After The End (25 page)

Cal stepped closer, his concern as visible. I
took my hands from my head and waved him off.

“Because, you kept ranting about how
important it was the whole populace vote for this choice and not
the third option. You personally swayed several people to choose
this path. It’s only right that you see it through.”

I turned to face each of my accomplices.

“I know I don’t have any formal authority to
force him to stay and do this, but if he gets to walk away from the
burden he helped create, I’ll refuse to take any part in this. We
all know that the third option was wisest and I only agreed to
participate in this to keep our people safe.”

I pointed at the forty-something Jamaican
man.

“Either Marley Guy pulls his weight in this
venture, or the entire village does another vote; I’m not ending
lives with my own hands when he chose to put me there and gets to
sit here without a care.”

The lull in the cabin grew longer as each
volunteer glanced at each other. Their faces spoke volumes about
how much they wanted to completely rethink this mission. I doubt
many of them actually believed we’d be taking human lives; they’d
grown accustomed to putting down the Dead, but this was different.
I was surprised when Seth broke the quiet reflection.

“They know what’s happening. All of us knew,
even in the beginning. Anyone who didn’t leave is a part of those
actions. I knew these people before the outbreak. The big guy is
their leader, but taking him down won’t do anything but make them
target us more. That suburb was full of followers, the next guy to
step up will do the same.”

A tear ran down his cheek.

“I voted to let the vampires do our dirty
work. I knew the only way to stop them was to massacre all of my
neighbors. I have to live with what I’ve done to survive but I
never found joy in it. Those people do.”

His fists clenched, as he seemed to gain some
determination.

“Maybe the kids can be saved, but I’m not
even sure they won’t just try to kill us in our sleep. It’s a
shitty thing to have to consider, but these are the actions we
settled on with the vote.”

Seth and Troy blocked the doorway. Chase and
Daemon joined them and soon the Jamaican stood alone in the center
of the room.

“Should we call for a new vote?” I asked. “A
vote by hand, after you’ve told the community that you’d rather let
Daemon and Cal brave the hazards and the possible guilt of this
errand.”

I honestly hoped they’d call for the vote and
we could just allow the food chain to be put to use. I didn’t want
to think about shooting or stabbing people who may be innocent.

“You be right.” Marley Guy spoke so low I
almost didn’t hear him. “I’ll go on the journey and what must be is
what will be happening. Jah forgive me, that is what I gonna
do.”

I wanted to hurl. Instead I tightened my jaw
and nodded. Everyone returned to their seats and waited for the
meeting to resume. I choked back the rising bile and pressed on
with the meeting.

“We should leave day after tomorrow at the
latest. I’d like to get underway tomorrow so that we can get this
over with before those pricks have time to track us down.”

“How would they find us? We’re miles away
from where they last saw us.” Troy asked.

“All they need is to come across one of the
dozens of people who’ve passed through here.”

Vincent quickly added his thoughts to
mine.

“Or to follow your tracks as best they could
and look for signs of a running vehicle in the brush. Once they
made it to the clearing where the vehicles are stored, they’ll have
found us.”

Several eyes widened around the room. Daemon
tossed cards into a hat at the end of the bed and Cal shrugged. I
suppose they’d been expecting this possibility.

At least I’m not the only
one who worries about this crap.

“So, back to the plan. We are one team split
into three details: detail one is Daemon and Caelinus, detail two
is Troy, Seth, and the Nurse, and detail three is Forrest, Vincent,
Marley Guy, and myself.

“You forgot me, Squirrel.” Chase raised his
hand a little.

I sighed.

“No I didn’t. You need to stay here.”

“I volunteered and can carry my own weight.
If it’s the arm…”

“It’s not the arm, Chase. We need you to keep
everyone here at home safe. Besides, with Sunny getting sick every
hour from the pregnancy, you should be nearby. And I’m not about to
argue with her about you being away.”

“Sunny will understand.” He bristled.

“Really, I’ll understand?”

Sunny stood in the door with her hands firmly
on her hips and a Mom Glare fixed on the two of us.

“Uh, sweetie I thought you were resting.”

“Is that why you sneaked over here to
volunteer to run off to battle?”

The smile disappeared at the same instant
Chase turned a bright scarlet. Everyone looked away; none of us was
brave enough to face a pregnant Sunny while she dressed down her
husband. We’d face cannibals or zombies no problem, but that was a
risk we’d never take.

“And Squirrel, what makes you think I need
Chase here to take care of me. I’m pregnant, not comatose. I can
protect myself and I can do my part to keep this fort secure.”

“So…so I can go?” Chase offered skittishly
despite his size.

Cal placed his palm over his eyes and Daemon
dropped his cards to watch. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from such
an epic failure of common sense.

“Are you freaking kidding me? No! Chase, you
need to stay here and help me keep things running smoothly. We also
need the Nurse here in case anything goes wrong. I’m growing our
baby.” She rubbed her growing stomach; the circular motion was
hypnotic.

The Nurse immediately grabbed his knapsack
and left the cabin in compliance.

Smart man. Can’t fault
Sunny’s logic anyways.

“Um, I’ll see if I can round up a few more
volunteers for you guys.” Chase said as he shuffled towards the
door.

We waved goodbye as the couple left the
meeting. I could hear them talking beyond the walls of the cabin
for a distance.

“Okay new plan. I think we’ll be fine with
just us eight. We can split into two details instead of three,
though, if anyone feels more comfortable that way.”

Troy smiled. “I like the idea of us being in
two details; easier on sleep shifts while traveling and I’d get to
see your pretty face.”

I blushed a little and was fairly certain I
heard Daemon growl. The vampire’s eyes had gold flecks in the midst
of emerald.

“Alright. Detail one is going to fly ahead of
us and scope out our target, while detail two travels at our best
pace, sleeping in shifts to prevent ambushes. When the vamps return
with info on the enemy setup, we can sort out a plan and attack
that night.”

I studied their reactions.

So far everyone’s in agreement.

“Any other thoughts before we move on to what
gear we need?”

Blank stares again.

“Fair enough.”

After another hour of discussion, each of us
had a list of chores and equipment to prepare. This would be one of
the few times we’d be carrying firearms. Vincent and Forrest gave
us a basic lesson in cleaning and fixing our designated weapons
while Cal and Daemon looked on. Afterward, Cal took me aside.

“Thank you, Squirrel, for the vote of
confidence.”

“I trust you both, and so does everyone in
camp. Some of them just forget occasionally.”

We shared a smile and he patted me on the
back.

“You are doing well. Don’t let the pressure
of commanding a populace harm you. If it were easy, you’d be doing
it wrong.”

We sat around the fire pit for dinner with
the rest of the residents. Somehow we’d managed to sit to one side,
naturally excluding the expedition members; our bags and weapons
sat behind our chairs. The meal was quiet except for Michael’s
admonitions that he could go on the raid and help fight. I marveled
at his innocence. Despite the horrible things the little boy had
seen and the loss of his own family, Michael was still a child who
saw adventure in a task we adults dreaded.

“Michael, I need you here to keep an eye on
things for us. Cal and Daemon will be with us, so more grown-ups
will be keeping guard during the night. I’m depending on you to
help them out during the day and to keep your sister and Ellen
safe. Can you and Jordy do that?”

He stood at attention and saluted.

“Yes ma’am.”

Turning on his heel, he ran off to check on
his sister and help the older boy load the arrows into quivers. A
chorus of laughs rang out around the table and the stagnant air
felt alive again. Cal stood up from his storytelling with the small
princesses to see what the commotion was. A paper crown tumbled off
his head and Ellen scolded him for losing his royal hat. He shook
his head, bowed to both girls, and resumed the tale.

An hour later, he flew off with Daemon to
begin our morbid errand. Bubba led us to the clearing and we filed
into the two trucks. Although we’d wiped the interior down last
run, a brown streak of dried blood remained as a grim reminder of
our recent loss. Troy hastily jumped into the one he hadn’t been
shot in; he mumbled something about jinxes.

We listened to CDs as we drove in the
direction Seth said he’d lived before the world had died. I’d
nearly forgotten what it was like to push a button and have
something turn on; hearing music flow from the speakers was a
miracle I’d missed. All night we moved towards our goal: a
subdivision a couple of miles from our foes anticipated location.
Around 4:30AM, the first detail landed at our side as we impaled a
couple of zombies.

“Would you folks like a hand?” Daemon joked
as he grabbed an ambling corpse through the eyes and popped its
head off. He tossed the impromptu bowling ball into a street sign
and wiped his hands on a golf towel he’d clipped to the bottom of
his leather jacket. “Strike!”

Cal smacked him, messing up his long
hair.

“What?”

The Roman soldier ignored his protégé and
stomped the skull of crawling zombie.

“We found the area Seth told us about; it
isn’t what we’re looking for.”

Seth looked frantic.

“They aren’t there? Are you sure?”

With a momentary look of disgust, Cal
retorted.

“Of course I’m sure. I’m a vampire, not a
blind man. And it is not just that the murderers aren’t in that
place. That place is full of nothing but bones, primarily
human.”

Cal focused on the stars and sighed.

“There is no sign of any children having been
in that place for quite some time, but… there are small bones in
the piles of trash. They all have teeth marks.”

“No. No no no, they wouldn’t do that. They
couldn’t.” Seth fell to his knees. “Those kids belonged to some of
those men, they wouldn’t have allowed it. Their moms would’ve
fought to protect them. You must be wrong.”

Marley Guy lowered his weapon and breathed in
short gasps.

Seth wept as Caelinus walked over and placed
a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Seth. There were bones of many
men, women, and children; there were no signs of life. None of the
craniums had been destroyed. They were not made zombies. Perhaps
they died of illness or hunger, but there is no one to save or
spare from harm. They are all lost.”

The sobbing drew a handful of moans from the
distant shadows. Weapons were raised in alarm.

“Fleshies are coming. Let’s get to a safe
place for the day and regroup.”

I put the rifle strap over my shoulder and
lent a hand carrying the overwhelmed spearman into the cab of the
Ford. We loaded up and drove six blocks back the way we came.
Finding an adequate house with a brick wall, we forced the iron
gate and got comfortable for the day. We eased the grieving man on
the bed and did our best to ignore the sound of him crying himself
to sleep.

Without any proper leads, our team had two
options to fall back on: return home and wait for the escaped
cannibal to maybe find us one day or go back to the site of our
last skirmish and attempt to track him that way.

“He could’ve been killed already. He was
alone and maybe wounded. The guy might have died of infection,
gotten bitten by one of the Dead, starved, or any number of
things.”

Vincent sounded hopeful.

“He coulda been killed by ‘nuther group they
already messed with.”

Forrest leaned his rifle against the wall as
he spoke. “And so far as we know, the bastard is runnin by hiself,
not much of a hazard to us.”

The muffled whimpering eased up from the
other room. I thought about it for a minute. Marley Guy interrupted
my contemplation.

“We should go back to de camp. If is just one
guy, is not bein a real threat. All likeliness, he is dead. You
folks think we can leave in the morning?”

“No.” Daemon’s expression was as serious as a
bill collector. “We should make sure he’s gone. I’d like to go back
to track him at sunset. You guys could head back, but I want to be
certain he hasn’t got another posse somewhere plotting to make our
friends a buffet.”

“I think the boy is correct. It should only
take the two of us a day or so to ascertain the man’s
whereabouts.”

I looked at the other four humans for input.
Seth had finally grown quiet in the backroom. The house was silent.
For a minute I missed the noises of a vibrant city. Or even the low
hum of a dull town.

“Okay, how about we go to the cul-de-sac and
search for clues about what happened during the afternoon and you
two investigate the head people-eater as soon as dusk hits. We can
meet up here tomorrow just before dawn. If anyone isn’t here by
then, we wait another twenty-four hours before returning to
camp.”