The platoon gave a round of hearty ‘oorahs’ as they high-fived each other. Mark’s face dropped, and Terry knew why. He clapped Mark on the back. “We are all going on this mission. Every single one of us and we’re walking, my pretties, and that doesn’t mean we’re lolly-gagging. This is going to be a power hike of something like one hundred miles. We’re going to make it down there in three days and back in four. Do you understand me?” Terry finished with a yell and a fist in the air.
Mark brightened and howled with the others.
“When do we leave, sir?” Mark asked.
“Tomorrow morning, daybreak. Full kit, four mags each, food for three days per person. We’ll take all the horses to haul extra gear. Is this thing coming along, too?” Terry pointed at Hank’s head.
Mark and Blackie both nodded.
“Make sure he keeps up. We’ve got places to go, people to see. Take charge, Sergeant, and carry out the plan of the day!”
Mark saluted smartly, grinning from ear to ear.
***
Timmons waited for the others to leave. James and Lacy were riding north while Gerry and Kiwi continued their time-consuming search of the buildings on the base.
“Let’s go,” Timmons told Ted.
“Where?”
“The pharmaceutical plant, of course.” Timmons had no intention of letting a little girl tell him what he could or could not do.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Ted countered, not moving as Timmons walked away.
“It’s the only idea I have, so get up here.” Timmons waved impatiently and turned. If Ted didn’t join him, he’d go by himself, but it would be easier having someone with two hands along.
“I don’t think we should,” Ted argued, walking reluctantly behind Timmons. If he didn’t go and something happened, Ted wouldn’t be able to live with himself. He determined to go for the sole reason of looking out for his pack-mate.
The wolves joined them, loping alongside as Timmons walked briskly. He looked around, angling to walk in the shadows. Ted wasn’t pleased.
“If you have to hide what you’re doing, you probably shouldn’t be doing it!” Ted yelled. Timmons shushed him, but it drove Ted’s point home. Timmons stopped.
“How about a compromise?” Timmons offered, but Ted continued to shake his head. “Fuck it. Where can we find the chemicals we need, then, asshat?”
Ted brightened. “The hospital!” he said. Timmons wrapped an arm over the other man’s shoulder and grasped his neck.
“Sometimes, Ted, I want to choke the life out of you!” Timmons scowled.
“What did I do?” Ted wondered.
“Nothing different than always. You are the same Werewolf that we knew in New York. At least we know what we’re going to get, huh? And I need to talk with that Indian girl and find out what the hell has her so spooked about that place.” Timmons looked up and saw Gerry and Kiwi riding toward them.
When they got close enough, Kiwidinok stared into Timmons’ yellow eyes. “Thank you,” she finally said.
“What the fuck, little girl?” Timmons said in his most abrasive tone.
Defiance contorted her face as she slowly raised one hand and dialed up her middle finger, shaking it at the Werewolf. His yellow eyes blazed.
“Death, that’s what the fuck, butthole!”
Ted snickered.
“Let’s go there and I’ll show your dumb ass,” she yelled and stalked back to the horse, where Gerry offered her an arm to pull herself up and behind him. She glared at Timmons the entire time.
“Come on, Ted, let’s see what this is all about. Lead on, ma’am,” Timmons replied sarcastically.
He stormed away, followed by Gerry and Kiwi on their horse. Ted jogged after the group, waving at the wolf pack to follow.
***
Terry sat backwards in the chair as he always did. Kae sat on the floor and played with the baby. He couldn’t remember seeing a baby before and found the little girl to be fascinating, but also, there were real toys to play with. Felicity sat between them and watched Kaeden stack blocks into a variety of shapes, then take them down and restack them, almost as if he was telling a story.
“Mark has been working their asses off,” Billy said. “He’s been walking them every day, farther and farther. And you should have seen him!”
Billy and Felicity started to laugh. “Pepe and Ernie got into it, I mean they were throwing down, then the brawl starts as people take sides, so Mark wades into the middle of it all, throwing people around. He finally gets to the two who started it and picks them both up by their collars. I was impressed, but then Maria sneaks up behind him and bashes him over the head with a rock, knocking him cold.”
Terry wondered where Mark’s partner was. No one should have waded into a bar fight without backup.
“That ended the fight, then everyone felt bad. So Mark accomplished exactly what he intended, at great personal sacrifice. It took three weeks for the lump on his head to go down.” Billy chuckled to himself thinking about it.
Terry heard Billy’s car start. The sound was impossible to miss. Terry pointed to the window.
“That’ll be Shonna and Merrit running the car to give the freezers a little juice so we can keep our stuff frozen for a little while longer. I guess now that you’re back, we can start defrosting and finish off the frozen stuff. I thought it would all thaw, but they found what was wrong with my car in about two minutes. Fuel filter was plugged, or so Shonna said. We hit the freezers for about thirty minutes each, every day.”
Clyde was under the table, leaning against Sue’s leg. Terry was deliberately trying to avoid thinking about his dog, but he could smell him and finally it was too much.
With a sorrowful look in his eye, he turned to Char. “My dog…”
Sue hung her head.
“Let’s go outside and play with the dog, but at the end of the day, he’s going home with Sue.” Char put her foot down. She made eye contact with Sue. “I already have two little boys to care for.”
Terry sighed and stood up, spinning his chair around. “Come on, boy, let’s go outside.” Clyde’s nails scratched the floor as he ran after Terry.
“Meeting adjourned?” Char suggested. Billy didn’t think so, but had no choice since Terry was already gone.
“Come on, Kae,” Char called. The boy jumped up and ran after Char, grabbing her offered hand on their way out. Billy helped Felicity before picking Marcie up and carrying her as they hurried to join the others.
Terry was throwing a stick that Clyde was running down and bringing back. Kae was trying to keep up with the dog and failing miserably, but as long as Terry and Char were watching, he was happy.
Billy sidled up next to Terry. “A family man, huh?”
“Whether we wanted it or not,” Terry replied.
“It suits you,” the mayor told him as he bounced his daughter on his hip. “What are our chances?”
“It’s not a bad route, Billy. There was enough water. That was the main thing I worried about. There’s a native village, probably the same size as New Boulder. They’ll be hospitable. They’re good people and some of them will join us on the trip. Hell, we already have an Indian girl with us. The chief gave us his granddaughter as Geronimo’s bride.”
“What does she look like?” Billy asked, earning himself a glare from both women and a disgusted look from Terry. “Whatever!”
“We’re heading out first thing in the morning, going to Cheyenne Mountain, take a look around. I have a feeling…” Terry drifted off.
“You have more than a feeling, TH! We’re getting ready to walk two thousand miles, but the desire to go a couple hundred extra appealed to you for some ungodly reason. You don’t do shit without a reason, so don’t lie to me, bitch.” Billy tried to look large and in charge, but bouncing the baby ruined his moment. And Felicity slapping him in the back of the head undid any other pretense of being The Man.
But he’d made his point.
“We will see.” Terry grinned.
CHAPTER TWELVE
They stood outside the massive complex. Timmons wanted to start in the back, in a place with the most piping and tanks. Ted agreed that was where they’d probably find chemical storage tanks.
Kiwi was so upset she was shaking. Gerry tied the horse to a tree and hugged her. He glared at Timmons. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.
Timmons looked confused. “We need certain chemicals to help us restart the plant. We need to clean some elements and it takes a more delicate touch than elbow grease. That’s why. I won’t risk breaking anything if there’s a different way.” He stepped aside and waved to the pharmaceutical plant. “And here is a different way.”
He stormed away. Ted ran after him.
“Rope!” Kiwi yelled. Gerry pulled the coil that he carried in his saddle bag. They ran after the two Werewolves. The wolf pack got excited, but they stayed as far from the buildings as they could get.
“Here,” Timmons said as he examined the piping entering a brick building. He sniffed. Twenty years had not been enough for nature to reclaim the toxic waste that man had created. The place reeked of man-made chemicals.
The door was closed, which made it an oddity in an area where decades of scavenging had left a mark.
Timmons seized the heavy handle and yanked with all his Werewolf strength. The door screeched for just a moment, then stopped. Ted joined in and between the two of them and their three hands, they yanked the door free.
Ted immediately dove out of the way while Timmons watched him. Nothing happened. Timmons waved him off and strode boldly inside.
The sound started as a low groan, then turned into a rumble that turned into a screech. They heard Timmons yell from inside the building. There was a huge crash and a wave of noxious chemicals poured through the open door.
“TIMMONS!” Ted screamed. The wolf pack bolted for somewhere else. Gerry and Kiwi danced away from the liquid run-off. Ted took two steps into the chemicals and his shoes started to smoke.
“Ted!” Gerry called and threw the end of the rope at him. He caught it and ran inside, coughing and gasping as soon as he made it through the door. Two seconds later, he stumbled back outside and waved at them to pull the rope. Gerry and Kiwi pulled, hand over hand, feeling the resistance as they dragged Timmons out.
He fell through the door. The flesh on his lower legs was eaten mostly away. His stump was only a bone. He gagged and spit blood.
Gerry and Kiwi stayed back. Ted grabbed him with one arm and staggered out of the chemical puddles littering the ground outside the door. When he was clear of them, they both fell. Ted wheezed, while Timmons was barely breathing. The wounds to his body were horrific.
Kiwi leaned aside and started throwing up. Gerry retrieved a blanket and their water flasks to rinse the wounds and cover Timmons. Gerry had no idea what else he could do.
Ted moaned softly until he passed out.
***
Terry and Char rode their horses to the barracks in what felt like the dark of night. Kaeden was sleeping while Terry held him. There was no way they could have left the boy behind, although Margie Rose was willing to watch him.
So they brought him along. Terry didn’t expect any tactical actions, although they’d exercise various formations as they traveled since everyone would be walking. They brought the horses just in case.
And the bear. A fucking bear, because one never knew when a grizzly would come in handy. Terry wasn’t amused.
The platoon was forming as they arrived, so Terry didn’t wait. He climbed from the horse and directed Mark to establish seven people to pull the seven horses loaded with food and water.
Adams and Xandrie strolled out of the shadows. “Mind if we tag along?” Adams asked.
“You’re more than welcome,” Char answered, shaking hands with the man and hugging the She-Wolf. She directed them to bring up the rear.
Terry carried Kae in his arms and without further ado, they headed out. A trick he’d learned in the Corps was to hike for ten or fifteen minutes, then stop to let the people fix socks or pack straps or whatever could chafe or blister. Then they were back on the road. Two hours on and thirty off. The day passed quickly and after twelve hours, Terry knew they’d gone thirty-five miles. That was a great day walking, no matter who you were.
The platoon was dogged when they settled in for the evening. Hank was in a bad mood, but he’d made it the whole way. Blackie was completely exhausted from chasing the bear.
So Terry took no pity on them. “Sergeant! Establish a watch, four on at a time. Set the perimeter. Corporals will check everyone on and off watch, but they won’t stand it themselves. Do you understand?” Mark said that he did.
Char wondered what Terry was up to.
He leaned toward her and whispered, “We’ll see how they set it up. Two hour shifts which would benefit the corporals or one hour shifts to better take care of the platoon. We shall see.”
“Why?” she asked. “Sergeant!” Mark had gathered the corporals. He ran to the major. She waved the others over.
“One hour shifts, a different corporal will check the new watch into duty. Three corporals, you only get woken twice and the platoon members only have to stay awake for an hour at a time,” she instructed them. Mark nodded and gave a thumbs up, then saluted and turned back to the corporals.
Char expected to see Terry pouting, but he was smiling. He’d have to test them in some other way.
Char sat up and looked toward the Wastelands. Terry knew the look. “Game?”
“I think a small pack of javelina,” she whispered. “A single Werewolf can probably kill them all.”
Terry nodded and Char motioned for Adams and Xandrie to join her, then the three disappeared into the night. Kae curled up against Terry and went to sleep. The boy had walked a few miles on his own, riding the rest of the time, and he was exhausted.
Mark stopped by to report that the watch had been established. Terry told him that three people were out hunting and that the watch shouldn’t shoot them. He called for weapons tight until they were back and dismissed the sergeant, who ran off to make sure the watch received their new orders.
Terry didn’t remember falling asleep, but when he woke up, Char was asleep on the other side of Kaeden, and she was holding Terry’s hand.
A small fire crackled not far away. Terry could smell roast pork. He closed his eyes and dreamed of breakfast.
***
They decided to carry the two men back to the base, taking Timmons first. They hated to leave Ted behind, but the wolf pack had returned.
“You watch over him until we come back,” Kiwi told them. She didn’t know if they understood. The two youngsters wrapped Timmons’s legs in the blanket and with Gerry holding him under his arms, Kiwi lifted the blanketed legs and they started walking toward the gate and further to where they were staying. Timmons was heavy, but Gerry didn’t complain. Kiwi held up her end, but was sweating profusely and panting when they finally arrived and lay Timmons on a halfway decent mattress that occupied the floor of his room.
They dribbled a little water into his mouth, but he was still out cold. His features were ashen and he was cold and clammy. They all knew that Werewolves should feel hot to the touch.
Kiwi held her head in her hands. “I didn’t try hard enough to stop them!” she bawled. Gerry held her as she sobbed.
“Timmons was in charge. It was his call. It was always his call, and he made it, despite what you told him. By the way, how did you know?” Gerry pushed her to arm’s length so he could see her face. Her eyes were red and puffy.
She looked almost like a little girl. It tore at Gerry to see her like that.
“Mother Earth showed me through Mateguas, the ghost rabbit. He shows up in places that lead to death. Water that’s not safe to drink, I’ll see her sitting at the water’s edge. The rabbit leads us to safety by showing us where the danger is,” she explained, wiping the tears from her face. “I d
on’t know how or why. Many of my people share the same bond with Mother Earth. It’s our gift, or like this, it’s a curse. I could see it all, the ghost rabbit warning us. Timmons walked into the blackness, and I stood there and watched.”
She broke down again and cried more. Gerry held her through it, but he was getting anxious. Ted was still out there.
“We need to go get Ted,” he whispered into her ear as he rubbed his cheek on her head. Gerry let go, and dribbled more water into Timmons’ mouth before they walked out the door. Halfway across the open area in front of their building, they saw Ted walking slowly toward them, surrounded by the wolf pack.
They hurried to help him.
He was no longer wheezing. Kiwi felt his head and he was hot, as a Werewolf should be. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“I need to see Timmons,” he said softly.
***
The second day walking was much like the first, with more antics from Hank, the grizzly bear. Terry refused to slow the formation to let Hank and Blackie catch up, so they never took a break. Every two hours, they’d rest for thirty minutes. Inevitably, Blackie and Hank would roll in as they were gearing up to continue.
Terry only cared that they caught up.
“You won’t be able to do that with the civilians,” Char said. Terry knew that, but he’d need a reminder because stragglers would make him furious.
“You know me so well.” Kae was sitting on Terry’s shoulders with his hands on the man’s head, watching and taking it all in.
Adams and Xandrie were engaged in friendly banter with one of the squads regarding how to properly run down and kill an elk. Char looked oddly at them, because sometime while they were gone, it had become common knowledge among the platoon that the newcomers were Werewolves.
Nomad Omnibus 02: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (A Terry Henry Walton Chronicles Omnibus) Page 9