by Mark Tufo
And then came the kicker...did I care? I was fairly convinced I could strike a bargain with the Lycan, they leave me alone and I’d do the same. “Yeah, then I’d have to look at the self-righteous face of Tommy when he finally tracked my ass down.”
Son of a bitch if I was going to be guilt-tripped into a war. I’m sure there were people like Lana, good decent people, but for every one of her there would be ten assholes. I had come no closer to an answer and still I lumbered on. The sun had set and was once again peeking up when Oggie stirred, I knew the dog had to eat; his energy level was a quarter of its normal self.
I placed him a few feet off the roadway under a bush, concealing him from the sun and prying eyes. “You stay here, my friend. I’ll be back with a feast for the both of us.”
I was out looking for game a lot longer than I wanted. The woods were almost devoid of wildlife, either it had been cleared or they were driven out by fear. Both scenarios reeked of werewolves – which made sense if they had been patrolling about the previous night. I saw two squirrels way off, a garter snake up close, which I was not going to eat, and bugs, lots and lots of bugs but nothing that was going to feed the Ogster and me. I was defeated as I began to find my way back to his hiding spot.
“Oggie?” I asked as I came back and he was nowhere to be found. Panic ensued, I felt like a parent in a packed department store who takes their eye off their child for a moment only to discover when they turn back around the child is missing. I couldn’t even think straight as I tramped about looking for any signs of him.
“Oggie!” I yelled. Did he follow me into the woods? I thought. No, I would have heard him. “Purpose!” I yelled, walking towards the roadway. I saw hoof prints in the mud, the soft shothethe sofulder revealing Oggie’s disappearance. I saw his paw prints, the shoe tracks of someone, and lots of horse tracks.
Someone had grabbed Oggie! Red blinded my vision. “I’ll fucking tear them limb from limb!” I said as I started to run.
I had not gone more than three or four miles when I saw them. The murderous thieves would soon find themselves in a hell they could not fathom. The closer I got, the less sense the scene made. Oggie was on the ground jumping around, as was a person. Two horses were on the opposite side of the roadway pulling up clumps of grass.
Oggie started barking, his tail waving crazily as he took notice of me. Red began to peel back to reveal what was going on.
“Lana?” I asked as I approached.
“Surprise!” she said, trying to gauge my reaction.
“What the fuck is the meaning of this? You think taking my dog is a fucking joke? I should tear you apart for that. He is ALL I have, and I will destroy all that mean him harm!”
I had backed her up against a tree. “I meant him no harm, Michael. I followed your trail along the road. When the tracks stopped, Oggie came out, and he looked in desperate need of water and food – both of which I gave him in abundance. I thought perhaps you had gone to hunt, and I took Oggie a couple of miles up the roadway to see if we could find you. We were just about to turn around.”
Oggie jumped up and placed his paws on my thigh as if to say ‘Here I am, I’m fine.’
I would have wept with relief and joy if I could see past the cloud of anger. I grabbed Oggie, hugged him tight, and began to walk off.
“I brought you a horse,” she said to my retreating back. I kept walking; though I had slowed.
“I brought food,” she added. I slowed more but kept going.
“There’s a place for Oggie to ride on the horse.”
“Dammit, woman, I’m trying to leave you.”
“Venison.”
“Damn you,” I told her as I turned back.
“I can travel with you?” she asked.
“Any beer?”
“Beer?”
“I’ll think about it,” I told her.
Oggie and Lana played as I took my fill. I did not know how hungry I was until I had started eating.
“How, Lana?” I asked when I finally finished. “How did you convince your father to let you go and with horses and supplies?”
“Denarth sent more riders out. They heard commotion all night around the city and were concerned with my father still out there. When they found us, I told him that I could do more for our city out here then back home.”
“He agreed to that?”
“I wore him down.” She smiled.
“That I understand.” I frowned.
“Besides, he will need all his energy to c0"> energyonvince the council, not watch me.”
“Will they be convinced?”
“Not at first, even with three men relating the tale, one of them being the chancellor. They won’t want to believe. But when they drop the body of one of the torn up hounds on the council table, they won’t be able to deny it any longer.”
“There’s a visual I would not like to witness.”
“I grabbed two horses and enough supplies for a week and came after you.”
“I thank you for feeding us. I wish you weren’t coming, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to get rid of you just yet. Let’s get moving.” I placed Oggie up in a over-sized basket that was seated behind a leather saddle on a large black mare.
“Her name is Shadow,” Lana told me.
The horse looked scared as I approached, and who could blame her. I’m sure she knew me for the predator that I was. “Let’s have an understanding, Shadow,” I said as I stroked her neck. “You don’t toss me and my dog and I won’t eat you – fair enough?” The horse’s head bowed quickly, as if in understanding, I don’t know. More likely she was trying to get away from my touch. Either way, I think I got my point across.
Oggie seemed to love being king of the world in his specially designed dog transport. My innate fear of anything bigger than me was in high gear.
“Thank you,” I finally managed after some distance punctuated with silence.
“You’re welcome,” she answered. “Are you planning on turning off?”
“Why?”
“Your friends did.” She pointed towards an old off-ramp.
“How do you know?” I asked, looking for any signs that would lead me to believe that.
The wheel on your friends cart has a nick on the outside track and it leaves a telltale imprint.” She got off her horse and pointed it out. I got down with her as well and couldn’t see anything other than an old wagon wheel rut.
“If you say so,” I told her as I climbed astride my horse. “Alright, Tonto, how far ahead are they?”
“Ten…twelve hours at the most,” she replied without missing a beat. “Tonto?”
“Famous Indian guide. They’ve slowed up; they’re trying to let me catch up. How do they know where I am or if I’m following? Must be witchcraft,” I added.
“Your friend is a witch?”
“One of them most definitely is, has it on her identification card and everything. Azile probably has her master’s degree is spell brewing. Who knows what power Tommy has?”
“She could have spies everywhere.”
That I didn’t like. This was almost as bad as the 21st century and a video camera on every corner. “The hawk,” I said. Thinking back, it was hunting alright, but a different quarry. I looked up, and although nothing was there, I flipped it the finger anyway, knowing full well Azile knewhatl Azile the intended meaning of the gesture.
“Is that a signal of some sort?” Lana asked, shielding her eyes from the sun.
“Of sorts,” I told her as we followed the tracks. “She’ll understand if she’s watching.”
One more night of traveling through and we’d be on their heels. I had the anger and stamina to do it. Not sure about Lana, although she had youth. How many times as a kid had I pulled an all-nighter? However, those were generally chemically induced.
“You okay?” I asked Lana. The further we got from her home, the more nervous she seemed to get.
“I’m fine.”
“
I’ve been around enough women in my life, Lana, to know ‘I’m fine’ means anything but. Homesick?”
“There is one I miss above others. I sent a note back with my father, though.”
“Oh, that ought to fix everything,” I said sarcastically. “It’s not too late.”
Although, it really was. I wouldn’t feel right sending her back on her own, not this far out. And I was too close to want to turn back. That stupid invention called time that man marked was beginning to press heavily on me. Bigger things were already in motion, no matter whether I was involved or not. What overall part I had in it, I had no clue. More than likely I was a piece of flotsam hurtling down a raging river, no more likely to turn the flow than a submerged rock. At least the rock might cause a ripple or a momentary break of white water but no more. The piece of debris I felt like, was just being swept downstream, powerless against the flow.
“I won’t go back,” she said defiantly.
“I’m not your father, not that it would matter. You wouldn’t listen anyway. I’m not telling you to go back, I was wondering if you wanted to.”
“I’m fine,” she repeated.
This is going to be a blast, I thought. Silence ensued for miles as we rode on. It was strange seeing the world as it now was. A few years back, when the world of man still existed, I used to watch a show called After Man or something along those lines. It talked about how all of our greatest structures would fail and Mother Nature would reassert herself. I enjoyed the computer simulations they featured, it made for interesting thought. In a sick way, it was fascinating to watch how the planet would heal from our scourge. The vast majority of creatures were harmonious with the world around them; they lived and died in the world provided to them they did not try to alter it to fit their needs as humans did.
We traveled through an industrial park, the corroded, rusted-out shells of warehouses lining the roadway. It was mostly the skeletal remains that stayed. The roofs and the walls were mostly gone or covered in aggressive ivy. Steel studs stuck up like the bones of an ancient, long dead animal.
“That would be hilarious if one of those were a Twinkie factory. I’d have to see if the myths surrounding them were true,” I said, looking over to my right. Grass nearly chest high swayed in a small breeze.nt>
“Twinkie?”
“Huh?” I asked, coming out of my trance. “Small sponge cake, entirely too sweet for my liking, but it was rumored they could last for a hundred years.”
“Sounds delicious,” Lana said.
“Yeah, not really.” I pushed my horse on.
“They need to rest soon,” she said, referring to the beasts.
“How long do they need?” I asked, having no clue.
“About three hours if they get a good place to lie down.”
“I thought horses didn’t lie down.”
“Not generally, but if they can find a comfortable enough place, they will, and they’ll be better for it.”
I guided my mount over towards the grass. Oggie jumped into my arms once I was down, his feet in motion before I set him on the ground.
I helped Lana down and then removed my saddle once I saw her begin to do it for her horse. The two steeds began to eat, not having to travel too far to do so. Lana stretched, I did the same.
“Rest,” I told her. “I’m just going to walk around. All these ghosts of the past have me curious.”
I pushed through the small field and towards one of the structures that still had its west wall. I had great hopes it might be a munitions or arms factory. Hey, it’s my journal I can suspend as much belief as I want. It was mattresses, rat-chewed mattresses. “What are the chances Colt set up shop next to Sealy?” I asked, moving on.
None to be specific. The warehouse floor had long ago been replaced by a carpet of dirt and grass. Whatever had been here must have been perishable, because it was empty. I smiled wanly and bent down to pick up what had caught my eye. It was a Dunkin Donuts plastic cup, someone had been enjoying an Iced Coffee when the world died. At least they went out awake, I thought as I turned it over a couple of times and then discarded it.
That thing would still be there even when I was ground to dust. Vampires weren’t immortal; plastic was. When future civilizations come to unearth ancient artifacts, what would they think of us when they found condoms and potato chip bags?
“Fat fuckers, I suppose. Oh, Talbot, they get worse with age,” I said, berating myself for my bad joke.
It was Oggie’s barking and the horses neighing that got me quickly moving, then I heard Lana.
“What do you want?” she asked. I could hear the tremor in her voice from here.
What I saw when I came out of the tall grass stopped me in my tracks. “It can’t be.”
Oggie was barking and jumping around the figure that haltingly lurched at him.
“Purpose, come here now!” I said with enough force that he knew disobedience would be frowned upon. The zombie wavered between following the dog and going for Lana.
“ haize="+0Does it have the plague!” she yelled as she came towards me.
“Yeah, he’s got the plague alright. What the hell is it doing out here. They’re all supposed to be gone.”
“What is that?” she wailed.
“Zombie.”
“That’s a zombie?”
“That’s a zombie,” I reiterated, studying the creature as it approached.
“How is that possible? The vaccine, the great eradication, we’ve always been told that none existed. That none could exist.”
“A holdover from another time. There will always be some creature that escapes the net.”
I wasn’t even sure what was holding this thing up; any clothes it had ever donned were long gone. It really wasn’t much more than skin-wrapped bones. It was difficult to even imagine what color she had been, all of its pigmentation had turned a uniform color of gray. Its hair and teeth were gone, a snail on a mission would make better time. I mean, not really, but it was going to be difficult for this thing to catch anything living. However, it was still not a good sign; the odds that this was THE very last zombie were not good.
In this one creature was the potential for another outbreak and with swords as the only weapon…I left the thought unanswered. Lana turned away as I took its head off. The torque of the blade barely slowed as I sliced through its pencil-thin neck.
“Are we safe here?” she asked, looking around.
“Mostly…I think. Stay on the road, I’ll stay here and keep a watch out. I want to travel through the night so the more rested you all are, the better,” I told her. I don’t know how ‘safe’ she felt, but the horses had already calmed down and were once again eating as if nothing had happened. Oggie sniffed once around the body and he’d had enough. I knew how bad those things smelled, and his nose was worlds better than mine. “It’ll be alright, I promise.”
She grabbed her saddle and put it out square in the middle of the trail; she used it as a backrest as she leaned up against it. I had the unenviable task of hurling the zombie into the weeds. It was difficult gaining purchase on it as its skin sloughed off in my hands.
“This is fucking gross,” I muttered. The head I kicked and rolled to its final, final resting spot. I found a small puddle created by a deep wheel well and washed the grime off of me as best I could. I looked longingly at the warehouses; wishing one of them was a Lysol factory.
“That adds a new wrinkle. One more thing to keep an eye out for.”
True to my word, I stayed close to Lana, not too close, though; the pull of her was beginning to wear on me. I was hungry, and traditional food still held value in my diet, but the blood she thought so little of was sometimes all I could think about. I let her and the horses rest close to four hours if my reckoning was right. Oggie stayed somewhat close after our little encounter, but he still had a lot of energy to expend hunting.
My small fire and the roasting of two rabbits is what got Lana stirring.
besnede=
"+0">That smells delicious,” she said, rubbing her eyes.
“It’s just about done.” I told her. Oggie was foaming at the mouth waiting for his portion.
“How bad were they?” Lana asked, referring to our earlier guest. “I’ve read about them, but the people that were writing about them had never seen them. They were relating stories that had been handed down to them.”
“It was a nightmare from which we could not wake,” I told her as I stared into the flame. “They were everywhere, fast ones, slow ones, smart ones, and fat ones and they all had one thing in mind. It was a relentless pursuit of the hunted. They were never sated, no matter how much they ate.”
She shuddered in the dying sunlight.
“At the height of their reign, they must have outnumbered us a thousand to one or more. Never did the math; the only ones that mattered to me were around me. The only reason we won was because we became so scarce.”
“That’s not a great tactic,” she said as she got closer to the fire.
“Not so much, and it wasn’t by design, that’s for sure. But the less readily available their food source, the more likely they were to go into a stasis or hibernation. It wasn’t uncommon to find great hordes of them numbering in the hundreds maybe thousands just asleep or whatever it was they were doing. We burned them, we burned them all. Well…except for that one.” I pointed with a stick to the approximate place I had disposed of our holdout, finally taking my gaze from the flame.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“For what?”
“For all you’ve been through.”
I stood. “Eat before it burns.” I strode away, grabbed my saddle, and did my best to undo what I had done when I had taken the thing off.
Oggie was growling playfully as Lana stripped meat off the small animals. The smell was alluring, but my stomach had turned. After a few minutes Lana came over and adjusted some straps.
“Not bad,” she told me.
Another five and we were back on the road. Twilight faded to dusk, dusk faded to night and still we rode on. The industrial section gave way to a neighborhood, although, without knowing what to look for, you’d never know it. There were few remnants left. A few shingles, an occasional piece of a toy that may have been unearthed by playful raccoons; occasionally there was a hint of a car or some broken glass. Another hundred years and a traveler would never know anyone had inhabited this place. Maybe that was for the best. I’d always thought mankind was an aberration upon the world, a genetic abnormality that should have died in prehistoric times. We weren’t equipped to deal like other animals were. No long teeth, no claws, no heavy fur for the elements. The best that we could muster was huddling in deep dark caves that other bigger animals had vacated.