He passed a small group of houses, which had probably been occupied by workers at the reservoir. Danny imagined the workers coming home to their families after a hard day’s work and sitting down with them, talking about their day. Maybe the fathers played baseball with their sons or daughters in the yard. Perhaps they would meet up with their neighbors for games night, or drinks and BBQ on balmy evenings in summertime.
He slowed down and pulled up outside one of the houses which faced directly onto the highway. Not many cars came through here, even when these houses thrived. It was a one-way road to the reservoir. He stepped up onto the porch and open the door, half hanging off its hinges. He felt like he was intruding and considered shouting out, but then caught himself and stopped before the noise left his mouth. The door opened to a dining room filled with a table and chairs around it. Only one plate was laid out with a knife and fork either side.
Danny checked the cupboards even though he had ample supplies, just as a back-up. As expected, they were empty. The floorboards creaked with each step he took, and he felt the wood disintegrating as he started up the stairs. He didn’t even know why he had stopped at the house, but he was drawn to it. He looked in the bedrooms one by one.
The first room was pink and that of a young girl, maybe seven or eight, dolls neatly lined up on the top of her bookcase and tucked in her bed. He watched the girl running through the room shouting ‘daddy, daddy’ whilst laughing and her dress flowing behind her. Then into the boy’s room, bunkbeds and a small cot-bed. A snotty nosed toddler stood on the cot watching whilst his brothers played with penknives and play tic tac toe. This house had always been devoid of computers, mobile phones and the anti-social technology the major cities thrived on.
Finally, into the last bedroom where the husband held his wife’s face in his hands and smiling kissed her on the lips, happy that his little family were together, and that life was good. He provided for them and they gave him love in return. Back downstairs they sat down at the table with the boys filling their plates and everyone speaking at the same time. The youngest child with food around his mouth grinning at his mother, whilst father cut the meat and passed around the plate. Danny sat down at the table with the family, breathing in the memory, but then they were gone, dust in the air as if they had never even existed.
Danny stood up and walked back out onto the porch, glancing up to the bedroom where the small skeletons lay together in the double bed, hands still entwined. He sat down on the porch swing next to the remains of the father, jawbone missing and skull in pieces, shotgun laid out in front of him.
***************
As the sun started to come up McGregor pulled the wolfskin over his shoulders and rubbed his hands in front of a fire. A home-made spit above the fire held the remains of one of the wolves and he reached out and wrenched off a body part and crunched into the meat and bone. ‘Looks like I made a ‘dogs’ dinner’ of you Fido,’ he laughed.
Chapter Eleven
Logan soon realized that the group were getting tired and need a break. They had been walking for hours and although they knew they were getting close to the city morale was low and they were all hungry and thirsty and in need of a rest. In the distance they could make out high rise buildings and knew that they had maybe two or three more hours before they would be at their first destination. What they didn’t know was what to expect from the city itself. If the creature that attacked Brad was anything to go by, they were heading for a warzone and every one of them knew it. Unfortunately, the only way to Parchman Prison was right through the city center.
Logan stopped and drank from his water bottle. The others saw this as an opportunity and did the same. Chuck sat down with his arms stretched out. The twins did the same and Seth pulled off his boots and emptied the sand from them. No-one spoke but they were all thinking about Brad, and that anyone of them could be next. Xander lit up a cigarette.
‘We’ll go on another hour and then make camp for a few hours. Then we head into the city and make our way to the prison. I get it that you’re tired and demoralized, but we’re so close now. You’re scared, and I understand that too, but it took guts to get this far. I’m not going to promise you that we’re all going to make it, but I promise you that I will do everything I can to make sure that we do. Everything is within our grasp to ensure we make the right decision to save these people.’ As the words were coming out his mouth, Logan was wondering whether he believed it himself. He had to. He started this journey and had got all these kids involved in something far bigger than just his moral compass. He’d already lost one of his team and he wasn’t about to lose anyone else.
Seth sighed and pulled his boots back on. They started off again, one foot in front of each other. No further than ten minutes up the road Logan stopped again. ‘Did you hear that?’ he whispered to Tallulah. She shook her head. ‘There, I heard it again.’
The rest of the group had stopped and were all looking around in the dark with their flashlights, trying to see what Logan was hearing. ‘I don’t hear anything dude,’ said Chuck.
Logan stared in the black abyss of the desert, squinting towards where he thought the sound was coming from. He moved forward slowly and raised his torched. Two small lights shined back at him. He moved forward again towards the lights, which looked to be moving around. Five yards from the lights he switched his torch to full beam to see a gaunt brown bear hunched over the half-eaten body of a man. The bear looked up at Logan and locked eyes with him. Logan slowly retreated, and the bear went back to its meal while the beam of light faded, and both the bear and the body became invisible into the night again.
The others were huddled together shaking. Tallulah had her hand over her mouth to stop herself screaming, and Faye was holding her still. Logan raised his hand and pointed forward and they moved slowly away and towards the city.
A few hours later the sun was starting to come up and they were entering the city. Eerily quiet the empty roads made no sound. No traffic, no people and no shops made this a spooky place to be. They had seen what happened to human beings living in this world and they didn’t want to meet anymore. Sometimes it’s the not knowing what’s out there that scares us, more than the reality. In this case it was both.
Logan looked at the map and then looked in three different directions ‘This way,’ he said and moved confidently forward. By his reckoning they weren’t far, as the prison was pretty much on the outskirts of town. Something to do with it being home to some of the country’s worst criminal offenders. The intel he had from military records showed that through the city’s police station there were tunnels leading to the main gantry in the prison. Not even the previous guards had known about these as they hadn’t been used in years. The government had full access to blueprints though and Logan had planned to get access through the Police Station and into the prison that way.
His expectations at this point were that everyone in that prison was dead already, including the Professor, but somewhere deep inside him he had to believe that everything was still possible. If the others realized that he was losing faith, then it was all over. He had no plan as to what would happen once they were inside the prison, but hoped they were in a better physical condition to fight than anyone they might come up against. At least they had weapons and if it came down to a fire fight, he was confident they could at least get out of there alive.
As they walked down the center of the road, they all had that feeling of being watched from the doorways and windows. The breeze in the air started making garbage move and the group started getting jittery. Tallulah started seeing people at the windows of the shops and on double take they were gone. She took Logan’s hand and gripped it hard.
At the end of the road a man in a long brown coat casually walked around the corner. He was followed by a group of five others. Then another group came from the side road and stood waiting for Logan and the others to reach them. They slowly scattered across the road blocking any passage through. Logan’s
hand fell from Tallulah’s and closer to his handgun.
‘Hello,’ he shouted to the first man. ‘We’re looking for the police station. Can you tell us if we’re close?’
The men looked at each other. They were nauseatingly thin, but somehow almost healthy looking compared to the thing that had killed Brad. They were clean and relatively well-presented bearing in mind the circumstances.
‘Isn’t no Police Station around here son. Not no more,’ the man said.
‘We need to get to the Police Station to get some important documents,’ said Logan, unsure what to say to the man.
‘You look like you’re hungry son. Why don’t you come join us for dinner?’ said the man smiling.
‘We’ve just eaten thank you,’ said Xander, clearly from the back of the group.
‘Look, that’s very kind of you, but we’re just passing through. We just need to get to the Police Station and then we’re gone again. Can you point us in the right direction?’ said Logan.
They heard footsteps and another group of men had come up behind them pushing them further forward. ‘I insist,’ said the man.
Logan drew his gun from its holster, but he felt the click of a gun against the back of his neck and he holstered it again ‘No need for that now son. We’d just like to get to know you all. Find out what a lovely bunch of kids like you are doing in our city.’ The man behind Logan took the gun back out of its holster. ‘Follow me,’ he said.
They followed the group of men to the entrance of building and one of the men pulled up the shutters.
It opened to reveal a large warehouse which was housing many families under tents, tarpaulins and homemade housing. Families who had left their own homes looking for food, unable to return due to the dangers of being separated. They had built a community where they were working together to feed themselves. Food was obviously in short supply but as they walked through the building the smell of cooking was obvious.
‘What’s your name?’ Logan asked the leader.
‘They call me Samson,’ said the man ‘On account of my hair,’ he added and shook his long mane. He was a giant of a man and not someone you would mess with. ‘As you can tell, we are not use to seeing strangers around here.’ The families, particularly the children stared at the group, with some of the younger ones coming up and cupping their hands out in front of them. ‘They see people like you, looking the way you are, and it gives them hope. You understand? Dressed well. Fed well. But I’m guessing there’s more to it than you just found a decent place with supplies. Am I right? Let me guess. Government?’
‘Yes, kind of,’ Logan said, not wanting to give anything away, but also wanting to gain his trust.
Tallulah knelt by a girl who had held out her hand. ‘I’ve got a candy bar,’ she invited, and the little girl nodded gleefully. Then was joined by five more children. ‘I’m sorry, I only had one,’ and the children dispersed into the crowds of people.
‘Where do you get your food from?’ she asked Samson.
‘Wherever we can. We scavenge, we hunt animals, we also have an outlet that helps us. The one rule we have is that we do not hurt human beings and we do not turn anyone away who wishes to be part of the community. Everyone has something to offer. You may have seen what we call Savages out there. Men and women who have forgotten what it is to be human. Creatures who have lost their minds to the madness of hunger. That’s not us. We are a community and a family. So, you’ll understand that when a group of well-fed teenagers, with guns, turn up in our neighborhood that we could be concerned,’ said Samson.
‘We’re not here to hurt anyone. We’re here to help,’ said Tallulah.
‘She’s right,’ said Logan. ‘We are here to save lives.’
Logan went on to tell Samson about the plan the government had put into place to poison the water supply and to roll out the system to supply any survivors with self-sustaining crops and breed animals.
Samson stopped him mid flow and raised his eyebrows at Logan ‘So on top of everything we have had thrown at us and endured, now we have to be concerned about our own government killing us off, so that the mighty among us can flourish? Can’t say it surprises me son,’ he chuckled. ‘But water is our main commodity here. It’s keeping us alive and sustaining what supplies us and our benefactors have. We cannot let this plan happen. Come into my office.’
They had reached the end of the building and an office which was Samson’s home and planning room. Building schematics lined the walls and notes on where they could find food and build their own supplies. While they were not feasting every night, they were alive, and they seemed happy. The children ran around laughing whilst the parents worked or spent time improving their makeshift homes. If the plan had been to merely survive then these people had succeeded.
‘Please sit,’ Samson beckoned to all of them. He was joined by some of the men Logan recognized from outside. ‘These men are my trusted advisers and are at your disposal,’ he said.
‘You mean you aren’t going to kill us,’ said Seth, breathing a sigh of relief.
The others looked at him shaking their heads, although slightly relieved themselves that this hadn’t panned out like they were expecting.
‘We’re very grateful Samson, but it’s not men that we need. It’s one man. A Professor,’ said Logan.
Samson looked around at his men ‘A Professor you say? Can’t say I’ve seen one around here.’
Logan got the impression that Samson wasn’t letting on everything he knew but continued. ‘Yes, this Professor can, we hope, create an antidote to the toxin they plan to use in the water. We think he is being kept prisoner in the prison and we really need to get to him, if he’s alive.’
‘A lot of ifs and buts if you ask me son. How you planning to get into the prison?’ he replied.
‘We have military schematics to get into the courtyard beyond the main fences through the Police Station which has tunnels running back and forth. We just need safe travel to the Police station, and we can take it from there.’
‘Sounds like a big job for a bunch of kids,’ said Samson leaning back in his chair with his fingers together and pursed his lips.
Zack tutted ‘We got this far, didn’t we?’ he gloated.
‘Be careful young man or this maybe as far as you get,’ said a man behind him with tattoos covering much of his face.
‘Whatever man, you don’t hurt human beings, remember,’ said Zack. Logan gently but firmly put a hand on his arm, effectively telling him to shut the Hell up.
‘Well remembered,’ said Samson ‘Although I should point out we reserve the right to let you live as long as it doesn’t affect our way of living, otherwise,’ he ran his finger across his throat.
‘Look,’ said Logan ‘We’re not here for trouble. We are here to help and any help you can give us we are grateful for. Even just directions to the Police Station and then we’ll leave.’
‘No, No. You’re our guests. We will get you were you want to be, but tonight you’ll stay here and eat with us. See what we’re all about. We will show you survivor hospitality,’ said Samson.
Logan nodded and looked at the others ‘We should really be leaving.’
‘I insist,’ said Samson menacingly.
The evening had a celebratory feel about it and Logan wondered if every evening was the same or whether this was for their benefit. They certainly felt like guests of honor, sat at the head table in the makeshift dinner hall, alongside Samson and some of ‘the elders’. Logan sat smiling, watching Tallulah and Faye entertaining the children by dancing around by the light of gasoline lamps. The twins sat chatting to other families and every now and then Seth would laugh one of those belly laughs that set everyone else off laughing too. Zack and Xander sat back, playing it cool, people watching but not getting involved in the shenanigans.
The one thing Logan did know was that this wasn’t a community that was struggling. Yes, they had lost loved ones and carried pain, but they put it aside so that
the community could thrive and enjoy what life they had left. They were grateful for what they had, and they certainly did not deserve to have got this far to then be poisoned for ‘the greater good’. At every step of this journey Logan had felt reassured that they had made the right decision to try and foil the government and his father’s plans. These people had a right to the life that they had built, and he would not let it be taken away.
Samson was loved by these people, but Logan still had something nagging in his head that he wasn’t being told the truth. He felt Samson knew something more about the prison that he was letting on, but he wasn’t in the mood for confrontation. Tomorrow they would leave for the prison and they would either find the Professor and hope he had the answers, or they would have to rely on Danny to take on his part of the plan. Either way tonight was not the night to start trouble.
Suddenly though, there was a banging on the large warehouse door, and everyone stopped. The music that had been playing was switched off and other than some murmurs from the children everyone fell silent. Samson waved his arm and the men started moving into one of the tents, returning with weapons. Logan wanted to ask what was happening, but in the silence he felt he better not speak up and instead his hand touched the gun in its holster. Chuck came alongside him holding a machete, aware that whoever was outside that gate was not welcome.
Chapter Twelve
The silence seemed to last forever and then banging again on the doorway. Samson’s men moved behind the door in a well-rehearsed battle formation, whilst the rest of the families backed away to the far end of the warehouse.
The Cure Page 8