by Woods, Shane
“Solid copy. Straight home then? Over,” he questioned.
“Yeah buddy,” I agreed. “I’ll send a larger team with more guns for retrieval tomorrow. Shit shouldn’t be going anywhere by then. Unless it grows legs and becomes sentient. Over.”
A word of agreeance from Rich and the conversation died.
Before long we were in line with the southern gate. The mismatched wall stretching out in both directions. It had been capped off at nearly ten feet in height and fastened together with such an eclectic mix of everything it was comical in the least.
Some sections even appeared to be made from entire pieces of roof from a home, complete with attic vents and skylights now backed with plywood. Others were bare panel wood and studs; I even could make out the hood of a car in the distance. Road signs had also been used to bolster or patch certain areas, save for the stop signs that had been placed on each side of the entry gate. They may have been the only part of the wall that actually meant something legitimate.
As we neared the compound, I tapped Ash on the shoulder and motioned ahead.
“Welcome home,” I said flatly, then, “If you’ll have it, that is.”
“This is where you boys are from?” he asked, nearly in shocked amazement. “Lauren and I, well, we’ve been over here before. Didn’t get too close, though.”
“Didn’t?” I asked. “What, didn’t want to risk it in case we weren’t the good guys?”
“Pretty much buddy,” Ash resigned. “You saved me, tried to save my cousin despite, well, despite her shortcomings. I owe you for that, and I’m grateful. That wall looks like my best option for safety now.”
“It is for all of us,” I agreed as we stopped before the gate.
Katie was once again on duty. She remained in her own world and bad temper at the sight of me and said nothing as she rolled back the outer gate for us. Her brown eyes changing from spite towards me, to confusion at the sight of Ash, just for a moment before she averted her eyes to the ground.
“Well she’s a cheerful looking lass,” Ash commented softly after she passed to work the front gate.
“Busted for stealing a shit ton of food,” Dave assuaged. “She’s out here on outer gate duty for a while.”
“She has both her hands still,” Ash joked, “that speaks volumes of fair leadership.”
Neither Dave nor I laughed along, but we both forced an amused grin for the man’s benefit.
We cruised the few blocks to the inner gate and repeated the dance, but on a smaller scale, for this entry as well. I only partially paid attention to Ash as he muttered words of amazement at the things he was seeing. Okay, so apparently, we were doing quite well for the world to be over.
As we pulled the truck around to the motor pool and parked it, I instructed Dave and Rich to get the department heads up to the ninth floor so we could discuss James.
“What did you do for a living, Ash?” I asked, a part of me wanting to know for our benefit, part wanting to find a way to distract him from recent events.
“I was a handyman in general,” he began, “mechanic, cabinet builder. I’m sure I could be of use to you.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can. We just lost our guy today,” I said flatly, considering the sad irony and eyeing Ash as he began taking a second look at his surroundings. “James was a carpenter and handyman as well. He had some mechanical and electrical engineering knowledge, too.”
“Well, what’s your plan?” he inquired.
“Use you,” I replied. “I’ll introduce you to Cody. He’s a smart guy, he’s become James’s best right-hand man in the weeks he’s been here. Actually…”
I broke my speech off and called Cody to the ninth floor command with my radio.
“I’ll have you two meet right now,” I finished. “Follow me.”
Without a word, he followed me into the front entrance. The area, having been recently rebuilt after Tony smashed a car through it, reeked of fresh latex paint. I caught a glimpse of Bri disappearing around one corner as Jennifer approached from the same area.
“What do you think?” she asked, motioning around, then noticing Ash, “Oh! Hello! Who’s this?”
“Ash, Jennifer,” I introduced quickly. “Jennifer, this is Ash. We’re on our way up, I think you should come along.”
“What happened?” she asked, seeing my expression, I was sure. “Scott? Did something happen?”
“Take Ash up to the ninth floor,” I said flatly. “I’m going to make one more stop, and I’ll be up there, too.”
“Scott, did we lose somebody?” she asked as we reached the third floor landing in the stairwell. “Who was it?”
“James,” I spoke as I opened the door and passed into the hallway, leaving the two of them behind as my own thoughts swam. As I walked, I fought the tightening of my jaw and burning in my eyes. I won’t cry. Not yet.
Having learned my lesson previously, I stood at the door near the end of the hallway and pounded three times with my fist. A beat later, and a voice ushered me in from the other side.
“What’s up dude? You good?” Tony goaded as I entered the area.
“Shannon said what, three more days for you?” I asked, direct in my approach. Tony grew to appreciate this, I never spoke around the bush with him, it was always to the point.
“Yeah, she said she’d release me for light duty then if I felt up to it. Why?” he asked in turn.
“You’re cleared now,” I directed. “I need you on the ninth floor.”
“Okay,” he responded. “Let me get some fresh clothes on, I’ll be right up.”
I gave my farewell and turned to leave, then back down the hallway to the stairwell.
FOUR
Tony found his way into the meeting area on the ninth floor, Henry tagging along with him. They both found a seat, and the chatter between everyone in the room increased for a moment as I watched. Clearing my throat and removing my feet from the table was all it took to bring it peacefully down to silence, save for Henry.
“We about to begin, brother?” he inquired, looking around. “Where’s Mr. James? Brother James should be here too, he’s his own department head.”
“James is the first order of business to discuss,” I said quietly, and paused until the confusion in the room quieted. “We lost James today. He was lost in the line of providing aid to Ash here, and his cousin. It’s safe to say James died a hero.”
“Oh, no, no, no,” Henry muttered softly, a tear forming as his eyes began to well.
The reaction was much the same around the room. James had been a friend to all of us. Always a team player, and we wouldn’t be where we were without him. A few, including Jennifer and Shannon, outright sobbed. All but Ash, who did his best to shrink into his seat.
“Everybody, this is Ash,” I introduced without waiting for the commotion to settle this time.
Ash exchanged a nod and a few quiet handshakes with the others and returned to his seat. I nodded to Cody as he finished the last handshake with the man, and he spoke.
“What’s up, boss man?” he asked me, returning the nod to me.
“You and Ash are together,” I instructed. “You’re now in charge of setting up and putting together all the kinds of projects James was always working on. I trust between the two of you, we should still be okay.”
“Sounds good,” Cody agreed somberly.
“Yeah, sure thing mate,” Ash added.
“Tomorrow morning, I need everybody available for scavenging duties,” I ordered. “Rich will take you there. Take double the normal number of vehicles and make sure to keep heavy security details. The area is crawling with them, and these ones seem smart enough to ambush you. Once you have the supplies gathered up, both trucks and trailers filled, I’d like you to try to retrieve James’s body. If there’s no body left, or he’s too gone to transport and bury respectfully, then seal the front door of the house and burn it to the ground. I’ll not leave our man without some form of interment.”
&nb
sp; Everyone exchanged glances and words with each other. Cody was the first to speak up.
“What do you need us to do?” he asked.
“Go over James’s work plans and get together with Henry,” I instructed. “Get a solid idea of what needs to be done, and we’ll plan accordingly the next day. Use the rest of that time to get Ash acquainted with things around here.”
“So, you still need me to be here?” Henry inquired.
“Yeah, yeah I do,” I explained. “Henry, Cody, and Ash, you’re all together. Halt outside construction tomorrow, skeleton crew to keep stations here filled. Everybody else outside of Tony and Dave fills a role or meets at the trucks at sunrise. Medical exceptions only.”
“What do you need us for?” Tony asked, as he sat forward.
“You two, and Jennifer, actually,” I said, watching the surprise on my wife’s face, “We’re gonna take that load of goods in the riverside shed up to Hashman.”
“You want me to go?” Jennifer asked, nearly astounded.
“If that’s okay by you,” I replied. “Boat seems to be the safest mode of travel, we haven’t seen these fuckers swim.”
“What about Gwen?” Jennifer asked.
“I’m sure Carolyn wouldn’t mind watching her for a bit longer than usual,” I suggested, eyeing Carolyn as she perked up in her seat.
“Yes, that would be completely fine!” Carolyn replied, her heavy French accent sounding so out of place here, even with Ash present.
“Takes care of that,” I noted, “So, you good?”
“Uh, yeah! Sure!” Jennifer responded, shrugging.
Just as Bri raised her hand and was about to speak, a mechanical buzzzzz sounded from the next room. Within a moment, Ryan poked his head into the room.
“It’s down on high, heading toward the south gate,” he informed.
“Get it on camera,” Rob said calmly as he stood up and made his way to the command room, nearly squeezing his squat frame past me.
I turned and followed Rob into the room and was tailed by Jennifer, Rich, Tony, and Dave.
Ryan was already tracking what appeared to be several vehicles on one camera looking down the street from the gate. Rob was sitting in his seat, having wheeled over from his own station.
The vehicles approached the gate in even step with one another. As they drew closer and the image sharpened, I began to make out some very familiar shapes.
“Tony, you seeing this?” I called over my shoulder.
“What do we have, man?” he questioned as he snaked past and peered at the monitor. “I’ll be damned.”
“Hey, uh, command?” several radios crackled, Katie’s electronic voice permeating the room. “There’s a bunch of trucks coming. I think it’s… I think it’s the Army!”
You would think the entire command center would be buzzing with activity. The Army? Here?
But instead of panicking, or going into some kind of frenzy, we just stood there for a moment. Each of us in our own kind of world and wonder. Finally, Tony was the first to speak up.
“Well, I guess we should go say hi,” he opined.
“Yeah,” I agreed, snapping forth from my own thoughts. “Yeah, we should.”
“How do we know they’re military though?” Jennifer inquired.
“What do you mean?” I asked her.
“She’s right mate,” Ash offered. “Look at them. Ryan, was it? Can you…?”
Ash motioned to the screen in front of Ryan.
“Oh! Yeah, I got you,” Ryan replied, turning the camera slightly to keep the vehicles in view as he zoomed in and refocused the lens.
“1025, 1096, three of them, and two Oshkosh trucks,” Tony started. “The problem is, they don’t match up.”
“What do you mean?” Ash interjected.
“What I mean is look at them,” he replied flatly. “Two Army. I also see Marines, Navy, and National Guard. Same for the handful of men that are actually in some kind of uniform.”
“You’re sure our comms can’t be picked up, Rob?” I asked.
“No, not those ones. They’re bound together,” Rob answered, confidence in his voice.
“Good,” I replied, then spoke into my handset, “Everybody that currently has a gun, meet me at the outer gate. South. Everybody else, get a gun and fill the windows of the homes closest to that gate with your bodies. We have visitors. Over.”
A chorus of replies mixed with questions came through, then the communications started smoothing as people began directing each other and everyone started moving.
“That means us, too,” I instructed. “Ryan and Rob, keep on the surveillance feeds. Let me know if you find anything at all that I can’t see. Everyone else, come with me.”
Now it was time for the command center and the remaining people listening from the next room to get into motion. I checked my pistol and readied it before replacing it in its holster on my way in to grab my rifle from the next room. The little .300 Blackout SBR always felt amazing in my hands. Light, comfortable, even with the suppressor attached it didn’t make the weapon even a bit unwieldy.
No sooner had I retrieved and checked my own rifle, Jennifer appeared in the doorway. As she approached, she released the bolt on her own rifle and put it on safe before placing it over her shoulder on its sling.
“What are you doing?” I asked her, nearly accusatory.
“You said everyone with a gun,” she noted. “I have a gun.”
“No, you stay here. Stay safe,” I said plainly.
“You just said you’re taking me on the river tomorrow, now you want me to wait here today?” she challenged.
“Okay, fine,” I conceded. “I’ll meet you by the black crew cab.”
With that, I turned and left the room, heading for the truck that I fully intended to leave in before my wife made it that far. I loved the woman, and I admired how adamant she was about helping but I had a hard time believing she realized how vital she actually is, safe and sound, and away from the firearms and teeth of this new world. I liked her hands on deck in medical, helping any sick or wounded. I loathed the thought of her put into any form of danger.
On the other hand, I thought, I seemed dead set on being in the middle of things. Ironic.
I was just about to float on to another of my walking thoughts when Jennifer’s voice delineated any further hopes of keeping her relatively safe again.
“All of this walking these days is doing wonders for my butt!” she laughed as she pushed past me, swinging her backside about as she pushed into the stairwell ahead and began following them down.
I sped up and planted a hand on her ass and squeezed.
“Eh, not bad for an older lady,” I retorted, jokingly.
“Watch it,” she replied. “You’re the one in your thirties, not me!”
“Yeah, okay,” I laughed. “Fair. So, I was hoping to beat you to the truck and leave without you. I don’t like you going on this shit with us.”
“I know,” she informed. “Why do you think I grabbed all my things first?”
“Fair again,” I replied.
We continued our small talk all the way to the truck, never letting it get to be more than just small talk. Neither of us were the greatest at opening up to the other, and more often than not, in-depth talks were sparse. Somehow though, that never made a difference to us. We were intertwined so closely that we just knew. There was never any need for regular in-depth conversations.
Finally, we reached the truck. Jennifer slid into the passenger seat, and I took the driver’s side. Dave joined us and Tony appeared from around the nearby corner of the North Building, flicking out a cigarette and watching it as it sailed into the nearby tall grass.
“Hey fucker!” I called to him through the open truck window. “You’re about to pick that up, dude.”
“Does it really matter?” he replied, almost sleepily.
“It does to me, dude,” I scolded. “Let’s try to be better than we were before. I thought Shannon
told you to stop smoking because your chest is still all fucky. Plus, you start a grass fire here and we’re fighting. It’s safer for you to just quit.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I’m trying, dude. It’s hard.”
“Should just take them from you,” I opined, only half-joking. “Send you after a horde with a hand axe every time you start having a nic fit.”
He grumbled something and then joined Dave in the back of the crew cab pickup truck where he was met with a bit more playful scolding as I started the vehicle and sped toward the gate and the small line of vehicles departing the main compound. We were met with more along the way, presumably wall crews and cleanup crews, and they fell in wherever there was room.
As I turned the next right-hand corner and began heading directly to our southern gate, I picked up my radio.
“Fan out when you get close,” I ordered as we approached. “Half of you dismount a block out and find cover or concealment. Be ready for a fight but return fire only. Over.”
“Whoa, wait a second,” Jennifer began. “Why be ready for a fight?”
“We don’t even know for sure if it is the military,” I explained, “and if it is, we don’t know for sure that they’re here to be friendly.”
“Anything’s possible,” Tony stated offhandedly as the mood in the truck dropped and became somber.
We slowed as the vehicles in front and behind did so, letting off seemingly every type of human on the planet so they could scatter and filter like water into various doorways and behind vehicles. Each person equipped with an equally diverse array of small-arms, we really did carry the image of every rag tag militia to have ever called this world ‘home’.
As vehicles fanned out to each side, I weaved my truck through and pulled right to the front, just shy of our side of the gate.
As we dismounted and toward the gate on foot, calls started filtering into my earpiece announcing various parties were ready.
Ready for what though? The alleged military vehicles sat there, idle, with minimal movement visible inside. They had fanned out much the same as we did, though I was certain their vehicles and doors would provide the superior cover to ours. Maybe some kind of mild armor would be something to speak with Rich and Henry about, if the healthy were going to tie with the infected on the threat scale.