Travellers

by Tim Yingling

  “No, I didn’t.” I pointed to Kate and Danielle leaning against the junior high building. “They made an audible I didn’t know about. I’m kind of glad they did.”

  Kieran looked at them while addressing me. “Still, this is an unfair fight.”

  I yelled up to Owen. “Come on down. No need for you to be up there now.” Then I turned to the ladies. “Tell Marty and Lee to stand down. And the two of you drop your weapons.”

  Everyone did as I told them to. Still standing on the bed of the truck, I turned to the elementary school. Marty and Lee took an Indian sitting style on the roof. Owen was going to be able to use the two of them when it came to running this town.

  I turned back to Kieran. The only weapon I had on my person was the .45. I took it out of the holster and tossed it next the .762 on the roof of the truck. Being unarmed, I jumped down from the truck.

  Before I said anything, I raised the hem of my shirt and made a circle motion.

  “There you go,” I said. “I just showed you I have no weapon on me.”

  “What’s your point?”

  I pulled my Zippo from my pocket. One that has been with me for a long time. You may remember that I am a smoker. How do you think I lit my cigarettes?

  “My point is this, Kieran. You see this lighter right here. It has been with me for ten years…”

  “I don’t give a shit.”

  “Oh, I think you do at this point. As you know I have been a smoker. For the better part of my life. Hannah has tried to get me to quit for I don’t know how long. I think since we had been married. I always had a reason to continue to smoke. It was always the death that I had caused. But you see, I made a promise to myself this morning. Well, more so to Hannah than to me. I decided I’m going to quit smoking.” I lit the lighter. “And it only seems fitting that this lighter is going to be the one thing that I do my last killing with.”

  Kieran couldn’t hold his tongue. He was always the type of person that got impatient easily. “What’s your fucking point?”

  I snickered with no humor. “Have you not noticed the smell?”

  He froze. He honestly stopped all bodily movement for a matter of two seconds. His nostrils didn’t even flare. His eyes widen a bit, but only minutely. I don’t think he even noticed. But realization did come over his face.

  “I made a promise to my wife, Kieran. The woman I love. I would not kill anyone else after you. And by the look on your face, I can tell you smell the gas. You probably don’t smell the tar that was picked up as well. Mixing the two will cause the fire to last a bit longer on the concrete.”

  Kieran started to look at the ground. He wanted to find a way out, but I couldn’t let him. I lit the lighter and tossed it two feet in front of me. The fire was instantaneous. It wrapped around Kieran and the van with ten feet to spare on either side. I was still a safe distance away from the fire, but it singed my body hair a bit.

  I took a step back while saying, “You should have taken my offer, Kieran.”

  He was scared. He didn’t know what was going to happen. At least he wasn’t pleading for his life. Things would have ended differently if he did. I would have shot him instead of walking to the fence. His eyes followed me.

  “You see, technically, I’m not the one who is going to kill you. The zombies that you created are the ones going to kill you.” There was a small push detonator hanging off the fence a good ten feet from the fire. The fire still didn’t even reach the explosive that was woven through the chain length fence. “You should have left this town to the people, Kieran.”

  I pushed the button. A charge went through the det-cord to the explosive. There wasn’t much of an explosion as there was a cutting. The fence let go of itself and fell forward. Kieran whimpered himself back into the van. I didn’t have to tell anyone to do anything. They already knew.

  Owen took out the tires and the radiator. Marty and Lee took out the windows. Kieran was trapped.

  The zombies did their shamble out to the van. Kieran tried to hide in the back, but the zombies managed to get into the van. Before the outcome happened, we all took off. I didn’t want to stick around and watch the entire thing happen.

  * * * *

  Saturday, 1 October 2016

  Pilgrim, Indiana

  Right now you probably think me a complete sociopath. I couldn’t be farther from that diagnosis. I gave Kieran every chance he could possibly have to get away. He didn’t want to take the chance. He fought and died for his actions.

  As for me, I decided to live at my cousin’s cabin.

  You’re probably wondering what happened to everyone else that was involved with me.

  Well, obviously Debbie and Claire are with me at the lake. If you thought anything different then you didn’t read my account of the first few months of the 2016 zombie outbreak.

  Marty and Lee went to work for Owen. They proved to be two of the best city protectors.

  Owen and Kristy stayed in town. I offered them to stay with us, but they felt more at home in the city. I think you may have noticed already, but Owen is running the town. Doing a pretty good job of it too. He’s nowhere near as ruthless as the K’s. He’s running the town right. In the two months since we took care of the zombies on the field, we haven’t had an outbreak inside the barrier. Kristy is right there by his side every step of the way.

  Owen brings some new recruits out to me to train. That’s my role now. I don’t want any responsibility outside of the training.

  Tayvon is another story altogether. He wanted to go back to Commerce. He thought he could take what he learned from me back there. I didn’t argue. I would have liked him to stick around, but he was adamant. Phil even wanted to go with him. Tayvon jumped at the company easily. I wished both men Godspeed before they left.

  Danielle stayed on as the residential doctor for the town. Mostly she had been treating the common flu. That’s where I left her.

  Kate had become like a wife to me. It seems weird I know, but not if you think about it. She and I spent the entire zombie outbreak together. I’m not saying we got married or are sleeping together. Nor am I denying either one. But she had her niece and nephew to take care of. I had my daughters to take care of. And we became one big family.

  At my suggestion, I told Owen he should try to find a way to get in touch with Washington. There was someone there that could help Pilgrim. Chances are, the people there had already established other cities throughout the eastern U.S. Owen took my advice and for the last two days, he had been conversing with Stone on what should be done.

  So, here I sit on the patio overlooking the lake Debbie and Ernie are swimming in. Kate is right below me holding Claire with Linny sitting beside her.

  To answer your last question. My memory may be shot on certain things. But everyone remembers the end of the world and the part they played in it. My part is done. And this is all I remember.

  07 Aug 2016 – 22 Oct 2017