“Who are you to decide their fate?” Doc wanted to know.
“Who are you to decide the fate of the civilians imprisoned here?” Cam retorted.
The doctor slumped forward and hung his head, before nodding dejectedly. “Okay. The least I can do is speed it up.”
The doctor went over to a cabinet and withdrew a vial of fluid. He opened a drawer and pulled out a packaged hypodermic needle. He tore it open and filled the syringe with the liquid. He saw Cam looking at him.
“It’s morphine. Three times the lethal dose,” he glanced over at the unconscious man on the bed.
Cam saw him falter and he walked over and carefully took the syringe from him. “Let me, Doc.”
Doc Forsythe nodded sadly and stepped back. “In the muscle is fine,” he said.
Cam jabbed the syringe in Rawlis’s arm and depressed the plunger. It was done. Cam felt a twinge of remorse trying to make its way up from the depths of his heart. He squashed it back down. From the stories he heard, Rawlis had given no mercy to his victims.
No. It was better this way.
He placed the hypo in the sharps box on the counter and watched as Doc placed the morphine solution back into the cabinet. He looked disheartened, but there was nothing more Cam could say. Doc would have to come to terms with it on his own.
“So, have you spoken to the people like I requested?” Cam asked him softly.
“Yes, here’s a list of the ones who said they wanted to help. Some would have, but they still have family here and you know…they want to keep them safe.”
Doc handed the list over and Cam skimmed it. It was smaller than expected. This could still work though, it had to. On the list, there were ten names. Such a small number of volunteers for such a large group of people.
He supposed they feared change more than they feared the warden.
He looked up as the Doc made a small noise in his throat. He followed his gaze and saw that Rawlis had come back. He had expected it, but not quite this fast. He had often wondered the exact process of reanimation of the dead, but now wasn’t the time to be ponder such things.
“It’s okay,” Cam assured him.
He walked over to Rawlis, pulled his knife, and jabbed the blade deeply into the bottom of his brain. He yanked it out and fresh blood poured from the wound. He wiped the blade on a sheet, then pulled the sheet up over his pale, slack face.
“You’ll have to say you did this,” Cam said, gesturing to the knife wound.
Doc only nodded, looking a bit green. “Thanks,” he said.
Cam looked over at Rawlis, who was now permanently out of commission, then walked slowly toward the doorway. Before leaving the room, Cam stopped and looked back. “Trust me, this is the right thing to do.”
He didn’t wait for the doctor’s reply.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jean’s Declaration
Jack
Ever since the small herd wandered through, the teams had kept nearer to the cabin. Jack had thought it best to stick close for a while. There was no sense in asking for trouble.
He also wanted to make sure the bodies were burned properly. They couldn’t afford to leave them lying around, and possibly spreading disease. He didn’t think the smoke or smell of the fire would travel more than a few miles through the woods, and he didn’t anticipate any living thing—or dead thing— to be closer than that.
They still did watches, and Jack himself patrolled around the outer boundaries, but he hadn’t seen any threats since the ill-fated ruck run.
He did crack down on enforcement of the gate rule. The gate rule had been instituted by Jim the first day it had been installed. Anyone who entered or left the property had to shut the large gate that blocked off the driveway. It was a cattle gate that had been affixed to a railroad tie and set in the ground.
Whoever had left last— Sasha most likely— had left it open, thereby enabling the dead to get up to the cabin.
He had spoken with her about it and been completely taken aback when she had burst into tears. Brad had glared at him and ushered her away.
The girls were doing fine, though Jean had been constantly telling her stories and embarrassing everyone within earshot. Jonah had learned well enough that if Jean opened her mouth to talk about something from “back in her day” that he should probably cover his ears.
Jack wondered how many of her tales were true, and how many were elaborated upon. She did have many useful skills and some valuable knowledge, so he tolerated her eccentricity.
They were sitting down to supper a few nights ago when she had looked over at Jessica and made one of her usual pronouncements. “I know what that baby’s going to be.”
“Human?” Natasha said.
“Listen here, little miss, I’ve been around babies and pregnant women my whole life. If there is one thing I know, it’s babies, you hear?” she said, pointing a finger at Natasha.
Jack and Brad watched the exchange with interest.
So, she knew what the baby was, did she?
“How can you tell?” Jess asked curiously.
“I have my ways,” Jean answered mysteriously. “Well, do you want to know?”
Jess looked over at him and raised her brows in question. Jack shrugged and took her hand. He knew Jean had a fifty-fifty chance of being right.
“It’s a girl,” Jean said, sounding so sure of herself.
“Okay, how do you know that?” Brad wanted to know.
“First thing is the terrible sickness she had. Sickness with boys doesn’t usually last as long. Another thing, look at her eating! She’s been eating way more sweets lately. Look at her hair— it’s dull! Her face is getting rounder, but that could just be from all the fat foods she’s been sneaking,” Jean said censoriously.
Jack glanced at Jessica and saw that she was staring at Jean, open-mouthed. Jack hadn’t noticed any of that stuff. She looked like the same Jess to him, except with a larger midsection.
“Sweetheart, you look beautiful. Jean doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“A girl, Jack! We might have a girl!” she said happily, resting her hand on her stomach.
Jack smiled at her glowing face. She was perfect. She would make a wonderful mother, even to Jonah if he would give her a chance.
He wanted them to get married before the baby came. He was waiting for Angie’s wedding…weddings…first though.
Sasha startled everyone then by standing up and clearing her throat nervously.
“Uhmmm. So. I was thinking…it’s almost Thanksgiving. I thought it would be nice if we had a celebration…maybe?” she said, clutching her hands in front of her nervously.
Brad smiled up at her. “I think that’s a great idea. I think we should keep as many of the holidays as we can.”
“I agree,” Jess said. “I want our baby to grow up with happy times, good times, not just with fear and harsh survival training. I propose that we have a feast and maybe play some games or something afterward. Maybe we can figure out a way to watch a movie or something?” she asked, looking at Jack expectantly. “It was kind of a tradition in my family.”
“Well, we’ll have to see. If I go into town, I may be able to find a generator or something. We have the T.V.s and everything here already so…it’s possible. I’m not promising anything though,” he warned.
The girls all clapped their hands excitedly, with Jean even throwing in her movie suggestions. Some of which were completely inappropriate, of course. He shook his head at her.
“Jean, do you ever think before you talk?” Ed said finally, after hearing her suggest that they watch one of the Saw movies for Thanksgiving.
“What do you mean, Ed? Just because you’re scared of a little movie doesn’t mean everyone else is!” she retorted.
“I’m not scared, dang it! It’s just not a Thanksgiving movie!” he said.
“Well, what would you consider a Thanksgiving movie? Star Trek?” she said, making fun.
“Oh
hh, Star Trek would be good!” Brad said.
Jean rolled her eyes at that.
“I think we should watch Harry Potter,” Natasha said. Jack didn’t know if she was serious or not. He just sat back and watched.
“I ain’t watching no Harry Potter. That’s a Christmas show!” Ed complained.
“What?” Jack interjected.
“Yeah, they play it at Christmas on T.V. Used to anyway.”
“They played it at Thanksgiving too, Ed,” Jack said. “I know because Jonah and…well, we used to watch it whenever it came on.
“I vote Harry Potter!” Jess said, raising her hand. “Even though it’s a Halloween movie,” she emphasized.
“Me too!” Natasha said.
“Brad?” Sasha asked.
Brad scratched his chin and looked at Sasha. “Harry Potter gets my vote, too.”
“Wait a minute! I think we should let the oldest one choose the movie. It’s only fair!” Jean said.
“Oh, and what would you choose?” Ed asked sarcastically.
“Lord of the Rings,” she said, putting her nose in the air with feigned superiority. Jack could spot her manipulation attempts a mile away.
Tanaka and Mac were looking back and forth, as if this were a Wimbledon match.
“Then what was that whole thing about the Saw movie?” he yelled.
“I just wanted to get on your nerves. I realized I hadn’t irritated you in several hours and I was about to get crabby.”
Ed rolled his eyes and Jack decided to take all the arguing out of the equation.
“Let’s just watch Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of fuel. Remember, that’s only if I can even find a generator.”
“Can we have popcorn too?” Jonah asked excitedly.
“No…that’s just asking for too much,” Jack said with a straight face. Then he busted out laughing at Jonah’s puzzled expression.
“Of course we can,” Jess assured him, glaring at Jack.
“What? It was a joke!” Jack said in his defense.
“Never. Joke. About. Food,” Jessica said warningly.
“See! That’s what I mean. She’s obsessed with food!” Jean said in a loud whisper to Ed.
“You know everyone can hear you, right?” he informed her.
She waved him off and got up to refill their drinks.
◆◆◆
Later that night Jack was sitting on the front porch with a beer.
He was watching the stars overhead, and the dark woods all around. He had grown used to the complete lack of manmade noise at night. No humming of electricity, no airplanes or cars, no nothing. He would even go so far as to say he preferred it, if only it hadn’t taken an apocalypse to get some quiet in the world.
The door opened behind him, and Jess stepped out into the cold.
She had a blanket wrapped around her and she stepped quickly to the glider and sat beside him, shivering. He wrapped his arm around her and thought about their time together.
It was hard to believe that only six months ago they had been colleagues…acquaintances.
He had been in a marriage with a woman who couldn’t stand him, and a son that he didn’t get to spend much time with. Now, he was pretty much married to his soul mate, almost anyway. They had a new baby on the way. He was spending a lot more time with his son.
It was the life he wished he had back in the old days, pre-apocalypse.
“Do you think they’ll be back in time?” she asked him quietly, sadly.
“For Thanksgiving? Oh, I think so. I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up here in the next couple of days. It’ll be nice to not have to worry about doing any missions for a while.”
She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.
“How are you feeling?” he asked her.
“Hungry,” she said.
He chuckled. She was always hungry.
“I have to do extra supply runs just to feed you!” he joked.
She tickled his ribs for that, and he laughed and flinched away.
“Come on, babe. Let’s get upstairs. It’s Brad’s watch now anyway.”
He stood and held a hand out to her. She put her small cold hand in his and he pulled her up, catching her around her thickening waist. He lowered his nose to hers and rubbed it back and forth, then joined his lips with hers.
Her lips were cold, but her mouth was warm, and he felt his interest stirring somewhere to the south.
“Let’s go to bed,” she murmured softly, caressing him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Independence Day
Jim
It was the night before the battle was to begin and Jim was going back over the details to make sure they all understood their jobs.
During the action, Lane and Lily were going to provide security to the rear. With all the noise, they expected to draw in some Zs. There was also a chance of attracting any living people in the area, and they didn’t want to be taken off guard.
Cam would kick their asses into next week if they relaxed security and got attacked from behind.
Angie and Trap would be manning one of the SAWs and Nick and Monica would be on the other. The plan was to wait for the squad to come out for their run. Cam had assured them that the squad on the road was bad news, and therefore they should feel no qualms about opening fire on the degenerate assholes.
Jim hoped, that with Nick and Trap each on a team, there would be no hesitation.
It wasn’t that he thought Angie and Monica were incapable of killing. He just didn’t want it to be solely on their consciences. Killing left a mark on a person’s soul that would never be erased.
After the squad was taken out on the road, the battle inside would begin.
Jim, Trap, and Nick would move up and secure the front of the prison, eliminating any enemies attempting to escape. Cam would take out the leadership from the inside. Then, they would stick around to make sure the civilians got a fair deal.
He hoped they could get it over quickly and with the minimum amount of bloodshed.
“So, what happens if those guys Cam has inside are too scared to fight? What if they turn on him?” Angie asks.
“I don’t think we need to worry about them turning on him, but the other thing is a possibility. Most of those people in there aren’t fighters. If they were, then they probably wouldn’t have ended up in the position they are in now. I can only hope that they take this chance Cam is giving them, because there probably won’t be another.”
She nodded and he looked around to the others.
“Get some rest for a bit. I want everyone awake and alert at zero-three-hundred. I expect contact exactly one hour after that.”
He left them to it and returned to his position halfway between each team, waiting for Cam’s radio contact.
Cam
It was the evening before all hell was going to break loose and Cam was drinking with Jax in his room.
Margot was in Jax’s lap and Tozier was nearby, looking through a book. Jax poured Cam and himself another round. Cam was taking it easy, sipping slowly. He needed to be sober and alert tonight and tomorrow. He needed Jax and Tozier to be…not so sober and alert.
“Brother, tell me what happened to get you onto the dark side,” Jax asked him.
Cam looked at him quizzically.
“The dark side,” Jax repeated, gesturing with his glass toward Cam’s leathers and his carefully constructed appearance.
“Ah, well. That’s a long story. After I got out of the military, I found out that my country really didn’t give a shit what happened to me. My government wrote me off, my family couldn’t relate to me, and no woman wanted any part of the man I had become. I hit bottom. Until one day I met a man at a bar.”
He lifted his cup and took a sip, constructing the next part of his story.
“After I beat his ass, he invited me to join his little club. It was that or keep drinking myself to death. So, I joined, and the rest is
history.”
“A gang? That doesn’t seem like you at all. Not how you used to be. Such a good boy, never giving your momma any trouble,” Jax smirked.
Cam blew that off and took another fake sip. “Gave your momma plenty of trouble though, didn’t I?” he said with a smirk.
Jax snorted and shook his head.
Soon, he was going to have to wander to the bathroom and dump some of this excellent scotch down the toilet. It would hurt him to do it, but it would potentially hurt him more if he didn’t.
“I stayed out of the bigger stuff,” he finally confided. “I didn’t want to spend my time behind bars like these.”
“That’s smart. I’ve seen a lot of gangs pass through here in my time. Glad that you were never sent here. Man like you wouldn’t take so well in a place like this.”
“You got that right,” Cam said,
“Lonnie!” Tozier suddenly called out, making Cam jump and spill some of his drink.
Convenient.
A short minute later, Lonnie came hustling into the room.
“Yes, sir?” he said, somewhat out of breath.
“Go get Doc, there is something I want to ask him.”
“Yes, sir.” Lonny shuffled out of the room and Cam wondered what the hell he wanted with Doc.
Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. Tozier was getting impatient and grabbed another drink. Margot was looking around anxiously, having barely sipped her first one.
The door burst open, and Lonnie pushed the doctor through.
“Found him!” he said.
“Good, thanks. Now leave, but don’t go far.”
Lonnie nodded and left.
Cam watched as Tozier stood and walked over to the doctor.
“Doc, the warden tells me that Rawlis is dead.”
“Uh yes, that’s true,” Doc said, eyes twitching to Cam and back.
Cam willed him to stop. His discomfort was obvious, and it was going to get them found out.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Well, the best I can determine, he was in a diabetic coma. His sugar levels caused his body to shut down. I had no insulin to give him, and he passed away without waking up.”
Refuge From The Dead | Book 3 | Dead Fall Page 24