Glory (Book 3)

by Michael McManamon

  "Me? I..." Sam couldn't speak. He also couldn't take his eyes off of Big Mike's finger. He saw it move slightly over the trigger. It was only a matter of seconds before his face was blown off.

  "Speak up," Big Mike said.

  "I...well..." Sam started to feel nauseous, but he had to say something. "I was looking for a gun."

  "Why?"

  "Because I was going to go look for them."

  Big Mike took a step forward. He spun the gun around so that the butt of it was facing Sam. Then he rammed it into Sam's nose. Sam fell to the ground.

  "You were going after my woman?" Big Mike screamed. "You were going to try to find her?"

  "No, no!" Sam raised his hands over his face to protect himself from a further attack. "Nother. The other one. The young one."

  Big Mike stopped and looked down at Sam. He lowered his gun from over his head. Yet, he could see Big Mike's finger back on the trigger. "The young one?"

  "Shelly - the new girl. The one that Rick brought in. I was looking for a gun and I was going to shoot thepiece-of-shit who took her."

  "Do you know who took her?"

  Sam could see the fire in the big guy's eyes. "I think so. The fuckin' guy attacked me before."

  "You've met them before?"

  Sam swallowed. "In the city. I was...well...I was just about to have my way with her when thispiece-of-shit shows up and tells me to fuck off. That's who came to free her."

  "Hmm," Big Mike said. It wasn't much. But at least he had taken his finger off of the gun. Big Mike looked around. Then he turned back to Sam. "Get up."

  "What?" Sam was still a bit in shock from all that had happened.

  "Get up," Big Mike repeated. "Let's go find them."

  Big Mike put out his hand for Sam. Sam glanced at it, unsure if he wanted to take it. He wasn't sure if he wanted anything to do with this guy. Not after he had just tried to smash in his face with the butt of a gun. But there weren't many other options.

  He placed out his hand and grabbed Big Mike's. The big guy pulled him to his feet. Then he patted Sam on the back and smiled.

  Big Mike started to walk away from the cage.

  "Where are you going?" Sam asked.

  "To find Claire. I thought that you were coming with me."

  Sam continued to look at the big guy. He was still a bit taken off guard by the gun that had been slammed into his face. But he did want to find his girl. "What about my things?" he asked. "I left my bag in Carl's room."

  "We can find whatever we're looking for out there." Big Mike pointed his gun out at the distance. "Let's go."

  Let's go. Sam still wasn't sure that he wanted to go anywhere with Big him. The man had just attacked him. Would have killed him. But Sam also knew that Big Mike was determined to get his Claire back. And, with that, he'd be sure to find Shelly.

  "All right," Sam called out. "Hold up."

  Big Mike didn't hold up. But it didn't take long for Sam to catch up with him.

  Sam wished that he had had a chance to go back to the house and pick up the bag that he had filled. He wished that he could have had another chance to look for a gun. But there was nothing that he could do about that at the moment. Big Mike wasn't going to wait.

  Just like Big Mike had said, he could find all of the things he needed later.

  Sam came up behind him, then started to walk beside him. Big Mike was holding a fast pace and Sam had trouble keeping up. His feet eventually found a rhythm, but it wasn't all that comfortable. He turned to the big guy.

  "What happened to the others?" he asked.

  Big Mike didn't look at Sam. He kept his face looking out over the distance. "They died," he said.

  "They died? All of them?"

  "Yeah," Big Mike's voice conveyed no emotion.

  "How?"

  "Thosethings, They came out and attacked us. Right after we had found some travellers."

  "Some women?"

  "Yeah. Well, one woman. We almost had her. But then we were attacked. And killed."

  "And they all died?"

  This time, Big Mike looked at Sam. Just a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. But Sam knew that that would be the last time he asked about the surprise attack.

  "Yeah," he said. "All of them."

  They continued to walk until Sam could barely see the camp behind him. Sam had no idea if they were headed in the right direction. He hadn't seen where Shelly had gone off to.

  "You think we'll find them?" he asked. He had just been trying to make conversation. But, as soon as he said it, he knew that it had been another stupid thing to say.

  Big Mike turned to him. "Yeah, we will."

  And that was it. They were on their way.

  Chapter 2

  Jane woke up and opened her eyes slowly. She was sleeping in a big bed, alone. It was comfortable. She was well rested. But something felt strange.

  She looked around the room. Light was coming in through the bedroom window. Her door was closed. She couldn't hear any sounds.

  She got out of bed and rushed to her bedroom door. She wanted to call out to Charles and the young boy. They were supposed to be sleeping in another room.

  Something didn't feel right.

  She opened the door and stuck her head into the hallway. Her eyes shot from side to side.

  Nothing out there.

  "Charles?" she whispered.

  She stepped out into the hallway, the floor boards creaking underneath her weight. Her heart was racing.Something was wrong.She knew it.

  As she came upon the bedroom where Charles and Robert had gone to sleep, she knew that it had been a mistake for them to split up. She was going to go into the room and see that the old man and young boy had been killed. That one of thosethings had come in in the night and slaughtered them. Tore at their faces, pulled out their eyes.

  She grabbed hold of the door knob.

  They were going to be dead.

  She turned the door handle, then nearly pulled away.She couldn't look. She couldn't see them lying there, killed.

  Yet, she had to know. Had to make sure.

  She door opened. Her heart continued to race.

  Then she let out a sigh of relief.Everything was okay.

  Charles was lying on the bed. Robert's head rested on the old man's chest. Sunlight shone upon the two of them.

  Jane smiled and turned to leave. Charles called out to her.

  "Good morning," he said. His voice was nothing more than a whisper.

  She looked back at him.

  "Did you have a good sleep?' he asked.

  Jane placed her finger to her lips. She didn't want to wake the young boy. She nodded her head. Still smiling.

  "Good," Charles said. He smiled back at her. "I'll be up in a minute."

  "No rush."

  Jane turned to leave. They were all safe. Just waking up from a nice sleep. Everything seemed normal.

  If only that were true.

  Chapter 3

  Adam woke up, laying in a field. A little wet from the dew. But he was happy. He had gotten Shelly back.

  The young girl was beside him, Claire on the far side ofher. They were both sleeping.

  Adam reached out and touched Shelly's head. Not to wake her. Just to make sure that she was there, that this was all real. She moved slightly at his touch.It was real. He kept his hand on her.

  After a while, his thoughts shifted to the woman beside her.Claire. He could see her face better in the morning light. The cuts upon it. The bruising.

  She had been crying a lot last night. And, for some reason, he thought that he had started it. He knew that, deep down, it had nothing to do with him. It was the situation, what had happened to her. Yet he felt a little guilty, nonetheless.

  He sat up and looked around. The sun had just started to rise. The sky a soft yellow and red.

  He glanced in the direction that they had come from. No one was there. No one was coming after them.Good.

  Adam felt the young girl move and
turned back to her. Her eyes were already open, looking at him.

  "Good morning," he whispered, not wanting to wake Claire.

  "Hi." Shelly gave him a little smile. He could see that she was still tired.

  "You can sleep," he said. "I think we're safe."

  She pushed herself onto one elbow. "It's okay. I should get up. We should get going. I'm hungry."

  Adam hadn't thought about that. Of course they'd be hungry. They probably hadn't been fed much…if any.

  "Sure," he said. "We should get you something."

  Shelly sat up and looked around. "It looks like it's going to be a nice day."

  Adam smiled. He hoped that she was right.

  *

  Claire woke up not long after. She pushed herself up and looked in the same direction toward the camp.

  "I haven't seen anyone out there," Adam said. It wasn't a typical greeting.

  Claire turned to him. "What? Oh…" It dawned on her what he was talking about.

  "Did you have a good sleep?" Shelly asked. Claire looked at her. The young girl had concern in her eyes.

  "I don't know abouta good sleep," Claire admitted. "But it was…well…" She had been going to say that it was nice to be out of the cage. Except she didn't want to talk about that this morning. "It was fine."

  Adam nodded his head, though he could see that something was troubling her.

  Shelly stood up. "Let's go. I'm starving. And I want some new shoes!"

  "New shoes?" Adam looked at her feet. The guard's shoes were far too big for her. "Oh yeah."

  "And some new clothes!" Shelly looked down at her shirt and pulled it out at the bottom. She held it there for everyone to see. Parts of it were torn. There were still stains from the man that she had shot. "I definitely need some new clothes!"

  Adam saw the blood too. Last night, he hadn't really noticed it. It had been too dark. They had been too busy trying to escape. But he could see it now. And it bothered him.

  He turned to look at Claire. Her shirt was also ruined. Covered in blood and who knew what else.

  "We'll find you both something soon," he said. "There's got to be a house or something around here. Lots of clothes.

  "No," Claire said quickly.

  Adam turned to her in surprise. Even Shelly looked over at the woman.

  "No?"

  Claire shook her head. "I wantnewclothes.New ones."

  Adam understood. There was something morbid about walking into someone's house and taking their clothes. Especially since that person was either dead or one ofthem. "All right. We'll have to look for a store."

  "It'll be just like shopping!" Shelly said, excited about it. It was as though she didn't remember much of what had happened to her over the past few days. Or maybe she just didn't want to.

  Either way, Adam looked at her. Then he started to laugh. He couldn't help himself.

  To his surprise, Claire joined him.

  *

  The three continued to go in the direction they had been headed: away from the camp. They didn't know if there was a town nearby. They didn't know if there would be a store there. Then, an idea came to Adam. He turned around.

  "See over there," he said. He pointed at a hill far off in the distance. "There's a little town behind it. That's where I left my bike."

  "You want to go back all that way?" Shelly asked. "Just for your bike?"

  "No. It's just that I know that there's a town there."

  "But we'll have to pass by the camp," Claire said. Her voice slow.

  "You're right." Adam hadn't thought about that. "Wewould have to pass the camp. Though we could go around it."

  "I don't think it's a good idea. Those guys might've returned. Big Mike might be there." Now her voice shook as she spoke. Adam didn't know if it was out of fear or anger.

  "You're right," he said again. He continued to look at the hill. It was far away, and that was another reason not to go back there. Maybe there was something closer by. He turned back around. "So, we should keep walking this way?"

  "Yeah," Shelly said.

  Claire simply nodded her head.

  Chapter 4

  Jane opened the door to the house, her backpack strapped over her shoulders. It was a beautiful day. The sun shining. Warm. She looked up and down the street, checking for thosethings. Then Robert ran past her and out into the yard.

  She tried to reach out and grab him, but wasn't quick enough. "Get back here!" she nearly screamed.

  Robert spun and looked at her. She could see the guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry." He lowered his head and walked back to her.

  She placed her hand on his head, her arm shaking with fright. "It's not safe out here. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."

  Robert kept his head lowered.

  "I'm sorry I yelled," Jane added. She didn't want to make him feel bad.

  "It's okay," he moped.

  Charles came up behind them and ruffled Robert's hair. He had seen the boy run outside and was frightened, himself. "You've gotta listen to Jane here," he said. "You understand?"

  "Yes."

  "Thing's have changed now. You've gotta keep on the lookout."

  "I know," Robert said. "I'm sorry."

  Charles ruffled the little boy's hair again. "You're a good kid. Just eager to get outside, huh?"

  Robert looked up at the old man. "What's that?" he asked.

  "What'swhat?"

  "Eager."

  Charles grinned. "It means that you really want to do something. Like go outside. And I can't blame you. It's a gorgeous day."

  The corners of Robert's mouth raised.

  "There a good boy," Charles continued. "Now, let's get you into your wagon."

  They brought it out of the house and placed it onto the sidewalk. Both Jane and Charles kept looking around to make sure that there weren't any of the creatures nearby while they did it. Everything still looked clear.

  Robert went to hop into the wagon. He lifted his leg. Then stopped.

  "I can walk," he said.

  Jane shook her head. "It's okay. We don't mind pulling you. We have a long way to go."

  "Where are we going?"

  "To…find safety." Jane didn't know what else to tell him.

  Robert got into the wagon. Charles came up behind him.

  "Forgetting something?" the old man asked. He held out his hand. In it was Robert's stuffed animal, Mr. Baker.

  Robert looked at the toy and another look of guilt crossed his face. "I...I..." He grabbed Mr. Baker and held him tightly in his arms. "I'm sorry," he said to the stuffed rabbit. "I didn't mean to leave you."

  The young boy looked at Jane and Charles, hoping that they could give him some sign of forgiveness. Charles was the first to respond.

  "Don't worry," he said. "We all forget things. Just today, I almost forgot to put on my pants."

  Robert looked at the old man, disbelieving. Then he started to laugh. "You did not!"

  "I did too. I almost walked right out of the house without them."

  Jane joined the laughter.

  "So, don't feel bad, okay?" Charles said.

  Robert nodded.

  "Time to go," Jane said as she grabbed hold of the wagon and started to pull. Robert squeezed onto the sides of the wagon.

  She walked to the road and looked down it. There were several dead bodies strewn through out. She could see red patches of blood, where the puddles had dried.

  She wished that the little boy didn't have to see such things, but there was nothing that she could do about it. They had all been thrown into this mess and simply had to deal with it.

  Jane pulled the wagon forward with the little boy in it. Charles followed. Three generations, come together.

  Chapter 5

  Jane pulled Robert along behind her. She hadn't said much to the little boy or the old man since they had left the house. Things were bothering her. She often thought of her husband and daughter and what had happened to them. Plus, there was a new child depe
nding on her. And an old man.

  It took all that she could to stop herself from crying. She couldn't breakdown. Not now. She had to be strong.

  Jane squeezed the handle of the wagon. She could hear the wheels rumbling on the pavement, her feet patting along beside it.

  She took a deep breath. The air smelled bad. The dead bodies were well into decomposing. She tried not to focus on them.

  When she heard a little laugh, she turned to look at Robert. He was playing with his stuffed animal and wasn't paying any attention to all that had happened. It brought somewhat of a smile to her face. Though she was also confused that he could so easily block out all that was around him.If only she could do the same…

  As they came to a corner, Jane slowed down. She didn't know which direction she was supposed to go. She had never been to this town before. She didn't know how to get out of it. It was also bigger than she had expected.

  "Robert," Jane said. "Do you know where we are?"

  Robert stopped playing with Mr. Baker and looked up at her, half a smile on his face.

  "We are near the bridge," he said.

  "The bridge?"

  "Yeah. Over there."

  He pointed down the road. Jane looked. It wasn't easy to see, but she could tell that the houses ended there. That must be the end of the town, their way out.

  "Do you know what's on the other side?" Jane asked.

  Robert shook his head. He didn't have any idea.

  Jane turned to look at Charles. "What do you think?"

  "I think it's as good as any of these other streets," the old man replied. "We don't really know where we're going, after all."

  Jane nodded. Charles was right.

  "Then let's go," she said. But before she took another step, she looked once more at Charles. "Are you okay? Did you want to take a break?"

  Charles raised his hand in protest. "I'm okay. I feel pretty good right now. Though we might have to take a rest at the end of the street. It looks pretty long."

  "It's okay if you want to stop for a bit."

  Charles shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Besides, if we stop, I might not be able to get moving again."