Wormwood Dawn (Episode IX) (11 page)

Toby sat on top of the RV, keeping watch while the others slept. It had been a rough day, and everyone was beat. Toby was too, but he was too wired to sleep, and had offered to take the first watch. It made him feel good knowing he was protecting the rest of them. The only thing that worried him was whether the rest of the group would make it back.

Everything was still as the sun came up, and Toby basked in its warmth. He lay face up with his shirt off, staring at the beautiful blue sky. It reminded him of his mom, and the way they used to watch the clouds. He imagined her lying next to him, pointing out clouds that looked like dogs, cats, monsters, and everything else under the sun. He smiled, but his heart ached for her.

He missed her.

He was snapped out of his daydreaming by the sound of crunching gravel. He sat up quickly, grabbing his rifle and watching the edge of the parking lot. Then, the familiar sight of Eric’s Jeep and Toni’s car turned the corner. Toby’s heart jumped, and he quickly climbed down to greet them.

“They’re here!”
he shouted excitedly.
“They made it!”

Dan pulled Toni’s car up next to the RV, and Eric parked on the other side. Toby ran up to the car to see Dan’s smiling face.

“Dan!” he said. “You found them.”

“Yeah,” Dan said, getting out and patting Toby on the head. “We’re safe. Most of us.”

Travis and the others got out, all of them smiling and happy to see that they had returned safely. Grace, however, knew something was wrong.

“Where’s Gena?” she asked.

“She didn’t make it,” Dan said, sadly. “I’m sorry.”

Grace’s smile faded, and her face fell into a gray expression. She leaned back against the RV, folding her arms across her chest and staring blankly.

“What happened?” Travis asked.

“It was Seth,” Dan replied. “But he’s dead now.”

“That may or may not be a good thing,” Max said. “When this Enoch finds out…”

“We’ll have a war on our hands,” Dan finished him.

“Fuck it,” Drew said. “If they want a war, we’ll give it to them. He killed one of us, and we killed one of them. Now we’re even.”

Dan went to Grace, putting his arm around her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “We’ll find a good place to bury her. Somewhere peaceful and secluded.”

“Thank you,” Grace said. “I didn’t know her well, but she saved my life. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be dead, too.”

“She died doing what she did best,” Dan assured her. “Fighting the bad guys.”

He didn’t want to tell Grace that Gena had died on her knees. Though it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference to Grace, he wanted to ensure that she hadn’t died a coward. She fought well, and died performing her duties as a soldier. That was all that mattered.

Cliff came out then, holding out his hand and smiling. Dan took it, giving his friend a brotherly pat on the back.

“I’m glad you made it,” Cliff said. “What do we do now?”

“Well,” Dan said. “First, tell me what the hell happened back at the camp. Then we’ll figure that out.”

Enoch scanned the remains of the outpost, his anger building as he saw the bodies of his men scattered all over. The building was in ruin, smoldering and crumbled, and every vehicle in the lot had been destroyed. Someone had attacked his people, and had laid waste to his operation here at the tech center.

He was furious.

He knew who was responsible. Seth had told him of how this Dan character had killed Russ at the farm. Now, seeing the rest of his men killed, he vowed to go after Dan and end his life slowly and painfully.

“Boss,” Trevor said. “We found Mike in the tunnels. And the other group found Seth near the overpass.”

Enoch growled at hearing his brother’s name. He grabbed Trevor by the scruff of his shirt, and pulled him up to glare into his eyes. “Is he dead?”

“Yes, sir,” Trevor stuttered. “Shot in the head.”

Enoch threw Trevor to the ground, unstrapping his makeshift axe from his back. It was an axe handle with a giant broken gear for a blade. He held it up so Trevor could see it, knowing that it brought terror to anyone who saw it in use.

“I want his body brought home,” Enoch said. “Burn the rest of this mother fucker to the ground and kill anyone else who is left.”

Trevor rolled over and stood up, quaking in fear as he ran off to do Enoch’s bidding. Enoch watched him run away, wishing he had split the man’s skull instead of letting him go. He would find who killed his brother, and take it out on them. Whether it was a man or a woman, one thing was clear; they were fucked.

All of them.

Enoch would have his revenge.

Edward Crae lives in the rolling (and muddy) hills of Brown County Indiana with his fiancé Lisa, and their overabundance of cats… and a dog.