“Uh, I came to check on you.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
Lisa sighs, “Want to come in?”
“Sure.”
“So, I don’t know what to say. I’m just…so sorry.” Steven sits on the couch and stares at Lisa with remorse.
“I still can’t believe he’s really gone, you know? Over the past five years, Faith has taken care of us. Her and Trace. We owe her for that. She didn’t have to. She just did. I remember my mom’s face before she died and…she looked me in the eyes with so much fear. The feeling of letting your children go like that. It wasn’t an easy thing. Since then, it seemed like me and John had gotten closer than ever.”
Lisa sat next to Steven and held her head down.
“You were protecting each other.”
“Yeah, but in a way that we didn’t even know.”
“I know how it feels to lose the ones you love,” he whispered, “trust me on this one.”
Lisa looked into his truthful eyes and smiled a little, “Thanks for checking in on me.”
“No problem.”
For a second, they stood quiet and just stared at each other. The tension between the two sent chills through Lisa’s skin. She wondered if this was the feeling of having someone mutual to talk to. Faith walked into the house and Steven pushed himself away from Lisa and stood up.
“Hey Faith.”
“Hi Steven.”
“Uh, I guess I’ll be leaving now. Take care Lisa.”
“Bye.”
As Steven exited the house, Faith watched him peek back at Lisa and closed the door.
“Faith, I’m sorry.”
“No, I am. I just want you to be safe.”
“And I want you to be safe. You’re all I have left.”
“No, I’m not. Jess, Eddy, Dexter, Maria…they’re family too. Sam was.”
“If Jason is still out there, there will be no more family.”
“We’re going to get him.”
“I know you will.”
“Well, we need to go get supplies. Can you manage to handle yourself?”
“Of course, I have Steven to keep me company.”
“Oh, Steven?” Faith smiles.
“Mom!” Lisa laughs, but she quickly stopped smiling and they stared at each other.
“Well, good luck.”
Lisa walked away and Faith remained standing by the door with nothing to say. She just called her mom. Faith didn’t know what to say. She was excited, but at the same time, emotional. It must have taken a lot to say that word and Lisa had done it. She couldn’t move. Her eyes watered as she thought about what Lisa had been through. Her real mother was dead, but she was being protected by Faith and Trace. Her “apocalypse parents” as she figured John would call them. Faith smiled, closed the door, and walked to Jess’s house. As she approached the door, Eddy interrupted her and called her into Maria’s house.
“What’s wrong?”
“She wants to talk. To us.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Jason happened.”
They walked into Maria’s room where she, Dexter and Jess was sitting down talking, but Maria stood up and approached them.
“I need to talk to you five about Jason. He needs to be stopped.”
“Agreed.”
“But, something’s come up. I believe he’s taken a group I sent out a couple of days ago. They were supposed to come back last night, but there’s still no word.”
“You want us to go find them?”
“I know what happened last time with Eric’s men and the zombies that Sam faced, but we need all the people we have now.”
“I get it, but it’s risky!” Jess argued.
People were heard outside murmuring and speaking loudly. Maria looked out of her window and saw her group outside.
“Oh, they made it!” Maria says.
She and the others rushed out of the house with excitement, but only one man came inside the community. Shocked and curious, Maria rushed to the man and grabbed him.
“Where’s everybody?”
“They’re dead. Jason and his men, they…they killed them. I managed to escape, but I think they followed me.”
“He already knows we’re here. What is he doing?” Faith asked.
“He’s planning to attack.” Eddy said.
“Well, it’s time we plan too.” Jess answered.
The stars covered the sky and Eddy was laying on the roof staring at them. Memories of him in the underground place flashed in his mind. He knew he was the one that killed the men, but how and why was the real question. Eddy wasn’t a killer, but he wasn’t a weakling either. Someone was heard climbing the stairs next to the house and Eddy watched for someone to come up. Steven walked on the roof and laid down next to Eddy.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes and no. Something happened to me while I was in that underground hellhole.”
“What?”
“The cabin where the men were. I killed all those men.”
“But it was the right thing to do.”
“I don’t remember doing it though. One second I was staring at them while the children cried and I was so mad, but suddenly, it felt like I had just woken up. There was blood all over my hands and…I don’t remember anything. I killed all of those men and can’t remember what the hell happened to me.”
“Damn, and you remember nothing?”
“No.”
“Well, shit. You’re a savage.”
“I’m losing control.”
“Good.”
“How’s that good?”
“It could help us win this war that’s about to fight.”
“But I want to fight as me!”
“Sometimes we have to do the necessary things to get what we want. You wanted to get those children safe, now they are. If you want to win this war, you’ll do whatever it takes.”
Eddy sighs, “Nice stars, right?”
“I hate you Eddy.”
Eddy chuckles as they both laid back and watched the stars shine on the ground while enjoying the cool, calm night. Suddenly, a small fire appeared in the middle of the community. Eddy jumped up and figured Jason’s men were here, but as he concentrated harder, he noticed the people were sitting around laughing and talking. Maria walked around gathering the people around the fire and looked up at Eddy and Steven. She waved her hands to tell Eddy and Steven to join them. As Eddy approached the fire, he noticed everyone coming forward. Jess came, but she hid behind the other people, but Faith grabbed her hand and walked next to Maria. Still recovering from the wound, Maria stood tall in the center of them all and smiled.
“I know we’ve been going through hell recently, but I wanted to let all of you know that I love you all. It’s been very rough, but we’re here. We survived. Together. And we will continue to survive, even with Jason. He may have the numbers, but we are smarter. I never told no one this, but Sam and I would plan everything that we did since he arrived here. He told me not to tell anyone because it was my community, you were my people, and he didn’t want me to lose that power. It was all for the better good and I’m proud of him for that. So, this is for Sam and everyone we’ve lost on the way.”
Faith grabbed Jess’s hand as they both smiled at one another. The people around them all murmured to each other and smiled with hope that everything was going to be alright. Eddy walked by the fire and reached out for a random woman and began singing. Many people looked at him as if he was crazy and laughed, but Eddy stopped.
“What? It’s ‘It’s Gonna Be Alright’ by Sara Groves. It’s a good song! Sing it with me!” Eddy laughed as he danced with a random woman.
Others shrugged and gathered around Eddy dancing, but Jess stood to the side and giggled, “Who dances to a sad song like that?”
“It’s not sad if you don’t sing it like its one!” Eddy interrupted.
Faith dragged her into the crowd and began dancing with her. Eddy a
nd other people sang the song, but in a fast, goofy matter. Jess looked at Faith smiling and flipping her hair around and realized what kind of moment this was. Jess began jumping around with Faith as they laughed and danced around the fire. Maria danced with one man as Steven danced with Lisa and Dexter with another woman. That moment between all of them brought joy to Jess’s heart once again. It was a moment of peace and innocence. They ignored what was beyond the walls and focused on the one thing that kept them going all those years. Life. As Jess kept dancing, she slowly started to calm down and look at Faith. Faith stopped and gazed at Jess. Her eyes began misting as Faith quickly gave her a hug. Jess cried softly in Faith’s shoulders while everyone around them continued dancing. Among all the joy and happiness, Jess had lost the things that made Jess joyful and happy the most. Sorrow had defeated the happiness she once felt. Eddy saw her hugging Faith and stopped dancing.
“Can I have everyone’s attention?” he asked as he approached the center of the crowd, “Hopelessness will not win. We’ve all lost people, so we must have each other’s backs if anything like that happens. If we don’t, we’ll all fall. So, Jess, Faith, Steven, Lisa, you’ve all been very helpful so far on this ride. This community owe you many thanks, and from me, you have my respect, my loyalty, and my love.”
“Same here.” Dexter said as he approached Eddy.
Many others nodded their heads with agreement as they stood behind Eddy. Jess and the others looked at the people with much gratitude. After all that’s happened, they were still accepted by them. They were more than a group that survive together. They were family.
VIII
“WE MEET AGAIN!”
War was coming. No one knew when, but it was quickly approaching. The uncertainty that spread throughout the community woke Lisa up from a bad dream. However, the dream was nothing more than a horrific memory about John. She sighed and got out of her bed. The house was quiet. While she was in the restroom brushing her teeth, she listened for John to interrupt her, but no one came. Faith was out with Jess and the others in Maria’s house, but she couldn’t tell. Since Trace died, it’s been quiet. She sat in her room with no disruptions. Lisa opened her drawer and grabbed the knife Trace gave her one year ago. It was for emergencies only, but now that Jason’s around, every moment is an emergency. She put the knife in her back pocket and walked outside. She looked around and saw that they just finished building the wall back up, so she sat down in peace and began sharpening her knife.
“What is this?” Steven asked himself.
Steven was outside the community, walking around looking for anything that could help the people back home, but so far, he had no luck. He picked up a gun that had blood spattered all over it, but he quietly put the gun down and looked around. The blood was dry and he knew something was wrong. A few patches in the grass suggested that bodies were laying there once. A zombie walked behind him, but he turned around and laughed.
“I thought you were a runner!”
He taunted the zombie and watched it bite the air while approaching him. As the zombie grew closer, Steven grabbed his knife and stabbed it in the head. Suddenly, he heard noises behind him, so Steven grabbed the gun and faced the noise.
“Woah! It’s just me.”
“Lisa! What are you doing here?”
“I came to find you.”
“Why? I’m fine.”
“Well, I guess I’m just a good person.”
Steven sighs, “Well, I was trying to find supplies, so we need to head back. It’s not good for you to be out here with Jason and his men lurking around.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You shouldn’t be out here either.”
“I’m just a stranger to these people. You’re not. Besides, I’ve faced men like Jason. Well, not quite, but damn near up there with him. I can handle myself.”
“So, I can’t?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“You shouldn’t risk your life!”
“Aw, do you care for me?”
“Your words. Not mine.”
“Well, the other day in the house said otherwise.”
“You’re alright.” Steven smiles.
“What?” Lisa gasped as she grabbed a stick and threw it at him, but Steven dodged it.
“So, what do we do? Jason haven’t made a move in almost a month!” Dexter asked.
“We’ll attack him first!” Jess said.
“How? We don’t even know where he is.”
“We’ll find him and when we do, we’ll attack. He can’t be that far!”
“She’s right.” Eddy agreed.
“Okay, we need this done now, so I’ll send Marcus and his group with you to find Jason’s hideout.”
“I thought they were still out?”
“They just came in this morning.”
“Okay, good. Sounds like a plan. Let’s do this now.”
“You won’t have to,” Steven interrupted, “I know where they are.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I may have gone out searching last night and found their hideout.”
“By yourself?” Jess asked.
“Look, I know how it sounds, but-”
“But nothing! Steven, you’re with us now, so you can’t be going anywhere by yourself.”
“I know. At least we found him, right?”
“Yeah. I guess you did.”
“Great!”
“You’re staying here though.”
“Not this. Look, what’s with everyone wanting to protect everybody?”
“You’re 16!”
“And well enough to defend myself and fight him!”
“Who’s going to protect Lisa?” Faith asked.
Steven stood quietly and sighed, “Fine. I’ll stay.”
“Good. We move out tomorrow. Now let’s figure out how to stop him.”
Steven walked out of the house and saw Lisa sitting by John’s grave. He walked over to her and sat down in the dirt.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Are you doing better?”
“I’m trying. I’m doing good though.”
“Okay. I don’t want you to feel alone.”
“I have Faith.”
“I meant with people around your age. It’s good to have Faith and all, but you’re still young. We can’t be involved in everything they do.”
“I know that.”
“They’re planning on attacking Jason tomorrow.”
“How did they find him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I’m glad they did. I hope they kill that son of a bitch.”
“Woah.” Steven laughs.
“What?”
“You cussed?”
“Yeah, it’s no big deal.”
“I’ve never heard you cuss before.”
“I do. Not a lot. Only when it’s necessary.”
“You don’t look like a person who cuss.”
“Really?”
“Not at all.”
Lisa laughs and stands up, “Well, I was about to go practice throwing my knife. Want to come?”
“Sure. You need help anyways.”
“Oh, screw you!”
“So, this is the plan?” Eddy asked.
“Yes. We’re all set.” Faith said.
“Alright. Let me get this straight, we’re about to go into this place with no idea what’s around it?” Dexter asked.
“Yeah. Pretty much.” Eddy replied.
“No, we’re not. Steven told me about the place. There’s guards by the front area. We can take them out easily.”
“Alright, but after that?”
“War.”
A knock at the door alerts Maria and she smiled, “Oh! They’re here.”
“Who’s here?”
Maria opened the door to three people, two men and a woman.
Z Island Series (Book 2): War After Z Island Page 14
