“But she can’t win against the colony.”
“That’s what I told her.”
“And?”
“And she thinks I’m some kind of divine sign that things might go her way.”
“What does she—” Issa stopped as things suddenly became clear. “She wants you to lead her army again, with Korn.”
He nodded. “I guess she figures if it worked once, it might work again.”
“You’re not going to do it.” Issa crossed her arms defiantly. “I won’t allow it.”
“I won’t allow it either,” he said, hoping to soften her mood. “Which is why I told her I’d find another way.”
“What other way?”
“Haven’t come up with that just yet.” He yawned. “Just need a little shut-eye to get the old creative juices flowing.” Tanner flopped down on the closest bunk, the entire structure nearly collapsing under his weight. “Now, ladies, if you don’t mind…”
Taking her cue, Samantha started down the long row of bunks, carefully patting each to determine its softness.
“Are these things assigned, or do we just pick one?”
Tanner awoke to the sound of whispering. He sat up and looked around the barracks. Darkness was starting to take hold, but there remained enough light for him to see Issa standing beside a large open window, the makeshift curtain pulled to one side.
He slid off the bunk and walked over. To his surprise, nearly a dozen infected women huddled outside.
“Is this a jailbreak?” he said quietly.
Issa smiled. “No, nothing like that. These women are all widows, staying in the adjacent hangar. Prisoners in their own right as they await new husbands.” She grabbed Tanner’s hand and pulled him closer. “Come on. They won’t bite.”
“You say that, but I know otherwise,” he muttered.
Issa pulled him to the window so that the women could see him better. Some stared with wary eyes. Most, however, seemed more interested than afraid.
“Sisters, this is the man I was telling you about. My husband Tanner.”
An attractive woman with red hair reached through the open window and slapped his beefy shoulder. Satisfied, she nodded to the other women, many of whom cooed excitedly.
Tanner turned to Issa. “That some kind of welcoming ritual?”
“Something like that,” she said with a smile.
“Am I good to get a bit more shut-eye?” he asked, stifling a yawn.
Issa nodded. “Get some rest.” She looked off toward Samantha, who had chosen a bunk at the opposite end of the hangar. “Check on her too, will you?”
“Of course,” he said, trudging off.
When he reached Samantha, she was just putting away her toothbrush.
“What are you doing all the way down here?”
“I figured you two might want your privacy. You know, to kiss and all.”
There was something about the way she said it that didn’t quite sound on the up and up.
“Uh-huh. What’s the real reason?”
“What? Can’t a girl do a good deed?”
“In my experience, no,” he said, staring her down.
“Fine. A person who wasn’t as nice as I am might point out that you snore like Godzilla.”
He chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair.
“Get some sleep, kiddo. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.”
She stepped closer and awkwardly wrapped both arms around his waist. It was part of their nightly ritual, but every time she hugged him, he couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat.
“Goodnight, Tanner,” she said softly.
“Night, Sam,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
As Samantha crawled into bed, Tanner went back to his own bunk and sprawled out. He lay for nearly an hour, sliding in and out of consciousness as he waited for Issa to join him.
When she finally came over and sat on the edge of the mattress, she said, “I don’t like this.”
He scooted over. “Darlin’, there’s always room for two.”
She patted his hand. “I’m talking about what Mother’s doing.”
“Give me a little time. I’ll come up with something.”
“You don’t understand. Even if you find a way to avoid the war, I’m not sure she has any intention of letting me leave.”
“She promised me that she would.” He glanced back at the open window, remembering that Mother’s offer had been contingent on them not telling anyone about the baby. So much for that little caveat.
“Even so,” she said, “I’m worried. When Mother saw that I was pregnant, she seemed troubled.”
“She should be. If the other women decide to start having kids with uninfected men, she’ll lose some of her leverage.”
“It’s more than that. Mother’s worried that it could cause humans and our kind to intermingle.”
“Maybe that would be a good thing.”
“Of course, it would. But right now she’s so filled with anger that she needs there to be a defining line between good and evil, us and them. This,” she said, rubbing her stomach, “blurs that line.”
“I’ll get us out of here,” he said confidently. “One way or another.”
“I believe you. I do.” She reached out and placed his hand on her stomach. “But this will never be known, and that saddens me in a way I can’t even begin to describe.”
“Darlin’, you just paraded that little Butterball in front of a dozen women. Word’s going to get out.”
“Yes. But without proof, it won’t be enough.”
Issa lowered herself next to him, resting her head on his arm. They lay like that for a while, her occasionally twisting to look at his wristwatch.
After the third time, he said, “Okay, let’s hear it.”
Issa slowly sat up. “It occurs to me that we have an opportunity, one that Mother may not have considered.”
Tanner scooted up and propped his back against the end of the bunk.
“If you’re thinking about us going out a window—”
“No, no, nothing like that.”
“All right then. What’s on your mind?”
“I’m going to ask you to do something, something that you’re going to insist on saying no to. But I need for you to do it anyway.” Issa clearly wasn’t asking for just any old favor.
“There’s nothing you could ask me to do that I wouldn’t do. Not unless it meant hurting Sam in some way.”
Issa shook her head softly. “It’s not about Samantha. In fact, it’s important that she know nothing about it.” She took a deep breath but seemed to have trouble letting it back out. “You and I… we’re great together, right?”
He nodded. “The best.”
She brought her hands to her stomach.
“And when this baby came along, it was like a miracle from God.”
“I’d like to think I had a little something to do with it.”
She grinned, but there was a worry in her eyes that she couldn’t hide.
“You most certainly did. And that’s precisely what I need to ask of you.”
Tanner furrowed his brow. “I’m not following.”
Issa sat up straight and looked over at the open window.
“I want you to give those women what you gave me.”
Tanner wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly. Did Issa just ask him to sleep with a roomful of other women? He shook his head, trying to shake the madness loose.
“Are you asking me to—”
“Yes,” she breathed.
He reached for her hand. “Issa, I’m yours. I don’t need any other women. Lord knows, most nights you’re more than I can handle.”
“That part’s true,” she said, smiling. “But this isn’t about me. Or you.” She turned back to the window and glimpsed faces peeking in. “It’s about them.”
Tanner saw them too. Women huddling in the dark, waiting on some kind of cue to climb through the open window. To wha
t? Him?
“Believe me, those women want nothing to do with me.”
“You’re wrong about that. I’ve spoken with them. Many see it the same way.”
“What way?”
“They believe that you’re special. You were one of us for a while. And even though you’ve changed back, they still sense a little of the blood flowing in your veins.” She looked down at her stomach. “They want children, but they’re terrified of the outside world. Mother has made certain of that.”
“But I’m married. To you.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Her voice rose, and tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.
“Hey,” he said, pulling her to him. “Don’t be sad.”
“I’m not sad,” she said, driving a fist against his chest. “I’m angry!”
“At me?”
“No, of course not. I’m angry at Mother. Her selfishness is forcing us to do this. And believe me, I don’t like it any more than you.” She took a breath, and her eyes softened. “You must think I’m the lowliest of women for even asking this of you.”
“Are you kidding? I could never see you as anything but the proud warrior I fell in love with down in those tunnels.”
They sat for a moment, holding one another while they let what had been said slowly settle over them.
Tanner was the first to speak.
“If you ask me to sleep with those women, I will, because I know that asking me is the hardest thing you could ever do. But you should know that if our places were reversed, I’d let the whole world rot in hell before I shared you with another man.”
She let her head fall to his shoulder, as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“That’s the kindest thing you’ve ever said to me. Truly.” She lifted her head and gently kissed him on the lips. “And I love you for it.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“As sure as I’ve ever been about anything. But I want you to remember something.” Her eyes tightened.
“Okay…”
“This isn’t about sex, Tanner Raines. And you’d better not forget that.”
“Not about sex. Got it.”
“Think of it like donating at one of those doctor’s offices.”
Tanner looked over at the faces of eager women peering in through the window. They didn’t look like any doctor he had ever known.
“You might want to tell them to tailor their expectations. I’m not Superman, you know.”
Her lips turned up. “We both know that’s not true.”
The first woman to visit Tanner was a tall brunette, thin to the point of being bony, with skin so white that it seemed to glow in the moonlight. She was hungry, and it wasn’t for food. Their encounter was brief and violent, and it left Tanner with scratches across his chest and neck, not to mention the feeling of having just been violated.
The second and third women came as a pair, perhaps fearing that if they didn’t share, there would be little left for the other. One had shoulder-length blonde hair and a body as voluptuous as Salma Hayek’s, and the other was a redhead with small breasts but legs that went all the way to the floor. Fortunately, both women seemed to appreciate that the situation was incredibly awkward for everyone involved, and thus did their best to make it as enjoyable as possible. When they had finished, each kissed Tanner on opposite cheeks and used their clothes to quickly cover and slip away into the night.
With two sets of women more or less satisfied, Tanner felt drained and exhausted. There seemed little point in continuing. Unfortunately, the women didn’t seem to agree. They came to him over and over, without apology, or even understanding. They had been promised a prize, and by Pothos, they intended to see that it was delivered in full.
Lying in the dark hangar, Tanner listened as Issa slept beside him. He was completely spent, sweat and bodily fluid slowly drying on his naked body. He lay with his eyes open, Issa nestled against him, her warm body caressing his in ways that the other women couldn’t begin to understand.
She seemed immensely grateful, relieved even. Tanner was relieved too. It was over, and he might never be the same. Eight women. Two long hours. Every one of them taking a little part of him with them. Issa had assured him that it would not be about sex, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Sex was all it was about. Raw and powerful, and devoid of any feeling whatsoever.
He let out a sigh. Sex with a roomful of strange women. Poor, pitiful me.
If Tanner were being honest, he could admit that he had enjoyed the sexual novelty of it all. Of course, he could never utter those words in Issa’s presence or risk losing a testicle. No, he thought. This would forever be remembered as the ultimate sacrifice made only for the greater good. Safer that way.
Sleep came for him like a leopard creeping ever closer. He fought it off a little longer to give the night’s rich memories time to take root. He let his mind wander one final time, recalling his and Samantha’s journey to Mount Weather. Characters flashed through his mind like actors on a stage—the violent hitchhikers who capitalized on the goodwill of others, the poor infected girl who had fallen victim to a sniper’s bullet, Sister Margaret and her wayward nuns, Dr. Langdon and his twisted plans for a better society. All of it was behind him, and for that he was thankful.
Issa’s soft snores and gentle stirring seemed a stark contrast to the cold, lifeless DeJarnette Center that he and Samantha had explored. His mind’s eye slowly settled on the image of the woman’s hand he had dragged from the fire, the bright shine of her once precious ring contrasting with the charred bloodstained bone that it was wrapped around. There was a time when such a bauble would have cost a man his entire fortune. Now, it was worth only the weight of its gold.
The word played in his mind like it had some unappreciated importance. Gold. The famous bouncer-turned-actor Mr. T. had once said, “I believe in the Golden Rule—The Man with the Gold… Rules.”
Tanner let his eyes drift closed. He had Mother’s answer.
Gold would give her both power and influence, not only with the New Colony but with warlords, militia leaders, and everyone else who sought to rebuild in the apocalyptic wasteland. And Tanner knew of the one place in the world to find enough gold to turn her community of outcasts into one of the world’s wealthiest city-states.
His mouth turned up into a smile as he imagined Samantha’s bewildered face when he told her his plan, a plan that involved the plundering of the most famous gold reserve in the entire world.
Fort Knox.
The Survivalist adventure continues with National Treasure…
The Survivalist (Freedom Lost) Page 30
