Roger hugs me, his right hand softly touching the back of my head. “It’s okay. You can talk to me.”
“Roger… I… Father’s gone. He really left. Dad’s gone. The cabin is cleaned out. He’s not coming back.”
He says nothing, but just being close to his chest and hearing his heartbeat, I calm down. He kisses my forehead, taking my face in his hands. “I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you. No matter what.”
We hug, his arms and body heat comforting me. I don’t move for a good minute, happy to keep this moment intact. Then, a sigh escapes my lips. “I really thought he would come and find me. I really did. I’m… I miss him.”
There’s nothing else left to be said. Nothing I can do to change the past and we both know it. Roger holds me tight for a long time.
“Where’s Danny?” I say, noticing for the first time his absence. “I didn’t see him coming in.”
Roger shakes his head. “I guess he stayed behind.”
“I can’t believe Linda said that to his face. I should punch her in the throat.”
“She was out of line, but it’s over now.”
Roger’s agreement doesn’t have nearly enough outrage, but from his slumped shoulders and tired eyes, he probably doesn’t want to stir more trouble.
We break off the hug. “Now it’s your turn to tell me what happened out there. Who’s that doctor inside?”
With a sigh, he tells me about the three of them roaming the roads looking for gas to siphon and flu medicine. Between frozen cars and wandering infected, it seemed they were out of luck. Gutierrez finally spotted a car not covered in snow. Upon approach, two people, a man and a woman, stood and pointed guns at them. They were wearing Army uniforms and were in bad shape. Billy decided to use the woman as leverage to demand the car for us, but the man shot Billy without hesitation.
“Things got pretty tense after that. I was afraid Billy wouldn’t make it, but the woman turned out to be a doctor and she offered to operate on him. And here we are.”
“Can we trust them?”
“I think so.”
I nod. Roger’s a pretty good judge of character, clearly much better than I ever could be. If he trusts them, then I have no reason not to as well. All I have to do is ignore Father’s warnings in my head. “Never trust someone, always expect the worse.”
Roger points behind me and I turn: Danny’s walking in our direction with his hands in his pockets and eyes downcast. He reaches us and barely manages a nod.
“Danny, where were you?” Roger asks, approaching his friend with careful movements, as if reaching towards a wounded animal.
“Are you okay?” I say, trying to spot signs of crying.
We are treating him like a broken thing, made of thin glass ready to shatter and he knows it. He gives us a shrug and thumbs up, then walks past us in the direction of the Felicity’s office. After trading looks, Roger and I do the same.
“So what happened out there? Who’s the crazy Army guy wandering around the town?” Danny whispers to Roger, eyes over his shoulder, perhaps afraid of the said crazy Army guy being around.
Roger tells him the same story he told me. Danny shares the fact that the soldier, called Sergeant Tigh, scouted the town to make sure we were trustworthy. Part of me is afraid he was actually looking for weakness in our defenses. And we have lots of weaknesses.
We enter the nurse’s office, where the Doctor and the Sergeant talk. They get up after seeing us.
I step in front of the Doctor and point at the girl on the bed. “Is she going to be okay?”
She nods. “Yes, she’ll be fine, we just need to keep her hydrated and assist her with the vomiting and pain. After two or three days she’ll feel much better. She’ll have trouble keeping food down, so we need to feed her things easy to digest, like mashed fruits.”
A wave of relief washes over me. I’m not sure why I care so much about this sick girl. Perhaps I see a part of me in her. Not once or twice I ran into the woods, after a terrible day of watching Father drink himself to oblivion and cursing my mother for leaving us. I wanted to find comfort there, but only got loneliness. After a while, I started to believe being alone was comfort enough.
But it never is.
The Geek XI
January 8th, Friday, 3 pm
“Says the man who killed his own mother.”
As I watch Lily and Roger carry the girl inside the school, Linda’s voice echoes around my mind, like a Ping-Pong ball from Hell. Like a tape stuck on repeat.
I feel dizzy. Nobody had… Hearing someone say that to my face, so easily and with so much venom feels like a deserving punch in my gut. She’s right; I did kill my own mother. Who am I to say anything?
With hands in my pockets and eyes on the ground, guilt crawls its way inside me. Yesterday that kind of talk would bounce back, not even reaching my ears. Lily woke me up again. The problem with that is I get to feel awful about other peoples’ opinions too.
I think of what Frank said about Louis. About how I didn’t give them any chance.
He’s right. I didn’t. Why can’t I see myself locking the girl up like I did with Louis? It’s easier to let Lily make the decision. If she’s wrong about the feral girl, then that’s on her. I don’t want to be the one responsible for anyone ever again.
For a long time, I stand and look at the ground. Then, from the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of a man wearing an Army uniform.
Taller than Frank, he stands next to a black SUV and Roger’s police car, arms crossed. His eyes are fixed on me. Something about his imposing attitude unnerves me a little. I have never seen him before, and I don’t think Redwood has anyone still serving in the Army.
Intrigued, and a little worried, I walk by the cars. I survey the SUV, looking at the backseat full of bags. A metal briefcase glimmers against the winter sun. For a second I wonder if it’s the bald Professor’s briefcase, but that would be impossible, right? He left a long time ago.
The man marches toward me with his eyes narrowed. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah… Who are you? If you don’t mind me asking. I don’t think I ever seen you here before.”
From his frown, he does mind. “I’m not from this town.”
Obviously. Nice dodge, pal. “I figured that. So who are you?”
He stares at me, mouth shut.
I let out a brief, nervous laugh. “Not very forthcoming, are you? What are you doing here?”
“Passing by.” He crosses his arms over his wide chest. “What are you doing near my car?”
“Just checking it out. Nice ride.” I point at the SUV. “Lots of loot too. You are a lucky guy to have all of this.”
“Yes. And I intend to keep it. All of it.”
His monotone and small eyes freak me out. Also, I’m half his size and his arms are as thick as logs. “Sorry, didn’t mean to step on any toes here. Just… curious. We don’t get many visitors.”
He raises an eyebrow. “No infected either?”
“Ah, sometimes, but we deal with it.”
“How?”
I gulp. “Why? Are you infected?” Please don’t be.
“No.”
Silence. I clear my throat. “Good to know. So you were in the Army?”
“I am in the Army. Now step away from the car.”
“Look, man, I don’t need to steal your stuff, okay? I don’t appreciate you implying I’m a thief. We have a nice community going here. Peaceful.” I pause, realizing that’s somewhat a lie and he probably saw the discussion we had earlier. “Compared to other places, anyway. So… So don’t go around provoking people and starting fights. Play nice, or you’ll have to leave.”
He looks me down from head to toe. “I don’t play. Surviving is not a game, kid. You best learn this soon.”
I eye him with a frown. This stranger has no idea. “Thanks for the advice.” My voice is bitter and hard.
“You’re welcome. Now step away from the car, I have things to do.”
“Fine.” I roll my eyes, walk away and enter the school. “Rude.”
Once inside, I move next to the nearest window to watch him. He opens the car, perhaps to check if I tried to steal something, then locks it up. Glancing around, he hides a gun below his shirt and inside his belt. He leaves the car, going into the direction of the main street.
Whoever he is, he came with Roger, so at least I don’t have to panic and assume the worst, but he still looks fishy to me. Maybe I should warn Roger about this.
Instead, I decide to follow the guy around—at a safe distance that is. He moves around, looking at shop windows and watching people walking on the street. It’s almost three o’clock on a Friday and most Redwood residents are getting ready to huddle up with blankets on the basketball court’s stands for Movie Night. I’m not sure what movie they are planning on seeing. I only vaguely remember Roger asking me for a copy of the Nightfall trilogy. I don’t think I answered him, but if I did, I hope I made it clear I only brought it because I was curious about what all the fuss was. I had no investment whatsoever on who Betty, the free spirited she-wolf, would choose in the end.
(Team Ethan all the way).
Anyway, there’s a lot of movement on Main Street today, since Old Joe and other volunteers are working all day to prepare enough pizza for everyone. Small tasks like gathering milk and butter from Hank’s farm for the cheese and mashing up dough is the type of stuff people have to look forward to now, so it’s no wonder they are excited for movie night.
Of course the good folk of Redwood notice the huge Army guy moving about and, in the best example of small town behavior, they point and stare openly at him. Some, the bravest ones, even try to welcome him while also questioning his intentions. The man excuses himself quickly enough and, perhaps noticing he’s drawing too much attention, turns around a corner, venturing onto the residential blocks.
I feel like a detective in crime novel, dodging people and stepping carefully so as not to be seen. Once or twice, the guy looks over his shoulder, and I, with a theme song in my head, hide just in time.
It’s the most fun I had in a month.
My chest hurts and I stiffen at the realization.
I’m having fun at inappropriate times again. I’m being stupid and careless just to fill some movie cliché. I’m feeling good while my mother lies dead with a bullet hole between her eyes.
I’m a monster, aren’t I? I’m no better than a zombie.
Now I really want to go back to Roger’s house and find some dark hole to squirm into.
The man marches between houses, staring at people cleaning their walkways of snow. He must be surprised to see them acting like everything is still normal. I imagine he must’ve seen a load of horrible shit out there and now can’t quite trust his eyes.
I should feel proud of my success, of keeping Redwood from the reality outside, but I don’t. The only feeling inside of me is bitterness.
We, me following him a few feet away, reach the barbed wired fence. The soldier kneels next to it while I stalk him from the corner of a nearby house. I notice there are lots of holes and a few poles knocked down, leaving gaps in our defense. Maintenance of the fence is supposed to be a major priority. Roger must be really busy to not remember to check on it regularly.
Now I’m also a sucky friend, too focused on my own drama to help him out.
Finally, the guy gets up and starts walking—in my direction. He points his finger at me and then to the ground.
I guess I’m not cut out to be a cunning sleuth with a dark past and a dame waiting for me in the office.
“Why are you following me, kid?”
Without many options, I step out of my poorly disguised hiding place, with my hands in my pockets. “Well, first… I’m not a kid. I’m twenty.”
“Good for you. Stop following me around. Unless you want a bullet for your trouble.”
“Bullets would be great, actually. We are running low on ammo.” I wince as soon the words come out of my mouth. I can’t believe I told him one of our weaknesses. “That was a joke.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms. “Second… You are a suspicious guy coming out of nowhere, who refuses to tell me his name, and is wondering around my town with a gun and an attitude. So, yeah, I’m following you to make sure you don’t hurt anybody. So there.”
“What was your plan if I did hurt someone?”
I raise an eyebrow and take a step back. “Is that a threat?”
“That was a question.”
“I would ninja-sneak attack you from behind with my samurai sword.”
He points at my obvious lack of sword sheath. “An invisible samurai sword?” He lets out a short laugh, relaxing his shoulders. “My name is Sergeant Nelson Tigh. My goal was to see if your town was trustworthy.”
“You need to trust us, why?”
“Well, I don’t want to be killed and used for meat, for one.” He delivers the line with a deadpan tone that makes it hard to be sure if it’s a joke or not.
“We have plenty of non-human meat to go around. So you can cross that one out.”
“I figured as much. I should go back to the school. My….” He stops, frowns, then continues, “Someone is waiting for me.”
“So you aren’t alone?”
He passes by me, going in the direction of the main street again. “No.”
I jog next to him, still very much curious. “How are things out there? There’s still an Army then?”
The Sergeant says nothing.
I let out a bitter laugh. “So they really did leave everyone else to fend for themselves. Figures.”
We reach the school again. The man enters the building and disappears from view. I search for Roger and Lily in order to tell them about the sergeant. They’re hugging in a corridor near the nurse’s office. With a lump in my throat, I stay away so as not to intrude in their privacy. After spotting me, they ask me if I’m okay and where was I.
My response is a shrug and a thumbs up. Being around them again just hurts my chest like tiny little nails piercing my skin. But they can’t know that.
The Geek XII
January 8th, Friday, 4 pm
I watch from the door, as the doctor Roger found on the supply run assures Lily the feral girl’s going to be fine. The creepy sergeant is also there, sitting near the medicine counter. The Doctor is a woman with a round friendly face and a mass of short curly hair, wearing an Army uniform too big for her. They form a strange pair: the stiff, tall military man and a gentle and short doctor.
O’Neil is lying on a bed, unconscious. Next to him, the girl also sleeps. For two sick people, they don’t look so bad. Roger stands next to his deputy’s bed with a worried frown. I feel like it has been ages since we talked, really talked. For a month he tried engaging me in conversation, and my answers weren’t longer than monosyllables. I hope he doesn’t hate me. I’m sure I deserve it, but….
“What about him, Doctor? How’s he doing?” Roger asks the lady.
“We need to keep an eye on him, but I’m optimistic, Tigh’s a good shot and managed to miss any major arteries. On purpose, I’m sure.”
I blink at the Doctor’s attempt at lightening the mood. At least, I think that’s what she’s going for. That or she has a weird sense of humor. Roger gives her a stiff nod.
“I hope this incident can be put in the past,” she continues.
Standing by the door and with arms crossed, I roll my eyes at that. “Convenient since you are the ones who shot O'Neil.”
Roger and Lily shake their heads at me. Are they really defending these two? Whatever.
After an awkward pause, the Doctor tries to salvage the conversation. “Yes… We are very sorry for that. It was a misunderstanding. We have been traveling for weeks now, dealing with this horrible weather. Our car broke down and we had to move on foot. We… Let’s just say we were on edge.”
All my effort goes into not making anothe
r snarky comment. If both my friends don’t want me to talk, then I shouldn’t. Old Danny would ignore their indirect pleas, but right now I don’t feel confident enough to do that.
“What are your plans now?” Roger asks them. “We could really use a doctor, especially now with the flu going around. And, as soldier, you could help us defending the town. We can promise you food and shelter. And some peace from the outside.”
Roger’s offer makes a lot of sense. While I don’t exactly like the Sergeant, and the Doctor seems a bit fishy with her fleeting glances and sugary apologies, we do need whatever help we can get. A doctor is an asset we can’t lose. Redwood’s a safe haven and probably paradise to most survivors out there, left to scavenge for supplies during snowstorms—anyone would be glad to stay here.
Lily knows this, because she walks to the Doctor. “This is a good offer. I doubt you’re going find a better place to live out there.”
“I’m not sure… We… We were going someplace else.”
I can’t help myself: I let out a snort of disbelief. “Are you two really going to pass up this opportunity? Are you both crazy? We are in the middle of the Zombie Apocalypse. Take what you can get.”
“Danny, let them be,” Roger says with his hands on his hips. “It’s their decision.”
I don’t know if it’s my own self-hatred talking, but he sounds bitter to me. Annoyed. Disappointed.
I try to fight against this thought, but when my voice comes out, it’s harsh and angry. “Roger, come on. We need a doctor. I said this months ago. We can’t let them just leave like that… She can save people lives. Sure, the bite can’t be a cured, but she can fix other problems.”
The Sergeant looks at me with discontent and crosses his arms. “We are on an important mission. We can’t stay.”
I roll my eyes and give them a short laugh. “Important mission, my ass. What could possibly be more important than a roof over your head and food on a plate?”
Neither two answer. The Doctor avoids looking directly at all of us, preferring to stare at the floor, at the beds, anywhere else. She’s hiding something, and I think it’s not a secret I’m going to enjoy discovering.
Those Who Remain (Book 2) Page 16
