by Kip Nelson
“He's in us,” Hank said, “and you may think you're stronger and smarter than us, but it's easy to be seduced by the devil.”
“Oh, no, mister preacher man, you've got it all wrong. There's no devil in me. I haven't been corrupted or anything. This is just one hundred per cent genuine Peter. But you know what? I am a product of your world. Whatever I am, you made me this. Your failures brought this world upon us, and it just so happens I have been able to see a way forward while all of you have been trying to put it back together. It can't be put back together, so you should stop praying to God because he's not going to listen. The only thing that will help you now is to listen to me.”
Hank sighed. “I pity you, Peter. I wish you could feel the warmth of the Lord's touch, and let him into your heart. It saddens me to hear you speak that way because the truth of it is there have been other men like you. You're not a revolutionary, and while the amount of faith you place in yourself is admirable, I feel it would be better placed elsewhere. We are not deluding ourselves in trying to repair the world. The thing about faith is that it binds us, and makes us stronger as a community. You can live whatever way you want, but the path you choose is to live alone, and that is not a path I wish to walk.”
“You dare pity me?” Peter said, his voice rising as he became more incensed. “I should be the one pitying you, preacher, for believing in the things you do, for standing up there and spouting your lies to all these other fools.”
“They're not lies!” Mindy said, rushing forward to Hank's defense.
But the moment she approached Peter his hand whirled around and slapped her hard. The crack echoed through the hall, and everyone was stunned. Hank leaped down from the stage and stood in between Peter and Mindy, who was cradling her stinging cheek. Peter quickly drew his gun, pointed it at Hank, and cackled.
“You see? God has no place here. You all need to get with the times and let go of the world you used to know. There's no place for it anymore. You're in my world now, and the sooner you accept that the better off you'll be.” With that he holstered his gun and turned away, laughing to himself as he walked through the crowd and back out into the open air. As soon as he was gone Hank turned to Mindy and checked that she was okay. She nodded.
“It's more the shock than anything. He's a monster, Hank, what are we going to do?”
Hank clenched his jaw. “We're going to trust in our Lord, and we're going to have faith. Peter can shoot his mouth off all he wants, but he's never going to make me believe that there's nothing more out there for us. I know in my heart that what I say is true, and he is not going to shake my convictions,” he said loudly, and his words resonated with all of them. Unlike Mack and Maggie and some of the others, Hank was not the first to take up arms; his weapon was his faith in the Lord, and he would use that to the best of his ability. He would see Peter taken down from his pedestal before his time was through.
Back in the infirmary, Freddie was tending to the wounded. There was a gloom about the place as they all had heard what had happened. In the intervening time, there had been some Lost Children who came to investigate and make sure nobody was hiding any weapons. It was a surreal experience as they all acted far older than they actually were. Freddie had tried talking to some of them, but they ignored him, treating him as though he wasn't even there.
“I hate this,” Luis said, hitting the pillow with his head. “I should be out there helping, not lying in here helpless.”
“I understand what you're saying, but what do you think you really would be able to do? We can't fight back, so all you'd be doing is getting yourself in trouble,” Freddie replied.
“I know, but it still doesn't make it any easier.”
“The best thing you can do right now is focus on getting better. Then, when the time comes, you'll be ready to help. Right now, things are looking bad, but we'll find a way out of this.”
“We always do,” Luis said, and the two of them grew silent.
Both their minds were on their companions. They knew that the other times they had been in difficult situations Mack, Maggie, and Grace had been with them. Without them they felt lost, and hoped that soon they would return with some kind of a plan, for those three were their last hope.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mack gasped for breath as he wiped the blood from his mouth and licked his bruised lips. He ached all over and all he wanted to do was collapse on the ground and sleep for a thousand years. The echo of bullets still careened in his ears, and the stench of death filled his nostrils. Before him lay the limp, dead bodies of the enemy. The man he had defeated in combat lay on the ground at his feet. Mack hadn't wanted to kill, but the man had insisted, and when it came down to the choice between him or Mack, there was no choice. Mack had gained no satisfaction from it, though, nor from the massacre that they had carried out, although, again, they had had really had no choice.
The deal had been for the victor to dictate terms to the people of the loser, but the enemies had not heeded that deal and had charged toward them as soon as their leader had fallen. They were bloodthirsty and wanted to tear apart Mack and his companions. However, because of the way they had been packed so tightly into the narrow street, they hadn't been able to fire their guns without risking their allies. So, it had been easy for Grace, Maggie, and the others to unload a volley of bullets into the crowd, until none of them were left standing.
Some would have said that these people didn't deserve to be mourned for all the suffering they had caused, yet Mack couldn't help but be filled with grief for them. If only they had been willing to talk about things this bloodshed could have been avoided. Lifeless eyes stared back at him, while hands still clutched their weapons as though, even in death, they were beholden to the way they had lived.
Mack breathed heavily as Grace came up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist. She pulled out some water and lifted the bottle to his lips. He coughed, for his throat was sore, but he gulped down the water.
“I was worried about you for a while there,” she said.
“I was, too,” Mack replied, trying to smile, but it turned into a wince.
The man he fought had been a formidable opponent with great strength, and it had taken everything Mack had to emerge victorious. The mood among them was somber, for although they had dealt with this threat, they all knew there were others out there, and none of them were glad to have taken this many lives. The small group gathered around Mack and supported him as they made their way back to the horses. The bodies had been gathered into one pile and already was attracting rats and other scavengers. The small animals swarmed over the dead flesh, and soon the pile looked as though it was moving as the animals burrowed in between the bodies, moving below the surface. In Mack's mind the fight flashed before him, every blow he suffered, every punch he threw, and that final moment when he had snapped the other man's neck, pulling the life out of his body.
He closed his eyes, physically and mentally exhausted. He wondered what Anna would think if she could see him now. This world was changing him, forcing him to tread the line between justice and unwarranted violence. Was killing that man the right thing to do? It certainly saved more lives, but Mack never would feel good about killing anyone. It was a weight that he had to bear, not something to be joyful about. This day would live long in his memory for it reminded him of the war. He had tried leaving that life behind, but perhaps it was impossible. Perhaps he was destined never to see Anna again, and he should become a man of war. Perhaps that was his destiny. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the photo of Anna. It was so scratched and faded by now he barely could make her out, but his love for her still burned in his heart. How he wished she was close by, to touch her, and feel her close to him.
“Things on your mind?” Grace asked.
“Nothing good,” Mack said. “I just was wondering that if I even did find Anna again, would we be able to love one another? So much has happened...would we still be able to recognize each
other? Would we be the same people we fell in love with?”
Grace reached out a hand and squeezed his arm. “I don't know her, but I do know you, and I don't think you've changed as much as you think you have. You're still compassionate, you still look out for other people's lives ahead of yours. I imagine that was the man she fell in love with, and that's who she's going to see when the two of you meet again.”
“Remember when you used to be a pessimist?” he said, laughing softly. Grace laughed, too.
“Yeah, well, I guess some of us change for the better,” she said as he helped Mack get on his horse.
He, Grace, and Maggie rode out in front as the others followed behind, each of them looking warily out at the city as they all knew that any kind of danger could be waiting for them. Thankfully, none of them had lost their lives, but all of them had lost a little part of themselves. It had been so easy to gun down the onrushing enemy; there was no challenge to it. Each of them had to remember the sight of bodies falling down in front of them. It was something that never was going to leave them.
They saw a colorful bird fly overhead. It wasn't common, and Mack and Grace looked at it, puzzled. “Where did that come from?” Grace asked.
“Must be from the zoo,” Maggie said after a few moments, a sudden realization coming over her. “I'd completely forgotten about that. Yeah, the animals must have escaped.”
“Great, so we're going to have be dealing with lions as well?” Grace asked.
“It was on the outskirts of downtown, but I guess they could have found their way to this area. Just another thing to deal with, I guess,” Maggie said.
“This place really has turned into a jungle,” Grace said.
“We'd better make it back to the settlement as quickly as possible. We're vulnerable while we're out here,” Mack said.
The group increased their pace as they returned to the settlement. Mack's head was throbbing, but he tried pushing away the pain, knowing it was only temporary. The wounds he suffered were mostly superficial and would heal on their own, but he would be glad for some medical assistance from Freddie or Mindy. The horses trotted through the streets, their hooves echoing as they clopped against the asphalt. With that threat dealt with, Mack could breathe a sigh of relief. At least the settlement wasn't going to be attacked again, and hopefully by the time they returned the place had been cleaned up. Overhead, the bird disappeared from view, becoming a small black dot as it flew further away and then moved out of sight completely. Mack envied that creature, able to go wherever it wanted. He wished he could feel the freedom of the sky.
After a time, Grace and Maggie rode closer to him to talk about certain matters.
“Are you sure you're okay, Mack?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah, I imagine it looks worse than it is. It's not the first fight I've been in, and I doubt it will be the last. I'm just glad we can put all that behind us and focus on the future,” he said.
“But what is the future going to mean? Do you have any plans? We've been so focused on dealing with those people we haven't really given much thought about what to do after tomorrow. I have to admit I'm kinda getting tired of living day by day,” Grace said.
“I am, too,” Mack said, “Which is why I've been giving it some thought. As much as I hate to admit it that group isn't going to be the last threat we encounter. The Lost Children are still out there, and who knows what else. The settlement lost a lot of people, so we're weakened, and that means there are fewer people to take care of the community as well.”
“And what have you been thinking?” Maggie asked.
“Before we left I asked Bob about the rest of the city. He said there were a few other communities out there, and I think we should make an effort to introduce ourselves. There have to be other people out there suffering like us, wondering when there's going to be any sign of relief. I think it's about time we tried finding some people who are going to be our allies rather than our enemies.”
“Aren’t you afraid we're just going to run into more people who are going to give us trouble?” Maggie asked.
“That's always a risk, but we can't continue on our own. We need to make allies, and welcome new people into the settlement. The people left in this city are divided and scared. If we're to have any hope of making it through this world, we're going to have to unite them and bring them into the fold. It's not going to be easy because they'll probably be as skeptical as us, but at some point, we're going to have to start trusting other groups, just like we trusted each other when we first met.”
Maggie blushed a little as she thought back to that day in the forest when she had come upon Mack wrestling with a bear, and how she hadn't exactly been the quickest to trust Mack and the others. Yet, in time she had grown to think of them as family, and perhaps the same would be true of people who, at the moment, were strangers.
“I've been thinking as well,” Grace said. Mack and Maggie looked at her with interest. Although she was far younger than the other two, they had come to see her as an equal, and she really had flourished as she had been given more responsibility.
“I think people could use a bit more guidance. At the moment, we're so focused on rebuilding things there hasn't been a time for people to explore the way they can live in this world. I mean, think about it. There's no economy, so we don't have to think about taxes or anything. There's plenty of room for people, and as long as we can keep growing and gathering food, we don't have to worry about providing for people. So, for once, we're actually free. I'm thinking about people making art, singing, writing stories, and the things that have been lost since we all have been so focused on surviving. I think we need to stop that and start living again.”
Maggie and Mack raised their eyebrows at each other, impressed. “I think that's a great idea,” Mack said.
“We are going to have to think about all these things. And we're going to have to put together a formal council as well, so we can talk about what's best for the community and make decisions as a group. The last thing I want is for people to think that I'm running a dictatorship and, well, at some point in the future I'm going to have to leave,” he said, and a tense silence enveloped them.
With all that had been going on they hadn't really spoken about the future beyond the city. Mack never had made a secret of his desire to be on his way and find Anna, and Grace always had said she always would be by his side, but they had spent so much effort and time getting to know the people in the settlement it was beginning to feel like home. The thought of leaving it was hard to imagine.
However, Maggie and Grace didn't have a chance to respond as they heard someone approaching them; frantic footsteps pounding the pavement. Mack held up his hand and they all stopped, drawing their weapons. The figure rounded some buildings and came up to them. Instantly their weapons dropped as they saw Tristan come up to them, looking completely exhausted. Maggie jumped down from her horse and went to embrace him. As soon as her arms wrapped around his body he collapsed in tears. Maggie held his shaking body close to her, making soothing noises and stroking his head to try calming him down.
Mack and Grace shared worried glances as they assumed something had happened back at the settlement. After a few moments, Tristan calmed down and looked at Mack and the others. He told them everything that happened, about how Sharon had betrayed him and let the other Lost Children in and how Peter had taken control and threatened everyone. Then he told them how he had killed Bob and vowed that he would kill Mack and his mom as well. Then he collapsed in tears again as he apologized and said it was all his fault, and that he should have listened to Maggie.
Maggie tried comforting him, but concern was etched on her face and she glanced back at Mack. He leaned forward, trying to process all that Tristan had said. He exhaled deeply and wished that for once they could get a moment of respite before being thrust into another dangerous situation. He thought about Bob, too, and how it was a shame the man had survived so much only to be killed so unceremoniously. T
ristan hadn't mentioned anyone else being killed, so Mack assumed that his other friends were still safe, but with a boy like Peter in control that was not going to last. The Lost Children were, in some ways, more dangerous than the enemy that just had been defeated. It was going to take more than brute force to defeat the Lost Children, but Mack was tired from fighting and couldn't think as clearly as usual. He leaned forward and rested against his horse as he tried turning over different stratagems in his mind.
“What are we going to do?” Grace said. Mack did not know. He found his gaze drifting toward the sky in the hope he saw that same colorful bird again, or some other omen of good fortune. But there was nothing to look at, just an endless blue haze that seemed to stretch on for an infinity.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“We have to go back and stop him,” Maggie said, her eyes burning with anger.
She continued holding Tristan close to her. The boy had buried his head in the nape of her neck, not daring to look up at anyone. So far nobody had chastised him for falling for Sharon's trap, but the way Tristan had said her name, and the way he was acting now told Mack he felt responsible for everything that had happened. At least he was with his mother, and hopefully Maggie could convince him otherwise. It wasn't Tristan's fault at all, and Mack never would place the burden of responsibility of another person's actions on himself. Nobody should be held responsible for the actions of another person. They were just about ready to gallop back to the settlement and rush in like the cavalry, guns blazing, ready to kill the interloper who had taken control of their home. However, Mack had some reservations.