23
It was almost a full 24 hours before Alan came
around. He felt groggy, and it too him a few minutes to identify the dim room
he was in as his room in Refuge. Kendra was quick to greet him, overjoyed that
he had finally woken up.
“You’re awake!” She said with complete and utter
happiness.
He smiled weakly. “Did it work? Are we safe?”
Kendra nodded. “Malcolm is dead, and the horde is
dispersed. You saved us all, baby.”
Kendra immediately kissed him before he could
respond. “I was so afraid you’d never wake up.” She confessed.
“It’s ok now. I’m awake. I’ll always come back to
you.” He reassured her.
“What happens now?” She asked.
“Honestly, I have no idea.” He confessed. “We took
down Malcolm, but the Dead Ones are still out there. They can still spread the
virus. The country may never recover.”
“I guess we’ll just have to figure it out on our
own.” She replied, trying to ease his mind.
Suddenly, a knock at the door drew their attention.
“Anyone awake in there?”
Luke opened the unlocked door and stepped inside.
“Hey, look who’s up.” He said jovially.
Alan smiled at the sentiment, and Kendra spoke up.
“Thanks for handling everything in Refuge.”
“No thanks necessary, Kendra.” Luke told her. “I’ve
pretty much been put in charge of running Refuge. A replacement was needed for
Robert Vaughan, and the people seem to think I would do a good job.”
“They aren’t wrong.” Alan finally spoke up. “You’d
make one hell of a leader.”
“Let’s hope so.” He replied. “So what about you
guys? What will you do?”
“We aren’t sure.” Kendra said, distraught. “We don’t
have a clue what to do.”
“Well you are always welcome here, my friends.” Luke
assured them. “You will always have a home in Refuge.”
“That is very generous of you.” Kendra noted.
“We’re
all just people trying to survive. Gotta help each other somehow.” Luke mused.
“I suppose we will figure out something to do.”
Kendra said.
Luke nodded. “Then I will leave you two alone. If
you need anything, do not hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you… for everything.” Alan said as Luke
exited the room.
The door had shut, and Alan and Kendra were alone
again. They wrapped their arms around each other, feeling each other’s warmth
and finally experiencing the rest that neither of them truly had since their
battle against Malcolm began.
“Do you think we should stay here?” Kendra broke the
silence.
“I don’t know. The country is still dying. The Dead
Ones still exist. We won’t contribute much by staying here.” Alan thought aloud.
“That’s true.” She began. “But what can 2 people do
against a country full of zombies?
“How about we sleep on it?” He suggested.
“Sounds good to me.”
They slept all-night and late into the next morning.
They awoke to each other’s smiles and took comfort in the fact that today,
unlike the past week; they didn’t have to worry about Malcolm. Compared to what
they’d been though with him, killing zombies the way they used to seemed like a
walk in the park.
“Any new ideas on what we should do?” Kendra said,
still half asleep.
“Nothing solid.” Alan admitted. “I do have
something, but it’s a long shot.”
“What is it?”
“We’re the only country who was hit by the
bio-weapon. The other countries are still out there, functioning normally.” He
explained.
“Ok, so where exactly are you going with this?”
Kendra asked, not sure of Alan’s train of thought.
“If we can get word some of America’s allies, maybe
England, then we could get refugees out of the country and into temporary
dwellings in Europe.” Alan elaborated.
“What about America?” Kendra asked, concerned. “Do
we leave it to the Dead Ones?”
“No, of course not!” Alan exclaimed. “We could form
something of an army to exterminate the Dead Ones. Send them in once the
refugees are out and let them clean up the country.”
“That’s… kinda brilliant!” Kendra applauded him.
“We should talk to Luke. Maybe he can help us.”
Alan and Kendra went upstairs to the 15
th
floor to visit Luke. He was settling into his new position as the leader of
Refuge, and seemed to be enjoying it. He looked like a natural leader. Alan
pondered how glad he was to have met him.
“Luke! Ya got a second?” Alan asked, entering the
room.
“For you, Alan, always.” His deep voice sounded out.
“What can I do for you?”
“I had an idea, and I was wondering if you could
help me with it.” Alan told him.
“I’ll definitely try to help.” Luke promised him.
“What are you thinking?”
Alan explained his plan to Luke, and together, they
hammered out a plan in the matter of a few hours. They were confident that they
had a shot. Everything would ultimately be in the hands of America’s allies. If
they refused to send aid, then the dead would forever plague America as long as
the Earth existed.
“Alan, you should be running this place!” Luke
exclaimed, impressed by Alan’s ideas.
“No, I’m no leader. I’m just a man who wants to get
back to the days before the dead started to walk.” Alan replied, shying away
from leadership.
“I’ll see to it that we get a message out. I think
if we can get England and France to help, others would surely follow.” Luke
said.
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
EPILOGUE
Luke was right, as it turned out. Once he got the
message out, the United Nations held a special session with the sole purpose of
dealing with the zombie situation in America. England and France agreed to
accept refugees, as did Germany, and the Nordic countries. The extermination
force that was proposed had been agreed upon. The U.K., France, Germany, and
even China and Japan agreed to send volunteer combatants to wipe out the Dead
Ones. The plan worked better than they imagined.
Word spread through the country, telling all pockets
of survivors to head to a major city to be evacuated. Survivors made their way
to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle, and even Louisville.
England and the others sent transports to evacuate the survivors and escort
them safely to Europe. Some groups reported more casualties due to the Dead Ones,
but most made it out without harm. Evacuation took weeks, and it would be at
least a month before the extermination force would be sent in to destroy the
Dead Ones forever.
Alan and Kendra stood on the roof of the tower
called Refuge on the day of their evacuation. They were one of the last to be
picked up, due to their currently functioning society. They waited for the
helicopter that would take them to the transports, hand in hand, relieved that
they had survived.
“Are you ready?” Kendra asked Alan as they looked
over the empty city below.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He replied. “It’s hard
to leave, but we certainly can’t stay.
“I dunno.” Kendra began. “A fair amount of people
have volunteered to accompany the extermination force when it arrives.”
“Typical America.” Alan scoffed.
“I take it you don’t want to do that?” Kendra
guessed.
“We killed their leader, we have done our part.”
Alan affirmed.
“My thoughts exactly.” Kendra replied with a smile.
“Now we can spend our lives together, without the threat of the undead.”
“Sounds wonderful.” Alan said, kissing her lovingly.
When the kiss broke, Kendra came to a realization.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“We never did share our last names.” Kendra
remembered.
A look of intrigue came over Alan’s face. “We
didn’t, did we?”
“No time like the present I suppose.” She responded.
“Well… I have a better idea.” Alan said
“Wanna share it?”
“Well, I know you haven’t had the best life, and I
have no real sentiment for reminders of my old life. We should just start over.
Lets come up with a last name of our own; one that we can share.” Alan
elaborated.
Kendra smiled. “Alan, are you proposing that we get
married when we make a new last name?”
“One day, love.” Alan smiled. “Until then, it can be
our secret. A secret last name that only we know.”
“Very cute.” Kendra remarked. “Let’s do it!”
“So what should it be?” He asked.
“I dunno… how about ‘Taylor’?”
“Alan and Kendra Taylor… I like the sound of that.”
He replayed the name in his mind. “Let’s do that. Alan Taylor and Kendra Taylor.”
“And it’s our secret for now.” Kendra said with a
giant smile.
They embraced, rocking back and forth as they waited
for their transport. “Any idea where we’re headed?” Kendra asked.
“Somewhere in the U.K. probably.” Alan replied.
“Looks like we’re about to find out.”
The chopper descended carefully onto the roof of the
tower known as Refuge, and they climbed aboard, along with a few other citizens
of their community. The chopper would take them to a plane, and the plane would
take them to Europe. The plane would take them to a new hope. For the first
time in a long time, they felt peace; they felt relief. They felt free.
THE END