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  I've seen terrible things out there. I never thought that someone could be able to do what I saw. They gave the killing a new face. They made gangs, and they are always hunting each other, fighting each other. Some of them even organize duels among themselves. Winner takes it all. All that left - men, women, food, stuff. Everything. There is one huge group here in downtown. About fifty of them. They train in hand-to-hand combat. Every week they grow in numbers with minimal casualties. Never go to downtown. Never. You wouldn't stand a chance. And never go beneath the city, unless you want to be lost forever. But it might take a while there."

  "What do you mean?" said Garrett.

  "We met a man who got lucky and escaped out of there. He was running away from downtown right at us. At first, we thought he's attacking, but when he came closer, we saw his eye missed and had his head scalped. He bled all over the body but didn't care. When he recovered from the shock, just a short while before he died, we understood that they would make anyone their pet. You are their slave held in a cage doing whatever they tell you to do or suffering whatever they want to do to you. And whether you refuse or not, there left no option. They will kill you in the end. Dead or alive, you are just meat to them as good as any."

  Jillian turned to Garrett with a terrified look.

  "Where do your people take the carts?" said Garrett.

  "Do you mean where we live?" Zack smiled. "It may sound like a dream to both of you, but we've built a community in the remains of an old village not far away. Roughly seven miles to the south. It's fifty people living there, all who gathered from camps."

  "Is Emma there with you?" said Jillian.

  "Which one?"

  "Black hair, nasal voice-" she didn't even finish, and Zack already nodded.

  "Yes, she's there and doing good. It's foolish, but we plan to get engaged."

  "Wow, I didn't believe that anyone is actually still doing this. How does it look there?" interest in Jillian's voice noticeably increased.

  "Well, we're doing good. Stuffed with supplies for another two months. We've repaired a well, so there's water too. Now we're working on a generator to get some power from the wind, but we're still missing some parts to make it work. Houses are strong and fortified to withstand twisters. The outer ones look abandoned all the time for strangers who pass by. Everyone goes through houses to find something. We capture and tie them down, but we give them a chance. We need people that can work with us and understand the meaning of selfless help provided to others. People like that can be a part of our community. If they prove themselves as able to cooperate, they are valuable, and we take them in. If they don't," he shrugged, "we kill them."

  Garrett rubbed his face and sighed because the more he knew, the more he felt that Zack could be a deadly danger.

  "We can't let roamers know our hiding. We must protect ourselves," he stood up for this practice, but Garrett raised a hand to silence him, not believing a single word.

  He knew that in the morning there will be left only options requiring somebody's life for the safety of others. If they set him loose, they risk that he will follow and surprise one of them somewhere sleeping. The same thing might happen if they will come with him. The last option is killing the man. It seemed to Garrett as the most sensible thing to do to protect from Zack, but with no real reason? After all, he wouldn't be the first unjustly condemned man.

  "The rest of your men - where are they?" said Garrett.

  "We expected a storm to catch us in three, four days, but not a few hours after the previous one ended and not as strong as is this. We wanted to reach the city and hide, but ran out of time," he tried to straighten his back. "We couldn't hold together, and the wind threw us apart. It's insanely strong. I knew we moved close to each other even though I couldn't see anyone. I called them, but the dust and gale shut me up, so I walked around, waiting to bump into anybody. After a while, I decided to leave to last this out unharmed. I knew about this shack, so I went to search for it. It is pure luck just for me that I'm still alive; otherwise, others would be here too. They won't search for me, and I won't search for them. That's our deal. Either way, I'm not going to make any problems and will leave you as soon as the storm passes."

  "Can I come with you?" said Jillian.

  "Come here, girl," Garrett pulled her to the other side of the room. "You can't be serious, right?" he whispered. "He made it all up. There is nothing like that in downtown. All he said is a lie. It's tough in downtowns, I agree, they would kill you for a drop of water or just torture you, but there are no gangs. I've seen those people. They are just waiting for death or killing anybody they don't like. If there's any community he claims to have, how do you know they will take you in? You've heard him. Once you come in, you can't leave. You'll have to stay there whether you like it or not."

  "Look," she whispered back. "There isn't much in this world for me, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life going nowhere. Anything can happen anytime, and my plan is not to bleed out somewhere alone. Even if they had only water in the well, I would stay there. I almost died two times of dehydration, and I never want to live through it again. My friend is there, and she definitely knows how to take care of herself."

  "For God's sake, think for your own good. This sounds too good to be true," he warned her. "You've got no proof to confirm his words."

  "I'm grown-up, and I can do whatever I consider right for me to be. So let it go," she whispered annoyed.

  "This is not the way where you'll found anything good," he insisted. "Come with me. There's a military base hidden in the mountains, and it's a safer place than some random village."

  Jillian's face changed, and she raised her voice because Garrett kept pushing her, "You met me two hours ago, but I shared the same tent with these people for several weeks. I've been through too many things already to hesitate now. As you've seen, wolves almost tore me to pieces today, and now there is a twister destroying everything around, so please don't try to stop me as if you could. How do I know that your interests are better than his? You've got no evidence except for X on your map. Few cans don't make us best friends. I'm going with him."

  "Hey," said Zack, "I get it. You don't believe me. That's no news. I wouldn't believe anyone of you either if I were in your position. But people change the same as this world changed. We're different. We want to build something and live again at least a bit as we did before."

  "People never change," said Garrett with eyes fixed on Jillian's face. He stood back and gestured to her that she is free to leave.

  "I know we didn't see each other for a few months, but may I come with you and join the others in your community?"

  "Yes, months. Now it's all gone. I will have to talk to others and persuade them. They won't treat you differently from other entrants. You need to earn their trust."

  "Fair enough. See you in the morning," she ended the conversation and lay down back on the bed without giving a look to Garrett.

  He stood there a minute while Zack watched him. Garrett sat down on the chair and took out his jotter to write again.

  "It's a bit late to write a book, isn't it?" Zack smirked.

  Garrett pretended he didn't hear him, and Zack moved to find a more comfortable position.

  "Can you loosen my hands a bit?"

  Garrett didn't react. He ignored man's moaning and began writing the distant words pouring into his mind.

  I've almost forgotten the feeling that got into me today. Out of nothing, it's just here. I need to be strong again, and for that, I want your help. I know you can, so do it and do not oppose me. Your objecting is pointless. You are part of me. Did you see her? Did you see those eyes? Heard her voice? I know you did, so stop resisting and help me! I've lost her once, and I'm not going to let that happen again. Yes, I've heard. She's right, and you're too. I'll keep my distance. I'm not perfect at keeping people alive. You remind me every day for the last six months that I unforgivably screwed it all up. You see? I am counting it. A single day, sin
gle morning or evening didn't pass when you shut your mouth about it.

  I know I'm fooling myself, but I can't let her go with him. If the rest of my life were about keeping her alive, I would do it. Yes, maybe I am psycho, but who isn't these days? Look at that lunatic lying down there. He's playing smart, but I see the way his body speaks. I've seen people like him before. They are all the same. Killing him? Why are you doing this? Giving me fake advice to enjoy a rich harvest? Are you looking for another reason to make my life a living hell? You want me to kill a defenseless man with hands tied behind his back? And then you plan to blame me for that too? Why am I even keeping you alive? Why are you even alive? Because of Alice? Stop saying that! I couldn't do anything to save her. Even if I wanted, I can't recollect any memory, so do whatever you want, I'm blind in this. You're going to be here until the end of my days, I'm sure about it, but I'll never ever let you stop me from helping her. We may see the world differently, but after all, it's just a view.

  Garrett stopped writing and looked at the illegible ending of his writing. He hated his life more than ever before. Everything that happened till today did happen for some reason. He looked at Zack tied to the bed and Jillian lying face towards the wall so he couldn't see if she sleeps or not. If there was a little sense in all of this, then he vainly sought for a sign. He neither prayed nor begged. He has never found faith and strength in anything other than himself. The third person came to that shack between them with words that changed everything. Lying on the table, he knew there was everything wrong about Zack.

  Chapter 04 - A Second To Void

  "Psst, Jillian, wake up," whispered Zack in the quiet morning shack and bumped with the head against her foot.

  "What? Where are we?" she rubbed her eyes.

  "Let's go. The storm is over. Don't waste time and untie me."

  Jillian looked at Garrett sleeping on the table. She couldn't see his face but heard the deep breathing. It sounded like his lungs made every breath with much effort. Just now she noticed the wounds on his fingers. They ran all the way from nails to knuckles. A small flask lay next to him - he used a bit of alcohol to clean the scratches after the fight with wolves.

  "Okay," she whispered and moved across the bed to untie Zack's hands. She made each move with extreme caution as she didn't want to wake up Garrett and listen to his arguments.

  "Thanks," Zack rubbed his irritated wrists. He swiftly went to bunk bed blocking the way to the freedom and quietly pushed it aside.

  "Take bags and let's go," he beckoned while Jillian tiptoed around Garrett.

  She had the urge to stroke his hand, to give him a sign of appreciation and gratitude. Tips of her fingers almost touched him, when at once, she forced her mind to disperse that thought and retract the hand. She took bags and Zack's goggles from the ground and looked at Garrett for the last time.

  "Goodbye. Thank you for everything," she said and headed outside.

  The morning turned colder than yesterday despite the shining sun. The signs of damages wind caused the last night left striking marks everywhere. Broken and uprooted trees piled up at the shack, and loads of damaged objects lay scattered around, out of which the colorful, half-ripped carousel caught Jillian's eyes the most.

  "We were lucky, nothing fell on us. These are all parched. Not mentioning cars over there," Jillian carefully stepped through leafless crowns and electric wires entangled in them and looked back at the shack. Their last night shelter stood in a circle of uprooted trees, intact as if some power shielded it from all harms.

  "Yes, yes," mumbled Zack when she gave him the goggles. He seemed to be thinking hard about something.

  Looking at the havoc caused by the power of nature, they walked through the ruined forest.

  "Where are we going?" she evaded roots sticking out.

  "We are heading back to the road," he stepped into one hardly visible footprint he made yesterday.

  "And then?"

  "We'll return to my people. I'm not going to wait for the others. There's a chance we'll pass by them on the road as they may be already heading back to the city for supplies. This time they'll have to handle it on their own. They can manage one trip without me. Besides, I'm taking you to the village, and you're not protecting yourself enough," he tapped on his goggles. "We have certain rules to follow if something happens. If you are not back at church an hour after sunrise, you've got to head back home. Of course, only if you're capable of doing so. Otherwise, you are destined to die somewhere. No one will search for you. I doubt they met each other. They are all probably lying dead somewhere nearby. Shame. They were all good men," he looked around, searching for any mark left by them. "We should hurry up too. It's seven miles separating us from the village, and who knows when the next storm comes," he looked behind.

  "Right, let's move," she nodded, and they speeded up. "Where did you go after they forced you to leave?"

  "What?"

  "You know, back then. From day to day, you were gone with others. I would say it served you well. You avoided the inferno in the camp."

  "Inferno?"

  "Yeah, one night came a way crazy storm that ripped the tents off the ground, wounded dozens of people, and killed several. The wind pushed the dust down my throat and into the eyes, but at one moment, a fire began spreading. The gas canisters exploded and scorched half of the camp. Burning tarpaulins flew through the camp and melted on the skin and hair while the acrid smoke choked everyone. We had to run away into the open. The wind didn't stop the whole night, and it wrecked the place. You should have seen it the next morning. I lost all words."

  "At least you survived."

  "I had a few burnings, but they healed. After all, we ended up better than the closest camp twenty miles away. When we passed by, all people lay dead with no apparent reason why. No marks, no injuries, nothing."

  "That's crazy."

  "Yeah. So, where did you go?"

  "Across the country," a notable amount of confidence appeared in his voice, "willing to find another camp. But I understood the pointlessness of hiding in another of those looser gatherings very soon."

  "What are you talking about? Looser gatherings?"

  "What were all the people in there? Walking dead, nothing else. Just wrecks hoping for death in the sleep rather than fighting the world outside the borders of the camp. That's all they dared to wish for. But I saw the opportunity that sees every hunter. This world is against the prey, against the weak ones. We, the strongest ones, survive. So I decided to be the one who will last out no matter the odds. And here I'm. Can't say that about those I met," he grinned and looked back.

  "You killed people?"

  "If ripping guts open means killing, then I'm guilty," he laughed. "Short, high, strong, weak, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is not to show them your fear and find their weak spot. Most of the guys believe they are tough. Yeah, they are until they've got broken knees and choke on their own blood. It's easy to break a man who's scared of dying. They had things I needed, and I couldn't let them have it. There's no one to judge me now."

  "That is brutal," she said reservedly. "You killed innocent ones just to get some stuff?"

  "Who didn't? You've got blood on your hands as well, I see it in your eyes."

  His words reminded her of a guy who attacked her group of seven short after they left the Safe Harbor. She could never forget the night when she had to take somebody's life to save hers. That moment haunted her many times in sleep.

  "I had a reason, but those you mention did nothing wrong to you."

  "I see you were the clever one of your pair," he grinned at her very strangely with the smile of disgust, hate, and lust at the same time. "You're judging a man you know nothing about by the wrong choices of others. We all have the same chances now. This is a world of wolves, not idiots believing that everything will be okay. Understand the concept of man being a tool and nothing more. I don't have questions, interests, sympathy, and mercy. I want what I want, and I will tak
e it. If you have nothing to offer, your life will suffice."

  "So why are you helping me? Why are you helping people in the community?" she said with the trust fading black.

  "I just want to survive. We need people, so I'm bringing you in."

  "What do you mean bringing me in?"

  "You'll see, there's a place and use for everyone."

  Wheels in Jillian's head began to turn faster. Zack is the same arrogant man as before, just pretending that he's not a turncoat like everyone else. Possibly the whole community is full of people like him, holding together just because they are waiting for the proper opportunity.

  They came out of the forest back on the road again. Jillian, confused by the sudden change of his words, felt a thick wall arising between them.

  Run away! flashed through her mind.

  This thought itself disturb her enough, and his constant looking back him didn't help her out.

  "What are you looking at? Is there anything?" she turned around too, but Zack pretended that he didn't hear her.

  "Look a car," he pointed at a green minivan on the road, half a mile away from them. "There might be a working battery. Follow me," Zack began running to the car.

  They didn't stop until they reached the wreck. Whole its shell looked as if the vehicle left a scrapyard press a moment ago. The roof pressed chests of two men buckled in front seats to their knees but impaled the driver on the steering wheel.

  "They had to fall here yesterday," he walked around the car. "Idiots. Hide in a car when a twister is outside. Who needs to fly four miles downwards?" he snickered.