Episode 3: Sitting on the Fence

Episode 3

"Sitting on the Fence"

I stayed up all night thinking, about everything that has happened so far. I sat on the roof and watched the stars, it was really relaxing out. Quiet night. I could hear the sound of crickets, and owls. Patrick climbed up on top of the roof with me. He sat beside me.

"You ok?" he asked me.

"Yeah fine, I've just never seen someone die like that before, we should have done that more professional."

"Like how?"

"Maybe just slip a knife into him or something." I said.

"That could work, next time. Let's just hope there isn't a next time though."

"How long do you think this will last for?" I asked.

"Hard to say, the news said Toronto would be cleared out in a couple of days, we should definitely head there as soon as it's cleared."

"Kayla needs a normal life, I really hope this doesn't last much longer. I will try my best to shield her from this until then. If she really knows what's out there, she won't be the same ever again. All she knows is that there are crazy people outside, that's it."

"She's a strong kid, Kayla." said Patrick.

We climbed down and headed inside, we needed to get some rest for tomorrow. I don't think anyone will though, Paul just died. We can't get over that in one night, especially not Sabrina. I went to my room to see Kayla fast asleep in bed. I smiled, everything will be alright. I walked over and turned the T.V on, to see the latest update. I didn't like what I saw, that's for damn sure. The news lady looked even more scared, she kept stuttering.

"We apologize, but the military says they won't have Toronto cleared within a few days, it's deadlier than they predicted. The military says three weeks, and Toronto will be cleared. They advise everyone to hold out as best as they can until then. This will be our last broadcast."

The news lady pulled out a gun and shot herself in the head, followed by another gunshot, then the camera dropped. I quickly turned off the T.V and paced the room. My face got red, and my eyes teary. I can't believe what I just saw. They must know something we don't, why would they kill themselves? Now I know one thing, this virus is not temporary. I couldn't sleep that night, I crawled in bed beside Kayla to only find myself staring at the ceiling. I can't believe it, even the news has lost hope. The military can't help us, and we already lost one group member. If things keep going like this, we'll all be dead by next week.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of birds chirping, Kayla was gone, she must be in the kitchen eating breakfast or something. I opened the blinds and looked out the window, it was sunny and warm looking. Even at the end of the world, it still looks hopeful. But from what I saw last night, there is no hope. I don't know what I am going to tell Patrick, I suppose I don't tell him anything. What are the odds he watched that? Nobody saw it but me, I'll keep it that way, I don't need to worry anyone now. Not right after Paul just died. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. I noticed a small beard being formed. I then got dressed and walked downstairs to the kitchen. That's where I saw everyone eating breakfast, all except Sabrina. She was probably in her room, not wanting to come out.

"You know one thing you don't have?" I asked Patrick.

He turned to see me, "What is that?"

"A razor."

"I know, the one thing we don't have here at the Patrick Inn."

I chuckled and sat down, trying to hide how scared I really was. Margaret was reading the news paper, of course it was old newspaper. Mark was eating his food as fast as he could.

"Why so fast?" Patrick asked him.

"I don't know, I'm just hungry." Mark replied.

Patrick then walked into another room, and a few minutes later he came back out with five handguns, he put them out on the table.

"One for everyone." he said, "We need to start protecting ourselves."

"Wait, you're not giving one to Kayla are you?" I asked Patrick.

"She needs one Jeff, I'll teach her how to use one."

"She doesn't need one, I'll protect her." I argued.

"What if you aren't there Jeff?" Patrick asked, "Any freak accidents happen like yesterday, she'll need to protect herself. Trust me."

I sighed, Patrick was right. If anything were to happen to Kayla and she couldn't defend herself, I would never forgive myself. She needs a gun.

"Fine." I agreed.

Later that day, Patrick and Mark worked on the fences, while I taught Kayla how to shoot a gun. I knew how from when I was little, my dad used to take me hunting. He died a few weeks after Samantha went missing, I guess you could say everyone was having a rough time around then. I covered Kayla's ears and she shot her gun, she missed the target we were aiming for badly, but she'll get better. We went a couple more times, and after the sixth shot, she finally hit the target. I hope it won't take her that many shots to bring down a strangler. I taught her how to turn the safety on and off, and she will now keep it in her pocket every day. After I finished teaching Kayla how to shoot, Patrick and Mark were already half done the fence, I jumped in to speed the process up. At about six o'clock, it was finished. The fence was big enough to keep a strangler away from the house. All made up of wood. We went inside for dinner. I realized that Sabrina didn't come out all day today, and I should go see if she is ok. I went upstairs to her room and knocked. There was no answer. I creaked the door open to see her hugging her pillow, just sitting on her bed. I walked in and she looked at me.

"Is it ok if I come in?" I asked.

She nodded.

I sat down on her bed beside her.

"How you holding up?" I asked.

"Not good." she sniffled. "Paul was my life, I loved him so much."

"I know you did, but he's watching over you right now. He is still with you, don't you worry."

She broke down crying again and hugged me, she wouldn't let go either. I guess she really needed someone there for her right now.

I brought her down to the kitchen for dinner, and we all sat and had a quiet supper. Nobody wanted to talk, but we didn't have to. We heard a banging noise outside. I sat up and pulled my gun out of my pocket and walked outside, Patrick and Mark followed. I looked around the lawn for anything, that's when I saw something. There was a figure, lying down in the grass. I ran over to the person in the grass. It was a normal person, they weren't a strangler that's for sure. He had his hands over his head and he was crying.

"Please don't hurt me man! I didn't mean it."

"What didn't you mean?" I asked, I kept my gun trained on him.

"I broke your fence."

I looked over and saw part of it toppled over. No big deal, we can fix that right up in the morning.

"Come with me." I ordered.

He stood up and I brought him back to the house, Patrick and Mark saw him and freaked out.

"What the hell?" Mark exclaimed.

"I found him lying down crying." I explained. "I'm bringing him in to ask some questions."

I brought the crying man to the living room away from the rest of the group. I asked to be alone with him so we wouldn't frighten him. I now got a better look at him now that we were in better lighting and not darkness. He had blonde dreadlocks and cargo shorts, he also wore a muscle shirt.

"I can explain everything mister." he cried.

"Then explain." I ordered.

"I have this one group, and they never take me seriously. I'm the youngest there and I'm always trying to prove myself, so tonight I decided I would go get some supplies for them and show them I can be a helpful cause to the group. So, I found your house and I decided I would take some stuff. I broke the fence and it made a loud noise. I laid in the grass and waiting for you to find me, I already knew I was screwed when the fence broke."

"I never caught your name." I said.

"Ian." he replied.

I thought for a while, this guy tried to rob us, but he had a good cause. He didn't seem too harmful, I almost felt bad for him. I walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, I grabbed some food cans and brought them back in the living room. I handed them to him.

"Now go." I said.

"Thank you, thank you so much. It's greatly appreciated man."

He sat up and started to walk out, I followed him out. People kept on staring at him, he looked very nervous. I had my gun ready incase he wanted to try anything stupid. I opened the front door for him and followed him out, he opened the gate and left, running away in the distance as fast as he could.

I went back inside where everyone was waiting for me. Patrick was sitting at the end of the table, and he looked angry.

"What?" I asked.

"Why did you just give away our food?" Patrick asked.

"We have tons, and he really looked like he needed some. I was just trying to be helpful."

"Helpful will get you killed in this world, it's every group for themselves."

"Ok, sorry." I said.

We all sat down to eat, but I didn't agree with Patrick one bit. I know he is the leader of this group, and that is the only reason I am not arguing with him. I knew I was right though, I thought Patrick liked helping people, that's why he helped us in the first place. Oh well, he'll get over it. After dinner of us not saying much, I cleaned up and washed the dishes, I guess it was my way of saying sorry about helping that guy. While I was washing the dishes, Kayla walked up to me and tugged on my shirt. I looked down at her.

"What?" I asked.

"That man looked scary, I didn't like him." she said.

"Why is that?"

"He stole something."

What? Did Ian actually steal something from us? I put the dishes in the sink and slowly knelt down to face Kayla.

"What did he steal?" I calmly asked her.

"A gun, I saw him swipe it from Patrick when he wasn't paying attention."

My heart dropped, Patrick is going to kick us out if I was the reason his gun was stolen. I'm sure Ian is no threat though, he was just a jittery teenager that needed a gun to survive. Patrick walked downstairs, I could hear the stairs creaking, I got scared. When he got to the bottom, he faced me and asked.

"Has anyone seen my gun?"

I didn't know what to say, I can't lie to Patrick, but I can't tell him the truth either.

"I don't know." I said.

"Huh, it was there at dinner."

He then paused and thought about it for a while.

"You think it was that Ian dude?"

I shrugged, as long as I didn't tell him, he'd never know.

"Ian took it. I saw him." Kayla blurted out.

"What?"

"He stole it, I saw him swipe it from your holster thingy."

"Impossible!" Patrick said, "I would have felt it."

"Maybe Ian is a good stealer." Kayla said.

"It's thief, not stealer." I corrected, even though it really didn't matter.

"Did you know about this Jeff?" Patrick asked me.

I sighed, "Not until he left."

I was waiting for Patrick to kick me out, ever since I was here, bad things have happened to this group. Paul died, the news gives up on hope, Ian shows up, and Ian causes trouble. I deserve to leave. Instead of Patrick getting angry at me, he totally forgot about me, and focused on Ian.

"Let's get this son of a bitch." he said.