by Daniel Smith
As the large man approached the group of five people to speak to them. To Dan only two seemed interested in what the large man had to say one was a small frame man wearing a black uniform in raingear. Who briefly turned looking at them as the other one-finished talking to the group. He watched as the other person turned to face them. Dan only had time to register the fact she was a woman with strains of black hair escaping from under the hood of the rain gear. Her face looking familiar and she had almost the same color of skin as Manny. Dan caught Manny tense causing the ball of tension to slam into his stomach like the fist of a prizefighter as the woman’s face went from curiosity, to recognition, to anger. He started to panic as he looked around quickly to see if anyone was pulling weapons and if he should.
“You of all people,” she shouted at them as she started forward.
“Do you know her,” Dan asked franticly as he wondered if he should go for his autoloader as he looked around at the reactions of the other people. Some looked startled while the small fame man seemed unconcerned. Manny still tense as the woman came closer his usually calm voice gone as it showed strain as he spoke.
“Yes, she is my daughter.”
Dan’s shock had still not cleared from his mind at Manny’s words.
“She is my daughter,” he remembered him saying something about his wife and daughter in the past tense.
The tension he felt strong as Manny introduced him to Sandra. She stood about five feet two inches with a light brown complexion and a deep black hair with wisps of gray. With a physical appearance that made Dan feel uncomfortable her anger was gone and she seemed friendly enough after his introduction. Manny did not seemed fazed by this; she had insisted that they come back with her to her home. Here they changed in to dry clothes as Dan now sat in a brown reclining chair. Alternating his gaze from the figures of Manny and Sandra talking in rapid-fire Spanish. He tried to follow the conversation sometimes sounding like they were arguing before breaking into laughter. Staring uneasily at the working lights on in the house. Then to the window watching the rainfall steadily outside by a working streetlight to the young woman named Sara. She was almost as tall or possibly taller than her mother with the light brown complexion and deep black hair typical of Latin women and a physical appearance mirroring her mother. She was about his age possibly a little older and he could tell she was Sandra daughter. Before his eyes wondered to a young boy named Luke who seemed excitable. With a big smile and pale skin, the blond hair boy about five who seemed friendly but full of energy. But was bothering him the most was the man sitting quietly next to Sandra watching him named Doug he seemingly sat studying him. Doug was skinny about six feet one inch and when you combined this with his brown eyes, baldhead and permanent smile. This made him give off a warm feeling about him, which made Dan uneasy bothering him slightly. He sat in silence lost in thought until Sandra repeated herself and he realized she was talking to him.
“So how did you become mixed up with my father,” she repeated. Dan tensed then forced himself to be calm down hoping she did not catch it.
“He help me and my mother after a man killed my father trying to take our van,” he stated emotionlessly. Sandra’s tone and face soften at this, but the man call Doug simply looked interested as he sat quietly still watching him.
“And your mother,” Sandra prompted carefully. Dan just quietly shook his head from side to side. “Zombie took her not long after.”
“I’m sorry,” Sandra trailed off.
“Well I think we should start dinner,” Doug spoke up in a warm tone of voice startling everyone. Manny stretched.
“Yes it's getting late and we need to find a place to camp,” Manny said standing.
“Don’t be silly you two will stay here,” Sandra said sounding slightly annoyed at what he had said. “And before you say anything more we have the room,” she added looking at him. Manny just nodded and looked to Dan.
“Can you grab some food from the supplies to help with dinner,” he asked calmly. Dan nodded and stood to leave the room.
“We have food,” Sandra started but Manny cut her off.
“I’m sure and we can help,” Manny said settling the matter as he left to get the food. Later that night as Dan and Manny settled into the room Sandra had provided for them Manny looked at him.
“So what do you think,” he asked calmly as he prepared for bed. Dan looked at him hesitantly before responding.
“Your daughter and her family are friendly,” he managed to say. Manny looked at him with a questionable look as he sat down on the bed.
“But,” he said as a question. Dan hesitated before responding.
“Doug makes me feel uneasy,” he blurted out. Manny smiled as he stretched out on his bed.
“Me to,” he said calmly as he closed his eyes.
Dan sat in the brown recliner looking out the window at some people walking on the street taking his time thinking about his time in town as they settled in. Manny had sent him out the next day to remove the rag only to find on his return. Manny, Sandra and Doug having an argument or discussion as they called it about Manny sending Dan outside the town. Everyone seemed tense that night at dinner slowly cooling off to normal as two weeks passed before James and Marion arrived. He worked with them during the day helping them plowed several farms around the town at night sometimes having dinner with them or Sandra and sometimes all together. Dan had mixed emotions when the plowing and planting finished with James and Marion preparing to leave.
Manny had pulled Dan aside to talk to him about staying in town. He was unsure of the emotions he was feeling. Part of him felt like he was abandoning his friends while the other part of him wanted to stay in town. It was different here unlike Baton Rouge people just accepted him and not treating him like a kid. James and Marion seemed understanding about their decision but the look Marion gave him as she passed on the trailer threw the city gates on that foggy morning made him feel unsure. One day after a discussion, Manny had with Sandra in the kitchen after lunch. Dan thought it sounded more like a fight between them. Manny came into the living room to tell him he was taking a little road trip up to the farm. He looked up from his book as he sat reading on the brown recliner.
“When,” he asked. Manny smiled.
“Tomorrow if we hurry downtown for some supplies.” Dan put the book down raising from the chair.
“I’ll get the bikes,” he told a smiling Manny as he left the room.
Dinner seemed rather tense and subdued to him as they ate only Luke seemed excited constantly talking about their trip and asking if he could go. This caused a dark look to Sandra’s face, as Doug would gently tell him he was too young. Dan was almost sure he had made a mistake when he told Luke he would see if he could bring something back for him. Both Doug and Sandra looked at him oddly but said nothing. He watched surprised as Sandra walk out of the house as the made their last minute preparations to leave in the fading darkness as dawn approached. Dan was expecting the worst as she walked up to Manny to give him a hug and whisper something to him. Manny just smiled and hugged her back before she turn to approach him. Pulling him into a hug the feel of her breast pressing into him made his face feel hot and flush as she whispered to him.
“Stay safe and come back soon,” before releasing him.
He hoped no one could see his face in the darkness. Sandra moved off to one side and waved as they started peddling down the dark road. The two of them rode back to the farm changing the message on the barn adding they would be staying in Hope drawing a map. The embarrassment he felt when he left paled in comparison to their return a week and a half later. Luke had come running out of the house at seeing them to run up to them as they entered the driveway asking about a dozen times.
“What did you bring me,” as the rest of the family came out. Dan had unzipped the front pouch on his bike as Doug walked up to Luke.
“You should say hello and welcome back. Not what did you bring me,” he told an excited Luke. As he ext
ended a hand to Dan.
“Glad to see you back, Glad to see it was a safe trip,” Doug said warmly. Dan smiled and shook hands with Doug.
“Thanks good to be back,” he said smiling leaving out the details of fighting on the highway with ten of the undead that yielded some supplies for trade. As Luke blurted out.
“Hi, what did you bring.”
Doug shook his head as Dan pulled a bag of popcorn from his bike bag. Luke’s blue eyes lit up like candles as he grab for it. Doug sighed.
“Thank you,” he told Luke who was heading for the house. Luke did not turn as he yelled.
“Thank you.”
Sandra and Sara had finished greeting Manny and approached Dan. He felt his inside tense as he wondered if she was going to hug him again. He was happy when she did and unprepared when she added a slight kiss on the cheek. Dan felt his face go red at this she had noticed as a slight smirk appeared on Sandra’s face. He did not have time to recover as Sara stepped up and repeated the greeting. Dan looked unnerved at Manny and Doug who seemingly had not noticed then to Sandra her smirk turning into a warm smile.
Manny walked into the room they shared Dan was sitting on the bed tying his shoes.
“I am going out today to talk to a few people,” Manny said in his calm tone.
“Give me a second and I will be ready,” he said looking up from tying his shoe at the expression on Manny’s face.
“No hurry, I was going to talk to a few of the adults and thought you might want to meet some of Sara’s friends,” Manny said carefully. Dan looked up at him stunned before recovering and mumbling.
“All right,” as Manny left the room.
Dan stood looking out of the window in the living room. His stomach twisted in knots as he internally debated on why he was afraid to leave the house by himself. He been out on his own many times and he could not understand the sudden fear gripping him. He shook his head as he mentally chastised himself calling up the courage to leave the house. He walked down the street looking around his head appeared mounted on a swivel as he kept looking in all directions. He took in the kids playing in their yards under the watchful eyes of armed parents. To people walking or riding by on bikes or golf carts as he made his way to the school Sara attended. He did not have to wait long as he watched her leaving the school with a few of her friends she waved at him when she spotted him. Dan glanced at the two young women and one boy with her he noticed the boy was looking at him aggressively as the two women whispered between them. Dan studied them the boy he dismissed without a second look he figured the boy thought he was a threat. One of the women was plain looking she just blended into the background. The other woman stood out he guest she stood about six foot one or two. She was big but not in the sense that she was fat she was not someone he wanted to upset. Sara moved in pulling him into a hug making him feel uncomfortable and angering the boy by the expression that crossed his face who she introduced as Steve. Dan did his best to seem friendly in his greeting, the plain looking woman Sara introduced as Megan. He hoped the frown that started on his face as he remembered the other Megan he had known went unnoticed as he tried to turn it into a smile. The tall woman she introduced as Mary she was the daughter of John the large guard Dan had met on his first day when they had arrived at Hope. He discreetly wondered if her mother was tall also.
This started a confusing few days for Dan while he did his best to be friendly to Sara’s friends he barely spoke two or three words all-day. While they all seemed friendly to him he felt Steve did a good job of faking it Sara would confuse him at times. He felt she was flirting with him to Steve’s discomfort to being a little cold but friendly with him. Dan started talking more to Mary and Megan as he started to know them better, Sara would get a little jealous of this at times. After a few days of this when Manny asked him.
“How is it going with Sara and her friends,” Dan simply looked at him and said.
“Fine,” to what he assumed to be an amused look on Manny’s face.
Dan sat in the dark room in the brown recliner looking out the window at the dark street broken by pools of light from the streetlights. He had awaken earlier by that damn dream with the emaciated man reaching for him with clawlike hands and could not fall back to sleep. He did not turn from the window as he heard a bedroom door open and footsteps going down the hall before another door closed. After a couple of minutes he turned after hearing the toilet flush and the footsteps move towards the kitchen instead of the bedroom. He saw the dark shape of Doug cross pass the room opening as he moved for the kitchen. Dan turned back to the window to watch the shadows start retreating as the sun started to rise.
“I did not know you were up,” he heard turning to see Doug standing by the room’s entrance.
“Heard a noise and woke up I could not go back to sleep,” Dan said as he turned back to look out the window.
“What noise,” he heard Doug ask.
“Don’t know that’s why I could not go back to sleep,” he said without turning. He did not want to admit he had half fallen asleep on the chair and had not heard Doug come from the kitchen.
“Well no point in keeping watch for something unarmed,” Doug said half-jokingly. Dan still had not turned from the window but silently lifted the black auto loader from the end table next to him so Doug could see it.
“I see,” Doug muttered. As Dan set the auto loader back down on the end table.
“Are you always armed,” Doug asked sounding serious.
Dan turned to look at him with an I cannot believe you asked me that question on his face.
“You are safe here,” Doug responded at seeing his look. Dan paused for a moment before turning to face the window again.
“Safe is an illusion,” Dan started without thinking tired from staying awake most of the night.
“I was up on watch the night my mother died. I heard her call out my father’s name in her last breath. I sat in the darkness thinking I was safe it was dark who could see me,” Dan continued quietly. “I was wrong I heard her turn into one of the undead I heard her moan my name not in pain but the nerve jarring pitiful moan they make,” Dan paused.
“There is no place safe,” he finished suddenly. Doug paused before he asked carefully.
“Do you have nightmares about it.” Dan did not turn.
“No I try not to dream at all,” he said lapsing into silence. He did not turn to see Doug staring at him and knew it was sometime before he went back to the kitchen as Dan continued to stare out the window. Overtime, Dan tried getting used to Doug, he was friendly but Dan could not shake the feeling that he was trying to get inside his head. Doug was always trying to talk with him about events in his past and his feelings which Dan usually met with silence. This puzzled him until Manny told him Doug had been a psychologist before the plague and from all he knew other than him teaching school maybe he still was. After a few days from their night conversation he had decided to go out hunting only to find Doug’s reaction to this puzzling. That still did not explain the conversation he had overheard between Manny and Doug but pushed it from his mind as he headed out. He was out north of town among the abounded houses. They seemed cold and lifeless all the yards where overgrown and dirty.
Dan knew the city crews had not been here clearing them of anything valuable. Because no white X marked the doors of the homes, and zombies might be present so he needed to keep alert. He moved cautiously to the next street and spotted the deer he had been tracking in the yard of a home halfway down one street eating at the long grass. It was a large buck twelfth points waiting to make sure it had not sensed him. Slowly he pulled the hunting tip arrow out of the quiver notching it to the bow. Pulling the string back as far as it would go he let the arrow fly with a hiss before watching the deer jerk from the impact suddenly falling. Dan spent some time cleaning it on the spot trying to lighten it. To start struggling carrying it back on his shoulders to the gates into town. Wrapped in an old blanket trying to keep the blood off him whi
le finding the need to stop and rest often.
Dan had managed to carry the heavy buck back to the chain link gate into town. The guard shift had changed since he left he could tell this by seeing John at the gate dividing the town from the abandon section. John at seeing him waved as he approached to the gate for him staring at the animal over his shoulders.
“Damn Dan how did you manage to carry that alone,” John said as he helped him lower the carcass of the deer to the ground.
“Slowly,” he responded wiping sweat from his high forehead.
“Well if you are willing to deal, we can make it lighter for you,” John said with a friendly smile as several of the guards came closer. Dan had been talking to the guards sealing deals and removing cuts of venison. When Cindy had come up to John with a black lunch box in her hands. Dan smiled laughing with the other guards at the ribbing John took before finding himself alone with the two of them.
“You remember my wife,” John started to say before Cindy cut him off.
“I would hope so he and Manny had dinner with us and Mary the other night,” She said with a smile. Dan laughed at this good-naturedly.