by Ricky Sides
“Wait!” Bill heard Dana say on the other side of the door. “Are you insane? This is a closet! You can’t seriously expect me to stay in here. It’s not large enough and there’s no bed!”
“You’ll find a blanket and a pillow on the shelf. Have a pleasant night, Ms. Rainey,” the doctor said, and then he motioned for Bill to follow him.
Dana’s scream of anger followed the two men down the hall. “I’m afraid she’ll probably keep that up for a half hour or so,” Bill said.
“That doesn’t surprise me, but in this case, I’m afraid she’s wasting her time. She’s at the far end of the hall. The only people she’s going to disturb is the leader of the Hunter people and his men. They’re in the room next to hers.”
“Did you really put her in a closet?” asked Bill.
“Yes, but it’s a large walk in closet with plenty of space for her to make a bed. It is narrow, but it’s more than long enough. We’re out of space, and I won’t have her tormenting the other patients here,” Doctor Fielding said unapologetically.
“She wasn’t always like this,” Bill explained. “I’m afraid life on the road changed her for the worse.”
Ezra frowned in response and said, “Life has been hard on everyone since the collapse of the country. We all lost someone close to us. That doesn’t give us the right to make everyone around us miserable or treat them like crap.”
“You’re right. I tried to talk to her about her personality changes, but she didn’t want to hear it,” Bill said.
“Look, Bill, you seem to be a decent man. You’re going to fit in here, but from what I’ve seen of her, Ms. Rainey isn’t. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a matter of when, and not if, she’ll be forced to leave. And when that happens, it’ll be because of something she says or does. I hope she doesn’t con you into going with her when that happens.”
“She won’t, Doc. We’re through. Yeah, I felt sorry for her being locked up in quarantine in a place where she didn’t know anybody. But then I saw her mistreating the people in the room with her and I knew she was getting even more abusive. That’s it for me.”
“I can’t say I blame you,” the doctor said.
Dana pounded on the door and vented her anger for quite a while before she settled down to wait for her next meeting with the medical staff, at which point she intended to tell them just what she thought of them.
“It’s about time you settled down in there,” Dana heard the sound of a male voice say in the room next to her closet. His voice penetrated the thin wall separating them with ease.
“I know that voice,” Dana said. “You’re the leader from Hunter, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yes,” Raman responded.
Dana felt a surge of elation. “The doctor thought he was so clever when he locked me up in here, but the fool made a big mistake. I can use this against him. I can use this against them all, because I’m smarter than they are. I’ll use this man to take control of this place and its petty little people,” she thought.
“The doctor tricked me into coming into this room. It’s just a closet.”
“Well, if I were you I’d settle down and wait it out. Tomorrow, we’ll all be released, and then we can move into one of those FEMA trailers.”
“Is that an invitation?” Dana asked flirtatiously.
“Would it do me any good to invite you to live with me?” Raman asked.
“It might. You look like you’d be able to take good care of me,” Dana said bluntly. “My last man fell short in more ways than one.”
“I can take care of you in every way you could imagine and some you couldn’t,” Raman said boastfully.
“I don’t know about that. I’ve got a pretty good imagination,” Dana replied.
“You’d better be careful. I don’t take kindly to people playing me for a fool. If you’re playing some sort of coy game, I’m not going to take that very well,” Raman said candidly.
“I’m not playing games. Life’s too damned short to waste time like that. When I see something or someone I want these days, I go for it.”
“You’re lucky there’s a wall between us right now, or I’d take you in my arms and teach you what a real man is like,” Raman said.
“Make me a promise, and you’d better keep it,” Dana countered. “The wall is protecting you from me. Not the other way around.”
“Yeah, well, my men are in this room with me,” Raman said to stall for time. He wasn’t accustomed to a woman who wasn’t intimidated in the slightest by his most direct lines. He was finding it difficult to counter her direct responses.
“Yeah, well what I have planned for us isn’t a spectator sport. Your men will have to find their own women. That’s not my problem, or yours either for that matter. I’m your only problem at the moment.”
“I’ll deal with that problem tomorrow,” Raman promised.
“Good. Then afterwards, we need to discuss this place. I think it’s a good place, or it could be if it were under new management,” Dana stated suggestively.
“You know, I was thinking the same thing earlier today,” Raman admitted.
“I believe we’re going to be compatible then. It seems as if we think a lot alike.”
“We’ll see about that when I’ve got you alone in the trailer,” Raman said bluntly.
“I’m looking forward to it. You have no idea how much I have longed for a real man who could satisfy me and take care of my every need.”
“That sort of thing works both ways, woman,” Raman said pointedly.
“Don’t worry about me taking care of my end of the relationship. I’ve got my end covered, but you’d better measure up. I don’t take disappointments very well.”
“Oh yeah? Well then, why don’t you tell me what you’d do for me?” Raman asked. To his surprise, Dana did just that, and she did it in graphic detail that left very little to the imagination.
Chapter 12
The fog.
“Crap, the roof is leaking,” Randy said after a trickle of water splashed down on his shoulder. He placed his palm against the glass panel and pushed against it as he toggled the switch that would close it. He felt it move just a fraction of an inch. The flow of water stopped immediately. “That’s better,” he said with satisfaction. “Remind me to consult the maintenance manual for this thing when we get back to the refuge,” he said to Herb.
“Sure thing, buddy,” Herb replied as he slowed the bus even more in order to avoid an accident in the driving rain.
The team was driving through a frontal system that had been moving through Arkansas, and dumping rain on portions of the state, all afternoon. A few minutes later, the bus emerged from backside of the line of storms.
“Wow, that was intense while it lasted,” Randy observed.
“You can say that again,” Herb concurred. There had been times when he thought he was going to have to stop due to the severity of the storm because visibility was so bad.
“Looks like the storm is going to make it foggy,” Jason remarked as the bus picked up speed. They could all see a mist rising from the ground and hanging in the cold air.
“Yes, it does, but I’m still hoping we can reach Newport this afternoon,” Herb said. “We are just fifteen miles out now.”
“Then we should make it with no problem,” Randy said.
“I hope so. I’d like to make this extraction and get back to the refuge tonight.”
“That will mean driving in the dark,” Randy pointed out.
“Yep, but the roads haven’t been too bad. There hasn’t been that much in the way of vehicles littering the roadway,” Herb explained. He added, “I drove through a lot worse coming back to my place from the airport in Russell, Kansas.”
Herb was referring to the trip back to his cabin after Erma and the rest of the CDC scientists, as well as Homeland Security Agent Brian Marx, were picked up by the military so that they could oversee the production of the nanobot injections to prevent victims of zombie bites f
rom becoming zombies.
“I don’t see how you made it back from that trip,” Randy said, shaking his head at the memory of how exhausted Herb had been upon his return.
“I didn’t have any choice at the time. I wasn’t about to let you and the others down if I could help it.”
“Someday, you guys are going to have to fill in the blanks for me about that trip,” Jason interjected. “I’ve heard bits and pieces of it here and there, but never the whole story,” he explained.
“There’s not much to tell. We were trying to get the scientists to a government facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, where they would work on the cure,” Herb explained. He broke off his explanation and swore softly as he maneuvered the bus around an overturned SUV that had crashed in a curve. When they were clear of that danger, Herb said, “You tell him about it, Randy. I’d better concentrate on driving.”
Randy warmed to the detailed telling of the story regarding what happened during that fateful trip. He knew all the details of course. Herb had told him all about the trip. And Erma had filled in the blanks on many things that Herb hadn’t revealed, which was Herb’s solo security work while the team broke down the equipment they’d need to take to Colorado with them.
Finally, Herb could remain silent no longer. He chuckled and shook his head. “Randy, you make it sound as though I was a fearless man with nerves of steel. To tell you the God’s honest truth, I was scared to death half the time during that trip. I just did what I had to do. It was nothing special.”
“I don’t know about that,” Jason interjected. “I’ve been in combat enough to see people freeze up and do nothing, or just fire wildly until their weapons ran dry. I think everyone feels fear at a time like that. I believe the difference between a brave man and a coward is what they do when they feel that fear. A brave man goes ahead and does what’s necessary despite his fear. A coward caves in because of it.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Randy said. “I know I was scared to death when I fought the bear, but I was more afraid of failing Amy than I was of the anizombie. If I hadn’t managed to stop it, it would have been able to get to her, and Amy was in no condition to get up in the bell tower of Herb’s cabin, so she was defenseless.”
“It took teamwork to kill that bear though. Henry helped from the roof. Even after all that, Amy would have died the next day if Herb hadn’t driven all night to deliver the injections, after being attacked and wounded by anizombies himself,” Randy said gruffly as his voice broke when he spoke of Amy dying.
“It took teamwork to save her,” Herb pointed out. “You and Henry faced the zombie threats while I was away and you kept the women safe. Even Ox helped.”
“He sure did,” Randy acknowledged.
“Hey, what’s that up ahead?” asked Robert from his seat behind Randy. The young man had remained quiet since they had left the area where his father had died.
“It’s fog, and it looks pretty thick,” Herb replied. “I hope we drive out of it soon,” he added moments later when they were enveloped by the heavy fogbank.
Herb was forced to slow the bus to a fraction of their former speed. They crept along at about twenty miles per hour for several minutes. All of the men felt uncomfortable with traveling through the impenetrable gloom caused by the soupy atmosphere that swirled outside the bus windows. As for Robert, he clung to Ox who seemed to sense the boy’s fear and moved near him.
Almost too late to react, Herb saw a vehicle in the road in front of them. He slammed on the brakes and cut the steering wheel to the left in order to avoid hitting the old sedan sitting half on and half off the highway.
“Maybe we should find a place to stop for a while,” Randy suggested when Herb had the vehicle back under firm control.
“Yeah, as much as I dislike having to stop when we’re this close to our destination, it’s going to be too dangerous going in with this fog hindering us. We could drive right into an area crawling with zombies, and we’d never even know it,” Herb stated.
“Can we stop, please?” Robert asked fearfully. “Dad never liked us to move if we couldn’t see what was out there in the night.”
“I think we do need to locate a safe haven for the night,” Herb replied to the boy. He made a mental note to be more careful with his comments in the future when the boy was within earshot. He nodded in satisfaction at the relieved expression on the young man’s face.
“Are we going to just park the bus and sleep in it for the night, or do we look for a place to conceal it where we might be able to sleep indoors?” asked Randy.
“We’ll see what we can find. Let’s try to locate a nice big double car garage or something that looks like it could house the bus. For obvious reasons, I don’t like the idea of leaving it outside a house while we shelter inside,” Herb said.
“Yeah, we could get cut off from our transportation,” Ed pointed out. “That would be bad.”
Herb shook his head as he made eye contact with Ed in the rearview mirror and then glanced in the boy’s direction. Ed got the point and gave a slight nod of his head to acknowledge his understanding.
“Hey, I see a big building up ahead on the left,” Randy said. “At least I think it’s a building. It’s hard to tell in this fog. This stuff is as thick as pea soup.”
Herb slowed the bus, but just as Randy had feared, he had misidentified the object. The apparent large structure turned out to be several trees of uniform height, which were situated close together.
Herb continued to drive along the highway. The fog seemed to lighten a bit, but then it thickened once more and they drew abreast of a small residential area. “There’s a house,” Randy said. “And this time I know it’s a house.”
“I can’t tell if it has a garage,” Herb said.
It turned out that the home didn’t have a garage, but it did have a circular driveway that made a big circle around the back of the home and emerged on the other side. Herb stopped the bus behind the structure, where it would be concealed from view by anyone traveling the road. “What do you think, Jason?” he asked.
“There aren’t many windows, and those that it does have are small. I’m betting they are double paned too, which means a zombie would have a harder time breaking inside. They could still do it, but they’d take longer and make much more noise in the process. I like it.”
“Randy?” Herb asked.
“I say we do it.”
“Ed?”
“I say yes. It looks intact to me. The lawn is overgrown, so no one has been living here. It should be safe.”
“Okay, Jason, you’re with me. We check it out while the others wait in the bus. Randy, I’m leaving the key in the ignition, so you guys won’t be stuck in here without a means to start the bus if things should go wrong.”
“We won’t leave without you two,” Randy was quick to say.
“Herb’s right. You may have to do it, but let’s hope not,” Jason said. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m looking forward to dinner, and the food is in the bus.”
“I’m afraid it’ll be cold rations tonight. We don’t dare heat the food for fear of the zombies smelling it,” Herb said.
“Damn. He’s right there, but damn,” Randy said in disappointment.
“Hot or cold, it’s all the same to me right now,” Jason said with a grin.
“You would like your food all cold and greasy,” Ed quipped.
“Hey, when the chow is cold, the grease floats to the top. I once lubed my rifle with the grease off the top of a can of stew,” Jason explained.
“Only you would do something like that,” Ed said shaking his head. “I’m probably going to regret this, but why did you need to grease your rifle that badly?”
“I got caught out in a sandstorm. The sand stripped half the finish, and all the oil, off my rifle,” Jason explained, winking at Herb as he turned away from Ed to hide a mischievous grin.
“You had it better than I did then. One night, I had to use the grease off
a can of spam to protect my face from the freezing cold up in the mountains of Afghanistan,” Ed said with a smirk.
Herb grinned and said, “I think he got you that time, Jason.” He was referring to the good natured rivalry the two men sometimes engaged in regarding their military service. Ed had served in Afghanistan and Jason had served in Iraq.
Herb’s expression grew grim and he said, “Okay, guys, it’s time to get serious.” He looked at Jason and asked, “You ready to do this?”
Jason picked up a couple of extra loaded magazines for the M4, which he added to the others he had positioned on his battle vest, and then he said, “I am now.”
“When you get back with my rifle, there’d better not be any grease on it,” Ed quipped as Jason stepped toward the door, followed by Herb who had also taken the precaution of getting extra magazines.
“Gotcha,” Jason responded. “You guys watch our backs and your own as well while you’re at it.”
“Did you want me topside?” asked Randy as Herb was reaching for the control that opened the door.
Herb paused and glanced at the fog, which looked even thicker than it had earlier. “Yes, but you need to use your own discretion about trying to maintain that position. The fog is going to make visibility a bitch, and it’s going to muffle sound too. You might be better off inside where you can watch the dogs for a warning.”
Turning to Ed, he said, “Put together a ration pack we can take inside with us for the night, after we clear the house.”
“You’ve got it,” Ed replied.
Herb glanced at his partner for the mission and Jason nodded his readiness to get on with the job at hand. He opened the door and Jason stepped out. Herb stepped out behind him, and together they moved toward the house.
Randy secured the door of the bus and then got in his chair. He opened the overhead window and elevated his seat to the full extension of the hydraulic pedestal. He saw Jason and Herb standing at the back door of the house. He took a moment to look to their left, and then back to their right. He was checking to ensure that nothing was coming toward the entry team. Once he was satisfied that there wasn’t a threat to their safety in the vicinity, he turned his attention back toward his friends at the back door just in time to see it closing behind Herb.