Trevor sat in the office of the Hope police station. In front of him sat Jake Rawlings. He was tied up and waiting his sentencing. Outside, the survivors had gathered again in the park awaiting both Trevor and Jake. They had fought off the dead and now were left with the surviving bikers to deal with. Trevor had made up his mind and the rest of the biker’s awaited the same sentencing that Jake did. It was a new world, with new rules. There was no jury, no jail, just swift Old West justice to be served.
Jake sat back in the chair. “You going to remove these bonds.”
“I don’t think so, Jake,” said Trevor. ‘See you’re going to pay for what you did here. How many did you rape, Jake?”
“Shit man, I lost count. Got to enjoy yourself in this world, never know when they will get you, too.”
“You have no fucking idea, do you?” said Trevor.
“About what? Hell, I grew up here. I figured I’d get some payback before it all goes to shit. Look around you, bro, it’s sure gone to shit ain’t it? You might as well have some fun before it all come down on ya. Looks like that time is now for me. Am I right, or what?”
“Oh you would be right. You would be right indeed.”
“See I told you, so I don’t give a shit what you do with me. Shoot me, hang me. I don’t fucking care anymore. We’re all as good as dead. I might as well die now.”
Trevor stood up and walked over to Jake. “I’m not like you. This was a chance to make something of yourself, to really help those in need, but you fucked it up. You picked the wrong path. It just so happens you crossed me along the way.”
“Yeah friend, we did cross paths. If I had my way, you would be dead. Dammit, life’s a bitch sometimes ain’t it?”
“I’m not your friend. No one here is your friend. You picked the wrong path in this new world, and now you and your boys are gonna pay.”
“Yeah, we are at that. Geez you’re a real piece of work. Soon you’ll be a little dictator with these people. Ah fuck man, you’re just like me. You want that power, don’t you? That control over them, you crave it. Look round you. Now you can have that power.”
“I want what’s best for them, to give them a chance to survive!” said Trevor.
“Well, man, now’s your chance. What are you gonna do when they die on you? Heck of a responsibility aint it? I don’t give a shit if they do, the young the old, who gives a fuck. I live just for me. It’s about time you do, too. This new world will eat you alive. Not those dead, your own soul. The dead are the least your worries now.”
Trevor grabbed Jake by the hair. “Get the fuck up, time to meet your buddies for one last time.”
***
The town gathered in the park along with the bikers that would receive the final sentencing. The group had all come to a consensus about the punishment the bikers would receive. It was a way to cleanse the town of what had happened the past few days. Erica had been working hard to help the women that had been traumatized by Jake and his band of thugs, but it was going to take time. They all gathered around as Trevor began to speak.
“We have all been through a lot here, and I can’t say things are going to get much better anytime soon. Out there, we face a grave threat to our very existence. The only way to make it through and rebuild some sort of life is to work for a common good.” Trevor pointed to the bikers that were sitting on their knees, their hands tied behind their backs. There’s no place in this new world for the likes of these men. This is justice for you. I ask you, do you want this justice?”
“Yeah,” came the overwhelming response. “We want justice!”
“What happened here, will not happen again. Together we will prevail. This town belongs to you, not them. No one will take it from us. Out there, we will face the roamers, and men like this will not take what is ours!”
“Turn accused, and face your judge.”
The constable stood there, still tied to the tree. His face was a ruined mess now, stained with blood. One side of his cheek was torn off where one of his victims had grabbed a hold of him. He hissed and shook his bonds, but it was no use. One of the bikers began to weep as he took in the grisly form of the man that used to be Constable Andrew Nielsen.
Trevor pulled Jake to his feet. “Well, Jake, it was you that wanted to be here. Just like old times, eh?” He gave the biker a quick sharp shove.
“Welcome home.”
They stood in the field as the late spring rain fell down upon them. They buried all their dead here to give them a final resting place that so many people hadn’t received in the chaos of societal breakdown. They had a special ceremony earlier in the day. They put an RCMP uniform on the remains of Andrew Neilson and had a burial for him. Galen, Billy, and Trevor gave him a three-gun salute to say a final goodbye to the fallen cop. They made a cross for Steven to remember his sacrifice.
Trevor shoveled the last of the dirt onto his wife’s grave and wiped the sweat that beaded on his temples. The others had offered to help him, but he had refused. He owed her this much, to give her a final resting place. Tears formed in his eyes as he looked down at her grave. He placed the cross there and stepped back. Erica came up beside him and put her arm around his waist. Both of them stood there silently watching over her.
“She’s in a better place now,” said Erica. “I’m so sorry. I did what I had to do.”
“I know you did. I’m thankful. I just couldn’t do it. Maybe I’ not strong enough for this. The people here need someone else. It’s so much of a burden, I’m not a leader. Hell, I’m not even that good of a roofer, for fuck sake.”
“We’ll get through it, you know we will. We can start here, rebuild.”
“Rebuild what? My son was right. He told me it’s all gone, and it is.”
“What we knew was gone Trevor. We still have each other. We still have our humanity and the will to live.”
“We have that. For now,” said Trevor. “It will just be a matter of time before another one of us dies. We take that one wrong step. What if the dead attack again, you know they will. Do we have to keep running all the time?”
“We’ll fortify the town more. It will work, it has to work.”
“I love your optimism, Erica, but I’m not so sure. God, I wish we could go back. I would’ve done things better. Maybe I could been a better father. Maybe I could have loved her more. Mayb—”
“There are no maybes anymore, only today. Only right now. We live in this moment and take each one as the gift it’s given to us. We used to take life for granted all the time, didn’t we? Think of how much of it we all just pissed away without a care in the world.”
“You have a point there.”
“Now we have something to care about. We have our own survival to give us something to do each day. Dammit, it will be a struggle and it’s not going to be easy, but we can do it. I believe in humanity, Trevor. You have to go on, for her sake.”
Samantha came over carrying a bunch of wild flowers. “I’m putting these on the graves. My mom loved wildflowers. Dad would pick them for her when he went fishing and bring them home. It made her smile.”
Erica held back her tears swelling up inside of her. “Thanks, Sam, that’s very thoughtful.”
Oh, Chris, I miss you
.
“Others are almost ready, lad,” said Ian as he came up behind Trevor.
“Alright, we’ll be there soon.”
Trevor adjusted the flower Samantha had placed on Lauren’s grave. “You two go, I’ll be there soon. Galen will wait.”
“Okay,” replied Erica.
Trevor stood over his wife’s grave. He raised his head and looked up at the sky as the light rain hit his face, bathing it in a cool spray. He looked down at her. “I don’t know what to say, only that I love you. I tried Lauren, but I failed. I lost you. I hope you can forgive me. I’ll look after Jason, although he’s getting pretty good at looking after himself. I worry about him, though. He loves you, too, dammit we all do.” Trevor tried to hold the tears back but they won. In the silence around him, his emotion came out.
“Goodbye, my wife.”
***
They stood together, young and old. The survivors of Hope had buried their dead and now they were going to say goodbye. The rain had stopped and the sun had begun to crack though the clouds. The warmth gave them all a little comfort in their hour of pain. A woman wept solemnly, her young son put his arm around her. Others held flowers and mementos they would place on the grave of their loved ones. Today, they would give their respects and lay to rest those that had fallen. At the front of the crowd stood Galen, he had volunteered to speak a few words. He cleared his throat and everyone bowed their heads.
“We gather her today in this field in the presence of almighty God. Whether you’re religious or not, it doesn’t make a difference. We are here to pay our respects to those that have left us. Although the days are dark and we face challenges ahead of us, together we will make it through. These people fought and died so that we may live. They gave up their lives for us, so we owe them this final respect. We lost a lot of people, but we will give them their final goodbye. We owe them that much. Together, we will survive and make it through these darkest of days. Let us pray. Almighty Lord, grant these souls their final resting place so that they may have peace, away from the horrors that walk this earth. Grant us the strength to prevail, grant us your guidance. In these things, we pray.”
Together, the survivors joined their hands. “Amen.”
In the past, mankind has gone through a lot of different ages. There was the Bronze Age, when man learned how to use tools. We had the Industrial Age, where we formed mighty empires. The Technology Age brought us things we could only image in science fiction. Now mankind entered a new age. It was an age of uncertainty, an age of fear. It was an age where survival meant more than anything.
This was the Age of Decay.