“That's bullshit. Christianity's claim on anything is bullshit.”
Everyone jolted their eyes and or head back and forth.
“Okay fine, but with that claim, are Christians your enemy?” Dad pushed.
“Fuck you,” Steve said.
Duanne, Howie, Ray, Nick, Marcus, Stu, Jake, Trish, Amanda, Amador, Maria, Eva, Cherry, Robert, Ellie, Benjamin, Ruth, Cory, Lena, Lisa, Charlotte, Maggie, Carl, Amy, Julio, Juanita, Rondo, and Tom stared.
“Is Christianity your enemy?” Dad asked again.
“Yes! Fuck you! Yes!” Steve huffed.
Both looked too tired to make any fighting stance. Both remained seated and calm.
Everyone stared wide eyed. A few wanted to say something, but the glares between Dad and Steve were too strong.
“In Jesus Christ, it is my charge to love my enemy,” Dad said. “What is the charge in your belief? About the enemy?”
Steve glared.
“In Jesus Christ, I am charged to love my enemy,” Dad repeated. “To love all, beyond family and Christians, but to love my enemy. What is your foundational belief about the enemy Steve?”
Steve sunk. He put his head into his hands. "Yeah yeah, I'm cool. So in loving, you still kicking me out? Does that make sense?"
“Here, you have to abide by my rules. Anyone here, raping or failing to protect others, or causing the death of others through their cowardice, will either be killed by me, swiftly, or expelled."
"What the fuck then dude? You're... you're equating my being gay with that? Fuck that?"
"No, it certainly isn't that."
"What the fuck then dude?" Steve seemed to breathe new life in his consternation.
"It's about raising up the future, raising kids..."
"That has nothing... nothing to do with how I want to live my life!"
"It has everything to do with it! This is my home! This is my castle! I am king here!"
"Dictator here."
It seemed both were almost ready to fight. Both Steve and Dad huffed as the others watched to and fro.
"Why does my gayness matter then? Why can't I live the way I want?" Steve suddenly seemed calm, as if turning his own anger away.
Dad read it and calmed, taking a moment to breathe, letting all the others breathe. "I am most definitely supposed to treat you with love. I am not kicking you out because your gayness is like rape or violence. I am offering you your own home. And anyone that believes in what you believe can go to."
"What if he wants to stay here?" Duanne asked, others shrugging agreement.
"Well, abide by my rules. We're coming full circle. All of you abide by my rules, my morals, this place... We need these kids marrying, raising kids, a future. We need everyone working and learning and getting along with the same morals."
Everyone sat tired. Steve didn't want to argue anymore.
Dad sighed. He felt a sadness. "It is love! For I will treat everyone the same, even my own flesh and blood.” He looked at his wife and daughters and smiled warmly at them. He knew they had Jesus. He knew their bravery.
“I shot Daddy for trying to be a jerk,” Charlotte added.
Everyone looked up at her, then him. The dour oppression suddenly changed.
“What!?” Stu finally barked.
“Oh, I gotta here about this!” Duanne shot out.
“No way! With the M-4?” Howie huffed.
“22!” Charlotte pointed at her right hand then him.
Dad lifted up his hand. They peered at the small scar. As everyone laughed and chortled, he stared at the scar in his hand. It reminded him of a nail. He, of course, didn't deserve to be here, to live and love still. In that insane moment of hopelessness, he just wanted to end his family's suffering. It was really about the unknown to him, the unknown of how they were to be brutally killed by horrific gnashing beasts. He wanted to kill them quickly, to send them to God quickly no matter the cost to his own soul.
As everyone laughed, hearing the tale by Charlotte, and each adding their own ruffian banter, Dad stared at the scar, then looked up to see Steve who was looking at him. There was peace in their eyes as they acknowledged each other.
"You see, my rules apply to me as well," Dad said, putting his hand down.
6. To Do
As they were getting ready to leave the lunch area and figuring out what to do for the rest of the afternoon, Duanne, Howie and Ray came up to Dad.
He wasn't sure what they were going to say to him. The other residents took their time leaving, curious what these three were up to. His wife stayed with him, for support or curiosity. They realized most stood about.
"We got an offer," Duanne said off the bat. "Or well, not an offer, like we're making a deal or something."
"What he's trying to say without a script," Howie interjected. That got him an elbow from Duanne.
"I'll add to this conversation," Ray jumped in. "What these two gentlemen are trying to say is that Ernie's place, where we left, there's a ton of good stuff there. We left a lot. And I mean ‘a lot’."
"Yeah, Lita and I," Howie suddenly choked up. He tried to hide his emotions. Duanne grabbed his shoulder. They all knew: everyone lost someone. It was common such that everyone knew, everyone felt for each other, and everyone had reactions. In that moment, Howie and Duanne looked at each other and with Ray, knowing he lost his daughter, and all patted and hugged each other right there in front of everyone.
The offer suddenly changed to an emotional group support moment. It became a hug fest of sorts right before Dad's tired eyes. His wife came to hug Cherry, both nodding with sobs. Katrina, Amanda and Beth touched them from behind. The women gave each other strength.
"I'm sorry for you," his wife said, sobbing.
"I'm so happy, glad for you, that you have your daughters. It helps me, even though I don't have mine," Cherry said charitably, bravely while crying. His wife balled.
Dad stood outside it all. As the leader, he kept calm as they went through waves of emotion once again. It had only been days since Howie witnessed Lita die horribly and change into one of them, then only to be put down by his own fancy gun.
"Hey man, I'm right there with you, okay?" Duanne reminded him, both quivering and tearing.
"They could still be alive, your family," Howie reminded.
Duanne let out a controlled sob and looked away.
Dad heard that and wondered what it meant. Where was Duanne's family? He was a rich superstar. He recalled from the tabloids or social media stuff that Duanne lived in Florida or something, some big rich mansion on the beach or on some island. He got a headache thinking and shook out of it.
"What about the offer, the good stuff?" Dad recollected. It was rude, but everyone there knew that the struggle and fight were still on.
Everyone nodded quick affirmations then released and looked back toward him.
"My buddy, my producer was like a prepper or something," Duanne was able to say, his emotions smoothing out. He focused like he was delivering lines. "He had all kinds of stuff. Spent thousands... hundreds of thousands on guns, food, gear."
"Equipment, a generator," Ray added.
Howie was suddenly tired and old looking.
"It's not far, not at all, just a drive down Sunset a couple of blocks. That's our street. That's where we came from."
"You came through once when it all started. You had that sword, right? No armor, just a sword and shotgun or something," Ray snapped his finger, remembering. "I remember Ernie mentioning it and getting his Samurai sword out. Then we heard you drive past us on Sunset on a bike and saw you lead away that damn monstrosity or mass of zombies."
Dad blinked recalling. "I? I? I brought back my daughter, Lena, from high school. I remember. You were the guys that blocked off the street and had fancy cars? Guy had a big ole assault rifle or something?"
"Yep, that was our block. Went hay wire though. Some thought they could fight them, shooting and stuff. No bueno, lost a few houses," Ray shuddered, rememb
ering.
"We hid like cowards!" Duanne shuddered.
Howie kept a hand on Duanne's big shoulders.
"As others got run over by them," Duanne choked, "we hid scared as hell."
"How'd you do it? How'd you fight so many like that?" Ray asked Dad.
Dad looked at them. "I'll train you here. But you don't fight a mass of them. You lead that mass away. You quietly fight a few when you have to, not loudly, not waving your shit around. And when you fight, you always hide your swings, your moves. You run down alleys or into buildings to hide. You wear armor and cover your shit up: you don't look human, you don't smell human, and you don't wave shit around and scream or make noises."
Everyone just took it in and sighed. Duanne blinked out of it first.
"We can get there quickly. Go in the cold of the morning, get the stuff, get out." Duanne gave everyone his movie look.
Dad nodded. "Yeah, let's do it."
Early the next morning before the sun rose, everyone helped armor them up. His wife and Lena were good at it, buckling him up and smacking things in place. Dad stood like a warrior, a king, putting his armor on.
Beth, Katrina, Amanda, and Eva held smart phones up to light everyone as they prepared. It was still dark outside. Nick was fumbling with the cords and lights with Amador. Figuring out the solar panels and which cords survived the siege was another job added to their to-do list.
Duanne and Ray were given ad hoc stuff. They were unsure of the fit and feasibility but Katrina and Beth were continually adjusting it on them. Randall inspected each bit. They looked a bit goofy in hockey helmets or the bad replica Samurai helm. It had reinforced vinyl sides to protect more of the neck and exposed parts.
They were given additional padding and sports protection for their limbs.
"This isn't as cool as his stuff," Duanne sighed.
"More sporty," Ray hopped up and down.
"Just don't let them over take you or surround you," Randall said.
Ray gulped.
"We'll take that Hummer, load up as much as we can."
"Probably won't be enough space. Use the roof I suppose," Ray said.
"No need to worry about scratching it up," Duanne added.
"We got bungee cord or anything like that?" Howie asked.
"Yep, yep, we'll pack some up for you," Nick answered.
It was Dad, Duanne, Ray, and Jake who were getting armored up. Jake had padded stuff. None looked as tough or as solid as Dad, but they did have protection.
Everything was made, reinforced, fitted by Dad's wife. Whatever time she and several of the other women had, they made more pieces of armor. She designed pieces based on gear they found. They cleaned during the brightest of the day, and in the evening after training and dinner, worked on armor in the rooms. They chatted and worked.
They all paraded quietly outside as the sun was beginning to light up the sky with a morning blue.
Randall quietly pushed his bike through the courtyard.
"Let's keep this small, quiet, and quick," Dad said. "If anything big happens, Randall will lure them away. Since I drove the bus out a few days back, I'm assuming, hoping not enough have come back around this way yet."
The others all nodded.
"You guys," Dad motioned to Tom, Steve, and Stu, "stay at the gate. Just keep that open and clear for when we get back."
"Could be stuff on your tail, huh?" Stu shivered a bit to loosen up.
"Could be," Dad said, jerking his arms in circles. He did that to get the buckles, padding, and steel settled to his movements.
The guys awkwardly did the same thing, but their lighter padded stuff didn't really settle like steel armor.
"Lena, Lisa, Marcus, Cory, watch the perimeter, the backside. Make sure nothing builds up there," Dad motioned to them.
"Yes sir," Lena saluted.
Dad could tell Lisa and Cory were happy to do that together. Of course Lena and Marcus were as well. He knew they were forming their bond, even in this God forsaken world. He hoped they would survive. Children are the future he heard Benjamin say in his mind.
They'd guard the back courtyard area as Robert and Ellie continued to clean up and slowly trudge some pots and soil up to the roofs for farming. It wasn't much and looked laborious.
Dad allowed only one young man to help at a time, making sure they knew there should always be a guard. "And don't get tired!" he reminded them. "Have enough juice to fight if needed."
"And we women will cook and clean," Katrina said jovially.
A few chuckled.
"I cook and clean, no kill zombies," Maria quipped.
"Mop, mop, mop with dirty water, ugh," Amanda moaned.
The women joked to release the mental exhaustion of cleaning up the rancid flesh in the corridors.
"We'll take to the roof," Charlotte said.
"Keep an eye out for the worst kind," Dad said, coming close to her and speaking before he put on his helm. She gave him a thumbs up.
Dad looked at the old fellows, Howie and Robert. Amador was with them. Dad wasn't as old but seemed to fit in. "You guys stay close around the building. Could be loners or crawlers we missed. Keep tabs on Lena, the kids upstairs, and the women."
They nodded, happy to be close to the safest building in all of Los Angeles.
The men went down to the main schoolyard gate. Tom, Stu, and Steve took charge of opening and clearing a few zombies. It was still the cool dark of the morning. Tom refueled nearby bins with more zombie parts.
Dad, Duanne, Ray and Jake marched up the street. The Hummer was still there. They hadn't retrieved it since the first time that group raced in and desperately fought their way to the school. They were too busy dealing with the mounds of dead within to retrieve it.
But it was still there, parked and silent. Its doors were bloodied, possibly with Lita's blood. Howie wasn't there so the four that came didn't pause.
Dad hadn't had Jake out like this before. Perhaps he should have picked Steve again. But Steve seemed dour, perhaps stewing about getting his own place, or stewing over Dad's decision to out him or isolate him. Dad said to himself, he picked Jake because he wanted Jake to fight out there. And with the prepper stash and military guns, since Jake was ex-military, national guard stuff, figured he'd know what's what. Jake moved a bit faster. He was still young and anxious.
"Stay close," Dad said softly. Jake slowed.
Duanne and Ray realized they weren't as brave as they thought. Anxious to get the stash of goodies made them forget about doing stuff like this: getting out, being exposed, and knowing they'd have to fight. They walked behind Ronan in his convincing steel armor.
They only had a couple of evenings of training. It was probably not enough to really fight like Ronan if things got bad. But they sucked it up and followed.
Dad took one sword and no shield. He had an extra blade he could easily grab and puncture with, and he had his 45 on a holster. Both of those were for the big tough ones.
Jake had a rifle, sword and handgun. He too was assigned to deal with any big tough ones. Duanne and Ray both had rifles slung on their backs. Duanne's was an illegal M-4 assault rifle. Ray had the civilian single fire AR-15. Both, firing in single shot, could be effective, but with crazed rabid zombies charging, Dad told them to use their swords. Going full auto with the M-4 was useless. It would be a waste of bullets and draw in more.
Duanne nodded more nervous now. "Use the sword, use the sword, got it."
Both their weapons weren't real swords. They were blades affixed to wooden handles. The blades were acquired at the Martial Arts store Dad had gone to. Amanda had affixed, nailed, glued and taped them to sawed broom handles. They were solidly made. Dad tested and liked them.
Dad had them practice with them last night as they were preparing to go this morning. Whether they were ready or not, Dad was anxious to get whatever cool prepper stuff they left behind. He wanted them to come since they knew what and where all of it was. And since the Hummer would o
nly fit four, they left Howie behind.
They could have driven more cars or trucks, but Dad wanted a small group to get in and get out quickly.
All but Dad got into the Hummer quietly. He motioned for Ray to start it as he turned to some zombies half a block away. Ray started it. The zombies heard it. In the morning cold, they came rambling over. Ray didn't gun it, so the motor wasn't too loud.
Dad easily killed them as they came. Once the area was clear, he then got in the passenger seat. It was a tight fit in his steal armor, but he did it.
Duanne looked around. "Next time, should have a spear back here. It's easier to poke out the windows."
The others nodded but stayed quiet.
Ray drove nice and slow, keeping the motor purring softly.
"Don't scrape any cars," Dad said through his helm.
Ray nodded and kept driving carefully. The streets were littered with dusty cars. He drove around a block and saw how it was barricaded up with stacks of cars.
"The Horde pushed the cars aside, blocking this. Go back to our street by the school. That way is open," Dad said.
"That's where we came from. Should've gone that way in the first place," Duanne realized.
"Yeah, yeah," Ray said, reversing and scowling at Duanne in the rearview mirror. He hit a car, scraping his large Hummer's bumper. It screeched. He hit the break and cringed.
The others looked around and saw zombies, blocks away, suddenly straighten up and scramble over.
"Shit, I'm sorry!" Ray said.
Dad got out. "I'll walk, you drive."
"Where's he going?"
"He's walking it," Jake shrugged. "Me too."
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," Ray shook.
Dad turned to the window real quick, ignoring the oncoming ramble of zombies.
"Just drive, calm down and pay attention. Do not worry or concern yourself about him!" Dad motioned to Duanne who leered at Ray's rearview stare. "Ignore him and do what you are doing. Just breathe and do it."
"Good advice, ignore my shit. It's cool," Duanne said, seeing as zombies were coming in.
Ray scowled a bit more then relaxed and focused on what he was doing. Dad tapped the car door for reassurance then turned to face the music.
Knight of the Dead (Book 4): Realm Page 4