"We're going to have a nice lunch with George and Riley, then take a bit of a walk, to relax a bit. Okay?"
"Yea, I'm okay or as close as we are gonna get but I have to warn you both. I can't take much more of this, I just can't, a person has to know their limitations and I found mine, so just be forewarned."
"Gee, JD, I thought you did that when you socked the old man. You can be worse? Wow, I'll just stay out of your way for now on."
"Oh, shut-up...lets go to the Mess hall." I took off ahead of Ken, but Mason stayed close. I was close to killing everyone to get out of there. Besides, there wasn't any sunshine, or stars or nothing. The designer had evidently cornered the market on gun boat gray, paint and had soaked everything in it. I was aching to see a tree or brush or sand or anything living.
When we arrived at the hall George and Riley was waiting on us, sitting under the TV, whispering. I had finally figured out, if the TV is blaring, the mikes couldn't pick up the conversations of the humans nearby. Someone decided 'Armageddon" was the movie of the day. The sarcasm wasn't lost on me. I sat, while Mason and Ken got us some tea. It was better than the lousy coffee. George touched my mind with,
You doing better, kiddo?
I
smiled at her and nodded. We were quiet until the guys settled down at the table. I blew on my tea, while I listened to the boys discuss the facilities heating system. I just shook my head, looked at George and frowned. She made a point of looking at her watch and I rolled my eyes. This was getting old.
Riley put his arm around George, leaned back and quietly said, "The entire maintenance crew plans to leave at 7 am, so we have to leave then also. When they're found missing, security will go nuts and that will be the end of it. Near as I can tell, about a dozen of them are leaving when the guards change shift. The door we're using has been hidden behind some filing cabinets under the stairwell. The exit sign was removed months ago to discourage escapes. I've put the cabinets on small plastic disks so they'll be easy to move out of the way." He changed the topic when two lab attendants stopped to ask George a couple of questions, then he continued when they walked away. "I'd suggest you spend the night nearby instead of the brig and watch for us. Don't touch the door, it has an alarm, just be ready at two minutes to seven."
I took a breath and was almost giddy with the news. I couldn't get out of there fast enough, and having to wait till morning was going to be miserable but at least we had a definite date now. I knew George wouldn't leave without her father, and I felt bad about not telling her he wasn't going but not bad enough to ruin our getaway. My feet itched with wanting to leave.
I nodded to Riley and he smiled. I guess he knew how badly I wanted out and then I looked at George and felt a stab of guilt. Her father was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it. We were actually able to enjoy some time together before a lab attendant came for George because 'the doctor' needed her. I blew a raspberry at that thought and Mason raised his eyebrows at me and grinned. I just shrugged my shoulders.
I was fiddling with my tea bag with a thought occurred to me. "Riley, where did all those bodies Ken talks about being dumped out front come from? Were people infected inside or what?"
He looked at Mason who shook his head just slightly, just enough to get my dander up. I just stared at him and then he nodded at Riley. "Well, they were members of Dr. May's team that gave permission to be infected so he could find a cure."
I nodded, "And how many of those members were infected?"
"I'm not sure."
"How many Riley?"
It was like getting John Wayne to wear panty hose. "Did all of them die?" He looked at Mason and Ken and then said, "Quite a few."
"How many, Riley?"
"Six." I knew it.
"Where are these six infected 'members' kept, Riley?" He looked at Mason but Mason kept rubbing a place between my shoulders while he stared at his tea.
"I'm not going to tell you JD, because you'll make a lot of trouble for me that I can't handle right now. Not to mention ruin our plans. They are kept in a freezer, frozen until Dr. May needs them. I don't care what you do, JD, I'm not going to tell where."
I stared at him. I couldn't believe Uncle Bill would put all these people, one of whom was his daughter, at risk like this. It was the most irresponsible thing I'd ever heard of. All of a sudden, I was in Texas face to face with a walker and I couldn't breath. I tried but no air was getting past my throat which had closed up tighter than a tick on a bloodhound. The next thing I knew, I was staring at my feet, while Mason put something cold on the back of my neck and whispered gibberish to me. I'd was having a panic attack, a it was a good one from the sounds of it cause time skipped forward at odd intervals and I soon found an oxygen mask on my face, in Masons lap, blinking up at his face.
"How ya doing?"
I just gave him a thumbs up and started to remove the mask. "Nope, lets give it another minute or two." I thought, okay, and closed my eyes. I knew I should be worried about something but I couldn't' remember what it was. I wasn't too concerned about it, because I was sure I would remember later. Later came earlier that I would have wanted it to though. I got up slowly and returned the mask to the nice man in the blue lab coat, then Mason helped me relearn how to walk on the way back to the dorm room where I weakly sat on one of the bunks.
"Well, that was interesting. Not in the old 'I didn't know that before' kind of interesting but the old, "what the fuck are you thinking' kind of interesting. Did you know anything about any of that Mason?"
"No, I didn't and if you hadn't had a panic attack I thought of having one. I wish I knew where the freezers were. I wish I knew if anyone has thought to check on the generators. And I damned well wish if the generators would shut off any non vital equipment such as refrigerators and freezers long before they stop altogether...etc...
"etc...etc..." I finished for him. We just looked at each and I started to get up but he pushed me back down. " I want you to listen to me just once if you don't mind. Number one...You spend most of your time lost in this place so I would appreciate it if you would stay put. Number two...you don't know who to ask, who to trust..."
"Okay, okay. I'll tell you what. You go find out what you want to find out and I'm just going to rest here an hour or two and think sweet thoughts of Montana until you get back cause I really need to do that and I really, really need you to take over for a bit. I'm on overload. I know I'm on overload, so go, Begone."
He bent down and gave me the sweetest kiss, brushed my hair behind my ear, tweaked my nose and sauntered away. God what a Man.
I was laying there with my arms crossed under my head staring at the ceiling with a little general face blocked my view. I just grinned at her.
"You feeling better Miss May."
"Darling."
"I beg your pardon?"
"My name is Darling, not May."
"You're insubordinate, do you know that?"
"You forget who my uncle is. Yes, I know and I can't help it. It's in the genes. Can I help you with something?"
She stepped back so I could sit up on the bunk, pausing a moment to let the dizziness pass.
"I heard about your panic attack and was wondering if you are okay."
"You check on everyone that has a panic attack or just me?"
"I was wondering if I could speak candidly with you. I know you don't think I'm incapable of commanding this station..."
"Whoa, just a minute there. I have every confidence in your ability to command this facility or any other. You're doing it and you're doing a good job of it. I just have a problem with you not trusting the judgment of someone more knowledgeable in certain areas than you."
"That was well said." She smiled then sat on the bunk facing me. "Most people would've just said I was stubborn and set in my ways."
"That would be Dr. May speaking."
"Yes, it would wouldn't it? Anyway, I've been thinking about that and since your uncle is the great Dr. May, what do you make of his assessment of the situation? Do you agree that the generators will run out of fuel and the self destruct will occur tomorrow?"
"Have you checked with your people at all? I mean, I'd think that it would be the first thing you'd do. An explosion large enough to remove this mountain and radiate the surrounding territory for the next thousand years would sure be high on my to do list."
She sighed deeply and I realized that her responsibility was weighing heavily on her.
"Look, I'll tell you what I know for sure. There is no government, or military except for those who think they're smarter than anyone else. You being the exception. The walkers rule. People out there are behind large walls, trying to find a way to sustain life. All their family is gone, they have no one but the people who are in this together. We drove almost 1000 miles across roads that at times were blocked by miles of traffic jams. Bodies decomposing and walkers scuffling around looking for their next meal. No, it's not good outside but it can be if you have a piece of the world that you can make safe. Staying here is not safe. Everyone will die in the next..."I looked up at the clock, "27 hours if they stay here. Come with us, and see what you see, and listen, really listen to what the experts say and then decide. There is no reason, none at all, that so many people should die because you had the wrong information."
"I'll think about what you're saying. I don't know why I should believe you, but I'm just not sure anymore. I guess my biggest fear is I am wrong, and being wrong is going to kill a lot of people." She stood to leave when I stopped her.
"You can be safe out there, general, and happy. Isn't that what this is all about?"
She didn't reply, but left the room. Maybe she'll come around. Time will tell.
Mason met her at the door, she didn't notice she was so lost in thought, so he stepped around her and watched as she continued slowly down the hall. He looked a question at me but I just shook my head. " Later." I said.
"How ya doing? You have more color than a bit ago."
"Better now. I was thinking of taking a walk, but remembered I should stay put. So now you're back we can take a walk together while you tell me the news."
"I found the freezers, and they are full. Gave me the shivers let me tell you. Riley has someone checking on the generators fuel supply and is gonna get back to me. George is gonna check on the shut down procedure from the computer. It may take a bit so I thought, if you were up to it, we would take a walk. This place is damned boring if you don't have a job to do but it seems everyone but us are busy."
We spent some time walking the halls and talking to the inhabitants. While on one of the elevators, I got the thought that the elevators probably used a lot of energy so we walked around until we found the general and told her about it. She thought about it for a minute and consulted one of the enlisted men, who pecked away on the computer for a minute before consulting with the general again. Then she announced over the intercom that the elevators were experiencing a problem and would be down for maintenance until further notice. She winked at me before leaving the room.
"That must of been one hell of a talk you two had. Come on, brat, we have to walk stairs now, so get a move on." He made sure I hurried when he swatted me hard on the behind. It stung hard enough that I yelped and he chuckled in my mind
I'll kiss that and make it better later.
I
'
m not sure what the mess hall worker thought when she saw my red face but she was kind enough to turn away without laughing.
After lunch, we wandered into the lab. The curtain on the window into the walkers room was closed and I wandered about it for a minute till George came out. She had been crying and I wondered what Northern Uncle Bill was up to this time. She didn't want to talk about it, so she quickly left the room but soon the door opened and a gurney with a sheet wrapped body was wheeled from the room, Uncle Bill close behind.
It was dead. Yeah. Ding Dong the thing was dead. I started to say something to Uncle Bill when another gurney was wheeled in with a frozen walker on it. When Uncle Bill started to walk in behind it I grabbed his arm. One of the guards stepped up and glared at me. I looked from him to the man I was related to and released his arm. When he started to enter the room I said, "This isn't over." He turned a moment and looked at me then replied. "Yes. It is." Then he disappeared behind the door, the guard closed it and stood before it, barring anyone else from entering. I looked around, found a folding chair and sat it in front of the soldier and the staring contest began. I heard a deep sigh and knew it was Mason, then the scraping of another chair behind me said all I needed to hear. He had my back, I just hoped it was enough.
Chapter 7
I won the staring contest with the guard. I don't know if he knew it was a contest or not, but that doesn't count....I still won. I heard footsteps coming down the hall and knew who it was by the way the guard came to attention. Pixie general stopped in front of the guard and when he didn't move she said quietly, "Is there a reason you're still standing there private?" Sweat broke out on his forehead, then he swallowed and stepped quickly to one side. I started to rise also, but he stepped between me and the general. "It might be a good idea if you wait a moment, Miss Darling. I'd like a quiet word with the doctor." I thought about it for two seconds and sat back down with my hands folded neatly in my lap. Mason hadn't moved. See, we can be good.