No one had seen Ted enter the small boathouse in the dark, so he didn’t expect company when he exited, but as he headed for the cabin, a young lad stepped out from behind a rack of fibreglass canoes. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Nathan.”
“Oh, um, hello.” Ted was unsettled by the lad’s sudden appearance. Nathan was thin, with an arm splinted and tied against his body. His eyes were a dark—almost black—brown that seemed to look right past Ted rather than at him. Ted realised he’d grabbed his hammer in defence, so he lowered it now and nodded to the lad. “What are you doing out here by the water?”
“You don’t feel fear, do you?” The boy’s dark eyes swirled excitedly. “You fight the monsters because you enjoy it.”
“I don’t enjoy it, lad. It’s a necessary thing.”
Nathan nodded as if he’d just heard something monumentally enlightening. “The monsters will be back, won’t they?”
“Yes.”
“They’re going to kill everybody?”
Ted sighed. “Look, I’m sure you’ll all be fine. Good luck to the lot of you.”
Nathan showed a little emotion, his face falling into a frown. “Aren’t you staying? We need you. The other adults, they don’t get it. They don’t know how to fight.”
“They’ll learn, trust me.”
“If you’re leaving, I want to come with you then.”
Ted closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He teetered forever on the edge of a headache. Why did people want to keep following him? He just wanted to be alone—was that a crime?
He studied the odd child and tried to keep his voice on the right side of compassionate. “Look, lad, the last thing you want to do is leave this forest. You’ve been safe here—and may be for a while longer. The monsters will come again, but they can be dealt with. If you fight, you’ll have a chance.”
Nathan shook his head and sighed. “The adults are too afraid, and the other kids are idiots. I’ll get to watch them all die.”
Ted frowned, wondering why the lad spoke so wistfully about such horrid things. “Nathan, you should go join the others. Leave the worrying to those older.” Before the boy could argue, Ted cut him off. “Skiddaddle!”
The lad hurried off, and Ted experienced a pang of guilt for wanting to leave. Nathan was obviously a mixed-up child, but who could blame him after living through the end of mankind? The lad had been right about one thing though, the adults here didn’t get it.
A rumble in Ted’s stomach got him moving again. He’d not eaten in over a day, his meagre supplies abandoned with his truck. If these people didn’t resupply him, he’d have a tough time on the road. They owed him.
As he approached the campfire, he saw the woman from last night. Jackie, he thought her name was. She was piling up primitive weapons beside the cabin steps. When she turned to look at him, her left cheek was purple and swollen with a thick gash running down its centre. “Stone me,” he said. “That bloody animal.”
She gave him a grim smile. “It wasn’t his fault, apparently. Dr Kamiyo contends the young man has been possessed by something monstrous, something with no qualms about hitting a lady. Honestly, I don’t know what to think. When I was cornered in that dark room... It was like being stalked by the Devil itself.” She became teary, holding her cheek. “Not sure how I’m supposed to carry on after that.”
Ted studied the woman for a moment, torn between staying silent and speaking. It was difficult to comment on such things. “I don’t know you people, but it’s clear you’re the only one switched on here. When the demons attacked, you were trying to take charge and help instead of running around like a headless chicken.”
Jackie nodded and looked down at the ground. “I fear we were terribly under-prepared. We had no idea what was out there, what you and your friend have been going through for months.”
“Hannah’s not my friend. We met yesterday. I know her about as well as I know you. Jackie, isn’t it?”
“Yes, and you’re Ted? We owe you our lives. If you hadn’t come with that stupidly manly hammer of yours…” Her tears ceased, and she chuckled. “Thank you. I failed the children here, but you gave me a second chance.”
“You’ve kept them going this long. Trust me, Jackie, you’ve done a good job.” He looked past the campfire to where a group of adults were heaving bodies through the grass. Most of them were demon, but not all.
“How many did you lose?”
“Two children, Reece and Alexia, and one adult, Carrie-Ann. I think we’re all still in shock.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It would have been much worse without you. We’re lucky you found us.”
Here came the awkwardness, the part of dealing with people he hated. The expectation, the obligation, the responsibility. “I’m not the answer to your problems, Jackie. You need to prepare yourselves to fight. Those demons won’t be the last, and when the next group comes along, you need to be ready. Cut down some of these trees and make spike walls. Better yet, get your arses up that hill and behind those stone walls. You have a bloody castle up there and you make camp outside of it.”
Jackie’s unwounded cheek blushed, so much that it matched the purple bruising on her other one. “The castle is cold and uncomfortable. We need the lake and the forest for food.”
Ted sighed. “Fine, you do things how you want, but I’m telling you—that the castle is the place you want to be.”
“Okay, I’ll discuss it with the others. I’m sure they’ll be interested to hear your suggestions.”
Ted shook his head. “Talk to Hannah. She’s the one who
