Return to Yellowstone

by Heath Stallcup

  “Well, what did they say? I couldn’t hear from where I was, and I was trying to listen.”

  She shook her head again and shrugged. “She just asked how I got it.”

  Jason leaned forward and grabbed her hands. “What did you tell them?” His voice was a whisper, but he may as well have yelled by the way she jumped. “Seriously, Bren. What did you tell them?”

  She jerked her head up and stared at him. “The truth.”

  He fell back onto his cot and stared at her. “You shouldn’t have done that.” He slowly got to his feet and paced the small area. “If they think you were scratched by one of the crazies, they’ll throw us both out.”

  She shook her head again. “I told her it happened nearly a week ago. She seemed satisfied with that.” She reached for his hand and stopped his pacing. “If I were infected, I would have turned by now. It had to be a tree branch.”

  Jason shook his head. “Bren, I saw it happen. I told you what scratched you.”

  “And you still didn’t put me down, did you?” She came to her feet and laid her head against his chest. “What did you tell me then?”

  He stroked her hair and pulled her tight into his arms. “That I’d always take care of you.”

  “Whatever it was, they know that it’s an old scratch and that I’m not infected.” Her voice was muffled against the rough material of his shirt. “We’re safe. They’re not going to throw us out. They don’t suspect anything.”

  He continued to rub her hair and nodded in the darkness. “I pray you’re right.”

  “I am.” She held him tightly and snuggled in closer. “We’re going to be fine.”

  “Don’t get me wrong.” Jason sighed. “I’m damned glad they were here to pull our fat out of the fire, but…”

  She pulled away and stared at him in the dim light. “What?”

  Jason shook his head in the darkness and looked away. “We don’t know anything about them. They could be bad people.”

  She nodded and snuggled close again. “Bad people don’t allow you a bath and give you clothes. They don’t feed you and let you stay together.”

  “In quarantine.” He didn’t mean for the bitterness to come out in his voice, but it did.

  “Regardless, if they had bad intentions, don’t you think they would have separated us? Maybe tried something? Or put you in chains or…worse?”

  “I don’t know. Call me paranoid, but I don’t trust many people these days.”

  “I don’t blame you. Not a bit. But for now? Tonight? We have a safe place to sleep, food in our stomachs, and we don’t have to take turns keeping watch.” She pulled away and cupped his face in her hand. “Can’t we just try to relax and enjoy what we have for however long we have it?”

  Jason sighed heavily and pulled her closer. “I don’t like it, but you’re right. For tonight, we can at least pretend the world hasn’t gone to shit and let ourselves relax a little.”

  She leaned up and kissed him gently on the chin. “Thank you.”

  “Meh, don’t thank me.” He pulled the two cots close together and sat down, pulling her to him. “We’re liable to wake up tomorrow and find ourselves slave labor for a bunch of pirates or something.”

  She chuckled lightly as she settled in next to him. “It beats being eaten by the crazies, don’t you think?”

  He shrugged and wrapped an around her. “Sometimes I wonder.”

  Larry pulled Vicky aside after his inspection of the newcomers. “I told them I wanted to make sure the scratch wasn’t infected. I smeared some triple antibiotic on it and applied a bandage.”

  Vicky waved him on with her hand. “And?”

  “And…” Larry sighed heavily. “It certainly appears to be a deep scratch made by a human.”

  “That was my thoughts as well.”

  “So, what are you planning to do about it? She obviously hasn’t turned. Maybe it wasn’t an infected that scratched her. You do realize that in the heat of a chase, her boyfriend could have done it and neither of them even realize it.”

  Vicky shook her head. “The council has a plan already. All we needed was for you to verify my findings.”

  “No, that’s bull!” Larry stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “You can’t pull me in on something like this and then keep me in the dark.”

  Vicky blew a breath out as she considered the circumstances. “You’re right.” She pulled him to the side and lowered her voice. “They think she might be immune. That perhaps her antibodies can be used to come up with an antiviral or an immunization.”

  “We aren’t set up for something like that. Hell, none of us would have the first clue how to do something like that.”

  “I know. That’s why they’re going to make arrangements to move her.” Vicky pulled him closer and stared into his eyes. “You have to promise you’ll keep this under your hat. Don’t even tell your wife. We don’t want any false hope being spread.”

  “But…”

  “No! Especially considering the odds of them being able to pull this off.” Vicky sighed and shook her head. “The CDC is most likely gone. Daniel knows of a place in Colorado. Apparently, the military had some kind of viral research place that was tied to the CDC or something. That’s where they’re wanting to take her.”

  “Sweet Mary, Mother of…do you have any idea how far of a trek that is?” Larry practically fell into his chair.

  “A hell of a lot closer than the CDC is, I promise you.” Vicky paused and considered the circumstances. “Look, just promise you won’t say anything to anybody.”

  Larry nodded his head, his eyes staring off to nowhere.

  “You promise?”

  Larry snapped out of his reverie. “Yeah. I promise.” He suddenly stood and cleared his throat. “And I think I need to get ready.”

  Vicky gave him a confused look. “What for?”

  “If they’re going on a long trip, they’ll want somebody with medical training to tag along. I’m young, strong, and healthy and I have that training. I’m the logical choice.”

  “Oh, the hell you say…” Vicky pushed him away. “Your wife would kill us both.”

  “She doesn’t have a say in this.” Larry tried to push past Vicky and got a stiff arm in the chest to block his way.

  “How about we just ask Hatcher before you go making any kind of plans?”

  Larry paused and gave her a sidelong look. “Fine. We’ll ask Hatcher.”

  The two set off in search of Hatcher and found him in his makeshift room, a corner of the main warehouse, his meager belongings hung on the wall. He had his pack sitting on his bunk and was folding his clothes, making ready for another outing.

  “Hatch, old buddy,” Larry called as they approached his space.

  “You’re not going,” Hatcher stated without turning around.

  “What? Why not?”

  “I’ll be able to make better time if it’s just the three of us.” He turned and faced the pair. “I take it her wound was definitely made by a human?”

  Vicky Sue nodded. “I was certain, but…”

  “Hatch, I really think you should take somebody who has medical training.” Larry would argue with a fence post if he thought he stood a chance of winning. With Hatcher, he didn’t.

  “I’ve had first responder training, too. We don’t need you. Your wife does.” Hatcher turned back to his packing and continued shoving items into his pack. “Prepare the newcomers. I’ll be there shortly to talk with them.”

  “Do you think it’s smart to just go in there and spill the whole plan?” Vicky asked. “I mean, shouldn’t we—”

  “Shouldn’t we what? Waste more time allowing more healthy people to be killed and eaten by those things? Allow more people to be turned into those things?” Hatcher shook his head. “No, we leave tonight.”

  “Sir, we went through the backup files of all government employees. We finally found a ‘Daniel’ Hatcher who worked for the Forestry Department and went on to become a Park Ran
ger. What exactly did you want from his file?” The aide waited expectantly outside of Vickers’ office with barely his face exposed.

  Vickers looked up from the daily reports and nodded. “Just bring me the entire file. If it’s electronic, send it to my computer.”

  “Yes, sir.” The aide disappeared and a few moments later a chime on Vickers’ computer indicated he had a new document waiting.

  Vickers opened the document and went through all of the personal files on Daniel Hatcher. He finally found what he was looking for. A home town. An address. A starting point. He had to ask himself, if he weren’t a military man and the world went to hell in a handbasket, what would he do? Well, the first thing he’d do is try to make it to whatever hole in the wall he called ‘home’ and check on family members.

  Vickers perused Hatcher’s file and discovered a sister. If she survived the initial outbreak, she would probably try to do the same, unless she was like most people and never travelled more than a hundred miles from home. Regardless, home appeared to be Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Just a little North of Albuquerque. Vickers smiled as he continued digging through the file, but nothing of interest jumped out at him.

  Never married, Daniel Hatcher had little other reason to stay away from what might be home. Vickers felt that, if nothing else, it was a place to start. The truly bad part of the whole situation was, with the infrastructure in the condition it was in, they could send what was left of the entire military after the man and still miss him. There was no telling where in the town he might be holed up.

  Vickers considered the numerous options and finally decided the best plan was the most obvious. He’d ‘knock’ and ask for Hatcher…in a manner of speaking. Flying a helicopter over the town with a loud speaker calling his name might not be the most subtle way to get his attention, but if Hatcher was still alive, curiosity would compel him to discover who was asking for him.

  They’d just better be sure and use that sonic whatchamacallit that Andrews cooked up while they do it. The last thing they needed was a few thousand of the infected Zeds trying to climb into the chopper as they were searching for their guide.

  Vickers mashed the button on his intercom. “Get me Hollis!”

  Vicky stood outside the door and watched the young couple as they sat on their cots and chatted quietly between themselves. She heard Daniel approaching and knew it was him before he ever got close. “They’re just sitting and talking.”

  “Time to ruin their day.” He pushed the door open and stepped inside with Vicky in tow. The couple both turned and looked at him at the same time when they walked in.

  “Are we free to leave quarantine yet?” Jason asked.

  Hatcher shook his head as he pulled up a chair. “We need to have a little chat.”

  Jason rolled his eyes and slumped against the wall. “What now, man?” Bren seemed to shrink in upon herself as Hatcher settled in across from them.

  “That scratch on the back of your shoulder. How’d you get it?”

  “She done already told your nurse, dude. Do we really have to have the third degree? We’ve been—”

  “I’m not talking to you.” Hatcher didn’t raise his voice, but the tone instantly knocked the wind from Jason’s sails. “I was talking to her.”

  Bren shrunk even more and shook her head softly. “I’m not sure. I didn’t see it.” Her voice was barely audible. “It was probably a tree branch.”

  Hatcher stared at the floor and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I’m going to ask one more time. If I don’t get a straight answer, you’re both getting tossed out on your asses.”

  Vicky squeezed his shoulder silently and Jason’s eyes bugged. “What the hell, man? It’s not like she’s infected. She’d have already turned if she was…”

  “And if you interrupt one more time, I’ll throw you out on principle.” Hatcher shot him a withering stare. He turned to Bren. “One last time, SweetPea. Truth or consequences?”

  Bren’s hands began to shake as she fiddled with the edge of the shirt she wore. Her head shook side to side and she stared at the floor. “I told you. I didn’t see it. I was scared and running and…”

  “Alright. That’s it. Grab what you brought and let’s go.” Hatcher stood so quickly that his chair clattered to the floor behind him. “I mean it. Let’s move!”

  Jason suddenly stood and got between Hatcher and Bren. “It was one of the crazies, man. It scratched her when we was running from it. But she didn’t get sick, okay? She didn’t turn. She’s okay, see?” Jason waved his hand toward Bren who now had tears running down her face. He lowered his voice and pleaded with Hatcher, “Please, man. You can’t throw us to the wolves.”

  Hatcher narrowed his gaze on the pair then turned to Vicky. “Get them something to drink. We may be a little bit.”

  “Wait. So we can stay?” Jason asked reluctantly.

  “Sit down.” Hatcher pulled his chair upright again and sat. “We have a lot to talk about.”

  Chapter 3

  “So, they’re okay with the plan?” Vicky’s eyes probed Daniel as he marched down the makeshift hallway toward the corner he called home.

  Hatcher avoided her eyes and gave her a nonchalant shrug. “I didn’t really give them a choice.”

  “You what?” Vicky grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Daniel. So help me, if you strong-armed those kids into—”

  “Stop.” His eyes bore into her and the firm set of his jaw showed above all else that he meant business. “You know as well as I do what that girl in there could be carrying inside of her body.”

  “But you can’t force them into this, Danny. Think of what mMom would say if she knew—”

  “Mom is gone, Vick. She was gone long before any of this happened.” He pulled her aside and lowered his voice. “Do I like the idea of dragging two reluctant kids all the way to northern Colorado on nothing other than the idea of a cure? Hell no. But tell me what other choice I have?”

  “You need to let them choose, Danny.” Vicky lowered her face and crossed her arms defensively. “It isn’t right to force them. They aren’t prisoners.”

  “No, they aren’t. But they also know that if they don’t agree, then they’re back out there on their own.” He pointed just outside the metal wall of the warehouse.

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Try me. They bring nothing to the community except this, and you know as well as I do that there are no freeloaders here.”

  He turned back to his chore when she pulled him to a stop again. “You mean like Skeeter? Or Phil? Or the number of pregnant women in our little community?”

  “That’s different. Phil may be in a wheelchair, but he’s an engineer, and he helped plan the defenses for this place. The women who are pregnant…well…” he paused to think of some reasonable explanation to give his nosy sister. “They were pregnant when they got here. And they help. They…cook and clean for us sometimes.”

  “You’re reaching Danny and you know it.”

  “Maybe. But if I have to play the hardass to get these two to do the right thing, then so be it.”

  “And what’s to stop them from bailing on you the first opportunity things look safe enough for them?”

  Hatcher shook his head. “Nothing. Unless they want to keep breathing.” He turned and marched off to his corner and began packing his backpack.

  Vicky watched him through narrow eyes. “Something has changed in you, Danny. Something I don’t recognize.”

  Hatcher paused and stared into the darkness. He thought of his best friend Mitch and Shelly and the countless others who died on his watch. He shook his head in the darkness. “There’s been enough death, sis. If dragging these two to Colorado has a snowball’s chance at finding a cure, then I have to do it.”

  “If Gene were still alive, he’d stomp a mudhole in our ass.” Her voice quivered as she spoke of her now deceased husband.

  “If Gene were still alive, he’d be helping me. He’d want a cure as b
adly as I do.” Hatcher shoved the last of his few items into the pack and snapped it shut. When he turned to face her, he noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Are those for me or those kids?”

  Vicky shrugged. “I don’t know.” She sniffed and wiped at her face in frustration. “You had better come back alive, you hear me? I’m not raising Skeeter by myself.”

  Daniel grunted a smile at her and pulled her into a hug. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back. I’m too tough for those bastards to chew on, anyway.”

  Colonel Vickers had just finished compiling a paper file of all the pertinent information on Hatcher when a knock sounded from his door. “Come.”

  Captain A.J. Hollis stepped inside and stood at parade rest. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

  Vickers glanced up from the folders he had prepared and waved the captain off. “At ease.” Vickers took his seat and eyed the young pain in the ass junior officer. “You were a spec op officer, were you not?” Vickers already knew the answer.

  “Sir, yes, sir. Army Green Beret out of—”

  “Yes, particulars don’t concern me, captain.” Vickers tossed the folder across to Hollis. “We have a mission for you, if you’re up to it.”

  Hollis gave the colonel a curious glance. “A mission, sir? I thought the laboratory protocols were our first priority?”

  “This is part of it.” Vickers nodded to the file. “Didn’t LaRue say we needed the original virus? Unmutated?”

  “Yes, sir, but I don’t—”

  “Then we need this man to escort you and a team into the hot zone to collect that sample, captain.” Vickers gave him a knowing smile. “Again, if you think you are up to it.” He knew the young captain would snap at a chance to prove himself. Especially if he thought it would make him a ‘hero.’

  “Sir, from what I understand, the hot zone is inside Yellowstone, correct?”

  “You are correct.” Vickers leaned back in his chair and observed the young officer connect the dots.

  “A small team and myself could be in and out in no time. Minimal casualties.”