Reports came in from the other towns and they all had success stories. We did lose several to the zombies, but I would have been stunned if it had been otherwise. Trevor got a nasty infection from the nail, but recovered in time to take part in the last three weeks of the operation.
Charlie, Tommy and I were on the boat, rolling back to Starved Rock. I hadn’t seen my son and new wife in two months and that was two months too long. We had laden the boat with supplies and were looking forward to planting some crops and making a serious go of our land. Sarah and Rebecca and Angela had gone to one of the other towns and learned how to can food for storage.
As we pulled into our little cove at Starved Rock, I felt a sense of home I hadn’t felt in a long time. We didn’t bother unloading supplies right away, we just headed to the lodge, each of us looking forward to our reunions.
Three weeks later, I stood on the patio, holding Jake and looking over the trees of the park, noting the emergence of a green haze which marked the beginning of spring and new growth. Jake was walking all over the place and babbling constantly. He loved his new home and loved the toys I had brought back.
Several days later, I was clearing out the Visitor’s Center when a heavily laden truck pulled into the parking lot. I stepped out onto the sidewalk, keeping a hand near my ever-present SIG. The truck door opened and the driver got out. I dropped my hand as Duncan walked over to me.
“Your orders have been carried out, sir. Request permission to rest,” Duncan said as he saluted me.
I wrapped Duncan up in a bear hug and lifted him off his feet. As I put him down, I shook his hand and reminded him of what I told him a while ago. “You’re always welcome where I live. C’mon up to the lodge. Charlie and Tommy will be glad to see you, old son.” We walked up to the lodge, where Duncan was greeted like the long lost prodigal.
The summer breezes ran lazily over the treetops as the sun dipped into the horizon. Scarlet rays turned the green leaves crimson and the purple clouds raced each other to the far side of the world. Sarah moved up close to give me a hug and kiss.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?” I asked.
“Saving us all.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t do anything special.”
Sarah took my face in her hands and looked deeply into my eyes. “You reminded us that we were alive once and gave us the will to live again. Don’t ever deny that because that is what you did. Everyone knows it and you should too.”
I looked down. “I lost a lot of people too.”
Sarah hugged me. “You never worried about ghosts before, why bother now? It was never your fault. You did what you could.”
She was right. We were alive and we were living. It was the best revenge we could have against a world gone dead.
As I closed my eyes and breathed Sarah in, I heard a far-off moan carried on the evening breeze. I had managed to get a lot done, but there was more work to do. I still had a promise to keep and we had more to take back.
I made another promise that day. The white flags of the dead might be still out there, but they were no longer a symbol of surrender. They were a rallying cry, to take back what we had lost and reclaim our lives and land. They had tried their best and failed.
We were taking it back. One ragged step at a time, but we were taking it all back.
I looked in and watched Jake play on the floor of the lodge. I thought about his mother, and how far we had come in such a short time. Across the river, next to the abandoned school, I saw a ragged flag flutter in the wind. I knew what I had to do for my son, what I needed to do for everyone still alive, still struggling to keep the monsters away.
I had to step up, rip the country away from the rotted fingers of the virus, and spit in the eye of the infected who haunted the darkness.
I had to take it back.
America the dead
Book 3: White Flag of the Dead Series
Coming soon from Severed Press
Sixteen hundred miles of infected territory. Sixteen hundred miles over terrain which may not have seen a living human in nearly three years. Millions of infected souls, waiting with the hungry patience of the dead.
John Talon and his crew of survivors, torn away from their loved ones by a mission of urgency, must make a journey across the country to save their one small chance at rebuilding a nation. At stake is the soul of a nation, the binding ideals which could remake the country in the hands of whoever possesses them.
Racing against time and a madman who will not allow anyone, living or dead to get in his way, John and his friends will discover whether or not America the Brave has become America the Dead.
Table of Contents
Taking It Back
Midpoint
Taking It Back Page 26
