by R. W. Ridley
“‘We should attack them while they’re not expecting it,’ Tyrone said.
“‘Attack?’ I said.
“‘We’re not attacking anything,’ Lou said. She pulled the drawing that Tarek had given her out of her pocket and handed it to Wes.
“‘What’s this?’ he asked.
“‘Saw Tarek and the little guy,’ she said.
“‘Did you now?’ Wes said.
“Valerie squealed. ‘How is Nate?’
“‘Growing like a weed. He drew that,’ she said pointing to the drawing Wes was holding.
“‘Let me see,’ Valerie said taking the drawing from Wes. “The old mechanic scratched his cheek. ‘He’s taken to drawin’ has he?’
“Ajax suddenly became interested in the conversation. He dropped the jar of peanut butter and quickly moved next to Valerie. Kimball pounced on the abandoned jar.
“Ajax peered over Valerie’s shoulder at the drawing. He turned to Lou and signed something to her. She smiled and nodded.
“‘That’s right,’ she said. ‘Cave.’
“‘Told you,’ Little Bobby said.
“‘Oh, yeah,’ Valerie said. ‘I see it.’
“‘No you don’t,’ Tyrone said. ‘You’re just saying that.’ “‘I do too,’ she barked.
“‘Don’t you two start up again,’ Wes groaned. ‘I’ve had it up to here with your bickering.’
“Ajax signed some more.
“‘We will,’ Lou said.
“‘We will what?’ I asked.
“‘Find the cave.’
“‘What cave?’ Wes asked snatching the drawing from Valerie.
“‘This cave?’ He turned the drawing around and showed it to Lou. ‘It’s a brown and black blob. This isn’t a cave. It’s scribbling by a kid... a kid who’s... you know... slow.’
“‘He’s a Storyteller, Wes. He’s trying to tell us where Oz is. I know it.’ Lou took the drawing from Wes and carefully folded it.
“‘Well when you see a cave that looks like a crayon threw up on the side of a mountain, you let me know,’ Wes said. He turned back to the VW bus and resumed his maintenance of the engine.
“‘I know where it is,’ Little Bobby said.
“We all turned to him.
“‘Of course,’ Lou said. ‘He’s a Storyteller.’
“‘Wait a minute,’ I said. ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here.’ I had been traveling with Bobby for weeks. He had boasted about hundreds of exploits that were in retrospect probably not true. I even doubted his stories of racing horses. He clearly worked with horses in some capacity because that’s where we had first met, but as far as him ever racing them, that was most likely a lie. I didn’t want Lou to get her hopes up. I didn’t know much about Storytellers, and what they were capable of, but I knew Bobby better than anyone left on the planet. I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock into anything he said.
“But it was quickly apparent that I could have given Lou a thousand reasons not to believe Little Bobby, and it wouldn’t have done any good. She had made up her mind. Bobby was the answer to finding the cave, and if we found the cave, we found Oz. I went back to chewing my almost unchewable flatbread and hoped that Bobby was telling the truth. I had never met Oz. I had only heard stories of him from Lou and Tyrone and Valerie, but I found myself wanting him here. This creyshaw thing was beginning to freak me out. It carried a lot of responsibility, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever be up to it. If I failed, the Destroyers gained even more power. I could use a mentor and as far as I could tell, Oz was the warrior for the job.
“Lou sat and interrogated Bobby. I should have listened, but I wanted a break from hearing what lay ahead. I stood and walked to the rear of the VW bus where Wes was working on the engine.
“‘Can I talk to you?’ I asked.
“He looked up. ‘What’s on your mind?’
“‘Oz,’ I said.
“Wes stood erect and wiped the grease from his hands with a filthy rag. He raised an eyebrow. ‘What about him?’
“I cleared my throat. ‘Well, as far as I can tell, he’s the only warrior that’s succeeded. He got his Storyteller to his Keeper.’
“‘So far,’ Wes said.
“‘Yeah, so far,’ I agreed.
“‘And?’
“‘How did he do it?’
“Wes smiled. ‘Because he’s a warrior.’
“I shook my head. ‘I don’t know what the means.’
“Wes leaned against the VW bus. ‘A warrior doesn’t fight for himself.’
“‘I know that. They fight for the Storytellers...’
“‘No,’ Wes said. ‘That’s just the end result. A warrior fights to undo a wrong, whether he created the wrong or not.’
“I kicked at a tree root in the ground. ‘I’m not much of a fighter. In fact, I’ve run from just about every fight I could.’ I hesitated before I went on. ‘I hid out.’
“Wes shrugged. ‘Hid out?’
“‘In my garage. When... they came through our neighborhood. I heard them in my house. I knew my wife and son were in there, but I didn’t do anything to save them. I froze. I let them take my family.’ I sighed deeply. ‘I’ve never said that out loud before.’
“Wes chewed his bottom lip. ‘Then I’d say you’re the perfect warrior.’
“Perplexed,” I asked, ‘Why?’
“He lifted himself off the VW bus. ‘Because you definitely have some wrongs to undo.’ He went back to fiddling with the engine.
“‘Thanks,’ I said sincerely.
“‘For what?’ he asked without looking up.
“‘For not telling me what I did was normal. That anybody else would have done the same thing.’
“He looked up, thought about a response, and then just simply nodded.
“My head hung low, I walked away and looked for a spot to sit and think. I scanned the small clearing and marveled at how relaxed the atmosphere was. April was braiding Valerie’s hair. Tyrone looked on with a childlike wonder at April’s skill. Ajax and Kimball were playing. Lou was questioning Bobby. Everyone had a place. They fit perfectly as if this was always supposed to be. A knot formed in my stomach. If I had agreed to join Lou and the others back at the greenhouse, Tank would still be alive. I had made a decision that cost another man his life. I had a lot of wrongs to undo.
“I sat on a fallen tree at the edge of the clearing and thought about the day I hid in my garage. I tried not to, but the memory forced itself upon me. I couldn’t hold it back.
***
“The wind swirled outside my bedroom. It carried a driving rain that pelted thick droplets of water against the window. I watched it with an unusual interest. Birmingham had been without electricity for three days at the time, and I was bored beyond belief. My son was asleep, and my wife and I had talked until we didn’t have anything new to say to each other. So I watched the rain. I was amazed at the power with which it struck the glass. There were times I was sure a crack would develop from the pressure of the hit, but one never appeared. Each raindrop made its own unique sound against the window, whack, thud, pop, thwack.
“My wife was the one who suggested I go into the garage and get a board game to pass the time. She sat on the edge of the bed with me and found the rain less fascinating than I did. She sat with her chin on my shoulder and tried to share my enchantment, but she couldn’t take more than two minutes of it before she suggested we play Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit or whatever, just anything but watching the rain.
“I resisted at first. I was in a peculiar trance that made me feel more relaxed than I had felt since the world had come to an end. I didn’t want to give that up. But she insisted, jokingly at first. She playfully punched me in the arm, nibbled my ear, pinched my side. She finally pushed me with a force that suggested that she was doing more than proposing that we play a game to pass the time. She was insisting that we play a board game to make our lives somehow normal again.
“I stood in a huff and sai
d something harsh, more harsh than I intended. She was hurt by my reaction. She had no idea how precious that last moment had been to me. There was no reason she should have. I wasn’t the type of person to share my feelings with other people, not even my wife. There was no one on the planet I was closer to, but I didn’t want to burden her with the up and down nature of my moods. I pretended to be happy when I wasn’t. I pretended not to worry when I did. I pretended to be strong when I was far from it. Pretending was something I did very well. It was my greatest talent.
“I exited the bedroom, immediately missed the rain, and quickly headed for the living room on my way to the garage. I could get a look at the rain from that window. It was on the backside of the house and it would give me a different view point. When I reached the window, I was surprised to see the rain had picked up in intensity. It was coming down in sheets. I could barely make out the world outside the house. I peered through the waterfall of rain and saw a group of people standing in my neighbors’, Harriet and Jim Compton’s, yard. Their features were distorted by the blurry perspective of the water-covered glass. I counted a dozen people dressed in black. I put my hands on the window and formed a tunnel to try and focus on the group. Two of them were dragging something. I wiped at the glass, but it did nothing. A pulse of rain washed away a clear spot, and I could make out what they were dragging. Harriet Compton.
“I backed away from the window and dropped to the floor. My heart was racing. I scooted backwards to the wall. A black shape passed outside the window followed by another and another. I pushed myself along the floor against the wall, scurrying to get out of view if someone should look in the window. I turned the corner of the wall and pulled myself up. The front door rattled. I peeked around and saw the doorknob moving. I looked around for a weapon, anything, even if it was a thick book or a rolled up magazine. Nothing. I breathed in. I told myself to exhale and make a dash for the bedroom. The group of invaders started to push against the door. They would break through at any second. I had to act quickly. I took a half step forward and heard the wood panel of the door splinter and give way. I turned and saw the door to the garage. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t just leave my wife and child to fend for themselves.
“I tried to will myself to turn back around, but I saw my hand reach out and grab the doorknob. I tried to pull it away, but I had no control of my body. Quickly and quietly I opened the door and moved into the garage. They were in the house. I could hear them muttering amongst themselves. I ran to the water heater and settled in behind it, wedging myself between its cold metal frame and the unfinished garage wall.
“I closed my eyes when I heard my wife scream, and I covered my ears when I heard my son cry. I never once found the courage to even stand. I prayed they would find me so I would pay for my cowardice, but they never even looked in the garage. I sat there and listened to them drag my family out of the house.
***
“Ajax and Lou approached me in the mid-afternoon. I had fallen asleep somewhere along the line, but it was a restless and pointless sleep. I wasn’t exactly refreshed and ready to carry on a conversation with a fifteen year-old girl and 400-pound gorilla.
“‘We need to talk about our next move,’ Lou said.
“‘You people have done this before,” I said through a yawn. ‘I was counting on you to tell me what to do.’
“Ajax went through a series of signs.
“‘Ajax thinks we should head for the high country. There’s a band of gorillas that can help us.’
“‘Gorillas?’ I said. ‘Like him?’
“Lou nodded and watched Ajax sign something. She smiled. ‘He says there’s only one Ajax, but there’s a colony of apes in the mountains of South Carolina, a place called Saluda. They may be able to help us find your Keeper.’
“‘Any chance they’ve got a phone and we can just call?’ I asked with a smile. They didn’t respond. ‘Not even a banana phone, huh?’ Again no response. ‘Okay, Saluda, here we come.’
“Wes joined our group. ‘We’re going to have to walk it. The VW has finally kicked the old bucket. For the best, really. It was getting harder and harder to find a clear road to travel.’ He looked over his shoulder at the little bus. ‘Still, she did her part. Gotta say that for her.’ He choked back a tear.
“Lou caressed his arm. ‘It’s not going to be the same without her.’
“I snickered louder than I intended. Lou glared at me. ‘Sorry,’ I said.
“Wes returned the snicker. ‘I know it’s stupid to get all choked up over a car, but it was the last thing we had that was the way it used to be.’
“I looked at the fat little van and felt like a heel for not seeing it before. I had no right to make fun of them. They were saying goodbye to more than a car. They were saying goodbye to their old lives.
“‘So,’ I said. ‘Just how far is this Saluda place?’
“Wes sniffed and gave the question some thought. ‘I’d say about 270 miles or so.’
“I looked at Ajax. ‘Don’t suppose you got any gorilla friends any closer.’
“The ape shook his massive head and hooted.
“‘Never hurts to ask,’ I said. ‘Without a car, that’ll take some time.’
“‘If we can get in a good solid eight hours of walking a day, it should take us nine days,’ Wes said. ‘But that ain’t taking time for trouble into account. I’d say we should be there in two weeks, three weeks maybe.’
“‘Three weeks?’ I groaned. ‘What kind of trouble are you expecting?’
“‘It’d be easier to say what kind of trouble I’m not expecting,’ he answered.
***
“The next morning we all gathered around the green and yellow VW bus. Wes gave her a pat and thanked her for her service. Valerie kissed her hood and Tyrone gently tapped the front passenger-side tire with his foot. Lou gutted her of all the supplies. She handed out weapons to everyone: crossbows, knives, fireworks. No guns. I had learned myself that at best they only worked occasionally and at worst something could go terribly wrong and blow your hand off. Wes took this as another sign that the Délons were losing control. I hadn’t noticed until now that Lou was without the sword she’d had when we first met.
“‘Lost it to those creeps back at the community,’ she said when I asked her about it. ‘I’ll get it back. You can count on it.’
“‘You think we’ll run into them again,’ I said hoping the answer would be yes.
“‘Please, I’ve seen jerks like Carl before. He’s got too much ego to just let us slip away.’
“‘Good,’ I said.
“She grabbed my arm. ‘The best way to screw this thing up is to let revenge get into the way of your job. Got it?’
“I nodded, but I didn’t mean it. She knew it, too, but she let it go.
“‘April,’ she yelled.
“April looked shocked at hearing her name called. She quickly walked over to us. ‘Yeah?’
“Lou handed her a crossbow and a quiver of arrows. ‘You’re taking point with me. From now on, you’re going to have on-the-job training.’
“‘Training for what?’ April asked.
“‘War,’ Lou responded nonchalantly.
“April handed the crossbow back to Lou. ‘No thanks. I’ll just be the designated cook or something.’
“Lou rammed the crossbow into April’s chest. ‘We all cook. We all fight.’
“‘Ahhh, no,’ April said with her best Southern drawl. ‘I don’t fight, okay. I’ll do the girl stuff.’ She dropped the crossbow on the ground.
“Valerie and Tyrone started to giggle. Wes propped his foot up on the bumper of the now defunct VW bus and smiled. Even Ajax and Kimball looked on wide-eyed. They were all enjoying this. I felt a need to intervene.
“‘Maybe she’s right,’ I said to Lou. ‘I don’t think she’d be much help in a fight.’
“Lou looked at me crossly. ‘Did you not hear me use the word training?’ She removed an arrow from the quiver arou
nd her shoulder.
“‘In case you haven’t noticed,’ April said. ‘I’m older than you. You can’t tell me what to do. I’m in college... or I was.’
“‘Fine,’ Lou said loading the arrow into the crossbow. ‘You want to do girl stuff?’ She pointed the crossbow at April. ‘Then you’ll do girl stuff.’
“‘Lou, what are you doing?’ I asked.
“April held her breath and raised up on her toes. ‘Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.’
“‘Put the crossbow down, Lou,’ I said. I stopped short of stepping between the razor sharp arrow and April. ‘Please.’ The others watched with the same amused expressions they had before. Only Little Bobby seemed as concerned as April and me.
“Without saying another word, Lou pulled the trigger. I watched with a morbid curiosity as the arrow headed straight for April. She stood frozen in time. The arrow zoomed through her hair and struck something in the woods directly behind her. I heard a pained squeal as a Dac collapsed to the ground with the arrow sticking out of its throat.
“Lou tossed the crossbow to April. ‘Walking point. Killing Dacs and anything else that’s not human, that’s girl stuff, clear?’
“April stood with her mouth open in an ‘O’ shape. She swallowed, hugged the crossbow she’d once rejected, and nodded.
“Tyrone jumped up in the air. ‘Nice shot, Lou!’ He ran over to the fallen Dac. ‘Fox Dac,’ he said. He pulled a notepad out of his pocket and wrote something down. ‘That makes three.’
“‘Four,’ Valerie shouted. ‘There was that one in Winchester.’
“‘That was a cat Dac,’ he said.
“‘No it wasn’t,’ Valerie responded. She joined Tyrone standing over the slain Dac. They continued their argument in quieter tones.
“I felt obligated to say something comforting to April and approached her with every intention of doing so, but when I reached her all I could think to say was, ‘I guess girl stuff ain’t girl stuff anymore.’