I held my hand out.
“I’m Tex. Nice to meet ya.”
She took my hand in hers and gave it a nice, firm shake.
“I’m Maria,” she said, her eyes flitting from mine to over my shoulder and then back down at her tray again. The women had begun whispering.
My stomach growled loudly and Maria looked up with a smile on her face.
“Better get some food in you, Tex,” she said, her dark brown eyes twinkling. I smiled back and dipped my spoon into the bowl of stew.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” I stated, enjoying the first hot meal I’d had in weeks.
“You recently arrived?” Maria asked a few moments later.
“Just about an hour ago, actually.”
Maria glanced around the room and then leaned in a little.
“How are things out there?” she whispered from across the table.
Immediately, my back stiffened.
She seemed like she was afraid of something, afraid of someone hearing her question. I set my spoon down in my empty bowl and studied her for a second.
“The same, I’m afraid.”
Maria sat back in her seat with a frown between her brows.
“You were hoping things were getting better?” I asked. She nodded once, her jaw clenched and her eyes shining.
“You have safety here,” I told her.
“Hot meals, running water. A lot of people aren’t this lucky.”
Maria snorted and sat forward, tearing off a piece of her bread and forcing herself to eat it.
“Yeah, you’d think that wouldn’t you?” she mumbled beneath her breath.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Her eyes met mine and her jaw was clenched.
“It means things aren’t always what they seem.”
I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but then Maria’s eyes, staring behind me, widened. She schooled her face into impassivity before looking back down at her plate.
“You must be the new guy Clyde was telling me about.”
The voice whipped across the room, drawing the eye of everyone present. The entire room went silent once again. I stood up from my seat and turned to face the man who spoke.
“Tex,” I said, offering my hand.
A man with a wide smile and closely cropped salt-and-pepper hair stood there. He was about the same height as me, on the slim side, with a presence about him that couldn’t be ignored. He had a charismatic aura about him and I wondered for a moment if the man had been in politics before the world changed.
The thought didn’t set my mind at ease.
“Michael,” he said, gripping my hand tightly, giving it a quick shake. Michael glanced over at Maria, who had resumed eating her lunch, not looking up at us during the introductions.
“It looks like you’ve met Maria,” he mentioned offhandedly.
“She was kind enough to let me impose upon her and sit at her table,” I said with a smile.
Michael’s smile dimmed a bit, his eyes never leaving Maria as he spoke.
“Was she now?” he said curiously.
“I wanted to thank you for the shower and clean clothes,” I said to break the awkward silence. “Also for the hot food. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a satisfying meal.”
Michael met my eyes, his smile once again at full watt.
“We’re glad to help out a brother in need,” he said with a huge grin.
I smiled back, but something didn’t quite sit right with me.
Maybe it was the words he chose. Maybe the way his eyes told me a different story than what came out of his mouth. Maybe it was that his presence instantly raised my hackles.
Several men and boys came in through the side door of the cafeteria and immediately went to get the trays of food. Uncle Gus, Clyde, and James were among them. Uncle Gus looked even more tired than he did when I last saw him and his eyes widened when he saw our trio near Maria’s table.
It was immediately apparent to me why the women had taken such an interest in me sitting with Maria. All of the men picked up their trays and moved to the opposite end of the room to sit together, leaving the women to their own area.
They were segregated.
I glanced over at Maria, who had watched me as I realized how things were.
She smirked and then quickly looked back down at her tray before Michael could notice the exchange. What was going on here? The men and women lived in separate areas of the camp and they didn’t even eat at the same tables.
And then there was the way Michael eyed Maria… like he owned her, even though Maria had barely acknowledged his existence.
Michael chose that moment to clap me on the back and steer me away from Maria and her table, down to where the men were all congregated to enjoy their meal. I refrained from turning my head to say goodbye to Maria, I had a feeling it would have been a bad idea. And as much as everything seemed a bit off to me, I did owe this group my life and my gratitude.
Michael introduced me to the group of men as he took his seat. All of them were waiting for him, I realized. And then, as one, they all bowed their heads when he began praying over the meal. I bowed my head out of respect while Michael waxed poetic over the meal and all that the Lord had provided his humble servants.
I clenched my jaw and just listened.
I was a God-fearing man, my mama and my upbringing made sure of that, but I’m not gonna lie and say I hadn’t been doubting an awful lot the past two years.
I didn’t blame God.
At least I didn’t think I did, however, with my head bowed and listening to the prayer Michael spoke over the food, my hackles were raised and I became more and more uneasy.
When he finally finished and the men began talking and eating, the only thing I felt was relief.
“So, Tex, whereabouts are you from?” Michael asked from across the table.
I met his gaze after glancing over at Uncle Gus. Uncle Gus seemed uncomfortable and that made me uncomfortable.
“Originally a little town in Texas out in the middle of nowhere,” I said with an easy smile.
Michael broke off a piece of his bread and dipped it in his stew.
“And more recently?” he asked. “Where were you when everything happened?”
I had a feeling I was being tested somehow, I just couldn’t figure out how or why.
I shrugged. “I was stationed on an Army base out of Charlotte.”
Uncle Gus glanced over at Michael and then turned back to his meal.
Michael pointed his spoon at me with a lopsided, carefree grin. I wasn’t fooled.
“I didn’t peg you as an Army man. Thought you’d be more of a religious man.”
My back stiffened.
“Are the two mutually exclusive?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Uncle Gus pause before resuming his meal.
Michael took another bite of his stew, regarding me as he took his time chewing and swallowing his food.
“Many people don’t think so. Some even think by defending their country, they were doing their God-given duty.” He shook his head, making eye contact and including everyone at the table in the conversation.
“We, however, know better now. Everything that has happened has only verified everything I’ve been teaching for years.”
He grinned at the “amens” that sounded around the table.
“What were you teaching that we are all now enlightened about?” I asked.
I knew I shouldn’t have asked. I even knew it would only likely enrage me, but I did it anyway.
“That the government and armed forces were for men and women who didn’t have true faith in God. Men believed they were being patriotic, that they were protecting their country and their loved ones from threats, when in reality the threat has always been living among us. The ungodly were the threat and God has begun purging them from the true believers, from those that have always believed that the
righteous will be the only ones left standing when this plague finally ends.”
I could feel a muscle jumping in my cheek.
The entire table seemed to understand the threat in the room. If someone, anyone else, had said the things that Michael had just said to me, I’d have already thrown a punch to wipe the self-satisfied smirk right off of his face.
However, I was a guest here, Uncle Gus and his crew had saved my life, and there were ladies present. Every God-fearing, patriotic bone in my body screamed for me to open a big ‘ole can of Texas whoop-ass, instead I used what little control I still had left and stood from my bench at the table.
A few of the men near me flinched visibly.
“It’s been a long day and I’m a lot more tired than I thought I was,” I stated.
“I think I’ll call it a day. I appreciate y’all’s hospitality, I’ll be on my way after a good night’s rest, if that’s okay with you,” I said as civilly as I could manage.
I even mustered a smile.
Uncle Gus grimaced. Guess my smile wasn’t as convincing as I imagined.
“No need to rush, we’re glad to have you here. We can talk more in the morning,” Michael said after a moment.
I headed out of the mess hall.
It only took me a few minutes to realize I had no clue where I was going.
“Let me show ya to a cabin.”
I turned to find Uncle Gus coming up behind me.
“I didn’t mean to take you away from your meal,” I said.
He waved my concern away and caught up with me.
“You didn’t. Don’t worry about that, son. Let’s get you to a cabin so you can rest.”
I walked silently for a few minutes before speaking again.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, helping me out of a tight spot when I was an idiot and got myself into that mess and all that, but this camp isn’t for me.”
We paused outside of a cabin and he faced me.
“I just wanted you to know that when I move on tomorrow it’s nothin’ personal.”
“I know, and I realized right away you wouldn’t be staying. I only thought you could use a decent meal and a good night’s sleep before you move on. Those two simple things can mean a lot to a soul nowadays,” he said gruffly.
I walked into the cabin behind Uncle Gus.
“Ain’t that the truth,” I said with a smirk.
“Just be careful, ya hear?” He pointed over to an empty cot.
I walked over and sat down on the edge. Every single bone in my body felt weary.
“I plan to,” I said, reaching down to pull off my boots.
“I don’t mean once you leave, you seem the sort of man who can take care of himself… when you’re not drinking like some idiot fool that is.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and stared down at the wood floor, properly chastised by my elder.
“I mean while you’re here. Michael is a religious man. He’s also a man who has lost everything. A religious man who has nothing left to lose and who has a captive audience is a dangerous man.” His eyes caught mine and they were deadly serious.
“Michael Hatten is a very dangerous man.”
I nodded my understanding.
Uncle Gus turned to the door.
“Well, have a decent sleep for once. The camp is well fortified and we have patrols around the clock. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thank you,” I said once again. He headed out the door.
I laid back on the cot. My feet hung over the edge, but I felt like I was on a king sized, pillow topped mattress. I pulled my hat down over my eyes. It wasn’t long until I fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter Four
Not Again
I could see Danny’s lips moving, but I couldn’t hear what said he was saying over the sound of the music I was listening to. I pulled one of my earplugs out and raised a brow.
“You listening to that honky-tonk crap again?” he asked with a crooked smile. I knew he was full of it. I’d caught him humming some pretty familiar “honky tonk” tunes himself the last few days.
“You know me,” I said with a shrug.
“Not really, man,” Danny said.
He let his head fall back just enough to rest on the wall behind him. His hand was moving in gentle strokes, petting the head of one of the mangiest dogs I’d ever clapped eyes on.
Boy, as Danny had named him, had a limp and was in bad need of a grooming. Danny loved that dog more than anything in the world. Boy was usually found in the exact same place he was right then… in Danny’s lap.
Spoiled mutt.
“We’ve known each other for a couple days, but we don’t really know a whole lot about each other.” He wasn’t accusing, only observing.
I pulled my other earplug out of my ear and turned off the iPod I was listening to and shoved it into my backpack. It clanged against the twenty or so I had stashed there. I’d taken to looking for them when I was out scavenging for supplies in homes.
Every once in a while I hit the jackpot with either a country music lover, or someone who, like me, had truly eclectic tastes in music, enjoying everything from REO Speedwagon to Frank Sinatra, and a lot of stuff in between.
Those iPods I savored.
“I guess you’re right.”
“Let’s play a little game to pass the time,” Danny suggested.
“What you got in mind?” I asked.
Anything to drown the sounds of the dead outside was cool with me.
“How about this?” Danny said after thinking for a minute or two.
“How about I start out by asking you a simple question. And then you can only choose one thing as an answer. We’ll call the game ‘Only One’.”
Danny was grinning ear-to-ear, clearly pleased with his idea.
“Okay,” I said. “Go ahead.”
“Alright. One drink, any drink, can appear out of thin air. Which drink would you choose?”
“An ice-cold root beer in a glass bottle,” I said immediately.
Danny laughed and shook his head.
“Now your turn,” I said. “Any movie playing in a nice movie theater.”
Danny thought about it for a minute.
“Trading Places,” he said with a wide smile. That was a good one.
“One actress,” he said with a raised brow.
“Jennifer Lawrence.”
“One song on repeat as your theme song,” I suggested.
“Bad Bad Leroy Brown,” he said without hesitation. It was my turn to laugh.
“One superhero as your sidekick.”
“Batman,” I smirked, as if there was any other choice.
“One weapon,” I offered up.
“A red light saber.” Couldn’t argue with that.
“One book,” he tossed out.
“My kindle,” I said, grinning.
“Cheater.” He laughed.
We went on like that for over two hours before we were tired and ready for bed. Danny was a pretty good guy. I’d been on my own for a week when we met, but it had seemed like months with only the dead to keep me company.
I liked Danny.
I even liked his ugly mutt too.
*
I woke up gradually, blinking the sleep out of my eyes with a strange feeling curling in my gut. Something wasn’t right. I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. I jumped up off of the twin bed that I slept on in the room and grabbed my gun and knife.
I left the room and called out for Danny.
“Danny?” I whispered harshly.
No sound.
I walked through the apartment that we’d been camping out in for a few days. I’d met Danny right in the heart of Charlotte when, for reasons even unknown to myself, I’d ended up coming back after leaving the Army base. He was nowhere in the apartment.
I started searching for Danny, checking all the places I knew he took the dog out to. Once I was sure he wasn’t in any of his normal spots, I decid
ed to take the stairs to the roof. Sometimes Danny liked to take the dog, Boy, up there to run around.
I reached the top of the roof of our apartment building right as the sun was touching the building. It was a glorious sunrise and I stood there at the entrance to the stairs in awe for a moment.
A sound dragged me out of my trance.
“Danny?” I said, my voice loud enough to carry across the roof. Danny didn’t look up from where he crouched on the ground. He was on his knees, his hands clenched around something in front of him as he rocked back and forth muttering under his breath.
“Danny?” I tried again, moving toward him.
When I got close enough to see him more clearly, I could hear him.
“Boy, Boy, Boy, Boy. Come here, Boy. Come here.” He muttered it over and over as he rocked and rocked. I stepped forward carefully and put a hand out to touch his shoulder.
His hands were covered in drying blood and he held what used to be Boy’s homemade collar—fabric Danny had cut into strips and then braided into a collar to go around the dog’s neck.
“Danny….” I whispered thickly.
As soon as the words left my mouth, Danny leapt up suddenly.
I stumbled back from surprise. Danny strode with purpose to the side of the building. As soon as he got there, he turned and looked directly at me.
I shook my head and took a step forward.
“Not without my dog,” he said harshly.
He shoved his gun in his mouth as he took a step up onto the ledge and pulled the trigger.
My scream echoed loudly, mingling with the leftover sounds of a gunshot and the undead ten stories below as they ripped into Danny’s corpse.
My breaths came out in harsh gasps and my heart raced a mile a minute.
It took me several moments to remember exactly where I was. Luckily, no one else was in the cabin and from the looks of it, it was already well into the morning. I swung my feet over the side of the bunk and leaned over, letting my head fall into my hands.
Nightmares again.
Unfortunately, this nightmare was more of a memory. Another horrible memory I’d just as soon as forget. There was a lot I’d like to forget. I shoved my feet into my boots, ran fingers through my hair, and sat my hat on my head.
State of | Book 2 | State of Ruin Page 3
