The Road in Red, Part 2
“Oh, God!” he screamed. He was surrounded now and there was no way to escape. The man and woman and their followers were closing in behind him and the new group weren’t too far ahead of him. Noah only had two bullets left, not even enough to put a dent in either group. For a second, Noah thought that he should just take his chances and jump into the woods but quickly tore that idea from his temples. The woods were too dense, too full of hiding places for those people. They could be behind any tree, ready to grab him by the arm or neck and pull him down and that would be the end. Noah then thought he could tackle them, break through their line. The ones ahead looked a lot frailer than the ones behind him. They had been dead for a long time. Maybe they’d go down easily. But what if they didn’t? He could handle one but if two or three of them grabbed him all at once, he wouldn’t be able to fight them off, especially with the throbbing in his leg that was once again intensifying and slowly crippling him.
Noah stood there, not knowing what to do. There were no tree limbs or heavy rocks for him to use, nothing to help him. The rain began to hit his head harder, fatter drops of water splashing off his nose and hands. Noah pulled out his gun and decided to shoot the ones that got the closest and hope that they’d go down and create a hole large enough for him to squeeze through. The odds weren’t good but Noah was battling a sudden onset of exhaustion, fear and tremendous pain that wouldn’t allow for a better plan. The rain spread out and came down harder, drenching Noah and making visibility low. The groans of the people were drowned out by the falling rain, splashing down on everything, turning the ground into slippery mud and stifling Noah’s concentration.
One of the men got close enough to lunge his red hands at Noah, his mouth open, ready to receive Noah’s flesh.
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," Noah said and with a flash of light from the gun, he shot the man in the face. The man went down in a wet heap on the ground. As Noah aimed for the next person in line, a teenage guy not much younger than him, his throat torn open, his Adam’s apple dangling onto his chest with every soggy step, Noah saw that the hair on this guy’s head was falling out, being washed away by the rain. Noah’s eyebrows flared up in confusion. His nose, his eyes, his face were all washed away in a matter of seconds. His outstretched arm, wet and full of protruding veins broke off at the elbow and fell with a splat. Around him, the other people were feeling the effects of the falling water. One severely decomposed man’s head fell completely off his body, sending him to the mud.
It was the rain.
Suddenly, Noah remembered what his grandmother had told him.
“The rain is only God’s tears, sugar. It’s His way of letting us know He’s watching over us. When the world has become too wicked, the Lord becomes sad and cries. His tears fall from Heaven and those tears wash away all the bad. When the rain dries up, man’s sin has been cleansed and everything is made good again.”
Wash away all the bad.
One by one, the dead people collapsed and did not get back up. The rain fell hard and intense and Noah thought he heard a clap of thunder. Or maybe it was a faraway gunshot. Out of the estimated fifteen zombies, all but three had fallen, enough to allow his escape. Noah ran through the mud and quickly slipped. He fell on his side, right onto the bite wound. Pain ripped through Noah’s leg like white hot lightning and Noah screamed with abandon. After a few moments of cradling himself in the mud, he collected himself, got back up and continued to run.
******
The clouds were gone now and the beating rain was replaced with the beating sun. Noah was sick. The pain in his leg was so intense it made his stomach wrenched in response. Along the road, he had found a sturdy tree branch and after removing the small twigs and leaves, used it as a makeshift cane. It helped take some of the pressure and discomfort off of his leg but not too much. Noah’s face felt hot and cold at the same time. His clothes became moist with the sweat that dripped from his nose and chin. As much as he didn’t want to, Noah had to stop and take a break. He fell to the dirt and cried. In the middle of the long stretch of dirt road that never seemed to end, the tears mingled with his sweat, making his face a wet, red pulp. How much longer was this road? Noah peeled off his shirt and wiped his face. The air was cool on his back and the wind felt calm after the rain. Fresh. He hadn’t smelled anything fresh in what seemed like days. It was a welcome change after being surrounded by rotting people for so long. Noah unzipped his jeans and attempted to take them off. They became stuck on his thigh at the wound site. Noah tugged at the jean carefully. Whatever burst when he pressed on his leg earlier had now glued his jeans to his leg. Noah slowly and painfully pulled the jean and the dried, crusty material attached to it, down his leg, ripping away at the scab and the patch of hair surrounding it. Noah winced in pain. The wound was large and gaping now, red and glossy under the sunlight, like black cherry Jell-O. The edges were rimmed in black and yellow with gritty puss. Heat rose from the wound in pulsing waves. Black veins branched off the wound in all directions and the redness had spread from his hip to his kneecap. Noah looked up. Nothing. Just dirt and trees. No moaning or groaning. No dead people around. Noah struggled to tear his shirt into strips, going for a frayed spot at the bottom of the shirt and not having much success. He put the fabric in between his teeth and yanked. With a slight rip, he managed to create a small tear. Noah was hungry and his strength was waning. The combination of the heat from the sun and the sickness swirling inside him made his head feel like the Jell-O that was his thigh. He took two of the strips and wrapped them around the wound, not knowing if it would even do much good at this point, and tied it into a sturdy knot. He wiped his face again with the rest of the strips. He then put his jeans back on and checked the left pocket. Still there. Noah smiled, reassured, motivated and reminded of the purpose of his journey. He got up and started to walk again.
It seemed like Noah had been walking for miles. He hadn’t seen any of those people. He did run into a few disassembled bodies every mile or two but it looked like the rainfall from earlier had taken care of them. Mostly. Those that only had their limbs unattached were still twitching. They craned their necks at the sound of Noah walking and started gurgling. Noah was disgusted and horrified by the sight and sound of them. He risked being bitten and stomped on them, reducing their existence to that of a roach or spider. He hated it, didn’t want to kill them but they were suffering. Noah didn’t want to see anyone suffer, not even those things. They didn’t choose to be that way. They were just as much victims as he was, or so he tried to convince himself. Noah limped on until he was stopped once again. This time shuffling creatures weren’t in his way. Noah’s knees weakened and if it weren’t for his tree limb cane, he very well could have collapsed.
The perspective lines from the tops of the trees to the edges of the dirt road all led to a single point off in the distance: his home.
Tears of joy, of relief flooded Noah’s eyes. He tucked the cane underneath his arm and put his face in his hands. He had made it. Noah quickly wiped his hot cheeks with his palms and sniffed up the loosened snot from his nose. No, he still had to go inside, still had to make it to the doors. The house was still half a mile away. Being as sick and injured as Noah was, that half a mile felt like fifty.
Noah walked as far as he could until the pain in his thigh took him to the ground. It was as if someone had shoved a hot poker right through his flesh to the bone. Sweat poured from Noah’s body, ‘causing the dirt to stick to his chest and stomach. Noah rolled over on his back and screamed out in absolute agony. The pain began to intensify and even worse, began to spread. Noah could actually feel the disease of the bite worm its way down his entire leg and up into his groin, other leg and stomach. It was as if piranhas were inside of him, eating away at his insides, swimming and scurrying up and down the lower half of his body.
Noah fought the pain and turned over onto his stomach. He began to crawl. Guttural screeches of pain filled the clear sky and called the creatures to him.
Noah felt chilled to the bone, despite the radiating heat of the sun. Goosebumps sprung along his body and raised the hair on his arms. Noah continued to crawl, the dirt and rocks scratching at his nipples, his hair clinging to his forehead like a watery glue. Noah crawled and crawled and seemed to make no progress at all. Noah’s eyes began to cross and his vision began to give out on him. The pain came in waves of terrible to excruciating. The painful poison spread completely to Noah’s legs and up into his chest. Noah involuntarily vomited and then crawled through it.
In the distance, he could hear the people coming again. With his limited vision, he could see them lurching up ahead of him. He was so close to home but he would never make it. They were all around him in every direction and he could not stand and fight. He was practically dead. Noah turned onto his back again and slid his hand into his left pocket. He looked up and saw a group of them heading his way. Noah blinked through teary eyes. Three woman, one man and two that were indistinguishable. They were fresh. No missing body parts, no gashes or lacerations. Some of them still looked human. Maybe they were. Maybe they were coming to save him. But the groans told him different.
Noah reached for the familiar lump and pulled it out of his pocket. He raised the small box to his eye level. He opened it and smiled. The sun shone brightly on the elegant ring that sat safely tucked inside, undamaged and untarnished. His love for her had been strong enough to bring him to the home they shared, strong enough to carry him this far. He only hoped his love would be strong enough for her to feel, whether she was in that house or wherever she happened to be. He ran a finger over the smooth finish, the simple diamond that sat atop the ring and a tear fell from his face. It absolutely illuminated and Noah’s heart felt full. The groaning grew louder and louder as the dead people grew closer and closer.
Noah reached for his gun but it wasn’t there. Noah plunged his hand into his right pocket, then his left. He patted down his entire lower half. It was gone.
I must have left it back when I stopped to rest! How could I be so stupid? How could I have done that, God, how could I have done that?!
Noah was going to use the bullet on himself. He knew it was a sin but the pain was so unbearable. He might have went to hell but maybe he was already in hell. It would be quick and easy and better than slowly being eaten to death. Noah had felt enough pain, pain that wracked his body so hard he shook. He didn’t want to endure any more but it looked like he would have to, would have to watch and listen as they tore the flesh from his arms and legs with a wet, shearing sound. They’d jam their fingers into his stomach and peel back the thick skin until they reached the rich, meaty center. They’d spread out his intestines and eat them like raw sausage links. The acrid smell of blood would douse the air in death. The only question is would they leave enough for him to come back as one of them or would they tear him apart completely, so disassembled that he wouldn’t be able to get back up? Maybe they’d tear his brain out so he’d never have to know the experience of eating someone else.
The people closed in all around him. Noah closed the box and gently wept. He slid the boxed ring back into his pocket so that no blood would get on it. Noah clasped his hands together and prayed through his sobbing. The pain overtook him.
Noah woke up bleary eyed and moving. He didn’t understand. His eyes rolled from the back of his head to the sky above and all around. He was gliding on his back. He was getting farther away from the people in front of him. The groans grew quieter and Noah thought he might have been floating. Then, he realized his arms were being pulled. Someone was dragging him away from the dead. Someone was saving him! Noah’s head was spinning, dizzy from the pain. He looked up to see his savior. Noah lost his breath. Those piercing eyes. That hair and skin. The slender arms and body. Even upside down and blurred through tears and delirium, Noah knew it was her. She had come from the house to save him! Thank you, God. Thank youthankyouthank…. Noah collapsed under the relief of it all and let himself sink into darkness, giving into the realization that he was finally protected now. His love pulled him to safety and dragged him up the steps and through the threshold of their home. Then, she closed the door.
Night fell upon the road and the home and the dead disappeared, scattered like marbles to find fresh meat.
The next morning, light shone on an even deader day. The air was silent. Even the dead that stuck around were quiet this morning. The door opened on the house that Noah had returned to. The sun set its gaze on the faces of him and his love. Two pairs of blank eyes stared ahead. Hand in hand, and with one finger bejeweled with a simple diamond ring, Noah and his love walked out of their home, down the steps and back onto the road, ready to receive the world as their wedding feast.
Happy Halloween!