Days of Love and Blood

a funny face and stuck my tongue out at him. He giggled and strained to get a better view. “But eventually, it just became a part of home. We all got used to it. And now whenever I see it, I know I’m almost home.”
    “But the people behind us?”
    “We don’t live right on this road. We’ll be taking a left and then the farm is up just a little ways beyond that. Those homicidals will go right past us.” I could feel the tension leaving Ronan’s body with the way he eased back into the chair. “Pretty soon, we’re going to have a house again, Ronan. Things will be different. And then we only need to keep patient. It will all be over soon.”
    It would only be another twenty minutes or so before we would make our turn. It was a good thing I stopped when I did last night. I might have driven right by our street. I had no idea we were this close when I stopped last night. I lamented over our powerless GPS navigator; I never realized how much I would miss modern day conveniences.
    I pushed on and found more and more familiar si ghts. My heart pounded. As excited as I was, I also felt the pangs of trepidation. I would soon find out if my parents were still alive.
    I tried to distract myself. I pointed to a lone willow tree in the middle of a great field to our right and explained the annual beehive that was lodged in its trunk and how my friends and I would dare each other to extract the sweet, wild honey. Then I saw the old Sumpter dirt road on our left and relived our summers driving our four-wheelers through the bumpy terrain for thrills.
    “Mom? There!”
    “What, hon? I was still looking to my left, trying to find the rise of the Billings steeple that was barely visible from this road. I knew it was close.
    “There! Mom, stop!”
    I slammed on the brakes at the very instant I turned my head and saw what had caught Ronan’s eye. A large group of people were together, on the porch and lawn of Mr. Fielding’s farmhouse. It was too late not to be noticed. We were out in the open and they surely heard the sound of our approaching trailer. It would only be moments before I knew if they were friend or foe.
    Several of them ran towards us. I hit the gas but immediately slowed when the running people stopped their charge and began to wave.
    “Oh my God.”
    “Mom?” Ronan looked at me with furrowed, worried brows.
    “Oh my God,” I repeated. “Ronan. They’re like us. They’re uninfected!” Ronan breathed in suddenly and with an excited face, he leaned in to examine the scene.
    “Mom, Mom, look! Look! There’s a kid! I see a kid!”
    “I know; I do, too.” I could see a few of the people waving us inwards, beckoning us to join them. They knew better than to run toward us. I put the R.V. in motion and turned into the long driveway.
    “Mom, the people. Behind us!”
    “I know, baby. We have to tell them. We don’t have long, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “Just stay inside and do what I tell you. Don’t come out yet, please.”
    “Okay, Mom.”
    There were seven or eight cars on the dirt driveway and I had to veer onto the lawn to get as close to the home as I could. I opened the door to see several smiling faces in my view, and a few who didn’t look too happy to see another survivor. I couldn’t spot Mr. or Mrs. Fielding, or Ivy - their daughter.
    “The Fieldings?” I questioned. “This is their farm. Are they still here? Tom Fielding? Mary?”
    A tall man stepped forward and removed his flat cap. “Hi, I’m…”
    “Carson!” I heard a familiar voice scream. I turned my head toward the voice and saw a flurry of red hair bouncing down from the porch.
    “Ivy!” I ran through the group of onlookers as they instinctively made a part for us. “Ivy!” I yelled again. She ran toward me with both arms in the air, wearing her enormous signature smile with vibrant red lips that matched the color of her Irish curls. For a moment it seemed as if nothing had gone wrong with the world. Her glowing, familiar face made the two-month trip worth every pain, and every sorrow. She jumped into my arms and I fell backward onto the ground.
    In high school Ivy and I were best friends. She was always a foot taller than me and made me look like her pet mouse. I never really grew since then and so her excitement sent me plummeting to the ground. I didn’t care. I was laughing and crying all at the same time.
    “Oh my God, Carson! I can’t believe it!” She stood up and picked me off the ground one-handed.