Behind Our Walls (25 page)

"Have you talked to Amy about her progress?" Lot asked.

"She has to run some tests on the vacant suites, but she said we could have limited power in a week or two. Once she gets the bugs smoothed out, we might be up to full capacity a week or so after that."

It had been so long since she hadn't needed to depend on a hand-cranked flashlight or candles for illumination, she wasn't sure how she would handle the idea of being able to flip on a light again. Her grandfather's voice crept into her head, griping at her for failing to turn off the lights when she left the room and how much power she was wasting. She would have to be better about that now, she supposed.

There had been no other threats from anyone since Fiona left. No rovers or other groups, anyone that might be trouble. If anything were to happen, she felt like they were better prepared. They had doubled their stock of guns, thanks to the small arsenal that the rovers had used to attack the stadium. Even though the immediate danger was gone, it had become policy for armed guards to be posted around the stadium at all times. While this had been greeted with nervous skepticism at first, pretty much everyone now supported the initiative.

"I've got to be honest," Lot said as they resumed walking. "I never would have guessed that this would be how things would turn out for us. We just happen to run into Meredith and her group. One person remembers about this place from a newspaper article that she just happened to read before everything fell apart? That's how we end up here?"

Sophie nodded without saying more. They had been lucky, but she had also lost her parents, the man she had come to love and watched her relationship with her sister nearly disintegrate. The pain would always be there, but everyone was safe, and living in relative comfort. That was a lot more than she could have said before coming here.

"Seriously though," Lot said. "What do you think will happen to Fiona out there? Do you think she can make it?"

"Fiona is a cockroach," Sophie said, bringing laughter out of Lot. She shook her head and tried to take the question seriously. "Fiona might be misguided, but she is one of the strongest, most driven people I have ever met. If anyone can make it out there, it's her. Thing is though, everyone out there is living right on the edge. I don't care how tough you are, eventually your luck and your time runs out."

"You don't regret sending her out there, do you?"

"No. There is a part of me that knows that we have to accept some blame for how she was treated. We could have worked harder to make her a part of things, but I think that we lost her for good when Nairi was killed. She was the rock holding onto Fiona's humanity and when that was severed..." Sophie shook off the emotion before it could take hold of her. "She chose to do what she did. We didn't force her to take that action and now she's got to live with it."

Lot actually seemed guilty as he looked out over the neighborhood of abandoned houses, and Sophie wondered if there was anyone out there. Maybe huddled up in a basement waiting for night so they could slip past on the road without being seen by anyone.

"So we're just the lucky ones, then?" Lot said. "That's the only difference between us and the people still out there?"

"Sure. But most things come down to that anyway. We didn't do anything wrong to get here. We didn't hurt anyone and for the most part, we're just trying to live out our lives peacefully and as simply as we can. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking some comfort in how we live. We worked hard to build this place and we deserve to enjoy the benefits."

"Do you ever see things turning around out there?"

"Turning around? Not a chance. I don't think things are ever going to go back to the way they were before. Not in our lifetimes anyway. But maybe we can start building the groundwork for something better. Maybe that all starts here."

Sophie turned away from the parking lot, from the spectral personification of what used to be and returned her attention to the food and life that blossomed below. That was what mattered now, the families and children still left.

The possibilities of everything that was yet to come.

THE END

A Note From

The Author.....

I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your support of this book. If you have made it all the way to the end, it is my sincere hope that you are satisfied with the journey and how it has come out. It has certainly been a long road for me and this story has gone through more than a few incarnations in order to get to this point.

In 2014, I published my first book, Borrowed Time. It is a collection of shorter stories, one of which is called Tomorrow's Memory. Although I didn't realize it at the time, this story would prove to be my entry into the universe of this book. It began as a simple, short piece and eventually would grow to a much larger size and scope. I have always been fascinated by the notion of an apocalypse from the perspective of those on the ground forced to live through it. There is no narrator, no way of knowing for sure what has happened and where things will lead in the future. What does life look for those who want answers that maybe can't be found? How do they move on and try to begin the healing process in a world now defined by rage and violence?

Some of you may have read this already, but I suspect that many of you have not. I wanted to present the original short story to you here, to memorialize it and the role that it played in what would become my first novel. I have included it, as it was originally published but I have also written a frame story of sorts, to make it fit better within the context of the book. Keep an eye out for some familiar characters along the way.

Again, my unending thanks and appreciation goes out to you, at the other end of this connection.

Thank you.

The day would end up changing her forever.

When it started, it was as routine as any could be. Sophie decided to join up with the group going out for supplies. Six others came along, and with as little activity as they came across anymore, runs like these were much safer than in the past.

Clive led the group across a park, towards a small residential neighborhood. Anymore the houses were pretty well picked over, but it never hurt to be thorough. Also, now that they had restored electricity to the stadium they could take small appliances and other devices that people would otherwise pass over. Sophie worried at times that people were starting to get a little too accustomed to these new luxuries but for the most part, she felt like the community deserved them. They had gone through enough.

The rifle still felt awkward, strapped around her neck even though she had taken more than enough time, training with Lot.

"You doing all right there, Sophie?" Clive called out.

"Sure. It's just been a while since I've walked this far on anything other than concrete."

Clive laughed and shook his head as they resumed their pace. The rest of the group kept quiet, watching the area around them for any signs of trouble. While things had been peaceful, the shootout with the rovers had left a permanent sense of paranoia and caution with everyone. In that regard, it was probably one of the best things that had happened to them, but Sophie did miss the more carefree feeling of the stadium before the attack.

In truth, these runs were hardly even necessary anymore as the stadium had become almost completely self-sufficient. They had food from the crops, and the animals were providing a healthy amount of milk and eggs. They were even making cheese from time to time and on special occasions, they would slaughter one of the animals so that everyone could have meat. The rain collectors were so full that they actually had a surplus of water and now, with the electricity back on line, they had come as close as ever to having the comforts of home. Lot argued for ending the runs altogether, but Meredith pointed out that it was important to keep people engaged in something. It was good to get outside and into the open occasionally. This way, everyone could feel like they were contributing something important.

It was amazing to see how extensively nature had begun to reclaim itself and erase any signs that they had ever existed as a species. Many of the roads they passed were now heavily splintered with cracks and holes, weeds and grass sprouting up and through. On other smaller roads, the grass had grown wild and so tall that it was starting to create a canopy, taking the abandoned cars into their mossy embrace. She saw one car with the thick branches of a tree weaving in and out of the windows. A motorcycle was tipped over onto the ground, now barely visible in the overgrowth that had re-taken it. She couldn't help but thinking that it was as if the planet itself was rebooting.

Her train of thought was interrupted at the sound of Clive and the others shouting.

Sophie looked up to see them brandishing their weapons and pointing at something off to the right. She looked, and saw that a kid had emerged from the woods. He wasn't old, maybe college age, or a little older. He looked innocent enough, but the illusion was immediately shattered when she saw the pistol in his hand, coming up to take aim at them.

"Kid, you need to think about what you're doing!" Clive yelled. "Take it easy. You don't know us, and we don't know you. Why don't you put the gun down and we can talk this over, see what we can do to help each other out."

The kid remained silent, didn't even look like he had understood. His expression seemed to slacken, even more than it had been before. Sophie got the feeling that he was bracing himself to do something, trying to work up the nerve. He was taking in deep breaths, rocking back and forth as if trying to get the momentum he needed.

The thought jarred into her head to tell him about the stadium, that they could help him, give him somewhere safe from whatever it was he was running from. But her throat had gone dry, allowing no passage of anything other than her own panic.

And the gun was still pointed at them.

"Kid, I'm not going to tell you many more times. I promise you that we are not your enemy. I can only imagine what kind of shit you've been going through out here but trust me, we can help you. Just put the gun down and let us help!"

Sophie winced at this. Trust was a rare commodity these days. It was something earned and even then, with difficulty. But it was definitely not just handed out without any trepidation. She decided to try a different approach, stepping forward slowly but with her gun still raised.

"Please," Clive said, glancing at her as she slowly approached the kid. She was sure that there would be a scolding in her near future from Lot for obscuring the field of fire but she didn't care. Something about this whole situation and this kid felt wrong.

He turned to look at her and even at this distance, she could see the tears in his eyes. It looked like he wanted to say something, but there was nothing. Nothing but the silent tears and the pleading in his eyes. He took another step forward.

"Stop!" Clive was screaming now, a commanding tone that would have likely made a drill sergeant proud. "You
have
to stop. This is the last time I'm going to warn you. Take another step and we are going to have to put you down. Do
not
move any closer."

Sophie kept her eyes locked with his, pleading with him silently to put the gun down. She was crying along with him now and somewhere deep within herself, there was a part that realized they were wasting their time, that there was only one way this would end.

What happened next only took seconds but in the years to come, looking back on it, it would seem to stretch out like hours. The kid actually did lower the gun for a moment, but only enough for her to see the expression on his face go dead, and she knew exactly what was going to happen. Clive's voice sounded distorted, as if she was underwater. She saw the kid raise the gun and his finger grew tight on the trigger.

Sophie fired once.

The shot took the kid between the eyes. His head snapped back as if on a hinge and rebounded, the look of shock permanently etched onto his face as he stared out at her from a mind that was no longer there.

It was already over but the others still reacted, opening fire. They all hit him and it was several seconds before Clive could get them under control. The kid, or rather what was left of him, collapsed to the ground and did not move.