The Dead Saga (Book 4): Odium IV

by Claire C. Riley

  She doesn’t seem fazed by Ricky’s behavior, instead focusing back on Phil with a smile. “She’s much better. Come see for yourself.”

  We follow her through to a back room where Fluffy is lying in a soft bed on the floor, a large bandage wrapped around her middle. Achillies is lying by her side, and he sits up as we walk in, letting us know that he’s in charge here.

  Phil goes straight over to Fluffy and drops to his knees by her side. He strokes Achillies’s head, giving him a quick scratch behind the ears at which Achillies whines happily, one of his hind legs thumping against the floor. “Good boy. How’s she doing, eh? Have you been looking after her for me?” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a clear ziploc bag filled with a pink meat. Both Fluffy’s and Achillies’s tails thump against the floor as Phil opens up the bag and they catch a whiff of what’s inside. “Now I know that Stormy does her best, but I also know that hospital food ain’t the best, so I brought you a little something.”

  He winks and digs a hand into the bag, grabbing hold of something. He pulls his hand out and places it under Fluffy’s nose, and she wastes no time in noisily devouring the contents.

  “Spam,” he says as Stormy tries to interject. “Didn’t even lace it with anything.” He chuckles and then scoops up some more and drops it at Achillies’s feet. “I promise.”

  I smile and raise an eyebrow at Stormy in question.

  “Weed,” she says. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Phil’s partial to smoking it, baking with it, and just about anything else you can do with it.”

  “Oh, I noticed.” I smirk.

  “How’s the leg doing?” she asks me.

  I shrug in response. It’s hurting but I don’t want anyone messing around with it again, so I’m happy enough to leave it be for now.

  “You want me to take a look? Alfie is good, but stitches can get tight if you don’t account for the swelling.” She looks at me with concern.

  “Nah, I’m good, thanks,” I reply, and she nods okay but I can tell that she would feel better checking them.

  Phil stands up. “All right, we better get over to Aiken and find out what’s what.” He looks down at Fluffy. “You keep getting better, but for now you need to sit this one out.”

  Fluffy whines and tries to get herself up, but Achillies lies back down next to her again, placing one of his paws over the top of hers. Fluffy looks at him and they share a look. If dogs could talk, it’s pretty obvious what they would be saying to one another right now.

  “Keep an eye on her, will ya?” Phil says to Stormy. “Come on, Mikey.” And then he turns and leaves the room.

  I wave bye to the two dogs and then to Stormy, and we leave and head over to Aiken’s house. Even from outside I can hear shouting, and Phil and I share a concerned look before jogging up the steps and knocking on the door. A man is stood outside and he opens it for us as we approach, and we head through to the living room where all the shouting is coming from.

  Aiken, O’Donnell, and Ricky are sitting on the sofa with a map spread across the table between them, and Ricky and O’Donnell are disagreeing over something while Aiken leans back on the sofa, watching the whole thing with irritation. Everyone looks up and shuts up as Phil and I walk in.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “’Bout time you two got here,” Aiken says, sounding annoyed, though I have a feeling that it’s more to do with whatever’s been said between O’Donnell and Ricky than Phil and I only just arriving, because even after everything we’ve done this morning it’s still early, from the looks of the sun still so low in the sky.

  “Sorry, boss, had to check in on my girl,” Phil says, moving to sit next to O’Donnell.

  “Aimee?” Aiken asked.

  Phil shakes his head. “Nah, Fluffy. She got all bit up yesterday trying to save our sorry asses.”

  Aiken looks across at me and gestures for me to sit down next to him. “Yeah, I heard. I also heard that Mikey here saved her.”

  “It wasn’t as heroic as it sounds,” Ricky grumbles, glaring across the table at me.

  Aiken looks back and forth between the two of us, trying to work out exactly what’s going on, and I decide to downplay the whole thing because it will only look bad on me if I cause shit between NEO members.

  “Yeah, it was no biggie. I’m sure any NEO would have done the same thing. It was just that I got there first. After all, she’s a part of this group as much as any of us, right?” I say, letting my sarcasm drench Ricky from head to toe. His exact words yesterday were that Fluffy was just a fucking dog—a sentiment that clearly not everyone had agreed with—and I know that he pissed off both Phil and O’Donnell by saying that. Well, maybe my downplay of the situation isn’t very subtle after all.

  I point to the map on the table, wanting to change the subject now that I’ve made my point to Ricky and made him feel uncomfortable. “What’s all this?” I ask.

  “A map,” Ricky replies dryly.

  “No shit?” I say sarcastically. I should probably shut my mouth but I can’t help but keep opening it to annoy this man.

  “This is where we were yesterday,” O’Donnell interrupts before Ricky can say anything back to me.

  I look across at her, but she won’t look at me, instead she points to a circled area on the map.

  “This is the barn and the house, and where all the shooting was coming from. I’ve tried to point out the trajectory so we can get an idea exactly where they were shooting from, and maybe how many of them there were,” she says. She points to a large shadowed area. “And this is no-man’s land—an area we haven’t covered yet. In fact, most of that area to the west we haven’t been through yet. We’ve been working mostly to the east for the past few months, getting that area cleared of zed packs, and scavenging any supplies. We have no idea what’s in this area. My best bet is that whoever they were, they were not skilled with guns. Like, at all. But of course that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous. They had us pinned down good and proper.”

  We all fall silent for a moment, five sets of eyes all staring down at the map in front of us and the shadowed no-man’s land area. Someone has circled it with a red pen, making that specific area stand out more.

  “Well that’s ominous,” I reply. “Should be a fun day out, I guess.” Because regardless of everything she just said, and the stern look on Aiken’s face, I’m heading back out there today to try and find Adam.

  O’Donnell looks up from the map, her gaze moving to Aiken, and I sense the change in atmosphere. Or at least I see the grin on Ricky’s face.

  “What?” I ask, sitting up and playing dumb. Though I have a feeling that I know what’s going to be said next.

  Aiken turns to face me, a deep frown etched on his forehead. “You’re not going out there—at least not today.”

  “Like hell I’m not,” I reply sharply. “I need to find Adam, now more than ever. With every day that passes—”

  “We get it, Mikey, we do,” O’Donnell interrupts. “But with your leg all busted up, and with the uncertainty of who these people are, we just can’t take the risk of you being out there.”

  “I’m a big boy, O’Donnell. If I die trying to find him, at least I’ll die doing something good.” I glare at her, feeling betrayed by her and wondering if she’s doing this because of last night. Is it revenge spurring her on to keep me here? I stand up, my body feeling restless.

  Aiken stands up, his large frame towering over me. “Sit yourself down, Mikey.”

  “I’m good standing,” I snap back, my hands clenched into fists. Goddamn, this day is going from bad to worse.

  “That wasn’t a request,” Aiken replies, his tone a direct threat. He walks away from the sofas as if his own body is restless. He’s a good man; that much I’ve surmised already, and I trusted his opinion. But if I wanted to leave, I would. No one was going to keep me here and stop me looking for Adam. He was in my care, and I needed to find him asap

  Aiken turns to glare at me. “I said sit d
own.”

  I sit down. Of course I do—I’m not stupid.

  “This isn’t about you,” O’Donnell says. “It’s about us, Haven, the NEOs. It’s about keeping us all safe, and until we know how to either take these people out, or if we can trade with them, we can’t go back there. You want to find the kid so much that you might get us all killed in the process.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not some loose cannon, you know. I have survived just as long as you people and I know how to handle myself. Probably better than you can.”

  Aiken’s hard gaze is still on me. “Take the day to let your leg rest. Kelli, O’Donnell, and Ricky are going to scout the area and keep tabs on whatever crew is in that barn. We’ll see how things look tomorrow,” he says, looking over at us all. “They’ll keep watch for the kid.”

  “Keep watch?” I yell and stand up again. “Keeping watch isn’t going to find him and bring him back safely! I can’t leave him out there for another day!”

  O’Donnell stands up and comes toward me, but I step back out of her reach, bumping into Phil, who has come up behind me.

  “He’s just a kid!” I yell even louder, looking frantically from Phil to O’Donnell. “We can’t just keep leaving him.” I glare at Aiken. “You promised me you’d help me find him!” I point my finger at him, feeling furious.

  “This isn’t about you anymore, Mikey,” Aiken replies calmly, despite my shouting. “This is about Haven, about the rest of NEO. This is bigger than you, and the kid.”

  “Nothing’s bigger than finding him!” I argue.

  Aiken shakes his head dismissively. “I’m not risking any more NEO’s for you or for him. I don’t mind sending people out to look for him when I know the risks are the usual; dogs and Zeds, but when I don’t know the risks—when the danger is more than that, that I can’t do, my friend. I can’t risk people’s lives for this.”

  I open my mouth to argue, but Phil moves closer and stops me.

  “Dude, I get it…we all get it, but have you stopped to think that maybe he’s already—” Phil holds my gaze.

  “Of course I have!” I yell, and then quieter: “Of course I have.” I shake my head. “No doubt he probably is dead. But I can’t just give up on him.” I sit back down and put my head in my hands.

  “And we’re not either.” O’Donnell’s soft voice reaches across to me. “We’ll keep looking while we’re checking out this other crew and seeing what they’re all about. I promise we will. But you need to rest your leg. At least for a day.”

  I look down at my leg. It’s throbbing like crazy, and deep down I know that they’re all right. But that didn’t make me feel any better. In fact, it made me feel worse. It felt like I was choosing Haven over Adam. And I had a feeling that Nina would have taken a very different path to this one.

  “Okay,” I finally say. I look up as Phil pats me on the shoulder.

  “Everything will be okay, dude,” he says.

  It sure as hell doesn’t feel like it, but I don’t really have much choice by the sounds of it. I have no doubt in my mind that Ricky won’t bother looking for Adam, but I know that O’Donnell will do her best. And maybe they’re right. Maybe I would be going in there, all guns blazing, and end up getting one or more of us killed. Maybe it’ll be best if they scout the area first and I let my leg heal a little.

  I move across the room, wanting to get outside. “I need to go find Joan. Where’s she staying?”

  Aiken smiles for the first time this morning, the long red scar on the side of his face rising like an extra mouth. “She’s got a little house all for herself down by the old church. She’s settled in real nice.”

  I nod my thanks. “I need to go and see her; she needs to know what’s going on.” And suddenly I feel the full weight of guilt at the realization that I haven’t really taken the time for her since we got her. I haven’t checked she’s okay, or given her an update on Adam. In fact, if I’m being honest with myself, if it wasn’t for the fact that I wanted out of this room right now, I probably wouldn’t be going to see her today either. I look across at O’Donnell. “Stay safe.”

  She smiles, a small blush rising to her face. “I will. And I’ll keep a lookout for Adam for you, I promise.”

  “Boss? Can I have a quick word?” Phil says.

  Aiken nods and jerks his head toward the door, dismissing everyone else. We all leave and I don’t wait around to say anything else to O’Donnell or Phil. Everything that needs to be said has been said, I decide. Instead I head over to see Joan, knowing I’m going to catch some shit off her for being so ignorant.

  The small church is at the back of Haven, close to the food stores. I guess that means all of our food is holier than thou. Joan is sitting on the porch in a small wooden chair. A long cigarette hangs between her lips and her hands are moving a mile a minute as she knits furiously. Her gaze seems to be far off as she works, the thick wool gliding across the needles with ease. As I get closer, she slows and then stops before setting whatever it is she’s making to one side and removing her cigarette. She drops it into an overflowing ashtray at her feet and waits for me to climb the steps.

  “Morning,” I say, feeling wary of her. She looks pissed off and of course she’s as unpredictable as anything, so I have a right to be wary of her.

  “Is that all you have to say?” she grumbles, reaching down to pick up her pack of smokes. “You shrug me off yesterday, you say you’ll come to see me, you promise to find the kid, and you do none of those things. But all you have to say to me today is ‘morning’?” She lights another cigarette and picks her knitting back up, the furious clatter of the needles clashing against one another filling the empty space.

  I sit down on the steps in front of her, looking out across her lawn. “I’m sorry,” I finally say.

  “That’s more like it.”

  I look over my shoulder at her, seeing her for the first time. She’s just an old lady. A crazy one, no doubt, but she’s worried about Adam just like I am. Perhaps I purposefully avoided her last night because I didn’t want to face her. Because she would make me face up to what a failure I am. I failed Nina, and now I’m failing Adam.

  “I didn’t find him,” I admit, looking away when she scowls at me. “We ran into trouble yesterday and had to come back. I’m going back out tomorrow though. I know I’ll find him,” I say, my words melting away.

  Joan tuts at me and continues to scowl. “I guessed that you hadn’t found him, and I guessed that you had trouble by the state of you yesterday. Blood all over yourself, dying dog in your arms, sweaty pit stains ruining that Hippy Dippy flowery shirt of yours. None of it went unnoticed, you know. I’m not completely barmy.”

  I force a smile. “It’s a Hawaiian shirt,” I say.

  “I know what it is! I was one of the most sought-after hula girls back in the day, ya know! People used to come from miles around to see these hips shaking their thing.” Joan stands up and drops her knitting onto her chair before beginning to hula in a circle. “See? I’ve still got it!”

  I try not to laugh, because honestly it’s the thing I feel least like doing right now, but it’s hard not to. She eventually stops hulaing, and sits back down and continues knitting.

  “I’m going to tell you something now, Mikey, and it might come as a big surprise to you.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “I’m not as young as I once was, and this old heart of mine, it can’t take much more loss. Do you understand me?” Her eyes are glistening and I nod at her. “I need you to do the things that you say you’ll do. I need you to find the boy and bring him home. And I need you to come and see me when you say you’ll come and see me, do you understand?”

  “I do, I’m sorry.”

  “But Mikey, most of all, I need you not to die, okay?” She leans forward in her chair, her knitting resting on her lap.

  I swallow and nod again.

  “Can you promise me that? Can you promise an old lady like me that you won’t go and get yourself killed an
d leave me all alone?”

  I can’t promise her that. Because to promise her that would be a lie. Every time I leave Haven there is a possibility that I will die, that I’ll leave her all alone in this world. Hell, every day that any of us wakes up is a damned miracle, because who knows what’s going to happen from one day to the next. Yet I still find myself nodding and agreeing not to get myself killed. It’s an impossible promise, yet I promise it all the same.

  Joan smiles at me and picks her cigarette back up. “All right then, go on, get. I’ve got work to do.” And with that she continues knitting.

  I realize as I walk away that she never even asked me what happened yesterday. And I simultaneously realize that someone else must have told her for me. I think of O’Donnell, but I’m not sure that it was her, but then decide that it doesn’t really matter. Joan must be making some friends here if she knows what happened. She has people she can talk to. She has purpose. That’s what matters. And hell, it’s more than I can say that I have right now.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I stood at the gate and watched the truck with O’Donnell, Kelli, and Ricky in it drive away. O’Donnell made me promise to rest my leg up so I was strong enough to go out with them tomorrow, and I was going to keep that promise. So as soon as they were out of sight I headed on over to see Stormy, who loosened up some of my stitches and gave me some stronger pain meds.

  I checked in on Fluffy before I left, noting that she was wearing one of those cones of shame and looking sorry for herself. I patted her on the hind and smiled before I headed over to the guard tower so that I could sit and wait for the truck to return.

  O’Donnell had said I had to rest, but I’m not the sort of man to go and climb back into bed and take a nap—plus I didn’t trust falling asleep in Phil’s house without him there anymore since the great animal escape this morning. So being on guard seemed a half decent compromise.

  There are only seats for three people, so Vicki takes this as her chance to go and clean some of the guns they found on their last drive out. It’s a job she apparently loves doing. And it leaves me, SJ, and her kid Moo on guard for the day, which is more than enough.