Chapter 2 - Remi
“Remi,” Gabe calls out to me as I walk toward my apartment. The sound of his voice makes me grin, but I quickly make my lips fall into a straight line before I turn to look at him. I hate that my heart skips a beat when I see his face. It’s a feeling I don’t want or need, but it’s there regardless. He has shaggy, brown hair that falls down the sides of his cheeks. His strong jaws are covered by several days of stubble and it suits him. His blue eyes never leave mine as he walks toward me carrying a rifle slung over his shoulder.
“You aren’t here to arrest me, are you?” I ask as he walks toward me. The sound of my voice comes across as flirtatious, but I don’t mean for it to. He is very handsome, but I decided a while ago that love was out of the question for me - at least until someone finds a cure for this greyskin problem.
“I don’t really have that power,” Gabe says.
“You have a gun,” I answer back to him as I start walking again. He keeps the slow pace next to me. “That’s already a lot more power than I have.”
“I guess,” he says. “But I’m not too sure Paxton would approve of me arresting people. He might take my gun away.”
“Just like he took mine,” I say. This time my tone is whatever the opposite of flirtatious is…angry? Turned off? It is still a sore subject with me even though I have been without a weapon for nearly three months.
I’ll never forget the feeling I had that day. The mixed emotions were like being on a roller coaster. First, the elation I felt at finding Crestwood nearly overwhelmed me. I had been through so much crap it was ridiculous. I know my story can’t be much different from a lot of people’s, and there are plenty of others with a worse history than mine, but it didn’t matter. Seeing the town felt like the best thing that had ever happened to me.
The guards let me in, but then they took my gun and knife away from me, and then frisked me. Gabe had been part of the welcoming committee and I remember hating him for it, but now I know he was just following the rules of Crestwood. Then there was the meeting with Paxton, Crestwood’s leader. You talk about a guy with an authority complex. I had already been questioned by the guards, but Paxton came in with some questions of his own.
I had been in some holding cell for the better part of the day. I didn’t complain, though. I was safe. Or at least I felt safe. There was a mirror on the wall across from me. My long, dark hair was in tangles, and my skin looked dark from being out in the sun so much. My green eyes looked paler than they had three years ago. Maybe that was because of the endless nights where I did nothing but cry for the first year. I used to think that my nose was too long and pointy, but such a dumb observation didn’t matter to me anymore. What struck me the most was how skinny I looked. My skin clung to my bones so tightly a small cut might have split me wide open. Just from seeing my reflection, I couldn’t imagine going back out into the world. My biggest fear was that someone was going to tell me that I couldn’t stay, and when Paxton finally came into the room, I just knew this would be the news.
He sat across from me with a folder and pen in his hands. He had a nicely trimmed, black beard and dark hair. I remember thinking he was so tall that he had probably not encountered too many people that were bigger than him. He wore a flannel shirt and jeans, so I hoped this meant he wouldn’t be a complete jerk.
He sat back and crossed one of his legs over the other, ignoring the folder and pen on the table in front of him. My eyes went to Gabe who stood next to the door, and then back to Paxton when he spoke to me.
“Your name is Remi?” Paxton asked me.
I nodded. His voice was deep and gravelly. I couldn’t help but notice the sweet smell of cologne. It must have been the first time I had smelled anything like it in three years.
“I’m guessing you don’t know much about Crestwood,” he said.
I shook my head. “I don’t know anything about it, but it looks safe.”
Paxton smiled.
“Is it?” I asked.
“Is it what?”
“Safe?”
“Of course it’s safe,” he said as his eyebrows lowered. It seemed like my question had somehow offended him, that it was preposterous to even ask such a thing. I already didn’t like this guy.
“Why are you alone?” he asked me.
“Just like I told him,” I said, nodding to Gabe, “I’ve been alone for the past year now. The group I was with is gone.”
“And you haven’t been looking to join with anyone else?” he asked.
“I’ve already answered these questions,” I said.
“Well, I’m asking you again.”
“I mean, I’ve come across a few people here and there, but most people are dangerous.”
“How old are you?”
“Your boy didn’t write it down in the file?” I said, again nodding toward Gabe.
“How old are you?” Paxton repeated. I was quickly losing any chance I might have had of getting to stay in the town. Paxton’s cheeks started to turn red, and I could tell he was getting agitated. But I was agitated too. I hadn’t eaten much in the past couple of days and I had just encountered a large group of greyskins only hours before. I was tired.
“Twenty-two,” I answered.
“Where are you originally from?”
I sighed. “Oakridge.”
Paxton shook his head. “But that’s only a two-hour drive north of here. How is it you just now learned about us?”
“A two-hour drive is a lot of space to cover on foot,” I said. “Besides, any town I’ve come across has been overridden with greyskins. And I wasn’t in Oakridge when the outbreak happened. I was at Elkhorn.”
Paxton’s face went from a uneasy look to an almost excited look. “Elkhorn?” he repeated. “The Epicenter.”
I lifted an eyebrow and nodded. I hated the fact that he was so interested. I usually kept that bit of information to myself when I came across someone because it always just brought up unwanted questions.
“That must have been interesting,” Paxton said.
“It was hell,” I said. “Imagine waking up in the morning, ready to go to class only to find that they’ve all been cancelled because people were eating other people.”
Paxton cleared his throat and looked down at the table. I remember noticing his eyes starting to water only briefly. “My daughter was in Elkhorn,” he said.
“Then I’m sure she’s told you all about it,” I said callously.
Paxton shook his head and leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “I haven’t seen my daughter in four years.”
I looked away from him, feeling uncomfortable. I hated it, but I didn’t care. All of us had been through crap, and from the looks of it, I had been through more crap than any of these people who sat comfortably behind their thick barricades.
“I just want a safe place to stay,” I said. “I’m able-bodied, so I can do my part here. And I’m tired of running.”
“Where did you go when you left Elkhorn?” he asked, ignoring my words.
I swallowed hard. “I tried to get back to Oakridge.” I could feel the lump in my throat forming. I hadn’t cried in such a long time, it would be stupid to start now. I clenched my jaw tightly and stared straight ahead. “Oakridge was just too overrun. There couldn’t have been anyone left. So, I met a group and started traveling to find a safe haven. But all we found were greyskins.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Everywhere,” I said. “To find a place like this seems…” I couldn’t find the words as I started to choke. I wouldn’t cry. I couldn’t do it. I had been strong for so long, now was not the time to give in to my emotions. “I just…I’m just happy I’ve found this place. If you will have me, I will pull my weight and do whatever it is you need me to do.”
Paxton sat for a moment, seemingly in deep thought. Sure, I didn’t like the guy. I felt like he had come in trying to bully me, but I didn’t care. There were far worse bullies outside these walls, and most of them were rotting as they walked.
“I have one more question for you,” he said. He sighed and cupped his hands together, resting his elbows on the table in front of him. His chin sat on his hands as his eyes bore deep into me. “Do you have any special abilities?”
I was too stunned to answer. There was no way he could know about that. I have only told one person about it. I could feel my breathing getting heavier and my pulse quickening. “What…what do you mean?”
“It’s a simple question that requires a simple answer,” he said. “Do you have special abilities? Powers? Supernatural?”
Asking me this question couldn’t have been a coincidence. My special ability, as he called it, is something only I know about. I could hear things that no one else in the world could. Someone could be talking on the other side of town, and with determined focus, I would be able to hear every word. It’s not something I was born with, but it started happening to me about a year ago. Did Paxton have some way to detect it in me or something?
“Of course not,” I lied. And to try and add authenticity to the lie, I added, “What in the world kind of question is that?”
I wasn’t sure he was convinced that I was telling the truth, but I sat and stared at him with my mouth hanging open like I was an idiot. His eyes studied me for a few more moments, but then he dropped his hands and sat up straight.
“I’m going to let you in,” he said. “We have a room available for you and plenty of work we could use you for.” He stood from his seat and I did the same. He towered over me, but I wasn’t intimidated. Just thankful. He reached out his large right hand and nearly covered mine as we shook.
“Thank you so much,” I said.
“Don’t make me regret letting you stay here,” he said.
“Oh, I won’t,” I said. I felt like a beggar then, but thinking back on it now, I suppose that is what I was. “In fact, I will make you wish you had more people like me.” It sounded stupid when the words came out, but he nodded and smiled at me anyway.
I never got my weapons back, but Gabe told me that if I were ever to leave Crestwood for any reason, all my possessions would be returned to me. All my possessions. A gun, a knife, and a folded up, torn page from an atlas. Though I felt naked without those things during my first days in Crestwood, I quickly got used to it.
The idea of Gabe walking next to me as a friend is baffling when I think back on that day. He had initially scared me and made me think I might not be allowed to stay, but ever since I joined the town he has been a saint.
“You still liking it here?” he asks me as I near my apartment building.
I stop for a second to think about his question, and then I look out into the street. There are buildings all around us, each of them serving a purpose. There are people walking the streets without guns, without fear that a greyskin or a raider will come in and kill them. The walls can be seen from just about any part of the town, and on top of them walk competent sharp-shooters. But even more than those things, there are small gardens lining the sidewalks with fall flowers. There is a large community garden that the townspeople share in the spring and summer. And there are children, laughing and playing. Before the outbreak, I never even liked kids, but now I understand their innocence. I look back at Gabe’s eyes and nod. “For the first time in a long time, I feel like I belong to something.”
He nods at me, but he almost seems disappointed by my answer.
“Why?” I ask. “You aren’t?”
He shrugs. “I’ve been in Crestwood since Paxton organized the town and I’ve sat through a lot of the elders’ meetings. Things just seem to be getting weird.”
“In what way?” I lean against the building and he comes in closer and lowers his voice, not knowing I would be able to hear him even if he were on the other side of Crestwood.
“How long have you been here now?” he asks.
“About three months. A little bit more.”
He shakes his head and snickers. “You must have a spell over me. I can get in a lot of trouble talking to you about this kind of stuff.”
I feel my forehead creasing. “What kind of stuff?”
“I don’t know…they are just acting weird. They asked me to sit in on one of their meetings the other day so I could give a report of the soldiers and all.” He turns his head to look behind him to make sure no one else is listening. “One of the elders, Lillian, started to say something about a person called Shadowface.”
“Shadowface?”
“Yeah,” he says. “Paxton hushed her real quick and reminded her that I was in the room.”
“But that’s all you heard?” I ask.
“Sort of. I mean the way she said it was weird. Paxton had asked me about weapon supplies and when I told them we were running a little low on ammunition, Lillian told Paxton to put in a request with Shadowface. Things got real awkward, real quick.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I couldn’t tell you,” he shrugs. “I guess if I’m not supposed to know, I’m not supposed to know.”
“I could find out,” I say, pulling myself from the side of the building and walking a bit closer to the street. My eyes squint a little and my mouth curls into a grin. I’m back to the flirtation that I hate so much, but Gabe smiles back at me.
“How? What do you mean?” he says with a nervous laugh.
“Clearly I’ve been out on the road much longer than you have,” I say. I step up onto one of the raised flowerbeds next to the street, balancing myself on the narrow strip of wood. At this height, I’m only barely taller than Gabe.
“I’m lead scout,” he says. “My job is being out on the road.”
“Yeah, but you haven’t had to sleep out there much, have you?”
His silence answers my question.
“Your job is to lead the soldiers, and make sure we are all safe, and that herds aren’t moving too close to the town, right? But you’re always given the right equipment: a clean gun, food to eat, a vehicle.”
He starts to clench his jaw and I know I’ve hit a nerve. “Are you going to make your point soon?”
I reach the end of the raised flowerbed, spin on my toes, and begin walking the way I had come. “My point is that I’ve had a lot of practice breaking into places. That includes breaking open doors, picking locks, sneaking through rooms, all while being as quiet as a mouse.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I can find out who this Shadowface is for you,” I say. “I don’t even need you to help me.”
He squints his eyes at me and shakes his head. “Remi, I was just confiding in a friend. I’m not trying to get you to find anything out for me.”
I jump from the flowerbed and land inches from Gabe. “How old are you?” I ask.
“Twenty-five, you know that already.”
“Be a man!” I nearly yell. One or two heads in the distance turn to look in our direction, but no one stays interested for very long. Gabe is stone faced as I stare into him. “As lead scout it’s important to know who you’re working for,” I say, whispering now. “If Paxton and the elders are answering to someone else, don’t you think you should know about it?”
His silence is my answer.
“I’m just letting you know that I’m willing to go in and find out for you.”
“Why?” he asks. “What’s in it for you?”
“You’ll let me be a soldier,” I say. “You could use a person like me. I bet I can shoot better than any person here.” I take one step closer to him, my face only inches from his. I can feel his nervousness, or perhaps it’s my own heartbeat pounding away. “Including you.”
I turn away sharply and walk to the entrance of my apartment building, placing my hand on the door handle. Before I open it, I look back at him.
“If you’re caught, you could get into serious trouble,” he says. “I could get into serious trouble.”
“I’m not a rat,” I say. “If I get caught, I will deal with the consequences myself. Do you want me to find out more or not?”
He looks from side-to-side before finally placing his eyes on me. He nods. “Paxton keeps a journal in a desk on the second floor of the headquarters building. I’m pretty sure he keeps record of everything in it. You find out who this guy is, and I’ll give you a shot.”
“Good,” I say, opening the door. “I’m tired of babysitting kids at the town nursery. I swear you people are so sexist.”
Gabe grins at me and turns to walk away while I go into the apartment building. I let out a sigh as I think about my luck to have been given an apartment on the top floor. The several climbs up and down per day weren’t annoying at all. I shake my head once I reach the fifth floor. I bet they only give new citizens the top floor apartments to test their perseverance. When I had first walked into this building I had been happy to see an elevator, but my brief lapse of thought caused me to forget that it probably hadn’t been working for the past three years since the outbreak. When groups of people started banding together in towns, they began to strictly conserve energy. It costs a lot more to run electricity now - not money, but fuel. Finding a place with electricity is golden. It might only mean a lamp in your room, but never something so luxurious as an elevator.
Crestwood may be nice by standards of living in this greyskin-infested world, but it obviously had its problems in the early days. The stairs are dirty, splattered with sticky remains of who-knows what. Even when I walk into my apartment, I can’t help but notice the scratches and dried, dark stains on the walls and floors that someone had obviously failed to remove prior to my coming. I can only imagine what might have happened here. Nothing I haven’t seen before, I’m sure. And I have stayed in worse places. At least this studio apartment has a bed and couch, running water, and a place to sit and eat. The living space is tiny, but it is perfect for me.
I walk into the bathroom and turn on the faucet. The mirror in front of me is foggy and crusted with grime. I look healthier than I have in a long time. My eyes are regaining a little bit of their brightness again, and I’m not as skinny as I was. This would have been of some concern about three years ago, but I’m just happy to eat now. I splash some water on my face and turn off the faucet.
I walk out of the bathroom and into the living area to the only window in the room. One advantage to living on the fifth floor is getting a good view of the town. I bet I can see further over the wall from here than any of the soldiers who patrol it.
I think about what I proposed to Gabe. I know he wasn’t asking me to do anything for him. I’m sure what I said took him off guard, but three years on the road have given me an itch that I can’t get rid of just yet. I’ve only been here for three months and the thought of walking anywhere without my gun and knife makes me feel exposed and defenseless. I suppose that’s the main reason I want to be a soldier. I don’t care about scouting beyond the wall. I don’t even care about standing at the wall, waiting for something to show up. I just want my weapons back. In this world, when someone strips you of your weapons, he strips you of all you have.
I look down at the wall and see Gabe talking to one of his soldiers. To this day, I still can’t figure why Paxton had asked me about special abilities. How could he have known that for the past year I’ve been able to hear things better than any other person? I know exactly when it happened, but I don’t know why. All I know is that it has stayed with me since.
I stare down at Gabe and turn my head slightly. His voice enters my head almost as if I’m standing right next to him.
“That’s what I was thinking,” he says. “Just make sure you let me know if it comes down to that, okay?”
“Okay,” the soldier on the wall says to him.
I turn my head away, and I can hear him no longer. I have no idea what he was talking about, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t plan to tell him why I know I won’t be caught. I can hear someone coming long before they get to me. If I wanted, I would be able to hear the conversation of anyone in the town so long as I knew where to listen. I won’t get caught snooping through the elder’s secret documents because when I sneak into Headquarters and steal the journal, I will be able to hear every snore, every sleep-talker, every person that gets up to pee. And if anyone hears me, I’ll be gone before they even take a step.