Dead South Series (Book 1): Dead South

by Bohannon, Zach

  One of the men with Brooke, a younger guy in his twenties, laughed. Jon drew his pistol and pointed it at the guy’s head.

  “What’s funny?”

  “Whoa,” the young guy said, raising his hands. “What the fuck, dude?”

  Brooke stepped between her companion and the gun, again staring into Jon’s eyes. “Put the gun down. Please.”

  Jon looked at her for a moment before lowering the gun and returning it to its holster again.

  “Jesus Christ,” the young guy said, glancing at the man standing next to him. “You believe this shit, Terrence? Why are we even—”

  “Shut up, Max,” Brooke said. “This man just lost his house. Cut him some slack.”

  “Yeah, no shit,” Terrence said to Max.

  Max scoffed, then put his hands up again as he turned around and walked away. Heading back down the driveway, he cursed under his breath.

  “Sorry, man,” Terrence said. “He’s basically still a damn kid.”

  “It’s okay,” Jon said.

  “He was laughing because what you said is crazy,” Brooke said.

  “They’ve got like a mini-army at that place,” Terrence said. “They’ll tear you to fuckin’ pieces if you go storming in there like the Punisher or some shit.”

  “I just need to find one man,” Jon said.

  “Yeah, and what does he look like?” Brooke asked.

  Jon looked back at her for a moment before sighing and bowing his head to avert her gaze. He put his hands on his hips and observed his cabin, which continued to burn.

  “I don’t have much purpose anymore,” he said. “That son of a bitch destroyed all that I had left.”

  “We all have a purpose,” Brooke said. “Houses can be rebuilt, and so can our lives, even if they feel like they’ve been burned to the ground.”

  Jon glanced at her for a moment before staring off again.

  “Come back with us,” Brooke said. “We’ve got a car down in the street we drove here. You can follow us. At least you’ll have a place to stay for the night. You can get some rest tonight, and we’ll tell you what we know about the Vultures in the morning.”

  What choice did he have? Jon had wanted to remain a nomad, but he had nowhere else to go. And, worst case, he would have a place to sleep that night and could get some information about the bastards who’d burned down his cabin.

  He nodded. “Let’s go. I’ll follow you.”

  Jon had started to go to his bike when Brooke put her hands up.

  “Hold on, I think before we up and out of here that I’d like to know your name.”

  Jon paused. “Right. It’s Jon. Jon South.”

  She stuck out her hand and Jon shook it. Smiling, Brooke said, “Good to finally meet you, Jon South.”

  They arrived at Hope’s Dawn ten minutes later. He stopped behind the vehicle when they arrived at the gate. Brooke stuck her head out the window.

  “Jess, it’s us,” Brooke said to the woman guarding the gate. “Open up. And we’ve got someone with us.”

  Jess, the guard, pulled the sliding chain-link gate open, and Terrence pulled forward through it. Jon followed.

  The gate shut behind them, and Terrence pulled the car into the grass on his left next to a box truck. Jon parked his bike beside the car, turning off the loud engine and then dismounting. Brooke was the first of the three to get out of the car, and she walked over to Jon.

  Before she could say anything, Max got out of the back seat and slammed the door. He stared at Jon as he marched away towards a cluster of tents.

  Jon scoffed. “He’s sure got something up his ass.”

  “He’s just young,” Brooke said. “He didn’t understand the world before, and now that the world is gone, he’s really lost.”

  “Not sure any of us really understand the world.”

  Brooke nodded. “Come on. I’ll show you where you can sleep for the night. You can leave your bike here. It’ll be safe.”

  She started down the middle of the dirt path. They had built the camp in a rural area, away from the area’s main road. There were a total of four homes, all of them duplexes. The first settlers had taken those homes, but as the camp grew in population, others began living in tents outside. Brooke stopped in front of a tent sitting in the corner of one of the yards. She turned to face him and gestured toward the tent.

  “It’s not a five-star hotel, but it’s a place to rest your head.”

  Pulling back the opening, Brooke went into the tent and held it open for Jon.

  The tent had plenty of room for Jon to move around in. There was even a little table with a candle and a box of matches sitting next to it. The bed was simply a bedroll on the ground, complete with a thin pillow that had seen better days.

  Brooke shrugged. “Like I said, it’s a place to sleep.”

  “It’s fine,” Jon said. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. If you decide to stay, we should be able to—”

  “I won’t be staying long.”

  “Okay,” Brooke muttered after a brief moment of silence.

  “Tomorrow, I’ll go out and try to find myself a new place to live. It shouldn’t take me more than a day or two.”

  “Well, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want. You need to know that.”

  “You don’t want me around, but I appreciate it. All I would do is bring trouble to your camp.”

  Brooke nodded. “If you need anything, I stay in the left side of the house across the street. The number is 114.”

  “Thanks. I just plan on getting some sleep. Long night.”

  Brooke nodded again and opened the tent entrance. She walked halfway out before turning around to face him again.

  “You know, Jon... the people here could use change. Sometimes change means trouble, and that’s just the way it is. Something for you to keep in mind.”

  Jon stared at her, unsure of what to say in response. He pursed his lips and decided to say nothing as she disappeared outside.

  19

  Jon sat by his bike with the tools at his side, the morning breeze cooling his face. He used the wrench to tighten the last bolt before swapping the tool for a rag. He then used the rag to wipe down his bike, cleaning away dirt and dust.

  No one had bothered him, leaving Jon to work on his bike in peace. That was why he’d woken up so early. But when he glanced around, he saw people staring at him. Most of them pretended to be doing something else, but didn’t do a good job of hiding that they were gawking. In a region as rural as this one, Jon doubted that the camp got many visitors or new residents. He let them look, ignoring them as he continued to clean his bike.

  When he finished touching her up, Jon mounted the bike. He cranked it, the motor coming to life as he revved it up a few times. Then he shut it off, sitting on the bike for a few moments and staring forward.

  “That won’t wake anyone up.”

  Jon turned to see Brooke approaching. She had her hair up in a ponytail as usual, but the morning sun shined on her face, illuminating it in a way that Jon hadn’t noticed before. The woman was beautiful, but it was if he was seeing that for the first time. He shrugged off the thought, his eyes shifting to the plate in her hand.

  “Brought you something to eat.”

  On the plate was a hard-boiled egg, some lettuce, and a small potato.

  Brooke smiled. “What? It’s not like I poisoned it.” She extended the plate closer to him.

  Jon laughed and got off the bike. He accepted the plate and thanked Brooke for bringing it to him, which she acknowledged with a nod. He used the fork to eat some of the lettuce first, enjoying the satisfying crunch.

  “Where did you get this?” he asked.

  Brooke pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “We’ve got ourselves a little farm at the back of the camp. There’s a vegetable garden and a chicken coop. We grow as much as we can. Luckily, potatoes and lettuce are pretty easy. We get some good carrots, too, when the season is right. We even had a goat at one
point, though only for a couple of weeks. Damn, I miss the milk.”

  “What happened to it?”

  Brooke frowned. “The Vultures took it. We knew that would happen, but it was nice to have her while she lasted.”

  Jon wanted to pry, but he instead picked up his hard-boiled egg and ate half of it.

  “I see you found where we keep the tools,” Brooke said, changing the subject.

  “Yeah, I hope Mouse won’t mind I got these out of his garage.”

  “It’s fine. When we bring someone into our camp, we allow them to treat it like it’s their home, whether they decide to stay or not.”

  “I’ll put them back after I’m finished with this. I just wanted to double-check the repair I made yesterday, considering I made it under the light of my cabin on fire.”

  “Look, I didn’t really get to say this last night, but I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

  “You didn’t burn it to the ground. It’s not your fault.”

  “But I’m still sorry.”

  Jon scoffed. “There’s no time to be sorry in this world.”

  Brooke crossed her arms. “Do you really think it has to be like that? People are still capable of being empathetic.”

  “Yeah, well, go tell that to the guys who stole your goat. Who burned my cabin to the ground. Ask them what they think about empathy.”

  Brooke raised her chin and shook her head. “I never said anyone there has empathy.”

  Jon ate the rest of his egg and then wiped the corner of his mouth. “Tell me where ‘there’ is, and I’ll go take care of it.”

  “You don’t understand, you can’t—”

  “Mommy!”

  Jon looked past Brooke to see a little boy around the age of seven running toward her. Brooke turned to face him, kneeling down and hugging the child.

  “You were sleeping so hard, sweetie,” Brooke said. “I didn’t want to wake you!”

  “Some loud noise woke me up,” the boy said. “It sounded like someone was about to drive a truck through our house.”

  “That was just this gentleman’s motorcycle.” Brooke looked over his shoulder and smiled at Jon.

  Jon scratched his head. “Sorry about that, kid.”

  “Lucas, Mommy wants you to meet someone.” Brooke took her son’s hand and faced Jon. “This is Mr. Jon. He came into the camp last night. Jon, this is my son, Lucas.”

  “Hi, Lucas. Nice to meet you.”

  “Don’t you know you’re supposed to shake someone’s hand when you meet them?”

  “Lucas,” Brooke said, squeezing her son’s hand. “Don’t be rude.”

  “It’s fine,” Jon said, smiling and looking down at the boy. “I’ve got all this grease on my hands is all. Wasn’t trying to be rude.”

  “Everyone around here has dirty hands,” the child said.

  Jon laughed. “Well, alright, then.” He stuck out his hand, and the young boy shook it firmly. “Quite the grip you’ve got on you.”

  Brooke rubbed Lucas’ hair. “He’s a tough kid. Not sure where he gets it from.”

  “I think it’s pretty obvious where he gets it from.”

  Brooke smiled, averting Jon’s gaze. Her cheeks blushed. Jon had said the words without realizing how they could be received, and he wanted to take them back, but that would only make things more awkward. Instead, he stood silent.

  “Lucas, sweetie, can you give me and Mr. Jon a few minutes to talk? Why don’t you go see if Miss Jessica needs any help with the dishes?”

  “Okay,” Lucas said. “But then I want you to come color with me.”

  Brooke grinned. “Promise.” She leaned down and kissed her son on the forehead.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Jon,” Lucas said.

  “You, too, Lucas.”

  The boy hurried away, and Brooke watched him for a moment before facing Jon again.

  “Sweet kid,” Jon said.

  “He’s my world. Honestly, he’s the only real reason I haven’t left here. It’s hard living under the Vultures, but I just can’t risk going out and trying to find something else, having Lucas with me. I’m all he’s got, and I think that, most days, he’s all that keeps me going.”

  Those words bounced around in Jon’s head precisely because he had nothing keeping him going. His family was gone, and he had no other purpose in this world. It was why he’d spent most of his days out bashing the heads of zombies lately, unable to admit to himself that he’d be better off if he lost to them one of these times.

  “Please reconsider racing out of here,” Brooke said. “At least wait and let me introduce you to a few people I think you should meet. We’ll tell you what we know about the Vultures, and you can make your own decision from there. But at least let us warn you first.”

  Jon considered the request, thinking about how the people from the camp had saved him twice now. Though too stubborn to admit it out loud, he figured he at least owed them an audience.

  “Alright,” he said. “Get them together, and I’ll finish up here and return these tools.”

  “Great.” Brooke smiled. “I’ll gather them, and you can meet us at 118 in twenty minutes.”

  Jon nodded. “I’ll be there.”

  20

  Jon walked through the settlement feeling the eyeballs on him. A couple of dozen people outside watched him, though many still tried to make it look like they weren’t. Jon glanced to his right, making eye contact with a woman and her son standing in front of a tent. A split second after he looked their way, the woman put her arm around her son and retreated inside the tent.

  After that, he kept his eyes forward until he got to house number 118. Brooke approached the storm door and opened it as Jon stepped up onto the patio.

  “Come on in.”

  Jon nodded.

  When he entered, two men stood up from a sofa in the living room. One was probably in his mid-50s with a head of gray hair. The other was a Hispanic guy who appeared to be around Jon’s age.

  “You must be Jon,” the gray-haired man said. “I’m Garrett.”

  Jon shook Garrett’s hand and then turned to the other man.

  “Hola, amigo. My name’s Hugo.”

  “Good to meet you, Hugo. Garrett.”

  “Please,” Garrett said, gesturing toward the living room. “Come sit with us.”

  Moving into the living room, Jon sat in a wooden chair, allowing Brooke to take the more comfortable recliner. Hugo and Garrett returned to their respective spots on the couch.

  Jon settled into the chair, leaning forward and clasping his hands together. He searched the faces of the other three people in the room, waiting to see who would speak first. He only knew it wasn’t going to be him.

  “Thank you for coming,” Brooke said to Jon, breaking the silence before turning to the other two men. “Jon’s had a rough couple of days.”

  “We’ve heard,” Garrett said.

  “Apologies for that, my friend,” Hugo said.

  “It’s nothing you all did. But thank you for letting me come into your camp while I get back on my feet.”

  “It’s our pleasure,” Garrett said, leaning forward. “You know, I don’t know if you know this, but you’ve earned yourself quite the reputation.”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t tell by the way people out there were looking at me.”

  “We don’t mean to offend you,” Hugo said.

  “We’ve just seen you out there in the fields and in the woods before,” Brooke said. “Word spreads fast around these parts.”

  Jon said nothing and focused on nothing.

  “I ain’t here to find out why you’re bashing in the heads of all those zombies,” Garrett said. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s your goddamn business. But what I do know is that we could use a man with your kinds of skills around here.”

  “Yeah?” Jon shrugged. “And what kind of skills are you talking about?”

  “Doing what it takes to survive,” Garrett said. “You know how to navigate the wo
rld out there. We could use someone like you who can lead our teams out into the field. To scavenge. To hunt.”

  “You mean to gather shit to give to those assholes who burned down my cabin?”

  Garrett frowned, leaning back into the couch cushion. Brooke looked down at her hands while the two men avoided Jon’s gaze.

  “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

  “It’s what we have to do to live,” Hugo said.

  Jon lifted the corner of his mouth and shook his head. “If that’s your idea of living, then I want nothing to do with it. Being a slave ain’t living.”

  “It’s what we have to do to survive,” Garrett said through gritted teeth.

  “But why does it have to be?” Brooke asked. The three men turned to her as she stood. “Why do we have to let them keep controlling us the way they are?”

  Garrett rolled his eyes. “Not this again.”

  Hugo rubbed the back of his neck. “You know that’s out of the question, Brooke.”

  “But why? It’s not like the Vultures heavily outnumber us. Can either of you two give me a reason why it’s out of the question.”

  “Because we don’t have the people here who can stop them. We might match their numbers, but most of our people aren’t fighters.”

  All eyes focused on Jon. Brooke’s lips parted as she tilted her head. Jon shrugged, staring into her eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “But I just don’t know how you’re going to be able to defend yourselves against them. Not with the people I’ve seen around your camp. And do you all even have any weapons?”

  Brooke’s cheeks turned red. She crossed her arms, glancing at the wall so that she didn’t have to look at Jon while she breathed heavily.

  “That is exactly what we’ve been saying,” Garrett said. “The survival of Hope’s Dawn relies on our willingness to serve the Vultures. I’ll never pretend like it’s the best way to live, but at least we are alive.”

  “Maybe good enough for you,” Brooke said. “But not good enough for me. Not good enough for my son.”

  “Your child is exactly the reason why you need to quit dreaming up some sort of revolution.”