women’s screams every night and children crying for their mothers. In the bunkhouse where I shared sleeping space with the fathers and husbands, there would always be one or two crying rage and shame at their helplessness. More than once rebellion was contemplated, but it was tamped down because of the kids’ camp.
“I finally decided to leave on a night I knew the guards would be distracted. One of the scouting and foraging parties had come across a large group of people who had been travelling. There were a lot of women and children and the men were licking their chops at the new flesh. That night, I ducked the fence, smashed a guard across the teeth with a rock, and took off into the night.”
Simon shrugged. “I guess I survived because it was winter and the zombies were frozen. I moved as far as I could every day, and slept only a few hours at a time. I stuck to the country as much as I could, figuring the Major’s men would be too lazy to search off the roads. Chances are they never missed me or just didn’t care.”
I nodded, thinking about what I had heard. It was horrible, no doubt, but in all seriousness, none of my business. One thing nagged at me, though. “When I told you my name, you acted like you had heard of me. Why is that?”
Tommy chimed in. “Hell, you’re the biggest badass zombie killer in the country, everybody knows you!” He elbowed Duncan and they both chuckled, but silenced when I scowled at them.
Simon chuckled as well, but answered the question. “One of the men in the bunkhouse talked about you. Ever have a neighbor named Todd?”
My heart sank. So Todd survived a cross country trip, only to fall into the hands of a bigger monster than the zombies themselves. I forced myself to ask the next question. “He had a wife and two girls. One his own, the other one picked up after her parents had been killed.” That was a long time ago, but I still remembered the deaths at the drugstore clearly.
Simon shook his head. “He only had one daughter and she went to the major. His wife was used badly by the major’s men and died. He committed suicide when he attacked the guards. They shot him down without hesitation.”
I dropped my head. It was too bad, they were a good family. I said a silent prayer and remembered the other question I wanted to ask. “You said ‘Not yet’ when I said no one has laid a counter claim to this area. What did you mean?”
Simon looked sideways at me. “You don’t miss much, do you? Well before I left, I had overheard the guards talking about the major looking to relocate, finding someplace where he could set himself up as ruler of the country, since he figures he could do it with the men he has. From what I understood, he was looking to come east. Where specifically, I don’t know, but definitely closer to the center of the country. If he hears about this place, he might just take a shine to it and decide you need to go.”
I thought about all the macho things I could say at that point and settled on, “I think I would object.”
Simon shrugged. “The Major has seventy-five men, all of them well armed. You’d get a few for sure, but those kinds of numbers will eventually work against you.”
“I’ll take my chances. Besides, I have a few surprises of my own.” I smiled as a loud growl sounded up from the forest floor almost on cue as the cougar hunted in the growing evening.
Simon’s eyes got huge and I nodded. “Good thing you decided to stay at Matthiesson last night. You might have run into the boogeyman over here. And this one is very pointy in certain places.”
Charlie spoke up. “Well, it’s a hell of a thing, but the chances of this major finding us are pretty slim and if he does, we’ll deal with it.”
“There’s one other thing.” Simon said cautiously.
“What would that be?” I asked.
“The Major is not entirely sane. He had been getting a lot of people in camp lately that have been yelling about their rights and he can’t do what he’s doing. ‘This is America’ and all that. Usually the voices have been silenced quickly enough, but some managed to get overheard by the Major. In his warped mind, he probably figures if he destroys the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, he will be able to set himself up as ruler, and no one can challenge him.”
I looked incredulously at Simon. “What would be the point of that? Pick up any history textbook and you can find a copy of the Constitution.”
Duncan chimed in. “Yeah, but the documents themselves are as much a symbol of our country as the flag is. If it were to become known that they had been destroyed, we’d have a harder time coming together as a country again after the zombies were gone. As it is, we’re barely holding it together. If the Constitution and Bill of Rights become destroyed, what we believe about our country would be destroyed.”
Tommy spoke up. “What have we been fighting for in the end? Sure it’s to survive, but do you want to live in a country where only the strong survive? No thanks. The Constitution and Bill of Rights are what made this country great and whether you believe it or not, they’re the only hope of rallying everyone who’s left to the cause. If they get destroyed, we’re finished.”
I looked at Charlie. “What say you, old friend?”
Charlie looked at the floor for a long time. When he looked up, his eyes were clear and his voice strong. “My first wife and daughter died from the virus. I buried them both with my bare hands. I got a second chance and a reason to live with Rebecca and Julia. That chance is wasted if I let some lunatic take over the country. I know it may be crazy, but even though we might be wasting our time and very likely manage to get ourselves killed, I couldn’t look at my daughter and tell her that I did nothing to stop it.”
All four men looked at me and I glanced over at Sarah who was coming in from the back hallway with Jake and Julia. I thought about Todd, Nola, and their daughter and little Ellen, who I had saved from scum so long ago.
I cannot let you die in vain, I thought.
I looked at Simon. “Do you really think he’s coming?”
Simon nodded. “From what I saw for the time I was at that camp, I would bet my life on it. When he gets fixated on something, no matter how crazy, he has to have it. I remember the men hunting for gold watches because he wanted to have a different watch for every day of the year. And God help you if you are in his way or he sees you as a threat.”
“Why?”
“He isn’t content with just removing things that irritate him, he has to completely destroy them, smash them, make them disappear. A man accidentally got dirt on the Major’s boots when the Major came to inspect an earthen wall. The man was beaten senseless, then buried alive in the wall. They forced his family to watch him being buried.”
I shook my head as Charlie asked my next question. “How does he get men to follow him? I would think that some might actually be decent men who wouldn’t stand for such behavior.”
Simon shrugged. “He keeps his men happy with women and loot. Most of them are as degenerate as he his. Also, he’s huge. He’s six foot six if he’s and inch and I figure him to be two hundred forty pounds of solid muscle. I saw him beat a man to death with his bare hands. He’s a brute and his men respect and fear him with good reason.”
I looked around at the men and my wife and son. Charlie had gathered up Julia and was looking at me expectantly.
I asked Simon again. “You’re sure he’s coming?”
Simon nodded ruefully. “Absolutely.”
I looked back out over forest and river. The setting sun was causing long shadows from the trees and the river sparkled as it wound its way around Eagle Island. I took a minute to reflect on all I had done and all we had been through to get where we were. Tommy and Duncan were right. It would all be for nothing if we let it happen.
I let out a breath. “Well, I guess we better figure out how we’re going to stop him.”
3
(Six months earlier)
