by Todd Sprague
“And so, we took an example from the Bible. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not declaring anything to do with religion, only that a few simple, logical laws can do what thousands of ridiculous laws could not.”
The crowd of people began asking questions, demanding answers. John held up his hand again, but the crowd noise only rose in volume. He drew his Sig from his shoulder holster and fired twice into the air. Silence greeted him immediately. He reholstered the .45.
“Alright. Law One. You will not intentionally hurt or cause to be hurt another member of this clan.
Law Two. You will not steal from another member of this clan, or from the clan itself.
Law Three. You will pull your own weight according to your abilities, or you will go without.
Law Four. You will defend the clan and members of the clan, with your life if necessary.
Law Five. All living people, without exception, are equal under these laws.
Law Six. All members of the clan have the right and the responsibility to defend themselves when possible, and by whatever means available. Never shall this right be infringed.
Folks, family members, that is all we need at the moment. If, in the future, we need more laws, we will discuss them together. But these six laws are what we will live by as of this moment forward. One day, when needed, we may incorporate these laws into our own Constitution. Let’s work on survival first, though. If you do not agree with these laws, you are free to leave at any time with your belongings, and with no hard feelings.”
Those gathered around the square nodded or voiced their agreements to the six laws. John looked at Gino. “As for you, these laws are retroactive. And you broke Law One. Do you know what the penalty for breaking Law One is?”
Gino shook his head.
“Marta, this man acted against you first, and the clan second. As the victim, you may decide his fate if you so choose.”
Marta shook her head at first, but Sara murmured something in her ear. She straightened, nodded, and walked forward.
“I gave him his punishment already. I shot him down like the dog that he is.” She moved quickly, as if to lunge for Gino, but stopped herself, faking him out. Gino cringed and whimpered, putting weight on his bad leg. He cursed under his breath.
John nodded to Marta. “So be it. But, Gino Machio, you also acted against the clan, and I say you are no longer wanted here. You are to be exiled from this place and forbidden to return, or to enter any future clan holdings as well. And consider yourself lucky that you are alive, for now.” John raised his voice and looked at the crowd, “Does anyone object to this? Speak now, with no fear of recrimination.”
Again, no one spoke a word.
Gino began to stammer. “You can’t do this! If you send me out there, that’s murder!”
John looked Gino square in the eye. “After what you tried to do to Marta last night, take it like a man, you son of a bitch.”
Gino lunged for John, but Emmet was faster. He brought the butt of his sawed off shotgun down on Gino’s head with a loud crack. The stunned man fell to the floor, moaning.
John looked at Emmet. “Get him out of here. Give him a pack with a week’s food and water, a baseball bat, and some antibiotics for the leg. Take him down the road a few miles and dump him. If he comes anywhere near here, treat him as a Zed.”
Emmet nodded. “Shouldn’t be too hard, as he’ll probably be one by then.”
John’s face remained hard. “He chose his own path.”
* * *
John walked out of the square with Sara in tow, as Emmet and a few others took the exiled man away. Jose walked up to them, dragging a familiar looking girl behind him. “Hey, Sara, John, have you met Michelle?”
John looked at her, trying to place her face from memory. Sara rescued him, as usual when it came to social obligations.
“From the church. You and your mom came back with us, right?” she asked, smiling at the girl. Michelle stood a little taller than Jose, with strawberry blond hair that flew around her head in wispy swirls. She smiled prettily at the Masons.
“How do you do? And my mom says thanks again for taking us in.”
Sara took the girl’s hand. “Oh, you tell your mom she’s very welcome. We’re glad you’re both here.”
“We had a wonderful time at the party last night. That’s the most fun I’ve had since...well, you know.”
Sara laughed. “We know. Tell me, what are you two doing now?”
Jose broke in. “We’re going to go for a walk around the compound and then I’m going to show her my workshop and my truck.”
John laughed and clapped Jose on the shoulder. “Good! Make sure she gets home safe to her mother before dark, though.”
Jose rolled his eyes. “Fine, but not until after she’s met Eddie.”
Sara looked at John in alarm. She looked back at Jose. “Jose, maybe now’s not a good time for her to...uh...meet Eddie.”
John frowned at her. “Oh right. Let me guess, you think I’m going crazy?”
Sara shook her head. “No, that’s not what I said. But you’ve been under a lot of stress and, well...” she lowered her voice and spoke directly to Jose. “Eddie’s dead, Jose. You know that.”
Michelle piped in. “That’s okay, Mrs. Mason. I’ve already met a ghost.”
John and Sara both stared at the girl. Jose grinned.
“You have?”
“Yeah, back in the church. Right before you guys rescued us and after the leader Zed told the old lady to be ready. Some guy appeared right inside the cage and said we’d be rescued soon. It’s no big deal, you know. Not like there aren’t enough dead guys walking around everywhere else. What’s one more?”
She linked arms with Jose and the two of them went off chatting animatedly with each other. John and Sara stood staring at them as they disappeared from view. They turned to each other.
“Great, Jose found someone as loco as he is,” John said.
Sara elbowed him hard. “Not funny.”
* * *
Emmet returned within the hour, having discharged his duty with an escort of armed men. John met them at the gate and took Emmet’s report.
“Didn’t see one damn Zed anywhere. Not that I’m complaining.”
“Yeah, that matches with what Douglas is getting from the radio. The other two communities he’s been talking to as well as a few smaller groups have been saying the same thing. At least here in the north, the Zeds have gone quiet.”
“There’s something else, John.” Emmet said. He squinted his eyes and took his wool watch cap off. “We saw a plane fly over. Way up high, but looked like a C-130. It was heading northwest.”
“Shit. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Guard base.” John turned, beckoning Emmet to walk with him.
“It was headed more west than that, I think, but who knows? First damn airplane I’ve seen in a while.”
“Alright, we’ll have to keep an eye out from now on. I don’t want anyone getting wind of us unless we know who they are first. We can handle Zeds now, I think, but against the military, I just don’t know.”
Emmet nodded. “I’d bet even money on whoever has the bigger guns.”
John looked at Emmet. “Are you suggesting we need bigger guns?”
Emmet grinned. “Did I say that?”
* * *
The rest of the day went without a hitch. No Zeds were seen on any of the scavenging trips, and more progress was made in building shelters and storage facilities at the camp.
As night fell, the temperature dropped quickly. John and Sara walked across the compound, headed for their cabin, with little Tommy, Tammy, and Marisa running along behind. Marisa herded the twins like a mother duck, keeping them in line and out of trouble. John squeezed Sara’s hand as they walked.
“How are you going to outdo yourself when Thanksgiving comes around?” he asked, smiling at his talented wife.
“Are we celebrating Thanksgiving, then?” There was no sarc
asm in her voice, just genuine curiosity.
“We’re alive when most everyone else isn’t. At least we don’t think so. And besides, anything we can give our people to look forward to is a good thing.”
“You’re right. I’ll do my best.”
They reached the center of the square and noticed a pole had been erected. On the pole, the six laws had been etched onto a piece of sheet metal.
“Someone works fast around here.” John noted, as he touched the shiny metal. The letters were scored deeply. He brushed frost off with his gloved hand and they resumed walking.
Just as they reached the cabin, the first snowflakes began to fall.
Chapter 16
December 1, Zed Year One
Brattleboro, Vermont
“Sara?” John called out. He looked over at the empty spot on the bed next to him. The blankets were rumpled around a slight indent in the old mattress where Sara normally slept. He heard the toilet flush in the bathroom. At least we still have running water, thank God, he thought to himself. He shook his head as he thought about what life would be like without that little luxury.
Sara walked back into the room holding a towel to her face. “Ugh,” she sighed. “I haven’t felt right since the morning after Thanksgiving. I might be coming down with something.”
“I’m not surprised. You ran yourself ragged putting that Thanksgiving feast together. The cold and snow probably haven’t helped much. I’m already looking forward to Spring.” John sat up, the blanket falling away from him. Sara walked over and sat on the bed next to him.
“At least we haven’t had to deal with any Zeds for a few weeks. Rumors in the compound say maybe they’re gone. Maybe they all died when the snow came, or whatever it was that brought them back to life just stopped.”
“I know people are talking, but I’ll believe it when I see proof. Either way, we’re going to keep sending out as many scavenging teams as we can for now. I also have them looking for somewhere we can build a second compound. We’re practically bursting at the seams here.”
“Maybe you could find somewhere with a hot tub?” Sara smiled wistfully. “I miss hot tubs.”
John wrapped his arms around his wife and hugged her tightly. “Me too, sweetheart.”
* * *
Dierdre came running up the pathway towards John and Sara as they stepped down off the porch of the little cabin. Six inches of glistening snow blanketed the entire compound, lending it a clean, fresh look.
“Geez, Mom, you’re out early.”
“Sara, have you seen Jose?” Dierdre came to a halt, panting slightly from her brisk walk. Her face showed signs of worry.
“Nope, I haven’t seen him yet today. Why?” Sara asked.
“He didn’t come home last night, and he didn’t sleep in his workshop tent.”
“Someone should have said something last night,” John said as he turned and ran back into the cabin. He emerged a few minutes later, his P90 slung over one shoulder, a backpack over the other. He raised a radio to his lips. “Emmet, did Jose leave yesterday?”
Static broke on the radio as Emmet replied. “Hold on, John. I don’t see his name on the log, but two scavenging teams went out during the day. Both returned safely before dark, though.”
“Who led the teams?” John asked.
“Morgan took one out, and Sal Biederman took the other.”
“Thanks, Emmet. John out.”
“Who’s Sal Beiderman?” Dierdre asked.
“He came in back in November. Good guy, used to be a crop dusting pilot or something,” John said as he started off toward downtown.
“Stay here, Mom. We’ll find Jose. I promise.”
* * *
John and Sara found Morgan sipping coffee at the big cookhouse they’d built out of logs right in the center of the compound, next to the Square. It had large fire pits and wood burning ovens they’d made from bricks and steel grates. It smelled perpetually of coffee and bread which on most days brought a smile to John’s face. Today, however, was a different story as John thought of how many times they’d had to go searching for his brother-in-law.
“Morgan, you took a group out yesterday, right?”
Morgan nodded and sipped his coffee.
“Any chance Jose could have slipped out with your group?”
“No, we took the dump truck, and I personally saw everyone who went through the barricade. Why, did you lose him again?”
“Maybe. Have you seen Sal?”
“Yep.”
John waited a heartbeat for Morgan to continue. When he didn’t, John raised his eyebrow. “Well? Jesus Christ, Morgan, I haven’t got all day!”
“Whoa, take it easy. He’s right behind you.”
John turned and saw the older man coming towards him. He had a slight limp from some old crash, he claimed, as well as a scar across his chin. Stringy black hair hung around his head. He brushed the hair out of his eyes as he reached the cookhouse.
“Mornin’ Sal.” Morgan said. “John wants a word with you.”
Sal looked to John. “What can I do for you, boss?”
Sara rolled her eyes at the use of the word boss, but said nothing.
“Is there any chance Jose could have slipped out with your group yesterday?”
“Jose? Oh, no way. I check everyone’s equipment before we go out. I think I would have noticed him.”
“You think?” John asked, his tone slightly angry.
Sal waved his hands in front of John placatingly. “No, I mean I know. He didn’t come out with us, and the same number left with me that came back.”
John scratched his head, frustrated. “Goddammit. Where the hell could he be?”
Sara took John’s hand in her own. Worry lines crinkled her forehead. “Calm down, we’ll find him. He’s got to be here somewhere if he didn’t sneak out, right?”
John thought for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” He turned to walk away, Sara’s hand still holding his.
“Oh, say, I did see something kind of strange out there yesterday. I didn’t know whether to report it or not.”
John turned back to Sal. “What is it? Can it wait?”
“Oh yeah, sure it can wait. I just saw some Zeds out there but they were dead so it can wait.”
John stopped, his attention piqued. “Dead? What do you mean?”
Sal cleared his throat and spat a gob of phlegm onto the ground. Sara stepped forward and started to say something but John held her back and made a shushing motion. She flashed angry eyes at him but kept her peace.
“We were driving back with a full load of insulation for the houses when we stopped to check the tanks at that old Shell station, you know, the one that closed down right before the, well, really bad days?”
John nodded.
“We got there and saw a bunch of big, well, piles of stuff under the snow in front of the old furniture factory. Wait, no, it wasn’t furniture. Organs, yeah, that old organ factory. I sent one of the new guys over to see what they were. He ran over and dusted the snow off from one of the piles and came running back like he’d just seen a ghost.”
John smiled ruefully at the mention of a ghost but said nothing and nodded again to Sal.
“He came running back yelling about Zeds, so we got into a firing line and waited, but nothing came. We went over and saw the piles were Zed bodies, all laid out on top of each other, like stacks of wood, but in little pyramids. Like they’d been laying there since the first snow. And we looked, but we didn’t find much for bullet holes or anything. It looked like they just laid their stinking, putrid bodies down in the snow and died.”
“Are you sure they were dead?” Sara asked.
“Well, dead as a Zed gets, I guess. I mean, they weren’t moving.”
“How many did you see?” John asked.
“Well, there were about twenty in that pile, and I guess a dozen piles around the entrance.”
“And? What did you do?”
“What do y
ou mean? We finished getting the gas, and came back here.”
John had to bite his tongue to keep from lashing out at Sal. Morgan came to his rescue.
“Dammit Sal, you should have burned those bodies and got your ass back here and let someone know.”
Sal hung his head. “Ah, jeeze, I didn’t even think about that. I just knew they weren’t moving. I didn’t want to bother anyone, everyone’s so busy all the time.”
Sara looked at John. “Can we deal with that after we find Jose, please?”
John nodded and clapped Sal on the shoulder, a little harder than necessary. “Yeah, sweetheart. Sal, we’ll take care of them. No harm done, and you brought everyone back in one piece. Good job.” He said the last through gritted teeth.
“Might just be me, but that coffee smelled extra strong today,” Sara noted as she and John walked towards a congregating group at the Square.
* * *
A commotion broke out near one of the storage tents as John and Sara left the cookhouse together. A small crowd of people had gathered and were talking excitedly, but over it all, they heard a woman’s shrill voice yelling like a banshee.
The two Masons ran towards the crowd, John with his P90 in hand. The crowd parted as they approached, giving them a view of the spectacle ahead.
Jose lay on the ground, in just his jeans. His bare torso glistened with a coating of melting snow, his bare feet splayed out beneath him. A big purple mark was already beginning to show on his eye. Michelle, the teenage girl they’d rescued from the Zed worshiping cult, bent over Jose protectively, wrapped in a blanket and little else.
Fish and Princess took the opportunity to race in and out among the crowd’s legs, barking and yipping like mad.
“Mom, stop it! You’re embarrassing me!” Michelle yelled as she pulled Jose to his feet.
“Don’t you even speak to me, young lady! You are grounded for a month. No, a year! You’re grounded until you’re eighteen!” she yelled as she took a step towards the shirtless Jose.
“And as for you, you rotten little hooligan, I’m going to tear your arm off and beat you to death with it!”
