by Downs Jana
“So you’re Brooklyn’s cousin?” Marcel asked, snapping his pack of macaroni and cheese. He wasn’t all that terribly hungry, but he would need the calories during this mission. He didn’t mind the disposable carbs in case they had to take off in the middle of the night.
Matthew finished chewing his bite of what looked like beef stew before he spoke. It was fully dark now, and everything was deep in shadows despite the rising moon. “Sort of. My father and his go way back. They were in the same unit before Jim and Jason started Deadzone. We grew up together. I always called Jim and Jason ‘uncle’ and Brook did the same with my dad. So while we’re not technically blood related, we might as well be.”
Marcel nodded. “I can understand that. I used to have a friend like that. He died in combat a few years back, but I always considered him family because we grew up together.”
“One day the war will be over and we won’t have to worry about zombies or Necros,” Matthew said. “Then we won’t have to worry about people eating us anymore.”
“You really believe that?” Matthew shrugged. “I have to. I can’t imagine a world like this that never ends. We’ll find a way to either find a cure or eliminate the virus. The human race has no other options.”
“You’re a bit of a philosopher, Matthew. That’s weird for SCAB. Your type is usually the bad asses who get a thrill out of the number of z-kills they make.” It was a nice surprise actually. Marcel usually found their arrogance disgusting. It was one of the reasons he’d never become a SCAB officer himself. Suicide and bravado weren’t his things. He was much happier taking care of people like Andrew. Oh who am I kidding? I just love taking care of Andrew. He had been his first “newbie” assignment when he’d joined Deadzone. He’d never left it.
“I read a lot. I like the histories, the stories of before the zombies took over the planet. It’s my hobby to collect old things. My missions send me places the modern world forgot. It’s like walking into a tomb. I’ve been to this big white building in old DC and walked down hallways that hundreds and thousands of people walked before me in centuries past. It’s quite the experience. No one ever gets to see those places though, because of how hot they are for zombies and Necros.” The passionate way Matthew spoke gave Marcel an idea of how deep those passions ran. The qualities, the appreciation for life and for peace, were infinitely attractive. Matthew smiled in the light of the moon and Marcel’s heart tripped over itself. “So how about you, Marcel? What is your story?”
Marcel shifted. “I don’t really have one. I had civilian parents. They run a small tax business in sector four. I’m no good with numbers, so when I went to training school I majored in field training. After graduation, I got a job at Deadzone and have been there ever since. Andrew was my first assignment.”
“You must care about him a lot to stay on with him.” It was a statement. Was Marcel really that obvious?
He shrugged. “Of course I do. We’ve been friends for years now.”
“So tell me about him,” Matthew encouraged. “I’ve heard what the media says about him. I know he’s one of the best runners in the country, and I know he donates copious amounts of money to the National Orphanage. But other than that, there isn’t too much info on him.”
Marcel smiled at the thought of Andrew. He sighed softly and leaned back against his bag, stretching out so he could have a full view of the stars above him. “He’s wonderful. A little timid, but there is a thread of steel running through him. He’s one of those people who can put away fear if he has to and has several times. There is nothing he loves more than running. I can’t imagine him doing anything else. The reason he donates to the National Orphanage fund is because he was an orphan himself. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I think that’s where his anxiety comes from. He can’t stand crowds. He’s probably much more at home in these woods than he would be on a packed busing transport.”
“How long have you been in love with him?” Matthew asked.
The macaroni he’d spooned into his mouth got sucked down the wrong pipe, and he proceeded to choke. He coughed until he was pretty sure his face was bright red, and Matthew separated the distance between them and pounded on his back in an effort to help him out.
When he finally regained the ability to breathe, he gasped, “I’m not!”
Matthew chuckled. “You’re not? Could’ve fooled me. You talk about him like he walks on water. Does he know?” He continued to pat him on the back as he spoke, making soothing circles that sent chills down Marcel’s spine.
“Um, no,” Marcel said, pulling away from Matthew’s soothing hands.
“Why not?”
“The timing has never been right,” he said. He was embarrassed to be admitting the fact out loud. Why am I telling him this?
Matthew’s breath played across the side of his face when he spoke. “Timing is everything.” For someone as bold as Matthew seemed to be to, the lack of judgment in his voice was surprising. There was more to the SCAB agent than met the eye. “You’re a goodlooking guy, Marcel. There is no reason why you should be scared to ask the guy out. I know if I had you drooling over me, I’d be beyond flattered.” Shock churned in Marcel’s gut. Is he serious? Matthew cleared his throat. “I like your passion and your commitment. When we catch up to your run kid, I’ll see if I can’t push you two together. I’m good at getting my way.”
I just bet you are. Aloud he said, “That won’t be necessary. I’m planning on making my intentions known.”
Matthew smiled slowly. “Good for you.” He moved over to where he’d left his pack, and Marcel breathed a sigh of relief. It was very hard to think when Matthew was near him. Which was weird, considering he’d never felt that way about anyone other than Andrew. A little niggle of guilt ate at him. He shouldn’t be attracted to Matthew.
He rolled over and dug in his bag, looking for his sleeping throw. “I’m going to go on to grab some sleep. Take first shift?”
Matthew nodded. “Yeah. I’m too wound, so I’ll be up for a while. Get some shut-eye. I’ll wake you up in four hours.”
Marcel crawled into the tent and wrapped his throw around him. The automated heating system in the blanket regulated for the warm night, making the material feel almost sheer. He toed off his boots but left his socks on. He didn’t dare get more undressed than this, just in case of a night raid.
“You know, if it doesn’t work out with Andrew. I’d really like to take you out,” Matthew said from outside the tent.
“What?” Marcel asked, needing clarification. Maybe he needed his hearing checked. He couldn’t have asked what he thought he asked.
Matthew chuckled. “You’re a good-looking guy, Marcel, loyal, assertive. I think I’d like to take you out. Just think about it.”
Marcel’s heart pounded. Jeez. He hadn’t been expecting that. He hadn’t been asked out on a date in… He strained his mind to remember the last time. It had been years. He was pretty sure of it. It wasn’t that he hadn’t had encounters, but he was a bit of a homebody himself and didn’t frequent anywhere but his usual pub and his work place. Since he got hazard pay for assisting the run kid, he had a tidy little nest egg saved up so he didn’t work in between assignments.
“Hey, Matthew?”
“What?”
“Why would you ask me out? You don’t know me.”
Matthew chuckled. “You’re attractive, and I like you. Why wouldn’t I ask you out?”
Marcel had no answer for that. He just knew that he was somehow deeply thrown off by the blunt way Matthew assessed the world. It was refreshing and pulling. It was also completely off-limits, considering his intention to ask out Andrew. He cursed himself a thousand times for being a fool. Even considering a date with Matthew was inappropriate. Why can’t I have something like the company presidents have? The illicit thought was banished as soon as it crossed his mind. Andrew would never go for something like that. He didn’t seem like the type.
* * * * It wasn’t long before the sounds
of Marcel’s soft snores filled the air. Matthew wasn’t sure what possessed him to ask out Marcel, but he’d learned a long time ago not to question his instincts. Something about the man drew him, and it wasn’t in his nature to deny his gut. He sipped on his flagon of water. He’d need to refill it from the river soon. The built-in filtration system on the canteens was nice and cut down on the number of medi visits due to parasites or bacterial infections.
He drummed his fingers on his thigh and calculated how inappropriate it had been to ask out Marcel after offering him help with hooking up with the run kid he was pining over. He mentally shrugged. He supposed it didn’t really matter. It was better that Marcel knew his interest up front than be surprised when he showed interest later. He didn’t want the man to confuse his attention. He would help, but he almost hoped that the run kid turned him down.
Moonlight played havoc with his night vision. While it was nice to be able to see, they were equally as likely to be seen, so he had to be especially vigilant. The sounds of nature were lulling, though. It was so different from the noise of the city. Crickets chirped continuously, and the occasional owl sounded in the distance. There was neither transport traffic nor air traffic. The lack of noise was probably the most distracting thing of all.
A twig snapped somewhere close, and Matthew slowly got to his feet, drawing his weapon at the same time. Apparently his diligence wasn’t that impaired. He went completely still, stretching out his senses to try to find the source of the noise. If he called out, he ran the risk of alerting whatever it was to his presence. However, if he fired before he knew, he risked dropping either the rest of his team or the run kid they were looking for.
He took off the safety. “Hello?”
Marcel stirred in the popup. “What is it?”
“If you’re human, give an indication,” Matthew commanded,
momentarily ignoring Marcel’s question. Whatever it was took another step.
Matthew fired.
Marcel scrambled from the tent, weapon drawn. “What the fuck? Who did you shoot at?”
He went into his training mindset. “Grab the gear and put on your shoes. We need to move. The others will have heard that.”
“How do you know it wasn’t Andrew?” Marcel asked, his voice still roughened with sleep.
“Andrew would’ve answered me. You can check the body if you like but only after you pack. If that was a zombie, then the Necros will be nearby.” He grabbed both water bottles. “I’ll grab us some more water for hydration along the way. Let’s roll.” A thrill shot through him. The rush of adrenaline was familiar. He got this way every time the missions got tight. His father had always been right about him. He had been born to be an agent. He grabbed his pack and the bottles before turning toward the river.
Another shot rang out. Damn. So much for refilling the canteens. “How many more are there, Marcel?”
“That wasn’t me. It must be Brook and Bryan,” Marcel called from somewhere behind him. He circled back around and came to stand beside the field agent. He’d already collapsed the tent and packed it away with his throw.
“Didn’t sound like a standard-issue weapon. Sounded like a 9 millimeter. I thought you had brought an additional piece.” Another gunshot sounded. “Forget it. Let’s go. We need to get out of the immediate area and somewhere where we can regroup. You have the com-device?”
“Yeah, got it.”
“Good. Call Brook and find out if that was him.”
He stuck near the river and followed it further upstream, away from their camp. It would disorient them in the morning, but his first priority would be to get away from the original spot where he’d fired his gun. It had been bad luck for the zombie to stumble on them so soon, but it seemed like everything to do with the running grounds had run to bad luck since the beginning of this debacle. He would never understand why people ran through the wild lands. What sort of weird thrill did people get from running into hostile land where the possibility of death was around every corner? Matthew understood why he did it. He was helping people. Why someone did it for fun was beyond him.
“Watch out!” Marcel shouted a second before something plowed into his side at a dead run. His breath left in an instant, and he tumbled backward into the waiting river. He struggled to untangle himself from whatever had grabbed hold of him, rolling in the water. Another splash said that Marcel had come in after him.
Fuck! His attacker kicked him in the gut, and he went back below the water. Someone screamed. It took him a moment to realize the frightened sound belonged to his attacker. Zombies don’t scream. As matter of fact, they don’t swim, either.
“Who are you?” he managed to gasp as he came back up for air.
“Holy shit!” his attacker said. “I thought you were a Necro cutting my path off.”
He strained his eyes to get a look at the man. Was this the famed Andrew Ainsley?
“Andrew!” Marcel shouted, swimming over to them as they continued to drift downstream. Well, that answers that question.
“Marcel? Oh, thank god! I thought the air transport had taken you off when you realized how many Necros were in the area.” The man sounded intensely relieved. “There are a ton of them. They found my tree, so I hopped down and ran toward the river. I’ve had more dips in the river this past month than I have had in my entire life.”
“That was you firing a moment ago?” Matthew asked.
“Yeah. The last bullets I had. I ditched the gun.”
Matthew’s knee struck a rock beneath the water, and he winced. “That’s all right. I have plenty of weapons to last us ’til we get out of here. Are you hurt anywhere?” His pack was sealed and waterproof, so his supplies were probably all right.
“Just some scrapes. Nothing serious. I’m starving, though.”
“Well, let’s float for a little while longer, and then we’ll get out on the other side of the river. I don’t want the infected to follow us,” Matthew said.
They fell silent, three dark shapes bobbing along through the water. It would’ve been relaxing had he not been completely dressed and watching for infected along the river banks. After another ten minutes, he was fairly confident they weren’t being followed. He checked his navigational device on his watch. Their little journey had taken them farther south than he would’ve liked, but it couldn’t be helped.
“We should get out here,” Marcel said. “We’re almost to Brook’s location. The com kicked me off before it connected.”
“Sounds good,” Matthew agreed.
He slipped a few times on the slick rocks as he swam over to the river bank, but he managed to stay upright for the most part. Andrew climbed out just ahead of him, pulling himself up onto the grassy bank and lying there for a few minutes as he caught his breath. Matthew imagined that the run kid was very low on reserves at this point.
“Before we go any further, you need to eat something,” Matthew said, sitting down beside Andrew’s prone body.
“Agreed,” Marcel said, flopping down on the other side. He helped Andrew to a sitting position before pulling him into a tight hug. Matthew smiled, knowing the relief that Marcel was feeling at the moment. His father had been lost on more than one mission before. The sickness of fear melted only when he’d been able to wrap his father in his arms again. Marcel sighed heavily. “I am so sorry, Andy. I was so scared that I’d lost you.”
The run kid clutched him tight. “I was scared, too. I knew you’d come for me, though. I just knew it.”
Matthew felt a little like an intruder on their sweet moment, so he remained silent during their exchange.
“Of course I came for you,” Marcel murmured. Andrew pulled out of his arms and turned toward Matthew.
Before he could protest, the smaller man threw his arms around Matthew as well and squeezed him for all he was worth. “Thank you. I don’t know who you are, but thank you.”
Pleasure blossomed in the center of his chest, and he managed to give him a hug back. “You’r
e welcome. I’m Matthew.”
“Andrew or Andy, whichever you prefer.”
Matthew pulled back and reached around for his pack. “Here. Let me get you some rations.” He unzipped the pack and felt inside. It was still dry. Good. He couldn’t read the labels for the snap and eats, but he didn’t imagine it mattered. Most of his packs had protein in them. He cracked the seal on one and felt the plastic-type material warm in his hands. “I’m not sure what this is, but I hope you like.”
“I’m sure I will, thanks,” Andrew said. Matthew handed him both a spoon and the meal.
The run kid scarfed down the meal like it had been a while since he’d last eaten. Matthew chuckled. “Good?”
“Fantastic,” Andrew said through a mouthful of food. “I love chicken pot pie.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Eat up, Andy. You need your strength,” Marcel said. “We’ll get a little farther back from the river and then huddle up together.” He seconded the idea. They needed to be close and hidden for the remainder of the night. The swimming and the adrenaline had drained his restlessness and replaced it with utter exhaustion.
“Contact Brook before we sleep and let him know we found Andrew,” Matthew commanded. They needed to take care of business before he drifted off into dreamland. He yawned before he could stop himself.
Marcel nodded. He tapped his com device. It blinked yellow several times before the tiny vid screen popped up with Brooklyn’s sleepy face on it.
“Yeah? It’s my cycle for sleep, bro. What’s up?”
“We found Andrew. We’re about a half mile down from where we parted with you. I’ll send you the exact location in the morning. We’ll meet up as planned and hoof it out. Okay?” Marcel asked.
Brook nodded. “Sounds good. He okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Great. We’ll see you guys tomorrow.” A dog started barking in the background, and Brook turned his head, frowning. Horror filled his expression. “Aw, fuck. Necros. Gotta go.” Gunshots went off right before the line went blank as the connection was cut.
