“Keep her still,” the woman ordered as she tried to insert the needle.
Cady bucked wildly, knocking the syringe from her hand.
“Stop it, you little brat,” the woman barked.
“Hey! That’s enough,” I yelled, getting to my feet.
“Stay out of this,” the woman said.
“You’re frightening her.” I tried to pull the woman away but she back handed me.
Stung from the blow, it took a second for me to react. I shoved the woman hard causing her to fall against the wall.
“I said, stay away from her.”
She got to her feet, “I’ll see you in solitary confinement for this.”
I watched her stalk out of the room wanting to smack the face off her. Obviously no one had ever taught her about bedside manner.
“Rachel, you shouldn’t have done that. She’ll get you locked up,” Lynn said.
“No she won’t. She’s bluffing.”
I saw Lynn’s worried expression, so I said, “Gabe will sort it.”
But would he? He wasn’t exactly happy with me right now. Even though I meant every word of what I said, I knew it was a stupid move. I would have to play nice over the next few days, try to bring him round.
When I returned to our room I found him packing a bag.
“Are you going somewhere?” I asked.
“No, you are,” he replied.
“Great, we have one little fight and you kick me out of the room.”
“Not out of the room. Out of the base.” He faced me, looking for a reaction.
“You wouldn’t do that,” I said, knowing he was just trying to scare me for what I said.
“I’m not kidding. You’re leaving the base.”
I laughed nervously, “Babe, come on. I’m sorry about what I said. Let me make it up to you.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I tried to kiss him. He pushed me away. Grabbing her jacket, I tossed it to her.
“This isn’t coming from me. It’s coming from the top. Everyone knows now that the marriage was a farce, add to that the fact that you never do anything here and that you attacked a doctor and they’ve decided you’re not worth keeping around.”
“I didn’t attack her. She was hurting Cady so I shoved her. I’ll apologize to her too. They can’t do this.”
He zipped up the bag and picked it up, “Let’s go.”
“No, you can’t do this. What about my immunity, don’t they need to study my blood?” I was grasping at straws now.
“They have been. Cady is the key though. Follow me down to the gate.”
I felt on the verge of hyperventilating. This was all a trick, right? It had to be.
“Gabe? Gabe, please you have to do something,” I said, hurrying after him.
“No, I don’t actually. You said it yourself, we’re not pretending anymore.”
We got down to the gate, “There’s zombies right outside. You’re really going to send me out to them.”
“We cleared the gate. The last few sweeps have come back clean too. Follow the road down to the town.”
He handed me the bag, “Gabe, don’t.”
“I packed some food, we can’t spare much.”
“Seriously don’t do this. I am sorry.”
“There are other groups out there, if you’re lucky one of them will take you in.”
He moved closer and tucked something into the waistband of my jeans.
“I taught you how to shoot. You have twelve shots, make them count.”
“Please,” I whispered.
He waved a hand and the gates rolled back. I looked out at the road which was deserted.
Sniffing, I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay calm. This was punishment for what I said. I wasn’t going to let him see me scared.
“Fine. You’ll come after me in a while anyway. So I’ll play along for now.”
I shouldered the bag and started walking slowly out through the gate, waiting for Gabe to call me back. When the gates closed behind me, I had to force myself not to scream to be let back in.
Folding my arms, I stood where I was. I could wait him out.
Seventeen
Gabe
The gates closed behind her and I turned and walked back inside. She brought this on herself.
Stupid, selfish bitch.
No doubt she would fall in with some group and within a week she’d probably be in bed with whoever was in charge. She was a survivor, I’d give her that.
As I headed through the building, I heard Cady wailing down the hall. I went to the room to check on her.
Lynn was trying to hold her still while blood was taken. She looked up when I came in.
“Where’s Rachel?” she asked.
“Gone,” I said.
“Gone? What do you mean gone?” she cried.
“From the base. She got kicked out.”
Lynn waited until the doctor left before she said, “You can’t let her go out there alone. Look that doctor was out of line, Rachel was just defending Cady. I’ll be a witness.”
“It’s not just that. There were other reasons.”
“Gabe, she’s your wife. You can’t let her go.”
“She made it very clear that she is not my wife. It was all an act so she could stay here. Rachel is a spiteful little bitch. She expects everyone to look after her and won’t do anything to help herself. She dumped the kid on you without a second thought. They made the right decision in getting her out of here.”
Lynn put her hands on her hips, “She is an eighteen year old girl. She lost both her parents, she’s all alone in the world. Of course she’s going to act out. She’s scared. We all are.
And don’t stand there and pretend that you don’t care about her, because I know you do. It was your idea to get married and don’t say it was so she could stay here, there was more to it. I think you love her.”
“Bullshit. I’ve been in the military most of my life, I don’t get emotionally attached to anyone. I don’t love her.”
“Bullshit,” Cady said.
“Cady!” Lynn chided. “She’s right though. How are you going to feel if she ends up dead out there? It doesn’t have to be zombies who get to her. God knows who is running around out there. Stop acting like a child and go after her.”
“Damn it,” I sighed. As much as I wanted to leave her out there, Lynn was right. I wasn’t going to take the blame if she ended up dead. But she was wrong about me being in love with her. I wasn’t. Right now I could barely stand the sight of her.
I went to see the general at the base. McCarthy. He was reading maps when I entered his office.
“Gabe, I was just about to send for you. We need to expand our searches or we’re going to run out of food. There are several towns outside the safety zones that we could try. It might mean an overnight mission, are you up for it?”
“Yes, sir. I actually wanted to ask you about Rachel.”
“Who’s Rachel?” he asked.
“My wife. She was kicked off the base. I want to ask you to reconsider.”
McCarthy stared me down, “We’re at war soldier. We don’t have time for romances. The girl was useless and I’m not prepared to waste any more resources on her.”
“I can get her to help out around here.”
“I don’t have time for this right now. We need to come up with a plan for this run.”
“Sir, I’ll do the run, but…”
“No. Plan first. Then maybe, we can discuss her.”
Sighing, I did as I was told. I gathered the rest of the team as we went over our plans. Rachel was probably still outside the gate anyway. It would do her good to stew out there.
*
Rachel
As time ticked by, it became obvious that Gabe wasn’t letting me back in. This was real. The road was empty, quiet. I expected a horde of zombies to appear any second.
I pulled the gun from my waistband and checked the clip like I’d been taught. I only f
elt slightly better with it in my hand.
If this was the way it has to be, then I’d better start moving.
I could do this. There were other survivors out there and I could find them. I started walking.
The road was long and the ground was covered in rocks. I tripped several times and had to slow down, scared I would break an ankle.
Every step I took I cursed Gabe. This was all his fault. Why couldn’t he just let it go? He could have helped me, but instead he kicked me out himself. I hated him. He was supposed to protect me not throw me to the wolves.
But then I thought back to that first day. What if I had been at the lake that day? Or anywhere else other than Williamsburg? The outbreak still would have happened and it spread fast. I would be dead or a zombie if I hadn’t met Gabe and Adam. Cady would have been left in that car and there would be no antidote or a potential one anyway.
I stopped walking. Gabe saved my life. But now he didn’t care anymore. I shouldn’t have opened my mouth about Adam. Why was I so stupid?
I just got so mad and I needed to vent and he was an easy target. I didn’t think he would take it so badly. Maybe he did care about me.
Opening the bag, I pulled out the canteen and took a drink. How long had I been walking? An hour or more? I was tempted to stop for a while, but I couldn’t stand still, every time something moved I freaked out. So far it was only leaves blowing in the wind or small animals. I was worried I was going to end up blowing some poor bird’s head off.
Half an hour later, I arrived in a small deserted town. This must be where Gabe came for food runs. He also said it was dry now. I would have to make what little food I had last.
I stepped into a store to check in case something was missed. There was bullet holes in the walls. Moving as quietly as I could, I did a quick sweep of the store. Nothing.
As I was heading back to the door, I saw someone across the street. I immediately ducked behind one of the shelves. Was it a zombie? Or a person?
I leaned out from behind the shelf to look. All I saw was the back of someone as they disappeared into one of the buildings across the street. Drawing attention to myself could be the wrong move. I wasn’t going to risk it, in case it was a zombie.
Gripping my gun, I scooted closer to the door. What if there was more of them? Staying low, I took a quick look outside. The rest of the street was empty.
I needed to move now, while the coast was clear. Getting to my feet, I ran up the street through the town. Rounding a corner, I stopped running and looked back. No one was following me.
It would be night soon. I needed to find somewhere to sleep. As I turned around something struck me in the face and everything went dark.
Eighteen
Gabe
“What do you mean she’s gone?” I snapped at the guard in the watchtower. He had a clear view of the road and even I could see that it was empty. I thought she would stick around.
“She stood outside for a while then she walked off,” he said.
“Fuck.”
The planning had lasted longer than I thought it would. Nearly three hours. She could be anywhere now. I had to go after her.
I headed down to the garage to get a jeep. Hopefully she was still on the road.
“What do you think you're doing soldier,” McCarthy said, appearing from the darkness as I searched for the keys.
“I need to go and look for Rachel,” I replied.
“No, I need you ready to go tomorrow for the run. She can wait,” he replied.
“I only need it for a couple of hours at most.”
“I gave you an order. The survival of this unit comes first.”
“I can’t leave her to die out there. We’re supposed to be trying to save what’s left of humanity, aren’t we?”
“When you leave for the run, you can look for her on the road. Otherwise, she’s on her own.”
He took the keys for the cars and walked away.
*
Rachel
I jerked awake and winced as pain ripped through my head. The room spun and I felt like I was going to throw up. I was in some kind of cabin.
“Finally,” a woman said. I tried to focus on her. She was in her fifties, short and squat wearing a brown dress with an apron over it. She glared at me with watery eyes.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“Never mind that. Where did you come from? And where did you get this?” she asked, holding up my gun.
“It's mine,” I said.
She smacked me in the back of the head and I almost blacked out from the pain. I swallowed back the vomit that rose in my throat.
“This is military issue. Are you from the base?” she asked.
The way she spoke suggested that she wasn't a big fan of them. Who the hell was she?
“Do I look like a soldier?” I asked.
She lifted her hand to hit me again, but before she could the door opened and a man came in. He was rail thin with an acne scarred face and greasy blonde hair. He had a band aid on his forehead.
“Is she talking yet?” he asked.
“She will when I'm through with her. Go outside, Jeb and fetch some water.”
He gave me a glare and said, “Yes, Momma.”
Great I'd been kidnapped by the local rednecks. This wasn't going to end well.
I struggled against the twine that held my arms in place. What the hell were they planning on doing with me?
“I want to know where you came from girl,” the woman said.
“Why do you care?”
“Because those fucks at the base killed one of my sons. They gunned him down when he went out looking for food.”
“I don’t know anything about that.” Although I did hear that Gabe and the others shot a couple of guys. Was her son one of them?
“They all sit up there, armed to the teeth. Stealing what little food there is. They took my boy. I dare not let Jeb out of my sight. I want them to pay for what they did.”
She moved to the fire and pulled out a poker. The end was glowing red. Holding it out towards me, she said, “Did you come from the base?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Good, now we’re getting somewhere.”
She came closer, until the tip was inches from my face.
“Now, you are going to tell me what you know about the base.”
Nineteen
Gabe
As we drove along the road, I searched for any sign of Rachel. If she was smart she would have holed up somewhere nearby. The food I’d given her wouldn't last long, that was if a stray zombie didn't find her in the meantime.
Damn it, why did this have to happen? I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
“Is your head in the game?” Cortez asked. The doc had patched him up and he was insistent on getting back in the field. We could use all the help we could get.
“Of course it is,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“Look we do the mission and afterwards…” he said.
“It could be too late by then,” I said.
“She’s a fighter. Anyone can see that. And it’s not just her you need to think about. If we don’t get this food, we’ll all be dead too soon enough. Focus on the mission first.”
I nodded, “Yeah, you’re right.”
Rachel could take care of herself, I knew she could. I put her out of my mind for now.
The town we were headed for used to have a population of 15,000. There was a shopping mall and plenty of stores we could hit. It was also likely to be crawling with zombies.
We needed to try and get in and out as quietly as possible. I wanted to avoid using guns if we could. The noise would only attract them.
“Where do we hit first, boss?” Jackson asked.
“The mall would be our best bet. Plenty of exits and we can check the area before we stop.”
As we approached the town, zombies started to appear in the road. There weren’t any large groups of them and once we drove past them t
hey lost interest. I guess they weren’t willing to work for their dinner.
Cortez did a circuit of the mall first. There was a group of four tearing into an animal by the front entrance. A dog probably.
“Park around back as close to the door as possible. We’ll do a sweep and if it’s clear we can start loading supplies. Jackson you’re with me, I want Anderson on my six.”
“What about me?” Cortez asked.
“You are going to stay here and be ready to move. If a load of them show up, honk the horn and drive away, then double back for us.”
Cortez sighed and nodded, “Yes boss.”
We broke the lock on the side door and I stepped inside. Only the emergency lights were lit meaning most of the place was in shadow. I could see that a few stores seemed to have been looted. I only hoped they hadn’t taken everything.
I cracked a glow stick and threw it down the mall. It clattered to the ground. We waited a few seconds to see if anything responded to the noise.
When nothing moved, we headed for the nearest store. Jackson grabbed a cart and we swept the aisles. A lot of the food was missing, but there was still a fair amount left.
We loaded the cart with canned foods. Anderson grabbed a handful of chocolate bars off one of the shelves. He ripped one open and bit into it.
“God, I’ve missed these,” he said.
“Can you focus on something other than your stomach?” Jackson asked.
He shoved the rest of the chocolate into his mouth and flipped Jackson off.
Once the cart was full, we took it back to the truck and off loaded it. Three trips later we had gotten most of the food.
“Let’s hit the pharmacy too,” I said. We could always use bandages and any drugs that were left.
The pharmacy was further down the mall. The place was unnaturally quiet. It was hard to believe that a few short months ago, this place would have been filled with people. Families shopping together. Would it ever be like that again?
I forced those thoughts away.
The pharmacy had been completely ransacked. It figured that people went after the drugs before they did the food.
Indeadpendence Day Page 7