Charlie looked at Ceara “who the hell is John Wayne?”
Ceara turned and looked at him forgetting about the wanderer, “Charlie, are you serious? You’ve never heard of John Wayne?”
Charlie looked at her kind of embarrassed, “No sorry, The Sisters didn’t allow T.V. we had to read books so when I got off on my own, I never saw the need for one.”
Ceara looked at him, “Oh my God you poor man.” She grabbed the Walkie, “Alden, Charlie has no idea who The Duke is.”
Alden called back, “well when we get setup will give him a history lesson.” Alden saw a dirt road and turned down it. Soon they came upon and open area right along the river. The trees were short but would provide enough firewood for the night and the river was wide enough to afford protection from the other side. Alden parked his truck and got out looking at the lay of the land. He turned as the rest pulled up in a semi-circle, “Turn them out and get the perimeter secure, Heath and Tabitha, you got wood duty; Beth and Colt, set up the sleeping bags; Charlie and Ceara, you’re with me we’re going after supper.” He reached in the back and pulled out the fishing poles and the tackle box.
Soon they were all engaged in their respective duties as the sun was now getting ready to set. Alden had cast out and watched as Charlie cast his line out. Ceara was sitting on the ground next to Charlie with her knees pulled up to her chest. She kept looking at her arm. Charlie scooted up to her and pulled her close, “You’re okay sweetie, Alden said so.”
Ceara looked up to him, “I know but I was just thinking about how stupid that was and how I could have made you have to…”
Charlie held up his hand, “You won’t make me do anything, we all agreed to how things had to be, but honey, you’re ok.” Ceara swallowed and tried to believe him.
Alden interrupted their conversation, “So kid, don’t know who the Duke is huh?”
The next hour was spent reminiscing and telling Charlie all their favorite John Wayne movies.
Chapter 20 – Wanderers in the Wild
Camp was set up and dinner was a quiet affair, everyone seemed to be in their own thoughts. Alden made sure everyone knew what the shifts were, and how they should sit on top of the van to get the best view of all sides. Tossing his coffee into the fire, he turned and went to bed. Colt held his hand out to Beth, “You ready, we got the watch…”
Beth put her hand in his as he pulled her to her feet, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
As Colt and Beth walked off Tabitha stretched, “I’m going for a walk, after all the driving today, I really want to stretch out my legs.
Heath got up dusting off his jeans, “Want some company?”
Tabitha smiled, “Sure.”
Heath looked to Charlie and Ceara, “You two want to go?”
Charlie looked over at Ceara, she shook her head. Charlie turned back to Heath, “No, you guys have fun. We will probably just turn in soon.”
Heath gave Charlie a knowing nod and then turned to Tabitha with a bow, “After you…”
Tabitha laughed, “Why thank you kind Sir.”
Charlie gently rubbed Ceara’s back, “Are you going to talk to me?”
Ceara lay down in his lap surprising him. She still kept her arms wrapped around her and didn’t say anything. Charlie began running his fingers through her hair, just to let her know he was there and would be, whether she talked to him or not.
He felt her shoulders convulse and knew she was crying. “Ceara, please don’t cry… I hate it. You made a mistake, but it isn’t one you will ever make again.”
He tried to keep his voice calm but he couldn’t to keep the pleading out of his tone. He edged her out of his lap and stood up, “Come here.”
Ceara looked up at him and just did as she was told. Charlie scooped her up in his arms causing her to gasp, he smiled down at her, “My girl needs to be babied tonight.”
Ceara smiled and laid her head on his chest. He kneeled down on his sleeping bag and set her down; pulling hers over to his; Charlie connected the two together. Her voice barely audible, “What are you doing?”
“I’m not leaving you alone tonight. Now lay down, we have second watch so we need to sleep.” She crawled in the sleeping bag and Charlie followed, pulling her back onto his arms. Ceara couldn’t figure out why she didn’t want to talk, she didn’t know what to say but she also knew if she did know, she still didn’t want to talk. She buried her face in his shoulder and inhaled his scent, she knew it may be the last time she could. This could be the last night they ever had; she suddenly sat up and just stared at him. Charlie sat up beside her, “What??? Are you ok, what happened??”
Ceara just sat looking in his eyes, Charlie allowed her to do whatever she wanted, after a minute or two Ceara raised a hand to his cheek, “I love you Charlie.”
Charlie’s eye’s got wide but he recovered quickly, “Ceara, I don’t want you saying the words just because of what happened today.”
Ceara got a faint smile, “I’ve known it for a while, just was scared to be the first to say it. I’m not going to be worried about that anymore.”
Charlie reached up and gently took her hands in his. Kissing her fingers, he smiled at her, “Ceara…. I love you too.”
He lay back down and as he did he pulled her gently into him and covered them up with the sleeping bag. Ceara once again placed her head on his chest and Charlie listened to the rhythm of her breathing as it gently slowed and Ceara drifted off to sleep. His own right arm was falling asleep but he decided to endure it rather than wake her up. Soon he was sleeping as sound as her.
Tabitha walked ahead of Heath at a steady pace trying to stretch out her hamstrings. When she heard Heath catching up to her, she slowed down, because she didn’t want to seem like she was avoiding him. “Sorry about getting ahead of ya Heath.. I just needed to stretch out my legs cause damn….” Tabitha started to laugh then continued, “I don’t think I have ever rode in a vehicle that long in my whole life. Wherever I wanted to go my two legs would usually take me.”
Heath chuckled as he walked up beside her; taking off his Park Ranger hat he brushed his hair back out of his eyes, “So I take it you’re not a city girl?”
Tabitha and Heath started walking while she answered, “Oh honey, I grew up down by The Ozarks and I came from a downright poor, trashy family, but I never wanted to escape the surrounding, just the people. I liked the peace and solitude of the woods. I stayed out there for days by myself, while everyone else got up into everyone else’s business.”
Tabitha took and sideways look at Heath, “The only business I fricking cared about was mine and I never got in trouble I didn’t want in that way.”
Heath had to admit that taking a walk was a hell of a lot better than driving and he hadn’t really talked with Tabitha. Heath brushed the brim of his hat and then put it back on. “When I was a park ranger out in the Rockies, I used to love to just get off my horse and walk for miles. I don’t know, it kind of gave me calmness and I enjoyed the wildlife around me.” He stopped and looked around, Tabitha stopped too. She looked at him, “Something wrong?”
Heath smiled, “No I was just suddenly struck by how flat it is out here. It’s been a long time since I’ve stopped and smelled;” He looked around and chuckled, “I was going to say roses but hell the only thing out here is sage brush and dust.”
Tabitha looked around and started to laugh, “Well ain’t we a pair…A hillbilly girl and a Ranger from the Rockies, stuck out here in the middle of the old wild west.”
Heath turned and smiled at her, “Yep our own modern day version of Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley.”
Tabitha giggled once more, “I guess our version of outlaws is the zombies.”
The two walked a little farther as Heath watched the sun start to set, “I think we need to start back. It’s going to get dark soon and there’s no moon tonight so it will be the proverbial pitch black out here.”
Colt and Beth sat back to back on the roof of the van looking o
ut over the land for any disturbance. They had figured out the night before, this was the perfect way to stand, well sit guard. Not only did it allow them to see in all areas but it allowed them to use the others back as support. Colt didn’t see anything moving and glanced to the sky, “You ever think about out there?”
Beth glanced over her shoulder, “Out where, Colt?”
“You know, space… aliens…. Other worlds? I never really gave it much thought but I guess we can’t be the only ones in the universe, can we? I was just thinking, what if this was something put here by ‘them’ to wipe out mankind to take over the world?”
Beth tried hard not to laugh but the humor could be heard in her voice, “Sweetie, I doubt they would need this elaborate of a scheme to get rid of us. If they have the know-how to get here, they are far more advanced than we are.”
Colt shrugged and did the little head cock that he is well known for, “Yeah, I suppose… Hey maybe they will come save us!” He started laughing and so did Beth.
Soon they were both scanning the land again in silence. Their first hour went by fast enough and they scanned the land. Colt thought it was funny how fast the land could change from mountain to plains. Of course right now he was happy for the clear view. Lost in thought something moving caught his eye. It was a ways out and he squinted to try to see if it was just an animal. Finally deciding that he couldn’t tell, he turned to Beth. “Can I see the binoculars?”
Beth looked concerned but handed them over, “What is it?”
“I figure it’s just a stray dog or coyote but I’ll tell you for sure in a second.” Colt leveled the binoculars and quickly lowered them, “Shit, Beth umm that’s kind of a… well I think it’s a wanderer but it doesn’t look whole, and I’m not sure how to say it but it looks crazier. I know that don’t make any sense. I can’t explain it any different.” He held out the binoculars to her, “You look and see if you can see what I mean.”
Once she had the binoculars positioned to where Beth could see what it was that Colt was talking about, her eyes squinted just a tad to look at the details of the wanderer. At first glance, all she saw was the facial features and the subject looked like a male between twenty and thirty years of age. As she scanned the body Beth came to the conclusion very quickly that it was merely a torso with arms. He was crawling very slow, pulling himself with his arms but after about the third of fourth pull he would slam one of his fists into the ground followed by a horrific howling sound. Beth rose to her feet while she was still fixated on the specimen. Colt stood and stepped behind her, “What do you make of that?”
Beth shook her head, “Well it seems to me that crazier is a good word, but the term that I would use, is pissed off.”
Beth handed the binoculars back to Colt. As he started looking, Beth began talking softly, “You see that? He doesn’t have his lower extremities and he is having to use his upper body strength to get himself to move.”
Colt chuckled, “A disabled wanderer? I guess they don’t make wheelchairs for them, do ya think?”
Beth giggled and continued, “No, I don’t think that crutches or a Rascal scooter would help either, but what I can tell you is this. Notice his temper. It’s apparent that he cannot move like the others and this is causing him a lot of problems. With that being said, this poor guy is dead and has been dead for a while now. Look at his muscle tone… he barely has any. If I was to venture a guess, this guy was attacked by others and partially devoured then left for dead. When he did return from the dead he couldn’t move like the others. I don’t think he has been able to feed. The Wanderers travel in groups or herds and well…”
Beth shook her head as Colt turned around and looked back at her when she paused. “Colt, the dead didn’t even want him.”
Colt lowered himself off the van, looking up to Beth, “Stay here, I’m going to put the thing out of its misery.” Beth started to argue but Colt held up a hand, “Beth, look at the direction he is going, he may be slow but he will be in camp before our shift is over. To be honest, I don’t want to wake the others because we waited for it to get closer. I will just go take care of it.”
Beth gave a little nod, “Be careful, it is still capable of infecting you.” Colt smiled at her and he tried to joke as he walked off, “Damn, don’t even think I can handle my own with a broke one.” He smirked over his shoulder at Beth and she put a hand on her hip but couldn’t hide her grin.
As soon as Colt was within twenty feet of the guy he knew this one was different. This one was either flat out mad or extremely hungry. He began crawling faster at Colt as he foamed at the mouth making guttural sounds. Colt took a defensive step back and pulled out his knife, he really wanted to just shoot the guy but Alden would kill him for firing a shot for one wanderer, and one that isn’t posing much of a threat. Colt shook his head thinking, “Yeah well Alden ain’t looking at this crazy fucker.” Colt began to circle the guy but the guy was more agile than anyone would have thought. Not realizing it Colt began to talk to the wanderer…
“Look dude, I don’t like this too much more than you, but here is where we are. Our choices are pretty simple, either I die or you finish dying. My vote is to let you finish, look at you… you can’t even keep up with the others. They just left you, hell the least they could have done, was finish eating you, am I right?”
Colt gave a nervous laugh and let the man crawl closer to him, growling and snapping at Colt. The guy must have gone to O.U. He was wearing the tattered remains of a Sooner’s jersey. Colt kept talking as the guy inched closer, as soon he had the chance he buried the knife to the hilt in the guy’s eye socket. “Guess it wasn’t the Sooner’s year!”
Colt jerked the knife out with a sickening squelching sound; he knelt and wiped it off on the ground.
Beth was sitting down on the van by the time he got back; she smiled up at him, “Good job!” Colt smiled in return, “I have my moments.”
Alden walked up behind the two, “You two make more noise than two elephants fucking.” He looked at Colt who was still wiping his blade with a rag, “Did you get one?”
Colt nodded, “Yeah a half-eaten guy out there crawling this way. It was weird though”. Colt looked at Beth then back to Alden.
Beth spoke up first, “We watched him for few minutes and he would stop and beat the ground with his fist. It was almost like he was pissed caused he lost his legs.”
Colt nodded, “Yeah it was like he knew he was disabled and couldn’t do what he wanted or move like he wanted.”
Alden looked out into the darkness where the two had pointed, then looked at Beth, “Maybe you and I will go take a look see in the morning before we take off.” Alden grinned at the young couple, “Alright … well I’m going to take care of business and get back to sleep.” He turned and headed off into the darkness.
Beth continued looking out across the fields with her arms crossed. “Colt…..” Colt looked at Beth with a smile on his face but when he saw her lost expression he quickly had a concerned look, “What?”
Taking in a deep breath Beth turned and with a tear cascading down her face she continued, “I am so sorry about Jessica. I never knew her, but I feel that someone needed to say that they were sorry for your loss. She must have been something special for a man like you to love and take care of her; hoping that somehow she would pull through.”
Beth looked at Colt for what seemed to be minutes but in fact it was only seconds; when he was about to say something she continued. “I wish that I had been able to stop this. All the medical knowledge I have, I can only help those here and now. My sister Mary was the reason I wanted to get involved with the path that I chose. If there were any new advancements in her medical condition, I would be the first one to know it. I always thought I save her, but alas that didn’t happen.
Instead the CDC is the one that let this happen to all of us.” Beth sat down and stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed her feet at her ankles. Looking up at the night sky there were a few cloud
s and the stars were twinkling brightly. “I remember how mad you were at me when you found out where I worked. How you blamed me…….. Then after a while you forgave me.
Beth took a deep breath and voiced her true feelings, “The problem is, down deep inside I still blame myself for not taking a stand, and trying to get someone to see that the decisions that upper management was making were wrong. They were headed on a dangerous and deadly path. I knew if I said anything they would’ve gotten rid of me in a heartbeat. So I kept my stupid mouth shut in hopes that things would turn around. If I would’ve gotten fired then I would have been no help to Mary or anyone else.”
Beth looked up to Colt and then back across the field bewildered, “Well here I sit and even now I don’t know if it was the right decision or not. Yes, I am alive but so many are gone.”
Colt was lost in his own thoughts, he knew that Beth felt like she should have done more but the truth was the president himself approved the cuts. He did miss Jessica, but not like he did the first few days. Those days were very dark and he thought of suicide more than once, just to be with her again. What kept him from doing it was the fear he would go to hell, and since Jessica was in heaven, they would be apart for eternity. That was a form of hell he didn’t want to risk. Colt smiled over to Beth, “There was nothing you could have done, nothing any of us could have. I really don’t think they believe the movies would come true. I didn’t watch too many zombie movies, but I think a few said the start would happen just like it did.”
Colt glanced at his wristwatch and laughed, “Hey you think Alden knows how to tell time using the stars? Not sure how long my watch will last.” Beth laughed, “Nice way to change the subject and it wouldn’t surprise me if he does. So is our time almost up?”
Colt nodded, “Yeah, ten minutes ago.” They both climbed down off the van to go wake Tabitha and Heath.
Heath’s eyes popped open before Colt even got to him. Colt knelt down to wake him but Heath grabbed his arm, “I’m up Colt, I’m up. I’ll get Tabitha; you guys go catch some zzz’s.” Colt stood up and reached out to give Heath a hand up. “We had one visitor, a Halfling as they called them in Lord of The Rings.”
Surviving Day By Day (Book 2): Fears, Flames, and Future Page 39