Noah looked down the hall to make sure his father wasn’t coming, and then replied in a hushed tone. “It’s not that simple, Al. He’s my dad. This is his house.”
“Sometimes blood ain’t thicker than water.”
Noah furrowed his brow. What the hell is he getting at? He thought. “Maybe it’s different with your family, Al—because of what you’ve been through. But he’s my father. He’ll always be my father.”
Al shook his head and then walked outside.
Early the next morning Alvin and Noah scurried around packing supplies. Noah stuffed as many canned goods as he could into a canvas backpack. Alvin might be exposed, he thought, but at least he won’t starve. Not right away, came an unpleasant afterthought.
Abigail was quiet at breakfast. She sat stirring her oatmeal with a spoon, not saying a word to anyone. In the last few weeks, she had become pickier and pickier about her meals—sometimes refusing to eat at all.
Noah took a break from running around. “Abby, why aren’t you eating? Are you upset because Al is leaving?”
She didn't respond.
“Gonna miss me, aren’t you, sweetie?” said Alvin, feigning a smile.
Abigail nodded timidly.
“I know, but he has his own family to protect,” said Noah.
“There’s no need to lie to her. I already told her why I was leavin’.”
Noah pursed his lips and looked at the ground.
The whole family stood outside to see Alvin off, each Barnes looking on his departure with drastically different feelings. Alvin slung the backpack on his shoulders.
“Here,” said Noah as he handed him their Regal 870 shotgun. “You have seven rounds. Don’t use them if you don’t have to.”
Charlie was aghast at the gesture. He hadn’t said a word while Noah stuffed Alvin’s pack with food. He would have gladly forfeited half of their rations to be rid of him. But giving away one of his guns was crossing the line. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? We need that!”
“Keep your voice down,” said Noah. There was fire in his eyes. “If we’re going to throw him out, we can at least give him a fighting chance.”
Alvin smiled. He would have gladly forfeited the gun if it meant seeing Noah put Charlie in his place.
He put his hand out to Noah. Noah took it and pulled him in for a hug, which surprised Alvin. Then he got down on one knee and opened his arms to Abby. She hesitated and then moved in for a hug. Alvin whispered something to her, but Noah couldn’t quite make it out.
Alvin stood up and looked at Charlie. “Thanks,” he said hollowly.
Charlie stared past him. “Mmm.”
Alvin rolled his eyes and then headed down the driveway.
As Noah watched his friend leave, the knot in his stomach grew tighter. Before Alvin disappeared behind the bend in the driveway, Noah called to him.
Alvin turned around, an inquisitive expression on his face.
“Wait,” said Noah. He sighed. “I’ll go with you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Charlie seethed through his teeth.
“I can’t just stand here knowing that we may be sending him off to die. Maybe you can, but I can’t.”
Alvin walked back toward the house. “You’d come with me?” he said, incredulous.
Noah nodded.
“You can’t be serious?” said Charlie. “What about us? You’d just leave us here unprotected!”
“Calm down. It’ll only be for a day—two at most. Besides, you said it yourself, you can do it. That’s the reason he’s leaving, right? Because you’re capable now?”
His father’s eyes flitted from side to side as if looking for a response.
“Right?”
Charlie didn’t dare renege on what he had said a few days before. Alvin was finally leaving, and he wasn’t about to give his son a reason to argue in favor of him staying.
“Yes.”
“Then you can handle it.”
“But what if a drove shows up while you’re gone?”
“A drove? Dad, how many of those things have we seen lately? One a day? Sometimes less? Back when this thing got ramped up, we couldn’t even leave the house. But now? They’re dying out.”
Noah took an extra hour to pack a bag.
Before they left, Abigail hugged her brother. “Please don't go with him,” she whimpered into his ear.
Noah knelt next to her. “Don’t you worry. Those deadbeats don't stand a chance against me and my big muscles,” he said, flexing one arm.
She didn’t laugh.
Noah kissed her cheek. “You take care of daddy for me while I’m gone.”
Abigail began crying. She ran inside.
He frowned.
“She’ll be alright,” said Alvin.
“Yeah.” Noah nodded. “Let's get going.”
As Alvin started down the driveway Charlie put his hand on Noah’s shoulder. His son turned to him, and Charlie could tell by the way he crossed his arms that he was preparing for an argument.
“Look, I know I can’t stop you. I just want you to be careful.” Charlie’s face softened—warmed almost. “Come back to us, will you, son?”
Noah smiled. He hugged his father for the first time in months. “I promise I’ll come back. Alive,” he added with a grin.
The pair headed down the driveway and across the road. There were no corpses in sight and, aside from the buzzing of cicadas, all was quiet. Even after being cut off for so long, Noah still found the silence eerie.
“We should find a car,” said Alvin.
They weren’t more than two minutes into their journey and already Alvin was proving that he desperately needed Noah's guidance.
“No. Too loud. We’ll take your boat and paddle down the canal until we get to town. We’ll walk from there. The boat will keep us out of reach of any nearby dead.”
“That’ll take forever. Why don't we just take a
