“You can’t make a promise like that.”
He smiled. It was the most human thing about him. Despite the blood and his wounds, despite the strangeness of his eyes and the impossibility of his knowing her name, despite everything that made this encounter seem like something out of a dream, that smile held no trace of threat. None.
“Yes,” he said, “I can make that promise.”
She started to back away.
“Please,” he said.
Please.
In the woods far behind them, they could hear the dead moan as they followed the silent calls of the reapers.
Without realizing that she was going to do it, Samantha turned sideways to him.
“Come on,” she said, “lean on me.”
He hesitated. “Are you sure? You can still walk away.”
She looked down at the ground. His feet were bare, and there was dirt caked under his toenails as if he’d dug them into the ground. His clothes did not look like they’d been cut. They looked like they’d burst apart.
Samantha knew that she should have been terrified. She knew that she should shove this man away from her, that she should run to find her friends and then run farther until this place was far behind her.
She knew that.
And yet.
There was something about this man.
Here was a person who had suffered so much, survived so much, had so much will to live that he risked making promises despite being on the edge of death. And in the woods here were the living dead and those whose purpose was to exterminate all life.
It came down to that choice.
Between the takers of life and a man who clearly fought harder than anyone she had ever met to belong to life.
If it was a strange choice for her to make, then she blamed it on twilight.
Somehow she knew Ida would approve.
She took the big man’s arm and laid it across her shoulders.
“Come on,” she said. “I’ll help you.”
Together Samantha and Iron Mike Sweeney made their slow and careful way past evidence of carnage, away from death, toward life.
17
Sanctuary
Area 51
It took a long time to walk down the mountain.
They didn’t take the goat path. Instead they went a back way that was easier but longer. Fifty feet down that road they came to a spot where two soldiers lay. Both were dressed in the uniforms of the American Nation, the new government that had formed after the destruction of the old world. It was clear that these men had been on guard but had been surprised, overwhelmed, and murdered by the reapers. It was equally clear that Captain Ledger had quieted them. Both of them had distinctive knife wounds in the backs of their heads, right at the weak point where the spine enters the skull. What Tom had once called the “sweet spot.”
“I didn’t know there were guards up here,” said Benny.
“Of course there are guards up here,” said Ledger. “There are also a crapload of land mines and you’re lucky you didn’t step on one.”
“The reapers didn’t step on any mines.”
“Not this time,” said the ranger, “but over the years? Yeah, a whole bunch of them have gone into the darkness at high velocity.”
“It’s not funny,” said Benny.
“No,” admitted the ranger, “it’s not.”
Benny considered the two soldiers. “What were their names?”
“Private Andy Beale and Private Huck Somerton.”
“Do they have family?”
“Back home. They’re from Asheville, North Carolina.”
“I’m sorry,” Benny said.
“Yeah,” said Ledger. “But at least we know that the reapers have found a way through our back door. I’ll make sure it’s nailed shut again.”
“Is that worth two people’s lives?”
The ranger shook his head. “No. But we take what we can to save more lives down the road.”
“The reapers . . . they’ll keep trying, won’t they?”
“Yes.”
“Won’t they ever give up?”
“Not as long as Saint John is driving them.”
“They’re afraid of him,” said Benny.
“It’s worse than that,” said Ledger. “They love him. They really do think he has the answer. They think he’s going to solve all their problems.”
The kept walking. Grimm trotted along behind, his armor clanking. Joe carried the dog’s spiked helmet.
After a while Benny asked, “How’d you know I was up here?”
“I didn’t. But I was looking for you and didn’t find you anywhere else. You didn’t take a quad, and you weren’t in one of the hangars. There’s not too many other places you could be.”
They walked and the sun slid red and swollen into the west.
“I’m not going to say I’m sorry,” said Benny.
“I didn’t think you would.”
They looked at each other. Harshly at first, then with small smiles of acknowledgment. Like chess players.
“Thanks, though,” said Benny.
“Jeez, kid, that sounded like it actually hurt to say.”
“It did. My gums are bleeding.”
Ledger laughed, and the sound of it bounced off the stone walls. They walked for another ten minutes without speaking.
“There’s a war coming,” said Benny at last, “and I’m not ready for it.”
The ranger gave a slow nod of approval.
“It takes a . . . ,” Joe began, but stopped.
“What?” demanded Benny, some sharp edges still evident in his tone. “What were you going to say? That it takes a ‘man’ to make a decision like that? Don’t bother, we both know I’m not a man. I’m a kid, and I’m doing the best I can.”
Captain Ledger gave him a small smile. “No, kid, that’s not what I was going to say. What I was trying to say was that it takes a real warrior to make a decision like that. To accept the world for what it is. To ask for help. That’s what your brother would call being ‘warrior smart’ . . . and that has nothing to do with how old you are.”
He held out a big, tough, calloused hand.
After looking at it for a long moment, Benny took it.
18
South Fork Wildlife Area
Southern California
Saint John sat near the glow of a massive campfire. He’d ordered it built big tonight, and there were three times as many guards posted. Most of the reapers were already asleep. Even Brother Marty was dozing.
Saint John sat apart from everyone and stared deep into the chaotic heart of the fire, watching the snakes of flame twist and tangle and writhe.
He listened to the crackle and pop of the wood as the purifying fire consumed it.
And he listened to the sounds of the night.
Listening for . . .
For what?
The sad laughter of a stranger?
The howl of a wolf?
“I will cleanse this world of all flesh, all life,” he told the flames, speaking in a voice so soft he could barely hear his own words. “I am a saint of the Night Church. We own the night, we hold it in the palm of our hand. There is no force in this world or any other that can stand against us.”
Although his voice was quiet, he spoke with the force and cadence of a litany. Repeating each phrase, each promise, each vow.
Repeating and repeating it until he believed it once again.
That, however, took all night.
Tomorrow, with the dawn, he would take his army of the living and the dead and set out with a will toward Haven. Toward the first of the Nine Towns. There were hard weeks of forced marches ahead of him. His army would have to forage and provision, and that would lose them hours, days. It didn’t matter.
Even if there were things out in the night that he didn’t understand, he had his army and he served the will of Thanatos, all praise to his darkness.
He finally slept, and for the first time si
nce his troops attacked the caravan, he had a smile burned onto his hard mouth.
FROM NIX’S JOURNAL
ON HOPE
(BEFORE FLESH & BONE)
The jet’s out here somewhere.
Somewhere.
Somewhere.
Out here.
We all saw it. Lilah, Benny, and me. Tom saw it too.
It’s out here.
Sometimes knowing that is the only thing that keeps me from screaming.
BONUS MATERIAL
ROT & RUIN
Issue #1
Warrior Smart
The Complete Comic Book Script
PAGE 1:
* * *
1.
Full page panel. BENNY IMURA, fifteen, sits on a grassy slope as the sun rises. He leans on a sheathed katana.
CAPTION: I’M BENNY IMURA.
CAPTION: MY PARENTS ARE DEAD.
CAPTION: MOST OF THE WORLD’S DEAD.
CAPTION: MY BROTHER TOM’S DEAD TOO.
CAPTION: HE WAS TRAINING ME TO BE LIKE HIM. TO BE A ZOMBIE HUNTER AND A SAMURAI.
CAPTION: HE DIED SAVING A LOT OF PEOPLE. SAVING ME AND MY FRIENDS.
CAPTION: WE COULDN’T GO HOME. BACK TO MOUNTAINSIDE.
CAPTION: WE SAW SOMETHING THAT COULDN’T BE.
CAPTION: A PLANE. WAY HIGH IN THE AIR. A JUMBO JET.
CAPTION: NOW THE FOUR OF US ARE LOOKING FOR IT. ME. MY GIRLFRIEND, NIX. MY BEST FRIEND, CHONG. AND LILAH, A GIRL WE FOUND LIVING WILD IN THE FOREST. FOUR KIDS. FOUR SAMURAI.
CAPTION: KIND OF.
CAPTION: IT’S A BIG WORLD. THAT PLANE COULD BE ANYWHERE. BUT WE HAVE TO FIND IT.
CAPTION: AFTER ALL . . . WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
PAGE 2:
* * *
NOTE: On pages 2–5 there is a slim vertical panel that shows the exact same view of a sword blade held downward so that the tip is nearly touching the ground. In each panel the sword will be increasingly bloody; and in each it will reflect a different image.
Each of the other panels are wide and horizontal, running from the edge of the vertical sword panel across the rest of the page.
1.
Flashback begins. Sword panel. This panel hugs the left side of the page and runs the whole length. The sword blade is clean. In the bright, polished steel we see a reflection of a baby crying.
2.
Flashback continues. We see four members of a family. TOM, twenty, a handsome Japanese-American in a police academy uniform; BENNY, eighteen months, a half-Japanese toddler; MOM, Irish-American and very pretty, wearing a white long-sleeved casual dress; DAD, Japanese, dressed in a police patrol sergeant’s uniform, tie askew. Dad sits on a dining-room chair as Mom bends to examine a bloody bite.
CAPTION: NOBODY KNOWS HOW IT STARTED.
CAPTION: DAD GOT BIT AT WORK. SOME CRAZY HE ARRESTED.
3.
Flashback continues. Dad, semiconscious on the couch, sweating and gray as Mom frets over him.
4.
Flashback continues. In the foreground, Dad’s dead face, slack and gray. Tom holding Mom (who is holding a wailing Benny) as she screams in horror at her husband’s death.
CAPTION: HE GOT REALLY SICK REALLY FAST. HE DIED BEFORE WE COULD EVEN GET AN AMBULANCE.
CAPTION: JUST LIKE THAT.
5.
Flashback continues. Same angle, but Dad’s eyes are open now. They are gray-green zombie eyes. Tom and Mom stare in horror. Even the baby seems to be shocked.
CAPTION: BUT DEATH KIND OF DIED TOO.
PAGE 3:
* * *
1.
Flashback continues. Vertical sword panel. The orientation of the panel now shifts to one-quarter of the way across the page. The blade has a single line of blood running down the gleaming steel. In the bright, polished steel we see a reflection of a male zombie, Japanese, reaching for whoever is holding the sword. This is Tom and Benny’s dad.
2.
Flashback continues. Mom shoves Benny into Tom’s arms as she begins to rush toward her husband, who is now standing. Tom yells out a warning.
CAPTION: AT FIRST NO ONE KNEW WHAT A ZOMBIE WAS.
3.
Flashback continues. Dad bites Mom’s arm.
CAPTION: GUESS WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY.
CAPTION: THE WRONG WAY.
4.
Flashback continues. Switch to a bedroom. The door is closed. Mom pushes Tom to the window, forcing Benny into his arms. Sleeves are now drenched with blood.
CAPTION: MOM MADE TOM TAKE ME AND RUN.
CAPTION: SHE WAS ALREADY STARTING TO CHANGE.
5.
Flashback continues. The bedroom door bursts open and Dad is there, rushing at Mom.
CAPTION: WHAT ELSE COULD TOM DO?
PAGE 4:
* * *
1.
Flashback continues. Vertical sword panel. The orientation of the panel now shifts to halfway across the page. The blade has several lines of blood on it, and some of the blood is very dark, almost black. In the steel and gore we see the reflection of a little girl zombie.
2.
Flashback continues. Tom huddles with Benny on the lawn, crying and wretched. Benny screams.
CAPTION: IT KILLED HIM TO LEAVE HER.
3.
Flashback continues. Tom stands by the open trunk of his car. We can see his police gear bag and his martial arts bag, from which the handle of his sword can be seen. Shadows fall across Tom’s back, and a few hands reach into frame.
CAPTION: BUT IT WOULD HAVE KILLED US BOTH IF HE DIDN’T DO WHAT HE HAD TO DO.
4.
Flashback continues. Tom whirls to see that the neighbors are there. All are zombies.
CAPTION: WHATEVER HE HAD TO DO.
5.
Flashback continues. A view from inside the trunk as Tom, having clearly placed Benny inside, closes it. He has his katana in his right hand.
CAPTION: NO MATTER WHAT IT COST HIM.
PAGE 5:
* * *
1.
Flashback continues. Vertical sword panel. The orientation of the panel now shifts three-quarters of the way across the page. The blade is mostly covered in blood. We see the reflection of a burning city and a mushroom cloud.
2.
Flashback continues. Also seen from inside. Tom opens the trunk. He is covered with blood and he looks crazed.
CAPTION: NO MATTER HOW MUCH OF HIMSELF HE LOST DOING IT.
3.
Flashback continues. Tom and Benny in the front seat. Tom, still streaked with gore, drives; Benny is in the car seat, screaming. Tom looks absolutely shell-shocked and crazed.
CAPTION: BACK THEN—ON FIRST NIGHT—IT WAS FIGHT, RUN, OR DIE.
4.
Flashback continues. A long traffic jam into a city.
CAPTION: EVERYTHING FELL APART REALLY FAST. EVERY CHOICE WAS A HARD CHOICE.
5.
Flashback continues. The city is in the rearview mirror, very small. A mushroom cloud rises above it.
CAPTION: MOST OF THE CHOICES PEOPLE MADE WERE THE WRONG ONES.
CAPTION: UNTIL IT ALL FELL APART.
PAGE 6:
* * *
1.
Flashback continues. Vertical sword panel. The orientation of the panel now shifts all the way across the page so that it hugs the right-hand side of the page. The blade is completely bloody, and the glistening blood reflects the image of a horde of zombies. Rotting fingers with broken nails begin to intrude into the panel.
2.
Flashback continues. Tom and Benny abandon the dead car.
CAPTION: WHEN THEY NUKED THE CITIES, THEY DIDN’T STOP THE ZOMS. BUT THE EMPS KILLED ALL THE POWER.
CAPTION: THE WORLD WENT DEAD TOO.
3.
Flashback continues. They pass a crashed Black Hawk helicopter.
CAPTION: THE DEAD ROSE.
CAPTION: WE FELL.
4.
Flashback continues. Benny sits on the ground, still crying, as Tom fights two living men?
??one with a club, the other with a sledgehammer.
CAPTION: PEOPLE WENT CRAZY, OR THEY TURNED BAD ’CAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE.
CAPTION: EXCEPT TOM. HE ALWAYS HELD ON TO WHO AND WHAT HE WAS.
5.
Flashback continues. Tom, in his thirties now, and a teenage Benny train together. Tom has the steel sword that Benny will carry throughout the series; Benny has a plain wooden bokken.
CAPTION: TOM FOUND US A HOME. HE HELPED BUILD A TOWN. HE KEPT PEOPLE SAFE. HE HELPED THEM WANT TO BE ALIVE.
CAPTION: WHEN I WAS OLD ENOUGH, HE STARTED TEACHING ME HOW TO BE TOUGH, AND FAIR, AND HONORABLE.
CAPTION: LIKE HIM.
PAGE 7:
* * *
1.
Flashback ends. Benny stands up to put on his carpet coat. (This is designed like an Old West duster, but made of thick carpet. It hangs down past Benny’s knees.)
CAPTION: NOW HE’S GONE. I HAD A CHOICE. BE WEAK AND DIE BEHIND A FENCE. OR GET TOUGH. TO BECOME WARRIOR SMART LIKE TOM.
CAPTION: AT FIRST I DIDN’T WANT TO.
CAPTION: NOW I KNOW I HAVE TO.
2.
We look past him down the hill. There’s a small cottage there with an overgrown front yard. There are two zombies in the yard. An old man and a young woman. He wears farmer’s overalls. She wears the remnants of a waitress’s uniform.
CAPTION: THERE ARE MAYBE THIRTY THOUSAND PEOPLE LEFT ALIVE. THAT WE KNOW OF.
CAPTION: AND SEVEN BILLION ZOMS.
3.
Reverse view, looking past the zombies—who don’t yet see Benny coming down the hill. His sword is slung over his shoulder.
CAPTION: THEY’RE NOT EVIL. THEY’RE NOT ANYTHING.
CAPTION: WE DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY DON’T DIE. OR WHY THEY WANT TO EAT PEOPLE.
4.
View of the legs of the zombies, with the waitress in the foreground. Creeper vines have grown up and tangled around their ankles and calves. Clearly they haven’t moved in a long time.