“You make a fair point,” Jax admitted. “But speed and stealth are keys to our mission. We’re not looking for a fight with anyone. Hunger and dehydration are a bigger threat.”
“You might not be looking for zombies, but they’re looking for you,” Abby replied. “And they feel the same way about food as you do.”
“I think we’ll take our chances with that,” Jax said, his tone making it clear that the conversation was over.
Abby scoffed and shook her head, which was the most disrespect she’d allow herself to show. She may not have been under Jax’s military command, but he was still a man worthy of respect. “As I was,” she said, using a piece of military slang that roughly translates to ‘never mind’. She then dropped the extra magazine back and reached for another bottle of water to finish filling up her Camelbak.
She understood Jax’s reasoning. They hadn’t faced even a single zombie yet, let alone an entire horde, and having been out in the Wild for a while now it was starting to feel safe. The threat of zombies simply wasn’t as real to him yet as it was to Abby. She hoped he’d never have to learn of it.
Wasting little time, the posse was back on the road in a matter of minutes. Not long after leaving the resupply point, Hiamovi rode up beside Abby and said, “Hey, for what it’s worth I think you were right about the ammo. I’m sorry I didn’t speak up back there but Gunny can be a stubborn guy if you push him too far.”
“It’s fine,” Abby replied in a clipped tone. “I don’t expect you to be insubordinate for my sake. I’m not your girlfriend, remember?”
Her words were a little harsher than she had perhaps intended, but she was still a little frustrated that Jax had dismissed her concerns out of hand. He may have given her the chance to plead her case, but he clearly had already made up his mind before she even started explaining herself and that bothered her.
“Sorry,” Abby said before Hiamovi even had the chance to respond. “I didn’t mean to take my frustrations out on you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I understand,” said Hiamovi. He flashed her a quick smile then pulled his horse away, giving her the space she needed at the moment.
They continued on their eastward road for a few more days, pausing for several hours each day so the main force behind them could catch up. The Rocky Mountains had been slow going and the top generals didn’t want the recon teams getting too far ahead. During this down time, Abby and the others would relax, do a little exercise, or practice reloading their weapons. Abby favored this last option as her reloading speed had suffered badly in the last few years and she wanted to be as quick as she used to be.
Finally the group passed over the Colorado/Kansas border at around lunch time. Jax called a halt so that the horses could graze and drink, and so that he and the others could eat. The group sat in a circle in some grass near a small stream and some trees and dug in greedily.
“About damn time, Gunny. This chili mac has been calling my name for hours,” said Chad as he sat down and tore into his MRE.
“Hearing voices is something you should probably get checked out,” Jax replied without looking up from his own MRE.
“Clinically stupid is my professional diagnosis,” said Miguel, eliciting some chuckles from the others.
“Hey Doc, how ‘bout you diagnose these nuts?” Chad replied.
“Small and sad,” Miguel said in reply, which got even more laughter than the first line.
“Alright, alright, fuck you guys,” Chad said as he busied himself with preparing his meal.
Abby sat next to Hiamovi, still preferring his company as she slowly got to know the twelve other Raiders. “Which one you got?” she asked him.
“Cheese tortellini,” Hiamovi replied. “Not my favorite.”
“I like that one. I’ll trade if you want,” Abby said. She offered Hiamovi her MRE, which was labeled ‘Maple Pork Sausage’.
“Really? You sure?”
“Yeah. I like cheese tort more than this one.”
Hiamovi happily made the exchange with Abby and was about to say something but was interrupted.
“I sure hope you folks ain’t lookin’ for me,” said a deep voice with a lazy drawl.
Everyone snapped their attention from their food to the mysterious voice. Just fifty feet away from the group stood an older man with grey hair and a short beard, both dirty and unkempt. No one had seen or heard him coming, even the guys who were facing his direction. He seemed to have simply sprang up from the ground with a bemused smile and a walking stick.
“Who in the hell are you?” demanded Kurtis as he and the others reached for their weapons.
“My birth name died long ago and far away from here,” the old man replied. “You folks may call me…Mr. Marrane.”
“And why would we be looking for you, Mr. Marrane?” asked Jax. He did not show any nervousness in his face or voice, but his hand remained on the grip of his handgun all the same.
“You folks are military, are you not?” Mr. Marrane replied as he shifted his walking stick from his right hand to his left. “And Arthur sure as shootin’ don’t like dissidents. He’s not sending hit squads out into the Wild now, is he?”
“Arthur is dead,” Jax replied. “Has been for a few years now. We’re here scouting the terrain and looking for people who may need help.”
Mr. Marrane’s eyebrows arched up. “Are you now? Well, that is the best news I’ve heard in quite some time.”
That was all he said. After a pause of several seconds, Jax continued, “So are you in need of help, sir?”
Mr. Marrane smiled wide, baring his yellowed teeth. “A man like me can’t be helped until the day that the trumpets sound and the angels sing. No sir, I do not need your assistance.”
“Is there anyone else around here you know of?” Abby asked.
Mr. Marran’es smile faded. “Yes ma’am, there’s some folks not too far from here who could possibly use some help.”
“Where are they?”
“To be honest, I don’t rightly remember,” said Mr. Marrane. “I left them a few years back and have just been a-wanderin’ ever since. But the man who leads them is not a good man or a smart one. I’m certain they’re in need of help.”
“How many people are there?” Abby asked.
“Twenty-three when I left.”
“Well, we will be on the lookout for these folks, Mr. Marrane,” said Jax. “Thank you for bringing them to my attention.”
“Don’t thank me,” Mr. Marrane said, his face taking on a stern countenance. “I don’t think these folks will be happy to see other people. In fact, I’d caution you to keep your distance. But should you stumble upon them, I implore you to give them all the help they require.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” asked Chad.
Mr. Marrane said nothing further. He touched two fingers to his forehead in a kind of salute, then began to walk away. Eastward, Abby noted.
“Hey!” she called. “Civilization is the other way!”
“You sure about that?” Mr. Marrane said without ever looking back.
Everyone watched the old man walk away until he was just a dot on the horizon, vexed by his mysterious arrival and demeanor.
“Fuckin’ weirdo,” Chad said, breaking the silence.
“Sounded like he was high as a kite,” added Miguel.
“Smelled like it too,” said Hiamovi.
“You ever meet that guy before, Abby?” asked Jax.
Abby shook her head. “Nope, not him.”
“Well, he’s gone now. And thank you for watching our six, assholes,” Jax said, fixing a hard stare on the guys across from him, the ones who should have been able to spot the old man coming.
“I swear to God that guy just materialized out of thin air, Gunny,” said Chad as he put one hand over his heart.
“Yeah, whatever. Just keep fucking sharp so we don’t get snuck up on again, would you?”
“What about that group of people he mentioned?�
� said Todd.
“Yeah, that was weird. First he tells us they need help, then says to keep our distance,” said Yuri.
“Like I said, we’ll keep sharp and watch out for anyone. This information doesn’t change anything about our mission. Like Miguel said, the old dude was probably high off his ass, anyway.”
They finished their lunch quickly and continued on their way. Several hours later, when the sun began to dip below the horizon, they stopped for the night at a large, two-story farmhouse that sat near a major highway. Jax picked this location because there was a separate, intact barn in which they could shelter the horses for the night.
Once the horses were stabled, fed, and locked into the barn, the group made their way into the house, heading upstairs and splitting up into three of the four bedrooms. Abby went to sleep as fast as she could, knowing she would be pulling the second hour of firewatch.
The second and second to last hour of firewatch was always the most miserable, as Abby had learned during her time in the DAS boot camp. With the second, that first hour of sleep was barely worth it, and with the second to last shift there was almost no point in going back to sleep. Either way, you ended up with less sleep than everyone else, an unwelcome prospect.
Abby managed to fall asleep almost immediately, but when Kurtis roused her for her shift she felt as if her eyes had only just closed.
“You awake?” Kurtis whispered, nudging Abby with the toe of his boot.
Abby nodded and sat straight up, her face contorted in a yawn and her arms bent behind her head as she stretched. Kurtis walked away to carry on watching while Abby pulled on her boots and laced them. She reached for her shirt but decided against it. The air was still warm enough so that her tanktop would suffice.
She stood up, put her hair into a ponytail, and strapped on her weapons: pistol, tomahawk, and rifle. Last, but certainly not least, she grabbed a snack she’d been saving from her dinnertime MRE, a pack of M&M’s, and strode towards Kurtis.
“You’re good,” she said as she popped a small handful of M&M’s into her mouth.
“Can I get a couple?” Kurtis asked as he turned away from the window. Abby held the brown bag over his extended hand and shook free some of the brightly colored candies. Kurtis thanked her then left her alone.
With a sigh, Abby posted herself up in front of the window of the empty room, ready for an uneventful watch.
But not even a quarter of an hour had transpired before Abby heard the sound of soft footfalls behind her in the hallway. She turned and saw Jax walk in through the open door, also dressed and armed.
“It’s not time to switch, and you’re not even next,” Abby whispered.
“I’m still wide awake. Figured I’d come join you for a bit,” Jax replied. He pulled a chair up along the wall next to Abby and sat down, facing away from the window. Reaching into one of his cargo pockets, he retrieved a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He held the pack up to Abby, offering her a smoke but she shook her head.
“Can’t find any sleep?” Abby asked as Jax lit up a cigarette.
“Looks that way. It’s one of those nights,” Jax replied, giving Abby a look like two people do with an inside joke, only this was no joke.
Abby understood the meaning and nodded. “I still have those nights. Not as bad or as frequent as a few years ago, but they still happen.”
Jax shook his head. “It’s still hard to believe that such a young woman knows exactly what I mean. By all rights you should have no idea what I’m talking about.”
“It is what it is. I’ve seen some bad stuff, done some bad stuff, and had bad stuff done to me. But I’m still here, just taking it one day at a time and feeling okay for now.”
“That’s good. I like your way of looking at it. You know, they don’t show it but most of the guys look up to you. You’re a hero to them. Hell, the younger ones like Chad and Max even wish they could have been in your shoes during the war.”
“Why would they want that?”
“They know about the good you did. They want that kind of combat experience, and the glory that comes with it.”
Abby shook her head. “There’s no glory in anything I did. I’d trade shoes with them in a heartbeat if it meant I was never a hero. A whole hell of a lot of people I loved would still be alive.”
“I know that,” Jax said, nodding his head. “You, Kurtis, Hiamovi, and a couple others know that, too. The young ones don’t know it, though. They’re still hoping to pop their combat cherry on this little trip.”
“God, I hope we don’t.”
“Me too. I’ve seen more combat than I care to remember. Most of my ‘bad stuff’ comes from Fallujah, my first time in combat. There’s been a lot I’ve done since, but that was the big one for me.”
Abby perked up a bit when she heard this. “My dad was in Fallujah, he was a Marine too. Did you know him?”
“Maybe. What was his name?”
“Zach. Zach Davidson.”
“Davidson,” Jax repeated. He snapped his fingers and said, “Yeah, Davidson!”
“Really?” said Abby, her grey eyes lighting up like distant stars.
“Yeah! Big guy with blond hair?”
The smile on Abby’s face died and she shook her head. “No. Wrong Davidson.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I shouldn’t have expected you to know him. There’s a lot of Marines out there.”
A silence followed, and Abby’s crestfallen face turned back to the window as Jax puffed on his cigarette.
“So why are you doing this?” Jax finally asked, blowing out a cloud of nicotine-laced smoke.
“Figured I oughta help.”
“That’s awfully noble.”
Abby shrugged and turned to face Jax. “Heammawihio said my knowledge of what’s out here would help at least one of the teams. Seemed like the right thing to do.”
“There’s gotta be somethin’ else.”
“There may be.”
“Is it Hiamovi?”
Abby looked out the window again, hoping Jax hadn’t seen her immediate reaction to that suggestion.
“Ah! I saw that,” Jax laughed, pointing one of his thick fingers at Abby. “I saw that smile, and all I did was mention his name.”
Abby laughed and said, “Alright, first of all, I didn’t even know Hiamovi was gonna be here until I’d already decided to come. Well, I was pretty certain I’d come. And second of all…I don’t know. I’m really enjoying spending time with him again, but what’s the point if we’re not getting back together?”
“Who says you’re not getting back together?”
“Me. I messed up so bad the first time, Jax. That woman I became was scary. What if I go back to that?”
“I don’t believe you would. I’m usually loath to hand out second chances myself, but you’ve clearly changed in a very big way. I think the woman you are now is the woman you’re going to be for the rest of your life. Any man would be lucky to have your love.”
Abby sat in silent reflection, so Jax went on. “You gotta forgive yourself, Abby. Trust me on this one, and learn from my mistakes. You say you’re doing okay for now, and that’s good. But until you learn how to forgive yourself, you’ll never be truly okay. It’ll always just be ‘okay for now’. And that’s not a mindset you want to be in for very long.”
“I know,” Abby sighed. Jax was giving her deeper advice than he even knew. Abby knew she had to forgive herself for what she did to Hiamovi, and she was working on that. But there was more forgiveness she needed, for a much older transgression. That would be waiting for her at the end of her road, alongside a makeshift grave near an abandoned prison. This coming confrontation was the real reason for Abby joining this expedition, and it scared the hell out of her.
“I mean, Hiamovi sure as shit has forgiven you,” Jax said. “The way he talks about you. Hell, he made you that dope-ass tomahawk.”
“This was pretty cool,” Abby agreed, smiling. She held her t
omahawk up to the moonlight streaming in through the window.
“We actually helped him a little with that,” Jax admitted. “Miguel used to be a metal worker, and we came across some equipment up in Alaska when we were helping the community there get back on their feet.”
“I heard that went pretty smooth.”
“It did. First, we— ”
A ghoulish scream cut Jax off and he jumped to his feet. More screaming joined the first, and they were getting louder.
“Z-zombies?” Jax stuttered, unable to hide his fear.
“Zombies,” Abby replied. She turned and poked her head into the hallway.
“Zombies!” she screamed.
Chapter Nine
Within seconds, every Raider was armed and ready, standing at windows. The flashlights on their rifles faintly illuminated the interior of the house while red lasers criss-crossed each other and cast moving dots all along the old wooden floors.
Abby had to shout now to be heard over the screams of both zombie and horse. She hoped the horses wouldn’t escape, and that the zombies wouldn’t go after them.
“Stay away from the windows!” she yelled. “They can break through windows!”
Kurtis stood by a window in the bedroom across the hall from Abby, peering out into the darkness. He turned to Abby and said, “But we’re on the second floor.”
Crash!
Glass shattered and sprayed forward as two pairs of pale arms wrapped themselves around Kurtis’ head and torso. With a scream and a burst of fire from his rifle, he was yanked out and down, into the darkness.
“Anyone else wanna question the expert here?” Abby said in frustration. She did not mean to seem so uncaring about the sudden death of a comrade, but now was not the time to mourn Kurtis. “We have to funnel them! I’ll bring ‘em up, have the gun ready!”
Jax shouted further instructions to his men as Abby set her rifle aside and bolted down the stairs. This fight was going to be in very close quarters, and a rifle, even one with a shortened barrel, would not be mobile enough for what she planned to do.
Leaping the last few steps to the ground floor, Abby held her pistol with her left hand and her tomahawk with her right. For the moment, no zombies were inside, but she was about to change that. She fired three bullets out of the first floor windows, hoping to get the attention of the horde, and it worked.
His Name Was Zach | Book 3 | Their Names Were Many Page 7