Dead 09: Spring

by T. W. Brown

  Darla decided to go with them just in case there was any trouble. She paused and glanced at me like I might have an issue with it; my shrug was answer enough. I actually felt better having one of my own group over there to keep an eye on things. The reality was that we did not know a thing about these folks other than what we had been told. Sure, Darla was on the outer fringe of my group, but I had at least some degree of trust in her.

  I was exhausted. After stripping out of my foul smelling clothing, I gave my body a wash-down with a bucket of warm water that I took from the huge kettle over the fire. It was heavenly. I marveled at how we had taken such simple things like showers and washing machines for granted.

  When I was done, I felt clean and tired. I considered the door where I knew that I would find Katrina, but I decided that I simply did not have the energy for what lay behind door number one. Unfortunately, as I checked behind the other doors, I discovered that Grady’s people had not been given their own spaces yet and so the floors were lined with people in sleeping bags.

  I was just about to go downstairs and see if I couldn’t find a walk-in closet or something when a tiny voice whispered to me. “You can have my bed, Billy.”

  I turned to find Thalia in the hallway standing in front of a partially open door. I tiptoed over and knelt in front of the little girl, mussing her hair playfully. “Where will you sleep?” I asked.

  “I am going outside. There have been rabbits in the morning and I am going to get one.” She said this like she was telling me she was off to watch the morning cartoons. She opened her zippered hoody and showed me what looked like a well-made snare and a belt knife. “Fiona showed me how back at the cabin.”

  “Thanks a lot, Thalia,” I said. I had a bunch of stuff drifting through my head, but the reality was that I was just too damned worn-out to snag any one particular thought and form it into a more cohesive reply.

  I stood, feeling aches and pains that were just starting to settle in now that any final traces of adrenaline were gone from my body. As I stretched out on the bed and pulled the Disney Princess adorned comforter up to my neck, I had just enough time to wonder if the human body had a finite supply of certain chemicals like adrenaline. If so, I was most definitely running on empty.

  ***

  We were in the auditorium of what had once been Island City Elementary School. Somewhere in this building, Melissa was teaching a class and Thalia was trying to pretend that she cared about the “Three Rs” when her mind was more likely on when she could go out and set up her rabbit snares again.

  I’d made my way downstairs after at least twenty hours of sleep to find my clothes washed, dried, and neatly folded beside my bed. That is where I had discovered a plate on the counter. I saw a pretty good-sized haunch that I initially mistook for an entire chicken thigh and drumstick. There were some sliced carrots and even a glass of water. In addition to that plate, there was a note scrawled in crayon that read:

  For Billy.

  Nobody else eat this or I will put sand in your bed.

  Love, Thalia

  I instantly recalled that she’d mentioned something about going out to snare rabbits. It looked like she had some success. As I sat on the barstool at the little island counter, I’d been touched that she thought enough of me to leave me such a big portion of her kill. I felt that way until I got up to put the dirty plate in the basin of water and went out onto the back porch to get a breath of fresh air only to discover at least a dozen more field-stripped and skinned rabbits hanging from a clothesline.

  It had turned out to be just an hour before sunrise. I’d walked over to the other house to discover it empty and hurried back to mine in a bit of a panic.

  The first person I ran into was one of Grady’s crew. I had no idea of his name, but I strode over to where he was preparing some hot water for either coffee or tea.

  “Where did all those people we brought in go?” I made no attempt to whisper, so in the early morning quiet, my voice was pretty loud by comparison. The guy jumped and dropped the kettle he had been filling. It landed on the floor with a metallic clang and skittered across the kitchen floor to stop at my feet.

  “Sorry,” I said as I picked up the kettle and handed it to the guy who was leaning against the island counter and clutching his chest as if he were having a heart attack.

  “Holy crap!” the guy breathed.

  I stood there trying to look apologetic while not seeming like I was hurrying the man for an answer. He made a few more dramatic sighs and fanned himself for emphasis. I hated overdramatic people.

  “Carol and Graham came by yesterday afternoon and took them all for processing. And I think something was said about identifying prisoners.”

  If they were blood testing them or whatever this place did, I imagine that could take a few days. I decided to head to the Walmart where the hospital was set up. That seemed like the most likely place to start.

  The walk actually felt good. The morning was chilly, but the clear sky was an indication that it would be a nice day. I was halfway to my destination when it dawned on me that I had not just been out walking in a long time. Even back at the cabin, there was a bit of a standing rule that you never returned empty handed. Even if it was something as simple as bringing up water or gathering some fire wood, you never just went out for a casual stroll. Sure, I had a destination in mind, but it was my choice, and I could meander and take my time if that is what I chose to do…which it most certainly was.

  I reached the parking lot and was not surprised to see that crews had already started work on replacing and repairing the huge entry way that had been left in a shambles during the raid. There were scaffolds and stacks of lumber along with sawhorses and the typical stuff you would expect to see at a job site like this one.

  Walking in, I caught a whiff of bleach in the air. I imagine this place had needed to be scrubbed down pretty good. There had been a number of corpses on the floor.

  I was met by a woman in sweats and a man who was carrying an arsenal on his person. I’d found out later on the day we came in to kill the invaders that, up until now apparently, nobody carried weapons in the medical center. Nobody had felt that it was necessary. I’d noticed the carelessness the people of this little compound had displayed when I first arrived. There was a disturbing lack of personal weaponry carried by the general population.

  “You can’t be in here. Visiting hours are after breakfast,” the stern-faced woman said. The man beside her shifted the rifle in his arms and tried to give me the hard stare.

  “Just checking the status of the folks we brought in the other night,” I said, trying to be dismissive of the sentry with just a roll of my eyes.

  “They are under quarantine until their tests return,” the lady snapped with a shake of her head. “They are not allowed visitors until they are cleared.”

  I was not in the mood to make a scene, so I gave the woman a polite nod and did an about face. I stepped back outside and realized that I had no idea where to go or what to do with myself. I decided to just take a walk around and get a better feel for this place that I was currently calling home.

  As I walked, I noticed that there was actually a lot to like about this compound. Some of the houses I passed were sporting well-kept yards. There were even a few flowers blooming in some gardens.

  By the time I had made it back to our home. I was feeling better than I’d felt in a long time. It had almost seemed like the zombie apocalypse was gone; swept away by a few mowed lawns and pretty flowers.

  I walked into the house and felt all the goodness and happiness that I’d just been enjoying dry up and vanish. Carol was there with Graham, Tish, and a dozen other men packing serious weaponry. I had been under the assumption that we would not be making this foray out into La Grande for a few days. Two men that I desperately wanted at my side were busy playing guard for all of the supplies that would now be ours as soon as we could get enough people out there to harness up and haul those heavily laden carts
back here.

  “Get on all of your gear, Billy,” Carol urged.

  Dr. Zahn, Katrina, Thalia, and Melissa were present. None of them looked very happy. I felt my shoulders slump. It had started off to be such a great morning.

  “I thought we had a couple of days,” I said, doing my best not to whine.

  “We just got some intel that the three other main factions are banding together and intend to hit us within the next two days,” Graham spat. “There will be no negotiations.”

  I gave a shrug. From what I’d heard, we had no serious intentions of going out there and simply asking people to stand down and join us. All indications that I gathered from listening to what little conversation that I’d been present for was all about going out in a show of force.

  I turned and trudged upstairs. Walking into my room, I pulled out all of my field gear and began suiting up. There was one upside to this; if we were victorious, maybe I could actually take a morning stroll and come home to abso-freaking-lutely nothing. I seriously doubted it, but it was nice to have a dream.

  “We need to talk,” a soft voice said as the door opened and shut hurriedly.

  This was not what I wanted to do just as I was about to go into what might be my last battle…if I am lucky…and if I survive it. I shoved that out of my head and turned to face Katrina. Her eyes showed the redness associated with recent crying. Super, this was getting better by the second. Oh well, maybe if she dumped me now, she would not take it so bad if I didn’t make it back. I steeled myself for the expected words.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I think I sprained my jaw. I know it didn’t literally happen, but it felt like my chin had just bounced off the floor and then snapped shut with a hard clack as I realized I was standing there with my mouth wide open like an idiot.

  “Things have been a bit crazy and I was really letting my emotions get the better of me. I am sure that you had your reasons for leaving me behind, just as I am sure that you knew what you were doing with Gable.” Okay, she was seriously overestimating me, but I was not going to stop her while she was on a roll. “You are a good person, Billy.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And I love you.”

  Huh?

  I at least had the sense of mind to keep that thought inside my head and not blurt it out. I’d never said those words to anybody that wasn’t family, Jamie, Joseph, or Aaron. I’d had sort of girlfriends in school. But I just had never been able to let those words fall out of my mouth. It had cost me a few times when whoever I was dating would say it and I would just stare back…or worse…say something like, “That’s good.”

  “I love you, Katrina.” My mouth felt funny, like it was not used to forming that particular combination of sounds in a string. For a few seconds, I was not actually certain that I’d really said them out loud. Then Katrina launched herself at me and started kissing me and I felt pretty sure that I had, in fact, spoken.

  With a sudden push, she shoved away from me just enough to look up into my face and lock my eyes with hers. I was hit by how pretty she was in that exact instant. Red puffy eyes be damned, she was the most beautiful woman in the world to me at that moment.

  “Don’t do anything stupid out there.” I gave a nod of understanding, but she shook her head almost violently. “No, I’m serious. Don’t you dare hesitate, or not do something because you think I might not be okay with it. All I want for you to be certain of is that I love you with all my heart and want you to come home. Show no mercy out there. You have said it, but I don’t think I have been listening. This is not the Old World. The rules that we knew all of our lives are gone…pushed aside…buried…dead.”

  I nodded and felt a surge of relief now that I was sure she understood. I thought back to that woman in the medical center that would have killed me if it were not for somebody else stepping up. If I needed any clearer example of how fatal the act of hesitation could be, I needed to look no further than that one moment.

  “I want you to come home to me, Billy Haynes. I want us to spend the rest of our forevers together. I want to face this new world with you beside me, so do what you have to do and then come back to me.”

  “I will.” Of course the voice in my head was telling me that I was writing checks that I had no assurances of being able to cash.

  I pulled Katrina close and kissed her. It was the most wonderful kiss I’d ever experienced. I would not hesitate in the field. I would do what needed to be done in order to come back home to her.

  At last, we separated. I finished putting on the rest of my gear and giving myself one final check to ensure that I had everything. Satisfied, I reached for the door, but Katrina grabbed my arm.

  “Here.” She reached inside her shirt and pulled out a necklace. There was a tiny silver heart dangling from the chain. “My dad gave me this for my sixteenth birthday. It means the world to me. He died two weeks later from cancer.”

  “Katrina…I can’t…” I didn’t know what to say. I could see so much raw emotion in her eyes.

  “I need you to bring this back to me.” She reached up and hooked it around my throat. When she finished with the clasp, she tucked it into my shirt. The metal felt warm against my chest.

  “I will bring it back and place it around your neck where it belongs,” I promised. The voice in my head was screaming at me, but I ignored it.

  She needed to believe I would come back. That meant that she was not the only person who felt that this was different somehow. This was not a run against a few camp guards, or some mindless zombies. This was a preemptive strike against living human beings who probably had similar mindsets as we did about their right to be here. This was an attack against people who had fought for a year to survive and, for whatever reason, saw this compound as a threat.

  We headed down the stairs and I was not surprised to find all of my people there waiting. I am not a guy who likes long goodbyes, so I held my hands up and got everybody’s attention.

  “Listen, I know that you probably all have something to say, but how about if we make a deal.” I looked around the room and saw nods. “Save it for when I get back. When I return, you can each tell me how great…” I glanced at Dr. Zahn, “…or stupid you think I am.”

  With that said, I headed through the small throng and out the door. I felt Darla and James fall in step behind me. I’d already told them both that we would remain together throughout this entire mission. We would watch each other’s backs until this was done and we were strolling up the sidewalk to the house. I actually managed to reach that sidewalk before a voice called out to me.

  “Billy!” It was Dr. Zahn. I turned to see her striding purposely towards me. “One word in private before you go.” The doctor had that normal hard expression on her face.

  I nodded for the others to go ahead. The doc was not the emotional type, so I was not expecting some heartfelt well wish. If anything, I was curious.

  “You called me Billy,” I said with a smile. “You never call me that. This must be pretty important.”

  “It is,” the doc said. “I want you to keep your eyes open on this run. If you see anything at all that is suspicious, I want you to promise me that you will break everything off and return here, young man. I will have the house packed and ready to move at a moment’s notice.”

  “I don’t get it. You think something is fishy?”

  “Grady says that the two people who tried to kill you…Jessie and Joshua I believe were their names?” I nodded. “Yes, well he says that they have revealed that there are others who share their desire to be rid of Graham and Carol. It may all be just talk, apparently Grady refuses to utilize more coercive methods to get them to give up information.”

  “You mean torture?”

  “I mean doing what it takes to get information to save the population.” The doctor’s face was even more grim than usual. I had a feeling she was saying a lot more than I was picking up. “Just watch your back. Are we clear?”

  “Crystal,” I sa
id with a curt nod. I turned to go, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and Dr. Zahn pulled me close into a fierce hug. And just that quick, she stepped back, turned, and walked back to the house.

  “Son of a bitch,” I whispered.

  ***

  We had arrived at the school as requested to discover what had to be at least two hundred people decked out in enough camo gear to make your eyes hurt. The thing is, most of that stuff had a well-worn look to it. Yep, I thought, welcome to Redneck Country.

  Carol had us split into four units. I had one, she had one, Graham had one, and I was not surprised to see that Tish had one. The section leaders gathered around a table with a huge map of the area spread out. It had all sorts of things marked on the plastic overlay that covered it. Each of us was given a specific location to hit. My target was a place called Bernie Park.

  “They have tents set up here and we have been told that one of their warlords will be present,” Carol said, pointing to the spot on the map.

  “Warlords?” I muttered. “Really? We are calling them warlords?” I ignored the dirty looks shot my direction.

  One by one, each of us was given our target. The plan was to slip in and hit hard. I had been informed that every single person had been given an allotment of three grenades—the entirety of the stash scooped from the armory. They were not going to hold anything back.

  The briefing was short as far as briefings go. The basic idea was to come in fast and inflict massive damage—basically the same thing that had been done to us the other night. The big difference was that we would be hitting them at just about midday. The idea was that this was a time when they would least expect us to attack. Also, since the report had them most likely coming for us after dark tonight, there was a high probability that they would be in a sort of stand down mode.

  Each of the section leaders was given a watch. The time had been set to 8AM. Our objective was to be in place by noon and attack at that exact moment. It all sounded good as far as plans go, but I’d just had a plan go exactly as designed without a single casualty or incident. I was due for some major clusterfucks.