As full dark fell, the men were extra vigilant. Max had said on several occasions that his father was coming for him. They couldn’t have that. Max could get hurt if he left the safety of those walls. They couldn’t let him go; they’d have to convince his father to stay. It would be sad for Max if his father was killed. That would however, allow them to keep him safe there forever.
“
Hey Dan, you see that kid Max? I heard he can kill zombies by looking at them.” One black fatigued sentry said.
“
Really?”
“
Yea. He’s some kind of super human. That’s why we have to keep him safe, so when he gets a little older and more powerful he can wipe these sons of bitches off the face of the planet.”
Dan walked away, finishing his time on the wall. When he got into the small shed he and his wife were sharing as a bedroom, he told his wife, “That kid that came in, Max?” Goddell says he’s some kind of savior, come to end this purgatory.
“
Do you think that’s possible?” she asked.
“
I think so, I got a feeling the minute I saw him. I gotta protect that kid, he’s something huge. That’s what my gut says.”
“
I hope so. I got the same feeling. I hope he’s here to end this,” She said sadly, standing up. ”I have to go do a shift; I’ll be back in three hours.”
Dan’s wife Julie went out to the wall, where she told the story to everyone she came across. Within three hours, Max had become the savior of the world and this group, ministered by Mrs. Goddell, was getting whipped into a religious fervor.
After all these horrible months, their waiting was finally drawing to a close. Max would save them, this babe; this little boy who had been so afraid was now their savior. He was someone to be worshiped. Reggie Nelson was a particularly weak minded man. He had always taken Mother Goddell’s suggestions to heart, more than the rest.
Reggie sat on a stool in the corner of the guard tower at the south corner and thought. Thinking wasn’t something that came naturally to him and this was a big decision. He felt the love for Max the moment he saw him. He felt that Max was the most important thing in the world. He knew that he wasn’t much of a fighter and he knew that this small group of people wouldn’t be able to save Max from a full scale zombie assault.
“
Hey DyShawn. Can you cover the rest of my post on the wall? I’m feeling kinda poorly. I need to go sleep,” Reggie said to his friend DyShawn.
At the same time that Tookes was launching himself at the gigantic super zombie in Mount Pony, Reggie slipped quietly over the wall and headed off in the darkness. He was going to be Max’s greatest prophet. He had to tell the people of the world that their savior was here. He had to spread the gospel of Max. Reggie was a survivor. He didn’t even take a gun with him, only his black fatigues and an apple that he’d had in his pocket since lunch time. He headed north towards the national forest.
At a farm about three miles north of town, Reggie found a four wheeler in a garage. It was full of gas and there was a five gallon can that was well sealed in the front of the garage. He strapped the gas can on the back and some provisions he found in the front of the house to the front rack. Within twenty minutes, he was headed north again, but now at a high rate of speed. He knew that the zombie population in that area would be really low and maybe he could find some survivors up there and let them know. The rapture was near; Max was here to save them from this hell on earth.
Dan was fast asleep when the bells started ringing. There was someone beating on the gate.
—
-
The four of us made it to the farm house in Reva about two hours after our interview with Frye’s men in the woods. We scouted the place by the light of the thin moon. They had an impossibly high wall. Marshall could probably throw John up there and Leo could easily teleport up there, but Marshall and I were stuck at the bottom. I also didn’t doubt that Marshall could lift the gate. But what would be on the inside?
We were walking along the tree line at the edge of the field, when we happened on two zombies, standing stock still. They looked frozen. Zombies didn’t breathe, but they invariably looked at us whenever we approached, but these two never took their eyes off the gate of the structure.
I walked up with my hatchet out and raised it over my head.
“
Victor Tookes,” one of them said, causing me to check my swing. ”Steve follow Max.”
“
Two zombies following my son is not likely to make me not kill you,” I said flatly.
“
We are Max’s followers, we obey Max.” The other spoke. “This human was called Jason, before it was turned.”
“
Max has zombie followers? Is he Ok? Has he been bitten?”
“
Max is inside. He was not bitten. We kept him safe. We carried him to humans who would help. The bad guys would have caught us; Steve and Jason are not fast enough. Max tried to get to you,” Jason said.
“
What do you know about the inside?” I asked.
“
Inside the gate is an open area. The house is to the back. There are other buildings, like storage sheds throughout the yard. We saw six humans with guns.”
“
What kind of guns?”
“
We don’t know about guns.”
“
Were they long and brown, like this?” I pointed to Marshall’s shotgun. ”Or were they black?” I pointed to John’s H&K machine gun. ”Or, were they pistols, like this?” I said holding up my favorite handgun, my Sig Saur p226.
“
They had long black guns like that one,” they said pointing to John’s, “and short ones like your pistol.”
“
Thank you Jason. Can you get inside?”
“
We cannot. Max told us to wait here.”
“
And you can’t go help him?”
“
We follow Max.”
“
Ok. I’m going to leave you two here. If you make a move towards us, we will end your existence,” I said.
“
We follow Max,” they said in unison.
“
They’re human. I think I’m going to go knock on the gate. I don’t want a fight if we don’t have to.”
Leo moved with me. ”I’m going to blink up to the wall. I don’t think they can see straight down out of those guard towers. I want to be close in case I have to get you out of there.”
John started stomping down the grass, building himself a nest to shoot from. ”Hey Marshall, I need a tree laid down right here.”“Use your backpack. I’m not ripping a tree out of the ground for you, ya damned aussie freak!” Marshall laughed.
Marshall and I walked up to the gate. When we were about 50 feet from the gate, a bell rang and a pair of spotlights lit us up, one from each tower on either side of the gate.
I reached back and holstered my sidearm and at the same time flicked the mic on my radio to ‘voice activated’.
“
Stop. Who are you?” Said a voice from the left side guard tower.
“
My name is Victor Tookes, I understand that my son Max may be inside.”
“
Max is safe here. We can’t let him leave. We don’t know you, but the Savior has to stay safe.” I heard the capital letter when he called Max the Savior. Something was seriously off kilter here.
“
Max is my son. He is safest with me. He needs me.” I called up to the guard. ”I would like for you to please open the gate so we can talk like civilized people.”
The shot hit the ground about three inches to the left of me. I heard a return shot from behind me and then saw the silhouetted figure fall to the ground. Marshall and I turned to run, but Leo grabbed us and we were back at the tree line before we could get two steps.
“
Well. That was sub-optimal. What the fuck? Max? the Savior?” I said.
“
I dunno little bro, but we have to get him out of there. Those people are crazy.”
“
Ok, new plan.” I said. ”Leo, take Marshall and I to the gate, then get to the top of the back guard tower, like on the roof of the tower, we’re going to need eyes.” ”Marshall and I are going in, Marshall, rip that fucking gate to shreds,” I continued. “John, when you see Marshall rip the gate off its hinges, you come running as fast as your little stubby Aussie legs can carry you.”
“
Fuck you mate. I’ll be right behind you.”
“
Ok, but I need you to take out that second gate guard and anyone inside the gate when Marshall opens it.”
“
I can do that at a dead run. I’ll be right behind you and there won’t be anyone left alive if they’re at all threatening.”
“
I really don’t want to kill these people.” I said.
“
I can wing em, scuff their arms, maybe notch a few ears.”
“
Let’s give that a try. But if you see any of them start to fire, take them out. I’m not really enthusiastic about getting shot again,” I said. “Are we all ready?”
“
Let’s go get the little boy,” said Leo.
“
Alright, give me a minute.”
I knelt down and put my hands on the earth. I felt the long blades of grass and the cool moist dirt. I felt centered and calm. I could smell the clean air and hear the men running along the top of the wall. I focused as much as I could. I still wasn’t as strong as I was, but I concentrated as hard as I could on my little boy’s baby blue aura. “
Max. Are you in there? Can you hear me? It’s Daddy. I need you to wake up buddy. I’m coming to get you and it’s going to be loud. They won’t let me in, but I’m going to huff and puff and blow their wooden wall down. I’m coming buddy and nothing will stop me.”
We watched the spotlights sweeping the field, looking for us. Leo put her hands on our shoulders and we disappeared in a black swirl.
Chapter 21
Reunion
Leo dropped us off at the front gate and Marshall immediately bent down to search for a grip. Leo poofed again, she was heading for the roof of the rear guard tower. We heard her whisper into her radio “8 at the gate, two rows, four men wide. It looks like they’re going to open the gate any time.”
Marshall whispered “Let’s do this thing then.”
I lay down on my belly, arms out in front of me, Sig ready. John whispered “Go”.
“
Open it about six inches.” I said.
The gate was made of tree trunks laid horizontally on top of each other. Marshall heaved the heavy wooden gate up like it was a garage door. I yelled “I’m coming in for Max. If you give me my son, we can all walk away from this unhurt.”
“
He’s not your son; he’s the Son of humanity. He’s our Son, all of us. We can keep him safe.” Shots rang out, shooting up clods of dirt beside me.
“
These people are crazy,” I said.
Marshall heaved the gate up and I started firing. John must have started firing the second Marshall opened it the rest of the way because five were down before the gate came up. He’d shot each of them through and through the outside of the thigh, rendering them out of the fight but not killing them.
I shot quickly and close. I wasn’t intending to hit anyone but since I didn’t have John’s control I waited for him to take them out of the fight. I was mostly firing to keep the heads of everyone inside the compound down while Marshall got the gate up high enough to stay.
Just as Marshall got the gate up a huge guy stepped out from the side of the gate. He was almost exactly the same size as Marshall.
“
Fuck, why do I have to have the power that everyone else gets,” yelled Marshall, charging at the second super sized opponent of the night. Marshall and the huge blonde man locked up together, before the blonde threw him into the wall. Marshall stood up and threw the guy over his head across the yard as I got distracted by a smallish woman coming for me.
She shot shadows in every direction, testing me. I did the same. Every decision she weighed I countered and she kept going, trying more and more ways. We were standing there staring at each other before it dawned on either of us that both of us could read the others thoughts. She pulled a gun and shot four times. I saw the shots coming and dove to my left as she was still drawing. She adjusted but not before a shot from John took the bullet out of the air and a follow up shot destroyed the gun in her hand. John was on his game tonight. From the top of the wall I heard a man yell “Dan! Shooter! 12 o’clock at the tree line.”