August Burning (Book 2): Survival (23 page)

“No! No, Wilder. Calm down.”

Suddenly one of them screamed and wailed. Her body contorted in a violent twisting, and her apron split at the back to reveal a bony spinal column and mottled flesh.

The pale lady croaked quietly, and within a breath two of the bearded men had pinned the struggling girl down. Another approached slowly, his jaw snapping. He was a massive man, with a giant belly. His gait was like that of a toddler, and he saw without seeing. The man snapped a handcuff onto the woman’s feeble wrist and he sat ambivalently on the frosty grass.

The murmuring had stopped. The girl stood, her wrist hanging at her side. She snarled and hissed like a rabid animal, struggling against her restraint with vicious intent. Her eyes were fixed solely on the survivors. She now resembled any other normal infected.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Food?” The lady with matted tendrils said, pointing at Adira. She took a step forward, as did several other hillsmen, their mouths slack-jawed.

“No!” Jaxton yelled with vicious force. He stepped in front of Adira and raised his rifle. The woman continued to stumble forward till her balding head was pressed against Jaxton’s muzzle. Jaxton was trembling. “No,” he said again, this time more quietly.

The balding woman became motionless, and Adira thought she saw a slight brow furrow. Long seconds past. Adira saw the others looked to her as she thought. Then she stumbled back. “No,” she repeated. “Not food.”

Jaxton nodded aggressively. “Not food.”

There was another shriek, this one from a man in an old mechanic’s uniform, blue against the white field. He dropped to his knees and raged. The balding woman croaked ambivalently once more and the man was subdued by two other men, who again fastened his wrist to their own.

The man rose as an infected, fighting to rip the survivors to pieces.

There was a snap, and a scuffle. The girl with the ripping apron had broken her own wrist with the force of her exertions. The wrist was severely snapped, yet she paid it no mind. She was able to break free of the handcuff, and immediately charged towards Elvis. The bald lady stepped in her path, and brought her rusting hatchet down on the girl’s skull with vicious force. It split like a fruit and sprayed the pale skin red. Her corpse fell to the ground, twitching.

The balding woman did not move to wipe the blood dripping into her eyes, but she did appear to shake her head. There was a brow furrow again. “No, no, no.” She seemed to sigh in a short, corrupted breath. Then she croaked. “Food.”

Upon her word other hillsmen set to work. They approached with hatchets drawn, and greedy eyes. Sparing no time, they hacked away. The girl’s corrupted corpse was soon in several large pieces, shared by several smaller groups. The balding lady looked to the survivors. “Food?” She asked, and for a moment she had eyes as innocent as a child’s.

“No.” Jaxton could see the second man to turn infected had resumed his vacant, pale-eyed stare. He no longer raged and snarled at the survivors. He sat calmly on the grass, next to two bearded giants who calmly undid his restraints.

“They’re like children,” Adira whispered.

“Children?” Liam stared, mouth agape, as they consumed the girl’s body with appreciative zeal.

“There is some intelligence there. They knew to tie up those two before they attacked us.”

“But they wanted to eat us.”

Jaxton nodded. “Aye, and they wanted to eat us. I’m not sure what to make of it. We should leave now, before something changes.”

The survivors quietly withdrew from the circle of hillsmen, most of whom stared at them with calm, curious expressions behind pale eyes. The balding woman snapped her jaw several times and croaked.

As the survivors re-entered the tree-line, they looked back. The hills-men were filtering back into the rusting factory. Most paid them no mind, but Adira could see one raising his hand in a bizarre attempt. An attempt to wave goodbye.

Chapter Fifteen

“Don’t beat yourself up about it son, all’s well. We got the deer.”

Bennett scoffed. “No, you got the deer.”

Billy smiled softly as they walked through the lobby, leaving a trail of melting snow. “I got the deer. You got the deer. Makes no difference to me.”

“It matters to me.” Bennett could hear the others snickering.

Billy clapped him on the shoulder, and went to lead the others to the kitchens. Bennett watched them go and could hear their animated chatter long after they disappeared behind a corner. He sighed. They liked Billy far more than they liked him. And Bennett liked Billy. He was a hard guy not to like. But he couldn’t shake the resentment. Billy knew where to look. Billy knew how to look. Bennett was no commander at all. He was a puppet following Billy’s lead.

“Bennett.” The pasty, red-haired police officer was standing in front of him. “Lieutenant wants to see you.”

Bennett shoved his way past, in no mood for the Agis’ cronies. “Let me wash up first.” He felt a strong hand gripping his shoulder. Bennett turned to face the pasty man with greedy eyes. He had to look up. “Get your fucking hand off me.”

The pasty man drew up, amused. “Best watch the way you speak to your superior, little man.”

“Where’s Agis?”

“The map-room.” He answered flatly, his face a mottled mess of red and white.

Bennett turned and affected a confident stride that would take him to Agis. When he entered, Agis was moving a tiny marker into place on the same map Jaxton had so painstakingly drawn. Harley stood behind him, her face un-readable.

“My friend. Bennett. How did it go this week?”

Bennett looked to Harley, unsure why she was in the room. He didn’t much like her this close to Agis. Women could be a powerful influence on even the strongest of men.

Agis seemed to sense his wariness. “She’s with me, Bennett. Though I appreciate your caution.” He smiled broadly, his teeth glowing in soft candlelight.

“We took down another one today. Near the old fire-watch tower on the Eastern ridge. Took us two hours to haul it back.”

Agis placed another piece on the map, and rose to his feet. “I want to know how you’re doing. There is a time for military reports, but that time is not now.”

Bennett bristled, but forced himself to relax. The Lieutenant probably already knew how he felt. “I feel ill-suited to the task. The men follow Billy, not me.”

“Billy is a good man.”

Bennett said nothing.

Agis resumed, “I’m pulling Billy from your unit. I hear Billy is getting mighty friendly with these….locals, with your friends. I wouldn’t want him to lose his way.” He eyed Bennett for a reaction.

Bennett stammered, “No Billy means no food. Those days are long and cold, getting colder too. We could barely keep the men motivated to stay out till dusk.”

“Man up, Bennett,” Harley snapped.

Bennett reeled as if struck. Agis rose, his fatherly demeanor disappearing. “You will get the job done. Your team is one of five we have, and they’re all doing their part to provide for the community.”

Bennett stood, slack-jawed. “I don’t know if I have it in me, sir.”

Agis shared a momentary gaze with Harley, and came to Bennett. “I value your loyalty more than any other, Bennett. You can do this.” He procured a small bottle from inside his bulletproof vest. “I don’t want you to ask any questions, I want you to have this. A little something to help you. I expect you will do what is required, from now on. No complaints.”

Bennett found himself taking the bottle of painkillers, though he didn’t know why. He had never used drugs, aside from the occasional joint in high school.

“Well, come on now son. It’s all right just do it here. I need you at 100%.”

Bennett took out one of pills and prepared to swallow it. Agis snatched it and crushed it with a small metal tool. He prepared it in a neat line on the wood, and handed Bennett a tube of paper. “Snort it,” he commanded.

Bennett found himself bending down, and thinking of Adira. He had lost her. She wasn’t coming back. Bennett drew upwards viciously with his nostrils. The pain was almost too much. Agis laughed and patted him on the back. “Good work. Don’t waste any, though.”

Bennett finished the rest of the line in a haze.

“Have you heard about Joseph’s little…what is it…religious self-help group?” Agis asked.

Harley snickered in the back.

Bennett leaned on the table to support himself. “I have. Jaxton and the others are in it. They meet nightly, in the old science wing.”

The Lieutenant chuckled. “Science wing, yes. Well their assembly is illegal. I won’t stand for it. It threatens us, you see that do you not?”

“Threatens us,” Bennett repeated, as the fringe of a high approached his hungry brain.

“We cannot have that, Bennett. Would you agree? The survivors deciding things for themselves in mass…debates? That is not a strategy for success. We must remain in control.”

“Yes. In control.” Bennett wanted to sit down and close his eyes. He felt good.

“Joseph cannot be allowed to continue these meetings. He will have to be punished.” Bennett heard Agis saying through the haze of exhilaration.

“He will have to be punished. Yes I agree.” he heard himself saying. When he opened his eyes, Harley was staring at him intensely, judging his reaction to the Oxy. He ogled at her, marveling at her beauty and the way her auburn hair framed what he perceived to be a sexual gaze.

He vaguely heard Agis chuckle. “Go fetch Layla. And let’s leave them be. He’s with us.”

Bennett closed his eyes and shuddered with a smile.

…

“So we go straight to the people.”

Joseph crouched forward in the creaking leather chair, his neck bundled in a crisp grey scarf. “We go to the Lieutenant first. Or he will view it as a power-play.”

“It is a power-play,” Elvis said. Liam found he appreciated the matter of fact tone.

Joseph grimaced lightly. “I didn’t sign up for anything like this. I wanted to investigate a code of morality.”

“The Lieutenant controls all the resources, and his favorites get the pick while we fight for the scraps,” Liam retorted.

Joseph regarded him keenly, with soft eyes. “Be careful. I fear there is more to the Lieutenant than meets the eye. What do you have in the fight?”

Liam opened and closed his mouth. Elvis rapped his fingers on the desk. “Harley.”

The confusion on Joseph’s face lingered for just a moment. “Ah. A girl.” The silence that followed confirmed his suspicions. He continued slowly. “I would examine if this is something you feel strongly enough about to risk the disfavor of our….leader.”

Liam bristled, his bulky form shifting in the cold air. The door burst open. Six of Agis’s deputies entered the room, hard face and tight lipped. The men inside rushed to their feet, and felt their hands reaching for imaginary weapons.

Agis entered last. “Brothers. It is time for us to have a discussion.” His face was warm, but his men were not.

Liam rose to his feet, feeling his hate surging as he locked eyes. “What is the meaning of this?”

Agis brushed Joseph aside and eased back in the leather chair, his men filtering throughout the classroom. “An unlawful assembly plotting to overthrow my leadership and kill anyone who stands in your way.”

Liam sneered, “You have a lovely way of twisting the truth, did you know that?”

Agis chuckled. “The people will believe what I tell them. This assembly is over. I am here to administer the punishment.”

Liam held the gaze. “Give us back our guns. Stop taking the best equipment and food for your own.”

Agis rose. “Where is your little king? Where is Jaxton?”

They remained silent. “The others will hear of this,” Elvis growled.

“They will indeed. They will hear that your band was attempting to stage a coup, and take power for yourselves. And that dictatorship would have nothing of the benevolence I have. I will spare you the shame of a public punishment. Who’s idea were these meetings originally?”

Joseph raised his hand. “Mine.”

Agis nodded. “Your crime is sedition. Liam. Elvis. You will not be punished. You will bear the shame of knowing what your actions have caused. Pass the message along, to the others you slink around with.” He rose, and exited the classroom, shutting the door behind him.

The pasty police officer drew a baton from his holster, and took a menacing step towards them. “Step away,” he commanded.

Liam did not move, but Elvis took a measured step in front of Joseph. “Why don’t you ditch the baton? Unless you need it,” he said calmly.

The pasty one sneered. The other officers in their bulletproof vests and black boots raised their sidearms and advanced.

“Don’t shoot them!” Joseph roared, stepping out from behind his friends. There was malevolence in his burning eyes, for the first time in his life. “Here I am,” he whispered.

The pasty one grinned wolfishly and handed his baton to another. With the next step, he lunged forward and struck Joseph across the face with a closed fist. Liam and Elvis balled their hands into fists, and ground their teeth in rage at gunpoint.