Dead World

CHAPTER 15

Isaiah scrambled over the rocks. He was aching in places that he didn’t realise existed, but for the sake of his wife and family, he disregarded the pain. He recalled Anna wanting to talk to him before she ran away, and he berated himself that he hadn’t taken the time to listen. When he thought about everything, he had been ignoring his family. He had taken them for granted and now he was paying the price.

The sun followed overhead as they progressed, the relentless heat adding to the discomfort of the exertion. Sweat glistened on Isaiah’s face and he continually mopped his brow on his sleeve. The group stopped now and again to rest and have a drink or a snack before moving on.

Never having been outside Sanctuary before, Isaiah found himself transfixed by the scenery. Wherever he looked, were sweeping vistas. No wonder it was referred to as God’s country.

They descended as the sun set, and in the distance, partly hidden within a lush forest; Isaiah glimpsed a faint orange glow. “Over there.” He pointed towards the trees.

“What is it?” Roman asked.

“Camp fire,” one of the scavengers replied.

Isaiah and his companions hunkered near to the road, hiding within the tree line.

Fires blazed within the trees where The Horsemen of the Apocalypse had erected campfires. The orange glow appeared warm and inviting. A couple of guards were stationed around camp while the rest of the troupe slept beside the campfires or in makeshift tents.

Horses tethered to trees neighed softly. Beyond those, a line of prisoners were shackled together, metal chains clinking when they moved. Isaiah scanned the group; his pulse throbbing when he spotted his wife and children.

Roman gave hand signs to direct his men and they disappeared into the undergrowth. When they were in position, Roman signalled them and the enforcers opened fire with their crossbows. The faintest whistle of wind was heard as the bolts flew through the air, and a soft thud as they struck their targets. The guards slumped to the ground.

Isaiah crept along the tree line, careful to move as quietly as possible towards the shackled prisoners.

“Anna. Anna.”

Anna awoke, looking groggy. Ben also roused.

“Dad!”

Isaiah put a finger to his lips. “Shush. Keep quiet.”

“How did you find us?” Anna asked.

“We’ve been tracking you for days.”

“We?”

Before Isaiah responded, Roman appeared at his side and gave her a salacious grin.

“You didn’t think he’d make it all this way on his own, did you?”

Anna scowled.

“What’s going on?” Zeke asked, yawning. He spotted his dad and he grinned.

Some of the other prisoners stirred and Lucy woke from her slumber.

“I never thought I’d see you again,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

An old woman woke up. “Who are you?”

Ignoring the woman, Isaiah grabbed the chains that linked the prisoners. “Damn. Where are the keys?”

Anna pointed at a fallen guard. “I think he has them.”

Isaiah crawled over to the dead guard and rifled through his clothing before finding what he was after. He made his way back to the prisoners and carefully undid the restraints. Anna rubbed her wrists to relieve the pain. Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

“Now what do we do?” Anna asked.

Isaiah studied the prisoners, and stared around the camp. When he spied the horses, he nodded, then grinned.

A loud series of shouts rang out. Jones’ eyes shot open and he jumped up to see some of the horses galloping through the camp.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Jones snapped.

A soldier ran across. “Someone’s stealing the horses, sir”.

“Well don’t just stand there, stop ‘em.”

The soldier barked out orders and the men trained their weapons on the horse thieves, but they were too late.

Jones spat on the ground and looked around at his disarrayed army. “So what happened?”

“They took us by surprise.”

Jones shook his head. “How the hell did that happen?”

“I… I don’t know sir.”

Jones lit his cigar and puffed out smoke. “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s incompetence.” He snatched his gun out of its holster and put a bullet through the man’s head. “Now would someone like to tell me who attacked us?”

His troupe all stared sheepishly at the ground and started fidgeting.

“I’m waiting.”

“I think it was a rescue mission,” one of the female soldiers said. “Probably something to do with the family we picked up the other day. The ones we rescued from the zombies.”

Jones frowned. He raised his gun again and seemed about to shoot the woman. She cringed, but Jones lowered his gun and narrowed his eyes.

“Well recapture those loose horses, and everybody get ready to move out. Nobody makes a fool out of me. Nobody.”