“I’ll talk to Chloe tomorrow,” Kim offered, “and see if I can get any more information from her.”
“You said she was about my age,” Eve spoke up, “maybe I should go along, too. She might be more comfortable if there was someone her own age to talk to.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Kim.
“Okay, we’ll have a better idea of how to proceed tomorrow then.”
Jake went out on the back porch to have a smoke and Pete went along with him to discuss improvements on defenses they’d been building up. Kate walked off into the yard with Kim and, when they were all alone, asked if she’d caught up to the men she was looking for.
“They won’t be a bother anymore,” Kim told her.
“Are you sure of what you’re doing, Kim?”
“I said we don’t have to worry about them anymore.”
“That’s not what I meant. I don’t like these little excursions of yours. They all end up the same way; people die.”
“Some people deserve to die,” Kim said, tonelessly.
“Some of them deserve to live, too.”
“I told you about the family I found the other day!”
“Are you sure these were the men responsible?”
“I’m sure of what they planned to do to that girl! There was no room for doubt what would have happened to her!”
“I just don’t want to lose you, Kim; I don’t want you to lose who you are.”
Kim touched her fingers to Kate’s cheek.
“I promise you, I’ve been certain with every life I’ve taken.”
“If the others knew what you’ve been doing, I don’t know how they’d react.”
“I’m not ashamed of what I’ve been doing. We’re all safer because of it; you’re safer because of it.”
“Let me go with you from now on.”
“No,” she said flatly. “I’m more focused when I’m on my own and don’t have to worry about another person.”
“I’m worried that you’re too focused. I’m worried that the kill is the driving motive, the only reason for going out there at all.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Kim insisted.
“Let me ask you this, then; have you ever found a man or a group of men and left them alone, left them alive?”
Kim turned away and remained silent.
“What happened to us at that diner, that doesn’t condemn all men. Look at Jake and Pete and Tom. Look at harmless little Bernie, at Dr. Vargas. They’re all good men!”
“They are,” Kim admitted, “but there are others who aren’t.”
“Can you still tell the difference?”
Kim walked off a few paces, arms folded across her chest.
“Maybe… maybe I…” she turned around to face Kate. “Maybe I won’t go out for a while. Maybe I need to think about this more.”
Kate smiled and hugged her and they went back to the house together.
. . .
Jerry was awake, but still groggy when Kim brought Eve and Kate into the room. Jake and Vickie waited in the hallway while they talked. Chloe was delighted to have someone her own age to talk to and she and Jerry filled them in on their home and briefly talked about each of the others living there. When it came to the matter of how they happened to be out on the road alone, Jerry attributed it to panic on Martin’s part but Chloe insisted it was sheer cowardice.
“He could have waited for us,” she denounced him. “He could have brought the truck closer to us and let us climb in, even if we had to just dive into the bed; but he abandoned us and ran away! All he thought about was his own skin!”
“Honey,” Jerry softly reminded her. “Don’t forget he was the one who rescued you in the first place.”
“No, he didn’t! He didn’t want to take me with them! It was Mr. Cruz’s idea! He said I’d just be another mouth to feed; I’d just be dead weight. Maybe I wasn’t much use when they found me, but they never gave me a chance. I never felt like I really belonged there. Nobody ever treated me like a real person until you came along, you and Mr. Moyler.”
“I’m sorry, baby, I had no idea.”
“Larissa was mostly nice to me, and Mr. Cruz, but even they treated me like I was too stupid to do anything. I’m not stupid! I watched my parents turn into monsters and try to get into the car to get at me! You can’t ever get over something like that!”
Jerry hugged her with his good arm, patting her back.
“Do you think you could tell us how to find your house,” Kate asked after a bit.
“If you’ve got a map, I could mark it off pretty close,” Jerry answered.
. . .
Eve stayed with Chloe while the Kays, Vickie and Jake met with Phil, Susan and a still recovering Ted in a small conference room.
“Do you think these are the kind of people we want living close to us,” Kim put it point-blank.
“I’m not at all sure about this Martin guy, but, from what you’ve told me Chloe and Jerry said, it sounds like this Garth is a decent fellow,” Jake said. “This Alan Cruz and Larissa might be okay too. You have to remember, we’ve all been through the wringer since this infection hit. Some people have coped better than others have. Just because they have some failings, doesn’t necessarily make them bad people.”
Kate gave Kim a pointed look, which she pretended not to notice.
“So, we’re going to pay them a visit?” asked Vickie.
“I think we should,” Jake responded. “What do you think about it, Phil?”
“To be honest, I feel I should tell you that there are those here who aren’t happy at the thought of other people moving into the area, at least those independent of Hollington.”
“What? Isn’t that the whole idea, to rebuild a society, a civilization?”
“I’ve had a couple of conversations with our committee, mostly one-sided. Wyckoff, the head of the committee, frankly isn’t thrilled about having even your group here.”
“What’s his beef with us?”
“He blames you for the men we lost in the raid on your house. If it weren’t for your presence outside the walls, he believes we wouldn’t have had any trouble with that outlaw gang. Frankly, he assumed you’d naturally fall under Hollington rule. You’re also causing more than a few residents to think there’s an alternative to living behind walls all the time. The walls kept us safe through that whole first year, but now, with the infected so much less of a threat and, other than that one raid, the almost total absence of outlaws, they’re starting to think about having their own homes again. They’re starting to wonder if life has to be so regimented and confining anymore.”
“So Wyckoff feels we’re a threat to his authority?”
“I wouldn’t put it all that simply. Before the infection, he was the governor’s chief-of-staff. Afterward people naturally looked to him to lead them. He was on the planning committee for this country club long before the outbreak started, so he knew its potential, helped to organize a safe haven here. Make no mistake, this place wouldn’t even exist, most of these people wouldn’t be alive today without his hard work and planning.”
“He can’t think that people will be satisfied to live behind four walls the rest of their lives, never going out, never trying to reclaim the world. What happens when people start having children again and the population starts to increase? Eventually you’re going to outgrow this compound; what then?”
“We have three pregnancies right now. Wyckoff is no fool; he knows we’ll need more room. Plans have already been drawn to expand Hollington.”
“More walls?” asked Kate.
“Not walls necessarily, but more communal buildings, a larger fenced perimeter. He’s touting it as a way to keep everyone safe, but it’s really more about maintaining a centralized authority.”
“Does he have plans for us?” Kim asked.
“He hasn’t mentioned anything specific to me, but I’m not discounting the possibility that he has something in mind.”
&nbs
p; “Phil, I like you,” Jake said. “I consider you a friend. I consider your community as a whole to be our friends, but I have to tell you, we won’t be absorbed and we won’t be driven out; not without a fight.”
“Whoa, no one’s said anything about picking a fight, Jake,” Ted held up his good hand.
“That’s right,” Phil agreed. “There’s no reason to imagine it’s going to come down to that. This is all just speculation right now. It’s just two groups sitting down and having a friendly conversation.”
“Nonetheless, you felt the need to warn us.”
“I felt the need to have a conversation with a friend.”
Jake nodded, then asked, “What do you think will happen if we do bring this other group here?”
“I don’t know. If they decide to become part of the Hollington community, probably nothing. They’d most likely be welcomed with open arms, as long as they agreed to abide by our rules.”
“What if they want to set up shop on their own, if they don’t want to follow Wyckoff’s rules?”
Phil drew a deep breath and sat back in his chair.
“Jake, you said it yourself; this is all about rebuilding society and civilization. Can we do that if every group, every household decides to live by its own rules? There has to be order, there has to be law, there has to be a central authority or we won’t have a civilized society; all we’ll have is anarchy.”
It was Jake’s turn to sink back into his chair. He brooded over what Phil said in silence for a full minute while everyone else remained quietly expectant.
“We’ve become so conditioned to living entirely on our own, depending only on ourselves,” Jake broke the silence, “that, maybe we have lost sight of our ultimate goal. We’ll have to have a long talk about it when we get back home, but I’ll say, tentatively, that I’d be open to discussing our becoming part of the community with your committee.”
“Are you kidding me?” Kim almost shouted.
“I said we’d talk about it when we get back. I know this is a serious step, that’s why we all need to be involved in deciding.” Turning back to Phil, he said, “I’m making no promises, no commitments. We need to find the rest of Chloe’s group and get a feel for them first and then we need to really talk this through among ourselves. Give us a week to decide.”
“You’ll have your week. The committee isn’t looking for a confrontation. If there’s a way to resolve our differences amicably, they’ll be more than happy to give you that time.”
“As long as we bow down to them in the end,” Kim said, bitterly.
“None of us bow down to anyone,” Ted put in heatedly. “We have a system, an establishment, and it works. Every successful society needs order and structure, but that doesn’t mean subjugation, it just means recognizing the need for organization.”
“Everyone calm down, please,” Phil pleaded. “Our system really isn’t as onerous as you apparently believe,” he directed the last remark at Kim. “Just listen to what we have to offer and what we expect in return. You might even be pleasantly surprised. Before you leave, I’ll give you a copy of our charter which you can look over to help you make your decision.”
Kim was still fuming, but she nodded her head in acquiescence and held her tongue.
. . .
“I have to say, I never imagined you even considering this, Jake,” Pete said after the rest of the group was filled in back at the farmhouse. “Of course, I’m not sure what kind of compromises we’d be expected to make, but I’m not entirely opposed to the idea.”
“We could at least hear them out, see what they have to offer,” added Carolyn.
“Wait! Both of you were totally against being subject to the people at Hollington when we first moved here,” Kim declared. “Now you’ve suddenly changed your minds?”
“I’m still against being a subject,” Carolyn countered, “but I’m not against being a part of something larger than ourselves.”
“We don’t even know what all this will entail yet,” Hannah spoke up. “Shouldn’t we find out before we just totally reject the idea?”
“Look, we’re not even going to discuss this with Hollington for another week,” Jake stressed. “We’ll talk it over amongst ourselves, get an idea of what we’re willing to do, what points we’re willing to concede and what we’ll expect in return. Believe it or not, Kim, the people at Hollington aren’t completely dissatisfied with the system they have. Most of them are content or even happy with the way things are.”
“They haven’t known any other way since the outbreak,” Kim came back. “They’ve been sheep so long, they think the shepherd is their friend rather than their master.”
“Enough!” Jake slapped his hand on the table. None of them had ever seen him do that before and they were all stunned into silence.
“We’re not going to talk about this anymore right now,” he continued, looking around the room at each person. “We’ll talk about this when we’ve all had a chance to cool down and are ready to discuss it calmly, in a civilized manner.” Here he looked directly at Kim.
“All right,” she said, “but you know where I stand and I don’t see you changing my mind.”
“Right now,” Jake said, overlooking her last comment, “we need to send a delegation to Chloe’s home to talk with the other people there. If we decide they’re the kind of people we want living near us, we’ll make them an offer, invite them to join us or to join Hollington. Once the delegation gets back, we’ll continue this discussion. Is everyone okay with that?”
All present nodded or voiced agreement.
“Who’s going to be on this delegation,” asked Kim.
“I think Pete and I should go,” Jake replied, “and we should probably have Carolyn along to see what kind of physical shape they’re in.”
“What about me?” asked Vickie.
“I think three people are enough; any more might be intimidating.”
“Why are you bypassing me again,” Tom queried. “Pete’s a lot more intimidating than I am.”
“Okay, you’re in. Do you mind, Pete?”
“Fine with me. It’ll give me a chance to think about how to talk Carolyn into that bikini,” he laughed.
“Uh huh. You mean you want to try to talk me out of it.”
“Well…” and everyone laughed. Everyone except Kim, who was still seething over the thought of joining Hollington.
Chapter 21: New Friends
“I promise you,” Martin was explaining to Garth, “if there’d been any chance at all, I’d have fought to my last breath! They just seemed to come out of nowhere when Chloe walked off by herself. Jerry ran right into the pack to try to get her, but they both got taken down. There wasn’t anything I could have done.”
“But, why would Chloe go off alone? What was she doing?” asked Larissa.
“Who knows? Maybe she had to pee, maybe she saw a butterfly; the girl just wasn’t right in the head! I tried to tell you we shouldn’t have taken her with us!”
“All right, all right, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Garth said. “You’re certain they’re dead?”
“I’m telling you, I saw them taken down with my own eyes! I’d give anything if it weren’t so, but they’re gone.”
“Jerry was a good man, the kind you could count on when there was trouble. We’re going to feel his absence,” Alan lamented.
“Look, Chloe was already a goner when he went after her; he took off before I could stop him!”
“Nobody’s blaming you, Martin,” Garth reassured him. “We’ve lost people before. All of us have lost people; no one’s to blame. We have to move on; it’s just as simple as that.”
Martin nodded and put up a sad front but secretly he was delighted that they all seemed to accept his story. That night, as he was just getting ready to climb into bed, there was a soft knock at his door. He opened it to find Jessie standing there dressed in a t-shirt and panties, holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.
�
��I hope I’m not being presumptuous,” she smiled at him. “I thought you might like some company. I know I’m not looking forward to being all alone in an empty room tonight.”
“Yeah, come on in,” he grinned, standing aside to let her enter. He closed the door behind her and, a moment later, locked it.
Jessie handed the bottle to Martin and he opened it, filling both their glasses.
“What made you decide to visit me tonight of all nights,” he asked after they’d both tasted the wine.
“Losing Chloe and Jerry like that, it just brought home to me how fragile our lives are and how limited our time is now. Who knows how long we have? I want to enjoy it while I can.”
Martin took the glass from her hand and set them both on the nightstand. He took her into his arms and drew her close, kissing her. Jessie wrapped her arms around his neck, held the back of his head in one hand, pulling him to her, and kissed him passionately. Martin fairly tore her panties away and the two fell onto the bed, her legs wrapping tightly around him. He took her hungrily, insistently, almost to the point of being brutal. Her nails dug into the flesh of his back and he exploded in less than a minute, which was just long enough for her.
Afterward they lay next to each other, hearts still racing, catching their breaths. Martin reached for the wine and they finished most of the bottle before Jessie, giggling like a young girl, used her hands and mouth to ready him for a second round.
Martin was alone when he woke up in the morning. Looking around, he found a note on the pillow next to him. It was from Jessie; she’d gone back to her room for the sake of appearance before the rest of the household awoke. He smiled and crumpled the note, flushing it after he used the bathroom. “If I’d known this was going to happen,” he chuckled to himself, “I’d have gotten rid of Jerry and the dummy a long time ago.”
He broke out into a big grin when he saw Jessie at the breakfast table. She smiled and quickly turned her head, cheeks reddening.
The following afternoon, he and Garth were out front repositioning one of the logs across the driveway that had shifted. Larissa, on watch from a platform they’d built near the house called out a warning.
The Complete Lethal Infection Trilogy Page 63
