The Bargaining Path

by T. Rudacille

  ***

  “Let us squash it, as Violet says.” I told her randomly, as we stood on the outskirts of the town square, getting ready to push back the leaves of the various trees that were blocking the square from our sight. We could hear the screams of those killing or of those dying. We could hear the sound of teeth crunching bone and nails slashing through all layers of skin. We could even hear the blood droplets hitting the ground.

  Savannah looked at me and nodded.

  “I’m sorry.” She told me.

  “No.” I shook my head back and forth, avoiding her eyes. “I am… that. Also.”

  “Aww…” She smiled and cupped my chin in her hand lightly. “That’s beautiful, Brynna.”

  A laugh escaped me, and I realized how wrong I was to have suspected her. I was just tense and high on adrenaline. At first, we had been pulled together by the life-threatening danger of our mission, but then, just as quickly, that danger had begun to tear us apart. Now, we were rebuilding that unity, and it would last this time.

  “Do you think you will be able to cover me from here? There is an empty stand right in front of us that you can duck behind if one of them attacks me. But only shoot if it really looks like they are going to swarm me. Alright?”

  “What are you talking about? I’m going in with you.”

  “No.” I replied simply.

  “That’s what you think.”

  “Savannah…”

  “I’m sorry, are we going to talk and argue again, or are we going to handle this? By the sounds of them, there are not going to be many of our people left very soon.”

  I pushed the leaves back slightly, so we would not be detected. The sight even made me gasp.

  The dead bodies were innumerable. Our people were feeling the rage, sadness, and fear in waves, and whichever one of those three deadly emotions took precedence was felt by all of them at once. So, since rage was the phase being experienced now, they were all behaving savagely.

  Our infected people were not eating the dead, or at least, I hoped they were not, but they were certainly ripping into their skin and tearing out most of their organs. I was reminded of those zombie films and shows I had devoured (no pun intended) when I was a little younger. I knew it was silly, but I found myself wondering whether these infected people would shamble towards me, growling and snarling, easily dispatched individually but terribly dangerous in a group, or if they would charge me with deadly speed, screeching and roaring.

  When I walked out from behind the tree, I became aware of two things: One, the latter of those two options was correct, and two, that several children, including a few of Penny’s friends, were up on top of one of the buildings, huddled together and crying, as several of the infected tried to climb up the ladder to get them. Some of the kids were screaming, and the sound cut right through to my core; I could not help but picture Penny in the same peril clearly, and the sight of it pained me.

  At least twenty of them became aware of my presence and stormed towards me immediately, just as I had suspected they would. All were screeching, their arms reaching out towards me, their eyes wide and murderous. Strips of bloody skin and pieces of shredded organs hung from their mouths, and for just one half-second, I panicked. Then, the fear evaporated, and I was shouting back at Savannah to fire the gun into the air.

  The sound left my ears ringing, but it accomplished what I had needed it to accomplish: I now had the attention of every rabid, cannibalistic, infected person in the city square. I could hear in their minds their will to not injure but kill, and not to just kill, but to kill violently, with no mercy and by inflicting terrible pain. Like mindless beasts agitated by loud, sudden sounds, they looked for the source of the shot, ready to attack the person who had so cruelly interrupted their feasting rage.

  Reaching out a hand, I closed my eyes and focused on a calm image, something that I had seen a long time ago. I remembered standing on a beach with Maura, Elijah, and Violet, who was still so small that Maura had been carrying her in a sarong that was lashed across her chest. The feeling of peace I felt so strongly at seeing that insignificant little memory from so many years earlier filled me up with a serene light, and that light sent a gentle cascade of warmth from my head, down my neck, and through my outstretched hand. The heaving breaths, the growls, the sound of gritting teeth, and the lustful violence in the air soothed in perfect slowness. The ones lying rose so they were sitting or kneeling, their eyes trained on me still and alight with soft dullness and peace. Their fear and sadness were erased.

  At least two hundred people. In the fading afternoon light, I watched as at least two hundred people mercifully obeyed my plea for calm. The ones who were standing fell to their knees. The ones who were lying rose up to sit and look in my direction. The silence left in the place of the chaotic noise did not jar me, for once. Instead, it brought a heaviness to my eyes and a sudden calm to my heart. The whole world, it seemed, had fallen silent, and in its silence, I feared nothing. I grieved nothing. I was angry about nothing. If I felt none of it, then they did not, either. It had taken effort, certainly, but not nearly as much as I had feared it would; only moments earlier, I had been so unsure of whether or not I would even be able to control their minds and calm them, and now, I saw that it had taken very little of my strength to do it. My power was stronger than I ever could have imagined.

  “My stars...” I murmured, because what else could I say?

  So that was why it was so powerful. I looked out at the countless bodies all slumped over, so blissfully calm after such chaos, and understood why Adam valued my power so much. This was merely one part of it; in fact, it was only a tiny fraction. This was only the beginning.

  When I lowered my hand, Savannah held onto it in both of hers. I looked to see that she looked as completely dumbfounded as I felt. Her mouth was agape, her eyes were widened slightly, and the gun was hanging from her slack grip in the hand that was not holding my own.

  “Go home.” I said, my voice trembling slightly. “Lock your doors and hide. Do not come out and do not let anyone in.” I told them firmly but not cruelly. They all rose, and slowly, in unison, dispersed in different directions, heading toward their homes.

  Several of the children were emerging, approaching us. Their terrified minds screamed, but they trusted Savannah and me. I felt the small arms of Tajal and Maribel, Penny’s friends, around my waist, and I wrapped my arms around their trembling shoulders. Two more children held onto me, and several were holding onto Savannah. For a good long while, we embraced those poor, frightened, little souls and stared at the carnage before us. I closed my eyes and sent a gentle whisper through the children's minds, telling them to close their eyes in that motherly way I whispered to Penny when she was afraid and having trouble sleeping, and they all did.

  “We have to take them away.” Savannah told me. “We need to get them somewhere safe.”

  “Yes.” I answered. The smallest one, a tiny girl just newly turned one, it seemed, was sitting in the dirt at my feet where she had only just fallen after crawling there. Her tiny hands reached up to me, and without hesitation, I reached down and scooped her up, and together, Savannah and I led this frightened group away. Together, we deposited them in a house and alone, I remembered my innocence being stolen by an evil man. It had been in a different way, of course; I was fortunate enough to never witness murder, but nevertheless, my youthful light had been snuffed out by him. Turning back to see the tear-stained faces of those many children, I used the last of my strength to wield my power again. With my eyes open, I pictured a blank slate. I reached out to them and watched their eyes take on a dull, drunken quality. In one moment, I brought back their innocent ignorance. So exhausted from it all, the whole day, the whole saga, I used what was left of my strength to summon back their blindness to the evil I had seen so young, as well. That is making it sound more glorious perhaps than it was. I suppose, if I put it simply, it was a modest and not so impressive feat.

  I only ma
de them forget.

  “That was... That was...” Savannah was saying, and I could see her shaking severely. “Oh, my God... Brynna, that was...”

  “I know.” I said emotionlessly, “I know.”