Brooke narrowed her eyes, boring holes through Garrett. “Don’t you dare try to tell me how to raise my son. You understand me?”
“Guys,” Hugo said. “Let’s calm down.”
“It’s fine,” Brooke said. “I’m through.” She shot one more harsh look at Jon before turning around and heading out the door. She slammed it behind her.
Garrett exhaled. “Sorry about that. She won’t give up on this damn forsaken dream of some kind of uprising.”
Jon kept his eyes on the door. He knew what he had done was the right thing for Brooke’s well-being, but he also knew he couldn’t leave without her knowing why.
Keeping his eyes on the door, he said, “I’ll stay for the day. But in all likelihood, I’m gone tomorrow morning.”
“That’s fair,” Hugo said.
“All we ask is that you stay a little longer to see what we’ve got to offer before you make a final decision,” Garrett said. “Keep an open mind.”
Jon stood, and the other two men did, as well. He shook their hands, then shuffled out the door.
Outside, gray clouds sat scattered in an overcast sky, blocking most of the sun’s rays. Jon looked around, but saw no sign of Brooke. He walked down the porch steps to go look for her, but as he stepped into the grass, he heard someone crying.
He followed the sound around the back of the house, where he found Brooke leaning against a tree, her arms crossed. They made eye contact, and she sighed in frustration and rubbed her eyes as she turned away from him.
“Please, just leave me alone,” she said.
“You have to know why I couldn’t back you up in there,” Jon said. “This camp isn’t prepared for what you want.”
“Yeah, well, then you’re no different than them if that’s what you think.”
“It’s suicide. Is that really what you want for your—”
“Don’t say it.” Brooke came off of the tree and moved within inches of Jon, pointing at him. “Don’t you dare say it. You have no right.”
Jon put up his hands. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to help and do what’s best for you.”
Brooke scoffed. “You don’t even know me. What gives you the right to think you know what’s best for me?”
Brooke walked away, not giving Jon the chance to respond. He didn’t want to anyway, thinking it best to let Brooke go and cool off. He had said his peace. It was all he’d wanted.
When she’d walked nearly ten yards away, Brooke turned halfway around. Tears came from her eyes, but she didn’t bother wiping them away.
“You’re just like the others. You’d rather die here in the past than forge something better for yourself. Well, go ahead. But don’t try to drag me and my son along with you.”
21
Jon remained behind the houses as Brooke disappeared into the central part of the camp. He had no interest in walking around more, only to be gawked that by the settlers.
Walking along the exterior fence that protected the camp from outsiders and the infected wanderers, Jon found a picnic table under a couple of trees. It was in rough shape, looking like someone in the camp had built it after the world had gone to hell. Using the wood to build a picnic table seemed like a waste of precious resources to Jon, but he also admired the thought of looking for some normalcy in this new world. It was something he had yet to find, himself. Being in Hope’s Dawn had done little to encourage Jon that there was something better out there. The world had changed, taking most everything and everyone with it. But those who remained continued to live within the bullshit hierarchy built up by the old world. The Vultures had proven that the lust for power and control over other people would never go away as long as the human species existed.
There was little hope for Hope’s Dawn.
Jon had done enough damage and knew he wouldn’t be able to stay there, no matter what they had to show him or say to him.
As he stood up off the bench, he heard the rustling of leaves and watched as a faded soccer ball bounced against the tree in front of him. He glanced in the direction from which it had come and saw the familiar face of a child approaching him.
“I’m sorry about that, sir,” Lucas said. “I’ll try to be more careful.”
The timid boy appeared to be shaking as he stood several yards away from Jon. It was apparent he was afraid to approach him. Jon grinned and picked the ball up.
“Here you go. Catch.”
Jon tossed the ball, but instead of catching it with his hands, the boy kicked it up in the air with the side of his right foot. He then juggled the ball a couple of times with his feet, finally letting the ball hit the ground.
Raising his eyebrows, Jon whistled. “Those are some impressive moves.”
The boy blushed. “Thanks.”
“Where did you learn all that?”
Lucas shrugged. “Just a lot of free time on my hands, I guess.”
Jon called for the ball and the boy kicked it back to him. It bounced off his boot and Jon struggled to control it. Finally, he managed to kick it back with the steel toe of his boot.
“You’re not very good at this, are you?” the boy asked, dribbling the ball between his feet.
“I haven’t played in a few years.” Jon thought of kicking the soccer ball around the front yard with Spencer, shaking off the emotions that accompanied the memory. “I might be a little rusty.”
“Are you staying here?” the boy asked, changing the subject.
“Um, I’m not sure yet.”
“It’d be really cool if you did. I like you more than most of the other people here.”
Jon laughed, kicking the ball back to the boy. “Aren’t there other kids here for you to play with?”
Lucas nodded. “Zion and Mary are pretty cool, but everyone else... I don’t know. They’re okay, I guess.”
Jon and the boy kicked the ball back and forth some more, neither of them saying anything. Looking into the boy’s eyes, Jon saw so much innocence. Lucas wasn’t so young that he didn’t remember what life had been like in the old world. Jon thought that that had to be torturous for him. He’d known what a normal life had been like. To go to school, to run around outside, to visit theme parks and go swimming in a pool. Jon wondered if it would be easier if Lucas hadn’t known that life at all, and the only one he’d known was being here at Hope’s Dawn. Or if, like Jon’s own son, it would be better for him not to be here at all.
The ball rolled past Jon, as he had drifted away and lost focus.
“What happened?” the boy asked.
“Sorry,” Jon said, shaking the thoughts off and retrieving the ball. He kicked it back. “You know, Lucas is a really good name.”
“Thanks. It was my dad’s.”
“Where is he now?”
Lucas paused. He kneeled and picked the ball up off the ground. “It was good talking to you, Mr. Jon.”
“Wait, Lucas. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s okay,” Lucas said. “I’m just tired of playing soccer. I’ll see you around.”
The boy jogged away and didn’t turn back. Jon put his hands on his hips and shook his head.
“Good job, dumb ass,” he said to himself.
As he scanned the area, Jon spotted Brooke standing next to a tree. They locked eyes for several moments before Brooke wiped tears from her eyes and headed toward her son.
Jon wanted to go after her, but he stopped himself. A vile feeling hit the pit of his stomach.
He knew he no longer belonged around people.
He knew it was time to go.
22
514 Days After the Outbreak
“I don’t think I can do this anymore.”
Jon jerked his head back. “What do you mean?”
Carrie paced back and forth next to their bed. She ran her hands through her hair before clutching the pendulum around her neck. Over the past several weeks, Jon had observed many changes in his wife. It had started with him noticing a few more gray h
airs, which was something he had dealt with himself in this time of added stress. But then he had seen her face grow paler, almost if she had begun aging right before his very eyes. She had become more reclusive and less talkative, often sitting in a chair in the corner by herself and barely acknowledging the presence of her husband and son. When Jon would check on her, she would insist she was okay, which Jon, of course, knew was bullshit. But things had come to a head now.
“I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t. I can’t do it. I...” Carrie stopped pacing, pulling on her hair now.
Jon didn’t know what to do. He’d never seen Carrie like this. He knew when she was upset that the last thing she wanted was to be touched, so he hesitated to try to console her with a hug at the moment. But he wasn’t sure what to do.
“We don’t have any other options,” Jon said. “I know it’s boring here, but it’s safe. It’s maddening for all of us, being cooped up together in this house all the time, but it’s the only choice we have right now.”
“You don’t know what it’s like to be stuck in here,” Carrie said. “You get to go out on that bike you found and ride around and hunt and not be stuck on this property.”
“I get to? Do you know how dangerous it is out there, Carrie?”
“No, I don’t. Because I’m here all the time.”
Jon sighed. “Look, we need to hold it together; if for anything, then for Spencer.”
“And how long are we supposed to hold it together?” Carrie asked, her body tightening as she turned to face her husband. “What’s the end game?”
Jon narrowed his eyes. “‘What’s the end game?’ To survive.”
Carrie scoffed. “What the hell good is surviving if we have to live like this?”
Jon tried to keep his cool, but he struggled to hold back anger when it came to his wife’s delirious statements. “What other choice do we have? You want to head back to our house in the city? Try and go have dinner with your friends? That life is gone, Carrie, and so is half the goddamn world.”
“How do you know? You don’t. It’s not like we have news out here. For all we know, our neighborhood could be totally safe.”
Jon stood up, pointing toward one of the walls. “I know because I see those dead fucks lumbering around when I go out and try to find food to feed my family. Because there are no fucking cars on the road. Because the world as we knew it is gone, Carrie. And it’s time that you accept that. Quit turning to that stupid thing around your neck for answers and use some goddamn common sense for once.”
Carrie’s face turned red in the silence. All Jon could hear was his heavy breathing before he heard sniffling outside the door.
Spencer.
Jon pushed through the bedroom door only to see his son running down the hallway, turning into his bedroom and slamming the door behind him.
Turning around again, Jon saw the pale face of his wife as she covered her mouth. Tears drained from her eyes as she calmed back down, realizing the full brunt of the situation around them. She would come to know that what Jon had said was true. That this was the only way for their family to survive.
He thought it best to leave her alone. Plus, their son needed him.
“Spencer, open the door.”
23
“You sure you don’t wanna hang around a little longer?” Terrence asked.
Clicking his tongue, Jon nodded. “I’m sure of it, Terrence.”
“I understand. But it’s disappointing. We could really use you around here.”
“You all have survived just fine without me. I don’t think much about that is going to change.”
“Well, I went ahead and filled ‘er up. You only needed a couple of gallons, and we could spare that.”
Jon reached his hand out. “Thanks, brother.”
Terrence shook it. “It’s no problem.” He took his hand back, stuffing both of them into his pockets. “Where you gonna go?”
“Haven’t quite figured that out yet. I probably will head back to the cabin and see what I can salvage from the fire. But I’m thinking about a fresh start.”
He didn’t say it, but Jon wanted to add, “After I take care of some business,” at the end of that sentence. He knew he was going after the man who had burned down his cabin, and he knew Terrence knew it. But apparently Terrence wasn’t going to try to talk him out of it.
“You know we’re here if you change your mind,” Terrence said.
Jon nodded. “I do.”
He then rolled his bike down the driveway. As he pushed it toward the front gate, none of the residents of Hope’s Dawn tried to hide that they were watching him. But as before, he ignored their gawking and pushed his bike.
When he finally looked up, he saw Garrett and Hugo standing together off to his left. Both men had their arms crossed, but neither said anything. They didn’t have to. Jon understood their frustration, but it wasn’t his problem. He knew he was doing what was best, both for himself and for Hope’s Dawn. As he had already proven, he would only be trouble for them.
He got within fifteen yards of the gate when he heard footsteps slapping across the concrete behind him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and stopped. He knew who it was.
“This is it?” Brooke asked. “You’re leaving?”
Jon turned to face her. “You don’t want me here.”
“That’s not it,” Brooke said. “We need you here.”
Jon noticed that more people had gathered outside. He felt like a circus animal, standing out in front of the camp as everyone watched the scene unfold in front of them. Jon stepped closer to Brooke so that he didn’t have to speak as loud.
“You don’t even know me, Brooke. You don’t know the things I’ve done. The kind of monster that I am.”
Brooke squinted her eyes. “Do you think we care about that here? If you wanted to hurt us, you would have done it already. You know we’re helpless here. That’s why we need someone like you around.” She pointed at the gate. “The real monsters are out there.”
Jon wished he could give in. Brooke was beautiful, and with an even more beautiful heart. Her son was sweet but lost, clearly in need of an influential father figure. But it couldn’t be Jon. Brooke and Lucas deserved better.
He bowed his head and exhaled. “I’m sorry. But thank you for everything.”
“Yeah,” Brooke said.
Jon looked up as she turned away. He sighed again, searching the faces of the settlers who continued to stare at him. He’d taken firmer hold of his handlebars and started toward the gate again when a commotion erupted from the other side of it.
“Open up!” the female voice said.
Garrett and Hugo hurried down toward the gate, and Brooke flew past Jon.
“It’s Angie,” the guard said.
“Let her in!” Garrett commanded.
The guard opened the gate, and a sedan stormed through. Jon thought he was going to have to jump out of the way, but Angie swerved to miss him, bringing the car to a screeching halt. She opened the door and got out.
“Jesus, Angie,” Garrett said.
The woman looked like she had bathed in blood. Crimson stained her shirt and her arms, and blots of blood appeared on her face. Her mouth was open, and she stood there shaking. Brooke hurried over to her.
“Angie, what happened?”
“We... we...”
The woman couldn’t find her words. She continued shaking and trying to speak.
“Take a breath, sweetie,” Brooke said. She cupped Angie’s face, getting blood on her own hands. “Close your eyes and breathe.”
Angie did as Brooke suggested, shutting her eyes and drawing in three meditative breaths. When she was done, she wasn’t shaking as much.
“Good,” Brooke said. “Now, what happened?”
“W-we got ambushed,” Angie said.
“Ambushed?” Garrett said. “By who?”
“Not who,” Angie replied. “By them.”
“Zombies,” Jon said.
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Angie nodded. “We saw a deer, and Max took a shot at it but missed. He got desperate and ran after it. Me and Tim tried to tell him not to because we were running through the woods and couldn’t see well, but Max didn’t listen.
Tim and I went after him, and we ended up on some farm. They were... everywhere. Tim… he didn’t…he didn’t make it.”
The girl started to cry, and Brooke put her arm around her.
“Is there any chance that Max is still alive?”
“I’m not sure. It’s possible.”
“Where’s the farm?” Jon asked.
Angie wiped her eyes and sniffled. “A few miles south of here, out off of Dawson Road.”
Jon walked away from Angie and went to his bike.
“What’re you doing?” Hugo asked.
“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” Jon glanced over his shoulder. “I’m going to save your friend.”
“You can’t go alone,” Terrence said, approaching from nearby where he’d been listening to the conversations.
“I can get in and out of there faster with just me and my bike,” Jon said.
“And only with that pistol, a baseball bat, and a hatchet?” Hugo asked.
“Not happening,” Garrett said. “You at least need to let Terrence go with you.”
“And me,” Brooke said.
Jon shook his head. “No way.”
“I don’t think that’s a decision you get to make.”
Jon approached her, taking her hand without realizing it. “Don’t do this. Just let me and Terrence go. You don’t have anything to prove.”
Brooke pulled her hand away. “This isn’t about proving anything. This is about saving a man’s life. Besides, I’m one of the best people here with a gun.”
“She’s right,” Garrett said. “I agree with you that we can’t send a whole army of people in, but you need to take Terrence and Brooke with you. If Max is still alive, I want him to make it back here that way, and taking them with you offers the best chance of getting all of you back here safely.”
Jon sighed. He knew he couldn’t just leave now. If he backed out, Brooke and Terrence would go without him. At least if he were there, he could protect her. Looking past the small crowd around him, Jon made eye contact with Lucas. The boy stood alone, tall and strong. It was as if he had grown numb to his mom leaving him to go out into the dangerous, barren world. Jon wanted to tell her to stay, to be there for her son, and that it wasn’t worth risking herself. But he knew she wouldn’t give in.
Dead South Series (Book 1): Dead South Page 8
