The Way Back (Book 2): The Way Back, Part II

by Giancioppo, Danny

  “Well, we were on the phone, and I had to tell her… you know…” Adam hesitantly explained.

  “So it was your call?” Chris commented.

  “Yeah, it was,” Adam said.

  “Well, why’d you decide to do it? I mean, why now, rather than any other time?” Chris asked. Adam sighed a bit, and looked over to Chris for a moment, before returning his gaze to the road.

  “You remember those pictures of all of us? Down by the pool table?” Adam asked. Chris smiled lightly, and gently nodded.

  In about twenty or so minutes, they pulled up to Cody’s house, and sure enough, Nolan and Luke’s cars were parked out front. Jeremy and Derrick got there a couple minutes before Chris and Adam, because they decided to take the long way there.

  “What I don’t get,” Chris gasped through stuttered laughter, “is why you chose to do it on the phone?” Adam chuckled a little too as he put the car in park.

  “I don’t know!” He insisted. “I thought it would be easier for her than seeing my face! It could be worse, remember when Derry weirdly turned down that girl that was hitting on him?”

  Chris laughed even harder, and wiped the newly forming tears from his eyes.

  “Of course I do!” He recalled. “‘I’m not interested, but I respect the balls on you for asking!’” They both broke out into a greater laughter then, unbuckling and stepping out of the car.

  “What have you two been talking about?” Jeremy asked curiously, with a smile on his face.

  “Memories,” was all Chris said. Jeremy just continued to smile, and nodded his head.

  “So, you think he’s changed the code?” Derrick asked, as they all made their way further to Cody’s three-door garage. It had a code to unlock and open it, and every one of them new what it was back in the day, though Cody didn’t dare tell anyone else.

  “Let’s see,” Jeremy said, making his way to one of the doors. He input the digits, and sure enough, the door slid open. “Guess not.” It made Adam smile for some reason; he wasn’t quite sure why, but it did.

  They made their way further in toward the door leading to his basement, and they all paused a moment. They could hear the sound of a ukulele, surely Luke’s, and a muffled sound of singing.

  “That Luke?” Chris wondered aloud. Adam pressed his ear up to the door and listened closer.

  “Yep,” he said. “Sounds like… Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I think.

  “Dude, shut the fuck up! Please!” Nolan shouted through the door at Luke.

  “I know! One was enough! Jesus, give this guy an audition and he turns it into a concert!” Cody said. The guys outside could all hear that, as the two inside were protesting quite loudly, and they just chuckled.

  “So… do we go in?” Adam asked, he now growing very nervous to face this reunion he had longed for so intensely. The others all seemed rather uncertain too, but Chris gave him a solemn nod, and a gentle smile.

  “Yeah, let’s go,” he said.

  Adam smiled a little wider too– as did all of them, really– and slowly, he turned the doorknob, ready to mend this old group back together again, and do whatever he could to keep it that way.

  Day 2010

  “Christmas, 2022”

  It was something like 3:00 in the morning, at least Derrick was pretty sure. They were sitting in the van– which, for the record, plowed at least moderately well for them so far, though Derrick would argue it did so perfectly– waiting on Snow.

  The checkpoint nearest to them was luckily just a ways off from a road. Far enough into the woods that they could stay on said road and be hidden, but close enough so that they could see a glimmer of light from their position.

  Nolan insisted on going with Snow, at least to the border of the camp, so he could be there if something happened. Once that happened, Cody had to go out with too to watch him, and then Adam said he didn’t want to be at the house alone for whatever reason, so he came too. It was a mess.

  “How long do you think this is gonna take?” Chris asked. “I left some food on the table and I’m itching to finish it up.”

  “It’s like, 3:00 in the morning dude, why do you want to eat?” Adam asked. “I just want to sleep.”

  “Well, I already started eating; why wait until morning to finish? I’m certainly not gonna waste it and just throw it away,” Chris defended.

  “Sure, but like, put it in the fridge or something, and then wait for the next day. It’s not that bizarre,” Jeremy countered.

  “Neither is eating when I get home!” Chris insisted.

  “Kind of is,” Adam persisted.

  “It is. Especially from the germaphobe,” Jeremy said, his eyes shut and head leant back against the van wall. He was exhausted.

  There was a knock on the back of the van doors, and Derrick checked the side-mirrors on the van, seeing that it was the guys and Snow.

  “It’s them, open it up,” he instructed, unlocking the doors. Adam and Chris opened them, and the three piled in with a handful of walkie-talkies.

  “How many did you manage to steal?” Chris asked.

  “Five!” Snow proudly stated.

  “Well, no,” Nolan corrected. “We actually got seven.”

  “Close though!” Cody encouraged. Snow didn’t really seem deterred by it either way, simply climbing back into the van, and moving onto Nolan’s lap.

  “Do they work?” Adam asked, looking one over, and trying to turn it on.

  “Yeah, they seem to,” Nolan explained, settling in. “I think their channel is 1, so we go to channel 4; that way if for some reason one of them switches to the wrong one, or thinks something might be up, we have a little leeway from that ruining our plan and communication.”

  “Alright, sounds like a plan,” Jeremy agreed, tuning some of the radios as best he could single-handedly. He struggled though, so Chris grabbed it from him, and assisted in its tuning.

  “There’s something else,” Cody noted, a sense of dread in his tone.

  “What? Did they see you or something?” Derrick questioned, looking around the outside of the van worriedly. The others looked at Nolan and Cody, who appeared far more concerned, but clearly not over that.

  “No. They weren’t even there,” Nolan said. “The whole place was just… empty.”

  “But there was still stuff there, right? I mean… how else would Snow have been able to get the walkies?” Jeremy questioned. Cody nodded.

  “There’s nothing missing really; not that we could tell, anyway. I think wherever they are, they’re planning on coming back.”

  “Well, isn’t that a good thing? Who cares where they are, we got what we needed!” Chris said.

  “Where could they be going?” Adam wondered.

  “You don’t think they all would go looking for Snow, do you?” Derrick asked. Snow recoiled at the thought, and Nolan comforted her softly, while simultaneously shaking his head.

  “No, I don’t think so; that’d be ludicrous. Plus, it’s been like a week, and they haven’t come back other than to drop off Jeremy, so why would they now?” he countered.

  The others all sat quietly, trying to mull-over the possibilities of this disappearance, and after a few moments, Derrick turned the keys in the ignition, and started the car.

  “Well, we need to keep moving. If for some reason they’re headed toward the base camp, we need to beat them. If they’re for some reason heading to our place, as soon as they notice we’re not there, we’ll lose the element of surprise,” he said.

  “Agreed,” Adam concurred. “We need to move quickly. The longer we take from here on out, the more likely things are to turn ass-up on us.”

  “Gross, but good point, I guess,” Chris said.

  “Alright, well let’s get moving then,” Cody said. “Der, how long until we get there, do you think?”

  “Maybe an hour?” Derrick wagered.

  “Good, I need to get some sleep, god damn…” Jeremy commented.

  It was true, he did, and they
all knew it. Jeremy was still hardly a few days past losing his arm, and he was doing far more work than he should have been; all of them knew that, but they also knew there was no point in arguing with him. He was bound to tucker himself out rather quickly, but all the same, he needed to be cared for. He couldn’t be allowed to push things too far.

  Which, as far as Derrick saw it, meant that he could not, under any circumstances, be allowed to go into the campsite. He needed to stay in the car in case they needed to make a hasty getaway. Forget about fighting, too much moving and he’d probably pass out from exhaustion.

  Still though, knowing who Jeremy was, which they all did– better than anyone alive, or dead by this point– it would not be an easy argument to win.

  He curled up against the wall of the van next to his seat, and very quickly departed from consciousness, and into an exhausted slumber. After a few minutes of silence had gone by, Derrick decided to speak up.

  “Hey, so… Jeremy can’t go in there,” he brought up softly.

  “Yeah, I know,” Nolan agreed.

  “He’s not going to listen to us, you guys know that, right?” Chris said. “Not even me.”

  “Well too bad, he’s not going in there,” Adam countered. “I will knock him unconscious if I have to. He’s too much of a liability. To us and Luke.”

  “Still though, how are we going to get Nolan in without Jeremy? He’ll just appear to be some kind of stranger– and I mean Christ, he is. He’s just supposed to be let in with open arms?” Chris thought aloud.

  “Well, they are Christians,” Cody pointed out.

  “Maybe we need to think about using–” Derrick tried to say. He didn’t finish that thought, however, as something ceased their talking, and in fact brought their vehicle to a dead-stop out of sheer fear. They heard that noise.

  That deep, echoing, ringing noise. It was loud, and, as was custom, it lasted for at least 10 seconds– though this time it felt even longer, and more powerful, as there were two. Their cries rang throughout surrounding area like a siren– a warning to all even somewhat nearby. The men– as well as the terrified little girl– all peered out the van windows, toward the colossal mountains far off in the distance. Seemingly small plumes of snow ripped away from ground there where they once lay, as the behemoths that traveled beneath it now revealed themselves, rising to a standing position.

  And though it was a rather difficult view for them to see, as the mountains were very far off, the sound was unlike any other, and was more than enough. Enough to make that feeling of their stomach’s dropping, and heart’s pounding relentlessly, return with a vengeance.

  The Goliaths were here, and at their pace, they were only a short ways away from Luke. Maybe even shorter than the guys, if they didn’t hurry.

  Derrick was the first to look back at the others, who– minus a sleeping Jeremy, and a still rather bewildered Snow– all gazed back at him with the same jaw-dropped expression.

  “We need to go. Now,” was all he said.

  Without another word, Derrick slammed his foot on the gas. They sped off, the men nearing the end of yet another chapter of their lives, the likes of which not a single one of them were ready to face.

  “Hey Em, me again,” Luke spoke gently, lying in his lousy, makeshift bed.

  He was granted the “privilege” of sleep, but even without the night terrors– which he still wasn’t even certain were gone– Luke had lost the ability to sleep softly exactly 179 days into the end of the world. There was no changing that.

  “So, I’m not back with the guys yet,” He continued softly, “but I think, one way or another, I’m going to be soon, you know? Knowing Nolan– knowing all of them– they’re going to try some half-baked scheme to get me out of here. That, or they got taken by these people back at the house, and they’re being escorted back.”

  Luke paused, and looked around his area to make sure he wasn’t being watched or listened to. He was in the basement of a small home that was nearby the church. In fact, he was pretty sure that above him is where Jonah lived, so he more specifically wanted to be careful not to let him hear what he was saying.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, Emily,” Luke confessed. “Abraham is insisting that the seven of us are special, like some sort of divine intervention from God. He thinks this was the rapture, and that’s insane, but… I don’t know how he knows the things he knows; how he can do the things he does…” Luke shot his eyes around in the cold darkness of the basement in total loss. “I’m afraid, girl. I really am. I don’t know how long I can keep myself going here, and the longer we wait, the closer those damn Goliath’s get to all of us. But I need to keep the guys safe; I need to keep Snow safe. She has to make it through this, otherwise what’s this all for, right?”

  Luke stopped, and heard the door from above creak open, followed by slow footsteps. Jonah was cautiously making his way downstairs with a bowl of soup, and he eyed Luke as to make sure he wasn’t going to try and attack him.

  “Hey, I brought you something to eat,” he offered, putting it down by Luke, and sitting in a chair next to him.

  “Thanks, but I’m good,” Luke protested. In truth, he was quite hungry, but something in him felt the need to refuse this gesture, even if it was a kind one. Jonah just nodded slightly, and kept the bowl where it was.

  “I didn’t get you too hard, did I?” he asked, pointing to Luke’s head. Luke rubbed it, and felt a lump. It was sore, but other than that, he was fine.

  “I’m fine. Takes more than head-wounds to kill me,” he replied. “How’s Abraham reacting?”

  “He’s… upset,” Jonah explained, “but he understands why you acted the way you did. It was out of passion. Desperation.”

  “That’s one way to describe it,” Luke scoffed. “You could also say I was trying to stop a cult of psychos from burning down my people’s home– my home– and leading them to their inevitable deaths.”

  “Luke, would you please, please, stop referring to them as psychos and cults? I know it sounds crazy, but–”

  “Them?” Luke interjected. “So you don’t affiliate yourself with them, do you?”

  “I don’t– I… No, not entirely. But I trust Abraham, Luke; he’s my brother,” Jonah defended. “You said your people are like your brothers. You trust them, don’t you?” Luke sat up more, and stared Jonah in the eyes.

  “How long has he been able to do the things he can do?” Luke questioned. Jonah looked away, not sure how to respond.

  “I don’t know… a couple years, now?” he answered hesitantly. “He says that it’s from his intensity and devoted nature to the cause, but I don’t know… he went out with a handful of our people once, ran into some trouble with a Pack, and when he came back, he was alone, and covered in their blood. Then he could just… do things; just like you, Luke.”

  “Jonah, listen to me: I was infected, by whatever the hell it was the Chirper does, and that’s it,” Luke repeated. “I’m not some God-loving Christian, and I’m not the savior of the world. I’m just a guy who had an accident from something we don’t understand.”

  “Well, understand it or not, it happened, and you can do it. Why can’t you just accept that– accept yourself– for what it is? What you are?”

  “Because that is not who I am. I’m the guy who protects my family, and does whatever I have to do so that we can just… live on. I’m the guy who will do whatever it takes to keep them safe, the rest of the world be damned.”

  Jonah didn’t respond to that, and Luke just gazed at him, pleadingly. He felt as though Jonah was always on the cusp of admitting to the ludicrousness that all this was, but for whatever reason, he was holding himself back.

  “Jonah, have you yourself ever actually seen someone get raptured?” Luke said. Jonah glanced up again into Luke’s eyes, not sure what to say.

  “I… No, I haven’t, not personally,” he admitted.

  “Has Abraham?” Luke questioned further.

  “Well I mean, h
e… He saw the town, and everyone in it just being gone without a trace or hint of damage, but–”

  “And even if somehow, Abraham was right, and this was the rapture, do you really think after everything your people have done– all the killing, and maiming, and crucifying– that any of you could ever be raptured? That seven random strangers, one of whom sees only through the eyes of a single Goliath sometimes, is in anyway going to change your odds?”

  Jonah paused again, and Luke just did his best to continue staring him down. He knew that he had to be getting through to him, if even only a little, but that was all he needed.

  Jonah looked up at Luke, and opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly, they too heard the roars. Jonah leapt from his seat, and Luke simply shot his eyes wide-open in fear over the realization of what he was hearing. Of what it meant for him; for all of them.

  The Goliaths had arrived.

  Jonah shot up, and sprinted up the stairs, Luke quickly following behind him. He made his way out the door, and saw everyone else in the small community outside as well, looking upward and outward to try and spot where these leviathans of the new-world were.

  Not seeing them, Luke knew they had to be a fair distance away. Still, they were damn close, and seeing as how they were drawn to Luke, it was, all in all, still a pretty bad situation. Also, it started snowing again, which– in Luke’s experience anyway– always tended to mean bad things during an already tense situation.

  “Jonah, you need to start getting people out of here, now,” Luke said.

  “Since when do you care what happens with these ‘cultist psychos?’” Jonah argued.

  “Jonah!” Luke shouted. “Get them the hell out of here! Now!”

  Jonah looked at Luke, as though seriously considering taking him up on that suggestion. However, before Jonah could do anything himself, Abraham stepped outside, and rallied his people toward him.