Riposte (The Redivivus Trilogy Book 2)

by Kirk Withrow

  After collecting a pile of small pebbles, he placed them on a piece of cardboard elevated above a scrap of sheet metal on the floor just out of view of the walkway. He rested one edge of the cardboard on a concrete block while he supported the other with a thin piece of wood to which he attached one end of the trip wire. If anyone or anything hit the line, the wooden support would be dislodged, and the rocks would clatter loudly against the metal below.

  Before settling in for the night, Montes and Garza agreed to alternate watch; Lin insisted she be included in the rotation. When it became clear she was not going to be dissuaded, they finally relented, provided she promised to wake one of them the moment she detected anything out of the ordinary. Garza agreed to serve as her backup, but found that the responsibility made sleep impossible.

  As Lin sat watching the motionless world outside, she noticed Garza tossing and turning on his pallet. She moved closer to check on him, assuming he was in the midst of one of the all-too-common nightmares that plagued everyone still living. To her surprise, she once again found herself staring directly into his wide, hazel eyes—with nowhere to run to escape the awkward moment.

  “What’s wrong? Did you see something?” Garza asked in alarm.

  His response was so sharp that she doubted he had been asleep, though she imagined his military training allowed him to transition from sleep to full attention in a split second. “No, no. Nothing is wrong. You were just restless, and I thought perhaps you were having a bad dream,” Lin said sheepishly, as she turned to move away. Feeling the blood rush into her cheeks, she was glad it was dark so the soldier could not see her embarrassment.

  “Wait,” Garza said. “Please, stay. I can’t sleep. I guess I’m just too wound up after everything that’s happened, you know?”

  “What? I mean…yeah, it’s almost impossible to believe,” Lin said. She was relieved when he did not seem to notice the uncomfortable tension she felt. On the contrary, it was as if he had been expecting her to come over and strike up a conversation all along. The warmth in her cheeks percolated through her entire body, causing her scalp to buzz and tingle as it passed.

  Lin had never been good with emotions, which is why she thought she was so good at science—nothing but cold, hard facts, with no touchy-feely, irrational sentimentality to get in the way. Akin to raging floodwaters, Lin felt that emotions were simply too powerful and unpredictable for safe handling. Even considering all the malign and diabolical creations spawned by modern science, including LNV itself, she still considered emotions to be among the most dangerous weapons in the human arsenal. A single word meant absolutely nothing in one context, but possessed the power to utterly annihilate a person in another—all because of the emotions it called into play. With no set rules or laws to govern them, she found their volatility extremely disconcerting.

  Standing timidly before Sergeant Garza, Lin felt like an emotional cripple. How is it that I can be in the middle of the apocalypse with the weight of saving the human race placed squarely on my shoulders, and still manage to feel as nervous as a schoolgirl on prom night by the simple act of talking to another person? I really should have gotten out of the lab more often. Lin reminded herself she was not just talking to any person. Sergeant Garza had saved her life at least twice, and had risked his own life for her more times than she could count despite having met her only a couple of days ago.

  “I can take watch if you want to try to get some sleep, Lin,” Garza said.

  Hearing him say her first name sent a renewed wave of goose bumps propagating down her arms. She was so used to being called Dr. San that the complete lack of formality sounded almost intimate. He must have noticed her subtle shiver, as he leaned forward to offer her a light jacket. Her skin prickled so intensely when his hand brushed against her that she thought it would be impossible for him not to feel it. Given the butterflies threatening to make her stomach explode, Lin knew there was no chance of sleep for her in the near future. “I can’t sleep either,” she said nervously, and immediately feared how her words might be interpreted. If she were completely honest about it, she was not entirely sure of how to interpret them.

  “Well, I may as well get up since it’s clear I’m not going to fall asleep,” Garza said. Glancing to where General Montes slept soundly a few feet over. He motioned toward the observation window, and said, “Let’s move over there so at least one of us gets some sleep tonight.”

  Lin and Garza settled down next to the window, Garza instinctively scanning the area outside for any sign of danger. The pale moonlight was just bright enough to illuminate the vague outlines of the nocturnal landscape. All was quiet, aside from the occasional sound of insects and General Montes’ faint snoring. After a pause that seemed to last an eternity, Garza spoke. “Are you okay?”

  Sounding far more upbeat than the situation called for, Lin fell back into the old world routine of answering the question as though it were posed by someone who truly did not want an answer but who asked strictly because it was the socially appropriate thing to do. “I’m good.” Even as she said it, she realized it sounded ridiculous. ‘I’m good.’ Seriously? The world is being overrun by infected monsters and everyone I’ve ever known is likely dead, and I say ‘I’m good?’ Unbelievable.

  “No, I mean how are you really doing? How are you holding up?” Garza asked, the sincerity now evident in his voice.

  Recognizing that the question was more than idle small talk, she reconsidered her answer. “Given that the world is crumbling around us, I guess I’m doing about as well as can be expected. I mean, the fact I’m even alive is something. When I think of how many people I’ve seen die since we left Brazil…” There was a slight hitch in her voice before it trailed off completely. After a moment, she sniffed hard and continued, “Now there’s only General Montes and me.”

  “And me,” Garza said without hesitation.

  “I didn’t mean… Thank you, Sergeant Garza. We couldn’t have made it this far without you.”

  Although Lin did not dare turn to face him, she could feel his eyes upon her again. While she found his gaze unnerving, she was also comforted by his presence, just as she had been by Corporal Rocha. Like General Montes, both Garza and Rocha were good men—selfless, loyal, brave, and capable. Part of her feared Garza would be taken away just as Rocha had been, and the idea scared her more than she thought possible. Every death she witnessed was so painful, and she did not know how many more her heart could withstand before it simply refused to go on.

  Another uncomfortably long silence passed between them before Garza spoke again. “I thought I had come to terms with death, you know? I thought I finally had at least a vague idea about what it was and how to handle it, but now I see that was just something I told myself to get by. I mean, I’ve seen soldiers in my unit—my brothers—bleed out right next to me, and I knew I would likely see it again. How else can you get past something like that and be ready to face it the next time?”

  Listening to his heartfelt narration, Lin finally mustered the courage to look in his direction. The moonlight shimmered in the tears forming at the corners of his eyes, as he stared out the window as if making a proclamation to the entire world.

  Continuing, Garza said, “When I was a kid, I remember thinking that death was temporary—that I could somehow reverse it. It was like death was punishment for something I had done, so I could also undo it. When I finally accepted the permanence of it, I just tried to run away from it. I felt like my shadow was Death stalking me, waiting to catch me with my guard down. Occasionally, I would feel it sneaking up on me, and I would spin around to find it had disappeared. Now, death is everywhere and there’s no way to avoid it. You can barely stay ahead of it. The worst part is that it keeps reminding me just how much I miss Mariana,” Garza said, his voice thick with sadness.

  Lin’s heart sank unexpectedly at the mention of the woman’s name, and the unsettling sensation was as confusing as it was unpleasant. She did not understand what was beh
ind it or where it had come from. She imagined it was merely empathy for his loss, though she could not help but wonder if there was more to it. The possibility that she would feel such a shallow and selfish sentiment as jealousy sickened her.

  “It’s funny, the guys in my unit called me Reaper,” Sergeant Garza said, following with a small chuckle. Unexpectedly, he pulled his shirt up as if he were going to undress. Shifting to the side, he let the early morning light wash over his muscular back, illuminating the large, intricate tattoo of the Grim Reaper covering its entire surface. “When I was fifteen I decided that if Death was going to follow me everywhere I went, I was going to put him on my back so I would always be one step ahead of him.”

  Enraptured by the intricate lines of the tattoo, Lin fought the urge to reach out and trace the ominous figure on his back. Instead, she bit her lower lip, and asked, “Was Mariana your wife?”

  She saw the muscles in his back stiffen at her words, making the Grim Reaper appear as though he was readying himself to strike. With a sigh, Garza’s shoulders slumped and all of the tension seemed to bleed out of the Reaper. “No. My sister.”

  Before she realized what she was doing, Lin placed a tentative hand on his bare shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” Lin said, knowing all too well the pain he felt.

  “Even though it’s been so long, it feels like it was just yesterday. I guess because I never really dealt with it at the time,” Garza said. “She was just ten years old when she was killed by a stray bullet back in Mexico. My family immigrated to the U.S. the following year.”

  Now, it was Garza who noticed a change in Lin’s demeanor. She appeared rigid and pale in the predawn light, with all of the nervous tension she possessed moments ago gone. “Lin?” Garza asked cautiously.

  “My brother, Kang, died when he was nineteen,” Lin said, as though forcing the reluctant words out of hiding. She proceeded to tell Garza about the mysterious disease that claimed her brother’s life, and how his death put her on the path that led her to where she was presently.

  In many ways, the death of Garza’s sister had a similar life-defining effect on him. Although he accepted he would never be able to exact revenge on the gunman responsible for his sister’s death, Garza decided to join the military to fight for good, as a means to avenge her loss indirectly.

  They sat in silence for several minutes, reflecting on this commonality between them, before Lin said, “I’m scared.”

  Without a word, Garza put his arm around her, wishing the sincere gesture could somehow shield her from the world around them.

  General Montes woke in time to hear the end of their conversation. He had worried about how all of the death and dying was affecting Dr. San. It was nothing she had experienced, and he knew there was really no way to prepare her for it. It was like trying to explain that fire is hot to a child. The words mean very little; true understanding comes only with the pain experienced when he or she puts a hand in the flames.

  When Lin and Garza fell silent, General Montes sat up slowly, his muscles stiff from the uncomfortable sleep. His creaky joints popped and cracked as he crossed the short distance to where the two sat watching the world outside come back to life under the early morning sun. With a small sigh, General Montes said, “There is so much death, but you have to believe that life is stronger than death in the end. And you must not fear death because that fear will overshadow your life. The courage to face death head on is the light that clears away the shadows and allows us to live to fight another day.”

  20

  October 5, 2015

  Cobb County, GA

  As the sun poked up over the eastern horizon, Lin, Montes, and Garza climbed back into the truck, hoping to finish the long journey that for all but Garza started nearly five thousand miles away. With their destination so close, Lin thought of everything they had experienced, and said a silent prayer for everyone who lost their life along the way. She truly hoped it proved to be worth their sacrifice.

  From the driver’s seat, Garza said, “It’s maybe twenty miles to the CDC lab. Hopefully we can cover that distance today. That said they are likely to be the hardest miles we’ve travelled yet. Traffic in Atlanta was bad before LNV, not to mention the population density in the area. There’s no telling how many infected are in the city. Stay sharp, and pray for luck.” Lin watched him kiss a small cross before tucking the necklace back under his shirt.

  Garza knew that taking back roads to avoid the traffic snarls on the interstate would increase the distance to the CDC, but he felt certain it would decrease their overall travel time. As he drove, he was amazed by how quickly the urban area appeared to have collapsed. While he had seen the urban decay in the Atlanta metropolitan area before LNV firsthand, the profound desolation he now saw seemed impossible. In less than two weeks, the city looked as though it had been uninhabited for months. Whether it was due to the speed in which the virus spread, or the fragile nature of the complex infrastructure supporting our tenuous, modern lives, Garza did not know. Perhaps it was both.

  Signs of progressive disrepair were everywhere, as though the world was literally crumbling around them. None of them had truly realized just how dependent the modern world was on constant human maintenance. They took it for granted as something that merely persisted unaided until until now. Trash swirled in the streets. Cars were left where they crashed, patiently waiting for wreckers that would never come. Darkened buildings appeared dead without their life-sustaining electricity. Bodies littered every part of the landscape. Lin felt numb as she recalled a time when she thought it was dreadfully unacceptable that a squirrel had been dead on her street for nearly a day and not yet removed.

  Lin imagined she could actually see the manmade world aging and weathering before her eyes, as though Mother Nature went right to work the moment she realized no one was left to stop her from reclaiming what was rightfully hers all along. Everything was painted with dreary desolation, almost as if the virus had destroyed all the color in the world as well. A cold chill ran down Lin’s spine when she thought about how long it had taken mankind to reach this point, and how quickly it was being reversed in its absence. The world she saw was deserted.

  Although they only encountered scattered clusters of infected as they neared the outskirts of the urban area, they knew without a doubt there were many more waiting in the city. After all, the Atlanta metropolitan area had a population of just over 5.5 million before the plague. Even if 75% of them died, the rest of those people had to be somewhere, and none of them harbored any delusions that they were all tucked away somewhere—safe and sound.

  “Wait a sec! What the hell is that? What is she doing?” Garza asked rhetorically.

  On a ruined stretch of road, he saw a woman that appeared to be stranded. He pulled the truck to a stop a little over one hundred yards away, while the woman continued waving at them frantically. Scanning the surrounding area, Garza saw no one else—infected or otherwise.

  “I don’t know,” General Montes said thoughtfully. “She might be in trouble, but it could be a trap.”

  Nodding, Garza said, “Why do you think she is just standing there waving, instead of approaching us? You would think if she were out here alone, she would be running toward us rather than hanging back—seems kind of suspicious. Still, if she is in trouble then we can’t rightly leave her out here.”

  “Yes, but I feel it’s just too risky,” Montes said. “Perhaps one of us can assess the situation while the other hangs back with Dr. San, though I’ll admit I don’t feel much better about that plan.”

  Having been silently listening to their conversation, Lin finally chimed in, “Are you two seriously discussing this? Of course we have to help her. There is no way we are going to leave anyone out here—certainly not because of me!” She thought back to the interstate when Corporal Rocha had told General Montes to drive off, leaving Garza alone to fend off the infected horde bearing down upon him.

  Morally, both men knew what should be done, but t
hey also knew the importance of their primary objective. Even so, the thought of leaving the woman to fend for herself when they had the ability to help her did not sit well with either of them.

  “Fine, I suppose you are right, Dr. San,” Montes said. “It wouldn’t be right to leave anyone out here, but you must understand our need to keep you safe. If we can’t get you to the CDC lab then it might not matter who we help. So if we’re going to do this, we need to do it cautiously. Garza, I’ll drive while you stay concealed in the bed of the truck, ready to fire if necessary. Just because we don’t see any infected, doesn’t mean they aren’t close by. Lin, you stay down and out of sight. At the first sign of anything amiss, woman be damned, I’m getting us the hell out of there. Understood?”

  “Woman be damned?” Lin asked rather incredulously.

  When General Montes’ facial expression did not waver, she and Garza nodded in agreement. Montes climbed out the rear driver side door, and stepped forward as though trying to get a better look at the situation. Garza slipped into the back seat and out the rear passenger door before sliding stealthily into the bed of the truck.

  General Montes climbed into the driver’s seat and drove forward slowly, keeping a watchful eye out for any sign of danger. If he were honest with himself, everything about the situation seemed dangerous, but he certainly could not argue with Dr. San’s point about the morality of leaving the woman behind.

  As they drew closer, Montes could see that the woman was shouting something and pointing toward the ground just off to the side of the road. The unsettled feeling in General Montes’ gut rose steadily the closer they got to her position. Why is she yelling like that? Doesn’t she know that will draw any infected within earshot to her position? Surely she realizes we see her and are heading in her direction.

  Lin spoke from the passenger seat, “What is she saying? Roll the window down so we can hear.”