by J. W. Vohs
Jack had managed to get a few hours of fitful rest when word came that the first boats from Fort Wayne were in sight. By the time Christy and David pulled in to the dock, Jack could see the last of the forty or so watercraft heading his direction in the pinkish morning light. He wondered which one held Lieutenant Heder, and he wasn’t happy about the growing crowd populating the shoreline behind him. He didn’t want any competition for Heder’s attention when the young man finally arrived.
“Hey, Jack,” David called out to his brother, “give us a hand over here!”
Jack sprinted to his brother’s side and grunted when he caught the heavy duffel bag David tossed his way. “What took you so long? Christy get you guys lost?” he teased.
Christy grabbed Jack and wrapped him in a bear hug. “It’s good to see you too, Jack.” She stepped back and looked around the dock, “Where’s Father O’Brien? I thought he’d be here. Are the Canadians here?”
Before Jack could reply, Brittany was by his side. Christy screeched and pulled her in for a hug as well. “Good to see you, sweetie—did you go on the trip with Father O’Brien? Does he know we’re here?”
The expression on Brittany’s face tempered Christy’s enthusiasm. “You have bad news?”
Brittany was trying hard not to cry, but she wasn’t successful. “He’s at peace now, Christy. The trip didn’t go so well; Father O’Brien and our pilot, Bruce, didn’t make it.”
David had joined Christy on the dock, and she slumped against her husband. “I’m so sorry, Brittany,” she said softly. “I’m sorry for all of us.”
Brittany nodded as she wiped away her tears. “I really do think he is at peace, with his family. He said he saw them, at the end.” She pulled out a handkerchief and blew her nose. “And he was super excited about your cousin. He said that meeting Michael Carboni helped bring peace to his soul.”
“What?” David couldn’t quite believe his ears. “You actually met Christy’s cousin, Michael?”
“I knew it!” Christy exclaimed. “Everybody thought I was crazy—the hormonal pregnant woman—but I just knew that Dad’s advice to Michael made all the difference. I knew it would be him. Is he here?”
“They went back to Manitoulin; I’ll tell you all about it once you’re settled in,” Brittany offered, “but right now I’m anxious to talk to Red. Has he landed yet?”
“He’s bringing up the rear,” Christy said in a suddenly chilly tone. “And I think Jack has dibs on talking to him first.”
Brittany looked confused. “Jack didn’t say anything to me about it.”
Jack had been helping with the unloading process as more boats continued to dock, but he’d remained within earshot of the conversation between Christy and Brittany. He decided to give Brittany a brief explanation about why he needed to talk to Heder. “Your boyfriend witnessed Andi’s kidnapping, and I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it. I don’t know what all he saw, so there’s a possibility he could remember something that could lead me to where they’ve taken her. Right now, he’s my only hope.”
Brittany was sympathetic. “Jesus, why didn’t you say something yesterday? I’m sure he’ll do whatever he can to help you, and I can wait a little longer for our reunion.”
“Thanks, maybe in the meantime you can take my pregnant sister-in-law and her scrawny husband somewhere to get some food and some sleep?”
“Who are you calling scrawny?” David objected.
Brittany laughed. “I do think you’ve lost some weight since the last time I saw you, David. Come on, we’re going to cause a traffic jam if we don’t move off the dock anyway. I’ll get you guys settled in, and Jack can tell Red to meet me after they’ve talked.” She looked at Jack. “Will you tell Red I’ll be waiting for him at home?”
“No problem,” Jack agreed. “And thanks for—”
“Hey, dummy, yer supposed to be getting’ things in order here, not standin’ around chit-chattin’ when there’s work to be done.” Carter seemed to appear out of nowhere. He slapped Jack on his back and acknowledged Brittany with a nod of his head. “Good thing Deb’s got yer back; she’s already figurin’ out who’s here and where they’re supposed to go.”
“I’m glad to hear that at least one of you is making yourself useful.” Jack pointed at David and Christy. “You can tell her these two are on their way with Brittany here—she’s going to find them food and a place to get some sleep.” Brittany took the cue and steered the couple towards shore. As soon as they were gone, Jack gave Carter a brief update. “O’Brien’s dead. The Canadians, including Christy’s cousin, went back to warn their people about Barnes. According to Brittany, the bastard is loading ships full of infected to attack island hold-outs.”
Carter looked doubtful. “Don’t seem practical. Them creatures hate water, and loadin’ and unloadin’ would be a problem.”
“That’s what I thought at first, too,” Jack replied, “but we can’t afford to underestimate Barnes again. It makes sense that he’d try to devise a way around our best defense. Water has been our best defense.”
“So ya think we’re sittin’ ducks here?”
“Not right now, no, but in the days to come—who knows?” Jack noticed that there were no more boats waiting to dock. “I never would have imagined that anyone could be kidnapped by a chopper crew in the middle of an attack. Let’s go find Lieutenant Heder.”
Jack and Carter didn’t have to go far; Deb met them a few feet from the main dock, with Heder close behind her. “I told the lieutenant that you wanted to talk to him, Jack. I told him any little detail he could remember might be important.”
Jack held out his hand. “Glad to meet you, son.” He forced himself to sound friendly.
Heder shook Jack’s hand. “Actually, we’ve met before, sir. I was part of the reinforcements from Middle Bass when you moved in to Fort Wayne. I don’t expect you to remember me, but I came down with Gracie.”
The mention of Gracie’s name made Jack think about Luke. He longed to see his son again, but he knew that was impossible. He hoped that it wasn’t too late for Andi. “I think I do remember meeting you. You’re the young man Luke saved from drowning.”
“That’s right, sir. How is Luke?”
The question seemed innocent enough; Luke’s condition wasn’t common knowledge yet, though it wasn’t exactly a secret either. “He’s still in Vicksburg, with Gracie,” Jack explained. “They got married.”
“Really? That’s cool.” Heder seemed genuinely pleased. “I just hope that doesn’t give Brittany any ideas.”
Jack was growing impatient with the small talk. “Listen, Red, I need you to tell me everything that happened when Andi was taken.”
Heder nodded. “Yeah, sure. I already told Deb everything though. I wish I could have stopped them, but it all happened so fast.”
Carter noticed the muscles twitching in Jack’s jaw. “At least ya saw what happened. If they’d spotted ya, we wouldn’t have a clue ‘bout why she disappeared, and you’d be dead.”
Heder nodded again. “That’s true. I guess I never looked at it that way. It’s like I told Deb, everybody on the bridge was still fighting when I got there. I told Andi that they were supposed to retreat, and it was hard to decide exactly how to get outta there. Andi broke for the west, so I went with her. I figured she knew what she was doing. We were moving pretty fast considering our gear and the weather, but being chased by a bunch of hungry flesh-eaters is pretty motivating. I’m a good runner, but I thought she was right behind me when we crossed over the footbridge in the park. We we’re running across an open area when one of those Blackhawks Barnes uses popped out of the storm. It was shining a searchlight around, and I yelled at Andi to head for the river. I thought she was right behind me. I really did. I dove in some shrubs to get out of the open, and that’s when I saw that the chopper had landed and two soldiers were dragging her aboard.”
“What sort of uniforms did the soldiers have on?” Jack asked evenly.
&
nbsp; “They looked like regular army, sir.”
Carter scratched his chin. “Didn’t they see ya with their spotlight? They must have known there was two of ya.”
“I thought the same thing. I don’t know why they didn’t come after me too, unless they didn’t have any use for me.”
“And what use do you suppose they had for Andi?” Jack snapped.
“Sorry, sir, I don’t mean any disrespect. She’s a female, for one thing. Maybe they want women.”
“They don’t need to land helicopters to pick up women,” Jack pointed out. “Every place Barnes goes he has access to women.”
Heder just shrugged. “I wish I could explain it, but I can’t.”
Jack looked at Carter. “Can you think of anything else to ask right now?”
“Not right this minute, but I might come up with somethin’ later. Deb, is there anythin’ we’re forgettin?”
Deb shook her head. “No, and it’s been a long trip. We should let Red get on home.” She was more convinced than ever that Red was holding something back, but she couldn’t articulate what it was about his story that rubbed her the wrong way.
“Thanks for your time, lieutenant. Brittany wanted me to tell you that she’d be waiting for you at home.” Jack turned to leave, but Heder stopped him with a question.
“You’ve been talking to Brittany?”
Jack realized that Heder hadn’t talked to Brittany for quite some time, and he was probably worried about her. Given what transpired on her trip with Father O’Brien, he had reason to worry. “She’s a remarkable young woman—”
“Did you guys talk about me?” Heder interrupted.
“No,” Jack explained, “we talked about her trip to meet the Canadians. It was a difficult—”
“Well, I’m sure she’ll tell me all about that,” he cut in again. “I guess I’ll go ask her about it right now.” Before anyone could say anything else, he turned and sprinted away.
CHAPTER 19
Zach held out his hand to Luke. “What have you become? I’d say a little uglier, but all of you Smith boys could stand to be knocked down a notch or two—give us normal-looking guys a chance with the ladies. Are you hurt? Can you stand?”
Luke rubbed the back of his head, then reached out for Zach to help him up. “I think I can stand . . .” He stared at the healed scar on his hand. “I want to look in the mirror again.”
“Whatever,” Zach said, pulling Luke to his feet as Gracie and Maddy tried to crowd into the small bathroom. “Looks like we’ve got company. Don’t you still have to pee?”
Gracie slid past Zach and started examining Luke’s head. “Come on, sweetie, let’s get you back to bed—”
Luke leaned in towards the mirror and stared at his reflection. “I’ll be okay, Gracie. I just need a few minutes.”
Zach began shooing the girls out. “Can’t a man have a little privacy in the bathroom? Let’s go . . .” He turned to Luke and added, “I’ll be right outside again, but try not to fall over this time. And, dude, the eye thing could just be temporary. Don’t freak yourself out.”
Twenty minutes later Luke was out of the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bed while Gracie held his hand. Charlotte, Maddy and Zach stood facing the couple. Luke was staring at Gracie with a dumfounded expression. “Why do I need to be worried about the people here? I mean, I don’t exactly revel in their attention, but you gotta admit, it borders on hero-worship.”
“It does, but everyone out there expected you to die last night, and yet here you are. Nobody in this camp has ever seen a person survive a bite before, and they know you were deeply bitten before we got that monster off of you. I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that someone might shoot you if you try to get up and walk out of here.”
Luke seemed lost in thought for a moment, then just shook his head slightly and quipped, “They can try.”
“Hey, you’re not alone here; maybe you’re immortal, but the rest of us are normal human beings,” Gracie reminded him.
“You’re right, babe,” Luke tried to placate her growing frustration by lifting his hands up in a calming gesture. “These eyes freak me out, I can imagine what the locals will think if they see me out walking around.”
He turned his attention to their friends. “What do you two think about all this?”
Maddy stepped forward and took a long look at his eyes. “Coal-black, zombie-boy.”
“That’s not funny,” Gracie angrily exclaimed.
Charlotte put a gentle hand on Gracie’s shoulder. “Honey, we go with it or shoot him, your call.”
“Oh yeah,” Zach added, “since when do you eat bloody steaks?”
Luke shrugged, “Never before, but I want another one now that you mention it.”
Maddy pulled her sleeve up and stuck her bare arm in front of Luke’s face. “Tell us the truth, are you tempted to bite me?”
She actually jumped when Luke lunged for her wrist, then he pointed and laughed so hard that tears actually rolled down his cheeks. Everyone else quickly joined in his mirth. He finally wiped his eyes. “Listen, for whatever reason, the virus didn’t turn me into a flesh-eating monster.”
“At least human flesh,” Zach snorted.
“We hope,” Maddy added.
“I reserve the right to munch on either of you in the future,” Luke declared, “but I promise I won’t bite you today.”
“Good enough for me, brother,” Zach decided.
“Just keep your distance,” Maddy warned. “Or I’ll really give you a black eye.”
Luke could see Gracie’s frustration returning as everyone joked around without admitting that they had a problem on their hands. “It’s okay, honey. Send for Carlson and we’ll tell him that the rumors his soldiers were spreading about a new treatment actually worked. I know we can trust him.”
Luke had cleaned himself up and was playing cards with his wife and friends when Charlotte returned to the cabin with Carlson half an hour later. It took the Utah leader a few seconds to process what he was seeing, especially a smiling Luke staring at him. All Carlson could do for a long moment was stare back at Luke.
Gracie sensed the tension in the air, and she felt compelled to position herself between Carlson and Luke. “He’s going to make it,” she said defensively. “We want to find out about the others who’ve survived bites—we think bleeding him the way your people told us to is what saved him.”
Luke spoke up, “I’m more interested in what’s happening in Fort Wayne. Do you have any news?”
Once Luke spoke, Carlson’s body visibly relaxed. “First, I’ve only heard stories about people who allegedly survived out in Utah. I always suspected it was urban legend. Next, we’re waiting for a train to arrive from Fort Wayne with the kids they evacuated; we expect it sometime this afternoon. Other than that, we don’t know what’s happening. I’m sorry.”
“I hate not being there,” Luke said, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands in front of him. “I know how bad this is, and I know they need me.”
Carlson nodded. “I understand how you feel, but we need to trust our people. They can carry on without us; no one is irreplaceable.” He noticed the thick pink scar on Luke’s hand. “May I see that?”
“Sure,” Luke shrugged, holding out his hand to Carlson. “It’s not nearly as creepy as the eyes.”
It took several hours to get all the refugees from Indiana settled in, but by early afternoon most were well-fed and sleeping soundly. Jack tried to rest as well, but he gave up as the sun set in time for an early dinner. He ate an MRE, then decided to walk down by the harbor to see the place where David and his group had landed the previous summer. In a matter of days they had cleared the island of infected and taught the locals how to fight and scavenge, leaving a stable, safe island behind them as they continued toward Fort Wayne. Jack stood at the base of a pier and felt the stiff wind at his back, realizing that the cold wouldn’t allow him to be outside for long. Considering t
he weather, he hoped that Barnes was satisfied with his fall campaigns and there would be no more fighting until spring. Jack didn’t know how the hunters would function in subzero weather, on snow-covered terrain, but he knew that humans didn’t fight well in such conditions.
Hypothermia would kill a soldier as easily as a hunter could, and the wounded were very susceptible to frigid conditions. Jack then noticed the ice forming in the small harbor and wondered about how his people would be travelling once the waterways of the Midwest were frozen over. Just as he started to worry about what the spread of ice might do to human defenses across the continent, a guard came running by with his flashlight waving, calling to the command center on his small radio as he approached the place where Jack was standing.
Finally noticing the Indiana leader looking at him with concern, the guard stopped next to Jack as he began to explain the emergency to his commander. “Two boats out there coming in from the east, large yachts from what I could see.” He lowered his radio a bit and whispered to Jack, “Not your folks,” before continuing with his report. “Jenkins is still on post, but our phone line must have been frozen or something because we couldn’t ring through to you. Had to get over the seawall for this radio to work.”
Both Jack and the guard quietly awaited a response from the other end. After a few seconds, a voice cut through the static. “Tell Jenkins to stay where he’s at; I’ll send Wiley and his guys your way. Do you have any idea where I can find Jack Smith?