Badlands Trilogy (Book 2): Beyond the Badlands (31 page)

His vision faded. Wouldn’t be long now. Just as well to be done with it all. Without Beth, what was the point?

Thinking of Beth, he smiled as darkness overwhelmed him.

“Dad!”

Zach and Jeremy ran to their father. The three of them collided, nearly knocking Ed down. Jasper smiled in the background.

“We thought you were dead!” Zach said. Tears streamed down his face.

“I’m not dead, buddy.”

“How did you find us?” Jeremy asked.

Ed’s voice cracked as a lump lodged in his throat. He tried to speak, but couldn’t force any of the words out.

Instead, he held his sons, their familiar forms in his arms once more, wishing the moment would never end.

* * *

“How is she?” Ed asked.

An EMT in his former life, Ollie Cooper was the closest thing the group had to a doctor. “She lost some blood, but we got to her pretty quickly.”

“What do you think, long term?”

“She’s going to be weak for a while. I want her to stay in bed and under observation until we’re sure there’s no infection. That’s a real concern under these conditions.”

Ed nodded.

“She seems like a tough one,” Ollie said, a grin on his face. “All things considered, the prognosis looks good. You guys can see her if you like.”

“Yeah, we’d like to.”

Ollie opened the door to a small room that had been repurposed as an infirmary. Several other men and women lay on similar tables, separated by makeshift walls, recovering from gunshot wounds, carrier bites and other injuries sustained in the fighting.

Trish watched them approach, smiling. Ollie left them alone.

“Hey there,” Ed said. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve been better,” Trish replied. “But I’ve also been worse. How long have I been out?”

“Most of the day,” Ed answered.

“Wow. What happened?”

“Our friend, Dave Porter. That’s what happened.”

“Dave? He’s here?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s Annette?”

Ed shook his head.

“What about the baby?”

“No.”

Trish sighed. “That’s terrible. How’s he doing?”

“Okay, for the most part.”

“What about those people who locked us up?”

“Mostly dead. A few survived, but they’re locked up now, I hear.”

“Good. Assholes.” Trish forced a weak grin.

Ed chuckled. “Sounds like you guys had one hell of an adventure.”

“You could call it that, I suppose. I don’t think I’d want to do it again though.”

Ed smiled. “You need your rest. We’ll catch up when you’re feeling stronger.”

“Okay.”

Zach and Jeremy both gave Trish a gentle hug.

“You guys take care of your dad, now. He’ll be helpless until I get back on my feet again.”

“We will,” they said.

“I love you,” Ed said.

“I love you too, baby.”

* * *

“How’s the leg today?” Ed asked.

“I’ll make do,” Dave replied.

Ed nodded. “You’re pretty famous around here it seems.”

Dave chuckled. “Yesterday nobody knew who I was. Funny how that can change overnight.”

Ed paused. “Hey…sorry about Annette.”

Dave nodded. “Thanks.”

“If you need anything…”

Dave nodded again. “I know. Thanks.” He turned to Zach and Jeremy. “Good to see you guys again.”

“Hi, Dave,” Zach and Jeremy said in near-unison.

“You boys doing okay?”

Both boys nodded.

“How’s Trish?” Dave asked Ed.

“Better. They’re watching her now, but they think she’ll be okay.”

“I’m glad.”

A pause. Ed searched for words, but came up empty.

Then suddenly a voice resonated from behind. “Well, if isn’t the man of the hour.”

“Hey, Johnny,” Dave said.

Johnny walked up to Ed and stuck out his hand. “I’m Johnny. Nice to meet you.”

Ed took the man’s hand. “Ed. My boys, Zach and Jeremy.”

“Ed’s an old friend,” Dave said. “Been through a lot together.”

“Well, any friend of Dave’s is a friend of mine. Hey, don’t let me interrupt you. I can come back later.”

“Nah, we’ll catch up later. Besides, Jasper’s probably bored by now.”

“Who?” Dave asked.

“Story for another day,” Ed replied. “He kinda saved my life. Good to meet you, Johnny.”

“Same here. Take care.”

* * *

“They set the bone and sewed me back up again,” Dave said. “But it hurts like a motherfucker. I’d kill for some morphine right now.”

Johnny chuckled. “I’m afraid the best I can do is some vodka I found in Glenn’s office.”

“I’ll take it.”

“It’s yours then. I’ll bring it by later. Ask that damn doctor in the meantime if he’s got something for you.”

“He’s not a doctor. He’s an EMT.”

“Close enough.”

“Any news on Clint?” Dave asked.

“He hasn’t turned up.”

“Shit.”

“I know. He came through and that’s a whole lot more than I can say for Gary, that rat bastard.”

Dave shook his head. “I should have seen that coming.”

“None of us saw it. He got what he deserved.”

“I suppose. What about Glenn?”

“Gone,” Johnny replied. “I guess he bolted when the heat turned up.”

“Prick.”

“Understatement of the year.”

“You think he’ll come back?”

“Hard to say. If he does he’s in for a serious ass whipping. And as far as Calvin goes-”

“Calvin won’t be back.”

“How do you figure?”

“He’s gone. Headed south.”

“How do you know?”

“He told me.”

“Well, Calvin’s not really what I’d call a reliable source of information.”

“He’s not lying.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he wants me to follow him.”

“He told you that?”

“He didn’t have to.”

Johnny paused, studying his hands. “What are you gonna do?”

“You have to ask?”

“Not really.” Another pause. “When are you leaving?”

“As soon as I can walk again.”

“You going alone?”

“Planned on it.”

“Well, if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to tag along.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” A pause. “Those rifles and shit? Somebody from out west was supplying Glenn.”

“How do you know that?”

“We finally broke one of his boys. Spilled the beans.”

“You believe him?”

“I suppose. Fits the rumors. If it’s true though, how long until this guy comes calling and finds out Glenn isn’t in charge? Maybe folks won’t want to be around here by then. Anyway, you need some rest. I’m gonna get out of here.”

Dave nodded. “Thanks, man.”

Johnny smiled. “All in a day’s work.”

Three weeks after the fall of Glenn’s forces, Dave sat across from Trish in his room.
 

“I don’t think you should go,” Trish said.

Ed sat beside her, while the boys played Go Fish across the room at a table with Jasper. Dave still favored his broken leg, but the cut had healed and the stitches were out. Crutches discovered in the school nurse’s office were now his constant companion. “I’m going.”

“It won’t bring Annette back, you know. It might just get you killed.”

“I know that. I’m not trying to bring her back again. And I’m not worried about getting killed.”

“Well, I’m worried for you.”

Dave smiled. “I appreciate that. But you don’t need to worry about me. You need to worry about who might show up here at any moment.”

“We don’t know that anyone is coming.”

“Are you willing to take that chance?”

“He’s right,” Ed said. “We can’t risk it.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Trish said, still stiff from the gunshot wound. “He doesn’t need to chase after this guy.”

“Have you decided where you’re going?” Dave asked, successfully changing the subject.

“We’ve talked about going north,” Ed said. “Toward Canada. Maybe even Alaska. It’s remote and it’s cold. Not a good environment for the infected.”

“But the smart ones, what did you call them again?”

“Apex carriers,” Jasper said from the card table, his eyes on the cards in his hand. “Go fish.”

“These apex carriers, theoretically they could be anywhere. If they know how to build fires and hunt for food then they’re as equipped as cave men. You might find
only
apex carriers up there.”

“We can’t stay here though,” Ed said. “I don’t want to be here when the next Glenn Summerville comes calling.”

A knock sounded at the door before it opened. Johnny walked into the room. “Heard something odd on the ham radio.”

“What do you mean, odd?” Dave asked.

“Well, we only caught part of the conversation, something from California. A ship’s captain and someone at a dock.”

“A border town?” Ed asked.

“Probably,” Johnny said. “But the odd part is what they said. Something about transporting survivors.”

“On a truck?” Dave asked.

“No,” Johnny replied. “They’re traveling on a ship of some kind.”

“But why would they be bringing in survivors to a border town on a ship?” Trish asked.

“Not
to
the border town,” Johnny said. “
From
the border town.”

“To where?” Ed asked.

“Hawaii,” Johnny replied. “Honolulu to be exact. They called it a safe zone.”

* * *

A week after learning of the safe zone in Hawaii, Ed and Jasper sat in one of the repurposed dorm rooms they’d been sleeping in for the past month.

“How many volunteered to go?” Ed asked.
 

“Forty-six,” Jasper replied. “Several more are trying to make up their minds still. Your buddy Dave is telling them to come. Seems like people listen to him.”

“And the trucks?”

“They’ve rounded up three trucks that work. They’re big enough to hold the weapons and the supplies, along with enough fuel to get us to California. It’ll be like picking up this camp and making it mobile.”

“And if we run into the next Glenn?”

“Then we open up on them with all we got.”

“You think it’ll be enough?”

Jasper shrugged. “It’ll have to be. But we’ll worry about that later. They want us to help pack tomorrow. Tonight, however, we celebrate.”

A knock at the door. Trish stuck her head inside the room. “You two ready?” Zach and Jeremy stood outside the door.

Jasper smiled. “For dinner and booze? Always.”

Trish smiled. “You’re a bad influence on him, you know?”

“I can’t help it. I corrupt those in my wake,” he replied, chuckling.

 
She turned to Ed. “What about you?”

Ed smiled. “I think I’m ready for anything.”

About the Author

Brian J. Jarrett is a computer programmer by day and a horror/thriller writer by night. He grew up in West Virginia and now resides in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife and children.

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Also by Brian J. Jarrett

NOVELS

Into the Badlands

Beyond the Badlands

The Desolate

COLLECTIONS, NOVELLAS & SHORT STORIES

Walking At Night

Muster Drill

Wishes and Desires

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http://brianjjarrett.com/works/
for the most up to date listing of Brian’s entire catalog.

Afterword

When I wrote
Into the Badlands
back in 2011 I’d always assumed I’d write a sequel. I had no definitive plan, however, of when I’d get around to it. Nor did I have any idea of where the story would even go, despite planting certain “seeds” for the sequel within the first book. I published the book and began work on other projects immediately.

But then a funny thing happened:
Into the Badlands
began to sell. People were buying it, reading it, and they were asking about the sequel. After finishing a few other projects I decided in late 2012 that it was time to revisit Ed’s world and finally get that sequel written.

Then another funny thing happened: after months of work I finished the first draft of Beyond’s manuscript and realized I needed four books to tell this story. What started as a sequel ended up being too much story for one book. I was pleasantly surprised to find I now had a series on my hands.

Into the Badlands
is a special book to me. It’s a personal tale, having loosely crafted the characters of Zach and Jeremy from my own two sons. Maybe that’s why it seems to resonate with readers. Perhaps readers are able to draw parallels between the characters in the book and people they know in their own lives. Or maybe even with themselves. It’s also special to me because it’s the book that changed my life, allowing me to live out a dream I’ve had since I was very young: to write and publish stories for readers.

With
Beyond the Badlands
, I wanted to maintain the same tone and style of storytelling I’d used in the first book while still allowing the characters to change and grow as the story progressed. I feel like I accomplished that. In the next two books you’ll see even more changes with these characters as each one draws closer to their final destination. For some that will be a true safe haven while for others it will be cold revenge. Stay tuned…this story is just getting started.