Tainted Future (The Rememdium Series Book 3) (5 page)

“Don’t,” Martha said, shaking her head. “After what happened with Regina, I’m surprised you and Jesse aren’t still catatonic. Go, give Walt and Turner a hand. I’ll take care of Jesse. She probably needs a female’s soft touch. She’ll just try to remain defiant and stoic around menfolk. She needs to let out what she’s feelin’ then be done with it. I’ll be more than happy to be the shoulder she falls apart on.”

“Thank you, Martha. You’re one hell of a gal. Walt’s a lucky man. You sure Lamar or one of the deputies shouldn’t go with you? For safety’s sake?”

Martha patted the assault rifle slung over her chest. “I guarantee you, I’m a better shot than all of them. We’ll be fine. Promise.”

Reed smiled and walked to the makeshift bathroom. After relieving himself, he grabbed his jacket, portable radio and gun. He glanced over at Lamar, Allsop and Bailey, who were all huddled together by the food pantry, whispering. Jane was still out on the cot. She’d spent almost the entire day before taking care of all of them. She’d checked for any signs of contamination, dressed wounds, lent a sympathetic ear to anyone who wanted to talk.

None of them had. Most were still too preoccupied grappling with the traumatic events to speak.

Reed walked over to Lamar and said, “If she wakes up before I get back, will you tell her I’m with Walt and Turner, helpin’ to fix the water pump outside? Don’t want her to wake up and worry. Oh, and that Jesse is goin’ with Martha to fetch the remainin’ supplies from the Humvees?”

Lamar nodded. “Sure thing. Want one of us to go with the girls?”

Though Reed didn’t know Lamar Wilson very well, he noticed the man had changed during the last forty-eight hours. Reed guessed Lamar was close to his age, yet he looked a good ten years older. Hell, if Reed had a mirror and peeked, he probably did, too. All of them were worn down to their mental and physical nubs. “No, they’ll be fine. Think Jesse needs some bondin’ time with another lady.”

Bailey spoke up. “Mr. Newberry, I’m so sorry about what happened with…” Bailey stopped and gathered his emotions before continuing. “Chief was a great lady. A true hero, and none of us will ever forget what she did for all of us.”

Hearing another man choke back tears made Reed’s heart pound with grief. Reed nodded in agreement while swallowing the lump in his throat.

Bailey asked, “How about we follow them, but they don’t
know
we’re doin’ it? I don’t like the idea of them goin’ out alone.”

Reed glanced over his shoulder. Martha was busy checking the clip on the AR-10. “I have the feelin’ Jesse’s in good hands, so no. Need y’all to watch the place while we’re gone. You know, in case…?”

Letting his words trailed off, Reed knew it was an unnecessary sentence. They all were aware of the dangers. The three men nodded and went back to their previous conversation, so Reed went topside.

The minute he smelled fresh air, Reed realized how smelly the cave had been. He would never admit it to anyone, but he understood why Jesse was having such a difficult time. Human beings weren’t meant to live like moles.

Gravel crunched behind him. Reed stiffened, hand immediately reaching for his weapon while spinning around.

“Easy, big guy. It’s just us. We’re off to get the supplies and clear our noses,” Martha said.

“Sorry,” Reed let out a huff of air. “Nerves.”

“All of us are edgy. Some more than others,” Jesse responded.

Reed noticed she was holding a gun, and the sight almost made him laugh at the absurdity.

Jesse snorted. “Guess we’ll need to start announcin’ our presence before one of us snaps and shoots before knowin’ what’s makin’ the racket. Don’t forget to watch out for others, Uncle Reed. That guy I ran into yesterday probably ain’t alone.”

A sense of unease crawled up Reed’s back. The faint smell of smoke in the air tickled his nose. Seeing his niece holding a rifle made his stomach burn. Jesse didn’t have much experience with any sort of weaponry.

“Stop lookin’ at me like that, Uncle Reed. Ms. Martha’s gonna teach me how to shoot. I’ll make Mom proud.”

Reed considered saying something funny to ease the tension, yet nothing popped into his mind. “Sorry. Been worryin’ about you my whole life. Some habits never die.”

Jesse smiled for the first time in days. A real, genuine smile that tugged at Reed’s heartstrings. The grin spurred memories of only days before, when Jesse rushed around getting ready for work, constantly on her phone either texting or talking to Turner. The smile reminded him of the normal life they’d once lived.

And how they never would again.

“Got your radio tuned to channel forty?” Martha inquired.

“Yes,” Reed answered, startled back to reality by Martha’s question.

“Good. Spring’s about half-a-mile that way,” Martha pointed behind Reed. “Follow their footprints. We’ll be back soon.”

“Be safe, sweetie. You, too, Martha,” Reed swiped a kiss on Jesse’s cheek. “See you soon.”

Martha and Jesse turned and headed down the trail. The first rays of the morning sun filtered through the trees, providing them with plenty of light. Though the temperature hovered near the freezing mark, the crisp air helped clear the clogged images inside Reed’s head. He watched their backs until the trail turned and he couldn’t see them any longer.

Reed followed the steps made by Turner and Walter, eyes scanning the dense forest for any signs of movement. The stillness in the woods was eerie. No birds chirped. No sounds of forest creatures scurrying around, busy searching for their morning meals. No squeaks or noise from bugs. He wondered if whatever disease had befallen mankind affected other living things, too.

The thought made him shudder.

Less than three days ago, the inhabitants of the planet went blindly about their daily lives, just as Reed, Regina, and Jesse had done. People filled their moments alive with trivial, mundane bullshit. Some more than others. All the ridiculous obsessions with vapid, surface-level crap was over. There would be no more breaking news with the latest celebrity gossip. Not another program full of self-proclaimed political experts vying for attention to get their messages heard across the airwaves. No more plastic-riddled celebrities living extravagant lifestyles from the hard-earned money of the mid and lower class groups of citizens.

No one would worry about getting enough rest after a long day slaving at work, just to get up and do it again, day after day, until their bodies gave out. No panicking about low funds in the bank, or whether enough money had been squirreled away for retirement. Those out of work searching for an income before they found themselves on the streets—over.

Those left were already on the streets, living in a world gone mad.

The abundant worries of the world were over in one swoop. Now, those who’d survived the first purge only had to concentrate on living another day. Finding food. Shelter. Weapons. Society was now free from the constant bombardment of meaningless drivel.

Reed craved those mindless distractions, because the new world they were in sucked.

Big time.

Stopping at a large outcropping of boulders to his left, Reed pushed the thoughts of what used to be, away. The beautiful view of the Ozark forest was tainted with plumes of gray smoke languidly floating on the light breeze. Turning to look south, Reed noticed the majority wafted from the direction of Little Rock and Conway. Though he couldn’t see any flames, Reed knew the cities lay in ruin, just like Malvern.

Unaccustomed to hiking, Reed decided to catch his breath while staring at the vast forest. Walter had done a fine job finding a secure, off-the-grid location to hole up in. They had food, water, medical supplies, weapons, a surgical nurse, bedding, and soon, apparently hot water. All fine and dandy things to have, considering what they were facing.

The question of how long jackhammered inside Reed’s head, vying for complete and total control. How long, really, did they have? A day? Week? Month? Years?

The thought of living inside the cave for an extended period of time made Reed’s head thump.

Though he’d only given a cursory glance at the first night they arrived, Reed wondered how long the staples would last. Even though Walter and Martha had prepared for a disaster, he doubted they counted on having so many mouths to feed.

And clothe.

Or the vast amount of bullets they’d need to keep the dead at bay. Reed’s mouth went dry. They were safe now, the walking monstrosities far away from their location.

Temporarily. If things continued to go downhill, the dead would eventually run out of food and start shambling around the hills and mountains for more.

How long could they, realistically, last underground? How long would it be before they succumbed to the disease? Other than being bitten or scratched, they had no idea how the sickness was transmitted. Was it possible they were immune, and if so, were there others like them? Ones scavenging for food, shelter, water, a fucking life?

Why didn’t the government prepare better for the disaster? Reed’s stomached jerked into a knot. He couldn’t help but to assume the government was at fault and did a piss-poor job of containing whatever unspeakable hell they’d unleashed.

What would they do when the food ran out, or someone suffered a major injury? Even if some miraculous solution to those problems manifested itself—like the good ol’ U.S. Government got their shit together and cleaned up their enormous cluster-fuck—what then? Were they all doomed to spend the remainder of their lives surrounded by rock? Go back to—literally—the era of the cavemen and devolve? 

“I’d offer you a penny for your thoughts, but seems a waste. Money don’t mean shit anymore.”

Reed jerked at the sound of Kyle Pender’s voice. “Dammit, Kyle! That’s twice in less than twenty minutes my heart rate’s spiked to dangerous levels. Surprised it hasn’t exploded yet.”

Kyle stepped out of the shadows of the trees to Reed’s right and joined him. “Sorry. Figured you heard me walkin’ up.”

“No. Guess I just learned a valuable lesson. When outside, it’s not a good idea to start thinkin’ about things. Gotta concentrate on the surroundin’s. Pine over shit when underground.”

Kyle leaned back against a boulder and nodded. “No doubt. Nice scenery, huh? Well, except for the smoke and the eerie stillness in the woods.”

“I’ll take this view over what we’ve seen recently,” Reed added. Kyle held out a bottle of water. Reed nodded his thanks and took a long gulp. After finishing, he cast a sideways glance at Kyle. “You doin’ okay?”

Shrugging his beefy shoulders, Kyle answered, “About as good as you look, I suppose.”

“Well, that ain’t good, because I figure I look like hammered shit.”

“Yeah, you do. We all do.”

Blowing out a huff of air, Reed asked, “What’re doin’ out so early?”

Kyle turned his attention to Reed. “My mom always used to say that there wasn’t a better way to clear your head when full of sorrow than walkin’ in the woods. Said the trick was to soak up all God made and realize how small we really are compared to the vast expanse of what He created.”

Reed forced the smart retort dancing on the edge of his tongue away. Though not exactly an atheist, he never really gave much thought to a higher power. Then again, the anger swirling around in his mind, and the outburst directed at Pastor Trent, gave him pause. Why, if he didn’t believe, did he curse the man upstairs for allowing the world to fall apart?

Instead of responding with a negative comeback, knowing Kyle did attend church regularly, Reed decided not to broach the subject of a deity. Besides, he knew Kyle was grieving for Regina and didn’t need to add any more stress on his shoulders. “Did it work?”

“Hell no. Just pissed me off all the more. All I could think about was all the things I didn’t say to her when I had the chance. Now, it’s too late.”

“She knew, Kyle. I know my sister better than anyone. That’s why I knew about you two without her tellin’ me. Twin bond, you know?”

“Yeah. She talked about that a lot. Said it was like you lived inside her head sometimes. She didn’t tell you about us because she worried about how you and Jesse would take the news.”

“Pft. That woman never worried a day in her life about how I’d take anythin’ she did. Regina’s only concern was about her daughter. After goin’ to all those counselin’ sessions, listenin’ to them docs yak her ears off, they had her so paranoid about how to handle Jesse, Regina couldn’t see straight.”

Kyle nodded. “I agree about that part. Whenever I’d bring the subject up about lettin’ our little not-so-secret relationship out, she’d start spoutin’ out shit about how addicts don’t handle change well. Frustrated the shit out of me. I wanted to shout from the rooftops about how I felt about that woman.”

Reed heard the heavy emotion in Kyle’s voice; the veiled innuendo. “She loved you, too. Never seen her so happy, even when she was married to Fred. He was a good man and he loved her, but he wasn’t Regina’s equal. She wore the pants in the family, so to speak. You? Well, you made her stronger, pushed her buttons, urged her to strive toward greater things.”

Kyle’s mouth gaped open. “How do you know that?”

“Because she finally learned to cook,” Reed said, smiling.

“Regina wasn’t exactly the homemaker type, that’s for sure,” Kyle chuckled softly. “Thanks for tellin’ me, Reed. I appreciate knowin’ she was happy with me. Shit. What am I supposed to do with this now?”

Kyle shoved his hand down deep into his pocket, extracting a ring. Reed’s stomach dropped. “You…really? Oh, damn. When?”

“Had it all planned for Sunday night. I made dinner reservations in Hot Springs at Regina’s favorite Italian restaurant.”

“Bella Arte?”

“Yep. Followin’ dinner and plenty of wine, the plan was to go see the lights at Garven Woodland Gardens. Was goin’ to pop the question by the forty-foot Christmas tree. It was time we took the next step…”

Kyle’s voice faded away. Reed stared at the ring clutched in his dirty fingers. Kyle tensed, lifting his arm over his head. Before he chunked the ring over the cliff, Reed grabbed his arm. “Don’t. Not now. You’re too upset. If it still feels right later, then by all means, let it go. Just…not now. Okay?”