by Travis Tufo
“Where did they go?” Eli seemed to want to know everything,
“You sure do have a lot of questions, don’t you?” Kameron asked through the window to the truck bed.
“I’ve learned that information is hard to come by these days and that I should get my hands on any that I can, whenever I can.”
“Smart man. I applaud you for your inquiries, Eli, but that answer we’ll have to save for another conversation,” Kyle interrupted before Kameron could release any valuable information. Eli was suspicious of their secrecy, but in the position he was in, there wasn’t much he could do.
“Kameron, you shoot the guns remember? Stick to what you’re good at,” Kyle said off to the side.
“Kyle, you really think I’m just going to tell these sketchy people where mom and dad are? Some college boy you turned out to be.”
“That’s the problem, I went to college so I know better than to let you run your mouth for too long.” It was nothing more than a little brotherly love, but Eli stepped in before it got any worse as the five of them sat in the idle truck.
“Kyle!” Eli got his attention before any more could be said.
“What is it?”
“You don’t shoot guns?”
“What do you mean?” Kyle was confused.
“Well, you said that Kameron’s the one that shoots right? So does that mean you don’t?”
“Oh, I’ll shoot a gun if I have to, but I’ve found better, more effective ways to deal with the lost.” Eli was curious.
“Oh, damn! Do you have a sword or something? I knew it!” Eli was beyond excited, expecting an arsenal of great weapons waiting in that cabin.
“Oh, better than that, my dear friend, way better than just a mere sword.”
“Like what? You have to show me!”
“Eli!” Kyle raised his voice.
“What?”
“You need to just relax and let things play out. This is not the time to show you my arsenal for sending the lost on their way.”
“Kyle, you are the biggest killjoy ever.” Eli’s face straightened out in a disappointed way.
“Tell you what, I’ll do you one better, though. How’s that sound?” Kyle said.
“Deal!” Aurora jumped into the conversation before Eli could ask any more questions.
“I’ll give you a tour of the cabin and the surrounding area.” The two girls in the back shook their heads; they were really just ready to lay down and relax for a while. Eli rolled his eyes, but accepted. They all got out of the truck and the first thing Eli noticed was a smoke plume coming up from a few hundred yards behind the cabin.
“Oh man, I really hope it’s not that psychopath again burning more bodies.” Eli watched the smoke fly high.
“Well, a lot of people think Kyle is crazy, and that smoke is definitely coming from burning bodies,” Kameron said as Kyle led them to the house. He followed behind with his rifle out. Eli looked to Kyle in worry.
“Is there something you’d like to share with us? Because if you are half as insane as that guy who calls himself the judge, then maybe we don’t want to stay with you after all.” Even the two girls, beyond tired and sore from the toes up, stopped to see what Kyle had to say about the bodies.
“I can assure you that I don’t know who the hell this psychopath you are referring to is, but I can’t dig as many graves as would be necessary for all the forsaken I help find the light, so I do the best that I can. Everyone deserves some type of burial or ash spreading when they pass. It is what the Lord would want. So I keep a constant fire burning and I say a prayer for those lost before I throw them into the fire.” His statement reminded Eli of Shaun. His corpse had been just left there to rot; he knew deep inside that he needed to do something about it, but today was not the day. Eli shook his head, he respected Kyle and his devotion to his religion, though to Eli, it painted a picture of mild insanity in Kyle, or at least obsession. Eli still believed, though, that the brothers were good guys just trying to do the right thing.
“That’s really compassionate, of you Kyle,” Niva said. She enjoyed seeing someone who wasn’t caught up in the chaos and abusing their gift of being alive when so many had already perished.
“Thank you, but it isn’t just me, my brother is fifty percent of the effort.”
“Then thank you, too!” Niva gave a big smile.
“I’m just doing what’s right,” Kameron replied. Eli found it a little off how devoted these two were, so he looked to Aurora to see how she felt. He couldn’t read minds, but they were able to pass meaningful looks between them. She felt the same way as Eli did, hopeful, but cautious.
“So how do you decide who goes?” Eli only had more questions.
“Who goes?” Kyle wasn’t entirely sure what he meant.
“Yeah, like which ones of ‘the lost’ die? Do you just wait for them to walk onto your property and then you take them out? Or what is the process? I’m sorry I’m asking so many questions, but I have to keep the interest of safety first for me and my friends.”
“No, I understand. To those who maybe don’t see what is going on around them, what I and my brother are doing may seem strange. It is much different than just trying to survive. And it is actually quite the opposite of me waiting for them to come onto the land, although we’ve set many traps waiting for the lost to stumble onto just in case they arrive here when one of us isn’t home. Kameron and I go out and search for the lost. Once we find them, we cleanse them of the sin that they are cursed to wear over their human bodies during this Armageddon. We then load up their tainted corpses into the truck and take them back to our constant fire to further release their bodies of any evils left, ensuring that they have a safe path to heaven.”
“To heaven? If they weren’t taken away immediately to heaven at the start of the Armageddon, doesn’t that mean they are cursed to rot in hell? Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s what I thought was supposed to happen.” Eli thought he found a problem with their story.
“Oh Eli, I’ll bet you keep these girls on their toes, don’t you?” He gave a humble laugh and stroked his beard.
“Those that we cleanse who still have a soul trapped in their sinful body go to Heaven, I assure you that. Those who are truly damned to Hell are already there, or at least their souls have been there for a long time. The forsaken that we execute are nothing more than unclean vessels that we purge by fire. It is only then that these lost souls can venture forth to Heaven.” Kyle looked skyward.
Eli shook his head. “That is certainly an interesting view on what’s going on. I can’t say that I agree with you fully, but I respect your dedication to what you do,” he said.
“There’s nothing more I could ask, then,” Kyle said. They exchanged smiles.
“Come now! These girls look as if they can’t stand much longer,” Kyle spoke to the group. The five entered the cabin and Kyle gave a short tour showing them every bit of the home except for the basement, but he did tell Eli he would take him down there at some point. There were two rooms upstairs which Kyle generously offered them, though they declined; preferring to stay together in the larger room, which had plenty of space for the three of them.
“Well, we should let these three get comfortable in their quarters for a bit. Then I’ll cook us up some food and maybe we can all tell tales over some dinner?” Kameron offered as he stepped out of the room.
“That sounds wonderful,” Niva said.
“Yes, we’d love that! And thank you two so much for your hospitality,” Aurora added. Eli agreed and gave both of the brothers a firm handshake as they left the room.
“Wow! I guess this worked out pretty well, huh guys?” Niva said as she fluffed up the purple pillow on her soft, clean bed.
“Yeah, I’m glad that finding these guys worked out; they seem so humble and were nice enough to let us into their home, but something’s just…off.” Eli wasn’t quite sure what it was yet, though.
“I agree with you,” Aurora spoke
softly. “I want to feel safe, and these guys are seemingly presenting us with that opportunity, but it’s like something in the air is telling me to stay on my guard.” Aurora, the one usually noted for trusting no one, leaned towards having faith in the strange brothers.
“You guys aren’t serious right?” Niva looked shocked.
“What do you mean?” Aurora asked.
“These guys are clearly some of the good ones left in this shithole. For all we know, the last ones, and you guys are suggesting that they have something to hide? Why? Because they are devoted to their religion?” She wasn’t yet outraged, but she was on her way there.
“Niva, calm down. Aurora and I aren’t saying that they are going to come in the night and throw us in their fire, we are just saying that we need to, like we always need to, keep our guard up. The moment we let our guard down, an incident like Shaun could happen, and it’s up to the three of us to make sure nothing like that happens again to any of us,” Eli said calmly. Niva took a brief moment to hold back a tear and shook her head silently.
“You’re right. I just don’t know what to think in this world anymore, I want to trust those who appear good on the outside, but I just don’t know,” she wiped a tear from her cheek. Eli gave her a hug.
“We know. Things are harder now than ever before, but who knows? Maybe these guys really will make things easier.”
“Yeah, and we even out number them, too. You know, just in case.” Aurora winked at Niva, making her smile.
“Keep an eye out for anything even slightly off, and address it immediately, you guys got that?” Eli asked, to which he got two girls nodding their heads at him.
“Sweet. This could be a good thing, you guys,” he added, looking around the comfortable room.
“Food’s done!” Kameron yelled up the stairs.
“A really good thing!” Eli got excited and ran down the stairs, first making sure that his revolver was in his pocket. When Eli reached the main floor, something caught his attention; he wasn’t quite ready for it.
“What the hell?” He looked up and saw that the lights in the house were on; he then entered the kitchen and felt heat from a fan, smelled the fresh food Kyle was pulling out of the oven.
“So you guys must have already taken me to Heaven?” Eli joked, but he wasn’t really sure; a lot had happened to him lately.
“I take it you like lasagna?” Kameron laughed.
“No…well yes, I love lasagna! But I mean the electricity. How are you guys doing this? A generator?” He was in awe of how they could keep up with the gas consumption on a generator.
“Not quite. This house runs off of propane. The tank’s right out back and is nearly full because we are so cautious as to when we use it. Kameron also claims to know how to refill it when the day comes, but I don’t know if I believe him just yet.”
“I keep telling you all we have to do is drive down to that propane company a few miles west and snag one of their tankers and drive it up here. From there it’s as easy as pumping gas.” Kameron was quick to defend himself.
“See what I mean? I guess we will just have to find out when the day comes. But until that day, please take a seat.” Kyle extended his arm, offering a seat to Eli. The girls were just making it into the dining room. They each pulled up a chair and sat back and watched as Kyle and Kameron set their places and brought a large lasagna to the table.
“You guys made this for us?” Niva was shocked.
“Well, it was being made whether you were going to join us or not. Kyle is quite the eater,” Kameron joked.
“He’s not kidding. It’s probably good news you guys are here to help us with this meal or I’d probably take on the whole thing. Those carbs man, they are so tasty!” He laughed along as he took the seat at the head of the mahogany table.
“Wow, I have to thank you guys again for your hospitality, especially when you don’t need to be doing it,” Niva added on.
“It is our pleasure, really.” Kameron was the last to sit down. Everyone was served and Eli was about to dig in, but Kyle started a prayer. It was a quick one, and as excited as Eli was to eat his food, he sat through it respectfully.
“Amen,” Kyle ended before he started to devour his pasta. There wasn’t much talking at the table, as everyone there was more than due for a meal. After each plate had been cleaned and the entire lasagna had been finished, they went around the table telling the story of how they got to where they were now. Eli told his tale of winding up here looking for his parents and trying to kill himself in the bunker. He realized that he wasn’t even really sure if he was actually alive in this bizarre world; he could very well be dead, or still dreaming in a comatose state. Aurora told her story of an abusive past and how she met Eli. Niva kept her story relatively short, just explaining how she met Eli’s group, and then it was Kameron and Kyle’s turn.
“You know, it’s a strange story how we ended up here. We are originally from Maine, but were hunting in Canada with our dad while our mom and sister were staying in this house. Our dad’s brother, so our uncle, was in the Army and on leave. I think he was a Lieutenant or something. So he called our dad on the trip to tell him that some weird stuff was going on. We’d heard from the news that there was some kind of deadly sickness going around in Texas and to stay indoors, but our uncle assured us it was something worse and that we needed to isolate ourselves. Sure as shit, we got back home as fast as we could and flipped on the news to see that Texas was gone, like there was no contact in or out. We were told the whole damn state was being quarantined, but in reality the whole damn state had been taken over. Our uncle owned a house down there and he wasn’t picking up his phone so we tried to drive down to see what was going on and to get him out of there if necessary. We didn’t make it much farther than Arkansas before it got too clogged up on the roads. It was bizarre, by that point, people were running and hiking in mass droves. They looked like crashing waves as they rushed shoulder to shoulder looking for a safer place to be. These were, of course, the ones who could see what was going on.”
“How fast was it spreading? I don’t know too much about it. Shit, I don’t think any of us do,” Eli questioned.
“Well, our uncle called us on the first day of the known outbreak, and we were in Arkansas about two days later,” Kyle answered.
“Oh, shit!” Eli was blown away.
“Yeah, but the ironic thing is all those people who were running away together only spread the problem faster. They acted as their own locust swarm.”
“That’s another question I have!” Eli interrupted.
“What’s that?” Kyle wondered.
“How the hell does this thing spread?”
“Ohh, many ways. I’ve seen it affect those whom it was intended to infect in many separate ways. I believe it started when the air was being plagued by the infectious clouds coming from the original hosts.”
“I’ve seen that!” Aurora cut in.
“Yeah, the infected explode out little tiny spores,” Aurora continued.
“Spores? Sure, but then the next most common way is when a forsaken bites a living human. I believe that those who were bitten had sinned even more than those who were quickly infected through their lungs, since that seems to be the less painful way to go,” Kyle continued.
“I’ve seen drops of blood infect people before, too,” Kameron stepped in.
“That’s why I’m so confused! I’ve been bitten, had blood dripped on me, and have even breathed in those spores! Yet here I am, feeling as healthy as I was before this all happened.” Eli looked to Kyle for guidance, and in return what he got was that same old humble smile, peeking through that mighty beard.
“What? What’s so funny?” Eli had lost his patience.
“Oh, nothing. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you anyway.”
“No, tell me!”
“Well, if all of those things really did happen to you, and looking at yours scars I’d say they did, then perhaps it isn’t yet
your time. I believe you have something more important here to do and that is why you haven’t taken your next step in this Armageddon.” Eli at first blew off Kyle’s explanation, but the longer he let it ferment, the more he pondered what the truth even was anymore. It couldn’t be the same truth they shared before all this went down, could it? Then an image of Shaun entered his mind. Every time he thought of him it was a sharp pain. He remembered what Kyle said earlier about everyone deserving a proper burial.
“Kyle?” Eli asked, looking like a helpless child.
“What is it, man of a thousand questions?” he joked.
“Can you help me with something?”
“I can most certainly try, Eli.” He felt Eli’s urgency and seriousness.
“First thing in the morning I would like to do something,” Eli said in a low tone.
“Tomorrow it is. That gives us plenty of time to rest up tonight, because from the sound of your voice, we’ll need it,” Kyle said; his eyes looked tired.
Kyle stood up from the table and addressed the group. “Well, I couldn’t be happier to be helping you three wonderful people, but I’m sorry to inform you that I am in dire need of a nap. If you need anything, Kameron should be able to help out, and before you have any second thoughts about anything in the home, you are all welcome to do as you please. So long friends!”
Before he left the room, he was thanked by all of his guests. The four of them talked for a while longer in the dining room before Kameron suggested that he go look for a deer; he loved to hunt and loved to eat venison even more. Just like that, the three were left practically alone in the home of two men they barely knew and who were more than capable of killing them at any time.
“What a strange day,” Aurora said as she entered their bedroom right behind Niva and Eli.
“You can say that again. Who would have thought that these guys were going to be saints?” Niva added.
“It really has been bizarre, but I’m just glad I get to relax a little for once.” Eli plopped himself down on a nice comfy chair, letting his full belly push against his shorts. As he sat down, he felt something underneath him. He grumbled and got up slowly to see what he was sitting on. He unraveled the wrinkled cloth that was once underneath him. It was a brand new shirt.
