Family Barn

"James! James!" Hissed a loud whisper from behind the trees. "Are you ok? James!"

"Brian," James whispered back, "I'm fine, come on..."

Hesitant, Brian made his way out of the safety of the tree line and into the moonlit clearing outside of the old barn that James went in to investigate. He quickly made his way to the door and ducked inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. The latch made a sharp click noise and Brian closed his eyes, waiting, hoping that it wasn't heard.

After a few moments passed, Brian breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't hear anything outside. He turned around to find James, who was standing just inside, his hands were raised above his head and Brian couldn't understand why at first. Once his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized that this barn was already occupied and they were being held at gun point. Brian slowly raised his hands and began to open his mouth to speak but was cut off. "Who are you fellas and what the hell are you doing here?" An old man with shaggy grey hair and a beard to match had his double barrel shot gun pointed right at James's chest. "We mean no harm sir," James’s voice was calm and quiet, "we're just looking for a safe place to sleep tonight and we will be on our way first thing in the morning."

A young woman, barely visible in the lantern light, cleared her throat, "Grandpa, I don't think they'll be causin' any issues," she nodded to Brian and James. "You been bit?" The old man asked, his gun still aimed at James. "No sir, we're clear." The old man grunted and lowered his gun as he stepped back from the two men.

James's hands lowered and he motioned for Brian to come over to him; Brian lowered his hands and stepped over to James. "Oh god... are you ok?" Brian's voice shook as he spoke. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just stay calm, we'll leave as soon as it's light out." Brian nodded, but was too scared to say any more, he just followed James’s lead and kept his mouth shut.

Again, the young woman nodded to the men, "It's ok, you guys can come sit with us, you need somethin' to eat?" She seemed friendly enough, and she had this almost knowing in her voice. "Thank you, it's appreciated, but we don't want to be any bother. Where would it be ok for us to set up?" "Over in that stall is fine, horses took off long time ago, it should be clean enough," she pointed across the barn at an old horse stall, the door just barely hanging on its rusted hinges. It seemed like it had been abandoned decades ago.

Any normal person would turn up their nose at the idea of sleeping in an abandoned old horse stall but to James and Brian, it was almost a four-star hotel. They had been on the run for so long, it was hard to remember what it was like to be around other people. Even though neither side trusted the other, it was sort of nice to see other people.

Brian and James made quick work setting up for the night, laying out blankets and their sleeping bags. They pulled out their ration of jerky sticks and dried fruit. Ate quietly and laid down. Sleep never came easy anymore. They had to keep their senses sharp and any sound, even a twig snapping in the distance, was cause for alarm.

Eventually they did drift off, but suddenly woke to quiet tapping on their stall door. James opened his eyes and saw the young woman standing over him. Her eyes were wide and her hands were outstretched, like she was trying to calm a wild animal. "Shhhh..." she pointed to the door of the barn, "we need to be quiet." Brian rolled over and jumped to his feet, he wasn't expecting someone to be there and didn't know what was happening. "It's ok," she whispered to Brian, "but there's a herd... you hear?"

James and Brian could hear the sound of the herd making its way around the outside of the barn, the sound of foot steps and soft grunting and low growls made their way through the walls. Very carefully, James got to his feet and followed the young woman to the loft ladder just a few feet away. They made their way up to the loft, crawling along the floor to the barely open window to peer out at the herd.

It had to be one of the largest he'd ever seen, they couldn't see where it ended. A massive herd of the dead were shuffling past. The stench was unforgettable. James could always tell when one was near, he always smelled them first. This unmistakable smell of decay and rot. It will never leave his mind.

Brian sighed softly; he knew they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, not with a herd outside. At least they had a shelter, whether it was a nice place to be or not, they were safe from the dead. It was the living that had Brian worried.

James and the young woman made it back down to the ground level and into the stall. James whispered, "Brian, this is Delia, and that's her grandfather, Eugene." Brian nodded to Delia, "Nice to meet you," he whispered. Delia smiled, "Nice to meet ya'll too. My grandpa and I own this land, our house was burned down a while back so we had to move out here to this old barn." Brian looked around, "Oh, I'm sorry, at least it's not a bad place to be. It's kept up well." "Yeah, my dad and my grandpa worked to keep it up for a long time."

"Delly," Eugene grunted quietly, "I need yer help." Delia nodded to Brian and James then turned and made her way to her grandfather. From where they stood, Brian and James could see they were working on reinforcing the side walls of the barn. It may have been kept up well, but it was still falling apart in some places. Brian wasn't sure how much longer this place would last. It was only a matter of time before it wasn’t going to keep up against a herd that wanted in.

Brian crept over to Delia and Eugene and offered his help, Eugene hesitated for a moment but reluctantly accepted the offer. Using boards to prop against sheets of plywood to cover holes and reinforce falling panels, Brian and Eugene made quick work of the boards while Delia held the plywood in place. James was watching to make sure the noise level didn’t catch the dead’s attention. Every now and then, a thump would cause a dead to look over at the barn, but wasn’t loud enough to cause any to investigate.

After a few hours, the herd had finally made their way past the barn and could only be faintly heard in the distance. Brian and James began to pack up to leave until Delia knocked softly on the stall door, “Hey guys, Grandpa said it might be best if ya’ll stay another night. The herd can’t be far out and usually when there’s one herd a second one ain’t far behind.” James and Brian looked at each other a moment and nodded slowly, “We appreciate the offer, we can stay another night but we really don’t want to overstay our welcome,” James said quietly, “we’ll be on our way tomorrow.” “I understand, ya’ll are welcome to stay as long as you like, we’re happy for the help,” Delia gave a sad smile, “it’s been harder for us after my dad died, Grandpa isn’t able to keep up as well anymore.”

“We can help you guys fix it up a bit before we leave,” James placed a hand on Delia’s shoulder, “I’m sorry you guys are struggling.” Brian stepped closer, “You guys are welcome to come with us. This place won’t hold up forever.” Delia sighed and lowered her head, “Grandpa wouldn’t survive out there, he’s lived here his whole life, this is all he knows.” James nodded, “We understand, offer stands anyway.” Brian and James gave Delia gentle smiles as she thanked them and left the stall.

Two days turned into two months in that old barn. Eugene and Brian had actually grown fairly close, as Eugene was teaching him all he knew about fixing motors, building, farming and how to live off the land. Eugene and Brian were even working on fixing an old generator. James and Delia spent a lot of time talking about their past, learning their histories. Delia and Eugene accepted Brian and James into their little family in the barn. Eugene even accepted Brian and James as a couple. He was shocked at first, because he grew up in a different time but he accepted them and knew that you need to hold on to love.

Brian and James were outside with Eugene fixing the fence line around the field. Laughing and talking as they dug the holes for the new fence posts. When it was time for a break, Eugene stepped away to get a drink of water, while Brian and James continued to laugh and talk.

“Delly!” A loud scream rang through their heads as they whipped around to see Eugene reaching out his arm towards the barn, a dead gripping him around the chest and tearing apart his shoulder with its teeth. “No! Eugene!” Brian screamed as he ran to fight off the dead, hitting it repeatedly in the head until it slumped over and let go. Eugene lay on the ground, choking on his own blood and reaching up for Brian as Delia ran to his side. The distraught look on Delia’s face was too much for James, she had become like a little sister to him. He watched in horror as Delia lost everything. Eugene touched Delia’s cheek as the light faded from his eyes, a small smear of blood left on her cheek as his hand fell to his side.

The grief was cut short by the sound of branches and fallen limbs snapping just beyond the tree line, James and Brian picked Delia up from her knees and ran with her to the barn. They knew that there was no chance that they were going to outrun this herd and the barn was not strong enough to hold up against them anymore. They packed quickly, taking everything that they could. James grabbed Delia’s hand, she nodded and pulled a picture of her family off the wall. They ran through the barn with the last few gas cans from the back up generator Eugene was fixing.

Everything was drenched in gasoline. Brian and James looked to Delia as she held the box of matches. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she swiped the head of the match down the matchbox ignition strip, and the match lit with a small flame. A look of resolve washed over her face as she tossed the match into the middle of the floor. The whole floor burst into flames as James grabbed Delia’s arm and Brian’s hand, they ran out the door. Delia stopped to look back, watching her home consumed by flames. The dead converging in on the burning barn. She whispered goodbye to her family before they all turned to walk down the road. They didn’t know where they were going, but they knew they had each other. They were family now.