(Book 2)What Remains (12 page)

Much to my surprise, Maddox didn’t protest.
“That’s a good plan. We can pack a little of everything. When the
motorcycle man crashed did he mess up our stuff in the car?”

I sighed. “Yeah, buddy. If any of it is still
good I don’t think it’ll be safe enough to get it out. Hey, tell me
something... when you were outside, did you see any movement in the
yard or house of the loud family behind us?”

“The redneck family?”

“That’s not nice, mister,” Sarah scolded.

Maddox rolled his eyes, and I tried to hide a
similar reaction. The family behind us was always a tad on the
obnoxious side. Over the years they had shown a fondness for
country music, outdoor speakers, and some colorful arguments on
their back deck. “Sorry, Mommy. No, I didn’t see them there. Why?”
Maddox asked.

Calise rose from the blankets then with adorably
messy hair; she looked like a Disney Princess-styled Medusa. In
seconds she attached herself to my side in a hug.

“We always thought it was weird that they parked
a truck in their backyard,” I said, “but it’s going to come in
handy because that’s the way we’re going to get out of here. I
think most of the monsters are around the front. Hopefully we’ll be
able to get out of the area before any of them decide to circle
around the neighborhood.”

“How are we going to get out if we don’t have a
car? I don’t think it’s smart for us to walk out, Daddy.”

I chuckled at the seriousness of my little
soldier. “You’re right about that, big boy. Listen guys... I hate
to say it but I have to leave again.” Calise’s grip on my side
increased exponentially. “It will be just fine!” I assured them. “I
will be back by the end of the day and I swear I’m not going far.
My mission is to get us a car then drive it to the other side of
the fence where we can load it. There is a good chance we’ll have
to load up in a hurry so I’d like everything ready in our backyard
so all we have to do is toss it over the fence. When I’m gone I’ll
have one of the walkie talkies with me at all times
and
I’ll
be close enough to use it.”

Sarah took the cue, rummaged through a pile of
goods and found two of the radios that I had last used at the top
of the neighborhood. She snapped the backs off of each radio to
check the batteries on a battery tester we had kept with our
electronics stash. “Like Daddy said, he will be fine. I need the
two of you to help me get this done in time. Maddox, are you going
to be my big strong man that can carry things to the fence?” He
nodded with a big smile. “Good. Calise, can you be Mommy’s helper
in stuffing our bags?” She burrowed further into my side in
reply.

“Princess,” I pried her off then knelt down to
look her in her pretty eyes. “I swear that I’ll be back soon.
You’re a big girl so I’m not going to lie to you; there are
monsters outside, you know that. Well, honey, if we don’t get away
from here I’m really worried that they could find their way inside.
So let’s work as a team and do what we have to so we can get to a
happier, monster-free, place. Alright?”

She nodded her head up and down then gave me a
big sloppy kiss on my scruffy cheek before I descended to ground
level. She giggled sweetly as she tried to rub the tickles off of
her lips that my whiskers had left.

Sarah went into another box and pulled out two
odd looking flat pieces of fabric, holding them up for me to
see.

“What are those?”

“I knew there would be a time you’d have to run
out again so I wanted to make you something to keep you safer.
Whenever you had to come up close with those things you said they
were always snapping and biting, right?”

“Yeah.”

Each fabric section reminded me of the shape of
seats around an amphitheater bowing outward like a piece of pie
with a bite taken off the tip. She handed one of the oblong
swatches to me. I was surprised by its odd texture and weight; it
was made at least two layers of denim yet something else was in the
mixture. After a moment of contemplation I knew what she had
made.

“These are gauntlets, aren’t they?”

“There is a layer of wire mesh sandwiched in
between layers of denim. I used some old jeans and screening I
found in the shed that was left over from that aquarium top you
made. It should be flexible enough to move but strong enough to buy
you some time. My plan was to have snaps to close it but I didn’t
have time to finish so we’ll have to use tape or string to keep it
closed around your forearm,” Sarah explained. She looked almost
nervous to see if I would approve of her improvised bite
protection.

“This is brilliant!” I said then gave her a big
kiss. “It’s so simple yet effective. I doubt any of them would be
able to gnaw through two layers of jeans let alone a layer of wire
screen. Thank you, baby. I feel much safer now.”

“I started some for everyone else. When we’re on
the road I can work on ones for the legs too. They will be warm,
but hopefully by the time the summer rolls around we won’t need
them like we do now.”

She wrapped it around my right arm to see if the
sizing was right. Pleased that my arms would stay off the menu
another day, she used green Para-cord to tie it on. I suggested
duct tape but that was nixed for fear of sacrificing the
re-usability of the gauntlet. The left arm received its armored
treatment next. I whipped the Kukri out of its scabbard to test my
flexibility. Overall I felt more confident for the task at hand,
like an Iron Man of the apocalypse.

With my bag packed and the family up to speed I
begrudgingly broke the seal to downstairs. The ladder creaked
loudly, causing my heart skip a few beats. I carried only the .22
caliber rifle since Maddox offered to take my pack. Ignoring normal
paranoid checks, I stopped at the kitty guards without looking out
the peephole towards the front. After what I had to witness the
night before I simply couldn’t stomach seeing the aftermath in the
daylight. The house hadn’t obviously welcomed any members of the
undead community while we slept so I snapped my fingers to signal
it was safe for Sarah and Maddox to descend.

“Monkey and I will be back as soon as Daddy is
gone,” Sarah whispered up to Calise at the top of the ladder. “Can
you be brave enough for me to close the ladder?” Satisfied with
whatever the response was, she blew a kiss upwards then eased the
ladder back into the collapsed position. I hoped to God that Calise
was feeling as bold as she was acting; she hadn’t been upstairs
alone as of yet. Although, much like the change we had seen in her
brother, our spunky daughter seemed to be maturing rapidly as
well.

The post office was less than a mile from our
house; I had to get there quickly and quietly. Going over the fence
to use the back way meant riding through an area I hadn’t surveyed
since before everything went to hell; it was as risky as it was
necessary. If I rode hard through the indirect path then I could
reach the vehicle bay in twenty minutes. The most direct way would
have gotten me there in half the time, however, after watching the
motorized vigilante's horrid end, I had to consider that route as
an insurmountable obstacle. During my original flight home I found
the front area of our neighborhood dangerous, though not
impossible. I hoped the lesser travelled region would be easy
enough to clear.

I set my pack against the wall under the window.
Maddox appeared behind me with a machete in hand. The sight of my
eight-year-old son wielding a killing tool served as yet another
reminder of the harsh reality we now faced.

“I think I should check the yard first,
Daddy.”

This was met by an instantaneous look of
disapproval by his mother. I pondered it for a moment; knowing the
stubborn little man, I was sure that the lack of an outlet for his
desire to help could lead to something reckless in the future.

“Alright.” I’m not sure who looked more
surprised by my blessing, Maddox or Sarah. “You check the fences
for any signs of trouble.
Do not
go in the jungle. Take a
look from the grass to make sure none of them are standing in the
yard then you circle back to give me the all clear.”

He smiled then gave me a funny little salute. In
seconds he was out the window, machete in hand.

“Why are you letting him do this?” Sarah said
with a spousal ferocity.

“Because he wants to help and he’s actually able
to. The backyard is fine - if it wasn’t clear then we would already
know about it. He’s so eager that if we don’t let him do something
then he’s going to take it upon himself. I’d much rather he get it
out of his system now then sometime down the road.”

“He’s only eight years old!”

“I know, honey. I know. We have to face the fact
that things will never be as they were before those fucking things
showed up. He was old enough to protect his sister from something
that would have killed them both.”

Sarah wiped a tear away then wrapped her arms
around me. “Just go. Go and come back as fast as you can. I can’t
do this without you.”

Maddox’s head popped through the opening. “It’s
all clear. I unlocked the shed already. Do you want to toss your
bag and the gun down?”

After a quick kiss I looked her in the eyes for
a moment and smiled. I hoped to reassure her in a situation that I
wasn’t quite sure of myself. “I’ll see you tonight.” Not waiting
for a response I handed him my bag but not the rifle. After a
struggled minute squeezing through the trap opening, I was in the
yard. The temperature had decreased since I last left the house and
the chilly air tingled along my face. A refreshing breeze rustled
the spindly branches above me. The winds carried distant sounds of
turmoil.

Maddox set my backpack carefully against the
brick foundation then jogged to the shed to begin removing what I
would need. First he wheeled my green Trek mountain bike over to be
propped up on an adjacent pine tree. He started to pull the long
aluminum ladder out without my help. I gasped remembering all of
the times that one end of that ladder had crashed to the ground
while pulling it out of storage. Fortunately, I was able to catch
the end before any possibility of it letting out a dooming clank.
Maddox knew exactly where I planned to climb over the fence so we
didn’t miss a beat.

With the ladder moved to the right area I gave
Maddox a pat on the shoulder to get his attention; once I had it, I
pantomimed a zipper motion over my mouth to which he nodded in
understanding. There could be no talking. I put my hands together
as if I were going to pray, and then pulled them apart keeping the
fingertips touching, finally I pointed at the fence. Message
received, he turned to the fence to set the ladder up without an
inkling of hesitation.

I reached into the shed to the wall just inside
the door until I felt the nail that hooked my bolt cutters. They
were heavy. I loathed the idea of going for a ride with the cutters
but I knew they would come in handy if I could make it to my
destination. I planted them point-down in my backpack and zipped
the zipper as far as it would go; a length of Para-cord would keep
the bag closed so long as I wasn’t upside down.

I heard the scuffing of Maddox’s shoes on the
textured aluminum steps. He peeked over then flashed a thumb up in
my direction. Even though it was still early in the morning I knew
the daylight was ticking away at my window for action. I jogged the
bike over to the base of the ladder.

“I’ll hold it steady for you, Daddy,” he quietly
said. “I wish I could come with you.”

“I wish you could too, big boy. Don’t be so
eager to fight zombies, though, because when I get back I’m sure
you’ll get your chance. Right now you’re helping me a lot by
keeping watch over the girls. Get inside as soon as I’m over the
fence. The ladder can stay right where it is. Once you’re inside
tell Mommy to turn the radio onto channel three. I’ll check in once
I’m in a safe place so
do not
try to call me unless it is an
emergency. Are we clear?”

“Yes sir. I won’t let anything happen to Mommy
or Calise - you can count on me.”

Our whispered conversation made me feel better
about leaving. He was so young yet so determined to be a superhero
for the ones he loved.

“I’m proud of you. You know that, right?” He
smiled then gripped me in a tight hug with the speed of a lunging
reaper. Then he released his grip to redirect it on steadying the
ladder.

By design, the bike weighed very little. In my
younger, thinner days I was fairly active with trail riding. I had
many fond memories of biking trips that were highlighted by
throwing the muddy green contraption over my back so I could climb
up some obstacle that the wheels couldn’t top. I wrapped my right
hand around the center of the frame and pulled it over my shoulder.
It was heavier than I remembered but still manageable. A dull ache
echoed in objection from various points in my body but the build-up
of adrenaline helped drown out pain. Step by step I eased up the
ladder as quietly as possible. Maddox held tight, pushing towards
the fence as leverage to ensure everything wouldn’t come crashing
down.

Three rungs from the top I flipped the bike
around to the other side of the fence. Traces of dirt, which
probably outdated Calise, made the frame slippery during the
contorted repositioning of the bicycle. If not for the rubberized
grip on my neoprene gloves, the bike would’ve launched loudly down
into the newly revealed yard. I wobbled and heard Maddox grunt as
he struggled to steady the rig.

Using my left hand I grabbed a hold of the fence
to help stabilize things then, carefully, I lowered the bike down.
With it on the opposite side of the fence I knew that there was
still too much of a drop, as it would have noisily tumbled no
matter how low I tried to get it before a release. Improvising, I
decided to hook the pedal over the top of the wooden planks; once I
was on the other side I would reach up to lower it with proper
stealth. The bike held; a lucky break that I chose to see as a good
omen.