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Kevin, Sidney, and Sara took one edge of the tarp while Seth, Freddy and John grasped the other. While the rest of us followed, they carried Jake out through the sliding glass doors of the walk-out basement. We trudged in silence along the path, toward a gravesite that John and Earl had prepared earlier.

  As we lowered yet another friend into the ground, Sara said a prayer. The others repeated her words under their breath while Connor and Sonny watched the forest, guns drawn. After filling the hole with earth, we stood there in uncomfortable silence. No one wanted to be the first to leave Jake.

  Suddenly gunfire erupted. It was a single shot, but it came from within the house! Knowing that Jake would understand, we abandoned the site and hurried to the house. When we piled through the door, Caroline and Julia met us, pointing at the garage.

  “Earl finally did it!” Caroline exclaimed.

  My heart sank. The garage! The skunk!

  “Earl just went in there to check on a noise he thought he’d heard through the floor,” Julia began. Then Earl appeared from the garage. With his broad grin and triumphant expression, he oozed satisfaction.

  “What, Earl? What’s the good news?” Connor asked.

  “You’ll never believe who I just got even with.” Earl returned his pistols to their holsters. I couldn’t speak.

  “Who? You saw someone? You shot someone?” Sidney couldn’t take it anymore. The suspense was killing them. Not me though. I already knew what had happened.

  “My nemesis!” he declared. Of course, he didn’t realize the impact it would have on me to learn that he’d finally put down his ‘white whale’. “My great and worthy enemy is dead, shot by me- shot through the neck!”

  He led us to the garage via the office to the main attraction. The lights went on, much like curtains in a theatre might rise, revealing the hidden spectacle. There he was; little Stinky, shot through the neck. I felt sick.

  Unaware of my inner turmoil, the crowd showered congratulations on Earl, as they’d all heard the story of his great humiliation. Connor knew immediately that I was floored by the murder: all he had to do was look at me. I hobbled over to him with the assistance of my cane, took him by the arm, and walked him out of the garage.

  “Remember when I told you that I talked to the skunk when we were at the lake?” I began to rant. “Remember when we were all messed up on acid and I saw him and had a conversation with him and got sick from it? Well, there he is!” I pointed back toward the garage. “There he is, dead. I knew he was in there the whole time we’ve been back, Connor! I kept him alive and this is what happens! Jesus, does Earl need more killing?”

  “Joel, calm down man.” Connor’s voice was sympathetic but firm. “He didn’t know, man. No one did.”

  “I know that. But how could I have told them without-”

  Connor steadied me as I faltered. Just then Sara came into the office, wondering why I was raising my voice.

  “It’s nothing, babe.” I took her hand.

  “Help me get him upstairs, will you, Sara?” Connor asked. “He’s had a hell of a day.”

  They assisted me to my second story bedroom. Connor left after promising me we’d talk again later. Sara thanked him for his help. Then she laid me back on the bed and removed my pants to check my wound.

  “It looks good. Clean. I’ll change the bandage in the morning.”

  “You’re the best,” I told her as my head involuntarily shook. My throat seized as I struggled to speak. “Sara, what’s going to happen to us?”

  “What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with us.”

  “Not just you and me. I mean all of us. What’s going to become of us?” I wept.

  She cradled my head in her arms. Music could be heard through the house – Earl’s victory party was in full swing. I choked back hate.

  “Pray with me, Joel.” Sara gently laid my head on the pillow. “Pray with me.” She placed my hands together and wrapped hers around them. Our eyes met. I waited for her to begin.

  “It’s good to pray, Joel. It’s the only way you’ll be heard.”

  “You can hear me. That’s all that matters to me.”

  Sara recited a familiar prayer that my mother and I had said together for several nights after Dad died. It had sustained us until we could sustain ourselves. The prayer had soothing qualities. It was beautiful, like Sara. I let myself relax. When she finished speaking, we dropped off to sleep.

  *****

  While I slept, I was visited by someone I had, quite frankly, not expected to ever see again. My skunk. Once again he invaded my most intimate and vulnerable state, but I was happy just to see him.

  “Hello, Joel.” he began. Light shone everywhere as he slowly morphed into a reproduction of Kevin’s drawing, of the angel. There were no wings or halo, just the familiar face that oozed compassion and strength.

  The dream broke, and the vision left me as I awoke.

  Chapter Twenty

  My eyes opened. As soon as they adjusted to the darkness, I glanced down at Sara, who was stirring. My sudden jolt back into the world had woken her.

  “What was that, Joel?”

  “Nothing,” I replied. I still couldn’t bring myself to tell her about my visions. I didn’t want to scare or worry her. Connor- I had to talk to Connor. Pulling away from Sara, I tried getting out of bed on my own. My leg wound throbbed terribly at the movement.

  “Shit!” I whispered behind clenched teeth.

  “Joel, don’t move so fast. I need to change your dressing first!” Sara sat up and grabbed the first aid kit on the nightstand. I laid back and let her work, wincing at the pain that pulsed up my thigh.

  “Not much new blood,” she pronounced. “Good. Means that it’s healing fast.”

  Lying there, I felt my earlier anger and antagonism dissipate. I still grieved over Jake, but the angel’s visit had cushioned the pain of the skunk’s loss. I harboured no ill feelings toward Earl for killing him. Not anymore, anyway.

  Sara completed her work on my leg. “How is the pain? Are you coping or do you want something for it?”

  “I’m holding up against it.”

  She checked her watch and realized that her shift in Skylab would begin in twenty minutes. “I’m going to take my shower now and get ready for watch.”

  “Cool. I need to see Connor; if you pass him, can you send him in here?”

  “Sure.” She kissed me, pulled the comforter over my legs, and departed. I shook four pain killers into my palm and swallowed them down.

  Connor came in fifteen minutes later and sat on the couch. He told me he had been in the basement, getting his hair cut by Julia.

  “What’s on your mind, old man?” he wanted to know.

  “That’s a nice haircut. I should book an appointment with your girlfriend.”

  “She’d be happy to do it. Cutting mine and Freddy’s seems to have put a smile back on her face. She said it made her feel useful. How’s your leg?”

  “Fine man, no worries.” I struggled out of bed. Connor rose to help me, but I gestured for him to stay put. Grabbing my cane, I stood up and limped to the couch, where I sat next to him. “Look, I just wanted to clear up that incoherent junk I laid on you last night. I’m sorry for putting you in that position. It was unfair to lay it all on you like that.”

  “Shit, Joel. Don’t give it a second thought. You obviously had a lot of steam to blow off.”

  “It was all for real, Connor,” I explained. “The skunk, all of it. All real.”

  “I realize that, Joel. You’ve got your visions; I’ve got these déja-vus.” He tapped his temple. “I believe you, buddy. Maybe if I was any less screwed up than you I wouldn’t, but we both know that isn’t the case.”

  “That’s the truth. Jesus!” I laughed.

  He laughed too. “Man, what a pair of freaks we are.”

  “Yeah!” I shifted my gimp leg, displacing its weight for a moment’s relief.

  A feeling of nostalgia washed over me. It was wonderful, but distr
essing too. We were sitting here, having a carefree conversation that reminded me of the times when we would go to the hill, watch the city spread out before us, and talk.

  “Let’s go back to the hill,” I said suddenly.

  “Sure, if you want to.” But hesitation hung in his voice. I understood: the view could only be that of devastation. All the same I felt a need to return, to maybe close the book on that life, to accept this one once and for all.

  “Good, let’s go then.” I threw on a shirt and struggled with the pants while Connor rolled a joint for the road. He and Seth helped me down the stairs. I had to relinquish the Caddy’s keys to Connor, as I was unable to drive, and soon enough we were off to the spot, just the two of us.

  *****

  Half an hour later, we were there. After Connor pulled into the same spot that we’d visited four months ago, I stepped out, holding the door for support. Still half-expecting to behold the cityscape, I was staggered by the infinite nothingness that one man’s evil deed had placed in its stead. The horizon that would once glow at dusk with the distant city lights was now invisible. Small fires burned out of control in the distance, and white smoke poured from open wounds in the earth. It was an alienating sight that gave closure to a past life.

  “No longer the inspiring vision it once was, is it?” Connor joined me. “I have to admit, Joel, that I’ve been here since, once when I was heading to town for supplies, I took a detour. I screamed bloody murder when I saw all this, but the experience was good for me. It helped me to accept that the old world is really gone.”

  “I don’t blame you. It’s something we need to see. I’m surprised I hadn’t thought of it earlier.”

  “It’s brutal isn’t it? Here you can really take in the whole scope of what’s happened, whatever that is… the Apocalypse?” Connor fell silent.

  “I haven’t got an answer for that, Connor,” I admitted. “I do know this though: it’s not the end. It’s the end of what was but it’s not the end of everything.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because we’re still here. Why would we be here if there was nothing left to accomplish? Why us? Why any of these people? Why? Christ, I’d like to know the answer to that one. Jake died because he thought he was ‘supposed to’, for my good, for the good of us. He took the bullet for me. But how the hell does it benefit us that I survive? Who am I?”

  Connor was stunned. I hadn’t told anyone that Jake had thrown himself in front of the bullet clearly meant for me.

  We sat in silence for a long time. Then we heard the sound of distant cars approaching- lots of them. We hurried to the crest of the hill and looked down.

  Lights seemed to explode on the road below us as a caravan of vehicles journeyed over the horizon. Each one flew a flag- the same one we saw en route from Mom’s store that day. This was the same group that had attempted to ambush us. This time there were a lot more of them.

  “Shit on that!” Connor tried in vain to count the cars. “Holy shit...”

  “Let’s get going. The house needs to know about this.”

  We returned to the Caddy and drove home at breakneck speed, keeping our lights off so as not to alert the motorcade to our presence. Once at the house, we gathered the troops in the front yard and reported the grim news. No one panicked. We were worried, true, but we were resilient. Their greater numbers were a serious concern, but we had weapons, and if they ventured onto our land, they were setting themselves up for a slaughter as far as we were concerned.

  “They shouldn’t be here for a few hours.” I glanced back toward the road. “They were slowing down when we saw them, maybe even setting up camp. We may not see them today - we may not see them at all. Just stay sharp.”

  Earl and Sonny positioned themselves two kilometres to the south of the house, acting as long range scouts. They took the four-wheeler in case it became necessary to make a quick exit and alert the rest of us to an imminent danger. The rest of the crew stayed in the house, stationed at the windows.

  The day passed into night without further sightings. When Earl and Sonny returned, we all had a nightcap in memory of our lost companion. Jake would be remembered, whether he’d thought himself worthy of that honour or not.

  *****

  The following morning cast a shadow over our home and lives so far- reaching and so profound that things would never be the same for me.

  What we’d anticipated the night before came to its ominous result. Dozens of cars and RVs, all sporting the flag, rolled through the grounds defiantly and came to a halt, forming a line of vehicles that extended beyond our driveway. The entire house witnessed the event from the addition windows, as Kevin and Sidney had woken everyone with the news.

  “Wow.” Seth whistled. “This can’t be good…. Can it?”

  “I’m not sure, Seth,” I replied, trying not to let everyone else see that I was on the verge of panicking. “But we don’t have the luxury of optimism. Everyone keep their guns at the ready. We still have the high ground.”

  Watching the flag bearers pour out of their vehicles and onto our property was a discouraging sight. They outnumbered us by at least five to one.

  “Joel?” It was Sidney. “Joel, I think we should act now. It’ll be our only chance. There are so many of them.”

  “We don’t fire first and ask questions later, Sid. They may be harmless.”

  “They didn’t seem harmless during our last encounter with them.” Kevin’s nerves were getting the better of him.

  “Calm down, Kev.” Connor had my back. “Joel’s right. They’d waste us anyway you cut it. They’ve got the numbers.”

  “I’m going to start with my ‘first contact’ speech, like always. I don’t need another scene like last time. We can’t afford to snap on these guys.” After checking my weapon, I cupped a palm around my mouth and shouted out the window, all the while keeping my head low.

  “Identify yourselves! You’re trespassing. We have the high ground. Identify yourselves!”

  “Joel, they’re stopping,” Earl whispered.

  A middle-aged man who was obviously the flag’s leader pushed to the front of the crowd and looked up at us. He wore a black robe that was belted at the waist and resembled a monk’s habit.

  “We appear before you in peace.” He raised his arms and turned a full circle, showing that he carried no weapons. That was hardly reassuring: the men and women behind him all clutched guns. “Our only purpose is to carry out the removal of our enemies, and I hope, yours.”

  What the hell was this guy talking about? Which enemies?

  “We are on a crusade to uncover and eliminate those who support the Reaper.” His smile was jagged and unnaturally long; I later saw that most of it was a facial scar. “We are not here to harm you or pillage your home. All we want is proof that you and your group are not sympathizers who could carry on the devastation that the Reaper started.”

  I played along. “And what must we do to convince you that we do not support the Reaper’s ideas?”

  “We must be allowed to interview each member of your party separately. All we want to do is question them. If they are not sympathizers, they will be free to go. However, should they be found guilty, we would be compelled to remove them.” He didn’t clarify what he meant by remove. He didn’t have to.

  I loathed this guy on sight. I detected a sanctimonious prick who’d taken advantage of the universal chaos to seize power, dominate weaker minds, and hurt others. “Why would anyone of sound mind agree with what the Reaper has done? That’s ridiculous. What you’re doing is little more than a witch hunt!”

  “This is not a request. I am a tolerant man, so I’ll let you take your time to decide what you will do. But at six o’clock this evening I will expect your final answer.”

  Some members of the flag army returned to their vehicles to wait out our decision while others took up positions around the house. They were carrying out nothing less than an inquisition, a throwback to the brutality of
the McCarthy trials. We debated our next move.

  “Joel, do you think we’ll truly have a chance at defeating those numbers?” Sara questioned the odds. So did I.

  “I’m hoping to avoid it altogether,” I replied. “If we can appear to be stronger than they are – make them think that we have the numbers - perhaps they’ll leave us for weaker pastures.”

  Freddy looked troubled. “Won’t they assume we are ‘sympathizers’ if we don’t go along? Then they’ll definitely come at us.”

  “Shit.” Sonny clenched his teeth. “He’s right.”

  “We don’t know that,” Julia countered. “We can’t be sure they’ll attack us. I say we wait and see.”

  “If we wait, we’ll lose any upper hand we may still have,” Earl argued. “They’ve already trespassed onto our property and are right now taking up positions in the trees. They’re serious about this. This is what gives them purpose. If we wait and let them entrench themselves further, we could – no, make that will -lose everything.”

  “How would you propose we attack them?” asked John. “They’re everywhere. We’ve already lost what little control we had over this situation.”

  “Maybe we should just let them ask us their questions,” Caroline suggested. “If they’re really serious about just wanting Reaper groupies, it won’t take them long to know that there aren’t any pickings among us.”

  “Then we’ll vote,” I decided.

  “One thing’s for sure- we’ll never beat those odds in a battle. No way. There are just too many of them.” Connor shook his head. Everyone except Earl nodded somberly. Therefore, the outcome of our vote wasn’t a surprise: we would surrender ourselves for questioning. We could only hope that the proceedings would be fair and just.

  *****

  At six on the dot, the leader called up to us from the front yard. “We require an answer! Will you agree to participate freely in our investigation or do you choose otherwise?”

  I opened the front door. “I will talk to you inside!” I said, gesturing. He scanned my face, saw only weariness and sincerity, and stepped past me into the house.