by W. A. R.
Amber wiped her hands on an old cloth, turning to him while the other two women began to snicker. “Oh, your nephew thought it would be fun to take little Elliot here…”
“Fishing! We went fishing!” the brown eyed boy exclaimed in excitement. Brian appreciated how out of his shell he had become with the group. In the two months that he had been there, in their home and with their family, he had lost his nightmares; he had become more sociable and outgoing. He was a part of them. The thought warmed him. Amber smiled at Elliot, before turning back to Brian.
“Yes. Fishing. When they get there, they see a small reptilian head poking out of the water. He thought it was a snake, got scared and…”
“We ran! We ran really fast!” Elliot exclaimed once again, making Brian laugh. Amber did as well. Brian noted the red flush of embarrassment creeping up Kyle’s neck as he scrubbed at the floor vigorously.
“We’ve obviously shared this story a few times. Anyways, he forgot his knife and they had to go back. By this point, he had calmed down, and still, on the way back to the pond…my special, special son…ran into a tree branch that caught his eye. He’s LUCKY,” she said, enunciating the word and addressing it to Kyle’s back as he continued cleaning the floor. “that he didn’t lose an eye. When they got back, he saw his knife, went to grab it and saw the head poking out of the water again, and he stumbled, and fell on the knife. That is how his hand got hurt; sliced his hand smooth open. The bad part is…it wasn’t a snake. It was a…”
“Frog! Ribbit! Ribbit!” the boy burst into a fit of giggles and Shelly began to tickle him. Amber shook her head in humor. Yes, Brian thought, things had definitely returned to normal between them all. At times, it was almost as if the rest of the horrible world didn’t exist. Amber reached forward and tousled his curly brown hair playfully before turning to Kyle.
“Yes, a frog.” She finished, grabbing her set of keys that lay on the counter. “I want this mess cleaned up by the time I get back.” She told Kyle sternly before turning towards the back door.
“Yes ma’am.” He told her retreating figure. Brian couldn’t shake the amusement from his face.
“Why is he my nephew when he does stuff like this?” Brian asked as the women turned and began following Amber out the door. Bobby-Jean turned and patted him on the cheek, lightheartedly.
“Oh, dear, you know why. You were just as assuming and clumsy when you were his age.” She smiled at him, her blue eyes twinkling. With that, she went outside, and Brian followed behind her.
“Where is everyone else?” he asked, changing the subject as his curiosity got the best of him. He began searching for them, his eyes scanning the property. As they rounded to the front of the house, Brian saw George and Miles loading up Biters into the backs of the trucks while Cassie and Jackson sat in the driver’s seats. Brian frowned, instantly feeling guilty.
“Why didn’t anyone wake me up this morning to help?” He asked and Amber smiled back at him warmly.
“Everyone needs their rest, brother. You were tired. Besides, you were looking like the south end of a northern bound billy-goat. You needed your beauty sleep.” She quipped, and Shelly began to chuckle. He smiled at her, doing his best to appear offended. His sister was close to him and she understood him. She was his best friend other than Shelly.
“Amber, that was just rude. Be nicer to your brother, for crying out loud.” Bobby-Jean told her, and Amber just grinned. She cast her eyes to him, wanting to provoke him for their mother’s torment. His grin grew wider as he caught on.
“It’s ok mom. At least I can get some sleep and look better. She will always look like something that crawled out of Chewbacca’s a…”
Bobby-Jean cut him short. “Must I remind you both that you came from the same place and the same people? I would be careful what you say to one another.”
Brian and Amber smirked at one another. “You have no sense of humor, Mom.” Amber told her as she began pulling her keys to the gate lock from her pocket, her eyes and fingers searching for the right one before finally finding it and inserting it into the lock.
“I do too.” she stated, almost insulted, watching as Amber fiddled with the lock and pulling the chain free of one gate, allowing it to hang from the opposite one.
“Not really.” Brian whispered to their mother and, causing both Amber and Brian to burst into fits of laughter. She tossed them both a glare and narrowed her eyes at them.
Bobby-Jean did not look amused. “You wanna know what’s funny?” She asked Brian as Amber closed and locked the gates behind them. They began ambling their way towards the trucks.
“What’s that Mom?” Brian asked, still laughing. Bobby-Jean smiled warmly at him.
“Your dad and I had sex in your very first car. Three times.” She said, and began walking faster towards Jackson, who was now climbing out of the truck, smiling down at her. He stopped walking, his jaw dropping as Shelly and Amber caught up with him.
“Mom!” Brian squeaked, shuddering. “Too far. That was too far.” He grumbled, a disgusted look on his face. Shelly began laughing, as did Amber. They began walking once more, despite Brian’s reservations. “That was not remotely funny.” He protested to the two of them as they neared Miles and George. Shelly handed Elliot over to Brian quickly as Amber began pulling her gloves from her back pocket. He gazed at the two women curiously as they advanced the other two men.
“Oh yes it was. Now you two…” Amber said, motioning to Miles and George, who now stood, tensely, sweat dripping from their chins and covering the neckline of their shirts. “Move aside and let us women show you how it is done.” With that she smiled warmly and Shelly appeared behind her, pulling her gloves on as well.
“No problem, ladies.” George chuckled, stepping to the side of the truck and leaning his elbows on the rail of the bed. He began stripping the filth ridden gloves from his hands as Miles stepped to the other side, wiping sweat from his forehead with his forearm. Brian chuckled. He enjoyed their easy banter. It was comforting to him.
“I like to see my baby working!” he said loudly, causing Shelly to blush as she reached down to grab the feet of a dead Biter. Amber bent forward and gripped it under its arms and they heaved it up. Miles chuckled, but Brian watched as both his and George’s eyes remained focused on the two women. They were worried, and being the gentlemen they were, didn’t want them to hurt themselves. Brian understood that feeling all too well; he had had to learn the hard way that they were very capable of handling themselves. They heaved the body into the bed of the truck before pushing it forward so that it rested atop another body easily.
“I figured you would be used to it by now, since I am the only one that ever does.” Shelly countered on a laugh. Brian looked back at her offended. Had his wit been rubbing off on her?
“Ouch. What is today? Pick-on-Brian-day?” he said, watching as Amber readjusted her glove and turned to him.
“No, it’s pick-on-a-loser day and you are the only one we see around here.” Amber countered as they leaned down to get another one. This caused a few laughs from Jackson and George as they stood watching the girls haul up another body.
The Biters had been coming to their fence in droves. It was bothersome, having to haul off so many at a time. They had made about four trips out to dispose of the bodies. They would load them up, haul the off, come straight back. That was the only leaving that any of them had done in the past month. The Biters were average at least, in size, and some a little smaller from whatever had happened to their body’s mass over the recent months. However, as far as bodies went, they were limp, bloated, and somewhat heavy. Amber and Shelly grunted with effort as they heaved a second Biter into the truck. Brian watched out of the corner of his eye as Miles jerked to take a step forward towards the pair when Jackson settled an easy hand on his shoulder. Miles immediately stopped, looking down at Jackson determinedly.
“Don’t worry, son. Those girls are strong enough to take care of themselves.” He told Miles, w
ho stiffly leaned back against the truck and folded his arms across his chest, watching and waiting to jump in and take over at the first sign of trouble. Brian shifted Elliot against his hip, placing his arm under him to hold him more comfortably and watched as the boy studied everyone around him. At one point in his life, he had actually yearned for children, an older boy and a younger girl. He had just wanted two, with a beautiful home, wonderful wife, and long future. It didn’t happen that way, and his guess was that it never would. He stole one more glance at the boy on his hip and grinned. He had Shelly, his niece and nephew, and now Elliot. It may not have been everything he always dreamed of, but it was close enough.
“Incoming.” Cassie called lightly, and they all turned their attention towards the front of the truck where three Biters were making their way from the woods across the road and headed for them. Brian sighed, hugging Elliot closer to him as Miles grabbed a hatchet from the lowered tailgate of the truck while George withdrew his knife from its place on his belt loop, where it hung precariously so. They began advancing towards the Biters, and this only excited the monsters. Gripping a bloated, puffy male by the neck, George forced the knife down with all of his might, the cracking of her skull loud in Brian’s ears. He grimaced, watching as the Biter fell limply to the ground and George leaned forward, gripping the handle of his knife. Miles reared back and swung sideways, hitting right behind the ear of a female, or what was once a female, and jerked back quickly, turning and forcing the blade of his hatchet into the crown of the other Biter’s head. George turned, wiping his knife blade on his pants before placing it back through the makeshift holster he had on his belt loop. Brian made a mental note to grab George something more comfortable and convenient when back in town. Miles tossed his hatchet off to the side and they both sighed, grabbing the gloves they had let drop to the ground between the trucks and putting them on. Both at once reached forward and picked up one of the male Biters, walking it towards the back of the Silverado. The girls stood breathlessly behind the Dodge after tossing another one into the truck and took a look around them at all of the Biters along the rest of the fence line. Brian did as well, and he sighed. It was going to be a long day.
Brian looked around at the sight. He, Miles, and George all sat in the cab of the Silverado, watching the last fire burn and draw the Biters further away from their home place. They had decided to carry the bodies out further away from the previous ones, light the first group of bodies to draw them from the house area, and the second to take them further away. It was working. There were close to a hundred Biters at this one fire alone, Brian saw through the binoculars he held to his eyes, and there were more coming from the other fire. They had decided to park a ways off on a hill and watch until they were sure it was working at the house. He was glad they had taken the better part of the day to tend to the fires. Having so many Biters around the safety of their home bothered him intensely. They were becoming more and more, causing damage to some parts of the fence from so many pressing on it at once. Brian decided within the next week he would go to the town, get the proper materials needed, and fix the damn fence. It was eating away at him. His whole family was inside those walls, and Shelly…oh, Shelly. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he ever lost her. The thought alone made him sick. Turning his mind to something else, he turned in his seat and watched as Miles pressed the side button on the walkie-talkie.
“How’s it looking over there?” he said into the small handheld device. Jackson had gotten them as a Christmas present to himself a few years before. They had cost a pretty penny, to say the least. They stretched up to about thirty-six miles, and they were only about twenty miles north of the house, the fire burning in the parking lot of what used to be a little seafood restaurant on the outskirts of El Dorado. It was getting late in the afternoon, and they had been sitting for almost as hour, checking in every few minutes to make sure that all of the Biters were going away from the house. The rest of the group was staying in the house, keeping perfectly quiet.
“That’s all that I see; they are all gone.” Jackson radioed back through the slight bit of static. Brian felt a bit of relief from his father’s words and he lowered his forehead to the steering wheel.
“Everyone still in the house?” Miles asked to make certain that they were safe. Brian closed his eyes. Why was he so tired? Why did he feel as if he wasn’t doing enough for everyone around him?
“Amber is doing a perimeter check.” Jackson replied roughly. Brian lifted his head at that, glancing over at George and Miles.
George groaned, shaking his head. “Doesn’t she ever listen?”
Brian laughed. “Nope. Hard-headed until the end.” That was his sister. She was going to do what she felt she needed to do, what she felt was right, regardless of who stood in her way. He shuddered, glancing in the rearview mirror at the Biters that aimed for the fire. He was itching to get out of there and was unsure why. “What say we head back?”
“Good,” George grumbled turning back to the dash, “Let’s get out of here. Seeing all those Biters makes me anxious.”
“I second that.” Brian said immediately as he turned back to the steering wheel, turning the ignition. It wasn’t long before the device beeped again, Amber’s voice filling the silence in the truck. Brian looked at Miles in confusion.
“Hey, have you left yet?” Amber radioed in as Brian shifted it in gear. Brian saw Miles sigh a little in relief.
“Just leaving. What’s up?” Miles radioed back to her, resting his elbow against the window and the door. He grinned a little, holding the walkie-talkie close to his face, rubbing his thumb absentmindedly along his bottom lip. Brian couldn’t help but grin. He didn’t know what was going on between the two of them, but the man had Brian’s support. He made the mental note to discuss that with him. He sighed. If anything ever happened to him, he wanted to be sure he hadn’t left anything out; that everyone was aware of and respected his opinions and thoughts. It never went well; anytime he tried to have that kind of heart to heart with someone, especially Shelly, it was quickly shut down. He understood the very real possibility that he would die at a young age from the cruelty the world now had to offer; nobody else did though. Everyone else thought he would survive until the world was whole again. The cold truth was, though, he couldn’t survive without them; he would just as soon end his life on his own terms. Was that cowardly and weak? Maybe; but Brian was okay with that; he never handled his emotions well, anyway.
“I’m not sure.” She said through the static, and Miles’s smile faded, his hand tensing on the walkie-talkie. Brian tossed him a sideways glance, noting the somewhat casual tone in her voice.
“What do you mean? Is everything ok? Everyone ok?” He asked her, the beeping of the device suddenly grating on Brian’s nerves. The tension in the truck could be cut with a knife.
“Everyone is fine. I’m outside. Everyone else is inside. There is something you should see..ugh…dammit…just hurry back here.” She replied, and Brian mashed on the gas, taking the alternate route away from the fire. He couldn’t risk the Biters following them back to the house. The ride back was mostly silent, each man in their own minds about what was going on back at the house. Brian’s worry was reduced by the tone of Amber’s of voice. She seemed concerned but not so much so that something was horribly wrong. Brian decided to ease his mind even further, pushing all thoughts away and focusing on the short ride back.
It wasn’t long before Brian saw the house up ahead and he slowed, checking the yard for any signs of problems. The yard, being fenced in, and the gates locked all of the time, the fleeting thought that they had created their own prison flashed through his mind. It was what had to be done, but the memories of the freedom before the outbreak always hurt him a little when he thought of it. He narrowed his eyes, squinting past the bright rays of the sunset, and saw that Amber was in the backyard, crouched and staring at something on the other side of the fence. A million thoughts flooded his mind. Miles and George had
seen it too, straightening in their seats as Brian slowed to a stop at the gates. Immediately, Miles took Brian’s key to the gate and jumped out of the truck. He quickly unlocked it and opened the gates wide for Brian to drive the truck through. Brian eased through quietly, driving towards the house as Miles locked the gate back. As Brian threw the truck in park and killed the ignition, he and George climbed out, making sure they had their weapons within easy reach. His stomach twisted unpleasantly and he resisted the urge to no approach Amber. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see what she wanted to show them. They began in the way of the backyard anyways, Miles running across the yard ahead of them, reaching Amber’s side in seconds. Brian rounded the corner to see Miles standing, listening to Amber intently, and placing both hands on his hips. His eyes kept darting from her to something on the ground.
“Amber? What’s going on?” Brian asked, catching her attention as he neared the pair before the fence. She ran a hand across the top of her head, her blonde hair in a tight ponytail. Frustration was easily becoming her friend and Brian wished there were a way that he could help ease some of it.
“It’s a Biter.” She said simply, stepping to the side and allowing Brian and George passage through. Sure enough, on the ground outside of the back gate there was a female Biter. She appeared somewhat…recent, fresh; her clothes were almost clean. She was a little roughed up and decayed but it had obviously not been long since she turned. Dead now, she lay motionless. “I killed her a few minutes ago.” Amber explained, shifting her feet nervously.
“What’s the problem?” Brian asked, not seeing what the big deal was. “It is just a Biter.” Then he grinned teasingly at her. He so enjoyed toying with her. “Were you scared because she turned recently? You poor thing.” He pouted at her mockingly, expecting her to smile in return. She always smiled in return. When she didn’t, he lost his grin and watched as Amber glanced at Miles, then at George, who had caught on to it. George stared down at the ground hard, studiously.