by Kip Nelson
“She's cried on my shoulder. She's told me all these secrets...I don't think she would lie about that.”
“Kid, if I can tell you one thing, it is that people lie. They can look directly into your eyes and tell you exactly what you want to hear. Your mom probably just is trying to protect you.”
“I wish she wouldn't. After all this time, I think I know how to handle myself,” Tristan said, a dark look coming into his eyes. Saul stopped what he was doing for the moment and exhaled deeply.
“She's your family, and she's your mom. It's her job to worry about you, and there ain't nothing you can do to change that. Even if you make it to my age, she'll still be worrying about you, so you'd better get used to it. And the thing is, that's what families are there for. You can't do shit to stop it. Let me tell you a story. I had a brother. This guy, he turned his back on us a long time ago, and he did a lot of bad things, but even when the chance came for me to end it all and kill him I couldn't, because he's my brother.
“You're bonded to your family, whether you like it or not. So, don't be too hard on your mom because she's only trying to look out for you. And I don't know this girl like you do, but just keep an open mind. Sometimes things aren't always what they seem. But then again, who knows how much time we have in this world, so you might as well enjoy yourself while you can.”
Tristan appreciated how Saul spoke to him as though he were an adult, and for the rest of the day he stayed with the older man, enjoying the way he told stories. The more time he spent with these people, the more he knew Peter to be wrong. Adults weren't the reason the world ended, and they weren't the enemy.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
WHEN MACK RETURNED to the settlement he knew he didn't have much time to prepare people for the next stage of the plan. He hadn't left much of a window for the meeting because he wanted to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. Either the other leader would agree to meet him and discuss terms, or they would attack again and the community would have to defend itself.
Mack wasn't prepared to take a large force with him, but he knew he would need to have some defense in case the other leader decided to attack and capture him, or take him back to their camp and make an example out of him, as they had with the soldiers. Mack didn't know which fate was worse. However, this wasn't a mission where he could order people around, it had to be voluntary. So he opened it up to discussion. Luis obviously was going to stay as he still was recovering in the infirmary. Maggie and Grace were quick to volunteer, which didn't surprise Mack. He was glad to have the two of them by his side since they were two of the finest warriors he ever had had the pleasure of meeting.
Freddie and Hank said they'd like to stay within the settlement because they could be of better use to the people who remained. They were only fighters when they had to be, and Mack agreed they were better at helping other people talk through their problems. Mack also said that somebody needed to stay behind and be in temporary command of the community while he was away. Bob looked around, and when nobody else stuck up their hand, he gruffly said he might as well do it since he had done it before. Mack thanked him. He knew the community would be in good hands in his absence. Saul also said he would stay to help defend the place. Mack allowed the group a short time to make their final preparations. As they all were leaving, he walked over to Saul.
“I hope you're not offended that I didn't ask you directly to take over command. Frankly, I thought you'd be the first one to volunteer for it,” Mack said.
“Not a chance,” Saul said, shaking his head as he smiled. “I saw what Grace had to put up with when she was in command, and I don't have the patience for that. I've lived a long life, and right now I'm quite content with letting other people take the lead. They can deal with the stress while I just relax.”
Maggie went back to the apartment, where she found Tristan alone. Ever since she had expressed her concerns about Sharon, things had been tense between them, but she didn't want that to continue, especially not now that she was going on a dangerous mission.
“Tristan, I'm going away again to help Mack,” she said.
“Okay,” he replied sullenly.
“You know I don't like going away, it's just that Mack needs people he can trust, and I have skills that can be useful. Anyway...I know things have been a little strained between us recently, but I didn't want to leave on bad terms in case...well, you know.”
Tristan looked at his mom and saw the worry on her face. He had intended to remain impassive and punish her for the accusations she had made against Sharon, but now he found that difficult. He felt an immediate need to feel her warmth, so he hugged her tightly, and she hugged him back.
“I know you must go. It's who you are, and it's part of the reason why you were able to find me. Everyone in this place is lucky to have you,” he said, then withdrew a little as he looked her square in the eyes, “but as for Sharon...If you won't trust her, then at least trust me. And if I am making a mistake, well, it's my mistake to make.”
Maggie realized at that moment how much her little boy had grown, and she was so proud of him. She hugged him again and kissed him on the cheek. She was glad they had cleared the air a little.
Elsewhere in the community, Grace stopped off at the infirmary to spend some time with Luis before she left. He still was pale and looking weak, but he was sitting up and in better spirits than he had been. She already had told him about Mack's plan.
“I decided to go with him. I hope you don't mind. I thought about staying here with you and the others but I think Mack is going to need me,” she said.
“I think so, too, and I know you. If you stayed here, you just would be pacing around the floor, worrying about them and wondering if you should have gone. Mack needs you anyway, probably more than he'd care to admit. You two are like Batman and Robin,” he said, smiling. Grace laughed at the joke, and then a seriousness fell over them.
“Do you think it will work?” he asked.
“I don't know...I hope so. I don't want a repeat of what happened. We can't take another attack,” she said, and reached out to clasp his hand. She squeezed it tightly, and he squeezed back as firmly as he could.
“It'll be nice when this is all over and we actually can focus on rebuilding civilization,” he said.
But although his words were optimistic, they also were tinged with sadness, since neither of them knew when the struggles would be over. It seemed that as soon as one had ended, another crested over the horizon and plagued them. The two of them sat together for a few more minutes and then Grace kissed him because she had to depart. She armed herself and made her way to the entrance to rendezvous with the other members of the party, and then they moved out.
Aside from Mack, Maggie, and Grace, there were a few other people, handpicked members who were sharp with their shots and who Mack knew he could trust when the time came. But there were only a few of them since he was very reluctant to leave the community vulnerable. Their lives, ultimately, were expendable. It was the community that had to survive.
The group moved out toward the designated area, which was a place in between the two camps. Mack had seen it when he had been outside the safe barriers of the settlement. The long street was framed with two tall buildings, and the only entrance from the way the others were going to come (if they came) was an open area that had no chance to conceal them. Mack, who in his offer had suggested he and the leader meet alone, directed the others to take up positions in the buildings so they could act as snipers in the event the other group attacked. Mack was sure the other leader would not come without allies, but he wanted to give the appearance that he was a man of his word.
There he waited patiently for the enemy to arrive. The day was still and the sky was clear. He was cast in the shadow of the buildings that stood tall around him. The city was quiet, and he resisted the urge to look back at his friends hiding in the building. He didn't want to give away their position in case anyone was watching him. He let
a rifle hang from his arm and the horses were calm nearby. He strained his ears, listening for any new sound or clue that the leader was approaching, and there he waited patiently.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
BOB HAD BEEN adamant that this leader was not going to come. Mack hoped his own convictions were right and that he hadn't made an error in judgment. He was aware that not everyone shared the same values as he did, and he didn't want his optimism to blind him. Yet, there still was a feeling in his gut that, deep down, people didn't want to be savage. There was a mistaken belief that humans always were selfish, primal beasts when civility was stripped away, but their ancestors had learned how to work together, how to live as one community, and put other people's needs above their own. That was the pure aspect of human nature, but it was just that little bit harder to achieve than simple barbarism.
For a while he thought that he had been mistaken and the other leader was not going to come, that instead the community would suffer another attack and they would have to build another pyre on which to throw the dead. The thought sickened him because it was such a waste of life. The state of the world already had taken enough people, they didn't need to throw more lives away needlessly.
That's when he heard it. The air had been still and cool but now, in the far-off distance he heard a rumbling. It was like a quake that was getting stronger as every moment passed. Mack braced himself, clenching his jaw, and raising his rifle. It was clear his enemy had not come alone. At the other end of the long street dust was kicked up as a crowd marched quickly toward him, crying and yelling, waving various weapons in the air.
From where he was standing they looked like one undulating creature, a big mass of chaos and destruction, but as they grew closer he could separate them individually. He saw that at the head of them was a huge man with spiked hair and tattoos all over his body. Metal piercings protruded from his nose, eyebrow, ears, and nipples. In one hand, he held a baseball bat that had nails driven through the wide end, and in the other, he had a gun. He held up his hand and those behind him stopped. The leader strode forward, looking more like a panther than a man, and gave a sneering look toward Mack, who stood alone against this menacing force.
“You chose not to come alone then,” Mack said.
“You are a cunning foe, you already have stolen from us. I did not know if I could trust you,” he said in a deep voice with a thick accent that told Mack he was likely from one of the Baltic States.
“Well, as you can see, I did come alone, but no matter. You're here, and that's a good start.”
“I'm here because I wanted to lay my eyes on you, and see for myself what kind of person could fight back against my army. You are the first who have managed to withstand an assault from us. It will not continue.”
“No, it won't. It can't, really. I don't think you will be able to sustain so many losses,” Mack said, trying to keep his cool and not let the enemy see how scared he was inside. With one blow from that bat the other leader likely could take his head clean off.
A huge booming laugh emanated from the pit of the leader's stomach as he threw his head back. His minions followed his cue, and an unsettling cackle rose through the narrow street. Mack tried remaining stoic but even he was disturbed by the force standing before him.
“Both sides of this conflict have suffered, and there's no need for us to continue in this vein,” Mack said. “We don't need to kill each other. We don't need to do any of this. There's no need for all these people to die. So, why don't we just set our differences aside and call a truce? We even can try working together, to trade our resources. Surely that's better than fighting?”
The leader's expression was inscrutable and Mack wasn't sure if his pleas were reaching him. The leader stared blankly at him and, soon enough, Mack just stopped talking, knowing he would end up repeating himself, and that wouldn't be any more persuasive. But to his surprise, the leader nodded and handed his gun and baseball bat to one of his cohorts.
“You know, I can see what you're saying, and maybe you're right. Maybe there isn't a need for so many people to die. But the thing is, you have come into our camp and stolen from us, and that's not something we can let you get away with. I mean, yes, we did end up killing your little friend there, but still. It's not very honorable of you to sneak in and steal our weapons,” he said, wagging his finger in Mack's face.
“Lest we forget that you were raiding our settlement long before that,” Mack said, straining hard to hide his ire.
“But that was for food and supplies, and we always left you people some. What would you suggest then, that we bow down to you and follow your lead?”
“That we work together, we share our resources. You don't necessarily have to join us. You can stay where you are--”
“And live like we do? Come on Mr. Bossman, you've seen how we live, and I don't think it's a suitable thing for you. I think you're put off by the way we do things. We can't very well change our ways now. Are we supposed to not raid other communities? We surely can't trade with all of them. What you're asking us to do is go against our basic nature. We're humans, we need to live. This world finally has given us the opportunity to be free. That's what you don't get.
“I don't know what you were in the previous world, but I bet you had a nice house, a pretty wife, and were living the American dream. That's not what it was like for us. We were looked at like we were monsters, like we didn't belong. We didn't have the same opportunities or the same chances. We were left behind by everyone else. You think that now we want to go back to the way things were? That we all want to play nice with the other little people who are trying to make it in this world? Fuck you and fuck everyone else. We're here to party! And that's what we're going to do.”
As he said that, his followers whooped and hollered in delight. Mack looked at them and was horrified by what he was seeing. These people had not turned to these savage ways out of a grim necessity, but rather because they had wanted to do so. They wanted to act like barbarians and surrender any pretense of civility because they had been denied power in the previous world. Mack wanted to talk to each of them and shake them out of the stupor; to tell them they had another chance; that this could be a new beginning for them all; that they didn't have to make the same mistakes as before. But they were drunk with power. They saw themselves as untouchable, invincible, and nothing Mack could said would convince them otherwise. He saw then he had made a grievous error in bringing them here because there was nothing on their mind but death.
“Now let me tell you what's going to happen, because you have had some interesting things to say, even if I don't agree with them. But you're right, too many people have died because of this little fight. I would rather keep all my friends alive because they're fun to be around, and a party is always better with more people. Which is why, eventually, we're going to invite the people in your settlement to join us.”
“They'll never do it,” Mack said.
“Then they'll die!” the leader said, and laughed maniacally again.
“But I have a way to avoid that. You seem like a well-bred man, I think you'll appreciate this. I think we should settle this dispute like they did in the olden days, you know, when armies would meet on the battlefield and their leaders would talk, like we're doing now. We should have a fight, between ourselves, and the winner gets to dictate terms to the loser.”
Mack studied him carefully. The man was a brute, but that meant he was probably overconfident and would underestimate Mack due to the size difference. It didn't seem as though he had much of a choice either; if he didn't accept the challenge, then the enemy just would kill him and try making it toward the settlement. At least this way he had a chance to avert disaster. Thankfully, Grace and the others still remained hidden. So, there was a chance for them to strike even if Mack failed.
“There is one stipulation I must insist upon, and this is non-negotiable,” he said. Mack listened intently. “This fight must be a fight to the death.”
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br /> CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
AS SOON AS Mack and the others left the settlement the people left there began to worry. They knew this was something of a do-or-die mission, and while they appreciated that Mack was willing to put himself in danger for their sake, they didn't enjoy the idea that he might never return. Bob clapped his hands and tried shaking them out of their stupor, reminding them they still had a lot of work to do. However, many of them hadn't slept before the attack and were exhausted. Their body movements were slow, their eyelids were drooping, and they looked as though they were moments from collapse. So, Bob instigated a new order. People were told to sleep, even though there still was much work to be done to repair the settlement.
The order was met with little protest as people organized shifts in which they could sleep. They were glad to have some respite from the horror, even though their slumber would not be restful because they were haunted by nightmares. The pyre still was burning fiercely and it would do so until it died out naturally. People still were mourning, but most of them had focused their attention on other things.
As Bob walked through the settlement, he could hear the worried tones of people around him. Many of them wondered if Mack's plan would work, but even if it did they still were concerned about the future. Many of them realized it was practically a matter of chance they had succeeded thus far while some of their friends already had fallen, and none of them knew how many chances the whims of fate would grant them. Bob didn't much enjoy hearing this talk. He was always a man who rather would deal with the problem than gnashing his teeth over it, but he recognized that sometimes people needed to complain and vent their frustrations. However, he was well aware that, in this current state, there was no way they could survive another attack.
The people of the community were lethargic; their movements were slow and their bodies were weak due to the stress. It was as though they had been thrust into a war without any kind of training or forewarning. In his heart, Bob, too, hoped Mack's plan would work for the sake of everyone in the community.