Running From The Dead, page 11
part #1 of The Deadland Chronicles Series
“When is this happening?” Henry asked as he stood and put a hand around Molly’s waist. It looked like casual and comfortable -- boyfriend and girlfriend stuff.
“Right away, my men are on standby for this.”
“We’ll be ready for you,” Henry said, but he kept a wary eye on the soldiers while also taking glances at Molly. She was locked in on the soldiers.
Eli stepped away, and Henry used his distraction to slip his hand around Molly’s waist a little further to grab the knife and yank it free from her pants.
“What the fuck, Henry?”
He pivoted and dropped the knife on the other side of the driver’s seat.
She was in his face in an instant. “So, if these guys decide to kill us, or beat us, or take liberties with the women, you’ll just let it happen.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked directly into her eyes. “Listen to me. I know you feel out of control. We all do. It’s been like that since the dead rose, but you can’t control this. There are too many factors working against us. This is when we have to take a leap of faith.”
She didn’t break from his stare and said, “I hope your blind faith doesn’t get us killed.”
Someone rapped on the bus with something hard. Henry looked past Molly to a soldier standing in the doorway. The soldier carried an assault rifle but held it casually. He said, “Time to move. Please come off the bus single file. We’ll escort all of you to the containment facility.”
“What the hell is a containment facility?” Molly asked. “It sounds like you’re taking us to the death chamber or something.”
The soldier paused before responding, taking a moment to compose himself. “I’m sorry. That’s what we call it. We hold anyone we bring in there for safe keeping. You’ll be in good hands.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said.
Again, the soldier hesitated before responding. “You folks look like you might be hungry. It’s not much, but we have some hot meals ready for you.”
Henry hadn’t had to think about the last time he had eaten, but when the soldier mentioned food, he felt a hunger pang in his stomach. “That would be nice. We have some kids with us that haven’t eaten in a day.”
First, you’ll have to go through the medical evaluations, and then we’ll make sure they get fed soon. Now, if you’ll just have your people exit the bus.”
Henry turned and shouted some instructions to the passengers, detailing what Eli had told him. Dutifully, they stood and made their way down the aisle, looking like they had just made a perilous passage across an ocean in a less than safe craft. No one complained or asked questions.
Henry and Molly watched them pass. The soldiers helped some of the older people off the bus in the same courteous way a doorman might. None of the kids acted up, remaining quiet for the most part.
Before Henry and Molly made their way down the steps, Molly looked back at Henry and said, “You had better be right about these people.”
They went down and joined the line. Henry looked back at the second bus and saw all the passengers in a row, ready for the next part of the journey. Henry just hoped it wasn’t their last one.
They were escorted into a large quonset-style building that reminded Henry of an indoor tennis facility. When he saw court line markings on the floor, he discovered he had been right.
Eli’s men divided them into three lines to hopefully speed up the process, but the medical evaluations took longer than anyone wanted. It was especially hard on the kids, who were frightened, tired, and hungry. It didn’t help that the Sanctum’s people only had two doctors and a three nurses to inspect and inventory Henry’s people.
They were thorough, checking for bite wounds or scratches on nearly every inch of skin in the new comers. To the medial teams credit, they did listen to some of the complaints of the older folks and even provided some over the counter medicines for the aches and pains they suffered. They also promised more thorough medical evaluations later to possibly provide any more specific medical care that might be needed.
An hour later, the last of their group were led out of the quonset had shuffled into a place that looked like a small dance hall or auditorium. The ceiling was tall and arched. The floor consisted of polished wood that was very dull.
Not one of them moved more than ten feet from the door as if someone had set up an invisible barrier. Some of the older folks looked to Henry for permission to move further, but he just shrugged his shoulders. He knew this wasn’t his show. Eli and his men were in charge, and they’d have to wait for some sort of cue for what to do next.
Dozens and dozens of cots were laid across the floor, spaced at regular intervals. Battery powered lights had been placed around the outside rim of the room, providing a dim illumination.
Four long tables sat at the far end of the room with soldiers standing behind them. Each table had several food warmers on them with stacks of plates and plastic utensils placed in front of them.
It took about a minute for the smell of warm food hit to the people, washing over them like a wave, causing their mouths to water. When the aroma hit Henry, his knees nearly buckled. Where his stomach ached earlier, it nearly jumped out of his body.
“See, they can’t be that bad,” Henry whispered to Molly. “They’re going to feed us.”
“Maybe it’s some evil plan,” she responded.
Ellen said, “Let’s wait and see, then.”
Eli entered through one of the side doors on the far end of the room and walked toward the tables, where he stopped. “Hey people, we have warm food for you. Unless you’re too tired from the trip.”
That broke the damn. None of them were too tired to eat. The kids made the first move and almost ran to the tables. The soldiers were more than happy to fill up plates for them. The food came mostly from cans and consisted of canned chicken and tuna along with green beans and carrots. No one complained. It was the first hot meal any of them had had in days.
Henry and Ellen held back. Molly hesitated for several seconds, but hunger broke through her distrust and she made her way to the tables. Henry guessed she saw the kids eat the food and they didn’t die, so it must be safe.
Ellen leaned into Henry, and he was surprised to see how tired she was. He wrapped an arm around her for support.
She said, “Henry, you don’t have to wait. Go on up and get some food.”
“I was waiting for you.”
“You shouldn’t. I’m still moving as slow as a turtle.” She looked at him, fatigue and something else in her eyes. “You know, your dad would be so proud of you. You took care of all of us at the school and then you got us here safely.”
He knew what she was feeling, and he felt it, too. There was a tightness in his throat, and his eyes blurred with tears. “I’m just glad we all made it.”
“Me, too. It was touch and go with those men on the road, but we’re here.”
“Come on. I’m hungry, but I’m not going without you.”
She rubbed a tear from her cheek and said, “Okay, we’ll go together.”
As they walked toward the table, a door opened, and a woman came into the room. She looked to be in her late fifties with salt and pepper gray hair and a handsome face. There was an intense quality about her as she searched the room with her eyes.
One of the soldiers looked in her direction and said, “Ma’am, you can’t be in here.”
The woman completely ignored him and kept looking around the room until her eyes fell on Henry. That’s when her face lit up, and she immediately made a beeline toward him.
When Henry saw her destination, he pulled up and Ellen stopped with him.
The woman called out, “Henry. It is you. I knew you’d come.”
“Henry, do you know this woman?” Ellen asked.
“Uh, no.”
The woman just kept coming, walking around the swath of cots, the people eager for food, and the intercepting soldiers. Henry instinctively pushed his mother so that he was in between her and the approaching woman. The woman slowed, but her face still beamed with a smile as she walked up to Henry.
“Henry, I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”
“Uh hmmm, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I know you,” Henry said.
She shook her head slightly. “I know, I know. That’s really silly of me. I’ve seen you, but I’m guessing you’ve never seen me. My name is Billie Sue, and God has sent me visions of meeting you on this very spot.”
Henry looked to his mom and then back to the woman and didn’t know what to say. Either this woman was a total wacko or else she was in league with Joel, which meant that she wasn’t completely sane.
Chapter 19
A Reunion of Sorts
Henry looked to Ellen, and they both exchanged confused looks.
“I hear what you’re saying, ma’am, but I’m sure we’ve never met,” Henry said.
“I do understand your confusion,” Billie Sue said. “It would be that way if the Lord had not made it clear to me.”
Henry looked back at Ellen again, and this time his expression was clear; this woman was crazy.
“I don’t need to read your mind to know what you’re thinking. I’m a few cards short of a full deck,” Billie Sue said. “Your friend Joel felt the same way.”
Ellen asked, “You know Joel? When did you see him? Is he still alive?”
“Slow down,” Billie Sue said. “One question at a time.”
“How do you know Joel?” Ellen asked.
“Well, I knew him before I met him because of the visions. Then he came to our compound just like I knew he would.”
“How long ago was this?” Henry asked.
Billie started to answer. The soldier who had admonished her for entering the room finally caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t lose the smile but turned around and beamed it at the soldier.
“Billie Sue, you know you can’t come into a containment facility like this,” he said in a tone that was part command and part frustration. “You know that means that you are trapped in here with the new people for at least twenty-four hours.”
“I know, I know,” she said back to him, but that calm smile never left. “It will be okay, Private Arnold. I appreciate your concern, but I think I will be okay.”
Private Arnold closed his eyes and slowly shook his head then opened them and said, “Twenty-four hours. Don’t try to slip out. You know what will happen if you do.”
The smile left Billie Sue, and she said, “Please rest assured that I will not.”
With that, Private Arnold went back to his guard duties at the perimeter of the room.
“Can we get back to our questions?” Ellen asked.
“Yes, but let’s do it as we walk toward the food table. I would imagine you are quite hungry.”
Henry admitted he was but still found it hard to divert away from what this woman had to say.
“Go,” Billie Sue said. “As you already heard, I’m not going anywhere.” She pointed off to an empty table at the side of the room. “I’ll meet you there.”
Reluctantly, Henry and Ellen went to get food. The portions were measured and contained, but as hungry as they were, they didn’t complain. Carrying their trays, they returned to where Billie Sue was sitting. Molly, who had rushed forward to get food, got up from a table where she had been sitting and hurried to catch up to them. Henry caught something in Ellen’s body language that this didn’t please her.
“Who’s the old lady?” she asked.
“Her name is Billie Sue,” Henry said.
“She acted like she knew you.”
Henry didn’t want to answer but knew there was no way around it. “She says she knows Joel, and she saw me in a vision.”
“Oh, another wacko like Joel,” Molly said.
Ellen bit her lip for a moment then said, “We kept you younger people out of the loop on some things for fear it would only frighten you. Joel’s visions were very real and helped us out of some tight situations.”
“Whatever,” Molly said. “But where the hell is the prophet Joel now?”
That was a good question and one neither Henry or Ellen could answer. All they knew was that he was following a mission he had been given in a vision. It had been so long since they had seen him that they even had a sliver of doubt in their heads about the visions and dreams. They even thought there was a chance Joel and the others were dead. At least Henry did. Ellen held on to her faith that there had to be some bigger mission in the works. It was that or give up.
Ellen said, “Joel is doing what he had to do for the greater good.”
“Evasive much?” Molly asked.
“Molly, please,” Henry said.
Molly just rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut in the final few steps that got them to the table where Billie Sue sat.
As soon as they got into their seat, Molly asked, “What’s the deal with this containment building?”
Billie Sue answered, “Whenever new refugees are brought into the Sanctum, they are kept here as a precaution. They have to make sure no one is infected. After you’ve all been fed, a med team will arrive to inspect all of you. I’m sure everyone is okay, but every once in awhile, an infected person comes in.”
That’s when the smile faded from her face. Henry and Ellen both knew why. The infected were a threat and had to be dealt with in the most final terms. They had been there themselves.
Billie Sue shook off the memory and asked, “What else do you need to know?”
Henry started to ask a question, but Molly bullied her way in again. “What the hell is this place?”
“It’s called the Sanctum. After the Outbreak, a few people who lived here gathered together, knowing things were only going to get worse and came up with a plan for long-term survival. They slowly built up walls around a portion of the campus here.”
“Campus?” Molly interrupted.
“Yes. You’re at Ohio University. It’s a college.”
Henry gave Molly a sideways glance.
“Hey, I didn’t know where the hell we were. No one tells the kids anything,” Molly said.
“Anyway, these people built the walls and gathered supplies for the long haul. Me and my people were driven from our compound and retreated in this direction.” Again, the smile left her face as the memory of the attack played out in her mind. “Eli and his search team discovered us and brought us here.”
“Who attacked your compound?” Henry asked.
“It was soldiers from the south of us. They had attack helicopters. It was a surprise attack. Fortunately, we had contingencies for something like that, and a lot of us got away, but I know a few were captured.”
“Why did they attack you?” Ellen asked.
Billie Sue’s face looked haunted. “We have no idea. It was all so shocking.” She looked away from them, and it was easy to tell that she was replaying the whole incident again. “A team of our people is trying to find out where they took our people.”
“If it was to the south of you, then I’m guessing the soldiers came from our old home base,” Henry said. He explained the Manor to Billie Sue and went through the events of the soldier’s occupation and the rebellion that had put them on the road.
“It sounds so awful,” Billie Sue said, shaking her head slightly.
“It was, but we’re past it now,” Ellen said, putting a hand over one of Billie Sue’s hands. The two women shared resigned smiles.
Quiet conversations filled the room as the people put away their food quickly. Their expressions balanced between relaxed and guarded, feeling that anyone that fed them a hot meal couldn’t be all that bad. Still, they had found it hard to trust anyone in this zombie filled world.
Ellen sat forward. “I want to get back to Joel. When did you see him, and who was with him?”
Billie Sue recounted the story of how Joel, Kara, Brother Ed, and Naveen had come to their compound. She went on to tell of how they had provided Joel and the others supplies for their journey north. She said it felt like years in the past, but it really wasn’t that long ago.
Ellen looked at Henry. “Well, at least they made it that far.” She returned her attention to Billie Sue. “Do you know where they are now?”
“No, I’m sorry. I don’t. My visions are somewhat limited. I know they ultimately had to go to a hospital or health facility in Columbus, I think.” This time, the smile receded completely, replaced by a face that was creased with worry.
“What are you not telling us?”
“I really can’t say,” Billie Sue replied. “My vision of what happens there is really not clear at all. It’s quite jumbled and dark.”
“Tell us what you do know.”
Where Billie Sue had been open and warm, all that was gone now, replaced with a cold and remote dread. “I know they get into serious trouble. I’m not sure, but I don’t think all of them survive.”
Chapter 20
Welcome Message
“What do you mean, not all of them survive?” Henry asked Billie Sue.
Her face was clouded with concern. “I’m not saying they, as a group, won’t survive, but I see that they will go through a horrible ordeal. My vision is fuzzy. Some visions are clear, and some are not. This is one of the cloudy ones. I just have a bad feeling.”
“That’s really clear and distinct,” Molly said.
“Lighten up on her,” Ellen said.
A door opened up on the other side of the room, and a small contingent of soldiers streamed into the room. An older woman wearing dark pants and a woman’s tweed jacket complete with pockets on the sleeves followed them in. Most of the people in the room turned their attention to the woman and the soldiers as they walked up to a stage at the front of the room.
“Looks like the storm troopers are here with the Fuhrer,” Molly whispered to Henry.
