by Barry Slater
Captain Jack backed out onto the roadway and headed toward the house.
#
“Are any of the animals here?” Kim asked.
“Snowflake is still here,” Dwayne responded.
“Snowflake?”
“A snow leopard,” Dwayne said. “She was a performer in magic shows.”
“Wow,” Kim smiled. “Cool.”
“And there's Albert and Niels,” Dwayne said.
“Albert and Niels?” Kim asked.
“Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr.” Dwayne smiled. “A pair of giant cockatoos. We named them Albert and Niels so they could spend all their time discussing physics or whatever it is cockatoos spend all their time discussing.”
Kim smiled.
“It's time to check on them,” Dwayne said. “Want to come along?”
“What'sa matta you?” Kim teased with an Italian accent. “What, you think-a I don't like-a the animals? Of course-a I want-a to come along.”
Dwayne smiled. Kim seemed to continue to recover from her losses and it continued to give him hope.
Dwayne offered Kim his arm. Kim wrapped her arm around his and the two walked arm in arm toward the compound.
Kim was taken at the first sight of Snowflake.
“Oh my God,” Kim said placing her hand over her mouth. “She's beautiful!”
“She's almost out of food,” Dwayne said. “Fortunately, Albert and Niels have plenty.”
“Where are Albert and Niels?” Kim asked.
“Over here,” Dwayne pointed.
“Dwayne,” Kim chastised Dwayne. “You put birds next to a cat? What were you thinking?”
Embarrassed, Dwayne looked down then smiled and shook his head. “What was I thinking?”
“They're beautiful,” Kim said.
“Yeah,” Dwayne said as he admired the bright plumage exhibited by Albert and Niels. “Oh shoot!”
“What is it?”
“I completely forgot about Sandy and Pete,” Dwayne responded.
“Who are Sandy and Pete?”
“A pair of bald eagles that were injured,” Dwayne answered. “I haven't had a chance to release them. Would you like to help?”
“Oh my God yes,” Kim answered.
Dwayne led Kim to Sandy and Pete's habitat. Kim was awestruck.
“I've never been this close to an eagle before,” Kim remarked.
“We'll open their cage door and then step back,” Dwayne said.
Sandy and Pete bobbed their heads as Dwayne and Kim gave them room. The pair spread their massive wings and glided down from their perch then walked out of their habitat past Dwayne and Kim.
In a windstorm of dust and loose feathers, Pete lifted himself off the ground, propelled himself into the air and across the grassy field to the forest behind the compound.
Quickly following Pete, Sandy launched herself into the clouded sky. The two paired up and together flew toward the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
Dwayne and Kim looked at each other and smiled. A moment of wonder of what could be reflected in their eyes, but the moment was interrupted by the sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway.
“It's Doc and Captain Jack,” Dwayne said excited. “They're back!”
Captain Jack entered the gate code then drove inside the fence as Dwayne and Kim ran toward the house to meet them.
“Are you guys OK?” Dwayne asked.
“Yeah,” Captain Jack said as he looked up at the rooftop balcony. “There was no one on watch?”
Dwayne looked at Kim. “We were feeding the animals.”
Captain Jack looked at Kim then back at Dwayne. “I'm sorry buddy. I shouldn’t have said that. That was none of my business.”
“No,” Dwayne said solemnly. “You are absolutely right Captain Frost. I should have been on watch.”
“You know,” Captain Jack smiled and put his arm around Dwayne's shoulder and walked him toward the house. Captain Jack sensed something special was happening between Kim and Dwayne. “Maybe something good just might come out of all of this after all.”
“Did you guys find anything out there?” Dwayne asked eager to change the subject.
“Yeah,” Doc Martin shouted up ahead at Dwayne. “We found what was left of the militants.”
“A zombinee and his dead buddy,” Captain Jack said. “And no more assholes.”
“Well that's it then,” Dwayne said. “They're gone. It's only the dead we have to deal with now.”
“We hope,” Captain Jack said.
“There are some things at my house we could use,” Kim said as she and Doc Martin caught up with Dwayne and Captain Jack.
Kim looked at Dwayne.
“Why don't you two go?” Captain Jack said. “Doc and I will stay here.”
Dwayne nodded his head. “OK then.”
#
Dwayne opened the truck door and helped Kim inside. They waved to Doc Martin and Captain Jack then drove out through the gate.
The first part of the trip was quiet. Dwayne was shy, like a high schooler on his first date. Kim wisely waited for Dwayne to initiate the conversation in an attempt to see what he was interested in talking about. She was in distinct awe of him. Her respect for Dwayne had deepened with each passing day. No one had ever opened a door for her.
The anticipation of what lie ahead along the six-mile trip to Zephyr Cove diminished. Highway 50 was relatively clear. Only a few stragglers were shuffling along the side of the road examining the passing heat source with their lifeless expressions as Kim and Dwayne drove by.
“It's still dangerous out here isn't it?” Kim asserted breaking the awkward silence.
“As long as the zombinees—as Captain Jack likes to call them—don’t learn how to drive or use a weapon we'll be OK,” Dwayne explained. “It's the people that are still alive that pose the biggest threat. You never know what a stranger will do. They are our biggest worry until things start getting back to normal.”
“And that won't happen until there's a reduction in the population of zombinees,” Kim deducted.
“That's why they nuked LA,” Dwayne said with discernment in his eyes.
“They nuked LA?” Kim asked.
“You didn't know, did you?” Dwayne responded. “It must have been zombinee city.”
“My God,” Kim said. “I had friends there.”
“We took Albert and Niels to see the children at an orphanage there last summer,” Dwayne said in thought. “Which way?”
“Make a right at the next street,” Kim responded. “They say all is fair in love and war.”
“I guess so,” Dwayne said reluctantly. “When you're trying to win either one.”
“Yeah,” Kim said as she looked at Dwayne.
“The next driveway on the right,” Kim said pointing to a small, two story Victorian style house.
Dwayne pulled into the driveway and the two got out. The thumb latch front door was unlocked and Kim and Dwayne slowly made their way inside.
“It's just like I left it,” Kim said as she looked around. A thin layer of dust coated everything inside.
Dwayne followed Kim upstairs to the master bedroom. She looked over her personal things, photos of her and her husband, jewelry and makeup. All were still there but seemed like they were from another time.
From her closet Kim filled a tote bag with several pairs of shirts, pants and underwear. She took her toothbrush, toothpaste and soap from the bathroom.
A key from a small cedar box opened a gun cabinet inside the closet. Kim handed a 12 g auge autoloader shotgun and a hunting rifle to Dwayne along with several boxes of ammo for each.
Before going downstairs, Kim stopped at her dresser and paused for a moment then took off her wedding ring and laid it next to the picture of her husband.
“There's food in here,” Kim said as she grabbed several of the reusable shopping bags she kept in the kitchen pantry. “I'll get the small stuff if you'll grab the cat food for Snowflake. It's the two
bags there.” Kim tilted her head toward two forty pound bags of dry cat food sitting on the floor inside the pantry.
Dwayne took the weapons to the truck then went back inside for the food. Kim finished filling the shopping bag with canned and dry food as Dwayne loaded the cat food into the back of the truck.
“Do you have a vehicle?” Dwayne asked.
“Yes,” Kim responded. The thought had never crossed her mind. “In the garage.”
Kim tried to start the Toyota Corolla but there was no power, no headlights—nothing.
“The battery is dead,” Dwayne said. “It's been sitting too long. We'll come back for it.”
Before getting into the truck, Kim looked at the house. “I don't want to come back. The past is gone,” she said then took Dwayne's hand. “I'm leaving it all here. The future is all we have now.”
Letting go of the past was Kim's greatest strength, but it was Dwayne's greatest weakness, and he knew it. Out of admiration of her, Dwayne kissed Kim's hand. Kim's heart melted. Her skin tingled. A swarm of butterflies danced inside her. It had been three months since anyone had made any type of affectionate physical contact with her. For it to be with Dwayne was like a fairy tale, a romantic one of a royal prince and a commoner's daughter meeting for the first time and falling in love.
Did Dwayne feel the same, she wondered.
“Let's go home,” Dwayne said solemnly.
#
On the way back home, incredibly, Dwayne and Kim passed a man standing on the side of the road at the Elk's Point intersection. Dwayne stopped at a safe distance from the man then turned to Kim.
“Does that look right to you?” Dwayne asked.
“He looks—normal,” Kim responded.
Dwayne backed up in the inner lane then lowered the passenger window.
“Are you OK?” Dwayne asked.
After a moment of contemplation, the young man answered. “I'm fine.”
“You look kinda weird out here dressed like that,” Dwayne observed.
The young Catholic priest looked at his black clergy suit and white Roman collar, then at Dwayne. “I thought you were one of them,” he said.
“Not unless the zombinees have learned to drive,” Kim said.
“Zombinees?” the preacher said.
“The dead,” Dwayne said. “Or the undead. Them. As in zombies.”
“They are God's sheep,” the preacher said. “They have lost their way. They only need a shepherd to guide them.”
Dwayne looked at Kim. With a slight shrug of her shoulders Dwayne looked at the preacher and said, “I'm Dwayne. This is Kim.”
Dwayne held his hand out.
“I'm Father Bryan,” he said as he shook Dwayne's hand. Dwayne could feel the warmth of the preacher's hand.
“What are you doing out here like this?” Dwayne asked.
“Looking for lost souls to save,” Father Bryan answered.
“Are you OK?”
“Yes.”
“You're welcome to come with us,” Dwayne offered.
“Let me pray about it,” Father Bryan said. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. He gestured the sign of the cross several times as he said a few words under his breath. “OK. We're good to go. I'll just put this in the back.” Father Bryan took a sword and its sheath from across his back and gently laid it in the bed of the truck.
Dwayne and Kim looked at each other. Dwayne felt for the .45.
“Guys,” Father Bryan said sensing Dwayne and Kim's concern. “I take my religion very seriously.”
“That's good,” Dwayne said. “Because you scared the shit out of me there for a moment.”
“This is all part of God's incredible plan,” Father Bryan said.
“I'm glad there's a plan,” Dwayne said with a hint of sarcasm. “What is it?”
“It's Revelation.”
#
“Doc, Captain, this is Father Bryan.” Dwayne introduced the preacher as he stepped out of the truck. Father Bryan was of the same sturdy build as Captain Jack but a bit taller and a bit shorter than Dwayne. His dark, straight hair was combed flat across his head and he was sporting a dark, three-day stubble.
With Dwayne's help, Kim got out on the driver’s side and stepped onto the cold cement driveway.
“What are you doing in this part of the woods preacher?” Captain Jack asked. “Are there any churches around here?”
“It's Father Bryan,” the preacher said.
“OK. My friends call me Captain Jack but you can call me—um—anything you like. I am not easily offended like some people are now days.”
Father Bryan smiled. “That’s fair enough. I'll call you what everyone else calls you.”
“Fair enough,” Captain Jack said.
“I came to aid Father Salvador at The Lady of the Lake,” Father Bryan said.
“Did you find him?” Dwayne asked.
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“He ran out of his diabetes medication,” Father Bryan answered. “He died three days ago.”
“Three days ago,” Captain Jack repeated.
“That asshole Colonel Tibbets probably took all the insulin from the pharmacy,” Doc Martin said.
“There's food and water inside,” Dwayne said. “You're welcome to it.”
“Thank you,” Father Bryan said.
“I have a sword,” Captain Jack said as Father Bryan lifted his sword out of the truck bed. “It's a replica from the King Arthur collection. It's the Excalibur, the Sword of Power.”
“This one is real.” Father Bryan pulled the sword from its sheath with the ringing of fine steel then held it before him. “This is the Sword of God's Wrath.”
“Nice,” Captain Jack said after a moment of hesitation then looked at Doc Martin. Doc Martin looked at Dwayne and Dwayne looked at Kim.
“May I use your facilities?” Father Bryan inquired.
“Certainly,” Dwayne said nodding his head.
Everyone was silent as Father Bryan slid his sword into its sheath then went inside.
Dwayne shrugged his shoulders then followed Father Bryan. Kim looked at Captain Jack and Doc Martin then followed Dwayne inside. Captain Jack looked at Doc Martin.
Doc Martin shook his head. “What a motley crew we have,” he said, then went inside.
#
“Where are you from preacher?” Captain Jack asked as he took a bite of stuffing Kim had cooked.
The group was sitting down to a meal at the dining room table.
“It's Father Bryan.” The young Father had shaved, showered and washed his clergies.
“OK,” Captain Jack said. “I apologize but I have trouble calling someone Father when the Bible plainly says not to.”
“It's just a formality,” Father Bryan said. “Besides, it gives the flock easier access to the shepherd.”
“Or gives him power over the sheep?” Captain Jack pressed.
“Not really,” Father Bryan replied. “It creates a bond between them. Anyway, I'm from Los Angeles.”
“Los Angeles?” Captain Jack asked. “When were you there last?”
“Just before the apocalypse,” Father Bryan answered.
“The apocalypse?” Captain Jack inquired.
“I received a message to assist Father Salvador,” Father Bryan continued. “He was to have surgery the week after. When I arrived, the parish was either already sick or dead. Ironically, with his diabetes, Father Salvador was the last to go. The rest I baptized with the sword.”
“Father,” Dwayne said. “Earlier you mentioned a revelation. What exactly do you believe is happening here?”
“This was all foretold in the bible,” Father Bryan explained. “In the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter nine verse six says, 'During those days, men will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will elude them.' Zechariah chapter fourteen verse twelve says, 'Their flesh shall rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and the
ir tongues will rot in their mouths. The animals in their camp shall suffer the same plague.'”
Dwayne looked at Captain Jack as he thought of B.J.
“You think this is God's judgment on the world?” Captain Jack asked.
“This is how the world ends,” Father Bryan said. “What else could it be? The good are being killed outright. The evil are having to die a second death.”
“Are you saying my husband, my father and my daughter were evil?” Kim asked.
“Only God knows who is truly good or evil,” Father Bryan answered. “No one really knows a person, what they think or feel. Perhaps your husband was having an affair or your father was addicted to drugs. Just thinking of doing these things is a sin, even if the sin was not actually committed. It's thought sin and that's why all are guilty of sin.”
“What about me Father,” Doc Martin asked. “I allowed my wife to practically drink herself to death. It would have been only a matter of time. Am I evil?”
“I'm not saying they are not with God,” Father Bryan replied. “Christ died for our sins. Some innocents may also have fallen through the cracks for God's purpose, the weak who contracted the virus first. 'I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from north to south. Then all people will know that I have drawn my sword from its scabbard and it will not return again.' My friends, God has drawn His sword from its sheath and He will not put it back in again.”
“But this is not God's doing,” Father Bryan continued. “God only does what is righteous. There is an entity of evil that this world belongs to. What happens in this world is caused by it. We all have sinned and this is our judgment for those sins.”
“What do you believe is your role in all this Father?” Dwayne continued to inquire into Father Bryan's intentions.
“To not judge at all,” Father Bryan replied. “My role is to reap the harvest. I don't think it's just a coincidence that all this is happening at this point in time at this particular point in each of our lives.”
“I would have thought we would be fighting terrorists or some foreign army in our own back yards,” Captain Jack said. “Not fighting dead people.”
“'Suffering the likes that has never been seen before, or will ever be seen again,'” Father Bryan quoted.