“Eradicating is hard work,” Kate said. “I get tired. I apologize for my absences.”
“It’s quite all right my dear, Kate.” Simon looked up toward the clear sky. “He knows you are doing his work.”
Kate forced a smile.
“So, I’ll see you tonight then? Unless repairing a fence is also hard work?”
“It might be, but I will definitely try to attend,” Kate said.
“Wonderful. I’m sure I’ll see you all there,” Simon said saluting before he turned and walked away. He turned to the guard on his left, but his eyes were on them. “What a beautiful day.”
“It really is,” the guard said.
The second they were out of sight, Kate exhaled. She pressed her palm to her chest and drew in a slow breath.
“He’s intense, huh?” Tommy asked.
“You said it,” Kate replied.
Tommy chuckled and walked over to Wayne who was already working on the gate. Ethan stepped up next to Kate, looking down the road. Even though Simon was out of sight, she knew Ethan’s thoughts were still on what Simon had said.
“It wasn’t about us,” Ethan said.
“How can you be sure?”
“I’m not. I just don’t think it was. Work on something down there, I’m going to talk to the guys,” Ethan said.
Kate crossed her arms. Her body felt warm, but she didn’t think it was because of the sun overhead.
“You really think that’s a good idea when Simon’s on high alert?” Kate asked.
“I think we’re running out of time,” Ethan said. “As far as they will know, you have nothing to do with my plan. If they run to tell Simon, it’ll be me that gets in trouble, not you.”
“Well, I don’t want anything to happen to you either,” Kate said.
Ethan looked almost as surprised as Kate had at her words. He smiled.
“Don’t worry about me,” Ethan said. Besides, I can trust these guys. I trust them with my life.”
“You must. Good luck,” Kate said walking away from Ethan. “I’ll just check the stretch of fence for any weak spots.”
Ethan patted Kate on the back. “Sounds like a good plan.”
Kate walked along the fence staring out into the distance as she randomly pulled at parts of the fence. For the most part, it was secure. She wondered why she hadn’t heard more stories about people trying to leave. Had they all really been that scared?
She spotted one of The Unholy wandering back and forth. It looked as though the diseased creature was trying to remember what it was doing. Suddenly it stopped moving and turned to look at Kate.
It stared in her direction for a moment and then started walking toward the fence. The creature’s jaw dropped down, and it stared at her hungrily. Kate moved along hoping the creature would forget and go back to its random wandering once it didn’t see her anymore.
Not more than twenty minutes had gone by before Ethan was heading her way. His eyes darted outward when he must have noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye, but he paid The Unholy no mind.
“Good news,” he said when he caught up with Kate. “They are both in… excited and ready to go.”
“Okay,” Kate said, stopping to tug at the fence. “But when? Simon isn’t making this easy.”
“Next time we go out,” Ethan said. “Too bad we can’t stop at the storage facility. Stock up on supplies.”
Kate nodded. “The runners still find a good amount of stuff out there. I think it’ll be okay. Laura and her family have been out there the whole time.”
“You seem excited too,” Ethan said wearing a half-smile.
“I don’t know what I am,” Kate said. “How come you guys never attempted anything before?”
“Same reason you hadn’t,” Ethan said looking into Kate’s eyes. “Fear.”
Kate nodded and wrapped her arms around her middle. Her stomach was swirling so fast she was afraid Ethan would hear it.
“It’s going to be okay, Kate,” Ethan said.
She forced a smile. “I know. I wish I could save all of them.”
“They don’t want saving,” Ethan said scratching the thick stubble on his chin.
“Some of them do, and the others do too, they just don’t know it yet,” Kate said.
“When they figure it out, they can save themselves,” Ethan said, his head bobbing up and down slowly. “One day they will.”
Kate leaned in closer. “Those kids don’t belong here.”
She hadn’t realized she’d been thinking about Laura and the kids until that moment. They’d been outside the fence, living freely, but now they were trapped inside. Kate didn’t know them, but she felt bad for their situation. She wished she could help them most of all.
“Are you having second thoughts?” Ethan said watching the varying expressions wash over Kate’s face.
“No!” Kate said. She took a breath to calm herself. “Definitely not. I just wish it could be different.”
Ethan rested his hand on Kate’s shoulder. She could tell he wanted to say something, but that he didn’t know what to say. There wasn’t really anything he could say. Kate hadn’t even realized she cared about the random town people until leaving actually seemed to become a reality.
It felt like she was leaving everyone behind to die. Abandoning them. But what choice did she have? If she didn’t leave with Ethan, maybe she never would, and staying with The Way would be worse than being dead.
Kate rubbed her elbow and smiled at Ethan. He smiled back at her as he guided her toward Tommy and Wayne. They had a lot of work to do.
17
Kate took a break around lunch time, and Ethan and the guys decided to keep working. If they finished their section of the fence, they’d likely be back out to eradicate The Unholy tomorrow.
Since she wasn’t much help, Kate figured she’d just get out of their way. She was good at stabbing the diseased in the head, but she wasn’t good at fixing fences.
People were walking around as they normally did but their voices were hushed, and their eyes darted up and down the roads. Simon was right that they were still afraid of what might be lurking in the shadows. If there had been any Unholy left in the town, they would have known it by now.
Kate grabbed a quick lunch and sat down at a table by herself. The church cafeteria was empty except for a few others who were keeping to themselves.
A man with his shoulders hunched over took quick bites of some kind of bar. He looked up and quickly looked away when he saw Kate watching him. She hadn’t meant to stare, but he looked as paranoid as she felt.
At another table, there was a woman spooning some kind of mush into her mouth. Her hand shook as she moved her arm up and down. The woman’s legs were crossed to the side, her foot shaking up and down vigorously.
The people working in the kitchen moved about, cleaning and preparing for dinner. They barely spoke to one another and when they did, it was the larger man giving hushed orders to the others. Those working for him would bob their heads as they backed away.
Even though some acted as though they weren’t, Kate couldn’t help but wonder if everyone in the town was on edge. One of Simon’s guards stepped into the cafeteria, his eyes scanned the room stopping on Kate.
He gripped his gun tighter as he approached. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the fence?”
“Lunch break,” Kate said, holding her almost finished bar.
“Simon likes it when people are where they are supposed to be,” the guard said.
Kate cocked her head to the side. She felt particularly frustrated and knew she should probably keep her mouth closed but for some reason, she couldn’t.
“Should we go ask him if it’s all right if I have lunch?” Kate stood abruptly. Her jaw tensed so tightly she felt the muscles in her neck pull. “I wonder if Simon would like to be bothered because you decided to come and harass me about eating lunch.”
Kate stepped around the table and set herself inches from the gu
ard. His shoulder pulled back as he looked down into her eyes with something close to hate inside them. She’d never had a problem with a guard before, which only made the confrontation more frustrating. He shifted slightly, and Kate could tell he knew she was right.
“Come on, let’s go ask him if I’m allowed to have a small lunch after working on the fence all morning to keep his people safe,” Kate said trying to hold back a sneer. She took a step toward the door, but the guard didn’t follow. “Well?”
She watched as he swallowed down his anger. He hadn’t called her bluff although it looked for a second as though he was considering it.
“I’m sure you’re right.” The guard cleared his throat, and his shoulder softened. “Just worried about our people.”
“We all are,” Kate said stiffly.
“Sorry I bothered you.” The guard bowed his head and left the cafeteria.
Kate smiled darkly, but there wasn’t a soul there to see it. Except for Mr. Paranoid, and Miss Shaking Foot, and they didn’t seem to care.
Kate sat back down and finished her bar, taking little nibbles. She actually felt proud of herself for standing up to the guard. Kate smiled to herself. She finally, after a long time, felt… alive.
The road Kate turned down was empty. After her lunch, she’d decided to roam about before heading back to see if she could find out what happened to Joel.
Her first stop had been the town’s cemetery. It was where Simon had people buried who died of natural causes. Those who were bitten didn’t get a plot in the cemetery, their bodies were burned. Kate knew that Joel hadn’t been bitten. The last time she’d seen him had been with Simon which meant he could easily be in the cemetery.
Kate had one thing she wanted to do before leaving The Way, and that was to tell Laura what happened to Joel. But before she could do that she had to find out what had happened after she and Ethan left Simon’s office.
There hadn’t been any fresh graves in the cemetery which was a good thing Kate hoped. Although, of course, with Simon, he could have just as easily burned him or buried him outside of the town.
The road Kate found herself on was one she hadn’t been down before. She’d seen it, but since she never had any business on it, she never had a reason to be in the area.
Each house she walked by had the curtains drawn. The road was so quiet and empty that it almost felt haunted. She looked over her shoulder often, unable to shake the feeling of eyes on her.
If anyone approached her, she planned to summon the tough girl she’d managed to find in the cafeteria. That girl was inside her and hopefully would come out again if Kate ever needed her again.
When she reached the end of the road, she figured she was wasting her time. She was about to go back to the fence, but the strange pounding sounds coming from inside the last house caused her to stop.
Kate ducked her head as she walked around the side of the house, keeping her head below the windows. The noises increased as she approached the last window.
The paint was peeling off of the side of the house but otherwise looked like a plain two-story house. Except there was something that was significantly different about the window she was next to. Unlike the other windows, it had metal bars that stretched from top to bottom, with three bars that crossed the others horizontally.
Kate looked around to make sure no one was watching her as she carefully attempted to peek inside the window.
“Oh, God!” she said quickly covering her mouth as she pulled herself away. She pressed her back against the wall trying to calm her frantic breathing.
Kate exhaled slowly as she combed her shaking fingers through her hair. What she’d seen hadn’t felt as though it could be real. She needed another look.
Kate bit her cheek as she slowly looked into the room. Her eye was just at the corner of the window, enough to verify what was inside the room.
The creature slammed its head back into the wall making the pounding noise she’d heard from the road. Its arms were chained to the wall, and its feet were tied together. Even if it broke free, it wouldn’t get far.
Kate looked around the room, but other than the chained-up Unholy, the room was empty. The creature’s long hair hung in a snarled mess down over both shoulders as it gazed at Kate. It jerked both arms forward as it tried to lurch forward, and even though Kate knew it wasn’t going to break free, she backed away.
She stepped around the corner to the back of the house, trying to escape the pounding but she could still hear it. Kate ignored the chill that ran down her spine as she moved to the next barred window.
Her heart felt as though it was going to pound out of her chest as she leaned closer to the window. She clenched her teeth as she took in the room.
There was a man sitting on the bed, his wrists shackled. His head was down, and for a second Kate thought she’d found Joel, but when he turned his head toward the noises the creature made, she saw that it wasn’t him.
His hair and beard were long, but this man was older. The wrinkles on his face were deep. He started turning his head toward the window and Kate quickly ducked.
She took a breath and jogged away from the house. Her heart couldn’t take it anymore. Kate needed to get away from whatever was going on inside the small house. How many secrets did Simon have inside the town?
Her eyes darted around as she made her way down the road. It felt as though her feet couldn’t carry her away fast enough.
When she turned the corner back to the main road, she nearly smacked into someone. Kate grabbed her chest and looked up into Ethan’s eyes.
“There you are,” he said, but his smile quickly faded. He looked around as if trying to make sense of the look on Kate’s face. Ethan opened his mouth but quickly closed it.
Kate knew he wanted to ask… but even if he did, she couldn’t tell him. She still hadn’t been able to make sense of it.
“Are you feeling okay?” Ethan asked as we turned down the road that would take us past the hotel, the church and toward the west gate.
“I don’t think so. I don’t think my lunch is agreeing with me.”
Ethan nodded. “I’ll take you up to the room and let Simon know.”
Kate’s stomach twisted tighter than it already was. Even though she wasn’t exactly sure why, she didn’t want Simon to know. He’d ask questions. Maybe he’d even call for her, or seek her out personally, and Kate didn’t feel like being alone.
“No,” Kate said pressing her hand to her stomach. “I’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure?” Ethan said.
Kate forced a smile, but she could tell Ethan saw right through it.
“I’m sure. Maybe I just ate too fast,” she said. Ethan’s eyes didn’t move off of her. “Stop staring at me. I said I was okay.”
“Sorry,” Ethan said cracking the knuckles on his left hand. He leaned closer. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”
“Pretend that you were,” Kate murmured. She cleared her throat, attempting to change her tone. “How’s the fence coming along?”
“It’s good, but I don’t think we’re going to have it done today at least not to Simon’s satisfaction.”
Kate turned to face Ethan. He watched as her heart sank into her stomach.
“Yeah,” he said sourly. “One more day.”
“It’s always one more day,” Kate said, shaking her head.
“It’ll be okay,” Ethan said, his eyebrows pressed together.
Kate could see the concern in his eyes, and she wished it wasn’t there. She didn’t like how the way he was looking at her made her feel… weak… pathetic. Kate could take care of herself. She had before, and she could do it again.
“I know it will,” Kate said as she pulled her shoulders back. She pushed everything out of her mind and forced her shell back into place.
With everything that had happened… Rosalie, the deaths, Joel… it had caused her to lose her focus. It was easier when all Kate had to worry about was herself, but now she couldn’t st
op thinking about Laura and her kids.
She wouldn’t ever admit it to anyone, but she couldn’t stop worrying about Ethan. And Tommy and Wayne too. Kate had been out there beyond the safety of the fence, but they hadn’t. They weren’t ready. She wasn’t even sure if she was ready.
Even though they wanted to go, deep down, Kate felt that if anything happened to them, it would be her fault. But they didn’t have a choice. She knew it deep down in her gut, without a doubt, that if they stayed, things would only get worse.
Before they even got back to the fence, the church bells sounded. Kate and Ethan stopped and looked at one another. The look on Ethan’s face was the same as Kate’s, and she was certain he was having the exact same thought she was… to run.
18
Kate noticed movement in the corner of her eye and saw Tommy and Wayne approaching.
“Seems a bit early for mass, doesn’t it?” Tommy asked.
“He can start whenever he wants,” Ethan grunted.
Tommy shrugged. “He usually waits until sundown.”
They headed toward the church. Kate watched as people came out of their buildings and hurried down the road.
The bells were ringing at a normal steady pace and not the frantic speed as they had the last time. Even though Kate didn’t enjoy any of Simon’s masses, she hoped that this one would be free of drama and spectacles.
Kate was almost certain she could feel anxiety in the air. She wondered if it had always been like that, or if the townspeople were becoming more aware of what Simon was really like. Kate wouldn’t have ever guessed that Tommy and Wayne had wanted out and she’d been working with them for a long time. Perhaps everyone was hiding their true feelings.
When they stepped inside, the pews were already filled. People sat shoulder to shoulder, and others stood along the sides. Kate was perfectly happy to stand at the back. The closer she was to the exit the better she felt. Of course, there were always at least two guards positioned inside the church at the exit and another small group outside. Getting past them would be difficult, but for Kate, not impossible.
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