Born in the Apocalypse 2: State of Ruin

by Joseph Talluto

“Jesus!” The man who was approaching Judy jerked suddenly and his hand slipped under his coat. I moved my hand to the butt of my gun and waited for him to figure out what he wanted to do.

  The move was not lost on the man, who looked to be about thirty. He was a little shorter than I was, with sandy blonde hair and very bright eyes. He smiled at me, and it seemed to be a genuine smile, except for the fact that it didn’t reach past his mouth.

  “Whoa, kid. You scared me there. Thought you might be a Tripper,” he said. He pulled his hand away from his coat.

  “Trippers don’t talk,” I said, keeping my hand on my gun. “You need something?” I walked over to Judy’s picket pin and pulled it out of the ground, walking her back into the garage so I could put her saddle on her. I kept her between me and the man. I didn’t get a bad vibe off of him, except that he seemed unusually interested in Judy.

  “I could use a ride, and when I saw your horse just standing there, I thought my luck had changed for the better,” the man said. “My name’s Kevin. You are…?”

  “Josh. Take one of the bikes over there. They should get you where you want to go.” I said, pointing to the corner where two well-kept bicycles stood at the ready.

  Kevin looked at the bikes, and went over to them. The first one was a girl’s bike, which he put aside to take out the second one. It had an attachment for putting a basket on it, and Kevin quickly located the basket.

  “These are great! Thanks!” Kevin put his pack on the rack and tied it down. He located a bike pump and managed to inflate the tires while I saddled Judy and got my gear situated. I watched Kevin get on the bike and start to ride off. He stopped about fifty yards off.

  “Hey, Josh!”

  “What?”

  “Where you headed?”

  “West.”

  “Why?”

  “Already been east,” I said.

  Kevin smiled. “Good answer. Luck on your journey!” He turned and rode off, heading out and down the road. I hoped he wouldn’t run into the Trippers I had left on the bridge. He seemed like a decent sort, much better than what I normally ran into. I finished saddling Judy and once all my gear was in place I mounted up again and we headed west, the rising sun illuminating our way with brilliant orange and yellow hues.

  Chapter 15

  Two weeks later, I rode up on the outskirts of Rockford. Judy and I had traveled overland, and avoided most towns and cities. I must have been in every farmhouse from here to Aurora, and in all, I had to say it was a pretty nice trip. The weather cooperated, only dousing me once in the open, and the scavenging was pretty decent. I found some more dried goods, a very small semi-automatic pistol that came with a nearly full box of ammunition, and a couple of bowie knives. I wasn’t interested in them, as my own knife was better, and besides, I’d never trade away the knife my father gave me.

  The land was open around the city, with large tracks of farmland. Over on a hill, I could see several herds of cattle and sheep. I was amazed there were no walls, and the only defenses in sight were several small towers to look over the land. I rode in unchallenged, and as I got closer, I dismounted and led Judy in by the reins. I figured a welcoming committee would come to meet me soon enough, as visitors were not all that common these days.

  Sure enough, three men came riding out on horses, and Judy perked right up. I stopped walking and waited for them to arrive.

  “Howdy!” The lead man was an older gentleman, with a graying beard and dark, deep-set eyes. He sat on his horse like it was an extension of himself, and I figured he knew a fair bit about riding.

  I looked at all three men before responding. No one was putting a hand near a weapon, at least none that I could see, so I figured this might work out better than the last damn town I travelled to. “Howdy,” I replied cautiously.

  “Name’s Brewster, Mack Brewster, Sheriff of Rockford. My deputies here are Tobin McGrath and Dave Hewitt,” Brewster said. His deputies nodded their heads at me but otherwise stayed in the background.

  “Josh Andrews, nice to meet you.” I looked around. “Nice place you have here.”

  Mack nodded. “We do what we can with what we have. Figure if we’re the last ones out here, we need to make a stand of it. You planning on staying or passing through?”

  I shrugged. “Passing through, mostly, but if there’s a reason to stay, I might be persuaded.”

  Mack looked over Judy. “Two guns and a bow. You any good with either?”

  I nodded. “I’m better with the bow, but I’m pretty good with the guns.”

  Mack’s deputy, McGrath, a man of large girth chimed in. “Hell, if you’re sorta good we can use you.”

  Mack looked over his shoulder then back at me. “We’ll talk. I’m glad you have your own weapons. Makes it easier all around.”

  Before I could respond, a bell began chiming. I looked behind me and saw a watchtower raise a red flag. About a hundred yards in front of the tower, coming out of a small grove of trees, was a large Tripper. It stumbled this way and that way, but remained steady on its course. It was about two hundred yards away and closing fast.

  “Shit, here comes another one!” Hewitt, the other deputy spoke up.

  Sure enough, another Tripper was coming out of the woods. This one was smaller and looked to be a lot faster than it’s companion.

  “Josh, you’ll have to excuse…What the hell?” Mack swore, and then swore again. “I’ll be damned.”

  When I saw the first Tripper, I took my bow off Judy and an arrow out of my quiver. I measured the first Tripper and fired at where I expected his head to be on his next step. The arrow streaked through the air, wavering on the wind like I thought it would, and punched through the infected man’s skull like a spike from heaven.

  The second one walked steadily forward, and I took another arrow out and waited. The Tripper kept coming, and I was a little startled to see it was actually a woman, not a man like I had originally thought.

  Oh, well. I always figured by killing them I was ending their nightmare of an existence. Sometimes I wondered if the real person was locked away somewhere in their subconscious, watching their bodies wander the earth killing and eating whoever they find.

  I raised my bow and fired, killing the Tripper with an arrow through its eye. It actually took three steps forward, with its head tilted back before it crashed to the ground.

  I put my bow away and looked back at McGrath. “Can I stick around for a while?” I asked.

  McGrath grinned. “We might not let you leave!”

  Mack Brewster shook his head and nodded. “I think we can make some room for you here, Josh, and you can decide if you want to stay or not. Tobin will set you up with a place and once you’re settled in, come on by my office and we’ll talk. Fair enough?”

  It was the best offer I had in a long two weeks and I said so. I got back into the saddle and followed Deputy McGrath into the town proper.

  Chapter 16

  Rockford covered a huge area, and everywhere I looked I saw signs of life. The homes were well kept, there were children running around, and it seemed like there were even tradesmen with shops and items to trade. I didn’t need anything at the moment, but I did notice on my way in there was a library that I might be tempted to explore.

  The one thing I saw here, more than most places I had been, was hope. This town had survived, and more to the point, it had thrived, and I was very curious how it managed to do so. I asked my guide as we walked along.

  “Well, that’s a simple thing really,” McGrath said. “Our former mayor was a history buff, and when things were going bad, he decided we needed to protect ourselves the way the ancient Spartans did.”

  “Come again?” I knew who the Spartans were, thanks to my mother’s history lessons and my own reading, but I failed to grasp the parallel with the current situation.

  “We don’t have any walls, in case you hadn’t noticed,” McGrath said. “Take too long to build and if you’re a successful community, they don’t
contain you for long. So we followed the example of the Spartans, who didn’t have walls either. Every citizen of Sparta was armed, or knew how to use a weapon.” McGrath pointed over to the people we passed. “Every single one of them is armed. It’s required. That’s why we were grateful you had your own guns. Although,” Tobin said with a smile, “I think I’d rather face you with a gun in your hand than that bow. You pick that up against me, I know I’m dead.”

  I liked Tobin. He had an easy way about him that I was sure made him take calm charge in situations that required it. Who knew? I might just stay here for a bit, then head back to home to get Kim and bring her here.

  “Here we go. This section of town is for newcomers. All of the homes are clean and dry, and the garages have been cleared of cars so you can stable your horse if you need to. Water is by pump, and there should be one in your backyard. Every third house has one, and I’m skipping a few homes to make sure you get one.” Tobin winked. “Kind of a thank you for killing them Trippers.”

  “Obliged.” I got off Judy and went up to the house, opening the garage. Judy walked right in like she owned the place.

  I turned to McGrath. “Where can I get feed for her? Do I need to trade for it?”

  McGrath shook his head. “Up the street, around the corner. There’s a hay bale pile and a wagon. Take what you need and make sure to bring the wagon back. We all help out in our best ways. One of the residents likes making hay bales for some reason, so he makes sure the feed piles are always full and rotated.”

  “Okay. Thanks. After I settle in, you want me to come find you guys and talk, or what?” I asked.

  “We’ll come to you. We know where you are.” Tobin winked again and pulled his horse’s head around, moving back into town.

  I watched him go for a minute and then Judy came back out, bumping me with her head.

  I took her nose and patted her neck. “Seems almost too good to be true, girl. We’ll need to make sure everything is okay before we trust anybody.” I took her back into the garage and closed the door.

  Chapter 17

  I settled in for the most part, but I kept things ready to go just in case I needed to move quickly. I spent a week at the house by myself, reading the books I brought with me, taking Judy out for long strolls through the town, and practicing my archery at a hale bale I set up. I kept my practice at a hundred and fifty paces, sending arrow after arrow streaking through the air. I tried going faster and faster, and my accuracy suffered for it, but I was still able to hit the hay bale. I also practiced my draw, and got more familiar with my little pistol. It was a Colt Automatic, a .25 caliber gun, small enough to fit in my pocket. The magazine held six rounds, and the bullets were the smallest I had ever seen that weren’t .22’s. I wasn’t sure how useful it would ever be, but I made a small holster out of an extra piece of deer hide and the little gun rode on my belt directly above my right butt cheek.

  On the ninth day, Mack Brewster paid me a visit. It was evening, and the weather had been amazingly good for that time of year. Normally, it would be rainy and cool, but for some reason, we were blessed with meteorological magic.

  “Evening Josh!” Mack bellowed from his horse. “How you gettin’ along?”

  “Evening, Sheriff. Getting along fine, thank you. I appreciate the lodgings and the privacy,” I said.

  “Good, good. You busy right now?” Mack asked.

  “Nope. You need me?”

  “Former Mayor Blake Rutledge, and current Council President Blake Rutledge, would like to talk to you,” Mack said with a slight flourish of his hand. “I’m to fetch you if you’re free.”

  “Give me a minute and I’ll be right with you,” I said.

  “Take your time. I’m in no hurry and his honor ain’t going nowheres, anyway,” Mack said with a lift of his eyebrow.

  I belted on my gun and shrugged into my coat. As I was leaving the house, Brewster stopped me.

  “Begging your pardon, Josh, but I was told to ask you to bring your archery kit,” Mack said.

  I shrugged. “No problem. One more minute.”

  We were on our way in less time than that, and as we went through the more populated neighborhoods, I could see some people looking me over. I could almost see their thoughts, wondering who I was, why was I with the sheriff, and so on and so on. I was a stranger, so this was to be expected. I tried to imagine what they saw when I rode past, and after a few miserable ideas about my looks, I stopped that.

  We entered the city proper, and while many of the homes were occupied, many more were not. I asked Brewster about it and he shook his head.

  “Lot of folks panicked when the world went dark. Those with families elsewhere or over the wall took off to try and be with them or get to them. Suffice it to say that we’ve never had one come back. Ever,” he said.

  The homes gave way to rows of businesses, and I could see several that were the result of people taking over where the old one left off. I really didn’t think in the old world that there was a store that sold clothing and animal feed supplies in the same place. I wondered how they did commerce here and asked Mack about it.

  “Mostly it’s trade, although we do have a few coins here and there. The stuff from before the fall is mostly useless, but the older coins, anything before 1964 were nearly all silver, so they have some value. Some people have some gold and silver coins they use, but most people just trade. Either goods or services.” Brewster shifted in the saddle. “Things are actually approaching normal.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” I asked.

  “Just this, son. Every time I think things will be just fine, the world tends to collapse inward. And usually, I wind up picking up the pieces,” Mack said.

  “You could just move on,” I said.

  “Not that easy, son. Someday you’ll see.”

  “Maybe.”

  We reached a large house just off a winding brick road. The homes were very large around here, mostly of a Victorian style. I’d seen the type in a lot of small towns that were well off the beaten path. Mostly farm towns that had a few people still living in them, but chances were pretty good they were the same way before the Trippers began their long march across the state.

  As I walked up the path towards the building, all thoughts of Trippers and towns and damn near everything else flew out of my head. Sitting on a swing on the porch was a girl. She was about my age, with long auburn hair that hung down below her shoulders in lazy curls. Even from this distance, I could see she had blue eyes, and those eyes watched me as I walked up the path. I didn’t look away, I just met her gaze until she was the one who looked away with a small smile on her face.

  When I reached the bottom of the stairs to the porch, I stopped. I looked up at the man standing at the top of the stairs. He was a tall man, with white hair and dark eyes. His bearing was proud, but I didn’t see much on him that should have given him his pride. I stood tall because I knew who I was and what I was capable of. I had a feeling this man had been blessed with a lot of luck that gave him a sense of superiority. At least, that was my first impression. I could only guess what his first impression of me was.

  “You must be Joshua. I am Blake Rutledge.” His voice was deep, almost hypnotic. I could see he was a man used to getting what he wanted, likely through the persuasive power of his arguments. My dad used to tell me about a sergeant he knew that was like that. He could argue a confession out of the most hardened of criminals.

  “Just Josh is fine. Nice to meet you,” I said, stepping up onto the stairs. I reached the top and looked Blake in the eye. “Nice house.”

  Blake’s eyes narrowed, and I could see he didn’t like me stepping up onto his territory. I could also see he especially didn’t like my being as tall as he was. His eyes traveled over my shoulders and lingered a bit on my weapons.

  “Are you any good with that bow?” Blake asked.

  “Mr. Rutledge, I get the distinct impression you know most of what goes on around here. I’m sure you know what I
did with this bow when I arrived, and I am sure you are aware of my practice. So, even though you don’t need the answer, yes, I am good with my bow,” I said.

  A faint giggle reached my ears and I looked over at the girl who was smiling behind her hand. She straightened up at her father’s glare, then looked out over the lawn, away from me.

  “Well put, Joshua,” Blake said. “I heard you’re good. I’d like an example of your skill.”

  I pulled an arrow out of my quiver and nocked it. “What’s the target?” Truth be known, I was just wanting to show off for the girl. Something inside me turned upside down when she looked at me, much more than anything I had ever felt around Kim.

  Rutledge picked up an apple from a bowl and threw it across the yard. It bounced once and was suddenly pinned to a tree with an arrow.

  “Whew! Nice shot, Josh!” Mack said. He was standing on the lawn, behind the two of us.

  I shrugged. “Rabbit heads aren’t much larger and they jump about the same.”

  “Indeed,” Rutledge said. “Tell me, Joshua, are you as good with your other weapons?”

  “I hit what I’m aiming at.” I slung my bow over my back and waited.

  “You’re modest, strange for one so young,” Blake said. “How old are you, anyway?”

  “Fifteen, I think. How long have the Trippers been around?” I asked.

  “Sixteen years come summer,” Brewster said.

  “Then I’m fifteen, about to be sixteen,” I said.

  “Then you have no memory of life before the world ending?”

  “Nope. This world is normal to me,” I said simply.

  “Let’s talk inside. Come on in, Brewster.” Blake turned and walked into the house, holding the door for the sheriff and myself.

  The girl got off the swing and walked over as I was going inside.

  “I’m Cindy. Nice to meet you, Josh.” Her voice was high but very nice. She held out her hand.

  I took it and held it gently for a second. “Same here, Cindy. Same here.”