Outbreak: Brave New World (4 page)

“Well…I’m…
watching out for…stuff.” Frannie said quietly. The little boy stared at her as if trying to puzzle something out. He walked a little closer and rested his chin on her forearm as he looked up at her. Frannie could not help but feel a little uncomfortable, as if she could sense Paul’s big blue eyes pressing into the scars on her face and neck. She started to wonder when the boy would start to ask the same questions strangers always asked eventually.

Paulie pressed his cheek against her arm. “What kinda stuff are you watching for?” he asked.
The boy looked from Frannie’s face to the black carbine between her legs and back again. She gave an exaggerated sigh then leaned her M4 against the railing and let the boy climb into her lap.

“Strangers and stuff like that.” Frannie said as she let the boy get comfortable in her lap and put her arms around him.
She frowned slightly then sighed and smiled. “Tell you what, buddy. Wanna help?”

The boy’s face lit up. “Really? Neat!” he said as he settled back against Frannie’s chest.
The two of them sat there for a little while, enjoying the little noises of the forest around them. Frannie could only guess at what half of them were. She figured that most of the sounds were birds or bugs or something. There were little screeching chitterling type noises that made the little boy in her lap tense up every once in awhile. Paulie would look around then relax after a couple seconds when Rodriguez held him tight.

The door slid open again and Jessica came back with a mug of coffee in each hand. Frannie frowned a little bit as she picked the boy up and set him down on the deck.
“Thank you very much, Mrs. Frays.” Frannie said as she accepted the steaming mug. She frowned and looked at her lap for a moment. “I…um…really don’t know how to thank you guys.”

Jessica simply smiled and patted the woman’s forearm. “Don’t think anything of it.” she said
then turned her attention to the boy. “Hey Paulie, George and Carl were planning on going fishing. If you ask nice, I’ll bet they’ll take you with them.” The boy grinned widely and scampered off into the house in search of Carl and Mister Frays. “It’s no trouble at all taking you kids in.” Jessica said as she took a sip of her coffee.

Frannie suddenly took a quick breath and covered her mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” she said quietly as she stifled a choking sob. Jessica moved closer and put an arm around Frannie’s shoulders and took the younger woman’s free hand in hers. After a couple minutes Frannie sort of smiled and made a half hearted
attempt at a laugh. “Here I am twenty six years old crying my eyes out because I miss my mom and my…um…boyfriend.” Jessica snorted which made Rodriguez smile a little bit. “Your daughter does that too. Now I know where she gets it.”

“What’s your first name?” Jessica said, still smiling. She separated herself from the younger woman and took a sip of her coffee. “If you’re going to stay I’m not calling you
Rodriguez or Specialist or whatever.”

“It’s Francesca. You can call me Frannie.” Rodriguez said as she wiped her eyes.
She took a drink of her coffee, strangely enjoying the feeling of the caffeine making a dynamic entry on her brain like a horde of pissed off Rangers that were all hopped up on steroids and PCP. Then, she reflected, it had been a while since she was not stoned off her ass on a prescription only narcotic. It actually felt pretty good to be sober for a change.

“Nice to meet you, Frannie. You can call me Jessie.”
Jessica looked at Frannie with an expression of utter seriousness. “Listen, Frannie…there’s something I need to ask.” she said with a small, uncomfortable sigh. Her face twisted around as if she were thinking of the best way to ask a difficult question. “I don’t know what’s going on, but something’s the matter with Amy. What really happened out there? I know she’s not telling us everything.”

Rodriguez tried to hide her face as best she could behind her coffee cup. “Well, it wasn’t
exactly a cakewalk getting here.” she said at last with a sarcastic little smirk as she motioned to her wounded leg. “Please, Jessie…I don’t know how much Amy would want me to tell you guys. We talked sometimes and stuff, but…please talk to her, alright?”

“That’s just it, Frannie.” Jessica said angrily. The woman set her coffee cup on the table and looked at the deck between her feet. “Amy used to do stuff with her dad but
I
was the one she talked to…if that makes any sense. Since she got back from Iraq…I mean…she used to call at least twice or three times a week to say hi and just chat. She got off the plane, hung around for a couple of days and then she went back to school. She called once in the month or so before everything…you know.”

Rodriguez frowned.
Go talk to your damn daughter instead of griping to me, lady.
Frannie thought, suddenly inexplicably furious with the older woman as she struggled to keep her face neutral.
I don’t fucking need this shit right now.
“I guess it’s hard to talk about stuff with someone who wasn’t there.” she said and shrugged. Frannie finished the last swallow of coffee in her cup and set it on the railing. “I mean…I’m probably not the best person to talk to about this. My mom tried so hard t-to help me after I got hurt…” The young woman felt tears welling up in her eyes again. “I was kinda out of control and did a bunch of things I’m…not proud of. I mean, I almost died…six of the twelve people in the truck with me did die and…and Hendricks…Jesus, he lost both his arms…” Frannie’s chest heaved as she struggled to keep down a fresh bout of sobs. “It’s no excuse but…I mean…I dunno…”

“I-I’m so sorry that happened to you.” Jessica said quietly as tears started coursing down her cheeks.
They both started when the glass door slid open and the twins bounded out onto the deck followed closely by Carl, his father and Laura. Lacey had his combat gear on, his M16 slung across his chest. Frays had turned lengths of an old radio antenna into a handful of reasonably functional suppressors, which two small pipe clamps and some one hundred mile an hour tape held over the end of the rifle’s barrel while they were holed up in a high school a few weeks ago. It worked pretty well for about seven or eight shot until the steel wool inside the pipe melted from the heat of the rounds being fired.

“I’m gonna catch a fish!” Paul announced with a big grin. The boy paused and looked at the damp cheeks of the two women and
frowned a little bit. He went over and pressed his cheek against Frannie’s bicep, his little hands wrapping around her fingers as he looked up at her with big puppy dog eyes. The boy tugged on her arm, trying to pull her to her feet. “Come fishin’ with us, Frannie!”

Frannie laughed and looked at the boy’s mother. “Maybe a little later, buddy.” she said
as she gave him a hug and kissed the top of Paul’s head. “Catch a big one, little man.” Jessica and Frannie smiled as the others started herding the children across the deck. Laura looked over her shoulder at Frannie and made a face like she was going to say something but decided against it.

Jessica and Frannie exchanged amused little glances as Lacey
, Carl and George helped the others across the gap between the deck and the cement landing and the stairs that went down to the lake. “That little boy’s got a crush on you.” Jessie said with a smirk. She sipped her coffee and glanced at the young woman sitting next to her.

Frannie
smirked and nodded in agreement. “I think Carl does too.” she said quietly as her fingers climbed up the craggy side of her throat. Rodriguez scratched the scars on her cheek then looked at the planks between her feet and sighed, making a conscious effort to stop.

“You noticed t
oo, huh?” Jessica said and smiled as she finished her coffee. The older woman smiled uneasily. “Listen… We don’t know each other, so…”

Frannie snorted and
furrowed her brow. “Oh, God. No! He’s like half my age!” she exclaimed. Jessica noticed an offended expression coming across the younger woman’s face before she could hide it. Rodriguez rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the others down by the water. “And now I feel
old
all of a sudden…” she mumbled and shook her head. Frannie found herself wishing that Amy would come out or her mother would go inside so this woman would leave her the hell alone.

Amy folded her arms across her chest and sighed. Her feet already felt better but they still looked kind of nasty, like
uncooked sausages on the ends of her legs. She frowned and glanced at the cup of coffee resting on the end table behind her head. Frays glanced at her watch and furrowed her brow.
Not even two hours in and I’m already bored out of my skull!
the young woman thought with a little bit of irony. She could not help but think about the teacher’s lounge at the school where they had holed up, which in turn led her thoughts back their trip to Fort Devins and clammy grasping hands snapping teeth and oh God the stench… Frays blinked then shook from head to toe and forced herself to focus her attention on the two people sitting on the other side of the glass doors.

Rodriguez a
nd Mom were talking on the deck. The two of them seemed to get along pretty well. The Laceys were with Dad and Carl down by the dock, probably having fun trying to catch a fish or three for dinner. She wrapped her arms around herself, aware of the fact that this was the closest she had been to being alone in almost a month. It felt…kind of strange, really.

For a brief moment the desire for a cigarette flared up so bad that she could almost taste
that sweet, sweet nicotine. Frays’ eyes flitted towards Rodriguez’s Kevlar on the floor next to the blue recliner across the room and, more importantly, the half empty pack of Marlboros stuck in the elastic band around the outside of the helmet. Amy grumbled under her breath and jammed her hands into her armpits, her frown deepening into a full on scowl.

The door slid open and Jessica came inside. The two of them looked at each other for a minute before Jessie smiled awkwardly. “How are you, Amy?” she asked and sank into the rocking chair next to the couch. “
Feeling okay?”

Amy sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, Mom.” she said and squirmed around on the couch. The younger Frays lifted her head and scratched behind her ear. She forced herself to smile a little and turned to her mom. “I just wish I could help. Jeez…stupid feet.”

Jessica chuckled and tousled her daughter’s hair earning her a frown from the younger woman. “Don’t worry about it. You just relax and get better, hon.” she said with a small grin “Are you sure you’re okay?” Jessie reached around and handed Amy her coffee cup. She sat there for a little while, letting Amy take her time.

Amy’s mouth pinched shut into a thin line
she blinked a couple times and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes with one shaking hand. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times, a hundred bad things springing to mind. What
exactly
did her mother expect her to say? That she had seen her Flight Sergeant get shot in the face? She had tried to pull another airman’s legs off because their truck was going to fall into the Charles River? A maniac had held a knife to her throat and he and his friend were going to probably drag her off into the woods so they could rape her to death a few weeks ago? That a tired and scared young man had nearly blown her head off when all she wanted to do was help him? That something she never would have believed could even exist had tried to eat her alive?

“I’m fine, Mom. Really. Thanks for the coffee.”
she said with another strained smile. Frays finished the coffee and settled into the couch cushions. “I think I’m going to try and take a nap.”

The disappointed expression on her mother’s face made Amy’s gut churn. “Alright, hon.” Jessica said quietly and took the empty cup from her daughter’s hands.
She looked around quietly and gave Amy a hint of a conspiratorial grin. “Why don’t you go into the back bedroom? The Laceys won’t be needing it for a little while.”

Lacey stood on the
shore next to his wife the two of them watching Paul who stood on the dock try and make the tiny fishing pole work. Becca was probably not helping her brother catch anything: she was amusing herself by throwing rocks in the water a few feet away. George and Carl were standing a little farther along the shoreline, their lines in the water. The skinny Marine smiled a little at his wife as his eyes wandered taking in their surroundings. Rodriguez waved when she saw him looking towards the house and he returned the gesture. Laura made a low, almost animalistic noise under her breath. He turned and raised a quizzical eyebrow. “What?”

Laura rolled her eyes and turned, putting her back to him a little
bit. “Nothing.” she said quietly and crossed her arms. Adam put his arms around his wife and held her, feeling the rigidness of her body. He smiled and rested his chin on her shoulder, gently rocking her back and forth. Adam savored the scent of her hair…her skin that, in his darkest moments, he thought he would never smell again.

“God, I still can’t believe you’re all safe.” he whispered in Laura’s ear and gently kissed her cheek. It took a couple minutes but eventually she leaned back and snuggled against Adam’s chest. “I was worried sick about you and the kids. I almost can’t believe it.”

“I know, Adam.” Laura whispered, enjoying the feeling of her husband’s arms around her. “Ow.” Adam’s rifle started digging into her back. She turned and hugged her man and gave him a quick peck on the lips.