“We secure the barracks firstly,” he answers continuing to head for the barracks.
“And after that?” I ask rushing to catch up to him.
“I’m not sure. I’m kind of winging this,” Connor admits.
We follow him across the grounds, sprinting to keep up with him. We are out of breath by the time we make it to the door of the barracks.
“There are two doors in this building,” Connor calls out to us, “this one and one in the back. There are also multiple windows.”
“Do we need to barricade them all?” Penelope asks.
“No,” Connor remarks.
“Ok we have a plan,” I say, “now who wants to be the first one inside?”
Everyone nominates Connor, who accepts his responsibility. He slides the shotgun off his back and pumps it twice. He gradually opens the door and enters the barracks. His hand reaches out and clicks the light switch hoping for a tiny bit of luck. I follow behind him after he gives the ok. My sword is drawn in anticipation as I enter the hot, dark room.
“This room brings back memories,” Connor reminisces.
“I’m glad, but do you think you could save the reminiscing for after we clear this room?” I ask
“Yeah, sorry,” he says, “I just didn’t think coming back here would feel like this.” He says making it to the other room, “CLEAR!”
“Clear over here too,” I call back to him. I put my sword back in my sheath and meet back up with him in the middle of the barrack floor. “So you really trained here?”
“Yeah. Right out of high school,” He says tossing his gun back over his shoulder, “I didn’t have much in the way of family. My mother died when I was young. She was coming home from work one day and a drunk driver hit her as she was crossing the road. My father didn’t do too well after she died, he took to the bottle, hard. Everything I did after he ‘medicated himself’ bothered him. He used to beat me something senseless too, with his belt, an extension cord, basically anything that he could find lying around.”
“I’m sorry,” I said sympathetically.
“Its fine,” he declares, “I just learned to stay out of his way. I studied hard, played football in school, you know anything that kept me out of the house. I signed up for the military when I was seventeen and as soon as I hit eighteen I was sent here for training. Best six months of my life.” he continued as we opened the door up for the others.
“Alright, what’s next?” Natalie asks.
“We need food and supplies,” I remind everyone.
“The supply building is in the back. We passed the mess hall on our way here,” Connors explains.
“Alright, Connor, you and Natalie head to the supply building. Gather whatever you can find to supply light and anything else useful. Penelope come with me, we’ll gather food,” I say.
“What and the rest of us just wait here?” Kennedy questions, her face turning bright red as she continues to get madder.
“Yes. Stay here and protect the others,” I order.
“No,” Kennedy replies getting right up into my face, “why don’t I go and get food with you?”
“I don’t think that is such a good idea,” I say, trying to remain calm.
“Why? Because I’m just the healer? Because you don’t trust me? Why? What is your reason?” she growls.
“Because I think it would just be easier if you stay here and protect the others,” I reply.
“Just let her go,” Fanny says tugging on my sleeve.
“Yeah, I’ll stay here and protect the others,” Penelope says giving in.
“Fine,” I groan knowing that I’m out numbered.
The four of us walk out of the barracks. Connor gives us directions to the mess hall. We part ways, but I can’t help from watching the two disappear into the darkness. Kennedy and I walk quietly across the base until we come to a rather large building, the words ‘MESS HALL’ written across the top. I gesture for Kennedy to watch my back as I push the door open and slink inside.
“Do you still have that flashlight?” Kennedy asked.
“Yeah,” I say pulling the small flashlight out of my pocket. The light is dimmer than usual, I haven’t been able to switch out the batteries in a while.
Even with the dimmer light I can see the paintings on the wall. The paintings line the right wall, the first one a commemorative painting of a corporal who died on the base. I continue to follow the paintings down the wall. They continue on down the wall according to rank. After the fallen corporal there is a picture of the master sergeant who is in charge of the base. He looks like a relatively younger man standing in front of the flagpole out front, dressed in his army greens his arms folded behind his back. The next is a close up painting of a bald man, also wearing army greens. He has a thick white mustache that covers his stiff upper lip. His eyes are a piercing blue, even in a painting he commands respect. He has four stars on his shoulder that seem to just leap out of the frame.
“General Paul Kissner,” I read off the name plate.
“Who’s he?” Kennedy asks.
“General Kissner,” I reply.
“I see,” she says still lost.
I continue to work the light down the line of paintings, passing over the Secretary of defense and Vice President, both with red X’s over their pictures. I stop the light on the painting of the president. He also has a close up painting, cut off just under his chest. His white button down shirt is still visible even behind his bright red tie and royal blue blazer. He has a half smile on his clean shaven face, and sensitive eyes that seem to follow you as you move.
“President Keven Quinn,” I read, “Elected November 15th, 2036.”
“Yeah I know that,” Kennedy snips at me.
“Ok. Just trying to help,” I laugh.
“But why are the Vice President and Secretary of Defense Paintings crossed out?” Kennedy asks, looking back at the other paintings.
“I’m not sure,” I say, “but I do remember seeing the Secretary of Defense on the news before the virus was dropped. But I can’t remember why.”
“Hmm, that’s peculiar,” She says.
“Yeah, but it’s not why we’re here,” I say breaking our focus away from the paintings, “let’s see what food we can find.”
“Fine,” Kennedy says with a grumpy tone.
We continue on through the hallway, checking any door we find along the way. We make it around the corner, stepping foot on the linoleum floor of the cafeteria. Several rows of tables line the floor of the cafeteria. Vacant lines that pass by the service area haunt my vision. The thought of how many men and women passed through that line morning, noon, and night send shivers down my spine.
“To think, no one will ever wait in that line again,” I mumble.
“Someday they will,” Kennedy says placing her hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me.
“I hope so,” I say looking at her with a smile. She quickly removes her hand and turns her head away from me.
It is the first time she has been decent to me since I slept with Penelope. I shake it off and start walking through the cafeteria and into the kitchen. The kitchen is rather large, with stainless steel lining the walls. Big metal tables are placed around the middle of the kitchen with four big stoves line up along a middle wall sitting underneath vents. On the other side of the wall there are three metal racks filled with a huge assortment of canned goods.
“That’s enough food to last us for weeks,” Kennedy gushes.
“Yeah,” I say picking up a can, “it looks like this base just up and left.”
“But why?” Kennedy asks.
“I’m not sure,” I reply, “We should find the walk in. Hopefully there is some water left.”
“Yeah, but how are we going to carry all this back anyway?” Kennedy asks.
“I don’t know yet,” I chuckle.
We walk through the kitchen looking for the walk in. We follow the back wall, my flashlight starting to flicker as we come across a
large metal door. Kennedy readies her gun as I swing the door open. We choke and cough when the door is open, a rancid smell coming out from the walk in.
“Oh god, everything in here has rotted,” Kennedy gags.
“Yeah, but water doesn’t rot,” I say taking a deep breath and walking into the foul smelling cooler.
My light has almost died out by the time I make it deep inside the walk in. The smell coming from the walk in is so bad that I can feel my eyes burning even without taking a breath. The dull light cuts in and out, I whack the bottom of the flashlight hoping for just a few more moments of light. The light comes on again, slightly brighter than before. It glows just bright enough for me to see the case of bottled water sitting on the bottom shelf. I can feel my lungs begging for air as I reach down and pick the case up. I rush back out of the cooler, the case of warm water firmly in my grasp, gasping for fresh air.
“You ok?” Kennedy asks standing in front of a large stock pot.
“I’m fine,” I say still gasping for air, “what’s that for?”
“I thought we could throw some of the cans in here. You know, make it easy to carry them back to the barracks,” she answers.
“That’s a good idea,” I say.
She carries the pot while I carry the case of water back over to the cans. My flashlight is now dead and we fumble through the dark. We bump into walls and each other before finally finding the cans.
“How many should we take?” Kennedy asks.
“Fill the pot,” I reply.
The pot takes a few cans before we start back out of the mess hall. We sort and stagger around the dark kitchen, somehow managing to find our way back to the cafeteria. Kennedy drags the pan behind us, the grinding sound of the pan on the floor echoes loudly through the otherwise quiet building.
“You’re going to have to carry that,” I say stopping her, “that sound is giving us away.”
“I can’t. It’s too heavy,” she says upset.
“What about the water? Could you carry that instead?” I ask.
“I can try,” she groans.
I place the case of water in her arms, she grunts, struggling to keep the case wrapped in her arms. I lift the pot off the ground with much effort, as we struggle to make our way out of the cafeteria and back into the hall. I waddle ahead struggling to keep the pot off the ground. I stop near the door waiting for Kennedy, the light of the moon shining through each of the windows on the double doors. I look out the windows, admiring the moonlight when a shadow sneaks by slowly just past the door. I back away, leaving the pot near the door, until I reach Kennedy a few paces behind me.
“What’s wrong?” Kennedy asks.
“There is something outside,” I answer, my voice a whisper, “slowly put the water down and follow me back to the cafeteria.”
Kennedy drops the case of water on the ground with a loud thud before giving me an apologetic look. We back pedal around the corner back into the cafeteria, hiding ourselves behind the wall.
“Are you sure it was a Zombie?” Kennedy asks, “I mean what if it was one of the others looking for us?”
“I’m not sure, but if you would like to go check be my guest,” I reply sarcastically.
“Hey no need to be an ass. I was just trying to think rationally,” Kennedy says snidely.
“Your right, I’m sorry,” I say with a sigh, “I was just taking precautions. Let’s take a minute then we can go out and look.”
Kennedy nods in agreement. I can barely see her face but I can sense the fear her body is emitting. I want to comfort her, but I don’t know how to go about it. Are things different because of the situation we are in? Or should I just let it go?
“How are you holding up I ask?” breaking some of the tension.
“Better than can be expected,” She answers. I can feel the vibrations from her leg shaking, “starting to miss the whole, ‘waiting at the safe house.’” She chuckles
“Sorry I didn’t prepare you better,” I utter, “I should have let you out every once and a while.”
“It’s fine. I mean, I know I complained about not getting out more. But the truth is it wasn’t about doing more for the group, I was mostly trying to impress you,” She says, her voice raspy.
“Really?” I ask feeling a renewed sense of pride.
“Yeah. Ever since I first saw you,” her voice fading out as she talks, “I guess Penelope just did a better job at getting to you first.”
That one hurt. I feel speechless, leaving the room cloaked in an awkward silence, Kennedy’s constant sighing the one exception.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” I mumble, “but I swear it wasn’t intentional.”
“I know. Still didn’t make it hurt any less,” she whispers.
I move my hand close to her outline, I can feel the smoothness of her arm. My hand slides up her arm to her shoulder and I pull her close to me. Both of my arms wrap around her tightly, my chin resting on her head as she rests against my chest. Our tender moment is cut short by the sounds of slamming outside of the building. We both perk up, getting into ready positions. I hear Kennedy’s gun cock as I release my sword from its scabbard, the metallic hiss ringing through the room. We stand back to back, trying to scan the darkness for any sign of trouble.
“I can’t see anything,” Kennedy utters.
“Me either,” I agree, “We need to make our way outside.”
I grab Kennedy by the arm and keep her close to me as I hug the wall following it back to the hallway.
“What about the food?” Kennedy whispers.
“Leave it for now. We’ll come back for it if we can,” I answer.
We make it back to the door and I let go of Kennedy’s arm, “you ready for this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she stutters.
We burst through the door spinning around, searching for any sign of trouble.
“Clear,” I call to Kennedy.
“I don’t see anything either,” Kennedy says back to me, “what now?”
“Do you remember where the barracks are?” I ask.
“Yeah?” she says confused.
“Good, on the count of three run for it,” I say, “ready. One… two… three!”
We take off running, my sword swinging wildly with each step I take. I can hear Kennedy panting closely behind me as we follow the dirt path toward the barracks. I hear Kennedy scream, her gun letting out a loud bang causing me to wrap my hands behind my head and drop to the ground.
“Kennedy!?” I yell.
“I’m alright,” she replies, “I just tripped.”
It takes me a moment to peel myself off the ground. I find Kennedy a few steps behind me sitting on the ground, her hands wrapped around her right ankle.
“Is it bad?” I ask.
“No, it just feels like a sprain,” she replies, “but I don’t think I can walk on it.”
I slide my sword back into scabbard and extend my arm and help her off the ground. She stumbles to walk, slowing me down. I lift her off the ground cradling her body between my arms and finish bringing her back to the barracks. Connor and Natalie have already returned. The barracks is now dimly lit, a soft glow comes from the lamps still plugged in a soft hum comes from the other side of the room.
“Jeremy we could use your help,” I call out.
Jeremy rushes over as I sit Kennedy down on the closest bed. I walk away, leaving Jeremy to tend to Kennedy’s ankle. I walk over to Connor, a feeling of disappointment on my face.
“Everything Ok?” he asks.
“I’m not sure,” I sigh, “I mean we were leaving the mess hall when I could have sworn I saw a shadow pass by.”
“I was actually asking about Kennedy’s leg, but tell me more about the shadow you saw,” Connor says.
“Well firstly Kennedy said her ankle felt like a sprain, so it will just need time to heal,” I start, “secondly, as I was saying, Kennedy and I had just gathered supplies and made it out to the hall. When I was waiting f
or Kennedy to catch up to me, I saw something rush past the windows in the doors. I didn’t see what it was but I think something is here.”
“What about the food? Is it still in the mess hall?” Connor asks.
“Yeah. We gathered it in a pot and carried it out. When I saw the shadow I left it there. It would have just slowed us down,” I nod.
“Smart move,” he says.
“What do you think? Is it worth going back out tonight?” I ask.
“No,” he says, “we should have enough to get us through the night. We can get it in the morning. Should be safer in the light.”
“Sounds good, because I am beat,” I chortle.
“Why don’t you get some rest? I’ll take first watch,” he offers.
“Alright. But there is something I have to do first,” I say, getting onto my feet.
I walk over to Kennedy, still in bed, Jeremy has wrapped an ace bandage around her ankle.
“How you feeling?” I ask sitting at the edge of the bed.
“I’m fine,” She nods, “Jeremy confirmed what I thought. I sprained it. Was Connor mad about the food?”
“No,” I smirk, “he says we’ll make it through the night with the provisions we got. We’ll get the rest in the morning. He then told me to get some rest because I am completely wiped. I just wanted to check on you first.”
“Well I’m fine, thank you,” Kennedy smiles, “Jeremy also gave me some pain medicine.”
“I hope it helps. Why don’t you rest up,” I say getting back to my feet, exchanging smiles one last time before I walk back to the other side of the room and cuddle up beside Penelope in one of the beds and drift off to sleep.
Chapter 20
October 25th, 2037
It wasn’t the best sleep I ever had, but it was definitely better then I’ve had lately. Connor had never woken me up during the night for my shift. Sunlight peaks through the glass in the windows. The sounds of birds chirping outside gets me to sit up in bed. I look around the room and find Connor and Natalie sitting up near the unblocked door playing cards. The rest of the group is still asleep as I climb out of bed and walk over to the pair.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I ask.
Omega Virus (Book 1): Surviving the Horror Page 18