Ava says. “You better be quiet before I tell your husband you have a thing for his best friend. I think Abigail looks more like David than Phillip.”
Both women start laughing. Maria hugs Ava with one arm from the side. “Don’t worry everything will turn out fine one day.”
“Promise.”
11
Delilah says. “A penny for your thoughts?”
David says. “Nothing…Breathing and being alive is pointless unless you have family.”
Delilah says. “My brother’s out here somewhere, we were separated one night.”
David says more to himself. “Don’t stop looking.”
Delilah says. “It’s hard to be happy when sadness is all we know for years. Who deserves a miracle, only good people, don’t the bad ones need it worst? I know both of us will find what we’re looking for.”
David morosely gets up and leaves as she continues to talk. “If you say so.”
Later on, David’s dragging zombie bodies with Cooper and says to Youngblood. “I bet you didn’t ever imagine doing this for a living.”
Youngblood says. “Hey, do you think I have a shot with Ava. I noticed how she treats you.” David leans over to position the zombie on the ground and says. “By all means, she’s a cute woman, but a little scary.”
“Not a problem.”
Taking a breather, David leans against a tree with one hand. “Besides, I’m too busy working on a plan to get Delilah away from us and to safety, as well as not die myself.”
Youngblood says. “You and your plans. You better have a good one to safe my mom, Sora.”
David stops what he’s doing and stares at him. “My mother is still out here alone and I’m putting her aside for your women. How about, all you man up and do everything your fucking selfs.”
Youngblood says. “Wow. Calm down before you get yourself into trouble.”
David opens his arms wide. “Make me.”
Youngblood waves his arm down at him, in dismissal. “Whatever, man.”
Later, Delilah comes up behind David who’s eating from a Ziplock bag filled with different types of cereals; she squeezes both of his shoulders like a masseuse. “What’s on that crazy mind?”
David says. “Family issues.”
Delilah says. “I get it, it’s normal to disagree, it was like a second language between me and my brother.”
David says. “What was his name?”
“Now you want to talk to me. Saul, he was the kindest person…And what I miss the most is family Sunday dinners with him and everyone else. Everyone left alive is connected by loss, but I don’t find any solace in our solidarity.”
David eats a handful of cereal. “Do you think he would’ve liked me?” He swings the bag towards her.
“He wouldn’t have approved of you and me, nothing personal.” David grins and she continues. “We had no father growing up, so he was the typical overly protective brother.”
David overhears Youngblood saying behind him. “Man, I miss my mom, so much, she doesn’t deserve this, we need to find her soon or else, I don’t know how much longer I can take not seeing her face.” Youngblood watches David the whole time as he says this.
David says as he crunches on the stale sugar chucks. “Fuck your mom and you. My mom is probably dead; your mom is just getting fucked by someone she doesn’t like, that sounds a lot like a lot of everlasting marriages to me. She’s someone’s favorite whore.”
Delilah gasps. “David. Take that back.”
Youngblood smiles in confusion. “What?”
David swallows another handful of cereal. “You and everyone else heard me. Go feed the horses like a good boy.”
Youngblood stomps over to and stops in front of David. David slowly looks up at him then stands up; he smiles with food in his teeth. He blinks and Youngblood strikes him in the chin, causing David to spit out the food onto the dirt. The blow pushes David’s face to the side and down, but he remains standing.
David delicately touches his face as if it’s made out of clay. “You sure about this? I’m not the one to fuck with today, don’t confuse my smiles for softness.”
David shakes his chin with his forefinger and thumb to check on his face again, Youngblood swings again, wide this time and David sees it coming and ducks under the arm and gets behind Youngblood. Bracing him into a chokehold. David says as Youngblood tries to remove the chokehold with his fingertips. “Are you going to be nice if I let you go?” Youngblood swings his elbow back multiple times, trying to hit David in the nose, David moves his head to the side a second faster each time.
David lets him go and quickly pushes him in the back causing Youngblood to stagger forward. “How hot is your mom?”
Cooper says to Youngblood. “That’s enough, its just words, David’s deeds matter forget his stupidity.”
Youngblood ignores Cooper and runs at David, spearing him to the ground, hoping his head cracks like an egg.
Ava calls David on the walkie-talkie. “I have a bad feeling about this.” No one hears it.
On the dirt, David immediately uses his elbows over his face to block Youngblood’s downward punches. Youngblood shouts as he tries to elbow David in the face. David waits for Youngblood to tire himself out and then he opens up his arms for a second to grab Youngblood’s back, he tucks his face into Youngblood’s chest as Youngblood tries to punch again. David then arches his hips and turns Youngblood over to the right and then to his back. David’s now on top and is about to punch him in the face, he sees a flash of a face in his mind. Youngblood’s exhausted and screams with the last of his strength. “Do it.”
David has a bloody nose, a blood streak down one ear, and knots lined up on his forearms like ant bites. He never felt better. He takes in a deep breath looking down at Youngblood then rolls off him onto the dirt, ready to take whatever punishment.
Cooper helps up a punched-out Youngblood and says to both young men. “You’re better than this.”
After they take down their hammocks, the Indians setup their camp away from David. Delilah crosses their path with some firewood on her way to him, he’s still lying down and so she drops the wood by his head, surprising him.
He says. “What the hell?”
She crotches down by his head and tosses twigs around to keep her hands busy. “Why, why David, we need each other.” He ignores her. She kicks him in the leg to get up. “Apologize, he helped save you at Dead Town.”
David says. “I’ve saved him and everyone else everyday.” He looks up at her. “There are no redos, you can’t step in the same river twice. We just needed to get some frustration out of our systems.”
Delilah says. “Maybe…but still, at the end of the day he wants the same thing you want and common ground is a start in the right direction for getting things done out here, but only if we are civil.”
David says. “Ugh. This group is held together by hate, not love.”
Delilah says. “You don’t mean that.” She thinks for a moment and says. “This is not about your mom, it’s about you worrying about Ava.”
David sits up. “Dr. Freud get out of my face…Why are you still here?” She kicks dirt in his face and joins the Indians.
He gets out his hexamine stove to cook and two pots, one to cook food the other to boil water, he begins to skin a rabbit. However, after a few minutes, David stands up, slams the rabbit into his stove, and walks away from it all.
12
I did everything a person was supposed to do: went to college, was married with kids, had a mortgage, had a normal life, was a devout man. Why do good people have to suffer along with the evil ones? Good people had to suffer with living people and now evil men and evil undead men haunt them. When does it end? Good people are destined to suffer, because violence defines us, look at the crucifixion, a violent act that inspired the greatest religion. Violence has to occur, violence can never end, but can it at least slow down for the good people left to catch their breath. The question is
not do you believe in evil, the question is what would it take from you to start believing in good again. If the end of the world can’t do it for you then we’re fucked, pardon my French.
I and everyone else have to excavate through layers of cynicism and selfishness to find our better-selfs buried deep. Flaws and all. Embrace your evil side so you can get past it.
All of us easily find distractions when we have an important task to complete. This phenomenon of postponing and ignoring what’s significant, is more so evident when it comes to confronting the foul truth about ourselves. You don’t need years of schooling or to be in peak physical condition to do this. We have to first admit we possess negative behavior and attitudes, which I believe; all comes down to rejecting equality. We live for ourselves and the easiest way to get more is to prevent others from a fair share. Ignoring those unlike you into nonexistence or placing them into a category of all the qualities you hate. It’s easier to despise the Devil than a person on the same decency level as yourself. Perceived equality is loved more than the real thing because it’s a half measure that gets people to shut up. Equality will forever be relevant for the simple fact that we have to share this world. People will be disagreeing until our sun burns out, still will have to find a way to coexist despite this reality.
Admitting you have a problem is the first step to moving past it. I learn that in AA meetings in my younger years. Negativity in all forms has to be purged from each person. That’s the hard part. What I like to call inverted love, which is doing hateful things in the name of love, it’s tempting and is not change, and has led to this world.
No one wakes up in the morning and thinks to himself or herself, I’m proud to be a goodhearted racist, charismatic misogynist, lovely xenophobic, or acknowledges they have double standards when it comes to race, sexuality or gender. And yet these people and worst do exist and spread their message of hate under the guise that they are protecting their kind, meaning their race or social class. If everyone focused on the betterment of humankind instead of denying others in the name of fairness. Less crime and therefore less punishment would exist. Legal violence against people was heavily promoted because it fulfills the bloodlust of the public like medieval beheadings or gladiatorial fights for bread. It’s easier to kill a man than to help him. Mob lynches of colored people was transformed/updated into life/death sentences in the latest judicial system for the next generation of colored people. Who were punished by the same racist attitudes carried over from the past generations. Hatred concealed in the idea of justice for all, or until all the wrong ones are dead. Concurrently, people love violence and the idea of peace, one is worthy for people unlike them and the other is perfect for people they like. I’ll let you guess, which is for who. If we can’t have peace for all, then no one deserves peace, if God disagrees with me, then he can tell me to my face, his followers have no problem doing so.
Denial or the feeling that it will be a herculean challenge, to change into a better person, will certainly deter everyone who loves to find excuses, myself included. Someone has to teach the next generation how to be decent, it’s not inherent, it’s observational learning. Parents love to say, “I want my kids to have a better life than I did,” which basically means wealthier and not more socially accepting of every lifestyle. Perhaps it’s the tree-hugging hippie in me that wants everyone to get along or it could be decades of seeing people make the same mistakes and wonder why the world is not getting any better. I am far from a genius; it doesn’t make the truth any less true.
Man’s morality may be crippled, but it can still be our greatest strength and redemption. Moral turpitude will lead to a sadder future that will be felt for generations to come, that is the true Genesis Virus. You are not accountable for the random heinous thoughts you have (it’s beyond your control due to upbringing) only the actions you take on their behalf. You’ll not going to like every person you meet, that’s not the point of life, the point is to treat them like a human being, stop finding excuses not to and use your limited time in a better way. Walking around hating everyone has to be exhausting, if you truly love yourself, do yourself a favor and stop stressing in the name of hate. I’m not the first man to say of any these ideas, but I wish I was the last that has to.
There is no wolves inside of everyone, good or bad in some constant epic battle, it’s more so a hardheaded turtle walking through life that has to fail to find his or her way. Empathy and cynicism exist in everyone and they constantly battle for dominance in every action. Who do you want to be? A man or woman who cares or doesn’t, it should be a easy choice.
I don’t want this world or the old one, I want a better world and it starts with people like it always has.
Heed these old man’s final words if you want to be a better person than I ever could be.
The Chief
13
Inside the eyesore warehouse, Ava spots the Chief at gunpoint, and stays hidden with Lou behind cardboard boxes with a wall on her right obstructing her view. The woman with the gun tells the Chief. “This way pal,” and then waits for him to walk in front of her. She’s so skinny the wind can blow her away. When the pair walks away, Ava runs in a crouching position behind the woman, but the woman hears her and twitches to a turn with her arm pointed straight, ready to shoot. Ava comes under her arm and uppercuts with her palm into the woman’s chin. The woman’s arm stops loosely and falls down between Ava’s neck and shoulder; the handgun hits the ground and the Chief dashes towards it and scoops it up.
The woman’s eyes enlarge as she puts her palms face down over her head, knowing the drill well. Ava takes the handgun out of the Chief’s hand as she faces the woman. “Tell me why I shouldn’t pull this trigger?”
“Because this is my home and it’s my right to protect it.” Ava side nods with her mouth open. She likes her.
The Chief shivers with excitement. “Where’s the Boss?”
She says. “I’ve been running things since the last guy died, months back.”
Lou says. “What’s with that guy talking on a microphone?”
The Woman says. “I was about to ask you the same question.”
Lou drops his arms in frustration and turns for the door. “Another dead-end, let’s get the hell out of here.”
The Woman says. “Wait, did you happen to see some guys a few blocks down with a teenager boy?”
Ava looks over at the Indians then at the Woman, hesitates for a second. “Yes, some weird monster killed him.”
The Woman covers her mouth and her eyes tear up. “And the others?”
Ava lies before the guys can speak. “I’m not sure.”
Out of nowhere, there’s a loud scream from down the hall, only heard not seen like a train whining in the middle of the night; the Woman upsurges in a fright as if it was a bad movie jump scare.
Lou aims his Winchester rifle. “What the fuck was that?”
The Woman says. “Why do you care?” Ava and the Chief are already walking and almost out of sight. Lou has his rifle in his hands and points it down the hall and nods at the Woman to move.
In the squalor atmosphere, Ava says to herself and holds her nose, “It smells like ass in here,” and she first sees a section of cots and dirty mattresses with kids sleeping under blankets made from foil and car upholstery. The place is a refugee style camp with a leaky roof.
On the corner of the area filled with peculiar sized beds, Ava stops by a child sitting up on her cot, trying to pry open a can with a spoon. Ava reaches for the can. “Here, hand it over kid.” The little girl hugs the can and stares at Ava for a moment until the Woman with Lou comes up and says. “It’s ok, give it to her.” Ava takes it with one hand and opens it with her Swiss Army knife in the other hand, then slowly hands the can back to the kid. Ava observes the little girl as she hurriedly eats from the can of peaches, Ava says to her. “Here take it, I have this big one here.” Ava pats her blade sticking upside down on her vest. The little girl takes the knife and places it
under her pillow. Lou becomes impatient and bumps Ava out of the way to get to the screaming man. “Hallmark movie moment over. Enough bullshitting.”
A one arm man with hollow cheeks and an unbutton blue paramedic shirt is lying on a wooden picnic table. Another man is standing over him cleaning his wounds and says to him. “Who’s to blame, both the Devil and God work in mysterious ways, so you’ll be fine either way, my friend.”
The one arm Paramedic sucks in a balloon of air. “Fuck God and the Devil, they’re too busy worrying about who has the bigger dick to care about what happens to us.”
Lou grins as he walks up. The Paramedic says to his friend. “Whatcha give me, because I’m seeing tall Indians and a girl soldier coming to finish the job.” The man helping quickly turns around and says to them. “Don’t kill us.” His eyes nervously shift from person-to-person.
The Paramedic scratches his fine toothcomb mustache. “Holy shit, they’re real, I’ve seen it all these past few days. First psychopaths with human dogs and now this.”
Ava looks at the paramedic’s tourniquet above his elbow and says to the Helper. “Is he going to make it?” More sick people are in the background, in a makeshift triage. The Helper looks at what the group is looking at. “Another outbreak is going around, I call it the Genesis Virus 2, it’s not as good as the original though. This version attacks mostly the skin, not the other vital organs. Have any you heard of the tree man syndrome?”
He shows the group a picture. The person’s hands and feet are covered with dark cracked skin resembling tree bark and his face has brown mushrooms covering all except the eyes and mouth. “The technical term is Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis, this new virus you see is a mutation of that virus in my humble opinion.”
Ava looks at the book and thinks his opinion is shit because he obviously found a picture that resembled one of his people. It was the way he said Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis. She should ask him to spell it.
Genesis Virus Page 29
