Chapter 13
When the boat edged its way near to shore Treyson noticed that flies were everywhere swarming the beach like he had never seen before. After stepping off the boat into knee deep water and wading onto the beach he noticed that the flies were not lighting on the myriad of lifeless sea animals, but on the sand instead and the smell was horrific. He wasn’t the only one that thought so; Elisabeth and Esther were holding their noses with one hand and swatting flies with the other as they walked hastily to get away from the Coney Island beach area. Shaun seemed to be intrigued by the whole thing, unbothered by neither fly or smell as he examined the carcass of what looked like a dolphin, getting close to enough to smell it, then scooping up a handful of sand and putting it to his nose.
“Pee-yoo,” exclaimed Shaun, while shaking the sand from his hand. Running and trying to catch up to the other three, who were quickly leaving the beach, he shouted when he got close, “It’s the sand that stinks.” They ignored him as they moved swiftly until reaching the highway, then allowing him to catch up. They continued down the road leaving the beach, the flies and bad smell behind as Shaun tried to give them his explanation of the foul odor on the beach.
“The bodies don’t smell at all, because they are not rotting just drying up and slowly turning into dust. It’s the sand that has absorbed the fluids that the sea mammals have exuded and the ocean continues to wash ashore,” Shaun said, smiling.
“Mammals,” Esther inquired?
“Sure, only mammals were affected by the plague or whatever it was,” he answered. “Birds, fish and insects still exist in great numbers, as the flies on the beach attest to,” he added. Elisabeth let out a sob quieting the conversation as they pondered Shaun’s words.
They walked silently for a while in the unanticipated warm December morning sun along the maple tree lined, car littered highway, causing Treyson to remove his jacket and throwing it over his shoulder. He could tell the unanticipated warmth was bothering the rest of the group too as they were removing their outer garments. Shaun took off his sweater and tossed it to the ground, stating he would pick up another as needed, which brought a “really” from Esther. Looking at her with a smile he said, ’There is plenty to go around, who knows I might not wear the same thing more than once. There are enough clothes hanging on racks to last a lifetime.”
“Whatever,” was her response as she turned whispering something to Elisabeth?
They were all on edge as death was everywhere from the sidewalks to the car clogged highway. Treyson could tell it bothered Elisabeth the most as she would avert her eyes and start chanting under her breath. He remembered the text from his wife, being told to stay indoors as the government worked on an inoculation, but it must have instead incited panic; from the looks of things people were trying to escape it.
“Look sis” Esther spoke while putting her arm around her, “you might as well get used to it death is everywhere now.” Tears started to swell up in Elisabeth’s eyes.
“Not for long though,” Shaun interrupted, “at the rate the bodies are dispersing they will probably be completely gone by the New Year.”
“Let’s change subject,” Treyson said, “We need a faster way of traveling, because at this rate it will be the New Year before we reach my house.”
“Maybe we should be trying some cars along the way,” Esther said.
“But without dead people,” Elisabeth scolded.
Shaun chuckled looking at Elisabeth. She shot him a glare. Treyson stopped walking and started staring at a house with a yard full of toys. “Maybe,” he said, “we could ride bikes, what I mean is, finding a car that runs would be almost impossible, but bicycle technology hasn’t changed for a long time. Plus the now stopped traffic will have the downtown area clogged and I think we could maneuver a lot easier with bikes.”
“Where exactly is your house, anyway,” Shaun asked?
“It’s in a little village about forty miles north of here, called Scarsdale,” Treyson answered.
“Where are we going to get bikes, steal them out of peoples yards,” Esther asked?
“It wouldn’t be considered stealing if the previous owners are dead,” Shaun replied, smiling.
“No,” Treyson said, “there has to be a shop around here somewhere. We can keep our eyes open.”
“Or, we can ask that person over there,” Elisabeth said with her finger aimed at the doorway of a donut shop across the road.
“Huh” the other three said in unison looking in the direction she was pointing. A figure wearing a light brown trench coat was hunched over looking through the door’s window.
“Hey, my friend,” Shaun yelled across the street.
When he turned around they saw a thin baldheaded man with caramel skin supporting a goatee and a surprised look, which quickly became a smile when he saw them. With hands in coat pockets he ran towards them shouting, “Man, I thought I was the only person left on Earth.” He stopped in front of Treyson, but eyeing the sword at his side moved with hand out in front of Shaun, “my name is Dwayne, and it sure is good to see someone alive.’
Shaun took his hand introducing himself and the other three, telling him they just arrived from Scotland. He noticed a cut across Dwayne wrist that had scabbed over making him pull back. “What’s with the cut, Dwayne,” Shaun asked?
Dwayne pulled his hand back pausing to look at the cut with head down, and then explained, “When I awoke the morning of the plague, the bed sheets were soaked and my wife was dead. I quickly ran to my son’s room, finding him gone also and with dread I went to my daughter’s room finding the same. I broke down crying for a while, then I got real mad and started screaming, why me, why am I still alive. That’s when I did it, I slit my wrist, laid down and waited to die, but it didn’t happen. After a while I decided I’m alive for some reason so I had to figure it out and I’ve been wondering the streets ever since. I haven’t been back to my house since. I just couldn’t see my family like that again.”
“Would you like to hang with us, were headed north to Treyson’s house,” Shaun asked with a glance at Treyson?
A smile with a look of peace came across his face, “I sure would,” he said, “and maybe even find the reason I was allowed to live.”
“Were looking for a bicycle shop, you wouldn’t happen to know where one’s at, would you,” Shaun asked?
“Yea, sure, there’s one right down from my house called Ben’s Bikes, bought one from him just last month...,(he sniffles) for my son’s birthday...,” Dwayne said, his eyes tearing up again.
“Dwayne,” Elisabeth said softly, “it might help you if you let me sing for your family. It will give you some peace. I think I could help you.”
“Sis,” Esther cautioned
“Obviously he needs some closure,” Elisabeth retorted.
“I’m not sure, but I will try if you think it will help, Elisabeth,” he said with a smile.
“All right,” Treyson spoke up while looking at Shaun, “you and Elisabeth go with Dwayne to his house, while Esther and I go to the bike shop, after he shows us where it’s at, ok?”
“Come on, I will show you,” he said with a muffled sob and a hand motion for them to follow, and then started walking. Treyson and Shaun looked at each other shrugging their shoulders and followed with Esther and Elisabeth close behind them. He led them down an alley that seemed to divide a residential area keeping them off the main road, telling them he doesn’t like looking at all the dead. After about ten or so minutes of they came to a t-intersection, “my house is to the right about a block and the bike shop is to your left about two blocks,” Dwayne said pointing down the road.
Treyson, looking at Shaun, spoke, “don’t take too long, I would like to make it to my house tonight sometime.”
“I will do what I can to speed up the process,” Shaun said with a wink, as the three of them started walking towards Dwayne’s place.
“Be careful, sis,” Esther called out to Elisabeth.
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“I will,” she looked back and smiled.
As they walked the other direction, Esther informed Treyson of what growing up with Elisabeth was like. Telling him of the first time she sang, it was for their pet hamster that died when they were six, “we were both crying, then she just started singing, it made me start laughing because I thought she was joking. It didn’t even sound like singing to me, but that’s what she calls it. After that she would sing anytime something died even the neighbor’s animals, once she remembered, she started singing at our uncle’s funeral, Dad had to take her outside. Since the plague when she sings, she claims the dead talks to her afterwards; believe it or not that’s why we sailed by Scotland.”
“It’s magic,” he said stopping and looking at her, “Elaina told me it would appear after the renewal and that it would aid me on my quest. It seems as she was right we have two in our group with the gift.”
“Who’s the other,” she asked?
Treyson smiled, “believe it or not Shaun has magic. I saw him charm a group of people at his pub; I think he could still do that if he wanted to.”
Esther laughed, “He does remind me sometimes of a leprechaun.”
Treyson laughed too as they again started walking towards the bike shop. Once they got close they noticed the big colorful hand painted sign “Ben’s Bikes” over the wide, white overhead door, the door at the front entrance stood ajar. Stepping in Treyson realized why, the proprietor lay on the floor just inside, arm and hand outstretched and keys just inches away. Flipping the light switch on, but nothing happened, causing a “Duh” to escape from his lips. It’s strange, Treyson thought, how emotionally offset I have become towards death, as he walked past the body picking up the keys. For some reason Treyson wasn’t sure why, he pushed the open button for the overhead door expecting it to rise, smiling in spite of himself as it too did nothing. Pulling and releasing the cable Treyson then manually lifted the door allowing light and Esther to enter.
The bright sunlight hit the bicycles that were lined up in neat rows, with a heavy chain snaking through the front spokes linking them all together, causing them to shine.
Thinking about the electricity, he commented out loud how things are going to be different, “without power our lives won’t be the same,” Treyson said as he bent down to remove the lock from the chain.
Esther pulled the chain from the spokes freeing them up, “Yea, I know, showers and microwaves, them, I will greatly miss.” She looked over at Treyson, quickly adding, “And fast cars.”
“I really don’t understand the whole concept of technology failing, I mean gas will always be gas and I don’t think chemicals can change,” Treyson spoke while inspecting a dark blue bike and after deciding on it, he pushed it out into the sunlight. He watched as Esther took her time, sitting on a couple of them muttering something about a soft seat under her breath then choosing a light green one and parking it beside Treyson’s. She then returned inside as Treyson watched without saying a word and chose her bikes exact twin for Elisabeth.
Treyson got on the bike he had chosen an made a short test drive down the alley and back, then made a comment to Esther who was donning a green riding helmet, “I’m getting too old to ride bikes,” smiling as he got off and flipped the kickstand down.
She smiled then said, “I’m getting hungry. How about we ride and find something to eat. Knowing Elisabeth and her singing, we will be waiting awhile.”
“That’s ok with me,” he said, while making a shoulder harness from two leather straps to secure his sword to his back while he rides. After making some adjustments with it attached, he gripped the hilt and easily pulled the sword from the scabbard.
“Nice,” Esther remarked after watching Treyson, “we better leave them a note just in case they return before we do,” she added. She went inside for a moment and came back out with a sheet of paper with a note scribbled telling them to wait and that they went for some food. She hung it on the door attaching it to a hook that was already there. Treyson led out, but Esther quickly caught up and rode beside him telling him they should go to a supermarket to get groceries because the food at most restaurants would have spoiled by now. He agreed.