Sam was still covering the slaves from the treetop. He smiled in her direction, knowing she couldn’t see him. There was no one else he wanted watching his back.
His eyes fell on Charlie, Amanda, and Derek. They were huddled together near the front of the truck, away from the gate. He needed to get everyone away and safe.
Then he would deal with Allister, if he was even still alive.
A familiar figure ran across camp, not too far away. Aaron jumped to his feet and ran toward Gibbons, tackling the man. They fell a short distance away from some corpses ripping at the chest of a dying slaver. Gibbons fought for a moment until Aaron slapped him across the face.
“Shut up, Gibbons! It’s me.”
“Aaron? What the hell?”
“Be quiet! It’s dark. The undead can smell, but not see great. Just keep still for a few minutes.”
“You led them here?”
He smiled. “Every last one of them.”
They were quiet as the chaos unfolded around them. Gibbons tried to fight back tears as he heard the men being eaten alive. He didn’t like any of them, but it was still horrible to hear them die. Any moment, he knew the corpses would stumble over them, and they would be next.
Gibbons heard a moan. He looked up to see an old corpse hovering over them. There were just as many bones exposed as rotting flesh. Gibbons raised his hands to shield himself, but Aaron was already moving. He jumped to his feet and held the corpse by its ribcage.
Aaron held the corpse back as easily as holding a small child.
Gibbons watched, stunned, as he climbed to his feet. The walker made no attempt to bite Aaron. It tried to reach for Gibbons.
Aaron looked at the fighting and corpses shuffling around them. They could wait out the battle, but the longer the trucks were around, the longer the slaves were in danger. He knew Sam was a good shot, but he didn’t know if the truck prisons could hold out against a mass of undead.
“It’s time to go,” he told Gibbons, still holding onto the corpse. “Those trucks can move, right?”
Gibbons nodded. “Yeah. The keys are inside. Makes it easier to move camp fast.”
“Perfect. Talk to the slaves. Find anyone that can drive, and help them get behind the wheel. And damn, man, get a gun.”
“You don’t have a gun.”
“Well I’m different. I’ll help out Charlie. You get moving.”
Gibbons ran to the last truck. Aaron tossed the corpse to the ground and headed for Charlie. He peered into the darkness, barely seeing movement near the front.
“Charlie? You in there?”
He recognized a familiar female voice. “Aaron!”
“No, Amanda! Don’t move.” Charlie held Amanda back and took a few steps toward the bars.
“Charlie, stay there. Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?”
Charlie froze. “Aaron, is that you? We’re all okay.”
“Yes, it’s me. Listen, can you drive this truck?”
“You’re damn right I can.”
Aaron glanced around to make sure no corpses were nearby. They were still chasing and feasting on the slavers, but that particular food was quickly running out. Many undead wandered about, looking for a meal.
He quickly undid the long chain that held the gate closed.
“Okay, hop out of there. Amanda, Derek, I’m gonna lock you back inside. You’ll be safe in here.”
“I’ll watch over Amanda,” Derek said.
Aaron escorted Charlie around the side of the truck. There was one corpse in the way. Aaron tossed it to the ground with barely any effort.
“How did you-”
“No time. It’s safe a few streets over. Just head there, I won’t be too far behind.”
As Charlie jumped in the truck, Aaron heard a gunshot and a shout of pain. He ran to the back and saw Gibbons lying on the ground near the truck that used to keep the female slaves.
He ran to Gibbons. Gibbons held up his hand, motioning for Aaron to stop. Aaron glanced at the bars on the truck, and immediately knew what happened.
The chain the slavers used to lock the bars in place was being pulled inside the truck. Someone was inside, holding the bars closed. Whoever it was shot Gibbons as he ran by.
Aaron didn’t slow down. He grabbed Gibbons’ feet before the gunman inside could react. Aaron dragged him away, out of range. Charlie drove by, riding over anything in his way. Aaron gave him a quick wave.
“He shot me in the shoulder,” Gibbons said. “I’ll be okay.”
“Did you see who it was?”
A voice shouted from the truck. “You double crossing son of a bitch!”
It was Allister. He hid in the same truck where his men had raped Sherry and Dana. He was in there with their bodies, they’d never cleaned them out.
“This day just keeps getting better,” Aaron said. He saw one truck left. Slaves he’d never met stuck their hands through the bars. “Can you drive that?”
Gibbons could barely move his right arm, but that wouldn’t stop him. “Yeah.”
“Okay. Stop by the gate on the way out. You’re gonna pick up a passenger.” Gibbons opened his mouth to question, but Aaron shoved him by his good shoulder. “Get going.”
Gibbons ran around the front to avoid getting shot again. Aaron sprinted across the yard. Allister shot at him. Aaron dove to the ground, taking a quick look behind him. He could only see darkness inside Allister’s truck. He moved with the walkers until he made it to gate. He had to jump over two corpses sharing a severed arm.
He circled around the fence, quietly calling Sam’s name. He heard branches rustling from above, then Sam dropped to the ground just in front of him. Her bag of guns was still slung over her shoulder. They gave each other a quick hug.
“Aaron, I couldn’t see too good, but were you running with the walkers?”
“No time to talk now.”
He grabbed her hand and they circled back toward the gate. Gibbons had parked the truck near the fence. Two corpses were beating on the driver’s door, but he was safe. Sam took careful aim and shot both of them in the head.
Gibbons opened the door and slid over so Sam could sit behind the wheel. She held her hand out for Aaron, but he shook his head.
“Go without me. I’ll be right behind you.”
Sam glanced behind them. Nearly everyone in the slave camp was dead, and the corpses were heading their way.
She flashed him an angry glare. “Aaron, I came here for you. Now come on, we have to get out of here.”
He smiled. Sam had had her suspicions for a while, but she knew then for certain he was keeping a secret.
“Trust me,” he said. “This won’t take long.”
She didn’t move the truck forward until Aaron turned and walked calmly back to camp, toward the walkers. Most of the corpses were up and wandering now, with only a few feasting on flesh. Some of the slavers who weren’t completely devoured stood up and joined the other corpses. Sam watched Aaron in the side mirror as he stood near the camp gate, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“He’s a freak,” Gibbons said.
Sam glanced at the ex-slaver. “He’s definitely something.”
Aaron surveyed the camp as he heard Sam drive away behind him. The trucks were gone, and the fighting had stopped. No more gunshots or screams, just the song of the undead.
He watched as the corpses turned and stumbled in the direction of the last human in the camp.
Allister’s truck.
Aaron took a step past the gate to join the corpses, and his foot caught on something. He looked down to see the rope the slavers used in his attempted murder earlier in the day.
He laughed out loud.
* * *
Allister had watched the massacre from the safety of the prison truck. He gripped the chain attached to the bars as hard as he could. His plan was to let the corpses get distracted chasing everyone else, then sneak out and drive away.
He checked the ammo in his clip, only
four rounds left. He had to fire more than he wanted to at the wandering corpses that got too close to the bars. He also had to put a slug in Gibbons, the back-stabbing bastard that helped the slaves escape. Hopefully he was bleeding out somewhere.
Finally, the screams in the camp died down. The walkers were slowly finishing their feasts. It was time to make his move. He stepped over the dead body of one of the old female slaves he shot earlier in the day and carefully peeked through the bars. Some of the corpses were heading his way.
Before he could push the bars open, a voice rang out over the walkers.
“Was that really your plan, Allister? Hide like a coward until it was safe?”
He backed up into the shadows and gripped the chain tighter. A walker made it to the bars. Allister shot it in the head.
He looked out over the camp. The voice sounded like it was coming from the crowd of walkers. That was impossible.
“You don’t even know my name, do you? It’s Aaron. Aaron Thompson.”
Allister thought it was odd, a young man with a last name. People didn’t care about last names anymore.
“You’ve destroyed everything,” Allister said, looking at his ruined camp. Tents were on fire, throwing shadows over the corpses as they slowly marched to him.
“Well, this is how it goes now. This is how you survive in this world. Does that sound familiar?”
It didn’t. Allister had done what he had to do to survive over the years, and that involved a lot of killing. Obviously he’d killed someone close to the young man, but he didn’t care.
He saw a silhouette standing upright near a tent not too far away. Its posture didn’t seem like a walker to Allister.
He kept one hand on the chain while aiming with the other. He fired a single time and watched the skull explode. The body fell to the ground.
“Not quite,” Aaron called out. “Not even close.”
“You little shit,” Allister whispered. “Look, kid, let’s make a deal. No one has to die here.”
“That’s not true. You have to die.”
Aaron’s voice was eerily close.
A head leaned in near the side of the bars. “Boo!”
Allister fired twice. The first shot only caught part of the cheekbone. The second took off the top of the head. He would have fired a third time, but the gun only clicked.
He smiled when he saw the body fall to the ground, but his joy didn’t last long.
“Oh no. Gun’s empty?”
Aaron dropped the corpse torso he’d held up as a decoy.
Three of the walkers started pounding on the bars. They weren’t smart enough to pull, but Allister kept his grip anyway. It only took a second for a few walkers to turn into many, and they blocked his escape from the truck. The walkers pushed around each other to get to the bars. He recognized a few men that used to work for him and look up to him. Now they wanted to eat him.
He saw someone making his way through the bodies, slowly pushing them out of the way. The walkers made no move to attack him or slow him down. Allister watched in disbelief as Aaron made his way to the back of the truck and pulled himself up on the back step.
“They smell terrible,” he said. “But it’s still nice having them on your side.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Allister asked.
Aaron smiled. “Do you want to see the scariest thing?”
Allister watched as Aaron jumped into the mass of corpses. He still had trouble accepting what he saw, a human walking among the undead.
Aaron grabbed a corpse in the middle of the group, one that used to be an auto mechanic. He handed the corpse a rope, the most absurd thing Allister ever saw. Aaron tied the other end securely around the bars.
“What are you doing?” Allister shouted.
He watched as Aaron gave the rope a few tugs. He grabbed the auto mechanic walker by the hands and showed him how to pull. Allister was horrified when he saw the mechanic imitate Aaron’s motion. But the bars barely moved, and Allister laughed.
“Oh yeah, kid, I’m terrified.”
“You should be.”
The former auto mechanic pulled again. Allister held the bars in place easily. Another walker grabbed the rope, followed by another. He felt a lump in his throat as more walkers joined in. Weak or not, the numbers were catching up to Allister. The chain started to slip from his hands as the bars cracked open a few inches. At least ten walkers were lined up on the rope.
Aaron stood there watching with a smile on his face. “They like to play tug-of-war too.”
Allister lost a few more inches of chain. A corpse managed to climb halfway in the back, keeping the gate from closing. “Listen, kid. Aaron, you said? We can work something out.”
“It’s a little late for that now. Isn’t that what you said earlier?”
Allister lost his grip. The bars flew open, and walkers pulled themselves inside. He put up a fight, but only for a few seconds. A walker bit into his arm, then his leg. He screamed in agony as walkers tore into his flesh. He felt a hand reach into his stomach and feel around for juicy tissue.
Before he died, he remembered murdering Aaron’s family.
* * *
“He’s not coming,” Charlie said.
Sam shot another walker as it shuffled toward them from the end of the street. The slave trucks were scattered around. Some were parked on the curb, others on old front lawns. Gibbons checked everyone for injuries. Amanda held Derek’s hand. The slaves, even though they were free, still stayed close to the people they were grouped with at the camp. They hugged each other and enjoyed viewing the world without bars in the way.
“Is Aaron dead?” Amanda asked.
“No,” Sam said. “He’ll be here any minute.”
Charlie gestured for Derek to watch Amanda as he grabbed Sam and pulled her aside. “Listen, I want Aaron to be alive. He saved us all. But we have to get out of here.”
“You can go wherever you want. Drive all over the world for all I care.”
Charlie looked at the heavy firepower Sam had. “Maybe I’ll stay a few more minutes.”
It didn’t surprise Sam when a truck slowly drove toward them. The slaves started cheering and shouting. Sam had to motion to keep the noise down.
“Holy shit,” Gibbons said. He helped a slave sit down on the road. “The man is unbelievable.”
Sam smiled as Aaron jerked the truck back and forth trying to park it. They locked eyes as he climbed out. He had a small beard and a head of hair. His face was beat up and swollen. But he was alive.
She stepped forward and hugged him harder than she meant to. He lost his breath for a moment before returning the hug. She didn’t want to let go.
“I told you I’d be right behind.”
She gave him another gentle squeeze. “Looks like walkers have a tough time killing you.”
He picked up the hint. She knew he was hiding something.
Aaron spent the next few minutes getting swarmed by the slaves he helped set free. Charlie was the first to greet him with gratitude and a strong handshake. Amanda held onto his leg. Gibbons, and even Derek, gave him a smile and thanks. It was nice to finally be able to put faces with the voices he’d heard the past month.
There was an awkward silence as everyone calmed down and stared at Aaron.
He leaned close to Sam. “Why is everyone looking at me?”
Sam smiled and cupped a hand to his ear. “Everyone always looks at you, Aaron. You better get used to it.”
“Right.” He raised his voice. “Okay, guys. I don’t know how you want to work this, but we got plenty of transportation here. Sam and I live at an old high school. That’s where we’re heading. You’re welcome to come back with us, or go your own way.”
He was surprised at the reaction.
“We’d like to go with you.”
“Would you take us with you?”
“Just lead the way.”
The only person who had different plans was Charlie. He stepped forward and p
ut a hand on Aaron’s shoulder.
“I won’t be coming along.”
Aaron nodded. He understood completely. “Your wife?”
“Yeah. She’s out there, and I will find her. Just like your girlfriend found you.”
“Charlie, she’s not my-” He turned to face Sam, embarrassed. “I never said that.”
She smiled, then pulled the AR-15 off her shoulder. She handed it to Charlie. “Take this. It’s not much, but hopefully it’ll get you to your next stop.”
He took the rifle. “Thank you.”
Amanda tugged at Charlie’s shirt. “Is it okay if I stay with Aaron?”
“Me too,” Derek said. “I’d like to stay too.”
Aaron saw a glimmer in Charlie’s eye as he fought off tears. Aaron knew Charlie had taken care of the two children for a long time, and now it was time to say goodbye.
“Of course it’s okay, guys,” he said. He knelt down to look Amanda in the eye. “You take care of Derek here, okay?”
Derek laughed. Aaron had never heard the teen laugh before.
“I will, Charlie. I’ll take care of Derek and Aaron, and his girlfriend too.”
“What’s this girlfriend shit?” Aaron mumbled. He looked at Sam. “I don’t know where they’re getting this girlfriend stuff from.”
She shook her head. “Shut up, Aaron.”
“Okay.”
Charlie gave Amanda and Derek a tight hug. He said goodbye to everyone he’d spent so much time with. Gibbons gave him a handshake and a hug.
“I’m sorry. For everything,” Gibbons said. “None of you should have ever been in a cage.”
“Hey, when walkers were everywhere, you helped get us out of there.”
Sam gave Charlie quick directions to I-95, using as many landmarks as she could remember. He thanked her.
“Good luck,” Aaron said.
Charlie climbed behind the wheel of one of the old prison trucks. “When I find my wife, maybe I’ll swing back through this way.”
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