Chapter 11

"Well, it looks as if the student has become the

teacher," I said. "Joshua, I have no doubt that someday you will be running

this place."

I debriefed T and Leon to let them know what a

colossal fuck up I had been. They both reassured me that people die and that

what happened to Jeffrey was not my fault. Jeffrey didn't follow orders, and he

died as a result.

Joshua decided to continue to use the staff as his

weapon. In the weeks that followed, he worked with Fred and Tim to create a

collapsible staff with retractable blades. His staff could become bladed

fighting sticks, which are excellent Kenpo weapons. He was on his way to truly

becoming a badass!

I walked in on T, Rodriguez, Tim, Gerald and Andre

playing poker. The room was filled with friendly trash talking, the smell

liquor and cigar smoke. You'd never know the end of the world was going on.

"So, T, what was Doc like as a kid?" asked Gerald. "Was

he always so…Doc?"

"He was shy and timid, but he was always smart. Me, I

was the class clown, but no one could make me laugh the way he could," said T. "He

was just a genuinely good person."

"Yeah, but no one is a better friend than T," I said. "Did

he tell you how many fights he got in on my behalf? I was kind of bookish,

still am to an extent, was constantly teased and threatened. But T kicked all

their asses. That's just one of the reasons he's my best friend."

We were all laughing and blowing off steam when Di and

Em walked in whispering and giggling. They both stopped and looked me up and

down and started giggling again.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing," they said as they looked at each other

and giggled.

"All man, that can't be good," whispered T with a

laugh. "Your ex and your next? Sheesh!"

They were both gorgeous women. Di had on her usual

tied off shirt and shorts. Em wasn't as buxom as Di, but she was taller. She

was stunning with long legs and a bubble butt. She had on fitted stretch jeans

and a hoody that showed off her figure.

"We were just curious what you boys were up to," said

Di as she sat on Andre's lap and puffed his cigar. She kissed his cheek.

"Well, I'm out! I fold," said Andre as he dropped his

cards and picked up Diane in his arms. "We need to go see a man about a horse!"

"Giddy up, cowboy!" screamed Diane as she giggled.

"Those two are insatiable," said Em as she shook her

head and laughed.

"Really, what were you two laughing about?" I asked

nervously.

She leaned in real close and whispered, "I'll tell you

later when we're alone."

"Well, I guess the game is kind of destroyed," said T.

"Let me go find me some other, um, entertainment."

As the game dissolved, we all kind of walked off in

our own directions. I stopped Em before she departed.

"Em, can you walk with me? I have something I need to

discuss with you," I said. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure, no problem Marv," she said.

"I don't know why I waited so long to tell you this,

but you did an outstanding job when we found Jamie and Ronny," I said. "And the

way you handled Aisha was truly masterful. You've truly become a leader in this

community."

"Gee, thanks," she said as she blushed a little. "I'm

just doing what needs to be done."

"Em, will you come to my room with me?" I asked. "I

have something I want to give you."

"I'd love to," she replied as she sheepishly blushed

again, placing her hair behind her ear.

When we entered my room, I closed the door.

"Can you close your eyes?" I asked.

"Sure!" she said as she closed them while biting her

bottom lip.

I retrieved the sword from my locker.

"Okay you can open them," I said. "I want to present

you with this sword for your heroism, compassion and leadership."

"Wow!" she gushed. "Marv, is this a Hanzo Sword?"

"Yes," I responded. "And now it is your Hanzo Sword!"

"Thank you so much!" she screamed as she jumped into

my arms and hugged me. "You have no idea what this means to me!"

"Well, you've earned it," I said. "All of your hard

work is paying off. Pretty soon you'll be able to take students if you like."

"Thank you for your confidence and support," she said.

"I won't let you down."

"Also, I wanted you to know that I will be taking on

Joshua as a protégé," I said. "I not only want to teach him martial arts, but I

want to teach him to lead."

"I think he will love that," she said. "Marv, can I

ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, you can ask me anything," I said.

"Do you not find me attractive?" she asked shyly.

"What on earth would make you think that?" I asked. "You're

one of the most beautiful women I've ever known, both inside and out."

"Then why haven't you made a move on me?" she asked. "Diane

said you two almost...and you were with my sister…I thought when you asked me

back to your room…"

I laughed a hearty, gut-wrenching laugh of relief as

tears welled in my eyes.

"I was beginning to think you didn't like me," I said.

"Look I know our situation is awkward, at best, given my history with your

sister and the way things are out there—" I said as she cut me off.

"'Out there' is the exact reason you don't want to

waste a minute of the time you have left," she said. "Do you know how many

times when we were sparring I just wanted to throw you on the mat and have my

way with you?"

"Couldn't be anywhere near as many times as I wanted

to do the same to you. You had to notice my, uh enthusiasm," I said pointing to my crotch.

"Are you enthused

now?" she asked as she reached out to touch it.

BAM!

BAM! BAM!

"Yo, Marv, we got trouble topside!" yelled T, from the

other side of the door.

I sighed a heavy sigh.

"Does he have some sort of radar that alerts him when

I'm about to become intimate with someone?" I thought to myself.

"More DCs?" I asked.

"Not this time," he replied. "This time, it's people.

I think it's Jacob!"

"Who's Jacob?" asked Em.

"One of the survivors we had to ask to leave," I said.

"He wanted to run things and thought of himself as sort of a marauder."

"Go ahead. I know the drill," said Em. "Heavy is the

head, yadda, yadda, yadda…"

When the herd came through before, we were caught

unawares. This time we were ready. Tim found and installed some cameras on the

grounds and around the barn. We set up and staffed a monitor and communication

room. We were ready for them. I dispatched the Raiders out of the emergency

hatches, each with walkie-talkies we took from the sheriff's station. They all

had beads on the farmhouse and the barn. T and I went out and gathered one of

the cars we had hiding in plain sight among some wrecked ones.

We approached the group from behind. They were a

little shocked that we were coming from outside the farm. I immediately

realized it was Jacob.

"That's close enough, Doc," he said. "I know your camp

is around here somewhere, and I want it!"

"Look, Jacob, you decided that you didn't want to live

within the confines of the rules of our group, so you had to leave," I said. "You

wanted to be chief instead of a brave or just an Indian."

"You misunderstood me, doc. I'm not asking for you to

let me back in. I'm here to take it," he said. "You don't even understand what

you have."

"Fuck you, you goofy bastard!" yelled T. "You ain't

taking shit! I'll kick all your asses by myself!"

"T, always the charmer. I'll give you to the count of

10," he said. "I don't care what kind of fighter you are. It don't mean shit

against these guns!"

"We don't need that long," I said. "The camp is yours."

"What the fuck, Marv?!" exclaimed T. "Don't give in to

this little bitch!"

"Trust me T, I got this," I said. "As I said, it's

yours."

"Alright bro," said T. "You haven't let me down so

far."

"Well now, that was easier than I thought," said

Jacob. "Now just tell me where it is."

"Ha," laughed T. "You dumb, hillbilly fuck. I knew my

boy had this! You don't even know where the camp is, do you?"

"Yeah, it's going to be pretty difficult to take

something you can't find Jacob," I said. "Now why don't you give up and get out

of here?"

"Don't make me use force, Doc," he said as his men

pointed their weapons at us. "I'll shoot T in each of his limbs until you

change your mind."

"Jacob, trust me, you don't want to do this," I said. "You

won't…you can't win!"

"It's you who are doing this, not me," he said as he

took a swig from a canteen.

I motioned, and the canteen exploded spilling water

all over him.

"Jacob, I am in a generous mood," I said. "I could

kill you all right now, but I'm not going to do that. I know you have a little

girl waiting for you somewhere. Go back to her."

"I'm doing this for my little girl, you bastard!" he

yelled. "You have no idea what it's like out here."

"I know exactly what it's like out here. That's why we

brought you in in the first place. But you just couldn't follow the rules.

Instead of looking to take what we have, why aren't you working to build

something new the way you want it. Because I have to tell you, Jacob, this way

you will lose every time. Now have your men toss their guns to the ground and

get out of here," I ordered. "And Jacob, if I see you again acting aggressive

towards me or mine, daughter or not, I will kill you where you stand!"

"Do as he says, men. Let's get out of here," he said.

We watched as they tossed their guns onto the ground and drove the three

vehicles off the farm. We waited until we got the "all clear" from Rodriguez.

We then picked up the guns and drove them to a few of the outposts in case we

were being watched. Since we were out, we decided to go on a run.

I radioed back to the ARC leaving Leon in charge and

informing him of what happened. He was manning the cameras with Tim and Fred.

Everyone was to remain on high alert, just in case. This is exactly why I

wanted a fallback location. Just in case we get overrun or invaded.

About 15 miles from the farm was a food processing and

packing plant. It had a wrought iron fence surrounding the place. I would

revisit my suggestion once we settled things again. At the very least, we

should fortify the place and use it as a weigh station for supply runs.

"T, I hate when I allow others to dictate my humanity,"

I said. "I know killing is wrong, but this new world looks as if it calls for

new rules."

"Look, man, remember that Shakespeare you had me

read…what was it called…Hamlet? 'To

thine own self, be true.' That damned Polonius knew what he was

talkin' 'bout. You gotta stay you," he said. "Look where it has gotten

us so far. That Shakespeare knew his shit!"

Again, T, in his own simplicity and philosophical

demeanor was teaching me how to be a better human being. This is just one of

the reasons I love this guy.

We struck pay dirt as we found a gas tanker that was

nearly full. The dilemma was that there was no way we could hide it at the

farm. But, we could hide it at the processing plant. But we'd have to clear it

out first. Ricky and Robert were becoming fine mechanics under the tutelage of

Fred. Even with one hand, he was still able to rebuild an engine. They got the

tanker running and we moved it to the plant.

We would return early the next day to clear it out. T

and I let Andre pick his own team for this one. T and I will accompany them,

but this is his show. When we got back to the ARC, I called an emergency

council meeting. I first suggested that we reveal the location of the ARC to

Diane and take her to the plant. She suggested that Em is given the privilege

of the location as well. Those two are becoming fast friends.

Tim, Gerald, Leon, and Fred would look for ways to

bolster the defenses of the ARC while we are clearing the plant. It would be

our direct access to fuel and food. I suggested that we replenish our stores at

the ARC just in case the plant drew unwanted attention and was invaded.

Andre chose the Raiders (minus Gerald), Em, Diane, T,

and myself. He also chose Joshua, as this was his coming out party like I did for Andre. We were to scour the plant

by twos and maintain radio silence as we never knew who was listening.

The teams were: Ricky and Robert, Andre and Di,

Rodriguez, T and Joshua, and Em and I. We entered the plant. You could hear the

hissing and moans of the undead inside. But this was different. There were

about 10 or so, and they looked to be docile.

"Why are they all missing their arms?" I heard Joshua

whispering to Rodriguez. I looked over at Andre and he motioned for me and Em

to circle around clockwise. He signaled the twins to get to higher ground and

for T, Rodriguez, and Joshua to go counter-clockwise. He and Diane were going

up the middle.

"You know," said an eerie voice. "Killing them isn't

necessary."

We looked around, but it was impossible to tell where

it came from over the low volume hissing and moaning.

"I'm Ernesti," said the voice. "And this is Madison."

In the middle of the DCs stood a man wearing a hoodie

with a poncho over it, with a machete in his right hand and a chain wrapped

around his left. The chain led to a female DC with her arms bound to her sides.

"We're not going to hurt you," he said. "They have no

teeth and their arms have been removed."

As the DCs stumbled around in place, you could see

that their teeth were missing.

"There is plenty of food. Take what you can and go,"

said Ernesti.

"My name is Dr. Marvin Harris," I said.

"I do not much care for doctors," he said as his tone

changed to one of anger. "It was a doctor that did this to Madison here. She

was so beautiful and so full of life."

"We're not like that," said Diane. "We help those who

want it."

"That's the same damn thing that Dr. Anthony said," he

said.

"Do you mean Dr. Marcia Anthony of St. Margaret's

Hospital?" I asked.

"You knew her!" demanded Ernesti.

"I knew of

her," I corrected. "She was big into assisted suicide. If the apocalypse hadn't

happened, I know she would have lost her medical license and maybe even been

arrested. She wasn't quite right!"

"She was a fiend and a ghoul, perpetuating death on

the unsuspecting. So, I ended her," said Ernesti.

"Ernesti, would you like to return to the world of the

living?" I asked.

He looked at me and sort of spaced out. He looked at

the DC that he called Madison.

"During this time, stripped of what makes us human, we

have to endure to survive. You were taken from me during a momentary weakness.

But I am still here. Life is a choice. You have to choose to live. You were

never without me. You betrayed our togetherness. But I still abide by the

promise: life continues as long as one

lives." he said.

"I will only return if Madison can come with me."

We all looked at each other. An idea crept into my

mind.

"Ernesti, how about you stay here, and we visit with

you from time to time? And when you need a break, you can visit with us from

time to time?" I asked. "We have children in our camp and we don't think they

would do well with...uh, Madison."

"Dr. Harris, you intrigue me," he said. "You genuinely

care for your people. I accept the terms that you offer."

"Are you crazy?" whispered Diane. "Why would you

placate this lunatic?"

"He is protecting someone he cares for, and I can

respect that," I said as I looked into Em's eyes. "Besides, imagine if we

became the ones he began to care for?"

"Hmm, I never thought of it that way," said Diane. "I

guess that's why you're the leader."

I slowly walked through the DCs up to Ernesti. I

extended my hand and he grabbed it and pulled me in tight.

"We are now one. Repeat the promise. Life continues as long as one lives!" he

said. "Everyone!"

I looked to my group and we repeated together, "Life continues as long as one lives!"

"Thank you, brother," said Ernesti as he embraced me. "We

are now family. We will protect one another as we would ourselves.

"I want you all to return to the ARC," I said. "I'm

staying here with Ernesti and Madison!"