“Uh-huh,” was all Luke could manage.
“Five minutes, kids! Get ready!” Mrs. Wilkes said.
Abby took her place on the far right side of the stage. Luke was on the opposite side, but it would not be long before they met in the middle for the first of several dances together that night. She looked over at him and caught him staring at her. She smiled and discreetly waved at him. He waved back, though a little more awkwardly, and then turned his attention straight ahead.
Abby did the same, waiting for the curtain to open. She heard Mrs. Wilkes in front of the curtain, thanking everyone for coming, listing the names of the performers, and stressing how hard the performers had worked on their parts (which was very true). Then the curtain opened and Abby stepped forward to loud applause.
***
Zach and his group finally arrived back at the main gate of Little America, all of them tired, sore, and most in need of medical attention. Their last day of journeying back had been an absolute nightmare. They had practically bumped into a group of zombies, maybe twenty or twenty-five in total, and never had a chance to run away. Zach had dropped several of the zombies with his rifle, but since he was the only one with a gun, most of the zombies had been able to close with the group.
It had been a short but exhausting fight, both physically and mentally. Hand to hand combat with zombies is always a terrifying and extremely difficult affair, but the group had amazingly survived, thanks in large part to Ross’ massive frame. As soon as the zombies charged at the group, Ross had picked up a long tree branch as big around as his massive biceps and wielded it like a warhammer, crushing skulls like Ajax the Great. Every member of the group had been hurt in some way, but they were all alive and no one had been bitten. Against all odds, they won the fight, but their injuries slowed down their rate of travel considerably, and night was already coming on by the time they made it home.
The group had been spotted by the gate guards from a distance, and they had dispatched a runner to Town Hall, so Mayor Calvin was waiting to greet his men as they returned. Old as he was, Calvin had run all the way to the gate, eager for news.
“My God, Zach. You look like hell. What happened?” he asked Zach as soon as he came through the gate. He was worried when he saw his men’s tattered and torn appearance, and curious as to why none of the survivors were with them.
“That distress call was a fake, sir,” Zach answered. He alone was standing with the Mayor while the others were being given food, water, and proper medical care.
“What do you mean?”
“We found the place, an old IKEA store, but there had been no zombie attack. Bandits had destroyed the place. Everything and everyone was gone. But fifty of the raiders were waiting for us, intending to ambush us and take us as prisoners.”
“Fifty men?” Calvin asked incredulously. “How the Devil did you escape?”
“I struck a deal with their leader. He and I had a winner-take-all knife fight.”
“Christ!”
“I won, just barely. So we were able to leave. But he kept all our guns, except for mine. Then earlier today, we were attacked by zombies. We all survived, but we’re pretty beat up.”
“This is most unwelcome news, Zach. Fifty bandits you say?”
“Yes sir. And they’re just one section of some sort of super-gang. Edmund, the man I fought, said there’s a guy called the Boss who basically runs a private army and controls pretty much all the land and people around Lake Michigan. We should talk about him.”
“Yes, yes. You go and get yourself looked at, have some food and water, and then we’ll meet at my office.”
“Sounds good, sir. I’ll be there at…” Zach paused to look at his watch. It said 5:56 PM, September 3rd.
Zach did a double-take when he saw the date. Abby’s birthday! Her dance performance! He had forgotten!
“Sir,” he said urgently, “do you know what time that dance performance at the school starts?”
The Mayor looked puzzled for a moment, but then his eyes opened wide and he said, “Your daughter’s going to be there! I completely forgot! It starts in…four minutes! Hurry Zach, run!”
Ross told Zach to just leave his ruck and weapons with him and he would take them back home for him. Zach hastily thanked him and then sprinted towards the school. Passersby gave him strange looks, mystified as to why this dirty, disheveled man was running like all hell just broke loose. He reached the school in a short amount of time, bursting through the front doors and following paper signs on the walls to the small fine arts auditorium. He looked down at his watch: 5:59 PM.
***
Abby stepped forward to loud applause, smiling slightly when she spotted Amber, Al, and Diane in the crowd. Then she lifted her eyes towards the back of the room, to the exit doors, and what she saw made her catch her breath. Leaning against the wall in the far corner, his arms folded across his chest, was Zach. Abby’s grin took up half her face and she almost missed her cue as the music started.
Knowing now that Zach was in the audience, Abby put forth her absolute best effort, performing every move to perfection and smiling wide the whole time. Luke noticed Abby’s drastic change in mood and the extraordinary amount of energy she was putting into the show. As usual, Abby’s charm was infectious, and Luke found himself smiling along with her and having to step his intensity up to match hers.
It was not a very long performance, but it was an exceptional one. The show started with ballet set to string music which transitioned into folk dancing to the tune of Celtic tribal music. Next they played a bluegrass song and the performers did a barnyard dance, and then they slowed it down to ballroom type dancing set to a classical piece. For the finale, the slow, sophisticated ballroom dancing exploded without warning into a fast-paced, dubstep dance.
Abby had an absolute blast from beginning to end, but especially so during the last two sets, because it was during those songs that she had the most contact with Luke. They danced wonderfully together, their personalities and dancing styles complementing each other perfectly. Anyone could see the chemistry that they had as dancers, though only Zach could see the glint in Abby’s eyes that betrayed just how much chemistry she had with Luke.
The dancers, young as they were, had all displayed terrific talent as they fluidly transitioned between styles and mastered each type of dance. As Abby had promised Amber, it had been a great show, and she and Luke had indeed improvised several moves on their own, delighting Mrs. Wilkes.
When the show ended and the performers took their bows, the small crowd gave them thunderous applause, but Abby ignored it all and looked only to Zach, who still stood in the corner. He was smiling, but instead of clapping he simply gave Abby a subtle thumb’s up. This was all the approval she needed, and she felt immensely proud.
***
Zach had snuck into the back of the auditorium moments before the curtain opened, but he stayed back because of his appearance (and smell). He did not want to alarm anyone in the audience, nor did he want Abby to see the long, white scar on his face from where Edmund’s knife had gotten him, at least not yet. But he was glad she had spotted him and knew that he had made it. He noticed the red ribbon in her hair and thought it looked very pretty. Amber must have given it to her, he concluded.
Abby had been nothing short of marvelous during the performance, and Zach noticed that most of her routine was done in conjunction with that Luke fellow. Abby seemed very happy to be dancing with him, and he figured eventually Abby would talk to him about the boy. He was very talented too, Zach saw, and the pair made for excellent dance partners. Needless to say, Zach was impressed. He had only ever seen Abby dance back in the cabin as she tried to teach him what she could. To see her dancing to the best of her abilities, and surrounded by other talented dancers, was a genuine treat.
After the performance, Abby ran down the side aisle, heading straight for Zach with tears in her eyes. He took a step forward from his spot in the corner and Abby crashed into his o
pen arms. “Oh Dad, I’m so glad you made it!” she said.
“Me too, Abby. You were wonderful,” he answered.
“Thanks,” she said as she looked up at Zach’s face. She gasped when she saw his scar, made more prominent by his week old beard, and said, “Zach, you’re hurt!”
By now Amber, Al, and Diane, who had not seen Zach, came rushing over.
“Zach!” Amber said, interrupting Zach before he could explain his new scar to Abby. Zach wrapped his arms around her tightly and then kissed her.
“My God, son, what happened to you?” Al asked, pointing to his scar. Amber looked and covered her mouth to stifle a gasp.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just had a close call, that’s it,” Zach said.
“Where’s Ross? He’s not hurt is he?” Diane asked with concern.
“Ross is fine. He should be back in your apartment by now. He took my stuff back with him so I could some straight here,” Zach answered. Diane thanked him, told him she was glad he was safe again, and then took off to go see her husband.
“A close call?” Abby asked with a worried expression.
“That’s all it was, Bug. I’m fine, really,” Zach said with a smile. “Come on, let’s go home. As I recall, I believe we have to celebrate someone’s fifteenth birthday.”
Fortunately, they had been waiting until after Abby’s performance to celebrate her birthday, so Zach had not missed much. As the four of them walked back home, all of the conversation was geared towards Abby, praising her and her friends for their dancing skills; she accepted the compliments with her usual humility, of course. Zach asked her about her hair ribbon and Abby told him that it was a present from Luke (though she omitted the detail about their kiss, preferring to keep that sweet memory to herself, at least for now).
When they got back home, Abby showered and changed in Amber and Al’s apartment so that Zach could shower in their apartment, since everyone was in agreement that he needed one (he changed into another long-sleeved shirt, preferring to keep the majority of his scars from his battle with Edmund hidden for the night).
A little bit later, everyone, Diane and Ross included, came over to Zach and Abby’s apartment to celebrate Abby’s birthday. Amber baked a small cake that they all shared. Then they all sat down together and talked for a long time. Zach recounted his adventures with Ross, both of them telling their own versions of the events of the last several days, but they mostly talked about their encounter with Edmund and his gang.
“I’m glad you didn’t have to meet him, Abby,” Zach said. “He’s a really bad character.”
“What was it he said about Abby when we left?” Ross asked.
“About me?” Abby asked, wondering how she could have possibly come up in their conversation.
“Yeah, he asked if I had a family, so I told him I had a daughter. When we were leaving, for whatever reason he said, ‘Tell Abby her friend Edmund says hello’.”
“But I don’t know him,” Abby said.
“Like I said, he’s insane,” Zach said. “But we’re here now, and we’re safe again.”
“Yeah man, I’d almost forgotten how nice things are here. How normal life is,” Ross said.
“It is, definitely,” Amber said. “It makes me think that this whole crisis will be over soon, and then we can forget all about these last few years.”
“I don’t think we can ever forget all the terrible things that we’ve witnessed,” Al said, speaking in a tone that was almost mystical.
There was a hushed silence that followed, and then Amber said, “Thanks, Dad. I was almost feeling hopeful for a second there.”
“I’m just saying, hoping for a return to normalcy is one thing, but let’s not pretend that we’ll all just conveniently forget about spending every day, year after year, in a waking nightmare.”
“He’s kind of right,” Abby said. “I know that I’ll never be able to forget some of the things I’ve seen; things I’ve had to do; things that have happened to me. And I think it’s good for us not to forget. It reminds us that, in a time when darkness and evil covered the world and a lot of people gave in to the savagery and turmoil, we held firm. We, and others like us, burned brightly in the dark night that the zombies brought with them, standing like beacons to the rest of the world.”
“Take Zach for example, and compare him to someone like Henry. Henry was one of those who fell into the darkness and became an absolute monster, worse than he had ever been before. Instead of using this time to redeem himself and help others, he threw away every last shred of humanity he had left. He murdered and raped, did whatever he wanted to whomever he wanted because it’s always easy to do the wrong thing, especially when there is no one to hold you accountable for your actions.”
“But not Zach. When Zach found me, he could have hurt me and abused me like Henry tried to do, and I would have been powerless to stop him. Heck, he didn’t even have to save me. He could have kept on walking and pretend that he hadn’t seen me. He could have told himself that too many zombies were after me and I was already done for. But he didn’t. Against all odds and logic, he saved me.”
“And he didn’t stop there. He could have called that his good deed for the day, put on his ‘Good Samaritan’ cap, and rode off into the sunset. But no, he brought me with him. He fed me, clothed me, and protected me. It must have been so difficult to provide for me, especially during those first several days. I was so scared and uncertain of what was happening that I couldn’t even talk to him. I didn’t even tell him my name. But he never lost his patience with me. Since I wouldn’t give him my name, he made one up for me: Bug. I wouldn’t answer his questions, but still he asked them, talking to me like one does to a pet. Then one day, we were eating dinner and he had just given me that slingshot that he made for me. I was so overwhelmed by his kindness over the past several days that I finally got over myself and told him my name.”
“Zach, you should have seen your face light up, like a unicorn had just spoken to you. And ever since then, you’ve been the father I never had. Through thick and thin, you’ve stuck with me and made countless sacrifices for me, asking for nothing in return.”
“I’m not really sure where I’m going with this, but my point is that this crisis has either brought out the very worst in people, like Henry, or the absolute best, like Zach, like all of us. We’ve held on to our humanity, that inner light within our souls, and we’ve survived. And that’s something that we should never forget.”
No one spoke for several seconds. Everyone was amazed by the clarity and wisdom shown by such a young girl. “Abby,” Zach said quietly, “I’m so very proud of you and you’re becoming a fine woman, indeed.” Abby blushed but said nothing.
“Well, on that beautiful note,” Diane said, rising from her seat with Ross, “I need to get going. Got some things to do tomorrow that I put off today and I need some sleep.”
“Not until you and I are reacquainted,” Ross said with a devilish grin, following her to the door. Diane laughed and playfully hit him, but said nothing to the contrary.
“We should go too,” Al said as he too got up along with Amber. Abby thanked everyone again as they left. Amber kissed her on the cheek and wished her a happy birthday.
“Thanks Amber!” Abby chirped after kissing her back.
She and Zach both got ready for bed immediately after everyone left, both exhausted from their busy day. Zach checked in on Abby once she had climbed into bed.
“You going to sleep now?” he asked.
“Yup. Goodnight, Zach.”
“Goodnight, Abby.”
“Hey Zach?”
Zach stopped in the doorway and turned around to face Abby. She was silent for a moment and just looked at him. “Thank you for coming back to me,” she said finally.
“I’ll always come back to you, Bug. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Zach closed her door and walked over towards his bedroom, whistling “Earthbound” by Rodney Crowel
l as he went.
“If you keep whistling these really obscure songs,” he heard Abby call, “I’m never gonna get one right, you know.”
“These are all on my iPod, kid,” Zach replied. “Maybe you should have broadened your taste in music at some point.”
“Yeah, well…you should broaden your taste in…colors,” she retorted.
“Yeah, I probably won’t.”
“Colorphobe!”
“That’s not even a word,” Zach laughed. “Go to sleep, little lady.”
“After you, big guy,” Abby said with a smile. She was so very happy to be reunited with Zach, and he was equally elated to be back with Abby. Even after being apart for a long week, they still had their inside jokes and little witticisms that made both of them feel like they were a real father and daughter.
Life carried on for Zach and Abby for the next several weeks. Abby continued going to school, dancing, and attempted dating for the first time with Luke. She really did like him a lot, and he genuinely cared for her. He was very nice to her, treated her well, and was respectful towards Zach, so Zach did not mind their relationship (much).
Zach, meanwhile, was making great strides in his relationship with Amber. Following the advice she had gotten from Abby, Amber had once again sat down with Zach, telling him everything that Abby had told her. Zach felt much the same as Amber did about Abby’s revelations, especially after talking to her himself. So they had both agreed that it was for the best that they take their relationship much more seriously. In fact, just six weeks after his return from the Wild, Zach was thinking of ways to propose to Amber, but he kept this as his own little secret, not even telling Abby.
Yes, life was good for Zach and Abby, and it seemed that as long as they stayed in Little America, things would be alright. Rumors were spreading all across town that the American government was in the planning stages of a military push across the country, wiping out zombies and any gang-like factions that did not accept the President’s offer of clemency for those that peacefully assimilated back into the nation. Everyone was confident that the Crisis would be over soon and then they could all go home.
His Name Was Zach Page 30
