“It’s complicated,” Fletch said, sucking on an MRE jalapeno-flavored cheese packet.
“Are you seriously eating that by itself?” she asked, momentarily sidetracked.
“Yes. Want some?”
“How about no?” she said. She’d had the dubious pleasure of finding her own jalapeno cheese packet the other day. She gave it a shot.
It didn’t exactly scream cheese to her. More like processed, flavored, cardboard pudding with a hint of jalapeno. She’d rather eat the creepy and disgusting MRE veggie omelet one that Jared said he was saving for eBay. He said it was a limited edition.
Yeah, there was a reason for that.
She pulled her hair into a ponytail automatically and brought the conversation back to where she wanted it. “So? What are you hiding from me?”
Jared started to speak, and she reached over and put a hand over his mouth. She had no doubt that random nonsense would come out. He bit her hand gently and flashed her a wink. How did he always melt her heart with the silliest things?
“Fine,” Bradley said. “We were talking about taking Stewart out to the woods and releasing him. He obviously has some kind of memory or intelligence or something. We can’t keep him taped to a chair indefinitely. Honestly, he’s going to have bodily functions that I really really don’t want to have to take care of now that he’s...”
“He’s not an animal,” Anna said. “You can't just let him go in the wild so he can rejoin his kind. He’s human. I mean, sort of human anyway…he’ll either die or kill other people!” she said fervently.
The idea was a terrible one. Why couldn’t they see that?
“What do you think I should do, Anna? Kill him?! Would you want to kill your best friend? Would you kill Jared?!” he said, pointing a thumb at him.
She sighed and looked down. “I don’t know. I only know I wouldn’t want to live like that. I wouldn’t want to be a monster and kill innocent people.”
“He’s different. You all saw that,” Bradley said. “He remembers things. He understands a little. Maybe he understands more than we think.”
“Maybe,” she said, noncommittal.
“We’ve decided to do it. We’re taking him out tomorrow,” Jared finally said.
“Tomorrow? Is it safe to be out?” she worried.
Hank chimed in. “Harry seemed pretty certain that it was all good. He said his people are back in their homes now. We just wanted to stay down here longer as a precaution.”
She sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Fine, but I want to go.”
◆◆◆
It was still an awesome thing for her to be out in the sun and open air. She had forgotten how large everything was, and how fresh air could be. The basement was bigger than average, but it had still been a prison of sorts. She hoped they never had to do that again.
“Where are we going?” Fletch asked.
They had carried Stewart up precariously in the chair. She was sure that he was going to snap at them at any moment. She expected someone to lose a finger, or maybe an ear.
But he didn’t.
He just sat there with a low rumbling cat purr in his chest, like a creepy overly large, non-poisonous, but not exactly friendly, snake-guy-thing. At the zoo, she once saw a man with a python around his neck. The snake just kind of hung out there, moving around a bit. Sometimes it would flick its snake tongue next to the guy’s cheek. They were obviously used to each other, but it wasn’t a cuddly pet, like a puppy.
Stewart was like that snake.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wondered if they should even be calling him Stewart. The whole ‘not naming animals you may have to kill thing’ ran through her head. She didn’t bring it up though. Bradley obviously thought there was still a part of Stewart left in there.
“We’ll put him in the cargo area,” Bradley said.
“Thank God! I thought you were going to make me sit next to him,” Fletch said.
She opened the cargo doors and they tipped him backward carefully. They laid him on his back, with his feet and the chairs legs up in the air. He didn’t seem phased by it.
“Okay, Stew. You ready to go, man?” Bradley said loudly.
“He’s a twitcher, man, not deaf,” Jared said.
“Jared, hush,” Anna said, getting in the middle of the front seat.
They were all armed to the teeth. She, Hank and Jared were in front. Fletch and Bradley were in the back. Jared asked Juan to stay behind and guard things.
“Where are we going?” Fletch asked again.
“There’s an old dirt road down here. It goes down toward the river. There’s an abandoned cabin there that kids used to party in. I don’t think they’ll be using it anymore. He’ll be away from people, and he’ll have shelter,” Jared said.
“What about food and water?” she asked.
“He looks capable of hunting his own food,” Jared said with a slight grimace. “And water.”
“We’ll leave him some things,” Bradley said. “Just in case. Maybe I’ll come check on him occasionally.”
“You guys are acting like he’s going to just hang out in the cabin and stay there. These things wander,” she reminded them.
They were silent.
“We could chain him to something,” Fletch said timidly.
“We’re not chaining up Stewart!” Bradley yelled.
They heard a grumbling growl from the back.
“I know, Stew. It ain’t gonna happen, bud.”
“I can’t believe this,” Jared muttered.
◆◆◆
Ten minutes later they were at the end of an old, red dirt road. It led down to the bottom land, right next to the river. It was actually beautiful down there and it would have been easy to forget that the world was all screwed up. Except for Stewart’s “talking” in the back.
That’s what Bradley called it. Talking. Maybe it made him feel better. It still gave her the heebie jeebies.
There was a cabin, just as Jared said. It was on stilts and had some rickety looking steps. She wasn’t sure it would even hold their weight. What if Stewart couldn’t traverse the steps?
“How are we going to do this?” Fletch asked as they got out.
“Sorry man,” Jared told Bradley. “But I think the best way is to just cut him loose and be ready to shoot if he goes off the rails.”
Bradley looked at his feet and bit his lips, but finally nodded. “Okay.”
He turned and went quickly to the passenger side and pulled out a big box of water, various food supplies, and a blanket. He took it up to the cabin porch, carefully testing the boards. She didn’t want to say what they were all thinking.
That it would be a waste.
“Let’s get him out,” Jared said.
They went to the back again and opened the door. Anna stood nervously behind them, not wanting to be Stewart’s first target. She wasn’t sure if she could shoot him if he went for her, and she certainly wouldn’t be able to fight him off. She didn’t want to have to take a bat to him either. It was a mess.
They took his chair and set it gently in the large clearing. She looked into Stewart’s eyes as best she could, looking for some sign, some flicker of humanity or recognition. She just couldn’t see it. He was rapidly flexing his fingers against his thigh. He looked anxious, but she had to remember that she couldn’t attribute human emotions to him anymore. It would be a huge mistake and it could get them killed.
“You all back up. I’ll cut him loose,” Bradley said and moved closer to Stewart. They backed up a little. He crouched down with a knife at Stewart’s legs.
“Please don’t try to kill me, Stew,” she heard him say.
She held her breath as Stewart’s legs were free. They trembled and his feet twitched a little, but he didn’t try to stand or lunge. Yet. She covered her mouth with her hand as Bradley moved behind him and freed his chest, then his hands last. Stewart sat there, almost patiently. Or maybe he just didn’t realize he was free yet.
Bradley got up quickly and backed away. “You can get up now, if you want,” he called over.
Stewart bared his teeth and chomped them together randomly. “Faaaaaaaaaahhhh yaaaaaaahhhhh.”
“What did he say?” Hank asked. Bradley shrugged.
She watched as Stewart raised his hands, his fingers clawing and twitching, seemingly with minds of their own. He held them up and seemed to study them. After another moment, he started to rise.
Her heart thudded in her chest, and she felt the urge to run and get in the truck and drive away. She edged further back and put her hand on the bat slung over her shoulder. The cool wood comforted her.
Stewart rose, awkwardly and unsteadily. Bradley looked torn between wanting to help him and wanting to freak out.
“We left you some stuff on the porch over there,” Bradley said, gesturing with his hand in the general direction of the porch. She noticed he never took his eyes off Stewart though.
Stewart took several shambling steps forward, scuffing his feet in the dust. It was strange because those things usually had no trouble walking.
“What’s he doing?” Fletch said as Stewart shuffled closer to Bradley.
He wasn’t making any threatening gestures or attempting to shred him to bits, so that was good.
“His legs are probably numb!” she said with a sudden burst of insight. “From the chair.”
“Maybe that’s why he isn’t chowing down on Bradley right now,” Jared said.
Stewart’s head twitched and he turned slowly to look at Jared. His top lip twitched in a menacing way.
“Joking!” Jared said, holding his hands up.
Were they all insane?!
“Okay guys, can we go now?” she said nervously. She didn’t think it was wise to press their luck.
“Yeah,” Bradley said. “Remember, your stuff is on the porch,” he shouted again to Stewart.
Stewart cocked his head, eerily like a puppy, and turned to the cabin.
“Yes, in the box,” Bradley affirmed.
Stewart brought his hands up slowly, his fingers wriggling like jointed worms. She shivered. It just wasn’t right.
He slowly seemed to gain control of his recalcitrant hands and forced his fingers down…all but one and his thumb.
“I think he’s saying you’re a loser,” Jared said.
Hank grinned and Anna scoffed.
“No, that means pistol,” Fletch said, confused.
“There is no pistol in the box,” Bradley said to Stewart, which was the most incongruous thing ever in this situation.
“Can you imagine Stew with a pistol and those fingers? He’d be slinging lead in every direction,” Jared murmured from the side of his mouth to Hank. “Like giving an octopus a pistol.”
Stewart dropped his arm and looked at the ground. That he hadn’t attacked anyone yet was a miracle in itself, but that he was attempting some kind of communication was just…she had no words.
“I’ll come back in a couple of days and see you, okay?” Bradley said.
“Ahhhhhhh.”
She jumped as Stewart turned and suddenly sprinted to the cabin. He made it up the stairs with no issue and ripped things from the box. They watched as he put a stick of jerky in his mouth.
“Not the—” Jared raised his hand as if to stop Stewart, “…plastic,” he said and cringed as Stewart chewed the mass and apparently swallowed it.
“He can take care of himself. Let’s go,” Fletch said.
“Bye Stewart!” Anna called and waved, suddenly feeling bad about treating him like an animal earlier.
He stood up with another jerky stick hanging from his mouth and looked at them. He seemed to shiver violently, then raised a hand and made another series of gestures.
Bradley smiled and laughed. “You too, man!” he called back with his hands cupped around his mouth. He returned the gesture and Stewart went back to eating, if it could be called that.
“What did he say?” Jared asked.
“He said ‘watch your six’,” Bradley said and smacked him on the back happily. Even Fletch was grinning.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Hank said.
They piled in the truck and left. Anna felt better than she had in days.
Chapter Seven
Black Cloud
Jared
The fuck?
“Bradley!” Jared shouted down the basement steps. “Come up here, please!”
He had finished his coffee and had just been about to step outside to do a quick patrol around the house. He was damned glad he checked before opening the door.
Bradley was chewing on a protein bar and looked ready to go out. He wondered if he was going to go see Stewart. They had just dropped him off at his new home yesterday.
“We need to talk about Stewart,” Jared said and sucked his teeth, hands on his hips.
Bradley crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “What about him?”
“He’s sleeping on the front porch.”
Bradley blinked in surprise and cocked his head. “What?”
“He found his way home,” Jared said, pointing to the front door. “He’s curled up out there on the doormat like a dog. Like a creepy, overgrown, mutated-human dog.” Jared ran his hand through his hair. “I like Stewart, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, you know, the whole infected, enraged, skin-ripping teeth thing has me a little worried.”
“He isn’t like that,” Bradley said, going to the door.
“He could be like that. He tried to kill us all when he first turned! And you should not open that door.”
“He was like that because he was probably scared, and probably pissed off that we were manhandling him. I’d be pissed too!” Bradley shoved the rest of the protein bar in his mouth and washed it down with water. “I’ll deal with him.”
Jared looked through the peephole he had made in the plastic covering the front window. Stewart lay in front of the door on his blanket. He had laid on his side and his arms and legs were twitching.
Probably dreaming about chasing people.
“He can’t come in the house.”
“I obviously wasn’t going to bring him in the house! I’m a grown man, for God’s sake, not a kid! I’ve been a soldier for over half my life, and I’ve known Stewart almost that long. Give me a fucking break already!” Bradley shouted.
“What’s all the yelling?” Anna said, coming upstairs. She looked exhausted and he wished he could force her to rest more.
“Stewart’s outside. He found his way back.” Jared looked out there again. “Great, you woke him up!”
Bradley threw his hands up and left through the back door. He had a pistol on his hip, but with the strange way he’d been acting toward New Stewart, Jared wasn’t sure that he would use it to defend himself.
Anna came forward and put her hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes and relished the feeling. If only she could take away all of his pain, and all of his past, with her touch.
“Jared, I know that you’re upset about Kate, and about Stewart, but you can’t keep antagonizing him. I understand why you joke and tease people, but they don’t. You can’t hide your feelings behind humor all the time. I don’t like how mean your jokes have been lately. You were always so nice. Don’t let that Jared get away from us.”
“I’m not nice, Anna. I was nice to you because I loved you— and I still do.” He sighed. “Bradley is so different than he was before Stewart got hurt. He’s like a completely different person.”
“So are you,” she pointed out.
He didn’t like that.
“And he’s grieving. We all are in our own way. Stewart is still here, but he isn’t really Stewart anymore. In many ways it’s a lot harder than it would be if he had just died.”
Jared hung his head and let out a big sigh. She was right. To use chick words, he had been insensitive and unfeeling to Bradley. He was trying to protect himself in his own way and had hurt the other man by doing so. He thought Brad
ley had changed? He didn’t even recognize himself anymore.
He took her hand and kissed it before pulling her to his chest. He loved the way she fit against him. He felt complete. Whole.
“I’m sorry. You are completely right. I’ll try harder to deal with this in a better way.”
“You should probably apologize to Bradley,” she suggested.
“Yeah.”
“And Stewart.”
“Stewart won’t know the difference!” he said.
She raised an eyebrow. “It’s not for him; it’s for Bradley. And who knows, maybe Stewart really is cognizant underneath all the creepy stuff. Wouldn’t you feel bad?”
“Maybe.” No.
◆◆◆
Jared armed himself with a rifle and went out the back door. Anna followed with her bat. No matter how much he kept telling her the pistol was better, she couldn’t seem to let go of the thing. He supposed she had developed some sort of attachment to it. It did save her life more than once. At least she hadn’t wrapped it in barbed wire and named it. Yet.
Bullets were still better though.
Bradley was in the side yard. He had walked softly in an arc around the side of the house, presumably to give himself plenty of reaction time in case Stew lost his marbles…well, marble. After that transformation, he couldn't have many left.
Jared followed him and caught his attention.
“Stay here,” he told Anna. He heard her scoff, but she stayed. He was really going to have to work on her obedience. He grinned at that. Yeah, that would never happen.
“Bradley, I want to say I’m sorry. This whole thing has my head so messed up. I just…I’m not good with the whole feelings thing and cracking jokes is the only way I know how to cope with all this. I don’t mean anything bad about Stewart. I do like him.”
“I know man. He was my best friend, and I guess I’m not ready to give that up. I love him like a brother,” Bradley said and cleared his throat when his voice broke. Jared coughed and looked around to give him some time to get over the awkwardness.
“So, what’s the plan with Stewart?” he asked.
They were about to become visible to the front porch and he was nervous as hell that he might have to shoot New Stewart. It wasn’t exactly going to make his friendship with Bradley any easier.
The Salvation Plague | Book 2 | The Mutation Page 5