Tainted Future (The Rememdium Series Book 3) (10 page)

PROPOSALS - Monday, December 22
^nd
  – 7:15 p
.m. – Central Standard Time

Jesse only left Turner’s side once to take a shower and change clothes. Looking down at the gray sweats Martha gave her earlier, she smiled. Though ugly, they were warm, clean, and certainly smelled better than the tattered pajamas she’d worn for two days. Martha’s superior planning skills included soap, toilet paper, and deodorant. The only thing missing was tampons, which made sense to Jesse. Martha Addison was way past the point of having periods, and probably didn’t think there would be someone hiding out with them who still experienced the monthly mess.

All that was fine and dandy, but seeing Turner’s injuries broke Jesse’s heart. Though she’d always loved him, the feelings intensified the moment she saw all the blood on his face. While observing Jane tend to him earlier, Jesse forgot all about her claustrophobia. She watched Jane and Martha work on him, absorbing all their movements and how they handled his leg, broken nose, and gashes. Though they didn’t have the proper materials to use as a cast to immobilize Turner’s leg, they improvised. Walt broke down one of the cots, using the thick material and strong pieces of metal as a makeshift cast.

While watching, all Jesse could think about was how lucky she was Turner was still alive, and they were surrounded by people who knew how to handle themselves. Yet, the biggest worry rolling around in Jesse’s head was the injury. The broken leg left Turner helpless, dependent upon the rest of their small group for survival.

When she was in the shower—dear God, the
hot
shower—Jesse thought about her mother’s final moments alive. How she’d snuck in her feelings about Jesse, veiling the comments under the guise of urging Marian to not give up. Remembered her mother mentioning Jesse was strong, and all the other snippets of love. Jesse clung to the words inside her mind, using them as fuel to keep her going. When the dark, ugly images of her mother’s last moments on earth tried to surface, Jesse pushed them down deep, refusing to let them take control.

The time she’d spent on the streets, doing unspeakable, wretched things to survive long enough to earn money to buy another hit, came in handy. Back then, Jesse taught her mind to ignore the vile, disgusting acts by pretending she was on the set of a movie, surrounded by actors. Forced herself to believe the pain and humiliation were make believe, and in the end, she’d win awards from adoring fans around the world for her spot-on performances.

Using the same tactics now to keep herself from going stark-raving mad, Jesse simply pretended she was a cast member of a zombie series. One with an enormous set, and her family was home, watching her performance on television, marveling at how real things seemed.

All of her family, including Mom—her biggest fan.

Jesse knew the idea was silly and pathetic, but it didn’t matter. She’d do whatever necessary to keep from blowing a mental gasket.

While walking with Martha to the Humvees earlier, the conversation full of more sweet, encouraging maternal advice, Jesse realized how lucky she truly was. Though not her mother, Martha Addison was more than a suitable substitute.

Turner squeezed her hand, bringing Jesse out of her internal musings. “You doin’ okay, baby?”

“Of course I am. Because you are,” Jesse whispered.

Turner tried to smile, but it looked weird and painful. Between the bruises, swollen skin, and bandages on his face, it almost looked as if he were wearing a mask. Jane had given him some sort of medicine to help with the pain, so his pupils were barely visible. It was the first time she’d ever seen Turner high, and it was quite strange.

“No, I mean with the cave. You haven’t been outside in hours. Do you need to get some air?”

“Lamar said earlier it’s snowin’, and you know how much I hate the cold, so no. Besides, your fall seemed to cure my claustrophobia.”

“At least somethin’ good came outta tumblin’ around like a runaway boulder.”

Before Jesse had a chance to say anything else, Walter Addison stood and addressed the group. “Okay, folks. It’s time to have a come to Jesus meetin’.”

Shifting positions, Jesse settled in to listen to Walter Addison. A twinge of worry poked inside Jesse’s stomach.
What now?

“Where’s the organ music?” Kyle teased.

Walt ignored the comment. “We have a lot to discuss this evenin’, so please bear with me as I tackle each item. Okay?”

The memory of her mother’s speech at Walmart made a lump of tears form in Jesse’s throat. Turner must have sensed the connection. He squeezed her hand again. “I love you.”

Jesse patted his shoulder and whispered, “Love you, too, you big klutz.”

Walt cleared his throat. “I ain’t gonna rehash what we already know, but I am gonna add a few new twists we’ve learned recently. Recall on our way up here, I found evidence I assumed belonged to military personnel. Well, after the events of the past two days, it ain’t an assumption any longer.”

“How do you know for sure, Walt? You see someone?” Deputy Mike Bailey asked.

“Yes, but before I get into that, let me finish. Things ain’t gonna get better, at least not in the foreseeable future. We’re on our own, and ain’t no help on the horizon. We all witnessed the government’s response. Our hometown, as well as the other big cities we passed through, are gone. If the decision was made to take out cities here in Arkansas, it’s not too far of a leap to assume the same thing happened in bigger ones.”

“God, let’s hope not,” Shaun muttered.

“Trust me, Shaun, I don’t want that to be the case, but we have to look at the cold, hard facts here. We also need to come to grips with the fact the dead, and the government, ain’t our only enemies. Since things have gone to shit, those still breathin’ will do whatever is necessary to survive. Food, water, weapons, and shelter are what’s at stake.”

“Agreed. People ain’t nice under normal circumstances. As supplies dwindle, so will their humanity,” Lamar added. “Hell, things were bad even before this shit happened.”

Walt nodded. “Yet another reason this cave was our choice for a beta location. The average citizen wouldn’t dream of seekin’ shelter here, only other preppers. Don’t think we’ll need to worry about others like us at the moment, though. I’m sure they’re holed up in their own respective hideaways. The ones we need to worry about are the loners, civvys and grunts alike, scourin’ and scavagin’ to live another day.”

Pausing to take a drink of water, Walt scanned the room. His gaze stopped on Jesse. For some reason, the look on his face made her stomach churn.

“I led off with those comments because they underscore what I’m about to say. We need each other, more than ever. There’s not gonna be a rescue; this is the way our world is now. Whatever biological hit us may peter out, like most eventually do. However, what it left in its wake, namely, reanimated humans, won’t disappear.”

“No, they’ll just increase as more people die,” Lamar added.

“Unfortunately, I believe you’re correct, Lamar,” Walt sighed. “Martha and I did a lot of plannin’, but we didn’t account for this many to be hidin’ out with us. We also didn’t take into consideration we would never be able to return home. On that point, we sorely miscalculated.”

“No one couldn’t have prepared for this. No one in their right mind, at least,” Martha interrupted.

Walt let out a bitter chuckle. “Yeah, a zombie apocalypse was only discussed as an off-color joke durin’ prepper meetin’s,” Walt shook his head while clearing his throat. “This mornin’, I did some calculations. What we’ve got stored here food wise, if we ration wisely, will last about three months. While we don’t have to worry about water, since it’s comin’ from the ground, we do need to think about how to replace the rest of our supplies. Long-term plannin’ is needed. Think crops, livestock. We aren’t the only ones who’ll be out scavengin’ to survive. It won’t take long until there ain’t nothin’ left to find.”

Jesse felt sick to her stomach. The way Walt was talking, they planned on staying—living—in a cave.

Forever?

No. Fucking. Way.

“Wonder how many are even left?” Reed asked.

“There’s no way to know, unless we venture out and start countin’ heads. Ain’t none of us interested in that dangerous op, I’m sure. We’ve only been up here less than a week, and already suffered a major injury, which depleted a large chunk of our medical supplies. Y’all need clothes, too, along with other items. Findin’ more will require a solid plan to not only locate them, but bring them safely back here.”

Turner tugged on Jesse’s hand, urging her to come closer. Jesse leaned over and Turner whispered, “He’s a real ray of sunshine, right? If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he’s enjoyin’ this. Don’t worry, babe. I’ll build us treehouse soon, once my leg heals. I know you can’t handle livin’ here forever.”

“Turner? Did you have somethin’ to share?” Walt asked.

Jesse didn’t like the tone in his voice.

At all.

“No. Just tryin’ to lighten the mood a bit. All this doom and gloom—”

“It’s reality, son. Harsh, ugly-as-shit, reality. Ignorin’ what’s goin’ on in the world now will just cost us later.”

“I know, Dad. We all know. Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. Just tryin’ to make Jesse smile.”

“Mighty kind of you, son, and also leads me to my next point. With the way things are now, we can’t afford division or strife between us. We must work together to live. No secrets, no hidden agendas, no distrust. We all have to know the person standin’ next to us has our back, one-hundred percent.”

“Of course we do, Walt. That’s how we all ended up here,” Reed offered.

“For the trust to deepen, and continue, things need to be laid bare. If you see somethin’, have an idea, a worry, comment, whatever, speak up. Don’t keep things bottled up, thinkin’ you can handle them on your own. There is no ‘you’ any longer. It’s all about ‘we.’”

A low rumble of whispers spread through the small group. Jesse’s hair stood erect. A heavy sense of foreboding made her chest pound.

“So, I’ll go first with what I’ve been hidin’. As I mentioned earlier, we ain’t alone. Kyle and I ran into four government men today while they was buryin’ a corpse in the woods. We counted twenty-seven other graves, which means they’ve been here a while.”

“How do you know for sure they were military? And, did they see you, too?” Shaun asked.

“Because of the clothin’ they wore and the weapons carried. And no, I’m confident they didn’t know we were there.”

“That don’t mean shit! Look at us! Some of us are carryin’ military weapons and we all rode up here drivin’ their vehicles! Hell, a few of us even wore their clothes, and we ain’t government grunts,” Lamar said.

“True. However, the man I followed in the woods yesterday mornin’, certainly is. His name is Kevin Warton, and I heard him mention he was ex-military. He’s also one of the foursome Kyle and I witnessed wearin’ full bio suits and buryin’ someone today.”

Jesse’s mouth dropped open. She cast a sideways glance over at Shaun, wondering if he’d mentioned their conversation with Kevin in the woods to Walt. Shaun looked just as shocked as Jesse felt, and responded by shrugging his shoulders.

Walt noticed and stared directly at Jesse. “I believe you have somethin’ you need to, um, come clean about as well, Jesse?”

Shocked by the revelation, Jesse's mind gridlocked.

“The only way you could know about that man is because you were followin’ us, Walter. The question is, why?” Shaun asked.

“Actually, the real question should be why didn’t you tell us the entire story upon your arrival, Shaun? That’s what I’m talkin’ about here. We cannot, under any circumstances, keep secrets anymore! See how they turn on us in mere seconds?”

Jesse found her voice. Anger bubbled up from her chest and spewed from her mouth. “You want the truth? Okay! Here goes. Hi, I’m Jesse Parker, former meth addict. I’m also claustrophobic, and recently witnessed some really fucked-up shit. My mother blew her brains out to save the lives of others, and I’m havin’ a difficult time with all the shit I’ve seen in the last forty-eight hours. In the middle of a panic attack yesterday mornin’, I freaked and went outside to clear my head. Startin’ thinkin’ about all I’ve lost. Tried to convince my brain none of this was actually happenin’, because dead people walkin’ around eatin' others ain’t real! So, I ran. Found the pack we’d passed before on the way here. I opened it, and low and behold, my personal demon stared back at me.”

“Oh, Jesse, you didn’t?” Reed whispered.

“No, I didn’t, but only because Shaun stopped me before I had the chance. Yes, I would have given in to the temptation. I’m an addict. Tryin’ to handle this mess sober is just too much. Too fuckin’ much. But again, I didn’t,” Jesse stopped, wiping away the tears from her face. “Shaun and I—we both suffered major losses in Malvern, so we decided to have a private service for Mom and Marian. That’s when Kevin Warton appeared from out of nowhere.”

Walter interrupted. “And mentioned somethin’ durin’ the course of the conversation you should’ve shared with us before, right?”

Jesse’s anger ignited into an inferno. She let go of Turner’s hand and stood, facing Walter. “Really? You’re givin’ me shit about that? Since you know his name, that means you were close enough on your little stalkin’ mission to hear all of our conversation. You’ve been keepin’ it to yourself, too. Hello, pot. I’m kettle.”

“Enough!” Martha yelled. “That’s enough. Secrets are out in the open now, so move on to the core issues! Stop goin’ for the jugulars like those dead bodies roamin’ the planet!”

“Kevin’s demeanor changed the minute he thought Jesse took some of the drugs! I remember now,” Shaun whispered.

“Why in the world does that matter at this point, Walt?” Jane asked.

“Every bit of information we learn from here on out, matters. Every bit.”

“Hell, maybe it wasn’t even drugs Jesse found. Maybe it was whatever covert, secret shit the government concocted that started all this!” Lamar offered. “You’re damn lucky you didn’t try any, girl. Damn lucky.”