When water first ran out, they found a working well at a nearby farm and had used it for many months, but somehow a zombie found its way inside, contaminating all the drinking water. They had enough bottled water to last a month, maybe more, but for two dozen people, it was a scary thought for what would happen when the water ran out.
There had been several discussions over the previous weeks in regards to how they would move forward. Some people said they should move on, try to find a better place. There was mention of sending scouts out in search of new settlements. Bill and Greg had formed a faction that favored a more violent approach. They said they knew of other places, places that were living better than they were. They wanted to attack them, to take what they had by force. Clarence, the only man capable of keeping Bill and Greg in check, had quickly shot this idea down, but Juliet couldn’t help but think the conversation she overheard was related.
After a minute of silence, she peeked around the edge again. She caught a glimpse as Greg and Bill disappearing around the side of the trailer. Juliet took off running. She needed to tell her father, he would know what to do.
She found him sitting at the kitchen table in their trailer. They never cooked in the kitchen. It was against the rules to bring back food from the cafeteria. Her father looked like a mannequin as he sat there, his clothes draping off of his body. They were the same size he had always worn, but he had lost a lot of weight in the past year. Depression and stress had taken their toll on his body. He was even beginning to lose his hair, his blond hairline slowly receding into his scalp.
“Dad…” He didn’t look up for a moment.
“What is it, Jules?” He always called her Jules, because he said she was as precious as any diamond.
“I overheard Bill and Greg talking. I think they are planning something. They said something about ‘tonight is the night’.”
Cedric sat up straight, his sunken eyes alarmed. It was the most alert she had seen him in weeks. “Are you sure?” Panic coated his voice. “You’re sure that that’s exactly what they said?”
Juliet nodded. Cedric stood up from the table, nearly knocking the chair over, and bolted to the door.
“Jules, stay here. Whatever you do, stay here. I need to go try and talk them out of this. Oh god, I thought it was just talk…” His voice trailed off as he slammed the door.
Juliet stared at the door in her father’s wake. It had been a long time since she saw him so flustered. He must know what they were talking about, she thought.
Juliet stepped out of the trailer. The sun was beginning to set, casting an eerie glow on the horizon. In the far south, lightning flashed. The last thing they needed was a thunderstorm. The trailer felt like it was going to fall apart any time the least bit of rain came. The rusted metal steps shook beneath Juliet’s feet with each step. Cedric told her to stay in the trailer, but her gut told her she needed to follow him. She set off towards Bill and Greg’s trailer. The two of them were roommates at the far end of the park. The other residents preferred to live as far away from those two as possible, so the surrounding trailers were empty. Meadow Valley had not been at full capacity for many months.
Darkness swept over, painting the night sky by the time Juliet arrived. One of the windows flickered from the candlelight inside. There was no power in Meadow Valley. She could hear raised voices, yelling at each other. One of the voices belonged to her father.
“You can’t do this. You just can’t. How could you possibly think it is a good idea? Do you want to get us all killed? Greg, Bill, be reasonable here. This is not a war zone. You don’t want it to become one.”
This set off Bill. “Now don’t you go telling me what I want. You hear me! We did things his way, the old loon. It didn’t work. We’re all gonna starve or die of thirst if we don’t make a move. Now get hell out of here.”
“Greg, please,” her father pleaded.
“You heard the man. Get!” said Greg, like he was talking to a rowdy dog.
Silence.
“I can’t let you do this.” For her father to stand up to them, they had to be planning something bad. Dad, please don’t do anything stupid.
There was a loud crack before the door opened. Cedric walked out the door, holding his jaw. A trail of blood trickled down his arm. Juliet ducked into the shadows, careful not to be seen.
What are they planning? War zone? This can’t be good. She expected her father to go home, but he walked towards the mess hall. He was going to see Clarence. Hopefully, he could put a stop to Bill and Greg’s plan. Whatever it was.
Clarence’s trailer was closest to the administrative building. Her dad gave a hard knock on the door and a few seconds later disappeared inside. Several long minutes passed before he emerged, shaking his head. Clarence, old and gray with the solemn appearance of a funeral director, gave him a pat on the back.
“Go on home now. I’ve known Bill and Greg for a long time. They talk a lot, but they won’t do anything. Get yourself some sleep.”
Cedric walked, shoulders hunched in defeat, back towards their home. Juliet took a shortcut between neighboring yards in order to beat him to their trailer. She sat waiting on the couch when her dad walked through the door.
“Everything okay?” she asked, on the edge of her seat.
“I don’t know…” He paused. “Maybe I was overreacting.” He took a seat next to her. His chin was swollen; a small scab had formed over the gash.
“What happened to your face? Should I get you a cloth?”
He gave her a weak smile. “It’s okay, hon. Just a small disagreement with Bill.”
“It doesn’t look like a small disagreement. It looks like he punched you in the face. You know you can talk to me, Dad. I’m not a little kid anymore.” He hadn’t opened up to Juliet since her mom died. She knew he hadn’t talked to anyone about it. He hadn’t grieved and it was eating his body alive.
“I know, Jules. It’s just…maybe Clarence is right. They aren’t the two brightest.” They might not be bright, but she knew they were conniving.
“Dad, I heard them talking. I know they are up to something. You know it too.”
“What can I do, Jules?” His eyes pleaded with her for an answer he didn’t have. “You want me to kill them? Because that’s the only way around it. It’s the only way to stop what they have planned.”
“What are they going to do, Dad? Tell me.”
Cedric let out a deep sigh. “They are going to kill Clarence and take control of this place.”
A chill ran up Juliet’s spine. It was worse than she thought. She couldn’t live in a place where those two men were in charge. The things they might do…
“Dad, we have to—” A gunshot blast cut her words short. Cedric jumped at the sound, then hurried to the door. Outside, trailer doors were opening and the residents of Meadow Valley spilled into their gravel driveways. Bullets were a rarity in Meadow Valley.
“What’s going on?” a man asked no one in particular. He was wearing nothing but plaid boxers. A woman stood wrapped in a bathrobe, holding her child close.
In the distance, someone was yelling. Juliet could see the silhouettes of two men in the moonlight.
“I know you heard it, now everybody come here. We got us a few announcements.” Bill spit tobacco into the gravel. Greg and Bill stood over Clarence’s body as blood pooled around a wound to his chest. He lay unmoving and as Juliet and the rest moved closer, she knew he was dead. A lantern sat on the gravel, igniting the scene.
“What’s the meaning of this?” a man asked. Juliet knew him as Timothy. They had only spoken a few times.
“Just hold your horses,” said Greg. He chewed on a twig of grass. “We’ll explain everything as soon as everyone gets here.”
It took a few minutes for everyone to show up, but as Bill kept yelling, soon everyone was out of bed. Greg went around and took a head count before speaking.
He walked over and stood behind Clarence’s body. Juliet thought her dad was go
ing to say something when Greg pressed his boot on Clarence’s chest. She gripped his arm and felt the fight die within him.
“We are in charge now.” He said it calmly, enunciating each word better than Juliet had ever heard him speak. “Things are about to change.”
Silence washed over the crowd. Whether they were scared or shocked, Juliet didn’t know. Probably a mixture of both. She couldn’t be the only one completely surprised by what was happening.
“Any objections?” asked Bill. He stood behind Greg holding a rifle, the barrel pointed toward the ground.
Timothy moved forward. “I damn well have an objection. You can’t just—” The blast from the gun caused Juliet to jump. A few women shrieked and a young child began to whimper. Timothy’s objection was cut short by a bullet to the head. He fell forward slowly, eyes still open with an angry scowl on his face, and landed with a crunch on the gravel.
“Anyone else? How about you, Cedric?” Juliet squeezed her father harder, silently begging him to be quiet. She didn’t want to think what these monsters would do to her without him around.
“No objections.” He sounded defeated when he said it.
Juliet looked over to her father, his head down, staring at his feet. Her gaze moved around the crowd, but no one made eye contact. They were terrified to move, to even look away. It was better to feel defeated and still be alive, Juliet knew that much.
“Good. We’ll talk more tomorrow. You all go and get some sleep.”
The group turned to walk away, but a groan brought them back. Clarence’s body began to stir beneath Bill’s boot. It writhed against him, arm gripping at his legs. A smile crept across Bill’s face. Most of the people of Meadow Valley had not dealt with a zombie in the time they had been there. They were so isolated that the small fence had been enough to keep any zombies out, and those that lingered were dealt with swiftly.
“Bill, can I borrow your gun for a minute?” Greg scoped the crowd, looking each one of them in the eye. Then he took the gun and brought the butt of it down on Clarence’s head, crushing his skull and spilling brains onto the gravel. He laughed and waved at everyone to leave. “Nighty-night.”
Back at their trailer, Cedric sat calmly on the couch. Juliet followed his lead, though she was panicking inside. They didn’t speak. The past year hadn’t been easy, but they had survived. She dared not think about what would happen under the leadership of those two. And poor Timothy, shot for speaking his mind.
It was all too much. She sat silently as the tears flowed down her cheeks. Cedric noticed her faint sniffles and wrapped his arm around her.
“Listen to me, Jules,” he whispered. “I’m going to get us out of here. We have to stay calm for now. In a few hours, when everyone is asleep, we are going to pack up everything we can carry and we’re going to leave.” He pulled her close. It had been so long since she felt his fatherly embrace that she almost broke down.
When Juliet looked into her father’s eyes, he had a sense of determination she had not seen in a long time.
“Where will we go?” This was the only place they had known since the world ended. Greg and Bill talked of other places, but there was no proof they existed.
“It doesn’t matter. Anywhere is better than this.”
The trailer felt like a tomb as the hours passed by. Each second seemed to drag on for eternity as she waited for her dad to tell her to pack. When the time finally came, it was a welcome relief.
They packed everything they could fit into two bags. It wasn’t much in any case, some clothes, a few bottles of water, and no food. It was all kept in the cafeteria. They would have to find food on the outside. Stopping for food here would risk being caught. They didn’t have weapons, so Juliet grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stuffed it in her bag.
The click of the door seemed to echo through the silent night. Once outside, the gentle hoot of an owl was the only sound aside from the crunch of gravel beneath their boots.
Cedric twisted the ignition, but the car didn’t start. The grinding noise echoed in the dark, sending Juliet’s heart racing. Cedric pumped the gas and tried again. The car started with a roar. It was an old, beat-up sedan, rusted out in places, but it had gotten the job done in the old days. Cedric kept the lights off as they slowly rolled down the driveway. They passed each trailer with caution, hoping the occupants were sound asleep on the other side. The gentle purr of the engine and the light crunch of gravel beneath the tires seemed to stretch out into eternity in the silent night. The gate was in view when they pulled beside Clarence’s trailer. As they drove past, the door opened and a man stepped into the moonlight, a gun pointed at their car.
“Dad, he’s going to shoot us! Drive faster!” Juliet screamed, ducking her head as low as she could.
The tires spun in the gravel, sending rocks flying into the night as Cedric pushed down hard on the gas. A gunshot boomed behind them and the hood of their car clanked as the bullet passed through the metal to the engine. Cedric continued on, aiming for the gate that was chained shut.
It burst off the hinges from the force of the small car, sending the chain whipping back against the fence with deadly force.
Cedric drove faster and faster, guided only by the light of the moon, too afraid to draw attention to them by using the headlights. He pulled off at the first road he saw and then mazed his way through the night until he was certain they were hidden.
Juliet’s heart pounded. This was her first time being out in the world again. The danger seemed apparent as she looked off into the woods, not knowing what could be hidden in its depths.
“What now, Dad?” she asked.
“I don’t know, Jules.” He gripped the steering wheel and let out a deep sigh. “I just don’t know.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The horizon glowed with the last traces of daylight. Connor and Juliet pulled into the alcove where they had last seen Phil. The woods were alive as bugs fluttered in the foreground of the orange and pink horizon. The setting was peaceful. Connor was anything but.
The keys jingled violently in Connor’s hands as he pulled them from the ignition. He cursed when he dropped them to the floor.
Juliet placed her hand on his and gave a tender squeeze. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to find him.” As much as he cared for her, the words offered no comfort. Words were empty. He would feel better when they found Phil. If we find Phil, Connor thought.
Connor took a deep breath, an attempt to steady himself. They were close enough to the pits that he could smell decay in the air mixed with the earthiness of the forest floor. Calm down. Acting like this will get me nowhere. Connor was closer to Phil than anyone else in the world. Phil was the reason they had been able to survive, Connor never had to watch his back when he knew Phil was on the other side. They were more than brothers, they were also best friends.
Flashlights in hand, they marched through the woods, yelling Phil’s name into the twilight to no response. Connor tried the walkie-talkie again, but all that answered was static. As night approached, the beams from their flashlights pierced like daggers into the unknown. Tree branches cast shadows that grasped at them from the darkness. A pack of coyotes howled in the distance at the full moon overhead. Connor hurried through the woods.
Two eyes gleamed in the darkness and Connor froze, placing his arm out to stop Juliet. There was a scurry of leaves and the eyes disappeared into the shadows. Probably a rabbit or a wild cat.
“If you were Phil, where would you go?” asked Juliet.
Connor thought hard before answering. Phil wouldn’t be out this late, that was one of their rules. Out here, Phil had nowhere to go. “It doesn’t matter. Our rule is we never stay out past sundown. So either he is out here hurt, or something worse.”
“Those aren’t the only two options. He could have come back while we were gone, and then took off through the woods. We could have just missed each other.” Connor knew she was trying to raise his spirits, but he refused to buy into i
t. This wasn’t a clever movie where happenstance kept people apart.
“Then why didn’t he respond on the walkie-talkie? Answer that, Juliet.” Connor raised his voice, almost to a yell. He was being cruel and he knew it. But it felt better to yell, and at least he was in control of his anger. He could direct it wherever he wanted. In times of great turmoil, his anger was his shield and his sword.
“Connor…” Even in the darkness he could hear the hurt in her voice.
“I’m sorry. I’m just worried is all.” He went to Juliet and kissed her forehead. She had done nothing to deserve his wrath. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Let’s just try to find Phil. He has to be around here somewhere.” Connor held Juliet close. He closed his eyes, trying to let her calming effect wash over him. With his eyes closed, he heard crickets chirping, the coyotes in the distance, and…movement.
“Phil?” Connor spoke into the darkness. “Phil, are you out there?” he asked a little louder.
“What is it?” asked Juliet. She gripped Connor’s arm and he felt her nails digging through his shirt.
“I thought I heard someone walking. Could have been the wind, or an animal.”
They searched through the woods, calling Phil’s name and hearing nothing but echoes in return. They journeyed hastily to the north pit. It offered no clue to Phil’s whereabouts. The zombies writhed in the beams of their flashlights, swaying back and forth like the darkness at the bottom of the ocean. They reached their withered, rotting hands out, grasping towards Connor and Juliet. Their hiss hung in the air long after they were gone.
“Should we keep looking or head back?” asked Juliet.
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