Cannibal Country (Book 1): The Land Darkened

by Urban, Tony

  “He or she’s strong. That’s for certain.”

  June almost glowed. “It’s a boy. I just know it.”

  “Do you have a name picked out?”

  Wyatt knew pregnancies were supposed to be miraculous events but talk of babies and menstrual cycles skeeved him out. He took another bite of his fajita and tried to ignore the feminine chit chat.

  He was beginning to feel guilty for eating the siblings’ food and reached into their supplies, grabbing a can of baked beans.

  “I know these aren’t refried beans, but it’s as close as we’ve got.” He lobbed the can to Devan who rolled it back and forth between his palms.

  “You sure, hoss? If you want to ration your goods, we aren’t gonna complain.”

  Wyatt nodded, but he could feel Trooper’s stare. “We’re sure.”

  “Alright,” Devan said. “So a feast it is.”

  He popped the top and sat the can on the periphery of the fire so it could heat up. “But I’ll forewarn y’all, you might not want to snuggle up next to me tonight after wolfing down beans and Mexican.”

  June pinched her nose. “He’s not kidding. We should make him sleep outside so we don’t all suffocate.”

  That drew laughter from Seth and Wyatt thought his mom even gave up a reluctant chuckle.

  Trooper seemed to be the only one refusing to accept the good cheer and as much as Wyatt loved the man, he was growing weary of his grumpiness. This day had brought the most laughter, the most talk, and the most food they’d experienced in weeks on the road and Wyatt wasn’t going to be made to feel guilty for enjoying himself.

  “Let me ask you a question,” Trooper said to Devan.

  “Sure thing.”

  “I imagine you’ve known hunger, just like us. So why do you give your food away so freely?”

  The high spirits took a nosedive and an uncomfortable silence lingered for a moment before Devan spoke up. “In all honesty, I guess I’m just hoping to make you guys like us.”

  Wyatt cocked his head. “Why wouldn’t we like you?”

  “Well, if you couldn’t tell, I talk a lot when I get nervous. My daddy always said my mouth ran like a flapper on a duck’s ass. That gets on a lot of folks’ nerves and I suppose I hoped the food might make up for that and you’d let us stick around a good long while.” He stared at Trooper, waiting to see if the old man would give him any type of positive affirmation.

  Wyatt felt bad for him. He couldn’t imagine what life on the road would be like if it was him and Seth out here all alone. And how hard it would be to fit into not just a group, but a family. No wonder he was nervous.

  Trooper nodded. “Okay.”

  Devan gave a toothy, confused smile. “Is okay good or not?”

  “It’s okay. Don’t press your luck.” Trooper grabbed his bag and climbed to his feet. “Now I’m gonna sleep in the garage so I don’t have to smell your gas all night.”

  That was as close as Trooper came to a joke and Wyatt couldn’t hold back a laugh.

  “Good call, Trooper,” Devan said.

  Trooper gave them a small wave as he faded from the light of the fire and moved into the garage bay.

  “I think I’ll join him,” Barbara said. “No offense, Devan.”

  Devan grinned. “None taken, ma’am. And that’s probably a wise choice.”

  Barb tousled Seth’s hair and patted Wyatt’s shoulder before she too left the room.

  “Man, you’re so lucky to have your mom,” Devan said.

  “What happened to yours?” Seth asked.

  Wyatt thought that was a pretty personal question and shot him a look.

  “It’s okay,” Devan said, reading Wyatt’s expression. “She died about eight months ago. She’d been sick for a long time, coughing and hacking around. Got to the point where she was bringing up blood and losing weight. She was pretty much a skeleton at the end. I think maybe it was lung cancer but who really knows. No docs around anymore.”

  Devan wiped wetness from his eyes and June stared at the floor. Wyatt looked to where his mother had gone. He didn’t want to think about life without her. “Damn. I’m sorry about that.”

  “That’s life, right? No one said it was supposed to be easy.” He sniffled a little and wiped at his face. “So whatcha heading south for?” Devon wrapped his shirt in his hand and pulled the can of beans away from the fire’s edge. The side which had been closest was singed black and Wyatt caught the aroma of burned food. That was okay though.

  Devan dumped some beans from the can into his palm then looked to June. She shook her head, so he passed it to Seth instead.

  “Mom wants to go to South America.”

  “Why so far?” June asked.

  “Supposed to be better. That’s the theory, anyway. Something about the way the currents blew the nuclear fallout or whatever the hell it was that made everything up here...” He didn’t know what to say.

  “Turn to shit?” Devan volunteered.

  Wyatt smiled. “Yeah. Pretty much.”

  Seth passed him the beans, and he took a mouthful, gasping a bit at the heat on his tongue.

  “How about you, Seth? How’d you end up a cripple?”

  Wyatt glanced at his brother, having an idea how this might go.

  Seth leaned forward, pulling himself closer to the others, like any good story-teller. “You ever hear those stories about a crazy woman stealing a baby from the hospital and trying to pass it off as her own?”

  June nodded. “That happened near where we was from.”

  “No it didn’t,” Devan said. “That’s an Urban legend they told around town to scare people.”

  “Sort of,” Seth said. “It became one anyway. Seems like it happened in every city, every hospital. But it got its start with me.”

  Wyatt watched their faces. Devan’s was disbelieving but June’s eyes were wide and awed.

  “You serious?” She asked.

  “Serious as a dead man.” Seth stroked a few fine hairs which had sprouted on his chin and carried on. “I was a month or two old and had to keep going back to the hospital because I was jaundiced. It wasn’t anything major, but they had to put me under a light, had little glasses on me so I didn’t fry my retinas.”

  “Like a tanning booth!” June said.

  “Pretty much. But instead of this light turning me into a Cheeto, it was to make me normal. Anyway, one time I was in for a treatment when mom went to get some Funions out of the vending machine and I guess the nurse on duty was out on a smoke break or something and I was chilling under the light all alone and this woman came into the room. They said she was wearing scrubs so she fit right in didn’t look suspicious at all. And she grabbed me.

  “She was halfway out the front door before anyone even knew I was gone and by the time they called for security, she had me in the passenger seat of her Mazda and was zooming away from the hospital like she was trying to win the Indy 500. That, of course, drew some attention so the police, they closed in on her right away and it was high-speed chase time.”

  By this point even Devan watched, rapt.

  “The helicopters were flying overhead, news stations broke into the afternoon soaps to show it all going down live on TV. They said there were fourteen cop cars following. But she didn’t care. She was on her way to the Canadian border and I was along for the ride.”

  “Holy shit!” Devan rubbed his palms together. “That’s fucking amazing!”

  “You’re telling me,” Seth said. “But she forgot one thing.”

  “What’s that?” June asked.

  “To fill up her tank.”

  “Oh, man!” Devan said.

  “So she’s running on E and I guess she knew her goose was about to be cooked so she decided to go the distraction route. She slowed down a bit, not a lot, I’m talking about going from eighty down to fifty. Then she leaned across the seat, pushed open the passenger door and shoved my one-month-old, yellow ass straight out of the car!”

  “Oh my Go
d!” June said.

  “I bounced off the asphalt, did a few somersaults and cartwheels. The cop cars, they swerved all over the place so as not to run me over. A few of them crashed even. Eventually I stopped rolling and, well, I was a little worse for the wear.” Seth slapped his thighs.

  Wyatt felt like his head was going to blow off from holding back laughter but he didn’t want to spoil his brother’s fun.

  “Are you shitting me?” Devan asked.

  Seth shook his head. “God’s honest truth.

  “You poor thing!” June said. She grabbed Seth’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Wyatt thought his cheeks flared in a blush.

  “It’s alright,” Seth said. “My family got a hella sweet settlement from the hospital. And I got free wheelchairs for life.”

  “What happened to the woman who took you?” Devan asked.

  Seth shrugged his shoulders. “No idea. They never caught her. She’s probably living in Ottawa for all I know.”

  “That’s fucked up,” Devan said.

  “Indeed.” Seth nodded, sober. “Anyway, that’s the story about how I ended up in the chair.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Seth came awake to a muffled, rustling noise. It took him a moment to remember where he was, then the leftover smell of smoke from the extinguished fire reminded him of their evening in the gas station.

  It had taken him a while to fall asleep. He was excited over the new additions to their group and enjoyed having people closer his own age to talk to. The fact that June was the prettiest girl he’d seen in years factored into that too, of course. He didn’t even mind that she might as well have been smuggling a watermelon under her shirt. He hoped that tomorrow he’d have more time to talk to her and to potentially show off and impress her with his wit and humor since the physical side of him was lacking.

  He glanced around the small room and discovered he was alone. Wyatt’s sleeping bag was empty. Devan and June’s the same. They must have gone outside, Seth realized and felt a pang of disappointment. They were hanging out together, maybe even sharing a snack, and left him inside. Alone.

  He knew his handicap made him a burden at times. There was no spur-of-the-moment fun when you had to wait for him to climb into his chair and wheel himself around, but it still hurt.

  “Fuckers,” he muttered and rolled onto his side. He considered going to the effort of joining them in the night, if for no other reason than to tell them to screw off for leaving him out, for excluding him from whatever they were up to, but before he could get that far he saw movement in the garage.

  Peering into the darkness was pointless, so he focused on listening instead. It was silent for a moment, then he heard whispers. Footsteps. And a crunch, like someone had stepped on a peanut shell.

  “Hold still, pops.”

  Was that Devan’s voice? He’d heard it so much throughout the day that he felt confident in the belief that it was.

  “Devan?” Seth asked. “Wyatt? Are you guys in there?”

  The noise coming from the garage stopped. Seth propped himself onto his elbows and army crawled toward the void.

  He made it a fourth of the way there when June came into view. She sashayed to him, grinning.

  “Sorry if we woke ya. We were trying to be discreet.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “We’re having a surprise party.”

  June was close enough for him to smell the lavender body lotion she’d slathered herself in before going to sleep. She bent at the waist, bringing their faces only inches apart.

  “A surprise party?” Seth felt his heartbeat quicken from being so close to the girl and wondered what she’d do if he leaned in and kissed her perfect, pink lips. But he didn’t have time for that because Devan appeared behind her.

  “Yeah,” Devan said. “Surprise!” His arm arced down, and it was only when it was too late that Seth realized he was swinging a tire iron at his face. He felt a stinging pain as it connected with his cheek, and then all he saw were stars.

  Through the fog that filled his head, Seth realized he was being dragged by the arms. He struggled but Devan’s grip was a vise and he couldn’t pull free.

  It was a short trip and a few seconds later he was in the garage. He saw his mother on the floor, arms and feet bound together with Bungie cords.. Across from her Trooper sat propped against the garage door. He too was tied up and his mouth was covered in duct tape for good measure. Seth saw a stream of blood coming from the man’s nose which was bent at a harsh, unnatural angle.

  Devan dropped Seth’s arms and rolled him onto his back. “We don’t want to hurt anyone, okay? We just want your stuff and we’ll be gone so don’t do anything stupid.” He reached for an extension cord.

  “You don’t gotta tie him up,” June said. “I’ll take care of him. You go get his brother.”

  “You sure?” Devan asked.

  June nodded. “Sure as sugar.” She stepped over Seth and then sat on his legs, straddling him.

  “What are you doing?” Devon asked, his whisper rising slightly.

  “I just want to have a little fun.” June began to rub his chest with her hands.

  Seth heard Devan leave the room but his attention was on the girl on top of him. The way she felt against him. The heat of her body transferring to his own. He wanted to fight back, to stop them from robbing his family - or worse - but he was a boy who’d never so much as kissed a girl before and he had no fight to give.

  “I always wondered how it worked with cripples” June said. “Your legs don’t work but what about everything else?”

  She rocked back and forth on top of him, their crotches separated only by their clothing.

  “Stop it.” He wondered if the plea sounded as fake out loud as it did in his head. He could feel his mother’s eyes on him, Trooper watching him. He was ashamed that he wasn’t doing something to prevent this, but at the same time, he enjoyed it. This was what he dreamed about, albeit not in such a fucked up scenario. And no matter how embarrassed or ashamed he was, his body was in charge and he felt himself get hard against her undulating hips.

  June giggled. “Oh wow, I guess some parts still work, huh?”

  She reached down and rubbed him with her hand, through his jeans, then just as suddenly as it had began, it was over. Seth felt damp heat spread across his groin and let out a soft “Oof.”

  June leaned down, whispering in his ear. “You’re welcome.”

  As she slid off him Seth turned his face away from his mother and Trooper, unable to meet their gaze. It was the best and worst moment of his life.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Wyatt crouched behind a dented newspaper machine that hadn’t peddled the daily news since the 1990s. The cramps were awful, but the smell was even worse. It had been eons since he’d eaten well but now he was paying the price. As hot, liquified diarrhea shot out of his body, he wondered if it was worth it.

  Yeah, probably.

  He ripped a fart so loud he looked to the gas station and watched, wondering if he’d woken the others. The thought of any of them stumbling outside, startled and scared only to find him squatting over a steaming pile of excrement terrified him.

  Then he saw movement. “Oh, fuck me.”

  He tried to will his asshole shut, his bowels into submission, but knew the battle was only half-won as he scrambled to wipe himself clean.

  Through his panic, he realized that he might be dealing with something even worse than getting caught beshitted. Because the person moving away from the gas station was pushing a shopping cart filled to the brim. And they were running.

  Wyatt jerked up his jeans, not caring whether or not he still reeked. He grabbed the pistol he’d set aside before beginning his expulsion and rose to his feet. The person with the cart rapidly disappeared into the night and he realized they weren’t worth chasing, at least not yet. All that mattered was figuring out what had gone down inside the garage.

  He didn’t make it a yard in their direction
when he heard Devon’s voice.

  “Where ya been, hoss?”

  Wyatt turned and found Devan behind him. The man had a grin on his face and a shotgun aimed and ready to fire. He took a step, his foot splashing into Wyatt’s waste, and lost his smile.

  “Aw, fuck.” Devan stared down at his foot which was ankle deep in shit. “I liked these boots. Now they’re all cocked up. I oughta shoot you just for that.” He let the barrel of the shotgun drift over Wyatt, first his midsection, then his chest, then his head.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “What the fuck do you think?”

  Wyatt supposed that was a dumb question. It was all too obvious what was going on. He’d been a fool, an idiot, the world’s biggest moron. And now everyone he loved was going to pay the price. His gaze fell to the ground, and he almost wished Devan would shoot him and save him that shame.

  “Aw, don’t blame yourself, hoss. I’ve been perfecting this act for five years now. Shit, I’d have been damned offended if you’d caught on. No one ever does.”

  “So you’ve done this before?”

  Devan rolled his eyes. “Not all of us have been holed up in Maine. We’ve been out here in the weeds having to stay alive. Doing what it takes to stay alive.”

  “But I really liked you.” Wyatt knew that was a pathetic thing to say. That it made him sound weak, but it was the truth. He felt like he’d found a best friend in Devan and that hurt almost more than anything else.

  Devan lowered the shotgun. “Look, Wyatt. I’m sorry. You’re a good kid, but it’s just the way the world is.”

  Wyatt shook his head, hoping it was enough of a distraction that Devan wouldn’t notice as he flicked off the safety of his pistol. It worked. “It doesn’t have to be. Just because everything else sucks doesn’t mean you have to suck too. It’s not too late to be a decent person.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Devan said.

  Maybe he’s right, Wyatt thought.

  He fired the pistol from his hip. The explosion as the gun went off sounded like a thunderclap, echoing over the flat land again and again and again.