Simon raised a brow at her. “It wasn’t our decision, my love.”
“Sure it was.” She turned and gave him a confused look. “You’re the new leader. You should have just proclaimed them guilty then blew their heads off.” She pointed her finger to his temple and ‘pulled’ the trigger. “Bang. Splat. Go to breakfast.”
Simon sighed and fell back onto the mattress. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?”
He opened his eyes and stared at her. “They have to need us.” He sat up and took her hand. “If we roll in here, especially being new, and say, ‘I’m mad at these assholes because they wanted to do bad things’ and then shoot them without anybody’s say so? They won’t follow us willingly.”
“Who cares if they follow out of fear?” She stood and planted her feet, staring down at him. “They SHOULD fear us.”
Simon shook his head. “Those days are over. There are far too few people left to try to ride roughshod over them. They’d just run away or worse…turn on us.”
She shook her head. “No. They’re all too squeamish to stand up to you.”
“I’m not saying stand up to us, I’m saying run away.” He pulled her to him and gave her a gentle smile. “You want them to follow us, right? You want to be Empress, yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“In order for that to work and I mean, REALLY work, they gotta love us.” He pulled her to him. “They have to want us to lead them.”
She groaned as she fell to the bed next to him. “Fine,” she sighed.
“No…come on now. You have to be onboard completely.”
She rolled over and punched the mattress. “I don’t like it, but I’ll go with it.” She turned and narrowed her gaze at him. “How long will it take?”
“How long will what take?”
She sat up and punched him playfully. “For them to fall in love with us?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Who knows.” He pulled her back down to him and kissed her forehead. “However long it takes.”
She snuggled in next to him and rested her head on his chest. “I don’t like to wait.”
“I know.” He patted her arm then rubbed his good hand up and down her back. “But I can tell you this. As long as Trent and the nutsack twins are out there threatening them, they’ll be looking to us for protection.”
She looked up at him. “You really think? They sure weren’t too keen on offing those assholes.”
“People don’t like to get their hands dirty.” Simon smiled at her. “But the next time those jerks pop up and show their ugly mugs, I won’t ask for their blessing. I’ll remove the threat and inform them that it was for their own good.”
“Won’t that scare them off?”
He shook his head. “They might be a little shocked, but from a repeat threat? They’d rather have the protection.” He pulled her closer. “They’ll like the idea that one of the group has the intestinal fortitude to pull the trigger when the need arises.”
She sat up and stared down at him. “And you think that’s all it will take? Then they’ll love us?”
He shrugged. “They may not love us right away, but they’ll know they need us.” He gave her a wry grin. “Every group needs that one individual who is willing to get their hands dirty so the others can stay clean.”
“And that’s us.” She smiled broadly.
“That’s right, baby, somebody’s got to do it,” he pulled her to him again, “and that somebody is most definitely us.”
24
Hatcher spent the majority of the next day driving through the park and yelling for Shelly. He ventured off of the roads and checked some of the old animal trails. He couldn’t mask his disappointment when he discovered that most of them had grown over.
He stood over the bones of what he felt almost certain was once a buffalo. He picked at a few of the bones and noted the teeth marks. As he rolled the bone in his hands, noting the damage, he knew that the marks weren’t from any predators native to the park.
He dropped the bone and sighed as he came to his feet. “That explains why the trails are all but gone. They’ve stripped the park of wildlife.”
As he made his way back to the four wheeler, he paused, his eyes scanning the shadows of the forest. “They had food.” The realization struck him and he felt the corners of his mouth pull into a smile. “They had food.”
With a newfound enthusiasm, he mounted the ATV and turned back towards the station. He needed to pull his maps and resupply for the next leg of the mission.
He slid the ATV to a stop and bounced off, a new spring in his step. He entered the station without hesitation and turned for his office. He had just reached the door when he caught a shadow in his periphery.
At the exact moment he realized he wasn’t alone, a female voice yelled, “Don’t move!”
Hatcher stood still and slowly turned his head. In his heart, he truly hoped to see Shelly. He was disappointed to find a young woman shakily holding a pistol on him.
“What are you doing in that uniform?” He didn’t attempt to mask the disdain in his voice. “That isn’t yours.”
She thrust the pistol out more forcefully. “I said freeze!”
Hatcher slowly turned, his gaze narrowing on the frightened young woman. “I asked you a question.”
“And I told you n-not to move!”
He planted his hands on his hips and slowly shook his head. “I don’t have time for this.” He turned and walked into his office, leaving her in the middle of the station with a mask of total surprise.
“Hey!” she yelled, coming around the corner and facing his office. “I told you—”
“Look, I guess there’s nobody left to arrest you for impersonating a park ranger, but—”
“I AM a park ranger.” Her voice held a new confidence that Hatcher didn’t expect. She stepped closer, the pistol still outstretched in her hand. “And I told you not to move.”
Hatcher sighed and dropped the maps he held before he turned to her, his mouth a tight line. “I have things to do.” He waved her off. “Pick through whatever you want, but stay away from the locker room and this office.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed as she watched him totally dismiss her. “Who the hell are you?”
Hatcher sighed and lowered his head. “This was my station.” He turned to her and gave her a stoic look. “I knew all of the park rangers here, and you weren’t one of them.”
Her eyes widened and she lowered the pistol. “Are you Daniel?”
Hatcher froze then turned to her. “How’d you know that?”
She holstered her pistol and visibly relaxed. “I worked for Mitch Richardson.” Her voice softened as she stepped closer. “He brought me on during the last round of hirings and…” her voice trailed off.
Hatcher fell into his chair, a soft smile forming. “You worked with Mitch?”
She nodded. “I’d only been on for a couple of weeks when everything went haywire.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“You called him up to assist with the benefit concert.” She looked away, her lower lip quivering. “He told me to stay behind; that somebody had to man our outpost.”
“Son of a…” Hatcher groaned. “I didn’t even think about the other…” He sat up suddenly, his face hopeful. “Have you seen or heard from Shelly Montgomery?”
The young woman shook her head. “I’ve never heard of…wait.” She turned and pointed toward the locker room. “Those are her uniforms in there, aren’t they?”
Hatcher looked past her arm and had a ‘duh’ moment. “Yes.” He brushed by her and pushed open the door to the locker room. He stood in the doorway and stared at the mess. “Did you do this?”
She shook her head. “I saw it like that earlier.” She approached slowly from behind. “But no. I didn’t touch anything.”
Hatcher leaned against the open door and stared at the clothes strewn about. He noticed Shelly’s tapered unif
orm top and bent to pick it up. “I came back to find her.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied quietly. “I’ve only been to this station twice since the outbreak. I haven’t seen anybody.” Her voice softened as she spoke. “That’s kind of why I was so surprised to see the truck out there when I came by today.”
“What are you still doing here?” He turned and gave her a confused look. “Why didn’t you head home or go find your family?”
She sighed and shook her head. “I’m alone. No family, no place to call home.” She gave him a crooked smile. “Except here. Home is where you hang your hat, right?”
“But why stay?”
She shrugged. “It was hairy for a little while. But for the most part, the outpost is pretty isolated. I watched as the wildlife population dwindled. And I thought I saw people a time or two, but they didn’t look normal, so I avoided them.”
Hatcher gave her the once over. “You look pretty spit polished.” He raised a brow at her. “Do you have power at the outpost?”
She nodded. “I run the generator twice a week. Once for laundry and again to charge batteries.” She pulled her shirt out slightly. “You need to remember, I had just come on duty; I had nothing but brand new uniforms.”
Hatcher sighed and dropped Shelly’s top. He turned to her and held his hand out. “Daniel Hatcher. You are?”
She rolled her eyes. “An idiot for not introducing myself sooner.” She took his hand. “Missy. Missy Butler.”
“Are you sure?” Randy asked as he unbuckled the woman’s ankles.
“Of course I’m not sure,” Andre replied. “But she’s been coherent for over ten hours. I am no expert, but I don’t think psychedelics stay active in your system for that long.” He glanced at Carol. “Do they?”
She gave him a slow shrug. “I’ve never even smoked pot.”
“Miss Winegard,” Andre stated softly. “Once the guards are available, we’ll allow you to shower and clean up. However, the moment you are finished, we need you back here, in the lab. Do you understand?”
She nodded weakly, stretching her shoulder as she sat up. “I am so sorry.”
“For what?”
She glanced down to her soiled clothing. “I can’t believe that I…” her voice trailed off.
“Do not think of this,” Andre replied. He saw the two female soldiers enter the room outside the lab and he nodded to them. “These two ladies will escort you to the showers and get you a change of clothing.” He stepped in front of her and met her gaze. “Remember, the very moment you’re done, come back here.”
She nodded and slid off the table, her legs shaky as she stepped toward the two female soldiers.
Carol stepped next to him and asked, “Do you think she’ll maintain clarity?”
He slowly shook his head. “I have no idea.” He waved to Randy and David. “Sanitize the table, please.”
Broussard stepped toward the doors and pulled Carol with him. “Part of me hopes that the drugs act like a reset switch for whatever the mutated virus did to her brain.”
“I sense a huge ‘but’ coming.”
He nodded. “I just don’t see it. I half expect her to fly into a rage and begin attacking anybody close to her.”
“Hence the guards.”
“Female guards.” He raised a brow at her. “Nobody wants to try to shower and scrub off weeks of dried bodily waste while the opposite sex observes.”
Carol shuddered. “I wouldn’t want to have to do it regardless of who was watching.” She watched as Ms. Winegard was escorted through the blast doors. “Is it feasible to dose these people on a regular basis with something as unpredictable as LSD?”
“It was, for all intents and purposes, a very minute dose.” He sighed as he turned back to the lab. “But no. It is not.”
“Then if this doesn’t work, we need a more permanent answer.”
He nodded as he collected his notes. “Agreed.” He looked through the acrylic walls of the lab, into the cells where the others meandered. “Considering the state of the world, I don’t know how we could reach the others to get them treated…IF a single dose actually does the trick.”
“First things first,” Carol replied. “We find the answer for these people then we worry about the others.”
“Your arm is doing much better,” Vee stated as she put her supplies back into the medical bag. “Have you been doing the exercises I told you to do?”
Simon nodded. “The stretching ones really hurt, but I’m starting to get a little strength back.”
“Go easy on them.” She snapped the bag shut then turned to him. “The muscles in that arm were basically shredded. They need to be exercised, but gently. They’re still knitting back together.”
Simon gave her a confused look. “And you couldn’t sew them back together because…”
She stifled a smile. “Muscle tissue won’t hold stitches. It would be like trying to sew together jello; the stitch would simply rip right through.”
He gave her a confused look. “I’ve cooked steak before, doc. I don’t remember it being like jello.”
She nodded. “That’s dead flesh. Living flesh moves. Trust me, if you stitch together a couple of steaks on the hoof, it wouldn’t take much effort to rip the catgut right through the meat.” She patted his shoulder as she came to her feet. “You’re doing great. Just keep it up.”
Simon crossed his legs and watched as she turned for the door. “Why’d you stop us?”
Vee paused and turned, her confusion evident. “Excuse me?”
“I noticed a lot of people looked to you when we passed judgement on Trent and his boys.” He raised a brow at her. “Why’d you balk?”
She sighed as she turned away from the door. “Trent and I were…close.”
“And?”
She set her bag on the counter and crossed her arms. “We were just friends, but there was definitely an attraction between us.” She looked away. “I couldn’t believe he did what he did.”
Simon shrugged. “It makes sense.”
She looked at him, her brows knit in confusion. “How so?”
“He liked you. I mean, he really liked you.” He sat forward and stared at her. “He wouldn’t force himself on you because he cared about you.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “That blonde camp bimbo? He didn’t give two shits about her. If he hurt her, oh well.”
Vee shook her head. “That…no. No, Trent would never—”
“But he did.” Simon pushed off the couch and stared at her. “He liked you, so he wanted to save you from what they were doing.”
“If he liked me then why would he try to rape her?” She shook her head in denial. “That makes no sense.”
“Yes it does.” Simon sighed as he tried to put it into words. “Either he didn’t think that you and he would ever connect, or he figured it was inevitable and wanted to make the others pay beforehand. Who can tell what goes through a person’s mind. But I can tell you that if he truly cared about you, he’d do his damnedest to keep you away from their wrath.”
“Wrath?”
“Yeah. They were angry. They felt like they’d been looked down upon by the likes of these people their entire lives. Then when the shit gets real, they have to depend on people like Trent and Jake and Tommy…yet, they were still just losers.” Simon shook his head as stepped closer to her. “They were pissed. They felt taken advantage of and they wanted their pound of flesh.”
Vee shook her head as she backed towards the door. “I don’t believe…” The words caught in her throat and she paused, her hands shaking as she reached for her bag. “I can’t.”
“Nobody’s forcing you,” Simon said softly. “But you needed to know.”
She looked up at him. “Needed to know what?”
He shrugged. “That what they did was real. They were about to hurt somebody else.”
“But you stopped him.”
Simon nodded. “I know him. Well, I know people like him.” I used to
be him, he thought. “But I also know that if you two had some unspoken respect, or…I dunno, chemistry, maybe? Whatever it was, he would have kept you away from his ugly side.” He cradled his weak arm and gave her a soft smile. “I’m sure of it.”
She clutched her bag and pursed her lips. “You’re telling me that he was going to go all batshit crazy on the rest, but he would have protected me?” She shook her head. “I don’t see it.”
Simon gave her a slight shrug. “I did.” He sighed as he stepped away, slowly sitting on the couch again. “I think you knew, too. That’s why you wouldn’t pass judgement.”
“No…I—”
“But you need to understand something.” His face was emotionless as he spoke. “If they dare to come back here again, for whatever reason…I will kill them.” He watched the color drain from her face as he spoke. “All of them.”
She nodded slightly then turned for the door. “They were warned.”
“Twice. And now you are, as well.” He watched her pause for a moment then shut the door, keeping her back to him the entire time.
“That went well,” Lana purred as she stepped out of the bedroom.
Simon shook his head. “Not really.” He looked at her then turned back to the window and the quickly retreating doctor. “We need her on our side. Of all the people here, she has real clout.”
“Fuck her,” Lana spouted as she fell into the chair opposite him. “Turn the others to our side and her opinion won’t matter.”
He slowly shook his head. “She plays the mousy, quiet, little ‘lady doctor’ part just fine. But she has more pull with these people than we ever will.”
“Then we kill her.”
He turned and gave her a deadpan stare. “She’s the only medical person…maybe in the whole fuckin’ world, and you want to kill her?”
Lana leaned forward and gave him an evil smile. “If she’s the last doctor in the world, then so be it. If she won’t come to our way of thinking, then we can do this without her.”
Simon shook his head. “You’re being short sighted.” He sat back and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, we need her on our side. Having Vee in agreement with us will go a long way towards convincing the others that we are the people who should be in charge.”
Caldera 10: Brave New World Page 18