Glory (Book 4) (6 page)

Chapter 6

They had gone upstairs and grabbed the things that they'd thought they'd need for their journey.

Alice had made sure that her husband brought his good walking shoes. She had gotten hers as well. They had gathered some clothes (including a warm sweater each) and put them into a couple of old backpacks John had found in one of the spare rooms.

Then they had looked around for a few other small things to bring. What was left of the food. A couple cans of pop.

It was Marianne who had surprised them when she had suggested that they each take a knife.

"We need to protect ourselves," she had said, as though it was a normal everyday thing.

Julie and Alice had taken Marianne's suggestion. However, John had settled on his hammer, despite the fact that his wife had hated the idea of it. And Scooter had his axe.

*

Now they were settled down for the night in the basement for the last time.

Day 9

Chapter 1

They all woke up early the next morning and decided to leave straight away.

"There's no point putting it off any longer than we have to," John had said after he had wished them a good morning.

His wife had argued that they needed to eat first, but it didn't take them much time to eat a few crackers and open one of the last cans of soup.

They grabbed their things and headed upstairs.

John led everyone to the front door and paused once they got there. He tried to listen for any sign of the creatures. The others did as well.

"I can't hear anything outside," Scooter said.

"Then I guess it's time," John said. He turned to his wife. "Ready?"

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She nodded her head.

"All right," John continued. "This is it. Time to go." He opened the door slowly and looked outside. "It's clear."

They walked onto the front porch.

With his backpack strapped over his shoulders, John felt like he was simply going on a little camping trip. But that wasn't the case. There was nothin
g
littl
e
about what they were doing. They were going off to look for other survivors. They didn't know where they would be or how long it would take.

No, there was nothin
g
littl
e
about it at all.

He waited for everyone to pass, then he turned around to close the door, even though he knew that it wasn't necessary. They didn't have to worry about strangers coming in and taking their things. And, even if they did, it didn't matter if they did. John and his wife were never coming back.

Never coming back
.
The thought jarred him.

"Is everything okay?" Alice asked.

"I'm all right," he said. "Just a little sad."

"We've lived here a long time."

"We did."

"I always thought that we were going to die here."  It was a morbid thought, but it was one that John had had too. They had lived here for so long. It only felt right that they'd die here. Together.

"There's nothing we can do about that now," John said. He closed the door and felt it click into place. It was a strange sensation. One that he had barely ever noticed before
.
That little sound that meant they were protected from the world
.
It affected him, made him question what they were doing. Yet he quickly pushed those thoughts aside. "We're making the right choice."

"I hope you're right."

"I am."

Alice smiled, though her smile was a bit weak.

They turned to look back at the front door. They couldn't see anything on the other side of it, but they knew what was there. The photos on the walls. Their bedroom. The kitchen. Living room. Carpets. Tables. Television.

It was their home. And they were leaving it.

Alice moved toward her husband and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Sometimes you drive me crazy," she said. "You and your silly ideas."

John smiled. "I love you too."

The old couple turned away from their house and looked at their group. Everyone was waiting for them down at the end of the sidewalk. John and Alice could see that no one wanted to rush them.

"Ready?" John asked.

His wife looked at him. "Yes. But John…"

"What?"

She gave him a kiss.

John grabbed his wife's hand. It would be the last time that they walked down these steps. It would be the last time that they would see their house. But this was how it had to be.

John and Alice walked down the stairs. They made their way over to the group.

"We're ready," John said.

Scooter nodded his head. "Then let's go."

And with that they started off down the street.

Chapter 2

It didn't take long for Alice to comment on the destruction. She had never even imagined such a thing before. Bodies were everywhere. The pavement was stained with blood. Cars had been smashed. Some had been burnt. Houses too.

"Oh, John," she said. "What happened out here?"

John felt a rush of panic as he looked at his wife, worried that what she saw was going to push her back over the edge. He reached out his hand and placed it under her elbow.

"It's okay," he said. "Don't worry about it." It was a strange thing to say. Of course, she was going to worry about it. The
y
al
l
were. He simply didn't want her to shift back.

"Don't worry about it? How can I not worry about it?"

John's worry continued to build. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost his wife again
.
How could he go through that once more?

"I didn't mean that," he said. "I just…"

"There's so much death. So much blood. I had no idea." She glanced around. "I mean, I didn't know that it wa
s
thi
s
bad. You had all talked about it, but none of that could've prepared me."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what? You didn't have anything to do with this."

John wanted to say that he was sorry for not telling her more
.
Oh, please don't go back into that state of shock
.
"I know. I just…"

She reached out and grabbed his hand. "It's okay," she said. "You're right. Let's not worry about it."

John let out the breath he had been holding.

Chapter 3

John and Alice let go of each other's hand after a while. The old man had had trouble trouble keeping up with her and he didn't want to slow them down. He also didn't want them to know the pain that he was in. He drifted off to the side to be alone.

It was Scooter who came up to him to see if everything was okay.

"I'm all right," John said. "Let's keep moving."

Scooter stopped. "We can rest here for a bit," he said.

John wanted to. Actually, he wanted to lie down and go to sleep. But he'd never admit that anyone. Not even himself. He needed to be strong. He wouldn't hold the group back.

"No," John said. "Really, I'm fine."

Scooter reluctantly nodded his head. "If you say so. Just don't push yourself too hard. Let me know when you need a rest."

"I will," John said, knowing that he wouldn't. At least, he'd try not to. Maybe he wouldn't have a choice in the matter. But right now he did. And he chose to move on. "Come on."

John started to walk again. Scooter stayed beside him.

The others had kept on and were all that much farther away. Marianne and Julie were walking on either side of Buster. The dog was surprisingly well trained. Alice was walking with Emily, holding the little girl's hand.

Even the little girl was stronger than him.

He tried not to think about that. He was doing the best that he could. His body simply didn't work as well as it once had. He needed to keep that in mind. He had to…

Fall.

John tripped and and went crashing onto the ground. From what he could tell, there was no real reason for it. He might have misstepped. There may have been something in his path. But, whatever the case, he was on the ground, eyes focused on the pavement.

"Are you okay?" Scooter asked.

John couldn't look at the young man. Not yet. He was embarrassed. Frightened. Hurt. He wanted to scream out in frustration. But he didn't want to make things worse than they already were.

He calmed himself before turning onto his side. Scooter was knelt down beside him. He could see his wife and the others turn from their spots up ahead.

"I'm fine," he said. "I just…I…"

He had fallen.

"John!" his wife called to him. She hurried back to see what had happened. The rest of the group came with her. "Oh, John, you've hurt yourself!" Alice reached out her finger and ran it under his nose. When she pulled it away, John could see his blood on it.

"It was just a silly accident," he said. "Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? How can you say that?"

"Really, darling, I'm okay." He tried to sit up straighter.

As Alice turned to the others, he could see that she was pleading with them to speak some sense into him. They looked like they wanted to do it too, but John wouldn't have it.

"I'm okay," he said again. "Really."

Alice didn't seem sure. But she didn't argue with him, either. She simply wiped at his face again. More blood came off.

"Here," Marianne said. "Use this." She handed Alice a tissue that she had dug out of her purse.

Alice took the tissue and pressed it against her husband's nose. John winced.

"Take this," his wife told him. "Keep pressure on it."

John took hold of the tissue and placed it back against his nose. He winced again, wondering if his nose was broken
.
But surely it would hurt more than this
,
he decided. He pressed a bit harder
.
No, not broken.

Scooter helped him up.

"Thanks," John said. He stood on his feet, a bit wobbly, but managed to keep himself from falling back down.

"Are you sure you're okay?" the young man asked.

"I'm fine. Really, I just tripped."

"All right, but let me at least take your backpack."

They had talked about it in the basement. Scooter had offered to carry the bag. John had refused. He had wanted to do his share.

"I'm fine," John repeated.

"I know, but…"

"I'm fine."

Chapter 4

One foot after the other, John paid close attention to the steps he took. He didn't want to risk falling. Didn't want to hurt himself any further. Including his pride.

It was true that he was an old man. He knew that. But he also knew that he wasn't the type to fall so easily.

The time he fell off of the stool in the basement didn't count
,
he told himself
.
He had seen a dead body drop in front of the window. Anyone could have fallen. Besides, after that, he hadn't fallen once.

For the most part, he had been strong in the house. He had taken care of his wife. He had walked up and down the stairs. He had gotten the mattress. Sure
,
tha
t
had been a bit hard. But he had done it.He continued to walk. Still behind the others. Though only a little bit.

How could he have fallen?

"It's okay," Scooter said.

John wasn't sure when the young man had started to walk beside him again. "What was that?"

"It's okay."

John knew that Scooter was trying to be supportive. Saying that it was okay for him to fall. But the thing was that it wasn't
.
Maybe his wife was right. Maybe they should have stayed back at home.

"I know," he said. It was all he could manage without risking a breakdown
.
When had he become so old?

"No," Scooter said. "Really, it's okay. It could have happened to anyone."

John looked at the young man again. He didn't know if he was being sincere or not. He didn't think that he was making fun of him, but in his current state he couldn't be sure.

"No, it couldn't have," he replied.

"Yes," Scooter said again. "It could have."

"You mean tha
t
yo
u
could have fallen doing something as simple as walking down the street?"

"It's possible. This situation has set us all off a little."

"
Off
?
"

"Things have changed. It's a lot to deal with."

John thought a little more about that. He supposed that the young man was right. He only hoped that it hadn't rocketed him into being a feeble old man.

"You can't worry about it," Scooter continued. "You took care of your wife. We all saw that. You brought down that mattress. You're strong. So what if you fell? Children fall. Adults fall. Don't worry about it."

John stopped to look at the young man for the moment. He was so much older than Scooter, but here he was, giving him wisdom. More than that, he was giving him encouragement.

"You're right," he said. Then he smiled. It wasn't the most heartfelt smile that he had ever given before, but it was big enough. "Thanks."

Scooter smiled back. "Now let's catch up to the others."