by Brown, TW
“We have a vital mission here, and you were sent to ensure that we had all we require. Your job is to provide our security and ensure our safety,” Dr. Cha snapped.
“And we have done so. We have even stayed out of your little lab like you asked, brought you your supplies by having to walk through the sewer system because you kicked us all out,” Major Delpine countered. His voice had a hard bitterness to it. “And when you have asked, we brought you those things for your lab despite the danger to my men and the fact that that sort of thing was never part of our assignment.”
“What does any of this have to do with my nephew?” Cynthia interrupted. “Or the fact that this woman…Ann…or Dr. Cha…or whatever her name is…it does not explain why she took my nephew. It does not explain why this child’s parents were murdered. It doesn’t explain why she has a nursery full of children that are being used like lab rats!”
“Actually,” Major Delpine shielded his eyes to get a better look up at Cynthia, “you’re right, ma’am. Doc, you want to fill us in on that? And what’s this about a room full of kids?”
Glenn noticed an uneasy murmur ripple through the soldiers. Perhaps they were not really aware of what was going on. And what the heck was his wife talking about? A room full of kids being used like lab rats?
“Do you think that we can find the cure for this without having to resort to extreme measures?” Dr. Cha challenged. “Did you not think we would need to break a few eggs along the way?”
“You can do whatever the hell you want with eggs, but kids? Is that what all the fuss was those months back? Was it you stealing the people’s children? Is that why we had that riot? Is that why my men had to shoot unarmed civilians?” Major Delpine roared.
Glenn’s head was spinning. He had no idea what they had stumbled into, but this sounded like a real-life nightmare. And judging by what he was seeing on the faces of the soldiers as well as the doctor, there were some secrets, or at least some long-standing suspicions, being revealed.
“Don’t you go pretending that you are an innocent in all this,” Dr. Cha shot back. “You were part of the grabbing of citizens early on—”
“We grabbed vagrants…criminals…not regular citizens,” the major cut her off. “And we never grabbed children.”
“You don’t understand,” Dr. Cha was almost pleading, “the children are different. We are seeing a difference in the ones that were turned, and we feel confident that the key to stopping this…to finding a cure…that it lies with the children.”
“You gotta be fucking kidding me.”
Glenn heard the major mutter that last line almost under his breath. He watched carefully, still not sure what was going to happen. His eyes flicked up to Cynthia. She had smartly taken the time to back up a few steps from the ledge.
“Lady?” the major looked up and addressed Cynthia. “You can come down. Nobody is gonna hurt you. You can take your nephew and go. I don’t know what happened to that kid’s parents, I don’t know nothing ‘bout how they died or got turned to zombies—”
“Shoot him!” the doctor barked. “Shoot him now!”
Glenn saw a few men shift and start to bring their weapons up. The division was clear, but it was also very lopsided.
“Looks like we got ourselves a predicament,” the major said with a deep sadness etched on his face. “Men, take the weapons of those boys. We will deal with them later. As for the doc and this lab, “I want a team to go inside. If anybody resists or tries to do anything to stop or hinder you,” he glanced over and made sure to lock eyes with Dr. Cha, “then you are authorized to shoot them.”
Glenn had seen enough. “Coming out!” he yelled. Guns turned and were trained on him as he made his way out from his hiding place, stepping carefully over the bodies strewn everywhere.
Twenty minutes later, both he and Cynthia, who refused to let go of the baby, had been escorted to a building that had once been the Moab Valley Inn according to the wooden sign out front. The place was fenced in and well-fortified.
Both were questioned. Glenn’s took longer as he was the one who was able to tell about the house where he had left Kyle and Mel. He got the feeling that he had just uncovered something ugly. Major Delpine had been visibly angry and upset when he had heard that particular part of his account.
At last all the questioning was over and the couple was reunited. They were given a hot meal and asked to please remain for the time being while a few aspects of their story were investigated. That night, just as he was drifting off to sleep with Cynthia in his arms and Baby Xander in a crib that had been stored someplace in one of the hotel storage rooms, he was almost certain that he heard distant gunfire.
He had a lot of questions for his wife, but they could wait for later. He was just glad that they were together, that the baby was safe, and that it looked like there were still some good people left in the world. When they had been eating dinner, Glenn had mentioned that maybe they could think about staying here, but Cynthia had shaken her head. She had not elaborated, so he let it be. Honestly, he didn’t care, just as long as he was with his wife.
***
“Everybody just stop what you are doing and cut down Mr. Miller!” Ronni yelled.
The fact that every single head had turned her way was just a bit disconcerting. Ronni had never liked being the focus of attention. She had never been what you might consider shy, but she was certainly not somebody who sought out the spotlight.
“Ronni, just what do you think that you are doing?” Brett called back. He made a gesture with his arms and the group gathered around him started to spread out.
“I wouldn’t get any ideas,” Ronni warned. “I already reloaded this baby. If you all don’t stop and just keep your hands out where I can see them, I will put one of those nasty little grenades right in the middle of your group.”
“Okay…but then what?” Brett asked. He got a cocky look on his face that Ronni wanted to slap right off.
“It won’t matter after that. A bunch of you will be dead. Maybe I get another shot, or maybe I have to pull my pistol and shoot as many as I can before you take me down, but how many of you are prepared to die?”
“If we die today, then we go to our Lord,” Brett retorted.
Ronni actually laughed out loud and just shook her head. That seemed to make the man angry.
“Just what is so damn funny?”
“I used to hear people say stuff like that in movies or on the television. That was fine for a show, but in real life, it has been my very limited experience that not many people are really all that anxious to just die. These days, I would think that was even more the case than usual. After all, we have made it a year after the zombies came. Some of us have had to do terrible things…some have seen the stuff of nightmares, yet we have all managed to get here…get this far.”
There was a silence for a span of a few heartbeats. Ronni took that moment to get a look at the faces of some of the people that were following Brett.
“You know,” she resumed after nobody else seemed like they were going to say anything, “my dad probably saved you a dozen times. And back at that stupid FEMA center, he offered to take you along with us when we left. Somewhere along the way, you just kind of turned into a dick. Maybe we should have just gone and left when you got nabbed by this place.”
“And what is it that you think is going on here?” Brett took a few steps forward to separate himself from the crowd a little further.
“I think that you and your crazy friends have gone on some religious kick and are acting like idiots.” Ronni brought the grenade launcher up as if to remind Brett of its existence.
“We are trying to save you,” Bret exclaimed. “We are trying to save you and your dad.”
“What makes you think that we need saving?”
“You have been touched by God!”
A peculiar light sparked in the man’s eyes. Ronni had seen a picture of a man on a tee shirt that had that same look. When she had aske
d her mom who the man on the shirt was and been told it was Charles Manson, she’d had to ask who that was. She had been fascinated and horrified by the answer. It was that same look that she saw in Brett’s eyes at this very moment.
“Why? Because I am immune to the bite?” Ronni scoffed. “I’m not the only one. And it don’t make me special. It ain’t no different than when everybody would get the flu but me when I was younger. It’s nothing!”
“But you’re wrong,” Brett countered. “You are special, as are all the others who are spared from this wretched disease. It will be people like you and me that repopulate this world. We will help humanity reclaim the earth from the vast hordes of undead.”
Ronni saw something new flash across a few of the faces of the men that were with Brett’s people. She did not like it one bit. She had to stifle a shiver that simmered just below the surface of her gooosebump-ridden skin.
“You are crazy,” Ronni said with a shake of her head. “And I wouldn’t want to repopulate anything with you.”
Ronni squeezed the trigger. Brett had thought he was being clever. He thought that she had not seen the five men that had ducked inside the big barn. He probably thought that he had her attention focused entirely on him.
The strangely weak sound came, but it was quickly followed by a horrendous explosion when the projectile arced through the air and into the wide open doors of the loft. Flames, straw, and chunks of wood and what had to be body parts erupted from the huge open square entry. It had the added bonus of causing the beam to break that Dustin was hanging from, sending the man gracelessly to the ground where he stayed sprawled in a heap.
While everybody was busy ducking the falling debris, Ronni took that time to get her weapon reloaded. She was just bringing it up to her shoulder when Brett recovered. He screamed in anger, but when she leveled the launcher directly at him, the man halted.
In the dirt was the smoldering upper torso of one of the men that had been in the loft. More than one set of eyes had fixed on that horrible sight. Ronni had a feeling that a good many of Brett’s followers were quickly deciding that the whole idea of dying now and meeting God in just a moment was not exactly something they were in a hurry to do.
“How about you all just toss any sort of weapons that you might have on the ground and then put your hands up where I can see them,” a voice called from the behind Brett.
“Tina!” Ronni practically squealed.
“Hey there, cupcake,” the woman hollered back as she emerged with a dozen armed men and women. “Pretty slick move of yours not to tell me that it was people instead of zombies causing all the ruckus. But when I got close and heard what was happening, I went for a little backup.”
“But what about…” Ronni stopped and her eyes went to where Dustin was on the ground. She could not see any signs of movement. Tina’s eyes followed hers and the woman broke into a sprint.
After that, it was sort of chaotic. More people showed up in support of Tina. She had apparently sent the word out. The sad news was that Scott had been killed in all of the madness. Somebody had stabbed him in the stomach and he had bled out. Ronni had felt responsible, but it was Dustin who later told her that he had been dead before she had even gotten back, and that even if she had made it in time, there was almost no chance that he would have recovered.
The good news was that it seemed that all of Brett’s followers had been involved in the big barn fiasco. By that night, they had all been locked up. Ronni had asked what would become of them. It was Dustin that answered.
“We will give them the option to leave…or be put to death.”
“But aren’t you worried that they will just come back?” Ronni had asked as she sat beside her father’s bed, holding his hand while the man continued to sleep.
“We can’t live our lives worrying about those sorts of things. And despite what they attempted to do, I am not any man’s judge. Let their God do that when the time comes.”
Ronni did not care much for the response, but none of that really mattered. She had the only thing she cared about right beside her…her dad.
***
Jody smiled as the tiny fortified town of Hope came into view. He’d been given not only what he considered a bit of good news, but he had also learned something that might help ease the darkness that had settled on his soul.
He and Danny had enjoyed a welcoming and surprisingly enjoyable visit with Kat. After the hugs, they sat down and Kat told them all about the guy she was living with.
As it turns out, Pitts had been far more civilized in his approach than Jody. They had what was basically a speed dating “fair” of sorts. There was food and live music. All of the women were brought to a home where they were able to clean up and pick out some nice clothes. Then, they were allowed to wander from table to table where men sat patiently. Kat had been hesitant. At one point, a man approached her and signed! He had been one of the soldiers tasked with scouting Hope and told her that he had seen her around, but what got his attention was that she used sign language. His mother had been deaf.
She and all of the other ladies were actually very happy. However, they all agreed that they did not cherish the idea of having a child and simply leaving it behind if it happened to be a girl. Jody decided to risk revealing part of what Pitts had offered to each one provided they keep it quiet. He stressed that until the formal treaty was signed (an aspect of this that he found ridiculous, but if it made Pitts feel better, than so be it), it was important that they not say anything to the people of Swifton.
“Can you believe that freaking George?” Danny hooted for about the hundredth time. “This whole time we thought that woman was riding him into the ground and the dirty bastard was loving every minute of it.”
“I’m gonna miss him,” Jody sighed. “He was always a voice of reason.”
“It ain’t like you will never see him again.”
“Yeah…but still, he was one of the first people we met.”
“Okay…and which part are you having fond memories of?” Danny said with a scowl. “The part where they tried to nab us on horseback like we were escapees in Planet of the Apes, or is it the time they drugged us and tied us up to be interrogated?”
Jody just shook his head. When he arrived at the entry gate, he was surprised to find a good many of the people living in Hope were waiting. This will make it quick and easy, Jody thought.
“Have everybody assemble in the gym right away,” Jody called out as he came through the gate.
He noticed a lot of attention being given to Jess and the others who had friends and family among the girls that had been sent to Swifton. What he didn’t notice, and now realized that it was blatantly absent, was any sign of the women from the other community. A dose of something close to fear pumped into his system.
He saw Selina and waded through the crowd to get by her side. As soon as he was close enough, he asked, “Where are they?”
“Who?” Selina asked innocently, pulling up short when she saw the expression on Jody’s face.
“You know who,” he practically snarled. “The women?”
Selina’s eyes widened as she seemed to suddenly understand. “Oh…they are all over at the school. They have some really neat ideas for teaching the little ones how to work in a garden and think it is a game.” She came to Jody and placed her hands on his chest. “Did you think something had been done to them?”
Jody remained silent and Selina pushed away enough to look up at him and make direct eye contact. “Folks here are not that way, Jody. We may have some problems with everything that is going on, but these people…just like the folks at Bald Knob…they ain’t like that…like what you think.”
Jody felt embarrassed and dropped his head. Selina took his hand and they walked to the gym together. As they did, he filled her in on what was proposed.
“So, do you think that they will go for it?”
“I think they are going to absolutely love it!” Selina all but squealed. “
If this is for real, you are talking about two communities coming together, building towards each other and sharing instead of taking. What more could folks want in times like these?”
Jody sat outside the school, waiting for the last of the stragglers to file in. Selina sat beside him, holding his hand. She kept pointing out some of the highlights of what he had shared and exclaiming that it was the best news that she thought anybody had heard in the past year.
At last it looked like everybody was inside. Jody stood, but Selina turned him to her one more time. “You will be seen as a hero…I might have to fight the girls off after this.”
“All I did was talk to Pitts, we sorted things out in a way that we felt would be the most likely to benefit everybody and give us a chance to live…not just survive,”
“And that is why you are a hero,” Selina said cheerfully as she walked with Jody into the school.
The halls were empty and there was a hush. It was almost eerily quiet. Jody opened the door to the gym and saw the bleachers full of expectant faces. A round of “shushing” noises echoed in the cavernous room. Jody let the door shut behind him. As it clanged, Danny stood and started clapping. It was joined by ones and twos until the entire crowd was a solid wall of sound.
Jody glanced at Danny with an arched eyebrow. The man just winked and put his fingers to his mouth in order to let loose a piercing wolf whistle. Figures that guy can’t keep a secret, Jody mused as he walked to the small stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Jody shouted above the din as loud as he could, “I bring you an offering of peace…”
Reclamation
(Book 10 of the DEAD series)
TW Brown
Portland, Oregon, USA
A moment with the author…
I love what I do. I appreciate each and every one of you that have come this far in the journey. So before you go forward, let me send you on your way with a warning: sometimes, bad things happen.