by Poe, S. B.
“Well, that was fun.” Lori said.
“Y’all are pretty good at that.” Vernon said from the bed of the truck. “Really. That was like watching a play or something. Real… what’s the word… artistry, yeah? Real artistry.”
“Well, thanks but…” Lori stopped. The sound of clapping echoed down the road.
“What now?” Jahda asked as she stepped onto the asphalt.
“What is that?” Vernon stood and looked down the road.
“Sounds like clapping. Kinda.” Devin said.
“It’s not clapping.” Josh said. “It’s hoof beats. Look.” He pointed.
They all stepped into the road and watched as the horse came over the rise towards the bridge. It broke into a gallop. Jahda could see the rider’s brown ponytail bouncing up and down. The horse crossed the bridge and covered the last thirty yards to the truck. Ham pulled back, and the horse came to a stop. She jumped down and took a step towards Jahda and stopped. She looked around at the five of them.
“I’m sorry.” She said. “It’s my fault.”
“What’s your fault? Where’s Scott? Did something happen to him?” Josh started.
“No, uh no, this…” Ham stuttered.
“Hold on. Just stop.” Jahda said. She looked at Josh as she walked over to Ham. She wrapped her arms around her and gave her a hug. Ham dropped the reigns and hugged her back. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ham said.
“And Scott?” Josh asked again.
“He’s fine. I guess.” Ham said.
“What does that mean?” Josh asked.
“He was fine last time I saw him. But we have to go help him. He can’t get out.”
“Out of what?” Josh asked.
“Hold on. Here.” Jahda handed Ham a bottle of water. “Come over here. Sit on the tailgate.”
“Out of what?” Josh asked again.
“In a second, Josh. Let her sit down and have a drink.” Jahda shepherded her to the back of the truck.
“It’s my brother.”
“She said he was fine.”
“The last time she saw him.” Josh said. “When was that?”
Ham took the bottle and chugged a few swallows. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
“This morning. Just after the sun came up. That’s when I escaped.” Ham said.
“Escaped? Escaped what?” Lori asked.
“There was a man. He was in a wheelchair but he could walk, but he had a fake leg. His name is Noah. Cyrus said he’s in charge. Oh yeah, Cyrus was the one the found us. Last night.” She looked around and realized where she was. “He found us right here.”
“Whoa, slow down. A man in a wheelchair? Cyrus?” Devin asked.
“Cyrus isn’t in a wheelchair. That’s Noah. But he can walk and oh yeah, there’s girl. Her name is Hannah, but they call her Holes. Because she has these big old gross looking holes on her side.” Ham pointed to her own ribcage. “She got bit.”
“Bit? Wait a minute.”
“Noah did too. At least she said he did.”
“Stop. Just stop. Ham I have to know is my brother alive? Is he okay?” Josh leaned closer to her.
“Yes. He was. I don’t know what happened after I escaped.”
“Why did you leave him there?” Josh asked as his face turned slightly red.
“He told me to. He said if either of us got a chance to go, we should go. And bring back help.” Ham said.
“Escape from who?” Lori asked.
“Noah.”
“Who is Noah?” Lori asked.
“He’s the man in the wheelchair with the fake leg.” Ham said.
“Where? Jesus, kid. Where the hell is my brother? Who are all these people you keep talking about because if I need to kill them to get my brother back, just point me in the right direction.” Josh tried to restrain himself. “But you have to tell us what is going on. All of it.”
“Me and Scott got lost. It wasn’t his fault. We killed some stringers. Cheval ran off. A man named Cyrus found us. We followed him because he said he would take us home. He lied. He took us to his home. A man named Noah and a bunch of other people live there. Noah said we couldn’t leave. Said we were at our new home. We decided to escape. I got out. Cheval came back and…” Ham stopped. She looked around and hopped off the tailgate. She walked around the other side of the truck and looked back towards the bridge. “Cheval kept me ahead of that.” She pointed.
A horde of dead shambled down the road towards the bridge. The others stepped from around the truck and looked at the crowd of fifty or so deaduns slowly coming their way.
“We need to go.” Jahda said.
“Which way did Cyrus take you away from here?” Josh asked Ham.
“That way.” She pointed towards the crowd of dead.
“We NEED TO GO.” Jahda said again. “We have to get out of here.”
“We can’t leave him. I promised him I would bring help.” Ham looked at her.
“Honey, we can’t go that way.” Jahda said.
“I promised. We have to, that’s the only way I know how to get back to him.” Ham looked up at Josh.
Josh looked at her. He pulled the gun from his hip and chambered a round. He reached into the front seat and grabbed the shotgun.
“Don’t do it, Josh.” Jahda said.
“My brother is that way. That’s the way we’re going.” He said as he turned and walked towards the crowd.
“Don’t do it.” Jahda said, but before she finished Josh had already pulled the trigger twice.
Two of the dead dropped, and the horse bolted again. Ham reached out as Cheval flew past her. It never broke stride as it headed back towards Collier.
“Well, shit.” Devin said as he pulled the rifle from the back seat. “I guess we’re all in. Get in the truck. Stay down.” He grabbed Ham’s hand and helped her into the bed of the truck. “Here.” He handed her his machete and held out his pistol. “You remember how to use this?”
“Yeah.” She said.
“Only if they get past us. Okay?” Devin said.
“Okay.” She said.
He turned to Vernon. “Watch the woods. Both sides of the road. Yell out if something comes out behind us.”
“Will do.” Vernon said.
“Be careful.” Ham said.
“What she said.” Vernon added.
“Back in a minute.” He smiled.
Nothing Left to Lose
Kate strained to see further down the road. The roar of the engine made thinking a task. As the hummer chirped around the slight curve, she could see something in the road ahead. It slowly came into view and she felt Bridger pull his foot off the accelerator without her needing to say anything. The vehicle came to a stop and both of them stepped one foot out into the road to watch the horse come galloping by.
“That’s Ham’s horse.” Bridger said. “Did you see the rifle across the back of the saddle?”
“Yeah.”
“That wasn’t the gun we heard.” Bridger said. “Let’s go.”
The horse disappeared into the rearview mirror, and Bridger turned his attention to the road ahead. He progressed a little slower than he had been. The trees grew closer to the road and their shadows cut shards of sunlight into stained glass across the asphalt. They came around another guarded corner and he could see the truck parked in the road. There was a crowd gathered around the tailgate, but he couldn’t make out if it was living or dead until one of them stood up in the bed and waved towards them. He pulled the vehicle to the side of the road behind the truck. There were several dead scattered along the side of the road beside the truck, and more lay in the road in front of it. He looked over the group and saw almost everyone he hoped to see. Vernon surprised him being there, but he didn’t see the one face he needed to see. For her. He looked over at her, but she was already exiting out the door.
“Where is he?” She asked.
“We were…” Josh started.
“No
t asking you. Asking her.” She pointed at Ham. “Where is he?”
“That way.” She said as she pointed over her shoulder.
“Why is he not with you?” She asked.
“I escaped.”
“Escaped what?”
“No, no, we’re going through all that again.” Josh interrupted. “We think we know where he is or at least the general direction.”
“Why are you standing here?” She asked.
“Well, because there was a lot of dead between us and the way we need to go but fortunately we have just about taken care of it that problem.” Josh said.
“So that was all the gunfire we heard?” Bridger walked over to the side of the truck.
“Yeah, that went well.” Jahda said.
“It wasn’t that bad. It got the road clear.” Josh said.
“And then we spent the last hour wrestling with every dead within earshot coming out of the woods when you quit shooting.” Jahda said.
“Ran out of ammo. Had to.” Josh smiled.
“It made it harder.” Jahda said. “But I guess we had to clear that bridge somehow, so it all worked out.”
“Bridge?” Bridger asked.
“Yeah, about a half mile back up the road. We had to keep giving ground until they quit coming out of the woods. Used the truck to draw them down the road and string them out. Made it easier to pick them off.” Jahda said.
“Your idea?” Bridger asked.
“I guess.” She smiled.
“Everyone all caught up? Good. Now where the hell is my son and what the hell happened out there?” Kate asked.
Ham pieced together the last twenty-four hours as best she could. Bridger got the yellow house right. He exchanged glances with Jahda when Ham got to the part about climbing the chimney to get out. The story was twice interrupted by more of the dead being drawn from afar.
“But they never harmed you? Never did anything. Just threatened.” Kate asked.
“Nope.”
“Or Scott?” Kate asked.
“Not until that man came and got him. I don’t know what happened after that?” Ham asked.
“Did he yell at Scott to move or have some guys there in case he didn’t come?” Bridger asked.
“No. He just asked him to come with him. First, he asked if I was asleep, I was pretending, and then he asked Scott to walk with him and he went.” Ham said. “I’m sorry. We were supposed to be in it together. But he said one if one of us had a chance, and I had a chance.”
“That took a lot of guts, kid.” Devin said. “Lotta guts.”
“Yeah, most of them hurt when I fell out of that hole by the chimney.” She smiled.
Kate looked over at Josh. They both stepped away from the tailgate. Bridger caught their motion. He glanced at Kate and she motioned him to join them.
“What do you think?” Josh asked.
“I don't know.” Bridger said.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Kate asked.
“I mean, I don’t know. From what she says it sounds like they stumbled into that guy and he made a bad choice by taking them to his place and the guy in charge is trying to figure out how to fix it without killing someone.” Bridger said.
“But?”
“But the guy I met up the interstate said something to me.” Bridger said. “Something about a group out by the Black Neck Creek.”
“So?” Kate asked.
“So that sign right over there says Black Neck Creek.” Bridger said.
“What did he tell you about the group that lives out at Black Neck Creek?” Kate asked.
“Now I’m not saying it’s the same group. Maybe he doesn’t know anything about these people, but he said they were some kind of death cult. Or something like that. Worshiped the deaduns or some such craziness.” Bridger said.
“It doesn’t sound like what Ham described.” Josh said.
“I don’t know, maybe it does.” Kate said. “She was only there a few hours. She didn’t see much. And what she saw creeped her and Scott out enough they decided they needed to escape even if only one got away. Sounds like good intuition.”
“Maybe. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe this won’t go bad. But I don’t think we have a choice but to push.” Bridger said. “She said they acted interested in Collier. They know more than we do.”
“So we need to get going.” Josh said.
“No. We don’t.” Bridger said.
“What?” Josh and Kate asked at the same time.
“Think about it. Just for a second.” Bridger paused. “We know where to go now. Mostly. But the closer we get, the less we know. Advantage them. We’re going at their home, their stockpiles of whatever they have, advantage them. We have seven guns and a couple of axes. And unless I heard you wrong, you’re out of ammo. So make that six guns, a couple of axes and really cool looking brick.”
“Your point.” Josh asked.
“If we misjudge them, and go up there like we are now, we lose before we ever even get there.” Bridger said. “We have to get more.”
“More what?”
“Even if they just want to be unfriendly, we’re going to need more everything to get Scott back. Guns, ammo, bodies. We’re at every disadvantage possible, except one.” Bridger said.
“What’s that?” Kate asked.
“They don’t know what we’re capable of, not really.” Bridger said. “Let’s walk back to that bridge and see if Ham can point us in the right direction again. Make sure she really remembers. Then I’ll go back and grab the rest of the things we need. I’ll probably take Devin with me to help. Y’all can just hold tight here. Let’s get everyone on board.” Bridger said. Josh turned and started back towards the others. Kate reached out and grabbed Bridger’s forearm.
“You’re talking about war, aren’t you?” Kate said. “We need that stuff in case we have to go to war.”
“A little one. Maybe.”
“We don’t know what we’re capable of ourselves. You said so when the soldiers showed up. And then you went and fixed the problem yourself. This isn’t a ploy to try that again, is it? We’re not going to find out that while we sat here, waiting on you and Devin to get back, you went and killed everyone and rescued Scott, are we?” Kate asked.
“Would you rather I would?” Bridger asked.
“Truthfully, yes. But another part of me needs to be there, in case something...” Kate said.
“I know.” Bridger said. “Let’s figure out we’re up against.”
They walked back over to the group. Josh had filled them in on most of the plan.
“So how far is this bridge?” Bridger asked.
“Oh, it’s just around the bend there.” Vernon said. “Maybe half mile.”
“Well, Ham, you feel like a walk?” Bridger asked. “Sorry, if your horse hadn’t run off you could ride.”
“That’s okay. I think she’s like my guardian angel now. She’ll show up when I need her.” Ham said.
“Well, come show us where we’re going. I just want to walk up there where we can see the bridge and then you can point us on from there.” He said.
Vernon sat in the driver’s seat of the truck and waited. The others were lined across the road, walking towards the bridge. He watched them until they rounded the bend before reaching into his shirt pocket and producing the joint. He inhaled deeply as he looked around at the dead scattered across the road and the rot splattered against the side of the truck.
“Lord, if you get me back home, I’ll never leave again. I promise.” He tilted his head towards the heavens and took another toke.
The sky had filled with clouds. Not the big puffy ones of summer, but the low scrim of fall that slowly turn the world gray. Several crows hopped among the bodies on the ground, pecking and pulling at loose pieces of rotting flesh and fighting over the juicy parts. Josh walked while emptying the magazine Bridger had given him into his pocket. He slowly reloaded the rounds into the magazine that fit his Beretta. He glanced up from
time to time to keep from tripping. He loaded the last round and put the magazine into the gun, cycled a round into the chamber and glanced up again.
“Guys.” He said. “Guys. Look.”
The others were listening to Ham tell a bit more detail about the plan her and Scott had executed in their original escape from Collier as they walked. Bridger looked up when Josh spoke. He stopped. They were still about a hundred yards from the bridge.
“Is that more deaduns?” Lori asked.
Bridger lifted the binoculars from the strap hanging around his neck and put them against his eyes.
“Um. Nope. Look.” He handed the binoculars to Kate.
“What is it? What do you see?” Lori asked.
“People.” Kate said. “Just standing there.”
“Waiting.” Bridger said.
“On what?” Lori asked.
“Can I look?” Ham asked.
Kate looked at Bridger. He shrugged his shoulders. She handed the binoculars to Ham. She put them up to her eyes and spent an inordinate amount of time trying to focus them.
“Need some help?” Bridger asked.
“Nah, I got it.” Ham said. “I don’t see Noah but Cyrus is the big guy on the left and I think that is Hannah, the girl I told you about, next to him.”
“I guess that’s your answer, Lori. They’re waiting on us.” Bridger said.
“Those are the ones that have my son?” Kate took the binoculars and looked again at the bridge. She handed them to Bridger.
“Yep.” Ham said.
“Well, let’s go find out what they are waiting on.” Kate said.
“This could go bad, Kate, right here, right now. And we’d lose.” Bridger said.
“Everything I love is right here. This is where I make my stand.” Kate said. “I will either get my son back or die trying.”