by Thomas Baker
Randall looked at them, looked to Hannah. JT watched, his trembling hands shoved deep in his pockets, as Randall situated the rifle in Hannah’s hands. He helped guide it back to the spot he had seen Tyrone. He kept his hand on the rifle to help her trembling hands steady it. Hannah wiped at her eyes before looking into the scope. Her index finger quivered sporadically as she tightened her grip on the trigger. She almost dropped the gun but she steadied herself again. JT struggled not to go over, rip the gun from Hannah's hands and get it over with. She didn't have to do this to herself.
"Tyrone I love you. I am so sorry, please forgive me!" Hannah screamed at the top of her lungs as she squeezed the trigger. JT watched on as the shot knocked Tyrone back several feet. He crumpled to the ground and didn't move.
Hannah shoved the rifle away back to Sheriff Randall and collapsed into JT's arms. He held her tighter than he ever had before. Gus wiped tears from his eyes. Linda rubbed her hand up and down his back in comforting strokes.
"Rest in peace buddy," JT whispered to himself.
After what seemed like hours they climbed into Randall's vehicle in a morose silence. Randall and Gus took the front while JT, Hannah, and Linda crammed into the back. Hannah never left JT's embrace as they made their way back to Sheriff Randall's hideout.
"You two head into the upstairs bedroom," Gus directed as JT pretty much carried Hannah inside the house. "Linda and I will stay up, take turns keeping watch." Behind them, Sheriff Randall limped inside, and with a moan, almost passed out on his couch.
JT ended up not sleeping at all that day. He got to know the walls of the room very well. Hannah was beside him, passed out. She whimpered a few times, tossing and turning. He would touch her and she would settle down.
He couldn't have dreamed in a few weeks from Harold’s cabin, they would have been captured by not one wacko but a group of wackos, Hannah would be traumatized again, and Tyrone would be turned into a zombie. When the sunlight faded and the room became dark, JT's exhaustion finally overtook him.
Hours later, with light now seeping through the blinds, JT moved to get up from the bed. Hannah stirred and blinked awake when he moved.
"How long have I been asleep?” She sounded very groggy.
"Hard to say. You tossed and mumbled for a couple of hours before I conked out. I say for over twelve hours though." JT tried his best and succeeded for once in talking calmly to her and not blowing up.
He knew it wasn't her fault really, but he still couldn't block out her part in Tyrone's death. He could understand her being manipulated, even if she wasn’t drugged JT couldn’t deny the fact she was vulnerable and Albright was charming. His heart couldn't seem to understand though. "Are you ok?" She asked sounding like she picked up on his vibe.
"Yeah, just tired is all." Even JT could feel how abrasive of a brush off that was. Damn it all.
"Are we going to be ok?" Hannah timidly asked, trying to look into his eyes.
JT sighed. He didn't want to bring all that up now though. He was running on empty, like they all were. The words were out before he could stop them. "Hannah, you know it can't just go back to the way it was before right?"
Already her eyes were glistening and her bottom lip quivered. "I know and it's my fault." Hannah sobbed. "What am I going to do JT? I had nightmares before, ones filled with Harold and Ashley. Now…I don't even know how I can close my eyes. How can keep going? It, it..." Hannah broke down, her words unintelligible.
JT softened for a moment, knowing she was suffering, again from something that wasn't totally her fault. He wanted to grab her and hold her but the warm anger in his belly took over. Instead of comfort he mouthed off.
"I don't want to be a dick Hannah but how could you be so damn gullible? How could you so easily leave Tyrone and I and get into bed with Albright? Were you that desperate?"
JT sat up. Sliding to the edge of the bed, he swatted a picture frame off a side table sending it flying through the air, crashing against the wall. He sprang up.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" JT yelled until he was breathless.
He was about to continue on when he caught a glimpse of Hannah shrinking away into the corner, a look of horror on her face. JT slumped over and sighed.
"Hannah, what are we going to do? Everything has turned to shit. Look at us, the zombies not only broke the world we knew, they broke us. It's like the worst of people caused this to happen and the worst people in the world survived it. I don't know what to do. Should we even bother to keep on going?"
He felt on the verge of breaking down himself now. He collapse back down, sitting on the edge of the bed. Hannah slid over and sat beside him.
"Don't you think I know that? She said sternness creeping into her voice. “Don't you that’s what Albright's appeal was? This world, it has taken everything from all of us. I don't know what to do either."
She took his hand and linked her fingers between his. JT found himself sitting there, mulling over all that had happened. His old friends in his other life were likely dead or zombies. His new friends, Tyrone, Ashley, Dusty, all the others they had met since the Outbreak. All dead too. How long till Gus and Hannah joined them in the grave? All the niceties of the world, all the things taken for granted, gone. Everything from hot showers in the morning to playing video games after a long day at work. Simple things. Would any of that stuff, the way things use to be, ever return? Or will it just be this? Having to make horrible choices over and over, until either he died or became a walking corpse?
The weariness of not only his body but his soul crept over him. Without a word he laid down on the bed and pulled Hannah in close to him. She didn't resist him at all as she nuzzled her head under JT's chin. The weight of it all consumed him as they both eventually drifted back off to sleep in the comfort of each other's embrace.
JT was startled awake when Hannah leapt up from the bed. The light through the blinds looked about the same as when they fell asleep. As far as he knew no one had come up to disturbed them or check on them. Gus, Linda, and Randall should be as weary as he was.
"You okay?" he asked, concerned.
She looked like she was about to pass out. She ran out the room and across the hall. JT followed her, passing Linda. She stopped as Hannah slammed the bathroom door shut. They heard her getting sick.
"Yeah, yeah," Hannah said, coming out and leaning up against a wall. Sweat glistened on her forehead. "I’ve been nauseous since everything with Tyrone. Now that I've emptied my stomach, I feel much better."
"Hon, you better drink some water," Linda said. "Come downstairs."
In the kitchen, Linda grabbed a bottled water off one of the shelves. She handed it to Hannah. "Here. Let me look around, maybe I can find you some crackers too."
"Thanks," Hannah said, with a weak smile. She sat down at the little kitchen table. "What I want is to leave this shit hole of a place. The sooner the better."
"Yeah, shit hole place number two. Cabins and churches, checked off my list," JT said, disgusted. "When is our luck going to change?"
"Hey, it's already looking up," Gus said with a chuckle, coming into the kitchen. "We didn't have to leave this place by burning it down and I didn't have to get stabbed. Maybe we just avoid places starting with the letter C from here on?"
JT couldn't help it, he let out a laugh. "You got it Gus. Come on, let's go check on Randall. We can see where he stands and what he may be willing to let us take."
It took JT three hard shakes to rouse Randall. The Sheriff held his hand to his head as he gingerly sat up.
"The room needs to stop spinning," Randall said, staying seated. "Fuck old age.”
“You’re singing my son Sheriff,” Gus chuckled.
“Hey JT. I've been up twice already. I thought you two were going to sleep a week. What you want?" Randall got to a sitting position and made motions to rise.
"Sheriff Randall," Linda said with a smile. "I think you might have yourself a bit of a concussion. Take it easy."
&nb
sp; She moved across the room to sit down close to him, so she could look him over. Hannah joined her. JT went and looked out the windows of each side of the house. Satisfied nothing was going on, he joined everyone in the living room.
"Well I’m guessing now that Albright has been dealt with you guys will be on your way. What's your plan?" Randall asked, taking two white pills from Linda’s hand. He swallowed them down with some water, grimacing the entire time.
"I was going to ask you, what will you give us for supplies?" JT said.
"I kind of had an epiphany about that," Hannah said, jumping into the conversation. A little smile swept across her face. "Yesterday as I lay in bed, I prayed on it. I fell asleep thinking about it and woke up with my answer."
"Prayed on it?" JT slurred. "Do you still believe in that religious stuff after what just happened?"
"What happened up there, that wasn't God JT. If I hadn't been so, you know, I would’ve seen that much sooner. Albright made a perversion out of The Bible. The fact I…that we, made it out of there, that was a miracle."
"Whatever you say." JT sounded noncommittal. He thought the sacrifice they all made to go in after her was what saved her but whatever. He didn't have a real opinion about all that God stuff before one way or another. It wasn't ever going to be a part of his life now. "Look, I only know Albright may not have been a psycho but he still killed Tyrone, he wanted to kill me too, and he was trying to own you like some kind of property."
Hannah looked crushed. Gus threw him an angry, I can't believe you look.
JT let out a huge sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag that up again right now. Go ahead, what's your epiphany?"
"The mountains!" Hannah exclaimed. "Don't you see? It's perfect. We could be safer there. Look, we're in the middle of Kansas now. So the mountains aren’t that far away. My guess, I bet there were less people in the smaller mountain towns when this all started. Who knows, maybe the zombies can't even make it up the mountains or function in high altitudes. There might be whole towns of people untouched by the entire Outbreak! Imagine that!"
JT sat there thinking about it. Maybe she was right. The more he thought about it the more excited he was letting himself get. Part of him wanted to bound out the door and take off. To start over and to not have everyone look at him for the next idea, to be in charge. That sounded good to him. With it all done, he was done too.
"Little lady, that is not a half bad idea," Gus said. He looked to Linda. "What do you say? You gonna to join us on our continuing kooky road trip through zombie infested America?"
"What you're saying is possible," Linda conceited. "There is the little problem of the hundreds of miles of possible zombie hordes between here and the Rockies. Not to mention any other not so friendly people who could be out there. I was already done with this place. I'll go, if yall will have me."
"Well of course we will darling! What say you there Sheriff?"
Randall stood up and walked over to the mantle, taking small steps, clearly caught up in thought.
"You know two weeks ago, I wouldn't have considered leaving this town. But maybe it's time for me to retire from Gateway City. This whole church business has left a sour taste in my mouth. I‘ve got access to a couple vehicles, some fuel storage. We could take all the supplies I have stockpiled here and at the station and head out. Another thing to consider though is the time of year. Around the corner is full blown winter. It could get nasty heading up into the mountains if we don't beat it."
"Linda, I've heard western Kansas is a whole bunch of nothing," Hannah was beaming now. "Maybe it will be empty. We could find some decent place for shelter and not have to see another zombie or person again. I'm done with any other groups. I’ve learned you are all I need, along with faith in God. From here on out it should be the five of us and nobody else."
"That’d be a welcome change," JT nodded in agreement, feeling oddly hopeful considering all that had happened. He was ready to leave it all behind.
Tyrone, buddy. I let you down. That’s on me. I did my best to pay Albright back. If there is a spirit or soul, I hope yours is at peace now.
"You’re going to need me along anyways, to make sure Gus stays out of trouble," Linda said, smiling. “He’s too old to be getting stabbed, shot or even get a hangnail.”
Gus laughed. The rest of them joined in.
"Where Hannah and Gus go, I go. You two are my family now," JT said slapping Gus on the back.
"JT, stop it. You're gonna make me all weepy eyed. That wouldn't do good for my image. I'm trying to impress Linda here with my mighty manliness."
They all laughed again. To JT it felt cleansing. Again a little ray of optimism opened up inside him. He wished he had something of Tyrone's to take with him, in remembrance. Not that he would be forgotten. Something to symbolize him. It was a shame his Ipod was lost.
"That settles it," Hannah said, clapping her hands. "If there’s no objection, let's do this."
Gus, Hannah, and Linda worked on gathering up anything useful from around the house, while JT and Randall left to retrieve the vehicles and gather up whatever was lying around the police station. JT took a moment of silence while he was back in the cellblock area. He took an oversized black marker and wrote Tyrone and Jelly in large thick letters on the concrete wall of Tyrone’s cell. Below that he wrote Peace Out.
Randall and JT finished up at the station. Next Randall led him to an old service station on the east end of town. Randall had locked up two vehicles inside. JT hopped behind the wheel of the large silver Denali. He looked down on the passenger side floorboard and noticed a leather CD book. He couldn't resist the urge to thumb through it while he waited for Sheriff Randall to lead the way back. They were all blank CD's. Titles were written on them in blue marker. He grabbed the one titled Moondrops Burst and popped it in. Laughter overtook him as Spirit In The Sky played from the speakers.
JT followed Randall, jamming the music the entire time. It was therapeutic. Arriving back, Hannah looked anxious, waiting outside with piles of stuff at her feet. Everyone helped load the supplies. JT paused when they were done to look around one last time.
"Well Sheriff, we're following you," JT reached out to shake his hand. "By the way, I never thanked you for coming down to the church. Or for getting us out of that jail cell."
Randall took his hand. "And I never apologized to you young man so I guess that makes us even."
"Alright, Rocky Mountains here we come!" Hannah had a spark in her eye JT hadn't seen since back when they first arrived at Harold’s cabin. He knew it would take her some time to get over what happened here. For now though she was hopefully. He felt he still loved her and he would help if he could.
Randall, Gus and Linda climbed into the cruiser while JT and Hannah got in the Denali. The two car convoy rolled out. JT looked to Hannah. She gave him a bittersweet smile. He returned it.
THE END
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Thomas lives in a small rural town in Kansas with his wife and new baby son. He probably thinks about how to survive a zombie apocalypse way too much.
Robert lives in the Kansas City area, is a husband, and a father of twin boys. He likes post apocalyptic stories, probably a little too much. Somehow he also fits in the tim
e to write.