She had divorced Cliff months ago, and had dated since; she’d had feelings for another man. But now, Cliff engaged with another woman was troubling to her. Why is it an issue, she thought? He’s a single man, he can do what he wants. But, she couldn’t deny the jealousy she was feeling. Maybe I still have feelings for him? Maybe it’s the type of woman Cassandra is; wanting to be with every good man?
Jennifer admitted to herself she was jealous. She hadn’t noticed how her inner self looked at Cliff since the outbreak. Maybe it was because she was betrayed by Beth and Brian? Maybe it was a lack of options since the outbreak? She felt those original feelings she once had for Cliff had returned. Maybe it was out of habit? They spent twelve years together. They divorced six months ago, but she fell out of love with him almost a year ago.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Cassidy pulled at her hand. “Mom. I need help getting the medicine box on the table.”
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry, honey. I was just lost in my own thoughts.”
Cassandra looked up at Cliff and smiled. “Thank you.”
“Is there something else?” he asked.
She didn’t answer right away. She looked away and started to say something but hesitated.
“Cassandra?”
“Are we going to be safe?” she blurted. “Are we going to make it to the distribution center? Are we doing the right thing?”
Cliff wrinkled his forehead. It was her and Chris who were trying to get there until they ran into a detour. “Of course,” he assured. He took her hand making her smile. “It sounds like a great idea. Why do you doubt it?”
“I don’t know, but I’m glad we met you guys,” she smiled.
Cliff took Cassandra’s demeanor as flirtatious; her behavior reminded him of school yard antics when he was in middle school. He shrugged it off.
“If what you say is true and no one else has staked a claim to the building, then I am positive it will be the right thing to do.” Cliff paused to study her. Is there something she isn’t telling me?
“Ok. I’m sorry for taking your time. I’ll return to the house and start packing the supplies,” she said, then walked back to the house.
Cliff stood, watching her leave, wondering what was the real reason for her questions. She was near the rear door when Jake walked up behind him.
“What did she want?” Jake quipped.
Cliff didn’t know the answer, but decided to play it safe. “She thanked us for getting the medicine, and she asked if we’re doing the right thing by leaving.”
“Oh,” Jake murmured.
Cliff glanced at the house. Jennifer was staring back at him from the window. Her jaws were drawn tight. He smiled, but she ignored him and walked away from the window.
“What was that about?” Jennifer asked Cassandra when she entered the kitchen.
“Oh, nothing,” Cassandra played it off.
Jennifer stared. Cassandra averted her attention to the organizing. She wondered what Cassandra wanted to say to Cliff. Was she trying to go after Cliff like she had Doug? Was it for attention? Did she think her husband was weak and would succumb to the infection, and wanted a man for a backup plan?
“Nothing?” Jennifer asked. Her tone was a little too much, she told herself. “I mean, you look concerned about something. Is everything all right?”
Cassandra looked at Jennifer for the first time since she walked into the room. “I wanted to thank Cliff for getting Owen’s medicine and thanked him for bringing my husband back alive,” she answered.
Cassandra walked away. Jennifer stared at the wall, lost in her thoughts, when she had an epiphany. It was right there in front of her this entire time … Cliff. He had become the Cliff she fell in love with twelve years ago. Why didn’t I see it before now? Was I too busy and blind? Was I too focused on the negative past?
Jennifer’s thoughts were interrupted when the back door swung open.
“Afternoon, ladies,” Cliff bellowed when he entered.
Jennifer jumped.
“Mom,” Cassidy laughed. “You ok?”
Jennifer chuckled, “I’m all right, my dear. The door scared me.”
“What’s the plan, Cliff,” Cassandra smiled.
Cassandra’s smile rubbed Jennifer the wrong way. She gave her a look, then reminded herself to keep her intuition quiet.
“It’s a go. Doug and Chris will load the truck. We should have everything except fuel,” Cliff explained. “That’s the only item that has me worried. The truck has a half tank, and we only have two five-gallon gas cans with us. But, I’m sure we’ll come across something.”
“What about the Defender?” Jennifer asked.
“It has a 3/4 tank. I think we’ll come across something, even if that means siphoning from abandoned vehicles from the side of the road,” Cliff rationalized.
It wasn’t a comforting thought; she hoped they had enough fuel. She pictured them running empty in the middle of a town, surrounded by the undead with no way to escape.
“What’s the seating arrangement?” Cassandra asked.
Jennifer shot a glare at Cassandra. You’re not sitting with Cliff, you floozy, she wanted to say.
“Jennifer, Jake, Cassidy, and Jonathan, and I in the Defender,” Cliff began. “You, Doug, and your family in the truck. We’ll load the medicine, personal items, and half the food in the Defender. Everything else in the back of the truck. We’ll split the bottled water and water purification tablets between the vehicles in case we get separated. There’s Jonathan’s toy walkie-talkie’s in the back bedroom; we’ll take so we can talk to each other. I spoke to Chris and we made a second map by hand, in case we do get separated.”
The rear door swung opened. Jake entered with Doug behind him.
“Where’s Chris?” Cassandra asked.
“He ran to your car,” Jake pointed at her. “He said he wanted to grab something before we head out.
“And you didn’t stop him or go with him?” Cassandra asked with a raised eyebrow.
“He didn’t want us to. I tried, but he left without telling me,” Doug shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah, we told him to wait for us, but we turned around and he was gone,” Jake explained.
“Well, go find him!” she demanded.
“What was so important for him to go out there alone?” Cliff asked.
“Let’s find him, Doug,” Jake grunted.
Jake followed Doug outside.
“What is so important for him to return to your car?” Cliff asked Cassandra.
Cassandra rolled her eyes. “I told him not to worry about it.”
“Worry about what?”
Cassandra let out a sigh. “We didn’t have time to grab anything,” she explained.
“What is he after, Cassandra?”
“Oh, dear. It’s not even worth getting himself hurt,” she mumbled burying her head in her hands.
Cliff raised an eyebrow. “What is he after?”
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
“It takes a big man to do what you did. You remember that. There was nothing more you could have done for Harry,” David assured Dane.
“Maybe, but I don’t feel good about it,” Dane said.
“It’s okay,” David said. “Now, show me this truck.”
“This way,” Dane pointed then led David to the F750.
“This will be perfect,” he smiled, turning to Dane, “How’s the mileage?”
“We filled the tanks at the oil depot fuel station outside Pordum and the gauge still says it’s full.”
“Good.”
“How’s the arm?” Dane asked.
David winced when he adjusted his right arm in the sling. The burnt skin had begun to crust and would tear if he moved too much. “It still hurts, but it shouldn’t slow us down. We need to take care of some business, though.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Those bastards who burnt Montgomery and me and stole the meds need to be taken care of; no one goes un
punished. There’s no way of knowing when we’ll see them again. You say you know about where they are?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s get those bastards,” David hissed.
“What do you have in mind?” Dane asked. He’d questioned David’s decision making in the past, but since the outbreak, he’d pulled the family together. He did put the family’s well-being first. He was right about raiding the pharmacy, and he was right about the threat that hovered over them—an armed group in town. Dane had his doubts about David, but he admitted the family was safer from his decisions.
“Go back into town with this truck after breakfast,” David said. “Round up as many infected you can into the back of the truck.”
Dane stared back at David, his eyes narrowed. “Do what?”
“You heard me. Round up some infected in the back of the truck,” David smiled.
“How am I to do that?”
David grinned. He put his healthy arm around his brother’s shoulder and walked him to the rear of the box truck. “See that ramp?” David pointed.
“Yeah.”
“Open the door, pull out the ramp, and bait the infected to climb the ramp. Once you have as many as you can get, pull the door down and lock it.”
Dane’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy?”
David chuckled. He patted Dane on the chest and smiled. “Trust me on this one. It won’t be hard. Haven’t you studied these creatures? They’re mindless. They follow instincts and have no rational thought beyond that of a coyote. How do you trap coyote?”
“With a cage and bait?”
“Exactly!” David pointed at the truck. “Take Jimmy with you.”
“Where’s the bait?” Dane asked.
David patted Dane on the chest again and grinned.
David returned to the hanger to see Montgomery walking around after being treated for his burns. He asked Joanne for a map of the county and sat down at a table. Joanne returned with the map and laid it out on the table in front of the two men. David motioned for Montgomery to join him at the table.
When Montgomery sat next to him at the table. David asked, “Where did you say you heard those gunshots?”
Montgomery studied the map for a few seconds, then pointed at the intersection where he and Dane heard gunshots the day they went scavenging.
“East 1510 and North1660, right there,” Montgomery pointed.
David turned the map closer to him and studied it.
“The gunfire came from west of the intersection. It looks like this road coming from Whittaker, going across the highway, then into the county leads to that valley,” Montgomery stated as his index finger followed the road on the map.
“This road here dead-ends. I think the gunshot we heard came between our location and this dead-end,” Montgomery continued.
David thought about the area he was looking at; it had been years since he drove in that area, but he remembered the valley.
“Ah, yeah. There’s a nice little valley that way with an old farmhouse like you’d see in a magazine,“ David said then looked up at Montgomery. “Anything else?”
Montgomery shook his head. “No, we didn’t stick around to see with those creatures running at us.”
“How are you feeling by the way?”
“Good. Better than before. My wounds aren’t as bad as yours,” Montgomery answered.
“Great! You think you can go with Patricia to this area,” David pointed to the map, “and, see what you can find? See if it’s those guys we met at the pharmacy? I would love to know where they are holing up at.”
Montgomery looked at the map and rubbed his arm. He thought about David’s proposal. If they got into any trouble, he could use his right arm to shoot. He doubted he could hold a rifle with his left arm supporting its weight. It was day time, and if they drove around town staying away from the undead, he thought it was possible.
“Want Patricia to drive?”
David nodded.
“If we don’t have to get out or anything and be chased by infected, I think I can make it,” Montgomery relented.
“Good! It’s settled. Grab Patricia and head out there as soon as you can. I’d like to have an answer in three hours.”
Montgomery swallowed, “No problem.”
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Jake and Doug found Chris returning from his car when they neared the pond. “What was so damn important for you to go out on your own?” Jake questioned, feeling perturbed by Chris’ actions. Why couldn’t you wait for one us to go with you?”
“This,” Chris held out in his hand.
“That?” Doug pointed.
“Yes,” Chris smiled.
“What is so important about a piece of paper?”
“It’s not just a piece of paper, it’s what’s written on the paper,” Chris explained.
Jake took the paper from Chris’ open palm and unfolded it. He looked back at Chris with a perplexed look. “What is this?”
“It’s an armory safe code.”
“A what? I don’t understand,” Jake pointed.
“I don’t either. I didn’t know you had that,” Doug added.
“It was given to me by a sergeant in the National Guard before we left home. He went his way, we went ours. He wrote the numbers down and told me if we ever got into trouble, this would come in handy.”
“Armory safe?” Jake inquired.
“Yeah, it’s the safe where the National Guard keeps its guns. He told me every state armory in the Guard has the same combination, and they change it once every three months. If this number is still good, we can get grab some military equipment.”
“You got to be kidding!” Doug blurted.
The corner of Jake’s eyes crinkled. He had thought Chris had been useless since he arrived. “You just made yourself a valuable member of this group, Chris.”
Chris looked at Jake. “What?”
Jake patted Chris on his shoulder, “Let’s get you back the house where it’s safe.”
Cliff leaned forward. “What did he go after, Cassandra?”
“He had a piece of paper with numbers on it, okay? He told me it was a safe code for some armory or something. I didn’t think much about it,” she answered.
“Safe code? An armory safe code?” Cliff stepping closer to her.
Cassandra nodded her head, “Yes.”
“What does that mean?” Jennifer asked Cliff.
He turned to her. “It’s a safe for National Guard, where they keep their M4 rifles and other weapons. Usually, only the commanding officer and supply sergeants have the code.”
“How did he get these numbers?”
“Our neighbor behind us came over right before we were leaving and gave it to Chris. He was a supply sergeant in the National Guard. He said the code would open any National Guard armory safe.”
“How well did you know him?” Jennifer blurted.
Cassandra pretended she didn’t hear Jennifer.
“What does this mean, Cliff?” Jennifer asked turning to Cliff.
“If this combination code works, it means we’ll have access to military rifles. Hot diggity-dog!” Cliff said slapping his hands together and smiling.
Jake opened the back door of the house with a large smile. He saw Cliff standing next to the two women. “Know what I learned?” Jake beamed.
“Yeah, Chris has an Armory combination code,” Cliff answered.
“Crap,” Jake whispered feeling deflated. “Did she tell you?”
Cliff nodded.
Jake pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and fell into it.
“Where do we find this …” Jennifer paused, “armory?”
“I’m sure we will find an armory on the way to the distribution center,” Cliff answered.
“But, if that code works and we’re safe at the center, we will be better off,” Chris added.
“He’s right,” Cliff agreed.
“What now?” Jennifer asked. “Cassidy and I p
acked up all the medicine. We have the supplies stacked by the door, and the kids have their backpacks loaded. When do we load?”
Cliff glanced at his wrist watch. It was mid-afternoon, and he thought she was right about getting loaded if they planned to leave the next day. He was surprised by how fast the hours had ticked by that day.
“She’s right,” Cliff responded. “First thing first: we need to get loaded with the essentials. Doug, bring the truck to the door and let’s load the truck first, then the Defender. If we’re leaving, it’s best to leave at first light.”
Doug exited the door without saying a word.
“Jake, bring the Defender to the garage. Load the water, food, and medicine first, then the personal items.”
“What about the ammo?” Jake asked.
“Load that last.”
Jake hesitated. “Are you sure you want the ammo last?”
“It needs to be on top of the supplies if we need it,” Cliff rationalized.
“What about us girls?” Jennifer asked.
Cliff had no idea. He had focused on loading the essentials and didn’t think about putting the women to work. He knew they wanted to contribute; he had to come up with something.
His mind focused on Jennifer. His eyes studied her body from head to toe. God, he missed her. She looked lovely. His mind raced back to what felt like an ancient memory; the first time they spent the night together, then to the birth of their daughter. He still loved her regardless how she felt toward him. It was best to have loved and lost than never to have it, he reminded himself.
“Cliff?” Jennifer blurted noticing his eyes. It wasn’t the first time she had seen that look.
Cliff snapped from his thoughts. “We’ll need to have food on the go. If we’re driving non-stop, we’ll need to feed everyone without pulling over to start a fire and cook,” he explained.
“No problem,” Cassandra returned.
“Chris,” Cliff turned to see Chris standing alone by the rear door.
“Yes?”
“Let’s you and I gather the guns and ammo. We’ll need to match up the ammo with the right gun,” Cliff smiled. “We don’t want you to carry a nine-millimeter handgun and be carrying only .45 caliber ammo in the truck.”
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