The Beginning at the End of the World: A Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian Series (The Survivor Diaries Book 2) (36 page)

“Except for MT duties, and you, lil’ lady, just crossed over those boundaries,” said Mason.

“How is a frightened boy MT business? That kid in there could have belonged to any one of us before the war,” I said.

“Laura, please,” said Jackson. “Let me get a word in. Mason, Laura has something none of us has; the ability to talk to people so they trust her. We might be trained in waterboarding, but what good is that going to do with a teenage boy? And Laura, we need some leverage here. We have been doing this since you were still in knee socks and braids. You need to trust us, too.”

“He’s right,” said Fitz. “We all have areas of expertise. But we are going to implode if you two don’t figure out a way to get along. I am the Senior Army Officer here, and I am not going to let everyone die because you can’t come to some type of agreement.”

“You are both right,” I said. “I am sorry, Colonel Mason.”

“Yeah, fine. Me, too,” said an unconvincing Mason.

I rolled my eyes. “How about the four of us talk about how to handle Chase?”

“Who?” asked Mason.

“The kid in there. He is a starving child who needs our help,” I said.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said Katie as she and Malcolm entered the tent and took a seat. “He’s in bad shape. He has been mentally abused, not to mention physically.”

I felt a knife stab in the gut.

“How do you know that?” asked Mason.

“I checked him,” said Malcolm.

I wanted to reach across the table and shake Mason. He looked down, and shook his head.
Was he actually feeling shame? Good.

“I believe everything he told us,” said Katie. “There is a group of people out there who are as bad as it gets. Chase said that there are women, children, and even some men in there who are being held and abused.”

I glanced over at Jackson who looked like he was going to tear someone’s throat out, and then the knife in my gut turned.

“No, we don’t act like a bunch of hot heads. I get it, this is your operation gentlemen, but we think it through first. There are innocent people in that building, too. We can figure out what to do with the perpetrators when we get everyone out of there alive. We don’t need Rambo right now,” I said turning to Jackson. “We need the United States Military.”

I knew that the only way I could prove myself to Mason was to stand back and let them do their jobs. Fitz was right, that is what they were trained for, and they were our best bet at getting those innocent people out of hell.

Katie promised to stay close to Chase. We were lucky to have her helping the boy. Not only did he need intensive therapy, but finding out about the group of Wanderers was the best way to keep everyone alive.

As soon as the sun came up, military operations were in high gear. I was having some trouble keeping my mouth shut. I did attend the MT meetings, though. I needed to explain what was going on to the Villagers at the midmorning meeting. Obviously, everyone knew something was amiss, but to their credit, the Villagers were hanging back, waiting for an explanation.

Between meetings, I went back to the cabin. Bailey was enjoying the perks in there, and I let her have all of the kids over to watch cartoons. I figured that at least we would have the kids corralled in case we needed to “bug out,” as Jackson calls it. Besides, it was nice to hear the innocent giggling coming from the next room after finding out what Chase had been through. I don’t think that I will ever fully understand human nature, or maybe I just don’t want to.

Ammie and I sat on the bed, trying to keep our minds occupied by looking at all of the makeup Agenia had left in her cabin, but it wasn’t working.

“I don’t want Thomas going when they raid that place,” she said.

“Trust me when I tell you that I understand, but this isn’t your call. It’s not mine this time, either. We just happen to be surrounded by a bunch of people who chose keeping others safe as their calling. Thomas, Bri, your dad, Jackson, and Mark all decided long before the Last War that this is what they wanted to do. All we can do is let them know that we understand and support them.”

“Easy for you to say,” she said. “You were an army wife, but I didn’t decide that I wanted anything to do with any of it.”

“Ammie, tell me the truth,” I said. “When you first got together with Thomas, as more than just his student, did you know that he was a Major?”

“Well, yeah, but I don’t feel like I decided to be with an army guy. I just wanted to be with him.”

“Well, join the club, kiddo. That’s how I made it in. Our world is not a peaceful one anymore. I am not sure it ever was.

“Look, you fall in love with a person, but their passion is what comes with the territory. Remember when Bri decided to join the National Guard? You were livid, but you didn’t stop loving and supporting her.”

Ammie looked deep in thought. “Did you see what dad is wearing? A uniform, and he never signed up. He was a cop.”

“Yeah, he was a cop who wore a uniform and a gun and served and protected. There is no difference between them, really, except your dad is actually better trained for domestic emergencies like this one.

“Ammie, we are the other side of their coin. We work to keep people safe through leadership and education. We have more power than they do ultimately, because when they go out there they are in the hands of fate.”

That didn’t make either of us feel any better, but Ammie seemed grateful that I had tried.

∞

Before the meeting, I caught up with Katie to see if she could put some of my fears to rest, like Ammie had tried to get me to do. I was being a hypocrite, I know.

“Do you think that there is any chance that the kid is some kind of decoy sent in as a trap?” I asked her.

“I can’t guarantee it, no. I wish I could. But I believe that he has been severely abused. I see this light in him, the light of a really good kid in a really messed-up situation.”

“Thank you,” I told her before stepping in front of the Villagers. “Good morning, Villagers,” I said to the crowd of concerned faces.

“I know that you have all noticed the activity surrounding the MT this morning. Yesterday, my recon group came across a group of Wanderers, and we found ourselves engaged with them. None of us were hurt, but we have apprehensions about them being in such close proximity to us here. We have stepped up security, so we ask that you be mindful of them and follow their instructions.

“Last night, one of them, a teenage boy who is now in quarantine, escaped from their compound, and when our MT and security found him they brought him here. He has some very serious allegations about the people inside the winery where they are now holed up. I have left the details of that situation in the very capable hands of our MT. They are trained to handle this, and I have all the confidence in the world that they will resolve this situation to the best of their ability.

“As you know, we have an alarm system in place. If you hear it, listen for instructions. We might ask you to go back to your snow caves. I will be available for your questions and concerns this afternoon. As always, stay vigilant and alert to anything that seems like a threat to the Village.”

As I was speaking, the nightmare that I had just a few nights before became fresh in my mind. It felt so similar that I added, “Remember, if you hear the alarm,
please
wait and listen for instructions. Right now, the forest is more dangerous than ever. Do not go beyond the perimeters we have created.”

∞

Jackson caught up to me after the meeting. “You did real good, honey,” he said.

“Jackson, do you remember that dream I had, the one where I woke up screaming?”

“Which one would that be? You’ve had so many I had to get you your own cabin, heh, heh, heh.”

“Very funny,” I told him.

“I know the one you are talking about. I just wanted to make you smile,” he said. “It’s going to be alright. No blood, no brown stuff, which I decided represents all of the coffee you consume.”

I smiled. “Thank you. Just be safe and get everyone back here alive.”

“I always do darlin’, I always do,” he said.

And that wasn’t even our official good-bye. That came later in the day.

∞

The sun was just about to go down when we finished our suppertime MREs. The MT and security were standing next to the trucks, waiting for the word to load up.

“Mark, please be careful,” I told him.

“I will be. Remember how it used to be when I deployed? You would take me to the airport and see me off. It was hard then,” he said.

“It still is,” I said. I hugged him tightly. “Be careful.”

Next up were Jake and Bri. It was so strange to see them in uniform, side by side, readying themselves for battle. It reminded me of something out of
The Odyssey
.

When I finally made it to Jackson, I already had tears in my eyes.
Why is it so much easier being the one who is going than the one left behind?

“Fitz will take real good care of the Villagers. I told him that he better, or I would mount his balls on the wall next to a buck’s head,” Jackson told me.

“I am not worried about us here,” I told him.

He lifted my chin and wiped my tear with the cuff of his uniform sleeve.

“I’ll take this with me,” he said.

“Well, you better bring it back with you. I am running out,” I told him.

“
You
run out of tears? That will be the day. I am just glad this one is mine.”

He placed a not-so-chaste kiss on my lips, and we both knew what that meant out in the open.

“I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride,” he sang as he got into his truck and signaled the others to do the same.

“Find a new song, cowboy,” I said with a final wave good-bye.

My heart drove off with them all.

∞

Maybe that wasn’t the best timing for our first public kiss, because then I was left alone to deal with the fallout. Violet sent daggers at me with her eyes, and she was the one who had warned me that I had better make up my mind about Jackson. Jessica was slightly less
visceral
with her reaction, but I knew she wasn’t happy. I have never been a catty person, so I was very uncomfortable.

“Nice, everyone saw,” said Annie.

“Yeah, we decided not to hide anymore. That’s easier said than done, apparently.”

“Well, what did you expect? He’s a real stud,” she said.

“MOM,” I said in an effort to make her stop talking like that. I was sure my face was already red enough.

“I’m not saying that I am after your man, but if I was just a few years younger…” she said.

I disappeared to my cabin to get out of the spotlight. I spent a few minutes cleaning up after the kids and realized that this would be the first time in years that I would actually be alone. Bailey would stay with Annie, just in case. I waited for a knock on the door that didn’t come. I changed tactics, and turned on my walkies’ volumes to high. I sat with last night’s unfinished glass of wine.

I missed him already.

Besides a few calls on the public channel between the trucks, there was nothing. I knew that he would bring our private walkie with him, but he wouldn’t use it unless he had to.

Hours crawled by like a race between a snail and a turtle. I didn’t change my clothes because at some point I would need to go out and face the fallout of Jackson’s mission. The fallout from the kiss was far more benign, as it turned out.

I snuggled with Hershey on the long couch. He was always there when I needed him. Screw “man’s best friend,” he was definitely this woman’s best friend. Between the documentary DVD I was trying to focus on and the glass of wine, my eyes were leaden, but I refused to fall asleep. I stood and walked to the door to get a dose of freezing air on my face to keep me awake. As I did, one of the walkies went off. Hershey’s ears went forward, and he stared at the machine that made the offending noise.

“Take ‘em in T2, now,” said a strained voice. I couldn’t make out who it was over the static. They must have been on the edge of being in-range. Voices were going in and out, and I wasn’t waiting for the knock on the door. I pulled on my jacket, Agenia’s jacket, and ran with the walkies and my camera into the frigid night’s air. The Villagers were all settled in for the night, and I couldn’t see a soul.

It was my nightmare.

∞

I was panicking trying to move towards the big tent. When I got there, Mason and Fitz were sitting there monitoring with their radio sets.

Mason looked at me and said. “Three men down.”

“Who?” I screamed at him as I sat down to listen in. “TELL ME.”

“Laura,” said Fitz, “Down can mean wounded; not dead.”

“God damn it, tell me. I am no idiot. Odds are that it is someone…” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

Adam ran in. “Who?”

“They won’t tell me,” I told him.

“That’s because we don’t know. You two need to shut up if you are going to be in here,” said Mason in complete annoyance.

“Adam, can you get Ammie?” I knew I didn’t need to tell him to try and keep her calm.

“Yeah, be right back,” he said.

I considered waking Annie, but knew it would make her a nervous wreck.

“I need to get the medics ready,” I said, my mind finally coming into focus.

“They have been ready and on call since the convoy left,” said Fitz. “Laura, I need you to stay clear-headed. We are going to need you tonight. There’s coffee on the table over there. Pour yourself a cup, and pull yourself together.”

I wasn’t in the mood to be told to pull myself together. But if Ammie came in and saw me like this, she would lose it. I got some coffee and rejoined the two men.

“This is why we don’t allow families in war zones,” said Mason.

My fist began to fly at him, but Fitz caught it in time.

Ammie and Adam looked on in horror.

“It’s okay, come on over here,” I coaxed them over as I pulled my mind into focus and my arm away from Fitz. “I’m not going to beat this ass up, at least not right now.” Mason glared at me, and I glared right back.

“Hit me if you think it will make you feel better,” he tried to provoke me.

“I would, but I hate to make a big man cry.”

The radio’s static blared, and then there was another voice that was inaudible followed by a blast of some sort. Something bad was going down out there, and there was nothing any of us could do to stop it.

“Laura… okay… shot,” said Jackson over our private channel.

“You are shot?” I asked over the walkie.

“Let me have that,” said Mason trying to grab my walkie away from me.

“Over my dead body. Fuck off,” I told him.

“Try it little girl,” he said.

Why didn’t I hit him while I had the chance?

I got up with the walkie and went to the other side of the table.

“Jackson, are you there?”

No answer.

“Jackson, please,” I pled.

He was gone, but I sat for another hour, waiting for one word, just one syllable.