The Biter Awakening: The Journey Begins
I laid beside Kellan thinking and trying not to worry of the hard choice Michael had to make. I felt sorry for him. He had the hardest decision ahead of him he would ever have to make, leave with his son and leave his wife of twenty some-odd years behind or stay and eventually starve to death. Kellan did the right thing by giving Michael the chance to decide. I honestly don’t think that twenty-four hours is enough time for someone to choose the fate of their destiny at the moment. I was excited for our new adventure and the road ahead.
Azura was tucked close to my heart as I lay wrapped in Kellan’s arms. They both seemed to be sleeping peacefully, yet I couldn’t seem to shut my brain off to save my life. I tried to sleep I tried everything in my power to sleep. I counted sheep, I laid there in silence, I even told myself stories and played scenarios over and over in my head. Each little scenario was different . I guess in my own way I was mentally preparing myself for anything and everything. It felt like I had laid there for hours. I know I hadn’t moved an inch.
“Why aren’t you sleeping , Betts ?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t. I have tried everything. I just can’t seem to shut my brain down. Maybe I’m excited or nervous. I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you try going to sleep, will you? You’re not going to be any use to me or AJ if you don’t get any type of rest. I know it’s hard but try.”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
“I love you. Now come here and get some sleep.”
Kellan kissed my forehead and I pulled me and AJ closer into his arms. I guess I just needed to hear him say that it was okay for me to sleep. I finally dozed off. I woke up to a tiny whimper coming from Azura. This was a sound I was growing accustomed to hearing every morning.
“Morning AJ. I take it your hungry again. I know, I’m up. I get that bottle here in a minute.”
I looked around for Kellan while I got AJ’s bottle prepared. The one thing that calmed her before she began to wail was me talking to her as I walked through what was becoming my morning routine. I laid out clothes, diaper, wipes, and an already made bottle with her burp rag.
“Alright. You ready for this morning ? Let’s get you undressed and fed and then how about a change and we will go find your daddy.”
Let’s face it, I’m weird for talking to a baby but I had no problem talking to Azura. I had no issues playing mom either, in fact I loved it. It was pretty amazing. I loved being able to wake up to big bright eyes staring at you or when she hears my voice she automatically opens her eyes. In short, to me, she is Heaven on Earth. I managed to get her to guzzle most of her 8 ounce bottle this morning and dressed her in the second cutest outfit I could find.
“AJ, you ready to go find daddy now ? I know mommy’s getting tired of him constantly disappearing on her at the weirdest times. Yeah, smile . You probably don’t understand half of what I am even saying right now. It’s okay though. Mommy loves talking to you.”
Carrying AJ, I went in search of Kellan. While searching the little bundle I carried had dozed off and I kept getting a nagging gut feeling again that something was just off. I just shook my shoulders and reminded myself that no matter what everything would be fine and this gut feeling was just a weird insecurity that I had about our upcoming journey. AJ was nestled tightly against my chest and a random thought crossed my mind about how much I hated hearing the silence on days like this. It was sad and honestly pretty fucking pathetic. Here I am rambling on to myself about how I miss the noise and I should be worried about why it was so damn quiet in this hellhole of a bunker. Sometimes I swear my mom might have dropped me on my head a few too many times.
As I walked through the bunker, I passed a wall that still had the tiny scribbles of incoherent words and tiny butterflies along the doorway. It made me think of the time that me and Kellan ran down here to hide from Lorna after I put bubble gum on her pillow for beating Kellan over losing his lunch money at school. I hated the new memories made here but needless to say there were good ones too. We played in the bunker to get away from his mom, when she was on her bible thumping raves. I knew eventually this place would die along with the people in it , once we left. It would only be a matter of time. Whether it be from going fucking insane or from starvation or from becoming a snack to those biters. There were so many scenarios, yet none of them were happy nor would anyone survive. As far as I was concerned I hoped Lorna would rot here in this bunker, alone.
Just thinking of those thoughts made my cheeks flush with the pure hatred of years of torment from her. My mom raised me to respect my elders but that woman would get what she deserved in the end, karma would see to it, if I didn’t first. I continued my search for Kellan and eventually I managed to locate him in what they called their “Living room”. It held two chairs, a couch, a tiny end table, a equally tiny coffee table and the ugliest floor lamp that I had never seen on or actually ever used. I just kept thinking positive and was looking forward to finding a safe home for my family. Kellan was sitting on one of the chairs with his head hung in his hands.
“You okay Kellan ?”
“Yeah, Betts. I’m fine. I mean ... Well no. I am just worried that dad is going to say that he is staying here with mom. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom. I do. Even after everything she has done to me, the beatings, the religious cult shit she forced on me for years, putting you down for being the only one I could turn to besides my dad, but she’s a fucking lunatic and she eats a hell of a lot of food and I can’t and won’t deal with the burden of my mom eating all the food. She eats, sleeps, and preaches. I just can’t do that to our family. I don’t want that burden on my shoulders. No one should have that burden, Betts.”
“Oh, Kellan. It’s going to be okay. I promise. Everything will work out for the best. No matter what you will always have me and AJ. It’s not much but we love you.”
I squeezed his hand. I figured if I was in his situation I would want that as some symbol just to know someone was with me 110 percent and they would carry any burden with me, equally. I looked down at AJ and noticed her pretty pearly eyes staring back and she gave me the biggest toothless grin she could manage and it always makes me feel better. I figured maybe she would do the same for Kellan. I picked her up out of the makeshift baby sling and handed her to him. She just stared at him like she was trying to figure out how to help ease his mind. All she did was smile. Kellan’s eyes and face grew softer and I noticed he was more focused on that little angel in front of him instead of what was going to happen. I knew that Azura was and would be the greatest pick-me-up of all time.
Azura managed to make some sort of cooing sound and I swear I almost giggled. It was the most interesting sound in the world but I was intrigued and beyond happy at the same time. Just that moment in time we seemed lost in happiness and it was worth all the money in the world. At that very moment Michael chose to enter the room. Kellan clutched AJ close to him, as if he was going to protect her from his dad.
“Kellan. Betty. Sit down. I just want to talk before I tell you my final decision on the matter at hand. First off, I love you all very much and I love Lorna but come on. Enough is fucking enough. A home cannot be built on hatred and distrust. With that being said, it brings me to my second point. Kellan, I love your mother dearly and she wasn’t always this way. There was a time when she didn’t even attend church. She danced, smoked, drank, and even did stuff that should never be brought up. Kellan you don’t know but you had an older brother. His name was Elijah and your mom was very attached to him, much like Betts is now to Azura. When Elijah was four months old, Lorna took him to the park. They were there for hours, she turned to talk to a friend of hers for just a second and Elijah disappeared.
Lorna screamed and searched everywhere. She called the police. They searched and searched. It was about three weeks later we received a call from the police. They had found Elijah’s body about six miles from the park. Lorna was devastated. She was never the same. It took over 10 years for us to even try for you Kellan. I know your childhood wasn’t the greatest but hopefully we can manage to make Azura’s decent. I have decided that I will go with you and Betty. I want to see Azura grow and blossom into a lovely young lady. We need to start packing immediately and preparing the RV’s for travel. This journey isn’t going to be easy and it there are going to be rough patches but this is a road that must be paved at a pace of our own. Let’s hope to make it even. So are you sure you want to go through with this now?”
“Dad, I think Betts and I need this. We need a safe place to raise AJ. It has to be a place with plenty of supplies. Not to mention we have to get away from mom.”
“Michael, don’t get me wrong here but I just want to keep AJ safe. I love her like she is my own daughter. I don’t want to keep her here.”
“Well as long as she has you two for parents, I think she will always be safe. Now let’s go pack up before Lorna actually finds out what we are up to. I haven’t quite told her that I plan to leave her crazy ass here alone.”
With all that being said we made a plan to gather supplies and try to safeguard the bunker for Lorna before we made the official journey out of the soon to be forgotten hell hole. We gathered bags and tools and some small necessary items needed to help with preparing for the trip. Luckily, Lorna was sleeping. All I could think about was ‘ Oh Thank God. That bitches biggest downfall is she is lazy and all she does is sleep’. If Kellan and Michael could actually read my mind I doubt they would be so nice to me as they are now. It takes a lot for me to be as nice as I am on the outside. I think this biter issue has started to turn me into a real bitch, at least in my head.
We headed towards the tunnel door. I knew what lied beyond it. Unfortunately, it just so happened to be two rotting corpses and a very rank world. I looked Michael dead in the eyes and gave him a little warning about the dead biters in the tunnel.
“Michael. Watch your step. I am not entirely sure if they are actually dead but I think I killed those bastards on the way back from the house. The smell is putrid and you might puke. So take this mask and put it on. Stay close and for God’s sake, if you have to kill something, make sure it isn’t one of us.”
Michael nodded his head and we headed into the tunnel. Just like I thought, the smell had gotten worse. I held Azura as close to me as I could. I didn’t want that smell to be a memory for her. We made our way into the tunnel and again I got that weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was going to happen. I clenched AJ to my chest because no telling what the fuck could happen in this dark tunnel. Biters were vicious and they always wanted to eat. The funny thing is I kind of identified a biter with a fat, depressed person. They move really slow and they always are eating something. Cruel way to see it, but sometimes you just have to look at it and move on. Somehow I managed to nudge my way in between Michael and Kellan, so AJ and I were in the middle of the two men. I knew we were reaching the end of the tunnel because the passage way was getting wider. We finally made it to the house and I touched the doorknob. I noticed that it was sticky and felt wet.
“Kellan. There is something on the doorknob. I am not sure what it is. Think you can shine you light over here for a minute.”
The moment the light touched my skin, I knew right away I had touched blood. I am not sure if it was a biters meal or a biter itself, all I know is that it was blood. I stood there in a daze for what seemed hours even though it was maybe a minute or two.
“Betty. Hey darlin’. Come on. Snap out of it. We have to get that blood off your hand before you touch Azura. Kellan, give me your button up shirt and that bottle of water out of the bag.”
I am not even sure why I was even surprised that I had touched blood. I had killed several biters and it didn’t faze me a bit, but touching blood and I became a fucking pansy. Who knew that touching blood would screw my mind up that bad ? Michael washed my hand and then the doorknob. He thought it would be best if we left the shirt lying in the dirt. He decided it would make Lorna think that biters may have gotten us or some bullshit like that. Once we had entered the basement, my nerves were all over the place.
I noticed blood smears on the floor and walls and stairs. I knew something had went down and I just couldn’t figure out what it was. Was this a victim of a biter who tried to escape the house and eventually ended up turning or was this a biter who had lost an arm or leg and managed to get into the tunnel. I figured it would be best if I finally told someone what I was thinking.
“Uh... Guys. Either there is someone who is seriously fucking wounded in this house or there is one fucked up biter on the loose. We need to watch our asses in the house right now. So in other words. Be fucking quiet and hurry the fuck up.”
“Betts. You sure . I mean this blood could be from that biter we cleared out when we found AJ. Maybe that blood thing has you freaked out or something.”
“Jesus Christ. Okay look. Kellan over there in the corner, that’s where I killed the biter. See how the blood is a kind of dried up rust color.” Kellan just nodded. “This blood over here on the wall, the stairs, and the floor is fresh and it’s still wet. So yes you fucktard, I am sure.”
“Relax, girl. You need to relax. If you aren’t thinking clearly you won’t be any help to any of us. So , Betts do us a favor. Take a few deep breaths and calm your little ass down.”
This whole situation was really starting to piss me off. The first few thoughts were I wanted to punch Kellan in the face and then it was oh shit, now I have to worry about if there isn’t some nut case running around the house with the possibility of turning into a damn biter. Wonderful absolutely wonderful. I admit I hate biters more than anything in the world, even more than clowns. I really fucking hate clowns. Seriously , I hate them. They are creepy as hell and they need to die.... Well, the only thing worse than a biter would be a damn zombie clown. If I run across one of those, well, needless to say, I am so screwed. Thank God for double whammies. Not really, but hey we all need to stay optimistic about something right ?
I wondered when Michael was going to tell Lorna that she was going to have the bunker all to herself here shortly. I am eternally grateful that I won’t have to worry about her coming with us. She always complains, whether it be about the food or the weather, so when we leave her behind my life will become a little less complicated. I decided that the only thing to do was to follow the trail of blood and find its source. I just knew it. Sure enough there was another biter in the house and laying in the floor was another victim. The horrific sight was more than Michael to bear and he released the contents of his stomach all over Kellan’s shoes. I released a little giggle. I realized it was a mistake on my part. The biters head turned and slowly the decaying corpse headed for me. I ran at it with my blade drawn and severed its spinal cord. I looked down and noticed that its teeth were still trying to bite at me. I pierced its brain. Michael looked stunned.
“Jesus Betts. Did you get any blood on Azura ?”
“Nope. Not a drop.”
I double checked myself as I said that. AJ was sleeping soundly.
“She is completely zonked out. She probably doesn’t even have a clue what the fuck just happened there, but I think we definitely should check the garage and RV’s. I mean as a precaution. You can never be too careful around here. I just want to be doubly sure there aren’t any damn biters lurking around while we are packing the RV’s.”
“Betts, I think you’re right. Let’s scope out the place before any other incidents happen.”
We headed for the garage. I knew I wasn’t the only one who heard the weird shuffling and banging noises coming from the garage. To me, there sounded like there had to be at least three something or others in the there and I needed to be extremely careful considering I had the duty of carrying Azura. I gazed down at AJ sleeping so peacefully in my arms. I didn’t want anything to wake her. I knew that any noise from her or me could and would get us both killed instantly or eaten alive. I ran a few scenarios over in my head about what could go wrong and gave a questioning look to Kellan. He just shrugged his shoulders like he had no idea either. I knew that I was too the point that it would be now or never. I kissed Azura’s forehead lightly and decided that we had to enter the garage no matter what. Entering that garage was our only means of survival and we had to do it. I kissed Kellan and hugged Michael. This was my family and I was fixing to enter a den of vipers. However this played out, I either kept my family alive or got them all killed. I prayed for the best and readied my favored katana. I reached for the doorknob and took a deep breath, hoping that it wouldn’t be my last.