When Devin pressed her on just how they were going to make the mission a success, she would only answer ‘of course we are’.
Just as the sun was rising, she, Devin and their captive set off, heading south along the coast. As always, they prepared for the worst but found the drive uneventful.
Their captive, who Devin finally got to give them his name, was called Morgan, and he claimed to be a native of Charleston. Neither Tess nor Devin had been there, so this could be beneficial, if he were honest.
They had parked in a residential neighborhood a half mile from the south tip of Wando Welch Terminal, a large container loading and offloading dock. Wando Welch was massive for a city the size of Charleston. It had four container berths, eleven container cranes and over ninety acres of container storage, which now served as Renfield’s onshore base of operations. From their position they’d be able to see the ship coming in from the south, and with dozens of small personal boat docks nearby, they could find one to use if need be.
They had arrived in plenty of time, as Morgan said they should expect the ship to be pulling into dock for refueling in the next day or two. He told them that Renfield was returning from pirating up north.
With the Humvee tucked away in a hide position and Morgan tied to a tree, Tess and Devin walked towards Hobcaw Creek, a small inlet off the Wando River.
Tess stopped at the water’s edge and looked out, her mind deep in thought.
Devin walked up beside her and said, “So far so good.”
“This was the easy part.”
Devin saw a flat rock and picked it up. He cleaned off the mud by wiping it on his pants, then ran his thumb over the smooth sides.
Tess exhaled deeply.
Sensing a tension in her, he said, “Whatever happens, we did the right thing, the good thing.”
“I know, I just don’t know how we’re going to get these kids. We’re outnumbered a hundred to one.”
“We’ve bested those odds before,” Devin said in an attempt to reassure an extremely skeptical Tess.
“I know, but this just feels impossible, and I hate to use that word.”
“If it’s impossible, then what are we doing?”
“We’re doing what must be done.”
“But if we die, don’t we fail the little ones we left with Brianna. Don’t we fail Brianna by leaving her all alone?”
Tess craned her head at Devin and was about to snap but took a second to reflect. “You have a point, but we can’t leave these kids in their hands. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing we didn’t try.”
“I agree with you, but we have to look at the real possibility that this just might be impossible, and if it truly is, this is nothing more than a suicide mission and we accomplish nothing.”
Tess looked at the rock he was holding and snatched it out of his hands. She ran her fingers over the smooth surface. She recoiled and threw it at an angle in an attempt to skip it across the water; it sank upon first strike.
Devin looked for another rock and found one. He quickly snapped his arm and the rock zinged and skipped five times before disappearing in the dark waters. He bent over and grabbed a few more and handed her one. “Here, this is a good one.”
She took it and tried again, but like before, it went right in the water.
“You’re doing it wrong; don’t throw it that way. It’s a sideways snap of the arm like this,” he said and tossed another rock that skipped a few times.
She studied his technique.
“Try this one,” he said, handing her another.
She tried to duplicate him, but it failed.
“Didn’t you ever skip rocks as a kid up in the wilds of the Dakotas?” he asked. “My dad used to take me to Central Park almost every day after school, and we’d skip rocks, run around, play hide and seek, you know, kids’ stuff. The best was our rock-skipping competitions. If I bested him, he’d buy me an ice cream cone from this little shop on 88th. They had the best soft serve. I personally loved vanilla. I know that can be kinda bland or boring to some, but theirs was so creamy…”
Frustrated, she turned around and stormed off.
Devin was confused by her reaction, but things were stressful so it could be anything, he thought. He jogged up to her and said, “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Just leave me alone for a bit.”
“No, now’s not the time to be leaving each other alone. We don’t have much time to figure this out.”
She stopped and barked, “Just let me be.”
“Was it about the rock skipping or are you pissed about something else? If it’s about the rescue attempt, then we need to talk because we need to make a plan.”
She folded her arms in a defiant manner and held firm.
“You’re pissed because I could skip rocks and you couldn’t? You’re so good at everything and here I go skipping rocks and that pisses you off?”
She lowered her head and confessed, “It’s not that but is that.”
“What?”
“Maybe I’m beginning to have PTSD or something, but I’m having a hard time coming to grips with everything. I came back to find a message from Travis only to find these children alone, scared and in need; then we find out more have been taken, no doubt tortured and raped. Then back in Reed we tried with all our might to find Daryl’s son and we failed—we failed! All we have to show for it are scars and nightmares! This whole fucking world is just fucked up!”
“Like you said, we’re the good guys, and we’ll do what we can to make things right.”
“You mentioned two things over there that really got me here,” she said, pointing to her chest. “One was about not trying to save them because if we die, who takes care of the little ones? I want so much to disagree with you, but it makes sense. This just seems so impossible to do, and we’d just be racing towards our death.” She stopped talking and began to cry.
For Devin seeing a woman cry was tough for him. His male instinct to protect her kicked in as he stepped into her, and she rested her head on his chest.
“You asked me if I ever skipped rocks as a kid. No, I didn’t skip rocks, I sat locked away in a children’s home. My real parents didn’t want me. The other kids in the home picked on me because I had an ugly tumor on my face. I’d see adults come, and they wouldn’t take me, they’d take the mean and horrible kids who picked on me and called me names. For years I sat and watched as a new crop of kids would come, they’d pick on me, and then leave. I grew hard there, I grew resentful of others. I once had a foster home, but those parents were sick. The man touched me. He hurt me. I was only twelve.” Tess stopped talking and looked down. Tears fell from her face. She had rattled off in rapid-fire succession this long list of issues from her childhood that Devin never knew and had no experience himself.
He brought her in closer, and she allowed it. Soon they were embracing.
She began to sob heavier now as she just let go. It was hard for her to be vulnerable, especially since she always wanted to portray the strong one. Travis had known about her past, but he had never seen her like this. His only experience of her was the beautiful tough-as-nails woman he had met in high school. Besides the harrowing adventures and the near death situations she and Devin had experienced together, Devin had gotten to see a private and vulnerable side of her that Travis had never seen. This made her feel exceptionally close to Devin, a closeness that surpassed her feelings for Travis.
They lost themselves in each other’s arms. It was Morgan’s cries that brought them back from the emotional sanctuary they felt in the other’s embrace.
“I wonder what he wants,” Tess griped.
“Who cares?” Devin replied. He pulled up her head and said, “I’m sorry your childhood was shit. I really am.”
“Now I hope you can fully understand my personal connection to all of these kids. I know what it means to be abandoned and not to have family.”
“I get it.”
“I hope you do, but I also get confli
cted like I am now. I can’t stand the thought of knowing those older kids are suffering, but leaving the little’s all alone frightens me just as much.”
Morgan cried out again.
“We should go see what he’s whining about,” Tess said and stepped away from Devin. She brushed her hair back and wiped her moist cheeks.
“Can I ask one more question?”
“Sure.”
“Where was the tumor on your face?”
“You haven’t seen the scar right here before?” she asked, pointing to a faint line that ran from the bottom of her right nostril two inches down at a forty-five-degree angle.
“Yeah, I’ve seen that but didn’t think anything of it.”
“I had a hemangioma, was born with it. It grew to be about the size of a quarter on my face. It was removed when I was eight years old.”
“I think you’re beautiful,” Devin said.
Hearing him say this made her blush. He’d never been so sweet before.
“I don’t know about that.”
“Help, hurry!” Morgan cried louder.
“Let’s go,” Tess said, her tone showed her lack of concern.
They walked over to Morgan, who was tied to a tree, and saw the reason for his cries. A large snake was near his feet.
“Kill it, hurry. It’s a cottonmouth.”
“Aren’t those poisonous?” Devin asked jokingly.
“Yeah, I think so, very poisonous.”
“Please!” Morgan pleaded.
The snake inched closer and lifted its head to begin moving up Morgan’s leg.
“Are you scared of snakes?” Devin asked Morgan.
“Come on, man, please?”
“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to tell us the best way to get into the shipyard and onto the ship,” Tess said.
“Okay, okay, but kill this fucking thing.”
“Nope, not till you tell us,” Tess pressed.
“Oh, c’mon, that ain’t fair.”
“Fine, let’s go back to scouting. What do you say, Dev?” Tess asked.
“Sure,” Devin replied and turned around.
“Stop. Okay, fine,” Morgan replied, his dark brown eyes as wide as saucers as sweat was sliding down his face and dripping from his thick bushy brown beard. His greasy dark hair clung partially to his face. He wanted to shake his head to move it, but fear the snake would bite prevented him from moving.
“Jump across the creek there. The south end of the shipyard isn’t heavily guarded. There’s a roving patrol but no real presence. You can cut through the chain-link fence there. It’s easy to hide behind the Conex containers. Oh, man, the snake is getting closer. C’mon, I told you.”
“How do we get on the ship? That’s where the kids are, right?”
“Um, yes, but whoever owns them might take them off. I don’t know if all the kids will be on there.”
“Own?” Tess asked.
“Yeah, the girls are traded and purchased. The boys are trained to fight and be part of the crew.”
Tess looked at Devin and shook her head.
Devin could see the rage building in her.
“Who owns the girls we’re looking for?”
Morgan wouldn’t stop looking at the snake; it had slithered over his boot and was lying on his right calf.
“I don’t know, c’mon, I really don’t know. You gotta believe me, there’s like a shit load of guys on Renfield’s crew. I don’t know who has them specifically.”
Tess believed him, but she didn’t want to stop the snake just yet, as she enjoyed the terror it gave him.
Devin asked, “When they arrive back in port, is there a big party, something that draws everyone?”
“Are you serious?” Tess asked.
“Yes, yes, there is. It’s always the first night back in port. There’s a huge bonfire, lots of drinking, fucking, crazy shit happens.”
“You see, I guess it pays to watch old pirate movies.”
“You’re such a dork,” she joked.
“Hey, pirates always party when they pull into port. At least the ones in the movies do.”
The snake edged closer to Morgan’s crotch.
“Right now, mister water moccasin is about to bite your junk. This is your chance to tell us anything that’s critical. Anything that will help us rescue all those kids,” Tess pointedly said.
“I told you. I told you. Please!”
“More details!” Tess stressed.
“You’ll never get all the kids. Some of them are just fucking brainwashed now, you know, children soldiers, tough as nails.”
“The ship the night of the party, is it heavily guarded?” Devin asked.
“No, no one is on it but maybe a couple kids.”
“Where can we find the kids?”
“If they’re recent captures, we hold them in the aft berthing, fourth level.”
The snake’s forked tongue was jetting in and out of its mouth as it now curled up just under his groin.
“Goddamn it, do something!” Morgan screamed.
“Okay,” Tess said, then grabbed his legs and closed them around the snake.
“Hey, what are you doing? Stop!” Morgan screamed.
“You told me to do something, and this is what I do to fucking pieces of shit!” she hollered back. With all her strength she squished the snake between his thighs and groin.
The snake reacted by biting him rapidly, one bite after another along his thighs and one last one in his crotch.
Morgan cried out in fear and pain.
Tess stood up quickly as the snake squirmed out. The last thing she wanted to do was get bit.
“Why, why? I told you everything you asked of me,” Morgan asked as he began to cry.
“Because you’re nothing but a fucking animal and a coward,” Tess yelled, then spit at him.
“Tess, enough, he’s done,” Devin said, taking her arm.
Her eyes were wide and dilated.
He could see the rage of years past coming through them.
“He’s subhuman trash and got what was coming to him,” Tess proclaimed.
Morgan started sobbing.
She kicked him hard and said, “Stop crying, you fucking baby!”
“That’s it. Let’s go and let him die in peace,” Devin insisted. He took greater hold of her arm and pulled her away.
Once a good distance away he stopped and asked, “Did that feel good? What the hell, Madam Sadistic?”
“As a matter of fact, it did feel good.”
He stared at her and didn’t know whether to just kiss her then or smack her for killing the one man who could’ve provided more answers to questions he knew surely would come.
Her chest heaved and she could feel a tingling from the encounter. She pulled her hair back and readjusted her ponytail and straightened out her shirt.
Morgan sobbed and begged for help, but no one was coming, his fate was sealed. A bite from a water moccasin didn’t mean death, but without antivenom his chances of survival were not high, and until then he’d experience great pain and suffering. She preferred that for a man such as him who preyed upon the weak and abused the innocent.
“I really do feel better. I think I’m going to go practice skipping rocks. Care to join me?” Tess said and marched back towards the creek, a spring in her step.
Pine Bluffs, Wyoming
Having purpose and a mission gave Travis something to look forward to. His night had been spent lying in bed going over the different scenarios of how it would go down. Many of those had him dying in a fiery nuclear blast, so he would reassess and start over. With Lori gone risking all, he was committed to assuring he would be successful so that she might come home. He found himself feeling guilty as he tossed and turned throughout the night. The more he thought of Lori in a romantic way, the less he thought of Tess. He had thought it but couldn’t speak it out loud, but that moment was coming soon. The reality of seeing Tess again was receding as a possibility. He ha
ted thinking that way, but his world was on a path that was impossible to get off of.
To complicate matters for him, when he returned last night, Janine had greeted him happily with a large meal. He was proud of his new responsibility, and she could see it. He told her as much as he thought prudent. It was then that she shared her story and the story of the town. When the lights went out, she came to him in his bedroom. He found her attractive, but with Tess out there and Lori on his mind, he couldn’t. This rejection sent her back to her room in tears.
When he had risen for the day, he couldn’t find her, and the breakfast he had become accustomed to being ready for him wasn’t there. His intention wasn’t to hurt her, but he wanted to explain to her that lying with her would do greater harm than not. But the chance of explanation hadn’t been given to him, and if it had, he wasn’t sure it would have mattered. He had given up trying to explain the actions of women long ago.
He finished brushing his teeth and grinned widely to inspect afterward. Dental care was something that one did not want to overlook, he thought. The alarm sounded on his watch, telling him that it was time to go meet the magistrate and begin the planning for his part in the operation.
When he stepped onto the front porch, he found everything exactly how he had left it. Like Lori’s caretakers, Brick and Tiffany, Janine also lived outside the walls. He understood the nostalgia or sentiment they had, but practically it was insane, he thought. Had he been a murderer, he could have killed Janine that night. The magistrate did provide exterior security in the means of patrols, but they were random and had a lot of area to cover.
Janine’s explanation went a bit further than Brick’s. Besides not wanting to leave the house they had shared with their loved ones, Janine didn’t quite like or trust the townspeople. They had killed her husband and son early after the Death outbreak during a period called the Chaos. She told him their crime was similar to his, but what they didn’t have was the magistrate to appeal to or the covenant to call upon. The covenant could be perceived as harsh, but if someone examined it closely, they would find fairness in judgment. Not long after she had lost her family, the magistrate appeared with his small entourage. Their appearance didn’t come easy, she explained to Travis. There was resistance, but once those people were subdued, the magistrate took control. He ushered in a new life for all, the mob rule was replaced with the rule of law, and soon after that security and safety became prominent.
The Death Trilogy (Book 2): The Death: Eradicate Page 16