Hunter Wars Omnibus Edition (Books 1 - 3)

by SD Tanner

  They headed back to the bar, intending to get Hatch from the bird, only to find him propped up against the bar. To his surprise, Hatch was drinking a soda and smoking a fat cigar.

  Watching Hatch take a puff of his cigar, he asked, ‘I thought you said you were an alcoholic?’

  Hatch blew out a long stream of smoke and said, ‘Nah, I went to AA and found God. Now I prefer to get stoned. Do ya think there’s any dope in any of those rooms?’

  Benny smirked and said sarcastically, ‘You finished with Alcoholics Anonymous, and now you’re moving onto Narcotics Anonymous. I don’t think that’s what they meant by step program.’

  Undeterred by Benny’s point, Hatch grinned happily and said, ‘Can’t wait ‘til I get a sex addiction. I wonder what the women look like in that group.’

  He was just relieved Hatch was sober and replied dourly, ‘I’m surprised you aren’t already a sex addict.’

  Hatch shrugged and asked, ‘How much sex is too much sex?’ Smirking, he answered his own question and added, ‘If it don’t burn when ya pee, then it’s probably okay.’

  Benny screwed up his face in disgust and said, ‘That’s gross.’

  He was with Benny about that and deciding he didn’t want to pursue this conversation with Hatch, he said, ‘Benny, we should grab some footage of the ship on the tablet and then go check out the port. I wanna film the layout, entrances, exits, fuelling area and anything else useful.’

  ‘What are you thinking?’ Benny asked.

  Looking around the bar, the decking and sea outside, he said thoughtfully, ‘I’m thinking, if we can mobilize the ship, we’ve got a new base.’

  Benny grinned and said excitedly, ‘Woah! Genius! A floating base!’

  Nodding, he caught Benny’s enthusiasm and said, ‘Gears will love that, but he’ll wanna know if we can move it to shore otherwise, if we lose the bird, we’d be stranded. We’ll need to do some more research before we can move here.’

  They spent the next few hours filming the area and the ship before heading back to the Base. He was feeling pleased with himself and decided it wasn’t such a boring, wasted trip after all. Although they’d need to do further recon, he thought what they’d seen that day looked very promising. The luxury cruise ship just might be the solution to their problems with the Base.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Something wicked this way comes (Gears)

  ‘Sauna? Seriously?’ Pax exclaimed. ‘World ends and we get a sauna?’

  TL was showing them the clips he’d brought back from his recon. He had to admit, the ship looked incredible and even he found it difficult to believe a luxury cruise ship could be the answer to their problems. It didn’t seem like it should be the right solution, but he couldn’t work out what was wrong with the idea.

  He liked what he saw and said, ‘It looks like it might be a viable option. I get what ya sayin’ about bein’ able to get back to shore, but the ship has lifeboats. I’m headin’ up to the Ranch tomorrow, but I’ll check it out when I get back.’

  Pax added, ‘Gears, when ya head down there, get the bird to follow the road route. Be useful to know what’s in the way on the roads. We can get Fagan to clear them.’

  Agreeing, he replied, ‘Good idea, Pax. We got so many people, we’re gonna hafta move ‘em by road.’ Then thinking ahead, he added, ‘When I head over to the ship, I’ll take Jordy and see if he can get the power workin’.’

  Switching off the tablet, TL said, ‘I’ll check if we got any sailors on the base, but I’m not optimistic. Just how many people know how to drive a cruise ship?’

  Finding anyone who could sail the ship was worrying him too and nodding, he replied, ‘I agree, but ya gotta look into it. Ya never know your luck.’

  It was getting late and they all turned in for the night. Ip was already curled up asleep and, trying not to wake her, he slid into the bunk and wrapped his bulky body around her. Being tall and slender, Ip fit inside the curve his body perfectly and, pulling her close to him, he sighed contentedly and fell into a deep sleep.

  Morning came too quickly for his liking, but the Ranch was a two-hour ride even by air and they were up and moving by 5am. He was taking Ip, Max and Jordy with him. Jordy was going to set up the lights, which meant they would be mounting the heavy floodlights and wiring them through the generators. Dave and Jay were still at the Ranch and they could work with Jordy to get the lights up. Pax had chosen Max as one of their future leaders and she’d been assigned to him. He thought this was a good opportunity to get to know her. He had no real reason to bring Ip, but since their last trip to the Ranch, he wanted to keep her close and he figured the scavenger teams could get by without her for a few days.

  Once he and Ip were ready, they met up with the team in the mess and Harry, the cook, made them an early breakfast of reconstituted eggs and smoked sausages with biscuits and gravy. Before the outbreak, Harry specialized in nutrition and he asked for the job of running the mess. He’d proven to be a resourceful and dedicated cook and food at the Base was as balanced as possible considering there was little, if any, fresh food. Harry also made up a basic care package for them to take to the Ranch and it included flour, rice, tinned beans, lentils, dried eggs, sugar, salt, oil and various spices. He knew Mom and Pop were still able to grow basic vegetables, plus they had a couple of apple trees. With the fresh food, his Mom’s cooking and Harry’s care package, he figured later that night they could expect a good meal at the Ranch.

  In between mouthfuls of food, Max asked, ‘We’ve loaded the bird with lights, gear, food and overnight stuff. Are you expecting any trouble at the Ranch?’

  He was shoveling sausage and biscuits into his mouth and, still chewing, he shook his head and said, ‘No, the Ranch has only ever had a few shamblers and one hunter, so we should be in for a good dinner and a quiet night.’

  Grinning, Max said happily, ‘A quiet night in a real house, plus a good meal, sounds like heaven to me.’

  Once they’d finished breakfast, they took their dishes over to where Harry and his team were busy preparing for the full breakfast shift. Leaning across the serving table, he shouted, ‘Thanks Harry. See ya tomorra.’

  Harry waved and shouted back, ‘Good luck!’

  Although he’d only recently driven to the Ranch, it was a completely different trip to see the countryside from the air. He noticed there were quite a few burned out houses and buildings he hadn’t seen from the road. TL told him he hadn’t seen any animals, but today he saw a few herds of cattle and some horses, and he wondered if the nest TL saw at the golf course were only destroying the animal life in their region. If that were the case, then it would not be long before the hunters would need to hunt further out and eventually there would be no animals left at all. Some days, he almost agreed with Pax their mission looked impossible. When he felt that way, he’d remember the deep surge of hope he’d felt when Ip killed the hunter with a single touch. He hung onto that feeling and when it looked like nothing was going their way, it was all he had to keep him going. Their radios only had a 50-mile range and it was impossible to let the Ranch know they were coming. When they landed at the Ranch, Mom and Pop were both surprised and delighted to see him back.

  Pop was eyeing off the lights they brought and asked, ‘Do we really need those? It’s been pretty quiet out here.’

  He didn’t really know, but he did know the lights kept the hunters at bay and he said, ‘I know, but more people might attract attention, so better safe than sorry, Pop.’

  Still looking doubtful, Pop muttered, ‘Guess it don’t cost nothin’.’

  He, Jordy, Max, Dave and Jay spent the morning and afternoon fixing the lights to the barn, stables and house. He thought the footprint of the perimeter was a bit small, but figured they could erect posts to set the lights up for a larger perimeter once the survivors arrived from the Base. Fagan had found half a dozen RV’s and the mechanics were working on them to make sure they were roadworthy enough for the trip and serviceable to function as l
ong-term housing. He figured they could send 30 or more people to the Ranch, and that would alleviate the pressure on the facilities at the Base.

  Jordy had brought another small generator with him and he was planning to set it up to provide additional power. He said he would have the smaller generator working the following day, but tonight they could at least switch on the lights providing nothing else was using the power. Ultimately, the cables they laid down for the lights would need to be buried underground, but for now they’d done enough to make the Ranch safe for the survivors.

  Dave and Jay would have to maintain the generators and they still were working with Jordy to learn how the system worked. Pop was busy rechecking everything everyone had done. He assumed Max was in the house with his Mom, Anna and Christine sorting out dinner. Hatch had headed back to the Base with the bird and would be back tomorrow to pick them up. Looking around the Ranch, he realized everyone had something they needed to do except him. Finding himself with a rare few hours to relax, he went looking for Ip and found her in the stables with Fuzz and Pop’s three horses. She was gently running her hand down the horse’s long nose and chirping at it soothingly. Quietly walking up behind her, he slipped his arm around her waist, but she didn’t seem surprised. She always seemed to know when he was near and he felt her lean back into his embrace.

  Softly, he asked ‘Ever ridden a horse?’

  He knew it was a pointless to ask her anything. She didn’t recognize language and Lydia told him the part of the brain that held her long-term memory was severely damaged. It was unlikely Ip remembered who she was before they’d deliberately infected her at the CDC and he thought it must be like being born again.

  Deciding he could at least help her make some new memories, he grabbed a blanket and a saddle for one of the horses. When they were kids, he and his brothers had their own horses, but they were long gone now and he wasn’t familiar with Pop’s latest ones. Riding and caring for horses was one of the first things Pop taught them and they were all confident riders. Leading a beautiful glossy brown mare out of the stables, he swung himself up and then pulled Ip up into the saddle with him. Sitting between him and the saddle horn, Ip tucked tightly into his lap, and he walked the mare out of the paddock and began to slowly amble around the Ranch. It was a pleasantly cool day and he could hear the sound of the mare’s hooves on the dirt and feel Ip breathing against his chest. Contented, they idly roamed the Ranch for an hour or more.

  Max called them in for dinner at around 6pm. Securing the horses in the stable, he and Ip wandered back to the house and got cleaned up, ready for their evening meal. There were eight people around the old wooden kitchen table, plus the two kids from the diner. Jordy had tested the lights and said he would wait until everyone was done for the night before turning them on again. At night, Pop used flat wooden shutters on the windows and the ground floor of the house became like a closed box. While they waited for dinner, Dave plugged the headsets from his music system into Ip’s ears, and looking delighted, she began moving to the sound. While he watched her learning the joy of music, he realized with a twinge of envy, she had gotten to dump her baggage and start her life all over again. Thinking of baggage, he remembered that Anna had actively ignored him since he arrived. He still didn’t understand why she was so angry with him.

  Settled into their seats at the table, Pop asked, ‘What’s this I hear about a ship?’

  News travels fast, he thought and replied, ‘TL found a luxury cruise ship anchored a mile off the coast near Gulfport.’

  Looking impressed, Max asked, ‘Do you think you can get it working?’

  He shrugged and asked, ‘Jordy, do ya think ya can get the electrics working on a ship?’

  Jordy was chewing on a freshly cut slice of bread Mom baked that afternoon and drawled, ‘Probably. The principles of electricity don’t change just ‘cos you’re on the water, but can ya sail a ship, Gears?’

  Grinning at Jordy, he replied, ‘Nope, but I can ride a horse.’

  Giving him a look that suggested she thought he’d lost his mind, Max asked, ‘How’s that gonna help?’

  Anna rolled her eyes and said rudely, ‘It’s not. He’s being a smartass.’

  Max gave Anna a dirty look and said bluntly, ‘Well, I think a ship’s a good idea. If the electrics work, then so will the showers and toilets. Those big ships have desalination, which means there’s an endless supply of drinkable water, plus we have the bird now, so we can stay out to sea and bring supplies in. I think it’s a great idea and we’ll find someone who knows how to sail it.’ Pausing to glare at Anna, she said pointedly, ‘Don’t be such a miserable bitch.’

  He thought she was smart and he liked the way she spoke her mind. Chuckling at her summary, he nodded to her and said, ‘Nicely done!’

  People started chatting amongst themselves and no one seemed concerned about the sharpness of the exchange between Anna and Max. He suspected Anna annoyed everyone to some extent and turning to Max, he said evenly, ‘I dunno anythin’ about ya. Wanna fill me in?’

  ‘Not much to say,’ she replied. ‘I’m 25. I’ve got no education other than high school, and before all this happened I worked as a waitress. One year a friend and I worked on a big cruise ship as waitresses, but it was only a contract and, when it finished, I went back to working in restaurants.’

  It always surprised how many people were under-utilized. Max was clearly quite capable, but in the old world, all she could be was a waitress and nodding, he asked, ‘Do ya know what happened to your family?’

  A sad look flitted across her pretty face and he immediately regretted his question. Quickly recovering, Max replied in her matter-of-fact way, ‘No, I’d been living in New Orleans with my girlfriend for a year before it happened. I dunno what happened to her. New Orleans kinda fell apart fast and I ran.’

  He remembered landing at Weedon Field Airfield into a full-scale battle, but everyone at the military landing strip was armed and had a fighting chance against the shamblers. Surprised she escaped a city like New Orleans and survived, he said, ‘Ya did well to get out alive.’

  Looking at him sadly, Max said, ‘If you’re willing to sacrifice enough then you’ll always survive.’

  Understanding what she meant, he reached across and squeezed her hand. Nodding, he said honestly, ‘You got to live to fight another day.’

  Max didn’t elaborate on what happened to her and he didn’t want to ask her about something that clearly still upset her. These days, everyone had lost someone and many people had lost everyone. Dinner was done, and together they cleared the table and cleaned up. In the kitchen, he found his Mom patiently showing Ip how to dry dishes. They’d never tried to teach Ip to do anything practical, and he watched with amusement as she copied his Mom by stacking dishes. He didn’t think Ip understood what she was doing or why, but she did seem to enjoy crashing the crockery together. Ip had her own frame of reference for the world and it was slow work teaching her theirs. She knew how to take care of herself, but he thought Mom was being quite optimistic if she thought Ip was ready to become a domestic goddess.

  In a world where only daylight hours are safe, people tended to get up at dawn and be asleep by early nightfall and, although it was only 9pm, everyone was preparing to go to bed. Once everyone left, he found himself sitting alone with Mom at the big old wooden kitchen table.

  Smiling at him, Mom asked, ‘So, how are you and Ip getting along?’

  Mom never enquired about the women in his life and her question surprised him. Looking slightly confused, he asked, ‘Whatdaya mean?’

  Tilting her head slightly, she replied, ‘You told Pop there were problems.’

  Shrugging, he said dismissively, ‘I wasn’t bein’ serious.’

  ‘Yes you were, Bob,’ Mom replied tartly. ‘To my knowledge you haven’t dated anyone since Dianna left you after the accident.’

  Mom was referring to the accident that left him with the deep burn and scar that ran down his face. He’d hi
t a semi head on and the airbag in his car failed to deploy. The impact had propelled him head first through the windshield and slammed his face into the front grill of the semi. He’d been in a coma for 10 days and when he came to, he learned Dianna, his girlfriend of eight years, had dumped him. They were dark days and he knew Mom was relieved that TL and Pax were there to support him through his rehab and many operations. The army had taken care of the medical costs, and his brothers helped him deal with the emotional ones.

  Drawing a long breath, he said honestly, ‘Dianna and I didn’t have a deep thing goin’. I wasn’t around much and we barely saw one another. Her timin’ was bad, but she was right to leave.’

  Mom nodded understandingly and said, ‘I know, but you’re with Ip now and I think that’s a very different thing.’

  Sounding frustrated, he replied, ‘It is, but I dunno what I’m doin’. She doesn’t speak, so I dunno what she wants or how she feels about me. I don’t wanna push her into somethin’ she doesn’t want or doesn’t understand.’

  Mom looked confused and asked, ‘Are you telling me that you and her are not a couple that way?’

  ‘Exactly,’ he replied bluntly. ‘I wanna be with her that way, but I dunno what she wants.’

  ‘Seriously, Bob,’ Mom exclaimed. ‘I didn’t think I raised my boys stupid.’

  Confused, he asked, ‘Scuse me?’

  ‘Are you blind, Bob?’ Mom asked bluntly. ‘I’ve watched her with you. She tells you how she feels about you every moment she’s with you. Ip loves you Bob, and only a stupid man wouldn’t see that. I know you’re protective of her, but you need to protect her in all the ways a man protects a woman he’s in love with. He gives her what she needs and he gives her what they both want.’