The Aftermath Trilogy (Book 3): The Aftermath [Ground Zero]

by Daniel Smith

  “Sandra is going to be mad at me for damaging city property,” as he reached between Council member Jarvis leg and the door. Gripping the arrow and then shoving Council member Jarvis sharply to dislodge it from the door.

  Council member Jarvis cried out in pain as he slumped against the doorframe the arrow sticking out of his leg. Dan pushed him slightly forward, pushing the door closed when a groaning sound caught his attention; he whipped the bow and arrow around to point at the man on the ground Katrina had hit. He took a moment to realize the moan was not the undead. Just the moan of pain as the man Katrina had hit regained consciousness. Sandra stepped out of the bushes, followed by Katrina with her iron pipe Sandra had the gun pointed squarely at Council Member Jarvis.

  “You move or open your mouth. I will shoot you where you stand,” Sandra said with an angry tone in her voice.

  Dan looked up from his search of the man Katrina had hit. He had grabbed the man's pistol and extra ammunition clips relieving him of a knife as he finished the search.

  “Go ahead and shoot him if he's the one who hit you,” Dan said as he stood giving the man a nudge with his foot rolling him over so he could see his eyes. A lopsided smile came to Sandra's face.

  “Oh he tried to hit me like he meant it. However, he hits like a sissy. My ex-husband hit harder than that,” Sandra said sarcastically.

  Dan looked up, stunned. That was the first time she had ever mentioned her ex-husband and from what she said. He can see why she never did. Dan looked at Katrina she was looking at the man on the ground a look of anger crossing her face.

  “He is another one of them like the man earlier who attacked my family,” Katrina said slowly as Dan watched the pipe move slightly in her hand.

  He moved away, assuming she was about the beat the man to death with that iron pipe as she had done the last one but stopped when Sandra spoke up.

  “We take them back up the hill and sort this entire mess out properly,” Sandra said looking at Katrina wearily.

  Dan will admit Katrina surprised him he assumed she would ignore Sandra and go at the man with the pipe but she said nothing, but simply nodded her head. Dan watched as the man slowly regained his feet a little unsurely.

  “Okay, let's get moving up the hill,” Dan said coldly, motioning for the man and Council member Jarvis to begin walking.

  “But I am injured,” Council Member Jarvis started to whine. Dan looked at him.

  “You either walk or I tack your other ass cheek to a tree,” Dan said.

  As he saw look of fear crossed Council member Jarvis’s face before he turned to the other man.

  “And if you try anything she's going to beat you to death with that pipe,” Dan said, motioning to Katrina who slapped the pipe loudly in her hand.

  The man's face pale looking at Dan he was unsure because of his threat or possibly from a look of recognition that crossed his eyes, at seeing Katrina. They started moving slowly up the hill their pace dictated by the continuous whines of pain coming from Council Member Jarvis as he walked. They only made it halfway up the hill when a squad of seven of Commander Hudson's people found them rifles ready for use. Stopping to look at the two prisoners several broke out laughing and the others just snickered and smiled at seeing the arrow sticking out of Council Member Jarvis’s backside.

  They took charge of the prisoners by placing handcuffs on them and splitting them between them as they slowly started moving up the hill. They made the top of the hill rounding the side of the building. Realizing they were spotted as a collective gasp came from the assembled people. Dan watched as Sara at seeing her mother running up embracing her in a tight hug before getting control of her emotions stepping back.

  “You're hurt. Let me,” she started but Sandra smiled her lopsided grin and told her.

  “I'm fine, thanks to Dan,” she said slowly. He watched as Sara turned and looked at him fighting back tears in her eyes.

  Dan simply smiled and nodded his head at the look of gratitude on her face before making a motion for her to be with her mother. The guards started moving Council Member Jarvis forward again when Sara saw the arrow sticking out of his buttocks. She tried and failed to suppress a laugh before looking at Dan before blurting out.

  “That one the doctor, needs to look at,” she said, still trying to suppress a laugh as they moved them off. She barely looked at the man that was with them. Ignoring that one side of his face had swollen up from where Katrina hit him and moved off to be with her mother Dan put his arm around Katrina as they started walking forward.

  “I don't know what they have in mind for them. If it is not to your satisfaction I will back any decision you make,” Dan said with a smile on his face. He felt Katrina's grip tightened on him as her slow southern drawl sounding almost normal now.

  “We will see right now we will take it day by day.”

  Dan reached the command center as the two guards managed to set Council Member Jarvis down on a stretcher. The other man sitting when Commander Hudson exited from the front doors of City Hall. A grim look on his face as he walked out and stopped at seeing Sandra he walked up to her and for the first time. Dan saw a full smile cross is usually in passive features.

  “I was beginning to worry. When I didn't find you in there,” he stated. Sandra looked at him.

  “I started to for a little bit but then I ran into Dan,” he saw Commander Hudson turned to look at him. He looked over to Council Member Jarvis laying on the stretcher. A thoughtful look crossing his face, as he moved to get a closer look at what was sticking out of the back end of Council Member Jarvis.

  Commander Hudson turned to look at Dan, trying to suppress the grin that was on his face but failing.

  “I have a favor to ask,” Commander Hudson started. Dan fought the urge to take a step back but looked at him.

  “What,” he asked cautiously.

  “When Lauren finishes removing that arrow from Council member Jarvis I would like it to put it in my office,” Commander Hudson said, sounding happy. Dan looked at him strangely for a moment.

  “You're welcome to it. There is no way I want it back. Considering where it has been,” Dan said coolly.

  Even he join in the laughter that broke out from the people standing around them, including Sandra and Sara. Then a more serious look came across Dan’s face.

  “Commander Hudson,” he started. He watched as Commander Hudson turned his cold gray eyes onto him.

  “Katrina and I have unfinished business with that one,” Dan said pointing to the man that had come out with Council Member Jarvis. He watched as the man raised his head to look at them Commander Hudson shifted his gaze between Dan and the other man.

  “Considering he is under arrest. I have to wait to see what justice he will face,” he started in his low commanding voice seemingly reading the expression that crossed Dan and Katrina's face.

  “But considering the people we lost because of him if justice is not satisfactory. He will have unfinished business with me. I am happy to sit down and discuss the matter of how we both can satisfactory share in that,” Commander Hudson finished.

  Dan watched as the look of utter fear crossed the man's face as Dan turned to look at Katrina.

  “How does that sound to you,” Dan asked. Katrina looked at him.

  “I think between the three of us, we will find an arrangement,” her sweet slow southern drawl sounding menacing.

  EPILOGUE:

  Dan sat in the comfortable old brown recliner by the window. Katrina sitting on his lap her legs hanging out over the edge of the chair. Sitting in Sandra's living room. He looked over to Sandra while she still had a little swelling on her lip the swelling around her eye had gone down just leaving a dark black half-moon circle that was still prevalent. His gaze drifted over to Sara sitting on the love seat as she usually did next to Luke. An odd feeling washing over him. Remembering the first time he sat in this chair or seeing Sara and Luke in that love seat they had look so young. He found it hard to bel
ieve they ever were. Doug sitting next to Sandra in the last day and a half since the coup had failed he had been staying close to her constantly asking her how she was doing. Dan smiled at that.

  “Hopefully she handles that better than he had,” he thought. Sandra started saying.

  “As soon as the judge gets here from New Orleans,” jerked Dan out of his thoughts.

  “We will have a trial for Jarvis and his associates,” Sandra was saying. Before Dan could say anything Katrina spoke.

  “I don't see why everyone in town wants to string them up or throw them to the undead for what they did,” in her slow southern drawl. Sandra just smiled at her.

  “Maybe so, but we are a functioning town with laws and justice there must be a trial first before any punishment comes,” she said matter-of-factly. Dan finally managed to get his two cents in.

  “Don't see why the government needs to send a judge. I didn't see any of the government troops helping out the town,” he said coolly. Sandra shook her head once more.

  “According to them. We never asked them to help,” Sandra said with perhaps a touch of sarcasm in her voice. He grunted thinking it did not matter what the result of the trial was he was willing to make sure justice got done.

  “Well, I think we should get some lunch ready,” Doug said warmly getting ready to get up from the couch. Dan smiled at that it was his favorite strategy to change subjects.

  “Which reminds me I haven't had a chance to ask. What was that letter you received at City Hall,” Sandra asked, leaning forward slightly on the couch.

  Causing everyone in the room to look at him as puzzlement crossed his face when Sara asked.

  “You got a letter.”

  Doug looked at him strangely when Sandra added.

  “Yes, just before all this happened, a letter arrived at City Hall for you. I had it sent over to your shop,” Sandra said with a sense of excitement.

  Dan shifted his position slightly with Katrina moving with him as he reached over to grab the gray day packed sitting next to the chair picking it up and unzipping the side pouch. He removed a slightly crumpled white envelope.

  “Forgot about it never even read it,” Dan said as he tore open the envelope to the excited looks of everyone in the room as he started reading it.

  He could feel the tension rise in them as he took his time reading the letter first. Once, then twice as a strange half smile started crossing over his face.

  “What is it,” Sandra and Sarah said in unison bringing a chuckle from Doug. Looking up from the letter Dan smiled turning to Katrina.

  “It looks like I am going on a small road trip would you care to come with me,” he said to Katrina.

  “Sure sounds like fun,” Katrina said in her southern drawl.

  “Will you just tell us,” an exasperated Sandra said.

  “Maybe we can borrow a truck from the city,” Dan started slowly, seeing the look of frustration crossing over Sandra's face, before relenting telling them.

  “The letter is from my uncle he and his family returned to their farm. Seeing the note I left for them several years ago,” Dan said, struggling to keep the emotion out of his voice.

  The room fell silent as he saw stunned looks on all the faces in the room. There were several moments of silence before Sandra managed to speak.

  “Well, if you're borrowing a city truck, you two will need to get driver’s licenses.” Katrina laughed at this.

  “No problem for me, but I feel sorry for the person giving Dan his driving test,” amusement sounding in her southern drawl.

  Dan did his best to pull off a hurt look on his face before he joined the rest of the group laughing. Sitting in the passenger seat of the pickup truck Sandra had the city lent him. They had left early that morning making good time on the drive to Fayette the highway being unusually clear. The back of the truck filled almost to the point of overflowing with bags of genetically altered seeds for fast growing, spare gasoline, tools, boxes of ammunition and weapons and other supplies.

  “Stop here you will make a left turn,” Dan said. Approaching the asphalt divider that would allow them to cross the split highway to what looked like an old overgrown road leading up a slope.

  Dan sat looking out the window up the road entering the town were the church sat.

  “Something wrong,” Katrina asked slowly looking around.

  “No, Turn here,” Dan said shaking his head. He saw Katrina pause and look at him before she started the turn.

  “Before we leave I want to check to see if someone else is still here,” Dan said turning his attention to the road.

  They slowed their speed on the road leading into the farm as Dan looked around old memories flooding through him when they came out into the open area. Through the front window Dan could see several tents pitched in front of what was once a large home. Seeing several people stop working on clearing and rebuilding it to pick up weapons and calling children over to them looking at the newcomers. Dan looked at Katrina with a smile as she stopped the truck.

  “I'll be right back,” he said calmly as he open the passenger door looking at the people. Looking around before facing a rather large man in blue jeans and canvas work shirt with a partially bald head and long beard holding the double-barrel shotgun coming out of the barn. The man was staring at him intently, but saying nothing as Dan raised a hand in greeting.

  “Hello good to see you again, Uncle John,” Dan called out as the large man broke into a smile through his beard lowering his shotgun.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Daniel Smith was born in Orange Ca and grew up in Orange County Ca. After a tour in the United States Marine Corp, he entered collage getting a degree in electronics. After 20 years in the semiconductor industry as a repair technician, he took up writing as a hobby.