by Brown, TW
“I caught her sniffing around outside,” Willa said with a tiny laugh. “She was trying to climb through a window.”
“But—” Kevin started, only to have Willa cut him off.
“She was completely oblivious to the walker that was coming up to take a chomp out of her leg.” Willa patted the large blade on her hip. “I thought she might at least notice when I cleaved it in the forehead…but no. She was still wiggling and squirming in a window frame, not a clue in the world.”
“I heard a noise and was trying to get through and away from whatever was coming…but my coat got caught on a stupid piece of metal that was sticking up.” Erin tugged at her jacket and stomped away from the woman.
“Umm…” Aleah moved next to Kevin and took his arm. “Maybe you could introduce us to your friend, Kevin.”
“Everybody, this is Willa, that soldier that I told you about,” Kevin had to swallow a few times before he could speak. For some reason, his mouth was extremely dry. “Willa, this is Aleah, Heather, and Matt. You already met Erin.” He indicated to each one in turn.
“What in the world are you doing out here…and do I even dare to ask where your shoes went?” Willa stepped into the room and dropped a big burlap bag on the floor.
“We made a run for it,” Kevin said with a shrug. “As for the shoes, Major Beers took them to discourage our departure.”
“If she wanted to keep you from running, she would have cuffed you or locked you up,” Willa said.
“She has my sister and Valarie locked up,” Erin blurted.
“Ahh.” Willa nodded her head. She glanced at Kevin. “So the girl you got the medicine for is locked up, but you, she just takes your shoes? That doesn’t seem right.”
“She had a guard on us,” Erin offered.
“A guard…she had A guard on you?” Willa said with disbelief.
“We killed her,” Heather said sadly.
“Crap,” Willa hissed. She turned and bolted from the room.
“What’s her problem?” Matt asked.
“You need to get your group out here,” Willa hissed.
Kevin took a step and felt like he was on one of those stupid retreats where they had you walk across hot coals. Steeling himself, he continued out of the room and to the doorway where Willa stood. What he saw made his heart sink.
“What’s that?” Erin asked. Of everybody, she was the only one in the group who had no trouble walking.
“We have to go!” Willa insisted.
“We won’t make it ten minutes,” Kevin sighed.
“Excuse me,” Erin pressed. “I asked a question.”
“You got played, Kevin,” Willa said with a shake of her head.
“You think she would do all of this for you?” Kevin asked. He couldn’t keep the doubt from creeping in to his voice.
“If she knew we were together, then she knew that I would still be in the area,” Willa said.
“Can somebody please tell me what is going on?” Erin insisted.
It had taken that long for everybody else to reach the trio standing in the doorway staring out into the night. The low rumble was something you could hear as well as feel now.
“I didn’t see anything like that when I reached the camp,” Kevin said with a shake of his head.
“They didn’t use those when they took us,” Aleah gasped.
“They must think my entire group is with me.” Willa turned to face Kevin and his group.
“Hello!” Erin stomped her foot. She was tired of being ignored. She was sick of being treated like she wasn’t a part of things. “What are those?”
“Bradley Fighting Vehicles,” Willa whispered.
“So what in the hell would make it so important for her to come after you like this?” Kevin asked.
“You guys stay here.” Willa began stripping off her weapons’ belt.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Kevin asked.
“I’m going out there and surrendering. I’m telling her that I haven’t seen you and I am giving myself up.”
“What?” Kevin, Aleah, Heather, and Matt blurted almost in unison.
“She doesn’t care about you guys,” Willa explained. “She wants me. If I give up, she will probably roll out of here tonight.”
“Wait,” Kevin insisted. “Something about this is just not adding up. For one, she wouldn’t have even known that you and I were working together when she took my camp. So what am I missing?”
“Major Beers has been looking for me and my group almost since this whole thing went off,” Willa started. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “I haven’t been entirely honest with you, Kevin.”
14
Vignettes XXIX
Ahi struggled to his feet. The bloom of heat radiated from his left cheek and the taste of blood was coppery in the back of his throat. He wiped at his face with his hand and was not surprised when it came away bloody. His feet betrayed him and he stumbled to the left a few steps before regaining his balance.
Aaheru still stood in his doorway. The towel that had adorned his waist when he answered had fallen to the floor, but the man paid it no mind. He rubbed absently at his left hand, the back of which had just caught Ahi squarely in the face.
“You thought it best to wait?” Aaheru snarled. “Then perhaps you know more about this little attempt than you are saying.”
“I serve only you, Pharaoh.” Ahi decided to end the war with balance. It would hopefully soothe the anger of the man towering naked over him at the moment. And while Ahi was not adverse to the idea of Aaheru doing anything to him while naked, Ahi would certainly wish for much better circumstances.
“Why would you think it to be okay for you to stand outside my door for several minutes?” Aaheru roared. “You have information regarding somebody who wants to try to kill us all and you decide to eavesdrop on my intimate affairs with one of my wives?”
Ahi glanced up—not at Aaheru, no, his eyes chanced a peek at Ahmes who sat naked on Aaheru’s bed with a sheet pulled up to her chin. Just as he suspected, the young girl was not pleased with the idea that there would be other women sharing Aaheru’s bed. Pharaoh or no…a woman did not usually like sharing the affections of a man that she considered to be hers.
“I only just arrived, my Pharaoh.” Ahi tried his best to sound contrite. What he would not say is that he did in fact show up just as the little tryst began. “I hadn’t been there for more than an instant. It was clear that you were nearing completion. I did not want to incur your wrath by interrupting such a moment.”
Aaheru felt a bit of his anger subside. Ahi made a good point. And a few moments would not make a difference. After all, it was a case of attempted sabotage. The engineer had discovered and thwarted the actual attempt. The culprit was still at large, but that was a problem that he could devise an answer for once he had a moment to think clearly.
Naturally he would not admit anything concerning his thoughts to Ahi. As pharaoh, it was his duty to instill a respectful fear in his subjects. This was actually a good thing to have happened. It reminded Ahi of his place; it also demonstrated his power in front of Ahmes. This would certainly be spoken of to the other women, which, in turn, would ensure that every one of his subjects would know the details before the sun set the next day. Even better, the way women tended to exaggerate, his power and strength would be amplified. Yes, Aaheru thought, this would serve his needs.
“Meet me on the bridge in ten minutes,” Aaheru said to Ahi with a dismissive wave before returning to his stateroom and closing the door.
He dressed and ensured to equip himself with an assortment of blades. As he dressed, he kept noticing that Ahmes simply sat in the bed with her arms folded across her chest like a petulant child. Her expression was a perplexing scowl. Perhaps she was hoping for another powerful mounting by her beloved. Well, that would have to wait. There were people trying to kill not only the people that would serve as the stock for the start of a new Egypt, but they were trying to kill
HIM!
When he walked onto the bridge, he was struck by a peculiar and unpleasant smell. He sniffed a few times, but could not place it right away.
“We are getting a strong breeze from the north, my Pharaoh,” one of the men announced.
Aaheru tried not to let his annoyance at himself show. He had no idea what the man was trying to say.
“Likely we are getting a smell of one of the coastal cities from Turkey,” another of the men added. “Perhaps Antalya…it would certainly have enough of a population to account for what we are smelling.”
Aaheru was struck by how foul the stench was. He’d been surrounded by thousands of the walking dead and had the entire city of Cairo sending up its stink. Why would this be so much worse?
“Funny how you can learn to get used to something and just block it out,” Ahi offered.
Aaheru glanced at his advisor and gave a nod. Once again, the man proved to almost be able to read his very thoughts. Yes, he had indeed chosen his advisor well. Surely he would understand that there would be the occasion that he would fall subject to his pharaoh’s discipline. Even the best of children have their wayward moments.
“So am I to understand that we have had an attempt at sabotage?” Aaheru asked, bringing things to order.
“Yes,” Ahi spoke.
“And who was it that discovered this attempt?” Aaheru posed the question.
“That would be me, my Pharaoh.” A heavy-set man with greasy black hair yanked the stained cap from his head, rolling it nervously in his hands as he bowed and stepped forward.
“And what is your name?” Aaheru faced the man.
“Otmar Ali, my Pharaoh,” the man replied in a voice that was surprisingly soft for a man so large.
“You are to be commended, Otmar Ali,” Aaheru spoke, trying to sound gracious but still maintain the authoritativeness he decided that a pharaoh must always display. “I wish for you to dine with me this evening as a reward for your diligence.”
“So what shall we do to try and find this person?” Ahi asked.
Aaheru cast an angry glance at his advisor. Did Ahi not see that he was trying to be a magnanimous ruler? Perhaps that cuff to the face was warranted after all.
“I want all hands brought to the dining hall. I will leave it to you, Ahi, to choose who will assist you in this task, but I want everybody assigned to another individual. Everybody will be confined to their quarters until we arrive at our destination with the exception of meals. I want you to also determine who will eat when. Everybody will be escorted to and from their quarters by your security team.”
Aaheru answered a few questions, but quickly grew tired of the details. He had given his edict. To refuse or disobey would result in being tossed over the side. Beyond that, he didn’t care. All of this had stirred his desires. He would go pay a visit to the women’s quarters. After all, he thought, it was time to start selecting his wives. Once he had done so, he could begin to award the remaining women to those who excelled at doing his bidding.
***
April Cable and another woman emerged from the bedroom. Juan wished for the thousandth time that he was even remotely good at remembering names. That thought was quickly banished when he saw the red-rimmed eyes on both women.
“Is she…” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
“She will be fine,” April stepped up to Juan and took his hands. “But she lost the baby.”
“The what?” Juan felt his knees give just a little.
“You didn’t know she was pregnant?” April gasped. “Oh my God, Juan. I am so sorry.”
He was sure that he could grieve later, but at the moment, all he truly cared about was that Mackenzie was okay. The woman with April was talking, and something she said brought Juan back to the situation at hand.
“…if not, we might suffer some needless casualties.” The woman wiped her hands with a wet towel and stared at Juan expectantly.
He really did not like how everybody had turned him into some sort of leader. Didn’t they know who he was? How about what you were, a voice in his head said with an accusatory tone. A street thug, a druggie, a thief…and so many other things—too many to mention—had filled a few pages worth of his “rap sheet” before the world had pressed a gigantic reset button.
“If not what?” Juan made himself ask.
“We need to find out some things like known allergies, medical conditions, and blood types,” the woman repeated. Juan expected her to be angry at having to repeat herself, but she had simply glanced at April with some sort of sad look and nodded. “It’s not like we can just rush to the hospital if something goes wrong. If we are going to set up here, then we need to get people like April and anybody else with her skills to start teaching others.”
Juan glanced at April with a raised eyebrow. “What kind of people are you?”
“I was an EMT,” April said. Something in her tone told Juan that perhaps this bit of information had been relayed to him before.
“I understand that you are going across the river,” the woman resumed control of the conversation. “Perhaps while you are there, you can see if you can find some blood type testing kits.”
“And what do they look like?” Juan asked.
“They usually come in a box that says ‘Blood type testing kit’ I would imagine,” the woman made a slight laugh as if she had said something witty.
Juan scowled. “Maybe you should come with me, I might not remember…what did you say your name was?”
“I’m Jeannie Simons,” the woman said with less laughter in her voice. “And maybe I could write it down for you if you need something to help you remember.”
Juan was not always the most observant guy, but he knew fear when he saw and heard it. This woman wanted nothing to do with going on a run. Well, he could worry about that later. He wanted to see Mackenzie.
“So can I see her?” Juan started towards the door, not really caring what the answer might be if it was anything that would delay his seeing her for himself.
He opened the door and stepped into the room. It had a funny smell that he didn’t place right away. Then his eyes found the bucket covered with a bloody towel in the corner.
He faltered just a bit as he stepped up beside the bed and took Mackenzie’s hands in his. Her hair was spread out on the pillow, and even though she was unusually pale, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“How are you feeling?” The moment that he asked the question, he wished that he could suck the words back into his mouth.
“Tired,” was her whispered response. She opened her eyes and he could tell that she had been crying.
“You want me to stay here beside you for a while?” Juan looked around for a chair to pull up beside the bed and was more than a little flustered to discover that there was no such thing in their bedroom.
“I want you to go with Frank and try to find that girl,” Mackenzie replied. “But I do have a favor that I want to ask you first.”
“Name it,” Juan said with a severity that caught him by surprise. He had always figured that it was easy to say you would do anything for somebody, but at that very moment, he understood that, for the first time in his life, he was with somebody that he could say those words and literally mean it.
“I want you to take the baby and bury her beside my mom.” A single tear welled up in Mackenzie’s left eye, bloomed, and then spilled down her cheek.
“It was a girl?” Juan whispered. He felt his chest tighten. Mackenzie’s hands squeezed his.
“Do you…do…” her voice faltered as a few more tears joined the first.
“We could name her Maggie…sorta like your mom, but not quite,” Juan offered.
“That would be nice,” Mackenzie sighed and closed her eyes.
Juan struggled with the question that would not go away. “How long have you known?” he finally asked.
“Just a few days. I found out while you were out on that last run.”
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“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to make it a perfect moment.” Mackenzie started to cry.
“Maybe I should stay—” Juan started.
“No!” Mackenzie insisted. “That girl is out there alone. You need to go help her if you can.”
Juan nodded his head. He glanced over at the bucket covered by a bloody towel. He would bury little Maggie. First, he would find something more suitable to place her in besides that bucket. Then…he would go find the missing girl and the idiot boys who took off to find her.
***
Chad felt like his legs were going to burst into flames. It was as if he could feel each fiber of each muscle, and they were all burning like a firecracker fuse. He kept reminding himself of what it was they were hoping to obtain and why.
Michael seemed to be doing just fine up ahead. At the moment, if for no other reason than the way he continued to lead the four of them along like it was nothing more than a walk in the park; he hated Michael Clark.
They had left before dawn this morning. He’d had just as soon left the day it was decided. Ronni hadn’t spoken to him once in the three days that Michael got everything ready. It would be him, Michael, Scott, and a lady named Trina. Chad had made the mistake of asking if it were short for Katrina like the hurricane. Apparently she had a few years to get tired of answering with a polite “no” to that question. Oh sure, the answer was still basically the same, there just happened to be a few expletives before and after the actual answer.
Chad didn’t much like Trina either, and it had nothing to do with her less-than-positive reaction to his ‘Katrina’ question. She was gliding along beside Michael—laughing and talking! He could barely get enough oxygen in his lungs to breathe, much less carry on a conversation. It seems that Trina had been an employee at the Yosemite Village luxury hotel as a hiking guide in the spring and summer; and as a ski-trail guide in the winter and fall.
When Michael signaled for the first break, Scott came to a stop beside where Chad was sitting down on a fallen tree that he had brushed clear of snow. He gave a tired sigh and took a seat on a space after snapping off a few remaining branches.
