by J. P. Castle
“How’s he doing, Bryce?” said Rani.
“He’s got me anxious right now. I just changed the dressing, and the wound is red. I’m afraid it might be infected.”
“Have you given him the antibiotics the farmer gave you?” said Rani.
“Yes, but I’m not sure they’re working. He will hardly drink and hasn’t eaten any food. Joaquin left thirty minutes ago for aspirin ‘n a thermometer. He should be back any time,” said Bryce.
“I heard a vehicle. I’ll go see if it’s him.”
“Thanks,” said Bryce, rinsing a rag to wipe Caleb’s face again. He rolled his head back ‘n forth a couple of times, moaned, and faded off.
Ledger saw Joaquin and met him at the vehicle. He snatched the pharmacy bag from Joaquin through the window and rushed back toward the R.V. Several feet away, the R.V. door opened, and Rani stepped out, missing the last step. She gasped in a full-blown freefall. Ledger dove forward as he’d done many times on the football field to make the catch.
She didn’t see precisely who’d kept her from eating dirt but assumed from the hardness of the muscular body, it had to be Bastian’s arms around her.
“Oh my gosh, Bastian, your timing is impecca . . .” Rani stopped mid-sentence to identify Ledger’s green eyes shining back at her.
Ledger grinned sheepishly, winked, and said, “I knew it was simply a matter of time before you’d be in my arms. I caught a glimpse of you admiring me the other day.”
“UGH,” the only word Rani’s shocked brain could muster up. She shoved herself off of his rock-solid chest. The shove didn’t budge him from his stance, not even one step. He stood there . . . with that cocky, hotshot grin, waiting for her to say something.
Rani stormed off to—anywhere—to conceal her embarrassment.
“Do I even get a thank you?” he laughed.
“Shut up, Ledger Thomas,” she remarked on her departure from the scene. What’s wrong with him. How can he smell so good out here in the middle of a stinking campground? His eyes sparkle like some wolf. What’s wrong with me; why do I feel so hot? She fanned her crimson red face.
Ledger went inside the R.V. and handed the medicine bag off to Bryce. “How’s he doing?” he said.
“Not good, in ‘n out . . . mostly out,” said Bryce. She ripped the thermometer from the package and stuck it on Caleb’s forehead. Thirty seconds later, it beeped. “Oh my gosh, his fever’s 104 degrees. Help me raise his head up. He has to swallow these pills.”
Ledger helped prop his head while Bryce put several aspirin and more antibiotics in his mouth. After some effort, he swallowed them down with water.
“Uncover him, Bryce, geez. Let his body get some air. Open these windows,” said Ledger.
“I didn’t want him to be exposed.”
“Exposed . . . Bryce, he’s gonna die if we don’t cool him off. Doesn’t he have his own room at your house? I mean, haven’t you seen him in his boxers a hundred times before?”
“NO, I have NOT. We aren’t like that,” said Bryce in a tsk tsk sort of tone.
Ledger laughed as he pulled the covers from Caleb’s body and opened the windows. “You need to wash him off. I’m going outside to wait for Bastian. Holler at me if you need help.”
Wash him off, what exactly does that mean.
Bryce prepared fresh water in a small bowl, returned with a bar of soap, a washcloth, and a hand towel. With her courage gathered, she washed his black ‘n blue face, neck, hair, and armpits, drawing the line at the armpits. She eyed the deep purple discoloration on his ribs.
Caleb’s camp pack sat in the corner. Bryce took deodorant from the bag and put some under each arm. The room smelled fresher by the time she’d finished.
Bryce cleaned up the mess and carefully sat back down on the bed beside him. She closed her eyes and placed her hand on his chest. “Lord, I don’t remember the last time I prayed, I’m sorry about that. But I pray you will hear my prayer now and help Caleb. He saved my life while nearly losing his. Please, help him. Amen.”
She sat there with her eyes closed for a minute longer to rest. A hand lightly touched the top of her hand. Careful not to shake the bed, Bryce raised her head, but as quick as he’d let her know he still remained, he left again. She laid back down beside him and kept her hand on his chest to feel him breathe. They slept.
Bastian and Troian finally made it back from the Jay Slim adventure. Troian entered Youlie’s tent to check on baby Ezra, who’d fallen asleep. She decided to leave him there for the night.
“Took long enough,” said Rani. “What happened to your face?” she winced her eyes.
Those still awake gathered around.
“We ran into a slight problem with some would-be carjackers, but everything’s fine,” said Bastian.
“Doesn’t look fine,” said Rani. “Looks to me like you both got whooped on.”
“I said, it’s fine,” said Bastian firmly.
Rani stormed off to the R.V. still miffed about the baby incident earlier in the day.
Ledger strolled over to Bastian, “She is a pistol, ain’t she.”
“Man, you have no idea,” said Bastian. “Let’s all go rest; we’ll talk in the morning.”
“Bastian,” said Amir, “before you go, I wanted to tell you that you, Ledger, ‘n Caleb were on the news . . .”
“Thanks, Amir, I got word of that earlier. Keep me posted. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Okay, goodnight,” said Amir.
“Troian, you can share the fold-out with me if you need to since arrangements have changed up a bit,” said Ledger.
“Thanks, Ledger,” she said.
“You’re glowing, by the way, a little more than usual, even with the big blue knot on your forehead.”
“Ledger, you’re such an a—”
“Na, na, don’t ruin my perfect image of you with foul language.”
They both laughed together, then joined the others inside.
Bastian and Rani prepared the dinette bed. Troian and Ledger settled in on the pull-out couch.
“This ought to be interesting,” said Ledger. He knew Rani hadn’t forgiven Bastian yet.
Troian glanced over at Ledger, “Oh, you haven’t seen nothin’ yet, just give it a minute. It’s about to get royal in here,” whispered Troian with one eyebrow raised.
Bastian laid down with Rani after he checked on Caleb. He reached over to touch Rani’s hair. “I’m sorry I snapped at you this morning,” he said.
Rani rolled her eyes. “You should be,” she huffed.
“Am I forgiven?” Bastian tried to give her a kiss.
“I guess, Bashy,” she said, allowing him a minor smooch. “You can be out of the doghouse now.”
“Good, because I need to tell you something, and I need you to keep an open mind about a situation where I had limited options and tried to do the right thing.”
Rani tensed her brow. Her facial expression went from forgiveness to—choose your next words carefully mode.
“I gave baby Ezra mine ‘n Troian’s new last name in case we need to prove who his parents are. I’m fully aware you aren’t fond of babies, and the decision had to be made right then. You weren’t there to ask.”
“You did WHAT?” screeched Rani.
“Here we go,” said Troian in a near whisper only Ledger could hear.
“Hush Rani, Caleb’s asleep,” said Bastian.
“He’s not asleep, he’s in there unconscious, half-dead, with a 104 fever. Don’t you hush me, Bastian Ballentine. You two sure got awful friendly after you left,” said Rani. “NOW YOU’RE PARENTS OF A BABY? TOGETHER?”
“I wanted to share this with you before I share it with the camp tomorrow. I didn’t want to shock you then with the news. Everyone needs to know in case we get pulled over, and police or whoever starts asking questions.
“Consider me shocked, Bastian. Shocked and angry. You’re a dad now, hahaha . . . with her, hahaha,” said Rani, pointing over at Troian. “A dad,
seriously. This gets better ‘n better. Why didn’t you want us to share the name with the baby?”
“You don’t like babies. You said so yourself this morning. I couldn’t put that burden on you without asking. What will you do with him if we get pulled over? Sing ‘hush little baby’ while he screams his head off, you don’t even know the words. Anyone would immediately realize you’re not his mother.”
“I see. So, I’m not ‘mom’ material, huh, but Troian is,” said Rani.
“Rani, sometimes you’re not even good girlfriend material.” Bastian rolled over, didn’t even try to console her any further. He’d had enough for the day . . . killed a man, rescued a baby, fought for his life. He just wanted to get some sleep.
Rani leaned over into Bastian’s ear, “You’re a jerk. Back in the doghouse for you,” she said, rolling over in the opposite direction to pout.
Ledger stared at Troian with big eyes and put his fist up to his mouth in disbelief. Troian gave him the ‘shhh’ finger and shook her head for him not to say a word. Neither could believe what they’d just heard. Bastian had never talked to Rani like that before.
Troian’s head ached. She drifted away in her mind. Guess it’s understandable Rani would be a little upset over the matter. Under the dire circumstances, though, I’d think she’d recognize it as a noble gesture. But this is Rani we’re talking about, maybe she’ll cool off by tomorrow. What a crazy day. And here I am, one room closer to you, Bastian. At least for tonight.
THE NEXT MORNING Bastian decided to update the group. Everyone gathered to hear the plan he’d come up with.
“Obviously, you’re all aware by now that me, Caleb, ‘n Ledger are on the news. Which means Girard must have a list of our names. They no doubt tortured Carter for information if he’s still alive. But, unless you currently have a driver’s license, they only have last year’s school photo. I promise I am trying to find a way to get Girard off our backs. Me, Ledger, ‘n Caleb on the news puts us in even more danger. If we need to separate from the group, we will.”
“We’ll have to hide you three better. The computer recognition software will be all over this situation,” said Amir.
“I agree. So, tonight, I’m gonna pick up our I.D.s. They’re all supposed to list ages of eighteen or older. Memorize the data. Your life may depend on it. Memorize everyone’s fake names just in case we gotta use them in public. I got baby Ezra an I.D. with mine ‘n Troian’s same last name on it, listed as his parents, the only choice I had at the time. We can’t and won’t leave him behind. If we are stopped, remember that information, too.”
Rani chimed in unexpectedly. “I told Bastian what an honorable thing to do for the baby, and I am so sorry I wasn’t present to do it myself. Baby Ezra will be an extra burden on the group. But if we all pitch in, we can make it work. Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt Bash, by all means, carry on,” she said with a smile.
Ledger and Troian exchanged faces of confusion. Ledger cocked an eyebrow. Troian leaned in, “Did Rani get possessed by some alien spirit last night?” The pair grinned at one another.
Bastian furrowed his brow in confusion, then continued. “I have to go find a man that may be able to help us. I’m gonna take Ledger, Troian, and Rani. I want the rest of you to stay here at Camp Bullfrog until you hear from us. That’ll keep you safer if we hit trouble. It’ll also allow Caleb more time to heal.
“Amir email Trent at Ute Reservation. Keep it simple, as in, ‘Hope you are well, I’ll visit next time I’m in town, the family is fine, chat later.’ That’ll clue them in that we’re okay. Hopefully, they made it down there without any issues. Call me if you get a response. That’s it until I get back. Everyone with a wrist-unit, keep it handy.”
“How long will you be gone, Bastian?” said Mr. McCrady.
“A week max, but I’ll try to do better than that. Troian, I need to talk to you ‘n Amir,” said Bastian.
“What’s up,” said Amir.
“Make sure you ‘n Youlie comb through the headlines daily for any updates and find out all you can about Major General Girard Given.”
“No problem, Bastian,” said Amir.
Troian moseyed over. “Did you need me?” she said.
“Yes. Do you have your brother Tony’s number? If so, I want you to try and call him. Maybe he’ll have some inside information. Would he tell you?”
“I’ve got his number memorized. And since the situation has uprooted my whole life, and they’re trying to kill us, he’d definitely tell me if he knew anything. Especially after what happened to our parents.”
“He could be a powerful help to us. Also, ask him what he knows about General Given. Find out where he’s from, where he lives . . . that sort of thing,” said Bastian.
“What are you thinking?”
“Nothing yet, just wanna gather as much information as possible.”
“I’ll see what I can find out. And Bastian, what you said earlier about leaving . . . you can’t leave. The group would never survive without you for one. We knew or at least I expected this might happen after what you all witnessed back home, and things you had to do. But I can’t take care of that baby on my own, not without you. I mean, I understand it’s not your baby . . . or even my baby, but you do understand, right?” said Troian.
“Yeah, yeah, I totally do. I would only leave if that became the absolute last resort. But don’t worry, I would never disappear without doing my best to make sure you and Ezra were safe.”
Rani’s eyes had lasered multiple one-inch holes through Troian’s chest. Watching her and Bastian in conversation, again, was nearly more than she could bear. Oh, how am I gonna deal with you, Troian Sinclair? Grenade, poison shampoo, maybe drive you over with a truck . . . nice ‘n slow like.
How is this even possible? This can’t seriously be my life right now. Zombie apocalypse strikes ‘n my boyfriend’s brain turns to complete mush. Okay, Ran, Ran, back to reality. You’ve got this girl. Organic nerd girl can NOT possibly hold his attention long—nobody can compete with Rani Davenport.
Troian went to call her brother.
Rani eased over to Bastian’s side.
“Have you checked on your son this fine morn, Bashy?” said Rani in a smirky tone, batting her long eyelashes in amusement.
“No, Rani, but I will go do that now,” said Bastian, marching away from her toward Youlie’s tent.
No Rani, no, that’s not how to win his affections back. Gotta get some control over my mouth, but . . . I’m not sure I CAN WITH HER AROUND. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!?!
BRYCE SAT AT Caleb’s bedside. Her head laid on the side of the bed next to his hip. It had been a long night, but his fever finally came down to 100.5 degrees around midnight. Bryce’s thoughts steered her in a negative direction. He may not make it. If he does make it, will he be the same after the gruesome blows to the head? What if he has brain damage? How could someone do that to another person?
Fingers pilfered randomly through the top of her hair.
“Water,” Caleb muttered.
Bryce rushed to give him a drink. He choked, then moaned in pain. “Caleb, you’re . . . awake. Don’t worry, you’re safe.”
“Food,” he said in a weak voice.
“I’ll get some right now, don’t move,” said Bryce. She scurried away to prepare some soup and a sandwich.
After he ate, she helped him out of bed for the first time since the injury. He moved slow and still only had one good eye, the other remained swollen shut. The purple and blue bruises on his face rendered him unrecognizable. He managed to get to the bathroom, then made it back to the bed. The bullet wound oozed. Bryce changed the dressing diligently twice a day.
“Thank you,” he said before falling back to sleep.
Bryce hoped for more conversation, but she’d take any positive response at this point. Maybe tomorrow.
GENERAL GIVEN STUDIED out the window of his office, watching the trees sway in the wind. Could we have stopped this atrocity if we’d h
ave acted sooner? Before he could ponder further, someone rapped on his office door. At General Given’s command, his top Lieutenant entered.
“What’s the update, Lieutenant Colonel Stevens?”
“The convoy is ready to harvest the next town, sir, Anaconda, Montana, population 12,000. It’s almost triple the size of Breckenridge. I estimate we’ll be there for four days altogether.”
“Thank you, Colonel. I’ll update the appropriate parties. Hit the town tomorrow at 0800. What about the missing twenty-nine from Breckenridge? There is no way twenty-nine people can escape together. They must be found and disposed of promptly by any means necessary,” said General Given.
“I’m still at work on that, sir. Honestly, they’ve disappeared temporarily, but I’m sure they will soon make a mistake. People always make mistakes. It’s simply a matter of time before one of their faces is flagged in public by our computer recognition software.”
“Are those scumbag prisoners chipped yet?”
“Sir, yes, over 400,000 inmates are chipped and ready. We started at the maximum-security level prisons and worked our way down until we depleted our supply of transmitters.”
“Great news. Rattle that cage at 0900, in forty-eight hours. This country has fed, housed, clothed, and provided medical care to that population long enough. All while good citizens, veterans, and children starve.”
“What about the media, sir?” said the Lieutenant Colonel.
“Don’t you worry about them; they’re not allowed inside. The media only puts out what we tell them. I’ll send out a statement.”
“And the prison staff, sir.”
“Send a convoy to each prison two hours before the event to eliminate all personnel on-site. It’s the only way this façade stays intact. Now, how many Red Fang Two doses are in stock?”
“We have 200 million doses in stock, sir, and the other portion is being delivered next week.”
“Sounds like it’s all on track, Colonel. Dismissed.”