Last Fight of the Valkyries (20 page)

These people were starving.

4

Once proper introductions were made—using Liam's real
name—they were given an overview of the camp, confirming Liam's
own observations. But the reason the camp was here on this hilltop
built upon something the captain said earlier about control of the
region.

“We arrived here a week ago after the dead came through our
subdivision, followed by the looters. Most of these people live
around here, but our houses are either gone or occupied by refugees
from inside the city. We've been going out in small groups to ransack
our own homes, looking for supplies, but there isn't much left.”

Jason then pointed out to the river.

“But the longer we stayed here, the larger the group became.
There are a lot of people who want to cross the river, but there are
Army units on the far side of the bridge that keep turning people
away.” He pointed to the bridge, though there was only one.
“The Army controls those farmlands over there. But we don't
know how many of them there are. But they do have tanks.”

Victoria let out a quiet whistle.

“Yeah, no kidding. We don't think they'd actually hurt us,
but they probably wouldn't like what we've been doing from up here.”
He chuckled as he reoriented them to look down below.

“This is the high point around here. Anyone heading east
tries the bridge first, gets turned around, then comes up here to
plan what to do next. They never head north into the city. Too many
of the dead. And no one goes into the pit either.”

I know someone who will.

“So, they come here. To my starving friends. Sometimes they
offer food, but most people are as bad off as we are. That's why
they're trying to move on to somewhere new. When it gets dark, we run
small teams down below and we have a couple small jon boats with
stout paddles. We help them across in return for whatever food they
have left. Sometimes we bring people back.”

“Why don't you fish down there? Plenty of fish to be had.”
The captain undoubtedly knew what he was talking about.

Jason let out a tired laugh. “Gee, why didn't we think of
that?” He looked at the captain who seemed to take offense to
his mirth. “Oh, I'm just kidding, buddy. We do a little fishing
when we can. But people are scared to leave the protective bubble
we've got up here. In the daytime, anyone caught out in the open is a
target for the undead, or for snipers, or for pirates. At night, it
only gets worse.”

He turned serious. “Fishing is a great idea. I didn't mean
anything by it. I'm grateful you brought what you did to feed the
kids. That's why we were hoping you'd be interested in using your
boat to help us do some fishing.”

The captain took a moment, rubbing his chin. “I'm here on
business, actually. I'm...” His voice trailed off, though he
came around a moment later as if just coming up with what to say. “I
know. I could use some help on my boat. I need to go back down the
river to Cairo, Illinois. You provide some help and your men can fish
the whole way up and back.”

Jason's eyes lit up, then he turned to Liam and the three girls.
“But aren't these kids your crew?”

“No. They, ahh, were just helping me get up to St. Louis.”
A look passed between Blue and the captain.

The camp leader caught it. He had a pistol on his hip in a black
leather holster. Liam noticed it earlier, but thought nothing of it.
Everyone had to be armed these days. But, he thought earlier the
holster had a clip holding it shut. Now it was open…

“Fair enough. But let me give you the lay of the land, just
so you know where I'm coming from.” Jason pointed over the
river. “Illinois is a mess. There's at least one Army unit
guarding the bridge. Whatever is beyond, we don't know. The Marines
are a few miles south of here. They are on a cliff, just like this
one, watching the river and foraging homes to the south. To the north
is the main part of the city. The dead own that. But, there are other
groups we've encountered. Everyone needs protection. Everyone needs
to belong, eh, friend?”

“Yes, friend.”

The two stared at each other for several long moments. Liam looked
at Victoria and the twins, though they didn't seem to sense the
tension as he did. His internal alarms were going off, though he
didn't understand why.

The captain continued in a slow, deliberate voice, “Some of
those groups a real
thorn
in your side, I take it?”

The tension in the air was palpable and taut. The two men faced
each other now, only a few feet between them. The captain's shotgun
was still on his back, however. Jason had folded his arms in front of
his chest.

Jason turned to Liam and the girls. “Would you mind if I
spoke to your captain for a few minutes? I think he and I need to
clear the air on something.” He motioned for the captain to
follow him. Liam was left with his companions. They all passed a look
of confusion, although Liam imagined that Blue's was somewhat
inauthentic.

He kept his thoughts to himself, desperate to get Victoria away
from the color twins so he could share his concerns. Getting that
separation would be difficult, he admitted. Ever since they left the
boat, he had the sneaking suspicion Pink was becoming enamored with
him. It was innocent at first. She ran near him across the field. She
looked back at him a little too often as they walked the train
tracks. Then she needed his help up the rocks one too many times to
be coincidence. And now, just as he wanted to have some privacy, she
was right up on his side—opposite Victoria. Blue hovered
nearby.

The hero gets the girl, right?

He admitted there was a time, back when he played
World of
Undead Soldiers
, that the thought of rescuing a damsel in
distress actually appealed to him, but now…

One beautiful heroine partner was all he could handle.

He took Victoria's hand and squeezed.

5

The captain and Jason were gone for ten minutes before Liam found
the excuse he needed to get Victoria to himself. They'd taken a seat
near the edge of the woods, so he stood up before making his
announcement.

“Victoria, you and I haven't had any alone time in a while,
will you take a walk with me?” He bent down with his elbow out,
as if to pull her along on a romantic stroll.

“Why, I'd be delighted, sir.” She spoke in a passable
southern accent.

When she was attached to his arm, he looked at the twins. “We'll
be back in a little bit.” He hoped they got the message.

They walked in and out of the treeline along the cliff's edge for
many minutes before he turned around to confirm they weren't being
followed. He saw no pursuit, but he kept his voice very low.

“I don't trust those girls. They kind of creep me out, you
know?”

Victoria wore a smirk. “And I thought you'd like having a
fawning girl all over you.”

He stopped, pulling her into his arms. He peered into her emeralds
with as much seriousness as he could muster. “I want nothing to
do with her, or any girl but you. I only just realized she was
sticking to me, I swear.”

Victoria studied his face, then looked back toward the camp before
stealing a quick kiss from him. “Liam, you may find this hard
to believe, but I trust you more than you probably can understand.
Not just in a keep-the-zombies-off-me way either.” Still quiet,
she spoke quickly. “Before I met you, I was...promised...to a
real jerk of a young man—”

Liam felt his face betray his cool exterior. He tried to recover,
but she read him.

“—No, it's OK, listen. We were promised to one day get
engaged and get married. Childhood sweethearts. Foolish high school
fantasies.” A sarcastic laugh escaped. “But there was
something I didn't know about him until it was too late. I was too
stupid to realize it. I only figured it out when he...”

Her strong eyes dropped from his.

Liam was frozen, torn between shock and compassion for her
difficulty. He pulled one hand from hers and used it to lift her
chin. He gave a weak smile, willing her to continue.

“He drove me into the middle of the forest—we were
supposed to be meeting friends for a weekend camping trip—and
he said something to the effect of 'Oh Vicky, we're practically
married anyway; we should
consummate
the marriage early.' He
said that word as if it were dirty. I guess in his mind that was what
marriage was all about.”

She regained her fortitude and was able to look him in the eyes
again. “He raped me, Liam. I was so scared and confused, I
couldn't fight him. I didn't have a clue how. He was someone I loved.
I trusted. Or, I thought I did.”

Liam wiped a tear at the edge of her lashes. She looked away
again, though off to the side rather than down. She wasn't
embarrassed, but looked like she was thinking.

“I never said anything about that night to anyone. I
pretended it didn't happen. But I knew right there I was going to
escape him. That's why I applied for that pre-medical internship in
St. Louis. That's how I came to be in the city when the zombies came.
That's how I came to find you.”

She looked at him once more, with tears of joy.

“But that sonofabitch never knew I was leaving. I broke it
off publicly, I told my parents I wasn't in love and never wanted to
see him again. When the time came, I just got in my car and drove. I
threw out his ring somewhere in Kansas.” She laughed heartily
at that.

Liam didn't know what to say.

“My point is that I trust you with my deepest, darkest
secrets. You are a good man, Liam Peters. And that's why I think it's
cute that Pink is smitten with you. She senses your goodness too.”

Again, Liam was speechless.

He didn't view himself as a good person in the religious sense.
Hell, he hardly ever went to church before the sirens. He had no idea
why God would allow such evil in the world, but he believed there had
to be a continuum between good and evil. Victoria's “fiance”
was clearly aligned with the latter, while he imagined he would
always fight for what was right. She was in a position to judge
whether he was good or evil. He was pleased he passed the test. Sure,
he wanted to do right by the one person he cared deeply about here on
this cliff's edge, but also because he knew the world was broken
badly, and it could never be fixed by someone who goes around raping
helpless young girls. It was no contest really; he
was
the
better man.

He pulled her along while she regained her composure. He was happy
to learn about her past, but he also wanted to keep her moving into
the future, with him.

“Is it wrong that I want to kill him?”

She was silent for several strides, before she sniffled once and
responded, “We've talked about this before. Will we always have
to be killing people in this new reality? Is it wrong to want to kill
him? I can't say. But I do know this: if he ever saw me again, I
can't imagine he'd be too happy. And, if he saw you—”

She stopped, as if making a painful realization.

“Oh Liam, I didn't mean to say it like that. I'm
sure
he's dead. He has to be. You and I have so much to worry about, we
don't need to think of some loser in Colorado right now.”

They walked a few minutes in silence, and came to a point where
the cliff above the railroad tracks met the cliff surrounding the
large pit mine he'd been seeking. Beyond, he could see the tracks go
under the big red bridge. A line of cars ran from the highway, along
a small access road, and into the mine. Just as he remembered, the
line of cars descended the mine in several spirals before entering a
gaping hole in the wall at the bottom. It was large enough for the
big dump trucks to enter, which made the cars far below seem like
toys.

They'd reached their goal.

Still holding her hand, he finished his thought from earlier. “I
don't want to kill him. I really don't want to kill anyone, not even
the zombies. But we have to do a lot of things we don't want to do
these days. Killing the evil
things
out there is just part of
the deal. I'll do it if I have to, without hesitation, to protect you
and anyone else I love. And, I'll kill the zombies too.”

He had just taken a seat on a white piece of the exposed rock at
the edge of the woods when a military jet passed with silence as it
went bullet-fast over the treetops above them. It headed for the
bridge—

The crack of the blown sound barrier moved the forest.

The sleek fighter jet banked to the south and became a tiny point
in moments. The noise and surprise had sent him into the weeds. He
found his feet just as Victoria found hers.

“What was that all about?” she shouted.

He took in the mine and the surrounding cliffs and hills. He could
see a way down, but they'd have to continue along the cliff for
another few hundred yards. Or they could go back.

“I don't know.” He grabbed her hand. “Let's go.
We can leave them behind and do this ourselves.”

She hesitated for a moment, but seemed to relent. “Yeah, I
guess that makes sense.” But she was clearly torn. She paused
after only a handful of steps. “I...I don't know. What if we
need help? What if they go looking for us?”

Liam let go of her, appreciating her concerns. “They'll
figure we went to the mine, just like we told them.” He hadn't
even convinced himself.

“No, we have to tell someone. Just so I can sleep at night.”

He doubted anything would help him sleep at night, but she was
right.

“OK, we'll find the captain and tell him we'll be on our
way.”

She perked up at that, and she pulled him this time.

They'd walked along the edge of the cliff for several minutes when
Blue and Pink appeared ahead, running in their direction.