Forsaken World | Book 6 | Redemption

by Watson, Thomas A.

  When he followed the tracks onto the parkway, Teddy’s thumb got slack on the throttle. Ahead he could see a wall, a really tall wooden wall. It stretched across the east and westbound lanes of the parkway and continued up the slopes, disappearing from sight.

  The gates over the westbound lanes opened and a line of UTVs came out to meet them. The line pulled up beside Teddy’s group waving, and a side by side with a black man driving pulled up alongside Teddy. “I’m Jarvis! Follow me so we can get you settled in!” he shouted out. “Lilly wants to get the patient to the clinic!”

  Taking in the warm smile, Teddy did a double-take and realized Jarvis was clean, even his clothes. After Teddy gave him a stunned wave, Jarvis spoke into a radio as he pulled in front of Teddy. No sooner than Jarvis was in the lead, the two tracks took off. “Never seen anything with tracks go that fast,” Teddy admitted, watching them speed off. “They have to be doing sixty.”

  Nearing the gate, he saw crews on the outside of the wall working. Those to the south of the parkway seemed to be pouring concrete into a trench along the front of the wall. Turning, Teddy saw those to the north were using mortar to build a rock wall on the outside of the wooden wall. Coming through the gates and still looking north, Teddy got to see the wall was actually two walls ten feet apart and filled with dirt. “It has to be like twenty feet tall,” Teddy gasped, then saw dump trucks on the inside with other heavy machinery packing dirt on the inside of the wall.

  Turning around, Teddy saw the flat area along the parkway behind the fence had an earthen berm that sloped back from the fence. “If there are enough stinkers that can push that down around here, we’re so screwed,” Teddy said, and heard a motor pulling up. Turning, he saw his wife in their side by side with his kids.

  “Keep up with him!” she shouted. “They have killer robots and we don’t know where!” Looking ahead, Teddy saw Jarvis was a hundred yards ahead and sped up with his wife pulling back in line.

  Everywhere he looked, Teddy could see people working. One thing that was blowing him away was they were using a lot of heavy machinery. Even over the noise of the wind and ATVs in his group, Teddy could hear them.

  Following Jarvis as he turned off the parkway, Teddy’s hand slipped off the throttle in shock. A group of kids were playing football near the school. Since this had begun, none of the kids had played anything because noise meant death and here they were, running and yelling with smiles. “We’ve found heaven on Earth,” Teddy gasped and felt his four-wheeler give a lurch as something hit him.

  Spinning around, he saw his wife pushing his ATV with her side by side. “Yes, I like seeing the kids play too, but until we know where the killer robots are, you stay up his ass!” she yelled, still pushing his ATV. Gripping the throttle Teddy took off, following the road up to the school that sat above the parkway. Heading into the parking lot, Teddy pulled up beside Jarvis as he climbed out of his ride.

  “This is incredible!” Teddy cried out, shutting down his ATV.

  “That it is,” Jarvis grinned, and waved a hand to the valley floor. “Welcome to Bravo group.”

  Jumping off his ride, “All we have to do is pitch in like Lance and Ian said?” Teddy asked, ready to do whatever it took to stay here.

  Nodding, “Yes, Lance and Ian vouched for your group, so let’s get inside and get you folks fed,” Jarvis told him, heading for the main entrance. “We get everyone to fill out a questionnaire to see what skills people have. If someone knows how to build, we don’t want them cutting grass,” Jarvis laughed as a cellphone on his hip rang. As Jarvis answered it, the others in Teddy’s group were all behind them, looking in awe at Jarvis.

  When Jarvis hung up and turned to the sea of astonished faces, “Yeah, they got the cellphones working in this area,” Jarvis told them. “The cellphones also act as communicators with bots that are close. Needless to say, if you lose a phone, you’d better report it fast so that code can be taken out. We have a few groups around that would love to get their hands on a way inside to take this over.”

  Nodding in understanding, “We’ve had to fight a few of those,” Teddy admitted. “If you need us to, we can hit ‘em before they try.”

  Clearly shocked, Jarvis locked his eyes on Teddy. “We appreciate it, but nobody attacks anything unless Ian or Lance give the okay,” Jarvis explained. “They want everyone here able and ready to fight if we’re attacked. That’s what they’re worried about the most. I’m sure you’ve heard, they attack with bots, bots that will blow your mind,” Jarvis emphasized.

  Teddy and everyone behind him nodded in agreement, so Jarvis led them inside the school. Walking down the hall, Teddy saw each classroom had been emptied and was lined with shelves. Before he asked, Jarvis explained that Bravo’s job was gathering supplies to build bots. Each room was set up to store different items and every item was logged into a computer.

  When Jarvis led them into the cafeteria, the smell of food washed over the group and as one, every stomach growled. “That was kind of neat,” Jarvis chuckled. After everyone had food and was sitting down, Jarvis waved others over to pass out clipboards. “This is the questionnaire we need you to fill out,” he told them. “We don’t care how you learned what you know how to do, just write it down please; i.e., if you can make drugs, let us know. That means you understand some chemistry. Also, every job you’ve ever held, please write it down.”

  Watching the group eat, Jarvis just grinned as the entire group nodded. “On the last page, write what job you would like to do, what you want to volunteer to do, and what would you like to study,” Jarvis told the group, and everyone paused their eating, even the little kids, and stared at Jarvis. “Yes, you must learn here. It is mandatory for many things like combat drills, marksmanship, hand-to-hand, basic motors, and basic electrician. I’m sure if you think about it, you’ll understand why those are mandatory.”

  A teenage boy raised his hand and Jarvis nodded at him. “Um, I’ll try hard, I promise. But, I didn’t do great in school,” the boy admitted.

  “And that is fine, as long as you’re trying,” Jarvis answered. “Now, if you want to stay armed here, that’s fine, but you will demonstrate that you know how to handle your weapons,” Jarvis told them. “There’s an area set up to get that done first. Normally, there aren’t any loaded weapons allowed here in the cafeteria. You can have a loaded magazine but the chamber must be empty. Why? Because we have small children here. Try as we might, none of us can get it through a toddler’s head that guns can hurt them. If there is an accident with your weapon, you are responsible. Despite the bullshit before the outbreak, guns can’t and don’t kill. A person can use one to kill but the gun is just a tool, and a person can have an accident where their gun kills,” Jarvis paused, seeing the group was listening but didn’t seem impressed.

  Wiping his mouth off, “Jarvis?” Teddy called out. “We had rules like that already in place. Not the cafeteria rule, but you’re responsible for your weapons at all times.”

  Since Lance and Ian had told him as much, Jarvis gave a nod. “Just wanting to make sure.” Jarvis continued his speech and when he’d finished, Jarvis asked if anyone wanted to leave. None were surprised that everyone stayed. Like the other groups, Jarvis took whoever Lance and Ian brought in. “Welcome to Bravo,” Jarvis smiled.

  ***

  As Teddy was parking at the school, Lilly came out of the clinic to see Lance and Ian with masks off, standing between the tracks. Each one had a laptop out, peering at the screens. “You want to help, sweetness?” Lilly asked.

  “You would have to kick my ass and drag it inside,” Lance informed her, then looked up from the screen at Lilly. “I wouldn’t hit ya, but I damn sure wouldn’t go quietly.”

  Not even surprised but a little disappointed, Lilly came over to kiss Lance. “We’re going to be here a bit,” Lilly sighed. Her job was taking more of her time than she liked. Today was supposed to be an off day for her, which meant Jennifer as well, but not now.

  Clo
sing his laptop, “Figured as much,” Lance nodded. “We were just hanging around to see if you needed us to go and get anything for you.”

  Shaking her head, “We should have everything for-,” Lilly stopped as Lance threw a hand up.

  “We both know cutting will be involved. We don’t want to know more,” he informed her with a dead voice.

  Nodding in agreement, “Where’s Jen?” Ian asked closing his laptop.

  “Giving Glynda a bed bath,” Lilly groaned, and rolled her eyes. “I agree she needs one, but Jen is nearly scrubbing off the top layer of skin.”

  Turning to look at the clinic, “I was going to give her a kiss, but she can get it later,” Ian stated.

  “Since you and Jen are busy now, we’re heading over to the power area to wire up the next special batteries,” Lance told her. Feeling a little guilty, because she and Jennifer were going to help the boys today, Lilly just smiled as Lance leaned over and kissed her. “We’ll leave you the other track,” he told her, turning to Ian.

  “I’m driving,” Ian declared, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Taking a deep breath to work himself up, Lance paused seeing Ian wasn’t going to give. Letting out the breath, “Fine,” Lance said, climbing up on the track and into the turret.

  The clinic’s front doors opened and Rhonda came strolling out. “Damn, when Jennifer’s finished, Glynda’s skin will be sterile,” she predicted. Seeing Ian climb in the driver’s spot, Rhonda broke into a trot. “I know you weren’t going to leave me,” she snapped, jumping up and climbing in the left seat behind Ian.

  “We weren’t coming to get you,” Ian snapped back pulling his mask on, then the communication headset. Lilly waved bye as Ian pivoted the track and took off.

  Pushing the nervous feelings aside, she walked back inside and found Stanley waiting on her. “Lilly, I haven’t done a cesarean section since residency, fifteen years ago,” he told her.

  “Well, I’ve never done one on a human,” Lilly replied. “I’ve done them on horses, cows, a goat, and a baboon at the Cleveland zoo last Christmas.”

  “Good, I’ll do the epidural and assist,” Stanley informed her.

  “You have been practicing for fifteen years,” Lilly reminded him.

  “Family practice,” Stanley replied. “I referred out for OB/GYN. Insurance to deliver babies would’ve run me ten thousand more a month. When I finished residency, I was going to be a full family doctor, but there was no way I could pay that. I would’ve only delivered a small number each year for patients, and it just didn’t justify that expenditure.”

  Walking over to a sink and scrubbing her hands. “Glad I became a vet,” Lilly scoffed.

  “Girl, that was a good choice,” Stanley informed her. “I practiced near Knoxville and that area’s not high risk. There are places near the border, Florida, and New York, insurance companies wouldn’t even insure you for deliveries. One of my friends in med school went OB/GYN and set up a practice in Dallas, now that is a high risk area. He forked out fifty-two thousand a month for insurance just to deliver babies, plus his malpractice insurance.”

  Only a little shocked at the amount but not surprised, “Very glad I went to veterinarian school,” Lilly said, drying her hands off.

  They walked in to see Glynda in a new bed in a hospital gown with Jennifer and Lori hooking her up to monitors. “Wow,” Lilly mumbled, thinking Glynda looked like a different person. Stopping by the bed, Lilly saw Glynda was breathing through pursed lips and then noticed even Glynda’s fingernails had been trimmed and scrubbed clean.

  “After we get the babies, I’ll do her toes,” Jennifer stated as she walked away to change into scrubs.

  As the pain passed, Glynda looked up at Lilly with a small grin. “I love that girl,” Glynda sighed. “I haven’t shaved my legs in six months, and Jennifer did them better than I ever did.”

  Since she and Stanley had both examined Glynda and agreed the babies had to be taken, Lilly held Glynda’s hand. Lilly smiled and started to explain the risks and go over what they were about to do. As she talked, Lilly realized Jennifer loved this job she was learning but had gone a bit overboard with the cleanliness part. “Just get them out,” Glynda finally grunted.

  Turning to Jennifer, Lilly gave a nod as the group went to work.

  ***

  At the research area, Percy was going over the logs of what needed to be done to run the experiments, then noticed an entry at the bottom. “No way,” he gasped and moved out of the main building.

  “Where are you going?” his sister Gail called out.

  “Checking on something,” Percy answered heading to the holding area for stinkers, and Gail turned to the others. She had worked on some dangerous stuff before, but this research area gave a new meaning to ‘workplace danger’.

  “Who’s going with him?” Gail sighed. Everyone who worked there took the job seriously and knew if they didn’t watch what they did, lives could be lost. When nobody went to follow, Gail just groaned and followed Percy to the holding area. The ‘holding area’ was just a walled-off section that had an elevated platform on one side so someone could pick out which stinker they wanted to use for a test.

  Climbing the platform Gail stopped beside her brother, who was staring down into the area with a grin. The smell was burning her nose and the stinkers were growling because they could see Percy now. “What?” Gail asked stopping beside him, and Percy pointed inside. Following his finger, Gail’s eyes grew wide when she saw what Percy was pointing at. “Damn, they might just do something to contribute now.”

  Standing in the far corner were Corey, Rhett, and Rita, all stinkers. Then she noticed each one had a different wound. Rita had been shot in the chest. Corey had been shot in the throat, and Rhett had died of a gunshot to the abdomen. “They tested wounds to turn time,” Percy smirked. “The faster someone dies, the longer it takes to turn.”

  “We suspected that,” Gail pointed out.

  “Now we have data to back it up,” Percy said. “I’m asking if I can use Rhett on my next experiment.”

  Shrugging, “A stinker is a stinker,” Gail replied heading down the stairs. “I would’ve liked to have been the one to put them down,” she admitted. “Come on, we have batteries to fill and three experiments to continue today.”

  Nodding and finally looking away from the three new stinkers, “I have to say, I like how assholes are dealt with now,” Percy admitted.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cabin

  Sitting up in her bed, Lilly spun and threw her legs off the side as she let out a stretch. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was nearly six. Lifting her gaze, Lilly stopped at the bed beside her and couldn’t help but smile. Allie was asleep on Lance’s chest with Carrie snuggled into his right side and Jodi, his left. A book was laid out on the bed that Lance had been reading to them last night. Lilly just stared at Lance sleeping with the Ladybugs.

  The boys still woke up most days before everyone else, but not on Sundays. On Sundays they slept until they woke up, and everyone tried to let them sleep as long as they could.

  Feeling movement Sandy woke up, lifting her head off the pillow and glancing around. Her eyes stopped, seeing a contented smile on Lilly as she just stared at Lance and the Ladybugs sleeping. There was no doubt in Sandy’s mind now that Lilly loved Lance. The age thing barely bothered her, but since she and Mary were the primary teachers now, the age thing was disappearing fast because Lance was aging decades in her mind.

  Sandy had been used to Lance just teaching himself but had found out, normal kids didn’t do that to the extent Lance and Ian had. Granted, the kids all tried hard but had to be shown and guided, where Lance and Ian just read about something and could do it when they were finished. More than once, Mary had to remind Sandy the other kids they were teaching weren’t Ian and Lance, so never expect that from them.

  “Don’t know where Lance got that from because he didn’t inherit that brain power and self-drive from me or Johnat
han,” Sandy muttered, tossing the covers off. Getting up, she saw Lilly never turned and just continued staring at Lance.

  Shifting her gaze down the row of bunk beds, Sandy stopped at Jennifer’s bed to see Jennifer was still sleeping, sprawled out from under the covers. After talking with Lilly, Sandy had been keeping an eye on Jennifer and had to admit, Jennifer was wearing Ian down. Since she had adopted Jennifer, Sandy had talked to her, but knew it had gone in one ear and out the other. Ian was going to be Jennifer’s first whether he wanted to be, willingly or not.

  When Sandy started making up her bed, Lilly turned around and saw her and then got out of her bed. When she was finished, Lilly followed Sandy downstairs. “What was Lance reading to them?” Sandy asked when she’d reached the bottom step.

  “Grapes of Wrath,” Lilly answered.

  Heading to the kitchen and shaking her head, “I didn’t like to read it when I was forced to in high school,” Sandy admitted with a smile, seeing the coffee pot was full.

  “Well, Lance can make nearly any book interesting when he reads it to the Ladybugs,” Lilly said, grabbing some mugs and passing one to Sandy. “The fact he stops and asks questions reminds the Ladybugs they have to listen.”

  Filling her mug, Sandy moved to the side as Lilly filled hers. “I wish Lance would take more interest in Tyler and Chris,” Sandy sighed.

  Just the way Sandy had said it made Lilly glance over at her, and she found Sandy looking at her. “What?” Lilly asked.

  “Has Lance said anything about them?” Sandy asked.

  Shaking her head as she poured sugar in her coffee, “Sandy, I don’t think Lance has even said their names more than five or six times,” Lilly answered.