Our eyes widened when he mentioned the Fort.
“Fort Gold Rush?” River asked.
“Yes. Please, I don’t want to hurt anybody. I just wanted to get away from these psychopathic animals, so I can find my family,” Chase said.
Carrie raised her gun and pointed it at Chase and started, “I’m sorry, but we can’t take any—”
Molly grabbed and lowered her gun while stepping in front of her, “Whoa! Carrie, what are you doing?”
“You’re not actually buying this sob story, are you?” Carrie asked.
“He wasn’t trying to kill us. You saw him. Greg ordered him to spring those traps on us, but he refused and ran away!”
“He didn’t try to kill us back then, but who’s to say he won’t try to kill us in the future as soon as we let our guard down around him?”
Ashley sided with Molly and stated, “You don’t know that. What if he’s telling the truth about his family?”
“I’m with Carrie on this,” Scarlet stated, siding with her, “He’s got more than one gun pointed to his head. He’ll say anything to avoid getting a bullet to the skull.”
“Are we just going to kill anyone that we come across? What if he’s not like Greg and those sick fucks? What if he’s just a survivor like us? What if?!” Molly asked.
“Do you really want to take that risk?” Carrie asked.
“Alright! Fine!” Chase said, loudly.
We all turned to him.
“If you’re gonna kill me, then please take this.” Chase held out a necklace with a blue stone.
I reached over and he handed it to me. My friends and I looked at it closely. It was a pendant necklace with a silver chain, a deep blue cut stone.
“What is this?” I asked.
“It’s Lapis Lazuli stone. It’s supposed to be a universal symbol of truth and wisdom. My sister gave it to me for good luck,” Chase explained.
“Why are you giving this to us?” Sarah asked.
“If you get to Fort Gold Rush and my family, the Matthews, are there, tell them that I love them and that I’m sorry.”
We still looked at him confused.
“If I can’t convince you that I’m not like Greg and those crazy people, then there’s no use fighting. So, go ahead and get it over with,” Chase said, sitting up straight.
I glanced at the others before raising my rifle. Chase didn’t look at me like Greg did. Instead, he looked away. I looked at Molly and Ashley and saw them both shaking their heads no. This doesn’t feel right. Why would he lie about who he is and give this necklace to us for his family? Plus, he refused to fight with Greg and almost got killed for it. This wasn’t an act. What if he is a survivor like us?
I lowered my rifle and stated firmly, “No.”
Chase looked up as I holstered my rifle over my shoulder. I pulled my med kit and began bandaging his leg. Ashley and Molly pulled out their med kits and started helping as well. Ashley cleaned his wound with alcohol, and Molly helped stop the bleeding. Carrie and Scarlet’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What the hell are you doing?” Scarlet asked.
“What’s it look like we’re doing?” Molly answered.
“You can’t be serious,” Carrie said.
“Alright, Carrie, look, we’ll bandage his leg, handcuff him to a wall so he doesn’t try anything, wait for the storm to end, and then radio the Fort to see if his family is there. If they are, then he’s telling the truth,” Ashley said.
“And if they’re not there?” Sarah asked.
“Then we leave him out here after we head back to the Fort.”
“Isn’t that the same as killing him?” Warren asked.
“He’s made it this far, he may survive,” Shaun replied.
“I agree with that plan. It’s better than just killing him in cold blood, that’s not who we are, is it?” River said.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Carrie scoffed, before walking away.
“Carrie!” I called.
She stopped.
“If we just kill anyone we come across, then we’ve already lost our humanity, and if we’ve lost that, then Kate is right about us being animals,” I stated.
Carrie turned around and looked at me.
“He’s right . . . and if we’re animals, then what is the point in surviving this?” Molly asked.
Carrie’s eyes slightly widened by our statements. She didn’t say anything as she walked away.
As we fixed Chase’s leg, he said to us, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank us, yet,” I said.
“You’re still giving me a chance. That’s a lot these days.”
****
Nathan/Sonny
The rain was really coming down. We found a classroom where we could sleep for the night. There were some cots taken from the gym and places comfortable to sleep. The bandits made some kind of fireplace in the center of the room with a chimney they constructed to get the smoke out the window. We handcuffed Chase to the railing by the stairs, just outside the classroom. We used the rain to wash the blood off, only now we were wet and cold. Even though the blood was washed clean from my hands and face, I could still smell it and I could see them all . . . the people I killed. I can still see their faces . . . their eyes before I closed them. For some reason, they kept flooding in my mind, giving me this distant, empty, numb feeling.
“Well, I suppose this is as good of a spot as any,” Warren said.
“We’ve had worse,” Shaun said.
“Really?” Ashley asked.
“Yeah, before we got to the city we’ve slept under bridges. One time, there were so many zombies we actually spent the night in a fenced backyard. We couldn’t use the house – just straight up sleeping under the stars. No tent, no nothing,” Scarlet said.
River chuckled, “Been there, done that.”
“Thankfully it didn’t rain . . . the cicadas were so loud,” Sarah added.
“Let’s get this fire started, I’m cold,” Molly said.
There was a stack of chopped wood in the corner near the whiteboard of the classroom. We threw a bunch in the firepit with a bunch of easily flammable materials like paper, cloth, and other things to help get the fire going. As the fire was going, Warren was chatting with the twins about their swords.
“Your sword looks a little too fancy for hacking and slashing zombies and bandits,” Scarlet said to Warren.
“As fancy as it is, it works very well. Although, I don’t get why Cold Steel named it the Hunting Sword, but I do get what you’re saying. It looks more like a sword for fencing, you know? Almost like the old school two European gentlemen in a dual kind of thing. I like yours better,” Warren said.
“Yeah, the shape of the bolo blade brings more power in the swing. I’m not a big fan of the handle though. I mean seriously, what is this? Is it supposed to make me a Mongolian horseman or something?” Scarlet said.
“Yeah, looks uncomfortable. The wrapping on mine is alright. Not like that machete before we got to the fort. Man, that thing gave me blisters,” Shaun said.
“It’s better than using something too big or too heavy,” River said.
“I can’t believe this is all gonna be over soon,” Ashley said.
“Don’t jinx us. We’re not out of the woods, yet,” Sarah said, sitting close next to her.
“God . . . what’s everyone gonna say when we get home?”
Sarah took a sip from her canteen before handing it, Ashley.
“Well for starters, they’re gonna say that they’re glad we’re safe and alive. Then, after they tell us they love us, they’re probably gonna lock us in a bunker and never let us out again. You know, normal parent/guardian shit,” Sarah said.
Ashley chuckled, “Yeah, it’s what I’d do if my children went through all this.”
“Honestly, I’m not even sure if I want to deliver children into this kind of world. Maybe it’ll get better in the future, but somehow, I have a feeling it’ll be a long while. What
about you Ashley? You ever think about being a mom?”
“I don’t know . . . I go back and forth. Sometimes, it sounds cool, but other times it’s like you . . . you don’t know if you can go through with it. To be honest, the whole process of giving birth actually scares me, because some women don’t survive it. Even with modern technology and medicine, women can still die during the delivery . . . and I don’t know if I want to take that risk.”
Sarah nodded and said, “Makes sense. For women that have nine kids, I have no idea how they’re able to do it.”
“Well, that’s how you feel now, but who knows? You might change your mind in the future,” River stated.
“Do you want kids in the future?” Ashley asked.
River shrugged and spoke, “Maybe . . . but I think two is the max that I can have and that’s assuming I can get past having one.”
They chatted for a while, but I saw Carrie walk into an art classroom with a metal baseball bat. I saw her face only briefly, but I saw the rage in her eyes. I walked over and before I even got to the doorway, Carrie was already breaking things and going into a blind fury. Everyone else was alerted and came over, but I held my hand up to stop them.
“It’s Carrie, she just needs to hash her shit out,” I stated.
“FUCK!!” Carrie roared, as she smashed some big glass vases.
She was swearing as she was breaking everything, mostly just saying ‘fuck.’ Almost each time she wrecked something, the loud noise gave a brief flashback to when either I killed someone or when I watched someone die – the thunder and lightning didn’t help. I felt nauseous and an uncomfortable chill went down my spine. I took several deep breaths. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her to stop. Her rampage lasted for five minutes until finally, she threw her bat against the whiteboard. She sat down leaning against some cabinets by the sink sobbing.
“Ashley,” I spoke.
“I know, I know,” Ashley said.
We sat down next to her.
“Carrie,” Ashley started.
“Who the fuck does that bitch think she is? Where does she have the gall . . . or stupidity to . . . to say that to us? After Nate saved her worthless life, twice in fact!” Carrie said.
Captain Noir came up the stairs and into the room, “Whoa shit. What the hell happened? Did you do this?”
We looked up at him, but didn’t say anything.
“What’s this all about?”
“Carrie’s pissed off at Campbell, we might have saved her, but she’s freaked out that I cut off a bandit’s head, and she blames me for McKenzie’s death,” I answered.
Captain Noir’s eyes widened in surprise, “Cut a band—you did that? You cut a man’s head off?”
“He was gonna blow Campbell’s brains out with a shotgun.”
Carrie got up and explained, “And Nate tried so hard to save both her and McKenzie at that revolving door. He tried, but there were too many fucking zombies. Not only did he save her from becoming a buffet for a bunch of zombies, but he stopped a bandit from painting the floor with her fucking brains, and yet this ungrateful little shit has the audacity, the fucking temerity, to call him and all of us animals! Animals! We’re the fucking animals?! That is bullshit!”
“Carrie, honey, I know you’re well past the point of upset, but she’s having her meltdown, and they’re just words. And at the end of the day, who cares what she thinks?” Ashley said.
“It’s not about the goddamn insult, Ashley! It’s about how she and everyone like her are treating us! Because we’re from outside the walls, that somehow makes us different. It’s almost like a form of fucking discrimination or something. We’re all humans, we’re on the same side, so what difference does it make where we’re from?!” Carrie stated, before sitting back down next to me.
Captain Noir spoke, “I don’t know. Doesn’t sound like hatred. I think she’s just scared and dealing with her own shit.”
“Scared of what? Us? What makes us so scary? We’re on the same side!”
“No, not scared of you – of change. Fear and insecurity go hand-in-hand. When you’ve spent your whole life living a certain lifestyle, you get used to your comfort zone. Then when something big happens and changes everything you know and you don’t know what’s gonna happen next, you’re out of your comfort zone so fast you can’t even get your head around everything you’ve lost and everything is frightening. You and everyone from outside the walls represent that change and insecurity, and sometimes . . . people don’t like changes because they can’t explain what they don’t understand,” Captain Noir explained.
Captain Noir was on to something. He was making a lot of sense, but I was still confused about some of it.
“Why be scared of change? It happens all the time. Hell, people say that change is natural. Besides, even if people hate change, what can they do about it? It’s not like they can keep things the same,” I stated.
“Kid, I’ve taken tours in Iraq and Afghanistan more than once. You wanna talk about things that stay the same? Go to a place where people have been fighting over bullshit reasons like God and religion, and hate, and ethnic cleansing for thousands of years.”
I replied, “That’s not the point. The point is they can’t be scared of us or insecure because of us, not because we’re on the same side, but because of who we are, that kind of person that has made us survive out here . . . sooner or later if they’re lucky, that’s who they’re gonna be.”
“Well, she is scared, but not of you and us, but of what you’ve had to become in order to survive – I suspect she doesn’t think she can do what you’ve had to do – or perhaps, questions whether she’s strong enough to do what we’ve had to do. You can’t change other people, and you can’t make them change their mind. You can’t change, Campbell, only she can do that,” Ashley said.
“I don’t care if she changes, because I don’t care about her. She and all her scumbag friends can rot in Hell for all I care,” Carrie stated, firmly.
“Carrie,” I spoke.
“Next time, I won’t bother saving her and I suggest you do the same.”
Carrie marched back into the other room where the fire was.
Ashley sighed and rubbed her eyes.
“Just let it go. It’s not like we can make her take it back,” Captain Noir said.
“You’re right. So, when do we go home?” I asked.
“Tomorrow morning when the storm moves on. Choppers will come pick us up and take us straight back to the Fort. Until then, we’re spending the night here.”
“Good,” Ashley said.
“Where’s Ellen and Kate?” I asked.
“They took the trouble of getting in the Humvee to get to the gym so they can tell their friends personally what happened to McKenzie,” Captain Noir answered.
We went back to the room where everyone else was warming up by the fire. A bright flash of lightning lit the inside of the room and for a moment I saw Greg . . . the look on his face and in his eyes. He was looking right at me before I killed him. It was like he knew death was coming and he was done fighting it – maybe he was accepting his fate. Another flash lightning with thunder following, but all I heard was Kate yelling at us that we were animals, and that word echoed in my head. Animals.
I sat down next to Molly. Our clothes were drying along with our hair. Carrie decided to keep watch as she sat on top of a desk by the window with Ashley’s rifle at hand.
Chase called, “Can I have some water, please?”
Everyone stopped talking. I got up and gave him some water.
When I got back, Carrie asked, “Are you absolutely sure keeping him alive is a good idea?”
I gave her a look.
“I mean, I get it. Keeping our humanity is important, but so is staying alive.”
“Not everyone out here is bad. We were out there and we met Kayley and Will,” Ashley said.
“And we were out there, too. There are decent people just trying to survive out here,” Sarah a
dded.
“Worst case scenario, we leave a kid out in the badlands. Best case scenario, we reunite a family,” I said.
“Yeah, and who knows? Maybe, we’ll get a Lion and Mouse vibe out of this,” Ashley said.
Everyone looked at Ashley confused.
“What? You don’t know the story of The Lion and the Mouse? A mouse and a lion become friends after the mouse removes the thorn out of the lion’s paw? I mean, that is how it goes right?” Ashley asked.
“Well, that’s one version and perhaps the most popular. The original story is about a mouse trying to sneak past a sleeping lion. The lion wakes up and he’s not happy as he catches the mouse. When the mouse apologizes and begs for mercy, the lion takes pity on the mouse and lets him go. Then when the lion gets caught in a net trap set by a hunter, the lion roars as he struggles to get out. The mouse hears the lion and comes to his aid by gnawing at the ropes to set him free. They became friends after that. The moral of the story is that good deeds like showing mercy are rewarded, sometimes,” I explained.
“Huh, interesting,” Molly said.
“Wait a minute. I thought the mouse kills the lion with the thorn and the moral of the story is that even little guys can take down big guys,” Scarlet said.
“Yeah, that it’s not your physical size that matters, it’s the size of your courage,” Shaun added.
“That’s David and Goliath,” I stated.
“Ah,” Shaun and Scarlet said, in unison.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m bushed. I’m gonna hit the hay. Goodnight,” Warren said.
We all said goodnight and everyone went to sleep. I was half surprised that in the midst of our escape from Camp Sledgehammer, Molly was able to grab her iPod Touch. She pulled out one of her earbuds and put one in my ear playing some peaceful instrumental music – some piano with violin songs along with some real calm post-rock music. She laid down on the air mattress and pulled me to lay with her. I rested my head on her arm and shoulder as she held me close – she smelled like rain. It was just like when we rested in the sunset grass before this mess started, only instead of her being in my arms, I’m in hers. Her face and skin glowed with the fire light. With the music playing and the warm fire, I was suddenly so at ease and content for a moment, despite everything that happened, a genuine moment.
The Dark Days Series | Book 2 | Sanctuary Page 37