A Good Distance From Dying_Book 2_Samantha's Song

by David Carroll

  “If you’re not a cowboy then who am I addressing?” She asked.

  I walked over to her desk and sat down in the chair across from her. “My name is Charlie Collins. I am the leader of a group of survivors who live on top of Wal-Mart further up State of Franklin.”

  “You are a long way from home Mister Collins. May I ask why?”

  “I’m pretty sure you know why, but I’ll play along. A little over a month ago we found a father and daughter needing someplace to stay. We took them in, fed them, gave them shelter, jobs and a platform to begin building a life for themselves. This morning the little girl, Samantha Baker, went missing. As it turns out, she was kidnapped. As it also turns out, you ordered that kidnapping. I’m here to talk to you about that.”

  I expected her to get flustered. I expected outrage. I expected some form of righteous indignation. I got none of the above.

  “Let’s talk about your last point first.” She said. “Exactly how did you get up here?”

  “When I was younger I was bitten by a radioactive spider during a school field trip. As a result, my Uncle Ben died. I really don’t like talking about it. The pain is still heavy on my conscience.”

  “I’m sure it is. This man you found, the father, did he tell you about the child’s mother?”

  “Not until today, after his daughter had been taken.”

  “And you didn’t see anything suspicious about that?”

  “In the last four months our population has grown from six to over fifty. Some people want to talk about their family members, they are ready to deal with that pain. Some aren’t. If we ask our questions and get a look that tells us ‘danger, danger, Will Robinson’, we don’t press the subject.”

  She paused for a second. “That’s understandable. What do you think now that you know the little girl has a mother?”

  “I think I have been placed in the middle of a custody dispute and I’ve yet to pass the bar exam. I also think that some people deserve a child, and some don’t. Judging this situation by what I have seen and heard today you fit the don’t category.”

  “How dare you come into my house and address me that way.” She said, but her tone stayed even. There was no anger in her at all.

  “Shocking behavior huh?” I said with a smile. She looked at me for a long time before giving me a shaky laugh. She pushed her chair back from the desk and said, “Yes, very shocking. Let me guess what you were told. I’m an alcoholic and a drug user. When I get drunk or high I get angry and beat up Fred. Sometimes I go for my daughter. Sometimes I hurt my own baby. Fred was scared for her life, so he took her and ran. Sound about right.”

  “Yes mam, that sounds very familiar.”

  “I’m sure it does.” She said sighing and rubbing her temples. “Fred is very good at telling that story. He has used it to make people feel sorry for him since Sam was only a year old. Fred has a very serious problem; he is addicted to being the victim. I think it has gotten to the point where he has to have a group of people feeling pity for him to have any type of self-worth. It’s a game I had grown tired of before all of this. Back then, if he decided to take Sam to Gray to stay with his parents for a few days so they could baby him and talk about ‘that mean lady’ he married, I just let it slide. With him being in the next city over I was actually able to get some work done at home. Now things are different. Now if he takes her and runs they could both be devoured, or worse. The danger he now poses to me and my daughter is real. I’m sorry if you have a problem with how I handle my business, but my daughter ranks above your feelings.”

  She had stood while she was talking and had wandered the room a bit. I had remained in my chair. This reminded me so much of my show down with the King of Gray that it was a bit spooky.

  “That’s a nice story.” I said. “It sounded a bit practiced, but you carried the bulk of it off well. Now it’s my turn. You unleashed your dogs and sent them to my house. They stole somebody that was, and is still, under my protection. Whether it was your daughter or not means nothing to me. How you, as you said, ‘handle your business’ means everything to me. The way that you, and your people, conduct yourselves is a reflection of the type of people you really are. So far, I am not impressed. You sit here on high thinking you can control the world and do what you please. I am here to show you how wrong you are. If you think I made this trip just to tell you how bad you hurt my feelings, then you have misinterpreted this situation. I came here to reunite a father and a daughter and if you think you can stop me from doing that then things are about to get exciting up here on the seventh floor.”

  She sat back down behind her desk as I finished my verbal haymaker. She smiled at me as she rested her hands, one on top of the other. “If that’s all you came to do then you are free to go. I am sure Fred’s with her right now. We will all be friends again for a month or so, then he’ll do this again.”

  The pain on her face almost seemed real, almost.

  “You’re hinting that he has done this before.” I said.

  “Yes. You are the second community he has run to. The first was local, within sight actually. I think that was his trial run. He wanted to see how easily he and Sam could travel in this world and if he could be accepted into a community of survivors. They were gone about two weeks before I had my men bring them back. There will be a third time, and a forth. Eventually he will push his luck too far and he or Sam will get infected. That, Mister Collins, is my nightmare.”

  Everything she was saying sounded right, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all wrong. Something didn’t add up. Her story and Fred’s story were not the two sides of the same coin that you would expect when mother and father are both explaining their side of a very serious issue. There were gaps, big glaring questions that had a giant green question mark beside them as if Edward Nigma had stepped out of the comics and said, “Riddle me this Mister Collins, when is a parent NOT a parent?”

  What was my answer to that? I knew as soon as I could answer that question I would almost have this situation figured out. I wasn’t completely sure what was going on, but I was now convinced it was much more than just a kidnapping. These people were up to something, Fred and Dewey included. They were the enemy, I had to figure out what move to make. I had to stall and give myself some time to think.

  “How do you even know Fred is here?” I asked.

  “Please, let’s be adults. You came here with Fred to abduct my daughter. At least that’s what Fred thought you were doing. He and anyone else you brought are hiding somewhere on this floor. I imagine that idiot Dewey Stearn is helping my husband. He was on duty when Fred disappeared, and he is on duty tonight. That is a problem I will have to deal with later. What my husband and that idiot haven’t taken into account is there are only a handful of places you can hide on this floor. Before we are finished with this conversation I am sure Fred, and everyone with him, will already be detained.

  “You are going to lock Fred up and not let him see his daughter.”

  “Yes. I will lock Fred up. I will express to him how unhappy I am with him and his life choices. I will also inform him what will happen if he does this again. Then I will let him out. He needs to understand how serious this situation is. This isn’t a drive into Gray to stay at his parent’s house. This is a trek through infected country in search for survivors that he may, or may not, find. I will do my best to impress upon him how dangerous his behavior is. I do not feel that my reaction is at all out of line.”

  I opened my mouth to respond when the door swung open and somebody resembling the Ultimate Warrior entered the office. This had to be the maintenance guy Fred had told us about. I couldn’t remember his name, but he looked like he could beat up an elephant.

  “Tabitha! She’s gone!”

  Tabitha Baker, the leader of the Med Center Gestapo stood up with fear and anger coursing through her face. She looked from the maintenance man to me.

  “This was the plan all along wasn’t it?! You come in he
re with your nice guy act, give me a little song and dance routine while the rest of your people kidnap my daughter?”

  “You’re one to be accusing somebody of kidnapping. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.” I said in total confusion. Had the others gone ahead with the abduction plan? Had they carried on even after I had called an audible? I couldn’t see Amanda doing that. It had to be Fred and Dewey. They put Amanda and Marky Mark into the stairwell then went and rescued Samantha from her stuffed animal lined jail cell and escaped to the roof to flee and leave us here to face mommy dearest’s wrath. I began thinking about what all I was going to do to Fred if I ever saw him again.

  “Lock it all down!” Tabitha told Biff McBufferston of the maintenance department.

  “Look, Tabitha, I told my people we were here to talk. We didn’t do this.”

  “Right. Like I’m going to believe that. All of your talk about me unleashing my dogs. This whole time you were doing nothing but playing the victim, just like my husband does. You were suckering me in, so your friends could take my daughter from me! If she’s gone, if anything happens to her, I swear to god you will never set foot out of this building.”

  Tabitha roared out of her office. In the hall she yelled for somebody then pointed at me and said, “Take this man and lock him up in the detention room.”

  The detention room ended up being a large conference room that sat right across from the staff elevators. The entire front of this room was glass which meant we were being detained inside a fish bowl. As the door opened and I was flung inside I found myself looking at Amanda and Marky Mark.

  “Great plan.” Marky said to me.

  Amanda stood up and walked over to me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I met the lovely Mrs. Baker. Fred has some explaining to do.”

  Amanda smiled at me and looked at the glass wall. “Just like old times.” She said. I could hear Marky Mark groan from behind us.

  “I swear you’se guys. I gots to make me some new friends.”

  FIVE

  We sat at the conference table inside our glass box and watched as people went up and down hallways. Every so often one would stop and look in at us. It was the same curiosity that causes people to slow down at car wrecks which was causing people to take an interest in us. We were the story of the hour. We were the evil band of kidnappers who had come to take their benevolent leader's daughter away from her. Even worse, a few of our merry band of thieves had succeeded and the girl in question had been spirited away. If she wasn’t found vengeance would be handed out to the ones left behind in equal painful doses. We had to come up with a plan.

  “What did you find out when you spoke to the mother?” Amanda asked.

  “Yeah? Why’d you’se even go an do that? We had a plan. All we had to do was wait and dat Dewey guy was gonna bring her to us.”

  “I didn’t follow their plan for a few different reasons. The obvious reason is because it wasn’t my plan. I’ve had a plan in place for a good while now and I was not shifting gears just because some idiot in a Redskins cap tells me to.” Okay this was a lie, but a small one. I didn’t really have a plan until we were in the parking lot.

  “Another reason is that these people know where to find us. If we sneak in, take the girl, and run like the wind, they will know where we went. They will know where to find her. At that point this whole thing escalates. How long before somebody dies? What are the odds that it will be more than one that pays the price for the Bakers parenting lapses? We need this resolved. We do not need this to turn into a war.”

  “I can see your point, but what if she wants a war?” Amanda asked.

  “She doesn’t, or she didn’t before Fred took the kid again. I imagine all bets are off now.” I said.

  “Damn Fred, we should kick his ass outta the camp for dis.” Marky Mark said.

  “That leads us to the last reason I went my own way on the plan to rescue Samantha Baker. I haven’t trusted Fred since I heard him screaming Samantha’s name this morning. As I spoke to his better half I became certain that he was the enemy.”

  “Why do you say that?” Amanda asked.

  “It was the things she was saying. You know usually when listening to two sides of an argument there is always some common ground to stand on. The only common ground in their stories is that they had a daughter named Samantha. Something just didn’t feel right. I felt like I was being played.”

  “Any specific examples?” Amanda asked.

  “Remember when Fred said he found us because he was heading home, and he lived in Gray. According to Tabitha, Fred’s parents lived in Gray not them.” I said.

  “Well, a smoking gun, that’s not. He could have just got it wrong when telling us.” Amanda said.

  “Do you really believe that?” I asked.

  “Who freaking cares man? We gots ta find a way outta here and you’se two are sitting here gab’n with each other about where Fred lives. What the hell man?”

  “If you understand who you’re dealing with and the situation you are in then you can turn the people and the situation to your advantage. Amanda and I are trying to figure this thing out.”

  “What’s there to figure out man? She’s got da girl, he wants da girl, we’re stuck in da middle. The question I’d be trying ta answer is why's she want da girl now?”

  “What?” Amanda said.

  “He’s been with us for what, a month now? Probably took him at least a couple a days to reach us. So's he’s been away from here for five or six weeks? Right?”

  “Sounds right to me. Amanda?” Amanda nodded, “Yes, I would say no more than six.”

  “Right. If you’se kid was gone for six weeks and you’d just got 'er back an hour ago would you be in your office alone or would you be with the kid? Alls I’m saying is she didn’t want her back because she was scared for her life. She’d be glued to that little girl right now. Fred would'ave never got close.”

  “My god, he’s right.” I said.

  “If momma wasn’t scared that she’d been ate why go ta all the trouble of bringing her back?” Marky Mark asked.

  “She wanted to lure Fred back to the med center. That is the only reason to take the child. She had to know that Fred would come after her.” Amanda said.

  “No. Not Fred. She could care less about Fred. I could hear that much in her voice. She wanted us here. She takes the kid, Fred freaks out and begs us to help him and then she gets what she wants. She gets us.” I said.

  “But what’s so special about you’se guys?” Marky Mark asked.

  “Good question.” I said.

  “It could be anything. She could have heard about the fight with the biker gang. A few did get away, maybe one ended up here. She could be trying to take out any competition.” Amanda said.

  It made sense but didn’t feel right. “How could she be sure that we would be the ones that would come with Fred?” I asked.

  “If she made sure Fred and Samantha ended up in our camp, she could have easily placed a spy in our midst as well. We have grown by fifty people in the last four months. Any of them could be working for her.” Amanda said.

  “It wouldn’t take long for anyone in camp ta see that the same people always go out to handle our problems. Take you’se guys out of the picture and suddenly we ain’t so tuff no more.” Marky Mark said.

  He was right, I could see it now. They had been playing us all day; it was far more than a kidnapping that we were in the middle of. It all fit, but something still felt off just a tad. I thought we were on the right path, but we just hadn’t reached our destination yet.

  “If we’re right, that means that Fred and Samantha are in on it as well.” I said.

  “I hate to agree, but I see no other way all of this fits together.” Amanda said.

  “Okay. Here’s the deal then. If they are both in on it then this crisis happening all around us is being staged. Samantha will be found, and Fred will be chucked into jail with the rest of us. His job will be t
o try to get us to escape. That’s something I’m not going to do. It will drive him crazy, but just follow my lead. Now that we have an idea what’s going on I think I know how to play things.”

  “Understood.” Amanda said.

  “Alls I ask is when you’re done playing hero you’se let me punch Fred in one area of my choosing.”

  I smiled at Marky Mark and nodded my agreement as I heard the door open. Turning around I watched the guards throw Fred Baker to the floor, almost on cue.

  SIX

  “You idiot.” I said as I pulled Fred to his feet. “Do you have any clue what you’ve done?” Fred opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear it. Amanda, would a fall from this height kill him?”

  “Yes, but it doesn’t matter. These windows are safety glass. We can’t break them.”

  I turned my attention back to Fred, looking him in the eyes. “You’re lucky Baker. I would have dumped you over the side and been done with you.”

  “Charlie please, you don’t understand.”

  “Shut it Fred. I said I don’t want to hear it.” I pushed him into a chair beside the conference table. “You were going to grab the kid and leave us here holding the bag. You were going to screw us over after we came all the way out here to help you. After I ended my relationship with Veronica to come help you. That’s how you treat us?”

  “You better be damn glad they took my guns.” Amanda said.

  “Guys you don’t understand. I can’t trust her. If your plan is to try to talk things out with her then I can’t trust you either. She twists things. She manipulates people. That’s what she does. That’s what she’s always done. I knew at that point I was on my own. I had to get her out if I could. Now none of us are going anywhere.”

  “Here’s a question. Why isn’t your wife a drug addicted, beer drinking, monster mom who likes to throw her kid around like a rag doll?” I asked.