Miller’s Pond sat at the center of fifty acres of privately owned forest and ATV trails. Ever since Paul Miller died thirty years ago, local teens had been sneaking on to the property and enjoying one of Chardon Township’s best kept secrets. It was commonly believed that Mr. Miller had willed his entire property to his estranged son before his death. Miller’s son was currently serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after sixty years for crimes no one could remember anymore. As a result: the property went neglected as the wilderness slowly reclaimed the land, with the exception of the well-used trails and the remains of the Miller ranch home, which a mysterious fire took down twenty years ago.

What made it a well-kept secret was that there was only one unmarked gravel drive that took you back to the pond. Fortunately, the Rhodes brothers were in the loop since it was one of their cousins who first told them exactly how to find it when they were younger.

Jonathan and Lucas had been sneaking out here for years and it was no surprise to Lucas that his brother chose this place for a weekend of camping and riding.

“There’s the pond,” Megan pointed excitedly as the lowering sun’s reflection could be seen shimmering off the surface. Lucas pulled the truck around a grove of trees which opened up into a meadow that had long been used as a makeshift parking area. There were presently several trucks parked in a line, one of them Lucas recognized as Jonathan’s.

They parked and anxiously walked toward the edge of the pond to get a good look.

“I’m home,” Lucas said fondly, grinning from ear to ear. “Jonathan and I practically lived here over the summers. We learned how to ride and hunt… and drink… all right here.”

Megan grabbed his arm and added, “This is also where we… misplaced our clothes and went swimming.”

Lucas smiled. “Yeah… I was getting to that. I was just saving the best memory for last.”

Megan looked out across the large pond as memories surfaced that she’d forgotten. “I’ve always loved it here,” she said. “Places like this are rare. Usually someone has torn it up by now and turned it into lake-front condominiums, but not Miller’s Pond. I hope it’s still here long enough for us to tell our children about it someday.”

Lucas tensed up at the mention of children. “Slow down, babe. There’s plenty of time for that talk when we’re old and fat and start losing our hair because we have to work jobs we hate just to pay for shit we don’t need and-”

“Okay, I got it.” Megan frowned and unconsciously placed her hand on her belly. “Sorry I brought it up. I was just making an observation. No need to go to war over it.”

Lucas gave her a puzzled look.

“Never mind,” she said, walking back toward the truck. “We should get going.”

~~~

They strapped their camping gear to the back of the quad and started driving down the narrow, winding trail which followed the pond all the way around to the other side. From there, the woods became denser but the trail got wider, connecting up with other trails that ran in various directions. Once, these were all deer trails which would’ve been reclaimed by Mother Nature if not for the persistence of four-wheeler enthusiasts who loved to ride in and through this area. Today, these trails connected up with a hub of other trails that continued off the Miller property and ran for miles forming ATV highways into some of the most remote areas of Northeast Ohio.

It was dark by the time they found the small, cleared out area in the woods hidden within a large grove of pine trees. The light from the large campfire flickered through the trees confirming the location.

Lucas pulled his four-wheeler up alongside several others which were parked along the back of the campsite. “Sorry, babe,” he told Megan. “I haven’t been back here for years. Guess I got a little turned around near the trails.”

Megan jumped off the back and looked around. The fire looked recently built, sitting at the center of the clearing. There were large logs placed around the fire for seating, next to some coolers. Several camouflage tents formed a neat ring at the back edge of the clearing, allowing plenty of space around the fire. “Nice, cozy set up,” she said. “Only one problem, where the hell is everybody?”

Lucas dragged their gear toward an empty spot and dropped it. He came up beside Megan and shouted, “Hello! We’re here. A little late… but we found the place!”

There was no response other than the crackling of the fire.

Megan folded her arms and said, “Great… your brother is already pulling his bullshit. They heard us coming and hid for some stupid Halloween prank! If he jumps out of the woods dressed like Bigfoot, I’m leaving… I swear to God!”

“Just calm down, babe. We just got here. They’re probably off collecting wood or something.” Lucas retrieved his tent from their pack. “Help me set this thing up while we’re waiting.”

Megan looked around again, expecting assholes in monster costumes to come jumping out of the tents at any moment. She sighed heavily and walked over to Lucas. “You know what makes the woods creepy at night? It’s not the things you see or hear rustling around in the leaves, it’s the shit you don’t see or hear… like right now… when everything is too freaking-me-out quiet.”

Lucas smiled while laying out the tent. “This would be the perfect time for a Halloween prank.”

She hit him in the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You’re expecting it… aren’t you? You better tell me right now if you’re in on it, Lucas Rhodes!”

Lucas laughed and held up his hands. “No, babe, I’m not setting you up. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Jonathan has something brewing right now. Best thing to do is just wait for it and not let them see how freaked out we are. That will just encourage them. Believe me, my brother will run out of patience and ruin his own prank if we wait him out.”

She kissed him and said, “Sometimes you’re really much smarter than you look.”

“Thanks… I think.”

After setting up their tent and waiting by the fire for another twenty minutes, they were no longer appreciating Jonathan’s prank.

“We should just leave,” Megan suggested. “This isn’t funny anymore.”

Lucas was about to protest but stopped as they both heard a loud knocking sound coming from the woods in front of them.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Megan said. “Wood knocking? Really? He is planning on jumping out in a Bigfoot suit.”

“Be quiet a second.” Lucas grabbed a flashlight. “I want to hear where the next one is coming from so we can catch them in the act.”

They waited.

There were no further knocks.

“This is bullshit,” Lucas said after another ten minutes went by. He got up and headed toward the woods where they heard the sound. “Enough is enough already.”

“Wait! Don’t leave me here!” Megan started to get up.

“Hey, Jon!” Lucas called out, entering the woods and shining his light. “You got your scare, now come out already. We’re going to leave if you-”

He struck something with his foot and fell forward into a large pile of leaves. “Son-of-a-bitch!” he called out.

“Are you alright?” Megan called from the edge of the woods.

“Yeah… I just tripped…”

Suddenly, a nearby shrub came to life as something big sprinted toward him.

“Lucas! Watch out!” Megan cried.

Before he could get up, something, which looked like half man/half swamp creature, climbed on his legs, pinning Lucas to the ground.

“Oh, God, no!” Megan called out as the creature pulled out a knife and raised it above its head.

“Wha… what do you want?” Lucas was terrified.

The swamp creature let out a roar and brought the blade down toward his face.

Lucas cried out, throwing up his arms to defend himself. But nothing happened.

I’m still alive?

The swamp creature knelt down beside his left ear and said, “Hey, little brother. You’re late.”

There was laughter coming from the trees now as five teens dressed in camouflage uniforms began stepping out into the open.

“Get off me!”

Jonathan rolled off his brother and said, “And that’s how it’s done, boys and girls. Let it come to you. When it falls, you take it from behind with one swift blow to the brain.”

Lucas got to his feet just as Megan arrived.

“You could’ve killed me with that thing!” Lucas said, pointing to the knife in Jonathan’s hand.

Jonathan smiled through his black and green face paint, and tossed Lucas the knife. It was a fake with a retractable blade.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Megan shouted.

“Hello, Megan. Always a pleasure,” he said while removing his ghillie suit. “Everybody, I want you to meet my brother, Lucas. This fiery lass, is his girlfriend, Megan.”

The teens stepped up and greeted them.

Jonathan looked at Lucas and said, “Thanks, bro, for being a part of the demonstration. I didn’t hurt you, did I? I tried to be gentle.”

“I’m fine,” he said, calming down. “You could’ve warned me about your ‘demonstration’ last time we talked on the phone.”

“Ahh… but if I’d told you ahead of time, they’d know this was staged. The recruits needed to see this exactly how it went down since none of them believed fishing line and the element of surprise was all that was required to take down the threat. Now they know better.”

“‘Take down the threat’? What the hell are you talking about?” He noticed the fishing line now, wrapped around his feet. “What kind of bullshit did I walk into and what are you freaks doing out here anyway? You said this was some kind of survivalist group?”

“And so it is!” Jonathan said with a great, big smile. “We’re preparing for the apocalypse, little brother, which includes, how to kill zombies.”

“Cool,” Lucas said. He was a big fan of horror movies… especially zombie flicks. “Is that what your group is all about?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Megan interrupted with a laugh, causing them all to look at her. “Oh, God, you’re not kidding.” She raised her hands in surrender and turned toward the camp. “Hey, don’t let me stop you. When you’re all done playing zombie hunters, I’ll be over by the fire where the big kids are drinking beer.” She walked off laughing hard.

“It seems I’ve some explaining to do,” Jonathan said with a smile, running his hand through Lucas’s hair. “It’s good to see you, bro. Sorry about the set up.”

Lucas smiled, “You scared the shit out of me… but I still thought it was a good prank.”

Jonathan’s face changed. “Prank? Who said anything about a prank? I’ve never been more serious. We’re training for the apocalypse, little brother. Make no mistake about it… the dead are coming.”

~~~

After Jonathan and the recruits changed out of their survival attire, they joined Lucas and Megan around the fire for a round of brews.

“Drink up,” Jonathan encouraged. He was the taller of the two Rhodes brothers, with blond hair and blue eyes. Jonathan favored their mother while Lucas’s brown hair and brown eyes were from their father. Jonathan was wearing khaki shorts, a black tank top and sandals. He raised his beer and said. “I want to thank my awesome little brother for making it out to party with us tonight. Here’s to family!”

Lucas lifted his beer. “To family.”

“What am I, chopped liver?” Megan whispered in his ear.

“And to the rest of you, thanks for your commitment and for training hard this afternoon. You know what I always say…”

“Train hard. Party hard!” the recruits said as one.

“Amen to that.” Jonathan sat down between Lucas and Megan, forcing Megan to move over. “So… what do you think so far, bro? Interested?”

Lucas was confused. “Say what?”

“I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me introduce you to everyone.” Jonathan pointed to a chubby young man with glasses and a flat-top haircut. “That’s Dwayne.”

Dwayne nodded. “S’up”.

Jonathan went right around the circle, pointing to a tall lanky teen with black hair and a long neck. “That is Justin.”

Justin smiled like it hurt his face to do so.

“Next to Justin, is our only female in the group. This charming young lady’s name is Violet.”

Violet wore a red tank-top revealing a collage of various tattoos which ran across the top of her chest, shoulders and down both her arms. She wore a nose ring, several earrings in both ears, and heavy, black eye shadow to match her short-cropped, jet-black hair. She gave Lucas and Megan a quick glance and said, “Welcome to Zombie 101, new bitches.”

Megan glared at her.

Lucas saw Megan’s face and spit out his beer in amusement.

“Anyway,” Jonathan laughed. “Next to Violet… that’s Andrew.”

Andrew had long red hair which hung down over his eyes, with a long goatee to match it. “Any brother of Jonathan’s is a brother of mine, dude.” He held a fist up to Lucas who made a fist and tapped it in return.

Jonathan turned to the last recruit and frowned slightly. He was a small, quiet teen with a permanent frown etched upon his face. His head was shaved revealing a long scar which ran across the back of his head. The teen, who always wore round-rimmed sunglasses, was staring into the fire. “That introspective young man’s name is Simon.”

“Hey, Simon,” Megan said.

Simon looked up at the strangers and then back toward the fire.

“Well,” Jonathan said, “That’s the gang. We’ve been training together on and off whenever we can. We’ve spent a lot of time in various places down south, and when I heard we were headed up this way… well… I had to invite you out, little brother.”

“It’s good to see you, Jon,” Lucas said. “I was just telling Megan that it’s been too damn long since I saw you last.”

Jonathan looked over a Megan who tried to appear interested. “I’m glad you came out, Megan. I was surprised when I found out that you two were still together. I guess I underestimated you two.”

“Really?” She could hear the veiled insult buried beneath his words. “Nothing’s changed since you last blew through town. I still love your brother. I’m so sorry if that comes as a shock to you. ”

“Megan…” Lucas gave her a look.

“No, it’s alright, bro. My fault. I could have said that a little better. What I meant was, I didn’t know you two were that serious about each other until seeing you together now. It’s cool.” He turned to Lucas and smiled. “I’m real happy for you, bro. I’m happy for you both.”

Megan gave him a weak smile.

“So tell me more about your group?” Lucas asked. “You guys must get to do some cool shit in your training.”

“We’re all excellent marksmen with various guns, crossbows or just your standard bow,” Violet boasted. “That’s the best part of training for me. Whenever we get a chance to kill something, whether it’s deer, squirrel, or the occasional bird that flies too low… I just get all warm and fuzzy inside.”

“That’s nice,” Megan said, shooting Lucas a kill-me-now look.

“Knives, too,” Andrew added while playing with this goatee. “Dude, I could tell you where every soft spot on the human head is. Those are the money spots for a quick kill to the brain.”

“Gross,” Megan said under her breath.

Lucas ignored her. “You guys are hard-core.” He turned to Jonathan. “And you really think the dead are coming… like what the flyers said?”

“Absolutely, little brother. It may not be today or tomorrow, but the organization we’re a part of is in the know about all this stuff. They’re heavily funded and have an ear open to everything that’s happening in the world… and not just that slanted news crap that everyone gets spoon fed on the television. They’ve been getting ready for a long time now and they have a huge network in place.”

“And the flyers?” Lucas asked.

Jonathan nodded. “Yeah, that’s part of it. About once a month they send out the cells in various areas to post those warning announcements. It’s understood that the general population doesn’t take the flyers seriously, but they are out there to act like sign posts when the apocalypse comes. You see, little brother, when it does happen, there won’t be any more time to warn people, so those flyers are posted for everyone who is still alive afterwards. That’s when the message will hit home and they’ll know it’s not a joke any longer.”

“What do you mean ‘cells’?” Megan asked suspiciously.

Jonathan sat back and put his hands behind his head. “Now that’s a good question, Megan. The idea is brilliant, really, although it’s not a new one. Some time ago, someone high up on the food chain in the organization decided that it would be prudent to not put all the eggs in one basket. Should an outbreak occur at Headquarters, and everyone was there, all would be lost. So, they created cell groups, like ours, which are mostly made up of locals in any given area. That way, should the shit hit the fan, each cell can act independently from the whole and carry out missions in the field expeditiously since we’re all out here already.”

“That’s smart,” Lucas said. “So where is ‘Headquarters’?”

“It’s on the bottom of the flyer, right?” Megan asked. “Some kind of evacuation center, or a wannabe Center for Disease Control. Am I close?”

“Something like that,” Jonathan said, but did not elaborate.

“So is that why you asked me out this weekend, Jon? You want me to join your cell?”

Jonathan sat forward and said, “It’s not that simple, little brother. No one just up and joins. They need approval from higher up. We find recruits and evaluate them over time. If we feel they have what it takes, we submit their names up the chain.

“Who is ‘We’?” Megan asked, becoming irritated with the whole conversation.

“As far as this cell, that would be myself and Donovan. He’s the man who found us, brought us all together, and trained us. Donovan knows his shit and he personally trained me to take charge of this cell in his absence.”

“So if the end is nigh, then why isn’t ‘Donovan’ here now?” Megan asked, rolling her eyes.

Lucas frowned at her. She is so not into this.

Jonathan laughed and said, “Donovan is a busy man. He reports directly to Mr. Micom, the man in charge at H.Q. All the cell leaders do. Guys like Donovan do all the traveling and hands-on recruiting. They can’t stay with their cells all the time, that’s why I’m here. I know first-hand that Donovan, himself, has overseen the creation of at least five cells in Northeast Ohio.”

“So with the big man gone, you’re like second-in-command… very cool.” Lucas was becoming more and more intrigued.

Megan kept stealing sideway glances at Lucas. He was falling fast for Jonathan’s latest line of bull. “Okay,” she started, “let me ask you this, Jonathan. Have you ever been to this so-called ‘Headquarters’? So far you don’t seem to know much about it… other than a bunch of generalized nonsense you probably stole from a spy film.”

“Megan!” Lucas was shaking his head.

The other recruits shot her dirty looks, but out of respect for Jonathan, they remained silent.

Okay, I’m not making any new friends tonight, she thought.

Jonathan smiled at her and said, “No… Megan… you are correct. I’ve never actually been to H.Q. What I know is from what Donovan has shared with me. But that doesn’t make it any less real.”

“Yeah… about this ‘Donovan’… I find it convenient that he isn’t here to back your fanciful story about the zombie conspiracy, or whatever line of bull you plan to spin next.”

Jonathan looked at Lucas and said, “She still doesn’t care much for me, I take it?”

Lucas nodded. “She thinks you’re a bad influence.”

“Hello… I’m right fucking in front of you,” she said.

“Fair enough.” Jonathan let out a heavy sigh and said to Megan, “I can’t prove anything I’ve said tonight… at least, not right now. But since Donovan is stopping by tomorrow, maybe he can answer some of your specific questions.”

The recruits gave each other surprised looks.

“Now you’ve gone and done it, Megan,” Jonathan laughed, meeting the wide-eyed glances of the recruits. “I was trying to keep it a surprise until tomorrow, but you’ve forced me to let the cat out of the bag.”

Megan shook her head. Unbelievable! They’re all buying into this crap!

She looked to Lucas who smiled and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, Maybe you’re wrong, babe. He did say Donovan was coming tomorrow.

“This is bullshit,” she muttered under her breath. “This was just supposed to be a camping trip, remember?” She stood up and stormed off.

“Wait,” Lucas said. “Don’t be like that.” He flashed Jonathan an apologetic look.

He waved to him as the recruits flooded him with questions about Donovan’s visit. “Go… go save the day. We’ll still be here when you get back.”

Lucas followed Megan toward the wood line. “Slow down, babe. What are you going to do? Walk home?”

She whirled around to face him. “You’re doing it again!”

Lucas sighed and said, “I’m just hearing him out. I want to know what my brother’s been doing all this time.”

“Are you seriously thinking about being one of his silly recruits? Tell me the truth… it’s crossed your mind hasn’t it?”

He didn’t have time to respond.

“Your brother has this ‘ability’ to talk people into anything. He’s like the damn Pied Piper back there with all that zombie bullshit. Did you get a good look at his so-called recruits? They’re all about our age; kids fresh out of high school and looking for something to do… someone to follow. He could’ve convinced them he had superpowers and they’d sign up to join his Revengers!”

“It’s… Avengers,” he corrected.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You said, Revengers… you meant-”

“Shut the hell up!” She took a deep breath and calmed down. “Look, I’m sorry for being Queen Bitch right now. I was trying to be a good girl and let you two have your time, but then he started in with the whole zombie recruit thing.”

Lucas wisely remained quiet.

“If I thought this was just the latest weekend fad your brother concocted, that would be one thing. But he’s talked these kids into following him around in the woods, feeding them purpose in exchange for being important to them. Jonathan will drag that out for as long as he can, until he gets bored again and leaves them hanging high and dry… and you with them. Can’t you see that?”

“It’s just a bit of weekend fun, babe. No matter what he says or believes, I’m still leaving with you on Sunday… zombie apocalypse or not. That’s a promise.”

Her face softened. “You mean that?”

He walked over and placed his arms around her. “Nothing’s changed. I’m just trying to enjoy this time with him before he takes off again. If it means playing zombie games all weekend, then so be it… as long as we’re brothers again for a little while.”

She smiled and said, “I’m starting to feel like I overreacted a little bit.”

Lucas raised his arms and held them out wide. “Just a little…”

She jabbed him playfully in the side and he pulled her in close. “I love you, Megan.”

From the back of the campfire, Jonathan turned toward the couple and watched them kiss. He let a frown escape his jovial surface as his stare lingered on Megan.

Violet stepped in front of him and said, “Look, I get it, he’s your blood. We’ve been more than patient about them being here.”

“I hear a ‘but’ coming,” Jonathan said, finding his smile again.

“It’s coming across loud-and-fucking-clear that they don’t believe. They think you’re a joke—that we’re all a joke. So why are they here?”

Jonathan gave her a stern look and said, “I wasn’t aware that I had to clear my actions with you, recruit.”

Violet looked toward her feet, feeling like she’d crossed the line.

“Look at me,” he said.

She did.

“Why don’t you worry about doing your job and I’ll worry about doing mine, are we clear?”

She looked confused. “My job?”

He winked at her, no longer able to keep a straight face. He handed her a beer and said, “I do believe you all are supposed to be partying hard right now.”

Violet laughed. “Now that’s coming across pretty loud-and-fucking-clear, as well.”

Jonathan got to his feet. “Alright, everyone!” he called out.

Lucas and Megan turned as well as the recruits.

“It’s come to my attention that we are doing a piss-poor job of drinking these beers. So let’s put the business end of things aside for tonight and… GET… FUCKING… WASTED!”

This was met by an enthusiastic roar as the recruits cheered and began grabbing brews.

“Hey, bro!” Jonathan called. “Do you and Blondie over there remember how to drink, or would you like to sit this one out with the rest of the sober losers in the world tonight?”

Lucas laughed and said, “I believe we’ve just been challenged.”

“I believe you’re right,” Megan smiled.

Lucas paused and said, “We can retire early if you’re not up to this, babe… I won’t hold it against you. You are getting older and-”

“Why are you still talking, asshole?” She pulled his arm. “Let’s go drink!”

Andrew let his long red hair hang down and pulled out a portable radio. He found a classic rock station which was playing C.C.R. “Dude, now this is a fucking tune right here,” he shouted over his shoulder.

He turned up the radio as the chorus to Bad Moon Rising echoed across the night.

~~~

From within the woods, blending into the shadow of a large oak tree, the man pulled up his hoodie to keep out the cold and watched Lucas and Megan return to the campfire as the sound of music and debauchery invaded the camp. The man smiled at the familiar song as he scratched the stubble on his unshaven face. He wondered if he would ever hear that song again.

The full moon broke through the clouds above, threatening to give up his observation point.

He’d seen enough. The man retreated further into the woods. He made no sounds. After five minutes, he found the spot where he’d left his bag, near another, younger oak tree.

He looked up at the moon.

“I see you,” he whispered to it.

The moon had no response.

After a few more minutes, the man looked at his watch: 9:15 pm.

Close enough.

He reached into his bag, moved the weapon out of the way, and pulled out the chain and handcuffs.

The man swung the chain around the trunk of the oak and ran one of the cuffs through the links at both ends, securing both the chain and the cuff to the tree. He then reached into his pocket to make sure the handcuff key was still there. It was.

The man fastened the other cuff to his wrist—snug but not too tight. He then laid down on his side and rolled into a ball for extra warmth. He could feel tension from the handcuff on his wrist, but was able to lay the hand on the ground.

The man was very tired and intended on enjoying his last night of real sleep.

He was out in less than sixty seconds.

~~~

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