After The End

by Melissa Gibbo

  The next thing I knew, I was lying on the pull out couch with Daemon stroking my hair. He was whispering in my ear.

  Waking up drenched in blood and scraps of skin. The sensation of walking into rain to wash the death away. Packing a bag full of the remaining supplies, pouring the rubbing alcohol over the corpses, starting the warm fire, and jogging to the library around the corner. What day is it?

  “Squirrel, come back to me. It’s over. Your family is already gone; they aren’t asking anymore. Come back to us. I’m here for you, just follow my voice.”

  Sunny’s voice cut through the tension.

  “How do you know what she’s freaking out about?”

  “Because, we talked about it a few times. We talk about everything.”

  I was vaguely aware of other voices floating around the room. A flashlight shone in my eyes, and I heard the Nurse’s familiar lilt.

  “She’s healthy, just give her a little more time to come around. I think she’ll be okay.”

  “I’m here.” The caressing stopped as I sat upright. “Sorry, just had a moment.”

  I looked around at the worried faces of my conspirators and the Nurse. With a weak smile I tried to regain my footing in the current moment. “Where is Paul, did you get him cleaned up?”

  Cal sat beside me and patted my hand.

  “He is being buried beside his family right now. We had a small memorial ten minutes ago. Vincent said some nice words. If you would like to, someone can take you out to say farewell.”

  I knew what had occurred without needing to ask; someone had granted Paul’s request. I mumbled a weak “sure” and let Randolph guide me out to the graves in the yard. I noticed my shoelaces had been removed as well as my weapons. Bowing my head I said a few prayers for the souls of the family I’d sacrificed for Daemon’s admission to the group.

  I remembered my parent’s begging me, in turn, to end their suffering after they’d been infected and Owen weeping in pain. I prayed for all of them to a deity I struggled to have faith in. Hoping for everyone who’d passed to find peace. I neglected to pray for my own soul; it felt a lost cause.

  “I’m better now. Let’s go inside.”

  Randolph stayed close as I trudged up the porch stairs and into the crowded abode. He watched me with concern as though I may pass out at any instant.

  “I’m fine Randolph. Thanks, though.”

  “Just wanted to be sure you wasn’t going to drop.”

  Left on my own, I sat down on the now empty couch. Chase popped his head around the corner and knocked lightly on the door frame.

  “Knock knock. Feel up for some company?”

  “Of course. Is your wife trailing you?”

  He laughed as he joined me. He took off his sunglasses; the pale ovals surrounded by pink skin revealed his most recent sunburn.

  “Nope, Sunny is in the back having a snack. And a lunch. And possibly dessert.”

  The tips of his mouth reached the far sides of his face as he beamed.

  “It’s good she’s eating enough. We all want the baby to be born healthy.”

  “I just wish we had a way to find out the due date and the sex of the baby. It’d be nice to know what to name the kid.”

  “Really? I thought you’d be worried about getting surprised with triplets or something.” I teased.

  “That would be nice, but I think that’s plenty of small talk for now. I know you’ve had a bad day, and that’s fine. We all have those moments, yours just had witnesses. Thing is though, we need to know what you want to do when we get to Winter Haven tomorrow.”

  My body stiffened.

  “I guess we’ll evaluate the National Guard Armory and raid what we can if possible. If it looks like a place we can make a new life at, we may give it a shot for a long-term home.”

  “What if it’s overrun or barren? What if we can’t survive there?”

  I shrugged with more nonchalance than I felt.

  “Then we choose a new place and move on until we either find a new residence or maybe go back northeast and rebuild our old camp. That’s all we can do for now.”

  Chase stroked his chin as he sat. I recognized it as a sign of weighing decisions; I’d seen the gesture a million times working in sales.

  “What are you thinking?”

  I made a point of sitting so that I appeared relaxed. I tried to watch his reaction with my peripheral vision; I wanted Chase to feel comfortable enough to speak freely.

  “I’m just wondering if we should just go back and rebuild before the winter makes gathering food too difficult.” He said as though the words tumbled out. Sitting a bit straighter, he pressed on. “There can’t be anything in this place we can’t find where we already lived. Our attackers are dead and we know the land. We built a home once, we could do it again.”

  “I agree.”

  Chase perked up.

  “But we have to check if there are items we need. We’re dangerously low on medical supplies and ammunition. We need more food that will last without refrigeration; not to mention vehicles with large gas cans for spare fuel, and tools to make a new camp happen. A military installation could have all of this. If it was overrun or abandoned, most of those things could still be sitting there for the taking. We have to try.”

  He smiled.

  “Good deal. I’ll spread the word.” He rose to rejoin the others, pausing in the doorway. “What if there’s nothing?”

  “Then we go to the next idea; probably return to where we started and hope we can make it through another winter and get the gardens going again.”

  He tapped the door frame with his knuckles twice and faded away. I laid back and fell into a restless slumber.

  CHAPTER 30 OCTOBER 26TH YEAR 2

  The armory was a bust. We had to put down fleshies for nearly an hour and we only found a handful of ammo and eight MREs. The vehicles had long since gone with the usable arms. The only things worthwhile were the dozen folding shovels with sharpened edges; they made great weapons and tools and came with nice carry cases.

  Disheartened by the lack of success, we started to look nearby for an acceptable place to pass the day. Wandering up the street a bit, we found a trail of cardboard signs. Each one bore an arrow directing ‘any living soul of honorable intentions’ to a safe residence.

  “Probably been posted for the last year; those people are likely gone already.” Someone exclaimed as Daemon pointed out the placards during an hourly check-in.

  I scrutinized the nearest sign. The marker wasn’t runny and the cardboard was stiff to the touch.

  “We’re following them.” I announced, pulling out a baggie of gator jerky. Glancing around I saw confusion and amusement. “Someone has clearly made this sign recently. It rained a few days ago and this is just a box with marker; no way it would’ve survived the downpour. Someone around here has left us an open invitation. We’re in no position not to accept. We’re going to follow the signs. Cautiously, of course.”

  “Coolies. I like scavenger hunts.” Daemon sat on the roof of the Infiniti. Cal examined the token of hospitality.

  “Squirrel is correct. This is recently placed.”

  Sunny and Chase started putting up the bags of rations. Soon the entire community took the hint and prepared to investigate the opportunity before us.

  “Alright then; let’s stay alert in case it’s a trap and hope for the best.”

  Following the trail of multi-colored arrows for an hour, we found a sign made of painted wood. Instead of an arrow and the usual message, it read: ‘Stay here & wait. Deadly traps ahead. Back every day at dawn’. Below was another cardboard sign: ‘blue house across street safe. Stay there if needed’.

  “Looks like we gonna bed down o’er there for the rest of the night. What about Cal and Daemon; sign says we meet in the morning?”

  I pondered Bubba’s question, thankful that the fledgling Undead answered first.

  “You guys can go ahead and come get us at dusk. If you aren’t
sure about these people, just meet them and ask to wait until we get up to follow them.”

  Seeing the logic in the idea, I nodded.

  “Sounds like a plan. Okay by you Cal?”

  Caelinus gave a slight bow of assent and we piled into the designated waiting area without any debate.

  The blue house was free of bodies or bloodstains. There were blankets and pillows in the rooms and a portable chemical toilet sat beside the porcelain one in the restroom. In the pantry we found: a massive stack of tissue paper, first aid kits, a can opener, four cans of soup, and a gallon of drinking water. There was a stack of sign materials sitting on the dining room table. A small bookshelf in the living room held a variety of books and puzzles; the box of crayons and stack of Disney coloring books were pounced upon by the kids as soon as we walked in.

  I whistled, “Nice digs. I already like our hosts.”

  We parked the SUV and Dodge in the garage and left the Chevy in the driveway. Our essential gear was massed near the door and we explored the pristine house. I felt like I had just entered a hotel on vacation. Wary smiles found their way onto everybody’s face.

  For the first time in a week, we rested for the second half of the night. The vampires took the centermost room and used some of the cardboard to block out the window for their daytime protection. After the donations were made, the group sat at the table and around the kitchen area to unwind and relax. The adults played with an old poker set while the kids played chutes and ladders. Taking up a spot on the floor in the master bedroom, I fell asleep with hope in mind.

  CHAPTER 31 OCTOBER 27TH YEAR 2

  At dawn, ten of us waited at the sign to meet our generous host. We carried a couple of rifles, but mostly wore our usual arms. I worried that the person may see the guns and avoid us out of fear, but I refused to be caught in an ambush unprepared.

  A few minutes after the first rays of light bathed us in warmth, a voice came out from the bushes.

  “Um, hi. Did you guys see the signs?”

  We looked around for the source of the voice.

  “Yes, we did.” I answered. “Where are you?”

  “Why do you all have so many guns? Are you soldiers or something?”

  Facing the tree the voice seemed to emanate from, I set my bow back over my shoulder and took a step forward, holding my open palms up.

  “No, we aren’t soldiers. We have the weapons partly for hunting and partly for defense. We don’t mean any harm, we just couldn’t be sure if this was an trick. Could you please come out here so we know who has been kind enough to lead us to the safehouse?”

  After a long silence, a scrawny boy around fourteen years old walked out. He had a crowbar in hand and a Gryffindor Satchel on his shoulder. Adjusting his glasses, he eyed the assembly of relatively clean people carrying swords and came closer.

  “Hello.” He held his right hand out to me. “My name is Liam.”

  I shook the outstretched hand with relief mingled with awe.

  “Hi, Liam. You can call me Squirrel.”

  “Seriously?”

  I heard muffled giggling from behind me.

  “Yes, seriously. So who else is with you?”

  “Oh, it’s just me and my Gammy. She’s back at our place. We haven’t had anyone come by before, so she’s going to be pretty surprised when I walk in with company.” He turned to pet Sindbad. The dog sniffed the teen and let him scratch behind his ears. “You guys seem to be pretty decent. It’ll be nice to have someone around to hang out with; just follow me and I’ll lead you past the traps.”

  Liam stood and began to retreat into the shrubbery.

  “Wait, Liam.”

  “Oh, sorry. I forgot to wait for you.” He said as he smiled and put his hands in his pockets. “No rush.”

  I shook my head in bewilderment.

  Is this kid for real?

  “It’s not that; we have others waiting for us. Some of them won’t be able to travel for a few more hours. Could we just meet you again with the entire group at dusk?”

  He hesitated before speaking.

  “That shouldn’t be a problem; you could even go with me and help if you wanted. But how many are there total?”

  “Total, we are twenty-five: twenty-one adults, four children. We’d be happy to introduce you at the other house and help you with whatever you’re doing until then.”

  “Twenty-five! Wow, I can’t believe there are that many of you still alive out here.”

  Liam started rushing towards the blue building, words pouring out of him faster than beer at a frat party.

  “I can’t wait to meet everybody. Are any of the kids my age? Where have you all been this year; I thought everyone got infected? I only started doing the signs three months ago, I can’t believe that many others found them.”

  We hurried behind the energized teen.

  “Hold on, boy. Wait for us!” Troy yelled as the group laughed and followed.

  On reaching the porch, we found Sunny with her spear blocking Liam from entering. The kid turned into a bunny as she demanded to know who he was to come charging up towards her with a crowbar.

  “No, Sunny, it’s okay. He’s the guy we’re here to meet.” I put my hand on the shaft of the spear, guiding her to put it away. “This is Liam. Liam this is Sunny. Sorry, she’s on guard duty, so you kinda freaked her out.”

  I raised my eyebrows at her while our host cleared his throat and offered a shaky hand.

  “Pleasure to meet you ma’am.”

  Sunny finally moved her weapon from the boy’s face and made the greeting. She remained firmly planted in the doorway.

  “You too. Sorry, pregnancy hormones. So who’s with you out here?”

  “Oh, I already told Squirrel and the others; it’s just me and my Gammy. Can I go in and meet everyone, please? I haven’t seen any other survivors in person for a long time. Squirrel said there were kids, too. It would be nice to have a friend to play with again.” He rambled as he kept bobbing his head to each side, trying to see inside.

  “Um, sure kid. Go ahead.” She moved and waved the eager teen inside before turning to me. “Is this child serious? Just him and his grandmother and he’s running around out here alone; do you believe him?”

  “Actually, yeah. He’s either telling the truth or the best actor I’ve ever seen.”

  “Weird.”

  She walked inside to wake her husband. Liam stood in the living room talking rapidly to each person he saw.

  “Does anyone here like games? I have board games and cards at our place; it will be nice to play with more than two people for a change.”

  Jordy and Michael took to Liam instantly, while the girls just asked him if he had more coloring books. The general expression worn by the adults was one of pleasant amazement. After thirty minutes of small talk – during which I spoke with Daemon and Cal – I interrupted the animated conversation.

  “Alright everyone, settle down. Liam said he’ll show us up to his place at sunset, but first I agreed to help him with his errand.”

  “Oh yeah. I’m supposed to be searching for some more gardening supplies and checking the buildings for stuff. You sure you don’t mind keeping me company?”

  “I’ll be happy to help. We’ll throw together a quick raiding party and head out.” I picked up an empty bag and tossed on my quiver again. “It’s the least we can do.”

  ***

  Throughout the raid, our crew encountered nineteen Dead. Thankfully, twelve of them were caught in traps Liam had set and posed no danger. The others were dealt with by the gangly teen with a smash of his crowbar to the head. He simply shook off the steel tool and used it to open the locked doors as though he was just strolling through a supermarket; there was no real fear in the way he moved. It appeared to me that he thought of this an adventure, instead of a hazardous endeavor.

  “That one was gooey, ick. Think that was my old soccer coach. So, I noticed you guys seem really tense; remind me to make you folks some tea when
we get home tonight.”

  As the day wore on, it felt more like a game than our usual raids. Liam asked about our previous camp, and we filled him in on what had happened in as PG-13 a way as possible.

  “They really burned your place down and shot at you? Did they realize the little kids were in there?”

  “They didn’t care. You and your Gammy have been fortunate not to meet any people like that; it’s been a rough year. The world’s changed. How did you two manage to stay so safe all this time?”

  “We always kept a greenhouse and a bunch of emergency supplies on hand after Hurricane Charley. As soon as the outbreak started, my Pops set up our traps all over the property and showed me how to do the same. He made me stay with Gammy while he went out to make more traps and always came back with more stuff we might need.”

  I looked at the writhing rotted zombies in one of the traps; there was no way for them to get out without getting even more stuck, probably destroyed. Liam looked at the gray-skinned corpse in the sundress, before throwing a rock at its head. His aim was good, and the creature slumped into a true death. The boy smiled as he persisted with his answer.

  “He used to be an engineer in the Army and he built us a rain-catcher and a water purifier. He ran out and got all the solar panels he could find and hooked them up so we wouldn’t need a generator. My Pops left us with all the stuff we’d need for at least a year and taught me everything for when our stock ran low. He was awesome.”

  He zoned out for a second and took a long breath. The boy’s eyes softened.

  “May I ask what happened to your father?”

  “He died from his cancer. He was diagnosed stage three about a month before the outbreak. One night he went to bed and when I came in to bring him his breakfast…”

  I saw the tears welling up and put my arm around his shoulders.