The Death: The Complete Trilogy Read online

  Simon again began to point the pistol back and forth.

  At first Daryl believed the chances of this altercation becoming violent were low, but that confidence was gone. Something had happened to Laura and Seth, and he knew Simon had something to do with it.

  “Simon, where’s my sister?”

  “Oh, man, I told you!”

  “Enough bullshit, Simon, where is she?” he asked. Daryl didn’t want this to turn violent, and he didn’t want to have to kill Simon before knowing what was going on with his sister. However, attempting to just wound someone could be a dangerous gamble on his part. Shooting him center mass was the safest bet for his own survival, and his training had only taught him to kill.

  Devin took a few rushed steps, drawing Simon’s attention and the muzzle of the pistol.

  Daryl saw this as the opportunity he needed. He raised the rifle and leveled it at Simon.

  Simon quickly pivoted back in haste when he saw Daryl’s move.

  Daryl squeezed off three rounds; all hit him in the chest.

  Simon’s body fell back against the door and slid to the deck. He was dead before his body touched the welcome mat.

  Devin had brought his rifle to his shoulder, but the fight was over before he could flip off the safety.

  Not hesitating, Daryl sprinted onto the small deck, picked up Simon’s pistol, tucking it nicely into his waistband, and entered the trailer. A strong offensive smell wafted over him. It was a combination of feces, urine and overall grime. The trailer was a mess. From one end to the other trash, dirty clothes and debris lay everywhere. His sister wasn’t one to live like this, so by the state of tidiness, he knew his sister hadn’t been there for some time.

  Devin came in a minute behind him and belted out, “What is that smell?”

  “It’s scumbag,” Daryl answered as he made his way down the narrow hall towards the bedrooms. He opened each door to find more trash but no sign of anyone, including Hudson. When he came into the master bedroom, he found signs that Simon was involved in some barbaric acts. Leather straps were fixed to each bedpost, and stains, presumably blood, were on the sheets and fabric headboard. Looking for anything that would tell him where Laura could be, he began to scan the room. On the chest of drawers he found Laura’s most valued possessions, her wedding ring from Rick and a necklace she had received when they first started dating. To Daryl, this was a sign that something bad had happened to her. Laura would never leave these items behind voluntarily.

  “Daryl, come here quick!” Devin hollered from the kitchen.

  Sensing Devin had found something; he rushed down the hall but almost stumbled over a pile of trash and soiled clothes stacked high.

  Daryl came into the kitchen, and before he could ask, he saw the horror with his own eyes.

  On an island counter lay a large bone, similar in length and appearance to a human thigh bone. From a quick examination, the bone was charred on each end, like it had been cooked over open flame.

  Not one to be grossed out, Daryl couldn’t help but cringe when he saw it. Instantly he began to ask himself if this was Laura.

  “I’m afraid to open the cooler,” Devin said, pointing to a blue cooler on the main counter.

  Daryl was deeply disturbed and couldn’t hide the fact. His body began to tremble, and the fear he had for Hudson grew as he wondered if he had become a meal for Simon. Not able to be in the kitchen any longer, he exited out the back door.

  Shockingly, Devin was holding himself together, and for whatever reason, he took note. Six months before he could barely keep himself from fainting after finding his cousin and family; now he was able to compartmentalize what he was seeing and wasn’t overcome by it. He looked around the kitchen for any evidence of Hudson being there, but couldn’t find a thing.

  Outside, Daryl pulled himself together and hollered, “Hudson, are you here? Son, are you here?”

  A rustling came from the small shed off to the right at the edge of the property.

  Daryl ran towards it.

  Devin exited the back and saw Daryl racing to the small shed. Sensing urgency, he too ran in its direction.

  Daryl reached the door and tried to open it, but it was padlocked.

  Inside the sounds grew louder, and to his horror he could tell they were people moaning and scratching.

  He looked around and saw a brick and began to hammer at the lock till it broke. He removed the lock and slid open the door. The first thing that he experienced was a strong putrid smell, but this was different than inside the house; this smelled of rotting flesh.

  A woman, naked and barely alive, fell to the ground. Her filthy skin clung tightly to her bones, and her hair was cut short.

  Horrified by seeing her, both Daryl and Devin took a step back.

  The woman rolled onto her side and raised her skeletal arm in a plea for help.

  Daryl fully expected this to be Laura, but it wasn’t. He didn’t recognize the woman.

  More rustling inside drew their attention.

  Not sure he wanted to see but knowing he had to, Daryl took out a flashlight and shined it inside. There in the corner of the shed was another woman crouched down, attempting to hide from the light. Her condition appeared similar to the first, emaciated.

  “Help,” the woman on the ground begged, her plea barely above a whisper.

  Devin was in shock; all he could do was stare. The feeling he had felt inside melted away as he turned away and vomited.

  Daryl too was in shock from their grisly discovery, but urgently needed to identify the other woman.

  “Laura, is that you?”

  The woman wouldn’t look at him.

  “Laura, it’s Daryl.”

  “She’s dead,” the woman on the ground muttered.

  He looked down at her and said, “Are you sure?”

  “He killed and ate her after he killed her son.”

  This knowledge sent shockwaves through him. He knew people had the capability of barbarism but this, this was something that you only imagined happening in horror stories, not real life.

  “Please help,” the woman again begged as she slowly crawled towards Daryl.

  A truck’s rumbling diesel engine echoed from the front of the house.

  Devin stopped his puking the moment he heard it.

  Realizing his exit was blocked, Daryl had two choices, flee or fight? He didn’t want to leave his truck, but he also didn’t want to die.

  “Dev, I don’t know who are visitors are, but I’m guessing they’re friends of Simon’s. Get her, and I’ll help the other.”

  Devin composed himself for what his mind told him would be gross and picked up the woman, who was nothing more than a sack of bones. He cradled her in his arms and waited for further instructions.

  “Make for the cornfield. When you’re far enough out, turn right and head back north, keep going till you hit a road.”

  “No, I’ll wait for you.”

  “Go, damn it, just go!” Daryl ordered as he stepped into the shed.

  The woman inside lashed out in a rage and attacked Daryl, but her insane response was insufficient due to her weakened condition.

  Daryl wrapped his arms around her and whispered, “It’s all right. We’re not here to hurt you. I’m here to save you. Please stop fighting me.”

  She didn’t listen but kept kicking and scratching.

  He forcibly pulled her out of the shed to find Devin still standing there.

  “What the fuck! Go, leave.”

  “We go together,” Devin answered.

  “I don’t want to be someone’s meal, and you shouldn’t either. We both can’t go down, no go!”

  Finally heeding his words, Devin ran for his life yet again through the dead stalks of another cornfield.

  Never in his life could Devin have imagined that a cornfield would be a safe haven for him. In some ways the endless fields were like an underground railroad, providing safe passage from one place to another. The thick cover they p
rovided kept them hidden from the threats that persisted outside.

  The woman barely clung to him, her weak arms wrapped around his neck. Her frail neck, barely holding up the weight of her head, sometimes snapped back. He would nudge it back with his bicep and cradle her tighter.

  Unsure of how far he had run or where he was, he had to stop. The muscles in his arms, legs and back were burning, and he needed to rest. One sensation that he noted he’d lost was the concept of time; he had no idea how long he’d been running, but it felt like forever. He imagined that when running for your life, it was probably a universal human trait to feel like you’ve been doing it for much longer than it actually was.

  He placed her on the ground gently and took off his flannel shirt and covered her with it.

  Her sticklike legs curled up to her chest as she wept.

  Sweat was pouring off Devin’s brow, and he wanted to know what happened to Daryl, but the one thing he knew was that he should expect anything to happen. He plopped himself on the ground and exhaled heavily through his parched mouth.

  “What else can happen now?” he asked out loud.

  “Thank you,” the woman whispered.

  “What?”

  She slightly lifted her head and said, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “That’s a good question. If all goes right, I hope to take you back to Daryl’s house. There you can take your time to get back on your feet.”

  She began to weep again.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Deborah.”

  “Hi, Deborah, my name is Devin.”

  She coughed and planted her head back down on the dirt.

  Gunshots rang out in the distance.

  Devin craned his head back towards the direction the shots came from . Fearful and unsure who was shooting, he jumped up, walked over to Deborah, picked her up carefully and said, “I think that means it’s time to go.”

  Devin peeked his head out of the corn and looked either way down the road. In the distance he saw Daryl’s house. He wasn’t more than a quarter mile away, but for him it would feel like ten miles. His arms, legs and back were sore, and his entire body was tired. All he wanted to do was get Deborah back to the house and the care she needed, and for him, water, food and rest.

  Since hearing the few gunshots, he hadn’t heard more. He hoped what he heard wasn’t the end of Daryl; he just didn’t want to think that he too was gone.

  By the look of the sun’s position, he could tell he’d been wandering in the corn for a couple of hours. Knowing Daryl’s house wasn’t far now gave him hope, but he wished he could just press a button and travel there.

  Looking down at Deborah, she lay silent, her head resting against the ground with his shirt wrapped around her.

  “I wish I could sleep right now,” he said.

  Knowing that getting to the house wasn’t just going to happen on its own, he decided to complete his journey. He bent over, slid his arms under her body, and gently picked her up. When he lifted, her head snapped back, and her mouth opened wide. Like before, he nudged her head in, but it felt odd, like she wasn’t in control anymore, like she was lifeless.

  “Hey, wake up,” he whispered as he shook her a bit.

  Her head snapped back again along with her right arm.

  “Deborah, wake up,” he again said while he shook her.

  Still no response.

  He lowered her back to the ground and placed his fingers on her throat to check for a pulse. Nothing.

  “Damn it,” he said out loud, frustrated by losing her.

  He consoled himself with the knowledge that while her last days were horrific, her very last moments were of a safe place with hope for something better. He thought it sad that he didn’t get a chance to know her more, other than her name. His sadness increased as he thought about whose daughter or sister she was. He imagined a beautiful little baby, then little girl being loved and cherished. He hoped that she clung to those memories of happier times when the world made sense and love wasn’t a novelty.

  Time slipped past him as he sat on the ground, looking at Deborah’s corpse. Shock had gripped him. So much had happened to him over the past week that it seemed like he was in a nightmare. The corn rustled as a slight breeze swept through and coolly brushed his cheek. For too long he had emotionally held back, and now he couldn’t, now he just let go. As he gave himself permission to grieve, his eyes began to stream the tears of pain and loss for the world he had lost.

  Devin chucked the shovel after he finished smoothing out the fine dirt that covered the body of Deborah. He had brought her back to the house, and following a long conversation with Tess about the altercation and circumstances that surrounded why he showed up with a body in his arms, he buried her promptly. Out of respect for the dead, Brianna and Tess said a few words and wished Deborah well on her journey in the afterlife.

  Tess could see the shift in Devin from the man he was a week ago. When they had first met, she saw a fearful man; now she saw someone who was tired of the world he was living in, but not so much that he was giving up. On the contrary, he was stepping up to do something about it. Just a week ago she remembered she had to remind him of his own humanity and scolded him for not burying his own family. Now here he was showing up with a dead woman in his arms, having saved her from the clutches of evil only to have her perish along the way. He could have easily left her where she died, but he hadn’t; he chose the path of maintaining his humanity by bringing her back so she could have the burial she deserved. Tess was proud of him and felt that he had grown in such a short period of time into a companion she could trust.

  Devin walked by Tess and Brianna without saying a word and took a seat on the deck.

  Tess came up and sat next to him. “I can tell you’re not in a chatting mood, so I’ll just say what I’m going to say. You don’t need to reply.”

  Devin didn’t look at her; his anger at the world was consuming him at the moment.

  “As you know, we couldn’t find Hudson, and now Daryl’s missing. Who knows what’s happened to either one. I’ve discussed this with Brianna, and we want to hit the road first thing in the morning.”

  “Leave, you want to leave?” Devin barked.

  “No, if you let me finish, I was saying, hit the road first thing to go find them, all of us.”

  “Oh.”

  “So you agree?”

  “Of course I do. We owe it to Daryl, we owe it to humanity. We’re not leaving until we know what’s happened to them.”

  “Devin, I was just thinking that you’ve changed so much since the scared person I met a week ago.”

  “I like to call it adaptation, sounds more like I’m aware of the world and grew to survive,” Devin replied, his tone now softer.

  “I stand corrected; you’ve adapted, then.”

  “There you go,” he said, a smile now present on his face.

  The light of the day was gone, and the only light that cast upon their faces was from a battery-powered lantern that sat on a small wooden table in between them.

  “You hungry?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “Let’s get something in you, then.”

  “How’s Brando?” he asked.

  “Our resident human dog is recovering nicely. He’ll be better in no time.”

  “Glad to hear it. Let’s get some food and discuss how we’re going to find Daryl and Hudson.”

  Day 191

  April 10, 2021

  Denver International Airport

  Lori paced her room repeatedly, her mind trying to grasp why. Why was David choosing to leave? And why was Eric going with him? Had she done something wrong? Had she misjudged their relationship for all these years? Why would he choose to take that position after knowing she was pregnant? Why, why, why?

  The door handle clicked, announcing that someone was coming in. She stopped her pacing and
watched the handle turn and the door open slowly. Expecting it to be David, she readied a barrage of questions and accusations.

  When the door opened fully, she saw it wasn’t David but Horton.

  “Chancellor, what can I do for you?” she asked, surprised to see him.

  “Lori, hello.”

  “Wait a minute; did you just walk in here without knocking?”

  “I did knock,” he claimed, standing in the open doorway.

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “This again?”

  “What again?”

  He shook his head, clearly frustrated by her, and started to close the door.

  “No, stop. What do you want?”

  He opened the door fully again and answered, “I came to say I had nothing to do with your husband being assigned to Camp Sierra.”

  “You want me to believe that?”

  “I tried to explain before, I have privilege and influence with my title, but I still have to answer to the council. Think of it as the chairman of a board, there’s still a board, and they can fire me.”

  “The council really cares who’s the head teacher at the school?”

  “Actually, they do. They perfected a system to analyze our past, our records, history, temperament, intelligence, etc., to find the best possible candidate. You see, our new system will be truly merit based. Only those who have proven capabilities will be given responsibilities and be graced with the title of citizen. The others will not. What is being given to your husband and son is an honor, much like what you’ve been given.”

  She blankly stared at him and said, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

  “I’ll boil it down to this, the old system is gone, it died along with The Death. Our new system is different, it’s better, and only a select few, like yourself and your family, will have exclusive access.”

  “Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lori fired back honestly. Everything he was saying was foreign to the political and economic system of the past that she was used to. Anything else was strange, and without a full explanation, it all went over her head.