by Sam Sisavath
That was it. Four words.
It was all he wanted to say. All he needed to say.
She wanted more, but there was no more. She let those four words sink in and realized it was all she needed to hear from him. They were comforting and freeing and protective all at the same time.
She laid her cheek back against his chest and dozed off soon after.
She woke up again sometime around midnight, and for a moment forgot where she was. The slow, calm rhythm of his breathing and the rise and fall of his heartbeat reminded her that she was still in his room, on his bed, sleeping against him. His arms still wrapped around her, tight and protective, warm and secure, and so familiar and natural that she wondered how she ever managed without them.
“You’re with me now,” he had said.
She smiled in the darkness and drifted back to sleep.
CHAPTER 33
WILL
They gathered in full gear in the Entrance Hallway, at the bottom steps of the Door, Will doing the same last-minute checks on his weapons and equipment that he always did before a mission. He carried the Remington 870 with him, the tactical shotgun complementing his M4A1, with the Glock in a hip holster. It was his standard gear, though in the Army he carried a Sig Sauer 229, but he had become a convert to the Glock in civilian life.
The big, burly Davies was there with him, checking his G36. Like most of Ben’s people, Davies had trained on the G36, but he added a Remington 870 shotgun to his arsenal anyway to take full advantage of the silver shells. The facility had an Armory that, besides a fully stocked rack of G36s, also carried Remington 870s and an assortment of Glocks. There was plenty of ammo, so much that Will wondered how Campbell had managed to hide it down here without the ATF knowing. The G36s themselves weren’t illegal, but he was sure so many in one place might have been.
Davies grew up around this area and was familiar with Dansby. He volunteered to take them, because like most of the men in the facility, he wanted to shake off cabin fever. At six-two and carrying at least thirty pounds more than he needed, Davies had a bit of clumsy in him, and reminded Will a bit of an older Ted.
“What’s the population of Dansby?” Will asked.
“Three hundred or so,” Davies said.
“Or so?”
“About there, yeah. Last I checked, anyway.”
“When you say ‘or so’ do you mean ‘or so’ in the fifty-plus range, or ‘or so’ in the less-than-fifty range?”
Davies seemed to give the question some serious thought. “I don’t have any idea. But the last time I was up there, about three years ago, I was told they had about 300 or so people in town.”
“That’s what they told you. ‘Three hundred or so.’”
“They might have said an exact number, but all I got out of it was ‘300 or so.’ Sorry I can’t be more precise than that.”
“Okay. Three hundred or so it is, then.”
Danny turned the corner, checking his shotgun as he walked. They were both wearing stripped-down versions of their usual tactical assault vests.
Danny flashed Will a wry grin. “We should get going before I get shot in the back.”
“We wouldn’t want that to happen,” Will said. “More trouble in paradise?”
Carly and Danny had become like an old married couple the last few months. Will had never seen Danny simultaneously so happy and so miserable in his life.
“FYI: Carly blames you for me going on this run,” Danny said.
“Why would she think that?”
“I might have said it was your fault I’m going on this run. Or something to that effect.”
“Must be nice playing house.”
Danny smirked. “I just do it for the sex.” He looked over at Davies. “This place, Dansby. How big of a town are we talking about?”
“About 300 or so,” Will said. “Right?”
“Or so,” Davies nodded.
“I don’t get it,” Danny said.
Will said, “Davies isn’t sure exactly how many people there are in Dansby, but he believes there are, possibly, ‘300 or so.’”
“So are we talking about ‘or so’ as in fifty-plus range or ‘or so’ in the less-than-fifty range?”
Davies looked annoyed. “Man, I don’t know. Three hundred or so, okay?”
Danny grinned. “Okay, just wanted to make sure. The only thing worse than jumping into a combat zone with your dick in your hand is not knowing how many people will be trying to kill you once you land.”
“You mean in case they’re all ghouls?”
“Either that, or they’ve been turned into horny farmers’ daughters. In either case, I’m in big trouble.”
It took Davies a few seconds to get the joke, but then he grinned and pointed at Danny. “Nice.”
“Thanks, I’m here all week,” he said, then glanced over at Will and rolled his eyes.
The last person to arrive was Lara. She looked odd with the gun belt around her waist, though he had gotten used to seeing her in combat boots and camouflage pants. She wore a T-shirt and jacket, and her hair was in a ponytail.
“Shouldn’t I get a shotgun, too?” she asked.
“Do you want one?” he said.
“Can I think about it?”
“Take your time.”
“Really?”
“No.”
She made a face.
He grinned back, then clicked the radio clipped to the front of his tactical vest. “Ben, we’re good to go.”
Ben said, through the radio, “Opening in five…four…three…”
When he got to one, the slab of concrete above them began moving, and a crisp ray of sunlight slithered through the small, widening gap and splashed across his face. The facility was a godsend, and there was no doubt they were vastly safer down here than on the surface, but he still craved the sun and took every opportunity to go outside.
Lara walked over and stood next to him, stuck her face into the shaft of sun, and closed her eyes. “God, that feels good.”
He took a moment to watch her in the sunlight, the way the brightness glinted off her blonde hair. He liked the pointy curve of her nose, the thinness of her eyebrows, and the small shape of her mouth. She had very small lips, but they were perfect for her frame, and they were very soft and responsive when kissed.
She must have felt him staring, because she opened her eyes and looked at him and smiled. They looked at each other in silence for a while, enjoying the moment. He remembered her in his arms last night and decided he wanted to do that again.
“Seriously, get a fucking room,” Danny said behind them.
*
They stepped out into the familiar circular clearing. The grass had gotten much taller since he had been up here a few days ago, and the blades were now all the way to his knees. Soon, there wouldn’t be much of a clearing anymore, and the woods might eventually retake this patch of land. To keep the woods at bay, they would need a lawnmower. A big one, too. And maybe a dozen machetes or so, and a week carved out just to do some landscaping…
Behind him, the Door continued to open in its usual, ponderous way. Because it was so massive, and the titanium slab so thick and heavy, just the act of opening and closing was a process that filled the clearing with a loud, grinding noise that seemed to dominate the entire area. He wondered if the ghouls inside the woods knew each time the Door opened and closed just from the sound and vibrations.
The Door had a quirk that bothered him, something he had brought up with Ben, but they couldn’t find a way around it. The gears needed to pry open and close not just the concrete slab, but also the much heavier titanium underneath it required the machinery to completely run its course in one direction before it could be reversed. That meant if the Door opened, it had to fully open. He didn’t know enough about mechanics to understand why that was the case. Maybe if they found an engineer still alive out there, they could work on changing it.
Having exited through the Door, they had to wa
it until it closed completely behind them before striking out. That took exactly thirty-six seconds. To open, and to close. Exactly thirty-six seconds each way. He had timed it to within the exact second months ago. You never knew when something like that might come in handy.
He counted down the seconds in his head until the loud grinding noise cut off, and the clearing was suddenly serene again.
Lara was looking back at the Door. “You okay?” he asked.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been back up here,” she said. “It feels weird to see it closing and not be on the other side. How long did it take you to get used to it?”
“Who says I’m used to it?” That was a lie, but he thought she needed to hear it.
Their vehicles were where they left them, parked in a row to the right of the Door. The familiar Ram and Tacoma rested alongside three other trucks, a van, and a big semi without a trailer that took most of the space. The ghouls never bothered with the vehicles, which nagged at him.
He and Lara climbed into the Tacoma while Danny and Davies took the Ram. Both engines hummed to life without a problem. He checked his gas gauge, saw that he only had a quarter left.
He clicked the radio. “Ten miles up the highway, Davies?”
“Yup,” Davies answered through the radio.
“My truck’s almost empty. You, Danny?”
“I could use some more gas,” Danny said. “Wouldn’t mind grabbing a Twinkie or two or a dozen, either.”
“Let’s stop for gas.”
He put the Tacoma in gear and backed up. Lara pulled at her seatbelt and he grinned.
She caught him. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Safety first,” she said and blushed a little. He found it oddly endearing.
He led the Ram through the clearing, crushing tall grass underneath the big tires, and aimed it for the now-familiar bumpy road.
He said, “How about some tunes on the radio?”
Lara instinctively reached for the radio dial, but stopped short and gave him a wry look. “Oh, nice.”
He looked innocently back at her. “What? Nothing on the radio?”
“Funny. You’re a real funny guy, Will.”
“Works every time with the noobs.”
“Pleased with yourself, huh?”
“Just a little bit,” he said, pinching his fingers.
She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder before settling into the seat as the Tacoma bounced its way up the road. She grabbed onto the handle above the door to keep from being thrashed around.
“This road sucks,” she said, her voice stuttering with every skip and hop.
“That’s the point.”
“Still, it sucks.”
Because the road was so treacherous, he had to keep the speedometer low so he didn’t damage the vehicle. Danny, who was also used to the road by now, followed at his own slow pace. Will kept one eye on the road in front of him and the other on the wall of trees beside him. He could almost feel them inside, watching from the safety of the dark woods. Or maybe it was just his imagination.
Lara, who had been quiet for the last few minutes, finally decided to break the silence. “Thank you for staying with me last night.”
“Anytime.”
“I mean it, Will,” she said, looking at him now.
He met her eyes. “And I meant what I said. Anytime.”
She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. He put his free arm around her. Like last night, this was a major development in their relationship. He didn’t want to ruin it or rush her. He still remembered the taste of her mouth…
“Close your eyes and try to imagine we’re driving through the park,” he said. “A really, really bumpy park.”
“Okay.” She closed her eyes. “I’m imagining now…”
“Now ignore those undead ghouls trying to eat you…”
She laughed, but didn’t open her eyes or pull away. Instead, she leaned in closer, and he tightened his arm around her shoulders.
*
They stopped for gas at McVickers, one of two gas stations in Starch. Davies told them a story about how McVickers had opened as direct competition to a Valero gas station across town. The proprietor was the hometown bred Jim McVickers, who plotted and schemed to put Valero out of business by offering everything the chain gas station did, but at just a penny lower. Exactly a penny lower. To accomplish this, McVickers sent spies into Valero on a daily basis to take inventory of their shelves, then duplicated the items in his own store. It worked with the townspeople, and by the time The Purge struck, McVickers had claimed nearly sixty percent of Starch’s gas-guzzling customers.
While Danny and Lara looted what remained of McVickers’s shelves, finding mostly nonperishable junk food and warm bottled drinks in the freezers, Will and Davies used a hand-crank pump to siphon gas directly out of the underground storage container. They filled up both trucks, then added four cans of gasoline for emergencies. It didn’t pay to get caught out here without a gas station nearby.
By the time Danny and Lara came outside with bags of junk food and warm drinks, Will and Davies were done.
Danny tossed Will a bag of peanuts. “Damn rats been dining out on most of the junk food, but I was able to salvage that.”
“Way to go.”
“I do my best.”
Lara pulled out a yellow bag of Funyuns and tossed them over to Will. “This was the only unopened-slash-un-rat-infected bag left in the entire store. I managed to get to it before Danny could. You owe me.”
Danny smirked. “I let her have it.”
“You wish.”
“I’m gentlemanly that way. Ask Carly.”
“I’d rather not.”
“It’s true,” he insisted.
They climbed back into the trucks and took off. It was 8:24 a.m., and according to Davies, it wouldn’t take them more than fifteen minutes to drive up the highway to Dansby. Will had calculated in an hour’s drive anyway, in case of unforeseen problems. If all went well, they would be back in Starch and safely tucked away inside the facility by noon. If things really went to shit, they would have a five-hour window to get back or find a defensible position for the night.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst…
They reached Highway 59 and were on their way up to Dansby about twenty minutes later. Will glanced at his watch as he drove: 8:45 a.m.
“See if you can get in touch with her again,” Will said.
Lara unlatched her seatbelt and reached into the back of the truck. She pulled forward the ham radio from the Control Room and put it in her lap.
They had tried to contact Elise earlier this morning but didn’t have any luck. It was a bad sign, but there were a myriad of explanations for why they couldn’t get in touch with her, and the girl did promise Lara she would remain where she was. Will knew radios were undependable, oftentimes at the mercy of whatever was scattered in the sky at any given time.
Lara turned on the radio and fidgeted with the dial, then pressed the microphone: “Elise, can you hear me? This is Lara. Elise? Can anyone hear me, sweetheart?”
She kept trying for a few minutes, stopping every twenty seconds or so to adjust the dials back and forth in case Elise had accidentally changed hers. After five minutes of no response, she put down the mic but didn’t turn off the radio. Worry clouded her face.
“She’s fine,” he said. “There are a lot of explanations why she’s not answering. We’ll go there and get her and her brother and bring them back with us and it’ll be fine.”
“She should have answered, Will.”
“Maybe she’s busy. She said her brother was hurt. Maybe she had to take care of him and wasn’t around to answer the radio. Or maybe she heard something and had to turn it off. Maybe the battery she was using died. Who knows how long she’s been using it. There could be a thousand reasons why she’s not answering, Lara. Have faith.”
She nodded, but he didn’t think she really beli
eved it.
“She must be a tough kid,” he added. “She’s survived for months with her brother. I think she’ll be fine for another day.”
“You’re probably right. There could be a thousand reasons why she’s not answering.”
He wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him or herself. He didn’t really believe his own explanations. Lara was right—the girl should have answered.
They drove in silence the rest of the way to Dansby, Texas.
*
Dansby was a small town of “300 or so people.” There was a sign introducing the town as they arrived. A gas station sat alongside what looked like City Hall, next to the highway. Other than that, Dansby was an unremarkable patch of land, alongside a state highway that saw thousands of cars pass by every day, none of which probably gave the small community a second look—if they even gave it a look at all.
They took the off-ramp and turned left under the highway, with Danny moving ahead in the Ram, Davies providing driving directions. A two-lane road led them into the housing area of Dansby, essentially twenty to thirty houses spread out within a two-mile stretch. Dansby High School loomed in front of them, next to a wide football field that was easily the most prominent structure within the entire city limit.
Texas and football. Almost as big as God and Country. Sometimes it was bigger, depending on the town and that year’s team.
Davies’s voice came through the radio: “Came here to watch a football game a time or two. For the size of the place, they’ve actually fielded some pretty good teams over the years. They had a kid a few years back who was highly recruited. Went to the University of Texas at Austin to play ball, but busted his knee in his sophomore year and didn’t really do much after that. I heard he got a free education, though, so you can’t beat that.”
“And ladies and gentleman, that awesome bit of Dansby, Texas football lore comes to you courtesy of Davies,” Danny chimed in.
“Bite me,” Davies replied.
Will and Lara exchanged a brief smile. Danny had that effect on people.
“Did you go to school?” she asked him.
“I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Greek History from UT, actually.”