"I see. Well, I'm glad you are both okay."
"Thanks. Thank you all, really," Courtney said, spanning her attention to Pax's entire group. "Can we get you any food, water?" She watched the group look around each other. "We've got plenty. Hell, you can even have a beer if you want."
"Yeah, I'll definitely take one of those," Todd said from the fence. "I think this thing will definitely hold now."
The rest of the guys joined in with Todd. "Alright, if it's okay with you, Pax?" Courtney asked.
"We definitely appreciate it."
"Jennifer will take whoever wants to eat or drink."
"Follow me, I guess," Jennifer said. She walked by Courtney and leaned in close. "If you need me, just shout."
"I'm sure we'll be fine. Thank you," Courtney said.
The men followed Jennifer. Pax saw Mark say something to her that made her shake her head. Vanessa stopped and grabbed Pax's shoulder. "I'm gonna get a quick drink and be right back."
"Walk with me to the gate. I want to make sure everyone else is OK," Courtney said, leading the way. Pax could already tell that Courtney was kind. Sure, the people may not be good at handling themselves, but a kind leader was definitely a plus. Pax had met too many iron fists lately, and meeting someone like Courtney was a nice change of pace.
At the gate, everyone from the community crowded around. "Is everyone okay?" Courtney asked.
"What happened?" one man's voice rose up and asked.
Courtney took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, Patrick was attacked. He's dead. There was a break in the wall—"
"Oh, my God, we aren't safe here," a woman cried.
"Yes, we're very safe here. Pax and his people came in and helped us. They took out the threat and made sure the wall was safe again. We will go back over the fence again at all points and make sure it doesn't need any more maintenance. If it does, we will take care of it."
"Where's Dan?" an elderly woman asked.
Courtney inhaled and bit her cheek. Pax watched her face tense up, then release. "Dan is out gathering supplies."
"He's always gone!"
"Dan is keeping us safe. Everyone needs to trust in him—"
"If he was keeping us safe, these strangers wouldn't have to come in and save you."
Pax could see Courtney's pulse in her neck. "It wouldn't matter if Dan was here or not. If any of you would have stayed and helped, then these strangers wouldn't have had to save us either. Don't expect any one man to do something for you when you should be doing it yourself. Now, if you think you can do a better job, anyone is free to leave. Nobody is forcing anyone to be here."
Pax heard the murmur through the crowd. Nobody moved, but nobody seemed pleased either. Courtney marched to the gate and pushed the tall man aside that seemed to have been manning it. She opened it up, giving full view of the parking lot of cars outside. "Seriously, if anyone wants to go, then go. We'll supply you with a car and supplies for a few days, even though it wasn't you who retrieved those supplies."
Nobody moved again. "Nobody?" She asked. "I am tired of the criticism of Dan. He is what made this place. He is the reason all of you are here. If you have any issue with him, then you can bring it up to him when he gets back, you got me? If anyone has any concerns, other than Dan, then please, I'm all ears. Otherwise, you can clear out the soulless and take care of Patrick's body."
Courtney walked away from the crowd, leaving the gate open. Everyone began to disperse from the open gate and the man returned to his post, closing the gate behind them. Before it closed all the way, Pax witnessed a young girl slip in. She seemed to be early teens, but wasn't a threat. The man at the gate glanced at her and smiled. It was obvious she belonged here, but why was she outside in the first place? Pax decided there were far more important things to discuss with Courtney. He quickly set himself to a jog and caught up to her.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. They're good people, they just get scared. We're trying to teach them, but it's a slow process. You seem to know how it is out there."
"I do. When you're out there, it's trial by fire. You either die or you survive."
"If we let them have that same trial, they'd die. They don't deserve it—"
"Nobody deserved it," Pax said, thinking of everything he'd been through.
"I'm sorry, I don't even know why I'm sharing this all with you. You seem like a good man." Her mouth turned to a frown. "But I've also been wrong about that before."
Pax's mouth hovered between a grin and grimace. "I was a good man. But then I had to become something else to survive. These days, I'm just glad to be something other than a bad man. And honestly, I don't know why I'm sharing that with you, either. Trust me, I've seen a lot of good and bad people in the world. Even the bad aren't as bad as they could be. There's pure evil in the world, and this is far from it."
Courtney smiled. "It's nice to talk to someone that understands."
Pax thought about it for a moment. Most of the people back at the hospital had to go through clearing out the soulless from the hospital. Other than that, it was one day of Guthrie's attack. Maybe that was enough, but it seemed as if Courtney had to suffer through more than that. Betrayal was definitely in her voice, which was something Pax knew very well, but he like Courtney. She seemed the type to call them like she sees them. "Who's Dan?" he finally asked.
Courtney chuckled.
"Sorry, but he seems so mysterious," Pax joked. "It had to be asked."
"Dan is, well, I guess you could say he's my boyfriend, if such a thing still exists. I wasn't necessarily lying to you when I said I was in charge. It would be Dan if he wanted to, but as you heard, he isn't always here. So, I take the charge and handle everything here while he is out there. He just…" she pondered a moment. "Honestly, he's better out there sometimes."
Pax nodded. It sounded a lot like she was describing himself. Pax was out in the city every single day, trying to find people, trying to find anything that could help them back at the hospital. Now, here he was, expanding out of the city and trying to find anything that would help them here. Sometimes it was easier to do that than stay at home. "I see. Sometimes people are just better out there than inside. They want to work to help others and keep their people safe. It's actually admirable."
Courtney smiled. "I like the way you put it, Pax. You seem to understand him a lot more than I do, and you've never even met him." She laughed.
Pax saw Vanessa coming up from behind her. "Looks like all the guys are getting their fill of beer, sorry, Courtney. I guess we've been on the road for a little bit. Plus, I think some of them seem to have a thing for Jennifer. Must be the overalls or something."
Courtney laughed. "Good luck to them. Jennifer is pretty closed for business when it comes to the manly type. Can't control them, you know." She winked at Vanessa.
"You seem like really good people, Courtney," Pax said. "That's exactly what we were hoping for. We're looking for people to establish trades with, pipelines of communication. Really anything to help each other, if that makes any sense."
"Oh, then you'll definitely want to meet Howard, if you haven't already," Courtney said.
Pax's eyes went wide. Thankfully, Vanessa stepped in. "Over at the diner, right? Friendly guy." Vanessa grinned wide.
A little white lie that they could easily clear up later. Courtney's camp seemed like good people, which meant she could easily help mend the fences with Howard. "Yes, Howard, but also other things we can come together on. It looks like you could use some help, just like we could, too." Pax looked to Vanessa, who smiled back. It looked like he was right. This could work.
22
Dan
"Are you responsible for the animals?" Dan asked, trying to buy time to figure out what he was going to do next. He decided it was too much to take out three of them, but he wanted to make sure there was no immediate threat, either.
They laughed in unison. The original woman he saw spoke up. "There are those capable of that. There are those
special beyond what you can even imagine. But as for your question, no. We are not the ones responsible."
Dan looked around at the three, gripping the hilt of his knife. "What is this? Who are the redeemed?"
"This is the Sistren. A force stronger than any one man," the woman with the heart-shaped face said. "A force stronger than any number of men."
He watched them carefully. He was beginning to feel claustrophobic but noticed that nobody was closing in on him. They just stood at their respective distances. "A group of women."
"Women yes, but not limited. It is in the power of the being that someone can join the redeemed. The Sistren is part of the redeemed, and the redeemed are part of the Sistren."
Dan was growing impatient. Part of him was tired of the riddles and the other part of him was thirsting to kill. He stepped toward the original woman. Maybe he could take them all out. What could they do to him? Now that they were out from hiding, he was the one with the advantage. They may have their riddles, but deep inside of him he had the darkness. He began to pull his knife up, but before he could, he watched the woman open her cloak up, revealing a jagged blade. It looked like something out of a fantasy movie with witches and warlocks. The blade was wavy and had a long handle. "Are you here to kill me?" Dan asked, his voice deep.
Laughter again. "We kill only what threatens, and threaten those who kill."
Dan put his hand down to his waist and slowly slid the knife back in its holster. He watched as the woman put her hand back beneath her cloak, hiding the dagger away. He turned to the opening back toward his camp. If they were going to kill him, they would have acted by now. He wasn't sure what any of this was, but he knew it wasn't something he was going to be able to figure out by himself. He would need to talk to Courtney. Maybe Howard would know something about these people, but they didn't seem like the type into trading.
Dan walked forward, waiting for any of them to follow or attack, but nobody did. He kept walking, not looking back. The laughter followed him and finally, in the distance he heard the voice. "The Sistren will be here. We will be ready. She is too strong to hold onto for one man."
He continued to walk, making sure to keep his senses open to anything that could sneak up on him. When he was a good distance away, he looked back but saw nobody. He turned back to the camp and began to run. He kept thinking about what they said. She is too strong to hold onto for one man.
That meant nothing to him, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to be the last time he saw those women.
23
Pax
Courtney had seemed to be open to the idea of Pax's people. This was going to work out. There were still lots of things to consider, logistics and such. Like, how would they keep the road clear, what would they trade, would they meet in the middle or send people every so often to each other’s camps? Many different aspects to decide, but for now, it was something that it was going to work out. Everyone at the camp seemed genuine. They were just as Courtney said. Good people but inexperienced. They could definitely help with that.
The biggest hurdle was meeting Dan. He had already won over Courtney, talked to her people, and hell, even Mark was starting to wear Jennifer down. A few beers in each of them, and he's suddenly Casanova. Pax smiled at his friend, who continued to whisper into Jennifer's ear at a group of picnic tables. She laughed at whatever he was saying and then pushed him back. Mark fell off the bench, and she laughed at him. It was good to see people laughing. It was good to see people living.
He knew Dan was going to be the most difficult one to convince. Here he was, a stranger in his camp. How would Pax react to that? He knew he would make sure and vet them as best as he could, but in the end, he would accept whoever it was. If they weren't a threat, then they were friends, sometimes family.
"I'm glad you showed up. I think Dan will take well to everyone. Just, when he gets here, let me talk to him first," Courtney said.
"That bad?" Vanessa asked.
"No, it's just, he isn't like everyone else. He thinks everything is a possible threat, until they aren't."
"Should we be worried?" Pax asked.
"Not at all. He'll see soon enough, but he will want to also make it known to you—"
"That we're in his place. I get it. He wants to protect his people," Pax said. Vanessa smiled. Pax knew she was thinking the same thing. Pax was the same way.
"Exactly," Courtney said. "But, and I don't want to scare you, it's not just a show. If anything does threaten him, he won't hesitate to handle it, if you know what I mean."
"Good." Pax said. He wasn't scared of Dan, but he also didn't want the man to be all bark. He needed to make sure anyone he was going to be connecting with in a community way was strong. The last thing he needed was someone that was all talk but couldn't follow through. If they were good to their word, then they would get along great.
"Courtney, Dan is here!" the man at the gate yelled out.
Courtney sprang to her feet. "I'll go let him know what's going on, then we'll come talk, alright?"
"Sure thing," Pax said. He watched Courtney make her way to the front of the camp.
"So, what do you think?" Vanessa asked.
"About what? Courtney? I think she's great. Says what she means and is kind. Kind of like someone else I know." He winked at Vanessa.
"Courtney is fine. I meant about this Dan guy. Think he's a problem?"
Pax looked around at all the people. They were smiling, getting along and seemed like they didn't have much to be worried about. Sure, there was talk about the leader not being there much, and the whole part about them not knowing how to deal with the soulless, but nobody here was actually scared of the people inside. There was no way this man was a bad man. If he was, people would either be scared to be here, or at the very least, they'd know how to deal with strangers and soulless. Pax took a deep breath and smiled.
"No, I don't think he's a problem." He let the breath out a laughed a little. "Actually, I'll be glad to meet him. From what it sounds like, he saved these people. For Courtney wanting to smooth things over, he also seems like he takes security and his people's safety seriously. There's nothing wrong with that. We have nothing to hide."
"The way you put it, it sounds like you might be describing yourself." She nudged him playfully. "Not sure how that's gonna work."
"He does sound a lot like me." It was true. Pax was hoping to meet someone that was kind, but firm. It was what he was wanting to be himself. Sure, maybe they had had to do something to get to this point, to survive. But it couldn't be anything as bad as Pax had done. Pax knew that for a fact.
Pax rubbed his bearded face as he watched Courtney appear from around the corner, walking with who he assumed was Dan. From where he stood, Dan was fairly tall, but not much above average. He looked strong and walked with purpose. He could barely make out the features of his face, but he could tell that Dan wasn't the happiest person, probably not fond of hearing strangers were in his camp, or from hearing that Courtney had nearly died. Still, Pax was sure he could make a good impression. Pax waived for his crew to come up so that Dan could meet them and see there was nothing to hide.
Dan stepped up to the group, eyeing each and every one of them. Something about Dan seemed familiar, but Pax couldn't quite place it. Before he could say anything, Vanessa stepped up first.
"I'm Vanessa. We're from the city. We talked a lot with Courtney and thought we could all help each other out." She held her hand out, and Dan looked at it. He quickly reached out and shook her hand.
"I'm Dan. Courtney tells me you all saved her and Jennifer."
Vanessa smiled and looked to Pax. "We did, but most credit goes to Pax."
Dan smiled and looked over to Pax. "Then I guess I should say thank you, to all of you. Our people have a lot to learn, but we're getting there. Normally, I wouldn't be too happy to see a group of strangers inside, but after hearing what happened, well, I guess we can skip that hurdle." Dan reached out to Pax.
P
ax looked at Dan's hand and began to feel hot under the collar. Something wasn't right. He didn't know why he began to feel that way, but when he took Dan's hand, it got worse.
"Everything okay?" Dan asked.
It must have shown on his face, but Pax nodded and looked up. He stood, surrounded by his people, surrounded by Dan's people, shaking the man's hand and locked eyes with him.
No.
Pax's eyes began to water.
It couldn't be him.
Pax could feel the blood draining from his face.
Soulless.
Pax continued to stare into the man's eyes. He knew exactly what he was staring into, and he could feel his body reacting to it. It was that same familiar set of eyes he had killed so many times. The evil inside of them, the nothingness behind them. He could feel the need to vomit rise up inside of him at the same time he felt like his stomach was sinking lower, as if he was dropping off a rollercoaster. He told himself that if he ever saw this man again, that he would—
The vomit came out, and he puked right in front of everyone. The bile hit the dirt and splattered across everyone's shoes.
"Pax, are you alright?" Vanessa asked, placing her hand on his back.
Dan had backed up enough that he avoided most of the puke. Everyone around looked worried, except for Dan. Pax could tell that he truly didn't give a shit. Possibly curious but not genuine care.
"Do you need to sit down?" Dan asked Pax.
"No, I'm fine. I don't need anything from you." Pax stood up, hoping no more vomit was on its way. He stared back into the eyes of the man who changed everything for him.
He remembered the promise he made to himself but never thought he would actually get the chance to keep it. He glanced around at all the staring faces. They were concerned now, but if he pulled his gun, who would be on his side? These people were friendly, and nobody knew who this man was. If he started firing, would he put his people at risk? Pax could see that Jennifer was armed, and it looked like Dan only had a knife. But would he be quick enough to draw and get the shot off in time? All of the people around him would be at risk. Nobody but Daniel deserved to be punished.
Exodus: Soulless Wanderers Book 3 (A Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Thriller) Page 12