The Hunt Chronicles (Volume 3): Crusade

by Demers, J. D.

  Dobson bowed his head, but didn’t respond.

  “Best you turn down your lamps. The area is clear, but you never know if a zombie or freak will wander close. The missus and I are going down for the night. I want to thank you for your boys fixing me up.” Richard turned to walk away.

  “Mr. Taylor,” Dobson said before he left the barn, “thank you and your wife for your hospitality.”

  Richard just nodded and walked out of view.

  Dobson glanced over his shoulder. “Preacher, go with Mr. Taylor. Make sure he is okay.”

  Preacher nodded and headed after Richard.

  I fumbled with my hands a moment, and walked to the barn exit.

  “Where are you going?” Dobson asked.

  “To get my dog.” I kept moving, not turning around. “Is that okay with you?”

  “Actually, get Karina while you’re at it.” Dobson turned to Jenna. “Take up guard in the other barn.”

  I stopped and turned around.

  “Why do you need Karina?” I asked suspiciously.

  Fish walked over to me. “I’ll tell you along the way.”

  Fish, Jenna and I left the newer barn, heading to the barn where Big Red was parked. We passed DJ in the small shack. He and Enrique were underneath the elevated truck snipping away with shears at the barbed wire that entangled the transmission.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Fish sharply. He didn’t like my tone much.

  “Kid, you need to get your head out of your ass,” he said coldly. “No one wants to leave the Taylor’s daughter with those bastards, the Major included. But you keep riding this high horse, wanting to do what’s right. The Major made solid points, and you need to listen.”

  I stopped and glared at Fish. “Why am I the only one that thinks we should be helping these people? I can’t believe—”

  “Christian,” Jenna said softly, “We all want to help them.”

  “Then why aren’t we? What if it was you being held by them?” I asked her, allowing her soft tone to calm my own.

  Fish didn’t let her answer. “Then we would leave her. We would leave the Major, Karina, DJ, and whoever else, myself included!”

  Fish stepped up to me, his short stature masked by his aura of intimidation.

  His voice was ice. “You need to get it through that thick skull. Everyone is expendable. And you’re pissing everyone off when you want to risk their asses even more. Don’t you get it?” He didn’t give me a chance to respond. “It’s not going to take much to derail us. Stop trying to sabotage this little chance we have of getting you to Hoover Dam.”

  My jaw clenched. It was useless to keep arguing. Everything he and Dobson had said was true. It didn’t make it better. It didn’t make it right.

  I turned and walked toward the old barn.

  “So why do you need Karina?” I repeated my original question, setting aside the argument.

  “The Major told Campbell to assemble a small team to recon the Bogdon Mill,” Fish replied, tension leaving his voice.

  I slumped my shoulders, stopping again. “I thought we weren’t….”

  “We’re not,” Fish growled as he walked past me. “We’re going to leave in the morning. The Taylors said they patrol. There’s a chance we might run into them. The Major wants to know their capabilities…just in case.”

  “Where does Karina fit in?” Jenna asked, reading my mind.

  He stopped at the entrance to the barn and let out a breath.

  “Don’t get mad, kid, but I need Boomer with us. Campbell and I are taking the drone with night vision, but it’s going to be dark. If there are any Zulus or scabs around, we need to know. Boomer will alert us, and Karina is the only other person that mutt will listen to.”

  “And you wonder why he hasn’t warmed up to you,” Jenna sighed as she entered the barn.

  Again, I wanted to argue, but this time I stayed silent. There really wasn’t a point. I’m sure I could have made Boomer stay, but I think the fight was out of me. I felt defeated.

  We grabbed Karina and Boomer and headed back to the Major.

  CHAPTER 6

  Bogdons

  August 7th Late Evening

  Karina was anxious to join Fish and Campbell on their recon mission. I was slightly annoyed that she was being used more practically than myself. Karina was good, but I was better in action and handling Boomer. Like always, my curse disqualified me.

  Within half an hour, Fish led their small party off the Taylor farm toward the Bogdon Mill.

  On our maps, the mill was just over six miles northeast of our location. The drone’s range from the controller was around three miles, so they would have to get closer to the Bogdon complex. They were marching on foot, though Susie had offered them one of her four-wheelers.

  Dobson held the off-road vehicle in reserve with Pittman, just inside the fence. He was a one-man QRF, or Quick Reaction Force if you’re not sure what that means.

  I waited in the CDC bus with Dobson, listening to the radio traffic.

  Doctor Tripp, annoyed by our presence, put earphones in while she examined some of my blood cultures. I wasn’t sure what type of music she was listening to, but felt a little envious. She had all of us to protect her. The thought of taking away a major sense like hearing in this new, unforgiving world was unwise to say the least.

  Their mission went off without a hitch, though I remember Fish saying something about the Bogdons being alerted to “something”.

  They returned three hours later. It was just past midnight and Karina took Boomer to Big Red for the night. Fish, Dobson, Campbell and I gathered outside the CDC bus to review the footage.

  “We didn’t see one Zulu on our way out or on the way back,” Campbell stated as he set up the laptop on a haybale inside the barn. “No signs of scabs, either.”

  “You said they were alerted to your presence?” Dobson asked him as the Captain set up the video program.

  “Not necessarily us,” Fish responded for Campbell. “We think they heard the drone.”

  “You’ll see,” Campbell said as he clicked the play button.

  It took a second for the camera to adjust. The green tints began to take form, showing the grass of an open field. I thought the image would be shades of grey, witnessing plenty of police helicopter footage or military drone footage from the sky.

  “Why is it green? I thought the new stuff was black and white.” I asked.

  All three looked at me as if I had horns growing out of my skull.

  “Kid, you’re thinking of FLIR. Thermal imaging,” Fish scoffed. “My God… oh wait, you were supply.”

  Campbell chuckled. Dobson shook his head and returned his gaze to the screen.

  Humiliated, I turned my attention back to the drone. Most of the green shades were dark, showing a vast landscape full of open fields and farmlands, with the occasional patch of forest. The only exception was a brightly lit spot off in the distance. Detail on night vision wasn’t the best, and the spot was more like a blob until the drone flew closer.

  “We were about two clicks from the mill when we stopped,” Campbell said as he began to narrate the footage.

  The drone flew higher as it got closer to the compound. I was about to make the comment about how stupid they were to keep that many bright lights on when I remembered that night vision amplified light. Even a match would look like a flashlight in the dark.

  “Seems they kept a few lanterns on low inside the walled area,” Campbell noted.

  The Bogdon Textile Mill was smaller than I expected, though still decent in size. There was a large building about half the length of a football field and a third the width. Four smaller buildings were in various locations and the whole area was surrounded by a cement wall. There was only one way into the compound, and that was through an iron gate at the front of the complex. The gate itself had been fortified, allowing no one to see inside from the ground level.

  There were several hastily erected guard towers along the wal
l, with a recently constructed shack on the roof of the main building. At first, we didn’t see any movement.

  “This is where we think they knew something was up,” Campbell said and pointed at the two dark figures that ran from one of the smaller buildings. They were jumping and running in circles on a dirt area inside the walls.

  “Dogs?” Dobson asked.

  “Yeah, big mothers, too,” Fish replied. “Probably Rottweilers or half breeds. Not sure, but they were pretty damn loud. Boomer started having a fit, even at two clicks he was getting antsy.”

  The drone began to back off.

  “We decided to take it back some, but the dogs could still hear it. I don’t think the occupants could, though,” Campbell said.

  The camera began to zoom in. The resolution wasn’t that good. However, Campbell was an Intelligence Officer with imagery analysis training and began pointing out different things inside the compound.

  “Three HUMVEEs, two hardbacks, one soft. One of the hardbacks appears to have a turret,” he said, pausing the footage and circling the mouse cursor around a blob on the truck. “Two pickup trucks, a UHAUL style truck, and two SUVs. It’s doubtful whoever is leading this group has any military background. Look at the mess.”

  The trucks were parked randomly, not uniform like the military requires. If my four years in the service taught me anything, it was that everything had to be dress-right-dress, as the saying goes.

  “And here they come,” Campbell sighed after hitting play again. “We counted twenty-six, but I’m sure the guard towers were manned.”

  Figures exited the buildings. Many of the men had long rifles in their hands, while others were either not armed or had pistols. Though some of the people seemed to be on alert, others were slow, seemingly reluctant or irritated that they were dragged outside.

  “Reaction time is shit,” Fish commented, “as is their deployment. Look, everyone is just scattering. No procedure in place to defend their compound.”

  It was true. Some grouped in the middle of the dirt field, joining the dogs. A few walked toward guard towers, while others were just wandering around.

  “No structure,” Dobson agreed.

  I noticed Campbell and Fish looked uncomfortable and soon learned why.

  “We’re about to see a couple hostages,” Campbell said sourly.

  The cursor moved to the large building. Four figures emerged. Pale skin glowed brightly on the night vision. The image appeared to show two shirtless men towing two partially clothed women, bound with ropes, to another building and pushing them inside. The men then joined the rest of the Bogdon hooligans in securing the complex.

  “Armament?” Dobson asked dejectedly.

  “They definitely have a decent supply of rifles. Not sure if they have anything automatic, though. Might be a SAW or M240 on the Hummer,” Campbell responded.

  The drone zoomed in on a few more locations and Campbell described what we were seeing. Water tanks, a small chicken coop, an ever-growing mound of trash just outside the wall, two large generators, several barrels of what appeared to be fuel, and other, nonessential equipment.

  The camera zoomed back out just as floodlights turned on, almost causing the night vision to black out. The camera adjusted, but it was still hard to see any detail.

  “We think they turned on the generators when they couldn’t see what the dogs were excited about. That’s when I made the call to leave,” Campbell noted.

  “Smart,” Dobson nodded. “They could have sent out a patrol.”

  “That’s what we thought,” Fish agreed.

  The drone turned and flew back to the recon party.

  I bit my inner cheek. A swimming feeling rolled around my stomach as I thought about the two women. I caught Fish glaring at me, reading my thoughts. His eyes said “Let it be”.

  “Tell me this doesn’t change your mind?” I asked Dobson, ignoring Fish’s silent message.

  Dobson slowly turned toward me. There was something different in his eyes. He didn’t seem angry that I wasn’t letting go. It was almost like he was regretting what he was going to say.

  “No,” the Major said softly. “No, it hasn’t changed my mind.”

  “How…” I began to say, but couldn’t finish.

  We were going to have the same argument again, and my ability to debate was worn down to nothing. I glanced over to Campbell. The Captain was about to say something, then stopped. I think he was having a change of heart, but something was holding him back from saying anything.

  Dobson picked up the laptop and sat on the haybale. “Christian, go get some rest. I need everyone on their toes tomorrow. Captain, Fish, let’s go over our plan to vacate the area as early as possible.”

  Gritting my teeth in frustration, I left the trio as they gathered around the Major, who began replaying the video.

  I ran into Preacher at the small barn. Enrique and DJ were cleaning up the work area, throwing strands of barbed wire into a large bin.

  “Is it working?” I asked, leaning on the door frame.

  DJ glanced up at me as he took off a pair of heavy gloves. “Yeah. Should be good to skedaddle tomorrow.”

  I halfheartedly nodded. I was tossing around the idea of telling them about the video and the captive women, but dismissed it. DJ, for sure, wouldn’t change how he felt about taking on the Bogdon Mill. Preacher didn’t have a violent bone in his body and I didn’t know how Enrique felt about the situation.

  “Going to bed?” Enrique asked me.

  “If you call rotted hay a bed, sure,” I smirked, trying to improve my mood.

  “Me too,” Enrique said, “but I go to the loft. Much better than ground.”

  “Where’s everyone else?” DJ asked while he picked up a few tools and placed them back on the wall.

  “Fish, the Major and Campbell are all talking about our trip tomorrow. They’re by the bus.”

  “Guess I’ll join them,” DJ said. “Coming Preacher?”

  “In a minute,” Preacher smiled. “I’ll meet you there.”

  DJ left to join Dobson. Enrique said his farewell to Preacher and me as he walked to the old barn.

  When they were out of earshot, Preacher turned to me.

  “Your heart is in the right place,” he said in a low voice.

  “Then how come no one agrees with me?” I asked bitterly.

  Preacher shook his head and decided to sidestep the question.

  “The Major makes a lot of good points. I don’t know if I agree with him or not. It’s been decades since I’ve raised a fist to another man, let alone the fact that I have never taken a human life.”

  I found the term ‘human’ ironic. Scabs, zombies…they use to be human. But bringing death to another living, healthy person was different than killing scabs or permanently putting down a zombie.

  “Christian,” Preacher continued in a comforting voice, “don’t change. With all that is bad and evil in the world now, hearts like yours are more important than ever.”

  “Preacher,” I said, swallowing, “my heart isn’t as virtuous as you think.”

  “I never said that it was,” he chuckled and then smiled. “Go get some rest.”

  At that, he turned and walked away.

  I made my way back to the old barn, letting the anger and despair fall away as I entered. There wasn’t any sense letting myself sink into depression. I focused on the fact that another day was passing without anyone getting hurt, and saw the positive in knowing that since we were not going to confront the Bogdons, I wouldn’t have to worry about any of us getting killed. I pushed the image of the two women at the mill into a deep, dark corner of my mind, and shut the door.

  Karina was already asleep inside of Big Red. Boomer was passed out on a pile of hay near the door. He woke as I entered, but was too tired to stand and greet me. His head lay back down as he squirmed to get more comfortable.

  After washing up and brushing my teeth, I met Jenna on the south side of the loft, opposite of Enri
que. The three of us were supposed to split guard shifts and it was Jenna’s turn. Enrique was already asleep and Jenna invited me to sit next to her near a broken window.

  “Did Karina tell you about their recon trip?” I asked as I sat down.

  “Yeah,” Jenna murmured as she took off her night vision goggles. “Pretty messed up stuff, those girls and all.”

  So, Karina knew what was going on. It only bothered me because of how young she was. Fifteen years-old seemed too young to be exposed to that sort of debauchery. But in hindsight, I guess age really stopped mattering the day of the Awakening.

  Jenna rubbed her eyes, allowing them to readjust to the night.

  “Christian, I’m torn. I feel the same way you do about—”

  “Stop, Jenna,” I said softly. “I’m done talking about it. I just want to relax.”

  She stayed silent. Her frown was illuminated by the partial moon above.

  I peeked out of the broken window. Clouds were blotting out the stars to the west.

  “Think we’ll get wet sitting here?” I asked, changing the subject. “Looks like it might storm.”

  She giggled. “Afraid of a little rain?”

  “I don’t want your hair to get messed up,” I mused. “I know how women can be.”

  “Yes, because I spent all day at the salon.” She tossed her long, sandy blonde hair mockingly and smiled. Jenna didn’t seem like the type of girl that spent an afternoon at the spa.

  She came in close, half hugging, half leaning on me.

  “Better be careful. If Doctor Tripp sees you, we may have to sleep in separate barns,” I smiled, feeling some of the weight lift off my conscience as I joked with her.

  “She said we couldn’t kiss and…ah…do other things. But she never said we couldn’t touch,” she assumed, snuggling up to my neck.

  “Yeah, no exchanging of fluids or something like that,” I responded, rubbing her shoulder. Butterflies began to dance around in my stomach.

  She tilted her head and kissed my neck. “Being intimate doesn’t necessarily mean sex.”

  I got defensive. “I wasn’t implying—”