by T. W. Brown
“So you just left…on your own?” Kevin asked, wondering where this conversation was leading. Erin kept flip-flopping between nice girl, and really pissed off woman who lost her family to a terrorist act by people who were immune and used their tainted blood to infect others,
“A few of the girls came with me, but I am the only one left of that group.”
Kevin had to wonder how she had built such a devoted and large following. And where did religion come in to play?
“After a few weeks, we found a small community. The problem was that there were like thirty guys and only seven girls. They were really happy to see us. Until a bunch of them died in their sleep.
“But that was also when I met Tracy Crenshaw. He was an old Southern Baptist preacher…the real hellfire and brimstone type. I was gonna kill him, but he had preached that night, before the evening meal. He was telling the men to ease up on the ladies, that we were to be treated like something precious. That was also when I realized that he had never taken any liberties with any of the women as far as I knew.
“After we got rid of the riff raff, things got nice. That was when I got married, had a baby. I thought that I was going to move forward with my life, such as it was. And all the while, I would listen to Tracy speak and watch folks drink it up.
“He was also the first person to tell me about the End Times. This was all God’s plan, and we were being tested, but those who were immune were obviously minions of Satan.
“You look confused,” Erin said with a laugh that would do any evil villain proud. “Oh, this is absolutely priceless. I have confused the great mind of Kevin Dreon.”
“I wouldn’t be all that proud of yourself.” Kevin shrugged his shoulders and did his best to smile in such a way that it wouldn’t look like a grimace.
“But you always had the answers. You were always the one everybody said could figure out anything…do anything.”
“I just never took you as the religious sort,” Kevin finally said with a shrug.
“Oh…I’m not.” Erin laughed wickedly and ran a finger under Kevin’s jaw. “But I saw the power in it. Folks eat it up. I never bought into that whole thing about folks who were immune being demons or any of that nonsense…but other people sure do. And if you say all the right things, they will follow you anywhere and do anything you tell them. They become so blinded by their twisted belief that they don’t even really know what they believe in anymore. They become puppets. And that is what I built…an army of puppets.”
“But then you lost your husband and child when the immune people came to your community,” Kevin pointed out.
“That was the easiest thing in the world!” Erin plopped back into her chair. “Don’t you get it? I killed one of them after I found out what they were. You know how much blood is in a human body.” She held a hand up despite the fact that Kevin made no move to speak. “Of course you do! Anyways, I did all of that. I put the tainted blood in the food and the water tank at the school.”
“You killed your own child?” Kevin gasped.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Erin said with an evil laugh that gave Kevin chills. It reminded him of the laugh Reagan MacNeil had when she was possessed.
“I have no idea what happened while I was out there getting that medicine. And if I had known that something was wrong with your baby, I would have done all I could to get whatever she needed as well. That baby was just as important as anybody in the group, and both Peter and I would have done what it took if we’d known,” Kevin said softly
“Who said there was anything wrong with her?” Erin asked in a whisper that seemed to drive into Kevin’s head like a spike.
“I don’t want to hear this,” Kevin spat. “Whatever problems you have, they are not anything I did. I tried my best for you, your mom, both your sisters.” Kevin made a point to emphasize the word ‘both’. After all, he had initially devised his plan to raid The Basket because of Ruth.
There was a long silence, and then Erin pushed herself up from her chair and slunk over to where Kevin stood. Her moves were probably supposed to be graceful and sultry, but they just came across as dirty and whorish. Then it struck him; he thought that he might have figured out how she got her following. At least the men, and at least in the beginning. Although, from what he was seeing, perhaps in the latter stages as well.
“But you couldn’t figure out a way to save my sister Shari, could you?” Erin had moved behind him, and she whispered that bit into his ear. “You let her die.”
One of the hardest and most painful memories that he carried came back in a rush. She had no idea that it still haunted him to this day. He still remembered knocking Shari out with a sleeper hold and then covering her face before putting a crossbow bolt in her head.
He, Valarie, and Shari had been on the run. Having just escaped a crazy military dictator, they were trying to get back to the others when Shari fell and broke her leg. It had been an ugly break, with the bone jutting through the skin. She knew there was no way that Kevin could carry her for what might be possibly a day or two and still watch out for Valarie.
They had taken refuge in a house that was quickly surrounded by zombies. Shari had insisted that Kevin and Valarie make a run for it, but on the condition that he not leave her to die at the hands (and teeth) of the undead.
“You weren’t there,” Kevin whispered.
“Where was your incredible mind that day, Kevin? Were you too worried about getting back to that little slut of yours? Aleah, was it? And where is she now? Did you leave her to the zombies one day when she became too much for you?”
“Wow,” Kevin breathed. He turned his head and fixed Erin with his gaze. “Where is all of this coming from?”
Kevin remembered the young girl Erin, and while she certainly had some problems, he would have never imagined that she could become this person that stood before him.
“You abandoned all of us for a retard…you hid while me, my mom, and my sisters were kidnapped and taken by a bunch of animals. And then…when the leader of the people who raped my mom and sister and left Ruth to die on a cross and turn into a zombie showed up, you wanted to forgive him and let him join us! It was me that killed that bastard, Shaw!”
Kevin felt the sting of her words, and while she was certainly simplifying and twisting the truth to suit her need, he could still see the grains of fact that she had sandwiched in amongst the exaggerated memories.
He considered for just a moment the possibility that perhaps he had minimalized those memories. After all, he had not been the victim in any of those instances.
“And now I discover that you are immune…just like the people that came to us a year ago. Just like the people that killed my husband, my child!” Erin was shrieking now and Kevin had a strong sense that this was going to go badly fast. The funny thing was that her outrage was strictly in her voice. She actually winked at him! This was all for show. It was for those people gathered outside the tent or passing by.
He now knew how she gathered all these followers. She was an excellent performer. She had slipped into the character of martyr with flawless ease. Only moments before, she had all but admitted to killing her own child, but that was not the story she had sold these poor saps that followed her. And there was nothing he could say or do about it. He was perhaps the only person who knew the truth of what Erin Crenshaw was…apparently what she had always been.
It almost made him curious as to what sort of person she would have been in the old world before the zombies. He was willing to bet that she would be one of those mothers that put her kids in a van and then let it drive into a lake like that crazy woman, Susan Smith. He had no problem imagining Erin standing in front of a bank of cameras, her mom the senator on one side, pop star sister on the other, and lawyer sister behind her as she looked into the camera and cried for her missing child to be returned. Hell, she would have probably gotten away with it.
What he was having trouble understanding, or grasping, was how
she had found him? How had she known that he was immune?
“I don’t get it,” Kevin admitted. “I never did anything to hurt you. I took care of you as best I could. And Shari…your sister died a hero.”
“Save it, Kevin!” Erin snapped. “I wish that I would have killed you that night when I heard what you did.”
“Heard what I did?” Kevin was becoming more confused by the minute. What had she heard? Better yet, when had she heard it?
“One night, you and that cheerleader that had the hots for you…you were talking. You were still on a lot of pain meds after losing your foot, and you told that little skank how you shot my sister in the face with a crossbow because she had a busted leg or something. You chose to take care of that damned retarded girl instead of Shari!”
Tears were running down Erin’s cheeks, but anybody witnessing them would be hard pressed to tell if they were from anger or sorrow. She was pacing back and forth, her hand drifting to the hilt of Kevin’s knife that she wore on her belt. He had not realized that it was his until the third or fourth time she gripped it.
“I begged her to let me bring her, I told her we would stay together, but she—” Kevin tried to plead his case, but Erin was having none of it.
“You carried that boy all the way back that time…that stupid boy that ended up dying anyways!”
“There was three feet of snow on the ground!” Kevin fired back as the memories of that night with Shari and Valarie became clearer. He had wanted to carry her, but his feet were already destined for the cutting floor of a surgery tent. And, as Shari had pointed out, if he fell, then they were all doomed. He had done everything he could to make it as easy for her as possible.
“Your sister made the choice for the greater good. I have no idea when it happened, but that young lady became a selfless, wonderful person. She loved Valarie, and she gave her life to save others.”
“I wish I had more time to consider this,” Erin said with a sneer.
“Maybe we can have some sort of secret vote to decide if we take him with us or not,” another voice called as the tent flap opened.
Kevin felt his insides turn to ice water. When Cherish Brandini walked around to stand in front of him, Kevin knew that Death’s pale horse had to be near.
Cherish had joined up with him towards the end as he, Catie, and the others had travelled to South Dakota. Her actions had nearly gotten everybody killed more than once, and eventually, a vote was taken on whether or not they leave her behind. It had been almost unanimous. However, she had made nice and continued the journey to their eventual home just south of Sioux Falls in a town called Beresford, South Dakota.
About three years after their arrival, Cherish had apparently killed a woman in a fight over, no surprise considering her history, a man. She was exiled from the community—the equivalent of the death penalty back in those days.
How she had hooked up with Erin Bergman…or Crenshaw…or whatever she wanted to call herself, was anybody’s guess. Of course, Kevin had been on the council that passed sentence on Cherish. He had also been the one that called for the vote that would have left her behind.
***
Darlene held the tent flap open for Catie. The two women stepped out and had to avoid a team of horses moving past, drawing a fully loaded wagon.
“Wow!” Catie said appreciatively. “You guys really have this whole pack and move routine down to a science.”
“Erin makes us practice. She says that we have to be ready at a moment’s notice for anything.” Darlene looked around as if she were searching for somebody in particular.
“Maybe we should head over to her tent,” Catie suggested.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Darlene agreed.
The two women hoisted their packs onto their backs. As they walked, Catie looked around at the flurry of activity. She noticed the calm attitude everybody seemed to possess. While they were obviously in a hurry, they were not frantic. She was so engrossed, that she almost missed seeing Cherish Brandini striding across the compound. She was headed for a large tent, and the look on her face was just a bit unsettling. She froze in her tracks.
“What’s wrong?” Darlene asked.
“That woman.” Catie made a slight nod of her head. Cherish had come to a stop at the big tent. She was talking to one of the guards posted outside. Actually, as she laughed and flipped her hair, Catie amended her assessment. She was flirting, as usual.
“What about her?” Darlene scrunched up her nose as she watched the woman lean into the man standing outside the entrance to Erin Crenshaw’s tent. She knew the type, and she didn’t much care for them.
Catie took a deep breath and started giving Darlene a rundown of the tumultuous history of Cherish Brandini. If she was here, and even worse, if she was aware of Kevin’s presence, there might be a problem. If they were not prisoners, she needed to find Kevin and they needed to get the hell away from here.
“And now I discover that you are immune…just like the people that came to us a year ago. Just like the people that killed my husband, my child!” a voice shrieked from within the tent.
A few passers-by stopped, their heads turning towards the sudden outburst. Catie felt her stomach twist. She was pretty sure she had just found Kevin. However, it was the reaction of Cherish Brandini that had her more than a little concerned. While everybody else was drawn by curiosity, and the expressions were already turning dark on many, Cherish was smirking like the mean girl in school who had just pranked some poor wallflower and embarrassed her in front of the entire student body.
This was not good. Not good at all. She glanced over at Darlene who seemed to be considering something. Catie could not wait. And she had a feeling that every second she let slip by was one that added a steepness to the slope that would eventually dump her and Kevin into the fire. No, if she was to have any chance at getting out of here alive, she would need to act now. Her hand was going for the blade at her hip when Darlene spoke.
“This is starting to add up,” Darlene said in voice that was pensive as she was obviously thinking something through.
“What is?”
Darlene looked around like she was afraid somebody might be listening in; whatever she was about to say, Catie had a feeling that it was big.
“There were a few folks that said something about one of them immune people goin’ missing just before everybody got sick. And then, supposedly, one of our tower sentries was sayin’ that he saw a few of Erin Crenshaw’s personal security team carrying something out one of the gates late one night. But then that guy—”
“Let me guess,” Catie interrupted. “He got sick with the zombie virus and died.”
“How’d you know?” Darlene deadpanned.
Catie took a step forward, but Darlene grabbed her arm and pulled her back with a shake of the head. Catie glared, but she turned her gaze back and watched as Cherish was obviously listening in on whatever was going on inside the tent. As if she was waiting for a cue, she bobbed her head and then entered.
“We need to move,” Darlene tugged at Catie’s arm.
“I’m not leaving him.” Catie spun on the woman, jerking free. She ignored the few heads that turned her way. Kevin was in trouble by the sounds of it, and she was going to help.
“If you want to help him, then come with me.”
Catie turned back to the tent. Every fiber in her being wanted to charge in and just start taking down whoever she saw, but she wanted to see herself and Kevin through this alive. As difficult as it was, she allowed Darlene to lead her away. Stomping her feet, she eventually hurried off with the woman.
They wove through tents that were all in various stages of coming down. At last, Darlene slowed. She also seemed to be looking over her shoulder a lot. Finally, she stopped in front of a wagon where two men were busy loading it up. One was up in the bed and the other was on the ground, tossing up various duffels and boxes.
“I think we need to do something.”
That w
as all Darlene said to the men, but both immediately stopped what they were doing and came to where Catie and Darlene stood. A few more heads popped out of the long, green military tent. In a matter of seconds, a dozen people had gathered around.
***
“Long time, no see, Brandini,” Kevin said, trying very hard to keep his voice from wavering or cracking. But the truth of the matter at this exact moment was that he was more than a little scared.
“Oh, maybe for you,” the woman laughed like she was at a fancy dinner party. In other words, with absolutely no sincerity; it was as fake as her breasts. “I’ve seen you many times over the years.”
Kevin dismissed the comment. While it was possible, he doubted that Cherish had what it took to conduct actual covert surveillance.
“I was more than a little surprised to see you with that dyke soldier girl…Chrissy was it? I thought you were all hot and bothered for the gal who was missing part of her nose.”
Kevin pressed his lips together. He was not going to give this pair of harpies the satisfaction of seeing him lose his temper. He suddenly wished he would have stayed back at Falling Run. If he had, then the herd of zombies would have done his dirty work for him, and these people would be long gone. Why had he gone on this fool mission that nobody had asked him to do? And worse still, he had brought Catie. Of course she would not let him make this trip without her; she’d made that clear…but still.
Was he losing his sharpness? Had he come to the point where he had dropped his guard so low that he had just walked foolhardy and headlong into something that he never should have undertaken in the first place?
“I would love to continue this, but, unfortunately, a massive zombie herd is coming. I want to deal with you personally,” Erin said.
“What about his woman?” Brandini asked.
“No time. As it is, we are going to be cutting it close here. We can deal with her after the move to a safe place. I am sure she will come looking for him.” She pointed to Kevin.
