Chapter 9 – Jeremy
I couldn’t have asked for a better leader of the group. Haley was doing a magnificent job. How she handled the gas station incident was probably better than what I could have done. She was now cuddling with Ryan in their usual spot, Weir was now in the cockpit after his switch with me, Zach was on the couch napping, Wilson was checking our weapons, and me and Ashley were sitting with our backs to the wall opposite Wilson.
“So I’m confused.” She told me “Does this group have any kind of leader?”
“In this group, there really is no definite leader in regards to giving commands, our leader is determined by determination, heart, and courage. I used to be the leader, but I got………incapacitated, so Haley took over. I haven’t asked for my status back yet.” I replied. “She’s proven herself time and time again, so I decided to let her keep the rank, at least for a while.” Ashley stared at me almost wide-eyed, and I smiled timidly back at her.
“So everyone listened to you and respected you, followed your orders. And you gave it all up to make someone else feel happy and important?” she asked. I nodded, and her expression deepened. It seemed as though she was stunned by the fact that I would give away my leadership to my best friend.
“Honestly, I’ve never met someone who wasn’t power hungry. My father , my brother, my cousins; the other guys you saw in the store, and to find out that I know someone who is the complete opposite……..” she explained, seeming shocked. I didn’t question the shock, it was understandable. I grasped her arm, looked into her eyes and told her
“There isn’t one quality in common with all people. Greed and envy is popular in your family, but on the contrary, in mine there is selflessness, courage, and dignity.” She looked back at me with gleaming eyes.
“I know that now” she told me as she embraced me in a hug. “Thank you for getting me out of that terrible place.”
“No problem” I replied softly “I’m glad me and Haley did, you didn’t deserve any of what you got there.” She started crying in my arms at that point.
“You really think so?” she asked between sobs.
“No…….I know so. You’re a sweet girl Ash, full of kindness, compassion and love. You didn’t belong there. You belong here, with friends.” I reassured her. She looked up at me with her glimmering bright blue eyes and tears streaming down her rosy red cheeks. I wiped them away and grabbed a paper towel from under the cupboard next to us for her to blow her nose.
“Not friends, family” she said after she had calmed herself. I didn’t know what she meant at first, but then I remembered what I had told her. I smiled and she laughed. I guess I was blushing, because my face felt like an iron had just been placed on it. She then nestled her head in my chest and fell asleep. Staring down at the girl, I felt as if she needed a shield. Sure, she had such a tough exterior and could handle herself quite well, but her inside emotions were probably so torn and damaged that she couldn’t take much more punishment. I know what it feels like to be on the breaking point first hand. I felt it was my responsibility to protect this girl, no matter what happens. I was probably this girl’s new safe haven at this point, considering where she was and how she was behaving. This girl was special, she needed someone to protect her, and regardless of how good Haley was at being a leader, I felt I could protect Ashley more than anyone else. I kept my eyes on Ash, sleeping peacefully on my chest. I decided to put my head on hers, drifting off to sleep. The last thing I thought about that night was my final decision to protect Ashley at all costs. I woke up at the crack of dawn with Ashley on top of me. I was flat on my back, while she was lying on my body, with her head on my collarbone and neck. I tried to roll her off, but woke her up in the process.
“What’s going------oh my gosh Jeremy I’m sorry!” she said scrambling to the floor. We just sat there and stared at each other for the longest time. I felt myself blush, while at the same time she was blushing as well. I then got up and helped her up..
“It’s ok Ash, nothin’ to worry about.” Her upset frown turned into a timid smile as a “thanks” escaped her lips.
“Hey Haley, Jeremy!” Ryan cried from the cockpit “you guys might want to see this!” We both rushed to the cockpit to see a manmade roadblock sitting in front of the RV. We didn’t see anyone around, so we got out of the RV. Zach went up and looked at the giant cinderblocks going across the road. Ryan walked around looking for anyone around. I found a twinkee wrapper at my feet, the icing was still fresh, it wasn’t molded or crusted, it was actually still in It’s icing structure form. Someone had help up here not too long ago, but who? And where did they go? I heard a scream and immediately turned around. A man in what looked like tattered blue camo had a hold of Haley with his huge forearm wrapped around her neck. I pulled my pistol from my back pocket and took aim at the captor.
“Not so fast youngin’” A voice from behind me boomed. I turned back around and found another military man dressed in regular camo holding Ashley and Weir by the back of their shirts. “What’re y’all doin’ in these parts youngin’?” Asked the main in the regular camo. Behind him, I could see Ryan looking over a cinderblock with his gun drawn. It didn’t look like the men in camo had noticed him yet, and where were Wilson and Zach? Nevertheless, I could probably use Ryan’s stealth to my advantage.
“Listen, we can talk about this” I told the men trying to calm them down. “Just put my friends down, and we’ll leave you be.” I already knew these guys weren’t going to let us go easy, they’re not that type. I was trying to stall for time to pick my target and to allow Ryan to pick his.
“Sorry youngin’, we can’t allow y’all to leave here, or we run the risk of more people showin’ up here, more mouths to feed y’know?” The man in the blue camo raised his gun, and as he did so I quickly brought up mine.
“Ryan!” I yelled. I fell to the ground and shot the blue camo man’s kneecap out. I heard another shot, and I hoped it was Ryan. As the blue camo man fell, Haley rolled out of his grasp and stabbed him in the head with her knife. I turned to see the man in the regular camo falling with Ashley and Weir rolling out of his path downward. Both of their radios buzzed,
“Repeated gunshots, seemed to come from C quadrant. All units converge.” I thought we were completely screwed, until another voice buzzed over the radio.
“Targets neutralized, bodies being disposed of as we speak. Converging is no longer necessary.” The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint it’s familiarity.
“Passcode, C quadrant.” The original voice spoke.
“Carpediem” responded the second.
“Roger” buzzed the original voice “return to your posts men.” I checked to see if Weir, Haley, and Ashley were ok. Ashley was hunched over on the ground. As I helped her up, she wrapped her arms around me and started to cry. I took her head in my arms and let her cry. A few moments later; Ryan, Wilson, and Zach hopped over one of the cinderblocks.
“Where were you guys?” I asked Zach and Weir.
“When you guys got trapped by those army guys we tried to flank them, but got caught ourselves by another guy. Former Navy by the look of him. We knocked him out and took his radio. When we heard the alert we used the radio. The passcode was on the back of the radio, apparently the soldier was very forgetful.” Somehow it had all worked out, without even talking we all executed a flawless take-down plan. This proved how much we knew each other and how well we worked together. This group was going to survive this damned plague.
Kinemortophobia (The Fear Of The Undead) Book 1 Page 9
