“But don’t you want to know what’s going on?” Michelle asked.
“I do, but I don’t want to put us in any danger while trying to find out what’s happening.” He took another drink from his mug and said, “It’s not worth it.”
“What do you think?” Michelle called out to James. “You think we should go to town to see what’s going on…or maybe even go back to Cartersville?”
“Uh, I don’t know about Rome, and Cartersville…that would be too risky. That’s way too far away right now.”
“I agree with James on that,” Benjie said. “Going to Cartersville is just too dangerous.” Standing up and walking over to Michelle, he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Look, I know you want to find out what’s going on. Believe me, I know all of us want to hear some kind of news, but I think we need to wait a little longer before we go venturing off anywhere.
The Lord blessed us with your daddy’s cabin. Thank God he had the foresight to make this place into what it is. We’ve got a roof over our head, we’ve got power and running water, and we’ve got food. There’s no reason to leave this place so long as things are good here. We’re safe…but if we go out there…well, I don’t know how safe we would be.”
“Benjie’s got a point,” James noted. “Things are good here. Whatever is going on out there, the world seems to be turning just fine without us being involved.”
Michelle ran her hands through her uncombed hair and she let out a moan of frustration. “I guess you’re right, but I just want to know if things are—”
A series of furious barks from Rhino caused Michelle to stop in midsentence. Not being able to see his dog through the thick brush, James stepped down off of the porch and onto the grass and pine needles. His first thought was to whistle for Rhino, but he decided against it because he didn’t want to alert any unwanted guests to their presence.
Benjie darted into his room and emerged a moment later, fully clothed and armed with Jerry’s shotgun. “Go lock yourself in the bedroom,” he told Michelle. Not stopping long enough to allow her to respond, he trotted through the front door to join James.
With Rhino continuing to bark, James gave Benjie a hand signal to flank out to their right. James then hunched down and began to slowly walk to the edge of the clearing that formed a small yard in front of the cabin. Once at the tree line, he squinted and tried to peer through foliage and underbrush. He raised his rifle to his shoulder and as he scanned the area around him, Rhino dashed out of the brush and positioned himself at James’ side. He growled as he lowered his head and raised his shoulders.
“What is it, boy?” James whispered to Rhino. Just then, he heard some rustling off in the distance. “Shit,” he said to himself.
“Hey there,” called a voice through the brush. “That’s a nice dog you got there. Nearly bit my head off.”
James caught sight of a man making his way through the bushes. He was wearing camouflaged hunting clothes and was carrying a pack on his back. And he was armed. James drew a bead on the man’s chest and said, “Just hold up there, mister. Don’t take a step closer or I’ll shoot you dead.”
“Whoa,” the man said. He raised his hunting rifle over his head and said in a shaky voice, “We’re not looking for trouble, sir.”
“We?” James dropped down to his knee and his eyes darted back and forth as he kept the barrel of his rifle fixed on the man. “How many are you?”
“It’s me, my girlfriend and her brother. They’re right behind me. Honest, we don’t want any problems, mister.”
“Alright then, get on out here in the open where I can see you…with your hands up. Now!”
“Okay, mister, we’re coming out. Just don’t shoot.” The man turned and looked behind him. “Come on Hannah. Come on, Donnie. Just follow me.”
James stepped back, rifle still at the ready, and he directed the three people to step out into the clearing. Seeing that all of them were armed, he ordered them to place their hunting rifles on the ground. “Benjie, get over here and check them.”
Benjie, emerging from the bushes, cautiously walked up to the group and began to pat them down. Rhino continued to growl, his upper lip quivering as he flashed his teeth in anxiety. After concluded the search, Benjie stepped back and said, “They’re clean.”
James gave the group a look-over, realizing that he was dealing with a bunch of youngsters. “So, you’re Hannah and you’re Donnie, but who are you?”
“I’m Allister,” the young man said to James.
“Damn, how old are you kids?” Benjie asked.
“I’m twenty-two,” Allister said.
“I’m twenty,” Hannah said, “and my brother is sixteen.”
Not knowing if anyone else was hiding in the brush, James looked beyond the three and surveyed the brush.
“I promise, it’s just us three,” Allister said.
James looked back at him and said, “You better be telling me the truth.” He looked into the eyes of the young man. His face was scratched and dirty and his nose was rubbed raw. He glanced over at the other two and saw that they all had the same look on their faces—a look of fear.
Michelle, holding a pistol and standing on the porch, said, “See if they’re hungry or thirsty.”
Not taking his eyes off of the three newcomers, James asked, “Have you guys had anything to eat?”
As a sign of respect, Allister reached up and took off his cap, exposing his dirty red hair. “Mister, we haven’t eaten in two days.”
“The name is James.” James looked over at Michelle and said, “And that’s Michelle.”
“And I’m Benjie,” Benjie added.
“Then why don’t y’all come on in and I’ll see if I can rustle up something for you to eat,” Michelle said. She waved them up. “Come on.”
Allister was hesitant at first, so he turned and looked at Hannah for reassurance. With a frightened look on her face, she nodded in acknowledgment. Although they were all wary of the cabin and what was inside, their hunger was too great to deal with and they decided to put their trust in the strangers with the vicious dog.
Rhino continued to growl as the young troupe walked up to the porch. James looked down at the dog and snapped his fingers, signaling to the K-9 to back down. The dog obeyed, but he kept a cautious eye on the strangers.
“That sure is a mean dog,” Donnie said as he walked up the steps to the porch.
“Only when he has to be. But if he trusts you, he can be your best bud.”
As the three made their way into the cabin, Benjie and James gathered up the rifles, making sure to unload them.
***
“So, where are you from?” Benjie asked as the three young travelers scarfed down their food. Michelle had served them canned chili.
“We’re from Rome,” Hannah said as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her stringy black hair kept getting into her face and she was having to brush it back.
“And how did you end up out here,” James asked as he sipped on a glass of water. He was sitting on the rocking chair watching the three devour their food.
Allister was about to shovel a spoonful into his mouth, but he stopped, placing the utensil down in the blue steel bowl. He looked down and took a deep sigh. “My parents were in Atlanta when this all broke out. I couldn’t get ahold of them on the cell phone.” He paused to recollect the event—and to hold back his tears. “Then things started happening in Rome. The police, the sheriff, the state patrol…even the State Guard. They kind of tried taking over the whole town. The mayor said that he had no choice but to close off the city in order to keep infected people from getting in.”
“Yeah, but that was all bullshit!” Donnie said angrily. “They just wanted to run the town. And in the end, they ended up shooting the mayor and a bunch of other folks who tried to speak out against what was going on.”
“My parents let Allister stay with us,” Hannah added. “He didn’t have anywhere else to go.” She reached over to boyfrie
nd, taking his hand into hers.
“Yeah, if it wasn’t for her family, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.” He looked at James and continued his story. “So they have the town locked down…I’m talking like a prisoner of war camp. Then one night, the army—or something like that—comes marching into Rome and a big battle breaks out. I mean like tanks and machine guns and things you see in the movies.”
“It was terrible,” Hannah said. She trembled as she remembered the ugly event.
“Yeah, people were getting killed all over the place,” Donnie said to James. “The town police and the local guard fought back. I don’t know where they got them from, but them boys had rocket launchers…and they knew how to use them. They ambushed a bunch of the other guys in downtown…right in the middle of Broad Street. There was burning tanks and trucks and bodies all over the place. And then the dead started coming back to life and they started going after everyone.”
“We tried to make it out…with my parents,” Hannah said as she began to sob. “But someone shot up our car with a machine gun. My parents were killed and we had to leave them behind…”—she began to stammer and sob—“and we don’t know if…we don’t know if they…if they came back or not!” Horrified at the possibility of her parents returning from the dead, she began to scream out loud. Michelle jumped up and leaned down over the hysterical girl, taking her into her arms.
“There, there, get it all out,” Michelle whispered into Hannah’s ear. “You’re safe here. You can grieve now, my child.” She continued to rock the crying girl in her arms. She then found herself thinking of her own mother—and of Jerry.
Wiping his tears away from his face, Donnie picked up his sister’s tale. “We made it back home, so we packed what we could, got three of my dad’s hunting rifles and we set out on foot. We saw a couple of people still there in town, but almost everyone else has been turned into those things.”
“Yeah, I think most of the town folk are zombies now…or those crazy things that run real fast,” Allister said.
“And what about the guys who attacked the town?” James asked Allister. He wasn’t too sure about revealing to him that he had been working with the same people who might have been responsible for the death of his girlfriend’s parents. “Did any of them make it?”
“I don’t think so. We were right there in downtown when the big fight started. It was terrible and confusing and I’m not sure if those guys made it. What really sucks is that no one even knew why they attacked Rome.”
“Maybe they were trying to free it?” Michelle suggested as she eyed James. She realized that he wasn’t going to divulge the fact that they had known about the attack—she winked her eye at him to confirm that his secret was safe with her.
“We left in such a hurry that we didn’t pack enough food, so we ran out like maybe three days ago,” Donnie said. “We shot a squirrel, but that didn’t last long.”
“So, have you seen anyone else since you’ve been out here?” Benjie asked.
Finally being able to calm herself down, Hannah looked up at Michelle and said, “Thank you.” She rubbed away her tears and snot on her shirt sleeve and she looked over at Benjie. “We haven’t seen anyone else since we left town.”
“But we have run into a few of those things,” Donnie added. “I don’t know how they got out here, but they’re out here alright. Not many of them, but enough to cause trouble if they got around this cabin.’
A sinking feeling immediately overwhelmed James as he heard Donnie’s last statement. He shook his head in despair and asked, “When was the last time you saw any of them?”
“I guess maybe three days ago,” Donnie replied. “About the same time we ran out of food. Maybe about five miles away from here…back towards the road that comes up here.”
Sitting back down at the table, Michelle asked Hannah, “And how did you find us?”
“We smelled your fire.” She pointed to the hearth. “We’ve been trying to track it down from the moment we smelled it. That was yesterday…or the day before…I think.”
“When you were back in town, did you guys here of any news from outside of Rome?” Michelle asked the three.
Donnie ran his hand over his dark flat top and said, “Well, there was this neighbor who had a Ham radio…he was communicating with some other people across the country. He said that things were real bad and everything had fallen apart. He also said that Atlanta was a ‘dead town’ and that there was no communication with them anymore.”
“Yeah, but he also said that he had picked up some stuff from San Antonio,” Allister noted, “and that it sounded like an army base there was trying to work on a cure for this damn disease…or whatever it is.”
“Whoa, did you say ‘San Antonio?’ ” James asked.
“Yeah, if I think I heard right, he said, ‘San Antonio.’ ”
“I heard someone else saying something about that,” James said, again not wanting to divulge that he had been working with the National Guard. “I wonder how true that is.”
“That’s right,” Benjie remembered, “you have family near Houston…down in Texas.”
“Yep,” James said. “Maybe a little closer to Galveston, but yeah…in that general area.” He fell silent for a moment as he contemplated the possibility of traveling to Texas. He knew that the odds would be stacked against him, but then again, he knew that in the world they were now living in, the odds would never be in his favor—no matter what he did. He glanced down at Rhino and snapped his finger, calling the dog to him. Excited, Rhino pranced over to him and James began to pet the top of his head.
“What else did your neighbor say?” Michelle asked, trying to hide the excitement inside of her. Although she was sad for the young trio and the situation that they were in, she was elated at the fact that she was finally getting some kind of information from the outside world. “Did he say if anyone else was trying to stop the disease?”
“No,” Donnie said, “he just said that it sounded like the government was no longer around and that the big cities were all gone.”
“All gone?” Benjie asked.
“That’s what he said,” Donnie muttered as he shrugged.
“And that’s how we ended up here,” Allister said in a neutral tone as he stared down at his bowl. James could tell that the young man had grown weary of recounting their fright-filled journey.
“Well, you kids are more than welcome to stay here,” Michelle said. Benjie looked over at her with an expression of uncertainty on his face. He wished that she would have at least conferred with James and him before making the offer to the kids. Not wanting the newcomers to pick up on his displeasure, he stood up and walked over to the window that looked out over the front porch.
Sensing Benjie’s dissension, James looked over at Michelle and smiled. He too would have preferred to have discussed any decision made in regards to the three kids, but he also knew that he was just a guest in Michelle’s cabin. She was the landlord and he was a tenant.
“So, have you all been here since this all started?” Hannah asked Michelle.
“We came up here a few days after everything started happening,” she said. She coughed and cleared her voice as she tried to avoid becoming emotional. “My husband—Jerry—went out to try to find my mom and he never returned. I stayed there at the house for several days and then Benjie came over. My daddy had this cabin built before he died, so we decided to come up here and that’s when we met James.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your husband,” Hannah said in a hushed voice.
“It’s okay. I’d like to think that he’s still alive out there, but I know better.”
“So, you aren’t from Rome?” Donnie asked.
“No, Benjie and I are from Cartersville.” Looking over at James, she said, “And he’s from Floyd.”
“Ah, so you’re pretty much from Rome,” Allister said. James glanced back at him but didn’t reply.
Sensing that the conversation was growing
stale, Michelle decided to change directions. “Finish up your food so none of it goes to waste. You can sleep here in the front room with James and Rhino…I’m sure they won’t mind.”
James, deep in thought, didn’t hear what Michelle had just said. He was thinking about Texas. He was thinking about his cousins. He was thinking about heading out west.
***
James stood on the front porch and leaned back against the railing, looking through the open front door at the three slumbering youngsters. They were in their sleeping bags—the couch moved to one corner with them sprawled out across the floor. Curiously, Rhino was curled up next to Hannah.
Michelle, sitting next to Benjie on a porch swing, looked up and saw that James was staring at something beyond the cabin walls. She could tell that he was deep in thought. “What are you thinking of?”
“Ahhh,” James groaned, “I don’t know.” He rubbed the palms of his hands on the front of his pants. “I guess I’m thinking of all kinds of things.”
“Like what?” she asked him.
“I guess I was just thinking about how much the world has changed in the past month.” He took a deep breath. “Isn’t it crazy how so much has changed in such a short amount of time? I thought the world was…I don’t know…maybe tougher than that. You know, like too tough to be turned upside down so quickly. It just blows my mind.”
“What do you mean?” Benjie asked.
“Well, we got all this technology…all this modern science and state-of-the-art health care…computers and communication, and none of it made a difference. And now we’re gonna have to change the way we live…the way we interact with other people. Lord knows we can never trust anyone again. Sooner or later, it’s going to be every man for himself…if it isn’t like that already.” James looked down and shook his head. With a deep sigh he said, “It’s like…I don’t know…like darkness is coming to the world and we’re lost in the twilight…not knowing what to do or where to go.”
A Glimpse of Decay (Book 3): Lost in Twilight Page 21