by Brown, TW
That is all I needed to hear for now. I figure this is what the doctor sent me to find out. Besides, it also sounds like they are going to be breaking up their meeting pretty soon. I don’t want to be caught. I slipped away and headed back to the cabin.
***
“…but I don’t think they are going to hurt anybody,” I finished telling everything that I had heard to Dr. Zahn.
She sat there for a moment with her lips pressed tight. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or just thinking.
“Even the pregnant one still looks nice?” Melissa growled. Well at least I didn’t have to wonder what she thought. “I’ll pluck him!”
“Just settle down,” Dr. Zahn said with that voice that you could not help but listen to. I swear, if she could have bottled that stuff and given it to parents…well, let’s just say there would have been a lot fewer problem children.
“Did you hear what that scum bag said?” Melissa was apparently immune to the doctor’s voice of authority.
“Yes, I did. But what I also heard was that he is simply a horny male. There are plenty of those. He is under the command of this Winters person. Not only that, but it would seem that the remainder of this group is fairly normal. It is still a bit too early to make any concrete decisions, but the initial report leads me to believe that perhaps this group will be useful.”
“But what about them wanting to make us live under some sort of military rule?” I asked.
“These are military men and women, Mister Haynes. It is what they know,” the doctor said.
I must have had that stupid look on my face that said I didn’t get the point that she was trying to make.
“I was an officer in the United States Army, Mister Haynes.”
I wonder if the light bulb actually flickered and became visible above my head. Dr. Zahn was obviously much older than any other person here. I didn’t know much about military ranks, but as old as she is, I bet she outranked all of them combined.
“As for their problem with my having released the prisoner, I was not about to allow her to be executed. I had a long conversation with her and have no concerns that she will present a problem.” The doctor got up and opened the door to the office.
I guess that meant our meeting was over. I nodded to her and Melissa and exited. I turned to ask if there was anything else I should be looking for, but the door shut. I took that as ‘no’ and went to my bunk. I was pretty tired and could use a nap.
I doubt my eyes were shut longer than ten minutes when a hand shook my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Jake standing there. He had on all his gear. He also had my pack in his hand.
“Get up, Haynes. Jon wants you loaded out. We are heading out in thirty minutes.”
“Where to?” That seemed like a logical question.
“We are making a run to the valley.”
I climbed out of bed. I don’t care how long we live here, I will never get used to the cold in the air. This is not just your normal type of chill. This is a cold that cuts through your body and freezes the inside of your bones so that those first few steps feel like your insides are made of glass and all of the joints crack, break, and grind together.
Maybe I should move in to the main sleeping area with everybody else. I moved in to this room to get away from all of the couples. They might think everybody is asleep when they start bumping nasties, but we aren’t…at least I wasn’t. Nobody wants to hear that.
Plus, I didn’t like waking up each morning and having to stay in my bed until certain things changed back to normal. The last thing I needed was to turn around and have Thalia or Emily staring at the tent pitched in my shorts.
By the time I got dressed and made it out to the common room, Gabe, Jon, Jake, and ten of the soldiers from Gabe’s crew were all giving each other last checks. I guess things were about to get serious…and I was not going to get that nap any time soon.
13
Vignettes XXXV
Caleb slipped inside the hut. Fortune was favoring him this morning. Once again the tiny shack was empty. He stepped over the mostly decomposed body sprawled in the middle of the main room and went to the shelves on the far wall.
He opened the jars one at a time, and with much more caution after that last incident with the enormous spider. Just remembering those hairy legs folding over the lip of the clay jar sent a shiver though his body that had nothing to do with the cold, damp morning air coming off the not-too-distant harbor.
This jar had rice! Some of it was clumped together, but there was almost no mold. He stuffed the jar in his bag and moved down the shelf methodically. This hut was the best so far. He found some dried dates and even a jar of olives that didn’t smell too terribly bad.
Moving to the doorway, he scanned the narrow alley that passed for a road through the village. Only a couple of those damn things seemed to have taken notice of him when he slipped inside. They were making their way over in that slow, awkward manner in which they moved.
Stepping out onto the porch, he progressed down the front of the house, effectively putting the crudely fashioned rail between him and the approaching undead. The rail was shabby looking, but he gave it a little shake with his hand and was not surprised to discover that it was very sturdy. The people living in this village were obviously poor, but they were wonderful craftsmen.
The first zombie made it up to the rail and swiped at Caleb with both hands. Its momentum took it over the rail where it landed in a heap. It was nothing for the boy to step in and drive his sharpened walking stick into the thing’s head.
He didn’t wait for the second one to fall over and brought his weapon up to bear. He was about to drive it through the thing’s grey-green face when he heard a scream from close by. That moment of hesitation caused him to falter and his thrust went into the creature’s throat.
A second cry, this one even more frantic than the first, and followed by words that he could not understand, made him hurry. He let his pack slip down his arm to the ground and he drew the long blade from his side. Stepping around the rail and into the narrow road, he gave a sidearm swing that buried his blade in the side of the zombie’s head. It toppled, bringing the walking stick with it. He would grab it when he returned, Caleb decided as he jogged to towards the source of the noise.
He drew up short, not willing to risk too much to satisfy his curiosity. What he saw made him pause. The source of the screams was a young woman. She had climbed up on top of a small fishing boat that was up on blocks for some sort of work.
On the ground, besides the dozen zombies that had gathered and were all straining to reach up for the frightened woman, were two large baskets. One of them was on its side, its contents spilled on the dirt.
Fish. Lots of fish. Some were even flapping about, completely ignored by the zombies.
The woman saw Caleb and began to wave her arms frantically. She started speaking, but her words made no sense. He was pretty sure that she was asking for help.
Caleb’s eyes went to the baskets and he tried to judge whether he could dart in, grab them, and be off without getting set upon by the small cluster of zombies that were currently very focused on the woman.
The woman seemed to be reading his thoughts. She began pleading in earnest and shaking her head. He studied the woman for another moment.
She certainly seemed well fed. That meant that she had been taking pretty decent care of herself judging by the slim pickings he had managed to come up with while scouring the village. Plus, there was that basket of fish. Obviously she had some skills that would be useful. If he brought her back to Aaheru, perhaps the man would be pleased…if he ever woke up. It had been three days since he had chopped of the man’s arm.
Just this morning, when he had checked on this man who had claimed the title of pharaoh, the fever seemed to be gone. Caleb was struggling with his choice to care for the man. Obviously he was no god, and weren’t the ancient pharaohs supposed to be manifestations of the gods?
This man ha
d taken them from their walled place of refuge and travelled across the desert to Alexandria. From there he had put them boats and sent them on a journey that only he seemed to want to undertake if what he had heard among the others when Aaheru was absent—usually behind the closed doors of the place where the women were kept—could be believed.
When the ship had crashed, Caleb had to fight his way up from where he had been working in the engine room. He had expected to find more of his people, but what he found time and again were only what used to be his friends and fellow Egyptians.
The woman on the small wooden boat yelled again. Caleb looked up with curiosity. She was no longer screaming with fear or concern; now she sounded angry. Her eyes were on him and there was a scowl on her face. She pointed to him and then to the monsters gathered around below her. She mimed hitting them in the head.
Well, Caleb thought as he gauged where to attack, if nothing else, she was certainly more pleasant to look at than Aaheru. Tapping his blade on a large boulder that jutted up from the ground, Caleb began to draw some of the closer zombies to him. Darting in and out, he had taken down four by the time the woman leapt from her perch and joined in. Together, they actually made short work of those that remained.
Once it was done, Caleb helped her gather her fish into her basket. She started towards a grove in the opposite direction of the castle. Caleb tugged on her arm and pointed to the castle. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She glanced back towards the grove and then pointed.
Why would she want to go that way? Caleb thought. He did not see much that looked like it would provide protection from the walking dead. And while his castle had some open areas, he had managed to find a single room that had no windows and only one door. It also had a fireplace big enough for him to stand in if he wanted. They had been plenty warm the past few nights.
Caleb pointed again to the castle. The woman seemed to consider it for a moment. Finally she held up one finger. And then pointed back towards the direction she had initially started. She pointed, held up one finger and then pointed to the castle. Of course she was also talking the entire time, but none of that made any sense to Caleb. All he could do was guess that she wanted him to see her place first, and then they would go to the castle. That seemed fair enough.
Caleb decided that Aaheru could wait a little longer. He shrugged and nodded his head. After picking up one of the baskets—which seemed extraordinarily heavy to him—if she had been carrying both, then he was certainly impressed—he filed in beside the woman.
After passing through a large grove of trees, they came to a clearing. It was what he saw on the other side that made his jaw drop. He glanced up at the woman. She nodded and smiled. Perhaps the castle was not the best choice after all, he thought as he followed the woman across the open and level field.
***
“The house is at the top of that hill,” Juan whispered and pointed.
The two had beached the boat and had to immediately deal with a few roaming deaders that came out from the partially burned down lumber yard. Each of them had a heavy crossbow, an axe, a machete, and then an assortment of various small knives that dangled from their belt.
They had decided to at least swing by and check on Frank and Donna before going to the hospital. Juan had not been too difficult to convince. He knew there were supplies that could be obtained at that community. He was not as sure about making a run on a hospital with just the two of them.
“You went up that?” April pointed to the steep hill just across the railroad tracks from where they were crouched in the bushes.
“It was a bitch going up,” Juan sighed in remembrance, “but the alternative would be to head up that access road and then walk through the neighborhood.”
“I thought you jacked a truck or something.”
“I did…it’s gone.”
That was another thing that had him a bit on edge. Who exactly had taken the truck that he had used to bring all the supplies from that gated community? If it was Frank and Donna, that would be one thing. Only he didn’t see that as likely. Why would they come all the way down here for that truck? There were plenty of other vehicles around the community.
“Well, big guy, as they say…after you. Age before beauty.” April smiled and gave Juan a slight nudge.
“They also say ladies first,” Juan reminded.
With that, he turned, scanned the area and then took off across the open ground. He would be completely exposed for almost two hundred yards. There was no way around it. The first time, he hadn’t even really given it any thought. However, with the fact that the truck was gone, plus the fact that he had certainly not left Frank and Donna on friendly terms, his apprehension was considerable.
Halfway across, he heard something clang off to his left. That single sound was followed by a series of rapid, heavy metallic clicks. His head turned and he skidded to a halt. A huge roll-up door on one of the warehouses on the edge of the lumber yard was rolling up.
He shot a glance back the way he’d come. April had done as they agreed; she had stayed put. The plan was for him to cross and then for her to follow. His eyes came back to the gaping black rectangle that was the entrance to the warehouse. From deep within, a twin set of lights came on—obviously headlights. The low rumble of an engine sounded…seconds later, the truck he’d abandoned came rolling out.
Juan looked around. For just a moment, he considered making a run for it. The only problem was that he was smack dab in the middle of a huge open space. He had always laughed when people tried to outrun a vehicle in the movies or on television. The only person he gave any chance to would have been that Olympic runner, Usain Bolt. And he would only last for about a hundred yards or so. If there was somebody on the opposite end of the sprinter’s scale, Juan was pretty sure that it was him. He hated running. He did it out of necessity. Running here and now would do nothing but make him tired. If he stood his ground, then maybe he would have a fighting chance if these people got out of the truck.
The big vehicle rolled forward and closed half the distance between them before stopping. After a rev of the engine, the driver shut it off. It was still too far away for Juan to get a good look at the driver. To make matters worse, the sun had chosen this moment to come out and was currently in his eyes.
The passenger door opened and somebody climbed out. They were obviously being cautious and the person ducked down and stuck his head back in the cab for a moment before coming back out.
“You that guy from the island?” the person called.
Juan considered the possibilities. For one, there was certainly more than one island in the Willamette River. Still, he and his people had left a few people that they met along the way who had declined to join them at the time. They had always been cognizant of other groups of survivors in and around the area. They had gone to some length not to make enemies.
“If you mean Sauvie, then yeah,” Juan finally answered. He decided that if they were in fact considering some sort of raid on his group, they would find it a much tougher nut to crack than most. “And who are you?”
“It’s me…Kip Jones,” the voice called back.
Juan could tell that the person was implying that they knew each other. The thing was, Juan was terrible at names. If this was some guy he knew from jail or the streets, then this meeting could still go either way.
“It’s one of the kids!” April called.
Juan’s head spun just a bit faster than his body. Sure enough, April was walking up just as casual as you please. She didn’t even have a weapon drawn.
“One of those kids you brought back…with Frank. Probably one of the boys who went looking for Donna,” April said.
“We saw you just as you were pulling away,” Kip said with obvious relief in his voice. “And, man, am I glad you came back.”
“So what were you doing in that warehouse?” Juan asked.
“Hiding.” Kip had a look on his face like he could not actually believe that was
a question. “We tried to find Donna, but didn’t have any luck.”
Juan felt his stomach clench a bit. He glanced at April who shrugged and nodded like she could read his mind. He knew she really couldn’t, but he took that as the go ahead to ask the question swirling around in his brain pan.
“Did you go up and check at her house?”
Kip nodded, and then the driver side door opened and another young man stepped out. He was a bit on the heavy side which Juan found amusing considering the overall lack of food it was likely that these two had managed to find in that area. When he stood beside Kip, he was almost a head taller, which Juan guessed put him at about just over six feet tall. His skin was a rich, dark hue, but he was not African-American. Juan wasn’t exactly sure what his origin might be…at least until he spoke.
“The corpses have the whole place overrun. Her house looks like it got hit pretty hard. A lot of those things are milling about in her yard and can be seen in the windows. We thought we heard something, but there was no way to get close,” the second boy said with a thick Middle Eastern accent.
Juan had no idea which of those countries the kid might come from, but he had seen enough movies to at least recognize that it was certainly from that general area where all the wars happened. He considered what they told him and shot another look at April. This time she just stared back with a blank expression. That meant it was all up to him. He really would like to clean that place out. There was so much there that it was tough to pass up on. And maybe he didn’t need to hit the hospital after all.
What the hell, he thought, it can’t hurt to look, right?
***
“So do we just leave him?” Chad asked.
After seeing Brett seemingly taken prisoner, the three of them had made for the foothills and the small town of La Grange. The going was a bit tougher than they had anticipated. A lot of the road was either covered with dirt and sand or just plain washed away.
