Radiation Point

Thirty Eight

My feet were moving before my brain was. Pushing people out of the way, I stumbled closer to the fence. As I looked at the figure, a tingle of shock-and relief-went down my spine.
It wasn't Tyler.
But who was it? The boy was clearly a renegade. His black bandanna was tied into the fence next to him-mocking the renegades below.
And then I saw it.
An inhaler. The white plastic was peeking up from the grass below.
It was the boy with the asthma who had come into the nurses office earlier. The weak, wheezing boy from before. Murdered.
Anger coursed through me as I searched for Tyler.
He was surrounded by a group of renegades who were speaking in angry voices.
"We can't risk being here anymore."
"If he's killing our own, we need to move. Now."
Shouldering past them, I stopped in front of Tyler.
"He's gone too far," I said, my hands on my hips. Tyler looked ready to explode, as anger of his own contorted his features. Raising his hands, he started to answer. A loud snort That behind us cut him short.
"What? You don't like a little death, Hussy? But all the other stuff he's done must have been rainbows and butterflies."
I could feel my face getting red-probably as red as my hair-as I whirled around to face him.
Bubba stood behind me, a sour expression on his face. His lips were downturned into a frown and his eyes held a feral look.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think it means? You got a soft spot for the man. There was never any chance of you killing him," Bubba said. Spit flew out of his mouth as he spoke, and his face turned an ugly shade of purple. I could feel the eyes of the other renegades shift to me, harsh gazes cutting me down.
"He threatened me. I think you forgot that. I have more reason than anyone else to kill him."
"That why you let him go? That boy would be alive if it weren't for you, hussy."
Numbness flooded me as I realized the truth in his words. If I had killed the commissioner in the office, none of this would have happened. The camp wouldn't be under attack. The refugees wouldn't need to be evacuated. Mia wouldn't have to be out in the woods with her injury.
"Everyone, remain calm," Tyler said, breaking in. "This is what he wants. He wants us to be divided. We need to stick together. Let's push through and get everyone out of the camp tonight. These people can't stay here."
Voices rose around us. Some of the renegades agreed to leave, and others, Bubba included thought they weren't ready. As they argued, I glanced around for Ellen.
She was with another woman, lowering the boy to the ground. Ignoring the contaminated rattling the fence behind her, she pulled out her gun and aimed it at the boy.
My heart dropped at the sight. The boy was already dead, but he must have been bit. I knew they couldn't take risks, but the thought of maiming the boy any more was too much. Turning away from Ellen, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block out the sound.
It didn't work.
The sound of the gunshot stretched into silence, as everyone stopped fighting and watched Ellen cover the boy with her jacket.
"This can't happen again," she said, her voice sorrow filled. "We gotta make sure this ends. Tonight."
No one spoke for a long time after that. Maybe the other renegades were ashamed. I know I was. Bubba was right. It was all my fault. If I had killed the commissioner when I had the chance, the boy wouldn't be dead.
The quiet is why we heard what we did. A wet thud like a body hitting glass. Then silence.
For a moment, I didn't move, the sound not registering. Instead, I found myself staring at the other renegades as they recognized the sound-death.
Half a heartbeat later the screams started-from inside the building. The door leading to the yard was thrown open as refugees streamed out, contaminated dragging wailing people down with them.
Again. Again. It happened again.
The renegades were shouting orders, but I wasn't listening; couldn't listen. All I kept hearing was the scream of the little girl that started it all. The scream that foretold all the death that would come. And it was happening again.
"Wait up."
A firm hand on my should stopped me. With impatient eyes, I turned to see Ellen. She was grim faced, but composed.
"Stick with me, okay, kid?"
"I know how to killed contaminated, Ellen," I said. The words sounded harsher than I intended, but frustration coursed through me.
"You need me," she said with a shrug and turned back towards the building.
"Right now, I just need to get my sister out of there. She's helpless."
"We're gonna get her, but we need to be smart about it. We can't just charge in there. We gotta clear a way out for her."
"Right," I echoed. I hadn't thought about that. If I just carried Mia out, how would I be able to fight off the contaminated who were still alive? I needed to kill them and I needed Ellen's help to do that. Squaring my shoulder's I followed Ellen inside, bracing myself for what I would see.
Nothing I could have done could have prepared me for the blood and the crying. The other renegades had already killed the contaminated in the hallway, but they left the bodies in heaps on the floor. Next to them lay slain refugees, and worse, the people surviving them.
Seeing a small girl crying over a fallen woman was enough to send my head into a spin.
Not again.
"Mama, no," the girl cried, nuzzling her face into her mother's bloody blouse.
Like ice through my veins, her words froze me in my tracks. Memories flooded me of saying goodbye to my mother.
"Nessa?" Ellen said, concern in her voice, but she was far away. All I could see was my mother.

"No, no, Nessa!" my mother had wailed after I was bit. The pain from the bite was intense, but not as intense as the flood of emotions as I looked at my mom.
Her shirt was tattered, and thick blood soaked into the ground around her. Mia was already at my mom's side. Her tiny hands clamped down on my mom's arm, trying to stop the flow of blood. Mia's blue eyes were saucers as she watched my mom's face.
My mother's face twisted in pain, sweat beading on her forehead. She struggled to sit up, every inch she moved deepening the crease lines in her face.
"Girls," she whispered, motioning us closer.
My own pain was forgotten in that moment. Only the thundering of blood in my head registered as I knelt down next to my dying mother.
"Girls," she continued,her voice strained. "Your father and I love you. Always."
"Mom, you have to get up. They'll be coming soon," I said, with an urgent glance behind me. The contaminated would finish what was left inside and come after us. I just knew it.
My mom shifted her eyes to me and smiled, a strange look on her sweat filled face.
"You know I can't come, my little Nessa."
At her words, it was as if my heart cracked into a million pieces. No, I couldn't lose another parent. I just couldn't.
"Why not?" I pleaded. "It was just your arm. Get up, get up! Please Mom, get up!"
Her eyes filled with tears at my words, but she didn't move. She simply watched me with such sadness.
"I've lost too much blood. I would only hold you girls back. Besides, I was bit."
The blood rushed from my face at her words as I realized her implications. My parents had their suspicions about being bit turning people, but the leaders from the camp always told us that wasn't true. That people only turned if they were too close to the radiation area from the bomb. We didn't know anything for certain, so we held onto hope. At least I did. But as I watched the light flicker from my Mom's face, that hope began to drain away.
"But I was bit too," I said finally, my voice shaking with tears. "We're both going to change, Mom. We're both going to die."
Pain wracked my chest at the realization. I was as good as dead.
My mom's hand snaked up to grasp my arm, and although her grip was shaky, her eyes were hard.
"You don't say that," she said, gritting her teeth against the pain. "You and your sister are going to survive. If anyone deserves a miracle, it's you girls. Besides, Mia is the best little healer in these woods. She'll take care of you."
"But Mama," Mia sobbed. "I need you." Tears shaking her body, Mia wrapped both her arms around our mom's chest. "I need you."
"Please, Mom. Let's just go," I begged.
"Your right, it's time," she whispered in response, beckoning me closer to her. I wrapped my arms around her. She was soft and warm to the touch. My mom. I needed her, too. "Don't give up. You'll get the miracle of healing, I know it. But go on now, girls."
We didn't move.
"I said go," she yelled. "Leave me."
"Mama, no," Mia sobbed.
"Nessa, you need to go now. You can't die. Mia can't die."
Her words were urgent. She couldn't watch us die. It would break her spirit.
"Okay," I whispered.
Scrambling up, I grabbed Mia's hand and tugged. Her tiny hand felt warm and familiar in mine. In that instant, I knew if it weren't for her hand in mine, I would have been frozen.
As we turned to the woods, both shaking and scared, our mom called out one final instruction.
"Take care of your sister."
"I will," we said at the same time It wasn't until we were farther in the woods, trees on every side, that we heard it.
The sound of a gunshot. Our mom was dead.