by David Peters
“Julie, hit it, get us home!” Dylan yelled in tears.
“What is Daniel doing? Why is he just sitting there? Daniel, come on!” yelled Niccole. “Get up! Run Daniel!”
Dylan held her close as the truck bounced through the yard, “He isn’t coming.” He couldn’t get anymore words out.
As Dylan and Niccole watched helplessly the pack of Sappers and workers climbed over the lumber and dropped down at Daniels feet. Another Hunter cleared the barrier and gave a yell signaling the final attack. As the mass of Corrupted piled onto Daniel they were met with nothing but the detonation of the grenade. Every Sapper detonated in kind turning the area into liquid fire. For the next few minutes they could hear the ammunition that he had remaining cook off, then all was quiet.
Dylan sat with his knees pulled up to his chest while Niccole sat behind him, attempting to provide comfort. He didn’t have time to say much of anything and could do nothing but watch his brother die.
“I can’t believe he is gone, just like that.”
The surviving team members drove on in silence. Julie had driven past the last remains of the burning facility and was able to make a straight shot to the back side of the mill. She powered through two chain gates and a final barricade before making the final turn onto the gravel road and safety.
As they climbed the hill towards Paradise Falls they had a panoramic view of the damage they had inflicted in their first offensive attack against the Corrupted. Nearly the entire lumber mill was burning. A half mile to the south of that there were several blocks of buildings now freely burning from their first contact with the Corrupted.
Dylan’s eyes stayed focused on the small burning patch were Daniel had died. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it. It was almost like he expected his brother to walk out of the flames.
As the view of the lumber yard passed behind the trees Dylan turned his attention to the road behind them. As far as they could see no Corrupted were following. Nothing moved beyond the clouds of smoke drifting in the still morning air.
Niccole continued to hold Dylan as they rode up the rough gravel road. “What happened, Dylan? Why wouldn’t Daniel move?”
Dylan looked up at her with tears in his eyes, “He had been bitten. I wasn’t fast enough to stop it. It’s as simple as that.”
Niccole held him tighter. She too was crying at this point.
Dylan looked into the distance, “I will always feel like I failed him. I let him down and left him to die alone.”
They had lost two extremely good people this day, but most people would still call this day a victory.
--2--
The brown delivery truck slowly ate the miles of rough road towards Paradise Falls. Niccole sobbed quietly to herself as she held Dylan. Travis talked to the man they recovered from the jail in town, telling him repeatedly that everything would be alright.
Everyone in that truck knew a large part of their world was gone. The pillar they had come to rely on was gone leaving a large world of unknown ahead.
As they made the final turn on the road to Paradise they could see the barricade wall was filled from one side to the other with cheering people. As they got closer the massive door slowly opened. Driving through the entrance signaled the end of the Battle of Sumter.
Dylan felt as much as he heard the massive gate close behind him. Travis stepped down and called for Doc. Dylan and Niccole stepped down after him. He held her hand as they stepped out of the way for the other members of the team. Without words being spoken, he hugged then kissed his wife.
She dropped his hand as he turned to walk through the crowd. He needed to be alone. She knew that if given time, Dylan would work out those issues that plagued him and return to her. But it was something he had to do alone.
He walked through the crowd of shaking hands and patted backs like he was in a dream. He felt like he was watching himself as he passed through the celebrating survivors. He couldn’t even feel the people around him. He walked away from the noise and found himself alone above the falls that gave the town its name. He found a large rock to sit on near the river and reflected on the man that was his brother.
He remembered the good times and the bad. The more he reflected the harder time he was having remembering the bad and the more clear the good became. Sitting on the banks of the river he thought back to a time long ago. Daniel couldn’t have been older than ten, just another tan country boy without a shirt in torn up, cut-off jeans. Back then the country around them was magical and yearned to be explored. Every turn was a new adventure.
One event found its way to the front of the myriad of thoughts playing out in Dylan’s mind. They had been fishing one day when Daniel had gotten ‘a monster bite’ in his words. ‘This is the big one!’ He pulled back hard on the pole to set the hook and launched what was arguably the smallest trout ever caught by hook clean out of the water. It smacked Daniel square in the middle of his face and sent him into a panic as he thrashed to get away from it. As he ran around in panicked circles he ultimately fell off the dock and into the shallow, muddy water of the river.
In Paradise Falls, on the muddy shore of a river miles and years from his memory, Daniel laughed until he cried. The tears finally came to him. With sadness in his heart that was nearly tangible, he cried for Daniel. He cried for Mayberry. He cried for the life that all of those around him had lost. In the end he simply cried for himself.
Chapter 13
The next morning people gathered in the square to pay their respects to Daniel and Mayberry. Daniel had touched every single person in Paradise Falls in one manner or another. He was one of the driving forces that had made the town what it was today and allowed them to survive when the bulk of humanity had been unable to.
Mayberry in his own quiet way would be missed. He had been somewhat of a loner, but no one had an unkind word to say about him. Dave and Julie took his absence especially hard as they were just really getting to know the quiet man.
The still air allowed the morning mist to hang in swirls as people moved from group to group. Dylan, Niccole and Erica stood off to one side. People would come by and offer condolences. Some would share a tear, or tell a story of Daniel or Mayberry’s past.
Travis made his way through the crowd to Dylan and Niccole. The young man looked solemn and exhausted. “I want to say how sorry I am. Daniel and Mayberry were my friends and both were incredible people. I spent last night making these and hope they will be worthy.”
Travis handed Dylan a cross made of scrap iron. Welded to the cross was a small relief of Daniels smiling face. He had also made one for Mayberry.
“These are good Travis. I don’t think we could ask for a better way to honor them.”
Paradise Falls had a very small graveyard that sat on the North side of town next to the river. There had been quite a few notable folks that had moved on during the decades that the town had been there. There were no bodies in it, just memorials to those who once lived.
Daniel and Mayberry’s crosses were placed in the ground. Porter had taken to the bagpipes while deep in his historical studies. The haunting sound of Amazing Grace echoed down the valley and by the end of the song there wasn’t a dry eye in the town.
The take from the Wal-Mart had been a success beyond anything they could have hoped for. The truckload they brought back was a grocery load, almost entirely non-perishable with two pallets of health and beauty products and one pallet of various toys. The parcel delivery truck had a few unexpected surprises all its own. It took several hours to open all the packages but it was done in a very birthday like manner. The survivor they had rescued from town was doing well in Doc’s care and the town was happy about that. It turned out Henry had gotten in a fight over a girl at the local bar the night before everything fell apart. He had been alone in the place since then. He had seen several Hunters come through the building, but they were unable to open the door and couldn’t reach him. He would just play dead when they came by and they would leave
him alone.
That evening the entire town was in the square for a celebration of Daniel and Mayberry’s lives. Many people told stories about Daniel, bringing Dylan to tears on nearly every occasion. He felt such a loss and a responsibility for this brother he had just recently rediscovered.
With the sunlight fading, Doc took the center podium, “The timing may not be the best, but I think I speak for everyone, I certainly know Daniel would have wanted it this way. I move that until new elections can be held, Dylan be placed in the position of Mayor. Do I have a second?”
“Second,” said a voice from the back.
“Third,” said another.
“All opposed?” The question was met with silence.
“Moved and passed. We look to your leadership Dylan,” said Doc with a pat on Dylan’s back.
“I don’t know what to say. My only hope is to even partially fill his shoes,” Dylan said wiping tears from his eyes. “A great man once told me that good leadership comes from those that didn’t strive for it, but had it thrust upon them. I will do my best.”
The guard on duty at the barricade yelled out, “Car coming, ‘bout five minutes out, he’s moving!”
“Alrighty folks! If you are on duty get on the wall! You know the drill.” Dylan said as he and Niccole jogged towards the barricade. The world continued to turn and they were nothing but business now.
As the car approached Dylan could see it was one of those small gas efficient models that were so popular over the last few years. The car came to a sliding stop as it made the last turn and a young couple stepped out of the small car.
“We heard on the radio that this was a safe place. We don’t have much to offer, but my wife is pregnant and I need to find a home for us.”
Dylan walked out to meet the couple, “Welcome to Paradise Falls. Let me smell your breath.”
Epilogue
The snow crunched under Dylan’s feet as he walked along the barricade. After the battle of Sumter the Corrupted had been fairly quiet. They occasionally had a Hunter or two show up at the gate or one of the lower orchards but for the most part it did feel safer in the area. Since the first big snow they hadn’t seen a single Corrupted and with the temperature had been hanging in the low teens for several weeks they didn’t expect to see any. He greeted the on duty guard with a wave and told him to stay warm.
He followed the wooden path from the base of the barricade wall then towards the center of the town. He walked along the town hall and Doc’s house listening to the snow crunch under his feet. People continued to show up at their township, usually one or two a week. All had amazing stories of survival. To date they had not had a single survivor from any large city or further south than Sacramento California.
The only long distance communication Niccole had been able to contact was the Township in Denver. They had a similar showdown with the Corrupted there, but their town-turned-fort was severely damaged. They also had not been as well prepared as Paradise was and there was talk of winter shortages. They had discussed having their group move west to Paradise Falls but that was just talk. In the new world, Denver might as well have been the moon.
The two guards at the west wall were whispering to each other. Both greeted Dylan as he approached.
“Evenin’ Boss, nice and quiet again tonight.”
“Ya, starting to think the things hibernate or something. You guys need anything?”
“Vacation on a beach in Mexico and a drink with an umbrella in it would be good for starters.”
“Tell me when you find that, will you?”
They all laughed as Dylan turned to continue his rounds. He passed by what remained of the main grazing fields. Early in the fall they had cleared more terraces above the town. One of these was now used for the horses and other animals that the occasional refugee brought in. Most of the old field was now temporary housing for the newcomers.
Dylan made the walk through what was called Tent Town or The ‘Burbs.’ The number of refugees showing up had overrun the permanent housing available. There had been brief talk of moving the south wall further out and making room for more housing but nothing concrete. He made a mental note to meet with the planning committee and see where they were going with it.
He made one final turn on the eastern wall, greeting the guards there with the usual exchange and turned towards the town square. They had built a tower in the middle of the square and manned it twenty four hours a day with their best shooters. There was actually quite a competition among the town’s people to hold the coveted tower guard position. They were considered the elite among the group of untrained survivors. The fact that the tower had a heater made the competition that much tougher. Dylan waved to the guard and got a wave back.
Dylan walked in through the front door of the cabin with the blue door, Daniels’ cabin. The feeling of emptiness still amazed him. He had never been close with his family but the man he had gotten to know over those few precious weeks wasn’t the man that left home when Dylan was seventeen. He was the boy that used to ride the back ridges of Colfax. He was the boy that used to fish the Snake River for hours. He was the boy that used to sit around and talk about baseball, girls, cars and what they would do when they finally grew up.
Doug the Cat was sitting on the back of the couch. Dylan scratched him behind the ear as he passed on his way to the back bedroom. He had made a point of doing rounds before bed every night, it took about an hour, but he slept better knowing everything was as it should be. It wasn’t a control thing. It was like checking to see if the doors were locked.
As he entered the room he saw Erica and Niccole sleeping in the large bed. As he lay down beside Niccole she woke and gave him a soft kiss.
“Erica still isn’t comfortable sleeping in Daniels old room,” Niccole whispered.
“It will pass. It has only been a few months,” Dylan whispered.
“She wants to ask you if it’s alright if she calls you dad. But she is too nervous to ask,” whispered Niccole as she snuggled up to Dylan.
“Tell her I would be honored,” said Dylan quietly. He could see a smile start to cross Erica’s face.
“Tell her she is a little faker too,” Dylan said as he began tickling the two of them.
The three of them laughed and joked for another hour before they all fell asleep. They were happy, they were together and they were home.
Thank you for reading the first book in the End World Series. I truly hope you enjoyed the journey. If you did, please take a few minutes to review the book online. If you didn’t like it drop me an email at [email protected] and tell me what I could do better. See you around Paradise Falls.
