Anarchy on Earth

~24~

Of ALL THE POSSIBLE SHOWS TO WATCH

Miranda, Griffin, TK, and Jordan decided to watch The Shuffling Dead. It was one of the most disturbing thing I had ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I had watched the show before the disaster... but then, when I saw them watch it so normally, made me sick. Anyway, we had scavenged though the house with ease. Everything was still there. Clothes, food, old toys, still no books, dead electronics, still no books, and to TK's obvious pleasure, tacos. We had rooted through all the clothes.  While the rest of them sat on the couch, watching the show, I was on the roof. I had taken me a couple minutes to get up there, but I found a way.

I looked down as the wind blew at my face. I looked over the district. I could see the river from there. Pinedale was just beyond the trees.

We didn't even get that far away. I thought. Just across the river.

It was a nice view, you had to admit. Without the cars, and the sounds of everyday life, you could almost enjoy things. I took a second to actually realize how well the environment could improve because of this. If nothing was working, and the world was actually gone, like we thought, there would be no more pollution in the long run. After the last of the strangers die off from starvation or decay, the planet could rebuild... natural selection could choose another race to be dominant. The dinosaurs had their run. They got far, but died. Then the humans... we got farther, but now our time was up. My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a voice.

"Thinking about anything in particular?" A familiar voice asked.

I jumped, and turned my head. Jackson was walking along the ridge of the roof, grinning like an idiot. I sprang up, and went to hit him in the face. He dodged the blow, and stepped back.

"Easy now, kid...I came to-"

"What? Try to kill us again?" I asked, stepping up close to him. He didn't flinch. "Because of you, we've lost two!"

How do you like my sick rhymes? You... two? Get it? BARS.

"I know. I know you must be feeling pretty at fault right now-"

"A little? I've been looking out for these people for almost two and a half weeks, and you think it's okay to reveal all of us? After everything you did for us? Why?"

"You misunderstand why I came-"

"No, I know exactly why you came-"

Jackson punched me across the jaw. I saw stars, and I flew back and hit the chimney. I sunk to the ground, looking up at him. Blood trickled from my mouth. I coughed.

"What are you waiting for?" I spat. "Kill me. My evening was going great until you showed up."

Jackson shook his head, and knelt down next to me.

"I don't claim to know anything about you, nor do I personally care about your life story, but you sure as hell know nothing about me. I would have loved it to stay that way for the rest of my life, but you see... I feel bad about what I've done, and I'm trying to make amends." Jackson growled.

"You still ruined it for us." I coughed.

"You think I had a choice?" He said, looking up. "You have no idea what went on!"

"Then tell me!" I whispered, sharply, trying not to draw attention.

Jackson sighed, and pulled off his hood for the first time. My eyes widened. Scars crisscrossed his face. Down the side of his face, across his eyes, and his jaw. His eyes were bloodshot. It looked like he hadn't slept in days. He was even paler than I thought.

"Kyle and I were in the neighborhood gang together up in Brookevale. When the thing kicked off, he told me I had to kill you. At first, I didn't care. I'll readily admit I'd killed people before... to me, this was another Tuesday."

I nodded, a bit shocked that he had been a part of the Brooks. I still listened.

"When I saw you...when you told me you needed to go inside your house, I should have killed you there... but I let you go. Something told me to do it. I met Kyle in the street. He cut me across the face twice. I saw you again. Should have killed you then. But by that time, I liked you. I helped you out of the district. Kyle almost killed me when we met up in Pinedale. I went rouge for 12 days, but came back in the end to help you guys leave again. I was going to get you out of the area again. I knew by then that Riverside North had fallen. I just needed to get you out."

I didn't know how to respond to any of this. I sighed, and looked down.

"Continue." I told him.

Jackson hesitated. "Kyle beat me down again... told me that if I didn't bring in you and your buddies, he'd kill me himself. I had no choice. I led you all in. I knew you could get rid of Kyle in time... the kid was a wimp, and you did... well, actually, more like your demonic friend did. That was really bad-"

" Cut to the chase." I said, standing up.

"I'm sorry." He said, looking at me, his red eyes changing color to a stormy grey. "For everything I've done... and I'm hoping you can trust me again... maybe not like you used to, but at least more than you do now."

It was a lot to take in. I didn't want to accept his apology... but it was up-front. I understood about Kyle. He was a lot to deal with.

"Jackson, I'll never trust you like I used to, just a couple days ago..." I said, as his face dropped. "But, I think I understand what you went through, and I accept your apology."

Did I? No. Absolutely not. It would take a lot of convincing to get him back on my side.

"Thank you. I think you'd better get some rest. You got a big couple days ahead of you."

"Why?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Didn't you here on the radio? Union City International Airport's last set of flights is in four days. That's three districts away on foot. After that, the army's gonna start firebombing the East Coast to stop the spread of disease."

I swore. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'll be there when you need me most." He said.

And he was gone.

I looked around for him. Where was he?

"Oh, yeah..." His voice whispered, yet he was still nowhere to be found. "To some people, you may be worth more dead than alive. Not to me pal. Make your life count."

And he was gone again.

I sighed, and lay down next to the chimney again. I faded off to sleep, the wind blowing in my face.