Revenence (Book 1): Dead Silence

by M. E. Betts

  After they concluded the short service, she returned to the loft and wandered languidly out to the balcony and sank down into a lounger. She thought back to all the mornings when she and Fauna had sat in those loungers, drinking their coffee. She glanced over at the empty seat next to her...and nearly screamed out loud, instead managing only a loud, panicked gasp.

  There was a woman perched in the lounger. She seemed to be wearing a period costume, perhaps Victorian. Her pale blonde hair hung in ringlets around her shoulders. She regarded Shari with amusement.

  "Well now, don't look so surprised, princess! It was only a matter of time before you cracked up, wasn't it? You recognize my voice, don't you? I'm Kandi. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

  You're not real, Shari thought.

  "Ouch, that hurts! And anyway, who's to say what's real and what's not? If I'm real in your head, doesn't that make me real enough?" Shari rose from the lounger and went back inside the loft.

  "What? You think I won't follow you in?" The intruder disappeared momentarily as Shari closed the sliding door. She then reappeared inside the loft beside Shari. "You oughtta be thanking me, you know. You wouldn't have gotten this far without me, princess. Who do you think helped you to do all these things you've been doing latey?" Shari closed her eyes, waited ten seconds, and reopened them.

  "Still here, love," Kandi said.

  You're a figment of my imagination, Shari thought. Her heart raced. Oh God, I'm losing it.

  "Relax, dear. This isn't a bad thing, really, it isn't. How do you think people manage to survive in circumstances like those you've experienced over the last few months?" Shari ignored the question, holding her head in her hands, pressing her eyes as if they were they were to blame for the hallucination. "They manage--listen carefully, this pertains to you--by allowing themselves to crack up. Just a bit, mind you. Here's what it boils down to...you can either crack for the better, or you can crack up for the worse. You can crack a few eggs to make an omelette, or you can resist and drop the whole dozen on the floor, making for a bloody mess. It's all up to you, really. You know what I suggest, princess? Roll with it. If you don't, it may very well roll over you, you understand? You can't do this alone. You need me. If I weren't a necessary part of your survival strategy, then I wouldn't be here." Shari opened her eyes, considering her options carefully. She realized that her new imaginary friend was right. She fullly understood, finally, why she had felt so disembodied lately. Kandi had been there with her when she saw her first zombies...she had been there when she was in denial about what was going on that first day. She had been there when she rekilled Mitchell Astley, and she had been there when she learned to shoot a bow. Every time Shari did something that was generally outside of her character...every time, Kandi was there.

  I get it now, Shari thought. Well then...I guess I should be grateful to you. I just wish I didn't have to go batshit crazy...but thanks, I guess.

  "Oh, it was nothing, really," Kandi replied. "I was just fulfilling my function. I'm glad you're coming to terms with it, by the way, because we'll work much better in tandem than if you had decided to be stubborn and uncooperative. You're a smart girl, Shari. It hasn't all been because of me, you know...you do deserve your fair share of credit for having come so far in such a short period of time. The two of us together can do great things, you know. I just know we'll get along famously."

  It had been two days since Shari had come face-to-face with Kandi, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to act normally in front of Jon and Cindy when Kandi was there, talking to her, and nobody but Shari could see her. I'll acknowledge you, give you your due credit, Shari had thought, but I refuse to let on to anyone else what's going on.

  "It’s more difficult than you’d think to hide the fact that an imaginary companion is talking to you night and day,” Kandi had responded with a smirk. "You think you can just ignore me, play it cool."

  Well, it won’t be difficult for long, because we’re leaving soon, Shari had replied. Kandi had momentarily feigned surprise, then laughed.

  “I already know that, dear. Don’t forget, I live in your head! Your decision to leave here is one of the things that made my appearance necessary.”

  Shari had decided to help Jon and Cindy as best as she could before she left. She had them both using bows...not particularly well, but she spent a few days teaching them the basics. Jon already knew how to use the radio, and Shari promised to try and get in touch when she was within range.

  She searched through some of the reference books in the loft. She took the ones with the most useful information into the house, where she used Fauna’s all-in-one printer to make copies of the important pages. She wanted to know how to make her own bow, throw together a radio receiver, transmitter, or antenna from spare components, or what plants in the wild were edible or useful. Making copies gave her the opportunity to take the information with her, but leave the books for Jon and his family. It also kept her duffel bag as light as possible. She figured a few key pages were much lighter than lugging all those books around. She put the loose pages into an empty folder she found in the desk and stashed them in her bag. She looted the bathroom for any key items that might prove useful...a tube of antibiotic ointment, a bottle of ibuprofen, some gauze and medical tape, plus several rolls of duct tape and a handful of other essentials. She gathered all of the personal items she needed, and a few sentimental ones. She then ascended to the attic, and finished filling her bag with all the ammo that she could fit into it. She also filled a backpack she had found in the garage with ammo. She took two AK’s, one regular and one of the ones that were modified for sniping, and of course, the bow that Fauna had given her. She also her Fauna's .357 in one coat pocket and her Glock model 30 in the other. She dressed Eva, loaded her duffel bag on, and got ready to be on her way.

  “I’ll be back to visit,” she told Jon and Cindy. “I don’t know when, really, but I’ll be back.”

  “You’re leaving now?” Timothy asked, looking up at Shari with large, curious eyes.

  “Yeah, I’m leaving,” Shari replied. “You help your mommy and daddy, okay?” Timothy nodded. “I’ve got to go try and find my own mommy and daddy,” she explained.

  “Take this for good luck,” Timothy said, holding out his tiny hand. He offered her a smooth, ovular rock. It was dark gray with small, goldish flecks that glittered radiantly in the sun.

  “Thank you, Timothy!” Shari said, hugging him tightly. She put the rock in her chest pocket. “I bet it’ll bring me plenty of good luck. And when I come back to visit you, I’ll be sure to bring you something cool.” He grinned, his eyes lighting up.

  “Mommy, she said she's gonna bring me a surprise!” he cried, running over to Cindy. She smiled and scooped him up, then approached Shari.

  “You be careful out there,” Cindy said. She hugged Shari, taking her by surprise. “And...you know, I’m sorry about...you know...what happened. I mean, I'm not happy about what you and Jon did, but I'm sorry I pulled a gun on you.”

  Shari shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I know you guys are good people, and I’m glad you’re here to make use of this place, and to keep it going. I know Fauna’s glad for that, too.”

  She mounted Eva, and started down the driveway.

  “Be careful, Shari!” Jon called. She nodded, then looked back and waved.

  “You guys take care of eachother, alright?” she called over her shoulder.

  She turned onto the road. This is it, she thought, wondering for the first time if she had made the right decision.

  PART III: A LAWLESS WORLD

  "Having second thoughts, are we? Got the screaming abdabs?" Kandi had appeared beside her, riding an imaginary horse of her own. It was a shining, jet-black Arabian. Oh, right, Shari thought. She's part of the reason I left.

  "I hate it when you think about me like that, as if I can't hear your thoughts," Kandi complained. "So where to, then?"

  "I dunno," Shari said aloud. "Eventual
ly I'll try to make it to my parents' house, but I guess for now I'll just...survey the damage. See what I see, you know? Keep in mind, I...we, I guess...haven't seen much of the world since all this happened. I've heard reports on the radio, but I haven't experienced it firsthand."

  "Well, I'm sure it'll be lots of fun," Kandi said sarcastically. "Whole towns burned out and looted, sadists making survivors' lives even more of a living hell than they already are. What great craic it will be. No matter, at least you've got me to keep you company."

  "Yeah, lucky me." Shari muttered.

  "I resent that, you know," Kandi said, pouting. "There'll come a time when you realize once and for all what an asset I really am to you. And in the meantime, try not to be such a wench, will you?" Shari rode on silently, eyes straight ahead.

  "Undead, fifty yards away to your right," Kandi said nonchalantly. Shari glanced over...two of them headed her way, sure enough.

  "I'm not wasting the bullets, or the time it would take to get my arrows back," Shari said, riding faster. "But thanks for the heads-up."

  Kandi smirked, and rode faster to keep up with Shari. "I'll keep 'em coming," she said.

  Daphne frowned, lowering her binoculars. So she's talking to herself.... More importantly, though, she realized that Shari was headed straight for danger. The pack of sadists she'd been stalking were about a half mile to the north, and Shari was riding in their direction...and she knew that if they saw Shari, they'd probably think she was to blame for what Daphne had done to them the previous day. Daphne herself was about a quarter mile off the highway, in the upper branches of a large pine tree. Better catch up, she thought. It would be a difficult task on foot, but she set off nevertheless. What's she doing out and about, anyway? she wondered. She supposed, perhaps, that it was Fauna's death that had provoked Shari to leave. Daphne had watched, undetected, from the woods while Shari, Jon, and Cindy had buried Fauna and said their final goodbyes. They were close, she mused. Maybe after Fauna died, the place just reminded her too much of the chick to wanna stick around. At any rate, she doubted that Shari realized what she was getting herself into, leaving the safety of the farm. Those sadists...I'm not sure I'll be able to save her from them. I'd have to get there in time. Daphne had seen them at work the previous day as they had slaughtered much of the last settlement they had raided, about five miles away. They had all talked loudly of when and where they would strike as they had passed Daphne on the highway, unaware of her presence as they had sped past on their ATVs. She had killed one right then and there, driving one of her sharpened throwing sticks into his brain. He had been at the end of the procession, so no one else had noticed him fall, lifeless, from his ATV until Daphne had already dragged his body away. Even when they did notice, they apparently had no interest in coming to find their fallen comrad. It just wasn't in their nature to care enough to put themselves at risk by coming to look for him.

  "What about his ATV?" she had heard one of them ask.

  "We'll come back for it later," one of them had responded. "It's nine of us on nine ATVs. Do the math...nine of us can't drive ten vehicles, numbnuts."

  Daphne knew how cold they were, because she'd seen and dealt with these types of people many times before since April. She also knew they wouldn't change their plans, that they wouldn't consider the fact that, perhaps, the person who had slain their buddy had heard them talk about where they were going. They would drive on, as planned, to the settlement They just weren't intelligent enough to be self-conscious. They're all the same breed of animal, she had thought bitterly. They'll never surprise me. She had idled his ATV off of the road, into the thick cover of the woods. She had checked the man's body for valuables and cut off his right ear, stashing it in her pouch. Once she could no longer hear the sounds of their motors, she had mounted the ATV and set off in the direction of the settlement they had mentioned. It wasn't usually in her nature to use any sort of vehicle, as she preferred walking whenever she had a choice. However, she had been hoping to catch up to them before they got to the town, and perhaps spare the lives of the inhabitants. As she neared the settlement, the sadists hadn't heard the motor of her approaching ATV over the screams and chaos they were causing amongst the inhabitants. By the time she had gotten there, at least half a dozen men were already dead, their guns and ammo stolen. She had heard women and children weeping, and the two surviving men of the settlement shouting to one another. She had managed to take out two of the raiders with throwing sticks before the rest had hastily retreated.

  "Who the fuck is throwing those sticks?!" she had heard one of them yell.

  "I don't know, and I don't give a shit," another had replied as they jumped onto their ATVs and raced back out to the highway. "Let's just get the fuck out of here. We got what we came for." Jesus, she had thought. All they came for was a few guns and a token amount of ammo? That's what all those men are dead for? That's why those kids are now without a father? Talk about bottom-of-the-barrel human scum.

  She had gotten back onto her stolen vehicle and pursued them, nailing one more in the head before ATV began to lose power. She had looked down at the gas gauge. Damn it, anyway! she had cursed to herself. She was out of gas, and then the sadists were the ones pursuing her. She had killed four of them, but another six remained. She had bolted toward the woods for cover, narrowly avoiding the gunfire that the sadists were isssuing from their ATVs. She had sprinted about two-hundred feet through the densely-treed copse before she scurried up a tall pine. I hope they can't follow tracks, she prayed, although she doubted they were savvy enough.

  "Where the fuck you at?" one of them had thundered a minute later. From the sound of his voice, Daphne had guessed that he was about fifty yards to the north of her, and facing in the opposite direction of where she was hiding. "You go ahead and hide, we'll find you! And if we don't, we'll wait for you to try and make a run for it." She had heard him pacing, even as far away as he was from her. Not as skilled as you think you are, are you? she had thought. One of them had wandered into her field of vision, and she figured she could probably take him out from where she sat. After a moment of deliberation, she had decided she'd better not, just in case they were wise enough to determine the direction the spike had come from. Once he had wandered away a bit, she had slithered down the tree and retreated soundlessly in the opposite direction. Sun's going down, she had noted. She had doubted the men had night vision as good as hers. Time to be the hunter again. She had prowled silently, getting within fifty feet of one of the men. Say goodnight, you prick, she had thought, launching a spike into the man's ear. He had sprawled awkwardly onto the ground, blood trickling from his open, lifeless eyes. When the rest of the pack discovered his corpse, they took off for their ATVs and fled before she could slay any more of them.

  "Fuck it!" one of them had conceded. "It's too dark, and we don't know what the hell's out in those woods. I'm getting the fuck outta here." By the time she had made her way out to the road, they were too far away. I'm good, she had thought, but I can't throw that far. The next morning, she had seen the smoke of their campfire nearby. She had still been on their trail when she saw Shari heading in their direction. She raced westward, keeping within the the cloak of the woods. She unsheathed her titanium blade, caressing its smooth surface as she ran. If she dies, I'm not just gonna kill them...I'm gonna make them regret being born.

  "Are you seeing this?" Kandi was saying. Shari gazed at the smoke rising from within the woods. It was clear to her that it wasn't a forest fire.

  "Mm-hmm," she grunted. "Looks like a campfire." She wondered what type of person had started that fire. Should she be afraid? Should she run for her life? She raised her binoculars, the ones Fauna had often used. She surveyed the woods, but didn't see any obvious sign of anyone watching her. She rode faster, anxious to put some distance between herself and whoever was out there. As she began to speed up, she heard the crack of gunfire, and felt a bullet whiz close by her head, rustling her hair as it passed.

  "Well
now, they certainly are cutting to the chase, aren't they?" Kandi noted, riding faster alongside Shari.

  "Sure as shit," Shari agreed, a slight twang in her voice. "I don't know what their beef is, but I'll be damned if they're gonna get away with this." She saw a house about 250 yards away with a huge, aging barn near it. She could hear the dull roar of motors headed her way from behind her as she closed the distance between the unknown assailants and the barn. When she got there, she saw it was an ancient husk of a building with no doors. She rode Eva up to the barn, dismounted, went inside and climbed up into the loft. She hurried to the window, her sniper rifle armed and ready. She gazed through the scope and saw at least three men headed her way on ATVs, less than a hundred yards away. She crouched in front of the window, fixed her sight on the first one in the motorcade, and pulled the trigger. She watched as the the man slumped back in the seat, a large spray exiting the back of his head. As his vehicle slowed, it was rear-ended by the one behind him. The man who had been driving the second vehicle shot out onto the asphalt, skidding on his face for about twenty feet before coming to a lifeless halt.

  "Ooh, two for one!" Kandi cried with excitement. "You gotta love that!"

  Shari fixed her sight on the third man, who had avoided colliding with the first two. He was now no more than fifty feet away from the barn. It took her only moments to reach for the bow on her back and nock an arrow. She shot the arrow through the glassless window, skillfully piercing the man in the eye. She picked up her sniper rifle again and peered through the sight, searching for signs of movement. She couldn't be sure that the three men had been the only ones. She slowly scanned the area until she saw another man on an ATV, about 150 yards away. She squinted, trying to identify the weapon he was holding. It was a rather large gun with an abnormally large revolving mechanism. Jesus, she thought. Is that a fucking grenade launcher?