by J. W. Vohs
“How in the hell did he escape?” Jack angrily demanded.
Deb shook her head. “He said he thought she was right behind him as they were running from the wall. Said he jumped in some bushes when he heard the chopper, and that’s when he realized she wasn’t with him.”
Jack was temporarily speechless, so Carter spoke for his buddy. “I’ll be havin’ words with this Heder fella when we make camp tonight.”
Deb was feeling responsible for Andi’s abduction. “I want to go with you. I’m the one who sent Heder to get her; he seems like a good guy, and I can’t blame him for staying out of sight when the chopper landed, but I want to know every little detail about what happened after I sent him after Andi.” She didn’t share her own doubts about his story.
“So you believe him? You think some guys in a Blackhawk abducted her in the middle of a blizzard? With the infected all around?” Jack truly didn’t know what to think.
Christy answered with a question of her own, “Why would he lie?”
“Maybe she didn’t make it, and he was tryin’ to spare yer feelins’ by givin’ ya a reason to think she’s still alive.” Carter glanced at Jack, then looked at his wife. “Do ya think that’s possible?”
“Anything’s possible, but he’s a soldier, and we’re in the middle of a war where we lose people all the time,” Deb pointed out. “He doesn’t know us very well, so why would he be worried about sparing our feelings? Besides, being captured by Barnes could be a fate worse than death.” She regretted words as soon as she said them. “I’m sorry, Jack.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Jack replied. “You make a lot of sense. Right now, we accept Heder’s version of what happened and assume that Barnes has Andi. We’ll get her back. He wouldn’t risk a precious Blackhawk capturing one of our people unless he had some mind-games planned for us. Barnes wouldn’t capture her just to kill her.” He repeated himself for emphasis, “We will get her back. Who’s got her girls?”
Deb answered, “Carter’s mom took them to the train Ted was using to evacuate the kids.”
Jack nodded, expressionless. “Good enough. For the moment, we have to focus on saving our people here. I’m going back up in the Blackhawk with Chuck and Todd.”
He then turned to Hector. “Will your dogs be okay in a canoe?”
“Oh yeah, in fact, they’ll be our early warning system.”
“Excellent. We’ll refuel as quickly as possible and get back overhead.”
Andi woke with a start, disoriented and wondering, for a few seconds, if she had dreamt everything that had happened the night before. Then she realized that her hands were still bound by flex-cuffs, and she was lying in the gore and filth encrusted uniform she’d been captured in while trying to escape Fort Wayne. No, not captured, she remembered with renewed fury: betrayed. Lieutenant Heder had sold her out, for reasons she couldn’t begin to fathom, but what really sent her anger to new heights was the realization that the soldier from Middle Bass Island had almost certainly blown the hole in the wall guarding the bridge. One traitor had destroyed everything she and the rest of the people in the settlement had worked to build since the world had been overrun by the infected.
She thought of her daughters, Greta and Cassandra, and her chest tightened. Nothing and no one would ever be more important to her than her children. Lieutenant Heder had separated her from her girls and her friends; now he could be living among them, waiting for another chance to betray them. She focused on her anger, knowing that despair was lurking just under the surface. She tried to imagine what Jack would do if he were in her situation and decided that he would be calm, reflective, and observant. She began to investigate her surroundings.
She’d been lying on a mat on a cold, tile floor. The only furniture in the room was a small table with two metal folding chairs. She began to notice the noises coming from outside the small windows set in the concrete block walls that surrounded her. She stood up and shuffled over to look out on some sort of military base, blanketed in snow. Helicopters were making a racket somewhere nearby, the sounds of their rotors punctuated by the occasional shouts of soldiers she assumed were working on the aircraft or preparing to fly them. She remembered that the soldiers who’d abducted her had almost immediately put a hood over her head, and it hadn’t been removed until they’d tossed her into this room following what seemed to be a rather short flight.
A knock at the door interrupted Andi’s limited reconnaissance, and she turned to see a lone, middle-aged officer entering the room. She had no idea what the man might have in mind for her, but her captors had cuffed her hands in front, and she still had her feet and teeth if she needed to put up a fight. The man closed the door and turned to face her. Neither of them moved or said a word for twenty seconds, so Andi took the time to examine the soldier before her. She estimated the man was in his late forties or early fifties, thin and short, with a small mustache that looked ridiculous when combined with his large nose and narrow mouth. For a moment she was certain she could kill this guy with her hands tied, but then she looked into his eyes and felt a flicker of fear.
The officer smiled when he finally saw the reaction he was looking for. “I hope your trip here wasn’t too unpleasant, Andrea Carrell, fiancé of the mighty Jack Smith.”
He stepped toward her and pulled a knife from his pocket, flipping the blade open with practiced ease as he closed the gap between them. Andi tried to create more distance by shuffling backward, until she banged into a wall. With no other recourse, she swung her bound hands together in an attempt to land a blow aimed at the man’s temple. He didn’t flinch as he caught her swing in his left hand and cut her cuffs with the right.
“Now, now,” he smirked, “no need for violence here.”
Andi rubbed her chafed wrists as she glared at the officer with a newfound respect. He took two steps back and waved toward the table and chairs. “Please, have a seat; I only want to talk to you for a while.”
With few other options, most of which were likely to get her stabbed or worse, Andi sullenly sat down and stared at her tormentor. “Who’s Andrea?”
The officer leaned back in his chair with a smug smile. “Miss Carrell, how did your clothes come to be so . . . crusty? Were you killing flesh-eaters before you were captured in Fort Wayne, at the settlement established and commanded by Jack Smith?”
“Most people are pretty crusty these days without the conveniences of civilized society,” Andi retorted.
“Would you like a hot shower? Or perhaps a bubble bath? A little cooperation will have its advantages.”
When she didn’t respond, the officer leaned forward. “I’m President Matthew Barnes, so cut the nonsense and let’s talk like two rational adults.”
Now that Andi’s worst fears were confirmed and she was face-to-face with Jack’s mortal enemy, the architect of the pandemic, she decided to make the best of the little time she had left and get in a few digs while she could. “Wow, the infamous General Barnes we’ve been kicking the hell out of the past six months; I finally get to meet you.”
If Barnes was offended by the insult, he didn’t show it. “Oh, it’s really only been the last few months; before that you were just fighting the results of my magnificently designed virus.”
“Whatever,” Andi shrugged. “Yeah, I know who you are, and I’m not impressed.”
He smiled again. “I don’t expect the average citizen to even begin to understand the purpose of my work, or what the end result of my efforts will be. While you are certainly a pretty human female, I realize that we aren’t exactly equals in IQ.”
Andi laughed. “Or emotional stability, obviously. If you are still in touch with reality, just tell me why I’m here.”
Barnes shook his head with an expression of mock-sadness. “See what I mean, about the intelligence issue?”
Andi sighed. “You’re clearly not as smart as you think you are. Jack will never, ever, exchange one of his soldiers, weapons, or any other asset f
or one of his lovers. In fact, you probably would have better luck grabbing whoever he’s sleeping with down in Vicksburg. I can’t even keep his entire ‘attention’ when he’s in Fort Wayne. I don’t know what your pathetic little lackey told you, but I’m certainly not Jack Smith’s fiancé. Not that I wouldn’t want to be.”
Barnes clapped. “Excellent performance. And I’m glad to discover that you’re smart enough to figure some things out on your own.”
“It doesn’t take much brain power to figure out what you think you’ve accomplished since you believe I’m Jack’s fiancé. Why don’t you test your theory—contact Jack and ask about me. I mean, believe me, if he’s really upset that I’m your prisoner, I’ll be delighted. I seriously doubt he’ll care all that much, but we can both hope your smarter than me about that.”
A brief expression of doubt crossed the general’s face as he searched Andi’s eyes and body language for clues to the accuracy of her claims. She just stared at him for a few heartbeats before continuing her explanation. “If he wants me back, I’ll be the happiest girl in the world, but as near as I can tell, I’m just another pretty woman who caught his fancy for a few months. I’ve been fighting, and practicing fighting, with Jack and Carter since I wondered into their Castle when the virus hit Noble County. I think Deb worried that I had the eye for Carter, and when Jack started spending time with me, all the other women hated me too. Unfortunately, powerful men tend to think they’re entitled to more than one woman. I bet you’re the same. There’s nothing more consistent than the male ego.”
Barnes stroked his thin mustache. “Except, perhaps, female duplicity.”
Andi rolled her eyes. “I used to be a history teacher. If you’re half as smart as people say you are, you know that men are the manipulators. And just how many women ever kept a harem of husbands for their personal pleasure? If you think I’m being less than honest with you, call Jack or Carter or anyone from Fort Wayne. I mean, Jack certainly likes me, and he’ll feel bad if something happens to me, but he’ll get over it quick enough.”
“I certainly wouldn’t mind making Jack feel bad, even temporarily,” Barnes mused. “But I think you’re more valuable to Jack Smith than you claim.”
She shrugged and frowned. “I’ve been told that I took to soldiering really well, and I’m proud of that, but there’s a hundred people in Fort Wayne as good as me or better. Your mole probably felt like he had to give you something, besides blowing our wall, so he told you I was important to Jack.” Andi waved her hand in a flippant gesture. “Maybe he even believed it. By all means, give Jack a call; you’ve managed to capture a pretty, female soldier, that’s all. And it’s my bad luck, not Jack’s.”
Barnes pursed his lips and cocked his head, looking even uglier than usual as he finally spat out a reply. “You better hope that you are important to Jack Smith, Miss Carrell, or I’ll hand you over to my troops. They’ll play with you for a while, and then use you in a training exercise involving the flesh-eaters. As far as I’ve been able to determine through visual observation, being eaten alive looks like it really hurts.”
Andi didn’t even blink. “I’m sure it does. Do you think I could get that shower first though? You said cooperation has its rewards.”
Barnes laughed. “I can see why Jack is so fond of you, Miss Carrell, though I’m not convinced that you’ve really been cooperative. Still, I am a man of my word, and I’ll even go one step better. You can have a hot shower, clean clothes, and join me for a private dinner this evening.”
The modified boxcars carrying the soldiers being sent to retake Fort Wayne had been hurriedly loaded onto and sent north in the early hours of the morning. In Missouri, they’d passed Ted Simmons’ small train carrying the children of Fort Wayne to the relative safety of Vicksburg. The experienced engineer had pulled onto a siding to allow the troops to continue their journey, but he didn’t let them pass without a word of warning over the radio.
“Hiram, that snow almost caught us a couple of times after we turned south, and the wind hasn’t slowed one bit since then. You’re gonna have trouble with drifts.”
“Snow could stop these locomotives?” Hiram asked.
“Sure could,” Simmons answered. “Probably will stop you before you turn east. Be careful up there.”
“Will do,” Hiram promised. “Everything’s clear between here and Vicksburg. You shouldn’t have any trouble from here on out.”
“Thanks, Hiram. Good luck.”
The journey progressed steadily and uneventfully for several hours after Simmons’ warning, and then they entered Iowa, where the locomotives began to encounter the effects of the blizzard that had pounded the Midwest the previous day. As predicted, the wind had blown the snow so fiercely that every trace of the passage of the refugee train was covered. The sun was shining brightly above the pure, white landscape, but blowing snow was still piling into drifts on every structure that could catch and hold the icy powder. The rail industry had plenty of engines equipped with rotary snow blowers to clear tracks, but this unprecedentedly early onslaught of winter weather had caught the engineers by surprise. The trains slowed, and finally stopped as the drifts became too deep to plow through.
Hiram quickly called for a council with his company commanders and Stanley Rickers, seeking ideas on how to proceed with the mission. “We have two basic options,” he explained, “we can go back to Vicksburg and figure out another way to reach Fort Wayne, although I have no idea how we might do that, or we can figure out a way to move snow. What do you men think.”
When none of the Utah soldiers offered an opinion, Stanley cleared his throat and gave his two-cents-worth. “I suggest that we go into the nearest town and search for snow shovels. Every house will have one somewhere, and most of the big-box stores should still hold plenty of them.”
One of the captains from Utah shook his head in disagreement. “We can’t shovel four hundred miles of track.”
“Won’t have to,” Stanley replied. “Every Midwestern blizzard I’ve ever been through came out of the west, and the worst drifts were always found on the north-south roads. Even then, the winds do weird things with snow. In some stretches, these tracks will be clear for a long ways, while in others we’ll have some digging to do. But once we head east on the CSX line, we shouldn’t have too much trouble.”
“What about the hunters?” another commander asked.
Stanley shrugged. “We’ve been moving troops along these lines for months now, and haven’t seen anything other than small packs and individuals since the battles we fought to establish the connections between our states. I mean, of course we need to be careful and keep our eyes open, but we should be able to deal with the hunters in this area.”
“I agree,” Hiram declared. “Companies one through six will head out to search for shovels; the other four will stay here with the train. Stanley, we never did establish a command structure before we left Vicksburg, so as far as I’m concerned, you’re independent.”
“I appreciate the sentiment sir, but you and me have been fighting together for a long time now. You’re a general, and I was a platoon leader back home. I know my people; we’re all willingly placing ourselves under your command as an oversized company.”
Hiram nodded once before replying. “Thanks, Stanley, I’ll try not to get everybody killed.”
A chorus of nervous chuckles greeted the remark, then everyone headed out to issue orders to the platoon and squad leaders. Every soldier on the train had fought a desperate battle in Vicksburg just two days earlier. They were all tired and sore, with casualty lists near fifty percent in every company, and seventy percent in two of them. The Indiana contingent had fared much better in the fighting in front of the bridge. They’d been positioned between the Louisiana troops on the right, and a Utah brigade on their left. Neither unit had left their post, in spite of the massive attacks they’d endured for hours as Barnes threw everything he had at the forces defending the bridge.
With their
flanks protected, the Hoosiers had been literally a killing machine throughout the struggle in Vicksburg. They were the best trained and equipped soldiers on the field, as well as the most experienced. Now, the warriors from Indiana were as tired as everyone else being sent north, but most of the fighters they’d travelled to Vicksburg with were present for duty. Still, not one member of Rickers’ company, nor a single soldier from Utah, asked the most important question as they prepared to dig their way to Fort Wayne: could General Barnes have anticipated, and prepared for, the allies’ effort to mount a counterattack?
CHAPTER 16
Gracie was confused and surprised by Luke’s strength and his food request. He still held her fast with his uninjured hand as he stared intently into her bewildered eyes. “Just trust me, Gracie, I need fresh meat.”
The implication of his request suddenly alarmed her. She studied her husband. “Are you . . .?”
He smiled weakly. “I’m still me; I’m just craving meat.”
“Okay,” Gracie nodded a little too robustly as she pried her wrist from his fingers. “All right, baby, I’ll get you whatever you need.”
She was elated and freaked out at the same time, looking around the room to make sure no one had arrived while she’d been distracted by Luke. She was concerned that Jack might have left someone behind with orders to kill Luke when he emerged from his fever. She sighed with relief when only Charlotte and Zach stood before her.
“There’s a lot of chicken left, if he wants meat,” Charlotte suggested with a slight shrug. “I’ll de-bone a plateful for him. We can probably find him some steak too, if he’s up for it.”
Gracie nodded, but looked troubled.
“He knows you, and he’s talking, and it seems that his fever has broken,” Charlotte encouraged. “I really think he’s gonna be okay. Honey, you can relax. It looks like that western method of bleeding out really does work, at least if it doesn’t kill you first.”
