Darlings of Decay

by Chrissy Peebles

  I stomped off toward the backyard and the garden, the sudden urge to kill something leaving me only one option. Pulling weeds. Over my shoulder, I yelled. “The right time was the minute you figured it out.”

  I froze at the sight in front of me. Three deer stood in my garden neatly pruning every last shoot of a vegetable that had come up in the last week, their ability to jump the fence giving them the edge over the Nevermores who also wanted in. I wanted to cry, I wanted to yell and scream and throw things. I put Nero down, and as I did, I scooped up a rock, hurling it at the four-legged interlopers. I missed by an easy mile and had to settle for running at them full speed down a slight slope, Nero woofing and running full-tilt, which wasn’t any faster than me, and following them well into the open field. As they scattered, I slipped, tumbling the last of the way down, coming to rest on what had been my pea patch.

  “Mara, are you okay?” Sebastian lifted me gently to a sitting position. I nodded tucked my face into the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent, trying hard not to think about what was coming.

  “I’ll help you get ready, babe. I won’t leave you here without the things you’re going to need.”

  “That gives me little solace when I know that you won’t love me anymore,” I whispered.

  He was silent for so long that I wasn’t sure he heard me. It was the shuddering that started deep in his body that made me sit back. Tears streamed down his face, washing lines of dirt and grime away, leaving streaks of almost-clean skin.

  “I will always love you, no matter how far my mind goes, no matter what I become; my love for you will never change. I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else, Mara, and these last four years have been the best part of my whole life. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  At my raised eyebrow he conceded.

  “Well, maybe one thing.”

  He stroked my face with his hands and whispered against my lips, “I didn’t tell you enough how much I love you, didn’t always cherish you the way I should have, but I will always, always love you, no matter what comes.”

  He kissed me softly and I leaned into it. If this was all I had left with him, I would take every minute of it. My anger washed away in a wave of love so strong I thought my heart might burst. We clung to each other until the tide of emotion swelling around us receded and we could both breathe a little easier. I leaned back from him to stare into the face that I would love no matter what it looked like.

  “What are we waiting for then?” I pulled him to his feet.

  He cocked his head and stared at me.

  I winked and started to slide my shirt over my head. It took him a brief moment, then he was there helping me undress, as I helped him, and we made love in the garden. It wasn’t like we were going to be damaging the crops or anything. We took our time, savouring each touch, each kiss, as if they were our last, breaking up only when Nero came romping back, woofing and leaping at us as we held each other tight.

  11

  “I’m going, Mara. I have less than a week, a few days maybe, and it’s a window of opportunity we can’t let pass,” Sebastian said as he dressed. It was early, pre-dawn, and we’d been arguing about this subject most of the night.

  “Bastian, the Alpha male, if he catches you outside the gate he’ll attack you. Maybe he’ll even be able to turn the whole pack against you,” I said, shadowing my husband as he searched our closet for the extra knapsack.

  “That’s why I’m going so early, you know that Scout’s never been here before the sun is up. I’ll raid as many of the houses as I can. You need the food, and you can’t go. It’s like with Jessica, they won’t touch me, I’m one of them.”

  I snorted. “Nobody wants to get laid by you. That’s what they wanted from her, and you know that.”

  “Hey. That’s not nice, or true. I can think of at least one person who wants to get laid by me.” He bent and kissed me on the lips, the tingle not all due to our chemistry. Mostly now it was due to the drug I was so allergic to, rushing through his system.

  I followed him downstairs where he grabbed the flashlight, a hammer and the big kitchen knife. In the dim light he looked like a burglar, which was appropriate, considering what he was going to do.

  “Did you write me a list at least? I don’t want any complaints that you didn’t get everything you wanted.” He smiled at me, trying to ease the tension, I suppose.

  I let out a breath, knowing he was going to do this whether or not I wanted him to. I was losing the battle in large part because I knew he was right. I needed him to get food and supplies, and he needed to do this one last thing for me, to be my husband and knight in shining armour.

  I sat down and lit a candle so I could see enough to write. The list was simple, any preserves he could carry, batteries, feminine hygiene products, Benadryl or other allergy medicine—any medicine for that matter—bow and arrow set, garden seeds . . . I tapped the pencil against my teeth. What else was there?

  I shrugged. “I can’t think of anything else.”

  Sebastian took the list from me and tucked it into his pocket. “I don’t know how long I’ll be, babe, but try not to worry.” He bent and kissed me goodbye, patted Nero on the head, and then blew out the candle. As he left, the door clicking behind him, a sense of finality settled over me. This was it, in little more than a week I would truly be on my own. This was like a test run on what was about to be the rest of my life.

  I sat there till the sun rose, warming the room and forcing me to admit in the light of day that I was on my own.

  I cleaned the house, pulled weeds in the defunct garden, checked fences, pulled water from the well, picked rocks out of the lawn and small pasture, and washed the clothes by hand, hanging them to dry on a makeshift clothesline. By late afternoon, I had done a lot and was eyeing up the axe and woodpile. Sebastian was right. I was going to have to learn to do this on my own.

  Never having chopped wood in my entire life left me wondering if there was a technique or a method to the process. I scratched my head a moment, then pulled out a fir log that needed to be split, standing it up on end as I’d seen Sebastian do. Before my first swing I pulled the tennis ball I kept in my pocket out and threw it into the field for Nero. He blasted off after it and I had my chance to swing without fear of hitting my pup. I held the very end of the axe handle and gripped it like I would a baseball bat, then with one swing I brought it down, missing the log entirely and burying it into the dirt at my feet.

  Rough laughter reached my ears, and I spun to see Scout watching me, sitting at the gate. The dirty little bastard was laughing at my attempt. I flipped him off and he flapped his hands at me, as if egging me on. It was strange to see glimpses of a human personality inside what I viewed now as a large, predatory animal. They weren’t zombies and they weren’t mindless. They really did seem to act like a pack of wolves, hunting their food and sharing it amongst them. I’d even seen them eat shrubs and berries, though it didn’t seem to satisfy them any more than eating large amounts of meat. I let out a snort and tried again, this time giving the log a glancing blow. That’ll teach it. Yeah, right.

  I took a deep breath, stared at the log right where I wanted to hit it and brought the axe down for a third time. The axe bit into the center of the fir, dividing it cleanly in half. I dropped the axe in surprise and then did a dance around the two pieces. Again, laughter reached my ears, but I ignored Scout. This was a great moment, one I could be proud of. But with no one to share it with, it was more than a little bittersweet.

  I chopped a few more pieces, gaining proficiency until my hands began to hurt and blister, and then proceeded to stack the wood in with the rest, throwing the ball in between stacking to keep Nero busy. Washing up with the water I’d pulled out of the well earlier, I went inside as the summer sun set, the horizon sliding from bright blue to a faded purple with hints of pink. I caught a glimpse of myself in the hallway mirror, and I paused, really looking at myself. A few short weeks ago my life had been about ease
and getting pregnant and now, I looked like a . . . I didn’t even know what I looked like. I was deeply tanned, something I’d avoided the last few years, my hair had already lightened, the dark brunette getting a good dose of red highlights, and from the mirror it looked as if I’d lost fifteen or twenty pounds. My clothes hung off my frame, no longer fitting me, something I hadn’t noticed with all the chaos. Even my face had slimmed, my cheekbones becoming more prominent, the shape of my face more defined.

  I shook my head, what did it matter now? It wasn’t like we were going to have children or go on vacation somewhere warm where I could show off my body in a two-piece.

  Three glasses of water and leftovers from breakfast—cold oatmeal and half of what was my attempt to make pancakes the day before—was what made up my lunch. Yummy. Exhausted, I dropped onto the couch and fell asleep in minutes. But, not before I made sure my knife was tucked into the cushion beside me, and Nero was curled up behind my knees.

  I dreamed about Sebastian, that we were on our long-awaited honeymoon. There was a beautiful blue ocean, clear to the bottom. Maybe the Caribbean or somewhere in Hawaii—I didn’t know and didn’t care; he wasn’t sick. I could see that, even though he was down the beach from me, his skin was tanned and healthy, not a single yellow tinge on him.

  I looked down at myself in, hell yeah, a two-piece and a white gauzy sarong around my now-slim hips, the kind the super models wear on a beach shoot. I looked up and Sebastian was gone.

  “Bastian?” I said, my voice eaten up by the waves and the sound of the crashing surf.

  “I’m here, babe.” He was behind me, his arms circling around my waist.

  I leaned into him. “I thought you were gone.”

  He kissed my temple and let go of me, I spun in the wet sand, but he was already down the beach, walking slowly, bending every now and then to pick up something from the sand. I laughed and ran toward him, sprinting to cover the short distance. But no matter how hard I ran, no matter that he was only walking, I couldn’t catch him.

  “Sebastian, wait for me,” I yelled, out of breath and no longer feeling so sexy.

  He didn’t turn back, just kept on walking as if he couldn’t hear me, his broad back quickly disappearing into the distance.

  “Sebastian!” I threw myself out of the dream and off the couch, thumping hard on the wooden floorboards, Nero waking up with a snort.

  Footsteps pattered on the porch out front, multiple feet running. Shit, shit, shit. I gulped down a breath and slid to the window, peeking up over the sill. There were four of them and one of me. This was not good, not good at all.

  12

  What felt like an eternity passing, yet was probably only ten seconds, I tried to come up with a plan. The doors weren’t locked and the Nevermores didn’t seem to have the fine motor skills it would take to work the handle. But I had no doubt they would break glass trying to get at me.

  “Thought you said there were people here.”

  The man’s voice startled me, and I nearly popped up and waved at what I realized with great relief were humans, not Nevermores. A tingle in my stomach held me to the ground though, waiting, Nero let out a low growl and I clamped my hand over his nose. “Shh.”

  “I saw the bitch in my binoculars, she’s here somewhere. The big guy left this morning.”

  A second man with a deeper tone spoke. “Come on, let’s get inside, that one at the front gate is staring at me and it’s creeping the bejeesus out of me.”

  “Fine, you pansy.”

  I slithered along the floor and crawled over the couch to hide behind it, the gap just large enough for me to fit. Nero wiggled in beside me. No doubt he thought this was a new game.

  As I slid into my hiding place, the front door creaked open.

  “Honey, I’m home!” They all laughed.,

  I hugged my blade to my chest. I was trapped. As soon as they started looking, I had no doubt they’d find me, at least the Nevermores would have just tried to kill me. I wasn’t fooling myself about what these men were after.

  Footsteps drew closer and I tensed. A body flopped onto the couch and the rank smell of sweat and blood assaulted my nose. Nero started to growl, his wicked sharp puppy teeth showing under a curled up lip. I put my hand over his nose again and he quieted.

  “Marty, go see if there’s any food in the joint—and make it snappy, I’m famished. Den, you go upstairs and find us our lady friend, and remember, I get first dibs,” the one with the deeper voice, the one on the couch, said.

  Footsteps and grumbles receded and the leader leaned back resting his head on the well-padded cushions. He let out a fart, a belch, and then another fart, settling himself deeper into his seat.

  I pinched my nose, the smell was worse than the pig farm I’d visited last year. I held my breath, and then resorted to breathing through my t-shirt till the worst of it passed.

  “Hurry up, boys, I’m getting mighty hungry for dinner and desert. Luscious sweet pie.” He laughed.

  I crouched. I had a chance if I could catch them off guard, and if Scout was still at the gate, maybe I could use him. A plan started to form, and I knew I would have to act fast and use the element of surprise if it was going to work.

  I stared up at the longish hair hanging over the back of the couch. Before I thought better of it, I stood, grabbed a handful of the greasy mop, and placed the blade of my knife up against the leader’s neck.

  “I wouldn’t move or say a word unless I tell you. Got it?” I hissed at him, adrenaline pumping, nerves jangling like a trip wire.

  He swallowed and his Adam’s Apple bobbed against the knife.

  “Very slowly get up. Nothing tricky or I’ll slam this into you.” I leaned forward the same time he did, coming over the back of the couch without losing my grip on him or the knife. I had no intention of actually cutting him; I just wanted to get him close enough to the gate for Scout to grab him. After that, well, it was going to be dicey, but I thought it would work.

  “Hey boss, found some . . . son of a bitch!” The one I surmised was Marty stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, his hands full of our canned food that was left, his mouth hanging open.

  “Don’t just stand there, do something,” Leader Boy said.

  I yanked his hair, pulling him back toward the front door, glancing at the floor. Thanks be that Nero was a loyal pup; right at my feet, heeling as if he’d already been trained.

  I laughed. “Really, you think that’s a good idea?”

  Marty dropped the canned food. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Good question,” I said. “Follow us outside, nice and slow like.”

  More footsteps and Den joined his buddies. I shook my head at him as he reached for his belt and what I assumed was a weapon.

  “Don’t,” I said. He dropped his hand and I tightened my hand on the knife.

  I inched us out the door backwards, drunk on adrenaline. That’s my excuse, anyway, for forgetting the fourth man.

  Something hit me from behind, my shoulders and upper back taking the brunt of the blow, but it didn’t make me let go. I instinctively tightened my grip, but as I stumbled backwards, the blade pulled through the leader’s neck with a clean slice and a low gurgle. I didn’t have time to react to the fact that I’d just killed a second man in less than a month.

  I wobbled a few feet away, the stunned silence from the other men giving me only split second to make my next move. No doubt, the men still standing couldn’t believe what had happened anymore than I could, and it took them a moment to recover. I spun and ran, blade still in my hands, dripping blood, Nero right beside me.

  “Get her!”

  I don’t know which one of them yelled it; doesn’t matter, not with what happened next.

  I ran to the gate where Scout crouched in the shadows, his eyes glittering at me as I sprinted toward him. The three men were closing in on me, fingertips brushing the back of my shirt as I panted for air, hoping for enough oxygen to m
ake the desperate jump and climb over the metal gate. As I drew close Nero veered off, running to the garden, his fear of the gate the only thing that would drive him from my side.

  The gate was cold and I struggled to get my hands on it, the bunches of metal grapes and leaves biting into my flesh. I managed to get half way over before the closest man grabbed my ankle. I pulled hard and tumbled to the ground on the other side of the fence, knocking the wind out of me. Even so, I made myself get to my feet and jogged to the center of the road, the three men following me over the gate, cocky and swaggering as if they knew something I didn’t.

  They had their backs to Scout, but I could still see him and I gave him a slow nod. His eyes widened and then a grin spread across his face. With a blur of speed, he hamstrung two of the men with his bare teeth before they knew what hit them. They fell screaming, the sound echoing around us. It wouldn’t be long before the pack showed up for this banquet. The last man standing half-turned to see what had happened, and I rushed him. With a swift move, Scout took him down, snapping his neck in one clean twist.

  Marty rolled on the ground. “Bitch!” Scout jumped on his chest, ripping at his neck, blood spurting every which way. I gagged at the smell and sight, and forced myself to unfreeze my legs and move. I was shocked by what I’d done, essentially leading the men into the lion’s den. Finally, my semi-paralysis broke and I jogged to the gate, deliberately not looking at what Scout was doing as he sniffed around the flailing body of the one man that still lived.

  “Help me,” he yelled, reaching for me. I avoided his fingers and put my hands on the cold metal piping that made up the gate.

  As I climbed back over to my side, I turned back in time to see the pack emerge from the bush around us.

  I walked slowly back to the house, the screams of the final man only lasting a brief moment before they were cut off. This was a moment I wasn’t proud of. I was horrified deep within that I could essentially kill four men and feel nothing. No, that wasn’t true. I didn’t want to do it, but the world was now literally dog-eat-dog, and I would go down fighting every time.