Beyond Terminus (Book Two)

Chapter 60: The End?

We watch through the trees, Aaron with his mic and headphones on. A guy in a red poncho wanders through the tall grass. He stops, stooping down and grabbing something. He rubs it between his hands and wipes it onto his face.

"What's he doing?" Aaron asks.

"Wild leeks," I answer. "Son of a bitch knows about how to keep mosquitos off of him." The guys starts to leave, and I adjust my crossbow. "Come on."

We keep moving through the tall grass, the conversation minimal at best. I remain alert and focused on our target.

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We lose track of the poncho guy. We come to a giant building with a few walkers wandering around inside a chain link fence. I peer through a set of binoculars, my eyes travelling over the "Del Arno Foods" mural.

"We checked the forest, we checked the roads. We can't find him," Aaron says. "Sometimes they slip away. It happens. But, you don't come across something like this every day."

I let out a small sigh. Part of me agrees with him. We get the food, turn around, and we go home, back to Eric and Hope. Then again, another part of me desperately wants to find someone and bring them back. I want to know we're actually doing something worthwhile out here.

"We do this now, it means we're givin' up," I say.

"Home is fifty miles back. It's time to go," he retorts. "You saw it last night. There's bad people out here."

I think of the woman we found that had been tied to the tree, left to be eaten. The "W" carved into her head, the same kind I'd seen on other walkers, throws me. What does it mean?

"That's why we ought to keep lookin' for the good ones," I murmur.

"We need more people, and we'll find them. But when we do, we'll need to feed them."

I sigh and nod. "A'ight."

I take my knife and tap it on the chain link, letting it ring. The few walkers still wandering around move towards us, helping with their demise. As soon as they're dead, or dead-er, Aaron pulls the gate open and we walk through. We keep walking across the empty lot, getting to the food trucks easily.

"Huh. Whoa," Aaron gasps. He chuckles. "Wasn't sure I'd ever see one of these." He bends down, trying to work an Alaskan license plate off one truck. I keep moving. "Hey, listen, I don't like giving up either, but the guy is in a red poncho," he calls after me. "You can see him from a mile away. We've gone a lot of miles here. No sign of him. But if we come away with a trailer full of cans, I'd say that's a good trip."

I nod, moving towards one truck. "Here we go."

I kneel down, pulling at the lock. It slides open, but releases a string that unlocks every other door. Walkers are inside every truck, and I immediately notice that every one of them has a "W" carved into their heads. I leap up and back away. Aaron and I turn and run down the space between two trucks.

We emerge back into the courtyard to find it swarmed. I stab some, not daring to use my crossbow yet. Aaron uses his license plate to chop into the head of one of them.

"Over here! Come on!" I call.

We turn and head down another way, only to find both sides blocked. I drop and shimmy under one of the trucks, Aaron following. The walkers drop and try to crawl after us. My mind races for a plan, my heart racing at the same speed. I grab a chain, readying it in my hand.

"No!" Aaron yelps, kicking at some of the freaks that have followed us.

"Come on. Come on!" I urge, climbing out the other side.

I take the chain and whip it at three walkers near me, taking their heads off easily. I stab one attacking Aaron as we take off towards the courtyard again.

I take a deep breath, barreling through the walkers and only killing one or two. I get into a lone car, managing to avoid the undead jaws all around me. Aaron follows me into the car, slamming the door onto one deadhead's skull. He shuts the door, letting us catch our breath as the car swiftly becomes surrounded.

"Glass will hold for a while, right?" Aaron asks.

"Maybe. Maybe we can make it so they can't see us. In a couple hours, somethin' will come by, they'll follow it out," I say hurriedly. No matter what, I need to get out of here. I can't die here. Not today. "There's got to be somethin' in here we can use to block the view. We can cut up these seats."

Aaron pulls a tattered yellow note from between the seats, opening it.

TRAP
BAD PEOPLE COMING
DONT STAY

We look at each other, fear written all over his face. I try to calm my heavy breathing, still searching desperately for a way out.

Every way we look, nothing will help us.

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Time passes, and we just sit. I let out a strained chuckle, shaking my head a little.

"What?" Aaron asks.

"I came out here to not feel all closed up back there. Even now, this still feels more like me...than back in them houses," I say. "That's pretty messed up, huh?"

"You were trying," he responds.

"I had to." I look down, my throat tightening a little when I think of the reason. "For my wife."

His eyes soften. "Listen, I saw you with your group out there on the road. Then you went off on your own by the barn." He looks away briefly. "Hope...I saw her follow you. I saw that, even though she was weak and exhausted, she never stopped trying to help you."

I press my lips together in a thin line, my heart clenching when I think of her. "Yeah. She's like that..."

"Then...I saw the way she looked at you, and the way you looked at her. You two just don't give up on each other, ever. When the storm hit, and you led your people to safety..." He shakes his head a little, pursing his lips. "That was it. I knew I had to bring you people back."

I look down, failing in trying not to look sad. I don't see any way we're getting out of here, which means I won't ever be getting back to Hope, back to my unborn baby.

"You were right. We should have kept looking for that guy in the poncho," Aaron says, his face guilt ridden. No doubt he's thinking of Eric. "I shouldn't have given up. You didn't."

I let out a long sigh, taking my last cigarette out of my pocket and putting it in my mouth. Might as well have one last smoke.

"I'll go. I'll lead them out. You make a break for the fence," I say, lighting it.

"No, no, no. This was my fault," he insists.

"It wasn't a question." I pull the stick from my mouth. "And this ain't your decision. It ain't nobody's fault. Just let me finish my smoke first."

"No. You don't draw them away," he retorts. "You've got a wife and a baby on the way. They need you. Me? I've got...I've got one guy." His voice breaks a little and he looks away. "That's why I'll go. You've got more to lose."

"Nah." I shake my head, knowing that only one of us will make it out.

He takes a deep breath. "Fine. We fight. We go for the fence. We do it together. Alright? Whether we make it or not, we do it together. We have to."

I don't respond right away. I look down, shutting my eyes. I think of Hope; I see her in my mind's eye. I think of the little girl from my dream. I think of her hugging my waist while Hope smiles at us. I think of the two most important people in my life, and I can only wish that I could tell them that I'm sorry and that I love them.

I open my eyes and nod slowly. "A'ight." I grab my knife. "You ready?"

He nods, shaking a little. "Yeah."

"We'll go on three. One..." I place my hand on the handle. "...two..."

There's a loud smack, and one of the walkers on Aaron's side drops down dead. We both jump, and I feel a small glimmer of hope inside me.

This ain't over yet.