by TW Brown
As the sky began to darken, I was feeling anxious. I knew by the landmarks we were passing that we would be home before nightfall. When the walls eventually loomed ahead, I had to stop myself from running the rest of the way.
After clearing the gate security, Billy took me straight to the old cabin. I shot him a confused look, but he didn’t say anything. When we reached it, I was surprised to discover Sunshine, Dr. Zahn, and Melissa sitting at a table eating dinner. This place was a meeting hall and where the committees and security teams usually met. For some reason, a long table had been set up in the entry area which is where the three women were eating a bowl of some sort of stew.
When Melissa looked up at me, there was something on her face that flashed very briefly. When she spoke, I realized that what I had probably seen was recognition. Unfortunately, it did not stay long.
“Billy, any word from the group?” Melissa asked.
I shot a look at Sunshine and Dr. Zahn; they both gave very brief nods, but then returned to eating. Billy began to shed his field weapons and hang them on a rack near the door that I’d never seen before.
“Any day now, Melissa,” he said as if that were the normal and proper response.
“Who is the new girl?” Melissa asked. “She could pass for Thalia’s older sister.”
“My name is Thalia, pleased to meet you,” I said with a smile, extending my hand to Melissa.
“That is amazing. It is such a unique name…and now we have two…” Melissa’s voice faded and she just stared straight ahead now, a little bit of drool making a path down her chin and dangling for just a moment before breaking loose and landing with a splat on the table.
Dr. Zahn glanced over her shoulder and Cynthia Byrd bustled in. I watched as she came to Melissa, draping a blanket over her shoulder as she whispered into Melissa’s ear and helped her to her feet. All I could do is watch as the two exited the room. If that was painful to observe, then seeing the look on Stevie’s face as he emerged from the bathroom, his eyes locked on the door that his mother had just vanished through, was even worse.
In that moment, he looked so young and frail. None of the prankster and incredibly bright youngster that I had come to know was visible. He turned his head; when his eyes locked on mine, I saw a bit of that sparkle appear and he rushed to my arms that had flung open of their own volition.
“Thalia!” he croaked. I hugged him and felt him almost melt into me.
“Nice to see you back, young lady,” Dr. Zahn said in that voice that let me know I was in a bit of trouble.
“I think I’ll go see if Cynthia can use my help,” Sunshine excused herself.
“I would stay here with Thalia, but I can tell that the adults want to talk to her,” Stevie sniffed, his voice muffled from being pressed to my belly.
He pulled away from me and quickly wiped away the tears. I could see that he wanted to say something, but there was an uncharacteristic hesitancy. I nodded to him, indicating that he should say what was on his mind.
“Please don’t leave again.”
Those four words punched me in the gut. I had been so focused on what I felt I needed to do that I had completely discarded everybody’s feelings. While the adults like Billy, Paula, and Dr. Zahn might have a fondness for me and care about my well-being, I was family to Stevie. In this world, that little word has taken on a very deep meaning. I’ve heard some folks say that families had sort of fallen out of the degree of importance we hold them now. Supposedly, some people only spoke to family at holidays or special events in the Old World days. Very few hung out and just did things together because they wanted to spend time with each other.
He didn’t wait for an answer, he just turned around and left the room through the same door that Cynthia Byrd had escorted Melissa through. That left me with Billy and Dr. Zahn. A noise behind me made me turn around. I think my groan was inward, but it might have escaped. Paula walked in, her eyes flicking to me for just a moment before shifting to Billy.
“Jim says to start without him, he will be here in a bit,” Paula announced.
Jeez, was this a planned ass-chewing? How much trouble was I in exactly?
“Tell them what you saw,” Billy said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.
I looked at Dr. Zahn and Paula who both simply stared back at me like I might have something important to share. I started in on relating everything that I could remember seeing and hearing. I mentioned how both Billy’s and Dr. Zahn’s name had come out specifically. As I shared this, I tried to see if maybe there might be a spark of recognition when I talked about Commander Suzi McFarlane. If she knew the woman, there was no sign of it on her face.
During my recounting, Jim walked in. He gave me a smile and a nod and then slipped into a chair beside Paula. His smile vanished when I told about Jackson’s fate. I thought it might return when I shared how Suzi had died, but he just sat there with no expression. Finally, I finished with my report or whatever this was supposed to be.
“So we now apparently only have one faction to worry about,” Billy said, clapping his hands together as he stood up. I think that was my cue in regards to the fact that my part in this was all over. I waited for the inevitable dismissal. “I think sitting here and just waiting for this group to come for us is a mistake. While I don’t think it wise for us to venture out far from our walls, I do believe that we need to get people out on the perimeter in some of the old defensive positions.”
I continued to wait for my dismissal as Billy laid out plans for the defense of Platypus Creek. I listened as Paula and Jim each added to the plan and also as Dr. Zahn would explain some of the finer details when it came to dealing with people who had actual military background.
At last, I finally grew bold enough to talk. “What about Kayla?”
They all turned and looked at me with an assortment of expressions. Paula was pretty much blank, Jim looked confused, Dr. Zahn…well, she just looked like Dr. Zahn; but it was the look on Billy’s face that told me the answer.
“So we just leave her to perhaps the same or a worse fate than Jackson?” I directed my question to Billy since he was the only one who seemed like he would respond.
“We have gone over that. I hope we get her back when this is done. Hell, we may even be able to work a prisoner exchange if this battle goes on for a while.”
“When did we decide that a life is no longer worth saving?” This question was tossed back at the entire group.
“Since the days that risking two or more lives for the purpose of maybe saving one became a case of bad math.” Dr. Zahn stood up and folded her arms across her chest as she fixed me with her gaze. “You had best start learning that little hard nugget of truth. You may be required to make choices someday. Those choices might result in the death of one or many. You may be forced to choose one life over another…or the entire community.”
“Why would I need to make a choice like that?” I asked.
“We are not going to live forever, Thalia,” Paula said with almost no emotion. “The day will come when you and the younger people here will be asked to step forward and take the reins. The days of allowing you and the other youngsters to sit back and coast are a thing of the past. Maybe the next generation will have an easier go of it if we can secure this place, but right now we live in a world where the next in line has to be ready…whether they think they are or not.”
I sat back and continued to listen to the plans. Only, as I listened, I found myself paying attention in a way that I never had done before. In the past, I was content to just be pointed in a direction and told what to do; now, I saw things in a different light.
The meeting went on for another couple of hours. By the time it was over, it seemed like we had a solid defense against Randy and his people if they chose to attack.
***
“Thanks for letting Stevie stay with you,” I said to Cynthia as I set the bag down inside the door.
“I seem to be the flop house for the kids of
all the people heading out tonight,” Cynthia said with a pleasant laugh. “It’s actually kind of nice.”
I looked to see Jenna Haynes sitting at a table with Cynthia’s son Xander and a few other kids that I didn’t recall the names of off the top of my head. They were playing some sort of handmade board game with a bunch of little carved figures. Jenna turned as we walked in and smiled big. She waved at Stevie and patted the empty seat next to her.
I looked down at him and gave his hand a squeeze. He returned the gesture and then started across the room. He was not halfway when he spun suddenly and sprinted back, throwing his arms around my waist.
“Please come back,” he whispered.
“You know I will do my best,” I said honestly. Part of me wanted to promise and tell him that everything would be fine, but we made it a point not to lie to each other for any reason.
He went over to join the others and I had to fight back my tears as I watched him. He’d been so brave these past few days. What made it worse was that apparently Melissa had been slipping for quite a while but he had not told anybody. The little boy had believed for the longest time that Melissa would be fine. At some point, he finally decided that she was acting strange and maybe a doctor needed to be called. He’d gone for Dr. Zahn the night he’d walked out to the living room to find Melissa sitting in the middle of the floor. No matter what he said, she had not responded. His fear was that she had somehow become a zombie. I think that might have been merciful.
“Melissa is staying with Sunshine,” I said to Cynthia. “If all goes well, I hope to see you in a few days.”
“I wish I was going,” the woman muttered.
I looked at her with what felt a bit like a frown or a grimace. I was going out to fight and kill; how could she possibly wish that she was going to take part in this?
“Being stuck back here just waiting to hear what happens is horrible. Also, because I am part of the medical team, they won’t even let me take up tower or wall duty.”
I guess I understood. I imagine that I would have hated it as well if I’d been told I could not be part of this. The thing was, I wasn’t the only so-called kid taking part in this excursion. Billy had called almost the entire population to a meeting just hours after our little gathering in the cabin. He’d given a synopsis of what I had reported and then said that the choice to run was off the table. This was a fight we could win, and we would not be giving up our homes so easily to these people.
Of course I still wondered if they were coming, but Billy seemed to be certain that was the case. With the exception of the very young, the very old, and the doctors and the students enrolled in their courses, every other person in Platypus Creek was involved. (Even the bookish types that never seemed to have any problem sending other people out to risk their butts…they all looked so sad with their little crossbows and belt knives.)
I am the second line of defenders and my job will be to cover the retreat of the front line if that becomes necessary. Also, anybody that is not one of us is to be shot on sight. One of the people in attendance at the big meeting (pretty sure it was one of the Nerd Herd) shouted out, “What if it is just some random passer-by who doesn’t have anything to do with any of this?”
Billy answered that question very directly and shut down the possibility of a follow-up when he replied, “Then they picked a bad day to come through.”
I had a little semi-circular barricade of sandbags in place as well as six bottles of this nasty stuff that burns hot and mean once it is ignited. All you have to do is light this strip of oil-soaked cloth that is at the top and then throw the clay bottle. When it hits, the stuff inside the explosive device splatters everything around it, catches fire, and burns basically until it runs out of things for the fire to feed on.
It was not quite yet sunrise when I took my post. Less than an hour later, the word came back from the scouts that we’d sent down the hill to spy on Randy’s little band; they were on the move and headed for us. Ten minutes later, Jim came to where I was posted. He waved at me in the signal to let me know he was okay and not under duress.
I was confused. Jim was supposed to be down with the people on the front line. He had his usual array of explosives in place. I actually thought that it might be possible that we never ended up fighting these people. Jim had enough little explosive devices to blow up half of La Grande.
He reached the old bus and climbed up. The whole time, he did not say a word. For Jim, that is not normal. Not even a “Hey, Cupcake” or anything.
“What’s wrong?” I asked once he was almost all the way up.
“I talked to one of the scouts who came back from keeping tabs on that guy’s little gang.” I just stared at him. This really wasn’t news, but I could also tell he had more to say. “Kayla is gone.”
It was only three words, but I felt a punch to the gut with every single one. Still, I had to be sure that I was understanding exactly what he was saying.
“By gone…you mean…”
“Dead. Kayla is dead.”
I let that sink in a bit as I tried to come to grips with my feelings. I’d grown up seeing her as a rival; in the end, she was the one who admitted to being jealous of me. It had given me a new perspective on how I tended to judge people unfairly. While I had not considered the idea that Kayla and I would become close friends or anything of that sort, I still had come to feel a sort of affinity towards her. She had proven that she was more than just some pretty girl with no heart. She’d stuck by my side to the end. And in the end…I had abandoned her for my own selfish reasons.
I felt like I was going to be sick.
“I wanted to be the one to let you know,” Jim said softly. He put an arm around my shoulder.
“How?” I managed to croak.
“I didn’t ask, and do you really want the details?”
He had a point. What mattered was that Kayla had died. I left her and now she was dead. It was my fault and it would be on my conscience forever.
“I have to get back,” Jim finally said. “You gonna be okay?”
“Sure,” I replied with a shrug. “This is the world we live in now. Isn’t that what you guys keep telling me?”
Jim opened his mouth and then shut it. He didn’t say another word as he climbed down and headed off to take his position. That left me alone with my new worst enemy: my own mind.
I churned over all the details from my time with Kayla. I considered all the things that she and I had gone through and if my decision to leave her behind with Cricket and the others was a good one. I wondered what Steve would think of me now.
I was still pondering those things when I heard a scream. That sound snapped me back to the situation. I would have the rest of my life to stew in my guilt, but right now, I was part of the defense of Platypus Creek. It was up to me and the others to make sure that Randy and his people never hurt another person. I still had no idea what drove him, and at the moment, I didn’t care. I wanted him to pay for Kayla. Pay for Jackson. For Rodrigo. Hell, I even wanted him to pay for Suzi.
This man represented the evil that had managed to remain in this world after the zombies had purged it of almost everything else. We couldn’t leave one single member of his group alive. And after we put these guys down, then just maybe there could be a sort of peace. La Grande was gone. Island City was no more. That would make us the largest community for possibly hundreds of miles in any direction.
Maybe now there could be peace.
But first…death.
7
Vignettes LXIX
“Can’t a guy catch a freakin’ break,” Juan spat as the sounds of moans came from nearby.
Having dragged Gerald out into the closest clearing that was not slick with zombie filth, Juan had finally managed to stop most of the bleeding. The concern was that it might be too little, too late. The wounds to the face were more seeping blood than gushing it like the missing digits. And then he found the nasty rip in the man’s side. Parts of the man’
s insides were pressing at the ugly tear as they tried to escape the body cavity. Juan knew that keeping that from happening was at least as important as the blood loss issue.
If Gerald’s guts began to come out of that crease in the flesh of the man’s incredibly hairy body (that hair being the big reason Juan had not spotted the injury sooner), then the man was no doubt a goner.
“Not that you have that good of a chance now, big fella,” Juan managed as he climbed to his feet and oriented on the direction the moans were coming from.
The greenery began to move and shift as several zombies emerged. That was one of the problems with herds. They always had little pockets that followed, no doubt drawn at some point by the noise a herd created. He had actually been able to hear one herd on an open plain from what had to be a good three miles or so once. The problem with this latest herd was that they were coming through some murky land with a lot of woodland that masked or absorbed the sound. In the open, a group like that would most likely have been picked up at least a good hour or so before their arrival.
“C’mon, you walking bags of stupid!” Juan barked as the zombies seemed to momentarily be disoriented after emerging from the woods.
One of them turned its head and black slime began to seep from an ancient wound in the neck. This one was definitely from the early days. It had an uncountable number of holes peppering its abdomen. The fact that it had once been a woman was now only barely discernable as both breasts had been hit with shotgun blasts by the looks of it.
Then there was the zombie dragging some sort of trap that had fused into its leg over the years. Juan did not even want to think about that story. Bringing up the rear was a pair of zombie wolves that were missing legs. While the wolf version of a zombie was not anywhere near as fast as its living counterpart, they were often known to be a bit faster than the human version, and thus, usually considered a bigger threat.