PRIME (22 page)

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Quigley said. “Did you become sick?”

“No,” Gabe said, a sadness filling his eyes. “I didn’t leave the apartment after my son left. On the news they gave out all that advice about duct taping the windows and any possible crack, so I did that. I had to use plastic wrap on the windows.”

“Lucky that worked,” Jake said with a snort. “Most people were already infected by the time that bit of advice came out.”

“Being a homebody occasionally has its advantages.” Gabe smiled grimly.

“But no one else survived?” Alice asked, leaning forward. On either side of her, Zero and Cale were listening with equal intensity.

“A few others did,” Gabe answered Alice, but then turned back to Grace. “After almost three weeks, just about the time I had given up, two soldiers showed up in air tight suits and gave me a vaccine. I didn’t even believe them at the time, but it turned out to be true.”

“Yes, we had the vaccine too. I hadn’t realized the shipment made it here; we never received any word.” Grace nodded thoughtfully. “You can thank that man over there.” She pointed to Zero. Jake fought not to roll his eyes. Gabe gave Zero a brief smile and continued.

“They found two others who had survived, a young couple. They were newlyweds, in their late twenties. Nice kids, I couldn’t help but see my own son and his wife in them.”

“Where are they now?” Quigley asked.

“They ran off. They thought they could get away from those things, like they hadn’t seen the news that they were everywhere. One of the soldiers went out for supplies one day and never came back. The other one hanged himself last week.” Gabe looked down at his hands. “I have to admit, the thought crossed my mind when I realized how alone I was, but suicide is a sin that I am not willing to commit. I thought I was lost before and those soldiers found me. Somehow I knew I would be found again.”

“You were right. You’re not alone now.” Grace placed a warm hand on Gabe’s and squeezed gently.

“No, I suppose not.” Gabe took a deep breath, as if clearing the bad memories from his mind, and leaned back from the table. “There is plenty of food. It’s all been stored here; they raided the whole base and brought it in. Also routed the electricity in some way so that none of the other buildings have any sort of power. They wanted us to be able to survive on as little power as possible.”

“How did you figure out the lights would stun the zombies?” Alice asked, unable to quiet her curiosity any longer.

“That?” Gabe grinned. “They just thought it might work, since they weren’t out in the sun at the beginning. Honestly, I’d never seen it done on that many at once. There seem to be more out there every day.”

“Well I’m glad you didn’t tell us it was an experiment while we were still out there,” Cale said. “It worked well enough, I got to admit.”

“Thank you,” Gabe said. “Now please, like I said, eat something. Those children must be hungry.”

“I think the doctor would like a chance to look at the wounded as well,” Quigley said.

“Of course.” Gabe nodded. “There’s a small examining room at the end of the hall. It’s decently stocked and you should find what you need there to treat everyone.”

“Thank you,” Scott said. He stood to gather those with the most serious wounds.

“Alright then,” Grace said. “Everyone else go on and get some food.” The group surged toward the kitchens. In all the excitement they had eaten little since they left. Alice’s stomach growled at the suggestion of food.

“You should get that hand looked at,” Jake told Alice, touching her shoulder gently. Scott paused, looking back at Alice as she stood.

“Oh.” She had almost forgotten. Her hand wasn’t in much pain. She lifted it and curled the fingers. It still hurt, but they moved. “I think it’s alright really,” Alice answered. “There are others who could use more help.” She tried to step past Jake, but he moved with her.

“Are you sure?” Jake moved in, almost too close for comfort.

“She said she’s okay.” Zero reached out for Alice’s good hand and pulled her sideways, freeing her from between Jake and the table. Scott looked at the three of them, not sure he wanted to get involved. Jack and Zero glared at each other. The older man looked practically livid.

“She should be okay,” Scott said, breaking into the tension. He knelt and dug in his bag until he found a roll of gauze. Quickly he cut off a long section and handed it to Alice. “Be sure to rewrap it tonight. If it starts to look bad, or if you need anything for the pain, just let me know.”

“Thanks,” Alice said. Scott smiled and moved to help the other wounded out of the room.

Jake watched as Zero put his hand on Alice’s back, leading her away from him protectively. As they passed through the door to the kitchen, Zero glanced over his shoulder. Jake tore his eyes away, aware he was getting dangerously close to making things difficult for himself. When he glanced back Zero was nowhere to be seen, but Alice was framed by the doorway. She smiled and nodded to whoever she was speaking to. Jake pinched the skin between his thumb and forefinger to distract himself from his thoughts, digging his short nail into the tender flesh. It only helped a little.

20

Coda Base

Silence filled the cafeteria as everyone ate. Even the children were too tired and focused on eating to make any of their usual noise. Gabe sat with Quigley, Grace, and Jake, talking softly. Cale watched intently as he absently shoved peanut butter and crackers into his mouth.

“You alright?” Alice scooped her mashed potatoes onto her spoon.

“What? Oh, yeah.” Cale focused on his food again. He stole a brief look at the other table.

Zero and Alice shared a look. “You’re keepin’ a keen eye on that guy.” Zero shoved away his empty soup bowl and swiped his napkin across his mouth. “You still don’t trust him?”

“Actually I do.” Cale nodded. “It’s just, a man goes through something like that and he can change. Trauma brings out the worst in some people.”

“He was talking about sin,” Alice reminded him. “Trauma can bring out the good in people too.”

“He seems a little gentle to be a crazy man,” Zero added. “Can’t really see him hurting anyone.”

Cale wiped a smear of peanut butter from his plate and ate it, nodding. “Either way, all I really wanna know is if he got that broadcast about the cure. I’m wondering if he would even know.”

“Depends how much his soldier buddies let him in on,” Zero mused before taking a big bite of a roll.

“With something like that? I bet they told him.” Alice’s eyes slipped to Gabe. “It would have been big news. It would have given them hope.”

“Maybe.” Cale looked lost in thought a moment. “I should talk to him, huh?”

“If you want to get moving toward where ever it came from.” Zero grinned. “Course this place is looking decent enough for a few days. Better than that damn hospital at least.”

“No, I want to know before I lose my nerve.” Cale stood. “Another couple days of the easy life here and I may settle in. I’m gonna go ask.”

“Wait for me.” Alice exchanged a quick look with Zero. He looked just as surprised as she was to hear Cale question himself. Alice stood up. “I want to know how Quigley got out of that mess.”

“I’ll stay here.” Zero leaned back in his chair, still watching Cale closely. “But you two let me know what happens.”

Alice gave him a quick smile and followed Cale toward the table where Gabe and the others sat. They casually pulled two more chairs to the table and sat down uninvited. Grace’s words stuttered, but she smiled.

“Oh, and these two are Alice and Cale,” Grace introduced them. “Cale has just joined us, and Alice was an intern before all this started.” Alice smiled, and Jake smiled in return when her eyes met his.

“Nice to meet you.” Gabe reached to shake Cale’s hand. “Officially.”

“You too,” Cale said. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

“Quigley, what happened back there?” Alice reached over and squeezed his hand. “I was sure we lost you.” Jake stared at her hand on Quigley and she pulled back self-consciously.

“We lost Corwin,” Quigley answered grimly. “Went just as planned, when I heard the music blare out I hopped on. It was already too late for Corwin by then. I thought I was going to die when Zero drove the truck full on into those zombies. Then again with the way he was driving once we were clear.”

“We didn’t know you were back there.” Guilt filled Alice. She hadn’t even entertained the idea that he might actually have survived the fight.

“There was no way you could have known he was there.” Jake’s hand snaked toward her, but stopped short of making contact.

“He said he banged on the back doors, but we didn’t hear a thing.” Grace squeezed Alice’s arm. “So don’t feel bad. He’s here and that’s all that matters.”

“I know, you’re right.” Alice shook her head. “Corwin though? I can’t believe he’s gone. It seemed like he could survive anything thrown at him.”

“He was a soldier and he died protecting people. It’s a good way to go.” Grace’s words were strong, but she unconsciously shredded a napkin.

“Yeah and we’re all really glad to see you, Quigley.” Cale gave him a distracted pat on the back, finally getting around to the real reason they had joined the table. “But Gabe, I have a question for you.”

“Sure.” Gabe set down his fork and gave Cale his full attention.

“Did either of the soldiers tell you anything about a broadcast from another base, saying something about a cure for the virus?”

Alice wouldn’t have been surprised to see Cale hold his breath as he waited for an answer, knee shaking up and down.

“Of course.” Gabe leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and linking his fingers. “It was all they talked about for a week, but I got the feeling there was never a follow up. They never learned what the cure was.”

“That’s great.” Cale nodded absently, his mind racing. “Did they tell you where the broadcast came from?”

“I never thought to ask.” Gabe shrugged, apologetic. “Why?”

“Do you know where the communications room is?” Cale pressed on, undaunted.

“Other side of this building I think.” Gabe still looked confused. “How will that help?”

“He thinks if he can trace where the broadcast came from, he can find the source,” Quigley answered with a shake of his head.

“Can you do that?” Gabe’s eyes looked alive for the first time. “You could find the cure then?”

“No way,” Jake said. The others looked at him with surprise. “I’m just saying, how would we get to wherever the cure is anyway?” Jake wouldn’t admit it, but he hated the idea of Cale being a hero.

“It’s not really a cure-” Cale began, but Quigley interrupted him.

“It’s going to be a death patch at best,” Quigley said. Gabe’s eyes dropped sadly. “Which in this case I think is for the best, but I do not believe looking for it will be any more than a suicide mission. I’m sorry Cale.”

Cale sat for a moment tapping at the table with his fingers as he thought. Quigley waited patiently for his response. Finally Cale looked up at him. “What do you call this?” He pointed around the room. “All of us here?”

Quigley didn’t hesitate. “Surviving.”

“I call this a suicide mission.” Cale leaned forward so he could speak softly, keeping the children and civilians from hearing. “Now, unless Gabe here lied about the food supply, we only have enough to last this group a year, maybe two, and that’s assuming no one else joins up. I doubt Gabe here is hiding any seeds for us to plant. Even if he is, I doubt there is an area worth planting on this base. Also, I didn’t notice any cows meandering around for meat or milk. This is a suicide mission.” He jabbed a finger on the table, punctuating each word. “A long painful suicide mission.” Cale leaned back, letting his speech sink in before continuing.