The Swamp

by Yates, R

  “What is it?” she asked her voice full of apprehension.

  “I don’t know, but we have to hide.” Was all he said and started to the barn, before an idea occurred to him and he veered off to the hay bale atop the hill at the center of the farm. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see nothing.

  They made it to the hay bale and after a second, found the entrance to the soldiers blind, and went inside. It was cramped quarters for two people, but they could manage.

  He pulled the binoculars from the pack and looked to the front of the farm. He felt his blood drain from his face as he watched the group of about forty men streaming down the road.

  He handed the glasses to Rebecca, “It is them they found the farm” Was all he said.

  She looked down the hill and adjusted the focus. Joseph’s followers came into view. ”Oh my god, do you think they saw us?”

  “No, I don’t think so, it they had they would be coming after us.” Sam replied.

  Down below, the dead had come within range, and the crazies had started to cut them down with arrows. They made quick work of it, helped by the fact that Sam and Rebecca had cleared out most of them and set out to explore the farm.

  They picked through the rubble of the farmhouse, and searched the barn, but luckily the seemingly empty fields held no interest to them, so they never came close enough to find the hidden duo.

  After a while, they gathered back into the yard and begin to produce tents from the packs they carried. Soon fires were going and they began to cook huge chunks of some kind of meat they had brought with them. Sam shuddered to think about their disgusting meal. It was obvious that they were settled in for the night.

  The sun was setting before Sam and Rebecca could tear their attention from the horde below. To Sam’s happiness, he discovered the seat they had been sitting on was actually a shipping crate, and when opened produced a few bottles of tepid water and the remains of several MREs. The entrees had been removed from the meals, but the sides remained and they snacked on the skittles and hard crackers the soldiers had left behind.

  Dark came quickly, and within an hour, they could no longer see the crown below, just shapes passing between them and the fires.

  “What do we do” Rebecca asked Sam, holding his hand tightly.

  “I don’t know, we could run away, we might be able to sneak out in the night, but who knows if they have sentries posted.” He said.

  “Do you think they will leave in the morning?” she asked after a pause.

  “Probably,” He replied, “They are out hunting us I would imagine, and they don’t think we are here, so maybe they will move on when the sun comes up.” He said hopefully.

  “We might as well stay here and see what happens, as bad as it sounds, being trapped here might be the safest thing until we know more.” Sam suggested, and with that, they decided to stay where they were.

  The night was miserable. The heat inside the confined space was sweltering, and there was no room to stretch out. He eventually scooted far enough over, that she was able to almost lie down against him. He held his position until his legs ached, and started to ask her to change position, but he noticed she had finally managed to sleep, so he held it through the pain.

  He sat up all night, to uncomfortable and nervous to sleep. He watched as the fires below dimmed and became glowing dots. He could not discern anything moving below, but the dark was oppressive, and overcast had moved in, so even the moon was hidden tonight.

  Several times during the night, he heard Rebecca whimper in her sleep. It was obvious that he wasn’t the only one having nightmares. He became worried that she would cry out or make a noise in the dream that would be heard down below, but found that she would calm down when he stroked her hair.

  After what felt like an eternity, he saw the sky begin to lighten in the east. He spent several minutes wondering if it was imagination, but slowly the sky grew brighter. Before long he could make out the shape of the barn in the growing light, and finally the layout of the entire farm.

  He used his glasses to look at the camp, but could see nothing moving there. He did several slow sweeps of the entire area, but saw nothing. So he made the decision to wake Rebecca. The pain in his legs had changed to almost numbness, and he had to get up and move.

  “Rebecca,” He whispered, gently shaking her, “Rebecca!” He said it just a hair louder this time, and her eyes opened. She seemed confused for a minute, but quickly came fully aware.

  “What’s wrong? She gasped, panic in her voice, “Are they coming?” Her voice was almost a gasp.

  “No, everything is as fine as it can be, I just have to pee!” his voice was more urgent now that the need was spoken. She moved over to let him get up.

  Luckily the entrance was to the side away from the farm, so he was able to step all the way out. He barely got his pants open before he was urinating. The sound broke through the quiet of the night, and for a second he was paranoid that they would hear it below, but quickly realized his mind was playing tricks on him.

  He staggered back into the blind, feeling much better. His legs had started to feel like pins and needles, so he quickly stretched and sat back down before the pain of a sleeping limb made it difficult to walk.

  “My turn,” she said and stepped out. He watched the camp until she came back in a minute later and took the glasses. Below them, the camp was starting to show signs of life.

  “They seem to be waking up, how long you think they will stay.” She asked after a minute of peering through the lenses.

  “If they are going to move on, it should be soon,” he replied “It’s not like they have very much to pack.”

  They watched the camp, and sure enough, tents started to disappear into packs and groups of people started to form up to move on. The camp seemed to be splitting up into smaller groups, probably to make a better search of the area.

  Sam was dismayed to see that of the four groups that formed, only three were making plans to leave. Several tents were left up, and scraps of wood that had escaped the fire were being brought from the house and stacked nearby.

  “Damn it!” Sam cursed as loudly as he dared, “This apocalypse just won’t go my damn way!”

  He glanced at Rebecca and saw the sadness spread across her face as she realized what was happening. “We will never get to those hummers now!” she lamented, and started to cry.

  Mike put his arm around her and pulled her close, His own rage and disappointment bringing him to verge of tears himself. It just wasn’t fair, he thought to himself. The chances of making it all the way to the safety of his family were slim with these groups out roaming around. He thought to Mike sacrifice, now seeming in vain, and felt the first tear slid down his own cheek.

  “We will wait until dark, and then sneak out of here and try to make it across country. Maybe we can still find a vehicle or something.” Sam said hopefully.

  “Sure, all we can do is try,” she said doubtfully. It was obvious that the roller coaster of the last few weeks were taking their toll on the pair.

  They had a quick meal of what was left of the rations, and drank some more of the water. They luckily had plenty of water to get through the day, even though it was warm and tasted stale.

  They watched the people mill about below. Sam counted eleven in all, nine men and two women. They didn’t seem to have anyone keeping watch, but occupied there time napping and occasionally a few would get into a shoving match.

  Sam considered just shooting them, but they were outside of his range, and he wasn’t sure they could get all of them before they could get close enough to fill the bale full of arrows. The walls were just a thin plastic with hay loosely piled against it, and he didn’t have any doubts that it wouldn’t stop an arrow.

  Just before noon, he had to step outside again. He stood there enjoying the relative cool air outside the blind, and staring off into the trees. He suddenly had an idea, and stuck his head back inside.

  ”Rebecca, I have a
n idea, stay here, and no matter what happens, don’t let them know you are here!” He said, grabbing his rifle. He leaned down and kissed her, her shock preventing her lips from responding. He left before she could try to stop him.

  He sprinted down the hill, keeping the mound between himself and the crazies. Once at the bottom, he crawled his way around to the west until he crested another small hill less than 100 yards from the camp.

  He took a deep breath, and then stood. Allowing his silhouette to break the skyline and took aim. The rifle held seven rounds, and he fired each one carefully, trying to make them count. He was pleased to see four of the figures fall to the ground. The remaining seven howled in rage while grabbing weapons and starting towards him. He let the rifle fall to the ground and drew the pistol, but held his fire.

  He waited until they had committed to the chase, and turned and headed for the tree line as fast as he could. He glanced to the blind they had spent the night in, but wasn’t able to see Rebecca within. She seemed to be obeying him, to his relief.

  The trees were only a few hundred yards away, but his pursuers were half that distance behind him and closing. He ran like his life depended on it, mainly because it did. He made the edge of the pecan grove, and stopped, he had to time this right. The maniacs were only fifty yards behind him. He was relieved to see that only one carried a bow, and he raised his pistol and fired at that one. He went down, felled by Sam’s third shot. He fired several more times, but only managed to hit two more before the slide locked back.

  He dropped the pistol and drew his knife. The four remaining foes were thirty yards behind him and closing. He had hoped to have lowered their numbers further, but this would have to work. He turned and ran further into the trees. His mind racing as it ran through all the ways this could go wrong.

  He saw what he was looking for 20 feet ahead and held the knife up. He would only get one chance at this. He swung as he passed his target, and felt the blade of the knife cut deep into the rope. Ten feet ahead, the clearing looked exactly as he remembered it. He ran in, leaped the stump at its center and barely made it out as hands reached for him.

  Seconds later, the four behind him rushed into the claws of the waiting dead he had freed from their bondage to the trees. He heard them scream, and turned to see them encircled by the closing claws and teeth, they never stood a chance. He stood and watched for a minute, watching as the crazies were devoured. He waited for the last to die beneath the gnashing teeth before he backed quietly away, leaving the dead to their meal.

  “Thank you Captain Robertson,” he said under his breath and started the long walk back to get Rebecca.

  He found her standing outside the hay bale, watching him walk towards her across the field. She rushed down the hill and threw herself into his arms.

  “You left and all I could think of was Mike…” She finally said.

  “I couldn’t leave you like that, what would you do without me?” he asked and smiled at her. We have to get moving, the others may already be coming back.”

  They walked to the house, hand in hand. Amid the tents, they heard a raspy breathing. One of the men Sam had shot lay there with blood welling from his chest, rage filled his eyes as he started up at them. Rebecca raised her gun and shot him between the eyes.

  They picked out one of the large vehicles, and Sam was pleased to see the back loaded with supplies. Food and bottled water were abundant, and in simple holders beside the front doors, cruel looking automatic rifles sat.

  Sam held his breath and reached for the switch that would start the engine. He looked to her, filled with a dread that it wouldn’t start, and then turned it. The engine roared to life, and he exhaled as relief flooded into him. They backed out into the yard, and then pulled forward onto the road and headed west.

  A mile down the road, they saw a group of men running towards them. As they drew closer, they saw it was one of the hunting parties brought running by the sounds of the shots. Sam jammed down the accelerator and drove into them.

  He was pretty sure he got at least six. In the rearview mirror he could see the bodies littering the road, he felt bad for them for a second, but then he thought of Mikes body hanging in that shed, and the feeling passed.

  They drove west for twenty minutes before Rebecca asked him to pull over. He pulled off the road at a small park set up beside a river. The grass needed to be mowed, and the playground equipment was leaning at a funny angle, but it was a nice spot.

  “What’s going on?” Sam asked.

  “I need a minute.” She said getting out of the vehicle.

  Sam stepped out and stood with her, looking out over the little park. Neither said anything for a long time.

  “I killed that man back there.” She finally said.

  “Is that you first?” he asked, surprised.

  “Yes, my first like that, I have killed those that reanimated, and shot at people trying to hurt me. But I shot that man, and he wasn’t a threat to me. The shape he was in, there was nothing he could have done. But I shot him anyway.” She said, pouring emotion out like she was emptying a cup.

  “Rebecca, he wasn’t a person. No more than these dead things are. They were once, but they gave all that up when they started setting traps to kill and eat people. People don’t act like that, they thought they were animals, and in a way, that’s what they became.” Sam said candidly.

  “Do you really think so?” She asked after thinking for a few seconds.

  “I do.” Sam said, “I was a peaceful man all my life, but in the last few months, I can’t even guess how many I have killed. The world is a different place now. There are basically two kinds of people, those that hold on to that spark of humanity in all of us, and those others, the soldiers, the crazies and those like them that smother it. None of them would feel bad about killing you. The fact that you do means you are a good person. Trust me I have thought about this a lot.” Sam had spent hours in the cage thinking about the people he killed, he knew what she was going through.

  They stood in silence and watched the river flow by. The birds sang in the trees and occasionally a fish would jump. It was a beautiful scene.

  “I think you are right.” She finally said, and surprised him by taking off her shirt and starting towards the water.

  “Where are you going?” he asked, following her.

  “I need a bath, come join me.” She said and gave him a coy smile.

  The water was cool and refreshing against the heat of the day. The helped each other wash, and then lay on the shore to dry naked in the sun. He was again taken aback by the perfectness of her curves and the way the sun made her skin glow. Overcome by desire he drew her in and kissed her.

  When they were again satisfied, Rebecca turned to Sam, “What is your family going to say about me?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked and immediately felt obtuse.

  “Will they like me? Will they compare me to Annie? Will they blame me and hate me for trying to take her place?” she asked in rapid fire.

  “They will love you, just like I do.” Sam said before adding, “And there may be an adjustment period, but they will understand. With the way things are now and all.”

  “I just worry, is all, maybe it’s the past few days, with the lack of sleep and food,” she said, “but I just don’t want to come between you and them.”

  “No worries about it, what happens will happen. You are a wonderful woman, I do not doubt for a minute that they will accept you,” He assured her, “and you will not come between us, we have all been through too much these last few months.”

  She seemed to feel better, but he could tell that she still had doubts about meeting his family, and if he was honest with himself, so did he.

  An hour later, they were back in the vehicle. They had found combat fatigues in a soldier’s duffle in the back. They fit both of them loosely, but they enjoyed the clean clothes.

  They made it to the entrance to the swamp right at sundown. The long road in fel
t longer than usual as his excitement grew. He was finally almost home. He had convinced himself they would not make it so many times that it felt surreal when they rounded a bend, and saw the tower.

  He could see a light burning at the top, and he was reminded of a lighthouse drawing him in. They pulled up to the gate, and the headlights revealed a lot of changes since he had last been there. Along the inside of the entire length of the fence, He saw RV’s and camper trailers had been brought in, and in most lights burned. Outside the fence set a variety of vehicles, trucks, cars and vans lined the driveway, and he had to drive carefully to get to the gate.

  Someone had obviously seen them coming, because his brother stood in front of the gate, armed with a wicked looking shotgun. “Hold it right there!” he yelled and leveled the weapon at the cab of the vehicle, “We have you covered and heavily outnumbered!” he continued.

  Sam leaned out the window and yelled back, “Yeah, but I’ve seen you shoot, I am safe as long as you are aiming at me.”

  In the headlights, Mark looked confused for a second, and then his face broke out in a smile. “It’s Sam!” He yelled to no one in particular, and several people appeared out of the darkness around us.

  Sam stepped from the vehicle and beamed at Mark. He heard footsteps rushing towards him, and turned to see Mom coming up on him fast. She reached him and wrapped her arms around him. Mark joined them, and with that, they were together again. They held on for a long time. It was several minutes until they could bring themselves to let go. He noticed that Rebecca had gotten out and stepped around to stand beside him.

  “Mom, this is Rebecca.” He said by way of introduction, “Rebecca, this is Mark, My brother.”

  “Very nice to meet you.” said his mother and gave him a questioning glance.

  Mark took he hand and shook, “welcome to the swamp.” He said and turned to Sam. “What happened to Mike and Ted,” he asked, but was able to get his answer from the expression Sam gave him.

  Sam turned and searched the faces in the crowd. He had met most of them, but he noted a few new faces as well. He scanned through the people one by one until he found the one he was looking for.