Children of the Apocalypse (Mace of the Apocalypse #3)

by Daniel J. Williams

  Bill gave her a quick glance before turning his attention back to the clouds, trying to regain his composure. He cleared his throat and said, “What are you doing out here?”

  “I was drawn out here. I was drawn out here by your son, Bill. He’s here with us now.”

  Unsure of what to think, Bill felt his knees go weak. “What are you talking about?” He’d heard that Sarah was a psychic medium but wasn’t sure if he believed in it or not.

  “He says some of his favorite memories were of the two of you flying kites. He wanted to share that with you.”

  His head spun for a second as more tears began to leak down his face. “You saw that?” Staring at her in bewilderment, he asked, “How could that even be?”

  “These are very different times,” answered Sarah. “Why shouldn’t we expect other things to be a different, too? There is a whole other world out there.”

  Bill didn’t know how to respond, so he just asked, “Where is Mike now?”

  “He’s here. In spirit. He wanted to let you know that he’s okay. He also says to tell you that mom’s fine as well.”

  Feeling dizzy, Bill struggled to sit on the ground. He was in his mid-sixties and his health was starting to fail, especially after the loss of his wife and son. “Can I speak with him?”

  “What would you like to say?”

  “I want to tell him I’m sorry I wasn’t a better father. I spent more time working than paying attention to him.”

  “Wait, wait, not so fast!” she said in response to the voice from the other side. “He says you were a great father and that he could have been a better son.” She paused, looking at the ground for a second. “He said to tell you that mom visits you in your dreams. Every time you have the one about your trip to Catalina, that’s her.”

  With tears now openly running down his face, Bill grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “Thank you,” he said through the tears. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Sarah said with a smile. “He just told me that he wants you to take care of your health. That people are relying on you here and you need to be strong for them.”

  “I will,” Bill said as he continued to squeeze her hand. He felt lighter than he had in months, and Sarah felt a deep appreciation for this moment and for this gift. It is a gift, she thought to herself. It really is a gift.

  ~~~

  Making love in Angela’s bedroom, Angela’s fingernails dug into Shawn’s sides as she arched her back, gasping as she experienced her third shuddering orgasm. Her legs trembled and her muscle contractions brought him to spasms seconds later. He cried out as he released inside of her. She looked up at him through dreamy, half rolled-back eyes, and as he put his mouth over hers, she kissed him sloppily. Her legs twitched a few times before she completely relaxed.

  Shawn stayed inside of her, kissing her neck softly. “My God,” she whispered breathlessly. “We are magic together. That was absolutely amazing.”

  Shawn stared at her face, taking it all in, before placing his lips next to her ear and whispering, “I’ve wanted you for the longest time, Ang. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

  A deep smile spread across her face and she reached up and kissed him again. “Who says you can’t find love in the apocalypse?” she declared.

  “Love? Who said anything about love?” he whispered teasingly. “This is just a hit and run.”

  “You even look at another woman and I’ll cut off your penis,” she panted with her smile still firmly in place.

  “I believe you would.”

  “You thought I was good with a gun? You should see my skills with a paring knife.”

  Staring tenderly at her as he pulled out, he kissed her again before rolling over on his back, taking a few deep breaths.

  “Is that all you got?” she teased.

  He lifted the sheet and stared at himself. A scheming smile appeared on his face. “This reminds me of a Christmas song,” he said as he let go of the sheet and reached between her legs, probing her gently with his finger tip.

  “Which one?” she asked. Her eyes closed as he slid his finger inside. She moaned softly.

  “Here comes Santa Claus,” he whispered as he moved his body down and kissed her just below her naval.

  ~~~

  Mace and Jade were lying on their bed with Jason situated directly between them. The baby gurgled, and his arms and legs suddenly shot out awkwardly before resting back down. Looking at him in awe, Mace felt a deep sense of peace. “After everything that has happened, I can’t believe how beautiful life can still feel. I used to think I knew what was important. I realize now that I didn’t know anything. A baby changes everything.”

  “A baby that is completely immune from the virus,” Jade said quietly. “How incredible is that?” Reaching across Jason, she put out her hand, and she and Mace interlocked fingers, staring at each other lovingly. “This could be the beginning of a new life. We could create a new world.”

  “It could also come at a very steep price,” Mace said, hesitant to change the direction of the conversation.

  “What do you mean?”

  “If Jason is immune, it makes him and us a target. The news can’t get outside this compound, and I’m not comfortable with anyone else knowing it even in here.” Jade could see a hint of fear surface in his eyes. “We need to keep this camp safe,” Mace continued with all seriousness. “If anyone gets bit, we know what happens.”

  The antidote kept the infection from spreading, which was the key to their survival, but the side-effects created havoc on the central nervous system. It increased the host's body temperature and disrupted brain function in the amygdala. Those who were attacked after receiving the antidote struggled with their emotional and sexual responses, especially during stressful situations.

  The look on Jade’s face didn’t need any explanation. “They’d want to use him as a guinea pig,” she said, realizing the truth of the situation.

  “If word spreads to enough people, they would try to justify it.”

  Jade finished his thought. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

  “Exactly,” Mace said slowly.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Standing before the children in the living room for a Disney cartoon night, Jacqueline put down the remote before starting the film. “We’re going to get a school bus,” she declared, deciding to share what was on her mind before beginning the movie. “In order to keep us safe, we need to have a way of escaping if anything goes wrong. I’ve been thinking about it and I think a bus would be perfect.”

  Woody raised his hand, and Jacqueline smiled. They were becoming more comfortable opening up. Without fear of having his tongue ripped out anymore, Woody’s leadership qualities were becoming more apparent. It was obvious why the other children followed him. “Yes, Woody?” she asked.

  “If we did have to leave, where would we go?”

  “Overland Park, Kansas.”

  “Why there?” Woody asked. A murmur arose throughout the room at the mention of Kansas.

  “The people I came with. That is where they were heading.”

  “Toto!” said Maya with a sparkle in her eye.

  Jacqueline smiled at her as Woody asked, “Isn’t that a long way off? How will we know how to get there?”

  “It’s somewhere over the rainbow,” said Alexi, commenting sarcastically from the back. “You just need to click your heels and you’re magically there.” She was one of the older girls who was becoming a bit more difficult. Maya giggled at the comment, and Jacqueline wondered if she should have kept the destination to herself. Looking at Woody, she added, “It wouldn’t take us that long by bus. There is supposed to be a compound with lots of people. I have a map that we could follow to get us there.”

  “Are we leaving soon?”

  “I hadn’t planned on it. I just want us to be prepared in case we need to.” She tried to change the subject. “Does anyone know where we could find a bus?”

 
Just about every hand shot up and Alexi spoke up immediately. “Buckeye middle school has a bus. It’s only about a mile down the road.”

  Several kids nodded in agreement.

  “A mile may not seem that long, but I’m going to have to walk it,” Jacqueline said with a chuckle. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly in tip top shape.” She was about sixty pounds overweight.

  Woody piped up, “You don’t have to walk. You could just drive!”

  “Does Evelyn have a car I don’t know about?”

  Rolling his eyes, Woody said, “There’s an old truck behind the barn and a million cars out on the street.”

  Feeling a bit foolish for not thinking things through, she said, “What do I do once I get there? It’s not like I can drive two vehicles.”

  Woody’s exasperation grew stronger. “You just leave it. There are plenty of other cars. You won’t need it.” The other kids started giggling, and Jacqueline felt her face flush with embarrassment.

  “I guess I hadn’t thought this through,” she said sheepishly.

  “If you want a bus, we could get you one,” Woody said matter-of-fact.

  Jacqueline couldn’t help but laugh. “How are you going to drive a bus?”

  “The same way I drive the truck behind the barn.”

  Jacqueline’s surprise was only obvious. “When have you driven the truck?”

  “I drive it all the time, although it’s low on gas.”

  “How could I not know this?” she said in shock.

  “Because I didn’t want you to.” He winked at her. “I trust you now.”

  Jacqueline started cracking up. “How old are you again? Eight years old and driving cars. What else can you do?”

  “I can kill pirates,” he said soberly, and Jacqueline felt a little uncomfortable by the look on his face. “I could survive out here better than you could.” Jacqueline felt more unsettled by the challenge.

  “Why are you saying this?”

  “Because I am just like Peter Pan. I can get you a bus and anything else you need.”

  “You can drive a stick?”

  “The truck is a stick.”

  “How can you even reach the pedals?”

  “I’ve figured it all out,” he said, staring at her boldly.

  The entire room was deathly quiet. The last time Woody had stood up to Evelyn, he’d been beaten so severely it had taken him a month to recover. His fearlessness had returned.

  Jacqueline studied him for the longest time. She had no idea just how intelligent and resourceful he was. She understood him to be their leader but also knew him to be shy and quiet. “Why have you stayed so quiet up until now?”

  “I was trying to figure out if I could trust you.”

  “And if you couldn’t?”

  “Then I was going to kill you.”

  The statement came out so calm and normal that Jacqueline felt a shiver travel down her spine.

  “I was going to kill Evelyn before you got here. We all were. It was only a matter of time.”

  Alexi was so shocked that he’d just shared that information that she shushed him loudly. Woody glared at her. “We don’t need to lie anymore,” he said to her. “We can trust her,” he said, nodding at Jacqueline.

  Jacqueline’s mouth dropped open. She wasn’t sure how to deal with the situation and felt slightly fearful for her life. “You can trust me. I want you to trust me. I also need to be able to trust you. You need to be honest with me and not hide things.”

  Woody nodded and changed the direction of the conversation.

  “You were right in the barn,” he said. “It was stupid to play with the zombie. I won’t do that again.”

  Jacqueline gathered her wits and said, “Good. We all need to stay safe.”

  “Do you want me to get you the bus?”

  “Why don’t we just get it together? We could operate as a team.”

  Woody seemed pleased by that. “That would be fun. Hopefully we’ll get to kill some pirates, too.”

  Those who had remained quiet in the room now broke their silence. “Let’s kill some pirates!” “Yeah, let’s do it with Jacqueline!” “Yeah, Jacqueline is one of us!”

  Watching them as they continued to shout and get rowdy, she realized she had completely underestimated them. Mourning for their loss of innocence, she had struggled to be able to break through and reach them. Who they really were, though, was so different than what she had expected. It didn’t matter, she tried to tell herself. They had become what life had forced them to become. They were all still her brood, and she would take care of them the best she could.

  She yelled out over the noise of the kids. “We’ll go for the bus tomorrow. I want to wait until it’s light out.”

  As they filtered out of the room in excitement over a new adventure, Maya walked up and held up her arms, signaling that she wanted to be picked up. Jacqueline reached down and lifted her up, holding her in her arms. Maya smiled at her and whispered in her ear. “I never wanted them to kill you,” she said with all sincerity.

  “Thank you,” Jacqueline said, feeling a mixture of nausea and relief.

  ~~~

  The next morning after breakfast, Jacqueline fired up the old Dodge behind the barn. Woody sat in the passenger seat next to her grinning madly. “I love adventures,” he said.

  “Me too,” she said with a wink. “Let’s see if we can do this without running into any pirates.”

  “But where is the adventure in that?”

  She laughed as she looked at him. “Just what have I created?”

  “Neverland,” he said with a smile. “And I’m Peter Pan.”

  Growing serious, she looked him directly in the eyes and got to the point she knew she had to make. “If anything happens to us, the others will be lost. Do you understand that? We can’t take stupid chances for the sake of an adventure because it could cost everyone their lives.” She wasn’t sure just how deeply an eight-year old could relate to what she was saying, but Woody was obviously beyond his years.

  He nodded sincerely, never breaking eye contact. “I will only kill if I have to,” he said. “But don’t try to stop me if we run into any pirates.”

  The kids in the back of the truck hollered with delight as she pulled the truck out into the street. As they drove down the street, the truck gears ground and she had trouble shifting gears.

  “Sorry,” said Woody. “I learned how to drive a stick by messing with the truck.”

  Jacqueline had a sense of déjà vu as children lined the streets in their costumes. The only difference this time is that she knew their names and personalities. As she passed Maya in her princess costume, Jacqueline recalled the eerie feeling the costume had given her the first time around. Now her heart welled with protective feelings and love for Maya and the others. “No stupid chances,” she reiterated again, driving past the children.

  “Don’t worry,” said Woody. “You’re driving with Peter Pan, remember?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  The vision hit Sarah out of the blue. This time there was no lead-up, just a blinding flash of light that felt like a blow to the skull. Grabbing her head, the images came fast and furious as they flashed across her field of vision. She had been walking towards the compound garden with Lisa and was in mid-conversation when it happened. Losing all sense of equilibrium, she stumbled backwards, cracking her head against the concrete.

  Lisa was instantly by her side, panicked by the pained expression on her face. “Should I get help? Are you okay?”

  Sarah remained silent, lost to an internal world of paranormal visions and messages. Chelsea, who had been running ahead with Buster and Jodie, turned to see Sarah on the ground, clutching her skull. Hurrying back, she stopped short, worried and wanting to help. “Maybe she’s having a tumor,” she said with all seriousness.

  Sarah gasped as a mutant infected raced towards her from somewhere in the future.
Fear rose through her being as she realized that the infection was still active. She tried to focus on its surroundings instead of the freakish horror of its appearance, but she didn’t recognize anything in the background.

  Over time, she had learned to control her emotions during the apparitions and just try to glean as much information as possible from them. There was usually so much being thrown at her that she would remember bits and pieces days later. Keeping a journal helped, but much of what she saw was symbolic, and certain images she’d never been able to understand.

  Lisa helped her sit up, although Sarah still hadn’t uttered a word. Chelsea thought Sarah was blind the way she stared out at nothing. “Maybe the tumor is in her eyes!” she said excitedly.

  “She doesn’t have a tumor, honey,” Lisa said calmly as Jodie and Buster came upon the scene. “She’s having a vision. Sometimes she sees things that other people don’t.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’m not sure exactly. You’ll just have to ask her some other time, okay?”

  “I saw a gigantic snail in the clouds yesterday.” Chelsea looked up at the sky, which was now a clear blue and said, “I think I have visions too, sometimes.”

  Buster trotted over and licked Sarah’s arm, and the act sent a torrent of fresh images zooming across her panorama. Chelsea jumped back as Sarah openly gasped. A small boy was being run down by the mutant infected. The scene expanded, and Sarah could see more children screaming and running from other infected. These weren’t mutated, but were different than any she had seen before.

  The vision started clouding over, and Sarah felt a pressure closing in on her head. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her skull, then saw a quick glimpse of Angela before she was suddenly back in the present, staring at Chelsea, who stood directly in front of her looking into her eyes. Chelsea had a purple aura around her, which slowly began to fade.

  “I think the tumor is gone,” Chelsea said to her, relieved. “You don’t look blind no more.”

  Sarah blinked a few times to familiarize herself with her surroundings again and shake off the effects of the vision. She touched the back of her head and it felt wet. Lisa was beside her, asking quietly, “Are you okay? That was really scary.”