<\/p>\n
Selano turned the truck around, crossing the median, and headed back through Grand Junction.\u00a0 He saw movement from out of the corner of his eye and jerked, \u201cFuck!\u201d he shouted, then he jammed the gears in a panic and barely kept the truck from choking on him.<\/p>\n
Three men raced out of the bushes, fully clothed, and Selano saw them throw something.\u00a0 Then the ground ahead of them burst into flame and he skidded to a shuddering halt.<\/p>\n
He pulled a pistol out from beneath the seat and shot blindly out his window, towards the three men.\u00a0 Then more came out from the buildings and alleyways, surrounding the truck.\u00a0 They stood there, the only sounds the truck and the gas fire spread out along the road.<\/p>\n
Selano checked his mirrors.\u00a0 They were encircled, but the raiders didn\u2019t move any closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are they waiting for?\u201d Isaac hissed.<\/p>\n
The raiders were all clothed and groomed.\u00a0 They looked human, but something was nagging at Selano.<\/p>\n
\u201cChief, these boys aren\u2019t what they appear, are they?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re Walkers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t look it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three of the Walkers parted, breaking the circle, and allowed an old man on a cane and a teenaged girl to pass through.\u00a0 The two walked up to the truck, making a wide pass of the dying fire from the Molotov\u2019s, and stood about 20 feet from the driver side door.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather wishes to speak to the men from Denver.\u201d The girl called out.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s no Walker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNor the old man,\u201d Isaac replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I say we shoot the old man and the girl and I gun it out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaac put a hand on Selano\u2019s shoulder and took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour attempt to escape will not be successful.\u201d The girl shouted.\u00a0 \u201cNor can you harm my grandfather.\u00a0 The road back to Denver is blocked and 141 is washed out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selano looked over at Isaac, \u201cNow, that\u2019s damned eerie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wish to speak to the men from Denver.\u00a0 Please, you will not be harmed if you cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to talk to them,\u201d Isaac said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell that\u2019s stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaac shrugged and opened his door.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I said it\u2019s stupid!\u00a0 We can make it, man!\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaac jumped to the ground, circled around the front of the truck and came to within a few feet of the girl and the old man.<\/p>\n
\u201cJesus Christ!\u201d Selano shouted, then he leapt out as well and stood next to the crazy Indian.<\/p>\n
The old man looked like he was 90.\u00a0 He was hunched forward, shorter than the girl, leaning two gnarled hands with paper-thin skin on a homemade cane.\u00a0 His robes were black and grey, like some sort of silly wizard from the storybooks.\u00a0 The girl was dressed much like the Walkers surrounding them \u2013 jeans, work shirt, boots.\u00a0 Her long, brown hair was drawn back in a messy ponytail and her face, without makeup, was narrow and sharp.\u00a0 She was beautiful, after a fashion.<\/p>\n
The big Indian introduced himself. \u201cIsaac Tallhorse.\u00a0 This is Mason Selano.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am Maureen.\u00a0 My grandfather says that you carry drugs to the Pacific Union.\u00a0 It is in our interest to stop you here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said we wouldn\u2019t be harmed,\u201d Isaac said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not mislead you.\u00a0 If we must defend ourselves, we will harm you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we can go back to Denver?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maureen looked at her grandfather, who chuckled evilly, then she turned back to Isaac, \u201cWe cannot allow that, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selano raised his pistol and held it on the old man, \u201cI\u2019m hoping the next statement isn\u2019t an invitation to join your friends here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Walkers will not turn you.\u00a0 You will stay with us.\u00a0 As you are.\u00a0 Your safety is assured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d Isaac asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe drugs will be destroyed.\u00a0 It is the way it must be.\u00a0 My grandfather has brought this tribe together and we are building society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaac looked at Selano.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebuilding what society?\u201d Selano asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot rebuilding,\u201d Maureen\u2019s eyes traveled Selano\u2019s body in a way that made him feel suddenly uneasy.\u00a0 Her gaze was hungry, calculating.<\/p>\n
Selano cleared his throat, \u201cHow about you go ahead and keep the truck?\u00a0 We\u2019ll just, uh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She was shaking her head, \u201cNo, Mason.\u00a0 You will stay.\u00a0 With me.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes fixed on his and he backed away.\u00a0 She turned to Isaac, \u201cWith us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaac was on guard.\u00a0 He held the trank gun firmly at his side.\u00a0 \u201cSurely there\u2019s no harm if we give you the truck and head back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must not!\u201d She spat her words.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will join us and work for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaac pointed at the encircling monsters, \u201cThese are Walkers, girl.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what your deal is, but we\u2019re not \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n
Maureen stepped forward, raising a thin arm and pointing a long finger at Isaac, who looked a giant compared to her slim frame, \u201cDenver is nothing!\u00a0 Your people are nothing.\u00a0 They are wrong!\u00a0 They are who caused lorimiasis.\u00a0 Now we must cleanse the Earth of those who would wish to return the world to the madness it once was.\u201d\u00a0 She tilted her chin defiantly, looking down her nose at Isaac.<\/p>\n
She must have been all of ten when the shit really hit the fan in 2010.\u00a0 Selano shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you know about the old world?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked back at the old man.\u00a0 \u201cMy grandfather helped create lorimiasis, back in 1976.\u00a0 Now we must atone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re crazy.\u201d Isaac said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you don\u2019t have a choice.\u00a0 These Walkers are with us.\u00a0 Soon, they all will be with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can cure them, child.\u00a0 We can give them their lives back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maureen looked back at her grandfather, then looked at Isaac.\u00a0 \u201cGrandfather says that what has happened is natural evolution.\u00a0 The cure is artificial, made by the same men who helped destroy the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoctor Jacob Tanner.\u00a0 1990-2005 assigned to Cheyenne Mountain bioweapons division.\u00a0\u00a0 Colonel Harold Martinak, today known as Councilman Robert Anderson, assigned to the special weapons deployment squad in Syria, 2006.\u00a0 Shall I tell your friend here your real name and background, Isaac Tallhorse?\u00a0 Shall we talk about the Denver Elections that founded your Colorado Republic in 2010?\u00a0 Shall we discuss what you and Councilor Anderson talk about over scotch and a chessboard?\u00a0 The same things you\u2019ve been talking about since 2003.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop!\u201d\u00a0 Isaac closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Selano was backing away, shaking his head, \u201cSo what, girl?\u00a0 We all have lies.\u00a0 Walkers are Walkers and if this cure makes them human again, then we gotta \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cHumanity!\u201d Maureen screamed, racing toward Selano and grabbing him.\u00a0 She shook him, baring her teeth, until her grandfather pounded his cane against the road three times.\u00a0 Then she stepped away, tears streaming down her face, \u201cYour Humanity took everything away.\u201d\u00a0 She pointed at Isaac, \u201cMen like him killed us all!\u00a0 They made the Walkers, they put us where we are today, they are responsible for every death and every ounce of suffering on this planet.\u00a0 They deployed the weapons that caused the disease, and they all got away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe planned nothing, girl!\u201d Isaac shouted back.\u00a0 \u201cWe followed orders and suffered along with everyone else.\u00a0 We\u2019re no different just because we served the government that allowed this to happen.\u00a0 They\u2019re gone now.\u00a0 They\u2019re all gone!\u00a0 You\u2019re going to judge the soldiers for the crimes of the generals?\u00a0 Of Congress?\u00a0 Of the President?\u00a0 Of men who have been bones or the walking dead for the last seven years?\u00a0 How do you even know this stuff?\u00a0 Who the hell are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maureen closed her eyes, still standing a few steps away from Selano, who had backed up against the grill of the truck.\u00a0 When she opened her eyes again, they were cloudy.\u00a0 Selano\u2019s breath caught in his throat.\u00a0 He felt a pressure growing in his skull, his lungs burning, his eyes widening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strain is pure.\u201d Maureen whispered, her voice inhuman, without breath.\u00a0 \u201cWe are the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the background, her grandfather started laughing.\u00a0 Selano let out a small wail, more fear building in his gut than he ever knew was possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Isaac raised his trank gun, aiming at Maureen\u2019s head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShoot her!\u201d Selano screamed.\u00a0 Maureen lunged at him, tearing at his throat with her teeth.\u00a0 Isaac\u2019s feathered dart missed as she ducked in to bite and slammed into Selano\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He shouted out, twisted to avoid Maureen\u2019s teeth, then hit the ground and rolled.\u00a0 She was on his back and biting into his neck.\u00a0 Her teeth ripping into the tendon at the base of his neck and white hot pain bursting in his head, jolting down his body.\u00a0 He rolled and slammed an elbow into her face.<\/p>\n
Lurching to his feet, he pulled his gun and spun on her just as the encircling Walkers descended on them, howling.\u00a0 Maureen\u2019s eyes were clear again.\u00a0 \u201cStay with me.\u201d She hissed.\u00a0 \u201cSay you\u2019ll stay with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selano pulled the dart out of his shoulder, \u201cI\u2019m immune now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaac was screaming from beneath a pile of Walkers.\u00a0 Selano could hear them tearing the Indian apart, his screams dying in a sick gurgling.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay you\u2019ll stay with me!\u201d Maureen screamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll stay.\u201d Selano said, as the first of the Walkers grabbed him.\u00a0 Immediately, they released him and went to join their comrades at the bloody smear where Isaac had stood.<\/p>\n
Maureen stepped closer, her face long and sad, then she wrapped her arms around Selano and buried her face against his chest.\u00a0 \u201cThe Walkers are sterile,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cYou and I will make the strain pure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe immunity\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maureen stepped back and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt will only save you.\u00a0 Our children,\u201d she pressed her hands over her heart, \u201cWill be of my flesh.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her grandfather began cackling again, then he turned around with the help of two silent, cloudy-eyed Walkers and ambled off towards the Holiday Inn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[137,76],"class_list":["post-366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sunday-archive","tag-archives","tag-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":894,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions\/894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}