Dead Flowers (Mad World) • Tank Dempsey

2

Many years later and Dempsey has yet to figure out who almost killed his wife. Regardless, he is only happy that she's alive and lovely as ever.
After the hospital visit Love has yet to tell him about her demonic visions, he wouldn't understand and he would think she's crazy she kept telling herself. Also after the hospital visit, something they would've never imagined happened.

Love is resting on the shotgun, her seat, while Dempsey made sure to drive them safely home. The drive home is dark as their car clock read 9:35 P.M. To cover up the silence drowned by the car engine Dempsey played quiet music on the radio, to his surprise all he could hear is static. This confused him because before the hospital visit the radios worked. He turned the radio off and just sucked up to the engine drive.

Driving into the city he could see buildings are set on fire and he could also see people are fighting on the streets. "What the fuck?!" Dempsey asked himself, he moved his head to see better. Once he did so he jumped back when he seen a decaying corpse with glowing blue eyes jump on the window, screaming at him in hunger. Dempsey didn't hesitate to step on the pedal harder. The decaying corpse flew off with that sudden speed. Looking to his right he could see more of that thing is eating people's intestines on the side of the street. "Love I need you up!" Dempsey says when he turned his head she wasn't waking up "Hannah! Get up!" He grabbed her shoulder and started to shake it, now she woke up.

"What the hell, Tank?" Love yawns and holds her hand on her tired head.

"I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?"

"What are you going on about?"

"We go home, change, pack the food, pack my guns, and we are leaving"

"You're scaring me, what is happening? Tank please."

Dempsey didn't know what was happening himself, so he couldn't give a good answer. He didn't know how to tell her before she thought he sounded deranged. "Honey, I've never lied to you right?"

"Right?"

"And I've continued to never lie to you right?"

"Okay?"

"Whatever I say, I need you to believe me, okay?"

"Go on"

They reached closer to home but home didn't stop the madness from happening. They drove passed cars that are upside down and on fire, alive men are firing guns at people reaching their arms out to them. "Dempsey—" Love says frightened, she couldn't tell if it was her vision or if this is real.

"The world has gone to shit." Dempsey only responds, he looks away as he's trying to think. Where are they going to go? Anywhere but here that's for sure. "All I care about is that we are safe okay?"

"Our families-"

"All I care about is us, Love...I'm sorry" Dempsey says apologetically, but you have to take risks for the ones you love. Even if others has to die for it. Love wanted to be sad over it, but she understood it. She just slowly nods and looked down. "When we get home we need to change in everyday clothes, pack up as much food as we can, and I'm grabbing all my guns and we are getting the fuck out of here"

"Where are we going to go?"

"I don't know." Dempsey says honestly "anywhere is better than here, with our luck the entire world has gotten to ash."

They reached home, for now their neighborhood is safe. The couple rushed inside and Dempsey locked every door in his house.

Making it into her closet Love practically ripped her fancy dress apart to get it off her, she had no time to fuck with a zipper. She kept her shorts on and over them she put on tight jeans then finding her flannels she put on a white and black squared flannel. She found her combat boots and tied them on. Then she washed all the hair spray out of her hair and she brushed it out as fast as she could, drying it off she tied her hair in a ponytail and put on one of her father's baseball caps, it looked like jeans but a cap.

Dempsey changed his clothes, a gray shirt covering with his big brown leather jacket. He wore tan Khakis and brown knee high leather boots. He stuffed his Bowie knife in the back of his boot and he wrapped his sash over his shoulder, this sash held grenades. He had a belt around his waist with a pouch that contained ammo, this belt also held holders for his pistols.

In his hunting closet, Dempsey punched open his glass case holding his shot gun and sniper. Setting down his gun bag he opened it up and stuffed all of his guns inside, leaving his pistols in his pouch. For a soldier, Dempsey had a variety of guns, from AR's, shotguns, to sniper rifles. In a separate bag Dempsey put all of the ammunition he had for each weapon.

After Love got changed she is in the kitchen with backpacks she used to stuff their canned foods in, for another bag she stuffed the non canned foods from their pantry. They couldn't bring anything from their fridge as they'd go spoiled fairly quickly, except she packed up the sodas and beers for them. After Dempsey packed his guns he came in and assisted her.

"Dempsey..." Love muttered closing one of her backpacks "I'm scared."

Dempsey was silent as he finished packing the second backpack, he built up the courage to reply. "I am too." And that frightened her more, Dempsey's a brave man and he's not afraid of anything. He seen things in his lifetime that no man should see, so to hear he's afraid wasn't settling. He reached his hand out to her "we are in this together." Love blushed and grabbed his hand, Dempsey leaned in and kissed her cheek. "We need to leave"

Love nods her head as she wrapped one of the backpacks around her back and held the second one like it's a purse. Dempsey came by with his gun bag and his ammunition bag. "We take my truck, that baby will take us far off gas." As Dempsey said, they walked out to the truck. Their neighborhood is now on fire but no demons are in sight, that is a blessing and a curse.

Dempsey held one of his pistols in his hands while they loaded the back seat with their stuff, he had to for caution of his wife's safety.

Love hopped in the shotgun and Dempsey got in the drivers. They were safe for now with locked doors at their side, the street is covered with ash and the car lights wasn't doing much help. They had to work with what they have.

Leaning on the window and hugging herself Love couldn't stop thinking about her and her husbands family, obviously they're about to die and they knew it. Their parents are old and they don't stand chances against demons. Dempsey drove his truck anywhere he knew that might be a safer area, he had to know his places being a Marine. He only had one place in mind that might be secure, and that's where he's going to take them.