Desolation

by Mark Campbell

  Andrew sat down on the bed next to her and chuckled. He glanced down at the baby’s corpse and grimaced.

  “How do you know that?” he asked playfully as he turned his attention back to her. “I was once seventeen, you dork,” she said.

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Yeah a long time ago,” he said.

  Jerri punched him in the arm, hard.

  “Ouch,” Andrew said, rubbing his arm. “I was just kidding. Damn… I’m glad that the man in the store took your knife.” Jerri gave him a cattish grin.

  “I’m sure I can find other ways to make you suffer.”

  “Yeah you could go make me listen to that creepy fucker’s stories,” Andrew laughed.

  Jerri giggled. “I know you don’t want to go to the Capital,” Andrew said softly, looking down. “But it would me a lot to me if you did… I can’t do this without you, Jerri.”

  Jerri looked away and hesitated in her response.

  “Do you think any of what he said is true though?” she asked.

  “You’ll have to narrow it down,” Andrew said. “He was a little long-winded.”

  Jerri folded her arms across her knees and leaned down, staring at the sleeping baby.

  “About Canada,” she answered fancifully. “I doubt it,” he answered lowly. “People have always spread rumors about safe havens ever since the start of the outbreak. Jerri… I need you. You’ve been my motivation through all of this. I don’t want to lose you over some myth.”

  It was true. He didn’t want to lose her; he had been watching her for a long time back in the camp, secretly lusting for her. There were many girls he could have chosen to be his significant other, but she was the only one who really captivated him. Originally, he was planning to capture her as one of the civilians for the project. She had no living family, no real connections inside the camp, and only one friend.

  Nobody would miss her if she disappeared so she was the perfect candidate. His plans changed the day he saw her buy the knife from that tent dweller. Her fire lured him in and his fascination was almost instantaneous.

  He was, in essence, simply a moth.

  Jerri sighed.

  “You’re probably right,” she replied. “I’m just afraid…” “Of what?” he asked as he looked over at her.

  “Of going back to another camp… I hated that place, Andrew.”

  Andrew nodded. He understood her dilemma but he just didn’t care. She would have to learn to adjust to their new life together. “It will be the best thing for us though,” he assured her. He reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Besides, I’ll keep us safe… I promise.”

  Jerri tensed at first but relaxed at his touch, almost settling into it. “I just don’t like the idea of going back under FEMA’s control,” she said. Andrew missed the control and the power he had. In Canada, even if there really was a safe haven, which he seriously doubted, he’d be a regular civilian again and he simply couldn’t have that.

  “I know… and I’d be all for going to Canada,” Andrew lied, “but we… have a baby to think about now… We can’t take risks like that. The sooner we get to Camp 7, the better.”

  Jerri looked down, ashamed. “Andrew… that part frightens me too,” she muttered, tapping her fingers on her arms. “I’m not ready to be a mother… what if I mess up?”

  Andrew gently brought her closer, comforting her like a frightened child. He avoided looking down at Jacob as he held her. Jerri let him move her and rested her head against Andrew’s shoulder, closing her eyes. She didn’t know what she was doing and she really didn’t care anymore. It felt nice to be held and she wasn’t ashamed to admit it to herself.

  “I… think you’ll do a great job taking care of the child,” he said with a forced smile. A part of him felt guilty for using her illness to his advantage, but another part of him didn’t care. “Besides… you’ll have me there to help you whenever you need it.”

  In a bold move, Andrew kissed the top of her head. Jerri’s skin tingled at his kiss and her stomach fluttered.

  “I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting, Andrew… Ever since my friends died and the camp fell I’ve been out of sorts. I always did take my anger out on those who cared about me the most,” she said as she closed her eyes. “I just miss her… I miss her more than I ever thought I would.”

  Andrew nodded, stroking the small of her back. His stomach churned with excitement. He felt like a potter who was forming something beautiful out of clay. It was all so easy for him, so second nature.

  “I know,” he said, “but at least a part of her remains.” Andrew smiled down at the baby’s corpse as he held Jerri close, caressing the small of her back. The child’s eyes were sunken into his face and his skin was ashen gray. In truth, the sight was revolting and depressing but he knew he would have to bare it for a little while.

  Jerri smiled and gave him a hug, nuzzling into his neck. “Thank you, Andrew,” she said as her eyes started to tear. “Thank you for helping me with Jacob. I feel so lost right now… I think that’s why I miss her so much.”

  Andrew held her close and smiled, closing his eyes. He was elated. All it would take was a little more grooming… a little more sentiment… and then he would have her.

  Andrew, once a single loser with a shitty job in a shitty part of an overpopulated city, would have a powerful position in the new government and a beautiful younger wife. He would soon have everything in his life that he never thought he’d be able to attain, even when he was back inside Camp 6; he’d have a fresh start. He’d been praying for things to fall into place for so long… The marauder attack ended up being a blessing in disguise.

  Instead of months of flirtation to capture the eye of his chosen one, the two were forced together overnight.

  All it would take was a little more work on his end for the feeling to be reciprocated.

  “I’m sure she misses you too. But I bet Krystal would be happy to know that you’re taking care of her baby,” he said softly. Jerri opened her eyes and blinked. Something felt weird. She pushed herself away from Andrew and looked over at him, studying his face.

  Andrew looked over at her, confused. He knew he fucked up, but he didn’t know how exactly. Did he push the physical boundaries too soon? Having sex with her would be imperative if he wanted to seal the deal with her. Did he rush it?

  He carefully retracted his hand from the small of her back. “Something wrong?” he asked.

  Jerri shook her head and tried to think.

  “It’s nothing… just… how did you know her name?”

  “Who’s name?” Andrew asked innocently. Ah fuck, he thought, mentally kicking himself.

  “Krystal… I never told you her name,” Jerri said, looking at him with suspicion.

  Andrew tilted his head and looked up at the ceiling. He would have to come up with something quick. “Hmm… You must have mentioned her name somewhere,” he said with a smile. He stood up and dusted off the front of his pants. “I’m many things but I’m not psychic.”

  Jerri smiled slightly and then folded her arms across her chest. She felt very cold all of a sudden; she never mentioned Krystal’s name… “Well I’m going to go try to catch some sleep, sweet dreams,” Andrew said softly. He walked out the room and shut the door behind him, cursing himself in his head. His work of art was chipping apart in front of his eyes, all thanks to his own clumsiness with words and divulging of information.

  Safely in the hallway, Andrew closed his eyes and clenched his fists. His careful observation of her back in the camp, his meticulous note taking of her daily routine and acquaintances, had come back to bite him.

  “Shit,” he hissed to himself. Jerri had been sprawled on the bed for hours, staring at the ceiling. No matter how comfortable the mattress was, she couldn’t stop her mind from churning. She mentally reconstructed the time line from her first meeting with Andrew all the way through their last conversation. No matter how many times she went through it, she didn’t r
emember saying Krystal’s name.

  She tossed under the covers and let out an aggravated sigh. It’s such a trivial detail; people don’t normally take note of such things but Jerri was a little neurotic and paid close attention. She’d never mention a friend’s name to a cop, no matter if she trusted him or not. The only reason she’d come clean about her own name was because Andrew took her ID when the police showed up at her dorm… and it’s not like he couldn’t read.

  Even if Andrew knew who Krystal was, what did it mean? It wasn’t such a big deal on it’s on but when she weighed it against the other circumstances it made her feel uneasy.

  Was their meeting in the chow hall purely coincidental? When the police were called to the dorm, did a high ranking official like Andrew just happen to be in the area?

  Andrew did always seem to be at the right spot at the right time. When it came to Andrew, there were too many questions and not enough answers. She was done. When they got to the base, she would take Jacob and go her own way.

  Somehow, she would find a way to Canada and leave Andrew to his own devices.

  Having finally decided on a course of action, Jerri rolled over and forced her eyes to close. Jerri woke up after catching about two hours of dreamless sleep. She was confused and disoriented for a brief moment by the tacky posters on the wall and the comforter she was tangled up in.

  Something smelled awful.

  She looked down at Jacob and her new reality struck her.

  Groaning, she slung her legs off of the bed and picked Jacob up out of the dresser drawer on the floor.

  She curled the child’s cold corpse against her chest and smiled down at him.

  “Today’s the day we start our adventure,” she told him, ticking his stomach. “You and me… all the way to Canada.”

  It was a frightening prospect, but she decided to make the best out of it.

  As she walked out into the hallway, the padlocked door next to hers thumped, startling her.

  She let out an unintentional gasp.

  “Morning,” Andrew said from the living room as if nothing happened last night.

  “Morning,” she managed after to say after her pulse settled. Andrew and Witt were sitting on the sofa, packing two small duffel bags with supplies. Both of them were dressed like they were about to traverse the savanna. The apartment was abysmally hot; she almost forgot how much of a necessity air conditioning was during the summer. Both men were soaked in sweat.

  Witt pulled a box of 9mm ammunition out from underneath the sofa and sat it on the coffee table. “You get used to their thumping after a while,” Witt said, nodding towards the locked room. “I like to think of it as their way of telling me good morning!”

  Witt smiled but it fell flat when he saw Jacob; he really wished that she’d cover the child again.

  Jerri offered a half-smile and shook her head.

  “I’d find it pretty hard to get used to,” she said. She sniffed the air. “Is that…”

  “Food?” Witt quickly answered. “Yes it is. There’s a plate of flapjacks and canned pork for you on the counter.”

  “Thanks so much,” Jerri said politely. She shuffled past the two men and headed into the kitchen, searching for Jacob’s bottle. “Have you seen the little one’s bottle?” she asked.

  Witt and Andrew looked uncomfortably at each other. “I already fed him,” Andrew quickly lied.

  Witt frowned at him.

  “Thanks,” Jerri said listlessly. She offered a partial smile but it quickly faded when she looked at Andrew.

  “Sleep okay?” Andrew quickly asked when he saw her smile fade. “Yes,” she lied, stealing bites of food from her plate. “You two look ready for a battle.” Witt handed the box of 9mm ammunition to Andrew and then reached underneath the sofa and brought out a box of old pistols and slid the box towards him across the coffee table.

  “We have to be,” Witt explained. “During the day, it’s not the zombies you have to worry about.”

  Andrew looked down at the box and started riffling through it, trying to find a 9mm handgun that was in good condition.

  “How do the streets look?” Jerri asked through a mouthful of food. “Clear of the dead. They’re all back in their hiding places,” Witt said. “The drifters, dealers, and the usual assorted lots are out trying to collect anything that that the dead may have dropped during the night. You see, the cops tend to lose pistols and batons while some of the soldiers drop rifles. I haven’t come across any rifles yet but I’m hoping I might have some luck at this base of yours.

  “Surviving during the day comes down to looking intimidating, so load up on guns even if you don’t have the ammo. It’s all for posturing.” Andrew held up one of the 9mm pistols. It appeared to be in excellent shape.

  “How did you get your hands on all of this stuff?” Andrew asked in awe.

  Witt shrugged. “I’m a pretty good scavenger,” he said. He threw a sawed-off shotgun onto the coffee table and laughed. “The rest of the time I just carry a bigger stick than the other guy! Hopefully this stuff I’m giving you will get you on the right start.”

  Jerri finished her breakfast and walked into the living room. She looked at the duffel bags crammed with food, clothes, and supplies. She sat Jacob’s stiff corpse down on the recliner next to the sofa.

  Witt stopped laughing and stared at the child wide-eyed. Andrew pretended not to notice and quickly loaded 9mm clips into his new tactical vest pockets.

  “This is a lot to ask for when we have nothing to offer in return,” Jerri said. “I don’t know how we can thank you…”

  Witt turned his attention away from the baby and looked up at her. “Nothing is ever free out here,” Witt said. “Remember last night when I said that Andrew and I needed to talk in the morning? Well, we talked.”

  She looked down at him, concerned. “The base he’s taking us too is being guarded by a group of paramilitary marauders. He thinks they’re soldiers who stayed behind,” Andrew explained. “He needs my help to take them out.”

  Witt nodded.

  “Yep,” Witt said, “After they’re all dead, you two can go inside and find a bird while I gather whatever they’ve been hiding in there.” Jerri frowned.

  “There are three of us,” she corrected.

  “Of course, sorry,” Witt stammered as he tried to smile. Andrew glared at him.

  “This all sounds dangerous,” she muttered.

  “Oh, it is,” Witt said, happily changing the subject. “I’ve been watching them. Most of them still look and act like soldiers… but now they’re soldiers without a flag and those soldiers are the most dangerous kind.”

  “We have to do it,” Andrew interrupted. “If we don’t we may not have another chance at finding a working helicopter. While he and I are fighting, you’ll stay back.”

  “Not to mention Andrew may find someone who can fly the damn thing. That’s what I was hinting at yesterday,” Witt cackled. “With a gun pointed to a man’s head, you can convince him to do almost anything for you. The chances of finding an ex-airman who can fly are pretty good.”

  Witt pointed at a pile of clothes sitting on the chair in the corner of the room.

  “Those are for you by the way, Jerri…” Witt said. The camouflaged clothes looked thick and stuffy. Aside from being hot, they were obviously baggy and two sizes too big. They looked like something a deer hunter would wear.

  Jerri shook her head and looked at Witt.

  “Thanks for the offer,” she said, “but I’m not wearing that.” Witt raised an eyebrow.

  “If you’re coming with us, you don’t have a choice,” he replied. “You’re a female and that means we will get lots of attention. We’ll have to dress you down a little bit.”

  “Just wear it,” Andrew told her in aggravated tone, avoiding looking at the baby. He already loaded and holstered one pistol and was working on loading a second.

  Jerri, miffed, wanted to cuss him out for talking to her that way, but she figured it
would be better to play nice until she broke the news to him later at the base. She picked up the clothes with one hand and walked back into the room, leaving Jacob behind on the recliner.

  Andrew and Witt continued to load the last of the supplies into the duffels in an awkward silence, not looking up at the child. After a few minutes, Jerri emerged out of the bedroom. Her camouflaged one-piece outfit was baggy, patched in places, and looked dirty.

  Witt gave a mock wolf-whistle and Andrew laughed, even though both of the men looked as ridiculous as she did. Jerri gave a half-hearted smile and blushed, embarrassed. She looked down at Jacob and was surprised to see that he was already fast asleep in the chair; it again seemed to be unnatural for a baby to sleep so long.

  Witt stared at the baby with a pallid expression and shuffled uncomfortably in his seat.

  “Stop looking at it,” Andrew muttered under his breath. Witt shook his head, snapping himself out of it. The whole situation was creepy as shit to him.

  “I’m sorry…” Witt murmured, “But now is a good of a time as any to go, no?”

  Andrew couldn’t agree more; the sooner they were away from Witt’s company and in the air, the better.

  37

  The apartment building’s dark staircase was littered with trash and the iron handrails were covered with rust. Water stained the carpet and the air reeked of mold.

  Witt led the group down to the bottom of the staircase, carefully scanning the area with his flashlight and shotgun. A chewed-up toothpick hung out of the corner of his mouth and three pistols were stuck under his belt. Drawing a fresh loaded gun was faster than reloading.

  Andrew followed behind Witt, scanning with his pistol and a much smaller flashlight. Jerri followed in the back, a tactical position she was growing rather tired of. She kept hearing noises behind her and spun around only to see darkness. It gave her the creeps; the whole building did.

  At the bottom of the staircase Witt kicked a rusty door open that was labeled ‘FIRE EXIT ONLY – ALARM WILL SOUND’. No alarms sounded but a flock of pigeons took flight from the ground outside the door.

  Sunlight flooded the stairwell and made them squint as their eyes slowly adjusted. The doorway led to the alleyway behind the building. “We’ll cut through the back alleyways as much as we can,” Witt said as he turned off his flashlight. “The base is only a few blocks away.” “That doesn’t sound bad,” Jerri said.