After Siege (As the World Dies 4)

“He’s not in that corpse, Macy,” Juan said gently. “Your son is not that thing in there. You have to let him be at peace.”

Macy hugged herself, dragging a shuddering breath into her lungs. Emma could tell she was struggling to accept the truth. “I brought him all this way to save him. People died to get me here. Rickie died so that Julian could be cured.”

“You did your best by him. Clive and Julian both know that,” Emma assured her.

Rune wiped his brow with a trembling hand. “You’d be doing him a kindness letting him go, ma’am.”

Macy shook her head adamantly. “No. You don’t understand. I kept him clean. I made sure his wound was wrapped. I didn’t let him bite or eat anyone. I’ve kept him from becoming one of those things out there. If I can just find someone with the cure, they can bring him back!”

“He’s decaying, Macy,” Emma said motioning to the air freshener. “It’s happening real slowly, but it is happening. No one can come back from that.”

Tears trailed down Macy’s cheeks and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “No. The man on the radio said that if the body didn’t have lethal wounds the cure would work.”

“But there isn’t a cure,” Juan reminded her softly. “It was a lie.”

“Why would someone lie? Why would that do that to me and the others?” Macy flung up her hands and paced in front of the door. “No, no. Somewhere around here there has to be a lab and-”

Shakily, Rune stood and reached out to stop Macy in mid-stride. “Macy, Clive says you need to let go of Julian. Let him take your son into the light and give him peace. Julian is chained to you. He hasn’t moved on because he’s confused. The corpse bewilders the boy because he knows it ain’t him, but you talk to it like it is him. Julian is afraid because he doesn’t understand. He is struggling because he feels guilty about dyin’ and not being able to climb back into his body. He’s tried, Macy, so many times. For you.”

“Oh, God,” Macy whispered. “Oh, God, what have I done?”

Rune released her arm and she turned away, hands over her face.

“We’ve all lost people we love,” Juan said gently. “All of us have gone through the hell of loss. At some point, we all have to let go. No matter how hard it is.”

Nodding, Macy lowered her hands. “I know. I just thought…”

“My daughter and grandson died the first day. I found out because they came to warn me about the end of the world.” Rune set his hands on his belt buckle and lowered his gaze. “It was hard to see them like that. Ghosts often carry the wounds of their deaths on their spirit bodies until they cross over. Julian is a handsome boy. He didn’t suffer the death my daughter and grandson did. That was a blessing. Take it and hold it close to your heart. You did your best and now you have to do what is right.”

Eyes flicking toward the bathroom door, Macy didn’t immediately reply. Seconds ticked by, loaded with many possibilities. Juan released Emma’s hand, patted her shoulder, and stepped to one side while swinging his rifle into position. Cautiously, he approached the windows. Emma wondered if he’d heard something and was about to follow to investigate, when Macy broke the silence.

“Maybe I should leave him

here. Just in case.”

“If you leave him here, ma’am, you will keep your son’s spirit trapped. Julian will stay here. Do you want that?”

Emma expected Macy to say she was fine with that proposition, but was pleasantly surprised when the mother shook her head. Tears glistening on her cheeks, Marcy stepped closer to the radiator. She stared hard into the shadows.

“Are they both there?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Clive will take him to heaven, right? If…if…” Macy glanced toward the quaking door.

“He will take him into the light.”

Emma was about to edge toward Juan, when Macy trained her gaze on her.

“What would you do, Emma?”

“My son died and came back. It took me over a year to find him, but when I did I put a bullet through his head and buried him.” It was difficult to keep a steady voice, but somehow she managed it.

“How?” Macy shot her a disbelieving look. “How could you do that?”

“To give him, and me, final peace. I couldn’t stand the idea of him wandering around like that. Chewed up, dead, trying to kill other folks…I did what I had to do.”

“I need some time to decide,” Macy declared, sniffling.