Eric S. Brown (6 page)

***

“
Elijah, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Jacob said as Elijah steered the Outback up to the pumps of the Mom and Pop gas station. The town they were in was a small one. Jacob thought he remembered seeing a sign that read “Clyde” or something like that. He supposed the place’s name didn’t matter. Not much did anymore. They’d only seen a handful of rotters staggering its streets so far and those had been pretty scattered. The station’s lot was clear of them for now. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t an army of them somewhere in the buildings or woods nearby.

“
It’s this or walk,” Elijah scowled. “We used the last of what was onboard this morning.”

Jacob hoped Lori would take his side but she was still a wreck. She sat in the passenger seat beside Elijah staring at the dashboard. Her eyes were so red it looked almost like they were bleeding. There was a glistening layer of snot between her upper lip and nose. Jacob felt bad for her but there was nothing he could do to help her. The grief she was feeling was too deep, too personal for him to do anything to drag her out of it.

Helena, on the other hand, was really coming alive. She had asked Elijah for a weapon and held onto the .38 revolver he had given her like a Round Table knight clutching Excalibur.

Elijah threw the Outback into park and killed the engine. “The power’s on here. This should be fast and easy.”

Jacob stepped from the Outback with him. He needed to stretch his legs. “I’m starving,” Jacob complained as he eyed the station; his earlier fear was replaced by the desire to fill his belly.

“
Take Helena with you if you go,” Elijah ordered him.

Jacob saw Helena perk up even more at her name. Her door swung open on the other side of the vehicle. She walked around to join them at the pumps, beaming and bristling with energy.

“
Okay then. We’ll be back in a few.” Jacob nodded at Elijah, then smiled at Helena. “You sure you know how to use that?”

She held up the revolver in her hands like a model on a Charlie’s Angels poster. “Don’t worry,” she giggled, “I won’t shoot you. . .intentionally.”

The station’s windows were shattered. Shards of glass littered the pavement. “Be careful and watch where you step,” Jacob told Helena. She was still barefoot and he didn’t want her getting hurt from something as stupid not paying attention and ending up with her feet more injured than they already were.

The door was unlocked. Jacob peeked through its plexi-glass to check for rotters waiting inside before he opened it. A small silver bell jingled above them as they entered. Shredded potato chip bags, stepped-on candy bars, and other trash covered the floor, crunching and crackling underneath their feet.

“
Guess this place has been looted before,” Jacob commented, a bit disappointed at that fact. The register on the counter was open and all the money gone. He wondered what sort of idiot would take the time to do that. What value could green paper possibly have now?

“
Wow. Even most of the condoms are gone,” Helena chuckled as she stared into the closest of the three aisles in front of the rear refrigerator section.

“
How old are you again?” Jacob teased her.

Helena frowned. “I’m seventeen.”

Jacob patted her shoulder as he walked by her into an aisle. “Forget it. I was only messing with you. Help me look around. There has to be something left we can use.”

Helena loosed an excited squeal as he lifted a can of baked beans for him to see.

“
Well at least that’s something,” Jacob said.

They spent another five minutes searching the place over before Jacob heard Elijah yell for them. In addition to the beans, they found a few loose bottles of water and a handful of unopened candy bars that made Jacob cringe as he remembered his time locked in his office building’s break room. Helena was already chewing on a Snickers as they met Elijah at the Outback. Elijah had pulled it closer to the station once its tank was full. Jacob noticed the bodies of three rotters lying in the parking lot. Elijah was leaning against the Outback’s hood, wiping stale blood from the blade of one of his swords with a dirty cloth.

“
Company?” Jacob asked. Elijah ignored him. Jacob tossed him a candy bar. Elijah caught it and flung back at him.

“
What?” Jacob said. “They didn’t have any Oreos, okay? Sorry, mate.”

***

Thomas sat at the kitchen table, a beer in his hand. He replayed the events of the morning over and over in his head. Try as he might, he couldn’t come up with any rational explanation for what that. . .thing in the woods could have been. Maybe none of it was real. Maybe being alone was already getting to him. If it weren’t for Duke and Hunter, he’d be more than happy to believe he’d imagined it all. The dogs were proof that something had happened, however. They sulked around acting as scared as he was. Thomas gulped down what remained of his beer and crushed the can. He wanted to talk to someone. Old man Hall was the only hope of that. He got up from the table, his heavy boots clomping on the wooden floor as he walked across the kitchen to peer through the window above the sink. It wasn’t quite one o’clock yet. If he hustled, he could easily reach old man Hall’s farm before sundown. The time for making excuses was over. It was time to man up and just go. Thomas pocketed some extra rounds for his rifle from an open box sitting on the kitchen counter near the door. “See you boys tomorrow,” he told the dogs. “Try not to tear the house apart while I’m gone, okay?”

Duke and Hunter whined at him. “You’ll be fine,” he assured them as he thought
and Lord willing so will I.

There was no safe path to old man Hall’s farm or he would’ve made this trip days ago when the world started becoming a living Hell. The woods were completely out of the question so he took the road. The heat was blistering as he walked. His .30.-06 was slung over his shoulder by its strap and he carried a shovel in his hands. Shovels were surprisingly effective weapons against the rotters. Its edges could chop into a decaying head rather easily and the length of its handle helped as well. Thomas kicked a rock, sending it bouncing along the asphalt ahead of him. His eyes darted from one side of the road to the other. Being so exposed like this would have made him nervous even without the events of the morning. His shovel offered no protection against the thing he’d encountered. He wondered if his rifle would. As fast as the thing appeared to be, he might not be able to get off a shot if it came barreling from the woods at him. There was no certainty a single shot would stop something that large in its tracks either. Deciding he was spooked enough, he tried not to think about the beast or whatever it was, turning his mind instead to old man Hall. If the stubborn old man was still alive as Thomas suspected, what then? Would he offer him a place at his farm? He doubted very much Hall would even consider such an offer but they’d both be a lot safer with someone else around. The old man would likely trade with him though if he could bring himself to make this trip again after today. That alone was worth the journey. Hall’s moonshine was famous all around these parts. Having some for medicinal purposes would be a good thing. Exchanging seeds with the old man would broaden both of their crops as well. Thomas hoped Hall would be in a good mood when he got there. Some of Hall’s shine would make it a lot easier to talk to the old man about what he had seen.

The sun was sinking behind the mountains as Thomas reached the winding, gravel road leading up to old man Hall’s farm. The old man rarely used it so it was in pretty rough shape. It wasn’t exactly wide to being with and the encroaching vegetation made it even narrower. The long shadows of the early fall twilight added to its creepiness. Thomas stuck his shovel in the dirt, unslinging his rifle. Better to be safe than sorry, he told himself, making sure the gun had a round ready to go in its chamber. Thomas trudged along the drive half expecting old man Hall to pop out in front of him with a shotgun and accidentally blow his face off.

“
Mr. Hall!” he shouted as he neared the farm. “You around here?”

Thomas could see the house ahead. There were no lights on in it. That didn’t mean anything of course. The power could have finally died during his walk and it wasn’t quite totally dark yet either. To the house’s right was the huge pasture where the old man kept his livestock. Thomas froze as he saw the dead cattle scattered across the field. Part of the fence was smashed and knocked over as if something huge had crashed right through it. Thomas’s grip on his rifle grew tighter. Several of the cattle appeared to be gutted. One was missing its head. The wind changed and the smell now hit him. Thomas gagged, raising a hand to his mouth as he tried not to vomit. Trails of bent, red-smeared grass told him whatever had killed them had dragged some of them off afterwards. Tearing his eyes away from the massacre in the pasture, Thomas made a run for the house, his legs pumping beneath him as his breath came in ragged gasps of terror. “Mr. Hall!” Thomas screamed as he hurled himself up the steps leading to the front door. One of the steps gave way under his heavy boots with the splintering sound of busting wood. Thomas screamed again, this time a pain-filled wail, as shards of the broken wood scraped at and buried themselves in his leg. His chin smacked into the porch as he fell forward, cutting his cry short. His teeth closed together on the edge of his tongue. Thomas spat out a mouthful of blood. He rolled over where he lay, searching for his rifle. The impact of his fall had sent it flying from his hands. He thanked God as he saw it was within reach and grabbed it. There was still no sign of old man Hall. Lifting his leg, Thomas grimaced both from the pain of the movement and what he saw. His pants leg was torn and wet with blood that continued to pour from a long gash stretching from just above the top of his boot all the way to his knee. It took all Thomas had not to pass out in that moment. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he crawled onto the porch. The partially cracked front door creaked on its hinges, making him jump. The light was fading quickly now as night closed in. Thomas noticed something lying on the living room floor. He squinted, trying to make out what it was. Deciding he didn’t care, he dragged himself on into the house, kicking the door shut behind him with his good leg. The whole room was spinning as his strength gave out and the darkness claimed him.

***

Lori felt better. No, that was a lie, she admitted to herself. She felt like an eighteen wheeler ran over her and smeared the mangled mess of her body along the interstate as it kept going. But she was alive, whatever that was worth. She didn’t remember burying Michael. The memory of her pulling her pistol on Elijah and demanding that they do it was, however, very clear in her mind. Elijah sat in the driver’s seat with the same cold, hard expression he always wore. A drizzle of rain splashed on the windshield of the Outback as it worked its way through the mess of other abandoned cars that littered the road. When folks had fled the town, when the plague started, they must have all headed in this direction.

It was eerie how dark it was. The Outback’s headlights were the only source of light on the road. She craned her neck to look into the backseat. Jacob and Helena were asleep. The young girl was cuddled close to Jacob with her head resting on his chest. So much of this day and the night before were lost to a fog of tears, heartbreak, and pain. She wondered when the two of them had gotten so cozy. A pang of jealousy she couldn’t explain stung her.

“
You hungry?” Elijah asked.

Lori jerked her gaze around to him, feeling guilty. “How long have I. . .?”

“
There’s a candy bar and bottle of water in the glove box for you,” Elijah said.

“
Thank you.” Lori ripped the wrapper from the candy bar and tore into it, wolfing it down in only a couple of bites.

“
Easy,” Elijah warned. “You’ve been through a lot.”

“
We all have,” Lori agreed. She sipped at her water. “Helena seems to be doing better,” she said before she could stop herself, hoping Elijah didn’t catch the bitterness in her tone.

“
She is,” he nodded.

Lori was at a loss as to what else to say but she wanted to talk. She couldn’t handle the silence right now. “Where are we?” she asked.

“
There’s a farm not far from here. I stayed there for a while many, many years ago. It should be safe.”

“
That’s not exactly what I asked?”

Elijah shrugged.

“
We there yet?” Lori heard Jacob ask from the backseat. She saw his eyes go wide as she turned to look at him.

“
Lori,” he grinned, “welcome back to the land of the living.”

Helena stared at her too. The girl was on the verge of tears as she said, “I’m so sorry, Lori.”

Lori shook her head. “Don’t go there.” She knew Michael’s death wasn’t Helena’s fault but she didn’t trust her emotions yet. The girl had lived through enough already without her losing control and adding to the mess.

“
We’re going to a farm,” Jacob told her. Lori caught the frustration and sarcasm in the words.

“
So I’ve heard,” she shifted in her seat. “Elijah how do you even know the place you remember is still there?”

“
Call it a hunch.”

“
We’re risking a lot on your hunch.”

“
No more than you’ve risked before.”

Lori managed not to punch his teeth in somehow. “For once can you stop being so vague and just talk like a normal person?”