Rebecca cringed. She covered her face with her hands and gagged like she was going to vomit. Falling to her knees she started to cry and laid her head on Lenny’s chest.
“I can’t do this,” Maddox said in a stifled voice. “I can’t do this…I’m going,” he said then turned and started to hobble off into the forest.
Tim and Mark seemed to be hypnotized by what was happening. They didn’t look away; they glared with glossy eyes, trying to comprehend the scene before them.
The metal trucks rattled as the frames twisted and bent. Pockets of air exploded like thunder. The sound was deafening, but it was something else that finally brought them out of their daze.
Bones snapped and splintered like firewood, echoing into the forest. The crumpled bodies of their friends crackled and broke as they caved in. Tim shuddered at the gruesome scene and unconsciously started to back way. Then just as suddenly as it began it was over.
Every piece of metal, every shard of broken glass, and every mangled body was gone. The field looked like no one had ever stepped foot on it. Not a sign of their accident remained.
An eerie silence swept over their location. Mark cleared his throat and everyone jumped. A cold wind blew into the trees and sent a chill down their spines.
“What in God’s name was that?” Mark asked.
Tim shook his head and bent down to grab the stretcher. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
CHAPTER 7
THE CAVE
“Welcome back sleeping beauty,” a deep voice called. “I was betting on you being a goner. As it is, we couldn’t save your damn leg.”
“What!” Lenny gasped.
He jumped up from the cot and was immediately greeted with the worst pain he’d felt in his entire life. It was an intense burning, like someone had taken a hot poker and began to carve their name into his skin.
In a panic, Lenny grabbed for his legs and felt a rush of relief as he counted two of them. He wiggled his toes and then took an inventory of his other appendages. Everything seemed to be in order and he let out a deep breath.
“Try not to move,” a softer female voice said as a hand gently nudged him to lie down.
Lenny tried to fight against them, but he was too weak. He finally gave in and relaxed back onto the cot. The woman pulled a blanket over him and wiped at his face with a damp towel.
“We’ve gotta make sure you keep that fever down.”
Lenny looked towards the voice shaking off a feeling of nausea. His head swarmed and his vision was like looking through a cloudy glass of water. He struggled to see and he wasn’t sure if it was due to the dim lighting or if he was actually going blind.
“Where…where are we?” he asked in a groggy voice.
“A cave, if you can believe it,” the deeper voice responded and Lenny recognized it as Mark. “Tim and his survival skills.”
“Now beast, you get out of here and let him rest,” the other voice demanded. “And no more jokes, his condition is series.”
Mark laughed and stared at Lenny. He scratched his head then started to walk off. “You heal up real good now Lenny, real good.”
“My…my condition?” Lenny repeated.
“You just need your rest is all,” the woman replied.
Lenny wiped a hand across his face and rubbed his eyes. He blinked wildly and his vision got a little clearer. He was now able to see a bit of his surroundings under the dim glow of a torch that had been staked into the ground.
He was in a cave, a pretty big one by the looks of it. The ceiling was fifteen feet high and made of some light colored stone. The lumpy walls were nearly twenty feet apart and the dank smell of water and mud permeated the air.
“You gashed your leg pretty good in that wreck, lost quite a bit a blood before they got you back here. I got you stitched up though, you’re gonna need to take it easy for a few days.”
Lenny grabbed the woman’s hand and brought it to his cheek. He leaned his face against it and mumbled, “thank you.”
The woman placed her other hand on Lenny’s head and stroked his hair. Lenny focused hard on her face as her features started to come into focus.
She had brown, curly hair and deep tanned skin. Her soft, hazel eyes looked resilient, but hid a sadness that she tried to bury deep.
“Gloria,” Lenny mumbled as he realized who he had been talking to. “I…I.”
“Just rest,” she cut him off.
“But you don’t understand,” Lenny pleaded.
Gloria started to respond, but someone walked up behind her. Startled, she turned around and then smiled. A blonde-haired boy with Nikko’s face wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed.
Lenny cringed and lowered his gaze. He choked up and tried to swallow. Gagging, he looked back at Gloria and cleared his throat.
“I’m, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”
“No need Lenny. I’ve seen you with the others back at the civic center. I’ve seen you with Rebecca. I know you did everything you could. Sometimes it’s just God’s will,” Gloria said as she held back tears.
“None of this can be God’s will, none of it. What kind of God would allow this?” Lenny mumbled.
Gloria simply smiled at him and patted his head. Lenny forced a smile back. He felt relieved that she seemed okay, but still felt responsible. He hadn’t had a chance to really let it soak in since it occurred and now he was eye to eye with Nikko’s mother.
“This is Javier,” Gloria said as she moved her young son forward.
The boy extended his hand and Lenny shook it and smiled. He was the spitting image of Nikko. He had the same green eyes, but where Nikko’s hair was black his was a butter shade of blonde.
“Nice to meet you,” Lenny said.
Javier looked at him then stared at the floor. He bit his lip and shuffled his feet anxiously. He stared from his mother to Lenny several times before he finally spoke.
“What happened to Nikko? How did he die?” he asked with a curious honesty that only a child can have.
Lenny’s heart skipped a beat and Gloria threw her hand over her mouth in shock.
“Don’t…don’t answer that Lenny,” Gloria stuttered. “He shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay,” Lenny said and gritted his teeth. “Both of you deserve an answer.”
He tried to sit up, but any movement made his leg burn like hell. Instead he propped himself onto his elbow and looked Javier in the eyes.
“We were getting ready to come down when he saw your teddy bear. He…he was so quick, he just slipped out of my hands. Before I knew it he’d run across the room to go get it,” Lenny said then paused.
Gloria stared at him with tears in her eyes. Her look was empathetic, a motherly glare that Lenny wasn’t familiar with. He wondered if he could continue and slumped back onto the pillow. Taking a deep breath he tried to collect himself. Gloria placed her arm on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.
“Did he get it?” Javier suddenly asked.
“What?” Lenny mumbled.
“Did he get my teddy?”
Lenny smiled at him and straightened up. He reached out and put his hand on the boys shoulder.
“He did Javier, he got your teddy.”
Javier smiled and hugged Gloria. She squeezed him tightly and kissed him on the head.
“I love you so much,” Gloria whispered into his ear.
Lenny looked away, he felt like he was intruding, like he shouldn’t have been there. He’d never been an emotional type of guy and today he’d just about reached his limit of touchy feely talking.
He stared up at the ceiling and tried to piece together the last few days. Everything had gone by so fast it was all a blur.
“Lenny!” a familiar voice called in excitement.
Lenny turned his head back and found Rebecca striding towards him. She was smiling and had a gleeful skip to her step. Lenny smiled back and welcomed the distraction from Javier and Gloria.
&n
bsp; “I’ll let you two have some time,” Gloria said as she patted Lenny on the shoulder. With her arm around Javier, she turned and walked off. “Try to keep him from moving too much. I don’t want him to tear out the stitches,” she said to Rebecca as they passed.
Rebecca stopped at the edge of the cot and grinned. She looked back to make sure Gloria had vanished from sight then she jumped on top of Lenny.
“I’ve missed you,” she said and stared him in the eyes.
“What’s it been, a few hours? And what’s up with Mark hanging around here?”
“What? What did Gloria tell you?” Rebecca asked.
“Nothing…that she’d stitched my leg and all.”
“Lenny, you’ve been unconscious for like three days. Three whole days! Mark’s been hanging around waiting for you to die,” Rebecca said grimly.
“Three days?” Lenny echoed her. “Three days?”
“I’ve missed you,” Rebecca said as she leaned forward and began kissing him.
Lenny was still trying to figure out where three days had gone. He thought he’d slept through the night, not for half a week.
“Wait…Becca wait!” Lenny pushed her off and took a breath.
“What? I want you…I missed you,” Rebecca pushed his hands away and leaned back in. She kissed on his neck and ran her tongue across his face.
“What is wrong with you?” Lenny grunted and pushed her off again.
“Me? What is wrong with you? You don’t want me?” Rebecca asked with desperation in her voice.
“It’s not that. My leg is falling off and you just told me I’ve been asleep for the last three days. That’s a lot to swallow.”
Rebecca stared at him and raised her eyebrows. She sat up and pulled her long hair back and twisted it into a bun. Lenny couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but she looked angry.
“Fine!” she suddenly spat. “Suit yourself.”
Rebecca climbed off of him and stormed away down the dimly lit tunnel. Lenny didn’t say a word, he watched as she was swallowed by the darkness then laid back against the cot and sighed.
He was feeling light headed from all of the arguing and now three days didn’t seem like enough sleep. Slowly, he succumbed to his exhaustion and fell into a deep state of unconsciousness.
Leaving Lenny behind, Rebecca marched down the dark corridor until she came to a well-lit clearing. The rest of the survivors were all huddled around a fire near the mouth of the cave. The wide opening overlooked a steep decline that had been hell for them to ascend, but provided a great vantage point to spot unwanted visitors.
The cave was a lucky find. It was the perfect shelter from the elements and a much needed hiding spot. The rock-lined dome was a collection of interconnected tunnels that spiraled off from the main structure like spider legs.
Tim and the others hadn’t dared to venture very far. They were happy to remain in the front part of the cave system. It wouldn’t take much for someone to get turned around in the dark and be lost for good.
While they hadn’t planned on being in a cave there was more than enough room for all of them. Out of the twenty or so survivors that escaped the center, only eight still remained. The rest were either missing or dead.
Maddox and Tim nestled together over a map, swinging their hands and talking animatedly with hushed voices. Mark seemingly had lost interest and gazed off into the distance with glossy eyes. He was lost without something to shoot at.
“How’s your sweetheart doing?” Gloria asked jokingly as she saw Rebecca approaching.
“Fine!” Rebecca snapped back.
She walked past the fire and gazed at Mark momentarily. Then she headed down another corridor that was even darker than the one she’d just left. Without looking back she vanished into the blanket of shadows and stopped just out of view.
Mark watched her curiously as she walked away. He took a quick look over his shoulder and then unnoticed by the others, he slipped down the corridor after her.
The tunnel was dark, so dark he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. With his fingers tracing the rocky wall, he carefully maneuvered further down the path. He paused and felt at the air. Someone laughed and he whirled around in circles.
“Come on out,” he whispered. “Look, I’m not trying to get kicked in the balls again.”
There was another laugh and then silence. Mark spun around again, swinging his hands blindly and almost falling over. Suddenly someone grabbed him by the balls and pressed their chest against him.
“Okay, okay.” Mark moaned. “I’ll head back with the rest. Just let me go.”
“What if I don’t want you to head back?” Rebecca whispered
“What?”
Rebecca pushed him back into the wall and pulled his head towards hers. She rose onto her toes and jammed her tongue into his mouth. Mark gagged momentarily and then started kissing her back like it was the last kiss he’d ever have.
He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her into the air. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and slid her hand over his head.
“I knew you’d come around sooner or later.” Mark grumbled.
Rebecca bit his lip and ran her fingers across his face. She pulled at his shirt and started to suck on his neck.
They staggered back into the other wall as Rebecca began to moan. She tugged at his pants and started undoing his belt. Mark squeezed her tighter and laughed.
“Yeah…that’s it. Now you’re gonna actually get to meet the real best,” he said.
“Not today,” Rebecca mumbled back and stopped abruptly.
She pulled away from his face and removed her arm from around him. Mark lowered her to the ground and gave her a confused look.
“You…you started this,” he said in exasperation.
“And now…now I’m ending it,” Rebecca stammered then walked off.
Mark scratched his head and huffed. He waited a few minutes then blindly felt his way back down the tunnel. As he emerged into the clearing Tim shot him a suspicious glance. Mark cut his eyes and headed the other way.
“Hey Mark, come check this out,” Tim yelled after him.
Mark stopped walking and clenched his fists. Sighing, he turned around with an exhausted frown on his face. Tim and Maddox were still huddled together near the mouth of the cave. They’d been there for hours plotting and planning.
“Okay, you got my undivided attention. What did you two girls get into now?” Mark asked.
“So Maddox has been showing me some places we might be able to find a vehicle. I’m thinking the three of us should check out the closest one. Trying to make it to D.C. on foot doesn’t sound too fun.”
“Yeah, sure…whatever. You and your new pal plan it out and I’ll tag along. We’re gonna need g…”
“Guns!” Maddox cut him off. “Yeah I’ve been thinking that too. There’s an armory not far from that place,” Maddox pointed at the map.
“Well…sounds like you have everything covered. One question though, when did you get so chummy with this crazy bastard?” Mark asked Tim.
“Since I realized had we listened to him in the first place a lot more of us would still be around.”
Mark sneered at him. “So the three of us are going off on a mission and we’re gonna leave that old fuck Crimley to keep things straight?” he asked pointing at a shirtless old man that was rubbing his hands together near the fire.
Crimley was nearly sixty-five. He looked frail, but he was scrappy and had been a marine in another life. His hair was white and unruly and his tanned skin looked like rawhide. He didn’t talk much and when he did it was normally short and irrelevant.
“Well,” Tim started and gave Mark a look.
Mark laughed. “You must be counting on the cripple. As a matter of fact, let’s go wake his ass up.”
Mark turned and started heading down the corridor towards Lenny. Tim and Maddox stared at each other for a moment and then followed him.
“Wait up,” Tim yelled.<
br />
A few minutes later they were all gathered around Lenny’s cot watching him sleep like a dead man. Mark stared down on him with a look of contempt. Raising his boot he slammed it into the side of the cot and screamed.
“They’re here!”
Lenny jumped up and swung his fist wildly, punching Mark directly in the balls. Like a sack of dirty laundry Mark collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain.
“Good job beast,” Tim said and started to laugh.
Lenny rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. “What the hell is going on?”
“How’s the leg?” Tim asked.
“Been better,” Lenny yawned then swung his legs onto the ground and leaned forward. “Gloria says I better not rip the stitches out.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that,” Tim smiled.
Lenny grinned and raised an eyebrow as Mark righted himself and grimaced. “Sorry about that big guy.”
“I bet you are,” Mark said sharply.
“Anyway, the three of us are gonna head out to check on some vehicles and maybe some extra weapons. It’s probably a two day run. You think you can handle things around here?”
“I cut my fucking leg Tim I didn’t lose it. You want me to go with you?”
Mark let out a little laugh. “Seriously Lenny? So I can wind up dragging your ass back here. You stay put and make sure no one gets a splinter or trips on a rock.”
“Fuck you Mark!” Lenny said as he scrambled to his feet.
“Enough already!” Tim raised his voice. “Lenny, you’re good…no doubt about that. But you need to let that leg heal. Keep things here in check and we’ll be back in two days tops.”
“Two days!” Lenny repeated. “Shit Tim we need to be on the move in two hours. We’ve been here long enough and I don’t want to end up like those poor bastards in the field.”
“Oh, you don’t even know the half of it,” Mark grinned.
Tim shot him an angry look and shook his head. Lenny glared at them both suspiciously. He didn’t like being left in the dark.
“Tim, something you want to tell me?”
“They just sucked them into the God damn sky,” Maddox interrupted. “The bodies, the trucks…everything.”
Countdown: The Wasteland Chronicles Book One Page 13