The Infected [Books 1-6]

by P. S. Power

  Sure, he was being a bit too down about things, but it felt like a crippling moment and as if the rest of them, the pretty ones that went in and actually got to walk in public, were all oblivious to the meaning of it all. No one even seemed a bit shy about it or looked at him or Peggy like they knew that they were being kept out of things. Even the freshly beaten Burkes got to go in, coming out with a meal and a cup full of ice to put on his face.

  Tobin hadn't done much damage, holding back and using just the right amount of force, but it still showed on the other man, who'd limped in, seeming sore, and came back much the same way.

  Lauren was gotten several milkshakes by Denis, and Peggy got some nachos. If it wasn't what she wanted, it was hard to tell, since she didn't complain at all. Neither did he though, since everything was still too raw. It made him mad, how he was being treated, but like Marcia had told him, she couldn't fix the world. Or, clearly, let him try to do it.

  Shaking his head he had to wonder if the whole thing, the tour, even his album, were a mistake? Maybe he should have just stayed in his hole in the ground with the rest of them, like they wanted him to, and not have even bothered trying? He didn't finish the whole thing that Jason had gotten him, just setting the last half aside, since it was a bit greasy and then turned to watch out the window as soon as things started to move again.

  They kept driving, with Ms. Turner taking over at the wheel after a few hours, so Reyes could nap in the back. He started to feel a bit sore, from not moving enough, his muscles tightening, so he finally had to stand up, and stretch, which just pointed out to him that Lauren couldn't do that at all.

  "We need to stop soon. Someplace we can all get out." His words were soft, and he didn't expect anyone to pay attention, but Marcia turned slightly, up at the wheel.

  "Rest areas about ten miles ahead. Will that do?" She actually waited for an answer, at least. It was better than being ignored.

  "I think so. The rest of you got out and moved around, and I can use the aisle here, if I have to, but not everyone can." He didn't name names, but Peggy chimed in, eagerly enough.

  "That would be good."

  That got a nod and no more talking until about ten minutes later when they were actually pulling over. It was late, about three or four in the morning and Tobin was really tired, but he couldn't sleep on a moving vehicle very well. Especially since he didn't know if Agent Burkes was going to shoot him while he tried. Not that the man would, most likely, but the idea had crossed his mind, so it might have occurred to the ex-military Special Forces guy too. It was enough to keep him awake.

  The rest area wasn't any big deal, just having a parking lot, a large spot of grass for walking on and some restrooms. There were other people there too, but only three regular cars and two big rig trucks. The drivers were probably sleeping, which was a good idea really.

  It took a while for an obviously stiff and slow Lauren to get out the back, and she stretched and then ran some sprints with Tobin, trying to work the kinks out. She was faster than he was by about fifty percent, but he was able to keep up at first, over short distances, since he sped up faster, being so light. Peggy stretched and the others walked around a bit, but didn't join them. It was a bit like they were subconsciously avoiding them.

  Or at least that's what Tobin thought was going on at first, but they were all actually watching a man in a car, a red one that was large, and a bit old fashioned looking, who glared at the girls and as an afterthought, him. He had a cell phone, and was talking on it, which meant that there was probably something going on. The odds that he was angrily talking to his wife weren't that great, were they?

  They figured it out, about ten minutes later, when the four police cars rolled in, all facing the bus and blocking it in place, as if they were trying to prevent them from leaving. The man that got out first wasn't huge, and seemed only to be in average shape, but he made up for it by putting his hand on his side arm instantly, the safety strap off. That meant he was ready to draw down on them all, even though, as far as Tobin knew, they hadn't actually done anything wrong. Because of fear, but doing that was pretty much a threat of violence in and of itself.

  It could cause problems.

  "We got word that you folks were threatening people? Using Infected powers to intimidate citizens?" That had the rest of the cops out of their vehicles too, the red and blue strobe lights looking pretty, as they lit the world up.

  The man actually waited for an answer at least, which came from Karen.

  "I think there's been a mistake. No one has spoken to anyone here. What did the complaint say?"

  It wasn't anything big, and in fact it was so clearly just people calling them in to harass them that even the officers managed to seem a tiny bit embarrassed after it was explained. Running wasn't a threat, after all. Not even to most bigots.

  "Well, probably best if you move along. No need to get people going, if we can help it."

  The worst part of it all, was that they just got on the bus and left, one of the police cars following them for almost twenty miles.

  Doug, the new guy, watched out the back window, his face a bit baffled by the whole thing. Then, he really was new and most of the time that he'd been out at all it had been with Team One and the pretty people. It was clear that he really just didn't get it at all.

  "I don't see how anyone could take a few people jogging around as a threat. Someone with a phobia?" He was right by Lauren, who answered, but her voice carried all the way to the front, explaining to the man.

  "No. A lot of the various hate groups have people do that, whenever they see an Infected person. The police are required to respond, by law, and in a certain percentage of cases, if faced with hostile gun toting people, the Infected will fight back, which makes us all look bad. It's not the fault of law enforcement most of the time, they just don't have the training they need to really deal with things like that." She was being pretty nice about it all, given everything.

  It was true, mainly. A lot of cops hated the Infected, which she was kind of leaving out, or perhaps feared them was a better way to look at it. Lauren got this kind of thing too, but the police instantly understood that starting something with her would go poorly for them, so she was treated more respectfully than a lot of people.

  The new man took a bit of time before speaking again, but was clearly bright enough to get how the whole thing related to the earlier situation. At least he looked understanding when Tobin saw his face.

  About half of them were dozing, and that meant that they didn't really see what was happening when they got to the camp ground outside of Omaha. Tobin was a bit sleepy, but sat while Marcia and Reyes went in to get them some sites, and then helped unload the tents and get them set up. It wasn't exactly his favorite thing in the world, sleeping on the ground, but it wasn't that big of an issue for him either. He was small, light and flexible. He also healed from any kinks so fast that he'd never had one in his life.

  After about fifteen minutes, everyone came out and helped, which had the five tents set up within half an hour. Lauren got her own, and it was the largest, since she needed one that could hold about fifteen people, so that it would be big enough for her to stand up in. If she was careful. The rest were smaller and all in different colors. They were big enough for five people each, so things worked out a bit strangely as to who slept where.

  Jason, Denis and Doug were sharing one, and the Agents were both together, which made sense. Karen and Peggy claimed a blue one for themselves, which left him and Marcia. She just shrugged and loaded her gear inside, gesturing for him to do the same.

  He couldn't help but feel that was being done so that she could keep an eye on him. As if he were going to run off, or hurt someone. It might not have been fair, but it seemed reasonable, at the moment.

  Tobin was too tired to care, and even though it was light out now, he climbed in and settled inside his sleeping bag. It was an IPB issued one, since he didn't own anything like that, but full sized, wh
ich meant he could roll over without being trapped inside it. He even had a little pillow, since bringing one had been suggested, in case they didn't have hotel space.

  At about noon he was shaken awake, by Karen, who spoke in a low tone.

  "Rise and shine. Marsh says it doesn't look like we have to actually work today, but wants us all up and around, just in case. Jason and Denis are making lunch, would you like some?" She sounded pleasant and made a point of touching his arm, which was a little too nice, since they were alone. Then she moved closer, trying to hug him, he guessed. She smelled nice. Warm and like she'd just gotten out of the shower. He started to get aroused and pulled away from her, which made her give him a rejected look.

  "I know that you might be angry with me. I should have spoken up more..."

  He rolled his big eyes at her and grinned. It was fake, but she smiled back at least.

  "Right, that's it. I don't want you touching me because of that." It was soft and he felt awkward, looking at the side of the tent. It also didn't help, even if she should have been more than smart enough to work out what was really going on. Her first mode didn't mean she didn't get how men worked. He didn't explain more though and couldn't, really. It was too hard.

  Worse, she tried to talk about it, her compassion making her want to fix everything for him. The only thing that saved him, sitting there with his shirt off, since it was warm, his lap covered with a fold of sleeping bag, was that Ms. Turner came in, assessed the situation and patted her friend on the back.

  "Kare, get out." She smiled though and only pulled on the famous super hero a bit, being nice about it. She explained though, which got a lot of embarrassed green to creep into Tobin's face. "The guy is trying to make sure he doesn't take advantage of you. Don't push it, since there are limits to that sort of thing."

  That, plus a few hard looks got her to leave. Maybe the glances were knowing, instead of cold, but it was hard to tell, since he wasn't looking at anyone at all.

  After she was gone, Marcia patted his arm too. It probably meant that she really was a bitch. Then, he knew that. Not always bad, but she had her moments that way.

  "Ten minutes?" Then she left him there. It would, he hoped, be enough time for him to get dressed, and to calm down enough not to embarrass himself publically.

  When he finished rolling his sleeping bag and had everything packed up, like Marcia already had. He left his things and moved out, wearing a pair of kids blue jeans and a t-shirt that was oversized on him, but still an adult small. It was comfortable enough, and in a nice shade of black, so he didn't look like a little kid. Or not as much like one.

  The meal turned out to be sandwiches, made of turkey and cheese. They were actually pretty good, and there were corn chips, with nacho flavored cheese on them. That was his favorite. Not that anyone there knew that, but he still enjoyed them, eating them slowly, one by one. He got full before everyone else did and stopped eating, but no one commented on him leaving part of the food behind. They just pushed stuff on Marcia instead, leaving him alone that way.

  Peggy actually did it, making sure the woman ate a lot, even drinking a bottle of vegetable oil first. The very idea made him want to gag, but the woman did it, because she needed the calories and hated food, not being able to taste it. Then she ate a sandwich and crunched some chips, which seemed to go over better.

  "I do prefer crunchy things. So, our potential looks to be a no show. I'd get after them for being lazy, but that seems counterproductive. We have a travel day tomorrow, but I was thinking we'd take today to actually rest. See some nature and all that. Fish or something. We all know how to do that, don't we?" She smiled, but the Agents nodded, and so did Denis. No one else seemed to really be up on it all however.

  That got Jason to look at the cooking show guy, his face a bit too amazed.

  "You can fish?"

  "Naturally. I grew up on a farm, it was one of the few things we were allowed to do at Faithhome for entertainment. It was considered a manly enough pastime for the Prophet Darren." The amazing thing was that he didn't seem to be bitter about that part of his life. From what Tobin knew of it, he had good reason to be.

  Peggy seemed interested at least and mentioned having seen a little lake that others were using, though they didn't have permits. That would be a deal breaker, no doubt.

  "So we go on a hike. Everyone is getting all lazy anyway. They have a trail here that's supposed to be decent. Ten miles, in a circle." She tried to make that sound fun, but it didn't seem that way to anyone really. Only Tobin liked the idea, along with the woman, who was in charge.

  That meant they were going.

  Agent Burkes got left to guard the vehicles and gear, since he was still a bit sore from the night before. The rest of them carried back packs and gear with them, including food and water, just in case they got separated from the rest of the group. It would be hard to do, since they had good visibility, but taking chances wasn't exactly what they'd all been trained to do. Exactly the opposite, really.

  Of course they weren't really allowed a normal nature hike for fun, since Marcia was involved in the planning. That was always a bad plan if you wanted a vacation. Instead they stopped twice, once to make a fire, which was put out after it was going well enough for her to establish it would have kept burning, and the next time to build a little shelter out of branches, and a single bit of string that she had in her own pack. They didn't go fast, and stopped for a bit to eat, which Tobin didn't need yet, but Lauren did. She drank a half dozen protein drinks from large bottles. They were shelf stable, and probably didn't taste that great, but she didn't complain. The rest just snacked on different things, except Doug, who moved in next to him, sitting on the ground, with his pack off.

  "No eats for the wicked. I have to lose another thirty pounds." He didn't seem upset by the idea, he just avoided looking at the people that actually got to have things. "So... How does it feel to be famous?"

  Tobin smiled, since it sounded like an innocent question.

  "I'll let you know?" So far it seemed an awful lot like being a third or fourth class citizen, but he didn't mention that to the man. He'd either already worked that out for himself, or couldn't. Either way, he was trying to be polite, so, even if it was work to do it, he kept talking. "I don't think I really am yet. You're on Team One, how's that?"

  Blinking the man, who was a bit square-faced still, but who didn't look more than husky, made a bit of a derisive sound. That had to be a habit, since his first mode didn't allow for anger or annoyance, if Tobin had heard correctly. That didn't mean he couldn't show that sort of thing, just that he didn't feel it.

  "It's strange. I don't think that I'd normally make the cut, but Brian got me on to it. Not good-looking enough, you know. Hence losing weight, and working out all the time." He seemed a little downcast about it.

  That got Tobin to shake his head.

  "You're good-looking. You have hair and flesh colored skin, a normal sized head and no fangs. What more can you ask for?" It seemed that he was heard, by Peggy, who nodded from where she was sitting over by Denis.

  "Too true. I mean, yes, lose a few pounds for work, but really, that isn't something you can't do. I wish that I could do that. Go from a one to a seven just by eating some celery sticks. Not that you started as a one. More like a four. Still the end goal isn't that far off for you." She sounded like she was teasing for all that the words could have been a bit harsh. She had very little range as far as facial expression, so made up for it with her tone and cadence.

  Doug sipped some water, and smiled at her.

  "I hope I do that well. Charlot Chambers seems to think that I might make it to a five some day, if we can swing enough plastic surgery. She said that at least."

  That got Jason in on it, laughing.

  "Not to be mean, but she isn't exactly always the kindest person in the world. You already look better than me, and no one seems to mind my face being on things." He sounded sincere, but Doug shook his head.
<
br />   "That's your first mode talking."

  Denis cleared his throat though, getting everyone's attention. He was trying not to be a jerk, and had done a decent job for the most part over the last few months, but it came out sometimes anyway. Normally when he was trying to tease people a bit. Him speaking on a delicate topic meant he was watched however. In case of a relapse.

  "Peg has it right this time. Charlot... She's looking for television personalities and movie star good looks, and has a tendency to be a little hard on people until they do well in the ratings. Just keep doing what you have been and you'll do pretty well. Not that I can say how good-looking a guy is, but like Tobin said, you have the basics down." It was meant to be nice enough, but Peggy winced, and didn't explain why.

  Tobin got it. Doug did have those things, but they didn't. Lauren either. Having someone good-looking point that out sort of hurt. Not enough to mention, but it was there.

  As soon as everyone finished their snack, if they were eating, Tobin hopped to his feet.

  "Let's go. We can... swim or something when we get back. They have that lake and it has an area marked off for it, right?" He'd seen it, and it sounded like a good idea. He was a decent swimmer, after all. Better than regular people, since he could hold his breath a lot longer. It wasn't that he wanted to hurry them along, but the wildlife was scant on the trail, because they had eight people with them and while he loved Lauren, she wasn't exactly a quiet walker, not in this environment.

  Of course, he'd forgotten that there were other people at the campground, so when they got back, and tried to go swimming, he and Peggy were asked to leave the beach, before they got into the water at all. It was the lifeguard that did it, after being pestered by a woman who had some children with her. Tobin was in a pair of swim trunks, but didn't have a shirt on, and Peggy did have a shirt on, and some shorts, but still couldn't hide her face.