by Morris, SJ
I looked at Peter. I didn’t want him to think I was on to him, but it was hard not to just slap him in the face or put a bullet in his brain for what I imagined he was doing. However, I managed to keep up the charade, “How about we give Grayson some space. He seems pretty vulnerable right now,” I said as motherly as I could muster speaking to this human piece of garbage.
He looked like he was going to put up an argument, but then, he conceded. “Yeah, sure. I guess he’s been with just me for weeks now, so maybe he needs a woman’s touch. Thanks.”
Smith gave me a look that seemed to ask what was going on, and I quickly shook my head no so he’d back off. The last thing I needed was Peter getting suspicious that both Smith and I were ganging up on him. I needed Peter’s defenses down, so when the moment was right, I could find out more and deal with whatever the situation actually was. I was hoping that moment would be right when we got to the cabin. I needed more space than this truck allowed to deal with this situation. And Grayson would need others to help him feel safe. My family at the cabin would be perfect for him. Grayson would have other children around so he could just be a kid again. Maybe that would help pull him out of this state he was currently in. We had enough real zombies to worry about. We didn’t need an eight-year-old boy walking around like one too.
I realized I was banking on the cabin still being there and my family being alive, but I couldn’t bare to even think about the alternative, not after losing so much already. They had to be okay. They just had to.
I warmed up the chicken with noodles in vegetable sauce MRE using some water and the warming packet, which worked quicker than I expected. It smelled awful, but I was hoping Grayson would eat it. I took it over to him, and he looked at me hesitantly from his spot on the floor. I took a bite and made the yum sound, hoping it would help him trust what I was giving him was good. It wasn’t that bad, so when he hesitated again, I took another much larger bite, and he climbed forward a little. He looked around to see if Peter was near. I leaned closer to him whispering, “Whatever he did to you, I won’t let that happen again. I promise. You are safe with us. Please sit and eat with me. Peter is way in the back making his food.”
My words made Grayson smile for the first time since I had met him as he crawled out of his hiding spot. He still made sure to be on the side the door was on, so if Peter came back up here, he would be as far away from him as possible using me as a barrier between them. It was a considerable improvement in his behavior though.
I handed him the spoon, he took it, and I held out the bag of food toward him. He leaned in, smelled it, and once the scent of chicken hit his nose, I could visibly see him relax as he dug the spoon inside the container for a large bite of the warm food. Watching him reminded me of trying to get Allycia to try new foods. She always had to smell it first, and if it didn’t smell appetizing, she was not going anywhere near it. Thinking of my daughter made my chest ache as I felt the loss of my daughter all over again. Then, I looked at this young boy who needed my help. Knowing he found it in himself to trust me, even after what Peter had done to him, warmed my heart again. I knew Allycia would be proud of me for helping Grayson.
We shared our lunch, and he looked like he may be coming out of his shell a little until he unexpectedly looked over my shoulder and sank down as far as he could back into the corner. I looked back and saw Peter standing there.
“Hey Pete, we’re just about finished with lunch, and it was delicious. How was yours?” I asked winking at Grayson, hoping he would understand I was trying to keep everyone happy.
“Mine was good. How about I take Grayson out back and try to use the little boy’s room before we get going again?” He asked with a sly smirk on his face, which I wanted to smack off so badly I could practically feel the tingle on my palm.
Grayson looked to the floor like he was expecting me to give him up, but I most certainly was not, “I actually just had him go right out this door here a few minutes ago, so he’s good. I think he found his new favorite spot down there. It’s right next to where the heat comes out. If I weren’t as big as a house, I’d probably be right down there with him. He’s a smart young man.”
Peter looked defeated, “Okay then. You’ll let me know if he needs anything though, right?”
“Sure will,” I said quickly ending the conversation.
Smith came up front forcing Peter to retake his seat in the back so he could start driving. Smith gave me a look like he had no idea what was going on, but he was going to trust that I was doing what was right. I gave him a quick smile to set his mind at ease.
I was hoping we were near the cabin, but I still wasn’t seeing any landmarks or locations I remembered, which frustrated me, “Are you sure you’re going in the right direction, Smith? We’ve been driving for a long time, and I don’t remember anything around us yet. Nothing looks familiar at all.”
“Please stop calling me Smith. It reminds me of being back at the compound, and I’d like to forget that time if I could. The name’s James, but my friends call me Jimmy,” he said flashing a big smile at me.
“Okay Jimmy, do you know where we’re going?”
“Yes Ma’am, I do. I’m taking the long way because I know the main roads are either full of wrecks, long ago stopped traffic jams or a lot of infected. Even in the freezing temperatures where it’s easy to run them over, it would be just as easy to get stuck if we try to mow down too many of them. I am not letting that happen. We’re getting back to your cabin safe and sound, even if it takes us an extra few hours or so.”
“All right, Jimmy. I’m putting all of my trust in you.”
I looked down at Grayson, and he was sound asleep with his thumb in his mouth again. When we got back to the cabin, I was going to have to break him of that habit before he messed up his teeth. Orthodontists aren’t exactly easy to come by in the zombie apocalypse.
I stared out the window for a while at the passing snow-covered trees and watched the darkening clouds swell with more precipitation. Even though the clouds seemed foreboding, I dozed off with positive thoughts swirling in my head for the future.
Chapter 25
I woke up to the same dark clouds, but they were now moving much quicker. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, “How long have I been out?”
Jimmy snickered. “Well, you snored for about two hours, but you were asleep for about three.”
“I do not snore!”
“Yes, you do,” Grayson whispered from his spot at my feet.
I almost jumped for joy at those three little words, “Oh, Grayson, I’m so happy to hear you talking,” I said quietly, “I hope to hear that a whole lot more from now on.”
He only smiled back at me, but I was chalking up this moment as a victory. I made sure to convey to Jimmy that he shouldn’t say anything about Grayson speaking, and I looked back to make sure Peter wasn’t privy to Grayson’s impromptu speech. I was worried about what he might do knowing the possibility of the little boy spilling the story of what he was really up to and what had actually happened before we picked them up at the diner.
I wanted so badly to have Grayson tell me everything, but I knew he’d been through a stressful ordeal, and I couldn’t push him, no matter how much I wanted to know.
I looked back out the window and was overjoyed to see we were coming up on the last gas station before we would be at the cabin. I was so excited I felt like a kid in a candy store. The gas station had some pretty awful memories, but it still signaled that we were about a half hour away from home.
I punched Jimmy in the shoulder. “We’re not far now! I knew you were going the right way all along!”
“Ugh, ouch. You don’t have to hit me, and no, you didn’t. You thought I was lost!” Jimmy responded rubbing his shoulder more for effect than from any pain.
“Please, let them all be okay. Please let the cabin still be there,” I said quietly to myself more than to anyone else who would be listening.
“So, this cabin you’re ta
king us to. What’s the deal? Why did you leave?” Peter asked scooting to the edge of his seat so he could be as close to the conversation as possible. Grayson slid back into the corner again at the mere sound of Peter’s voice.
“It’s a lengthy story, but the long and short of it is I didn’t have a choice. I was taken from my home by some not so nice people a few months ago, and I’m not sure if they left my family alive or the cabin standing, but I have hope. I have been through too much, done too much, and seen too much for it all to be gone,” I said trying not to give out too much information. I wanted Peter to have a very shortened version of the truth until I found out more about him. I needed to know who he truly was and what his end game was going to be.
“Well, it sounds like there’s a lot more to it than just that. I hope your cabin is still there too. It would be nice to be able to stretch our legs more than this truck lets us do, and I would certainly like to be able to give my son a good night’s rest under a roof in a warm home,” he smiled.
To me, the smile had this sick connotation that I hoped wasn’t true, but I had an awful feeling that my gut was right. Peter had to be taking advantage of Grayson. Unfortunately, my gut had yet to be wrong in the most recent past.
We drove in silence the rest of the way, and I was so nervous I wanted to throw up when we turned down what used to be the dirt driveway that was now covered in freshly fallen snow. There were no tire tracks, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. Good because if it had just snowed last night, no one would be leaving the compound since there was plenty of work to do inside the gates. Bad because there might just not be anyone left to leave tire tracks. I shook the thought from my head as soon as it surfaced.
I was now at the edge of my seat and trying my hardest to see through the snow-covered trees to where I knew the broad metal gate would have been. With the sun almost entirely down behind us, Jimmy finally turned on the headlights and the front searchlight as well.
There it was in all its metallic glory, closed and in the locked position. I remembered leaving so many months ago, watching the gates left open and fires burning inside. Seeing the gate closed and locked had to be a good sign.
I looked down at Grayson and smiled. I hadn’t noticed I was crying until I blinked, and the tears softly fell onto my hands. Grayson proved he had a bigger heart than I could have ever imagined by merely lifting his arm up to hold my hand. He pulled my fingers gently to his face and nuzzled them ever so softly. I knew he didn’t want to speak out of his fear of Peter, but he still wanted to make sure that he was comforting me.
“Thank you. I’m not sad. I’m happy,” I said to him, hoping that I was going to continue to be happy as we pulled up to the gate, “Moment of truth,” I said to Jimmy, “Push the button when you get to the intercom. Let’s see if there’s anyone to answer and let us in.”
Peter jumped up. “Is there any way you guys could stop really quick? I have to use the bathroom pretty bad. I’ve been holding it, but I can’t wait any longer if you know what I mean?”
“Sure, I guess we can stop quickly. We haven’t seen any infected for a while, so you should be safe. Are you sure you don’t want to wait until we get to the cabin though?” I questioned.
“I really can’t wait anymore, sorry. It’s either go now or go all over myself,” Pete said crossing his legs slightly and rocking back and forth.
Jimmy stopped the massive truck and Peter ran for the back exit. I heard the doors open and shut before I could even ask if he wanted anyone to keep an eye out for him. I guess he really had to go.
There was a pull at my pant leg from Grayson on the floor, “He’s not coming back,” He whispered.
“What do you mean he’s not coming back?”
“He’s a bad man, and he wants to hurt you. He wants to hurt all of you.”
I reached down to pull Grayson into my lap, “You have to tell me more about Peter. What is he doing? Where is he going? What do you mean by he wants to hurt all of us? You have to give me more to go on, buddy. I will keep you safe,” I pleaded with the eight-year-old.
“He was one of the bad men at the camp. He killed my mom and dad. He helped all of the bad men kill everyone.”
“He was one of the soldiers that killed all of the people at the FEMA camp?” I asked with my heart jumping into my throat.
The little boy nodded and continued, “He told the other men that I was his and no one could touch me. The other men grabbed people, too and they all went in different directions. I was so scared. I only did what he told me to because I was frightened.”
“Oh, I know honey. I’m so sorry for what he did to you, but you’re safe with us,” I said nodding at Jimmy and pulling Grayson into a hug. He pulled away a little, but I was sure it was because he wasn’t used to being touched appropriately by an adult anymore, which made me furious. I wanted to go after Peter, but I was in no condition to do so, and I needed Jimmy to guard both of us. We would be at the cabin soon, so I needed to get all of the information I could get out of Grayson while he was still talking.
“What else do you remember? What else did he say?”
Grayson hesitated but eventually continued, “The other mean men had a truck, just like this one. There was more than one big truck, too, because there were a lot of mean men. They made me get in the truck with them, and they were all yelling and laughing about how fun it was to kill all of those people. I cried, and they kept yelling at me to be quiet and told me to grow up. They said they were going to teach me how to be a man. That just made me cry more so when they stopped at that restaurant place; they left us there. Peter said he wanted to spend some time with just me anyway. He wasn’t nice to me, and he did things I know he shouldn’t, but I couldn’t stop him…” Grayson’s voice trailed off into hysterical sobbing.
I scooped this frail little boy into my arms and hugged him. My heart was breaking for what that monster had put him through. I knew there was something wrong with Peter from the very beginning. I couldn’t believe I didn’t do more to help sooner. I was ashamed of myself.
Grayson broke through his tears long enough to tell us one last crucial piece of information, “I heard him on his radio when we were at the restaurant. He was talking to someone about some lady being killed. He said she wasn’t important anymore, but that the bombs were. He said he would be meeting up with the man he was talking to, and he said something about cleaning a board, I don’t know what he meant, but he sounded mad.”
My face dropped as I pieced it all together. Peter was a soldier, and he was with a much larger group of men sent to exterminate those people in the FEMA camp. The woman he was talking about being dead had to be Brigantine. He had to be part of her team, and the bombs, “Grayson, when he was talking about cleaning a board, did he actually say he was going to wipe the slate clean?”
“Yes! That’s it, that’s what he said.”
I looked over at Jimmy and judging by the look on his face; he hadn’t put it together just yet. But I quickly realized that we had a huge problem, and Peter was going to be at the very center of it all.
Chapter 26
I jumped up and grabbed the handle for the spotlight, “Do you see him anywhere? Do you see Peter?”
“No. I think he’s long gone by now. What the heck do you think is going on, Abby?”
“I’m thinking that Peter was one of Brigantine’s men. When she told me more of her plan back at the compound, she told me about bombs equipped with a nerve agent she was going to use after she had inoculated everyone she planned on saving with the perfected antivirus. She was going to use the bombs to kill the infected and everyone else who wasn’t part of her master plan. I bet Peter knew exactly who we were and wanted us to get him to the cabin. He probably had no idea how to get back to one of the labs from the diner, so if we took him to somewhere he was already familiar with, he could find his way to wherever the bombs were hidden. He must have been one of the soldiers on the raid at my home the night they took me. We ha
ve to find him and stop him, or we’re all going to…” I looked down at Grayson who was now crying softly on the floor, “Well, it’s not going to be good if he gets his hands on those devices. Let’s just say that.”
Jimmy shook his head, “How are we going to stop him though? We have no idea where the bombs are, so we have no idea where he might be heading.”
“The snow should make him easy to track, but we have to get to the cabin and see who’s here to help us. We have to move fast because the sun is practically down, and more snow is on the way. We need to follow his tracks as far as we can before more snow falls, covering them up.”
Jimmy put the truck back in gear and hit the gas, “What are we waiting for then? Let’s go.”
We drove up to the intercom and Jimmy reached out and touched the button. There was silence. I wanted to scream at the box to open the gate, but I kept my composure. My emotions were running high from all of this new information, and I wanted to see my family so badly.
There was finally a beep followed by some static and then a voice, “Can I help you?”
I didn’t recognize the voice, but I couldn’t contain myself any longer, “Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my family?” I yelled.
“Abbigail, Is that you? I’ve heard so much about you! Come in! Hey guys…” the speaker cut out but there was another beep and a noise outside.
“I bet that was the spike strips going down. Get ready to move.” I said to Jimmy as I sat back down uncomfortably in my seat.
The gate in front of us opened slowly. I was guessing it was on account of all the snow, but the delay put me even more on edge. I looked down at Grayson who was curled up with his blanket. Only the top of his head and his eyes were showing through a small slit. He didn’t know what to expect, and he was scared.
I looked to Jimmy, and he looked back at me with uncertainty written all over his face, “You don’t know who that was, but he sure knew you. Should we go in or hang back? It’s your call, Abby.”
