by Kip Nelson
They would have to learn old habits again. Darren had tried doing that with his own children. He wanted them to be aware that there was a life beyond the screen of a computer or television, and now he was glad that he had. Brent already knew some life skills, and now he would develop more.
Michelle only knew the basics, but it would be easier for her to get used to this life because she had spent less time in the old world. Her mind still was malleable and far more willing to adapt to new information. She was part of the generation that was going to inherit this world. Darren wondered what was going to be left for her, or the generation after, the first generation in a long time to be born into a world without electricity.
“My legs hurt,” Michelle said, interrupting Darren’s thoughts.
“Try to keep going, Honey, we’ve still got a long way to go,” Darren said. Michelle pouted.
“Carry?” she asked.
“Not just yet, I’ve got these bags, remember.”
Michelle didn’t seem impressed with this. They continued, getting gradually farther and farther away from the neighborhood, leaving the city entirely behind. The quieter it was, the better, as far as Darren was concerned.
There were a few times when he cast his glance in the direction of the city, his thoughts turning to the people living there. He wondered how long it would be before people began venturing from their homes and realizing that there was no going back from this. Would others be like Brent and know? Would they be like him and seek to escape the confines of the city?
There were so many questions that he never would get an answer to. A mystery was the thing he hated most. Darren liked answers, liked knowing why things happened.
That’s one of the reasons Stacie’s actions had left him so bitter.
He tried to stop thinking about her, but any time the three of them were together her absence had been felt. It had been the four of them for so long. Her life and Darren’s had been entwined so intimately that it had felt as though nothing could tear them apart. That feeling had been quite in error, and now Darren wondered if she ever truly had been a part of the family, or if she had been a ghost this whole time, pretending to be a loving mother, a dutiful wife, when all the time her heart and mind had been elsewhere.
It was a sickening feeling to think that the person he had been closest to had been a stranger. It made him feel as though his entire life had been a lie. But his kids weren’t and neither was the love he shared with them. Stacie always would be with them, though, if in spirit not in person.
“Dad, I think someone is following us,” Brent whispered harshly. Darren furrowed his brow. He looked down anxiously at Michelle, who seemed to be in her own world. Her head was bowed, and she was taking smaller steps than usual. Darren didn’t think her legs hurt as much as she said they did. She just wanted to be carried by Daddy.
Brent jerked his head around. Darren craned his neck back as far as it would go to look in the direction that Brent was pointing. He had to hold that position for a little while as he was searching the darkness for what Brent was seeing.
It took a few moments, but then he saw what alarmed Brent. Darren was impressed that his son had been able to spot the man. He was nothing but a shadowy figure moving through the darkness. In some places he disappeared from view entirely, but then returned. Darren drew a sharp intake of breath when he saw the form taking the exact same path.
This wasn’t a well-trodden path. Darren had deviated from the main streets and roads a while back, preferring to take his secret shortcut through the woods. He hadn’t expected to find anyone out here, but it seemed as though someone had found him. If the shadowy figure trailed them to the cave, they would be in serious trouble.
How long had this person been following them? There was no way to tell, but Darren was sure that if they had seen the Follower, then the Follower had seen them. They were moving more and making more noise than the Follower was. Now Darren just had to figure out how to handle it.
His first instinct was to run, but he was carrying heavy bags, and to run he’d have to pick up Michelle as well. They wouldn’t be able to move very fast, and the Follower surely would know why they were running. He’d be able to catch up with them, and with Michelle in his hands Darren wouldn’t be able to draw his gun.
The other option was to continue as if nothing had happened, keeping his eye on the Follower in case anything changed. He supposed there was a chance it was mere coincidence that the Follower simply had stumbled onto the same path. It was a small world, after all. However, Darren didn’t want to lead anyone else to his secret location. The whole point of this was to get his kids away from the danger of other people, not to share the secret with a stranger. There was no telling who the Follower was or what his intentions were, and as far as Darren was concerned, he didn’t want to find out.
“Daddy, my legs really hurt. When are we going to stop?” Michelle whined.
Darren bit his tongue. He was tense, but didn’t want to snap at his daughter.
“Not for a little while yet. I know you can keep going, just for a little while. I promise.”
“But you said that aaaaages ago.”
“I know, Honey. We’ll be there soon, and once we’re there you can put your feet up and have a nice sleep. I promise I’ll carry you when we’re past this field,” Darren said.
“He’s still there,” Brent said in a low voice.
This field came at perhaps the worst time. There was no cover available. They had to climb over a fence (Michelle was handed over from Darren to Brent, as were the bags) before they could continue on their way. The field stretched out for a few acres, and they had to cross it to get to the other side of the woods, nearer their destination. Darren was confident he could lose the man once he was in those woods. The paths were less obvious, and in this darkness, as soon as Darren and the kids were out of sight it would be almost impossible to find them again.
If he didn’t lose the Follower, then the night could be very daunting indeed. If the Follower made any threatening moves, then Darren would have to deal with him. He hadn’t planned to end this night as a murderer.
They left the fence and walked across the field. Darren kept looking back, checking if the Follower was going to join them on the field. If he came onto the field, then there was no doubt the Follower was on their trail. But if he continued without walking onto the field, there was just a chance that Darren was wrong about all this and paranoia had taken hold.
Michelle still was whining, pulling at Darren’s hand, trying to get him to stop. He had to keep repeating to her that they would take a break as soon as they got on the other side of the field. All the while, he kept craning his neck back, waiting for the Follower’s final movement. Would he keep going, or would he continue tracking Darren and his kids?
They were about halfway across the field. The long grass rippled against their legs, brushed them as they walked past. Darren looked back, and then he gave Michelle’s hand to Brent’s. The Follower had climbed over the fence.
Fear rippled down Darren’s spine as he reached around his back and felt his fingers wrap around the gun.
Chapter 10
Darren’s heart thumped in his chest.
“What do we do, Dad?” Brent asked.
“Just keep walking. I’ll take care of this,” Darren said, trying to keep his voice as even and calm as possible.
The circumstances of their trek through the night were scary enough. Darren didn’t want to make it worse by acting afraid, but fear spread through his bones and ran down his spine. The shadowy form in the distance had made it over the fence and was coming toward them. Darren and his kids were in the middle of the field. There still was quite a way to go until they reached the forest on the other side. Once there, Darren was confident he could lose the Follower, but he wanted to give his family the best chance.
“I’ll catch up, go!” Darren urged in a harsh whisper.
Brent led Michelle on, who still was whining because she w
as sleepy and wasn’t being carried by her father any longer. Darren wished she could understand why this was happening, but in her mind, it was simply more upheaval, and the only thing that mattered to her was being carried by her father.
The only thing that mattered to Darren was the safety of his kids, and the Follower threatened that. Darren didn’t know what his intentions were. For all he knew, the Follower could have been looking for help, but if so, he was acting strangely. There was no need for anyone else to be out here, and with kids Darren was a more vulnerable target than the Follower. Darren couldn’t take the chance that the Follower had malevolent intentions, so he turned and walked back the way he had come.
If the worst happened, he had bought his children valuable time in which to get away. Brent knew the way to the secret hideout, a place they could be safe, and Darren would die at least knowing that his kids would be alright. But Darren didn’t plan on dying.
As he walked through the tall grass, Darren kept his eyes on the Follower. The distance between them was closing, and when Darren got as close as he was comfortable with, he reached behind him and pulled out the gun. The only ammo he had was the bullets that had been in the gun when he had taken it. He only wanted to use the gun as a last resort anyway.
This seemed as good a time as any.
He held the gun in his hand and planted his feet on the ground, bracing himself for the recoil. Aiming the weapon at the Follower, he controlled his breathing and then pulled the trigger. The first pull took a lot of effort, since firing a gun wasn’t something he typically did. He’d been out on the firing range semi-regularly and had shown quite the aptitude for firing a gun, but only ever had wanted to use one for self-defense purposes.
A bright light flashed, and then a couple of seconds later Darren heard a loud crack in the air around him. The sound of the gunshot faded slowly and Darren heard a shocked cry, and then the impact of a man falling to the ground. Darren was confident he hadn’t hit the Follower, although there always was a chance, but making him too scared to follow was his intention. Darren quickly spun on his heels and waded through the tall grass, making his way back to his kids, scooping up Michelle in his arms. She seemed pleased at this.
Brent gave him a knowing smile.
“Let’s keep moving,” he said, not wanting to look back. There should be enough distance between them by now, and once they reached the forest on the other side of the field he would be able to lose the Follower completely.
The journey to the other side of the field was interminable, though. Darren’s legs were aching with the effort it took to wade through the tall grass. Brent was struggling too. The only person who wasn’t struggling was Michelle, because she was being carried. She seemed to think the whole thing was a lot of fun, and Darren was loath to dispel that notion because he wanted to protect her from the grim reality.
But he was starting to feel fatigued. The tense trek through the city had made adrenaline rush through his body. There wasn’t an infinite supply of it, though, and now it was beginning to fade. The weight of the packs and his daughter made his shoulders and back ache, and the fear of being followed played on his mind. As he looked to the horizon he saw nothing but darkness, and before him there was the forest, foreboding in its mystery, yet alluringly safe with the nooks and crannies it offered.
Ordinarily, Darren never would have gone into these woods without a source of light, but he wanted to make sure the three of them were away from any potential threats before he pulled out the lantern and used it to light their way.
“You’re doing great, Son,” Darren grunted, forcing the words out along with his breaths to offer encouragement to Brent.
His son was struggling, but trying not to show it. Darren had been proud of the way Brent had acted throughout this whole evening. He couldn’t have asked for two better kids, and although he never would admit it to them, he was glad that Stacie wasn’t with them.
She never had been cut out for this type of life. She would have hated living off the land and making her way through rough terrain. She liked things to be easy, which explained why she left when things became difficult. If she had been in this situation, she would have begged and pleaded with them to stay in the house. And if Darren had managed to drag her away from their home, she only would have slowed them down and complained every step of the way.
Darren kept his eyes locked on the other side of the field. The fence gradually came closer and closer, until it was before them. Brent leaned against the fence, letting it take his weight to give his back some relief. He gulped in air. Darren did the same thing, although he knew they couldn’t afford to rest for too long in case the Follower hadn’t heeded the warning of the gunshot and still was coming after them.
He closed his eyes as he steadied himself, wishing that he could sleep. The night’s events had caught up with him and were tugging at his mind and body, telling him he needed to rest.
He had to keep going.
“Okay, Brent, you first,” Darren said.
Brent nodded and wiped the sweat from his brow. He took the packs off his shoulders and grunted as he heaved them over the fence. The fence came up to Brent’s chest, made of wood, with easy gaps between the beams to climb over. The packs landed on the other side of the fence, and then Brent lifted himself onto the other side, jumping down and landing with a soft thud. Then Darren lifted Michelle over, who still was holding Applejack like her life depended on it. Darren then put his packs over, and climbed over himself. It wasn’t as easy as it had been in his youth, but it didn’t pose too much of a challenge.
As soon as Darren was over he put his packs back over his shoulders and back, his shoulders crying out with pain as the relief did not last as long as they had hoped. Then he took Michelle back from Brent and waited for Brent to pick up his packs.
“I’m thirsty,” Michelle said.
Darren stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Of course Michelle would have said that after they had picked up the packs.
“We can have something to drink when we get to our special place, okay? We’re not too far now,” Darren said.
He inhaled deeply before they set off again, making sure he didn’t walk too quickly so Brent didn’t have to struggle to keep up. The forest was quiet, and when Darren looked back he couldn’t see the Follower. That didn’t mean much, though. It was so dark and the field was so big that the Follower simply could be out of view. Darren had to get farther into the forest before anyone could track them.
As soon as they entered the forest it was more difficult to maintain the right course without a light. There were a few times when Darren had lost his footing against a rock or a tree stump he hadn’t seen. Thankfully, his boots were thick and sturdy, offering him a lot of protection.
“Do you think we’ll see any fairies?” Michelle asked.
“I don’t know, maybe. Why don’t you keep an eye out for them?” Darren said, each word an effort.
His lungs were on fire and he could feel the sweat pooling on his chest and armpits. The ground was a muddy swamp, and their boots sank into it. It took more effort to pull their feet out and continue on. The trees blotted out what light was coming from the Moon, and it didn’t matter how long he gave his eyes to adjust, Darren wasn’t going to be able to see a thing. He only managed to keep track of where Brent was because Brent kept grunting and gasping, trying to keep his balance.
“Applejack doesn’t mind the mud,” Michelle said.
Darren meant to reply, but he was so focused on other things that he simply couldn’t get the words out.
As soon as he felt solid ground underneath his feet he told Michelle that he was going to put her down for a few moments. Brent stumbled forward, almost falling face down.
“We can’t go on like this. We need light,” Darren said.
He groaned as he set one of the packs on the ground and retrieved the lantern and the matches, while instructing Brent to get some water out of his backpack. Brent took the firs
t gulp before handing it to Michelle, reminding her not to gulp it all down. She asked for juice, of course, because apparently all children thought that water was boring. So, Darren gently had to tell her that water would have to do for now.
Darren took the lantern and lit a match, then let the flame glow within it. Soft light spread out all around him, illuminating the area. He turned back and looked at the muddy path they just had trodden. Their deep footprints were visible in the dark mud. Leaves and branches lay across the ground. He took the opportunity to wipe as much mud off his boots as he could, then drank some water as well, before declaring that they had to keep moving.
Having the lantern meant he couldn’t see anything in the distance, because it was simply too dark, and his eyes had adjusted to having light. But he could at least see in front of him and managed to find a solid path that didn’t involve them walking through mud. Darren handed off the lantern to Brent, for Michelle still wanted to be carried by her father. Darren decided to indulge her, since it wasn’t going to be long until they reached their destination.
They walked along the path, and Brent did a good job at pointing out pitfalls to avoid, such as wide puddles and tree stumps. Darren tried ignoring the shadows dancing all around him. If he had been here by himself, he no doubt would have been scared of ghouls, but because he had to think of his kids, he simply didn’t have time to be scared.
Because they were so close to their destination, Darren urged the kids, and himself, on farther and farther. He pushed his body to the limits, trying to ignore the fire in his muscles and his clammy skin. The weight on his back seemed to be dragging him down, and he was sure that if he had been standing in the mud, he would have sunk slowly into its dirty depths.
As it was, he simply had to force himself to stand upright and bear the brunt of the weight, telling himself that soon he would be able to rest, collect himself, and figure out what to do next.
The path wove through the trees, which thinned, and the stony gorge revealed itself. The terrain was made up of valleys and hills. It was quite a sight and provided a stark contrast to the city in which he had spent most of his time. Coming out here always had given him a sense of well-being and contentment, for he was able to escape the rigors of life and be at peace.