After The End (22 page)

I don’t know if he was listening or reading
lips, but he kept translating and updating us.

“He keeps asking how to get to our camp. The
man in charge is cutting her fingers off by the joints and burning
the nubs to keep her alive longer. His men are chewing on the
fingertips and sucking out the marrow while they laugh about the
‘fun’ they had today.”

He faced us momentarily.

“Apparently, they consumed her toes and
nipples this morning during their parade of violations. The girl is
pleading with him; she can’t remember where the place was. The boy
has stopped begging and is now praying in between his coughs.”

He turned away from the scene again and took
a slow breath.

“We cannot help either of them. They will die
and it will be slow and wrought with agony.”

He shut the door Troy and I had been walking
towards.

“We may be able to protect our people, but
not by a frontal assault in the daytime. Those men have you
outgunned and evenly numbered. This is one time, where our pact may
be your only chance to survive. And I will likely need your blood
to heal. For this to work, night has to come.”

I rocked slightly with frustration. I
couldn’t get the sight of his hair singed to the scalp out of my
head; I couldn’t block out his skin being severed from his muscles
for the enjoyment of those savage men. My ears rang with her cries
and his prayers. I could hear Fernando dying far from home, praying
in a foreign tongue, and I recognized the familiar lilt and timber
to his prayer. I quietly prayed along with him even as his voice
grew weaker.

“Hail Mary, full of grace…”

Tears rolled down my cheek as we sat on the
bed and floor. We huddled in the noiseless gaps between their
painful words and the raucous laughter outside. I crept to the
window and watched one of the bastards slice off a portion of the
boy’s butt cheek and bite into it while staring into his eyes. The
cannibal grinned widely as a trickle of meat juice wove a path down
his chin. The man spit a small piece into Fernando’s mouth and
burst into renewed humor. They took pleasure in their misery.

Troy draped his arm over my shoulders as I
wept at the fate that could await our friends back home; the
torment echoed through the empty streets and the peals of joy from
its creators mocked the suffering we all pitied. Cal had long since
stopped detailing the causes of the noises, but stood witness to
the atrocities until the girl’s voice became hoarse and the boy’s
went mercifully silent.

I felt the air beginning to chill as the sun
crept towards its bed. The tears halted as I stood and stretched.
The others followed suit gradually; they were dominoes following
blindly.

“We need to prepare. I refuse to let those
people commit those heinous acts on our people. As soon as night
falls, we have to be ready to act.”

Jake twitched while he spoke.

“What exactly are we going to do? Those
Brazilians are way past saving and those assholes have more guns
than a Tarantino film. We should just stay here and bail when
they’ve gone; we can rush home and beef up defenses. Besides, they
don’t know where camp is.”

Nancy and the other guy stood by Jake in
agreement.

“Won’t work. That crew is raiding for gear,
just like us. Odds are, they’ll be staying a day or two and eating
the rest of the Brazilians and eventually they’ll probably search
this house.”

Jake’s face fell; he’d aged years in the last
few hours.

“Maybe we can outrun them. Just peel out in
the trucks and lose them on the way home. I didn’t see a car, maybe
they’re on foot.”

Vincent stepped forward and began to stretch
to touch his toes.

“They had a couple of motorcycles and a car
last time I saw them; they can follow or track us. I only have a
couple of guns, but I’m a good shot and I know Forrest is,
too.”

“And of course, there is a vampire here who
has centuries of experience in stealthily hunting and killing
humans.”

Cal had said the words so quietly it reminded
us all of the level of our own voices.

“Here’s the plan,” I took control of the
conversation again “ Jake, Nancy, and uh, other guy get into two
vehicles and be ready to drive as soon as we’re in position.
Forrest and Vincent will gather and prep all the guns we have and
load the ammo we got in the sport shop.

Cal will head out the back and do his best to
discreetly kill some of the cannibals and fly back any weapons he
gets off his victims. Troy, Seth, and I will load the supplies into
the trucks and position ourselves to fire as soon as we roll out of
the garage.”

I took a breath and looked to Vincent and Cal
for guidance as our military men.

“Any tips guys?”

“I’d say we should have Cal focus on killing
off the handful of guys in the house, so that we can run over and
shoot down the ones in the yard. We can’t risk an enemy getting
away and coming back later with a grudge and a larger force.”

“Precisely my thoughts. After we’ve
eliminated the threat, we must gather items from that property and
return to camp quickly as the gunfire will attract unwanted
attention from the Dead.”

Cal stood with a bearing that was ingrained
over years of Roman training as he doled out his advice and carried
his belongings to the SUV. A muted chorus of nods set the plan in
action.

Vincent’s guns turned out to be not just his
9mm Beretta sidearm but also an M16 rifle, a Colt 45, and two
revolvers. He had silencers on each of the pistols and a bayonet
for the M16. Properly armed, we waited in the garage for the return
of our Undead ally. It was nearly ten minutes we sat in the dark
room before the kitchen door opened.

“Sorry, there were three of them inside and I
thought it best if I took my dinner before the shooting
starts.”

Cal held a duffel bag out to us. It held
almost a dozen more firearms and various clips loaded with
munitions.

“Let’s get this over with and return
home.”

I grabbed one of the rifles to add to my
silenced handgun and turned off the safety. Our team mounted the
truck beds and entered the SUV, readied our weapons, and gave a
thumbs-up to Cal. The vampire threw open the garage door as the
engines roared to life. He flitted to the other yard and plunged
his fangs into the nearest man’s jugular, shaking the startled man
like a wolf devouring a steak. We drove at the four remaining
adversaries firing rounds as they clamored for their weapons.

Our drive-by netted us two wounded rivals
before the battle began. Their leader made it to his rifle and
began returning fire; a stream of holes went up the side of the
F150 wounding Troy in the arm. Seth took Troy’s gun and fired at
the assailant. Another of the enemy men fired into our driver’s
side, killing the guy Jake and I rode with.

Jake turned off the engine and wrenched the
steering wheel under his control. Before coming to a stop, we spun
out and hit the curb, plowing down one of his men and sending the
lead cannibal into the night with his remaining two comrades.

Cal continued the hunt briefly as we took aim
at the fleeing brutes. As the trio rounded the corner of a house,
one shadow slumped to the earth and we gave chase. We found the man
crippled in a heap on the sidewalk; his blood gushed from the
center of his back accompanied by his wails for mercy. In the
distance I heard bursts of gunshots and the low groans of fleshies.
Vincent turned his head and decapitated the dying man.

“More mercy than he deserved.” I commented
with a smirk as we rushed towards the sounds of a firefight.

“Maybe, but I’d like to think we’re better
people than to take joy in another’s suffering; deserved or
not.”

As we ran we watched Cal plummet to the
ground with a loud “umph” and the familiar sound of cracking bones.
Checking on our friend, we noted dozens of gunshot wounds in
various states of healing.

“Their leader managed to elude me, but I just
drained his last henchman. His car didn’t start, so perhaps he will
end up stranded and eaten. The Dead aren’t far off. We should
retreat to our camp, now.”

We helped the injured vamp to his feet and
returned to the vehicles. Our party reconvened, I turned to the
teenage tourists. Fernando had died earlier, but Maria lingered. I
raised one of the silenced pistols to her forehead and looked into
the girl’s eyes.

Through her anguish, I saw a glimmer of
recognition and distrust. I remembered our last meeting, my fury at
her attempt to kill Daemon, the hours of listening to her torture,
and Vincent’s words. I drew a steady breath and discharged a single
round through her brain. Her ordeal ended, she was thrown in the
fire with the boy. It was as close as we could come to a funeral
for the last of the Brazilian tour group.

We suffered only one casualty and a few
injuries. Troy’s arm bore a flesh wound wrapped in gauze. Quickly,
we moved our deceased into the back of the Dodge, loaded all items
of use, and drove towards the main road. This time the vampire rode
shotgun to recuperate; he spent the entire night intently staring
out the window for signs of our escaped opposition.

We traveled away from the city engulfed in
bereavement. Although the guy had been in our community for almost
three months, none of us knew the poor man’s name. I scolded myself
for not remembering the name I’d written on schedules for months.
The only comfort was that he would at least have a proper
burial.

Our funeral procession moved far beyond the
wreckage of the living world, into the wilderness, and back to our
reality. Our convoy drove without stopping for anything but fuel
and to relieve our bladders. Cal rode inside the SUV trunk, with
blankets lodged in the windows and hung across the backseat as
protection from the sun. After what seemed ages, we arrived at the
clearing and walked to the gates laden with our goods and a
corpse.

After we entered the gate of our fort, we
laid Ezra to rest with a small service under a blanket of stars. We
sent the children to the coffin cabin to listen to “Uncle Cal”
telling them about Icarus flying too close to the Sun while we told
the rest of our community about the raid’s events. There was a
murmur suggesting we track the lone cannibal and his remaining
campmates. Chase ended that conversation within seconds.

“No. We’re not going to start the first
post-apocalyptic war. For all we know, that bastard is already dead
and the others in that suburb may already have died without
supplies. We’ll keep our defenses up, work towards survival, and do
our best to forget the things those pricks did. If anyone wants to
argue the point, take the floor and state your case; I intend to
focus on our lives rather than on the deaths of those murdering
thieves.”

Sunny stood by her husband, looking around
for any signs of dispute. None arrived. The topic changed to the
storage and disbursement of our haul. A small cache of baby jumpers
and pacifiers materialized out of Forrest’s bag, joined by some
books and bottles I’d found in the cupboards on our mission. The
funeral became a war meeting became a baby shower.

The night carried additional questions about
the dwindling number and condition of the Dead. Their deteriorated
status was an unexpected turn of events that brought several
conflicting ideas about what our future should be and whether the
Pact held a place there. Each meal the next day felt uneasy as the
conversations ended or shifted topic whenever I sat down. At dinner
I sat apart, sure I’d somehow offended the group, until Troy and
Seth planted themselves firmly next to me.

“Hello beautiful, why so glum?”

I smiled at the confident man with the
crossbow on his shoulder. Seth just waved a brief “Hi” and dove
into his meal.

“I’m fine, just trying to figure out why
everyone is acting like I’m a pariah.”

He chuckled and lifted his spoon.

“It’s not you, it’s Daemon and Cal. Everyone
knows how close you and the fangy guys are. They’re just sorting
out how they feel about things and how they think you’ll react if
they propose ending the arrangement with the vamps.”

Troy took a large bite of his pigeon stew
while I experienced an explosion in my brain.

“What? Why would anyone think we should end
the Pact; it’s one of the reasons we’re all sitting here alive. And
why would they think I am closer to the vampires than anyone else
in particular? I thought they blamed me for Ezra’s death.”

Seth accidentally sloshed his bowl, tipping a
bit of his food into the sand.

“Really? It’s pretty obvious you and Daemon
are an item; besides, the old Roman acts like you’re his daughter
one minute and his general the next.”

“That’s right, although I’d prefer if you
were that close with me instead of the eternal teenager, it’s clear
you two have a thing; it’s more obvious since you’re both visibly
trying to avoid being alone together.”

He took a bite while I looked away.

Guess I’m not as low-key
and subtle as I thought.

“All the info we brought back about
conditions in town changed the game. If the Dead can be managed
without the help of the Pact and we’re capable of providing our own
food, what is really keeping us from dusting them one morning and
retaking the city? Or having them back us up while we clear the
city of foes and then parting ways amicably?”

Troy spoke without any malice in his tone.
Seth merely shrugged.

They honestly don’t care
either way.

I felt my jaw drop and watched both men for a
moment. Troy flashed his smile in response.

“We go with you, whatever you decide, but a
good number of the others are suddenly wanting to start over inside
the city limits and several want to go it with only humans. Pretty
sure Chase, Sunny, Bubba, and his boyfriend are with you too. The
folks with kids will probably follow wherever the Nurse and his pup
go; too scared to risk losing the healthcare and zombie-sniffer.
Not to certain beyond that, though.”