The McClane Apocalypse: Book Two (55 page)

“Wouldn’t be too hard to do,” his brother jabs again.

“If you can, then she definitely could,” John comes back on him. They just grin.

“So what kind of trouble did you two run into? You never have said yet,” Derek pushes. John removes his ball-cap, swipes a hand through his hair and sighs before placing it back on his head again.

“The usual. Bad people doing bad things to each other. Some of ‘em wanted to take the boss for themselves. You know and murder me?” he explains with a grimace.

“How many?” Kelly asks. Herb’s not sure what exactly the big soldier is asking.

“Two in the woods on the way there. Group last night in a park. A few the first day in at the hospital. Another three in the Home Depot. Boss saw it. Don’t think she was too impressed, but I didn’t have a choice,” he expounds.

Herb now understands perfectly to what Kelly was referring: John’s kill count. Derek nods grimly. Kelly follows suit. It seems hard to think of John as a killer. He’s so lighthearted and friendly.

“Doesn’t matter,” Kelly says finally. “You did what you had to do.”

“I agree. And I’m more thankful than I can say to have my granddaughter back, John” Herb tells him, reaches for and shakes the young man’s hand. His grip is strong and sure.

John just nods and looks away. Herb’s not sure if he is remorseful over the killing or the having to do it in front of Reagan part.

“I’m gonna go check on the new guests,” John supplies and trots away. Kelly follows after him.

The big guy says something that makes John laugh heartily. He’s always easy to laugh. For this reason alone, he may be able to help Reagan. Who knows, though? Perhaps she’ll never fully recover. It doesn’t matter to Herb. He still loves her just the same even with all of her damages, and he suspects that John Harrison does, as well.

“I’m going back behind the barns, check it all out. You need anything before I go, Herb?” Derek asks.

He’s a good man like his brother, always lending a hand, going out of his way to help, and most importantly taking care of his wife and kids. The pressure he must feel everyday having three little kids and a wife must be enormous.

“No, Derek, I’m fine here. Samantha’s been helping me quite a lot,” he replies.

The young girl with the strange, choppy black hair is currently attending the woman on the cot at the back of the shed. Samantha is quiet, shy and reserved, but there is something strong inside of her, too. Herb saw it in her eyes earlier when the sick, pregnant woman had vomited and spewed blood on the floor. Sam had not even batted an eye before helping Herb and Reagan clean the mess and re-sanitize the area. Then she’d volunteered to sit for hours on end while gently wiping at the boy and woman’s faces and brows with a cool, wet cloth. She’s a very giving, kind person, and those aren’t the worst qualities to have since the world has fallen so far and others have forgotten the meaning of humanity.

“Ok, then I’m off, too,” Derek says and also jogs away, being swallowed by the darkness enshrouding the farm. They have decided to make an effort not to use too many lights at night around the farm because they don’t want their new squatters to start questioning their power source or getting too comfortable. The Rangers are using their night vision goggles for moving surreptitiously around the place. The shorter these visitors’ stay on his farm, the better.

He’s not sure what the future of his family will be, but Herb knows that they’ll be safer with the help of the men who have become an integral part of the dynamic that makes up his family now. Without the help of these three Rangers, they might not make it. But it may not be other people who will become a threat to them. It could very well be this sickness that’s on his property. He needs to review his notes once again and soon so that he can try to compile enough information to figure out this sickness. Without a proper diagnosis to work from, it may be impossible to help the two sick patients who lay almost comatose in his makeshift urgent care center. He can’t afford to let this illness spread to his family or his new extended family. His girls would be heartbroken to lose any of the men in the family. Even Reagan would be heartbroken should John succumb to such a disease, though she isn’t aware of her feelings yet. He’s fairly certain that she does have some sort of feelings for John. It could, however, be more wishful thinking on his part. And he’d be devastated if any of his girls were to become sickly.

There are many hours of work still to be done tonight, and not a second to lose. He has to stop this from spreading. He has to protect his family at all cost. They all have to survive. Family is the only thing that matters anymore. Herb isn’t about to let a sickness take any of his. Nor is he going to let criminally-minded people stay permanently on his property where his family could be put in danger. He agrees with the assessment of the three Rangers. Some of those men traveling with Peter look like they could be trouble. Hell, most of them do actually. The women aren’t too much better. He doesn’t like being judgmental of others, especially not by their appearances, but this group seems rough around the edges to say the least. He’d also seen the men looking at his granddaughters with obvious interest that could foretell future problems with this group. He doesn’t trust any of them, not even Peter. However, he implicitly trusts Derek, John and Kelly to keep them all safe from harm, safe from these strangers if need be. And he’s also willing to do whatever it takes to keep them safe, as well.

The next few weeks are bound to be stressful and tiresome. Herb isn’t sure what the future holds for any of them, but as long as they are together, he’s confident everything will be fine. Perhaps the optimism of his Maryanne is starting to rub off on him if he can even consider this. Then again, perhaps this band of new people will overrun his farm and kill them all in their sleep. Obviously he needs to spend more time with Mary. His optimism knows its limits. After all, he is at heart a true realist and a logical scientist.

A heavy cloud glides in front of the three quarter moon high above him in the sky. It feels like one has also clouded over his heart to mimic his dark mood. They all just need to be more vigilant and careful until he can get these people healthy enough to leave. If he can even heal them and if they are even
willing
to leave. A grimace mars his features as he rises and walks slowly back into the shed.

Look for the final installment of
The McClane Apocalypse
, Fall 2014.