Isolation (Book 3): Starting Anew, page 14
part #3 of Isolation Series
“And your new boyfriend?” he joked.
To his relief Gen laughed, confirming he wasn't just making assumptions about their relationship. “And my new boyfriend,” she agreed.
He sat with her for a few minutes, discussing his dismal day of scavenging and listening to her talk about her day helping Ellie and Hal at the camp. It sounded like she was performing a vital role, being the go-between and going into town to chase people down if Ellie was having a hard time getting hold of them over the radio, or by having the patrols pass messages along.
Nick also took his new girlfriend's advice from last night and whispered a few sweet nothings in her ear. Or at least as close as he was able to. He'd been wanting to compliment her on how expressive her light gray eyes were for a long time, and how on sunny days the blue in them came out and sparkled.
He felt awkward with it, probably more out of practice with giving compliments than he should've been; he'd dropped the ball with that in the last few years of his marriage to Ellie, even though there'd always been plenty about her to praise. And he definitely wasn't deaf to Ricky's groans of disgust from the tent at his clumsy efforts.
But he must've said at least something right, because in the fading light Gen was beaming like the sun by the time he finally, reluctantly, said his final goodnights and headed back to rejoin his scavengers.
She even blew him a kiss.
Back at the camp the party was still going full swing. Everyone was on their second can or bottle, while Chet and Ben already had two or three each scattered around their feet and were well on their way into the next.
Nick caught the bottle Val threw him, hard lemonade, and twisted the top off, settling onto his seat beside her. “Ricky doing okay?” she asked.
He nodded, taking a long sip; it could've done with being a bit colder, but otherwise it was good enough. “He's super excited to join his mom and Hal's family tomorrow afternoon.”
“He's definitely overdue that reunion, and he's waited really patiently for it.” She gave him a sympathetic look. “How are you holding up, separated from them for who knows how long?”
Nick gave her a strained smile and took another long drink. “Looking forward to being with them as soon as possible.”
“I bet.” She rested a hand on his arm. “Thankfully you can visit them.”
“Every day,” Nick agreed, keenly aware that she showed no signs of moving her hand anytime soon. He appreciated it as a comforting gesture, but it made him feel self-conscious.
At the same time, that simple human contact was nice. Especially since Tallie was in the camp and he missed holding her. Maybe Val's own desire for that human contact made her reluctant to let go, especially with a couple drinks to drop her usual barriers.
Before it could become awkward, Denna cheerfully announced that the chili was done.
The party continued from there. Nick waved off Ben's increasingly insistent offer of a third drink, contenting himself with a can of soda instead, while as the group steadily emptied the pot of chili a few more cans and bottles accumulated around the others. By the time the relaxed meal was done Chet and Ben were both finishing up their sixth beers, and the others were nursing their fourth.
They all settled back to let the food digest and keep shooting the breeze, mostly complaining about the day's slim pickings and wasted effort. Most of the team had taken his advice and slowed down, taking their time on what seemed to be their last drinks. The brothers, on the other hand, just laughed off his warnings about how miserable they were going to be in the morning as they started on their seventh cans.
“Well, that chili went right through me,” Chase abruptly said, standing and turning towards the makeshift outhouse they'd built. “Don't wait up for me, this might take a while.”
Val and Denna both made faces at that. “Thanks for sharing,” Tony groused.
After the man was gone Val stared after him, looking thoughtful. “You know, Nick, I think you were right about giving him a chance.” That drew derisive snorts from Chet and Ben, although when she glanced at them questioningly they just looked away, focusing on their drinks.
“Yeah,” Charlie agreed. “You know, he actually sought me out to apologize if he'd been rude. He wanted to make sure I didn't think he'd meant any disrespect to my lost loved ones with anything he said.”
To Nick's surprise, the others around the fire all admitted in turn that the man had approached them to apologize as well. Aside from the brothers, who just looked more irritated as the conversation continued.
“And to be fair,” Denna added, sounding a bit diffident, “even if he's a jerk for trying to get rich off scavenging, it's hard to point fingers when we've all done the same.”
Her husband nodded. “Yeah, even before we found the Stanberry quarantine camp we had to resort to searching a few places. We would've starved otherwise, and as Zolos carriers we couldn't approach anyone for help.”
“We've all had to do what we can to survive,” Nick agreed, staring into the fire. “I don't remember you mentioning you had any experience scavenging when you joined up.”
The couple looked into the flames as well, expressions uncomfortable. “We didn't,” Tony said. “It's not our proudest moment, since we found out the houses we were scavenging from were mostly owned by Stanberry residents who were still alive, and had just moved into town for safety when it closed off its borders.”
Nick looked up sharply. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Chet and Ben both stiffen, leaning forward in their chairs intently.
Denna, eyes still on the fire, didn't notice their reactions and kept going in a soft voice. “We finally quit when we accidentally trespassed on a place where people were still there. The lights were off and there were no sounds, so we thought it was empty, and I'd grabbed the back door's doorknob and was about to open it when we heard voices inside.”
Her husband nodded. “The realization that we might accidentally infect someone kept us from approaching any more houses. We couldn't take that chance.”
A heavy silence settled over the fire. Aside from the couple, everyone seemed to have realized that something was going on. Charlie was staring warily at the brothers, while Val watched Nick with an unspoken question in her wide eyes.
Ben cleared his throat, voice hoarse. “Where was this?”
The couple finally looked up, then jumped when they saw everyone's serious expressions. “What?” Denna demanded.
The young man leaned forward, expression intent. “Where was this house you visited that still had people living there?”
The young husband and wife looked around warily. “Why?” Tony asked, looking uncertain.
“Northeast of Stanberry?” Chet pressed, also leaning forward intently. “About ten miles? A farmhouse with five cars in the driveway and a new outhouse out back?”
Tony and Denna didn't need to answer, their shocked expressions were answer enough.
Nick swiftly stood, moving to intercept the brothers. “Guys-”
Ben sprang from his chair to block his path. “Take it easy, boss,” he said, clear warning in his voice.
Behind the young man Chet had also stood, fists clenched. “You touched the doorknob,” he said in a low, dangerous tone. “Did you decontaminate it? Shout a warning to the people inside?”
The couple were huddled together as much as their camping chairs allowed, holding hands tightly. “Do you know the people in that house?” Tony asked, looking bewildered at what was suddenly happening. “We didn't mean-
“Answer the question!” Chet said, voice rising and sharpening to a whip crack.
“W-we didn't think they'd come outside,” Denna stammered. “If they hadn't been infected they should've stayed inside, so they would've been fine.”
“We would've been fine if you'd warned us!” Chet snapped. At the same time Ben shouted, “We used that door to go to the outhouse!”
The young couple stared at the brothers, faces pale and eyes filled with horror.
“Guys,” Nick said quietly, stepping forward to rest a hand on Ben's shoulder. He could feel the young man shaking with rage. “Let's just calm-”
Everything happened in a blur.
Ben shook off his hand and shoved him hard, knocking him back over his camping chair to land in a sprawl. From the ground he saw Chet leap across the fire to haul Tony to his feet.
“Nine people!” the young man snarled. He slammed his fist into Tony's gut, then leaned forward to scream into the man's stunned face. “You as good as murdered my family! The family of the woman I love, my childhood friends!” He backed away enough to drop the other man with a devastating punch to the chin.
Denna screamed and tried to pull at Chet's arm as he leapt on top of Tony and began raining blows on his face. “My family! You murdered my family!” The words were almost incoherent, thick with rage and grief. Tears gleamed on the young man's cheeks in the firelight.
For his part Tony, weakened by Zolos, could barely even put up a fight. He could only feebly curl up, his efforts to lift his arms to shield his face easily batted aside.
Nick scrambled to his feet and vaulted his chair, grabbing Ben and pulling him back as the young man started forward to help his brother. “Both of you, stop now!” he shouted over Chet's continuing screamed accusations. “This won't fix anything!”
Ben heaved violently, nearly launching him into the fire. Then of all people Chase was there, helping Nick wrestle the young man down to the ground. That seemed to galvanize the others, and Charlie also rushed forward to subdue Ben.
Nick left them to it and leapt the fire, gently pushing Denna out of the way. Then he caught Chet beneath the armpits, locking his hands behind the young man's neck, and hauled him off Tony.
The hold was one that under normal circumstances should've been incredibly hard to get out of, but the furious man went wild. Nick grit his teeth with effort as Chet bucked and twisted forward, trying and nearly succeeding in throwing him over his shoulder. When that didn't work the young man lunged sideways, trying to get Nick into the fire, then ducked and twisted forward again.
Nick swung wildly, feeling flames singe his pants as he struggled to keep some footing and maintain his hold. “What are you going to do, Chet?” he demanded. “Murder this man in front of his wife? Go after her next? That's not the kind of man you are!”
The young man swore at him, going limp and raising his arms to try to slip through his grip. When that didn't work he tried a backwards headbutt, catching Nick on the forehead hard enough to make stars flash across his vision.
“Let me go!” Chet snarled. “You don't have the right to stop me from getting justice for my family!”
“Justice?” Nick growled back, trying to kick the young man's legs out from under him; even with this hold, physically he wasn't a match for a younger, stronger opponent. “You don't have the right to murder people! We have laws! Courts!”
“We don't have anything anymore!” Chet screamed, voice cracking. “I don't have anything anymore!”
“You have Aimee!” Val yelled from somewhere behind them. “You want to leave her alone, still weak and needing you, because you got dragged off to jail for murder?”
That finally seemed to get through to the enraged man. Chet abruptly went limp, not a trick this time but as if the fight had gone completely out of him in an instant. He began to shudder with deep, wracking sobs, speaking in a broken voice. “My mom and dad, Nick. My big sister and brother-in-law and baby niece. My grandma. Aimee's parents and brother. They're all gone.”
Nick carefully lowered the young man to the ground, releasing his hold and wrapping his arms around Chet's chest, half restraining hold and half comforting hug. He didn't say anything, just sat there with him.
He was vaguely aware of Val helping Denna lift Tony to his feet, the three of them stumbling down the path towards the shed. On the other side of the fire Charlie and Chase had Ben pinned, although Ben was also sobbing openly and Charlie was murmuring words of comfort or commiseration.
“Why don't we take them to the survivor's camp?” Nick asked quietly when Chet's sobs finally began to settle down. “We can make sure they're kept confined until we can figure out some way to bring them to trial. I'll talk to Darby about what we can do.”
“They'll walk in court,” the young man mumbled, although there was no energy in his voice. “They'll claim it was an accident and they'll walk.”
“They spread Zolos to two innocent families,” Nick replied. “Nobody's going to ignore that.” Least of all them, he thought, remembering the couple's horrified expressions as they realized what they'd done. No doubt it would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
“Whoa, you guys thought I might've got your family sick?” Chase said, sounding subdued. “In that case I take back any complaints about how you grilled me . . . you were actually way more chill than you could've been.”
“Shut up, Chase,” Ben snapped, although like his brother the energy seemed to have drained out of him.
Nick helped Chet up into a chair by the fire and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I'm going to go sort out Tony and Denna,” he said quietly. “Stay here, I'll be back soon.”
He was half afraid the brothers would protest, maybe even make more of a scene. But to his relief Chet just nodded dully, while Ben didn't seem to hear him. “I'll sit with them,” Charlie promised, following Nick's lead and helping Ben up into a chair beside his brother, then plopping down beside him.
“Yeah,” Chase agreed soberly. He settled down in the chair on Chet's other side and reached for a couple water bottles, passing them to the two drunk men.
Nick made his way down the path, finding Val and the Drydens seated on the grass near the shed's boundary. In Ellie's camp he spotted a huddle of dark figures peering his way, while on the porch the Norsons and Gen were standing.
“What's going on?” Ellie called from the darkness in an anxious tone.
“I'm sorting it out,” Nick said, more curtly than he'd intended, as he made his way over to the Drydens. Denna cringed when he got close so he stopped, making his tone gentle but firm. “I think it would be best if we took you back to the survivors' camp.” He motioned towards his car. “The sooner the better.”
“Right,” Tony said, voice nasally from a no doubt broken nose. He stood unsteadily, accepting his wife's help as he stumbled that way.
Denna was stumbling almost as hard, shaking with sobs. “We didn't mean . . . we didn't know,” she said in a tiny voice. He heard a noise almost like retching, as if she was trying not to throw up. “Nine people. God forgive us.”
Val lagged behind, resting a hand on Nick's arm. “You okay?”
“I'm not hurt,” he said, not sure what else he could say.
Her silhouette nodded, hand sliding down his arm to find his hand and squeeze it gently, warm and reassuring in the darkness. “I think I'll stay here. I feel like I should be with Chet and Ben, offer whatever support and comfort I can.”
“That would be good, thanks.”
Nick made his way to his car, climbing behind the wheel with a soft grunt of pain; now that the adrenaline of the encounter was fading, he was discovering a few twinges from his hip and back. Probably from landing on rocks or tree roots when Ben knocked him on his rump.
The young couple stayed silent as he started the engine and took the familiar route towards the camp, and he couldn't say he minded.
He didn't think Chet should've beaten the ever loving snot out of Tony, but he couldn't forgive the couple for carelessly infecting innocent people and not having the courage and consideration to even try to warn them.
Parking near the other Zolos survivors' cars, he climbed out and offered Tony a shoulder to lean on, guiding the dazed man and his wife towards the gate in the fence into that section of the camp. A couple men were there lounging around a propane lantern; part of Starr's security volunteers, it turned out, recruited from the survivors to guard that section of camp.
They quickly stood at Nick's approach. “Can you go grab Ms. Griegs?” he asked them. “We've got someone who needs some medical attention.” And I also need to make sure she knows to keep these two under lock and key somehow until we can get this sorted out.
One of the men nodded and bolted through the gate, leaving them to wait in uncomfortable silence.
Finally Betty, understandably disgruntled about being roused from one of her rare chances to rest, showed up. Nick explained the situation to her as she looked Tony over, taped his broken nose, and cleaned a cut where one of Chet's punches had split his cheek.
“As if I don't have enough to do with tending the sick, without having to act as a prison warden too,” the nurse grumbled. “Why are you dumping this on me?”
“I hate to do it,” Nick apologized, “but our options are limited with Zolos carriers. It's either here or back at the scavengers' camp, and that would just be asking for trouble.”
“Excuse me,” Denna said, some heat in her tremulous voice. “Why are you talking like this is all one sided? I know what we did was horrible, but it was an accident. Those two, on the other hand, knew exactly what they were doing when they went totally out of control on us.”
“Honey,” Tony said, nasally voice holding a cautionary note.
“No!” his wife snapped. “Lock us up until you decide what to do with us, sure, it's no less than we deserve. But where's the justice in letting those two get away with trying to kill us?”
“Let's not exaggerate things,” Nick protested.
“Oh, so we touch a doorknob and it's straight to jail with no bail, but those two try to beat us to death with their bare hands and it's all good?” Denna turned to Betty. “Can you radio the Mayor, please? I'd like some official intervention.”
The nurse shrugged and motioned to one of the men on gate security, who handed her his radio. At Nick's look of protest she scowled. “This is your problem, not mine. I'm happy to pass it on.”
He wasn't sure that was the best choice if she wanted to get to bed anytime soon, or any of the rest of them for that matter. And sure enough, it took almost a half hour of calling in to the town, talking to Darrel's patrols, and ruffling feathers all around before Darby finally drove up to the Zolos-vulnerable visitors' area.
