by Gary Hickman
“Untainted sample,” Dr. Santiago said. “Yes, Ma’am.” Priest slapped Doc on the shoulder because he had been staring at her since he laid eyes on her. “You’re staring. You look like a mental patient.”
“Sorry, I can’t help it.” Dr. Diane Santiago was something to look at. A Hispanic woman who has black hair, big brown eyes, and she carried a few extra pounds, but they were all the right places. She was attractive and had a full figure, and it mesmerized Doc.
Dr. Santiago noticed him looking a couple times, but never really said anything to him. Dr. Bethany Rand was slightly older and closer to Priest’s age, but didn’t show it. She wasn’t a “hot” woman but was the pretty girl next door type. Being shy, she didn’t look at people much and seemed to have a low self-esteem, but was a damn talented scientist.
CHAPTER 34
Webb created a schedule of watch personnel, which included everyone since it didn’t take military training to monitor the cameras for issues. The plan was that if someone saw something suspicious or an obvious threat, they would wake up the Sargent at arms for that night, which floated back and forth between Webb and Priest.
There was an alert sound and intercom in each of the rooms. Instead of going for her own room, Lia stayed with Priest with no protest. Izzy followed suite with Webb, but Allison was still a little nervous about it. Shaw told her not to worry about it and it was ok. Everyone else was in their rooms.
Neville started off as the first watch when everyone went to bed. Priest showered and was in bed when Lia came out of the bathroom naked.
Priest was a little wide-eyed at first, then composed himself. He could see various scars on Lia, one on her stomach, on her thigh and across her collarbone. She saw him looking and self-consciousness spread across her face.
She turned to get a robe, “No, no. It’s okay, come here,” Priest whispered. She walked over to him and sat on the bed. He softly and slowly ran his hand across her scars. He looked up at her, “Combat?” She teetered her head back and forth, “Kind of…. abusive husband.”
Priest’s face went from concern to rage. She put her hand on the side of this face and kissed him. His rage dissipated.
“Don’t worry, I had enough one day and kicked the living shit out of him.” Priest grinned. She pointed to her collarbone, “It’s how I got this. He threw me down the stairs in our home. I was dazed, but it knocked something loose and I had enough from that moment on. I was wearing heels that night and one had fallen off as I tumbled down the stairs. One was still on and as he came down after me and I kicked him with my heel into the side of his knee. It buckled, and he fell, so I kicked out again, this time at his groin. The heel entered.”
“Did you say entered?”
“I did.”
“Holy shit.” Priest made a squeamish face. “I bet that hurt.”
“It was enough for him to pass out!”
“Sweet.”
“We were both in the IDF and so I went to his Command and told them the entire story. They put him in the “brig” as you call it. I filed for divorce two days later.”
“Damn.” Priest looked at her for a long moment, “You are beautiful to me, scars and all, seriously.” Lia bent down and kissed him, her wet hair tickling his face. As she straightened back up, she ran her fingers over the multitude of scars that covered his body. She asked him to roll over, and she saw even more on his back. He turned back over and a look of concern swept across her face, “Battle? She asked.
“No, crazy ex-wife,” he snickered. She jumped on him and they wrestled around with her squealing and him laughing. They stopped after a while and were laying side by side facing each other.
She looked into his eyes, “Where did you get all those?”
He took in a lengthy breath, exhaled it, “Some from combat but almost all on my back from being a prisoner in Yemen. They like to use the whip over there.”
“Oh my gosh,” she gasped.
“Don’t worry, my boys busted me out, and we made them pay. Took their whole fucking compound to the ground. A few survived and we…”, he paused, “Well, let’s just say we sent them to find their 72 virgins with missing limbs, missing teeth, mmm… missing eyes, etc.”. She just laid there grinning at him. He lay there looking in her eyes. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” she said.
“Why are you here?” She was taken aback slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you here with me? Why did you choose me?”
“Why not you?”
His eyes held a deep sadness and she could see hurt there. He didn’t believe it to be true, like he was waiting for the punchline. She ran her fingers through his beard softly.
“My God, has life given you nothing but hurt and sorrow? No one that has loved you for who you are?”
Lia had tears in her eyes, “You want to know why I am here?” She paused for a second and made sure he was looking into her eyes.
“I see strength in you and not just in your body, but in the way you lead, in the way you care for your men and others, in the way you feel the need to do what’s right. I also see the way you look at me, with what I can only describe as pride. I don’t know why, but I can see it in your eyes when you look at me. You are hard and rugged, soft and caring, loyal and humble, all rolled into one. So, yes. I am here with you because there is no other place I feel as safe and happy.”
That brought tears to his eyes, and he dropped his head. She pulled his head back up, wiped the tears away with her thumbs and kissed him again.
After a few moments, he touched her face, “Just to clear one thing up. When you came out of the bathroom, that look I gave you, was lust.” She let out a chuckle and slapped him on the shoulder. They turned off the light, embraced each other, and that was all the talking they did that night.
The next morning, Priest woke up to an empty bed. He got up, washed his face, put on a t-shirt and sweatpants and made his way down the dorm hall. Half way down, something reached his nose. It was an aroma of meat and spices. It reached up, grabbed his nose and carried him toward the dining hall like in one of those Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Before he reached the dining hall, he heard voices and laughter. It was almost foreign to him since it had been so long since he had experienced that genuinely. Sitting at the table was Lia, Allison and Dr. Caulfield, all drinking coffee and it smelled heavenly. There was giggling coming from the kitchen and he could hear Neville going on about something.
The dining hall had a fully equipped and stocked kitchen. As he reached the dining hall, he saw Neville and Dr. Rand standing at the stove cooking together, joking and laughing. That brought a smile to his face, then he was startled by a pair of lips on his cheek. He was focusing on Neville & Dr. Rand and didn’t see Lia walk up to him.
“Whoa, you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, sorry. Probably still torqued up from the past few days.”
She stroked his arm, “Sit down and I’ll get you some coffee.” He gently tapped her on the butt when she walked by. She looked over her shoulder with a giggle on her way to the coffee station. He sat down at the table where Shaw was now sitting next to Allison. He was staring at Priest with a sheepish grin.
“What?”
Shaw elbowed Allison, “You’re kind of glowing,” she said with a smirk.
“I do not glow.”
“Well, you are glowing today,” Shaw chimed in. “Honestly Sarge, I’ve never seen this side of you before.”
“The only side of me you’re gonna see is the front of my fist if you don’t shut up,” Priest joked.
“You got it, Sarge.”
Lia returned with his coffee and sat down. She looked around the table, “What’s going on?”
“They say I am glowing,” Priest said over his coffee mug. This caused Lia to blush a little. He looked over at her. She had her thick black hair in a ponytail, barely a few grays throughout. Her hazel eyes sparkled next to her olive skin. She caught him looking at her and knew what he was thinking.
She patted his forearm, “Why not you?” she said. He nodded, closed his eyes for a second to say a quick “thank you” prayer. All the women he had ever been with never affected him the way Lia had. It was strange territory for him, but he definitely didn’t mind. “All right, snap out of it and get your shit together, jackass,” he thought to himself. He was ready to turn his attention to figuring out what they do next. “Where is Doc?” Priest asked.
“He had last night’s shift for watch,” Shaw answered
Webb woke up with Izzy still laying there asleep. He got up and used the bathroom and came back into the bedroom with Izzy sitting up in bed. “Shiiit.” He said. She started laughing. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“I can see that.” They bantered back and forth and got ready. She looked at him, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Why do you ask?” “You were having a rough time last night. You were thrashing around, having nightmares and calling out.”
“Damn, yeah I have issues.”
“Marcus, look, I don’t have any experience with this, but if there is anything I can do to help, I will.”
He leaned over and kissed her, “Just you being here with me calms my spirit. You make me feel more secure in my own mind. You ground me to where things don’t feel so out of control and give me a sense that things are okay. Does that make sense?” He looked up at her and saw she had tears in her eyes.
“It makes more sense than you can ever know.” She wiped her tears away and gave Webb a hug. She pulled back, and they smiled at each other, and then her eyes got big.
“What?” Webb asked.
“I am starving!”
“Me too,” Webb added.
They made their way down to the dining hall, laughing and joking. Webb seemed to have a glow about him as well that Priest noticed. He now understood what everyone was talking about.
Webb sat down across from him and looked up. “What?”
Priest snickered at Lia, Allison, and Shaw. He looked back at Webb, “You’re glowing.” The entire table burst out in laughter.
Izzy came back with coffee, “What is so funny?”
Webb still with a look of confusion on his face, “They said I was glowing. What the hell is that?” Izzy giggled, bent down and whispered something in Webb’s ear. She straightened back up, kissed him on this head and went to the kitchen. If you have never seen a black man blush, Webb’s face looked like a red stoplight. “Aw piss off,” he said.
Bethany Rand called for everyone’s attention and started an introduction, “Straight from the bayou of Louisiana, I give you Chef Renaldo Neville and his Cajun chef-d’oeuvre petite dejeuner!” She turned to Neville, “Did I say that right?”
“That was just fine, Chere,” Neville responded.
“Damn, that smells good. What is it?” Shaw asked.
“It’s a little something I whipped up. Eggs, onions, sausage, cheese and some spices.”
“Where did you get the sausage?” Shaw asked.
“Okay, it’s hotdogs, but with the Cajun spices I always have with me, BAM! andouille sausage.”
Priest leaned over to smell it, “Whatever it is, it looks and smells delicious.” Neville dipped some out for everyone. He was smiling a smile that hadn’t been on his face in quite some time. It was good to see.
Just then, the doors from the opposite hallway burst open and Dr. Holtz came power walking through. In his hand was a huge insulated coffee mug the size of a full-size coffee can. He walked up to the coffee station, emptied both pots into his enormous mug and zipped off back towards the labs. Everyone turned and looked at Dr. Caulfield.
“Yeah, well, get used to it. That is an everyday occurrence. Actually, it occurs multiple times a day. He is a brilliant scientist, but a tad bit quirky.” Caulfield said with a look on his face that signaled acquiescence.
“Ya, think?” Neville said.
Priest shrugged and grabbed his plate, “I got to watch so I’ll take it with me.” He got up and turned when he heard a throat clearing. He turned back around to see Lia looking at him with a smile on her face. “What? Oh shit, sorry. Just not used to it.” He bent down and kissed her and then turned to walk away.
“That’s ok,” she said and then slapped his ass. Priest jumped and let out a girlish scream and then walked away shaking his ass way too much.
“Damn, didn’t need to see that,” Webb laughed.
“You and me both,” Shaw added.
Priest just started singing “Jealousy” by Queen as he went down the hall to relieve Doc.
A few hours later Webb showed up in the CC while Priest was scanning the perimeter with the cameras.
“What’s up Cap?”
“Nothing much, just seeing what was going on.”
“I’ve been thinking. I think we need to scout the town down there and see if there is anything we can use. Plus, I wouldn’t mind finding out if the “Redneck Mafia” that attacked this place before, has a base of operations in that town.”
Webb looked pensive for a moment, “I had the same thought myself. A little recon would do us good for some local intel.”
“Agreed. Another thought I had was possibly looking for a chase vehicle. You know, something small, quick and maneuverable. Something we could scout out the infected with or possible even use as a bait vehicle to lure the infected away if needed.”
“Hmm… I like it.”
“Okay. I’ll take Big Man with me and we will see what is what tonight.” Webb nodded and left the CC.
CHAPTER 35
The town of Boone was a small to medium size country town, anchored by Appalachian State University. The college was a major source of employment and commerce. It supplied consumers for the town’s goods and services and was the lifeblood of Boone’s existence.
The town was as dead at night time. The streets held an even more eerie feel since power to the town had shut off. With no one manning the nations’ power plants, it was a crap shoot which towns had power and which ones didn’t. The CDC facility has its own generators, along with a solar farm and battery banks.
Deep into the night, a vehicle made its way down the gloomy streets. No lights illuminated from the vehicle interior or exterior while the two figures rode silently.
The figures had their NVG’s activated, which allowed them to move undetected and still being able to see everything as if it were daylight. The vehicle traveled through the town at a slow creep, looking for other signs of life.
Priest wondered how many kids made it home or succumbed to the virus, never to go home again. He couldn’t imagine being a parent and worrying whether your child, not knowing where they were, if they were safe, if they were dead or not. The anxiety in trying to get to them through all this shit.
Shaw noticed Priest was more quiet than usual, “Hey Sarge, you okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking about this place when it was in full swing. Wondering how many kids made it home or got infected before they ever made it there.” He couldn’t imagine being a parent and worrying whether your child, not knowing where they were, if they were safe, if they were dead or not. The anxiety in trying to get to them through all this shit.
“I know what you mean. I think about that myself.” They bo
th fell silent as they navigated through the empty streets.
Shaw broke the silence again, “You think any of those rednecks are out here somewhere. Maybe occupying a couple of these buildings out here?” Shaw asked.
“They got to be somewhere, but I imagine they’re out in the sticks. They are probably better prepared for this situation in their own homes than in the town.” Priest replied.
The two continued on, passing grim building after grim building. None showed signs of life. They turned back onto the major road, heading through town.
“Whoa, stop the truck.” Priest called to Shaw.
“What? Why? What’s wrong?” Shaw was looking around for something he might have missed.
“No, no. Take it easy. Look over your right shoulder. What is that?”
Shaw turned to look, “It’s a motorcycle shop. And?”
“So, what are we missing with other mission needs?”
Shaw thought for a while, “Ah. Maybe something quick and more maneuverable. Maybe to scout or lead the infected somewhere. I like it, but you feel up to riding?”
Priest looked at him with an enormous grin, “Hell yeah! I’m ready to ride.”
“Well then, let’s go look and see what they have for sale.”
Shaw turned off the engine, and the two sat there for a couple minutes listening for any movement from the infected. After hearing nothing, they exited the Jeep and walked over to the door of the bike warehouse. Priest walked up and grabbed the padlock on the door.
“Shit. How are we going to remove that quietly?”
“Let the doctor operate,” Shaw said as we moved past him with a pair of bolt cutters.
“Where the hell did you find those?” Priest looked at him in disbelief.
“One never reveals their secrets. Ok, I picked them up at the 4x4 dealership.” Shaw grinned as he made quick work of the padlock. “After you, fine sir.”