by SD Tanner
Giving her a brief one-armed hug, he said casually, ‘Thanks. I needed that, but I gotta go.’
Anna lifted her head from his shoulder and asked, ‘Really? Where are you going? Where is there to go?’
He unhooked his arm from Anna, got out of bed, pulled on his ACU pants and boots and said gruffly, ‘I need to check on some stuff.’
Anna sat up crossing her arms over her breasts as if she’d suddenly become self-conscious and, looking at him angrily, she said incredulously, ‘You just had sex with me and now you’re going to walk out.’
With his hand on the door handle, he was about to leave, but her comment annoyed him and he turned around and said, ‘Ya said this was jus’ for fun.’
Anna face softened and she said unhappily, ‘I thought we could have more. We’re both single and it’s the end of the world, so why not?’
Am I single, he wondered? It didn’t really matter. Single or otherwise, he hadn’t meant to start anything with Anna. He didn’t like or dislike her. He’d just been feeling out of sorts and he’d told her it was a one-time thing before they started.
Shaking his head, he said gently, but firmly, ‘Anna, I’m sorry, but that was never on the table.’
Anna narrowed her eyes and through gritted teeth, she hissed, ‘Fuck you too, Bob.’
Stunned by her ferocity, he opened his mouth to speak and then thought better of it. He didn’t need an argument with Anna. Having sex with Anna was a bad idea from the get go, he didn’t need the angst and the sex hadn’t been that good. Feeling momentarily lost in this new world, he’d needed a distraction, but now the moment was over and he was worried about Ip. She was always with one of three of them and right now, he didn’t know where she was. Mentally dismissing Anna, he turned and left his room.
Hunting through the house for Ip, he would never have found her if he hadn’t heard Fuzz thumping his tail on the garage floor. She was sitting on an old military locker that was up against a wall in the garage, and an LED lamp was throwing a dim light across the room.
Calling to her softly, he said, ‘Hey, whatcha doin’ in here?’
She didn’t look at him and he walked over, hunkered down next to her and asked, ‘Are ya okay?’
Looking into her odd blue eyes, he tried to make eye contact with her. She didn’t respond with even a flicker of movement and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her so still, except when she was sleeping. Her oddly blue eyes were impassive and when he reached across to touch her face, she pulled away. His shoulders slumped as he sighed and ran a weary hand across his face.
Sounding as unhappy as he felt, he said, ‘I’m havin’ a bad night, Ip. It’s been a long day and it ended on a stupid note.’
Ip thinks: I know his heart. I see his mind. He gave to her what is mine. What did it mean, this thing he did? I cannot answer nor can I see. What he did with her is new to me. Whatever this is I want to flee.
Ip jumped to her feet and ran through the door that led to the driveway outside. Pulling the door open, she shot out into the night like a rabbit. He thought, dammit, and pushing himself up off the floor, he ran out of the door after her. The night outside was quiet except for the chatter of insects and, in the bright moonlight, he saw Ip running past the barn. Running after her, he could see the shadow of her ahead of him. Damn, she can run, he thought and he was getting winded trying to keep up with her. It wasn’t long before the house was well into the distance and he realized he was outside in the dark with nothing on him but his boots and his ACU pants.
Calling to her, he shouted, ‘Come on, Ip! Gimme a break!’
Ip stopped running, turned and stood facing him. He stopped and stood just a few feet in front of her and said quietly, ‘Are ya mad at me because of Anna? ‘Cos it was a stupid thing I jus’ did.’ While Ip stared at him impassively, he continued, ‘Ip, I want more with ya, but I dunno what ya want from me. I absolutely wanna go forward with ya, but I dunno how to. I don’t wanna give up. We got somethin’ good goin’ here.’
There he’d said it. He was stuck. He couldn’t go forward, but he didn’t want to go back. He didn’t want to live like a monk, but he didn’t want to be with anyone else. What was he supposed to do now? He’d fallen for a woman who might not be human and didn’t speak, but he still wanted her. She made him feel good and being with her made his hard life bearable. Her presence calmed him and, although he knew he couldn’t explain it, he knew it was the truth and he would just have to accept it.
He stood looking at her for a long moment and then said softly, ‘I guess if this is all we can have, then it’ll have to be good enough.’ In saying it, he finally made peace with himself about how deeply he felt about her.
Ip thinks: The man is lonely, I did not know. Something is needed or he must go. I would give, but I do not know how. I feel his pain and it is shared. I want to know how I could care. We are stuck in this place he and me. This must change or we can never be free.
Ip stepped forward into him so they were almost touching, but not quite. She looked up into his eyes and he felt her breath on his neck as she sighed softly.
‘What do ya want from me?’ He asked gently, not expecting an answer, but wishing she could give him one.
Her body brushed lightly against his bare chest and he felt her hand reach into his as she wrapped her fingers tightly around his hand. She turned with him, and the moonlight lit their way as they both slowly walked back to the house hand in hand.
Ip thinks: I see his thoughts. He is now free. His pain is less when he is with me. We travel together I and he. Where we go we do not know. We are as one and it will do until we know what will be true.
As they walked into the garage, he saw Pop sitting slouched on an old rusty lawn chair with his shotgun resting across his knees. He gave them a baleful look and said plainly, ‘Bout time you two turned up. Your Mom heard ya runnin’ out in the dark. Ya tryin’ to give her a heart attack? ‘Cos that was a damn fool thing to be doin’.’
With what he knew, Pop would have assumed he and Ip were in mortal danger of the hunters and he said, ‘Sorry, but it ain’t like that, Pop.’
Looking puzzled by his statement, Pop asked curiously, ‘Whatdaya mean, son? Help me understand that statement.’
He pulled up an old lawn chair lounger that matched the rusty chair his father was sitting on and set it in front of him. Needing to feel the warmth of Ip’s body near him, he sat down facing Pop and pulled her close to him. Ip snuggled into his body and leaned her head on his shoulder.
Now ready to talk, he said, ‘There’s some things I need to explain to ya.’
Watching him intently, Pop replied, ‘I’m listenin’.’
He took a deep breath and said, ‘When all this shit went down, Pax, TL and me were just landin’ back from assignment. We were at Weedon Field Airfield in Alabama, but the place was a battle zone and we hadda fight our way out. We spent the next four weeks jus’ movin’ around not really doin’ much. We wanted to come see you and Mom, but we kinda assumed ya hadn’t survived, and for as long as we didn’t know for sure we didn’t have to deal with it. I’m sorry about that and we shoulda done better.’
Nodding to show he understood, Pop said, ‘Doan be so hard on yourselves. You’re human and there’s no shame in that, son. Your Mom and I are just glad ya boys are still alive and still together. Gotta stay with the bigger picture these days, we ain’t got time left for trivialities.’
The way Pop always cut to the core of things was a trait he admired and always tried to emulate. He nodded and continued, ‘One day we had a really bad day. Ran into some bad guys and a lotta hunters, but we met Ip. The bad guys were gonna hurt her and kill her and we stopped ‘em.’ Recalling how numb he felt back then, how lost and directionless, he paused and then continued, ‘Anyways, we got Ip away from the bad guys, found a house to hole up in for the night, but then Ip disappeared jus’ as night was comin’. We sat in that basement listenin’ to the hunters tearin’ up that house all night long.�
��
Pop’s eyes widened in surprise and he asked, ‘Where was she?’
He replied, ‘In the kitchen protectin’ the door to the basement. She can kill hunters and she does it just by touchin’ ‘em.’
Ip was now dozing with her head on his shoulder and Pop looked at her in disbelief and asked, ‘What? How can she do that?’
Shaking his head, he said, ‘We dunno, but we plan to find out.’
Pop leaned forward and asked curiously, ‘Your Mom and me noticed she’s got strange eyes. Is she human or hunter?’
He didn’t really know the answer to that question and replied, ‘I’ve been with her almost every day for the past three months. We think she’s human. I mean she has blood, she eats food and I know she doesn’t talk, but trust me, she gets her message across. We need to learn how she kills hunters. I figure if we can replicate that, we can kill ‘em all and restore order.’
Grinning at him, Pop said proudly, ‘That’s a pretty big ambition, but it beats the hell out of sittin’ around waitin’ for ‘em to kill us.’
He smiled at his father and said, ‘Exactly, Pop. We gotta mission and we gotta plan and we need your help.’
Looking interested, Pop replied confidently, ‘Whatever ya need, son. Ya know we support ya boys in whatever ya wanna do.’
He looked fondly at his father and said, ‘We’re gonna need the Ranch. We got civilian survivors who need to live somewhere safe. We got an army that needs fresh food. We wanna get the Ranch workin’ again. Growin’ food and runnin’ livestock.’
Pop looked at him incredulously and said, ‘You’ve got an army? I thought the army was gone’
Grinning, he said, ‘It is, but ya know Pax. He’s buildin’ himself a new one.’
Laughing, Pop said, ‘Sounds like Pax.’
Trying not to wake Ip, he laughed quietly and said, ‘Yep. TL is findin’ survivors and Pax is busy trainin’ us an army. Hell hath no fury like a pissed off Pax.’
Their laughter woke Ip and she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him sleepily. He kissed her forehead and said, ‘I need to take this one to bed.’
Pop looked at Ip and said, ‘Sure, son. If ya don’t mind my askin’. Are ya two a couple?’
He sighed and said, ‘I dunno know, Pop. It’s complicated.’
Pop didn’t pursue the subject and said, ‘Okay, son, we’ll talk more in the mornin’. I best go let your Mom know all’s well.’
CHAPTER EIGHT: Mission Brief (Gears)
He left Christine and the two kids with his Mom and Pop and brought the other survivors, including Frank, back the Base. Frank continued to annoy him all the way back to the Base. There was something about the guy that really needled him. When he got back, he filled his brothers in on what he found at the Ranch. TL and Pax were surprised and relieved Mom and Pop were doing well. Pax told him about Major Mitch Donohue and the possible army base. TL told him about Lydia and the rumor she heard about the CDC. The whole story seemed farfetched and he hoped it wasn’t true.
He and Ip were walking down the long corridor towards the mission room where they set up one of the storage rooms for their briefings. The purpose of their briefings was to keep everyone up to date on the latest situation and make any decisions needed. The three of them made up the command team, but as they expanded the Base, more people were being included in command decision making. As mission leader, part of his role was to lead the command team and run the briefings.
When he walked into the briefing room he saw everyone, plus a few others, were already waiting. Benny and Mackenzie attended many of the meetings. Pax thought both young men showed considerable promise as future leaders and including them was both training and testing their abilities. As the Base Coordinator, Kat was usually included to represent the needs of the people and the Base. In future Anna would also attend to reflect the needs of the Ranch and he mentally kicked himself again for stepping over the line with her. Today he saw there were two new faces. One was a strong looking young woman he didn’t know and the other was their new doctor Lydia. TL successfully argued, although they didn’t know her well, she already earned his confidence and she should be included.
Kicking off the meeting with his usual greeting, he asked, ‘What’s new?’
Pax waved at the strong looking young woman and said, ‘This is Max. She’s with the combat team.’
Without needing to be told, he knew it meant she was another of his promising people and he was pleased to see Pax added a woman to this future team of leaders. For all the training Pax provided, he knew they were really just a bunch of heavily armed civilians. That didn’t make them an army and they never would be one in the traditional sense. They were learning that running this type of outfit needed a complex mix of skills. Unlike the US Army, they had no standards for recruitment and people obeyed the rules as a matter of choice as there wasn’t anything they could do if they didn’t. He was well aware there was a short distance between their structure on the Base and armed anarchy.
Nodding to the woman, he said, ‘Welcome Max.’ Addressing the team, he asked, ‘What have we got on the table today?’
TL said, ‘Hospital set up. Replacement base. CDC recon.’
Pax said, ‘Major major asshole.’
Smirking at Pax, he asked, ‘Really Pax? That’s how we’re referrin’ to the possible military establishment in Alexandria.’
Pax shrugged and replied blandly, ‘I met their recon guys and it’s bullshit until proven otherwise.’
He rolled his eyes at Pax, but still grinning he agreed with his brother’s skepticism. In this new world, much like the previous one, he thought people still talked a lot of crap.
Kat said, ‘I want to talk about the sanitation problem. We took in 37 people a few days ago bringing us to nearly 190 people. This is getting to be a real issue that we can’t keep deprioritizing.’
Base sanitation was his least favorite subject, but he knew Kat was right. Even he could tell the chemical toilets were not up to the job, and so many people living in close quarters without windows was only adding to the stench. His trip to the Ranch had literally been a breath of fresh air.
He said brusquely, ‘Our priorities are CDC recon, Major major asshole, Base replacement, hospital set up and Ranch set up.’ He looked to the team for their take on his priorities, but no one disagreed.
Flicking his head towards Lydia, TL said, ‘Lydia knows where the CDC site is, so I recommend a recon. Objective is to see if they have the equipment we need for a lab and any useful intel on what they were doing there.’
Nodding, he asked, ‘Whatdaya need?’
TL replied, ‘I need Ip and a coupla trusted shooters in case the site has hunters or unfriendlies.’
Not wanting to expose Ip’s capabilities to everyone, whenever they used her to help clear sites they only took their most trusted shooters.
Pax nodded to TL and replied, ‘No problem.’
He said decisively, ‘We’ve made no progress on the lab, so let’s get that done asap.’
They moved onto the next priority and Pax said, ‘We need intel on Major major asshole. I wanna recon their base and see what we’re dealin’ with.’
Nodding, he asked, ‘Do we know anythin’ about their base?’
Pax replied, ‘I was there a few years back. I know where it is and what it used to look like. It’s at least an overnight run through unknown territory to get there.’
Nodding again, he said, ‘Let’s bring Ip with us to deal with any hunters.’
Looking at Mackenzie, Pax said, ‘We should bring Mackenzie as well.’ Turning to Kat, he asked, ‘Kat can you check if we have anyone with helicopter pilot experience of any sort at the Base?’
Kat replied, ‘Sure, I’ll check the manifest and get back to you today.’
Realizing Pax was thinking about the birds at the Major’s base, he said, ‘That’s a good idea, Pax. Let’s see if we can bag ourselves a bird.’
TL added, ‘That w
ould solve our reach problem. I need to search further out to find a new base.’
Picking up on TL’s comment, he said, ‘That brings us to the problems with the Base. I think we can ease the sanitation problem by moving some people out to the Ranch faster, but we need to get the perimeter up first. Once I’m done with the Major major asshole recon, I’ll take Jordy over to sort it. I’ll also have a word with Fagan and see how he’s gettin’ on sourcing those RV’s. Once that’s done we can move people outta the Base.’
Kat already knew about the plan to have people live in RV’s at the Ranch and she said, ‘I’d like to start checking who wants to move to the Ranch. How quickly can we get the Ranch operational?’
He replied, ‘As soon as Jordy has the lights up for the perimeter and Fagan has RV’s. I’d assume within the week.’
Scribbling in her notebook, Kat asked, ‘Did you get some video footage of the Ranch? I know people will feel more comfortable if they know where they’re going.’
Nodding, he replied, ‘Yeah, I did. Benny can ya swing by and grab that tablet from me and sort that with Kat?’
‘Will do,’ Benny replied.
He ran his fingers across the scar on his face thinking, he was already tired, but the work was mounting up as the briefing went on. Taking a deep breath, he asked, ‘Hospital set up?’
Before TL could answer for her, Lydia spoke for herself and said, ‘You have no facilities here to speak of, but you do have some decent supplies. I know the University Medical Center in Jackson is nearby. Some of the equipment I need is fragile and bulky, so we’ll need some heavy lifters with steady hands.’
Regarding Lydia with renewed interest and liking her initiative, he replied, ‘Okay, ya gonna need Ip to help clear the site.’
Pax was writing in his notebook and he said, ‘Trucks, shooters and loaders. Got it.’
TL said, ‘I’ll take lead. We’ll get it done after the CDC run. We might get lucky and find some kit out at the CDC we can take as well’
Lydia wasn’t finished and she continued, ‘One other thing. Before I got here I was running estimates on numbers of survivors. I believe we’re losing the living exponentially. It’s not just the shamblers, hunters and bad guys that are killing or infecting people now. People have bad diets, high stress, no doctors, declining medical supplies and they’re getting more desperate or giving up. Based on my estimates we could be losing people as quickly to disease and suicide as we are to the hunters.’
