Sanctuary Read online

  ​When they arrived, most of their group was awake and going about their daily routine, and Alejandro looked at Bryce questioningly. “Right, wait here.” Bryce said before jogging off towards the cabin. He grabbed a spare backpack and stuffed in a cleaning kit and all the ammo for the Remington. He then came back out and handed Sarah the backpack, looking to Alejandro who still held the rifle.

  ​“You’ve passed your first step of training, you are now a certified gun owner. Congratulations and please don’t make me regret this.” Alejandro said, handing her the rifle.

  ​Sarah lit up as she took the rifle and slung it over her shoulder. “Thank you so much!” She squealed excitedly, hugging Alejandro. She started to walk away before doubling back and hugging Bryce as well, as sort of an afterthought.

  ​Sarah walked away, quickly showing off her rifle to the others and telling them about her training. “I’m ready to head out if you are.” Alejandro said.

  ​“Yeah, just let me grab some stuff, I’ll meet you at the truck.” Bryce responded, pointing to the GMC. Alejandro nodded and walked towards the vehicle to wait for him.

  ​Once they were ready to go, Bryce started up the truck and pulled towards the gate that Lauren was opening for them. Sarah ran towards the truck, waving her arm in the air. Bryce noticed that she was carrying the rifle and the pack he had given her as she approached, and he rolled down the window. “I’m coming with you guys.” Sarah stated.

  ​“Absolutely not.” Alejandro replied firmly before Bryce could get a word out.

  ​“It’s too dangerous.” Bryce added.

  ​“Look, I know it’s dangerous and I know I’m not an experienced marksman after a few hours of shooting practice, but you were right. Shooting in a real combat situation is a hell of a lot different and I’d rather get some real-world experience with you guys watching out for me then when I’m alone and scared and might panic. I need this experience if I’m ever going to make it now. I want to be strong and brave like you two.” Sarah said, causing the two men to go silent.

  ​She has a valid point.

  ​Bryce and Alejandro shared a quick glance and Alejandro shrugged. “Fine, but only if you listen to everything we say and follow our lead. No questions asked.” Alejandro said.

  ​Sarah nodded with a huge grin, hopping into the back seat. As they approached the gate, Lauren locked eyes with Bryce and pointed to where the teen girl sat. “She’s coming with us.” Bryce said. Lauren shook her head, approaching the vehicle. “We’ll keep her safe, no matter what.” Bryce added. Lauren looked down at the ground, continuing to shake her head in disapproval. Bryce pulled through the gate and started down the dirt road.

  ***

  ​They reached Forest Hill after a short drive and started looking for any homes or other buildings that looked to have anything of value still left inside. They stopped in-front of a large house that seemed to be less damaged than the other destroyed buildings and that didn’t appear to be ransacked. They got out of the truck and made their way up to the house, hearing an infected man scream from down the road. The emaciated, infected creature ran towards them and Bryce held out a closed fist to Alejandro. “Rock, paper, scissors? Loser has to kill it.” He said.

  ​Alejandro brought up his fist in agreement and the two men started to count down, smacking their fists into their hands. Before they finished the game, a gunshot rang out behind them, and they looked back to see Sarah standing there with her rifle raised. The creature collapsed on the road, quickly dying from the massive hole in its chest.

  ​“Got him.” She said excitedly.

  ​The two men shared a brief look. “I didn’t tell you to do that.” Alejandro said, and they both shook their heads in fake disapproval as they approached the front door of the house.

  ​“Wait, are you guys really mad? I took it out.” She said, confused with the older men’s reaction. They ignored her as they opened the unlocked door, carefully scanning the entrance before stepping inside. Inside they found something that instantly changed their playful moods to morbid and serious ones, as they saw two infected sharing the corpse of what appeared to be a black Labrador on the living room floor. Bryce and Alejandro simultaneously raised their weapons as the creatures noticed them, firing and killing both with headshots. The two men continued to scan that portion of the house for any threats, waiting patiently to see if anymore infected would be coming to attack them. Sarah walked up to the three corpses and used her boot to kick one of the infected off the dead dog. “What kind of people would kill and eat a dog?” She said with a sad look of disgust on her face.

  ​“These sick fucking bastards would, that’s why you need to always keep your guard up.” Alejandro said, motioning to the wide-open door that the girl had her back to. She nodded shamefully and went to close and lock the door behind them.

  ​The three of them cleared the rest of the house, not finding much besides a few canned goods and other food items that were still edible, a package of bottled water, and an empty emergency gas can in the garage. “Should we try to grab another vehicle?” Alejandro asked as he used a small, manual pump they had grabbed from the camping store to siphon what they could from the small car that sat in the garage.

  ​“No, don’t think we should split up while she’s with us.” Bryce replied as if the girl wasn’t standing right behind him.

  ​They made their way out of the house and loaded up what they found before driving on and finding a small, market/liquor store hybrid. The glass door was propped open on the body of a man that appeared to have been shot, dying before his remains were eaten and picked away at by infected or animals alike. They made sure the man was dead before carefully stepping over him and entering the store. The interior was in shambles, broken, glass liquor bottles littered the floor and it appeared that wild animals had eaten most of the food, as boxes and cans appeared ripped open by sharp teeth and a rotten mess of what was left littered the floor. Bryce figured the same animals had been picking away at the corpse in the doorway. Dried blood and sticky liquids suctioned their boots to the floor as they made their way through the store, scavenging what little remained and throwing it into the truck. As they made their way outside, Bryce could see rats or mice skittering around under the shelves.

  ​They loaded back into the truck and continued to drive through the decimated town, stopping every so often to search cars and siphon their fuel. They passed by a two-story home that appeared mostly untouched and circled back to make another search. When they approached the front door, they found it firmly locked, so Bryce broke the pane of glass on the door as quietly as he could and waited to here if any infected sounds could be heard inside the house. When all he heard was silence, he reached inside, being careful not to cut his arm on the glass as he unlocked the door. As soon as they entered the home, they saw the rotting body of a female, infected woman on the floor with a sizeable bullet hole in the back of her head. They carefully stepped past her body and cleared the downstairs before making their way up the stairwell. Standing in front of one of the open bedrooms was an infected man with a festering, fly ridden chunk missing from his bicep that looked as if he were about to starve to death. The bloody man was holding a handgun that appeared to be the weapon that was used to kill the woman downstairs, and he repeatedly beat his head against the doorway, appearing to cry as he did so. Bryce pulled out his hatchet and sunk it into the back of the man’s head, ending his misery. He then pulled the weapon free from his skull, allowing his lifeless body to fall to the floor. They cleared the hallway before entering the small bedroom next to the dead man, and both men instantly wished they hadn’t. Judging by the decorations on the walls and the photo frames that hung there, the room had belonged to two, young, twin boys. Laying in two different colored race car beds, one blue and one red, were the two lifeless bodies of the boys with a sheet pulled over each of them. Large circles of dried blood spread out from the center of each boy’s forehead underneath the sheets.


  ​“Sarah don’t.” Alejandro called out quickly after snapping out of the shock he was in.

  ​He was too late, and the young girl entered the room, gasping at what she saw. She slowly stepped past them and approached the beds, staring down at one of the dead boys for a long minute. She turned back to the two men with tears streaming down her face. “He killed them, why would he do that?” She said.

  ​“He didn’t want them to suffer, so he gave up on the chance of them having a future. He’s a coward.” Alejandro replied in disgust, tears beginning to fill his eyes as well.

  ​“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Bryce said, surprised by the fact that he wasn’t crying. His heart broke for the two boys, and his chest ached, but no tears came. “We’re done scavenging for the day.” As they stepped out of the room, Bryce looked down at the corpse of the boys’ father. “It’s like he felt guilty for what he’d done, even though he was no longer human.” The other two didn’t even register his words, being too distracted by their grief and distant thoughts. The realization that this man could feel guilt and remembered what he had done to his children terrified Bryce. The three of them left the house without searching for supplies, immediately making their way back to the cabin.

  ***

  ​When they arrived, a few of the others approached them to see what supplies they brought back and to ask how their trip had went. Sarah and Alejandro walked past the group in silence, heading to their respective homes to be left alone. Lauren looked to Bryce with a concerned look. “It didn’t go well, saw some bad shit. Just let them have their space.” Lauren rubbed a hand down his arm and looked at him questioningly. “I’m alright, just help me unload the little bit of supplies we brought back.” Lauren and the others helped unload what they had found, and afterwards, Bryce went to his room in the cabin to be left alone, except for his faithful, canine companion of course.

  ​After a few hours had passed and the sun had set below the trees, Bryce grew concerned that he didn’t see Alejandro or Sarah at the group meal. So, he left the cabin before eating and went to find them. Arriving at the trailer that Sarah lived in with the other girls, he racked his knuckles on the door. Sarah opened it and stepped aside, allowing Bryce room to enter. He stepped inside and sat on the couch, she leaned up against the small kitchenette counter. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing.” Bryce said.

  ​“I’m fine.” She said bluntly before looking away from him.

  ​“You know you can talk to me about anything, what we saw today was horrible and you don’t need to keep your feelings in.” He said, trying to break through her new, tough girl exterior.

  ​“I’m alright, really. What happened to those boys was horrible, but we can’t afford to worry about the dead or live in the past. I’m just happy we’re all together and safe for now.” She responded, seeming to genuinely mean what she said.

  ​Bryce took a few seconds to evaluate the girl before continuing. “Do you regret coming today?” He asked.

  ​“No.” She said immediately, taking a pause after to think about her words. “I regret that all of those people we saw died, and I hate what’s happened to this world, but I don’t regret going. I needed to see all of that. I needed that experience to become stronger and to be the person I need to be to survive and keep everyone I care about safe.” She finished with pure resolve and steel in her eyes.

  ​Bryce was taken aback by the girl’s strength and determination. “You’re a strong woman Sarah, I’d be happy to have you watch my back again anytime.” He said, standing up and putting a hand to her shoulder.

  ​“Thanks, anytime you need me to cover your ass just let me know.” She said with a smile, lightly punching his arm. Bryce nodded and moved towards the door to leave, and she spoke again, stopping him. “I think you should check on Alejandro. I tried to knock on the door of his RV earlier and he wouldn’t open it. I think he took what we saw today harder than either of us.” She seemed very concerned.

  ​“I was going to check on him when I left here but why do you think he took it so hard?” Bryce said, his hand still hovering over the door handle.

  ​“I saw him going into the RV with a bottle of alcohol. A little bit later I heard him yelling like he was having an argument with someone even though no one was in there with him. When I tried to knock on the door, I heard some banging like he was punching the walls and breaking things. Honestly, I was too scared to really try to get him out, so I just left.” She said with fear on her face.

  ​“I’ll talk to him, try not to worry okay?” Bryce said, becoming concerned for the other man.

  ​“Okay. Have a goodnight.” Sarah said and Bryce exited the trailer, repeating the pleasantry. Bryce made his way to Alejandro’s RV and listened for a moment, hearing quiet whispering. He knocked loudly on the door and the voice stopped.

  ​Alejandro opened the door shirtless and holding a bottle of tequila. His normally light, brown skin appeared pale and one of his hands had a paper towel wrapped around it with a small blotch of blood where his knuckles were. “What’s up man?” Alejandro asked.

  ​“Just wanted to see how you were doing brother.” Bryce said, not revealing what Sarah had told him.

  ​“I’m alright, just relaxing.” Alejandro said, trying to sound laid back.

  ​“Mind if I come in?” Bryce asked, moving to step into the RV. Alejandro planted his injured hand on the door frame, blocking Bryce’s advance with his arm.

  ​“Not tonight brother. I’m pretty tired and would just prefer to be left alone.” Alejandro said with a tone of irritation, his eyes flashing a look of violent intent for a split second.

  ​Bryce stepped back. “Are you sure you’re alright?” He glanced from the wounded hand, to the bottle, and then back to Alejandro’s eyes.

  ​“I’m fine.” Alejandro said, correcting his tone and seeming to relax again. “Just a hard day and had a bit too much to drink is all, we’ll talk tomorrow alright?”

  ​Bryce knew that his friend was troubled, probably more so than he expected, but he knew that pressing the issue would be a dangerous mistake on his part. “Alright, sorry for the intrusion. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, just get some sleep alright?” Bryce said, backing away from the door.

  ​“Will do.” Alejandro said as he shut the door. Bryce walked back to the cabin and ate his dinner with the others as they were finishing up. He let Matt know he should crash somewhere else tonight, and then walked back to his room to get some sleep of his own.

  ***

  ​Alejandro peeked through the window curtains to make sure Bryce had left before plopping down onto the couch, taking a large gulp from the bottle of tequila. He looked around the RV at the broken glass on the ground and the broken and splintered cabinet door that he had smashed in with his fist. The sounds of gunshots and explosions rang through his damaged mind again, and he looked around, frantically trying to find the source of the noises. He could hear screams that he knew weren’t real as glimpses of dismembered and bloody fellow soldiers appeared around the interior of the RV. Flashes of dead children with AK47s hanging from their bodies appeared to be lying lifeless in the driver and passenger seat. Alejandro took another, big swig from the bottle before setting it down and pressing his palms hard into his crying eyes, trying to hide from his own insane memories. “Like that shit’s going to help.” He heard his dead friend say with a laugh.

  ​Alejandro looked up to see Sam walking towards him. The big, black man’s neck was ripped open and arterial blood sprayed out, vanishing before it could hit the wall beside him. “Just fucking shut up already, you’re not real.” Alejandro said, covering his eyes again.

  ​“Now, is that anyway to treat your wingman? You’re cracking bro.” Sam said, appearing to pick up the bottle of tequila and take a swig. He recoiled from the harshness of the alcohol. “Goddamn Mexican poison right there.”

  ​“You’re not real.” Alejandro repeated himself, pleading for the delusions to stop.<
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  ​“Maybe not, or maybe I am and I’m haunting your ass. You’ve been slipping for a long-time brother, longer than I’ve even known you. How many dead bodies did you think you were going to have to see before you finally cracked for good?” Sam said with another laugh. Alejandro grabbed the bottle of tequila and took another, long pull before chucking it at Sam. The bottle flew straight through him and shattered against the wall. Sam vanished a moment later and two, dead, twin boys with bullet holes in their heads appeared behind where the big man stood, sitting on the bed.

  ​“You’re not real.” Alejandro repeated, sitting down and closing his eyes before covering his ears with his hands, crying as he waited for the delusions to stop.

  CHAPTER 11

  ​The following morning, Matt approached Bryce. “I’m getting restless here man, I need to get out today and since you’re not on watch, I figured I’d ask if you want to go fishing.” He said.

  ​“Sounds good man, we could use the fresh meat now that the venison’s practically gone. Grab your gear and I’ll get some fishing supplies.” Bryce said. Matt rushed off to get ready and Bryce made his way to the cabin, seeing Randy sitting on the porch with a beer. The man wasn’t the most reliable watchman, but he at least pretended to keep an eye out during his shift. Bryce made his way inside and packed up everything he would need for the outing, grabbing an ice chest after slinging on his pack and filling it with as much ice as the fridge would pump out.

  ​He went looking for Byark once everything was ready to go, finding him by his tent, curling one of the tree logs that they had been breaking down for firewood. He did the exercise and various others every day, seeming to prefer calisthenics. “How’s the workout going brother?”

  ​“Very good. Have to stay in fighting shape you know.” Byark said, dropping the heavy log and turning his gaze to Bryce.