“Hey babe, let’s go back to the boat. Brad and the girls will stay with Nick, and Jim and Angie are getting the animals taken care of. I want you all to myself for a little while,” he whispered in her ear.
They went back to the boat and lay down in their bed together. Jack cradled her from behind and stroked her hair, as she finally fell into a restful sleep. The medication made her feel less nauseous, but it also made her sleepy.
Chapter Thirteen
Waiting for Cam
Jim
A week passed as they waited for Cam to come home.
Jim could tell that Angie was starting to get more nervous and jittery. She wouldn’t sit still and had started pushing herself too hard during the workouts. She was constantly moving. Jim wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was starting to get worried as well.
Cam had been gone almost a month. It was the first week of September. They would need to leave soon, per Cam’s orders.
“Babe, you are pushing them a little too hard,” Jim said to Angie one day as she got back from her run with the girls.
Jim had decided to go ahead and get them started on a basic fitness routine, along with beginner classes on the weapons. He figured Cam would have done it anyway, and this way he can make it a little easier for them when he gets back. Surprisingly, they didn’t grumble about it. Probably had something to do with what Nick had said to them the night they got back.
Jim had regained his place on the floor of Angie and Cam’s cabin after a short stint in one of the tents. Space was again in short supply. That night, she leaned over the edge of the bed and told him that she had heard Nick and Brad talking about “The Colonel” coming home soon.
Jim was trying his best to hold back his laughter when she explained that the new girls were chagrined to find out that Jim was the second in command. She went on to say that they had all gotten quiet for a moment before Lily said, “Maybe we should have been nicer to him.”
Jim did laugh at that.
Those girls had really made an effort to do things around the place to help out. He was glad to find that Angie and Jess seemed to welcome them. He was worried there might have been some jealousy issues or something.
“What do you mean I’ve been pushing them too hard? I only made them run a mile today,” she said.
“Yeah, but they aren’t used to it. They’ve been kept in a basement, babe, with no way to stay fit. You may want to keep that in mind,” he said.
“I do keep it in mind. Listen, they know it’s tough out there. Not one of them complained that I was pushing them too much. If they say something, then I’ll ease up,” she conceded.
“Okay.” He reached up and grabbed her hand, enjoying the feel of it in his. She fit him perfectly. Now he just had to convince her to leave Cam for him.
He almost snorted out loud at that thought. She may love him, but she probably loved Cam way more, and they were engaged. His chest gave an unhappy lurch, and he fought the anger, the unfairness, and the sense of loss that thought made him feel.
He wanted her more than anything else in the world. He loved her more than anything else in the world. He would die for her if necessary, and gladly.
She squeezed his hand, and he brought his thoughts back to the present.
“I want to have a meeting tomorrow morning after breakfast. Can you make sure the girls are all there? I want everybody at this one. It concerns the move.”
She frowned at that, and he knew she was upset about leaving before Cam and Ed got back.
He sat up and cupped her cheek in his hand. She looked so serious. He impulsively leaned forward and kissed her. Once was not enough; it had only whetted his appetite. Her lips were soft and welcoming, and he had to tear himself away after only a moment. It was too short. He wanted more, much more.
He was an asshole and a cheating bastard, and he couldn’t help it.
He laid down and tried to sleep. Tomorrow would come early.
◆◆◆
Breakfast the next day went as it had the last several days.
Some of the girls had helped cook, and others carried the food and dishes up to the top deck. They were all eating up there now at the big table. It was the only one capable of seating them all.
Jim finished off his eggs and pancakes and sipped coffee while he waited for everyone to finish eating.
He watched as the girls surrounded Nick. They had seemed to make it their personal mission to help him get well and keep him from having to lift a finger for himself. It was fine for now, but later it could cause him some issues…like laziness.
Jim smirked as Cara cut up Nick’s pancakes into bites for him, while Lane brought him a cup of coffee. For a tough one, she sure was babying him a lot.
Brad looked to be talking seriously with Sasha, the shy little one who hadn’t ever spoken a word that he could remember. She was giving him her full attention as he lectured her about something medical.
Lily finally came up and brought Nick his antibiotics and watched as he took it. She stroked his shoulder and smiled when he finished. He patted her hand.
Geez…he was eating it up.
“Everyone, it’s time to listen up. Brad, are you paying attention?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” he said and sat up straighter.
He noticed the girls focused on him more earnestly than they had when they first met and thought it was a good thing. If they took his and Cam’s leadership roles seriously, then maybe they would take their training more seriously.
It could save their lives one day.
“Alright, then. It’s time to get ready to leave and go to the cabin. Next week we will start transporting the supplies. We will leave a team there to get everything sorted and begin work on the fences. We’ll need to also scavenge enough feed for the livestock to last the winter. I’ll start working on the assignments tonight and let you all know tomorrow. Any questions?”
“When is the Colonel supposed to come back?” Lane asked him.
He wasn’t surprised that she had spoken up.
“We are unsure of when he will be coming back. His orders state that we are to move by the end of September if he hasn’t returned. In that case, he will meet us there.”
She nodded once. “But where did he go?”
“One of our people was taken. Presumably by some guy in charge of a prison. He went to find him and get him out.”
“All by himself?” she said in shock.
“Yes,”
“You don’t know him,” Nick said to her seriously.
Jim saw her glance at the other women. They looked impressed, and strangely determined. He wondered what that was about.
“When will we move the animals?” Angie asked.
“Last. We don’t want them drawing in Zs before we are ready to defend against them.”
Jim wasn’t looking forward to transporting them again. Last time they had used a pontoon boat that Brad and Monica went to get from the marina down the lake. The cows didn’t like that one bit.
“Is there enough room for all of us there?” Monica asked snidely while glancing at the new girls.
“There’s plenty of room. We’ll have to learn to get used to being around each other more, is all. Another comment like that and I will have you do extra PT every day this week, do you understand?”
Monica glared at him but backed down when Jim stared her down. He was serious.
“Yes. Sir,” She said, punctuating each word sharply. She was a sarcastic bitch, but he’d already known that well.
“Jean, you all set to teach some of us how to make butter and all that?”
Everyone looked over at Jean in surprise.
“What? I’m not just a pretty face! I have plenty of skills you young folks know nothing about. Why, you should see my dance moves. There was a time when all the young men wanted a turn on the floor with me. I think it was my…”
“Jean!” Jim interrupted.
Angie and Jessica were laughing behind the
ir hands. Monica was rolling her eyes. The others just looked on in confusion at her completely incomprehensible segue.
“Okay, this meeting is over. Today, I want everyone working on finishing up here. We’ll get a team together soon to go look for feed for the animals and to start moving things. The rest of you keep up the training, especially you guys,” he said to the girls.
They nodded at his order.
When the meeting was over, they got the table cleared while Jessica, Jean, and Angie went to get started on the laundry. Laundry was a never-ending chore. Though it was a little easier now that they had a washing machine on the boat. The trick was getting it hooked up to the island’s water supply.
Thankfully, Jack seemed to be a mechanical genius. They would have been stuck washing by hand without him.
Nick seemed to be vastly improved. His arm was healing well, Brad said. The infection was gone, but he continued the antibiotics just in case. Jessica was looking better as well. This last week she seemed almost like her old self, though she was still thin and a little pale. She had gotten back some of her vitality though, and he noticed that Jack looked more at ease.
Damn, that had to be hard— having a pregnant girlfriend during a time like this.
Jim got up and went to get his maps and notepads. He needed to get started on planning out the move in more detail, including who the teams were that would be going over first.
It would be tricky, deciding who would go and who would stay. He only hoped Cam showed up before they left. He would feel better having the ‘Colonel’ be in charge of this operation.
Hell, he would even let Ed name it!
Chapter Fourteen
The Plague
Ed
Ed was very concerned.
It had been two weeks since they had made it to the little house, and they were due to leave soon, perhaps even tomorrow or the next day…
…except that Sue Garret had a fever.
Sue was one of the soft-spoken women that had left the prison with him. She had been a laborer, like him, yet she had been there far longer, since the third week after Z-day.
She was a housewife. Well, used to be. Her husband had turned during the initial outbreak, and she was left a widow.
Now she was sick, and they didn’t know what it was.
It had started benignly enough. She had complained of feeling a little ill. Then, she had developed a slight fever. A short time later, her fever had risen.
Now she was in the house’s only bedroom, tossing and turning and worrying everyone else.
Linda had been taking care of her the best she could. Cam insisted on her wearing a mask and gloves, but Ed wasn’t sure if that was going to stop it, if it was whatever had made that fella sick in that farmhouse.
Right now, Ed was doing his best to stay calm. Getting all antsy wouldn’t help anyone.
Linda was in the sickroom once again. It was late evening, and the others were resting in the living room. Cam was pulling security outside. He was trying to read, but his thoughts kept going back to the sickness. The plague. That’s pretty much what it was, and they didn’t know a dad-burned thing about it. Not how it spreads, not how it kills…nothing.
“Cam!” came a shriek from the closed bedroom.
Ed was startled by the sudden cry and jumped up as fast as he could.
Cam came bursting in through the front door. They looked at the closed door. It was an ominous feeling, not knowing what was going on behind that door. For the split second that Cam paused before running in, they heard a faint gurgling, gasping sound.
A terrible sound.
A sobbing, scared voice called again for Cam, and he had no choice but to enter. He pulled his bandana up over his face and slipped on a pair of gloves. When he opened the door, Ed saw something he would never forget.
Sue Garret was thrashing wildly in the bed, grunting and gasping.
Blood streamed from her mouth and nose. She had bloody tears marred the corners of her eyes. Her head was thrown back, neck arched, almost impossibly far. Blood splatters marked the covers and the walls. Linda was covered in blood and trying to hold her down. Unsuccessfully.
“She’s having a fit of some kind! What do I do?!” she shouted at Cam.
Her words were muffled a bit behind her mask.
“Take this and hold her down!” he yelled, tossing her the other side of a sheet.
Cam stretched it tight across Sue’s flailing body and they held her in place.
Ed watched as Sue convulsed, seemingly for ages. Unexpectedly, she stopped as suddenly as she had begun. Cam reached for her wrist and felt for a pulse.
“She’s alive. She is burning up with fever. Help me get her into the tub!”
They carried her through the living room, dripping blood and other contaminated body fluids onto the hardwood. They got her to the bath and didn’t even bother undressing her, they just put her in and turned the water on lukewarm. She lay in there, deathly still, gradually turning the water a cloudy pink from the seeping blood.
“I’m going to bleach everything down, Cam. We’ve got to keep this under control,” Ed said.
“I’ll help,” Trap said.
“No, stay back. Only one of us needs to do it and I was more exposed than you were.”
“Sue wasn’t directly exposed either, and look at her,” he pointed out.
“Still, I’d feel better doing it myself,” Ed reiterated.
“I’ll gather the supplies and bring them here,” Tanaka said to Ed.
Ed bleached every bleachable surface, taking care not to let anything contaminated touch his skin. He was going to change the bedding out too. He bagged it all up in two layers of plastic and took it out to be dealt with later. He didn’t have the strength to turn it, but he laid some extra trash bags down over the ruined spot on the mattress and put clean sheets back on the bed. After he was through, he got rid of his contaminated gear.
They got Sue settled in the clean bed, but it was clear that it would be a miracle if she made it through.
Cam
Sue died at four-thirty the next morning.
Cam sat beside her bed, watching as her fever burned hotter, her breathing grew shallower, and her pulse faded. Her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, as well as other places continued to seep blood.
Eventually, it stopped, and with it the seeping blood.
It was time for Cam to do what needed to be done.
He pulled the sheet and blanket up over her head to keep the splattering to a minimum, then fired one round into her brain. She was down for good. He looked around the room.
It was filled with whatever virulent disease it was that had sprung up. They needed to relocate, or they would all get it— if they hadn’t already been infected.
He left the small room, removing the plastic he had put on his boots, and then made his way past the silent staring faces of his new group.
“She’s gone. We need to move,” was all he said.
He went into the bathroom and shut the door. He stripped down and washed himself in water as hot as he could stand, thankful the gas lines were still piping gas to the water heater. One day that would be gone too. When he finished scrubbing himself twice with antibacterial soap, he got out.
He stood in front of the mirror, careful to stay away from his pile of contaminated clothing and gear. He would need to clean that up.
He wiped a circle of the mirror free from condensation and looked at himself. He didn’t look like the same person.
His beard was longer, his hair was longer, and his eyes were old— and colder. He had lost body fat and now his muscles showed more definition than before. He was a different man than the one who had went to work all those months ago. He was almost a stranger.
Enough of that shit.
He pulled on a clean pair of pants and left the room. He came back with trash bags and bundled up his contaminated gear in plastic. He went outside and cleaned what he could, sterilizing each item twice to be safe.
The rest went in a burn pile.
“Pack up what we can take. Leave what is contaminated. We’re leaving in thirty minutes,” he said to those inside.
He burned the diseased clothing and protective gear that they had brought outside, though he left the sickroom the way it was. No sense in going back in to try to clean it. Chances were that nobody would ever go in there again. At least, not for a long time.
For now, they needed to find a better place to live. Their quarantine period had just started over. He wouldn’t be getting back to the island before they moved. He only wished he could get a message to Angie, let her know that he was still alive…for now.
◆◆◆
Four hours later, Cam, Ed, Tanaka, Linda, Mac, and Trap were all standing in the living room of their new home.
It was a step up over the last place, but it still wasn’t where Cam wanted to be.
“Everyone find a room. We need to all be alert to symptoms of illness. Speak up as soon as you think you might feel sick. We’ll give it two weeks. If nobody gets sick, then we’ll move on.”
Cam walked out as the others wandered off to find a place to sleep and store their things. After the cramped quarters of the little house, they would each be grateful for the space and privacy.
They had found a small bed and breakfast off the main highway near a tiny touristy-type village, boasting only a small grocery store and gas station. Everything else was at least fifteen minutes away. Cam supposed that was far enough, they would have to be extra careful though, and keep a good watch.
The atmosphere that evening was depressed and glum.
Linda, Trap, and Ed—to a lesser extent— had lost a friend. Cam didn’t know Sue well, had only heard her speak a couple of times, but she seemed like a good enough woman. He was sorry she had gotten sick.
He also worried about how she had gotten it, and what that meant for the rest of them.
Refuge From The Dead | Book 3 | Dead Fall Page 15
