Bren approached Cal, Mitch at her shoulder. She produced a key. “Hold still, handsome.” A moment later the manacles and fetters clattered to the floor, leaving him free. His wrists and ankles ached, the skin chafed and raw, but he barely noticed. He’d just dropped a huge burden. Time to drop another.
“Doc,” he said, looking past Mitch and Bren to her. He didn’t owe those two the truth, but the doctor needed to know. “The bite. It wasn’t a dog. It
was
a zombie.”
Both Mitch and Bren stepped away with small intakes of breath, hands hovering around their guns. But neither drew them. Why would they? He wasn’t a zombie; that was clear. He’d gotten bit, and he wasn’t a fucking zombie. A hysterical laugh bubbled up out of him.
“Then I’m even more interested in getting a full exam,” Phyllis said. “And a lot of follow-up. This is—”
“Why did you lie?” Mitch demanded. “Why lie when we clearly weren’t going to kill you summarily? When we told you we gave you the vaccine?”
“Because I didn’t believe you about the vaccine,” Cal said. “I thought you were playing some head game to get me to confess, so you could kill me without feeling bad about it.”
“Does this mean the vaccine works?” Bren asked. “He was bit, he got the vaccine, and he’s not sick. That means it works, right?”
“Maybe,” Phyllis said. She stood and came closer to Cal, eyeing him in that frank, professional way, like he was an interesting specimen. “But we can’t be certain. Maybe it was the vaccine, or maybe he has a natural resistance, immunity even.”
“I never heard of anyone being immune,” Mitch said.
“There are always immune individuals,” Phyllis said. “Those with just the right genetic mutations. It might be a tiny number of people, but there are always some. The human race wouldn’t even have made it out of Africa without that being true. Or possibly the bite didn’t transmit the virus at all. Cal, tell me about your zombie.”
His zombie? Creepy thought. “It was a kid. A boy. I mean, had been.” He didn’t want to think about it, that figure literally crawling out of tall grass and grabbing his ankle. The flesh of its legs was shredded off from being dragged, stumps of bones sticking out.
“How old did it look?” she asked.
“Nine or ten, I guess.”
“No, I mean, as a zombie. Did it look fresh, or was it more rotted?”
“No, definitely not fresh.” Cal had to suppress a shudder. “It was almost at the falling-apart stage.”
Phyllis looked thoughtful. “Yes, yes. As I expected.”
“She’s got a theory,” Bren said. “That the fresh ones are more dangerous. The older, more rotten ones aren’t as infectious or as interested in biting.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that,” Cal said, nodding. He’d seen zombies bumbling aimlessly around, bits dropping off them, and only reacting halfheartedly to a human in the vicinity.
“So a child zombie, badly decomposed, with a shallow, perhaps rather unenthusiastic bite,” Phyllis said. “Did you clean the wound thoroughly, Cal? Right away?”
“Believe me, Doc, you never saw anyone clean a wound as quick or as hard as I did. I poured about a gallon of iodine in it.”
“Then you might have never been infected at all.” She smiled. “And at least my vaccine didn’t kill you, so that’s a good result.”
“But it
might
be the vaccine,” Bren said. “It might work.”
“I don’t know,” Phyllis said. “I’ll have to do more tests. Speaking of which, Cal, come along with me. I have many, many tests I want to run on you.”
“Can you give us a minute, Doctor?” Mitch said. “We need to talk to him.” The three of them exchanged some meaningful glances.
“Of course,” Phyllis said. “I’ll get prepped. Bring him to me as soon as you’re done.”
“So what now?” Cal asked after she left.
“That’s up to you,” Mitch said. “We’d appreciate it if you at least wait around long enough for the doctor to check you out. After that, you’re free to leave.”
“Right.” That was it? They were just going to give him his boat back and let him go? He couldn’t fathom out Mitch’s expression—and he was usually very good at reading faces. The man put a lot of work into being inscrutable. Was there an appeal not to leave in it? Or just a hope that Cal would stay long enough for Mitch to give him a thorough physical exam too?
“But you don’t have to go,” Bren said, frowning at Mitch as he stood there in silence. “We—the council, that is; that’s the elected council who run things around here—have decided that you should be offered the chance to stay. On a trial basis at first, for up to three months.”
“Trial basis?”
“If you break the rules, you’ll be out,” Mitch said. “If you don’t make a contribution, you’ll be out.”
“What kind of contribution are we talking about?” Cal didn’t fancy scrubbing toilets and washing dishes.
“You could be a soldier,” Bren said. “We have a core group of twenty me and Mitch have trained up. They defend the rig and go ashore for supplies. Strong young guy like you, you’d be ideal. You already know how to shoot. We’ll make you even better.”
“Defend the rig? Against who? Zombies can’t get out here.”
“Zombies are not the only problem,” Mitch said darkly.
Bren waved a hand. “Don’t let Mr. Misery there bother you. Yeah, guys in boats try to attack the place now and again. But they’ve got no chance. This place is a fortress. It’s going ashore that’s the dangerous part. But you’ve survived on your own, you said, for two years. You know the hazards out there better than we do since we’re on here most of the time. You could make a hell of a contribution.”
Call rubbed his sore wrists, considering. He didn’t much go for putting his life in danger to help other people. But maybe he could pick up some useful skills from these people. For one thing, they probably knew more about boats than he did, and a boat—properly stocked this time—had become a very attractive idea to him. Always on the move, safe from zombies aside from trips ashore. But knowing nothing about boats made that plan a nonstarter.
“And the doctor is doing important work on her vaccine,” Bren said. “She really wants you around to follow up that work, now that you’ve had the vaccine. I guess you're her, what do they call it, Patient Zero?”
Cal smiled. “So I get to be a soldier and a guinea pig?” He owed them, he guessed. The doc, anyway, if that vaccine really had saved him. Ah, hell, why not stick around for a while? Not too long. Never stay in one place too long. He’d learn what he could. Maybe get himself into the history books as Patient Zero for the Burnett vaccine. And maybe figure out how to make Mitch unbend. And then bend into interesting positions. If not Mitch, who knew who else on the rig he hadn’t met yet who might like a little action?
“Okay, I’m in.”
* * * *
Mitch waited around outside the infirmary. Bren had gone in there with Cal and stuck around. She was still cautious. Eventually the two of them came out.
“I thought you’d have gone to bed,” Bren said to Mitch. “Since you’re here, can you take Cal to the mess for something to eat, then show him around?” She moved closer to Mitch, away from Cal, and spoke quietly. “I’ve got to go check that Inez is okay. She had a bit of a rough night. Wants me to go to group with her today.”
“No problem,” Mitch said. “I can explain a few things to him as we go.” Bren and Cal gave each other a dubious look, but then Bren grinned and patted Cal’s shoulder.
“Good luck, buddy.” She left. Mitch turned away and headed off. After a second he heard Cal following behind him.
“They found you a shirt, I see,” Mitch said. Cal had on a long-sleeved ribbed shirt that showed off his broad shoulders and lean body perfectly.
“I’ve never been topless that many days in a row since I was last in Malibu. We gonna eat first? I’m starved.”
“Yes. Pay attention to the route. It’s easy to lose your way around here. That’s why we have those.” He pointed to the wall where there were painted directions, in this case to the infirmary one way and an exit the other. Cal nodded and looked like he was concentrating as they made their way to the mess hall. They ran into a few people on the way, most of them too busy to stop, just saying hello and giving Cal a curious stare.
Cal smiled back at them, a rare smile Mitch hadn’t seen much of the last few days. A charming smile. Maybe he should have objected to Cal’s staying on the grounds he was going to have the women fighting over him within days. A few had fought over Mitch until he’d made it very clear he had no interest in women.
They reached the mess. They’d missed breakfast, and prep for lunch was just starting, but Mitch managed to scrounge a few things together to keep them going until lunch. And there was always coffee. Cal looked at the women working in the kitchen thoughtfully while they ate. Had he figured it out yet? Mitch wondered. Cal didn’t say anything, so Mitch didn’t either, just ate quickly, hustling Cal to do the same, and took him on a tour.
They passed the classroom and got waves and openly curious looks from the kids, who had no truck with the notion that it was rude to stare. As they passed a storeroom where Dolores was doing an inventory, Cal smiled and nodded at her, but she thinned her lips at them, her stare more disapproving. It made Mitch want to grab Cal and kiss him in front of her. Absurd. A mad impulse. He’d been feeling plenty of those since Cal showed up. And tonight Cal would be sharing his room.
“You guys are set up pretty well here,” Cal said. “Heat, light, fresh water. Where does the power come from?”
“Wave-powered dynamos and solar panels,” Mitch said. “The water is a combination of collected rainwater and desalinated seawater. That takes up a lot of the power.” He smiled. “So we like rain around here.”
“I’ll bet you— Christ!” Cal flung an arm up to shield his eyes as Mitch opened a door out onto the deck and the daylight poured in. His own damn fault; the door was clearly marked. He should have been paying attention, not looking at Mitch’s ass.
That had to be wishful thinking.
Cal stumbled as they emerged into the sunlight, onto a small platform with a rail around it that looked down onto the deck of the rig. Right now, in the large open space below, Bren was running her daily PT class for the soldiers. Her commands, the occasional retort from one of the women, and laughter floated up to the two men.
Cal stood for a moment rubbing his eyes and looking pained. Mitch remembered abruptly that he’d been in the dimness below for days. The light might actually be hurting him. “Sorry,” he said. “Let’s go back inside. I’ll show you the gym next.”
“Wait.” Cal grabbed his arm before he could lead the way inside again. “There’s just one small thing I think you forgot to mention about this rig. Everyone aboard but you and me is a woman.”
Chapter Five
“No,” Mitch answered.
“No?”
“There are several boys among the children.”
“Okay, but there are no
men
, right? Except us two? Or are you hiding them someplace?”
Mitch smiled. “Took you long enough to notice.”
“Excuse me, pal. I’ve basically seen you, Bren, the doc, and a couple of others for the past five days. How the hell was I supposed to know this whole place was your harem?”
“There are sixty-six—sorry, sixty-seven including you—people aboard,” Mitch explained. “Us two, fourteen children, and fifty-one women. I don’t think I’d have the energy to keep fifty-one women satisfied.”
“Quit screwing around,” Cal said. “Just tell me what the fuck is the deal. You have no other men?”
“We had. Some left, or died on supply runs ashore. As for the rest… It’s been about eight months since we kicked the last one out.”
“Jesus Christ, your balls must be as blue as the sky.”
Mitch snorted and turned away, heading inside and down the steps. Cal followed, his boots clanging on the metal.
“I have more important priorities than sex,” Mitch said.
Cal didn’t answer that. They reached the bottom of the steps, and Cal caught up to him. “You’ve had men here, but if they didn’t leave or die, you threw them out?” he asked. “That’s what you said, right? Why?”
“Because most men are trouble,” Mitch said. “We’re better off without them.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“They broke the rules,” Mitch replied. “One way or another.”
“So why are you letting
me
stay?”
“The council voted on it.” He looked at Cal, watching for his reaction. “I voted against you staying.”
“Jeez, thanks. Nice to know you have confidence in me.”
“Why would I?” Mitch asked. “We already know you’re a liar.”
Cal bristled. “Only because I thought you’d kill me if I told the truth!”
“If you thought you were going to turn, you should have welcomed death.” Mitch walked away from him, not too fast, waited for him to catch up, then led him to parts of the rig that were mostly off-limits—the old drilling machinery, long since mothballed. When they were well out of sight of everyone, he stopped and motioned at a bit of equipment Cal could sit on. Cal perched on it warily.
“Okay, listen up,” Mitch said. “I didn’t want you here, but you’re here. Maybe you’ll prove to be different from the others, prove me wrong. But I doubt it.”
“You tell me your rules, and I’ll prove you wrong.”
“The rules are pretty much what you’d expect. No stealing. No skipping work you’re assigned to do. Never take more than your food ration.”
“Of course not.” Cal was frowning, sounded ticked off and insulted, which Mitch took as a good sign.
“If you assault anyone, I’ll cut your throat and toss your body in the water.”
“Aren’t you a real hard-ass?”
“If you think I’m kidding just to scare you, ask around. The exception is if it’s a sexual assault. Then I’ll cut your balls off first.”
Cal jumped to his feet, fists clenched. “I don’t appreciate you trying to intimidate me, pal. Where the fuck do you get off talking to me like that? Assuming shit like that? What kind of man do you think I am?”
“I don’t
know
.” Mitch took a step toward him, fighting the urge to push him to sit down again. “I don’t know who you are. I can’t pull your rap sheet. You could be anyone. I can’t trust just anyone.”