While some kept their wits and helped others to keep their wits, others used the event to their own advantage and even more death and chaos ensued.
“What time is it,” Maddy asked.
Reynolds and Diddo stood watching the ruined Oklahoma City horizon. The abandoned buildings in the distance danced in the flickering light of the fires that burned uncontrolled.
A few armed guards wandered around the roof of the facility. The inky darkness swallowed them when they wandered away from the torches and lanterns that lit the perimeter of the building.
“1130,” Reynolds said.
“At night,” Maddy asked.
“No, in the morning,” Diddo replied, no sarcasm in his voice.
“But it’s still dark. So dark.”
“Yes”
“Is it cloudy? Ash?”
After the zombie outbreak was controlled people were burning bodies. Everyone remembered days when the sky was nothing but a gray gauze and the sun was a pale glowing orb struggling to shine through.
“No. Diddo says the stars faded out.”
“And the moon. We watched as they slowly dimmed and then were gone.”
“That’s not possible. Where’s the sun at?”
Reynolds sensed the edge panic in Maddy’s voice.
Diddo eyed her as if her panic was contagious. Perhaps they all should be panicked but he and his men had other things to worry about.
“What the hell is going on, Reynolds,” Maddy asked.
She was their lead medic. Usually cool and calm. Some would say heartless. But this was not her. This was not the normal Maddy everyone depended on to treat wounds and keep firing at the same time.
“Maddy, calm down, you’re freaking out the others.”
“Yeah, chica, Your guess is as good as anyones,” Diddo said.
He walked away from Reynolds and the confused Maddy.
“Is everyone still asleep,” Reynolds asked.
“Yeah, but they are going to start waking up when they realize they’ve overslept.”
“They are going to panic,”
“Um, you bet your life they will. The fucking sun is gone,” Maddy said. “Oh shit, Christine is going to have a field day.”
She was suddenly a different person. Tactical instead of worried.
“Yeah, End of days, the Reckoning. She’s going to rile everyone up.”
Diddo came back from dispersing a small group of guards.
“Gotta keep them from gossiping and focus on the job,” Diddo said.
“Maddy just realized what we were talking about earlier.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Diddo said. “I believe in God and all but what the loca loon preaches is not helping anyone here.”
“How many people does she have following her,” Maddy asked.
“Twenty right now,” Diddo chimed in. “At most twenty-five.”
“This whole thing with the sun disappearing may add more to her congregation,” Reynolds said.
“I was about to go down and join her,” Maddy said. “What are you going to do?”
“I say we kill her and cast out those of her followers that object,” Diddo said.
Reynolds knew he was completely serious. And while it should have bothered him it didn’t.
Twice Diddo has saved them all from dangers they couldn’t see right away and twice it was a shock to everyone around them when he did it. He saw things that others didn’t and he acted on them.
“Easy, Diddo,” Maddy said. “Any of your men with her?”
“Pssh, nah, my boys are smarter than that.”
“Smarts has nothing to do with it,” Reynolds said. “Your guys have their own survival and the survival of everyone else to worry about. To keep them going. Others don’t have the fight to keep them going and look for it elsewhere.”
“Like religion,” Maddy said.
“Well I’m counting on none of her followers having the fight in them when we must act,” Diddo said.
“Hopefully she won’t put it in them,” Maddy said.
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