Days of Love and Blood

chin and he held a can of beer in one hand in accordance with his hat.
    “It’s so nice to meet you,” Ivy replied. “We have a bunch of uninfected people here, trying to set up a community of survivors. You’re more than welcome to stay. Stay for at least a couple of days.”
    Ben looked at Leo who shrugged.
    “Well, sure. I mean, if you don’t mind.” His eyes were wide and a vein throbbed in the center of his neck.
    “Where were you headed?” I asked. “I’m sorry, my name is Carson.”
    “Actually, we weren’t. We were just driving. Trying to pick up radio signals. Neither one of us has anywhere to go now. We haven’t seen anyone else in four weeks at least. Only the crazy people.”
    I shook his hand. It was soft and delicate.
    “Are you hungry?” Brigham asked. “We just put dinner on.”
    “Are you sure that’s okay? I mean, we have our own food.”
    “We have plenty,” Ivy offered. “Please, follow me. Everyone’s going to be so excited to hear your stories. We all get excited when new people arrive.”
    We let the new guests sit at the table and eat. Leo didn’t say much but he seemed happy with the warm food and alcohol. Ben had been working a s a legal defense lawyer for the indigent but only just got his first position at a state-run community agency when the pandemic hit. His parents were long gone and his only family consisted of a brother who had been living in Los Angeles. The last time they spoke which was right before the power went out, his brother had fallen ill. Ben hid in his apartment for two weeks and when he walked outside for the first time he flagged down the only moving car which happened to be driven by Leo. They had been roadies together ever since.
    “You said you were looking for radio signals,” Ivy prodded.
    “We figured there might be a government base with survivors or something, sending out airwaves. All we needed to do was find it.”
    “Did you ever have any problems?” I asked. “I mean, with the homicidals?” His pristine condition said no. I was curious to know how they got around it.
    “We came across a number of them, sure. But we stayed in the car. Ran them over, things like that. Leo’s the one that would leave and look for food. He’s the fighter.” Leo bobbed his head up and down over his plate.
    “So you just stayed in the car? For months?”
    “Well, no. I would get out every day. When it was safe. Just yesterday we crashed in some vacant house. Slept in a normal bed. I took some clean clothes and we found that brand new Hummer in the garage. Keys in the ignition. Full of fuel.”
    Well, that explains it.
    “I was wondering how you looked so clean,” I laughed.
    “So does everyone stay here, on this farm?”
    I let Solomon take the lead as he explained our plans to start a community, how we were getting homes up and running on autonomous power and what our goals were. We talked for hours until the sun began to fade. Ben and Leo looked surprised when the porch lights turned on. I liked seeing the hope in their eyes. The sounds of night were upon us when Marianna and I began the cleanup. Crickets and tree frogs sang their symphonies in the fields. A dog barked by the edge of the woods.
    I carried a stack of dirty plates up the porch stairs when something nagged at me.
    One dog barking, louder now. Closer.
    I grasped the railing with one hand, balancing the plate s on the other, and stood still.
    Two dogs barking.
    I looked up to find Cooper leaning against the house. He held my stare and the corners of his mouth puckered while his shoulders tensed.
    More dogs barking. Many. Louder. Closer.
    The plates slid from my hands.

Inferno
    “I need to hit the head,” Ritchie announced. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere, sassy girl.” He kissed me quickly on the cheek and disappeared into the crowd of thirsty pub crawlers. Ritchie had been calling me ‘sassy girl’ for two weeks now that I could fit into my old clothes and show off my legs with short skirts. Reclaiming my body after pregnancy felt like a great conquest. The mirrors were happy, too.
    The band belted out a loud rendition of Smoke On The Water in a cramped corner of the pub and I swayed to the familiar tune from where I sat at the bar.
    “Carson?”
    “Brenton? I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight?” I looked behind me to check for Ritchie, nervous to be so close to a man who ignores social cues and boundaries. He worked with me at the office