Diana’s heart melted. She couldn’t imagine the journey the young girl was about to embark upon. Didn’t want to imagine. The boys would have it bad enough, recruited into an evil creed where they would be indoctrinated and made to do bad things in the name of God, but the girls… no one knew what happened to the girls.
She pulled the terrified teenager into her arms.
“Be strong, Sarah. Stand with me.”
They were all gathered within a few minutes and turned to watch the gate. They heard the clop, clop of the horse’s hooves well before the first Brothers came into view. Diana took a deep breath and walked to meet them.
The man leading them was hard-faced and muscled beneath the black habit he wore, but not much older than her. She stopped and waited.
His brown eyes locked onto hers as they approached, and she held his gaze bravely. When the distance between them was about ten feet, he held his hand up and the small procession stopped.
“Diana of Willatan Green?” he asked.
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
He smiled beatifically.
“Peace be upon you,” he intoned. “We, the Brotherhood, are here to collect your contribution, is it ready as agreed?”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“We are also to collect two new recruits and an Eve. Are they ready?”
“Yes, Senior Brother,” she said and gestured to the three ‘recruits’.
“Good. Stand aside as we bring the horses forward.”
He waved his staff. The two novices shuffled forward, pulling the horses after them. Diana moved to the edge of the road and stood next to Tommy, Jacob and the weeping Sarah.
Diana’s hand slipped into her brother’s, knowing that shortly he would be whisked away, perhaps never to be seen again.
All of the Brothers except Jarryd chipped in to load the carts and within ten minutes they were done, the salted meat the last to go on.
“We’re all done Senior Brother,” said a tall and handsome Brother.
“Thank you, Brother Taylor. You may do your checks.”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
Taylor gestured for the other Brothers to follow him and they went through the houses one by one. Brother Jarryd ignored them and petted the two horses as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Diana had the feeling he was, in fact, taking in a whole lot more than he let on.
Diana turned to look at Tommy. He was pale and sweating profusely. She squeezed his hand supportively. The poor kid looked like he was going to faint from nerves. His friend Jacob appeared to be faring better.
The Brothers finished their search after about ten minutes and returned to where Senior Brother Jarryd waited.
“Yes, Brother Taylor?”
“All is well, Senior Brother. They’ve given us half their grain and vegetables and more than half their salted meat.”
“Excellent. Diana, the Lord smiles upon you. Brother Gerard, Brother Mark, gather the new recruits.”
Diana stepped aside as the two Brothers approached. The older one, Gerard, smiled reassuringly. His arms were open in welcome, as he walked over to the three recruits.
“May peace be…”
Gerard was still smiling when the bullet struck him in the forehead and blew out the back of his head. Still smiling even as he fell back onto the asphalt.
Diana clapped her hands over her ringing ears as screams of shock erupted from her people. Time slowed. She turned in horror as the smoking Glock in Tommy’s hand turned towards Brother Mark who, frozen in shock, was staring down at his dead comrade, trying to make sense of what had happened.
“Nooo...!” Diana screamed.
Tommy’s second shot went wide, his aim thrown off by the wooden staff that whistled through the air and struck him on the wrist. Diana turned and saw the now weaponless Senior Brother hurtling towards her brother, snatching the staff of a shocked novice as he came.
Tommy swore but didn’t drop the gun. He raised the gun again and squeezed off a second shot. The dumbfounded Brother Mark crumpled to the ground next to his dead friend, a red flower blooming on his chest.
Acting instinctively, Diana stepped in front of the Senior Brother and crouched. It was a perfect block. The Brother fell heavily over her, struggling to escape her desperate grapple. He did so in a few seconds, tipping her off him with superior strength and two well placed punches to the ribs.
He began to rise, only stopping when he felt the cold muzzle of the gun against his head.
“Tommy don’t!”
“Why shouldn’t I, huh?” said Tommy, looking at Diana, tears streaming down his face. “I won’t let them fucking take me.”
“No, you’re right. We won’t let them. You showed ‘em good. Now stand back and let us up.”
For a second, she thought Tommy would still shoot the Senior Brother but then he took two steps back, his gun still trained on Jarryd. The surviving Brothers stood with staffs in hand. Except for Taylor, they looked confused and frightened.
Senior Brother Jarryd grimaced as if in pain. He rose slowly, using his staff as leverage, and slumped against the stout hickory before offering his hand to the woman. Diana ignored the proffered hand and stood up, brushing the dust off her arms.
She looked at Tommy and her shoulders slumped.
“You idiot,” she hissed. “What were you thinking?”
The boy shrugged, not taking his eyes off the man next to her.
Diana turned to Senior Brother Jarryd.
“I’m sorry, that wasn’t meant to happen. I think you should go.”
He looked at her, his face pitying as he leaned drunkenly.
“I understand,” he said. “The flame of youth and all? You didn’t plan this, I can see that.”
“No,” she said, relieved that he was being so reasonable. “I forgot about the gun, I was…”
Jarryd struck before she finished her sentence. With a speed that defied the eye, he uncoiled and swung the staff, cracking it over Tommy’s gun hand. The second blow caved in his skull before the gun had even hit the ground.
Tommy’s eyes were vacant, and the top of his head was now concave like a boiled egg hit with the flat of a teaspoon. His legs kept him upright for a few moments, then folded under him. He fell to the ground, unmoving.
No one moved for a few seconds, then the screaming started up again. Diana’s mouth fell open and moaned in horror as she fell to her knees beside her dead brother, gathering him into her arms.
“No, no, no…”
“Kill them all,” Senior Brother Jarryd snarled at what was left of his team, throwing the borrowed staff back to its owner. “Leave none alive, not even a baby.”
He walked to the staff he had thrown and picked it up. As he started to turn, ready to smash the grieving woman’s head in, something struck him hard in the shoulder. The pain was blinding and knocked him to his knees. A fist-sized rock clattered to rest a few feet away.
It was followed immediately by an angry roar.
God, spare me. What now?
Jarryd groaned and climbed back to his feet, his shoulder screaming hot agony. He turned in time to see a big, red haired man bury an axe in the skull of one of the novices. In shock, the other novice, Damien, and Brother Taylor, fell back and faced this new threat.
The intruder, unable to pull his axe free, let the novice’s body drop and raised his arms ready to fight – his glinting hook hand a dangerous question mark in the late afternoon light.
Behind him the crowd began to scream. Not in fear, but rage.
“Kill the bastards, Luke!” “Kill ‘em Luke!”
Those screams, even more than their depleted numbers, a capable foe and a gun still in play, told Jarryd the situation was beyond him. With staffs as their only weapons, they never had the numbers if it came to a fight, but until then, they hadn’t needed numbers.
They had intimidation and fear on their side.
Now, the crowd’s fear had turned to anger and, as much as he wo
uld like to test himself against the big man, he was not willing to be torn to pieces by a crowd of women and children afterwards.
Right on cue, the one-handed man ducked under Damien’s staff and with his wicked hook, opened his throat like a sack of rice, neatly grabbing the hickory staff as the dying man fell.
Jarryd stared furiously for a few seconds. It could only be the same man who caused the ruckus at Old Orchard Beach the day before. He committed the bastard’s face to memory before turning and stepping past the oblivious woman, still cradling her dead brat of a brother.
Diana had closed her eyes as Jarryd loomed over her. She held the limp body of Tommy and sobbed into his neck as she waited for her own life to end.
It didn’t.
Why the hell didn’t he just get it over with?
Slowly she realized that the screams of her people had morphed from despair to something else entirely.
She opened her eyes when she heard someone call ‘Luke’.
Senior Brother Jarryd was nowhere to be seen.
The hard clacking of wood on wood turned her attention back to the road. Her people had gathered like kids in a schoolyard watching two of their peers duking it out. She eased herself out from under Tommy and took off her jacket. She brushed his staring eyes closed and gently lay the jacket over his head.
Diana picked up the gun he had dropped and got to her feet, her mouth a hard line.
She squeezed through her people until she stood at the rim of the roughly circular area they had cleared to watch the two men fight.
Her people roared appreciation every time Luke struck a blow, and groaned when he took one. The two men were evenly matched; Luke’s size and brute strength matched by Brother Taylor’s skill, and ability wield to his staff two handed. The furious swings and clashing of the staffs didn’t look like it was ending anytime soon.
Having seen the damage the hook had done to his erstwhile travelling companion, the remaining brother danced and dodged to stay out of reach. Both men were breathing heavily with exertion, Luke sporting a purple welt on his cheek. With a long one-handed swing, he hit Taylor with a heavy knock to the jaw.
The Brother stumbled back, dazed, glancing around and frantically looking for his leader as the crowd roared for blood.
Someone started to chant.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
Soon the whole crowd took it up.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
Luke closed in.
BANG!
The crowd squealed, and both men ducked, forgetting about each other for the moment. Diana strode into the space between them and faced Brother Taylor, pointing the Glock at his forehead.
“Your leader pissed off and left you all alone. It’s over, so just fucking drop it!”
The brother looked at her, mistrust evident on his face.
“If I wanted to shoot you, you’d already be face down on the road. Now, drop it.”
Without taking his eyes off the woman he let the staff clatter to the road. Luke relaxed and leaned on his staff. Diana had this well in hand.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll ask the questions. What’s your name?”
“Brother Taylor.”
“Do you believe in God, Brother Taylor?”
“Yes Ma’am, of course.”
“Good, so do I. That’s the other reason you’re not dead. Now, you take your sorry ass and get the hell out of our town.”
Taylor nodded, the relief on his face obvious. He pointed at the staff.
“May I take my…”
“I said go!” yelled Diana taking another step toward him.
He put his hands up.
“Okay, okay.” He turned in the direction of the gate and began walking. “You fight well for a cripple,” he said to Luke as he passed.
Not sure if that was an insult or a not, Luke took it that way.
“You fight well for a coward,” he returned.
“Taylor?” called Diana, before he’d walked twenty feet.
The brother paused and turned.
“Tell your people not to come back to Willatan Green, or there’ll be more than four lying on the ground next time.”
He shook his head, a look of pity on his face.
“You signed your death warrant today, but I’ll be sure to pass on your message.”
Without another word he turned and went on his way.
They watched him head towards the gate.
“Jacob?” she said over her shoulder. The kid came forward, clearly in shock at the death of his best friend. She handed him the pistol. “Follow him and make sure he leaves.”
She turned then and walked over to Luke.
“You came back?” Diana said, expressionlessly.
Luke looked past her at the crumpled body of Tommy, then back to her. Her eyes filled with tears. He came closer and put a hand on her arm
“I wasn’t going to, I actually passed by a few hours ago but it got the better of me. I doubled back. I thought it wouldn’t hurt if I just watched from the trees until they left. That’s when I heard the gunshot.”
She nodded.
“Tommy. Stupid idiot,” her voice hitched. “Nearly got all of us killed.” She pointed vaguely in the direction of the gate. “He’s right. They’ll be back to massacre us. They would have done it today if you hadn’t showed.”
She turned and walked back to her brother’s body. Luke followed her.
“It’s not going to happen,” he said. “We’ll talk about it after we bury the dead.”
She spat on the ground.
“Tommy only. No way am I burying these scumbags. Jacob, Cathy, gather up some people and drag these sons of bitches outside the gate. Drop ‘em in the grass. Let them rot where they lay so the others can see them when they come back.”
“Where do you want me to put Tommy?” Luke asked, moving in beside her.
“Momma!”
Diana wiped tears from her eyes as her son Samuel ran up to her, crying. Cathy had been doing her best to hold him back with the other younger kids.
“The church. We’ll bury him tomorrow, next to Steve.”
She fell to her knees as Samuel rushed into her arms, both of them crying over the loss of Tommy.
24
Brother Taylor was confused, hurt and betrayed.
The man he had looked up to for years had left him to die and Taylor didn’t know how to deal with it. He would never have left Jarryd like that. He would have fought to the last breath for him.
Taylor didn’t look back at Willatan Green after he had passed through the gate. No, best to look forward. He wanted to talk to Jarryd. To give him a chance to explain what appeared to be an act of pure cowardice. First though, he had to get home safely, then worry about the rest later.
He was unarmed, alone and bruised, but very determined.
He paused after ten minutes of walking and went into the trees by the side of the road. It only took a minute to find what he was looking for. He stripped the sturdy fallen branch of twigs and swung it through the air experimentally.
Satisfied and not feeling quite so vulnerable, he set out again. The rudimentary staff wouldn’t do in a fight, but it might just help him fend off a wild animal if he had to.
***
Luke helped as best he could that evening. It was a rough night, very emotional, and he found it hard to sleep when he finally put his head down. When he woke the following day, he didn’t feel refreshed at all but got stuck in to work with the rest of them.
By his estimation they only had two days, three at the most, before the Brotherhood returned with a bigger, better-equipped force.
They buried Tommy in the morning and had a small ceremony, which was basically Diana saying the Lord’s Prayer over his freshly dug grave. It was raw and painful and Luke, who had thought himself all cried out over Brooke and the baby, found himself weeping along with the rest of them.
They had a feast in honor of Tommy afterwards. It eased thi
ngs a little, with people telling anecdotes about him and having some laughs. Cathy produced half a bottle of whiskey from nowhere and the adults shared it. Hoping Diana’s pain was now dulled a little, Luke finally worked up the courage to go and speak to her about their plans.
Apparently, it wasn’t a conversation she was ready to have, and she bustled away when he approached.
“I think we’ll unload the carts, tomorrow,” she said. “I need to lay down.”
Luke watched her head inside. He understood her wanting to be alone. Grief did that to you, but he also had the feeling she was trying to avoid talking about their next steps.
Luke took a walk. They had unhitched the horses the night before and led them out to graze in a part of the subdivision where more lots had been pegged out, back before the end of the world… before the happiest little community in Maine could be finished.
He spent a bit of time patting and talking to them, enjoying some alone time himself.
***
Taylor whistled an old song as he walked. He’d forgotten its title, but knew an English guy called Ed Sheeran had sung it. He’d really liked that guy’s songs and wondered briefly what happened to him when the Pyongyang Flu had swept across America.
Maybe he’d been back in England when it all went down? And who knew what happened over there. Maybe he was alive and still making music somewhere. The thought that the rest of the world had carried on while they suffered wasn’t comforting at all. It was depressing. He didn’t believe it though. If the rest of the world had been unchanged, surely somebody would have come to their aid by now.
At least to the East Coast. They would…
“Brother Taylor.”
Taylor froze. He didn’t see Senior Brother Jarryd until he moved, a darker shadow among the shadows in the trees to his right.
The older man approached. A smile on his face. His arms open.
“I’m so glad you’re alive.”
When he left Willatan Green, Taylor had been keen to talk to his mentor. To ask him why. When he saw him though, anger flooded him. He had been left to die. There was no explanation Jarryd could give that would satisfy. He stiffened as the Senior Brother’s arms encircled him.
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