Back inside, Storm curled up on a pile of clothing that was at the foot of their bed. The dog was quite happy with something soft to lay on. Rafe slept well, until he felt small feet in his back, one kicking very close to his wound. He rolled back to find Aiden, laying perpendicular to Charlie and himself, head at Charlie’s shoulder, feet at Rafe’s back. Despite being kicked, Rafe had to smile at the antics of the little boy. The smile quickly faded as he realized that Aiden was dreaming and that was why his body was tossing and turning. He carefully turned the boy so he was laying centered again, and his little eyes opened and looked at Rafe.
“My mommy, I want mommy,” he said quietly.
“I know, buddy. It’s just not safe,” Rafe replied, at a complete loss at how to explain the loss of his mother.
“She was going to hurt me?”
“She didn’t know it was you. Your mommy loved you very much. Now she wants us to keep you safe,” Rafe said.
“Safe...” Aiden mumbled as he fell back into sleep, with half of his body draped over Rafe.
Rafe patted his back softly, hoping the boy could fall into a dreamless sleep. He couldn’t imagine what it was like seeing someone you loved turned into an infected. The thought caused Rafe anxiety, thinking of his sisters. Had they come to the compound yet? Found him gone? The idea that the mercenaries could be there, could attack them, made Rafe fear for their safety. He hoped the evidence of the attack was all the sisters needed to know something bad had happened before they arrived.
“You’re good with him,” Charlie whispered, awakened by Aiden and Rafe’s conversation.
“I am? I’m not sure what I’m doing. I don’t know what to say to him,” Rafe whispered back.
“You did well. He’s going to have to trust us, so we can make sure he’s ok.”
“He has no one. He’ll have to stay with us,” Rafe said finally, knowing the truth in his heart. They couldn’t leave the boy with anyone else.
“I know.”
They fell into sleep, both of them touching Aiden, to reassure themselves that the little boy was safe. Rafe dreamed of the little boy sleeping in the bathtub and his infected parents finding him like that. The parents were infected but, in his dream, Rafe saw them as conscious of their actions. They came after their boy realizing he was an easy meal. Rafe watched from an outside window and screamed out loud in his dream. The infected parents didn’t even try to change their path, going straight at Aiden. The boy’s cries of joy were quickly cut off and screams of terror replaced them.
He jolted awake a few hours later, sunlight trying to peek around the sheets on the windows. His heart was beating hard against his chest and his wound ached. Hair tickled his face and he realized Aiden was still laying across his chest. Charlie had moved closer to the two of them, her arm over Aiden and partially across Rafe. Shifting was impossible without waking them both, so Rafe took deep breaths working to calm his heart and to forget the gruesome nightmare in his mind.
The clearing of a throat pulled Rafe’s attention to the side. He found Issac propped against the counter looking at them with a small grin on his face. Rafe realized how it must have looked and he had the need to say again they weren’t a family. However, talking would have woken them and then Issac put his finger to his lips. He pointed outside and Rafe looked at the shadows crossing in front of the sheets. They weren’t infected, he could see their movements were clear. He could also see they were all holding large weapons.
“The military is back,” Issac whispered almost too low for Rafe to hear.
Panic must have crossed Rafe’s face because Issac signaled for him to calm. No choice now, Rafe reached down and grabbed Charlie arm, shaking her slightly. She sat up lightning quick, her gaze flying around the dry cleaner’s. When she looked at the clothes she calmed and Rafe knew she had just remembered where she was. He squeezed her arm and she slid it out of his hand, looking down at him. Rafe motioned to Aiden and she took the sleeping boy carefully from his chest, cradling him against her. She watched Rafe carefully and didn’t say a word as Rafe held a finger to his lips as well.
Rafe quickly shifted to his feet. He checked his 9mm and his shotgun, knowing they were both loaded, yet he needed to be sure. He slid his arms through his knife belt, planning on a quiet fight as long as he could manage it. As Rafe prepared, Issac crawled over to him.
“You should stay hidden in here. They won’t come in.”
“Who is it?” Rafe whispered.
“The men looking for you I’m sure. They come by here, check the businesses, talk to us and then leave. I’m going to go outside and convince them to leave,” Issac said.
“Or give us over and win their favor,” Rafe replied.
“I guess I could do that if I wanted their favor. I have no need for them and their type of help. You’re going to have to trust me. You can’t go out there and take them all on yourself.”
Rafe weighed their options. He realized Issac was right. They didn’t know how many there were. He was only one man. After taking out the first group that came to the compound, Rafe had to assume they sent more men with more firepower. That left them with the option of trusting Issac. The part about Rafe that was like his father, the paranoia and distrustful part, had a very difficult time allowing anyone else to control his survival.
“I’m going to wait by the door. Hear what is being said,” Rafe said, motioning toward the sheet covered door.
Issac didn’t speak, just nodded once and stood to head for the door. Rafe followed and crouched nearby where he could hide without being seen. A key was produced from Issac’s pocket and he unlocked the bolts on his door. He walked out with his hands up and quickly disappeared from view. The door was left a crack open and Rafe crawled over to peer out slightly. He jumped back when he realized Issac had been right, there was a group of mercenaries outside.
“Well, hello again, boys. What can I do for you?” Issac’s voice drifted through the small opening of the door.
“Have you seen these people?” A voice answered.
“This is the same flyer you gave me a few days ago. And the answer is still the same. I don’t know these two,” Issac replied.
“We heard from some others that they were seen in town. But they had a kid and that’s new.”
Rafe cringed thinking about being watched as they were scavenging in town. People would cower to the military and government, believing they were the salvation they needed. Most people didn’t question when the government said someone was a threat. They would accept it and turn Rafe and Charlie in without a thought. It was quiet outside, Rafe assumed Issac was pretending to look over the photos again.
“I’m not sure what you heard, but they didn’t cross my path. I’ve never met these two.”
“So, you’d be willing to let us check your place?” A second mercenary spoke harshly.
Rafe waited and held his breath. If Issac agreed to avoid a fight, they would need to escape. Rafe looked toward the back door they come through. Could they escape without the men finding them? He needed to get Charlie away to hide. And now he had to think of Aiden.
“Is this still America? To check my place don’t you need a warrant?” Issac said, challenging the request of the mercenary.
“Is that a no, old man?”
That was all Rafe needed to hear. The men were going to come in and search, with or without permission. He crawled back to the makeshift bed where Charlie was sitting with Aiden. Storm was next to her, his teeth bared but the dog stayed silent. Rafe was astonished at how the dog seemed to know what was needed before anyone instructed him. The little boy was starting to wake up and Rafe knew that would also be a sound that would draw the mercenaries down on them. He started shoving things into his pack, glad they didn’t take out much. Then he pulled Charlie to her feet and shoved all the bedding into a pile, so it didn’t look like a bed.
“What is it?” Charlie whispered.
“We have to go out the back. Those men are coming in
here. Issac can’t stop them.”
From the front, voices were raising and Rafe knew now he should have trusted Issac from the start. The old man was arguing with the soldiers, telling them they didn’t have the right to come into his business and search. Rafe knew he was raising his voice to warn them. Charlie looked at Rafe panicked. He pointed toward the back door and the three of them rushed there. Aiden started to ask questions, but Charlie shushed him quickly. Luckily the little boy couldn’t be heard over the dispute outside.
At the back door, Rafe pulled his weapons, hunting knife in one hand and 9mm in the other. At his feet Storm growled quietly and Rafe knew the back wasn’t completely clear. The question was going to be if they could get away without the larger group hearing them. Rafe gave Storm a gesture to stay quiet and the dog lowered his body closer to the ground, preparing to strike. The door swung out slowly and Rafe could see one soldier walking the back alley.
A quick motion of his hand and Storm seemed to know he needed to stay back with Charlie. Part of Rafe reviled the need to kill living people. His mind flashed back to Charlie and her fierce dedication to getting the truth out to people. Thinking of her, his resolve solidified, and he put his 9mm away. Light on his feet he slid along the wall following behind the soldier. Before the man could turn, Rafe had slid his hunting knife across the soldier’s throat. The only noise was the man falling to the ground and the back door clicking closed. The group ran from the business area, not looking back.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Callahan, is it possible you are this incompetent?”
'The Suit' had expectations from those in his employ. The Major couldn’t seem to meet those when it came to the two people he asked him to retrieve. In the three weeks since he gave Callahan the instructions to pick up Charlotte Brewer, there had been no progress. 'The Suit' had a team working on Patient Zero for a possible cure, but they hadn’t had success either. He was at the end of his patience in many ways and Callahan was going to be the outlet for that frustration.
“They have stayed undetected. I have sent teams to the small town and though there was one sighting, we couldn’t track them after that. The Duncan man has killed a number of my men,” Callahan growled the last sentence.
“So, your men can’t handle one man? One man and one woman are able to hide from you?”
“Sir, I do have some news,” Callahan said.
“You should have led with that information. What news do you have?” 'The Suit' replied, impatience lacing his tone.
“We have captured his sister, Maxine. It was dumb luck that she stumbled into my base operations on her way to Montana. I am currently in the process of interrogating her. If anyone knows where Duncan is, it will be her.”
“A sister? Communications have been down for weeks. If they weren’t together already, what makes you think she will know where they are hiding?”
“Sir, from the research I’ve obtained about this family, they are very close. They would work together to survive this plague. I believe that’s where Maxine was headed, to meet her brother and ride this out. I will get out of her whatever she knows.”
“Callahan, pull out all of the stops, do you understand? Everything goes. Get that information,” 'The Suit' said before he clicked end on the call.
'The Suit' turned to look through the glass wall he had in his office. The bunker was something very few people knew the location of. He knew it was wise to not allow Callahan to know exactly where he was. If the man ever did tire of taking orders, he could turn on him. Without a formal government in place, it was left to 'The Suit' to decide what direction society would go.
Below his office he could see into the lab where technicians worked around the clock. These people were those that could be saved from the facility in Kalispell and they were brought to the bunker with black hoods over their heads. If they ever questioned anything, they were shown the news and what they could be taken back to. Everyone fell in line with that warning. 'The Suit' recruited people without attachments for this exact reason. These technicians had no one to worry about, except themselves.
Patient Zero was in a cage at the corner of the lab. The floor around the bars was spotted with blood and black gore. They were already down one tech who decided to get too close to the infected without proper protection. Security had put down the tech as soon as the bite happened. The woman had sniveled for her life, but the protocol was clear. The infection would not break out in the compound. They would stay secure.
'The Suit' slammed his hand down on his desk, his frustration still at a peak. They needed a cure. If there would be anything left of the country, they needed to cure those that hadn’t died yet. He tried to picture saving the world by going public with the cure. Then he would make people pay for it before getting inoculated. The plan was so clear in his mind. Yet, they didn’t have the golden ticket. What they did have, was endless excuses. Excuses were not going to restart society with him at the helm.
He needed Charlotte Brewer. Prior to the incident, Charlotte had worked on the cure for every pathogen they had developed. According to his files, she had never found an illness she couldn’t deconstruct and find the solution to. The lab techs working for him now continued to talk about how the pathogen wasn’t what it was supposed to be and there were mutations involved. 'The Suit' didn’t have the medical knowledge to understand how this was a problem. Yet, any problem he was faced with, he expected a solution. And that solution was Charlotte Brewer.
The Duncan man was proving to be a worthy enemy and 'The Suit' had to admire his determination. That determination was going to be his downfall because Duncan had something 'The Suit' didn’t. People he loved.
CHAPTER TWENTY
One Month After Outbreak - Duncan Compound
Alex
“It’s time, Alex, we need to go find him.”
Alex Duncan stood in the barn, sorting through the milk they had in their freezer. A freezer that had been heartily stocked when they arrived. Her brother was meticulous with his chores, Alex remembered the trait from when they were children. When they arrived on the compound and he wasn’t there, everything except the burned wall of the house was in order. Alex knew they had Rafe to thank for the plentiful crops in the garden as well as the greenhouse. The root cellar was full. The bunker was stocked. All because their brother was responsible.
So, then where was he?
“Let’s go through this again. Two places to check,” Alex said, turning to her sister.
Max was getting her fire back after being tortured by the man looking for Rafe. Alex was happy to see the light in her eyes and knew she had Griffin Wells to thank for that. At some point, she planned on cornering the man to find out his intentions with her sister, but she would wait until the family was complete and behind the walls of their compound.
“Those are the two we went to the most often when we would wander out on our own. You weren’t really into camping with us for fun, only when Dad made you. But when Rafe and I went out on our own, we liked our particular places,” Max replied.
“Ok. That makes sense. If we leave out the back of the compound, we can hike to both?”
“Yes. My guess is, if someone attacked while Rafe and his mystery woman were here, Rafe would have fled to the safety of the woods.”
“They aren’t that safe now,” Alex pointed out.
Though they were safe inside the walls of their family compound, there didn’t seem to be an end to the infected they found in the trees. It was unnerving to be out where you thought nature was safe, only to be hunted by the infected that had wandered far enough out to find a meal. Kalispell was nothing but the dead from what Alex had found. The infected weren’t finding meals there any longer. While out hunting, she had come across a few small animals that looked torn to shreds. She guessed that if the infected were lucky, they caught animals to try and satisfy their urges.
“No. But we have to go, Alex. Tomorrow. We’re ready. Everything is packed. Everyon
e knows their own roles for this to work,” Max said.
Alex thought about the numerous meetings, which included a number of arguments as well. The sisters agreed they were both going for Rafe and everyone else could just do what they needed to do. That left the door open for all the adults trying to go, leaving Candace Reynolds, the thirteen-year-old, to run the compound. That was unacceptable and that was when the fights started.
Their survival group was now made up of two smaller groups. Alex arrived with her children Billie and Henry. As well as the teenagers Easton and Candace, the RV park owner Margaret and the know it all Marcus. Max stumbled into the compound with her daughter Jack, high school love Griffin, and grief-stricken Cliff. Everyone had their own stories and their own reasons for needing the compound. But only Max and Alex had the need to find Rafe.
Alex had already convinced Cliff to stay behind with the children. The man was emotionally broken. While Max hadn’t known how to handle the situation with the man, Alex had quickly befriended him, giving him a shoulder to cry on. What Alex realized about him was, his need to protect Max’s daughter was driven by the fact he couldn’t protect his own son. When the discussions started, it wasn’t a far leap to ask him to protect all of the kids on the compound. He took the job with pride and dedication. Alex felt good knowing the strong man was there in case a need arose.
Margaret was an older woman. She had tried to convince Alex she had already lived enough days, so if she were to die, she wanted it to be helping. Alex swallowed down the sadness that brought in her. Margaret was a force on her own, but Alex softly told her that she needed someone to maintain the animals and crops while they were gone. While Candace was capable of a lot, she would need guidance from a knowledgeable adult.
That left Alex dealing with the testosterone in the room. Griffin was refusing to allow Max away from him. Alex couldn’t really blame him. After Max had been taken into custody and tortured within an inch of her life, Griffin had a real fear of her disappearing. Since the military wasn’t only looking for Rafe, but most likely Max as well, Alex agreed that Griffin should go. Max didn’t appreciate her disagreement on it, but Alex wouldn’t budge.
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