by Bale, Sarah
“You thought wrong.”
She obviously didn’t know what had happened in Texas, which was a good thing.
I asked, “Where’s Wyatt?”
An older man came from the building. His back was bowed and he relied on a cane to walk. And, not to be judgmental, but he looked meaner than a snake.
“Girls, get your asses back inside. You know you ain’t supposed to be out here without chaperones.”
Marianne’s face turned pink, but she did as the man said without another word to us. The other women followed her, heads bowed.
I said to Grey, “Dude! I want that kind of power.”
The man glared at us. “Women belong in the kitchen and should be silent and meek. You’ll do good to remember that.”
What was it with some men still having that mindset? You would think after the world fell apart men would realize that women were their equals. Even Elijah had treated women differently when I’d first met him. Luckily, he had learned from his mistakes.
Elijah stepped in front of me, putting me out of sight. “Where is Wyatt?”
“Wyatt’s dead.”
We were all silent. I don’t think any of us expected that.
The man went on, “I’m his cousin. Name’s Bobby.”
Elijah nodded his head once. “You in charge here, Bobby?”
“I am.”
“Then you’re the man we need to talk to. Wyatt took something that belonged to me and I’m here to get it back.”
Bobby snorted. “He always said you’d come back for revenge, if you didn’t die first. He’d be pissed to know he died a few weeks short of seeing his prophecy come true.”
I asked, “How did he die, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Bobby glanced at me. “Hunting accident.”
Funny. I would have guessed poisoning or murder.
Bobby went on, “One of our own men shot him. Said it was an accident, but there was a whore involved, so we can’t be sure.”
That sounded right.
Elijah said, “Sounds like he didn’t have very good control over his men.”
Bobby shrugged. “Guess he learned the same lesson that you did.”
“And that is?”
“That you can’t trust anyone. Not even your own men.” Bobby smiled. “But, we’re not here to talk about how easily my cousin took over your place, now are we?”
Elijah’s expression became neutral. “No. We’re not. We’re here to talk about you giving me my home back.”
Bobby replied, “Done. Now get the fuck out of here.”
Everyone was stunned.
Elijah asked, “What?”
Bobby waved his hand in the air. “I said you can have that shithole back. Now get out of here and don’t come back. We don’t want any beef with you and I expect the same in return.”
He turned and went inside, letting the door slam behind him.
Grey ran his fingers through his beard. “What in the fuck just happened?”
I replied, “I think he just gave us our home back.”
Elijah shook his head. “There has to be some kind of catch.”
The door opened and a boy, who was probably ten, came out with a shotgun in hand. It would be comical, except for he cocked the gun, aiming it at our group.
“My Pa said you have three minutes to get out of here before I get to use you for target practice.”
Grey asked, “Boy, do you know why your Pa said we could have our old home back?”
The boy nodded. “Pa says that place is cursed.”
He quickly made the sign of the cross, shotgun dropping.
Grey replied, “Seems legit. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
We left Bobby’s property. The drive was silent as we made our way back to the others. They were waiting as we got out of our vehicles.
Jo asked, “Well?”
Elijah shook his head in disbelief. “Wyatt’s dead. His cousin said we could have the hospital back.”
Kat asked, “Just like that?”
Grey went to her side, pulling her close to his body. “He was a superstitious hillbilly. Thinks the hospital is cursed.”
I said, “I just can’t believe he’s handing it over.”
Cooper sighed. “I hate to be that person in such a beautiful and yet creepy moment, but there’s probably a reason they’re just giving it to us. Like, it’s not even there anymore.”
I met Elijah’s gaze. I hadn’t thought of that.
Elijah inhaled. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough. If we leave now, we’ll get there by nightfall.”
Faith stepped forward. I noticed that her hand trembled as she pushed a piece of her hair from her face.
She said, “I won’t be going with you.”
Jo gasped. “Faith! You have to come! We’ve made it this far-”
“I’ve been bitten.”
Norm went to her side. “When?”
“Back at the army base.”
She met my gaze and I felt the blood drain from my face. It was the biter that had been in the nursery. She’d said I was being reckless. I just hadn’t put it together.
She held out her arm, pulling up the sleeve to her jacket. There was a bite mark on her wrist. The skin was inflamed and there were already black lines following her veins.
Elijah cursed. “Why didn’t you say anything? I could have cut your-”
“That’s not what I wanted.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I’m not meant for this world. You know it. I know it. It’s because of Jo and Norman that I made it this far.”
Jo wiped her own tears away. “That’s not true, Faith. We are all here because we helped each other out.”
Faith smiled. “It’s okay, Jo. I’ve made my peace. I just hope you can, too.” She turned to me. “You have to promise me something.”
I replied, “Anything.”
“You have to promise that you’re not going to blame yourself for this. It’s not your fault.”
It was hard to believe that.
“Daisy, promise me.”
I nodded. “I promise.”
“Good.” She exhaled loudly before turning to Elijah. “I’m sorry I won’t see the hospital.”
He said, “You could still come with us.”
“No. This is a good place to die.” She paused. “I do have a favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
She replied, “Leave me a gun.”
A sob worked its way up my throat, but I refused to let it out. I stepped forward and handed her my pistol.
“Thank you, Daisy.”
Elijah said, “One of us can stay behind with you.”
“No. I don’t want that.” She glanced up to the sky. “Better hurry if you want to get to the hospital while the sun’s still up.”
Norm and Jo said their goodbye’s to Faith. She smiled at me as I got into the car. Elijah put his hand over mine as we drove away. I’m not sure if it was my imagination, but I thought I heard a gun fire.
“You okay?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not.”
I’d lied to Faith back there. This was my fault. And I would have to live with that for the rest of my life. Elijah was silent, but squeezed my hand. Because when it came down to it he knew how I felt. Sometimes you just had to live with the guilt. That’s the world that we lived in now.
Six
DAISY
It was strange traveling back to the hospital. We passed the old house that Elijah had once used as a place to escape to when he needed time alone. The house was burned to the ground and the gardens no longer existed. Elijah met my gaze, frowning. I gave him a weak smile in return.
We turned down the road that would lead us home. Burned cars lined each side of the street and biters roamed aimlessly around.
“We’re going to have to clear the area out once we get situated,” I said.
It wouldn’t do to have this many of the Dead around. They would be drawn to the noise we’d make and then we
would be in trouble.
Elijah nodded. “Agreed.”
Finally, the gates came in sight. I don’t know what I had been expecting, but this wasn’t it. For a moment I thought this couldn’t be the same place. I knew it was, though, because I would recognize those gates anywhere. They had been beacons of hope when Elijah and his men had found me. Later, they had symbolized the death of a friend and the end of my safe home as we had fled. Now, they were barely hanging and ridden with bullet holes.
We parked so we could open gates. Everyone got out of their vehicles and looked around.
Norm asked, “You sure this place is worth it?”
He had never seen the hospital in its prime, so there was no way he could understand the potential.
Elijah nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
Grey clapped Elijah on the back. “I’m ready when you are, Boss.”
Elijah smiled and said, “Let’s do this. Cooper, you drive my car.”
Elijah and Grey pushed the gates open. One creaked and moaned, barely hanging on. They led the way to the next set of gates, which were as damaged as the first. The cars followed us.
Grey said, “This is an easy fix.”
We made our way through the second gate and they closed it behind us. The houses in the connecting addition still stood, though some looked like they had been burned.
Elijah said, “Let’s go to the hospital first. If it’s still standing then we can see if anyone has hung around.”
We walked up the road. Debris and litter lined the path. The grass grew high, almost to our waists. It appeared that no one had been around in a very long time. We turned the corner and stopped. There before us was our old home.
I took Elijah’s hand. “It’s still there. That’s a good sign.”
He nodded and moved forward. The building showed signs of damage, but the roof was still intact, minus a few of the Spanish tiles that had been shot out as we’d fled. I saw the exact spot that Elijah, Juan, and I had escaped from the roof and tears filled my eyes. That was one of the last moments I’d spent with Juan before he died.
The group parked the vehicles and everyone came to where we stood.
Jo put her arm around my shoulders. “You okay?”
I nodded, but couldn’t speak. If I did, I would cry and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to stop. And the last thing I wanted to do was worry Elijah and the others.
Elijah and Grey went around the building to make sure it was secure. I hated that he wouldn’t let us come with him, but I knew this was something he needed to do on his own.
Jo said, “I can see the potential here. It feels safe, even with the damage.”
I replied, “We thought it was safe before, but we were wrong.”
My tone was flat and I couldn’t help it. I only spoke the truth.
Kat shook her head. “You weren’t wrong, Daisy. This place is safe. It just needs a security boost.”
Cooper nodded. “If we build a guard tower like the one Theo did-” His voice wavered. “What I mean is there’s hope here.”
Kat hugged him, knowing how much he missed his lover. My one regret from leaving Texas was not making Theo come with us. But, he was stubborn and refused to leave.
I said, “You’re right. We can make this place better than it was before.”
“Damn straight,” Elijah said as he and Grey came up to us.
“Well?”
He replied, “Both barns are gone, but we suspected that when we fled. Fields still have potential for next spring. The cellar still had some dry goods and seed.”
I asked, “Did you see anyone?”
Grey answered, “There was a message painted on the side of the hospital. Said this place was cursed. Must have been enough to scare the folks who lived here away.”
Or they were dead.
Elijah must have sensed my train of thought. “None of that, Daisy. We can’t think like that. It’ll eat us alive if we do.”
He was right.
Norm asked, “So what do we do now?”
“First, we’ll go inside a scope things out. Hopefully some of the rooms are still livable.” Elijah paused. “While everyone is setting up here, Grey and I will check the housing addition.”
I said, “I don’t want you to go out there without backup.”
Grey put his hand to his chest. “You’ve wounded me, Daisy.”
“Wounded or not, it’s a bad idea. If you go, we all go.”
Kat nodded. “I’m with Daisy on this one.”
Grey protested, “But you’re pregnant.”
“And you’re the father of my child. Do you really think I’m going to let you go out there alone?”
Elijah said, “Fine. We’ll all go. Does everyone have a weapon?”
Cooper shook his head. “I’d be useless out there. I’ll stay here with Percy and watch our things.”
Elijah handed him a pistol. “I know you don’t like using them, but you need it on you.”
Jo stepped forward. “I’ll stay here with him.”
I didn’t blame her. She’d just lost her best friend. Because of me…
Elijah led the way back down the road to the housing additions. There used to be at least twenty homes that were livable. Now, there were maybe ten.
Grey said, “We can scout the burned homes tomorrow. Take what we can use and tear down the what we can’t.”
Elijah replied, “They can use the empty lots to garden in.”
He was holding out hope that there were still people around. By the looks of things, they were long gone. Grey went up to the first door, knocking. He waited a moment before rapping the door again. Nothing.
Elijah went to the next house. Again, nothing.
By the fifth house I could tell he was losing hope.
But then someone answered the door at the sixth house.
Elijah smiled. “Andrews! Damn good to see you.”
Andrews frowned, crossing his arms. “Can’t say the same about you.”
Ouch. That was harsh.
“Family still here?” Elijah asked, ignoring the dig.
Andrews replied, “What’s left of them. Lost the little one a few months ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Andrews shook his head. “I don’t want your apology. I want to know what in the fuck happened.”
Elijah squared his shoulders. I knew that his shoulder was probably throbbing in pain now, as it did most evenings. Wyatt and his men had been monsters when they tried to saw him arm off the first time. The second time had been just to toy with him. He was lucky that he was still able to use it.
Elijah replied, “I was hurt after the coup and fled.”
Andrews said, “I understand that. We all heard what happened. But what I want to know is why you didn’t come back.”
I stepped forward, unable to listen anymore. “He didn’t come back because I talked him into going to Texas.”
“Daisy-”
I said, “No, it’s the truth, Elijah. I know you would have come back here if I hadn’t asked you to go to Texas.” To Andrews I said, “He was in no condition to come back here and fight for his home, so I took him to mine.”
Andrews huffed. “Guessing that didn’t work out for you.”
I replied, “Your guess would be correct. We realized that this was our home and that we needed to come back.”
“Why are you telling me this? I don’t care.”
I said, “Because we’re going to make things right. Things will be better than they were before.”
Elijah nodded. “Andrews, I made a lot of mistakes before, but I’ve learned from them. If you stick around I promise you won’t regret it.”
Andrews stared at us, not saying anything. There was a noise behind him as a woman pushed around him.
“Stop being so stubborn headed and listen to what the man’s saying. He didn’t have to return here.”
Andrews glanced at the woman, love in his eyes. “Wife, I know that, but
I’m also not going to be fooled-”
She waved her hand. “Blah. Blah. We all know the old saying.”
I liked this woman already.
Elijah said to her, “Nancy, it’s nice to see you.”
She nodded. “You as well. Thought for sure they killed you.”
“Nope. Still alive and kicking.”
She slapped her husband’s chest. “Despite what he said, I want you to know that we’re glad you’re back. This place hasn’t been the same since you left.”
“I appreciate that. And, as I said to Andrews, I plan on doing things better this time around.”
“Good.”
Elijah said, “We’ve taken up enough of your time. We’re going to head back to the hospital, but we’ll be in touch.”
We stepped off the porch, but Andrews stopped Elijah.
Andrews said, “There’s something you should know before you decide if you’re going to stay here or not.”
Elijah asked, “What’s that?”
“This place isn’t what it used to be. People get sick at the drop of a hat. Nothing will grow. Even the animals die.”
Elijah rubbed his chin. “How long did this start after I left?”
Andrews replied, “Maybe a month or so?”
“Noted. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Andrews said, “I hope you can.” He paused. “You should also know that we’re the only ones who stayed behind. Everyone else left when people got sick.”
Elijah’s eyebrows rose. “Thank you for staying.”
“Don’t thank me. We were planning on leaving in a few days. Just needed to get over the loss of our little one.” He clamped his mouth shut as his eyes filled with tears.
I said, “We’re sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” With a nod, he closed his door, locking it.
We made our way to the hospital in silence.
Grey finally asked, “What do you think happened to make people ill?”
Elijah replied, “Could be a lot of things.”
I said, “It’s the water.”
They both looked at me in surprise.
“Think about it. If something is in the water, it would make people sick and kill plants and animals.”
Elijah said, “I hadn’t thought of that. I was thinking poison.”
I replied, “We both might be right. They could have poisoned the water.”