After walking for what seemed like a very long time, they arrived at their destination. Brandon had led them to a large underground chamber. It was lit by torches, and currently occupied by maybe ten other people.
“What happened?” asked one of the men, a fellow in his sixties who wore a tattered suit. He stepped forward.
“I told you that the drones were still out there, Gary. These people nearly got their asses handed to them by one of those things.”
“Are you all right?” Gary walked over to where Miller, Sheppard, and Rat were standing. “You’re lucky to be alive, you know. Those drones don’t usually miss.”
Miller felt her stomach sink at the man’s approach. She had a pretty good idea that this was the Gary who was the de facto leader of the cannibals after Father Abraham was shot. He was a lawyer, if she remembered correctly, and it was he who Miller and the others stole the Winnebago from when they hightailed it out of Nevada. “We got separated from one of ours in the attack. I appreciate your hospitality, sir, but we need to get busy and try to find our friend. Can you help us?”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Gary said nothing else for a long moment. He took the lantern from Brandon’s hand and held it up to Miller’s face. “Sheriff Penny Miller?” He turned and shouted, much too loudly in the quiet cave. “Vanessa, come over here. Look who’s back!”
CHAPTER FOUR
Suddenly the faces clicked in Miller’s mind. Vanessa had been a waitress at the Silver Dollar Caf� back in Flat Rock, long before she’d become one of Father Abraham’s chief cannibals. They were no longer anonymous. Now it was time to find out whether being recognized was a good or a bad thing.
“We’re not just happy to see you, Sheriff. This will be long marked as a holy day for our tribe. Do you have any idea what you and your companions did for us?” Vanessa held out a hand to shake. The other was on her swollen, pregnant belly. “They have set us free!”
Sheppard leaned in close to Miller’s ear to whisper. His warm breath tickled. “Do you think she means that part about killing Abraham?”
Rat whispered in the other ear. “Or maybe she forgot that we stole their only transportation just before a nuclear bomb was supposed to go off.”
Miller shooed them both away like flies. “Look, Vanessa, it’s just swell that you all are happy to see us, but…”
“Sheriff Miller. I just can’t believe it. Look, I’m expecting now.”
“Vanessa, I need you to listen to me for a second,” Miller said. “One of my people just got shot at by a drone, and that damned missile could have turned him into your latest cave painting for all we know. Help me look for him, and I promise we’ll join the party when we know he’s safe.”
But Vanessa wasn’t listening. “The Martyr Abraham has been called home to the Lord, and your companion Terrill Lee was the instrument of God. He must be praised to his face. We pray for him daily. Where is Terrill Lee? Is he with you?”
“Terrill Lee is…” began Sheppard. He had evidently learned to keep his mouth shut. Miller didn’t say anything either. It just didn’t seem like the time to explain that Terrill Lee had been bitten by a zombie, and Miller had had to shoot him afterward. Somehow a truthful explanation didn’t seem like it would go over well right at the moment. It was better to let these people keep their illusions, so long as the craziness worked in their favor.
Some others came out of the rocks to stand back respectfully, and watch and murmur among themselves. The group was clearly smaller than before. Most likely many of them had tried to run for it, or perhaps they were now eating each other instead of strangers. Miller didn’t know and wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.
Vanessa was still politely patting her swollen abdomen and waiting for an answer about Terrill Lee. Brandon and Gary stood behind her, with their mouths open with admiration and shock. Someone had to say something.
Miller tap-danced. “Well, actually, Terrill Lee is the one we’re looking for,” she said, surprising even herself with the depth and width of the bullshit. If this would make them work to find Scratch, then what the hell, why not? “So, if you folk want to see him again, you’ll come help us find his sorry ass.”
Vanessa’s eyes became very wide. “Gary, Brandon, Shane, Allison, Jennifer, grab some tools and lanterns. We must help them save Terrill Lee!”
“For Terrill Lee!” the people shouted, like a war cry. Sheppard, Miller and Rat exchanged looks. Things were getting weirder by the moment. In a flash the surviving cult members gathered for the search. They came with shovels, pry bars, and a couple of enormous sledgehammers. Some of the women brought torches from the walls. They stood at the ready. Vanessa pointed toward the door of the cave—Miller was surprised that she didn’t call out, “Convoy, Ho!” Everyone headed out toward where Scratch had last been seen.
Rat closed in on Miller’s ear again. “What the hell do you plan on telling them once we find Scratch, that he got himself a slew of tattoos when they weren’t looking?”
“Beats the hell out of me. I’ll just have to think of something.”
“I just hope this place is clear of zombies. They don’t seem worried.”
Vanessa started singing something. An old popular song Miller did not quite recognize. Brandon joined in. He had a nice tenor. Gary started humming. So did several of the others. The effect was weird in the dark, with the torches flickering and the sounds of footfalls and voices echoing down the long, empty tunnels of the old silver mine.
As they made their way through the last of the passages, Miller could hear Sheppard whispering. “Rat is right, Penny. What do you think they’re going to do with us when they figure this out?”
“If he’s still alive, we’ll deal with that part when we get there,” Miller, answered, quietly. She was fighting back panic and despair. “If he’s not breathing, then it just won’t matter much, will it? We just didn’t find poor Terrill Lee.” She realized that she would have said anything to get the cannibals’ help, and if telling them that Terrill Lee was alive would do it, then so be it.
There was no response to that. They walked on in the cool shadows. Neither Rat nor Sheppard tried to continue the conversation. Miller took a torch from Allison and walked ahead, carrying it into one of the smaller caverns on their route back. Shadows rolled up and down the walls like strips of torn fabric.
Gary caught up and matched steps with Miller. “I still don’t understand. What brought you back to us, Sheriff?”
“God, at least according to Vanessa.”
“Oh, please. Religiosity is just to give the others hope. Me, I was a lawyer before the plague came. I’m much more comfortable with concrete truths than childish wishful thinking.”
Miller did not look at him. “Shouldn’t you keep your voice down? You don’t want to end up the next main course around here, do you?”
“Sheriff, I assure you, since Abraham’s death, we have given up the despicable practice of consuming human flesh—living, dead, or undead.”
“Then how are you getting by, Gary?”
“We scrounge for food in nearby stores and abandoned homes. We hunt and trap rats and rabbits and snakes. We grow what we can up above. There are still fish in the underground river near the Ruby Mountains. I assure you, we are now simply a community of weary companions trying to survive these troubled times.”
Sheppard came closer. “If you’re not in this group for God, why don’t you just head for California or Idaho… anywhere but here?”
“I can answer that with one word,” interrupted Brandon, who had been catching up. “Drones. They’ve destroyed all of our vehicles, and they harass us on an intermittent schedule… just irregular enough to instill paranoia and terror in us.”
Miller stopped for a moment. Everyone stopped with her. “It’s there, right?”
“Yes,” called Allison, “we’re here.”
“Then let’s get to work.”
The conversation stopped. Shane handed Miller a pry bar. She gave
her torch to Vanessa, who held it high. They chose their spots a yard or so apart. They rolled their shoulders and began digging their way out of the cave in. Several people working together made a lot of noise but they also moved quickly. In what seemed like no time at all, they could see a fresh sliver of sunlight through the huge pile of rubble.
“Hold up and listen,” called Allison. She waved everyone to silence.
In the deafening quiet of the cave, Miller became intensely aware of her own panting. She tried to breath through her nose, but it wasn’t any quieter. She wiped her sweaty face with part of her shirt. She felt shaky and weak. After the exertion of digging out the cave in, she was dog tired and desperate to find Scratch.
“I’ve got nothing,” said Brandon.
“Me either,” said another one called Jennifer.
“Okay, keep digging,” Miller said. “Let’s get this entrance cleared.”
Gary said, “You heard the lady.”
Allison and Vanessa started praying quietly. Miller figured what the hell, why not? Apparently Scratch was going to need all the help he could get.
They pried and dug and shoveled rocks and dirt out of the way and continued moving the earth to the sides of the cave opening. The sunlight began to light up the area and the torches were no longer needed. Vanessa walked off to return them to the dark areas of their dwelling. Miller stopped for a moment and watched Rat and Sheppard. Rat was working well by herself, as usual, and Sheppard had fallen into a rhythm with Brandon. They were a good team, digging and carrying away boulders together.
Periodically, Allison or Miller would call a halt to the efforts in order to listen for drones. But wherever they were, they apparently weren’t within shouting or hearing distance of the cave mouth. Miller felt her anxiety rising higher and higher as time passed. If Scratch had been under this much rubble, he would have been crushed. He’d have run out of air for sure. But they did not find him. In fact, they found nothing underneath but more rocks and dirt.
Miller went to the entrance, where she stood and shaded her eyes.
She was now able to survey the damage done by the Hellfire. The chassis of both the pickup and the Hummer were still smoking and the vehicles were in large pieces scattered over a very wide area. Large, black scars marred the once beautiful red rocks near the deep caves. Smoke and grime and dust coated the ground. The damage was enormous.
“No sign of anyone out there,” said one of the men. Shane, if Miller remembered correctly. “Where exactly was Terrill Lee standing when the missile hit?”
“Look, Terrill Lee…” began Sheppard.
Miller didn’t know what he might have had in mind, but she didn’t want to blow their excuse for digging, so she just cut him off. “He was out of our sight when the explosion happened. We don’t know exactly where he was. He was probably somewhere near where I am standing now.”
“Well, I can assure you,” said Gary, “if there was a person standing there when it blew up, we’d all be wading in a shallow pool of blood and scraps, searching for something big enough to bury. No one was killed up here.”
Miller breathed a sigh of relief. She might still see Scratch again. They had made it through far too many emergencies to have something this random keep them apart. She tried to put together some kind of story to tell the cult about what had really happened to Terrill Lee.
Rat put her hand on Miller’s shoulder. She squeezed. They both looked to their right. Sheppard stood to the side, closer to Brandon than to Miller. Miller watched the two of them more carefully. She frowned and gestured to him. Sheppard came over to where they were. “What’s up, Penny?”
“Hey, are you still with us, Karl?”
“I don’t follow.”
Before Miller could respond with a remark about Brandon, Gary stepped forward. Miller realized that, though he’d been there, he hadn’t participated all that much. He’d avoided working to clear the opening. He’d just been watching from afar.
“Looks like today’s your lucky day, Sheriff.”
“I suppose so.” Miller debated then began to walk out into the open.
“Shit!” said Brandon. “Everyone get back down into the caves.”
“What’s going on?” Rat asked.
But no one answered. They just scuttled off into the darkness like giant cockroaches. Where the hell did that image come from? Miller thought. The idea made her shiver. The cult members were like huge insects that had somehow survived the worst plague in human history. They lived down below on the garbage left behind.
Miller decided to take a calculated risk. She had to see what had happened to Scratch. She listened, but did not hear a drone engine. What was Brandon worried about then?
“Sheriff, you must come back inside,” said Gary. “It isn’t safe.”
“I’ll just be a minute,” Miller said. She walked up the incline toward the open air.
“You haven’t got a minute,” called Brandon. “Maybe only seconds. There’s a drone out there, and it’s heading this way. They move damned fast.”
“Then I’ll be quicker.”
Miller could see a fresh layer of dirt, thrown up by the explosions. She let her eyes roam over the dirt and rocks near the entrance.
There.
Miller spotted a fresh set of boot prints, certainly big enough to be from Scratch. The tracks headed off to the right and the trail led around the corner of a large, red rock to the south of the cave.
“Sheppard, Rat. Front and center. I’ve got a trail. I’m going out.”
“That’s suicide!” called Gary. “Do not do that.”
But both Rat and Sheppard came up and out of the cave. They shaded their eyes. The three of them stood side by side at the entrance. Rat grunted. Sheppard didn’t see the tracks right away so he looked up at the sky instead.
“There.”
“I’ve already got ‘em,” said Rat.
“And I’ve got the drone,” said Sheppard. “Gary and Brandon are right. It’s headed back this way. I don’t know how they knew, but they did. Maybe their ears are sharper from being down below for so long.”
“We’re going after Scratch,” said Miller. “How much time do we have?”
“I don’t know. Seconds?”
The three of them ran outside. They followed the trail of boot prints to around the corner and behind an enormous red rock. The prints continued on and went under a large overhang, and then led down into another cave. The drone could be heard now, buzzing like a gigantic mechanical mosquito.
“Scratch!” called Miller. “Can you hear me?”
Miller, Sheppard, and Rat moved towards the new cave. The ceiling was much lower than the ones they had become used to. Miller had to crouch down to peer into the darkness. She started to back out again.
A hand shot out of the darkness and pulled Miller inside.
“What the hell?”
“Shh!” said a male voice. “Get in here, you guys. We are already hip deep in shit, and you’re calling down an avalanche.”
“Scratch?”
“Penny, if you want to live, let’s all just shut the fuck up!”
Inside the smaller cavern, Miller’s eyes were again having trouble adjusting to the dark. Miller, Sheppard, Rat, and Scratch all barely crammed themselves inside the small space, just out of sight, hidden from the eye in the sky now lurking outside. They sat shoulder to shoulder, scrunched down and waiting.
“The cannibals are still here,” said Scratch. “Down below and on the other side of this wall.”
“We know.” Miller hugged him impulsively. She wished she could see his face clearly. His stubble rubbed her cheek. “Don’t worry, Scratch, they told us they are not cannibals any more.”
“Ah shit, is that why we’re all crammed into this fucking hole right now?” asked Rat. “They’ve been helping us dig.”
“No, the reason we’re crammed into this fucking hole right now is because the damn Army is almost here.”
Miller tried t
o stand up straight, and promptly banged her head on the low ceiling. “Ow! What the hell do you mean, the Army is here?”
“Almost, I said. Look, there’s not that much time to explain. I’ve been hiding further down, where there are some air holes leading into the cult’s main cavern. They’ve got a ham radio down here, and they’ve been talking to someone about us. I am betting it’s the Army, probably back at Crystal Palace.”
“What are you saying?” Miller felt her stomach going cold.
“They turned us in. The military is sending a Special Ops team to extract us like a rotten tooth.”
“Oh, shit,” Rat said.
“If he’s right about that, then we have yet another big problem,” Sheppard said. “We just can’t seem to catch a break.”
“Well, thank you Captain Understatement. Any other amazing observations you want to make?” Scratch kicked a little bit of dirt onto Sheppard’s boot.
“Well,” Sheppard said, “at least they were telling you the truth about not being cannibals any longer. They must be getting supplies from the Army, probably just enough to keep them alive and make them totally dependent. Not bad thinking on the Army’s part, actually. Get good intel from eyes and ears on the ground. Maybe they help to trap research zombies, and turn in human stragglers.” Sheppard paused. “Wait. Actually, the only flaw in your theory is that they are dealing with Crystal Palace. I was in command there for months, and I would have heard something about this.”
Miller considered the point. “Yeah, and you didn’t have drones, either. But maybe our psychopathic friend Rubenstein set all this up without filling you in, Karl. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Sheppard thought for a moment. They were missing something, and they both knew it. “I wouldn’t either, but…”
“We’ve got more than a mess on our hands. We’ve got five or six of the enemy just around the corner, more down deep, and the only thing that’s keeping them from coming after us is that they are afraid of the drones.” Miller looked at them all. “Does anyone still have a decent weapon?”
The Hungry 5: All Hell Breaks Loose (The Sheriff Penny Miller Series) Page 5