At the end of his set, he lay flat on the ground with his hand on his stomach. He’d closed his eyes.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” he asked without ever looking back to make eye contact with her.
“Sorry. I’ll come back later.”
Dylan sat up. He ran his hand through his hair before making it to his feet.
“Don’t bother leaving. I’m finished, anyway.”
Shell walked all the way into the room and shut the door behind her. Dylan kept his back turned to her as he shuffled through his things on the bed. The glistening sweat highlighted the dozen cuts on his back. He put on his shirt and turned around, and Shell cleared her throat. His shirt was open, and her eyes fell on his toned stomach, where he had more cuts and scars. Then she looked up into his sharp blue eyes as he buttoned the shirt.
“What did you want to talk about?”
Shell’s eyes fell to Dylan’s injured leg. “I’m curious how you’re feeling.”
“Better.”
“Better as in you’ll be ready to go soon?”
Dylan raised his eyebrows. “You getting anxious for me to leave all of a sudden?”
“You were exercising pretty vigorously this morning. You just look like you’re about ready to go.”
“Being hurt is no excuse to ignore keeping in shape.”
Shell sighed. “I wanted to talk about the boy and I possibly leaving with you when you’re ready to go.”
“And where is this sudden change of heart coming from.”
Shell crossed her arms over her chest and didn’t respond.
“There’s something else,” Dylan said.
“There’s not,” Shell said. “I just think it’s best if—"
Paul poked his head in the door. His eyes got big and he waved his hand in apology.
“Shit, sorry. Uh, I’ll come back.”
Shell looked over at Dylan, who was buttoning the last two buttons on his shirt. She then looked back to the door, where Paul had disappeared.
He thought we were…
Shell shook her head. “No, wait.”
Paul opened the door again and looked into the room. “I wasn’t trying to interrupt anything.”
“Oh, no, no,” Shell said. “I just got here. He was exercising, and… no, nothing like that.”
“Just tell us why you’re here,” Dylan said.
Paul opened the door the rest of the way, and Keon stood beside him. He smiled as he looked in at Shell.
“I was hoping we could chat a little more about what you and I talked about at the bar,” Keon said to Shell.
Dylan looked at Shell. “What conversation?”
Shell glared at Keon. “The one we had which apparently wasn’t private.”
She sighed and gestured for Keon and Paul to come in the room. They entered, and Keon shut the door behind him.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Shell said to Dylan. “I went downstairs and I ran into Keon. We talked, and I told him about my house and how you and I met.”
“I see,” Dylan said.
“I saw a packed bag in the hall,” Keon said, looking at Shell. “That yours?”
Dylan narrowed his eyes at Shell. “You already packed a bag and assumed I’d take you with me?”
Shell nodded, then looked at Keon and Paul. “It’s for the best. You guys have plenty to worry about without us. Lots of mouths to feed. A baby coming.”
“You’re right,” Paul said. “And that’s exactly why we came to talk to you.”
Shell moved her hair behind her ear. “Okay. What do you mean?”
“I told Paul about Yazoo City,” Keon said.
“Keon said you lived there for years by yourself with no trouble,” Paul said. “That true?”
“It is. But it doesn’t matter now. Did he tell you the part about how it was overtaken by bandits?”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Keon said.
“They were part of a much bigger group,” Dylan said. “I saw them with my own eyes.”
“But you didn’t see the guys that got away return to her house with the others?” Paul asked.
Dylan snorted a laugh. “I think it’s pretty safe to assume they’re there now. Those assholes who got away knew it was worth coming back. Not only did they have Shell’s house to come back to, but a whole fucking town for themselves.”
“But that’s your home,” Keon said to Shell.
Shell shrugged and shook her head. “Not anymore, it’s not.”
“What if we could help you get it back?” Paul asked.
Dylan laughed, harder this time.
“Hey, what the hell is your problem, man?” Keon asked.
“You guys just don’t get it. That group is full of strong, armed men. I bet they have half of that town on lockdown and barricaded by now.”
“How many men are you talking about?” Paul asked.
“A couple of dozen, at least. Maybe more.”
Paul and Keon shared a look. Then Paul looked at Shell.
“This place really as good as you described it to Keon?”
“Yeah, of course. It’s called Yazoo City, but the ‘City’ part is deceiving. It’s a really small town, but there’s plenty of nice houses left over. And I had a lot of supplies at my house. I also had goats and chickens.”
“Seriously?” Paul asked.
“Damn, dude, I could go for some milk and eggs,” Keon said.
“Well, y’all go right on ahead,” Dylan said. “You’re both fools and going to get yourselves killed if you try.”
“Have you guys thought of a plan?” Shell asked.
Dylan put his hand on his hip and glared at her. “Are you serious? You can’t be.”
“I’m just asking a simple question.” She turned her attention to Paul and Keon and waited for an answer.
“We hadn’t gotten that far yet,” Keon said.
“We were hoping to get a little info first,” Paul said. “Find out how many were in this gang, and maybe get an idea of what the area around your place is like.”
“I’m going to need some time to think about all this,” Shell said.
“I already know my answer,” Dylan said. “You’re nuts for wanting to try this.”
On his way out the door, Dylan bumped shoulders with Paul. Looking down to the ground, Paul bit his lip. He took a deep breath and looked back up at Shell.
“Sorry about him,” Shell said.
“Hey, you just met him. It doesn’t sound like you know a whole lot about him, either.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Keon stepped forward, moving only a couple of feet away from Shell. “Look, it’s cool if you want to think about it some. But, regardless, we’d like to talk with you soon to get a little more information about where exactly your house is, what’s around it and all that.”
“Are you guys going even if I say no?”
“More than likely,” Paul said. “We still gotta talk about it with some of the others, but more than likely, we’d go up there to at least check it out.”
“We’re tired of running,” Keon said. “We’d obviously love for you to come with us, but we understand if you’re trying to put that place behind you.”
Shell sniffed and wiped sweat from her brow. She put her hands on her hips and nodded.
“The two of us are about to head out on a run,” Paul said. “Think about what you want to do, all right? We can talk when we get back.”
Paul turned around and left the room. But when Shell looked up, Keon was still there.
“I hope you decide to come with us.” Keon shook his head. “There’s nothing for you if you go east with him.”
Frowning, Keon turned and exited the room. He shut the door behind him.
Shell sat on Dylan’s bed. She put her elbows on her knees and leaned into her hands, exhaling into her palms.
What am I going to do?
28
The day showed an overcast sky which hin
ted at rain. It made the air more humid than it had been in recent days. Paul wiped the sweat from his brow as he and Keon approached another building. They had come on their own that morning, leaving the other scavengers behind to look after the camp. Paul didn’t want to be slowed down by a larger group, as he and Keon could get in and out of buildings quickly. He also wanted to be able to discuss certain things with Keon without the others around.
Keon parked his empty shopping cart in front of the dilapidated storefront. Like with most other places, its windows had long ago been shattered, and there was nothing left but a frame where a door had once been.
“How are you feeling about us finding anything good today?” Keon asked.
Paul shook his head. “Not sure, but we’ve gotta try. Let’s head in.”
Paul gripped the handle of his machete as they entered the building, ready to unsheathe it at any moment. Keon kept his crossbow in a firing position, his finger positioned near the trigger. They circled the interior of the building, checking behind each door.
“Clear,” Keon said.
“All right. Let’s have a quick look around,” Paul said, having little confidence they were going to find anything worth a damn.
Shelving and other wooden debris lay scattered throughout the building. Paul kneeled down to check a few boxes, but they were empty. He pushed aside debris, looking to see if anything lay underneath.
This is already looking like a bust.
Paul jerked to his right and pulled the machete halfway out of its sheath as he heard something move on the far side of the room. Keon reacted, as well, raising his crossbow and aiming it in the same direction.
A giant rat scurried across the floor, ducking through a hole in the back wall. The thing was large enough to where it could almost have been confused with a small cat or a possum. Paul sighed.
“Thank God we aren’t at the point where we’re hunting those to eat,” Keon said.
Paul huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, we’ll all be dead at that point. At least I hope so. Who the hell knows what kinds of diseases those bastards are carrying?” He eased up on his machete. “Let’s keep looking around.”
They continued searching the place. It had once been some kind of general store, and anything worth anything was long gone. He exhaled and kicked a shelf.
“This is a waste of time.”
Keon said, “What do you mean? How is this a waste of time?”
“We’re never going to find anything worth a damn.”
“Not with that attitude.”
“I’m serious, Keon. I mean, what are we really expecting to find in any of these buildings? You don’t think everything has been picked apart by others before us in the past thirty years? This is a joke.”
“Funny, ‘cause this is the first I’m hearing any of this from you, and we’ve been doing this for a long time.”
“And how much longer are we going to do it?”
“What’s your point, man?”
Paul leaned against the wall. He wiped more sweat from his brow and stared outside.
“You really think Shell had a place like she says she did?”
Keon shrugged. “I don’t see any reason why she would lie about it. I don’t think one bit of her story now is a sham.”
“I just don’t understand how you would leave that and come out into a world like this. I don’t care how many people were trying to take it from me. I’d fight until the end.”
“Maybe that Dylan cares a little more about living than you do.”
“That’s hard to believe. That dude is about as lifeless as they come.”
“Yeah, quite the opposite of Shell.”
Paul looked over at Keon. He was staring off outside, his eyes glowing. Paul grinned.
“Whoa, hold on a second. You like that girl, don’t you?”
“What?” Keon scoffed. “Get the hell out of here. No.”
Paul’s smile grew. “Oh, come on. You lit up like a Christmas tree just saying her name.”
“Fuck. You.” Keon laughed and stared at the ground. “All right, so maybe a little.”
“See, I knew it, man. That’s why you want her to stay.”
“Now, that part’s not true. I want her to stay for a hell of a lot more reasons than that. I want her and that boy to stay so they can survive. You and I both know that the best way to keep on is in packs.”
“Well, maybe she’ll come around and make the right decision.”
Keon turned to Paul. “We’re going to check the place out regardless, though, aren’t we?”
Paul bit his lip as he looked at his friend. Then snarls came from outside, shifting his attention out there. He renewed the hold on his machete and Keon raised his crossbow.
Outside, demons walked into view from either side of the front of the store. Three appeared from the right, and another two from the left. They looked into the building, making eye contact with Paul and Keon.
“Get ready for some company,” Keon said.
“Let them come in here to us, and try to save your ammo. Watch my back.”
Paul pulled out his machete and approached the front. The first Demon came through the door, reaching out to him. He raised the machete and drove the blade down into the creature’s head. It fell limply to the ground and Paul pulled back on the machete, easily able to dislodge it from its skull.
Two more creatures poured through the door. Paul kicked the first one backward, sending it flying back through the entryway. Then he swung the machete at the other. He didn’t have the time to aim his blow, and grazed the Demon’s ear, cutting it off and burying the machete’s blade into the thing’s shoulder. He kicked it against the wall, his machete pulling out with a wet slurp. The Demon had slammed against the wall, and Keon pulled his trigger and sent a bolt into the Demon’s forehead.
Paul refocused on the outside and saw that a few more Demons had shown up.
“This isn’t working,” Keon said. “If they fill this place, we’re screwed.”
Paul backed up, keeping his focus on the Demons coming for the open storefront. “I think I saw a way out through the back. Let’s go.”
Keon fired one more bolt, hitting a Demon in the shoulder and knocking it back. Then he turned around and led Paul through the back. They came into what had likely once been a storage room. As Paul had seen, there was a door at the back of the room, and sun drifted in beneath it.
Paul jumped in front of Keon. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Paul, wait!” Keon yelled.
But Paul had already pushed through the unlocked door. He was greeted by a Demon lunging in from his right. His eyes went wide as the creature came at him, its arms outstretched and mouth open.
The Demon grabbed onto Paul’s shoulders. It snapped at him, but Paul managed to just hold the creature at bay. Its momentum sent them down onto the ground.
When Paul’s back slammed against the concrete, he cried out and his right hand came loose from holding the Demon’s torn shirt. The Demon snapped its jaws at Paul’s shoulder and missed.
The Demon’s weight was suddenly off of Paul as Keon kicked it in the stomach and pushed it off of his friend. He then stood over the creature and fired his crossbow, point blank at its skull. The Demon let out one snarling scream before the bolt entered through its forehead.
Paul gasped for air. He looked at his arms and hands, searching for bites. There were none. Keon reached down and offered his hand, pulling Paul up.
Patting down his shirt and pants, Paul checked himself once more for bites. Then he laughed.
“What the fuck is so funny?” Keon asked.
“Brooke was worried about me going on this run because she had a bad feeling something was going to happen to me. But I told her I’d be fine. Looks like I won.”
Keon shook his head. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”
“Maybe, but you love me.”
“No, I tolerate your white ass because for some reason I feel like I
need you.”
Snarling came from the front of the building and around the side. The other Demons were looking for them.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Keon said.
29
In one of the vacant second story rooms, Shell had come across a children’s book called Brer Rabbit in the Briar Patch. The charming and colorful blue cover depicted a grinning rabbit skipping down a dirt path, and when she showed it to the boy, his eyes lit up. This alone brought a smile to her face. So, they found a place with enough light for her to read it to him.
She sat against the wall under the window, the light shining straight down onto the pages. Shell held the book with one hand and wrapped her other arm around the boy, who nestled into her chest.
She was on the last couple of pages of the book when she looked up and saw Dylan leaning against the door frame. They shared a brief gaze before Shell looked back down to the book and continued reading the story.
“The End,” she said as she got to the last page and closed the book. She nestled the boy’s hair. “What did you think of that?”
With glowing eyes, the young kid smiled and nodded at Shell. She pulled him in closer, giving him a tight side hug.
“Where’d you learn to read?” Dylan asked.
“My friend, Lewis.”
“He the same one who taught you to shoot?”
Shell nodded. “He’s the one who taught me everything.”
There was an awkward moment of silence before Shell asked, “Did you want to talk to me about something?”
“Maybe it should just be the two of us.”
Glancing down at the boy, Shell said, “There’s nothing you can say to me right now that he shouldn’t hear.” She glanced at the boy, and he nodded and stayed put.
Dylan shrugged then stepped into the room. “You’re not seriously thinking about going back up to your town with these people, are you?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You’re making a huge mistake even considering it.”
Shell narrowed her eyes. “Why do you care so much?”
Dylan stared at her with his now infamous cold glare. He didn’t say anything in response to her question.
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