by Thomas Baker
She turned away to Dr. Childs. "We're ready. Can we go?"
"Follow me." Childs led the way.
She was beginning to think Childs was telling the truth and they would get to leave. It would be a first in this screwed up new world.
Gus spoke up just as they were about to leave the makeshift clinic. "What about Amber and her grandpa, Doc Brown?"
"I had them installed in an apartment building as soon as they got here. They told me over walkie talkie that the grandpa, I can't remember his name, started acting out on the way in. I will talk to them both and get a medical history. I must schedule an examination for him. Sounds unfortunate though. I believe he is suffering from early stages of Alzheimer's."
Gus looked at Linda and gave her a nod. Again Hannah surprised herself by not caring what had happened to the two people from the cabin. Even though she knew she should. After all wasn't that the Christian thing to do? It was their fault after all that Amber's house was damaged. If something happened to them here, if Childs wasn't safe, wouldn't something happening to the two of them be partially her fault too? She didn't think she would feel any guilt. Maybe that bucket was already full. Or she was kidding herself.
Childs held the door open for them. Little swirls of snowflakes swirled inside."If you weren't in such a big hurry, I could show you more reasons you should stay. It would be better than me just telling you," Dr. Childs said, walking deliberately in the slush. The sun was doing a number on the snow. Hannah gave Childs a harsh glare and shook her head no.
"Gus, Linda," Dr. Childs said, leading them on. "Like I was mentioning to Hannah and JT earlier, we have a storehouse inside a cave blasted into the mountain. We have so much food stored in there, frozen meat, fruits, vegetables, we could feed a population ten times our size. Obviously we have the clinic, a one-room schoolhouse, a church. We have rigged up limited electrical power thanks to our engineer. Most houses have fireplaces and we have no shortage of wood. Close to all the comforts of before. We have easily defendable walls on the two ways in and out of town, manned twenty-four hours. Best of all, no zombies or human attackers have ever made it inside. Not even close."
Gus whistled. Hannah had to admit it all sounded great and impressive. She ended up having another question for him. "And what? For this protection everyone just has to do what you say?"
Dr. Childs stopped and looked at her for a moment, tilting his head to the side and gave her a flat stare. "I wouldn't put it that way exactly," he said, adjusting his glasses. "I'm an important person here. I enjoy the privileges my status provides. Everyone must do their part to get any of the benefits."
Hannah made a sour face. Those comments solidified her decision. "We're leaving now."
"Suit yourself. Foolish as I think that is." Childs said. "I don't know what it's like out there now but I'm sure it's not fucking Disneyland."
"Hannah, really?" JT spoke up. "I thought we could at least sleep tonight in a warm house. Where the fuck are we going to go?"
"JT-" Gus warned.
"No, Gus. Fuck it. I'm going to say my peace." JT was getting worked up. "I think there is no harm in staying one day. Look, Childs is leading us out. He's been honest with us so far. Isn't this what you came to the mountains to find Hannah?"
Hannah twirled on him. "You can stay. I'm not. End of discussion. Go have a drink on me."
JT reacted as if she slapped him in the face. His recoil turned into a petulant frown. His body drooped. "Now that's not fair."
"If you people are done bickering, we're here," Childs said.
In front of them was the guard shack. It stood next to the large chain-link gate that let them into the town. It was build right into the wall. The shack was too small for all of them to go in at the same time.
"Wait here." Childs knocked on the door. Hannah and the rest stood behind him. A woman answered and Hannah heard JT gasp.
What struck JT first was her hair. It was pink, done up in two ponytails that dropped behind the hood of her coat. It made him think of delicious cotton candy. She looked to be about his age. Her nose was pierced with what appeared to be a diamond, it sparkled as the sunlight hit it through the open door.
She scowled at Dr. Childs and the scowl continued as she panned over the rest of the group. When she got to JT she smiled and lightly bit her bottom lip. Her lipstick was purple. He couldn't help but smile back at her. His anger at Hannah evaporated, along with the thoughts that maybe he was tired of dealing with her.
"What Childs?" she grumped at him. "I was intensely watching a squirrel climbing a tree."
"Always such a pleasure to talk to you Lindsay," Dr. Childs said dryly. "These four people are leaving. I need you to give them back their personal propertyand the like. I understand they were stored here."
With exaggerated exasperation Lindsay got up and went over to a set of lockers, like the ones they had in school. She dialed four lockers open and returned to the doorway. JT could see one of the four had his weapons inside.
"You're leaving so soon, handsome?" Lindsay said, patting JT on the chest. "That's too bad. Most of the men around here are in a relationship or old like Childs here. We could use some new studs."
Hannah cleared her throat irritated. It flattered JT, and he had to admit a little amused too. He decided to mess with Hannah a little. He thought she deserved it after what she had said.
"If I knew they were hiding away a cutie like you around here, I might have changed my mind."
Hannah cleared her throat again, even louder.
"If you want you can leave, Miss Frumpy. Take the oldsters with you. I think the big man would like to stay, at least for tonight" Lindsay flirted with a wink.
"Can we get on with this please, before daylight is gone," Hannah said, throwing JT dirty looks.
JT laughed and gave a wink of his own at Hannah. "Two can be fun, but three's a party."
That got Gus laughing along with JT, but Hannah just fumed. Lindsay gave JT a smirk.
"Lindsay, can you get out of the way? I don't want any damn trouble stirred up. These people want to go and I think that's fine with me," Dr. Childs said.
"Sure," Lindsay said with a huff. "Wouldn't want to do something extreme like have fun." She backed out of the way and took her place in a chair in front of a window slit that looked out beyond the wall. "One at a time. As you can see it's a little small in here."
They went in single file, each getting their gear out of one of the lockers. JT went last. Lindsay sat in her chair, chewing some gum and watching him. "What's your name, hon?"
"JT."
"Well, JT, you need any help getting your stuff out?" Lindsay got up and brushed past him, making sure to rub up against him as much as possible. The thought of staying here and forgetting Hannah became even stronger. She handed him his pack. It took considerable willpower to put it on and leave the shack.
At the doorway he turned around. "Gotta say, it was nice to meet you Lindsay. There's a good chance I'll be coming back this way." He figured Hannah was probably burning a hole into the back of his head but he didn't care.
"I'll be here. It's going to be cold out there. I've got a nice warm place here." She waved and smiled before shutting the door. JT felt a pang of regret. He could have stayed at least one night.
"You happen tohave anything you can spare for the road?" Gus asked Childs. "Some food maybe?"
"No, I can't. I'm sorry," Dr. Childs said, not sounding sorry. "Like I said, I don't give freebies often. We work around here for our supplies. Our supplies are for our people"
JT thought that was a shitty move. From the way the guy had been bragging it wasn't like they couldn't share a little. Dr. Childs seemed like even more of a tight ass than he first thought. As much as it would be nice to rest in warmth and comfort, maybe Hannah was right, they should just go. He couldn't deny he had just met another tempting reasons to stay though.
"If you don't mind me asking, where is it you plan on going?" Dr. Childs asked with a detached c
uriosity.
"Someplace like this, only it will be just the four of us," Hannah answered. "I'm sure we could find another place like this."
Childs cocked his head and furrowed his brow. Yet he didn't comment on what she said. He went on with his sales pitch. JT had to give him credit, he didn't give up easily.
"Now is one of the worst times to be just wandering around out there. You don't seem to have lots of experience up here in the mountains. Be careful, the cold, the altitude. It can quickly overwhelm your body. Your lungs can freeze. That's a nasty way to die. If you need to come back, the offer stands. You'll have to work but you'll have all you need. Do you need to talk to the other two who came in with you? They are part of your group, right?"
Linda looked as if she wanted to say something so Hannah jumped in quick. "No. We just met up with them right before your people found us."
"I see, verywell then." Childs gestured through the guard shack window. Lindsay came out. She unlocked and opened the gate for them.
The four of them went through the smaller door set into the larger gate. JT shouldered his pack, adjusting the weight distribution, and followed Hannah. He had to give Childs a point; they didn't know what they were doing up here. So far no one seemed to be bothered by the cold or altitude sickness. In fact, his knee seemed to throb a little less. But JT had to guess this was only the beginning of winter. If it was already this bad, which was worse than it ever got back in his hometown, what would they be facing if they didn't find some place to hole up?
JT turned to give the place a last look. It was a fairly imposing wall they had cobbled together between the rocky outcroppings. It would probably look strange in the springtime when the snow melted, to see the road stretching on and suddenly stopping at this ten foot structure of wood, metal, and who knew what else. It made him think of Mad Max.
With the fantasy of sitting by a warm fireplace, maybe snuggled up with Lindsay, JT reluctantly turned away. They trekked on and on through the snow. The day grew later, their shadows grew like black giants on the mountain face.
"Hannah? What are we doing?" Gus asked as the sun hung lower in the sky.
JT had been wondering the same thing. He didn't want to join those people but thought staying one night, trying to persuade them for more help, even some directions to some place promising, would have been a good idea.
Hannah stopped and burst into tears, hands covering her face. "I don't know Gus. I... I just couldn't stay there. I'm sorry. Please don't you all hate me."
"Darlin', darlin'," Gus said, soothing her. "Never."
"Hannah, we're all in this together," Linda joined in.
His retort about how they should have stayed with Childs died in his throat. JT felt sorry for her then. He knew how it felt to have the others in the group look to you and then totally blow it.
"Let's try to find somewhere to set up before dark," JT tried to encourage Hannah as gently as he could.
She sniffled, her nose turning red. "Yes. It's just so much harder than I thought it would be. I wasn't expecting this much snow. You can't even find the roads. All the maps I tried to memorize...turned out to be useless. Then there are still zombies..."
JT swallowed down any harsh comments he felt bubbling up inside. Instead, he spoke as nicely as he could. "Just pick a direction."
They didn't make it far or to any place that offered much protection for the night. The next day was a repeat. It was mountains, trees, and snow as far as JT could see. On the third day Gus complained of dizziness and a feeling like he was going to heave that never went away. Linda said it was altitude sickness getting to him and the cold didn't help. Rest and water is what Gus needed.
They were exposed and miserable. They made camp as best they could next to a rock wall. They lined up their tents in a row. You could hear a tiny mountain stream splash on some rocks nearby. JT didn't know it could get so cold as he tried to get a fire going. The wind would cycle down then whip through in a frenzy. At the times when the wind did that, it didn't even feel like JT had layers and a coat on. He wanted to yell at the weather and at Hannah. He wanted a drink to at least warm up his insides. He wanted to rage at the world. Instead, he kept trying to light the fire. During one of the wind lulls, it finally caught.
He helped Linda bring Gus over to it. Gus made a sound like he was sucking on air through a straw. He was also an alarming shade of blue. Ice and snow clumped in his scraggly beard. He was shaking like he was having a seizure.
"D-d-do you guys get t-t-tired of taking care of m-me?" Gus stuttered.
"Yeah, sure as hell do." JT sat beside him, the heat feeling delicious.
"Fuck you too, buddy."
"Nothing can freeze your sunny disposition."
As the two of them sat there JT watched Linda go off out of earshot with Hannah. Whatever the discussion was, it looked like there was some disagreement. Hannah broke away, stomped over, and went into her tent. Linda then came over.
"She's determined, I give her that," Linda said in a huff.
"If she wasn't, would she still be here?" Gus asked, teeth chattering.
"Gus, if we don't go back to Dr. Childs' settlement, I'm worried about what might happen to you." Linda looked more afraid than when the zombies were attacking them.
"She doesn't want to go back. Can you blame her?" Gus said.
"No, but being a good leader isn't just about doing what you want to do. You think about the welfare of all you lead." Linda looked like she would say more then stopped.
"I know we had shitty luck in the past but-"
That's an understatement big enough to push your ego through," Hannah interrupted.
JT blew his breath out, watching the steam whip away in the wind. He didn't raise his voice or call Hannah out. He just continued on with his point. "Staying and checking things out would have been the better choice. We could have been more careful and thorough. We know what to look out for now, with all of our experience. I think thatwould have been the better call than tramping around out here until we freeze to death." JT's teeth chattered as he spit out the last sentence.
None of them said anything for a few moments. The fire crackled and popped. A huge gust came and almost blew it out.
"Gus, let's get inside," Linda said. "The more you can rest the better. You have pushed yourself too much as it is. I'll melt some snow. You need to drink."
JT pushed his way into his tent. The heat from the fire didn't penetrate inside. He laid in the sleeping bag with his coat on, shivering. At that moment, as he laid there, he despised Hannah. He thought any chance with her was now over. Just as he felt, with his head clearer the last few days, maybe he could forgive her for Tyrone, here she was pushing Gus to his death. She had nothing but snide remarks for him all the time. Nagging and nagging about his drink. About how he should just get over the deaths he caused by his failures. What about her? They weren't inside a house, with a fireplace going, because she couldn't deal. JT had these dark, ugly thoughts and many more all the way down into a fitful sleep.
In the morning they awoke to several more inches of snow. Linda grumbled under her breath as she shook it off her tent as they packed up to go on. JT woke up thinking he should say something to Hannah. This was ludicrous. Would standing up to her even help? She loved Gus; he knew she wanted nothing bad to happen to him. What would it take to get her to turn around? With all this stress, I could use a drink or five right now. What if we go back and Childs is some kind of psycho like Harold or Albright? In the end he decided to keep his mouth shut.
Their pace was glacial. Gus had a hard time keeping upright, one foot in front of the other. The snowfall started again. JT began to feel like he wasn't even on Earth anymore. Maybe he was on Hoth. He felt like he could cut open an animal and crawl inside if it would make him warm. If he never saw snow again, it would be too soon. The more he cursed it, the harder it seemed to come down.
It reminded him of the Lord of the Rings movie, which he had watched the first one
and hated. This was like that part though, where the group was trying to get over the mountain and snow, while the mountain itself was coming down on them. He looked around nervously, now expecting something like an avalanche. He had the bad thought; now it was bound to happen. That was his luck.
In the distance was a strange shape. By late afternoon JT could make it out. It was jutting out of the snow like an ancient artifact. The tail section of an airplane. JT thought it must have been a big one. He wondered if the whole thing was there, the front half buried in the snow or if this was just the back part of the jet. Snapped off in the crash, like some child's toy.
Hannah made a line straight for the crash. JT didn't know why. Maybe because it was the first landmark out here, that wasn't a rock or a fucking snow pile. It ended up being another bad choice.
They came across bits of debris, like a breadcrumb trail, to the bulk of the crash, made up of sheet metal, airplane pieces, and body parts. Here and there the snow turned from white to black, red, or some disgusting mix of the two colors.
"Hannah, where the hell are we going?" JT called out to her. "What do you think will be in there for us?"
She didn't answer, she just trudged along, head down. If she had horns, she would have made a perfect mountain goat. She was certainlystubborn enough.
JT kept his eyes up, scanning the wreckage. He licked his lips, wishing for a drink. Not for the first time that day he wished he had stayed in town long enough to get some liquor.
They were close enough now that JT could make out some of the interior through the ripped open side of the plane. Seats, some dead bodies, luggage strewn everywhere. Then he saw movement. He blinked rapidly. Several figures were moving among the wreckage, he was sure.
"Hannah," he called out, trying to keep his voice level. He paused to watch her. They were in no shape for a fight. Gus could barely walk.
"Hannah!" he called out again, a little louder.
Hannah turned to face him. Her expression was blank. He could also see the figures turn their bodies towards the sound of his voice.
