August Burning (Book 3): Last Stand Read Free Page A

fashion, in the way He has envisioned.”
    Leeroy toppled from his perch atop the pew and fell backwards onto a board game, scattering the pieces and sending the children scrambling. Rising, he finished the last of the moonshine in a single gulp. “That’s right. We’re all here to rebuild this church, except two. Not me, and not him,” his pudgy finger wagged at Bennett’s crouched form.       
    Bennett rose from his sleeping bag, furious Leeroy was so foolish after a few drinks.
    Leeroy either didn’t notice, or pretended not to. His face flush red, he sauntered around the room, till all twelve people there were watching him in horror. Only then did he continue. “See y’all don’t know, being spring arrivals…but Bennett has been here since the beginning. For four hundred forty days, right Bennett? You can see him getting nervous now! I love it. Bennett has been exiled , that’s right. None of the factions will have him.”
    The old man stepped forward, his wispy white hair frazzled in the night’s humidity. “Is that true, Bennett?”
    Bennett groaned inside, but knew he had to seize this opportunity. “I had some disagreements with the faction leaders, before they were faction leaders. So no, I was not invited to join any of their precious factions.”
    The squat woman shooed two children away at her feet to step within a foot of Bennett. She raised her hands to explore his face. He recoiled at first, but then relented, bereft of other options.
    “You’ve made some bad decisions, have you not?”
    Bennett nodded, unable to withdraw himself.
    The woman cooed knowingly. “I know. We all have. But all is forgiven in the light of the Lord. He only asks you give yourself to his mercy, ask for his forgiveness and let Him into your life. We accept you, Bennett.”
    Was it really that easy? Bennett nodded his head emphatically. “It wasn’t chance that led me to this Church. It was something greater.”
    The old man took a step closer in the torchlight, and Bennett could hear the others inside the church rising to their feet. Leeroy was dumbfounded in the corner. “The Lord has led you to us. Once a sinner, and now you are reborn in his Light.”
    A murmur of amen’s from the present crowd. Bennett closed his eyes, and nodded. “I don’t want to be a part of their schemes and their worldly divisions.”
    The old man nodded. “You won’t be. Will they protect us while we are on our mission here? Should we prepare to defend ourselves against the infected?”
    “The factions will protect us. They may not want me,” Bennett assured them, “but they will protect us. In their egotistical way they still think we’re their citizens. We’re on Main Street. The Wolf covers all the ridges surrounding the Valley. The Lion plugs any breaches in the ravines. The Bear protects the settlements, and the Destrier moves everyone around.”
    The sturdy woman added another oil soaked rag to the torch. “You know a lot about them. Should we worry about the Eagle?”
    Bennett’s mouth hung open. “You know about the Eagle?”
    They laughed at him in the church. “We’re religious boy, but we’re not stupid. We’ve heard the rumors. Tell us.”
    Bennett saw Leeroy’s fiendish grin resume in the corner. He ignored it. “The Eagle is the only faction the Council uses to deal with other survivors. They have the best equipment, all the military gear still left, and they’re the most elite. If the Council runs out of food, they send the Eagle to raid other settlements of survivors outside of the valley. If there are rebellious settlements that try to hide their own supplies, they send the Eagle.”
    A silence hung in the smoky room. The matron spoke first. “Will they bother us?”
    Bennett shook his head, “As long as Jaxton is alive and in overall command, they will never hurt us, or me.”
    The matron nodded. “I appreciate the half hearted conversion a minute ago. Time will tell if that was real or not.