The word that the Major had used to describe Jamie was downright creepy too. Moldable. In what? Major Walker’s image? A hired gun? A serial killer? It hadn’t seemed to go Walker’s way.
Jamie looked like he was a little more in control of himself, so Brad asked another question.
“I know that Walker thinks everyone needs to have a purpose,” he said. “Was the soldier no longer useful enough? Or had he broken one of the rules?”
“He was stealing,” Jamie replied. “And I know that’s wrong, especially when supplies are short, but the Major wasn’t even going to give him a warning. He just wanted me to execute him and prove to him that I was worth the time and training.”
The kid stared into the fire for a long moment before he went on. “But I couldn’t do it. I was awake all night the night before and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to pull that trigger. So I ran. I didn’t have a choice. You can’t talk the Major out of something he’s set his mind on. You just can’t.”
“I get where you’re coming from,” Brad said. “What I don’t get is why the hell you came back if you made it out without getting caught.”
Jamie rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, I haven’t left yet. I knew I wouldn’t last long outside with no supplies and no people; I was with a group before I got here, and to be honest I’m not sure I’d make it on my own even with all the supplies in the world. I came straight here from the Major’s place because I knew this unit was empty. Only, it’s not. It’s your place now.”
Brad couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”
“No worries,” Jamie said, the flickers of a smile playing on his thin face. “I’ll just go.”
“You’ll just go?” Brad repeated. “Back out into the ice? Without any supplies? You’ll be dead by morning.”
“If I stay here and the soldiers find me, we’re both dead,” Jamie countered. “I left because I didn’t want to get anybody killed, remember?”
“Yeah,” Brad said. “But take a second and hear me out, okay?”
Jamie nodded, his gaze fixed on the windows. “Okay.”
“I’m not planning to stay here either,” Brad said. “At least, not for much longer. We’re going out on a raid tomorrow night and hopefully I’ll have some people with me when I come back. We could use a marksman. For hunting and defense,” he hurried to add. “I’m not going to make you kill anyone. Anyway, we could use you and you could use us. You’re right. It’s easier in a group. If you can hang on just a little longer, we can leave together.”
“You’re going on a raid with him?” Jamie asked in disbelief. “And you really think he’s going to help you get what you want?”
“I don’t know,” Brad said honestly. “But I don’t have a choice right now. And I really don’t think you do, either.”
Jamie chewed his lower lip for a moment and then sighed. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. But you’re gonna need to be on your guard the whole time. Walker doesn’t do anything unless it benefits him.”
“I’ll keep my eye on everything,” Brad promised. “Have you had any food?”
Jamie shook his head and Brad went to the kitchen. He didn’t have a lot, but he did have a few bricks of ramen noodles. He poured some water over them and hung the pot over the fire so that the water could boil. Jamie watched the fire like a hawk.
“So, tell me how you ended up here,” Brad said when he’d dished up the noodles.
“Well…I’m from Bangor,” Jamie said. “And for a while, things there were okay. I mean, as long as you knew how to avoid the soldiers. And I was good at that.” He took a bite of noodles and started on his story.
Chapter 19
Jamie ducked down, clenching his hands till he felt his nails bite into his palms. Hearing the soldiers was the worst. They talked about things that no one should ever say. He’d heard one last week talking about roasting someone and eating them. The other men had agreed that the man had tasted like pork.
Bile rose in his throat at the memory. Was that what they did to everyone, or had that man been a special case? Maybe he’d done something particularly heinous. Or maybe they’d just been in the mood for fresh meat. He thought that he heard footsteps the next aisle over and he pressed his lips together to hold back the scream that climbed up his throat.
He crawled slowly on his hands and knees, expecting a shot in the back of the head at any moment as he made his way to the shelter of one of the cash registers. He’d always been a skinny kid. It had been a real pain in the ass back when he’d tried out for the football team. It hadn’t helped him when he’d tried out for Michelle Stewart’s affections either. But for squeezing into the tight recesses of a cashier’s stand and managing to pull a wastebasket in after him, it couldn’t be beat.
He couldn’t tell if he really was breathing loudly or if it just sounded that way in the cramped space, but he tried to keep it down. He could still hear the soldiers walking around the store. The voices were even closer now.
There was no damn good reason for them to search under the cashier stands, but they’d been doing inexplicable things for a while. And they were only in the store because one of them had caught sight of him as he’d moved from one aisle to the other. They’d want to be thorough.
He’d known that it was a mistake to stay in one place for too long, damn it. He’d known that! But he’d set up camp in the grocery store like he’d owned the place. And now he might end up as a side of bacon for his own idiocy.
He held his breath when he heard a voice almost directly above him. “Well, I don’t see shit. You’re gettin’ paranoid.”
“Hell, maybe it was just an animal or something,” another soldier said. “Worth a look, though.”
“Sure, if you like wastin’ time,” the first man groused.
“Fuck off,” the second replied succinctly. “Let’s go, since you’re in such a big hurry.”
The footsteps receded, but still Jamie didn’t move. He wouldn’t until it had been completely silent for a count of a thousand.
At about five hundred, he stopped counting. He’d heard something. More shuffling. A pair of boots appeared just in front of him.
“Hey, kid,” a voice said. “I saw you hide.”
Jamie swallowed hard, trying his best not to move.
“It’s okay,” the voice continued. “I’m not a soldier. I’m with a group of people that are staying in the park. I’ve been watching you for a few days and I think you’d be an asset.”
Still, Jamie didn’t move. There was a smile in the man’s voice when he spoke again. “It’s a good thing you’re so damn lanky or you might have been toast just now. They headed to the left, by the way. So, when you leave, you’re gonna wanna head right.”
There was a long pause and then a sigh. “I know how hard it is to trust people right now, but I’m really trying to help you.”
Jamie glanced out and saw that the voice’s owner was playing with a silver zippo lighter, twirling it between his knuckles, making it catch the light and bounce it back off of the shiny surface.
“I’d tell you how to find us if it wasn’t likely to get you killed. We’ve got some trigger-happy people on guard duty and if you just wander up unexpected…” He trailed off. “Come on, kid. Let me help you.”
His voice was absolutely sincere. Maybe that was what made Jamie push free from the confines of the cashier’s station. But more likely, it was the fact that he hadn’t talked to another human being in over a month. The man smiled at him.
“Hey there,” he said, holding his hand out. “Good to meet you.”
“You too,” Jamie said, surprised to find his voice squeaky from disuse. “So, you’ve got a hideout, huh?”
“Sure do,” the man said. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
“And he did,” Jamie said to Brad. “I was safe with them for a while. The soldiers would have found me and killed me if it hadn’t been for him.”
Brad noticed the dark circles under the b
oy’s eyes and the new tremor in his voice. Telling the story hadn’t been easy for him. Even though it hadn’t answered Brad’s question, he decided to let it go for now.
“Go and get some sleep, okay?” he said.
“Where should I…”
“You can take the bedroom,” Brad said. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”
Jamie nodded slowly and headed down the hall. Then, he stopped and turned back. “You know, it’s weird—you remind me of him.”
“Of who?” Brad asked, sincerely hoping that Jamie wasn’t talking about Major Walker. Or the cannibal soldier, for that matter.
“The guy who saved me.” Jamie gave another of those shrugs. “Anyway, thanks for the food and the bed.”
“No problem,” Brad said, flattered. The man had obviously been important to Jamie, and Brad could only guess that the story had stopped where it did because something bad had happened to him. That was why Brad hadn’t pushed. That, and he planned to get the rest of it tomorrow.
Chapter 20
“Brad!”
The voice was low but frantic. Brad was so tired and had been sleeping so deeply that it took him a while to realize that it wasn’t a dream. He struggled to respond.
“Mmm…what?” he finally managed to say. “What’s wrong?”
“The soldiers are here.”
Well, that information got Brad’s eyes open. Jamie was kneeling in front of the couch, pale as a sheet.
“What? What do they want?” Brad asked stupidly. He might have been awake, but he wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders just yet.
“I don’t know!” Jamie said frantically. “Maybe someone saw me! You’ve got to get up and let them in or they’ll break the door down! Christ, I’ve got to get out of here. They’ll search and if they find me here they’ll kill us both!”
Brad sat up and swung his feet to the floor, trying to comprehend all of the information Jamie had whispered at him. The knock on the door helped crystallize things. It was quick and authoritative.
“Hang on,” he yelled as he stood up.
Jamie was still whispering something but Brad didn’t know if the kid was talking to him or simply praying. Either way, he needed to keep quiet. He grabbed Jamie’s arm and hauled him down the hall, shoving him into the bathroom.
“They’ll search the apartment!” Jamie said frantically. “You have to let me get out a window or something! They—”
Brad yanked back the loose panel of the tub and pushed the boy in without letting him finish his sentence. “Be still and stay quiet, for God’s sake.”
Brad poured some water into the bath—just enough for it to look wet and recently used—then dunked his head in the bucket of water, catching his breath at the surge of cold. He roughly toweled over it and then yanked his shirt and socks off before he jogged back down the hall. He didn’t have much time left.
He could feel the tension in the air. Just as he reached for the doorknob, the butt of a shotgun crashed into his door in a much more emphatic knock. Brad yanked the door open quickly, trying not to look as sleepy and out of breath as he was.
“Sorry,” he said. “I was in the bathroom and I didn’t hear you. What’s up?”
“There have been reports of a stranger in the complex,” a soldier said, pushing his way inside. “We’re checking everyone’s apartment to make sure they don’t have any unauthorized guests.”
“A stranger?” Brad asked, following them as they began to search. “How would they even get in?”
“Someone could have let them in,” Mason said, casting a look Brad’s way.
Brad raised his eyebrows. He obviously wasn’t a favorite with the soldiers after his actions yesterday.
Some people might consider them leadership qualities, he thought.
“It’s nothing to smile about,” another soldier said. “The individual might be dangerous.”
“More dangerous than you guys?” Brad asked.
“Just shut up and stay where you are,” said the soldier that he’d pushed aside yesterday. “The Major might think that you’re useful, but I’m not convinced.”
“Lucky for me that it’s not up to you, then,” Brad said, walking into the kitchen and pouring a glass of water.
The soldiers were thorough. They looked through the living room first, checking behind and underneath furniture. They even tossed all of the cushions off of the couch and looked behind them. Once they’d ransacked his living room, they moved on to the kitchen. Brad couldn’t hold back a grin as they searched the cabinets.
“How big is this intruder supposed to be again?” he asked innocently.
“We were told to check every possible hiding place,” one of the soldiers said stiffly.
“I’m gonna check the bedroom,” Mason said.
The other man finished the last cabinet and moved to follow.
“Hey, you forgot something,” Brad said.
“What?”
“You didn’t check the fridge. I could hide someone in there if I took out the shelves.” The soldier opened the fridge and then glared at Brad, who went on speaking with a shrug. “I mean, I didn’t. But I could have. And I wouldn’t want you to get into any trouble.”
The soldier stomped into the bedroom after Mason. They were even more thorough and destructive in there, yanking his bedding off and pulling his mattress off of the bed frame. Once they’d tossed that into the corner, they grabbed the box spring and flung it after the mattress. When they could clearly see that no one was in the bed, they moved on to the closet.
Brad didn’t have much in there, but the old lady who’d lived in his apartment before did. The soldiers threw it all out into the room. Brad felt his fists clench at his sides. It wasn’t the worst thing that the soldiers had done, by far, it was just so needlessly disrespectful. A person had lived here. She’d made new memories and contemplated a long life lived here. And she’d died here. Wrongfully.
“Oh, are we pissing you off?” Mason asked mockingly.
“Which one of you shot the woman who lived here?” Brad asked.
The second soldier looked up. “What?”
“You heard me. Was it you? Or did you pull the trigger, Mason? Or does the Major like to handle things like that himself?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Mason hissed.
“Why? If you can do it, I would think you could talk about it. Or would you rather forget and pretend that everything is okay?”
Mason stepped forward, eyes blazing, but the other soldier held him back. “Settle down. Don’t let him goad you into making a mistake. Wait until the Major gets tired of him.”
Mason jerked away and walked into the bathroom. And all Brad could do was wait. It was a small bathroom. Even the soldiers couldn’t picture a fugitive hiding in the small cupboard under the sink. The only place they could check was behind the shower curtain.
Brad leaned against the bathroom door while they did that, praying as hard as he could that they wouldn’t see the small gap in the surround. When they pushed past him to go out, he was so weak-kneed with relief that he almost fell down.
“Don’t forget to be at HQ tonight,” Mason said as they left.
“I remember,” Brad said simply. He knew they would be waiting for him, looking for faults to point out to their commander. “I’ll be there.”
He stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of his house to watch the search party go into Neal’s place. They didn’t take as long there. Brad stayed where he was, waiting until the soldiers were done with his row before he went back inside. He locked the door carefully behind him and then walked into the bathroom. He pulled the surround back and helped Jamie out. The kid was shaking.
“Jesus, you really don’t care what they do to you, do you?” Jamie said, aghast. “Why would you say things like that to them?”
Brad pushed his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I’m just tired of them having the upper hand, I guess.”
“They don’t have the upper hand,” Ja
mie said. “The Major has all the cards and you need to remember that. Don’t get distracted by their bullshit.”
“Okay,” Brad said, oddly comforted to have someone give him advice, even if that person was well over a decade younger than him. Jamie had experience navigating this place and he’d gotten out alive. “You’re right.”
Jamie smiled. “Thanks,” he said quietly.
“Sure. And you’re right about another thing, too,” Brad said. “If we don’t find my group tonight, you and I will leave tomorrow night. There’s no reason to stick around here. And with your help, maybe we can even manage to get our hands on one of the vehicles.”
“Really?” Jamie asked, his shoulders relaxing as relief crossed his face. “You promise?”
“I promise,” Brad said.
“Good,” Jamie said. “I’d rather freeze to death on the road than die here.”
“You’re not going to freeze to death on the road,” Brad said with much more confidence than he really felt. “I can teach you everything you need to know. You should have a pretty good handle on the shooting part of hunting, but there’s also tracking. And you need to know how to gut and skin your catch. You’ll be so good at surviving by the time I’m through that you won’t even need a group to survive. Here.”
Jamie followed as Brad walked down the hall again—this time, into his bedroom. He stepped carefully around the items that the soldiers had flung around. It took a few minutes, but he managed to find his pack at the bottom of a pile. After a quick rummage around in it, he pulled out one of his knives. “This was my dad’s. I wouldn’t leave it behind. I want you to hang onto it.”
Jamie nodded. “Okay. It’s a deal, then. And thanks. You need to go out there and act normal.”
“You’re sure you’ll be okay here?”
The kid forced a smile. “Sure I will. And hey, now I know where to hide.”
Chapter 21
Enter Darkness Box Set [Books 1-5] Page 42
