“What’s your name?” James asked.
“Olivia,” she said, “but all my friends call me Olive.”
“Hi, Olive. I’m James.”
“Hi, James.”
“Okay Olive, can you walk on your own and follow me?” She looked around nervously. “You can do it. I’ll be right here.”
“Okay,” she said, grabbing his left pant leg.
“We’ll go slow,” he said. For you and me.
Though he still didn’t think his ribs were broken, he also knew he was no doctor. They walked north on the highway, the cornfield blocking their view of the elementary school. When they made it to the intersection and he could see the school, his heart sank. The buses were gone and the parking lot his truck had been in was empty—save for all the zombies roaming around the schoolyard. There was no one at the intersection or anywhere on the highway that he could see. His group was gone, and he had no idea where they’d gone or if they even knew he was still alive.
3
Missing
James stood at the intersection, at a loss. Where had they gone? He flipped down his NVG optics and kicked himself for not doing so when he was running through the cornfield. If he’d done that, maybe he wouldn’t have fallen, but that was a moot point now. He needed to figure out a plan before all the zombies wandering around caught sight of them. Instinctively saying a quick prayer for guidance, he started down the highway, heading north.
“Where is everyone?” Olive asked as she walked along beside him, clenching the fabric of his pants in a little fist.
“They had to get to safety,” James said, “and we’re going to meet up with them.”
“Do you know where they are?”
Nope.
“Of course. They’re just up ahead.”
“Okay.”
They went off the right side of the road into a small ditch in order to pass the elementary school and made it by without attracting the attention of any zombies. After half a mile, they reached an overpass going over the train tracks and took a break. His side was bothering him and he could tell Olive was tiring quickly. If he wanted to move faster or get anywhere, he would either have to carry her or leave her. Neither was an option, so he slumped against the guardrail, resting his head back and closing his eyes. Olive came over and sat down next to him, resting her little head against his left side.
A warm feeling seeped into his heart. He smiled despite the situation. This was what it was all about. Even if he could save just one he would be content, but he had to help. It was his duty. He hadn’t been able to save his parents—couldn’t even do anything to help them. Now it was his place to help those in need. That was how he would honor their deaths.
At some point, exhaustion overtook him and he dozed off. Olive breathed peacefully next to him.
~~~
“Where the hell is he?” Connor said, throwing the radio on the dash. James hadn’t answered.
He was going to kill his brother when he found him. How could he just run off like that, risking his life for complete strangers? Any one of them could betray them or even kill them, and then where would they be? Dead, that’s where. But no, James’s bleeding heart had made him run off toward the zombies to save people who didn’t matter. There were only two people who mattered now—James and Tank. Emmett and the girls, maybe, but they weren’t nearly as important as his brother and best friend.
“I don’t know,” Ana said from the passenger seat of James’s truck. “He yelled a warning and I immediately turned to the zombies. I never saw where he went.”
“I didn’t see him either,” Connor said desperately. “All I knew was all of a sudden the buses were gone and so was he!”
“Just calm down a little,” Ana said.
She was fingering something at her neck beneath her shirt. It almost seemed like she was nervous or something, but he wasn’t in a mental state to care. He had one thought on his mind and that was finding his brother. They drove north on the highway, following Emmett and trying to catch up to the buses.
“I’ll radio them,” Ana said after a few tense seconds. She picked up the radio from the dash. “You guys see where James was?”
“I think he hopped on a bus,” Alexis said. “You guys didn’t see him?”
“No,” Ana responded.
“Dad doesn’t know. He said he never saw him,” Alexis said, sounding worried.
Connor cursed, his blood boiling. He knew that if he took the time to truly think about it, he’d find the anger was just covering his concern. But he didn’t dig deeper. He was pissed and he’d stay pissed. Then when he found James, he’d punch him in his face and teach him a lesson.
No, you won’t, because you know he’s right.
Connor took a deep breath, letting it out his nose. His brother was resourceful and tough. If anyone could make it, it’d be him.
“Tell Emmett to speed up. We need to catch those buses,” Connor said.
Ana relayed the message through the radio and they topped out at eighty miles an hour. In five minutes, the buses were in sight. Emmett flashed his lights and they slowed to a stop. Connor drove up to the trailing bus. The blonde woman who’d been talking with his brother earlier opened the window.
“My brother, the man helping you load the kids? Is he with you?” Connor asked.
“No, he and Peter went to get one of the high school buses. They came back together, but I’m not sure where he went after that. Peter’s driving the next bus. He should know.”
Connor was pulling forward before she even finished, coming to a stop at the middle bus in the line.
“Is James with you?” Connor asked.
“No. He said he was going to run to his truck,” Peter said. “Isn’t he with you?”
Cursing, Connor wheeled the truck around. Driving down into the ditch, he righted it back on the highway, heading south. He slammed on the brakes when he was level with Emmett.
“Get these damn people somewhere safe,” Connor said. “I’m going back for James; he’s not on the buses. We’ll meet you at the next intersection.”
“Roger,” Emmett said. “Ana, you good?”
“Oh yeah. He needs all the help he can get,” Ana said.
“Okay, Connor, be careful,” Emmett said. “If he’s gone, you’ll have to make the tough call, and you better bring Ana back safely.”
“I will.”
Pressing the gas pedal to the floor, Connor took off down the highway back toward Burns, a thousand worries eating at his mind.
~~~
James walked into the barn. Inside, his father was standing with an arm around his mother. The barn was the cleanest building he’d ever seen, without a speck of dirt, dust or hay anywhere—and were his parents glowing? He could see their faces vividly, but how was that possible? They were dead. He wondered if this was a dream.
Looking around, he shuddered. He recognized this barn. It was the same one they’d found their father in.
“Hello, honey,” Diana Andderson said. Even her voice was perfectly clear, unlike in most of his dreams. The familiar combination of comforting strength brought back a flood of memories from his childhood.
“What is this?” James asked, a sob escaping his throat.
“What do you think it is, son?” Jack asked, that same look of unending determination and intensity in his eyes.
“I . . . I don’t know,” James said. “This has to be some kind of dream.”
Tears freely flowed down his face and all the emotions he’d tried to contain burst forth. He fell to his knees, tears pooling on the spotless ground below him.
“It’s alright, dear,” his mother said.
“How can it be alright? This isn’t real. You’re dead. I saw you die with my own eyes!”
“Son, don’t let your faith be shaken so easily,” his father said.
“What?” James asked, looking up.
His parents were no longer there. Instead, a light so bright that he had to cover his eyes radiated from wh
ere they’d been. A feeling of absolute peace washed over him and his tears ceased.
“This is not the end,” said an unfathomable voice.
~~~
James bolted upright, startling Olive awake, who looked around with wide eyes. He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep. Blinking his eyes, he looked around also, shocked to be there. But why should he be? This was the same overpass north of Burns where he’d fallen asleep. So why did he feel like he’d just been somewhere else? He knew he’d had a dream, but he couldn’t remember it.
Well, it doesn’t matter; a dream’s a dream.
His cheeks felt wet and he wiped them off.
Was I crying? In my sleep?
“Sorry. I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep,” James said, standing up and stretching, flipping his NVGs up.
“It’s okay,” Olive said, standing up also and wiping the sleep from her eyes.
He felt refreshed and energized.
That’s odd. I couldn’t have been asleep for that long.
He looked at his watch hooked on a belt loop of his pants. It was 12:19 a.m. He’d only been asleep for twenty minutes. Yawning, he stretched again and it hit him. His ribs didn’t hurt at all! Tentatively, he pushed on his right side. Nothing. It felt normal. He unzipped his tactical vest and lifted his shirt to examine his side, but there wasn’t any bruising. The skin was red like it’d been irritated, but nothing looked wrong and it didn’t hurt.
I could’ve sworn I’d done more damage.
Tucking his shirt back in and zipping up his vest, he looked around. If they were going to wait, this would be a good place. Or would Connor expect him to continue? No, his brother would come back for him as soon as he realized he wasn’t on one of the buses.
“Wait it is, then,” James said, sitting down on the guardrail.
Olive looked up at him curiously as she stood next to him and leaned against the rail.
“So, how old are you, Olive?”
“Eight.”
“Wow! So you’re practically twenty!”
“No,” she said, giggling, “I’m only eight!”
“Oh, well that’s pretty close to twenty, right?”
“No, it’s like only half.”
“Darn, must’ve gotten my numbers mixed up again.”
She giggled and James looked down at her, allowing himself to see her for who she truly was—not just someone to save. Her dark hair and skin had splotches of dried blood, and even though she should be terrified at everything that was going on, she seemed reasonably calm. Where were her parents? He couldn’t remember if he’d seen anyone with a family resemblance loading into the buses.
“Was that your school back there?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Olive answered. “Do you still go to school?”
“Nah, I’ve been out of high school for a few years now. So have you lived in Burns your whole life?”
“No, I used to live in California with my mom.”
“What brought you guys out here?”
“Just me.” Sadness crept into her voice. “My mom died of cancer two years ago, so I came to stay with my aunt.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. What about your dad?”
“He died when I was little. He was a policeman.”
No, wonder she’s so tough. She knows all about death and hardships.
“I’m sorry. You must be proud of your dad.”
“Yeah, mom said he was a hero. I have a picture of them. You wanna see?”
“Of course.”
He crouched down, his side still not bothering him. Maybe he’d just pulled something and resting had helped—a lot, but that still didn’t explain why he felt such peace or why the pain of his parents’ deaths had dulled considerably.
Maybe the stress of all this is driving me crazy. The thought made him smile. He’d always told people he was crazy. Maybe that was finally coming true. Olive dug around in a pocket on her jacket and pulled out a black coin purse with words stitched on it: For when I am weak, then I am strong. James recognized the quote. It was a Bible verse from either First or Second Corinthians.
“That’s a cool bag,” James said as she opened it, pulling out a worn picture and handing it to him.
“Thanks, I almost forgot it when we left. That’s why I ran back in and Mary came after me . . .” She looked like she was about to cry.
“It’s okay,” James said, resting his hand on her shoulder. “There was nothing you could’ve done. A lot of bad things are happening these days, but we have to stay strong.”
Silent tears slipped down her cheeks and she hugged him. He held her as she began to sob. After a little while, she released him and stepped back, wiping her eyes.
“Thanks,” she said, sniffling.
“You’re welcome. You know, you’re a tough little girl to stay so strong. Are you sure you’re not almost twenty?”
She giggled again. “No, I’m only eight!”
“I don’t know . . .” James said as he smiled and looked down at the small picture in his hand. It showed a man and a pregnant woman, holding each other. The man was in a tan uniform with a California Highway Patrol badge on his sleeve, and he could see that Olive was the spitting image of her mother.
He handed the picture back to her. “Your parents look pretty awesome.”
“Yeah, I don’t remember much about my dad though.”
“What else you got in that little bag?”
She opened it and showed him. There was a twenty dollar bill, a paperclip, a few hair ties, bobby pins, some loose change and a business card.
“Who’s that?” James asked, pointing to the business card.
“That’s my Aunt June. She works at the bank.”
“Cool . . .” James said, his voice trailing off as a sound reached his ears.
He couldn’t place it at first, but when he heard something over the constant ringing in his ears—due to all the gunfire and rock concerts over the years—he knew something was different. Listening for a few seconds, he looked to the north and noticed a light in the distance.
“Stay behind me,” James said, situating himself in front of Olive.
He could clearly see the headlights now as the vehicle approached them on the highway. It was probably Connor.
At least I hope it’s him, but I better be prepared for the worst.
He looked around for cover. It’d take too long for them to get to either end of the overpass and off the road. The vehicle was flying toward them at a dangerous speed. He readied himself, standing on the side of the overpass with Olive behind him and his AR to his shoulder.
It didn’t take long before the vehicle reached them. As soon as the headlights shined on them, the vehicle slowed down and rolled to a stop a few yards away. James recognized the brush guard on the front end of his white RAM and relief spread through him as he lowered his AR. That relief quickly passed when Connor got out and James saw the look on his face.
This isn’t good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this angry before.
Connor walked over and stopped a few feet away from him, and James could tell his brother wanted to punch him.
I’ve definitely never seen him this angry. I guess I deserve it though.
“I’m sorry, brother,” James said.
“You’re damn right you are,” Connor said. “Do you realize that you could’ve gotten yourself killed?”
“Yes, but—”
“And did you even once think what that would do to me when you were off saving the world?”
“I had to act Connor. I couldn’t just stand there!”
“Then you should’ve said something and we both would’ve gone! Instead you did it alone and almost got yourself stranded and killed!”
“You didn’t want to help them. How was I supposed to know you would go with me?”
“Because we’re brothers, James, till we die. Remember? Through thick or thin, we stay together!”
James stood there, stunned. Why hadn�
�t he asked his brother to come with him?
Connor continued. “And just because I said we shouldn’t help them doesn’t mean I didn’t want to help them. I just knew it would be safer to leave and worry about our own!”
A single tear slipped from Connor’s eye and suddenly James saw this for what it was. Connor was hurting—bad—and it came out as anger and overprotectiveness. He was just trying to cope with the deaths of their parents in his own way.
Without another word, James walked over and wrapped his arms around his brother in an unabashed hug. At first Connor stood stiffly, arms at his sides, trying to resist the urge to cry. Finally, to James’s relief, his brother wrapped his arms around him and began to weep. It broke James’s heart and he soon joined in. They stood on the overpass next to the truck, completely ignoring the world around them as all their pent-up emotions and grief came pouring out.
James didn’t know how long they cried, but after a time there were no more tears and he looked into his brother’s eyes. “I love you, brother,” James said, “and I won’t do something like that again.”
“I love you, too,” Connor responded, breaking the embrace. “Good, because the next time I will punch you.”
“Fair enough,” James said with a smile spreading on his face. He felt so much better now. Who knew a good cry could help so much? He couldn’t think of the last time he’d cried like that.
Connor took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. They looked around, remembering they were exposed on an overpass only half a mile from a town full of flesh-eating monsters. Looking behind him, James didn’t see Olive. His heartbeat increased and he looked around furiously.
“Don’t worry,” Ana said, coming over to them from the other side of the truck. “She’s fast asleep inside. I didn’t know how long you two would be.”
James sighed. “Thanks.”
“You picked quite the little one. She has a strength about her that’s surprising for her age,” Ana said.
“Yeah, she’s been through a lot, long before all this happened.”
“Now that that’s over,” Connor said, and James could tell by his tone that he was feeling better too, “we ready?”
The Brother's Creed (Book 2): Battleborn Page 4