Dead Hunger_The Cleansing

by Eric A. Shelman

  Lola’s well-preserved body lay supine beside her final resting place, her eyes closed, her face looking skyward.

  After removing a hairbrush from his back pocket that Flex didn’t know he’d brought with him, Punch patiently stroked and untangled her hair, draping it down along the sides of her face and over her shoulders.

  He then positioned her arms across her chest, and in each hand, he placed her favorite throwing knives. He then leaned forward and kissed her gently on the forehead.

  Nodding to Dave Gammon, Punch jumped down into the five-foot deep grave. Dave joined him, climbing into the hole on the opposite end. Standing in the hole and facing one another, the men carefully lifted Lola’s body and lowered it into the plot.

  Flex and Nelson hurried over to help the men out of the hole. Punch then assisted Dave in lowering his still-wrapped uncle into his final resting place, while Nelson returned to sit beside Rachel and their daughter, Lita. Bug was not suitable for viewing, and everybody knew it.

  The silence of the large crowd, bundled against the cold wind that blew, spoke volumes of the respect they felt for what was happening and for the people involved.

  Quiet tears began upon their arrival, but they comforted one another as the preparations took place.

  Serena and Isis both tossed their flowers into the grave where Bug rested. They then stood and dropped more flowers into Lola’s grave.

  Punch stood up first and faced the crowd. His lip quivered before he spoke the first word. Flex sat beside Gem, holding her hand. She had not stopped crying since she’d arrived, seeing the graves Flex had dug.

  “Lolita Lane forced me to analyze my life after I met her and heard her story. About the time she was working alongside people she hardly knew; Nelson, Dave, Serena and Rachel, and saving the man in this other grave from certain death, I was doing nothing to save myself.”

  He stopped for a moment, looked down into the grave, then up at the sky, and continued:

  “There she was, risking everything to help people she didn’t even know, and where was I? What was I doing? I was barely getting through each day, a big bad United States Marine, living among unscrupulous men, afraid to lose my tentative station in life to risk setting out on my own to find something better.”

  Swiping his tears away again, he continued: “Then Flex and Tony found me, and I swear, my first act was to act too late again. We lost Tony Mallette that day, a man I never got to know. My metamorphosis began at that moment, but it didn’t pick up steam until we got through that journey and Flex got me and that big, ugly GTO back to you guys.”

  Flex smiled at the memory of the collapsing bridge and almost every moment from that trip crossed his mind. Punch had shown his potential before he’d met Lola, but she sure did seem to bring him back to his senses. Afterward, Flex sensed none of the self-doubt that he had displayed at their initial encounter.

  Punch continued: “From the time I met Lola almost sixteen years ago, I’ve been the man I should’ve been all along. I fought alongside all of you, my fellow survivors. I never feared death because I knew my one life could not match the value of all those I loved, and I was willing to give it for her, for you, for anyone. Where did I learn that? From Lola. She might have put on a façade of independence – hell, she scared me to death when she’d go running alone, knives in hand or not – but in the end, I believe she changed everyone she met for the better.”

  Punch dropped back down to one knee and stared at her body for along time. Tears flowed, but this time he did not wipe them away. After an indeterminate amount of time, he stood and picked up the shovel stuck into the pile of soil.

  “Rest in peace, Lolita Lane Magee,” he said, tossing the first shovelful in.

  It took him nearly two hours of non-stop shoveling to fill the grave and tamp it down, but the crowd before him did not shrink; it continued to build.

  As he did so, Dave, Serena and Ben Gammon worked to cover the grave containing Bug, while Isis sat in a chair beside the grave. She stared straight ahead, her eyes red, but not from any source other than her own tremendous grief.

  When both graves became low mounds of earth, Isis stood. Dave dusted off his hands and stood beside her. Everyone else sat.

  “Isis asked me if I would speak about her father. She told me it was because some of you may not be able to relate to her because of what she was.”

  He turned toward her and took both of her hands in his. “Well, Isis,” he said. “What you were is what saved so many of us. Had you not known about that tunnel system, we might have died in the streets, along with your father, my uncle. That came about because of what you were. What you were also led us to Maestro, allowing us to severely weaken him and his massive army of Mothers and Hungerers before he invaded Kingman and annihilated us all. Isis Gammon, what you were allowed us to eventually rid the world of him.”

  Dave put his arms around Isis and led her back to her chair, graveside. He returned to the front of the huge crowd and said, “My uncle confided in me. He told me he had long ago resolved to die in that bunker he had built. Through his surveillance system, he’d watched the Mothers and Hungerers growing in number, and his fear grew. As this fear manifested itself, his guilt over those he knew were not infected, but were existing in a living hell, trapped a level below him, ripped at his heart and soul. He told me many times that he wanted to save them, but providing food for them meant he and his strange, little daughter would die sooner.” Dave turned and smiled at Isis, holding out his hand. She took it briefly, squeezed it, and let it go again.

  “Most of you have read the chronicle describing what happened on that trip, but especially on the day we escaped. You know that Lola stayed down that mountain and called to the Mothers, drawing them all away so that we could get inside of that bunker. And finding Lola was an accident. She was trapped in a house in a town that we might have passed right by – only we didn’t. That, my friends, is called fate. Both of these great human beings were meant to be where they were at that very time, and they had a purpose.”

  Dave’s tears overtook him, and he turned away from the crowd and walked several paces in a circle before continuing. “I suppose the fact that they’re both lying behind me now means they served their purpose in life. I could’ve used more – way more – from both of them, but that wasn’t in the cards. Kismet. Fate. The circle of life. Whatever you want to call it. They saved so many of us after being saved by us. Now they’re gone, and we must walk without them by our sides.”

  He paused a long, long time. The crowd did not shift impatiently or move. Dave looked up again, his palm on his chest. “No, they may not walk beside us any longer, but from here forward, they will be carried here in our hearts.”

  *****

  When it was all over, Punch retrieved a large sack from beneath the tall pine tree. He set to work, removing stone by stone from the bag, and positioning them in the shape of a heart atop Lola’s grave.

  When the outline was completed, he spelled out words within the large heart. It read:

  LOLITA LANE MAGEE

  SHE GAVE ALL

  JANUARY 1, 2029

  *****

  The people of Kingman had decided that despite the amount of work to be done, and the important task of locating and burning the dead bodies of the infected, Sundays were to be a day of rest.

  Rising early and engaging his magnetic motor, Flex cooked a breakfast of ham and eggs, fresh from the town’s supply of livestock and chickens. The electric frying pan got just hot enough to do the job, and the aroma of the food cooking and the coffee brewing got everyone up, stomachs growling.

  Silverware tinked against plates and the conversation was sparse, but the feeling of contentment felt by Flex, Gem, Hemp and Charlie was like a child’s blanket; secure and warm. Trina and Taylor were also staying in the large home for the time being, and they and Colton were still fast asleep, obviously exhausted from their contribution to the cleansing of Kingman.

  “I’d like to
take a walk when we’re done,” said Flex. He had something in mind, but he felt it better discussed somewhere else.

  “Where, Flex?” asked Gem.

  “How’s your rib?” he asked.

  “I almost forgot about it this morning. Still twangs a bit, but I’m on the mend.”

  “Finish your coffee,” he said. “Or pour it in a to go cup.”

  Hemp stood and stretched. “My muscles haven’t gotten a workout like this … well, ever,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure we’ve still got several days of work ahead.”

  “If we could only torch them in place,” added Charlie. “I’m just glad we didn’t have to see them all in their final moment of clarity.”

  “Yes, as brief as it was,” said Hemp. “It’s still extraordinary that any of them regained enough awareness to question what happened.”

  “I don’t want to think about that,” said Flex. “Makes me feel like they were in there all along, doing things they didn’t understand, killing people they loved, but not able to stop.”

  “Are we ready?” asked Hemp. “I could use that walk,” he said, patting his belly.

  Everyone still wore a sidearm except Charlie, who lifted her crossbow from a rack by the door.

  “You don’t need to haul that around anymore,” said Gem.

  “Call it my woobie,” she said. “Like in Mr. Mom.”

  “Gotcha,” said Gem. “My woobie’s my Suzi, but I’ll settle for the Glock.”

  They left Flex and Gem’s place and turned north. The people of Kingman had yet to take down the fences, and some that did not block roadways would likely never be removed. They walked over a fallen section, Flex taking note of all the tattered remnants of rotter clothing scattered everywhere.

  The four walked west until they reached the road that would take them south, along the west fence line, down toward the river. Flex moved beside Gem and put his arm around her.

  None of them looked over their shoulders. Flex occasionally found a rock to kick, and he sent it rolling ahead. One of the others would give it a kick if it ended up in their path, and before they knew it, they had reached the Susquehanna.

  “Have a sit down,” said Flex, dropping to his butt on the riverbank.

  They did.

  Flex had already mentioned the idea to Gem. She wasn’t all in, and wouldn’t be until she knew who else would agree to it. It had been a long apocalypse, and Flex knew Gem was glad the seemingly endless fight was over.

  “I’ve been thinkin’,” said Flex. “I know the reasons we ended up in Kansas, but those reasons are gone. Isis and Max thought it would be a good place if we needed to create more Hybrids like them and send them out to other places. That need is gone.”

  Hemp smiled. “You want to move.”

  Flex nodded. “I do, but I’m not sure where just yet. I’m thinking west, or maybe the Pacific northwest.”

  “You’re not gonna start surfing, are you?” asked Charlie.

  Flex laughed. “Not quite. I’ve dealt with flesh-eating humans. I can do without getting eaten by a shark. That’d be a kicker.”

  “Why?” asked Charlie. “I mean, we’ve been pretty comfortable here.”

  “Yeah, and we’ve tapped out a lot of the area resources, too,” he said. “Replenishing means long trips, likely well beyond Wichita.”

  “So why … what? California? Oregon? Washington?” asked Hemp.

  Flex shook his head. He wanted them to understand that it wasn’t just him being restless. He had to convey his true reasons for wanting to leave.

  “Look. In my mind, this was never really home, even after all these years. It was a defensible place that served us well. I know that a lot of these folks won’t want to leave, and to be honest, I don’t even want them to uproot their lives and come with us. I want us, Trini, Taylor, Max, Isis, and any of the core group that fought alongside us to come, but again, I’m not under any illusions they’ll all agree. There’s something to be said for familiarity, and they’ve got that here, in Kingman.”

  Gem sighed. “Spit it out, husband. Feels like you’re being dramatic.”

  Flex smiled. “I prefer to call it thoughtful. Look around you right now. Listen.”

  Flex lay back, closing his eyes. Though he did not see it, he felt everyone else do the same. A minute passed. Two minutes. Finally, he spoke, never opening his eyes.

  “Birds, distant rustles in the grass, but no more fear. We could fall asleep out here, outside the fence of Kingman and the worst we’d get were maybe a couple of ant bites. It’s over, guys. Now we choose. Nothing tells us where we have to be. We can be where we want to be.”

  “Something just crossed my mind,” said Gem. “And it made me smile.”

  “What’s that, babe?” asked Flex.

  “Yeah, babe,” said Charlie. “What made you smile?”

  “What you said about going home, to Lula,” said Gem.

  Flex opened his eyes and propped himself up on one elbow. “Lula? Really? I thought you shut me down. When I mentioned it, you kind of ignored it.”

  Gem laughed. “Flexy, I know what you’ve been trying to get at since we stopped here. It’s about time these guys did, too.”

  She leaned on her arms and turned her face to the sky. “I miss that house, that big wraparound porch,” she said. “It was kind of where it all began. It’s the place where we all first lived and became a family. There’s plenty of land there, and I noticed a shitload of modular home places. Shouldn’t be too hard to get them on wide load flatbeds and move them to lovely spots among the trees. Your property line doesn’t even matter. We could expand whenever the need arose.”

  “There were deer and other wildlife there, too,” said Hemp. “Plenty of land to grow food. A nearby river we could utilize for power generation, along with solar panels. It’s a world away from Kingman, but I liked it there, too.”

  Flex felt his heart bursting in his chest. “Charlie?” he said. “How do you feel about it?”

  “Well, it’s where your sister is buried,” she said. “And it’s the first place I lived after I crawled out of that hospital closet. I think I’m already getting excited thinking about it.”

  Flex rocked forward and stood. He held out his hand and Gem took it. He then pulled Hemp and Charlie up and hugged both of them for a long time. “Fuck California. Fuck Oregon and Washington, too, for all that matters.”

  “Can’t get decent grits in Cali,” said Gem. “That’s what I hear.”

  “You didn’t hear shit, and you hate grits,” said Charlie. “You’re just kissing Flex’s ass right now. But that said, I want to go. Hemp?”

  Hemp nodded. “I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a long while,” he said. “At least where fear wasn’t involved. It feels like we’re heading home.”

  “Let’s hope this doesn’t come out of the blue to the girls,” said Gem. “Hell, I’ll force them to come. I’ve already got a list of other people I’d like to invite, but how can we really tell anyone they can’t come? What if too many people want to come?”

  Flex shrugged. “My house isn’t the only one in Lula. I imagine there will be fewer bodies to clean up there, and the town can probably recover pretty fast with the right folks chipping in. I’m gonna want to ask Nel and Rachel and Lita to come with us, and I know for sure that if Isis doesn’t want to come, Max won’t either.”

  “That’ll be a deal breaker for me,” said Charlie. “I’m not going anywhere without my kid.”

  “Children often leave home, Charlie,” said Hemp. “You know, spreading their wings and all. Leaving the nest.”

  “This mama eagle’s not ready yet,” she said. “I need to spend time in a zombie-free world with my son. It changes the whole dynamic. I mean, we’re kind of like wayward jihadis with no caliphate, right? Nothing left to kill for. I gotta make sure he doesn’t turn into some kind of serial killer just to satisfy a natural urge.”

  “That’s a shit excuse,” laughed Flex. “You taught the kid rig
ht from wrong, plus I have a feeling that in a world without police, we’ll have our bad guys to fend off now and then.”

  Charlie sighed. “Whatever,” she said. “I get your point. I guess I’ve been fighting so long I’m projecting. That kid’s always had more sense than me.”

  *****

  By six o’clock that evening, the word had gotten around town that Flex and crew intended to relocate. No meeting had been necessary, because the surviving Kingmaniacs – as Nelson called them – spread news among themselves like a wildfire burning through an untended forest.

  In the end, aside from Trina, Taylor and Colton, those who expressed a strong desire to come along were Vikki and her sister Victoria, Nelson, Rachel and their daughter, Isis and Max, Dave, Serena and their son Ben, and in quite a surprise to them all, Beauty and her son, Travis.

  They had their group. They planned to await spring, when they would take to the road. In the meantime, they continued helping with the cleansing of the streets and buildings of Kingman, even as they gathered their own supplies for the forthcoming trip back to Flex’s home.

  *****

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  As the cold weather subsided, Max and Isis announced they would marry. Despite the fact that they were only sixteen and seventeen years of age, respectively, they were far older physically and mentally, and quite capable of knowing they were in love with one another.

  Nobody had a problem with it, least of all Dave, Hemp and Charlie.

  Though neither of them had seen it since they were mere babies – albeit smart babies – they both expressed a desire to hold their wedding at Flex’s house in Lula, Georgia.

  The journey was just shy of 1,100 miles. When they were a week out from the start of their long trek, Flex called a meeting of the travel party at his and Gem’s home.