Dead End World

Chapter Ten: Coyotes

     The crackle from the fire in the fire pit created a relaxing atmosphere, along with the night sky twinkling above them in Spencer's back yard. Spencer leaned back in his lawn chair and let the heat from the fire warm his body. Eve sat farther away from the fire than everyone else. Iris didn't sit at the fire at all, instead she sat on the back porch at the table, sketching in a sketchbook. Theo sat in a chair by Eve, staring into the bright orange flames of the fire.
     "In old Wild West fashion, I wanna tell a campfire story," Spencer said.
     Iris rolled her eyes, continuing to sketch.
     "What about?" asked Eve.
     "My childhood horse," replied Spencer.
     Westin sat at the edge of his seat.
     "Here it goes," began Spencer. "When I was 12 years old, my parents got me an all black mare. She was beautiful. I named her Sirius. She was as fast as the wind and as smart as a dolphin." He took a slow inhale. "I rode her everyday, and took care of her as if I had no other responsibilities in my life. I'd even skip school sometimes to go out to the barn to be with my girl Sirius."
     "Awe," quietly commented Eve, a small grin on her face.
     "Fast forward to my 20th birthday. I still loved that horse as much as I loved my own mother. I made her into a barrel racing horse and we took first place in many rodeos. I was meant for her and she was meant for me. She was only 13 years old. She got out of her pasture one morning. I spent all day callin' for her and wandering around the wilderness tryna find her."
     "Did you find her?" asked Eve.
     "Oh, yeah," said Spencer, nodding his head. "Yep, I definitely found her. In a ditch all ripped up and bloody."
     Eve gasped, putting her hand to her mouth.
     "Poor girl got eaten by the coyotes," Spencer said, shaking his head. "There was nothin' much I could do other than beat myself up for lettin' her escape. I let my girl down."
     "Oh, Spencer.. I'm so sorry," Eve said under her breath.
     "It's not your fault," replied Spencer. "That was 19 years ago now. She had a real good life before she passed, and I'm thankful I was able to spend those 8 short years with her."
     "Did you bury her?" Theo asked.
     "It's hard to bury a horse when their organs are strung across the desert floor and their head's one tendon from fallin' off, Theo," said Spencer, crossing his ankle across his thigh. "I just left her there and let the animals have the rest of her."
     "That's a pretty dramatic story for such a calm night," Iris said from the porch. "We're already stressed out enough. We don't wanna hear about you feeding your horse to coyotes."
     "I ain't trusted a coyote since. I shot every one I saw after that," uttered Spencer.
     "Coyotes are the least of your worries these days," Iris told him, turning to the next page in her sketchbook. "There are brain-eating zombies preying on you every second of your life, and they're everywhere. They're more common than a coyote."
     "I know that," said Spencer. "I don't know what you take me for."
     "A coward," said Iris simply.
     Spencer looked to her and narrowly smiled, his white teeth reflecting the fire's orange color. "Give me a beer and a Glock and you got yourself about five dead bodies and a good time."
     "You're strange," Iris mumbled, leaning back in her chair and putting the sketchbook on her lap.
     Spencer looked to Theo. "Me and you got this. If anything goes wrong, you call me, kid. I got your back."
     "Thanks," Theo said to him. "I appreciate it."
     They fell silent. The groaning of zombies could be heard nearby. It was a normal sound to hear in Spencer's backyard, or anywhere in the town. It was a sound that they got very used to hearing by now.

     3 A.M.
     Most people say it's the devil's hour. If 3 A.M. was really the devil's hour, don't you think the devil would make himself more known? Most people sleep right through the whole hour. The devil doesn't want you to sleep. The devil wants you to remain restless and spiral into a sleepless mania. The devil wants you to burn.
     Theo's eyes shot open. The smell of smoke filled his nose, filling his lungs. He sat up and looked around the room in a panic. He looked to his watch.
     3:02 A.M.
     A dark haze filled the room. He got out of his bed and walked into the hallway. He peeked into Eve's bedroom and saw her soundly sleeping inside. He walked over and shook her awake.
     "What..?" she mumbled tiredly. He didn't have to say a word before she smelled the smoke and knew what was going on. She got out of bed and followed Theo into the living room. Iris was sleeping on the couch. Spencer and Westin were walking down the stairs. Iris woke up to all the commotion. Theo gathered everything he needed; his shotgun, his vest, his boots, and his bag. Eve did the same, scrambling to get everything in a hurry.
     Theo opened up the door to the garage and heavy smoke poured out. He coughed and closed the door again. "Out of the house!"
     They all ran out the front door as the smoke started to invade every room of the house and pour out the windows. When they got to a safe distance, they turned around and looked at the house. Flames engulfed the garage and was spreading quickly to the rest of the house.
     Eve breathed heavily, looking from the burning house to everyone around her. "Where's Spencer?"
     Theo looked around, seeing Eve, Iris, and Westin. Spencer was nowhere to be seen. "He must still be inside.."
     "Good," said Iris.
     "I'll go in," said Theo, stepping towards the house.
     "Wait," Iris told him, grabbing his arm. "You can't. You'll get burnt."
     "I can't just leave Spencer in there," Theo told her. "I know you hate him, but he's been a huge help to me."
     "Then I'm going in too," said Iris.
     Theo slightly nodded and then looked back at the house.
     "Wait, so you're going in too?" Eve asked Iris.
     "Unless you wanna go with him," Iris said to her, sass hinted in her tone.
     Eve shook her head and stepped back a step.
     "That's what I thought," Iris told her before turning back to the burning building. Her and Theo both entered the smoke, walking into the house.
     "Spencer!" Theo yelled. Taking the collar of his shirt and holding it over his nose and mouth. Iris did the same, squinting her eyes. A figure was slowly revealed through the smoke. Theo stumbled over to them and grabbed onto their shirt. It was Spencer, bent over coughing and gasping for air. Theo and Iris worked together to guide him out of the house, the flames creeping up behind them.
     Eve and Westin watched in anxiety as the house continued to burn. All of a sudden, half of the roof collapsed in and sent burning debris down to the ground. Eve stood there in shocked silence, her fingers trembling. Westin's heart pounded hard, hoping and praying to see his father come out of the house.
     And that he did.
     Theo and Iris dragged Spencer out of the house just as the front door started to catch fire. They dragged him away from the house, next to Eve and Westin.
     "Dad!" Westin exclaimed, kneeling down beside Spencer.
     Spencer coughed. "Hey, son," he said, his voice hoarse. "Couldn't forget my hat." Spencer held his cowboy hat in his hands.
     "Of course," said Iris.
     Suddenly, Theo turned around and spotted a tall figure in black armor and a mask, an FBI patch on his shoulder and the last name 'Le Roux' on his name tag. An FBI van was parked next to the house, and the figure held a lighter in his hand. The figure stared at him intensely from next to the van, an orange glow from the blazing home illuminating the side of the agent. Theo widened his eyes.