“Why the hell not?”
“We need every man we can get.”
Terrill Lee looked hurt. Miller ignored him. She rubbed her hands before the fire, and stuck them under her armpits. She was damned cold, very hungry, and really, really tired. They all were. It was risky to make a rest stop with the bomb ticking, but Miller couldn’t see any way they would make it out of the blast area in time without a vehicle and a plan. Neither of those seemed likely when they couldn’t see for shit. They’d have to wait for sunrise and then improvise, zig and zag, be rabbits running from coyotes. Just keep on moving and try to figure a way to stay alive.
The stars shone brightly again in the dark velvet sky. The yellowish bonfire lit an area about ten yards in diameter, winking brightly and boldly, but beyond that little circle, the distant stars were the only source of light. The pale moon had again gone behind some thin clouds. The air was frigid enough so that if they moved even a few feet away from the fire they could see their own breath. The world seemed huge, empty, and desperately lonely. And the damned bomb was right beneath their feet, protected by a horde of the undead.
“Now, what are we going to do?” asked Scratch. He sat down next to Miller. She glanced at him. He was shaking badly from the cold.
“Do? We need to get out of here.” Miller looked at Terrill Lee’s watch. “In just maybe eighteen hours, this place is going to be a gigantic smoking crater. If we’re not in the next county, then at best we’re going to have a really nasty-assed case of heat stroke. Look, we have to start somewhere. Any of you soldier types know the blast radius of that there bomb?”
“It’s a tactical nuke,” said Lovell. “Maybe ten times Hiroshima. Minimum safe distance is roughly thirty kilometers. But we’ve got other problems than just that nuke we brought with us.” He looked significantly at Rat and Psycho. They held his look for a long moment then went back to staring into the fire.
Scratch spat into the blaze. “Yeah, more zombies.”
“And we’re not just going back down there to deactivate it because…?” prompted Terrill Lee. They all knew he was just thinking aloud.
Rat spoke for the first time. “Well, let’s see. Right off the top of my head, I’m thinking we’re low on ammo, there could be hundreds of zombies down there waiting for us, we don’t know the combination to open the weapons cabinet, and we risk setting the fucking thing off if we do anything wrong.” She stared into the fire. “If it were up to me, I’d say we start walking. However, it doesn’t seem to be up to me anymore.”
Sheppard sat on the ground next to the fire with his bad leg outstretched. Terrill Lee had done a respectable job of bandaging the wound with part of his shirt. However, Sheppard was sweating with pain and didn’t seem to care for the experience of being shot. Seemed downright pissed off about it, as far as Miller could see.
“I’m not trying to play the hero, Sheriff, but I think you’ll get a lot farther if you don’t have me slowing you down.”
“Give us a fucking break, Sheppard,” snapped Miller. “You aren’t seriously proposing that we have the ‘we’re not leaving a man behind’ conversation, are you? You’re coming with us if I have to carry you myself.”
“It’s an option to consider,” Scratch said. But then he grinned wolfishly.
“Just shut up, both of you,” Miller said. “We may need your scientific brain, Sheppard. It’s come in handy before. Anyone else got any bright ideas?”
Silence. The moon came out hesitantly from behind a high cloud, a virgin bride on her wedding night. Somewhere south of them a coyote howled with appreciation.
“So here’s what we’re going to do,” Miller said. She was improvising like mad. “First, we’re going to get some sleep. I’m willing to take a chance that fucknut Ripper didn’t set the timer early. At first light, we’re going to head northwest back to Flat Rock. That’s at least thirty kilometers from here. We’ll find a car or truck that we can hotwire, and when we do we’re all going to get as far away from here as we possibly can. From that point on, we’ll play her as she lays. That’s my plan and those are my orders. Any objections? If so, now’s the time.”
Silence, except for a rustling noise low and away as some night crawler met a gruesome end in the sagebrush.
“All right then,” said Miller. “First light is at about six o’clock. Get some rest, you’ll all need it. We’ll take three shifts at guard duty. Scratch, you’re with me first, then Rat and Psycho, then Terrill Lee and Lovell. Sheppard, you get a bye this time. I want you fully rested and ready for a long-assed march in six hours. This time you’re going to have to do some of it all on your own.”
“Yes, Sheriff.” Sheppard flopped back on the sand, one arm over his eyes. He wasn’t faking it. He was exhausted, they all were.
Miller licked her dry lips. “Now, everybody try and get some sleep.”
She looked around. Scratch was still grinning from ear to ear as if he’d won the lotto. Terrill Lee looked upset about being paired with Lovell rather than Rat or Miller. Sheppard just lay still with wry amusement. For their part, the soldiers ignored the little civilian drama. They went flat, curled sideways near each other and tried to fall sleep. The fire popped and crackled and shrank down a tad. The light wind changed slightly and smoke burned Miller’s eyes. Command had never felt quite this lonely.
Miller’s thoughts raced. She didn’t care for their chances, but honestly couldn’t think of a better way to go than what she’d just outlined. If they ran across any vehicles sooner, at the gas station or maybe near the Highway Patrol, they’d grab what they could. If not, the group would just have to make it to town. She also knew Sheppard was probably right, that dragging him along could cost them their lives. But, for a lot of complicated reasons, Miller couldn’t face leaving him behind to die. Besides, Sheppard was one of the smartest in the circle. They’d need his mind. Or so she told herself.
Her pulse raced. Miller did her best to ignore Scratch. She was in no mood for any more macho bullshit.
The group settled in. Somewhere to the north another coyote wailed OOOooOOooooo as the moon turned swollen in the frigid night sky. Miller munched on a meal bar from their rapidly dwindling supply. If this is the last thing I ever eat, she thought, I’m going to be pissed. The bar gave her strength, but came nowhere close to satisfying her constant hunger. Of course, almost nothing had seemed to assuage that since the injection of the zombie virus. She’d been hungry or horny or both ever since. On occasion, Miller wondered if any of it was still fully operational in her system, ready to spring a nasty surprise. She sure as hell hoped not, although a bit of super strength might come in handy if they faced another mob of the undead.
Their little camp was quiet except for the crackling of the fire. Lovell was snoring. Psycho farted like a stallion. Miller threw another piece of scrap wood on the waning blaze. She watched it flare up with satisfaction.
“You cold, Penny?” asked Scratch. He’d approached her as cautiously as a trapper collecting a wounded animal. She could sense his fear. After all she’d been and become before his eyes, that was probably understandable.
Miller stifled a laugh. “Save it, cowboy. That is, unless you have a pizza and a six-pack of beer hidden in your pants. Trust me I’m not interested in anything else.”
Scratch tried to look unaffected, his lined face flickering in the firelight and shadow. He failed miserably. “I just asked you if you were cold. Look, if you’re in another one of your crappy moods, fine. I’ll sit over there.” He meant the other side of the bonfire. Scratch turned and took a step in that direction.
“No, wait,” Miller said. “I’m sorry, Scratch. I didn’t mean to jump on your ass. Come on back.” She stood up, waiting for him to approach. As soon as he was close enough to whisper to, she said, “Fuck yes, I’m cold.” She rubbed her hands together in front of the fire. “I just don’t want Sheppard to hear, not after the way I took him down a peg when he asked me if I would be warm enough without a coat.”
>
“You want my jacket?” Scratch’s own teeth were chattering, and he didn’t actually make a move to remove the jacket.
“No, thanks,” Miller said, fighting back a wry grin. “You keep it.”
“You ain’t gonna make it through the night, you don’t get warm,” Scratch said. He put his hands on her upper arms, and began rubbing them vigorously, letting the friction warm her. Then he took her hands in his. He began rubbing them as well.
“You’re awfully bold tonight,” Miller whispered, but she offered that with a smile.
Scratch looked up at her and smiled back. “Fortune favors the bold.”
He had done it again. Miller blinked. “You always manage to surprise me.”
Scratch said, “Relax, I read that in a fortune cookie once.”
They both chuckled. Psycho farted again and rolled over. Miller wrinkled her nose and Scratch waved his hand in the air.
“Besides,” Scratch said, “how’m I supposed to put the move on you for real one of these days if you’re frozen solid? In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not really into dead chicks.”
Miller’s grin broadened. “Well, if you were, you would sure as shit have your pick around this place.”
“Ugh. No, thank you.” His smile faltered. Miller could read the tension in his eyes, yet he continued to try and joke about their situation. “I like my women warm, willing, and not trying to consume my living flesh. Well, not literally anyway.”
Scratch took his hands off hers. Within seconds, Miller began chattering with cold. The temperature was falling steadily.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Miller said, her arms crossed over her chest. She hopped up and down, dancing around to stay warm. “You come over here and keep me warm—no funny business—and I promise, when we get out of this mess and back to civilization, I’ll be willing to… renegotiate.”
“Renegotiate, eh?” Scratch said. He paused as if pondering a universal truth. “What if I say ‘no’?”
“You say no, cowboy, and I’ll go wake up Lovell. And then you and Terrill Lee can warm each other up.”
“Lovell? You’d tap that pasty-faced, flat-topped, jarhead mother jumper? Are you fucking serious?”
Miller cut him off by turning her back. She sat down in the sand with her legs crossed. “Are you going to warm me up or not?”
Without another word, Scratch stepped up behind Miller. He sat down and put his arms and legs around her. She could sense him leaning forward, probably smelling her hair. He let out a deep sigh. Miller just rolled her eyes and grinned. Men. But for the moment, she was warm. The fire stroked her face and Scratch’s body heat took away the sting of the night. The coyotes wailed another time or two and then trailed off. The sky went dark as clouds covered up the frigid moon. Scratch felt good, solid and safe. Miller felt her heartbeat slow. Her eyelids grew heavy and felt thick as roller blinds.
At some point she fell asleep.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
5:15am – 12 hours 45 minutes remaining
It was still dark when Terrill Lee woke Miller up with a gentle nudge. She opened one eye and watched her breath gush like smoke into the frosty morning air. Miller found herself flat on her back near the embers of the fire. Scratch was gone. The stars were fading as the warming dawn crept up onto the horizon with a long, flattened streak of rainbow mist.
“Wha’s goin’ on?” Miller mumbled sleepily.
“Come see,” Terrill Lee said.
Miller looked around their little camp. Lovell was in the process of putting out the fire. People seemed to be missing, perhaps gone to answer nature’s call. Miller yawned. She rolled her head to the side. Across the clearing, she watched Psycho, who was supporting Sheppard as he stepped up into a dented, scratched up, blue and white Winnebago. Scratch and Rat were talking to the white-bearded driver through the open cabin window. Miller sat up suddenly.
Wait. A Winnebago?
“See? I found us a ride,” said Terrill Lee, smugly. He puffed up his chest like a proud cat that had just dropped a dead mouse on her bedroom pillow.
“Oh, yeah,” said Lovell sarcastically without looking up. “You found it all by your little lonesome.”
Terrill Lee’s face reddened. “All right. Whatever. We have a ride.”
Miller stretched. Her body felt sore and stiff. “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” She stood up and dusted herself off.
“Scratch said you needed your sleep,” Terrill Lee said, with a hostile undercurrent in his voice. Miller wondered what else Scratch had told him, but that would have to wait. Men…
“Who is that guy?” Miller asked, with a yawn. “Do we know anything about him?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Terrill Lee said. “Abraham seems harmless enough.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” asked Miller suspiciously.
Before Terrill Lee could answer, Scratch turned to her and waved her over. “Penny, I want you to meet someone.”
Miller crossed the fifteen yards to the Winnebago with a jog. She stopped, stood next to Scratch, and looked up into the streaked window, trying to make out the figure backlit by the interior lights. The man sitting there was nearly bald, but sported a magnificent white beard. He appeared to be about sixty years old, had ice-blue eyes and a round, bulbous nose gone red from years of alcohol abuse. The man wore a bright blue Hawaiian shirt that was open at the collar with cotton-ball puffs of white chest hair peeking out. A huge turquoise cross adorned his neck. Miller took stock of him as her law enforcement instincts kicked in. Miller guessed that this man had been many things, but “harmless” probably wasn’t one of them.
“Penny, I want you to meet Father Abraham. Father Abraham, this here is Sheriff Penny Miller from over in Flat Rock.”
“A pleasure to meet such a beautiful representative of the local law enforcement community,” Abraham said. He touched his eyebrow as if tipping a hat. He smiled at her, and Miller saw that he was missing several teeth.
Miller smiled back. They needed a ride. “Howdy,” she said sweetly, unsure of exactly how to address him. “We really appreciate you stopping by.”
“I am a shepherd of lost souls, Sheriff. I saw your fire. Lands sake, I could hardly drive by and allow you and your friends to become devoured by the minions of the Evil One, only to join their ranks. I felt directed to your camp. God has declared that we should meet. We are all powerless against the will of Yahweh.” Again Abraham gave the mock hat-tipping gesture. Miller began to take that for a nervous tic.
“I was just thinking almost the exact same thing,” Miller turned to Scratch. “So what’s the new plan?”
Rat spoke first. “Abraham here is going to give us a ride the hell out of Dodge. Scratch says this is your old stomping ground, so I guess you know better than I do where we’re going. Abraham has food and medical supplies, and says he knows where to get even more.”
“You are as lovely as you are correct, my child,” Abraham leered. “But perhaps we should continue this conversation on the road. It will be first light soon, and I would like to put as much distance as possible between this pit of Hell and our mortal souls.”
“Good thinking,” Rat said, dryly.
“Shall we go?” Abraham turned to face Miller. He smiled toothlessly and touched his eyebrow again.
“I guess.”
Miller turned toward the door of the Winnebago, but pulled up short. She took Scratch’s elbow and stopped him before he entered the giant vehicle. She spoke in low tones while the others stepped aboard.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“I ain’t worried about old Abraham,” said Scratch. “He seems harmless enough.”
“That’s exactly the same stupid thing that Terrill Lee just said,” Miller whispered. “What does that mean, anyway?”
“It means that getting into this here Winnebago is a hell of a better idea than all of us hoofing thirty klicks carrying a wounded man.”
“Just stay sharp, Scra
tch.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“That’s very manly of you,” said Miller.
“Just doing my job.”
He went up the metal stairs. Miller hesitated, alone in the empty clearing as the sun came out for the day. She put one foot on the stairs. Scratch reached out a hand and Miller took it. He winked. She stepped on board.
The interior of the Winnebago was a disastrous mess. The décor reminded Miller of a psychopath’s photo wall, or maybe a party bus after a particularly long and depraved college trip to Vegas. Strings of lights dangled from the ceiling and walls and bottles and food containers dating back from before the zombie outbreak littered every horizontal surface. A beaded curtain separated the bedroom area of the vehicle from the front. Miller didn’t care to find out how Abraham’s bedroom was decorated, but she somehow pictured tasteless nudes, samurai swords, and a vibrating mattress beneath a mirror-tiled ceiling.
Miller paused before finding a seat. The most prominent feature of the interior was the spray paint. In black letters, surrounded by neon orange, were the words, “DEviNe wiLL,” sprawled across the wall opposite the door.
Sheppard sat on the sofa that lined the driver’s side wall, his leg sprawled out in front of him. Psycho sat next to him in a posture that Miller could only term, “At ease.” Not relaxed, but not at attention either. Miller chose not to sit nearby, but instead occupied the passenger seat up front. She wanted to get to know their host a little better, and Miller couldn’t think of a better position to mount an interrogation. The heater had recently been running, and the front of the Winnebago was blissfully warm. Unfortunately, the heat also brought out Abraham’s gamey body odor, but after the rotting stench of the base, she could live with it.
“So, Abraham, how did you happen to be way out here in the first place?”
Abraham snapped out of a daze as if seeing her for the first time. Miller wondered how tightly he was wrapped. His eyes traveled up and down her form, drinking her in, and lingered at her breasts for much longer than socially appropriate. She resisted the urge to remind him where her own eyes were, but endured the lecherous inspection. Miller had learned a long time back that a man in lust was also unguarded and dumb as a fence post.
The Hungry (Book 2): The Wrath of God Page 11