Liam was somewhat embarrassed to be described as shy, but she looked back with that same big broken smile and it dawned on him she was playing with him. He followed her down the trail, unconcerned with any of his perceived shortcomings. He knew he wasn't perfect, but with his charming feminine friend by his side, he felt invincible.
Despite the hormones flushing through his system he was able to hold on to an important piece of his brain during their walk down.
This is where you were attacked the last time you went down this trail. Danger!
Rather than catch up to Victoria and swoop her up and profess his love—
Do I love her?
—he pulled out his pistol and was at the ready. They carried their rifles over their shoulders, along with several magazines each, but somehow the little pistol gave him more confidence.
He wasn't going to let anything happen to his girl again.
A vow he knew was impossible to keep.
4
Nothing happened on the way down. He holstered his gun as they approached the outer ring of tents and people. He didn't think it would be out of place to be carrying a gun there, but he didn't want to cause any commotion. Guns often scared people, even after everything they'd seen.
“Let's head for the admin building and find my dad.”
In a few minutes they had wound their way through the tent city and stood at the front doors.
“Liam, I'm going to hang out here and wait for you. I need some time to clear my head from the past few days of chaos and going in that crowd is just too much for me right now. I'll be right over there by the creek. Come get me when you're done?”
A strange emotion zipped across his mind as he wondered if she wanted to be away from him, but he tried to remain pragmatic and understand her needs, too. He pushed the doubt aside. “Sure thing! I'll find you when I'm done.”
They traded smiles and she walked off; he pushed through the doors of the stuffy building.
It was still a chaotic mess, but it was late in the day and it wasn't nearly as crowded as it was earlier. He had no problem finding the infirmary, as a pathway of sick and injured pointed the way down a small hallway to a set of double doors. His dad was among those in the hallway, sitting with his bound leg out in front of him.
“Hey, Dad. How you doing?”
He expected a warm greeting after being separated for so many hours, but he only got a weary nod. “Tired as hell. They set my leg and got me squared away, but they don't have much in the way of painkillers.”
His leg was wrapped in a decidedly makeshift-looking cast. More like a couple sticks bound together with some belts. Better than most people had it, “out there.” Jerry had the look of a man in a lot of pain, including the beads of sweat and the taut facial features.
He sat down next to him. “I'm sorry you're in so much pain. If it makes you feel any better, I'm also sorry for causing so many problems the past few months. Getting myself kicked out and all that. If I'd known this was coming I think I would have done a few things differently in how I handled myself with you and Mom.”
Jerry strained a laugh. “Thanks, Son. I think if any of us really knew what was coming the last few months would have been entirely different for us all. Weapons training. Stockpiling food. Defensive plans. Bugout locations. Backups of backups. I can think of a hundred things I planned on doing but never got around to because they never seemed urgent. Now we're well into it and here I am doing nothing at all to help you or your mom.”
Liam was hoping for some sort of reciprocal apology, but took it in stride. It was better than any discussion they'd had this year. Instead, he moved back to a subject he had asked his dad days earlier. A subject he pointedly avoided answering straight.
“Dad, how did you know to stockpile all those guns? You knew something was coming didn't you?”
Jerry leaned his head back against the wall behind him as he sat on the floor, apparently thinking. Liam waited patiently. Several moments later he popped his head back up, looked both ways in the hallway at the other injured folks, and then returned. “I've always done all I could to protect you and your mother. The less you knew about my sources the safer I thought you'd be. But now that everything has gone to hell, I really don't think government agents are lurking about listening in on conversations like this one.”
Liam looked around, suddenly self-conscious that he could be the subject of surveillance by one of Hayes' men. But no one nearby played the part. Most looked positively sick or dying.
His dad noticed him looking intently at those nearby. “What?”
“It's just you said something about government agents. I've been dealing with them a lot lately. They took Grandma. They shot Victoria. They destroyed your house. They took my picture on a bridge. I'd say the odds are pretty good we are being spied upon right now.”
His dad managed a real laugh. “Congratulations, Jerry. You've raised a son even more paranoid than you are.”
Both smiled at the joke. “No offense, but if you'd seen that medical camp over in Lone Elk Park when it was in operation, you'd have no doubt what the government was capable of doing. Paranoia is a survival trait nowadays.”
“Well, suffice it to say that yes, I did know something was coming. Someone in our family called me—don't ask because I swore to not tell anyone, save your mother—and gave me information that something big was coming and that I needed to be prepared to leave home on a moment's notice.”
He looked around before continuing in a quieter voice, “So when the sirens went off your mom and I were totally prepared to hop in a car, go to Marty's where we knew you were safe and sound without access to a car, and we'd all be on our way to somewhere out in the country to safely watch it all blow over. What I didn't count on was that the world would fall apart everywhere at exactly the same moment. I counted on being the first guy out the door. Instead, I was the one millionth person out the door. Your mom and I barely made it onto the highway before things broke down. Crashes. Gunshots. Running people. We knew where you were, but it was days before we could get there...and by then it was too late.”
Liam had so many questions, but for some reason he was most troubled by one of the most mundane. “So can you tell me if you sent me to live with Grandma because of TEOTWAWKI?”
“Tea ought what key? What are you saying?”
“Sorry, I figured you'd know that one. It means the end of the world as we know it. Did you know the world was ending? Is that why you sent me to Grandma's?”
A more strained laugh.
“No, Liam. I really did send you to Grandma's so your mother and I wouldn't kill you.”
He paused to reflect on the past six months leading up to his exile at Grandma's. The arguments over responsibility. About time management. About doing what you said you were going to do. All the little details he so often got wrong in the eyes of his parents. All the things that seemed to drive his parents crazy. All the things he always felt were unimportant. He had to admit he often made things worse by yelling, slamming doors, and generally being an unreasonable punk.
Why was I acting young and stupid?
“Young and stupid” and “just being a kid” were allowable two weeks ago, just before the sirens took down the world. He'd been forced to mature or die. Maybe he'd have done it no matter what, but he was thankful once again Victoria had come along and helped him man up during those early difficulties. Sure, he thought, he did cry in front of her a couple times, but to be fair all of society had come unraveled. Everyone was crying at some point; she cried and talked in her sleep and he thought no less of her.
Somewhat satisfied at his answer, and wanting to give his dad some time to rest, he excused himself.
“Where's mom?”
Jerry had leaned his head back against the wall again. This time he answered without opening his eyes.
“She took that bag of rice to the council as payment for my medical services. I tried to stop her, but she's as stubborn as you
are sometimes. Or you're as stubborn as her. I get them confused.”
In the Old World, this might have been a jumping off point for some sort of argument. In the New World, it was just taken as the joke it was meant to be.
5
He left his dad to rest. He thought about trying to find his mother, but didn't want to tangle with the leaders again. He wasn't even sure he could get up there by himself with all that security. Instead, he hovered near a window facing the creek where Victoria had gone to rest.
Should I give her more time?
He easily spied her a hundred feet away. She sat on the bank of the creek, and talked to someone—a young man—a bit further away. He seemed filthy, even from this distance. His first instinct was to run out there, but he knew that was stupid. They were just talking. So, he waited.
He quickly bored of watching them. He surveyed the huge camp and saw only tents as far as he could see from his window. The narrow valley was filled to capacity.
One area where the Boy Scouts were able to keep control was the judicious use of the water from the creek. With so many people living so close to the waterway, boys patrolled up and down the bank to make sure no one poured chemicals into the water or tried to use it as a latrine. Liam saw the boys actively walking up and down both sides of the creek even now. Water was a precious resource, though he knew the real key to this valley was the large artesian well further up the creek. They didn't have much food to spread around, but with clean water it gave them an edge most people probably didn't have in the wider world.
A few minutes later he returned his gaze to his girlfriend—he loved saying that—and saw her arguing with the guy.
What the!
She tried to grab him by the arm, and he shook free immediately, took a few seconds to observe the vicinity, and then pushed Victoria hard enough she fell down the steep creek bank out of Liam's view. He ran from the building in a flash.
The young man ran away from him along the creek, but his first concern was Victoria. He dashed to her in time to see her struggling to climb back out of the creek bed. She appeared dry and in one piece, though her clothes were still soiled from the previous creek she'd been in.
“That new guy needed to check in to camp but refused. I tried to pull him over there as a joke, and he pushed me down here. I guess he ran away?”
She peered up from the rocky slope, trying to see left and right. “I didn't see which way he went.”
“I did.” Liam took off, knowing she would be fine.
He was sure someone else had to have seen the incident, but no one joined the pursuit. He felt a surge of anger that no one helped and it doubled with his burning desire to have words with the fleeing suspect. Liam, a natural runner and the slightly-above-mediocre star of his below-mediocre track team, kicked into overdrive running in pursuit.
It didn't take long and he could see the man ahead. He wore a filthy white t-shirt and brown cargo pants with white sneakers. He wasn't a very large man, so his stride was about equal to Liam's.
The man realized he was being followed, which both sped him up and changed his trajectory. Instead of moving down the creek corridor, he made his way into the thick of the tents on the valley floor. The advantage of speed was lost immediately. Instead, with ducking and weaving in random directions through the myriad of tents and tarps, Liam steadily fell behind.
He considered calling for help, but didn't want to cause a commotion over a situation he still didn't understand.
The runner made his way toward the front gate. That became apparent after a few minutes of zigging and zagging through the crowd. The question smoldering in Liam's brain was why?
The man left the tents and was up on the comparatively clear access road. It led from the front gate, up the valley, and past the admin building. Everything ran next to the creek, making it really hard to get lost. This guy was following the most basic directions.
Soon they were both on the paved road. Not far from the entrance. The man had a fifty-foot lead. He appeared to be giving it all he had to get to the front gate.
Maybe he's from outside?
A touch of panic now. An outsider? Liam actually backed off a little. He chose a nice even pace so he could pursue but not exhaust himself like the other man. He figured he was being pretty smart about it.
The man reached the front gate. None of the guards made any motion to stop him. Liam's anger peaked at the realization. They were trained to stop people going the other direction. Again Liam considered yelling ahead for help, but he had already halved the distance. His adrenaline pumped and he had tunnel vision to close the last twenty feet and catch him. He felt his holster, knowing his gun was there. He was ready to use it if needed.
The man crossed the road and ran into the overflow tents in the field. Liam had confidence he could follow him, no matter what he used as a diversion.
The camp exit was in a heavily wooded area, with poor visibility on the access road going left and right of the gate itself. As Liam ran out the gate and crossed the road, he chanced a look left and right. Even though there was no longer any traffic, the old habits died hard.
Clear left.
Clear—
He came to a dead stop in the middle of the road; the running man opened an insurmountable lead. Anyone looking at Liam would laugh at the sight of his mouth hanging wide open. But no one looked at him. Everyone who could see it was doing the same thing as Liam: gawking.
A convoy of military trucks had parked on the shoulder; they were visible as far as he could see on the windy road. Some around him probably knew what they were, but not why they were there.
Liam knew.
Hayes was back to collect his precious MRAP.
He brought a lot of friends.
Chapter 6: Don't Make Plans
Someone bumped into Liam's dangling right arm as he stood in awe. Liam turned slightly to confirm it was Victoria.
“What are you doing? We have to keep after him.”
She had her back to the military convoy. She watched the escaping man as he headed into the field of tents, but he didn't care.
“We can catch him! He's slowing down.”
He remained frozen. Finally, she turned around and joined Liam in the wide-eyed spectacle. Men and women soldiers stood outside their vehicles. Some had fanned out to the sides, but they didn't act particularly hurried. A small group walked toward the front gate; toward Liam and Victoria.
“This can't be happening,” Liam said quietly.
He grabbed Victoria by the arm. Running was not an option. The troopers were much too close. If they wanted him, they had him.
“Greetings!” said a jovial-looking officer as he walked up. He was flanked by several tough-looking Marines in woodland camouflage uniforms, helmets, and with weapons drawn.
“I'm Lt. Colonel Joseph Brandyweis with the 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines. I've been tasked with investigating this camp for civilians known to have stolen US Government property.”
Here it comes. We're Caught!
“Wel-welcome to Camp Hope.” Liam didn't know what else to say.
“Will you two fine folks take me and my friends here to the administrator of this facility?”
It was an order, not a request.
“Sure. We'll take you.” Liam held Victoria's hand—tightly.
The colonel waved to the lead Humvee in his column, then said something into a small radio. In response, the front vehicle and two more behind rolled toward the front gate. As the first one pulled up, he instructed them to get in.
“This will be faster than walking.” He gave them a once-over. Liam figured he looked guilty—he had sweat pouring off his forehead from his pursuit. “Don't worry, my friends. We aren't here to hurt anyone. We're the good guys!”
Liam had heard that before. He was pretty sure the good guys were gone for good.
When they climbed in, Liam was overcome by the smell of cooked meat. He was practically drooling. How long since the last dec
ent meal? Days.
“You guys want some deer meat? I don't have much, but you're welcome to what I have.”
Victoria didn't hesitate. “Oh my, that would be incredible.”
“We've been traveling a lot these last couple weeks. Sometimes we stop and get food from pre-positioned government stockpiles, but more often we dismount and hunt deer. Always in season now, huh?” He gave a hearty laugh.
Liam took the venison, though he hesitated before eating it. He looked at Victoria and saw her enjoying her small serving. He decided if he was going to be captured this easily he'd at least get a good meal out of it.
He was well into the small serving when the colonel asked about the condition of the camp. Who was in charge? How many people? How big was the valley? Liam and Victoria answered honestly, until he directed his questioning at them.
“So, how did you kids end up here?”
Liam looked at Victoria, her face giving no clues to her thoughts on how to answer.
“My family lived near the interstate. When the zombies chased out all the people from the city, both groups used my street as a battlefield. Our house was destroyed. Our neighbors killed. We decided the one place we'd might find some help was at this Boy Scout camp.” Liam told himself he didn't really lie. He learned his lesson about mentioning his wayward grandmother to anyone in government.
“And what about you?”
Victoria was quick to respond. “I was part of a summer medical internship at Barnes Memorial Hospital downtown. When the plague began spreading I made a run for it. I escaped along with many others from downtown by walking out. I found this place by accident.” After a moment's pause she added, “My parents are still in Denver, so I'm hoping to make it out there again someday.”
“Denver, eh? Well, I'm sorry to say no urban area is intact these days. I've not seen Denver, but I've seen downtown St. Louis. They can't be that different. I wish you luck in finding your parents.”
Liam felt brave enough to ask a question he knew was borderline self-incriminating. “You said you're looking for thieves here? What did they steal?”
Stop the Sirens: Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse, Book 3 Page 10