not far ahead of us, the brightness cut through the black of the night. Huge amounts of light lit up the horizon. It was Sanctuary. That was the only thing it could be.

A snap of the reins and we had a guiding light. Then I saw what looked like spotlights ahead. Like the kind you see at night on road construction sites. They were brighter the closer we moved. It clearly was a roadblock. Then we started seeing Vee. More Vee than I had seen the entire day. They moved about on the side of the road, as we approached, some even reached for the cart.

I moved faster, the rain beating against my face.

“Calvin, you don’t think they’re overrun, do you?”

“We’ll find out.”

We made our approach and a feeling of awe took over me when I saw the entrance ahead. Two giant spotlights lit up the area. A large tunnel on the road was created from a fence with a barbed wire arched ceiling.

A light swung on us, nearly blinding me, then it moved.

Two armed guards stood by the barricade and one waved us in.

The rain pelted down and I swiped the water from my eyes as I stopped the cart.

A soldier wearing rain gear approached. “I thought you were a man I knew named Jason,” he spoke loudly over the noise of the rain.

“Jason passed away,” I told him. ‘He had a heart attack.”

“Ah man. That’s sad. He was a good guy.”

“Is this Sanctuary Sixteen?” I asked.

“It is. Sorry I didn’t shoot those things out there. We’re not allowed. Gun fire attracts at night.”

“I understand,” I said. “We made it. We just want in.”

“Absolutely. She okay?” he asked, shining his flashlight on Hannah’s face.

“Yes. We ran into trouble.”

The soldier then hit me with the beam of the light. “We’ll check you inside for bites.” Again, he moved his light on Hannah. “Is her arm bandaged?”

I looked over. Her arm was outside of the blanket. The bandage was wet and stained.

“It’s not a bite or scratch. She was injured. It opened back up when she was attacked. They can see inside!”

“Not hiding anyone in the back, are you?” He moved the light. “Just the two of you?”

“Three!” I said. “Me, her, and the baby. He’s a newborn.” I pointed down and adjusted the carrier.

He moved his flashlight to the carrier. “Sir, there are no…” He stopped when the light hit Edward’s face as he sucked on the pacifier. The soldier’s eyes went from Edward to me. “Sir…” his voice softened. “You cannot come in here with that.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “He’s a baby.”

“Calvin,” Hannah reached out and touched my arm. “Let’s just go. We’ll go back to Mama Mavis.”

“No, we’re here.” I turned to the soldier. “Are babies not allowed?”

“Babies would be allowed. We don’t allow Formers. The dead can’t get in, no matter what shape or form they are. I’m sorry. You can’t bring…”

“Calvin, let’s go,” Hannah pleaded.

“What do you mean dead?” I asked. “He’s just a baby.”

“There are no babies, sir! There hasn’t been a baby born uninfected in six months.”

“But…”

Then my mind slipped back and I heard Mr. Mills that day I met him. “ Son, there shouldn’t be a baby in this godforsaken world, you know that.”

“Even to healthy mothers,” the soldier said. “They’re coming out that way.”