Sasha looked out across the town and sipped his tea. The rain was a slow drizzle leaving a thin fog close to the ground. It meandered through buildings and down roads, a glowing blanket against the shadows. It was easy to understand how men went insane on the Barricade, reporting ghosts and ghouls moving in the post-storm mist or believing strange creatures moved within. Easy to see where a lot of myths came from. He frowned down into a particularly dense patch that caught his attention, but the longer he stared, the sillier he felt. Nothing moved.
‘I’ve got a weird feeling,’ Enzo admitted when he saw the look on Sasha’s face.
‘Like what?’
‘I’ve had it for days now. I thought it was just Ines, and then Ioane, you know? But it’s something else. I feel uneasy when I look at the town. Like something’s out of place but I can’t figure out what. Something’s not right down there.’
Sasha was immediately on high alert, raking the town for signs of change.
‘Did you see anything when you were burning the bodies?’
‘Only that one guy who approached Matti. But even that was weird, like … the guy wasn’t sure why he was there either.’
‘Infected are always confused,’ Sasha argued, still sweeping the town for signs of anything.
‘This was different. Ask Matti. It was like he didn’t want to be there and wasn’t sure what to do about it. He was clearly infected, he had all the lesions and signs, but he just seemed different.’
‘You think someone made an infected person approach you?’ Sasha tried to clarify. His head was swimming. He’d never heard of such a thing. Everyone knew if you approached a Barricade soldier while infected they were required to shoot to kill and dispose of the body to avoid further infection.
‘I don’t know what I’m saying,’ Enzo admitted. ‘I just have the weirdest feeling about the town. And like I said, I thought it was Ines, and maybe it is. I mean, how the hell did that kid get the jump on Ines anyway? The whole thing made no sense. Feels set up.’
‘Ines made a mistake and it cost him his life,’ Sasha hushed. He stared at the town and took a few deep breaths, letting the cold air clear his head. ‘I’ll think about it, and I’ll talk to Matti. Maybe we should do a walk through.’
‘Would be worth taking Pavlova anyway, before the snow,’ Enzo agreed. Sasha nodded and wandered back to the tower, leaving Enzo to his watch.
He kicked his boots off by one of the heating pipes and lay down on one of the couches in the living area, unsurprised when Anna leapt onto his chest and made herself comfortable. He scratched behind her ears and gave her a pet and fell asleep to the vibrations of her thrumming snores.
It was still dark when he awoke, but the lamps by the fireplace were on and Jett was curled up in the corner of the couch closest to one of the gold bulbs, The Idiot open on his knees. His hair stuck up in all directions and he had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders that gave the impression he was too young to be a soldier on the Barricade.
Jett Ioane was a very pretty man, all dark lines and slender limbs. He was strong and Sasha had no doubts he was capable, but in any other time he didn’t think Jett Ioane would have belonged in a place like the Barricade. But like the rest of them he’d been given absolutely no choice in the matter. Sasha enjoyed looking at him, and his fingers itched to draw him. If he was honest, the itch to draw was an excuse. He wanted to touch him and explore the lines of his body with his tongue.
‘Hey.’ Sasha tried not to startle him and was pleased when Jett didn’t respond at all, but instead finished the page he was reading. When he did finally glance over it was with a subtle turn of his head so he could look over through long black lashes, almost shy.
‘You’re awake,’ Jett acknowledged, and then went back to reading, turning the page and deliberately shifting his gaze across the page.
Sasha rolled off the couch and stretched, hopping from foot to foot in his socks because the floor was cold. He scurried over to the couch Jett was on and sat down heavily, amused when Jett jerked his legs closer to avoid being squashed. When Jett didn’t move off the couch entirely, Sasha took that as a sign and stretched out his legs, letting them hang off the end while he flopped into Jett’s lap, knocking his knees aside and squishing between Jett and the back of the couch. His head rested on Jett’s lower ribs and he could hear his pulse, hammering loudly like a trapped animal in its cage.
‘What are you doing?’ Jett hissed at him as if no-one had ever used him as a pillow. Sasha had no idea why, he was comfortable, if a little bony.
‘Shh. Read your book. I’m comfy,’ Sasha mumbled at him, unable to hide the smirk of pleasure on his face.
Jett scowled, but Sasha didn’t care, and after a minute Jett shifted into a more comfortable position and returned to reading his book. Sasha was exceptionally pleased with him and let his eyes close so his other senses could look more closely.
Jett smelt like soap and stone, but there was a faint hint of beeswax and oil on his clothes. He was cool to the touch at first, but the longer Sasha relaxed with him, the warmer he became. He breathed quietly, but his pulse was strong and the stiller Sasha lay, the calmer Jett became, his heartbeat settling into a sedate rhythm. Despite his size, Jett was strong. Each limb was muscled and hard where it rested against Sasha, nothing soft or yielding. Sasha wanted to push him into the cushions and hold him down.
‘Well, this is interesting,’ Matti said to them through a yawn. Jett jerked, startled from his book once more, but Sasha refused to move, completely comfortable where he was.
Matti put the kettle on and Sasha could smell coffee. He smiled and cracked one eye open, looking up at Jett where he was watching Matti like a hawk, his book momentarily forgotten. Sasha liked the way his lips parted slightly while his brain struggled to work out what it wanted to do. He reached up and stroked his thumb across Jett’s lower lip, amused when Jett’s attention immediately turned to him.
When his eyes were wide and caught the light they weren’t black, but a deep mahogany that complemented the soft oaken colouring of his skin, as if he were made from a variety of soft woods instead of flesh and bone.
‘Coffee?’ Matti called over and Jett struggled to decide who to stare at, settling for Matti and nodding emphatically.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Jett hissed at him and it made Sasha grin. He liked having all of his attention. Liked playing with him. Really liked touching him. He was beginning to suspect he wanted a hell of a lot of other things with Jett Ioane, but only time would tell if Jett would loosen up enough to allow it. If he was interested in such things.
‘Shove over.’ Matti appeared with three steaming cups and managed to shuffle Jett out of his corner so he could fit in. Jett seemed horrified to find himself sandwiched between them on the couch, but obediently took the coffee pushed into his hands and Sasha took his own cup and rested it on his stomach.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Jett repeated, looking between them this time, clearly still in shock.
‘We’re getting to know you,’ Matti reasoned, though Sasha suspected Matti already knew his intentions weren’t entirely innocent.
‘And you need to be lying all over me to get to know me?’ Jett growled. It was a little feral. More than a little, maybe.
‘Well, it is far more comfortable. Besides, Anna’s hogging the other couch.’ Matti pointed to where Anna was sprawled on her back taking up most of the couch, but Jett just pointed to the third, empty couch in the room.
‘That one is nowhere near as comfortable.’ Sasha happily squirmed until he was once again comfortably sprawled over Jett.
‘And the lighting is dreadful,’ Matti added, which was true since the only lights on were still the two small reading lights by the fireplace and the third couch was furthest away from those.
‘You’re being ridiculous!’ Jett argued, trying to shove each of them away, but they simply rebounded into him as soon as he turned to the other and in the end he huffed loudly and t
ook a long sip of coffee.
‘So what sort of sword do you have?’ Matti asked, sounding genuinely curious. Interested enough that even Jett paused and hesitantly chose to answer.
‘A Ssangdo,’ he admitted.
‘And that’s a traditional Korean sword?’ Matti wanted facts, always.
‘Yes, as far as I know it’s been in my family for generations.’
‘They let you keep it, even in the camp?’ Matti queried. His words startled Sasha, who hadn’t given much thought to where Jett had come from. Honestly, he didn’t give a lot of thought to where anyone came from, just what side of the Barricade they were on.
Matti liked to tease him about being indoctrinated, but Sasha knew deep down Matti thought he was brainwashed from birth to believe the party line. He didn’t. He just knew he had to pick a side and stick to it, and he happened to be born on this side, and all his friends were there, so he stayed there. If they chose to pack up and abandon their post tomorrow, Sasha had absolutely no idea what he would do. He was pretty sure brainwashed people would do what they were told, but that really wasn’t Sasha’s MO.
‘When they removed the North Koreans from their homes, they were permitted to take one item only. A family heirloom, or a photo album, whatever they wanted. My great grandfather took his Ssangdo.’ Jett seemed as confused by the decision as anyone.
‘You have more than one?’
‘Ssangdo are twin swords. This is one half of my Ssangdo. But it’s still a Ssangdo.’ He seemed flustered. Sasha liked that a lot.
‘And you’ve been trained to use them?’ Sasha was genuinely curious, since his own training had only included knife fighting, hand to hand and arsenal.
‘Yes, I am quite proficient,’ Jett acknowledged, though he didn’t seem proud of the fact. He wasn’t boasting about it, merely stating a fact.
The door slammed open upstairs and a minute later Enzo came stomping down the stairs. He stopped by the kitchen table when he spotted them all piled on the couch, then shook his head and muttered something under his breath before going to the cupboard and getting the oats out.
‘You do know we have three couches, right? And there are three of you?’
‘I sat here first,’ Jett offered weakly.
‘Oh, I’ve no doubt,’ Enzo reassured him. He turned on the kitchen lights and grunted at their moans as they struggled to cover their eyes against the sudden brightness. Sasha buried his face in Jett’s side and laughed when he squirmed away. Apparently he was ticklish. Or he was getting fed up. Probably both.
The clatter in the kitchen eventually made Sasha look up again. Enzo refilled the kettle and put it on and got the honey out and four bowls. He sat at the table and started making himself some porridge, looking wet and weary from his shift.
‘Enzo said the infected yesterday was acting strange?’ Sasha asked Matti.
‘Yeah, I thought that too. It was like he was nervous and wanted to run away but he couldn’t figure out how.’ Matti sat up straighter, slinging one long arm across the back of the couch and meeting Enzo’s gaze across the room, watching for his reaction.
‘That’s what I thought, too,’ Enzo agreed.
‘You’re certain he was sick?’ Sasha needed them to be sure.
‘Absolutely. He was well advanced, bleeding from the eyes, ears, nose, wheezing. Wouldn’t have survived the day, regardless. But by that stage they’re usually completely delirious and just charging around zombie-style. This guy was still able to answer questions, even if his answers made no sense.’
‘He spoke to you?’ Sasha sat up now, stunned.
‘No, not really. Just I told him not to come closer, and he obeyed. And then I asked what he wanted and he said potato salad. Then I asked where he was going and he said don’t tell anyone it doesn’t exist.’
They sat in silence, looking at one another as if someone might magically have some kind of reasonable explanation.
‘Potato salad?’ Jett asked cautiously. ‘Is that normal?’
‘They usually end up saying a family member’s name or something,’ Enzo explained. ‘Guess this one was hungry?’
‘He just seemed off,’ Matti concluded. ‘The whole town feels a bit off, really.’
‘Enzo said the same thing,’ Sasha mumbled, thinking but coming up with no answers. He’d not been into the town for a week, acting as over watch for Matti and Enzo, but he’d sensed something off last night and he trusted their instincts.
‘Let’s have breakfast, then I think we should do a patrol through the town. I want to see what you mean.’
‘We’re all going?’ Jett asked, looking equally excited and nervous.
‘All of us,’ Sasha agreed, grinning because it was going to be Jett’s first foray south of the Barricade and that was always exciting. He forced himself to extricate himself from his comfortable place on the couch and went to sit at the kitchen table. Matti and Jett followed, each quickly making up a bowl of porridge and digging in. It was satisfying to have a purpose for the day.
‘You need your thermals and cams,’ Enzo instructed Jett, surprising Sasha. ‘We’ll have to doctor one of the Q-hab suits to your size. It’ll be uncomfortable but we can make it work for winter. Next resupply we’ll ask for a small suit. The armour is going to be huge, but there’s not a lot we can do about that.’
‘I’ve got my own armour,’ Jett cut in quickly. He liked his armour, it fit just right, and there was no way he was putting on a dead man’s breastplate.
‘Great, we’ll make that work,’ Enzo was nodding, clearly thinking about what needed to be done. Even Matti was blinking at him, and Enzo noticed the attention and glared at both of them. ‘Well I didn’t hear you bastards telling him anything,’ Enzo grumbled, finishing his porridge and quickly washing up in the sink. ‘I’ll meet you downstairs in ten,’ he told Jett before rushing down the stairs.
‘He seems … excited?’ Jett was clearly confused.
‘He likes getting out of the house,’ Matti explained, but he was still frowning. ‘And hitting stuff. If he gets to leave the tower and hit stuff it’s pretty much the best day ever.’
‘Huh,’ Jett kept shovelling porridge in his mouth, finishing as quickly as he could and moving to the sink to wash up.
‘I’ll do that, go help Enzo with your suit.’ Sasha tugged Jett away from the sink and pushed him toward the stairs. ‘He’s in a good mood for a change, let’s see if we can keep him that way.’
Jett rushed away, leaving Sasha and Matti eating sedately at the table.
‘Poor Pavlova,’ Matti snickered between mouthfuls. ‘Enzo’s gonna run him ragged.’
‘Maybe,’ Sasha agreed half-heartedly. Enzo had never had a new partner. Sasha had three before Matti arrived and they synched well but the others hadn’t been terrible. They’d just been on the Barricade at a time when it was dangerous and people were desperate. Dying doing your duty wasn’t something to be ashamed about. But he was proud that he and Matti had lasted this long, and he knew if anything happened he wanted it to happen to him because the thought of Matti getting hurt pained him in ways he couldn’t begin to define. So he understood how Enzo felt, and yet didn’t. Because Enzo and Ines had been partners since childhood, and Sasha knew that kind of pain would never fade.
Sasha had expected to have to rotate; for Matti or himself to have to partner with Enzo. Seeing Enzo take the kid on board, without any hesitation, was both satisfying and terrifying. Enzo and Ines had been exceptionally good at their jobs, and were renowned for covering a lot of territory in a very small amount of time. Enzo would have to slow down with a new recruit, but it was going to be interesting to see how Jett held up under the eye of his new reconnaissance specialist compatriot.
‘I better go make sure they do the suit right.’ Matti tossed his bowl in the sink and hurried out. Sasha watched him go and quietly finished his porridge, very aware Matti had made an excuse so he wouldn’t have to wash up. Not that Sasha minded. The others resented day to day ch
ores and only did them to maintain equality among the group. Sasha liked the monotony of simple tasks. They gave him time to think.
He cleaned up and went down to his bedroom, pulling on an extra pair of socks and then moved downstairs to find the others. They were still doctoring the Q-hab when he reached the ground floor. It still looked baggy on Jett, but it wasn’t falling off so it would have to do.
Dressing quickly, Sasha pulled his suit on over his clothes and settled the weapons he wanted over the top. He kept it simple with a rifle and ammo slung over his shoulder, a knife on his calf and a grenade on one hip, set of flares on the other. Matti had a similar set up but carried basic first aid supplies in a bag on his hip with no grenade. They tried to travel as light as possible.
‘Water?’ Jett queried and Enzo pulled a hose over his shoulder.
‘Built into the back,’ Enzo squeezed the mouth piece to make sure it was working and double-checked his work before grinning and slapping Jett on the back. ‘Let’s do this!’
Sasha noticed Jett didn’t have his swords, and he seemed out of sorts as a result but made up for it by strapping a knife to his calf and two knives to his belt to complement the compulsory rifle they all carried.
They pulled their helmets on and Sasha took a steadying breath as he was enclosed in his own private ecosystem within the suit. He hated wearing fully closed-in gear, but understood the necessity. He didn’t want to die like the infected, and a hint of claustrophobia was a small price to pay.
‘Alright. Matti and I will sweep through the west side of town, Enzo and Jett take the east. We’ll meet at the solar plant at the southern end. If you get into trouble, no heroics, call for help and retreat. Check communications.’ Each of them said their name and counted to ten to make sure the others could hear them through the small radio system built into the suits.
Matti opened the cage attached to the southern gate and they all climbed in so Matti could seal it behind them. Enzo didn’t start opening the main gates until the cage was secure. Sasha didn’t hesitate. As soon as the gate was open he was out, aware of Matti behind to his left, moving along the western side of the wall, down several streets before shifting away from the shadow of protection and into the town. Jett and Enzo disappeared to the east.
Barricade Page 10
