by A. R. Wise
“We got separated,” said Ben. “There were Greys in there.”
“I’m going back in for them.”
They heard Stubs bark from somewhere inside the church.
“No you’re not,” said Ben as he held Laura back. “Zack was right behind me. He went back in for Billy and Harrison. You stay with me.”
“But I need him,” said Laura, without even realizing why she’d said it. Ben looked at her and she said again, like a heartbroken teen, “I need him.”
“He’ll be fine. I’m starting to think that guy’s impossible to kill.”
“You’d better be right.”
Laura got down and stared through the pocket of air that hovered over the floor of the church as the white smoke billowed out. She heard the pounding of feet on the stairs before Zack came bounding up. She moved out of his way as he thundered past, a force of nature with a barrel chest and scorched cheeks, eyes clenched shut to protect them from the smoke. He knocked Ben to the side as he blindly charged into the yard and then gasped for air as he knelt down on one knee. Billy and Harrison were each laid over one of his shoulders and he tried to gently lay them down before he collapsed to the mud. Harrison held Stubs aloft with both hands, like a cherished treasure stolen from an ancient, collapsing shrine.
“Zack!” Laura crawled through the mud and fell over him as he huffed. She kissed him over and over as she cried. “You son of a bitch! You almost got yourself killed. What would I do without you? Are you okay?” She kissed his forehead, and then his lips. “I love you, you big dumb bastard. Are you okay?”
He reached out and set his rough palm against the side of her face. “Never better.”
“That’s sweet and all,” said Ben. “But we’re not out of this yet.”
“Holy shit,” said Zack as he saw the horde on the other side of the fence. They were clamoring to get over, some of them even impaling themselves on the spikes in their attempt. The sacrificed Greys acted like bridges for the ones behind, and the zombies started to flood into the yard.
Billy and Harrison moaned as Zack nudged them. “Get up, guys. We’ve got trouble.”
Billy coughed and groaned as he tried to get up. He saw the zombies climbing over the fence. “Oh great, and here I thought shit was about to get easier for once.”
“Oh fuck this,” said Harrison as he sat hunched, looking every part like the drunk hurling in a back alley. He put the dog on the ground and then grimaced as he straightened his old bones and stood tall. “I take back every nice thing I said about you, God. You’re just prolonging this now, aren’t you?” Lightning snapped in the air as if in response. Harrison shook his fist at the sky and yelled, “Oh shut up!”
Stubs growled at the horde and started to spin in a circle. Then he lifted his leg and peed on the corpse near the slide before kicking dirt back at it, like a bull getting ready to charge.
The group stood against the horde, bearing the meager weapons they had left. Ben handed Zack the axe. Billy still had his rifle and Laura had her pistol in its holster under her suit. She wormed her arm through the sleeve to reach down and retrieve it. Harrison grabbed a piece of wood, willing to do what he could when the horde got close enough.
A light glowed on the horizon, bright white splitting the darkness as the wind pushed the storm west, driving rain into their faces as they stood against the crowd. “What in the…” Laura started to ask just as the horn of a semi blared.
“The Rollers!” Zack exclaimed and thrust his axe in the air. “Look who came back for us!”
“Those dumb bastards,” said Billy, a wide smile on his face.
Zack laughed and spun, performing a silly dance as joy overwhelmed him. “I told them not to, I swear. I told them to get out of here, but they never listen to me. You see? They don’t listen to a damn word I say.” He laughed and then cheered.
Most of the horde that hadn’t scaled the fence turned to watch the trucks advance. The others were easy for Billy to take out with his rifle, which also sent a signal to The Rollers that they were there.
Three trucks rumbled up to the rear yard of the church and there were Rollers on the top, ready to clear the scene. They ravaged the horde, shattering the Greys into splinters of bone and strips of flesh. When the massacre was over, she saw Arthur in the passenger seat of the lead truck.
“You were supposed to get to safety,” said Laura as she walked toward the gate.
“And you were supposed to get in the truck,” said Arthur. “So let’s not start pointing fingers.”
“Where are the others?” asked Zack.
“We split up,” said Arthur. “The survivors from Vineyard and our wounded went ahead a ways to wait for us. We got together some Rollers to come back here and save your asses.”
“You know how I feel about people disregarding orders,” said Laura as she opened the gate and started to climb over the corpses to get to Arthur’s truck.
“Oh shit,” said Zack. “You pissed her off now, kid.”
She climbed up to the side of the truck, trying to keep a scowl on her face as she opened the door. Laura took Arthur’s head in her hands and kissed him. “I owe you one.”
Abe was in the driver’s seat beside Arthur and started laughing. “Shit, I thought she was about to deck you.”
Then Laura slapped Arthur. She smirked as she pointed at him. “Don’t disobey me again.”
“Yes Ma’am,” said Arthur as he rubbed his cheek.
Laura waved at the others. “Mount up, guys. This ain’t over yet.”
Chapter Twenty-Three – Reveals and Retreats
Two years after the apocalypse
Reagan is in the Nederland facility, facing his son.
“We have a lot to talk about,” said Reagan’s son. He snapped his fingers and waved at the others to leave. “Can I have a moment, please?”
The men in lab coats put down their beakers and clipboards, and headed for the door. Duke and the other soldier stood sentry as the scientists left.
“You two as well,” said Reagan’s son to the soldiers.
“Sir,” said Duke. “With all due respect, he’s dangerous. We have no way of monitoring this room. I’d feel more comfortable if you let us…”
“Enough.” Reagan’s son had mastered the art of command. His tone was perfectly terse and tense enough to silence the soldiers without shaming them. “Thank you for your concern, but I’ve known this man for a very long time. I’m in no danger here.” He held out his wrist to reveal a simple, silver bracelet. “Besides, I’m hooked into The Electorate’s bio-monitors. If he somehow manages to break his cuffs and murder me, you’ll know it. I assure you. But he won’t do that, because if anything happens to me, then we’ll kill his two little friends.”
“Yes sir,” said Duke. “Should we wait outside?”
“That would be fine,” said Reagan’s son.
Duke and Reagan’s choking victim went out of the room and closed the door. Reagan’s son followed and then turned the lock on the door which caused vents in the room to kick back on, changing the air pressure. Reagan’s ears popped during the process, as if he had been descending a mountain.
His son rubbed his ear and snickered. “Sorry about that. We’ve found the virus proliferates better at lower altitudes, which makes experimenting in the mountains a bit of a challenge.”
“Jim, what’s going on?” asked Reagan, his mind reeling. “How are you alive? I don’t understand.”
“Please, have a seat,” said Reagan’s son as he motioned to a stool opposite the lab table he was standing beside. “I’ve got answers for you, but first we have to come to an understanding. The last time we met, it didn’t turn out so well for me.”
“Jim, I never wanted to hurt you. Everything I ever did was for you and your mother.”
Jim put his finger to his lips and squinted as he shushed his father. “You have no idea what you’re saying. Sit and be quiet for a moment.” He walked to another part of the room to get a compute
r tablet as Reagan sat down. The captain’s muscles were unwilling to keep him up. He felt like the world was spinning without him as he braced himself on the gleaming black surface of the lab table.
Jim returned with the tablet and held it up to show Reagan a security footage feed displaying several small squares. Reagan recognized the hallway outside of the room they were in where Duke and his friend were standing guard.
“How did they save you?” asked Reagan.
Again, Jim put his finger to his lips and shook his head. “All in due time, Reagan. First, we need to understand each other.” He tapped the screen which caused it to switch from camera feeds to a map of the facility. He tapped two rooms on the map and two camera feeds appeared, revealing the contents of those rooms.
Reagan saw Billy and Hero, each in their own rooms, stripped nude and strung up by chains tied to their wrists. Jim touched a speaker button on the screen with Billy and the sound of the boy screaming threatened to break the speakers. Jim turned the volume down and then smiled at Reagan.
“Do you want to watch your friends die?”
Reagan was horrified, angry, and confused. “Why are you doing this?”
“We’ll get there in a minute,” said Jim. “First, answer the question. Do you want these two boys dead?”
“No, of course not.”
Jim smiled. “I know. That was always your weakness. You cared too damn much for the cannon fodder.” He clicked a microphone on the screen and Billy’s screams were quieted. “Dean, are you there?” Jim moved the screen so the camera at the top of the tablet was pointed at his face.
A soldier appeared on the screen. “Yes, sir.”
“Dean, is this the boy with the back injury?”
“Yes, sir,” said Dean.
“What are you doing?” asked Reagan, his anger increasing.
Jim held up his finger and then smirked. “Proving a point.” He looked back to the screen and said, “Dean, see if you can break the boy’s back for me.”
“No!” Reagan leapt from his seat, sending the stool skittering backward across the tile floor until it tipped over.
The soldier on the screen punched Billy in the back, causing the boy to scream in agony as he twisted in his chains.
“Stop it!” Reagan started to move around the counter.
“If you want them to die, then keep coming at me,” said Jim. He waved his hand with the silver band around his wrist. “Go ahead and be the reason they die.”
Reagan stopped, unsure how to handle the situation.
“Get your chair and sit down,” said Jim. “I’m going to tell Dean to keep hitting this little shit in the back until you’re sitting down again.” He clicked the microphone on the screen again. “Dean, give it another shot.”
Reagan saw the soldier punch Billy in the back, and the boy he’d come to love writhed in pain as he dangled from his bindings. Billy’s wrists bled as the cuffs cut into him, the blood streaming down his arms. Reagan went to get his chair. He had no other choice.
“Hurry up, Reagan,” said Jim. “Dean, hit him again.”
“I’m doing like you told me,” said Reagan as he picked the stool back up.
“Faster,” said Jim before he clicked the microphone to speak with Dean. “Again!”
Billy sobbed as the soldier delighted in the torture.
Reagan slammed the stool down and sat on it, helpless against the impossible situation. “There. Now what are you trying to prove? Why are you doing this?”
“Oh, we’re not done yet.” He clicked the microphone to speak with Dean again. “Dean, go ahead and give the kid a rest. I’ll let you know if we need to kill him.” Jim flicked through the screens on the tablet to bring him back to the map. He found the hallway outside of their room where the two soldiers were standing guard and started to rewind the footage until Reagan was watching himself nearly choking the life out of one of the soldiers.
“This was quiet impressive.” Jim shook his head and laughed as he glanced at Reagan, as if they were sharing in the joke. “Those two were no match for you. Were they?”
“Few are.” Reagan’s jaw was clenched as he seethed his words.
“True, true,” said Jim. “I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get you here safely. There’re a lot of people out there that want you dead. If it weren’t for me, you and your little boy toys would be dead already, along with the rest of your pathetic little group running around out there pretending to be soldiers. Little did you know, I was out there protecting you, hiding evidence that you were still alive. And then you had to go get caught on an Electorate camera feed. You made my job a hell of a lot harder than it needed to be. I’ve been forcing my men to go through that little exercise with the test subject six times a day, every day, for a couple months now, just waiting for you to take the bait.”
“They turned you into a monster. I don’t know how they saved you, or how they brainwashed you, but you’re not the same boy I knew. They turned you into a fucked up psycho.”
“Oh shut up, Reagan,” said Jim. “You’re making yourself sound like a fool. That kid was a failed experiment, just like a hundred others before her. We’re trying to save the world here, and a few cracked eggs here and there are necessary. That’s always been your problem, Reagan. You worry too damn much about people that don’t matter. Just like those two kids you’ve been hauling around with you. They’re useless. You, my friend, were always too concerned with the men serving under you. It was always your downfall, and it’s the reason your family died.”
Reagan shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“I tried to help you, Charles. I loved you like a brother.”
Reagan didn’t understand, and could only utter his boy’s name, “Jim?”
“No, you idiot,” said the man Reagan had thought was his son. “I’m not your God damned son. It’s me, Richard.” He saw Reagan’s confused look and explained further, “Richard Covington.”
* * *
August 24th, 20 years after the apocalypse
Laura has escaped the church, thanks to her friends.
The Rollers regrouped with the rest of the caravan far from the town, out where Arthur had first learned that Zack had gone back to find Laura. The caravan had stopped to check on the status of each truck before heading onto the highway when Kayla told Arthur what had happened. He refused to go further without Zack and Laura, even threatening to get out of his truck and walk back if necessary, even with his broken leg.
Word of the argument spread through the group, which forced a vote. The Rollers were nearly unanimous in the decision to return to the burning town in search of their lost leaders.
“I’m sorry, Laura,” said Kayla. They were stopped beside the highway, again ensuring that everyone was ready before undertaking the journey to Castle Rock. “I never wanted to leave you behind.”
Laura hugged her old friend. “Stop it. If anything, I’m pissed at you for not lying to them all and getting them out of here in the first place. I was the one at fault here. I should’ve never wasted time with that pilot.”
“Did you learn anything from him?” asked Kayla.
“No, he was having seizures when I got to him. He died shortly after. I found a transmitter in his clothes, which is probably how Jerald was able to track us down.”
Kayla looked out at the battered group of Rollers that were wandering around the side of the road, speaking in hushed tones about their uncertain future. “Everyone here feels your pain, Laura. We all loved Kim.”
“I know, Kayla.” Laura put her hand on her friend’s shoulder and squeezed as she looked up at the storm that was crossing the plains.
“And we all love you too. I just about had a riot on my hands when they found out you got left behind.”
Laura laughed and shook her head. “I know how that goes. This isn’t the easiest group to keep a handle on.”
“No,” said Kayla. “You’re damn right about that.” She took Laura’s hand and sq
ueezed it. “But they’ll follow you. Do you understand, Laura? This pack of bastards would do anything for you. You’ve earned it. You’re our captain.”
Laura looked up at the storm in the distance and wondered where it was headed. The wind spun around them, threatening to carry the storm in any number of directions at a moment’s notice.
“We’re going to war, Kayla,” said Laura, almost in apology.
“I figured as much,” said Kayla.
“We need time to heal up. We’ll find this rehab center that Arthur knows about, take however long we need to get back to fighting shape, and then we’ll figure out how to split up The Rollers. I’ll send Arthur out to meet with Jules, and we’ll see if we can get The Department’s backing.”
“This is what we always promised would never happen,” said Kayla. “We were supposed to stay together. Billy, Hero, and Reagan were always adamant about that.”
“That’s a promise we can’t keep anymore,” said Laura. “I don’t want anyone to be dragged into a war they can’t win, but some of us won’t ever be willing to let it go, myself included.”
“War won’t bring Kim back,” said Kayla.
“I know that,” said Laura. “I’m past the point of reason on this one, Kayla. I’m numb.” She looked at her hands and chuckled, although she couldn’t have explained what she found funny. “It’s like all I’ve got left is hate.”
“That’s got to be the worst reason to go to war that I’ve ever heard.”
“I agree,” said Laura. “But it’s the truth. I knew it the moment I saw Annie on top of that steeple, guarding all of us. When she heals up, the first thing she’s going to want to do is find Jerald. And if marching into hell first gives her another minute to live, then I’ll happily run in.”
Kayla winced as a drop of rain struck her cheek. “That sounds like the reason mankind has never been able to give up on war. Every dead body leaves behind another broken, vengeful heart. I think you told me that once, Laura.”
