The McClane Apocalypse Book Eight

by Kate Morris

  John looks at Reagan with anticipation and hope. They’ve discussed this a lot. Mostly it was John who was enthusiastic about it, and Reagan who didn’t want to talk about it. Now she knows exactly what she wants to name her daughter.

  “Charlotte Rose,” she tells them. “After both of our grandmothers.”

  “Oh, that’s a perfectly lovely and romantic name, isn’t it?” Samantha says in her light, whimsical voice.

  Reagan grins and kisses Charlotte on the forehead again. At her request, Simon hands her a stethoscope so that Reagan can listen to her heart and lungs. They seem good and strong, fast and excited, even though she remains calm and quiet. Everyone leaves a short time later, and Simon and John help her into one of the more comfortable, lower to the ground beds. Sam adds more towels under her, and Simon changes her padding so that she doesn’t bleed everywhere. He takes her vitals again and then Charlotte’s. Then they leave.

  “I can’t believe she’s finally here,” John says and kisses Reagan softly on the mouth.

  “I can’t believe we made this,” Reagan teases with a gentle smile that her husband returns.

  “She’s so small.”

  “Not really. She’s a good weight. She’ll be fine. I’ll check her out thoroughly in the morning.”

  “I have no doubt this baby will be checked daily.”

  John kisses her again, and Reagan returns it with as much love as one person can feel. Then they both kiss Charlotte.

  He eventually falls asleep in the chair beside her with his head lying on the bed next to her. Simon comes in from time to time to check on her and Charlotte, and she tells him how proud she is of him, which, of course, makes Simon blush. But for the most part, Reagan is left with the baby alone in the peace and quiet of the pre-dawn hours.

  She’s never seen such a perfect creation of God’s doing. Her daughter is intelligent and wise beyond her years as if she is hiding some deep secret of the universe in her cloudy, unfocused blue eyes. Reagan wonders what her life will be, what she’ll do with it and what the world will be like as Charlotte grows up.

  She doesn’t even cry. She just seems content to lie in Reagan’s arms and stare up at her. She is at peace with the world and satisfied to have her mother holding her. Reagan sends up a prayer that her daughter’s life will know happiness and love and that things will get better so that she will understand the world as Reagan used to know it. She even takes a moment to talk to Grams, knowing her grandmother is smiling down at her, and likely laughing at her for being so stupid that she didn’t want this precious gift. Reagan smiles at Charlotte before drifting in and out of consciousness, not wanting to lose sight of her new baby for more than a few seconds. She still can’t believe she was given such a perfect, beautiful little life for which she is now responsible. For the first time since becoming pregnant, Reagan doesn’t feel afraid.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cory

  Two days into their stay at Fort Knox, Cory is ready to pack their shit and head home to the farm, but Doc is in the middle of some work in the research lab with the CDC doctors and isn’t ready to leave. Cory’s going out of his mind with boredom and wants to be back on the farm, or more importantly, back on the road searching for those dickhead highwaymen.

  Yesterday, they heard over Robert’s radio that Reagan had her baby, to which they’d all celebrated. Doc, however, had been upset that he wasn’t there, but Reagan had assured him and the rest of them that she and the baby are doing fine. To Cory, she’d seemed happy, which is not an emotion that Reagan exhibits often.

  It makes him think about having kids. He likes to tease Paige about having kids with her, but Cory sure isn’t ready for such a responsibility just yet. Just getting her to bend to his will and marry him someday is proving a difficult task.

  “Oh, yes, it’ll work. You’ll see,” Parker is saying to her as they walk along a narrow corridor in a dorm-style building.

  “I don’t see how that’ll be possible,” Paige argues. “People aren’t going to want to live like this forever. If they could develop their own land and farms around the area, you’d have a more productive community.”

  “Doc was saying last night that some of the people in Pleasant View are considering moving right outside the town and starting their own farm. It would be a possibility for your settlement to barter livestock and produce with them in exchange for whatever it is that you might have to trade in return,” Cory says to them. He is walking behind them, and Derek has taken Doc to the research clinic again. Derek has also been shadowing Robert McClane for the last few days learning everything he can about the fort and their way of life here. From what he told him and Doc and Paige last night after he’d tagged along with Robert all day yesterday was that it seems more and more like a socialist model than anything else. They even keep the food and weapons under lock and key and armed guards. People are being fed rations right now, too, since their food is still growing, and they don’t have too much in the way of livestock and have had to hunt for meat. Cory doesn’t like the changes he’s seen on the base. The people of their town don’t run Pleasant View like this. The only thing that is community-driven is their security. The sheriff has deputies, and they train new men and women to act as sentries and outriders. It helps to keep the place safe, but they don’t have community gardens or a shared reserve of food that is kept locked up. Anything that is shared is either bartered or given away because it is not needed by that family.

  Their town has been generous and giving with the newcomers, especially the Campbell Kids, but Cory knows that each child over the age of twelve has been doing chores, gardening, cutting firewood, and helping out in the form of payment for what they are being given. It will help them learn responsibility and discipline, and the kids seem to like having something to do. So far it has worked out just fine, and he really doesn’t anticipate them ever leaving again, even if their leader Melora says the opposite.

  The two women who are now teaching classes in town are being paid in fresh produce and canned goods to get them through the winter because the town decided that if they were in the library teaching school all year long, then they weren’t going to be able to tend a garden, as well. Medical care by Doc, Reagan, and Simon is usually paid for by surrendering any medicines that family has, items they have salvaged on a run for supplies, or repairs that need to be done to their clinic. The people in town also keep the grounds around the clinic maintained and cleaned up in exchange for their medical care. People who keep dairy goats or cows trade their milk with others who grow more bountiful gardens or raise meat chickens. Whatever trade one man might have will come in handy in exchange for a skill that another one lacks. Their system of taking care of one another has worked beautifully; however, forcing people to work as a group for a community store of doled out food is eventually going to implode. It seems to Cory that Robert’s plan for the fort is all too similar to what they just left in Colorado, but he’ll reserve judgment until he sees more.

  “I don’t see why we can’t continue to grow community gardens and produce livestock here within the walls of the fort,” Parker argues.

  “Because there is no incentive to continue at some point,” Cory explains. “Eventually, people will grow tired of pulling the weight for those who don’t want to put in the same amount of time and effort. Models of community living have always proven to fail or dissolve over time. Some will become lazy and complacent to have others do the work for them. The ones doing the work will become frustrated and revolt against the system.”

  “I don’t see that it will become a problem here,” Parker continues as if he doesn’t believe Cory at all.

  “Oh, it will,” Cory says, ignoring his rival’s sneer.

  “Why don’t I take you for a ride around the complex, Paige, and show you some of the more progressive areas of our system that we’ve already implemented.”

  Cory notices that he is not included in the invitation.

  “Oh,” Paige says,
stammering slightly. “Um, sure. Cory, let’s take a look at what they’ve done, ‘kay?”

  “Sure. Sounds fantastic,” he says brightly, hoping to piss off Parker even more with his agreement to go with them.

  Cory just can’t shake the feeling that Parker is a worm. It doesn’t help that he’s been hanging on Paige for the past three days straight. Her feet barely hit the ground in the morning before Parker is pouncing. Although he is supposedly ex-military, Cory finds himself wondering if the guy has ever seen active duty combat before. He sure as hell doesn’t seem like it, and Luke doesn’t like him, either. He’s sure of it, although his new friend has never said as much. Cory can tell by the sidelong glances of barely concealed loathing that he’s seen Luke giving Parker, especially when he’s boasting about something, either the compound, his achievements as second in command, or his success stories of fame at the bunker. Cory also wants to vomit when he’s around but has refrained out of respect for Doc. Not Doc’s son, but Herb himself.

  He escorts them in a golf cart, and they tour some of the base they haven’t seen yet. Parker shows them the meager livestock they do have, which isn’t much and certainly won’t be enough to sustain the base through the winter. Then he drives along some of the perimeter fences they’ve been building. The other was way too far out to keep the small area of the occupied base safe and secure, so they are tightening down the acreage with new fencing. It’s a good idea. Fort Knox is a massive complex and difficult to secure without the benefit of thousands of soldiers living on it. From what he’s read on the yellowing posters in the hallways promoting the base, it is a massive amount of acreage. Great for an actual town someday but not right now with so few people to defend such a significant amount of square footage. Parker explained that they will try to keep a small, centralized area sectioned off until the group expands and continues to grow.

  Yesterday, they went through the gold depository, which was certainly empty of any gold. The building was cool, Paige loved the architecture, and the general said that he one day hopes to make it his military command base. When asked where all the gold was moved to, Robert hadn’t answered but evaded their question. Cory wonders if it is in the bunker in Colorado, not that it matters much since gold, silver, or paper currency hardly seem to carry any relevance anymore. Perhaps someday it will count again, but for now, mostly just surviving a winter with enough food on the table is all that’s on most people’s minds. Bullets and guns seem to be a better bartering tool than cash.

  “And over that way is the school. A lot of the single women here on the base are offering classes,” Parker tells them, pointing into the distance at a brick building. “You could do the same if you decide to come and live here.”

  “What? Are you thinking about that, Red, moving here?” Cory asks with agitation from the back seat of the golf cart. Paige is conveniently sitting next to the jackass.

  “Me? I don’t know,” she answers as if she has been put on the spot.

  “Well, let me tell you, Parker,” Cory states, “if Red here teaches a class, it should be survival skills like foraging for food and setting a snare trap. She’s no schoolmarm, single woman who wants to teach kids their ABC’s. She survived out there with just two friends and a baby for three years on the road.”

  “Really?” Parker asks. “Fascinating.”

  Good grief. He’d been trying to dissuade the guy’s feelings about Paige being a passive and quaint woman who wants to be the next Laura Ingalls Wilder, and here he’s gone and caused Parker to be even more intrigued by her.

  “Hm, not really,” Paige says in response to Parker.

  “You can tell me all about it over dinner later,” he says.

  “It’s kind of loud in the mess hall, and there’s not much to tell,” Paige says.

  Cory can only assume that she is not into this guy by her body language. At least, he hopes she isn’t. His estimation of her would take a severe hit if she were interested in him, which would make Cory question his own manhood.

  “Oh, I meant dinner at my place, my private quarters,” he corrects and drives them to another area of the base.

  “Um, I kind of told Derek that I’d help him with some things later,” she fibs badly.

  “I’m sure whatever it is, we can delegate the task to someone else here on the compound. That’s the great thing about being in charge. People are eager to help out when we need it.”

  There is always something about the way he seems to enjoy wielding his authority over people that doesn’t quite sit well in Cory’s gut. His instincts are not usually wrong about people. It’s also what kept him alive for almost a year on his own.

  “Oh, I couldn’t do that. It wouldn’t be right. Besides, I stick to my word once it’s given. I have to help him. It just wouldn’t be me if I went and reneged now.”

  “Raincheck then,” Parker pushes.

  “Uh…sure.”

  “What’s going on over there?” Cory asks and hops down from the moving golf cart. Parker pulls to the curb and gets out, as well. Paige also joins them. She places herself right next to Cory, though.

  In the distance, behind a fenced off area, there are people working on what looks like military maneuvers.

  “That’s our training facility for future soldiers.”

  From what he can see, most of them will need a lot of training. Some are women and what appear to be young children.

  “Women and kids?” Cory questions.

  “Yes, well, they need to be able to protect themselves in the case of an invasion,” Parker explains.

  Cory begins walking closer; Paige follows, which means that so does Parker, although he looks disappointed to be doing so.

  “So, you wouldn’t expect them to join your army?” Paige asks.

  “Only if they wanted to, and not the kids. We do have women in our army, though. They go on supply runs, work in the munitions room, too.”

  “I would hope you aren’t training them to go on combat missions, though,” Cory remarks.

  “Again, only if they have the desire,” Parker says.

  Cory shakes his head with disappointment. That doesn’t seem right to him. On the farm, they try to keep the women out of the fight, even if it isn’t always a successful venture. He watches as the people in training pair off with partners and spar. He walks around the end of the chain link fencing and stands off to the sidelines observing them with interest. Paige seems curious about it, too. Either that or she doesn’t want to continue her private tour with Parker by herself. Cory’s fine with the result either way.

  Two young boys, probably around the age of ten or twelve are going hand-to-hand but are mostly just flailing about. Older teens, likely seventeen to nineteen are in the next row over, and Cory moves there to watch them. Most of them are doing about as well as the little kids, and the “drill sergeant” is too busy working with adults with the same low skill levels. It’s too hard to stand by passively and allow them to continue. He steps forward and shows the young men a few better moves. They are practicing with carved, wooden knives so that nobody gets seriously injured.

  “Here,” he says and takes the knife from one young man. “When he steps in on you like that, you gotta deflect and then jab. If you just go stabbing and don’t put forth any defense, you’ll find yourself on the sharp, pokey end of his own dagger.”

  The teens chuckle and nod. “Yes, sir.”

  He’s not sure if they think he’s their instructor or not, but he’s surprised by their show of respect. He gives them a few more tips all the while Paige and Parker stand on the sidelines observing. Then Cory moves to the young couple next to him and offers some advice, too. They seem appreciative. He learns that they are husband and wife, likely in their early twenties, and are wanting to learn more about self-defense. They came from the bunker with the latest group of refugees and tell him about their arduous journey before going back to their practice. He goes down the aisle working with people and children until he runs into t
he actual instructor.

  “Sergeant Dale McKenzie,” the man introduces himself. “Boy, I could sure use your help around here. Glad to have it, too.”

  “Oh, I’m only here for a few days, and then we’re leaving,” Cory tells the man, who looks like he’s around thirty-five or so. Cory can tell the guy’s seen some shit. It’s hidden behind his charcoal brown eyes, but he’s seen it in people before, even in his own eyes from time to time when he looks in a mirror.

  “I know. You’re one of the McClanes,” Dale acknowledges. “You guys are well-known around here. General McClane talks about his family’s group a lot. You all are a bunch of badasses. I met your brother the last time you guys were up. He told me about you living on your own for a while. That took some balls, dude.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Cory says as Paige approaches with Parker. He immediately notices a change in Dale’s demeanor at the sight of Parker. There is a degree of dislike in his dark eyes.

  “There’s definitely a place for you here if you change your mind. It’d be great to have another qualified instructor,” Dale offers.

  “Thanks, but we stay pretty busy on the farm. I don’t think they’d like it if I up and left,” Cory tells him with a friendly smile. He introduces Paige to Dale, who offers a cordial handshake. Cory notes the wedding ring on his left hand, although he does regard Paige with the typical appreciation that most men have when they look at a woman as beautiful as she.

  They talk for a while with Dale, and Cory offers to help him out for the rest of the afternoon. Paige leaves with Parker, which seems to piss her off that she has to and even sends a nasty glare Cory’s way. He suspects that she is angry to have to go with him by herself. Cory’s pretty confident that the guy will keep himself in check and not do anything stupid where she is concerned. Cory also offers him a look of warning, one that lets him know that he’s treading on thin ice with him.

  He makes a lot of progress with Dale and a few other instructors and even offers some ideas on how they could improve the training center. Then he goes to the firing range where they have even more people practicing. It seems to be men with a little more experience doing most of the shooting, and they explain that it is to conserve ammo in case they even need it. Some of the people shoot well, but others need a lot more range time. He volunteers to work with one of the women who is struggling with her rifle, which seems ill-suited to her in size and weight.