Glory (Book 3)

by Michael McManamon

Sam reached over to grab at the bottle they had dropped. As soon as his hand grasped it, he noticed that there was nothing left in it.

  "Fuck," he said and let it drop back to the ground.

  Chapter 4

  As Rick stood there, penis in hand, he saw Carl walk out of the house. Theirleader marched over to the campfire and shook Big Mike awake. Rick saw Big Mike point his shotgun at him and say something to him, then the two broke into laughter.

  Rick looked at Joe and rolled his eyes.What the fuck had they gotten themselves into?

  He shook of his penis and walked back to the group. Joe followed beside him.

  "Are you all ready?" Carl asked.

  Rick was surprised. "We leavin' now?"

  "You don't want to leave your little prize, yet?" Carl mocked him. Big Mike snickered.

  It pissed Rick off, but he wasn't going to say anything about it. He wasn't about to start a fight with Carl. If it wasn't bad enough that that guy was absolutely nuts, Big Mike was there with that shotgun of his.

  No, he wasn't going to say anything about it at all.

  Carl laughed. "Yeah, we're going to leave in a few minutes. Head over inthat direction. I think there'll be something there."

  "Why don't we just go to one of the houses nearby?"

  Carl shot a look at him that gave him pause. He shouldn't have questioned the man. Rick looked down to avoid Carl's gaze. Though it didn't stop him from being able to make sure that Carl wasn't about to bend down and pick up a rock to bash his head in.

  "I want to see if we can find more than supplies today," Carl explained. His voice sounded strained, like he was trying very hard to keep things under control.

  "More than supplies?"Fuck, he shouldn't keep questioning him!

  "Yeah,more than supplies." Carl's voice started to pick up speed. "I wanna see if we can find some more survivors. Maybe some more beautiful little girls like the one you brought back last night. Of course, I don't mind if they're a little older. If that's okay with you."

  Rick raised his eyes and looked at Carl. Then he glanced at Joe. "Yeah, it's okay with me. For sure. I was just wondering, that's all. I didn't mean anything by it."

  "Didn't mean anything by it, huh? Well, that's good." He broke into laughter again. Big Mike joined.

  Rick kept glancing at Joe. Neither of them knew what was going on.

  "Let's get ready!" Carl shouted and started to walk away.

  "But Carl," a voice called to him. Sam. Rick couldn't believe that the man had spoken up like that.

  Carl turned to face him. "Yes?" His voice slithered like a snake.

  "I was…well…I was thinking that I should stay here with Gregor."

  "With Gregor? Why, are you his lover? Want to fuck his ass while we're gone? Or do you want him to stick it to you?"

  "No, no. Nothing like that!" Sam looked nervous as he spoke. "I was just…well…I was just thinking that he wouldn't stand much of a chance if any of those creatures came by. They'd kill him. And then the girls." Sam looked at Big Mike. His words seemed to bother the man.

  Carl took a step closer toward him. Rick was sure that he was going to hit Sam. Maybe even kill him.

  Instead, he placed his hand on Sam's shoulder and nodded his head. "You're right. We can't leave poor Gregor alone, can we? So we leave. You and Gregor stay. Everyone is happy."

  Rick wasn't happy, though. He hated the idea of going anywhere with this man. More than that, he hated leaving the young girl alone with these two guys. He wasn't blind to the fact that Sam had some kind of interest in her. He could see it in his eyes.

  "Come on!" Carl yelled.

  Rick shook himself from his thoughts and looked at Joe. Joe was standing there, waiting for him to say something or do something.

  "Let's go," Rick said to his friend. "We won't be all that long."

  They headed back to the camp to get ready. Sam followed behind them, trying to hide the smile on his face.

  Chapter 5

  Jane and Charles came upon a small town. They approached it with caution.

  They had seen the usual amount of cars spread along the roads and just as many (if not more) bodies lying beside them. And, though they hadn't heard the creatures for a while, they were sure that they were still lurking around. There was also something in the air.A feeling.

  Jane reached over and grabbed Charles hand.

  "I don't like this," she said. "Something's wrong."

  "Has anything beenright?" Charles asked.

  "No, I guess not. Still, there's something strange here."

  Charles looked at the young woman. He knew what she meant. He also knew that they didn't have much of a choice. Unless they planned on goingaround it.

  "We have to look," he said. "There might be survivors here."

  Jane nodded her head. She squeezed Charles' hand tighter.

  "There might be," she agreed. "But…" She didn't finish her thought. "Let's just do it."

  The two walked slowly into the town.

  As the made their way through the streets, they saw more bodies sprawled through out the area. The pavement was coated in dried blood.

  They came across a child's bike. Small. Pink. It, too, was covered in blood.

  They continued to walk.

  "Looks bad," Charles said.

  "Yeah." There wasn't much more that Jane could say. She hadn't seen this much carnage in her town. There hadn't been this much in Charles', either.

  She stepped over a body. Its face had been torn down the middle, almost split. Jane tried not to look at it, but her eyes kept glancing down anyway.

  They made their way onto a new street. Houses lined both sides of the road. There were cars stopped all along the road. They could see a few bikes lying against the curbs. Dead bodies stretched out on the front lawns.

  Charles stopped. Jane turned to him.

  "Is everything okay?" she asked.

  He raised his finger to his mouth. "Shhh."

  Jane did as she was told. Then she tried to listen. Her eyes searched around.

  She heard and saw nothing.

  "Maybe it was just my imagination," Charles said. "It happens when you get older."

  Jane smiled. She remembered his breakdown on the road not too long ago. At that time, he had seemed weak and ready to give up. Now, that episode seemed out of character for him. Much different from the man she had come to know. He had also never made a deal of it since. Just the occasional joke.

  "Let's keep moving," she said. "That looks like a store up ahead. I'm sure we'll find some things up there."

  Charles looked down the street and saw the store that Jane was talking about. It was a little bigger than a mini-mart. There would definitely be something good inside.

  The two walked toward it.

  Then Charles stopped again. This time, he was sure that he had heard something.

  "It's screaming," he said. "One ofthem."

  Jane could hear it to. She turned around and looked for a sign of one of the creatures. Luckily, there was nothing. "Maybe we should head into one of the houses and wait for it to pass."

  Charles looked at the store. They were almost there. Though maybe the young woman was right. If one of those things came out to get them, he wouldn't be able to outrun it. It was best if they looked for safety right away.

  "Okay," he said. He pointed to the nearest house. "How about that one?"

  "It looks as good as any of the others."

  They walked toward it.

  Jane put her hand underneath Charles' arm and tried to hurry him along. She didn't want to rush him. Yet, she could hear the screaming getting louder. "A little farther."

  Jane helped Charles step up onto the curb. They made their way onto the front lawn and walked to the porch. She could see two bodies lying face first in the garden. She didn't spend much time looking at them.

  They stopped once they reached the front steps.

  Jane clutched Charles' arm and her jaw dropped open. "Someone's in there," she
whispered.

  "I see." Charles might be getting old, but his eyesight was as good as ever.

  Someone was watching them from the front door, two eyes staring out behind floral curtains.

  "What should we do?"

  "I don't think it's one of them," Charles said. "It would've come out and attacked us by now." He raised his hand and waved.

  "What are you doing?" Jane asked.

  Charles kept his hand in the air. "I don't think it's one of them," he repeated.

  "I know, but…"

  "It'll be okay. Let's just go up and see who it is."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Of course, I'm sure. Let's go." He paused. "Ladies first." Charles placed out his hand before him and motioned for Jane to take the first step.

  She laughed, regardless of what a strange time it was to find something funny. "You're crazy," she told the old man. "We go together."

  "All right."

  She walked to the front door. The two little eyes continued to stare out at her from within. As she approached, she could get a better view of who was inside.

  "It's a boy," she said.

  The old man was standing behind her. "A boy? Are you sure?"

  "I think so." Jane turned back to the door. "Are you okay?" she asked the little guy inside.

  The eyes continued to stare at her.

  "It's okay," she continued. "We're not going to hurt you. Can you open the door?"

  The eyes continued to stare.

  "Please, we're not…"

  There was another scream from somewhere down the street.

  "We have to get in there," Charles said. "I think thatthing is getting closer."

  Jane knew that he was right. "Can you open the door?" she pleaded.

  The eyes continued to stare. The little face continued to look at them. There was no acknowledgement in the eyes.

  "I don't think he's going to let us in," Jane concluded.

  "Then we have to go."

  Jane thought she would give it one more shot. She knelt down beside the door and moved her face closer to it. The eyes followed her.

  "Can you let us in?" she asked. "We can't stay out here. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to help."

  The little boy continued to stare at her. She could see his hands gripped tightly around the door knob.

  Jane turned back to Charles. "He's scared."

  "Damn right."

  "I don't think he's going to let us in."

  "I know. We have to go."

  Jane looked back at the little boy. She knew that Charles was right. The problem was that she didn't want to leave the child alone. He wouldn't be able to take care of himself.

  "Please, open the door," she continued. "We're not going to hurt you."

  The boy didn't reply.

  She turned around to face Charles. "He's not going to answer." Her voice was quiet, sad. "We have to go."

  Charles reached over and grabbed her shoulder. "We can try later."

  The creature continued to scream, its voice getting louder.

  Jane didn't feel good about leaving the child. There simply wasn't much that she could do. She couldn't beat down the door. She wasn't strong enough for that type of thing. And, if anything, it would only attract thething and scare the child.

  She didn't have time to convince the little boy, either.

  "Okay," she said, "We'll try later."

  She took a few steps toward the front porch steps. Charles walked beside her.

  But, before she got very far, Jane heard a click. She turned around to face the door. It slowly opened before her.

  Chapter 6

  Jane walked into the house. The little boy was standing there, waiting. He didn't move. He didn't say anything.

  Charles came in behind her and closed the door. He pulled back the curtains and looked out of them. "I think we're okay," he said. "I don't see any of thosethings, yet."

  Jane didn't say anything to that. She was happy that the creatures hadn't arrived, but she didn't want to spend too much time thinking about it at the moment. She didn't think that talking about it in front of the little boy would be fair, either.

  She looked at him. "Hello."

  He continued to look at her with his big eyes. Nothing more.

  "What's your name?"

  Again, no response.

  Jane turned to look at Charles. She hoped that he could help with the situation, but he was busy looking out the window. His head swivelled from side to side. She couldn't blame him - he wanted to make sure that they'd be safe. She turned back to the little boy.

  "My name is Jane," she said. "And this is Charles."

  The boy looked from her to the old man.

  She turned too look at him too. This time his hand was raised, telling her to be quiet.

  "What's the matter?" she asked him.

  "I think I see something," Charles whispered. "Over there. I'm not sure."

  Jane thought about rushing to the window, but she didn't want to leave the boy. She needed to get through to him somehow and didn't think that leaving him to check on one of the creatures would help. She knew that Charles would warn her of any trouble.

  She bent down so that she was eye level with the boy.

  "Can you tell me your name?' Jane could tell that was scared. She reached out to put her hand on his shoulder. He pulled away. "I'm not going to hurt you." Her voice was soft, reassuring.

  The boy didn't look so sure.

  "Are you alone?"

  No response.

  Jane looked back to Charles. He looked more nervous now, as though the creature had gotten closer.

  "Is everything okay?" she asked.

  "There's two of 'em," Charles said. "But I don't think that they know we're here. They just keep wandering around over there on the other side of the road."

  "Two of them? Together?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "They're not fighting each other?"

  "No."

  It was the first time that Jane had heard such a thing. And it shocked her.

  "Do you see anything else?" she asked.

  "No."

  Jane didn't know what to make of it all. It would be horrible if the creatures had started to hunt in groups. It would mean that they would be harder to avoid, harder to escape. Their chances of survival would be…she didn't want to think about it. Besides, right now, she needed to concentrate on the little boy.

  She turned back to him. "Is there anyone else with you?"

  At this, the boy lowered his head and swallowed hard. After a moment more, he spoke. "He's dead."

  Jane was taken back by his words. Even Charles turned away from the window to look him.

  "Who's dead?' Charles asked.

  "Petey," the boy replied.

  Jane and Charles exchanged a glance.

  "Who's Petey?" Jane asked.

  The boy swallowed hard again. "My brother. He's dead."

  Jane wanted to reach out and hug the child. Though she wasn't sure if that would scare him. She knew that this was a critical time. The boy had started opening up to them. She couldn't risk it.

  "Is he in the house?" she asked.

  The boy shook his head. "He's out there." He pointed out the door window.

  Jane wondered if his brother had been one of the two bodies she had seen lying in the garden. She didn't think it necessary to ask. It didn't matter which dead body was this little boy's brother. All that mattered was that he was dead.

  "So, you're alone?"

  The boy started to shake his head, then thought better of it. He ran off down the hallway and disappeared into one of the rooms.

  Jane and Charles exchanged another uneasy glance.

  "Should we follow him?" Jane asked, standing up.

  Before Charles could answer, the little boy came charging back into the hallway. He was holding something in his hand. A big, blue stuffed animal. A bunny rabbit. Its ears flopped around as the boy approached. He held it up for Jane and Charles t
o see.

  "This is Mr. Baker," he said.

  Jane forced a smile for the little boy's sake. She could tell that he was proud of his little toy. Though something about it saddened her.This little child had been left alone with nothing more than a stuffed animal to take care of him.

  "It's nice to meet you," Charles said. He stuck out his hand and grabbed the stuffed animal's paw. He shook it a few times. "My name is Charles."

  The boy smiled, pleased at Charles' introduction. Jane figured that she should follow suit.

  "And I'm Jane," she said. She, too, shook the bunny's paw. Then she turned back to the little boy. "And what isyour name?"

  He looked up at Jane with his big, dark eyes. "I'm Robert. And I'm five years old."

  Jane's heart dropped when she heard the boy's age. She knew that he was young. She could tell by looking at him. But hearing it from him was something else. It made it more real somehow, made her realize the severity of their situation and how unfortunate this child had been. She couldn't speak.

  Charles decided to speak for her. "You're five years old?"

  Robert nodded his head.

  "I don't believe it. I was sure that you were at least 6 or 7. You're such a big boy!"

  Robert's smile widened. He stood up straighter. "Nope," he said. "I'm only five. Honest."

  "Well, I believe you," Charles said. "But you're a big one!" He reached over and patted the young boy on the head. Robert didn't pull away from his touch.

  Jane watched the conversation unfold. And, though she was still saddened by the boy's situation, she couldn't help but smile along with him. Robert looked so proud at Charles' words. Charles looked so proud that he had said them.

  "Now," Charles continued. "Is there anything to drink around here? I'm thirsty."

  "You bet," Robert replied. He turned and ran off down the hallway.

  Jane looked at Charles. The old man smiled. Then he held out his hand in a gesture that saidladies first.

  Jane turned to follow the boy. So did Charles.

  Though, before he got very far, he turned back to the window to take another look.

  Chapter 7

  Jane followed Robert into the kitchen and placed her backpack on the ground. The little boy climbed onto the kitchen countertop as she did.