Dead: Siege & Survival (23 page)

“Gain?” the major laughed and returned to her desk. “This is not about gain…it is about survival.”

“At the cost of all those you come across?”

“You aren’t stupid, we already know that much. But are you so naïve to think that survival can come without a price?”

“I don’t know…we were doing pretty good until you showed up and raided us,” Kevin said with a shrug.

“Is that right?” the major laughed. Pulling a bottle from her desk she twisted the cap and took a drink before offering it to Kevin who shook his head in refusal. “Just take a drink, Kevin. We have some things to discuss, and maybe it will be helpful if you relax.”

Kevin stood up and accepted the bottle of vodka. He took a sip and tried unsuccessfully not to choke. He handed the bottle back and took a seat after the major gave a nod.

“So…you say you were doing okay until we came along?”

Kevin nodded.

“But when we arrived, you had four women, a retard, and a gimpy teenaged boy holding down your stronghold.”

“Actually, there was another man and his daughter—” Kevin began, only to be cut off again.

“Paul James and his useless daughter Mary? Mine. I sent them in search of you. Although I did not know who you were at the time. I had been made aware of your presence and determined that you might be a possible asset.”

“So I didn’t just leave
five
women,” Kevin stressed the word ‘five’ to include Valarie. He struggled to push his concern for her down for the time being. As things stood, he was currently not bound, cuffed, or imprisoned. In his current state, he still had the opportunity to help his group.

“Let’s not play with semantics.” Major Beers waved a dismissive hand. “The fact is, you had one of the most precious commodities in your care if what I’ve been told is correct. Since you are alone, I will assume that you have either foolishly squandered that resource, or this doctor is still at large.”

“Peter is dead,” Kevin said flatly.

“Please tell me he did not perish in your foolish mission to acquire medication for the retard.”

“She suffers from Down’s syndrome,” Kevin bristled. “And I would expect you to be more sensitive to the words you use.”

“And why is that?” Major Beers raised an eyebrow, the look on her face was that of an obvious challenge.

“I don’t know…but I’m guessing that if I started referring to you as a nigger, you might get just a touch upset.”

“It’s a word,” Major Beers said with a shrug. “And you might use chink, slope, or slant if you want to include my mother’s side of the family.”

“And none of that bothers you?” Kevin asked, genuinely curious.

“It did before the dead started getting up and wiping everybody out. Now…well, I guess I have bigger concerns.”

“Such as?”

“You know,” the major rose from her seat and walked around to sit on the corner of the desk almost on top of Kevin, “for somebody who is supposed to be so smart, you are kind of an idiot.”

Kevin sat silently. He’d said enough to get her going. He didn’t want to give away anything. He was aching to ask about Aleah and Heather. Hell, he was even curious about Erin and Matt, but if he showed any sort of emotion, he was almost certain that this Major Wanda Beers would zero in on it and use it against him.

“All I care about now is staying alive. To do that, I’ve had to make choices. You can’t possibly understand—” This time it was Kevin’s turn to cut
her
off.

“You are pillaging folks who have struggled to carve out their own way and pressed people into service. You don’t care about anybody or anything except wielding power over others. As for what I understand…I have fought from day one to survive. Along the way, I have met a few people that joined up and came along. At some point, I was made their leader, but not because I threatened or hurt others.”

“Is that right?” The major leaned forward into Kevin’s face. Her breath was tinged with a mix of the vodka and the funk of no recent applications of any sort of oral hygiene. Kevin wrinkled his nose, not caring if she was offended or angered. Apparently she either didn’t notice, or chose to ignore him. She continued in a dangerous whisper. “Nobody has survived this long without having to do something bad. So why don’t you stop sitting there like you don’t have any blood on your hands.”

Kevin remained silent.

“C’mon, Kevin,” the major urged. “You are one of those zombie geeks. You saw the movies and played the video games. How many people did you meet and supposedly put out of their misery? And how long after did it take you to discover that some folks are immune?”

Kevin felt all the blood leave his face. The major smiled, reading his expression perfectly. She scooted off the desk and returned to her chair. “So who was it? Friend? Relative? Who did you kill and then discover that you might have committed murder?”

“Actually…” Kevin let the word hang for a few seconds while he warred with what to say and how much to reveal. “It was somebody that I didn’t kill.”

“Go on?” the major urged after Kevin remained silent for a while.

Kevin related bits and pieces of what happened to Cary at the truck stop. It had barely been just over half a year since that day…but it seemed like an eternity.

“So where is he now?”

“Same place a lot of folks are,” Kevin answered with a shrug. “And the law of averages says that we will all end up that way.”

“So why fight it?” Major Beers asked, seemingly interested in Kevin’s answer.

“That is a question I don’t have an answer for,” Kevin replied.

“So then why are you so dead set against me and what I do if all I am trying to do is ensure that I don’t end up succumbing to this law of averages?”

“Because you are using innocent people to pave your way.”

“There are no more innocent people,” the major snapped.

“What about Valarie?” Kevin shot back. He hadn’t wanted to allow any of his personal feelings to be used against those he cared for, but what he’d seen so far in regards to how Valarie was being treated left him feeling like he really had nothing to lose here on this one.

“Why don’t you tell me why the re—” The major stopped and gave a slight nod of deference. “Why is that young lady so important to you?”

“Let’s not pretend that you care about me, or that I’m gonna just open up my heart to you if you talk nice.”

“So what would you rather I do? Torture? Maybe haul your friends out one at a time and have you watch while terrible pain is inflicted on each one?” Major Beers got up and walked to the tent flap. “Bring me the retard and the pop star,” she called. Turning back to Kevin she gave a little shrug. “Sorry, they wouldn’t know who I was talking about otherwise.”

Kevin sat quietly and waited. He had no idea what to expect when he saw Valarie. Shari had already seen him, so that part was no surprise, but Valarie was a wild card draw. He didn’t have to wait for long.

“…but Kevin just came to me last night and told me that he was sorry he missed my birthday, and he couldn’t make it for dinner.” Valarie walked into the tent speaking very matter-of-factly to Shari who was handcuffed to her.

“Valarie?” Kevin glanced at the major as he made a motion to stand. She nodded, but opened her coat to reveal a wicked blade strapped to her belt.

The girl turned. Her eyes grew wide and the biggest smile that any person could possibly display spread across her face. Right away, Kevin noticed (with just a hint of shame) bits of food stuck between the gaps of her teeth. However, he didn’t have too much time to linger on that observation as she plunged forward, yanking Shari along as if the girl did not exist.

“Kevin!” Valarie shrieked. “You aren’t a ghost anymore!”

Kevin caught her in his arms and felt a wave of queasiness turn his gut just a bit. Later, he would think that she actually smelled worse than some of the zombies he’d encountered. But at the moment, he forced his rising gorge down and threw his arms around the girl.

“No, Valarie, I’m not a ghost,” Kevin said as he hugged the now-babbling woman close. He looked over her head at Shari. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she watched the reunion. Kevin only had a few seconds to reflect on the peculiar look in her eyes before Major Beers spoke.

“Okay, take them out before I get sick.” Major Beers motioned for the two soldiers standing off to the side.

They stepped in and began to pull Valarie away. The young woman immediately threw herself to the ground and began to wail.

“Don’t put me back in with the ghosts!”

“Hey.” In an instant, Shari was kneeling in front of Valarie, holding her face up so that they were eye-to-eye. “I will be with you. We have these bracelets on so that nothing can take me from you.”

Kevin watched in fascination. He couldn’t help but think,
Who are you, and what have you done with Shari?
Even more amazing, Valarie calmed down in an instant.

“You are staying with me in my box?” Valarie said as she scrubbed at the tears making tacks down her grimy face.

“I will be right beside you always, Valarie,” Shari soothed, caressing Valarie’s hands as she spoke.

“This is all very touching,” Major Beers scoffed, “but my nose can’t take any more of this…
girl
.”

“Maybe if you could hold on just a minute,” Kevin spoke up. “In my bag.” He nodded to the pack leaning against the major’s desk.

“These are the medications that you went after at the cost of the only doctor I’ve heard about surviving this nightmare?” The major returned to her desk and heaved the pack up, setting it before her.

“What?” Shari’s head popped up. “Peter?” That one word hung in the air for a second. “Kevin, where is Peter?”

“This isn’t how I wanted to tell you—” Kevin began.

“Just tell me, Kevin.”

“He sacrificed himself to save me,” Kevin admitted. Of course there was so much more to the story, but he was fairly certain that Shari would care little for the details. “He was bitten and as soon as he knew that he wasn’t immune, he did what he had to in order to ensure that I made it out safely. He did say that he wanted me to tell you that he loved you and that he was sorry for everything.”

So much had happened that Kevin wasn’t sure exactly what words passed between him and the doctor at the end. Still, it couldn’t hurt to say a few nice things if it brought even a shred of comfort.

“Did you put him down?” Shari asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Once again, Kevin felt that the truth was not exactly the best way to go here. “Yes.” He didn’t dare say more for fear that he would have to remember details. That was the thing about a lie—the more details you gave, the more you had to remember.

“So what are all these bottles?” Major Beers spoke, dumping the contents of the pack on her desk. “OxyContin? Demerol? Percocet? Kevin, I don’t think these have anything to do with that girl seeing things that aren’t real.”

“No, but I didn’t see the sense in leaving those behind since I was right there. I also loaded up on antibiotics if you’re interested.”

“So which ones do you need for…
her
?” The major nodded to Valarie who had huddled in close to Shari, stroking her hair.

“I need the clozapine.”

The major sifted through the bottles on her desk until she came up with one. She shook it and then tossed it to Kevin. “You get this one for now. If things go well, I might just let you have the rest of her meds.”

“And the rest?”

The major laughed. That laugh was cut off by a loud commotion outside the tent. There was a wet slapping sound accompanied by a yelp.

“Kevin!” a familiar voice yelled. The tent flap opened and Aleah stumbled in clutching a bloody spike that looked like a tent peg.

Kevin caught the woman in his arms and barely had a chance to react as lips pressed to his. He felt Aleah clutch at him so fiercely that it bordered on painful. His breath was squeezed from his lungs and he almost tumbled when legs wrapped around his waist.

The reunion was short-lived as something hard struck him in the small of his back, sending the couple sprawling to the ground. A breath-stealing pain radiated from his kidneys, but Kevin instinctively covered Aleah’s body with his own. Another blow came, this one to the back of his head.

There was a brilliant flash…and then…nothing.

***

“Kevin?” a voice whispered. He felt a hand brush his cheek.

“Aleah?” Kevin managed. For some reason, his mouth felt strange. However, he only had a second to reflect on that before the pain at the base of his skull blossomed. He tried to turn his head, but was not quick enough and began choking on the vomit that came in a rush.

Mercifully, somebody scooped him up from behind his shoulders and sat him upright. Kevin kept his eyes squeezed shut for several seconds as he fought the urge to be sick. It didn’t help that somebody—most likely Aleah—was fawning and pawing all over him as if afraid that he might vanish if physical contact were broken.

“You took a nasty shot,” a familiar male voice whispered. “Probably would have killed you if that major hadn’t stepped in and ordered them to stop.”

“Matt?” Kevin asked, still afraid to open his eyes for fear that the world would suddenly tip over and begin spinning around like it had a moment ago.

“I’m here, buddy,” the male voice assured.

“And everybody else?”

“I’m here,” Aleah whispered, patting his hand.

“Me too,” a tiny voice whispered. That had to be Erin.

“Right here,” Heather said from behind Kevin—the owner of the hands that had sat him up a moment ago.

“Shari?” Kevin asked.

“She and Valarie were dragged out,” Matt answered. “Probably taken to lock up again. That is where she keeps Valarie most days. And for some reason, Shari was chained to her.”

“I feel like I was hit by a truck.” Kevin winced as he touched the damp lump on the back of his head.

“That would be Bryce,” Matt said with an angry tone.

“Who is Bryce?” Kevin asked.

“Major Beers’ second-in-command. He has a thing for Aleah, but the major won’t allow any of the women to be touched against their will.”