by catt dahman
“Whatever. She looks like one.”
DeVon unconsciously tried to pull her shirt together to cover her breasts
better and pull her shorts down longer. The man grinned when she did; she
hated that she reacted to his insult.
“Cory,” Wheeler said.
“Look, if you have food, water, and bullets, we can trade,” Tim said.
He took off his pack and rummaged through it. “Got some rope.
Got some cigs. Menthol. Got some good wool socks, matches, and a Swiss knife,
cell phone that doesn’t work, two bandanas, half a bottle of water, and a sheet.”
“You?” Wheeler asked the man.
“Bottle of rum I’d trade.”
“We’ll take the rope, socks, bandanas, rum, and sheet,” Wheeler said.
“You can have what was left over from our dinner. It isn’t a whole lot, but it’s tasty,
and it will fill you up right nice. I don’t have to like you to trade with you.”
Tim angrily handed over the loot. He pulled out a handful of diamond rings. “Want one? “ He grinned at Devon.
She ignored him and looked at the woman’s wound. It was already swollen
and turning colors as it filled with infection. “Hurts, huh?”DeVon offered the
woman a double shot of the rum they just traded for, and the woman took it thankfully.
Bella brought out the remains of their meal and set it down. While it wasn’t
a huge amount, the three fell on it, licking bones clean and groaning with pleasure
with the taste of real, home-cooked food.
“We ran down the street like lemmings a few days ago; no one knew
where to run or what we were doing, but we all ran because Zs were coming.
Some of us ran to a house while the rest kept going,” Tim said.
“How’d that work out for you?” Robert asked, watching the boy eat.
“Not well. At first the Zs kept going, but a few must have spotted us; we
had a good-sized horde of ‘em beating at the door, and one was bitten.”
She attacked some of the rest; some of us ran again, and we grabbed a car and drove until the gas was gone, and here we are.”
“Anyone bitten turns,” Robert said. It was cruel to say in front of the woman,
but it was a fact. Her eyes went wide. She knew this, of course, but hearing it was a shock
anyway. He didn’t like the newcomers at all.
“I feel okay,” she lied. She was already feverish and had severe pain in her leg
and hip. She didn’t want to admit how badly the bite affected her.
“You know you aren’t though. And you know what happens.”
“You wanna do what? Put her down?” the man asked, “that’s cold.”
“She can’t stay here much longer; she’s going to turn. We aren’t staying
after tonight, but I don’t think she has more than a few hours. We can’t have
anyone with us who will turn and will attack.It’s dangerous. No one bitten stays.”
“I can hear you talking about me like I’m not even here,” the woman said, slamming down her plate of food. She was nauseated anyway; her head throbbed.
“Will they attack me since I’m infected?”
“Probably. I don’t know. Maybe not,” Robert said and shrugged, “we don’t
know a lot either.”
“Fuck this.” Tim jumped up, making them wince from his words and sudden actions.
Grabbing a bat from the porch, he swung it at the woman like he did when
he was at the plate, shocking her so much that she didn’t even react other than
to show a surprised look. The bat knocked her prone, and that was a difficult
enough hit so that she was only half-conscious when she hit the boards.
Robert and Cory both made moves to stop him but knew it was too late
anyway, yet it was something that would have to be done. Still, they reacted to
the violence.
Tim swung twice more, splitting the woman’s head. Cory was on his feet, his
pistol lined up and ready to fire.Robert grabbed his rifle and prepared to shoot.
Wheeler held his hand up to wait.
“Problem solved,” Tim snarled, “no one bitten is with us.”
“That was sick,” DeVon said as he left the porch with Lucy Ann, “how could you do that to her? Freak.”
“She was going to change and attack us. She can’t now. Shit happens.”
“Son, you could have given her a few choices like we were,” Wheeler said.
“Better she didn’t have to think about it, worry, and dread it.It’s done, and we’re safe.”
Robert sat down but kept the rifle in his lap as he watched warily. “I had to take
care of my family when they came back. I didn’t kill them until they were gone; there
was some dignity.”
“I already said a dozen times that I’m outta bullets,” Tim said.
“Son, you have some anger wired into you,” Wheeler said.
“You’re the boss, huh?” the man addressed Wheeler, “voted for?”
Cory still kept his gun drawn and ready. “We didn’t need no vote, fool. Wheeler has done good by us so far. We don’t do dissimilation.”
“Big word there,” the man said, “you gonna keep the gun on me all night?”
“I’ll go with a gun on you both; but the fact is that you’ve had your ass
saved and have been fed, so we have done what’s right. We traded. My conscience
is clear,” Robert said calmly, rubbing at his rifle significantly. “You two need to go
on down the road and find you a safe spot for the night.”
“It’s almost dark. In fact, it is dark,” Tim pointed out, “we can’t run around in
the dark.”
“I don’t see why not. If you have trouble seeing in the dark, so will they.
Get on out of here.” Robert settled the rifle a little higher. Cory made motions with his gun.
“Sorry sacks of shit,” the man muttered.
The pair stood and took a few steps out into the yard. A lone shambler moaned
as he saw them and headed for the porch. The two looked expectantly at the group standing on the porch, but no one pointed a gun at the creature, instead he kept the guns trained on the men. Tim shook his head in disgust.
“You aren’t going to put him down?”
“Nope,” Wheeler said, “guess you boys best run.”
No one moved until the men ran away, and then Kevin walked out with his pipe and bashed the zombie to the ground, pulverizing the skull. “They better run fast,
but I kind of hope they trip.”
Chapter 10
Team Set and Ready to Go: Objective: Adam and Hannah
Doc and Steve periodically ranted about so many people standing or sitting around the medical bay, but since the group was quiet, the doctors didn’t throw
them out.
A crowd stood outside the building as well, waiting for news. Kimball was slumped in one chair with Misty and Julia flanking him; both stared into nothing
while Matt and Mark paced the room.
The little girl, dressed in pink clothing and known only as “Pinky” died seconds
after being shot; her body was taken away and dealt with.Andie and Beth were
taken to medical bay. There was no activity in Andie’s room; Doc said she hadn’t made it, which was good since Kim would have ripped her apart with his bare hands, given
the chance.
Pale and exhausted, Steve came out of Beth’s room. In no way was he trained to administer emergency treatment to his own sister; that would be emotionally brutal.
Someone handed him a bottle of water as he sank into a chair close to Kimball. “Kim,
we need to talk.”
“Is she dead?”
�
�No. We were able to clean the wound and remove bone shards, and we
stopped the bleeding. To be honest, given the circumstances, she’s in very good
shape and should heal without any problems. She’s healthy, and the infection rate
is low.”
“But?”
Misty gripped Kim’s hand. “That’s good, Kim. That’s good news.”
“But there’s more, right?” asked Kim.
Steve nodded. “When she fell, she hit her head. To be honest, we just don’t
know exactly what that means, and that’s all we can say. The brain is a strange
organ, and Doc and I aren’t specialists, but we know generally what to look for and
expect. Until she is awake, we don’t know a lot.”
“What can we expect as possibilities?” Julia asked.
“She may wake in an hour, have a mild headache, and then have nothing more
than that.”
“Or?”
“Or she could remain in a coma a while or have some brain bleeding.
We have to watch for all that. Right now, we don’t know. My best guess is that
she may be out a while and give us all a few days of worry, but there is no reason
to think it’ll be any worse than that.”
Despite how despicable the idea was, Kim’s mind skittered across the fact
that Adam brought in the inoculation that made a person a hybrid. It didn’t make
anyone safe from illness or injury, but the controlled prions did protect and enhance
the body and brain of those inoculated.
Guilt washed over him, since of all possible things, Beth found the inoculation
to be beyond an abomination, but he almost felt that desperate.
“Destroyed,” Steve said in a whisper, “thank, God.”
That was how Kim knew his brother-in-law thought the same thing.
“I’m going after that son of a bitch and Hannah,” Kim said simply. Trying to
change his mind was impossible; he was a man of action. Sometimes he thought of
himself less like a former cop and more of a vengeful lone ranger, but the team element
kept him on track so he felt that mostly he could ‘wear the white hat’.
“Let’s put together a team and do that, Kim. Can I have an hour on it?” Mark asked. He waved down everyone who volunteered, and voices from outside joined the volunteers on the list to track the pair.
Mark had a problem thinking about the good of the community and not grabbing a horse to ride with Kim.
When George taught Mark to be a governor, he warned Mark that there would
be times like this. Involuntarily, Mark sighed heavily as the frustration built in him.
Kim caught his eyes and nodded; he understood. “One hour,” Kim agreed.
“Misty, will you take care of my children? They have enough on their minds
about Beth without my upsetting them more or telling them Hannah’s part in this;
they will hear about it.”
“Of course, I’ll care for them as my own,” she promised, “and I’ll explain as best
I can to ease their worries.”
Steve clasped Kim’s shoulder before going back to check on his sister.
Kim spun and walked outside to gather what he needed to take, depending on
Mark to get the group set and ready to go. If he were to see Beth lying in the bed or
hear his children asking questions, he would fall apart, and right now, he had a job to do.
At the gate, Kim saw the crew Mark put together and couldn’t have done a better
job with selections. Carl looked faintly rabid with anger as he mounted his horse,
muttering to Teeg.
Both men were so protective of Beth and so upset that they alone would have
sent dread through anyone facing them as they stowed shotguns, rifles, and heavy packs.
Teeg considered Beth a best friend, and Andie was a friend as well, so he was
a bit confused at the reasons Andie used for what she had done, but he was ready for someone to pay heavily for this mess.
Teeg was not settled down; he preferred life as a fighter. Carl’s woman, Maria,
with worry lines on her pretty face but a glow of pride in Carl’s dedication and bravery, watched him pack. She had no doubt that he would be fine and accomplish his mission.
She never saw him as a redneck (whatever that was because she didn’t quite understand
the term), but as a hero and a good, loving man.
Matt and Julia packed their horses, and while Julia occasionally slipped in some
colorful curses in Mexican, her demeanor was a study in determination and responsibility
to get the threat removed and her friend, Kim, back safely. It’s what Beth would ask of her.Julia was Beth’s best friend.
Mark knew she was going with or without his endorsement and wherever she
went, Matt would follow; besides their relationship, they made a great battle-couple
as well.
Matt asked for another water bottle to slip into his pack. “You stay on Kim like white on rice,” he told Big Bill, “no matter what he says, watch his back.”
Big Bill nodded solemnly. He could follow orders, but he already planned to
watch his friend carefully. In the best of times, it was hard to keep focused and fight
enemies from every direction, but when emotionally drained, it was almost impossible.
Big Bill never failed to feel pride when given a particularly important task; he
enjoyed the trust that the camp leaders often showed him. He wasn’t educated and
could barely read, but they treated Big Bill as if he were just as good as they were.
Since he joined them, he always was the one man everyone could depend on
to remain calm and dependable. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel anguish over deaths
or other things, but it meant he was expected to swallow any pain and take care of
his friends. He took pride in being one of the team.
Rae, who was seldom unnerved, swallowed hard as she packed. They were
careful and kept the hybrids in isolation even though they didn’t fear them, yet once
again, someone who was trusted did something foolish.
Why did Andromeda choose right then to confront the visitors, ignoring
protocol and common sense? Why did she think she could pull a gun on Beth’s daughter? Some were whispering that Andie was angry with Hannah for the last ten years and
finally acted on it. It disturbed Rae deeply when people did things so out-of the range
of common sense and decency.
John Ponce was the final member of the team, and he rode next to Kim. He was horrified to have see Adam’s argument with Beth and Andromeda’s intervention.
“In the best case, we’ll bring Adam back for a trial.”
Kim huffed. “Really? He held a gun on my wife. You’re a friend of Beth’s.”
The statement was simple, but it was a reminder that John’s acceptance at Hopetown
was based strongly on Beth’s admiration and odd friendship with Adam, despite the fact
that he was a hybrid, infected with the Red virus, but non-symptomatic.
Most were killed whenever possible as they had contagious body fluids and were a disgusting new species.
Ponce was a loyal friend to Beth and was given the inoculation to make him
a hybrid against his will, just as Hannah was. Hannah was so disgusted by the forced inoculation that she systematically started killing those responsible when she was
only twelve years old, but Beth, as always the loving mother, kept Hannah’s secret
for many years.
If Beth didn’t survive, Ponce might never be accepted into the camp, hybrids
would lose more respect, and his safety would no longer be
ensured. Mark included him
for many reasons, all smart ones.
“Looks like they don’t have a plan particularly…kind of rambling at random,”
Carl stated as he studied the tracks they were following.
“Hannah will know one way or another I’m coming,” Kim said. He didn’t
share how he felt about his stepdaughter because he wasn’t for sure. She was brave,
smart, and loyal to her parents but still so unsure of her place in the world.
“She knows me: how I believe and act; she’d do the same in my place. Hell, she may have
killed this boy herself.”
“He’s still alive, according to the tracks.”
“Just keep your brain in the game,” Rae said to Kim, “Len would tell you that although he would go off half-cocked.”
“He sure would; he’d say one thing and do another, but he would do it well,
and it would be the right thing.” Carl chuckled, “can’t say I don’t miss him.”
When the Reconstruction Army kidnapped Kim, along with Andie and Mark, the members chained them up: tortured and whipped them.He often thought of Len.
For the inhumane acts those men committed, Kim killed them with his knife,
left blood and destroyed bodies behind, and covered himself in gore while he killed
them without compassion.
He said he channeled Len when he did that, wanted them to suffer and regret
causing so much pain to so many people, but no matter how much blood Kim
spilled or how many screams he heard, none of that could take back the suffering
the victims felt. In time, he realized capital punishment eliminated the threats but
never made up for the agony.
But he was going to kill Adam who was a part of getting Beth shot.
Chapter 11
Ten Years Before and Z Year 10—Kim
Out there, the building crumbled on the concrete, cars rusted on flat
tires, and cracks in the broken pavement grew over with weeds and grass.A few
bodies, just bones and cloth, had been left against walls or under cars. A few times
the group had seen crawling zombies that could no longer walk, could only drag
themselves along, useless legs behind them, fingers ripping away.
When they had passed the State Line into Arkansas, they had shivered.
Most still were there from before, but the feeling was chilling. Bodies
