by Sweet, W. G.
~
The stars were hard diamond chips in the sky as they lay close together in the grass. Billy sat up and lit a cigarette. His heart was a slowing hammer in his chest. He rolled his own cigarettes, everybody did it seemed. There was still plenty of tobacco just lying around behind glass doors and in locked cabinets. Funny how stress made you pick up the poisons again. Gamblers did it, alcoholics did it. Smokers too, he guessed. He wondered briefly how many people had quit smoking, to live, only to be killed by what had happened, or the dead, or circumstances from all the fall out. He laughed lightly.
“What,” Beth asked.
“I was thinking millions of people quit this shit to live... They're all dead and here we are.”
“Yeah, well, irony was never lost on the arts... Better give me one of those too,” she said.
“This is bad shit, you know. It'll kill you deader than a cockroach.” Billy told her. Cockroaches had not fared well in the rising of the dead and so it was joke among them if something wasn't doing well. The dead ate cockroaches like they were popcorn. Bad time to be a cockroach.
“Damn, well I hadn't intended to live forever, cowboy. Now give me one of them damn things,” Beth told him.
Billy passed her his own and then lit himself another.
“My, God. There is nothing that feels like that,” Beth said as she drew the smoke into her lungs.
“Reason it gets you,” Billy agreed. “Hey... I guess we should at least decide to stay or go,” he laughed a little.
She looked up at him. “I hate to make decisions.”
“Me too... We have to get moving, I think,” Billy said.
“Yeah... But not now. Let's let things settle out a little more. Did you notice how things weren't quite as bad the later half of our traveling?”
“Yeah... How long... People ask me every day.”
“I don't know... It's like the feelings along the way... It says stay, when it says go, we'll go. I know how that might sound. I wouldn't say it like that to anyone else but you, but I really feel, inside I feel, that we should stay put right now,” Beth said.
Billy nodded, “Then we will.”
“Hey,” she waited until Billy looked at her. “Whore or good girl?”
Billy felt his eyes tear up fast. “Dammit, Beth, never a whore, never.”
She curled into him. “That was my fear... What was yours?”
“What do you mean?” Billy asked.
“What was yours all those nights when I looked at you and I could see you wanted me and if you just asked one more time I would have said yes. Why didn't you?”
He stared at her for a moment. “I didn't know that. You said no, I took that as no. I didn't want to mess up this thing we have. This friendship we have. I have never had that with any woman, ever... I didn't want to lose that.” He looked at her for a second longer. “Still don't want to.”
A single tear slipped across her cheek.
“I didn't mean to make you cry, Beth,” Billy told her in a near whisper.
“Stupid,” She told him. “It's for a good reason.” She buried her face in his chest. “You are not the one, Billy Jingo, but I love you and I don't know if I can ever feel that for another man or not, not that deep. Whatever it is I don't want to lose it either.”
“You won't,” Billy told her.
She looped one arm across his chest and pulled herself closer. “Better not.”
He pulled her close with one arm and took a deep drag of his cigarette with his free hand. The stars continued their slow journey across the blackness. He felt her breathing change a few moments later and he held her as she slept.
The Camp: Billy and Beth
Early June
Billy had just said his goodbyes to some of those that had decided to leave, and he sat sipping coffee by the fire, talking over traveling plans with Beth, when a truck dropped down off the road and into the far end of the field. Conversation died away as the two of them watched the truck coast to a stop. A few more trucks left the field, passing the truck where it sat. Billy rose to his feet, poured the dregs of his coffee into the fire and looked down toward the truck.
Their trucks were the only trucks left in the field when the driver's door of the truck opened.
“Wonder what this is,” Billy said aloud as Jamie and David walked up.
“Here comes someone,” Beth said as she straightened and turned toward a large man that had stepped down from the truck and was walking slowly down through the field. The man held a shotgun in one hand, pointing at the ground, there if he needed it. He stopped in front of the people gathered around the trucks.
“I have never seen a man as big as you that walked that easy,” a young, dark haired girl leaning against the hood of one of the trucks told him. The young guy at the front of the hood turned and looked at her.
“Easy, Iris,” he told her. He turned back to the big man. “Mac,” he said. He nodded at the young woman that had spoken. “Iris.” He turned and pointed at each of the people standing there in turn.
“Beth, Billy, Winston, David. There are a couple of kids sleeping in the back of the Suburban. You're pulling in?”
The man shrugged. “Bear,” he said. “We're heading out of the city... Saw you and stopped. The lady in the truck is Cammy.” He raised one hand, turned and waved it at the truck. A few seconds later, the truck dropped into drive and drove down the field. The woman stopped the truck, opened the door and stepped out.
Beth made the introductions once more. Mac walked to the back of the truck and Billy moved up to talk to Bear and Cammy.
“We were about to light out.” He turned and nodded at the woods across the field. “We have dead around here... Getting braver and braver. The posts and the fires don't seem to keep them at bay any longer. Little boy come up missing the other morning. Not one of ours, a group passing through. There at bedtime, gone in the morning,” Billy shrugged. “A little kid... Could have wandered off, and he did... Something got him though. We found drag marks... No kid. We went after them. Spent half the day scouring those woods. Found plenty of nests where they had been bedded down in the daylight.” he shrugged. “Gone when we got there, but they were there okay.”
“The others left because of that?” Cammy asked him.
“They're not with us,” Billy answered. “We all met here. Started a few months back with just a few of us came from L.A. and built up from there…” He looked off in the direction the vehicles had left. “They're going west, we're heading back down south. Beth, me, Jamie, Winston and David... Most of us came out of L.A. together. Met Mac and Iris; they got two kids... parents gone, crossed over from Jersey a few days back - Don Westfall and Ginny,” He pointed back at the third truck and a couple who stood talking to another couple. “Don is the tall guy with the bright red hair. Ginny's the woman next to him with the black hair. The two traveling with them are Danny Best and Rose Evans.” He turned back to Bear. He had been looking back at the others as he spoke. “You and your lady heading south?”
Bear looked over at Cammy.
“We were thinking of going across through Pennsylvania, over that way. We keep hearing... Bear keeps hearing, about the middle of the states being dead free,” Cammy said. She didn't correct the misconception Billy had that she and Bear were together. In truth, it really wasn't clear in her mind whether they were or not. They had both lost people they loved. It was probably too soon for both of them. Maybe it always would be, she thought now, as her eyes met Bear's and she saw the pain still riding there.
“I heard some talk, but I don't believe it. L.A. … A lot of the places we saw in between were so bad,” Billy said.
Bear nodded. “The radio, a few weeks back... They were talking about a city that was still safe... still held by people,” he shrugged again. “It's south anyway, maybe Alabama, just over and then down. I figured what the hell,” Bear finished.
Billy nodded. “Alabama is gone,” he said.
“Gone?” Bear's voi
ce raised.
“Gone,” Beth agreed. “Billy and I drove right into the ocean almost... Maybe two hundred miles in from the border it's just gone. Water's not deep, and I looked through my scope... there is land a long way out,” she shrugged. “So maybe it isn't all gone.”
“Listen, I can't speak for everyone.” Billy said. “We threw in together. It wasn't a vote kind of thing, but we're heading south anyway,” he shrugged.
Beth shrugged. “We can go your way... I can go your way.” Her eyes met his. They were deep brown, liquid, intense.
Billy scrubbed at the growth of beard that covered his jaw. “I'm good with it.”
“So what is this place you heard of?” Iris asked.
“Somewhere south. It was back when this whole thing started. I rigged up a C.B. Just heard talk of a place in Alabama. People were gathering together. I think Alabama, maybe it isn't, but it was south... not on the coast. Really it was just a snatch of conversation. I got nothing better than that, but it sounded real. And I heard it more than once.” Bear scrubbed at his own beard. “Okay. Well, I'm heading for it... and, well... fuck it, I got to come out with it because I don't want a mistake about it later; I don't follow. I'm just not built that way. I didn't do it in the old world, and I won't do it now. As long as that's clear, you're coming with me... I'm not coming with you.”
“Harsh,” Mac said.
“Maybe,” Bear agreed. “But we can't have a shit load of chiefs and no Indians. I don't mean I have the only say, I mean that I don't... Hell, I don't know a better way to say it. I can't sugar coat it. I don't follow. It doesn't mean I don't listen though. I do. It's that simple. I guess that means what it means.” He threw up his hands.
“I don't need a leader,” Beth said. “I lead me, as long as that's straight.”
“Do you?” Bear said.
“Wow... Can you feel the love?” Billy said. Jamie cut her eyes over at him where she stood next to David. She rolled her eyes once she caught his, and then turned and looked up at David adoringly. He turned away from her, his eyes looking for Beth, but Beth had eyes only for the big man, Bear. Billy sighed, looked down at the ground, and then back up as the conversation picked up once more. He ignored Jamie. He deserved her anger, after all.
Cammy laughed, put a hand to her mouth, and then took it away and laughed harder. A second later all of them were laughing.
“Hey,” Billy said after a moment. “The two of you lead. Sounds workable to me. And I don't have even a slight wish to lead. Not at all.”
“Peace,” Mac said. “Along for the ride. As long as it's stable, you know?”
Beth eyed Bear. “You and me then?”
Bear nodded. “I can roll with that. First thing though, we need better weapons. If this thing is south, we don't know how far, and it could be dead by now. Not saying it ever even got off the ground. So we don't know how far we're going. We need good guns. How bad did you see it in L.A.?”
“Oh, Christ,” Billy started. He handed Bear one of the machine pistols they had picked up.
~
The morning turned to early afternoon before the four trucks pulled up out of the field together, followed the service roadway back onto route three and headed toward Clifton.
Plague Year One
September 28th
New York: Manhattan
The Night was black and cold. Winter was coming, there was no doubt about it. Fires smoldered and burned in the nearby park.
Behind her, thousands of the dead stood quietly, shifting in and out of the shadows cast by the tall buildings.
Donita stood silently, glancing from the dead to the park ahead of her, as the cool night air flowed past her and told her its story...
The Nation
Josh looked over the high meadow before he led the sheep and goats down into the first Valley. The dogs went with them and refused to leave them. The male dog seemed to be determined to mark every square foot of what he considered his new territory with his scent.
Down below the notch, with its entrance to the cave and the ledges, the trucks were unloaded with care. It was still early morning, quite some time until the mid day meal, so they had begun unloading the trucks first.
To the children it was like Christmas. Not only were there new and exciting things to see, touch and feel - Rain had ended up with a handful of wool as she had grabbed at a passing sheep - there were also new people to meet. A lot of new people.
They decided to use three large, dry rooms off the main meeting room to store the materials from the three big trucks, but they quickly filled up. Everything else that was easily transportable went into one corner of the huge living area of the main cave instead.
Bob spied the harvester and asked whose idea it had been. Mike pointed him to Josh and told him that Josh had been a farmer. Bob walked up to him and shook his hand heartily.
“Man, do I want to have a few dozen conversations with you,” Bob told him.
Josh laughed. “Good to meet you, Bob.” He turned and looked down the length of the valley. “Nice... Very nice,” he said.
In the distance the horses, cows and bison could be seen. The barns. The stone houses set back close to the sloping valley walls.
Bob smiled as Josh looked around. “When you're settled in I'll show you around,” he told him.
“Well, Bob, I don't have a thing to myself... Nothing to settle in,” Josh told him.
“Well, let's go then,” Bob told him. He turned and Josh followed him down the ledge and into the valley.
Mike stood next to Candace and watched them walk down toward the valley floor. Ronnie and Patty stood nearby. “Looks like the bridges are up... The corn's in too?” Mike asked her.
“Yep and yep, Baby,” Candace told him. She had his hand in her own two critically examining it. She sighed and looked up, meeting his eyes. “We've been busy. The babies and I have missed you so we've had to stay busy. Sandy grounded me though because I've gotten so big,” she added. She watched his face.
“Grounded,” he asked, and a split second later. “Babies?”
Candace grinned. “Babies,” she agreed.
His mouth hung open. “I don't even know what to say,” he told her.
“Say, I love you,” she told him.
“I love you,” he told her and pulled her to him. He kissed her hard.
“Wow. That was nice. Maybe you should go away more often,” Candace told him. She plucked at his hand. “Except this.” She looked at the bandaged hand and shook her head. “You have to let Sandy see this.”
“No... No more going away. I'm never going back out there,” he assured her.
Patty and Ronnie moved over closer to them. Patty's eyes were bright and she held Ronnie’s arm tightly to her.
Candace looked at Ronnie’s nose. “Nice,” she said, and cut her eyes back and forth between Ronnie and Mike. “Him short a finger and you with a smashed up face.”
“Man meets dashboard,” Ronnie told her.
“Looks pretty bad,” Candace told him.
“Yeah? Well, you should see the dashboard,” Ronnie said.
“I believe I owe you an ass kicking, my man tells me,” Patty said to Mike.
Ronnie pretended to look up at the sky.
“How come you have an ass kicking coming, Baby,” Candace asked him.
“Uh, I'm the guy that broke his nose,” Mike asked?
“You're not sure if you were the guy that broke his nose?” Candace asked. “Maybe it was the Nose Fairy?”
Mike laughed. “No... It was me. I confess, but, it was an accident. I'm sorry for it... Truly.”
“Good for you,” Patty said.
“Yeah,” Candace agreed. “You do not want to mess with a hormonally unbalanced woman.”
“I think she can take you,” Ronnie said.
“Oh, good, soop her up, Ronnie. Soop her up,” Mike said. He laughed and the others joined in. “But, really, Pats, it was an accident. I'm sorry about it, but it was an accide
nt.”
“I know,” Patty told him. “I just had to see you crawl.”
“Hello,” a strikingly beautiful woman said as she hobbled up. She was leaning on a stick. Her black hair was straight and long, hanging well below her shoulders. She was no more than five feet tall. Her face unlined, concealing her age, a smile resting on her full mouth. Her skin a light brown.
“Oh, Jess, you shouldn't be up,” Mike said, turning to her as she walked up.
“I gave myself permission,” Jessie told him.
“Jessie Stone,” Mike said as he turned and looked from Candace to Patty. “Jess, my woman, Candace. And my friend Patty, Ronnie's woman. Ladies, this is Doctor Jessie Stone.”
Sandy over heard the introduction from just a few feet away and hurried over with Susan.
“This is Sandy and her woman Susan. Sandy is our nurse. She's been doing all of our Doctor stuff,” Mike said.
Everyone said their hellos and Jessie turned to Candace.
“I wanted to meet you, Candace. I have heard so much about you. You're a very lucky woman, you know... Your Mike, he saved my life. Truly and completely,” Jessie said.
Candace sensed that several things were being said at the same time. It made her slightly uncomfortable, but she took Jessie’s hand and clasped it in her own. “It's nice to meet you, Jessie. Mike told me all about you,” she said. She was suddenly disconcerted. She felt she had missed something. Something simple, yet serious
Jessie's eyes lifted and settled on Mike for a moment. It was brief, but it told Candace everything she needed to know. This woman had some sort of feelings for her man. Something that obviously wasn't returned, or there would be no need for her to tell her how lucky she was.
She smiled again as Jessie's eyes left Mike and rested on her briefly on their way to Sandy. She would have to ask Mike about it later, because the thing was, he had told her almost nothing at all about Doctor Jessie Stone. And nothing at all about the woman he seemed comfortable calling Jess. She pushed it from her mind.
“Sandy,” Jessie said. “Maybe you could show me around? ... You too Susan, of course.”