“Should we go ahead and tell everyone and see what they have to say?” Anna asked.
“Probably ought to get it over with,” Bradley assented.
Jared wasn’t looking forward to it. He knew they were going to be pissed that they were being kicked out of here, but it was for their own good.
◆◆◆
“What the hell do you mean, you’re all going?! What about us? I thought we were a group?” Juan said. Maria was shaking her and looking glum. They had sent the boys to play downstairs for now, though Carlos was getting old enough where he should probably be included in these discussions.
“We are a group. One hundred percent. We are just going to have to split up for a little bit, but it won’t be permanent,” Bradley said.
“When we get back, we’ll all come back here,” Anna said, hoping to placate Juan. It didn’t work. Jared could see that he was fuming.
“I, for one, think a little visit with Harry’s people might be nice. Be good to get out of here just for a little while. I don’t want you folks to leave, of course, but you have to go get your family,” Violet said, spooning out a blackberry cobbler she had made from the wild blackberries growing nearby. She must have bribed Hank or someone to go pick them.
“Hank, what do you say?” Bradley asked.
Anna was fidgeting with her hands, Fletch was yawning and looking out the window, and his mom was looking excited and apprehensive. She seemed less concerned about his going out into danger than he expected. Her fear over Kate was understandable, but he admitted to himself that it hurt that she was so ready to sacrifice him to get Kate back.
He had never felt her favoritism so keenly before.
Anna wrapped her arm around his bicep and laid her head on his shoulder. Thank God for her. If it weren’t for her, he’d feel completely alone, even surrounded by all these people. There was nothing like having a partner.
He could tell she was a little uncomfortable showing affection in front of his mother. He supposed he understood that. They hadn’t exactly had a traditional dating period where she got to meet his family and get comfortable with them. He wanted her to understand that she was his family now. She came first, ahead of his mother and sister if necessary.
If she asked him not to go look for Kate, he probably would have stayed here for her. It would have torn him up inside. He’d feel like he was abandoning his sister, but he would have done it for Anna. She wasn’t that kind of person though. She was kind, and thoughtful, and she would never ask him to do something like that. That inherent kindness was one of the things he loved most about her. Oh, they used to play pranks on people, and they teased each other, but she was never mean-spirited, never nasty.
He squeezed her thigh and turned his head to give her a kiss. The others were bickering back and forth over the specifics, but he wanted to just rest here a moment. He wanted to remember this moment in time, when they were all together and safe, and Anna was right by his side.
He had the feeling that once they were parted, they would never all sit together like this again. He couldn’t stop it, but he couldn’t let Kate down either. He hoped he was wrong about the feeling. He hoped it was just normal anxiety and not something more.
“So, we’re all in agreement, at least mostly, that this is the best way to handle this?” Bradley asked them.
Jared nodded and looked around the table. His mom was nodding decisively, Violet agreed as well. Hank didn’t look so sure, but he gave his approval anyway. Juan and Maria looked resigned to it. He felt bad, but he knew it was for the best. They would be a lot safer there than here. It wasn’t forever.
“Then we’ll pack up tomorrow and leave the next day, at dawn,” Bradley said.
Jared surrendered control to him during this mission, and that is exactly what it was, he realized. A mission. A potentially deadly one.
Bradley, and even Fletch, had more experience planning and conducting these types of things than he did, so he was more than willing to let them take over that part of this situation. He just wanted to find Kate and get home. He didn’t care about the how-to, or the mantle of leadership, or any of that.
“I wish we had more resources,” Fletch said. “Better comms, better equipped vehicles, sat imagery, HUMINT…”
“Yeah, that’d be great. Hell, I don’t like going into this thing with no intel. It’s bad. I don’t see any way around it though. The most we can do is maybe get over to see Romeo over at Harry’s and maybe get some word about the places we’ll be passing through.”
“Who’s Romeo?” Violet asked. “Fella I’d want to get to know?” she teased.
Bradley laughed. “He’s the radio guy.”
“Let’s do that tomorrow after we pack,” Jared said. “I’d feel better about the trip if we knew more about what we’re getting into.”
“Agreed,” Anna said.
“I wish I was thirty years younger; I’d be going right along with you. I’m afraid I’d be more of a hinderance than a help these days though,” Hank lamented.
“You’ll be helping a lot just by keeping an eye out here and keeping the group together. You and Juan will have to hold down the fort until we can all move back in here,” Jared replied.
“Maybe I should go…” Enid said suddenly, and Jared cringed inside.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.
“Absolutely not,” Bradley said, before Jared had a chance to speak up. He was relieved.
“Why not?” she said indignantly. Her eyes flashed at Bradley, and he was glad he hadn’t said anything.
“Because we need you to stay here and help keep the group together, the chickens alive here, and—I was planning on bringing this up tomorrow— I wanted you and Maria to study medicine with Harry’s medic. He has more general knowledge than any of us here and we are going to need to know what he knows. It’s important.”
“That’s a good idea,” Anna said. “I was thinking about it when we went over to see his compound, but it had slipped my mind.”
“Ma, I think that’s a great idea. Will you do it?” he asked.
She sighed and considered it. His mom wasn’t a rebel, not really. She could shoot, and she had a temper and a strong will, but she wouldn’t try to dominate situations like this. She would do what was asked of her.
“Fine,” she finally said.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it,” Bradley told her.
“Jeez, lay it on thick why don’t you,” Jared said, rolling his eyes.
“Jared…” Anna said warningly.
“Okay, okay.” He held up his hands. “There was something else I wanted to mention, now that Bradley brought up the medical thing.” He looked at Juan and Maria. “I want the boys to start learning soldiering skills—”
“They’re just little boys!” Maria cried out.
“Please, let me finish,” Jared said.
Juan put a hand on Maria’s arm and murmured something in Spanish. She calmed herself a little, but Jared could see the suspicion in her eyes.
“I know they are little boys. I understand that you want to protect them and keep them safe. Believe me, I know. That is exactly why I want them to start training. This is the perfect time for it. They will have the safety to learn what they need to know from very well-qualified people. I’m not saying they’ll be going into combat, but eventually they will need to know how to shoot, how to maneuver, and how to fight. They need to be in top physical shape.”
“That makes sense,” Juan allowed. “We all should be in top physical shape.”
“Fine. I’ll let them do it, but I don’t want Alejandro overwhelmed. I don’t want them in any danger, and if I don’t like what they are doing then I will stop it,” Maria stipulated.
“Fair enough,” Bradley said. “Jared is right. The boys need to learn. We all have to become fighters, be the best that we each can. Our groups survival may depend on it one day. Honestly, I don’t see this whole situation getting any better. I see it getting worse. Rig
ht now is our only chance to take action and prepare ourselves.”
“And Harry is okay with all of this?” Juan asked. “With us moving in and everything?”
“He offered the last time we were there. They have plenty of empty homes and you’ll take some supplies from our stockpile here. You won’t be going as empty-handed refugees.”
That evening after supper they reconvened in the living room. Jared, Bradley and Anna had prepared crates of food and other supplies the other half of their group would need for a stay at Rolling Hills.
“I’ve decided to keep the car,” Enid said suddenly from the couch.
“The El Camino?” Jared asked.
“Yes, it’s grown on me.”
“All righty then,” Jared said with a straight face. “You won’t be stand out in that thing. At. All…”
“You have your lightning bolt truck,” she returned. “I have my car.”
“The truck serves a purpose. Jefe’s car, does not,” Jared replied.
“Actually, it is El Halcón’s car,” Juan said.
Everyone got quiet.
“El Halcón? You know him?” Anna asked.
“No, it’s on the license plate,” Juan said simply.
“Well, whatever. Anyway… you know what? Never mind. Let’s get this stuff loaded up so we don’t have to do it in the morning.”
Chapter Twenty
Radio Contact
Anna
“I’m glad you’re here. We’ve got some intel. I was about to send someone over to your place,” Harry said as they pulled through his gate the next morning.
Anna was pleased that they had replaced the soul-stealing ice cream truck barrier with something a little more substantial, and less creepy. It was a solid steel gate on runners. It would have taken a small crane to position it. Jimmy Don found the crane, no doubt.
“We don’t have much time,” Jared warned as Harry climbed up into the bed of the truck, and they followed the same path as they’d taken before.
Bradley opened the back window so they could talk more easily. “We need a favor.”
“Another one?” Harry asked. “What is it?”
“I need you to let some of my people stay here with you for a while. We have a mission to run and it’s too dangerous to leave them at my house. We’re taking all the fighters.”
“Ah. The rangers are on a mission, I see. You’ll have to tell me about it after we discuss the recent radio transmissions. In the meantime, your people are my people. They are welcome to a house or two and whatever else they need,” Harry said generously.
“Thanks. They’re set up with plenty of supplies, so they won’t be eating up your food stores. It’s a family with two little boys—who’ll need to start some kind of physical and self-defense training, by the way— and Violet, my mother Enid, and a man named Hank.”
Harry nodded and Anna could see that he truly meant his welcome.
He directed them back to the community center parking lot where they had met before. This time, there were a few children at the playground with their mothers. It was unnervingly normal.
Harry led them back into the conference room and asked a woman out front to bring them some coffee and breakfast. They hadn’t eaten yet, preferring to get this finished first, and Anna was hungry.
The conference room had changed a bit since they last convened here. There were now floor to ceiling white boards with various notes and lists. One had a diagram of their entire neighborhood with detailed security notes.
Jared whistled.
“Looks like you’ve been busy,” Bradley said. “I approve.”
He walked over to the neighborhood diagram and traced the air above the perimeter with his finger. He nodded. “This is good. Damn good.”
“I’m glad you think so. I imagine you have quite a bit of experience with such matters. Some of my teams do as well. We are fortunate to have them, and your people.” Harry offered them seats and they sat.
Anna stomach twisted nervously as they waited to hear what intel Harry had. She hoped it was good news. She was anxious enough about the upcoming mission without learning something horrible.
“Okay. Early this morning, Romeo made contact with an old man on the west coast somewhere. He wouldn’t say exactly where he was, but he had some news. He called himself Prophet, by the way.” Harry raised his eyebrow at that, and Anna saw Bradley and Jared smirk.
“So, prophet huh? Interesting.” Jared turned and narrowed his eyes at her comically and she bit her lips to keep from laughing. It seemed rude when Harry had such important news he wanted to share.
“Yes, though he said his first name was Jeremiah. We could call him Jerry.”
Fletch snickered at that. “Prophet Jerry and the Radio Transmission. Sounds like a band from the sixties.”
Harry smiled indulgently. “Anyway, he said there was word coming in that there have been sightings of large container ships offshore there.”
“Wait. Word coming in? So, he didn’t see them himself?” Bradley asked.
“Apparently not. Not yet anyway.”
“So, what? God told him?” Fletch said sarcastically.
Anna thought his tone was slightly disrespectful toward Harry.
Bradley whipped his head toward Fletch and gave him an icy stare. Fletch sunk back in his chair a bit and looked chagrined.
Harry continued. “He said that he heard there were containers ships spotted off the west coast. The only markings they had was the word 'Christos'.”
Anna frowned and thought. “Christos? Is that…"
“Christos is Greek, I believe,” Jared said. “I don’t know the exact translation, but it refers to Christ.”
They all looked at him, surprised. Anna didn’t know he knew that.
“What?” he looked around, bemused. “I do read, you know.”
“How many ships?” Bradley asked.
“Uh, six I believe is the unofficial number,” Harry said, looking at some notes.
“Anyway. So, these ships were spotted off the west coast…what’s the big deal? I mean, they could be drifting. They’re just ships,” Anna said.
Harry was about to reply when there was a knock at the door.
“Enter,” he called out, flipping over the pile of papers he had in front of him.
Apparently, this was top secret information. She didn’t get why he thought it was so important.
Five women entered with trays. They placed them on the table, and she was a little overwhelmed. When Harry said to bring breakfast, she was expecting maybe some toast or something. This was…a feast.
“Wow. I’m not leaving,” Fletch said.
There was a large urn of coffee along with its accompaniments. Three platters held scrambled eggs, sausage, and biscuits. A large pot held oatmeal. There was fruit juice as well. She hadn’t seen a breakfast like it since the first week of July.
“This is excellent,” Harry said to the women. “Thank you.”
She smiled at them in thanks, and they left. Harry passed out the plates and forks and they got down to eating. The room was filled with the sounds of eating, drinking, and hums of satisfaction. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed food like this. They hadn’t been starving, and were even quite lucky, but this was next level good.
Eventually, they settled back into their chairs and Harry wiped his mouth and hands and flipped the papers back over. “Where were we?”
“You were going to tell me why the ships were important,” Anna reminded.
“Oh yes. Well, in the normal course of events we probably would have written them off too. I’m sure there are many ships just floating around out there. Some may still have a crew, and some may be ghost ships now.”
Anna shuddered at that. Imagining being stuck on a dark ship full of muties in the middle of the ocean was probably the most terrifying thing she could think of.
“However,” he continued. “We’ve heard about these ships before.”
The men paused and looked at each other. She chewed her lip.
He looked solemn. “They supposedly came from New Zealand, and they left only a few weeks ago.”
“Wow,” Jared said.
“That’s why we took what Jerry said somewhat seriously. His very last comment before signing off was this: “And to the people of the world, comes the abominable salvation of man.”
They were all silent. Anna didn’t know what to make of it. Just some crazy guy hanging out alone too long?
“Is that in the Bible?” Fletch asked.
“Don’t think so,” Harry said. “Let’s concentrate on something else for a moment.”
Harry got up and went to a large map on one wall. He pointed to New Zealand on the far-right lower corner.
“Obviously, this is New Zealand. I don’t have a globe, but I’m sure you all know that the route would have been here,” he said, pointing a marker through the empty space to the right. “That is the Pacific Ocean. That is a trip of approximately 6000 nautical miles, give or take a few hundred.”
“Why would a…flotilla of container ships leave New Zealand and make that journey to come here?” Jared asked.
“That’s the question,” Bradley said. “I could think of several reasons, if they actually came from there.”
“I can as well. Why don’t we list them,” Harry said. He walked over to a blank space on a white board and underlined the word ‘ships’.
“Sending aid?” Anna asked.
“Possibly, but why New Zealand?” Harry asked.
“Well, it’s a small place. Maybe they weren’t affected by the plague as much?” she answered.
“Could be.” He wrote down AID in the column. “What else?”
“Attack,” Bradley said.
“Yes. Attack,” Harry said pointing the marker at them like a pleased high school teacher. She saw Jared and Fletch nod.
“Attack?” she asked them. “With only a few ships?”
“They could have weapons in the containers. They could be conventional weapons, biological weapons, nukes…hell, they could hit us with all kinds of things. There could be more ships poised to attack that we don’t know about. We have to consider all angles.”
The Salvation Plague | Book 2 | The Mutation Page 16