The man scoffed and said, “Like hell I’m telling you that!”
“Oh come on, Jim,” one of the two women in the group said. “Are you really gonna be that scared of one young lady?”
“Anyone can be a threat,” the man named Jim replied.
“Well if you’re so scared of what she might do, let her come with us.”
“We’re not supposed to just pick up stragglers,” said Jim.
“Well we can’t just let the poor thing starve to death out here,” the woman replied.
“Come on, Jim. Listen to wise old Nina,” one of the other men said in a sarcastic tone.
“Cut the shit, Ted. You’ll only encourage her. Besides, she knows the rules,” the last man in the group said.
“See? Gary agrees with me, and he hates me,” Jim replied.
“I don’t hate you. I have a severe dislike for everything about you,” Gary said.
“Fuck you,” Jim mumbled.
“Calm your tits, Jim,” the other woman in the group said. “The girl’s right. If she was going to kill us, she would have done it already.”
“Fuck you, too, Emma,” Jim replied.
“Look, I don’t want to piss Isaiah off, but I actually think we should bring her back, for our own safety. I don’t feel like killing anyone tonight, and if we leave her here, she’ll just run and tell whoever she’s with about us,” Gary said.
“I told you I’m alone,” Abby said, interrupting the group’s argument. She was also a little unnerved by what Gary had said. Shouldn’t he not feel like killing anyone on any night, not just this one?
“And I don’t believe that for one minute. You look like you’re about eighteen, there’s no way you’re out here on your own,” Jim said.
“I’m nineteen, thank you very much. And yes, I am,” Abby shot back. She lied about her age, figuring she could get away with nineteen and hoping that they might treat her more respectfully if they thought she was older.
“Nineteen, whatever,” Jim replied.
“Guys, it’s fucking cold. Are we taking her with us or what?” Ted asked.
“Take her,” Nina said. Gary nodded his head and said the same thing.
“Leave her,” Jim said as he looked to Ted for support.
Ted hesitated for a few moments. He appeared wholly indifferent to the whole discussion, which could either be good for Abby, or very bad.
“If she wants to come, I say we let her,” Ted said with a sigh.
Emma was the only person who had not yet expressed an opinion. In fact, Abby wasn’t sure if she had even been listening. She stood a few paces away from the others with her hands in her coat pockets, scanning the fields around them and the road.
Everyone turned to Abby for her response. “I need food, and I can trade for it, so I’ll come with you. And if it eases your conscience, Jim, I don’t intend to stay long,” Abby said.
“Fine. Just fine. But for the record, I don’t agree with this,” Jim replied
“I’m coming down. By the way, I’ve got guns, so don’t flip out and start shooting when I open the door,” Abby told them. She ducked back into the little room, quickly gathered her stuff together, and made her way downstairs, walking out the front door a minute later.
Abby marched out into the snow and said, “And no one walks behind me. I don’t like people walking behind me.”
And so, with Abby now joining the group, they got back onto the main road and headed west. Nina explained to Abby that they had been out doing some exploring and scavenging in a town to the north. Now they were returning to their community that was only a couple of miles down the road from where Abby had stopped.
Abby said very little, preferring to listen to the others talk and observe them, hoping to understand what kind of people they were. Nina looked older than the rest, with a few grey hairs starting to penetrate through her long, black hair. Judging by the way she rushed to Abby’s defense, she was probably a mother. She seemed kind-hearted yet was no push-over, and Abby believed she would make a good ally.
Gary and Ted might have been related, considering their resemblance to each other. Both had dark brown hair, large, dark eyes, and pointed noses. They were talkative, even jovial at times, but they did not appear friendly to Abby, or even the others. They were no doubt loyal to each other, but to no one else. And Gary’s flippant remark about killing people was still a concern for Abby. There was something about these two that she really disliked.
Jim seemed like the lone wolf type who wanted to be the alpha male but always failed. He had tried to control the situation earlier, but Nina and the others had disarmed him. Abby wasn’t sure if this was because he was disliked or if he was just not a good leader. Either way, he was somewhat hostile towards Abby and kept throwing her wary looks. When he spoke, it was only in curt phrases, and his right hand never strayed far from the pistol on his hip. Abby kept a close eye on him.
Emma was the only one that Abby couldn’t see through. She had not spoken since the group got back on the road, and she was constantly by Abby’s side, but not in a friendly way. Abby was quite sure that Emma was just keeping the newcomer in her peripheral vision. She looked much younger than the others, probably only in her mid-20’s, and had very short red hair. In addition to the pistol tucked into the back of her cargo pants, she had a long machete on her backpack, and what appeared to be three throwing knives on her belt. She was not much taller than Abby and had a lean, sinewy body, and Abby suspected that she was quite strong. Abby wasn’t sure what to make of Emma, but she erred on the side of caution and assumed Emma was the most dangerous of the group.
When they finally started asking questions about Abby, she mentioned only that she came from far away and was heading to the West Coast. When asked why, she replied, “I’ve heard rumors that things are good out there.”
“I wouldn’t put too much stock into that, but you’re your own person,” said Emma. Her voice carried no tone of derision or condescension, but neither did it sound welcoming.
Just under an hour later, Abby saw that they were approaching a small town, and Nina told her that was their home.
“There’s about seventy of us, so we’re a small community,” Nina said to Abby.
Jim scoffed and said, “Jesus Christ, woman. Why don’t you tell her where all our food and weapons are too?”
“Why do you have to treat everyone like a threat?” Nina asked.
“Potential threats. Everyone is a potential threat, and until they prove otherwise that’s all they are,” Jim responded, shaking his head.
There was silence for a moment, and then Ted said, “Do you think the other guys are back by now?”
“They’re always back before us,” Nina replied.
“Other guys?” Abby asked.
“A second group went out scavenging, but they headed over to the city to check out the universities there,” Gary said.
Abby said nothing as she nodded her head. Just as she suspected, the two groups of people came from the same place. Of course the other group had not returned home yet, and they never would. If they had always been the first group to return, then there would be mild suspicion until the morning, when their absence would then spark genuine concern. They might send out a posse to go find them, or they might ask the new girl who just happened to be coming from the direction of the city some tough questions.
Abby began to doubt the wisdom of her choice to go with this group. She needed food in the worst way, now going on three days of hunger, but more and more she felt as if she was walking to her execution. This had certainly been a bad idea. “I’ll have to escape tonight, when everyone is asleep,” Abby thought.
“Here’s the deal, kid,” Jim said, as if able to read Abby’s mind. “I’ll let the town guards know about you, and there won’t be any problems until morning. But you’re coming with me to my home, and you’re gonna sleep there, and my son and I are gonna make sure you don’t cause any trouble.”
“Fat
fucking chance of that,” Abby fired back. “I’m not sleeping in a room with two men.”
“I can watch her, Jim,” Nina offered, assuming that Abby would be okay with a woman in her room.
“What makes you think I need to be watched? I’m not gonna do anything,” Abby said.
“I believe you, but if you want everyone to trust you in the morning, you’re going to have to be a little more flexible than you’re being right now,” Nina replied, her voice warm, like a mother encouraging her child to see reason.
Abby thought for a moment, and then said, “Fine, but like Jim said, everyone is a potential threat. That includes you guys. If something doesn’t feel right, I’m gonna do what’s best for me.”
“Fair enough,” Jim grunted.
Before long, the group came upon the small neighborhood that they called home. Two guards came out of hiding to greet them. They initially put up a fuss about Abby being brought into their town, but Jim assured them that she would be kept under a careful watch and they would debate what to do in the morning. This failed to disquiet them entirely, and it took Nina’s emotional appeals to not turn away a young lady on such a cold night to finally convince the guards to stand aside. Nina seemed to exert a great deal of quiet, soft influence on those around her, Abby noted.
Nina also asked the guards about the second group that had gone out scavenging, but the guards had not seen them yet. Everyone looked a little worried, but they reassured each other that it was probably the snow that slowed them down. Maybe they were just feeling lazy and decided to hunker down somewhere for the night and finish their return trip in the morning. Ted joked about how they may have decided to take a little extra time away from Isaiah, and this got quiet, nervous laughter from the group.
Exhausted, everyone dispersed to their different homes, and Abby followed Nina to hers. The cluster of houses in which everyone lived seemed to be a modest neighborhood, and it was probably a nice place to live in the Before Times. However, Abby noticed three or four houses that looked like they had burned down. This struck her as curious, but she thought it wise to not inquire about them.
If you don’t mind,” Nina said as they approached the front door of her two-story house, “please keep quiet. My sons should be sleeping.”
“How old are they?” Abby asked.
“The older is nine, and the younger is five,” Nina replied.
“Is their father home?” Abby asked, feeling uneasy about the prospect of meeting a strange man this late at night.
“No. He passed away,” Nina said.
“Oh,” Abby whispered. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Nina said as she opened the front door.
Once inside, Nina grabbed a candle and a box of matches that were sitting on a small end table by the door. She struck a match and lit the candle, using the small fire to illuminate the room. Abby tiptoed up the stairs behind Nina and then walked into her bedroom with her. Nina headed straight for a set of dressers in the far corner, telling Abby that she could drop her gear in the closet for now as she set the candleholder down next to the bed. Abby did as instructed, leaning her rifle against one of the corners of the closet and setting her pack in front of it, along with her other weapons and her coat.
When she turned around, she saw that Nina had set some pajamas on the bed. “You can change into these if you like. They’ll probably be baggy on you, but they’re comfortable,” Nina said as she took her own pajamas into the master bathroom and closed the door.
Abby hesitated for a moment. She really wanted to wear something other than her cargo pants and long-sleeved shirt for once, but she was planning on escaping tonight. Changing her clothes might complicate any escape effort. She decided against it and just sat on the edge of the bed. Nina came out of the bathroom and looked surprised to see Abby still in her regular clothes.
“You’re not going to change?” she asked.
“Thank you, but no,” Abby said.
“Are you sure? I really don’t mind if you wear my things. Hell, you can keep them if you want.”
“I’d just prefer not to.”
Nina didn’t reply. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to Abby, who scooted over.
“I know you don’t really trust us, and I don’t blame you,” she said to Abby. “But please don’t do anything to provoke the guards tonight. I promise you that the worst case scenario tomorrow will be Isaiah expelling you, and you’ll be no worse off than when you got here.”
“Who’s Isaiah?” Abby asked.
“He’s our leader here,” Nina replied. There was a tone in her voice that Abby caught. It was one of frustration, but also sounded a little fearful.
“And?” Abby pressed.
Nina hesitated before speaking again. “Let me warn you that our community is… extremely religious. We’re safe here, and we have everything we need to live comfortably in these times, but Isaiah keeps us all on a tight leash. See, he was the town’s reverend in the Before Times. He was an old-school pastor, you know? Lots of shouting, fire and brimstone, the whole nine yards.”
“Anyway, for about a year before the first outbreaks, Isaiah had been predicting the coming Apocalypse. He said the time was nigh for God to judge the world and that we all needed to prepare ourselves. Well, an apocalypse certainly did come, and Isaiah took full credit for predicting it. Suddenly the entire congregation at our church looked to him as some kind of prophet, specially chosen by God to deliver us from Judgment Day.”
“He started telling us that what happens in the book of Revelations was coming to pass, that the dead were indeed rising from their graves just like the Bible says. But no one was zapped up to Heaven. So he claimed that God had found our faith to be wanting. He said God was disappointed in what the Christian church had become, and so He kept us here until we could prove our devotion to Him. Only then could we enter into Heaven. Otherwise, we would be damned to suffer the wrath of God just like all the non-believers left on Earth.”
“And people bought that?” Abby asked.
“They ate it up. The outbreaks scared the hell out of everyone. Some couldn’t handle that kind of shock. Their certainty about life had been obliterated. Isaiah offered certainty. He offered salvation. And that’s exactly what these people wanted.”
“But not you?”
“No. Some of us never really believed him, but we couldn’t leave. We have kids, you know? We’re safe here, so we just kinda go along with Isaiah. We do just enough to stay in his favor, but he knows we don’t really believe. That’s why he always sends us out to scavenge for supplies. Everyone else though is a fanatic. His word is law around here. So be warned. Be on your best behavior tomorrow morning, and maybe Isaiah will let you take some supplies with you, or even let you stay here.”
“No offense, but I’ll be damned if I stay here for more than one night,” Abby said.
“None taken, and I don’t blame you,” Nina replied. She set the pajamas she had laid out for Abby on the floor and said, “The offer still stands if you want it. I’m exhausted, so I’m going to sleep. But I want to caution you again about snooping around town, if that’s why you want to stay dressed. The guards are watching my house like hawks right now, and they might take drastic measures to keep you from wandering off.”
Without another word, Nina got underneath the blanket on the bed, laid her head down on the pillow, and then blew out the candle on the nightstand, shrouding the room in darkness. Abby stayed sitting up for another minute, contemplating everything Nina had told her.
“This was all a big mistake,” she thought. She should not have come here. She should not have gone into the city. If she had just kept driving, she would probably be far away from here and completely safe. But here she was, and it seemed like all she could do was wait until morning, hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
Chapter Four
Despite her fears, Abby fell into a deep sleep that night, awaking only when the sunshine coming through the bedr
oom window fell on her face. She opened her eyes and saw that she was alone. Nina must be up and about.
The sounds of loud talking came from outside, and it soon became quite the commotion. Abby hopped on one foot towards the window as she pulled her boots on to see what was happening. Out in the street, she could see Nina, Ted, Emma, Gary, and Jim having an argument with a small crowd, and more people were pouring in from other houses. It looked like it was getting pretty heated, judging by all the finger pointing and stern faces.
Abby watched all of this going on for a few seconds, until she saw Nina turn around and head back inside her house. She figured that the crowd wanted to talk to her, or at least meet her. She dashed into the closet and retrieved her pistol, holstering it on her thigh. This crowd might get angry, and Abby wanted to be armed.
The bedroom door opened just then and Nina came in. “Good, you’re awake. Come along, the others are demanding to see you,” she said. She noticed a look of apprehension on Abby’s face, so Nina quickly added, “They won’t hurt you, I promise. I’ll protect you. Everyone is just a little edgy right now. Our other group still hasn’t come back.”
“Everyone is gonna vouch for me, right?” Abby asked. She was trying not to show it, but a little fear was starting to take hold in her heart. “Everyone from last night, I mean.”
“Yes, we have your back,” Nina replied with a smile.
“Hey, let’s go already,” Emma said, having just come up the stairs to hurry Abby and Nina. “They’re getting restless.”
Abby started to walk out of the room, but Emma seized her wrist as she walked by. “You think it’s wise to go out there with a gun on your leg? A lot of people have already decided that you can’t be trusted.”
Abby yanked her arm away and said, “Then fuck ‘em.”
Emma smirked and watched as Abby continued out into the hallway and down the stairs. “Spirited bastard, ain’t she?” she said to Nina, who only grunted in reply.
As all three women left Nina’s house and advanced towards the still growing crowd, Abby’s hopes of leaving peacefully continued to fall. She licked her lips and balled her hands into fists, then relaxed them again.
His Name Was Zach (Book 2): Her Name Was Abby Page 4