Dead Living (6 page)

It was only when Joe and Frank returned home
two days late from a trip into town that she realized she couldn't
live without him.

It was Frank's house they were living in. He
also taught everyone how to fire and care for a gun. But it was Joe
who was their leader. It was just something about him, his calm
manner in which he approached everything. He had a quiet leadership
that Denise didn't think he was aware of. Everyone was in a panic
those first few days after the dead rose. Joe pulled them through,
all while looking after Aaron.

He somehow made everyone laugh. There was a
time Denise thought she'd never laugh again.

I love
you
, Denise thought. She had that thought
so many times.
Now if only I had the guts
to say it
.

“I, uh, think Frank and Margie are having
sex.”

“What?” He turned toward the house. “Right
now?”

“No, not
now
, nutball. Just, you
know, having sex.”

Joe suspected as much. The other day, while
getting the cooking fire ready, Frank had to get more wood. Nothing
unusual about that, until Margie went with him. Joe thought maybe
there was something going on there.

“Maybe you'll get your own room soon, after
all.”

They shared a laugh and she moved her head
more onto his shoulder. She ran a hand through his hair.

“You're gonna have to let me cut your hair
tomorrow,” she said. That was as good an excuse to touch him as
any. “It's getting long.”

“Maybe I'll just cut it all off like Frank
and Aaron.”

Frank had decided he had enough of his thick
head of hair years ago, and Aaron just had to look like his Uncle
Frank. They were both completely bald.

“No, you can't do that. I like your
hair.”

“Why thank you.”

This is it. Make a
move
.

“Hey Dad!” Aaron called from the porch. “A
possum got in the house. Uncle Frank and Aunt Margie are both
screaming in here. He says he'll kill it with his gun if you don't
get rid of it.”

“Let's go save the day,” Joe said.

Denise smiled. “Yeah, we're heroes.”

He helped her to her feet. Her smile faded
when she realized he was watching her, looking at her face. She
could barely make out his features due to the darkness. He didn't
let go of her hands, just rubbed them gently.

He likes me
too
.

They walked back to the house. Joe held her
hand the whole way.

*****

The sun had only been up a little while.
After catching six large-mouth bass, Joe was cleaning the outhouse,
not his favorite job. Denise and Margie were in the house
straightening up. Frank was chopping logs with an ax. Aaron was out
in the woods practicing with a compound bow, a gift from Joe he'd
found on their last trip to town. Archery was a talent Aaron was
getting dangerously good at.

“Hey everybody!” a voice came from the woods.
“Check this out!”

Joe and Frank looked up. Aaron walked toward
them. The first thing Joe noticed was his son covered in blood. He
panicked for a moment, then saw the huge deer Aaron was carrying on
his shoulders. It was nearly his size.

“Uncle Frank, can you give me a hand?”

“Jesus, Aaron,” he said, dropping the ax and
rushing over. “What the hell? You trying to be the Incredible
Hulk?”

“I know.” Aaron had a huge smile on his face.
“Dinner for a week. We haven't had deer in a while. Who's the
Incredible Hulk?”

The women left the house to greet Aaron. They
listened with smiles as Aaron told them the story. He was
practicing with his bow on the other side of the lake when he saw
the buck getting a drink of water. He killed it clean through the
trees with a single arrow from about forty yards out. Everyone was
impressed.

As Aaron told the story, Joe grew unhappy. It
was only when his son finished did he realize why.

Aaron was growing up
fast.
Soon, he won't need me
anymore
.

“Hey Dad, you mind if I clean up and read a
while? Then I'll help Uncle Frank with the wood.”

Joe nodded. He grabbed Aaron's shoulder
before he could walk away. “I'm proud of you.”

Aaron just gave his father a confident wink.
Joe tried not to laugh as his son walked around the back of the
house to use the buckets of lake water they kept to wash up. If
high school still existed, Aaron would be the scholar athlete,
getting excellent grades, then hitting the track after school. Not
the snobby popular type. Aaron wasn't like that.

“They grow up fast, don't they?” Joe
said.

“It just means we're all getting older,”
Margie said with a smile.

“Speak for yourself.
Maybe
you
all are
old. I'm not,” Frank said.

Joe was ready to get back to the outhouse
when he saw the three of them trading looks with each other.
Something was going on.

“Guys? What's up?”

Frank took a breath and shrugged at the
women. “Do we want to do this here?”

Margie nodded. “Yeah.”

“Do what?”

Margie tried to stifle a smile as Denise took
Joe by the hand. Denise tried to keep her feelings for Joe a
secret, but she never did a good job.

“Joe, Aaron's gotta learn how to shoot a
gun.”

“He hates guns. Scared to death of them. He
can barely aim one straight.”

“Hell, none of us
like
guns. Well, except
for Frank the warrior here. But Joe, come on. It's
way
past
time.”

“We won't be around forever,” Frank said.
“He's mean with a bow, and I taught him how to throw his fists
around. And I hope it never happens, but one day, he might be in a
corner with five corpses looking at him. He has to learn how to
shoot.”

Aaron wasn't a stranger to the world of the
dead. He'd gone along the last few trips to town. But he never had
to see a corpse up close, never had to shoot one in the head.

Joe was quiet a moment. He
was always reluctant to start on Aaron's gun training because, like
Frank said, it was an admission that they couldn't protect him
forever. It was easy to pretend that deep in the woods, they were
protected from the Hell that had taken over the earth. But the
truth was no one was
completely
safe.

Frank didn't agree with Joe when he wanted to
teach Aaron to read. Frank thought it was a waste of time. But Joe
knew Frank was right about gun training.

“You're right,” Joe said. “We all agree we
need to head to town, right?”

Everyone nodded.

“Okay. We got plenty of daylight left. We'll
go in together, get what we need, teach Aaron to shoot. Hell, maybe
we'll even find a battery and some gas for the van.”

Denise laughed. “You always say that.”

“One day I'll be right.”

Joe turned to leave, but Frank grabbed his
shoulder. “Uh, hey. There's one more thing.” He looked at Margie.
She gave him a bright smile, one Joe hadn't seen in quite a while.
“We have something to say.”

*****

Aaron poured a bucket of water over his head.
It felt great, although it gave him a chill as the water seeped
inside his shorts. He wiped his bald head with his sweaty shirt and
carried the empty bucket down to the lake for a refill.

As he walked by the house he saw his entire
family gathered near the cooking pit. They looked like they were
having a serious conversation.

He knew it was one of two things. They were
either doing some serious planning about their lifestyle, gathering
food, the upcoming winter, that sort of thing. Or they were talking
about him.

Ah man
, Aaron thought.
Have I done
anything wrong lately?

He grabbed a book from his room and sat on
the porch, although he wasn't really reading. He just studied his
family. Aaron liked to just study and watch things. It wasn't like
he had a huge option of other hobbies. He couldn't shoot a bow or
read all day long.

He noticed Dad and Aunt
Denise holding hands. Nothing major, just by the fingertips. Aaron
shook his head.
Come on, Dad. When are you
gonna tell her? It's obvious how she feels.

He loved his father and knew him better than
anyone. But Aaron was clueless as to why he held in his feelings
for Denise. Whenever Dad just walked in the room, Denise would
change. She would sit up straighter, puff her breasts out just a
little more, smile a little brighter.

Is it possible Dad doesn't know?

Now Uncle Frank and Aunt Margie, on the other
hand.

There wasn't much of a secret there at all.
Sneaking off in the woods together, late night swims in the lake.
Aaron wasn't completely sure, but he thought he heard footsteps
late one night going from his aunt's room to Frank's. He was quite
sure it wasn't to play Scrabble.

He laughed to himself. He saw their mood
lighten a little. Frank and Dad shared a joke, then Frank gave him
a playful slug in the shoulder. His aunts hugged.

Hmmm. I wonder if Frank and Margie finally
said something?

The women passed Aaron on the porch to go
inside and change clothes. Frank picked up the deer and slung it
over his shoulder. He looked at Joe, who was taking a seat next to
Aaron.

“I'll get this deer skinned. You got the
bikes covered, right?”

“Yeah, I got 'em. Just give me a few
minutes.”

“Alright, I'll be around back.”

Aaron looked at his father. “Bikes?”

“Yeah. We're all gonna head to town together
today, get some supplies.”

“Okay. What was the laughing and playing
around about?”

He smiled and shook his head. “Well, Frank
and Margie just wanted to tell us they're a couple now.”

“About time.”

“Yeah, that's what Denise said.”

They were quiet for a moment. Aaron could see
his father had something else to say.

“Look, Aaron. Today, when we get to town,
Frank wants to teach you how to shoot a corpse.”

He winced. “With a gun?”

Joe nodded.

Aaron didn't know what it was about guns that
unnerved him so much. He didn't even like holding one. It was no
different than trying to get an answer out of Margie about why she
was afraid of spiders. That's why he took up the bow, so he would
never have to fire a gun.

“Dad, I don't like guns.”

“I know, I know. I don't either. But there is
a lot of danger out there, and you should be prepared for it.”

“I can hunt, fish, cook my own food, read a
map, use the sun to get a good idea of time. Heck, give me a needle
and thread and I'll fix my own clothes.”

“Who taught you how to sew?”

“I read it.”

Joe laughed. His son truly was amazing. Sarah
would be proud.

“I'm gonna get the bikes ready,” Joe said.
“Don't worry, you'll do fine.”

A mischievous smiled crossed Aaron's face as
Joe stood up. “Okay, Dad. I won't give you a hard time on one
condition.”

“What's that?”

“You tell Aunt Denise that you love her.”

He sat back down. “What?”

“Tell her you love her. Don't worry, she
loves you too.”

Joe shook his head in
amusement. “And what do
you
think love is?”

Aaron thought a moment. “Love is when it
hurts when the person is gone. They like, can't be apart, you know
what I mean? They try to make each other happy. Oh, and they have
sex a lot.”

“Aaron!”

“Hey, I didn't make it up.”

Joe looked through the living room window. He
could see Margie and Denise in the kitchen. They didn't use it to
cook anymore, but it did store all of their supplies. He lowered
his voice to make sure only Aaron could hear.

“Do you really think she loves me?”

Aaron just gave him a look. “Dad. She does.
Trust me.”

He held out his hand. “Okay. You learn to
shoot, and tonight, Denise and I will have a little talk.”

They shook hands. “Deal.”

The bike ride through the woods was peaceful.
It was a ride they had many times before, although it was rare they
all went together. Aaron felt like it was a family adventure,
although he knew they felt much different.

Everyone had a large empty backpack. Aaron
brought up the rear and took a quick drink of water from his
bottle. He made a mental checklist of some of the things they
mentioned needing. Ammunition, blankets, clothes, towels, salt and
pepper, lighter fluid, shoes.

And now, condoms for Frank and Margie.

Yuck. I hope they don't keep me up all
night.

Joe held his hand up as the woods began to
thin out. Aaron had a sense of deja vu. This was the way they
always approached town. They leaned their bikes against some trees
and carefully approached the hill that overlooked Walton.

The town of Walton, once a simple place in
western Maryland. Now, a home to nothing but walking corpses.
Looters made off with supplies during the beginning of the new
world, but there were still plenty of places to find what was
needed. It was just a matter of getting through the former
citizens.

It always felt strange to stand on the hill
overlooking town. Such a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky, a
gentle breeze blowing. But just one hundred feet away was
danger.

“Denise,” Frank said. “Hand me the
binoculars.”

“Wait a sec,” Joe said, then looked at Aaron.
“Let's see what our trainee sees here.”

Margie gagged a little as Aaron took the
binoculars and dropped to one knee on top of the hill. “You'd think
I'd be used to the smell by now,” she said.