After The End

by Melissa Gibbo

  He looked to be in his late 30s, maybe early 40s if the hairline was any indication. The man’s face was maroon and drenched in sweat from the sudden bout of exercise. Stopping when he reached us, the fool panted and tried to reload his weapon.

  I snatched it from his trembling hands.

  “Are you really this dumb?”

  He collapsed to his knees as a look of terror washed over him. I dropped the hefty noisemaker behind me and set my arrow in place; other arrows and spears were aimed at the charging bear as we spread out into a semicircle. The creature slowed its assault as we got it half surrounded. Roaring at us, it stood tall on its hind legs.

  Two arrows were loosed simultaneously; both finding marks in its chest as Sunny’s spear thrust into the bear’s heart. A gush of red poured from the wound as the animal repelled its fate. It was over in an instant.

  I pulled both arrows out of the carcass and wiped the blood on the grass before turning to the wobbly man.

  “I don’t have time for this today; have any of the fleshies infected you?”

  I held an arrow loosely strung in the bow as our party began to pick up the bear.

  “No, no, I was just running from the grizzly. Haven’t seen any zombies.”

  Bubba snipped at the man as he hefted the ursine meat at the shoulders.

  “Black bear. Not a grizzly, they don’t live this far south and they’re a helluva lot bigger. Just strip down so we kin see you ain’t gonna turn into one of them fleshies and help us carry this critter back to camp.”

  The balding hunter stood slowly and awkwardly removed his clothing. Despite a multitude of scars, the stranger was free of bite marks. While not an adept marksman, he was definitely a survivor of something.

  “Okay, you don’t die right now. Grab some bear butt and follow us.”

  I handed Sunny the commandeered shotgun and took up guard the rear of the troop with my bow at the ready. I didn’t have to tell him twice.

  Upon reaching the camp, Sindbad circled and sniffed the entire party; the frail hunter shook with trepidation. Seeing the dog, I absentmindedly commented to the scared newcomer, “Forgot we have a dog now, sorry we made you strip for no reason.” I briefly considered that it was a sorry excuse for an apology and walked inside the wall.

  The guy didn’t answer but his eyes darted between the canine and the people near the entrance; most of the community had already started their day’s chores, giving the awkward man hardly a second thought.

  We were cleared of infection and several residents relieved us of our ursine burden. Within minutes, the bear was being drained and skinned. That meat would provide an abundance of food for the now expanded neighborhood.

  Putting down the bow, I turned to the hunter; he’d remained in my shadow since we put down the bear. I had too much to handle after the previous twenty-four hours and was still woozy from Daemon’s feeding. I was snarky as I thought what to do with the added hardship.

  “You aren’t tainted with Z-bug, but you’ve already shown yourself to be a potential hazard to us. For the moment, Yogi, you can help split firewood and cook meals. At dinnertime, we’ll decide where to go from there. I’d start thinking about any special skills you have to offer the group.”

  I turned on my heel and strode to gather and clean remaindered weapons and ammo. My mind whirred away with worries and plans for getting through to the next day.

  CHAPTER 15 SEMPTEMBER 8th-9th YEAR 1

  Over the next week, Yogi (the nickname stuck) proved to be one of those lucky guys who’s survival is a fluke. Having no common sense and limited abilities, we began teaching and training the new arrival by rotating his buddy daily.

  So far the frail man with the tiny paunch had only been useful in helping us build the small platforms against each wall and in burning the corpses; although his proficiency in disposing of the outhouse contents had some merit.

  It quickly became apparent that something was off about Yogi. Although he’d been cleared of infection, Sindbad perpetually trailed the guy around the camp. During meals, his absence and discomfort with the group made each of us focus on the stranger all the more intently.

  It was discussed one evening that his mural of scars may have been part of the reason Yogi was so standoffish; he never made eye contact and visibly cringed whenever any of the adults in the fort drew near.

  As theories about the eccentric outsider were tossed around the table, Daemon took a seat and grinned as he observed the banter.

  “I could just ask him why he’s so strange.”

  I shook my head, the motion mirrored by a few others in the flickering light.

  “No, that would be prying into Yogi’s past. The past is moot; if he wants to talk about it, eventually he’ll open up to someone. As it stands, the guy is so uncomfortable around us, he won’t even eat near us.”

  Sunny set down her fork and nodded her agreement. The table was quiet except for the occasional sounds of construction on the last defense platform along the opposite wall. Daemon looked thoughtful, his brow furrowed slightly before he spoke.

  “Maybe I could just glamour him into relaxing around the rest of the community, or I could ask him why he’s freaked out and then wipe his memory of the conversation.”

  The young vampire cocked his head to the side and smiled widely as he made the suggestion. “That dog isn’t stalking Yogi for shits and giggles. Something has to be up; dogs can tell when something is wrong. It’s like they just know stuff.”

  The frogs in the distance and the crackle of the fire were the only noises in the night. A gentle breeze wafted by, stirring a tuft of Daemon’s hair and standing up the tiny hairs on my forearm.

  Please not another bitchfest from these two.

  “It would be wrong to invade a person’s mind like that; it’s a violation of his private thoughts.” Sunny glared at him from the dimly lit bench. “You can’t do that to one of our people.”

  The fledgling vamp held her gaze as he countered calmly, his words coming out in the metered tempo of forethought.

  He must’ve been considering this for a while before he brought it up; Daemon’s arguments are always more of a string of rambles.

  “Who said he’s one of our people; I thought he’s probationary? What if he’s a risk to the community? We need to do what’s best for the greater good, even when it sucks as an option. Even Chase agrees with that.”

  The dig at her husband made Sunny’s nose flare and I could swear her eyes were about to ooze molten lava; she said nothing as the young Undead pressed on.

  “The guy’s a grown man who shakes near every adult in the camp, but lingers around the kids whenever possible. It’s not normal and we should know more about him. Either he’s afraid of us because other grown-ups put those scars on him – possibly with good reason – or he enjoys being close to children more than is healthy.”

  Faces softened around the illuminated table.

  Someone interjected, “Maybe we should think about this.”

  One of the women added her two cents. “I know he creeps me out and dogs are good judges of character.”

  Sunny shook her head.

  “It isn’t right. We all have this unspoken agreement not to pry into each other’s past and now you want to not just ignore that, but also screw with his memory. We let him stay here, he’s one of us now.”

  “Look, Sindbad knows something is up, the parents watch the dude like a hawk, I know Squirrel’s keeping tabs on him, and he sets off my Spidey Sense. We need to know why. It’s not about getting into his past, it’s about protecting the kids in camp.”

  The vampire was snarling at Sunny as she rose to her feet; she maintained the stare-down with a scowl. Across the fort, someone began hammering the final touches on the east wall’s platform.

  “Despite your feelings, you won’t be messing with any of our minds like that. We all voted to allow Yogi to remain here and weird or not, you don’t have evidence that he’s done anything wrong to warrant
such actions.”

  Daemon crossed his arms and sneered as she ranted.

  “Maybe Yogi is shy or scared of all the heavily armed people and vampires, or maybe he is simple-minded and likes to be around kids on the same level; we don’t know. Hell he could think he’s being protective of the children or they may remind him of a more innocent life. Leave the new guy alone and drop the subject unless you get some real proof that we have a reason to reconsider the topic.”

  Sunny twisted towards me, her index finger leading the way.

  “And Squirrel, you’d better do the same. Keep Fangboy here away from Yogi and stop keeping tabs on everything the creeper does. I don’t care if you’re in love with Daemon, you are the leader here and it’s your responsibility to keep the vamps from overstepping the boundaries of the Pact.”

  I felt the blush cover me from my head to the soles of my feet as I sat dumbfounded and tried to remember how to breathe. I could even feel it inside my belly button. Sunny whipped away her finger and marched off into the darkness, griping at the shadows. I glanced around the lit trench at the myriad of faces; Daemon’s expression had morphed from fury to pained embarrassment.

  As I met his gaze, he took to the sky mumbling something about patrol duty.

  I can’t believe the coward bailed on me; he’s really going to regret this when dawn comes and he can’t get away from me.

  I took note of the sea of confusion, discord, and amusement engulfing the small group. The everlasting moment of discomfort was rent apart and time shifted into fast forward as yelling and the sound of broken wood echoed. I gave a silent prayer of thanks before the worry propelled me in the direction of the commotion.

  By the time I arrived at the doorway to the secondary cabin, the skirmish was over. Yogi was hunched against Jordy’s cot; a bump protruded from his forehead and leaked crimson. The boy was both hugging and holding back his petite mom. She was an angry bull wielding a cloth-wrapped mallet over her head. Marley Guy and the Nurse helped restrain the enraged woman while Sunny stood next to me with her husband’s axe. I took in the scene while trying to halt the crying, screaming, and whimpering.

  “Shut up, all of you. You’re going to bring a stampede of fleshies this way. Just settle down and we will sort this out.”

  I turned to the 11-year-old.

  “Jordy, what happened?”

  His mother clung to the shaking child as he spoke. Her hate targeted at the cowering man on the floor like tendrils of flames from her glare. Jordy sniffled as he spoke.

  “That guy came in and sat next to me. He… he said he was noticing I was growing into a man and that all boys needed someone to show them how to become a man.” He stared at the floor and wiped away a dangle of snot.

  Dammit, don’t let this be what I think.

  “Then, he was touching the hair near my face and said he was really good with boys and kissed my neck. When I pushed him away he started trying to take of my pants and talking about how I just didn’t understand and he was going to make me feel nice and other stuff.

  When I screamed at him to get off me, Mom came in and hit him in the head and pulled me over here. She went to hit him again but then everyone came running in.”

  Knuckles were turning white as weapons were gripped tighter. His mother just held Jordy tightly and rubbed his back while he cried. All eyes in the room bounced from Yogi to me.

  Fuck. How could I have let this creep near my people?

  “Do you have anything to say?” I faced the puny pain in my ass as calmly as I could manage.

  Yogi answered while trying to gain his feet, the blood was running down the length of his face and dripping onto his shirt.

  “You don’t understand. He came on to me, he flirted with me. I didn’t do anything wrong. Jordy wanted to do it; he just needed someone to show him how. You people just don’t understand; it’s just like the last place. The world changed and we could all use some more love. I was just trying to love the boy…”

  I silenced the pedophile with a backhand across the mouth.

  “You’re done talking now. Jordy, I’m sorry I let this guy in the camp. I promise, I won’t make that mistake again; we will deal with him.”

  I faced his mother, “You two should go eat something or relax or something. Yogi won’t be an issue anymore. Ever.”

  As she guided her son to his feet and they exited the cabin, our prisoner started for the door. Marley Guy pushed him back and Sunny knocked him out with the back of her axe. The sicko dropped to the floor with a thud.

  “Nurse, I want you to sew his mouth shut. I don’t want his screams later to endanger the group.”

  I tied his hands behind his back as I gave orders.

  “And Sunny, I need that hammer she hit him with before. Marley Guy, please go get Daemon and Cal.”

  No one moved.

  “What, not enough proof for you, Sunny? Why are you all just standing there?”

  Sunny blanched and went to her task, mumbling as she did, “I’ll get the vamps, too.”

  The wood door clicked shut as I stared at Marley Guy and the Nurse.

  “Well?”

  The Jamaican spoke first.

  “I cannot be a doings this to another of God’s creatures. Is not for I to be harming this man, evil demon that he be likings to be. I go to do the chores and release the Dead from their wanderings, but this is not for me to be involved.”

  Not understanding him – as much from the accent as the content – I waved him out of the room. The Nurse helped me lift Yogi onto the small bed.

  “I’m supposed to help people; I’m a healer, not an executioner.”

  I thought a moment.

  “Fair enough. You aren’t going to have to kill this guy; I just need him unable to yell. If you don’t stitch him shut, I will. And I won’t do it as well or as quickly as you might. Either way, just grab a needle and some fishing line; these stitches are getting done.”

  He stepped back and his eyes went wide. I waited in silence for him to bring me supplies. I wasn’t sure I could trust him to watch the perv.

  Sunny burst through the door, ending the standoff.

  “The fang boys are on their way, Cal is finding Daemon now. Here’s the hammer and the sewing kit. I still say it would’ve been wrong to mess with his mind but I was wrong about asking. I’m sorry.”

  The Nurse slipped outside as Sunny and I started darning the pedophile’s mouth closed like it was a torn gym sock. He woke after the fourth stitch, his meek body flailing against the rope cutting into his wrists and the needle gliding through his parched lips. The lines were crooked, bunched, and bloody; but they trapped his screams in his gullet.

  With Yogi’s eyes bulging in time with each muffled yell, we hoisted the captive onto his feet. Looking up, I saw the Roman and his protégé in the doorway.

  “We heard what happened,” Daemon remarked “what’s the plan here?”

  He stared at the red splotches on Yogi’s shirt. The young vampire didn’t make eye contact with me; he just stood fixated on the sanguine fluid, his fangs descended and eyes glimmering.

  “Simple plan: this sick fuck is going to be taking on donation duties for both of you tonight. Drink enough to keep you strong, but leave him enough blood to stay conscious for at least a few hours.”

  Cal tipped his head to the side and raised one brow.

  “Might I ask why you two went through the effort of preventing him shouting out if you just want us to drain him dry over the span of a few nights?”

  The pedophile stomped on my foot and struggled to get free of Sunny’s grip. I cursed as I hopped to the right before turning and smashing his knee with the mallet. Our prisoner collapsed as the bone shattered with a noise reminiscent of pounded celery and glass.

  “Because…” I hooked my arm under his shoulder to help carry him through the doorway, “that isn’t his punishment. We’re taking him out to the spike pits. You guys get a big dinner, he gets both of his kneecaps crushed along
with his wrists continuing to be gouged by his bonds, and then we toss him down and leave him to die slowly.”

  I heard Sunny gasp as the night’s humidity engulfed us. The stars twinkled above and were reflected in the eyes of half the camp; my words trailed off as we halted. All around me there were blank faces intermixed with the occasional wide-eyed expression of astonishment.

  What did they think I would do about this kind of thing? It’s not like we can send him off to mess with another innocent child…

  …sometimes you need to be able to destroy the monsters in the world.

  Streams of tears were mingling with Yogi’s smatterings of blood. No one spoke for what felt like hours; my heart pounded over the hooting of an owl and the sniffling of a pedophile. Slowly, Randolph took two steps towards me.

  “I’ll give you a hand; someone get the gate, we don’t want to waste all night on this prick.”

  A path cleared as we hefted the limp form and strode to our task. The kids were all in the main cabin, safely tucked away from the wicked creatures out to cause them harm. The Boogie Man won’t be coming back tonight.

  We neared one of the pits and both vampires fed on the captive. They took their nourishment harshly. I smashed the condemned man’s other knee, feeling it turn to mush under the weight of the simple tool.

  With a small kick to the ribs, he tumbled into the trap, a wooden spike impaling his elbow on landing. The muted groans of his anguish floated up to us as our community left him in the darkness.

  We ambled back within our walls, back to our loved ones waiting for us in the light of the fire. Yogi huddled in his open grave to await death in whatever form it may take.

  Tomorrow was another day. There’d been dangers unforeseen and unacknowledged before. We learned our lesson with Yogi: just because someone is uninfected with Z-bug, doesn’t mean they aren’t sick.

  ***

  It didn’t take him long to die. When Chase and I checked the pit in the morning, we found a fleshie eating through his torso. As it paused to lunge up at us, I saw one of Yogi’s lungs rapidly expanding in the exposed cavity. The half-digested remnants of the man’s supper decorated the floor of the pit while the decaying zombie chewed a piece of stomach.