Days of Love and Blood

It’s nice to meet you, too.”
    I bounded up the stairs and followed the sound of laughing children.
    “Ronan!”
    “Mom!” He jumped up from the model train set and ran into my arms. I pulled him up close to me and kissed him twenty times around his face. “Are we going now?”
    “In a little bit. But we can come back.” His smile was huge. I ha dn’t seen him smile like that since before the virus broke out.
    I carried Ronan in my arms down the stairs and was about to walk outside when Ivy wrapped her arms around me from behind.
    “Figures you would show up out of nowhere and save the day.”
    “Figures that it would be you and me against the world - again.”
    “They’re making a big dinner, for you. So you have to stay for a while. You’re going to stay, right?”
    “For dinner, sure. But then I’m going home, Ivy. I have to go see. I need to know.”
    “I understand. I’m just so glad to have you here. Back home again. You have no idea. I don’t want to let you go.”
    “Do you know any of these people?” I whispered. “I mean, personally?” There had to be at least ten people in the house. It was almost like a communal home now, instead of Ivy’s family house.
    “Not until the virus. It started when I flagged down a survivor who was driving by. Then we flagged down more and more. I invited them all to stay. Some didn’t, most did. It doesn’t bother me. This is so much better than being alone. I let everyone use the house when they need it, but most of the time they use tents and their own campers and things.” I nodded my head and followed her outside.
    “We’ll be eating out here. There are way too many people to eat in the dining room. Come on! It’s all ready.”
    There were two picnic tables set side-by-side, one piled with food while several people sat at the other one. The rest of the people used blankets on the ground as makeshift picnic areas. I pulled an old blanket from the camper and spread it out between the other squatters. I piled two plates with roasted vegetables, beans, salad and a meager portion of chicken and brought it back to our blanket. Ivy sat with us and before long so did Solomon, Brigham and Tasha. Cooper and Johnson took a seat directly on the grass nearby.
    “Everyone is pretty curious about you,” said Brigham. He was older with nothing but a ring of fine white hair around his crown. Something about his mild southern accent felt comforting.
    “We’ve been on the road for a long time. From Oregon.”
    “Carson was my best friend growing up here,” Ivy explained. “She moved to Oregon a long time ago with her husband Ritchie.” Ivy’s face suddenly morphed into one of concern as soon as she mentioned his name. “Oh my God. Ritchie?” I shook my head slightly and then looked down at Ronan as he picked at his plate. “I’m so sorry.”
    “That’s alright,” I blurted. But it wasn’t. I felt the wetness spread down my cheeks and I bit my lip. “ It wasn’t the virus. They - they killed him,” I whispered. “So now, I kill them.”
    Solomon shook his head up and down as if everything suddenly made sense to him. I wanted to change the subject before an unscheduled emotional collapse became imminent.
    “So, I’ m headed home.” I saw Cooper’s head pop up from where he sat. “My parents’ home is right around the corner, pretty much. They have a farm, too. And it’s completely off-the-grid. Its own power, well water, generators, solar panels, windmill, everything. With a farm, I can supply food for me and Ronan. The canned food will be bad in a few years so we’re going to have to go back to the basics - farming. That’s the plan.”
    “Well, do you think that’s safe?” asked Brigham. He had a kindly old face with light blue eyes that popped from his leathery tan skin. “I mean, to be alone out there with all of those killers still running around?”
    “I think she can handle herself,” Solomon said. Brigham shook his head in reluctant agreement. “The woman handles a sword like a regular swashbuckler. I think she could show us a thing or two.”
    “Not really,” I replied. “But thanks for the compliments.”
    “Hey, what kind of swords are those?” Johnson had leaned toward us, his young eyes wide open with curiosity.
    “I carry two Katana swords,” I answered.
    “I knew it!” Johnson yelled as he slapped his knee. He smiled playfully at Cooper who looked nearly offended by his jubilance. “Hey, hey, is it