Seventeen

Crack.

I jolted upright in bed, my breathing labored. The room shouldn’t have been so dark, even with the blinds closed. It took a moment for the noises around me to register.  Rain drummed against the window. I shivered as lightning flashed and cast an eerie blue glow around the room for a split second.  Thunder followed, rumbling through the skies and house.

Another bolt lit the room, and Drav’s fingers wrapped around my arm with bruising force. The quiet rumble of his growl echoed in my ear.  He acted like this was the first storm he had ever experienced.  His grip tightened around my waist, tugging me back down to bed.  I glanced at the clock on the nightstand behind him.  Four in the afternoon.  Too early to be up on our new sleep schedule.  I rested my head on his shoulder and tried to calm my racing heart.

“It’s okay. It’s just a storm,” I said, for his benefit as much as mine.  He didn’t move.

“Drav, ease up.  You’re hurting me.” He continued staring out the window, his lips back in a silent snarl.

“Drav!”  I set my hand on his cheek and forced his attention back to me.

“It’s okay. It’s only a storm.”

My touch calmed him down a bit. But, there was no way we could travel in this kind of weather. Even with Drav’s quickness, I’d probably get sick from the wet and cold.

“The storm will pass, but until it does, we will stay here.”  He just growled softly. “I think we’ve slept enough,” I added when he didn’t loosen his hold.  Finally, he let me move.

The chilly air outside of the blankets gave me goosebumps.  I nudged the thermostat up and listened to the heat kick in.  Drav followed me through the house as I turned on all the lights. It made me feel safer.

Uncertain how to entertain ourselves until the storm blew over, I prowled the cabin for ideas. To keep the focus on family time, my parents had decided to limit the technology here.  That meant no TV.  I doubted there would be anything airing other than the EAS warning, anyway, but it would have been nice to check.  A movie would have been a good way to pass time, too. And, it would have helped Drav learn some new words since we were back to ‘Mya, no’ a lot while I walked through the house. He didn’t like me getting too close to any of the windows or doors while the lightning still streaked across the sky and thunder boomed outside.

In the living room, we had an old buffet filled with various board games. Ryan and I passed a lot of time playing them when we weren’t outside. I trailed my hand over the different boxes. Monopoly would last us forever, which wasn’t a bad thing, but it might be a bit complicated for someone who was still learning the English language, even if he just needed to hear a word to understand it. Twister brought an unbridled image to mind of Drav’s body twisted around me as we tried to maneuver through the game. Nope, absolutely not. However, Yahtzee sat right next to the Twister box.

I removed that box, figuring it would be easy enough.  Drav followed me to the living room table and sat beside me as I arranged the game pieces. He picked up one of the dice and inspected it closer. I started explaining the purpose of the dice, cup, score cards, and game.

Two hours later, he was still kicking my ass. For a game of chance, he played annoyingly well.

“Let’s take a break,” I said.

As I stood, another crack of thunder vibrated the cabin. Fortunately, the storm had calmed down a bit, and Drav’s agitation had lessened. I thought the game had helped calm him, too.  I, unfortunately, wanted to do something else. Besides, my rumbling stomach had been demanding food for the past fifteen minutes.

We walked down the hall to the kitchen where Drav and I made a simple meal of ramen noodles.  Afterward, Drav went straight back to our game, but if I had to hear him yell out Yahtzee one more time, I would need to strangle him.

I looked around the room for something else, and my gaze landed on Mom’s old iPod.  An idea bloomed in my mind.

“Drav,” I said, heading for the little device.  “I think you’re really going to like this.”

I opened the Audible app and scrolled through Mom’s book selection until I found one marginally appropriate.  A non-fiction book about beekeeping, one of many hobbies Mom always wanted to try.  There would be plenty of new words for Drav to learn, and maybe it would keep him busy for a bit.

He watched me closely as I unwound the earbuds and held still as I placed the right one in his ear and the left in mine.

“You’ll be able to listen to someone talking and learn new words with this,” I said.

As soon as I started the book, he blinked at me and his mouth opened slightly in shock.  I grinned.

“Thought you’d like that.”  I took the earbud from my ear and held it out to him.  “You can put this in your other ear so you don’t hear the thunder.”  He took the bud but didn’t put it in.

I showed him how to adjust the volume then handed him the device.  He was so enthralled he didn’t notice me walk away.

Messing with the iPod had reminded me that I should charge my phone. We kept extra chargers at the cabin because it never failed that somebody would forget to pack one. In the bathroom, I dug my phone out of my jeans, which still lay on the floor.  The phone turned on but still had no signal. I walked back to the kitchen to get a charger out of the drawer.

After that, I hesitated, unsure what to do next.  Sleeping all day and staying awake all night had messed with my internal clock.  I wasn’t sure if I should be eating, watching TV, or going to class…in my old world.  I felt completely lost in the new one.  So I wandered through the house, looking at the pictures on the walls, until I got to my parent’s room.  I sat on their bed and picked up Dad’s pillow.  A hint of his aftershave drifted to my nose.  My eyes watered as I looked around the room and hugged the pillow.

Just before fall semester started, we’d come to the cabin as a family.  I’d been working all summer, saving what I could for tuition.  Ryan had been working and hanging out with friends, too.  Mom had called family time and had insisted on a family retreat.  She had packed the coolers.  Dad had packed the truck.  Those three days had been amazing in so many small ways.  The time with my mom, cooking in the kitchen.  Canoeing with Dad on the nearby river.  Playing volleyball outside.

We weren’t the kind of family who didn’t like each other.  I never recalled a time I’d tried to avoid spending time with my parents or Ryan.  Sure, I did stuff with friends, but not for the sole purpose of avoiding family time.  Why would I want to?  We had fun together.  We laughed.  We talked.  We cared.

I hugged the pillow tighter and swallowed hard.  I was afraid.  Terrified, really.  What if those three days were it?  What if I never saw my family again?  What if all the good people, like Jack and Charles, were dead and only jackasses like the guys by the bridge were left?  Was I really all alone?

No.  I wasn’t alone.  I had Drav.  He might not be human or understand much, but he wasn’t bad.  At least, not with me.  And, that was far better than being alone.

I set the pillow back on the bed and went to the living room.  Drav hadn’t moved from his spot.  He looked away from the iPod, which he now held, and watched me cross the room.  He still only had one earbud in, probably to listen for me.

“I’m fine,” I said.  “Thank you.  For bringing me here.  For keeping me safe.  For not ripping my head off like you’ve done with everyone else.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you, Mya.  Ever.”

Wow.  A full sentence?

“Uh, thanks.  That audio book seems to be helping.”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it then.”

His gaze stayed on me as I went to the cabin’s one storage closet.

Mom kept everything from blankets to spare mud boots in the modest space.  I dug for ponchos.  I’d give the rain until tomorrow night.  If it didn’t stop by then, we’d be leaving, no matter what.

It proved easy to find something that would fit me, but the largest poncho would be a snug fit for Drav, just like his shirt.  That thought had me heading back to my parents’ room.  The odd clothes, stuff that was new but maybe the wrong size, always found its way to the cabin as spares for guests.  When I started going through drawers, I found a big and tall shirt for Drav but also a small photo album.  I opened it up and thumbed through pictures of Ryan and me playing in the yard at home and here.  We were laughing or smiling in each image.  Happy instigators.  I missed Ryan.  I missed them all so much.

I removed one picture of all of us and tucked the folded memory into my bra before I replaced the album.  Carrying everything back to the living room, I set the ponchos on a chair.

“If it’s still raining tomorrow, we can wear these,” I said, gaining Drav’s attention.  “And this shirt will fit you better than the one you have on.”  I tossed the shirt to him, and he caught it in his free hand.

“I’m going to check the freezer and see if there’s anything we can make for dinner.”

Nothing waited in the freezer but ice cube trays, which unsurprisingly were empty.  The fridge had the normal condiments that lasted well and a box of baking soda.  With a sigh, I went to the cupboards and found a shake bottle of pancake mix.  It was better than another can of fruit.

I had a stack of pancakes ready to eat when I went to check on Drav.  He sat in the same spot, still listening to the iPod.

“I made some pancakes if you’re hungry.”

He didn’t seem to hear me.  I mentally shrugged, went to the game cabinet, and grabbed a deck of cards.

In the kitchen, I played solitaire while I ate pancakes and applesauce.  I grew bored with the cards after a while and busied myself with cleaning up. Standing by the sink, I took my time washing the dishes.

Outside, the rain continued to lash at the windows.  Dim outlines of the trees swayed in the wind.  If Dad were here, he would probably put on his poncho and his mud boots and go out to check the gas in the generator just in case the storm knocked out the power.  He would come in, soaking wet, and Mom would be waiting with a towel at the door.  I smiled slightly at the mental image and rinsed my plate.

Lightning flashed, and something moved outside the window.  The shape looked heart-stoppingly familiar.  I covered my mouth with my hand and watched our neighbor, Doug, shamble along the tree line.  When the thunder cracked loudly, he sprinted for several yards then went back to a shamble.

Dad’s note about the military evacuating them meant we couldn’t stay here long.  Going out in the rain might serve as a layer of protection even if I wouldn’t be able to see or hear as well.  It seemed that Doug couldn’t hear well, either.

I finished up with the dishes.  The leftover pancakes and applesauce I wrapped up and put in the fridge.  The lights flickered when I went back into the living room.  Drav watched me cross the room to look out the window.  Doug had circled the house.

“There’s an infected out there,” I said.  “Do you think he’ll try to get in?”

When I glanced back, Drav no longer sat in his spot.  The iPod lay on the cushion, though.  I looked out the window.  Doug had stopped shambling and faced the side of the house.  A moment later, Drav appeared from around the corner.  Doug started running toward him.  Drav caught him up by the head.

I turned away from the window before I witnessed another beheading, and distracted myself by going to get Drav a towel.  However, as soon as he stepped inside, he shook himself like a dog before I could hand it to him.

“Um, this is to dry off if you want it,” I said, holding the towel out to him.

“Thank you,” he said, taking it.

“Good thing you left the iPod inside.  They don’t work well when they get wet.  Do you want me to back up the book and show you how to pause it?  Just in case you need to leave again?”

“No,” he said quickly.  “I understand.”

“Oh.  Okay.  Good.”

He moved past me, tugged off his wet shirt, then picked up the iPod to set the towel on the chair.  Without a glance my way, he sat and had the ear bud back in his ear a moment later.

I could appreciate his draw to the device.  Being able to understand what I said could be pretty useful to him.  Yet a tiny voice in the back of my mind questioned his eagerness.  What if his enthusiasm wasn’t just to understand me?  Would he use the knowledge of our language to hurt uninfected people?  I thought of the incident at the bridge and doubted it.  I’d asked him not to kill the man and he hadn’t.

Giving him one last glance, I went back to the kitchen and played solitaire until four in the morning.  A full day—or night—of idle time left me yawning much sooner than expected.  I stood with a stretch and glanced at the window.  The rain hadn’t yet let up.  In the living room, Drav still listened to the iPod. The book must have been longer than I’d thought.

“I think I’m going to go to bed,” I said.

He turned his head and looked at me.  For a moment, I thought he would say something.  Instead, he gave a slow nod before focusing on the iPod again.  I didn’t know beekeeping could be such an interesting topic.

After seeing our infected neighbor in the yard, I felt a little nervous going to bed by myself, but I didn’t want to ask Drav to come with me, either.  So, after staring at him for another few seconds, I slowly made my way to the bedroom and left the door open.   I made sure the blinds were still closed.

Fully dressed, I got into bed and curled under the covers.  When I woke, rain or shine, we’d keep going.