Chapter 57
Remy
The arrival of spring helped alleviate the shroud of darkness that Trevor’s demise had brought on. In addition to being Daiyu’s significant other, a skilled hunter, and an excellent chef, Trevor had been an outgoing force of nature in Xwechtáal.
Or at least that’s what Jordy had said at Trevor’s eulogy before the funeral pyre. I had no reason to doubt him, because the entire population was there, crying as they said goodbye to him.
As the days grew longer, my strength returned more and more. Jordy went on long foraging trips to gather what he needed to make his grinleaf and other medicinals. I stayed back, but I could handle everything on my own, including mucking the mules’ garage and chopping firewood.
Even with that, waiting until Jordy was ready wasn’t the easiest thing for Ripley or me. With the warm weather, the forests beyond the town walls were waking up and beckoning us. She spent afternoons pacing the room or gnawing on my bedpost.
By the time the end of May finally arrived, Ripley was about ready to climb the walls, and honestly, so was I. Jordy and I loaded up our respective mules with our gear, we said goodbye to Daiyu, and we left, taking the only road west out of Xwechtáal.
Jordy – who took this exact route twice a year with Buck – figured it would take us about two weeks to get to Glacier Valley. The first several days, the trail continued uphill, following the steep curve of the mountain.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, we reached the highest point of our journey. The peak of the mountain itself still soared above with the snow-covered caps piercing the clouds, but we were high enough that the air felt thin and crisp.
“The rest of our journey will literally be downhill,” Jordy explained as we took in the view, and even I had to admit it was majestic.
The valley stretched out before us in breathtaking clarity.
The snowcapped mountains rolled in waves of deep green, their slopes blanketed by dense forests in full vibrant color for the short season of growth.
Waterfalls created by the spring thaw cascaded down the mountainside, cutting lines through the tapestry of conifers.
At the bottom, a cerulean river snaked through the trees and wetlands of the vast dale.
“Once we get to the bottom, we follow the Cambria River until it meets with the K’alii Canal.
Right at the crux where those two waterways converge, nestled against the Miso’o Glacier, that’s where we’ll find the town of Glacier Valley,” Jordy explained.
“At night, you might even be able to see the light from there. A few places have electricity.”
“I’m used to surviving without electricity,” I said.
“You can survive without a lot of things. Don’t you enjoy a little luxury?” he countered with a smirk.
“It isn’t so much that I don’t enjoy luxuries anymore. But I’ll never depend on them again. “
He narrowed his eyes slightly then, as if appraising me in a new light.
“What?” I pressed when he didn’t say anything.
He averted his gaze and shook his head. “Nothing. But how do you feel about setting up camp here? We can start early tomorrow on the downhill.”
Ripley had already gone on ahead of us, far enough that I couldn’t see her through the trees anymore. This had been her first time running free in weeks, and I knew she would come back when she was tired or hungry. She always did.
Jordy and I made our campsite in a shallow cave, carved a meter or two into the side of the mountain. While he focused on that, I took care of the mules. They’d worked hard for us, and we still had a lot of journey left, so I made sure that both Vince and Buck were happy and comfortable.
Later on, after everyone was fed and cared for, including the two of us, Jordy and I settled in for the night. The fire was in the mouth of the cave, and he and I laid beside it on our bedrolls. His arm was draped over my waist, and both of us were staring beyond the flames at the twinkling stars.
“One nice thing about the end of the world is how bright the stars are now,” he said, and I could feel his voice rumbling through his chest as he spoke.
“The stars were always bright this far up, weren’t they?” I asked. “Or was light pollution really that bad?”
“I guess that is fair. I wasn’t hiking up mountains much back then. What is something that you miss the least about the old world?”
“Something that I miss the least?”
“Yeah. Like I don’t miss light pollution at all. Or those commercials on TV that were louder than the shows you were watching. Late fees also seemed like bullshit,” Jordy went on. “But maybe that’s because I used to get so many fees at the library.”
“I guess… if I really think about it, there were lots of things I didn’t like,” I admitted. “I was never really one of those happy-go-lucky types, even as a kid.”
“You don’t say?” he asked with faux surprise.
“So if you’d asked me then, back when I was eighteen, and I knew almost nothing about viral contagions or survival or sacrifice, I would’ve been able to come up with a damn near endless list of shit I wouldn’t miss.
“But if I’m honest, the thing I am most happy to see gone was my own innocence and naivety,” I continued.
“I was so ignorant about the realities of existence and what humanity is truly capable of – both good and bad. Looking back, it was like I had been living in black and white, but now it’s all vibrant, horrifying colors.
No one fully appreciates how terrifying it must’ve been for Dorothy when she first arrived in Oz, all those colors blinding her eyes.
“But how can you come back from that? Even if it’s frightening and overwhelming and migraine-inducing, how could you ever go back to not seeing things how they really are?” I asked finally.
His lips brushed against the back of my neck when he murmured, “Damn, Remy. You really put my stupid late fees comment to shame.”
“No, I didn’t mean anything like that.”
“I know.” He kissed the back of my neck, and I snuggled into him, so he wrapped his arms more tightly around me. “I’m glad you’re with me now, under the brightest stars I’ve ever seen.”
Ripley returned in the morning, just as Jordy and I were packing up to go. She carried the hock of a deer with her, so I guess she’d been busy.
“Did she bring that back to share with us, do you think?” Jordy asked.
As if answering him, she laid down and immediately started gnawing it herself.
“Oh, no, it’s just a snack for her,” he realized.
Vince had gotten used to Ripley and her appetites, but Buck watched her eating with absolute fascination and possibly abject horror. Although it was hard for me to tell exactly what horrified a mule.
As the morning light spilled over the mountains and onto the valley below, an unsettling noise drifted through the air. The dry guttural moaning was unmistakable.
Somewhere beyond the tree line, the zombies had awoken from the spring thaw, stirring with new hunger.
Jordy and I exchanged wary glances before we went for our weapons of choice – the maul axe for me, and a machete for him.
We readied to face whatever had clawed its way back to life with the melting ice.