by Vohs, J. W.
“Thank you, Major, but I don’t think I should be planning my future right now.” She tilted her head to reveal a slightly blood-matted patch of hair behind her left ear. “It’s not much more than a scratch, but it could be from an attempted bite, and it’s not something to take lightly.”
“Indeed not,” Daniels agreed. “but let me have a closer look.” He drew a handkerchief from his pocket. “Until you clean this up a bit how will you even know that the blood is yours? Turn around and let me have a closer look.”
The sergeant did as she was told, and she felt Daniels gently wiping at the area where she might have been grazed by a flesh-eater. For the briefest of instants, she felt something cold and hard pressed against the same spot.
As Daniels climbed into the waiting Blackhawk, he sighed with regret. He hated to lose valuable resources, and the young sergeant had shown such promise . . . He ordered the pilot to circle the camp several times before heading back to Alameda. From two thousand feet he could see the infected scurrying about on the ground, but surprisingly, most of the creatures in Pen One had stayed in place. The major decided that with their appetites sated, the flesh-eaters were momentarily content to rest in place. Something they have in common with their human cousins, he thought somewhat cynically.
After two days at the depot, the list of priority supplies and equipment to look for just kept getting longer. Fortunately, an abandoned Army base offered an amazing array of resources. The Red River Depot held thousands of military vehicles in conditions ranging from absolute wrecks to brand-spanking new, so finding a hundred up-armored Hummers wasn’t a difficult undertaking. Plenty of trailers were stored all over the post, so the soldiers could pick and choose on the basis of condition and stability. Half of the troops were dispersed along the perimeter established by Luke to guard against any hunters deep within the interior who might be attracted to the sound of activity in the main area of the base. The bulk of the remaining troops were dedicated to locating vehicles and working on modifications, but several squads were assigned to full-time scavenge duties.
With the operation at the depot proceeding smoothly, Luke told Bill Raker and his students that they’d be leaving for Vicksburg the following morning. The group had been checked out by a couple medics and overloaded with interesting food from the commissary. Since the infected had dominated the base so soon after the outbreak, there hadn’t been time for much looting by normal humans. When one of Gracie’s scavenge-squads targeted the commissary, they’d been thrilled to discover plenty of canned food still on the shelves, impervious to the foraging rodents.
Luke was on his way back to the room designated “command central” when Jerome and DJ caught up with him.
“Hey Luke, we’d like a minute to talk to you,” Jerome said seriously, “if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind.” Luke had a feeling that he knew what these young men wanted to talk about.
Jerome got right to the point, “DJ and me want to join your Army.”
Luke nodded and took a deep breath; he scratched his chin and looked thoughtful for a minute, wanting the young men to understand that he wouldn’t just dismiss the idea out of hand. When he finally spoke, he put his hand on Jerome’s shoulder. “I can always use strong, motivated fighters. You both have experience fighting the infected, and you’d be valuable additions to my Army.”
Both boys were beaming. “We won’t let you down—” Jerome began.
“I know you won’t,” Luke agreed, “even if you don’t like the orders I give you. You’ll both get set up with uniforms and supplies, and you’ll be stationed in Vicksburg—”
“But—” DJ objected.
Luke held up his hand, “I’m not finished. If, when I’ve made my offer, you no longer wish to join my Army, there’ll be no hard feelings. The truth is, I need people in strategic locations. I need you to help get Bill and the other kids settled, and to learn what it takes to run a settlement. You two aren’t only good fighters; you know what it takes to keep people alive. You’re experienced survivors. Your presence will be extremely beneficial to the settlement in Mississippi. Not all the people who’ve lived through this pandemic are honorable and decent; settlements can need protection from hunters and predatory humans.”
Jerome and DJ looked at each other; DJ raised his eyebrows and shrugged, indicating that he was open to Luke’s idea. Jerome turned to Luke, “So we’d be real, official members of the Allied Resistance Army?”
“Of course, and I’d be certain to make that clear to the leadership in Vicksburg.”
A satisfied smile crept across Jerome’s face. “I was really worried about leaving Julian. I think we’d be honored to serve you and keep an eye on Bill and the others at the same time.”
DJ punched Jerome in the arm, “We got ourselves a win-win situation.” He looked at Luke. “So when can we get our uniforms?”
Several hours later, Gracie and Luke were lying in their makeshift bedroom together, still thankful for the multi-day respite from sleeping in a tent. The relative comfort of indoor quarters, and the showers in the fitness center, had led the newlyweds to work at making up lost time in their love life. As Gracie lay snuggled against Luke’s chest, he gently caressed her warm skin. “You know, one good thing came out of this pandemic—we found each other. I bet if things had stayed ‘normal,’ I’d have gotten lost in the crowd of all your gentleman suitors.”
Gracie laughed out loud. “My gentleman suitors? What have you been reading lately—wait, I know, more Civil War books.”
Luke smiled and ran his fingers through Gracie’s hair, causing it to stand straight up. “You do know me well, but I’m not sure you’d have given me the time of day if we’d met before—”
“Are you saying I must have been a rude or stuck-up person?” Gracie pretended to be greatly insulted. “I never refused to give anyone the time of day, but I’m not sure anybody ever asked . . .”
Luke pinned Gracie down and threatened to tickle her. “I’m just saying that you would have had your pick of guys. You’re the heartbreaker type.”
Gracie rolled her eyes and wiggled free. “Honestly, babe, I didn’t give many boys the time of day. I know you were homeschooled for a lot of years, so maybe you don’t realize how annoying teenage males can be. Thank goodness I didn’t get much romantic attention—I think part of the reason my dad made sure I was so well-trained in self-defense was to scare away potential boyfriends. A lot of guys are intimidated by a girl who can shoot like a sniper and kick the crap out of them if she wanted to.”
“I wish I would’ve known your dad; from what you’ve told me, I’m sure we’d have seen eye-to-eye on just about everything.”
Gracie smiled sadly as she thought about her father. “Yeah, he would have loved you. I actually think, in a way, he knew you were the one for me when he saw you fighting in the loft of that church.”
Luke seemed surprised. “What makes you think that?”
“When you all gathered around after killing the last of the flesh-eaters, he held eye-contact with you the longest. Then, you reached out and took his hand in yours just before he passed over. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but he was kind of mystical, like you are. I think he saw that right away, and I like to believe he maybe caught a glimpse of the future as well. I think he knew that you would be my champion.”
Luke reached up and ever so-gently wiped a tear from Gracie’s cheek. “I remember, baby, I remember every second. I didn’t know what it was about at that instant, but some sort of jolt went through me when his eyes met mine; that’s why I grabbed his hand. I think you’re right; I think he did see something there at the end.”
Gracie playfully poked Luke in the ribs. “So what about you—when did you know that I was the one for you.”
Luke grabbed his wife by her wrists before she could poke him again. “It’s an ongoing realization,” he answered huskily, pulling her closer and kissing her deeply.
Gracie p
ressed her body against Luke and returned his passionate kisses. She nuzzled his neck and whispered in his ear, “So is there anything I can do to encourage this realization?”
“I get tongue-tied around naked women; I guess I’ll just have to show you.”
Zach was unusually perky for five o’clock in the morning. “Come on, dude. You gotta see what I found for you.”
Luke was grateful that he didn’t need to constantly wear his tinted glasses anymore. “You realize it’s still dark out here, right? Aren’t you the guy who says it isn’t morning until the sun comes up?”
“Maybe,” Zach admitted, “but aren’t you the guy who doesn’t hardly need to sleep?” He led Luke around to the parking lot beside the fitness center. “You don’t need daylight to see how awesome these babies are—take a look for yourself.”
Luke opened his mouth, then closed it again. Three massive and strange-looking personnel carriers were parked in a neat line before him. “What in the world . . .?”
Zach was grinning from ear to ear. “I know, right? I mean, I had no idea what they were when I first laid eyes on them.”
“Well, what are they?” Luke’s excitement grew as he took a closer look at the vehicles. “Are these things amphibious?”
“You’ve got a good eye there, Captain Luke. They are indeed amphibious, and you’ll probably just want to call them foxes. They’re German: Transportpanzer Fuchs—fuchs is fox. The hull is armored steel, and the engine is Mercedez-Benz diesel.”
Luke’s mind was racing. “How far can one of these go on a full tank? What’s their top speed? How many of these did you find?”
Zach laughed and slapped Luke on the shoulder. “Three that are up and running—these right here. Two more that we might be able to get operational. We have some kickin’ mechanics in our little army.”
“These things are beasts—what’s the range?” Luke asked again.
“I hear they can go about five hundred miles on a full tank, and if the roads were clear we could cruise at around 65 mph.”
“I want to take one of these to Vicksburg today. Do we have anybody with experience driving one of these monsters?”
“It’s not rocket science, dude. I drove one of ‘em over here myself.”
“I guess it can’t be too difficult then,” Luke teased dryly.
“I’ll take that as a ‘thank you, Zach – I don’t know how to express my gratitude so I’ll just be a dong-head.’ So you’re welcome. Now let’s get some breakfast; I’m starving.”
CHAPTER 18
The convoy to Vicksburg was ready to pull out about half an hour after dawn. Five Hummers and one Fox were being utilized for this mission; there was plenty of room for everybody. Sergeant Jenkins insisted on accompanying Luke and the boys on the journey, arguing that his mechanical expertise might be needed if breakdowns occurred—especially given the uniqueness of the newest addition to the small fleet that had ventured to Texarkana a few days earlier. If anything blocked the highway that the Hummers couldn’t move out of their path quickly, the Fox had more power than the SUVs combined. Gracie was convinced that her husband and his charges were in little danger on the road in such vehicles, but she still sent a handpicked squad of troops along. The soldiers were armed to the teeth; Luke didn’t expect any trouble either, but he wasn’t taking chances with the boys in tow.
The maps showed a distance of roughly two hundred and fifty miles to Vicksburg, so even if the convoy could only average thirty miles an hour, the journey would be completed before nightfall. They needn’t have worried; while the road to Shreveport was filled with the usual assortment of wrecks and blockages that slowed their progress more than Luke and Sergeant Jenkins would have liked, from Shreveport to Monroe one lane of the interstate had been cleared. A roadblock on the western edge of Monroe was manned by troops familiar with the already-legendary Luke Seifert; they’d fought with him at the Battle of Vicksburg. They waved Luke and everyone with him through their territory, after telling him that they had recently cleared the highway all the way to the Mississippi. An hour and half later, the convoy reached the edge of Vicksburg-controlled territory.
Luke was riding shotgun in the lead Hummer, and the group from Texarkana rode in the Fox directly behind him. When the small convoy reached the post guarding the road on the Louisiana side of the bridge, Luke stepped out into the cold, mid-day sunlight. He shook his head and sighed in exasperation when he saw that one of the men on duty had been a vocal member of the group demanding that Luke leave the fortress just weeks earlier. The guard immediately recognized the tall, young officer in the mirrored sunglasses. He tightened his grip on the shotgun he was armed with. “Mr. Seifert, I have no idea what you’re doin’ here, but you need to turn this here convoy ‘round and git.”
Luke was hungry and tired of sitting all morning. “It’s Captain Seifert, and before you even consider giving me another order, you need to go into your guard-house and call Captain Harden. Tell him that I’m out here and want to see him.”
A second man had exited the building, also carrying a shotgun at the ready. “You need to do what Sammy just told you to do, son; turn them trucks away from our town.”
Luke tried one more time. “Just tell Harden I need to see him.”
The man called Sammy started to raise his weapon, and while Luke was sure the guards wouldn’t shoot him, he was still glad that Billy and his students were tucked away in the Fox, blissfully unaware of the rude reception they’d received at the gate of their new home. He decided that he’d endured enough disrespect from the people he’d almost died fighting to protect. Before he had a chance to even consider a reaction to Luke’s move, Sammy was on the ground gasping for breath. A split second later, his partner was lying next to him, and their shotguns were cradled in Luke’s arms as he gazed sternly at the two. “If I wanted to hurt you or the people in this town I wouldn’t ask permission to enter with the force I have in these vehicles!” he shouted at the gasping guards.
One of Gracie’s men was out of his Hummer with his own shotgun in hand. Luke nodded at the trusty sergeant. “Cover these two while I call their commander.”
The small building had a surplus military phone connected to city headquarters, where Captain Harden was alerted by a secretary who received Luke’s call. The tough, capable officer was on the scene in less than five minutes. He jumped from his truck and shook Luke’s hand as he yelled at his two subordinates. “Boys, you damn well know how I feel about Captain Seifert: he will always be welcome in Vicksburg! You two can forget about guard duty for the foreseeable future—you’ll be cleaning out the latrines and working trash collection until further notice.” He turned back to Luke. “What brings you here in such fine style?”
Luke feigned a cough and covered his mouth in an attempt to conceal how much he enjoyed watching Harden dress down the insolent guards. He cleared his throat, and, with only a slight smile remaining, responded to the Captain’s question, “I brought you a present, and I need a favor.”
Harden laughed. “So, you’re gonna give me a ‘gift’ and then I have to give you a ‘favor’—sounds like Let’s Make a Deal.”
Luke shrugged. “It’s not like that; you’d do the favor regardless, I know you. The gift is for the whole town—might come in handy for someone someday.”
“You always were a sort of cryptic fella; so what’s the present?”
Luke tipped his head in the direction of the convoy. “Second vehicle in the line; it’s armored and amphibious—”
Harden whistled in appreciation. “I know what it is, son. It’s a Fox. So what’s the favor?”
“I have some refugees from Texarkana who need a new home—some special needs kids, their teacher, and a couple new recruits of mine.”
“That won’t be a problem; I’m happy to oblige.” Harden took off his hat and scratched his head. “So you’re recruiting soldiers now?”
Luke smiled and removed his sunglasses. “They fight for me, but we’re all a part
of the Allied Resistance.”
“Speaking of the Allied Resistance, did you know your daddy’s down here?”
Luke’s first thought was to remind Harden that his dad was dead, but in a flash he realized his friend was referring to Jack. A thousand thoughts rushed into Luke’s mind, but he asked the question that had been a source of worry since he’d left Vicksburg. “So everything went well up north?”
Harden looked away. “Not well, but it could have been worse. A lot worse; most folks survived.”
“Most?” Luke almost choked on the word. At least he knew Jack was alive, but a knot began to tighten in his stomach at the thought of others who might not have been so lucky.
Harden gently slapped his young friend on the shoulder. “Follow me into town and I’ll let Jack fill you in on the details. I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate you being here and him not knowing about it.”
Jack was sitting in Charlotte’s kitchen, greedily consuming roast beef and mashed potatoes.
“It’s good to see you finally eating something with enthusiasm; you’ve been eatin’ like a bird for the past three days, ever since you guys got here from that Canadian island,” Charlotte observed. “My kitchen needs your appetite to pick up.”
Jack stared at her blankly.
“Nobody knows what to do for you, so they just keep bringing me food. I think T.C. told everybody you’re stayin’ here so he can help you eat up the condolences.”
Jack grimaced. “I don’t like people thinking I’m some sort of sad-sack recluse who needs food and condolences.”
Charlotte filled Jack’s water glass and gently smacked the back of his head. “Don’t be a jerk; people are just tryin’ to express that they care, that you’re important around here. Besides, everybody has lost somebody close, and we all know the hurt. Think of it as our way of lettin’ you know that we’re a team, though it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you were a sad-sack recluse for a while.”
