by Robert Brown
Smiling, I say, “Of course she could take care of everyone, Greg. Arthur, and everyone else, including me, know that. The reason she said that is because she doesn’t want to be responsible for them. Not during her daughter’s rescue. She is probably going to go Rambo on that gang and wants Arthur to keep everyone else safe and in line.”
Changing the subject, I turn to look at Randy and Patricia. “I have to ask. Where were you when we came back earlier? I was making a lot of noise out there with my talking and figured someone would come out and diffuse the situation. We thought the ranch had been overtaken by someone when we returned and no one we knew was in sight. And I was more concerned over it when no one came out.”
“We heard someone yelling out there and thought the worst,” Randy replies, showing he is a bit ashamed.
Patricia continues for him, “We were afraid that the men from Wal-Mart had shown up here, and so we took Katy into the attic to hide. We didn’t know that Greg couldn’t hear you. We thought he was already dealing with whatever was going on outside.”
“I’m sorry,” Randy offers.
Randy had a bad winter and isn’t doing that well anymore. After losing so many from his family during the big attack, he seemed to age another ten years. His health continued to deteriorate, and then he caught the flu. The fish antibiotics we stockpiled helped him through the illness, but he didn’t truly start to recover until he found out his daughter, Rebecca, was pregnant. Even now he hasn’t regained his strength, and Patricia needs to help him around.
Mike walks back in, and while he sits down, simply says, “She’s still sleeping,” referring to his mother.
I’ll need to tell him what happened with his father, but first, I have to find out what Greg is going to do. “Greg? Jessica? Are you two and Lilly planning on heading out after them?”
Greg shrugs his shoulders in a question, and Jessica speaks up, “Greg might, but Lilly and I aren’t going to go. At first, the whole idea of getting back at those men and saving the girls was thrilling. It felt like a chance for us good guys to right a wrong. But all day, Lilly and I have been discussing our own struggles and run-ins with men just like them. The problems we had until we ran into Greg and then made it here. I’m ready, even Lilly is ready to defend against, even go out and challenge hordes of the infected, and take back our world. But I’m not ready to go into battle against regular men yet. I’m not ready to take the chance that they will win and make me their slave. I think I would freeze when I need to act.”
Lilly drops her head and starts to cry, then gets up and leaves the room. Jessica gets up and says she will make sure Lilly is all right.
Mike was silently watching the exchange, and when the two women are out of the room for a bit, he says, “I don’t get it. How can they not want to go out and help those other girls? Even if they have a fear of men like that, shouldn’t their sense of revenge or compassion for other women like themselves help override their fears?”
I look at Greg, and say, “I think you should tell him Lilly’s story. Mike, it might help you understand where she is at right now.”
Greg starts to tell a brief version of how he came to meet Lilly. “Lilly had things rough out there. I mean, I understand this is a war, and everyone is having a difficult time trying to survive, but she just turned seventeen a few weeks ago, and her story is a nightmare within this nightmare. She was kept as a prisoner by men exactly like this Wal-Mart gang. She had survived the first few weeks of the outbreak with her mom, dad, and a neighbor named Franklin, in Franklin’s house. While their supplies were dwindling, they thought they could still hang on. Finally, an approaching fire that was consuming the neighborhood forced them out of the house. She said her mom was killed by an infected a week later.
“They had to uproot every few days because of scarce resources in that particular location, and just entered the living room of a new house, when her mom was attacked. Her mom was bitten on the neck and passed out quickly from the blood loss. They covered her wound and kept pressure on it, but she started turning almost immediately. Lilly’s mom opened her eyes and stared at them, and they all jumped back. As soon as her mother started to shift her weight to begin turning over, they all ran out of that house, and closed the door behind them.
“A few days after her mother was infected, Franklin killed her father. It was an argument over sending her father out to get more supplies, but she knows it was about Franklin wanting to spend time with her. Her father felt that was the case as well, and made the mistake of turning his back on Franklin to tell Lilly to get her backpack, so they could leave.
“She said the whole scene was in slow motion after that, and hearing her describe it is chilling. She saw the baseball bat arch down toward her father’s head, heard the terrible cracking sound of impact, and saw a look of sadness on her father’s face. She said her dad looked angry until the bat hit, then his eyes looked directly into hers, and his face changed to sadness. Not shock or pain, just a look of sadness, as if the last thought he had was that he knew he hadn’t protected his little girl.
“After her father was killed, Franklin kept Lilly as his sex slave and punching bag. He kept her for himself until they happened to run into another man whom Franklin had known before the collapse, and then they shared her. She had little hope for escape but through death. She escaped them only when they began to kill each other. Franklin must have been bitten in one of their encounters, but hid the bite from his partner and her. He was a slow turner. That night, Franklin turned, and when Lilly was being raped by this other man, Franklin came in behind them and bit the man on the back. She escaped while they fought.
“She survived on her own by just scavenging and had avoided everyone she had seen until she saw Jessica. Jessica was the first woman Lilly had encountered on her own. She followed Jessica and only came out to her after following and observing her for two days and making sure that she wasn’t with a man. Jessica and Lilly found and entrusted me much the same way.
“We arrived here five months-ago after Eddie and his group saved us from another group of men that had captured Jessica.” Greg pauses as he thinks how to explain the rest. “Lilly is having a difficult time adjusting to being here. She knows it is secure here, but also understands that no place is truly safe anymore. And she will have trust issues with men probably for the rest of her life. You’re fourteen, Mike, and you have your own difficult things that you are dealing with right now. Just try to understand that we all take the problems and horrors of this life differently. We aren’t equal in how we deal with stuff, is what I mean. Does that make it any clearer?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I can understand why she’s afraid to face men. I just figured her anger at them would be stronger,” Mike says.
Now it is my turn to tell Mike about why I shot his father. “Mike. Lilly has had six months to work through what happened to her in her mind. She is passed the initial anger stage where she wants to just get revenge and will come back to it in time. The fact that she sat on the sofa next to you as a strange male is amazing and to me means she is stronger than ever.
“You, however, are going to have to deal with some of your problems now. I need to talk to you about why I shot your father. Simone, can you bring the kids in here if they aren’t asleep?” We all sit in silence until Simone returns carrying Benjamin, followed by Olivia, and Hannah. “Amelia and William are sleeping,” Simone says.
Once everyone is sitting down, I start telling Mike about how we approached the house, and our concerns over some type of takeover. How we circled the house and my approach to his father. I gave him every detail I could remember about my actions and his father’s as well. I finish the story by saying, “So I am ultimately responsible for your father’s death.”
Hannah pipes in, “But I shot him as well.”
Great! I think. My child’s honesty could draw the wrath of a vengeful stranger.
“Yes, Hannah. You shot him as well, but he wouldn’t have survived my
initial shot anyway. Not with our current medical abilities. And you shot him to defend your father. I shot him to defend myself. Your action is more justifiable.”
Greg then exclaims, “I would like to add that while I was only there for a few seconds, no shots were fired until your father grabbed Eddie’s gun.”
Mike has been silent and attentive throughout the telling of his father’s death, nodding occasionally.
“Mike, here is the deal, and it probably won’t sound too good, but it’s all that I got. You can stay with us as long as you need if you want, but only as long as you aren’t a threat to me or my family.
“I know your mother is hurt badly and unfortunately it seems like she won’t be getting better. You are welcome to stay here until you find a better place to survive or a more appealing one. We will treat you like an equal, but might also expect more of you in return. Everyone here has to do something to help secure the place, or clean, or grow food, at least something.
“You and I will have our times when you will hate me if you stay, and I’ll need you to just talk to me about it so we can work through it. I don’t want any festering anger toward me building up in you, all right? I’ve probably said enough for now, is there anything you want to say or ask?”
We are all quiet as we wait for Mike to digest what he has heard and process it into everything else he has to deal with. “I’m not sure how I feel,” Mike starts. “I mean, I know I should feel terrible that my dad is dead. I should hate you for killing him. No matter why you did it. I just feel kind of numb right now. I’m still angry with my dad for what happened to mom, so I guess that has something to do with it. I know you guys think my mom won’t make it, but I’m not ready to give up on her yet. I don’t know what I want to do, but I think that choice will be up to her when she gets better.”
I think to myself, We’ll have to deal with this later then.
I ask, “Is there anything else someone wants to say to Mike or find out from me?” We are all quiet until Simone tells Mike he should go in and sit with his mother. She hands Benjamin to me and heads to put Amelia and William to bed. Mike follows her out of the room.
I turn back to face Greg. “Greg, I want to talk about Samantha and Arthur again. How many men did these girls say were at Wal-Mart?”
Greg frowns, “About forty.”
“Forty? I can’t believe it!”
Greg nods at the look of surprise on my face.
“The girls’ said thirty maybe forty, which to me means forty maybe more. They know for certain that they counted thirty different faces and were pretty sure there were other men there that didn’t come near the section they were barricaded in. The girls, including Emily, had heard other men’s voices that they didn’t recognize from their visitors or their guards. So, apparently there are some men there that aren’t into raping the girls, that’s a positive.”
I just grunt, and add, “Unless there is another section where they keep boys locked up for the others.”
Greg shakes his head, and says, “I thought that too and mentioned it to Julie and Ava, but they told me about two of the other girls that had their brothers with them when they were captured by the roving patrols. They said their brothers were too young to be effective fighters, but they would have been attractive to any guy that was into that. Those girls’ brothers are being held in a different part of the Wal-Mart, and they get to see each other occasionally. One of the men said it keeps the girls motivated to be accommodating during the visits to know something might happen to a family member. And according to the girls’ brothers, nothing has been done to them.”
I just shake my head. “Greg, I don’t like it. I bet the girls’ told their brothers the same thing. That nothing was happening to them. Is there anything else that they said that sounded strange, like there might be other people there? Being held captive, I mean?”
“Well,” Greg says slowly with distaste, “they play music as a distraction. The men take them to the bathrooms together at different times, and when they do, they play music on a radio. But the music is turned on at the opposite side of the store, where the girls’ brothers are being held. They play the music to keep one group from hearing what is happening to the other, or so they can’t hear the men’s movements, or the occasional comment.
“Julie mentioned she thinks she knows when the other captives are being taken to the bathroom, because the radio is turned on in front of the girls’ barricade. And they know when some of the girls are going to get raped because they turn on three radios. One at the front of the store by the bathrooms, where they take the girls to rape them, and one by each barricade to make sure no one can hear anything but the music.
“The only other thing is that, they are using some type of walkie-talkie when they are out on patrol.”
I nod silently and think for a while, trying to absorb everything. “Did Samantha or Arthur take a radio with them, or did you arrange to meet them at a specific place and time?”
“They said they would stage their main area at the cemetery to the east of Wal-Mart. There is some tree cover there. They have those GMRS radios from here, but we didn’t arrange any specific time to meet up or call each other.”
Simone walks back in and sits down next to me. Benjamin climbs out of my lap and into hers.
“What did I miss?” she asks.
“Well, I have an idea on how we can help free Emily and the other people that are being held there. Unless Arthur and Samantha have figured out a way to do it and are on their way back already, but I doubt it.
“Greg says there are supposed to be forty men there, possibly more. More people than just the girls are being held hostage, and the groups are being held separately. There isn’t a way for Arthur and those people to blast their way through so many armed men and survive. And even if they did manage to live through the assault, there is no guarantee that the hostages would. The kind of fight necessary to win against that number of people in a building the size of Wal-Mart would likely kill everyone inside. Plus, those assholes holding everyone would probably kill the hostages anyway, just to make sure the truth about what they were doing died with their victims.”
Simone looks concerned, and asks, “So what do you think we can do? If it is so hopeless for Arthur, Conner, and the entire group from our ranch, then what can we do that won’t just get us killed as well?”
“We can bluff,” I say with a shrug and a smile. “The good news is these guys have cleared out the area around the Wal-Mart. To what extent, we don’t know, but if they are sending out patrols with only three or four men, then they aren’t too scared of coming in contact with an infected group. The bad news is Grants Pass had a population of thirty thousand people, so if these guys have been able to clear out the infected that survived the freeze, then they are too bad ass to do anything about directly. And even if they are a bunch of losers, they have at least forty men, to our what, twenty-five people?”
“Then how can you seriously consider going, Eddie? We just got back ourselves, and you nearly died! Heading out after them is a death sentence going up against so many men, and let’s not forget the infected runners!”
“I think they may have figured out a way to trick the infected, maybe even the runners. Greg says the girls gave a description of infected being kept in fenced enclosures around Wal-Mart’s perimeter. Quite possibly, if any wandering infected sees these other ones just standing there, they might assume there are no humans or animals to eat in the area.
“These guys may be bastards, but there are some smart or creative bastards among them. With this tactic, they can keep their home base relatively attack free, and venture out to slowly kill off the local infected population. That is what I think is more likely than their having finished off the entire Grants Pass population in these past eight months.
“As for the bluff, if our people haven’t attacked yet, or made their presence known to the Wal-Mart group, we might make it work. We can use several boxes of those laser po
inters that we have to tape about three to each person’s gun and spread out around the entrance to the store. We will need at least two people covering the back, but the sides and front can be covered by the rest of our group spread out. If we have twenty guns, we can tape three lasers to each of them. That will give the impression of at least sixty snipers taking aim at the place.
“The real bluff will be in letting these guys think they are eavesdropping on our conversation and make it sound like we have a large attack force surrounding the area. This is all with the presumption that their group is monitoring radio traffic and that Samantha and Arthur have found out which band they communicate on. If we do a good job with our acting then we can pull off a good enough ruse to get them out without a fight. If not, then we aren’t really any worse off than we already are.”
Simone touches my arm, and quietly asks, “What about the kids, Eddie? Do you think just you and I will go?”
I nod.
She asks, “If you think it is so bad after what we have been through to have to leave the kids here, then why would we get involved?”
I’m surprised that she is asking me this. Simone has been my anchor the whole time we have been married and amazingly strong when I am floundering about. I guess my near death experience has hit her harder than I imagined. Still, we have worked our marriage always from a point of direct honesty, so I can’t play nice to save her feelings.
“Simone, it’s probably that bad, or worse. This isn’t one of the silly action movies we have on the shelf, where we can run in there outnumbered two to one and expect to save everybody, and keep ourselves alive. I would guess we have a twenty percent chance of pulling this off, maybe just five percent to save the people inside. The odds are one percent or less to do it without at least one person on our side dying.