Children of Ruin by McCann James Alfred

Author:McCann, James Alfred [McCann, James Alfred]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Zombies
Publisher: Iron Mask Press
Published: 2018-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Connor and I wandered into the woods toward a deer trail not far from the colony. It led to the other road that was less traveled—the one that ran alongside the lake and didn’t pass any cottages or homesteads. I hadn’t taken it with Oliver for the same reason I knew the army brats would never take it—we’d never find anything to scavenge.

The woods were quiet and cool. Connor was rushing to keep up with me, sniffing at the air. As long as he was calm, I knew I was safe from deaders. Where the trees were thinner, the sun burned down on me. Sunscreen. One more thing to add to the list of items we needed. I tried to stay where the leaf canopy protected me, as I had to find out who else might be there. In a situation like this, even friendly people could turn deadly when their resources disappeared.

I pushed through the woods, slapping at mosquitoes and brushing away spider webs. Connor stayed close behind me but was not as adept at moving silently through the brush. He would learn. As I hacked at the branches with my machete, clearing as much of a path as I could, I felt like that little boy, not so long ago hiding from his stepsiblings. A cornered lamb, forced to become the lion.

Where are my sons? My stepfather’s voice echoed in my head, as it had a month earlier.

“I had no choice!” I screamed back, but not in my memory. My voice echoed in the woods, with only a murder of crows taking flight to answer me. Connor tilted his head. I got a grip on myself, pushing the memories down. I am not that boy anymore, I told myself over and over. I had not been that boy since that day . . .

Cows mooing interrupted my thoughts. The animals sounded calm, as if people were caring for them. Cows at the resort? Someone had brought them here. I needed to know if the army brats had, or someone else. Whoever it was, I couldn’t assume they were peaceful. The law made most people kind—and now there was no law.

Metal creaked in the gentle breeze. When the creak was at its loudest, I came to a meadow where I discovered more than a dozen swaying gibbets—iron cages suspended from trees. A decomposed corpse, sometimes several, with flies buzzing and feasting, was inside each one. The flies so numerous they sounded like an airplane motor. I hid my face in my palm, hoping to filter out some of the stench. It didn’t work, but I pretended it did.

I paced along the row of cages until I found one containing a man who was still alive. He was unconscious, breathing in heavy rasps. Connor rushed below and sniffed the cage. I watched to see if he’d yip and flee. He didn’t. I looked up to another nearby cage and examined the body inside. Black from decay, with skin hanging from the bones.

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