Gunfire sounded the morning alarm. Distant snaps and crackles littered the east for several minutes until all was quiet again. The three travelers were going to run into others whether they wanted to or not. Kozz was first to gather his belongings and move onward. “It’s a dangerous path we’re about to take, but we need to get to that bridge. We’re gonna have to go through that small town at the water's edge to get across the sea.” He tightened the straps on the mules and led the animals downhill. Caleb and Luciele picked up their gear and followed after him.
"That town is Siletz," said Luciele. "It's where my parents used to live. Good place for seafood. Harold and I used to spend entire summers out on the sea before Caleb was born, back when we were young and cared diddly about any responsibilities."
"I never liked boats," said Kozz.
"Me neither," said Caleb.
"Well then," said Luciele, her voice as flat as an iron, "good thing there's a bridge."
They dropped into the middle of the valley and followed a road towards Siletz. More gunfire crackled in spurts throughout the day and Kozz chuckled every time he heard it.
“What’s so funny?” asked Caleb.
“Laser guns, like the one you have,” replied Kozz. “They sound like bug zappers.”
Luciele chuckled despite her worry. “That’s something my Harold would have said!” She found herself in a small fit of laughter and the next several times they heard gunfire she laughed along with Kozz. Caleb did not think it was funny, his laser pistol was not a joke. Kozz teased the boy, trying to get him to join in on the fun. Caleb forced a frown for as long as he could, but it cracked into a grin when Kozz imitated the laser blasts by buzzing his lips. “Bzzrrrrrpp....bzzrrrrrpp.” Gunfire meant people were nearby, regular people, and the laughter helped relieve some of their stress.
The group stayed clear of the outlying homes that led the way to Siletz, but as they closed in on their destination the clustering streets became unavoidable and the gunfire grew louder. They were all well aware of their weapons and kept them ready to draw at a moment’s notice.
Siletz was the most populated port on this side of The Great River, but it still was not large enough to be called a true city. The buildings were taller than those in Edgetown and the streets were wider, but the town was empty and broken. They stepped around the shattered glass and forgotten belongings that lay scattered in the streets and kept their eyes on the silent buildings, afraid of what may be hiding inside. A salty wind funneled through the streets, howling through open windows and carrying a charred smell of burnt wood. They walked by a section of homes which were burned to the ground, coals still smoldering. The streets near the area were coated in black ash that swirled in the wind.
“Looks like a battle was fought here,” said Luciele. She grabbed her son’s hand and noticed that it was blackened from drawing figures in the ash. Gunfire clapped through the buildings and she squeezed Caleb’s hand tight, pulling him to the side of a building to take cover.
tew-tew-tew ticka-ticka-ticka tew-tew-tew
“I don’t think it’s over yet, doll,” said Kozz as he ducked low, pulling Luciele and Caleb down with him. The gunfire was close and echoed between the buildings. Shouts of men followed the blasts.
ticka-ticka-ticka tew-tew-tew
“Get ‘em!”
“Ah!”
“We need to find whoever that is without surprising them,” said Kozz. He crept alongside the building towards the direction of the gunfire and motioned for the others to stay where they were. He approached the corner of the block and peered down the street. Two men stood over the bodies of several others not more than a hundred yards down the road. One man had a black mustache large enough to be seen a mile away, the other had a wide-brimmed cowboy hat. It was almost like watching a cartoon. One of the men yelled something and Kozz saw a body dart towards them. Both men fired and the body fell.
tew-tew-tew
The men stood where they were and laughed with each other.
Kozz turned back to Luciele and Caleb. “Two men with guns. I think they were fighting off some demons. I’m gonna call out to them. Have your weapons ready just in case.” Kozz turned back towards the street, seeing that the two men started walking in his direction. Kozz stood up, body mostly hidden behind the building. “Don’t shoot!” he yelled from around the corner, “I’m not infected!”
“Who’s that?” demanded one of the men. They ceased their jokes and both pointed their guns towards the voice. “Who’n the hell is that?”
“Name’s Kozz,” he shouted back. “I’m coming out.” He moved halfway out from the building so that the men could see him.
“Show ya hands,” commanded the one in the wide-brim hat. “You alone?” asked the one with the dark mustache, it was waxed and curled at the tips.
“I have a weapon for my protection,” said Kozz as he showed both his hands, Red held upside down by the barrel in one. “There is a woman and a boy with me.”
“You keep that antique where it is so we know ya won’t be causin’ us trouble,” said the hat-wearing man. “Family man, eh?”
“Not my family,” said Kozz. “Just friends.”
“Tell them to come out,” said the hat man.
“Not until you put down your weapons, hoss,” said Kozz. The two men looked at each other and lowered their guns. Kozz lowered his hands and motioned for Caleb and Luciele to come out with him. They stood next to him with their guns holstered, but ready to draw.
“Looks like we’ve got some more survivors to join our crew,” said the mustached man. “My name is Freddy, this other guy is Tim.”
“Alright then,” said Tim, “come with us and y’all have somewhere safe to sleep tonight. This town is overrun with those freaks.”
“We haven’t seen anything but you guys since we got to this town,” said Luciele.
“Well miss, you were lucky,” responded Freddy. “Our camp has been attacked several times in the last few days. But we’ve got lots of guns. It’s pretty safe.”
“We’re just looking to cross the bridge over The Great River,” said Kozz.
“You ain’t gettin’ over that bridge,” said Tim.
“Why not?” asked Caleb.
“Cause kid, they destroyed it.” Tim spat on the ground. He looked pissed.
“Who destroyed it?” asked Luciele.
“Damn infected people blew it right up,” said Freddy. “Crashed an airship into it. Can’t cross it now. We tried.”
“There’s no way one of the infected could have done that.” Luciele rolled her eyes. How dumb did these guys think she was? “Someone must have just crashed into it. Ran out of energy or something.”
“Could be,” said Freddy, “but I don’t know. They’re smart and they like to destroy.”
“Evil sumbitches,” said Tim.
“It can’t be,” said Luciele.
“I believe it,” said Kozz. “I’ve fought enough of them already to know how evil and destructive they are, and how crafty they can be. They use tools and traps, and I’ve seen them destroy vehicles to prevent us from using them. I wouldn’t put it past them to destroy important devices and infrastructure.”
“I believe it too,” said Caleb. “I think they did it. They know what they’re doing.”
Concern furrowed Luciele’s brow. She bent down and hugged her son. He grabbed her tight as his face filled with worry and understanding. He shared a look with Kozz over his mother’s shoulder, both knowing that something big was happening.
“Ok, enough chit chat,” said Tim. “Let’s get back to camp. We’re near the base of the bridge. Y’all be able to see the damage for yaselves.
Kozz, Luciele, and Caleb followed Tim and Freddy through the streets. They walked downhill towards the water’s edge where the breeze became brisk and the bridge came into view. The colossal structure had been built a decade ago and still displayed its pristine white color. Tall arches held suspension cables that seemed to stretch for miles and the midway support column rose into a peak high in the sky. Just beyond the midway support was a collapsed arch that floated in the air on suspension cables, and the bridge below it was missing in the depths of the sea. The remaining bridge structure was warped and twisted by the tense cables. From the shore the gap seemed small, but those who understood the bridge’s immense size knew that the breach could have been a hundred feet across. Its length made it impossible to see the other end.
Dozens of ships and small boats along the shoreline had been burned to cinders or sunk, only the ropes that tied them to the docks had kept them from fully submerging or floating away with the current.
“No vessels left to carry us across the sea?” asked Kozz.
“Not a one,” replied Tim.
There were more dead bodies along the docks than there were in town, and the number increased as they approached the camp. Corrugated metal was used to line the perimeter of the settlement, blocking off the areas between the buildings and the sea. Men with guns stood along the haphazard wall of debris and two of them greeted Tim and Freddy as they entered the camp. Other than the few men on guard, the camp was a ragtag bunch of beaten and desperate people. Cold. Starving. Sick. Weak. Kozz estimated about fifty people in all, maybe more, and most were scared out of their wits.
ticka-ticka-ticka
Shots rang out nearby. Kozz, Luciele, and Caleb ducked for cover, but got back up as burly laughter followed the shots, leading the way to hoots and hollers.
“Ha! Well howdy strangers,” said a large-bellied man with a pair of dark sunglasses. He wore a bright red shirt that was tucked into black denim pants, separated by a belt with a large buckle on it that read “GAUCHO” in gold lettering. The whole outfit was bottomed off with a pair of black, sparkly boots. What an asshole, thought Kozz. “Sorry if I gave you beautiful people a little scare, I was just blasting away another one of those diseased freaks. Well, I thought I saw something anyway. The name’s Daryll. The wonderful people here seem to have put me in charge of this place.”
“Gettin’ your jollies off, slick?” Kozz did not like the man. He learned way back in his childhood to be tough from the get-go with pricks and egomaniacs. “Or are you just firing that thing off like a lunatic? There are people here, learn some restraint.” Luciele tensed up at Kozz’s sudden remarks. She spat his name under her breath just loud enough for him to hear. Tim walked over next to Daryll.
“Hey champ,” said Tim, “we ain’t need the attitude ya bringin’ to our little group here.”
“Sorry,” said Luciele, “we’ve just had a rough couple of weeks. My husband was killed and we have traveled all the way from Edgetown without any transportation other than our feet and these two mules. We’re all just a little on edge. This big lug is Kozz, I’m Luciele, and this is my son Caleb.”
“That’s more like it, pretty.” Luciele frowned at Daryll’s comment. “We lucky survivors here would be glad to welcome the three of you into our little guild, if you can keep a cover on top of the big boy’s steaming temper.”
“The more you talk,” said Kozz, “the more my blood boils.”
“Hold on champ,” said Tim, “now we’re gonna be goin’ out to the quarantine zone out in Port Town if ya want to be joinin’ in with us. The mules and the guns y’all are carrying can be useful to us, and I’m sure the larger numbers we got can help ya get there if that’s where y’all are headin’. But if ya have a problem with us, just put it away and keep it to yaself or go and head out on your own way.”
“What he says is true my friend,” said slick Daryll. “You may be large and want to be in charge, but Tim and I here have saved these folks from the horrors in the nearby towns and have made a plan to move out tomorrow morning. We welcome you into our survivors club, but it comes with peace agreements that must be made.”
“We’re going to Port Town as well.” Luciele spoke before Kozz had the chance. “He will calm down, and I will make sure of it. Thank you for welcoming us, I’m sure we will prove to be helpful in this journey.” Caleb hid behind his mother when she spoke, peeking around her to look at all the people.
“Very well my dear,” said slick Daryll, “we are honored to have you aboard. Perhaps your friend will lighten up after a good night’s rest. I hope to meet your handsome son tomorrow as well as the shy bug seems to have bitten him this evening.”
Daryll and Tim wandered over to the perimeter and talked quietly to one another. Freddy guided Kozz and the others to an empty corner of the camp. "Well here you are miss, sir, Caleb. Don't worry about making yourselves too comfortable. We'll be moving on soon enough, I'm sure."
"We appreciate your hospitality, Freddy," said Luciele.
"Nothin' to it miss. My wife, she would give me quite the scolding if I wasn't to treat new guests proper and all."
"Oh, well I'd love to meet her."
"Well, um...sure, maybe. She's not well at the moment." Freddy looked down and kicked at the dirt. "Anywho, if you'll excuse me. I need to get some food cookin' for my son."
Luciele gave Kozz a stern talking to once Freddy walked away, saying how he was rude and gave off a bad first impression and now all three of them were going to have trouble fitting in with the group of survivors. She admitted that she did not care much for Daryll or Tim, but that it did not warrant the discourtesy Kozz had shown them.
Caleb lost focus on the grownup’s bickering as he caught the glares of a few of the people in the camp. Their faces are so sad, he thought, so pale and droopy and sad. Whenever I look at them they turn away like they’re scared of us or something. I don’t want them to be scared of me. He followed his mother and Kozz over to where they were going to pitch their tent.
"Perhaps we should put our stuff to the side for the moment," said Luciele. "Let's go and introduce ourselves around the camp."
"Don't feel quite in the mood for a meet and greet," said Kozz. “You go ahead and take Caleb with you. I'll stay here and set us up for the night.” Caleb did not want to go either, but his mother made him. Kozz lit up his last stogie and surveyed the camp from his perch, keeping an eye on Luciele and Caleb as they wandered off.
They first approached an elderly woman who sat all alone in a dark section of the camp near the water’s edge. Behind her tent the small waves splashed on weathered rocks. Luciele introduced herself and her son, but could not make out a word the woman had said. She surely said her name, but her whispered mumbles were incomprehensible. Luciele tried to get the woman to speak more clearly, she wanted to make sure that the woman had been fed and well-cared for, but it was a struggle. Caleb slipped away from his mother’s grip and went down to a small beach at the water’s edge where he saw that some of the younger people had gathered on the sand and pebbles.
The dull roar of The Great River filled Caleb's ears. The bridge that crossed the sea was usually adorned with lights in the evening, but its broken form was nothing more than an eerie silhouette against the twilight backdrop. As he approached the beach, Caleb saw that the younger kids near the water were not so young after all. It seemed that other than a couple of babes in arms he was the youngest person in the camp. Most of the beach kids were older teenagers, but one was a little younger than the rest. Caleb walked over to a boy who was maybe fifteen with moppy red hair and a lime green shirt.
“Hi, my name is Caleb.”
“Hi,” said the kid. He looked at Caleb when he spoke but turned right back to a drawing he was making in the sand.
“What’s your name?” asked Caleb.
“Samuel.”
“What’cha doin’ Samuel?”
“Nuttin. Just drawing.”
“What’s that?” asked Caleb as he sat down next to Samuel. “Is that a monster or an alien or something?”
“Suttin like that. I had a dream where my mom’s brain was switched with this thing’s brain and that’s why she got infected and started acting all weird and scary.”
“Oh,” said Caleb with a long pause. “Did your mom get turned into one of the infected?”
“Yeah. My pop and I had to run away from her cus’ she was trying to hurt us. She’s still out there somewhere. Pop says maybe she’ll get fixed soon and we can all be together again.”
“You can get her back Samuel, I know you can. I…” Caleb considered his thoughts for a second before continuing. “I was infected for a little while and I was made normal again. My friend Kozz saved me. I was trying to hurt him and I didn’t know what I was doing, and then I saw Kozz and I thought he was going to kill me but I came back to normal and have been fine ever since.”
“Really?” said Samuel, finally breaking away from his drawing. “You were really one of the infected people? And your friend saved you? Are you fibbing?”
“It’s all true.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.” They locked their little fingers together and Samuel sprang up to his feet.
“I have to go tell my dad that we can save her!”
“But Samuel, wait!” Samuel ran off to find his father and Caleb’s shouts went unheard, squelched by Samuel’s excitement and the noise of the sea, or simply ignored. Caleb worried that what he had told Samuel might spread around, and he was afraid of what others might think of him after hearing it.
With Samuel out of the way, Caleb could fully see the drawing left in the sand. The creature looked powerful and as if it could come alive at any moment. The memory of his mind being pushed, bullied by some phantom force, caused Caleb's eyes to well up. His grandma, his dad, his friends— they were all gone. There had to be some way to stop it from causing more pain, whatever it was. Caleb kicked sand over the creature's face and ran back to find his mother.
Luciele was right where he had left her. When he returned she sighed in relief and used him as an excuse to get away from the old woman. “I couldn’t hear a thing she was saying, but every time I tried to excuse myself away she grabbed my arm and reeled me back in like a big ol’ fish she was trying to tire out. And I’ll tell you what, I almost tuckered out and gave up. I was ready to plop down right next to her and listen to her little jibberings blabber on.” They walked on to meet someone else, but Caleb looked back and saw that the elderly woman’s mouth kept on muttering even after they had left.
They were met with sullen faces as they meandered through the camp and were ignored by those Luciele tried to start a conversation with. A young couple left the group at the shore and approached Luciele and Caleb.
“Hi there,” said the petite girl with auburn hair, “my name is Kelly and this is my boyfriend, Richard. You both looked kinda lost and lonely so we thought we'd come on over and give ya a smile. There ain't too many happy faces around here.”
“Not many talkers either,” said Richard, a young man with blonde hair and a thin frame. “Welcome to the survivor's camp, full of the dreary and self-absorbed, the battered and broken, the pricks and—” He stopped and smiled at Kelly, seeing that she was giving him a level stare. “Anyway, nice to meet you both.”
“Yes, well I'm Luciele and this is my son, Caleb. Say 'hi' Caleb.”
“Hi.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you two,” said Luciele. “I'm glad there's someone around here who's willing to talk and isn't crazy. Poor old woman back there has a few too many badgers in her coop.”
“We've been here a couple days and still haven't been able to get most people to open up,” said Kelly, “that's why we've been hanging out with the teens and such. Even in the midst of all this chaos they still want to have fun.”
“All the other folks are too sad or whacked out or mad,” said Richard, “speaking of mad....” Richard nodded in the direction behind the group and everyone turned to see three men marching intently towards them. It was Freddy, Tim, and Daryll, all with their weapons drawn. Freddy held his weapon low and slowed as the men approached the group, but Daryll and Tim walked right up to Luciele with their eyes fixed on Caleb as he hid behind his mother.
“Show yourself, boy,” said Daryll, “I've got a few questions to ask you.”
“Hold on there slick,” said Kozz as he pushed his way between Luciele and the men. “Why don't you take a couple steps back.”
“Didn't know you were harboring an infected with yeh,” said Daryll as he was forced to take a step back from Kozz's intimidating size.
“No one is infected, slick.”
“We know about the boy,” said Tim. “His own words. He tol' Freddy's kid that he was infected.”
Caleb gripped his mother's dress tight and shrunk as small as he could behind her. She stood strong in front of her son and had Kozz move to her side.
“My son is a healthy young boy you nitwits. You leave him alone or I'll be jumping on you like a whitecat on a fluff rabbit.”
“Your son is a threat to our community if he's carrying the disease,” said Daryll. “Now, if he is indeed healthy and is just going around telling falsities then we don't have much of a problem. However, if he is sick, we will have to deal with him in a manner that will ensure the safety of our people. Freddy here told us what he said to little Sammy. I want to have a look at the boy and have him tell me the truth.”
“I'm sorry ma'am,” said Freddy, “I didn't mean for this.”
“Shut up Freddy,” said Tim as he whacked Freddy in the arm with the butt of his rifle. Freddy rubbed his bruised flesh and walked back to his designated section of the camp where his son, Samuel, waited for him.
“The boy isn't infected,” said Kozz.
“Well what he told Freddy's kid,” said Daryll, “was that he was and you…—”
“He never was infected.”
“I want to hear it from the kid.”
“You've got my word, slick.”
“I want the boy's word!”
“You leave the child alone or I'm gonna have to get nasty.”
“I'd like to see you try.”
“You're gonna regret those words—.”
“Enough!” shouted Luciele. Caleb moved away from his mother's guard and stepped forward. The point of Tim's gun lifted a nudge when the boy appeared, and Daryll's had taken a noticeable turn in Kozz's direction.
Richard and Kelly both moved to Caleb's side. Luciele put her hand on her son's shoulder, as did Kelly, but Caleb took another step forward and let their hands fall behind him. He thought about the heroes in his comics.
“Before you reach the clearing at the end of the path, go and blaze your own trails through the muck and grime of life.”
“I was infected,” muttered Caleb.
“What was that, boy?” asked Daryll. “I didn't hear yeh.”
“Hush Caleb,” warned Luciele.
“Caleb, don't!” Kozz huffed. The world turned into a blur. His chest ached and his mind raced through a thousand outcomes, all ending with Kozz unable to prevent Caleb's death. Past nightmares haunted him. He could not think. He could not move. He was going to fail again.
“Let the boy speak!” shouted Daryll. “Say what you need to say, boy. Tell us the truth.”
“Do not be afraid to get a little dirt on your boots.”
“I was infected!” Caleb's strong voice shocked his friends. It was the loudest Kozz had ever heard the boy speak, and it was a side of Caleb that even Luciele had never seen.
Tim raised his weapon and Kozz lurched forward to barricade Caleb with his own body. Daryll and Tim were stirred by the sudden movement and swung their weapons around in the excitement as everyone hollered at one another. Kozz's face was red hot. The commotion was a whirlwind in his head. From somewhere he heard Luciele comment that she could burn them a path through the sea with his forehead. He had to stay between Caleb and the men that were...between the boy and the...between Jake and.... All went to blackness.