Rise Once More (23 page)

Reese held a special bond with Bennie, as he affectionately called him. They weren't just battle brothers, the connection went deeper than that, they were like fraternal twins, identical in every sense of the word, but they looked very different. At the same time each operated on an isolated signal, accessible only by themselves, and when they were in each other's presence, people could feel it. It might not have been a biological bond, but it certainly was there at a cosmic level.

Talking about Bennies accident simultaneously choked up Eve and Reese. The despair poured out from them, seemingly blending in the middle, an invisible puddle forming at their feet, a coalescent sludge of understanding. Eve understood at that moment why she loved Reese. Not a love like two lovers, but a love between a father and daughter.

Reese was not her father, but she understood him. They were two cogs, cast from the same mold, they felt the same feelings. If her father had a choice, to name his successor, it would have been Reese. He had made that decision, and he chose Reese. Eve understood that now.

The one thing they would have disagreed on was Trixie. They had argued about this before, as told by Reese himself. Reese didn't like her, and Ben dismissed it, another topic that would have been talked about over drinks at the party, her birthday party, the party that never happen. Instead there was a phone call, that phone call turned her world upside-down. The day
Daddy
was gone.

Had Reese left his confession at that, his relationship with Eve could have been saved, but he had more confessions to reveal. Reese spoke about the events leading up to the death of Trixie. Alex backed up his story, with his firsthand account, but it was all too much for Eve. It slightly vindicated Alex, he hadn't pulled the trigger after all, but that son of a bitch Reese murdered her mother. Not directly, but through the cold murdering hands of Amos.

Knowing the truth was worse than what she wanted to believe. Eve slapped Reese before locking herself in one of the bedrooms her eyes an ever flowing river of tears. Reese didn't react, he deserved it, he knew that, and how could he blame her? He knew the monster that resided inside him, he had come to accept it over the years, and there was no changing the past.

***

Eve woke late that night, thrust back into reality by a nightmare. No. It wasn't a nightmare; it was real, just a rehashing of the last few months unfolding in her head. She wasn't sure what to do next, but she sure as hell wasn't going to stay here. Spending another day with Reese would just be psychological torture, every moment driving her further into sadness and depression.

Eve quietly stepped out of the bedroom; the full moon beaming in from the windows was enough to illuminate the house, well if you could call it a house. More like a bunker than a home. She walked to the front door, looked down and noticed the black bags Reese had brought inside.

Reese was too busy trying to come clean, and do his best to save his ass to put them away. She opened one, the moon light shined off the shiny weapons inside, and she heard a small clang of metal contacting metal. She picked one of the hand guns up, the cold steel chilling her fingers, and a thought crossed into her mind.

She quickly dismissed it. There had been enough blood, enough killing, to last many lifetimes. She was done with that, and thought it would be better to let Reese suffer every night with the haunting dreams that he must have. Or at least she thought he would have them. There must be a shred of human left in him, one that feels the need to atone for the sins he has committed. It must exist, even if only in his subconscious, unlocked every night when his eye lids drooped into sleep.
Sweet dreams fucker!

She placed the gun back into the bag, grabbed a few MRE's from the pantry, and a gallon jug of water. She zipped up the bag slowly, to avoid waking anyone, and picked up a set of keys resting on the counter. A silver cat like animal was posed in a leaping position just above the word Jaguar.

***

The chilly night air tugged at her burgundy hair, small strands of it flapping around outside of the cracked window of the luxury car, she occasionally brushed them back inside as she flipped the ashes of her Dunhill cigarette out the window. She had found the smokes in the center console, along with a gold Zippo, and she grateful for anything to help her take the edge off the pain.

Reese was a man of luxury, he had enjoyed the perks of the upper tiers of the pay scale, but now she was enjoying them. The heated leather seats were a welcomed comfort as well, she wasn't sure if it was actually that cold outside, or if she was just cold inside. Her heart was a frigid block of hate, anger, and anguish.

She smashed the Dunhill into the ash tray and promptly lit another one up. She gave the accelerator a good shove from her foot, the car downshifted, and she let out a scream. She increased its intensity, matching in rhythm with the sounds of the winding engine. “AAAAHHHHH!” The car shifted once again, the speedometer buried itself well past 120, and she began to cry again.

She hit the brakes, the car skidded to a stop, the sudden jerk whipped her hair forward, and stood with both hands on the steering wheel, cigarette dangling from her lips, and grunting heavily. She looked like a mad woman, her eyes blood shot, teeth clenched, in a trance like state of disbelief. She hoped for something, anything to take away the pain, to end this nonstop roller coaster of pain that she called her life. Then she saw something.

A single person, walking haphazardly, was dragging his foot behind him. His shirt covered in blood, dirt, and sweat stains. He was about 50 yards away and coming closer, as fast as his ravaged body could carry him. Eve placed the Jaguar in park, extinguished the Dunhill in the ashtray and opened the driver's door.

“Come and get me fucker!” Eve screamed out into the night, her arms raised up in surrender, the shadow of her body stretched out in front of the cars headlights. She heard a moan, and the man increased his awkward gait; stumbling even more frequently as he stretched one arm out grabbing at the open air. Eve watched curiously at the former human advancing toward her.

She wondered what it felt like, how her mother felt when the infection took hold.
Did it hurt? Did it take away the pain? Could it possibly even feel good?
She wasn't sure about the answers, but she was about to find out. The man was getting very close now, only about 10 feet away, his mouth snapping, snarling, and drool running down his chin, like a rabid dog.

Just before the man closed in the last few feet, a gun shot rang out, his head exploded into a vaporized cloud of blood, bone, and brains. The sound of the shot made Eve's ears ring, she heard the sound of the man's body hit the ground as she turned around to see the barrel of a gun only a few feet away from her face. Smoke curled out from the end, its shiny metal glistened like a jewel in the moon light, fear gripped her body and then she saw his face. It was Alex.

Chapter Twenty Five

A Stranger Comes a Calling

Life was getting better, almost normal since they arrived at Rednek's farm, especially for Haus the concussions symptoms lessened, only a mild headache remained. Amy had proven to be very useful, no doubt her rural upbringing being the reason, as she helped do chores and cook food. Haus was learning to deal with the midday heat and the unrelenting humidity in the southern air.

Eicca was out in the garden as usual; Amy only few feet away from her pulling weeds, the two talked like old friends and giggled occasionally. Haus was obsessed with finding out how the world was holding up, and Rednek was doing his best to keep the Ham radio working. It wasn't fancy, a jumbled mess of electronic components and wires that Rednek had built years ago as a hobby.

Haus placed another red tack into the map; it was wrinkled, and torn in spots as he heard the desperate pleas echoing over the speaker. Haus shook his head, a feeling of anguish over coming him as the voice on the other end stopped broadcasting. He couldn't help but remember the uneasiness he felt back at the mine, and how Cox had tried to calm his fears insisting that the virus was harmless. Oh how wrong they had been, all of them, each one played a part in creating this nightmare.

“
A total cluster fuck is what is Rednek.” Haus said as he paced around the enclosed front porch of Rednek's home. The porch had no windows, just screens to shield the occupants from the many insects. Haus was partly glad for this; enclosing it any further would just trap the sweltering heat even more.

“
It be bad fo' sure.” Rednek replied. Haus wiped the sweat from his forehead and bit at his lip.

“
What is this area Rednek?” Haus asked as he pointed to a green tack on the map.

“
Nickajack trading post. Green means safe.” Rednek replied.

“
Not much green on this map.” Haus said.

“
Not much left.” Rednek replied. He turned his wrist over, looked down at his watch, it read 11:59 AM. “News time.” Rednek said as he twisted the frequency dial, over shooting his target slightly, then dialing it back. The speaker came to life with the sound of music, overly patriotic sounding, the kind you would expect to hear at a military parade of a communist country. The music suddenly stopped, and the deep confident voice of a male began to speak.

Greetings survivors. I hope this broadcast finds you in good health. The dark days are shortening, the battles are far from over, but we will prevail. Stay true to your course. Victory is imminent. Now, an update from Uncle Tobi, our great father; ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Tobias Krupke.

My dear brethren. As you all are aware now, the united states government overstepped its authority, their treachery knows no bounds, and will stop at nothing until every single man, woman, and child has been euthanized. They have unleashed their nuclear arsenal, decimating our cities, killing millions of innocent people. All of those actions, where hastily employed, acted upon without deliberation, or any kind of planning.

They have violated our sacred constitution, burned our glorious civilization to the ground, ignored our rights, and persecuted the weak. They seek nothing more than personal gain for their efforts, and you have seen firsthand the results. Unlike our former governing structure, we decided to address this situation, just as it is; an epidemic.

Rather than enact a scorched Earth policy of death, we chose to tap into the most brilliant scientific minds in the world, and tackle this problem with the least amount of innocent lives lost. While my heart weeps for the countless victims of this avoidable tragedy. I bring great news.

We have found a cure! The brilliant scientists at our research facility have found the answer to all of our problems. A cure! My brethren, now is the time, come out of hiding, brandish your weapons and reclaim this glorious country.

I implore you my brothers. Engage in the final push. The enemy is weak, and we have the answer. We will rebuild our great nation once more. We are creating the vaccine in mass quantities, the scientists are working tirelessly, trying to save every last one of you. Just hold on a little longer. Remember. Uncle Tobi loves you all, great and small.

The broadcast ended, and the music began playing again. Haus stood dumbfounded at hearing the words, but a feeling of doubt crept across his mind. Something didn't seem right about it, it was too grandiose, too perfect. Then he said the name out loud. “Tobias Krupke.” Haus knew the name, his mind racing to draw the connections, and when it finally came home he quickly switched the radio off.

“You aren't honestly buying into that shit Rednek?” Haus said.

“
Its da news.” Rednek replied.

“
No it isn't! It's propa-fucking-ganda! A load of crap, shoved down your throat, and laced with a sugar coating. It isn't real. They want you to believe that, and spin it like it is factual. Don't you see?” Haus said.

“
They gots a cure Haus, you heard it.” Rednek said.

“
You are the dumbest genius I have ever met! You honestly believe that spiel?” Haus stopped for a moment, pondering over his choice of words, then came to realization that he had used a German word.  One that was perfect for the occasion, but carried more significance to him than anyone else. He paused for a moment, then uttered the words. “Speil Mit Mir.”

His face grew pale, the words echoing in his mind, replaying over and over. He recognized the male voice in the broadcast, it was Richters. He spoke the words again, this time in English. “Play with me.” It was a subtle message, meant only for him, somehow he knew that Haus would react this way, and the message was clear as day.

He made a deal with the devil. As all dealings with the under lord go, there is always another hidden clause in the contract, something that the eager signee missed, but would be paid back in spades. The upper hand belonging to none other than the devil. Haus knew that somehow, he was being tricked, a back door Trojan waiting in the midst to spoil the party.

Haus's gut instinct was right and unfortunately for him, closer to home than he would like. The back door Trojan was resting in his left butt cheek, just under the skin, broadcasting his exact location. The small device blinked red pulses deep under his skin.

***

Richter sat back, his eyes focused on the screen before him, the blinking red dot was holding still, and he let out a fit of laughter.
Go back to the nest my little ant. Seek out your queen. You are not there yet, but you will find a way back home. When you get there, we will be waiting...