He acted while the man was distracted, snatching his sidearm from its holster and pointing it at him before he fully turned around and saw him moving. The gun the man was holding was directed into the Huey and he didn’t dare shoot for fear of the gun going off and killing one of them.
“Go for it, she’ll be dead before you pull the trigger,” the man said, as if to confirm his fears. “I thought you guys were army when I took that shot. How could I know any different? This isn’t a civilian helicopter.”
“It’s not a Blackhawk either, you fucking idiot!” he stormed; spit flying as his rage took hold. “Are you saying you brought our Huey down because you thought we were military? Are you completely insane?”
“No, I’m a patriot,” the man said, his eyes steady.
“Patriots don’t kill innocent people,” his wife growled. He couldn’t see her but he could only imagine the fury that was on her face. He felt sorry for the man; she would likely take her time killing him with her bare hands.
“Mom? What’s going on?” he heard the pained voice of his daughter drift from within the wrecked chopper. He let out another sigh of relief, but kept his gun pointed at the man across from him.
“You’ve been in an accident,” his wife said, trying to comfort their daughter. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been thrown in a blender,” her voice responded, sounding weak.
He moved to his left so that he could see into the back of the Huey better, but the guy moved with him and his view was still obstructed.
“Looks like a scalp wound, you’ll need stitches,” his wife said so softly he almost didn’t hear it. He wanted to get to them and help, he hated standing here like this.
“We can stand here all day or we can have a civilized talk about it and walk away. You choose,” the man told him, seeing his eagerness.
He was starting to lower his gun and he found his will to shoot the man slipping away.
Reluctantly, he holstered his weapon. He shrugged his shoulders and simply said “talk.”
The man in fatigues lowered his guns, finally, and tried to smile; he failed. “I was tracking what I thought was a military helicopter south, trying to find their FOB. Some years ago, a lot of construction vehicles rolled through town and some of us believed they had constructed a secret base in the forest to the south; one that we haven’t been able to find just yet. I thought this was a lead.”
He understood instantly what the man was referring too. Those construction vehicles had been financed by Sean to build their compounds. He guessed that it was naïve to think that they had gone unnoticed.
“There is no military base,” he told the man sincerely.
The man snorted. “Yeah right, the military loves their secrets. They probably have some secret lab hidden in the forest down there. Maybe the same one that released this shit that’s killing everyone. Me and mine are not going to let them get away with it, not this time.”
“You and yours?” he inquired, looking at the trees behind the crashed helicopter. Were there more of them hidden in the trees?
The young man held up a walkie. “I haven’t checked in with them yet. Was going to after I secured the Huey, but that lady in there kept insisting she was just a nurse out of Vegas and the girl was too young to be enlisted. So, I waited to see who would show up. By the way, the black suits? Nice! Though, I’d be wearing something over those heads of yours, head shots and all.”
He continued to scan the trees, ignoring the man’s criticism. He was sure if someone else was out there they would have made themselves known by now. “Why are you taking shots at the military?”
“The government is evil my man and the military is just their puppets on a string,” the guy said, as if using a rehearsed line. Before all this mess, he would have thought this guy crazy, his extremist ideals out there, but did they know for sure that their own government hadn’t created this thing that was loosed upon the world?
“That’s just crazy,” Monica said for him. “The army is out there trying to protect us and kill this thing.”
“Or clean it up,” the man said. “Look, we can debate politics all we want, the point is, I thought that this was a military unit I was firing upon, I didn’t have reason to doubt that. I wouldn’t have done it had I known different. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Monica howled. “You nearly killed them!”
“Actually, I saved them from that guy in the back,” the man said proudly, a smile spreading.
“He might still be alive if you hadn’t shot them down!” his wife returned. She was having none of it.
The anger in him was subsiding. It was all a stupid freaking accident. His daughter was hurt, but she was breathing. He realized that the man could have killed them all while they were unconscious and been away before they got there; none the wiser.
The man didn’t stop him as he stepped forward towards the Huey, trying to make sure his wife heard him. “Let’s just calm down.”
“How dare you tell me to calm down while your daughter is lying here wounded and Matt’s been shot. This other guy is unconscious and I can’t wake up Rosilynn. We have no idea how bad this is yet and you want me to calm down? Are you fucking kidding me?”
The anger in her voice hit him hard and he ended up taking a step back in response. She would have to make the choice on her own. “It was an accident.”
“A car wreck is an accident, this is murder,” she responded crossly.
“That is the way of the world that was,” he said, still feeling cross himself, but letting go of his anger. There was no point carrying it any longer. They were in a standoff and he had to get his friends back to the compound. He looked to the man watching them. “Are you satisfied that we’re not some secret military unit?”
The man nodded. “No way they would’ve lowered that gun. They would’ve just taken the shot.”
“Trust no one,” he said under his breath and the young man’s face brightened.
“That’s it!” the man exclaimed excitedly.
In another life, he might have liked him; if it weren’t for his paranoid view of the world. Then again, he was only alive because of paranoia like that so he couldn’t really knock it.
“We’re going to take our wounded back to our place. We have weapons and supplies; we can take good care of them there.” He mentioned the weapons as a way of deterring the young man from thinking they’d be easy prey if he came after him later, but there was something else as well. Eventually they would have to trust someone and with the way things were going, it had better be sooner rather than later. “Did you want to come with us?”
He knew that Monica had to be biting her tongue because he half expected a quick retort from within the chopper, but she kept silent as she tended to the others, just out of his view.
The man considered, then shook his head. “I’ve got to get back; they’ll come looking if I don’t check in soon.” He stepped forward and offered his hand. “I really am sorry.”
He took it, giving it a brisk shake. “Let me know if you change your mind, we could use the extra bodies and we have room.”
After a moment of consideration, the man handed over his walkie. “I can’t promise nothing, but I’ll go back and talk to the others. There’s about twenty of us and our families held up in some cabins to the north. I’ll see what they think.”
There were three compounds to the south and they were down to seventeen people to protect them, which included the children. The image of Skye on a tower with a gun made his blood run cold. They would need help in case of something really nasty and he didn’t want to think how long they could hold out if someone determined came along.
Nothing was going as planned. No one else had made it so far, and those that had were coming in wounded. They could use the extra men; regardless of how this all started.
“I’m sure we can meet and talk about it,” he offered, not wanting to disclose the location of their new home. But considering h
ow close this crash had taken place to it, he was quite sure it wouldn’t be hard for the young man to find now. “We have more than enough room and supplies for that many, maybe a bit more. It’s also better fortified then a cabin in the woods. I’m Todd by the way.”
“Vitarius,” the man said, grinning. “Keep it on channel twenty. If they say yes, I’ll let you know. No promises though.” The man handed the .45 to Todd, then took his sniper rifle from around his shoulder. “Belonged to the chick in the front seat. Apologize for me?” Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked to the tree line and disappeared into the forest beyond.
“Are you out of your damn mind?” Rosilynn asked, hopping out of the chopper and watching the area of the forest where the man had departed.
“I thought you were unconscious?” he asked in amazement, but his wife was rounding on him and he backed off a step to get away.
“What the hell are you thinking?” Monica thundered, getting Michelle out of the back of the Huey and standing her up next to it for support. She was working to get inside and check on the man in the back but was staring daggers at him along the way. “Telling them where we are, I agree with Ros, you are out of your fucking mind!”
“And what kind of name is Vitarius? His parents must have hated him,” his daughter muttered, trying to join in, but she wasn’t able to stand well on her own and ended up sitting on the edge of the Huey; letting her legs rest.
Rosilynn was darting around to the other side and was busy trying to get the door open to check on her husband.
“Maybe they were hippies?” he responded softly, trying to get his daughter to smile and shrugging his shoulders. “I was thinking that Robert is coming. Saint got a text this morning warning that he was coming after her. She couldn’t get ahold of the person that had sent it. How would he know where she was going? Someone had to tell him. That’s why we insisted on Erik and Manny throwing their cellphones out.”
“And what does that have to do with the lunatic and his rifle?” she asked, her voice muffled as she worked on dragging the man sprawled across the back towards the edge of the Huey. “And who the hell is this?” she called to Ros, who had the door open now and was inspecting her husband’s shoulder.
“A new friend we picked up in Havasu. He’s okay,” she returned, her voice sounding strained as she tried to tear her husband’s shirt.
He put a hand out on his daughter’s shoulder to steady her; she seemed wobbly sitting there and he wondered how they were going to get so many back to the compound on their quads.
Looking through the doorway, he watched as Rosilynn inspected the gunshot wound. Matt had lost a lot of blood and looked as if the color was getting drained out of him. “Kind of glad we all donated every time we stayed up here,” he said through the doorway and saw the bob of his wife’s head. “I was thinking that some extra guns could prove useful in case Robert does find us.”
“And you think that guy and his friends are better than Robert and his? They could be even worse. I’m quite sure that guy shot Casey and Rodger; the way he said he was tracking the Huey. And he shot Matt and nearly killed our daughter. Then there’s this guy. Come on big fella, you’re too big for me to carry. That’s it. And don’t forget poor Paul back there,” she stammered.
How could he? His old friend’s death was heavy upon the air and it was making it hard to breathe, he had a glimpse of what the zombie had done to him and almost unloaded the quick breakfast he had this morning.
“You could have just invited the fox into the hen house. Once they’re in, how do we get them out?” Monica asked in frustration.
“I know honey,” he said, looking to the trees in the direction the man gone. “But we have to trust somebody.”
Trust no one, his mind repeated for him and he just shook his head, trying to work it out.
There had to be an answer to this, he just hadn’t thought of one yet.
Helping his daughter to his quad, he began to strap her legs to the back and let her hold herself up as he went back to help his wife and Rosilynn. Things were going to be tight, but he couldn’t leave them out here, just in case that guy did change his mind and come back.
He didn’t think it was going to happen, but why take the chance?
“I’m up,” the sheriff responded as his wife slapped him across the face. “You can stop that now, ma’am.”
“What’s this ma’am shit?” his wife responded, a twinkle in her eye.
“Okay cowboy,” he muttered, giving his wife a push and helping the man to his feet. “You get to help us get Matt over to one of those quads.”
The man stood there for a second, not sure of what was going on. Then turned around and grabbed a large black riot gun. He was on his way around the Huey when Todd looked at his wife. “Really?”
“What?” she asked innocently.
“You know what,” he returned, glaring at her, eyes closing to slits.
“Oh, stop that, you’re not the only one that can have some fun,” she responded, and gave him a kiss full on the lips.
He opened his own slightly in response and they passionately expressed their shared joy at their daughter’s survival. There was a cough from behind her and they broke apart.
“Okay Sweety, let’s get you out of here,” his wife said, tapping him across the stomach and heading to the quad. “And this conversation isn’t over Todd. You and I are going to have to discuss who you’re inviting into our home.”
“Yes ma’am,” he returned and she gave him the bird. Chuckling, he went around the other side as the quad turned over and peeled out, heading back the way they came.
“How is he?” he asked Rosilynn as he approached.
“He’s lost a lot of blood. If he didn’t need me right now, I’d take this rifle and go do some hunting of my own,” she spat, her eyes glaring at him. She was not going to be happy with how he handled things any time soon.
“Take my quad and get him back to the compound,” he told her, trying not to meet the icy stare she was giving him. “I can’t leave Paul like this.”
They were moving him now and he winced at the sight of his wounded friend. He was always the strongest of them and to see him like that now was devastating. If this could happen to him, what chances did the rest of them have?
Rosilynn got onto the quad and the two men strapped Matt to her back, keeping him upright as she drove. “I’ve got him,” she told them, then turned the quad over and took off.
“The compound is about a mile that way,” he told the sheriff, turning back to the Huey.
“If it’s all the same, I’ll stick around and give you a hand,” the man returned, stepping with him towards the helicopter.
He nodded, wondering what he was going to use for a shovel. Maybe use the butt of his gun or a piece of wreckage. He glanced back the way the girls had gone and wondered what else could go wrong today? He knew better than to ask questions like that, but when he looked at their downed helicopter, the only real way they have of going out and helping other people, he felt his hope diminish. Yes, they had made it back, but at what cost? How many more had to die before this was over?
“My name’s John,” the sheriff told him, extending his hand. They were standing there looking over the dead eaten body of his friend and he knew he might not have the stomach for this.
“Todd,” he responded weakly, giving the hand a slight pump. “I don’t think I’m up to burying him. Do you think it would burn?”
“Let’s find out,” John answered, ripping a long piece of cloth off of Paul’s shirt and walking towards the gas tank.
Moments later he had it lit and the two of them backed across the clearing as far as they dared to go. The tank ruptured and the Huey exploded. As he stood there and watched it burn, he suddenly thought, well, there’s something that was in a movie that looks just right.
Chapter 29
Family
Manny
Clifton, AZ
There was a barric
ade ahead and the truck was rolling to a stop. Blocking the road were four to five cars and a few motorhomes on either side. There were men behind the vehicles that had weapons pointed at them and he wondered how many had an itchy trigger finger—he did not want to find out.
He heard the older man in the front seat grunt and the worried murmurings out of the older lady, but it didn’t register at first, he was busy eyeing the men before them.
While it was true that he had the knack for not taking anything seriously, that didn’t extend to situations like this. He wanted to tell the old guy to hit the gas, try to force their way through, but they’d never make it.
Alicia was fidgeting in the seat next to him and he tried once again to comfort her, but she wouldn’t have any of it. He shook his head, his long black swaying, and rolled his eyes.
“Henry, is that Jason over there?” he heard the older lady ask, pointing to the left. Most of the men were wearing coveralls and some had some hastily thrown on football pads for protection. None of them looked like they were well trained in battle, but all looked at home with a gun. Especially the guy she was indicating, who was holding a long-barreled riot gun pointed in their direction. He had short brown hair and a scarred face. His eyes though, they reminded him of Todd, and he felt a surge of hope come to life.
The old man didn’t respond, just opened the door and got out, hands in the air. “Just passing through fellas,” Henry said, trying to sound passive about it.
“Henry?” came a voice from across the road. A man stepped out from behind the barricade and came into view. He was about the same age as the older man, with short black and gray hair and a goatee. He was wearing coveralls as well and held a deer rifle in one hand.
“James?” the old man said in response and began moving forward. The guns had begun to lower and Lynn was getting out as well.
Well, he would follow after, but he thought he’d stay back by the truck until things were sorted out. No sense standing there with ten guns pointed at him and nowhere to run. Alicia made no move to get out and he believed she had the right idea; duck and hide.
Charon's Blight: Day Two (the Rotting Souls series Book 2) Page 17