Kara immediately knew that she had stepped over the line by bringing his dead wife into the discussion, and just as she was about to apologize, he told her in a low, almost detached tone, “Look, you work out whatever it is that you have going on with these people, but don’t you ever talk bad about my wife, and don’t you dare ever use her for your platform again, because if you do, I’ll fucking kill you right where you stand.”
***
Beau stood on the wooden planks of one of the many flatbed trailers that were parked in the truck yard. With a pair of binoculars he scanned the fence line as the sky darkened overhead. “Anything on the southern side?” he asked Stephanie as she stood next to him.
“No, it’s all quiet…thank God. I just came from there and Carlos said that they hadn’t seen anything at all.”
“You know…its’ strange,” Beau said.
“What, that we haven’t seen anything?”
“No, not that. You know, the new group we took in. That young girl resents us for some reason, and I can’t figure out why.” Beau lowered the binoculars and turned to look at his wife. He had a puzzled expression on his face.
“Really? Why? Did someone say something to piss her off? She seemed cool enough.”
“I was talking to them just a bit ago…you know, making sure they were settled in and had something to eat. I set them up in one of the sales offices, away from everyone else so they could have their own privacy. Anyway, I think she thinks that this is some kind of big game to us. Like we’re playing make-believe or something.”
“What in the world would make her think that?” Stephanie asked, astonished.
“Well, I was telling them how we all knew each other and how we’ve been planning and taking steps to make sure we were ready in case some kind of disaster happened.”
“Ah, I see. So she probably thinks that we’re all a bunch of nerds running around playing with guns. She probably thinks we’re like those people on the T.V. shows who talk about how they’re preparing for the end of the world.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Beau raised his binoculars to continue his scan. “I know we want to be nice to everyone we come across, but one thing we can’t tolerate is a trouble maker. All it takes is one bad apple to turn everything upside down, and we can’t afford that. We got a good thing going on right now, but eventually, if things don’t get better and if the government, or whoever, doesn’t show up, things are gonna get tough. We’re going to have to start scavenging for food and water and fuel, and we’re going to have to risk our lives in doing so. If we’re going to ask people to put their necks on the line for the sake of the group, the group has to be something worth risking your neck for. That means trust, support, and most importantly, harmony.”
“Then I guess we might have to make some hard decisions in regards to group members,” Stephanie said in a grim tone.
“Yeah, we will. I hate to say it, but if that girl…I think she said her name was Kara…if Kara can’t get along here, we’re going to have to ask her to leave.”
“And if she doesn’t want to leave?” Stephanie posed.
“Then we’ll force her to leave.”
Chapter 4
Day 25
San Antonio, Texas
Shondra gazed out of the window and looked down upon the crowd of runners and reanimated as they wandered around in the parking lot. “Looks like there’s more of them…more than yesterday.”
Vincent walked up next to her and peered down at what she was looking at. “Yep, you’re right.” He walked over to the far side of the room and looked out of another window. “Looks like more over here too.”
While still looking down through the window, she asked, “You sure they don’t know that we’re here?”
“Well, I parked the car under the covered parking in the back, the gate is locked tight, the first floor doors and windows are secured with burglar bars, so I think we’re safe for now.”
“I didn’t ask you if we were safe, I asked you if you thought those things know we’re in here or not.” Put off by Vincent’s attempt to dodge her question, she sighed in frustration. “How long are we going to stay here?” An obvious tone of annoyance could be heard in her voice. “I don’t want us to get trapped in here.”
“I really don’t know how long we’re going to stay here, but you gotta admit, we lucked out in finding this place. Who knew architects had such nice offices. We got a penthouse of luxury around us.”
“And tell me again, how did you know about this place?” The place Shondra was referring to was a two-story office building situated on the southern edge of downtown San Antonio. Sitting on the border of a famous historical housing district known for its turn-of-the-century homes, the office was fashioned with Victorian style architecture in an attempt to keep it in line with the surrounding houses.
“I made a burglar alarm call out here once. Turned out it was a false alarm, but when the owner got here, I got to walk through the entire building with him. Dude was rich. Big time playboy too. Tons of women all over him. He worked a lot though, so he kept a bedroom up on the second floor for when he or his partners had to pull all-nighters. Anyway, he ends up inviting me to a Christmas party as a show of appreciation for me keeping an eye on his place. There was a shit load of burglaries going on around here at that time, so he was grateful. Anyway, so I end up going to the party and I hook up with his personal secretary.”
“Are you serious?” Shondra asked disbelievingly.
“Uh, very serious. I can tell from your tone that you don’t like where this is heading to, so I’ll spare you all the juicy details, but to make a long story short, she gave me the entry codes to the parking gate and to the back door so we could…uh…meet up here after hours.”
Shondra turned and looked at the posh room that they were in. A king seized poster bed with rumpled satin sheets and plush pillows sat in one corner. It was unmade because she had slept in it the previous night. A huge, flat screen TV hung from a wall and a computer work station with a commercial copier sat along the opposite wall. A black leather couch sitting in front of the TV finished out the rest of the room. “Great, so I slept in the bed of your ‘stabbin cabin.’ Yuck.”
“Well, at least you had a good night’s sleep,” Vincent said as he tried to point out positive things for her. “And come on, you gotta admit that it felt good to take a hot shower last night.”
“I know, Vincent, I know I should be grateful for this place, and don’t get me wrong, I am. I just can’t believe that we haven’t seen anyone else, or at least anyone alive or uninfected. It’s like there is no one left. Like we’re the only ones around. Even when we went to your parents’ house looking for them, all we saw were those things.”
“Well, we know for sure that there’s somebody left at Fort Sam, but I really don’t want to risk going over there and getting my ass shot off.”
“Then maybe we should go scouting or something. Maybe we can find other people.”
“Do you know how hard it would be to get the car out of the parking lot? We’d have to unlock the gate, expose ourselves to those bastards and then shut it again. And then there’s no telling what we would run into out there. You saw how they almost flipped us over when were out at the West station.”
“I know, I know, I know. I guess I’m just getting cabin fever. Plus, I know that this can’t be it…this can’t be the way it’s going to end.” She pushed herself away from the window and walked over to the bed. In frustration she flung herself face down onto the mattress and buried her face into a pillow. She let out an angry muffled yell.
“Just chill out, we’ll be okay. This office is on one of the more busy streets in San Antonio. I am sure sooner or later, someone will come down this road.”
“Well, we’ve been here for a day now and we haven’t seen shit,” Shondra said as she rolled over onto her back. “Don’t you want to keep looking for your parents instead of sitting here in this gigolo penthouse? For all you know, they
could be in trouble out there somewhere…needing our help. I mean, we went all the way across town just to see if they were there at their house, but instead of sticking around to look for them, we come back way over here to this place. We should have stayed mobile or something.” Realizing that her angst was flowing freely and unchecked, she stopped and took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just bitchy because I haven’t eaten anything.”
Vincent leaned back against the wall, placing his hands behind the small of his back to balance himself. Looking down at his boots and the polished wood flooring beneath them, he sighed out loud. He knew Shondra was right about continuing the search for his parents, but deep down inside, he also knew that wandering about aimlessly was a sure way to get themselves killed. In silence and with a somber expression, he continued to ponder her suggestion.
Sensing that she had been too hard on him, Shondra sat up and apologized. She knew that Vincent was trying to make the best out of their shitty situation and she appreciated it. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come off like that. I know that you’re doing the best you can, and I’m really grateful that you got us into this place. It beats being out there in the street or having to sleep in the car like we had to do the night before. And I’m grateful for the clothes you got for me from your house. I didn’t know if I could stand being in that dirty uniform for one more day. And I didn’t mean to sound all cold about your parents.”
Vincent raised his head and wiped away the tears that had formed up in his eyes. “No, you’re right. We should have kept on looking. I’m just afraid that our luck is going to run out. It’s like everywhere we’ve gone…I don’t know…I mean, all we’ve found is death and destruction. Even our fucking headquarters which us just down the street…it’s abandoned. Of all the places, you would figure that at least somebody would have been there trying to manage this thing. So I figured this would be a good place to rest and recharge our batteries. Maybe clear our minds a little and figure out what we’re gonna do next. I’m sorry if you feel like maybe I’ve side tracked us.”
“No, don’t be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about.” Shondra slid off of the bed and walked over to her saddened friend; the patter of her bare feet filling the otherwise silent room. She leaned up against him and ran her hand through his uncombed hair. In a soothing tone she said, “Look, you’ve done good. You’ve given us a safe place, you’ve kept us alive and you’ve given us a chance. I don’t mean to come off so rough, it just that I’m not used to having the world come to an end with me right in the middle of all of it.” Deciding to change the subject she said, “Let’s go down and see what we have to eat, okay?”
Vincent wiped at his eyes and his nose and cleared his throat. He knew that he needed to keep up a tough posture, especially with what they were facing, but the reality of everything was crashing down on him and he felt as if his legs were about to give away. “I’m sorry. Tough cops aren’t supposed to cry. I guess I’m feeling a little overwhelmed too. And my parents…I don’t know what else to do.” After taking a deep breath, he stepped away from the wall. He could feel his strength and composure coming back to him. “Okay, let’s go down and see what we can find to eat. Then we’ll get up on the roof and hopefully we can see something or someone. You know, I think I even saw some wine down there…in the break room.”
“Uh, I don’t think I want to drink any kind of alcohol right now, especially with those monsters down there just outside. I want to be able to keep my wits about me…know what I mean?”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Even with the doors and windows locked, there’s no need to take any unnecessary chances. The wine can wait for a more festive occasion. If there ever is one.”
Turning away from Vincent, Shondra walked towards that computer table and grabbed her rifle. It had been leaning against the edge of the table. After slinging it across her chest, she looked over at Vincent. “I’m ready.”
“Then let’s go see what’s for dinner.” He walked out of the room and into a hallway. Off to his left was a large bathroom with glossy tiled floor and a separate tub and shower. To the right was a small study and at the end of the hall was a stairway that went down into the office spaces and break room. As they made their way down the stairs, Shondra raised her rifle and had it at the ready. Although she knew that there was no one else in the building, she wasn’t taking any chances.
Vincent took a more casual approach and trotted down the stairs. Feeding into the first floor between two offices that were situated on either corner of the building, the work area was almost cavernous. Two more offices occupied the other two corner spaces and drafting tables and work stations filled the center of the room. A separate lobby and receptionist desk formed one side of the floor and the break room and a restroom formed the other side.
“I still get jittery coming down here,” Shondra whispered as she scanned the area with the barrel of her rifle.
“It’s alright…ain’t nothing getting in here,” Vincent reassured her. “Hey, look at this.” He picked up a framed picture from a desk and handed it to her. In the portrait was a blonde woman in shorts, hiking boots and a blue ball cap with the Grand Canyon in the background. “That’s her.”
“Who?”
“The secretary, the one I hooked up with.”
Shondra studied the picture for a moment and handed it back to him. “She’s pretty. Very attractive.”
Vincent smiled briefly as he looked at the photograph and then began to frown. “She was pretty,” he gloomily said. “She’s probably dead, or she’s probably one of those things.”
“I’m sorry,” Shondra said.
“No, don’t be. It’s just reality. And you know what? We don’t have to be sorry for anything anymore. We’re alive, and we’re gonna make sure we stay that way. And I’m not gonna be sorry for trying to stay alive. Cool?”
“Yeah, cool by me.” The determination that she heard in Vincent’s voice gave her some reassurance; a sense of security that she hadn’t felt since all the madness had kicked off. She felt a strong urge to stand closer to him, hoping to feed off of his new found strength, so she made sure to stay right next to him.
As the two made their way into the break room, Shondra sat down at the small table in the brightly lit room as Vincent dug through the freezer side of the refrigerator. After making several suggestions from what was on hand, they finally agreed to share a frozen dinner of fettuccini in Alfredo sauce. As Vincent popped the meal into the microwave, Shondra got up and walked over to the door, peeking her head out into the office. She looked around again just to make sure no one else was in there with them. The chime from the microwave caused her to turn around and as Vincent retrieved their warmed food, she retrieved two plastic cups from a cabinet over the sink. She filled them with water from the sink tap and the two sat down and began to pick through their meal.
“Man, this tastes good,” Vincent growled as he shoved a forkful into his mouth. “I’m not sure it tastes good because it’s warm or because we’re being able to eat in peace without having to look over our shoulders.”
“You know, and I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, but I’m sure there’s only so much of that stuff in the freezer. I know there’s some canned stuff here too, but that will only last so long. Eventually we’re going to have to make a food run.” Shondra looked up from the plate to see the reaction on Vincent’s face. She was hoping to get a strong, well formulated answer, one that would be full of the same confidence he had exhibited just a few moments earlier.
Without even giving it a second thought, he simply said, “Well then, we’ll just go out there and take what we need. Now that we’re talking about things that we need, we’re gonna need some gas for the car. We’ll probably have to find some vehicles and siphon gas from them.”
Shondra heard the continued determination in Vincent and she looked into his eyes without saying anything. After a few seconds of chewing his food, he
noticed her gaze and he stopped. “Uh, did I say something wrong?”
“No, no you didn’t. You said all the right things.”
Vincent leaned back in his chair and kept looking at her. He was confused a bit with her stare and he felt uncomfortable. Still trying to see what Shondra was up to, he asked, “Are you sure I didn’t say something wrong. I mean, what’s up with the stare?”
“No, I promise, you didn’t say anything wrong,” Shondra assured him. “I don’t know, I can’t explain it. I think back to when Nick was killed. I felt like we weren’t going to make it…I mean I thought we were going to be dead within a matter of hours, especially after those army assholes just left us there the way they did. But now, after listening to you, I feel different. I feel like maybe things might work out for us as long as we continue to fight. Maybe we can make it long enough until someone figures out what’s going on, and if no help comes, if we’re on our own, then maybe we can just make it through all of this shit.”
“Well baby, we’re gonna fight our asses off, I can tell you that.” Realizing that he had just called Shondra by a name that was affectionate and usually reserved for a love interest, he quickly apologized. “Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to call you ‘baby.’ ”
Feeling a bit awkward at Vincent’s apology, she replied, “It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize. Remember, we’re not supposed to be sorry for anything anymore. That includes feelings.”
“Okay, cool,” Vincent chuckled. “I didn’t want you to think that I was like trying to get fresh with you or anything like that.”
“I know you didn’t mean anything by that,” she acknowledged. She tried to quickly brush away the moment, but she found herself wanting—no, she found herself needing—the comfort and security of a man. She didn’t even know if Vincent found black girls attractive, but she was wishing that she could wrap herself up in his arms and feel protected from all of the insanity that was going on around them—even though she had known the man for only a few days.
A Glimpse of Decay (Book 3): Lost in Twilight Page 9