by TW Brown
“Now you will receive your first official orders.” Captain Gould returned to sitting behind his desk.
“My first official orders?”
“You think I intend to waste your talents on teaching kids how to march in a straight line?” the captain asked.
“So I’m not the recruiter?”
“Oh yes, sergeant. You will open the office as I stated earlier. You will be in charge of assembling a proper company and training them in what we need. I could give two shits if they can shine boots. I want killers and defenders. I want people who will follow orders even if it means shooting their mothers.”
“Then what is the—”
“I want the mayor assassinated tonight,” the captain said in a voice barely above a whisper.
The man now recognized as Sergeant Charles Monterro felt a tingle begin in his belly. He eyed the man behind the desk a bit more closely.
“Yes, Slider,” the captain nodded as he watched the realization dawn on the man’s face who had, up until now, seen him as little more than a pencil pusher…a frat boy playing soldier. “I read your sealed file and am quite aware of the services that you have rendered your country.”
“You’re asking me to eliminate a citizen…an official of this community,” Chuck said flatly. “You want it done today. You want it done without planning, without recon.”
“Surely you aren’t trying to make me believe you can’t eliminate some back-slapping yokel who is probably passed out on his homemade whiskey before dark.”
“No, sir.”
“So is there going to be any problems with this assignment?” Captain Gould asked.
“None.”
“Then you are dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.” The man saluted smartly and turned on his heel. Already he was feeling his body come alive with the rush that came from doing what he did best.
“And one more thing, Slider,” the captain called as he was about to shut the door.
“Yes, sir?”
“Good hunting…I believe that is what they say, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
Charles “Slider” Monterro closed the door and exited the small Quonset hut that acted as battalion headquarters. As he returned to the tent he called home, Charles Monterro melted away. Slider was back, and he had a purpose.e
9
Geek History
Kevin pulled his coat up around his face. The wind continued to blow and the tiny crystals of ice stung his cheeks. He squinted his eyes and stepped out from under the cover of the overhang that sat above the entrance to the country club’s main building.
A few moments later, Aleah joined him wrapped in so many layers, it was impossible to tell what a shapely body waited underneath. Kevin shook his head to clear those thoughts, now was not the time.
“Are we going to talk about this?” Aleah had to pull the scarf covering her mouth down in order to talk and be heard.
“It’s simple,” Kevin said with a shrug. “The baby needs that medication that Peter was talking about. Without it, she will most likely die.”
“And why is that you have to be the one to go out for it?” she demanded, her voice reaching a level that had no problem being heard over the storm.
“Peter can’t go because we can’t afford to risk our only doctor, Matt can barely walk, that leaves—” he started ticking off the reasons on his fingers, but Aleah grabbed is hand.
“That leaves me, Heather, and Shari!”
“This isn’t about you being a woman, or any of that nonsense. The simple answer is that I am the best person to make this run and have an above average shot at being successful,” Kevin explained.
“And you are also the one who made the decree that nobody leaves alone,” Aleah reminded. “You said that anything could happen, and it isn’t just about zombies. You could fall and hurt yourself.”
“This run is all on foot,” Kevin said. “I am going to be moving as fast as I can because Peter says that the baby has forty-eight hours tops if her fever doesn’t break. I won’t be bringing a bunch of gear, just basic weapons, protective stuff and a few canteens.”
“I’m coming with you,” Aleah insisted.
“I hate to say it,” Kevin took her gloved hands in his and looked into her eyes, “but you are still sporting stitches from the last run. If something happens and those tear, we are screwed.”
“Then you have to take Heather.”
“Why are you so insistent on this?” Kevin eyed her suspiciously.
“I just have a bad feeling is all,” she said. Now her voice was barely audible above the wind that howled and whistled.
Kevin understood the sentiment. The past day and a half had been strange. Valarie had suddenly stopped talking to anybody. She just stared with a blank expression and didn’t say a word. Shari had even tried to get her to sing, but nothing worked.
Then the baby came down with pneumonia. Erin had seemed apathetic at best. Shari had been far more upset and concerned; at least that was Kevin’s take. When Peter announced that the baby was in dire need of medication or she would die, Shari cried and Erin just sat there.
“I’ll ask Heather, but if she isn’t up for it, then I go solo,” Kevin agreed.
“No need,” a voice called out as a bundled up figure that could only be Heather stomped through the shin-deep snow. “Aleah and I already talked and I have my stuff, let’s go.”
Kevin glanced at the two and shook his head. He should probably be a little annoyed, but he couldn’t find it in himself. He kissed Aleah and started off down the winding road that led up to the country club. His feet were practically numb by the time he reached the main gate.
Hauling the ladder to the wall, he climbed up and took a look at the immediate vicinity. No movement was a good sign. He would count it a blessing every quarter mile he travelled and only had to focus on either the weather or the undead. The moment it was both, things became exponentially more difficult.
There would be no pharmacy this time. This run had a lot more ways to go wrong. He would be going door-to-door through the upscale housing community nearby. He would not be searching the house, but instead checking first for small children to have resided in the house. Then, he would check the bathroom as well as anyplace that might be used for children’s medication. He was searching for ampicillin and either gentamicin or cefotaxime. The first he knew, the others he had to admit he had never heard of before.
“So you wanna tell me what the story is with Valarie?” Heather broke the silence they’d been travelling in for the past hour.
“What do you mean?” Kevin asked as he trudged along trying to find a balance between being careful where he stepped and making sure nothing snuck up on them.
“You have this thing about you when it comes to her that I can’t figure out,” Heather prodded. “You are protective over her in a way that is different from anybody else. You don’t baby her…heck, I don’t know what I’m trying to say; you’re just different.”
“My sister,” Kevin said.
“Your…” Suddenly it made sense. Kevin very seldom spoke of family, but when he did, he talked about his sister. It was obvious that he loved her very much and missed her more than he would actually say.
“Sara…” Kevin started, but felt his throat tighten. “She came as a bit of a surprise. So instead of menopause, my mom got pregnant. She was forty-nine and a crazy Catholic. She refused tests and said that if God blessed her with a child, then the least she could do is care for it.
“The day they brought her home, I was actually on break from college. I’d done some research on the likely problems that a woman could expect when having a child later in life. Did you know that one in ten children born to women at age forty-nine have Down Syndrome?”
Heather had learned when Kevin was being rhetorical. Actually, she was proud of herself for knowing what the word “rhetorical” meant. She moved off a few feet and plunged her walking stick-slash-spear i
nto an odd-shaped mound of snow. Just garbage. She returned her attention to Kevin as he continued to speak.
“At first I was really pissed at my mom for bringing this child into the world. She would never have a normal life. Of course, that’s what I thought. I had no idea what a “normal” life was, but I was already certain that she would not have one. I wanted nothing more than to get back to school and away from her…” Kevin’s voice faded.
“And then what happened?” Heather knew her friend well enough to hear that there was more to the story.
“I was leaning over her in the seat they brought her home in, my hand resting on the edge of it,” Kevin’s voice grew strained. “I was alone with her as my mom and dad brought in the rest of the stuff from the car. I was telling her how wrong it was that she was born. I knew she couldn’t understand, but I needed to say it all and get it off my chest. Then…she grabbed my finger. I know she didn’t do it intentionally, but it was like something happened…passed between us. I know it’s stupid—”
“It’s not,” Heather assured him. “In fact, it’s beautiful.”
“After that, I couldn’t get home soon enough during my breaks from school. I set up a computer for my mom and showed her how to use it to send me videos.
“When she turned two, she still wasn’t walking and my mom was getting really upset. I came home that summer, and while my folks were gone for a weekend getaway, I stayed home with Sara. It took all weekend, but when my parents came home…she took a few steps. It wasn’t much, but my mom burst into tears.”
Heather caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She shielded her eyes a bit and took a look, simultaneously raising a hand to silence Kevin.
A pair of dark figures moved away from a cluster of trees. It only took a few seconds for both Kevin and Heather to realize that these weren’t zombies. Very casually, Kevin unslung his shotgun and unfastened the flap on the holster of his Smith & Wesson M&P .357 sig. Likewise, Heather unholstered her twin Colt .45s.
“Whoa!” the one on the left—and the much larger of the two—called, raising his hands. “We’ve been watching you for almost ten minutes. If we’d wanted to do anything, we had the drop on you that whole time.”
“And you could’ve been waiting to see if we were just a scout party for a larger group,” Kevin retorted.
Heather never ceased to be amazed at how his mind worked. She’d been ready to relax after the man gave his spiel. Now she was back on guard and her thumb eased off the safety so that, if the time came, she was ready to take care of business.
“That’s a good point,” the man nodded. “Wish I’d thought of that. So I take it you all have run into some bad folks.”
“Once or twice,” Kevin said, working to keep his voice calm. “So you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t relax.”
“And I imagine travelling with that young lady has you always on guard,” the man added.
Both of them had stopped walking. The smaller of the two still hadn’t spoken, and with all the winter gear, Kevin couldn’t get a good look. What he really wanted was to be able to see the person’s eyes. That was a good way to get a line on an individual and their intentions.
“We can’t be too careful, can we,” Kevin agreed.
“So since you obviously have somebody you need to watch over, you have to make extra certain about everything, am I right?”
“Mister,” Kevin tried to keep the irritation out of his voice, “if you have something to say, just do it. I have no desire to stand out in this storm any longer than need be.”
“Okay,” the man agreed. “Mary, pull that hood off so these folks can get a look at you.”
The second person stepped closer to the man, peeled back the hood of the heavy parka and then removed a ski mask. Long sandy colored hair fell down past the shoulders. Kevin guessed her to be twelve…maybe.
“This is my little girl,” the man placed an arm around the girl’s shoulders and pulled her close. “And I will tell you truth…I’ve killed to keep her safe. Not just the zombies; I’ve killed a few men who thought to take my little girl from me.”
“I imagine you have,” Kevin said with a solemn nod.
“I gotta say, I’ve seen a few small groups pass by, but not one that I felt comfortable approaching,” the man admitted. “I saw you two, and I could tell that she was with you by choice.”
“So are you brother and sister or something,” the girl blurted.
“Mary,” the man said in a slightly scolding tone.
“No, we aren’t related,” Heather answered. “Kevin rescued me from a total perv.”
“Wouldn’t know anything about all those women on crosses by that big building shaped like a basket would you?” the man asked.
“Actually, I know quite a bit about that place,” Kevin admitted. “I also know those folks ain’t gonna be hurting anybody any more.”
“Hard to believe some of the things I’ve seen since this all started,” the man sighed.
“My name is Kevin Dreon.” He had heard enough to at least give his name. “This is Heather Godwin.”
“My name is Paul James, and this is my daughter Mary.”
“Mary James?” Kevin asked, trying to conceal a smirk.
“Yeah,” Paul chuckled, “when her mother insisted on naming our daughter Mary after her grandmother, we weren’t married. I guess we really never thought about it until we decided to tie the knot. By then she was already four months old; we tried calling her by her middle name, but Louise just didn’t fit.”
“And I would absolutely hate you if I grew up as a Louise,” Mary groaned.
This earned chuckles from both Kevin and Heather. Kevin considered his next move very carefully, weighing out all the possibilities, and finally decided that these two were the most likely candidates that he could ever hope to encounter. If not now, then when?
“Look,” Kevin cast a look at Heather who nodded in understanding, “as I said when we met, I don’t want to stay out long in this weather. However, I am actually out in this with a purpose.” He explained quickly what it was exactly that he and Heather were doing. He began walking, gesturing that the other two come along as his way of extending an informal invitation.
“You folks have an honest-to-goodness doctor?” Paul asked with undisguised incredulity.
“Technically he was a third-year intern, but for all intents and purposes…yeah,” Kevin said.
“Hell, I imagine you’d have as hard a time keeping tabs on him as you do on that young lady.”
“Actually,” Kevin grew just a bit grim, “he was with that bunch at The Basket for a while.”
Paul seemed to falter a bit in his step. He placed a hand on his daughter’s shoulder to bring her to a stop as well. “Maybe you should tell me a little bit more about this doctor of yours.”
“He orchestrated the rescue of two women when he made his escape,” Kevin explained. “And to be fair, he was actually captured by those goons. He was smart enough to do what he needed to in order to survive. The first chance he got, he bolted. Turns out he did it just in time, because that place was overrun a few days later.”
The party of four resumed their trek through the snow. As they did, the wind began to pick up, making it difficult to carry on much of a conversation. Eventually, the uneven horizon signaled that they were approaching the residential area.
Kevin pulled up and turned to face the others, placing the wind at his back. “You two don’t have any stake in this,” he said. “If you would rather stay here and wait for us, or hole up in one of the houses with a big X spray painted on the front door, that is totally understandable.”
“If you are gonna be so hospitable as to allow us to follow you home and share in your shelter, the least we can do is help. But I gotta confess, you may need to write down that medication you’re looking for,” Paul admitted. “I was a welder back in the days before all this; Mary’s mom knew all the stuff about what a baby needed…” His voice trailed off
and his chest heaved noticeably as he struggled to keep from sobbing. He brushed at his eyes with gloved hands and Mary leaned into a hug.
Kevin stood quietly for a moment to allow the pair to compose themselves. He wondered how recently they had lost Mary’s mother. While he mourned his own losses, the most recent being Cary—a second time—he didn’t find himself getting all that choked up any more…mostly.
“Here.” Kevin handed the piece of paper that Peter had given them; he already knew what he was looking for.
“And you think that we should search bathrooms?” Paul asked.
“Pretty much,” Kevin agreed. “And maybe the baby’s room. If there were obviously no small children in the house, don’t waste time. Peter said that the child is on a bit of a clock. This is supposed to be an in and out run.”
“Sounds like you folks got quite a system,” Paul said with obvious admiration.
“So weren’t you in a group of any sort?” Kevin asked, realizing that, in all the stuff they had shared up to this point, Paul had said nothing about travelling with others.
He imagined that it was possible to go it alone for this long, but it just seemed unlikely. Besides the fact that there needed to be as many eyes watching for danger as possible, there were simply too many complications for one man to deal with. It wasn’t that he was selling Mary short; after all, he didn’t really know the girl. Still, with what little he’d seen, she was more like Shari and Erin, neither of which would last a single day by themselves.
“We ran with some folks here and there, but, and I think that maybe you can appreciate this, we have found the male-to-female ratio to be very lopsided. It has made for some uncomfortable situations,” Paul explained. “The last group got out of hand and it became too much.”
Kevin saw something flash across Mary’s face while her dad spoke that gave much more insight than he was providing with his narrative. And there was something else there…the best guess he could come up with was fear.