by Tim Yingling
I didn’t like the stare they gave me. They were identical. Seriously, I could have been a mirror and they were just looking at each other.
It was Danielle that spoke.
“Do you know why you haven’t been able to find Bobby anywhere?”
I shook my head.
“He packed up his family and moved back here because this is where everyone in your family and your extended family are from. This is home to you all. He came back here and saw the same shit. I tried to help him as well, but you see how that worked out. Owen tried to help and look what happened to him. He was forced to help out the K’s. Bobby was burned alive. Kieran knows that’s how you kill these things. He didn’t even want Bobby coming back as a zombie. That’s how pissed off Bobby made Kieran. And if you think that you would have been able to do all the things you have done today by your lonesome then you have another thing coming. You had help all day. And you will continue to have help. Do you understand that?”
Before I could get word one in, Kate had to add her two cents.
“Before you even got to this town you had help. Tommy and myself before we got to D.C. That chopper pilot and those brothers in D.C. And then you had help from me and my niece and nephew and Phil after that. Fuck” – she threw her hands up in anger – “even Tayvon, someone who should have never wanted to help you decided that it was in his best interest to help you. Everyone knows that staying with you is the key to staying alive. That’s why I never wanted to leave your side. That’s why Danielle flocked to you the way she did. That’s why Lee and Marty decided to follow you blindly, just like Phil and Tayvon did. You’re a leader, Byron. We need you alive. And you need help considering the fact that you are blind in one eye.”
I waited thirty seconds to see if they were going to start talking again. Neither one did, but Kate did sob a few times. I don’t know when, but she did become quite emotional.
“I’m guessing you two are through,” I said, looking from side to side. I turned more so to the left than the right due to my eye, but they were getting the point. “It’s not the fact that I don’t want anyone around, or no help. I told you, I don’t want anyone laying their lives on the line for me. Most people don’t understand what it means to have brothers and sisters that aren’t blood-related.” I put my hand up to stop Kate from saying something. “I said most people. And not to mention, the plan I have set in motion for Kieran tomorrow only takes one person. That is if he shows up and wants a fight. I won’t initiate a fight, but he will get a fight if he wants it. Now, if you two want to help out, I can use you.”
They both agreed to help. So, before I finally laid down to get some sleep, in my dead wife’s old bedroom none-the-less, I told them what I needed them to do. After we retrieved the four fuel cans (didn’t need to worry about filling them up, Hannah’s dad always had them ready) and put them in the back of the truck, I told them to get some sleep as well.
I didn’t know if they listened or not, but the second my head hit the pillow I was out. I didn’t wake up until it was almost too late.
* * * *
Monday, 11 July 2016
Pilgrim, Indiana
I popped off the bed and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Kate and Danielle sat there, conversing amongst themselves about nothing important while drinking coffee that smelled more than refreshing. I don’t even remember the last time I drank coffee. Everything that had been running through my head while heading downstairs went right out. All I wanted was coffee.
Danielle must have seen it in my one good eye because she got up and poured me a nice big cup. A third of the warm drink splashed onto my hands as I raised it to my mouth to get the first good sip. I didn’t even notice. The burning sensation in my mouth didn’t even bother me. I was just happy to have the drink back.
The girls waited for me to get my composure back before either one said anything. It took another five minutes. Five minutes we didn’t have because we were close to an hour and a half away from the meet.
“We let you sleep because you needed it,” Danielle said. I didn’t like the smile on her face. It was one of those smiles that your mother has with your wife when they’re talking about you all night smiles. Kate had the same one. “Kate told me about you not sleeping for the last month and a half. Add the injury, and you have a recipe for disaster. Now, sit down and let me change out the bandage. You’re seeping.”
I did as she said, still taking small drinks of the coffee while she worked. Before she got started, I took three more pills. While she worked, I got a good look at the table and the contents on it. Mostly, I was concentrating on the coffee cups. Theirs, not mine. Stains incased both cups. Stains that were fairly recent, but no more than a few hours old.
“How long have you two been awake.” It was trying, but I managed to keep my head steady for Danielle as she worked.
Kate let her work by taking charge of the question. “It does seem kind of hypocritical, but we didn’t get any sleep last night. After you fell asleep, Danielle and I decided we would be more of a help than you could ever imagine. You don’t have to set anything up at the meet. It has already been done.”
I didn’t even bother going into detail on what she was talking about. If Kate says the situation was taken care of, then it was taken care of. All I needed was my bandage changed.
Danielle spent five minutes changing out the bandage. When she was done, I was up and about to get my weapons when Danielle put a forceful hand on my shoulders and guided me back to the chair.
“You will sit there and eat some breakfast first. We have time, Byron. You need energy.”
I looked from Danielle to Kate and back again. “What the fuck were you two talking about while I was asleep?”
They laughed a little. I figured they wouldn’t let me in on the secret. It seemed more of one of the female conversations that males were not allowed to be a part. I know I have been the subject of several of those conversations throughout my life, but I didn’t expect it to ever come from these two.
Danielle moved to get me some eggs off the stove to go along with my coffee. The eggs were just as bad as the last ones I tasted, but they were still fresh. No more complaints from me on this subject.
Just when I thought I would be able to eat in silence, Kate finally told me what they were talking about.
“Danielle was just telling me about the town. About how there was like four families that ran the town. Your family is one of them until you all moved out. The K’s family was another.”
There was a noticeable pause from Kate. One that said I shouldn’t fill the void, but I was going to anyway. The other two families had friends of mine in them.
“What happened to the Lincoln’s and Roberts’?”
Kate’s head dropped. Danielle held my one good eye.
“Both families ended up as food. Kieran keeps them in the elementary school.”
My mind instantly went back to the guy I recognized in the school. Albert Lincoln had been his name. His dad was the superintendent of the school district. And one hell of a soldier from what my dad told me. I knew I recognized him.
“Most of those people in the school, even if we get them out of there in one piece, are going to be so malnourished that they will die in a matter of days. Even if we try to IV or force feed them, their body will go into shock from what has happened to them.”
Danielle lowered her voice to speak. It was barely audible, but I could still make it out. “I know. I tried to explain that to Kieran and Kevin, but they wouldn’t have any of it. They said the reason they wanted to starve the people in there is so they could feed the animals on the field.”
Kate put her hand on my forearm. “If we can’t save them, what will be the point of doing anything for them?”
“There is no point.” My bluntness physically hurt Danielle. She took a step back, raising her hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. Either we leave them in there to die because we stop giving them whate
ver rations Kieran has given them or we pull them out from two months of little to nothing to eat and then try to give them something that someone thinks will help them. They die no matter what. Sure, there will be a couple who will survive, but there’s no point in trying if most will die.”
She took her hand away from her mouth long enough to ask, “How can you justify that type of thinking?”
I looked to Kate. I didn’t need to ask her thoughts on the matter. She was of the same mind I was.
“It’s called triage. I’ve had to do it with friends of mine before. Brothers that I fought with. It’s no easier now with people I have lived in the same town with. So you can wipe that disappointed look in me away. I’m sure Kate informed you of what I would say in a matter like this.”
Danielle looked to the nodding Kate. She was finally at a loss for words.
“With that matter settled…”
“Oh, it’s not settled.” The force in her voice definitely left the discussion open. She wanted to continue to argue the fact, but would subside for the time being. There were more pressing matters we needed to take care of. At least she was getting the point without me even explaining it to her. The fifty-meter target was more important than the hundred meter target. “But if you want to get in position before Kieran does, then we need to leave now.”
The first thing I noticed leaving the house was the truck had been moved. It shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise to me. The ladies did say they had everything set up. It was what Kate said as I entered the truck that struck me as odd.
“I hope you don’t mind, but we also took some more precautions on getting things set up.” She didn’t try to sound as if she was sorry.
“What would those be?” Anger crept into my voice. I wanted to hide it, but there was no doing that. I had planned this situation out perfectly (at least in my mind) and when someone tries to change the plan that’s when things start to fuck up. I needed to know all the variables. This would be the second time in a matter of twelve hours that Kate is changing a variable on me. “You shouldn’t have changed anything.”
Kate opened the driver’s door for me to get in as she said, “Don’t worry, it’s not something that will be harmful to you. But I can’t let you know what it is because you’ll be thinking about the position the entire time.”
I slid in behind the wheel thinking hard. The “position?” What the fuck could she mean by the “position?” I know my memory has been going to shit over the years, but I was just at the football field yesterday. Granted, I still had a head injury, but that damn parking lot and field hasn’t changed in twenty years. Not since they built the new field and school-based off how good the football team became. There weren’t that many “positions” that offered anything of great advantage. That’s the reason I had planned out the situation the way I wanted it. The few that I knew of were virtually impossible for anyone to get to without being noticed even in the dead of night in a dead city. Someone knows what these two are up to, and that someone isn’t me.
I did want to press the matter further. There was no point though. The ladies thought they were helping with adding to the plan and keeping their mouths shut. I couldn’t blame them for what they wanted to do. Chances are I would have done the same thing if someone was keeping me in the dark on matters of life and death. And Kate was right. If I did know wherever the “position” was (or what it’s about), it would be detrimental to the situation.
Before I could even express my thoughts on anything, Danielle pushed me over in the seat. “I’m driving, you’re still more than a little fucked up.”
Had to give her that.
It took us five minutes to get across town to the field. We didn’t talk. My mind was on one thing only: The Mission. Kieran was the mission if he wanted it to be. By the time we got to the field, we still had an hour to wait until noon. I told him I would give him an hour after twelve-noon to see if he was still in town. That gave us two hours for everything to unfold.
Danielle stared straight forward as she drove. Kate looked out her window at the passing scenery. Before all this bullshit went off, it would have been something beautiful to look at for the drive. Even though it was a week after the Fourth, the decorations would still be up. As it was, the decorations were already up but they went to shit. It was as depressing as an Eastern European country in the winter. I’m sure the rest of the world (some places more-so than others) were the same way.
For myself, I only stared at my hands. I had a lot to think about. I was about to do something I didn’t like doing in the first place. That is if Kieran showed up. Brooding over the fact that I have taken lives wasn’t going to help me. Promising myself on my dead wife and son that Kieran would be the last life I took out of anger was something that I could help.
You see, I don’t know if you all have realized this yet or not, but I don’t like killing people. Oh yeah, in my writings I have told you how I have killed people, but if you haven’t noticed, they have been for a reason. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that killing a person for any reason is a good thing. At least, I don’t think there is. And even the people that I have killed since the outbreak weren’t my first.
I told you I’ve lost brothers before. This is something I don’t like to talk about. Hannah tried to get it out of me one night because I didn’t want to go to sleep. It was an anniversary of a good friend of mine’s death. I was drinking heavily all day and Hannah pestered me. When I finally told her how I felt about the whole thing, she could only say one thing.
You have to stay in the military then.
I was taken aback by what she said. I honestly didn’t know what to think on the matter. I just told her I killed a man in cold blood because I thought he killed my friend. You know what she said to me?
You have to atone for what you did.
And atone I did. My second deployment I didn’t kill a single person. Of course, that could be because it was the middle of the first drawdown in Iraq, but I’m not here to split hairs. My third deployment I tried to get myself out of the fight, but that didn’t help. I lost a friend and went back out the wire in Afghanistan. And this last deployment was the hardest. Goddam ISIL wouldn’t let up. My company pretty much stayed out the wire the entire time. That was until the shit started.
The killings I committed while on my deployments were justified. I was protecting the people I swore to protect. It was the killings since I got back to the States that are the ones hurting me. Sara was right. I could have found other ways to rectify the situation… maybe. When they happened, they were the right situations. But like everything else in the world, when you have time to think after the fact you realize you could have done things differently.
Since I have plenty of time to think about this one, depending on Kieran’s answer, there is no reason for him to die. Even if he decided to stick around, I still didn’t need to kill him. Chances are the civilians of Pilgrim have gotten word about what was happening and would turn on him. There would be no place for him to hide.
Did I believe that?
That would be a big fuck no.
I knew I had to kill Kieran. It would be the last one I would do that wasn’t in self-defense of myself or my children. I know I am putting a lot more people at risk by doing things the way I am, but the people I am putting at risk have proven time and again they can take care of themselves. I am not worried about that part.
Even with fifteen minutes to go before he was supposed to show up, these thoughts were running through my head. Truthfully, I should have been thinking about my kids. My two daughters. Debra and Claire. Beautiful little girls who will someday be beautiful women like their mothers (even though everyone says they take after me).
And just like that, all of my thoughts are taken away by the sound of an approaching vehicle.
I sat up in the bed of the truck to see the same cargo van approaching. I was disappointed. If you can’t tell, I was hoping he would arrive alone to tell me
he surrenders. I wasn’t so lucky.
Kieran was driving, but he had two more people in the van. And he drove right to where I wanted him to drive to.
I slid to the end of the bed just as the side cargo door opened. The other two men were getting out of the van when it happened.
There were no gunshots. All that happened was a red mist exploding from the backs of their heads. The whip of the now dead guy’s head’s caused the mist to sail in an upwards fashion, spraying the top of the van. Kieran did something I never thought I would ever hear from him. The scream he gave would make a baby jealous.
It wasn’t until the bodies fell that I noticed they did have weapons. Kate and Danielle did say they improved my plan.
I finally looked up to the hyperventilating Kieran. When I talked, I tried to make myself sound more confident than I felt.
“I told you to come alone.”
“It seems you broke your own rules, Byron.”
I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. An amateur was definitely on his team. The small glint of light off the sniper's scope on the third floor of the school could not go unnoticed. I had to make a drastic play.
I raised my voice a little. I wasn’t talking to Kieran.
“OWEN! Did you see it?”
Kieran looked up to the announcer’s booth of the football field. Remember when I said that the only places I remembered were almost impossible to get to? Well, it seems that Owen knew a way to get into the booth that was on the inside of the fence more than I did. At least, I hoped he did. I was calling blind on a major bet.
But I was also a great poker player.
Owen’s rifle didn’t have a silencer on it. A single shot rang out. A moment later Owen said, “He’s taken care of. Do your business.”
Kieran shifted his eyes down to me. “You lied to me.”