Deathly Contagious (42 page)

“Hello?” I said into the walkie talkie. When I got no response, I ran a few more yards. “Hello?” I repeated. Again, nothing. This time I sprinted and ended up running farther than I needed to. “Hello?” I said for the third time, panting.

“Penwell?” Ivan’s calm, level voice spoke.

“Who else would it be?” I replied.

“Right. What’s going on?”

“We found the people. They set up a camp. I have a map, I’ll give you directions,” I said shortly. I looked around once more and plopped to my butt while I waited for Ivan to go over his own map. I went over how to find the camp twice to be certain Ivan understood since we would lose communication once he started driving.  I stood and, using the map as a fan, started walking back to the camp. Once I reached the big tree I decided to run despite the heat and just reach the damn camp as soon as possible.

I was drenched in sweat by the time I got back. Hayden and Wade were sitting at the picnic table talking to Zane and Colin and the old man that I believed they called Amos. Hayden smiled and stood up when I came into view.

“That was fast,” Colin stated.

“I didn’t have to go far,” I panted. I removed my weapons, sank down next to Hayden on the bench and got a bottle of water from my bag. “They’re on their way,” I told Hayden and Wade. “It shouldn’t take long.” Once I caught my breath and drank half the bottle of water, I stood and unbuttoned my shirt. It stuck to my sweaty skin as I peeled it off. I sat back down and sighed, surveying our surroundings.

Colin turned his attention back to the guys. “And you’ve been there long?” he asked.

“I’ve been there since mid December,” Wade said and looked at Hayden. “You’ve been there a little longer.”

Hayden nodded. “Yea. I think got to the compound a few weeks before you found us,” he told Wade.

“The compound?” Zane questioned.

Hayden nodded again. “I was headed to Parris Island; another Sergeant and I agreed to meet there when shit hit the fan. We ran across quite a few survivors along the way and brought them with, intending on setting up camp in South Carolina. We decided to start looking for civilians. It was pure luck we ran into Colonel Fuller.

“He knew about the bomb shelter. It was build over fifty years ago but it’s been updated and modernized. We took the people we had there, set up what we could and started making runs for supplies, weapons and ammo, and anyone alive.”

“How many have you saved?” Amos asked, his voice surprisingly strong and deep for someone of his age.

“Probably close to three hundred and fifty,” Wade answered after a moment’s consideration. “We found people like crazy at first. It’s dwindled down until now. This is the biggest group we’ve come across.”

“We can thank Amos for that,” Colin said with a nod of his head in the old man’s direction. “He’s been the brains of this operation.”

“I couldn’t do it on my own,” Amos said humbly. “Buddy’s been just as big of help as me. Speaking of, where is the bastard? Buddy!” he called. The white haired man that burned his arm in the fire stepped out of the RV. Being tired, dirty, and worn had obviously aged him. When he sat down at the table with us, I guessed he was no older than forty-five.  

“What are you hollering about?” Buddy asked with a wink.

“Sit your ass down and listen to these guys!” Amos said gruffly.

“I’d love to,” Buddy spoke. “But I’m outta place here,” he said with a smile. “I was going to leave the master planning to the military guys—and gal.”

“What military?” Amos spat. “We’re all that’s left.”

“So,” Buddy said brightly. “What’s the plan?”

“Eat and leave,” Hayden said simply. “We want to get out of here as soon as possible. It’s impossible to secure a perimeter with all the trees. What kind of weapons do you have?”

“We don’t have too much, I’m afraid,” Buddy informed us with a shake of his head. “And we’re low on ammo.”

“We can help with that,” Hayden insisted.

I looked at the gun in Zane’s hands, wondering where he acquired an AK47. “We mostly have 5.56 NATO cartridges; we prefer our M16’s. I know there’s a few 7.62 cal’s in our supply; it’ll be enough to get us home.”

“Thanks,” Zane said, seeming a little awe struck. “Do you have big artillery back at the compound?”

“Yea,” Wade answered. “We don’t waste ammo, but I feel confident saying we won’t run out any time soon. And we even have a bullet press and gun powder, though I highly doubt we’ll need it.”

A woman wearing a long floral print skirt emerged from a tent carrying a small bucket of something. Curious, I watched her walk over to the fire, set the bucket down and begin waving her hands at the flames.

She spoke softly and quickly to the fire. Then she took a handful of something in the bucket and threw it on the burning logs, causing the fire to sizzle and glow green for a split second. She raised her hands to the sky and spun around before picking up the bucket. Walking in a circle around the camp, she sprinkled white crystals onto the ground.

“What is she doing?” I asked, interrupting Hayden and Wade talking about the military aspects of the compound.

“Oh, that’s Myla,” Zane said in a hushed voice. “She’s insane.”

“No,” Buddy carefully pointed out. “She’s not
insane
, she just has a different view of the world than we do.”

“And her view is…?” I inquired.

Zane leaned over the table. “She doesn’t think the zombies are infected, dead humans. She thinks they are possessed by evil spirits.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked, recoiling in disbelief. Amos laughed, throwing his head back as he did so.

“She does this every night,” Amos chuckled. “She’s our entertainment.”

“Be nice,” Buddy scolded. “Myla is special, I’ll give you that, but she’s a vital part of this group.”

“Oh yea,” Amos said sarcastically. “Without those protection spells she cast, we’d all be dead.” He rolled his eyes and winked at me. He laughed again, shook his head at Buddy’s belittling look and cleared his throat. “So,” he began. “What and where did you all serve?”

“Marines and mostly Afghanistan,” Hayden answered first. “I’ve been to a lot of the Middle East during my two tours.”

“Also Marines; I had three years in Iraq before I got pulled,” Wade said quietly. “What about you?”

“I spent my youth in Vietnam,” Amos sighed. “Air Force.”

My heart skipped a beat; my grandpa had also served in Vietnam in the Air Force. His image flashed in my head and I felt a pull on my heart. I wished so desperately that I could go back in time, find my Aunt Jenny, get Raeya, and take them to Kentucky where we could have waited out the outbreak.

I reached up and tugged on Hayden’s dog tags. If I had done that, would I have met Hayden?

“And you?” Amos asked, pulling me out of my reverie.

I shook my head. “I’m not in the military,” I told him. His eyes moved to the dog tags I was playing with. I let fall from my hand and bounce off my chest. I put my hand on Hayden’s and smiled slightly. “They’re his.”

Amos winked at Hayden. “Got yourself a sweetie?”

Hayden nudged me. “She’s alright,” he joked.

Colin shook his head. “Sorry to offend you, but why are you out here then?” he asked me.

Before I could open my mouth to answer, Brock’s voice came over the walkie talkie. I got up and walked a few feet away to respond. Obviously, the guys were close, which made the others excited with the thoughts of food.  An impatient silence fell over the group as they watched the road.

A few minutes later the Ranger Rover and the truck came into view.  I set my machine gun on the back seat of the truck, grabbed an apple and a bottle of water and went around to the other side of the RV to keep watch while the others ate. I removed the bow and the quiver from around my shoulder, rubbing the sore spots they left on my skin.

 After doing a thorough scan of the surrounding woods, I sat down in the shadow of the camper.  I rolled my neck to the side trying not to think about how sore my body was. I slapped a mosquito off my forearm before biting into the apple. There wasn’t much talking going on between the civilians since they were eating a full meal for the first time in days—or weeks maybe. Every once in a while, Amos would laugh and the sound would get carried in the thick air.

It was stupid and I knew it. I had met Amos for all of two seconds and I liked him already. I wanted to make sure he got enough to eat and drink and that he was comfortable on the way back to the compound. He reminded me of my grandpa.

But he wasn’t him.

I rarely let my mind wander. There were thoughts in my head that weren’t the most pleasant. But as I looked from tree to tree in search for the living dead, I couldn’t help it. I prayed he was alive. My grandpa was the most resourceful person I knew. He taught me everything; if I could make it, he could.

A little black hole in my heart burned, reminding me that he was old and suffering from the onset of dementia. His arthritis hurt when it rained and he forgot to take his blood pressure medicine even before the zombies.

I felt horribly guilty for not moving back to Kentucky after I dropped out of school. I didn’t plan on staying out forever, just long enough to find a job and put some money into savings. That was my rationale for staying in Indiana, close to Purdue University.

While neither of us liked long phone conversations, I consistently called at least once a week to let him know I was alright. My grandpa didn’t like Aunt Jenny living alone in a big city. He told me to keep her safe since he knew I could do it.

And I failed.

If Aunt Jenny was smart, she would have left and not bothered looking for me. But before smart she was compassionate. I was her favorite—yet only—niece, and I knew she would never leave without trying to find me.

I would never admit it to anyone, and it embarrassed me to admit it to myself, but I secretly wished Aunt Jenny left the city, drove home to Kentucky, found my grandpa, and got away safely. If they didn’t…well, then I wished they were dead and died instantly do they wouldn’t have to go through one minute of suffering in this horrible, dead world. I wanted to believe in a better place for them to be in but I just couldn’t. If they were dead, it would at least be over for them.

“Riss?” Hayden said softly.

I snapped my attention to the left. Shit. I hadn’t heard him walk over. I shook my head; now wasn’t the time to space off on stupid, wishful thinking. “Yea?”

“Go get something to eat; I’ll keep watch.”

I held up the apple I had only taken two bites out of. “I’m not that hungry. It’s too hot.”

Hayden nodded but didn’t question me. “See anything?” he asked, motioning to the trees.

“Nothing undead.” I smiled flatly at Hayden before turning my eyes to the forest.

“Ok,” he said and sat down next to me, keeping me company while I forced myself to eat the apple and then threw the core into the weeds. “You’ve been quiet,” Hayden observed.

I smiled and shrugged, looking quickly into Hayden’s hazel eyes. My grandpa had never liked or approved of anyone I dated, though, even I will admit I never dated anyone with long term potential. Hayden, I knew for sure, would get the stamp of approval. But that would never happen. “I’m tired,” I said. It wasn’t a lie since I really was tired. But now wasn’t the time to burden Hayden with my issues.

“Me too,” he agreed. He pinched a mosquito between his fingers. “Goddammit,” he swore and instantly started scratching at the insect bite on his neck.

“Here,” I said and extended my hand. “Itching seems to make them worse. This is what I do.” Twice I pressed my nail into the small bump, making an ‘X’. “It kinda hurts at first but then it feels better…for awhile.”

“Thanks,” he said and let his hand fall onto my leg.

“You’re welcome,” I said and rested my head against the camper. I closed my eyes only to open them in less than two seconds to swat at another flying blood sucker. “Son of a bitch bit me through my jeans,” I mumbled.

“Maybe there’s bug spray in one of the campers,” Hayden suggested. “Those guys might have already found it. Want to come with me and check?”

“Nah,” I said, suddenly feeling depleted of energy. “I’ll keep watch. You go.”

Hayden frowned, looked at me intently for a few seconds, and got up. I stuck my hand down my shirt to wipe away the sweat that was rolling down my cleavage.  The image of my mother flashed through my mind and I felt my heart break. I wished so desperately that I could go back in time and yell at myself. I was angry at my mother, but I still loved her. I always thought I’d have the time to make things better; now I would never get to.

“Got some,” Hayden told me as he walked over. He held the green bottle of bug spray in the air. “Want me to spray you?”

“Yea.”

He chuckled. “You have to get up.”

“Oh, right.” I pulled myself up and extended my arms. “Is everyone done eating yet?”

“Almost. They’re trying to eat slowly since it’s been so long that they’ve had a real meal. Well, if you can call what we have to eat ‘real’.”

I nodded and cast my eyes to the ground, looking at the patch of clovers I had been sitting on.

“Are you alright, Orissa?” Hayden asked softly. He took my hand.

“Of course. I said I’m tired.”

“Right,” he said with a nod. “Whatcha thinking about?”

“I was thinking that you guys sound so professional when you introduce yourselves,” I said, coming up with that suddenly. “I think I need a title in front of my name.”

“Special Agent Penwell?” he joked. I shook my head and almost laughed, recalling Jason’s lie about me being in the CIA.

“I was thinking more along the lines of Queen or Princess.”

Hayden raised an eyebrow.

“Duchess?” I tried.

He laughed. “Sure.”

I sighed and grew quiet.

 “Let’s walk.” He motioned to a path. “And look for zombies.”

“Ok,” I agreed. We went back into the camp to inform the others of where we were going. Hayden exchanged all but one his guns for knives. Since we didn’t want to risk the echoing of a gun firing in the woods unless it was absolutely necessary, I took the gun off of my ankle and locked it in the truck as well.