“What’d your father have to say?” he asked.
“He’s going to go for it, but he wants some concessions,” she said. “I do too. I want dick concessions.” She emphasized it by wiggling her butt against his groin.
“Riley, sweetie, not tonight. I’m tired as hell and I have to be up in less than five hours.”
Riley scoffed. “I should’ve found a younger man.”
He thought that’d be the end of it, but within seconds she reached back and began fondling him. It had the desired effect, and he became aroused. He once dated a girl who was a lot like Riley and experience told him she wouldn’t take no for an answer. It would be far easier to go ahead and get it over with. He reached down and pulled off his underwear.
“You’re on top,” he said.
He did not remember falling asleep, but when his alarm went off the next morning, Riley was already awake and in the shower. It was a little cold in his room, which reminded him that he needed to perform maintenance on the HVAC in this building, and probably all the other buildings as well. He reluctantly got out of bed and made his way to the shower. Riley was soaped up and shaving her legs with his straight razor. He was impressed with how adept she was with it. He waited for her to finish before stepping in. She held up the razor.
“I had one just like it, but I lost it somewhere,” she said. “You need to keep it dry when you’re not using it.”
“Yeah, I’ll see if I can find you one for your own,” he said and yawned.
He got a mouthful of water and squished it around in his mouth before spitting it out. Riley had already begun soaping him up, and vigorously soaped up his genitals. He felt himself reacting but stopped her.
“Nooo,” he drawled. “I have too much work ahead of me today. I need my strength.”
Riley gave him a light slap on the chest. “You’re no fun. You know I went too long without sex in my life and I need to catch up.”
He chuckled. “When did you lose your virginity?”
“When I was nineteen. How come you’re not worried about me getting pregnant?”
“I had a vasectomy years ago, so if you want a kid, you’re going to have to find yourself another man.”
“Hmm, I’ll have to get to work on that.”
Johnny G grunted. “What are you going to do today?”
“I’m going with dad back out to the soccer stadium. He wanted to take a closer look at it in the daylight, and then he wants to make a day trip to Atlantic City. Is that okay?”
“I’m not sure about the roads. You guys might want to wait until there’s better weather.”
“Yeah, but dad thinks we might not have better weather until March, but they still want to go. Is it okay if I go with them?”
Johnny G paused in washing his face to stare at Riley. She stared back with her beautiful eyes and he realized she was seeking his approval.
“Sure, it’s okay, but if you’d rather hang out with me today, I can sure use the help.”
She stared a moment longer before stepping out of the shower and began toweling off. Johnny G turned the water off and joined her. When he finished brushing his teeth, he turned to see her staring at him yet again. She’d put on a pair of jeans but was topless. It made him wonder how she’d look if she had bigger breasts and then realized he was being too picky. Her breasts were perky enough for any man.
“I think I’m going to tell dad I have to work with you today, okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” he said.
She pulled a sweatshirt over her head that had the VMI logo on it and hurried out the door. Johnny G combed his hair and stared at himself in the mirror. He needed a haircut and it seemed to be a little grayer than last time he gave himself a close inspection. His face was a little more drawn too. It caused him to wonder about Riley. If he didn’t know better, he thought she may be starting to have feelings for him, which was surprising.
The question that immediately popped into his head, was that a good thing?
He got dressed thinking about her, her father and brother, and the possible reasons why she killed Rochelle. She’d most likely give him a truthful answer if he asked. But he wasn’t sure he was ready for that.
He hurriedly dressed and headed to breakfast. His days were full of work and today was going to be no different. First, he needed to meet with the scavenging team. They were waiting for him in the cafeteria.
“Good morning,” he greeted as he sat with a plate of eggs and biscuits. He smiled to himself. They’d found an older woman, Bea, who was roughing it on her own. She was an Amish woman who knew how to raise chickens. Roscoe and Johnny G had convinced her to relocate closer to Marcus Hook and they’d help her. They seldom went without eggs now. He looked up to see the three men grinning.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Jimbo said, still grinning. “How are you JG? You been sleeping good?”
Jimbo was the only person who called him JG. It didn’t matter to Johnny G, what mattered was the shit-eating grin the man had plastered on his face. Obviously, they knew about his budding romance with Riley. There were few secrets around here.
“Is the truck ready?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Gassed up and checked out,” Ringo answered. Ringo looked like a young Ringo Starr, hence the nickname. He and his buddy, Bandy, showed up one day a couple of years ago in a leaky boat that was close to sinking.
“We’re leaving after breakfast, unless something’s changed,” he said.
“Nope, we’re good to go. So, let’s go over some things so I know we’re on the same sheet of music.”
Jimbo held up a hand and swallowed some food before speaking while Ringo unrolled a map and weighted it down with a couple of coffee cups.
“We conduct surveillance for a minimum of thirty minutes before going through the
Ridley Park gate.” Jimbo tapped on a grid space that had not been colored in. “Once through, we’ll travel into the Spruce Hill area and start house-to-house.”
“Good,” Johnny G said. “The only worry I have is the condition of the roads. The snow is going to hide the bad spots.”
“No worries, boss. I’m driving,” Ringo replied with a grin.
“Well, that’s a load off my mind,” Johnny G said with a grin. The four of them laughed. “I’ll make sure we have someone on radio duty.” He instantly thought of Riley.
“Alright, one other thing. Remind me again how many zeds you three encountered last time you went out.” He tapped on the map on a colored in grid next to the open grid they were going to explore.
“Remind me again how many zeds were encountered here.”
“Forty or so,” Jimbo said. “But no injuries.”
“Let’s keep it that way, right?” Johnny G said. “By the way, I haven’t checked out the medic kits in either truck. Make sure they’re good to go.”
“You got it,” Jimbo said. He finished his beverage, stood, and rubbed his belly. “Alright, men, let’s get going. I want to be home by dinner.”
Chapter 36 – Melvin and True Return
“That boy never stops eating,” True griped.
Melvin chuckled. Dong laughed too, but only for a second and then resumed munching away on their last homemade granola bar. It was a common theme for the past couple of days; if either Melvin or True laughed, Dong would laugh.
They were almost home, less than a hundred miles away. They’d had a lot of issues during their drive, but now the end was in sight. They were tired and cranky, but neither of them complained. They had survived another mission unscathed and were almost home.
“Ain’t seen many zeds this trip, except for in Cincinnati,” True remarked.
“They’re better at hiding these days, but I imagine a lot of them are dying out,” Melvin surmised.
“Could be,” True said. “Everywhere we go there are skeletons. What do you think is going to happen to our little friend when we get back?”
Melvin shrugged. “
I don’t know if anyone at Weather even cares, but we’ll do what we can for him. I don’t know if they’ll even allow him to live there and if they do, I don’t know if they’ll insist on keeping him locked up.”
True was silent for a minute but then hooked a thumb at Dong. “I’ll look out after him. Otherwise, they’ll keep him locked in a cell. That wouldn’t be fair.”
“Are you sure?” Melvin asked.
“Yeah.”
“If it doesn’t work out for him at Weather, I bet I could talk Johnny G into letting him live at Hook.”
“What do you think about him?” True asked.
“Who, Johnny G? He reminds me of a sergeant who was in our support unit back when I was on an A-Team. He was quiet and unassuming, but the man was always on top of everything. He handled the logistics like a pro. Roscoe is a highly intelligent engineer; Johnny G is his go-to man. When there is a problem, Johnny G comes up with a way to solve it.”
Melvin glanced at Dong while he was talking and wondered how much English the man understood. By merely listening to their conversation, the man could gather a lot of intel about Mount Weather.
Melvin changed the subject and the two men talked mostly of farming for the next few hours and arrived at the main gate an hour after sunset. Priss and Savannah were manning the guard post. As soon as Savannah saw the familiar truck approaching, she ran outside to greet them.
“Hey,” he said as he hugged her tightly.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she said and glanced over at True. “I’m glad both of you are back.”
“How’s the little princess?” True asked
Savannah grinned. “Rambunctious as ever. She’s with the other kids in the playroom. She’ll be glad to see you.” She was about to say more, but then she spotted Dong sitting in the truck. When he saw her staring, he grinned and waved.
She stared a moment longer and then peered at Melvin in confusion. “Who is he?” she whispered.
“He’s one of those Chinese soldiers we were sent out to look for,” Melvin said.
He then went over to the passenger door, opened it, and let him out. Dong stepped out and stretched a moment before walking over to Savannah and giving a small bow.
“I am Dong,” he said, showing his bucktooth grin.
Savannah’s eyes widened. “What are you going to do with him?”
“I’m sure they’ll want to quarantine him and give him a physical. Then he’ll be debriefed. True and I have been talking to him, he understands a little English.”
“He’s not dangerous, is he?” she asked.
“He seems harmless enough.”
“I’m going to walk him to the showers and then I’ll make sure he’s fed before we lock him down for the night,” True said.
Melvin nodded and turned to the guard. “I’m sure they’ve already told you to tell us to report in immediately.”
“Yessir, they have.”
Melvin grunted. “Alright, you’ve told me.” He glanced at True. “What do you want to do?”
“You go on with Savannah. I’ll take care of the truck and Dong,” True said.
“Thanks, brother. I’ll give them a mission report in the morning.”
Melvin then grabbed Savannah around the waist and the two of them walked inside. True grunted. He was both happy for his friend and envious that he had a woman who loved him. He hated to admit it, but he missed Sandy, Prairie’s mother. She had her faults, but he still missed her terribly. He sighed deeply without realizing it.
“True?” Dong asked.
True looked at him. The little man was staring at him with an expression of concern. True grunted.
“Come on, we got a truck to clean up and put to bed.”
Chapter 37 – Spruce Hill
“Leaving the Ridley Park gate,” Jimbo said into the microphone. A female voice acknowledged.
Jimbo frowned in surprise. “Riley, is that you?”
“Affirmative. There was something going on at the refinery that needed extra hands, so I’m filling in.”
“Nice. Okay, if you weren’t told, we’re the only ones outside the perimeter and we’ll be in and around the Spruce Hill area most of the day. I’ll check in every hour or so.”
“Roger that. Out,” Riley said.
Jimbo put the microphone on the clip and grinned.
“So, it’s true?” Ringo asked.
“About her and Johnny G? Oh, yeah,” Jimbo drawled.
“Damn,” Ringo muttered. “Well, good for him. Everybody needs a significant other, especially now.” He frowned and yanked on the zipper of his insulated coveralls. “These things are too hot.”
All three men were wearing them. They had been custom tailored; designed for both warmth and protection against zed bites. Ringo unzipped his down to the waist and worked his upper torso out of it. Jimbo turned the heat down and unzipped his as well but continued wearing it.
They approached the next security gate and stopped. Seeing that no zeds had breached, they opened the second gate, went through, and secured it behind them.
When Ringo got back in the truck, Bandy cleared his throat. “I don’t know about those Fitzgeralds.”
“How so?” Jimbo asked.
“My uncle was a sheriff in a rural county in Mississippi. There was this big clan of Irish Travelers who lived there, and he was constantly dealing with them. The Fitzgeralds remind me of them.”
“What are Irish Travelers?” Ringo asked.
“I don’t know a whole lot about them other than they’d travel from state to state pulling all kinds of scams. They never ripped off people in our county, but once they crossed the county line, anything was fair game. I went to school with a few of them; they were nice enough, but dad always told me not to trust them.”
“I have one question,” Ringo said. “How in the hell did a redneck from Mississippi end up in Pennsylvania?”
Jimbo guffawed. “Haven’t you heard the story? He was chasing a gal who had gotten a scholarship up here.”
“Yep, sure was,” Bandy said. “She dropped out after two months and went back home to momma, but I stayed. I’d gotten a good paying job at the refinery. I didn’t live at Hook back then. I lived about a mile from where we’re going today. There were plenty of co-eds running around, so I got over her pretty easily.”
“Did you like working at the refinery?” Ringo asked.
“Yeah, I did. I was looking at a big promotion when everything went to hell.” Bandy rubbed his beard. “I like Marcus Hook, but a day doesn’t go by when I don’t think about going back home. Everyone I know and love are probably dead but there have been many nights where I’m tossing and turning in bed and wondering what really happened to them.”
“I hear you,” Ringo said. “There’s not a day that doesn’t go by when I wish Johnny hadn’t been shot and we could’ve put the band back together.”
Jimbo stared at Ringo in confusion. “Who?”
Ringo explained. “The Beatles. John Lennon. Get it?”
Bandy howled in laughter. It took Jimbo a moment before he understood and laughed along with them. Ringo started to respond with a smartassed retort, but it was cut short when the front left tire went into a deep pothole that had been hidden by a layer of snow. A loud, sickening crunch wrenched its way through the interior. Ringo hit the brakes and they slid to a stop.
“Shit!” he exclaimed.
The three men got out and examined the damage. The driver’s side tire was pointed straight while the flattened passenger tire pointed several degrees to the right. Ringo squatted in front of the tire and after giving it an inspection muttered a few more invectives.
“How bad?” Jimbo asked.
“Bad enough. Flat tire and a broken strut. That’s what I can see. There may be more damage that I can’t see.”
“Can’t we change the tire and drive back with it like that?” Ringo asked.
Ringo slowly shook his head. “Look at the way the tire is pointed off in the opp
osite direction to the other one. If we tried to drive on it, we’d cause more damage and still wouldn’t make it back.”
Ringo’s eyes widened. “What, do we have to walk back?”
“Negative,” Jimbo said. “We have a contingency plan in place, remember? All we have to do is call it in and they’ll send someone to come get us.”
Zombie Rules | Book 8 | Who The Hell Is That? Page 21