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Chapter 52


Prepare them for anything and everything. Be sure to think of every eventuality, and get them ready. Make the choices you believe in, no matter how hard they are. That’s the job of a leader who’s supposed to ready his troops. It’s a hard responsibility, one not to take lightly. You are often hated for it. People get angry and disagree, but in the end, it’s like being a parent. The same principles apply.

You do what’s best for everyone; you deal with any negativity that comes your way. Your “children” may hate you, but in the end, it’s worth it if they’re safe. In my case, it’s for the best if we’re all able to stay alive. I choose certain people to defend, others to hold down the homestead, so to speak, and set the roles. It’s not a job I enjoy, but it’s basic survival tactics that I believe will keep us alive.

I do what I have to.

And you know, there’s a spirit rising within us now. A defiant one that wants to stay alive. We all know the odds are slim, and yet the human spirit is screaming for us to fight the inevitable. At first, we were all scared and unsure of what was to come. Now, we know what our lives may be and how short they can be.

But at least we’ll go down fighting.



Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Week One

He could see the darkened sky, flashes of lightning striking far in the distance, followed by rumbles of thunder booming ominously. It was raining hard, as he stood in the doorway of the church. The pitter-pattering upon the church roof simply reminded him that nothing was ever for sure these days, not even a simple plan. Another one of the spring showers was hampering what he’d planned to have been a simple run of the base, to make sure others knew the layout. Howie, of course, knew, but he no longer trusted Howie’s leadership skills, like he had in the beginning. AJ knew, of course, but Kevin wanted to make sure he’d thought of everything.

Just in case. Those were the three words that had morphed into almost a prayer within the last nine days.

He’d already made one mistake, one that almost gotten them all killed. He had thought the creatures wouldn’t stumble upon them somehow. Yet a simple damn window, which was, in truth, a gigantic flaw in their shelter, had almost cost them their lives. And while there was no intelligence within the rotting minds of zombies, there was a sense of instinct, primal and primitive. That instinct would lead them to food, every time. Just like any other creature of the wild – this was what they were, in a sense, no matter how unnatural they were as well.

The rain blew in through the shattered, stained-glass window, now nothing more than a gigantic, gaping hole above the altar. Everyone was in the back rooms, except himself. Kevin stood in the doorway, debating whether or not he should still take Nick, Brian, Riley, and even Nick’s dog, Spunky, out on a familiarity run of the base in this weather. AJ was to stay behind and guard the church, as he already knew the setup of the base. He’d learned in better conditions than the small group that Kevin was still debating even taking out. It would be unpleasant, and the last thing any of them needed was the thought of getting sick. But on the flip side of the coin, it would also be good to go out in these conditions because, as last night had proved, they would not always be the ones setting the battle conditions.

“It’s raining.”

He felt himself smirk at his younger cousin as he stepped up beside Kevin. “No shit, Sherlock.” He paused, remembering how Brian used to feel about language. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Shit happens.”

Kevin raised a brow at him, confused as ever at the way Brian had been acting the past couple days. It made no sense to him; it was like the person he’d known had been twisted and warped into someone else entirely. It made him concerned. It made him wonder if Brian would be suicidal, if not for his religious beliefs. Beliefs he seemed to be keeping hidden for the moment.

The thoughts were too unsettling.

“What?” Brian finally asked, when he noticed the way it got the older man lost in thought.

Kevin turned to him, staring into the steely blue eyes that were haunted by death. “You’re asking me ‘what?’ I should be asking you that.”

“I don’t want to talk about it anyways, so go ahead and ask.”

“Brian-” Although Kevin had always had several inches of height on his younger cousin, suddenly the cold stare coming from Brian made him feel like he was six inches tall rather than six feet. It was a look that didn’t seem right, coming from the once always at peace man. Brian brushed past him, turning back only for a moment’s pause.

“Leave it alone, Kevin, and don’t say anything. I’m going to go get the weapons.”

“Weapons?”

“Yeah, we’re going out and around today, aren’t we?”

Question answered. “Yeah, we are.”

“It’s raining, Kevin.”

“Duh, Nick. You’re so observant…” Two bodies stepped up beside him. He knew simply from the voices who they belonged to. He turned to see the Riley and Nick behind him, staring outside with the same looks of interest.

“Hey, not everyone is like you and loves playing in the rain.”

“We’re still going out in it,” he informed them, and they went silent, watching the lightning blaze angrily across the sky.

All were was strapped with weapons and ammunition, ready to go. Of the three, the storm was making two of them hesitate. Kevin and Nick, to be specific. Riley looked happy, content even, at the idea of hunting in the rain. Brian looked like he wouldn’t care even if it was raining fire from the heavens, as he came back with weapons of his own. His determination to go out and kill the creatures was clearly set into his expression, his stance, his presence. Spunky’s excited barks brought them all back to attention.

“I know the weather isn’t pleasant, but we’re not always going to be able to pick our battles, and we need to make sure as many people as possible know the layout of the base.”

“Plan on dying anytime soon, Kevin?” Brian said, as he adjusted his weapon over his shoulder.

“You never know these days. So here’s how we’ll do it. We’re going to take Brian’s truck; Nick and Riley, I want you sitting out in the bed. You’ll be sniping and luring out any that may be around. We need to get this place cleared out as soon as we can. I want you to be as accustomed to the layout as possible; we can clear out some marks and get you more comfortable with the place.”

Riley grinned, as she watched the rain fall earnestly. “Sounds good to me.”

“Wait, hold up.”

Nick pouted, as he hurried back to grab one of the few jackets amongst them. Kevin had no idea who had brought it, but wished they’d brought more. It was just yet another thing to be added to the list of “Things I Should Have Thought Of,” at the top of which, highlighted in red, was the now-shattered, stained-glass church window. He nodded when Nick returned, tossing their only poncho to Riley, who gave him a look.

“And what are you gonna wear?”

“I’m fine.”

“Look, Nick, I-”

“No, really, just humor me and put it on.” Her eyes narrowed, but she put it on accordingly. Nick, he noticed, only had a t-shirt. She didn’t make any more sarcastic remarks, which Kevin had learned was a specialty of hers. She simply gave Nick a soft smile that surprised Kevin.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Soon, the three, as predicted, were soaked with the pouring rain. Riley and Nick hopped into the back of the truck, guns at the ready. They were soon accompanied by Nick’s most faithful companion, as the retriever settled beside her master. The two sat with their backs against each other, shooting glances between them, while Kevin and Brian got into the cab.

“We’re gonna get drenched.”

“Relax, Nick, no worries; you’re not going to melt. According to Kayleigh, I’m the witch, so it should be me who won’t survive getting wet.”

“Well then, see, you need the poncho.”

“Woof! Woof!”

Kevin chuckled to himself, as he watched the two laughing in his rearview mirror. It seemed at least some were going to be able to find something within the ruins of the earth that had become Hell. Brian refused to look at him directly. He shut the door to the truck roughly, and Kevin started the engine.

“I know why you did this.”

“So we can lure out zombies.” He shifted the truck into gear and began to drive. “And so I can show you where everything is.”

Brian rolled his eyes, as he put down his window and began to load one of his handguns. “Are you kidding me? I know you better than that.”

“Fine, we’ll just not talk, then.”

An uneasy silence settled between the two while Kevin drove. He continued to drive, as shots rang out in the air. His eyes shifted upwards to glimpse a horde of zombies that had gotten a whiff of the two blondes in back. Two by two, they fell, giving Kevin a small smile of confidence in the two he had chosen to bring with them. He looked at Brian, waiting for him to elaborate, the way he knew he wanted to. Finally, the former minister took a deep breath, readying himself to respond.

“You want to know why I didn’t tell Gretchen the truth. That’s why you decided to do this. Hunt zombies and weasel the truth out of me. Two birds, one stone. Look, we grew up together, only a couple houses from each other. Don’t think I don’t know how you work.”

“So just talk to me, man. Make things easier.”

“Nothing’s going to make things easier. Nothing. But fine, you want to know why I lied? Here, I’ll lay it out for you.”

Kevin kept the vehicle at a steady speed, slowed to make sure the zombies would be within range of Nick and Riley, who, with the occasional glance back at the bed of the truck, he assured were still doing alright. “Enlighten me.”

“Because there is no God, as far as I’m concerned. So I’m not a pastor, a man of God, or whatever. I’m not. Not anymore. So I told her the truth, from my point of view. And if there is a God, then he’s no savior of mine to take everything away and leave me trapped in this hell on earth. Think about it, Kevin: if there’s a Hell, what the hell is this that we’re dealing with now?”

This blatant confession almost shocked the older man enough to finally stop the truck. He stared at Brian, while keeping track of where they were going. He hardly recognized the man before him. They’d always been family, but they’d also been friends, despite their different paths in life. This was a version of Brian unlike anything he’d ever seen. If there had been one thing that was consistent about Brian, it had always been his resilient and steady beliefs in God.

For the first time in ages, Kevin Richardson was left completely speechless.

“That’s what I thought. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, you can show us the vitals around the base now, like you planned to do.”

“Fine.”

“Wait, you know what? Pull over. I want to switch with Riley or Nick.” Waiting till after Kevin stopped the truck, Brian hopped out quickly. He ran around to the bed, and Kevin could see him chatting with Riley and Nick.

The young woman shook her head, as she reloaded her gun. Nick, however, looked almost ecstatic. He saw Spunky trot over to the other side of the back, barking menacingly at any undead she sensed. Within mere moments, Nick leaped out, as Brian climbed in. Nick headed to the passenger door, quickly scrambling in. After giving a smile, Nick shook his head a bit to dry out his shaggy, golden hair. The action reminded Kevin of Spunky and made him notice that the loyal canine reflected Nick’s personality quite accurately.

“Hey, glad to finally be out of that rain. Man, I don’t get why she loves getting drenched so much.” He grinned, as Kevin started up the car once more, before the trailing horde of zombies caught up. Nick looked content, despite his constant glances to the back to, assumedly, check on Riley. He shivered a bit, rolled up the window, and glanced at Kevin.

“So where are we heading?”

“We need some more clothing. We don’t have enough for everyone, at least not without being able to wash it. We’re going to hit up the military clothing store. Then, on the way back, I’m going to make sure you guys take note of the important spots.”

“Alright. Hey, are you okay?” Nick asked. His tone was sincere, and the look on his boyish face was one of concern, as he wrapped his arms around himself, shivering.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just…”

“Family drama.”

“Maybe, and maybe I should’ve waited on this. You’re freezing.”

Nick shook his head, waving the thought off. “I’m fine. There was only one poncho, and so…”

“It was good of you to do.”

Nick simply shrugged. Kevin made a turn, one that would take them longer to get to the destination he had in mind, but one that was needed.

“See the houses we’re passing? That’s part of the goal. If we can clear this place enough…”

“We can break up into smaller groups, and the groups each share a house?”

“Yes. I can see if I can fix the generators so that they only wire to those three houses in the neighborhood. I don’t want anyone living alone, just in case. But the church isn’t going to last forever.”

Nick nodded. “No, it’s not. Last night…” He ran his hand along his arm, crisscrossed by so many cuts that would turn into scars and forever remind him of the night before. “It freaked me out, man.

“You’re not alone in that, Nick,” Kevin said, reaching over to place a hand on his shoulder. He felt bad, responsible for everyone who’d come to the base. He wondered if everyone felt they had to be strong because of the bravado he, himself, was putting up. Kevin was just as terrified of the horrors as the rest of them, but lacked the luxury of showing it. Someone had to lead; someone had to hold up a strengthened front. It wasn’t easy, but it was something Kevin had long ago learned how to do. So he did.

“I know, but I don’t want to freak out any of the girls by saying it. So don’t say anything for me. It’s just, I don’t know, I felt like nothing could touch us in there.”

“I know. I think we all did.” He opened his mouth to say more, but shut it once more, as they finally pulled to a stop once again. Two major buildings would be seen within their view. One was considerably bigger than the other, although quite plain in its appearance. The one beside it looked more like a warehouse, and that was where Kevin was pointing after the two men got out of the truck. Behind them, Brian and Riley fired a few more shots, and the remaining, straggling zombies were taken down. The rain continued to fall, as Riley jumped down to the ground and threw the hood of her poncho back.

“Now this is the way to spend a day, Kevin.” She did a slight spin. She seemed to be relishing the weather. Brian soon followed, as Nick went to let Spunky out as well. She barked happily, and Kevin knew that the dog would be their first warning sign. He wasn’t sure how, but she seemed able to sense the zombies sooner than they could.

“So this is the military clothing store. It’s not much, but the mall…” He pointed to the other building. “… has too many opportunities for the undead to be in there, for what we need. We need to grab some clothes for everyone…”

Nick chuckled. “’Cause, otherwise, we’ll be starting to get ripe soon. Right?”

Brian stood there, avoiding Kevin’s gaze. Kevin sighed. He felt like he didn’t know him at all anymore. In truth, he didn’t even know where to start in helping Brian. He only knew his cousin was scarred beyond anyone by whatever he’d seen since April 15, 2012, but he didn’t even know what exactly that was yet. Only that it was what had caused the most devout man he’d known to lose faith. He shivered despite himself, unnoticed by the others. In a time when he clung to his beliefs in a higher being, Brian had tossed them aside.

The fact scared him.

He forced himself to tune back in to the conversation being held by the other three. Well, more so Riley and Nick, while Brian kept an eye out for any visitors. “Well, we are in nature’s shower right now, Nick – strip down, run around, and you won’t smell ripe anymore.”

“You saying I smell?”

“No, you did. But since you did, yeah, you totally do.”

“You love my smell.”

“Who says I love your smell, Nick? You’re starting to get delusional. Not even the rain can knock some sense into you.”

“You love it. Love it-love it-love it!”

“As soon as I find some soap, I’ll do us all a favor and superglue it to your hand,” she teased, as she slapped her hand into his playfully.

“What, you want me to wash you, Riley? I ain’t that kind of freak now…” He was clearly teasing, yet still caused her to blush amidst her laughter and pull away.

“Keep dreaming, Hollywood,” she retorted with a cheeky grin.

Even Kevin chuckled at the banter. “Come on, let’s go inside and get some clothes together. I don’t think we should run into anything. In the last day, no one was worried about the stores. They were in the hospital wing, or… resting at home...”

“Reanimating in their beds,” Brian muttered with sour disgust, leading the way inside. Kevin glanced up at the overcast sky above, gave a silent prayer for his lost cousin, and walked in just behind him.

***