Surviving the Dead 03: Warrior Within

by James N. Cook

“Told you he catches on quick,” Steve said.

  I shook my head, wondering, not for the first time, how I always ended up getting myself into these messes. I turned to look at Steve. “I’m not making any promises, but I’ll give it a try. If you can teach me what I need to know, I’ll do it. But I’m reserving the right to back out if I don’t feel ready for it.”

  I turned back to the mayor. “And that’s a take-it-or-leave-it offer.”

  Mayor Stone smiled again, and this time, the warmth seemed genuine. “Fair enough.”

  Steve reached over and patted me on the shoulder. “Good to have you on board. Now, there’s something else we wanted to talk to you about.”

  Of course there is. Why wouldn’t there be?

  “And that is?”

  The mayor said, “I understand that other than teaching two classes a day to the militia, you don’t have anything else occupying your time.”

  “Well, there is guard duty.”

  She crossed her hands on the desk in front of her and leaned forward. “I think guard duty is a waste of your talents, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Uh-oh.

  “That depends on what you have in mind.”

  She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and leaned back in her seat. Her talent for making the slightest movement seem alluring was quite a thing to behold.

  “The infected have become a serious problem.”

  I stared at her for a second, and then I laughed. Loudly. The mayor frowned, the corners of her mouth pinning down against her chin.

  “Is something funny?”

  “Oh no, nothing at all, mayor. Being that civilization is destroyed, and ninety-nine percent of the world is dead, and there are about three hundred million flesh-eating ghouls out there, then yes, I would venture to say that the infected have indeed become a bit of a problem.”

  Her warm brown eyes had gone hard and cold. “This is not a joke, Mr. Riordan,” she said flatly. “We’ve lost six people in the last month.”

  That wiped the grin off my face. I held up a mollifying hand. “I know mayor, I heard about it. It’s a tragic loss, and one that this town can ill afford, but what does that have to do with me?”

  “Captain McCray says that you are exceptionally good at fighting the infected.”

  I looked over at him. “Does he now?”

  “I saw you come up with some impressive ideas back in North Carolina,” he said. “And Sarah told me about the swarm you fought outside of Morganton. You have to admit, you’ve got a talent for dealing with the walkers.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know about that.”

  “I do.” Steve leaned closer. “Listen, instead of having you stand around all day doing nothing on guard duty, why don’t you work with your friend Tom to come up with better ways to defend against the infected? Don’t sit there and tell me you don’t have any ideas rattling around.”

  Again, he was right. I did have a few ideas I wanted to try out. I just hadn’t said anything because I didn’t think anyone would listen. And hell, at the very least, it would get me out of boring-ass guard duty.

  “How much manpower and resources are you willing to commit to this?” I asked, looking at the mayor.

  “As much as you need, within reason.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Let me talk to Tom, and we’ll take a look around and see what we can come up with.”

  “Put together an action plan, and have it on my desk in three days,” she said.

  I frowned, not particularly caring for her high-handed tone, addressing me like an employee.

  “I’ll need a week. Maybe more, then I’ll let you know something.”

  She looked me in the eye for a moment, not quite glaring, and I stared icily back. If she wanted me to do this for her, then I would do it my way, not hers. Tension hung between us as she weighed what to say next. Finally, she gave a slow nod and leaned forward to plant her elbows on the desk and rest her chin on her hands.

  “One thing you haven’t asked me yet,” she said.

  “What’s that?”

  “What’s in this for you?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know what you think about me as a person, but I’m not doing this because I want anything from you. I can get by on my own, with or without this town. I want to help because there are good people living here, and they’re in danger. I’m not going to stand idly by and let the Legion rape and pillage this place. One way or another, we need to shut those sons of bitches down.”

  The mayor sat back and arched one well-plucked eyebrow, breaking into a smile.

  “Well. Aren’t you just full of surprises?”

  *****

  The rest of the day saw me running around town trying to track down the skilled trades I would need to begin working on the town’s defenses. Tom was, as always, glad to throw his toolbelt into the mix. He had traveled to Tennessee with us from Morganton and, in addition to being an all-around solid guy, he was one of the most talented craftsmen I had ever known.

  I also enlisted the aid of a couple of stonemasons, a mechanic, a guy who ran a quasi-functional machine shop, and a few other guys for general labor. One thing you could always count on around here, if there was payment involved, be it food or trade items, there was no shortage of people looking for work.

  Once all the necessary deals were hammered out, and all the necessary hands shaken, I stopped by Gabe’s place to have a word with him. The mayor asked me to brief him on our conversation but had also warned me not to tell anyone else. For now, the plan had to remain in the dark.

  Gabe made tea when I arrived, and we sat down at the little table in the kitchen. After recounting what happened at the mayor’s office, I sat quietly for a moment to see how he would react. I could tell by the tightness in his shoulders that he was not happy.

  “This is insane, Eric. It’s a fucking suicide mission.” His fingers tightened around the cup in his hand, and I began to fear for the little porcelain vessel.

  “You have to admit,” I said. “I’m a good candidate for the job. No one around here knows me.”

  The big man stood up, nearly tipping over his chair as he began to pace around the kitchen.

  “This is complete bullshit, Eric. She didn’t pick you because you’re new in town. She picked you because she thinks you’re fucking expendable.”

  “Listen, Gabe-”

  “If she thinks I’m going to let her get away with this, she is fucking stupid. Tomorrow morning I’m going down to her office and-”

  “I accepted the assignment.”

  He stopped. It was the second time I had ever seen him taken completely off-guard.

  “You did what?”

  “You heard me.”

  Gabe sat back down in his chair and carefully folded his hands on the table. He took a few deep breaths before speaking again.

  “Why would you go and do a stupid thing like that?”

  “Who else is going to do it?”

  His calloused palm hit the table like a gunshot, rattling the silverware. “Anyone! Fucking anyone could do it. Or better yet, nobody. Did you even bother to ask her why we need a spy in the first place? There are other ways to find those bastards. Hell, if the Army can give us air support, they’re as good as dead. It’s just a matter of time.”

  “Gabe, would you calm down?”

  “Fuck that. You need to start getting worked up.”

  “Why are you so upset about this?”

  “Because you’re the only goddamn family I got left and I don’t want anything to happen to you!”

  Gabe was standing up by the time he finished, the powerful resonance of his voice eliciting a high, ringing echo from the kitchen sink. We stared at each other quietly for a moment, all the years of shared hardship filling the space between us. Slowly, a tired smile crossed my face.

  “Gabe, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. Maybe we should hug, or something.”

  Gabe glared for another moment, and then sank bac
k down into his chair. The tide of his anger receded, washing back and fading into the slump of his shoulders. He ran a hand over his tattered face.

  “How the hell did we get ourselves into this mess?”

  “Wasn’t the straightest of roads.”

  Gabe laughed bitterly. “Ain’t that the goddamn truth.”

  I took a sip of my tea and thought about the mayor’s offer. I thought about the wall around this town and how painfully fragile it looked from the landing of a guard tower. I thought about Allison, and the militia, and how far away Colorado now seemed, like a distant dream. I wondered how everything had gotten so complicated.

  “My bottle of Knob Creek still in the cupboard?”

  Gabe nodded. “Spare a little for me while you’re at it.”

  I did as he asked, pouring a couple of fingers of amber liquid into a set of heavy glass tumblers before sitting back down at the table. We sipped our whiskey quietly for a few moments, enjoying the warm burn in the chilly room.

  “I don’t suppose they revealed to you the details of this great plan of theirs, did they?” Gabe asked.

  “No. Said they’d give me the details after we finish training the militia.”

  “Which is to say, they don’t trust you.”

  I shrugged. “Can’t say I blame them. The stakes are pretty high in this game.”

  Gabe tossed back the rest of his whiskey and reached for the bottle. He didn’t grimace.

  “Let me tell you something about war, old friend.” He filled his glass and picked it up, looking at me over the top of it.

  “War is not a game.”

  *****

  Allison’s bicycle was chained to the porch railing when I got home. It was late, and I had stopped after two drinks so that I wouldn’t be wasted when I walked through the door. The walk home from Gabe’s place was only a quarter-mile, but with the sun tucked behind the horizon, it was plenty far enough for me to get chilled under my thin canvas jacket. I would have to break out the Gore-Tex pretty soon.

  The smell of wood smoke drifted to me through the boughs of graceful old oak trees scattered throughout the yard. After such a long day, warming myself in front of the fireplace was high on my list of priorities. So was bathing. And making love to Allison. Not necessarily in that order.

  I left my muddy boots on the porch and stepped through the front door. Allison squatted in front of the fireplace stirring a pot of stew. She was wearing a light gray sweater, tight black leggings that clung to her like a second skin, and she had tied her hair back in a single braid that ended just north of her lower back. I’d never seen a woman look so adorable.

  “Hey, babe,” she said as I walked into the living room.

  “Hey, yourself. Smells good in here, whatcha cooking?”

  “Beef stew and your favorite.” She held up an iron skillet. “Flatbread.”

  “Mmm. Sounds good.”

  While I hung my jacket on a hook beside the door, Allison stood up and came to me with her arms outstretched. I picked her up and held her tight. It didn’t take much effort; she hardly weighed anything. I breathed in her scent and nuzzled her neck, swaying back and forth with her.

  “You smell good.”

  “You always say that.” She leaned back, her face only a couple of inches from mine.

  “It’s always true.”

  Her smile flashed like a hundred-watt light. I drank it in and smiled back, feeling the warm, comfortable weight that had been growing in my chest since the day I first met her. Lips softer than a whisper brushed against mine, and I pulled her closer, my hand cupping gently around the back of her neck, knowing she liked it when I did that.

  Allison responded by wrapping her legs around my hips and squeezing. She could feel that I was happy to see her and began moving her hips around in languid little circles, pulling herself tighter against me. I kissed her harder, and she kissed me back, soft moans escaping from deep in her throat. My heart beat faster in my chest, and my skin began to heat up. The grinding of her hips grew faster and more insistent. Her nails dug into the skin of my shoulders, carving shallow furrows that would leave marks for days. For just an instant, she leaned her head back, breaking the kiss.

  “Kitchen table,” she said, and went back to work.

  That was all I needed to hear.

  An hour later, after we cleaned ourselves up, pulled the table back to the center of the room, and picked up the chairs we had knocked over, we sat down in front of the fireplace with steaming bowls of stew and cold apple cider. Warm light from the fire danced around us on the hardwood floors and cast twisting shadows on the paneled walls.

  “So what did you do today?” Allison asked.

  I turned my head to look at her. Her dark brown eyes shined in the firelight, warm and happy. It made me ache to see her sitting there, so beautiful and trusting. As important as it was to keep my forthcoming mission a secret, I hated the idea of lying to her.

  “Steve came by and got me this morning after work. You heard about the Army bringing supplies into town today, right?”

  “Heard about it? That big-ass helicopter scared the bejesus out of me when it flew over the clinic. I thought we were about to get bombed or something. Was that Steve’s doing?”

  I nodded. “He negotiated for supplies and equipment for the recruits, and I think for some communications equipment. We’ll find out tomorrow when we take everything to the camp.”

  “Well that’s good, we need all the help we can get. I don’t suppose they’re going to be sending us any troops, are they?”

  “Actually, two guys came in on the helicopter. Steve told me they’re both Navy SEALs.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “No shit? That’s awesome. Did you get a chance to talk to them?”

  “No, but they’re supposed to come by the camp tomorrow to introduce themselves to everyone.”

  “That’s cool. You’ll have to tell me what they’re like. Didn’t some Army guys come in as well? Someone at the clinic was talking about that.”

  I nodded, swallowing a mouthful of stew. “Yeah, the freaking general in charge of Army Special Operations Command.”

  “That sounds important.”

  “It is.”

  “What’s he here for? Is he going to be helping us out against the Legion?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s in town for at least a couple of days, so I imagine we’ll find out soon.”

  Allison put her bowl down and stared into the fire. “You know, this is exciting stuff. The Legion has been making life hard for us for so long. Maybe soon we won’t have to worry about them anymore.”

  I ran a hand up her back. “We’ll deal with them, babe, one way or another. By this time next year, the Legion will be a memory.”

  “I hope you’re right. This town has seen enough heartache. It would be nice to have some peace and quiet for a while.”

  There was a weight of pain in her voice that made me want to pull her into my lap and hold her. I let my hand move over her back.

  “Oooohh, can you scratch?” she said.

  I did as she asked, gently raking my nails over her shoulders in little circles.

  “Lower, lower … a little to the right … ahh, right there.”

  I smiled, scratching at a spot just above her right hip. She gave me permission to stop after a few seconds, then scooted over to sit closer to me. Warm, slender arms wrapped around mine as she leaned her head on my shoulder. Between her and the fire, I was warmer than I had been all day.

  “How’s the new mommy?” I asked, shoving a poker at the bed of coals.

  “Jenny’s doing great. That woman is a machine. She’d be back in her vegetable garden by tomorrow if I let her. That baby of hers is just about the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “You say that about all babies.”

  “Yes, and it’s always true.”

  I chuckled, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her tighter against me. “I had a meeting with Mayor
Stone today.”

  “Uh oh. What about?”

  “Well … I can’t really talk about it right now. She wants me to work on a few projects around town, and then there’s a bigger assignment that I’ll be helping out with after we finish training the militia.”

  Allison sat up and leaned away from me. I studiously avoided her intelligent, glittering stare, afraid that those eyes would cut into me.

  “Does it concern the Legion, this ‘assignment’?” She made little air quotes with her fingers.

  I kept my face blank. Or tried to, anyway. “I can’t say.”

  “So that’s a yes. Next question: Is it dangerous?”

  “Allison, please, let’s not do this, okay? I only brought it up because it’s going to pull me away from town for a while. I just want you to be prepared when the time comes for me to leave.”

  “Well that answers my second question. It is dangerous.”

  I sighed and rubbed a hand against my forehead. Life had been so much simpler when I was just a shallow womanizer.

  “Allison, someone has to fight those assholes out there, okay? I signed up to do the job. At some point, things are going to get bloody and, when that happens, I’m going to be involved. If you’re going to get like this every time the subject of me doing something risky comes up, then you’re going to be spending a lot of time pissed off at me.”

  She glared a little longer, then looked down, her expression softening.

  “Eric, I just don’t want you to get hurt again. I love you too much to watch you-” She stopped, realizing what she had just said.

  Her cheeks flushed as she looked up at me, her eyes a deep well of glistening vulnerability. There they were again, those three words. Not for the first time, I felt the course of my life hinging upon them. But this time, I wasn’t afraid. This time, I was ready. I smiled and reached out to her. She slipped her soft, slender fingers around my thick calloused ones and held on with both hands.

  “It’s okay, Allison. I love you, too.”

  She smiled, and the happiness in her eyes pierced me like an arrow, punching through all my armor and making me grin like a schoolboy with his first crush. I would have said more, but Allison’s arms shot around my neck and squeezed so hard that for a few moments, I couldn’t breathe. For being so small, she was surprisingly strong.