by T A Williams
“Yeah, you’re not helpless,” Spence said pretending to bite back a laugh.” You’re a regular outdoorsman.”
“I can go with you,” Ally said. She didn’t like Spence; the only person that seemed to was Dena, but she was willing to help. “I can hunt and I’m quiet.”
“Even better, a snot-nosed child.”
Anger filled Ally but before she could say anything Dena spoke up. “Back off, Spence.”
For a brief moment the man looked hurt but just as quickly the look was replaced by one of anger. “What the fuck ever. I’m tired and I’ve lost my appetite. Enjoy the meal.” The man used the wall to balance himself as he stood up and limped over to the far side of the room where he laid down.
Adam kept his attention on the floor while Dena stared at Spence’s back, a conflicted look covering her face. Ally looked to the fire and got lost in the dancing flames. These people were a ticking time bomb and at any moment they were going to explode. She wasn’t afraid, she had been taking care of herself long before they came.
Alec
Once he managed to stifle the urge to scream out in abject terror he had to admit it was kind of beautiful. What had initially felt like the horse was sprinting at a speed over thirty miles per hour slowed down and Alec realized it was probably closer to just three or four miles per hour. The saddle which had first felt like it was covered in lubricant eventually became comfortable and Alec felt it was now molded to his butt. Alec loosened his death grip on the saddle horn and eventually let go of it altogether.
Bethany watched him with a smile on top of her own horse. The sun was just above her shoulder and her hair gently danced in the breeze.
“I told you.”
“Told me what?” Alec asked.
“That you would get the hang of it.”
They made their way through the open fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. Alec had gotten so used to looking at everything in ways to figure out how it could benefit the settlement and had forgotten how to just enjoy the scenery. The world was full of violence and sucked a large portion of the time, but it was gorgeous.
“We’re not too far from Centralia if you want to continue on.”
“I don’t think your father wants you going into Centralia while the soldiers are there.” Bethany gave him a look that he instantly translated to mean quit acting like you’re my father and he shook his head. “Fair enough.”
They cut through the fields and came up along the backside of town. Whenever they traveled to Centralia they took this path and made a point to sneak out without the soldiers seeing them. The last thing they needed was for the soldiers to find New Hope. The horse’s hooves clomped down the deteriorating road. As they got closer Alec could make out shouting.
He pulled up and motioned for Bethany to stop. “Hold up.” He listened and made out the sounds of arguing. “Bethany head back, I’m going to see what’s going on.”
Bethany didn’t move. He opened his mouth to say something when she held up a hand telling him to stop. “Don’t treat me like a child, Alec.”
“I’m not trying to treat you like a child. I don’t need your father trying to kill me.”
“You’ve met my father, do you really think I need another one?”
“I’m not trying to act like you’re father either.” Alec couldn’t find anything else to say so he said the truth. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Bethany’s face softened and she pulled her horse up next to his. She looked deep in his eyes. “And don’t treat me like a damsel in distress either. I can take care of myself and I can make my own choices.”
Alec’s frustration drained away but the concern stubbornly remained behind. “Ok. But if things get out of hand and I say the word get yourself back home, ok?”
“You’re lucky you’re cute when you’re worried.” Bethany spurred on the horse and it trotted ahead of Alec. He shook his head knowing that either she or the horse was probably going to be the death of him.
They trotted ahead to the southernmost edge of Centralia where they had taken the empty fields and turned them into lots for the livestock they had managed to gather up. The fields were filled with cattle, horses and even a few pigs. Alec saw two Chinese Humvees parked next to one of the cattle lots and over a dozen soldiers stood there with Whitlock and a few of the villagers blocking them from the gate.
Alec swung off the horse, handed the reins to Bethany and ran towards them. One of the soldiers turned to him and lifted up the rifle, stopping him right in his tracks. “Uh, not a threat.”
The skinny translator came out from behind one of the Humvees and raised up his hands. He said something in Chinese and the soldier lowered his gun but his eyes burned a hole into Alec. Whitford saw Alec and waved him over.
“What the hell is going on?” Alec asked Whitford.
The man’s beard was even more unruly than usual and the stress of having the soldiers in his town was evident on his face. It looked like the man hadn’t slept in weeks. “They’re trying to take some of our cattle.”
Alec turned to the translator who raised his hands up again. “The General needs two cows, he will pay you all back before we leave.”
Whitford paced back and forth. “Yeah I’m sure it’s just two now and then two more tomorrow until our livestock is gone and their little BBQ is in full swing.” Alec placed his hand on Whitford’s shoulder and the man stopped pacing. “When are you leaving?”
One of the soldiers said something to the translator and he shook his head and said something back. It was obvious the soldiers weren’t going to allow Whitford and the others to continue blocking their path for long.
“Listen, my name is Desmond,” he glanced behind him for a moment. “Just give them the two cows. You know you can’t stop them, trying to will just make it worse.”
One of the soldiers yelled something and they all lifted their guns and pointed it in their direction. Fear gripped Alec’s body. He glanced to Bethany who was still forty yards back watching, her eyes went wide and Alec fought the urge to yell at her to run. The translator waved his hands in the air trying to keep them to lower their guns but one of the soldiers stepped forward and pushed the man to the ground.
“Whitford,” Alec said under his breath. “This is not worth dying for.”
“If we give this to them they won’t stop taking.”
“Now is not the time to fight,” Alec said. A soldier yelled something out and Alec jumped. “Don’t sacrifice yourself to prove a point.” With that said Alec walked to the side away from the gate. A few others followed him and for a brief moment it appeared Whitford wouldn’t move but he finally spit on the ground and strolled out of the way.
One soldier stood there watching them while the others went about getting the cattle. The soldier gently kicked the translator who was still on the ground and said something. The translator looked to Alec. “He wants to know who you are.”
“Why?” Alec asked.
The translator didn’t even pretend to translate.
“My name is Alec.”
The translator told the soldier who asked another question. “He wants to know where you live.”
Alec again glanced to Bethany who had pulled back even further and was watching them from behind a distant house. “Here. I live in a house near the old high school.”
After the translator relayed this information to the soldier he took a few steps forward and got into Alec’s face. “He doesn’t believe you.” The translator said.
Alec fought back a surge of anger. “That’s his problem.”
The translator said nothing and the soldier turned to the skinny man who had got back to his feet and dusted himself off. The translator again began talking and pointed towards the high school. The soldier turned back to Alec and looked him up and down, he then looked past to Whitford and pointed menacing at the man, whatever the soldier said the translator didn’t say. With that said the soldier turned his back to them and walke
d back towards the Humvees. The translator followed behind him after a few moments.
Alec let out the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding.
“This is just the beginning,” Whitford said, his fists were clenched and his face was red. “They’re going to drain us dry and then they’ll head out.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong,” Alec said trying to keep his voice low. “But there isn’t anything we can do about it right now. When things calm down, ride out and I’ll call the council.”
Whitford shook his head, obviously remembering what happened the last time he met with the council. “Yeah, I guess we don’t really have much of a choice.”
Alec stood there and watched as the soldiers tied a lead rope around the neck of two the cows and slowly began to lead them back towards their base at the fairgrounds. Once it was clear he made his way back to Bethany.
She looked to him and let out a breath. “Damn.”
Alec shook his head, “Yeah,” he looked back towards the now empty street, things were dangerously close to getting out of hand. “Damn.”
Ben
The smell caught in the back of Ben’s throat and refused to let go. He paused for a moment at the edge of the door and Ty squeezed past him laughing.
“Gotta love the smell of spoiled meat and unwashed bodies.”
Ben gathered himself and walked inside the abandoned apartment room. The door had been locked and he had managed to knock it down, per their orders. Both Ty and Ben were too inexperienced to go to the front lines so they had been patrolling the refugee areas and searching the buildings for unwanted supplies. Food and weapons were obvious so the people still living in the city had already beaten them to the punch, but certain other things might prove useful to the military. Which is why they found themselves in the middle of Manhattan breaking down doors in dilapidated apartment buildings.
He walked into the living room of the small apartment and realized this had once been a really nice place. The white carpet showed obvious signs that it hadn’t been vacuumed in a while as dust and debris littered the floor. Two white sofas sat in the middle of the room looking as if they hadn’t been used, ever. A large chandelier hung from the middle of the room and a fireplace sat in the far corner.
“Damn B, I bet you this spot cost over a million dollars to pick up,” Ty said as he turned in a circle to soak it all in.
Ben watched him as he walked around slowly taking everything in. Ben’s first experience meeting a soldier was Mason. The man’s helicopter had crashed near his house and Ben had helped him recover. Even though Mason had been injured he was tough and straight to the point. Then last year Ben went with Mason and met up with another group of soldiers. While they were all different they were also very similar in that they were disciplined and focused. Ty on the other hand was the complete opposite. It didn’t take much detective work to figure out the young man had enrolled after the world went black like Ben had.
“How long have you been in the military?” Ben asked.
Ty put down a ceramic vase he had been inspecting. “I don’t know, maybe six, seven months, why?”
Ben shrugged. “Just wondering. Why did you join?”
Ty smiled the same mischievous smile Ben had gotten used to seeing. “They feed us.” He saw the look on Ben’s face and laughed. “Come on, man, don’t do me like that. Look the food isn’t that great but its food. I could either stay on these streets and fight for food like all these other fools, or I could join up and get some food in my belly.”
It made sense but it didn’t sound good.
“What about you, why did you decide to be all that you could be?”
Ben knew exactly why he joined but he didn’t think the reason would be sufficient enough to satisfy Ty so he just shrugged his shoulders.
“Why you don’t like me?” Ty said cocking his head to the side.
“What?” Ben didn’t hate Ty, of course that hadn’t been what he had accused him of. He wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about him. “It’s not that I don’t like you.”
Ty waited for more but nothing came. “Just saying, you’re shady sometimes.”
“I’m just quiet, I guess.” Ben quickly moved to the hallway with Ty following.
“Nah, you don’t get out of this conversation that easy….”
Ty continued talking but Ben stopped listening. The smell seemed to be coming from a nearby room so Ben peeked in and immediately pulled back. While his eyes were no longer on the horrible sight the image remained in his mind’s eye. There was a bathtub, once white, now an aged yellow. What had once been water filled the tub but it had since taken on a black color and had thickened into a sludge. It wasn’t the tub or the water that had bothered Ben, it was the body. The long dark hair suggested the body belonged to a female. Her arm laid across the side of the tub and her head was laid back against the ceramic backsplash as if she were just taking a leisurely bath. The skin had taken on a leathery look and any distinctive features on her face had decayed away causing it to look more like a generic skull than a person.
“Wow B, what’s gotten into-“ Ty went around him to the room and stopped.
Ben walked away down the hall not caring where he went as long as it was away from that. He walked until he got to the end of the hallway where there was another door but he just stopped. He was looking at the door but all he could see was the body.
“Damn. That’s some fucked up shit,” Ty said softly as he was coming up behind him.
Ben looked to Ty and saw his eyes were wide but whether by force or just naturally he seemed fine. As if the sight of a decaying body didn’t have an effect on him.
“You alright, B?”
Ben nodded his head.
“There were a lot of those when the power first went out.”
“What do you mean a lot of those?”
“First few months were crazy. People fighting and killing to just to get some food. The Army brought supplies and stuff but they couldn’t feed hundreds of thousands of people. Shit kept breaking down, people starting losing hope, so people just started ending it.”
The lady had just been lying there peacefully. No signs of an attack, no stab or bullet woods. She had just died. “Pills?” Ben asked.
“You just kind of fall asleep,” Ty finished. He walked past Ben and opened up the door behind him. “God dammit,” he whispered.
Ben turned and his eyes were filled with the color pink. Pink walls, pink lace hanging from the ceiling, pink stuffed bears and in the corner a pink crib. In the crib was a small object covered in a pink blanket. Ty’s face dropped as the horror struck him. He walked out and closed the door behind him. Ben stood there. They had been lucky. His father had taken them from the city to the middle of the country where they had managed to take care of themselves, for a time. Not everyone had been that lucky. Ben walked down the hallway and stumbled into the living room where Ty was sitting on one of the couches with his head in his hands. Ben sat down on the floor across from him.
“Shit’s fucked, dude,” Ty whispered. “I’m tired of the dead.”
“Yeah,” Ben said.
Ty sat back on the couch, his eyes watery. “My moms died when I was like ten or eleven. Overdosed. I spent some time on the street, just took care of myself. I did some bad stuff to get food.” He looked up at Ben for a second then looked away. “I saw dead bodies then. I found my mom’s too.” Ty shook his head and ran his hands over his eyes. “I ain’t never seen a kid though, a baby. Shit’s fucked.”
His father, Joseph. The pain was a reminder but it didn’t’ help. Ben stood up. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“You want to know the real reason I joined? I did enough bad shit when I was younger to survive. I wasn’t about to go back to that. This is my chance to do something good.”
Ben smiled. “We have and we are. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Ty nodded and got up. For a second they stood there awkwardly until Ben walked
out of the room and Ty followed. Together they left the horror behind them to face the horror in front of them.
They walked down the desolate hallways down the empty stairs until they got to the door leading to the outside world. Ben was still in his own little world when he stepped out and it wasn’t until he saw the two Chinese soldiers across the street that he snapped back to reality. A second seemed to stretch into an hour as they stood there. One of the soldiers glanced towards them and looked away, as he began his double take Ben turned, grabbed Ty’s arm and ran back into the building. Seconds later the door behind them exploded in gunfire. The sounds were amplified in the small hallways and Ben’s hearing was reduced to a loud buzz.
“Get upstairs!” Ben yelled to Ty even though he couldn’t hear his own words.
They ran up the stairs onto the second level. Ben took up position at the stop and leveled his gun towards the bottom of the stairs. His ears continued to buzz and he tried to calm his breathing.
Moments passed.
One after the other.
Then movement at the bottom of the stairs. For a spilt second the face of one of the soldiers peeked around and Ben opened fire. Short-bursts focused at the bottom of the stairs. He watched as the wooden stairs splintered and broke apart from the barrage of bullets, then he stopped. A rifle appeared at the bottom of the stairs and fired up at him. Ben dove to the side as the wall to the side of him took the impact of dozens of bullets. He scrambled to his feet and ran out of the stairway further into the building. As he passed one of the doors someone reached out and pulled him into the room. Ben twisted away causing him to fall to his side but he rolled with his momentum and got to his knees with the rifle pointed at the person who grabbed him. Ty stood there wide-eyed. Ben lowered the gun.
“Did you get them?” Ty asked but it sounded like he was shouting from a great distance.
Ben shook his head no and motioned for Ty to fall back further into the room. Ben got up, closed the door and took position behind a nearby couch. Ty was on the other side of the room behind a desk, his gun also pointed at the door. Mason and the others were nearby and would have heard the gunshots. They just had to make it long enough for Mason to find them.