“Anyone else in the house?” Gloria asked. He ignored her, just wanting to get away. She grabbed him firmly by the scruff of the neck and he turned towards her eyes wide. He brought up his pistol and was going to slam it down in his bid to get free. Gloria let go her own roundhouse that connected with his nose. He dropped to the ground as a spray of blood was released from his broken nose. Gloria took the pistol away and tried again. “Is there anyone else in the house?”
“You bitch! You broke my nose! I’m going to sue you for everything you’re worth!” He screamed out in rage. Gloria aimed the man’s 1911 at his nose.
“One more time. If you don’t answer, I’m going to execute you for attacking me during time of martial law. Is there anyone else still in the house?” The man looked like he was in shock and tried to rise. Gloria put her combat boot squarely in the center of his chest.
“I’m Francis Cottington and I’m...” Gloria racked the pistol and watched an ejected round fly out, then quickly fired into the dirt next to the man’s head.
“I was the only one in the house! I shot a Z and ran back out!” Gloria lost her nerve; looking up she saw she was surrounded by a dozen people.
“Do you have any family, Francis?” Gloria asked softly while the man lay, sweat, pouring from his head, not realizing he was also bleeding from where he’d been bit in the shoulder.
“No, none. I’m an only chil..” The blast of the .45 finished his sentence for him as the back of his head exploded. The crowd looked at Gloria in total shock; she pointed to the bloody bite mark on his shoulder and dropped the weapon on his chest.
“Francis was a dead man walking. If I’m needed, I can be found in my RV. I have other things I need to take care of for today. Remember, if a house has an ‘X’ on it, stay the hell out of it, it’s dangerous.”
Gloria stormed through the small crowd and continued on towards her RV. She had a hard time seeing as she burst into tears. Dammit, am I crying for that stupid son of a bitch or for me?
Racing for the back of the RV, Gloria tore off her body armor and her top before going to the sink and washing her face. She was shaken to see her face covered in blood except where her tears had washed her face already. She looked at her white bandaged wrist and wondered if she should just execute herself like she’d just done for Francis. She laid down on the bed, the ghost of young Oliver lying next to her as she fell into a fitful sleep. She was back in Georgia, holding the young boy she had been babysitting, his skin pale white and wrinkled, as he had been when she pulled him out of the pool. She cried waiting for the ambulance.
She was running with dozens of infected, she could feel herself wanting to find someone to infect so badly, then the gunshots, she felt rage like never before as she followed the pack after the gunman, no longer wanting to infect the gunman but to punish as she tore into him until a new volley of automatic weapons pierced the night and again she was running across a bridge cars and trucks blocking her, the smell of blood and sound of weapons fire driving her on.
Next she was trapped in a building and the infected were chasing her and Oliver for their very lives. In a flash she was in a house being attacked by an old infected woman, then she was awake. Her entire body was soaked in sweat, the mattress and sheets were saturated. Is this finally the end? Will I be allowed to die in my sleep or will I change again, and need to be put down like a rabid dog? She looked at the clock and saw it was after seven. Will I ever again get to see the sunrise, or will it be the death of me?
Three sharp raps echoed through the RV. Gloria bolted for the door, it could still be dangerous for whoever was rapping. Pastor Becky surprised her, she had expected it to be someone military because of the way the door had been knocked. The pastor was looking small and lost. “Come on in Becky before you become someone’s snack.” Becky hurried in and seemed relieved when the door was closed behind her. She looked at Gloria and looked confused when Gloria’s brown t-shirt looked like it was plastered on her and she looked soaked even though the RV was cool.
“Are you okay, Gloria? I heard you’ve had a bad day. I waited until now in case you might want to see someone, of your own volition. There was an investigation of the shooting; it has been declared a justifiable homicide. I thought you’d want to know. Can I do anything for you?”
“You can exorcise my demons.” Then she thought, or maybe you can cap me before I turn. “They’ve been keeping me company all night. Please make yourself to home.” Gloria dropped down on the small bench seat by the table.
“Are you okay? Should I get the doctor? I see you’ve been injured.” Gloria held up her hand.
“This? Just a scratch, but I don’t plan to die from an infection from a simple scratch. Can I get you a refreshment? I have some pops in the fridge there.” Becky turned in the confined space and reached into the fridge and pulled out a wine cooler.
“Who says the Good Lord doesn’t answer prayers? You want one, too?
“I’ll just have water. I didn’t even know I had any wine coolers in there.”
“You’ve had a bad day, Gloria. Would you like to pray with me?” Gloria smiled at the offer, a sincere smile of thanks.
“No, Padre, but please pray for me. You can stay or go, but I really am going to fall down if I don’t go to sleep.” Becky surprised her by pulling her into her arms and giving her a strong hug that made her feel like she was renewed, but still dead on her feet.
“Good night, Becky. Thanks. Be careful walking back to the gate, there might be a straggler or two out there.” She dropped onto the cold wet mattress and felt it slowly warm from her own body heat. The sheet and blanket on top of her were still cool when she finally fell asleep.
Chapter 30
Pine Have, Wyoming. April 7, 2029
Caleb couldn’t help but laugh at the infected that had once been Mrs. Peters. After he rejoined her, she would not let go of him except to drink from the bottle he gave her. She had a strange contented look on her face as she upped the bottle and finished the vodka. When she realized it was empty, she threw it against the wall. Caleb was ready with another bottle for her, she took the bottle and made a happy cooing noise in his direction before taking a deep hit and giving him a strange look.
“Sorry, darling, we’re all out of vodka, but that 151 rum is damn good stuff. Go ahead and try another sip.” She looked at him, untrusting, and uncomprehending, but upended the bottle and took another long swig from the bottle, and then another. Just another little bit and off to dreamland with you, Mrs. Peters, he thought. A pressure on his crotch was getting firmer; he looked down and saw she had a good hold on him through the loose blue jeans he was wearing. No! This is not going to happen! Caleb grabbed the bottle she was nursing from and pulled it away from her lips. She stopped all movement and looked at him with accusing eyes. He used the moment to pull her hand away from him and put the bottle in that hand. She looked at it, confused then gripped the bottle firmly with both hands to make sure he couldn’t pull the bottle away from her again. Caleb gave a soft tug at the bottle and she retreated to the corner and sat down, still taking pulls from the bottle.
“That’s a good girl, you keep sucking at that bottle and it’ll be bedtime for Elora any moment.” Elora looked at him and cocked her head as she tried to understand what Caleb was saying.
Caleb sensed the others had returned, yet Elora just sat with her bottle unbothered, sipping away. “Okay, darling, it looks like you’ve made it to comfortably numb. You just keep going at that bottle.” Caleb felt disgusted with himself as he watched her drink, she had been a very beautiful woman. He got up and tried to cover her with the blanket with little success. When she passes out, I’ll throw a big shirt over her; that should do the job. I just don’t want to be around her when she wakes up with a hangover, that’s going to be ugly. Caleb thought as he took a pull off his own bottle of rum.
When the contented sound of snoring finally began to emanate from Elora, Caleb used that moment to silently slip out of the c
onex and meet up with the others. “We’re almost ready to go, guys. I’m going to need a few things to make this work, a large sleeping bag to carry her in, and a large shirt to cover her with. Don’t waste time with pants or shorts, the infected just tear them off. I want a big pail of warm soapy water to clean her with and some big towels to dry her. I’m sorry to tell you your mom stinks. While you guys get that ready, I’m going to get back into my uniform. Anyone have questions or ideas?
“Do you want any help taking care of the general’s wife?” Wetzel asked. Caleb wasn’t sure if he was joking or serious.
“I want to keep the number of infected down, so no one is getting near her. How does that RV look to you? Will we be able to securely lock her up in the back bedroom? We still need to plan our trip as well.”
“The bedroom has a sliding door with a lock, should be secure. I talked with the boys and established that the drive will be 45mph and the vehicles should stay about five seconds apart. The RV has a programmable radio and it will work with the military radios in the trucks. We went over some maps and agree it will take about two hours to get there, unless we run into traffic.” Wetzel let out a little laugh at his joke.
“Is there a plan if we do get delayed? I don’t want those kids exposed to the infected if we’re out after dark.” Caleb asked, his concern showing.
“If it’s apparent we can’t meet our objective before dark we’ll pull over, away from any population centers. If we feel we’re in a safe location, we’ll setup a camp. If the situation is in doubt, each of the boys will lock themselves into their truck for the night. I’ll stay with the younger boy, since you and the general’s wife will be safe in the RV.” Caleb was impressed with the senior airman’s plan; he’d obviously given it some thought.
“Sounds like you gave that some good thought. Do either of you guys have any questions or worries?” Both boys looked like they wanted nothing more than to get going. “Great, I’m going to change back into my uniform, you guys get the things I asked for, and we can be on the road inside an hour. Be sure you have food and drinks, especially if you end up spending the night in your trucks. Be careful if you do eat, or use the radio while driving. I want minimum chatter unless you have something important.” Caleb got up and stretched before heading for the house. Couple hours from now this will be all over and I can get a good night’s sleep in my own bed.
Caleb couldn’t sense anything from inside the conex as he reached for the door. Hopefully Elora will be out cold for the next four hours or better. Entering quietly, he made his way to the bedroom balancing everything he brought with him. She was still in the corner sitting upright, loudly snoring. He went to the mattress and flipped it so the clean side was on top and sat down on it. He then put the pail of warm soapy water next to his foot and pulled out a large washcloth. He attacked the filth on her shoulder and received no response. Emboldened, he scrubbed her face and made his way down the front of her. She looked like she had her tan scrubbed off where he had cleaned. Initially he was embarrassed as he did her front, then gave it only a passing thought until he had to lift her up and put her on the clean mattress bottom up to complete the job. He again started at her neck and made his way down until he was at her legs, when he spread her legs to clean the mess, he remembered doing the same thing when he made money as a babysitter during his teens, the babies then, hadn’t smelt as bad as what he was working on now. Finally finished he gently rolled her over on her back. He wished he had a scissors to cut off her filthy hair as he tried to wash it with what he had before giving up and grabbing a gray old faded sleep shirt with Air Force Wife across the front. She seemed to be made of gelatin as he forced the shirt over her head and then fought to get each arm through the sleeves. He set the sleeping bag next to her and opened it all the way and effortlessly set her in the center before zipping it up around her, then tying the face hole closed so she wouldn’t be exposed to the sun. He picked her up like a baby in a blanket and gently carried her out of the conex and then headed for the RV in front of the house.
The guys all got quiet when they saw him approach with his arms full. Wetzel began to walk towards the door intent on opening it; Caleb shook his head no and gestured for him to back up while still trying to be as silent and gentle as possible with his load.
Shades were already down inside the RV. A privacy partition blocked access to front of the RV where the steering wheel was. Once he closed the door behind him he was impressed with how dark it was inside with no hint of light. Even with his improved sight he could only barely see where he was going in the pitch black until he saw the master bed and set her down and unzipped the sleeping bag, then laid it on top of her, before leaving.
Carefully closing the bedroom door and then the entrance door behind him, Caleb saw the guys were playing a little grab ass to blow off tensions before the drive. “Everyone have food, drinks and weapons readily available? If someone wants to stop us, we do not stop. If someone has setup a road block or interfering with us being able to get through, we will turn around if possible, if not, then we’ll get to see what an armored pickup can do. Wetzel, once their mom starts to come to, I need you to be as quiet as possible to avoid setting her off. Its 1500 now, I think we should make it with a little time to spare. Let’s mount up. Wetzel, you will be in charge of our mini convoy. We hit a hazard, you call for me, I’ll be babysitting.”
“Yes sir. You may want to wash up a bit too when we move out, you’re a little ripe from cleaning your pet.” Wetzel grinned and the boys did not look like they enjoyed his humor.” The boys are bonding, I wonder if I’ll need to be referee later, Caleb thought as he headed back into the RV as he smelled himself from where some of the stench from the woman had rubbed off on him.
All was still quiet when he entered the RV. After throwing his body armor and jacket on the couch he stopped in the kitchen and used the sink to give himself a quick wash. He heard the driver’s door open and then close a bit too loudly. The engine was very quiet and he was pleasantly surprised by the quiet smooth ride. Then he heard the scratching at the bedroom door. And it’s show time, he thought as he reached for the door.
The moment he began to slide the door, he heard the scramble of feet away from him. Closing the door behind him, he looked around, it took a minute before he saw her foot sticking out from where the toilet was housed. I hope she’s not getting a drink in there, he thought before re-opening a bottle of 151 rum and laying down on the bed with the pillows propped around his head. “Drinky, drinky, drinky, who wants a drinky?” he asked softly before noisily slurping a drink as loudly as he could. In the dark it looked like a gray ghost that nearly flew at him in the dark. She leapt and crashed on the bed next to him, his initial shock turned to laughs as she cuddled up against him and tried to steal the bottle from him. He took another swig and let her have it. She could not get enough as he lay and watched her, thankful she was not as smelly as earlier. He liked the feel of her pressed against him as he began to feel a little sleepy, and then he felt the heat was turned on, making him even more comfortable.
Others! There’s others nearby! Caleb looked at his watch and saw it was 1920. The woman was hunched along the wall, appearing to be sniffing the air. Caleb tried to rise quietly and almost fell back into the bed as the room began to spin. “Oh Lord, not now!” He muttered. Grabbing the door, he felt the woman almost clinging to his back, anxious to follow him out. “No!” he said harshly and gave her a shove, giving him enough space to get out and close the door behind him. He could hear the clatter of tools and soft cursing. He silently opened the door and slipped out. The last hint of sunlight could be seen to the west as it faded fast.
“How are…” BAM! Danny fired from the hip at him as he approached the trio. The bullet whizzed by Caleb’s ear as he fell to the ground.
“I’m sorry! Lieutenant White, you surprised the hell out of me. Did I hit you?” Shrieks began to come from a trailer park on one side of the highway and from the houses to the west.
“Son of a bitch! All of you get into the trucks and move out now! Find a spot away from houses and stay in your trucks! Now move! Lord, what did I do to deserve this?” Caleb could see bodies moving over the fences to the west and silently dropping down into the grass. When the trucks started up, he was amazed at the speed of the infected and how close they had come to catching the trio out in the open. He lay still from where he’d ducked the shot fired at him to see what would happen. He fought back the urge to laugh as hundreds ran down the highway after the trucks. I gotta give them credit for being optimists, he thought.
Before he could make any more plans, he was looking up at over thirty infected that looked down at him in confusion, from some he could sense concern for him. An obvious alpha walked up to him. At first guess, Caleb put him at over six foot tall and three hundred pounds. He still wore a torn, stained, wife beater shirt that had started out its life as white but was now black from dried blood and brown from soil and whatever he’d rolled around in. He still wore a pair of heavy working boots with remnants of his pants pooled around each ankle. The infected sniffed at Caleb, and made soft noises Caleb could barely hear, let alone understand. Caleb stood up and tried to hunch over, hoping it would be accepted as showing he was intimidated by the alpha. Crap, all my gears in the RV, he thought, particularly of the telescoping baton, no way I can beat this monster in a fair fight. The infected all looked towards the RV as Elora shrieked, wanting to escape from her prison. The infected began to punch and pull at anything they could, trying to get into the RV. A bloodcurdling scream came from the front of the RV that felt like it went right through Caleb. He joined the others as they stood over the body of an infected, laid out cold on the concrete. There was no blood or sign of injury to show what happened to the poor creature. Caleb used the opportunity to sneak back to the door and slip in unnoticed. He ran to the bedroom and grabbed Elora tightly to him. She immediately ceased shrieking and instead began to coo at Caleb. The infected no longer sensed any distress and went on their way to find either uninfected or food.
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