Breathless Bodies (15 page)

"Let me go!" I screamed, fighting Malcolm as he held me tight. Kato and Ragnar grabbed Striker off the ground and held him upright.

"Alright little sis, have some fun." Ragnar said. Malcolm let me go and I kicked Striker between the legs. He groaned and slumped in their arms.

"I should torture you like you tortured Michael." I said. Blood exploded around my hand as I broke his nose, dropping him to his knees. "I should make you feel every agony you put him through." Punch to the throat. "I should make you beg for death, if only to be saved from the unbearable pain of living." I bent down and picked up a good sized rock, tossing it between my hands. "But I'm not like you. Malcolm, can you open his mouth please?" Striker gave little resistance as I shoved the rock into his mouth. "I'm not going to kill you. None of my men will either. But, you are going to suffer for the rest of your life." I lifted his head back and brought his chin crashing down on my thrusting knee. His teeth sounded like walnuts being smashed, flying out of his mouth with a gush of blood.

I stood back and looked at Kato. "You can let him go now. Without teeth, it's going to be very hard to live." The men looked at me like I was crazy, and I didn't blame them. The raider looked at me with such hatred I took a step back. Then I swung my leg and smashed his jaw with my shin. "You should run now." I said to him. He scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as his wounded leg would allow.

"Are you really going to let him get away?" Samuel asked in astonishment. I turned and looked at him with a small smile that I could tell unsettled him. Without breaking eye contact, I spoke.

"Gunther, go for a hunt." I didn't turn at the sound of him taking off, I didn't have to. I knew that he was going after the man. A few seconds later, the sound of Gunther growling and Striker screaming filled the air. While Samuel looked between me and the carnage taking place in the distance, my gaze never wavered. The only change in my expression were the tears that ran silently down my cheeks.

We didn't want to bury Michael's body, as the smell of death could attract walkers. Instead we built him a funeral pyre of the very lumber he had come down to collect. As the men stacked the wood, I did the best I could to clean and dress him. Washing the blood off of his left arm and placing it next to him was a grueling task, not because of the physical exertion, but the self-control it took not to break down and sob. I washed the dirt and blood off of his face, speaking to the corpse of cherished friend.

"I'm so sorry Michael. I should have jumped in sooner. Maybe then they wouldn't have heard me radio the camp. Maybe you would still be here." My throat ached and my eyes welled. I didn't know why I wanted to talk to his corpse, but there were things I needed to say. "You didn't deserve this. But you're in a better place now. And besides, at least you're not a zombie. I know you dreaded that." I tried to give a small laugh but it only released the grief I had been holding in. I crumpled onto his chest, letting my anguish run. I cried for Michael who would never again make us smile with a story. I cried for men I had killed without mercy. I cried for Sean who might already be dead. Finally, I cried for my children who I might never see again.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as my tears came to a stop. Sniffing, I looked up to see my mother. Her eyes were sorrowful as she told me two words.

"It's time." I nodded and stood up. The pyre was only a few feet tall, but would burn for hours. Malcolm walked over to me with a torch in hand, covered in sweat and scraped from the wood. Handing me the torch, he knelt to lift Michael's legs, Ragnar lifted his torso. I lifted the severed arm and followed an ancient processional rite. Every so reverently, our friend was placed on his pyre. Fighting tears, I placed his arm next to him and stepped back.

"I'm sorry Michael, you didn't deserve this." I tried to say more but the lump in my throat made it impossible. Instead, I walked over and lit a corner of the wood. Passing the torch around the pyre, everyone set a part of it ablaze. We all stood there and watched as the fire crept towards him, cleansing his soul of the tortures his body endured. Ragnar stepped forward and did the last thing I think anyone expected. He started to sing. It was in a language I couldn't identify, but the tune was sad and soulful. The faces around me reflected the fire on which our friend was laid to rest.

Ragnar finished his song and Malcolm stepped forward. He cleared his throat before he could speak.

"You were an amazing person, always going out of your way to make others smile. You always had a story up your sleeve and a willing hand to help. I'm...we are sorry. There was so much more we could have done. If we had run a little faster, we would have gotten here in time to save you." His eyes filled and tears flowed down his cheeks. I went to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. It was a comfort to me as well as him.

One by one, our group stepped forward and said our goodbyes. It was a long day, followed by an even longer night. But as the day broke, our group became stronger. When the fire was gone and only the ash remained, we said a final farewell and headed back to camp. The walk was slow and sorrowful as we remembered Michael. By the time we made it to the camp, we were all filled with a need for vengeance. We made a plan to go into town and restock the supplies that were lost, knowing it would be impossible to survive without them. Ragnar and Samuel proposed a training program for everyone to become better fighters. It was unanimously accepted.

We all went to bed early as we had a long day ahead of us. I had a bad feeling the whole night, but I just chalked it up to the loss of a loved one. Of course, that's not what it was.

Chapter 19

A
nd this is
where I lay, in a field of grass at the bottom of the hill. Is this really how it ends? After all the fighting, the pain, the deaths. Do I give up now? No, I can't. If I do, then the people that I cared about will have died in vain. Okay, I thought to myself, that's enough of that. Time to get up and see who else is hurt. It was hard to sit up but I managed after a few tries. The RV was behind me and there were bodies scattered everywhere. I looked down at my own leg and saw a large piece of glass in my thigh, seeping blood everywhere. Great, I thought, this is going to suck. I tore my shirt up to my chest and tied the pieces together to make a tourniquet. Time for the hard part. I grabbed the piece of glass and pulled it out with a loud scream. The blood rushed out and flowed onto the grass. There was movement beside me as I tied it off, looking over just in time to see Niobe swinging a tree branch at me. She struck me in my left shoulder, sending me rolling. She screamed at me as she attacked again.

"You took away the only man I have ever loved, you selfish bitch!" She struck me on the back. "It's not enough that you think you can boss me around. But to take what is mine? I don't think so." She drew back her leg and kicked me in the ribs. Trying to roll out of the way again, my cracked ribs were sore anew. "I'm going to kill you, you little slut!" Niobe had pulled back to kick me in the face when there was a loud thunk and she gasped. I looked up to see an arrow sticking out of her chest. Her face showed her astonishment, as if she couldn't process what it was. With a gurgle she fell to her knees. Niobe gave a final cough, sending blood spatter all over me, and fell to the ground. The blankness in her eyes will haunt me forever. I stood up and looked behind me to see Samuel standing there, his crossbow at his side and blood on his forehead. I smiled at him as he walked over.

"You're a sight for sore eyes. Thank you." I tried to take a step towards him but my leg gave out, sending a fiery pain through me. Samuel was there before I hit the ground, catching me and holding me to him. He helped me to stand again, taking most of my weight as I hobbled over to a large rock. He knelt down and examined my leg.

"This needs to be stitched up. I'll go see if I can find the first aid kit." He stood to go but I stopped him.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Let's check on the others first. I'll be fine." I stood and forced myself to walk to the closest body. It was Liz. I knelt to check for a pulse. As I reached out to touch her, she stirred and opened her eyes. When we locked gazes, she rolled into a ball and started crying again. I wanted to comfort her, but the others needed to be checked on.

"Son of a bitch, my head hurts. Get this fucking thing off of me!" I looked around for Ragnar and saw the camper shaking. Samuel and I hurried over to see Ragnar pinned under the back end of the RV.

"Push it a bit and I can get my legs out." We braced ourselves against the side and pushed while Ragnar pulled his legs out. With a mighty groan, he was free. Ragnar stood up and bellowed with rage, looking for something to destroy. We moved out of his way as he rampaged. Then he saw her, lying in the grass with an arrow in her lung. He slowly walked to her, staring down in silence. I thought he was going to pick Niobe up. With a roar he raised his foot and stomped her head until it was a pile of bloody mush.

"Well, that was dramatic." Malcolm said from behind us. I turned to see him, relief flooding through me. He cradled his left arm and had blood in various places, but was otherwise unharmed. The others seemed to start coming to life around us. Only Liz remained lying down.

"Well, we all seem to be relatively unharmed. It could have been a lot worse. Does anyone need band aids?" My mom asked. Most everyone had only minor scrapes but Malcolm's wrist was badly sprained. I wanted to go through the RV to see what was salvageable, but Samuel stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Your leg needs to be stitched. Come on, sit down." We walked back over to the rock and I sat, stretching my right leg in front of me. My jeans had become soaked in blood from mid-thigh down. Malcolm walked over with a knife in his hand.

"You're going to need this." He said, handing the hilt to Samuel. He looked at Malcolm in confusion.

"Why would I need this?" Samuel asked curiously, looking at my leg. Malcolm gave a small laugh and pointed to my jeans.

"You're going to have to cut off the leg of her pants to sew up that gash. Might as well cut off the other one while you're at it, turn them into shorts." I tried to hold back the giggle, I really did. But once it escaped I couldn't stop. It turned into a full blown laugh with tears running down my face. The men looked at me as if I were crazy but I didn't care. I don't remember how long I sat there laughing, but by the time I was able to pull myself together, Samuel had finished cutting my jeans. Wiping my eyes, I looked around at the others. Bea and Ernest were salvaging food from the camper with my mom's help. Liz and Ragnar had gone up to my truck to clear out the bed. Without the RV, we were reduced to only my truck.

"This is going to make things much harder." Said Samuel, threading the needle as he spoke. "With this many people, we're going to need to find another truck. We could go back to the camp and get your in-laws truck and tow behind." I gave the idea some thought.

"It would be too dangerous. Besides, I don't think any of us are in any shape to go zombie hunting." He grabbed my leg, gently pinching the tear together. He glanced up at me and our eyes locked. Then it clicked.

"Samuel, who was Niobe talking about?" He immediately looked back at my leg and mumbled a quick response.

"I have no idea. Must have been Ragnar or Darius." He placed the first stitch, I assumed in an attempt to shut me up. Okay, I can take a hint. He deftly sewed my leg and as he cut the final thread, I made my point known.

"We're going to be traveling together for a while here and I really hate secrets. You don't have to tell me now, but I do want an answer." With that made clear, I tried to stand up. Samuel pulled my arm over his shoulder to help me hobble about.

"We need to make a plan. Do you want me to gather everyone?" Malcolm asked. I nodded and off he went. I spotted a sturdy looking stick on the ground and reached for it, letting go of Samuel. Having a walking stick would help me until my leg healed a bit.

"Can we get this over with? I really want to sleep." Liz looked like she was going to fall over on the spot. I tilted my head at Ragnar, motioning to support her. I was never any good at speeches but my emotions took control and the words came pouring out.

"I don't know why Niobe hated me. She said I took away the only man she had ever loved. Who that is, I don't know. But what's done is done and it's too late to ask her. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sick of sitting around waiting for Sean to call or come back with our kids. I'm tired of waiting to be attacked by the next raiding party. I'm furious about what happened to Michael and that Demo got away. Now that man, who is single handedly responsible for the destruction of everything and everyone we have ever loved, is a thousand miles away. I'm done running, I'm done hiding. It's time we took the fight to him. I don't expect you guys to follow me. I'm surprised you've followed me for this long. I'm going to gather the weapons I can and go to Iowa to find my kids. If anyone wants to be dropped off somewhere, let me know and I'll take you there, no hard feelings. But if you come, I can guarantee that Demo will suffer twice as much as Michael did, and Darius will be begging for death." My heart beat fast in my chest as I waited for them to answer. Samuel was the first to step forward.

"I'll follow you." He stood tall with a determined expression.

"So will I." Said Malcolm.

"And I." chimed Kato.

"We're in." My in-laws echoed.

"You know I can't miss this." My mom muttered.

"You know me little sis, I can't ever pass up an opportunity for torture." Ragnar chuckled. We all looked at Liz who was leaning on Ragnar. She lifted her empty eyes to me.

"For Steven." She said, then turned back into Ragnar's chest. It's settled. We salvaged what we could and headed for Darius. When I find him, his cries for mercy will never be heard.

About the Author

G
rowing up on
a small town ranch, Brigit Levois spent her time daydreaming on horseback. In her earlier years, she was dedicated to drag racing and modeling, going so far as to appear in a few magazines. Now as a mother and wife, she spends her time creating thrilling stories between bouts of laundry. Residing in New Mexico, the material seems to fall from the sky.