After The End (15 page)

Sunny let out the breath she’d been holding
and a weak smile appeared.

“Just know that if you ever aim a weapon at
me again, one of us will be getting cremated. No ill will, just a
fact. Otherwise, we’re fine.”

I strolled out to the main cabin for some
rest, leaving her silhouetted in the doorway with her eyes wide and
mouth open. “Have a good night.”

Half a dozen wristwatches blared their alarms
at 6:30AM to rouse the cabin from our restless dreaming. I pulled
on my jacket against the dry, cool air. I had to step over one of
the new arrivals to exit the cabin; all of them lay wrapped in
blankets in the walkways except for the boy with the sprained
ankle.

Sunny sat beside her husband all night in a
collapsible chair to allow Jordy her cot. His foot sat elevated on
the foot rail of the old bed, while Sindbad the dog slumbered
underneath.

I considered waking the entire cabin so we
could get our town council out of the way, only to realize that if
these people had been dangerous we’d already be dead. I’d failed to
set a watch over the strangers or keep them separate until we knew
they weren’t a danger.

Some leader I
am.

I looked at the others who were waking to the
chorus of buzzes and beeps. They showed no signs of concern about
the lack of precaution.
Maybe they’re still too
drowsy to notice.
I shook the second-guessing from my head
and left the peace of the cabin to plan for another day’s
survival.

The sentries on duty were haggard from the
marathon of defense and the dullness of the night. We all stood
clad in the musty clothes from the prior day. At seven in the
morning, half the camp wore a five o’clock shadow under their
frowns. When the outsiders rose to join us for breakfast, I noted
the puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Our camp hadn’t lost loved ones – yes, an arm
was gone, but our people remained alive. Our counterparts had
witnessed the deaths of friends and family a matter of hours
before. It was surreal to sit next to these wanderers and try to
decide their fate.

The nurse and his German Shepard were the
last to arrive at the table. Sindbad circled the assembly, sniffing
each person, before settling by his owner. I noticed many residents
tracked the canine’s progress; the kids petted the dog as it
passed.

None of our visitors approached the food.
They sat to one end of the table and stared at their surroundings,
each eventually stopping their visual tour on me. The sensation was
disturbing; I felt like I’d been put on display.

Forrest saw my discomfort and chuckled
loudly.

“Hell, y’all can have some breakfast. We
ain’t ‘bout ter kill you for havin a bite to eat. We gotta have a
meeting to see where we all stand, but until then, y’all are
guests. So eat up and stop starin at Squirrel like she’s gonna turn
into a big purple clown and eat your hearts.”

The funereal atmosphere evaporated as the
nervous strangers laughed and helped themselves to some deer bacon,
berries, and oranges. I grinned in spite of my exhaustion. I raised
my strip of venison in thanks and Bubba nodded in return.

In a matter of minutes, everyone in the fort
was breaking figurative bread and chatting lightly. The tension
easing, I waited for everyone to be seated at the tables.

“I think this is a good time to start.”

The small talk tapered off and I stood to be
better heard. “We have seven new people here…” Sindbad’s barking
cut me off, “…and a dog.” I finished over a soundtrack of
giggles.

“We need to decide a few things: do you want
to stay, will you abide by our rules, and do we trust you enough to
let you stay.” I paused to study the reactions of the
conglomeration. The newcomers’ eyes shone with fear at the thought
of leaving. Of our residents, only Sunny seemed disinterested in
the options. The nurse quickly looked at his cohorts and stood.

Found their
leader.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say,
we’d like to join your village.” He received several emphatic nods.
“Our shelter was destroyed by those murdering bastards; we don’t
have anyone or anywhere else. All of us agree to your rules and
will pull our weight if you all allow us to stay.”

I watched his Adam’s Apple wobbling as he
swallowed.

“We have a lot of valuable skills to offer:
I’m a Registered Nurse, Jonah worked as a carpenter, and Levi is a
mechanic. If you all choose to let us move in, we bring all of our
abilities and hard work with us.”

The dog barked as his master sat down again
and pet his head. “Also, Sindbad can alert us to the presence of
zombies and infection.”

I watched Chase and Sunny as she helped him
with his meal, stalling to gather my thoughts.

“You must really want to stay; you didn’t
even ask about our rules before agreeing to them for not just
yourself, but your whole bunch. Seems kind of hasty.”

The outsiders looked to their spokesman as he
leaned back a little. His eyebrows rose in the center creating an
arch of doubt.

“Then again, I was so stupid last night, I
didn’t even have the sense to keep a watch on the group of
strangers who led a mob of corpses to our gates before letting them
sleep beside us. Not all mistakes turn out badly.”

Nurse looked at me with wide eyes as my own
neighbors now glared at me for the potentially dangerous oversight.
I ignored the steely eyes boring into me as best I could.

“Our rules are simple but non-negotiable. We
have a pact with two vampires and every adult takes turns donating
blood to keep them alive and well. We maintain firearms only as a
final resort and focus on silent weapon usage. Also, everyone
contributes to the community, every adult stands watch according to
the rotation, and any infected…” I turned to Sunny “…no matter who
they are or how much we love them – dies.”

Sunny lowered her eyes and grimaced slightly
at my statement. Chase reached his remaining hand down to stroke
the canine as though affirming his status as healthy.

“Let’s take a quick vote of where we stand
and go from there.” Chase declared without looking up from the
animal’s face.

I smiled and followed his cue.

“All in favor of taking in these eight raise
your hands.”

I scanned the assorted limbs; Chase nodded
his assent as he continued scratching behind the dog’s ears. “So
far none opposed,” the new arrivals let out a collective sigh of
relief “anyone want to volunteer to get a vote from the guards and
vamps?”

Michael shot up off the bench like a rocket
and I heard him say, “I will!” The boy ran to the tower, gate, and
cabin in a blur of energy. Laughter cascaded through the moist dawn
air as we all watched the child sprinting around with that fervor
only kids possess. Returning out of breath and triumphant, Michael
announced between gasps, “They all said the people and puppy can
stay.”

After several pats on the back, he sat next
to his sister to listen to the rest of the meeting.

“It’s official then; welcome to Nova
Nocte.”

For several minutes, hugs and handshakes were
exchanged with introductions and small talk. I remained standing
and listened to bits and pieces of the interchanges before pressing
on. Holding up and waving my right palm slowly, I caught the
attention of those assembled.

“We still have a lot to do today. We need to
revise the donation and guard schedules, gather all of the arrows,
stones, and other usable items from last night’s attack, burn the
bodies, and try to settle everyone into a cabin. We also need to
gather the crops, clear the fishing lines, check on our traps, and
do our regular errands.”

The celebration ended and the business got
underway. “For now, I think we should buddy up each newcomer with a
previous resident to show them the ropes out here and answer
questions.”

I stopped while the pairings were hastily
made. Jordy raised his hand and asked, “Can I stay with my
Mom?”

I hadn’t considered the kid.

Brain not firing on all
cylinders today is it?

I blinked away my self-rebuke and reflected
on the options.

“Yes, you can stay together for a few days,
but one of us will still be playing tour guide for the two of you.
You’ll be working within the camp until your ankle mends. At that
point, you’ll each have to learn to do the other tasks needed to
keep this community running.”

“At dinner tonight, I’ll post updated
rotations; in the meantime, everyone show your buddy how to do
errands and explain day-to-day life here. By the way, if anyone has
a food allergy or medical condition, tell the Nurse. As of this
time, he’s our only health care professional. I’m going to borrow
the carpenter and get plans together for smaller defense platforms
for each wall before picking up and cleaning all the weaponry.”

I carried my plate to the washtub and strode
over to the brawny woodworker. We began discussing the projects
needed to prepare our society against the lurking hazards this new
world could provide. A loud gunshot sounded in the distance while
the group dissembled to their assignments.

Everyone moved expeditiously, arming himself
or herself and pulling their partners along. I scaled the tower and
grabbed the binoculars from the sentry’s outstretched hand.

“I, I don’t see who did it. It came from
somewhere in that direction I think.” The anxious woman stated with
a stammer as I scanned the horizon, acutely aware that we hadn’t
even retrieved the arrows or stones to shoot yet. The guard kept
fidgeting and mumbling prayers next to me. I snapped at the poor
woman in frustration.

“Just get down and do something useful
instead of bugging the Hell out of me with your constant
muttering.”

Her eyes watered at the edges as she
scrambled down the ladder, only to be replaced by Marley Guy. He
watched me while I desperately tried to locate the source of the
blast. I scoured the area in the direction of our vehicles. A
second round was fired.

The source was in my view in an instant, the
clamor below lessening as I heard Sunny, Chase, and the Nurse
directing everybody to be quiet.

Some idiot was running with a shotgun across
his chest. I searched in his wake to see if he was fleeing from
Dead or from marauders. It was a black bear chasing him.

It took me a moment to realize I was giggling
uncontrollably, and throttle that splintered ball of stress back
down inside. I tossed the viewers to the carpenter shadowing
me.

“You two stay up here and keep an eye out for
anyone or anything those shots drew this way; I’m going out to take
that moron’s twelve gauge and save him from Smokey the Bear.”

Descending the ladder, I picked up a bow and
hustled towards the exit. The news was passed to the others and I
found Sunny and Bubba at my side when I reached the gate. Bubba
just smirked while his counterpart grumbled and held her spear. We
jogged across the red-spotted grass and I picked up a few bloodied
arrows.

The dew and gore made our feet slip whenever
we tried to go any faster. I heard a thud behind us and wheeled
about, my arrow notched and ready.

“Sorry, we thought we could help.” The young
man lay on his side, slick with humidity and blackened blood. I
turned back to the task at hand and withdrew the arrow.

“Freaking new guys.” Sunny exclaimed as
Randolph helped his new shadow to his feet and we hurried towards
the failed hunter.

He looked to be in his late 30s, maybe early
40s if the hairline was any indication. The man’s face was maroon
and drenched in sweat from the sudden bout of exercise. Stopping
when he reached us, the fool panted and tried to reload his
weapon.

I snatched it from his trembling hands.

“Are you really this dumb?”

He collapsed to his knees as a look of terror
washed over him. I dropped the hefty noisemaker behind me and set
my arrow in place; other arrows and spears were aimed at the
charging bear as we spread out into a semicircle. The creature
slowed its assault as we got it half surrounded. Roaring at us, it
stood tall on its hind legs.

Two arrows were loosed simultaneously; both
finding marks in its chest as Sunny’s spear thrust into the bear’s
heart. A gush of red poured from the wound as the animal repelled
its fate. It was over in an instant.

I pulled both arrows out of the carcass and
wiped the blood on the grass before turning to the wobbly man.

“I don’t have time for this today; have any
of the fleshies infected you?”

I held an arrow loosely strung in the bow as
our party began to pick up the bear.

“No, no, I was just running from the grizzly.
Haven’t seen any zombies.”

Bubba snipped at the man as he hefted the
ursine meat at the shoulders.

“Black bear. Not a grizzly, they don’t live
this far south and they’re a helluva lot bigger. Just strip down so
we kin see you ain’t gonna turn into one of them fleshies and help
us carry this critter back to camp.”

The balding hunter stood slowly and awkwardly
removed his clothing. Despite a multitude of scars, the stranger
was free of bite marks. While not an adept marksman, he was
definitely a survivor of something.

“Okay, you don’t die right now. Grab some
bear butt and follow us.”

I handed Sunny the commandeered shotgun and
took up guard the rear of the troop with my bow at the ready. I
didn’t have to tell him twice.

Upon reaching the camp, Sindbad circled and
sniffed the entire party; the frail hunter shook with trepidation.
Seeing the dog, I absentmindedly commented to the scared newcomer,
“Forgot we have a dog now, sorry we made you strip for no reason.”
I briefly considered that it was a sorry excuse for an apology and
walked inside the wall.