by D. Henbane
“What about the infected? Sure Woodburry looked safe, but we are miles away from it now, and there is no way to know for sure. Not to mention that Eicca has never seen me before, and couldn't recognize me from Adam. How would she know that we are friendly?” Haus said.
“Your right Haus. Maybe a little covert spying is the best option now.” Amy said.
Chapter Twenty Three
Not So Fast
Haus and Amy exited the car, crossing the aged wooden fence, and make their way to a row of trimmed trees. The trees rose above the ground about twenty feet, the lower branches made excellent cover, as they suspended only slightly above the ground. As the two of them moved towards the back perimeter of the property, it would be very difficult to spot them, only their feet were visible below the thick foliage.
Amy hung back slightly, only a few feet from Haus. She let him advance first, pausing at times, peeking out from behind the branches to survey the area. Once he determined it was safe to move forward he would hop to the next tree, and wait for her to catch up.
This game of tree leap frog kept up for nearly thirty minutes, until Haus stopped suddenly, his gaze focused straight ahead, and motioned for Amy to stay still. They were very close to the back part of the property, another fence, similar in style stood directly in front of them. The foundation of one of the outbuildings would be the next spot to take cover, as the trees stopped just short of the property line.
Haus looked forward, his movements slow and deliberate. He could finally see her. Eicca. He thought to himself, and all of the assumptions he held to this moment were one hundred percent accurate. Eicca stood before him, about 30 meters away, tending to a section of the massive garden, and completely oblivious of his presence.
Eicca pulled at the weeds, removing the invading vermin from her well kept rows of vegetables. She bent down again, grabbing another handful at the roots, and plucking them from the black Earth below. She stood up, arcing her back towards the sun, and wiping the sweat from her forehead.
She wore a white floral print dress, knee high, modest, and stained in spots with dirt. A fabric sash tied around her hips, that was connected to a crimson apron on the front side with two deep pockets. The bow tied behind her, resting on the lumbar region, the tails flowing down, and framing her apple shaped rear end.
The clothes seemed out of place, like some attire from the senior section hanging on a mannequin from the young woman’s section. The silhouette of her youthful frame poked out in defiance of the bland choice of fashion. A vibrant soul buzzed under that motherly outfit, restrained by the confines of modesty, and shackled by the chains of responsibility.
Eicca was focused on her task, moving forward a few feet, as she pulled the weeds, and tossed them over her shoulder. Haus started to exit the trees, but was blindsided by a flash, and knocked to the ground by an unseen force.
The force of the impact caught him completely off guard, seemingly coming from no where, but had leveled him out just the same. Haus tried to stand, only to be pinned down by the hands of a another man.
The arms were muscular, blood vessels bulged below the pale skin, but were lacking in thick arm hair. A few black hairs peeked out, but were mostly adorned with peach fuzz. Not the arms of a man, but rather a boy transitioning into manhood.
Jake let out a terrified screech, it didn't even sound human, more like an animals distress call. He grunted loudly as he climbed on top of Haus, Jakes knees pressing into Haus's biceps holding him firmly in place and began to flail his fists like a child throwing a tantrum. Jake was surprising large for his age, at only 13 years old, he resembled a fully grown adult man in stature but his baby face told of his true age.
Haus looked out towards the garden, towards Eicca, who now was on her feet and running toward the two men fighting. Eicca starting screaming something, but Haus couldn't make it out because one of Jakes punches had landed on the right side of his head leaving his ears ringing.
Amy however must have heard what she said because she rushed out to intercept her. Amy held her arms up in the air signaling Eicca not to interfere, but Eicca would have none of that. Amy rushed in front of Haus, her hands waving around in the air, but Eicca kept running strong. Eicca reached out, grabbing a handful of Amy's hair, and yanked back hard. Amy felt the pressure first, then the shooting pain, starting at the top of her scalp, it arced down her neck to her shoulders. Then she heard the loud pop in her neck as one of vertebrae darted out of place.
The force of the pull wasn't spent just on her head and neck. Amy felt her head pulling even harder towards the ground, another pop in her neck, followed by a forearm against her neck. Amy was already losing her balance due to the unnatural contortions of her neck and head, but the glancing blow to her throat over came her. Eicca shoved once more, this time with both hands into Amy's chest and she fell into the grass.
Haus saw Amy go down, and he had been kind enough to the young Jake. Haus flung both of his feet upward, until the crossed in front of Jake, crossing his feet together, Haus slammed them back in the opposite direction. His feet collided with Jakes adams apple, Jake tried to grab them, but it was too late. Jake let out a sickening gurgling noise, as his body fell backwards, guided by Haus's legs.
Jakes head struck the ground with a hallow thud, like bone meeting an unforgiving object, possibly a rock, but Haus wasn't sure. The impact wasn't enough to knock him unconscious, Haus at least knew that much, as he watched Jake roll over and clasp his hands around his throbbing neck. Haus stumbled to his feet, only to be met by one pissed off Finnish woman named Eicca.
Haus tried to dodge her at first, stepping to the side at the last minute, but she stumbled a bit, reversed course and ran back towards him. Jake was still rolling around on the ground, his hands firmly gripping his neck as he let out several high pitched yelps. Haus tried to reason with her, searching frantically in his brain for the right words to calm her, but it came out far worse than if he had just kept his mouth shut.
“Back off you crazy bitch!” Haus said. Eicca actually stopped her advance, for just a fraction of a second, long enough for her eyes to flare up wildly, and remind Haus of his poor choice of words. Eicca launched into a jump, clipping Haus on the shoulder, and forcing him to stumble back a few feet in order to regain his balance.
Haus spun around, expecting a retaliatory charge from Eicca, but to his relief watched as Amy grabbed a fist full of Eicca's hair, and yanked her down to the ground. Amy didn't waste any time, jumping on top of Eicca and clawed her fingernails at Eicca's face. Haus watched for a few moments, as they traded claw filled swipes at each other, each pass drawing fresh wounds that started to seep blood.
It reminded him of watching two cats battle, one would scratch, another would hiss in response, and another round of batting would begin. Amy was the first to abandon the feline fighting style, her fully clenched fist landed on Eicca's left cheek, and she let out a muffled whimper. Amy after all, had been raised like a man, and when being female wasn't getting it done, was not afraid to give an old fashioned knuckle punch.
Eicca fell limp, arms resting by her side, and her eyes rolled back underneath her eye lids. Haus turned to look for Jake, finding him still prone on the ground, and grunting away. He turned back to Amy, who had stopped her assault, and looked back at him. Her eyes were filled with fear, and started to raise her hands to warn him. It was too late, the dull thud sound echoed in Haus's ears, followed by a lot of pain in the rear of his skull, and his eyes exploded with tiny stars. He felt his legs give out first, an unexpected exhale from his lungs, the feeling of falling, and then the world went black.
***
Haus's eyes fluttered at first, allowing small pieces of light to enter, a fractional picture revealed to him each time he tried to look out. He felt his head resting on something soft, possibly a pillow, but the aching pain made even that intolerable. He turned his head to the side, and despite the pain, forced them to open for a few seconds.
He saw
Amy, Eicca, and Jake. He saw them sitting in chairs looking back at him. He saw that they were inside, possibly a house, there were furnishings, at least from what he could gather from that flash of his eyes. He noted that they were not fighting, they seemed calm, a mix of emotions on each of their faces. Haus closed his eyes again, the pain seemed to surge throughout his entire body, the most notable of the pain was on the rear of his head.
“OW! It hurts...” Haus deliriously raised his right hand towards the back of his skull. His eyes remained closed, each time he opened them brought on more pain, and he had enough of pain for now. His hand was stopped, pressed down towards his chest gently, another mans hand rested on his forehead.
“No touch brotha man. You make it worse.” The voice said.
“But it hurts.” Haus said. He tried to raise his hand again, but it was held down firmly on his chest.
“Open ya eyes brotha.” The voice said once more. Haus struggled to move his eyelids, they were heavy, very heavy, and he couldn't quite open them.
“I can't. It hurts too much.” Haus said. “Where is Amy? Is she safe?” Haus asked.
“She is safe. So is you brotha. If I had knows it was you, I wouldn’t have done it. I don't like it, but was done is done. Open yo' eyes brotha. I need to see em.” The voice said calmly.
Haus struggled for a bit, trying to open his eyes, they resisted, expecting more pain, but he recognized the voice. How could he of not heard it before, that familiar southern accent, his deep archaic voice. “Rednek!” Haus said, voice filled with excitement, and his eyes burst open. Searching the room for a familiar face.
Haus's eyes finally found their target, and there kneeling before him was the deep fried friend of the past. “Your here!” Haus said.
“I am brotha. Welcome to my home. How did ya find us?” Rednek said, as he gripped Haus for a gentle hug.
“Is Jake and Eicca OK? We didn't want to hurt them. It just went down so fast.” Haus said.
“Everyone is OK brotha. Just a little scuffle. No bad blood here.” Rednek said.
“Good.” Haus said. He rolled around, forcing his eyes to stay open, as he sat up and glanced around the room. “What about everyone else? Reese? Omega Phi?” Haus said.
“Its all gone Haus.” Rednek said.
“What?” Haus said.
“Me and Reese. Olaf threw us out.” Rednek said.
“Who the hell is Olaf?” Haus asked.
“He da boss now. He owns Omega. Told us to pack up. Reese dropped me off here, and went back. Said someting about finishing it.” Rednek said.
“We gotta follow him Rednek, get back to Omega Phi, and warn everyone.” Haus said.
“He long gone brotha. Dropped me off a few days ago. You is safe here with us. Reese told me 'bout them bugs. Saw what it does on the way here. I was so scared, but I see the bug didn't bite here.” Rednek says.
“No one is infected this far south?” Haus said.
“I reckon us country folk are too strong.” Rednek said with a chuckle while flexing his massive arms.
“Or too isolated...” Haus said. He laid his head back down and drifted off to sleep once more. I must have a concussion. Haus thought to himself, right before the darkness closed in on him. Rednek stood up, and walked over to the others.
“He going to be sleeping for a while. Your welcome to stay with us ma'am. A few days I reckon.” Rednek said calmly, turning to face Eicca, and gave her a wink. “Hows about we get our friend here something to eat.” Rednek said.
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.” Amy said blushing slightly, she had never been called ma'am before, and it felt so proper laced with a southern accent. Or maybe it was just the sincerity behind his voice that made it feel that way. She hardly knew anything about Rednek, with the exception of what Haus had told her, but she already was starting to warm up to him. Like a giant over stuffed teddy bear, comforting, always there to listen and never judge.
Chapter Twenty Four
Hanging On Your Eve-ry Word
A cloud of dust followed behind Reese's black Jaguar, he was doing well over 70 miles per hour on the gravel road, his muscles ached, but thankfully he was damn near home. He saw the metal gates of Roca Segura, flipped down his visor, and pressed the button on the small rectangular box. The gates rolled back, granting him access, and he drove inside slowing his car down to about 45.
Reese pressed the button once again, and the gates closed behind him, just barely missing his back bumper. He stopped the car suddenly in front of his home; the tires skidded across the gravel, making a gritty noise. Reese picked up a small pocket notebook from his cup holder, flipped it open, revealing a list of names scrolled in blue ink, and crossed another one off. Dale Hayden
Alex was the first to come outside, he had seen the black Jaguar speeding towards Roca Segura from the guard tower, he had readied his 50 cal, and was about to fire when he saw the face of his father sitting in the driver's seat. “I could have shot you.” Alex said, as his father exited the car.
“Yes you could have, but you didn't. You're a better soldier than that. I taught you better than that.” Reese said jokingly. “If you can't see the eyes of your target, you need glasses, or need to put the gun away.” Reese said.
“Welcome home old man. Mom's been worried sick. Thanks for the escort by the way.” Alex said.
“Escort?” Reese said, his voice knowing, yet playfully acting as if he didn't. “Oh you mean that. I can't take credit for that. Thank the eye in the sky.” Reese said as he pointed a finger upward.
“Edith?” Alex said.
“She never misses a beat boy.” Reese said. He walked around to the trunk, it swung open revealing a cache of bags and weapons, but a single metal box was what Reese was after. Reese flipped the latch, a pile of metal dog tags were scattered along the bottom, and Reese placed another one in the box. This one was spattered with droplets of dried up crimson blood. Reese let out a sigh as he closed the box.
“So you're the last one left now.” Alex said.
“Yes.” Reese said, his voice was mournful, heavy with sorrow, and a tear welled up in the corner of his eye.
“Did you make it fast?” Alex said.
“No.” Reese said.
“He must have really fucked up then.” Alex said.
“It doesn't matter what he did son. A promise is forever, somehow he forgot that, and I reminded him.” Reese said. Alex nodded, placed a hand on his father's shoulder, and stood in silence with him. There are certain things that men must do, some things are better not to be spoken of, rather just done and left to be forgotten. More often than not, those same acts, that one wished forgotten that never leave.
“Everyone is still sleeping. Shall we go inside? I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee.” Alex said.
“Coffee sounds good. I got a feeling that today is going to be a really long one.” Reese said.
***
The tension in the air was dense; you couldn't even cut it with a knife, an uncomfortable silence cementing itself around the table. Theresa had already had her ass chewing session with Reese behind closed doors, the dignified way only a couple of so many years could have, their hushed voices suppressed to keep it private, yet letting it all spill out.
Theresa had watched the DVD, most of which confirmed long held suspicions, yet some words downright shocked her. She had almost hoped at times that there was another woman, not because she wanted to feel betrayed, but that was at least explainable. What she heard was far worse than that, her husband was so engrossed in a web of lies that the truth was harder to imagine than the made up fiction she had been feed for so many years.
She was cut to the bone, hurt beyond words, at one sentence in particular. Alex is working directly under me, and has been doing so since returning from Africa. Now not only her husband had been lying, but also her bundle of joy, Alex was part of the lies. She remembered him growing up, learning to walk, talk, and play. How something so innocent could be inv
olved in something so dark, so evil, corrupt, and filled with more lies. Had he known the truth from the start? Did Alex willfully go along with the web of deceit, or had he been coerced into it?
Eve sat at the table, stabbing her fork into the eggs, avoiding eye contact with Reese. Her coffee cup cast up wisps of steam, as Alex took a long sip of his coffee, and Theresa set down her fork. “I suppose it is time to pay the piper.” Reese said.
Reese stood up, cleared his throat, and began to speak. “Lies are a way of protecting the innocent.” He was interrupted by the sound of Eve coughing, a hand over her mouth, but instead of a real cough it was a mocking gesture of disgust. “Ahh. BULLSHIT!” Eve exhaled, her hand still cupped over her mouth, her eyes filled with anger, and then she remained silent to let him rethink his start to a so called confession.
At least that was what I was told many years ago. Truth be told I was recruited too. Not to Omega Phi, like I did to you Eve, or even you Alex, but to the idea that lies were a necessary evil of protection. A way to shield loved ones from the darkness of mankind. Or at least that is how they spun it. I was young, a promising soldier trying to find his way in the world, building on a career and hoping for success, then came the war.
I was on the front lines, witnessing the hell on earth that only humans could concoct. I yearned to be home, engrossed in the arms of my love, not hiding behind the dense foliage of the jungle. That same jungle offered protection, a way to stay hidden, and as long as we stayed hidden the bullets stopped.
This isn't about what happened during that time, those things, no matter how wrong, or justified, were out of my control. Those were not my actions, but had changed me, no matter how much I fought it, they had changed me forever. They knew it. They exploited it, twisted what I thought was my moral compass, and served me up a deal I couldn't walk away from.
I had somehow captured the attention of someone much higher than I could imagine. He saw potential in me, the actions I thought at the time was the best course of action, for protecting my brothers and serving my country had not gone unnoticed. Those actions had earned me medals, recognition, even a meeting with the big man behind the desk at the white house.