by Terry Yates
“Thought so. I can tell by the way you hold it.”
“Uh…Col. Potts?” Kyler, dog and leash in hand, was giving Potts an anxious look.
“Here are the orders,” Potts said softly, taking a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
Potts glanced at Kyler who was wearing his usual confused expression, while the whole time trying to get Joe’s nose out of his crotch. Now he was going to have to walk around with a wet dog-nose mark on the crotch of his scrubs. Potts unfolded the piece of paper.
“It looks like everything’s in order here…,” Potts said, pretending to try to read the paper. What did you say your name was again?”
“Shawn Jefferson.”
“It says here that Private Shawn Jefferson…yeah, that’s what it says…Shawn Jefferson…dah dah dah…accompany the dog.” Potts looked up and began to refold the paper. “It looks like you’re coming with us, Private.”
“I am?” Jefferson asked as he watched Potts put the paper back in his pocket.
“That’s what it says here,” Potts answered, patting his breast pocket. “Now go get your gear and meet us by the front gate. This is top secret. Do you understand me, Soldier?” Potts softly asked. Getting no answer, he stood on his toes, and began to shrink the empty space that stood between them. “Do you understand me, Soldier?”
“Yes, Sir!” Jefferson shouted, looking straight ahead.
“What?! You’re still here! You should be packed and at that gate by now!” Potts screamed into Jefferson’s face. Kyler winced at the amount of spray that poor soldier was getting from Potts’ mouth.
“Sir!”
With this, Jefferson dropped his rifle and began to sprint through the compound. Kyler and Potts watched as he rounded the corner of a portable building, then quickly came running back the other direction until he disappeared out of sight.
“Magnum Come Lawdy, eh?” Potts grunted as he picked the rifle up off of the ground.
“He’s brand new,” Kyler replied, looking at the area that Jefferson had disappeared into while trying to hold Joe back. “This place is getting so big, I can’t find my way around it anymore.”
“Yeah,” Potts answered, now holding the rifle and looking down the barrel. “We’d better get to the trucks and hightail it before someone discovers what we’ve done.”
“Are you really taking Pvt. Jefferson with us?” Kyler asked as the three of them began to walk away, Joe sniffing and peeing while dragging the doctor behind him.
“Yep.”
“You’re…kidnapping him?”
“They won’t miss him around here, and I’M in charge of this mission anyway. I could request him, but I don’t have the time. If they think he’s gone AWOL, I’ll set everything right. Besides, I need people that are smart and can shoot.”
“How do you know he can shoot?”
“You heard me tell him. I could tell by the way he held the rifle, plus no soldier is gonna run his mouth about how great a shot he is. A civilian might, but a soldier generally won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s too easy to prove. If you’re on a base, you can just go out to the range and back up your mouth.”
“What were those orders you were reading from?” Kyler asked as the three came suddenly to a stop.
“My laundry list.”
Kyler shook his head and chuckled as the three of them stood there looking both ways, not sure themselves which way they were supposed to go.
“This way,” they both said as they began walking different directions.
CHAPTER 44
“Mary Sue! Sheriff Carter!”
Mary Sue was escorting Captain Blaine, the man she had dog cussed for not respecting her authority. They were followed by several soldiers and Rex and Denny, who were helping Rhonda Weaver, one on each arm, make it to the ER. She was red-eyed from crying about her family, but was very docile as the two helped her down the hallway.
“Sheriff Carter!”
Mary Sue looked up to see Dr. Pritchard who was sprinting down the hall toward her.
“What is it, Dr. Pritchard?” she asked, stopping him by placing her hands on his high shoulders.
Pritchard saw Blaine and the soldiers and suddenly became silent except for his wheezing.
“Dr. Pritchard?”
“The Army…” he panted. “My patients…”
“What about the Army and your patients?” she asked, gently shaking him, while looking up at Blaine, who had stepped up after hearing the word ‘Army’.
“The Army’s taking over. A General Mueller is sending a Col. Potts to take over!”
“What do you mean…take over?”
“The President is going to LA first, naturally, but he’s allowing the Army to take over the hospital. I’m not sure why, but a Col. Potts is on his way here from Florida, and he’s having the animal attack patients separated from the rest, without my permission, and…”
“Excuse me, Doctor,” Blaine interrupted, placing his hand on Mary Sue’s shoulder. “and Sheriff. You’ll both have to excuse me. Sheriff, we’ll let you know when we need you. Until that time, you’re a civilian, so we’ll need you to stay out of the way, Ma’am.”
Blaine gave Mary Sue’s shoulder a hard squeeze, then smiled, and nodded for the soldiers to follow him. Mary Sue drew an imaginary bead on the back Blaine’s helmeted head as he and his little army began to walk down the hallway like they owned the son-of-a-bitch.
“What’s happening?” Mary Sue asked. “Is all of this because of those animals? Two or three animals have caused Marshal Law?”
“Mary Sue? Mary Sue?” It was Rex behind her.
“Hmm…what…oh, I’m sorry,” she said apologetically, turning around to find Rex and Denny still holding Rhonda.
“What are we going to do about Mrs. Weaver? I’m not sure we ought to take her to the ER until we figure out what they’re up to.”
“No, probably not,” she answered, her finger touching her lips in thought.
“I’ll take her with me and put her with some of the car crash victims from last night,” Pritchard told them, squeezing Rhonda’s shoulder, “then when I get a chance, I’ll give her a going over as soon as I can figure out what’s going on…but what do I do about my current patients? They’re being hustled out and some of those people are seriously injured!”
What could she do? Marshal Law had been declared. That prick Baine was right. She WAS a civilian…for the moment. She would bide her time until this Col. Potts arrived.
CHAPTER 45
Kyler’s head hit the passenger window three different times before he was jarred awake. As he sat up, he could feel drool sliding down his cheek He tried to wipe it off without FranAnne seeing what he was doing. She hadn’t noticed. She’d been too busy trying to maneuver around what looked to be a small crater in the middle of the highway. There’d been a smaller one just before it, and that’s what had jostled him awake.
“Where are we?” he asked, slyly wiping the drool on his right leg.
“Just about to hit the Alabama state line,” FranAnne answered, watching the road for more holes.
“That’s it? We’ve been gone for hours.”
“The traffic’s still bad going up and down these interstates and highways. Potts was basically making all civilians get off the road until we passed.”
“Until we passed?
“Yeah, the roads are still full of refugees or people trying to get to a loved one.
“I thought since Potts was in charge, he would’ve taken a plane or copter, or something.”
“Fuel’s gotten so high, that only high government officials…”
“And Arnold Blum,” Kyler interrupted.
“And Arnold Blum. I guess Col. Potts doesn’t count, so he has to lead ten trucks there.”
“I bet they’d give him a chopper if they knew the severity of what’s happened there. With werewolf bite patients, time is of the essence.”
“I think Pot
ts likes it this way. He’d probably have rather had a tank than a bunch of old army trucks.”
“Yeah,” Kyler chuckled, “but there’s no one else I’d rather be in charge of a situation like this. I mean, the man was made for chaos.”
“Oh yes,” FranAnne replied, chuckling.
“Does anyone know when the next full moon is?” Kyler asked, becoming serious again.
“I heard Potts telling Gen. Mueller that there shouldn’t be any full moons for a while, so we have some time.”
“Shit, FranAnne, I am not looking forward to this at all.” FranAnne silently watched the road. “You?” he asked, one eyebrow arched. “FranAnne?”
“I have to go,” she sighed.
“I know. Potts drafted you. Sometimes he…”
“I have to go for my own peace of mind,” FranAnne interrupted.
“Peace of mind? How does going to Harmonville, Oklahoma give one peace of mind?” Kyler asked her.
“Come on, Doc. I watch what news I can. The eyewitnesses in the Oklahoma attacks, and those hunters that were killed in Mexico have something in common.”
“And what might that be?” Kyler asked, feigning ignorance.
“Puh-lease, Doc,” FranAnne retorted, shooting him a sideways glance. Kyler simply shrugged his shoulders, still pretending.
“What?!”
In both cases, the tracks showed that there were three of ‘em. A large set, a smaller set, and a minute set.”
“Sounds like the…”
“Three Bears…yes, Doc, you’ve used that one before.”
“Oh…sorry. So, what are you saying, FranAnne? You’re thinking that Cpl. Dixon, Shelley, and little Oliver made it off of No Name Island, swam to Mexico, killed some hunters, and then made their way up into Oklahoma, and killed even more people?”
“I know. I know. It sounds crazy, but can you think of anything else?”
“No, I can’t…and to be honest, the thought had occurred to me. I even told Potts about it.”
“What’d he say?”
“He gave me the usual “Shut up, you idiot,” look.”
The two rode in silence for a moment.
“So, do you miss her?” Kyler asked, once again looking at FranAnne who had begun to blush. “Ahhh…you do!” he chided her, poking her in the arm and the rib, making her flinch and giggle, before suddenly realizing that Shelley Dixon was probably dead or worse…a werewolf. “Then I take it that you think that she’s still alive,” he said, no longer smiling.
FranAnne, also serious now, stared at the road ahead. “I do,” she finally answered. “I know it’s weird. We were only together for a couple of days, but I…”
“And what do you plan on doing when you find her?” Kyler interrupted, seeing that both of them were becoming extremely uncomfortable.
“I don’t know. There’s gotta be a cure. Someone’ll think of something.”
Kyler wasn’t going to tell her about his and Nicholas Klefka’s chat about Klefka’s beginnings. He’d been searching for a cure for four-and-a-half centuries. He figured that if anyone could’ve found a cure, it would’ve been Klefka.
“And what do you plan on doing about her husband and baby?” he asked.
“Hadn’t thought that far ahead. I guess, get them a cure, too, I don’t know.”
Kyler was starting to become worried about FranAnne. Did she not realize that Shelley, if she were alive, would want to stay with her husband and child?
“What about you?” FranAnne asked.
“What about me?”
“Do you miss…HER?”
“Who?”
“You know who.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about?”
“Yes, you do.”
“If you are referring to Zora, I…”
“You know damn well, I’m referring to Zora.”
“I don’t know…sometimes, I guess,” he lied.
“She sure was somethin’, wasn’t she, Doc?” FranAnne chided this time, grinning at Kyler.
“She sure was,” he answered, breaking into a grin. “At the camp…and even on the island, she was something to look forward to at the end of the day.”
“Did ya’ll ever…”
“Hmm? Nah, there never seemed to be any time to be alone, not to mention, there weren’t a lot of places to…you know…what with all of us crammed together like we were.”
“No place to be alone?” FranAnne squealed. “You must’ve had four acres of woods right at your disposal!”
“Sorry, not all of us were reared in Mayberra-Nawth-Carralinee.”
“You didn’t have any woods in California?”
“Yeah, but they were mostly at golf courses and they were palm trees, just like on the island. Not a lot of room for cover.”
The two rode in silence again. Kyler noticed that FranAnne had become serious again.
“Do you think I was wrong in bringing the kids?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Doc,” she started after a short pause. “I don’t know. I’m sure hoping that we get done what we need to get done, and they don’t have to go through what we went through on No Name. We’re gonna have enough on our plate without having to worry about them. But I tell ya’, Doc. I don’t think they could be in any better hands. You got ‘em out of that hellhole they were living in.”
“Maybe out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
“Col. Potts said that you’d be a basket case without ‘em.”
“Good ol’ Col. Potts, eh.”
No sooner had Kyler said, Potts’ name, than FranAnne slammed on the brakes, sending Kyler forward into the dashboard, causing him to emit a loud “oof!”
“You okay, Doc?” FranAnne asked nervously. She had reached out to try to put her arm in front of him, but had been too late to stop his forward momentum, and he’d hit his forehead against the windshield, not hard, but hard enough to smart.
“Yeah?” he answered. “Why are we stopped?”
“You slept too long. We’ve pretty much been stopping at every convenience store or gas station there is, and requisitioning their gas. Potts is moving civilians out of the way and taking it all.”
“And not paying for it.”
“He’s telling them to take it up with the army. I swear to God, I feel like I’m a part of Sherman’s March,” FranAnne chuckled.
“Except we’re going in the opposite direction,” Kyler came back, rubbing his head. “Let me go see if they’re okay in the back.”
Kyler hopped out of the truck and walked to the back He opened the flap to find all occupants reseating themselves.
“What’s going on up there?” Sam Fong asked, wiping the dirt and dust from his bright red Hawaiian shirt.
“Woman driver,” Kyler replied, but not before looking behind him first.
“I need to pee pee,” Meredith Bayfield squealed, holding her hand over her crotch and locking her knees together.
“Me, too,” Anthony said.
“Me, too,” Ben Rollins echoed, his arm around a sitting Joe.
“I guess we could all use a stretch,” Kyler, reaching in and picking up Meredith and pulling her out of the truck. As soon as she hit the ground, Peter Valkenberg handed him Ben Rollins.
“I’m big enough!” the boy squealed.
“Gotta do it this way,” Kyler said, taking the boy. “Insurance and all that, don’t ya’ know.”
The rest began to pile out the truck. Sam, Zack, Werner, Peter, Astrid, Heather, Dustin, and Anthony climbed out, leaving Lauren and Joe still inside. Kyler watched to see what might happen. He didn’t have to wait long, for as usual, Lauren ignored the dog and climbed out of the truck, leaving Joe who put his paws over the ledge and jumped onto the ground. He took no more than a half step before he went into a long dog stretch, complete with forelegs splayed in the front and butt sticking up in back. Upon completion, he stood up, arched his back, then stretched forward with three of his legs planted firmly on the ground, whil
e his body slid forward over the three legs, all the while keeping one back leg stretched out completely behind him, stiff as a board. After a beat or two, he began to shake the leg. After a dozen or so shakes, Joe took a step forward, then repeated the process with the alternate back leg. After giving that leg a good shake, he took three quick steps, stopped, and then raised his leg right leg and emitted a golden stream that seemed to arc ever skyward. He didn’t notice the others laughing at him as he ran in place, kicking grass and mud behind him.
“Come on, Joe,” Kyler laughed, attaching the leash to Joe’s collar.
“Come on Doe, Anthony yelled, slapping his knees, smiling.
“Come on, Joe,” Meredith hollered, her hand still over her crotch, trying to hold in her pee.
“You need to get to the restroom!” FranAnne bellowed, coming around the back of the truck. “Git!” she snapped at them, smiling. “’a-for I give you the toe of my boot. Come on, Joe! Get ‘em!”
As if on cue, Joe, leash and all, escaped Kyler’s clutches and began to run past the children, toward the convenience store, dragging the leash behind him. All of the children except Lauren and Zack began to chase the dog as he zigzagged back and forth in front of them. Even Dustin, Heather, Werner, and Astrid had joined in the chase. Peter Valkenberg strolled behind the group, hands in pocket.
“Look at all the cars,” Sam said.
They’d had to stop the caravan about fifty yards from the station, which was filled with cars and irate motorists, all motioning toward Potts, who was marching inside the store in that way that only he could do…completely military.
CHAPTER 46
Kyler had been waiting outside the little restroom for at least half an hour. He was pretty much doing the Meredith Bayfield and putting his hand on his crotch before the levee gave way. There were still four men in front of him and two of them, the two fattest ones, looked like they were each about to shit a Christmas tree.
As he stepped from one foot to the other, he watched the children, sans Lauren, of course, as well as other children, chasing Joe in the grass behind the building. Kyler looked around at all of the angry customers coming out of the convenience store, all dressed in their summer clothes, waiving their hands about. There must’ve been at least sixty or seventy people speaking almost as many languages. Man, those hurricanes really caused a shitfest, Kyler thought to himself, looking up and suddenly finding himself number two. They had no idea.
