There was no word all morning, but by noon we heard back that they had loaded up the rig and were headed inn our direction. We had told them to just take one of the already loaded rigs that we had scouted the day before and we would sort it out when they got here. From what we could tell, it was loaded with a wide variety of items you would see on any drug store counter, non-perishable food, over-the-counter drugs, makeup and some clothing. We would hopefully use most of it.
Vance Ito was on forward patrol alone on the motorcycle, and he was checking in every fifteen minutes with both the rig and base. After an hour into the ride back, he radioed in something that had us all tense.
“I’m about to get to the Rigolets and there is something blocking the road. It’s an obvious road block. I don’t think they spotted me, but I see a few milling about in the trees at the side of the road. It’s not at the same spot they shot at you from last time though. Do you want me to engage?”
“Negative, Ito, turn around and hook up with the team. Tell them to go around. Turn off at 190 and come up I-10, like we talked about yesterday,” Zach radioed back.
“Fuck,” Zach cursed when he signed off. “I don’t know what those fucking idiots are doing, but it’s really messing with our system.
“James,” Ito’s voice came over the radio rushed. “I’m being followed. They spotted me.”
“Ito, don’t meet up with the rig. I don’t want them to see our supplies. You’re on a bike. You can outrun anything. We’ll meet up near the Fort Pike area. Just power through the road block.”
“Ten four.”
“Come on, let’s get moving. Where’s Marquez?” Zach called.
“Here,” He came around the corner from the rec room.
“Grab Hank and Justin and get one of the bigger SUVs, we’ll meet you outside.” Marquez nodded once and ran off to grab the others.
“I think the M6’s and a few shotguns should do.” Blake grabbed the guns from the locker and started handing them out. “Alexis, I think you should stay here and run lookout for the rig.”
“Fuck no. I’m going with y’all. The rig has Jimmy, Cole, Baby and Romeo. They’ll make it back.”
“Let her come, Blake, she’s a good shot,” Zach said, but didn’t look happy about it. Cavemen.
“Fine, let’s get moving,” Blake scowled.
Marquez was waiting outside with the SUV. We handed him the guns and Zach went and got a second SUV. We jumped in when he pulled up and tore off toward the fort.
Right before we got to the bridge, we parked the SUVs across the road with space enough for Ito to drive through. I heard the scream of the engine before we saw him. He was barreling over the bridge at a fast clip. Behind him I could make out another shape coming fast. It must be his pursuers.
Ito slowed and steered the bike in between the two SUVs. He maneuvered into a quick turn and stopped the bike, kicking the stand down and jumping off. He ran for cover behind the SUV, crouching down near Zach and awaiting orders.
Zach threw him a shotgun and we all lined up along the side of the open doors of the SUV, the vehicles blocking our bodies from gunfire. The pursuing truck came in fast and skidded to a halt in front of us. There was nowhere for them to go. They could go forward and try to ram us or they would have to turn around and flee the same way they came.
A man stuck his hands out of the window of the truck and the door slowly opened.
“We don’t want no trouble,” he called as he revealed himself. He was a man in his early forties with long salt and pepper hair, scraggly around his face. He held his hands out to the side of him to show he wasn’t armed or at least that he wasn’t carrying anything in his hands.
“Then why were you pursuing my man?” Zach called in a very authoritative voice.
“He’s coming through our territory. We don’t play kindly with people messing about on our land.” He looked over and another man pushed himself out of the truck. He was larger, but not in an impressive way. He was overweight, and much younger. He looked to be barely thirty. He was disheveled and his clothes were stained and torn in places. These people weren’t taking care of themselves well.
“What territory is that?”
“Slidell, up there by Pearl River,” he called. He still had his hands out to the side, but his fingers kept twitching.
“There is nothing that interests us in your area. My men were just passing through.”
“Well, I would think that as a courtesy they might stop and share whatever y’all been hauling around up there. We seen y’all, whatever you’re grabbing. You got trucks and big ass SUVs. We don’t even have gas enough to power one truck much less trucks.”
“So, you’re saying you were chasing down my man on a motorcycle so he could share what he had with you?” Zach called. I could hear the frustration in his voice.
“Yeah, that,” the guy chuckled.
“Well, you caught up to him, and as you can see, the only thing he’s got is backup. So why don’t y’all turn around and go back to Pearl River.” He emphasized the word “y’all” in a very condescending manner.
“Now that ain’t very nice of y’all pointing guns at us. You seem like y’all got your shit together. Me and Henry here, we got skills. We could be an asset.”
“Yeah, I know how to shoot and other things,” the Henry in question leered. Where did scum like this come from? Were they just hanging around waiting for an apocalypse so they could run wild?
“We don’t have any room, gentlemen, sorry. But now it’s time for you two to get back in your truck and turn around. You are outnumbered and outgunned. There is nothing for you here.”
“That’s just fucked up,” Henry called.
“You have to the count of three to get back in your truck,” Blake called.
“Don’t come back through our parts again, you hear!” the unnamed man called as he got behind the wheel. “You’re gonna have to pay the fucking toll! And you ain’t gonna like it!”
“One…two,” Blake hollered. The peel of tires rang out and they actually backed up into the rail of the bridge in their rush to get back to the hole they crawled out of.
We waited until we couldn’t see their vehicle before we packed up and headed home.
“I have a feeling this won’t be the last time we see those scumbags,” Blake said under his breath as we pulled away.
“I don’t even want to think about that,” I said grimly. The two men looked like your common dumb scum, but it was never good to underestimate desperate people.
“Let’s split up, all of us take different routes back to the base just to be cautious,” Zach ordered. He was rigid, in charge, the soldier at the surface. It was glorious, but scary as hell. I thought zombies were the big baddies out there, but suddenly a corpse seemed like child’s play.
THIRTY
The Gift That Keeps Giving
We huddled in the meeting room on the second floor of the barracks, our faces grim, the story still resonating through everyone’s minds. There were people out there and they were bad people. If they saw us, they would probably want to do us harm. For some of us, mainly the group that came in with Blake, they didn’t look surprised. Others, like Lani, had experienced it firsthand and were staring wide-eyed as Zach informed everyone about the Pearl River boys.
“So we got ‘em on both sides of us, rednecks in Pearl River and biker gangs in Lakeview, fuck,” Duke hissed.
“Yeah, it’s not an optimal situation. We’ll have to increase our awareness, double up on patrols, and if we go out, we’ll make sure that we are ready for anything.” Blake sighed. He had the radio in his hand waiting for any word from the rig. As if on cue, a call burst through.
“Base, come in base, this is Peters, we’re approaching the Isles, ETA, ten minutes.”
“Good to hear your voice, Cole,” Blake called. “We’ll be waiting, ten four.”
“Roger, Peters out.”
The room burst out in exclamations of excitement. They had ma
de it. They had made it with a shit-ton of supplies.
Everyone rushed out of the barracks and whooped when they saw the lights of the rig turn onto the causeway. Duke and Justin ran to the gates to open it as the truck came roaring into the camp amongst cheers and applause.
Baby jumped out of the cab, a big smile on her face. “Well, so good to see y’all too!” she laughed as Justin gave her a hug and she pushed him off trying to force a scowl, but it wasn’t working.
Cole Peters’ wife, Grace, was rushing to her husband as he exited the passenger side and threw her arms around him. I smiled at their reunion. She had been so worried when we came back with only Vance Ito.
“You have to see what we got!” Jimmy said as he and Marquez jumped out of the driver’s side with similar smiles on their faces.
“Nuts, a boat-load of nuts!” Marquez laughed. “Like we need to add that to our crazy little compound.”
“And canned soups, cereals, boxed macaroni, you name it this truck was full of it, toys for the kids, clothes, t-shirts and a ton of pajama pants.” Jimmy clapped Marquez on the back. “Enough food to last months.”
“It was like the gift that kept on giving when we opened that shit up, right Jimmy?” Martinez joked.
“Like one of those little Russian dolls, and the gift that keeps on giving is a venereal disease, you fool,” Jimmy laughed.
“Nah, really, we just kept opening boxes and more and more good shit kept popping out at us.”
“Y’all did good,” Zach beamed at his men.
“Yeah, we did,” Baby called. “And I think it’s about time we got a raise.”
While a bunch of us unloaded the truck, a few others broke off with Bubba and went to the kitchen making cryptic statements about having some kind of celebratory feast. Everyone had a smile on their face as we opened box after box of goods. One treasure after another was revealed the deeper we got. Marquez was right. There were tons of canned soups, ravioli, and other packaged meat products, pasta, nuts and even a very large supply of protein bars, which were like gold in this world.
THIRTY-ONE
We Made It
When we were finally done unloading, all of us were sweaty, but still in good humor. This score meant another six months of survival and time enough to get the crops planted. It meant life. It meant we could actually live instead of survive.
Blake, Zach, and I, were laughing about something Marquez was going on and on about when we pushed through the doors of the cafeteria. The festivities were already in full swing and we stopped and gaped at now very jovial group.
Kirk had pulled out his guitar and was tuning it up in the corner, getting ready to add some music to mix. Grace was walking around with a pitcher of what I hoped was an alcoholic beverage and she came straight to us, pouring us each a glass of what she called Zombie Juice. I wasn’t going to ask.
It only made me gag a little bit when I took a gulp. Come to find out, it was something that Bubba had been making and explained the awful smell that was coming from the back of the barracks. Moonshine and concentrated orange juice wasn’t exactly refreshing, but it was potent. I liked potent.
“This is surreal.” Baby came bearing plates and set one down in front of me, pushing Zach out of the way so she could sit down.
“Where’s mine?” he said affronted.
“Get your own,” she shooed him and Blake and they grumped off in search of food. I wasn’t complaining. I dug in with a vengeance. There was actual meat in here. Where it came from, I wasn’t asking. But it was damn good. It was covered in a brown gravy with sides of instant mashed potatoes and canned corn, heaven.
“Oh my god, this is so good,” I breathed, shoveling it in my mouth.
“Bubba’s been saving the meat. I think it might be deer or something.”
“Deer, he shot one that was grazing near the shore the last time he went fishing.” Blake set down his plate, followed by Zach, and their big bodies upped the heat of the air around me by a few degrees.
“Bubba needs to go fishing more often,” I joked. Baby’s eyes were on me and she was looking at the two men questioningly then back to me. Did I have a booger or something? I made a face and shook my head as if to say, “what?”
All she did was smile and roll her eyes looking pointedly at Zach and Blake, nosy bitch. I just ignored her and ate my meal.
Kirk had begun to play and all of us turned to face him. His voice was melodic and surprisingly good. His guitar playing was also worth stopping and listening to. His fingers flew over the strings and his voice carried over the crowd well. The song I recognized, it was an oldie, but a favorite and it was about triumph and survival. It was perfect.
When he was done, we all stood and applauded. He nodded shyly and just went into another song. This one was upbeat and enticed a few people to get up and dance. The kids jumped around in excitement, new toys clutched in their hands, new clothes on their backs.
“This is amazing,” I breathed, sitting back and laying my head on Zach’s shoulder.
“It is,” he agreed. I looked up to find Blake’s eyes on us. I twisted my head to look at Zach and with a jerk of his head he changed everything. I patted the chair next to me and Blake took a seat. I slipped my hand into his. The tingles were now evenly dispersed down both sides of me.
“We made it.” I could hear the smile in Blake’s voice and I couldn’t agree more.
THIRTY-TWO
Alexis Out
My mind kept wandering as I sat between the two men, the two men that I loved. I kept thinking about what might happen next, what could happen. What did I expect? Did I think that we would all go back to our house and fall into the big bed together and live blissfully happy as the perfect little threesome? Sister husbands, I snorted.
But it worked for that family in Las Vegas on the reality show that was so popular. Why couldn’t it work with my men and me on my survivor island? We could find something that worked for us. It didn’t mean that we all tried out new moves that we’d only witnessed in a porno. it could mean that we each shared days, like chores. That thought was terrible. I didn’t want to be a chore.
Okay, maybe chore was a bad way to think of it, but really, that could work. Zach could have Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Blake could have Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and I could take Sunday off. Both boys were well endowed and not lacking in the stamina department., I would need Sunday off.
Wow, my own thoughts were freaking me out. We would have to talk about this. I hadn’t done anything like this before. I just knew I loved both of them and I wanted both of them. I wanted both of them together, but would respect their wishes and take them however they felt the most comfortable with. It was a new world. We could make our own rules.
Something tickled at my awareness and I glanced around the room to find Clara’s eyes on me. They weren’t friendly. If looks could kill, and all those other poignant phrases, I would be dead. She probably did want to kill me. If I was her, I would want to kill me too. But then again, if I was her, I would have realized Blake was a lost cause. Even though that trek across a state to save her might have sent up a few mixed signals, Blake was an idiot.
The man in question realized where my gaze was focused and sighed.
“She’s going to be a problem. I don’t know what more I can tell her.”
“At this point, there really isn’t anything you can tell her. You’ve made your feelings clear. Hopefully, she’ll just get over it, realize how good she has it here, and move on.” I tried to stifle a yawn that was creeping from me.
“You’re tired,” Zach said. “Why don’t we pick up and head home. I know I didn’t sleep for shit last night.” He stood and I grabbed his hand before he could walk off.
I think we should all sit down and talk tonight. Are you willing?” I looked from him to Blake, who had also stood leaving me sitting, at waist level to them. Dirty thoughts of where this could lead raced through my head and I tried to squash them.
“Ye
s,” they both said,. Blake with a little more eagerness than Zach.
“Thank you.” I stood and kissed Zach, but my hand found Blake’s and squeezed. “Let me go to the bathroom and then we can go home.” I liked saying that word “home.” It felt right. It was our home. Blake had only been there one night, but he was meant to be there.
I walked giddily to the bathrooms, which were located at the back of the barracks. I wasn’t paying attention. Why should I be? We were safe in the barracks. Someone had hooked up a few speakers and had some songs going, the music pumping loudly with a zydeco tune. Bubba was showing off a few of his moves and shouts from the crowd urged him on.
She hit me hard. Her small frame slammed into me and pushed me into the wall with a crunch. I may have hit my head. I must have because I saw stars. Did she hit me with something? I heard the clang of something metal on the floor, maybe something she dropped? My head? Then she was yanking at my arms and I heard the unmistakable click of a chamber being loaded.
“Get up, slut, we’re going for a drive.” I felt the metal of the gun press into my neck, her fingernails digging into the skin of my arm. She pushed me forward and I stumbled, my balance off. My head was swimming and there was a pulse of sound in my ears, my blood, I could hear my arteries pumping blood through my veins, whoom, whoom, whoom, whoom.
“C’mon, faster, bitch.” She pulled at my arm and the cold air of outside washed over me as she yanked the backdoor open. The outside air washed away some of the fuzziness as she pushed me into the night air.
One of the SUVs was parked right outside the back of the building. We left the keys in the ignition in case we had to head out fast. Doors jimmied so they wouldn’t lock automatically.
“You’re driving. Get in on the passenger side and crawl over to the driver’s seat, so you don’t try anything.” I did as she asked and thought maybe I could get in fast enough before she could get a shot off, but she was right behind me, the gun pointed at vital parts of my anatomy as I crawled over the console and got behind the wheel. The gun never wavered.
Fight (NOLA Zombie Book 2) Page 14