Patrick D'Orazio - Into the Dark

The tears Jeff saw in Lydia’s eyes as she shook her head were disconcerting.

“It’s such a shame, Jeff. I feel so horrible for him. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have the heart to make him stay.” Lydia dug into her pocket for a tissue and dabbed her eyes. “But Michael is more of a realist than I am. You have to understand, if we let people go off on suicide missions to try to save someone they think might still be alive, there wouldn’t be anyone left inside of a week.”

Jeff felt the urge to agree with Lydia. George had not come to grips with the fact that his family was dead. But as he sat there trying to imagine himself in the other man’s shoes, he knew how hard it would be not knowing for certain what had happened to the people he loved.

He couldn’t think of a response, so the two of them sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts. When the silence began to get awkward, Jeff decided it would be best to change the subject.

“So, I guess we’ll be heading out for supplies later.”

Lydia’s face fell.

“Please be careful. I really don’t know why Michael wants you to go out today.”

“Why’s that? Don’t the guys go out pretty regularly? I mean, that’s how they found us, right?”

Lydia shook her head. “They found you because they heard your minivan coming down the road long before you got here. Ben was out there-he’s our scavenger, and he was the one who let Michael know someone was coming over the walkie-talkies. Michael rounded up all the men, and they left.” She laughed at the memory. “I’ll tell you, it was certainly a surprise for us. We haven’t heard anything except a few dogs barking, birds chirping and… well, you know… that moaning noise they make, in ages.”

Jeff tried to digest what she was saying. “So going outside of the camp-except for Ben-is pretty unusual, right?”

Lydia nodded.

“Do you have any idea why Michael would suggest we go on a supply run just one day after we got here?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps because there are four new mouths to feed?”

Jeff frowned as he nodded reluctantly. It was certainly a possibility, but still seemed strange. Something didn’t feel right about Michael’s decision. He was feeling the urge to have another chat with their fearless leader.

He thanked Lydia for the haircut and shave as he stood up. She surprised Jeff with a hug, kissing him on the cheek and telling him to be careful. He nodded and smiled at her as he left.

There was a look of concern on Lydia’s face as she watched him go. Since she and the others had discovered this hiding spot, there had been only one instance where anyone besides Ben had left the safety of the RVs, and that was to go out and get Jeff and his companions. Now, a day later, they would be going out again. She sat down in her chair and stared out a window at the thick woods behind which they were hiding.

“God help them out there,” she whispered as she suppressed a shiver.

When Jeff walked out of Lydia’s RV, he knew something was wrong.

Everyone was clumped together around one of the tables across the courtyard. There appeared to be an argument going on between Frank and George, with Michael playing the part of referee.

“Oh shit,” was all he could mumble under his breath as Megan, who had been involved in the discussion as well, spotted him and walked his way.

Jeff noticed Marcus patrolling the roofs again, shotgun propped against his hip as he surveyed the woods. The man spit over the side and continued walking, ignoring what was going on below as he used his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

Jeff didn’t relish what he guessed was about to happen. Michael had his arms crossed, a hard look on his face. Frank was poking his index finger at George’s chest and looked ready to throw down with the bigger man. Jeff tensed, waiting for his friend to explode and twist Frank into various pretzel shapes. But as he watched, he saw that while George was upset, he was keeping his cool as he shook his head stiffly at the other two men.

Ben was sitting near the action in one of the lawn chairs. His feet were kicked up, a ball cap shifted forward on his forehead, which gave Jeff the impression that he was taking a nap. Cindy was close by as well, enjoying the argument from beneath the shade of her RV’s awning.

As he moved closer, Jeff saw that Jason was standing behind the three men. He looked as agitated as the others, but was not joining in the argument. Jeff picked up speed and met Megan near the smoldering fire pit.

“They can’t do it. I won’t let them! You have to tell that prick!”

Jeff held up his hands in an effort to calm the ranting woman. He could see icy fire in her blue eyes. “Okay, okay. Ease up! What’s going on?”

“They want Jason to go. Jeff, he can’t go! He’s not old enough, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let him back out there. You have to tell Michael to forget it!”

Jeff put his hands on Megan’s arms to steady her as he watched the men. Michael was now speaking to George, having stepped in front of Frank. So far, Michael was remaining calm, and Jeff hoped that cooler heads might prevail.

Suddenly, Jason jumped into the discussion, and Jeff tensed again. He was yelling at George.

Jeff sighed and looked at Megan.

“So Jason wants to go out there with us, huh?”

“Yes, and Michael and fucking Dumbo are saying it’s okay, it should be his choice, not mine or George’s.”

Megan was on the verge of tears, but her anger held sway. Jeff couldn’t blame her for getting upset. Jason was only twelve. As he looked back over at Michael, his eyes narrowed as he understood what was really going on. Taking a deep breath, he gripped Megan’s arms even tighter and looked her in the eyes.

“Megan, listen to me, okay? This is a ploy. Michael is trying to drive a wedge between us.”

Megan’s eyes burned holes through Jeff.

“I don’t give a crap what type of mind trick he is trying to play here. All I know is that Jason is not leaving this camp. He. Is. Not. Leaving.”

As she repeated herself, Jeff felt her arms quiver with rage. Megan’s voice elevated with every word, and it didn’t appear as if she was going to stop.

“Calm down. Okay? All right, Megan, fine! I’ll talk to them. I’ll tell them he’s not going. I’ll figure something out.”

Megan’s voice was calm again. Deadly calm. “I need you to handle this, Jeff, before I kill that bastard and his fat monkey.”

Jeff could only stare at her. Megan looked homicidal. He heard a door open up behind him and guessed it was Lydia.

“Promise me.”

“Okay, I promise.” Jeff nodded. Satisfied, Megan turned and walked back toward the table. Jeff reached out and grabbed her again, swinging her around.

“You need to promise me something too.” He matched Megan’s angry eyes with his determined ones. “Let me handle this. Just stay back and let me deal with Michael and Frank, okay?”

Megan wrenched her arm free, but didn’t move. She dragged her hand furiously across her cheek to wipe away an angry tear.

“Fine. Just make them stop this bullshit. Because if you don’t, I swear I will, even if I have to rip that fucking fat man’s heart out.”

Jeff nodded and moved until he was between her and the men. His back was to them as he spotted Lydia crossing to where the children sat playing with some toys near the entrance of Ben’s RV. The two teenagers were supervising the kids, though their eyes were glued to the scene unfolding before them.

Jeff swallowed hard, forcing the queasiness in his stomach down as he moved toward the table. Michael had stopped talking to George and was watching him as he got closer.