Page 65 of Dating After the End of the World
“What?” they all respond at once.
“Burners. Piece-of-shit humans who were pieces of shit before the world ended, but now they get to be bigger pieces of shit because there’s no one to stop them. Ya know, burners?” I look back and forth between their faces.
“Why not just call them pieces of shit?” Greg tilts his head.
“It doesn’t really have a nice ring to it,” I say.
“We’ve never seen anyone like these guys before.” JJ pulls his lips in.
“Well, they were all over Chicago, and they’re a hundred times more dangerous than any biter. For a while there, I actually thought they were infected too, like a crazed biter that just wanted to cause violence but still had somewhat of a functioning brain. But I realized it was even worse than I had imagined. There’s nothing wrong with these people—not medically, anyway. They’re just evil.”
“The good news is, that was Chicago. I think we’re pretty safe way out here since no one lives near your dad for miles,” Greg chimes in.
“He’s right,” Blake says, finally joining the conversation. He holds his arm down low at his side. “We haven’t run into anyone like that on our scavenges,” he adds.
“Maybe that was true, but it’s not anymore.”
“But then why are they here now?” JJ asks.
“The big cities are picked over, so—”
“They’ll be searching,” Blake says, finishing my sentence.
“Exactly, and with winter coming, they’ll be desperate. There are tons of summer homes all over rural Wisconsin that are likely just sitting there, wide open for the taking. There’s also freshwater lakes,and most people probably went south because of the weather. That makes this a prime area for the worst of them.”
“They must have been watching the place,” Dad says, looking out beyond the road, searching the horizon. “It can’t be a coincidence that they hit not long after four of our people left.”
“No, I’m sure it wasn’t.” Uncle Jimmy stands alongside my dad.
“We need to fortify the perimeter even more then. Our fences were meant to keep out biters, not a bunch of determined humans with weapons.” Dad exhales sharply through his nose.
“I’ll get started on adding the electric current to the fence along the road,” Uncle Jimmy says.
“Good.” My dad nods. “And I’ve got plenty of barbed wire and sheet metal. We should be able to build the fence up a bit higher as well as add a few traps. It’s gonna be a lot of work but—”
“We don’t have a choice,” I interject.
“No ... we don’t.” Dad shakes his head and stares at the ground. I’m sure he’s losing himself in thought. Playing out all the awful scenarios that could befall each and every one of us, given the attack and the new threat. But now isn’t the time for him to worry. It’s time for us to act.
“Hey,” Dad says, looking at the four of us. “How’d the run go? Find any insulin?” His face is excited; he’s hoping to hear the only good answer that we could possibly give.
We exchange uncomfortable glances, a somber silence filling the space between us as we decide who will be the first to speak, unsure of how to deliver the mixture of news we need to share. In the time this takes to play out, my dad’s and uncle’s faces have already turned to disappointment, assuming the worst when we aren’t quick to answer.
“We did,” I finally say, watching as the two men in front of me light back up with joy.
“That’s amazing! How much?”
“Not sure exactly, as I don’t know Elaine’s prescribed dosage, but I would say at least eight months’ worth.”
“That buys us a lot of time to find her more,” Uncle Jimmy says, nodding as he proudly pats his boys on the shoulder. “You did a good thing.”
Dad studies our faces, realizing there’s more to our story. “Then why do you all look like someone took a piss in your cereal this morning?”
We can’t hide the reality of what happened to Blake. I step forward to tell them the bad news, but Blake steps around me, pushing past my shoulder. He pulls his sleeve up over his wound and holds it out for them to see. “This is why.”
Their faces run through a gauntlet of emotions, from surprise to horror, to worry.
“What happened?” Dad asks. His eyes swim with tears, and his lip trembles slightly, as though Blake’s fate has already been sealed.
