“Haven’t quite figured that out yet. I probably will head back to the cabin and see what I can salvage from the fire. But I’m thinking about a fresh start.”
He didn’t say it, but Jon wanted to add, “After I take care of some business,” at the end of that sentence. He knew he was going after the man who had burned down his cabin, and he knew Terrence knew it. But apparently Terrence wasn’t going to try to talk him out of it.
“You know we’re here if you change your mind,” Terrence said.
Jon nodded. “I do.”
He then rolled his bike down the driveway. As he pushed it toward the front gate, none of the residents of Hope’s Dawn tried to hide that they were watching him. But as before, he ignored their gawking and pushed his bike.
When he finally looked up, he saw Garrett and Hugo standing together off to his left. Both men had their arms crossed, but neither said anything. They didn’t have to. Jon understood their frustration, but it wasn’t his problem. He knew he was doing what was best, both for himself and for Hope’s Dawn. As he had already proven, he would only be trouble for them.
He got within fifteen yards of the gate when he heard footsteps slapping across the concrete behind him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and stopped. He knew who it was.
“This is it?” Brooke asked. “You’re leaving?”
Jon turned to face her. “You don’t want me here.”
“That’s not it,” Brooke said. “We need you here.”
Jon noticed that more people had gathered outside. He felt like a circus animal, standing out in front of the camp as everyone watched the scene unfold in front of them. Jon stepped closer to Brooke so that he didn’t have to speak as loud.
“You don’t even know me, Brooke. You don’t know the things I’ve done. The kind of monster that I am.”
Brooke squinted her eyes. “Do you think we care about that here? If you wanted to hurt us, you would have done it already. You know we’re helpless here. That’s why we need someone like you around.” She pointed at the gate. “The real monsters are out there.”
Jon wished he could give in. Brooke was beautiful, and with an even more beautiful heart. Her son was sweet but lost, clearly in need of an influential father figure. But it couldn’t be Jon. Brooke and Lucas deserved better.
He bowed his head and exhaled. “I’m sorry. But thank you for everything.”
“Yeah,” Brooke said.
Jon looked up as she turned away. He sighed again, searching the faces of the settlers who continued to stare at him. He’d taken firmer hold of his handlebars and started toward the gate again when a commotion erupted from the other side of it.
“Open up!” the female voice said.
Garrett and Hugo hurried down toward the gate, and Brooke flew past Jon.
“It’s Angie,” the guard said.
“Let her in!” Garrett commanded.
The guard opened the gate, and a sedan stormed through. Jon thought he was going to have to jump out of the way, but Angie swerved to miss him, bringing the car to a screeching halt. She opened the door and got out.
“Jesus, Angie,” Garrett said.
The woman looked like she had bathed in blood. Crimson stained her shirt and her arms, and blots of blood appeared on her face. Her mouth was open, and she stood there shaking. Brooke hurried over to her.
“Angie, what happened?”
“We... we...”
The woman couldn’t find her words. She continued shaking and trying to speak.
“Take a breath, sweetie,” Brooke said. She cupped Angie’s face, getting blood on her own hands. “Close your eyes and breathe.”
Angie did as Brooke suggested, shutting her eyes and drawing in three meditative breaths. When she was done, she wasn’t shaking as much.
“Good,” Brooke said. “Now, what happened?”
“W-we got ambushed,” Angie said.
“Ambushed?” Garrett said. “By who?”
“Not who,” Angie replied. “By them.”
“Zombies,” Jon said.
Angie nodded. “We saw a deer, and Max took a shot at it but missed. He got desperate and ran after it. Me and Tim tried to tell him not to because we were running through the woods and couldn’t see well, but Max didn’t listen.
Tim and I went after him, and we ended up on some farm. They were... everywhere. Tim… he didn’t…he didn’t make it.”
The girl started to cry, and Brooke put her arm around her.
“Is there any chance that Max is still alive?”
“I’m not sure. It’s possible.”
“Where’s the farm?” Jon asked.
Angie wiped her eyes and sniffled. “A few miles south of here, out off of Dawson Road.”
Jon walked away from Angie and went to his bike.
“What’re you doing?” Hugo asked.
“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” Jon glanced over his shoulder. “I’m going to save your friend.”
“You can’t go alone,” Terrence said, approaching from nearby where he’d been listening to the conversations.
“I can get in and out of there faster with just me and my bike,” Jon said.
“And only with that pistol, a baseball bat, and a hatchet?” Hugo asked.
“Not happening,” Garrett said. “You at least need to let Terrence go with you.”
“And me,” Brooke said.
Jon shook his head. “No way.”
“I don’t think that’s a decision you get to make.”
Jon approached her, taking her hand without realizing it. “Don’t do this. Just let me and Terrence go. You don’t have anything to prove.”
Brooke pulled her hand away. “This isn’t about proving anything. This is about saving a man’s life. Besides, I’m one of the best people here with a gun.”
“She’s right,” Garrett said. “I agree with you that we can’t send a whole army of people in, but you need to take Terrence and Brooke with you. If Max is still alive, I want him to make it back here that way, and taking them with you offers the best chance of getting all of you back here safely.”
Jon sighed. He knew he couldn’t just leave now. If he backed out, Brooke and
