Glory (Book 3) (19 page)

Chapter 2

Adam had been the first to notice the little stream. It passed underneath a bridge that they had to cross.

"We should rest here," he said. "Freshen up."

Shelly and Claire agreed.

"I'll let you two wash up first," Adam added.

"And what will you do?" Claire asked.

"I'll wait up here."

Adam didn't want to go down there with them. He wanted to give them their privacy.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just call me if you need me."

Claire and Shelly made their way to the stream, taking the bag of clothes with them. They had to climb down a steep ditch.

As soon as they got to the bottom and he knew that they were okay, Adam turned and sat on the edge of the bridge. He could hear them bathing in the water, splashing themselves, rubbing it against their dirtied skin.

He could also hear laughter. And that made him feel good.

He knew that Shelly had been through a lot. She hadn't said much since they had left Woody's. It had been hard for her to accept that the drunk man hadn't wanted to come. Not to mention all of the other horrible things that had happened to her.

He knew that Claire had been through a lot too. He hadn't talked to her about it much, but he could tell. There were the cuts on her face and arms. There was the way she had spoken about Big Mike. And the way she cringed when he had touched her.

He heard the laughter again.

"Hey, Adam," Shelly shouted up at him. "The water's so cold!"

"That's good," he shouted back. "It makes you strong."

He knew that it was a stupid thing to say. Something that his father would have said to him. His father used to say that eating apples would make him strong too. Drinking milk would make him tall. And a good night's sleep would put hair on his chest - not that he really wanted that.

"Strong? How does cold water make me strong?"

"It just does!"

Shelly laughed all the more.

Adam leaned back. The sun was hot and beat down on him. He could feel sweat begin to build on his forehead and swiped it away.

After a while, he called down to them, "When are you gonna be done? I'm boiling up here!"

"Just a few more minutes!"

More laughter.

Adam stared down the road that they had taken. They had come a long way.

He thought about Woody and wondered what he was doing at the moment. If he was drunk. If he had put the dress back on along with the hat.

Part of him wished that Woody had come with them. After he had had more time to think about it, Adam was more than certain that Woody was a nice guy. Just a little troubled from all that happened. And that could have passed. It would have been nice to have an extra person around.

Of course, if Woody hadn't been able to stop drinking that would have been horrible for them…

More laughter.

Adam looked down the other side of the road. It went on for a little bit before turning around a bend. He had no idea where it led to, but it was the direction Woody had told them to take.

"We're done," Shelly called up to him.

Adam turned around and looked down into the stream. Both Shelly and Claire were standing there, looking up at him. They were dressed in their new clothes. There faces and bodies had been scrubbed clean. Even their hair had been washed. It was no longer matted with blood.

They looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back.

"You just gonna sit up there?" Shelly continued. "Or are you coming down?"

"I'm coming down."

Adam went.

"We were thinking that we'd check out the stream a little bit more," Shelly said once he got to them. "Just to see what's down there." She pointed at where the stream curved around a corner.

Adam didn't like the sound of that. "I don't know. Maybe you should stay closer by."

"We're not going to go far," Shelly assured him. "And if you need our help, just shout. We'll come running."

She laughed at that. Adam laughed a bit too.

"All right," he said. "But don't go too far."

"We won't."

Shelly and Claire walked away from him. He hated to watch them go, but he wasn't about to make a big deal about it
.
They'd be fine.

When they were gone, Adam took off his clothes and threw them beside the stream. He stood there naked, the sun beating down upon him.

He felt nervous, wondering if Shelly and Claire were going to return and see him undressed. But that was only for a moment. He went into the water and quickly forgot about it.

Shelly had been right, it was cold.

He took some of the water and rubbed it on his arms. He splashed it over his face. He ran it through his hair, wishing that he had soap. But it was better than nothing. He could see the blood and dirt coming off of his skin. He watched it cloud in the water.

Blood from people he had killed.

The idea was still bizarre to him. He knew that he hadn't had a choice. They had been going to kill him. But, whatever the reason, it was strange for him to know that he had taken another person's life.

Surviva
l
, he supposed it was. At least, h
e
hope
d
that was all it was.

He continued to clean himself. The cold water no longer all that cold.

Then he stopped. He thought he could hear a noise. And it wasn't coming from the direction that Shelly and Claire had gone in.

It came from above. On the road.

Chapter 3

Adam could definitely hear something, but he wasn't sure what it was. It sounded like a soft rumbling. Other than that, he couldn't figure it out.

He snuck out of the stream and reached for new clothes out of the small backpack. He put them on quietly over his wet body.

He grabbed his shotgun next.

Taking a look down the stream toward where Shelly and Claire had gone, Adam couldn't see them or hear them. He hoped that they wouldn't return right at that moment. He had to make sure that everything was safe first.

He moved closer toward the ditch.

The sound was passing directly overhead. He was sure that he could hear footsteps too.

This wasn't good.

He pressed his body to the grass and crept up to the side of the road.

Yes, footsteps and something else. Somethin
g
rumbling.

He came to the edge of the road and peered over the edge.

At first, he wasn't sure what he was seeing. It was such an odd sight. Something he hadn't come to expect in this new world. There were two people walking along, pulling a wagon. In the wagon was a little child.

He continued to watch them for a bit before it occurred to him that they couldn't be thos
e
things
.
The creatures didn't pull people along in wagons. They attacked. This group didn't look like they'd be trouble, either. Not with a kid with them.

He got up on to the road.

"Hello?" he called out.

The three figures turned around in surprise. Adam could make them out better now. There was a young woman, an old man and a little boy. They looked at him questioningly.

"Hello," he said again.

The woman continued to stare at him, unsure of what to say. The old man didn't speak, either. It was the little boy who talked first.

"Hello," he said. He raised his hand and waved.

Adam walked closer to the group. He held his gun pointed down.

As he approached, he could see the old man start to relax. Though the woman looked to get more frightened.

"It's okay," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you." His words didn't seem to have much of an impact on her. He placed his gun onto the ground and raised his hands. That helped. He stepped closer. "My name's Adam."

"I'm Robert," the little boy said. "And I'm five years old."

"I'm Charles," the old man added. He put out his hand to shake, a gesture that Adam had forgotten
-
even though it hadn't been such a long time since he had done it.

Adam took his hand. "It's nice to meet you." He reached out and shook the little boy's hand as well.

He turned the woman.

"I'm Jane," she said quietly.

Adam stuck his hand out to her and was surprised that she took it. He turned back to the old man. "What are you guys doing out here? Where are you coming from?"

"We came up a street back there. It led us to this one."

Adam knew which one he was talking about. He had thought about taking it himself, but decided to stay on the road that Woody had told them to. "What about before that?"

"We're from all over," Charles explained. "Jane came into my town a little after everything started."

Adam had thought that maybe the man had been the woman's father. "And the boy?"

"We met him a few says later. He was left alone in his house."

"And what abou
t
yo
u
?" Jane asked. Her voice wary.

"I'm…"

"Adam!' a voice called to him. Shelly. "Where are you?"

He quickly walked over to the edge of the bridge and looked down at her. Claire was standing beside her. "Up here," he told them. "We have some visitors."

"Visitors? Is it Woody?"

Adam shook his head. "No, it's not Woody. Just come up and see for yourself."

Shelly and Claire climbed the ditch. Then Shelly ran over to them.

"Oh, my gosh!" she said. "This is fantastic! More people!"

Adam saw the old man and little boy smile at Shelly. Even the young woman; the ends of her mouth curved slightly upward.

*

Everyone introduced themselves again. Then Shelly suggested that they all go down to the stream. "It's beautiful down there. And I know Robert will love it!"

The little boy held up his stuffed rabbit. "Can we take Mr. Baker?"

"Of course!" She grabbed the little boy's hand and helped him out of the wagon.

Adam noticed that Jane had been about to protest, but stopped herself and kept quiet.

"Come on," Shelly shouted, rushing toward the edge of the road.

"I don't know," Charles called behind her. "I might not be able to make it down there. And even if I do, I might not be able to make it back up!" He finished with a laugh.

The others joined in. Even Jane.

"Let's go," Adam said. "I'll help you."

"All right."

Adam led Charles over to the edge of the road. Jane walked beside the old man, holding his elbow as they went. All the while, she kept her eyes on the little boy.

"It's just down here," Shelly said, pointing. "You're going to love it!" With the help of Claire, she helped the little boy get down to the river.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Charles asked, still up top.

"It'll be fine," Adam tried to reassure him. "We're going to help you."

"I don't know…"

"I promise that I won't let you fall." Adam inched the old man closer to the edge. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Charles took a step forward and they made their way down.

Once the got to the bottom, Charles let out a small cheer. "I knew I could do it!" he said.

Jane rolled her eyes, but Adam knew that she was just kidding
.
Maybe she was coming around.

They walked to the stream.

Shelly, Claire and Robert were already in it by the time they got there. They hadn't bothered to take off any of their clothes. They were splashing the water at each other, at themselves. Robert danced around with his stuffed animal.

"Come on in!" Shelly called out.

Adam looked at Charles. The old man was looking at Jane. "You go first," he said to her.

Jane didn't look as though she wanted to leave him.

"I'll take him," Adam tried to reassure her. "Don't worry."

Jane still didn't look certain, but she let go of the old man's elbow and rushed into the water. She picked up little boy and began twirling him around.

"It's nice," Charles said. "I like seeing everyone so happy."

"Me too."

"Especially nowadays."

"Yeah, especially nowadays."

Adam looked at the people in the stream. He could see them all playing in the water, having a good time. They were enjoying themselves as though nothing bad had happened in the world, like it was the same as it had always been. "Let's join them."

Adam and Charles walked over to the stream and kicked off their shoes. As they went into the water, Charles let out a little yell when he felt how cold it was. But that didn't stop him from wading further into it.

When Charles got to the middle of the river, the others noticed him. Jane let Robert down and they all charged at him. Laughing. Smiling. The started to splash him. He raised up his hands and tried to fend off the attack. But there was nothing he could do other than to get soaked.

He started laughing. And, with that, he lost his balance and fell over into the water.

Adam rushed over to help him. He had been worried that Charles had had a heart attack or something. The others stopped splashing, concerned looks on their faces as well.

""Are you okay?" Adam asked once he got Charles sitting up.

Charles couldn't speak. He was winded. But he was still laughing.

"Of course, I'm okay," he said finally. "Just happy, is all. Just happy."

*

They played in the water for a little while longer, then sat around the edge of the stream.
They were exhausted, soaking wet. But they felt good.

"Now all we needed is a barbecue and some beer," Charles said.

"I have a granola bar and a bottle of water, if you'd like," Shelly said.

Charles turned to her and broke into a fit of laughter.

Adam laughed too. He was having a good time.

Yet part of him also couldn't help thinking that they were making too much noise. That they had already been far too reckless. He didn't want them to attract any of thos
e
thing
s
. He didn't want them to attract any of those types of people that had taken Claire and Shelly, either.

He looked at the group, not wanting to bring the mood down, but he had to mention his thoughts. "Maybe we should get going," he said.

"Why?" Shelly asked. "This is fun."

"I know it's fun, but we're not being smart."

Shelly didn't respond. He looked as though he had offended her and he hated that.

"It's just that we're being too loud and I'm worried about that."

She still didn't say anything.

He had to remind himself of Shelly's age. No matter how she acted or what he thought, she was still a young girl. "I just don't want anything bad to come along."

"He's right," Jane agreed. He was shocked that it was her who had come to his defence. She hadn't said much to him since they had met. "W
e
ar
e
being loud. And i
t
hasn't bee
n
very smart. Those creatures, and who knows who else, are wandering around. If they heard us, they'd come for us."

Shelly looked at the woman. She seemed to understand Adam's concern a little better now. "Okay," she said. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that I was having so much fun."

"We all were." Adam felt sorry for her. He felt sorry for them all. "We just need to be more careful."

"Maybe we should look for something to eat and a place to stay," Charles suggested. "It'll get dark soon. And, I don't know about you, but I don't like sleeping out in the open."

"That's a good idea," Adam agreed. "Let's get going. Is everyone okay with that?"

No one looked like they really wanted to go, but they all knew that they didn't have much of a choice.

"Come on," Adam said. He stood up first. Next, he helped Charles get to his feet. "We'll find another stream somewhere else."

He smiled at Shelly. She smiled back.

They headed back up toward the road.

Adam and Jane helped Charles again, though it wasn't as hard as the old man had thought. He was a lot more agile than he gave himself credit for.

Once they got to the top, Adam turned and looked down the direction that led back to Woody's town. Then he turned and faced the other way. "I think we should keep following this road. That's what we were doing before we stopped here."

"Do you know what's on it?" Charles asked.

"No, but we were told to follow this one and that's what we've been doing."

"So, let's keep doing it."

"And what about Woody?" Shelly asked. "Should we go back and get him? Maybe he's changed his mind. He might come with us now that we've met more people."

Adam thought that over too, but came to the same conclusion that he had had when they left Woody's house. "We have to leave him."

Shelly looked as though she was going to argue, until she realized he was right
.
Woody wasn't ever going to come with them.

"Woody?" Charles asked.

"I'll explain it on the way," Adam told him.

Charles nodded his head, then turned to Robert. "Who wants in the wagon?"

"I do, I do!" the little boy replied. He ran over to it, dragging Shelly along beside him, and hopped inside.

Jane walked over and picked up the handle.

Adam made his way over to the shotgun he had left lying in the road and grabbed it. He already had the bag of guns over his shoulders.

He turned around to face his new group. "Ready?"

Everyone nodded their heads. Even Robert, as he swaddled from side to side to adjust himself in the wagon.

"Then let's go."

Their footprints left watermarks on the road as they made their way.