by A. J. Sikes
Emily searched Danitha’s eyes again, and saw the truth in every word she’d said. The same truth she felt inside but hadn’t wanted to accept.
Greg came running back from around the building. He wore a grin as he jogged toward them.
Emily stepped out from under the trees to meet him. “Do they have any dogs with them?” she asked.
“Dogs? No. Just a bunch of dudes and bros with too much testosterone.”
“What are they doing?” Danitha asked.
“Pushing on the gate. Making noise really, and not much else. I wouldn’t give ’em a second thought, except there’s enough of ’em that they could probably rush us and get a few guys in.”
“So why aren’t they in then?” Jennifer asked.
Greg smirked and said, “I’m betting they don’t have any ammo. We do, and they know it. They’re trying to intimidate us with numbers, but it’s not going to work. The firefight has been one-sided so far, with our guys doing the shooting.”
“What for?” Jennifer asked.
“Just warnings when a couple of theirs tried to climb the gate. They’re all packing weapons out there, but none of them have fired a shot. That’s why I think they’re empty. Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d say they’re the leftovers from a bad cosplay routine. They’re about as dangerous as the guy in his mom’s basement playing video games and surfing for porn.”
Danitha coughed out a curse. “That sounds like the ones we ran from. Except they had bullets when they showed up and took over our little neighborhood.”
“Probably the only ones they had left,” Greg said.
“And now they’re just here making noise, but they won’t leave?” Jennifer asked.
“Nope. Not until they get what they came for. That’s their words, not mine,” he said, looking at Emily and Danitha. “Y’all are safe here.”
“Let’s prove it, Greg,” Jennifer said. “Let’s take these ladies out there where they can see them and make it known they’re with us now. They’re part of the community.”
Emily and Danitha stepped back together, putting distance between them and the nurse. Her hand hadn’t left the pistol on her hip the whole time they’d been talking.
“Y’all want to give us up just like that,” Danitha said.
“No,” Jennifer answered. “We’re not going to give you up. Not to them or anyone else. I think if we show them that you’re here, and stand beside you, they’ll get the message loud and clear.”
An engine roared nearby, and three vehicles pulled into the space behind the crowd of people with tools. Two pickups with machine guns in the back drove forward as the people moved aside. An SUV followed behind them.
Greg lifted his radio and called for someone named Shorewatch.
“That you in the SUV?” Greg asked.
The radio crackled and a man’s voice said, “Roger, Six Actual. We’re inside. Brought a lot of bad news with us.”
“Your man gonna be okay?”
“He needs aid, now. And we need to blow the bridge.”
“What the hell for?”
“I told you. The Variants are back. And they’ve adapted again. What’s your location?”
Greg didn’t reply at first. He traded looks with Jennifer, and both of them eyed Emily and Danitha briefly. Greg lifted his mic again and said, “We’re in the tree line behind the Dairy Queen. What’s this about Variants?”
“I’ll fill you in after we get LT taken care of. Heads up, the guys outside your gate here are losing their nerve. Guess a couple of .50s spooked them. Looks like they’re wandering off.”
“Good copy. I’ll be there in a second.”
Greg jogged away, heading for the SUV.
Emily wanted to follow him, to get closer so she could see what was happening. The constant hiding and waiting ate at her insides, and the news that Variants had returned sent fear racing through her. Danitha shifted her weight from one foot to the other, like she felt the same way.
“We should go,” Danitha said. “Get out of here.”
Jennifer waved a hand in their direction. “I wouldn’t just go racing away in your condition. Only got three arms between you and a whole lot of nothing to help you make it outside the wire. And if the monsters are back, how do you think you’ll survive?”
“Did fine coming here. Think we’ll do fine leaving, too,” Danitha said.
“What about our stuff?” Emily asked. “What did you do with our bags?”
“Wasn’t much in ’em,” Jennifer said. “But it’s all part of the common supply now anyway. You want to take anything out with you, you’ll have to ask permission. And with what just happened here at the gate, I wouldn’t expect the answer to come back as yes.”
“We’re prisoners again?” Danitha asked. “Just like Angie said, y’all ain’t any better than the ones we running from.”
“We’re a damn sight better than those animals,” Jennifer said.
“Yeah? And you want me to believe y’all would have let Angie live if she’d made it here with us? Y’all would have killed her and you know it. Y’all probably fixin’ to kill me, too. They’re the animals, out there? Really?”
Jennifer glared at Danitha, then stepped up close to her.
“I knew that girl and I know why she did what she did. I’m not saying we’re perfect here. Hell, I don’t think you can find anything like perfect in this world anymore, and you probably never could. But we’re safe, and that’s because we have rules we all agreed to follow. The Aftermath has plenty of places without rules, and you’re welcome to try your luck with them if you want. But if you stay here, and I think you should, you’ll have to accept how we do things in this community.”
“And how’s that? You let a woman take a beating and then wag your finger at her husband? Fuck all the way off if that’s how y’all ‘do things’. I seen enough of that before the world ended.”
“We can’t have people deciding to take the law into their own hands the way Angie did. That’s not how we keep people safe.”
“How the fuck you expect people to feel safe when you tell them they can’t defend themselves? What are we supposed to do, just let bad shit happen and then hope we get some justice? And don’t think I’m stupid enough to believe it would be the same if it was you holding the knife instead of me. I know what justice looks like. Y’all can keep your just us bullshit.”
Jennifer crossed her arms and stared at Danitha.
“You’re part of the community for now. Nobody’s opening that gate to let you out until those idiots leave. And I don’t think you really want to be out there on your own.” Jennifer’s voice softened as she continued. “That means you contribute to the community’s survival. By staying here, helping out, and providing whatever supplies or skills you can. Anything you do while you’re here will be addressed by the community, and ultimately the council, if it comes to that. Anything you did before you got here isn’t part of the equation. You’ll be safe here.”
Turning to look at Emily, she said, “You’ll both be safe here.”
Emily met Jennifer’s gaze and nodded.
“I want to stay.”
Danitha sniffed and shook her head, but said, “Guess I’m here too, then.”
“Then let’s go to the gate and show them how standing together works.”
“What if they shoot me?” Danitha asked. “You can think they out of ammo, but it ain’t your body they want to put holes in.”
“I’ll go,” Emily said. “Stay here, Dani. I’ll go with Jennifer.”
Danitha’s eyes were wet with anger or maybe fear, but she nodded and said she’d wait. She wrapped her arms around herself and tucked back into the trees where she could stay hidden.
Emily and Jennifer walked slowly across the dirt and around the Dairy Queen building. Baytown residents were there in groups of three or four, some with weapons still aimed at the gate.
The militia had mostly left, with only a few stragglers still chucking rocks
behind them as they walked away. The few still by the gate didn’t even seem to recognize Emily. If they did, none of them said a word about it. Even the ones with guns in their hands didn’t lift them or hold them like they would shoot. Emily watched one man throw a pistol into the dirt beside the road as he turned to walk away. Another man ran to grab it, and they argued. But none of them turned around to shoot.
From Emily’s position behind the gate, it was easier to accept that Greg had been right. The militia she had been so afraid of were really just scared and hungry scavengers who happened to have weapons they couldn’t use.
“We’re a good community,” Jennifer said to her as the last of the militia vanished from sight. “Trust me. Trust us, and tell your friend she’s got nothing to be afraid of.”
“I will,” Emily said.
“It looks like everything’s calmed down now, so I’m going to see what all this talk is about Variants and blowing up bridges.”
She left Emily standing there and went to where Greg was, by the SUV that had driven up with the two pickups. Emily turned so she could see Danitha in the tree line. She was still half-hidden, but lifted a hand to wave Emily over. The people with tools and weapons nearby went back to whatever they’d been doing when the militia showed up. Some stayed by the gate to confirm it wasn’t damaged.
Emily went to join Danitha, but paused when she heard a familiar laugh. She turned to see Greg and Jennifer at the SUV. They were talking to whoever was inside. The doors opened and people in uniforms climbed out. Emily felt her heartbeat race as a familiar figure stepped out of the vehicle and hefted a weapon across his chest.
She was running straight for him and waving a second later, screaming her brother’s name.
“Salvador!”
— 22 —
Jed stood by while Garza reunited with his sister. Keoh and the others got back into the SUV because Greg had recommended they take the LT over to a clinic by their fire station.
“We should take Emily, too, Sergeant,” Garza said. “She’s banged up bad. Got shot by one of those fuckers.”
“How do you know it was them?” Jed asked.
Garza looked to his sister. She paused, then explained about how she and her friend had run through refinery towns east of Houston.
“We don’t know if they were the same ones. The ones who shot us were—they had yellow eyes, and… They were still men, but they had teeth like the Variants, only—”
“Variants? Where did you seen them?” Jed asked.
“In the towns we went through. They were hunting something. They had a dog Variant with them.”
“I thought you said the men were Variants.”
“They were, but… It was like they hadn’t changed fully. They were dressed… They had the same uniform as you. I only saw the ones Angie killed. But if they were the same as the ones with the dog, they had a Humvee, and we heard them say they wanted to collect bats for someone.”
“Bats? What the hell for?”
“I don’t know. They only said ‘He wants bats.’ But the virus has affected bats, too. We saw them first, right after we escaped from the militia. They attacked alligators and took fish from the water, like raptors.”
“Jesus, that’s just what we need. And you’re sure the people you saw were with the Variant dogs? Like they were working with them?”
“Yes, with the dog one. I thought they were the militia tracking us, but they had a dog monster with them, and they whistled for it and called it. Like it was their trained pet.”
Jed added it up in his head and hated the answer that came to him. The person they’d seen on their march up the road wasn’t a hunter out with his retriever. The crackhead in Ewell’s neighborhood wasn’t a druggie, and that wasn’t a dog by his legs the night the place was attacked.
Greg was on his radio a few feet away. He came over as his conversation wrapped up.
“Yeah, I’ll have ’em do that. We’ll get whatever we can.”
“What’s up?” Jed asked.
“Mission brief. That was the Baytown council. They want us to hit the Home Depot and Lowe’s up the street. Get as much as we can and bring it back to fortify the walls, help build up our defenses in case the wingnuts show up again.”
“What about the Variants? This is bigger than making sure a bunch of whack-a-doos don’t break into your little fort here.”
Greg met Jed’s stare, and waited a beat before replying. “The council isn’t convinced they’re really back.”
“They’re back,” Jed said. “We saw them, and some of these people did, too, at the bridge and on their way here. Garza’s sister here had eyes on them. You saw the dogs last night. What the—”
“I hear you, and I believe you. But the people in the trucks are saying it was scavengers they shot at out there. It’s not the first time they’ve had to scare off gangs of hungry people who would rather steal than work for their survival.”
“We saw the fucking things,” Jed said.
“And the council’s reluctant to buy your story without proof.”
“Should we go out and get one? Bring it in so they can introduce themselves?”
Greg passed a hand over his head and sighed. “How certain are you that what you saw were Variants? Did you collect any bodies? Did they leave any marks on your vehicles?”
“Yes!” Garza’s sister shouted. “We did see them, and shot them. They killed Angie—”
“That’s great,” Greg said. “But none of that happened here, so none of the people who make decisions here saw it happen.”
“I know what I saw in Mercer’s compound,” Jed said. “And you know what happened at your camp.”
“Yeah, I do. And as far as the council is concerned, we were attacked by wolves and wild dogs. They’ve seen packs of the things all over the place, and none of them have attacked Baytown. This place isn’t ready for a Variant attack. None of the people here have seen one in over a year or more, and if we start making noise like that, the whole town could fall apart in chaos. People will freak the fuck out. We don’t have any immediate threats inbound, at least not yet. Scouts and watchtowers are out there keeping an eye on the perimeter. The minute they see something, they’ll call a Red Event and everyone will know about it. But until then, the council wants us to keep cool. Once we’ve hardened this place, we can start talking to people, let them know what we think is happening out there.”
“We’re going shopping at Home Depot while the Variants assess our strengths and find the weak spot? Or that company of morons finds some ammo and come back to put a hurt on us? Sounds brilliant.”
“It’s not my call, man. It’s the council. Right now, they’re the closest thing to CENTCOM that you’ll find for a thousand miles in any direction. If you want a home inside their wire, then you and your people are on security for the materials run. That’s the deal they’re making.”
“Another security detail. Just like Mercer. Fuck—”
Jed kicked at the ground and scanned around the area. The people holding axes and shovels had mostly dispersed. A group of six men worked on repairing the gate with an arc welder hooked up to a portable generator.
Baytown had built up defenses with trunk lids and hoods from cars welded onto lengths of train track and set into concrete. It was impressive, and it would work wonders to stop any human attackers who didn’t have an armored vehicle.
But Variants were a different threat. Walls were just vertical floors for those things. The dog Variants could climb as easily as the human versions, and if Garza’s sister was telling the truth, the virus now affected a species that could fly.
“When do we leave?” Jed asked, looking at Greg again.
“Now. We’ll stop at the clinic up the road and drop off your wounded.” Greg motioned at Garza’s sister.
She didn’t look pleased to hear that she’d be left behind.
Greg motioned for Jed to follow him to a truck nearby. Jed waved for McKitrick to follow in the SUV.
They drove up the street, passing gray corrugated buildings and fields of wrecked vehicles. A team of people worked to remove more hoods and trunk lids to pile onto a waiting flatbed trailer.
Greg turned them into the lot beside the clinic, and McKitrick pulled in behind them. A man in hospital scrubs came out with a stretcher. He helped Keoh get LT Staples onto the stretcher and then wheeled him into the clinic. Garza’s sister and her friend went inside behind the nurse.
Garza got out of the SUV and stepped over to Greg’s truck.
“I’ll stay here, Sergeant,” Garza said. “They need security.”
Jed checked him with a look, but nodded and gave his Lance Corporal the okay. “Keep Mehta with you,” Jed said, waving for the private to go inside.
“That puts us down two men,” Greg said. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
“Good as I got right now,” Jed said. “I’m not leaving one man on his own here.”
Greg put the truck back in gear and was about to roll out when Garza came rushing out of the clinic with Mehta following him.
“Sergeant, you gotta come in,” Garza said. “Kip’s squad is upstairs.”
Jed was out of the truck in a flash and running for the door. Garza and Mehta were at his six. They got inside and nearly ran into a doctor and nurse who stood in the middle of a hallway leading to a set of patient rooms. A set of stairs led up to a landing in front of them.
“You got Marines up there?” Jed asked the doctor.
She stared him down and said, “We have six men who were pulled from the water yesterday. One of them—”
“Only six? Kip had eight men in his squad. Where are the others?”
“I don’t know about any others. We found six men in the water. As I was saying, one has just regained consciousness, but the others remain in a comatose state.”
Jed started to walk down the hall, but the doctor stepped in his path. “We can’t allow visitors due to the possibility of contagion.”
“That’s great doc. I need to go see my brothers.”
“I don’t think you heard me—”