Gather The Lilies

They gathered that night on the veranda behind the restaurant where Buck cooked a savory deer meat stew on the grill. Donelle said a short prayer for Nathan and Lara's return and Haven chimed in for Seth and Cole, but it was Neala's simple six year old gesture which reminded them of the fleeting brevity of life when she ran up to her dad after the amen and showed him a handful of wildflowers she had picked from the overgrown garden near the veranda. "These are for Mommy," she said, "can we give them to her?"

Haven burst into tears and Deag choked back his own emotions even as tears filled up his eyes at the sight of his little girl standing there with an innocent smile.

He picked her up and hugged her, whispering what she wanted to hear and giving everyone a strained smile.

Donelle got up right away and went to them giving Deag a pat on the back. "Of course we can honey," she said looking around. "Thank you for picking these for Mommy! She will love them, won't she now," Donelle reassured her.

Everyone agreed and complimented Neala for her thoughtfulness and she smiled, handing off the flowers to her grandma and hugging her dad.

Buck, who was now hard pressed not to cry, gruffly announced that supper was ready and started dipping stew into Styrofoam cups and passing them out. Len passed out cornbread he had cooked in an iron skillet over the fire, and everyone ate in silence, each contemplating the enormity of the situation. They didn't want to. As strange as the setting was, and why they were there, it was somehow familiar and Deag finally broke the solitude.

"We should have done things like this more often," he chided lightly.

Buck and Donelle nodded.

"Yeah," Mark agreed. "But we can't beat ourselves up Deag, we just had no way of knowing."

Sherri even got up and went and hugged Deag. "Here's the thing Deag, we always have this in our hearts. Almost all of us struggle living too far from our family and friends. But we're here now and we'll make the most of it."

Hollis and Verbena standing near Len and Buck held up their cups. "Here's to family. Far and wide," Hollis declared.

Verbena smiled and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek.

Donelle hugged her grandkids and Sherri asked Buck for seconds on the stew. "I'm starving, I'm not gonna lie. I was starting to feel lightheaded." His head bobbled with pride and Len grinned, looking around to see who would ask next when he noticed Haven.

She sat uncomfortably on her chair, but it was her ashen color that concerned him. He went to her and bent down.

"Haven? Are you feeling okay?"

She handed him her cup. It was untouched. Len looked at her with unease. "Haven?"

She stood up shakily and he grabbed her arm to steady her.

"I can't eat that," she confided huskily. "It's just the smell is nauseating."

Len smiled with relief. "That's fine. Come on. Let me take you up to the bunkhouse. I will find something else for you and then you can lay down for a bit. Just don't let Buck know that his soup smelled like poop,"

She smiled wanly and held on to his arm as he helped her down the rock steps to the road.

He looked at Verbena with a nod and asked her and Bretta to go with them.

Donelle stood up as Len slipped his arm around Havens waist but he waved her back. "Everything is fine, she's just worn out. No baby yet," he assured. "I'll be back in a bit once we settle her."

"Are you sure?" Donelle persisted, already heading their way.

"Yes Donie, nothing to worry about, trust me I'd let you know because I'm no mid-wife."

"Okay, just give me a shout if you need me," she hollered.

"We will, thanks!" Bretta called back.

Len, Verbena and Bretta got Haven to the bunkhouse, sat her on the sofa while Verbena and Len concocted something not so heavy for her to eat and she and Bretta talked. After a few minutes, Len brought over a cup of herbal tea and told her sip on it and Verbena brought her a plate with cheese and crackers. He made sure she had eaten all she could and drank the tea and he asked Bretta if she could help her to bed.

When Bretta helped her hobble back to their room, Len and Verbena cleaned up.

"Len, do you think Seth will make it here?"

"I hope so. Stress isn't good for pregnancy."

"Mm. I know. I still can't believe he did that."

"Listen Verbena. Haven has worked for you a long time. I want to know who the father of her baby is."

"Um, you know I can't talk about that Len, dammit."

"We have a right to know Verbie. Even Seth has a right to know."

"Well, she wasn't required to inform the pregnancy center, so why should we have any more of a right than them? I mean it doesn't matter Len, does it?"

"No, it doesn't, but she lied to Seth about her background and I don't think that's fair to the boy. Everyone is all riled up about him going to look for his mom and bending over backwards for Haven. Don't get me wrong, I love the girl too but right is right."

"Well, for now it doesn't matter anyway," Verbena said with a huff. "I will talk to her, if, he makes it back. Until then leave it alone."

Len shrugged. "Fine. I was just saying."

"Fine, Uncle. You can go now. Tell Hollis I'm going to bed, I'm tired and I want to stay close by if Haven needs me."

Len rolled his eyes, after Verbena turned around but he took his leave and headed back over to the others, gave Hollis her message and let Donelle know Haven was doing fine. He and Buck took to cleaning up and Len mentioned that they should all go on back to the bunkhouse and get some rest.

Deag agreed, knowing his children were tired, Rois seemed especially sleepy. Mark scooped up the boy and carried him and Deag carried Neala. Donelle tried to stay and help but Buck shooed her off, telling her to take care of her babies. She grabbed Sherri by the arm and followed Hollis down to the road.

Later, Len and Buck sat on the porch of Bucks cabin and smoked, catching up and talking about old times. Len decided to bunk down there so he could get an early start. He wanted to set up his radio and find out if there were any updates from local authorities. Buck went to the barn to feed the horses and Len lay down on a cot in the tiny living room, fading off to sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, never hearing Buck when he returned and went to bed.

〰️

Len awoke with a lurch. Someone was beating on the cabin door shouting hysterically. It sounded like Verbena.

Len jumped up and ran to the door, jerking it open and sure enough Verbena fell into his arms screaming and bawling.

He grabbed her arms and shook her roughly. "What is it?!" he shouted shaking her again. "What the hell Verbena!"

Verbena choked out an anguished wail, beating against his chest in fury. "No, No, Nooo," she gagged incoherently, gasping for a breath.

Len clenched her to his chest as she sobbed, and his heart thumped dully as fear overtook his mind. Buck was behind him by then and Len heard a shallow curse slide from his lips. Len turned his head looking at Buck with all that horror and panic.

He guided Verbena away from him but she crumpled to the floor sobbing uncontrollably.

Len and Buck ran out the door all the way up the trail to the bunkhouse where they found Hollis standing outside pale and speechless. His eyes showed no emotion and Len ran past him, busting through the door and coming to a dead stop.

At the door lay Sherri. Mark held her in his arms, her body contorted and stiff, bloody and lifeless. He was holding her against his chest, mouthing words of anguish only he could hear as dark brown blood seeped from his own nose and mouth.

Bretta stood by the sofa in the corner, stiff and wheezing. She was drenched in sweat, her body quivered slightly and Len looked at her with a dull thud of his heart against his chest. Her head twitched unnaturally. Her eyes, not yet pale, but unseeing. A huge gaping bite on her cheek drooled bloody streaks down her face. Len held up a hand, squinting in the semi-dark room. "Bretta?" He whispered.

Her mouth opened but no words came forth. Instead, she jerked and a violent cry unfurled from her lips.

It chilled Len to his bones and he glanced around furtively looking for anything he could use to protect himself.

Bretta bent forward then and released a primal scream Len had not in his life experienced, even from the most injured of wild animal. That was the sound that triggered him into action, but that moment she exploded forward coming at Len with ravage fury.

He stepped backwards toward the kitchen.

Donelle, standing in the doorway of the hall with Haven, screamed, instantly turning Bretta's attention to her and Haven.

Haven gasped for a breath, holding her belly with one hand and the wall with the other. Her hazel eyes were wracked with panic and, she lurched forward and fell to her knees, pulling Donelle down with her.

A broken scream tumbled from her lips and she crawled toward Len, crying out in pain.

Bretta flung herself at Haven with one lugging vault and froze mid-leap, hovered unsteadily from the briefest of seconds, and crumpled to the floor right in front of Haven, a Bowie knife lodged in the back of her head. Standing resolutely behind her in the doorway, from where he had thrown his blade, John Buchanan.

Len gave him a rigid nod and together they helped Donelle and Haven outside.

Len made Haven sit on the ground and tried to ask her what happened, but her face was wrenched in pain and Len feared she might be going into labor.

He couldn't do anything for her, but Verbena suddenly appeared, disheveled and flushed, but she knelt by Haven and pulled her head over cradling her on her breast.

Donelle grabbed Len by the arm. "I'm going back for the kids!"

Len held her back. "No Donie, stay with Haven, Buck and me will handle it,' he cautioned her thickly.

Donelle clenched her jaw. She choked back a desolate cry, bent over at the waist and wept, her hand covering her mouth in anguish.

Len and Buck eased back inside and went to work trying to pull Sherri away from Mark.

He retaliated by throwing a weak punch but it barely grazed Len before Mark sank to the floor and lay there writhing and suffocating for air. Len and Buck pulled him away from Sherri and they both saw the horrific chunk of ripped flesh hanging from the part of his arm that had been beneath Sherri. Mark began to projectile vomit and Buck pulled Len up and out of the way.

Mark vomited the blood tinged contents of his stomach until he dry-heaved and then lay there gasping for breath. His eyes held the silent question of his thoughts as his life faded away. Just like that.

Len turned back to Sherri out of fear she might rise to attack them as Bretta had but Buck pointed out that Sherri had a bullet hole just behind her ear and Marks Glock lay nearby.  Len and Buck looked at each other, both their minds working to put together a chain of events. Len bent down to examine Sherri more closely, checking her arms but seeing nothing out of the norm except her gunshot wound. He pulled up her bloodied t-shirt and there he saw it.

Right where her pants reached her hip. A large gauze bandage taped to her hip. He yanked it from her skin. Hidden beneath it was a festering, infected bite wound.

Len took a deep breath, closed his eyes and tried not to go ballistic. They had both known and said nothing. Nothing. He stood up wanting to kick someone in the face.

A faint mewling whimper lead them down the hall where they found Rois and Neala cowering on a bed next to their father. Len grabbed both Rois and Neala and took them outside. He sat them down by Verbena and told them not to move and went back inside where Buck was standing in shock, staring at Deaglan who was sitting on the side of the bed, with his head in his hands. How had he missed that?

Len and Buck got him to his feet and helped him outside. He tried to talk, but Len grabbed him and shook his head. "Get everyone up to the restaurant! We'll stay there. You and Buck get them up there and secure it," he looked around. "I have to find Hollis too---"

"I'm right here Len," Hollis said. He had come from around the bunkhouse, and had a rifle.

Buck took a step forward. "They're dead Hollis."

"Did you make sure?"

"No Buck," Len interjected. "Mark."

"I saw him die Len, we both stood there and saw it."

"The dead don't stay dead Buck. I know you've been secluded out here, but it's true. The dead rise, and turn into Bretta. She was turned, Buck. No longer herself. The virus turns them. We have to deal with Mark or we'll regret it."

Nobody said a word, but they all knew it had to be done.