****
When Russell returned three hours later, Wilson and Riley met him at the door. Wilson looked rested. Riley was a little worse for wear. No one else stirred from their bunks. Russell motioned them outside. The sun had dipped below the horizon, casting everything in deep shadows. He spoke softly as they headed toward the house. “I’ll go over camera surveillance first. It’s pretty straight forward. But there are some areas of the property that can’t be seen. Those areas will have to be checked periodically on foot and in pairs. Wilson and I can take the first shift. Riley you can man the monitors.”
Riley nodded. “You’re not going to get an argument from me. I’ve slept a total of five hours in the last three days. I’m not up for any sort of hike through the property.”
Russell studied him a long moment. “We’ll keep this shift short. We’ll do four hours, then you two rest for the next eight.”
Wilson stretched. “Normally six is all I need, but I’ll make good use of the extra time.”
Chapter 21
Over the next couple of days, everyone settled into their new routines. Russell’s schedule had been meticulous. Their tasks included individual assignments that ranged from working in the garden to patrolling the property.
Marjie shifted a large tomato vine, looking for anything orange. Next to her, Jennifer weeded around the healthy plants. They had both happily volunteered two hours every day to help with Russell’s sprawling garden. It spread over a half acre and included a large variety of vegetables and fruits.
Setting several tomatoes in a bucket, Marjie turned to Jennifer. “I was just thinking about what I’d usually be doing right now. This is quite a switch from waiting on customers and restocking shelves.”
Jennifer glanced up. “I was a service rep for the billing department at a pharmaceutical company.”
Marjie smiled. “That sounds interesting.”
Jennifer smiled back. “Not really. It sounds impressive, but it wasn’t terribly exciting. I’d been hoping for a transfer to another department. What I wouldn’t give to be bored at my desk again.”
Marjie moved onto the next plant and started picking more tomatoes. She paused and ran her hand along the plant’s prickly leaf surface. “I’m with you. Dusting shelves and waiting on costumers seems so unreal now. I miss my co-workers. I’ve been trying not to think about them.”
Jennifer paled. “My friend was having a baby at the hospital where I had my first encounter with the dead. I haven’t let myself think about it either.”
Marjie placed a tomato in a bucket, then walked over and grasped Jennifer’s hand. “Maybe we shouldn’t think about it yet.”
Jennifer swiped at her eyes, smudging dirt on her cheeks. “Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t go there.” She started crying again. “I never reached my sister.”
Marjie knelt beside her. “Where does she live?”
Jennifer sniffled. “East coast, North Carolina.”
Marjie exhaled in relief. “That’s good, since Russell says the east coast is doing better than the rest of the country, at least according to his resources. Think about, Jen, you’re in the worst part of the country, and you’re OK.”
Jennifer smiled through her tears. “True. It’s just that everything…”
Marjie squeezed her hand. “I think ‘everything’ about covers it.”
Jennifer laughed through her tears. “I’ll focus on the weeds.”
“Don’t forget, there’s a bunch of worms on the bean plants.”
“Of course, how could I forget?”
****
Jane blinked, then blinked again. The little finger on her left hand twitched. Gary sat next to her writing and missed her movements. He’d spent the most time with her, though everyone else, with the exception of Sadie, had visited with her over the last couple of days. Jennifer and Marjie had brought her a clean change of clothes. Wilson and Fred had lifted Jane outside the jeep and held her head and shoulders while Marjie and Jennifer cut her old clothes off and replaced them with new ones. They brushed her hair, putting it into a ponytail before she was secured back inside the jeep. There wasn’t much they could do for her, but it was something.
Gary spent the last hour taking notes in a large notebook he’d gotten from Russell. His time was split between writing and maintaining a one-way conversation with Jane. Now, when he finally glanced up, she appeared the same. He stared at her a long moment, glad the others had tried to make her more comfortable. Though she appeared dead, her condition hadn’t worsened. Everyone took that as a good sign. He smiled to himself as he spoke. “Jane, I might be losing my sanity but you’ve become my muse, my one link to the life I had. Here I am fifteen miles from my cabin and my whole world is gone. The only thing I’ve got back is something I lost before this whole thing started, my writing. I’m sure that can’t mean a whole lot to you, but it’s incredibly important to me.”
Jane’s head slumped forward, scaring the crap out of him. He jumped to the side, one hand on the door handle, waiting to see if she was going to do anything else. Finally, he waved his hand in front of her, prepared to snatch it back. Nothing. He leaned forward trying to see if her expression changed, but he couldn’t be sure if it had or not. He got out and walked over to her side of the jeep.
Russell’s voice was crisp through the gate speaker. “What’s wrong?”
Gary turned back and waved at the gate camera. “Her head fell forward. I was going to adjust her position.”
“Don’t get any closer, I’m sending Wilson. He’ll be armed. If you get bit and try to pull anything…”
Gary interrupted. “Russell, if I get bit, I’m not going to hide it. And if I did get bit, I would hope you would wait before shooting me to be sure I would turn.”
“I would wait. But, I don’t want you attempting anything alone.”
Gary sighed. “I’ll wait for Wilson.”
Not five minutes later Wilson pulled up in Riley’s truck. He leaned his head out the window as he slowed to a stop. “Girl trouble?”
Gary laughed. “Hardly, her head fell forward.”
Wilson jumped out of the truck and looked inside the jeep. “That’s odd, what with how stiff she is.”
He turned and stepped closer to Gary as he whispered. “Russell was right, it’s a good thing you called me.”
“Wilson.” Russell’s voice was curt. “I don’t appreciate whispering.”
Wilson shot around to face the camera. “Sorry, Russell. I was saying you were right to call me.”
“Why would you whisper that?”
“You’ve been right about everything. Didn’t want your head to get too big.”
Russell barked a laugh. “There’s no danger of that. Get on with it.”
Wilson gave him the thumbs up and turned to Gary. “Who’s lifting her head?”
Gary stepped forward. “Me.” He opened Jane’s door and lightly tapped her head. When she didn’t respond, he grasped her ponytail and quickly pulled her head back. It stayed in place for a moment, then fell to the side. He jumped when Wilson spoke from beside him. “Maybe she’s getting weak, she hasn’t eaten anything.”
Gary turned toward him, alarmed. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“What was that?” Russell’s voice was soft and laced with suspicion.
Wilson turned to face the camera. “It’s Jane. She hasn’t eaten.”
“I should hope she hasn’t eaten.”
Wilson frowned. “She could die.”
“Again?” Russell didn’t mince words. “I highly doubt that. And even if she isn’t dead, she will be soon.”
Gary leaned in toward the camera. “Uh, Russell, we don’t really know what state she’s in.”
Russell was quickly losing patience. “If you think we’re going to start feeding her people, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Wilson began pacing, agitated, talking to himself.
Gary made angry eye contact with the camera, giving a subtle nod in Wilson’s direct
ion. “We don’t know what she eats.”
Apparently Russell got what Gary was saying, taking in Wilson’s distress. He softened his tone. “What are you suggesting?”
Wilson stopped pacing. “Have you got a blender?”
“You don’t think she can chew?”
“Well, I’m not sure. Her teeth stopped clicking yesterday.”
There was a long pause that didn’t bode well for Jane. “I have to draw the line…”
Russell’s words faltered as Wilson leaned in toward the camera and spoke. “She’s very alive for a dead person. She’s got Gary writing her life story.”
Gary considered that an exaggeration but wasn’t going to disagree in front of Russell.
Russell cleared his throat. “Wilson, explain to me why she’s so important.”
Wilson looked back at Jane. “I should of turned. She never finished. It doesn’t seem right to just let her starve.”
Gary nodded his agreement.
Russell was silent so long, they began to think he wouldn’t respond. “Fine. Wilson come up with a plan, and we’ll go over it.”
“Gary and I’ll work on it together.”
****
Two hours later, Wilson and Gary approached Sadie’s jeep. With Russell’s approval, they’d blended together a mash which consisted of oats, steak and a rabbit that Wilson had snared earlier that day. Gary was carrying her meal in a bucket he’d carefully scrubbed out. Behind him, Wilson held a serving spoon with an unusually long handle. Gary reached his free hand back, with the air of a surgeon, and Wilson gave him the spoon. Just as they reached the jeep, Russell startled them both by announcing that Gary should use caution.
Both men turned back to reassure Russell, missing Jane’s head moving. When they turned back to face her, Gary dropped the bucket. He and Wilson took an involuntary step backward. Wilson was the first to speak. “She’s salivating, that could be good or it could be bad.”
Gary stooped down reaching for the bucket, not taking his eyes off Jane. He continued staring at her as he spoke. “Russell, I’m going to try to feed her now.”
Russell growled. “Just remember I’m against this idea. This is how people get themselves in trouble.”
Gary ignored that and lifted the door handle. If it weren’t for the seatbelt, Jane would’ve toppled out. He reached the spoon into the bucket, scooping up some of the gruel. He carefully aimed for Jane’s mouth. She met him halfway, clamping down hard on the spoon.
Wilson’s next words were whisper soft. “Hunger will do that to a person.”
Gary began a tug of war trying to get the spoon back. With a final firm tug, he yanked it free.
“Careful of her teeth. We should have brought a wooden spoon.”
Gary didn’t respond but dug in the bucket for more food.
Chapter 22
Inside the tank, Marjie and Sadie sat on the bunks planning menus. The MREs were being used sparingly and supplemented with cooked meals. Both women looked up when Gary and Wilson came through the door carrying a now empty bucket.
Sadie wasn’t one to mince words. “How’s your mutant treating you?”
Neither Gary nor Wilson appreciated the barb. Jane’s condition had become a serious concern for them. Over the last three days, Jane had eaten countless meals, and her hunger seemed limitless. They weren’t allowed to have more than one person’s portion for her, so any extra food had to be caught. Wilson had snared six rabbits and taught Gary how to clean them. Jane ate everything.
Wilson was the first to speak. “Eating disorders are nothing to be taken lightly.”
Marjie smiled in sympathy.
Sadie shook her head. “Give it up you two. She’s turned.”
Gary held a hand up as Wilson started to respond wanting to say his own piece. “Sadie, she hasn’t tried to attack anyone. She’s eating oats as well as meat.”
Sadie shook her head again. “She’s restrained. Have you held out an arm? Given her a shot at human flesh yet?”
Wilson dropped his head, but Gary shocked everyone with his next words. “Yes, I did.”
Wilson looked up surprised.
Gary smiled. “You were mixing the gruel, and I threw my hand in front of her face. It was a stupid thing to do…she leaned forward. I didn’t wait to see if she would bite me or not and yanked it back. Russell probably saw it. I’m surprised he didn’t say anything. Maybe he’s just as curious as the rest of us.”
“Not at all.” Russell’s voice boomed through a speaker in the wall. “Dumbest thing I’ve seen yet. Like dripping blood in a shark tank. You’re lucky to be alive.”
Sadie turned toward the camera. “Russell, we had an agreement that you would at least pretend not to be listening in.”
“Errr… sorry… hold up.”
Conversation came to a halt as they waited.
“Crap…we got stragglers,” Russell announced. “Riley’s on his way. They may get through the first fence but not the second. We can’t take any chances. Wilson, grab the bows.”
Wilson stepped forward. “I’m on it, Russell.”
Russell’s voice was strained as he spoke his next words. “Gary move Jane inside the second fence, down the ridge just out of sight. Make sure her gag is in place. Take some rope and tighten her restraints. Don’t do anything else stupid.”
Gary, keys in his pocket, was out the door before Russell finished speaking.
Marjie went with Wilson. Sadie, alone in the tank, confronted Russell. “How could you take a chance bringing Jane in?” She was afraid and feeling suddenly very alone in her common sense view of Jane.
Russell’s voice had lost its edge when he responded. He’d learned to handle Sadie with kid gloves. “Sadie, let’s think about this. She is more a danger to us out there than in here. If there is anything human left in her, the stragglers will congregate and surround the jeep. That will attract more of them. We need to get her out of sight.”
Sadie swiped at a tear. “Are there many stragglers?”
“Nothing we can’t handle.”
“Now you sound like Wilson.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Come up to the house and watch the monitors. I have to help Wilson.”
****
Riley, breathing hard, met Wilson and Marjie at the back of the tank. “Must be sixty of them coming from the north end of the property.”
Wilson pursed his lips, handing Riley a bow. “That’s a high number.”
Marjie agreed.
Riley flexed the string of the weapon. “I don’t think they’re here by accident. Someone had to have led them in this direction.”
Russell appeared from seemingly nowhere. “No doubt about that. We need to keep a close watch on our perimeters. It’s possible someone’s trying to take over the place.”
Wilson nodded his agreement, shooting Marjie a smile as he spoke. “Plenty of saboteurs in this area.”
“And I’m not exactly Mr. Popularity with the locals,” Russell grumbled.
“We got your back.” Wilson grabbed a regular bow slung it over his shoulder and put some arrows in a quiver. Next, he grabbed a crossbow and crossbow bolts. Strapped to his leg, he had a gun. His belt held a large, rather intimidating knife.
Riley gave him a double take. “Hey, leave some weapons for the rest of us.”
Wilson puffed up his chest. “I only take what I plan to use.”
Riley shook his head and grabbed some arrows. “Just watch where you’re aiming.”
Russell was quick to agree. “Yes everyone needs to be sure of what they’re aiming at. That said, everyone grab an orange vest and cap. Remember what you learned in training.”
Jennifer, Fred and Gary ran up, catching Russell’s last words. Over the past couple of days, they’d all been given briefings on basic survival as well as training on how to use a bow. Fred and Jennifer weren’t terribly comfortable with the weapon, but Gary had taken to it right away. He was a natural.
Marjie handed each of
them quivers filled with arrows.
Russell inspected the bows before handing them out. His words were grave. “Marjie, Gary check the western end of fence line two. Fred and Jennifer inspect the eastern end. When the four of you reach the southern end, head across till you meet each other. Come no further north than you are now. Riley, Wilson and I will head up north and give these dead something to think about.”
Marjie was quick to speak up. “Russell, we can help you guys. There are so many.”
Russell inhaled, trying not to feel insulted. He knew Marjie was just worried. “They have two fence lines to try and pass through. From what I can see, they’re in bad shape. I almost feel sorry for those dead bastards. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.”
A murmur of relief went through the group at Russell’s words.
He shot them all a look. “But don’t anyone get sloppy out there. Watch your backs. Keep your weapons handy, and for Christ sakes, don’t get bit. Run away if you have to. We’d all better walk from here. We don’t want to attract any more attention than necessary.” That said, he grabbed two crossbows, two bolt filled quivers and headed north. Riley had to jog to catch up.
Wilson set his weapons down and pulled Marjie into a tight hug, whispering things that had her smiling.
Riley turned around. “Wilson, for Christ sakes.”
****
Within minutes, Russell, Wilson and Riley had reached the gate at the north end of the property. Russell typed in the code. As the gate slid open, the three passed through, all of them scanning the field and surrounding hills. They hurried along the edge of the field and took cover in a stand of trees. Russell pointed to a large group of dead that were pouring over one of the hillsides and heading towards others that were wandering much closer.
“Christ.” Riley mumbled under his breath as he instinctively checked his forty-five and thumbed the safety. He watched as Wilson methodically checked each of his weapons.
Wilson smiled and shrugged. “Wish I’d brought the heavy crossbow instead of this lightweight one.”
“I’m sure you’ll manage.” Riley turned to Russell. “How do we want to do this?”
Situation Z Page 14
