Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Carly sat on the courthouse lawn and watched the church burn. Beside her, Old Miz Marson leaned against the War Memorial, smoking a Pall Mall, and on her other side was Justin. He was absently stroking Sam's ears.

The roof of the church caved in with a roar, followed by the steeple. The bell clanged one last time as it went down.

Tom had died the night before and Cynthia, earlier that morning. They were among the last of the living. Carly had sat back and looked around at the room, still filled with the dead because Justin couldn't carry them out as quickly as they passed. The bulldozer key could not be found, and Justin wondered aloud if it had still been in Tommy Burton's pocket when his body was placed in the mass grave.

Faced with a daunting task when they were both exhausted to the point of collapse, they had decided to burn the church and with it, the mass grave. Justin had collected gasoline from the cars still parked along the streets and a barrel of waste oil from the auto shop. Both were too old to be used in cars, but they were still flammable. The flames would burn long into the night.

"It ain't fair," Old Miz Marson said suddenly. Her voice quavered, and the hand that held the cigarette shook. "It's just not goddamned fair. I'm old. I've smoked like a chimney since I was twelve years old, and I've buried two doctors who told me I'd die in a year if I didn't quit. I've got more aftermarket parts than a Playboy model. And yet I'm still here. It ain't right."

Carly put an arm around the old woman's shoulders. She was trembling, though whether from grief or anger, Carly didn't know. Perhaps it was a combination of both.

The town's population stood at eight. Three, if you didn't count the people who had brought the plague with them through the gate. Madison Laker, Old Miz Marson, and a teenage boy named Kaden Weaver were the only ones left from the town's population. The two young'uns, as Miz Marston called them, were tucked into bed inside her house, both of them so shocked and bewildered that they allowed themselves to be treated like small children and put to bed after supper.

Sam let out a soft huff. He'd returned without Tigger, and Carly would never know where he had taken the cat's body. The sadness seemed to weigh on him heavily. Carly understood the feeling. Though she hadn't loved any of the people in this town, she knew she would have if given the time.

Miz Marson straightened. "All right, you two, go on home. You need to get some sleep. There's nothing more to be done here. Not right now, anyway. Go on, now. Shoo."

They obeyed as meekly as the two children had done. They walked, hand in hand, back to the Connell house. Justin went straight upstairs to take a much-needed shower. Sam jumped up on the sofa and laid his head on the arm with a sigh. Carly stroked his fur. She wished there was something she could do for him, but just like a human's, his heart would have to heal with only time's stingy medicine.

One of Dagny's tiny shirts lay on the sofa where it had been forgotten when Mindy and Stan packed. Carly lifted it to her nose, and Dagny's sweet baby scent still clung faintly to the fabric. She sobbed, and once she'd let the first one out, she couldn't hold back. She cried so hard her head hurt, just as her chest muscles hurt from the force of her sobs. She had to get it out of her system before Justin finished showering. She didn't want him to see her break down.

Too late.His hands were on her shoulders, his lips, against her cheek. He took the baby shirt from her, and she saw tears glimmer in his own eyes. "We'll see her soon."

"Do you think she's forgotten us?"

"No." His voice was firm. "It's only been a week, Carly."

A week?To Carly, it felt like years.

"Come on." He scooped her up and carried her up the stairs and into their bedroom.

"I need a shower," she muttered.

"After you wake up."

"I'm all dirty."

"We'll change the sheets, then." He laid her down on the bed and slipped off her shoes and jeans. She pulled her T-shirt over her head because she thought she could still smell the sickness and death clinging to it. And then her nostrils were filled with the scent of Justin's clean flesh, and she inhaled deeply. It felt as if it were cleansing her, as well.

He tucked her hair behind her ear and traced his thumb around its curves.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

He gave her a slight smile. "The same thing we planned to do before the sickness came. We build a home and a life for our daughter. We liked this community, so let's rebuild it."

She looked at him curiously. Had something changed his cynical mind about human nature? About the kind of cooperative society that could grow after a world-changing event like the Crisis? Maybe it had. They had seen the worst humanity had to offer during their journey, but in Colby, they had seen the best. She thought of Doc Cotton, working until he literally collapsed, trying to ease the sufferings of his neighbors. She thought of Tom and Cynthia, who had never said a harsh word to them while they worked to try to save the town from the Infection the travelers had brought with them. And of Old Miz Marson, whose hands were so stiff from arthritis she couldn't nurse the sick, so she did what she could in reading the Bible to them, praying with them, and comforting them, as tireless as people a third of her age.

As Carly drifted off to sleep, she thought maybe there was something on the horizon. Something small and shining, but infinitely precious. Hope.

In the morning, they went back down to the church to see if the fire had consumed the building, like they'd hoped it would. Little was left but ashes. As they stood there on the street, Old Miz Marson came down to join them, the two kids in tow. They greeted one another and stood there quietly, watching small tendrils of smoke rise from the blackened rubble. Madison cried, and Kaden put an arm around her shoulders.

BANG, BANG!

All of them jumped and looked at each other in puzzlement.

"Sounds like it came from the gate," Kaden said. His eyes were as wide as saucers.

Justin took off at a run and climbed the set of wood stairs built on the side of the shipping container. Carly ran up behind him and collided with his back when he stopped short. He laughed and turned to her, his eyes shining with joy. "It's Mindy and Stan!"

Stan was throwing hedge apples at the gate. Shadowfax and Storm ambled behind them, munching on choice bits of grass beside the road. Stan saw Justin and waved. "You people missing a kid?" he called out. Mindy stood beside him, Dagny in her arms.

Justin grabbed the chain beside the gate and jumped off the wood stairs, using his weight to pull the door up as he swung down. He landed lightly on his feet and grabbed Stan in a bear hug as he came through the opening. Carly screamed with delight and hugged Mindy before snatching Dagny back into her arms. Plump, eyes shining—a happy, healthy baby. Carly laid her head on top of Dagny's and inhaled her sweet, clean baby scent. Tears of joy streamed unheeded over her cheeks.

"How did you know?"

"The fire," Stan said. "We figured it was a signal. We've been staying at a fishing cabin not far from here. Mindy saw the smoke.

"I'm glad you're back," Justin said. "God, it's good to see you."

Stan shuffled, a little uncertain. "Listen, we're not alone."

"What?" Justin asked.

"We found some people. Really nice folks. I think you'll like them." Stan whistled, and a small group of people came from the tree line on the other side of the bridge. "I told ‘em to hide because I wasn't sure..." He didn't need to continue.

There was a young couple with two children.

"Stacy was a nurse at a hospital. That's where she got the kids. The guy is Mark, and he met Stacy there after he brought his mother to the hospital. Both of them were the only ones who..." Stan noticed the little girl standing shyly behind the teenage boy, and he changed the subject. "Anyway, I think you'll like them."

Is this how it starts, re-building civilization? Carly wasn't sure, but that glimmer of hope she had felt the night before was a little brighter.

En ma Fin git mon Commencement... In my end is my beginning.

~ Finis ~