Instinct (55 page)

Robby was at full speed as Tim realized that he was the only one still carrying Judy’s corpse. Tim turned and began to set Judy down.

“No!” Robby yelled. “Run!”

Lisa saw him coming and flinched away. Robby jumped over her as another bullet ricocheted off the pavement next to Lisa. Tim and Lisa realized what was happening at the same time.

Robby grabbed Judy’s body by her arm. Tim turned in the same direction and they ran, dragging Judy’s body along with them.

Tim ducked as another bullet tore through his pant leg.
 

Robby looked in the direction of Hampton’s temporary metal building. He saw the flash as the sniper shot again. He and Tim reached the cover of the auto repair shop. Tim kept pulling.

“We’re okay,” Robby said. “The sniper is over there.” He pointed towards the corner that blocked the view of the sniper’s location.
 

Tim nodded. He was panting with the exertion.

They looked back to Lisa and Brad. She was trying to get his hands away from his leg so she could help to stop the bleeding.

“Ty!” Tim shouted. He turned to Robby. “Ty can help him.”

“We have to get her body out of here,” Robby said. “They’ll be coming for her.”

Tim looked down at Judy’s body and then back up to Robby.
 

He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted again. “Ty!”

Ty was still hacking at the vines with one arm. He led a small group that was intent on cutting apart all the vines that were still green. They were making good progress. The living vines were pulling back from the edge of the circle, retreating back the way they had come.

Ty heard Tim shout and he began to stride in their direction. Tim waved his arms and pointed to Brad. Ty approached Brad and Lisa and then slowed when he saw Brad’s injury. His eyes went to the rooflines of the buildings.
 

“Hey!” Ty shouted at Lisa and Brad. He got their attention and got them moving towards the hillside. The place where the ground dropped away from the street would give them cover.

Tim, satisfied that Ty was helping Brad, turned back to Robby.

“Where are we taking her?” he asked.

A phalanx of armed Beardos appeared around the back corner of the auto repair shop. They pointed their weapons at Robby and Tim. Hampton strode from their midst and spoke low orders as he passed. A dozen Beardos walked off towards the light. Three stayed with Hampton.

“Shoot them if they move,” Hampton said to one man.

The other two Beardos shouldered their weapons and came forward. The man with the weapon gestured with his gun for Robby and Tim to step aside. They complied, raising their arms as they moved.

“Don’t do it,” Robby said. “Don’t fertilize it and you wont have to kill these people.”

“Does it look like it’s going away?” Hampton asked. He waved an arm towards the ball of light. Robby didn’t look at it. He didn’t have to look to know that it was getting bigger. He could tell by his own shadow. His shadow was both more defined, and smaller. “Soon enough, that thing is going to be so big that you won’t be able to hide from it. Once we fertilize it, we can blow it up and put an end to it.”

The two Beardos began to drag Judy back towards the light.

“What good will that do?” Robby asked. “If you kill everyone in the process, who are you saving the Earth for?”

“We’re defeating that thing,” Hampton said. He pointed one arm up at the ball of light. “The rest will work itself out.”

Robby saw some of the other Beardos rounding up anyone who was trying to free the men with backpacks. It was confusing. The Beardos with guns were still with Hampton. Another set had turned and were trying to save people. The third group—the volunteers—had been enlisted to sacrifice themselves with the explosive backpacks.
 

When the two men had dragged Judy away, Hampton gave another order to the man guarding Tim and Robby. “Take them over to the circle and you can secure them there. Point them at the light. If either one of them says a word, just shoot them both.”

Hampton walked off, following the men who dragged Judy’s body.

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Robby and Tim were quiet as the Beardo marched them through the snow towards the light. They kept their eyes down. Robby walked right by the bloody patch where Brad had been shot in the leg. He glanced up to see Ty still working on the wound. Lisa was running away, back towards where the ambulance was parked on the other side of the buildings. Robby hoped that she would find the right supplies to help Ty save Brad’s life. Robby wanted to go help, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“Eyes front,” their guard ordered.

Despite the command, Robby stole a glance back towards where the men were dragging Judy’s body. What he saw made him stop in his tracks.

Armed with knives, machetes, and other improvised weapons, a group of people stood in a line between Hampton and the ball of light. Chunks of vine still hung from some of their weapons. They had turned their attention from beating back the vines, to stopping the men who intended to drag Judy into the ball of light.

“Keep moving,” Robby’s guard said.

Robby walked again, but slowly. He kept his eyes on the line of people. The whole scene looked like it was happening in a snow globe. The flakes were falling even faster now, and they decreased the visibility even more with each passing second.

The men dragging Judy’s corpse set her down and raised their guns. Around the circle, Robby saw little skirmishes of Beardos fighting Beardos. It was difficult to tell who was who. Some were trying to help the men with backpacks, and others were trying to keep them in place. Most of the armed Beardos seemed to be on Hampton’s side. Nobody was shooting yet.

That seemed about to change.

Hampton gave an order and one of his Beardos put his gun to his shoulder and pointed it at a young woman. Robby’s stomach flopped when he saw that Romie was standing right next to the woman. There was no warning before the shot rang out. Robby stopped again. His blood ran cold.

The young woman spun as the bullet crashed into her shoulder. She fell backwards and a man behind her tried to catch her. Both fell down.

Romie and the man on the other side of the gap came together. They filled the space the young woman had occupied. Romie lifted her chin, either in defiance, or in expectation of the next bullet.

The shooter tensed, ready to fire again.

Robby was about to scream. He was about to yell at the people to disperse. He knew that Hampton wouldn’t hesitate to shoot them all if that’s what it took. The man was intent on carrying out his orders, no matter who got in the way, or whatever the cost in human life. Before the sound left his mouth, Robby realized it didn’t matter. No matter if they held their ground and were shot, or if they let the Beardos carry the gamete to the egg, they would all die.

Robby turned to the man who held a gun on him and Tim.

The man had been watching the drama as well. When Robby turned, he raised his gun.

“Keep moving,” he said again.

The man’s beard wasn’t thick. His hair was stringy and uncombed. Robby wondered how old he was. His tired eyes made him seem pretty mature.
 

“You can shoot me here, or you can realize what’s at stake. Can’t you see what’s happening here? A lot of other people who used to believe in your mission have already converted. Do you really want to be on the wrong side of this?” Robby asked.

The man’s eyes darted over to where Hampton and his two guards were facing down the line of people. Another shot rang out and the man winced. Robby didn’t. He kept his eyes locked on the Beardo who was pointing a gun at his face.

“In the past twelve months, we lost nearly everyone,” Robby said. “That man wants to blow up everyone left.”

“Put the gun down,” Tim said.

Robby caught sight of Lisa. She was running back, carrying a big white box that looked like a cooler.

Another shot rang out from one of Hampton’s guards.

“Romie!” Lisa shouted.
 

Robby turned. Romie was on the ground. He ran to her.

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The battle ended with little blood, and Robby missed most of it. He ran by the guards as they were lowering their weapons. Robby found Romie curled up on the ground. Her breath had already melted a patch of snow.

“He wasn’t even pointing at me,” she said.

Robby pulled her hands away from her side and lifted her shirt. A thin line of blood pulsed from a triangular hole there. He slapped his hand against the wound to contain the bleeding. He felt on her back to see if he could locate an exit wound.

“You’re going to be okay,” Robby said.

Hampton was screaming. Robby wasn’t listening. He was leaning in close to hear what Romie was trying to tell him.

“He was on his knees,” Romie said. “There was no reason to shoot him. He just wouldn’t get back up when they told him to.”

Robby glanced in the direction she was looking. A cluster of people blocked his view of the injured man. Over in the circle, he saw two Beardos fighting over a third. They were both careful with the entranced man. They knew what would happen if his backpack should accidentally fall off.
 

When the guards turned on Hampton, they forced him to the ground. That seemed to take the fight out of the other armed Beardos. Without their leader, they were no longer willing to point weapons at their peers.

“It’s not bleeding too badly,” Robby said. “Press your hand here and I’ll see if I can find something to use as a stretcher.”

“I can stand up,” Romie said.

“Are you sure? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“When I pass out, you can go find your stretcher.”

Romie stood up with some help. People were moving away from the light. One of the Beardos had set down his gun and was working to disable the backpack of one of the bombers. He finished his work and moved on to the next backpack. Robby directed Romie towards where Lisa and Ty were still working on Brad.

“How is he,” Robby asked.

Brad had his eyes closed and he looked pale.
 

“The bleeding is under control. The bullet didn’t hit any major blood vessels, but he’s going to take a long time to heal.”

Romie began to sway. Robby caught her and helped her to the ground. Robby showed Ty the injury. The big man worked his fingers delicately as he examined her.
 

“Let’s get her back to the ambulance. She’s got something in there.”

“Is it okay?” Lisa asked. She looked up towards the circle. “Is the fight over.”

“Almost,” Robby said. “Take care of Romie and Brad and I’ll stay here.”

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The snow was still falling as Robby struggled to get Judy up over his shoulder. It was difficult for him to lift her up and get his balanced. Once he did, walking forward was just a matter of keeping his momentum. His feet shuffled through the dead vines and snow. He walked between buildings, carrying her body away from the light.
 

His hands and feet were cold. He was dressed for summer, and only the exertion was keeping him warm. He left the sounds of the people behind him. Some were diffusing the backpack bombs, and some people were simply fleeing. Here and there, people were reconnecting and helping each other with the injuries left behind by the vines. Robby exited quietly, with Judy on his shoulder.

He passed by a convenience store that sat in a repurposed old house. He walked by a coffee shop with a big hole in its front window.

Robby saw storefront called Village Hardware. He turned and crossed through the tiny parking lot. He lowered himself down to his knees before slipping Judy’s body from his shoulder. He sat her up against the side of the building and arranged her so she wouldn’t fall over.

Her eyes were closed. Robby brushed a wisp of hair from her eyes and turned away. He looked for a rock to use on the glass of the store’s door.

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When Robby emerged from the hardware store, he wore a new sweatshirt that said “Belgrade Raspberry Festival.” It had a smiling raspberry beneath the sweeping words. He had a set of gardening gloves, and he struggled to get a blue wheelbarrow through the little door. Robby pulled the wheelbarrow up next to Judy and set a shovel aside.

He kept apologizing to her as he loaded her body in. It was more difficult than he had imagined. He almost dumped her out a couple of times. Once she was in, he wheeled her out to the sidewalk. Robby walked right past a park and pushed Judy’s body uphill until he found a neighborhood. The snow was a few inches deep, but when he turned his face up towards the sky, it looked like maybe it was tapering off.
 

He rolled Judy across the lawn of a house with a big front porch and kept going until he reached the back. There was a swing set in the middle of the yard. Robby headed for that.

A walnut tree had branches that hung low to the ground. The snow was piled on the leaves, but hadn’t reached the lawn underneath. Robby took the shovel and stabbed at the grass. There was a skin of frozen dirt on top, but under that it was still soft enough to dig through. Robby began to make progress.

He lost track of time as he dug.

The hole was long enough, and he stood about waist-deep in the ground. Roots from the tree stuck through the edges of his hole, but it was good enough. He looked at Judy’s body. Her legs were hanging over the sides of the wheelbarrow and her head was tilted back like she was looking up at the canopy of the walnut tree. The blood on her shirt had dried to a dark brown stain. Robby glanced at the house and headed that direction.

He wrapped her body in a sheet and used it to lower Judy’s body into the ground. Before he threw the first clump of dirt down, he sat to remember his friend.