Come Into The Light (2 page)

“You set off my alarm you turd.”

Harold found the button to shut it off and that released a bit of the tension, “Sorry.”

He then closed the door and proceeded to feel his way to a chair resting up against a wall to the right of the door. He was too exhausted to stand and grateful to have a chance to rest.

“Something bad happened, didn’t it?” Liam asked, smiling strangely.

“I didn’t think-

“I tried to warn you.”

“I don’t know how you can sound so pleased?”

“Because it’s always a mistake to rely on others. Did you think you could come back here and suck off me again?”

“No,” Harold shook his head feeling weary, confused, “I don’t know.”

“You’re a wreck.”

“I have you to thank for it.”

“Don’t you dare blame me. You’re the one who left.”

“And I am glad that I did.”

“So why are you here now?”

Harold was about to speak and yet he didn’t know what he wanted to say.

“It’s not because you miss me, is it? I bet you’re surprised that I’m still alive and kicking. I guess you thought I wouldn’t survive without you, well get over yourself, boy-o.”

Harold was incredulous, open-mouthed with amazement, “Have you been out?”

Uncle Liam stared at him for the longest time as if he had grown a third eye, “Out! No one ever goes out if they know what’s good for them!”

“Then, how are you-

“None of your business.”

Harold processed all kinds of theories for how Uncle Liam was surviving and none of them sounded good. He was happy to see that his uncle didn’t need him. Maybe that was all he needed to know, and maybe he came back here hoping he would find a corpse.

“You’re giving me that look. I could always read what was going on in your head. Your mother was the same way.”

The mention of his mother sent a shock through him. He would never see either of his parents ever again. The old fuckhead had to mention her, didn’t he? He knew how to twist the knife.

“I have to go. I only came here to see how you were doing.” He said, standing.

Uncle Liam wasn’t angry anymore and he even began to appear friendly, “Why don’t you stay around. I was about to have my lunch.”

There was a snap and an animal squeaking in pain from somewhere in the back of the apartment. Harold turned in fright. His eyes traveling down the crumbling, bereft hallway in search of the animal, toward the kitchen, the bedrooms, though all he saw was evidence of a shape here or there and the darkness that rose out of it.

“Something bothering you, boy-o.”

Harold turned back shrouded in dismay as he stared at his uncle, and then with an anxious kind of sickness stirring in him he grabbed for the door, “I don’t know why I came.”

Liam laughed sarcastically and wet his lips.

“Be careful closing the door when you leave. It doesn’t set right.”

As Harold left the bar feeling confused and upset his eyes happened to light on a girl who slipped back into the shadows of a battered laundromat from across the street. She had her eyes on him and she looked curious, guilty as if she has been following him. Harold didn’t think she was one of them. He got a feeling for what they were like and this girl didn’t give off the empty, worshipful vibe he was accustomed to, yet when he crossed the street to find out who she was and what she wanted she had vanished. He didn’t think there were any strays left in the city. How was she able to survive and avoid being changed by that thing? A further sweep of the area continued to leave him puzzled. He has never known anyone who could move so quickly. From what he got of her she was thin with short blond hair and blue, luminous eyes. She was dressed the way a boy would be dressed in an overly large shirt and jeans with sneakers on her feet. There was writing on the shirt: Go Buckeyes. She could have been sixteen or seventeen. A little younger than him. He didn’t have the chance to get a good look at her. He wished he knew why she was following him. Seth would want to know about her he realized. He’s always looking for strays.

And speaking of Seth, he had to get going. He just remembered there was a meeting taking place this afternoon at 169 Piedmont. The address at Piedmont housed a three story clapboard house painted brown with yellow sashes. The house was once owned by Seth’s friend and had been designed with a reinforced shelter in the basement. Seth got possession of it when his friend was found in the basement with a hole in his head from a .32 caliber bullet.

CHAPTER 2

Harold had to remember the secret knock before he was let in by Ross who directed him to the living room. As he followed Ross down the long hallway past the foyer he could hear voices upraised and people arguing. They were in the midst of a discussion with Seth who was standing at the front of the room near the boarded up picture window trying to ease concerns as an active group of forty some individuals sat stirring up emotions or rose up from an assembly of plastic chairs to argue. The chairs were in rows and lined out all along the extent of the carpeted room. The plush chairs, tables, lamps, and couches had been pushed aside or shoved up against the nearest walls. Sara saw him come in from the corner of the room and waved to him. He waved back and they traded smiles. She was thin and pretty with long dark hair and it was clear she was interested in him but Harold didn’t know what to think of it. They had kissed and she did seem nice but he didn’t know if he wanted to take the next step. Sara could sometimes be intolerable, pushing him to do things he didn’t want to do.

“We don’t even know who we can trust most of the time. They have that weird light in their eyes but most of the time they look and act like us and I bet they have spies.”

“We can’t let our fears control us. They were just as human as you or I at one time. Let’s not forget that they are not to blame for what has happened to them. That thing is to blame not them.” Seth argued, keeping his demeanor somber yet forthright.

“I still think they have spies. They’re recruiting people all the time. Before you know it we will all be like them if something is not done.”

A rousing cheer swept up from all around Jacob. More than half of the room seemed to be on his side. He had this way of speaking that was common yet incendiary. His thinning combed back hair, chisel hard face, and rock solid workman’s body gave him the appearance of honest labor, of honest talk. And though he wasn’t the type to be agreeable he was born to be a leader. Even the young ones in the crowd seemed drawn to his sense of needing to take action, but Harold didn’t like him. He knew that Jacob would never have placed himself at risk to help anyone against that thing. In his mind there was no room for weak individuals. If they gave in they must be destroyed. He thought Harold was foolish and stupid, as foolish and stupid as Seth who gained sympathy and support because of his blindness. Yet Seth was a born leader as well and unlike Jacob he was flush with a crop of wiry gray-black hair expanding outward from his head augmenting the shaded eyes and the friendly round face that sought to charm you at every turn. He stood a head taller than Jacob and his skin, unlike Jacob’s, was a burnt bronze.

Seth had seemed to be expecting what Jacob would say so he didn’t let the cheers and calls to action bother him. He was even smiling as he lifted up his arms to ask for silence.

“Something will be done but for now we need to concentrate on our food supply, our water. There are people who need our help.”

“Everyone knows what needs to be done.” Jacob rallied; causing another round of cheering that seemed to gain in intensity.

Rosa had raised her hand to the group and shouted in amidst the cheering, “I want to know where my husband is! He was supposed to be here for this meeting!”

The cheering had slowly ended. It was met by confused stares and recriminations, muted conversations and eyes that darted in Rosa’s direction. Harold could see that Rosa was upset and nervous. She was a short, round, motherly type of woman who rarely got nervous. In fact she was normally friendly, outgoing, and always ready to see the good points in anyone. Something was bothering her, something she couldn’t comprehend by the way her brows furrowed and her eyes stood straight out. She didn’t care what the others were thinking. She wouldn’t even look around to hear what they were saying. She was concentrating on just that one thing: her husband, John. John was the silent type, introspective, shy, intelligent and he was much taller than Rosa, unusually thin, scrawny with long arms and legs. He wore these cheap nerdy glasses and told harmless jokes that embarrassed him. He was a neurobiologist before all occupations ceased to have meaning and came up with the theory that certain brains were less susceptible to the sun thing’s influence, yet he couldn’t explain where the creature came from, what brought it here, or what kind of creature it was yet he told Harold he believed the creature thrived on the sun and its energy, and maybe it thrived on human energy as well.

“I’m sure John was delayed for a good reason, Rosa.” Seth said, while turning to her.

Rosa wouldn’t speak. She closed her lips in a sullen gesture as if she didn’t believe in what Seth was telling her. Seth had relied on Rosa’s support and John’s during the times when Jacob was attempting to take control. Harold saw a much needed opportunity to end the meeting before the fevered emotions bubbling up in the group got out of hand.

“If I could say something.”

“Oh, and who is that, our flighty boy wonder?”

Jacob’s comment elicited a sprinkle of laughter and Harold found himself smiling.

“I only need a moment of Seth’s time.”

“Take all the time you need.” Jacob said, followed by more laughter.

Seth followed Harold out to the hallway. He was perfectly at ease and didn’t need help walking anywhere inside the house for he knew every corner, every obstacle as if it played an intimate role in his life and he had no trouble swiftly accustoming himself to any changes like the redistribution of furniture in the living room.

“You have bad news. I can hear it in your voice.”

Harold told him everything including the hasty decision he made to see his uncle.

“You know he can join us anytime.”

“He is too far gone, besides he’d never do it. I’ve tried, remember?”

Seth nodded, sighing, “And the girl?”

“I’m not sure who she is, but I’ll keep an eye out for her. She’s vulnerable.”

“You’re a good lad, Harold.”

“I can see why Rosa’s worried. John is a man of his word. Maybe I should-

“No, you’ve done enough today. Plus, you don’t sound all that hot.”

“My head’s killing me.”

“What’s all the secrecy about?” Sara asked as she came up on them grabbing hold of Harold’s arm and putting her head on his shoulder while smiling up at him.

“Have you found another girl?”

Before Harold could answer her Seth brought out an assembly of pain killers from his pocket giving Harold a choice, then he insisted that Harold lay down upstairs and rest. Harold was grateful for the order. Sara could sometimes overwhelm him, leave him speechless, now at least he had an excuse for telling her that his head hurt and he needed to rest. He’d see her later.

“Maybe I’ll see you sooner than that.”

Sara released his arm and bopped his nose with her finger, giving him a mischievous grin before turning and slipping back into the living room.

Harold laughed when he crashed onto the bed. He wondered what she meant.

***

The kiss placed on his lips sometime later woke him. Sara was standing over his bed biting back the need to smile as her eyes dared him to speak. When Harold saw how close she was to him he was immediately aware that he was naked under the sheets, sitting up in his bed with a stunned look on his face. His clothes scattered on the floor probably next to her feet.

“You wanted someone to wake you, didn’t you?”

“Oh yea, of course.” He said. His words rushed. Her closeness leaving him helpless.

Sara stood up slowly and eyed him with curiosity, “Well, I’m that someone.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

She smirked and gave him a questionable look, “You know your breath smells, boobala.”

He’s not sure where she got the nickname but she thought it fit him. He didn’t mind it all that much but he did mind her being there.

“Sorry. I’ll remember to freshen my breath next time you decide to surprise me.”

“Do I detect irritation?”

“It’s not that I mind, it’s just that-

She sighed, “You’re a secret person. You like your privacy.”

“Something like that.” He confessed, yet when he saw she was taking it wrong he told her that he did like the kiss.

“I hope so, because I wonder sometimes if you like me at all.”

“I do.” He said, blushing, though the words faltered in his mouth.

Sara crossed her arms and directed her eyes away from him, “Okay, okay, I’ll give you your privacy if you want it so badly.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be mad.”

“I’ll be whatever I want to be.”

She stormed out closing the door hard behind her but Harold couldn’t say that it bothered him. In fact he was glad that she gave him the opportunity to dress. He would have to talk to her, smooth things over. She was in a different place than him in the relationship. He thought he made it clear he liked to take things slowly, but he wondered if there was something more to it. Girls continued to frighten him in that way. He has never gone all the way with any girl. He wasn’t even sure of his emotions. Maybe there was something wrong with him. He should know what he feels. It was all so confusing. He was afraid he was only going to hurt Sara or she hurt him. He liked her as a friend and he didn’t want to lose the friendship. Oh what the hell, why can’t it be simple.

***

John was back and Rosa was all over him with worry and relief. She had hugged him so hard he was out of breath. He apologized saying they broke off into two groups and lost track of each other. He had Amanda, Circe, and Adam with him and they were tired. Adam was Seth’s teenaged son and Amanda and Circe were tough women with short haircuts who served in the military for nearly twenty years. They were part of John’s scouting team. There were a number of scouting teams and everyone took turns doing reconnaissance and scouting for supplies.