Decay (Book 2): Humanity by Linus Locke

be.
    “He deserves far worse. Even after that painful death, he deserves to continue suffering.”
    “I agree with that, as well, but there i-“
    “You kept them in cages,” Jonathan interrupted. “You could have put them down. Now look at what has happened.”
    Laikynn felt her heart ache and had a salty taste in her mouth. Without another word she drove back to the devastated town.
    Jonathan looked out the window but didn’t really see anything. Could what Elliot said about my father be true?
     
    Guillermo walked through the pile of bodies, driving Kadavre into the skulls of any dead body that even twitched a finger. It was an awful job, but he knew that someone had to do it, and he understood it would be harder for someone who really knew these people. He watched as Eric and the others fenced off the opening in the common area where the wall had been knocked down. It probably wouldn’t be repaired until spring.
    As the headlight beams coming toward him caused his shadow to grow over the common area, Guillermo pictured himself as a giant, stomping on the fiends and keeping everyone safe. A laugh escaped him as he realized that he would be a giant who likes to grow vegetables. “Alegre Gigante Verde,” he said. He didn’t use Spanish very often, but in this situation it had to be done. It was a silly thought for a grown man to have, but he didn’t want to lose sight of who he was, and he was the type of person to name weapons and think silly thoughts in order to keep a smile on his face. What little happiness there was left in this world could go a long way toward helping everyone.
    Jonathan hopped out of the Jeep and walked toward his friend. “How are you doing?”
    “Good,” Guillermo responded. He looked at Jonathan with concern. “How are you? And don’t lie to me, my friend.”
    “I am fine, Guillermo.”
    “I don’t’ think so. I saw another person in you tonight.”
    “Is that bad?” Jonathan asked, knowing what his friend was talking about. “I think I learned something tonight, Guillermo.”
    “What’s that?”
    “This world is the same as it has always been. There are still bad people, there are good people, and there are dead people. I do not want to be bad or dead,” Jonathan explained. “But mostly, I do not want to be dead.”
    “I don’t either,” Guillermo thought out loud rather than answered.
    “When I look at you, Guillermo,” he said while looking at the bodies his friend was walking through. “I see a man who is strong enough to do what needs to be done. I have to be strong enough, also.” He looked over at Laikynn as she made her own rounds through the bodies. “If that means I have to be a bad person to keep good people safe . . . than that is what I am going to do.”
    “You’re not a bad person, Jonathan. Just remind me never to piss you off.”
    Jonathan smiled a thin smile and laughed a short, quiet laugh, but Guillermo would take it as that little bit of happiness Jonathan may need today.
    “I wish Tyler and Layla were here, man. I miss them already,” Guillermo said.
    A knot formed in Jonathan’s throat. “I was not strong enough to keep them safe before. If I had a second chance, Guillermo, I would keep them alive.”
    “What do you mean?” came a voice from behind them. It startled them both.
    Jonathan looked at Brew Master Eric. “Our friends were in there.” He nodded at the common area. “I am so sorry for sounding selfish. I know your friends were, as well.”
    “Look around, Jon. Do you see anything missing?” Eric asked with a sad yet crooked smile. There was sorrow in his eyes, along with kindness and wisdom.
    Jonathan and Guillermo both turned in a circle, unsure of what they were supposed to see. “I do not understand what I am looking for?”
    Eric pointed to the lot where they parked the cars. “Do you see it now?”
    They examined the lot, and Jonathan’s heart skipped a beat as he noticed what he was saying. “The