Zombie Exodus: Aftermath, scene 12

Continued from scene 11 

You stare at Cameron for a moment and realize you have to take charge. “Cameron, get on the ground. Let’s get something we can use to tie around his upper arm and stop the flow of blood.”

Cameron flashes a look of horror. “What? What are you doing?”

“If we move fast and take off your hand, we can stop the infection from spreading.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Jesse shouts. “We should get on that boat and go. I love Cameron like a brother, but he’s going to turn.”

You grab Cameron and pull him to the ground. He resists at first but quickly surrenders and lies on his back with his injured arm extended. You can already see the tiny cut turning black.

“We have that sewing kit. Maybe we can tie his arm off with thread?” Portland asks. Her large eyes showed fear as much as Cameron’s.

“This is insane. We ain’t even got a hatchet. What are we going to do, saw his hand off with a rock?” Jesse says, pacing around the group in a circle.

You reach for her backpack and find the sewing kit. Using one of the spools of thread, you wrap it around his elbow and keep circling it until the skin turns red. Cameron winces from the pain, and you can see him squeezing a fist over and over as the hand goes numb. You take out some gauze from your first-aid kit and put a wide piece of plastic in his mouth. “This is going to hurt. A lot. Bite down on this and try to stay still. We’re going to save you.”

Tears are coming from Cameron’s eyes in the realization of what’s unfolding. He turns his head to the side to stare into the forest. When you glance back at Portland, she shaking.

“Move over here and kneel on his arm,” you say to her and she moves to where you point immediately. Her small body balances on one knee holding Cameron’s arm down.

You take out the largest blade from your multitool and extend his hand as far as it will go. Long striations of green have slithered up his palm, symptoms of the multiplying virus. Maybe it’s already too late. Maybe he’s infected, and you’re just mutilating him with no reason. Maybe he’s changing, and this is just wasting time and energy. You don’t know the answers, so you have to take a chance.

Just as you’re ready to make the first cut, Jesse storms out of the cabin. She holds a kitchen knife in hand and kneels down beside you. She places her hand over Cameron’s and hands the blade to you. “Do it. Just tell me if you need help.”

You raise the knife just over his wrist and lower it down. It’s a bloody affair as you slice through the skin and tendon and muscle. Between you and Jesse, you saw through it all, never taking a break, never looking away. After the first few cuts, Cameron stopped thrashing. Somehow the three of you keep his arm immobile. When you reach bone, you struggle to break through. Cameron finally passes out. Jesse picks up a rock and slams it down on the blade lying across the bone of his wrist. It takes numerous strikes until the hand separates.

As soon as you finish, you wrap the stump in gauze and build a fire in the corner of the clearing. You heat the metal blade of the kitchen knife and cauterize the stump as best you can. Luckily, Cameron remains unconscious through the whole ordeal. When you finish it all, the three of you collapse in the dirt, tired and exhausted and demoralized.

“What do we do now?” Portland asks. “Should we keep moving? It’s getting dark, but I feel like we’ve been here too long.”

“I hate to be the realist here, but what if we all go to sleep, and Cameron changes? Who’s to say we stopped the infection by cutting off his hand?” Jesse asks.

So far you see no signs of Cameron changing. If it was a variant that bit him, he would have surely had more symptoms by now.

Continue to scene 13