Rise of the Death Walkers (The Circle of Heritage Saga)

by Lawrence Nason Jr.

  We were silent for a few moments and I gathered that Irma needed some time to compose herself. After a bit she said. "I am so sorry about the way Sonja was acting tonight Jeran. She is usually not that way."

  I waved my hand in dismissal. "It's nothing Irma really."

  "It is something to me Jeran." She paused for a moment before rushing on. "I do not know why I feel this way but for some reason I feel so possessive when it comes to you and what she was doing bothered me."

  I reached out and took her hand. "If you want to talk about it I’m here and listening."

  She bit her lip and traced the outline of my hand with her finger. "I do not know if I can explain my feelings when I do not understand them myself." She paused and I could see her closing her eyes like she was in intense concentration. "Have you ever had a favorite book or toy or something like that where you know it belongs to you and only you?"

  I looked at her in surprise and nodded. "Yes I have." I said softly

  "It is sort of like that. Then when someone comes along and takes this object from you the only thought you have in your head is to get it back. Because it does not belong to them and you want to protect it from any harm they could do to it." She bit her lip and looked sideways at me. I nodded and she rushed on. "I know I have only today met you. It is silly for me to feel this way but I feel like you are that favorite book I have. What Sonja did tonight. I just got so angry at her."

  Love at first sight? I thought to myself. Was it really possible for someone else to feel that was about me? I mean I think I knew what I felt toward her but I was holding on to the memory of Katie so desperately now I was masking the feelings I was feeling for Irma.

  "Let me think for a moment Irma." She nodded and I continued my line of thought. So many unresolved issues in my mind. What did I want in my life? Were my original plans still valid? I know what I felt about Katie and that I wished fervently to be with her again. I was in a very dangerous job. Could I afford to involve myself romantically with someone, when each time I went out on a mission, I could have the chance of not returning?

  I looked around at the empty square. Would it be fair to inform Irma just what it was that I did? Explain to her that she could be heading into more heartbreak, if I did not return from a mission? It did not feel right to hide things from her, if she was to be a part of my life. I would have to be sure about her feelings for me.

  "Irma I need to do something quickly and I don’t want you to be afraid. Just know this I could never ever hurt you."

  She looked at me and I could see the trust in her eyes. "Ok Jeran. I trust you."

  "Close your eyes." She did so and I placed my hands on her cheeks. I opened my mind and flowed into hers. Her mind was so open and beautiful it almost took my breath. I only looked and didn’t influence anything she possessed. I saw how she was beginning to feel about me and I knew these were her true feelings there were no dark areas in her beautiful mind. I withdrew and relaxed. Her breathing was quick and her eyes were open in shock.

  "What was that, Jeran?" her breath quivered as she asked me.

  I sighed softly and then committed myself to her like I had only committed to one other person in my lifetime. "I’m not like other men Irma."

  I proceeded to retell the story I had told her on the riverside, but this time I held nothing back. I told of my time on Origan and every thought I experienced after the death of Katie. All the time I told her I was looking for signs of fear in her eyes. I only saw flashes of wonder and amazement. The only flicker of fear I say was when I explained in full detail what I did to the monster who had killed Katie. When I told her my reasons and plans for joining the branch of the army. A look of anger flashed in her eyes.

  "Jason White!" Her voice was laced with anger and emotion. "If I ever hear you talk like that again I’ll kick you!" The anger in her eyes morphed into a look of fury. "You’re not to let anyone hurt you on purpose! Do you understand me?" Her small hands were gripping the front of my shirt.

  "Shhh Irma, easy with that name it's Jeran remember?" She nodded and I continued. "That’s not my plan anymore. You changed that by just being you. You have to understand. What I do is dangerous and you could be setting yourself up for heartbreak."

  "I don't care because I don't want a life without you in it." She snapped, her voice full of emotions.

  I grabbed her hands and held them. "Now you’re doing what I was doing! Stop it! If something should ever happen to me. I want you to promise to go on in life and look for the love with someone else. If you don't promise me that now. I’ll walk away from you and not look back."

  Her lip trembled when I said this. "You would do that?"

  "If it meant saving you from yourself, giving you the chance to live a normal life. I would not hesitate." I placed my hand on her cheek. "I think that if Katie had never laid eyes on me she would be alive today Irma. It's my fault she was killed. It tears my heart apart when I realize it."

  She shook her head at me. "I’m beginning to understand Katie more than you can think. I don't think she would trade the short time she had with you for a lifetime of loving a lesser man Jeran..." She struggled to find the words to explain her feelings.

  "Jeran you’re like no other person I have ever met. You have a compassion about you that takes my breath away. When you touch my hands I feel a current I can’t explain to you. Your hand caressing my cheek sends tingles down my spine. And just now, when you did that with your mind, it was the most exciting moment I had ever felt in my life. It was better than the best sex I have ever experienced."

  She startled me at how she was expressing herself so well in English. Did my mind touch transfer my command of the language to her? I experimented and said something in German to her. "You’re simply amazing Irma. Your passion about life fills my soul with a contentment I only felt when I was around Katie."

  Her eyes went wide and she asked in a hushed voice. "Where did you learn German so well Jeran?"

  I laughed at her and said "The same place you suddenly was able to speak English so beautifully. Did you notice how good you are all of a sudden?"

  "This is unbelievable!" Her hand went to her mouth. "Jeran I understood everything you said! Suddenly every word I reach for, is right there for me! I can switch to German in mid sentence and you still understand me!"

  I smiled and nodded at her. "Yes there seems to be an aspect of my talent I was not aware of before. I even know a lot more about shoes and clothing than I ever knew before." We burst out laughing at the same time. "I can't understand why I have the urge to go shopping all of a sudden."

  She giggled at me and said. "It's my favorite way to pass the time."

  We both heard Sonja's voice at the same time. She was obviously drunk and she staggered through the square in an almost weaving pattern. "Irma, Where are you? I am so sorry about how I have been acting.”

  I heard Irma sigh. Then she said, “I better get her home. She is in no condition to drive.”

  Sonja came and supported her weight by slinging her arms over Irma’s shoulders. Then she started crying and the next thing I knew she had puked all over Irma.

  “Uggg. Sonja!” She exclaimed. “This was a new outfit!”

  From the looks of what was on Irma’s shirt front, I would have said Sonja had been eating Italian that evening. I picked a strand of spaghetti from her shoulder and tossed it on the ground.

  “We can take her home Irma. All we need to do is get her to the car.”

  Sonja was still crying and talking in fast German with Irma.

  “She lives in Wiesental, Jeran. I better go get my car and drive her home.”

  “Why don’t we bring her to my place and get some coffee in her first?”

  I spotted Brown walking across the square and motioned for him to come over.

  “Brown give me a hand getting Sonja to my car. She has had a little too much to drink tonight.”

  “You got it Sergeant.” Brown took one of her arms and I grabbed the o
ther.

  Sonja slipped and almost fell from our grasp. All three of us reached for her when she slipped. I just happened to bend down at the same time as Irma’s hands reached out to grab. Her fingernails caught the side of my face. I ended up with three scratches on the right cheek. They started just below the ear and ended at my mouth.

  “Oh I am so sorry Jeran! I didn’t mean to do that!”

  “Don’t worry about it Irma. It was an accident.”

  We managed to get Sonja into the car and started toward my place.

  We were in front of my apartment in a few minutes and I opened the door for Irma and took her hand. "How’s Sonja?" She asked me shyly.

  "We’ll see that in a few moments." I opened the door to my apartment and lead her into the living room. "Brown go to the kitchen and make a pot of coffee there’s some near the coffee machine, I saw it earlier today." I left Irma and Sonja in the living room and went for the first aid kit that I had seen in the bathroom earlier. I started cleaning my scratches.

  Irma came up behind me and snatched the kit out of my hands. “Let me do that please.”

  I nodded at her and noticed she was crying as she did it. I placed my hand on her chin and turned her face so it was facing mine.

  “Love it was an accident. It could happen to anyone.”

  "Oh Jeran I’m so sorry!"

  She cleaned the scratches off and I said to her in a soothing voice. "I have had worse Irma believe me."

  When we were done we both walked back into the living room. Brown and Sonja were talking in low voices. I interrupted Brown and asked. "How’s the coffee coming Tyron? I think we could all use one right now." He nodded and went out of the room. I got up and walked to the entertainment center. I found some light classical music and turned on the stereo to play it. Soothing music flowed through the apartment.

  Tyron reentered the room and set a tray with four cups the coffee pot and sugar and creamer on the table. "Coffee for four. I couldn't find any crackers or cake or we could have had a party." He grinned and the girls laughed lightly.

  I stood up and said "I’ll be right back. Don't go away." I went out to the car and looked for a package I had gotten today while I was shopping. I was going to give it to her later on but given the circumstances of the evening I felt she could use it better now than later. I walked back in the living room and set the wrapped package in front of her. "I picked this up for you today, while you were off grabbing stuff for me."

  She looked at the package in surprise and asked. "What is it?"

  "If you open it you will find out soon enough." I grinned at her and she began to open the gift up. "I had to guess the size so I hope I got that right." She pulled out a light blue sundress I had spotted today. She had looked at it with a certain light in her eyes.

  "Jeran? It's too much. How’d you know I liked it? she held up the dress and her eyes glistened with tears.

  "I guessed it by the way you looked at it." I never expected for anyone to react to a piece of clothing like that.

  "But it costs so much Jeran." she started.

  "Considering how you saved my butt today, with all that shopping you did for me, it's the least I could do for you." I picked up a cup and pour myself some coffee.

  "If you want you can change in the bedroom. There’s a robe in there so Sonja won’t have to wear puke all the way home. She can bring it back later."

  She looked over at Sonja. Sonja's eyes were looking down toward the floor. She reached out, grabbed Sonja's hand, and pulled her toward the bedroom.

  Tyron cleared is voice and said. "Damn, decent of you Sergeant."

  "Jeran, Tyron at least we can be on a first name basis in my own home." I said as I sipped my coffee.

  "Sounds good to me Ser.. I mean Jeran." He looked toward the door where the ladies had exited. We could hear them giggling in the bedroom. "That is quite a lady you met today Jeran."

  "Yes she is indeed and I think if you took the time to notice, her friend is something too. Not my type of course but someone may be interested." I drank some more coffee and grinned over the cup at him.

  "Well Jeran if that's the sort of stuff you toss away, I’ll be happy to take care of your garbage for the rest of the time I am here." He grinned back at me and we both started laughing.

  Irma's voice drew my attention toward the door. "What's so funny?"

  "Something Tyron said." The dress fit her perfectly and accented her body form in ways that were hard to describe. I cut loose with a wolf whistle. "Holy cow girl that looks good on you."

  She blushed and said. "Thank You Jeran." She stepped close to me and when I set my cup down on the table she plopped down in my lap. "Now to thank you properly." She laid a kiss on me that would have been enough to blister the socks off of a penguin frozen in an ice cube at seventy below zero weather in Alaska.

  I heard catcalls from Tyron in the background and a giggle from the direction where Sonja was now standing. "Hot dog!" I explained when she broke the kiss. "This puts a new twist on the term global warming!"

  She blushed deep red and bent forward and whispered. "There’s more where that came from."

  Chapter 19 - First Mission

  Five weeks later I found myself in Libya, one hundred and fifty miles outside of Sebha. I was alone and in very deep trouble. My mission had been to locate a rebel camp where a shipment of arms from southern France had been delivered. I lay now hidden under a tarp outside of camp. I hoped that they did not have infrared scanning gear within the camp. As I was moving into position, I had to kill a hyena who was sniffing around the tarp where I wanted to hide. I had moved in too close and one of the sentries had taken a potshot at me, hitting me in the shoulder. The only way I had manage to get away had been by howling like a hyena and moving very quickly. I managed to staunch the flow of blood in my shoulder and was extremely fortunate that the shot had gone clean through. Now all I had to do was lie quietly for six more hours and wait for the strike force that would be moving in to recover the arms shipments from the rebels. This was a scorch and burn mission with the directive from above coming down reading total extermination of anyone within the camp.

  I had already seen to the removal of my contact and his family and I had moved in to make confirmation that no other non combatants were in the camp. That was when I made the mistake and had been shot at. I eased my head up and looked through the monocular I always carried with me. Scanning the camp I verified that there were only rebels within. I sent a coded message to the team that the operation was a go. I did not say I was hit because they would have done something foolish during the operation and I wanted their attention on the camp and not on me. Irma had not liked it when I had told her I would be gone for an undetermined length of time.

  During the rest of my leave, we had spent many hours together getting to know each other. I had kept our relationship as platonic as possible because I did not want to force her into anything that she was not ready for. Sure we had our hot and heavy kissing sessions on a daily basis but I would back down before things got out of hand and toss in some distracting remark. I think she got irritated with me from time to time but she had not forced the issue yet. The first two weeks we were together was filled with a lot of traveling and shopping I enjoyed walking the market in the various towns and cities she took me to. When she was shopping, there were times when she would see something she liked and her eyes would light up like a child. I took note of things she liked for possible gifts later.

  When she had to return to work I had more time on my hands than I liked to have. I spent a lot of time in the local library reading up on various European cultures. My meeting with Blake had come and gone. We had talked about this operation during the most of the meeting and I gave him three weeks to solidify the intel on this area. I had chosen to come in alone for the verification because more than one man was hard to hide. Alone, I would move faster than a group of men. It had been my own stupidity that got me into the situation I was currently in and
I would get myself out of it.

  Closing my eyes I extended my senses outwards and began my own campaign of terror on the camp occupants. Once I located the alpha male for a group of the Hyenas not far away. I took control of the alpha and made the group close in on the southern most patrol. It was a simple matter to take them out. By the time my men has moved into attack position I had eliminated the entire south line of patrols leaving the gate wide open for them.

  I heard the click on my communicator as each group of four men moved into position along the southern line. When all four groups were in position, I signaled them to start the operation. Since the sun had settled behind the horizon I used a pair of infrared binoculars and watched as men from two of the groups set explosives on the various positions in camp. Each position had been chosen from satellite imagery. I waited for them to slip back into position and signaled for the attack. Explosions rocked the night. The entire rebel contingent poured toward the south end of the camp.

  Since I was behind the explosions, I could do my damage particularly well. I slid my modified AR-15 into position and flipped to single shot. I then proceeded to part the hair of a few very ugly looking rebels. When I was finished with them their own mothers would have been hard pressed to know who they were. I spotted a lone rebel moving in on Johnson’s position and double tapped him in the back of the head. It was a rather rude way to say hello but I wasn't really watching my manners at that point in time.

  My attention was diverted from the clean work my men were doing below. I smelled him long before I saw him and I already had my knife in my hand. I was not sure he had actually seen me so I lay absolutely still in the dark night. An immobile target is very hard to see in the dark. Usually you were looking for motion. The ape who was moving toward me had no idea how to move during the night. He was about eight feet away from me when I finally did move. One eye was no longer in any shape to see me. It is rather hard to look through the hilt of a combat knife after it has been jammed into your eye. His other eye was also rather busy rolling up into his head to bother trying to find out where the movement had come from. I let him lay where he was hit and waited for the all clear signal to come over the radio.