Hatcher gave him a solemn stare. “Right now, all we know is that there are planes in the sky and according to Doc, their exhaust looks funny in the night sky.” He shook his head slowly. “That’s ALL we know. Anything else is pure supposition.”
The sentry swallowed hard and nodded slowly. “No getting hopes up.”
“No getting hopes up,” Hatcher reiterated. He turned back to Will. “Go and check the radios. Do your level best to try to reach those planes before they get out of range.”
Will sighed then stepped away. “I’ll try, but our radios aren’t capable of operating at their frequencies.”
“Just try, Doc.” Hatcher turned back to the sentry. “And remember, mum’s the word until we know more.”
The sentry cursed under his breath. “The folks behind these walls could use a good dose of hope right about now, boss.”
“I know. But when we give it to them, it needs to be real. Not based on wishful thinking.” Hatcher lowered his voice and pulled the man aside. “It could be a poison to finish off the infected for all we know. We really need to keep this under wraps.”
The sentry’s shoulders slumped and he nodded. “I’ll pass the word to the others on watch.”
Hatcher clapped the man’s shoulder. “Hey. It’s still a good thing.” He hooked his chin toward the planes. “There ARE others alive and kicking out there.”
The sentry gave him a defeated smile. “Yeah.”
Hatcher watched him walk toward the other sentries then turned and made his way back inside. He quickly trotted down the hall and knocked on Roger and Candy’s door. “You decent?”
“Never,” Roger answered from behind the closed door. “What’s up? Trouble?”
“Meet me at Vic’s office. Pronto.” Hatcher turned and made his way to the end of the hall. He knocked on the clinic door and saw Vicky Sue’s head pop up from behind her desk.
“Stella’s in with Mike but they’re both sleeping,” she whispered to him.
Hatcher waved a hand at her. “That’s not why I’m here.” He pushed his way into her office and glanced back at the door. “Once Roger and Candy get here, I’ll explain.”
Vicky reached out and pulled his face toward hers. “Why are you grinning like that?”
“You’ll have to wait until the others get here.” Hatcher stepped past her and rifled through her desk drawers. “Where’s the hooch you took from me?”
Vicky planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Why?”
Hatcher pulled the bottle from the back of the file drawer and frowned at how little was left. “This will have to do.”
“For what?” Candy asked, still pulling her flannel shirt on over her tank top. “And what’s the commotion?”
Hatcher turned and gave them all a big grin. “You have to keep this under your hat, okay?” He reached behind Vicky and pushed her office door shut. “Have a seat.”
Kevin stared at the soldier’s remains and his hands shook. He felt the urge to throw up when he saw the gore left behind on his floor and he quickly stepped away from the carnage.
“What did I do?” He stepped into the small bathroom provided with his stateroom and stared wide eyed at his reflection.
“Oh my god….”
He turned suddenly and retched into the stainless steel toilet. A quick flush removed the bloody chunks that swirled in the bowl but it didn’t remove the body from his floor.
Kevin quickly stripped off his filthy clothes and stepped into the shower. He turned the water as hot as he could stand it and scrubbed the dried blood from his hands and face. He used far too much shampoo scrubbing every fleck of blood from his hair and body.
I gotta do something. He continued to scrub as his mind raced. How do you get rid of a body?! On a ship, no less?
He felt panic rising from deep within and he squeezed his eyes shut, forcing his mind to slow down and think about the whole ordeal scientifically.
There’s no way you can hide something that large. Eventually it WILL begin to stink. He pressed his head to the shower wall and let the hot water beat down on his body. Could I eat the rest of him? Dispose of him one flush at a time?
He pulled back from the shower wall and blinked rapidly, his rational mind confused that he could even HAVE had such a thought.
The toilet! Get rid of him with each flush…I could chop him up and…no. He shook his head rapidly and focused on the task at hand. He continued to scrub at his body until his skin was raw and he was certain no evidence remained.
Kevin stepped from the shower and wiped the stainless steel mirror off with his towel. “There’s no way to hide this.” He toweled off then scrubbed his hair dry. He quickly ran a swab into each ear to remove the water then glanced down at his bloody clothes. “Those will have to go, regardless.”
He pulled the thin plastic bag from his trash can and stuffed the clothes into it carefully, avoiding any bloody parts. He stepped into his tiny stateroom and stared at the mess. “This is too much. There’s no way I could clean up that much and…” He swallowed hard and sat on the edge of his bed.
“Think, dammit. You’re smarter than anybody on this ship. Surely you can….” He suddenly sat up, his face breaking into a smile. “Yes. I am.”
He quickly dressed in fresh clothes and pulled the pants that he’d pissed in from the dirty clothes bag. He tossed them to his bunk then glanced around the room.
He quickly donned a pair of rubber gloves, then grabbed a pair of scissors from his desk. He plunged them into the man’s ruined neck a few times then left them buried to the handles. Snapping the gloves off and inspecting that he had no splatter on his clean arms, Kevin pushed the gloves into the trash bag and tied it off.
He stepped gingerly around the body then paused. Ensuring that he had forgotten nothing, he cracked the door open and peered into the darkened hallway. He quickly slipped out and pulled the door shut behind him.
Kevin pushed the door to the lab open and pulled his lab coat from the wall hook. He quickly made his way to the incinerator and shoved the trash bag inside. He sealed the door then pressed the button, destroying the evidence.
Kevin slipped his lab coat on and went back to work, pushing every thought of the dead man from his mind. He could continue working until either the man was found or he became tired enough that he could return and “discover” the body.
He smiled to himself as he went over the data from his last experiments. “Who would ever suspect me?” He tapped his pencil against the table as he glanced toward the door. “I pissed my pants being confronted by somebody half his size.”
Simon marched his throng of people through the abandoned streets of the city until he saw what he was looking for. His head throbbed and his eyes were having trouble focusing as he stared at the large sign over the parking lot, but he knew what the building was.
He pointed toward the front and raised his boomstick high in the air. “There! There’s food in there!”
To his ears, it sounded like he was whooping and yipping at the crowd, but they seemed to understand him. They anxiously followed him to the front of the building and Simon threw the doors open with flair, beckoning them to enter.
He marched in with them and his eyes quickly adjusted to the nearly total darkness. “It’s been ransacked a time or three, but there’s still plenty left.”
He marched past the milling crowd, most of whom stared at him with clueless eyes. Simon strolled through the aisles of the supermarket, taking a mental inventory. He paused at one shelf and stared at row after row of bottles. It was only then that he realized…he’d forgotten to bring his liquor with him. He felt panic rise up from the depths of his gut but he quickly reached out and steadied himself against the shelf beside him.
I don’t need that bottle. There are more right here. He slowly raised his head and stared at the wine and liquor lining the shelves. He stretched a hand out and felt the cool smoothness of a glass bottle. He pulled a bottle of something he couldn’t r
ead toward him and stared at it.
For the first time since he discovered that his old lady had been screwing his best friend…he didn’t want the fire water. He dropped the bottle to the floor and walked on by, his eyes taking in the food stuffs.
Simon reached the next aisle and slowly smiled. He pulled a tin from the shelf and turned to face the confused crowd. “This is FOOD. You can eat this.” He held it up and their eyes followed his hand into the air.
He couldn’t understand why they weren’t excited. With the dwindling number of people left in the god forsaken town, you’d think they’d be thrilled at the idea of an expanded diet.
Simon sighed heavily and pulled the tin to his chest. His fingers fumbled with the metal tab at the top until he finally got his booger hook into the ring. With a satisfying grunt he pulled the metal lid off and reached into the can, pulling the slimy pink meat from inside.
He turned to the crowd and smiled, holding the meat into the air. “Eat!” He brought the cooked pork product to his mouth and sucked at the salty slime on the outside. He opened his mouth wide and bit a large chunk from the pink slab then handed it to his naked girlfriend. “Eat.”
She sniffed it tentatively then recoiled, disgust painted across her features. Simon chewed the salty mess then swallowed. “You’re hungry, right?” He shoved the meat into her face. “Eat.”
She pulled back further and Simon’s hand shot out, snatching her by the back of the neck. He forced her face closer and pressed the chopped and formed meat product to her lips. “I said eat!”
He squeezed her neck and wrenched her head back. She stared at him wide eyed, her jaw trembling. “Simon says, EAT, you cunt!” He mashed the meat to her mouth and forced it past her lips.
A moment later she was on all fours, scrambling for the broken pieces of pork that had fallen to the ground. Simon nodded slowly then pointed to the others. “EAT!”
He grabbed another tin and pulled the lid off before tossing it into the crowd. He continued until there were no more cans on the shelf.
He pushed past the mob until he came to large teardrop-shaped cans. He couldn’t read them, but he knew…there was MEAT inside those cans. He snatched one from the shelf and fumbled with the key on the side. It took a full five minutes of him beating on the can before his jumbled mind made the connection with the key and he somehow remembered how to open it.
That night, Simon went aisle after aisle, row after row, pulling different items from the shadows and offering it to his people. He watched as they hurriedly sucked down the food stuffs. They gorged themselves on canned meats, canned fruits, and stale tortillas. He actually found a few goodies that he hid away for himself for later.
He peeled the top off the last can of Spam and pulled the pale, jelly coated meat out with his fingers. He halfheartedly chewed as he watched his people curl into corners and prepare to sleep. A quick glance to the front revealed that the sun would soon be up.
He slid off of the checkout counter and slipped the last of the pork into his mouth. He found a dark corner and tossed a couple of large bags of dog food to the floor. He had just laid down when the woman he had taken at the hotel slid in next to him.
He gave her a confused look as she picked up his arm and draped it over her shoulders. She turned and stared at him blankly.
Simon swallowed the last of the pork and shrugged at her. “What?”
She wiggled her body and settled in closer to him, pulling his arm to bring him closer. She turned away and closed her eyes. Simon glanced past her balding head and noticed that a lot of the others were curled together, arms and legs entwined. It took him a moment to realize, they were making puppy piles to conserve heat.
He allowed himself to feel the jutting angles of the woman next to him and it all made sense. There wasn’t enough meat on their bones to keep their body temperatures up.
Simon sighed as he pulled his arm back and unzipped his jacket. He held it open and pulled her closer to him. He draped the edge over her thin form then dropped his arm back over her.
He actually felt a twinge of regret for ripping off what little clothing she had left at the hotel.
But just a twinge.
Chapter 7
“Seriously?” Vicky sat on the edge of her seat, her eyes wide. “You think it was a cure?”
Hatcher shrugged slowly. “Will seemed convinced that their exhaust looked off. What else could it be?”
Roger slowly stood, his hands shaking. “Do you realize what this could mean?” He turned to Candy, a silly grin crossing his features. “Our kid might have a future.”
Candy reached out and took his hand in hers. “I want to believe.” She squeezed his hand. “I really do. But until we see people come back from this, I’m not ready to have that kind of hope.”
Roger nodded slowly and turned to Hatcher. “I’ve come to trust your gut. What do you think?”
Hatcher leaned back in his chair and gave him a tight lipped smile. “If I didn’t think it truly possible, I wouldn’t have told you guys. Remember though, I ordered Will and the sentries to keep all of this under their hats. Just in case it isn’t what we hope it is.” He sat forward and rubbed at his face. “Either way, we have proof that somebody is still alive and kicking.”
“Surely it’s the military,” Vicky stated as she poured the last of the cheap scotch into her glass. “I mean, who else would have the resources to fly two planes across the country?”
“And so far south?” Candy added. “You’d think they’d hit the coasts first.”
“Maybe they did.” Hatcher tossed back the last of his drink and set the glass on Vic’s desk. “We haven’t reached anybody on the radio to ask what people are seeing out there. Maybe they found a cure and are working their way east.”
Roger’s face paled as a thought crossed his mind. “Or maybe they found a way to kill off the infected?”
Vic’s hand went to her mouth and she stared at her brother. “You don’t think…”
Hatcher shook his head. “The goal was to find a cure when we went back to the park. I can’t believe that they’d abandon that mission just to kill off the infected.”
“But it’s still a possibility,” Roger stated.
Hatcher nodded. “At this point, who’s to say what’s going on out there.” He came to his feet and gave them all a defeated look. “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it. We honestly have no idea what they are or aren’t doing.”
Vicky reached out and took his hand. “I’m glad you told us.” She glanced at the others. “We’ll keep it quiet.”
Candy nodded. “No sense in sending the others down the same rabbit hole we just went down.”
Hatcher gave her a lopsided smile. “There’s nothing wrong with having hope, Candy.” He glanced at her midsection then his smile spread. “Right now, we could use all of the hope we can get.”
A moan from the next room caught their attention. Vicky stood quickly and went to the cabinet where she kept medications. “That’s probably Coop. He’s ready for another pain killer.”
“How’s he holding up?” Hatcher asked as she locked the cabinet.
“He’s improving.” She averted her eyes. “Not as quickly as I’d like to see, but any improvement is a good thing.”
She stepped past him and opened the door. “Tell him I said hi.” Hatcher watched her go to the next room and a soft light cast an eerie glow into the waiting room. He turned to the others. “I guess we can call it a night. Maybe give her a little time with the old coot.”
He held the door for Candy and peeked into Cooper’s room. He saw Vic sitting next to his bed, her palm pressed to his forehead. He breathed a soft sigh before slipping back into the hallway. “I hope the old fart pulls through.”
Kevin’s head popped up from the work bench as a uniformed soldier beat on a door in the hallway. He heard the man yelling something about relieving the watch and taking his station. A moment later the soldier marched past the lab with an angry sco
wl on his face.
He wiped the sleep from his eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall. Why didn’t they find him? Of course. They’d have no reason to check my room. He pushed away from the work bench and reached for the door. “If you want something done right…”
He walked toward his stateroom, his mind on the proper way to react to the mess that he would find. He knew that he’d have to be convincing but he didn’t want to over react.
He twisted the knob on his door and pushed it open, preparing to scream like a little girl.
Instead, he stared at his room.
The gore wasn’t there. The body was gone.
Kevin stepped inside and slowly pushed the door shut. “What the hell is going on here?” He looked around the room and noted that his pissed pants were still lying on his bunk where he’d tossed them. A quick glance in the bathroom; yes, the trash bag was missing from the waste can. He stepped back into the tiny stateroom and took a mental inventory.
The stainless steel mirror in his room was still dented from his outburst. The one in the bathroom had water marks on it where he’d wiped it off after his shower.
Kevin sat on the edge of his bed and stared at where the body had been. He slowly bent to the floor and pressed his cheek to the cold linoleum. He stared across the floor and noted the dust bunnies near his narrow bed and more than a few bits of dirt and detritus scattered about.
He sat upright and scratched at his head. “Fuck me…I’m losing my marbles.”
His head whipped around the room looking for any telltale sign that he hadn’t imagined the whole thing. He ran his finger along the floor where the bloodiest mess was then licked it. Was he simply not seeing it? Was his mind in denial? Was there blood on his finger? He tried to rely on his other senses since obviously his eyes weren’t making the proper connections with his brain.
He spat the dirt from his mouth that his finger had swept from the floor and stood again. “This isn’t right.”
He spun quickly, reaching for the door again when it hit him. He had fallen asleep in the lab. He must have dreamt the attack.
Caldera 8: Simon Sez Page 5