Jackie went out like a light, but I lay there with dim light filtering through the curtains for a while. My ears were doing a little better following the drops Estelle had administered, but I still had a lot on my mind, and that kept me awake despite the painkillers.
When he’d pulled out the grenade, the crazy guy had said something about looking to the light and called us unbelievers. Was he a religious nut job? I closed my eyes. There’d be time to search the houses near the rest area once I felt a little better, if Bruce hadn’t already gone to do it. Maybe we’d find some kind of manifesto.
What if there were more people that had survived by dint of isolation, like Bruce and the CDC folks? I knew of creepy religious groups and militias with their compounds in both Georgia and Alabama. Were they that isolated, though? I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this nut job than showed on the surface.
At least we were safe for now. Jackie had run off the coy-wolf and its pack, we’d taken down the guy who tried to kill me, Tommy was recovering, and things were, just maybe, looking up.
Sure, there was still lots to do. I needed a new truck, for one. That was kind of a priority for me. As nice as the Confederate Motors Hellcat was, it still had very little carrying capacity.
So, the world was my oyster, really. What sort of vehicle did I want? There should be a lot of options, especially if I ranged as far as Montgomery or Atlanta. That reminded me that I’d have to ask Bruce and Angie about the airport fire. Maybe it burned out by now, but I couldn’t be sure.
Slowly, my brain slowed down, and I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, much of my hearing was back, but I ached all over. Jackie was curled up next to me in a fetal ball, snoring softly. There looked to be dim light coming through the curtains, and I could smell coffee.
Although it was painful and took a fair bit of effort, I managed to dress and made my slow way out to the dining room.
“Ah, good morning,” Bruce said when I appeared. He sat at the table with Doctor White, who held Irene and was feeding her.
“Are you sure you should be up,” Estelle asked, giving me a pointed look.
“What time is it?” I asked, my voice echoing strangely in my head. That made me notice that I still had a headache.
“Oh-six-thirty,” Bruce answered. “You’ve been out for about fourteen hours now.”
“Yeah, I should be up,” I said then and dropped heavily into one of the chairs ringing the dining room table. Off in the distance, the generator puttered away.
“As you will,” she said and went back to feeding the baby.
“Where’s Angie?” I asked.
“She’s taking care of the livestock and checking the property lines,” Bruce told me. He had a walkie-talkie sitting on the table next to his coffee cup.
“Cool,” I said, and focused my eyes on the cup. “Is there any more of that?”
“Of course,” the old survivalist said. “There’s only one flavor, strong.”
“That’s good enough for me,” I said, and made to rise.
“No, no,” Bruce held up a hand. “I’ve got it. How do you like yours?”
“In a cup,” I said. “Lots of sugar and creamer.”
“Done.”
Bruce headed for the kitchen, and I looked over to Estelle.
“Thanks, doc,” I said. “For everything.”
She looked up and smiled.
“You can thank me by taking better care of yourself,” she said. “You’ve got Jackie to watch out for, and this little one, if you want.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I think I’d like that.” Then I reached up and scratched my head before asking, “Would you be willing to stay out here and help us around the farm? We went for overachieving, and now we need more folks to help guard and take care of things.”
“I’d do it,” Bruce said, returning from the kitchen with a large mug of coffee that he handed to me. “But I did already promise to help those basket cases back in Atlanta.”
I breathed in the steam and sighed happily.
“Thank you, sir,” I told him.
He scoffed and settled back down into his seat. “You’ve got a nice place here, Forrest. But you are right. There’s nowhere near enough people to run this farm well.”
“We got a bit over-ambitious,” I admitted. “Sure, we could open everything up and let the livestock go really free range, but I think that’s asking for trouble.”
“I don’t think that staying in the CDC complex is really a tenable long-term solution,” Estelle said, shifting Irene to her shoulder to pat the baby’s back. “Food stores and nutrition are questionable at best. Going rural, out here, wouldn’t be a bad solution.”
“Self-sufficiency would be pretty easy to achieve,” Bruce mused, then looked at me. “What are your plans?”
Jackie interrupted us at that point, padding out in sweatpants and a t-shirt, her hair a rumpled mess. “Morning, I think.”
“It’s morning,” I told her.
“I’ll get more coffee,” Bruce offered. “While you think about my question.” He disappeared into the kitchen.
“What question?” Jackie asked.
“Bruce and I want to know what sorts of plans you two have for this place,” Estelle answered before I did. “I don’t think we can stay at the CDC long-term, for various reasons.”
Jackie nodded and looked over at me.
“Save it until Bruce gets back,” I said, and she nodded again.
“You still look like a raccoon,” she observed.
“And I feel like forty miles of bad road,” I returned. “How are you feeling?”
“Alive is a good word,” she said. “I’m not happy about freezing up on you.”
“Everyone freezes up their first time,” Bruce interrupted, returning with more coffee, both for himself and Jackie. For her, he also brought the sugar and creamer out so she could do it to taste.
“We both have our own ideas for parts of it,” I said. “But we’ve agreed we need to get reliable power, and that means solar and wind. Fuel isn’t going to last forever, and we all know it. What we’ve got will last us about six months for the gasoline, and maybe a year of propane if we’re easy with it.”
“We’d like to plant a vegetable garden, and maybe even try our hand at corn, wheat, or whatever, but that’s not as important, really. With the livestock, we can do meat and milk, and maybe cheese and butter.”
“Our plan didn’t initially include more than the two of us,” Jackie added. “We started talking about it before we found Estelle and the kids.”
“Our livestock gathering got a little out of hand, too,” I said with a laugh. “Even with some of them slated for the dinner plate, we couldn’t leave them to starve.”
“There’s probably a lot more around here,” Estelle mused. She still held Irene in her arms while the baby napped.
“I’d say we needed farmhands,” I said. “But that’s a pretty hard profession to find these days.”
Bruce nodded and smoothed out his mustache, then took a drink of his coffee. I took a long slug of mine, too, since it had been sitting while we all talked, and I didn’t want it to get cold.
“Those are all good ideas,” the old survivalist mused. “But they hinge on one thing that you really lack; manpower.”
“Don’t we know it,” Jackie muttered.
“The folks back in Atlanta might be rather hard to convince,” Bruce said, looking across the table at Estelle. “But I did see a few survivors on my way here, and there might even be more in this region than we’ve seen, all holed up in their little dens, waiting for the government to swoop in and save them.”
I looked sharply at the old survivalist.
“There’s more people?” I demanded. “And you didn’t say anything?”
“I saw them. I didn’t talk to them,” he grumbled. “We could listen on some of the other prepper channels, send out calls, even drive around, if you want to.”
“Once we’re settled,” I said, then looked over at Jackie.
“I like that idea,” she agreed.
“That’s for the future, definitely,” Estelle said. “As for the CDC folks wanting to stay in Atlanta, you might be surprised. I, for one, would rather stay here than go back, but I can’t just yet because of Tommy.”
“Understood,” I said. “Once I get a replacement truck or whatever, I can come to pick you up. We’d like to keep in contact with anyone that stays there, anyway.”
“All of you would be welcome,” Jackie said. “But I think we might have to spread out to nearby farms and the cottage.”
“I think I’d like to stay, too,” Angie said from the kitchen doorway. None of us had noticed her come in. “If it’s okay.”
36
Jackie spoke up first.
“I’m okay with it,” she said and looked pointedly over to me, smiling faintly. “Henry?”
“I’m good, too,” I replied, looking from her to Angie. “So, what exactly are we doing now?”
“You both need to get some rest,” Estelle stated firmly. “I would like to suggest that Bruce and I head back into Atlanta to the CDC. I’ll take little Irene and check her out a bit more thoroughly than I was able to originally. We’ll spend a little time to make sure Tommy is good to travel, and then those of us who want to move from the city to the country will prevail upon mister Gassler to bring us back.”
“Am I just a taxi service to you, woman?” Bruce exclaimed, then looked over at Angie. “You, get yourself some coffee and sit down. I don’t like you standing behind me.”
“As a matter of fact,” Estelle glared at the old survivalist. “You look like the best taxi service I’ve ever ridden with.”
“Oh,” he preened. “That’s different then.”
Angie shook her head and disappeared back into the kitchen. “I’m taking the last of this batch,” she called out. “Want me to make more?”
“I’m good,” I said. “Bruce? Jackie?”
Both of them indicated negative, so I replied, “I think we’re good in here.”
“Right.” Angie walked back in, a steaming cup held between her hands. “So, what else are we talking about?”
“I’d like to go see the CDC and visit Tommy, too,” Jackie spoke up. “Could I ride with you?” She looked from Estelle to Bruce.
He shrugged. “So long as you don’t mind being in the back. Doctor and baby get preferential treatment on this bus.”
“I’m good with that,” Jackie said.
“I can at least maybe keep one of you from overexerting,” the doctor groused, pointedly glaring at me.
“I can keep him under control, Doctor White,” Angela offered.
Estelle’s eyebrow went up, and she looked curiously at Jackie, who just nodded and smiled. Sudden realization flooded the doctor’s face, and she just nodded slowly.
“Fine,” she said at last.
“Well,” Bruce said, looking at his watch. “No point in wasting time. Unless anyone had an objection, my big green bus leaves in an hour.” With that, he stood, nodded to me, and marched out through the kitchen to the porch, taking his coffee with him. Outside, the dogs started barking.
“We were talking about plans for this place,” I said to Angela. “More reliable power, additional gas and storage, and hopefully, more people to work the place.”
“I’m definitely willing if you show me what I need to do,” she said as she joined us at the table. “I sort of guessed feeding the animals. They might have too much or not enough.”
“It won’t matter for one meal,” Jackie said. “They’ll either be happy, or they’ll give you dirty looks this evening.”
“I think I’m going to go get Irene packed up,” Estelle said. “You might want to bring some extra clothes, Jackie.”
“I’ve got a bag packed,” the young woman replied with a grin. “Henry keeps one, too.”
“I learned the value of a bug-out bag,” I said with a shrug. “Can you blame me?”
“Maybe,” Estelle replied. “Just not for that.” She disappeared off into the den, headed for the baby’s room.
“I kinda feel like I killed the conversation,” Angie said, making a sour face.
“It was already dying,” Jackie told her, then smiled. “This is a great opportunity for you guys to get to know one another, you know.”
“If you’re sure,” we both said in unison.
“I am,” she said. “Remember what we talked about, Henry?”
“Yeah,” I replied. It really hadn’t been that long ago, and my memory wasn’t totally shot.
“Good,” Jackie said, then fixated on Angie. “Don’t let him do anything stupid like try to pick up a cow or wrestle a bear or anything. Estelle wants him on bed rest, but that’s not going to work. He really likes to keep busy.”
“I’ll do my best,” the former soldier said, bemused.
“He really likes to be talked about like he isn’t there, too,” I grumbled.
They both laughed, then Jackie got up and came over to sit in my lap. I put my arms around her waist, and we kissed while Angela watched. After a moment or two, she stood up abruptly and walked over.
We both turned and looked up to her, curiously, and that’s when she bent down and kissed me, just as thoroughly as Jackie had.
“There you go,” Jackie encouraged us, her voice gone a little huskier.
Angela drew back after a moment, leaving all three of us a little breathless, and took a seat not too far away.
“I said I didn’t mind,” Jackie asserted, then squirmed in my lap. “I should go get my bag. Promise you won’t forget to listen to the radio in the evenings.”
“Promise,” I said, and let her go.
Estelle returned first, with a bag and a baby, and paused for a bit, studying me. “Please try to take care of yourself,” she said. “Especially since I won’t be here.”
“I promise to try,” I told her. “Thank you for the help, earlier.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. “I don’t want to have to patch you up again. You and Jackie got very, very lucky this time.”
“We know,” said soberly. “It isn’t something I want to repeat.”
“Smart man,” Estelle said with a grin. “See you soon.”
She disappeared into the kitchen, and I heard the door outside open and close.
“Anything you’d like to do while we have the place to ourselves?” Angela asked, her eyes meeting mine. They almost seemed to sparkle.
“Lots of things,” I replied. “But there’s something that needs to come first. A couple of things, actually.”
“Like what?”
“First, I’d like to spend some real time getting to know you,” I said. “I’d like you to help me pick out a new truck, maybe.”
“So,” she said with an amused smirk, “you want me to go shopping with you.”
“Something like that,” I grinned back.
“You know what,” she said. “That sounds like fun, so sure.”
“Good,” I said and took a sip of my coffee. Once again, I’d let it get colder than I liked.
“Did everyone else go outside?” Jackie asked from the doorway.
“Yeah,” I told her.
She had her duffel bag with her and was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and an Auburn hoodie sweatshirt. Our eyes met, and she dropped the bag and came over to me. I got to my feet, then took her in my arms.
“Be safe,” I told her.
“You too,” she whispered back. “And have fun.”
“I’ll try,” I whispered.
“Try real hard.” She shifted a bit and kissed me. “Don’t forget the radio.”
“I won’t.”
It was harder than I thought to let her go, but I did and watched her retreat back out into the den and then the kitchen.
“Funny,” Angela said. “I haven’t heard either of you say the words.”
“What words?” I asked, playing d
umb.
“You know what words,” she said and stuck her tongue out at me.
“Fine,” I got up and hurried for the door.
“Wait, what?” Angie exclaimed and hopped up to trail after me.
Jackie was halfway to Bruce’s truck when I burst out onto the porch and bellowed, “Jackie Purcell! I love you!”
She froze in her tracks, and her shoulders shook as she turned back to me, laughing. “I love you, too, Henry Forrest!” Then she waved, turned, and headed on around to the back of the deuce-and-a-half while Estelle grinned at me from the cab, and Bruce just gave me a look of disgust.
Old fart.
“Seriously?” Angela demanded from beside me.
“I figured you were right, and they needed to be said,” I told her as we watched the big truck circle the yard and head up the driveway to the street.
“I’ll have to admit that it was pretty damn cute,” she said.
“Good,” I took a breath, grinned, and said, “So are you.”
“Wait,” she paused. “You think I’m cute?”
“Sure,” I told her. “Hell, you’re pretty damn hot when it gets right down to it. But,” I held up a finger, “let’s go vehicle shopping before we do any follow up on that.”
“Right,” she huffed, sounding almost disappointed, then looked around the yard. “How do we get there?”
I just grinned.
Since the Hellcat didn’t have a bitch seat to speak of, I went for option B. Grandma had a little Nissan truck of her own that she kept parked behind the house. It was primarily for light duty and general errands, while my Dodge had been for the heavier work. It started right up, and we headed out.
“Honestly,” I said. “There’s really jack and shit by way of car dealerships right around here, and I don’t want to go searching through every garage, so I was thinking we drive into Montgomery. Eastern Boulevard has the majority of new car dealers.”
“You’d know,” Angie said with a shrug. “I don’t know this area well at all. I’ve driven through it, but that’s pretty much it.”
After The Virus (Book 1): After The Virus Page 25