After The End (29 page)

“Amber got bit first. Pam and I couldn’t do
it, not to our sweet angel. And then when she turned, we kept her
locked in the other room. Kill me please. I can’t forget; the
memories won’t stop. Please.”

Owen crying on the floor. Rocking back and forth,
each sway punctuated by blood drizzling down his bandaged calf.
“Rhia, please don’t let me become like them. I don’t want to suffer
like Mom and Dad.

“Squirrel, let me get you out of here.” The
vampire eased me closer to the exit as I began to hear those
memories come to life again; Hell in surround sound.

Dropping my looted supplies and reinforcing the
barricaded bedroom door. Ignoring the scrapes and moans from within
while I change Owen’s dressings. “I can’t do it little man. I’m
your big sis, it’s my job to look after you. Take this medicine,
I’ll be back soon with some more food.” Wiping the tears from his
face and the feverish sweat from his forehead, before going out to
check the traps.

“Lonnie heard a loud noise and tried to check
on her, she ate part of his arm. I tried to get Pam to leave but
she wouldn’t. Please end it; kill me. Pam tried to save Lonnie, but
he’d already bled out. I wanted to run away when the kids started
to eat Pam, but I couldn’t. Please, Squirrel. Please kill me.”

“Stop it! I can’t do it. Please, don’t ask…”
I dropped to my knees as those words overtook me. The past
overwhelmed me as I felt myself rocking.

I have to force it away.
It’s over, I need to get in control. Don’t listen, just try not to
listen.

Powerful arms lifted me and I felt myself
slipping from the moment and cascading through my recollections. I
closed my eyes and fought to keep a hold of the present moment.

“Why is she rocking? What’s happening to
her?”

“She’ll be fine Sunny. It’s her past. Take
care of that guy, I’m taking her next door.”

“I’ll be there in a minute to check her
vitals.”

Coming back to find that stranger hovering over
Owen’s crushed body with a baseball bat. The door open and my
parents destroyed. The man’s face when he turned around. Blood
painting my childhood home as I lashed out. Jabbing my blade into
him repeatedly and slashing off his limbs. Kicking and crying until
my muscles ached and all I heard was my own shattered laughter and
the coming rain. Passing out from exhaustion, ready for the Reaper
to take me.

The next thing I knew, I was lying on the
pull out couch with Daemon stroking my hair. He was whispering in
my ear.

Waking up drenched in blood and scraps of skin. The
sensation of walking into rain to wash the death away. Packing a
bag full of the remaining supplies, pouring the rubbing alcohol
over the corpses, starting the warm fire, and jogging to the
library around the corner. What day is it?

“Squirrel, come back to me. It’s over. Your
family is already gone; they aren’t asking anymore. Come back to
us. I’m here for you, just follow my voice.”

Sunny’s voice cut through the tension.

“How do you know what she’s freaking out
about?”

“Because, we talked about it a few times. We
talk about everything.”

I was vaguely aware of other voices floating
around the room. A flashlight shone in my eyes, and I heard the
Nurse’s familiar lilt.

“She’s healthy, just give her a little more
time to come around. I think she’ll be okay.”

“I’m here.” The caressing stopped as I sat
upright. “Sorry, just had a moment.”

I looked around at the worried faces of my
conspirators and the Nurse. With a weak smile I tried to regain my
footing in the current moment. “Where is Paul, did you get him
cleaned up?”

Cal sat beside me and patted my hand.

“He is being buried beside his family right
now. We had a small memorial ten minutes ago. Vincent said some
nice words. If you would like to, someone can take you out to say
farewell.”

I knew what had occurred without needing to
ask; someone had granted Paul’s request. I mumbled a weak “sure”
and let Randolph guide me out to the graves in the yard. I noticed
my shoelaces had been removed as well as my weapons. Bowing my head
I said a few prayers for the souls of the family I’d sacrificed for
Daemon’s admission to the group.

I remembered my parent’s begging me, in turn,
to end their suffering after they’d been infected and Owen weeping
in pain. I prayed for all of them to a deity I struggled to have
faith in. Hoping for everyone who’d passed to find peace. I
neglected to pray for my own soul; it felt a lost cause.

“I’m better now. Let’s go inside.”

Randolph stayed close as I trudged up the
porch stairs and into the crowded abode. He watched me with concern
as though I may pass out at any instant.

“I’m fine Randolph. Thanks, though.”

“Just wanted to be sure you wasn’t going to
drop.”

Left on my own, I sat down on the now empty
couch. Chase popped his head around the corner and knocked lightly
on the door frame.

“Knock knock. Feel up for some company?”

“Of course. Is your wife trailing you?”

He laughed as he joined me. He took off his
sunglasses; the pale ovals surrounded by pink skin revealed his
most recent sunburn.

“Nope, Sunny is in the back having a snack.
And a lunch. And possibly dessert.”

The tips of his mouth reached the far sides
of his face as he beamed.

“It’s good she’s eating enough. We all want
the baby to be born healthy.”

“I just wish we had a way to find out the due
date and the sex of the baby. It’d be nice to know what to name the
kid.”

“Really? I thought you’d be worried about
getting surprised with triplets or something.” I teased.

“That would be nice, but I think that’s
plenty of small talk for now. I know you’ve had a bad day, and
that’s fine. We all have those moments, yours just had witnesses.
Thing is though, we need to know what you want to do when we get to
Winter Haven tomorrow.”

My body stiffened.

“I guess we’ll evaluate the National Guard
Armory and raid what we can if possible. If it looks like a place
we can make a new life at, we may give it a shot for a long-term
home.”

“What if it’s overrun or barren? What if we
can’t survive there?”

I shrugged with more nonchalance than I
felt.

“Then we choose a new place and move on until
we either find a new residence or maybe go back northeast and
rebuild our old camp. That’s all we can do for now.”

Chase stroked his chin as he sat. I
recognized it as a sign of weighing decisions; I’d seen the gesture
a million times working in sales.

“What are you thinking?”

I made a point of sitting so that I appeared
relaxed. I tried to watch his reaction with my peripheral vision; I
wanted Chase to feel comfortable enough to speak freely.

“I’m just wondering if we should just go back
and rebuild before the winter makes gathering food too difficult.”
He said as though the words tumbled out. Sitting a bit straighter,
he pressed on. “There can’t be anything in this place we can’t find
where we already lived. Our attackers are dead and we know the
land. We built a home once, we could do it again.”

“I agree.”

Chase perked up.

“But we have to check if there are items we
need. We’re dangerously low on medical supplies and ammunition. We
need more food that will last without refrigeration; not to mention
vehicles with large gas cans for spare fuel, and tools to make a
new camp happen. A military installation could have all of this. If
it was overrun or abandoned, most of those things could still be
sitting there for the taking. We have to try.”

He smiled.

“Good deal. I’ll spread the word.” He rose to
rejoin the others, pausing in the doorway. “What if there’s
nothing?”

“Then we go to the next idea; probably return
to where we started and hope we can make it through another winter
and get the gardens going again.”

He tapped the door frame with his knuckles
twice and faded away. I laid back and fell into a restless
slumber.

The armory was a bust. We had to put down
fleshies for nearly an hour and we only found a handful of ammo and
eight MREs. The vehicles had long since gone with the usable arms.
The only things worthwhile were the dozen folding shovels with
sharpened edges; they made great weapons and tools and came with
nice carry cases.

Disheartened by the lack of success, we
started to look nearby for an acceptable place to pass the day.
Wandering up the street a bit, we found a trail of cardboard signs.
Each one bore an arrow directing ‘any living soul of honorable
intentions’ to a safe residence.

“Probably been posted for the last year;
those people are likely gone already.” Someone exclaimed as Daemon
pointed out the placards during an hourly check-in.

I scrutinized the nearest sign. The marker
wasn’t runny and the cardboard was stiff to the touch.

“We’re following them.” I announced, pulling
out a baggie of gator jerky. Glancing around I saw confusion and
amusement. “Someone has clearly made this sign recently. It rained
a few days ago and this is just a box with marker; no way it
would’ve survived the downpour. Someone around here has left us an
open invitation. We’re in no position not to accept. We’re going to
follow the signs. Cautiously, of course.”

“Coolies. I like scavenger hunts.” Daemon sat
on the roof of the Infiniti. Cal examined the token of
hospitality.

“Squirrel is correct. This is recently
placed.”

Sunny and Chase started putting up the bags
of rations. Soon the entire community took the hint and prepared to
investigate the opportunity before us.

“Alright then; let’s stay alert in case it’s
a trap and hope for the best.”

Following the trail of multi-colored arrows
for an hour, we found a sign made of painted wood. Instead of an
arrow and the usual message, it read: ‘Stay here & wait. Deadly
traps ahead. Back every day at dawn’. Below was another cardboard
sign: ‘blue house across street safe. Stay there if needed’.

“Looks like we gonna bed down o’er there for
the rest of the night. What about Cal and Daemon; sign says we meet
in the morning?”

I pondered Bubba’s question, thankful that
the fledgling Undead answered first.

“You guys can go ahead and come get us at
dusk. If you aren’t sure about these people, just meet them and ask
to wait until we get up to follow them.”

Seeing the logic in the idea, I nodded.

“Sounds like a plan. Okay by you Cal?”

Caelinus gave a slight bow of assent and we
piled into the designated waiting area without any debate.

The blue house was free of bodies or
bloodstains. There were blankets and pillows in the rooms and a
portable chemical toilet sat beside the porcelain one in the
restroom. In the pantry we found: a massive stack of tissue paper,
first aid kits, a can opener, four cans of soup, and a gallon of
drinking water. There was a stack of sign materials sitting on the
dining room table. A small bookshelf in the living room held a
variety of books and puzzles; the box of crayons and stack of
Disney coloring books were pounced upon by the kids as soon as we
walked in.

I whistled, “Nice digs. I already like our
hosts.”

We parked the SUV and Dodge in the garage and
left the Chevy in the driveway. Our essential gear was massed near
the door and we explored the pristine house. I felt like I had just
entered a hotel on vacation. Wary smiles found their way onto
everybody’s face.

For the first time in a week, we rested for
the second half of the night. The vampires took the centermost room
and used some of the cardboard to block out the window for their
daytime protection. After the donations were made, the group sat at
the table and around the kitchen area to unwind and relax. The
adults played with an old poker set while the kids played chutes
and ladders. Taking up a spot on the floor in the master bedroom, I
fell asleep with hope in mind.

At dawn, ten of us waited at the sign to meet
our generous host. We carried a couple of rifles, but mostly wore
our usual arms. I worried that the person may see the guns and
avoid us out of fear, but I refused to be caught in an ambush
unprepared.

A few minutes after the first rays of light
bathed us in warmth, a voice came out from the bushes.

“Um, hi. Did you guys see the signs?”

We looked around for the source of the
voice.

“Yes, we did.” I answered. “Where are
you?”

“Why do you all have so many guns? Are you
soldiers or something?”

Facing the tree the voice seemed to emanate
from, I set my bow back over my shoulder and took a step forward,
holding my open palms up.

“No, we aren’t soldiers. We have the weapons
partly for hunting and partly for defense. We don’t mean any harm,
we just couldn’t be sure if this was an trick. Could you please
come out here so we know who has been kind enough to lead us to the
safehouse?”

After a long silence, a scrawny boy around
fourteen years old walked out. He had a crowbar in hand and a
Gryffindor Satchel on his shoulder. Adjusting his glasses, he eyed
the assembly of relatively clean people carrying swords and came
closer.

“Hello.” He held his right hand out to me.
“My name is Liam.”

I shook the outstretched hand with relief
mingled with awe.

“Hi, Liam. You can call me Squirrel.”

“Seriously?”

I heard muffled giggling from behind me.

“Yes, seriously. So who else is with
you?”

“Oh, it’s just me and my Gammy. She’s back at
our place. We haven’t had anyone come by before, so she’s going to
be pretty surprised when I walk in with company.” He turned to pet
Sindbad. The dog sniffed the teen and let him scratch behind his
ears. “You guys seem to be pretty decent. It’ll be nice to have
someone around to hang out with; just follow me and I’ll lead you
past the traps.”