by catt dahman
Tink’s hand was like raw, bleeding hamburger, scraped and gashed open, with the stump of his finger pouring blood, the bone ragged.
He was glad he didn’t feel any pain.
Damn Jeff for being hurt. Why did Tink have to bother with him? He was so mad that he could gladly stab the boy or maybe rip his tongue out, too, his stomach and guts, feel the slick intestines and heavy blood, and he was kind of hungry now…
Tink forced those thoughts away. He was a human. He didn’t eat people.
His teeth kind of itched, and he wondered what might stop the itching sensation, thinking if he bit and chewed, it might help. He decided to think that over later when he was finished with his job.
In a fireman carry, Tink got Jeff up and began walking toward the hospital.
A few times, Tink felt like taking a bite of Jeff’s leg just to see what it tasted like. But he didn’t. He felt better, mostly, his injuries numbed, no fears at all, no real worries. He was determined to go about what he had planned to do.
Zombies came close, sniffing and drooling, but Tink hissed at them and moaned in aggravation, and they went away without bothering him. He was too tired to yell, and they didn’t understand words, anyway.
Tink almost forgot where he was going, but when he saw the hospital, memories flared for a few seconds. His friends, Thurman and Benny, were in there. He liked them.
He was hungry.
He hated them for this. He hated Jeff.
He hated.
Tink drooled, moaned, called out the best he could, and throwing bricks at the closed steel doors. He kept forgetting why he was standing here. Finally, the doors cracked open, and he saw a man he wanted to rip to pieces and chew on. He wanted to taste the blood and flesh.
“Tink? Oh, dear, God,” the man said, and Tink only heard a buzzing, the words making no sense.
Mark.
Then that thought vanished as Tink set Jeff down and pointed to him. He no longer wanted to eat the boy who had heroically saved many, leading them to safety. Jeff didn’t smell like food, now. Tink didn’t know, nor did he care that Jeff had died while he carried him.
Tink almost understood what tears meant, and a face or two almost seemed familiar, but he didn’t care about anything but sinking his teeth into warm flesh and biting and biting and biting. He didn’t care when the man held something up and cried as he pulled the trigger.
Why did people cry? What was crying?
The last thought was coherent, and it was simply one of flying, of being free and going up and up; he almost smiled.
8
A Man, A Plan
“What is this about Tink?” George demanded nervously, his hands beginning to shake. He was getting a very bad feeling.
“He was a good man; I could tell that fast and I gave him my word I would wait until Beth was safe with all of you, and now, I can tell…when we get to the hospital, Tink won’t be there, waiting.”
Andie used past tense. She said he was a good man.
“Won’t be there?” Beth was puzzled. She looked at Len, Kim, and then at George, to see if they understood.
“The timing isn’t exact, but he either went off alone, or one of your friends put him down. Maybe John or Artie had to if he went fast. I’m sorry.”
“Went fast?” Kim cocked his head, trying to understand what Andie meant. Then it hit him, and he felt sick.
“What are you talking about? If Tink went fast?”
“He was bitten, Bethy,” Kim said quietly.
Andie nodded, “I’m sorry.”
“No,” Beth stated, “Kim? He wasn’t.”
“He was, Honey.”
“I knew something was wrong,” Beth said, “why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tink had two priorities: One was for you, Beth, to get back with the rest and stay safe. He asked me specifically to be sure you did.”
George sniffed a bit. “That sounds like Tink.”
“His second priority was to get Jeff to the doctor,” Andie said. “Artie and John knew Tink had been bitten, and they were to watch, but I feel they had time to get to the hospital just fine, so that Jeff could be taken care of, but Tink wouldn’t have had much time after that.”
“He knew. Oh, my God,” Beth cried against Kim’s arm, and others wiped their eyes.
“He was scared of your wanting to see him through it, Beth. I know you all can put people down, but if I had aimed a gun at Tink, even knowing he was infected…” Andie began.
“I would have kicked your ass. Or tried. Oh, God, I couldn’t have done it,” Beth said.
“Tink knew that. And if he had done it, you would have fallen apart, so he did what made sense to him: try to get Jeff back, and I feel that he gave his life, honorably. John and Artie will be merciful and kind if they don’t make it that far, and if they do, your friends at the hospital will handle things.”
Beth moved over to hug George, both in tears.
“Tink wanted you to be safe, Beth, and that meant getting you going a different way than he was on, and he didn’t want you to see him change or be put down, or, God forbid, you having to shoot him.” Andie continued, “I did what I did, kept my mouth shut out of respect for him.”
Hannah patted Beth’s arm. “Tink was brave, then. He must have cared about you, Beth.”
“He did,” George said, “he cared about his friends.”
“I’m sorry, George, that I didn’t do better by your friend,” Beth cried harder, and Julia walked away sobbing. Johnny wiped her face repeatedly.
“Oh, you did fine, Bethy. He went out as a hero for you. That’s the best he could have asked for,” George said.
“I am so very sorry,” Andie said.
Len gripped her shoulder and nodded. “We have our own terms; do we not, George?”
“Yes, we do. He went out on his own terms, I guess,” George said, staring up at the sky where the last of the afternoon sunshine tried to peek from dull grey skies. “It is dangerous though for someone infected to be with the three other people.”
Andie nodded, “Yes, and he said if it were his time soon, he was going out by his own hand.”
“Well, this sucks,” Alex said, his eyes red. Conner kept shaking his head to make it untrue, while Earl cursed softly. They all took the news hard.
Earl and Johnny grabbed bottles, and they passed them around to those who wanted a strong drink. They allowed Juan several drinks as he complained about his ribs, then about losing Tink, and then about everything else he could think of.
With his sad,wrinkled face, George toasted Tink. “Sorry, I’m blubbering, but oh my, Tink was a good friend.” He let the tears fall.
“You should have seen him when he went to rescue Beth and Jeff; he could kick ass for an old man,” Hannah said.
“Hannah!” Andie all but yelled.
But George threw his head back, suddenly laughing hard. “That he was, an old man who could kick ass.” He wiped his eyes, “Hannah, my dear, that was the best eulogy I have ever heard, and Tink would have appreciated it very much.”
“Well,” said Hannah.
“He was the one who got me to check my breathing when I went to take a shot,” Johnny said.“He was kick ass. Hannah’s right.”
“She may be, but sometimes I think Hannah would say the rudest things in front of the Pope himself,” Andie declared, hugging the girl.
“Norman Pope,” Beth said.
The ones around Beth looked at her as if she had lost her mind, and she was glad that not many had heard, but instead were walking around or watching for any zeds as they sat on the hill, thinking. She didn’t realize she had blurted it aloud.
“Did you just go religious, Beth?” Alex teased.
“I’m religious; that fat fuck isn’t religious; he’s a cult leader kook,” Julia said of Norman Pope, a televised preacher who often begged for money for his prayers or so that he wouldn’t be called home prematurely. “Why are you thinking about him? I hope he’s walking around as a
zed and miserable, stealing from old people…”
“Is he the one who begged and cried on television?” Kim asked.
“Yep…had that pinkish, yellow hair.”
“Pinkish, yellow, permed hair,” said Hannah.
“So, Beth, why are you fascinated with him?”
She was embarrassed now; his name had popped out of her mouth while she was thinking. “Well, I was thinking about that big compound he has.”
“Popetown,” Julia laughed. Then she just stared at Beth, her mouth dropped open.
Hannah jerked her head around to look at Beth. “You are brilliant.” She breathed with her eyes full of surprise and praise.
Len walked over to get a drink of water. “Why is everyone staring at Beth?” he asked.
“Because she said Norman Pope.” Alex shrugged. “Then everyone said he is bad and has pinky-yellow permed hair and began staring at Beth, and then Hannah said Beth was brilliant, and I have no idea.” He stopped speaking and stared at Beth, too. He was as slack-jawed as Julia was now.
“Popetown?” Len tasted the word, wondering, and then his eyes lit up as he, too, got the point.
“It’s brilliant,” Alex said, “why didn’t we already think of that?”
“The land…the buildings, it could house five hundred easily and is defensible,” Julia added.
“Norman Pope,” Alex mused.
“Who would have guessed our Bethy was so smart?”
Beth grimaced, “Let’s just say that after all his stealing from people in the name of God, he owes everyone. Andie said Pope, and it hit me, out of the blue.”
“Listen up, people,” Len called, “we now have a plan: we are going to the hospital to unload supplies and survivors and ourselves, while we set up our teams and get first aid.” He nodded at Juan. “For the injured, and then we can start thinking about how we are going to take Popetown.”
It made sense to move everyone and all the supplies to the compound. While none of them had ever been inside, they knew the rumors and had seen pictures; it was many acres surrounded by a rolling green hill and razor-wired fences, fully defensible. There was a huge castle-like house, a big school, dorms, a spring-fed lake, cattle and buffalo, eating and meeting halls, and so many more buildings they couldn’t even count.
“We need to get everyone out of the hospital; it’s not healthy.”
“Or safe.”
“Popetown? Ummm…dumb-ass name,” Kim said.
“But Hopetown makes sense,” Andie told him.
“And it’s been weeks since some of us have had any of that: hope,” Henry said, “sitting in that school…”
“I could go for some hope.” Kim kissed Beth on the top of her head.
“Let’s get loaded, miles to go, people, miles to go,” Len said.
Hannah walked behind Andie while quietly saying, “Before we sleep.”
9
Back to the Start
Conner, Len, Johnny, George, Earl, and Rae sat in the back of a truck, which Alex drove to the street that led directly to the hospital.
Others aimed and shot in that direction, taking out as many as possible, but positioned themselves in their vehicles, so that when they moved on, it would be away from the hospital, initially.
The others let people out close to the doors of the hospital to use melee or to stay with the vehicles, supplies, and survivors. Kim and Henry both smacked zeds heads, enjoying the feeling of muscles tensing and releasing.
Julia and Beth, armed heavily and watching each other carefully, approached the doors, saw nothing moving, and knocked. Waited. Knocked harder. In a few minutes, Bryan called out, “Identify yourself.”
“We are Beth of Charlie and Julia of Delta.”
The door flew open for them; Bryan, the last of on-duty military, and Mark, the last of the county deputies, started hugging them. Misty, barely sixteen, began crying and squeezing Beth. Hagan, the black security guard, joined in, and then there were George and Tink’s other two friends, Thurman and Benny. More called out, “Welcome”, from deeper inside.
Fifteen hours was like a lifetime away.
“We thought you were all dead,” Misty wailed. With her hair freshly washed and in braids, she looked younger than her age, but she had stepped up to help the make shift military group. She was in love with Mark, who was ten years older than she was.
“We didn’t lose anyone; most of us are fine, except for injuries… Tink and Jeff coming back here? They made it, right? With Artie and John?”
“Tink brought Jeff to us; there wasn’t anyone with them,” Benny said, his eyes watering.
“What?” Beth frowned, “Tink is sick?”
“Tink carried Jeff in his arms,” Bennie said.
Bryan tried to explain, “Tink turned. But even so, he carried Jeff to us, carried him blocks, I guess. We don’t know how he did it; he was full blown turned, but he didn’t touch Jeff or attack us.”
“My, God.” Beth held on to Misty as her legs went weak.
“And so, they’re here?”
Mark’s face was full of tears, “I did it; I put him down. I had to shoot Tink.”
Benny and Thurman both patted his back, and Thurman said, “You did what he wanted, Mark. He must have had a hell of a mind control to over-ride the virus and do what he meant to do: to bring Jeff back here to us.”
“Is Jeff okay? With Doc?”
“He didn’t make it. He was just too busted up, Hon. We moved both of them to the morgue.”
All for nothing.
Beth and Julia hugged Mark, Benny, and Thurman, telling them how much they loved Tink. Beth felt as if everything had slipped from her fingers like sand, and nothing remained to show for what had been.
“We have more supplies and survivors who aren’t infected. We found some when I wrecked the car; that’s how Jeff got hurt, and a bunch saved us from the super horde.”
Sounds like Artie and John didn’t make it, and Carol didn’t, so two from there; the truck stop was where they had hidden originally,” Beth told them, trying to do her job.
“Juan is hurt, busted ribs; then, we have some bruises and scratches but are okay,” Julia added.
“We got some out of the school…the elementary…so maybe ten or twelve to join us.”
“That’s great. Let’s get the teams some help,” Bryan ordered, as he began lining up shots. Mark, Benny, Thurman, and Hagan joined in to help guard as the first of the vehicles came down the street.
Doc insisted on checking everyone, so it was a while before the children were finally cleared to join the rest.
Then Juan was wrapped up and put to bed with a painkiller that made him grin, and the survivors were carefully checked with orders to hydrate themselves.
Beth, Rae, Julia, Andie, and Johnny, were cleared with stern warnings to get sport drinks down at once, since they all seemed to have sweated out too much.
The men were unloading supplies, but Len, Kim, Earl, Conner, and Alex followed last to be checked. Doc took no chances; he was thorough.
With the help and guards watching carefully, they got everything unloaded quickly, knowing that while this was a lot of food, it could never be enough to keep them from worrying about hunger with no new food being produced or delivered.
Beth found three of her friends: Toni, a young girl who had been trapped in the hospital wreckage and scared, until Tink went to her like a teddy bear (which made Beth sniffle, thinking of it), and Maryanne, a blind woman who sometimes had dreams or visions of terrible things, and Katie, her goddaughter who smothered Beth with hugs and kisses.
“Here’s godfather.” Beth passed little Katie to George who hugged her tightly as she cried about Tink, remembering that George had been his long time friend. Benny and Thurman joined in. All the children adored Tink.
Henry, from the school, and his group were introduced, and people began to show them around.
Before Henry left, Len said he would find him later and see what position Henry wan
ted; his level-headedness and kindness, the calm control, and leadership were needed.
The rest stared at Andie as if she were a dark warrior-goddess in her short skirt and strong demeanor; she was also drop-dead gorgeous. With a big smile on his face, Hagan looked her up and down. He flashed Len a wink.
Someone invited Hannah to join the children, but she thinned her lips and plucked at Andie’s arm, “I can’t do this.”
“You can do anything.”
“I don’t need parents, Andie; you know I do my best on my own and with all of you. Please don’t force me to revert to childhood.”
Maryanne stepped forward. “Hi, Hannah. Toni is kind of my ward, but since I’m blind, we take care of one another. Would you care to hang around us? Toni is very sharp and could use an older girl as a role model and mentor.”
“Your choice,” Andie said.
“But I am not a child, okay?” Hannah asked.
“Of course, you aren’t,” Maryanne promised her. “We are who we are. You can tell us your story; I bet it’s interesting.”
“Thank you, Maryanne.” Hannah went with her and Toni, after considering the invitation for a few seconds.
“Meeting time,” Bryan said.
“Can you excuse a few of us? We are not feeling up to it: Alex, Julia, and I,” Beth said.
Kim kissed her hand and told her to rest as the three walked away. George excused himself to go with Benny and Thurman; they wanted to remember Tink.
Len began to tell them everything. He told about the grocery store and about eliminating the winking head and gathering the vehicles, and then seeing the school and making a plan for the rescue. Len went on to say that they had rescued some from the school, except for the infected who stayed and had taken the bus.
Alex filled in for Beth and tried as best he could to explain the crash, Tink ‘s going after them, and what they did.
Conner told them about the size of the horde and what they did.
“That’s unreal. How safe are we?”
“That’s the million dollar question, Mark. I’m wondering the same thing; if that many came here, trying to get in, are we holed up enough to keep them out? Can we live like that…like this? In the rubble of a dark cave?”
