Son of a fucking bitch
.
His hand tightened around the radio, wanting to crush the plastic until it was dust in his hand. He wanted to destroy something, anything.
No, not just anything. He wanted to destroy the men who had killed Travis.
In that moment he vowed it would happen before they left this place but right now there were more important things to deal with.
He easily slipped into the role he had grown comfortable with on the job: cool, logical and rational.
“Nothing to be sorry for, it wasn’t your fault. It’s good to know you made it out of there. Where are you?”
“I’m near the Arrowhead Ridge. Came up here to get better reception.”
“Okay, I’m out of the camp right now with a group but we’ll head back. We’re closer than you are so we’ll let the watch know you’re coming.”
There was a pause before the radio crackled back to life.
“I’m not alone. I’m with a man and his kids, two little girls, twelve and six. They helped me. I owe them.”
Malcolm looked to Kim and Lorraine, who both quickly nodded. It wasn’t a majority of the group but it was enough to know they would have his back if others took issue with his decision.
“If you trust them, we trust them.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “So where exactly are we going?”
“Just take the Skyway east to Sixth Road and head north. At the first crossroads take a left and head half a click and you’ll spot the tracks to the camp.”
“Got it,” Veronica replied happily, her giddiness carrying across the airwaves. “I guess we’ll see you soon then.”
“
So will we.
”
The blood in Malcolm’s veins turned to ice at the sound of the strange man’s voice coming out of the radio.
“
You thieves are fucking dead!
”
“Who the hell was that?” Veronica asked but he was too busy turning to the others to hear her.
“Get our stuff and get in the car!” He hit the call button as he moved to the vehicle. “Veronica, it’s the locals. Get your ass to the camp now!”
He pitched the radio to Kim when she slid into the passenger seat and he gunned the station wagon the second Lorraine and Trey closed their doors, sending it bouncing out of the clearing and back onto the road.
He focused on the road and moving the wagon as fast as she’d go but he could hear Kim’s voice at the edge, trying to get in contact with the camp on the radio.
His fingers were white knuckling the wheel when he turned onto Sixth road and his heart jumped up into his throat when he spotted the ass end of a pickup turning up at the crossroads.
“Fuck!” He pushed harder on the pedal, nearly flipping them as they took the corner, the others cry of alarm a faint buzzing in the background. The station wagon bounced as it took the dirt track to the camp and he had to sacrifice speed for safety.
“Get your weapons ready,” he barked out to the others. “When I stop the car, open your doors and crouch behind them for cover. If they start shooting wait until they’re done firing then shoot at them if you can. Doesn’t matter if you hit them, just keep them distracted. Remember to keep the door between you and them!”
They broke through the trees and he hit the brakes, assessing the scene before him as he opened his door and took aim at their enemies. There were two trucks and they had stopped parallel to each other, three men in each of the flatbeds, one set aiming at the station wagon, the other aiming at the van where Malcolm saw that Quinton, Alan and Janet were taking cover, weapons at the ready. The drivers of the trucks were still in the cabs but they had their weapons aimed out the windows.
The passenger door of one of the trucks squealed as it was pushed open. A man stepped down from the truck, a rifle held carefully in the crook of his arm. Malcolm kept his weapon trained on the man as he sauntered a few steps forward, as casual as could be. He wore a stained ball cap that most likely hid his balding head and a dirty flannel shirt over a blue undershirt that stretched tight over his beer belly. Not an impressive physical specimen but the man had big balls to be acting like he didn’t have a care in the world despite half a dozen guns aimed at him.
“Now, we don’t want things to get messy,” he said, reaching up to push back the ball cap and scratch his head. “We’re just here to offer you a deal.”
“We’ve got no interest in making a deal with you,” Malcolm said, his voice cold. “You get back in your truck and leave, end of story.”
The man’s face darkened. “I don’t think you understand, boy. You took what belonged to us so we ain’t leaving.”
“We didn’t take anything,” Malcolm spat back. “We left the truck behind. Everything we took from the stores was inside.”
“That ain’t true, boy, and you know it. We want back what you took from the vet’s office and we want compensation for the supplies you used while you were there,” the man sneered. “I figure all your food will make that debt square. Then there is the matter of interest you owe us for the loan.”
His stomach twisted as the man’s eyes flicked over to where Kim was crouched and then darted over to Lorraine’s position. “You can pay that back by giving us your women.”
The man licked his lips and Malcolm’s finger tightened on the trigger. He wanted to put this man down
now
but he knew that would just escalate the situation. There was still the possibility he could negotiate a way out of this.
“That’s not going to happen,” Malcolm spat out. “We’ve got the better position here. You and your men are stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. I’m willing to let you go if you leave right now with no shots fired.”
The man laughed. “I ain’t no fool, boy. You’ve got mostly women and children here. Your friend gave up all the info on you. Poor bastard was dying and thought I was his brother. He told me I had to make it back to this park to take care of my pregnant wife. He was too fucked up to give us the exact location but you did that for us. Y’all are a bunch of fucking idiots.”
A part of his heart broke at the news that Travis had managed to linger after the accident. That these bastards had taken advantage of his vulnerability, let him believe he was saying a final goodbye to his brother. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, focusing on the here and now.
“You are in the weaker position. We have you surrounded and outnumbered. This is your last chance to make it out of here alive. Get in your trucks and go now. If you don’t, you’re going to force our hand.”
“See, unlike you I’m not a fucking idiot,” the man said and lifted the baseball cap off of his head. A shot sounded and one of the windows on the van shattered. “I don’t go anywhere these days without a sniper.”
Shit.
The man was smarter than Malcolm had thought but at least his sniper was stupid. Judging by the trajectory, the sniper had the vehicles between him and the group. He would be able to keep them hidden behind their vehicles but he wouldn’t be able get a kill shot as long as they didn’t run.
“Now just give up the food and the women and we’ll leave,” the man said. “You’ve got plenty of both, that dying asshole told me so.”
“You fucking bastard!” Alan cried out. “I’m going to kill you!”
The man laughed and turned in Alan’s direction. “You must be the brother. Tell me, how does it feel knowing that even while he was dying, your brother was thinking about fucking your wife?”
Malcolm spotted the change in Alan even from this distance but before he could call out to stop him, Alan squeezed his trigger and hit the man square in the chest. They only had the briefest moment of silence before the clearing descended into chaos as gunfire erupted around them.
Subject File # 750
Administrator - The others have spoken at length about the day the camp was attacked. You played a significant role in it but you’ve never talked about it.
Subject - I don’t like to think about it.
Administrator - Why?
Subject - Because of how I felt that day. It was like I was being torn in two. Ready to burst with happiness to finally find my brother and sister while also being absolutely petrified that they would die before I could see them again.
“There’s the crossroads!”
As her arm shot out to point out the road, Veronica noticed that her finger was trembling. She curled her hand into a fist, trying to will the shaking away but she knew it was useless. The trembling had started the moment she had heard Malcolm’s voice on the radio tell her that those bastards had found them. The world was a damn cruel place. Only moments after finding her family, they were put in danger.
Jackson turned the van onto the dirt road and she leaned over to keep her eye on the odometer until they hit the distance and she told him to stop. She looked out the window and spotted the tire tracks just up on the left.
“There it is,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt and grabbing her shotgun. “Wait here, I’ll come back for you when it’s safe.”
“Veronica, wait.” The hand on her wrist had her turning back to Jackson. “Ya don’t know what yer walkin’ in on. Could be a trap for all ya know. We ain’t leavin’ ya to face it alone.”
“You got to look out for the girls. I can’t ask you to risk them, not even for Quinton and Claudia. I’ll be fine.”
She wasn’t sure if she was reassuring herself or him but it didn’t matter. She didn’t have time to argue about this. Jackson reluctantly let go of her wrist and she turned to open the door but froze as she was faced with the business end of a rifle.
“Don’t even think of moving!”
Well, shit. It did suck to have a gun shoved in your face
.
Her gaze darted up from the rifle barrel to find a woman holding the weapon tight to her shoulder.
“What’s your name?” the woman asked, her finger never leaving the trigger.
“Veronica Alpert.”
“Thank God.” The rifle was shouldered and the woman was stepping back from the van and that was when Veronica got a look at her swollen belly. This had to be Jenny. “Those maniacs are already here. Claudia and I were on watch when we heard on the radio and she ran back to camp. Malcolm was right behind the locals but we’ve got to get down there and help them.”
“Shit, okay,” she replied, climbing out and moving to the back of the van to pop open the hatch and pull out the weapons bag. She grabbed the Bushmaster and the M1A, checking they were both loaded with a determined grin on her face. “We might not have a lot of manpower but we’ll make up for it with firepower. Let’s get going.”
Jenny nodded and turned to the tree line to lead the way to the camp. Before they had taken more than a few steps, she heard the sound of a car door slamming behind her and Jackson calling out to them to stop.
“Jackson, we don’t have time to argue about this,” Veronica said in exasperation.
“Ya think you’re gonna be able to haul ass through the woods with a pregnant lady,” he said, nodding towards Jenny’s belly. “No offence, miss.”
“None taken,” Jenny replied. “He’s right. You’ll move faster without me. Head straight through the trees, it’s about sixty yards to the camp. You can’t miss it. I’ll watch your children. ”
Jackson looked into the back of the van where the girls had turned in their seats to watch them. “Girls, I gotta help Veronica and the other people, okay? I’ll come back, I promise. The nice lady here is gonna watch over ya ‘til I get back. Audrey, I’m sorry but--”
“It’s okay,” Audrey said, her eyes reflecting the wisdom someone her age shouldn’t possess. “I get it. Go help them.”
Jackson nodded and closed the van door, looking to Jenny. “Please don’t make me a liar to ‘em. Watch over ‘em.”
“Of course, no matter what happens, I’ll look out for them,” Jenny reassured them, patting the stock of her rifle. “So you know, there were two trucks from town, at least four men in each of them. They were followed by four of our group in a station wagon. There are five adults and three children at the camp. Watch out for them, please.”
“I will,” Veronica replied, ready to shrug the strap of the M1A on her shoulder along with the Bushmaster but Jackson took the M1A from her and shouldered it himself.
“
We
will,” he said and she nodded her head in thanks. She waved to the girls and followed Jackson as they headed to the camp. They moved through the woods at a good pace but still mindful of the rocks and fallen branches.
“I want to apologize again for the carjacking,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much it blows to get a gun shoved in your face.”
Jackson chuckled. “Must mean karma is still workin’. Kind of a good thing to have ‘round at the end of the world.”
The sound of a single gunshot ripped through the forest, sending birds into the air in a frantic fluttering. Veronica looked over at Jackson, her brow knitting with worry and when more gunfire filled the air, they started sprinting through the underbrush towards the sound.
Subject File # 744
Administrator - How have you been sleeping?
Subject - I’ve been having nightmares that we never met Malcolm. Everything is different. We know nothing about how to survive and in the end, the infected take Trey right in front of me. That’s when I wake up and I see Malcolm next to me and I know it was just a dream. He met us and he taught my son to be a soldier and everything is alright. And then I feel guilty for being grateful that my son has been taught to kill but I know it’s what has kept him alive this long.