“Gameland is closed,” he whispered. “That is the law.”
“There is no law,” snarled Preacher Jack as he lunged forward. Benny turned away from the cut, his hand moving toward Tom. Tom began to pull his sword, but there was not enough strength left in him. He knew it. Preacher Jack knew it. Benny and Nix knew it. The sword came only partway out of the sheath, and Tom’s hand began to open as his strength failed.
Then Benny’s hand closed around the handle, just below Tom’s. It was a sloppy grip, awkwardly placed, but it had power in it, and Benny turned and the sword ripped itself free from the scabbard as Benny turned and Preacher Jack’s sword whistled through the air and Benny turned… and turned…
And the moment froze.
Preacher Jack stood there, tall and triumphant, his lips curled into his crooked smile.
Tom Imura knelt, head bowed, hands empty.
Benny stood between Tom and Preacher Jack, his right hand extended all the way out to one side, the sword- Tom’s
Preacher Jack spoke first.
He said, “No.”
Quietly. Wetly.
Then his sword dropped from his hand, and with infinite slowness he leaned backward and fell onto the grass. There was a line of black wetness stretched across his throat from side to side.
Nix looked up at Benny and saw that his arm was starting to tremble. Then his mouth. She got quickly to her feet and pulled him to her, pushing his arm down. The demon sword fell, and drops of blood flew from it.
Chong staggered to his feet and put a toe under Preacher Jack’s shoulder and rolled him over. He bent and slid a knife from the old man’s belt, placed the tip at the sweet spot, and shoved. Tears gleamed like molten silver on his cheeks, but his eyes were as hard as pebbles.
He turned to look at Benny, who gave a single distant nod of approval. Lilah staggered to her feet, and the four of them closed in around Tom. Tears rolled down their faces as they worked, pressing bandages in place, propping Tom’s head in Benny’s lap. From the forest the bounty hunters came running. Solomon Jones and Sally were first. J-Dog and the others followed. They lit torches and sorted through their medical kits.
“Oh God,” cried Sally as she studied the wound in Tom’s chest. “Get me a needle and thread!”
Tom smiled and shook his head. A small movement. “No,” he said. “No…”
Nix looked around at the bounty hunters, panic and fury in her face. “We have to do something!”
Sally Two-Knives pulled Nix to her, and despite the pain it must have caused her, she held Nix to her bosom.
Solomon knelt and touched Tom’s arm. “We’ll take care of them, Tom,” he promised. “We’ll get them all back home-”
“No, Solomon,” Tom whispered. “No… that’s up to… them. It’s their lives… their choice.”
Solomon nodded and sat down, his eyes filled with sadness and tears.
“Benny,” Tom said, so softly that only his brother heard him. Benny bent close.
“I’m here, Tom.”
“Benny… I… I want you to give me your word.”
“Anything, Tom… just please… tell me what to do.”
Tom’s other hand lifted a couple of inches, and he pointed to the east, where the false dawn was teasing the edges of morning. “Keep going,” he whispered. “Keep going until you find what you’re looking for. You and Nix. Lilah, too.”
“I will,” Benny promised him. “I’ll find somewhere we can be safe.”
“No,” said Tom firmly. “No… find somewhere you can be free. Alive… and free.”
Nix began to cry. She picked up Tom’s hand and held it to her cheek.
“Be strong,” Tom whispered. “I… wish that I could go with you. To see you grow up. To see who you’ll become.” He smiled. “But I guess I have… and I’m so proud of you. Of all of you.”
Benny caved in over his hurt until his forehead rested on Tom’s. Benny’s tears fell like rain.
Tom raised a finger and wiped away one tear. “Funny… all I wanted to do… was get out of… that damn town.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, and his breath was very shallow. Lilah and Chong huddled close to Nix. They were all crying, broken sobs that drove jagged cracks in their chests. Lilah took Tom’s other hand and held it to her chest as if the beating of her heart could encourage his to keep going. Tom opened his eyes again, and it seemed as if he was looking at something far away, over the horizon, far beyond what any of them could see.
“Benny…”
“Yes,” said Benny, his voice nearly shattering on that single word.
“I… I’m going to try not to come back.”
Then Tom Imura closed his eyes.
A terrible sob broke from Benny’s chest. Nix leaned toward him and held him, and Lilah and Chong crawled over too. They held one another as dawn tore open the morning.
EPILOGUE
– 1-
I’M GOING TO TRY NOT TO COME BACK.
That was what Tom said. The last thing he said. He would try. It wasn’t a promise, and Benny knew it. People couldn’t make those kinds of promises. Maybe in another age of the world, before the horror, before First Night, a dying brother might have said it differently. He might have said, “I’ll try and reach you. No matter how far I go, I’ll try and reach you. Just so you know it’s okay over there. On the other side.”
That was before. The plague had changed everything.
J-Dog and Dr. Skillz wasted no time. They made a stretcher out of spears and coats, and they, along with Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong, quickly carried Tom into the empty shed where Lilah had gotten the deflated sports equipment she’d used for fireballs during the fight. It stood apart from the hotel, the only building left intact after the blast. The other bounty hunters followed. No one spoke. They laid Tom down on the floor. Dr. Skillz set something on the floor beside the stretcher. When Benny saw what it was, he shook his head. The bounty hunter nodded and left without comment, but he left the object behind.
“I can stay in here,” offered Lilah. “And…”
Benny shook his head. “No,” he said. “No… this is mine to do.”
Lilah nodded, and even she looked grateful to be spared that horrible task. Chong wrapped his arm around her and they left the shed, both of them weeping quietly.
Nix was the last to leave.
“He said he was going to try and not come back,” said Benny.
“I know,” she said, her eyes still streaming with tears. “Benny…”
“Please, Nix… I need to be with him. Just Tom and me. Now… please, Nix, time’s running out. It’ll happen soon.”
Nix squeezed her eyes shut in pain, but she nodded. Benny kissed her on the forehead and held the door while she left. Benny sat on the floor and watched Tom. He could almost feel the others outside. Nix would do this for him, Benny knew that. So would Lilah. So would Chong. Chong would do anything for Benny. After everything that had happened, Chong would die for him. Benny knew that.
Should he hate Chong? Should he blame him?
He searched inside his heart for hatred, but it simply was not there. Chong had never wanted this. All he had wanted was to go home and to stop being a problem for everyone. Only that. Not this. Benny still loved Chong.
