The Last Flag, page 22
part #2 of EMP Survivor Series
Kayla cried and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around her father, and Charlie hugged her back. “I feel like something’s wrong with me,” Kayla said.
“That’s a natural feeling,” Charlie said, but then he made sure to look his daughter in the eye when he spoke next. “But there is nothing wrong with you.”
Kayla squeezed her father tight again, and Charlie squeezed back.
“You’ll put this behind you and move on to much better things. I promise you,” Charlie said. “One day, this will all just feel like a strange dream. But you need to forgive yourself, Kayla. You don’t have to do it now, tomorrow, or weeks from now, but you need to do it one day. Promise me you will. Because you don’t need to carry that weight around your entire life.”
“I promise,” Kayla said, and then she looked up at him. “Thanks, Dad.”
The pair returned to the cabin, arm in arm, and Shelly was at the door to meet them upon their arrival. Shelly mouthed, “Thank you” to Charlie, and he nodded. He watched as Shelly gathered the children around, and they sat in front of the fire where the dog curled up at their feet.
“So, does the dog have a name?” Charlie asked.
“She didn’t have a nametag,” Shelly answered.
“Peanut Butter,” Maggie said.
“That’s her name?” Charlie asked, laughing. “Okay then, all in favor?”
Everyone nodded their approval and Peanut Butter barked happily.
“I guess we have a winner,” Charlie answered.
Everyone was still and quiet, Peanut Butter curled up at Charlie’s feet, watching the flames dance in the pot belly stove. Charlie watched his family and was thankful for their time together. He knew the road ahead would remain challenging, but as long as they stuck together and believed in one another, they would be all right.
32
Danny stood as Daisy dressed him in the same gray robes everyone else in the community wore. She smiled at him as she did, and he smiled down at her. Danny had never felt more weightless than he did at that moment. He had never felt more like himself than when he was a child.
Of course, Danny had no delusions about the difficulties ahead, and he wasn’t foolish enough to believe his entire past had been erased by dunking his head under the water. Still, the symbolism was more potent than he expected.
“Don’t be nervous,” Daisy said. “The worst of it is over now.”
“I’m not nervous,” Danny said, and then he caught her hand and held it until she looked up at him. “I’m happy.”
When Daisy smiled, Danny kissed her on the lips. It was soft and subtle, like a refreshing breeze on the wind.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but we have an event to kick off.”
Daisy and Danny looked at the boat entrance and saw Copeland standing in the doorway, smiling.
“Come,” Copeland said. “Everyone is ready.”
Daisy took Danny’s hand and led him as she followed Father Copeland onto the bow.
Danny wasn’t sure what other ceremonies were supposed to occur, but the entire community had gathered again. Because it was the dead of night, everyone had lanterns, the yellow glow illuminating solemn, focused expressions.
And everyone was in attendance, from the oldest members of the community to the children. No one was left out. But as Danny stood on the bow, examining the surroundings, holding Daisy’s hand, he saw a man in regular clothes, held by both arms by two community members. He had his head down, but Danny's heart skipped a beat when he finally lifted it and looked Danny in the eye.
Danny didn’t know the man, but he recognized the look on the stranger’s face. It was one he’d worn himself numerous times in his life. The look of a man who knew he was about to die.
“Brother and sisters!” Copeland exclaimed, his voice echoing over the water, the cove acting like a natural amplifier. “We have gathered here tonight to celebrate a new beginning!” He gestured to Danny, and Daisy brought him forward. “Brother Daniel has chosen to join our cause to build a new world.”
Danny looked up at Copeland, still slightly disturbed by the sight of the man on the next boat. But Copeland was all smiles and excitement.
“You will be a part of a glorious future, Daniel,” Copeland said and then held him at his side as he addressed the rest of the crowd. “But the mark of new beginnings means the end of old ones.”
When Copeland stopped speaking, he gestured toward the man behind him, and the entire community looked at him with an expression of scorn.
“This man refused to join our cause,” Copeland said. “He called us madmen. He called us weak. He called us an abomination. And I say to him and anyone who tries to stand in our way that we aren’t the abomination, he is! And they’re an archaic way of living!”
Everyone nodded, but no one cheered, despite Copeland’s angry rhetoric. It was like they were all waiting for something, waiting for what happened next.
“The water gives us life,” Copeland said. “We all know this. But for a non-believer, the water is our weapon for someone who stands in our way.”
Danny saw the rocks from earlier be brought out, the largest ones in a pile, attached to a rope.
“This man will feel the force of judgment from the divine we hold over everything else!” Copeland said. “This man will feel the weight of the water against him and take away his breath. A sacrifice like all others who failed to see a new way forward!”
The others? Danny thought to himself.
The man was tired, clearly injured by the bloodied bandage on his side, and as the rope attached to the rocks was tied around his ankle, he looked up at Danny one last time.
“I told you,” he said, the knot nearly tied. “I told you this place was evil, these people were evil, and what they did to people who didn’t follow them. I told you. I told you!”
Once the rope was attached, Copeland nodded to the others, heaving the man over the side. He fought and screamed at first, but the moment he hit the water, there was nothing but the sound of splashing water, and even that calmed. The darkness of the water consumed the man, and just as quickly as he was alive, he was dead, resting at the bottom.
“From the water, we emerge, and to the water, we return,” Copeland said.
“From the water, we emerge, and to the water, we return,” the entire community parroted the response, all save for Danny.
Copeland turned to Danny and placed his hands on his shoulders. “I am glad you chose to stay, brother Daniel. We will do great things.”
Danny nodded, but as he stared over the side of the boat, glinting into the dark waters that swallowed the man alive, Danny wasn’t sure if this was the fresh start he’d been searching for.
After his family was fast asleep, Charlie walked back to town from the cabin. He surveyed the damage the city had taken in the fight. There was much to rebuild, but the war could have left them in worse conditions.
Charlie entered the sheriff’s station empty and walked back toward the jail cells. Weber was in the far back, but another now occupied the second cell.
“I wondered when you’d come,” Sir said, sitting on the edge of his cot.
“Not tired?” Charlie asked.
“I never sleep,” Sir answered. “I maybe get one or two hours a night. I’ve been like that since I was a boy. It drove my parents insane.”
“I’m not sure that’s the only thing about you that drove them insane,” Charlie said, having a hard time imagining what Sir was like as anything but the man who stood before him.
“Probably not,” Sir said.
Charlie gripped the jail cell bars, feeling like the one who was trapped even though he was on the other side of the cell. “What else do you have planned? I know you better than you think, and you have backup plans on backup plans for backup plans. So, what else is coming?”
Sir smiled, the darkness giving him a mad scientist look, and he shook his head. “I was the last thread of civilization, Charlie. I was the only one who could have rebuilt what had been lost, and you took that away. Do you want to know what comes next? You tell me.”
“I didn’t do this,” Charlie said. “This was your plan. I never wanted any part of it.”
“And yet here we are,” Sir said.
Charlie studied Sir carefully. The man might have been behind bars, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous. Charlie had considered killing him, but a part of him believe it was better to keep the man alive. At least for now.
“So what now, Charlie?” Sir asked, standing up and walking closer to the bars.
“I keep an eye on you,” Charlie answered.
“Is that what’s really best for your family?” Sir asked. “Keeping me here?”
“Better here than out there causing trouble,” Charlie answered.
“And what makes you think I can’t cause trouble right here?” Sir asked. “What makes you think something isn’t already in the works?”
“I’m not falling for your games anymore,” Charlie answered.
“Oh, this isn’t a game, Charlie,” Sir said, leaning against the front of the cell. “What do you think is going to happen after the smoke clears at The Bunker? There will be casualties, of course, and there will be those who run away. But there will be those loyal to me who want to find me. And it’s only a matter of time before they get here.”
“No one’s coming for you,” Charlie said.
“Are you willing to bet your life on that?” Sir asked. “Or your family’s life?”
Sir smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkling and he laughed.
“You really didn’t think this through,” Sir said.
“You don’t control the narrative here,” Charlie said. “Those days are done for you.”
“Maybe,” Sir said. “Maybe not. I only know for certain that what comes next will be bloody, painful, and full of loss and grief. And all that blood you worked so hard to avoid will be on your hands, Charlie. And let me tell you”—he held up his palms so Charlie could see them—“it doesn’t wash off very easily.”
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James Hunt, The Last Flag
