by Brown, TW
The ones that had been charging up the stairs made a hasty retreat, the bodies of their friends acting as a bit of a shield. Aleah had just a second or two to actually admire the fact that the soldiers did not waste a shot. They no longer had a clear one, and so held their fire.
The people who had stopped made for the overhang of the upper floor walkway. The sounds of crashing made it clear that they had burst in to one of the apartments below. That was only one problem solved, however.
The small herd had finished with the fallen woman leaving almost nothing but a huge red stain on the snow. At least they weren’t adding to their ranks, Aleah thought. Still, something was bothering her about this group below. Of course, at first she had been annoyed that the sergeant had been so dismissive. But how had they lost half their group so quick? Plus, she had only heard a couple of screams. Things were not adding up.
Bringing up her binoculars, she scanned the area. She had no idea what she was looking for, but something was really starting to gnaw at her.
There! She tweaked the focus just a bit and took a closer look. If that was what she thought it was…
Aleah sprung to her feet and ran to the back bedroom. She ignored the shouts from the sergeant. If she was wrong, she would simply look like the idiot that they apparently believed her to be; but if she was right…
Aleah crouched down and moved to the side of the bedroom window. She tried to stay as concealed as possible as she risked a peek. Five dark figures were running in a crouch from behind a snow-covered lump that vaguely resembled a vehicle.
Bringing her heavy crossbow up, she sighted in on the closest figure. It was moving very slowly across the last large open space between the street and the open back lot behind the complex. The figure was moving with caution, but it was obvious that there was some degree of confidence. After all, they had not been spotted as of yet—as far as they knew.
The twang and hiss sounded loud to Aleah, but the individuals making an attempt to sneak up on them obviously never heard a thing until the bolt slammed into the torso of the person leading the would-be assault.
There was a bit of a yelp, but the person stood up straight for just a second and then fell back. The bolt could be seen sticking up very clearly. Already, Aleah was reloading. She had the second person in her sights as they were still busy looking around frantically for the source of the death of one of their comrades. Aleah fired just as the little group obviously decided to make for cover. Her target took the bolt in the back and went skidding face down in the snow.
A loud commotion sounded from out front and Aleah heard the sergeant giving orders. Satisfied that she had at least slowed this attack down without them actually getting a look at her, she hurried back to the front. Everybody was either in the process of firing or reloading. Apparently the ones from below had decided to make another attempt. This one was even more disastrous for the assailants.
Catie had dropped back and retrieved one of the packs. Aleah watched as she produced a jar. The scratching sound of the flywheel preceded the spark from a Zippo lighter. The long strip of cloth ignited with a greenish-blue flame. Catie scrambled forward and waited just a second before popping up and hurling the incendiary device.
Aleah heard the shatter of glass and a ‘whomp’ that was quickly followed by screams. Aleah made it to the window just in time to see several figures bounding away through the litter of zombies strewn about. Only a few undead remained and they were turning to follow the ones running away.
“Everybody stand down but stay sharp,” Sergeant Seiber whispered. Obviously she thought there might still be some below. “As for you,” her head popped up and her eyes locked on to Aleah, “that is why you aren’t one of us. The moment it got hot, you ran for cover!”
“Is that right?” Aleah smirked. “Why don’t you follow me?”
“We gonna finish that foolish attempt you were about to make just before those raiders showed up and saved you from the beat down of your life?” The sergeant rose to her feet and set her crossbow down.
“Just shut up and follow me,” Aleah shot back.
She realized that there was probably a better way to deal with this situation, but she had taken about all the crap she was willing to take from this woman. She turned and headed back into the bedroom, not bothering to look over her shoulder to see if the sergeant was following. Of course the cheap construction of the apartment complex told her the answer with the squeaks and groans from the floor that accompanied the sergeant’s progress.
Aleah peeked out the window and was pleased to see that both bodies were still right where they fell to her crossbow. Also, there was no sign of the ones who had run for cover.
With a smile, she stepped aside and ushered the sergeant forward to take a look. The woman cupped her hands over her eyes to block some of the glare and just stood there silent for what seemed to Aleah like a much longer time than was needed.
“How did you know?” the sergeant finally asked.
“For one, there were way more of them when we first saw the group. The amount of screaming we heard did not match with what was coming at us. I got a closer look at that one member of their group that fell as they were coming. One of the problems that I was having was that nobody even looked back when she went down.”
Aleah paused for a second. The sergeant was looking at her as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head. You really underestimated me, didn’t you? she thought with a sense of smug satisfaction. Before resuming, she indicated with her head that the sergeant should follow her. Without waiting to see if the stern-faced woman did or did not, Aleah headed back out to the living room and out to the walkway landing.
“Take a look at what is left of the one that didn’t make it,” Aleah said, handing her binoculars to the sergeant.
“You have got to be kidding,” the woman breathed.
“They had her cuffed and manacled. I imagine they had her gagged as well which is probably why we only heard that one little scream at the end.”
Aleah looked around to discover that everybody was now giving her the same look of incredulity. They were shooting glances back and forth to one another and eyebrows were raised. She looked over and was a little disappointed to see that same expression on Catie’s face. For some reason, she just thought that the two of them had made some sort of connection. She knew right then that, no matter what might be said or done, she would always be thought of as less than these women.
“And you figured all of this out…” Sergeant Seiber left the statement hanging in the air as an obvious question.
“Well…” Aleah had only a second or two to decide which direction she wanted to go with her answer. In the end, she decided that these people could kiss her ass. “As for how I figured it out, I did some training of my own under somebody much more qualified in these matters. I wouldn’t feel right just giving up his secrets without him being consulted. The fact remains, you have been calling me a NUB since we headed out. That is apparently an acronym for Non-Useful Body. I think we can put that to rest. And as for you, Miss Seiber,” Aleah intentionally left off using her military title, “you think that just because you wear that uniform that you have the market cornered on kicking somebody’s butt? I got news for you, I was just starting, but I was training to be a cage fighter. I may have a few surprises for you if you want to push my buttons.”
Another look around at her travel companions revealed a wide variety of expressions. Some seemed annoyed, others dubious, but that look of her being something to dismiss was gone. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.
“So, if we are done here, I think it best that we move out just on the off chance that those guys were scouts for a larger group.” Aleah went over to Angel and began to rouse her.
It took a few minutes, but eventually they were all ready to move out. It came as little surprise—at least to Aleah—when they discovered a girl in her late teens pinned to the wall just inside the apartment below them. Her tongue
had obviously been cut out some time ago, but there was a nasty bite on one arm. The body squirmed and writhed, reaching for them as they went past, but the sword used was keeping her from being anything more threatening than a high-priced animatronic.
Aleah was bringing up the rear with Angel and Catie. She shifted just enough on the way by to drive the bolt she had just retrieved from one of the dead into the left eye socket. It took them a while, and more than once they saw signs of the raiders’ retreat as they moved out of town.
“So why would they tell us about the herds?” Catie finally asked as they took a break in some trees near the Licking River allowing everybody to catch their breath.
“Who knows,” Aleah said with a shrug. “Maybe they were trying to seem friendly to draw us out. You never know anymore. People that you would have never given a second look to a year ago when the world was normal turn out to be a brand of evil that we never imagined or morph into saviors of the world.”
“I sure have had my fill of that first kind,” Catie sighed.
“Has it really been that bad?” Aleah asked.
She had seen a few things along the way, but most of her time had been spent with Kevin and his people. She had heard of the horrors that Heather endured, but surely that had to be the rare exception.
“At first I guess it was like any other disaster,” Catie said.
Aleah settled in. She could already tell that this was going to be a lengthy bit of talking. Catie’s eyes had already taken on a faraway quality and it was clear that she was letting her mind drift back.
“You had some folks helping each other…and you had the people that were looting and doing all that stupid crap that people do when they know that the authorities have their hands full. But the problem this time was that the people out there responding to emergency calls and being brought in to hospitals to cover the overflow were becoming casualties. Those first ten days, it is estimated that we lost over half of our police, fire, and medical personnel to the infection.”
“I remember the news but it just did not seem real,” Aleah said with a trace of sadness creeping into her voice. “And then there were all those people from the government coming on and saying that it was being overblown.”
“Yeah, meanwhile we had the recall of damn near anybody with military experience taking place. We were actually being sent into neighborhoods to pick up people. We were escorting busloads of people into the nearest military processing center.
“But when everything went offline, when the television and radio went off and it was clear that we were losing, people deserted en masse. It was not uncommon to show up at morning muster and find twenty percent of the people gone. Then things just started going from bad to worse. Women started coming up missing from our regiment. At first we were chalking it up to desertion, then Willa uncovered a ring of soldiers…all men of course. They were brokering deals with this civilian militia that was holed up in that giant building that looks like a picnic basket.”
“Shaw?” Aleah was stunned to hear how full-circle some things seemed to come.
“I never got the names of anybody,” Catie admitted. “But it was right around then that Willa basically mobilized every single female soldier she could get to and late one night, she led an attack on our own. From that point on, we have been sort of out in the breeze. We have met some real scum out there. And it just seems that you start to forget about the decent folks after a while.”
The two sat in silence for the rest of the break. Aleah just wanted to get back to the camp and see what could be done for Kevin. As soon as he was able, she wanted to be away from these people. She longed for the days when it was just their small group. As crazy as the whole thing seemed, she felt that their best chance was not with this large group, but rather just their small one.
***
Heather stepped out of the RV. After a long talk with a few of the soldiers, she had to see Kevin. If she just sat and did nothing, she would never forgive herself. And if he ever found out that she knew but said nothing…he would never forgive her either.
Colonel Shipley’s words were still ringing in her ears. She knew on a certain level that what the colonel said was right, but that was only if you could live with this new and harsh reality. It was unlikely that Kevin would accept this situation with anything other than anger.
She had been summoned to the colonel’s tent just before dawn this morning. It didn’t take a genius to have an inkling as to what the reason might be. A few hours prior, this place had been buzzing with activity as everybody was busy fighting off the herd of zombies that had come their way. That in and of itself was part of the world that they lived in; however, there was little doubt that it had been Valarie who brought them.
Sometime during the night she had managed to slip from her restraints and get out into the compound. Her screaming had awakened damn near most of the camp. That was the best result; unfortunately, it also attracted the attention of a herd (or caused the assembling of one) numbering a couple hundred.
When they had finished off the last of the walkers and started the bonfire, the colonel has sought Heather directly and asked to speak with her in private.
“I understand that Mr. Dreon has an attachment to the girl,” the colonel said as she took her seat behind the heavy wooden desk. “However, I cannot continue to jeopardize my people all because of this one individual. I have heard all that you each shared, and I have to say that the scales are heavily tipped in an unfavorable way. This girl is indirectly responsible for the deaths of one of my most trusted soldiers, your own doctor—a rarity that cannot be easily replaced these days—as well as your young friend, that little girl’s sister…the singer…Shari I think was her name? Not to mention it is quite possible that your encounter with Major Beers can be tied to her as well.”
“What are you saying?” Heather knew what was coming. The problem was that she harbored some of the same feelings. She needed to hear it from others so that she did not feel so incredibly awful.
“I am saying that this one person cannot continue to remain here and endanger the lives of everybody around her. The world is not a place where people with severe conditions such as hers are going to be able to receive the care that they require. It is harsh, but it is a reality,” the colonel said with a very calm and matter-of-fact tone.
“So why are you calling me here?” Heather asked. “You obviously have made a decision on the matter. Why not simply carry out what you plan to do? It is not like I am in any position to stop you.”
Heather felt the tendrils of guilt creeping through her soul. She knew very well what she wanted to hear, and she also knew that this was an opportunity for her to be able to absolve herself of any feelings, or at least some, when it came to dealing with Valarie.
“I am talking to you because I want you to speak with Mr. Dreon.”
Heather stared into the eyes of the colonel. She was not sure what she was looking for. Perhaps she wanted to see coldness, or lack of feeling. Instead, what she saw was real and true compassion. Colonel Shipley was taking no pleasure in this.
“What do I tell him?” Heather’s voice was barely above a whisper. “There is more to this story than just Valarie.”
“Such as?”
Heather considered for just a moment if she had any right sharing Kevin’s story about his sister with this relative stranger. In the end, she decided that perhaps this was the last chance at saving Valarie. Maybe if the colonel knew more about why she was so important to Kevin, then she would seek an alternative. Deep down, she knew that was a false hope. She told all she knew from what Kevin shared. When she was finished, there was a long silence.
“He is trying to redeem himself through this girl,” the colonel finally spoke. “And as much as I can sympathize, I simply cannot allow my people to be put at risk any longer.”
“So…you are going to…” Heather considered her next word carefully and decided that she owed it to Kevin to at least make an ho
nest effort, “…murder this girl?”
“What I am going to do is ask you to speak with Mr. Dreon. I am willing to listen to any alternative he can offer that will remove my people from this continued danger that they are being put in by one individual.”
“But—” Heather started to protest.
“There is no way that I can continue to keep this girl tied up,” the colonel said with a firmness that still held considerable compassion. “That girl is not living…she is simply enduring. She is restrained day and night. She suffers from more than just the Down’s condition, she also has some severe mental illness issues that we just are not equipped to deal with. I am sorry, but it is the truth. And even if I were to condone a run for some more of her medications, those would eventually run out. We are postponing the inevitable here.”
Heather had left that little meeting with mixed emotions. Deep down, in a place that she did not dare let come too close to the surface, was a sense of relief. When they had been at the mercy of Major Beers, it was easy to paint the major and her followers as evil and wrong for wanting to do away with Valarie. But the real truth was that the poor girl was suffering in ways that nobody knew how to handle.
As Heather went to the RV that she called home, she had decided that there would be no way to break this news to Kevin in such a way that he would be “okay” with on any level. She took a sponge bath and changed into clean clothes—a morning of fighting zombies tended to be a messy affair. Truth be told, she was doing everything she could think of to postpone this conversation.