She stared at her shoes. "I'm not good at relationships. Never have been. And now with the world falling apart, how can I even think about a relationship?"
He held up his hands in surrender. "I'm not looking for a relationship just friendship. Someone who watches out for you."
"What?" Fire flashed from her eyes. "I can very well take care of myself. I don't need you or—"
"No you can't. You're too busy taking care of everyone else in the compound to even think of yourself." He crossed his arms. "Tonight. I'm taking your duty so you can rest."
"No. I won't sleep, anyway. I can't close my eyes."
"Miguel's going to give you something to help you sleep."
Her eyes widened. "No."
Josh held up his hand. "Just for tonight. You have to rest."
"Fine." She drew in several deep breaths. "Under one condition."
"What's that?"
"I'll come to the tower with you and sleep on the floor." She dropped her head and stared at the ground again. "I don't want to be alone. If the nightmares start, you'll wake me. Won't you?"
"Of course."
"Then let's get back."
"Okay." Josh started toward the ATV when a yell caught his attention.
A man walked up the road toward the gate yelling for them to help him.
He reached the gate. "Who are you and what do you want?" Josh asked.
"Help. Those things are after me."
"Have you been bitten?"
"Yes." He pulled his sleeve up and showed Josh and Randi a large, red wound on his arm. "Yesterday. I've been walking looking for help for two days."
"I'm sorry, but we can't help you."
He curled his fingers into the chain link. "Please. Let me in. I can't survive out here."
"We can't." Josh pointed to the bite. "You're infected, and we won't risk having you infect the rest of us."
"I'm not." The man gave his head a violent shake. "I don't have fever or any of the symptoms. Maybe I'm immune."
"We can't risk it." Josh touched Randi's arm and motioned toward the four-wheeler.
"Wait!" The man shook the gate. "Where can I go? I've got to find somewhere safe."
Randi walked back to the fence. "In Kerrville, there's a large hardware store that's clear. You can hole up there. If you're okay five days from now, come back, and we'll give you refuge."
"How am I going to get to Kerrville? Do you know how far it is? They'll kill me before I get there."
"Someone abandoned a car at the end of the road." Randi pointed to the dirt lane. "I noticed it yesterday. Take that and go to the hardware store." She gave him directions.
The man pressed his face into the fence. "In five days, I can come back? Promise?"
"If you show no signs of infection, yes."
They watched him run toward the car.
"You know he's not coming back." Josh raised an eyebrow. "He's flushed and sweating. No way is he immune to the virus."
"Yeah, but if he heads to Kerrville, I won't have to kill him. Either someone else will, or he'll die from the disease, but he'll be one less person whose blood stains my hands."
Chapter Twenty-Three
They drove along the fence until they reached the bridge for the ATV barn. Josh parked, walked to the main fire pit, and called the group together. "Currently, Randi, Jill, Mark, Miguel, Xever, and I, rotate watch but between that, helping with food prep, hunting, perimeter checks, and runs, we're exhausted."
"Mom, you and Adriana have to help. Not only with watch, but also with perimeter checks. We need to increase them to three times a day, but with us taking guard duty so often, it's hard to do." Randi held Toni in her lap. "I know Dad has talked to y'all about this in the past."
"Who's supposed to cook and take care of the children, then?" Adriana asked.
"We've all been helping with meals."
She slapped Randi hard enough to leave a dark, red handprint. "Don't you dare. I haven't seen you lift a finger to prepare a meal for this family. You only worry about yourself and that's it. I'm so tired of you."
"That's enough, Adriana." Xever grabbed his older daughter's arm. "Randi and Josh spent an entire day grinding meat and making sausage and jerky so we would have protein. I know you're grieving, but it's time to let it go. Randi did not kill Leon. In fact, she would have died trying to save him if possible, and you know it."
She glared at her father, then at her sister. "You may have them fooled, but you're still nothing more than a spoiled, lazy witch who always gets her own way."
"Whatever." Randi took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter whether you hate me or not. You will take guard and perimeter duty. Dad'll make assignments for meal preparation too, if that helps."
"Randi's right. Everyone must participate," Xever crossed his arms. "I told y'all before it was time for everyone to share the duty, but so far I'm the only one who has. That ends today."
"What about Candy?" Miguel asked. "I don't think she's strong enough to help with guard duty. She still on antibiotics."
"Miguel, you're our doctor. If you say someone can't perform their duties, we won't put them on the roster until you give the okay." Josh pulled a notepad from his pocket and jotted a reminder on it to limit Candy's duties.
"Good. Put her down for meal duty every day. She can handle that." Miguel glanced at the woman who sat next to him. "Can't you, Candy?"
"I can do anything that the rest of you can." She bumped Miguel's shoulder with hers. "No special treatment for me. Got it?"
"Still, I won't put you on the schedule right away since you're recovering." Josh gave her a smile. "When your leg heals, then we'll talk."
As the meeting adjourned, Josh followed Randi to the back of the complex. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
He touched the red whelps on her cheek where her sister had slapped her. "She's an angry one, isn't she?"
"Blames me for Leon's death." Randi lifted a shoulder. "I suppose she's right. We were under gunfire, and I lost sight of him. I should've kept a better watch over him."
Josh furrowed his brows. "I didn't realize Leon had a mental handicap."
"He didn't." Randi frowned. "Why would you think that?"
"A physical one?"
"Of course not."
"So he was a capable adult. Able to make his own decisions and face the consequences, but you've accepted responsibility for his actions." Josh shook his head. "You did nothing wrong. It's not your responsibility to protect us. We're adults."
"But it was my idea for Miguel to stay behind. If he'd been with us things might've turned out differently."
"You might've lost the only doc in the group. Where would we be without him?" Josh wanted to comfort her but was afraid she would think he was hitting on her. Why wouldn't the stubborn woman allow anyone except Toni to break through her ballistic shell? "You made the right call. We need to keep Miguel safe."
Josh napped for several hours, then helped Mark tan several deer hides. "What are you going to do with these?"
"We may need to make clothing, water bags, who knows? The Native Americans never wasted a part of the animal. We need to learn from them and use the entire carcass." Mark stopped tanning the hide. "We can make tools from the bones and antlers. Faustina already uses some of the bones to make soup stock. Waste nothing."
Josh stood hours later and stretched. He needed to find Randi and make sure she took something for sleep before he took his position in the guard tower.
She was in the right-hand tower base filling magazines. The woman never rested.
"The sun's setting. You need to take some sleeping meds and join me on guard duty."
"Go ahead. I'll take it in a while and meet you there."
Josh watched her for a bit. "If you don't, I'll come hunt you down."
"Yeah, yeah. I said I would. You'll see me by nine."
He went up the stairs and relieved Xever. A few minutes before nine, Randi tromped up the stairs with her sleeping bag in tow.
"Do you have a sleeping pill?"
"Nope. Didn't have any. Miguel gave me a muscle relaxer."
"Out of all that stash, no sleeping pills?"
"Crazy, huh?"
"Sweet dreams."
"If they aren't, you'd better wake me." Randi glared at him. "I mean it."
"You got it."
She crawled into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes. Her long, black lashes fanned out. If he didn't know better, he'd think she wore false ones.
Josh picked up the night vision goggles and surveyed the property. No movement. He relaxed against the chair and propped his feet on the counter.
Maybe he needed to have a one-on-one talk with Adriana. She couldn't continue to berate and abuse Randi. If she didn't let up, Josh was afraid Randi might sink into such a deep depression she'd never get out of it. He watched her chest rise and fall in an even, smooth pattern. No frowns or grimaces. She was finally resting. How long had it been since she'd slept without nightmares?
She took on responsibility for everyone and everything yet refused to allow anyone except Toni to show her the slightest tenderness. Why couldn't Adriana see what she was doing to her sister? After an hour of alternating between watching out the window and watching Randi, Josh made the rounds. As he walked toward the second tower, he overheard Xever talking to his daughter. He shouldn't eavesdrop, but he couldn't help himself.
"It's got to stop." Xever's voice carried on the night air.
"But she's responsible—"
"No, your husband was an adult. Randi was not any more responsible for him than she is for anyone else in this group. Yet, she's taken it on for all of us. "
"But Randi acts like nothing happened." Adriana's voice got very high-pitched. "She's ordering people around and acting like God."
Josh moved to where he could barely see them standing below the bridge.
"No." Xever touched his daughter's chin. "You're the one acting irrational. I mean it. Stop treating Randi like she slaughtered your husband. She's given up everything for this family, and you've done nothing but harass and belittle her. When you slapped her, today, you stepped way over the line for the last time."
"But, Dad—."
"I expect you deal with your grief without attacking Randi. Right now. If you continue to put your sister at harm..." Xever rubbed his eyes. "Adriana, if you can't learn to live with Randi in harmony, I don't know what I'll have to do."
"What do you mean?" Adriana's voice was just above a whisper.
"We'll have a meeting to decide. I love you, but you put this group in danger every time you lose your temper, and it cannot continue."
*****
Reginald woke when the motor home rolled to a stop. What was wrong? He jumped up from the bed and ran to the front. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes." Mary Anne pointed an ice cream shop. "I know the electricity has been out a while, but the big freezers in the back should keep the stuff frozen for days without it."
"Craving Rocky Road?"
"Yep, and the girls could use a treat. This has been an arduous trip, and who knows if we'll ever get ice cream again."
"I'll check the building. Once it's safe, I'll come get you."
The front room appeared empty through the plate-glass windows. His heart pounded in his chest, and he clenched his hands around his gun. He walked inside and checked the front room. Empty.
Now, he headed for the back room. Since there were no windows, he didn't know what he would face. He took several deep breaths and listened. It was hard to hear over his heartbeat thudding in his ears.
He pressed his ear to the door. Was that movement?
Another few seconds of listening, and he still couldn't be sure. He gulped in several deep breaths and grasped the doorknob. He counted to three, turned the knob, and pulled the door open. A loud squeak bellowed through the room causing his heart to stop. If there were any infected for miles they heard that.
His hands shook as he forced himself to step through the doorway. He walked through the back room and checked the closets. No one. Now, he had to check the freezer. What if someone locked infecteds inside? His hands quaked as he inched open the freezer door. A loud thud sounded, and he jumped backwards. A tub of ice cream had fallen. No rabids. How did they get this lucky?
He smiled as he opened the motor home door. "We're good. The place is empty."
Mary Anne and the girls followed him back inside.
"In the freezer you can pick the flavors you want."
They all traipsed into the freezer. Mary Anne picked Rocky Road. Belle chose her traditional strawberry and vanilla, and Katie chose Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Almond, and Berry Berry. A strange combination.
Reginald scooped the cold treat. "Who wants caramel sauce, marshmallow sauce, or nuts on top?"
Belle and Katie waved their hands in the air. Belle proceeded to tell him how she wanted her ice cream topped.
"Can we have seconds?" Katie asked.
"All you want." Mary Anne smoothed the child's hair away from her face. "We don't know when, or if, we'll ever get ice cream again, so enjoy it."
Reginald stared at the tub of butter pecan. David's favorite. His chest ached and pain seared down his left arm. He had to stop this. He couldn't dwell on his precious son. Not now, or his emotions would overtake him. Reginald closed his eyes and listened to Mary Anne's tinkling laughter and Belle's giggles. He could almost pretend life was normal. Almost.
Katie's screams split the air. Reginald jumped up as a group of rabids banged on the front glass. The glass cracked as he ushered his family to one of the large windows on the far side and smashed it with a chair. The front window shattered leaving a gaping hole, and the rabids pushed through. Reginald put a bullet in the brain of the nearest. "Run. Don't stop until you reach the RV. Hurry."
Mary Anne and the girls climbed in, slammed the door, and soon after, the motor home started. He followed close behind. One of the rabids grabbed his leg as he reached the steps. He aimed and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Empty. The rabid kept trying to bite through his jeans. Reginald shook his leg trying to dislodge the infected before more joined him. He kicked at the infected's head with his other leg and dislodged him. Flying up the steps, he slammed the door behind him. "Go. Go. Go."
Mary Anne hit the gas and careened out of the parking lot. She didn't stop until they were miles past the little shop.
Reginald sank into the passenger seat. "Too close. I could've gotten you all killed. I'm sorry."
"At least the girls got a break from the non-stop stress."
"The cost was too high. I should've brought the ice cream out to the camper." Reginald shook his head. "It wasn't worth it."
"Yes it was." Mary Anne looked at him. "Those little girls laughed, actually laughed, for the first time in a very long time. They needed the break. I needed it."
"What if we'd lost Belle?" Reginald crossed his arms. "We can't take that chance again."
"Why not?" Mary Anne sighed. "I know I blamed you when David died, but if we don't live, what's the point? Those girls need laughter and fun in their lives. If we don't provide the opportunities when we can, they'll grow up with fear and nothing else. We have to temper the terror of this life with some happiness."
Why had he ever strayed from this strong, beautiful woman? His heart ached with love for her. Yet he'd stomped on hers. "Of course you're right." Reginald peered over his wife's shoulder. "How are we on gas?"
"At the next town, we need to fill up. We've got half a tank, but since we never know what's next, better do it every chance we get."
"You need a break?"
"No, I'm fine. Why don't you close your eyes, again?"
Reginald walked to the back room. The girls were curled up on the bed, so he stretched out on the sofa. Would they ever make it? They should've reached the compound days ago, yet they still had so many miles to go.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mary Anne pulled into a gas station jus
t past Sonora.
Reginald popped up from the sofa. "What is it?"
"Sorry. I know you were trying to sleep, but I saw a station here and thought we'd better stop."
He climbed out and checked the levels in the underground storage, but looters had depleted it.
Mary Anne stuck her head out the window. "Everything okay?"
"Gotta keep looking. This one's empty."
She drove back to Sonora to another station. "I decided we'd better not try to make it to Junction without gas."
"Smart idea." He checked the station, but it was also empty. By the third station, his muscles constricted and chest pain radiated into his arms. He refused to leave this town until they found gas or another car. He couldn't risk stranding them on the highway. They went to every station in town. All were empty. They passed a used car lot on the left. "Stop."
Mary Anne looked at him with a frown. "Where."
"Car lot. We'll siphon gas from the cars there until we have enough. If we don't find enough there, we'll drive around and hit every car we can find."
"We need a hose." Mary Anne drove a block away to a poor residential street. The houses had peeling paint and hardscrabble yards. The first house didn't have a garden hose in the front or back, so he walked to the next one. It had cute little wooden cutouts decorating the flowerbeds and the yard. Large pots with dying plants sat on the porch, and a garden hose was curled near the faucet. He unscrewed it and went back to the RV.
At the car lot, he siphoned gas from the cars, and tried to keep watch. He imagined infecteds overwhelming them and attacking his wife and the girls. No. He shook his head to clear away the morbid thoughts. The area was clear. They were safe. Unless someone with a gun wanted their transportation. He jerked his head around, darted his eyes right, and left looking for signs of anyone sneaking up on them. If he believed in his mother's God, he would pray. Like that would help.
He stuck the hose in the last car, and a groaning and shuffling captured his attention. Two rabids headed his way. He jerked the hose out of the motor home and tried screwing the cap on. His shaky hands caused him to drop it before he secured it. The first one, a blond woman, reached him as he opened the door to the motor home. She grabbed his arm and sunk her teeth into him. He was a dead man, now. His heart rate zoomed through the roof.
Dark Days (Book 1): Contagion Page 19
