Wanted

by Jason Halstead

  “Yeah, morning,” he grumbled back.

  “What’s a matter?” she asked him, sitting up herself. “Is my hero feeling under the weather?”

  “It’s nothing,” he muttered to her. “Just stiff. Nothing some hard work won’t clear up.”

  “Carl… I’m serious, let me help… please?”

  He snorted. “Help? Naw, I’m fine.”

  “God Damn it you stubborn son of a bitch,” she snapped at him while jumping to her feet to stand in front of him. “First lesson, never turn a woman down when she offers to help you! We don’t do it for shits and giggles, okay? You don’t owe me anything, I just want to help.”

  “What you going to do?” Carl asked her, equally suspicious and confused by her.

  “I’m going to make you take your shirt off and lay back down,” she insisted. “I’d have you take your pants off too, but I don’t think you’ll let me.”

  “What the-“

  “Oh stop, I’m going to give you a back rub,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “Why’s it always have to be about sex with you?”

  Mouth open in a silent protest, Carl found himself flustered. She grabbed his shirt and yanked it off of him, leaving him sitting there topless. “There, now lay down. Take your pants off too if you want me to rub your legs too.”

  Carl had the presence of mind to shake his head, then he twisted around and lay down on the cot. Within a few moments he felt Jessie sit beside him and reach over. Her hands, smaller and softer than his, felt alien on his skin.

  “Relax, hero,” she said soothingly. “I’m not going to bite you. That costs extra.”

  Carl snorted again, but was able to relax a little. She worked the muscles in his shoulders and neck first, rubbing them softly at first then gradually kneading deeper into the muscles to force them to relax. Carl even groaned a few times as knots came loose. She made her way down his back, performing the same work with every knot or bunch she found along the way. Finished at last, she slapped his ass lightly through his pants.

  “There you go, big guy.”

  “What, no happy ending?” he mumbled, finding himself more relaxed than he had been in years.

  She slapped him again, this time in the shoulder. “You had your chance, now I’m playing hard to get.”

  Carl snorted again before rolling himself over in the bed and looking up at her. They stared at each other for a minute before Jessie blushed and looked away. “We should get going, lots to do today, I bet.”

  Carl nodded. “Going to start stringing up new defenses,” he said. Maybe later see if I can talk Harold into taking me to the Colorado.”

  “The river?” Jessie asked.

  “Yeah, guess it was flooded with dirty water a few years back,” he said.

  “And you want to go see it? Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “I got a hunch it’s cleaned itself up some but everybody’s afraid of it.”

  “Wouldn’t there be shit growing again if it had?” Jessie’s cheeks had paled at the thought of Carl going there, something that made him wonder what her problem was.

  “Good point,” Carl said, realizing she might have been on to something. He shrugged. “Can’t hurt to check.”

  “Um, radiation poisoning can hurt, dumb-dumb!”

  Carl smiled. “Didn’t say I was going swimming in it.”

  She shook her head and sighed in annoyance. “Boys,” she muttered, then stood up and moved over to a plastic crate full of clothes. She glanced back at him then turned so her back was to him and took off her shirt. Carl watched, surprised and yet again mystified by the bazaar woman.

  “So what kind of movies did you make?” he asked her, remembering the question he had wanted to ask the night before.

  She rooted around in the crate and found another t-shirt, this one tie dyed and one or two sizes too small. She put it on and looked down at herself, giggling at how it stretched cross her breasts and left the bottom of her belly exposed. Carl just shook his head at the impromptu fashion show.

  “Everything,” she said, answering him. “I got started in the adult industry. A string of low budgets suck-and-fuck films, to be honest.”

  Carl saw her turn around and look at him, waiting for a reaction. He gave her none but did say, “Harold and Aggie don’t strike me as porn-lovers.”

  “Oh, you might be surprised what people do behind closed doors,” she said with a smirk. “Anyway, I got a lucky break and landed a role as a hooker in a ‘B’ movie, ‘Burial Grounds.’ Somebody thought I could act and I ended up doing some mainstream low budget stuff. Then the bomb took LA and I was off shooting in Mexico at the time. I ended up in Mexicali, but so did the movie industry. Most of the big actors were either killed or weren’t into the business anymore, so I filled the gap.”

  “From porn star to drama queen,” Carl observed.

  Jessie laughed, “I’m more of an action, horror, sci-fi queen. I’ve done some drama, but it’s boring stuff. Not much of a market for it these days anyhow.”

  Carl couldn’t help but laugh. “Guess I never knew I was in the company of a superstar.”

  Jessie blushed at his words. “I don’t know about that. I mean sure, lots of people know who I am, but I only got the roles because I’d do anything for them.”

  “Anything for them?”

  “Not like sleep with the director or anything,” she said quickly, then blushed again. “Well, when I was starting out a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, you know?”

  Carl had no idea, but he nodded anyhow.

  “I mean I never bitched about scenes. None of that grandstanding shit so many actresses used to do. You’re on top for a heartbeat. If you blink, then you’re yesterday’s news. No way I was going to let that happen. There was nothing I wouldn’t do. Go topless? Sure? Full frontal? Sure? Let some creepy alien bend me over and get me all slimy? Gross… but sure.”

  “Wow,” Carl said, not catching himself in time.

  Jessie laughed. “That was one of the ‘B’ movies – The Ultimate Invasion.”

  “Wow,” Carl said again, shaking his head.

  She laughed then turned back to her crate and dropped her shorts. Carl stared at her ass as she bent over, knowing he shouldn’t but unable to stop himself. Besides, she obviously didn’t mind – she was the one stripping in front of him and showing him everything she had to show. He looked up a little and saw her watching him from between her arm and her side. She straightened and he thought he heard a hushed giggle from her even as he was blushing.

  She grabbed a pair of denim shorts and turned around to face him, holding them in front of her. They were far more modest than the shorts he had first seen her in, coming nearly to her mid thigh. She bent over again, this time her arms and body shielding her from his eyes.

  “Somebody loaned you a razor,” Carl observed when she buttoned up her new shorts.

  She grinned at him, “Laser hair removal, cost me a fortune a while back but it was worth it!”

  Carl grunted and moved to sit up in bed again. “Pardon me if I don’t put on a show for you, I ain’t got any fancy new clothes to change into.”

  Jessie laughed. “I saw all I needed to when I gave you a rub down,” she said, her tone implying there was more to it than just her simple statement.

  Carl pulled his boots on and watched while Jessie pulled on a pair of cowboy boots someone had given her. He shook his head then grabbed his rifle and stood up. “You need some real boots if you intend to keep up with me,” he said.

  “Then we’d better find some soon,” Jessie said right back, “because I’m not going anywhere.”

  Carl raised his eyebrows and wondered if he had a case of indigestion or if he was just hungry. As far as he was concerned any other reason for the sudden lurch in his stomach was out of the question. He opened the door to the cabin and headed back towards the clubhouse, desperately hoping for something to eat before Harold put him to work.

&n
bsp; Chapter 18

  Carl watched, amazed, as the stocky black woman worked. Her name was Shelby Stone. Before the war she had been a minor celebrity in her field. One of the strongest women in the world, she was ranked both in power lifting and in strongwoman lists. Watching her singlehandedly pick up and carry some of the heavy duty spikes Carl had been putting together made him a believer.

  Shelby was short, but not unattractive. The forced diet had made her lose some weight, just like everybody else, but it highlighted her impressive musculature. As fascinated as Carl secretly was by her, she kind of scared him too. A woman who could pick up more than he could left him feeling more than humbled, and a little insecure about his own sexuality. Still, he could appreciate her work-horse ethic and there was no doubt she was worth any two of the other survivors living at the camp.

  Harold had given him one other guy, a man named Brian who was no slough when it came to hard work himself. Carl and Shelby positioned the man-sized jacks while Brian hurried behind with the coils of wire and began fastening them. Carl helped with that while Shelby would head back to grab the next wooden caltrop.

  Surprising him, Jessie had offered to help as well. Dustin and Tanya had already been drafted into doing something else, and as soon as Aggie heard what Jessie’s plans were she latched on to her and steered her aside. Explaining it was to help let her feet heal and to help her recover from the dehydration, she said she had some other things Jessie could help her with. Carl only saw her once more that day; she was staring at him from a distance after he and Shelby shared a rare joke and came away laughing. He saw Jessie when he turned away from the former athlete, then saw her turn away quickly and walk away without looking back.

  Nearly six hours later, with everyone filtering in to the clubhouse for dinner, Carl thought nothing of it. Harold greeted them on the way, looking well rested after a day inside. Harold handled the night shift while Aggie led the campground during the day.

  “Join us?” Carl asked Shelby and Brian, motioning towards where Jessie sat with Dustin and Tanya. Others had filled the table in around her, anxious to talk to her and be near her, but he could see she was not interested in them. She was being polite, he realized, but even her acting skills could not hide the fact that something was bothering her.

  Jessie glanced up and saw him, her expression brightening quickly. Carl nodded to her, then turned back to Shelby to hear her answer. She opened her mouth then hesitated, her eyes where his had just been. Her expression changed to one of amused surprise, then she chuckled and turned back to him. “Thanks Carl, you’re the real deal, I like that, but you don’t want me sitting with you.”

  He turned to look at Brian, who was hiding his own laugh behind his hand.

  “Suit yourself,” he said, shrugging but not making a deal out of it. He had figured Tanya and Shelby would hit it off. Different sports, but the level of dedication they both had would probably have made them fast friends.

  “I don’t think your woman would like me getting to cozy with you,” she added, then turned and walked off to sit with some of the friends she had made.

  Carl watched her go, confused. Brian laughed and headed off after her. Carl turned and caught Jessie’s scathing look, then saw her quickly look away to answer a question someone had asked. His eyes narrowed, then he headed over to stand in line to get some of the stew that was being served up, wondering all the while if it was worth the bother to try and find a spot near them to sit.

  In spite of a welcoming smile from Tanya and a simple nod of juvenile angst from Dustin, nobody made any effort to welcome him to the already packed table. With a shrug of indifference, Carl made his way over to an unpopulated table and sat down with a wall at his back. He ignored the rest of them and ate the watered down stew, enjoying the peace and quiet almost as much as he found himself wishing for some company.

  When dinner was finished, Aggie made some community announcements, nothing that interested Carl, and then sat and listened while Harold announced the roster for who was on duty that night. Everybody took turns, it seemed, and everybody knew what their own schedule was. Harold’s announcement was for the benefit of everyone else, though he noticed not many people seemed interested.

  After dinner and cleaning up in the campground’s now unisex washroom, and after speaking with Harold about some other ideas he had for some defenses, Carl made his way back to the cabin he was sharing with the others. Everybody else was already in, winding down for the night and still recovering from their debilitating hike. He grunted out a greeting and sat down on his bunk. Dustin was in his bunk reading some tattered novel he had gotten from somewhere while Tanya was on the front porch doing some stretches. Jessie stared at Carl, her expression unreadable to him. He offered her a quick smile then set about inspecting his M4 and beginning to break it down.

  Tanya came into the cabin, breathing heavy from her self-imposed exercises. She smiled, happy in spite of the sweat that beaded on her skin. “Hey, why didn’t you join us at dinner?” she asked Carl.

  Carl glanced up and shrugged. “Table seemed full, you guys seem to be making friends pretty quick.”

  “Why didn’t you sit with your new friend?” Jessie interrupted, the edge in her voice setting Carl back a little.

  “Didn’t feel like it,” he mumbled, then turned to Tanya. “Hey, you should talk to this girl who helped out today. Shelby Stone, black lady with legs and a back like granite. Pretty sure she could have picked me up under one arm and thrown me a few dozen feet.”

  Tanya laughed. “Aggie mentioned her to me today when Dusty and I were helping her do some inventory. Said she used to compete in strongman contests?”

  “Yeah, I guess she was ranked pretty high nationally and worldwide,” he said.

  Jessie growled in disgust and stood up abruptly. She stared at Carl for a moment then turned and stormed off, heading out the door and letting it slam shut behind her. Carl stared, completely clueless as to what that had been about. Dustin, now sitting up in bed, swore softly but venomously, glared at Carl, and hopped down to repeat the abuse the door had just received.

  “What the fuck is their problem?” Carl asked a minute later after he accepted he had no idea what was going on.

  Tanya actually laughed, though it was short and not overly taunting. “You don’t know?”

  Carl’s scowl directed at her answered her question for her.

  “Same problem Dusty has,” she said, enjoying her feelings of superiority. “Jealousy.”

  “What’s he jealous of?” Carl spat out, disgusted at the conceptual answer.

  “You. Jessie is jealous of Shelby because she’s hung up on you.”

  “Oh Christ,” Carl muttered, shaking his head and putting his gun back together before he had even done any serious cleaning. He stood up and stared out the window while Tanya fought to keep from laughing at him.

  “Shelby kind of scares me,” Carl admitted, staring at the retreating forms of Jessie and Dustin. “No way I’d-“

  He turned, scowling anew and felt a darker mood threaten him when Tanya let slip a giggle. “That ain’t the point!” he snarled, turning away from Tanya because he really wanted to stay angry and indignant but the young gymnast turned sniper’s humor was dangerously infectious.

  “Dusty’s just a kid,” she said, changing topics to give Carl a few minutes of respite. “Smartest kid I know, and I love him to pieces, but he can be a real shithead too.”

  “Don’t act too smart if you ask me,” Carl muttered. “Kid ought to know I ain’t in his way of Jessie – and he ought to know he ain’t got no chance with her!”

  “You’re not always so smart yourself,” Tanya pointed out.

  Carl glared at her and noticed how hard she was fighting to keep from smiling. “Never said I was,” he growled defensively. “Why you say that?”

  Tanya rolled her eyes. “Jessie!” she said, as though that should have been all she needed to say. Carl’s eye quivered a little as it narrowed threat
eningly. “Oh knock it off,” Tanya snapped at him. “You can drag me through the desert and beat the crap out of me for not paying attention and doing my job out there. I get that and I accept. I encourage it, because if I don’t know what I’m doing I deserve to be punished. This is something different, so stop trying to intimidate your way through it.”

  Carl took a mental step back, not realizing just how right she was about trying to intimidate her to agreeing with him until she pointed it out. “All right, spit it out, or next time we’re out there you’ll switch outfits with Jessie,” he threatened.

  Another eye roll preceded her lecture. “You like her and you know it! Sure, you hate everything about what she did and who she was, we all get that – especially her. Stop and look at her sometime. Talk to her. No, don’t talk to her, listen to her. She sees herself differently now, she sees herself through your eyes because it’s your eyes she wants to look good in. She sees her past and she’s ashamed of it, but she’s trying to move past it because she knows that’s what you would do.”

  Carl held up his hand to stop her, he’d heard enough. He walked out onto the porch, surprising Tanya but not stopping her from following him. He pointed, gesturing at the cabins to their right and the empty tent spots in front of them. To their left was the clubhouse and trailers, not to mention the empty pool and shuffleboard courts.

  “You know what’s after us. Sure, maybe you’re the one they want, but there’s a price on all our heads now. All of this… these people, this place, it’s not for us. We can’t stay here.” Carl stared at her and realized he wanted to shake her to make it sink in. He opened his mouth to say more than just shook his head instead. “Forget it,” he muttered. “You’re just a kid too, you don’t get it.”

  Carl stormed past her, heading down the steps. “Maybe I am just a kid,” she railed at him, her tone having switched from humorous to furious that quickly. “But you know what? You’re so caught up in worrying about surviving you forgot that we have to live too!”