Before the Dead Walked, page 24
“May I ask why here, sir?” CWO Collins wondered.
“The Black Hills make a natural barrier,” Hatch replied. “I was specifically thinking of Mount Rushmore, because it would give us the advantage of height, and there’s the town of Keystone just below us to provide basic building supplies. We’re close enough to plentiful lumber and wildlife for food.”
The Rangers all looked at each other.
“Shit, we’ve been through an awful lot together,” CWO Collins said. “I think Colonel Hatch has proven he’s got his act together. We need to stop, if only because I’m tired of driving.”
There was plenty of laughter.
It was First Sergeant Darby, of course, who was the deciding factor. “I agree with Colonel Hatch. We’ve gone far enough. It’s time to settle down, build a fortress, and start anew.”
However, there was one member who didn’t agree.
Ensign Alvarez got to her feet and said, “I think we need to reconsider, gentlemen. I know I’m the only female here, but we have vital information that could alter the plague, or virus, or whatever word you want to use. If it turns out that a simple bee sting would counteract this zombie shit, then it’s our duty to at least try.”
The room remained silent.
Lupita huffed for a moment and then asked, “What if I set out on my own? You won’t try to stop me, will you?”
Hatch grinned. “Well, I’d lay good odds you would make it, Ensign. However, I must warn you that if you do set out on your own, all by yourself, mind you, then I’m going to have to go with you.”
All the Rangers stood up and loudly seconded the colonel’s statement.
Frustrated by their unanimous show of support, Lupita sat down again. She was flustered and felt like crying. These men would endanger their lives, not to get the bee sting intelligence to the CDC, but because of her. The ensign didn’t believe it was solely because of her gender, but she had grown close to most of them, especially Robert Hatch.
She waved her hand over her head. “No, you’re right. Let’s build a fortress and perhaps a laboratory too. Maybe we can contact the CDC using shortwave radio or something.”
The men all cheered.
The next day, the eight of them set their sights on converting the visitor’s center into a viable living space for everyone, while improving the defensive capabilities of the memorial. At first this just meant cutting down trees and erecting simple roadblocks and barriers. There were daily trips to Keystone, where every house, business, and building was ransacked. All trucks were brought up to the monument parking lot and then used accordingly. Only five days had passed and every member had their own apartment, luxuriously furnished with furniture, appliances, and even entertainment electronics. The visitor’s center had been completely restored and remodeled in 1998, so solar panels supplied energy. CWO Collins made sure the system was operating at peak efficiency. They also constructed an observation post on top of the 6,200-foot-high mountain, right over Thomas Jefferson’s head. It gave them an impressive view of the Black Hills and surrounding areas. Likewise, Specialist Powers scouted up and down the local roads in his beloved Camaro, bringing back detailed reports about potential sites to ransack.
While canned goods and MREs would supply food for a few months, it was agreed that an indoor greenhouse garden was a necessity, along with regular hunting forays. Keystone’s grocery store and convenience stores were emptied from the start, so the survivors were quickly forced to become self-sufficient.
Without any hesitation, Lupita agreed to move in with Hatch. Nobody thought that was unusual, but the colonel resisted reading anything into it. He wanted to develop a serious and intimate relationship with her, but was also painfully aware of her trust issues, which often curtailed any in-depth discussions about their future together.
One day, somewhat confused by her continuing conflicted emotions, while enlivened at the same time, Lupita began to clean the apartment from front to back. As if possessed, Ensign Alvarez felt compelled to make their newly furnished apartment as neat and comfortable as possible. With whatever cleaning supplies were available, Lupita dusted, vacuumed, and rearranged their apartment. It was important to her, for so many unspoken reasons.
She heard a sound behind her and turned around, expecting to see Robert.
Instead, Specialist Powers was standing there.
“Oh, Specialist, you scared me,” Lupita said.
He didn’t say a word, but came closer.
“Can I help you, John?” Alvarez asked nervously.
“Would you like to go for a ride in my hot car?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, that’s okay.”
Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her by the hair, wrestling Lupita to the floor. She started to call out, but he slapped her across the face.
“That’s payback bitch,” he snarled.
He clamped his left hand over her mouth.
She tried to bite him, but he pressed down hard, limiting her air supply.
The room started to spin, as she gasped for breath.
Lupita reached up to try a thumb lock, but she was losing consciousness.
“You know, Ensign, you’re really gorgeous, even if you’re a fucking bitch,” Powers whispered. “I think I’m going to fuck your brains out now.”
He pushed her down flat and started to unzip his pants.
Chapter 21
Secrets Revealed
Robert Hatch placed his .45 against Specialist Powers’ right ear. “If you even twitch, I’ll blow your fucking brains out.”
It was whispered, but the Colonel had a way with words.
“Now back away from her,” the colonel said.
Once released, Lupita gasped for breath.
“Are you okay, honey?” he asked calmly.
She nodded and slowly got to her feet.
“Move back carefully, you fucking bastard!” Hatch ordered Powers.
The three of them walked out of the visitor’s center, straight for the other Rangers. The soldiers were suddenly on edge, because it was obvious something serious had just happened.
Darby didn’t know quite what to do, so he did nothing. He waited for an explanation.
The specialist stopped walking, keeping his arms raised over his head.
Hatch found it difficult to speak, but managed to say, “He tried to rape her.”
Poor Lupita was at a disadvantage, because no matter what she might say, it would only make matters worse. Instead, the ensign scooted over to stand behind Hatch.
The colonel’s ire was up and it wouldn’t take much to make him exceedingly dangerous. Every person there knew that.
The silent minutes ticked by, as Hatch slowly cooled down.
“I’m sorry, Sarge,” Powers said finally. “I was out-of-line and it was behavior unbecoming, sir. It won’t happen again, sir. I apologize for my lack of respect, Ensign Alvarez.”
The specialist was still staring down the dark opening of the aimed .45.
Lupita reached out and gently ran her hand along Hatch’s arm. “Let it go, Robert. He didn’t mean anything by it. He’s just horny.”
The colonel didn’t back down, at least not yet. In fact, he pressed the automatic a little harder against the skin, leaving a red mark.
“Please, Robert, don’t make matters worse,” Ensign Alvarez said. “We need everyone for this community to survive.”
It was her voice, her ever-so-gentle-voice, which calmed his raging, vengeful soul. Inch-by-inch, the .45 was pulled back.
Specialist Powers let escape a long breath of relief. His life had been spared, at least for the time being.
First Sergeant Darby stepped forward and spun the soldier around, so he was out of harm’s way. “If you ever behave in such a manner again, the colonel won’t have to shoot you. I’ll just cut your balls off and feed them to some goat.”
His words stung like no others.
The tension could be sliced with a knife. No one else dared to comment.
Colonel Hatch looked at Lupita.
There were tears in her eyes.
He slipped his automatic back into the holster, took Lupita’s hand and they walked away. They went through the visitor’s center and out onto the back patio. From that vantage point there was a stunning view of the monument. It looked as if the four presidents were scowling with disapproval. Silently, the couple looked up at the monument.
“You do realize I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” she said with just a hint of attitude.
Hatch nodded. “Yes, I am quite aware of that. In this case, however, you weren’t doing so well and he would have raped you and I would have killed him.
Lupita’s eyes grew wide as she said, “As if you weren’t ready to shoot him just now?”
Her voice was filled with disbelief.
“I needed him to believe I would have shot him,” the colonel said. “As an effective object lesson, I needed everybody out there to believe I was going to shoot Specialist Powers. Otherwise, it would have been a waste of time and I would have had to kill him anyway. We need everyone who can handle a gun right now. Maybe later I’ll still shoot him.”
“Who do you think you are, my father?” she demanded.
He shook his head slowly. “No, because if your father thought of you the way I do, then there would have been some serious issues regarding incest.”
Lupita’s hands went straight to her hips and she glared at him. “You have no right to think of me that way!”
“What way?”
“That way.”
He stepped closer.
She stepped back.
Hatch closed the distance even more.
Ensign Alvarez went to retreat even further, but slammed her butt into the rock wall. She sputtered for a moment, her Hispanic temper flaring.
The colonel remained right where he was. “Lupita, you know I can’t fraternize with another officer. In spite of the difference in our ages, I consider you the single most attractive woman I have met in thirty years. You’re not only drop dead gorgeous, you’re quick on your feet, highly intelligent, proficient in a hundred different ways, and you’re hiding something, which is even more fascinating to me. I am unable to neatly categorize my feelings for you, so let’s leave it at that!”
He smiled, tipped his cap and walked away.
Ensign Alvarez remained where she was standing for a long time. Her mind was all a jumble, which irritated her no end, because Lupita always thought she was in control.
Robert Hatch certainly had a way of ruffling her feathers.
Blam!
The gunshot reverberated and echoed off the monument.
Lupita gasped in dismay, convinced Robert had killed Specialist Powers anyway.
Everyone came running from many different directions.
Indeed, John Powers was dead.
There was a bullet hole in the back of the Ranger’s head.
CWO Mark Collins stood over the body, his sidearm still in his hand, but hanging limply at his side. Carefully, Sergeant Ramirez stepped up and relieved the chief of his weapon.
“Well, I guess that solved that,” Specialist Thomas whispered to Sergeant Ramirez.
Pedro nodded. “He had it coming. If the chief hadn’t done it, one of us would have.”
First Sergeant Darby stood there for a minute or two, weighing his options. Nothing was the same anymore. There wasn’t any formal chain of command, so that left Colonel Robert Hatch, who was certainly biased in this situation.
Darby looked up and motioned for the colonel to follow him. As he walked up to Chief Collins, he placed a gentle hand on the warrant officer’s shoulder. “Come with us, please, Chief.”
The CWO, still in a little bit of shock, nodded, turned and went with the two men to the other side of the viewing decks. Once again, Colonel Hatch felt as if the four famous presidents were judging them and their behavior.
“Look, Chief, I’m not here to quote from the Army manual or preach about conduct,” Darby said quietly. “I think, under the circumstances, we all know why you did what you did.”
CWO Collins looked up and straight into the First Sergeant’s eyes. “No, Sarge, you’re not even close as to why I killed Powers.”
Darby took a step back. “You didn’t shoot him, because he tried to rape Ensign Alvarez?”
The chief shook his head. “No, I shot the specialist, because he was going to kill the colonel and since Hatch and I once served together, I couldn’t let him do that. Sure, his treatment of the ensign was despicable, but any one of the other guys was capable of waxing his ass for that. I just needed to act fast.”
Darby glared at the colonel for a long time. “So how long have you had this planned?”
Hatch shook his head. “None of this was planned, First Sergeant Darby. Chief Collins served with me during the Gulf War. He was one hell of a helicopter jockey. I had no idea he was with Echo Team until Ensign Alvarez showed me the roster.”
“Are you on the level?” Darby asked.
“Scouts honor,” Hatch replied, holding up two fingers.
Poor Darby just sighed. How many more revelations were yet to come?
“I suggest we dispense with this incident, once and for all” the colonel said. “Chief Collins acted out of his loyalty to me and unless you think we’re better off with a military court-martial, I think we need to focus on our survival.”
“You outrank me, Colonel,” Darby stated for the record. “I have no other option than to agree to your terms.”
“What a crock of shit,” Hatch countered. “You know that Chief Warrant Officer Mark Collins acted in our best interests. Let the record state that!”
Darby reluctantly agreed. “I bow to your convictions, sir.”
The colonel rolled his eyes. “Jesus, will we ever dispense with all this useless military protocol and outdated jargon?”
Hatch dismissed them with a pronounced flip of his hand. He grunted his disapproval of the entire matter and stormed off.
A few minutes later, Robert found Lupita standing on one of the clearly marked monument trails. He waited until she saw him.
Hatch approached cautiously. ”Are you okay?”
“I guess so,” she replied.
He went a little closer. “I can’t help the way I feel, you know.”
She nodded. “I do know that.”
“Where does that leave us?” the colonel asked.
She looked at him, studying the contours of his face.
“Everyone fails me, Robert,” Lupita said quietly. “I’ve been abandoned every single time.”
Gently, Hatch took her into his arms and just held her. He didn’t say anything, because words were superfluous. There was no point in saying something that had no meaning, or could be refuted. Actions would speak louder than words in every single situation. It was up to him to prove to her that he could be trusted, no matter what.
“Trust is earned, Lupita,” he said quietly. “If you give me time, I’ll prove it to you.”
She leaned against him. “You’re so old.”
He howled with laughter.
Lupita enjoyed his mirth. She laughed right along with him.
“There’s no denying that,” Robert said finally after wiping away the tears.
She still held onto him.
That night, Lupita and Robert slept together in the same bed. They gently kissed, but Hatch made it clear that he wasn’t expecting any sexual intimacy. He just wanted her beside him.
Lupita snuggled up against him.
He held her, savoring the smell of her clean hair.
“You’re so warm,” she purred.
They fell asleep in each other’s arm.
The next morning, Hatch awoke to the wonderful smell of freshly baked biscuits. He hopped out of bed in only his boxer shorts and joined Lupita in their makeshift kitchen. She poured him a mug of hot coffee, scooped some powdered scrambled eggs onto his plate, along with three biscuits and kissed him on top of his head.
“Good morning,” he said boisterously. “That was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in over forty years.”
“Good morning,” she chirped.
Lupita sat down next to him and sipped her coffee, but loved watching him devour the food.
“This is so delicious,” he said, his mouth full.
She giggled with delight, but then said, “I found out that Sergeant Stillwell is quite the handyman. He worked for his dad before joining the army, so he knows how to put up drywall, and install pipes, and do electrical work and all sorts of stuff. He’ll be so busy.”
Robert chuckled and gently ran his fingers along her cheek. “It’s good to see you happy.”
She nodded and kissed his hand.
After breakfast, they sat on the couch together, holding hands. No words were spoken. The couple merely enjoyed their closeness.
Eventually, Robert Hatch fell asleep in her arms.
Later, while Hatch as sound asleep, Lupita Alvarez went to her kitbag and retrieved her firearm. She checked the magazine, slid the automatic behind her back and went for a stroll.
The monument itself was incredible and awe-inspiring. As Lupita strolled along the observation deck, she marveled at the sculptor’s vision. The four presidents gazed down upon her with historical reverence.
She was not alone.
Ensign Alvarez slowly revealed the Sig Sauer 320 from behind her back. The Ranger was looking up at the carved faces. He was so distracted by the immensity of the monument, he didn’t hear her approach.
Lupita pressed the gun up against First Sergeant Darby’s kidney.
He slowly raised his hands.
“Do you know what I’m about to do?” she whispered.
He nodded slowly. “It’s okay. I figured somebody would get around to it. I just thought it would be Hatch.”
“Why did you kill the Ambassador?” she asked.
The sergeant sighed. “I didn’t. The zombies did.”
She shook her head. “Not quite. His implant recorded his death almost 30 minutes before the undead overran the embassy. That gave you just enough time to get back to your squad. They didn’t question where you went, but we tracked you all the way to the embassy and back.”
