Buck fell back in his seat and stared out the window. “So, the majority of the world is infected, but screw them, we’re just going to save who’s left?”
“Pretty much.” Hollis pointed to a narrow gap between two boulders up ahead. “We can fit. It’s not as steep as going around.”
Buck looked to Hatcher who seemed as surprised as Buck was. “I thought we were getting this crap to make a cure for everybody.”
Buck sighed and shook his head. “I doubt the infected could be saved now, anyway.”
His comment caught Hatcher’s attention. “Why do you say that?”
“I think they’re brain damaged.” He shrugged. “Judging by their actions, there’s nothing left of who they were, anyway. It’s all basic stuff. Eat, shit, sex, and destroy.”
“Sounds like they’re still human to me.” Hollis responded sarcastically. “Add in a little greed and you’d never know they were sick.”
Buck gave him a dirty look, but Hollis never turned around to notice.
Hatcher reached over and took Buck’s arm. “Do you have any family that we could check with? Grandparents? Aunt or uncle?”
Buck nodded. “I have an uncle, but I haven’t spoken to him in a long time. He was my dad’s brother. He was some big shot. More money than brains, if you know what I mean.”
“I know the type.”
“I have no idea if he would have made it through all of this.” Buck turned to Hatcher and lowered his voice. “What’s it like out there? In the rest of the world, I mean. Is it like it used to be?”
Hatcher shook his head. “Mostly we’re just trying to survive. Scrounge for food and supplies, trying not to be seen by the Zulus, doing what—”
“Zulus?”
Hatcher nodded. “One of the guys in my group is ex-military. I guess Zulu is military for ‘z’…z, zombie, zulu…”
“Ah. Gotcha.”
“Anyway, we’re doing what you do, just in the urban jungle.” Hatcher sighed. “You’d think we’d have gotten this thing under control by now, but…it really is an uphill battle.”
“How many got out of the park to spread the virus?”
Hatcher gave him a confused look. “No, kid. When the military blew the top off the mountain, it went into the atmosphere. It was carried all over the country. People caught it by…I guess…I dunno.” He looked to Hollis. “Was this stuff airborne?”
Hollis shook his head. “It’s not caught that way. Our best guess is that it settled on people and was ingested or it infected the water supply.”
“And then they bit others,” Buck added.
Hollis nodded. “It wasn’t pretty out there.”
“It wasn’t pretty here, either.” Buck leaned back and continued to stare out the window. He dared not hope there was anything worth going to outside of the park.
“Step on down, nice and easy.” Squirrel held the pistol on Henry and feared that the black guy on the other side of the cab was about to bolt and run. He actually relaxed a bit when the man climbed over to the driver’s seat and stepped down.
“I told ya, buddy, we ain’t got no gas,” the taller man from the driver’s side repeated.
“Just diesel. But you’re welcome to all of it. We don’t want no trouble,” the other man said, his jaw quivering.
Squirrel stepped back and eyed the pair. “It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out you two dragged the toasted import up here.”
Henry shook his head nervously. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
Squirrel gave him a stupid look. “The damn thing is still smoking, you can see where the rims dug into the road…I’d bet money if I followed the trail back to where it starts, I’d be really close to your place, wouldn’t I?”
The shorter black man leaned toward Henry and whispered, “He’s good, Hank.” The taller man shot him a dirty look.
Squirrel sighed and holstered his pistol. “Believe it or not, I’m not here for you.” He took a step back and leaned against the gas pump.
“Who’re you here for?” Henry asked, relaxing somewhat since the gun wasn’t pointed at him any longer.
“I ran into a dude with a big military truck. Had a chick with him?” He leaned forward and studied the pair. “Ring any bells?”
Henry shook his head, but Wally snapped his fingers. “Hatch!” Henry shot him a dirty look again and Wally had no idea why. “What?”
“Ease up on him, Henry.” Squirrel said as he pulled a toothpick from behind his ear and slipped it into his mouth. “Ain’t no harm coming to an honest man.”
“Fine. What’s your business with Hatcher?” Henry crossed his arms, suddenly defensive.
Squirrel took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Well, now…see, that’s a totally different story.” He lifted his sunglasses and perched them atop his hair. “I need to know where that man came from.”
Wally perked up and shot him a big smile. “Hell, he lives with us.” Henry turned and glared at him, but Wally kept going. “Well, he did. He’s with the military now. They went back to Yellowstone to try and get a sample of the shit that started this mess.”
“You don’t say.” Squirrel gave him a sly smile.
Henry spun and in a low voice growled at Wally, “If you don’t shut your damned mouth and quit telling him everything, I’m gonna shut it for you.”
Wally took a half-step back and shook his head at him. “Man, you ain’t gotta be all hateful. The man’s looking for Hatcher. Least we could do is—”
“I said zip it!” Henry spun and glared at Squirrel. “What do you want with Hatcher?”
Squirrel gauged the man and knew that even though he was large, he had no idea how to fight. Still, he wasn’t here to hurt anybody.
Not yet.
“I just need to talk to him.” He pushed off the gas pump and stepped closer to the pair. “You see, my boss, hateful and greedy as he is, really wanted to speak to your boy Hatcher. Something about not paying a toll on the road he traveled. Then this helicopter zoomed in and made matters worse.”
“That wasn’t ours. That’s the military I was telling you about.” Henry spun and gave Wally another hateful look, but Wally stepped past him and closer to Squirrel. “They needed Hatcher to help ’em find their away around the park.”
Squirrel nodded as though it made perfect sense. “So, your boy Hatcher is with them as we speak.”
Wally nodded. “I would imagine so. They was supposed to bring him back when they was done with him, but he ain’t back yet.” He shrugged. “So unless he dead, they still using him.”
Henry grabbed Wally by the shoulder and pulled him back behind him. “You still haven’t told me what your intentions are with him. You say he owes your boss?” He turned to Wally and mouthed, ‘marauders.’ Wally went pale once he realized who he had been speaking with.
For the briefest of moments, a thought occurred to Squirrel. One that he wouldn’t have thought of if it hadn’t been for Wally and his trusting behavior. Rather than turning west and never looking back, what if he opted for a community not unlike one he had been advocating for? Where people work together towards a common goal…survival.
He opened his mouth to speak and found the words not coming. He stepped back and eyed the two fellows before him.
“Let me ask you guys something. How many people are in your group?”
Wally shook his head and Henry crossed his arms again. “Who says there are any?”
Squirrel sighed.
“Look, fellas, I wasn’t born yesterday. There is no way you two survived on your own.”
Henry wasn’t sure, but he thought they had just been insulted.
“I just want to know how many people there are with you. That’s all.”
“Just me and him.” Henry replied. Wally nodded behind him.
Squirrel pinched at the bridge of his nose. “Okay fellas. You leave me no choice.”
“Wait. What are you gonna do?” Wally asked.
Squirrel s
hrugged. “I’m gonna have to tie you two up.” He pointed to the back of the truck. “I’ll probably toss you in the back there and shut the doors. It might get a little hot this afternoon, but…” He shrugged again. “Then I’ll have to follow that nice little trail you left in the pavement until I find where this thing came from and I’ll knock on all of the doors and speak to whoever I find. Something tells me that I’ll find out what I need to know.”
Henry’s shoulders slumped and Wally sighed heavily. “What do we do, Hank?”
Henry nearly stumbled back. “Then you and the rest of the marauders will come in here and kill everybody.”
Squirrel’s head popped up. “What did you just say?”
Henry nodded. “Hatcher told us he ran into a group of marauders on the highway. Told us that y’all tried to kill him.”
Squirrel nodded knowingly. “Yes, they did. But believe it or not, I wasn’t a part of that.”
“But you’re a part of them, aren’t you? You’re some kind of scout, out here tracking us down so your marauder buddies can ride up here and—”
Squirrel held a hand up to stop him. “Okay, yes. I am with them, but I’m not with them. Understand?”
Henry nodded, then shook his head. “No.”
Squirrel felt his shoulders slump and he blew out his breath. “Look, fellas…I used to be a cop. Back when we actually had cops. I…I can’t believe I’m telling you this.” He started pacing, his hands moving wildly as he spoke. “I was supposed to bear witness to their crimes, but then the world went to shit. Now there’s no more cops, no courts, no nothing. I either had to cut and run or stick with them. Since there’s security in numbers, I stuck with them.”
“You went native.” Henry stated.
“No!” Squirrel nearly shouted. “You don’t get it. We don’t have some nice defendable apartment building or gated military base. We’re out there in box trucks and tents and…there are families.”
Henry’s brows rose, and he gave him a questioning glance. Squirrel shook his head. “Not mine. They…didn’t make it.” He took a deep breath, then turned and faced the pair. “Yes. They will most likely make their way here. But now you have a choice to make. You can either trust me or you can take your chances against them all by yourselves.” It was Squirrel’s turn to cross his arms and study them.
Henry glanced to Wally who gave a slight shrug. “He didn’t shoot us.” It was all Wally could think to say.
Henry swallowed hard and glanced down the road they had just come from then back to Squirrel. The man was right. All he had to do was follow the trail that the Civic left and he’d find where they were staying. He eyed the biker in front of him and something in his gut told him he was telling the truth.
“You got a badge?”
Squirrel snorted. “Sorry, man. If I carried something like that with these people and they found out?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Henry chewed at the inside of his lip. “But you were a cop?”
“In another life, yeah.”
Henry glanced at Wally again, but the man offered nothing new. He finally extended a hand to Squirrel. “What the hell. You’re right. If you followed the trail back, you’d find where we’re from.”
Squirrel took his hand and shook it. “First things first. After I meet with you people, we have to do something about that road.” He made a face that Henry couldn’t read. “If I can find you this easily, so can they.”
Dr. LaRue tossed her stethoscope back into her bag and zipped it up. “It’s probably something she ate.” She snapped the gloves off and tossed them into the waste basket. “Her fever is still low grade and it looks like her throat is a little raw, but it doesn’t smell like strep. I’m still inclined to think it’s a viral infection if the antibiotics aren’t helping. She hasn’t been taking them for long, but I would have expected an improvement of some kind.”
“But she hasn’t gotten any better,” Jason pleaded. “I’ve made sure she’s taking the medicine and—”
“And that’s why I’m leaning toward a viral infection.” Vivian kept her voice low and calm. “I honestly don’t think this is anything to worry about. It just needs to run its course.”
“Every time you say viral I can’t help but think the worst.” Jason’s voice waivered as he spoke.
“I understand your worry, but consider that the common cold is a virus. The flu is a virus. Heck, the grand majority of human diseases are viral.” She patted his arm. “Just make sure she gets plenty of rest and lots of fluids. She’ll be fine in no time.”
She turned to leave and Jason followed her out. “So, um…how are the, uh, the patients doing?”
“Patients?”
“The test subjects. Are any of them being cured?”
Vivian gave him a soft smile. “Some are showing signs of improvement, but we’re a long way from a cure.”
“But, you took her blood and—”
“And Rome wasn’t built in a day.” She patted his arm again and was really starting to lose patience with the man. “Trust me, as soon as we know for sure about a cure, you’ll be one of the first that we get it to.”
Jason smiled, then suddenly sobered. “That wasn’t…uh, what I was…”
“It’s okay Mr. Anderson. Believe me, I understand. Ms. Wilkes is a strong woman and we’re glad that the two of you are here. I can only imagine the fear of living with someone who may be a carrier of this dreaded disease.” She gave him a soft smile. “So, trust me when I say that we understand your concerns. As soon as we have something definitive, you’ll be the next to know.”
Jason nodded slightly as she turned to leave. He slipped back into the room and tried to tend to Bren while Dr. LaRue went back to work saving the world.
Candy paced by the gates and sighed dramatically when she saw the truck lumbering back toward the warehouse. “I swear, I’m going to kill them the moment they…,” she trailed off, her eyes catching glints of reflection from something behind the truck. She cocked her head to the side and listened carefully as a motorcycle engine revved.
She turned and motioned to the roof guard. “Eyes!”
The man nodded then pulled his spyglasses. He studied the approaching truck, then turned back to her. “One rider. Hank and Wally are in the truck.”
“I need extra guards at the gate!” she shouted into the radio, then turned and snapped the lock on the chain that secured the chain link gates.
She stepped back and pulled her pistol, ready for whatever approached the entrance with the truck. She leaned against the block wall of the staging area and watched as the truck pulled up to the gates and Henry shut off the engine.
She watched the motorcycle pull alongside the truck and a large man un-straddled the machine. He unzipped his leather jacket and walked slowly to the gate with Henry.
“Who’s your friend, Hank?” Candy asked, her pistol pointed at the stranger.
Hank held his hand out and the biker gently placed his pistol into it. “I would say he’s a friend, but…”
“Hands where I can see them!” Candy stepped from the small concealment she had and approached the pair on the other side of the fence.
“Roger Mulroney, at your service.” He flashed a brilliant smile. “I surrendered my weapon, ma’am.”
“Don’t you ma’am me.” She kept her weapon trained on the stranger, but chanced a glance to Henry. “What’s his story, Hank?”
Henry swallowed hard. “I think you’d better hear it from him, Candy.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t tell it and you understand.”
“Didn’t Hatcher say the marauders were bikers?”
Henry nodded. “He used to be a cop.”
“I don’t give two shits if he used to be the governor!” She stepped forward and motioned to one of the gate guards. He unlocked the gate and she waved the two men through. “If you’d kindly place your hands behind your back.”
Squirrel could tell it wasn’t a request. He slid the leather jacket off
his shoulders and dropped it to the ground. He gave her another award-winning smile and crossed his hands behind his back. “The jacket is a bit too binding when cuffed.”
She watched as the gate guard slapped the cuffs on him, then she approached. “So, you’re used to wearing handcuffs, are you?”
He shook his head. “I’m used to putting them on people who look like me, though.”
“We’ll see.” She grabbed him roughly and began dragging him through the staging area.
Wally stepped out of the truck and called to her. “What do you want us to do?”
“You really don’t want me to answer that, Wally!” she called back over her shoulder.
Chapter 17
Buck glanced out of his window, then caught Hatcher’s attention. “Are we going up there?”
Hatcher nodded. “That’s the source of the virus, as far as we can tell.”
Buck paled and began nervously shaking his head. “No, we can’t. We need to turn back! Now. We can’t go up there or—”
“Cool your jets, kid!” Hollis yelled. “You better calm down or you’ll find yourself walking back to the world.”
“Fine! Let me out!” Buck began fumbling with the door latch when Hatcher grabbed his arm.
“What’s going on?” He tried to shake Buck to get his attention, but the kid seemed to be in a panic.
“You can’t go up there.” Buck got the door open and the driver locked up the brakes. He jumped out and stepped away from the Humvee, his whole body shaking as he glanced nervously into the trees.
“Why not, Buck?” Hatcher appeared from behind the truck and slowly approached him. “What’s up there?”
“They are!” Buck whispered loudly. “That place is…it’s like it’s sacred to the infected.” He stepped back and froze, his eyes scanning the woods.
“What do you mean?” Hollis suddenly appeared from the front of the truck. “Sacred how?”
Buck shook his head. “I can’t explain it. I just know what I’ve seen.” He suddenly bent low and had to slow his breathing.
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