Richard sighed and crossed his outstretched feet closer to the fire. “I’m afraid you’re right.”
“Either way, no more gory stories about being a cop.”
Richard nodded. “Deal.” He smiled at the man. “And I promise not to bore you with any details of my work.”
“So that leaves stories about women or stories of…” Bill trailed off.
“Women.” Richard laughed.
“Fine then,” Bill snorted. “Let’s see…what’s the best, non-cop story I have about women?” He tapped at his chin while he thought. “Oh! I know. Let me tell you the story about the time I was out with a friend.”
Richard sat up. “Okay. I hope this is a good one.”
“It’s pretty good. Nothing really to write home about, though.”
“Well, hit me with it, anyway.” He splayed his hands to the fire.
“Okay, me and a buddy of mine were out fishing this one time. We went to Lake Texhoma and we took his boat.”
“You’ve got my attention already!” Richard laughed.
“Figured I would.” Bill chuckled. “Anyway, we were just minding our business when…” he paused and stared off over Richard’s shoulder.
“What?”
“A naked lady just runs by…”
“That’s it?” Richard asked. “That’s your story?”
“No.” Bill pointed behind Richard. “A naked lady just ran by.”
Chapter 6
Bob sighed heavily and tried to maintain his balance while Keri thrashed about under him. Her screaming was enough to make him want to cry and he kept talking to her in a soothing voice, hoping to calm her down. He felt the tears well up and he promised himself he would hold it together. For his daughter if nothing else. He glanced to the wall where he knew Lucky was just on the other side of…he felt like kicking himself. How could he not have known?
He heard Buck coming back into the RV and stomping as he ran back to the bedroom. “New roll, Dad.” He handed it over. “Sorry it took so long.”
Bob smiled as he took it from him. “Good job, son.” He ripped off a piece and began taping Keri’s hands together. “This should be just as strong, but a lot less chance of hurting her.”
“Dad?” Buck leaned against the wall, watching him.
“Yeah?”
“Is she going to live?” he asked, his voice low and quiet.
Bob looked at him with total surprise. “Of course she will. She’s going to be just fine, aren’t you, sweetie?” he spoke to the thrashing body still wrapped in blankets. “She’s just sick, Buck. You saw her. She has some kind of…fever. A forest fever or something. Like jungle fever, only…different. That’s all.” Bob finished taping her up and then rolled her out of the blankets.
Keri looked up at him with absolutely no recognition in her eyes. She screamed a mournful wail, and he fought the urge to cover his ears. Buck tapped his shoulder and made a motion of taping her mouth shut. Bob cringed but studied her a moment. The idea that she might throw up again and not be able to clear it from her mouth bothered him…but then she wailed again, only louder, and he knew he had to do something. He nodded and ripped off a long piece of tape. When he got close to Keri’s face, she lurched forward and snapped at him, teeth clicking so hard he feared she might break them.
“Oh, hell no. I paid too much for your braces, young lady. You will not shatter those teeth, not if I can help it,” he said more to himself than to her.
He took the long piece of tape and held it under her jaw, then pulled it up and over the top of her head, effectively clamping her mouth closed. Still she moaned.
“Slap some across her mouth, too, Dad,” Buck urged.
Bob glanced around the bedroom and thought of a better idea. “Hand me that pillow.”
“Okay!” Buck said enthusiastically. “But do you really think smothering her is the right thing to do?” He handed the pillow over.
“I’m not going to smother her!” Bob pulled the pillow case off and tossed the pillow aside. He pulled the case over her head and then reached over and flicked out the lights. Instantly, she quieted.
Bob studied her for a moment, then urged Buck from the room. As soon as they shut what was left of the bedroom door, he told Buck, “I remembered seeing where they’d cover the faces of wild animals and they’d instantly calm down.”
“How’d you know it would work with her?”
“I didn’t,” Bob admitted. “I just took a wild-assed guess.”
The two walked back into what was once the living room and Buck lifted the pack out of his chair so the two could sit down. “Are we going to try to get her to a hospital tonight?”
Bob sighed. “You have no idea how badly I want to. I just…”
“What?”
“All that traffic from the concert. I don’t think I could get this beast through it all.”
“Fuck ’em!” Buck exclaimed. “This is a medical emergency.”
Bob considered his son’s words and nodded. “You’re right. Those assholes can either move their cars off the road, or I’ll push them out of the way,” he said with renewed vigor. Bob stood, went to the bathroom, and knocked on the door. “Lucky?”
He waited a moment and listened for an answer. “Lucky?”
He twisted the knob and pushed the door open. The bathroom was empty, but there was blood everywhere. He stepped inside and looked around. He knew that Keri had scratched her up pretty good, and Lucky said she had bitten her, he’d even seen blood on her neck, but he couldn’t imagine this much blood coming from such superficial wounds.
He stepped back out of the bathroom. “She’s not in there.” He stared at Buck.
“What do you mean?” Buck stepped over to the bathroom and looked for himself. “Oh, no…”
“She’s gone,” Bob replied, stunned.
“Dad…”
“Where could she have gone?” He looked around the RV.
Buck stepped from the bathroom and held up Lucky’s shirt. “I think mom is infected, too.”
“What do you mean she’s infected…” he trailed off as he stood and stared at his son holding his mother’s nightshirt, soaked in blood. Bob’s mind raced at the idea of his wife running around the wilderness in nothing but a pair of thong panties, possibly covered in blood, and out of her mind like her daughter was. “What does this mean?” he asked rhetorically.
“It means mom is a zombie, too,” Buck said stoically.
“Why do you keep saying zombie?” Bob asked. “You called your sister that and I don’t understand why you’d say that? Okay, they may be sick, but they aren’t dead. They’re just…” He struggled for the word that wouldn’t come.
“You don’t have to be dead to be a zombie, Dad.” Buck stated matter-of-factly. “Just…brain dead.” He hooked a thumb behind him toward the bedroom. “I think they qualify.”
Bob shook his head slowly. “No, they’re just sick.”
“And you need to come to grips.” Buck dropped the shirt and picked up his bag.
“How can you be so…uncaring?”
“I’ll care more later. Right now, we have to find Mom and catch her before she infects anybody else.” He rifled through the bag and pulled out the pistol crossbow. He cocked it and nocked a bolt.
“Where did you get that?” Bob asked, totally stunned. “I wouldn’t let you get that!”
“The internet is a wonderful thing sometimes.” Buck hefted the canvas bag and fit it through his arms like a backpack. “Do you have a gun?”
“A what?” Bob was still not coming to grips with the situation.
“A gun, Dad,” Buck repeated. “You know, you put bullets in one end and it sends them out the other much faster?”
“Don’t go getting smart with me, young man.” Bob stuck his finger out at him. “I will not go out there and gun down your mother!” No matter how much I might want to.
“Not for her,” Buck said flatly. “In case she happens to infect somebody we DON’T
know. Or we run into a bear. Or a wolf. Or a cougar. Or…hell, anything.”
Bob sat back and remembered the bears they had seen earlier. Perhaps a gun wouldn’t be a bad thing. He glanced over his shoulder to the overhead compartment where his brother kept his pistol. It was just a 9mm, but there were two spare magazines and a box of bullets for it. He looked back at Buck and nodded.
“Yeah, we have a gun.” He stood and retrieved it. “I’m not saying I like this idea, but,” he stared out the window of the RV, “I don’t guess we have much choice.” Bob slipped the spare magazines into his pocket and the pistol into his waistband. He tossed Buck the box of shells. “Toss that into your pack.”
“I get to be your pack mule?”
“Or you can carry your mom back. Your choice.”
“I’ll carry the bullets.” Buck tossed in the duct tape and the twine, zipped up the canvas bag, and went to the door. He paused and looked back at his dad. “Toss me the dishrag.”
Bob handed it to him and he used it to open the door. The rag came away bloody, and Buck tossed it aside. “We still have no idea how it’s spread,” he muttered.
“Keri bit her,” Bob said as they stepped into the night. “Scratched the hell out of her, too.”
“That’s how it’s spread in the movies,” Buck whispered.
Bob reached inside the RV and pulled out the two Maglite’s. Handing one to Buck, he clicked his on and began sweeping the area. “Which way should we go?”
“I say,” Buck replied, pointing with his flashlight, “follow the blood.”
“Hatch, come in,” the radio crackled.
Daniel pulled his radio from his belt and keyed the button. “Go ahead, Shelly. What do you have?”
He didn’t really want to know, but he needed to do his job. Somehow, he already knew in the pit of his stomach that he shouldn’t have come to the office. He should have stayed out there and kept an eye on things, but he needed to get away, even if it was for a little bit. His nerves were about shot from trying to micromanage every minute detail and Mitch was right, he needed to unwind, even if it was just for a little bit.
“We either have a streaker or a skinny dipper that…,” she trailed off and didn’t finish her statement.
“Can you repeat?” Hatcher wasn’t sure he heard her right. The lake was too cold to be swimming in, especially at night, but the idea of a streaker with this crowd really didn’t surprise him that much.
“Um, Hatch, we got a report of a naked woman running around down by the lake.” She sounded as though she were stifling a laugh.
“By the lake?” He couldn’t imagine the craziness boiling over to that area rather than staying here where the idiocy was so overly concentrated. “Send Fisher. He ought to get a kick out of this one.”
“Yes, sir, boss!” She was definitely laughing now.
Hatcher groaned as he got up from behind the desk and stretched his back. As much as Mitch was right, he needed to get back out there with his crew. He knew he was just hiding out in the office and his duty was out in the thick with his people.
He stepped out into the Visitor’s Center and could still hear the people in the bathroom making too much noise. He sighed heavily and decided that enough was enough.
He pushed open the bathroom door and barked, “Take it to the parking lot! “He actually smiled when he heard the muffled crash and curses of the occupants of the bathroom, followed by a ‘Yes, sir.’ A guy with very long black hair and eyeliner and what appeared to be a woman with a shaved head…at least he hoped it was a woman, came stumbling out of the bathroom and quickly exited the center. “Don’t let me catch you in here again.”
Daniel smiled to himself as the two all but ran to the parking area. He could almost remember being that eager once. He made his way to the double doors and exited into the wall of noise once more, squinting at the painful attack on his ears.
He made his way back toward the crowd and the painfully loud music. He could smell the alcohol, reefer, and sex drifting on the cool night breeze. He paused and swallowed his anger before continuing on. As he closed on the imposing figure standing at the crest of the hill, he saw the massive head turn and assess him momentarily then shake slowly. “Couldn’t stay away?”
“Naked people dragged me from my stupor.”
Mitch gave him a confused look and shrugged. “Haven’t seen any here.”
“Down by the lake. I sent Fisher to check it out.” Hatch shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.
He turned to stand shoulder to shoulder with Mitch and steadied his gaze on the stage. He kept telling himself that he would watch the show and not study the crowd. He watched the band jump around like chickens on a hot plate, screaming into their microphones and gyrating and dry-humping each other with drunken abandon, much to the crowd’s delight. He sighed and shook his head slightly as he watched the disgusting display.
“Are you sure this is actually considered music?”
“I think they stopped playing music back about three bottles of Jack.” Mitch smiled at him.
“Do they realize how badly they suck?” Hatch asked with a sad smile.
“If they did, they’d kick their own asses for being so embarrassing,” Mitch replied. “I really don’t know how these people can be so enamored with them.”
“Drugs and alcohol.” Hatch rolled his eyes and turned away from the crowd. “The deputies are going to have a ball with this crowd once they try to leave.”
“Speaking of, County brought in a mobile unit right after you left.”
“Mobile unit?” Hatch gave him a questioning look.
“For processing the offenders from here. Rather than try to run them into town for processing and then coming back out here, they can process them at the mobile unit and release them once their bond is posted.”
“It’s all about the money,” Hatch moaned.
“Maybe.” Mitch hooked a thumb over his shoulder and indicated the black semi and trailer parked in the middle of the road. “It’s two-thirds cells. And the majority of it is filled. They’ll transport them back in it afterward.”
“Are you serious?” Hatcher studied the rig. “Is it safe to transport people like that?”
“Why not? Most are passed out, anyway.”
Mitch turned back toward the crowd. He thought he saw something and, using hand signals, motioned to one of his crew to intercept a group of youths as they tried to sneak behind the equipment crates along the side of the stage area.
“I never knew they had anything like that.” Hatcher continued to stare at the mobile unit.
He saw two sets of stairs leading up to steel doors on the side of the trailer. Large air conditioning units and radio antennas sat along the top of the trailer. He smiled inwardly as he considered the possibilities. Probably government grant money.
Hatcher’s radio vibrated and he pulled it close to to better hear. “Go for Hatcher.”
“We got a problem down here at the lake, boss,” Fisher said. Hatcher could barely hear him even with the radio right up to his ear. He glanced around and decided that the backside of the Visitor’s Center might be the least noisy spot.
“Wait one, Fish. I can’t hear you. Need to reposition.” Hatcher quickly repositioned himself and held the radio to his ear again. “Say again your last.”
“We have a problem down here at the lake. Can you dispatch EMS to the campgrounds?”
“What’s the problem?”
“Looks like there may have been a naked woman running around down here, but I think she’s on something,” Fisher reported. “We have some people down here that got hurt and I need one of the EMS units from up there to come down and take a look at some of the campers.”
“What are we looking at?” Hatcher asked as he broke away from the building and cut across the parking lot.
“Possible broken arm, a lot of cuts and scrapes, some bleeding wounds.” Fisher sounded like he was out of breath. “She came through here, and when some o
f the campers tried to offer her help, she attacked them.”
“She attacked them?” Hatcher wasn’t sure he was hearing correctly. “Why? Did she say somebody was after her or…,” he trailed off.
“Negative, boss. She didn’t say anything. According to the campers, she just screamed bloody murder and attacked them. They were just trying to help her out and…anyway, I have a trail and I think I can intercept her, but I want to wait for EMS to arrive.”
“Unless somebody is life or death and needs CPR, get your ass on her trail!” Hatcher barked. “She sounds like she’s having a bad acid trip or…something. Either way, she doesn’t need to be roaming these woods under the influence. She’s dangerous to the other campers. I’ll get EMS up to the campgrounds right away.”
“Yes, sir. I’m on her.”
Hatcher trotted toward the closest EMS unit and relayed the events. The man and woman team tossed their coffees, jumped in their ambulance, and headed up the hill toward the campgrounds as Hatcher went in search of Mitch. He found him standing near the mobile unit talking with one of the deputies and Hatcher waved him over.
“What’s up?” Richardson asked as he approached.
“We have a problem over by the campgrounds. That naked woman report? By the lake? She may have been on something. She attacked a group of campers and hurt them. I’ve sent EMS to render first aid and transport any that may have really serious injuries, and Fisher thinks he’s on her trail, but there’s a chance she may work her way up here.”
“And you think a tripping naked woman is going to disturb this crowd?” Mitch shot him a lopsided grin.
“I’m not worried about her upsetting their delicate dispositions. This gal may have broken somebody’s arm and hurt a lot of people who were just trying to help her. You can imagine what she might do if she gets close to a crowd that’s drunk or stoned or—”
“Or both,” Mitch finished for him, nodding. “Okay, sounds like our damsel may be on something hallucinogenic.”
“Yeah, acid, angel dust, mushrooms, there’s really no telling.”
“Or any combination,” Mitch added.
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