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

by Giancioppo, Danny

  “Everyone, remain calm!” He commanded. His voice boomed throughout the small town, and his people all listened intently. “Yes, the demons are close in range, but we are even closer to our redemption, I believe it! For now, everyone come into the church, and let us begin to pray!”

  “What about those of us still coming back with the other holy six?” Someone from the crowd asked.

  “They will arrive in good time, I’m sure of it!” Abraham insisted. “You needn’t worry about that! Now come on, let’s get inside!”

  Luke watched the people as they all slowly shuffled into the church’s doors, when he noticed more and more flakes of snow falling softly to the ground. It came lightly before, but now it had quickly picked up more and more in strength and weight. The wind blew meekly, but it was cold as all hell.

  Luke could see from the shaky puffs of breath coming out of Jonah’s mouth that he was nervous. His movements were jerky, and fast-paced. Not to mention, he was breathing out of his mouth, not his nose. Additionally, Jonah seemed to be feeling the cold far more keenly than Luke was, and yet they were both wearing about the same layers and protection from the biting air. Granted, Luke had a thick beard to warm his face, but everstill they should have been around the same temperature, yet Jonah appeared to be shaking. He was afraid. He was terrified.

  Admittedly, so was Luke, but he saw this also as his silver lining. If the Goliaths came, and destroyed everything in this campsite, he would have his chance to make an exit, and hopefully not be caught in the meantime. So long as he didn’t let Abraham touch him, or otherwise experience any major feelings of stress, then the Goliaths wouldn’t be able to track him. That’s what Luke assumed, anyway.

  The only real problem he faced was what to tell Jonah. Luke was still completely unsure on where to place Jonah on his personal trust-meter. He seemed to like Luke, and he had been as accommodating to him and his people as possible, given the circumstances. At the same time, however, he always ended up on the side of his brother, and telling him to abandon Abraham and come with him– or even simply just to let him go– could very well end in Jonah ratting Luke out.

  “Come on, Luke. We’ve got to go inside,” Jonah said, giving Luke a light push in the direction of the church as he followed the flock.

  “Jonah, wait,” Luke refused, holding his ground. Jonah turned around and looked at him, confused.

  “What?” Jonah asked. “Luke we don’t have time for this back and forth, you know that.”

  “Jonah, I’m leaving,” Luke said. Jonah was taken aback by his comment, and wasn’t sure how to react. “I have to. And Jonah, you need to get these people out of here, and quick. That, or at least save yourself.”

  “Luke, I can’t!” Jonah shouted, though almost everyone else was in the church at that point, so they didn’t notice. “And neither can you! You have to stay, and that’s… that’s an order, dammit!”

  “Yeah? And what if I still say no, Jonah!? What are you going to do!? Have your big brother come and beat me up for you!? Have some lackey like Hugh chop off a limb, because you’re too much of a bitch to do it yourself!?” Luke egged him on, shouting right back in his face.

  Abraham peered out the front door, noticing that neither his brother, nor Luke, were inside.

  “Where the hell are you even going to go!? Huh!?” Jonah argued. “Your house has been burned down, we already got word of it hours ago! Everything from wall to wall is up in flames!”

  “Jonah, don’t!” Abraham yelled, hastily running toward Luke and Jonah.

  “And everyone that refused to go with our men in your group!? They’re all probably dead already! So if you don’t want to end up in the ground like them, you need to come the fuck inside!” Jonah continued.

  “No!” Abraham screamed. It was too late though. Jonah had done exactly what Luke needed him to do.

  While he wasn’t sure how much he trusted him, Luke knew exactly what kind of a person Jonah was. He was insecure, and he wanted to help people. More than that, he wanted to be accepted, and he wanted to be right. With a mix like that, pushed the wrong way, someone can end up having a pretty twisted outburst.

  All Luke needed to do was insult Jonah’s character– his prowess in the group he did in fact have some power over– while simultaneously putting him in the position wherein Jonah himself would stress over who to help: Luke, or his brother. As soon as he did that, Jonah would pop like a balloon, feeling the need to both show his dominance and strength, and try to aid his brother’s cause, all while trying to keep Luke in a more “secure” location, as he saw it.

  Once Jonah got like that, and had his own little meltdown, he would lash out to try and make a point. What Jonah didn’t know, was that talking about the deaths of those he loves, as well as confirming the devastation of the home in which they– and the bodies of his friends and loved one– resided, would send Luke into a spiral of stress and anxiety. This would make Luke slip into the visions, which would allow the Goliaths to see exactly where he was. As soon as they saw that, they were bound to show up as soon as they could.

  And that’s exactly what happened.

  There was another roar, followed quickly by the second Goliath, and Luke fell to the ground, having to try and refocus himself and stay conscious, pulling himself out of their eyes as best he could. His glowing vision lit the soft white ground faintly beneath him as his body shook, trying to take back control.

  “Jonah, you idiot!” Abraham yelled. “Don’t you see what you’ve done!?”

  “I…I forgot…” Jonah stumbled out in horror, though Abraham looked no less enraged. “He…He tricked me…”

  “Now the demons are going to be here in minutes, while the rest of our men have yet to even find the other six, let alone the girl!”

  Luke took a deep breath, and smiled. He was glad the guys were smart enough to leave before things went down. Not to mention, that meant they were most likely headed right this way, hopefully in the van if they could manage it. Luke just found a much easier means of escape.

  Abraham glanced down at Luke, catching his rather joyous expression, and angrily stormed over, picking Luke up by the scruff of his shirt.

  “Luke, listen to me. I have tried playing nice, and I’ve tried being as accommodating as possible. I even forgave you for lashing out at me; admittedly, it was only after I did the same to you. But I need you to put that all past us, and come with me, now,” he directed. Luke just smiled, and even chuckled a little.

  “Abraham, tell me something: If you and your people really were good, loving, Christian folks, don’t you think that after five and a half years you would have been taken away? Don’t you think Jesus would have defeated the monsters? Don’t you think anything you preach about would have in some small way happened?” Luke paused, and Abraham stared at him in shock. “And don‘t you think that if it didn’t, that forcing seven divine figures to boost your chances into heaven would be cheating? God wouldn’t like that very much, would he? Seems to me he’d likely just condemn you all to die by the demons for your sins,” Luke said, chuckling as he did.

  Abraham shouted in anger, and hurled Luke to the ground, kicking him in the side when he landed. That admittedly hurt more than Luke had expected it to. He awkwardly stood up, and held onto his side, trying to rebalance himself.

  “You go back on your word, and you lie,” Luke continued, pacing around with Abraham. “You scare your people into submission– you don’t instill them with hope; even your own brother is too afraid to disobey your command.” Abraham glared at Jonah, who looked back and forth at Luke and his brother. “You cheat, and murder, and crucify anyone that gets in your way; not your people’s way, Abraham, yours.”

  “You know nothing of what I do! Who I am!” Abraham shouted back in retort. “I’m trying to save the remaining population of the world! You’re hardly even a man… you don’t understand the weight of the things I do! You don’t know what it means to truly have to lead, and support! To…To guid
e others toward a path of salvation! You’re too blind to see the importance of what you are, and what you can do!” Abraham stammered out in an excited rage. “I know that you are of use to me– to us! You are what stands between this world, and the greater beyond! And…And one way or another Luke… you and your people are going to get us there.”

  Then, something Luke hadn’t expected to happen did. He and Abraham stood in a tense standstill, neither one sure of how or when to act first, with Jonah standing nervously off to the side, unsure whether or not to intervene. But before any of the three men could do anything, the sound of a horn went off, and blared for about five seconds, before stopping as soon as it had begun. Luke shot his gaze toward the gate, and felt his heart leap. His people had arrived. His family.

  Unfortunately for Luke, this severely took his focus off of the moment he was still very much in, and Abraham capitalized on this distraction by tackling him, first into a wall with an oil lantern, which shattered both on Luke’s back and the ground. Then, Luke fell, and abraham pinned him there as best he could.

  It took a few seconds for Luke to regain a sense of awareness, but then he punched Abraham in the sides as hard as he could, and grabbed at his head, hitting it against his own. While Abraham was stunned, Luke flipped him over so that he was now on top of Abraham, and turned to Jonah, who was hesitantly moving toward them to try and stop the fight.

  “Jonah! Open the gate!” Luke shouted, as Abraham clawed at his face with his brutish hands. “Ugh! Please! Open the gate, Jonah! Now!”

  “Jonah, no…!” Abraham struggled out, as his windpipe was in that moment being pressed down on by Luke’s forearm.

  “Jonah! If you get them, I can leave! Abraham doesn’t have to die, and you can do with the rest of your people whatever you want! Just let me leave!”

  Another monstrous outcry from the Goliaths rang throughout the entire area, and all three of the men gazed up in a fear that their impending doom was here. There were an abundance of shaking trees, and the sounds of even more falling in the distance, but still, they had not yet arrived.

  “JONAH!” Luke screamed.

  Jonah sprinted toward the gates, and tried and open them on his own. It was usually a two-man job, so it wouldn’t be easy, and would take a bit of time. Luke smiled for a moment, and then glared back down at Abraham.

  Abraham started to reach for the knife on his belt, but Luke read his movement and got to it first, pulling it smoothly from its sheath. In doing so, he lost his firm grip on Abraham’s upper body, and so Abraham shoved Luke off of him, and stood up.

  “Luke enough!” Abraham roared out. People in the church peered outside in curiosity, and were both marvelled and horrified at the scene laid out before them. “You are not leaving. All you’ve done now is bring your people, and the girl, inside our walls, where they too will join us… join us, and make our way to the holy gates! The seven of you will be used as blood sacrifices if you have to! And Tatiana… she’ll be an additive lamb to the slaughter, if she refuses to comply…”

  “Her name is Snow, and you are not fucking touching her,” Luke said, taking in a pained and heavy breath.

  The gate flew open, and the van came soaring in. All of the guys seemed to have their guns at the ready, prepared for some sort of firefight. Though admittedly, none of them were surprised instead to see Luke and some large man toe-to-toe, with a huge knife in Luke’s hand.

  Abraham lunged at Luke, who slashed back at him. Luke got Abraham across the chest, but Abraham got him onto the ground again, where Luke lost his handle on the knife. Abraham grabbed it off the ground, all while keeping Luke pinned down, and rose the knife in the air, ready to swing down at Luke.

  “STOP!” Nolan screamed, bursting out of the van with Luke’s old pistol aimed and ready to fire at Abraham’s head. The others, minus Snow, Jeremy, and Derrick, piled out of the van as well, they too all holding their guns at the ready. Abraham paused, though he did not back down from his stance.

  “Nolan, I recognize that you are upset– I recognize that you all are… but you need to understand that you all must stay here, and help us reach what we require, to join those in heaven…” Abraham explained shakily, trying to sound as reasonable as he could. “We’re so close now…!”

  “I’m not even going to pretend to know why the fuck you know his name, but I can tell you with certainty that none of us are helping you and your crazy friends try to get into any kind of kingdom of heaven,” Adam said, moving forward with the others. He got closest to Luke, and slid him out from under Abraham, helping him up with one hand, and keeping a pistol locked on his foe with the other. “Hey man. You good?” he asked.

  “I’ve been better. Took you guys long enough,” Luke replied, grabbing an extra pistol out from Adam’s holster, not breaking his gaze with Abraham.

  “Well, this wasn’t the uh, what do you call it… the initial plan, to be fair,” Cody pointed out.

  “Mind if I make some adjustments?” Luke asked, cocking his gun and making his way slowly toward the van.

  “All you, boss,” Chris said, aiming at the church door, making sure nobody made any sudden and stupid movements.

  “Thanks. I say that we– being the seven of us, and Snow– leave this place, and go somewhere they– and anybody else– can’t find us. And I’m thinking we do it as soon as possible,” Luke suggested.

  “Works for me,” Adam replied.

  Abraham just scowled, and turned to face Luke as he still slowly paced his way toward the van. He actually seemed like he was holding back tears, now welling heavy in his eyes.

  “You don’t understand, Luke! You are far more important than you can begin to even realize! You are wasting your potential to save the world!” he yelled. “How can you just throw that away!?”

  “The world had its chance. I’m saving my own,” Luke said coldly.

  The others all got into the van, and Luke paused for a single beat more to glance at Jonah, still uncertain on what to do next.

  “Jonah…” Luke tried to say. Then though, he stopped, and looked up, gazing at them in fascinated horror.

  They had finally arrived, really arrived. The Goliaths.

  “Go, now!” Luke screamed.

  “Luke, don’t!” Abraham yelled back.

  Luke leapt into the van, and just before he slammed the door shut, he fired at the ground near Abraham, lighting the oil from the lantern ablaze. He knew the gun shot, as well as the smell of the burning wood, would keep the Goliaths occupied for at least a little while.

  It immediately crawled up the side of the house, as the members of the church all filed out, almost entranced through some sort of infatuation with both the creatures and the flame, and Jonah and Abraham just looked at one another in terror.

  As the guys pulled out, a number of men appeared at the front gate; some with horses and some in wagons, others on foot. They just leapt out of the way as best they could as the van came careening through the gateway and peeled out as fast as its engine would allow. Bullets followed briefly, but none did any real damage.

  Everyone inside it sat in a tense and anxious silence as they travelled the plowed path, constantly looking behind them to see who or what was following behind them. Nobody uttered a word for several minutes, but in time they did see one another again in their pulsing and anxious vision.

  Luke looked over to his right, and saw Nolan next to him, with Snow in his lap, and then it all seemed to hit him. The reality of his situation. After all of that, he was finally back with his family again.

  Nolan turned to look at him, and as Luke teared up, he immediately reached over, and they embraced one another in a hug. Nolan cried just as much as Luke, which was quite a bit, and Snow awkwardly maneuvered between the two of them to hug Luke’s chest as best she could, to which he responded by using an arm to wrap her closer to him as well, and play softly with her hair.

  When they unlocked, Luke proceeded to do the same with all the others, to the best of h
is ability anyway, while still saying almost nothing at all. Once he got to Jeremy however, he felt he couldn’t move, seeing what Jeremy looked like for the first time since losing his arm. He was paler than usual, and he looked so… tired

  “Jer, I…I…” Luke stammered softly, unsure how to even begin the apology he felt he needed to give for the last several days, and surely for the rest of their lives.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jeremy stopped him. “Now we’re both cripples.” He smiled softly, and Luke gently smiled back, doing his best to hug him from where he sat. they stayed like that for a good while, and honestly, Luke would’ve been just fine if they never left. Eventually though, they did, and Luke sat back in his seat.

  “So Derry, where are we headed?” Luke eventually asked.

  “Well… we were thinking Cyrus’s,” he said, Luke nodded slightly in approval. “But, we don’t have enough gas in the tank to get us there in one trip, so… I need to make one stop first.”

  “Where?” Luke asked. Derrick looked at him through the rear-view mirror briefly, locking eyes with his brother.

  “The house,” Derrick said.

  After – 4

  “Back Where it Ended”

  The guys pulled back into the driveway of the house, having not been there for some two years prior. It looked almost exactly as it had when they left it: decayed, old, a little burnt up. Granted, it was older, and more decayed now than it was before– and certainly more empty at that. Still though, it was, in a sense, home.

  “Alright, let’s get unpacking,” Adam said decidedly, unbuckling and stepping out from the passenger-side door. The others all filed out as well, but while five of them went about unpacking, two went off on a different path.

  Nolan, and a rather hazy Luke, went to the graves beyond the front of the house. They knelt down once they got there, and gazed at them softly.

  “They’re still here,” Nolan said, putting his hand supportively on Luke’s shoulder. “They’re still here…”