DEAD: Reborn by TW Brown Page B

more inte resting to him was the question of how they had survived. It had almost been a year, and then there was that horrendous winter. And while it might not have been as bad here, it was still not something that very many people would have fared well during.
    That notion caused his mind to begin to wander along the path of how many of those who survived had not made it through simply because of their inability to withstand the weat her. That cascaded to thoughts on how people needing medications to stay alive must have suffered; which all led back to his sister. This chain of thought all took less than a few seconds to play out, but that last one actually caused him to slump over as if his gut were being wrung.
    “He is, and I would appreciate it if you let him up. He has done nothing wrong and has helped many others to stay alive,” Aleah said as she walked purposely to Kevin and took a spot at his side.
    I know two people I didn’t help , Kevin thought morosely.
    “He saved me from one of the bad men!” Heather added as she hurried to join the others.
    Catie remained by the fence. Her mind was already going over the scene and searching for weakness. She hoped that it would not come to such a terrible conclusion, but she was prepared for anything. There was one thing she had learned since this whole nightmare began: none of the old rules applied any more.
    Heather went on to give a somewhat edited version of what had happened to her. As she spoke, Kevin saw some of the chi ldren glance at him with more scrutiny than anger or aggression. When it was over, Aleah went on and added some bits about Valarie, although she hardly told the entire story.
    “Wait here,” the boy standing over him demanded. He r etreated back several feet and was joined by a dozen other children. Kevin looked around and tried to get a guess at the number of kids who might be here. He stopped counting at fifty.
    “You are free to leave if you promise to go and not come back,” the boy announced as he returned to where Kevin had remained kneeling.
    Kevin stood up and gave a polite nod. He put a hand on Heather’s and Aleah’s shoulder to direct them back to the fence. Heather spun away and stepped in front of the boy who had been the speaker for the group.
    “Why don’t you come with us?” Heather asked. “We are g oing someplace safe where there should be very few people. Kevin wants to build a place where we can grow our own food and live long happy lives.”
    Kevin groaned inwardly. He did not picture it exactly as she was saying it. He knew there was a long road ahead and some serio us hardships that would almost certainly rise up, not only along the way, but once they got to where they were going.
    “There is no such thing as a place that is safe,” the boy said. For the first time, his voice sounded like that of the child he was and not the seemingly hardened leader he obviously portrayed.
    “You’re right,” Kevin said before Heather could open her mouth and write any more checks that he would not be able to cash. “There is no place that is truly safe. However, with some hard work and sticking together, we can at least try to create something from all of this.” He opened his arms to include the torched graveyard.
    There was a long silence. The boy seemed to be looking from one face to another for some sign that Kevin was not privy to. After what seemed like an eternity, the boy stepped forward.
    “No.” That was all, one simple word.
    Heather prepared to protest, but Kevin took her by the arm and turned her to him. He shook his head and then urged her towards the fence. Twice he had to stop her from trying to go back. He simply caught her arm and gave another firm shake of the head.
    Eventually, the foursome were on the road headed west once more. A couple of miles later they passed a nother site of a large fire. However, this had been some sort of plant or processing station. There were no readable signs, but there