*****
“Wow, how many did you have to kill?” Caleb Ring asked his baby sister as she unloaded her backpack’s contents on the kitchen table of their meagerly fortified home. Cans of food rolled in tight circles on the laminate top of the retro 70's style kitchen table as she smiled widely.
“Sweet sixteen. One for every year you’re older than me, grampy.” Becca winked at her brother. Caleb’s age of 36 was hardly old by anyone’s standards, but that didn’t stop the younger sister from ribbing her brother. Sometimes the other people surviving with them thought that was the only way the two could communicate. Sophie and Max often stared at each other with blank expressions as the two argued incessantly over entirely pointless things.
“Kiss my ass, fetus,” Caleb replied without hesitation as he organized the food into the two major food groups: the good, and then the shitty but edible. Sadly, the shitty but edible pile was the largest, as it always was. Everyone at the table sighed at the giant stack of canned creamed corn. It would be another week of runny bowel movements. Becca laughed and remembered her brother Adrian’s name for bouts of diarrhea: ninja shits. They always snuck up on you. It made perfect sense.
“This won’t last us more than three days,” Sophie said as she sat one of the cans of corn down softly. She looked over her shoulder in the dimming light of the house at her sleeping son Adam on the couch. His angelic little face was resting peacefully, thumb planted firmly in his mouth. Becca watched as her nephew slept. She was secretly thankful he was down for the night. When Adam was awake it was a task to keep him from making too much noise. Five year olds were a beast to deal with.
“We’re going to have to go further into the city. That or start looking for a better place to live. That minivan on the corner still works and has enough gas to get us at least a hundred miles I think. That’s an option, just get in and fucking go.” Caleb sat down in the wooden chair and rested his head in his hands, thinking out loud. The rest of the adults joined him, debating a course of action. A plan for life.
“If we are planning on leaving, we need to make thure the roadth to the interthtate are open. I know at one point the polith were putting up roadblockth on the rampth. It’d thuck to drive all the way out there jutht to turn around again. Plus the thide thtreeth had a ton of thmall accidents,” Max offered with his heavy lisp. The rest of the adults had entirely forgotten about his speaking quirk. Constant exposure will do that to you.
Becca chimed in, “We can run out on foot in a day or so. It’s as far to the highway as I was out today. We can hoof it there and back in a few hours, find a good route, and then get the hell out.”
“Where do we go?” Sophie asked no one in particular.
“West. The towns out that way are smaller, and the houses more spaced out. We’re more likely to find fireplaces and stoves too, and there are a few farms scattered about. With any luck there is still some kind of crops growing naturally out there and we can find some kind of food. Worst case I can hunt stuff,” Caleb said.
“Plus mom and Adrian and Cassie are out that way too. If anyone is still alive, I bet Adrian is,” Becca said.
Caleb nodded emphatically. Adrian had almost qualified for the Rangers when he was in the Army, and he had years of experience with guns and fighting. Adrian was smart, resourceful, and Becca was right. He had all the tools to be alive right now. “Do you think you can check the way to the highway tomorrow morning Becca? You’re the fastest one on foot here. Well, you and Max are.”
Max responded before his girlfriend could, “I’ll go. You don’t have to go Becca, I got thith.”
Becca smiled at her boyfriend of two years. The end of the world having been a bit of a strain on their fledgling romance, for better or for worse. “No, no silly. We go together. That far out in a direction we haven’t been yet means we go in a pair. Watch each other’s backs and all.”
Max smiled, and the family smiled with him. A new plan had been formed. It required more fine tuning later, but finally it seemed to them like hope might be an option.
*****
“What the fuck is that?” Becca asked her boyfriend as they peered through the overgrown hedge in a small house’s yard. The two of them were flat on their stomachs, torsos fully buried in the dark green shrubbery.
Max squinted and looked at the end of the street where the on-ramp for the interstate was. Perched about a hundred yards ahead and directly in the middle of the ramp was a large green vehicle. Max couldn’t quite make it out, but he knew it was some kind of military truck. A Hummer maybe. “I think it’th a Hummer. I think it’th running, can you hear the engine going?”
Becca turned her head and listened with focus. “Yeah, I can hear it. Should we check it out, maybe it’s the Army? Maybe things are finally coming around?”
“Yeah that or thome athole thtole an Army truck and will thoot uth on thite,” Max said in a hushed but sarcastic tone.
“I got a feeling about this Max. We need to check it out.” Becca looked at her young man with a nearly desperate expression. It reminded Max oddly enough of the first time they made real love in her dorm room, back before the undead ruined everyone’s lives. That memory combined with his curiosity made him nod unconsciously, and the two stood up to head to the military vehicle a few hundred feet away.
Not a second after reaching his full height Max felt a sharp burning sensation in the meat on his shoulder blade. It felt like he’d been stung by a handful of angry bees, and after yelping in pain, he twisted away from the pain, and realized what had happened. While they had been on the ground a zombie had silently shuffled across the grass behind them. Their intense focus on the truck ahead combined with the faint rumble of the military motor allowed the dead woman to get right on them.
Max spun away, leaving a plum sized chunk of his flesh in the older woman’s mouth. Becca let out a panicked, “Oh shit!” Without thinking she swung her hatchet down at the woman’s head, buryng it firmly in the skull at the forehead. Sadly Becca didn’t hit her with enough force to kill, merely enough power to lodge the hatchet in the bone where it stayed. The dead woman, still dressed in her torn open business suit from work on June 23rd staggered, spat out the lump of Max’s warm flesh, and let out a silent snarl. Her teeth were coated with a fresh slick of red blood.
“Get the fuck down,” a male voice from behind them said calmly, and forcefully. Becca had heard that tone before. Her brothers, and father, all men with military time had that voice. It meant business. Becca grabbed Max and tossed him to the grass. A sharp crack broke the near silence of high noon in the suburb of the city, and the undead business woman’s head erupted as if Becca’s hatchet was a bomb that ticked its final second.
“Fuck fuck fuck. I’m bit. Oh shit I’m bitten. Oh God. What the fuck now?” Max’s lisp was gone. It took death’s imminent presence to straighten his speech out. Max rolled around on the green grass with Becca trying to hold him firm. The young man reached impossibly, trying to touch where the teeth had sunken into his back. Behind him he left behind thin red streaks of his blood on the vibrant natural green of the long grass.
From the other side of the hedge a tall man pushed his way through. Becca looked up from her crying boyfriend to see who had come to their rescue. Through her own tears she could see he was tall, at least a few inches over six feet, taller than all her brothers, but not as thickly built as the Ring men. The man wore the khaki uniform she recognized as Army. Slung across his chest comfortably was a military style rifle. He had his hand on the grip and she knew he could point it at her or Max and end them if he felt inclined to. His skin was pale, like he hadn't slept in days, or weeks, and his eyes were sunken. From his body armor she guessed he was National Guard. It paid to be the daughter of a military man these days.
“He’s bit isn’t he? You know we have to—“ and the soldier paused. His dark eyes locked onto Becca like he’d seen a ghost. His eyes almost glazed over as a new set of footsteps approached from the street behind
him. An entirely confused Becca watched a young girl pushed her way through the same hedge the solider had a moment before, stopping at his side. She had a pistol in her hand, and took the situation in as Max whined in pain. The girl stopped cold when she saw Becca as well. Both of them looked shocked. Becca didn't know what to think, or what to say.
“Holy shit. What’s your name?” The muted soldier asked Becca.
“Becca. Why?” She was scared, and choking back the waves of tears that threatened to take over. She didn’t know what to do. Her boyfriend was bitten and would die soon here in this yard, and a strange man with a large gun was interrogating her.
“Becca what? Do you have a brother named Adrian?” The man asked.
Her heart skipped a beat and she straightened. “Yeah, yes. I do. Do you know him? Is he okay? Is he here?” Becca’s fear for her life melted away in the revelation that her older brother might still be alive. She looked around, hoping he'd appear through the hedge just like this man and woman.
“Fuck yeah. You look just like him. He’s still alive and well. Crazy too. He’s got a whole town practically under his control now. Guess it does all work out in the long run.” The soldier lowered the barrel of his rifle slightly and let out a laugh. He bit his lip, revealing gray gums, and unhealthy teeth. He scanned the neighborhood around them.
“Hi I’m Angie, this is my boyfriend Raef by the way. Is your friend hurt? He seems it.” The girl with the handgun said as she crouched down to lend a hand. She seemed entirely okay with her man's strange health. Maybe it was just the way he looked.
Becca nodded and looked back to Max. The color of his skin was already turning that deathly jaundiced blue. She’d seen many people bitten, especially right on June 23rd, and it was a little different every time. Some folks lasted for hours, some even days, but some succumbed to the bites in minutes. Max didn’t have long. She knew at least what that looked like. “Yeah, he’s bitten.”
Angie recoiled like Max was infected with the black plague. Both her and the soldier named Raef backed up. Becca strangely noticed his nametag said LaFrenz on it. Maybe he was French-Canadian in origin. Quebec wasn’t that far a drive really. The Ring clan had taken a vacation to Montreal when Becca was little. It had been very pretty she remembered. Like Europe appeared on post cards, and school textbooks on history.
“I’m so sorry,” Angie said as she stood back up. No amount of medical care could save the young man now. Bites were always fatal. No exceptions.
“Where is my brother?” Becca asked defiantly, trying to be strong.
“He has gathered a large amount of survivors at a private school about an hour away. Auburn Lake or something. We actually left there a few weeks ago. We didn’t want to live at the school so we’re heading north to get somewhere rural. You could totally make it there. The roads aren’t all that bad right now. Most of the undead you can just drive around if you're careful,” LaFrenz told her.
Becca smiled, and then realized a question to ask, “What about Cassie? My brother's girlfriend? Is she alive?”
LaFrenz and Angie looked lost. After exchanging glances with Angie, the soldier answered her, his gaze drifting downward to the rapidly falling Max, “I don’t know anyone named Cassie, I’m sorry.”
Becca looked down at Max, realizing that her brother’s girlfriend was probably dead. Other than Sophie and her boyfriend Max, Cassie was easily Becca’s best friend. Max looked up at her with eyes glazing over. Becca could see the film of cataract whiteness already forming in the darks of his eyes. He only had a minute at most. Becca suddenly regretted not spending these moments focusing on him.
“Max. I love you. Can you still hear me?” Becca whispered down at the young man she loved. Her first love really. Silly Max who threw up in her makeup bag at that party. Silly Max who held her hair when she threw up at the same party. Silly Max who gave her gas station flowers more often than he could afford, and silly Max who told her she was the most beautiful girl at the college they went to. Silly Max who just died in her arms.
Becca’s face tightened into a silent sob as she doubled over. Angie swept in and grabbed her, pulling her away from the dead body that would sit up shortly and try to kill all three of them. Becca let the girl lead her through the hedge and into the road as LaFrenz fished a steel rod covered in rusty colored blood stains from his pack. Becca heard a series of wet thunks, stopping only when she heard the distinct crack of a skull breaking open.
Silly Max and his thick skull. She let go, and the tears came.
*****
“Do you know how to get there from here?” LaFrenz asked the remnants of the family sitting around the table. He himself stood tall, his pale hand continuously on the grip of his rifle.
Becca answered before Caleb could, “Yeah I do. It’s at the end of this long country road, and over a bridge. I know right where it is.”
“How many folks are there now? How is Adrian doing? Is he okay?” Caleb asked. Caleb was the eldest of the five ring siblings. Four brothers and little Becca, the darling baby girl. Caleb was an asshole when they were growing up, but now that he was a father he was protective of his loved ones to a fault, and the news his younger brother was still alive had set a fire under his ass. Sophie watched on holding Adam as her husband exhibited signs of pure joy.
Angie answered him, “He is just fine as far as we know. He’s been hurt a few times I’m sure, but there are about what? Forty people now? Thirty? They have chickens, and crops, and water, and even some electricity. That school is amazing. Some of the folks have taken to calling it The Last Bastion. Humanity’s final stronghold. Heavy shit.”
Becca and Caleb smiled the same smile. Angie was shocked at the family resemblance they shared. The entire family looked like they were stamped out of the same mold. There was no chance at all that anyone would mistake them as anything but siblings.
LaFrenz had to add to the conversation, “It really might be you know. They say he’s got a connection to something big. Something bigger than us. Mike said your brother has dreams, and the dreams show him what to do or something. I don’t know. I thought it was weird. However… your brother has managed to build a heck of a place to stay, and he has helped quite a few people. Can't take that away from him. There's more to it than that, but it doesn't matter right now.” LaFrenz looked to Angie and they shared a forlorn look. It was as if they had a secret they were ashamed of.
The gathered family took that news with a confused expression on all their faces, but didn’t press the couple. No one said anything. It seemed as if they felt LaFrenz was fabricating a strange story for an unknown purpose. It was too strange to be true.
“Why aren’t you there? Why head north? When did you leave there?” Caleb asked the questions rapid fire, breaking up the awkward moment.
LaFrenz considered his words wisely. “Your brother scares me. He’s hard. Too hard I think. Sometimes I think he’s just a mistake away from getting people killed. I know a lot of other folks have died there, and I think some of those deaths might be partly his fault. I don’t know. I don’t mean to bad mouth him or anything. He’s your brother. But I just felt safer if Angie and I went out on our own, and headed north. We left a few weeks ago. Middle of July. We hit my family’s home, Angie’s place, and stopped by a few of our friend’s homes on the way to here trying to see if anyone else we knew was still alive. I’m sure you all would love it there. They have kids, and food, and everything. I must admit, I’m still not sure it was the right decision for Angie and I to leave. I'm not sure it was worth it. If things are, uh, rough up north and we need to move, we’d head back there in a heartbeat.”
“What day is it? None of us have a calendar for this year and we lost track of the days a long time ago. We thought it might be August?” Becca queried.
Angie responded, “I don’t know the exact day, but I think it’s something like August 15th or so.”
Caleb and Becca listened and tried to understand the state of the school their
brother apparently ran, and the state of the world. Caleb knew better what the situation was. If Adrian was in charge, then he was running it like he had to. Making the best decisions he could for the people living with him, and making sure he was doing the best job he could for them. At his core, Adrian was a good person. One of the best, and at the end of the day, people were going to die one way or the other. No amount of carefulness could change that.
“The Last Bastion eh? Kind of dramatic,” Sophie said as she caressed her son’s fine brown hair. Tiny Adam was half asleep, bored by the conversation the older people were having.
LaFrenz nodded. “If you prefer, you can call it ALPA like Adrian does. Although some of us from Westfield had taken to calling ALPA just plain old Bastion. It sounded neater I guess.”
“Bastion,” Caleb tasted the word out loud.
“That sounds like something Adrian would fucking hate to hear.” Becca grinned at her brother.
“Yeah. We need to get there and start calling it that around him. See how much of an asshole he’s become now that he thinks he’s in charge of something.” Caleb laughed.
“I’ll draw you a map of where to avoid. Do you have paper?” LaFrenz asked.
Becca rose to her feet to get a pad of paper. The profound sadness of the loss of Max was temporarily covered with the elation of possibly seeing her brother again. A smile slipped out as she pulled the kitchen drawer open. With any luck, she’d see him tomorrow.
*****
LaFrenz and Angie left the family that night with a pair of warm hugs, and a parting gift. The young couple had far more in the way of resources than the Ring family did, and before they drove away in their borrowed National Guard humvee, they made sure to share their wealth. Caleb’s handgun had fifteen rounds left for it, and LaFrenz happened to have spare ammunition in the same caliber. He left a box of 50 rounds in Caleb’s hand after a handshake, and the two men embraced. LaFrenz stiffened slightly under Caleb’s embrace, almost as if he was being hugged by Adrian, the other Ring brother that made him uneasy.
Adrian's Undead Diary (Book 6): In the Arms of Family Page 19