Jacqueline Druga - No Man's Land

Mavis also gave Hannah a necklace of fake pearls and just because she wanted it so badly, and since Leah was calm, I put one of Mavis’ house dresses on her.

We were packed up and ready to go and I actually felt bad taking Hannah. It was a good place, a safe place for her. Mavis was a motherly type that would take good care of her. Hannah insisted she didn’t want to stay without me.

“If I don’t go with you, who’s gonna feed Edward?” Hannah asked.

“Me,” I replied.

“No offense, but I don’t think you do it right. He always eats for me and gets quiet.”

“I guess he does.”

“Mama Mavis said we can come back. If Sanctuary City sucks, can we do that?”

“Yes, without a doubt we will do that.”

We hugged Mavis goodbye and took that back road that would cross the highway. I knew once we crossed that highway, we’d stop again and be even closer to Sanctuary City Sixteen. I couldn’t figure out why Hannah wanted to stay with me, why she picked walking a beaten path to a tent city instead of staying in a clean and warm farmhouse.

I felt guilty taking her even though she wanted to come. More than likely, she had developed a trust in me.

She was the best company. I felt better, my body was less sore. I had already taken three doses of antibiotics and I swore they were working and making me stronger. Plus, I rested and ate really well.

Hannah commented on how much better I was doing, then she had to comment on Leah.

“Don’t she look pretty in that dress?” Hannah asked. “It’s big, but she looks pretty. Don’t you think?”

Leah didn’t look quite as ‘pretty’ as Hannah said. It had been five days since she had died. When I would see a Vee, to me they all looked the same. With Leah, I noticed everything that was happening to her. She had taken on a greenish appearance, with the exception of her legs, which were purple and black. Sheaths of maggots covered sections of her body. So many that they looked like patches of sheep’s fur. Some sort of dark red foam seeped from her nose and mouth and she started moving differently, more rigid.

I thought about Mavis’ husband George. How the photos of him in the living room showed a robust man. His clothing was huge on me. Yet, in the turnaround, he was thin, his skin looked more like a leather covering. As if all his body fluid, fat and tissue had left him and all he had was skin covering his bones.

“Calvin?” Hannah called for me. “Don’t you think?”

“For her state, yes.”

“Bet she was really pretty before all this.”

“As a matter of fact, Leah was beautiful,” I said.

“What did she do? Did she have a job? Or did she stay home?”

“She was a first grade teacher.”

“Oh, then she loved kids, huh?”

I nodded. “She did.”

“Was she excited about the baby?”

“I don’t think anyone was more excited about this baby than Leah. We really wanted a child. We had a couple babies that just didn’t work out and she lost them. So she was thrilled and scared about Edward.”

“Did you ever think that might be why she’s following you?” Hannah asked. “For the baby?”

“Maybe.” I looked back at her. “I think it’s just instinct, that’s all.”

“What’s that noise?”

“I’m sorry, what?” My head spun when she changed subjects.

“That noise? Listen.”

I stopped walking to hone in.

There were three distinctive sounds. A clicking, a buzzing and a fluttering sound.

It was coming from up ahead of us and I picked up the pace to see what it was.

The entire trip on that back road, up to that point was uneventful. We had walked steadily, stopped periodically, but saw no one. The noise just echoed.

About a quarter mile up the hill and around the bend, we spotted the source of the multiple sounds.

On the side of the road, a horse-drawn cart was tilted in the depression between the road and grassy hillside. A single horse lay on the road, he struggled with the reigns, shaking his head, he tried to get up when he saw us, but his legs gave in and he fell back down.

“Stay back,” I told Hannah, and lifted the carrier from my chest and handed Edward to her. “Let me check it out.”

“Is the horse alright?”

“I don’t know. Stay here.”

As I moved closer to the cart, I not only smelled the rotting odor, I heard the buzzing, then I saw the flies. That told me, something had died. Then I saw him, or rather it. The body of a man slumped in a laying position over the driver’s bench seat of the cart. If it wasn’t for the gray hair, I wouldn’t have been able to tell if he were old or young. His body was bloated and purple.

It was a simple cart. One bench and an open area in back. No top on in and the dead man had been exposed to the elements. The horse peered at me as if asking for help.

“What going on, Calvin?” Hannah asked. “Oh no.”

I looked, she was right behind me. “I told you to stay back.”

“I know you did. I thought I recognized the cart.”

“Jason?” I asked.

Hannah nodded.

“This would explain why he was taking so long. He was on his way back. I’m guessing.”

“Mavis is gonna be so sad. She really liked Jason. What happened to him?”

Covering my nose and mouth, I stepped closer. “I don’t see any injuries. No gunshot wounds. No bites. How old was he? Do you remember?”

“About my grandpa’s age.”

“He probably had a heart attack. Veered off the road and died.”

“That’s so sad. He died alone.”

“Yeah, it is kind of sad. At least he died peacefully. No Vee have been around. The horse is still here.”

“What about the other ones? He had more than one horse.”

I took a closer look. I knew horses from the races, but I could only speculate on what had happened. No blood, no carcasses. “The reigns are broke.” I showed her the straps. “The others got away. I’m guessing. This one…” I moved closer. The horse jolted. “Easy boy. Easy. His leg is caught up. He couldn’t get free. Mavis said it was raining, that’s probably the only reason he’s still alive.”

“How long have they been out here?”

“This happened several days ago. I’m guessing. Looking at…” I pointed at Leah, then at him.

“What are we gonna do? We can’t just leave them here.”

“No, we won’t. First we’re gonna help this horse. Untangle him, get him some water. Feed him a couple of those apples you have,” I said. “He needs to get his strength back.”

“Then what?”

“Then once he’s better and strong, we get this cart back on the road.”

“With Jason?” she asked.

“No, not with Jason. We move him from the cart.”

“You’re gonna bury him, right Calvin? You have to bury him. No one gets buried anymore.”

“We don’t have time to bury him.”

“Why not?”

“Why… why not? I don’t know. It will take some time to bury him. We’re already near stopping time.”

“Not like we have an appointment,” she said. “You don’t like dead people, do you?’

“What?” I nearly laughed in my reaction.

“First you let your wife run about naked and now you wanna toss Jason off to the side of the road, then you have…”

“He’s already on the side of the road,” I said.

“It just seems disrespectful. He was helping people.”

“I hardly call rendering a profit from transporting people helping.”

“Calvin. Please.”

“Look. We help this horse first. Okay. Life first. Then we will discuss Jason. Fair?” I asked.

“Fair enough,” Hannah said.

“Fine. Give me the apples, then just hang back with Edward. Okay. Don’t get too close to Leah.”