“Then we have to go now!” Felicity's voice cracked in desperation. “Get in. You're coming with us.”
Darren didn't hesitate. We all ran back to the Lexus and swung it around, heading back into town.
“You're going to have to forgive me for asking this,” I began, “but why are you helping us again?”
“I will never forget the look in my wife's eyes,” Darren said, lost in thought. “She wasn't afraid anymore. It's like she wasn't even there. She was already one of them. Every day I go down to the pits to see her, hoping for a sign of life in those dead eyes, something, anything that tells me she remembers me. I keep hoping that he is right, that she is with the Lord and that he can bring her back on Judgment Day, but I know now that's just a bedtime story that they tell the small children. She's not coming back, not to her old life, not to the world of sin. I can't let that happen to another person. I can't bear that weight on my conscience.”
“Why did he choose your wife?” I wasn't trying to be insensitive but I wasn't sure I understood. I wanted to know everything I could before I faced him again.
“To keep me under control,” Darren said. “I asked too many questions, challenged him. You see, I didn't think it was right that he had all those young brides. My wife didn't either. She got me riled up and I began to enjoy putting him on the spot in front of the others. I think I embarrassed him over it one too many times.”
“And here I figured he didn't care what anyone thought,” I said sarcastically.
“After her Harvest I stopped asking questions,” he said, downtrodden. “I've blindly obeyed him until you came back into my life. I thought he was the Messiah, sent to save us all, but now I can see I was just a fool who wanted something to believe in.”
Felicity kindly patted him on the arm and he hung his head down the rest of the way back. I raced back as fast as I could without flipping the SUV in the narrow canyon curves. By the time I came around the corner I could see a large crowd had gathered.
Darren was right, I thought.
Bryan wasn't wasting any time at all. We'd been gone less than thirty minutes and his diabolical plan was already well under way.
I drove the SUV right up and through the large crowd. People moved out of our way like drugged-out sheep as we approached the inner circle where Crowe was. I wondered if they were still feeling the effects of last night's revelry or if they had been freshly dosed again.
It makes sense, I thought. It's not normal to kill a child. The only way he can get them to go along with it is to keep them loaded on the blood of the Lamb, whatever that concoction is. That way no one else's conscience gets in the way. Too bad he hadn't given a double dose to Darren. Maybe he was planning on drugging him too. Maybe that's why he ran away.
“The cleansing ritual has already begun,” Darren said, pointing to a small figure at Crowe's side. Sure enough it was Benji, dressed in white robes, swaying back and forth. I slammed the car in park and jumped out with my sword ready to taste blood. Instantly a ring of armed guards surrounded Bryan. He didn't seem the least bit concerned.
So that's why they sent us out on a tour of the promised land, I thought. They were getting us out of the way while they prepared the sacrificial ritual.
They could have slipped Benji something before we got back so he'd be ready. Bryan knew we wouldn't stay. He knew that one way or another I would leave. He'd been playing us since the moment we arrived, knowing he could pull Benji away from us. He was truly evil down to the core.
“What are you doing here?” He glanced up and saw Darren slinking out of the car. “Ah, I see. Judas has brought you back to spread discord like a serpent in the garden.”
“Let him go,” I shouted, “or so help me I will cut your head off where you stand and throw your corpse to the zombies.”
“You wouldn't make it three steps in my direction,” Crowe said with a laugh. “You are in my world now. Mind your manners or I will make things more difficult for you than you can imagine.”
“Benji! Benji get over here right now,” Felicity called out to him but he didn't move. I could see his eyes were large and nearly solid black. It was no use. They had already administered the sedative. He was so drugged out; he didn't even know what was happening.
“It's too late for your friend,” Bryan said. “He's already been cleansed and had his soul sent to God above. He was a very brave little boy. He will be missed, but we will see him again when the Lord returns. Amen.”
The chorus of each loud, echoing amen was almost deafening. Were they mad? They were willing to kill an innocent kid to appease some false prophet? I wheeled around to see that many in the crowd had the same drugged look on their faces that Benji had. They weren't crazy, or not entirely. They were high.
“What did you give him?” I asked, fearing that he might be poisoned beyond saving.
“He drank from the blood of the Lamb,” Bryan said. “His soul is now clean as the fresh white snow and at peace. He is ready for the Lord to receive him. When the moon reaches the peak of the sky he will enter into the kingdom of heaven and take his place beside God at the throne.”
“The hell he will,” Felicity said, fighting her way through them and holding Benji. She looked frantic.
“You promised to take care of him,” I shouted. “You lied to us in front of all these people just so you could do your sick ritual!”
“I know it appears that way, but you are wrong. It's been decided,” Bryan boomed. “Just as Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only son, just as God himself gave up his only child to save the sinful world, so too now must we offer up this child to protect ourselves from the children of the damned. It is out of my hands. There is no other way but his way. God's will be done.”
“We're not going to let you take our friend and throw him into a pit of flesh eating zombies, pal.”
“I don't see how you can stop me,” Bryan said in a smaller voice so only the immediate circle could hear. “You are outnumbered in every way imaginable and we have the might of the one true God on our side.”
“You will pay for this,” I threatened. “If it is the last thing I do.”
“If you are suggesting violence, again I assure you it will be the last thing that you do,” Bryan calmly replied. “Know that I am ready to die for my beliefs. I have nothing to hide from my God. Can you say that?”
“Nothing to hide?” I roared. “Except the murder of innocent people and your harem of child brides you mean?”
“This is pointless,” Bryan said. “Arguing with the damned about God's sacred laws is like pouring clean water into a dirty cup and expecting it to remain pure. You are obviously sent of the devil to disrupt a sacred ritual during a holy celebration. Either you leave immediately and never return or I will be forced to take matters into my own hands.”
“It's against spiritual law to spill blood on this day,” Darren shouted, stepping up to Bryan. “You said it yourself. Only they who are worthy to be received into the kingdom of God shall have their blood spilled on this sacred day.”
“What's the policy on freeing the sacrifice and letting him leave with the people who love him?” Felicity hugged Benji to her.
“Once a sacrifice has been selected the ritual must proceed,” Darren said.
“There,” Bryan interrupted. “From the mouths of apostates come truths even he can't deny.”
“However,” Darren continued, “A volunteer may come forward to take their place. I didn't learn about that until after you took my wife from me. If I had known, I would be in that pit right now instead of her.”
“She was chosen by God,” Crowe hissed. “You should be so lucky.”
“Then I volunteer,” Felicity shouted. Darren, Crowe, and I all spun around to her at the same time. In fact, she had the whole crowds’ full attention.
“There has never been a volunteer before,” Crowe mumbled, shocked by her words. “Do you fully understand what you are committing to, young lady?”
; “I do,” Felicity said. “I will not just stand by while you kill him. He's my family now, whether he likes it or not.”
“Fine,” Crowe said. “Release him and take her to the cleansing room to be prepared.”
The guards immediately seized her.
“No!” I shouted, pushing my way forward.
“As for you,” Crowe said, “you are to take him and leave at once. The devil and his minions are not welcome here. This is your final warning or so help me God I will strike you down and make it another first during this sacred day.”
“Darren,” I shouted. “Do something!”
Darren looked sick to his stomach as he watched Felicity being pulled away. He seemed crippled with fear and unable to move. My mind began to race, trying to think up a way to save her. Every approach I considered seemed futile. Crowe was right. We were outnumbered. There was only one way to win her back. I would have to take her place. I knew I could take on zombies in hand-to-hand combat, but not if I was drugged out. Maybe if I tried hard enough I could overcome the poison, or manage to spit it out. Either way, I had to do something. I couldn't just let them take Felicity away and kill her. I opened my mouth to speak but the words came out of Darren's mouth instead of mine.
“I volunteer,” Darren said. “I will take her place in the pit.”
Crowe groaned. This was turning into much more of a hassle than he had imagined. I was almost close enough to him now to make a move, but I knew his devoted followers would gladly take the impact of my blade in order to lay down their lives for their savior.
“No,” Felicity said. “I can't let you.”
“Are you sure?” Bryan asked, looking almost bored by now. “You won't be able to change your mind when she is gone you know. Think about what you are doing, Darren.”
“I should have done it long ago,” Darren said. “I belong in the pit with my wife.”
“Let her go,” Bryan said, practically rolling his eyes. Felicity ran forward and hugged Darren.
“You are so brave,” she cried. “So amazingly, wonderfully, brave and stupid.”
“It's the right thing to do,” Darren said. “I knew what he was planning the minute you pulled into town. I should have said something before. I'm not brave. I'm a coward.”
She silenced him with a long kiss that hushed the crowd. A twinge of jealousy shot through me at the sight, but I pushed it back.
The guy is sacrificing his life for her, I thought, for all of us. The least he deserves is a goodbye kiss from his first love.
Darren pulled back and smiled.
“I will never forget you,” she said, staring into his eyes.
“I never did forget you,” he said. “I love you. I always have and I always will.”
“I love you too,” she said, as a fresh round of tears burst out of her eyes. She hugged him tightly as he turned to me.
“Take good care of her,” he said. “I want you all to have a long, healthy life filled with happiness and joy. I'm paying the ultimate price for it.”
“I will,” I said, my mouth going dry at his words. “I promise.”
“Time to go now,” Darren concluded, pulling away from Felicity. “Don't worry. I won't feel a thing. I won't even know it happened.”
Two guards led Darren off through the crowd to wherever Bryan did his purification ritual. I turned and glared at Bryan.
“Well?” He glared back. “You got what you wanted. What are you waiting for?”
“Nothing,” I spat. Felicity grabbed Benji and led him to the car. I got behind the wheel and slowly began to back up and out of the crowd. They parted for us, leaving a wide circle to flip the car around. The last thing I saw as I looked back was Bryan's shark-like eyes glaring at us in utter contempt as we pulled away.
Felicity rode in the back with Benji who looked very ill. He was sweating out the toxins of whatever they had given him. Even though it was warm in the car, he violently shivered every few seconds from head to toe.
“It's okay now,” Felicity cooed. “You are safe. Everything is going to be okay.”
I pulled off the dirt road and back onto the highway out of town. I slammed my foot down to the floor and the car rapidly accelerated. Felicity didn't say a thing. If anyone decided to jump out in front of our car now, they were getting run over. One way or another I was getting the hell out of this town for good.
Chapter Twenty Two
The drive back to the 101 Freeway seemed far bumpier than the ride in. I could see a cloud of black smoke rising up off in the distance in the direction we were heading and I hoped it wouldn't be something that was gonna slow us down. I wanted to get to the base as soon as I could and have Benji looked at by medics. He seemed to be coming around some as we drove on, but I couldn't be sure how much they'd given him or how it was affecting his circulation. Felicity cradled his head in her lap and silently cried. I wasn't about to try to comfort her after what had just happened. What could I say? I just felt lucky to have escaped with my friends and my life. That unexpected confession and kiss we shared up on the ridge was still floating around the edge of my consciousness, but it was slightly tainted now by everything else that had happened.
Benji let out a moan and writhed around. Felicity looked up at me with concern.
“Hang in there, buddy,” I said. “We’ll be there soon.”
We connected onto the 101 and headed south without incident. As we drove through the remains of Ventura I couldn't help but think how much it looked like a Hollywood movie set for the end of the world, like the kind you might see on a back lot tour of Universal Studios—only there were real dead bodies everywhere. Smashed cars littered the road. There were so many, I had to slow down to maneuver through them. At one point I had to literally push a car out of the way with my front bumper. Benji sat up.
“What's happening?” He looked groggy, but otherwise okay.
“We're passing through what's left of Ventura,” I said. “Just pushing some scrap metal out of the road to get through. How you feeling?”
“My head hurts,” he moaned. “And I am really thirsty.”
“That sounds about right,” I said. “We've got plenty of water. Go ahead and crack open a bottle.”
Felicity was already on it. She reached back behind the seat and brought out a couple of water bottles, unscrewing the lid of one and handing it to him. Benji gulped it down as fast as he could and moved on to a second bottle.
“What's the last thing you remember?” Felicity asked.
“I'm not sure,” he mumbled. “It was all like a dream.”
“Try to think,” I urged him on. “Did they give you something?”
“That's just it,” he said. “I don't remember taking anything. One minute I was watching you drive off and the next thing I knew everyone was gathering around Bryan and me and crying and praying. I started to feel kinda funny, like my head wasn't really attached to my body. My heart felt full of love, like it could burst out of my chest, you know? For a moment I thought maybe I had caught the holy spirit they are always talking about.”
“They must have slipped it to you before we left,” I butted in.
“Go on,” Felicity cooed. “What happened then?”
“I can only remember parts,” he said. “I was in a big white room. They kept giving me some kind of sour grape juice to drink while I was changing into these.” He gestured to his homemade sacrificial outfit.
“How much did you drink, buddy?” I needed to know he wasn't going to fall over and die on us. Even though he was talking, he still looked pretty sick.
“Not much,” he said. “It tasted funny. They kept telling me to drink but I'd only take small sips.”
“What else did they tell you?”
“They said I was going to a place where there was no more pain or suffering. I remember that because they said my family would be waiting for me there. One of the girls was singing some hymn and crying, but it didn't seem weird. Her tears were glistening on her face like she
was an angel. That's the last thing I remember, other than waking up here. What happened?”
“They were going to kill you,” Felicity said. “They wanted to sacrifice you to the zombies for some religious ceremony. They were trying to get us out of the way so we wouldn't interfere.”
That seemed to sober him up a bit. He sat up and stared at her.
“What happened? How did I escape?”
“She saved your life,” I said. “Felicity offered to take your place. She was ready to die for you, but in the end they settled for one of their own instead.”
Benji turned with shock in his face and gaped at Felicity.
“Why?”
“Because,” she said. “We're family now. I couldn't let them hurt my little brother.”
“I am really glad we met you,” he said.
“Me too, kiddo,” she replied.
She kissed him on the forehead again. Benji looked past me out the front windshield. He pointed off in the distance.
“What is that?”
“I don't know,” I said. “Looks like some kind of fire.”
We came around the corner and the Pacific Ocean burst into view. The Ventura pier was completely on fire. I didn't even know how that was possible. It was eerily beautiful in a post-apocalyptic way. We marveled at it in silent wonder. Just past the pier we ran into a full flock of zombies ambling across the freeway in search of food. They looked like a herd of cows that had wandered from a field to block traffic, but in this case they most likely wandered onto the interstate to find and eat drivers in stalled cars.
“Lock the doors,” I yelled.
“They are locked,” Felicity hollered back.
“Good,” I calmed down. “Then buckle up and hold on. We may have to hit a few to get past.”
“Be careful,” she cautioned.
I didn't want to slow down but I knew from firsthand experience that speeding up could be disastrous. The zombies would not get out of the way. We were going to have to hit them to get through. The last thing we needed was to be stalled out in a zombie horde with no way to escape.
Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde Page 23