by Hamrick, R M
“I’m so sorry about Vesna.” It was her turn to burst out.
“What do you know about Vesna?” he asked, confused.
“I knew her. She recruited me, same as you later. I swear I didn’t know what Greenly had planned.”
Dwyn’s head was spinning. “Wait, you’re part of the rebel network?”
Corette nodded, her light skin paled.
Dwyn’s face broke into a giant grin. At the same time, his eyes teared up.
“How many of you are there? In Lysent?”
“Just a handful, but we’ve all worked to key positions. I work in the armory. Clyde has access to the entire campus.”
“Your husband, Hiram?” Dwyn tried out his name.
Corette shook her head. Dwyn didn’t push.
“Do you know if the corporate cure is still working?”
“No, I don’t know. I’ve tried to find out. Something is definitely going on, but they’re keeping it under wraps.”
Dwyn wasn’t sure if the non-answer was better than confirmation he was at risk for reversion.
“Do you know what she has planned?”
“I know she’s gathering her forces. Training the zombie soldiers. I think she’s going to war, but I don’t know who against.”
Dwyn smirked. “Probably us.”
Corette’s eyes went wide. She hugged him tightly.
* * *
Satomi jumped in surprise with the whine of the lab’s door. She thankfully landed back on her stool, not falling to the chilly floor.
Satomi finger-combed her hair and hoped Marla hadn’t noticed she was sleeping. She couldn’t sleep at night, and she couldn’t stay awake during the day. The only consistency was her inability to get anything done.
“Sorry to bother you,” said Marla.
Marla didn’t appear to have sleep problems. Her eyes shined brightly underneath her dark spectacles. Her wavy red hair was pulled into a fluffy ponytail.
“What is it?” Satomi rubbed the warm spot on her forehead, which was probably red and wrinkled from its pressure on the counter.
“There’s… there’s someone at the gate.”
Satomi’s eyes went wide. She could hear the worry in Marla’s voice now. What was Satomi supposed to do about someone at the gate? Audra and Ryder, their capable leaders in war and peace, had left. Satomi was more apt to hide than to answer the call of a stranger.
Crap. What was she going to do?
“Is Jack around?”
“He was out gathering. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
There wasn’t much she could do besides climb the scaffolding and speak for Osprey Point. Satomi somberly stood up and pressed the wrinkles from her long lab coat before taking small steps to meet Marla at the door.
Several people were already outside with melee weapons, waiting for some signal to attack or scatter. Across from the fountain and atop the scaffolding, Satomi saw the brunet and blond pair of Branson and Tess, arrows nocked. Satomi couldn’t recall ever climbing up there.
She gripped the rough pine sides and worked her way up, trying not to rock the structure. She trusted Ryder’s engineering skills, but heights were another matter. Positioning herself between Branson and Tess, Satomi put her hand on the edge of the solid metal barricade positioned on the fence. It rattled, echoing in the forest. Pulling her shaking hand back to herself, she peered over the fencing.
Three men stood below. A long-faced man with blond dreads kept two horses. A large man with a wiry red beard kept Jack, blue knit hat askew and his arms bound behind his back. He looked up at Satomi with an apologetic grimace.
The redhead cried out a greeting. “Hallo good scientist!”
Satomi blinked. She didn’t recognize them, but apparently he knew who she was. Or maybe it was just the lab coat.
“Hello. What uh, can I do for you? Why do you have my…” it was hard to say it, “friend?”
“Well, he was out here all by his lonesome! Haven’t you all ever heard of the buddy system?”
“Of course, we just don’t have a lot of hands to go around,” she said before realizing her mistake.
Tess snickered next to her. Jack hung his head. Satomi wondered again why they had no one better to stand up here. She should not be up here.
“Well, that’s a shame,” said the man with the two brown mares. “We’re here for your turn-backs.”
“Turn-backs?”
“Ex zombies, gonna-turn-agains, I don’t care what you call them. Whoever’s sick or is gonna get sick again,” he explained impatiently.
“We don’t have any of those,” said Jack, helping Satomi. “They hit the road. Didn’t want to be here when they… y’know.” Jack shrugged his shoulders to accompany the end of his sentence.
The redhead’s voice grew raucous. “Hey, I’m getting them off your hands. They’re going to turn any day now and you’re going to be behind the walls with them, running for your life. I’m just making this easier. Taking them to headquarters where they can get treatment and safety.”
“Are they also going to get some cotton candy and a pony?” asked Jack from the corner of his mouth, but loud enough for Satomi to hear.
The broad man tugged on the bindings, throwing off Jack’s balance in response. Satomi didn’t need Jack’s comment to know their proposal wasn’t favorable. They were rounding up the sick for Lysent, but why?
“Look, you can either let us in, or I’m going to kill Blondie here.” He used his leverage to rock Jack by his bindings once more.
Jack looked up and met her eyes. A few weeks ago, Satomi would not have been bothered by such a threat. It was not lost on her that Jack was now in the same position he had forced her into just months ago. His family had brought a great amount of fear into her life. But, she could not wish the same for him.
“Please, don’t,” was all she could manage.
“OK, then we’ll just come in.”
Satomi heard an electronic beep before a clap of noise. Metal plating and chain link flashed in her peripheral as the east side of the fence was tossed and scattered. The scaffolding swayed. Marla and several others lay on the ground, stunned.
“Now we’ve got one more of those planted along your place,” said the same but distant voice. “Bring out your dead — soon-dead I guess — and we’ll be on our way without destroying another thing.”
Satomi’s vision blurred with panic. Everything seemed to be tumbling down. “I’m telling you!” she screamed. “WE DON’T HAVE ANY HERE!”
The man shouted back, ragged and angered. “Then we’ll take YOU, Peter Junior here, Peter Senior, and Audra! You guys are worth more than turn-backs anyway. I’m tired of talking shit with you.”
Satomi wasn’t sure where it came from, but a sick laugh erupted from her mouth. “You think if Audra was here, that you’d be talking to me?”
Hot stingers of tears collected in the corners of her eyes. Why did Lysent value her life? How was she a threat? She understood that Greenly must’ve run Evelyn’s DNA and figured out who the family was — creators of the army she had confiscated. And Audra was a big pain in their butt, but why Satomi? And why turn-backs? If Satomi’s antiviral was the only faulty version, why not just let Osprey Point revert and die off?
Maybe she had missed something.
And maybe it was too late. Maybe Peter’s creations were about to march in and cut them down.
What was she going to do?
* * *
Heading to warn Osprey Point of marauding taggers, Audra wasn’t far when she heard the explosion. She considered dropping the sisters’ leash to reach the community faster, but if they were taggers, the sisters would be of high value. Instead, she pulled out her knife and reached back, making a shallow slice into the back of her shoulder. She felt warm liquid trickle into the small of her back.
Now they were moving. The sisters became frenetic. The growls and snapping kept pace behind her as they raced down the road toward Osprey Point. Three men an
d two horses stood at the gate, and they turned to address the tiny stampede careening toward them.
“Oh, ho ho, Blue. There she is!” The man with curly red hair laughed.
Audra pulled to a stop, but the zoms, having spotted and smelled the sweaty horses, continued forward. Audra set her feet and held on like an owner with eager dogs.
“Oh, and she’s got some for us,” said Blue. His cowboy hat hid his dark beady eyes.
Audra recognized them both. Manny and Blue, two of Greenly’s zombie shepherds.
“They aren’t for you,” countered Audra. “Haven’t you killed enough of them?”
Audra had escorted them to her trailer of sick and they had set it aflame. The next day after the fire had burned out and the metal had cooled, Audra dropped down into the chalky remains, breathing in the ash, helping the last of them pass.
“Now, we do regret that. Mostly cause now they’re worth money.”
Jack’s eyes were wide at the sight of Audra’s pets. Manny kept an arm around him. A large knife swung from his belt.
“Everyone OK in there?” she asked of Satomi, who was perched atop the fence.
“Um, they blew up part of our fence. Say they got another one ready if we don’t surrender some people.”
“Did you tell them you didn’t have any tags?” she asked as she wrestled with the leash. The horses whinnied and stomped worriedly.
“Yes, told them all the reverting left so we wouldn’t be in danger. But now they want me, Jack there, you… Jack’s dad.”
“And those,” the shepherd reminded her again.
“These are mine. I’ve tagged them — now more than once. Finder’s rights, you know?”
Audra’s anger settled as flames flirting with her collarbone. It wouldn’t be the first time she had to defend her tags.
“Well, then I guess that makes Peter Junior here ours,” laughed Manny. “You’re out there tagging again?”
Audra didn’t answer, which gave him his answer.
“Then maybe we can strike a deal. You give me the duo and I’ll leave you guys alone for a bit. I’ll even hand over Jack here. He can help you tag. When I return, you hand over more valuable zoms or that scientist. I don’t really care which. Call it rent, protection, whatever.”
Blue smiled at the proposal.
Audra thought it over for a moment. “These two for Jack?” she asked to clarify.
“Sure. For now.”
“And what if I don’t?”
“We set off the other explosion and take everything.”
Manny and Blue both cocked their heads to wait on the answer to their offer.
Audra’s pair continued to pull toward the large sources of meat as if they were eager to go. It would be easy to hand the girls over. Arguably, Jack and the others inside were worth more than the forgotten Hunt sisters. Osprey Point’s inhabitants had lives to live. This duo didn’t.
And yet, she couldn’t push the burning trailer from her mind. Those lives lost were on her. And so would these be.
It wasn’t worth it. Her heart — her soul — couldn’t take another death.
“Take me instead.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TRADE
“I know there’s a bounty on my head. Am I worth more than these two?” she asked.
“Quite a bit,” said Manny, nodding. He appeared to think it was a good deal.
She was sure it was. If Lysent had decided that she was this important, then maybe she’d make good on their evaluations. She heard murmurs of disagreement above her.
“Audra, you don’t have to do this,” said Jack. “We can fight them.”
“There’s no need.” She wasn’t going to let the shepherds have any more of her people. She wasn’t going to let Lysent dictate what happened here. “It’s time to end this.”
“Audra, stop. I’ll go,” pleaded Jack. His eyes were wide with surprise.
Greenly having the half-zom army’s controller. That was the last thing she needed.
She ignored him. “You’ll let my zoms go into Osprey Point.” She couldn’t very well lead them to the motel and the jackpot of tags who lived there. “And I’ll come with you.”
Manny untied Jack and pushed him toward the biting zombies. “Take ‘em,” he grunted.
“What the hell’s going on?” asked Jack in a rough whisper as he took the lead from Audra. Audra tucked the folded bounty list in his front jacket pocket.
Manny placed Jack’s bindings on Audra. Jack straightened his beanie and met Audra’s gaze one more time. His eyes asked if he needed to make a play. Audra gave a small shake of her head. She knew he wouldn’t interfere without her permission. Dwyn would have been another story.
Audra gave a nod up to Satomi, Branson, and Tess, hoping they wouldn’t worry. She then departed with Manny and Blue, who had not mounted the horses. Too much distance from Audra and they’d get arrows in their backs.
After removing themselves from range, the men hopped into the saddles. Manny put his hand out for Audra. She didn’t accept it. She’d rather walk. He didn’t mind. He laughed.
He allowed Audra a long lead to follow behind them. Even with the space, the horses kicked up dust and grit into Audra’s nose and mouth. She worked her kerchief from her neck onto her face with shoulder shrugs and neck contortions. Still, it was better than being hip to hip to these shepherds. She remembered their crude behavior. She’d keep separate from them as long as possible. The rope scratched and scraped her hands and wrists. It was nothing like the cloth ones she used for her zombies. The horses smelled of sweat and manure. Or, maybe that was the men.
With the bounty list, Audra hoped Satomi would be able to piece together why Lysent was intent on scooping up zombies and scientists alike. They needed more time, and she was giving it to them. But that wasn’t her only reason for trading herself.
Audra thought of the dead in sedans, the ash of the trailer, the angry, lost, and sick at the motel. She and Larange Greenly had something in common. Everything they touched — they ruined. Perhaps they should meet their matches.
Audra had no delusions she’d survive Greenly, but if her scorecard had anything to show, Greenly wouldn’t come out of it alive, either. And that she could deal with.
Manny and Blue continued down the road, joking with each other and passing a flask back and forth. Audra assumed it wasn’t water. She used to have that life. She didn’t have a horse, but she had a flask and the joy of a good cash find leading up to a fine fire, good spirits, and a good night. Audra knew they wouldn’t make it to Lysent headquarters before sundown at this pace. That gave her time to come up with a plan. Greenly would meet her. She was sure of it. But she’d still have her guards with her. Audra wouldn’t be able to do much to Greenly.
Whatever she did, it would have to be quick. And life-changing.
Perhaps she could sneak a blade. She imagined plunging it into Greenly’s carotid. What would Audra do as the woman bled out? Smile? Laugh? It’d be easy to watch someone who created such chaos be put in their place.
A slow light rain highlighted the scents on the trail. Despite the overcast, it’d be a beautiful time to run. But for now, her hair stuck to her face with the moisture. Brushing it away with her bound hands just scratched her face with rope.
After hours of walking, they reached a boarded-up gas station. While the weeds, scattered vehicles, and debris made the place look abandoned, the fact that all the windows and doors were closed and secured, was a sure sign that someone was using it. The bright reds and blues of the brand had faded to oranges and grays. Manny and Blue dismounted and began walking the horses to the back. There they found a ratty wooden fence, but a fence nonetheless. It slanted and swayed. Several boards were missing or broken. But the gate worked, sort of. Manny pulled up on it to get it to move. They led the horses in and tied them up. The wire grass inside had been flattened — the horses had been here before.
Blue lifted his shallow chin toward the back door. The me
tal handle had been knocked off the heavy door. Audra looked at him expectantly, but did not move to go inside. She wasn’t going to go in first or second. Hell, she wouldn’t even go in at all if she could help it. In there, she’d be trapped.
“Get in, girl,” pushed Manny, his growl devolved into a thick cough.
She cut her eyes at him, trying to size him up. He was still large and grizzly. More than she could handle. She remembered what he had told her when they first met. She’d better watch herself.
She might never see Greenly.
He opened the door and Blue pushed her in. So much for holding her ground.
For its boarded windows and front door, the inside was still not as dark as she had expected. A large hole in the one-story ceiling was to thank for that. Audra looked at the floor where the hole made a spotlight. She saw the markings of past fires underneath, old coolers on their side around it to sit on. Against the windows, shelves stood as a secondary barricade, much like at Haleigh’s community. Prepackaged food items were long gone, but their discarded wrappers littered the ground, gathering dust and decomposing even more slowly than their dying consumers.
In the corner, blankets sat. Their beds. Audra didn’t want to investigate them any further. Besides the obvious, the bedding seemed to be crawling with thin roach-like bugs.
“If I agree to get on the horse, we could make it to headquarters before it gets dark,” suggested Audra.
“Nice try. It’s gonna get dark fast. And ‘sides, we don’t need to go just yet,” Manny added suggestively.
Audra didn’t have any preconceived notions she’d be treated well. It didn’t matter as long as she had enough strength to kill Greenly in the end. If it saved the reverted, made a difference, even better.
“Don’t scare the girl, Manny,” said Blue. Then to Audra, “We know what you did to those shepherds, but your payout at Lysent is worth much more than getting revenge for the two SOBs that couldn’t survive a little girl.” He smirked.
Audra wasn’t sure if that was true or if there was a bit of respect there.
“Then why don’t we go to Lysent?”
“Cause their listed bounty for you is shit!” he laughed.
