Edmund glanced around him, rubbing his hands together. “You know what,” he finally said, “push me off the building.”
Abby shook her head in surprise and said, “Really?”
“Aye, really. I always wanted to go skydiving, but never got the chance. Figured this would be the next best thing.”
Abby actually laughed a little and said, “Fine, but we’re doing it where you won’t land on anyone.”
They walked over to the other side of the roof, the westward side. Both Abby and Edmund glanced over the edge and saw no one below them. “This’ll do,” Edmund said.
“Well then, I guess this is it,” Abby said.
“Aye, this is it,” Edmund replied slowly. “If nothing else, I’m honored to have known you, Abby. Suppose that don’t mean much to ya since I’m a fuckin’ piece of shit, but I had to say it. So take that for whatever it’s worth.”
Abby shrugged her shoulders. “In a twisted way, you helped make me the woman I am. I guess that counts for something. And believe it or not, you’re not the worst man I’ve ever encountered, so you take that for what it’s worth.”
Edmund nodded his head and said, “I reckon I’ll try to make some peace with the Big Guy up there. Probably won’t do any good, but it couldn’t hurt to try.” He walked over to the edge and sat down, his legs dangling over the side of the building.
Abby took a step towards him but he turned his head suddenly. “Wait a second,” he said, a look of fear in his eyes. “One more favor, lass?”
“What is it?”
Edmund paused, then said, “Don’t tell anyone I got bit in the arse. Anything but that.”
Abby smirked. “I can do that.”
Edmund nodded his head and turned back towards the open air in front of him. “I’m ready when you are,” he said, his back to Abby. And then he closed his eyes and began muttering in a language Abby didn’t understand. Probably a prayer he’d learned from his mother, she assumed.
Abby let him go on for a moment or two before finally approaching him. She placed the sole of her boot in the middle of his back, between his shoulder blades, and actually felt a shudder run down his spine. But he said nothing to her, continuing his prayer without missing a beat…
…and then Abby pushed.
He toppled over the edge without a sound. Morbid curiosity forced Abby to glance down and watch as Edmund fell. He had rolled over so that he faced the sky, but she couldn’t tell if his eyes were open or not as the shadow of the building obscured his features. He still made no sound, nor did he flail his arms or legs as he fell. From this distance, he seemed completely unconcerned about his rapidly approaching death.
He hit the pavement a moment later.
Abby sighed and walked away from the side of the building. The pain from her injuries had set in now, so she could do little more than slowly limp along. She headed towards the open door that led to a lobby outside the bar, but stopped just short of the doorway. She looked back towards the western edge of the building one more time, once more wondering if she had just killed her father.
But she shook her head, and began her long descent down the stairs.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The stairs never ended.
In Abby’s condition, each flight of stairs was pure agony. She was not in danger of bleeding out, but she’d lost more than a little blood in her fight with Edmund. Her aching head made her dizzy and she nearly fell down the stairs more times than she could count. Every part of her body screamed at her to stop and take a rest, but she knew she couldn’t do that. If she stopped even for a moment then her entire body would shut down. Sheer momentum, the unconscious act of placing one foot in front of the other, was the only thing keeping her going at this point.
After what felt like hours, Abby finally saw what she was looking for: the ground floor. She would have smiled but she lacked even the strength to do that. Instead she continued to plod down the stairs.
Seven more. Six more. Five…
Four…three…two…
Last step.
Ground.
Abby stumbled to the door, pressing down on the lever and leaning into it, using nothing but her body weight to push it open. The door swung open easier than she expected and Abby tumbled onto the floor of the hotel lobby. With the last of her strength, she turned her head to face the windows and doors on the east side of the building that opened out into the sunny street beyond.
Sunrise.
Then she blacked out.
***
An explosion jolted Abby back to her senses and she pushed herself up to her knees. Though her head was still swimming her body did not feel like it was about to fall to pieces, and that was something. Rising up on unsteady feet, Abby ambled towards the lobby door as broken glass crunched underneath her boots. She leaned against the doorpost when she reached it and drew her pistol before venturing any further.
Once outside, Abby shaded her eyes with her hand to look at the rising sun. It was still low in the sky, which meant she hadn’t been unconscious for long at all. Looking down the street, she saw a familiar bridge and guessed that she was somewhere near a place once known as The Magnificent Mile. If she wanted to get back to camp, she’d have to—
Snap, snap, hiss!
Three rounds passed just over Abby’s head and she dove for cover behind the engine block of a rundown car in front of her.
“US Army! Surrender!” a young man’s shaky voice shouted from down the road.
“Oh for the love of…” Abby muttered as she holstered her handgun. Thrusting her hands up into the air she shouted back, “I’m on your side, you jackass!” She twisted her body to peek over the hood of the car and spotted a young man in that horrible grey camouflage pattern used by the US Army kneeling by a faded blue postbox a block away.
“My side?” the soldier shouted.
“Yes, your side! Can I come out or are you gonna shoot me?”
Silence stretched for a moment as the young man weighed his options. “Alright, come on out. Just…just keep those hands up though!”
Abby did as she was told and rose from her hiding spot with outstretched hands. She walked towards the young man while scanning all around, looking for other soldiers, but she saw none. Strange. Why is he alone?
“You wanna stop pointing that thing at me?” Abby asked when she came within fifteen feet of the soldier.
“Oh,” he said. He muttered something that Abby didn’t catch but he lowered his rifle. “Who are you? Why are you alone?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Abby said. “Where’s your squad?”
“Gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?”
“Gone.”
There was a long pause, and then the soldier added, “They weren’t supposed to have tanks and shit. We weren’t supposed to get hit like that.”
Now Abby understood. She nodded her head in understanding. “You got a radio? Have you contacted anyone for help?”
The young man pulled a green handheld radio out of a pouch on his side and handed it to Abby. “Piece of shit won’t work, I can’t get a hold of anyone. I’m not the radio operator, I don’t know what’s wrong with it.”
Abby took the radio and looked it over, trying to recall her extensive training with radios when she was with the DAS. “You tried anything to fix it yet?”
The young man shook his head.
“Got a spare battery for it?”
He handed her one of the chunky green batteries from his dump pouch.
Abby took this, switched the radio off, then detached the battery. She blew on the connections twice and snapped the new battery onto the radio. She turned it back on and waited for the little screen to light up.
“What’s your call sign?” she asked the soldier.
“Echo 3-3.”
Abby pressed the black button on the side of the radio and spoke into it, dropping her voice to approximate the pitch of the young man’s voice. “M
ain, main, this is Echo 3-3, radio check, over.”
Silence.
“3-3, this is Main, loud and clear. Where the hell have you been, over?”
Abby handed the radio back to the soldier, who took it and looked at Abby like she was some kind of witch. “That actually works?”
“Crazy, isn’t it?”
The soldier shook his head and spoke into the radio. “Main, 3-3. I’m the last man alive in my squad. A pair of tanks came out of nowhere and wiped us out. Please advise, over.”
After a moment, a much softer voice than before crackled over the radio. “Alright 3-3, just take a deep breath, okay? Tell us where you are and we’ll send a convoy to come get you, over.”
“Uh, roger. Wait one.”
The young man fished a laminated map out of his cargo pocket and unfolded it. “I have no idea where I am,” he muttered.
Abby leaned over to look at the map. She spotted the bridge she recognized, and pointed it out to the man. “We’re about a block south of here, I’m pretty sure.”
The man spoke into the radio again. “Main, 3-3. Looks like I’m about a block south of bridge Bravo-Seven, over.”
“Copy that, 3-3. Just sit tight, we’ve rerouted some trucks near your position and they’re coming to pick you up. Should be there in…two mikes.”
“Roger, Main. 3-3 out.”
The soldier slipped the radio back into the pouch on his side and blew out a tremendous breath. Pops of gunfire, some distant and others near, still peppered the air.
“I can’t feel my fucking legs,” the soldier said.
“Just take a seat,” Abby said, gesturing towards the curb. “They’re gonna get you out of here and then you can worry about everything on your mind, but right now you gotta stay focused on the present, okay?”
The man followed Abby’s beckoning without question and sat himself down. “We were moving down the street, and two tanks popped around the corner right in front of us. One moment we’re moving along at a jog, and the next…”
“Hey, you don’t have to talk about it right now,” Abby said as she sat down next to the man. “Stay here in the present, at least until we get you back.”
The soldier just shook his head. He looked over at Abby and furrowed his brow, as if he had just now noticed her presence. “What in the hell happened to you, anyway? And who even are you?”
Abby gave a short, rueful laugh. “That is a very long story to tell, and we don’t have the time for that. It’s not a very good story, anyway.”
The young man may have pressed her further, but at that moment they heard the roar of powerful engines grow louder, and a moment later three tan MAT-V’s rumbled over the bridge and headed straight for them. Abby and the soldier stood up to wave them down.
***
“Hey ‘Movi, you’re gonna want to see this,” said Chad. From his spot in the turret of the lead vehicle, he was the first one to see the soldier the Raiders had been told to pick up.
“See what?” Hiamovi asked. He leaned over in his seat and tried to look out the front of the vehicle but could not see clearly. His heart raced as he tried to temper his expectations. Could it really be her? What else could make Chad say such a thing if it wasn’t her?
The trucks came to a stop and Hiamovi shoved his door open. He hopped to the ground and jogged around the back of the truck to see…
“Abby!”
***
The shock she felt upon hearing her name stopped Abby in her tracks. “Hiamovi!” she cried as a smile took hold of her face.
They ran to meet each other but Hiamovi stopped short of embracing her. “Jesus, you look like hell.”
“Now is that any way to treat a lady?” Abby said with a raised eyebrow.
“Let me get Doc out here.”
“Don’t bother. It looks a lot worse than it is, trust me. Besides, we have to get out of here.”
Hiamovi nodded once and directed the soldier to get into the second vehicle. He complied without a sound, but Hiamovi and Abby remained standing where they were for a moment longer.
“Shall we?” Abby said, gesturing to the idling vehicle.
“Surely,” Hiamovi replied. A smile he couldn’t stop spread over his face. He took Abby by the hands and kissed her for a long second.
“Now let’s get out of here,” he said.
Chapter Thirty-Four
As the trucks rolled back into camp, they headed directly for a field hospital that was already busy with casualties. The soldier was dropped off with a chaplain and a Naval officer who appeared to be in charge of the hospital; he still had not said a word since sitting on the curb with Abby. The chaplain put an arm around the young man and guided him towards a more private area as the officer walked with them.
Abby, Jax, Miguel, and Hiamovi got out too while the others took the vehicles to be returned to the motor pool. Miguel had fussed over Abby the entire way back, checking her vitals and applying whatever immediate aid he could while in a moving vehicle.
As they entered the field hospital, they found General Sloan himself there in a bloodied uniform, checking on his men and assisting wherever he could.
“Abby,” he said, looking paler than usual, “you’re alive.”
“Seems that way,” she said with a shrug. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop this from happening. I failed.”
“Don’t you go taking blame that belongs to me,” Sloan replied. “I’m the commanding officer, I sent these men into battle, and they did what I told them. This,” he said, sweeping his hand around him, “this is on me.”
Unsure how to respond, Abby remained silent.
“You should get…all that checked out,” Sloan said to Abby after a moment’s pause. He pointed a shaky hand in the direction in which the young soldier had gone and said, “I need to go talk to that kid you brought back. I owe him an explanation, and a whole hell of a lot more.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll see you later, I’m sure,” Abby replied.
Jax and Hiamovi guided Abby to an open bed, which was really nothing more than a foam mat on the ground, while Miguel went to fetch some more medical supplies. Abby fidgeted with her hair as she sat on the mat next to Jax and her husband.
“Sorry ‘bout running off,” she finally said with a weak smile. “I had to try one more time to make Edmund see reason.”
“You did what you had to do. I respect that,” said Jax.
“So can you tell us what happened now?” Hiamovi said.
Abby nodded her head. “I’ll save the details for later since I’m sure the guys will want to hear. But long story short: I was captured, I fought with Edmund, and he’s dead now.”
“You killed him?” Hiamovi asked.
“Technically, he was dead already. We bumped into a zombie and he got bit, so I ended it all for him before he turned. Figured it counted as more of an act of mercy than taking a life.”
Both Jax and Hiamovi nodded their heads in silence. Miguel returned then and instructed Abby to take off her shirt, which she did.
“Looks like he did a number on you,” Jax said as he now saw the extent of Abby’s wounds.
“Yeah, you could say that,” she replied quietly. Speaking of Edmund again reminded her of the bombshell she learned of while talking to him up there on top of the building. She kept that to herself for now. She’d tell Hiamovi soon enough…but not yet.
Jax stood up and said, “We’ll see you back at our tents. I guess they’re mopping up the city now and don’t need us to go back.”
“Shouldn’t be too long,” Miguel said as he inspected the shallow stab wound in Abby’s side.
“Come on, ‘Movi. Let’s give these folks their space.”
“Right behind you, Gunny.”
Hiamovi turned to look at Abby. Neither one could keep the tears out of their eyes as they smiled at each other. He leaned down and kissed Abby as she lay on her back. “I love you so much, Abby.”
“And I love you, Hiamovi.”
***<
br />
Miguel busied himself for several minutes cleaning, stitching, and dressing Abby’s wounds. He found her an extra shirt when he was finished and they went together to rejoin the rest of the squad, going at a slow pace so as to not exhaust Abby.
“Abby!” a voice called.
“Heammawihio,” Abby said as she and Miguel turned around.
“You’re alive.”
“That seems to come as a surprise to a lot of people.”
“When you didn’t return, we began to fear the worst. What happened?”
Abby shrugged. “Got caught after blowing up their food. They took me to Edmund, we fought, and now I’m back here.”
“Is Edmund…”
“Dead.”
“I see,” said Heammawihio. “No great loss to the world. I am sorry this did not end the way you wished it would. It didn’t play out the way I’d hoped, either.”
“Funny how life works,” Abby said. She stepped forward to hug the old man, and he wrapped his arms around her gingerly.
“I must get back to the command center,” he said after a long pause. “I will come and see you and Hiamovi later tonight, I promise.”
“I’ll see you then,” said Abby.
She and Miguel resumed walking and soon found themselves back at their tents. The rest of the squad, including Vic, was there, sitting on their packs and eating. Vic, leaning heavily on crutches, had come up with the main element earlier in the morning and was talking with the guys. He looked up and a huge grin popped onto his face.
“Abby!” he cried.
The others looked back and saw Abby and Miguel coming. They immediately swarmed around her, hugging her and both admonishing her for leaving them the way she did but also congratulating her on getting out of a bad situation alive.
“It was fuckin’ wild in there, man,” said Chad. “You guys saw that goddamn building collapse, right? Abby, did you see that?”
Abby chuckled. “No, I didn’t see it. I was a little busy jumping out of it as it fell.”
“What?” came the collective response.
“You jumped out of a building?” asked Todd.
“Are you okay?” Hiamovi asked, unable to help himself even though he could see for himself that she was okay.
His Name Was Zach | Book 3 | Their Names Were Many Page 28