In the Lone and Level Sands (27 page)

“I am indebted to Jesus Christ the Lord and
Savior, and to no man. However, it is you who have led us here, who
have slain the demons that would seek to have us destroyed.
Clearly, God has chosen you for a higher purpose. You will watch
over these… these heathens. Tomorrow they are to be gone, unless
they find God in the night and prove themselves more deserving,
more willing to contribute.”

Mother May slowly walked away from the
podium, and Frank helped her down the steps. The people in the pews
scattered, many grouping together and whispering, many pointing,
nearly all avoiding Layne and the others.

“Would you mind telling me what that was
about?” Layne said.

“I told you,” Garrett said. “We won’t be
staying here for very long.”

“No kidding,” Jessi said. “We obviously
aren’t welcome.”

“I feel bad,” Kyle said. “I shouldn’t have
said anything.”

“Don’t worry,” Layne said. “I wouldn’t want
to stay with these people anyway.”

“Some of us are just as displeased as you
are,” Garrett said. “We’re going with you, if at all possible.”

“You’re welcome to. How many?”

“There’s myself, then there’s Gina and
Ralph. And that’s about it.”

“Just three?”

“Just three.”

“Well, that makes travel easier,” Layne
said. “It just makes me uncomfortable that so many people have been
completely brainwashed.”

“People have their way of coping. Nobody’s
been harmed, though. Trying to kick you out is the worst I’ve seen
these people do.”

“Yet,” Katie said. The idea made them all
uncomfortable.

“In any case, we have the night,” Layne
said.

“We can stay in some of the rooms on the
upper floor,” Garrett said. “In the morning we’ll find some means
of travel, and we’ll head for Washington.”

“You’ll stay with us?”

“Look around, man,” Garrett said. “These
people, all of us, we come from everywhere. We’re black, white,
poor, rich. Some are smart, some aren’t so much. Young and old. But
there’s one thing we all, shit, everyone in the world has in common
now: We all just need some place to go.”

****

In the shadows, where the candlelight could
not reach, Mother May met with Frank.

“I do not wish to let these people have
their way,” Mother May said. “My Lord will not be spoken down
to.”

“Should I kill them?” Frank asked.

“Let God decide what to do with them. As it
stands, He has decided that they are not welcome in His house.”

“Then I’ll show them the door,” Frank said.
He slipped into the darkness.

****

Layne and the others shared a room with four
bunk beds. The group sat around on them, talking, trying to keep
the mood light. It was the first rest they’d gotten since before
the flight, and Layne could tell they all needed it.

Garrett had joined them. Layne hadn’t met
Gina or Ralph yet; they preferred to keep their decision to leave a
secret so they wouldn’t be singled out while they stayed. It was
unsettling, but if Garrett trusted them, so would Layne.

“So what did you mean Mother May was
indebted to you?” Dex asked Garrett.

“It was my idea to come here. I brought us
here, got us weapons, helped barricade the place. Long story short,
of course.”

“And imagine, you’re the one leaving it
behind,” Layne said.

“That, my friend, is called irony.”

“We just did irony in my English class a few
weeks ago,” Lacie said. “Like when you like someone and find out
they’re gay.” A few of the others laughed. Layne looked at
Katie.

“Or when you like someone and find out
they’re straight,” Katie said. Everyone laughed harder; Garrett
roared.

“I find it ironic that we’re still headed
for Washington,” Kyle said. The others looked at him. “I mean, what
for? What is anyone here even still going for?”

“I don’t know about you,” Dex said, “but I
have everything I need right here in this room.” He looked at his
friends, and he put his arm around Lacie, who leaned against
him.

“As much as I wish we could find a place to
stay, it’s probably best that we keep moving, for now,” Layne said.
“We were headed for Seattle before, so we might as well keep
going.”

“Besides, I’m sure some of us still have
things we need to get there for,” Katie said. She stared at the
ground. Layne knew she was thinking of someone.

“I find that things don’t always turn out
the way we want,” Garrett said. “But that isn’t always bad.” Layne
found a calmness in Garrett’s voice; he thought the guy could talk
the Devil into buying a furnace.

“There’s no time anymore,” Warren said.

“Hey man, things are bad, but there’s always
time,” Kyle said.

“That’s not what I meant. Life gets so
strange, you know. Things are just different. I’m not sad. There’s
no time to be sad. I’m not really even sad that my Rebecca is gone.
Things are different, and there’s no use in wishing they were like
they used to be, no time to waste on that.”

“That’s a pretty positive outlook,” Garrett
said.

“You young folks make me feel more alive.
Rebecca made me feel closer to death. God rest her beautiful soul,
I loved that woman. But she made me feel every breath. And that was
okay. I felt ready to die by her side. But now… now I feel ready
for just a little more life. I just wish Rebecca could feel it,
too.”

“Maybe somewhere, someone has made some
place safe,” Dex said. “I don’t mean covered-up windows, either. No
offense, Garrett.”

“None taken.”

“But like, a big place. Maybe a town. And
it’s safe, and we’ll all gather there, and we’ll make life normal
again. Think that’s too much to wish for?”

“I don’t
want
to think that’s too
much to wish for,” Layne said. “For now, let’s just focus on
getting to Washington in one piece.”

They talked into the night. One by one, they
turned in. The last ones awake lowered their voices until there
were only whispers in a dark room. The responses eventually ceased,
and everyone was asleep.

****

Morning came too soon. Layne woke up to
Garrett standing beside his bed.

“I went out and got us some transportation,”
he said. Layne sat up.

“For everyone?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than I’d like,
but it’ll have to do. There are ten of us now. We’ll take the jeep
you brought in yesterday, and a minivan I found this morning.”

“Do you sleep?” Layne said. He got up,
yawned, and stretched. “Okay. I’ll drive one, you’ll drive the
other?”

“Yeah. I got us some walkie-talkies, but
they don’t seem to work. We’ll just have to make sure to stick
together. We’ll work out who sits where when we go.”

“When do we go?”

“It’s about seven now. I figure we should
probably leave before too many people wake up, just to avoid any…
complications.”

“Yeah,” Layne said. “Okay, start getting
people up.” He headed for the door, then turned back to Garrett.
“Where’s the John?”

“Downstairs. Go straight from the bottom,
you can’t miss it.”

“Thanks, you’re a life saver.”

Layne left the room and headed down the
hall. It was dark, only a few candles burned to light the way. He
passed Frank on the stairs. Frank reeked of something Layne
couldn’t put his finger on.

“You all right?” Layne asked.

“Fine,” Frank said. “Rough night.”

“Need any help?”

Frank stopped, then turned. “Not from you, I
don’t. I have all I need here.” Then he left.

Layne shrugged it off and headed for the
bathroom.

He did his business, then splashed his face
with water. He heard footsteps, and doors opening and closing.
Layne saw a crumpled towel near the sink, and when he picked it up
to wipe his face, an empty bottle of peroxide rolled from the
counter and onto the floor. Layne put the towel to his face, but
quickly threw it down when he got a whiff of it. It smelled like
Frank had.

Layne sighed and left the bathroom. He saw a
lot of the church folks gathering at the one uncovered window near
the top of the stairs, where Garrett had first ushered Layne and
his friends to safety. Layne went up and approached the closest
person.

“Something going on out there?” he asked.
The person seemed shocked that Layne was talking to him. He looked
around, hoping Layne had been speaking to someone else, then
sighed.

“No. We’re just here to see you folk
off.”

“Oh. Well, thank you. Thank you all, for
your hospitality.” The person shied away into the crowd, even
though Layne had no intention of talking to him further.

Layne went back to his room. His friends
were all awake. Jessi was trying to keep a very tired Kara from
crying. There was a woman and a young man Layne didn’t recognize,
and he figured they must be Gina and Ralph.

“Hi, everyone,” Layne said.

“Hi, Layne,” Gina said. She walked up to
Layne and hugged him. Layne was puzzled, but returned the favor.
“Brother Garrett has told us all about you. We thank you for your
kindness.”

Layne looked to Garrett.

“These two were members of the church, and
one-time followers of Mother May.”

“Yes, we were,” Gina said. Her voice sounded
sweet, but fake. Not insincere, but not authentic, either. “But
Mother May has… She has gone astray. She has forgotten the good
ways, and I fear she is lost, and leading others down the wrong
path.”

“I don’t want to go down the wrong path,”
Ralph said.

“Well, then I hope you two find your right
path with us,” Layne said.

“Okay,” Garrett said, “I’m taking some of
the weapons I brought here. These people can easily get more. But
we need some loaded into both cars. Can you go do that, Gina?”

“Don’t worry,” Gina said. “The patrons are
all watching, so I’m sure I’ll be safe outside.”

“Does someone want to go with her?” Layne
asked.

“I’ll do it,” Warren said. “It’s about time
I made myself useful.”

The two headed off. Garrett stepped into the
hall.

“What does she mean, everyone’s watching?”
he said. Layne followed him to where the group had assembled.

“They’re here to see us off.”

Garrett studied them, then shrugged.
“Whatever they want, I suppose.” The two went back into the
bedroom.

“Does everyone have everything they need?”
Layne said.

“Well, I had hoped for a warm shower, but I
guess that’s too much to ask for,” Lacie said. She was joking, but
Layne detected a sense of seriousness in it.

“Don’t worry,” Dex said. “You only smell as
bad as the rest of us.”

“You’re so romantic,” Lacie said.

Everyone went about gathering what little
they had.

“Okay,” Layne said. “Well, those two are
probably about done with the weapons by now, so we should get
going.” He led the group into the hall. “Does anyone know where
Mother May is?”

“No,” someone said. “But one of the demons
attacked your friends. The old guy fended it off, though, and I
think they’re okay.”

Layne looked out the window. The cars were
in the lot in front of the church, and Gina was piling weapons into
the trunk of the jeep while Warren swatted at a zombie with a
stick. The zombie moved backward, trying hard to get away from
Warren’s persistent blows. Warren was old, but the zombie was
stupid, and Warren had the upper hand. He and Gina seemed to have
it under control. Layne turned back to the crowd.

“Well, if anyone sees Mother May, tell her
we thank her for her hospitality.”

“She had a message,” someone said. “She says
the doors will be locked behind you. Once you go out, you aren’t
allowed back in.”

“Thanks,” Layne said. He didn’t take it
personally; he hadn’t planned on coming back anyway.

They headed down the stairs and out through
the back of the church. They rounded to the front, where Gina was
putting the last of the weapons into the back of the jeep. Dex
passed Layne to try to catch up with Lacie, but stopped.

“Something wrong, Dex?” Layne said.

“You smell,” Dex said.

“You established that back in the room—”

“No. Something familiar. If you don’t mind…”
Dex smelled the air around Layne, then he got closer. After a
moment, he was smelling Layne’s face.

“Can I help you?” Layne said.

“It smells like something I used to make
with my friends, for pranks. Where
were
you?”

“I went to the bathroom, that’s it. I washed
my face, even. Then I used a rag someone left there.” Layne thought
of Frank passing him on the stairs earlier. A horrible thought
occurred to him. “What kind of pranks?”

“We used to blow up people’s mailboxes,” Dex
said. “I was a little shit in high school. Sue me.”

Layne, who had stopped listening at “blow
up”, turned to their friends, who were headed for the cars.

“Stop! Stop, get away from the cars!” The
group turned to look.

The sound was like thunder, and followed by
another. The jeep exploded first, then the minivan. Layne was
knocked to the ground, and it hurt.

And he was the farthest away.

He sat up as soon as he was capable. There
were flaming chunks of things everywhere. What were once the cars
were now two flaming heaps of metal. Layne saw Dex beside him,
getting to his feet. Garrett was getting to his own up ahead.

Layne looked up at the people in the window.
They were cheering.

“Son of a bitch, mother fuck,” Kyle was
saying. He looked up at the churchgoers. “The joke’s on you, you
motherfuckers! Your fucking church is on fire!”

The cars had been closer to the church than
to most of Layne’s friends. Some flaming scraps had landed near the
wood used to barricade the door, and it was going up in flames. The
cheers turned to screams. By the time Layne was able to locate most
of his friends, people were running from the building, one man was
knocked down by the crowd.