Rotter Nation by Scott M Baker

Author:Scott M Baker [Baker, Scott M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Windows could only stare at the old man for several seconds, dumbstruck. “Price is your son?”

The old man nodded. “My name is Lee. And I know what you’re thinking. What type of asshole am I to raise a son like that?”

“Not at all,” she responded much too quickly.

“I don’t blame you for thinking that way. In most cases it’s true. God knows I wasn’t the best father. I never hit him, and I tried to raise him right. His mother loved him, too. If anything, she was overprotective. He was a good kid until he reached high school, and then the fighting and bullying started. We tried to discipline him, but it never worked. The harder we tried, the more violent he became. Some kids are just bad, I guess.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

Lee glanced up and mouthed “Thank you.”

“So why did Price come back?”

“To check on Judith, his mother. Despite the way he treated her, he really loved her.”

“What happened?”

“I killed my wife about a week into the apocalypse. She….” Lee paused, overwhelmed by grief. His face grimaced and tears welled up in his eyes. After a minute, he regained control. “Sorry about that.”

“That’s okay.” Windows held his hand and didn’t let go. “You don’t have to go on.”

“I do.” Lee sniffed and wiped snot from his nose. “We had planned on heading north. I had gone to fill up the H3 while Judith went to the grocery store to stock up. When I got back, I found her sitting in the living room crying, with a huge bite mark on her arm. Someone in the store had turned and attacked Judith and several others. I stayed with her and comforted her until the end, and then used a shotgun to put her out of her misery. After that, I stayed just to be with her.”

“Is that why your hands are broken? Did Price punish you for killing his mother?”

“No. While I don’t think he ever forgave me it, he knew it had to be done, and would have shot her himself to prevent her from becoming one of those things.” Lee held up his hands. “He did this because I challenged him. About two weeks after he set up camp here, he came up with the idea of the Line after one raid that netted him a lot of prisoners. He called a meeting to discuss implementing the plan. Afterwards, four of his people got together and decided to stage a coup. I don’t know, maybe they thought the idea inhumane. Maybe they thought he had become uncontrollable. Maybe they thought they’d wind up on it someday. For whatever reason, they came up with a plan to kill off Price and Carter, and lead the group themselves. After that, they intended to look for more comfortable accommodations.”

“How did you fit in?”

“They asked me if I would be a part of the plot to lend it legitimacy. I said no. I couldn’t be involved in killing my own son, no matter what he had become.

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