Family

by Matthew Costello

  Kate thought she saw the path they took just to the right.

  And Kate started running again.

  And even as she did, she thought she heard the gunfire, now…

  What was the word?

  Sporadic.

  No longer constant.

  And they weren’t even at the cars yet, and with just this one woman helping her herd the kids, Kate thought, That could be either a good thing… or a very bad thing.

  *

  The car in the dark raced wildly over the empty road, looking like a crazed beast on the narrow strip of pavement that led to the house.

  Why is it going so fast? Christie wondered.

  It was one of those scout cars.

  A fast car.

  Now racing back here.

  For a moment she didn’t have a clue. It seemed so odd.

  Then… she did.

  *

  Appearing out of the darkness like mysterious shapes from another world, Kate saw the line of cars.

  She glanced behind her. The woman urging the kids forward.

  She wanted to ask the woman, What about the others. Are they coming?

  We have to get out of here.

  But Kate kept focused on moving forward until she got to the front car and released the hand she held.

  And a small voice went, “No.”

  That small hand refusing to be freed.

  Kate whispered, “We have to all get in. Bunch of you with me, the rest with…”

  She realized that she didn’t know the other woman’s name.

  An ally in this strange mission, this attack.

  Nameless.

  “Some of you come with me,” the woman said.

  And Kate watched the woman separating some of the hands and steering three of the kids to her car, farther to the rear, where the barren woods began.

  Kate had five of them.

  Sam had said, Get the kids. Get back. Don’t wait for anything, anyone.

  And that’s what Kate did, the four doors of the car open as the kids scrambled in.

  Then Kate got into the driver’s seat.

  “We okay?” she said. “Everyone all right?”

  No one answered.

  Kate started the car.

  And with the doors shut, and the engine started, Kate realized she could smell the children.

  How long had it been since they’d showered, washed, anything?

  With gunfire still sounding all around, she turned the wheel of the car hard.

  And now, driving to the road away from this place, she had to turn on the lights.

  Hard to see where the damn road was.

  She opened her window. Needed some air.

  Thinking, what’s been done to these kids? What’s happened to them.

  And as the car made its bumpy way over rocks and pits in the ground, she heard a small voice in the back.

  Could have been any one of them.

  The words so simple, so crazy…

  “Thank you.”

  *

  Christie watched the red car rumble up to the circle as if it might smash its way through protective ring of cars.

  But one of the men had gotten into a car, pulled it out of the way, and made an opening.

  The scout car stormed through the opening, braked, sending up a dusty cloud of dirt visible even in the darkness.

  Then the man—Rob—got out.

  And one look at him, and Christie could tell he was way beyond scared.

  A group had formed around him, gun barrels pointed down.

  For the moment ignoring their defensive positions. No eyes looking out to the deeper darkness away from the farmhouse and barn.

  All eyes on Rob, gasping for air.

  Rob looked around at the group as if they didn’t get it.

  “What? They’re not back yet? The others?”

  One of the old men shook his head. “Should be soon. What’s going on?”

  Rob shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “They’re coming. Hundreds of them. From back there, like an army. Can Heads, marching here.”

  Then he stopped, again taking in the circle of fifteen or so people who had been on guard.

  Then he nodded, the truth in his next words so obvious.

  “We have to wake everyone. Now. Get everyone up who can shoot. They were moving fast, coming together like they had a plan.”

  Christie thought of something Jack always said: Can Heads can’t plan.

  They’re not like wolves.

  Was that still true?

  For a moment, nobody did anything, then he said, “Some of you, get back onto the circle; the rest, wake everyone the hell up now.”

  And Christie turned to Anna.

  “I’m going to get my son…”

  Christie could see that the older woman’s eyes were glistening. She had been crying.

  How much horror had she seen? How much more did she think she was about to see?

  Tonight…

  “You stay here. I’ll be back with him. Okay?”

  Just a nod.

  And Christie ran as fast she could, joining the others.

  To sound the alarm. Get everyone up.

  And what she felt… as she ran… went way beyond any fear she had ever felt before.

  CHAPTER 37

  The Stand

  Kate hit one deep rut, and it sent her and her small passengers flying up to hit the ceiling of the car. The kids screamed.

  “Sorry,” she said.

  Can’t see anything, she thought, even with the lights on.

  She looked in the mirror and saw the other car behind her, the nameless woman with three kids.

  The total: eight.

  Eight saved.

  But how many had been lost before this?

  And how much of that… back there… had these kids seen?

  The human monsters selecting a kid, taking it away from the others.

  Screaming. Kicking.

  And then—in that moment of distraction—she saw two men ahead.

  Right in front of the rocky path to the road, guns raised.

  Kate’s gun was beside her, on the floor of the car near the door.

  No way she could manage steering the car and grabbing the gun and—

  And with their guns raised, one of the men raised a hand signaling for her to halt.

  But there was no way she would do that.

  No way at all.

  She yelled.

  “Kids. Get down! Low as you can. On the floor. Do it!”

  Making her voice as stern as possible.

  She couldn’t get her gun, and with two barrels aimed right at the car, the men figured she would have to stop.

  Her attempt to rescue the children, to end the horror of their cannibalism, would be over.

  But it was a situation where there was no choice about what to do.

  No trees hugged the rocky path, just scrubby brush that scraped at the car’s sides like fingers as it bounced past.

  What Kate did next she didn’t have any idea what it might do.

  But she slammed her foot down hard on the accelerator.

  She could hear the wheels instantly screaming, even with the windows shut.

  In the mirror, she couldn’t see any of the kids.

  But she could hear them.

  Their cries constant as now, in addition to making the car fly over the ruts so fast, she cut the steering wheel hard to the right, then to the left.

  Even while she heard the shots blasting from the men’s guns…

  *

  “Simon…” Christie said, her voice close to her son’s right ear.

  She could feel the warmth of his sleeping body, on the floor, but he had found a small, square throw pillow.

  “Simon, you have to get up.”

  His eyes opened so slowly, reluctantly.

  “Hmmm?” he said.

  Christie forced a smile.

  “Simon, we need to get
everyone outside, Everyone who can…”

  The words sounded absurd.

  “…shoot. They think… some Can Heads are coming.”

  Keeping her smile on as she lied.

  “Just want all the help we can get. Just in case.”

  But she thought she saw in Simon’s eyes… an awareness.

  That she wasn’t telling the truth.

  Smiles or no smiles.

  And when he didn’t move…

  “Come on, Simon. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  Those words betraying her fear.

  But those words brought a nod.

  The house had turned noisy, chaotic with the sound of others being awakened, the frenzied shouts of people grabbing guns, asking questions, of…

  Panic.

  That’s what this is, Christie thought.

  Simon stood up, yawned.

  He grabbed his gun.

  “Safety’s…?” she started.

  “On. Sure, Mom.”

  And he followed his mother, still looking half asleep, out to the cold morning light.

  *

  Kate jerked the car one way, then the other. She heard the kids rattle around both beside her and in the back.

  And with one yank, she thought she’d send the car rolling over, spinning out of control.

  But all the while doing these crazy turns, she heard the gunfire.

  She heard one bullet crash into the back windshield, then another to a side window.

  Then, she felt a thump.

  Someone who had been trying to stop her had been hit, and hard.

  She gripped the steering wheel so tightly her hand ached.

  And now thinking that the other person shooting would now be behind her, she stopped the erratic turns and still—with her foot flat on the accelerator, all the way down—she steered the car straight down to the road.

  “Stay down,” she said loudly, just in case any of the screaming, crying kids were tempted to sit up.

  The car rocketed toward the road.

  And when she hit the pavement, she made a sharp a turn to get onto the road, and she thought she felt the car’s right wheels fly off the ground.

  The tires’ screams matching the sounds from inside the car.

  A quick glance to the mirror, the other car still behind her.

  And Kate thought, We’re away.

  We did it.

  We’re safe!

  *

  Christie pulled the still sleepy Simon to the outer circle of cars, finding her spot next to the woman, Anna.

  “Thought you might not come back,” Anna said.

  Christie smiled.

  “My son’s a good shot. Isn’t that right, Simon?”

  Simon nodded.

  Then the woman asked a question that Christie wished she hadn’t.

  “How much ammunition do you have?”

  Christie nodded.

  “I have… what’s in the rifle. Then nearly a full box. What is that?”

  “Twenty,” the woman said.

  Okay. So that was how many shots Christie had.

  “And your boy?”

  Christie put a hand on his head.

  “Simon?”

  Then, like he was digging for some treasured toy, Simon stuck a hand into each pocket and pulled out shells.

  “The gun’s loaded,” he said. “And I got…”

  He counted.

  He counted.

  “Another ten… eleven.”

  The woman didn’t say anything.

  But now they all knew exactly how many times they could fire their weapons.

  “See anything yet?” Christie asked.

  “No. Looks like nothing out there.”

  Then Simon spoke, “Maybe they’ve gone somewhere else.”

  And not believing her words, Christie said, “Maybe.”

  Which is when someone standing on the back of a pickup truck yelled, “Here they come!”

  The words cutting through the night.

  Then, “Get ready. Everyone… get ready.”

  And before Christie turned to look at the approaching horde, she pulled Simon close.

  Pulled him so tight as she planted a kiss on the top of his head.

  “I love you.”

  And with Simon holding her as well, he answered, “Love you too, Mom.”

  Held for but seconds—then she released him, and turned back to the wall made by the car.

  And now, she could also see them coming.

  CHAPTER 38

  Counting Bullets

  And now Christie watched them hurrying toward the circle of cars, toward the house, the barn.

  A swarm of Can Heads.

  Someone off to the right started firing, and again the man on top of the pickup—now their sudden leader—yelled, “Stop. Wait until we can actually see them!” Then, “Save your goddamn ammo!”

  She looked at Simon, his handgun pointing out into the darkness, such a terrible sight.

  Then she looked back, to the dark line scrambling toward them.

  How many are there?

  Easily a hundred. Spread out as if each wanted to be the first to reach the people with guns waiting for them.

  Eager for that chance to get lucky,

  To eat.

  Because that’s all they did.

  The only good thought she had, Kate wasn’t here.

  Though her daughter may be in danger as well, Christie had the sudden thought that even what she was facing could be better than this.

  Then, as if talking to him, Christie thought about Jack.

  What she would give to have him here.

  But then—more importantly—how she needed to be both mom and dad.

  She thought, I’m a poor substitute, Jack.

  But as soon as she thought that, and continuing that dialogue in her head, she could hear his words, You have to do the best you can.

  The absolute best.

  You can.

  She took a breath.

  The line of Can Heads, an army of horrors, was closer.

  In seconds, everyone would begin firing.

  She let the breath out slowly.

  *

  Driving on the road now seemed so easy. Headlights on. Kids had slowly raised their heads.

  And Kate smiled—a quick turn back to them.

  “We’re okay, you guys. You’re safe now.”

  And did she really believe that? If she knew anything, it was that there was no place that was really safe.

  But the horror that those kids faced—unimaginable—was over.

  And Kate thought, I helped do that.

  It was an amazing feeling.

  And she knew her mom would be so proud. Such a kid thing… wanting a parent to really be proud of them.

  But Kate also knew this.

  She loved her mother more than anything.

  Even Simon too.

  That was the important thing to remember. To never let that thought go.

  They would be together for as long as possible.

  She gave the kids another smile, and rolled along the road, speeding back to the farmhouse, and all the people waiting there.

  *

  The guns began blasting. The sound erratic.

  Rifles, big shotguns, and the lighter firecracker sounds of handguns. Even an automatic rifle using bullets way too fast.

  Christie was never more appreciative of the time Jack spent teaching her how to shoot.

  She took aim at one figure, pulled the trigger and watched it fall.

  She looked over at Simon, so close by, also leaning over the hood of the car, the handgun extended out.

  Taking his time.

  With every shot, every bullet.

  And then, “Got one,” he said quietly.

  “Good. Nice and slow…”

  Both of them, eyes locked on the line now racing toward them.

  And Christie felt her fear now twist, start to run into something darker, something overwh
elming.

  Hopelessness.

  Because she could see, with every shot, even if each one was a hit, there were too many of them.

  Did they have enough guns, enough bullets to stop them, even with every shot hitting?

  And Christie knew the answer to that.

  Even as she kept firing—and soon time to reload—she started to think about possibilities.

  Thinking that, even with Kate not back, with all those other people with their weapons that could possibly turn the tide, maybe she… and Simon had to escape.

  And with each pull of the trigger, her focus scattered between shooting the Can Heads and thinking what to do.

  God, what to do?

  *

  Kate saw the car with the other children right behind them, then in the distance—their headlights pin pricks, like stars that had fallen down to the road—more cars.

  Must be the others coming back, she thought.

  Though, as she chewed at her lip, there was another possibility.

  Unless they lost that battle.

  But she shook her head.

  Couldn’t have happened.

  It has to be them.

  Then, from the darkness in the back, a voice. So quiet, the words barely audible above the sound of the engines.

  “Where…” a girl’s voice asked. Then, as the girl cleared her throat, “Where are we going?”

  Kate nodded, and then to the mirror to see which one had asked the question.

  Someone’s eyes locked on hers in the mirror. The girl… a bit taller than the rest.

  “Someplace safe,” Kate said. “My mom is there, my brother. Other people.”

  Then a smile.

  “You’ll be safe there.”

  *

  “Mom, they’re running faster,” Simon said.

  Christie had finished reloading, fumbling in the dark.

  She saw that what Simon said was true. As some Can Heads neared their prize, they ran even faster.

  Which had the effect of making their advancing line turn into an erratic jumble that made them harder to hit.

  She also thought of the one, terrible idea she had.

  A possibility.

  She, and Simon, could get into the car.

  Break the circle, and drive the hell out of here.

  But then…

  Then, what of Kate? And the circle, suddenly with an opening putting everyone at jeopardy.

  But just as she had that desperate thought of escape, she looked to her left.

  A car came to life.

  Headlights on.

  Someone leaving.

  The car roared out of the circle, and began to race to the left, to the dirt driveway that led from the farm down to the main road.