We Rule the World

VII

Month Four, Year One

10:00AM

'Rhodes! Hey there, you said that you wanted to speak with me?' Jacob Shepard.

Now that some time had passed and the old rules of society had been thrown out the window Perry Rhodes looked scary to Jacob for some reason. He was barely average height with short red hair, a puffy-bloated figure that extended to his round chubby freckle ridden face, as he wore glasses which showed off his bloodshot eyes. In his hand, he held a shovel as his clothes were dirty with the wet ground of the cemetery behind him.

His suspicious gaze darted from Jacob to Lucas then to James, obviously unsure why Jacob brought two other people as backup but Jacob didn't trust Perry and with civilisation gone people were starting to turn feral, Jacob had no doubt Perry would be another one to turn soon enough.

'Yeah. Um... It's about this place, I don't like it here since I'm so far away from everyone. If I had a car or something it wouldn't be too bad, I mean it's a five-minute drive but it's like an hour or two's walk. And I need someone else to be here helping me, I can't be expected to continue lifting these heavy coffins by myself, it's either that or I need an excavator or something to help dig the holes and cart the coffins around.' Perry Rhodes

Jacob wore his father's suit-coat over a plain top with a belt running through the loops of his red chino-pants and shoes to match, behind him stood Lucas Temple wearing a tin star pinned to a dark brown jacket with white woollen inlay over depicted top and hiking jeans that had the police officers gun belt wrapped around his waist with a pistol in the holster, next to Lucas stood James Locke who wore a high-visibility rain-jacket over working shirt and pants with steel-capped boots.

They stood out the front of the cemetery that was bricked to show its boarders as a grounds keeper house sat out the front and is where Perry was currently living. The carpark was nothing but a pebbled alcove for people to park with only the car Jacob had brought and a line of shanty-coffins they were burying people in.

'We've talked about this with everyone Perry, we are rationing everything so we use as little as possible and have enough for winter when the snows set in and cut us off from the rest of the world. That way we can have everyone at the school and have the air-conditioner pumping warmth for everyone.' Jacob Shepard.

He was utterly sick of people asking for more fuel, he had explained this over a hundred times this week alone yet people still asked as if they had never been told what was happening.

'But I need help, I need something otherwise I will go insane. Can you imagine what it's like being around dead people every day, it fucks with your head, if I have someone else helping or some type of machine I will be satisfied but I need something.' Perry Rhodes.

Jacob noticed Perry's hand tighten on the grip of the shovel going from a rose red colour to a pale white. It was concerning that someone already tainted was already saying he was spiralling further down the rabbit's hole but there was little Jacob could do, nobody would want to spend their days here with Perry and they couldn't waste the fuel that would-be brunt on any machinery.

'No. We can't waste either resource, everyone is already spread as thin as possible and we're not wasting the fuel for a machine. Once winter is here you'll be at the school like everyone else, after that then you can choose if you still want to be the undertaker or not.' Jacob Shepard.

He spoke coldly as if he truly didn't care, he also spoke with finality to his voice making it clear that Perry's requests were not to be asked again. Turning his back to him Jacob began walking back towards the car, he only done this as a show of strength and because he had Lucas and James backing him up otherwise he wouldn't be so stupid.