“My sister is there,” Simon said. “They will come.”
“Sure.” Dodge nodded and meandered out of the room. Simon had the feeling that Dodge didn’t quite believe help was coming. He hoped Dodge would be proven wrong.
*
Coda Base
“The kids have the cure.”
One short sentence to change everything. All of a sudden everything Cale wanted was exactly what Grace and Quigley wanted. The mission was set. They would leave in the wee hours of the morning, rescue the kids, and come home with a cure.
Easy as pie. Right. Cale’s stomach tied itself in enough knots over the whole thing to cause the soup in his belly to rumble and make him glad he hadn’t forced down anything more solid. Ian sat with them at dinner, and they filled him in on the plan. While Cale got jittery just thinking about it, the boy had only nodded and continued to shovel food into his mouth, making Cale wish he could be so relaxed.
Cale turned onto his side in the single bed, trying hard to find a comfortable position and get some sleep. His brain refused to turn off. Instead, it played every way the whole thing could go wrong over and over again. So far he figured he’d found at least a thousand different ways.
Across the hall, Alice and Zero lay on the big bed, facing each other with their eyes closed, and minds working overtime about what had just happened. Alice tried to think of a way to talk about it, wanting to explain why she had kissed Zero as soon as the door shut behind them. It had been hours since they left Cale with Grace, and nearly an hour they had spent lying silent and naked, pretending to sleep.
Alice rolled onto her back and risked a glance at Zero, surprised to see him watching her. He smiled softly.
“Can’t sleep?” Alice asked.
“Not after that,” Zero said, rolling on his back and sliding his hands under his head. “I gotta admit, you were a bit wilder than I expected, Intern.”
Alice couldn’t help but smile. “Shut up.” She looked over at him, trying to figure out if he was teasing. “I was not wild.”
“The way you kissed me at the door.” He glanced at her. “Letting me carry you in here; practically tearing off my shirt. Sorry but that counts as wild in my book.”
“I didn’t want to change my mind,” Alice said. Zero gave her a hurt look and she hurried to explain what she meant. “I wanted to. I’ve wanted to for a while, but I can’t help thinking about who you were before.”
“Was I that bad?” Zero asked. “I mean before I got sick.”
“I’m not really sure.” Alice shrugged. “I only know what they told me. None of it was very good.”
“Can you get over who I was?” Zero’s face was serious as he looked at Alice. His eyes were so hopeful that in the instant he spoke, she knew she could get over everything in his past.
“I think so.” Alice rolled to put an arm across his chest, wanting to be close to him again. “But if I act weird sometimes, that’s why.”
“I can live with that.” Zero held Alice to him as they began drift off.
*
Alone in his cell, Jake reached through the bars and snapped his belt toward the keys again. He had been trying since it got dark, hours after Gabe brought him his meager dinner. It was quickly becoming apparent no one would be letting him out of the cell. He wasn’t about to sit around and wait to die.
This time the belt hit the keys with enough force to jerk them off the short nail they hung on. They fell to the floor in a jingling heap. Jake slumped against the bars, closer to freedom. Now it was just a matter of getting the keys across the cement floor outside the cell.
As he pulled his belt back for another throw, he thought about Alice. He never should have given into temptation. It had been the scotch that gave him the bravery to act on all the ideas inside his head. In that moment he had been able to convince himself that she would be as desperate for company as he was. Once he was lying on her, he hadn’t been able to hold back. And God, the way she had squirmed beneath him. He felt a stirring in his groin at the thought of it. No one wiggles that much if they aren’t trying to get you going.
Focus. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He threw the belt again, but it slipped right over the keys. That wasn’t any good. Pale moonlight illuminated the keys almost as if it was mocking him. So close and yet so far from freedom. He took off his shirt and tied it around the belt.
This time his shirt landed on the keys. He began to pull the belt back hand over hand. There was a light scraping as the keys moved across the rough floor. When they were close enough, Jake reached through the bars and grabbed them. He quickly pulled on his shirt before reaching out to slip the key into the lock and release himself.
He was out of the building in minutes. The base looked empty under the moonlight, but he could hear the movement of zombies just past the walls. He couldn’t go over the walls, and he couldn’t stay on the base. Just to the right of where he was standing, Jake spotted a manhole cover.
Jake ran back into the building briefly to find a flashlight. Back at the manhole, he got the cover off, but it took more effort than he expected. He climbed down the ladder before he could talk himself out of it. Better to take his chances with the unknown below than with the assholes above. When his feet hit the wet ground, Jake turned and clicked on the flashlight.
Three zombies lurched out of the darkness like waiting rats. A young woman leaped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and burying her face in his throat. Dark hair fell over Jake’s eyes a split second before he dropped the flashlight and plunged the tunnel into darkness. Jake only had a moment to wish he’d thought to bring a gun.
*
“This could still be a suicide mission,” Quigley told Grace as they sat pouring over the layout of Haven. “We have no idea what we are getting into.”
“I know.” Grace nodded, still puzzling over the layout to find the best place to land. “But we have to try. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try to rescue those kids.”
“They have the cure now,” Quigley said. He leaned back, rubbing his eyes. “They could rescue themselves as soon as they figure out the machine.” Grace gave Quigley a tired look.
“If they figure it out. They’re just kids. And if they do figure it out then we need them more than they need us.” She looked away from Quigley and back at the drawing. “We’re as good as dead without a cure.”
Quigley sighed and leaned forward, pondering over the layout again. Together they chose a landing strip; the main street was wide enough and right around the corner from the hospital. Finally, near midnight they tried to get some sleep.
*
Haven Medical Base
At Haven, Dodge watched the clock tick closer to dawn.
32
Coda Base
Ian was the last to arrive at the airstrip. He stumbled across the dark and unfamiliar terrain to where the others had already loaded the J52 Poppers and a pile of other weapons to choose from. At Cale’s suggestion, everyone added a knife to their collection to prepare for fighting in close quarters.
“We might not always be able to shoot,” Zero pointed out. “Too much chance of a ricochet.”
“You’re right. I should have considered that before.” Quigley gave Cale a nod of approval. “We ready for takeoff now?” Quigley looked at Grace.
She looked at Cale. “Are you ready?” He nodded, still feeling sick to his stomach. Grace smiled. “Then let’s get this show on the road. We’ll drop the two Poppers, and then you’ll follow our lead down. Got it?”
“Yep,” Cale said. “Chatter on channel two while we’re up in the air? We told the kids to keep it on channel one. ”
“Sounds good.” Grace nodded. “See you when we land.”
Cale winced and climbed into the plane along with the others. Alice was already in the seat beside him, while Ian and Zero were pressed tightly into the back seats, looking uncomfortable. “Everyone buckled up tight?” Cale forced a grin.
“Yeah,” Zero said. “And squashed in like sardines.”
“Sorry.” Cale started the engine. That was the one benefit of being the pilot in a small plane. “You’re in for a bumpy ride in a plane like this.”
“Great,” Zero muttered.
Alice glanced over her shoulder. “Oh hush you big baby.”
Zero and Alice exchanged a look that made Cale wonder what had gone on there. They’d spent the night alone in the bedroom. Cale hadn’t dared enter the room when he saw the door closed.
He pushed the thoughts from his head. It was going to take all his concentration to fly the plane. Even then, he wasn’t entirely positive he wouldn’t crash it in some corn field. In the other plane, Grace and Quigley began to putter down the runway, quickly picking up speed and taking off. After a slow deep breath, Cale followed. His heart seemed to drop into his stomach as the plane took off.
“All good?” Quigley asked over the radio.
Alice took the radio from the dash. “All good,” she answered. “How can you even tell where we are going?”
“Mapped it out,” Quigley replied. “Are you having any trouble following us?”
Alice glanced over at Cale. His face was lit up by the dash lights and he shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like it,” Alice replied.
“Just let us know if we lose you,” Quigley said. “We should be there in a little over three hours. Right around sun up.”
“Alright.” Alice set the radio down. “When do you think we should try to radio the children?”
“Not until we have a better idea of when we are landing,” Cale answered. “Now I gotta focus on flying this thing.”
“Alright,” Alice said. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Cale nodded and the little plane fell silent aside from the hum of the engine and the rush of the wind outside. In the back, both Ian and Zero dozed fitfully as the miles slipped by. Alice found herself drifting off into sleep as well. She sat up straighter, wishing she’d brought coffee to help her stay awake for Cale. Luckily, he seemed at no risk of falling asleep. He was wide-eyed and peering wildly into the darkness in concentrated fear. Occasionally, his eyes dropped to make sure they were still on track with Grace and Quigley.
“Alice?” Cale’s voice sunk into Alice’s head. She sat up quickly, unsure how long she had been asleep for.
“What? Sorry, I fell asleep.”
“I know,” Cale answered with a small smile. “Time to radio the kids. We’ll be landing within the half hour.”
“Okay.” Alice grabbed the radio and held it to her lips. “Rescue One, do you copy?”
“Copy,” Quigley’s voice crackled from the radio. “We’re approaching the base. Time to call the kids.”
“Yep, switching to channel one,” Alice said. She allowed herself one deep breath before changing the channel and speaking again. “Haven, this is Alice Davenport. Do you copy?”
*
Haven Medical Base
Simon’s stomach felt as if it had just taken an express elevator ride into his feet when he heard his sister’s voice come crackling through the radio. Thankfully, Dodge was the one holding it, ready to do the talking. Had it been Simon he most likely would have dropped it. If that hadn’t broken it, he wasn’t sure he would be able to form words to speak to her. Possibly, just for good measure, he might have stomped on the radio.
“We hear you. This is Dodge.”
“Is Simon there?” Alice couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice; it came through even on the old radio. Dodge held the radio out to Simon with a shrug. Gingerly Simon took it and cleared his throat.
“I’m here,” he squeaked, managing to sound even younger than he was. He blushed furiously as he handed the radio back to Dodge.