They slipped into the pickup, crouched down out of sight, and Randi drove them around to the Jeep. Before they climbed out, she pulled Izzy into a hug and whispered something to the girl. Izzy nodded and hopped out of the pickup.
"Everything okay?" Bryan asked.
"Yeah. Miss Randi just worries. About everyone and everything. If you stick around, you'll find out that she's not as tough as she wants everyone to think. She tries to keep us all at arm's length, but it's obvious she loves us and would do anything, even die, for us."
He'd seen that veneer crack when they were talking about evacuating the children. She was still planning to push that through even if she had to bulldoze everyone in the place to agreeing with her. He smiled. The woman was a force for sure.
About three miles from Atlas, a group of thirty or forty shuffling, drooling infected blocked the road. They all shuffled in the same direction. One stumbled causing two more to fall over him. They struggled to stand, but the rest of the group continued to groan, drool, and shuffle. Izzy looked at him with wide eyes. "What are we going to do?"
He shifted into four-wheel drive. "We're going off-road." If there weren't too many to get past on the sides of the road. He turned the wheel and started to the side of the road. They bumped and swayed down the incline and crept past the infected blocking their way. He stayed off-road for another mile and eased back onto the highway. He shifted out of four-wheel drive and hit the gas.
"That was scary." Izzy rubbed her dirty arms. She had on a short-sleeved shirt and no jacket.
"You don't have a coat?"
"Not an old one and I wasn't ripping up my good one to make an impression on this witch."
He flipped the heater onto high. "At least she'll give you clothes and let you take a shower. She doesn't like dirty, smelly children."
Izzy laughed. "Good. I don't like being a dirty, smelly child either."
He pulled into the car barn. "Let's go. He led her to Vixen's office.
The woman sat behind her desk. She raised an eyebrow at Bryan. "About time you decided to grace us with your presence."
"Hey, I've been busy." He motioned to Izzy. "Come here, I'd like you to meet Ms. Vixen."
Izzy ducked her head and stared at the floor. "Hello," she said in almost a whisper. The kid was a natural born actor.
"Where did you find that?"
"In the road close to Barker's place. She was with her daddy." Bryan looked at Izzy. "He was bitten and begged me to take her. There's no way she can survive out there by herself."
Vixen stared at her for a long time. "Dump her at Daniel's house with his kids, but first get her something to wear from Jane." She focused on Izzy. "As soon as you get to their house, little girl, take a bath and wash that filthy mop on your head. Do you understand?"
"Yeah." Izzy continued to stare at the floor.
"Hey!" Vixen glared at Izzy who now trembled. "Look at me when I'm talking to you."
Izzy raised her head just enough to make eye contact with Vixen.
"You will address adults as ma'am or sir." Vixen walked around her desk, grabbed Izzy's chin and jerked her head up. "Do you understand?"
Bryan's hand itched to deck her. Did she treat all of the children at Atlas like this? If so, why were these people willing to die for her?
"Yes, ma'am," Izzy whispered.
"Get her out of here."
Bryan led Izzy out of the office. He stopped at the storage building where Jane was placing supplies in containers and sticking dates on the front. "Vixen wants her to have some new clothes."
"Aren't you a pretty little thing?" Jane went through several large containers and grabbed two pairs of jeans, two shirts, underthings, and a warm coat. She brought them back, and glanced at Izzy's feet. "Oh, my. Those little shoes won't work at all. Let's see what we have." After a few minutes, she came back with a new pair of tennis shoes and socks.
"Thanks, Jane." Bryan led Izzy to the door of Daniel's house. "Good job. You remember the plan?"
"Don't worry. I've got it."
Bryan grinned as he walked to his place to shower. This was going to work. It had to. After he showered, he stretched out on his bed. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in forever. Soon darkness dragged him into a deep, dreamless sleep.
He woke to blackness a few hours later and looked at his watch. Almost rendezvous time. He grabbed a duffel bag and crammed all of his belongings in it. This would be his last time at Atlas. If he lived, he planned to either stay with Reginald's group or strike out on his own. No matter what, he refused to return to Vixen. Too bad he couldn't sneak the dog out with him. She loved that pup, but he belonged to Reginald's girls.
His home was next to the armory. He popped in there and loaded up on as many weapons and ammo as he could stuff in his bag and carry. He grabbed another bag off the wall and loaded up all of the explosives and remote detonators the room contained. They needed an advantage, and this would provide one. If Vixen caught him, they were all dead. His heart thudded as he stepped out of the armory. A noise to his left caught his attention. The pup ran up to him and yipped. Did this mean Vixen was out walking? Knowing her, she thought he was a guard dog and would alert her to anything.
He rubbed the pup's scruff. "Come on, Fritz," he whispered. The pup trotted along after him. Bryan picked up speed and jogged to the fence hiding the door to the car barn. He'd sprayed the hinges with oil after Reginald had alerted everyone to his escape.
Izzy crept along the fence line with Jay and Peyton in tow. They didn't make a sound, and he only noticed them because he was expecting them. This kid was good at sneaking around.
He opened the gate. "Get in the Jeep, but stay down."
They all climbed in, and he handed the dog to Izzy. "Hide him." Bryan put the Jeep in gear and crept out of the car barn. Once on the road, he hit the gas and sped away. After a few miles, he couldn't see Atlas in the rearview mirror. "Ya'll can get up, now."
"If Vixen realizes you took Fritz, she's going to kill you," Peyton said.
The girl was probably right, but he planned to send Fritz and the other dogs in the motor home with the kids. Unless Randi had already moved them. If she had, he would take Izzy, Peyton, Jay, and Fritz to join them.
Josh stood in front of the group as the sun peeked over the horizon. Everyone except Bryan and Izzy sat around the fire. His muscles tightened. He wanted to leave to search for Izzy and Bryan, but he had to maintain control. If Randi thought he was panicking, she'd head to Atlas herself to find them and get killed in the process.
"We need to work out a plan. I know y'all don't want to leave here and just let Vixen have it, but she has more people than we do. There's a good chance we'll lose, and lose quite a few people in the process."
"I don't care." Cooper stood. "We have to try. If we roll over for these people, and leave without a fight, they get off free without even any pain."
"I agree." Xever patted the boy's arm. "They may outnumber us, but we're in a secure compound. If we leave, now, we won't know if we could've stood up these tormentors or not."
"They're right." Belle stuck her chest out. "And I'm tired of hearing that you're sending the children away. We can fight. Randi and Josh taught us all to use guns. I don't care what any of you say, I'm not lea--"
"Stop." Randi glared at the child. "You will go. Yes, we taught you to shoot so you can protect yourself, but I refuse to be the reason we have child soldiers in this camp. It's not happening. I don't care if I have to hog-tie the lot of you, throw you in the blasted camper, and drive you out of here. I will, so don't push me."
"Miss Randi, we just want to help." Katie took Randi's hand. "The thought of you having to protect yourselves and us not being here..." She shook her head. "It's more than we can bear."
"Look around you. How many little ones do we have? I can't keep them here. You're responsible for protecting them. We're moving all of you."
Josh let out a loud whistle and waited for the group to grow quiet before he con
tinued. "We've already decided. Everyone under twenty leaves. Now, we need to move on to preparing the camp. If they overrun us, and we have to evacuate, I want to do as much damage to this place as I can. They're going to work for it. As we leave through the ATV barn, we'll take out fences. "
"I agree." Uncle Reginald pushed his hair out of his eyes. "We're taking the truck with the fencing supplies, too. You risked your lives getting them. I'm not leaving them here so these people can fix the damage without any trouble."
"Good." Randi smiled. "If we're taking the truck, then pull it into the camp and park it near the house. I'm cleaning the food out. You have all of those MREs in the basement. Mark and I stashed some in the RV, but there are still cases left and cases of bottled water."
"Good idea, mija. We'll need food until we find our new home." Xever tapped his fingertips together. "I think we should take linens, too. If we stay in the campground for a while, then the cabins have beds, but no linens."
"Shoot, load up the pots and pans, all of the supplies that will fit. Stuff that fencing truck to the point it's overflowing." Mary Anne stood and stretched. "I know they can find new things, but at least they'll have to work for it."
Toni tugged on Randi's shirt. "Mom, can we take the goats with us to the campground? I know you said they tear stuff up, but if the bad people are coming, I want the goats to be safe."
Randi smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "Good idea. If we take the goats, they'll have to figure out how to get milk."
"Is it safe?" Gabriele asked. "We cannot move the children out to a campground we don't know is safe."
"If it's not, we'll take them to a hardware store in Kerrville, but I hate for them to be that far away." Randi said.
Josh's radio squawked. "Hey Josh, it's Bryan. By now, Vixen realizes I have Bryan's children. We're at the outer gate. Will you let us in?"
He shook his head and smiled. "Headed that way." He took off across the packed earth, and let Bryan drive inside with the children.
"Izzy, take Peyton and Jay to see their dad, then y'all get in the RV."
She raised one eyebrow and stared at him. "I guess. I hate being banished."
"Quit being melodramatic. You're going to safety so you can protect the younger children."
Instead of arguing with him as he expected, she sighed, shook her head, and herded Daniels children toward him. She muttered something about the adults not trusting them as she walked away, but he decided to ignore it.
The German shepherd pup bounded up to the group, and Belle and Katie let out loud squeals. They hugged the dog and each other, then they hugged Bryan. "Thank you for bringing Fritzi home. We've missed him so much." Belle kissed Bryan on the cheek, and his face flushed.
"Belle, you and Katie head for the RV." He rubbed his tight neck muscles. Did they have a snowball's chance in July of standing up to Vixen's group?
Randi stood off to the side with Ethan. They had their heads bowed. Was she praying? Randi? Maybe Ethan had helped her get past her anger. They lifted their heads as he walked over to them. "Why don't we just haul it now? Before we lose anyone?"
"The thought of running galls me." Randi rubbed her eyes. Dark circles hung beneath her eyes. She pushed herself too far. "Mark and Adriana are taking the kids to the park. She's balking at staying with them. She thinks they're safe, but we aren't."
"She's right." Ethan motioned to Cooper. "Send him. He's old enough to take care of them. I'll go with Mark, and we'll find a place at the back where they'll be safe."
"Take the fence truck with you. Randi and I'll move the vehicles out by the shed."
"Do we have any dynamite or other explosives?" Randi pulled open the door to the ATV barn. "If so, we could set traps once Mark and Ethan are back. Since we're staying to fight, I want to have every advantage possible."
"I don't think so." Josh frowned. "Do you know of anywhere around here to get something like that?"
Bryan walked up and handed Josh a duffle bag. "I've already taken care of that. I have enough to set up around the front and some in the outer area, but we'll need to be close enough for the remote detonators to work.
Chapter 20
Reginald drove one of the four-seaters around the perimeter. He glanced at Miguel. "Do you think we'll survive this attack by Vixen and her group?"
"Not all of us." Miguel sucked in a big breath. "I asked about running, but Bryan says she has a bur under her saddle about you. He thinks she'll follow us. If it doesn't play out here, it will elsewhere."
"Where we have fewer weapons and defenses."
"Yep."
"All I did was take my family and leave. That woman is insane."
Miguel gave a half-smile. "Yeah, this kind of tragedy always brings out the worst in people. Actually, we're tested by any kind of tragedy."
Reginald turned from Miguel. He couldn't look at the man. Not after he'd developed this virus and the lengths they'd gone to...He tugged at his collar. "I did this."
"If you hadn't someone else would've." Miguel shrugged. "You've got to let go of the guilt."
"Easier said than done." He stared into the area beyond the fence. "You have no idea what I did to ensure this virus was deadly," he whispered.
"Would you like to tell me?" Miguel touched his arm. "Sometimes it helps to talk about it."
"I can't." Reginald refused to meet Miguel's gaze. He couldn't tell the man about the homeless and transients they'd used.
"We've all done things we regret."
Reginald rubbed his chest with the heel of his hand. "Not like this."
"If you keep it bottled up, it's going to kill you." Miguel watched an area on the other side of the fence for a while. "You know that as well as I do."
"Yeah, but you don't understand."
"I understand horrible things have been done in the name of science. You were working for a government that wanted weaponized rabies, and released it. It can't be worse than what I can imagine."
He needed to talk to someone. Was Miguel the someone? Reginald stopped the car, swallowed hard, and looked at Miguel. "We tested it on people. Transients and homeless, but we subjected people to this horrible death."
Miguel nodded. "I thought as much. Upper echelon's orders?"
"Yes, but I followed them. I allowed the techs to inject these people with this virus as we went along."
"We often follow the directives of our superiors and later regret it."
"Give me a break man. Most people don't do things this horrible."
"SS officers did in World War Two. We did research using human subjects not all that many years ago in this country. In 1975 the law was passed instituting institutional review boards, or IRBs to review experiments in humans. I have a book where I can show you all of the horrible things we've done to people in the name of science, so I'm not surprised that the government required human testing. It was in with the books Randi and Josh brought back."
"But I did it. No one else. I gave the virus to the techs and instructed them on what to do with it. It's on me."
"You know, Reg, if you told me all of this and had a nonchalant attitude about it, it would horrify me. The guilt is eating you up and that's what sets you apart from others. You need to find a way to forgive yourself. Not just for the human experimentation, but for the virus itself."
"You're not repulsed by what I've done?"
Miguel twisted his mouth. "I'm disgusted that our government hired you to do this. I'll admit, I'm appalled at what you've done. The human testing, not the virus because you had no way of knowing your insane boss would release it. The U.S. has stockpiles of weaponized viruses. Probably many of the other countries do, too. But, I've gotten to know who you are now. I don't know the man who had an affair with Gabriele, developed the virus, and tested it on humans. I know the man who puts his life on the line with the rest of us to protect the family."
Reginald closed his eyes. "Please don't tell anyone else."
"It's not my place to spread gossip, but
I'm willing to help you find the forgiveness you're looking for."
"I know you're a Christian, but I don't need to hear about God's forgiveness. If He's willing to forgive me, then He's not a just God. He'd be better off striking me dead."
Miguel laughed. "He forgives anyone who seeks it."
Before he could say more, Reginald held up his hand. "I like you, but please don't try to push your religion on me. I had enough of it with my mother, and I refuse to listen to anymore of it."
Bryan and Josh set up explosives around the front and the outer area. Once they finished, Bryan passed out detonators to Randi, Josh, Ethan, Xever, and Mary Anne. "We need to set these off when they're in range. I'm not sure how they'll invade. Her last scheme was to float in on the river, but we have Gabriele situated in the tower over the river. If she sees anyone rafting our way, she'll pick them off. I doubt that was Vixen's true plan, but you never know with that woman. Of course, I'm sure she's changed the plan since she's figured out I took the kids and the dog."
"When do you think they'll attack?" Randi asked.
"No clue. I expect it sooner than later. She's not a patient woman." He stared at Randi for a bit. "It will be sometime between dusk and dawn, I think." He stared at the woman who carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. She needed sleep. "Why don't you rest for a couple of hours? We need to take turns doing short rest periods."
"I'm fine."
"Yeah right." Josh scoffed. "Woman, have you looked at yourself in a mirror? The dark circles under your eyes have dark circles of their own. You're killing yourself. Rest for two hours. I'll wake you then, and someone else can take a break."
Her jaw clenched, and fire flashed from her eyes. Ethan put his hand on her arm. "Darlin', he's not lying. You need to rest. I know you don't like being told what to do, but think about it, we need you in top form when these people come after us. If you're dead on your feet, you're not going to be any good to us, now are you?"
She stared at Ethan for several moments. "Fine, but you'd better wake me in two hours or less." She turned and stomped away without looking back.
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