“Yep,” he said and smiled. “That was us. We blocked that so people wouldn’t come here.”
“Maybe you should have blocked the overpass then.”
He chuckled. “Maybe, but we need that to get supplies and we can see if someone is coming over that. Trent.” He held out his hand.
“Calvin.” I shook it. I looked beyond him to his set up. There was something off about it. Some sort of animal, maybe a pig, was roasting and not far from it was a long table where three women went through backpacks and stacked canned goods and other items
He snapped his finger in front of me. “You with me?”
“I was just looking at your camp. Sorry.”
“Beautiful horse.” His eyes shifted to our cart.
“Yeah, he is.”
“You fixin’ to set up house somewhere permanently around here? By looks of all the stuff.”
“No, we’re headed to Sixteen.”
“You’re close. It’s gonna be dark soon, I see you have kids and a woman. You sure you don’t want to stop here? We’re safe.”
“We have a baby and he makes far too much noise. For the safety of others, I keep him away. But thank you, though.”
“Are you sure? We do have a barter fee, it isn’t too steep. You can have a safe place to sleep, some of our meat in exchange for goods.”
For some reason, I looked at Hannah as if for approval. She shook her head then I told Trent, “No, thank you, we’re going to get going.”
“Good luck to you,” he said.
“Yeah, you as well.” I tugged on Mary’s reins and started walking. Trent stood there watching us.
“Why didn’t you want to stay?” Diana asked. “I would have given up my stuff.”
“It didn’t feel right,” I said.
“Really, Calvin, we should have stopped.”
“If you want to so bad…” Hannah yelled. “Go on. Catch us in the morning.”
I wanted to scold Hannah, but I didn’t. Diana was probably immune already to Hannah’s flying insults.
A little down the road from Trent’s camp, the highway came into view again. Sure enough, there was Leah walking in the same direction as us, all by herself down the center of the highway.
The underpass provided a great shelter and plenty of room. I lit a small fire for warmth, and placed a heavy rock over the rope to the horse. It was the best I could do, there was nothing to tie him to.
Hannah played with Edward, had a little to eat, fed him in the cart, then asked if she could sleep there instead of the road. I didn’t think that would be a bad idea.
I said goodnight to them both, grabbed one of my warm beers and walked to the road. I used the excuse that I wanted to take a piss, but I was really looking for Leah.
I didn’t see her, yet I did sense she wasn’t far.
“All better?” Diana asked when I returned.
“Yes.” I took another swing of my beer and stepped by the cart. I could see Edward’s dark hair peeking out from the carrier. His little fingers grasped a lock of Hannah’s hair. I smiled and untangled Hannah’s hair, lifted the carrier and placed it in the basket. I knew he was fine with Hannah, but I wanted him near me. I carried the basket and put it up the level part of the hillside just where the underpass met the ground. I figured that would block sound should he start to cry.
“Did you always want to be a father?” Diana asked.
I sat down across the fire from Diana. “Not really. When he was born, I knew I had no other purpose. There was something very special about him. Plus, I had lost his mother.”
Diana tilted her head. “Not really.”
“Okay maybe not.”
“You think she’s gone now?”
“No. I don’t feel it.” I finished my beer. “How about you? Did you always want to be a mother?”
“Yes. I love being a mother.”
“You didn’t use past tense,” I said.
“Because I believe they’re alive. They’re safe out there. I know it. I feel it.”
“I hope you find them.”
“Thank you.”
She must have noticed my yawn. “Why don’t I take first watch? You’re tired and Edward will start making a fuss soon enough.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Get some sleep.”
“Thank you. Wake me if you need anything.” I walked back to the cart, grabbed a sleeping bag and carried it up to lie down next to Edward. It didn’t take long to fall asleep. That beer probably helped.
I dreamt too. A weird dream. I was at an amusement park set up at the Value Store parking lot. Hannah laughed and giggled then she got on the ride that swung her around. Each time I watched her pass she would call my name with her arms in the air.
I kept looking at her and the strong man, raising that hammer and landed it on the surface trying to ring the bell, but he kept missing and the hammer made a ‘crack’ sound.
“Calvin,” Hannah called.
She whizzed by me.
Crack.
“Calvin, help me.”
When the swinging ride circled again, she was hanging on.
Crack.
“Calvin!”
Hannah screamed.
That was when I realized, she really was calling my name, and the crack of the strong man was a gunshot.
Just as I sprang awake, I heard another scream. That one was pain and it was not coming from Hannah.
Panicking, I slid down the hill as the cart moved from the underpass.
Diana cried out, her screams curdled as she hung on to the cart with Leah locked to her arm.
I ran after them, a man was driving the cart, pushing the horse to move. He picked up speed and Diana dropped off. Hannah screamed my name, reaching out.
The man driving reached back and hit her, knocking her down into the cart.
My heart raced, Leah had lunged onto Diana. Diana also reached out.
“Help,” she said. It didn’t look as if she were looking at me.
Leah released her and stepped away. I hurried to Diana.
“I’m sorry she did this,” I said. “I have to get Hannah.”
She coughed and choked, blood poured from her arm and chest. She lifted her head and once again looked beyond me.
“Kill him.” She coughed out the words.
“What?”
I turned and before I could do anything, I saw a figure and something struck down at me.
Everything went black.
I regained consciousness for a moment, only to realize I was moving in some sort of vehicle. I made the mistake of calling out Hannah’s name and it was lights out again, until I felt my back hit on the cold hard ground.
I opened my eyes.
I didn’t need to see very well to know what was happening and where I was. I was the proverbial feed for the watchdogs. I was on that highway, on my back surrounded by Vee.
22
FEAST
My first thought was, This is how it ends.
Right there, on the dark highway alone, I would be torn to shreds.
This was how it would end.
I never worried about the Vee as much as I should have, mainly because I never thought they’d get me. Vee moved slow, I moved faster.
Yet… this was how it would end.
My eyes adjusted pretty quickly. The sky was clear, the moon was bright, and I would see it all unfold. Ripped to shreds, eaten while I would still comprehend what was happening. I wasn’t terrified for myself. I was terrified for Hannah. What would they do to her? And Edward, did they take him? Kill him?
I didn’t even know.
I was useless and helpless. My body was still healing from the previous attack, I wasn’t even sure I could move. A lightning speed of thoughts went through my mind. A part of me was glad that it was over, yet, I knew if my child had been spared and Hannah not killed, they would face a horrendous world. One where the Vee weren’t the enemy, they were the obstacle. Man took the opportunity to be the vilest of creatures. Even if mankind survived and outlived the Vee, humanity was dead.