“Yes?”
“I’m Japanese,” he reminded her with a proud smile that quickly melted into a suggestive grin. His eyebrows danced.
Doris didn’t respond as she turned and walked away.
When she’d gone back upstairs, Collin sat up slowly and high-fived Koby. “Thanks for saving me, man.”
“She’s a nice old lady, but a little over eager.” Koby fanned the air with both of his hands. “I hope that smell comes out.”
“That makes two of us.” Collin laughed, covering his mouth with one hand and waving the air with the other. It felt wrong to laugh here, with the specter of death hanging over the survivors, but neither of them could help it.
“The doctor’s done with me,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Good timing,” said Koby. “Pastor Pendell is ready for you.”
“Where is he?”
“Outside.”
Koby helped Collin stand up. Collin got his balance, then turned and caught Dr. Horner’s eye. He waved and she nodded back at him.
“Let’s go, doc. The pastor wants to see us,” he said.
Dr. Horner nodded again. “On my way.”
Collin and Koby turned and started up the stairs, Dr. Horner trailing slightly.
When the pastor calls, you come running, Collin thought.
The three of them went to see what Pastor Pendell wanted this time.
Chapter Twelve
Pastor Pendell told the group to enter after only one knock.
Collin, Kobyashi, and Dr. Julie Horner all walked into the Pastor’s office to see Major Logan and Pastor Pendell bent over a desk full of paperwork. The two men stopped talking and looked up. The Pastor motioned for them to take a seat, indicating to the three chairs placed in front of his desk.
“Looks like Anna got you fixed up nicely, Pastor,” said Collin. “Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, thank you. Anna had to go ahead and stitch it up.” Pastor Pendell gently patted the gauze bandage covering the stitches.
“Facial wounds always bleed a lot and often look worse than they are,” said Major Logan. He had a large bandage covering a hole under his eye from a giant splinter. Collin remembered how awful it had looked.
“I’m just thankful the Lord was shielding us,” said Pastor Pendell. “We’re grateful that He watches over us.”
Collin cocked his head slightly. So God watched over them but not the Eagles who didn’t survive? That didn’t make much sense to him.
“Please take a seat,” said Pendell. He pointed at the chairs.
Everyone sat down except for Major Logan, who stood off to the side of the desk with his arms behind his back.
Beside Collin, Kobyashi groaned and muttered, “Feels like I’m in the principal’s office.” Collin bit back a smile as he sat.
“Major Logan, please explain to us what the hell happened,” Pastor Pendell said. He scowled at his head of security.
Collin had to cough to cover up a laugh. He’d never heard Pendell curse and at Major Logan no less. It was all he could do not to laugh aloud. He fought the urge to glance at Koby, knowing that if he did he would definitely crack up.
Instead, Collin focused on the problem at hand. Death and destruction sobered him up real quick.
Major Logan looked at each of them in turn.
“We could not have foreseen the tactics the Vipers would use to attempt recovery of the medical crates. Given the circumstances, we responded quickly to the situation. As for the crates themselves, and the incident at the Eagle’s Bar, I found some intriguing anomalies,” Major Logan said. He shifted his stance and continued. “When I arrived at the building, the firefighters had already put out the fire and the civilians had moved a good deal of the debris.”
“With the recovery effort already well under way, I was able to enter the building. The flooring was rickety from the blast, and in fact, much of the flooring collapsed into the basement. Looking around, I found finger-size holes punched through walls and what remained of the ceiling. Whatever they used gave off a lot of fragmentation.”
Major Logan bowed his head. His voice took on a distant tone. “It was awful. The level of devastation inside was...staggering. Walking through the building was a challenge, because it was difficult to avoid stepping on body parts. Pieces of flesh were flung about and blood coated many of the surfaces, especially the floor. The steps heading downstairs were puddled with blood.”
“That’s enough, Major,” Pastor Pendell said. He frowned at the graphic description.
Major Logan looked up, blinked a few times, then nodded. “Right.”
The Major paused for a moment as if he was trying to remember where he left off.
“Right,” he said again. “So, the case I opened to show Collin was largely undamaged but the lid had been removed so the medicine inside was almost entirely destroyed by the blast. However unlikely, some random vials may have survived. I have several Eagles combing through the debris just in case we can salvage some.”
“What I found of the second crate was curious though.” Major Logan shifted again and tapped his chin. He didn’t say anything else.
Finally, Pastor Pendell leaned forward on his desk and said, “What did you find?”
Major Logan grunted thoughtfully. “For the relatively good condition of the first crate, I found almost nothing of the second one. Just a few fragments here and there. Keep in mind these are blast-resistant containers. So it’s unlikely the damaged was caused externally.”
“What does that mean?” asked Dr. Horner.
“The explosive was inside the container,” said Collin. “Ohhh, wow. That changes things.”
“Exactly,” Major Logan said. “If Pastor Pendell hadn’t come along to talk, Collin and I would be dead as well.”
“So, what you’re saying is, HAGS placed a bomb inside the crate?” Koby asked. He looked skeptically at Collin and Major Logan. “Why would they do that?”
Collin looked up at Major Logan. Earlier, Major Logan said with some conviction that he believed it was the work of the Vipers, not HAGS. Would he stick with that now?
“The explosive was inside the crate. The evidence bears that out,” said Major Logan. “However, I don’t believe HAGS is responsible. What would be their motivation? All they would have to do to eliminate us would be to withhold medical shipments.”
“Much easier that way.” Pastor Pendell nodded. “No mess. No mistakes. No survivors.”
“Right. So that means it was the Vipers. The only question is how did they open the crate and place the bomb?” Major Logan said.
“They didn’t have control of it for more than a few minutes,” said Collin.
“True. If they don’t know the combination, then it’d be near impossible. But if they know the combo, then the impossible becomes possible.” Major Logan stepped closer to the desk and leaned forward a little.
No one spoke.
Collin raised his hand a little. “Who knows the combination?”
“As far as I know, Major Logan and I are the only two people who know the combination,” said Pastor Pendell.
“But you said the combination was written on the outside of the first case you received, right?” asked Collin.
Major Logan stood up straight.
“So anyone who saw that first case could have remembered the password and passed on the information. Or waited until they knew it would be vital for the Vipers.” Collin jabbed his finger on the desk. “Or they’ve known the whole time.”
Pastor Pendell leaned back in his chair. His fingers pressed together, forming a steeple that he tapped against his lips as he thought.
Dr. Horner sat forward and put a hand on Collin’s arm. “This is another reason for you to help me find a cure.”
“Was the blood you took today for your experiments?” Collin studied her eyes for signs of deception.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “If I didn’t take your blood against your will while you s
lept, I’m not going to do it with a cheap misdirection ploy when you’re awake.”
He sensed she was telling the truth.
“Of course I’ll help,” he said. “The town needs this. Perhaps now, more than ever.”
Dr. Horner beamed a smile at him and squeezed his arm. Kobyashi and Pastor Pendell both sighed in relief.
“You can’t keep me locked up in a lab though. I want to be free to come and go so I can help rebuild, and if he’ll let me, assist Major Logan with training new Eagles.” Collin felt like those were reasonable concessions.
“That works for me,” said Dr. Horner.
“Like I said before, Collin. I need all the help I can get.” Major Logan smiled a little. It looked more like a smirk, but Collin took it. “Especially once we make the announcement.”
Collin glanced at Koby, but he looked just as confused.
“Announcement?” asked Collin.
The lights flickered, then went out again.
“Sonofa-” Major Logan growled.
Pastor Pendell cut him off. “Major.”
The lights snapped back on. Everyone looked at Kobyashi.
He threw his hands in the air.
“I was going to work on it today, but then we had the stupid medical drop.”
“Don’t worry, Koby. With so many Eagles out of commission our number one priority is security,” Pastor Pendell said. “Power bumps have been bumped, if you will, to number two.”
“What’s number three?” Collin said with a smirk.
Pastor Pendell looked straight at him. “Number three is the announcement.”
Right, thought Collin. The “announcement.”
The pastor shuffled papers on his desk. He consulted a spreadsheet and then flipped through some other papers.
“What’s this announcement?” said Collin.
“Many more people are about to die, Collin. It’s the Council’s job to decide who they are,” Pastor Pendell said.
“What?” Collin bolted upright in his seat. He looked around at the others. None of them looked surprised by this.
Pastor Pendell stopped shifting the papers and looked at him as if he had to explain himself to a slow child.
“Collin, do you know how many residents Goshen has?”
“Not exact numbers, no,” Collin admitted.
“According to our records, minus the ones who have passed on today, the population of Goshen stands at five hundred fourteen souls. Yet, with the total loss of the new shipment we only have enough BT76 in reserve for four hundred and six souls,” said Pastor Pendell. “Leaving us with one hundred and eight residents who we cannot possibly treat. They will not survive until the next shipment arrives.”
“Given the number of Eagles that remain, we may not be able to secure that next shipment,” said Major Logan.
More than one hundred people would die slow deaths because of this situation. Collin’s head spun. He felt so helpless.
“When do people need their next dose?” said Collin.
“We make sure everyone in town gets their doses on the same day, so no one comes up short,” said Dr. Horner.
“So when does that happen?” Collin looked at Julie.
“Actually, they should have taken it three days ago,” said Dr. Horner.
His eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“What the hell were you all waiting for?”
“We couldn’t risk using the reserves,” said Pastor Pendell. “We anticipated a drop yesterday, but they were late and came today.”
“The weather has cooperated too. It hasn’t been windy and pollen count is low right now. So the risk of infection was low,” said Dr. Horner. “It was a calculated risk.”
“Calculated risk?” Collin shouted. “You’re gambling with people’s lives.”
Dr. Horner nodded in resigned agreement. Koby looked away.
Major Logan pulled out an injector from his coat pocket and set it on the desk in front of Collin.
Collin stared at it for a moment, then sat back in his chair, and crossed his arms.
“I’m not going to take the medicine,” he said.
“The Council has already received their meds,” Pastor Pendell said, waving a hand at the others. “But I respect your wishes if you decide to opt out.”
He picked up the injector and handed it back to Major Logan. “This will go to a resident.”
“It’s not right that you guys have all taken meds already. Especially when there’s a shortage. How do you guys decide who gets BT76 and who is sentenced to death?”
“Last time we did a lottery,” said Koby.
“Last time? This has happened before?” Collin couldn’t believe it. This whole town barely held together and now what remained was crumbling apart.
“This is the Viper’s fault,” Major Logan shouted, slamming his fist on the pastor’s desk. His eyes were burning. “If they hadn’t attacked, if they hadn’t planted a goddamn bomb, then we wouldn’t be in this fix.”
“No, this was a shit show before that. All these years and you only have a reserve of four hundred?” Collin glared right back. “You have to do the right thing.”
Pastor Pendell stood and leaned toward Collin. “When will you realize we are at war?” He slammed his hand down, papers fluttered off the desk.
Major Logan turned away and walked toward the window. Collin bit his tongue.
Pastor Pendell stood. He smoothed his black shirt then sat back down.
“Gentlemen, I would remind you that we are in the house of the Lord,” said Pastor Pendell in a firm voice. “You will refrain from cursing under His roof.”
Collin sighed. “My apologies, pastor.”
“Sorry about that, pastor,” Major Logan said from the window.
Dr. Horner picked up the papers that fell and placed them on the pastor’s desk. She looked at the spreadsheet and a couple other papers.
“There will be no lottery this time,” said Pastor Pendell. “This time, only the saved will be saved.”
Collin had no idea what he meant, but he was sure he wouldn’t like it.
Chapter Thirteen
Collin waved goodbye to Doris as he left the dining hall. As he walked outside, he noticed a group of people bunched together reading something on the wall.
“What’s going on?” Collin said to an attractive young lady standing at the back of the group.
“There’s an announcement from Pastor Pendell,” she said. Her smile lit up her face. She had light blonde hair that curled slightly around her shoulders.
“Thank you,” Collin said.
“Anytime,” she said, still smiling.
Collin wanted to talk more, but Kobyashi walked up. There was no way Collin was going to hit on a woman with that guy around.
“Have you read it yet?” asked Koby.
“Nope. I just finished eating. I just found out what it was, thanks to this young lady,” he said. The woman smiled again, glanced at Koby, and turned away.
He leaned in like he was about to tell a secret and said, “You’re not going to like it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Have a look for yourself, Sleeping Beauty.” Koby smiled and walked inside.
Collin sighed and stepped closer to the sign. He could barely make it out over people’s heads.
It read:
ATTENTION RESIDENTS OF GOSHEN
Due to the recent terrorist attacks by the godless Vipers, there is a shortage of BT76 at this time. Rest assured the Council is working on a solution, and we thank you for your patience. The following names listed were chosen in a random lottery draw and should respond to the church for BT76 inoculation immediately. Those on the list may give up their inoculation to anyone not listed, at their choosing.
It should be noted that all able-bodied men, women, and teens of fighting age will be diverted from their current work assignment and begin defense training under the guidance of Major Logan and the Eagles.
God Be With
Us,
Pastor Pendell
“Random lottery draw,” Collin muttered to himself. Such bullshit, he wanted to scream. He was tempted to rip the notice off the wall, not that it would help any.
Skimming over the list of names, most of whom were unknown to him, he noticed someone he did care about was missing - Doris. His heart sank at the thought of having to break the news to her. Better to hear it from a friend than the rumor mill or worse yet, walk up to the list only to have her heart crushed by the absence of her name. Collin read through the list one more time but nothing else caught his attention. The only other people he considered friends - Koby and Julie - were part of the Council and had already received their doses of BT76.
Collin walked back inside and caught Koby watching him. He made a face at Koby and walked over to Doris.
“Back so soon? Are you still hungry, dear?” Doris said.
“It was great, but I’m stuffed. Actually, I was hoping we could talk somewhere private for a second.”
Doris was already shaking her head. She put her hand on his arm and patted his bicep like she was the one doing the consoling.
“I already know,” she said.
“How? I haven’t seen you leave the room,” said Collin.
“Ever since news of the lottery spread, I knew there was no point checking.”
“How could you be so sure without looking?”
“Goshen has been on the verge of shortages ever since they started dropping BT76. This isn’t the first time a lottery has been used either,” Doris said.
Collin didn’t say anything.
“I can talk to Pastor Pendell and see-”
Doris shook her head again.
“No, no, don’t you bother yourself or the good pastor with that,” she said.
They were silent.
“Look around you, Collin. What do you see?”
He looked around the room. The somber mood was palpable. With the loss of so many Eagles, and then this medicine shortage, it was hard to avoid feeling down.
“I see a room full of people who still don’t know if they will be saved or not.”
Doris tilted her head. “They all know about the lottery. There’s no rush to read the list.”
Then it dawned on Collin. Until they actually checked the list to find out the news, there was still a sense of hope. Survival through procrastination.
Praying for War: The Collin War Chronicles Page 12
