I wondered if that was a good thing or not, but decided that it didn’t matter.
“Promise, next time we have to cut apart stinking zombies, I’ll pretend to swoon and let you do the honors. Hell, maybe we’ll find another one of the really strong fuckers and you have a go at it to see if you can break my record of how many kills it takes for it to stay down. Deal?”
“Deal,” he said, solemnly shaking my offered hand while giving me a shit-eating grin. “Which reminds me, I’ve been thinking—“
“Never a good thing,” I said.
“Shut up. You’re stealing my thunder. So, we pretty much know what happens to a zombie when it eats one of us, right? What about seeing what happens if a cannibal eats a zombie? Ever thought of that?”
“You’re disgusting,” I replied, laughing. “You know that.”
“That’s what she said,” he shot back, snickering.
The day went on like that, only broken up by the few instances when one of us had to step aside to take a leak. The weather was nice enough that I could have worked on my tan—a real priority for me—if not for the full gear I was sweating inside of. At least we had enough water not to get thirsty, and enough canned food from the city still that there was even choice. My mood didn’t pick up, though, not even when the teams started returning as the sun met the horizon again.
We moved the cars at first light, and repeated the same circuit. It was on the third day that Burns and Cho finally saw what they thought was a car moving in the distance, but they were cautious enough to withdraw rather than investigate. Two more days of sneaking around, and finally we seemed to get a lead on where their headquarter might be. By then I was bored to death, and when morning brought a new duty roster with me off it, I accosted Nate before he could leave me to another day of extensive navel gazing.
“I’m coming with you.”
He paused where he’d been about to strike out with Andrej, turning comically slowly to face me. I’d expected a certain amount of scorn, but the look on his face was blank.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not letting you sideline me another day,” I protested. “I don’t care if you’re afraid they’ll rape my dismembered corpse, I’m coming with you.”
Behind Nate, Andrej gave a strangled sound as he failed miserably in keeping from laughing, while Nate’s eyes widened in what looked tantalizingly close to shock.
“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what the fuck? Is this what the two of you get up to while you’re supposedly guarding our base camp?”
I hated that I felt somewhat chastised. “It came up in casual conversation.”
That made him hide his face behind one gloved palm for a second before his eyes bored into mine again.
“Do I want to know exactly how?”
“Probably not,” I admitted. “Doesn’t change a thing.”
“Bree, listen—“ he started, but I cut him off.
“Spare us both the bullshit. Clark’s pretty much useless since he sprained his ankle yesterday, and I bet Bailey’d much rather stay with the cars than creep through the wilderness with that urinary tract infection. You’re down a tracker and a sniper, and while I’m well aware of the fact that I can’t make up for either, I’m a good stand-in until they’re back to normal. I’m not asking you to put me in charge of planning or taking point in the final phase of the operation. We’re still scouting, right? So let me tag along. I can watch your back well enough. Or do you still think I’m only so much useless baggage to you?”
Trying to badger him into agreeing was probably the wrong tactic, but it was true that I’d be more use to him than those other two.
Nate weighed his options for a couple of seconds, making me sweat a little. “How are your ribs?”
“Good as new,” I lied.
The look I got told me that I wasn’t fooling anyone, but after another moment he nodded. “Suit yourself. Bates, you go out with Lewis. Let her do the spotting while you do the scouting.”
It wasn’t that unusual that I was in the same group as Bates, but that must have been the first time it was actually just the two of us. Bates gave Nate a look that was about as ecstatic as I felt, but neither of us protested. I would have felt more at ease with Nate himself, of course, or Andrej or Burns, but I could see where this time around, our heavy hitters would take point. While the others set out, Bates spent a few minutes showing me where on the hand-drawn map that he carried we were about to look before we left the cars and the three remaining guys behind. At my protest Martinez had seemed ready to speak up, but Nate had dissuaded him from that with a glance only.
Thanks to Campbell’s tinkering, we all now carried those rudimentary communication systems. They had about a mile radius where they worked well and five with random reception, making them somewhat useless for this undertaking where the different groups spread out over several times that large an area, but it was better than nothing—until we attacked the cannibal base, of course. It certainly beat being out there without a chance to check in with each other. Times like these really made me miss cell phones all over again.
Bates remained mostly silent as we trudged along the ruts some tractor had left at the side of a field, creating something that might once have resembled a road, but was now almost too overgrown to see except for the lack of grass growing there yet. A few more years, and it would be gone completely.
“You know, you don’t have to be quite so happy about being stuck with me,” I remarked as I followed him, letting my gaze roam over the left side while he took the right.
“That’s not it,” Bates insisted, his ponytail flipping to the side as he glanced back at me.
“Then what is? I know that you’re not my biggest fan where my fighting strength is concerned.”
He gave a noncommittal grunt. “Would I rather someone had my back who’s been holding guns for longer than a couple months? Always. But I’ve seen you shoot plenty. I’m not afraid you’ll flake out on me.”
“Is it because I’m a woman?” I asked, now more teasing than actually serious. His low laugh let me know what he thought of that accusation.
“Nope.”
“Do we have to continue playing twenty questions?” I wanted to know.
He hesitated, but finally spilled the beans. “I’m not afraid of what you can or cannot do, but what I might not be able to.”
“Like what?”
Another pause followed. “I know that we all like to pretend that you’re just one of us, but let’s be frank here for a moment. What do you think he’ll do to me if I don’t bring you back in one piece? Ever considered that?”
I actually hadn’t, and the frown on my face probably spoke volumes. “You’re not my babysitter. If I screw up and get hurt, that’s not your fault.”
“Maybe not my fault, but my fuckup to deal with nonetheless,” Bates stated. “And stop glaring at me like that. We all know that we’re not created equal, and that’s a good thing. Helps keep everyone sharp and in line when you have to take care of each other and sometimes pick up someone else’s slack. Can’t really complain about something when our rookie keeps her trap shut, right?”
That actually made me laugh. “Like I’m ever silent about anything.”
“If you say it, we don’t have to,” he remarked. “And considering you’re screwing the boss, your word might weigh more than mine.”
“Trust me, that’s so not true. If anything, that gets me an automatic ten percent extra rejection chance.”
Bates considered that for a moment, and I could already tell that his answer would be one of those that made me want to punch him, and for a very good reason.
“You know, if you ever tire of him being such a jackass, you can always come to me. My bedroll’s always open for you.”
“Gee, thanks,” I griped, but couldn’t help the grin spreading on my face. “I just don’t think I’m your type.”
“Trust me. After an entire winter of not getting any ass, anything that�
�s even remotely female is my type,” he replied, giving me a leer that was less playful than I was entirely comfortable with.
“Now that totally makes me want to jump your bones,” I offered. “Did that ever actually get you any? Claiming you’d just fuck anything with tits on two legs?”
He considered for a moment. “If she’s pretty, I’d probably do a tranny, too.”
“Just shut the hell up,” I advised, pretending that the scope on my sniper rifle needed adjusting.
“Yes, ma’am,” he quipped back, but dutifully kept his pie hole closed. This was going to be a long day, I just knew it.
Chapter 16
A good two hours later, and I was kind of regretting my decision to stand up to Nate and demand that I was included in the scouting. Not because it was hot under all my gear and I was sweating like a pig, or I was equally bored out of my mind, just with a touch of anxiety caused by latent danger to spice things up.
No, because I was sweating like a pig because I was scared out of my mind, and there was nothing diminutive about the paralyzing dread that had taken hold of my stomach.
It had all started so well.
After setting out from our camp, it had soon become apparent why Nate had teamed me up with Bates. Even with being utterly careful, the guys had managed to both map the terrain, and get some intel on where the group of cannibals was operating right now. They’d found a farm and two barns about a mile away each that seemed to serve as their base—a guess confirmed by the presence of people and cars aplenty. Now, the part of the territory that Bates and Clark had been supposed to stake out was a stretch of land to the south that was supposedly deserted. None of the patrols that had been observed had driven anywhere south, and there were no other signs of activity. We even had to dispose of about ten shamblers on our way there, making it yet more obvious that this was not part of the somewhat cleared territory that was well-maintained with perimeter guard circuits not unlike those we’d kept at the bunker.
So, inevitably, we’d let our guard down. And now that had come to bite us in the ass.
Standard operational procedure dictated that for no reason whatsoever were we ever allowed not to cover our partner’s back. Nate had drilled that into me in the most pertinent way during the winter season, not even turning his back on me when I had to take care of business while we were out, leading to a lot of awkward, uncomfortable moments, at least on my side. I thought that lesson had stuck, although I did turn away most of the time, simply because I so didn’t need to see every single cock of the unit streaming piss all over rocks and trees. It was kind of convenient when I ran out of toilet paper, though.
Why in the name of all that was holy I didn’t protest when Bates declared that he had to take a shit—alone—and I’d remained on the small rise, cushioned on the high grass as I scanned the area below through the scope of my M24, I couldn’t remember. Plain fucking stupidity, likely. Complacency, for sure. We’d been there for twenty minutes already, eating a light lunch and giving Bates time to finish the topographical map he was drawing. The area had been cleared, there were no zombies anywhere in sight, and when I’d noticed that Bates pulled a rather worn-looking magazine from his pack—that he left next to me—I’d consciously decided that this I so didn’t need to be a part of. I’d also pulled the earpiece off when I realized that Bates hadn’t turned off the mic. Classy.
And then nothing had happened, except for the sun baking down on my mostly black gear—haphazardly placed pieces of grass turning it into the worst approximation of a ghillie suit—and the birds singing in the nearby trees… until I’d realized that it was way too silent, the wind rustling through the grass the only sound.
With a twinge of anxiety, I’d put the earpiece back in, whispering to Bates if he was okay.
Nothing.
No grunt, no moan, no nothing. Not even the light static hiss of breath that I’d gotten so used to that I barely noticed it anymore—unless it wasn’t there. I instantly knew that something was very wrong. And now I was stuck out here, alone, with either a predator roaming around that was powerful enough to kill Bates without me even noticing—or someone else. My bets were on that special, unwelcome someone else.
I was well aware that it wasn’t beyond the guys to prank me—and each other—but there were lines we didn’t cross. And shutting off the mic was one of them. Against all knowledge, I still hoped that Bates was just being obnoxious, but I didn’t believe that.
My pack was already off my shoulders, so I decided to leave it right there next to Bates’s, just taking a couple more magazines that were strapped to the outside with me—and of course both the M24 and my Mossberg. One last time I tried the com, only getting nothing back in return. Switching to the group channel, I hoped that anyone was close enough to get my message.
“Lewis here,” I said unnecessarily. “Bates went out to take a shit, and I’m not hearing anything back from him. I really don’t like this. I’m trying to find out what happened. We’re in the western-most part of the south-central quadrant.”
Exhaling slowly, I abandoned my post and started crawling through the grass until I reached the trees that Bates had most likely ventured to, silently cursing myself that I didn’t even know that much. There, I checked everything as thoroughly as possible before I slowly pulled myself up into a crouch to see over the grass. A small part of me still hoped that Bates would be right there, wanking or doing whatever else required him to slink off like that—but nothing. Not even trampled grass where he might have passed, or the obnoxious stench of human excrement.
I remained crouched low as I scanned my surroundings, then made my way over to the next tree, and from there to some prickly piece of shrubbery. Still nothing. Looking back toward the outlook where our packs still rested, I didn’t see movement around there, either. Also no response over the com channel, but maybe they were all indisposed and couldn’t talk. I started to see why Campbell had insisted that first chance we’d get, we should look into acquiring some throat mics instead that would catch vibrations rather than actual voices, working just as well if someone whispered. And find a way to extend the range to at least double of what it was right now.
I was pretty sure that I’d have seen Bates if he’d went down the rise on the side that I’d been studying, so I started looking around in the other direction. Even with the grass reaching up to my knees if I was standing, I felt terribly exposed as I darted from cover to cover, hard-pressed to find anything large enough that was able to hide me. It should have been impossible for Bates to get lost like this, without even leaving a trail for me to follow.
I swung by our makeshift camp once to make sure that I wasn’t missing anything, but no. I could still see where I had left—following what now looked like the trail Bates had actually left over to those trees—and of course the newest tracks. Nothing else. Crouching over my pack, I hesitated another moment, then reached inside and pulled out the two ziplock bags that held my spare clothes and feminine hygiene products, to drop them in a nearby foxhole I’d almost stumbled into as I left once more. I felt incredibly paranoid doing that, but it suddenly seemed all the more important to ensure that if anyone found my pack, it wouldn’t be identifiable as mine.
With unease creeping up my spine, I set out to do a second circuit, this one ranging up to half a mile away from our packs. And it was back the way we’d come, where the slope evened out toward the west, where I found what I was looking for—and I really wasn’t happy about it.
I didn’t have to guess what group the two men who held Bates at gunpoint next to their fucking silent electric car belonged to.
Fuck.
Instantly, I flattened myself on the ground, making sure that every single part of me was out of sight. They were just two, and from that glimpse I’d gotten, they were far enough away from Bates that I could maybe pick one off with my sniper rifle. But that still left the other. While their weapons had been drawn, they’d looked as if they’d been chatting with him,
so maybe there was hope—
Any of that got pounded to dust when I heard the telltale sound of other vehicles drawing close. A hasty look revealed a familiar red pickup truck and an ATV drawing up to their position, upping the odds from two against two to seven.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Everything in me screamed to just back away and run, but I cut down on the impulse immediately. It was my fault that Bates hadn’t been covered; they’d probably have picked us both up otherwise, but still. I wasn’t delusional enough to believe that I could just bust him out—and giving myself up was so not an option—but I had to do something. So with brute force and cowardly retreat out of the question, I did the only thing left to me—I crawled closer, moving an inch at a time, until I could catch what they were saying between them. At least they were still talking.
Through the grass, I had a good look at Bates’s back where it was turned to me, but could barely make out more than the silhouettes of the others. All men, all wearing gear not dissimilar to ours. Driving cars. They also seemed to carry walkie-talkies. Just awesome. They were like us, just minus the morals and much better gear, if the silent car for what now looked like the extended perimeter guard was any indication.
“I’m not buying it,” one of the men was saying. “One guy, out here in the open, alone, with just a gun and a fucking tittie magazine? Where are the others of your group?”
Bates shrugged with his arms still raised, the motion making more than one of the rifles pointed at his chest jerk. That didn’t keep him from chuckling softly, though.
“Easy, man. Of course I got a pack. It’s right over there. Just didn’t take it with me for taking a leak.”
Some murmurs between them rose, but they were too quiet for me to pick out. Bates didn’t seem to have that same issue, judging from the way he suddenly tensed.
“Listen. I’m just one unlucky reject trying to make it through this hellhole our world has become. Was with some people, didn’t like their thing, so we split. Heard that around here there’s this group that’s different, so I thought to myself, why not see if that’s the thing for me? You fine gentlemen are part of that group, am I right? Good gear, good training, well fed—looks like you’re on to something here.”
The Green Fields Series Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 79
