Corpse Harvest, Chapter 14:

Angela tailed behind Owen as the two moved through the woods, vengeance guiding their steps. She knew not what Owen was thinking, but there was definitely a problem with their plan. If Luke and Dale were hostile, then it was possible that they would have to resort to lethal violence, which she wanted to avoid.

After a few minutes, they exited the forest near Horn Ranch just as Owen had said. As they followed the path towards the exit to Flute Fields, Angela decided to voice her concern.

"I know what Dale did was unforgivable, but we're going to offer him mercy, right?" she asked.

"He murdered one of our own in cold blood," Owen responded coldly.

"I'm not sure if they've really thought their plan through," Angela said. "Besides, if we kill them, how can we be any better?"

"We didn't make the first move," Owen said bluntly. Angela frowned at this statement. Would Owen go too far? There was only one way to find out...

Angela was too absorbed in her thoughts to register that heading to the carpenters required passage through her property. Without so much of a glance at her home, the two pressed on towards the bridge leading to the Garmon Mines district.

Owen held up a hand, signaling Angela to stop. The carpenters' house was in view. "Looks like there are plenty of windows to enter from," he said in a whisper. Well, as much of a whisper that could be made with the roar of a nearby waterfall.

"Where do you think they'd be?" Angela asked.

"Well... there are four rooms in the house, not counting their attic. They'd most likely be in the rooms on the left side of the house... the main workplace or Dale's room," Owen said.

"So are we entering from the right?"

"I think it's the safest best... they'll see us if we enter from the left, and even if we run at them it could be too late. If they don't see us, we'll have a better shot."

"So wait, what are we doing then?" Angela asked anxiously.

"We're armed, and I doubt they are. If we break in and take too long, then they'll be armed with guns. We have to break in and sprint right at them before they have a chance to get their weapons. It's dangerous, but it's our only shot," Owen explained.

Angela wanted to object, but it was really the only way to do things. She didn't want to do this, but if they waited then the carpenters would come for them first, and at that point there would be little they could do. It was now or never. Angela took some deep breaths to try and calm her nerves and, reaching the calmest she could possibly get, told Owen that she was ready.

As they quietly ran up to the building, their hearts jumped in their bodies as they heard barking. Chief peeked from around the far corner of the house and both growled and barked. He looked like too much of a coward to attack them, but now Dale and Luke had a bit more time to react!

Owen ran up to the nearest window and swung the sledgehammer at it with great strength, not only shattering the glass but also breaking part of the window's grid. He quickly bashed at it a few more times to get an opening that he could enter from, and both he and Angela squeezed through the new passage.

"What the hell!?" Dale could be heard exclaiming. Without hesitation, Owen followed the source of the voice and entered the main work area of the store, where Dale was approaching his shotgun. Angela lacked the raw courage Owen had and hesitated, so she watched as Owen swung the hammer, hitting Dale's hand and knocking him to the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" Dale exclaimed as he cradled the wrist of his injured hand. Owen was about to deliver more retribution, but the door to Dale's room burst open, and Luke emerged holding Hayden's shotgun.

"Stop right there!" he exclaimed. Angela quickly moved back in the kitchen. The carpenters didn't know she was there! She very slowly peeked around the corner of the wall and saw Owen put down his hammer and raise his hands above his head.

"I'd help you up, dad, but I know as soon as I lower the gun this firebrand's going to attack me," Luke said as he stared at Owen.

"Of course I will, you piece of trash. How dare you turn against us!" he growled.

"You want to know why I turned against you?" Luke asked. "Because I realize this is the perfect opportunity to start anew! I can be the king and Selena can be my queen! But I know none of you will agree with me!"

"Are you kidding me?" Owen asked with disbelief.

"Of course not! My dad's right! Someone made this mess, which means the world is never going to be the same. It doesn't matter if we stop it here; it's going to show up somewhere else. I want the life of glory I always wanted before the dead come crashing down on us!" Luke shouted.

Angela was fed up with hearing this crap. "You're ridiculous!" she shouted as she walked into the main room. Dale was slowly getting up, trying to avoid using his injured hand as he did so. Knowing that there was no way he'd take the gun off of Owen, she walked over and kicked Dale back to the ground.

"That's for Hayden," she growled as Dale groaned as he held the side that she had kicked.

"Stop it right now, Angela. I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you keep this up," Luke threatened.

"I'm honestly sickened, Luke. You want Selena to be your 'queen'? How about asking her out like a normal person! We've all had our fair share of pain, and you're just making things worse!" Angela shouted.

"You better put that axe down right now!" Luke shouted.

"Don't!" Owen urged her, but Angela didn't listen. She tossed the axe down and walked closer to Luke.

"And what, exactly, is your life of glory going to be in this village?" Angela asked. "What the hell can you do to 'live it up' in this piece of shit village outside of a rape spree? Is that what you're going to do? Or are you going to go to some other village ignorant of the undead? The cops may ignore talk of zombies, but they'll sure as hell respond to a pair of crazy gunmen!"

"I... back up!" Luke shouted as he pointed the gun at Angela, who was now just a few feet away from him. As soon as he did this, Owen charged forward and grabbed the gun, attempting to wrestle it out of Luke's grip.

"I think that's enough," Dale said, drawing the attention of the three. In their fervor, he had gotten to his feet and retrieved his shotgun. Instead of holding the barrel with his injured hand, he was resting it on his arm. Owen reluctantly let go of the gun and backed away.

"You two were fools to attack us," he continued. "The world's over as far as I'm concerned, so I'll do whatever the hell I want! That includes getting me a piece of ass if I feel like it!"

"I'm sure Lucy would love that," Angela spat.

"You shut up! You don't know what it's like to lose your wife!" Dale shouted.

"Everyone now knows what it's like to lose someone important, Dale," Owen said as he glared at him.

"Whatever," Dale said dismissively. "You two, over next to the wall," he commanded, motioning his gun next to them. They really didn't want to heed his commands, but it's not like they had a choice. They walked towards the wall opposite Dale.

"Turn around. I don't want to see the look on your face when I kill you," Dale growled. Angela's heart sank to her stomach as she bowed her head and complied. They had failed... there was nothing they could do to help the others. Who knows what atrocities these two would commit now...

"Damn it! I said turn around!" Dale yelled to Owen.

"If you're going to kill me, then look me in the eyes like a man," Owen said calmly as he stared down Dale. Angela had submitted to Dale's commands and was facing away, but Owen could see what was happening. Their words got through to Luke. He had quietly set down his gun and was now picking up the axe that Angela tossed aside.

"Dad?" Luke asked.

"What?" Dale barked.

"Put down the gun," he said half-pleading, half-ordering.

"They have to pay for hurting me!" Dale exclaimed, not taking his eyes off of Owen. He gasped as Luke shoved him so that his gun was no longer pointing at the two and swung the axe down as it cut deep into Dale's upper back. He roared in pain and fell to the ground, writhing in agony. Luke planted his foot on his father's body and pulled out the axe, causing blood to gush out of the wound.

"L-Luke?" Angela asked in shock as she turned around.

"You were right, Angela. I was wrong. I always looked up to dad and wanted to do what he did, but what he said... disrespecting mom like that... making it clear he wasn't going to back down even after I realized that this was wrong... this is the only thing that can be done," he said lowly.

"You... backstabbing... mother...f-" Dale struggled to say through the pain, but his words were cut off as Luke cried out in pain as he brought the axe down a second time, this blow silencing Dale forever.

Luke sobbed as he turned away from his father's body and fell to his knees.

"Luke..." Angela said quietly.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Oh, dad, why did it have to be like this?" Luke lamented. Owen placed a comforting hand on Luke's shoulder.

"You did the right thing... like you said, it had to be done. But it's okay now... we'll cremate him with the others," Owen said. Luke wiped his eyes, nodded, and stood back up. "Angela, get the weapons. We'll take the mine cart back."

She nodded and gathered up the axe, sledgehammer, the two shotguns, and Cain's rifle that was back in Dale's room. The axe was cleaned off a bit with some towels, and she cradled the five weapons in both of her arms as Luke and Owen lifted Dale's body and left the house.

Chief walked up to the three of them and whimpered. The dog did not know exactly what had happened, but he had heard unpleasant noises and could tell that something was wrong.

"It's okay, boy... everything's okay now," Luke said quietly. "Just stay here and be a good boy, okay?"

The three pressed on, and Chief did as Luke said and stayed behind. The only zombies left were all concentrated in Harmonica Town, so the dog was in no danger at all.

The ride back towards the church was a somber trip with no words. They approached the bonfire without a sound and threw Dale's body in with the rest. Luke closed his eyes and prayed as his father's body burned, hoping that their silent cries would make it through to someone, anyone...

Cain collapsed to his knees, his jaw agape in disbelief and shock. Tears welled up in his eyes. This couldn't be real! This had to be some sick joke, or a nightmare of some kind! There was no way...

Dead. They were all dead. Their bodies were sprawled throughout the lobby, and the stench of blood was thick in the air. The wounds they suffered and what was still clutched in their hands painted a grisly event. He knew not why, but they had all killed themselves with the polearms and other improvised weapons. He was baffled until a certain mocking sneer entered his head. That witch... she did this!

Some part of him knew that remaining in the open for too long would bring the zombies down on him, but he was too overwhelmed to think rationally, let alone care about his life. What was he with his dear wife and baby girl gone?

He had not broken down into a mess of tears and sobbing yet. His mind was still trying to process what he saw before him as reality. Right before he hit the breaking point, he noticed a body twitch. One by one, each of them got to their feet, now one of the undead. But how? This wasn't how it worked at all!

"Caaaaaiiiiiiiiiinnnnn... CAAAAAIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!" came the growls from the zombies' lips as they slowly approached him. And in front of the crowd was his sweet Renee, one of the polearms jammed into her eye. "Daaaaa... ddyyyyy..." she croaked as she got close enough to grab him. Cain closed his eyes as Renee opened her mouth and moved in for the kill...

"Cain! CAIN!" he heard normal voices shout in worry.

"Daddy! Daddy, what's wrong! Snap out of it!" Renee cried as she shook her father.

Cain opened his eyes, and everything was now normal. He got up and stumbled forward in a stupor, wiping the tears from his eyes as he got in the inn and the door was closed. He then realized that the entirety of what he saw was an illusion the witch put on him. He had been played like a fool...

"I saw the witch outside... she played with my mind," Cain said, silencing the voices of concern that were buzzing around his head, for the traumatic experience had left him feeling dizzy.

"The witch? She's in town?" Bo asked anxiously. He made a mistake by speaking up. As soon as Cain heard his voice, he roared in anger and charged him, lifting him up and ramming him into a wall.

"You little shit!" he roared as he held up Bo against the wall. "How dare you let us go out there without even telling us!"

"I... I'm sorry!" Bo exclaimed with fright, his voice struggling due to the pain that Cain had afflicted on him. "I wanted to... but I couldn't!"

"Cain! What is the meaning of this?" Hanna shouted in a scolding tone, her voice instinctively causing Cain to drop Bo.

"The carpenters betrayed us," Cain said lowly as he turned to face the rest of the survivors. "Held us at gunpoint, took our guns, and..." he hesitated as he saw Kathy's face. He balled one hand into a tight fist and looked down, not able to bear witnessing her expression. "...they shot... Hayden... he's gone..." he finished.

"No... no..." Kathy breathed as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She shook her head and began to wail in pain and sorrow. Kathy's agony only renewed Cain's anger.

"And this prick knew all about it! He kept his little mouth shut!" he said in a quiet roar as he turned back to Bo.

"I know it was wrong for me to keep quiet! But they threatened me when I didn't want to go along with their plan!" the boy shouted defensively.

"Well your silence caused the death of a good man. Is this what you wanted?" Cain asked as he motioned towards Kathy. He didn't even wait a response from the cowardly Bo and instead stormed off to his room. He needed some time alone to clear his head from everything that happened, and to quiet the sounds of Kathy's grief.

"What about the others?" Anissa called out.

"They're looking for Calvin," Cain shouted from his hotel room.

It was at this moment that Candace and Renee, who had immediately consoled Kathy when she broke down in tears, helped her up and also took her to another room.

"What, exactly, was their plan?" Jin asked Bo after they left.

"Dale wanted to get all of the guns. We'd be defenseless if they were better armed. He wasn't really clear, but if we couldn't fight back, then he could do whatever he felt like..." Bo said quietly, bowing his head in shame at keeping quiet.

"I can't believe he would say such things!" Selena exclaimed.

"So are we in danger?" Ruth asked with fear.

"We have to wait until the others come back before we decide that for sure," Julius said. "But for now, it's best to be careful. They may think they have all of the guns, but they're wrong."

"What does that mean?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have a revolver in my house. I forgot all about it in the chaos of yesterday. But if two armed men have the potential of attacking us, we'll need that gun to stand a chance of fighting back," Julius said.

"If you want someone to help escort you there, then I'm going," Bo said with determination. "I have to make up for this!"

Anissa glanced out the window. "The dead aren't on the lower terrace anymore. It might be best to just jump down there and sprint quickly."

"Right... come on then," Julius said to Bo, who took one of the polearms. Julius didn't take one, but nobody bothered to stop him and demand that he arm himself, because nobody fully noticed this detail. They were too preoccupied with their own worries and fears.

Kathy had calmed down a short time after the two left, emerging from the room with Renee and Candace. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she said nothing as she took a seat in the lobby with the rest of the silent group.

"All of this waiting, not knowing their fates..." Perry muttered to himself. "It's tearing me apart."

"We can only wait and hope for the best," Jin said. The lobby was silent once more, but this bout of quiet did not last long, for Selena shrieked and pointed towards a window.

Sue was right outside of it, smacking it and groaning angrily. Hamilton could be seen at the other window, and the closed doors of the inn began to shake as several hands pounded on them.

"Why are they here? They should have followed Bo and Julius!" Kathy exclaimed.

"It's the witch. It has to be," Cain said coldly as he emerged from his room. "Get ready, everyone. I don't know if she can command these freaks or not, but they're going to break in..."

ALIVE

Angela, Anissa, Bo, Cain, Candace, Hanna, Jin, Julius, Kathy, Kevin, Luke, Owen, Perry, Renee, Ruth, Selena, Toby, Vivi, the Wizard (not present), Kasey (not present), Molly (not present)

DEAD

Barbara, Calvin, Chase, Chloe, Colleen, Dale, Gill, Hayden, Irene, Jake, Maya, Mira, Paolo, Pascal, Phoebe, Ramsey, Samson, Simon, Taylor, Yolanda

UNDEAD

Craig, Hamilton, Luna, Ozzie, Shelly, Sue