DEAD Series [Books 1-12]

by Brown, TW

  An hour passed. Finally, Melinda Cribbs came up to take over. I asked her what was going on and she just mumbled something about having to set extra places for dinner. I climbed down to see a few of Gabe’s people sitting around one table.

  I was hungry, but more than that, I just wanted to clean up and slide into my bunk. I had plenty of time to think while I was up there, and to put it bluntly, I was sick of being treated like a kid half the time and like one of the soldiers when they needed to send somebody to the nest or out on a mission. If Jon was going to call me “one of the men” and felt like I was capable of handling my business out in the wild, then I think it is only fair that I be let in on what is going on around here.

  “Billy?” Dr. Zahn’s voice stopped me in my tracks. “Could you come here for a moment, please?”

  I turned around and headed to her office. She ushered me in and pointed to a chair. I thought about refusing it. Maybe I would start sticking up for myself. I saw Steve stand up to the doctor more than once; eventually she started treating him like somebody in charge.

  “We don’t have long, so please sit down,” the doctor insisted.

  I took the seat she indicated. Maybe I would make my stand later. I had no idea what to expect. Dr. Zahn had a peculiar look on her face.

  “I need you to do me a favor,” the doctor said. I shrugged. I guess I would say yes or no once I knew what she wanted.

  “I need you to keep an eye on the newcomers for a while until we get a handle on them.”

  Okay, I didn’t expect that.

  “I don’t understand.” Well…I didn’t.

  “I am not saying that these are bad people, it is just that we need to know more before we can trust them.”

  “But Jon seemed to know Gabe at least. When we ran into them, they were like old friends.”

  “And perhaps years ago, or even months ago, they were. But this is a new world now, Billy. People have changed. They do things that they would have never considered before all of this happened. We can’t be sure until some time has passed.”

  “So why me?” I asked.

  “Because they will not see you, my boy.” I imagine the look on my face told the doctor all she needed to know—I didn’t get it. “I realize that you were a bit perturbed when we sent you off like a child when we had our little meeting, but if we took you serious in front of the newcomers, they would see you as one of the adults. They may not drop their guard, but they are more likely to do so in front of you if they see you as somebody less important.”

  I guess I understood. It made sense, at least more sense than a lot of those looks earlier. I figured now was the best chance I would have of getting any answers.

  “So what is going on between you and Jon? There is some really bad feelings between you,” I said.

  The doctor stared at me for a moment and I thought that she was going to completely blow me off. Then she did something that made me regret ever asking or thinking that I could ask anything. She smiled.

  “So you picked up on that, did you? Seems like we chose the right boy…er…young man,” Dr. Zahn said with a laugh.

  I have no idea what she is talking about, but I figure the best thing to do is keep my mouth shut. Maybe, if I am lucky, she will make this as clear as mud for me.

  “Jon and I simply have a difference of opinion in regards to a few things,” Dr. Zahn sighed. “I don’t want to burden you with a bunch of nonsense that we will probably be able to handle between ourselves. Just, do me a favor?”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Be careful. We don’t know anything about these people. The only reason that I even agreed to involve you is because Jon has so much on his plate right now, and I don’t believe that he will be as vigilant with these people as he should.”

  I left the doctor’s little office even more confused. So at least I know that there is something going on between her and Jon. I was worried that I might be imagining things.

  I stopped by the table and scooped up a bowl of soup. After only a couple of spoonfuls, I was done. I gave up expecting something rich and hearty a long time ago. But this was just barely above dishwater. It was thin and had almost no flavor. Slipping in to the back, I ran in to Melissa and Cheryl. They were standing just inside the storage closet.

  “How’s everything?” I asked as I walked up. I took a peek inside the closet without trying to make it obvious. Just as I suspected. The shelves were looking pretty bare.

  “Oh, hi there, Billy,” Melissa said with a glance my way.

  Even in that quick look at her face, I could see that her eyes were still rimmed with red and kind of swollen. I wonder if she will ever reach a point where she is okay. I remember when we first found her. She was a total basket case. In fact, we almost left her behind when we were evacuating that FEMA shelter at my high school. If it wasn’t for Teresa…I doubt that Melissa would be here now.

  “Getting stuff out for dinner?” I asked as I reached down and picked up the plastic container full of cans.

  I noticed a variety of canned vegetables. But it was mostly those ones like the kind my mom would give away at canned food drives. I saw garbanzo beans, refried beans, string beans, lima beans…well I guess I knew what we were having for dinner. Maybe I would take the night watch. The sleeping quarters would be ripe tonight for sure.

  “Yeah,” both ladies said with distant voices.

  I carried the tub to the counter and set it down. They didn’t even seem to notice. Maybe the doctor is right. Maybe I don’t exist on anybody’s radar. I headed back out to the main room. A few of Gabe’s people were over at a table. It looked like they were cleaning their weapons, sharpening blades, that sort of thing. I went over to a chair nearby and flopped down.

  “…we were going to try and make it to a real outpost,” one of the soldiers was saying. “This place is a bunch of women and kids. He can’t seriously be thinking of staying here.”

  “It looks like it,” another soldier said. This one was a female. She had a jaw that stuck out, and a smashed in face that made her look more masculine than most of the guys sitting around the table with her. But her eyes; they were this bright blue. Probably the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. “But maybe it won’t be so bad. These people got pretty decent security in place. You see that trench? That had to take some serious work.”

  “I just don’t want to be a freakin’ babysitter for the rest of my life,” one of the other men grumbled.

  “You wanna take your chances out there with the stiffs? Spend every night hoping you can find a place that is defensible enough to get a few hours sleep?” the female shot back. “Me, I’m ready to settle in. This place ain’t too bad…we could do worse…we almost did.”

  “Well if that soup is any indication, this place is running low on supplies.” This guy looked Asian. And I don’t know how he was managing it, but his head was shaved smooth. Not even the slightest bit of stubble showed.

  “Yeah, I was noticing that,” the female said.

  Well, this was boring. I got up and headed out to the porch. Looking around, I saw a Jon, Gabe, and a few other soldiers down at the far end of the parking lot. They were in a pretty deep conversation by the looks of it. Glancing around, I saw that I could actually move down the far end of the shoveled out lot and be just on the other side of a bank of snow from them.

  A tingle of adrenaline started churning in my belly. Of course that made me immediately have to pee. I ignored the building pressure in my bladder and went to the far end of the porch where I eventually passed outside the field of vision of Jon or the others. I went to the edge of the parking lot and started heading their way. Halfway there, I realized the flaw in my plan. Looking up, I could see the crow’s nest. Melinda was still on watch, but she just seemed to be leaning on the edge and staring out into space.

  I moved up until I could start to hear voices, then crept in as slow and quiet as possible. I could already tell that the conversation was a heated one.<
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  “…and this Zahn lady just let her go while you were on this run?” I hear Gabe. His smoothness is gone and I am starting to wonder if that thing he does with his voice is something that he switches to on purpose when he meets people to try and set them at ease because he is so damn huge.

  Then another thought hits. I realize that I have not seen Shelly since we got back. I guess I didn’t think about it because she is always kept locked away. But that room is where the so-called meeting of the adults took place. Why would Dr. Zahn let her go?

  “I still haven’t gotten much out of Miss Zahn,” I hear Jon say.

  I realize right then that he is very good at being a great big liar. I would have to think every time I spoke to keep from calling her a doctor. The fact that he is still keeping that a secret is probably important. I just wish I could figure it out.

  “She let the girl go the morning after we left. So at least she was smart enough to realize that the girl could be a threat,” Jake spoke up.

  “Don’t seem to me like you got a real handle on this place, man,” a voice thick with what sounds like a New York accent—and by that I mean he sounds like Tony Soprano—says with what can only be anger. But then, from what I ever saw on television, people from New York are always mad…so that may just be how he talks.

  “I already told you, I don’t run things here,” Jon says. “We are a group. Our decisions are made as a group. We try to keep a little democracy alive.”

  “A lot of good that seems to have done you,” Phony Soprano snorts. “Lost all your men and got nothing left but women and children to handle your business.”

  “Easy, Gino,” I hear Gabe say, and I almost blow a lung trying not to laugh. The guy is a living stereotype. “These people have done pretty well for themselves. They have at least the basics covered with security. There is a ready water source, if my guess is correct on the boxes that I saw in that one corner, they at least have some of the stuff in place to put in a solar power set-up. And that trench is an engineering marvel. Your people must have been busting humps all summer long.”

  “Yeah, and our only shortcoming is supplies. The problem that we have is not having any way to get enough of what we need up here. We have one Snow Cat with a small flatbed trailer. It looks like a lot of food when you load it down, but we go through it much faster.” I could hear something in Jon’s voice that sounded like real concern. So the food situation was at least as bad as I imagined. Score one for the kid.

  “Why not hit someplace like La Grande?” Gabe asked. “According to the map I have, it isn’t that far from here. There has got to be some stuff worth plucking from there.”

  “First…it’s farther than it looks. Not too many transport trucks making runs these days. We have made a few trips to the edges, but we can’t get in deep,” Jon explains. “The problem has always been that it is only two or three of us on a run. Not enough to deal with what I have been seeing.”

  “Which is?” a female voice pipes up. It must be the blonde with the real pretty face. I say this because I know where the manly looking one is and the other female is Hispanic and has a thicker accent than little Thalia.

  “There are some organized groups forming down in the valley. These are not friendly types. I have seen two separate engagements between what must be rival factions…” Jon explained.

  This was all news to me. I had never heard anything about it being this serious. I wonder if Steve knew. I wonder if Dr. Zahn knows. It seems to me like maybe Jon is keeping secrets. Then I hear something that sinks its hooks into the part of my brain that pays attention.

  “…if we establish control here and take charge, then I think we can really make this place into something,” Gabe says.

  “I’m not sure these folks want military control over their lives,” Jon argues.

  “They ain’t gotta like it…they just gotta accept it,” Gabe replies. “The way I see it, they need us more than we need them. If we up and left, I’d be willing to bet we could return in six months to find this place empty.”

  “And that’d be a real shame,” Gino said with a tone to his voice that made the hair on my neck stand up. “Couple of those little chickens look ripe for plucking. Hell, even the pregnant one still looks nice.”

  “You are a pig, Carlucci,” the female voice mutters.

  “Yeah, Nelson?” I hear Gino retort. “Well I bet if you wasn’t getting’ the bone from Gibbs on the regular, you’d probably be itchin’ and bitchin’ yourself.”

  “And you know what, Carlucci, I still wouldn’t fuck you.”

  “Lesbian.”

  “Greaseball.”

  “Enough, you two!” Gabe snaps. “We have more pressing issues.”

  “I got an issue needs pressing,” Gino Carlucci mutters loud enough to be heard.

  “I said stow it!” I hear Gabe bark. I also hear a bit of noise like somebody getting smacked. “We have things that need to be settled…and in a hurry. I don’t want people to wonder what is up. If that watch up in the tower was paying any attention, folks would probably already be getting a bit curious.”

  That is all I needed to hear for now. I figure this is what the doctor sent me to find out. Besides, it also sounds like they are going to be breaking up their meeting pretty soon. I don’t want to be caught. I slipped away and headed back to the cabin.

  ***

  “…but I don’t think they are going to hurt anybody,” I finished telling everything that I had heard to Dr. Zahn.

  She sat there for a moment with her lips pressed tight. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or just thinking.

  “Even the pregnant one still looks nice?” Melissa growled. Well at least I didn’t have to wonder what she thought. “I’ll pluck him!”

  “Just settle down,” Dr. Zahn said with that voice that you could not help but listen to. I swear, if she could have bottled that stuff and given it to parents…well, let’s just say there would have been a lot fewer problem children.

  “Did you hear what that scum bag said?” Melissa was apparently immune to the doctor’s voice of authority.

  “Yes, I did. But what I also heard was that he is simply a horny male. There are plenty of those. He is under the command of this Winters person. Not only that, but it would seem that the remainder of this group is fairly normal. It is still a bit too early to make any concrete decisions, but the initial report leads me to believe that perhaps this group will be useful.”

  “But what about them wanting to make us live under some sort of military rule?” I asked.

  “These are military men and women, Mister Haynes. It is what they know,” the doctor said.

  I must have had that stupid look on my face that said I didn’t get the point that she was trying to make.

  “I was an officer in the United States Army, Mister Haynes.”

  I wonder if the light bulb actually flickered and became visible above my head. Dr. Zahn was obviously much older than any other person here. I didn’t know much about military ranks, but as old as she is, I bet she outranked all of them combined.

  “As for their problem with my having released the prisoner, I was not about to allow her to be executed. I had a long conversation with her and have no concerns that she will present a problem.” The doctor got up and opened the door to the office.

  I guess that meant our meeting was over. I nodded to her and Melissa and exited. I turned to ask if there was anything else I should be looking for, but the door shut. I took that as ‘no’ and went to my bunk. I was pretty tired and could use a nap.

  I doubt my eyes were shut longer than ten minutes when a hand shook my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Jake standing there. He had on all his gear. He also had my pack in his hand.

  “Get up, Haynes. Jon wants you loaded out. We are heading out in thirty minutes.”

  “Where to?” That seemed like a logical question.

  “We are making a run to the valley.”

  I climbed out of bed. I don’t
care how long we live here, I will never get used to the cold in the air. This is not just your normal type of chill. This is a cold that cuts through your body and freezes the inside of your bones so that those first few steps feel like your insides are made of glass and all of the joints crack, break, and grind together.

  Maybe I should move in to the main sleeping area with everybody else. I moved in to this room to get away from all of the couples. They might think everybody is asleep when they start bumping nasties, but we aren’t…at least I wasn’t. Nobody wants to hear that.

  Plus, I didn’t like waking up each morning and having to stay in my bed until certain things changed back to normal. The last thing I needed was to turn around and have Thalia or Emily staring at the tent pitched in my shorts.

  By the time I got dressed and made it out to the common room, Gabe, Jon, Jake, and ten of the soldiers from Gabe’s crew were all giving each other last checks. I guess things were about to get serious…and I was not going to get that nap any time soon.

  13

  Vignettes XXXV

  Caleb slipped inside the hut. Fortune was favoring him this morning. Once again the tiny shack was empty. He stepped over the mostly decomposed body sprawled in the middle of the main room and went to the shelves on the far wall.

  He opened the jars one at a time, and with much more caution after that last incident with the enormous spider. Just remembering those hairy legs folding over the lip of the clay jar sent a shiver though his body that had nothing to do with the cold, damp morning air coming off the not-too-distant harbor.

  This jar had rice! Some of it was clumped together, but there was almost no mold. He stuffed the jar in his bag and moved down the shelf methodically. This hut was the best so far. He found some dried dates and even a jar of olives that didn’t smell too terribly bad.

  Moving to the doorway, he scanned the narrow alley that passed for a road through the village. Only a couple of those damn things seemed to have taken notice of him when he slipped inside. They were making their way over in that slow, awkward manner in which they moved.