Which meant he had to keep pushing.
“Everything gone in a moment, burned up into ashes, it’s tragic really.”
“The one right there,” Darren pointed to the black skeleton across the street, “With the swan shaped mailbox. That was my house. We left pretty much everything but our clothes in it. Like you said, figured it would be okay, we were only a couple blocks away. If we wanted anything, we could just pop over and get it, no problem. At least, that’s what my wife said.”
Darren walked over to the mailbox and ran a hand over the neck of the swan. “She bought this, you know. I hated it. Said it was ugly as sin but she loved it. Said it was kitschy, whatever that means.”
“She was killed when we let a group of people in. They showed up dirty, half starved, looking like they’d been through hell and back. We brought them in, fed them and gave them a place to sleep. Turns out they were casing the place. A day later, the rest of their group showed up. They looted the centre and set half the town on fire. Killed fifty of us, including Heather.”
His hand tightened around the swan’s neck. “Now I have nothing left to remember her but memories and this damn mailbox.”
“That isn’t the only thing you have left of her,” Malcolm said. “You’ve still got your son. A living, breathing part of her. That’s something you can’t forget.”
“Yeah, not sure I could’ve kept going if I didn’t have him,” Darren said. “Is Trey your boy?”
Malcolm shook his head. “Not biologically.”
“But he’s still yours.”
It was a statement not a question. He had read Malcolm too. Somewhere along the way he had started considering Trey as his own and Darren had seen that.
“He is,” Malcolm said. “I got real lucky. I’m one of few people in the world who gained something when the world went to hell.”
“You and Kim weren’t together before this?” Malcolm shook his head. “You know, I should be bitter after having almost everything taken away from me, but that’s actually nice to hear. Makes me hopeful that this world isn’t a total shit show.”
“Your group makes me hopeful,” Malcolm told him. “Seeing that you guys pulled together to build something...I was worried we were the only ones doing it.”
“It’s what we’ve got to do. I think it’s pretty obvious at this point that nobody’s coming to save us. If we don’t work together, we’ll all just end up dead.”
Amen to that.
“You said you’ve had other groups come through to trade with you.”
Darren nodded. “Met the first one when we decided to head out of town to hunt. A man and his family living out on his farm. They’re the ones who gave us the chickens. A group from a town fifty miles northwest of here came through. They banded together there like we did. They were the ones who told us about the distribution centre.”
These people had connections to other communities, one of them with livestock. They had accessible farmland and the manpower to work it. More importantly, if everything Darren was saying was true, they were the kind of people they needed to know in this world.
“Have you met any other groups?” Darren asked.
“Yeah,” Malcolm rubbed a hand over his chin, “We ran into more than a few but they were the less than friendly type. It’s why we kept coming this far. Trying to get away from the cities.”
They turned off of the burned out street and onto the one with the pizza place where they had parked the SUVs.
“There might be fewer people around here looking to take what’s ours, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of infected,” Darren said. “Been a huge uptick in them coming through here.”
“Are they coming from any direction in particular?” Malcolm asked.
Darren shook his head. “All of them. We figure they’re coming from other towns, searching for something to kill. They’re getting smarter about it too. Before they’d come through in broad daylight, moving out in the open and they were easy to pick off. The last week they’ve been coming in at night, sneaking through the yards, searching in the houses. Thank God we got that fence up when we did.”
At least freaks sneaking up on them wasn’t something they had to worry about on the island. A fence might be good but a lake was even better.
“We saw them doing strange things too,” Malcolm said. “Some of them tried to use weapons against us.”
“No shit?”
“Not guns or anything but they started throwing whatever they could get their hands on at us,” Malcolm said. “They’re working together now too.”
“Hell of a thing, ain’t it?” Darren took off his cap to scratch at his head. “First time I saw one of them, it was my neighbour, Hank. Known him for years and there he was, using his teeth to pull the intestines out of his old basset hound Jimmy. I looked him dead in the eye and there wasn’t anything left of the man I knew. I didn’t hesitate to put him down. But now you see them out there, working together, thinking, you start to wonder if there is something left inside.”
Malcolm had wondered the same himself after their run in Franklin but he had pushed it aside, focusing on getting them to the island. Once they were there, he hadn’t thought much about the freaks, his attention once again drawn away.
And maybe he hadn’t really wanted to think on it too deeply because if he did, he might find it hard to put one down the next time it attacked. He didn’t need that kind of hesitation because it would only lead to someone getting hurt. Right now, it didn’t matter what was going on inside the freaks. As long as they were trying to hurt the people he loved, he had to respond with lethal force.
“I haven’t got the first clue why they do the things they do,” Malcolm told him, “And I’m not sure any of us will ever know.”
“Probably not,” Darren agreed. “I’d rather keep my mind on keeping everybody safe and alive. So I want to say I’m grateful to you for being willing to trade with us. Nobody likes to kill around here and it would have been a shame to have to kill you for trying to get over the walls.”
Malcolm chuckled. “I’m grateful you were willing to trade too. You might have killed us but we would have ended up taking a whole bunch of you with us.”
Darren took it for the good natured ribbing it was meant to be and laughed as they crossed the street to the pizza place. The SUVs were right where they had left them, further cementing his trust in Darren.
He could have sent men back to steal them or plotted an ambush for him but it was nothing but an empty parking lot and the vehicles. His trust in the man had been rewarded and maybe a bit of his faith in humanity had been restored today.
He held out one of the key FOBs to Darren. “You mind leading the way back to the house?”
Darren took it with a smile. “Happy to oblige.”
Subject File # 750
Administrator: How have you been sleeping?
Subject: Alright. I have nightmares from time to time that wake me up.
Administrator: What happens in these nightmares?
Subject: What you’d expect. Being chased by freaks, watching the people I love die, the girls being taken from me. I wake up in a cold sweat and I have to go check on the girls to make sure they’re okay. That’s the bitch about nightmares in the apocalypse, they can actually come true.
The lake was a calm stretch of dark blue, the occasional blip of a tiny whitecap breaking the smooth surface. Veronica stared out at the serene landscape from her perch on the boathouse, grateful that Craig had thought to hide the perch in the fake dormer. It offered her a small bit of shade from the unrelenting sun. With the others gone, their shifts had been extended to eight hours and she was only four hours into her shift and already she was drenched in sweat.
If it hadn’t been for the heat, she wouldn’t mind the extended shift so much. Truth was, she enjoyed it up here. The sound of the water lapping against the dock supports and the birds singing in the trees behind the boathouse relaxed her. She felt at peace up her
e.
Frankly, she needed some peace after what had happened at the dock this morning. She didn’t know what to think about what Jackson had said so she preferred not thinking about it at all.
Except it was all she could think about.
I ain’t sayin’ no.
It wasn’t a yes but it wasn’t a no and that was better than she had expected. But where did they go from here? He said he needed time and she was willing to give it to him but she was worried that things would be different between them now.
She knew that even revealing that he had a romantic interest in her was a huge step for Jackson. A huge step forward meant there was still plenty of space to retreat. What if he pulled away from her? Being vulnerable wasn’t something Jackson liked and she was worried that his instincts would push him to close up on her again.
But maybe she was overthinking this whole thing. Maybe she should just be content with the fact that they were both honest with each other. She told him how she felt and she didn’t regret it. She’d followed her heart and she hadn’t been shot down. That was enough and now she just had to give it time.
With that settled, she crawled out from under the dormer and stood on the roof, stretching out the kinks in her shoulders and neck. Her legs were feeling tight too so she put her rifle over her shoulder and climbed down from the roof to stretch out her legs.
She walked out to the far end of the dock, looking out at the curve of the island as it stretched towards the west, holding up a hand to shade her eyes to see if she could spot Jackson down on the southwest point of the island where he was stationed.
The sound of footsteps on the dock had her turning around and she spotted Angela at the far end. She waved to her and walked back down the dock to meet her.
“How goes it?” Angela asked.
“Quiet,” she replied. “How are things at the garden?”
“Got the garden all weeded then we broke for lunch.”
“So what brought you out here?” Veronica asked, wondering if it was a personal visit or she had just been out for a walk.
“I thought you might like a break, go grab lunch with the kids,” Angela said. “Truth is I wouldn’t mind a bit of peace and quiet. The kids are sweet but man, they can get loud.”
Veronica laughed. “Yeah, I think they are making up for all the time on the road where they had to be quiet.”
“I don’t blame them,” Angela said. “It must be nice for them to have a place to run and play and just be kids. It is probably nice for you parents too, knowing that they have a safe place to do it.”
“It is.” She handed over her rifle to the woman. “And thanks for giving me a break. It’ll feel good to stretch my legs.”
“Take your time,” Angela said. “Spend time with the girls after lunch if you want.”
“I just might,” Veronica said. “It gets hot as hell up there. Make sure you stay in the shade.”
“I will,” Angela replied as she grabbed onto the ladder and began to climb.
Veronica left her to it and headed towards the lodge, sighing in relief as the path led into the shade of the trees and the temperature seemed to drop a couple of degrees.
She could hear the children before she saw them, their squeals of delight echoing through the trees before the path opened onto the lawn in front of the lodge. The scent of burning charcoal and cooking meat wafted on the breeze and Veronica felt her stomach rumble.
She rounded the last curve of the path and smiled when she saw the kids playing a game of badminton on the lawn. Jenny was shaking out a blanket to set on the ground while Janet and Elaine were standing behind the barbeque on the deck.
She looked around but didn’t spot Audrey with them and she frowned. “Where’s Audrey?”
“She finished weeding her section of the garden before the others so she asked if she could go fishing at the north point,” Janet said. “I agreed since Claudia was out there. I hope that’s okay.”
She waved her worry away. “Of course, it’s fine. So, what’s on the menu for lunch?”
“Since I made buns this morning the kids asked if they could have hotdogs for lunch,” Janet said. “There were some in the freezer so I figured we could grill them up and have a picnic lunch out here.”
“It’s a nice summer day for it,” Veronica said.
“That’s what I said and also why I suggested we have the lunch over on the beach at the cove,” Elaine said. “There’s probably a nice breeze there.”
“Malcolm told us to try and stay away from the shore while they’re gone, remember?” Janet pointed out and Elaine frowned. “Alright kids, lunch is ready!”
The kids let out a whoop of excitement as they abandoned their game and came running over to the deck.
When Hannah spotted her, she gave her a wide smile and threw herself at her legs, hugging her tightly before looking up at her.
“Veronica, guess what? The beans I planted are already starting to sprout before anyone else’s.”
“Good job, Squirt,” Veronica said, ruffling her hair. “You’ve got yourself quite a green thumb there.”
“That’s what Jenny said too,” Hannah exclaimed and held up her hands, “But they still look white.”
“It’s just an expression, honey, they won’t actually turn green.”
Hannah frowned, clearly disappointed that her thumbs weren’t going to change colour no matter how good she was at gardening. “That’s what Audrey said but I thought she was lying, like when she told me that a sea monster lived in the lake. Jackson said that was a lie.”
“Yeah, your sister loves telling her stories doesn’t she,” Veronica said, shaking her head at Audrey’s cheek. She couldn’t seem to help herself from winding up her sister with stories. She should give the girl a journal to write all her stories in, maybe that would stop her from trying to scare her little sister. “How about you go get a hotdog?”
Hannah nodded and went to get a hotdog from Janet as Veronica shook her head.
“I don’t know why she insists on trying to scare her sister,” Veronica said.
“You didn’t do the same to your siblings?” Jenny asked and Veronica had to admit she had been known to tell Quinton more than a few stories about ghosts that she had seen haunting the woods when they had lived in the cabin.
“Good point,” Veronica said. “I suppose it’s a rite of passage.”
“Do you want to go check on Audrey, bring her lunch?” Elaine asked. “You could drop off lunch with Claudia and Jackson too.”
“Sure,” she agreed. Though she wasn’t exactly eager to face Jackson just yet, she should check in on Audrey. Lunch would be the perfect excuse to seek her out while keeping up the illusion that she was giving the girl space.
She went into the kitchen to grab one of the baskets they used to deliver food to the people on watch. By the time she came back, Janet had a plate stacked with hotdogs and Elaine had gathered up extra bottles of condiments to pile in the basket.
She headed for the north point first, stepping off the path to head to the fishing spot that Nas had showed her and Lorraine when they had first taught Audrey. The dead tree that had fallen into the water was the perfect spot, smaller fishes using the tree as a shelter and turning it into a feeding ground that drew bigger fish to the shallows.
Audrey wasn’t there so Veronica picked her way along the water’s edge, figuring the girl might have moved up towards the rocky tip. She didn’t spot her as she walked around the shore and reached the trees where they had mounted the platform.
“What’s up?” Claudia asked, leaning over the railing that was around the platform.
“Lunch delivery,” Veronica said, holding up the basket.
“Good timing, I’m starving,” Claudia said as she swung around to the ladder and began to climb down.
“Is Audrey up there with you?” she asked, looking up at the platform.
Claudia frowned. “No, I haven’t seen her since we left the dock.”
&nbs
p; A sinking feeling filled her stomach. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, she hasn’t been by here at all,” Claudia said. “I thought she was working on the garden with the others.”
“She told Janet she was coming up here to fish,” Veronica said, the sinking feeling in her stomach turning into a lead ball that brought on a sudden wave of nausea. “I went to the tree but she wasn’t there or anywhere else along the water here.”
“There’s another good fishing spot down on the west side by Banks and Craig’s cabin. Maybe she decided to go down there to fish,” Claudia suggested. “She’s not exactly my biggest fan right now so she might have been avoiding me.”
“That’s possible.” The girl had tried to hide her hurt over the kiss between Claudia and Trey but she hadn’t been successful. She should have known better than to think Audrey would be anywhere near Claudia today. “That part is isolated, away from everybody she’s pissed off at.”
Claudia frowned. “Look, I’m sorry she saw that. We shouldn’t have kissed like that in front of everybody.”
“No, it’s fine. You shouldn’t have to hide. She’ll get over it. She’s probably more pissed at me anyway.
“Why’s she pissed at you?”
“Because I wouldn’t let her go on the run. She’s also pissed at Jackson because she’s jealous of his relationship with Mendez.”
Claudia looked confused. “How does that work exactly?”
“She thinks that Jackson has a thing for Mendez instead of me.”
“Wait, Jackson has a thing for Mendez? He does know she’s a lesbian, right?”
“No. I mean yes. I mean, no, he doesn’t have a thing for her and yes, he knows she’s a lesbian. It’s not what is important right now. I’ll talk to you later. I’m gonna go see if she’s over there.”
“We’ll definitely talk later,” Claudia called out and Veronica waved her away as she headed down the path towards the west side on the island.
Audrey better be there and she was also going to get a dressing down for not telling anyone where she was. While she appreciated the girl’s desire to be alone, she was still a child.
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