Howard's gift, she mouthed. They understood; one man held her and looked up at Cat, who was now no more than ten feet from the bucket full of people, and nodded his head with a look of regret.
Cat saw it, and she knew what it meant. She had hoped to never be in this situation but now that she was, she played her part. A single shot rang out; the woman jerked then hung limp before the man let her body go to the clutching paws of the waiting zombies.
"Howard's love," the man whispered, and watched her face as she fell back to become nothing but feed for mindless beasts.
Chapter 2:
Dean
The infernal sun that baked them as they spilled the blood of the undead finally set upon the security facility tucked back in the woods of Benton, Arkansas. Jesse was finally out of his employment prison and more than willing to turn it over to the group who had invaded/rescued him. Moans of the surrounding zombies outside the electric fence calmed as the survivors' images faded with the gloom of night.
Lisa sat at a table in the main meeting office as, one by one, Dean's group made use of the single hot shower that the facility provided in the main security building. The building itself looked as if it had been set up for extended stay for two or more persons, complete with bunks and other amenities. Dean sat across from Lisa with rapt attention. Kodiak, on the other hand, was radiant and smelled of a fresh spring morning. Lisa was not attracted to women but even she knew a true beauty when she saw one. The plus in this case was that Kodiak was a thinker; a problem solver who had earned the respect of even a macho shithead like Dean, who Lisa was strangely warming to.
"So what the fuck is really going on out there? And I don't want any bullshit or I'll throw you out to the fucking horde," Dean said to Lisa, even though he knew he didn't stand a chance with the soldiers Lisa had with her.
"Oh, I'll tell you everything—even though I'll probably have to explain a few of the words to you,” Lisa said, causing Kodiak and the kid to chuckle a bit.
"First, however, we need to come to an understanding. Are you in or out?" Lisa replied, unintimidated by his gruff bravado.
"I can only make deals for myself. The people who are with me are just simply that—people who are with me; I ain't no leader," Dean said, slipping into a relaxed persona that he hadn't been able to do for several days while on the run.
"I don't suppose that could have anything to do with your extensive vocabulary and attention to hygiene, now could it?" Lisa prodded. She had the same kind of sarcastic urges with Dean that she had with Buck and she was enjoying it.
Skit, on the other hand, was a little annoyed.
"Hey, try and keep on track here, all right?" Skit spoke up. "I'm not here to listen to backwoods tavern banter, okay? I've had enough of that shit to last a lifetime. So just tell them what's going on and let them decide if they want to be a part of it. If they don't, they'll die soon enough."
"That's all well and good as long as you know that those with me will be making up their own minds, not me."
"We all know that, Dean," Lester, who had been Dean's neighbor for years, said. "Now shut the fuck up and let them talk."
"Okay, Les; easy now, bud," Dean said to his longtime friend. Unlike Dean, Les had become the impromptu leader of the several blacks and Hispanics who had joined with the group. Dean didn't know if they would have joined if Lester hadn't been with him and Charlie, and they had proved to be very valuable assets within their force.
"Okay, I'll tell you," Lisa started. "The world—or whatever is left of it—is pretty much out of reach to all of us. We don't know who is alive or dead, or what areas may have survived other than Hot Springs. We have a lot of soldiers but no established military presence, so they have simply joined with us and are fighting to preserve a compound that started out the very first day with under a thousand survivors."
"A thousand of you, huh?" Dean said, discouraged by the dismal number of surviving humans. He knew a lot of people between Hot Springs and Little Rock, which meant he lost a lot of friends in the last few days.
"That was originally; we were close to six thousand when we left yesterday, and there was a steady stream still coming in," Skit interjected. "We have the hospital locked down and are pushing our walls out so that eventually we'll regain the whole city. The outlying areas are faring better, but they too have drawn together into compounds where one or two operators at a time can keep them protected. They lost a lot people and animals when they did an old-style cattle-drive to group their resources, but there are some excellent high passes that can be defended easily with their rigs."
"Okay, wait a minute. Operators? Rigs? What exactly are you talking about?" Lester jumped in. Lisa was expecting the question and took over for Skit. Somehow, the fact that both of them were telling the story lent it credibility.
"I found myself cornered after performing my first public address at the radio station just hours into day one. I was hiding behind dumpsters, getting crushed against the wall by almost two hundred dead fuckers. I couldn't get my gun out—and there were too many anyhow—when the strangest thing happened. A single man in a skid loader showed up and decimated the whole lot of them in a matter of minutes. Tasha from the station saw it and the word was out. Guns became the second line of defense as equipment operators took the lead. You're going to get a demonstration of it tomorrow."
"Skiddies, huh? Who would have thought?" Dean said. "So what are ya doing out here?"
"We could be over ten thousand strong by the end of the week, so we're getting supplies for the long haul."
"By establishing a corridor to Little Rock you'll be able to resupply for a long time. This is actually really smart. Who's leading you?" Lester asked.
"She is." Mitch jumped in and pointed at Lisa, who hesitated when the question was asked, and Kodiak smiled. Lisa wasn't sure why she smiled, but she felt comfortable with it rather than threatened.
"You? Then why aren't you back in the compound?" Dean asked. "I mean, that's where it's safe, right?"
"There's no safe place anymore, Dean. Nothing is safe, right, or clean. It is all blood and guts, grime and dirt, and … and death. … Piles and piles of death, but we're going to survive. I'm the initiator of the safe zone and that's about it. Benson is running the compound and Officer Krupp is in charge of this operation."
"But they answer to you?" Kodiak asked.
"There is no answer-to or an actual boss. We're three cops trying to do the right thing is all, but yes, they were under me before the shit hit," Lisa said with her hand up like she was holding a platter, hoping that they wouldn't read too much into it. She had heard of some of the crap that Benson was going through since the mayor of Piney showed up at the compound.
"Oh shit. Lift your shirt," Skit said when he saw blood starting to bleed through. "If you keep blowing stitches, we're going to have to tie you to a bed."
"What happened?" Kodiak asked, remembering all of the chatter about the first Hispanic woman lieutenant in Hot Springs a few days ago and realizing now it was Lisa.
"You've heard of Skinner or the Skinner?" Lisa asked, and everyone nodded. "He and I had lunch yesterday, or at least he did." Lisa noticed Kodiak's eyes narrow coldly. "It looks like you two have some history."
"I knew some girls. So you've seen him?"
"Seen him? Ha! Skit, show her the glossy."
"This? But this is Doctor Webber! He did my augmentation surgery," Kodiak said, her eyes as large as saucers, shock ready to overwhelm.
"Yep, one and the same. It was at the cosmetic surgery clinic in Hot Springs where he took my rib."
"Took your rib?" Dean was shocked, having seen her fight and run just a day later.
"I'm not going into details; they're minor compared to what we have to get done out here. So what's it going to be, folks? In or out?"
"What's it going to be … what?" Lester asked.
"Are you in or out? Are you going to join up with us, or go it alone?" Skit said, flabbergasted that they had l
ost track of the reason behind the meeting.
"Oh, that. Well, you're kind of the only game in town, now aren't ya.? Besides, a couple of showers, and Kodiak might let me stand a little closer to her," Dean said with a wink in jest toward the former dancer.
"It's going to take a hell of a lot more than that Dean-o—a hell of a lot more," Kodiak said with a mocking smile.
"Maybe if I get pretty like these other boys, huh?"
"Nope, they'll be keeping their distance too—except Charlie. He's just too damn cute not to let in," she said as she wrapped an arm around the kid who always seemed to be near her.
Dean smiled, at least he now knew which side of the fence his boy preferred. It might be important to a man like Dean; now he would never have to find out otherwise.
#
It was the rumble of diesel engines and the whine of hydraulics that woke the weary group at the security storage the next morning. The soldiers took sniper duty, picking off ones that were in areas inaccessible to the heavy equipment.
Within an hour and a half, the field was clear with only the stains on the ground to show that it was the site of massive destruction. The group rescued from the night before watched in awe at how easy the machines made it look. It must have been like the first time a steam shovel dug a hole or a locomotive hauled multiple tons of freight. They had all been around and worked with these machines for years, never once putting to mind that one day they would be their salvation.
Dean, Charlie, Lester, and Kodiak had become impromptu leaders of the people from Benton, who unanimously agreed to join with those from Hot Springs. As one, they headed back to the office where the lieutenant, Skit, and some guards were talking. A large man in a police uniform walking with a dog—whose form was so regimented it was obviously a police dog—gave them a smile and a nod before entering the building ahead of them.
The fair-sized office quickly began to feel a little cramped with all of them in there, but Dean felt he needed his people with him. They sat around the table with a SAT phone waiting to be used. The large police officer reached out and grabbed the receiver, set it on the table, and threw the speaker switch. He then hit the pre-programed button and waited. Benton wasn't that far, but the only radio they could use would be an open channel like a HAM or CB. Something had to have happened the previous night because Benson had shut down all open-channel communications.
"Art, this is Krupp. What happened last night?" Krupp asked.
"Snipers, or at least one very good sniper, started killing off our operators. It allowed a mass of ten thousand on our new walls before defenses could be set up. Cat says it's the Skinner. If it is, then he's already taken out eleven—including the two Lisa told us about. I got Malcolm hunting him now, but he's limited since I will only allow him in cleared areas and to hunt him visually from the walls. Over," Art said in a huge information dump.
Lisa could feel her face twist in rage; not simply at Skinner but also herself. She left the city knowing that his focus was on her. With her gone, anyone and everyone became his next victim. Those deaths were on her head as sure as if she had pulled the trigger herself. She ignored the rest of what was being said about Skinner, knowing she had to go back to face him but couldn't … not yet. Not until Skit knew about his kids and this mission was completed. Then she would go back and face him willingly, eagerly. She wanted it so bad she could taste it. He had to be stopped. To see the light fade from his eyes would be a dream, but just having him killed by anyone would be enough as long as they were certain.
"Lisa?" Krupp's stern tone interrupted her thoughts as she looked around to see that everyone was looking at her.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"The storage lockers … you have the manifest?" Krupp asked again, suspecting where her thoughts had been. Kodiak also looked at Lisa with a strange sort of concern. She'd had some issues in her own life so she knew that look and what had triggered it.
"Yeah, I looked it over pretty good and found out a couple of things. These front storage areas are open to the public and hold fur coats and pelts, paintings, contained powders, and basically anything that needs a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment," Lisa said as she read from some notes she and Skit had taken the previous night.
Kodiak was more than impressed with the lieutenant and found herself wanting to help her. She was compelled but couldn't understand why. She's just another cop, right?
"The rest is still contents unknown with the lessees being various holding companies. It is going to take a good locksmith to get into them," Lisa finished.
"I have never heard of such a thing," Art's voice said over the sat phone speaker. "You would think that there'd be some records somewhere. I'll get someone at the ATT shop looking into it. We're going to take the airport today. Word came down that it would be used if secured, so we're stepping up our efforts in spite of the Skinner. Any rifle-ready people you find would be helpful here. There are some pilots ready to supply distractions for you in Little Rock when you need it—provided we get it secured, that is. Until then there will some crop dusters out and about. They don't have radios that will connect with ours, so you will have to improvise. Over."
"All right, Art. I'll send some guards back to you and recruit replacements from Benton," Krupp began. "We found three groups of survivors here and all of them are pretty savvy after three days on the run. I'll reconnect when I send them back to you. Out."
Kodiak sucked in everything but kept her opinions to herself. This Krupp was going to be one to watch, she decided. He seemed to be in charge but kept visually checking with the lieutenant as he went. This was going to take more study. She watched as Dean got bored then headed in to the shower when it was his turn, and smiled as Charlie waited by the door as if on guard.
The room soon cleared, leaving her resting on the couch, Charlie standing guard, and Lisa and Skit facing each other across the table.
"It's your turn, Chuck. Limited for towels, but someone left a pile of clean laundry to use when you're done," Dean said and gave his son a swat on the butt when he walked by. He couldn't help but smile at finally having the relationship with his son that he always wanted.
"Will you stay until he's done?" he asked Kodiak, who nodded. "Good, I gotta take a look at the Dodge before we head out."
"So we're going to head back to Hot Springs, aren't we?" Skit said to Lisa after Dean left.
"No, Skit. We gotta find out about your kids; I owe you that much," Lisa replied.
"But what about Skinner? I saw the look on your face. You're taking responsibility for those operators getting killed. That wasn't you; that was him and his sick fucking mind."
"You should just leave the swearing to me, Skit. It doesn't sound right coming from your pretty mouth," Lisa said, eliciting another chuckle from Kodiak, who they had almost forgotten was there. Lisa reached down and scratched the dog by her side before speaking again. "He wouldn't be targeting anyone but me if I was in the compound, Skit; you know it and I know it. His sights are set and he feels that I belong to him now. He's not going to behave while I'm out of his reach. So do I want to go back? Yeah. But I promised to find your kids and that's what I am going to do. Not to mention, this mission is kind of important too."
"Look, there's no way my kids are alive, Rey. I know that sucks, but the odds are just not there."
"We gotta try, Skit. You're alive! Hell, both Cat and Ed survived, and Benson and his kids … maybe it's in the blood. Besides, you would never forgive yourself if we didn't try … I would never forgive you if we didn't try. This is your family we're talking about; that's important. I don't have family, Skit. I envy you. We have to find them."
"No family? Ha! Hell … you don't even have any friends," Skit replied with a smile.
"I got you."
"Yeah, you do. You're also right; I do need to know. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we didn't try. So we'll go get my kids then hightail it back and go cannibal hunting," Skit said with
a smile at his offered resolution.
"Mind if I make a suggestion?" Kodiak interjected.
"Sure, Kodi. What do you have in mind?" Lisa asked, easily falling into using the shortened version of her name.
"Outfit me, hook me up. You know, load me up with some gear, point me in the right direction, and I'll go keep the cracker creep busy until you get there; maybe even catch him."
"Not a chance, Kodiak. You're so damn pretty he would eat you on the spot," Lisa replied.
"I wasn't always a dancer, you know. I spent three years in the reserves before I took this gig."
"Reserves, huh? Gotta admit that's a surprise … but I can't, Kodiak. He's a serial killer who has more experience at murder than any of us do at anything else. I toyed with him and within the first day he caught me and ate my rib in front of me," Lisa said and held up the bone that always seemed to be in her hand. "He's not to be trifled with, okay? So just stay away," Lisa said as Skit watched the girl, amazed at either her bravery or stupidity; he didn't know which.
"Fuck you; you're not the only one with a stake in this. I'll just go on my own, without your help," Kodiak said blatantly but not angrily, merely stating her point.
"What is your stake in this, Kodi? Huh? What is your motivation?" Lisa prodded.
"I'll tell you when I get back," she said and headed to the door.
"Wait," Lisa said.
She paused as she thought out her next words. "I'll hook you up. Give me a couple of hours to put it together," Lisa said.
Kodiak smiled and walked out the door. She was standing outside wondering what she had just committed herself to when the door opening behind her forced her out of the way. Charlie, freshly showered, walked out and stopped beside her.
Chapter 3
The Compound
"Krissy, could you see who is at the door, please?" Benson asked of his daughter, who had been doing nothing but playing slave to her family for the last few days.
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