☢ Whispers

[rayblevins]

Ray Blevins

W - H - I - S - P - E - R - S

Ray was tired. Sweat dribbled down his forehead and into his eyes as he was walking along a hot and cracked road. There was nothing around him, just the sound of his footsteps and the tip of his M16 rifle dragging along. He was sick of walking. He was sick of being alone. He looked up and saw nothing, once again. Just the mirage of water at the end of the road. He's had these before and was easily fooled.

Then he heard a whisper. He wasn't scared, just confused. He looked up and gripped his gun in both hands. He couldn't tell what the whisper had said but it did sound like a woman's. Or a little girl's. "Raa-ay!" The whisper called out again. He turned around and pointed his gun. No one was anywhere. Ray was shaking now. The voice grew louder and closer. "Raa-ay! Ray!!! RAY!" It was screaming at him and he sunk to his knees and cried in his hands.

The voice was his sister's. She had killed herself after watching their brother be eaten. The voice was agonizing to hear and he screamed out loud, "SHUT UP!" Then the flashbacks came. He saw his sister, her Taurus pistol and then his brother. His eyes glassed, chasing after him. Then blood, walls splattered in it, mouths dripping, her blue eyes staring into nothing, staring forever at the wall.

He awoke and saw that he had somehow found a small, but full tree. It was dark and the moon was half gone. His head ached and his eyes stung from the tears he had let out. He knew he would go crazy if he didn't find someone, somewhere. He had nothing to eat, nothing to drink. He had eaten his rations and his stomach ached as it moaned for food.

He got up to see where he was, and saw that he was just off the road. This was a perfect spot to rest, so he crawled back in and placed a bunch of leaves in a pile and rested his head on it. In a matter of minutes he was asleep and not dreaming at all.

[s]

She’d been walking for day. It felt like years. As time passed on and on it was all she could do to put one foot in front of the other. She wore nothing on her feet, long ago abandoning her Gucci stiletto heels when another mass of walkers appeared in the distance. Now, as she walked along the high way, she could feel the sun beating down on her. It really wasn’t all the hot. She’d been without water for almost an entire day now and it was enough to make her feel like she was traveling in the Sahara Desert.
Clad in only a worn and filthy white tank top and torn designer jeans, she stumbled somewhat. The asphalt under her feet pricked her skin, making it bleed. She didn’t know what day it was, or what time it was. All she knew was that the day she left rehab in Texas had been the day that peace in the world went out the window and all that had been left was mass hysteria. She was supposed to leave New York and fly straight to LA but something was wrong, and the pilots were told to touch down in Texas.

The airport itself seemed crowed and chaotic. No one would answer anything, not even the one site police officers. She and her agent left in a cab to find a hotel, but they drove right into a traffic jam. The unhappy driver was the first to get out, he hurried ahead to see what kept them from moving but never returned. About ten minutes later all Silken remembered was screaming and the sight of hundreds of people running through the cars, trying to get away. Houston was crawling with the dead, literally, and it was all Silken and her agent could do to keep from being attack themselves.

For a few days, she and her agent stayed on the move, trying to find out something, trying to buy their way into a hotel or to buy a car, but it was impossible. All everyone wanted to do was shut themselves up inside their homes.

Then it got worse. There were less and less people and more and more walkers. It had been her and her agent (former lover) and then only her. The image of the mans body being torn apart by those creatures was almost too much for her to bear.

She thought about it now and grimaced. She’d been lost in thoughts, and wandered towards the edge of the highway, her foot slipped and it took a moment for her brain to register she was going down. The pain at her knees and on the palms of her hand told her they were pretty scrapped up, but even so she knew she had to keep going. She had to find water and soon.

Her eyes scanned the horizon and she noticed something nearby on the side of the road. The sight of the body made her freeze. Was he a walker? If it was a walker she needed to get out of there… but maybe he had water.

Slowly, carefully, she approached the body. Upon nearing it she could see he was breathing, and he also had a weapon.

“Hey!” She partly whispered and partly croaked, “Are you alive?” Her hands were shaking, but she bent over, lightly prodding the mans back, ready to take off at a run at a moments notice…

[rayblevins]

Ray was sleeping a good sleep, his dreams were dreamless again, and it was nice to have it again. Then he heard a whisper and a poke on the back. He thought it was his dream until his eyes opened and his face was in a pile of leaves. He heard a scuffling noise behind him and slowly went for his gun. Alas he turned around and saw a woman. She was dirty, grimy and tired, like he was.

"Hello." His voice sounded unfamiliar. He hadn't talked in weeks, besides the scream he bellowed as he had that break-down. He sat up and held the gun closer to him, pointing it at her head. Everyone knew that the quickest way to kill a Zombie was to destroy the brain. But he knew she wasn't one, but it was still the fastest and less painful way to die for a human also.

"Who are you?" He asked as he went to stand up, but the tree's branches stopped him halfway, so he had to bend his neck so the pines wouldn't aggravate his eczema. He pointed the gun closer, waiting for a reply.

[s]

Seeing him move made Silken back up a few steps, she stared at him with her large blue eyes, feeling somewhat like the idiot that woke the sleeping giant even though this was only a kid. But he was armed where she was not and that made him more than just a kid. Her expression turned even more fearful when he turned his gun towards her and she winced, afraid now that she’d made the biggest mistake of her life. She slowly raised her hands, fearing the worst.

“My names Silken.” She stared, looking him over, “I didn’t get bitten or anything, don’t shoot… I just wanted to ask if you had any water.”

People were cruel, they always had been, and especially to her. She knew it was unlikely that if he did have water he’d share with her, but it was either ask or die of thirst so she was willing to take the risk. Still, if he said no or told her to get lost she’d simply turn and go, hoping he wouldn’t shoot her in the back. But then again if he did maybe he would be doing her a favor. In any case she’d lived this long and if she could survive all she’d been through up until this point she could survive anything. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

She bit her lower lip and waited, her bleeding and naked feet shifting on the ground. It was softer than the asphalt and she wondered why she hadn’t thought to walk on it sooner. She wasn’t the sort built for this kind of lifestyle. It was a miracle that she’d made it this far on her own at all. Even though it wasn’t the life she was born into, Silken had become accustomed to having things given to her. But they weren’t given to her because someone cared about her or loved it. It was because she was the prized show dog, and everyone knew that park of making your show dog a winner was to keep it happy. That’s how she became addicted to drugs in the first place…

[rayblevins]

Water? Who had water now a days? And if they did, why would they give it away? It was precious in these places now. He thought to himself. He pointed the gun at what he thought was north and said, "Why don't you go North?" He quickly pointed it back at her chest.

"I hear they have a lot of water in Canada and stuff..." He felt around for his pockets. "That's where I'm heading." He paused for a moment shoved his hands in his pockets, his $4.42 was still there and his iPod was still there too, he dropped them on the ground. He looked at it and picked it back up. For all he knew, she could of stolen something while he was asleep.

"That's where I'm heading." He repeated in a soft whisper as he put his belongings back in his pockets. He remembered that the last time he decided to go somewhere, his mother was killed. He tried not to think about it and so he got up and stretched. He slung his gun on his back. "I have to go now. Thanks for waking me up." He said as he wrecked the small fort he had slept in.

Part of him wanted to bring her along, but it was pointless. By the looks of her she was one of those needy bitches who slowed the hero down and almost gets him killed. Well that's what he remembered from the movies at least. "I saw a map in a city not long ago and this road splits into an intersection. To your right is north, that's where Canada is, if you didn't know that already. If you keep heading east you'll end up in a city. I forgot the name so you might want to be careful."

"And to your left, it'll take you south, probably to Texas or something." He stared at her. He had no idea why he was telling her this. She was probably going to do the wrong thing anyways, probably head towards the city to see some fancy shoes that he could never remember the name of. Who would even name a shoe? He wondered. Like, I get sneakers and stuff, but name brands like Badgley Mischka or even Vans. People just ruin them in days unless they're OCD about it.

He was starting to get off track. His mind did that more so after the Zombies began to show up. He just wondered about pointless things. He decided to turn and walk away. But his legs didn't move. He didn't want follow the road, he needed to get her off of his trail. How he hated awkward moments.

"You can come with me if you'd like." Fuck! What am I saying. She's just gunna slow you down man. Don't do this! Goddamn you. You're dead.

[s]

It was fairly obvious that he didn’t have what she asked for. Even before he started to talk she knew what he’d say and it broke her heart at the thought. She wasn’t made for this, to starve and suffer on the street. She started to wring her hands, not noticing the pain from the scrapes even as he told her to go north. She didn’t hold out much hope for things being better anywhere. It was hopeless. Everything was hopeless.

Tears started to brim in her eyes, and she inwardly kicked herself for letting herself cry. It was a waste of time and energy. In the past she hadn’t been much of a crier. She’d learned that nothing got you what you wanted other than money… money! Maybe…

Even as the boy continued to talk and started to get up she reached into the pocket of her jeans for the bills she’d shoved into them. It was the only thing on her person of value, and even now it probably wasn’t worth as much as it used to be.

Quickly she reached into her pocket and pulled out what was inside.

Four crinkled and worn twenties, two fifties, and four one hundred dollar bills. Maybe…

When she spoke her voice was soft and pleading, “Please… I’ll give you…”

He cut her off, ”You can come with me if you'd like”

She stopped short and shoved the bills back into her pocket, hoping he hadn’t seen them. If she could at least be with someone who had a form of protection then maybe she’d have a chance to survive.

“Thank you.” She managed to say and shifted on the balls of her feet, pain shooting up her legs. Her eyes roamed down to his feet, noting what he had on his own feet. If he asked for money she could make a trade. It all depended on if he was a human that still valued green paper or not. Many of the people she’d come in contact with did not.

From his feet her eyes wandered upward over him. He was young, probably a teenager. She didn’t have much experience with teenagers, not until her own school days. But she was a GED grad former drop-out. What she did know about teenager boys was one, they liked to think they were men, and two they liked to think with their “other” brains.

Silken wasn’t the type to be manipulative. She wasn’t cruel or hateful, stupid maybe, but mean spirited no. She’d yet to be pushed to her limits enough to see what she was capable of being as far as taking advantage of something, but she’d been born with some crazy sense of integrity. It was Ironic, considering her former profession.

[rayblevins]

The sun was blinding. It cast strong shadows of the sparse trees and small shrubbery that surrounded the road. He heard her answer and suddenly he felt light headed. Maybe it was the heat from the burning sun, or just the thought of dieing because of some girl can't handle herself in this hell hole.

Not a lot of people can. Ray was lucky. He had nothing to hold him down. No people, no animals, no worries. He was pretty much free from the real world. In fact he hasn't seen a Zombie in 2 weeks! He usually thinks that it's because he's smart and choses the right places to be. Be really it's luck.

He remembered that he entered a city, the name was Benson in Arizona. As he passed he noticed that the building and everything was black with soot. And a newspaper headline at a house read; NUCLEAR BOMB RELEASED TO ERADICATE ZOMBIES.

He was entering zombie free zone, and he's been missing them ever since. He would enter a city then leave. Just after he leaves a giant Zombie hoard destroys it. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't know how much longer his luck will hold.

Then he snapped out of it, her pale face was staring down at Ray's feet. Then he noticed. She had no shoes. Her feet were calloused and bloody. She probably sold them for the money she pulled out before. "Maybe, if we start now," He said, "we can make eight or nine miles north." He grabbed his iPod and saw the time. 7:43 am.

"Let's go. Zombies might be getting near, from the blood of your feet. They can smell blood for miles and miles." He informed her. Just then a lot of rustling. Ray heard it behind him and he gripped his gun. But a large grey zombie landed right on Ray. "Run!" He managed to say as he kicked it away from him.

He looked around for his gun and found it about five feet away from his hands. The zombie grabbed his leg and pulled Ray towards him. Ray pulled his leg away and dove for the gun and clasped it in his hands. Ray pointed it at the zombie's head and it clicked. The ammo was gone. He looked around and saw the clip was somehow removed from his M16. He got up and jumped into the bushes north.

As he was pushing through the trees and heavy bush he was wondering where the stranger was. And more importantly where the Zombie was.