Deadlocked 7 by A.R. Wise

aside as he pushed through.
    When th e bell broke free and fell, everyone became silent. The bell smashed through the ladder, causing an ominously low clang with each strike on the rungs, until it hit the floor on the second story, just above the entrance to the church. A malaise swept through the group as the bellowing hum filled the church. There was a sense that the world was collapsing in on them, and their sanctuary was ending.
    Arthur stared at the door that hid the stairwell leading upstairs. He knew that Clyde had gone up to find David, and was terrified that they had both died when the steeple collapsed. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until the door opened and Clyde came out with David in his arms.
    “David!” Laura came in from outside, screaming for her grandson.
    Arthur continued to make his way through the crowd to reach his son. Clyde set the boy down, and he stood dazed. The boy was pale and staggered to the wall to support himself, his crutch lost.
    “He’s okay,” said Clyde. “Annie was up there.”
    “She fell,” said Laura, and her voice broke when she spoke, as if the emotional dam that was keeping her sane threatened to burst.
    Clyde looked at Arthur and nodded. Arthur mouthed a thank you, uncertain that he could even speak, and continued to move through the crowd to reach his son. When he got to him, he fell to his knees and grasped the boy. He pressed David’s head into his shoulder and gripped the back of his hair. He wanted to be strong for the child, but his grief overwhelmed him. David sobbed as he rubbed his hands on David’s shoulders. Then he held his head back to look at him, but the boy just stared, bereft of emotion.
    “Are you okay?” asked Arthur.
    “Mom’s dead,” said David.
    “I know, David. I know.”
    He stared at his father and stated, “Annie’s dead too.”
    “Are you sure?” asked Arthur.
    Then David focused on his father’s eyes. The boy shivered as if suddenly cold, and then his demeanor turned fragile. Arthur felt the boy’s rigid stance crumble, as if he’d suddenly lost the will to stand. “Mommy’s dead!” He screamed out and fell into his father’s arms. “Mommy’s dead!” He wailed, an avalanche of despair, and Arthur held onto him as tight as he could.
    “I know, buddy.”
    “Mommy’s dead!” David started to cry, a torrent of tears that wet Arthur’s chest. “She’s gone. She’s dead forever. She’s dead!”
    Arthur tried to calm David, but he was inconsolable. His pain overflowed as he sat shaking in his father’s arms. “I’ll never see her again. I’m never going to see my mom again.”
    “I’ve gotcha, buddy. I’ll be here for you. We’ll be here for each other.”
    David calmed and stopped sobbing. He put his hand on the side of Arthur’s face and stared into his father’s eyes. Tragedy had steeled him, and David’s eyes were filled with anger. The once loving and docile boy had learned to hate. “Promise me you’ll kill them.”
    “What?” asked Arthur, more frightened than confused by what his son had said.
    “Promise me you’ll kill all of the people that did this. You have to murder them, Daddy. Whoever did this, you have to kill them. Promise me.”
    Arthur had never seen such hatred, and he never wanted to see it from his son. The once angelic child now pleaded for revenge, and Arthur had never felt a deeper sense of heartbreak.
    David grit his teeth. “Kill them all.”

Chapter Five – Parenthood
    Thirteen years after the apocalypse
    Arthur and Annie are at the raider’s camp.
     
    “No, she’s not with me.” Arthur stood over the corpse of the raider that had been in Annie’s tent.
    “She left a few minutes ago to meet you in your tent.” Annie slipped on her coat and then got her gun.
    “They took me out to shoot me,” said Arthur.
    “Well, I’m glad they suck at their jobs,” said Annie. “Do you need a gun? I think Kim left hers in the bag.”
    “No time,” said