by Eric Vall
It didn’t take long for them to fall asleep, and I stared out the window at the rain and lightning as I thought about the strange life I had come to lead. I never would have thought I would have four beautiful women who were as insatiable as I was, but I couldn’t complain.
Now I just had to deal with the rest of the world.
Lightning flashed and lit up the room once more, and I smiled as I looked over at Tara and Paige cuddled together in the veterinary chairs.
Moments like this were worth all the killing and bullshit.
Chapter 6
The next morning I woke the girls at dawn. I hadn’t slept that night, and the rain had only just let up as the sun rose.
“Shit,” Paige said groggily as she looked out the window. “It’s morning?”
“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “We should get going.”
“Why didn’t you wake one of us?” Tara asked. “Did you sleep at all?”
“No,” I chuckled. “But it’s alright. The rain only let up a few moments ago.”
“We should get going,” Paige agreed. “Who knows how long the break in the storm will last.”
“Hopefully forever,” Tara grumbled. “I’m so tired of rain.”
“Let’s see if we can find some boxes to put the saline in,” I said.
“Alright,” Paige said, and then she yawned, stretched, and put on her glasses. “I want to look through the rest of meds real quick too.”
“We’ll just grab it all,” I said. “No telling what we might need in the future, and we have the room.”
“Good idea,” the brunette said with a nod.
We found some boxes in one of the storage closets, took all the supplies from the medicine room, carried them out to the truck, and hopped in.
“Let’s get home,” I said, and I fired up the truck’s engine.
“I wish we had brought some coffee,” Paige sighed.
“It’s not as good without Rolly to make it though,” Tara said with a frown.
“I’m sure he’ll make us some coffee when we get home,” I chuckled, and I headed out of town.
“So I didn’t want to be rude before,” Tara said after a few minutes of driving, “but is Frank contagious?”
“I don’t think so,” Paige said. “If he had been, then it’s already passed by now.”
“How do you know?” Tara asked with a raised brow.
“Well, nobody else is sick,” the brunette said with a shrug.
“That’s true, I guess,” Tara agreed. “I just don’t want to get sick.”
“I don’t think anybody does,” I said with a soft smile.
“I don’t mean to be insensitive,” the platinum blonde said.
“No,” Paige said with a shake of her head. “It’s okay. It’s a genuine concern.”
“Good,” Tara said with a nod.
“Hopefully these IV bags are all that he’ll need,” Paige said.
“We’ll be home soon enough,” I said. “Paige, why don’t you help Marla with getting them in?”
“I’ll watch,” the brunette said with a frown. “But I don’t know how to actually stick somebody, let alone a child.”
“You’re a quick learner,” I said with a smile. “And Marla might need the help.”
“Hopefully she slept some since we last saw her,” Tara said. “She looked rough.”
“I hope so,” I agreed. “She’s the only one who knows how to do an IV right now.”
“Sometimes I really wish this whole EMP business had happened after I had become a doctor,” Paige sighed.
“Yeah, but then we wouldn’t have each other,” Tara said.
“I know,” Paige said with a soft smile. “That’s why I said sometimes. That knowledge would just be really handy in times like this.”
“I guess,” Tara said with a shrug. “But people didn’t always have like twelve years of school to become a doctor, did they?”
“It’s not quite that long,” Paige chuckled. “But no, I suppose they didn’t.”
“Tara’s right,” I said with a grin. “You’ll be a new kind of doctor, and you’ll learn just like how they did in the old days.”
“Does this mean I have to make house calls and carry one of those weird old doctor bags?” the brunette laughed.
“If we can find one, then yes, absolutely,” I teased.
“It is super cool that you wanted to be a doctor.” Tara smiled.
“Really?” Paige asked somewhat skeptically.
“Totally,” Tara said with a nod. “I wanted to be a doctor when I was really little, but I figured that was way too much work for me.”
“I think you could’ve done it,” Paige said with a smile.
“I know that now,” Tara said. “But nobody ever would have thought I was smart enough to be a doctor before the EMP.”
“I’m sorry,” Paige said with a frown.
“It’s okay,” Tara chuckled and waved her off. “I’m not complaining. I’m just saying that in all honesty the EMP changed my life for the better.”
“As fucked up as it is I have to agree,” I said with a grin. “I’m glad that it happened. Otherwise I wouldn’t have met you all.”
“You’re only saying that because we have such good sex with you,” Tara teased.
“I considered all factors,” I laughed.
The rain was barely a sprinkle as we passed back through the biker town, and by the time we passed the bridge by campus it had stopped entirely.
“Is that Jeff and Donna?” Paige asked as we started up the driveway to campus.
“Looks like it,” I said and I waved out the window at the two of them.
“Are they the only two down here?” Tara asked.
“I think so,” I said with a nod.
“I wonder if the Guard has come through yet,” Paige mused.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” I said, and I accelerated up the hill.
The campus was busy when we pulled up. There were people feeding the animals, chopping wood, and standing guard.
“Looks like Anna runs a tight ship,” Paige chuckled.
“I would expect nothing less,” I laughed and hopped out of the truck.
“Hey!” Rolly called down from the roof.
“How’s it going, old timer?” I called up with a smile.
“Alright up here,” he hollered. “Did you get the stuff for Frank?”
“Got it!” Tara yelled.
“Good,” Rolly said with a grin. “You should get it inside ASAP. I don’t think he’s doing too good.”
“Thanks, Rolly,” I said, and I grabbed the box with the IV fluid out of the truck and carried it into the gym.
I saw Marla and Justin sitting next to Frank who laid still on the floor. Marla pushed the boy’s hair back gently, and Justin stroked her back and stared down at his son.
“Marla,” I said as I walked over with the box.
“Oh, my God,” she breathed as she looked up at me. “You got it.”
“I got it,” I said with a grin, and I set the box down in front of her.
“Thank you,” she said, and tears welled in her eyes.
“Hey, now,” I said softly. “You can cry later, right now you’re the only person who knows how to put an IV in.”
“Right,” Marla said, and she wiped a tear away and took a steadying breath.
“I’m here to help if you need it,” Paige said as she came up behind me.
“Okay,” Marla said with a nod. “That would be good.”
“Are you all okay here?” I asked. “I should find Anna and get a status report.”
“Oh, yes,” Marla said, and she picked up one of the bags of IV fluid. “We’ll be alright, you go.”
“Okay,” I said with a nod. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
“Thank you, Tav,” Justin said with a sad smile.
“It’s going to be alright,” I told him, and then I turned and headed outside.
I looke
d around quickly and found Anna in the dorm building instructing a couple of the civilians in proper rifle cleaning.
“Hey,” I said as I approached.
“Hey,” Anna said, and she looked up at me and then back to the civilians. “You all good here?”
“Yeah,” Merideth said with a nod.
“Okay,” Anna said, and she stood up and walked over to me.
“Somebody let their rifles get a bit dirty?” I asked with a raised brow.
“I can’t even talk about it,” the redhead said, and she shook her head.
“How are things here?” I asked.
“They’re going smoothly,” she replied. “Except we had a group come through last night.”
“How big?” I asked, and I narrowed my eyes.
“Seven,” the redhead said with a small nod. “We took them out, but I think it got everybody a bit spooked.”
“How did everyone do?” I asked.
“Some people were obviously a bit hesitant to pull the trigger, but everyone did their parts,” the redhead responded.
“Alright,” I said. “I saw Jeff and Donna down on sentry duty.”
“Yeah,” Anna responded. “They’ve been there a while.”
“I think we need more than two,” I said. I was worried that if groups of seven are rolling through, we probably needed more firepower at the bridge.
“Sorry,” Anna sighed, and she bit her lip.
“Don’t apologize,” I told her softly. “You’ve done a great job here, I want you to know that.”
“Thanks,” she said, and she took a deep breath. “It’s been stressful.”
“Leadership always is,” I said with a grin.
“I don’t think I’m ready to be captain yet,” she said with a small laugh.
“That’s why you have me,” I chuckled. “Are you up for sentry duty?”
“Of course,” the redhead said with a nod.
“Good.” I smiled. “Where’s Bailey?”
“Still sleeping, I think,” Anna said. “She took first guard last night, so I let her sleep in.”
“I’m up,” Bailey said from behind me, and I turned to see her coming down the stairs with Winchester.
“Hey,” I said with a smile.
“Did you get Frank's medicine?” the blonde asked, and she leaned in to hug me.
“Yeah,” I said, and I kissed the top of her head.
“Good,” she said with a grin. “Now what are we doing?”
“Sentry duty,” I told her.
“Give me five to get ready,” she said and she darted back up the stairs.
“So the Guard hasn’t come through yet?” I asked Anna after Bailey had run off.
“Not yet,” the redhead said with a shake of her head.
“I bet the storm delayed them,” I said, and I pursed my lips.
“That’s what I was thinking.” She nodded.
“They’ll probably be through here sometime today,” I said. “You’re on first guard with me and Bailey, but I’m going to stay down there until the Guard comes.”
“I’m with you,” she told me with a smile.
“I figured you’d say that,” I chuckled. “But if you get tired, let me know. You’ve done a lot while I’ve been gone.”
“I will,” she said with a smile, even though I knew she wouldn’t.
I would just have to keep an eye on everyone and make sure I wasn’t pushing them too hard.
“Ready?” Bailey asked as she came down the stairs in black skinny jeans, hiking boots, a gray sweater, and her kevlar vest with her rifle thrown over her back.
“I think so,” I said. “My rifle is in the truck, we’ll grab it on the way.”
“I don’t think the cows have been fed yet,” Anna said as we walked out of the dorm building.
“We’ll stop and do that on the way,” I said with a nod.
We made the short trek down to the barn, threw the cows some hay, and found Donna and Jeff sitting in the woods near the bridge.
“Oh, jeez,” Donna said, and she spun around to look at us as we walked up behind them. “You scared me.”
“You all aren’t used to scouting,” Anna said with a frown. “But you should be listening really closely.”
“Right,” Donna said, and she looked down. “Sorry.”
“It’s alright,” I said. “You’re still getting used to this.”
“We came to relieve you,” Bailey said with a soft smile. “You guys go get some food and water.”
“Okay,” Jeff said with a nod.
“I really am sorry,” Donna apologized again.
“It’s okay,” Anna said softly. “I didn’t mean to be hard on you, but this is dangerous work.”
“She’s right,” I said, and I smiled at Donna. “She’s just trying to make sure you’re prepared.”
“I’ve learned to not think of it as criticism,” Bailey said. “They’re only trying to help.”
“These girls needed a lot of it when I first met them,” I chuckled.
“You all seem so put together now,” Donna said with a frown.
“And you will be too,” Anna said with a grin. “It just takes time and practice.”
“Now head on up to campus,” I said softly. “Get something warm to eat and make sure to drink enough water.”
“Alright,” Donna said, and she and Jeff stood up and headed back up the hill.
“I didn’t mean to be a dick,” Anna said after they were out of earshot.
“I don’t think you were a dick,” I laughed. “You gave them good advice.”
“Thanks.” The redhead smiled.
We positioned ourselves in the woods so we were out of sight, but still able to see all of our surroundings.
“If the Guard does come through, shouldn’t we have more people down here?” Bailey asked after a few moments.
“Not right now,” I said, and I shook my head. “I don’t want anyone panicking and taking a shot. I still think they might be in too much of a hurry to get off the main road and try to come explore up here, so we don’t want to pick a fight if we don’t need to.”
“Yeah,” Anna said. “That would be bad.”
“Right,” I agreed. “I trust the three of us to be able to handle ourselves.”
“They’re way better armed than most of the people that come through here though,” Bailey said, and she bit her lip.
“You’re right.” I nodded. “But they’ll also have a lot of civilians with them, and I don’t trust anyone else to not hit them.”
“What about Paige and Tara?” Anna asked.
“Rolly is on guard duty,” I said. “If he thinks we need them, then he’ll send them down.”
“They may not even come this way,” Bailey said hopefully. “They might have gone down a different road.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “Another reason why I don’t want to have everyone down here panicking.”
“Okay,” Anna said with a nod.
“Plus,” I said with a grin. “We have the element of surprise here.”
“That’s true,” Bailey said with a smile.
“We do still have to be careful,” I said. “Like Bailey pointed out, the Guard are well armed, and they outnumber us by quite a bit.”
“Alright,” the blonde agreed.
“Who knows how much the storm set them back too,” Anna said.
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “The wagons they have probably don’t work very well in mud or rain.”
“We just need to be vigilant,” I said. “We have people up the hill who are counting on us.”
“We know.” Anna nodded.
“Keep your eyes and ears open.” I smiled. “Let’s show everyone how it’s done.”
The girls smiled back at me, then we focused in on the task at hand. There wasn’t much talking since we were on edge as we waited for any sightings of the Guard or more Canadians.
The rain started back up again, but it was only a light sprinkle,
and the trees we were under provided a decent cover against the elements.
The smell of rain filled the air as we sat in silence, and I breathed in deep.
After a couple hours I heard something in the distance, and Anna turned her head to look at me with wide eyes. I nodded at both of the girls, and we spread out a bit further.
Anna went a few meters to my left, and Bailey went up the hill to my right, so I moved forward to just behind the tree line and readied my rifle.
I could hear the sound of an engine close by, and I recognized it as the same sound the military trucks we had made. They were close, and we were ready.
One of the wagons came into view, it was pulled by a horse and packed with supplies. Civilians trudged along next to it, and they looked like they were half freezing in the black-and-white striped jumpsuits they wore.
Three more wagons came into view, then another three, and plenty more civilians as well.
The guard must be behind them.
Sure enough, three trucks brought up the rear driven by men in uniform.
Some of the civilians noticed the bodies and signs and pointed and whispered to each other.
“What’s going on?” one of the soldiers called out of the truck.
“There're some signs up ahead,” the guy in the truck ahead of him yelled back.
“What kind of signs?” the first officer asked.
“Keep out signs and some corpses,” the second answered. “Should we stop and check it out?”
My heart rate accelerated as I waited to see what they would do. If they continued on we could avoid a full out war, and everyone would live to see another day. If they chose to try to come into my territory, well, that would be a different story.
“They could have some supplies up there,” a third guy called out from another truck.
I focused my scope on the first soldier that had spoken, and I was ready to fire in a split second if it came down to it. He seemed to be the CO, though he wasn’t wearing any bars, and if he chose war, he’d be the first to die.
What’ll it be, fellas?
The first guy thought for a moment, and I watched as he examined our signs and the bodies that were strewn up, then he shook his head and pointed forward.
“Keep going!” he ordered.
