by Poe, S. B.
“As I said, it is hard to explain. He looked like one of the dead. His skin, his pallor, even his eyes. And yet he was not one of the dead. I was not privy to any further explanation as I determined a course of action that brought me to find the doctor.” Cameron said.
“Okay, okay. And the others? Ed, Vernon?” Scott asked.
“Cody as well. They were all in good form. They remained with the stranger. To tend to him. And to watch as well.” Cameron said. “I am sure they shall have more information once I return with Raj.”
Raj came out the door throwing the backpack over his shoulder. He turned and looked back in the room and met Tilly’s eyes. They were full of tears.
“I’m fine. Go.” She laughed as she wiped the drops from her eyes.
“I’ll be back soon.” He said as he closed the door. He turned to Bridger. “We should take the truck.”
“It’s parked over by my place. We’ll get it on the way.” Bridger said. “I didn’t get all the details of what going on out there.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.” Raj said as they walked down the road.
The crowd at the gate seemed larger than when he left it. Evelyn, Emma Grace and Devin had joined the others. Kate stepped towards the truck when they stopped.
“We’ve got another problem.” Kate said as Bridger climbed out. She handed him a note.
“Violet and Peter left.” She said. “She left this”
“It was just stuck in the screen door at the house.” Emma Grace said.
“She told me they were just going to run out to her old home to grab some things.” Charlie said. “I let her through the gate first light this morning.”
“Her old home is inside the barricade.” Emma Grace said.
“Sorry. I didn’t know.” Charlie said.
“It says they’re heading for her aunt’s house at the beach. It doesn’t say which beach.” Kate said.
“And?” Bridger asked.
“They won’t make it.” Kate said. “We need to try to talk some sense into them.”
“No, we don’t.” Bridger said. “That’s not our job.”
“I didn’t say it was our job.”
“It’s not our business either.”
“I’m not saying haul them back or anything. Maybe just talk to them. Or at least make sure they have what they need for the ride. We could at least do that.” Kate said.
“Dammit Kate, I’ll take the other truck and go as far as the interstate. If I see them, I’ll talk to them. If not…” Bridger said.
“I’m coming with you.” Evelyn said.
“Me too.” Devin started.
“Nope. Just Evelyn. Devin, you make sure Raj has what he needs.” Bridger said. “Open the gate.”
“You need to make sure you keep the shift covered on the fence. Tilly wasn’t feeling well and I don’t think she’s over it.” Bridger said to Kate as he climbed in the truck.
“Why not?”
“She’s been a little under weather. Not sure she’s over it.” Bridger said.
“I’ll make sure we keep the place together.” Kate said.
“Just giving you all the info boss.” Bridger smiled.
“Hurry back.” She said.
Bridger pulled the SUV through the gate and followed the others through the edge of town. Evelyn sat quiet, looking out the passenger window. He glanced over at her as they passed the last few houses.
“Everything okay?” He asked.
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“What you said the other night. About not knowing what’s out here.” She said as they passed by the co-op sign. She could see the blue and yellow Walmart logo on the side of the tractor-trailer.
“We haven’t really been out here much in a few weeks. Not since we finished getting Cameron enough batteries for his solar project.” Bridger smiled.
“At least he keeps the walkies charged now. The rest still seems to be in various stages of development.” Evelyn said. “But you’re right.”
“About?”
“Needing to keep an eye on things out here. You think we’ll catch up to them? Violet and Peter?” She asked.
“Not a lot we can do. Even if we catch them.” Bridger said.
“I know it’s weird. We barely knew them. I don’t know why I even care they left. But I do.” She said.
“They were part of the tribe. Or we thought they were. But if they wanted to leave, I’m not sure why Kate feels we need to try to talk them out of it.” Bridger said.
“I think she just wants everyone to be okay.”
“She can’t save the whole world.” Bridger said.
“So just give up?” Evelyn asked.
“Sometimes you just have to move on.” Bridger said. “Especially if they don’t want your help.”
“How much further we gonna go?” Evelyn asked.
“I just wanna make sure they got around the roadblock, then we’ll head back.” Bridger said as he steered the SUV off the road and into the trail through the trees.
“It looks like they made it through.” They pulled out onto the asphalt again.
“Look up there.” Evelyn leaned forward in the seat pointing towards the interstate. A thin plume of black smoke rose in the sky. “What do you think?”
“Only one way to find out.” Bridger said as he slipped the vehicle back into gear and pulled towards the on ramp.
The SUV crept down the broken asphalt and both of them scanned the road. The pickup truck ahead was smoldering. The camper shell had melted when the mattress inside the bed caught fire and the whole thing smoked as the plastic bed liner smoldered under it all. Bridger stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Not sure. But I think that’s Violet’s truck.” Bridger said.
They both got out and walked around to the front. The truck had crashed into the corner of a concrete divider. The driver’s windshield was shattered and glass followed the path of the ejection. The passenger’s side was smashed but not punctured. Bridger looked at Evelyn.
“Wait here.” He said.
He stepped around the side of the truck, drawing his knife as he went. The passenger window was down and he leaned towards it. The face that appeared in the opening was ripped apart. Torn pieces of flesh hung loosely from large gashes along its cheeks. One of the eyes was missing and the things nose was dislodged to one side. Bridger barely recognized the child it had been. He raised the knife as the thing leaned its face towards him. He drove it through the hole where the eye had been. Pop. He turned and looked at Evelyn. She looked down when he caught her eye.
“LOOK OUT!” He yelled as the deadun pulled itself from behind the concrete barrier she stood against.
Evelyn jerked forward and spun around. She saw the strawberry blond hair and knew who it was even if all the skin on its face had been shredded when it made contact with the asphalt. She raised the pistol and fired one shot. The thing that had been Violet fell to the ground. She stood looking at the body until she felt him wrap his arms around her.
“You okay?” He asked.
“Yeah. This sucks.”
“Yeah.”
“What happened? Why were they going that fast?” Evelyn stood back and looked at the scene.
“Fast? What are you saying?”
“Don’t you think it’s odd that she was driving fast enough that when she hit this barrier it ejected her from the truck?” Evelyn looked around. “Why?”
“Maybe she was just being careless.” Bridger said.
“She should have seen this barricade for at least a quarter mile. Why didn’t she slow down?”
He looked around again. Evelyn saw the obvious thing he had missed. There was no reason for her to be driving that fast. Unless there was.
“You think they were being chased, don’t you?” He looked at her.
“It makes more sense. But who? And why?” Evelyn looked up and down the interstate.
Bridger walke
d around to the back of the truck. He looked at the smoldering mess in the bed. He could make out the remains of a mattress and a sleeping bag. He could see the aluminum supports of the camper shell twisted and wrapped in burnt plastic. It was what wasn’t there that mattered more.
“Whoever it was took all their stuff. There’s nothing back here. Not a can, a box, nothing.” Bridger said.
“So someone killed them for a few boxes of food?” Evelyn said.
“I’m not ready to say there are murdering bandits or something out here just yet. Maybe someone did try to rob them and she panicked trying to get away from them. Maybe it was an accident. Let’s not make this into something it may not be.” Bridger said. “But I agree, it doesn’t look good.”
“So what do we do?”
“Nothing.” Bridger said.
“Nothing?”
“We’ll take them back and bury them. That’s really all we can do.”
“What do we tell the others?”
“The truth. We don’t really know what happened.” Bridger said. “Come on. Let’s get them in the back of the SUV and head back.”
Raj pulled the truck between the house and the barn. Cameron directed him through the gate and into the upper pasture. They drove across the open ground until they came to the barbed wire fence.
“We’ll have to walk from here.” Cameron said as he opened the door.
“Doesn’t look like we’ll have to walk far. Look.” Raj said as he nodded.
Fifty yards into the woods they could see four men slowly walking through the trees. Ed raised his hand and waved. Raj watched the stranger. He walked like the dead. Leaned forward and stiff in his movements. His eyes focused on the ground under his feet and when he looked up, Raj felt himself catch his breath when he saw his eyes. They were opaque, glassy and dead.
Raj stepped away from the stranger slightly as Ed and Vernon helped him over the fence. They led him around to the back of the truck and he sat down on the tailgate. Raj approached slowly from the other side.
“It’s okay. I’m guessing you’re the doctor?” Ramey said.
“I am. Raj. My name is Raj.” He said.
“Ramey.”
“You probably already told the others how you came to be this way.” Raj said.
“I have.”
“You’re gonna have to tell it again. Sorry.” Raj said. “I’m going to need to hear it from you.”
“Sure. You want me to start now?” Ramey said.
“Please.” Raj folded his arms and listened. Ramey recounted the whole story again.
“And you don’t know what was in the syringe?” Raj asked.
“Not for sure. The old women had said they were working on a cure. Doesn’t seem to have worked.” Ramey looked at his own arms.
“And you weren’t bitten?” Raj asked.
“Don’t think so. That fella, Gideon, he was dead and I think he was turning when I passed out. After that, I don’t know. But I haven’t found any bite marks.”
“Well, let’s check you over now. Can you take your clothes off?”
“I’ll need some help.” Ramey said as he tried to unbutton his shirt. “My fingers don’t have much feeling.”
“Sure.” Raj helped him pull his shirt off and checked him over. They pulled his pants down to his ankles. No bites.
“What do you think happened to you?” Raj asked as he finished buttoning the last button.
“I think whatever was in that shot killed me. I think it’s just taking its time.” Ramey said.
“I don’t know if you’re right or not but I don’t think it matters. I don’t know how to fix it.” Raj said. “But I know we can help you.”
“Help? How?”
“You can come with us. We can give you shelter, food.” Raj said.
“Whoa, hold on there.” Ed chimed in. “You sure about that?”
“Yeah doc, not saying I don’t appreciate your skills,” Cody raised his stump, “But seriously, look at him.”
“You might get Kate to go along with you but Bridger ain’t gonna go for it. Hell, your wife ain’t gonna go for it either.” Ed said.
“I don’t blame them.” Ramey said. “He’s right. Look at me. Do you have gates? A wall? Fences?”
“We do.” Raj said.
“I wouldn’t let something that looked like me inside them. I don’t know what will happen to me but you can take a pretty good guess. Do you want me sleeping in the next room when it does?” Ramey said.
“No, I guess I don’t.” Raj said. “But you said the dead leave you alone.”
“They do.” Ramey nodded.
“Then stay outside our gates. There are houses outside our walls that are just like the ones inside our walls. It would be more comfortable than the woods and close enough that I can check on you.” Raj said.
“Check on me?” Ramey said.
“Just because I don’t know how to fix you right now, doesn’t mean I couldn’t figure it out.” Raj said.
“Sounds a lot like a lab rat.” Ramey said. “But I’ll agree. For now.”
They all loaded into the truck. Ramey rode in the back with Raj. They stopped at the corner gas station, just out of sight of the gate.
“Down that road. Maybe a hundred yards past where you can see. That’s the gate. Someone is on watch all the time.” Raj said. “That house there was clear a few days ago. You can watch both main streets from its porch.” He pointed across the street.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“You need any food or anything?” Ed asked.
“I’ll find something out here. I don’t eat much now. Weird but useful.” Ramey said.
“I’ll come back this evening. Bridger will want to meet you. Kate too.” Raj said.
“Who are they?”
“They keep things together.” Raj said.
“Your wife too. Red runs this place.” Ed smiled.
“Yeah, she’s probably not gonna get involved in this.” Raj said.
“She’ll get involved. You watch.” Ed said. Raj turned briskly and put his finger in Ed’s face.
“No, she won’t. She can’t. I won’t let her. She has more important things to worry about now.” Raj turned and started walking towards the gate. The others stood and watched him walk away.
“Geez, what the hell was that about?” Ed asked.
“Like I said Ed, you’re a fucking pro at making friends. Let’s go. See ya around Ramey.” Cody climbed into the truck. The others joined him.
Ramey watched them drive off. He turned and walked to the house Raj had pointed out. He knocked on the door and heard the shuffling. He opened the door. The rotter came nose to nose with him and slid to the side. He could smell the rot coming from the thing but he could smell something else. Something oddly sweet. He looked up and down the street as the thing shuffled by. He stepped inside and closed the door.
Into this World
7
Kate walked with Scott back from the gate. Charlie and Jennifer would keep watch on top of the bus for the rest of the day. Scott and Ham would be back on tomorrow morning.
“I think I’m gonna go see the horse.” Scott said. “That was so cool. It’s been gone so long. And now it’s back. How weird is that?”
“Ham seemed happy.” Kate said. “I haven’t seen her smile like that since Martin…” She trailed off.
“Don’t you get started too.”
“What do you mean, too?” Kate asked.
“Tilly. She got all blubbery this morning. Not even sure what Bridger said. She was bawling.”
“Really?”
“Well not bawling, but she was crying. Like a happy cry.”
“Bridger and Evelyn said Tilly was sick.” Kate said.
“Maybe she is, she wasn’t acting like herself.” Scott said. “See ya later.”
Kate watched him walk between the two houses heading to the little green spot in the middle of town. She turned and looked back towards the gate and then towards the bi
g house. Tilly and Raj’s house was just ahead on the left. She started walking.
Tilly jumped up off the couch when the knock came to the door. Worrying about Raj had kept her from falling asleep.