The Longest Road (Book 2): The Change

by Thompson, A. S.

  Jimmy appeared amused. He loved the gesture; it was slightly arousing.

  “I knew you were the hero type.”

  Steve took another step forward, causing Jimmy to take one backward. His left foot crossed the threshold of the door.

  “Let her go, Jimmy. Take me,” Steve repeated. He was hoping to use some psychological manipulation of his own. “You don't want her. You want me. You want the guy who killed your girlfriend. You want the guy who took everything from you, don't you?”

  As Steve took another step, so did Jimmy.

  “Then what's to stop me from putting a bullet in your head when we leave here?”

  “Nothing,” Steve replied earnestly, “just let her go and you can do with me whatever you see fit.”

  “Steve, no!” Sarah pleaded.

  Steve held up a hand. “It's okay, baby. I love you. Everything is going to be okay. I promise. Jimmy's going to let you go, then I'm gonna leave here with him. Isn't that right, Jimmy?”

  Jimmy continued to think about it, but his body didn't stop its retreat into the hallway. “Okay…” Jimmy started to say.

  Then, in a split second, it happened. The end. The grand finale to the hostage situation. The resolution that seemed to have been win-win for all parties. Just like that, everything went so wrong.

  All it took was a split second and a poorly maintained house. Then, poof, a successful hostage negotiation transformed into a devastatingly fatal accident.

  Despite Steve’s offer, Jimmy’s subconscious continued his physical retreat. As his foot dragged backward into the hall, it bumped up against the loose floorboard. The neurons in Jimmy’s body reacted to the fall. His grip tightened, and subsequently squeezed the trigger. The hammer on his revolver dropped, and the bullet left the chamber and immediately entered into Sarah's ribcage, finding a home to the right of her heart.

  In slow motion, Steve watched it all go down. He caught Sarah's body as it was propelled forward by the blast. She collapsed into his arms, and the two of them fell to the ground.

  On the floor, Jimmy realized what he had done. He looked at Sarah. Then Steve. Then Travis. He had shot his hostage, his ace in the hole- the one thing keeping him alive.

  Knowing his life was over; Jimmy shoved the barrel into his mouth. He wanted to put a bullet in his head before Travis had a chance to. He pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire. A quiet click was all that came. Surprised, Jimmy opened his eyes and cycled the revolver’s chamber five more times. Nothing. His last round had been accidentally spent on Sarah.

  2035 hours

  “I feel cold, baby,” Sarah said calmly. A lone tear rolled gently down her cheek.

  As Sarah lay in his arms, Steve pulled off the nearby bed sheet and covered her. “How's that?”

  “Better,” she answered, although Steve wasn't entirely convinced that it helped. “I remember the day we met…”

  “Shh,” Steve insisted. He knew shock was slowly taking over. “Save your strength, baby.”

  Maybe Sarah ignored Steve, or perhaps she could only focus on the lone memory. Whatever the reason, she continued, “I remember when you and your cousins showed up. I remember all the time we spent together, picking berries, laughing, watching the stars at night. All the days I wanted you to kiss me before I finally kissed you.”

  Steve remembered all those events in vivid detail, too. The memories surfaced like fresh ones. Now, with the love of his life dying in front of his eyes, he couldn't hold back. He wept uncontrollably.

  “It's going to be okay, baby,” he replied, rocking her gently. The lie prompted an uncontrollable string of sobbing.

  “I love you so much,” she said. A faint smile formed after.

  Steve reached into his pocket. He pulled out the ring.

  “This isn't how I wanted to ask, but Sarah Marie Lawrence, will you make me the happiest guy in the world?”

  Sarah's movements had long since slowed dramatically.

  “S-Steve?” she said, confused but happy. “You want me to marry you?”

  “Y-yes,” Steve sobbed. “I've loved you since the day we met.”

  Sarah coughed. Her voice was growing hoarse.

  “Yes. Yes, I'll marry you.”

  Steve lifted up her left hand and placed the ring on her finger. Then, he raised it so that she could view it.

  “It looks beautiful.”

  “Not as beautiful as you,” Steve said, pulling her hair around her ears.

  “I love you, Steven Patrick Brason.”

  She lifted her hand to the side of Steve's face. She locked eyes with her new husband and kissed him. When she finally released, she said, “Always and forever.”

  “Always and forever,” Steve repeated, closing his eyes. He pressed his hand against hers. He never wanted the warmth to go. He would never accept this.

  But it wasn't up to him. The Angel of Death had arrived to claim its next soul. Steve could actually feel Sarah’s life force depart from her body. And, when he opened his eyes, Sarah was gone. Her eyes were closed. She would forever rest in eternal slumber.

  “No,” Steve sobbed. “Sarah. Baby. Please don't go. Sarah. I love you. Please come back. Please...”

  For ten minutes, Steve sat against the bed frame, hugging her tight.

  Then a thought crept into his mind. A desire to die with her. Like Romeo, Steve was satisfied leaving this world. If it meant being with her again, with all of his departed family and friends on the other side, he would do it. He stared down at his gun which rested on the floorboard.

  He thought about how easy it would be. The littlest of actions. All he had to do was put a piece of metal to his head and apply slight pressure. Then, he would be reunited with his love. It was that easy.

  But another path presented itself.

  “Steve,” Travis said from the doorway. “I'm truly sorry. Words can't express how sorry I am.”

  “Thanks,” Steve replied, utterly heartbroken. There were no senses left in his body.

  “I know that hurt. That never-ending pain. I can’t promise that it gets better, but…” he said, putting his hand on the door frame. Whatever he was going to say, he didn’t. Instead he continued with, “I just wanted to let you know that everything is set. You don’t need to be there. I can do this on my own-”

  “No.” Steve said, cutting him off. He kissed Sarah on the lips, then lifted her up and rested her on the bed, ever so gently.

  “Really, Steve, you don't have to be there with me. What I plan on doing, there's no coming back from this…”

  Again Steve cut him off, “No.”

  Steve crossed Sarah’s arms over her chest. Then, he leaned in and whispered something into her ear. He pulled back, wiped the tears from his eyes and walked over to Travis.

  Steve's eyes were more than just cold, they were lifeless. Like the infected who ruled the world, nothing was left inside. No humanity. Not even a trace. Steve's soul was no longer in ethical control of his body. It was on permanent hiatus.

  Everything he believed about "Everything happening for a reason" was gone. He no longer believed the old adage that "A life is a life, and that everything is connected.” The words of wisdom that he once leaned and took to heart from J.P. Chin, no longer found a home in Steve's psyche. They were banished when the one thing Steve cared most for was taken from him.

  “I plan on helping you.”

  Chills ran down Travis' spine. It was as though he didn't recognize Steve. Something was different. Something had changed. Travis swallowed and said, “I’m telling you, you do this, and there is no coming back from it.”

  “I know,” Steve said, stone cold.

  Travis knew it wasn’t up to him. He couldn’t tell Steve what he could or couldn’t feel. Especially after Sarah had been murdered. This was a path Steve was going to have to travel himself. There was nothing Travis could do, but say, “Well, then he's ready whenever you are.”

  Steve followed Travis down the stairs to the couch in front o
f the furnace. Jimmy was securely bound and gagged. Travis picked up a rusted kitchen knife and said, “Do you want the honor?”

  Steve grabbed the knife.

  “With pleasure.”

  They kept Jimmy alive throughout the night. Despite his painful screams, they carried on. They pressed harder when Jimmy begged them to stop. Then he pleaded for death, but no. There was no mercy to be had. Like Jimmy's promise to Steve, they didn't stop until Jimmy couldn't feel anymore.

  They cut, filleted, fried, tore, broke, burned, punctured, snapped, and caused a myriad of injuries to Jimmy's body. They employed a variety of the most basic, most unsanitary instruments of torture they could find in the aged cabin: sandpaper, forks, rusted nails, red-hot fireplace pokers. Nothing was off limits.

  The screams of pain finally stopped at sunrise.

  The thoughts of pleasure never left.

  Jimmy "The Grim Reaper" Sanchez was dead.

  So were the souls of those involved.

  Chapter 12

  Providence State Beach

  November 29, 2009

  0659 hours

  The storm had made it impossible to discern whether or not a new day had arrived. Dark, cotton-like rain clouds loomed over Providence State beach, but the last raindrop had fallen hours before. With the suns rays’ nonexistent, the only lighting came from ambient flames from fires. All scenery seemed to be cast in an eerie gray.

  To those few who survived the long, arduous battle, the perpetual darkness created by the clouds and the cold brought forth by the rain, just seemed to amplify the depression.

  “I piled up the bodies on the other side of the fence,” West stated in a debriefing-like manner. For the last few hours, he had disposed of the corpses of bikers and infected alike. The deceased residents of Camp, however, had been temporarily relocated until proper graves could be dug. “Unless the girls go wandering over there, they won't see 'em. The rain washed away a lot of the blood, too.”

  “Thanks for taking care of that, Elias,” Collin said, then corrected himself, “I mean, West. You still owe me an explanation, but let's wait until the dust settles a bit.”

  “Agreed. Do you want me to see if one of those motorcycles works, and head out for Steve and Travis?”

  “No. Let's give them a little more time. Besides, we need you here. There's a lot that needs to be done.”

  The two men waited as Lisa Spencer, Jenny Seaton, and Kelly Hanks, made their way up the beach. Lisa held Jenny close, while Kelly followed behind. The girls appeared tired, scared, and utterly depressed. Their clothes looked like they belonged to a vagrant.

  “There is something else,” West started to say, then turned his back to the beach. “Something I wanted to tell you before the girls got close.”

  Collin picked up on the secrecy of the comment. “What’s that?”

  “It’s Larry-”

  “You found him? Where is he?”

  “When I was taking care of the bodies...I found his. Well, what was left of it. Infected did a number on him. Got what he had coming if you ask me-”

  The girls were steps away, so Collin gestured for West to stop.

  “Is this everyone?” Lisa asked.

  She read Collin's lips as he said, “Larry is...missing. Nick is around here somewhere. Steve and Travis also made it, but they went after Sarah. Jimmy took her last night.”

  “Is she going to be okay?” Jenny interrupted. “That man won't hurt her, will he?”

  Collin wasn't sure about anything anymore. Steve and Travis had yet to return, and there was no way to communicate with them. He wasn't even going to think about what was going on with Diane and the WHO crew. But the last thing Collin wanted to do was cause a little girl to worry. So for the time being, he said, “I'm sure she is going to be alright.”

  Ranger Nick walked around the corner of the station and met the others. The aged Native American man stood there, shoulders sunken forward. Nick had come to be the visual portrayal of confidence. The man that, no matter what happened always held his head up high. Now, he appeared morally defeated.

  “So that's it then,” Lisa started to say, “this is everyone who’s left. This is all that's left.”

  “Yes,” Nick replied bluntly. His voice was slightly higher than a whisper. “Everything I worked for, we worked for. It's gone. It's all gone.”

  He took a deep breath, exhaled and stood there, staring into the ocean. He had nothing motivational to say. No empowering words. No hope-driven speech. Nothing.

  Collin put a consoling hand on Nick's shoulder. “It's okay, Nick. Yes, we lost so much, but at least we’re alive…”

  At the word "alive" Nick's eyes darted to Collin's.

  “I completely forgot. Collin, what are we going to do?”

  “Do about what?” Lisa interrupted.

  Collin looked down at his hand. The death sentence in the form of a bite.

  “Collin got bit during the fights,” Nick declared. Then, the thought hit him. “The President's speech! The broadcast! They have a cure. We need to leave now!”

  “I hate to rain on your parade,” West interrupted, “but how are we going to get there? I mean I can maybe salvage one of the motorcycles, but Collin can't make that trip alone.”

  “Maybe if you didn't blow up everything!” Nick growled. He didn't mean the verbal attack. He was angry, and West just happened to be the target of his venting. “So tell me, what are we going to do? Are we just going to let Collin die here?”

  West didn't mind the confrontation. He stepped up nose to nose with Nick.

  “In case you forgot, I saved your asses last night. Some gratitude might be a better response.”

  The internal conflict caused Jenny to start crying. She turned and buried her face into Lisa's midsection. Lisa did her best to hold back her own tears, to stay strong for both of them. Out of solidarity, Kelly dropped to one knee and hugged Jenny.

  “Both of you, cut it out!” Collin ordered, stepping in between the two. “We are on the same team. Nick, without him we would be dead. Besides, we need to start thinking about the future.”

  Collin paused, looked down and massaged skin near the border of his injury.

  “Trinity takes over in forty-eight hours max, and I'm about twelve hours in already. My geography might be a little rusty, but we are only five or six hundred miles away from there.”

  “Probably closer to six or seven hundred, if you factor in having to use back roads, less used highways, and road obstructions,” West edited. “You’re looking at a twelve hour trip, Collin. Maybe ten if you have luck on your side.”

  Collin took a moment to think about it. He wanted too much to believe that Diane would return with a vaccine, more so that she would be back in time. But the gravity and reality of the situation set in.

  “Fine. We get Sweetie ready to roll. If Diane and the others aren’t back in another twelve hours, whoever wants to stay, can, but I am gonna leave.”

  “Giving yourselfone hour is ludicrous,” Nick started to say, “and you want twelve? That could be suicide, Collin!”

  “I know we normally both make the decisions, but this one is mine, and it’s final.”

  Nick shook his head. He knew Collin wouldn’t budge, and attacking with heated words would only solidify Collin’s choice. So, he took a more positive approach.

  “Okay. Diane will be here soon-with that vaccine of hers. Besides, there's no way you're leaving me to lead everyone by myself.”

  Collin knew a smile would go a long way.

  “See? There's that guy who's always preaching to have faith.”

  In West's mind, basking in hopeful dreams was a waste of time, if not counterproductive. So, he interrupted the moment and brought everyone back to reality.

  “So what's our plan then?”

  Nick looked to Collin for his wisdom.

  Collin fixated on the open horizon. Part of the cloud coverage was exposed. Sunlight breached and lit up a tiny section of ocean a quart
er mile off the coast.

  It was odd how something so small could instill such hope.

  “We salvage whatever we can here. Girls I need you to gather whatever food and supplies you can find.”

  “We’re on it. There’s a ton of food inside the boat,” Kelly started to say then she paused. “That is, if I’m still allowed to come along.”

  “Of course you are,” Lisa signed and said simultaneously.

  Kelly appreciated the gesture, but still looked to Collin for the final word.

  “As long as you promise that from here on out, never to go against the group again. To always look out for every one of us and put the needs of the group before your own,” Collin said sternly, “You do that and we’re good.”

  “I promise. All of you are my family now.”

  “Okay then. Let’s see, what’s next? Weapons,” Collin said, answering his own question. “West, find whatever guns and ammo you can. I want a detailed list of what we have.”

  “Consider it done,” West said, straightening up.

  Collin turned to Nick.

  “Do you think you can get Sweetie roadworthy?”

  “I’ll take a look at her and see what I can do, but honestly, no promises,” Nick said, running a hand through his hair.

  “When I finish, I’ll help you out if you’d like,” West offered. “I can’t tell you how many broken vehicles I had to hot-wire or fix out in the bush with nothing but a multi-tool, some duct tape and a shit-ton of elbow grease.”

  “Thanks,” Nick replied, “much appreciated.”

  “Then it’s settled. We get ready to go while we wait for Diane and the others. How's that sound?”

  Collin looked to the girls first. Kelly and Lisa nodded in agreement.

  Jenny finally turned and wiped her face with her sleeve. “As long as we don't leave without Sarah.”

  “Of course we are going to wait for her. There's a lot to do before we go, so let's get to work…”

  Just as the words departed Collin’s mouth, a vehicle approached.

  0712 hours

  A dirty SUV rolled slowly through the gates. The driver carefully avoided the scattered debris, scraps of metal and shards of glass. Eventually, the vehicle stopped in a spot near the front of the Ranger station.