by Kody Boye
“Yes sir,” Steve nodded.
Dakota stepped forward, careful not to brush against the officer, and made his way off the bus. Once outside, the lanky Private Roberts waited for Ian to remove himself from the vehicle before he instructed them to remove anything from their pockets, then to step forward and remove their clothing.
This is embarrassing. Dakota was already reminded of high school gym class the moment Steve stripped off his shirt. The ugly scar on his left arm stood out in stark contrast against his evenly-tanned skin, confirming his discharge from the marines with its presence alone. The man who’d stood next to Private Roberts the moment before now examined Steve’s body for bites or other wounds. Once he deemed Steve appropriate, he waved Dakota forward.
“One down without taking your shirt off,” the man chuckled, reaching forward to brush Dakota’s hair aside. “Blunt wound, sir.”
“I hit my head on the dashboard,” Dakota replied.
The military man smiled. Dakota stripped his shirt over his head, undid his belt, then let his pants fall to the ground. He stepped out of his underwear with a humble humility he would have never had in a similar situation.
“You’re good,” the man said, pressing a hand against Dakota’s shoulder. “My name’s Corporal Jamie Marks.”
“Nice to meet you,” Dakota said, surprised at the gentle squeeze the man offered. “I’m done then?”
“You are.” Jamie wagged a finger at Ian. His eyes immediately fell to the tattoos on his left arm. “How old’s the ink?”
“Couple of years. I had it touched up three or four months ago.”
“Nothing recent?”
“Nope.” Ian stripped his shirt off. His massive, muscled frame was nearly completely covered with tattoos on his left side.
“Anything we should know about you?”
“Other than that I was in a gang up until recently?” Ian asked. “No. Nothing at all.”
“Your pants and underwear, sir.”
Ian obliged. A swirling tribal tattoo adorned the skin on his right calf, but otherwise he had no tattoos on his lower body. Corporal Marks quickly scanned Ian’s body, taking careful note of the bruises on his side, then looked up at the bandage on his arm. “What is this?” the corporal asked.
“Gunshot wound. I got grazed yesterday.”
“May I see?”
“I’m not stopping you.”
Private Roberts came forward. He took a first-aid kit handed to him by another man in fatigues and opened it up, sliding the rubber gloves over his fingers. He made short work of the bandaging on Ian’s arm, then confirmed it to be a gunshot wound a moment later. “Just a glancing hit, like he said. It looks like the bullet only took off the top layer of skin.”
“He’s good then?” the leading officer asked.
“Yes sir. He is.”
He cleared his throat, then clasped his hands behind his back. “I want the three of you to know that this is a military operating base. My name is Sergeant Armstrong. You’ve already met Corporal Jamie Marks and Private Erik Roberts. These men here are deputies Derek Kirn and Donald Wills. You will obey any orders they give you, no questions asked.”
“Yes sir,” Steve said. Dakota and Ian offered the same reply.
“I’ll have you gentlemen know that you’ll each be given jobs based on your individual talents, which will be assigned by Corporal Marks when he finds fit. Until then, keep to yourselves and stay out of the first floor lobby, which is currently being used as our communications base. If you refuse to comply with any orders, you will be removed from the base—permanently. Understood?”
Dakota, Steve and Ian nodded. The sergeant, in turn, offered a curt nod, then turned and started for the entrance, leaving the three of them with the deputies and military men without another word.
“Everything will be fine,” Jamie said, clapping Steve, Ian and Dakota on the shoulder. “I’ll get the three of you into a room as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, sir,” Steve said. “That was a brave thing to do.”
“No need to thank me.” Jamie turned his gaze on the gate, where a group of infected stood clawing at the chain-link fence. “Go on in, get some rest. Dinner’s at eighteen-hundred tonight.”
Dakota stepped into line with Steve and Ian as they made their way toward the door.
Before he entered the apartment building, he took one last look at the man who’d saved their lives.
“Pretty heavy shit back there,” Steve sighed, collapsing onto a cot in one of the spare rooms.
“No kiddin’,” Ian grunted, seating himself on his own bed.
“Your arm ok?” Dakota asked.
“It just stings a little, that’s all.”
“You did good back there,” Steve said, propping himself up on both elbows.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Let’s just say I have a little more respect for you after all the shit we went through.”
“How long do you think it’ll be until someone comes up here to talk to us?” Dakota asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Dunno,” Steve shrugged.
“You care if I confess something?”
“I don’t see why I would.”
“I don’t know.” Dakota paused. He looked from Steve, to Ian, then back again. It took him a moment to compose himself before spoke. “I get the feeling that we might not be wanted here.”
“It’s the military. We busted into a sanctioned facility without permission and dragged a shit-ton of infected with us. If I were them, I wouldn’t be happy with us either.”
“Besides,” Ian added. “It’s the same government bullshit as it always was.”
“What do you mean?” Dakota asked.
“Cops don’t like having to deal with stupid people, security guards don’t like having to deal with prisoners, the military doesn’t like having to protect civilians…you think they’re here because they want to be?”
“They’re probably not here because they want to be, in all actuality,” Steve said. He pushed himself forward and ran his hand through his hair.
“What about you, Steve?” Dakota asked. “I mean, what was it like in the marines? The atmosphere, having to work with people?”
“To tell you the truth,” Steve sighed, “I don’t blame them for being angry, especially the sergeant. Dealing with civilians, especially refugees, is never an easy thing, particularly when they’re so quick to act on impulse.”
“Like we did,” Dakota mumbled.
“Exactly.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Ian said. “We’re here. We might as well forget about it.”
“We still have to watch our backs,” Steve sighed. “We’re under military order now. It’s their way or the highway as far as they’re concerned.”
“Which is bullshit, as far as I’m concerned.”
Dakota stepped forward, toward the sole, bar-covered window in the room. “What do you think this place used to be?”
“Huh?” Steve asked.
“This building. There’s bars across the windows.”
“Probably a nuthouse, from the looks of it,” Ian said.
“A nuthouse?”
“Yeah. You ain’t ever seen an asylum?”
“No, not really.”
“I think this place used to be called David’s Ward or something. I’m not sure. All I know is that it isn’t named what it used to be.”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Dakota sighed, looking outside. “At least we’re safe.”
From his current perspective, he could see all the way across the opposite parking lot, toward what used to be a park.
In a distance, a lone zombie shambled on.
She alone showed him what the world had become.
A knock came at the door just as the sun was beginning to set.
Rising from his place on the cot, Dakota crossed the room and pressed his hand to the doorknob. A quick look out of the peephole showed Corporal Marks
in full attire, cheeks wind-burnt and eyes looking tired as ever.
I wonder what they were doing? He frowned, looking back at his companions. Both were asleep. “Guys,” he said. “Wake up.”
Steve rose first. Curled on his side, he opened his eyes, then shook his head, rolling onto his back and running a hand through his hair. “What’s up?”
“Jamie’s here.”
“Who?”
“The corporal. Remember?”
“Him.” Steve sat up. “Ian, wake up.”
“I’m awake,” Ian groaned.
Dakota opened the door, offering the soldier the best smile he could. “Hello, sir.”
“Good evening,” Jamie said. “Can I come in?”
“We were just sleeping,” Steve said. “Go ahead.”
“Sorry I’m late. Private Roberts and I were working on getting the infected away from the area.”
“How’d you manage that?” Dakota asked.
“Sound displacement. A late comrade found that if you’re able to make noise in an area other than the one you’re currently in, the infected will run off.”
“So you were tricking them,” Steve chuckled.
The corporal smiled. “We spent the last few hours shooting dummies at the cars down the road with silencers.”
“Pretty clever, Corporal.”
“Yes, very.” Jamie looked about the room, lips pursing in thought when he saw Ian’s still form on his cot. “Sir? Are you feeling well?”
“I’m good,” Ian said, throwing his legs over the cot. “Didn’t mean to not answer you.”
“No need to apologize. Just making sure.”
“We had a rough two days,” Dakota sighed.
“I can imagine. How long did it take to fortify the bus?”
“A day, day-and-a-half,” Steve said. “What’s it to you?”
“No reason.” He paused. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I’ll get on to business. The sergeant’s instructed me to assign jobs to the civilians based on any useful skills they might have. Can any of you do anything other than cook or fix cars?”
“I’m guessing you’re filled in those departments.”
“Yes.”
“Nothing I can think of,” Steve said.
“I used to be a plumber,” Ian said. “I don’t know if that’s any help.”
“It should be,” Jamie smiled. He turned his eyes on Dakota. “What about you, sir?”
“Me?” Dakota said.
“Yes, you.”
Dakota smiled at his stupidity. “I don’t know. I was still in school when this happened.”
“He can grow shit,” Steve said.
“You mean like vegetables?”
“He’d been growing tomatoes before we ran out of water.”
“I didn’t have the right stuff,” Dakota replied. “I was growing plants out of makeshift terrariums.”
“The sergeant would like to hear that,” Jamie said, reaching up to brush the hairs on his chin. “Mr. Shaw, sir. Private Roberts has asked me to tell you that he would like to take a look at your arm after dinner tonight.”
“He gonna fix me up?” Ian asked.
“Yup. He sure will.”
“My arm’s been killing me.”
“I can imagine. Getting shot isn’t much fun.”
“No,” Ian sighed. “It isn’t.”
A guilty twang of hurt strummed across Dakota’s heart. It hurt to think that they had been on opposite sides little more than two days ago.
Oh well. Not much we can do about it now.
“I guess that’ll be all,” Jamie said, stepping back toward the threshold. “Mr. Earnest, if you think of anything that might be useful, please, don’t hesitate to talk to me or the sergeant.”
“I’d prefer to talk to you,” Steve chuckled. “Your sergeant seems like a bit of a hardass.”
“He is, but it’s good for us, especially in times like these. Thank you for your time. Dinner will be at six, just out the door and to your left.” Jamie gave one last nod and closed the door behind him.
“Why did you mention that?” Dakota whispered.
“What?” Steve asked. “That you’ve got a green thumb? It’s fucking good, Dakota. We wanna get on their good side.”
“We don’t have to worry about him. He’s not going to do anything.”
“I wasn’t saying that.”
Dakota could barely hide the blush that crossed his cheeks. Steve raised an eyebrow, but quickly brushed it aside by standing and turning the doorknob. “Either of you want to take a look around?” he asked.
“Not me,” Ian said.
“Koda?”
“Gladly,” Dakota said.
He was more than willing to get out of the room.
Six o’clock arrived with a stream of rain and a flash of lightning. With the lights on and the curtains drawn, the place looked wholesome, even inviting in a strange, tragic sense. The smell of fresh food drifted down the hallway and the sound of voices echoed across the walls, welcoming Dakota, Steve and Ian as they made their way toward the lobby.
“I didn’t expect this,” Dakota said, pushing his hands into his pockets.
“Neither did I,” Steve replied. Ian grunted and raised his hands to cough. “You ok, big guy?”
“The rain’s a killer on my sinuses.”
“The pressure?”
“I have no fuckin’ idea.”
“Not much you can do about it.”
“Not really.”
Dakota looked up. Seated around the table were the two deputies, the sergeant, and two other men that looked to be civilians, one a near white-blonde and the other a brown-haired man with a thin beard and glasses. Neither Jamie nor Private Roberts were anywhere to be seen.
I hope they weren’t reprimanded for what they did.
Who was he kidding? Of course they’d be reprimanded—if not already, then soon, most possibly at dinner. Like Steve had said earlier, the sergeant struck Dakota not only as a mean person, but a vindictively manipulative one at that. This afternoon, when he tried to make them feel guilty for seeking shelter, then earlier, when he was yelling at someone at the top of his lungs—his voice spoke of needles, whips and lashes, of pain and cruelty reserved only for those he felt he could conquer with his presence alone.
I can barely stand to look at him.
“Dakota,” Steve whispered.
“What?”
“Stand ready.”
Dakota shook his head, nodding at the sergeant when they approached the table. “Gentlemen,” the sergeant said. “Please, seat yourselves. Dinner is being made as we speak.”
“You must be the new ones,” the white-blonde man said, stirring his companion’s eyes away from the deputies across from them. “My name’s Michael. This here is my friend Dustin.”
“Nice to meet you,” Dakota smiled. “I’m Dakota. This is Steve and Ian.”
“Pleasure.” Michael smiled, reaching out to shake their hands. “You gentlemen came from the highway, I assume?”
“Yeah,” Steve said. “The bus out front is ours.”
“It’s a nice piece of work,” the man named Dustin said. “Smart move substituting the metal meshing for the rubber one on the windshield.”
“I sure as hell didn’t want that to come through the window if something had happened,” Steve said, seating himself beside Michael.
“No one would.”
A gust of air and the sound of a door being slammed shut echoed up the stairs. Moments later, both Corporal Marks and Private Roberts came up the stairs, soaking wet and looking paler than ever.
He put them in the rain?
Dakota grimaced at the sight of the corporal’s bloodshot eyes. Jamie offered a smile when he caught Dakota’s wandering gaze. “Evening,” he said.
“Evening,” Dakota replied.
“Nice to see you,” the sergeant smiled. “Please, sit.”
“Sir,” Private Roberts said. “We’re wet.”
“I insist. Please, sit.”
Jamie and the private did as asked. Another dagger pierced the tension in the air.
“Dinner should be ready soon,” the sergeant said, leaning forward and lacing his fingers together. “Although before we start, I think it’s in our best interest to discuss the breach of protocol that occurred this afternoon.”
All conversation in the room stopped. Were it not for the lights and the warm draft of air coming from the kitchen, Dakota could have sworn the room had just chilled ten degrees.
“Sir?” Jamie said.
“Both you and Private Roberts were under strict orders to leave the gate shut no matter the circumstance. Now, don’t get me wrong—I do appreciate the fact that these men are alive, especially given the current circumstances, but you jeopardized our safety and put all of us at risk.”
“Excuse me, sir. Private Roberts had nothing to do with this. I was the one who opened the gate.”
“Your humility is perhaps the most disgusting thing about you, Marks.” No one spoke. Jamie remained composed, lips pursed and jaw set. “You’re under house arrest for one week.”
“Yes sir.”
“Go. Now.”
“But sir—”
“I said go Corporal Marks. Don’t make me tell you twice.”
Jamie stood, saluted the sergeant, then turned and made his way toward the stairs. Desmond came out carrying a pot of mashed potatoes and a tub of green beans a moment later. He looked around the table, took notice of the corporal’s departure, then frowned. “Sir?” he asked, looking to the sergeant.
“Don’t worry yourself over anything, son. Thank you for cooking again tonight.”
Dakota swallowed. Deep down, a lump began to form in his gut. No food for a whole night. That had to be a horrible feeling.
“You shouldn’t do it Dakota,” Steve whispered, taking hold of his arm. “Seriously. Don’t.”
“Steve’s right,” Ian said. “You get caught, you’re screwed. We’re all screwed.”
“I can’t let him go hungry, guys.”
“Whatever,” Steve sighed. “Just don’t get caught.”