Glory (Book 3)

by Michael McManamon

  "What did you two talk about?"

  "Not much. I told him that we'd probably leave this morning."

  "This morning? Do we have to go so soon?"

  "It doesn't make any sense to stay here," Adam explained. "We need to find others. And I don't know how much we can trust Woody. I don't think that he's a bad guy. But he's reckless. He's…off."

  At that, Adam remembered that he had asked the man to join them when they left. Now, he wasn't all that sure that he should have.

  "He's just sad," Shelly countered.

  Though there was some truth to it, Adam didn't know if it was enough to risk their safety. He decided not to pursue it at the moment. "We can talk about it later. Let's get something to eat first."

  Shelly didn't argue. She followed him into the kitchen. Claire behind them.

  *

  Although they were quiet, Woody woke anyway. He opened his bedroom door and walked into the kitchen.

  "Hello there!" he said.

  He was in his pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt. Shelly and Claire were just as surprised as Adam had been to see him like this.

  "How are you feeling?" Adam asked. With all that he had had to drink, he knew that he should be feeling pretty bad about now. "Have a good sleep?"

  "It was fine," Woody responded. "Though I am a little thirsty."

  "Want some water?" Shelly held up a bottle for him.

  He shook his head. "No, thank you. I need something a little stronger."

  Adam wanted to protest. He didn't think that it was a good idea for Woody to keep drinking. Not with thosethings around. He needed to be strong. Alert. But he didn't say anything. He watched Woody walk over to the cabinet and pull out another bottle.

  "How many more you got in there?" he asked. His tone was a little more accusatory than he had wanted.

  Woody seemed not to notice. "Enough. How did you all sleep?"

  "Good," Shelly replied. Claire nodded her head in agreement.

  That seemed to make Woody happy. He walked over to the table with his new bottle of alcohol.Rum, Adam read on the bottle.This guy wasn't choosey. He opened the top and took a big sip. Then, just like last night, he offered the others a drink. Everyone refused.

  "More for me," Woody said. He took another big sip. When he finished, he placed the bottle on to the table and looked at the others. "So, what have you decided to do?"

  Shelly looked to Adam. He had said that they were going to leave, but he hadn't said any more than that.

  "Like I told you last night," Adam said, "we're going to look for more people. More survivors. We might even find somewhere where there are answers to what happened. At least, protection."

  "Sounds wonderful," Woody said. "I wish you luck."

  At this, Shelly put down her food, surprised by Woody's words. "You wish us luck? Aren't you coming with us?"

  Woody turned to her. "I'm sorry, but this is my home."

  "You said you hated it yesterday," Adam interjected.

  Woody ignored his comment. "This is my home," he repeated, "and I'm not going to leave it."

  "You're not going to leave it?" Shelly continued. "But you can't survive here. Not on your own."

  Woody smiled, but didn't reply straight away. "Well…I'm going to wait," he said finally.

  "For what?"

  "For my wife."

  Shelly opened her mouth, but couldn't speak.

  Claire did for her. "You said that she changed in to one ofthem. She won't come back."

  "Shedid change. But she might change back. And if she does I want to be here for her."

  Now, Claire had nothing more to say.

  Even Adam was speechless on the subject. He didn't think that it was likely that Woody's wife was going to change back and come home to him. But he could hear the hope in the man's voice. He felt sorry for him.

  "Come with us," Adam said. Like Shelly had said, he was just sad. He needed comfort. He needed their help.

  "No," Woody responded. "I have to wait for her."

  "What if she doesn't come back?"

  Woody looked at Adam. And, in that instant, Adam knew that the man didn't really believe that his wife was going to return. It was just a faint hope. One that he padded with alcohol. One that might not come to pass before he drank himself to death. And Adam knew that Woody was okay with that.

  Woody took another sip from his bottle. And another one. Then he placed the bottle on the table and stood up.

  "I want you girls to come with me," he said. He looked at Adam. "You might as well too."

  Hesitantly, they followed Woody into his bedroom. It was a mess. The bed hadn't been made. There were clothes on the ground. His drawers were wide open, clothes hung out of them. He led them to a closet.

  "I don't think that you should go back to the department store," he said. "Thosethings might be hanging around. It's better if you take some of these. They were my wife's." He pointed at the clothes inside it.

  "But you said..." Shelly started.

  "Yeah, I know I said that I'm waiting for her to come back," Woody interrupted her. "I can deal with that when it happens." Woody reached in and grabbed out a few things. "I just don't think you should be going back to that store." He handed them to her.

  Claire took some also, though she didn't look comfortable about it.

  Adam remembered her saying something about wantingnew clothes. She didn't want to wear clothes that belonged to someone who had changed. Nor did she want to wear something that belonged to someone who might be dead.

  "I think I know how you feel about this," Woody said, staring directly at her. "But my wife was beautiful. Everyone loved her. She was a good person. Just think of that when you wear them."

  Woody looked about to cry. But, before he did, he raised the bottle back to his mouth.

  Claire didn't spend much more time thinking about it. She held out the clothes that she was offered so that she could get a better look and thanked him for them.

  "You're welcome," he replied.

  Shelly and Claire turned back to the closet. Adam chose a few things too. He felt strange about it since they were Woody's and the man was still here.

  "But I don't plan on wearing them," Woody assured him. "At least not all of them. And I'll be able to find some new things if I want. You can use this too." He threw Adam a small backpack.

  Adam took the clothes and put them into the bag. There wasn't any room in his bag of guns. Claire and Shelly put their clothes in it as well.

  When they were finished, they walked out into the living room. They had on their new clothes and had been fed.

  "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Adam asked.

  "I'm positive." Woody led them to the front door.

  It didn't feel right leaving him, but Adam knew that the man didn't want to come. He pointed to his bag of guns. "Will you take one of those? As payment."

  "I don't need payment. And I don't need one ofthose."

  Adam knew what the man meant. He meantif they come, then they can take me.

  They went downstairs.

  Woody opened the door. He stuck his head out and looked around. "Coast is clear." He stood back to let the three leave. Shelly reached out and hugged him as she did.

  "Come with us," she said.

  Woody patted her on the head. "I'll be fine. And if things ever get back to normal, then you'll have to come back for a visit."

  Shelly hugged him again.

  As the three walked outside, Woody stood in the doorway.

  "Now, you wanna take this road right out of town." Woody held up his rum bottle to show them where to go.

  "Thank you," Adam said. He wanted to ask Woody once more to come with them. Maybe evenmake him come. But, deep down, he knew that the man wasn't going to leave.

  "My pleasure."

  Adam, Shelly and Claire turned away from Woody and started to walk away.

  *

  Before he walked out of sight of Woody's house, Adam turned to look
at it. He could see the man standing in his living room window. He was back to wearing the white sun hat.

  Adam waved. Woody raised his bottle.

  Chapter 2

  Adam had been the first to notice the little stream. It passed underneath a bridge that they had to cross.

  "We should rest here," he said. "Freshen up."

  Shelly and Claire agreed.

  "I'll let you two wash up first," Adam added.

  "And what will you do?" Claire asked.

  "I'll wait up here."

  Adam didn't want to go down there with them. He wanted to give them their privacy.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah, I'm sure. Just call me if you need me."

  Claire and Shelly made their way to the stream, taking the bag of clothes with them. They had to climb down a steep ditch.

  As soon as they got to the bottom and he knew that they were okay, Adam turned and sat on the edge of the bridge. He could hear them bathing in the water, splashing themselves, rubbing it against their dirtied skin.

  He could also hear laughter. And that made him feel good.

  He knew that Shelly had been through a lot. She hadn't said much since they had left Woody's. It had been hard for her to accept that the drunk man hadn't wanted to come. Not to mention all of the other horrible things that had happened to her.

  He knew that Claire had been through a lot too. He hadn't talked to her about it much, but he could tell. There were the cuts on her face and arms. There was the way she had spoken about Big Mike. And the way she cringed when he had touched her.

  He heard the laughter again.

  "Hey, Adam," Shelly shouted up at him. "The water's so cold!"

  "That's good," he shouted back. "It makes you strong."

  He knew that it was a stupid thing to say. Something that his father would have said to him. His father used to say that eating apples would make him strong too. Drinking milk would make him tall. And a good night's sleep would put hair on his chest - not that he really wanted that.

  "Strong? How does cold water make me strong?"

  "It just does!"

  Shelly laughed all the more.

  Adam leaned back. The sun was hot and beat down on him. He could feel sweat begin to build on his forehead and swiped it away.

  After a while, he called down to them, "When are you gonna be done? I'm boiling up here!"

  "Just a few more minutes!"

  More laughter.

  Adam stared down the road that they had taken. They had come a long way.

  He thought about Woody and wondered what he was doing at the moment. If he was drunk. If he had put the dress back on along with the hat.

  Part of him wished that Woody had come with them. After he had had more time to think about it, Adam was more than certain that Woody was a nice guy. Just a little troubled from all that happened. And that could have passed. It would have been nice to have an extra person around.

  Of course, if Woody hadn't been able to stop drinking that would have been horrible for them…

  More laughter.

  Adam looked down the other side of the road. It went on for a little bit before turning around a bend. He had no idea where it led to, but it was the direction Woody had told them to take.

  "We're done," Shelly called up to him.

  Adam turned around and looked down into the stream. Both Shelly and Claire were standing there, looking up at him. They were dressed in their new clothes. There faces and bodies had been scrubbed clean. Even their hair had been washed. It was no longer matted with blood.

  They looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back.

  "You just gonna sit up there?" Shelly continued. "Or are you coming down?"

  "I'm coming down."

  Adam went.

  "We were thinking that we'd check out the stream a little bit more," Shelly said once he got to them. "Just to see what's down there." She pointed at where the stream curved around a corner.

  Adam didn't like the sound of that. "I don't know. Maybe you should stay closer by."

  "We're not going to go far," Shelly assured him. "And if you need our help, just shout. We'll come running."

  She laughed at that. Adam laughed a bit too.

  "All right," he said. "But don't go too far."

  "We won't."

  Shelly and Claire walked away from him. He hated to watch them go, but he wasn't about to make a big deal about it.They'd be fine.

  When they were gone, Adam took off his clothes and threw them beside the stream. He stood there naked, the sun beating down upon him.

  He felt nervous, wondering if Shelly and Claire were going to return and see him undressed. But that was only for a moment. He went into the water and quickly forgot about it.

  Shelly had been right, it was cold.

  He took some of the water and rubbed it on his arms. He splashed it over his face. He ran it through his hair, wishing that he had soap. But it was better than nothing. He could see the blood and dirt coming off of his skin. He watched it cloud in the water.

  Blood from people he had killed.

  The idea was still bizarre to him. He knew that he hadn't had a choice. They had been going to kill him. But, whatever the reason, it was strange for him to know that he had taken another person's life.

  Survival, he supposed it was. At least, hehoped that was all it was.

  He continued to clean himself. The cold water no longer all that cold.

  Then he stopped. He thought he could hear a noise. And it wasn't coming from the direction that Shelly and Claire had gone in.

  It came from above. On the road.

  Chapter 3

  Adam could definitely hear something, but he wasn't sure what it was. It sounded like a soft rumbling. Other than that, he couldn't figure it out.

  He snuck out of the stream and reached for new clothes out of the small backpack. He put them on quietly over his wet body.

  He grabbed his shotgun next.

  Taking a look down the stream toward where Shelly and Claire had gone, Adam couldn't see them or hear them. He hoped that they wouldn't return right at that moment. He had to make sure that everything was safe first.

  He moved closer toward the ditch.

  The sound was passing directly overhead. He was sure that he could hear footsteps too.

  This wasn't good.

  He pressed his body to the grass and crept up to the side of the road.

  Yes, footsteps and something else. Somethingrumbling.

  He came to the edge of the road and peered over the edge.

  At first, he wasn't sure what he was seeing. It was such an odd sight. Something he hadn't come to expect in this new world. There were two people walking along, pulling a wagon. In the wagon was a little child.

  He continued to watch them for a bit before it occurred to him that they couldn't be thosethings. The creatures didn't pull people along in wagons. They attacked. This group didn't look like they'd be trouble, either. Not with a kid with them.

  He got up on to the road.

  "Hello?" he called out.

  The three figures turned around in surprise. Adam could make them out better now. There was a young woman, an old man and a little boy. They looked at him questioningly.

  "Hello," he said again.

  The woman continued to stare at him, unsure of what to say. The old man didn't speak, either. It was the little boy who talked first.

  "Hello," he said. He raised his hand and waved.

  Adam walked closer to the group. He held his gun pointed down.

  As he approached, he could see the old man start to relax. Though the woman looked to get more frightened.

  "It's okay," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you." His words didn't seem to have much of an impact on her. He placed his gun onto the ground and raised his hands. That helped. He stepped closer. "My name's Adam."

  "I'm Robert," the little boy said. "And I'm five years old."

  "I'm Charles," the old man added. He
put out his hand to shake, a gesture that Adam had forgotten -even though it hadn't been such a long time since he had done it.

  Adam took his hand. "It's nice to meet you." He reached out and shook the little boy's hand as well.

  He turned the woman.

  "I'm Jane," she said quietly.

  Adam stuck his hand out to her and was surprised that she took it. He turned back to the old man. "What are you guys doing out here? Where are you coming from?"

  "We came up a street back there. It led us to this one."

  Adam knew which one he was talking about. He had thought about taking it himself, but decided to stay on the road that Woody had told them to. "What about before that?"

  "We're from all over," Charles explained. "Jane came into my town a little after everything started."

  Adam had thought that maybe the man had been the woman's father. "And the boy?"

  "We met him a few says later. He was left alone in his house."

  "And what aboutyou?" Jane asked. Her voice wary.

  "I'm…"

  "Adam!' a voice called to him. Shelly. "Where are you?"

  He quickly walked over to the edge of the bridge and looked down at her. Claire was standing beside her. "Up here," he told them. "We have some visitors."

  "Visitors? Is it Woody?"

  Adam shook his head. "No, it's not Woody. Just come up and see for yourself."

  Shelly and Claire climbed the ditch. Then Shelly ran over to them.

  "Oh, my gosh!" she said. "This is fantastic! More people!"

  Adam saw the old man and little boy smile at Shelly. Even the young woman; the ends of her mouth curved slightly upward.

  *

  Everyone introduced themselves again. Then Shelly suggested that they all go down to the stream. "It's beautiful down there. And I know Robert will love it!"

  The little boy held up his stuffed rabbit. "Can we take Mr. Baker?"

  "Of course!" She grabbed the little boy's hand and helped him out of the wagon.

  Adam noticed that Jane had been about to protest, but stopped herself and kept quiet.

  "Come on," Shelly shouted, rushing toward the edge of the road.

  "I don't know," Charles called behind her. "I might not be able to make it down there. And even if I do, I might not be able to make it back up!" He finished with a laugh.