by Brown, TW
“Enough!” Derek yelled. “Jesus, don’t you ever get tired of hearing your own voice? That was probably the toughest part about being with you the past few hours…you have something to say about everything. I can’t believe that these folks have not killed you yet just for some freaking peace and quiet.”
“Wow,” Kevin shook his head in dismay, “you really lack people skills. I can’t believe that I stopped these kids from beating you to death when you were hanging from that weeping angel.”
Aleah struck quick, lashing out with one foot and connecting solid with the left knee of Heather’s captor. There was a sickening crunch that was heard above his yelp of pain. Derek stumbled, letting go of Heather as the pain dropped him to the ground. Kevin was about to move in when the children all seemed to rise up as one and unleash a fury that he could never have dreamed possible.
Catie waded in, gently pulling bodies aside as she closed on the man whose screaming was suddenly cut off in an abrupt gagging sound. Meanwhile, Aleah was pulling Heather to her and holding her close.
Kevin glanced over at the two men who had pretty much set this entire scene in motion with their arrival and saw open mouths and shocked expressions. Even the seriously wounded man seemed stunned by what he’d just witnessed.
“Great job keeping his focus on you,” Catie called as she dragged the unconscious man from the clutches of the children; more than one seeming reluctant to let go of their quarry.
“It wasn’t as easy as you might think,” Kevin admitted. “The closer that you two got, the harder it was for me not to shoot a glance at you, but I knew that the second I did, this was a done deal.”
Heather was sobbing on Aleah’s shoulder. A few of the children, Deanna and Sean among them, were over offering gestures of comfort.
“So, you two,” Kevin turned to the men. “It seems that we have a bit of a problem here. I don’t really think this group is ready to allow any newcomers to join up. However, since one of you looks hurt pretty bad, my good friend Catie is going to help get him patched up. Then, in the morning, we will be on our way…and I will ask that you not try to follow us.”
“What?” the man who had given the name Trent Lomax exclaimed. “You can’t just leave us here. Doug can hardly walk. Those things are everywhere.”
“And I wish you the best…but I think these kids are a little sour on the idea of letting any new strangers tag along.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Trent eased Doug down to the floor and took a step in Kevin’s direction. A dozen children popped up with their bows and arrows, drawn and ready to shoot. “Whoa! Whoa!” He threw his hands up in the air and froze mid-step.
“Listen…Trent, was it? I really feel for you, but these kids have had a rough go of it, and after this last little adventure, I just don’t think you are going to be welcome,” Kevin explained. “I am really sorry that we blew up the walls to your little place, but this is the new world that we live in…like it or not.”
“You blew up our walls?” Doug looked up, his face pale, but his eyes still burning bright with anger. “You know how many innocent people that you killed with that little act of terrorism?”
“That is a word from a dead world,” Kevin said with a shake of his head. “You call it what you like, but for these children, it was vengeance, and that is going to be a real driving force in this world we now live in…, like it or not.”
“How can you stand there so casually?” Trent asked. “Innocent women…some of them well along with their pregnancy, died today because of what you people did.”
“And two children were killed after suffering unspeakable brutality at the hands of members of your little community,” Kevin countered. “I hate to be the one to drop this on you, but the era of due process and constitutional rights is off the table for the time being. Eye for an eye…or worse. That is the new law of the land.”
“And is that how you will justify leaving us behind…basically to die?” Trent challenged.
“Oh please,” Kevin waved a dismissive hand, “stop with the dramatics. Okay, one of you is in pretty bad shape, but the other…you, Trent…you are fine. You have as good of a chance as anybody to make it.”
“But I can’t leave my friend here…and he won’t be able to travel for a while.”
“Then find someplace, hold up, stay low, and good luck.”
While this exchange continued, Catie knelt and took a look at Doug, lifting his shirt to more closely examine the wound. What she saw made her wince.
“It wasn’t one of them damn zombies,” Doug said. “Not exactly anyway. It was a dog…can you believe it? A freaking mutt got me.”
“He isn’t showing any signs…at least nothing in the eyes,” Catie announced. “But there is some definite signs of…gosh…call it regular infection. The area is all red and angry looking.”
“I tell ya what,” Kevin looked around the room and was surprised that every single one of the children seemed to be taking in his every word, “I will put it to a vote, but you have to agree to accept the outcome. I am going to let these children choose—”
“Do you even know who these kids are?” Trent interrupted. “We’ve dealt with them over the past year…seems that they’re a few bands of them running around in these parts. No coincidence that the juvenile detention center is close by. They are a bunch of thieves and stoners…the kids who could not stay out of trouble before all this mess started.”
“That should win you a few votes,” Kevin quipped.
“So you are going to let these children decide our fates?” Doug asked through clenched teeth as Catie used one of their precious alcohol wipes to clean off the wound before slapping a square of gauze over it and taping it in place.
“Seems like the fair thing to do.” Kevin faced the kids and looked around the room, making sure to make eye contact with as many as possible. He noted that Heather had stopped crying, but was still snuggled in close to Aleah.
“Okay, kids, you have heard what was said, now it is up to you, but I want to make this clear…these men were not the ones that hurt you. These men actually helped us by revealing the real bad guy.” He pointed to Derek’s unconscious form on the floor, trussed like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. “These men wish to accompany us. None of you trusted me at first…not every single adult is a bad person. So I will let you vote with a show of hands on if they join us or not. But if we leave them, you have to know that their chances of survival are not good.”
“Who wants them to join us?” Deanna asked the group, raising her hand. “We are going to need all the help we can get to survive. Kevin’s trip will be long, and the more people that can help keep the group safe, the better.”
A few hands rose slowly, but each person who did so was facing a barrage of scowls from their majority. A few actually put their hands back down after just a second or two.
“And who says to hell with ‘em…let them take care of their own selves?” Sean asked, thrusting his hand skyward. An overwhelming majority of the others followed suit. Counting was not even needed.
“You know what?” Trent yelled. “Screw all of you! You can go ahead and take this little pack of delinquents, and I hope you get what you deserve.”
“I do wish you the best.” Kevin almost felt bad for the two men; but since he didn’t really know them, he did not feel that bad. Besides, that Trent person seemed a little too hot-headed.
“And you are welcome to stay the night,” Catie added. She shot her cold stare at a few of the children who looked about to speak up—most notably, Sean.
“Well la-di-frickin’-da!” Trent spat. “And what is to stop us from just following you when you leave? This is a free country.”
“You are still using that old way of thinking,” Kevin said with a shrug. “If you follow us, you’re right…there isn’t really anything I can do to stop you. However,” he looked around at the faces of some of the children, “I don’t think it would go well for you. These children are sur
vivors. They haven’t made it this far on luck…luck ran out after the third or fourth month. Anybody alive at this point…is a fighter and age stopped meaning anything around that time.”
“Yeah, well we ain’t stayin’ here…like I said, screw you all!” Trent raged.
“I can’t go,” the other man, Doug, rasped from the floor. “I don’t feel so hot.”
In that instant, the man began to convulse. His eyes rolled back in his head and a pink froth began to bubble from his lips. Everybody stepped back…everybody but Catie. She drew the blade on her hip and simply stood up. With one deft motion, she plunged the tip of the blade into the man’s head. His thrashing ended instantly.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Trent darted over to the corpse of his friend and knelt at his side as Catie yanked her weapon free.
“To end his misery,” Catie said, and turned away.
“Don’t you turn your back on me,” Trent snapped. “You killed my friend…the last person I had left in this world. The least you can do is look at me when I’m talking to you.”
Catie stopped, but she did not turn around. “There is nothing left to say. Your friend is dead. He was suffering and I ended it.”
“He’s not a dog!” the man snapped, rising to his feet.
“No, but the least he deserved was the same kindness that we would extend to an animal.”
“You said his eyes were clear, no sign of the infection,” Trent pointed out.
“I said no sign of turning. I also said that his wound showed serious signs of standard infection,” Catie countered.
“How does he just up and die like that…” Trent’s voice hitched and he stared defiantly, not bothering to wipe the tears that were starting to roll down his cheeks.
“People are not the healthiest these days,” Catie said with as much warmth as she could muster. “And we have grown up relying on drug stores and instant cures. Maybe we hurt more than helped ourselves. I’m just guessing, but if I had to try and nail it down, I would say that it was as simple as the fact that he was already weak. Whatever was coursing through the saliva of that dog zombie that bit him took its toll. A cut on the finger left untended can kill you these days.”
“But that fast?”
“It has been hours for one…and I am not trying to make light of this, but somebody as frail and weak as your friend appeared, would be like a field of dry grass to a wildfire when it came to disease or infection. And honestly, this is all just a guess. Nobody is going to be able to do an autopsy and see what really happened. It may be that a zombie dog bite doesn’t turn the victim…it simply kills them outright. You want me to throw out five or six more random guesses…fine…but I’m telling you what I think.”
Kevin turned to the children once again. “Now that this man is alone, I am going to ask you all once more. Do we let this person come with us, or do we leave him to his fate?”
Unlike last time, the group of kids all huddled around Sean. Kevin noted that Deanna was right at the young man’s side and obviously not shy about voicing her opinion. The discussion looked and sounded heated, but Kevin thought it best to leave them to it. Meanwhile, he went over to Heather.
“How you feeling?” He leaned over and gave the girl an awkward hug, not sure if that was the right thing to do after she’d just been assaulted by a man. It was almost like meeting her at Heath High School all over again.
“A little shaky. He said that he heard something out front and just walked over to me like no big deal. The next thing I knew, he cracked me in the head with something and had me at knifepoint before I could do anything.” Heather rubbed at her head and pulled her hand away to confirm that there was no blood.
“You and Catie really kicked ass,” Kevin said with a smile, leaning over and planting a kiss on Aleah’s cheek.
“I just didn’t see any way out of this other than taking the guy down hard and fast. I learned a few covert signs and gestures with Catie when I was out with her on that patrol.”
“Now we need to decide what to do with…him.” Heather spit that last word out like it fouled her mouth.
“We don’t really have a choice,” Kevin said with way less emotion than he was suddenly feeling.
“Are you saying what I think you are?” Aleah asked.
“He was right…we won’t last if we don’t deal with threats in a way to ensure they don’t come back to haunt us.” Kevin glanced over his shoulder at where Derek still lay unconscious on the ground a few feet away. A clothesline was digging into the flesh of his wrists, and his hands were already a shade of ugly reddish-purple.
“So we just kill him?” Aleah asked.
“What other choice is there?” Kevin posed.
“Then let’s do it quick,” Aleah conceded.
“I wasn’t planning on some long, torturous death.” Kevin gave her a reassuring hug just as Sean and Deanna came over.
“We decided that he can come,” Sean said. “But the moment he does anything shady…he’s gone. We still don’t trust him, but we also can’t just leave him like this…most of us know what it is like to be abandoned…alone.”
Kevin looked at Deanna who gave a very slight nod. It might be Sean that had been the voice of order with these children since they’d lost their other leader, but he had a feeling that Deanna was pulling the strings. He was struck suddenly by how this event, this zombie apocalypse or whatever you wanted to call it, had probably not changed people as much as brought out their true nature.
That was a sobering and terrifying thought. How many people had been constrained from acting on their twisted desires simply due to the deterrent of the potential time in a state prison or jail? He’d seen enough of that sort of behavior being paraded on the nightly news to almost become desensitized to it all. But at his feet was yet another example of a sick mind allowed to run free and without fear of reprisal.
On the flip side, he looked at these children. Surely all of them could not just claim bad homes or a poor living environment on the actions that had led them to be in that detention center…but now he was seeing more than one of them showing an amazing amount of maturity and ability to handle rough situations.
This had allowed them all the life equivalency of a playground do-over. Many of them were embracing it. Perhaps those who survived this journey—and he held no false illusions about the fact that some would fall along the way—would shape a new world. Perhaps hope was not lost.
“Get everybody bedded down for the night,” Kevin said. He turned and grabbed Derek by the hair and headed outside.
“Where are you going?” Aleah asked, although she knew full well. It was more of a reflexive question than anything else.
“I am going to take out the trash, honey,” he said in a voice dripping with mock pleasantry. “Be back in a jiff…you tuck in the kids and I’ll be back before you know it.”
Aleah bounded over and wrapped her arms around him. Looking up into his eyes, she felt that familiar tingle in her belly. She loved him beyond words. She saw that love being given right back, but she also saw something else. Something…broken and sad.
Kevin kissed her and headed out into the darkness of the night that had spread its blanket over the world once again. A gentle rain fell and a chill in the air reminded that winter was not too far gone. Kevin felt the man he was literally dragging behind him by the hair begin to stir.
The back side of the complex was a maze of stacked pipes of varying diameters. Kevin broke one of their homemade glow sticks. That only reminded him how low they were on supplies and that the need would be exponential now with all of the extra mouths to feed. For the first time, he wondered if perhaps he had bitten off more than he could chew.
As he wandered down an alley between two stacks of pipe that were well over twenty feet high, Kevin stopped at the mid-point and unceremoniously let go of Derek, the man’s head landing with a wet squish in the forming mud. A soft moan accompanied the thud.
“What the…”
a groggy voice asked the darkness.
“Your time is done,” Kevin said.
He didn’t know what he expected exactly. Pleading? Bargaining? What he got was…laughing. Maybe the man had snapped. Kevin didn’t know, but the sound of it was enough to make the hair on his arms stand up.
“What are you gonna do, you scrawny little punk? You gonna kill me?” the man asked. The darkness gave it an eerie effect since it was just a disembodied voice coming from the nothingness.
“Yes, I am,” Kevin finally answered.
That brought a sudden silence. Once more, Kevin thought he might hear begging, bargaining, or perhaps impotent threats. A heavy sigh came.
“Then do it.”
There was so much in those words that Kevin cursed the same darkness that he was initially thankful for, since it would prevent him from having to look into the eyes of a person he was about to murder. Yes, he could call it execution or anything else he liked, but his rational, intellectual mind would always call it what it was in reality: murder.
For a moment, Kevin thought to ask the man a series of questions as to why he had acted the way he had with first the kids, and then Heather. It was something so foreign to him that he could just not comprehend the drive or motivation behind such things. He was a person who hated not knowing the answers.
“You just gonna stand there…you chicken out or something?” Derek’s voice called. “Because if you are just gonna leave me like this…I will get loose and I will do everything I said I’d do…plus some. I ain’t gay or nothing, but I might just give you a work over out of spite, you pathetic little bitch.”