Catharsis (Books 1-4): Outbreak Z

by EM Roberts

  “Yes, sir. I did a tour in Iraq.” She answered waiting for him to allow her to take a seat. She really wanted to say screw it and not offer any kind of deference to the man’s rank. He seemed like a total asshole, but she knew she had to play the man’s game. Plus, her military training wouldn’t allow her to disrespect a man of his rank.

  “Why did you leave?”

  “I wanted to become a conservation officer, plus my mother’s health was failing.” She explained felling his condemnation for her actions. Not every person was a lifer.

  “Well, we need people with experience like you, so I’m going to have to suggest you stay here.”

  “So, I’m being given a choice to stay or leave?” Ella asked, knowing this wasn’t the case, but she wanted the man to spell it out. She didn’t want him using words indicating she had a choice in the matter.

  “By suggest, I mean it’s an order,” he glared, daring her to challenge him.

  She heard a tap at the door, and Dan Spignelli entered. He walked over and stood beside the Lt. General.

  “And, if I decide to refuse your oh so kind suggestion, what happens then?”

  “You will regret it, and let’s just leave it at that.” Ella knew she was starting to make him angry, and she suddenly didn’t care.

  “Well, I refuse,” she said. She was prepared for the consequences. There was no way she would ever abandon her father at the farm on her own accord. Especially not when infected creatures were still roaming. She needed to be there to protect and help him.

  “Sir, with all due respect, she does have an elderly father and a young girl to take care of.” Dan came to her defense. She was surprised. She was sure Adams wasn’t used to his officers questioning his actions.

  “The young woman with her can return to the farm to do that. I talked to her and she seems too immature to fit in here,” Adams snapped, his face turning red.

  “And, I’m telling you I’m not staying,” Ella insisted, which seemed to infuriate the man even more. He obviously wasn’t used to having his orders questioned.

  Adams walked over and grabbed her by the arm. Ella inwardly flinched at the pain.

  “You will stay, or I will have your farm burned to the ground. No one defies me.” He backhanded Ella, making her fall to her knees. She glanced up and saw Dan move toward her, but stop when Adams held up his hand.

  “Take her to the detainee room. She can hang out with that miserable junkie in there,” he ordered.

  Dan walked over and took Ella’s arm. He walked her out the door and outside into the night.

  “Ella, I’m sorry he hit you, but you provoked him. You know better than that. I can’t help you. Would it be so wrong to stay here…with me?” he asked, looking at her with sincerity and compassion in his eyes.

  “I don’t even know you anymore. The man I knew wouldn’t stand by and allow a dictator to try and control everyone,” she replied angrily.

  “He’s not a dictator. He’s the only man in control of this country anymore. You know as well as I do that a strong control of the military is what we need right now.”

  Ella remained silent as he walked her into another building. She didn’t know whether she should mention the fact that the former President of the United States was alive and well. Suddenly, she worried for Parker. What would happen to him? Dan came to a barricaded door, opened it, and motioned for her to walk inside. He silently shut the door and slid the barricade into place.

  The room was completely dark, but Ella knew someone else was there because she heard rustling and moaning.

  “Hello.” She felt her way to a wall, slid down it, and sat on the floor. The room smelled of sweat and vomit, and it was also incredible hot. The combination made her slightly nauseated. So, this was the punishment for defying Adams. She wondered if he thought this would break her. It might break the junkie, but it wouldn’t break her. If he thought otherwise, he was wrong. It would take more than this to break a tough, country girl like her.

  “Hey, so what are you in for?” a hoarse voice whispered.

  “Insubordination, I guess,” Ella replied. “And you?”

  “Drugs. I’m a drug addict, and our dear leader didn’t like that.” This explained the vomit smell. The man was probably going through withdrawal.

  “I’m Ella, by the way.”

  “Jax.”

  The two remained quiet after that, and Ella drifted off. She wasn’t worried the man would try to attack her because he’d sounded weak and ill. Besides, she was so tired at this point she didn’t even care.

  The next morning brought Ella awake with stiff, awkward movements. She could pretty much sleep anywhere, but her body was paying for this choice of venue. Choice? Those were the wrong words. She hadn’t a choice in the matter. Lt. General Adams had seen to that.

  In the dim light of the room, she looked around. She imagine this had been a stock room for one of the stores. There were a few clothes hangers in a pile in the corner, and a couple of garment racks that had been abandoned. On a pile of clothing in the corner of the room, lay a man if one could call him that. He was gaunt and thin, his hair in disarray. She could smell the urine and vomit radiating from his body.

  Noticing Ella was awake, the man sat up and leaned his back against the wall. Ella could see the beads of sweat, a result of his effort. She felt sorry for him, yet she didn’t. That was the thing with drug addicts. There was pity, but then again there was disgust. Disgust that a person could become so dependent on something that he or she would do anything to get it.

  “What was it? Your drug of choice?” Ella asked.

  “Cocaine, but after the outbreaks, pretty much anything I could find,” the man, Jax, replied. She remembered he introduced himself by that name last night. An unusual name, she thought.

  “So were you drafted into the army, or did you volunteer?”

  “Drafted, but they found out I couldn’t make it without my candy,” he smiled weakly.

  “How long have you been in here?”

  “About a week. I don’t know what happened to my friend and his girlfriend, but it was determined I needed to sober up before I could be of any use. I’ve been going out of my mind.”

  “Yeah, I can’t imagine it’s been easy,” Ella replied.

  The two enjoyed companionable silence for while both lost in thoughts: Ella thinking of ways she could escape and return to her father and Jax wondering how on earth he would survive without the drugs and if he wanted to.

  Chapter 6: Catch and Release

  Roe sat in the lookout tower and painted her fingernails a lovely purple color. She knew it would chip and peel and be a wreck in a couple of days, but it was one of the things that made her feel normal. The group all teased her about paying attention to her appearance and dressing up for dinner, but it was her coping mechanism. Ella coped by killing creatures, and Roe coped by painting her nails. She’d prefer to cope by having meaningless sex, but that wasn’t an option. At least her current way of coping wasn’t as dangerous.

  She capped the bottle and glanced around the little room. So, Ella had knocked boots with good ol’ Dean here. Roe laughed. She picked up the year old copy of Gossip! Gossip! and thumbed through its pages admiring the man candy and the fashion dos and don’ts. She missed so many things, but she was grateful. She was happy to be alive, and she truly didn’t take one thing for granted.

  Unlike Ella, Roe believed in God. Oh, she knew she wasn’t without sin. She liked to drink, smoke pot, and have sex, but deep down she knew there was a God out there who’d created the world and was looking out for them. What she didn’t understand was what this plan had to do with anything. Was this one more struggle for God’s people to suffer through? She just hoped that there was a rainbow at the end of this tunnel, or she might become upset with the man upstairs.

  Sometimes, she wondered what happened to her son. She remembered holding him as a small child and marveling at his appearance. She’d loved him, cared for him, and rais
ed him. Then, they’d slowly drifted apart. He hadn’t really approved of her nomadic lifestyle, and she’d thought he’d turned into a damn yuppie. What she wouldn’t give to be able to pick up a phone and see if he were okay. But, she couldn’t. She had to adjust to the fact that she may never see him again.

  She heard a noise in the distance and dropped the magazine. She grabbed the binoculars and peered through them. She could see out over the front gate and onto the road leading away from the house. A brown military jeep was making its way up the road. Roe grabbed her weapon, an assault rifle Ella had taught her to use, and radioed the house, telling Theo and Parker they had company.

  A few minutes later, she saw Parker and Theo ride by in the small red farm utility vehicle, both men armed. The men dismounted, spoke through the gate to the visitors. Theo must have trusted the visitors because he opened the gate and continued the conversation. After a few minutes, Parker and Theo returned followed by a military issued jeep containing four men in military uniform. Roe wasn’t fooled though; anyone could dress up and pretend to be military. They’d experienced similar situations before. She climbed from the tower, walked up to the porch, and entered the house.

  The men seemed ill at ease, and all were armed as well.

  “Mr. Johnson, we’ve come to inform you that your daughter is well. She has been detained by Lt. General Ford Adams, and will become a part of the new United States military.”

  “What do ya mean detained? Ya mean she’s being held against her will?” Theo Johnson asked angrily. Roe knew Ella wouldn’t just up and join the military abandoning her father and the rest of the group.

  “Sir, we’re drafting all men and ex-military of age to fight in this war against the infected,” the officer replied nervously, adjusting the weapon he was carrying in his arms.

  Theo Johnson may look like a helpless, frail old man, but Roe knew better. Just because he was a little slow didn’t mean he wasn’t tough. She sometimes thought Ella didn’t give him enough credit. Ella loved her father and wanted to take care of him, but Roe knew Theo could take care of himself.

  “So, Lt. General Adams is in charge?” Parker asked. From the men’s actions, obviously they recognized Parker as the former president.

  The young man adverted his eyes. “Yes, sir, Mr. Wallace, but I’m sure he’ll be glad to know the President of the United States has survived. He specifically said we should keep an eye out for you.”

  “I bet he did,” Parked replied sarcastically, and Roe wondered what the relationship between the two men was. Parker seemed easy going enough, but he could have been a totally different person before the outbreak.

  “You will, of course, return with us. Mr. Johnson, the young girl, and the other woman may stay here, but we welcome civilians to travel with us.” The officer commanded, his confidence returning somewhat.

  Roe wondered how much experience someone so young could possibly have and whether the young man had been in the military before this whole epidemic had come sweeping in on the nation. He was just a kid, but sometimes, she knew, kids could be dangerous.

  “I’ll come. I wanna make sure my daughter is okay, and that means Roe, you and Carly will have to come along as well,” Theo instructed. Roe breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t afraid, but she hadn’t relished the thought of being left alone to fend for herself. Actually, the thought shouldn’t have even entered her mind because she trusted Theo explicitly, and she knew he wouldn’t leave her here.

  “Pack a few things,” Theo instructed.

  Roe made her way to Carly’s room where she grabbed a few things for the young girl. The child had pretty much become community property since Ella had rescued her. All of the group had fallen in love with the child, but it was Ella and Theo that Carly clung to the most. After filling Carly a small bag which included a stuffed animal and a Nintendo DS. (Roe decided she would charge it in the car. A child needed luxuries and distractions during this horrific time), Roe packed her own bag with only the essentials. She knew there was a time to indulge and a time to keep it to the minimum. This was one of those times where she would have to make do with the bare essentials. Just as she was about to exit her room, there came a tapping. She opened the door, surprised to see Parker.

  “Roe, I trust you, Ella, and Theo. In fact, I’ve come to trust you with my life. I don’t, however, trust Adams. I need to hide something, and I need you to know where it is in case I don’t make it back,” Parker explained.

  “You’re the President of the United States, you’ll be fine,” Roe reassured him. He was acting all cloak and dagger, and it worried her.

  “That title is useless now. The military has taken over, and it should. I can see, myself, it’s a good idea for the military to be in charge. It will reassure the people, but I don’t think Adams will want me around,” Parker stated, pulling a small object from his pocket. “Now, do you have somewhere safe I can put this?”

  “Yeah, I have a little cubby hole here under the floorboard,” she motioned to a loose plank in the hardwood. Roe had discovered it one day by pure accident, and thought it was such a cliché hiding spot no one would ever expect it. That was where she hid the pot she’d found at Pete’s bar.

  She lifted the piece of wood, and Parker deposited the envelope inside.

  “If something happens, you need to let Ella or Theo know where this envelope is. Also tell them Yucca Mountain,” he stated, giving her only the bare facts.

  Roe, Parker, Carly, and Theo made their way downstairs. Parker was helped into the military vehicle and Theo, Carly, and Roe followed behind in Roe’s Jeep. She glanced behind her at the farm and remembering Parker’s tone and revelations wondered if she would be returning.

  Chapter 7: The Girl Who Was Forgotten

  Izzy sunk the knife into the infected creatures eyeball. Normally, if she were in hand to hand combat with one of the creatures, Ella had taught her to try and knife it in the temporal part of the head, but she’d awakened to find the creature almost on top of her so she’d settled for the closest path to the brain. So, the bowie knife was currently protruding from the creature’s eye socket.

  She pulled the knife from the creature, grimacing when it pulled the eyeball and optic nerve from the orbital socket. She leaned down and wiped the gore from the blood onto the grass. Sticking the knife back in its scabbard on her belt, she looked around. She was just on the outskirts of Kingsport. She’d decided to hide out in the woods until she could make a plan. There was no way she would abandon Carlos and Ella.

  After Ella had been restrained and Carlos taken off to God knows where, the Captain had ordered Izzy to return to the Johnson farm with the envoy he was dispatching. Somewhere along the way, both the Captain and the men had forgotten about Izzy. So, she’d stealthily made her way out of the town. It had been a good five mile walk, but she was young, healthy, and reasonable good shape.

  She’d spent the night in the woods. It’d been several months since she’d been alone and every sound jerked her awake—except for the one that mattered most of all. The infected creature had made its way to Izzy’s small camping area without her hearing it. She thought it was probably because she’d been so tired from falling asleep and jerking awake that she’d finally succumbed to a deep sleep.

  Now, she was hidden on a rise beside the interstate. She knew the officers would return with Parker, and she thought it highly likely Theo would come as well. She didn’t see him just sitting back and accepting his daughter’s draft into the service.

  Izzy really admired Ella and hoped someday she would be as strong as the other woman. Izzy, sometimes, let her emotions get the better of her, and she knew this was something she needed to control. The last few months had helped her become more mature. She liked being part of a group.

  Like everyone else, she had regrets. Sometimes, she thought about the day the outbreak began. The last day she’d really spoken to her parents had been at their wedding anniversary party. It had resulted in a yelling match abo
ut how ungrateful she was. She supposed in a way she was ungrateful, but she just wanted to be herself and not what her parents wanted her to be. Was that so wrong?

  Sometimes she thought about the abortion she’d had that week, and wondered if that would be her only chance to ever have a child. She certainly didn’t want to bring a child into this world, and looking back, she couldn’t say she was disappointed in her decision. It was hard enough taking care of a child Carly’s age. She couldn’t imagine trying to take care of a newborn while evading the Infected.

  Izzy smiled when she saw Roe’s vehicle following a military issued Jeep. She’d known the old man wouldn’t stay away. She just needed to sneak back and figure out a way to help everyone.

  Chapter 8: Trial and Torture

  Parker was lead into Lt. General Ford Adams tent by the same young man who’d forced him to return here. During the drive, he’d learned Adams had literally started with five men and worked his way from the Capitol gaining more and more along the way. One thing Adams was particularly good at was getting people to do what he wanted. It seemed like to Parker that many of the recruits, including the young man, were in awe of the officer and supported his decision to draft survivors into service.

  Parker wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole idea. Certainly, there was a need for some kind of organized attack against the creatures, but he wasn’t sure if he agreed that people needed to be forced into doing it. There were some people who were cut out for killing, and some people who were not. That was just a fact of life.

  “Parker, it’s good to see you again.”

  “Really? Is it?” Parker replied, determined to get to the crux of the matter.

  “Oh, honesty—that’s what you want? Fine, then. It’s good to see you again because you have something I want,” Adams answered, indicating Parker should take a seat.