Desolation (24 page)

Jerri let him move her and rested her head against Andrew’s
shoulder, closing her eyes. She didn’t know what she was doing and she
really didn’t care anymore. It felt nice to be held and she wasn’t ashamed
to admit it to herself.

“I… think you’ll do a great job taking care of the child,” he said
with a forced smile. A part of him felt guilty for using her illness to his
advantage, but another part of him didn’t care. “Besides… you’ll have me
there to help you whenever you need it.”

In a bold move, Andrew kissed the top of her head.
Jerri’s skin tingled at his kiss and her stomach fluttered.

“I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting, Andrew… Ever since my
friends died and the camp fell I’ve been out of sorts. I always did take my
anger out on those who cared about me the most,” she said as she closed
her eyes. “I just miss her… I miss her more than I ever thought I would.”

Andrew nodded, stroking the small of her back. His stomach
churned with excitement. He felt like a potter who was forming
something beautiful out of clay. It was all so easy for him, so second
nature.

“I know,” he said, “but at least a part of her remains.”

Andrew smiled down at the baby’s corpse as he held Jerri close,
caressing the small of her back. The child’s eyes were sunken into his face
and his skin was ashen gray. In truth, the sight was revolting and
depressing but he knew he would have to bare it for a little while.

Jerri smiled and gave him a hug, nuzzling into his neck.

“Thank you, Andrew,” she said as her eyes started to tear.
“Thank you for helping me with Jacob. I feel so lost right now… I think
that’s why I miss her so much.”

Andrew held her close and smiled, closing his eyes. He was
elated. All it would take was a little more grooming… a little more
sentiment… and then he would have her.

Andrew, once a single loser with a shitty job in a shitty part of an
overpopulated city, would have a powerful position in the new
government and a beautiful younger wife. He would soon have everything
in his life that he never thought he’d be able to attain, even when he was
back inside Camp 6; he’d have a fresh start. He’d been praying for things
to fall into place for so long… The marauder attack ended up being a
blessing in disguise.

Instead of months of flirtation to capture the eye of his chosen
one, the two were forced together overnight.

 

All it would take was a little more work on his end for the feeling
to be reciprocated.

 

“I’m sure she misses you too. But I bet Krystal would be happy
to know that you’re taking care of her baby,” he said softly.

Jerri opened her eyes and blinked. Something felt weird. She
pushed herself away from Andrew and looked over at him, studying his
face.

Andrew looked over at her, confused. He knew he fucked up, but
he didn’t know how exactly. Did he push the physical boundaries too
soon? Having sex with her would be imperative if he wanted to seal the
deal with her. Did he rush it?

He carefully retracted his hand from the small of her back.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
Jerri shook her head and tried to think.
“It’s nothing… just… how did you know her name?”

“Who’s name?” Andrew asked innocently.
Ah fuck
, he thought,
mentally kicking himself.

 

“Krystal… I never told you her name,” Jerri said, looking at him
with suspicion.

 

Andrew tilted his head and looked up at the ceiling. He would
have to come up with something
quick
.

“Hmm… You must have mentioned her name somewhere,” he
said with a smile. He stood up and dusted off the front of his pants. “I’m
many things but I’m not psychic.”

Jerri smiled slightly and then folded her arms across her chest.
She felt very cold all of a sudden; she never mentioned Krystal’s name…

“Well I’m going to go try to catch some sleep, sweet dreams,”
Andrew said softly. He walked out the room and shut the door behind
him, cursing himself in his head. His work of art was chipping apart in
front of his eyes, all thanks to his own clumsiness with words and
divulging of information.

Safely in the hallway, Andrew closed his eyes and clenched his
fists. His careful observation of her back in the camp, his meticulous note
taking of her daily routine and acquaintances, had come back to bite him.

“
Shit
,” he hissed to himself.

J
erri had been sprawled on the bed for hours, staring at the
ceiling. No matter how comfortable the mattress was, she couldn’t stop
her mind from churning. She mentally reconstructed the time line from
her first meeting with Andrew all the way through their last conversation.
No matter how many times she went through it, she didn’t remember
saying Krystal’s name.

She tossed under the covers and let out an aggravated sigh.

It’s such a trivial detail; people don’t normally take note of such
things but Jerri was a little neurotic and paid close attention. She’d never
mention a friend’s name to a cop, no matter if she trusted him or not. The
only reason she’d come clean about her own name was because Andrew
took her ID when the police showed up at her dorm… and it’s not like he
couldn’t read.

Even if Andrew knew who Krystal was, what did it mean? It
wasn’t such a big deal on it’s on but when she weighed it against the other
circumstances it made her feel uneasy.

Was their meeting in the chow hall purely coincidental?
When the police were called to the dorm, did a high ranking
official like Andrew just happen to be in the area?

 

Andrew did always seem to be at the right spot at the right time.

When it came to Andrew, there were too many questions and not
enough answers. She was done. When they got to the base, she would
take Jacob and go her own way.

Somehow, she would find a way to Canada and leave Andrew to
his own devices.

 

Having finally decided on a course of action, Jerri rolled over and
forced her eyes to close.

J
erri woke up after catching about two hours of dreamless sleep.
She was confused and disoriented for a brief moment by the tacky posters
on the wall and the comforter she was tangled up in.

Something smelled awful.
She looked down at Jacob and her new reality struck her.

Groaning, she slung her legs off of the bed and picked Jacob up
out of the dresser drawer on the floor.

 

She curled the child’s cold corpse against her chest and smiled
down at him.

 

“Today’s the day we start our adventure,” she told him, ticking
his stomach. “You and me… all the way to Canada.”

 

It was a frightening prospect, but she decided to make the best
out of it.

 

As she walked out into the hallway, the padlocked door next to
hers thumped, startling her.

 

She let out an unintentional gasp.

 

“Morning,” Andrew said from the living room as if nothing
happened last night.

 

“Morning,” she managed after to say after her pulse settled.

Andrew and Witt were sitting on the sofa, packing two small
duffel bags with supplies. Both of them were dressed like they were about
to traverse the savanna. The apartment was abysmally hot; she almost
forgot how much of a necessity air conditioning was during the summer.
Both men were soaked in sweat.

Witt pulled a box of 9mm ammunition out from underneath the
sofa and sat it on the coffee table.

“You get used to their thumping after a while,” Witt said,
nodding towards the locked room. “I like to think of it as their way of
telling me good morning!”

Witt smiled but it fell flat when he saw Jacob; he really wished
that she’d cover the child again.

 

Jerri offered a half-smile and shook her head.

 

“I’d find it pretty hard to get used to,” she said. She sniffed the
air. “Is that…”

 

“Food?” Witt quickly answered. “Yes it is. There’s a plate of
flapjacks and canned pork for you on the counter.”

 

“Thanks so much,” Jerri said politely. She shuffled past the two
men and headed into the kitchen, searching for Jacob’s bottle.

“Have you seen the little one’s bottle?” she asked.
Witt and Andrew looked uncomfortably at each other.
“I already fed him,” Andrew quickly lied.
Witt frowned at him.

“Thanks,” Jerri said listlessly. She offered a partial smile but it
quickly faded when she looked at Andrew.

 

“Sleep okay?” Andrew quickly asked when he saw her smile fade.
“Yes,” she lied, stealing bites of food from her plate. “You two
look ready for a battle.”

Witt handed the box of 9mm ammunition to Andrew and then
reached underneath the sofa and brought out a box of old pistols and slid
the box towards him across the coffee table.

“We have to be,” Witt explained. “During the day, it’s not the
zombies you have to worry about.”

 

Andrew looked down at the box and started riffling through it,
trying to find a 9mm handgun that was in good condition.

 

“How do the streets look?” Jerri asked through a mouthful of
food.

“Clear of the dead. They’re all back in their hiding places,” Witt
said. “The drifters, dealers, and the usual assorted lots are out trying to
collect anything that that the dead may have dropped during the night.
You see, the cops tend to lose pistols and batons while some of the
soldiers drop rifles. I haven’t come across any rifles yet but I’m hoping I
might have some luck at this base of yours.

“Surviving during the day comes down to looking intimidating, so
load up on guns even if you don’t have the ammo. It’s all for posturing.”
Andrew held up one of the 9mm pistols. It appeared to be in
excellent shape.

 

“How did you get your hands on all of this stuff?” Andrew asked
in awe.

 

Witt shrugged.

“I’m a pretty good scavenger,” he said. He threw a sawed-off
shotgun onto the coffee table and laughed. “The rest of the time I just
carry a bigger stick than the other guy! Hopefully this stuff I’m giving you
will get you on the right start.”

Jerri finished her breakfast and walked into the living room. She
looked at the duffel bags crammed with food, clothes, and supplies. She
sat Jacob’s stiff corpse down on the recliner next to the sofa.

Witt stopped laughing and stared at the child wide-eyed.
Andrew pretended not to notice and quickly loaded 9mm clips
into his new tactical vest pockets.

 

“This is a lot to ask for when we have nothing to offer in return,”
Jerri said. “I don’t know how we can thank you…”

 

Witt turned his attention away from the baby and looked up at
her.

“Nothing is ever free out here,” Witt said. “Remember last night
when I said that Andrew and I needed to talk in the morning? Well, we
talked.”

She looked down at him, concerned.

“The base he’s taking us too is being guarded by a group of
paramilitary marauders. He thinks they’re soldiers who stayed behind,”
Andrew explained. “He needs my help to take them out.”

Witt nodded.

 

“Yep,” Witt said, “After they’re all dead, you two can go inside
and find a bird while I gather whatever they’ve been hiding in there.”

Jerri frowned.
“There are
three
of us,” she corrected.
“Of course, sorry,” Witt stammered as he tried to smile.
Andrew glared at him.
“This all sounds dangerous,” she muttered.

“Oh, it is,” Witt said, happily changing the subject. “I’ve been
watching them. Most of them still look and act like soldiers… but now
they’re soldiers without a flag and those soldiers are the most dangerous
kind.”

“We have to do it,” Andrew interrupted. “If we don’t we may not
have another chance at finding a working helicopter. While he and I are
fighting, you’ll stay back.”

“Not to mention Andrew may find someone who can fly the
damn thing. That’s what I was hinting at yesterday,” Witt cackled. “With a
gun pointed to a man’s head, you can convince him to do almost anything
for you. The chances of finding an ex-airman who can fly are pretty
good.”

Witt pointed at a pile of clothes sitting on the chair in the corner
of the room.

 

“Those are for you by the way, Jerri…” Witt said.

The camouflaged clothes looked thick and stuffy. Aside from
being hot, they were obviously baggy and two sizes too big. They looked
like something a deer hunter would wear.

Jerri shook her head and looked at Witt.
“Thanks for the offer,” she said, “but I’m not wearing that.”
Witt raised an eyebrow.

“If you’re coming with us, you don’t have a choice,” he replied.
“You’re a female and that means we will get
lots
of attention. We’ll have to
dress you down a little bit.”

“Just wear it,” Andrew told her in aggravated tone, avoiding
looking at the baby. He already loaded and holstered one pistol and was
working on loading a second.

Jerri, miffed, wanted to cuss him out for talking to her that way,
but she figured it would be better to play nice until she broke the news to
him later at the base. She picked up the clothes with one hand and walked
back into the room, leaving Jacob behind on the recliner.

Andrew and Witt continued to load the last of the supplies into
the duffels in an awkward silence, not looking up at the child.

After a few minutes, Jerri emerged out of the bedroom. Her
camouflaged one-piece outfit was baggy, patched in places, and looked
dirty.

Witt gave a mock wolf-whistle and Andrew laughed, even though
both of the men looked as ridiculous as she did.

Jerri gave a half-hearted smile and blushed, embarrassed. She
looked down at Jacob and was surprised to see that he was already fast
asleep in the chair; it again seemed to be unnatural for a baby to sleep so
long.

Witt stared at the baby with a pallid expression and shuffled
uncomfortably in his seat.

 

“Stop looking at it,” Andrew muttered under his breath.
Witt shook his head, snapping himself out of it. The whole
situation was creepy as shit to him.