by Eric Vall
“Well, I was pre-med,” Paige said. “So I had a lot of knowledge, and Marla has helped out a good deal. I’ve shadowed her on more than one occasion.”
“A little bit of blood I can handle just fine,” Kimmy said, “but a huge gash or wound or something, it just freaks me out.”
The curly haired woman shivered as she thought about a large wound, and I smiled to myself about how cute she was.
“I’m right there with you,” Bailey said.
“You’ve seen plenty of large wounds,” I chuckled.
“Yeah,” the blonde said, “but mostly on bad guys. Seeing one on someone I know, it’s just… oh, man, it makes you panic.”
“Yes, exactly!” Kimmy exclaimed. “I don’t have medical training, what do I do? Pressure or no pressure? Do I stitch it up or what?”
“Probably don’t start stitching right away,” Paige laughed. “But pressure is typically a good idea.”
“Seeing a large gash on someone can be intimidating,” I said. “But unless a major artery or vital organ is hit there’s a good chance you’ll be able to figure it out as long as you can stop the bleeding.”
“Do you have medical training, too?” Kimmy asked.
“I wasn’t a medic,” I said, “but everyone in the military is trained in basic first aid.”
“That must be helpful,” Kimmy said.
“It is,” I agreed. “But still, we can’t do what the medics can. I always respected the hell out of those guys. That’s who you know you can count on if you’re injured on the battlefield. They’ll keep you breathing until they can get you out of there.”
“Sounds like a hard job,” Bailey said. “That’s a lot of pressure.”
“Doctors are under pressure all the time,” Paige said. “But I can’t imagine that anything would beat saving lives, that’s why I wanted to be one in the first place.”
“They’re under pressure even when they aren’t working,” Tara said. “Like if someone gets hurt the first thing people ask is ‘is there a doctor here?’. And don’t tell me that’s just in the movies because I was on a flight one time and that totally happened.”
“Really?” Bailey asked. “I thought that really was just a movie thing.”
“Definitely not,” Paige said.
“Yeah,” Tara agreed. “I guess some guy on board was having trouble breathing or something and the stewardess came over the speaker and was like ‘hey, is there a doctor on board’, and some guy stood up and followed her to the back. It was crazy.”
“Was the guy alright?” Kimmy asked.
“Oh, yeah, I think so,” Tara said with a shrug. “We didn’t have to do an emergency landing or anything, so I’m pretty sure.”
“You didn’t ask?” Kimmy asked.
“Nah, I fell asleep,” the platinum blonde said.
“Tara wasn’t much of a people person before the EMP hit,” Paige explained.
“I was!” Tara protested. “I was a bit more selfish, though.”
“Glad you can finally admit it,” Paige laughed, and she finished up the bandage on my arm. “All done.”
“Thanks,” I said. “We should go find Anna and Renee, though.”
“No need,” Anna said, and I turned to see her and Renee coming around the side of the refinery carrying another fuel drum.
“Are we going to combine more than one drum together?” Paige asked.
“Not exactly,” Renee said as they set the barrel down and flipped it to stand up straight. “This one fell off the truck a while back and turned kind of oval shaped instead of circular, I’m hoping that maybe Tav will fit inside it instead.”
“Worth a shot,” I said as I walked over to the barrel and stepped inside. It was still a tight squeeze, and definitely uncomfortable, but my shoulders slid down past the opening, and my head as well until I was completely engulfed in the metal cylinder.
“Hey!” Anna cheered and everyone joined in.
“That’ll work, then,” Renee said with a nod.
“Does it have a lid?” Paige asked.
“Yeah,” Renee said. “It doesn’t fit on the greatest, so a little bit of light will probably shine through, but nobody will be able to see inside.”
“Perfect,” Anna said.
“And we’ll make sure to put your drums further toward the middle,” Paige said. “That way they won’t be as easily detected.”
“That will also give me time to talk to Lucy beforehand,” Renee said.
“The three of you need to be careful, though,” Paige warned. “Don’t rush out of the drums unless you have to. You saw what happened to Tav, and like I said, I don’t have any tetanus shots so please for the love of god don’t cut yourself.”
“We’ll do our best,” Bailey agreed.
With the plan in place, I spent the rest of the evening with Tara and Bailey going over the specifics again and discussing exactly what weapons and how much ammunition we would bring with us. Bailey needed her sniper rifle, of course, but I wanted her to have her pistol as well just in case she ran into any close range targets.
Tara and I would each have two pistols. Tara would have her Ruger, plus an M9, which I’d have two of. We each would have four spare magazines with us, two per gun, and a knife on each hip. I had my karambit and tanto, and Tara had her buck knife, plus a skinning knife that Paige had lent her for the mission.
It didn’t take long for us to decide everything, and soon enough it was time for dinner, but I couldn’t find my appetite. I was eager to get things started now that the plan was in place, and the longer we waited the more I worried about the children in Brody’s care.
I had to remind myself that it had been less than two full days since the attack on campus, and a surprise attack was our best bet. Brody probably had anticipated a retaliation the same day, but we hadn’t given it to him, so now he was stuck waiting to see when we would strike.
From what Renee had said, I was sure the anticipation was getting to him, too. He had locked himself in a little room and put guards up around him. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was terrified. And he should be, not only were we coming for him, but he would have no idea when we’d get there.
I thought about what Jemma had asked me, about how she wanted him to suffer. I wanted the same thing, but I also knew that I had to take the first opportunity to put him down or I risked retaliation, and I didn’t want to go there.
Brody was an arrogant, self centered asshole, but he was still a trained Ranger, and I knew better than to underestimate him. He was probably the most formidable opponent I’d ever gone up against since he and I had the same exact training. Most everyone else we’d fought since the EMP hit had been douchebags who thought they were tough but really only relied on guns and fear to get the job done. Even the men at the outpost with Colonel Harkness had been ill trained for the most part, or at least sloppy in their execution of things. Brody, though, he was a Ranger, specially trained the same way I was, and as much as I’d love to watch him bleed out, I knew that giving him an inch would be a bad idea.
I had to think of myself and what I would do in that situation. If I could get out of it then I had to assume that he could, too. I had to think about my training and counter myself like I was playing a game of solitary chess. I needed to be one move ahead or it could be a checkmate.
I wasn’t scared of the sonofabitch, but I’d be a fool to think he’d be an easy target. I knew I wouldn’t be, and I had to hold him to the same standard.
“You ready for tomorrow?” Tara asked after we had finished dinner and everyone sat around the fire chatting.
“Always,” I told her. “You?”
“Oh, I’m ready,” she said. “Ready to shoot Brody right in the dick.”
“If you have the opportunity, then by all means,” I chuckled.
“Really, though,” she said softly. “You seem kind of out of it. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I told her. “I was just thinking. It’s strange to
go up against another Ranger. I always held us to such a high standard, it’s a shame to see one of us being such a prick.”
“Yeah,” Tara said with a shrug. “But there are pricks in every group. Some doctors are pricks, and they save peoples lives.”
“A lot of doctors are pricks,” I said.
“They did always seem pretty full of themselves,” Tara agreed.
“You sure you’re okay going in with me?” I asked. Tara was the sneakiest girl we had, and she was a hell of a close combat fighter, but I hated to bring her into danger with me. I hated to bring any of my girls into danger.
“Are you kidding?” she asked. “You couldn’t pay me to stay home, and that’s saying something.”
“Is it?” I laughed. “Money isn’t exactly valuable these days.”
“I meant pay me in makeup, new clothes, and sexual favors,” she clarified.
“Ah,” I said. “That is serious, then.”
“We got this,” she told me.
“Hell, yeah, we do,” I agreed with a grin.
“Straight for the dick,” she said, and she held up her hand for a high five.
“I don’t know if I can in good conscience high five to that,” I said.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, “straight for Brody’s dick.”
“Better,” I said, “but still not great.”
“Okay,” she huffed. “Here’s to hurting Brody right in his tiny weiner.”
“Now that, I’ll high five to,” I said as I slapped my hand against hers.
Chapter 25
The next morning I woke up before dawn and went out to the fire pit. The fire was already going, but I only saw one person there, and the closer I got the more I was able to identify her.
“Kimmy?” I asked as I approached.
“Oh, hey,” she said. I guess I hadn’t checked the beds all that well, I had been more focused on being quiet so the girls could get a few more minutes of sleep while I slipped out to make them some coffee.
“What are you doing up so early?” I asked.
“I’m on Anthony’s schedule,” she chuckled. “He wakes me up early every morning.”
The dark skinned woman looked beautiful in the light of the fire. Her skin had a pale orange glow from the flames, and her curls looked even more defined than usual. She wore a white T-shirt under a blue zip up hoodie, and a pair of jean shorts that showed off her long legs.
“Right,” I said, then I smelled coffee and noticed that she had a mug in her hands and there was a pot sitting next to the fire.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said as she followed my eye line. “I hope you don’t mind that I went ahead and made some coffee.”
“Not at all,” I told her. “I’d love a cup actually, it smells delicious.”
“Thanks,” she said as she poured me a mug. “This is the way my grandmother always made it. She didn’t believe in coffee machines, said they were pointless when you could just as easily make it yourself.”
“She sounds like a woman who stands up for what she believes in,” I laughed as I took the coffee Kimmy handed to me.
“And then some,” she agreed. “She refused to take the easy way out of anything. She was convinced that if you did it the easy way it must not be as good.”
“I’d have to agree in some situations,” I said.
“In some,” she said with a nod. “But when I got an automatic vegetable peeler it changed my life forever. And I served grandma some freshly peeled veggies more than once, and she never noticed the difference.”
“Maybe she did and she just didn’t want to make you feel bad,” I teased.
“Oh, no, she would’ve told me,” Kimmy laughed. “That woman wasn’t one to keep her opinion to herself.”
I took a drink of the coffee and my mouth exploded with flavor. It wasn’t the typical black coffee I was used to, it tasted sweet and there was a hint of chocolate and cinnamon. It was absolutely delicious.
“If this is what you get when you do things the hard way,” I said as I held up the cup, “then I’m all for the hard way. Grandma was right. This is delicious.”
“I added a bit of chocolate and spices,” Kimmy said. “Grandma used to flavor her coffee the same way. Add a bit of whatever was in the cupboard. I’m glad you like it.”
“It’s amazing,” I said before I took another quick drink. “The girls are going to love this. Why didn’t you suggest this sooner?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Kimmy said with a shrug. “Rolly always makes the coffee, and it seemed like Bailey was in charge of it while you guys were away from campus. I didn’t want to impose.”
“To hell with imposing,” I chuckled. “Everybody will love this. You’ll have to make some for everyone back on campus.”
“If you think they’ll like it,” she said with a smile.
“For sure,” I agreed and then took another drink.
For a minute we stared at the fire. The moon was still visible in the sky, along with the stars, but all I could focus on was my own heartbeat. It had a tendency to get faster when Kimmy was around, and I tried to steady it with another gulp of coffee, but it didn’t do much.
“Are you going to be okay today?” I asked. “I could ask Anna to bring you back to campus.”
“I’ll be fine,” she assured me. “It’s good for me to get away every now and then. I love being a mom, and everyone is really helpful, but it’s nice to have a bit of time to myself, too.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” I said. “I’m sure it hasn’t been exactly what you were expecting.”
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” she admitted. “But it’s been… interesting to say the least.”
“That’s always good to hear,” I chuckled and locked eyes with her. The brown eyes that stared back at me were bright with the light of the fire, and her lips pouted out just slightly so that I had the urge to reach over and touch them.
“Looks like the girls are up,” Kimmy said with a nod to the barracks, and I turned to see the girls walk toward us.
“Looks like it,” I agreed with a small smile, sad that our time alone had come to an end.
“Morning,” Bailey greeted us as she took a seat around the fire. The blonde had on a beanie just as she had the morning before, and she wore an oversized sweater paired with skin tight jeans. Her face was clear and her eyes were bright and refreshed, it looked like she had slept well, and the sweet smile on her face was a welcome sight.
“Morning,” Kimmy said. “I made coffee, would you all like a cup?”
“Is that even a question?” Anna chuckled. “Yes, please.”
The redhead had yet to put her hair in its usual braid, so it cascaded down her back and hung in front of her shoulders. Her pale skin reflected in the firelight, and I could see all of her freckles with great detail under her bright green eyes.
“Wait, it could be a trick,” Tara said with a glare. “Did Tav actually make the coffee? Did he convince you to take the blame for it?”
Tara’s hair was down as well, and it framed her face in an organized mess that was worthy of the runway. She had on her mascara as always, but her lips looked extra pouty that morning and I wondered if she had thrown on some lip gloss as well.
“No,” Kimmy laughed. “I made it. Try some.”
Kimmy passed out mugs to everyone and they took heavy sips, all except for Tara who glared at me and hesitantly smelled the cup before she took a small gulp.
“Holy shit,” Anna said, and she pointed to the cup in her hand. “This is amazing.”
“Yeah, it is,” Bailey agreed.
“Mhm,” Paige said, her cup still up to her lips. The brunette’s glasses were fogged up from the steam of the coffee, and she looked absolutely adorable. Her long brown hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she wore a gray hoodie and a pair of blue jeans. She looked like the epitome of a college girl in dire need of caffeine.
“It’s like coffee from Starbucks or
something,” Tara said. “What kind of sorcery is this?”
“No sorcery,” Kimmy said. “Just some chocolate and spices.”
“You added chocolate to the coffee?” Paige asked.
“Just a little bit,” Kimmy said.
“It’s so good,” Bailey said.
“Why’d you let Bailey make the coffee yesterday if you knew how to do this?” Tara asked, then she turned to Bailey. “No offense, Bail.”
“None taken,” Bailey said. “This is awesome.”
“Uh… I’m sorry?” Kimmy chuckled.
“You should be,” Tara teased. “Depriving us of coffee like this. That’s practically a crime.”
“I’ll do better next time,” Kimmy said with an amused look.
“Hey,” Bailey said as she pointed to the roof of the refinery. “Renee took our advice.”
On top of the refinery were two men standing watch, just like we’d instructed her to have at night. I was happy to see that she had implemented the measures we had suggested.
“I’ll take them some coffee,” Bailey said happily.
“Good idea,” I told the blonde. She was so sweet, I had been so distracted by how good the coffee was I hadn’t even thought to bring any up to the men on the roof.
“I already did,” Kimmy said.
“You did?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “Before you came out here. I saw them up there and figured they could use a cup.”
“That was sweet of you,” Bailey said with a smile.
“You had the same idea,” Kimmy pointed out.
“How about some breakfast, then?” Tara asked. “I’ll cook.”
“Breakfast sounds good,” I agreed. I was happy to take part in our usual ritual. I liked starting my day with a little pow wow among my girls. It got us all in a good mood, and it made whatever we had to do that day seem that much less daunting. I looked forward to our breakfasts together, I think partly because it used to be such a ritual for us before we gathered so many people on campus.
Since everyone else was still asleep except for the guards, it felt like it used to when I first had joined the group. Kimmy was the only new addition, but she fit in so well I didn’t think of her as out of place.