little when he realized what heâd said. âThose poor fucking people.â What little mirth he had quickly ran away as it was faced with the horror that had been that store. âWe canât leave that place there.â
I hadnât gotten to that reasoning and not sure if I ever would. I was pretty much happy that Iâd left with my life and that of BTâs. Does that make me narcissistic?
âAny ideas?â I asked, pretty much hoping he wouldnât have any. I didnât want to go back, ever. The chances I would be able to forget the utter futility I saw in those two faces was slim; to go back would just reinforce the memory.
âFire? We could burn the place.â Ron offered.
âIt was made of cinder block, and I donât think we can go back in without a substantial fight. Had to have been at least fifty or sixty zombies stacked up.â
âIâve got an idea.â BT had a strange look in his eyes.
âIs this an idea like a âMike ideaâ or a real idea?â I prodded him.
âThose asses that shot a rocket at us.â
âWhat about them?â I did not like where this was going.
âI bet they have more rockets.â
âGood for them,â I told him.
âWe need those rockets.â
âListen, it was all kind of funny when we were talking about how being around me could make you catch crazy, but thatâs all it was ⦠talk I mean. You want to hunt down some murderous men, steal their shit so we can come back here and blow up a zombie hive?â
âYeah, thatâs about it.â
âNo,â I blurted out.
âWho the fuck made you boss?â
Heâd gone from thinking in the abstract to looking like he was going to put me in traction in a matter of a second or two.
âBT, that is a lot more risk than Iâm thinking we should put ourselves into.â It was Ron who decided now might be a good time to interject.
âYou saw them, Mike.â BT had softened. âYou said you saw a woman holding her kid, nobody, fucking nobody should ever have to go through that. We have a chance to make sure it doesnât happen again, and I say we take it.â
âHaving a chance would imply that we have the necessary weaponry with us. We donât; you want to hunt and kill men so we can hunt and kill zombies.â
âHow old do you think that kid was, Mike? Tell me. What if it happens again? Thatâs on you.â
It wasnât really. Thereâs no way I could be held accountable, but that wouldnât stop me from pondering the thought constantly, and most likely while I tried to sleep. I would forever think of some hapless family wandering into that store only to become a human MRE.
I stuck my finger up. âDonât you ever fucking say my plans are for shit again. Do you understand me?â
âWeâre doing this? Youâre seriously thinking about doing this?â Ron asked. âThose guys are long gone by now.â
âDoubtful, they probably live relatively close by, and these are their hunting grounds. So, in reality, weâll be getting rid of two human traps today. Fantastic.â
âGood to have you back, Mike.â BT beamed.
âFuck this, Mike,â Ron said. âThis is insane. You said so yourself, not ten seconds ago. We just need to get Erin and get the hell back home.â
âYou know whatâs insane, big brother?â
He didnât answer.
âTelling that man, âno.ââ
âThatâs what Iâm talking about.â BT said.
âEven if I wasnât afraid, heâd twist me in two. Heâs right. Weâd be doing the right thing and saving who knows how many people. We owe itââ
âTo who, who the fuck do we owe it to?â Ron was getting angry.
I looked at Ron. My older brother had been delivered a hard lesson this day, and it wasnât going to get any easier.
âWe
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