Zombie Rules (Book 5): Mount Weather

by David Achord

  “Good evening, sirs and-or ma’am’s,” Melvin said to the table and then focused on Stark. “You want a report now, or in the morning?”

  Stark took a drink from a glass of water and eyed Melvin coolly. “Considering you’ve let an individual into the compound who I would guess hasn’t yet been tested, perhaps you should do it now,” he said.

  Melvin sat, but before he got started, Savannah slapped the tray down on the table and sat beside him. “I got enough for both of us,” she said, and gave Melvin a sarcastic look as she daintily unfolded a napkin and placed it in her lap. She then picked up a knife and fork and with the same daintiness cut into the hamburger steak.

  “This is Savannah. We met in Oak Ridge,” Melvin explained. Savannah glanced at them shyly before concentrating on her food.

  “Have you vetted her?” one of them asked.

  “Of course,” Melvin answered and started to speak, but Savannah interrupted him.

  “What’s vetting?” she asked.

  “It’s where I check you out and make sure you’re not a spy or some crazy chick whose intention is to cause problems.”

  “Oh,” she said and looked back at the person, who was one of Stark’s aides. “I’m not crazy,” she said plainly.

  “You see? There you go,” Melvin said. “Properly vetted.”

  Savannah held up a fork with a piece of meat on it in front of Melvin. He stuck it in his mouth and chewed.

  “Not bad at all,” he said.

  “Sergeant Clark, if you please,” General Fosswell said.

  “Y-12 is occupied. They wouldn’t let us in, but they seem to have a really sweet operation going. They have power, water, food, advanced fortifications, you name it. I spoke to a man who was presumably their leader, but he only identified himself as Doc Kries.”

  Stark nodded at one of his aides, who opened a laptop and started tapping on the keyboard, presumably doing a name search.

  “How is their health?” Stark asked. “They appeared to be in good shape,” Melvin answered. “I didn’t see all of them, but the men were healthy, nourished, clean-shaven. They had gardens, crops, and some cattle. I’d say they’ve done alright for themselves.”

  “Weaponry?” Seth asked.

  “All were armed with Heckler and Koch MP5s. Each man also had a handgun as a backup weapon, and all of them had level two holsters. None of that stuck in their waistband nonsense, and each had pouches for extra magazines. It gave me the impression they were disciplined. I didn’t see anything heavier, no tanks, artillery, or mortar pits.”

  “Are they nuclear?” he asked.

  Melvin nodded. “The cooling tower had water vapor coming out of it. They have plenty of power.”

  “They have little kids,” Savannah said. “I saw a bunch of them. Maybe ten or twelve. And they looked healthy, and clean, and they were running around playing and having fun, and that kind of tells you they ain’t starving. They wouldn’t be having fun if they were starving.”

  She looked around to see everyone at the table staring at her, suddenly causing her to become embarrassed. “I took pictures,” she added, her voice trailing off.

  Secretary Stark regarded her thoughtfully while General Fosswell’s expression was anything but thoughtful. He seemed irritated at her mere presence and it showed.

  Stark focused back on Melvin. “Thank you both for your input. I’ll expect a full report from you ASAP, Sergeant. In the meantime, I’m sure you two want to enjoy your dinner.”

  Melvin recognized he was being dismissed. “You’ll have it, sir,” he said, stood, and motioned Savannah to follow him.

  “Why’d we change tables?” Savannah asked as they sat.

  “They don’t know you, so they weren’t comfortable talking about things with you present.”

  “Oh.” She drank some water and then looked at Melvin again.

  “So, you report to a general, that’s pretty cool. Is he the head motherfucker in charge?”

  “Language?” Melvin chided. Savannah rolled her eyes. “In answer to your question, that was the secretary of defense I was speaking to. The other guy is a general, but no, they’re not the head honcho, the president is.” He gestured. “He’s sitting right over there.”

  Savannah looked over. “He looks older in real life,” she said and then continued eating.

  Melvin had only gotten a couple of bites of the hamburger steak when he felt a presence. He looked up to see Doctor Salisbury standing over him. She was an African American woman in her mid-forties who had been stranded and trapped within the confines of Georgetown hospital for over a year.

  “Hi, Doc, what’s cooking?” Melvin asked.

  “It would appear that once again you have brought someone into Mount Weather without allowing for the testing protocol to take place first.”

  “Are you talking about me?” Savannah asked.

  “Yes, I am, young lady,” Doctor Salisbury said and again looked pointedly at Melvin.

  Melvin gestured with his fork. “Doctor Salisbury, meet Savannah Stratton. Doctor Salisbury is my personal proctologist.”

  Doctor Salisbury emitted a sigh as she frowned and cast a brief glance heavenward. “Melvin, could we please dispense with your callous brand of humor? This is a serious matter.”

  “What is she talking about?” Savannah asked.

  Melvin chewed and swallowed before answering. “Before anyone is allowed into Mount Weather, they have to be tested first to see if they’re infected.”

  “Oh.” She looked at Doctor Salisbury. “I’m not infected,” she declared.

  Doctor Salisbury continued frowning. “Be that as it may, we have protocols in place. I’m going to have to bring this matter to the attention of General Fosswell and have this young lady quarantined until she is tested.”

  “What kind of tests?” Savannah asked.

  “Blood tests,” Doctor Salisbury replied as she eyed Savannah’s skinny torso. “When is the last time you’ve had a full checkup, dear?”

  Savannah shrugged. “I guess maybe back when I was thirteen or fourteen. Back before, you know?”

  The doctor appraised Savannah and was about to speak, but Melvin interrupted.

  “Now, Doc, General Fosswell has already met her. He has enough on his plate already. You don’t need to be bothering him with trivial matters.”

  “This is not a trivial matter, Mister Clark.”

  He sighed. “I understand,” he replied and fished into his shirt pocket. As he did so, he caught sight of a particular woman sitting at a table on the far end of the cafeteria, giving him a hard stare. The fact that she was sitting next to her husband did not seem to dissuade her. Melvin quickly turned away and refocused on the doctor.

  “I brought you a present, Doc,” he said.

  Doctor Salisbury looked down at a small strip of paper Melvin was holding.

  “You know what it is, right?” he asked.

  She took it out of his hand and inspected it.

  “Of course, it’s a test strip for a blood coagulation test meter.”

  Melvin nodded. “Yep, you’re exactly right. On our way back here, Savannah and I happened upon one of those health clinics. It was mostly empty, you know how it goes, but Savannah found a box of about a thousand of these little rascals sitting in a drawer.”

  “Very nice, Melvin, but they’re worthless without a meter, and we don’t have any.” Doctor Salisbury pointed at Savannah. “Now, I must insist you escort Savannah out of the compound until she can be tested.”

  Melvin once again nodded in seeming agreement. “You say you don’t have a meter?” he asked.

  Now, Doctor Salisbury arched an eyebrow. “Melvin Clark, what are you up to?”

  Melvin helped himself to a forkful of green beans before answering. “I’ve got two,” he said casually.

  “Two? Two testing meters?”

  “Yep, found them still hooked up to their chargers, and they look like they’ve hardly been used.”

  D
octor Salisbury folded her arms as she stared at Melvin, watching him eat. “Alright, I’m listening.”

  Melvin pointed his fork at Savannah. “I’ve been with her for a couple of days now. If memory serves me correctly, you and those other smart people gave us a lecture about infected people and you yourself said the symptoms will manifest itself no later than twenty-four hours after being exposed. Right?”

  He waited for Doctor Salisbury to respond, but she merely kept staring at Melvin.

  “So, with that in mind, I’ve not seen any kind of zombie symptoms. Besides, you won’t be bothered to do tests until in the morning anyway. Let’s do this; how about I keep her with me for the night? I’ll keep her locked up in my room and, first thing in the morning, I’ll bring her to medical.”

  “Don’t I have a say-so in this?” Savannah asked with a touch of indignation.

  “No,” Melvin replied curtly and then looked at the doctor expectantly.

  Doctor Salisbury stared hard at Melvin, as if he were hatching some evil plot to infect Mount Weather for nefarious purposes. She then eyed Savannah up and down, looking for any telltale signs of infection.

  “Alright, but she better be secured in your room, away from other people.” She then looked at Savannah. “I’ll see you promptly at eight.”

  “You got it, Doc,” Melvin said.

  “And bring those meters,” she said before walking off.

  After eating, the two of them went to Melvin’s truck and gathered some gear.

  “What do you do with Peggy?” Savannah asked.

  “If I think it’s going to be bad weather, I’ll throw a tarp over her. Otherwise, I leave her like she is.”

  “Are you ever going to kill her?”

  “Hell, I don’t know,” Melvin answered. He thought about it as they walked back. He knew she was never going to get back to normal, and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to putting a bullet in her head. Someone once commented, he couldn’t remember who, but they said it was the best way to give mercy to people who were no longer human.

  Melvin had been lucky enough to be assigned a room. It was so small it reminded him of a prison cell, but he was grateful all the same. There were about a dozen people who still slept in the dorm, but Melvin was a light sleeper and listening to other people snoring and farting all night was not his idea of fun. Besides, the guys who lived in the dorm loved to get high. They’d smoke until the late hours of the night. Melvin didn’t care, but the smoke was overwhelming and he never cared for marijuana.

  “Uh, this place could use some cleaning,” Savannah said when they walked in. He looked around. She was right; his room was filthy.

  “Yeah, well, I’ve been meaning to get around to it.”

  “Where’s the bathroom?”

  “Down the hall,” Melvin answered. “There’s a male and female locker room. The luxury suites have their own restrooms, but not us.”

  “I’d really like to take a hot shower,” she said. “I haven’t had one of those in I don’t know how long.”

  “Yeah, go ahead,” Melvin said. He dug in a drawer for a couple of towels and a fresh pullover shirt for her to wear. “I think I’m going to do the same. I’ll leave the door unlocked; just make yourself at home if I’m not here when you get through.”

  “Okay.”

  Melvin unlaced his boots and tossed them in a corner. He looked around. Savannah was right; his room was filthy. If he didn’t have a work detail tomorrow, maybe he’d work on it a little.

  But, there was an urgent issue he had to attend to right away. He grabbed his toiletry kit, a towel, and hustled down the hallway. He heard someone in one of the shower stalls, singing off-key. He set his stuff on a bench and then hurried into a toilet stall. He dropped his pants and sat.

  That was the thing about MREs. They stopped you up. There was nothing like some fresh vegetables to loosen things up. He closed his eyes in relaxation as nature took its course. Whoever was showering was finished now. Melvin could hear them drying off and dressing, then he heard the sound of the locker room door. He was alone now, which certainly helped with his current activity.

  Oh, this one is going to be a double-flusher, he thought, but that was okay. Get it all out now, he thought. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the locker room door opening.

  “Melvin?” Savannah asked.

  Damn, he thought, can’t a man have a little private time?

  “I’m a little busy at the moment,” he said.

  “Okay,” she said. He kept waiting for the sound of the door, but he never heard it.

  “Go back to the room,” he ordered. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  Finally, he heard the door. He flushed, opened the door, and peeked out. Satisfied she was gone, he walked across the locker room to the showers.

  She was sitting on the bed wrapped in a towel waiting for him.

  “That was wonderful,” she said with a smile.

  “Yeah.” He opened a dresser drawer, found a hairbrush, and handed it to her. She could see the mirror from where she sat and began brushing her hair out. He couldn’t help but noticed how much better it looked once she’d washed it with real shampoo.

  Once finished, she slipped on the shirt and then crawled under the covers. Melvin put on a fresh T-shirt and a raggedy pair of sweatpants.

  “Alright, sleep good. I’m going to crash out in the dorm,” he said.

  “You’re leaving?”

  Melvin nodded.

  “Stay here,” she requested.

  Melvin insisted he was going to sleep in the dorm; Savannah argued she wasn’t going to steal his bed and would, therefore, join him in the dorm. After arguing the point back and forth, Melvin gave up and found himself in the bed with her.

  “This is nice,” Savannah cooed as she snuggled close. “But your sheets smell like a monkey’s ass.”

  Chapter 26 – Savannah’s Physical

  “I have good news and not so good news,” Doctor Salisbury said and looked at Savannah with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “You aren’t infected.”

  “Okay, I knew that already,” Savannah replied.

  Melvin had surprised her the next morning. He’d awoken early and washed her only set of clothes. Although they were clean now, she still looked like a ragamuffin. Doctor Salisbury continued.

  “The not-so-good news. You’re suffering from malnourishment. I’m sure it has to do with how you were living and not something like anorexia, correct?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I mean, no ma’am. I’m not anorexic. I’ve been through a rough time recently is all, but it’s all good now, and I had a big dinner last night.”

  “Okay, good. And now, for some more unpleasant news; you have chlamydia. Based on my examination, you also have what is commonly referred to as pelvic inflammatory disease.”

  She waited for a response, but Savannah remained quiet and slowly folded her arms around her. “You may have noticed some symptoms. Painful urination? Perhaps an unpleasant odor?”

  Savannah reluctantly nodded as she stared at a spot on the tile floor.

  “Okay, I’m going to prescribe you some antibiotics. Take all of them, and do not engage in sexual activity until you’ve completed your dosage. The symptoms should clear up, but I want you back here in two weeks for a follow-up. In the meantime, eat.”

  “Okay,” Savannah answered, wondering if she was still going to be around in two weeks.

  “Have you and Melvin been engaging in any type of sexual acts?”

  “No, ma’am,” Savannah answered. “I mean, he’s nice to me, but there’s been no sex. I don’t think he’s interested in me like that.” Probably because my ribs poke out like a skeleton and up until recently I was a whore for a group of scumbags, she thought.

  Doctor Salisbury eyed her, as if wondering if she were telling the truth or not. “There is one other thing,” she said.

  Savannah looked at her expectantly.

  “The PID has caused issues. You
will most likely be unable to have children.”

  “Okay,” Savannah said in almost a whisper. She stared off into space as she wondered why God had been so cruel to her.

  Doctor Salisbury sat beside her. “Tell me what happened to you, dear.”

  Savannah hugged herself tighter with her arms and remained stubbornly silent. The doctor waited for a few minutes before relenting and giving Savannah a reassuring pat on the leg.

  “Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here, okay?”

  “Can I go now?”

  Doctor Salisbury stood and gave her a motherly expression. “Of course. Be sure to follow my instructions. The dentist is next door.”

  She waited until Savannah had left before getting on the phone and calling General Fosswell. In an uncharacteristic move for a doctor, she gave a full recounting of Savannah’s health issues.

  “So, she’s putting Weather at risk of spreading STDs,” he surmised.

  “I don’t think so,” Doctor Salisbury responded. “She’s obviously been traumatized; I’d guess there’s been at least one incident of rape. The good news, if it’s good news, she’s formed an attachment to Melvin. I don’t see her sleeping around. The only person at risk of contracting an STD from her would be him.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right, Doctor.”

  General Fosswell drummed his fingers in silent thought. He glanced over at his desk to a framed photograph. It was a picture of him in his twenties, arm around a pretty blonde who was close to his age. They were dressed in formal attire. It was his wife. The venue was a soiree at her parent’s country club.

  Happier times.

  General Harlan Fosswell thought of himself as a good Christian, Catholic to be precise. His wife was the first person he knew who became infected. He and his son buried her in the backyard before loading up their belongings in his government-assigned Lincoln Navigator and driving directly to Mount Weather.

  Harlan looked at his Bible. It was lying beside the photo and opened to the book of Revelations. Verse 16:21 to be exact. He’d read it so many times he had memorized it long ago. He believed the Lord was using the plague to punishing mankind. And, it wouldn’t do for a couple of crazy scientists to create a vaccine so the unjust could continue living.