The Immune

19. The Things We Lost

When I was in school in the compound, we took a field trip every year to the livestock fields. We went to see the new animals being born in the spring and to help with the shearing, milking, and tagging. It was their way of introducing some of us to our future job. Many of us would end up working with livestock since the compound raised its own cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens.

The sheep were my favorite because they reminded me of clouds. So, I always volunteered to help tag the youngest. Maybe I could make it hurt less if I did it. Or maybe I just liked loving them up before the piercing.

The hardest part was getting the sheep loose from the herd. We learned early on that these animals have a strong pack mentality. They travel, eat, and sleep in a huddle. Sheep rarely left the security of the group. If we ever found one separated, it was generally lame or injured. Sickly sheep were killed early in their life.

One year, our field trip took up the entire day and late into the night. I had been given the job of finding a young sheep that needed to be sheared. It was well past nightfall when I came upon the herd, sleeping under a tall oak tree. Suddenly, the alarm sounded, and I froze. The alarm meant an Infected had been spotted. Everyone was supposed to go indoors until we got the all-clear.

Fear glued me to the spot, though, because I watched over two dozen sheep open their eyes in shock. They looked around in confusion. Then, all together, they ran. The sound of the stampede drowned out the noise of the alarm. I watched in shock and awe. The way they moved, in perfect unity and harmony, was something I'd never seen before. I thought I would never see it again.

But as I stand, motionless once again, the sounds of a stampede drown out the ticking from outside the Alma. That awesome feeling of harmony comes rushing back, but this time, there's a stronger undernote of fear. Everyone erupts into movement, grabbing their stuff and bolting for the back door.

"Let's go," Isaac shouts at me. He lets go of my hand long enough to grab our stuff. As we're cramming our sleeping bags back into our backpacks, an explosion quakes through the Alma. Horrific screaming slams into us, and Isaac rockets into a standing position. Smoke begins to fill the air.

"Stop! Stop!"

A woman running from the back door screams over the crowd. I stand on my tiptoes to see over the bent bodies.

"It collapsed. They have us surrounded. Find another way out!"

Flames stretch from the floor to ceiling, kissing the newly remodeled door frame. The wood serves as perfect kindle for red destruction. Isaac pulls me in another direction. Maybe he knows another way out.

We've barely taken three steps when the world explodes behind us. The sound deafens me, and the blast throws me off my feet. Sparks of red scatter on the floor as I'm slammed back into it. For a moment, I can't move. Everything spins and tilts. My ears ring. Pain paralyzes me.

Suddenly, a face appears in front of me. I can't hear Isaac yelling, but his red face and wide eyes tell me he's panicking. He grabs me with both hands and jerks me to my feet. Limping and moving slowly, we hurry away from the explosion sight.

Already, the smoke is suffocating. It billows up towards the ceiling from our left and right. As my hearing comes back, screams fill the air around us. The flock lost control after the explosion started. Now, they stampede around, trying to get to an exit as the building collapses in chunks. The fire spreads quickly, feeding on everything in its path.

"Let's go," Isaac cries, pulling on me. He tugs my shirt up and over my mouth, and together we take off at a slow run. We shove through people and screams, jump over concrete blocks bigger than us.