The sun followed overhead as they progressed, the relentless heat adding to the discomfort of the exertion. Sweat glistened on Isaiah’s face and he continually mopped his brow on his sleeve. The group stopped now and again to rest and have a drink or a snack before moving on.
Never having been outside Sanctuary before, Isaiah found himself transfixed by the scenery. Wherever he looked, were sweeping vistas. No wonder it was referred to as God’s country.
They descended as the sun set, and in the distance, partly hidden within a lush forest; Isaiah glimpsed a faint orange glow. “Over there.” He pointed towards the trees.
“What is it?” Roman asked.
“Camp fire,” one of the scavengers replied.
Isaiah and his companions hunkered near to the road, hiding within the tree line.
Fires blazed within the trees where The Horsemen of the Apocalypse had erected campfires. The orange glow appeared warm and inviting. A couple of guards were stationed around camp while the rest of the troupe slept beside the campfires or in makeshift tents.
Horses tethered to trees neighed softly. Beyond those, a line of prisoners were shackled together, metal chains clinking when they moved. Isaiah scanned the group; his pulse throbbing when he spotted his wife and children.
Roman gave hand signs to direct his men and they disappeared into the undergrowth. When they were in position, Roman signalled them and the enforcers opened fire with their crossbows. The faintest whistle of wind was heard as the bolts flew through the air, and a soft thud as they struck their targets. The guards slumped to the ground.
Isaiah crept along the tree line, careful to move as quietly as possible towards the shackled prisoners.
“Anna. Anna.”
Anna awoke, looking groggy. Ben also roused.
“Dad!”
Isaiah put a finger to his lips. “Shush. Keep quiet.”
“How did you find us?” Anna asked.
“We’ve been tracking you for days.”
“We?”
Before Isaiah responded, Roman appeared at his side and gave her a salacious grin.
“You didn’t think he’d make it all this way on his own, did you?”
Anna scowled.
“What’s going on?” Zeke asked, yawning. He spotted his dad and he grinned.
Some of the other prisoners stirred and Lucy woke from her slumber.
“I never thought I’d see you again,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
An old woman woke up. “Who are you?”
Ignoring the woman, Isaiah grabbed the chains that linked the prisoners. “Damn. Where are the keys?”
Anna pointed at a fallen guard. “I think he has them.”
Isaiah crawled over to the dead guard and rifled through his clothing before finding what he was after. He made his way back to the prisoners and carefully undid the restraints. Anna rubbed her wrists to relieve the pain. Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
“Now what do we do?” Anna asked.
Isaiah studied the prisoners, and stared around the camp. When he spied the horses, he nodded, then grinned.
A loud series of shouts rang out. Jones’ eyes shot open and he jumped up to see some of the horses galloping through the camp.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Jones snapped.
A soldier ran across. “Someone’s stealing the horses, sir”.
“Well don’t just stand there, stop ‘em.”
The soldier barked out orders and the men trained their weapons on the horse thieves, but they were too late.
Jones spat on the ground and looked around at his disarrayed army. “So what happened?”
“They took us by surprise.”
Jones shook his head. “How the hell did that happen?”
“I… I don’t know sir.”
Jones lit his cigar and puffed out smoke. “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s incompetence.” He snatched his gun out of its holster and put a bullet through the man’s head. “Now would someone like to tell me who attacked us?”
His troupe all stared sheepishly at the ground and started fidgeting.
“I’m waiting.”
“I think it was a rescue mission,” one of the female soldiers said. “Probably something to do with the family we picked up the other day. The ones we rescued from the zombies.”
Jones frowned. He raised his gun again and seemed about to shoot the woman. She cringed, but Jones lowered his gun and narrowed his eyes.
“Well recapture those loose horses, and everybody get ready to move out. Nobody makes a fool out of me. Nobody.”
CHAPTER 16
Isaiah looked across at his wife. He had so many questions, but didn’t know where to start. He sat against a tree trunk. The freed prisoners bustled around the camp. They had been given the opportunity to make their own way, and while some of them had accepted, others had stayed with the group.
Too dangerous to continue in the dark, they had set up camp for the night. While Lucy, Zeke, and Ben were free to roam around, Roman had shackled Anna.
“What’s going to happen to mum when we get back to Sanctuary?” Lucy asked.
Isaiah shook his head. “She’ll probably be punished.”
“Punished! She was trying to save me.”
“Save you? I know it was unconventional how this happened, but you were chosen to become immortal… are you questioning things now, too?”
Lucy stared at the ground and kicked her feet in the dirt. “I don’t know what to think anymore. I wonder if they are Gods.”
Isaiah shook his head. “I don’t want to listen to this. Your mother has obviously poisoned your mind.”
Lucy stared at her mother. “No, I think she’s opened my eyes.”
Isaiah walked across to Anna. She peered up as he approached then turned away.
“Why did you do this? Why did you have to run away? I understand you weren’t happy Lucy was selected, but why didn’t you come to me? Why didn’t you discuss things with me?”
Anna didn’t reply.
“Talk to me, Anna. I spoke to my mother before I came looking for you. She’s infected you with her crazy ideas hasn’t she?”
After a moment, Anna slowly lifted her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “You really don’t want to know why I did it.”
Isaiah crouched down and took hold of her hand. “Please, Anna, tell me.”
“The lottery was fixed. Lucy’s name wasn’t on that piece of paper.”
Isaiah frowned. “Fixed? What makes you think that?”
“Roman dropped the piece of paper. Lucy’s name wasn’t on it.”
“I don’t understand. Why would they fix the lottery?”
Anna swallowed. “Roman fixed the lottery to teach me a lesson. To punish me.”
“Punish you for what? You’re not making sense.”
Anna started sobbing. “Roman wanted to punish me because I refused to sleep with him anymore.”
“Sleep with him?”
“Oh, Isaiah, I’m so sorry. You were always so busy, and I was always alone. I didn’t… I don’t… I told him the affair was over, that I didn’t want to… but he wouldn’t listen. He fixed the lottery to punish me.”
Isaiah released his hold, letting Anna’s hand drop into her lap. “You mean you… and he… he…”
Anna nodded. “I’m so sorry, Isaiah. I meant to tell you… but I thought if I did, you’d confront him… and he would have had you arrested. Besides, there wasn’t time. I had to do something to stop him… to save Lucy.”
“Confront him? I’m going to fucking kill him.” Isaiah jumped to his feet and Anna grabbed his leg to stop him leaving. Before Isaiah prised her off, Zeke ran towards them.
“Have you seen Ben? I can’t find him. I’ve searched everywhere,” he said.
It took Isaiah a couple of seconds to realise what he was saying. “When did you last see him?”
Zeke shrugged. “I don’t know. A while ago.”
“You’re supposed to be watching out for him. How can you have lost him?”
“I’m not his keeper.”
Isaiah glared down at his wife. “This isn’t over. We’ll talk later.” He hurried away calling Ben’s name.
Isaiah traipsed through the bushes. “Ben. Ben, where are you?” He stopped once in a while, listened, then continued. The light of the moon was sufficient to see by, but he would have preferred daylight. “Ben, can you hear me? We need to get some rest as we’ll be moving out soon.”
He pushed through a bush and his fingers came away wet. Frowning, he lifted his hand and stared at his fingers, his jaw dropping when he spotted blood. It decorated the foliage in splashes. Isaiah’s heart sank and he shouted louder, cupping his mouth in his hands. He glimpsed movement up ahead and recognized his son from behind and his shoulders sagged with relief.
“Ben, thank the Gods. Where’ve you been?”
Ben turned around. Blood stained his clothes and a chunk of flesh was missing from his hand. Isaiah stumbled back.
Ben lurched for his father. Torn by the love for his son and his own safety, Isaiah turned and ran. He ploughed through bushes, ignoring the whip of the foliage that chastised him with every step until he stumbled into camp, almost running into his daughter.
“Dad, what’s wrong? Where’s Ben?”
“He’s… he’s gone.”
“Gone? Gone where?”
Before Isaiah replied, Roman strode across.
“What’s all the ruckus about?”
Isaiah stared at Roman and clenched his fists. He felt his blood pumping through his veins, throbbing at his temples. Overcome with rage, he ran at Roman but Lucy’s scream halted him in his tracks. He glanced back at his daughter and followed her gaze.
Ben lurched into camp, his expression feral, hungry. He lunged for his sister. Lucy shrieked and tripped over her feet as she backed away.
“What’s going on? Lucy? Isaiah?” Anna shouted.
The noise attracted the attention of the other people in camp and they ran across to see what was wrong, halting when they saw Ben.
One of the brethren crossed himself. “He’s not an ordained immortal. This can’t be right.”
Roman tutted. “Blasphemy.”
Isaiah ran back and pulled Lucy aside. Ben lunged for him, arms flailing, head cocked, mouth open in preparation to bite. He grabbed his father’s sleeve. Isaiah didn’t try to pull away. He stared into his son’s eyes, but they were empty, devoid of life and he knew that the son he loved was no more.
Ben leaned in to take a bite and Isaiah readied himself for the pain. Without his son, what was the point of living? But Ben’s head suddenly flew back and he collapsed to the ground. Isaiah dropped his gaze and spotted a crossbow bolt protruding from Ben’s forehead. Lucy screamed. Isaiah’s jaw dropped. He saw Roman lowering a crossbow, and heart pumping he charged across and started punching and kicking in a frenzied attack, nostrils flaring, relishing in the sensation as each punch connected with Roman’s face.
“You bastard. You killed him.”
After a moment a couple of men grabbed Isaiah and pulled him off, pinning his arms up his back to restrain him. Roman straightened up, his face bloodied. He wiped his sleeve across his lips.
“He was damned. Everyone bitten outside of those ordained is damned.”
“He was my son.”
“Now he’s at peace.”
Isaiah slumped forwards and the men released their grips, allowing him to drop to his knees. He heard Anna shouting in the background, but her words were drowned out by the blood pumping in his ears. He looked across at Ben but couldn’t see him through the tears that blurred his vision.