The fetor of body odor, and burning, rotting bodies filled her nostrils. Tanks rumbled over the ground nearby. Planes flew overhead dropping bombs, and bullets whizzed by. Aaron stood beside her and they defended their position. Sweat ran into her eyes as the sun beat down on her. How long before they were overrun?
A hand shaking her brought her back to San Antonio. Her gut plummeted as she looked into Josh's eyes. How could she have left him alone and gone back to Aaron?
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Are you?"
"Yes. We're safe now." He guided her to the car. Do you still want to drive?"
"No." If she had another flashback, she'd kill them both. How could she explain to Josh what had happened?
They climbed in the car, and he started back. "I've been there."
"Huh?"
"Flashbacks."
"I'm sorry. I should've been in better control."
Josh laughed. "Yeah. Like you can control a flashback. I used to get them often. Took quite a bit of counseling to get past them. I had to do that before I could join the police department."
"I went to east Texas when I got out of the service."
Josh glanced at her. "Really?"
"Yeah. I was a hunting guide in the Jefferson area. Spent a lot of time on Caddo Lake. Needed to get my head on straight before I came back to work for Dad." Like her head was on straight now. "Did counseling help?"
"That and time have helped, some."
"I hadn't had a flashback in a couple of years, before this. Well, before the day Leon was shot."
"That's enough to send any of us back to the desert." Josh stretched his shoulders. "We're damaged from fighting in the war, and here we are back in the midst of another one."
Josh pulled to a stop in front of the animal shelter. "You sure you want to do this? These dogs may have starved to death, or died from dehydration. It's not going to be a pretty sight." Not to mention the sun hung low in the sky. He wanted to get back before
"Not at this one." Randi smiled. "A friend of mine ran this rescue. They have huge troughs of water and automatic feeders in each kennel, but that does bring up a point. After we pick out a pup for the kids, should we turn all of the others loose so they don't starve to death when the food runs out?"
"Probably." Josh shuddered at the thought of all of the rescues where dogs were fenced in and left to starve to death and dehydrate or become food. "How are we going to take dog food home with us?"
"We'll find some rope in Nia's barn and can tie a bag or two to the roof." Randi reached for her door, but hesitated. "What kind of dog should we get? A herding dog might be good to round up goats, but a Rotty or a German shepherd might be good for security."
"Let's see what she has. Before we barge in, knock on her door. She might be okay. This place is a little isolated."
"Okay. Ready?"
"Let's do it." Josh checked the area around the car. Not an infected in sight, thank God. He opened the door and headed to the house.
Randi pounded on the door. Movement sounded from inside. "Nia, it's Randi, open up."
The door opened a crack and one ebony eye peeked out. "Randi? Is it really you?"
"Yeah, girl. Open up."
A statuesque woman with a long afro, and full lips opened the door. Her eyes were wide, and she searched the area around them then looked Josh up and down.
"Are you okay?" Randi pulled her into a hug. "Have you run into problems?"
"Depends on what you mean by problems. The infected have presented a little problem, but the uninfected, girl they're even more insane now, than they were before. Had one guy tell me he could take over the whole place 'cuz I was nothing but a nasty...well, you know what word he used. Luckily, I've got a shotgun. A round of buckshot in his rear sent him on his way."
Randi muttered something under her breath. "We've got a safe place. Come join us."
She looked from Randi to Josh. "I hate to leave all of the dogs."
"How many do you have here?" Josh asked.
"I only have three. A Border Collie, an Akita, and an Aussie."
"Are those all your dogs?" Randi leaned against the wall. "What about the rescues?"
"Sent the last one out to a foster the day this all started. I worked hard to get them all farmed out because animal control raided a puppy mill and the dogs were in desperate need. My animal control contact was going to bring me twenty dogs, but then this happened."
"Do you have dog food? Supplies for them?"
"You know I do." She gave Randi a playful shove. "Pet store went out of business a couple of weeks ago, and I got a huge donation."
"Great. Bring the dogs. They'll be good for morale."
Josh watched the women interact. How long had they been friends?
She turned to him and stuck out her hand. "I'm Nia Parks." She shot Randi a look. "Since my friend can't be bothered to introduce us."
Randi gave them a sheepish look and shrugged.
"I'm Josh. We'd love to have you come back with us."
"Yeah, but you've got to strip and be checked for bites or scratches."
Nia crossed her arms and stared at Randi for a moment. "Girl, do you think I would agree to go with you if I were infected? I'm not an idiot."
"I know." Randi rubbed friend's back. " It's the rule for everyone. If I make an exception for you, my stupid family will think they need to make an exception for everyone. We've already had one person bring the disease inside."
Her eyes went wide. "Okay. Let's load my Bronco with stuff for the dogs." She looked at Josh. "That is unless you plan on tying me and the supplies to the roof of that little thing you call a car."
She led the way to the barn, and they filled the back end and backseat of the vintage Bronco.
"Nice." Josh motioned to her vehicle. "I always liked that model of Bronco."
Nia's cheeks flushed, and she smiled as she buffed a nonexistent spot off the hood. "It was a lot of fun restoring it."
Josh ran a loving hand over the gleaming red and white truck. "Beautiful. You restored it?"
"Yep." She grabbed a book off the shelf. "Here are the photos of the process. I taught body shop at the Hondo School District. Drew quite a few girls having a female teacher. The photos behind the Bronco are of the '57 Chevy we restored at school. It won a few awards at car shows. We auctioned the cars off after a couple of car shows. A guy in El Paso bought the Chevy. When we restored this one, I knew I had to have it. Probably paid way too much because I got into a bidding war with a man, but the money always went back into the program, so it was worth it."
"Is the Bronco an early '70s?"
"Actually a '70."
"I hate to break up your love fest with the car, Josh, but we need to go." Randi pointed out the barn door. "It's getting dark."
They finished loading up, and Randi took the Porsche keys from Josh. "Why don't you ride with Nia? The Porsche is so overloaded, it's uncomfortable."
As she headed toward the car parked in front of the house, she glanced over her shoulder and grinned. "Try to keep up."
Nia stayed close to Randi's bumper, as the darkness fell. Her dogs all stayed quiet in the backseat.
"What are the dog's names?"
"The Border Collie is Jinx because she likes to play games, and she's full of energy."
Josh glanced at the red and white dog. "I thought Border Collies were only black and white."
Nia laughed. "Common misconception. They come in a multitude of colors. The Aussie is Sapphire because her eyes are blue. She also loves to play."
"She's the brown and white dog, right?"
"Yes, and the Akita is Sasha. She's more of a guard dog. Are there children in this group?"
"Quite a few."
"All three dogs love kids, but Sasha doesn't play much. She watches. If anyone tries to hurt one of the children, she'll attack. Keep that in mind if you roughhouse with the kiddos. Lock Sasha up first."
They pulled into the compound and let the dogs o
ut of the car. All three headed straight for Toni who was running to meet them. She stopped as soon as she saw the dogs. Jinx reached her first and held up her paw. Nia laughed. "Honey, she wants you to shake her hand."
Toni squealed as she shook the dog's paw, and the rest of the children came running.
Josh stretched and looked at the darkening sky. They'd made it in one day. Amazing. Thank You, Lord that we didn't run into more problems and didn't have to spend the night.
Randi bumped Josh's shoulder with hers. "Thank you for mentioning the dog. I haven't heard this much laughter in the camp." She rubbed her face. "I can't believe I didn't grab Nia to begin with, but left her to survive on her own."
Josh shook his head. "You concentrated on your family. Besides, her place was safe. It's got fences all around."
"Not as safe as here."
Chapter 9
Randi stretched and glanced out the window. The sun wasn't quite up yet, but she needed to get moving. She took a quick shower and dressed, then headed outside.
Josh was in the kitchen filling his plate. Great. Now he would expect her to eat.
"Darlin'." Ethan handed her a plate. "You promised."
Randi took the plate and flopped into a chair. She hadn't expected Ethan to be there. He was on duty this morning, and she'd hoped he'd already left. It was bad enough having Josh shove food at her. Why did Ethan have to join the mix?
Ethan leaned close and whispered, "I know you're upset, but you're my friend, and I care about you." Then he disappeared out the door.
She looked up to Josh's frown. What was wrong with him, now?
"What was that all about?"
Randi scrunched up her nose. "Huh?"
"You and Ethan? What's the deal?" His voice held an edge, and he looked like he'd sucked on an extra bitter lemon.
"We're friends. He seems to think I don't eat enough and has taken it upon himself to feed me at every chance he gets. Why?" She lifted her chin and stared at him. What was his problem? "Am I not supposed to have friends?"
"I didn't say that," he muttered. "We'd better finish so we can go into the outer area and take care of the infected."
Randi forced a few bites of eggs down. They tasted rancid. Like everything else she tried to eat.
Nia breezed into the room and dropped a hug on Randi. "Thank you for thinking of me. I slept better last night than I have since this started."
Randi dropped her eyes to the plate of cooling food. She should've thought of her friend earlier. "Uh, Nia?" Randi gulped down a drink of water since they'd run out of coffee that morning. "I'm sorry."
"For what, baby girl?" Nia flopped down next to her.
"I should've come to get you earlier. I'm sorry I le--"
"Stop right there. How long's it been since we've seen each other? Girl, I hate to say this, but you didn't cross my mind until you came knocking on my door. We shouldn't have lost touch, but life happens. You know I love you, so chillax."
Randi laughed. Nia's older brother had some type of developmental disability. If they got a little loud, he thought they were arguing and would stand in front of them with a frown, pat the air downward with his hands and yell, "Chillax, chillax, chillax."
Nia joined her laughter. "Sweet Jamal. I miss that stinker so much."
"Me, too." Thankfully the Leukemia took him well before the rabies virus hit the world. He was one of the only people who loved her unconditionally. It didn't matter if she was having a grumpy day, Jamal always told her he loved her and meant it. He'd held her hand at Raul's funeral. People called him mentally deficient, but he was smart enough to know she didn't need words, just someone to care about the little five-year-old who's life had been destroyed.
She shook off the melancholy and forced a smile on her face. "Josh and I'll be gone for a few days. Not really gone, but we're going to camp in the perimeter. Reginald and Miguel are going to start studying this disease, but they need brain tissue and blood samples in order to do it. After we collect what they need, we'll spend a couple of nights out there so we don't accidentally bring the disease back inside."
Nia swallowed her bite of eggs. "Don't worry about me. You know I've never met a stranger. Miguel said Adriana wasn't feeling too well, so I'll check on her, then find your dad and get him to put me down for her duties until she's ready to get back to work."
Randi hugged her friend. "I'm glad you're here." She washed her plate and glass, then turned to Josh. "I'll get the hazmat suits and meet you at one of the trucks."
She slipped downstairs and grabbed the gear they would need. Mark and her father had erected tents and moved a fire pit the night before. They'd even thought to fence it off so the goats didn't play on their tents. One less thing to worry about.
Toni ran up to her as she walked toward the trucks. Jinx was on her heels. Randi smiled and rubbed the dog's scruff.
"Aunt Randi, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, honey."
Toni scuffed her foot against the ground. "I never had a mommy."
Randi knelt in front of the little girl. "I'm sorry, baby. What happened to your mommy?"
"She died when me and Cori was born." Toni looked at Randi with a hint of fear in her eyes. "Will you get mad and leave me if I call you Mommy?"
Randi pulled Toni into her arms. "You can call me whatever you want." She tipped the girl's chin up to look into her face. "If I get on to you about something, it's because I love you. You can't do anything to make me leave you."
"Unless you die," Toni whispered.
"I can't promise you I won't die, but if something happens to me, you just remember that I love you more than anything."
Toni threw her arms around Randi again. After a bit she disengaged, and patted the girl on the back. "Why don't you find Miss Nia and have her show you all of the tricks Jinx can do?"
The little girl took off running. "Come on Jinxy, let's find your mommy. Mine has work to do."
Josh grinned as the pair ran toward the house. "The dogs have already brought joy to our little world."
"Just what they needed." Randi shrugged. "Me, too. Something about a dog brings a smile."
They drove to the outside. Only two infected at the fence. Josh took care of them before she had a chance to help. They put on the protective gear, and Randi jammed the huge needle deep into the infected's flesh between his ribs. Where Reginald said they could get blood from the heart. The end of the syringe popped the sound caused her stomach to roil. She pulled back on the plunger and sure enough, it filled with blood. Josh repeated the same procedure on the second body.
"Guess we need to remove the brain." Josh stared at the bodies. "I know I offered to do this, but I didn't expect it to be this hard."
"With everything we have to do, you'd think this would be the least bothersome but taking blood and tissue from a dead body is grotesque."
Josh pulled the cordless saw from the truck. "At least we have enough power to charge these things." He walked to the body where Randi was, knelt, and turned on the rotary blade. "Uncle Reg said to just run this around the skull cap and it would pop off. Sort of."
Randi lifted the body up and propped the back of the head on a rock so the top of the head was off the ground. Josh moved the saw toward the skull, but Randi stopped him. She handed him a scalpel. "You have to slice the skin through to the bone."
He closed his eyes for a few seconds. She couldn't see the color of his skin well behind the face plate of the hazmat suit, but she would bet he was either super pale or even green.
"I can do this." His hand shook as he used the blade to cut around the scalp. The skin made a suction cup sound as he pulled the flap back. He turned away and heaved.
Randi shuddered, but she needed to relieve him. She took the saw and flipped it on. The sound of it cutting into the man's skull sent chills down her back. Once she had the top of the skull cut through, she grabbed it and tugged. As the top came off it made a sucking sound mixed with a rubbing sound. Sweat poured down
her back. Ugh. She couldn't do this over and over. Toughen up Marine. This is life now. Get to it. She grabbed the brain, tugged with one hand, and used the other to slice through the spinal cord. She dropped it into a bag and sealed it.
They repeated the process on the second body, dumped both bodies in the cremation pits, sprayed each other down with disinfectant, and removed their hazmat suits. Randi gulped in the fresh air. So far, she'd kept her breakfast down. Maybe today would be a record.
Josh leaned on the truck. "What did we get ourselves into? I had no idea it would be this bad."
"Yeah. I have a newfound respect for forensic pathologists." She rubbed her forehead. "Adriana was planning to go to medical school for that when she got sick. If she hadn't developed Lupus, she would've spent her days doing autopsies."
Josh's mouth fell open. "Our Adriana? The woman who's revolted by skinning a deer?"
"Yep. Maybe I need to offer to allow her to come with us?"
They took the samples to Reginald and Miguel in the lab then showered in the basement bathroom. Randi finished and stopped Miguel from putting on his hazmat suit. "How's Adriana? I didn't get a chance to check on her this morning."
"Much better. She's showing Nia how to process the deer that Ethan got yesterday."
"Should she be working so hard?"
"Quit worrying. She and I had a long talk about pushing herself. Nia's taking over all of her duties, and she's going to take it easy for a while."
Screaming slammed Josh out of a deep sleep. The sounds morphed into loud sobs. Randi. He slipped into her tent and gave her a gentle shake. "Wake up, Randi."
She jerked to a sitting position and stared at him with wide eyes. "What's happening?"
"Nothing. Everything's fine. You just had a nightmare."
"Will they ever go away?" she asked in a small voice. She rubbed her hands over her face. "As long as we're awake, let's make rounds."
He pressed his lips into a tight line. "Fine." Always had to change the subject. Stubbornest woman he'd ever known. Didn't she realize nothing would get better if she kept it all bottled up inside? Josh climbed into the two-seater and glanced at Randi. "How often do you have the nightmares?"
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