“I still think it has somethin’ to do with those men in the black uniforms,” Tank said. “I don’t trust ‘em.”
“Me neither,” Connor said.
James shrugged. “They let us keep our gear and Scourge, so who cares?”
“I just hate it when people keep secrets,” Connor said. “Why hide it even now?”
“Cus the world ain’t endin’,” Tank said. “At least that’s what they think.”
“I still can’t believe they think they can get ahead of this,” James said.
“They must know something we don’t,” Connor said.
“Now that makes sense,” James said. “Never considered that.”
“See, they are hidin’ somethin’,” Tank said.
“Why don’t you just go ask them?” Chloe asked.
“That’s a horrible idea,” Connor said.
“If they want it hidden, they sure as hell won’t like it when people come around askin’ questions,” Tank said.
“Do you think they’d kill people to keep it hidden?” Chloe asked.
“Societies and governments have been doin’ just that for years,” Tank said. “Wouldn’t be any different now.”
“If anything, it’d be easier,” Connor said. “Laws are hard to uphold with everything that’s going on.”
“Plus, they could cover it up easily by claiming said person was infected or something,” James said.
“Wow,” Chloe said.
“Now, onto better topics,” Tank said. “I’ve been thinkin’.”
“Oh, no,” James said. “Here we go again.”
“STFU,” Tank said. “It’s a damn good idea. Even Chloe likes it.”
“I said it was dorky,” Chloe corrected. “And kinda cute.”
“Oh, so your idea’s cute?” James asked.
“You’re askin’ for it,” Tank said.
“What is it?” Connor asked.
“Tattoos,” Tank said.
“Great idea,” Connor said.
James nodded. “But of what?”
“Similar to what’s on Scourge,” Tank said.
“That’s genius,” Connor said.
“I have to admit,” James said, “that is a pretty good idea.”
“Precisely, so just shut it next time,” Tank said.
Chloe laughed and they all smiled. It felt good to have normal moments like this. It reminded them of the times before and that there could still be life in the midst of all the death and killing.
This is what I fight and kill to protect, James thought. I can’t lose sight of that.
“So how did you all meet?” Chloe asked. “I know it was in school, but how exactly?”
“It was our first day of middle school,” James said, “and my first day of public school.”
“Jamesy boy was homeschooled up until that point,” Tank said. “It’s why he’s still so damn weird.”
“Tank was just standing there, a little ways apart from the crowd,” James said. “So I walked up and asked if he wanted to be friends.”
“Just like that?” Chloe asked.
“Yep,” James said. “I didn’t realize I’d adopted my first introvert that day.”
Chloe laughed. “You two are complete opposites.”
“I tried to run,” Tank said, “but he was relentless.”
James chuckled. That was pretty much exactly how it had gone. Yet through all the years, they’d stayed good friends, even when they wanted to kill each other.
“Then, a year later when Connor came to school,” Tank said, “he and I hit it off, too. And now here we are.”
“Years and a whole lifetime later,” Connor said.
“That’s pretty cool,” Chloe said. “Anticlimactic, but cute.”
“So, the only problem with the tattoos,” James said, “is where do we get ‘em?”
“You just let me handle that,” Tank said. “Your adopted introvert has it all figured out.”
25
Let
Sleeping Dogs Lie
Alexis sat in the dark in the supply closet again. It was organized, but she still had to finish inventorying everything there, plus the new stuff that had come in the day before. She was taking her sweet time, glancing out the cracked door at the hallway beyond. It was around the same time as it had been the day before when she’d seen the two guards bring in the cart. Hopefully, she’d get another look at what they were doing in there. A pair of her dad’s binoculars sat next to her. The guards had asked why she needed to bring them in, and she’d lied and said that Henry wanted to see them because they were the new Leupold 8x32s.
A few minutes later, she heard the front doors open and stood up, setting her tablet on the shelf. Gripping the binoculars in her hands, she watched as two black-uniformed men came into view, pushing a cart just like the last one. They stopped at the door, glancing around again. One looked at the supply closet door she was hiding behind, but the other lifted his hand to push the buttons on the keypad. She brought the binoculars to her eyes. The second man moved, blocking her view. The door clicked open and she continued to watch as it swung inward.
This time there wasn’t another guard inside the room. Everything else was at it had been though, with drugs stacked on shelving in the room. The two men wheeled the cart in and the door closed behind them. She hadn’t seen what they’d typed into the keypad, but she knew now that something strange was going on. It was a mystery she had to figure out, one way or another. As long as something unknown was going on, her mind wouldn’t let her rest. She just kept thinking back to the last time an entire town had hidden a dark secret.
After turning the light back on and opening the door fully, she went back to work. Thirty minutes passed and still the men hadn’t come out.
“Ms. Wolfe,” Dr. Hart called from upstairs, “can you come into my office, please?”
She sighed in exasperation. She wanted to be here when those men came back out. Grabbing her tablet, she finished counting the last of the gauze and replaced the box on the shelf. Upstairs, Dr. Hart had the door to his office open, which was a rare occasion from what she’d seen in the last couple of days. She walked inside, tablet under her arm. Once again she thought how much he reminded her of someone. Maybe it was just the similarities to Father Ahaz, which would also explain her paranoia about the secret door to the basement.
“Yes, Dr. Hart?” Alexis asked.
“How goes the inventory?” Dr. Hart asked, barely looking up from his computer screen.
“Almost done. I’m having to sort through everything that came in yesterday.”
“Did they deliver what we were low on?”
“I’m not sure. It seems like there was plenty of everything.”
“Is that so? Hmmm, my inventory must’ve been out of date. Well, carry on and bring me the list when you’re done.”
“I will.”
Alexis turned and left his office. Descending the stairs, she heard the front door open, and she rushed down the last few steps. There was no one inside the lobby, but someone had just left. Looking through the glass front doors, she noticed two men in black uniforms leaving the building without a cart. She’d just missed them, it seemed. What a frustrating coincidence.
Alexis went back to work inventorying the rest of the supplies and finished before noon. Exiting the supply closet, she closed the door all but a crack and went upstairs to Dr. Nelson’s office.
“Come in,” he said as she knocked on the door.
“I’m going out for lunch,” Alexis said as she opened the door, sticking her head in.
“Sounds good,” Dr. Nelson said. “Be back in thirty minutes.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And could you grab something for Dr. Hart and myself while you’re out?”
“I can do that.”
“Thank you.”
She shut his door and left the building, walking out to the gate. Once she
was through, she noticed James standing at the end of the driveway, waiting for her. Seeing him made her smile.
“Afternoon, Miss,” James said, holding out his arm. “May I escort you to your destination?”
“You’re such a dork,” Alexis said, taking his arm in hers. “But yes, you may.”
He leaned in and gave her a kiss before they started on their way to the Mess Hall. It was weird how comfortable she felt around him, almost like when she’d gone on vacation in Europe during her senior year of high school. She’d met a girl over there who was also from the States, and by the end of the week they were best friends. They’d stayed in touch through the years, but it still seemed odd how quickly they’d become close. Perhaps two people in a foreign setting who shared a common bond created closeness. She and James had been sharing in this struggle for over two weeks now, and the apocalypse was as foreign a setting as there could be.
“How’s work today?” James asked as they walked.
“Good,” Alexis responded. “Been doing inventory for the past two days, so I’ll be glad once that’s done. How are you today? You seem tired.”
“I am, physically and mentally.”
“I can imagine. That would’ve been nerve-racking yesterday.”
“It was, and everything just seems to keep piling up. It feels like there’s a weight on my shoulders. After our talk the other night, I felt some of that weight lift, but it’s back now.”
“Do you keep surrendering it? Or are you trying to do it all on your own?”
“It’s not like I’m trying to.”
“But you are. We weren’t meant to do this on our own. We’re meant to ask for help.”
“You sound like my mom.”
“Your mother was a wise woman then.”
“She was.”
After a few moments of silence, she spoke up. “Do you ever get the feeling these people are hiding something from us?”
“What people?” James asked.
“The people in charge, like there’s more going on here than they’re telling us.”
“You too?” James said, and she glanced at him. “We were just having this conversation. We all feel the same to some extent.”
“Good, because there’s a room in the infirmary. It’s locked, and inside there’s a door leading to a basement that’s sometimes guarded.”
“What’s in the basement?”
“I don’t know. Henry said they didn’t have anything down there.”
“Who’s Henry?”
“Dr. Nelson.”
“Oh, okay. That is a little suspicious. Who’re the guards?”
“I don’t know them, but it’s those men who wear the black uniforms.”
“Them again? This is starting to get like one of those movies with the mysterious organization operating in creepy basements.”
“I’m not joking about this. They’re hiding something. I know they are.”
“I believe you, and I think so, too. But I say let sleeping dogs lie. They haven’t put us in any danger yet, so we’ll just stay out of their business.”
“But what if they do put us in danger? What if something really bad is going on? Like in Safe Haven?”
James opened his mouth to respond but shut it again. “I guess there could be, but that wouldn’t make any sense. There has to be more to it.”
“I agree, and I want to find out what it is.”
James stopped outside the front of the Mess Hall. “Just be careful. Sometimes people will do anything to keep secrets hidden, and I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I can handle myself.”
“I know,” James said, taking her hand in his. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’ll be careful,” Alexis said, kissing him on the cheek. She turned and walked towards the front doors but stopped when James didn’t follow. “Going to see Olive?”
“Yeah,” James said, glancing at his watch. “She’ll be out on break in a couple of minutes.”
“I’ll see you after work then?” Alexis asked, walking back to him.
“I’ll be there,” James said, smiling as he gave her a quick kiss. “Remember, don’t do anything stupid.”
“I won’t, dad,” Alexis said.
James chuckled. “See you tonight.”
“Bye,” Alexis said as she walked through the doors to the Mess Hall.
She didn’t plan on doing anything stupid, and she would be careful, although her definition of those words was probably vastly different than James’s.
~~~
James sat at the table in the cafeteria and commons area of the school. Olive sat across from him. She’d been able to pick up that something had happened the moment he’d sat down, and she hadn’t let him rest until he’d told her the full story. After he finished, she regarded him with a look in those blue eyes that belied her age.
“That’s because I was praying you guys would make it back safe,” Olive said matter-of-factly.
“Oh really?” James said, smiling.
“Yep, I told God he couldn’t take you away from me,” Olive said. “And he won’t if he knows what’s good for him.”
James burst out laughing, which drew a look from Mrs. Olger. Olive was one special girl. Her strength and tenacity were inspiring in someone so young. Here she was only eight years old, having seen more death than most adults, and yet she was helping him stay strong and not the other way around. Kids sure were something else.
“Well, thank you,” James said. “We can use all the prayers we can get.”
“I know,” Olive said, smiling.
“So what’d you learn the last couple days?”
“Mostly boring stuff,” Olive said, and then her eyes lit up. “We did learn how to make snares to catch animals if we have to survive in the woods. That was fun. Eli was a squirrel and Mr. Harkin caught him in a snare. It was funny. He also taught us how to make a fire and a shelter. Tomorrow morning we’re going outside to make our own!”
“That does sound awesome,” James said. “I’m glad Mr. Harkin is teaching you all that stuff.”
“Me too,” Olive said.
“Five minutes, students,” Mrs. Olger said.
“Is she always such a teacher?” James asked.
“No, only during the day. At night she’s more like a mom.”
“How do you like living here?”
“It’s okay. Feels almost like a summer camp, like it’s going to end soon. It doesn’t feel like home.” Her eyes misted a little. “I miss having a home.”
James reached over and took her little hand in his. “Don’t worry. You’ll have a home soon, I promise.”
Olive nodded, wiping her eyes. The door to the building opened and she looked to see who had walked in.
“You seein’ Squeezer today?” Olive asked as Connor sat down next to James.
“Yeah,” Connor said.
“I’ll go get him,” Olive said, running off into the classroom.
“No running!” Mrs. Olger called out after her.
Mark walked out from one of the rooms in the back, looking wide-eyed and sweaty. James watched him as he walked unsteadily down the hallway and into the main room. He almost collided with Olive as she came out with Squeezer in her hands.
“Oh, sorry, Mr. Trall,” Olive said, moving past him.
“Watch where you’re going,” Mark snapped at her.
James began to stand but his brother put a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Connor, who just shook his head, mouthing “later.” Olive came up next to Connor and handed him the snake.
“Thanks,” Connor said, looking down at the ball python. “How’s he been?”
“Good,” Olive said. “We found a real cage for him and everything. Last week we fed him a mouse, and it was so cool.” She continued to tell Connor how Squeezer had bitten the mouse and then wrapped his body around it until it died, but James only hal
f listened. He was watching Mark walk past them and out the front door. The man didn’t look healthy. Something was going on with him, and they needed to find out what. The last thing they needed was him dying in here and the potential threat of him coming back.
James still wasn’t sure if that would happen. He’d have to be bitten or scratched by a zombie, right? That’s how it was in all the movies, well other than The Walking Dead. Yet, hadn’t they seen people turn without being bitten? Or had they all been infected before dying? Could someone be partially infected and not turn right away? Was it transferred just in the infected’s blood and saliva getting in someone’s bloodstream? Or was there more to all this? There was just so little they knew, and he was beginning to realize they did need to know more, because until then, they wouldn’t know exactly what they were facing. There’d come a time when they couldn’t just keep shooting their way out of every situation.
“James?” Olive asked.
He looked up. “Sorry, I was thinking. What’d you say?”
“I have to go back to class.”
“Oh, okay,” James said, standing up and giving her a hug. “Learn stuff today. I’ll be back soon.”
“I will.” She smiled. “I’m praying for you, so you’ll be okay.”
“Thanks, little munchkin.”
She giggled, taking Squeezer from Connor, and then bounded off into the classroom. James watched her go with a full heart.
“You ready, bro?” Connor asked as James stood there, watching the empty hallway.
“Yeah, let’s go see if we can find Mark,” James said, following his brother out the door.
“He looked like crap,” Connor said.
“I’m worried he might be sick.”
Outside, James looked around. Mark couldn’t have gotten far in the last couple of minutes. He started down the street but stopped after a hundred yards. In a small alleyway between buildings, two feet stuck out from around the corner of the building. James pointed and Connor nodded as they started down the alley. Connor’s hand immediately went to the handgun holstered on his hip. Around the back side of the building, Mark was laying on the ground.
“Hey, man,” James said. “You okay?”
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