BROTHERS IN SOLITUDE ch 4

Felix stood up and rushed to Tom's side.

"Hey, honey," she said.  "Did you get enough rest?"

"Enough for now," he said.  He glanced over at Chad.  "What's going on down here?

"I had trouble sleeping," she said.  "Got up early and came down for some coffee.  Chad just came down and joined me.  I figured you'd be out for a while?"

"Is that so?" Tom asked.  He looked Chad up and down.  "And why is that?"

"I just—" She started, rubbing his neck.  "I thought I'd let you rest.  We went through so much, and—"

"I told you when we left Ambertown.  We're not safe out here.  Anything can go wrong at any moment."  He ran his fingers through her hair.  "I can't let you out of my sight."

She pecked his lips.

"Tom, you know I can take care of myself.  Sit down, have some coffee."

Chad wished Drake wasn't passed out.  Tom's eyes flashed with anger and mistrust, never wandering from the younger brother as he and Felix took a seat across from him.  She refilled her cup and handed it to him.  He sipped the steaming liquid.

"Thank you, babe.  It's delicious."

She leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I need to say again how much we appreciate this," Tom said.  "I knew we started off on the wrong foot, guns pointed at each other and all, but I really am grateful for your hospitality.  Thank you."

Chad raised his mug.

"How long have you been holed up in here?" Tom asked.

"Since it started.  This is…was our parents' house.  When the plague took them, we decided to stay here."

"Did you board up the windows yourselves?"

"No.  Mom and Dad were still alive when we went under lockdown.  We did it as a family."

"It's amazing you two made it on your own."

Chad fell silent.  He didn't like talking about the early days of the virus or the events that led up to his parents' death.  Looking up to the stairwell, he wished that Drake would saunter down and steer the conversation.  He was always the better talker.

"Anyone want more coffee?" Felix asked.  Chad wondered if she'd sensed his apprehension.  He was trying to play it cool, handle the situation like Drake.

"That would be awesome," Chad said, already feeling the effects of the first mug.

Felix filled their mugs and passed around more sugars and creamers.

"How about you?" Chad asked.  "Were you on your own long?"

"When all this started, I was working as a software engineer in Atlanta."  Tom looked at his mug.  "Sometimes I'd have breakneck deadlines and have to suck down gallons of this stuff so I could stay awake and finish my work.  I never thought of coffee as anything more than a tool.  Funny how an apocalypse can change your worldview."

He took a swill.

"I was camping in the Smoky Mountains when I heard the first reports on the radio.  As you can imagine, my job was pretty high stress.  Every few months I would get away with my German Shepard and disappear into the wilderness."

At the mention of his pet, Chad noticed a change overcome Tom.  His facial features relaxed, and his eyes lost their anger.

"Anyways, me and Skittles—that was my dog's name—me and Skittles had just settled around the campfire and tuned this old boom box I had to a classic rock station.  The Emergency Broadcasting System broke in during a Pink Floyd song and reported that mass hysteria was breaking out in the tri-state area.  They told us to stay indoors and stay tuned, that they would keep us updated.  The music came back on, I figured that was that.  We were out in the sticks, so I wasn't worried."

Tom traced the rim of the mug with his pointer finger.

Chad noticed Felix was using a thumbnail to scrap at her cuticles and wondered how soft her hands were.

"I think there was one more update while I was finishing supper, but I didn't pay it much mind.  I fell asleep petting Skittles and watching the flames die down.

"Skittles' barking woke me up.  I thought a skunk or something had tried getting into the garbage, so I got up to put whatever food I'd left out in my car.  The embers gave off little light, but I could still see something at the edge of the forest coming towards me.  By the time it reached my campsite, I saw it wasn't an animal, but a person.

"I called out to them, a friendly hello, but there was no response.  Just Skittles going nuts as they got closer.  I turned on a lantern I had hanging from a tree, and the moment I saw my visitor, I realized something was terribly wrong.

"He was about my age, wearing a hunter's safety vest, but he had bleeding gashes on his neck and chest.  I started to help him, but I got a good look at his eyes, all yellow and red and lifeless.  Skittles knew he wasn't right.  He attacked, but the man didn't flinch.  He grabbed Skittles by the throat and bit a chunk from his neck.

"Skittles howled and his blood went everywhere.  I panicked.  I jumped in my car and got the hell out of there, trying to find any sign of civilization.  That's when I heard how bad things really were.  There was no more music on the radio, just the god-awful reports about crazed mobs surrounding and eating other people.  I was so scared, I didn't stop for anyone, not even this family I saw on the side of the road with their hazard lights blinking.

"I heard the army set up a shelter in a nearby hospital, and made my way the fifty miles there.  The good old boys had already figured out that shooting them in the head put them down.  When I got there, they were already making a stand."

Felix crossed her arms and looked at Chad.  He couldn't take his eyes off her

"In the beginning," Tom continued, "there weren't a lot of them.  You could have walked right past them, and if you had any proficiency with a gun, you had nothing to fear.  As they days went on, more and more started attacking the hospital.  We started losing men.  One of the refugees brought in a little girl who'd been bitten, and the plague spread quickly from inside.  By the time it was all said and done, five of us took to the road in a supply truck, staying off the main roads, stealing gas and food whenever we could.

"We were heading south when we intercepted a transmission from Ambertown.  They were looking for survivors, calling every living person to the mall so they'd have a fighting chance.  We made it, and it's been home ever since."

"How can a mall support so many people?" Chad asked.  "Seems like supplies would run out fast."

"Ambertown is big," Felix said.  "We have a garden on the roof."

"Brilliant," Chad said.

He had never thought of growing on their roof.  The neighbors' fruit trees and gardens still produced, so they had year round access to oranges, peaches, pomegranates, figs and pears.  Wild blackberries were also common to the area.  Once in a while, the brothers would skin the purple fruit from the prickly pear cactus and eat it as a treat, but the more exotic fruits and vegetables like pineapple and mushrooms came from whatever cans they salvaged.

"You'd be surprised what a civilization leaves behind," Tom said.  "There are a lot of grocery stores still loaded with goods."

"We have a big one here," Chad said, "but it's infested."

"Is that so?" Tom asked, rubbing his stubbly chin.  "How else are you eating?"

"We hunt and fish."

"Those bastards will kill anything they can get their hands on," Tom said.  "Thank God they aren't fast enough to catch deer.  There's tons of game around Ambertown.  Lots of good eating."

"If it's so great," Drake said from the stairwell, "why did you leave?"

"Drake," said Chad, wondering how long his brother had been listening, "be nice."

"I'm being nice.  I'm just having trouble understanding why they would give up security and community."

Drake joined his brother on their worn couch and stared coldly at Tom.  Chad knew it would take more than fresh coffee for Drake to lower his guard.

"The guy running things and I had a disagreement," Tom said.  "Sometimes you realize it's best for everyone to pull up stakes and move on.  I've heard rumors about another fortified community along the Gulf Coast.  We thought we might try our luck somewhere else."

"I can't imagine leaving here," Chad said.  "This is home."

Felix smiled.

"If we had to run, we would," said Drake.  "For now, we have what we need."

"Which brings us to business," Tom said.  "We promised supplies for sanctuary, and I am a man of my word."

"What are you offering?" Drake asked.  "And, more importantly, how long do you plan on staying?"

Drake knew how to hustle.  Like luck, the wheeling and dealing came naturally to him, as if he was born with the necessary skills ingrained deep in his DNA.  Growing up, Chad had watched him scam neighborhood kids out of their trading cards, comic books, action figures, and video games but never picked up on the conman impulse for himself.  Material things weren't important to him back then.

Now they mattered even less.

"Felix, go upstairs and grab the bag," Tom said.

"Which one?" she asked.

"The green one."

"It's a little heavy," she said.  "I could use a hand."

"I'm talking business right now," Tom said with a flick of his wrist.  "You can handle it."

"I'll help," Chad said, standing.  Might as well be a good host.

"That'd be fine," Tom said.  "Looks like big brother is handling things anyway."

Chad cringed.  He was just as important to the decision making process as Drake.  Being reduced in the social standing rubbed him the wrong way, but he bit his tongue and trusted his brother.  They'd have plenty to talk about as soon as they were alone.

Felix led the way upstairs as Drake and Tom began ironing out how long the couple would stay under the brothers' roof.  Though the second story lacked the lower floor's barricades, thick curtains prohibited daylight from pouring in as well as prevented their flashlights from being seen from the street.  He flipped on his flashlight and followed her to the guestroom, unconsciously checking out her ass as she walked down the hall.  A flash of guilt washed over him.  He quickly shifted his gaze to the floor.

Felix pushed open the door and turned on a battery powered lantern sitting on the dresser, lighting up the room.  A photo of his parents standing outside an amusement park hung on the wall beside an old wooden crucifix.  Memories of visiting relatives raced through Chad's mind, and he pushed them aside as he entered.

"I'm glad we got to talk earlier," she said as she crossed over to the bed.  "Tom usually doesn't let me be a part of the conversations."

"Why is that?"

"He's the alpha male type.  Has to be in charge of everything."

"Sounds like Drake."

Felix picked up the large green bag beside the bed and handed it Chad.  Surprised at its weight, he slung it over his shoulder.

"I'm still not sure about leaving Ambertown.  It wasn't perfect, but at least there I felt safe."

"You're safe here."

Chad looked into her eyes and smiled.  Something weird fluttered inside of his chest.

"Tom thinks I'm his property, but I'm not."

Felix leaned in and pressed her lips against Chad's.  She pushed her body into him as her tongue slipped into his mouth.  Wrapping her arms around his neck, the felt the warmth of her body and the softness of her breasts pressed against his caused his jeans to tighten.  Heart pounding, he broke the connection after a few seconds.  Torn between excitement and fear, Chad wasn't expecting the kiss, his first ever.

He began to ask her why, but she placed her index finger on his lips.

"This is between me and you," she said. "No one has to know."

Confused, Chad followed her out of the guestroom, flipping off the lantern before shutting the door.  Now he couldn't take his eyes off her as they descended the stairs and rejoined Drake and Tom in the living room.

"Took you long enough," Tom said.

"Here," Chad said, handing Tom the bag and praying the man couldn't see the embarrassment on his face.

Tom set the bag in his lap and unzipped it.

"We're going to have company a few days," Drake said to Chad.

BROTHERS IN SOLITUDE ch 3

Gasping and covered in sweat, Chad sat up straight.  He couldn't remember the nightmare, just fragments of clawing hands and jagged, decaying teeth snapping at his blocking arms.  Ever since the brothers' near-fatal Wal-Mart run, Chad's sleep had been anything but peaceful.

He wished he could erase the memory…

A few months prior, they had taken advantage of the noticeably dwindling flesh eater population and geared up for the East End of the beach's largest store.  They rose before the sun and peddled three miles through the empty streets, passing only a few small packs of the lurching fiends along the way.  Easily dodging them with the bikes, Chad and Drake rode past their gurgling moans and outstretched arms.

Thirty or forty of the creatures shuffled about Wal-Mart's main parking lot.  They could have handled them but decided to save their energy for any trouble inside the store.  Chad and Drake snuck around to the corner lot and found three more creatures ambling by the tire and lube department.  Chad took out an oversized lady in a light blue bathrobe covered in flowers with a crossbow while Drake lopped off two heads with a machete that once belonged to their father.

The side entrance's door hung on its hinges, broken from either swarms of the undead or roaming gangs that looted the area as things were falling apart.  Chad followed Drake into the building, cringing when broken glass crunched under his sneakers and reverberated through the aisles.

A gurgling groan replied from somewhere in the darkness.

The auto care section still smelled of tires and oil.  Drake turned left at the first row of antifreeze and windshield wiper blades, hugging the wall as they went deeper into the store.  It didn't take long before shadows swallowed up the light pouring in from outside.  Drake flicked on a flashlight as they passed the paint section and kept it pointed low.

The groceries were located on the other side of the building, past electronics, cleaning supplies, and pet care.  Canned goods were in the center of the food department, but the plan called for staying along the edge of the building and skipping the wide aisles where they could be easily spotted.  Their approach would take longer, but it sounded safer on paper.

Drake stopped and swept the beam around.  If not for Drake's flashlight, the darkness would have swallowed them up.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered.

Chad shook his head.

"Thought I heard…  Forget it, let's hurry.  I'm not liking the vibe in here."

When they reached the CDs and video games, the stale air filled with the sour aroma of death.  Chad looked at the wall of display TVs and wished he could watch cartoons again.  He missed lounging on the couch and stuffing potato chips in his face.  He never thought those languid afternoons would end.

They came across a cadaver of a man sitting with his back against the CD rack.  Still clinging to a shotgun, he'd blasted off a quarter of his face.  Rusty brown chunks of rotting tissue splattered across the rock and pop CDs—the corpse was relatively fresh.  When Drake traced his body with the flashlight, Chad saw the man's legs had been chewed up in several places and knew he took his own life in order to escape the plague's vile reanimation.

Chad hoped that if were bitten he'd have enough time to kill himself.

They first heard the cacophony by the paper towels and toilet bowl cleaner.

Groans.

Hisses.

Feet shuffling.

They could hear large numbers of the creatures, but through the darkness there was no pinpointing on which aisle they were concentrated.  Drake slowed his pace, his machete ready to strike.  Chad raised his crossbow and held his breath.

At the corner of dog food and cat litter, a rotting little girl around twelve-years-old grabbed Drake's arm, knocking the machete from his hands.  Taking him by surprise, he screamed when the flashlight revealed the rotting skin dangling from her face, exposing her fractured skull.

Chad didn't shoot, he couldn't risk hitting Drake with an arrow.  He hooked the crossbow's prod over his shoulder, grabbed the little girl by her nappy blonde locks, and jerked her back.  Clumps of her scalp broke off her head, leaving Chad with a handful of knotted hair but giving Drake enough time to unsheathe the blade in his belt and ram it into her temple.  Black pus oozed from the wound.  Drake tossed aside her carcass—it hit a stack of metal dog bowls, sending them crashing.

By the time Drake scooped up his machete, a mob of the creatures had surrounded them.  Chad drew his revolver.

"Drake, let's go."

He dropped what was once an elderly man with a single headshot.  The blast bounced off the walls and the store came alive with un-life.  They ran along the back wall, Chad shooting the occasional fiend obstructing the way.

At the engine fluids, they rounded the corner and discovered the tire and lube entrance was blocked by fifteen or twenty staring pairs of red and yellow eyes.  Behind them, the groans and growls of the approaching throng grew louder.

Drake dove in, swinging the machete and taking down the nearest creature, a woman still dressed in her Wal-Mart uniform.

"Get down," Chad shouted.

Drake ducked.

Chad unloaded, creating a wide gap between the infected.  The brothers dashed towards the broken door; Chad shoved one of the things into the checkout counter before stepping outside into the warm sunlight.  After the building's dark corridors, the blue sky was like a religious experience.

They mounted their bike and peddled as fast as they could to Hilltop Avenue.

The failure hit them hard.  Trying for such a big place was ambitious, but the neighboring houses were beginning to run out of supplies.  Hunting squirrels and the occasional deer wandering throughout the state park was hit or miss, much like fishing.  Soon, the canned food would all be gone, and the brothers would have to find another way.

Chad was beginning to hate sleep, the nightmares it brought.

He rose from bed and pulled on a T-shirt.  When he opened his bedroom door, his nose filled with fresh coffee.  The smell reminded him of Sunday mornings when his father would get up before everyone else and cook deer sausage omelets from their hunting trips.  Mom always kept the dining room tablecloth rotating so it matched the season.  Little touches like that were important to her.  She made the brothers write thank you cards for every gift they received, and their clothes were always washed, folded, and tucked in their drawers when they needed them.

Chad missed the simpler times, realizing how lucky he was before the dead returned to life and began eating the living.

He wondered if he still had it lucky.

In Drake's room, he found his brother asleep on a chair.  Chad shook his head and headed downstairs, lured by flickering lights and the rich smell of coffee.

Their parents had boarded up the bottom floor of the house in the early days of the virus.  Little light penetrated their home, even during the middle of the day.  The brothers illuminated their lives with candles, lanterns, and glow sticks scrounged up from their searches.

He paused in the stairwell, wondering if he should have brought his gun.

Felix was sitting in the living room by several candles, holding a steaming coffee mug.  The intoxicating aroma made Chad's mouth water.

"Morning," Felix said.  She had changed into grey sweatpants and a matching tank top tight enough to show off her curves.  Chad could tell she wasn't wearing a bra and fought the urge to look at her cleavage.

"Morning.  That smells wonderful."

"Want a cup?"

"That'd be great," Chad said.

"We brought some food up with us last night," she said as she lifted a kettle from a propane burner and filled another cup.  "Mostly rations, but we also wanted to say thank you with some luxuries."

"The coffee around here started tasting funny a long time ago," Chad said as he took the cup.  She handed him three sugar packets, two mini creamer cups, and a spoon.  He added all the ingredients, stirring them together.

"Whole beans only last a few years, even if they are sealed," she said.  "Instant coffee doesn't spoil."

The brown liquid burnt the roof of his mouth but was delightful.  The taste of a world long gone.  Chad sat across from her and set the mug in his lap.

"Did you get any sleep?" he asked.

"A little," she said.  "I just couldn't keep my eyes closed anymore.  Tom's going to be out of it for a while.  He hasn't rested since we left Ambertown."

"You said something about Ambertown being a community?" Chad asked.

"It was an indoor shopping mall, three stories tall," Felix said, crossing her legs.  "Called it Amber's Galleria before the world changed.  A group took it over and began taking in survivors.  I came early on.  My dad was a truck driver, so he heard about it on CB radio."

"We have one, but there hasn't been any chatter for a while.  We gave up listening."

"There's a hand held in the truck.  After we passed through Enterprise, we stopped hearing Ambertown's patrols.  Hasn't been any sign of life for miles."

"We haven’t seen anyone in long time."  Chad remembered the encounter on Mystic Lane, the terror he felt when Drake shot the man as he charged with the serrated kitchen knife.  "We were surprise to see your truck at the store."

"Have you two been on your own long?"

"Yeah, since our parents died, almost three years ago."  Chad's insides turned.

"My dad died when our people began fortifying the area around the mall.  They made a wall of abandoned vehicles.  Cars, trucks, school buses—you name it.  We took whatever gas and supplies we could from them and began building.  Dad was good behind the wheel.  He was one of the few people in our group who could operate heavy machinery, so he always went out on those missions.  One night he didn't come back."

Felix's eyes watered.  She dabbed her tears away with her fingers.

"He was a good man. He would do anything for anyone."

"How old are you?" Chad asked, wanting to change the subject.  Seeing her pain stirred emotions buried deep in his heart.

"Eighteen.  I'll be nineteen next September."

Chad was surprised.  Her husband looked much older.

"How about you?" she asked, her eyes still watering.

"Seventeen.  Drake is nineteen."  He took a sip of the coffee, savoring the flavor.  "How many people are in Ambertown?"

"A hundred, give or take.  Every year you gain some, you lose some."

"Lots of people, fortified walls.  Sounds like you guys had it pretty damned good up there.  What made you two leave?"

Felix's cheeks turned red before she focused her attention on her mug.  Chad thought she looked cute.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Tom thought it was best for both of us.  Sometimes he has a quick temper, and he and the leaders had come to a disagreement.  That riff drove us out."

"Drake and I don't have much, but we're doing well."  Chad thought about their dwindling food and wondered if the statement was a lie.  "But there isn't much out here.  I couldn't tell you what's going to happen six months from now."

"That's the way of the world, isn't it?  Even though we were getting by at Ambertown, we've had our share of ups and downs.  Those things aside, we've been attacked by other groups of survivors.  We've dealt with power struggles, sickness, insanity.  Tom wanted to move on before he lost me."

"Lost you?"

"Yeah," she said.  "His time with me was up."

Chad didn’t understand.  "You're both not sick are you?"

"No, it's more complicated than that.  Can we talk about something else?  Do you have a working radio?  I love music."

"Radios kill batteries.  We have books."

"I like books.  So long as they aren't scary."

"We've got all kinds of books.  How about historical fiction?"

"Do you have any poetry?"

"Afraid not.  I have some fantasy and Mom used to have some romance novels."

Felix chuckled.  "It's OK, really.  I'll survive."

"We've got board games."  Chad stood and started for the stack of games on the wooden shelf in front of the barricaded windows.  "Do you like Monopoly?  How about chess?"

"It's insane, isn't it?"

"What's that?"

"We're so awkward with basic conversation that we're racing to distract ourselves.  Were you born here?"

"Yeah.  Born and raised.  Mom missed the Big City, but Dad loved being on boats and in the woods.  He taught us how to fish and hunt early on.  Guess it came in handy."

"Looks like it."

"I've never really been anywhere else," Chad said, a little embarrassed at the confession.  "Other than vacations, that is."

"Trust me, you're not missing much," she said.  "I tell you, it’s a goddamned fairy tale out there."

They started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Tom's voice came from the stairs.

Chad looked up and tensed when he saw the look on his face.

BROTHERS IN SOLITUDE ch 2

Chad couldn't see any movement inside the truck or store.  He brushed his hand against the cold butt of his revolver.  He'd shot plenty of the creatures since the onset of the outbreak, but he'd never pulled the trigger on another living person.  Something felt fundamentally wrong about the idea.

Drake swore under his breath.

"Let's get out of here," Chad said, starting to rise.  "It's not worth it."

Drake grabbed his brother's arm.

"We're not going anywhere."

"If they're packing," Chad said, "we could startle them and get tagged.  We need to split."

"That's our store.  If we let them rob it blind, there'll be nothing left for us."

Drake's eyes glinted in the moonlight, scaring Chad.  He'd never seen his brother so tense and angry.

"You think we should call out to them?" asked Chad.

Drake shook his head.  "We don't know anything about those people.  Can you see the thing from the fishing bridge yet?"

Chad looked back down the road.

"You need glasses," he said.  "No, I don't see it."

"Looks like they've been humping it for a while.  Their bed is filled with boxes, gas cans, and water jugs."

"Screw the lighter fluid," Chad said.  "We can come back tomorrow night."

"I think I see someone in there," said Drake.

Chad tensed.  Something moved inside the store.  Every instinct he'd gained over the past four years screamed run, run, run.

Drake rose from behind the car, drew his revolver, and pointed it at the store.

Chad jumped up and stood behind his brother.

Like always, Drake took control of the situation—something primal and unspoken about being the older brother forced him to always react first.  Chad hated feeling like a defenseless child.  He could hold his own in any situation.  Though they had survived all these years, Chad knew both of them alone would not have made it this far without the other.

"ANYBODY IN THERE?" Drake called out, taking a step towards the door.

The truck's driver's side door opened, and a lanky woman with dark curly hair and dressed in a black sweater and blue jeans leapt out.  Her pale skin almost glowed.

"Wait," she said, holding her empty hands high above her head.  "We're just looking for a place to crash.  We're exhausted."

"How many people are with you?" Chad asked, trying to sound tough.

"Just me and my husband.  We're from the Atlanta area, from a community called Ambertown."

Chad and Drake exchanged a glance.  Chad studied road maps often, but Ambertown didn't strike any chords.

"Please," she said.  "We're in bad shape.  We almost didn't make it out of Tallahassee."

Drake lowered his gun and exhaled.

"We're looking for a fortified city somewhere along the Gulf Coast," she said.  "Ever hear of such a place?"

The brothers shook their heads.  Since the outbreak began, information was scattered and unreliable.  Rumors of safe zones circulated during the plague's early days, but the brothers had neither met nor heard of anyone ever finding sanctuary.  As far as Chad was concerned, their Hilltop Avenue home provided everything they would need.

A man in his late-forties wearing a black leather jacket and armed with a sawed-off shotgun jumped out from the store, clearing the trash barrel with a graceful leap.  He stepped between the brothers and the truck.

"GET AWAY FROM HER," he shouted.

Drake and Chad raised their guns.

Chad's adrenaline kicked.

His heart pounded in his ears.

"Tom, wait," the woman cried. "It doesn't have to be like this.  Honey, put your gun down.  We can talk."

Chad looked to his brother, but Drake did not yield his aim.  Cursing the queen of hearts, Chad wished they had stayed in and played another game.

"Please, Tom," she begged.

Tom lowered the shotgun and walked over to her, placing an arm around her waist above a large hunting knife sheathed in her belt.

"Are you all right?" he asked, rubbing her hip as his eyes locked on the brothers.

"I'm fine."

"Everybody cool?" asked Drake, still aiming at the couple.

"We don't mean any harm," Tom said.  "We need a place to lay our heads.  Thought we might be able to secure that broken door and pass some time."

"Not much left of those windows," said Drake.  "If a handful of them figured out you were in there, it wouldn't take much for them to come crashing in.  Why don't you move along; pretend this didn't happen."

"Listen, kid," Tom said.  "I've been driving for two days."

"That's not our problem," Drake said.

"I haven't slept.  You're the first living people we've seen since we hit the roads.  If you've got a place we can rest our heads, even for one night, we'd appreciate it."

Chad looked at his brother.  Other survivors meant trouble.  The last one they encountered tried knifing Drake in a house on Mystic Lane.  Drake had watched the lone man for two weeks before attempting contact, thinking they could make friends and trade supplies.  Negotiations did not go well.

Movement caught Chad's eyes.

"Look," he said, pointing.  "We've got company."

In the distance, the staggering figured slowly approached, its footsteps dragging on the gravel echoed down Thomas Drive.

"Only one of them?" asked Tom.

"One is enough," said Drake.

Chad silently agreed.

"If you can't take care of one little rotter on your own, I'll handle it," said Tom.

"We can handle a whole army of those things," snapped Drake.  His hands shaking, the gun glinted in the moonlight.

"Over the years we've learned it's better to save ammo," said Chad.  This was no time for a pissing contest.  He lowered his revolver.  "The noise draws them out of the woodwork, and we like our privacy.  My name is Chad.  This is my brother, Drake."

Drake relaxed his stance.

"I respect where you're coming from," Tom said.  "Privacy is a good thing to have.  I'm Tom, and this is my wife, Felix.  We really need refuge.  We can trade supplies for a night or two's rest.  Food, propane, gas—whatever you two need."

Drake sighed and holstered his piece.

"Once we catch our breath, we'll be on our way," Tom said.

The approaching creature neared, its labored groans and dragging footsteps growing louder.  Dressed in swimming trunks and a tie dyed T-shirt, an orange life preserver dangled from its arm.  Chad noticed bone protruding from its twisted right leg.

He looked back at the couple, ignoring death as it dragged itself closer.

Maybe it was the way Tom held Felix, but something about the couple filled Chad with hope.  He knew they couldn't blindly trust the travelers, but meeting them opened new possibilities.  If they were from a community, there was no telling what kind of supplies they could trade.  Not to mention what they knew about the rest of the world.

When Drake looked at him for an opinion, Chad nodded his head, hoping he hadn't made the biggest mistake of his life.

"Look, mister," Drake said, "we have a flat just a couple of blocks from here.  If you need a place to catch your breath a couple of days, we can put you up, but we want some kick downs."

The couple looked at each other, wordless oceans passed between them.

"Thank you," Felix said.  "Like I said, Tallahassee was a disaster.  Tom's uncle didn't make it."

Tom lowered his head.

The creature reached the edge of the parking lot.  Reaching out with crooked, decaying fingers, its mouth opened wide.

"Load up in your truck and follow us," Drake said.  "It's not far from here."

Tom walked to the truck.

Chad boarded his bike.

Felix climbed inside the truck's cab and scooted over towards the passenger side.  Tom got behind the wheel and shut the door.  When he turned on the headlights, they illuminated three more approaching creatures.  The one in the middle, a woman in a tattered sundress, recoiled as the lights flashed across her red and yellow eyes.

"I hope you're right about this," Drake said.

"Me too."

Drake picked up his bike and hopped on.  The creature in swim trunks gave off a raspy growl as it reached the other end of the Chevy.

"Ready?" he asked, eyebrow cocked.

"You could call it that," Chad said.

Drake peddled around the car and stopped several feet away from the hungry ghoul.  The creature turned and stumbled a few steps towards him, nearly losing its balance.  Chad rode past it, and the brothers started towards Trelawney, the truck following slowly behind.

After entering the neighborhood, the headlights cancelled the darkness shrouding Treasure Circle, eliminating the possibility of anything leaping out at them from the shadows.  Chad couldn’t remember an easier attempt at the road and wondered if more people might be the key to some sort of permanent security.

Drake motioned with his hand before they turned right on Hilltop, leading the tuck several blocks to their boarded-up house.  Holding up a balled fist, Drake halted the truck in front of Old Lady Scott's house.

Tom rolled down the window and flicked on the cab's interior light.

"This the place?" he asked.

"No," said Drake, "but we want to make it seem like there's nothing going on in front of our house.  Once we get on top of this roof, we'll use a system of ladders to cross from building to building.  Pull the truck in the driveway and lock up.  It's been deserted around here, so no one will mess with it."

"Can I bring my gun?" Tom asked.

Drake thought a moment.  "One gun.  But keep it on ice."

"Agreed."

"Do you two live alone?" asked Felix from the passenger seat.  Chad noticed how pretty she was.

The brothers exchanged a glance.

"Yeah," said Chad.  "We're the only ones living in there."

After parking, Tom shut off the truck and got out, offering a hand to Felix and helping her exit the cab.

Drake and Chad tied the pull ropes to their beach cruisers' frames as their guests pulled two sleeping bags and three large backpacks from the truck bed.  Looking back, Chad saw Tom whispering in Felix's ear before the two headed over.

"We climb up here?" asked Tom.

"Yeah," Drake said.  "The ropes are sturdy.  See?"

He hoisted himself up and scaled the wall effortlessly, crawling onto the roof.  After pulling up his bike, he tossed the rope back down.  Tom tossed him the sleeping bags and two of the backpacks, slipping a large green bag over his shoulder.

"After you," Chad told Tom.  "I'll make sure we’re clear while you get up."

"No," Tom said.  "Felix first.  She needs to be safe before I make the climb."

"Help me up?" she asked.

"No problem," said Chad, feeling his cheeks warm.  He couldn't remember the last time he spoke to a woman, especially one as attractive as Felix.  Handing her the rope, he was glad the shadows and the dark hid his blushing face.  "Just tie it around your waist and Drake will hoist you up."

"I'll help her," Tom said, getting between Chad and Felix.

Felix tied the rope above her belt and tugged.  Tom stood behind her, placing his hands on her hips.

"I'll push." he said.  "Just hold on."

She kissed his cheek.

When she reached the top, Drake helped her on the roof before tossing the rope back down.  Tom and Chad climbed up together. Tom's agility and speed impressed Chad.

"Not bad," said Drake as Chad pulled up his bike and rested it by the chimney.

"I'm part of the Ambertown guard," Tom said as he pulled up the rope and tossed it next to the boys' bikes.  The group gathered Tom and Felix's bags.  "At least, I was before we left.  We need to be in good shape in case any of us find ourselves in trouble.  Sad to say, that happens more than I'd like to admit."

Felix hugged Tom.

"The ladder is over here."  Chad led the couple to the other end of the roof.  "We go one at a time."

After setting the ladder into position, Chad crawled to the mansard roof and held the ladder for Felix.  They traded smiles as she made her way over the gap.  After everyone crossed they repeated the process to their roof.

Chad returned the ladder to its place in the pile and cracked his knuckles.  As Drake opened the plywood hatch leading inside, Chad realized these two were the first outsiders to see their secret entranceway.

"This is it," Drake said as he lowered himself into the attic and flicked on his flashlight.  "Home, sweet home."

Tom and Felix followed.  Chad held up the rear, closing and latching the flap behind him.  Inside the attic, Drake stopped their guests.

"Look," he said, "we need to get something straight.  Most of windows are boarded and reinforced, so don't mess with them—we don't want any weaknesses.  That goes for the front and back doors too.  The door leading into the garage doesn't open.  We nailed it shut so we didn't have to worry about the automatic door coming down.  It's better if they don't realize we're in here, so we also don’t like a lot of noise."

"We won't disrupt your home," Tom said.

Drake lowered the extending ladder and led the way through the darkness with his flashlight.

"There's a room at the far end of this hall—you can crash there," he said.  "It has its own bathroom.  Believe it or not, the water still runs.  It's cold, but you can get a shower if you'd like.  I think there's shampoo and stuff under the sink."

"We really appreciate it," said Felix.  When she smiled, her entire face lit up.  Chad wondered how the old man and her wound up married, but figured people couldn't be picky at the end of the world.

"Yeah," Tom said.  "Things are bad out there.  I've come across survivors while patrolling the areas around Ambertown, and they aren't as classy as you kids."

"Truthfully, we haven't seen anyone else in a while," Chad said.  "I was beginning to think we were alone in this world."

"There's a lot of people still living," Felix said.

"Yeah," Tom said, "But it's not pretty.  We had to leave our home."

"I'm anxious to hear about it," Chad said.

"Tomorrow," said Drake.  "They're tired, remember?  We should call it for now, then powwow when everyone wakes up."

"Sounds good," Felix said.

"We'll tell you all about it once we get settled in," said Tom.

Drake pointed the flashlight beam towards the guestroom.

"Oil lamps are in every room with matches next to them," he said.  "There's also battery lanterns, but try to save the juice.  Here's a flashlight in case you need it."

Tom took the flashlight from Chad.

"Thanks again," Tom said.  He turned, leading Felix to their room.

When they shut the door, Drake motioned for Chad to follow him to his room.  Inside, Drake pulled Chad close.

"Listen," he whispered in his brother's ear, "these two may be trouble.  That Tom guy might cut our throats the first chance he gets.  We need to be careful."

"Why did you even invite them up?"

"They had a lot of stuff in the truck.  We need every bit of help we can get.  Maybe they also know of a better place.  We can't stay here forever, Chad."

"I know.  It's getting harder to find things."

"If they do anything funny, I'll waste them."

Chad sighed.  "You gonna kill them in our house?"

"If I have to."  Drake looked towards a poster of a busty woman in a bikini holding up a bottle of beer and stared through her as if he could see beyond the walls and into the guestroom.

"Take shifts sleeping while they're here?"

"You first," Drake said.  "I'm wide awake.  Make sure you lock your door."

"If they're cool, we can really learn from them.  I can't wait to hear their stories."

"Yeah.  Sure.  But don't let your guard down."