"My mom — she was a good person before all this started. She still is," Joseph attempted to convince himself. "She lost a piece of her when the world ended. I think we all did."
"What your mom does isn't right, Joseph. It's not humane," I argued sincerely. "She killed a whole shelter to 'keep you alive', she didn't try to bargain with them. She made them think she was here to help just to kill them."
We traveled in the minivan with Haze and Nista trailing in the truck ahead of us. Our plan was to separate the herd by setting the fireworks off in two different directions at the same time.
"She didn't kill them. Someone inside turned and the whole place fell."
My brow furrowed in disgust. "Is that what she makes you believe?"
"This is where we stop, brother. About a mile south and you'll be right where you need to be." Haze's voice sounded through the speaker of the walkie talkie I held.
The truck in front of us pulled to the side of the road and Haze stuck his hand out the window to wave. Dread washed over me as Joseph and I approached the area where we would be setting the fireworks off.
Joseph turned to me solemnly with determination in his light eyes. "I'll do it."
"Do what?"
He gulped, "I'll set the fireworks off. You keep watch, make sure we don't draw any more than we need to."
"Haze showed me how," I attempted to bargain with him. "I'll do it, Joseph. You don't have to play hero, man."
"I want to. My whole life I've been sheltered, I didn't get to experience the things you guys did out here. I want to help change this world and make it better than it even was before. To do that, we gotta get rid of the zoms."
He grabbed the packages from the backseat and shuffled away. Our surroundings were bare, mostly land with a few houses nearby. Joseph climbed onto the hood of the minivan before hopping onto the roof. He stood tall as he mustered the courage to set the distractions off.
"I changed my mind," I called out as a bad feeling formed in my gut. "Get down, man. I'll set them off and we can scat before they get here."
"No! I'm not fucking backing down from this!" He yelled from the top of the vehicle. "You might as well get the hell away and go keep watch because I'm doing this with or without you!"
Is this some kind of attempt to impress his cold, narcissistic mother?
I shook my head as I shuffled away. No zombies yet.
Haze's voice appeared through the static on the walkie talkie once again. "You there, brother? I'm lighting them off in thirty seconds. Let's do this."
"Thirty seconds!" I called out to Joseph from several feet away.
I counted down from thirty and it began. Pops and bangs sounded from Haze's area. Then came Joseph's fireworks.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Within moments, zombies appeared. Not the ones from the horde — the strays that were just minding their own business until we came along making noise.
"Shit!" I ran off, tackling the closest zombie.
As I fought and stabbed, I began to lose stamina. They seemed to be never ending. Kill one, gain three.
They swarmed me. Just as I got surrounded, I shoved a couple of them to the ground to create a narrow opening. I barreled through.
"We're drawing too much attention! Retreat!" I called in a panic as I ran towards the minivan that was yards away.
Joseph was now lying on top of the car. Blood was all over the roof of the minivan.
"What the Hell happened?"
"I —"
He trailed off before lifting up his arm. He kept his face buried into the roof he lay on.
"Your fucking hand! What happened, Joseph?"
"The firecracker, it was pointed the right way but it slipped and took most of my hand right off," he cried into the paint of the vehicle as he cradled his arm. "I just wanted to do good."
"You did good, Joe. We have to go now."
"I can't."
"Why the hell can't you?"
The frustration in my voice was clear. I prepared to drag him off of the roof of the vehicle as the zombies got closer. He finally lifted his head and revealed his beat red face.
"Because I failed. I'm done, Jake. Let me die."
"You're losing too much blood. C'mon, we have to get back to your mom so she can help. I'm not letting you die here."
"Fuck no, I am not going back to her!" He slammed his head down onto the hard top of the vehicle. "She already makes me feel useless. Now this? I'd rather be dead."
Rrrghhhh!
The wind was knocked out of me as I hit the ground. One of the zombies caught up to me and the rest aren't too far behind him. The blade of my knife entered his skull and put him to rest.
"Listen, we drew the herd here by setting those fireworks off. If you don't get in the car, they're going to rip us both to shreds. If we don't at least help Haze finish this, the shelter will fall. Do you want that?"
I turned to notice the many zombies in the distance. I can't tell if that's the targeted herd or not.
"This is how I can make it right. I'll distract them, you go. I can't go back to her."
The blood from his injured hand began to drip off of the sides of the minivan's roof.
"Hey! Hey! Over here!" Joseph stood up, waving his stump of a hand in the air. "That's right, dinner time!"
"Haze, Joseph's went awol. You have to get here, now. I can't use the car —"
The zombies are too close. They caused the minivan to rock as they slammed against the windows. Joseph stood on top of the vehicle and stared below at the zombies with the same emotionless expression his mom has.
They're starting to notice me.
"Jake? Where —"
The static to the walkie talkie cut out. Dead. I slammed the small box against my palm before hitting the button again.
Before the walkie talkie died for good, I got four words over the small radio.
"Area B. Minivan immobile."
By the time Haze and Nista found me, I was exhausted. The zombies were now built up around the minivan Joseph resided on and there was no obvious answer to the problem.
"He's going to die up there. We have to get him down." Nista observed from afar, "we can't let him go out like that. He's bleeding to death."
"Let 'em." Haze shrugged, "I'm not saving him. His mom is a piece of shit and so is he. Not worth it."
"We can't pick and choose who we save, Haze." I objected, immediately thinking of Kara. "He wasn't this way before. When the world ended, it brought out the worst in everyone."
"We can use whatever fireworks we have to distract them but we have to act fast. That herd will be here any minute." Nista scurried back to the truck to grab the fireworks.
"Damn it, Natalia!" Haze barked as he ran after her.
Natalia.
"One, two, three!"
Bang! Bang! Pop!
The zombies that surrounded Joseph turned their attention to us. The pretty colors in the sky drew them almost immediately and I ran to the minivan he lay on top of.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, man?" I yelled angrily as I pulled him off of the vehicle.
He was barely conscious. His usually tan face was now pale and cool to the touch. I shoved him into the minivan. When Haze gave the signal, we headed back to Tabitha's to tell her what her son had done.
_
I barged through the front doors of the shelter as I called for anyone that could help me. Luckily, one of the nurses rushed out and immediately brought Joseph back for treatment. Tabitha was nowhere to be found as I explained the situation to the others.
"You shouldn't have brought him back. Should've left him out there since he wanted to experience it oh so bad," Christie criticized. "He almost got you guys killed!"
"We couldn't just leave him. Did you forget who his mom is?" I questioned in a bark. "We don't pick and choose who we save!"
"She's right, Jake. This place is madness. We have to get out of here." Vick agreed, "they aren't like us here. We know how to survive."
Right on cue, Tabitha entered the lobby.
"The herd is nearing us! What the Hell did you do? You couldn't distract them?" She yelled as she barged toward us. "My shelter is going to fall now! Do you understand what you've done?"
"Your piece of shit son did this!" Haze hissed, "he blew his fucking hand off trying to set off fireworks, botched the whole operation! He did this. Not us."
Tabitha's eyes widened as she stared at Haze in disbelief. She turned to me as though she needed a confirmation. I nodded. She turned to her guard who stood feet away.
"Go get him. Then, go out and prepare to protect our home at all costs."
The body guard brought Joseph down on a stretcher. He was barely conscious and still bleeding.
"Mom, I swear I —"
She stared him directly in the eyes for a moment before uttering the words "kill him."
"No, mom! I'll do better. I have to be here to run the shelter, I —"
He began to fade out from blood loss once again. She had no mercy and turned to the woman nearby who held a gun. Tabitha gave her a nod. The woman raised the sight, aligning it with Joseph.
"No! Don't!" Courtney cried out in a plea.
Bang!
Within seconds, a gunshot rang through the air. I turned to Joseph before realizing that he wasn't shot. Tabitha's guard fell to the ground as she began to bleed out. Vick held the gun.
"You killed her!" Tabitha immediately drew her own firearm, aiming it at Vick as she trembled with anger. "You have to die now, too."
Bang!
Vick fell to the ground as he gasped for air. His hand searched for the wound and he attempted to stop the bleeding in his chest.
My eyes widened with anger as I turned to face Tabitha.
Bang!
Within seconds, I realized what I had done. The bullet zipped through the air and into Tabitha's midsection. She fell to the ground. The group was now hunched over Vick as they attempted to stop the bleeding.
We can't let him die.
"Vick, Vick! Can you hear me?" I questioned, staring down at him as we met gazes. "Cmon, we have to get out of here. We'll find you some help when we get back on the road."
"Kid, this is it for me." He managed to choke the words up. "The bullet didn't clear."
"We aren't giving up without a fight. I'll be damned if I don't try."
Bang! Bang!
Slams against the front door drew everyone's attention. Then, it dawned on me.
The horde is here.