“Promise?”
“I’ll do my best, but if the store is filled with zombies, I’m not risking my life to get your stupid movie.”
“Have you even seen it? If you had, you wouldn’t call it stupid. And that Julie Andrews . . .”
“Okay, you know what? It’s bedtime.”
“It’s not even 7:00.”
“If we’re getting up at 2:00 a.m. to get out of here, you should get some sleep.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll take the first watch.”
“I’m not tired, and I wouldn’t mind staying up a while to watch a movie. Maybe they have . . .”
“Don’t say it.”
“Say what?”
“Anything about The Sound of Music.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Then what were you going to say?”
“Never mind. I’m watching movies until I get tired. I’ll wake you up when I’m done.”
“All right, but please don’t fall asleep without waking me up first.”
“I won’t. Hopefully I can find a movie that’s good enough to keep me awake.”
Dan rolled his eyes and headed off to one of the bedrooms, closing the door behind him.
~*~
St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing
“Quarantine!” Wolf yelled after Lindsey as she hurried down the hall toward the elevator.
“I’m just going up to meet the helicopter,” she said, returning to where the gray-bearded biker was standing. “I’m going back out once I’m done.”
Wolf made a quick call to Jack to see what he had to say. Quarantine was being taken very seriously since the breach.
“Just have someone escort her up there and stay with her until she comes back down,” Jack said. “She can do quarantine when she goes in for the day.”
“Thanks,” Lindsey said.
Hawk had been standing nearby, and he quickly volunteered.
“Thanks, Hawk,” she said, starting to walk with him to the elevators.
“Needed a cigarette break anyway,” he told her.
“I’m sorry about Debbie,” Lindsey said, having heard the story from Wombat. “Were you close to her?”
Hawk shrugged, pulling a cigarette out of his pack. “We took a lot of smoke breaks together, and we seemed to hit it off, so I thought it might go somewhere. She was a lot of fun to talk to, you know?”
“It almost doesn’t pay to get attached to anybody these days,” Lindsey said.
“It’s a tough world now,” Hawk agreed.
They stepped out of the elevator and walked across the fifth floor lobby to the roof-access door.
“You thinking about going with the pilot?” Hawk asked.
“No,” Lindsey said. “I’m staying here.”
“Good,” Hawk said. “All the guys like having you around, especially Wombat.”
“Wombat’s become a very good friend,” Lindsey said, following him up the stairs.
“That’s all?” Hawk asked, turning to give her a grin.
“Yes, that’s all,” she said. “Hawk, you’re starting to sound like Autumn. This whole thing is a charade for Helga’s benefit.”
“Sure it is,” he said, opening the door.
Lindsey laughed, but she grew more serious when she stepped out onto the roof. She found herself a little nervous about seeing Lee again. When she looked up, she saw that the helicopter was still hovering far above the building.
“I wonder what they’re doing up there?” Lindsey said. “It seems like they should have landed by now.”
Hawk lit up a cigarette immediately and turned his head to exhale a cloud of smoke away from Lindsey.
“They’re sure taking their sweet time,” he said.
After a few more moments, the helicopter finally dropped down to just a few feet above the roof, but still it didn’t land. A door opened and someone was pushed out, kicking and screaming. A shriek preceded a thud as a heavy body hit the roof and rolled.
Lindsey gasped and rushed over to see if she could help.
“What the hell?” Hawk asked, joining her.
They looked down upon a portly man who was blindfolded.
“Eric?” Lindsey asked, recognizing their former hospital security guard immediately. She removed the blindfold as Hawk helped Eric to his feet. “Are you all right?”
Eric, looking slightly embarrassed, regained his composure and brushed the dirt from his clothing. The uniform he wore was torn in several places and was so dirty that it was hard to tell what color it had been originally.
“I’m fine. Your boyfriend’s a jerk,” Eric said, heading toward the door. He glanced over his shoulder to scowl at the men in the helicopter.
“I can’t believe they did that to him,” Lindsey said, watching the helicopter as she spoke to Hawk. “I mean, it’s Eric, so there’s probably a good reason for it, but still . . .”
When the helicopter finally landed, a man who Lindsey didn’t recognize jumped out. Her first thought was that he wasn’t military. Though his clothing looked similar to what Lee usually wore, his hair was longer than what was allowed in the military. The man was tall and blond, and he wore an arrogant grin.
“That was a pretty mean thing to do,” Lindsey said. “The poor guy was probably terrified.”
“Believe me, he got off lucky,” he said. “He wasn’t even hurt.”
Before she could reply, Lee stepped around the chopper with a broad smile on his face. Rather than closing the distance between them as he normally did, he stood where he was and held his arms open, a slight smirk on his face.
The moment seemed to freeze time for Lindsey, and many thoughts rushed through her head as she regarded Lee. Eric was the most obnoxious, self-centered man she’d ever known, but even he didn’t deserve what had just happened, and it bothered her to think that Lee was capable of such cruelty. She realized that while it hadn’t even been a week since she’d last seen him, he’d changed. Or maybe she just didn’t know him as well as she thought she did.
These thoughts took place in a flash, and she was left wondering what to do about this new knowledge. After a slight hesitation, she walked over, but she stopped a foot in front of Lee.
~*^*~
~30~
St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing
“What was that all about?” Lindsey asked Lee as the co-pilot walked away to bum a cigarette from Hawk.
Without replying, Reynolds pulled Lindsey into his arms and, for the first time since they’d met, she felt uncomfortable with him. When he tried to kiss her, she turned her head, and his lips just brushed her cheek. She pushed against his chest, stepping back once he let go. She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t pleased.
“Lee, what just happened with Eric?” she tried again.
“We were told to drop him off on the roof. He pissed off some very important people who wanted him gone permanently.”
“How permanently?” she asked, wondering if she was reading too much into his words.
“Let’s just say that we were supposed to drop him from more than a few feet.”
Lindsey tried to determine whether or not he was kidding, and she found that she couldn’t tell.
“I hope that’s a joke.”
Lee’s face remained expressionless for a moment until he finally smiled. “Of course it is. He just needed to learn a lesson. You have no idea the damage he did while he was with us.”
Lindsey relented a little. “I can imagine.”
The co-pilot returned, looking bored.
“Hey, I’m going to go in and check out some of those babes I’ve been hearing about,” he said, turning to take a drag on his cigarette.
Lee shot him a look, and the man quickly said, “Uh . . . just kidding. But I heard I could maybe get a hot meal here.”
“You’ll probably have to be escorted to the cafeteria since you were outside,” Lindsey said.
“That’s what biker boy said,” the ma
n replied with a smirk, nodding toward Hawk. “I guess someone’s coming up to get me.”
Lindsey hadn’t even officially met the man, but she already disliked him.
The door opened moments later, and Fish came out to escort Lee’s friend inside.
Lee glanced over at Hawk, who was working on his second cigarette. “So, what’s up with this guy? You’ve got a bodyguard now?”
“I do today,” Lindsey said. “It was the only way they’d let me come up here without going through quarantine.”
“With all those fat, old bikers in the building, they happened to pick this guy to be your watchdog?”
Lindsey blinked, surprised by the jealousy. Like Moose and Wombat, Hawk got a lot of attention from the women at St. Mary’s. He was a handsome man, with dark, thick hair and a goatee. She could see why Lee was threatened by him, but she had no interest in Hawk other than as a friend.
“He wanted a cigarette, so he volunteered,” she said.
Reynolds looked at her for a moment as though he was trying to read her face.
“I hope that’s all it is,” he finally said.
“That’s the whole story,” Lindsey said, wondering why it even mattered. When they’d parted ways a week earlier, she honestly hadn’t expected to see him again. Now suddenly he was back, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it after seeing the changes in him. “We had an outbreak and lost several people, so they’re tightening security.”
“Did you ever stop to think that maybe this is all just nature’s way of cleaning up the mess that humans have made?” Lee asked. “Think about it, Lindsey. The strong are surviving, and the weak are being killed off. Maybe some good will come from this. It could give mankind a chance to strengthen our species. Maybe our future generations will be better than we were.”
His words sent a chill through her.
“Are you serious? With so many lives lost, how could this be anything short of the greatest tragedy in history? And you’re wrong about just the strong surviving. Look at the dead out there. They weren’t all weak. There were plenty of strong, smart people who were infected because they were caught off-guard. Do you honestly think that we’re superior to those who died just because we happened to be in the right place at the right time?”
“Things are changing, Lindsey,” he said. “You just don’t realize it yet. For those who can’t adapt, life is going to be miserable and probably very short. You need to worry about staying alive, instead of wasting your time on everybody else.”
“Lee, this just doesn’t even sound like you,” she said, concerned. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but you were out there helping people, and I thought you cared about them. It was one of the reasons that I was drawn to you. Was that an act put on for my benefit, or has something changed?”
He studied her for a moment before looking away. “Everything has changed, Lindsey. We used to worry about nuclear wars. The old enemies don’t even exist anymore. They’re in the same position we are. Crime, the economy, pollution, and politics have all taken a back seat to what we’re dealing with now. We’re going to be lucky to survive, and if we’re going to make it, we may have to do some things we don’t like.”
“I’m already doing things I don’t like,” Lindsey said. “Every time I kill one of those infected people out there, I can’t help but think about the person they used to be.”
“I’m not talking about them,” Lee said, pacing. “Society is collapsing. Governments are dissolving all over the world, and the military here is falling apart.”
“But aren’t you still flying your missions?”
“No,” he said, running a hand over his short, dark hair. “The plague has spread too far to contain it. They won’t be bombing the city anymore, either. I’m one of the few people left at the base, and we don’t even know who’s in charge anymore. It’s chaos out there. We have people go AWOL every day, and who can blame them? They have families to worry about, and there’s nobody around to tell them they have to stay.”
“Yet you’ve stayed.”
“I’ve stayed so far,” he corrected her. “I’ve got a decision to make, and I want you to help me make it. I need to know if you’ve changed your mind yet. Will you come with me, Lindsey? There’s a place we can go where we’d be safe.”
“I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not going to a shelter.”
“It’s not a shelter,” he said.
“Then what, the base?”
“No, it’s nearby, but it’s much safer. I can’t tell you much about it, but I want you there. This place . . . you almost wouldn’t know what’s going on in the rest of the world. You could forget about the chaos outside and start living again.”
“No, I couldn’t,” she said, shaking her head. “Not with so many people dying out there.”
“I think I’m going to go there, but I want you with me. I’m tired of seeing death everywhere I turn. I’ve had enough pain in my life, and it’s time for something different.”
She sighed and looked away, knowing that he’d been through a lot. He’d lost his wife to cancer a few years earlier, and he’d recently had to kill two of his friends who had turned. She didn’t completely blame him for wanting something better out of life, but he would have to live that life without her. He felt like a complete stranger to her.
“I’m sorry, Lee,” she said. “I need to be here where I feel like we’re doing something to help. I think it would be best if we just go our separate ways.”
He looked shocked, then angry. When he spoke again, there was desperation in his voice.
“Don’t do this to me,” he said, grabbing her arms. “I want you to share this new life with me.”
“A new life that involves letting everybody else die while we hide away from the horror? No thanks.”
His fingers began to dig into her arms, almost painfully.
“You okay over there, Lins?” Hawk called to her, watching them closely.
“I’m fine, Hawk, thanks,” she said, not sure it was true.
Lee let go of her arms, but not before shooting the other man a dark look.
The roof-access door opened moments later, and Lee’s partner came out with a grin on his face, breaking the tension.
“You’re done eating already?” Lee asked.
“I didn’t see anything I liked,” he said, making a face. “But we might have a new recruit. This one’s a model.”
“Oh, please take her,” Lindsey said quickly.
“She said she has to think about it,” he said. “Sounds like she’s got her eye on someone here, but I may have changed her mind.”
“I’ve got to run, Lindsey,” Lee said. “I’ll see you again soon.”
Before she could reply, he pulled her close and kissed her, though he stepped back before she could push him away. She guessed that he was just trying to save face in front of his friend, so she decided to give him that much, though it wouldn’t happen again. Whatever feelings she’d once had for him, they were now gone.
As the helicopter rose into the air, Hawk walked over to stand beside her.
“What was that all about?” he asked. “I thought I was going to have to kick the guy’s ass for a minute there.”
“I was about ready to ask you to,” she told him. “He’s really changed, and I don’t like it.”
The biker shook his head as they watched the helicopter grow small in the sky. “Ready to go back down?”
“More than ready,” Lindsey replied.
~*~
When Lindsey returned to the park area, Snake walked over to talk to her.
“I heard Eric’s back,” he said. “Hawk gave me a call on the radio to warn me.”
“Did he tell you they dropped him, blindfolded, from several feet off the ground?” Lindsey stated. “I was pretty upset with Lee over the whole thing.”
“That’s messed up,” Snake said with a frown. “Of course, I had to stop my guys from tossing him out a window once.”
<
br /> “They wouldn’t have really done it . . . would they?” she asked.
“Probably not,” Snake said, though he didn’t look too sure.
“Lee said something about being told to drop him from much higher, and I’m not sure he was kidding. I guess Eric made some enemies at the shelter.”
“That doesn’t surprise me at all. Hopefully Reynolds wasn’t serious, but a stunt like that could have given the dude a heart attack.”
“Exactly,” she said.
“So did Reynolds have any news about what’s going on out there?”
“Both good news and bad news,” she told him. “He said that the jets aren’t going to be flying anymore, so we should be a little safer to move around the city, but it sounds like the military is starting to crumble as well as the world governments.”
“I guess that doesn’t surprise me, either,” Snake said, “though it does worry me.”
“Me, too,” she said.
“And what about Reynolds? Hawk said that things looked a little tense between the two of you, and he thought he was going to have to step in.”
“He’s changed, Snake. Some of the things he said really bothered me. He talked about taking me to a safe place near the base where I could pretend that none of this was happening. I tried to explain to him that I couldn’t do that, and he didn’t get it. He said that maybe this was nature’s way of cleaning up the mess that man has made, and maybe mankind will improve because of it.”
“Reynolds said that?” Snake asked, surprised.
“He really did. I know he’s been under a lot of pressure, but haven’t we all? Maybe it was just talk, and he’ll snap out of it.”
“I hope so,” Snake said. “The dude seemed all right to me.”
“That’s what I used to think. Now, I’m not so sure, but I’m not giving up hope.”
“Good,” Snake said. “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that people can change. Unfortunately, it’s not always for the better. I’ll let Jack know what you told me. We may need to keep our eyes open. I’m afraid we’re going to see some groups vying for power, unless they’re too busy just trying to stay alive.”
Dead, But Not For Long (Book 2): Pestilence and Promise Page 25