Outbreak: Brave New World

by Van Dusen, Robert

  Rodriguez’s face wrinkled up with a little smile. “I’ve gotta change, buddy.” she said as she tried to extract herself from the boy’s grasp. “Buddy, please. I’ll only be in the shower. Your dad’s right in the living room.” Frannie was a little concerned about how clingy the little guy was getting again. She shook her head as she managed to slip into the bathroom and close the door. “Amy’s gonna be here in a minute.”

  Paulie ambled off towards his dad. He was standing by the table and petting Freddie with Becca. The little boy went over and rubbed the dog’s belly. “Daddy…” he said as he ruffled Freddie’s tummy fur. Paulie frowned at his dad, scowled and looked at his sister. “If we do have to have a new mommy, can it be Frannie?”

  “Paulie…” Adam said, looking at his son. He sat down on the floor completely forgetting about the turd in his undershorts. Lacey took his children onto his lap and held them tight. “I don’t think you guys have to worry about that right now, okay guys?”

  Somebody knocked twice on the back door and jiggled the handle, letting Adam know that Frays and her brother were back from turning on the generator. “I’ll be right back, kiddos.” he said and smiled, rubbing his daughter’s cheek then standing up and going to let them in. Lacey picked up the pace once he was out of sight of the kids, fearful of leaving his friends trapped outside with the possibility of more zombies being in the area.

  Amy clapped Lacey on the shoulder as he let them in. They exchanged tired, weak little smiles as Lacey and Carl put the boards back in place over the door. “The genny’s running.” Frays said quietly as she interlaced her fingers and stretched, pushing the palms of her hands towards the ceiling. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a mighty yawn. “When everybody’s had a chance to change and get cleaned up we’ll do the laundry.”

  The laundry machine was chugging away in the foyer with the clothing they had worn while disposing of the deactivated Bravo Charlies in it. Frays, Rodriguez, Lacey and Carl took turns in the shower, washing the stench of burning rotten flesh out of their hair and off their skins. Laundry day also meant a chance for Frays, Rodriguez and Lacey to at least sort of dress like regular people for a little while. Frannie and Adam had to borrow civvies from Amy and her brother, but it still felt good to wear a pair of shorts and a tee shirt or whatever even if they did not fit quite right.

  They were sitting around the dining room table again, pouring over the maps. Paulie sat in Frannie’s lap while Becca was in her father’s arms. Freddie kept the carpet from curling up in a sunny spot on the floor of the living room. The children scowled at what the grownups were doing and occasionally glanced at one another. “Wait, we’re leaving?” Becca asked, looking up at her father with a look of horror on her little face “We can’t! What if Mommy comes back? We won’t be here!”

  “Yeah!” Paulie said quickly suddenly scared to death. He was kind of sure that Mommy and Mr. and Mrs. Frays would not be coming back from where ever they were but still… The boy shot to his feet, standing on Rodriguez’s thighs. She bit back a shout, as the kid’s heel was resting directly on her tender semi-healed gunshot wound. Frannie grunted and tried to get the boy to sit down. “Mr. and Mrs. Frays too!” Paulie looked confused when Amy swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and Carl pinched the bridge of his nose. Frannie turned him around and held the boy tight.

  “W-We’ll leave them a note.” Frays said her voice barely above a whisper after a moment. She took a couple deep breaths, struggling to keep from bursting into tears. The look on the children’s faces made it incredibly difficult. They were just so little and innocent and they understood even less of what was going on than the rest of them did. “Can you guys do that for us? That will be your job when we figure out where we’re headed. That sound good?”

  The kids looked at each other. “Where are we going?” Becca asked, trying to see the maps. She was curious to see if they were going to be near the ocean. Mommy had shown them a program on TV about whales. It said the things lived in the ocean, but she found it hard to believe that they really existed. They were so big! Mommy and Daddy had taken them to see the ships a couple times in Boston Harbor too. “Can we see the ocean?”

  Adam hugged his daughter and smiled. “We’ll see, kiddo.” He kissed his daughter’s cheek and she snuggled back against his chest. Lacey squeezed her tight for a moment then relaxed his grip. “How much ammo do we have left?”

  Frays, Rodriguez and Lacey cleared their rifles and counted the rounds remaining in the magazines as well as the magazines on their persons. The results were less than exciting in Amy’s opinion. They each had a little over one hundred and ten rounds of 5.56 NATO M855 ‘Green Tip’ and forty five rounds of 9mm NATO for their pistols apiece. They had each used up between twelve and fifteen rounds of 5.56 however they each had three full spare mags left with the partially loaded ones in their weapons. Not good. Not good at all…

  “I’ll take the 1014.” Amy volunteered after a moment’s thought. She had been thinking about switching over to the twelve gauge semiautomatic shotgun for a little while now anyway. They had a bunch of twelve gauge shells so somebody should use those instead of their dwindling supply of 5.56 ammo. “You guys can split up my M4 mags.”

  “Admit it.” Lacey said as he gave the woman a sidelong glance and smirked “You just wanna get your hands on that big scary looking shotgun.” There was something in the tone of the man’s voice made Carl want to break his jaw. Adam looked away when he saw the anger in Frays’ eyes. For a brief second he thought that she might hit him again.

  “Watch your mouth, Jarhead.” Amy said quietly. For a second she was back in Iraq, the eyes on her all the time the line in the chow hall like running a gauntlet. Frays had always tried to go eat with her Flight Sergeant as few of the guys would try anything with that great big bear of a man right there… She took a moment to calm herself down then made up her mind to have a talk with her subordinate. “Lacey…step into my office. Now.”

  Amy stood up and motioned for Adam to follow her into the foyer. “Everybody just stay put for a minute.” she said and followed after him. As soon as they were as close to alone as they could get Frays scowled, pacing as much as the small room would allow. “Get at parade rest, Private.” Frays said harshly, pausing in her pacing only to scowl at the man.

  Adam looked confused for a second, his body involuntarily obeying the sharp tone of the airman’s voice. Frays stopped her pacing right in front of him, an icy look on her face. She had been waiting for her paperwork to go through to officially make her a staff sergeant before everything went nuts but right now the young woman looked every inch the pissed off Non Commissioned Officer. “What’s up?”

  “What’s going on, Airman.” Frays corrected harshly, her jaw working as she stood inches away from Lacey. The man’s dark eyes darted towards her, searching her face as he tried to figure out what brought this on. Frays’ scowl deepened reminding Lacey of the DIs in Boot. “Eyes front, Lacey.”

  Adam stared at the wall across the room from him. “What’s going on, Airman.” he said careful to keep the tone of his voice as neutral as possible. Strangely, he could not help but get just the smallest amount aroused. Frays was close enough to him that he could feel her breath on his face and neck when she spoke.

  “I am not your wife. I am not your girlfriend. I am your superior.” Frays said her tone sharp and quiet. She accented each statement by pointing with her index and middle fingers, her digits millimeters from the tip of Lacey’s nose. “You will treat me with respect. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yeah. Yes, Airman.” Adam said, a little sarcasm working its way into his voice. “Is that all, Airman?” he asked. Amy’s jaw started working again and she cocked her head slightly, the woman’s neck making a popping sound. He noted the way the blood rushed to her face, darkening her tanned cheeks. Her breath was warm on his neck. To his embarrassment, he felt the stirring in his groin getting stronger and stronger. />
  He leaned forward and kissed her full on the lips. A shock ran through Frays for a second and she stood there until she realized that Lacey’s tongue was in her mouth, his hand sliding down her back towards her butt, his other arm crushing her against his chest. She shoved him and struck Lacey hard across the chin with an elbow then brought her knee up into the man’s groin with all the force she could muster. The man doubled over and Frays backed off her hand involuntarily going to the M9 strapped to her thigh, the other held palm out towards him. “Lacey.” she realized that she was panting, the blood was pounding in her temples “Stop. Right now.”

  Adam’s back struck the wall behind him and he slid to the floor, a horrified and pained expression on his face. “Oh, my God.” he whispered “Ow! Fuck… What the hell?! Fuckin’ shit! Ahh!” He held his groin and writhed, his breath coming in small gasps as he struggled to keep from throwing the fuck up.

  Conflicting emotions flew around inside Frays’ skull like those circus motorcyclists that ride around inside that giant steel hamster ball: fear, anger, confusion, pity… Part of her wanted to tell him it was alright, no harm done and the other part of her wanted to kick his head in. Sure she liked him but not that way and he sounded just like when he told her that he had gotten her friends killed… Frays’ hand tightened around the grip of her pistol, her index finger pressing the retention device. “We’re done here.” she said sharply and turned on her heel, walking as fast as she could without running out of the foyer.

  Amy blew past Rodriguez and Carl, the two of them obviously drawn by the sounds coming from the foyer. The two of them exchanged looks as Frays continued on to the living room and sat down hard on the couch. Carl went to his sister and sat down at the other end of the couch. The kids looked scared again, but thankfully they had Freddie to pet. The dog licked Becca’s face. “It’s alright, guys.” Frannie said carefully as she glanced down the hall hoping to see what was going on with Lacey. “Be right back.”

  Lacey was sitting on the floor, his head in his hands. Fucking shit! Rodriguez thought as she sat down a few feet away from him I’m getting really fucking tired of being the grownup around here. They were quiet for awhile. “Lemme let you in on something here, buddy.” Frannie said after a few minutes. She sighed and looked at Lacey, her face pensive. “It’s like this. You haven’t been deployed, have you?”

  “No.” he said and rolled his eyes, a knot of frustration growing in the pit of his stomach. Frays was mad at him for some goddamn reason and his balls fucking hurt. “This was my first time getting called up.” Was she going to hold that against him? “So fuckin’ what?”

  Frannie smiled awkwardly and nodded. “So, Amy just got back before everything went to shit. It…can really fuck your head up.” She shook her head, still scratching at her neck. Rodriguez licked her lips and shrugged. “For a long time you’re either bored or scared out of your fuckin’ mind. It’s hot, you’re tired, there’s shit blowing up, snipers. And that’s just the shit the hajjis are doing to you. The next thing you know you’re home and everybody expects you to be normal, whatever the fuck that is.”

  All of a sudden he felt even worse than he did before. “What do you mean?” he asked, curious and not wanting to know at the same time. There were classes and stuff like that, the sexual harassment briefings and shit. Goddamn. Another bit of realization struck him: Amy had probably come the closest she had ever been to being raped only a few weeks ago. Small wonder she flew off the handle like she did… He felt like a top contender for the crown of World’s Biggest Asshole.

  “The guys start looking at you.” Frannie mumbled her eyes fixed on the floor between the toes of her boots. “It gets worse. The comments, the jokes. Maybe a guy ‘accidentally’ cops a feel. Every shit for brains on the FOB and his brother hits on you. If you say yes, you’re a slut and if you say no you’re a bitch and nobody talks to you. It goes on for months. And if you complain, you’re a whiny bitch with sand in her cunt, understand?”

  “Yeah.” he said quietly and forced himself to his feet. Adam took Rodriguez’s arm and hauled her to her feet. “So…how pissed is she?” The man grimaced and looked down the hall. “I mean…it wasn’t just what I said. She was chewing me out and…I kissed her.”

  Rodriguez found that she could only laugh and shake her head. “Wow, man.” she said quietly and started out into the hall. “When you screw up you don’t half ass it, do you?” No wonder Frays looked so pissed off. Frannie stopped him in the doorway and frowned at the floor for a second. “Look...I don’t want to talk out of class, but…she’s just not that into you.”

  “I figured it out pretty quick.” Adam said quietly. He was trying to do his best to walk normally even though his balls hurt like hell. “You wouldn’t know it from looking at her, but she kicks like a damn mule.”

  Rodriguez rolled her eyes and sighed, moving off toward the kids at the table. Carl was sitting on the couch while Amy was pacing back and forth on the deck. “Is Amy mad at Daddy?” Becca asked when Frannie came close. She stood there for a moment then held out her hands, scooping the children up and carried them over to the recliner.

  “Yeah, but she’ll get over it.” Frannie confided as she rocked the little ones. Rodriguez glanced over at Carl when the washer dinged in the foyer. She was grateful when the guy got up and went to take care of the laundry without being told. “Don’t sweat it, kiddos. Amy and your dad are friends. They get mad at each other just like you guys probably get mad at each other. We all care about you guys very much and we’re all gonna do everything we can to keep you guys safe.”

  Lacey paused in the dining room then took a deep breath and crossed the living room and went out onto the deck. Frays stopped her pacing long enough to stare at him for a second then continued, jamming her hands into her armpits. He could only watch her for a little bit. “I was out of line, Airman.” he said, feeling like there was a hot slimy snake flopping around in his guts “I…don’t know what else to say…”

  “It’s as much my fault as it is yours, Lacey.” Frays said, finally halting in her pacing and looking at the man. “I think things have gotten a little too…personal…between us.” She sighed, her eyes flitting from Lacey’s face to the trees behind him. “We’re all stressed out and grieving… And don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate that night in the laundry room…but that shouldn’t have happened.”

  Lacey nodded. “I guess.” he said quietly and gave Frays a rueful smile. Adam rubbed the back of his neck, scratched behind his ear. “I just miss Laura so much, Frays… I…I’m not used to being alone. I want her back and I want you and Carl to have your mom and dad back. I want my shitty jobs back…” He took few deep breaths and looked at Frays with an odd little smirk. “Want to hear something funny? Paulie’s trying to talk me into asking Rodriguez to be their new mommy. I dunno where Becca stands on the subject.”

  Amy chuckled and glanced through the glass door, seeing Frannie rocking the kids in the recliner. “They do like her, huh?” she said with a wry grin. Her heart felt a little heavy. Becca and Paulie were good kids… She hoped the little guy or gal growing inside her was half as considerate and brave as those two little ones cuddling her friend in the living room. Frays took a couple steps towards Lacey and gave him a light tap on the shoulder, pushing him towards the door. “I think Paulie was against me having the job anyways.”

  Lacey pulled open the door for her. “Yeah.” he whispered in her ear, flashing a grin as she passed by “I think he thinks you’re mean something. I think those chocolate chip pancakes the other day went a long way in winning him over though.” Frays snorted into the palm of her hand as a laugh got lost trying to find its way out of her mouth. She sat down on the couch as Lacey settled into the rocking chair a few feet away.

  Rodriguez gave the children a ‘see-I-told-you-so’ sort of a look and let the little ones go see their dad. Amy was a little surprised when Becca climbed up onto the couch and sat down next to her while Paulie went to his d
ad. The little girl leaned against Amy’s side, squirming until she had Frays’ arm around her. Frays felt an awkward little smile come to her face as she squeezed the little girl. Becca put her arms around Frays’ forearm and squeezed her back.

  Amy felt a yawn building in her chest. Why am I getting so tired all the time? Frays wondered absently as she squirmed into the couch cushions. She guessed that the pregnancy combined with the adrenaline rush of the ambush followed by the subsequent crash and hot shower on top of the stress over everything else that had just happened were conspiring to try and pull her eyes shut. Frays covered her mouth with a fist and yawned. “I need a nap.” Amy mumbled, running her free hand over her face then looked at her watch. “I’m sorry, guys. We’ll finish planning after lunch, alright? I can barely keep my eyes open.”

  She was asleep on the couch a few moments later. Becca climbed up with her and squirmed against the woman’s side. The little girl grinned when Amy lay there with her mouth half open and snoring loudly or made funny little noises in the back of her throat. Becca dropped off with her ear pressed against Amy’s chest a few moments later. Lacey looked at the woman’s brother on the opposite end of the couch and smirked.

  “Has Frays always snored like that or is this a new thing?” he asked. It was nice of his daughter to snuggle with Amy. He knew that Becca missed her mother even if she was not as vocal about it as her brother. Adam found that he was a grateful to Amy for letting his daughter cuddle with her because he knew there was something off about how his friend was acting around the children.

  Frays would not say anything about it but he had seen how she looked sort of sad when the kids were playing with Rodriguez. Then there was how freaked out she had gotten when she was roughhousing with the kids and how she reacted to Becca’s pictures… It was weird...Frays had played with the kids on the way to the supply point in Boston but now she was acting like she was scared of them for some reason. He decided that he should probably try to get her to talk about it soon.