“How do you know that, Ray?” The tone in the fire and rescue lieutenant’s voice was an unmistakable mixture of sarcasm and anger.
“That’s a fair question, Wayne, although I don’t think there’s any reason for your attitude.” He took several steps to the right, passing in front of Eric and Michelle and putting him closer to Callie. Turning back to face the crowd, the paramedic answered, “Regardless of what your own personal politics, religion, or beliefs are, you have to realize that for the safety of all residents at the shelter, we’ve had to establish, temporarily at least, a very black and white policy. I’m not going to go in to every little detail of what it covers, but basically, if you violate any of the shelter requirements, you go before the council. If they determine that you are indeed guilty of a major violation, they hang you.”
A loud murmur and scoffs of disbelief swept the crowd as he continued, “Hear me out for a moment before you pass judgment on us. We only have three laws in the shelter that are considered capital offenses, and all are equally important for our long-term well being. If we didn’t have a way of enforcing those laws, our shelter would rapidly disband into chaos. For example, if you’re found guilty of stealing food or water, sleeping while on guard duty, or sewing dissension among the residents, you are eligible for capital punishment.”
“Carol Ann didn’t steal food, and you know it,” Lieutenant King said disgustedly.
“Wayne, I’m not having this conversation with you again. She stole food, she admitted it, and we followed the rules of the shelter. If you have a problem with that, take it up with a council when we return.”
“I’ll be out at the truck. Call me when you’re done.”
“Hold up there a minute,” Eric interrupted as he pulled his radio, “Sam, can you come in from guard duty and escort one of the firemen back to the truck?” Turning to face Ray, Eric said, “It’s not safe to be outside by yourself.”
The look in the paramedic’s eyes gave away nothing, and after a moment he nodded quietly.
Sam’s voice came over the radio. “I’m coming in the front.” A few seconds later he popped through the divider curtain.
Eric turned to the lieutenant. “Do you want to call your guys and let them know you’re on the way?”
Lieutenant King picked up his radio and made the announcement. As he turned to follow Sam, Eric stepped toward the bearded EMT. “Hey, hold up a minute. Lieutenant, I imagine as a fireman you know a little bit about winches, right?”
“We use them frequently, so I suppose I know a fair bit.”
Turning to face Ray, Eric dipped his head quickly towards Sam. “Mr. Ingram, do you mind if your lieutenant takes a quick look at the winch on the front of the truck out there? During one of our firefights tonight, we lost a vehicle in the lake, and I’m hoping that winch will be able to recover it, but I don’t know what it’s rated for, and I don’t want to burn it out trying.”
The bushy-faced paramedic shrugged his shoulders and frowned. “Whatever.”
Eric nodded and then called out on his radio, “Attention all shooting teams, we have two people leaving the side entrance. Repeat, we have two friendlies heading outside. Crow’s nest, do we have an all clear?”
Thompson’s deep voice came back, “Crow’s nest is reporting all clear. Copy on two friendly units leaving the store.”
Sam turned and walked away, followed close behind by Lieutenant King.
“Sorry,” Eric said, “you were saying?”
Dark brown eyes stared at Eric for a few seconds longer than necessary before turning back to the crowd. “That’s about it. Are there any other questions that I can answer?”
Mr. Lee half raised his hand. “So, if I understand you correctly, the railroad construction project area is not safe. But you said you had a plan to get us through there, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Do you mind sharing?”
“Not at all, I’d be happy to. Whenever things began to go bad, we think that somebody at the rail project intentionally moved a small train in an attempt to block off several roadways. We don’t know why, and by ‘small’ I don’t mean tiny like a toy. What I mean is that it’s not 500 rail cars long. There’s only about seventy boxcars sandwiched between two diesel electric engines, but it’s enough to completely block the two roads through that area. The problem is that we haven’t been able to move it. The area is fairly swarming with creeps. The route that the RV discovered, believe it or not, actually goes through a repair warehouse, and by doing so, skates you just around the far end of the train.”
“So we’re going to follow you in a convoy and shoot through this warehouse on the way to the shelter?”
“No. The creeps, as far as we’ve been able to tell, seem to stay close to the central core of the construction project. That warehouse route is located just north of the central core.” He sighed and shook his head. “We can’t afford to lose the only route that we know of heading west. So instead of risking a lot of vehicles traveling through the warehouse, we’re going to use plan B. What I haven’t mentioned yet is that there’s a section of tracks that extend about a quarter mile southwest from the construction area. It’s the very beginnings of a line that would have eventually ended up in the oil fields. But that track cuts off through a juncture that is behind the stopped train. More importantly, we have a working diesel locomotive attached to a single boxcar sitting on a section of tracks just outside of our shelter. We’re blocked in, so to speak, by stopped trains and unfinished tracks, but we can maneuver just enough to get that boxcar to the end of the tracks past the construction project. So, if you have a vehicle with enough fuel, you can follow us to a staging point a mile or two outside of Richland. Once there, we’ll radio the shelter and wait for the train. When it’s close enough, you’ll drive the rest of the way, park your vehicles at the end of the track and hop on the boxcar. Once the metal door is shut on that car, the creeps can’t get in. After that, it’s pretty simple. We’re just going to put the train in reverse and head back to the shelter. Any ‘hitchhikers’ still attached to the train will be dealt with by our security team before you disembark and head to quarantine.”
“What if we don’t have a vehicle to drive? Can you give us a ride?”
“No. The council has authorized me to extend our offer of shelter, but we can’t take the chance that one of you may be contaminated, so you’re not allowed inside our vehicles. I’m sure that somebody would be able to give you a ride. If not, it’ll be cold, but you can ride on the outside of the fire truck.”
“Well, what about you? You’re standing right here in a group of almost fifty people. If one of us is sick, couldn’t you spread it to the rest of the shelter?” the question was voiced by a mousy-haired lady wearing a faded orange hunting vest.
“Ma’am, I’m glad you asked that. You see,” he stepped back towards the center of the room and held both palms up, “my job at the shelter requires me to put myself in potentially risky situations. The council, of which I am a member, also requires me to follow the same quarantine protocol that you will. When we get back, they’ll put a rope around my neck as well. What I’m trying to say, is that you’re worth it to me, to the council, and to everybody at shelter Yellow.”
Several heads nodded throughout the crowd as they listened to his words.
He turned to look at Eric and Michelle. “We hope that everybody will come and join us. Many of you,” he swiveled towards the crowd again, “have useful skills that will greatly benefit our survival.”
Several other questions came from the audience, most of them rehashing what the paramedic had already said. As he was speaking, Michelle whispered to Eric, “That guy gives me the creeps. And I’m not talking about ghouls, I mean in the old fashioned ‘he’s a slick talking pervert’ kind of way.”
“Yeah, I don’t trust him. On the other hand, it sounds like they have their ducks in a row at the shelter.”
“There is no way on God’s gre
en Earth that I would put myself in a position where that man has some type of authority or power over me,” Michelle hissed in Eric’s ear.
Eric studied the fire sparkling in Michelle’s green eyes. He had seen that exact flare recently. It was back at Uncle Andy’s cabin when she was emptying the magazine of the handgun into one of her captors.
“I’m not saying that we should go to the shelter—just that it sounds like they have some semblance of organization there.”
“So did Hitler.”
He returned a soft smile, and held it there until her expression eased a bit, and then turned again toward the paramedic.
“Any more questions?”
Diane stood again. Instead of facing the paramedic, she did a slow 360 around the room. “I think that Ray is the answer to our prayers. A fully functional shelter facility with room for everyone, and what seems to be a well thought out plan for survival.” Turning back towards the table, she asked, “When can we leave?”
“At first light.”
“Yeah . . . just hold up there, partner.” It was the wide bodied man with the braided beard who had stood up for Eric earlier that night.
“Yes, sir. Do you have a question?”
“More of a statement. Maybe you’re not aware of why we’re still here in the first place. A lot of these folks are missing some of their family back at the campground. We’re hoping that some of them are still alive. A lot of us are also hoping that an attempt is going to be made to rescue them.” He remained standing as the paramedic turned towards Eric with a questioning look on his face.
Eric nodded, “Like you said, there’s a lot of things that we need to cover tonight. One of those things is whether or not we’re going to try a run at Ravenwood.”
“Do you know for sure if there is a reason to go back?”
Michelle kept her voice neutral as she replied, “We’re in the process of weighing the risks.”
“When would you go?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, we’re in the process of deciding ‘if’ we should go.”
“Well, when are you going to decide that?”
Michelle and Eric exchanged glances. After a moment, Eric answered, “Tonight.”
The stocky EMT crossed his arms and frowned in concentration for a moment. Finally, he turned back to the audience, stopping first to meet the eyes of the still standing man with the braided beard. “I don’t know your exact situation at the campground. Unfortunately, the council has not authorized me to assist in any rescue effort. However, I believe that in the interest of shelter Yellow, I can delay our return for a few hours in order to give you time to attempt whatever action you think is necessary.”
The muted crack of a rifle shot echoed through the building. Both Eric and Michelle’s hands went for their radios as Thompson’s voice came through. “This is crow’s nest. That was not us. Repeat, that shot was not fired by us, it came from behind the fire truck.”
“10-4. Sam, are you and the lieutenant OK?”
“Roger that. It looks like one of the firemen located a walker coming up the road.”
A few seconds later, the radio on the paramedic’s belt crackled to life and confirmed Sam’s observation.
“I’ve got something else.” The bearded man extended a chunky hand skyward. “You said once we get to the shelter, we go into quarantine.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And we’re kept in cement tanks, handcuffed, with a rope around our necks.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And those tanks are outside, and have no door.”
The paramedic nodded, “Yes.”
“Well, I’m just wondering what happens if a few dozen, or a few hundred of infected people come waltzing down that slope toward the yellow door.”
“There’s an eight foot tall chain link fence that runs around the quarry. Anything that gets past that . . . well . . . like I said, almost the entire contingent of the Richland Sheriff’s Department is there.” He looked around the room for more questions, but nobody else had a hand raised.
Turning to Eric, he said, “Well, it looks like you folks have some talking to do and decisions to make. I’m going to head back to the truck and get buttoned down for tonight. Tomorrow morning we’ll talk again and you can let me know what you decided.”
Eric nodded and reached for his radio. “Hey Sam, have you escorted the lieutenant to the fire truck yet? I’ve got another one that’s getting ready to come out.”
“We’re still looking at this winch. It looks like a lot of salt spray and corrosion are up in the motor.”
“Well just leave that for now. I’m going to bring Ray outside, and we’ll all head up to their truck. Crow’s nest, did you copy that?”
“10-4, crow’s nest copies.”
Chapter 20
Few words were said between the four of them as they walked back toward the fire truck. At the roadway, Eric stopped and extended his hand toward the paramedic. “Thank you for going through all the effort to reach us here. I’m sure we’ve all got a lot of things to discuss tonight, so I’ll keep this short. And hey, I hope you understand that I was only doing my job with the citation. I still don’t remember what it was for, but we give out so many, that doesn’t surprise me. No hard feelings, OK?”
Deep set dark eyes on the bearded face regarded Eric cautiously. Behind them, a lone wood frog began calling from the wind and weather scavenged reeds near the lake. This time of year, especially with the mild temperatures they’d been experiencing, it should’ve been a deafening chorus.
With a barely perceptible nod, Ray took Eric’s hand firmly and gave it two quick shakes. “No hard feelings.” He released Eric’s grasp and walked toward the idling fire engine. Lieutenant King turned and followed.
After they disappeared into the glare of the fire truck’s headlights, Sam turned toward Eric, “That guy is bad mojo, and you’re a crappy liar. You know exactly what you popped him for.”
“It took me awhile to figure it out, but yeah, I remembered. And you’re right, he is bad news.” With a sigh that seemed to convey more tiredness then he actually felt, Eric finished, “Let’s head back inside and make some decisions.”
Chapter 21
“I feel guilty, sort of.” Michelle said as she popped the top on a can of diet soda.
Walter cracked another tab loudly and chimed in, “Also guilty of sodafacation.”
Fade to Grey (Book 2): Darkness Ascending Page 24
