by Vohs, J. W.
“It’s all right,” Luke assured him. “We’ll make sure that both you and your sister are safe. But let me ask you something—now that you‘ve seen what bad people can do when they think they can get away with it, don’t you want to stop Jesse?”
“I’ve thought about tryin’ to take him out with my bow,” Terry said dejectedly, “but it was just me daydreamin’ I had courage.”
“But you attacked the man who shot your dog,” Gracie reminded him.
“Somethin’ in me just snapped. I released that arrow and ran; I’m still surprised I didn’t get shot in the back.”
Over in the other canoe, Zach and Maddy were having their own uncomfortable conversation.
“You saw the same thing I did, Zach. It was like Luke and that hunter were communicating. And the others didn’t even try to attack him during the fight.”
“Hey, he was obviously as surprised as the rest of us.” Zach understood why Maddy was agitated, but her talking about it still annoyed him.
“I’m not saying he was expecting to be invisible to them,” she continued, “but it’s really weird, that’s all. They all saw him, but not like they saw us.”
“And you also must have noticed that Luke was able to use that to his advantage.”
“But—” Maddy began.
“Shh, please—can’t you be quiet for a minute?” An idea was forming in Zach’s mind, but he wanted to think it through.
“That’s the second time I’ve been shushed today,” Maddy replied indignantly. “I’ll take it from Luke, but not from you.”
Zach sighed. “Sorry, but what you said made sense for a change. They didn’t see him like they saw us—the infected see us as prey, but I don’t think Luke registers as potential dinner for them anymore. For whatever reason, now that he’s survived the infection, Luke is no longer on their menu.”
Maddy nodded, “I think you’re on the right track, but I also think there’s more to it. When he was staring at that last hunter, I really felt like they were communicating somehow. I agree that, if today is any indication of future behavior, the creatures no longer see Luke as food. But I’m not sure exactly what they think he is. And, to be perfectly honest, I don’t think Luke knows exactly what he is either.”
The massive male hunter stood with his head cocked, listening to the distant sounds of Food. His upper lip curled into a snarl as a memory slowly snaked its way into his consciousness. One hazy memory led to another before a flurry of experiences exploded in his mind, and he remembered. . .
He had been face to face with an alien pack-leader, unlike any he’d ever seen. The strange creature had held him in his gaze, and it was both alarming and exhilarating. The power pulsating from the Strong One was overwhelming. With his own alpha-pack destroyed, it would have been natural to join with the Strong One, but something wasn’t right. Self-preservation had directed him to flee, and he had run for an unknown period of time.
Long before all that, he had been the alpha of a pack of eight mostly young and male hunters far to the north of the place where he now lived. His mates hunted the edges of the city where Food had once been plentiful, but after a time they mostly lived off the many substitutes for Food—warm blooded, mostly furry creatures whose meat was almost satisfying. But their flesh never completely satiated the hunger for Food.
The hunter felt dizzy as he remembered the day when the machine-birds soared through the sky above the city and he lost control of his pack. A piercing vibration had cut through all thoughts as the black beast flew overhead, and he had had no choice but to follow the crowd stumbling through the littered streets and highways and spilling out onto the prairie. He was soon in the middle of thousands of his own kind, feeding on huge animals with dark fur and horns. The swarm would run, eat, and rest. Run, eat, and rest.
He didn’t know how long he’d been a part of the swarm before it discovered a tantalizing supply of Food and erupted in chaos. He’d pushed forward through the shouts, snarls, and howls of pain all around him, only to find a landscape riddled with the bodies and disconnected body parts of his brothers and sisters. He saw mounds of the dead piled so high that he could have climbed their broken bodies to get closer to Food, but he hesitated. His instinct for self-preservation told him to run, and somehow he resisted the urge compelling him to pursue Food over all else. A searing pain ripped through his head, but he managed to work his way back through the mindless advance and away from the swarm.
He’d eventually found a few others like himself, and they’d formed a new pack, but the leadership was never clear. They were all alpha males, and they each had managed to eventually resist the compulsion to follow the machine-birds. They were huge and strong, and they had been unstoppable. Until this morning. Now the pack no longer existed, but something had taken its place—a growing self-awareness that was both intoxicating and frightening. It had been triggered by the oddly powerful creature he’d encountered after his pack-mates were killed. The hunter instinctively knew that he’d crossed paths with the strangest and most impressively dominant pack leader he’d ever seen, and he’d been lucky to survive the experience.
CHAPTER 3
The road leading through the gate of the community was in surprisingly good condition; somebody had cared about this place in the old world. Once inside the wall built to stop the infected, the travelers could see why: the ground surrounded by water was rich farmland. There were several pre-outbreak homes in the settlement and a number of barns and sheds, but most of the ground was covered with crop-stubble. Many of the inhabitants had set up shelters for the winter, ranging in quality from three-season tents to cinderblock cabins. As for security, only one guard was on duty, and he appeared to be asleep.
“Is access always this easy?” Luke asked incredulously. Even if these people believed that they didn’t have to worry about the infected anymore, the abundant water supply and fertile ground made this place prime real estate in the post-pandemic world. Of course, they should still be prepared to defend themselves from the flesh-eaters, but they were also sitting ducks for any hostile humans looking for resources to exploit. People like Jesse.
Terry slouched and pulled up his hood. “A lot of the guys who pull guard duty are drunks; that’s Birdy on for today. I’m sure he’s just sleepin’ off another hangover.”
Gracie whispered as she walked next to Luke, “We need to convince the people here to be more vigilant if nothing else.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.” Luke put his arm around his wife and gave her a squeeze. “Sometimes I wonder how humans have managed to survive at all.”
Gracie looked at Terry and raised her eyebrows. “Where is everybody?” They could see a few people near some small buildings up ahead, but the place seemed almost deserted.
Terry’s eyes were darting from side to side, and he looked like he wanted to run. “Folks like to stay in their shelters, ‘specially when it’s cold. We got a common area, where people trade, or drink, or just hang out, but it’s on the other side of camp. I’m takin’ us the back way to my place—we’re gonna follow a trail behind the dumpsters over there . . .” He pointed to a trash-strewn path to their left.
Luke dropped back a few steps, then turned to the increasingly jumpy young man and smiled. He was trying for a reassuring look, but instead conveyed a ‘hungry-wolf’ impression. His voice was cold steel. “Lead the way, Terry.”
The loud buzz from his intercom only exacerbated Barnes’ headache. His pretty young secretary’s voice also annoyed him. “President Barnes, California Viper is on line one.”
Barnes gritted his teeth. He was supposed to be enjoying his recent conquests—Fort Wayne was destroyed, Jack Smith had been further devastated by witnessing the alleged death of his pretty fiancé, and, apart from periodic fits of rage over the disaster at Vicksburg, it had been a satisfying couple of weeks. But instead of basking in a relaxing afterglow, he was forced to deal with new problems—thanks to the idiots he’d put in charge on the we
st coast. They had both seemed competent enough when he’d given them their commissions, but it was becoming increasingly clear that neither man was adequate for the task at hand. For a brief second, he regretted shooting Peterson after they’d killed the president back in Pennsylvania. He’d been a loyal and efficient right-hand-man, and it would have been convenient to send him out to California now.
Barnes pressed the red button on the intercom and growled, “Put him through.” He waited for a brief burst of static to subside, then he barked, “President Barnes here, Viper. What’s the password?”
“Jack,” Viper replied crisply.
“Fine, you’re clear.” Barnes drew a long, exasperated breath when it took the California commander more than half a second to respond. “I’m a busy man, Major Pruitt. What do you need?”
“Sorry, Mr. President. It’s what we talked about before; Daniels hasn’t been following through with your orders, sir. How would you like me to proceed?”
“Just do your job, Pruitt. Daniels says you’re the one who gets in the way by not minding your own business. And he says you don’t do anything but slow everyone down in your territory.”
“Seriously?” Pruitt sounded indignant. “Well, I suppose I do slow Daniels down when he’s going off half-cocked and not following your plan, but he has no idea how we get things done on my end. We follow the rules.” He quickly added, “Uh, I understand the need for flexibility, sir, but this isn’t a flexibility issue with Daniels. In the end, we all need to be aiming for the same target.”
“Are you trying to advise me right now, Major Pruitt?”
“Oh, no sir, no . . .” the major stumbled. “I just feel that you need to know what’s really going on out here.”
“Well there’s something we can agree on,” Barnes managed to sound both menacing and bored at the same time. “We’ll speak again very soon, Major. Rest assured that I’ll be thinking about every word you said.” He hung up and shouted for his secretary.
Barnes rubbed his temples. He’d initially reasoned that, due to the immense size and value of California, he’d need at least two top-level commanders in the field. Pruitt was supposed to be integrating Northern California while Daniels focused on rounding up a massive army from the formerly overpopulated Southern region. Barnes now thought that he’d made a mistake; by dividing the power between Pruitt and Daniels, he’d inadvertently sparked an ambition-fueled rivalry between two unexceptional bores.
His secretary hurried in with a notepad and diligently recorded her new “to-do” list. She really just had to call the right people—the captain of the president’s personal flight crew would make all the travel details happen, and Thelma would take care of things at the house. “Mr. President, I’ll get right on these,” she tried to sound professional. She knew she’d been hired for her looks, a pretty decoration to impress and distract testosterone-addled young officers. She also knew she was more than competent at her job, and she aimed to keep things running smoothly without drawing too much attention to herself. “Is there anything else before I go? May I order you some lunch?” She actually found Barnes terrifying, but she covered it well.
Barnes didn’t look up from whatever he was reading. “Fine, I’ll take the usual,” he grunted as he waved his hand dismissively to shoo his secretary out of the room. When he heard the door close behind her, he opened his top desk drawer and pulled out an old prescription bottle containing a few dozen small white pills. He swallowed two without the benefit of water, then he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Terry led his new friends to the back door of a two-room cinder-block cabin. “Let me go in alone,” he whispered. “If Courtney sees ya’ll first, she might just start screamin’ bloody murder. We got this far sneakin’ in; I’d hate to start bringin’ attention to ourselves.”
Something didn’t feel right to Luke. “Hold on a minute,” he held up his hand. Even with gloves on, Luke was reminded of the thick, dark pink scar on his wrist as the tissue scraped roughly against his leathers. The callus-like welt was pulsating slightly. He cocked his head and listened for any sounds of movement in the cabin. Even through the sound-absorbing cinder block walls, Luke could hear a young girl crying. He didn’t hear anything else.
“Take Gracie in with you, and the rest of us will follow in a few minutes,” Luke directed in a quiet voice. “We should all get inside and out of sight as soon as possible.”
Less than ten seconds after Terry and Gracie had stepped inside, Gracie poked her head out of the doorway. “I think you should come in now,” she said ominously.
The place had been ransacked, and worse. Two mutilated cats were strewn across a bloodied couch, and Terry’s little sister was handcuffed to the front door. She’d obviously been beaten, and her clothes were ripped in several places. Terry was trying to coax her to speak, but she could only manage unintelligible whimpers.
“This is all my fault,” Terry mumbled in horror as he fell back against the wall next to his sister and slowly slid to the floor. “I caused this when—”
“Shut up!” Maddy snapped. “You did not do this. You could not do this. And you will help us make sure that whoever did this will never be able to do it again. You can grieve and feel guilty later.”
Zach knelt in front of Terry and forced him to make eye contact while Maddy picked the lock on the handcuffs restraining Courtney. “Maddy here’s not the most sensitive girl in the world,” Zach explained as he shot Maddy an apologetic glance, “but she’s right about what she’s trying to say. What happened here was evil, and you’re not responsible for it.”
Gracie wrapped her leather jacket around Courtney’s shoulders. “Maddy will have these cuffs off in no time. Do you think you’ll be able to stand?” she asked gently.
“I . . . I’ll t-t-try,” the girl stammered as she stared at Gracie with huge brown eyes—the eyes of a trusting child.
Gracie felt as if her own heart was breaking, and she trembled with silent rage. She looked at her husband. Luke was standing like a statue by the one small window in the room, his watchful eyes assuring her that they wouldn’t be interrupted as they tended to Terry’s sister.
The handcuffs popped open with a click. Gracie and Terry helped Courtney to her feet before she turned and threw herself into her brother’s arms. “It was Jesse and two of his thugs—Walt and Ricky. Jesse wanted to know where you were; they killed Snowball and Max, it was awful.” She burst into tears again.
“How long ago did all this happen?” Luke hadn’t spoken before, and Courtney hadn’t noticed him in the room. She jumped at the sound of his voice.
“Don’t be scared,” Terry said soothingly. “That’s Luke, he just looks scary, but he’s real nice. These are good folks, Courtney—they saved me from some eaters.”
“But there ain’t no eaters around anymore,” Courtney objected, sniffling.
“How do you know that? It’s just what Jesse says,” Terry reminded her, “and we know he can’t be trusted.”
“Jesse said he’s comin’ back before dinner,” Courtney warned in a shaky voice. “He said he had special plans for me—said that I was gonna help him work up an appetite.”
Standing next to Luke, Zach noticed a nearly silent but menacing rumble. “Dude, I think you’re growling,” he whispered.
Luke hadn’t been aware of it until Zach pointed it out, but there was definitely a resonant vibration deep in his throat. He self-consciously forced a cough and the sound vanished, but Zach continued to stare at him until Maddy updated Luke’s earlier question.
“Courtney, how soon before you think Jesse will be back?”
“I don’t know . . .” She started to cry again.
Luke took charge of the situation. “Courtney, I promise, Jesse isn’t going to hurt you or anybody else ever again.” He looked at Terry. “Is there a place you can take her, a safe place with people you trust?”
“Sure,” Terry answered, “most folks hate Jesse and his goons, and everybody
loves Courtney. She babysits little kids and watches over some of the old-timers too.”
“But what if this place was just one of Jesse’s stops—he could have threatened your friends, or they could be under surveillance,” Maddy pointed out.
“That’s why you and Zach are going with them,” Luke interjected. “You make sure Courtney is safe, then get a feel for this place. Talk to people. We need to ferret out some alternative leadership to step in once Jesse and his band of followers are gone.”
Zach raised his eyebrows. “And how soon will that be?”
“Depends on what time he gets here,” Luke replied icily.
After Luke explained his plan, Gracie decided to clean up the gory mess in the living room, and she refused Luke’s offer to help. “I want your full attention listening for that bastard,” she explained. “We both know your hearing is better than mine.”
“I can do more than one thing at a time,” Luke retorted. “I know you’ve seen me chew gum and walk without falling over.”
Gracie didn’t feel like joking around. “I have to ask you something, and I don’t want you to feel offended.”
Luke’s heart began to pound a little faster, but he just said, “Go on, you can’t offend me, babe.”
“In the past, you’ve hesitated when it came to violence against humans. Are you sure you’re ready to kill, if it comes down to that?”
“I’m sure,” he promised. “Things are different now.”
“But you’re not so different; at least, your heart is the same.”
Luke smiled at his Gracie. “My heart is the same for you, that’s true, but it’s changed in other ways.” He paused to collect his thoughts. “At some point during the fever and coma I saw the other side, and it was pure beauty. There’s no way I can describe it in words, but I know that it’s the only thing that really matters. I’m still here because I’m supposed to push back the darkness in this world; people need to choose which side they’re on. I used to think that flesh-eaters were the embodiment of evil, but now I know they’re just a symptom of something much worse. They can’t choose to be different; they are what they are. Barnes is the real enemy. People like Jesse are the real enemy.”
