As far as Fish and Jada were concerned, Rich said the rest was up to them and their ability to heal themselves. He would do everything he could, but nature would have to take its course.
The rest of the day was somber.
All this death… all this damage to our group…
I struggled as I thought about it. Not just because we lost so many people to Cecil and his quest for revenge, but the reason behind it. Cecil was right. We did kill his friends and nephew, though indirectly. His brother’s death, on the other hand, that was all on me and Fish.
Was he wrong? I didn’t know.
Later, when I would tell others about Cecil and what transpired between us and, most importantly, his perspective on the tragic events that lead to our final encounter, they would blow it off, as if Cecil was just plain evil. Cecil wasn’t evil. He was mad with grief and consumed with revenge.
Karina and Jenna stayed with me that night and shared Fish’s bed.
Boomer snored at my feet, as I mourned the loss of life we had suffered and the loss of life we had caused.
Silent tears rolled down my face as night fell over the camp.
Chapter 23
Decisions and Farewell
August 2
nd
Fish remained in a near comatose state over the next week.
Preacher held a small ceremony for the people we had lost. Cecil’s name was purposefully left out of his speech. There was enough sorrow without bringing up his betrayal.
DJ and Campbell led multiple runs into the city with Major Dobson to secure equipment for the long journey to Hoover Dam.
There were no more making runs into the city for me. No more guard duty shifts. And because of my broken arm, even chores around Camp Holly were limited. Major Dobson had determined that I was to do nothing that would even remotely put my life at risk.
So over that week, I was reduced to weapon maintenance and food preparation. Even those two tasks were a struggle with a broken arm. The pain came and went, but the real dilemma was the cast. It was bulky and the weight threw me off as I worked.
The entire time I was under the watchful eye of Sergeant Pitman. He was not about to let me out of his sight again. He even shadowed me when I used the restroom or bathed.
Karina kept me company, which annoyed Pitman. Jenna would also stop by to see me from time to time.
The day finally came when Fish was released from the infirmary.
“How ya doin, kid?” Fish asked. He was walking at a slow pace, using a cane for balance.
“Okay. My arm hardly hurts.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said.
“I’m okay,” I said reassuringly.
“Good. Where’s Campbell?”
I shrugged, “I think he and Dobson are on another run. They’ve been picking up a lot of stuff for the trip.”
“I’m shocked the Major hasn’t already tried to leave,” Fish scoffed.
“Oh, he wanted to,” Pitman interjected from behind us.
“Then why hasn’t he?” Fish asked, half turning to look at Pitman.
“We’re waiting to reestablish communication with Colonel Forester,” Pitman replied. “Tom has been trying to get the comms up for the past few days. No doubt that once we get them up and running, we’ll be ordered to move out.”
Tom, the engineer that made the voyage with Major Dobson, had been working feverishly to repair the damage Cecil had caused to our radios. It was more extensive than we thought.
“Hmm,” Fish contemplated. “What does the Captain have to say about you guys leaving?”
“The Captain doesn’t really have a say,” Pitman returned.
We approached the door to the shack.
“Pitman, stay outside and protect us from any rodents that want to kidnap the boy wonder here,” Fish snarled as I opened the door.
“My orders—”
I smiled at the large man. “Pitman, there’s only one way in and out of here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Pitman grumbled, but he grabbed a stool and sat just outside the building.
I looked out into the courtyard and saw Karina walking the fence line with Boomer next to her. With the loss of manpower, she was pulling more guard duty shifts and I was happy to lend Boomer to her while she did.
The door shut behind me as I entered the shack.
Fish was struggling to sit on his bed, and I rushed over to help him.
“Get off me,” he protested. “I’m not an invalid.”
I backed away. “Sorry.”
Fish let out a sharp grunt as he hit the mattress. He pointed to his duffle bag.
“If you want to help me, get me my flask.”
I decided not to argue and did as he ordered.
“So what do you think about this trip to Hoover Dam?” Fish asked after a gulp.
“I think I have to go.” I said as I sat down on my own bunk.
“Of course you need to go, I’m just wondering who Dobson thinks he is going to take on this crusade.” Fish took another pull from the flask and set it down.
“I’ve heard rumors that the Major is going to want to take some of our people with him,” I told him. “But truthfully, that’s just talk around camp. Who really knows? The Captain hasn’t spoken to me for more than five minutes since we stopped Cecil.”
Fish winced painfully as he lay back in his bed.
“Politics…” he grumbled.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
Fish closed his eyes and let out a breath. “By the way, kid, thanks for saving my ass out there. Campbell stopped by this morning and told me what you did.”
“I owed you,” I said, and then grinned. “Guess that makes us even.”
“Kid,” Fish said gruffly, “your math sucks.”
***
Campbell and Dobson returned a few hours later from their run. I had just finished cleaning a half a dozen rifles. Pitman was walking me back to check on Fish when I saw Campbell leaving the shack.
“Christian,” Campbell nodded and continued walking away.
I wanted to stop him and ask a list of questions I had been forming in my head, but decided not to. Campbell had changed over the past week. Losing every person in his command hit him pretty hard. He seemed unapproachable.
Pitman elected to stay outside again, mentioning how cramped our shack was.
“Hey Fish,” I said after closing the door behind me. Karina was on my bed with Boomer’s head laying in her lap.
“It’s bad enough I have to deal with your dog, but now this runt won’t leave me alone,” Fish grumbled. He was sitting in a chair changing the bandage on his shoulder.
Boomer jumped off the bed and greeted me.
“Sooorrry,” Karina said sarcastically. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you and the Captain.”
“We were done talking anyways. Still, you just can’t barge in here.” Fish winced as he pulled a blood soaked bandage off his scab.
“Christian said I can come by any time I want,” Karina shot back.
“Christian is a dumbass. What he says don’t mean shit in my house,” Fish countered.
I smiled as the two went back and forth.
“What did Campbell want?” I asked, intercepting Karina before she could retort.
Fish poured some peroxide on a gauze pad as grimaced and he wiped around the stitches. “He says we’re meeting tonight. Tom got the radio working. Dobson has been chatting with Hoover Dam since they got back.”
“Am I going to be at this meeting?” I asked.
“Yeah. Pretty much you and everyone else that is relevant.” Fish finished bandaging his shoulder and grabbed his cane.
“Guess I get to find out my fate then, huh?” I asked dryly. It wasn’t the idea of me leaving that left me sour, it was that I had not been given a say in anything.
“You could say that,” Fish answered.
I probed Fish for more answers, but he claimed he didn’t have any.
Hours later, we were sitting around the campfire in the courtyard. There were more than a dozen people there.
“Alright everyone,” Dobson started, interrupting random conversations, “I’ve been in contact with Colonel Forester at Hoover Dam. He says getting Christian there as expediently as possible is our first priority.”
“Ours?” DJ said. “You mean yours.”
“DJ,” Campbell said softly, and the big man backed down. Campbell raised his hand to Dobson to continue.
Dobson grimaced. “The Colonel requests that Camp Holly send four volunteers with us to complete this journey. It’s going to be a rough ride, and we could use some good people. I’ve comprised a list of personnel that would be a good fit—”
“Am I on that list?” Campbell interrupted.
Dobson pursed his lips. “No, Captain. From my understanding, Camp Holly is here because of your leadership. They need you here.”
Campbell was about to argue, but Preacher spoke up first.
“Major, what is the rush? Christian is still hurt.” Preacher turned to Rich. “Shouldn’t Christian heal before he makes such a dangerous journey?”
“Christian will be fine,” Dobson said before Rich could answer. “Besides, time is an issue.”
“Why is that?” DJ asked. He was sitting on a bench with his wife at his side.
Doctor Tripp, who had been sitting on a log, stood up. “Because we don’t know if the virus is going to mutate again. We are fighting a clock that we can’t read. The sooner we get Christian to Hoover Dam, the better chance we have of creating a vaccine before any sort of mutation occurs.”
“Why can’t we just do it here?” I asked.
Doctor Tripp held her arms out and sneered, “Look at this place. It’s not exactly set up for what we need. Besides, I need other virologists, doctors, scientists.”
“You have Rich,” Fish argued. “He’s better than any doctor I’ve ever had.”
Rich chuckled. “Thank you for the confidence Fish, but I have to agree with Doctor Tripp. Vaccines are not produced overnight. They can take months or years to develop, and that is with teams of experts.”
Campbell cleared his throat, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Major, I understand your rush to leave, but we have to think of the bigger picture. You need the best people you can get. DJ, Fish and I have discussed the matter.”
“This isn’t up to you, Captain,” Dobson said irritably.
“I beg to differ,” Fish grunted. “Christian is my boy. And he’s not going anywhere without me.”
Dobson shook his head. “As much as I could use you, Fish, you can barely walk. There’s no way you can make the journey in your condition.”
Campbell stood up. “You’re correct Major. And there is no way you can make the trip without our support.” Dobson’s face darkened, but before he could say anything, Campbell continued. “Fish and I will be accompanying you to Hoover Dam. We will also take volunteers. However, we will not leave until Camp Holly is sufficiently fortified, and the remaining residents have been appropriately trained to safely make runs and defend the camp. DJ estimates a month for those objectives.”
“As I said, Captain,” Dobson said angrily, “you are needed here. And time—”
Fish cut him off. “Time don’t mean shit, sir, if you don’t make it to Hoover Dam.”
“DJ is more than capable at running this camp. Hell, probably more so than me,” Campbell added. “Barry will be his second in command.”
Dobson strained to control his voice. “Captain, I understand this is your command, but the mission of bringing Doctor Tripp and Christian to Hoover Dam falls on me, not you.”
Campbell smiled. “And I will fall under your command when we leave these gates. Until then, we will give Fish and Christian time to heal and get the rest of this camp up to speed.”
Dobson locked eyes with Campbell. The two seemed to be in a silent battle of wills.
Doctor Tripp broke the tension. “Major, this could be an opportunity for all of us.”
“How so?” Dobson asked without turning away from Campbell.
“If we could gather the right equipment, I could start running tests here. I could even perform some minor experiments on the way. Nothing like what we will be able to achieve once we reach Hoover Dam, but any progress we can make before we get there could be very beneficial.”
Dobson hesitated, and then turned to the Doctor. “What type of equipment?”
“I can make a list,” she answered. “With Rich’s help, I’m sure we can figure out the best places to get the equipment I need.”
Campbell raised an eyebrow. “Scavenging that equipment would be a great opportunity to train new runners.”
Dobson considered for a moment. Then, with a heavy sigh, he said, “Okay, Captain. One month.”
“Excuse me,” DJ interjected. “We seem to be forgetting something.”
I saw the big man whisper something to his wife and then stand up.
“When will we get this vaccine?”
“What do you mean?” Dobson asked, turning to face DJ.
“I mean, you take some of our best people, go across the country, make a vaccine… when will that cure make its way back to us?”
“I don’t want to lie, DJ,” Dobson said apologetically, “there is little guarantee we will even make it there. The road ahead is unknown. Sending someone back, well… it’s not something that would be a priority.”
DJ cocked his head to the side, as if arguing with himself about something. He stayed silent, though, and sat back down next to his wife.
Campbell faced the entire group. “The question now is who will volunteer to go on this mission? Before anyone answers, I want you to know, this will not be easy. There is a good chance, as the Major says, that we won’t even make it.”
The people who were gathered around the fire exchanged nervous expressions. I was surprised with the first volunteer.
“I will go,” Preacher stated.
“Preacher,” Campbell said wearily, “I don’t know if—”