Part 71

Alma

Alma lay on the floor of the library in a growing puddle of her own blood.  Her hands and arms were covered in the sticky stuff that in the darkness reminded her of maple syrup. 

She was no medical expert but she knew this bad.  Really bad. 

Now she was feeling light headed and the pain was fading away to a dull roar in the back of her mind. 

She felt like laughing for some reason.

It was kind of funny in a pathetic, wasteful sort of way.  She had traveled through a destroyed United States all the way from Nevada to Virginia to find a brother that mathematically should have been dead a thousand times over.  She fought cholos in Salt Lake, FEMA troops in Colorado and fascist survivalists in the Shenandoah.

And then she ended up getting stabbed by some lone freak who followed her across country. 

What was the point? 

Really, what was the point of anything?  God had decided to end the world and now all he had to do was mop up the few stragglers.  Why do anything with everything you do God takes as a joke.  He was up in heaven looking down on her and laughing. 

Of course she hadn’t told anyone where she was going.  That would have been the responsible, level headed thing to do.  Alex always said her impetuousness would get her into trouble.  She didn’t know ‘trouble’ was a shank in a dark library. 

She took a deep breath and tried to get up into a crawling position.  There was a first aid kit on her saddle. 

Her legs felt like jelly and she could barely get them under her. 

But then her feet slipped in her own blood and she fell on her face.  She would have screamed out curses if she had had the strength.   

Then she heard the library door open.  She looked around for her gun but it was gone in the darkness somewhere. 

It didn’t matter.  She was done.  She was going to die here in this stupid place.  Damn.  She was still a virgin.  That sucked.  Maybe that’d give her a few bonus points in heaven: make up for all her cursing. Was that a stupid thing to worry about or was that actually a big problem?  Either way, it really sucked.

A dark figure came around the corner and looked down at her.  A second later a painfully bright light blinded her and she turned away.  

Then the light came right on top of her and a face appeared.  It was a man’s face she didn’t recognize.  He was large (as in muscular, not fat) with a shaved head and wore a serious expression.  He had a tac-vest covered in pouches and had a scar running down the side of his face. 

“Hold still,” he said in a deep voice.

“No problem.  I’ll be still enough pretty soon.”

“Shut up and lay down," he said though not angrily.

A hand pushed her head down.  Normally she wouldn’t stand for that kind of crap but once her head was down she didn’t have the strength to raise it.  She felt him doing something down there, like he was massaging her side where she got stabbed.  She heard some ripping cloth and then her mid section was lifted off the ground. 

Maybe it just didn’t matter what this stranger was doing.  At least she got the guy that killed her. 

“At least I killed the guy that go me,” she said. 

“I said shut up.  Save your energy and don’t move.” 

Something tightened up around her waist like an uncomfortable belt. 

The man’s face came into view. 

“I’m going to put an I.V. into you, okay?  Don’t move.” 

“I won’t.” 

She barely felt the needle.  He placed the bag on a nearby shelf propped between books. 

“Stay still and you’ll be alright,” the man said.

That’s what they always said when there was a big problem. 

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Alma Attaway.”

“You live near here?”

“Out by Lexington, behind the Walmart on the other side of the river.” 

“How far is that?”

“I don’t know, man.  Two hours?”

“Okay.  I patched you best I could for now.  Once the bleeding stops I’ll try to sew you up.  I won’t lie.  It looks bad but you can live.

He said it all in a calm, level tone like someone who had said this sort of thing many times.

“Who are you?”  She asked.

“I’m Jason.”

She remembered him saying other things but it all faded out. 

When she opened her eyes next bright sunlight was poring through the dusty, library windows.  The big man, Jason was sitting down and leaning up against a book case.  Looked like he fell asleep watching over her. 

Alma looked down and saw that her clothes were covered in dark brown blood.  She pulled up her shirt and saw several layers of bandages covering her midsection. 

It hurt but she was alive.  She tried to sit up but sharp pain from her wound shot through her like electricity. 

Jason had a rifle in his lap, a FAL with a EOT Tech holo sight and foregrip.  Well, at least her mind was clear again. 

“Hey, big guy,” she said.

The man’s head jerked up and he was instantly alert. 

“How are you feeling?  Do you feel any nausea, light headedness?”  He asked. 

“I’ll thank you if I live.  How long was I out?”

He checked his watch. 

“Eight hours.  I was expecting more.” 

“I’m full of surprises.” 

He looked at her bandages and checked her IV.  Everything he did he did with precise, well practiced moves.

“I don’t have any more IV’s.”  He dug through his backpack.  “I have salt crackers and canned chili.  You need to eat this.”

“Sure thing.”

He opened the can for her with some kind of survivalist multi tool that happened to have a can opener. 

She wasn’t hungry but started eating anyway.

“Where you from, Jason?”

“Does it matter anymore?”

“Still does.”

“Baltimore.  Joined the Marines eight years ago and haven’t been back.”

“Why?”

“It was always a graveyard, but now it’s actually full of dead people.”

“Not a fan, huh?”

“No, not really.  What are you doing out here alone?”

“Pretty stupid of me.  Don’t you ever just want to be by yourself?”

“Not lately.  You’re the first living person I’ve seen that hasn’t tried to kill me long enough to hold a conversation in over a year.” 

“Where have you been?”

“I was up in New York when it all went down.”

“Fighting?”

“Yeah.”

Before the news stopped she had heard the fighting in New York was terrible.

“Can you draw me a map to your friends and then I’ll need to know the best way to not get shot when I approach them.”  

He handed her a pad and pen and she drew a rough map of where they were. 

“Just approach with your hands up in the air.”

“Right.  I’m going to go find them.  Finish eating.  I left some water right there and your gun.”

“I’ll just stay here then,” she said.

He didn’t even smile. 

Jason stood up and lifted his pack to his shoulders.  He paused and looked down at her.

“You’ll be fine,” he said but the tone of his voice told her that she wasn’t as “fine” as she needed to be. 

And then like that he was gone out the library door and she was alone.

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Part 70

   

Alex

Alex paced back and forth and watched the sun go down over the trees. 

“She’s only been gone for a few hours.  She’ll be back,” Cass said.

“It’s getting dark,” he said. 

“She’s ridden in the dark before,” Cass said, but this time he saw the worry on her face as well. 

Lisa stood up from her chair across the fireplace and checked her pistol.

“You’re worried?  Then let’s move,” Lisa said. 

He took a deep breath and stood up. 

“Cass, go grab one or two more people for our search party,” he said. 

“Right.”

She jumped up off the couch and dragged her limping boyfriend with her. 

“She can take care of herself,” Lisa said. 

“I know, but this feels different.” 

She put a hand on his cheek and looked at him.  Her eyes showed calmness and reason. 

“You say we go look for her; we go look for her,” she said. 

He kissed her hand and she closed her eyes as he did so.  She smiled.  It was the smile she reserved just for him. 

Then they went to their separate rooms.  He knew that would change eventually, but not when.  So far all they had done was kiss.  That was no small thing though.  A kiss with her was better than a thousand kisses from any other woman.  Hers meant something. Each kiss was a flood of meaning and love. 

As he strapped on his IBA body armor Adam ran into his room.  

“Dude, there are three SUV’s heading down the road toward us.”

The Provisional Government of the United States.   They said they’d be back but he didn’t think this soon.  This was not what he needed right now.  Alma was out there alone and now he had these idiots rolling up on him. 

“Go grab everyone.  Tell them to bring their guns and get ready for a fight. And I mean everyone.”

Adam nodded and bolted off. 

He grabbed his M-14.  It had more punch in case these jackwagons got cute and were wearing armor.

Lisa was in the hall with a PSL of all things.  

“Armor piercing rounds,” she said when she noticed him eyeing it.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You looked.”

“The PSL is a fine weapon.  Just sort of heavy, inaccurate and clumsy.”

“You’ll see.” 

When she turned to go down the stairs he saw that she also had her AK-SU slung on her back and a Sig on her hip. 

She was ready for anything and that was one of the many reasons he loved her. 

By the time he got to the living room he could see the headlights of the SUV’s pulling up into Town Square. 

“Everyone, go to a window and pick your targets.  Don’t shoot unless I give an order or they start shooting.  Understood?  Pass it along. 

He went to the door and Lisa got on the other side.  He opened it and peeked out. 

Men were getting out of the trucks.  They looked almost like mercenaries but they were too clean cut.  Amazing how clean they looked considering a year and a half of apocalypse.  Maybe they really did have a bunker. 

It didn’t matter.  They were here to take what they wanted and take control.  Neither of those would happen. 

“We came to talk,” a man in a white shirt and black bullet proof vest said. 

The sun was almost down and the sky was a navy blue.  The “government” men were becoming little more than silhouettes in the growing dark. 

Some of the men were putting on night vision goggles. 

“They didn’t come to talk,” Lisa said. 

“I gathered.”

To the right of the town square he could see his people moving into position.  They were hiding beside and inside the barn, behind vehicles and behind trees.  They outnumbered the government men a good five to one, but most of his people weren’t properly trained and these guys looked like professional killers. 

“Be reasonable, Mr. Attaway.  We’re on your side.  You’re hoarding resources and skilled people that we all need to put this country back on its feet.”

“We barely have enough for ourselves,” he shouted through the cracked door. 

“That’s what they all say.  You’ll have to learn to ration a little better but it’s better than having some others starve.” 

“Maybe you’re with the government and maybe you’re not.  It doesn’t matter because you have no authority here.  We’re taking care of ourselves and don’t need your help.” 

The white shirted man shook his head. 

Cassidey came up beside him and scrunched up her face as she peeked out the crack. 

“I count fifteen,” Cass said.

“Fifteen men that know what they’re doing.  Maybe if we had a AT-4 or something.”

Then Cass perked up. 

“Hold on here and don’t do anything crazy until I get back!”

Cass then ran upstairs without further explanation.   He looked to her boyfriend who gave a confused shrug. 

“Let’s break it down, Mr. Attaway,” the white shirted man said.  “Yes, you have more men than us.  Yes, you have more guns at the moment.  But don’t think for a second that a fight with us will go well for you.  Let me play devil’s advocate and assume you somehow win in a gun battle with us, which I assure you will not happen.  Even if you win, you’ll still lose people.  People close to you will die.  That little Chinese girl might get a bullet to the chest.  Then who’ll keep your bed warm?”

He saw Lisa tense up but she kept her cool. 

“You want to risk that, Mr. Attaway?  You want to risk your pretty house getting full of holes?  Do as we say and nobody will be hurt.  You’ll have plenty of food to last the winter.” 

“And we’ll have to live under your rule, right?”

“Under the U.S. government.  Besides, we’ll leave you alone mostly.  It’ll be like old times.”

Then Cass came running back down stairs with an M4 with a 203 grenade launcher on it.  

“Where’d you get that?”  Alex asked.

“Thought it might come in useful.” 

Then he remembered that he had one as well.

“Hold on and let me talk to my people,” he called out. 

Then he dashed upstairs and grabbed his 203.  he loaded it, snatched the bandolier of grenades and hurried back down stairs. 

Adam came up to him with his M4. 

“We’re not listening to these fools, are we?”  Adam asked.

“Hell no.  This is what we’re going to do.  Me and Cass will fire the grenades at the same time.  Then I want everyone else to open up.  Don’t spare anyone.  If one gets away, he’ll go back and tell his bosses.” 

They passed the word around and then they all got into position.  Cass took the window right of the door and he took left. 

“I’ll take the rear truck and you take the front one.  On the count of three,” he said. 

Cass nodded.  He looked around to make sure everyone else was ready.  Hopefully his people near the barn would know what to do. 

“You have five minutes,” White Shirt said.

“Three…two…one.”

They fired at the same time.  The “blooop” of the grenade launcher pushed his shoulder and his grenade sailed in a lazy arc toward the last black SUV.

Both trucks erupted in explosions that were as sudden as they were brutal.  The trucks they were using for cover became flying shards of shrapnel death.  Most were knocked over, either dead or wounded.  The few near the middle that managed to stay upright quickly took cover as bullets began to pour down on their position. 

Alex put down the M4 and picked up his M-14.  It was dark out and he had a hard time seeing any distinct target. 

He heard the remaining SUV’s doors slam close and before he realized it, the black four door was peeling out in a cloud of dust.  He took aim but his red dot was still set to a day time setting and was far too bright.  All he could see was the glaring red light.  He fired at where he guessed was the truck. 

The others must have been having trouble picking targets as well because the truck tore out of there with a few bullets pinging its side. 

Them getting away was not a good thing. 

“How many got away?”  He asked. 

“Two, maybe three,” Lisa said. 

“I think we just declared war,” he said. 

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Lisa said as she rested the butt of the PSL on her hip and raised the muzzle to the ceiling.  

As much as a war with a fake U.S. government worried him, the thought of Alma out there in danger worried him more.  Now his search party will have to stay in larger groups and go slower to watch out for vengeful PGUSA men. 

A delay was not something he wanted right now.