Humanity Gone: After the Plague (22 page)

             
I see her just as she goes over the hill with her bow in hand.

Chapter 35: Jonathon

              Getting up on my feet, I see three on the lawn and six in the house.  All have their guns pointed at me.  Big guns. I make a mental note as I look Saul head on.  I would be kidding myself if I thought that I could take them all out. I walk around to the other side of the car and set my revolver down on the asphalt.

             
“This doesn’t have to happen, Saul.  You’re not a monster. Over this past year, you’ve just been trying to protect your family.  That’s been your first goal: protect them.  And you were betrayed and you want payback.  I’m just trying to protect my family, Saul, and they did not betray you.  Give her back and we can just go our separate ways.” I try to plead with what little hope I have.  “If not, some of us, maybe all of us will die.  Right here, right now.”  He starts to walk toward me, slowly.  “Just give me my sister.” Maybe... just maybe.

             
Saul takes larger, more confident steps now.  He stops in front of me.  In his left hand is a pistol, still focused on the center of my chest.  I prepare to humiliate myself.

             
“Please Saul, I’m begging you, here.”  I drop my small revolver to the ground. “I am sorry for what happened in the Sanctuary.  Imagine if you had a sister.  Would you allow all that to happen to someone you love?”  He looks me up and down, eyebrows furled.  “Have some damned human decency,” I conclude.

I see a flicker of emotion in his eye, but it’s quickly covered with ice.  He leans forward, his mouth inches from my ear. His breath is awful, and his messy, greasy unwashed hair gives off a stench.

              “The only people I care about are me and my boys. Damn your sister.” he cackles. He is beyond a monster.  How could I be so dumb as to try and reason with him? Yet, somehow, he reminds me of...

             
Bang.

             
My leg feels like it explodes even before the sound has fully registered.

             
I drop to ground.  My left leg hangs limp off to the side as my right knee holds my body up.  The pain is unbearable and I let out a scream.  I quickly collect myself and grind my teeth.  My mind convinces me that my leg is on fire.  As I put pressure on the bleeding hole, the boys laugh and Saul grins like a snake, “I will keep this image in my mind tonight when I take her and I...” All of a sudden, he gasps.  I look up for him to finish the sentence, but my eyes lock on to the arrow sticking out from his chest.  A red-finned carbon arrow. 

             
No, Caitlyn.  They can kill me, but not you. 

             
Saul coughs a mist of blood and stumbles to the ground in front of me.   What could be called a scream exits his mouth. The boys behind him look puzzled as they search for her with their guns ready to kill.  They begin to yell at one another.  Another boy on the lawn drops as an arrow pierces his head.  The other one near him points and they all begin shooting at a target somewhere behind me.  I reach from my knees and pry Saul's pistol from his hand, which is loose as he focuses on the blood in his lungs.  I take aim with his gun and fire three shots.  The last boy on the front lawn drops.  I take aim at the house and continue to squeeze the trigger, pointing at two of Saul's boys inside a window.  Another boy falls and blood covers the wall behind him.  We may actually do this.  Another boy shooting stares at me; his gun is pointing wherever Caitlyn must be.  I take aim.  I pull the trigger.

             
Saul's gun clicks empty, and I swear to myself. He dodges an arrow from Caitlyn and then takes aim at me.  The barrel of his gun slowly swings over, lining up with me perfectly.  Two explosions engulf my chest, and then I hear the shots.  I try to scream in agony, but the muscles in my chest refuse to force the air out of my lungs.   All that escapes is an abbreviated yell, fueled by my back striking the side of the tire on the car behind me.  I force my eyes open and try to focus on something.  Anything.  I’m barely sitting up, but I have a clear view of him. He’s inside the house and reloading while glaring at me.  With the little bit of strength I have left, I reach for my revolver, collapsing away from the tire.  It is inches from my hand.  I pull together all of my energy, and moan desperately as I reach for the gun.

             
My fingertips reach the grip.

             
The boy starts to bring the gun to his shoulder. When my hand clutches the revolver, it is too late.  I hear the gun fire.

             
Behind him an arm comes around with a knife.  The blade pierces his chest and a flicker of blood follows the knife as it leaves his body.  The boy drops.

             
Carter stands behind him, panting and clutching the knife; red trickles down the left side of his face.  His eyes search the lawn and street.

             
“That's the last one.” he yells.  I had not even noticed that that boy was the last one shooting.  Carter looks out the shattered window, and he focuses on me.  Shock covers his face.  He leaps through the window.  Behind him I see Jo. 

             
She is safe.

             
Carter runs to me.  I'm not even sure how many times I have been shot.  The pool of blood continues to grow around me.  It's sticky and warm.  It shouldn’t be there. Carter leaps over Saul's lifeless body and kneels in the blood.  He tries to assess me as he leans me gently against the tire of a car.

             
“I'm sorry for... for what I said.”  The words seem to gurgle as they leave my lips.  I can no longer draw breath on command.  My chest convulses while attempting to inhale and seizes as it realizes that breathing is barely possible.

             
“Stop talking.  I can fix this.”  Carter yells.  I would laugh if I could.  With my little strength, I slap his hands away.  His face changes from determined to apologetic as he accepts defeat.

             
Jo finally catches up.  Tears already run from her eyes.  She has a few bruises, but she looks okay.  “Oh God, Jonathon,” she says wiping the blood off of my face.  “Carter, do something!”

             
“There's nothing I can do.” She knew that was true before she even said it.  Something squeezes my hand.  Caitlyn. She still has the bow in her hand.  I turn and Sara is a few steps behind her.  Both are crying.

             
“It'll be alright girls.  You all will be...” In the distance I hear an engine coming up the road.  The Sanctuary's nightly search team perhaps.  They are headed back to the base; maybe they heard the shots.  They have to come right through here.  My cheeks and nose tremble.

             
I manage to grab Carter's shoulder. “Get them out of here.”  I need just one more good breath.  “You have to get them out of here.  The car is just over the hill there.”

             
“You are coming, too.” Jo starts to get under my one shoulder to get me up.  I fight her attempt to pick me up.  The effort is excruciating.

             
I shake my head, swallowing.  “Leave me.  When they... when they find these bodies they are gonna start looking.  If they manage to find you it's... it's over.”  My hand shakes as I grab the revolver.

             
“We aren't leaving you.” Sara run up and grabs my hand.  She pulls it. “Get up.”

             
“Sara, you need to go.  Everything will be okay.”

             
“No it isn't; we need you. We love you.” Caitlyn holds Sara from behind, slowly pulling her away. Caitlyn understands.

             
Jo looks down to me, and I up at her.  She will not see me again, but I know she’ll be alright.  We hold that gaze, and for a moment, my chest relaxes. 

             
“Thank you,” she whispers and kisses my forward. “I love you, brother.” Carter gives me a nod and takes Jo by the hand.

             
“I will take care of them.”  He says.  I know he will.

             
Carter picks up Sara with his other arm and they head over the hill.  Sara's sobbing eyes stare at me over his shoulder, just like they had yesterday.  My vision is hazy but I think they stop for one last second to look at me.  Then, they are gone over the hill. There is a moment of near silence. I see the three dead boys spread over the lawn.   The one is so young and I don't feel bad.  What has this world turned me into?  Maybe this is how it needs to end, before I become a monster.

             
The roar of the truck gets closer and closer.   I bring the gun to my lap.  It figures that at the end this would be the last friend with me.  I hold it up to the road just as the truck comes around a corner.  I squeeze my finger.  As the shot echoes, the car stops.  I hear them yelling to one another.  I squeeze again.  They start to shoot back, but they don't see my broken body along the car.  I fire again and again.

             
Then my hand collapses onto the ground, now drenched in my blood, and the guns slides away.  I don't have anything left in me.  I cough, and I feel so tired.  I want all this pain to go away.  The boys are shouting to one another, firing shots randomly.  I hear them getting closer.

Finally, one of the boys finds me. He calls to the others and in a few hazy blinks, they surround me.  None of them fire a shot.  I guess I look pretty pathetic.

              The first boy stands in front of me with a pistol just like Saul's in his hand, dangling at his side.  He has short black hair and is no older than the twins.  My neck relaxes, turning my head toward him.  I want to say something, but I can't. Everything is blurry.

             
“I know you; you caused us some pretty serious headaches yesterday.”  He looks around and sees the bodies, including Saul's.  “You just keep causing us problems. Well no more.”  I feel the cold steel barrel against my forehead.  I can hear his finger begin to pull the trigger.

             
I think of Jo, and those two girls.

             
I didn’t let you down, father.  See you soon.

Chapter 36:  Jocelyn

              Carter pulls at my right hand.  I look back over my shoulder and see my brother for the last time.  My free hand wipes away the tears.  I follow Carter and the twins down over the embankment and into the SUV that is parked along the side of the road.   Everyone jumps in the car and Carter slams on the gas.  He heads north down the road.   I roll the window down to get a little air, only to hear a pop way behind us.  Then another.    Then a final one that I barely hear over the engine and Sara's cries in the backseat.

             
Caitlyn pulls her sister’s head into her lap and runs her fingers through her hair.  When I ran over the front lawn to Jon, I saw the bodies with the red arrows – the same red arrows still in Caitlyn’s quiver sitting beside her on the seat. The bow is on top of them.  She watches as my eyes go from the bow to her.

             
“Are you okay?” I whisper to her.

             
“I'm okay.  Why wouldn't I be? I'm not hurt.” She blinks at me and seems to look straight through me. I feel a chill.  Caitlyn has become a child of this new world; Sara, on the other hand, is struggling. 

             
We remain silent in the car for about another half hour before Carter breaks the silence.

             
“If we drive through the night, we should be able to be at the beacon by daybreak.”  I nod and return my gaze to the window.  In the back seat, both girls fall asleep. 

             
Carter reaches over and grabs my left hand.  I place my right hand on top of his.  I stare out the window at the passing houses.  I feel so tired but I don't think that I could actually fall asleep.  I slowly rub the top of his hand.  A few times I have to squeeze his hand to try and push the last image of my brother from my mind.  When we are safe I can let it all out.

             
We drive all night, and few words are shared between any of us.  There isn't much to say.  Carter doesn't have to say why he came back; I know why. 

             
After a few hours, Carter pulls over to refill the car with the gas cans in the trunk.  He pulls out the map to double check our heading.

             
“We should be there within the hour.”  He says to me.  The girls are asleep in the backseat, but I bet they would be excited, if they could manage excitement after today.  We continue our journey down the road.  There is not a cloud in the sky and I stare straight up through the moon roof at the stars.  At constellations. At heroes.

             
I wonder if Jon is up there now.  The thought makes me smile briefly. It takes a lot of concentrating, but I stop the tears from falling.