almost looked stung, as if he was mocking her really good idea. “Well. Yes. In a manner of speaking. You keep us alive. You protect us. And we’ll keep you fed. Not just from us. Like I said, we know of others out there. Bad people. World went to Hell and so did the human spirit.”
Coburn clucked his tongue. “That’s not how I figure it. I figure the end of the world just ripped off humanity’s mask, and now the true face of mankind is out there grinning like a mad skull in the moonlight. But you think what you want. Keep talking.”
“I’m just saying, you travel with us, you protect us, you stay fed. You just need to get us out West. There’s people out West. Lots of ’em, if the stories are true. That’s where they’re rebuilding. That’s where the people are. And where you got people, you got blood. A near endless supply.”
“So let me get this right.” He sucked a little air between his teeth, licked some of the fat fuck’s blood off his teeth. “You want me to play farmer.”
“Shepherd, really. Don’t think of us like crops. Think of us like livestock. Think of it like you’re driving a cattle train. You’re just moving the herd. We’re your food supply.”
“Food supply.” He let those words hang out there. This wasn’t how he did things. Save people? Protect them? The thought made the fat man’s blood curdle inside him. Still. He had to give it to this girl. For a teenager, she was a lot smarter than he’d figured. His gut reaction to her plan was the vampire’s reaction, the monster’s reaction: kill her, lap at the sick girl’s blood like you’re at a water fountain . But his human side saw the reason in it. New York City alone had gone from millions of people to millions of dead people. Dead people whose blood was as good as road tar. Rest of the country couldn’t be much better. If he went ahead and gobbled up these fools tonight, in a few nights he’d be back where he started. Hungry. Wandering. Hunting night to night, looking for shelter for the day, watching out for those rotten fuckers at every turn. The thought didn’t thrill him.
Even still. The old man shot him. The fat man was delicious. He wanted more. He wanted it now. Every time he blinked his eyes, there it waited in the darkness behind his lids: a red haze, a bloody curtain, a crimson hunger.
Fuck it. Coburn made his decision.
He moved fast against the girl. Backhanded the torch out of her hand—it went spinning off into the shadows, rebounding against a set of monkey bars.
Then he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up.
And he started to squeeze.
“I am not a good man,” he hissed. The girl’s eyes started to pop. “Point of fact, I am worse than a bad man because I am no longer a man at all. I am a monster.”
Bang .
Gil, her father, started shooting. But with the torch gone, he and the girl were mostly just shadows. The rifle barked an echoing report—a bullet whined off one of the bars of the jungle gym.
“I don’t like people except as tasty treats .”
Another shot ricocheted. If Gil got lucky and scored a hit—and if it hit Coburn smack in the head—well, that would be bad news.
But he kept on squeezing.
“I don’t especially like taking orders from some smart-ass teenager. I could break your neck just by twitching.”
Bang . This one hit the monkey bars on the other side: Gil overshot.
“But you know what? You got yourself a deal.”
He dropped the girl. She landed on her feet, but her legs were wobbly and didn’t hold her—her butt bone clanged against the metal slide.
Kayla gasped, wheezed, clutched her throat.
Just then, he saw her eyes flit to the space behind him. Creampuff the terrier stood there, watching all this unfold.
Coburn went over and scooped up the dog under his arm.
In the distance, Gil and the others were racing across the open ground between the RV and the play area, calling out Kayla’s name.
“Nice dog,” Kayla said, coughing.
“I’ll
Coburn clucked his tongue. “That’s not how I figure it. I figure the end of the world just ripped off humanity’s mask, and now the true face of mankind is out there grinning like a mad skull in the moonlight. But you think what you want. Keep talking.”
“I’m just saying, you travel with us, you protect us, you stay fed. You just need to get us out West. There’s people out West. Lots of ’em, if the stories are true. That’s where they’re rebuilding. That’s where the people are. And where you got people, you got blood. A near endless supply.”
“So let me get this right.” He sucked a little air between his teeth, licked some of the fat fuck’s blood off his teeth. “You want me to play farmer.”
“Shepherd, really. Don’t think of us like crops. Think of us like livestock. Think of it like you’re driving a cattle train. You’re just moving the herd. We’re your food supply.”
“Food supply.” He let those words hang out there. This wasn’t how he did things. Save people? Protect them? The thought made the fat man’s blood curdle inside him. Still. He had to give it to this girl. For a teenager, she was a lot smarter than he’d figured. His gut reaction to her plan was the vampire’s reaction, the monster’s reaction: kill her, lap at the sick girl’s blood like you’re at a water fountain . But his human side saw the reason in it. New York City alone had gone from millions of people to millions of dead people. Dead people whose blood was as good as road tar. Rest of the country couldn’t be much better. If he went ahead and gobbled up these fools tonight, in a few nights he’d be back where he started. Hungry. Wandering. Hunting night to night, looking for shelter for the day, watching out for those rotten fuckers at every turn. The thought didn’t thrill him.
Even still. The old man shot him. The fat man was delicious. He wanted more. He wanted it now. Every time he blinked his eyes, there it waited in the darkness behind his lids: a red haze, a bloody curtain, a crimson hunger.
Fuck it. Coburn made his decision.
He moved fast against the girl. Backhanded the torch out of her hand—it went spinning off into the shadows, rebounding against a set of monkey bars.
Then he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up.
And he started to squeeze.
“I am not a good man,” he hissed. The girl’s eyes started to pop. “Point of fact, I am worse than a bad man because I am no longer a man at all. I am a monster.”
Bang .
Gil, her father, started shooting. But with the torch gone, he and the girl were mostly just shadows. The rifle barked an echoing report—a bullet whined off one of the bars of the jungle gym.
“I don’t like people except as tasty treats .”
Another shot ricocheted. If Gil got lucky and scored a hit—and if it hit Coburn smack in the head—well, that would be bad news.
But he kept on squeezing.
“I don’t especially like taking orders from some smart-ass teenager. I could break your neck just by twitching.”
Bang . This one hit the monkey bars on the other side: Gil overshot.
“But you know what? You got yourself a deal.”
He dropped the girl. She landed on her feet, but her legs were wobbly and didn’t hold her—her butt bone clanged against the metal slide.
Kayla gasped, wheezed, clutched her throat.
Just then, he saw her eyes flit to the space behind him. Creampuff the terrier stood there, watching all this unfold.
Coburn went over and scooped up the dog under his arm.
In the distance, Gil and the others were racing across the open ground between the RV and the play area, calling out Kayla’s name.
“Nice dog,” Kayla said, coughing.
“I’ll
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