by Brant, Jason
While looking down at the body, McCall saw drops of blood patter against the wood planks and he remembered that he’d been shot. He could see a small hole in the sleeve of his shirt and he stuck a finger into it and tore it wider. The bullet went through the skin of his left arm but didn’t appear to touch any of the meat underneath.
He flexed his arm twice, making a tight fist each time. Everything worked fine as long as he ignored the sting when he moved it, which could have been worse. He didn’t think the wound would slow him down in any way, but he was concerned as to what the scent of blood would do to the moaners when they arrived.
The crowd around them had inched closer when he looked back up and he couldn’t help but notice the questioning looks on everyone’s faces. It seemed to McCall that they were waiting on instructions of some kind. They were completely obedient to whoever was in charge. What was wrong with this town?
“Everyone go and spread the word – Evans and his sack of shit father are out. Mad Dog McCall is in. I want everyone you can find to come back here in ten minutes to listen to what I got to say.”
“You’re Mad Dog McCall?” Gary asked.
“I thought you’d be younger,” Mike said.
“Just go round up some people and bring them back here. And do it fast – we don’t have a lot of time. Tell all of them to bring any guns they own too; they’re gonna need them.”
Karen lowered her gun but continued to glare at Gary and Mike. “Be quick about it.”
The crowd lingered for several moments, unsure of what to do next, before big Mike lumbered down the steps and began pushing them out of the way. “You heard him – go tell everyone you see to come back here right now!”
McCall shook his head as he watched Gary follow behind Mike, working his way through the dispersing group of onlookers. How could these people go from following the orders of their sheriff and judge, to obeying an outlaw such as himself? It defied logic and yet they did as they were told.
Karen stepped in front of him as he turned around and they locked eyes. “You bastard,” she said.
“What?” McCall asked. That wasn’t the response he’d expected.
“I thought you were dead! I saw you go down and that moaner bit into your leg!” Tears welled in her eyes and she continued to gaze into McCall’s.
“These boots weren’t cheap, but I guess I got my money’s worth,” McCall said with a smile as he stomped his right foot onto the platform for emphasis.
“But I heard you scream out in pain!”
“Yeah, well, I knew you would come back for me if you thought there was a chance you could save me.” He dropped his eyes at that last statement, knowing how furious she was likely to become at his deception.
“You faked it? You faked it so I wouldn’t come back for you? You asshole!”
McCall expected her to punch him but instead she dropped the shotgun and jumped into him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight against her. He breathed her in. One or both of them didn’t smell particularly clean, but he didn’t care. Somehow, through everything they had experienced, he had some kind of connection with this woman, and that alone was what kept him going. He’d found something special in her.
“Don’t ever pull that kind of bullshit again,” she whispered into his ear.
He responded by squeezing her even tighter.
Chapter 6
Karen held him, not wanting to let go ever again.
The emotions pouring through her had her mind in a tizzy. She felt such an incredible amount of relief at seeing McCall alive, that she wanted to break down and bawl. She’d shed more tears in the last couple of days than she ever had before.
“How did you get across the desert?” Karen asked, finally releasing his neck.
“I walked.”
“Could you respond with more than one or two words, for once in your life?”
“Uh, I walked fast? What do you want me to say? You can move a whole lot faster when you aren’t trying to carry a child.”
“Was that so hard?” Karen asked. “Did it cause you physical pain to actually give me a response?” She smiled up at him, happy to have him around to banter with again.
He grunted.
She saw the blood running down his arm and grabbed at his crimson-soaked sleeve. He didn’t fight her as she inspected the wound, but he seemed impatient. She figured he wanted to go after Evans, but he wouldn’t be any good to her if he bled out.
“It’s fine,” McCall said, pulling his arm away after letting her see it.
“It’s only a scratch, but it might get infected,” Karen said. “Or it might get some of their blood in it, and we know what happens then.”
McCall grunted again, but he didn’t stop her as she tore a moderately clean piece of her dress away and looped it around his arm. She tied two knots in it and made sure it stayed snug against his skin. He flexed his arm after she finished and seemed satisfied with the dressing.
“Is the boy safe?” McCall asked her.
“I think so. He’s with his father anyway. They were trying to say I kidnapped him.”
“Can’t say that’s much of a surprise. There’s something really wrong around here.”
Karen looked out from their place on the platform at the people rushing around the streets on all sides. They bustled about, chatting with each other for a moment and then moving on. They pointed back at Karen and McCall, speaking in hushed tones, as if they could somehow hear them from where they stood at the gallows.
“It’s like they can’t do anything for themselves,” Karen said. “They were about to watch me die for nothing, only to stand idly by as you killed their judge. I think we came to the wrong place if we were looking for someone to help us fight the dead.”
McCall nodded his agreement. “We still gotta warn them. Without Evans and his old man here, they might choose to stand up and fight for once in their lives.” He looked down at the dead judge, whose head still seeped fluid onto the planks. “Or maybe they’ll die as poorly as this devil.”
“They aren’t going to believe us,” Karen said, watching the people speeding by. “No one would. They thought we were crazy on the train, and look what became of them.”
“We still have to try. No one deserves what’s coming next.”
“What about Evans?” Karen asked. She wanted nothing more than to get her hands around his neck. “He told me that he wants to watch Sheol burn, for no reason other than his enjoyment. If we’re going to die, I want to make sure he isn’t around to see it.”
McCall thought about it for awhile before he answered. “You say that he plans on watching? If so, then he ain’t going anywhere. I have a feeling he’ll come to us.”
Karen hoped so. If she was going to survive the day, she wanted to make sure that she had the satisfaction of taking Evans out first. Saving everyone in the town was her number one priority, but not by a lot.
A new crowd started to form behind the courthouse as they tried to figure out what to do next. Karen was pleased to see that many of them had come armed, though their weapons looked old and filthy, as if they’d been sitting in the corner of a room for years. By the looks of them, half weren’t likely to fire, and the rest would probably be highly inaccurate.
The spectators looked up at them, but most wouldn’t make eye contact. Their submissive nature seemed inherent, with only a few of the older members of the town having the courage to return Karen’s gaze. She bent down and picked up the shotgun at her feet, savoring the feeling of security it gave her.
“Do you really think you can not only get these people to fight against a horror they can’t imagine, but that you’ll lead them to victory?” Karen asked.
“No,” McCall said, looking back at her. “I expect you to lead them.”
“Me?” She pointed at her breasts with her free hand. “In case you forgot, I’m a woman. None of them would even listen to me. You’re the one whose reputation precedes you.”
“I can shoot pr
etty good, but I’m no leader. Hell, I can’t get you to stop using words I don’t understand.” McCall’s usual calm demeanor never ceased to amaze her. They were standing on a platform where she had almost been hanged, preparing to tell people that they were at war with an army of animated corpses, and he looked like he was bored out of his mind.
“None of that matters. No man would take orders from a woman. Besides, what do I know about fighting?”
“I’ll make them listen, don’t worry about that. And I don’t need you shooting guns; I need you helping these people get ready.”
“You aren’t listening to—”
“Are you Mad Dog McCall?” An old man stepped forward, defiantly looking up at the outlaw.
“I am.”
“I was told to come here and listen to what you have to say.” Karen looked into the man’s eyes and was relieved to see some fire there. He didn’t seem to be as asleep as the rest of them. “But I don’t understand why I should listen to you, or what’s to keep us from shooting you down right now?”
McCall stepped to the edge of the wood planks and looked down at the old timer. “Why wouldn’t you listen to me? It seems you’ve already been following a mad man, so why not a Mad Dog?”
“There’s a difference between following, and not sticking your neck out so it don’t get cut off,” the man said, bristling at McCall’s comments.
McCall reached down and grabbed the judge by the back of his shirt and threw his scrawny, limp body to the ground in front of the old man. It landed with a thud, contorting as it rolled. The head faced skyward, staring blankly into the air.
“I’ve been in town for less than an hour, and I’ve already cleaned the place up. Don’t try and explain to me why you’ve been yellow.” McCall looked around the thickening crowd. “You’re free now - for the time being anyway,
“For now?” the old man asked. “You planning on taking his place?”
McCall scoffed. “I’m giving you a chance.”
“What?”
Karen watched as more people moved closer and gawked up at McCall. She couldn’t explain what was happening, but she could actually see them gaining confidence. Though she hoped that would be a good thing, she couldn’t help but question if that could turn out badly for the two of them. She’d already had a noose around her neck once today and didn’t plan on ever feeling its bite again.
“There is an army storming across the desert right now, heading straight for Sheol.”
The old man looked around at those behind him. “You expect us to believe we’re about to be attacked? By an army? And that Mad Dog McCall is here to warn us? Son, you should have come up with a better lie.”
“He’s not lying,” Karen said, stepping forward.
“And who the hell are you?”
“I’m with him. Well, not with him, but we came from Gehenna together.” Karen felt flustered as she tried to speak in front of everyone. She’d never had to deal with more than a handful of people at once, and she hated that she now found herself intimidated. Though she screamed at them before, that had been in anger and fear at her impending death. Handling the moaners felt easier than standing in front of the crowd.
“Why don’t you let the men talk here, girlie,” the old man said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.
“Listen to me, you old fool,” she said. “There are at least twenty thousand people coming for you right now, and if you don’t prepare yourselves, you’ll all die.”
“I ain’t listening to you, so why don’t you keep quiet before I make you.”
“You’ll listen to her, or you’ll answer to me,” McCall said, his tone leaving no doubt as to his intentions.
The old man looked ready to snap back again, but he stopped himself short when he looked at McCall’s face. He seemed to understand then that he walked on the razor’s edge. Both Karen and McCall knew that time was short, and they didn’t want to spend what little of it they had arguing with this crotchety old timer.
“Gehenna is gone,” McCall said. “It burned to the ground days ago. I know that the train that carries your supplies never arrived. It didn’t come because it’s at the bottom of the Tartarus.”
Gasps and whispers filled the air as people chattered amongst themselves. Karen could see the doubt in their eyes. She couldn’t blame them either – the story felt preposterous as she listened to it.
“The Injun reservation is gone too. They were killed before we got there. What is coming for you is nothing but death and misery, and there’s no way to avoid it. All we can do is fight back.”
The old man conversed with a few others that had stepped up beside him, his back turned to the gallows. His hands waved around in animated fashion as he argued with a younger fellow that might have been his son. After several seconds of heated debate he turned back to Karen and McCall.
“What army could be storming its way across the United States? Ain’t no army in the world that could sail across the oceans and take out the East.”
Karen had hoped to avoid this part of the conversation until after they had convinced everyone to prepare themselves. If they didn’t tread around the topic carefully, everyone would dismiss them outright. When that happened they were as good as dead.
“They’re Americans,” she said, tiptoeing around.
There was more arguing with the elder’s constituents before he turned around again. “Are you telling us there’s a civil war going on, and that we’re somehow a part of it, without even knowing about it?”
“No,” McCall said. “This ain’t a civil war, and they aren’t taking prisoners. They aren’t coming to take the city. They’re coming to kill you. That’s it.”
“Nothing you’re saying is making any sense, son.”
Mike and Gary walked up behind the old man and stood beside him, looking up at Karen and McCall with the same doubt and confusion as everyone else. Karen hoped that they hadn’t gone back and found Evans somewhere. They were highly exposed as they stood on the platform and could be easily taken out by someone with a rifle.
“It doesn’t make any sense to us either,” Karen said. “But we’re telling you the truth. There is some kind of disease, or plague, and it’s making everyone crazy. This sickness turns mothers on their sons and pits neighbors against one another. It’s madness and it’s spreading.”
“You’re telling us that a bunch of diseased people are coming to kill us?” Gary asked.
“Yes.” Karen hoped she wouldn’t have to give more details, as the story became completely unbelievable once the cannibalism and death-by-head-trauma were mentioned.
“Bullshit,” the old man said. He turned his back on the platform and looked out over the crowd, waving his arms to get their attention. “These people want to fool us just like Evans and his old man. Don’t believe them!”
“Listen to me, you old kook,” McCall said. “This is the last city in the West that still stands. If you fall here, it’s all over. Send someone out on a horse if you don’t believe us, but make sure they’re carrying lots of bullets and that they’re on a fast stallion. And hope they don’t get overtaken before they can come back here.”
Big Mike stepped forward and pointed a meaty finger at McCall. “You’re no better than the other two. They lied to us and trapped us with our own fear, just like you’re trying to do now.”
Though Karen didn’t like the direction this had taken, she took consolation in seeing the townspeople finally standing up for themselves. She figured it had been years since they’d shown any kind of fortitude. If they could only direct it at the nightmare coming for them, they might be able to fight the moaners off.
“We aren’t trying to deceive you,” Karen said. “We’re trying to help you.”
“I think maybe we ought to help ourselves by getting rid of you,” the old man said. He placed his hand on the grip of his pistol and stared at McCall.
“You’ll be dead before you blink,” McCall said.
Gary stepped for
ward, angling himself between McCall and the old man. “Everyone stay calm.” He focused on Karen. “How can you expect us to believe you when you came into town with a boy that wasn’t yours? The rest of his family still hasn’t showed up and you were covered in blood.”
“We saved the boy,” Karen said. “The people we’re warning you about took care of his mother. The oldest boy drowned.”
“In the Tartarus, which took out the train? You can’t expect us to believe all of these lies. If you only told us the river ran wild across the tracks, we could believe—”
The thunder of hooves came from behind them. Karen spun around to see a man atop a horse, galloping down a street that ran straight to the courtyard. He looked harried and wild, as if he’d been riding with the devil himself nipping at his heels.
“Out of the way!” the rider yelled. The crowd parted as he approached.
The horse ran all out, its mane flying behind its neck. Its ragged breath came fast and heavy, audible over the loud clomps of its iron shoes. Karen squinted against the sun and saw something dragging behind the animal from a rope.
“Get back! Don’t touch him!”
The man pulled on the reins as they stormed to the front of the gallows. The horse skidded to a stop, but it seemed distressed at whatever it was dragging and its rear legs kicked at the air. Several of the onlookers cried out when they saw that a man had been tied to the saddle and dragged along the ground.
The mangled mass that used to be a man rolled over and tried to get up. All of the skin not covered by its tattered clothing had been stripped away, exposing raw muscle and bone. Its teeth stood out plainly where its cheeks should have been.
Karen stared down at the moaner, realizing that the endgame was about to begin.
Chapter 7
McCall recognized the man on the horse as he raced through the crowd.
It was the same person that had passed him on the wagon as McCall walked toward Sheol. He was missing his second horse, the wagon, and what looked like most of his sanity. Blood streaked across his clothing and face. The horse he rode upon looked anxious and exhausted, snorting and stomping its feet in fear.