by Kip Nelson
Tillman was beside Greg and Penelope. He could feel how tense the two of them were. Their bodies trembled as their hearts beat frantically. Tillman breathed slowly and easily, in through his nose and out through his mouth, trying to convince his body that he was in no danger. He cleared his mind and thought back to all the times in games when he had to wait for the boss to appear. He still was in control here, for the moment at least. He had the advantage of the terrain, and once the men appeared he could decide what to do.
“How long are they going to take?” Greg whispered. Tillman shushed him harshly. Didn't he understand how important it was to stay quiet?
Somewhere in the night an owl hooted. A wolf howled. All was still and silent around them. Tillman's eyes never left the patch of road he was watching. For a time, he wondered if the men even were following them at all. Perhaps they hadn't gone the same way and had continued on the road. If so, then all their worries had been unfounded.
He was just about to rise and declare there was nothing to worry about when he suddenly heard voices. They were quiet, and quickly were hushed just as Tillman had hushed Greg. Penelope let out a soft gasp as she saw them too, and Tillman felt Greg go rigid beside him. Tillman hoped with everything he had that his two companions could remain calm.
The strangers moved silently, walking in a line. Tillman looked through the bush. At one point he held his breath, for he thought that one of them was looking directly at him, but the darkness proved to be their ally. The man's gaze moved somewhere else.
Tillman studied the men. Before, they had been three featureless forms, but now Tillman could see them. The one who seemed to be in charge had a handlebar mustache and long hair. He wore a leather jacket and jeans. He walked with a swagger. The other two seemed younger. Perhaps sons, or brothers. One of them had a long beard and short hair but wore a motorcycle helmet. The other one was bald, whether by choice or not Tillman couldn't tell. The man with the helmet wore a vest, the other one wore a T-shirt. They didn't look the friendly sort, and Tillman felt sure that they were hunting them.
The man in charge made no sound and his group was staying as silent as Tillman and his companions. He directed the other two with his hand and they fanned out, spreading across the road, peering into the forest. They looked over Tillman's head into the darkness, and Tillman knew that all they had to do was to remain quiet and evade this hunt. When these men moved on Tillman would be able to go back the way they had come and forget this ever had happened, although part of him always would wonder why they had been hunted.
The men seemed to be getting frustrated, not understanding how their prey could have gotten away from them so easily. Sometimes, Tillman mused, darkness was much more preferable to light.
It only was a matter of time now before they moved on, but Tillman knew he would have to get used to this type of situation. The world would be filled with men like these, and he doubted it would be the last time he would have to seek shelter in the forest. He still had his gun as well, which was a last resort if he needed it. He hoped he wouldn't. And in this case, it seemed as though the men were going to become frustrated with their search and move on. They only had to wait a little bit more...
Then he felt Penelope shudder. He looked at her with concern, knowing what was coming, wishing that he could stop it. Her face twisted, and her eyes clamped shut as she tried to stop the cough from coming. A squeak popped out of her mouth, and then a cough followed. It was only small and quiet, but in the silence, it may as well have been as loud as a bomb. Penelope froze and looked at Tillman. He could offer her nothing. The only hope was to stay still and hope against hope that the men couldn't tell where the noise had come from.
They had been so close, Tillman thought, so close, but one small cough may well cost them their lives.
Chapter Fifteen
Tillman's hopes that the men simply would continue with their search were unfounded. As soon as Penelope coughed their heads jerked in the direction of the sound. For a moment they froze, then began converging on the bush. Tillman thought about running, but they would be running into the darkness with no idea what awaited them. With Greg being unfit, and Tillman's ankle the way it was, Tillman wasn't confident they would get very far. Sometimes the only choice in life was to confront those who threatened you.
“I'm so sorry,” Penelope whispered. The poor girl was close to tears. Tillman knew that she'd be wishing she could go back a few moments and prevent herself from coughing, but there was nothing that could be done. He placed a hand on her arm to try reassuring her, and his mind already was thinking about ways in which to break free of these men.
He inhaled deeply as he looked at them. They still hadn't seen his group but were coming closer. It only was a matter of time.
Tillman had to think quickly. So far, the vast majority of his interactions had been with people who needed help. These men seemed to be in full control of their faculties. They wanted something other than help. He just was thinking of what he should say when the man in charge spoke up.
“What the hell do you think you're doing following us?” he cried.
Tillman furrowed his brow in confusion. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. He glanced at Greg and Penelope, who both looked confused.
“Come on, come out now. I know you and that pretty girl are there. You've been following us, and I want to know why.”
Tillman shook his head. The men were getting closer, though. He hoped something would have distracted the three men, some kind of animal or other noise, but they were coming to them and no doubt would lay their hands on them. Tillman wasn't going to let that happen, so he stood up.
He held out his hands, indicating for Greg and Penelope to stay where they were.
The men stopped.
The man in charge pressed his lips together and sized up Tillman with one look. The other men returned to their father's side. Seeing them clearly and up close, Tillman could see they were a family. He thought it sad that a family would be hunting innocent people rather than looking for survival.
“So, care to explain yourself?” the man said.
“I don't have to explain myself to you. You know very well that we weren't following you,” Tillman said, trying to keep his voice even and calm.
“He's doubting me, boys. This guy doesn't know that nobody ever doubts me,” the man said. The boys laughed.
“You tell ‘em Pa!” the one with the helmet said.
“What do you want?” Tillman asked. He didn't have time for games. He wanted to get to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible rather than stretch it out. If they were going to attack him, then he wanted to get it over with.
“Maybe we just want to chat,” the man said, but from the tone of his voice it was clear that wasn't all he wanted.
“Try again,” Tillman said.
“I can see you're a smart man, although maybe not too smart to come out here all by yourselves. Now listen, we're all men here, and we all know what's going on. The world is fucked. Hell, it's been fucked for a long time, but now there's no coming back. I've seen the signs, and I ain't gonna be like all the idiots who are crying to be saved by the government. They don't give a crap about us and, frankly, I'm glad. We're finally free to do what we want. And what I want to do right now is celebrate. Now, you've got a pretty girl, and that's the one thing we're missing. I've always liked a girl with colorful hair, so if you just give her to us we can have a little fun and you can be on your way.”
“That's not happening,” Tillman said. He glanced down at Penelope, who had a terrified look on her face.
“Come now, don't be stupid. I'm sure you've had plenty of fun with her yourself. Hell, if I had her to myself I wouldn't be running through these woods. I'd be so drained I'd have to sleep for a week,” he said, laughing darkly. The boys laughed too. They were like a pack of hyenas and they disgusted Tillman.
“I don't know what you think is going on here, but there's nothing like that going on. We're
friends. We're trying to get to safety. We don't want any trouble,” Tillman said.
“It don't really matter if you want trouble or not. It's going to find you one way or another, and you have the choice about how much trouble you're really in. I'm the kind of man who always gets what I want, so you either can do this the easy way, or the fun way. Frankly, right now, I'd prefer the easy way because I want to keep my energy, but I'm happy to go either way. What will it be?”
“Are you really going to do this? The world is falling apart and you're going to waste your time on this? Don't you want to get somewhere safe, or get some food? Don't you have any loved ones you want to get to? Why are you being so short-sighted?” Tillman asked incredulously.
He knew that people such as this man would exist but hated that he actually had found one. He wanted to be proven wrong, wanted to find that people would be able to work together for the sake of the common brotherhood of humanity and figure a way out of this mess. He wanted Greg to be right, but this man and his sons were embodying the very worst of humanity and were being everything that Tillman had been afraid of.
The man just laughed at Tillman's words.
“You're one of them righteous people, aren't you? Always thinking about the future. Well, the future was ripped away from us a long time ago. What do you think we've been living for all our lives? Do you really think we've ever had a hope in hell of having a good life? I've paid my taxes, I've behaved, and what did that get me? I just should have done what I wanted when I wanted. There's nothing left for us anymore, other than to do what we want. I ain't going to stop until I've had everything, starting with your little friend there. Come on, get up, we'll find a nice quiet place to get cozy, and then you can give my sons something to smile about as well,” the man said.
“Yeah, come on!” the boys said in unison.
Penelope whimpered by Tillman's feet.
“Do something,” Greg said through gritted teeth.
“Turn around and go home. You don't want to do this. Find some new purpose. Just because the world has fallen apart doesn't mean we have to as well. We can be stronger and find new purpose in this new world. You don't want to go down this path,” Tillman said, trying in vain to stop this man from facing the inevitable end.
The man wouldn't listen, though. He was just another man whose name Tillman did not know. He thought about the man with the blonde hair who had killed himself.
“What's your name?” Tillman asked quickly.
The man was taken aback by the question.
“Ron, and these boys are Simon and Tad.”
Tillman nodded.
“Why did you want to know?”
“Just curious.”
“I'm done with stalling. This has gone on long enough. I need to get what I want, and I need it now. You can try doing anything you want to stop me, but it's just yourself--”
At this, Greg stood up beside Tillman, holding his fists up in the air.
“He's not alone,” Greg said. Tillman couldn't help but smile.
Ron laughed.
“You think a jelly man like you is going to give us any problems? Just go and roll along the road before you give yourself a heart attack,” Ron said. Then Penelope stood up.
“I'm not going to sit here and watch you defend me without doing anything,” she said in a low voice.
However, her appearance only captured Ron's attention. He licked his lips and slapped his thigh.
“Damn, you're even prettier close up than you have every right to be. I might keep you around longer than one night,” he said. Tillman's anger boiled in his heart. Penelope wasn't whimpering anymore. She was angry too.
“How about you and your limp dick sons turn around and leave us alone? The world has ended. I think we all have better things to do,” she said.
“I like a girl with spunk,” Ron said.
“How did she know I'm impotent?” Tad, the boy with the helmet on his head said. Ron glared at him and brought his fist back in a threatening manner. It was pretty clear to Tillman that these boys weren't going to have a happy time of it as long as Ron remained domineering over them. He wondered how much anguish in the world was caused by parents.
Not that he had much time to think of such things.
“But you're right,” Ron said, “we shouldn't waste our time here. I'm tired of talking too, so I'm going to get what I came for and then we're going to leave. If you want to fight you can try, but you don't look like people who have lived a lifetime of violence. I'd suggest you just leave with your lives and carry on your slow slide to death.”
As soon as he stepped forward Tillman reached behind him and pulled out the gun in one smooth motion. Tad gasped. Ron stopped moving, but he didn't seem scared. He merely smiled at Tillman.
“Well, looks like you ain't so toothless after all. Now, I wonder if you've ever used that before. You don't look like the type of guy that has, but then you don't look like the type of guy to carry a gun either. Most surprising,” he said.
“You want to find out? Be my guest,” Tillman said.
In his mind he wasn't sure if he was going to shoot or not. He didn't take his eyes off Ron, knowing that he was the main threat. Tad and Simon were standing like statues, looking to their father for guidance. He could tell that Greg and Penelope were anxious. This was the second time he had pulled out the gun and the night wasn't even over yet.
“You ever play poker?” Ron asked.
He was acting too cool for Tillman's liking. Tillman started to wonder if Ron had something up his sleeve. His hands still were being held away from his body, so it wasn't as though he was reaching for a weapon, but Tillman didn't trust him. Perhaps he was just that arrogant though.
“Now and then,” Tillman said.
“I used to play every week. No matter where I was in the world I always managed to find a game. You learn a lot about how to read people when money is on the line. You can tell a lot about a person when you're sitting across a table from them, staring into their eyes. There's always a faint flicker when they're about to fold, and I see the same thing in your eyes now.”
With that, he took one step. Tillman's finger pressed against the trigger. It was over before any of them realized it had happened, almost before Tillman realized it himself.
The gun was hot and heavy in his hands as he pulled the trigger. The reverberations rippled all the way up his arm. Time seemed to slow for Tillman as he saw the bullet burst through the air and hit Ron in his chest. A crimson mist sprayed all around him as he collapsed to the ground, his body limp and lifeless. The expression left on his face was one of shock. He hadn't expected Tillman to shoot him, and Tillman hadn't expected to shoot either, but he knew there was no other way to stop Ron.
Tad and Simon looked shocked too. They looked at Tillman, and then at their father, sinking to their knees, howling with pain.
A life had been taken. Tillman wielded the power of life and death and had struck a deadly blow to the man who had threatened them. He wished there had been a better way. He wished Ron had backed off, but he hadn't. Tillman had done the only thing that was certain to stop him, to keep Penelope safe.
He'd done what he'd had to do, and he didn't regret it one bit.
“Oh my God,” Greg said.
Penelope had her hand to her mouth.
The boys swarmed over their father, checking his body, pressing their hands against it to try stopping the bleeding. The scarlet liquid flowed out of the hole in his chest, covering their hands and their sleeves. It seeped out over the ground upon which Ron lay. They called to him, trying to raise him again, but the life had been drained. There was nothing left inside him.
“Let's get the hell out of here,” Tillman said, and set off at a good pace back down the exit ramp and onto the road towards his hometown. They ran as fast as they could. Tillman strained through the pain, limping forward, wincing every time his injured ankle hit the ground. Greg's mouth lolled open and he panted. Penelope was cryin
g, tears falling down her cheeks. They all looked behind them to see if they were being chased. Tad and Simon called out after them, threatening them, swearing vengeance for their father, but they stayed with his body.
There were no cops to come and punish Tillman. No ambulances to come and save Ron. There only had been the two of them. As they ran away, Tillman remembered the sight of Ron's face as it had been lit up by the flash of the gun. It only had lasted a moment, and yet within that moment was an infinity. The three of them slipped into the night, and only Tillman was certain that he had made the right decision. It would weigh on his soul, but he had managed to keep his people safe.
Yet, it was the first sign of the new nature of the world. A sign that the rules had changed, and nothing was as it had seemed before. This was the first time Tillman had killed a man. He was afraid it wouldn't be the last.
Chapter Sixteen
The three of them ran as quickly and as far as they could. Before too long it became clear that the boys weren't going to follow them. The surrounding area was forest that became ever denser, more darkness, more shadows holding fear inside. Tillman ignored the sharp ache in his ankle. The painkillers were doing their thing, and his mental fortitude was such that he had trained himself to endure pain, another boon from the survival courses he had taken. He had holstered the gun against the small of his back. It was still warm from when he had shot Ron.
There was no doubt the wound had been fatal.
Tillman would have to learn how to cope with taking a man's life. It wasn't as though he was a soldier and his killing was sanctioned by the government. He had done so to protect someone, but did that make it a moral action? Did that mean he was justified in what he did?
The moral wrangling could wait until later, he told himself. Right now, they had to put as much distance between themselves and those two boys as possible, and they had to make up for lost time. The night was young, and he wanted to make it to his parents before the new day dawned. As dangerous as this world was, it only was going to get worse.
