by Roman Shepp
Quentin stared at it for a few moments before he threw the remains of the fish back in the water. Its mangled carcass floated on the water for a few moments, being carried along by the current, before it started to slip below the surface. Quentin wiped his mouth and moved away from the stream. He had to continue on his quest.
The woods were seemingly without end, but he was glad not to be plagued by the foreboding building looming behind him. The memories were enough. He followed the stream for a little while, until he started to hear voices. A smile flickered. They all sounded happy, laughing and joking. Quentin moved behind a tree, hidden in the shadows. There he could watch them, young men and women enjoying life. They looked happy, sharing alcohol and food, a fire burning in the middle of their camp. Two of them were kissing deeply.
Quentin remembered the sensations. He brought his fingers to his lips. A deep sense of shame overwhelmed him, though, for he remembered all the times he had shrank away from Carol's touch, all the times he had not been able to pleasure her as a man should. The shame turned to anger. It rose within him, boiling, and his fists clenched by his sides. He knew these people didn't deserve to be happy. Not with the way the world had changed. They deserved fire and blood.
He stepped forward. One of the men paused.
“Did you hear that?” he asked, searching the woods. Quentin still was shrouded in darkness, though.
“Quit playing around and stopping our fun,” another said, resuming the embrace with the woman. This only served to enrage Quentin more. How were these people still alive? They weren't careful. They weren't safe.
“You know, I thought the end of the world would be a lot scarier than this,” one of the women said, which would prove to be fatal last words. Quentin was unable to hold onto his anger any longer. Although these people had not been present at the building they still were deserving of his wrath. As he emerged from the trees the people caught sight of him.
“Oh my God!” the man exclaimed, and then he burst into laughter.
“He looks like he's from the circus!” another said.
“I told you there would be freaks roaming the woods!”
That was all Quentin needed to hear. He continued moving toward them, and the laughter soon subsided. The women cowered behind the men, who slowly looked more worried. They both warned Quentin to stay back. Quentin knew he didn't have anything to fear from them. He looked at them with his wounded, hollow eyes and saw the fear. They knew the way of the world now. They knew what it was like to feel their deaths slowly embracing them.
Quentin lunged forward and grabbed one of the men, pulling him down and throwing him on the fire. The man fell into the pit and screamed, clawing at his face and body, rolling around, trying to douse the flames. The women screamed, and the other man rushed toward Quentin, swinging a fist. Quentin almost was tempted to let it hit him, but he dodged it and jabbed a punch in the man's throat. He followed this by pushing the man to the ground and curling his hands around the man's neck. The man struggled, kicking and flailing with his arms, but he was impotent against Quentin’s strength of Quentin. It was funny how similar he looked to the fish, with his eyes bulging as he gasped a last breath that never came.
The women bashed Quentin on his back with logs and pans and whatever they could find, but Quentin merely stood up and grabbed them both by their hair. Yelping in agony, they tried kicking him, but Quentin's reach was too long, and neither of them could attack him. He crashed both their heads together and they slumped to the ground, dazed. Their eyes closed in peace, and Quentin turned his attention to the writhing man on the ground. He had rolled over the fire and now it was just embers. The fire on his clothes had left dark, tattered marks, and Quentin knew well the pain he was suffering. Quentin walked around and picked the man up by his neck.
“No! No! No!” he cried. “Please! I'll do anything! Take what you want? We'll give you anything!” he said. Quentin was silent in response. The man looked over at his companions.
“What have you done? What kind of monster are you?” he said.
Again, there was no answer. Quentin placed both his hands around the man's head and twisted sharply. A loud crack split the air, and now the man was silent too. Quentin knelt down in front of the two women. They still breathed. He rummaged around the pans and things strewn across the ground and found a small knife. He pierced the arteries in their necks. Their unconscious bodies went into spasms, and then they were still again. Blood spurted out, flowing down their bodies, hitting Quentin.
Everything was peaceful again.
Quentin sat down in the campsite and looked at the blood on his hands. The dead bodies lay around him, and Quentin breathed a sigh of relief. This was much better. No longer was he disturbed by the sounds of people laughing, or by the sight of them sharing their love. The woods were the perfect place for him to fight his war, and once he was done with the people hiding here, he would move to the city itself. There were surely many people who deserved his justice. Everyone should know pain. Anyone who was happy had to be killed. It was the only way to keep the balance in the world.
Quentin stayed there for a while, knowing that when he rose it would be time to kill again.
Chapter Seven
“What does she mean?” Tony asked.
Neither Rick nor Shawn had answered Jane's question, and Tony's interest had been piqued. It seemed strange to him that Jimmy would just leave, especially since he hadn't seemed in the best condition to do so. Tara continued playing with Groot, seemingly unaffected by what she had said. Tony wondered if kids were able to accept the changing world more easily than adults, but he still was angry that kids had to experience this. He never had had any parental instincts of his own, but it still was a deep shame that so many childhoods had been shattered by the catastrophic events.
“I wouldn't worry yourself about Tara,” Rick said, chuckling to himself. “You know kids, they like to make shit up. She's convinced she saw a man in a mask wandering around the forest. It's probably just her imagination, and even if it is a man, he's probably just wandering looking for food. It's not like he could pose a serious threat to us.”
“Still, we probably should keep our eyes open, maybe go out and search the area. Jimmy couldn't walk properly. He might need our help.” Tony said.
Rick shrugged. “It's a free country. You can do what you want, but maybe the man just wanted to move on. He seemed the type who wanted to keep moving. I wouldn't worry too much about it.”
Rick seemed far too calm for Tony's liking. “Aren't you worried? You took that man in. So, you must have been concerned for him. How can you just let him go like this? There must be something dangerous around. After all, that building didn't burn down by itself.”
“No, it didn't,” Rick said, raising his gaze to meet Tony’s. “Which is why we're staying here, where we can be sure we're safe. If Jimmy did get into trouble, then that's his own fault for wandering off. You can't afford to take chances in this world. A lot of people still live by the rules of the old world and haven't adapted yet.”
“And you have?” Jane asked pointedly. Tony got the feeling she really didn't like these men. Perhaps it was for the best if they kept moving and left as soon as possible, although Tony didn't want to leave until he had found out what had happened to Jimmy.
“Honey, we adapted even before it happened,” Shawn said, sniffing loudly, then spitting a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground. Tony winced.
“He's right. The world turned its back on us a long time ago. So, we turned our back on it too. It's every man for himself. I ain't gonna put my neck on the line for nobody, and you'd do well to do the same.” Rick said.
“What about her?” Tony asked, nodding toward Tara.
“Well, that's different. She's a kid,” Rick said.
It seemed the men were not completely devoid of humanity after all. There was something in their eyes, though, something that sent a shiver down Tony's spine. Perhaps it just was his paranoia. After
all, he was the one who had confronted them with a gun when they had done nothing wrong, and they had been kind enough to show them hospitality. There was no reason not to trust them or take them at their word, but a nagging voice in the back of Tony's mind was telling him to be careful.
“And you really don't know what happened to that building?”
Rick drew in his breath and placed his hands on his knees. The cuffs of his shirt were rolled halfway up his forearms, and Tony could see the thick veins bulging underneath his skin. This was a man used to hard labor, used to working with his hands every day.
“Look, man, I don't want any trouble. All my life I've tried to keep my nose out of people's business, and that's not going to change now. I don't know what happened there, and frankly I don't care. I've heard some people running through the woods. They seemed scared. I probably would be too if I had seen a building catch fire, but nobody aside from Jimmy came to us. I wish the guy had stayed around, but I'm not his keeper. We helped him, we gave him some food, offered him shelter, and for whatever reason he decided to leave. I don't need you giving me grief for not knowing any more. We like to keep to ourselves, that's all.”
Tony pressed his lips together and glanced toward Jane. “I'm sorry if I said something to upset you. I just...we're still shocked from some of the things we saw in the city. I guess that it's so peaceful out here it's making me think something is wrong.”
“You shouldn't be worried. This place is paradise,” Shawn said, flashing a toothy grin toward Tony.
“Why don't you sit down, relax, and have some food? You're safe here. Look around you. It's peaceful, and you don't have to worry about a thing. I'm not going to hold it against you,” Rick said. Tony sat down and enjoyed his breakfast, tossing a bit of meat to Groot. The meat was strange, and Tony hadn't yet been able to place the taste. The most comparable meat was pork, but it wasn't quite right.
“What animal is this from anyway?” Tony asked. The two men shifted and glanced at each other.
“This is from a boar we killed. There are a few of them in these forests. You'd be surprised at what you can find. We've spotted a deer as well, but we haven't managed to track it down yet. That's next on our list. We've got a bit of equipment that comes in handy,” Rick replied.
“What did you two do before all this happened? You seem like you're naturals at living out here.” Jane said.
“Thank you, ma'am,” Rick said, bowing his head. “We used to work on a farm with our pop, but he died a few years ago, and the bastard government took the farm. Pop was the kind of man who liked to look to the future, though. He taught us a lot about how to survive. I know it sounds stupid to say it, but it's a shame he hadn't been able to hold out for a few more years. He would have loved to live in this world and test his skills. Folks like us weren't made for the other world. This is much simpler, much more basic.”
“So, what happened after you lost the farm?” Jane said.
“Well, we thought about marching down to city hall and shooting down some of those government bastards, but then we thought better of it. Not worth getting worked up over. We worked as lumberjacks, did some building work here and there, nothing too special, but it paid the bills. Glad to be out of that now, though,” he said, stretching his back. Tony noticed that Jane twitched when he mentioned the government. Now was not the time to talk about their pasts. He doubted they would look kindly on her former occupation.
The conversation died down a little. Tony talked about his own past, but Rick barely seemed interested. Shawn was looking deep into the forest, at nothing. Tony felt the tension rising the longer they sat there. He wanted Jimmy to return to the camp, grinning, admitting that he got lost. The more time that passed, however, the less likely that seemed. The woods were just as dangerous as the city, it seemed, especially if Tara was right and this mysterious bad man was lurking in the shadows. Rick and Shawn were so calm, though, and Tony couldn't understand how they could remain so composed. Perhaps it was because they were masters of their domain. This forest was their home, their terrain, and they knew their rightful place.
“Well,” Tony said as he finished off his meat, “I think we probably should make some effort to find Jimmy, just in case he's out there somewhere, wounded.”
“Like I said, it's a free country. But I'd advise against it. It's easy to get lost in these woods, especially someone who doesn't know what they're doing.”
Tony met his gaze but rose anyway. “You don't have to come with us if you don't like, but I think we have to do it. We won't go far,” he said. He whistled for Groot to come to his side. Tara seemed disappointed that the dog wasn't going to stay to play.
“We'll be back later,” Tony promised her, as he, Jane, and Saeed walked away from the camp.
“Will we?” Jane asked.
“I don't see why not. They do have plenty of food and shelter. I'm not sure it's something we can turn away at this point. Why? You don't like them?”
“It's not that. I just have this bad feeling.”
“Me too,” Tony admitted. “I can't place my finger on it, but something doesn't seem right. What do you think, Saeed?”
“They haven't tried to kill us, which is something of an improvement on the other people we have met.”
“The man has a point,” Jane said. “I don't like the fact that Jimmy is gone. I find it hard to believe he'd just wander off.”
“Maybe Tara was right and there is a bad man,” Tony said.
Groot shuffled along, his legs striding through the leaves. Tony looked around at the woods. It was certainly easy to get lost. Every direction looked the same.
“What is the deal with them anyway? Is she the daughter of one of them or did they just rescue her?”
“Maybe we should ask her when we get back,” Tony said, turning his head sharply as he thought he heard a sound, but it turned out to be nothing. “We'll just have a quick look around, and then we'll head back. We don't need to put ourselves in any danger. I figure we can stay with them for the rest of the day, find out the lay of the land, and then we'll be on our way.”
“Good. I don't want to stay there for any longer than necessary. Do you think we should try taking Tara with us?” Jane said.
Tony stumbled, so shocked at what Jane had said. “You want to kidnap her?!”
“No! Of course not, I meant rescue her.”
“Well, does she actually need rescuing? She seems in good health, and in good spirits. In fact, she doesn't even seem like she knows that anything is wrong in the world. She just seems like a normal kid.”
“I don't know,” Jane murmured, swinging the baseball bat as she walked. “There's something about them that makes me feel uneasy.”
Tony sighed. “Yeah, my Spidey sense has been tingling too. Let's just see if we can find Jimmy, and then we'll get back. And if there is anything shifty about them, we'll rescue Tara, if she needs it. They could just be normal, though. What did you think of the boar?”
“I wish they had told us what it was before we ate it,” Saeed said sorrowfully. “Or I wish I had asked. I feel as though I have let myself down. All my life I have avoided the temptation of bacon and hot dogs and pork chops. May Allah have mercy on my soul.”
“I'm sure there must be provisions in place for situations like this. I mean, it's not like you have a great deal of choice.”
“There is always a choice, Tony. It is just something else I must bear,” he said. Tony shot a look at Jane, wondering how they were going to help Saeed properly. He'd already lost his family. If he lost his faith as well, there might never be a chance to get the man back.
Continuing through the forest, they walked in a circle around the camp, intending to move out in concentric circles to cover the most ground without moving too far away from the camp. It wasn't as though Jimmy could have gone far. The man had a bad leg, so all he could do was limp. They had been walking for a while when something caught Tony's eye. Something blue stood out in the sea of green a
nd brown. In hushed whispers they approached, being careful not to catch the attention of anyone around.
The first thing Tony noticed was the smell. The air was filled with a grim stench, one that instantly made him gag and turn his face away.
“What is it?” Jane asked.
They crept up. Groot hadn't made any noise, so it seemed as though there was nobody around. As they drew closer they saw a huge tarp had been slung over tree branches, making a huge tent. At first, Tony thought it an ingenious plan to shelter a large group.
“Don't go in there with your gun blazing this time,” Jane said.
Tony nodded, and held it behind his back as he walked around, ready to greet whoever was waiting for them, but the color drained from his face when he saw what grisly sight awaited them. People had been dumped on the ground, piled up haphazardly. Most of them were unconscious, some of them were no doubt dead. All of them had had arms and legs chopped off.
“Oh my God,” Jane said, pointing down to her right. Tony followed, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw Jimmy lying there. His leg had been cut off. His head lolled back, eyes closed. Blood stained the inside of the tarp.
“What is this?” Tony gasped, but somewhere deep inside he knew the answer. They all did. Jane steadied herself against the trunk of a tree.
“No... it's... it's impossible,” Saeed breathed. Tony doubled over, placing his hands on his knees. It made sense. Horrible, monstrous sense. All the meat. Tony barely had seen any animals in the woods, let alone a boar, and the taste...the meat had been unlike anything he ever had tasted. Now he knew why.
He had been eating human flesh.