by Joe Kelly
“I know, but we, no I have to get the kids there.” Jared replied with conviction.
“Why, that’s all I’m asking. Throw me a bone. I’m with you all the way, regardless Brother, unless you start acting really strange and wearing white robes. Then I’m knocking you ass out.” Stephan said attempting humor.
Jared looked around for a moment. He knew his friends would stay by him no matter what the answer but they were looking for something they could understand. And he couldn’t help them there. Lets face it saying because I was told to in a dream wasn’t going to cut it. he had thought a lot about it over the winter and prayed for a few more dreams. But hadn’t gotten any yet. Maybe he never would again.
“I thought it was a great place we could live, all of us. Face it, its a large fort, can hold a pretty decent amount of people and there’s two other forts nearby we can take and hold. No way a zombie is going to get thru those walls, or anyone else that doesn’t have an army and artillery. But the more I thought about it the more I get the feeling I’m right and wrong. I can’t explain it. but we have to get the kids there after that, I guess either more dreams hinting at what to do next or we live out our days there. me personally I plan on putting together enough people to hold the place. Then heading back here, there’s still a lot of people out here that need help. They at least need to know they aren’t alone in the world.” Jared said.
“King Jared and his Knights of the Automotive round table” Ori said dryly. “if we end up having to look for the holy grail we had better find the Abby with the women who bathe, dress, and knit exciting underwear and like to be spanked”
“I’ll make a note of that” Jared said with a grin.
The night passed slow and cold, Rob worked steadily occasionally getting someone to go strip a part off another RV. By morning the last of the RVs were fixed. They rolled out two hours later, having spent the extra time doing one more sweep through the remaining RVs to make sure they had not missed anything useful in the last night.
It was close to ten in the morning when they pulled into the parking lot of the Center, Jared noted that the two men on duty at the newly built gate, looked upset about something, but decided to wait till he parked to ask questions.
Stepping out of the Van the first thing he saw was a grim faced Bridget, striding towards him. Linda trailed along behind, looking sick and heartbroken. Dread washed over Jared.
“Jared, I.. While you were gone. That son of … he took Billy Thornton. The patrol found him up at the cemetery.” Bridget said trying to sound coherent and failing, her voice trailed off as tears filled her eyes. He didn’t have to ask, he could hear it in her voice see it in their faces, Billy was dead.
For a moment the image of the smiling blond haired, chubby faced kid floated up to the forefront of Jared's mind, the kid had been so full of life and promise. His stomach dropped and for a moment he felt sick. Shock and building grief kept him still and silent and then it was washed away as his blood began to boil.
Linda finally spoke, her voice choking. “what that bastard did to him Jared… I cant… ” she broke down sobbing. Jared turned and walked away without a word. Steve caught up with him at the Snow mobiles.
“You’re not going up there alone Jared.” Steve said, his lips pressed into a thin grim line, his eyes hard.
“Thanks” was about all Jared could say, his mind creating one hideous image after another and he knew it wouldn’t stop till he saw the truth for himself.
If you had stayed, he would still be alive, it tolled thru Jared’s mind like an obscene bell, a guilt he couldn’t deny it because he knew with certainty that Billy Thornton had been picked because that one eyed dead man walking had seen Jared playing with the kid.
Jared wrapped in fury and grief said nothing on the trip up to the old cemetery, he couldn’t stop seeing Billy in his mind’s eye. His dream of adopting the boy and his vow to protect him, all the kids like ash in his mouth. He parked the snow mobile just inside the fence and dismounted. The men who had found Billy stood around the body, silent and still like a honor guard.
Steeling himself, fighting back the tears and the anguish that threatened to overwhelm him he strode forward, the silent group of men parting to let him through. He stopped his breath hissing between his teeth as he finally saw the broken abused body of the boy he had come to love.
Fury welled in him, pulsing thru his veins, like thunder in his ears, Billy had been through so much, losing his parents, hell losing his world to the undead. He had started to find some happiness only to have it stripped from him in pain and agony, dying a hideous death that no one should ever have to experience, especially not a eight year old boy, a boy.. Jared’s thoughts snarled to a stop as his heart threatened to explode in his chest. A deep painful loss filled him. He finally knew what losing a child felt like. I should have told him I wanted him to be my son, the thought swirled in the maelstrom of his emotions almost taking him to his knees.
“I.. I had to shoot him.” One of the men said haltingly knowing that what he had done was necessary and hating himself for doing it. He knew how much the boy had meant to Jared, everyone had. “he had already…” the man said his voice trailing off into silence as glacial green eyes fixed on him.
Jared made himself nod in understanding. Billy had died and come back as one of the undead, and that one eyed sick son of whore had left him like that.
Jared’s hands clenched spastically as he saw the sign nailed to the tree. He didn’t know how this prick knew about the sign Ronny had left back at their camp. but he did. It read Evil 1 living 2. 30 more to go. His dog tags dangled from the corner of the sign. He stared at that sign and something deep inside clicked into place and his emotions came under his control once more.
He retrieved his dog tags then knelt beside Billy’s body, touched it once gently. All the possible tomorrows had collapsed into this moment. I love you, Jared said silently.
Steve was as sick as any one there, but his eyes were fixed on Jared. Jared who looked suddenly calm, cold and collected, his emerald eyes glittered with suppressed fury. Steve had seen that look once before back in the sandbox. Whoever this monster was, he had just screwed up. Jared knelt with one hand on the boy’s shoulder, tears in his eyes, then wrapped the child’s corpse in his coat. Silently he gathered the boy into his arms.
Jared didn’t speak as he walked back across the snow that crunched and cracked under his boots. There was only ringing silence from the group who watched as Jared climbed onto his snow mobile and gently placed the body in his lap, cradling it with one arm.
He sat there for a moment his eyes sweeping the woods around the cemetery. “I know you’re watching you low life son of Fucking whore. When we finally meet, I’m going to make you suffer for every person, every child you kill. That’s a promise.” He yelled furiously, his voice echoing off the ridges.
The group rode back in silence, no one wanted to speak. Jared’s face was set in stone as he carried the child to the grave that Lloyd had prepared with the back hoe while they were collecting the body.
Jill and Steve watched and didn’t know what to say or do as Jared refused to let anyone else handle the child’s body till the coffin was ready. It was nothing fancy, just a plain box really. But to every one of them it was a symbol of life cut to short, a symbol of the all the children lost since the world had ended.
Beth was sobbing so heavily that Ori had to hold her up, she was having a hard time watching as Jared gently placed the little body inside the box.
Jared paused looking down at the body thankful the boys eyes were closed. He didn’t think he could have taken seeing those eyes. He pulled his dog tags from a pocket, then slipped the chain over Billy’s head and placed tags neatly on the kids chest. “You always liked wearing them kid. They are yours now. Rest in peace.” He said as he stood and stepped away tears sliding down his cheeks as Lloyd’s people nailed the coffin closed then slowly lowered it into the waiting cold ground.
Lloyd led a short service and then everyone headed for the Center feeling the need for companionship. Jared hesitated at the graveside, knowing that Jill and Steve were standing there waiting behind him. He looked at the small mound of dirt burning the image into his mind then after a moment he turned and walked away.
Chapter 15
“You’re insane” Steve said loudly glaring at Ronny. “two people flying an ultralight into an airport in a town full of undead, to grab a world war 2 aircraft. And fly back out in an ultralight and a plane.”
“we can use the damn thing, it was restored using a motor that can burn regular fuel, it has a range of 751 miles. It can hold five people, six if they are really close, land on rough fields and water.” Ronny said as calmly as he could, he knew it was a good idea, but getting Jared and Steve to see that was harder than usual. Especially Jared who had become almost distant since Billy Thornton had been killed.
“And requires a large amount of space to take off and land on.” Jared pointed out as he drummed fingers on the tabletop. Around them men and women were packing up all but the most essential gear and hauling it out to be stored in the RVs.
“not really Jared, stop and think about the advantages. That kind of range means I can fly a hundred miles ahead of the convoy and check out towns and cities well before you reach them. I could fly all the way to Fort Sumter and check it out if you really wanted and I can take it up in weather and areas that I wouldn’t dream of using the ultralight.” Ronny replied.
“Okay how would we haul it? Because you can’t be flying it 24/7.” Ori asked.
“We can haul it on a trailer or tow it behind a vehicle.” Ronnie said.
“If I even allowed this that means the other person on that ultralight you fly into the city to pick this plane up is going to be a kid. I can’t do that Ronny.” Jared said, Iron rang in his voice on that He wasn’t going to give an inch. Ronny had only been training Ben and Ian to fly the ultralight and there was no way in hell Jared was going to risk those two boys lives for a Plane.
“then I’ll take Jason or Logan. I can teach them the basics, enough to get them back to where we launched from.”
Jared looked thoughtful, then said. “Use Jason, you have a week to teach him how to fly the damn thing. I’m not saying I’ll go for it. but I’ll think about it. But if we do go after the plane, I think we are going to need a ground team too.” Ronny nodded happy for that much.
Jared rose from the table and stepped outside, standing under the overhang he watched his people as they loaded gear or checked out their vehicles for the upcoming trip. We are going to have to make a gas run before we leave, which means a advance scout team to locate a gas station or stations with fuel left in the tanks and a fuel supply yard to find more additives and stabilize for the fuel we recover. I think I might send a message to John Graham and see if his people might scout around what’s left of Cherokee, we can split the fuel between our groups if there’s any left in town.
The snow should be completely gone in a week or less, add in time to search for more fuel and recover the fuel, whatever time it will take to recover the plane if I decide we should it will probably mean we are will be leaving in two weeks’ time.
At least the attacks on the farm had stopped, I’m betting that the motor we heard the night Billy… the night we recovered the new RVs had been one eye leaving the area. Why? That was the real question. Could he have heard where Jared and his people were going and was planning on hitting the convoy along the way, or had he just gotten his kicks and moved on. Well whatever is going on I’m pretty much sure that the farm will be safe from one eye once we are gone.
A sudden thought sent chills down his back, was it possible that the one eyed sniper had his own dreams. Dreams that told him where Jared and his people were going. That’s an idea I am not thrilled about. But I wouldn’t be surprised to find out I’m right either, both my dreams and Gayle’s had warned of an opposing side
He glanced over to see watch Ryan, Jerry, Nancy, and Brendan loading supplies into the deuce and half. Ryan and Jerry were sixteen and seventeen, Nancy and Brendan were barely adults at 18, at least by old world standards. All four of them since June of last year had given them a couple of lifetimes experience and all four of them had asked to go with Jareds people when they left.
Lloyd was not happy with that decision but there was nothing he or Jared could say to change the teens minds. They were sick of the farm and wanted to see what it was like out in the deadlands.
Even with the people, nine in all, who were leaving with Jared, Lloyd still had a fairly large group, and John Graham had already said he and some of the Cherokee survivors would come and live at the farm to help earn the food the Cherokee compound needed.
He turned and looked out past the wall to the snow covered farm, a sad smile on his face as he remembered watching Billy racing around the cabins excited about seeing a deer or going sledding.
“can I talk to you for a moment” Jared turned to see Clay, who was using his day to day legs instead of his blades today.
“What’s on your mind?” Jared asked happy to be distracted from the memories.
“I.. well I just had a really weird experience with that girl Sally.” Clay said.
“weird how so?” Jared asked. Praying that this wasn’t more bad news involving the kids.
“you know how sometimes the kids just, go blank” Clay asked. Jared nodded, it had happened so rarely at the farm that he had almost forgotten about it.
“well she was walking past me and then stopped, the way they do, then tells me in this really odd voice, like two voices speaking the same words but one is slightly faster than the other, that we need to beware the one eyed man, and not to enter the airport terminal.”
Jared flinched in surprise, no one had told the kids about the one eyed man. Around the kids he was just called the bad man who had hurt Billy. Maybe they had heard someone talking about his having one eye, but airport terminal, maybe Ronny had talked about the airport around her.
He suddenly remembered a conversation with Billy where Jared had told him he would grow up to be a brave soldier and how the light had just vanished from the boys eyes as he just stopped like Billy had stepped out of his body, then Billy had blinked looked up at him and said “No I won’t Mr. Jared but its okay. It won’t be your fault.” He had just assumed that Billy meant he wasn’t ever going to be a brave soldier but what if he had known what was coming, had seen his own death or at least been told. But by who, its not even possible, but what if it was.
“you okay” Clay asked, he had almost not brought this to Jared’s attention. Anything to do with the kids seemed to depress Jared these days. That SOB who killed Billy couldn’t have chosen a better way to badly hurt Jared.
“Yeah, I’m fine Clay, just thinking” Jared said pushing aside the emotions that threatened to drag him down again.
“what do you think is going on with the kids” Jared asked, curious to hear what Clay and the others might think.
“Don’t laugh, but I think their parents are talking to them.” Clay said totally serious. “I think that’s one of the reasons they have been able to cope so well.” He shrugged. “Kyle and a few others think that maybe it’s an angel or something. I don’t honestly know, its just my opinion about their parents, but sometimes those kids know things they shouldn’t. I can’t explain it.”
Jared had heard a few stories about one kid or another knowing things they shouldn’t, but he had dismissed the stories. The kids had probably over heard something in a conversation and... Like Sally warning against going into an airport terminal. How long are you going to keep finding ways to dismiss the odd things that keep occurring, He asked himself
“thanks for bringing that to me, Not that I can do a thing about whatever is really going on with them.” Jared said.
“anytime” Clay said happy that Jared hadn’t melted down into what he had become for several days after Billy’s death. “any wa
y I have guard duty in a few minutes. Talk to you later.”
“oh, Clay, you’re doing a damn good job.” Jared said “And do me one favor, spend some time with Kevin. I think he might need it.” He stood there watching Clay walk away, wishing all his problems could be fixed as easily.
Great now I have to go back to thinking about Ronny’s idea, Jared thought glumly. Do we really need a plane. Being honest with himself he knew that a plane would make huge difference to their survival. But part of the issue was the fuel use. Yes we can still recover fuel, but for how long. Is a recon platform like a plane worth the fuel that could be used to keep vehicles running, or generators? I agree with his idea to use an old WW2 plane, those things were tough, made for rough field conditions. But why a Float plane, why not a C 46, one of those could hold almost our entire group.