by Jeff Olah
“She did the right thing, Ethan.”
Ethan stopped and turned to face Griffin, the two men now only inches apart. “Which thing is that, sending you out here to check on me or lying to me about David?”
“Listen, I’ve already told you my positon on this subject. Your friend was already gone by the time we entered that vault. You and I both know that. He would have killed you and no telling how many others. What happened needed to happen—it doesn’t matter who pulled the trigger.”
“Maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t, but why’d you feel you needed to lie about it, why tell me you did it?”
“The simple answer is that it just seemed easier. We had no history, no reason for you to be conflicted about hating me.”
Griffin was right. Ethan would have beat himself up for days if he’d have thought that Shannon had pulled the trigger. It would have turned him inside out knowing it was someone he thought he knew. He’d have been unable to rectify what he knew about humanity, and most likely would have turned away from the rest of his friends.
Ethan stepped back. His shoulders fell and he breathed out heavily. “Griffin, I don’t hate you. To tell you the truth, it wasn’t easy hearing about David, but I wasn’t really even angry with you then. I thought I was, but I just needed someone to blame. Someone to hate other than myself. I couldn’t save the one true friend I had in this world and I needed somewhere to put those feelings.”
“I understand,” Griffin said. “And I don’t blame you; I probably would have felt the same way.”
Turning his back to Griffin, Ethan held up his hand. “Wait, what is that?”
Griffin had heard it too. “The same thing as yesterday, but it sounds much closer, keep going or head back?”
Staring up at the sky, Ethan attempted to place the low humming sound that had been alluding them since early the day before. He closed his eyes and faced west. “Let’s go up a few blocks and see if we can get a better idea of what it is.”
“Thirty minutes,” Griffin said. “We don’t find anything in a half hour, we go back. Agreed?”
“Sure, let’s go.”
The pair jogged another four blocks before stopping across the street from a dusty parking lot. They stood with their hands on their knees, attempting to again place the sound. It was louder here and had taken on a different tone. Something unusual, but not completely foreign. The low guttural hum that now enveloped them almost sounded human.
Catching his breath, Ethan pointed up the long block. “It’s somewhere up there, I’d say maybe another half mile. You good to go?”
“I’m fine, let’s go.”
Staying along the middle of the two lane rural road, Ethan led the way. Top to bottom, both sides of N. 150 West were nearly empty. An abandoned service station sat at an intersection with Main and as they moved from one end of the half-mile-long street to the other, the pair counted only seven individual structures, and still not a sign of life existed.
Reaching the intersection of 150 W. and 400 N., the sound was now more familiar than they were comfortable with. It echoed in their ears, bringing back thoughts of the first few days of the infection, just not quite at this level. Both Ethan and Griffin turned toward the steep incline on the opposite side of the street and waited for the other to confirm what they already knew.
Ethan spoke first. “You know what this is?”
“I think so, but I’m not even sure how it would be possible.”
“Check it out, or go back?” This time, Ethan was asking Griffin. Not because he needed validation of what he was about to do, but because he wasn’t looking to drag another one of his friends into something he shouldn’t. Ethan knew what he was going to do, but he wanted Griffin to choose of his own free will, without any convincing.
“There’s no way we can just leave now.”
“Alright, let’s go then.”
The built-up shoulder was just tall enough to hide whatever sat behind it. From where they stood, the four-foot-high raised bank looked to be a newly developed reservoir. And as they crossed the street and read the fine print on a temporary posting, their suspicious were confirmed.
Ethan read the three-line notice.
“Miller reservoir. Dedicated to the good people of Green Valley. Together we prosper.”
And then turning to Griffin, he glared at the date of operation. “Three weeks from today. So it was never filled.”
As the sounds intensified, Griffin motioned toward the four-foot embankment. “Let’s get this over with.”
Ethan nodded and started up the short incline as Griffin closely followed. They stayed low and bear crawled their way up the dirt and gravel slope. But before they’d reached the top—less than halfway—both men were stopped in their tracks.
Able to now see what they had been visualizing, the men continued to the top of the embankment and stood facing the absurdity that was playing out thirty feet away. The slope on the inner walls of the empty reservoir were much steeper than what they’d just climbed and the total distance to the bottom of the massive void looked to be somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty feet.
Covering almost the entire floor of the one-hundred-foot square reservoir were the former residents of Green Valley. Every man, woman, and child from the dusty little town now walked in packs of threes, fours, and fives. They were remarkably well preserved and most would be indistinguishable from those who had not been infected… other than the errant bite marks and bloodied clothing.
Scanning the largest horde he’d ever seen, Ethan thought back to the sign he read upon crossing over into the city limits. “Nine-hundred-fifty-one.”
Confused, Griffin turned his head to Ethan. “Uh… what?”
“If their population sign was accurate as of the day of the infection, and no one left or is dead in their home, then there’s nine-hundred-fifty-one Feeders at the bottom of that reservoir. Every single person that lived in this town.”
“Well,” Griffin said, “all but one.”
“Yeah, all but one.”
As a few of the former townspeople started to notice the two men, the volume of their throaty growls echoing from the bed of the reservoir began to gradually increase. And within seconds, the entire floor exploded in rage. The ones closest to the sloping walls began to dig at the loose dirt, trying to climb their way out of the impossible hole they’d been left to rot in.
As those closest to the sloping perimeter walls continued in vain to claw at the failing incline, hundreds more piled in from behind. This added exponentially to the auditory assault; however, it did nothing to increase the crowd’s chances of freeing themselves from the colossal four-walled prison.
They were put here for this exact reason. Someone had realized that these monsters don’t possess the ability to climb, so somehow they were all guided into this giant holding cell, one by one. And although this turned his stomach, Ethan was quite impressed.
Continuing to study the ravenous congregation, Ethan turned to Griffin. “How on earth did he get them all here? It’s only been nine days.”
Griffin had already lost interest. He knew what the answer was, and it had nothing to do with remaining even one more second in this beleaguered little town. “You wanna know how the bearded man was able to get them all down there?”
Ethan chuckled. “My question was more rhetorical than anything else.”
“Either way,” Griffin said, “I think we’re about to find out.”
Turning back toward the street, Ethan now saw what Griffin was eluding to. The white sedan and the bearded man behind the wheel were rapidly approaching.
37
Back in suite three-twenty-six, the group of five ate in silence. Emma had a feeling that her brief meeting with Mitchell Blake had all but convinced Cedric that saving her and Tom was a mistake. He hadn’t said much since leaving the garage and hadn’t spoken at all since coming out of the stairwell on the third floor. Emma couldn’t blame him, but she did at least want the chan
ce to explain.
After sitting alone with her thoughts and a bowl of cold oatmeal, she began to run back through the mainly one-sided conversation she’d had with the overly-confident blond narcissist. She now realized that all he really wanted to know he could have gotten from Cedric. The only reason he had her and Tom come to the meeting was to assert his dominance. He wanted to be certain that every individual occupying space in this city knew it was his.
The more she thought about it, the more she didn’t like it. She was grateful to Cedric and his family, and she’d never take what they’d done for her for granted. She could never pay them back for all they’d done; she owed them her life. But she didn’t owe Mitchell Blake a damn thing.
Taking one last spoonful of the cold oatmeal, she slid back in her chair and moved toward the counter where the other dishes were stacked. As she did, Veronica also moved in the same direction. They met at the counter and each quickly backed away, allowing the other to go first.
Veronica smiled nervously. “Oh sweetheart, go ahead.”
“No,” Emma said, “I can wait. It’s not like I have anything else to do.”
Her attempt at humor fell mostly flat. Tom began to giggle, but quickly stopped himself when the others simply looked away.
Veronica didn’t move. She stayed frozen in place and now stared at the ground, glancing up toward her husband every few seconds, as if waiting for some sort of signal.
Stepping up to the counter, Emma dropped her bowl inside a large plastic bucket and let it bounce around with the others that needed to be washed. Turning away from the counter, she purposely stepped in front of Veronica and held out her hand.
“Hello, my name is Emma Runner. It’s nice to meet you.”
Veronica was caught off guard and began to reach for Emma’s hand, but pulled back and smiled. “I’m sorry Emma, it’s just that…” She turned to Cedric and waited. When he didn’t look up, she stepped around Emma, placed her bowl on the counter, and silently gathered her thoughts.
The meeting earlier that morning hadn’t gone as smoothly as it could have, and although Emma hadn’t gone out of her way to play nice with Blake, she couldn’t imagine what had caused the change in her new friends. Well, up to this point, she’d hoped they were friends.
Emma had never been the kind to wait through awkward silences. She needed confirmation one way or the other. If they were this upset about what had taken place in the garage, she at least wanted to try to understand their reasoning.
Not waiting for Veronica to turn or for Cedric to look up from his plate, Emma moved back to the table, but instead of taking her seat, she stood behind it.
“Okay, I realize our little meeting with Blake didn’t go perfectly, but I’m not completely sure what’s happening here. Have I done something to offend either of you?”
Cedric gently pushed his bowl aside and turned to his son seated on the fold-away sofa at the opposite end of the suite. “Patrick, can you go to the lobby and check to see how the north end of Sixth Street is looking. I want to be sure we don’t run into any trouble later today.”
Patrick gave a quick nod and then moved quickly through the door and into the hall. Cedric followed his son with his eyes, and as the door closed, he turned first to Tom and then to Emma.
“I haven’t been completely honest with either of you about Mitchell Blake. I didn’t know that he’d seen you come into town and was going to keep this quiet until you were back on your feet. Maybe help get you on your way before having to explain any of the details.”
“So,” Emma said, “this isn’t about you being upset with the way the meeting went?”
“No, it actually went better than I’d expected. I still can’t explain it, other than maybe he was in an exceptionally good mood or really did have somewhere else he needed to be. But whatever it was, it gave us a small window. A second chance.”
Tom twisted in his chair, now facing Cedric. He narrowed his eyes and bit at the corner of his lip. “I’m not sure I’m understanding what it is that you’re saying.”
Cedric looked at his wife and waited. She gave him a quiet smile, looked away, and then followed her son out into the hall. And as Veronica closed the door, Cedric paused a moment, nodded his head, and released a heavy breath.
“I’ve never seen anyone challenge Mitchell Blake before. I had doubts that he’d even allow you to stay in this building once the meeting was over. He’s done this before and the outcome was much, much different. Simply saying that he’s bad man would be a cataclysmic understatement.”
“Cedric,” Emma said, “what is it? Why are you and Veronica acting so strange? You brought us here and offered to help, but now I’m not sure what you’re trying to tell us. Are you wanting us to leave?”
“My wife and I don’t want you to go anywhere; that’s not what’s going on here. It’s Blake… he’s got problems. Problems that end with people dying. We don’t want you to go, but it would probably be better if you did.”
“Better for us or for you?”
“Better for both of us. Blake is unstable and Veronica and I are afraid of what he’ll do to you if you don’t go. He’s allowed my family to stay in this building, partially because we were here before he was and also because he knows he needs someone on this end of the city to keep an eye on things, even report to him.”
Tom sat forward. “You told him we were here?”
“No, like I said, that was something he found out on his own. We only report on the flow of Feeders around this part of town. And aside from that, we keep to ourselves; so does he.”
“Then why us?”
“It’s pretty much what he said, he doesn’t do so well with change. And I don’t think he wants to share this city with anyone else. At first I thought he’d be okay as long as it was just the two of you, but after I met with him and his brother yesterday morning, I knew it wasn’t going to work.”
Cedric paused. He stared out the window for a moment and then turned back, now focusing solely on Emma. “He’s going to come back and ask you to leave. He told me this morning. He knows you have people that are looking for you and that makes him nervous. He doesn’t want anyone here he can’t control.”
Emma’s head felt light. She couldn’t put together a single thought beyond what would be her next move. She looked to Tom and just shook her head. “What do we do?”
Tom stood from his chair and moved to the window. “Cedric, what’s Blake’s next move? I’m not sure we want to be here when he comes back.”
“I don’t know, but I agree with you. He’s not really a guy you want to push.”
As Tom began to respond, the door to the suite opened. Veronica had returned and was closely followed by her son. “Cedric, it’s Blake. He’s trying to reach you on the radio.”
Emma had already begun to move to the corner of the suite. She knelt beside the pile of blankets she’d used the previous two nights and pulled her backpack in close. Frantically digging through to the bottom, she pulled free her phone and powered it on.
As she was waiting, Emma turned back to the others and blinked away a tear that had taken her by surprise. Time slowed as she watched Veronica move to Cedric, whisper into his ear, and then move to her son.
Next, Tom hurried to the same corner and had also started to gather his things. He placed his hand on Emma’s shoulder and made sure to look her in the eyes. “It’s gonna be fine; I promise.”
Emma didn’t respond. Instead, she stood and started toward the door. And with no idea of what she was doing, or where she was going, she turned to Veronica. “I’m so sorry if we caused you and your family any trouble.”
Veronica leaned in, hugged Emma tight, and spoke quietly. “You don’t have to apologize. Cedric and I are still here to help.”
“Thank you, but I think it would be best if Tom and I—”
Pulling away, Veronica’s eyes drifted to Emma’s right hand. “Sweetheart, it looks like your phone has a new message.”
&nb
sp; 38
Trails of dust swirled from the rear of the oddly immaculate white sedan. Within fifty feet of the edge of the reservoir, the bearded man behind the wheel hit the brakes and rolled to a stop. With his window down, he leaned out and watched intently as Ethan and Griffin strode slowly back down the short incline.
Getting a better look, the man with the thick mahogany colored beard also wore a jagged scar that ran from the outer edge of his right eyebrow into his thick facial hair. He offered a smile and a nod, before opening the driver’s door and stepping out.
Rugged outdoorsman would have just about covered it until he reached in the vehicle and pulled out a white Stetson. Setting it atop his head and turning back toward the men, he grasped the front of the hat, lifted it slightly, and then tilted the brim forward.
Ethan had already drawn his weapon and held it at his side and as he glanced to his left, Griffin had his right hand covering his own. And with less than twenty feet separating them from the mysterious bearded man, Ethan held up his hand.
“I think we can do this from here.”
The bearded man laughed. “Y’all come into my town, walk around like you ain’t never been taught any decent manners, and now you’re trying to tell me how this is going down. Is that what’s happening here?”
“We aren’t out here to cause you any trouble.”
“You’re not? We’ll then why didn’t y’all just say so? Hell, I thought for damn sure you all were gonna be a whole heap of trouble. But I guess I must have been mistaken. So now, I got a new problem. What to do about you standing there, holding them pistols like you ain’t never felt an ounce of cold steel between your finger and thumb?”
“We’re just cautious,” Ethan said. “We don’t know you.”
“Fair enough, but how about before I give you the what’s what, you both just slide them pee-shooters back into your denim and we’ll call it even. That is until one of us gives the other a reason not to.”
