Precipice: V Plague Book 9 (3 page)

I woke up
thoroughly disoriented.  It was mostly dark and I was in a bed with a lot
of covers over me.  I could tell that much from the weight, but not much
more.  And something was on my face.  A weak, battery powered lantern
was on the top of a dresser on the far side of the room and it gave me enough
light to see my surroundings.  If I had the strength to lift my head and
look around.

Feeling the bed
move slightly I turned to look next to me.  It took a moment for me to
recognize Dog, stretched out on top of the covers, his head on a pillow. 
Several white bandages were wrapped around three of his four legs, but other
than that I couldn’t see much else.

The bandages
brought it all back.  The drive from Oklahoma to Idaho.  The fight
with the wolf to save Rachel.  But what the hell was wrong with me? 
I remembered starting the climb back to the Jeep with Dog on my shoulders, but
after that everything was a little fuzzy.  And what the hell was strapped
to my face?  Reaching up I felt thick, smooth plastic, finally recognizing
a large oxygen mask.  My first impulse was to pull it off, but enough
brain cells were working to warn me that if it was there it was probably
helping me.

I turned my
head the other way to check over the room, and the first thing that caught my
attention was my rifle leaned up against a nightstand.  Beyond that,
someone was sleeping in a chair.  Female, I guessed since long hair had
fallen down and covered her face, but that was all I could tell.  Trying
to speak, I managed a weak croak and she jerked awake and reached up to shove
her thick mane on top of her head.

“Hi,” Katie
said, smiling.  “How are you feeling?”

She stood up
and quickly moved to my side.  There was more movement from farther away,
in the darkest part of the room, and a moment later Rachel stepped up next to
Katie and reached for my arm.

“What
happened?”  I managed to whisper.

“You’ve got altitude
sickness,” Rachel said, her long fingers pressing against first my wrist then
my neck.  “Your lungs started filling up with fluid and your body couldn’t
get any oxygen.”

Apparently
satisfied with my pulse, she placed one hand on my forehead and slipped the
other under the covers and onto my chest.  For the first time I noticed
that there were several pillows beneath me, keeping my upper body elevated.

“You’re
better,” she said with a smile.  “Fever is coming down and your lungs
aren’t nearly as bad, but you’ve still got a little fluid in them.”

She reached
over my head and I looked up to see a partially empty IV bag hanging from a nail
that had been pounded into the wall.  Following the tubing with my eyes I
could see it disappear beneath the covers and assumed it terminated in my arm. 
An unfamiliar machine rested on the nightstand, quietly forcing oxygen from a
large tank into my mask.  The mask covered most of my face, held in place
with two thick straps that wrapped around the back of my head.

“Where are
we?”  I asked, a cough racking my chest as I spoke.

“Ketchum,”
Katie said.  “We’re squatting in a big, empty ski chalet.”

I took
several breaths, trying to inhale deeply as I fought the urge to cough, but I
wound up hacking even harder.  Rachel slid her arm under my back and
raised me slightly, holding me there until the spasms passed.  Once I
could breathe again Katie released one of the straps and raised the mask, handing
me a glass of water.  Gulping it down I glanced at Dog on the far side of
the bed.

He was still
lying down, but had lifted his head to look at me.  I reached out and
placed my hand on his back, gently rubbing.  After a moment he put his
head back on the pillow and let out a deep sigh.  Katie took the empty
glass and put the mask back in place.

“Is there a
bathroom in this place?”  I asked when the urge to pee suddenly hit
me.  I didn’t know how much fluid they’d pumped in from the IV, but I
needed to get rid of some of it.  Fast.

They both
helped me up, Katie carrying the IV bag and supporting me as Rachel brought the
oxygen tank and whatever the machine was.  I was weak as hell and felt
like I’d been worked over by Mike Tyson, but at least I was steady enough on my
feet to go into the bathroom, close the door and relieve myself without an
audience.

“This may
sound like a joke,” I said when I came back into the bedroom.  “But why
does my ass hurt?”

Katie and
Rachel looked at each other, both of them trying to suppress a giggle and a
smile.

“What?” 
I asked, lowering myself onto the edge of the bed.

“You needed
aspirin,” Rachel finally said.  “You had a high fever and we needed to
bring it down.”

“What’s that
got to do with my ass?”  I asked as I swung my feet off the floor and
settled back onto the pillows.

“Um, well…
you were unconscious and couldn’t exactly swallow them,” Rachel said.

“You shoved
aspirin up my ass?”  I said too loudly and started coughing.

When I could
look up, Katie was grinning at me and holding her hand up in the air, just like
a school kid admitting to something.

“I did,” she
said.  “We flipped a quarter and I lost.”

Both of them
burst out laughing.  I knew I was going to be OK if they were laughing at
me.  Several things ran through my mind, but I kept my mouth shut. 
What do you say to a woman that loves you enough to stick her finger up your
ass to give you medicine?

“How is
he?”  I nodded at Dog when they stopped giggling.

“He’ll
heal,” Rachel answered.  “Chewed up pretty bad, but fortunately nothing
vital.  He got IV and some antibiotics so infection shouldn’t be a
problem.  All I’m worried about is rabies.”

This got my
attention and I turned my head to look at her. 

“It’s remote,
since I’m pretty sure the wolf wasn’t rabid, but still possible,” Rachel said
when I just lay there staring at her.

“He’s going
to be fine,” Katie interjected with a stern tone.  She knew that the one
thing in the world that could make me blubber like a baby was losing a dog.

“What
happened after I passed out?  The last thing I remember is starting the
climb up the ridge from the lake.”

Rachel
gently lowered me back onto the pillows and returned to the chair she’d been
sleeping in.  Katie squeezed onto the edge of the bed, bumping me over
with her hip.  Normal for her.  Despite the fact that I’m more than
100 pounds heavier and at least twice as broad as her, she’s always pushing me
over to make room for herself.  I’d never admit it to her, but I’d gotten
used to it and kind of liked it.

She told me
about the two of them dragging me and Dog the rest of the way to the Jeep followed
by the drive out of the mountains.  Then she relayed the events at the
hospital and the drive around Ketchum until they located the house we were in.

“You have to
be more careful than you were in the hospital,” I said when she finished with
her story.

“Seen you do
worse,” Rachel chimed in from the darkness before Katie could respond.

Katie looked
at me, grinned and leaned over to kiss me on the forehead.

“You’re
still hot,” she said after her lips touched my skin.

“So are you,
sweetie,” I grinned, but she was no longer in the mood for banter.

“Rachel?”

“His fever
should break in the next few hours with the fluids and aspirin.  He needs
rest.”

Katie
brushed the back of her hand across my cheek, kissed my forehead again and
moved back to the chair closest to the bed.  Once she was settled she
picked up her rifle and rested it across her legs before tilting her head back
to get some more sleep.

I lay there
in the darkness, hand on Dog’s back and tried to fall asleep.  At first it
didn’t seem like that was going to be possible, but before I knew it I woke up
to bright sunshine at the windows.  Dog wasn’t on the bed any longer and
when I looked, both Katie and Rachel were gone.

The bedroom
was large with dark, heavy furniture.  I was still propped up on pillows
in the king sized bed and felt about a hundred percent better than when I’d
woken up during the night.  The sheets were clammy, drenched and cold
underneath my body.  Apparently my fever had broken.

Throwing the
pile of blankets to the side, I peeled the sheet off that was covering
me.  An IV needle was in my right arm, securely taped in place and I
glanced over my head to verify there was still fluid flowing.  A half full
bag of saline was connected to me.  Sitting up I paused on the edge of the
bed, evaluating my condition.

All things
considered I felt decent.  Weak as hell, needing to pee again, but better
than I expected.  Across the room I could see the bathroom through a wide
door and after removing the O2 mask and standing, I grabbed the IV bag off the
nail and toddled across the thick carpeting.  Walking showed me just how
weak I really was and half way across the room I had to stop and cough.

Reaching the
bath, I stepped onto the ice-cold tile, noting a bucket of water sitting on the
floor next to the toilet that hadn’t been there the night before.  I
relieved myself into the bowl, then poured some of the water in to flush the
waste into the sewer.  I was mildly surprised, and proud, that one of them
had thought of how to use the plumbing.

I was
wearing nothing but a pair of briefs that were sweat soaked, cold and sticking
to me.  Returning to the room, I looked around for the rest of my clothes
but didn’t see them.  I checked the large dresser, hoping the homeowner
had something in my size, but only found drawer after drawer of panties, bras
and nightgowns.

“What are
you doing?”

I turned to
see Katie standing in the doorway, a large mug in her hand holding something
that steamed.

“Had to
pee,” I said.

“Looking for
clothes, weren’t you?”  She said with an accusatory tone, her free hand
balled into a fist and resting on her hip.

“I…”

“You’re not
going anywhere except back to bed.”

Katie came
forward, set the mug down on the dresser and took my arm.  I caught a
whiff of the hot coffee and snagged the drink, turning away from her when she
reached for it.

“You are
feeling better,” she smiled.  “Take a seat in the chair and I’ll change
your sheets.”

The room was
cold, no central heat keeping the house nice and toasty, and by the time Katie
was finished I was shivering despite the hot coffee.  She tossed the dirty
linens through the door and disappeared into a walk in closet next to the bath
for a moment, returning with a clean pair of underwear.  After helping me
change, she got me back in bed and stretched up on her toes to hang the IV bag
on the nail.

“Where’s Dog
and Rachel?”  I asked.

“He needed
to go outside and Rachel is making sure he’s moving around so his injuries don’t
stiffen up too much.”  Katie shoved the heavy chair closer to the bed and
sat down looking at me.

“Fill me in
on this place,” I said.  “Are we safe for the moment?”

The house
wasn’t just big, it was massive.  6,000 square feet if it was an inch.  It
was the following day and I’d recovered enough to be out of bed and wandering
around.  I’d fallen asleep the prior afternoon while Katie described where
we were and gave me a rundown of our tactical situation.  She hadn’t
thought about several things, playing soldier wasn’t her bag, but she and
Rachel had done a great job of finding us a place to lay up and heal.

My lungs had
cleared and while I still had an occasional cough, I felt much better after two
days of IV fluids and what I now knew was a ventilator.  I was still weak,
but getting stronger and no longer felt like I was moving and thinking in slow
motion.  Dog was healing as well, having benefited from the rest and
antibiotics Rachel had given him.  He was a long way from a hundred percent,
but he was out of danger.

As I walked
the house, getting a feel for the layout, he limped along at my side.  I’d
tried to get him to lie down and stay put, but he insisted on staying with
me.  Despite my concern, I knew this was best for him as long as we didn’t
over do it and cause too much stress on his wounds.

Katie and
Rachel were getting along, but seemed to be keeping their distance from each
other.  When they did communicate it was strictly business then one of
them, usually Rachel, would find something that needed to be attended to in a
different part of the house.  I had several ideas about what might be
going on but was old enough and wise enough to not feel the need to insert
myself into the dynamic.

Once I’d
finished my tour of our temporary residence, Katie ushered me into the kitchen
where Rachel was preparing a cold meal.  A camp stove they had been using
to heat water for coffee rested on the stove, but Rachel shook her head when I
asked for some.  There hadn’t been much fuel in it and it had run out
quickly. 

It was cold
in the house, but still better than outside.  The sun was shining weakly,
but snow was piled in drifts and a strong north wind moaned through the
building’s eaves and around the corners of the walls. 

Before I sat
down at the kitchen table I looked out a window at a large thermometer mounted
on the patio.  17 degrees Fahrenheit.  Probably below zero with the
wind chill.  I was glad for the cold weather gear I was wearing since it
probably wasn’t much above freezing inside.  It was cold enough to see my
breath.

“I talked to
Jessica on the sat phone yesterday,” Katie began, taking a chair across the
table from me.

“Good,” I
said, having completely forgotten about our eye in the sky.  “How does the
infected situation look?”

“None moving
that she can see in the area.  There’s a large herd passing through Twin
Falls, but it’s just too cold here.  They can’t survive.”

I smiled at
the good news, getting a bad vibe when Katie and Rachel exchanged glances.

“What?” 
I asked, looking back and forth between them.

“She got the
archived sat imagery working, or at least partially working, and found out what
happened to the rest of our group.”  Katie said, nodding her thanks when
Rachel set a plate of food on the table in front of her.

“That’s great,”
I said, smiling.  “Are they on the way?”

Katie sat
there looking at me, not touching her food.  Finally, she took a deep
breath and continued.

“Remember
Jessica telling us she found the Bradley abandoned?”

I nodded,
not liking where this was going.

“From what
she can tell they encountered a Russian patrol.  A helicopter.  It
looks like Irina talked them down and they were able to overpower the crew and
take control.  They flew east to refuel, then headed in this direction. 
Jessica lost them when they went under the cloud cover a few hundred miles east
of here.  Apparently thermal imaging doesn’t write to disk so she doesn’t
know where they went after that.”

Katie tried
to hold my eyes but gave up and stared down at the plate of untouched
food.  Maybe I was still thinking slow, but what she was telling me
finally dawned.  My stomach dropped as I stared back at her in disbelief.

“What kind
of helo were they in?”  I finally managed to speak in a whisper.

“Hind.  Mi-24.”

I just sat
there, staring at her, mouth hanging open.  It couldn’t be.  Could
it?  Had I killed my friends?  Part of me refused to acknowledge the
possibility while another realized that was probably exactly what had
happened.  I hadn’t given any thought to why a Russian helo would have
been up in the mountains until now, and try as I might I couldn’t come up with
a reason other than it was Martinez and the rest looking for us.

Rachel was
standing by the sink, behind Katie, looking at me with a mix of pity and
concern as tears rolled down her face.  Katie was crying too, sniffling
softly and wiping her eyes.  Both of them were doing their best to hold it
together. 

“I need to
be alone,” I whispered, standing up so abruptly the chair tipped over backwards
and crashed to the floor.

Neither of
them said anything further as I walked out of the room.  I didn’t know
where I was going, just knew I needed to do something.  The urge to throw
up was almost overwhelming, but I fought it down as I wandered, eventually winding
up at the front door.  I glanced down and saw my pack.  Bending, I
dug through it until I found what I was looking for then opened the door and
stepped out into the frigid wind.  Dog had followed me and pressed against
my leg.

I was
standing on a large, covered porch.  The storm had blown snow onto its
surface, coating everything.  At the far end were several wrought iron
chairs and I walked over and sat down.  The air was sharp, the wind
bringing tears to my eyes.  At least I blamed it on the wind.

Looking down
at my hands I was surprised to see the pack of cigarettes I’d just retrieved
from my pack.  I didn’t even remember getting them.  Extracting one,
I cupped my hands and lit it, inhaling deeply and immediately coughing. 
Not too smart after just having fluid in my lungs, but at the moment I didn’t
give a shit.

Dog lay down
at my feet, head turned to keep watch on the large expanse of land that dropped
away from the house.  Even though the sun was weak, it reflected
brilliantly off the virgin snow that blanketed the landscape.  I sat
there, wiping tears out of my eyes and smoking, trying not to picture the faces
of the people I’d killed.

I sat on the
porch for most of an hour, smoking and thinking.  Unable to handle the
inactivity any longer I went into the house and loaded up with my knives,
rifle, pistol and a bunch of spare magazines.  I was in the mood to get
lost in a fury of violence.  Shock and sorrow had given way to
anger.  White-hot anger that events begun by a madman in Russia had led to
me killing some of the best people I’d ever known.

“Where do
you think you’re going?”  Katie stood between me and the front door, hands
on her hips, eyes flashing the way they do when I’m about to do something
stupid and she’s intent on stopping me.  Rachel stood a few feet away, a
similar expression on her face.

“Going to
get us some real food,” I mumbled.  “Can’t take another MRE.”

“Bullshit!” 
She stepped forward and looked up into my face.  “You think I don’t know
you better than that?  You’re going looking for a fight.  Kill a few
infected.  Blow some shit up.  Exorcise your demons.  It won’t
bring them back!”

Tears were
rolling down her face as she spoke, her voice growing loud and rough with
emotion.  And she was absolutely right.  That was exactly where I was
headed.  What I needed to do before I completely lost it.  Lose
myself in an orgy of violence.

“Fine!” 
Katie snapped after I just stood there staring back at her for close to a
minute.  “Go do what you need to do.  You never fucking listen to me
anyway.”

She turned
and shoved past me, disappearing down the hall.  A moment later the whole
house shook when she slammed the door of whatever room she went into.  I
had watched her storm away, turning back to head for the door and stopping when
Rachel stepped in front of me.

“Seriously?” 
She said.

“What?”

“Everything
you’ve done, we’ve done, to find her and this is how you treat her?”  She folded
her arms across her chest and shoved her face into mine.

“How I’m
treating her?  What the hell did I do?”

“You’re
being an ass!  That’s what.  Twenty-four hours ago you were flat on
your back in bed and now because you’re upset you’re ready to go out into
freezing weather and pick a fight you don’t need to fight.  A fight you
might not come back from because you’re weak.”

Rachel
punctuated the last word by reaching out and pushing me.  Hard.  I
took a couple of steps back and she advanced on me.

“You’ve
beaten the odds up until now,” she said in a calmer voice.  “And if this
was something you really needed to do I’d go with you, but this is
bullshit.  Suck it up and deal with it like a man, not a boy.  Put
the goddamn weapons down and go talk to your wife.”

I just stood
there, staring at Rachel.  Pissed off at first, I slowly cooled down and
realized she was right.  It was foolish to put myself at risk needlessly,
especially when I wasn’t in the best shape.  Nodding, I turned and headed
down the hall to find Katie and confess that I was a moron.  Not the first
time I’ve had to do that, and somehow I suspected it wouldn’t be the last.