Glory (Book 1)

by Michael McManamon

  They both stopped talking. This was far too serious a conversation at the moment. It was also too soon to get into this type of thing. She had just met the man, just come into his home.

  Luckily, another thought occurred to her.

  "How did you know that I was out there?" she asked.

  Charles looked glad to change the subject too.

  "I look out the window all of the time," he explained. "Sometimes I'm just curious what's out there. Most of the time I'm looking for any sign of my wife."

  "I'm sorry," Jane said. She hadn't wanted to bring her up again.

  "It's okay," Charles told her, not dwelling on it. "Anyway, I noticed you out there this morning. I hadn't seen you before and I didn't think that you were one of them. I also didn't think you were hurt. Or killed."

  Jane had to stifle a laugh. It seemed so strange that she was sitting here talking about the fact that she hadn't been killed. As though that had been a possibility. Which it had been. She covered it by taking another sip of her tea.

  "So I went out to check," Charles added. "And here we are."

  "Well, thank you," Jane said. She didn't know what else she could say. She was happy to be here. No longer outside. No longer alone.

  Both sat in silence for a few minutes. The past few days had been overwhelming for them. They had experienced so much. It was a lot to take in.

  "Maybe you should get some rest," Charles said. "There's a bedroom upstairs that you can have. It was my daughter's. She didn't actually live here anymore. She lived with her family down South. But Fiona liked to keep it prepared, anyway. Kind of like a guest room."

  That sounded like a good idea to Jane. She had been walking for days, sleeping out in the forest. She was tired. A fresh bed sounded nice.

  And it sounded safe.

  "Thank you," Jane said. "I think I'll do that." She stood up.

  "It's up the stairs, last door on your right. I'll stay down here to do a little reading. You can call me if you need me."

  "Thanks, again," she said. She started to leave.

  "Wait," Charles said. "You didn't tell me your name."

  "Jane." she replied.

  "It's nice to meet you, Jane."

  "It's nice to meet you too."

  Chapter 4

  Shelly walked into the kitchen. Adam had said that he was going to make her breakfast. She looked at the table. There was some dry cereal, a few pieces of fruit and two bottles of water.

  "This is it?" she asked, jokingly.

  Adam shook his head and tried to look annoyed. There was a lot of food to be had, but he couldn't make any of the stuff that had to be cooked. The stove didn't work.

  "Just sit down and eat it."

  Shelly laughed as she sat down.

  "And, no, that's not the only thing," Adam added.

  He placed a wrapped cupcake in front of the her as he sat down across from her. The corners of Shelly's mouth lifted.

  "Where did you find this?" she asked. She picked up the cupcake.

  "It was at the top of the cupboard." Adam pointed to where he had found it. "Someone must have kept it up there for special occasions."

  Shelly laughed again. "They'd keep a cupcake for a special occasion?"

  "Of course! This isn't just any cupcake. This is a double chocolate, cream-filled cupcake. That's pretty special."

  Shelly continued to laugh.

  "All right," she said. "But isthis a special occasion?"

  "We're celebrating our survival!"

  He regretted it at soon as he said it. He needed to keep reminding himself that Shelly was a fairly young girl. Sure, at times she seemed mature for her age, but that didn't make it right to say the things that he did. Especially to talk about their survival, after her parents hadn't.

  "I'm sorry," he said.

  "It's okay. I know you were only joking. But maybe we should find something else to celebrate."

  "How about we celebrate finding this house?"

  "I like that," Shelly said. Then she went quiet.

  "What is it?"

  "It's just…well…I know that you said we shouldn't, but I really wish that we could stay here a little longer."

  Adam was confused. He thought that he had told her his plan. It took him a moment to remember that she had been asleep. She wouldn't have heard.

  "Oh," he said. "About that, I was actually thinking that we could stay one more day."

  Shelly's eyes lit up. "Are you serious?"

  "Yeah, I'm serious. I thought about it last night. That's when I told you about it."

  "I don't remember you saying anything."

  "You were sleeping. Sorry."

  Shelly didn't care what the reason was. And he didn't need to apologize. She was excited to be staying another day. It gave her a sense of comfort in her turned upside-down world.

  "We can dress up again," she said. "Or maybe we'll find some board games. I love board games!"

  "Sounds good," Adam agreed. "But I also need some time to think about things."

  "Like what?"

  "I'm not sure. That's one of the main reasons I think we should stay here. I want to make sure that I go over everything. We need to have a better plan. It's not going to be easy to keep walking out of the city. And it's going to be slow. If there weren't so many cars blocking the road, we could drive out of here. But..."

  "We could take bikes," Shelly interrupted.

  Adam's eyes opened wide. He slapped his hands heavily down on the table.

  "See," he said. "That's what I'm talking about! What a great idea! Bikes!"

  Shelly smiled, happy that she had offered that suggestion. She was proud as well.

  "I didn't see any around here, though," Adam said, scratching his chin. They had checked around the whole house yesterday. There weren't any bikes.

  "What about the other houses?" Shelly offered.

  "I don't know. I don't like the idea of walking into any of these houses. We don't know what's in any of them. There could be thosethings in them. It just seems a little risky."

  Shelly agreed. She didn't like the sound of going into all of these houses, either. It was scary enough going into this one. Who knew if they'd even find what they were looking for?

  "We could find a bike shop," Shelly said next.

  Adam slapped his hand back down on the table. "You see, that's what I'm talking about! We can find a bike shop. I'm sure there's one around here somewhere. There has to be. What a great idea! You're so smart."

  Shelly smiled again. She loved the compliment. It sounded so nice coming from this man who she was quickly beginning to admire and care for.

  "Thank you," she said.

  "No," Adam said. "Thankyou."

  Shelly felt as though she were going to burst with pride. She lowered her eyes and looked at the cupcake. Then she tore off the wrapping and shoved the piece of cake into her mouth. The whole thing.

  Adam watched her with a big smile on his face, feeling pride toward her too.

  Chapter 5

  Jane walked down the stairs and came into the living room. Charles was sitting there, reading. He looked up when he heard her arrive.

  "Have a good rest?" he asked.

  "Yes," she said. "Thank you."

  Jane walked over and sat down on the sofa. She could see that it was still light out, though she didn't think it would be for long. She took a few deep breaths and took the time to think of something to say. The events over the past few days had come as such a shock to her. She needed to try to gather her thoughts. She needed to think of a plan. She needed...

  "What are you thinking about?" Charles asked.

  "I don't know. There is so much going through my mind. I guess I was just wondering what we should do next."

  "I've been thinking the same thing."

  "Any ideas?"

  Charles closed his book and rested it on his lap.

  "I've been thinking of a few possibilities," he said. "The thing is that I seem to always come back t
o the same conclusion."

  "Which is?"

  "That we should leave." He said it slowly. Almost painfully. It was obvious that he didn't want to leave. It was also clear that he knew there wasn't any other choice. "I never left because I didn't know if I'd find anyone else," he explained. "It was comfortable here. I felt safe. Now that I've met you...well, I guess I've been thinking that there might be other survivors. We should search for them."

  "You don't really want to leave, though."

  "Not really," he said, looking around the room. "I've lived here with my wife for over thirty-five years. That's a long time. Now, I know that she's changed. And she's probably dead. I've come to grips with that - well, as best as a husband can. But this is still my home. It's difficult to give that up."

  Jane could understand. Although she hadn't considered staying in her own home, that didn't mean that she had wanted to leave it. She had thought about going back there a few times. She had also known that that wouldn't have been a very smart decision. There were too many of thosethings wandering around. She didn't feel as safe as Charles did in his home.

  More than that, if she had stayed she'd always have to think about how her husband had attacked her and killed their child. Of course, she'd still always think about it. But it would be harder actually living in the place where it had happened. She was about to voice her thoughts when Charles spoke again.

  "And I'm old," he said. He spoke flatly, honestly. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to survive out there; especially if one of those creatures comes and attacks us. I was lucky enough to get away the first time. I guess I've been even more lucky because they haven't tried to get me since."

  Jane looked at the man. Hewasold. It would be hard for him to get around. She also figured that he wouldn't have a lot of energy, and definitely not much speed. But he was right, they needed to leave. Theyhadto find others.

  "You've gotme," Jane said. She knew that it sounded corny, but it was all that she could think of. Besides, it was true.

  Charles smiled. "That's nice of you to say so. I wasn't sure that I was ever going to meet anyone else again." He drifted off, thinking.

  Jane was thinking too. She had thought that she might have been the only survivor left as well. They now knew that that wasn't the case. Not anymore.

  "But you're right," Jane said. "There must be other survivors. We should get out there and try to find them."

  Charles nodded his head. He knew that this was what they had to do. There wasn't much choice. Sure, he could stay in his house. But for how long? He didn't know when one of thosethings would find him. Maybe never. Maybe soon. It would be better to find others. They could work together, protect each other. They might even find out what had happened out there. Jane was thinking the same thing.

  "Okay," Charles said. "We'll leave. But you'll have to be patient with me. I'm not as spry as I once was."

  "I'm sure we'll do fine," she said, unsure if they really would.

  "Let's leave in the morning," Charles said. "It'll give us some time to prepare. We can get a good night's sleep too."

  "Sounds good," Jane said. She didn't want to leave all too quickly herself. Charles had been right. His house did feel comfortable, safe. One more night wouldn't do them any harm. So she hoped.

  Day 6

  Chapter 1

  Adam and Shelly left the house early the next morning; much earlier than Shelly would have liked. Adam wanted to get out of the city. If not by today, at least by tomorrow. He didn't know how long it would take, even after they found some bikes.

  He was glad that they had stayed an extra day, though. They had had a great day. They had found several board games in the basement. Adam had found several shelves of books as well. He and Shelly had spent a long time searching through them, reading bits and pieces to each other. They had reminded him of his own book that he had been writing. When he had told Shelly about it, she had been angry that he hadn't taken it with him. She had even suggested going back for it.But that wasn't going to happen.

  He didn't bother to take any of the new found books with him, either. He didn't know if he'd have much time to read on the road. Plus, they would weigh him down. He was sure that he would come across some other ones later, anyway.

  They walked down the road, away from the house. Both felt refreshed. They were also apprehensive.

  Through out the day yesterday, they had seen several more of thethings. They'd scream and shout, raise their arms around wildly in the air. Then something would grab their attention and they would run off. Adam did his best to comfort Shelly, but he too had been nervous.

  The sun was coming up quickly and both knew that it was going to be another hot day. That wouldn't be good for the dead bodies lying everywhere. Adam wasn't a biologist, but he was pretty sure that the heat would speed up any disease waiting to strike.

  They made their way from house to house. They didn't talk much. They were constantly looking around. For one, they were searching for a bike shop. For another, they were looking out for more of thethings.

  They came upon a major street. It was filled with stalled cars and dead bodies. There was blood everywhere. Most of it was dried. But every now and then there was a fresh puddle. Adam and Shelly tried their best to avoid them. It proved to be difficult.

  "I can't believe that it's everywhere," Shelly said.

  "I know."

  "Why hasn't it dried?"

  "It has. In a lot of places."

  "But not everywhere."

  "Because it's fresh," Adam explained. "It just happened."

  Shelly eyes opened wide as she looked at Adam.He really needed to remember that she was just a young girl.

  "We haven't heard any of thosethings, so I think we'll be okay for now," he added.

  Shelly nodded her head, even though she didn't seem to believe him. She stepped over a puddle of blood. Then stopped.

  "What's wrong?" Adam asked. "What is it?"

  Shelly didn't answer. She was too busy looking off down the road.

  Adam followed her gaze. Instantly, he was on alert. He squinted his eyes to get a better look, but he couldn't see anything that would raise any concerns.

  "What is it?" he asked again.

  "I thought that I saw something," Shelly said. "Someone." Her voice was calm, much calmer than Adam knew she felt. Evenhe was worried.

  "Was it one of those things?"

  "I'm not sure. It wasn't running around or anything. I kinda thought it was watching us."

  "Where?"

  "Over there."

  Shelly pointed to where she had been looking. Exactly where Adam had thought. When he had looked he hadn't seen anything. He told her so.

  "I know," she said. "It's not there now. But I'm sure I saw something."

  Adam didn't know what to do. The street looked safe enough for the time being. He hadn't heard any of thethings around. But if Shelly had claimed to have seen someone, then he had to take that seriously.

  "Maybe we should change our direction," he suggested. "We could take one of the side streets."

  Shelly shook her head. She didn't think that it mattered where they went. They'd be in danger, regardless. She grabbed his hand.

  "Let's just keep walking," she said. "If it was one of those things, it would've attacked us."

  Adam didn't know what to say to that. She was right. But, if that was the case, then that meant that she might have seen another survivor, someone like them.Or like Sam.

  He decided not to bother with it. Not at the moment. He would deal with it if something actually happened.

  "Okay," Adam said. "Let's keep walking."

  Chapter 2

  It was a while before Adam and Shelly came upon a bike store. It had been completely by chance. Adam had stopped to tie his shoe and, out of the corner of his eye, he had seen it a little further off down one of the side streets.

  They walked up slowly to the store front. There were bars covering all of the windows. Behind those, they c
ould both see a great stock of bikes.

  Adam walked up to the front door. He put his hand on the handle, but was nervous about pulling it open. Yes, he was worried about what might be inside. But he was also afraid that the door might be locked. He didn't want that to be the case. They had come so far, and had felt such excitement at finding the place. Their plan was working and he didn't want to wreck that.

  But they needed to find out.

  He pulled at the door and thankfully it swung open.

  The bells hanging at the entrance way jangled loudly. The sound startled Adam as it usually did. He stopped and looked around, waiting for an attack. He noticed that Shelly was doing the same. After a moment, he spoke.

  "I think it's okay."

  Shelly didn't disagree. "Let's go in," she said.

  Adam snuck in the doorway and looked around. He couldn't see anyone in the shop.

  "There's no one here." He was also sure that one of thosethings would have come out and attacked him by now if there was.

  He walked in all of the way. Shelly didn't follow. He turned around and saw her staring off down the road.

  "What is it this time?" he asked. "Did you see someone again?"

  Shelly didn't answer. She didn't need to. He could see by the look on her face that shehadseen someone. He rushed beside her. There, behind one of the cars, was one of thosethings.It had come out once it had heard the bells. In its mouth was a large piece of meat. Adam didn't want to think about where - orwho - it had come from.

  "Get inside," Adam said.

  He grabbed at Shelly's shoulder. She didn't resist. He pulled her into the store just as he heard the creature begin to scream, just as he saw him start to charge toward them.

  Adam shut the door. His fingers fumbled on the lock. He managed to snap it into place as soon as the creature arrived and began hitting at the door.

  Adam and Shelly took a few steps back. They could see it up close now. The rage in its eyes. Its face was covered in blood. Its fists pounded wildly against the window. Most of the time, it hit the bars. Its fists started to split. Dark lines of blood began to smear the window.