Never coming back.The thought jarred him.
"Is everything okay?" Alice asked.
"I'm all right," he said. "Just a little sad."
"We've lived here a long time."
"We did."
"I always thought that we were going to die here." It was a morbid thought, but it was one that John had had too. They had lived here for so long. It only felt right that they'd die here. Together.
"There's nothing we can do about that now," John said. He closed the door and felt it click into place. It was a strange sensation. One that he had barely ever noticed before.That little sound that meant they were protected from the world.It affected him, made him question what they were doing. Yet he quickly pushed those thoughts aside. "We're making the right choice."
"I hope you're right."
"I am."
Alice smiled, though her smile was a bit weak.
They turned to look back at the front door. They couldn't see anything on the other side of it, but they knew what was there. The photos on the walls. Their bedroom. The kitchen. Living room. Carpets. Tables. Television.
It was their home. And they were leaving it.
Alice moved toward her husband and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"Sometimes you drive me crazy," she said. "You and your silly ideas."
John smiled. "I love you too."
The old couple turned away from their house and looked at their group. Everyone was waiting for them down at the end of the sidewalk. John and Alice could see that no one wanted to rush them.
"Ready?" John asked.
His wife looked at him. "Yes. But John…"
"What?"
She gave him a kiss.
John grabbed his wife's hand. It would be the last time that they walked down these steps. It would be the last time that they would see their house. But this was how it had to be.
John and Alice walked down the stairs. They made their way over to the group.
"We're ready," John said.
Scooter nodded his head. "Then let's go."
And with that they started off down the street.
Chapter 2
It didn't take long for Alice to comment on the destruction. She had never even imagined such a thing before. Bodies were everywhere. The pavement was stained with blood. Cars had been smashed. Some had been burnt. Houses too.
"Oh, John," she said. "What happened out here?"
John felt a rush of panic as he looked at his wife, worried that what she saw was going to push her back over the edge. He reached out his hand and placed it under her elbow.
"It's okay," he said. "Don't worry about it." It was a strange thing to say. Of course, she was going to worry about it. Theyall were. He simply didn't want her to shift back.
"Don't worry about it? How can I not worry about it?"
John's worry continued to build. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost his wife again.How could he go through that once more?
"I didn't mean that," he said. "I just…"
"There's so much death. So much blood. I had no idea." She glanced around. "I mean, I didn't know that it wasthis bad. You had all talked about it, but none of that could've prepared me."
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what? You didn't have anything to do with this."
John wanted to say that he was sorry for not telling her more.Oh, please don't go back into that state of shock. "I know. I just…"
She reached out and grabbed his hand. "It's okay," she said. "You're right. Let's not worry about it."
John let out the breath he had been holding.
Chapter 3
John and Alice let go of each other's hand after a while. The old man had had trouble trouble keeping up with her and he didn't want to slow them down. He also didn't want them to know the pain that he was in. He drifted off to the side to be alone.
It was Scooter who came up to him to see if everything was okay.
"I'm all right," John said. "Let's keep moving."
Scooter stopped. "We can rest here for a bit," he said.
John wanted to. Actually, he wanted to lie down and go to sleep. But he'd never admit that anyone. Not even himself. He needed to be strong. He wouldn't hold the group back.
"No," John said. "Really, I'm fine."
Scooter reluctantly nodded his head. "If you say so. Just don't push yourself too hard. Let me know when you need a rest."
"I will," John said, knowing that he wouldn't. At least, he'd try not to. Maybe he wouldn't have a choice in the matter. But right now he did. And he chose to move on. "Come on."
John started to walk again. Scooter stayed beside him.
The others had kept on and were all that much farther away. Marianne and Julie were walking on either side of Buster. The dog was surprisingly well trained. Alice was walking with Emily, holding the little girl's hand.
Even the little girl was stronger than him.
He tried not to think about that. He was doing the best that he could. His body simply didn't work as well as it once had. He needed to keep that in mind. He had to…
Fall.
John tripped and and went crashing onto the ground. From what he could tell, there was no real reason for it. He might have misstepped. There may have been something in his path. But, whatever the case, he was on the ground, eyes focused on the pavement.
"Are you okay?" Scooter asked.
John couldn't look at the young man. Not yet. He was embarrassed. Frightened. Hurt. He wanted to scream out in frustration. But he didn't want to make things worse than they already were.
He calmed himself before turning onto his side. Scooter was knelt down beside him. He could see his wife and the others turn from their spots up ahead.
"I'm fine," he said. "I just…I…"
He had fallen.
"John!" his wife called to him. She hurried back to see what had happened. The rest of the group came with her. "Oh, John, you've hurt yourself!" Alice reached out her finger and ran it under his nose. When she pulled it away, John could see his blood on it.
"It was just a silly accident," he said. "Nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about? How can you say that?"
"Really, darling, I'm okay." He tried to sit up straighter.
As Alice turned to the others, he could see that she was pleading with them to speak some sense into him. They looked like they wanted to do it too, but John wouldn't have it.
"I'm okay," he said again. "Really."
Alice didn't seem sure. But she didn't argue with him, either. She simply wiped at his face again. More blood came off.
"Here," Marianne said. "Use this." She handed Alice a tissue that she had dug out of her purse.
Alice took the tissue and pressed it against her husband's nose. John winced.
"Take this," his wife told him. "Keep pressure on it."
John took hold of the tissue and placed it back against his nose. He winced again, wondering if his nose was broken.But surely it would hurt more than this,he decided. He pressed a bit harder.No, not broken.
Scooter helped him up.
"Thanks," John said. He stood on his feet, a bit wobbly, but managed to keep himself from falling back down.
"Are you sure you're okay?" the young man asked.
"I'm fine. Really, I just tripped."
"All right, but let me at least take your backpack."
They had talked about it in the basement. Scooter had offered to carry the bag. John had refused. He had wanted to do his share.
"I'm fine," John repeated.
"I know, but…"
"I'm fine."
Chapter 4
One foot after the other, John paid close attention to the steps he took. He didn't want to risk falling. Didn't want to hurt himself any further. Including his pride.
It was true that he was an old man. He knew that. But he also knew that he wasn't the type to fall so easily.
The time he fell off of the stool in the basement di
dn't count,he told himself.He had seen a dead body drop in front of the window. Anyone could have fallen. Besides, after that, he hadn't fallen once.
For the most part, he had been strong in the house. He had taken care of his wife. He had walked up and down the stairs. He had gotten the mattress. Sure,that had been a bit hard. But he had done it.He continued to walk. Still behind the others. Though only a little bit.
How could he have fallen?
"It's okay," Scooter said.
John wasn't sure when the young man had started to walk beside him again. "What was that?"
"It's okay."
John knew that Scooter was trying to be supportive. Saying that it was okay for him to fall. But the thing was that it wasn't.Maybe his wife was right. Maybe they should have stayed back at home.
"I know," he said. It was all he could manage without risking a breakdown.When had he become so old?
"No," Scooter said. "Really, it's okay. It could have happened to anyone."
John looked at the young man again. He didn't know if he was being sincere or not. He didn't think that he was making fun of him, but in his current state he couldn't be sure.
"No, it couldn't have," he replied.
"Yes," Scooter said again. "It could have."
"You mean thatyou could have fallen doing something as simple as walking down the street?"
"It's possible. This situation has set us all off a little."
"Off?"
"Things have changed. It's a lot to deal with."
John thought a little more about that. He supposed that the young man was right. He only hoped that it hadn't rocketed him into being a feeble old man.
"You can't worry about it," Scooter continued. "You took care of your wife. We all saw that. You brought down that mattress. You're strong. So what if you fell? Children fall. Adults fall. Don't worry about it."
John stopped to look at the young man for the moment. He was so much older than Scooter, but here he was, giving him wisdom. More than that, he was giving him encouragement.
"You're right," he said. Then he smiled. It wasn't the most heartfelt smile that he had ever given before, but it was big enough. "Thanks."
Scooter smiled back. "Now let's catch up to the others."
Chapter 5
It didn't take long for John and Scooter to reach them. John was actually surprised at how quickly they had made it. He felt good about it. It made him feel stronger.
They all turned to look at him. Though no one said anything.
John could see that they all wanted to. They were concerned about him. But they wouldn't ask. They didn't want to embarrass him anymore than he had been already.
"It's okay," he said. "I'm all right now."
They continued to look at him.
"Are you sure?" Alice finally asked.
"I'm positive. I was just a bit tired. A bit hungry. That's all."
"You know, I'm a bit hungry too," Scooter said. "Maybe we should stop to have something to eat."
John looked at the young man. He knew that he wasn't hungry. He was only suggesting it so that John could take a rest. But John was feeling better now.He really was. "How about in a little bit?"
Scooter looked at the old man and nodded. "Okay, we'll stop in a little bit."
Chapter 6
They walked for a while before they sat down at a small park. There was no playground for children. No sandbox or swings. If anything, it was little more than a stretch of grass. But there were park benches. And that was good enough.
John took off his backpack and sat down on one of the benches. Even though he had told everyone that he hadn't been all that tired (he had said it to himself as well), sitting down felt good. He took a deep breath and massaged the tops of his legs.
"Are you okay?" his wife asked him. Concern crossed her face.
"I'm fine," he said.
"I don't want you to push yourself too hard."
"I won't."
"Are you sure? I know how you can be."
John took his one of his hands from his leg and placed it on his wife's. "I'm okay," he said. "Honestly."
His wife smiled, but couldn't leave it at that. "What about your nose?"
John's nose had stopped bleeding a while back. It still hurt; especially when he accidentally touched it. But he didn't think that it was going to be much of a problem.
"It's all right," he said.
"Are you sure?"
John knew that his wife was only looking out for him. "I'm positive. Now stop worrying so much."
Alice looked as though she was about to defend herself. Instead, she simply nodded.
John knew that his wife wasn't going to stop worrying, though. No matter what he said. And he couldn't blame her.
Leaving their house had been difficult. Wandering around with thosethings out here was dangerous. Their age didn't help. But they also didn't have much of a choice. They had to find other survivors. Find protection. Maybe even see if they could make sense of what had happened.
They would simply have to make do with what they had and deal with things as they came.
Chapter 7
Scooter placed the axe down beside him and dug into one of the backpacks. He brought out a few things to eat and drink. Things that they had taken from the house. They hadn't bothered to look for anything more yet. He placed them onto the bench beside him. Then he raised his head to ask if anyone was hungry.
However, before he spoke, he caught sight of the old man. His wife was sitting beside him. They were holding hands. Their conversation appeared to be serious, though Scooter couldn't make out what they were saying. He figured that it was about John's condition.
Scooter thought back to the old man's fall. He knew that John had been embarrassed by it. Though he also knew that there was more to it than that as well.
John was embarrassed about getting old. He didn't have the same control over his body as he once had. He no longer had the stamina.
Those concerns were far from Scooter's own thoughts. He was a long way off from that age. But he supposed that he could understand. It wasn't easy being forced to deal with something that you had no say about.
He only hoped that it wouldn't bother John too much. He liked the old man.
More than once, John had praised Scooter for all he had done. He had also come to his defence several times for the suggestions he had made. Scooter wasn't used to that type of support. And he appreciated it.
Then there was the love the old man had for his wife. It still played on Scooter's mind. His parents had never shown each other affection. He couldn't even recall why they had gotten married. His father hadn't told him, "I met your mother at a school dance and couldn't look at anyone else ever again." His mother hadn't said, "Your father swept me off my feet and never put me back down." If anything, it was probably an accidental birth.His accidental birth.
Shit.He had never really thought of that before and didn't want to start now.
He brought his mind back to John and Alice and couldn't help but smile.
He heard laughter.
Julie and Emily were sitting on the grass. Buster was in between them. They had gone back to petting him, scratching behind his ear, underneath his chin.
Emily had gotten much better since they had arrived at John's house and met everyone (including the dog). She didn't cry as much as she once had. She no longer looked on the verge of breaking down.
Even Julie seemed to have relaxed. Not that she was ever all that bad. She had led them out of the airport. She had flown the plane. But she had been frightened a lot of the time.Nervous.
His thoughts stayed on her. She still had on her tight T-shirt. Plus, she had had a chance at John's to straighten her hair, clean up her face.She really was beautiful.
Yet, after seeing John and Alice, he started to wonder if there was more to finding someone than looks.
They laughed again.
Scooter broke his gaze. Too many ideas were drifting through hi
s head. He couldn't make sense of any of them. Most of them were things he had never thought much of before. And cramming them all into his brain at once didn't help.
He pulled out some more food. Then he called to everyone, "Who's hungry?"
Chapter 8
Marianne stood at the edge of the grass and looked around for any sign of the creatures. She didn't think that there were any nearby. They hadn't heard or seen anything since they had left John's house.
She turned to watch Julie and Emily play with her dog.Well, it wasn't reallyherdog. She had only been with him for a few days. But, with all that had happened, it felt like her dog. And that was enough.
She heard them laugh as Buster licked at their hands.
Marianne smiled. It was nice to feel as though they were safe for the time being. Things even feltnormal. Somewhat. She had to ignore the few dead bodies scattered on the road and lining the sidewalk, but that was getting easier to do as time went on. Even their smell had started to die down.
She had also found that she wasn't as consumed by her mother's death anymore. She still missed her and wished that it hadn't happened. However, thoughts of her mother attacking her, dying on the bedroom floor, had become less and less.
The image of the pharmacist lying out on the pavement had likewise begun to fade.
Things were definitely getting better.
"Who's hungry?" Scooter asked.
Marianne realized that she was and went over to grab something to eat.
Chapter 9
Julie scratched underneath Buster's ear. The dog licked her as she did. It tickled enough to make her laugh.
She was feeling a lot better now that they had met other people. Except she wasn't so happy to be out in the open. Since they had left the airport, there hadn't been much sign of the creatures. But that didn't mean that they weren't around. She also had no idea of where the ones who had chased them into John's house had gone. They could be somewhere nearby, waiting to…
Glory (Book 4) Page 5
