He did not rush me as many of the others had but simply stood, his head cocked to the side, observing me.
My eyes darted around. He appeared to be the only one who had gotten in, but I would have to check to be sure. I suddenly felt afraid. What if there were more? What if I overlooked something? I could die, alone, in this moment, and no one would know. And I had not even told Jamie I was sorry.
“Why don’t you just go away,” I told the undead man.
He pulled himself upright, arching his back, and then turned and slowly shuffled out of the driveway back down Fox Hollow Road. I watched him go, keeping an eye out for any others. After he left, I barred the gate and did a complete sweep of the property. I found nothing, no one, alive or dead.
I sat down on the porch steps, sword in hand, and closed my eyes. What had I become? What was this new world where I saw strange things at every turn? Forest spirits. Shadows. Was I hearing the undead? Were they hearing me? I fully realized then that there was no going back. Whatever I was, whatever I had become, there was no return. I had to embrace it or run from it. If I ran, people I loved, people for whom I was responsible might die.
When I opened my eyes, I noticed the sun had set. I rose. After making a stop at the barn for supplies, I went inside and packed up my gear. I closed all the shutters and pad-locked all the doors from the outside. I then hopped on my bike. Chaining the gate closed, I headed away from Fox Hollow Road.
As I sped down the drive, I found the undead man lumbering along. I pulled out my gun and shot him in the back of the head. For some reason, it made me feel guilty.
I gunned the bike and headed to town, hoping Jamie would forgive my hasty words. Hoping I was not too late. And I remembered to bring the holy water.
Chapter 22
It was dark by the time I pulled into Jamie’s house. Though there was no wind, the leaves on the Birch trees outside had turned over and were shaking. Odd. Grandma always said the leaves would turn when a storm was coming. I looked up at the crescent moon. No clouds. No wind.
The house was dark. I knocked heavily. There was no answer.
“Jamie?” I called.
Nothing.
I went to the window and peeked inside. It was totally dark; there was no movement.
He must have gone to Ian’s house. I jumped back on the bike and headed across town. There was no sign of anyone anywhere. Neither the dead nor the living stirred.
Ian’s and Kristie’s house sat on upper Seneca Street. Kristie’s grandmother had died and left the house to them. It was a large, white two-story with an attached greenhouse on the side. The greenhouse had fallen into disrepair, weeds growing wildly inside. The house was empty.
I was about to head toward the elementary school when I heard a horn sounding from the lake. Standing on Ian’s porch, I had a view of the lake below. I pulled out my binoculars. There, on the dock, I could see what looked like the last of the town residents being loaded aboard the ship. Almost everyone was on board already. Mrs. Finch was pushing Ian in a wheelchair down the dock toward the boat. I could see Jamie at the ship’s plank arguing with the man who had introduced himself as Corbin. The last few residents were just boarding.
“Oh my god,” I whispered. I would be left behind.
I jumped on the bike and gunned it. Praying someone would see my headlight, I sped across town, cutting through lawns and the grocery store parking lot. As I blasted through, I noticed several undead had collected just outside the town library. They paused, watching as I passed. I swerved by them and headed toward the water. Down over the bank, passing the Fisherman’s Wharf, I hit the lake-side walking path. I sped toward the boat.
I noticed that two men were pulling up the plank. Jamie was there with them, talking incessantly, waving his arms. Tom pulled him back and held him out of the crewman’s way.
Then, they heard the bike. I saw Jamie shout to the men and pointed toward me. The men paused.
I drove the bike down the dock and parked it under the pavilion. Jumping off, I jogged down the wooden planks, hopping the swinging pedestrian gate, and ran to the end.
Corbin, the hawkish looking man, stood at the rail nearest the plank. The crewman seemed to wait for his command. He looked down at me. When our eyes met, I could feel him challenging me.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said with a smile, trying to play it off.
He wasn’t buying me anymore than I was buying him.
“Let her on,” I heard Jamie yell, but I could not see him.
Corbin leaned over the railing to look more closely at me. We were standing nearly face to face. “Should I let you on?” he whispered.
I held his gaze, not backing down. “Let me on.”
He motioned to the men to lower the plank.
I looked at him.
This time, he smiled at me. “Remember later, you asked to come,” he whispered.
“I’m here to keep those I love safe. You remember that,” I replied, holding his gaze.