After a moment, Ray whimpered and Jeff noticed the pool of blood forming beneath the boy’s foot. “P-p-p-please get it off of me. P-p-pl… ” the teenager begged as he stared at Jeff, his glasses dangling at the tip of his nose. He bashed at the creature again, but its hard skull absorbed the weak blow, and Ray moaned as the ghoul gnawed on his ankle.
Jeff clenched his jaw as he realized what he had to do. Moving his hand toward the gruesome creature’s head, he gritted his teeth and slid his fingers into its empty eye sockets. Swallowing hard, he gave a vicious tug. Ray let out another high-pitched scream as his leg was lifted off the ground but the ghoul did not detach. Its hand let go of the boy’s leg and swung around erratically, trying to discover who had a hold of it.
Jeff slammed his foot down on the arm and smashed it to the ground. Grinding his heel back and forth, he felt the remaining flesh loosen and separate from the bone on the monster’s arm.
Fighting a wave of nausea, he pressed his free hand down on Ray’s leg for leverage and pulled with all his might on the skull one more time.
The boy’s screams grew louder, but could not blot out the sound of flesh and muscle tearing away from the bone. A spray of blood hit the side of the building in a wide arc, and Ray rolled over on his belly, finally free of the horrible teeth. He crawled into a fetal position and wrapped his hands around his bloody wound. A good hunk of meat and tendon had been pulled free and remained between the ghoul’s gnashing teeth. Jeff dropped the wretched creature and stood, slamming his heel repeatedly into the back of its skull. The monster’s face was driven into the asphalt, and its hand twitched furiously as it went through its death spasms.
There was no time to get sick as Jeff moved back toward Ray. Teddy, who had wriggled free of George’s limp grasp, was already next to his friend. The blond man was stunned, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. Jeff pulled off his t-shirt and used his teeth to tear strips from the bottom of it.
Teddy screamed at Ray, trying to lift him to a sitting position as he babbled unintelligible questions at his friend. When Jeff moved in this time, he did not push Teddy away, allowing the boy to remain close as he focused on Ray’s shredded ankle. As he drew near, the boy screamed in panic, his eyes wide and terrified. Ray tried to push himself backwards, and as he did, more blood gushed onto the pavement. Jeff knew he needed to stop the bleeding quickly or Ray would go into shock.
“It’s going to be okay, Ray. It’ll be all right. I’m going to bandage you. Take it easy.” Jeff showed him the strips of cotton fabric in his hands.
Ray’s screams stopped as he desperately tried to cover the wound with his hands, which were slippery with blood. He cupped his ankle, but the red liquid continued to pour through his fingers. The boy flinched, but let Jeff get close enough to wrap the wound with the first strip of cloth. When Ray did not protest further, Jeff put another strip on top of the first.
“You need to wrap one around his upper leg, like a tourniquet.” Jeff nodded in acknowledgement at George’s instruction from behind him. Ray moaned loudly and began weeping.
“He’s going to be okay, right? He’s not going to die, is he?” Teddy leaned in, nearly knocking Jeff into the injured boy. Jeff ignored the question, but Ray didn’t. He wailed, and his eyes filled with fear.
“I’m not going to die, am I?” Ray repeated the question over and over as Jeff mumbled a response the boy did not hear. Finally, after Ray’s voice reached a high-pitched squeal, Jeff shook the boy roughly. The babbling stopped and Ray gaped at Jeff, eyes wide with fear.
“Listen carefully to me, Ray. I’m going to take good care of you, but you have to calm down. I need to get the bleeding to stop so we can get you back to camp.” He looked at Teddy and forced his expression to become gentler. Teddy was almost as much of a mess as Ray was. “Everything is going to be fine.”
The smaller boy’s chest heaved, fat tears rolling down his face. Teddy looked bewildered and hurt, but there was a glint of comprehension there. Jeff continued to look at him as George put his hands on the boy’s narrow shoulders and squeezed soothingly. Teddy did not shrug him away, but leaned back, his knees suddenly weak. He gave Jeff a half nod. It wasn’t much, but would have to do as Jeff turned back to face Ray and repeated himself. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“Like hell it is.”
Everyone, including Ray, looked at Marcus, who had arrived from across the street and was walking up to them with the shotgun pointed lazily in Jeff and Ray’s direction, the small crate of booze still snug under his other arm.
“What the fuck did you do, boy?” Before Ray could respond, Marcus answered his own question. “Went and got yourself in a mess of trouble, and now we’re all in deep shit.” He looked around, scanning the area nervously.
Jeff closed his eyes and sighed as he heard moaning off in the distance. In his haste to deal with Ray, he hadn’t noticed the cries of the infected, which were growing louder by the second.
“Fuck,” Jeff mumbled as he leaned toward Ray and spoke quietly to the boy. “I’m going to wrap a bandage tightly around your upper thigh, Ray.” He paused and made sure the teen was looking and listening only to him. “It’ll help stop the infection from climbing up your leg and give us a chance to get you back to camp.”
Jeff smiled and gently put his hand on the boy’s terrified face, wiping away a tear. His hands were smeared with blood, but most of it was gone now. Jeff had used his entire shirt to staunch the flow and wipe away the excess. His concerns about the blood-borne virus were great, but overshadowed by his fear of letting Ray bleed to death in the general store parking lot.
“Step aside, Jeff.”
The next noise Jeff heard was unmistakable: a shotgun shell being chambered. Marcus sounded calmer and less vicious than he had just a few seconds before, but still firm and determined. Jeff looked at Ray, who was panicking, and shifted his weight. Ray grabbed for him, fearful he was going to obey Marcus’s command. Splatters of Ray’s blood painted Jeff’s biceps as the youngster’s hands scrabbled at the man’s arms.
“No… no, please, God no!” The look in his eyes made it clear that Ray understood exactly what Marcus planned to do. He repeated himself, his voice getting higher and higher in pitch as he begged Jeff to do something to help him. “Please don’t let him shoot me. Please, I don’t want to die, Jeff, pleeeease!”
Jeff shushed him and whispered assurances as he wrapped the tourniquet around Ray’s injured leg, ignoring Marcus’s command.
“Jeff, I said step aside. You best start listening to me, or I swear I’ll take you out along with Ray.”
Teddy, all but forgotten in the last few moments, pushed away from George and moved toward Marcus, a look of rage tattooed across his face. “You’re not going to hurt my friend, you fucking creep. I’ll kill you first!” He clenched his fists, and before George could grab him, he took off toward the man whose slender build was similar to his own. Marcus had already set down the crate of liquor and only held the shotgun, which was pointed at Jeff’s back. Teddy built up speed when he saw that Marcus was not going to turn toward him.
As Teddy lunged, Marcus nimbly stepped backwards and kicked, sending his foot straight into Teddy’s gut. The boy collapsed like a house of cards, doubled up and wheezing. He began coughing violently.
George rushed toward Marcus. The shotgun, which had remained pointed at Jeff even as he launched his kick at Teddy, swung toward the big man. George stopped short, a look of embarrassed surprise on his face. He clenched his fists, his eyes darting between the muzzle of the shotgun and the boy who lay crumpled on the ground. He pointed at Teddy. “I just want to check on him, make sure he’s okay.” George did his best to look sincere, but his jaw twitched nervously. He looked at Teddy, who pulled his knees up underneath him and hacked up a small wad of vomit.