“Thanks,” I said.
Streamers of blood floated in the water as I set down the glass. This detail did not escape Ormand. In fact, it seemed to trouble him.
“I want to apologize,” he said.
“For what?”
“Travis shouldn’t have gone so hard on you. Usually our methods are less … destructive. The fact is, he’s devastated over the loss of his daughter. He seems to think you’re lying about her death. I’ve assured him that there is no reason you would lie. Is there, Dave?”
“Is there what?”
He shifted in his chair, apparently unused to not getting a straight answer. “Is there a reason you would lie about Griffin?”
“No.”
I guessed the sorry condition of my face, especially my eyes, made it impossible for him to read me. My voice was flat and devoid of emotion. I made sure not to look away.
“I didn’t think so,” he said, and leaned back. “Besides, I don’t think you could’ve maintained such a story after what Travis did to you. To be honest, I’ve overlooked a lot where Travis is concerned. He can be unpredictable. With everything going on in the town, it’s difficult for me to stay on top of all facets of this operation. I’m sure you can appreciate that.”
“What is going on?”
“We are gaining ground in our campaign to bring order.”
“I thought bringing order was Black Dragon’s job.”
“Their job is to put down civil unrest. They don’t care about you and me. They want to stop any and all activity they see as disruptive and be on their way. They’re mercenaries, for God’s sake. Did you know they’re shooting civilians at will and burning the bodies?”
“I know they’re killing draggers to rid the town of this scourge.”
“‘Draggers.’” He chuckled artificially. “Once you put a label on someone, you are free to do what you want, is that it?”
“Wait, are you suggesting these are sick people who need help?”
“It’s not for me to say, I’m not a doctor.”
“Look, they’re dead. And they’re eating people.”
“The point is, I believe our organization has more of an interest in preserving this town than the Black Dragon thugs. And I would hope you do too.”
“Are you asking me to join you?”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. We’re helping people, Dave. Not like those overpaid contractors. We’re feeding and sheltering people till this scourge, as you call it, is over. I can see that you’re strong. You’ve stood up to this—”
“Torture.”
“This cleansing, and you’ve come through it. You seem to want to live. I’m giving you a way to do that. They tell me you don’t drink.”
“Used to.”
“You see? We need more people like you. People who can control their urges and work for the good of the community.”
“Where are these people you’re talking about?” I said. “The ones you’re protecting.”
“Somewhere safe. The soldiers who were sent to protect them failed. Now they’re in our care.”
“You’re killing soldiers.”
“We always offer them the choice, the way I’m doing with you. Some have seen the wisdom of what we’re offering and have come over to our way of thinking. The ones who don’t, well … That reminds me. I want to thank you for removing Chavez from the equation. He was becoming a real problem for us.”
“How did you know?”
“Give me some credit.”
“Do you know why more soldiers haven’t been deployed to stop this thing?”
“No. All we know is that the area is completely sealed off. No one is getting in or out. So it’s up to us.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I need to think about it.”
“Of course. I’ll give you until tomorrow morning. I won’t be here, but you can tell Travis your decision.”
“How do you know he won’t kill me even if I decide to join?”
“I don’t.”
Ormand looked past me, and the next thing I knew, Ulie and the other nailhead were in the room with us. They helped me from my chair. I still couldn’t put weight on my bad leg.
“Leg bothering you?” Ormand said.
“It’s fine,” I said. “Do you think you’ll win?”
“It’s not about winning, it’s about doing what’s right. And yes, we will do what’s right.”
I stopped at the door and faced him. “What if there’s no way out of this thing? Then what?”
He smiled, his eyes obscured by the reflection on his glasses. “There’s always a way out.”
* * *
Back in the cold room, I thought about the meeting and about what Ormand had said. He frightened me. Though I had no wish to join this circus, I thought doing so might help keep me alive long enough to find Holly and Griffin.
What they said about Ormand was true. He was charming and charismatic. And his words almost made sense. Almost. They might have been words of peace, but they implied a very real threat. He was like an outsider running for office. Was that his plan? To set himself up as the savior of the town so that, when all this was over, he could go into politics and further his group’s agenda?
My headache had subsided, but my leg felt worse. Swelling and tenderness burned around the tibia, where Travis had beaten me mercilessly with a length of iron rebar. I thought the bone might be fractured.
Despite my condition, I looked forward to a meal. I heard the door unlock and expected Ulie to come in with my MRE and some water. But it was Travis who came through.
He didn’t look well. As I lay against the wall, I smelled something foul coming from him and guessed that gangrene had set into his burned arm and hand.
Travis stared at me, his rifle pointed downwards. In our drinking days, Jim and I used to be able to carry on a conversation with him at least. Did Travis even remember back that far? I hated him so much for the pain he’d inflicted, but I forced myself to remain calm.
“Is the Beehive still standing?” I said.
“I don’t think about it much anymore. There’s more important work to do.”
“Like saving Tres Marias.”
“Ormand says he believes you. About Griffin.”
“I’m sorry, Travis.”
“How’d she die?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“I do.”
As an alcoholic, I was good at lying. There are two things to remember when telling a lie. First, provide enough detail but not too much. Otherwise it will sound made-up. Second, mix the lie with the truth. That way there are always parts of it that others can corroborate.
“After your men destroyed our compound,” I said, “we found some of them in the front yard—including Kyle. He was already dead from the blast. Then he turned, and we had to shoot him. Griffin went crazy and took off on us. We chased her all the way down to the stream, but it was too late. A horde was on her. Travis, you have to believe me, we tried to save her. In the end, we had to shoot her. I’m sorry.”
“We sent men back there, looking for her. We never found her body.”
“We burned it. Did they check the pit?”
Travis shook his head. He looked away and sucked down the pain. “I loved her,” he said. “You may not believe that, but I did.” He went to the door. “I hope you choose to die in here.” Then he walked out as Ulie came in with my meal.
“What’s Ormand up to, Ulie? I mean, what happens after all this is over?”
Ulie looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening. “He has some big ol’ dreams. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s lookin’ to be governor.”
“But he murdered soldiers. They’ll throw him in prison.”
“The way he sees it, some of those guys went bat-shit crazy. Look at Chavez. If that ain’t proof enough.”
“It’s a crazy world. I guess anything’s possible.”
“So you gonna join us?”
“What did your friend say? This is the happening club. I need to stay alive.”
“Good choice, Dave.”
“Travis won’t like it.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Ulie said. “Ormand put ’im on a short leash. You just start to get better.”
“Thanks, Ulie.”
So, without even realizing it, I’d decided. It made sense. I needed to survive for Holly and Griffin. Now I needed a weapon.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Life for a Life
The frantic banging on the door and hungry death shrieks awakened me. As I prepared to die, automatic gunfire echoed in deadly bursts. Men shouted and women screamed—but this time it was terrified screaming. Rapid footsteps pattered as people fled in one direction, then another. I couldn’t focus. What was happening?
A single gunshot resounded outside the door.
“Let’s try in here.” It was Holly’s voice.
“Holly!”
“Dave!”
I tried to stand, but my leg wouldn’t support me, so I waited as the door handle jiggled. Soon gunfire exploded and the door flew open, revealing Holly and Griffin. I couldn’t believe it—it was like a mirage. They were both armed, sweat glistening off their lean, muscled arms. From where I sat, they appeared unharmed.
Greta bounded in, barking and whining. She jumped on top of me, knocking me back and covering my face with dog slobber. Holly knelt down and checked my bruises.
“You look like shit, Dave.”
“I didn’t think you guys would come for me.”
“We had to make sure you didn’t give in to temptation. I mean, honestly. A brewery, Dave?”
“Hey, you can smell my breath.”
She leaned over and took a sniff. “Hmm.”
Then she kissed me.
Holly and Griffin grabbed my arms and got me to my feet. As we made our way to the door, my bad leg dragged behind me uselessly.
Outside, pandemonium reigned, with nailheads and soldiers shooting it out as draggers poured in from God knows where. As we reached the door, I saw Ulie impaled on a forklift, still alive, the draggers devouring him as Travis’s pit bull tore at their legs.
“Move your ass,” Holly said.
“How did you find me?”
“Tell you later.”
We were joined by Warnick and two other soldiers, Vincent and Fyffe. Outside, the firefight had escalated. Watching for crossfire, we exited the room. Soldiers, nailheads and draggers fought everywhere. I was too weak to help. A couple of half-drunk nailheads aimed their weapons at us, and Holly shot them dead where they stood.
Halfway across the floor, a horde confronted us. Warnick yelled to Vincent and Fyffe. “Hold them off while I get these three out of here.”
Griffin took the lead as Holly and Warnick guided me to an exit. I could see the glowing green sign past a line of equipment. As we reached it, though, Travis stepped out of the shadows and shot Warnick in the shoulder. The bullet ripped through his uniform and came out the other side. Holly let go of me, and I slid to the floor.
Travis looked bad. His eyes were glassy, and his face was red from fever. The smell coming off his arm was nauseating.
“You look pretty damn good for a dead girl,” he said to Griffin. “Get yer ass over here. Now!” He pointed the rifle at Griffin’s head, then sneered at Holly as she took aim. “Even if you do shoot me, I’ll kill her.”
Holly and Griffin dropped their weapons as two nailheads joined Travis. Warnick could barely stand. One of the nailheads hit him across the forehead with his handgun, forcing him back on the floor. I couldn’t do anything.
Griffin’s body shook. Despite all her newfound strength, I saw that she still feared Travis. He smiled and stroked her face with his good hand.
Gunfire erupted behind us. A bullet hit one of the nailheads in the throat and took him out. Travis grabbed Griffin by the hair and, as she screamed, headed out the door. Holly tried to follow, but the other nailhead fired at her, just missing her small torso. I tried to stand, but it was no use. Neither of us could stop what was happening.
More soldiers arrived, and Holly pointed to the exit. “They took Griffin!”
As the soldiers went after Travis, Holly knelt down next to Warnick. She pulled open his shirt to check the bullet wound. Then she said, “We have to get him to a hospital.”
Two soldiers took charge of Warnick, who was losing consciousness. We made it outside into the night. All the shooting had attracted more undead, because now a new horde advanced.
“I’ll stand by you,” Holly said to me. Then she aimed and took down a line of draggers.
“How bad’s your leg?” one of the soldiers said, taking out more of the horde as we made our way through the parking lot.
“I think it’s broken.”
We made it to a Humvee, where we found Vincent and Fyffe.
“Where’s Griffin?” Holly said.
“We didn’t see them,” Vincent said.
“God, no,” Holly said. “Griffin!”
Her voice echoed as she drifted through the parking lot. Vincent grabbed her and guided her back to our vehicle.
“Let me go! We can’t leave her!”
“She’s gone,” Vincent said. “We have to get out of here.”
Holly looked at Warnick, semiconscious and bleeding, and at me, bruised and unable to stand. Then she nodded, tears streaming, and got into the Humvee.
As Vincent drove us to the hospital, with two other Humvees trailing, Warnick tried to stay in charge.
“How’d it go back there?”
“Most of the nailheads are dead,” Vincent said. “The other guys are cleaning out draggers.”
“Are you sure they’ll be okay?” I said.
Warnick gave me a look. “Did you forget these are trained soldiers?”
“Sorry you got shot, Warnick.”
“Sorry you got your ass kicked in a brewery.”
* * *
I must have closed my eyes. When I opened them, we were parked across the street from the hospital’s emergency-room entrance. The parking lot was filled with draggers. Most wandered aimlessly in the glow of the orange lights among abandoned cars and ambulances.
Vincent grabbed a pair of field glasses. “The lights are on in the lobby, but I don’t see anyone.”
“Are the doors secure?” Warnick said, barely conscious and in pain.
“Yeah, looks like it.”
“So what’s the plan?” I said. “Warnick and I are a mess.”
“Speak for yourself,” Warnick said.
“Stay here a minute, okay?” Vincent said.
Holly, Vincent and Fyffe got out to join the others, leaving Greta with Warnick and me.
“Can you leave us a weapon?” I said.
Fyffe gave me his handgun. Then Vincent signaled for everyone to follow him. In the rearview mirror I saw a dozen people gathered in the darkness. The dog whined, then lowered her head and lay on the seat next to Warnick and me.
“How are you holding up?” I said.
“Been better,” Warnick said, and groaned as he shifted positions. When he moved, I saw blood smeared on the seat back.
I don’t know when Warnick lost consciousness, but soon I was alone. As I stroked Greta’s neck, I heard what sounded like the shriek of a mountain lion—or was it a dragger? Greta’s ears stood, but she didn’t move.
The stars were out, and it was a beautiful, dangerous night. For a second I forgot the pain that racked my body and enjoyed being alive one more day.
“Thank you, God.”
Something in me had changed after I spoke with Ormand. It had to do with the inevitability of it all. Not to get all philosophical, but for the first time in my life I saw things with clarity. We are born. We die. Somewhere in between we live. And how we live is up to us. That’s it. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s an earthquake or a flood or people coming back from the dead. It is still up to us.
The others retu
rned. Vincent opened the vehicle doors and helped us out.
“We get one shot at this,” he said.
Holly shook her head. “I still don’t like it.”
“Warnick and I will be fine,” I said.
My leg throbbed, but I was determined to get inside with the others. The plan was for a group of soldiers to create a distraction. Once the draggers were out of the way, Warnick, Holly and I would make our way to the entrance and get inside with the help of Vincent and Fyffe.
“You ready?” Fyffe said to me.
Vincent signaled, and the rest of the soldiers ran towards the parking lot whooping and hollering. Predictably, the horde went after them as they capered down the street away from the hospital.
We waited a couple of minutes, then Vincent signaled for us to move out. He and Fyffe helped Warnick across the street. Holly helped me, with Greta following. My leg had stiffened from being in the Humvee, and Warnick was still unconscious. It took us a while to get across.
At the entrance, Vincent tried the doors. Locked. We heard shooting in the distance and knew that the other soldiers had engaged the draggers.
“I don’t want to break the glass,” Vincent said. “Maybe there’s another door.”
As he went off to the side, we saw an orderly in blue scrubs crossing the lobby towards us. He was armed with a handgun.
“Hey!” Holly said. “Let us in.”
“Who are you?” he said through the door.
“We’re with Black Dragon,” Fyffe said. “Open the door.”
He hesitated. From out of the darkness, more draggers appeared. When they saw us, they started towards the entrance.
“Let us in,” Holly said.
The draggers closed on us. Vincent returned, and he, Fyffe and Holly started shooting. But as some of the undead went down, more came out of the darkness. The orderly activated the automatic doors and let us in.
“I’m sorry,” the orderly said, “but we were told not to unlock the doors for anyone.”
The Shadow Box: Paranormal Suspense and Dark Fantasy Thriller Novels Page 220
