The Abandoned Trilogy (Book 1): Twice Dead (Contagion) (56 page)

              I rolled the green foil from the pepperoni stick into a ball and pushed it into the pocket of the borrowed combat jacket. Jasmine’s life was set out for her now I thought. Her focus was the children, her skill wasn’t in battle, it was the skill of motherhood. Like Eden, the punch drunk pumpkin had come into her own. And like Eden it wouldn’t be easy but then who ever said life was easy?

I turned to look out of the window, the empty road was a reminder of all that no longer existed, and Mother Nature whispered that she was stronger than all of us, than the New Age Succession, the Thorncroft Rebels, even the Twice Dead, that she would always win always come first, but if we were really careful and played by her rules, she just might let us survive.

This was our new world, our new beginning whether we wanted it or not. We had survived a mass extermination attempt by the New World Succession. A bunch of disparate disabled people whose lives until now revolved around a beautiful residential home where we were gilded prisoners.

Two cripples, four retards and a not so idiot savant. That was us in a nutshell. Add to the mix, Mitch, ex-soldier, recalled to duty, and former driver for the home, Percy and Gabe, a married couple with two dogs, a shit load of Gung Ho American soldiers, one vile collaborator to the New World Succession, an abandoned German Shepherd and of course the mass murderer supporter Professor Zimmerman and his family. What a bloody combination I thought and I smiled because I didn’t know what else to do.

“Something amuse you?” Wolf had obviously seen me smile.

“Just thinking,” I said, “Anyway I’m not talking to you.”

“For God’s sake don’t think,” he shuddered at my words, “You’re dangerous when you think too much.”

“And you’re not?” I said and then I added, “I am what I am.”

“A pain in my ass that is what you are,” he said.

“You are not my favourite person either,” I pointed out.

“Fighting comes naturally to you, I think,” Wolf glanced briefly over his shoulder to the soldiers and civilians that filled the coach, checking them, ensuring what was left of unit and us were, were they were supposed to be.

“It happens when you wake up, after years of being of being asleep,” I said.

Wolf turned to look at me, “We are outnumbered on all sides, you know that as well as I do,” he said it quietly.

I didn’t make a flippant remark because he was right but that didn’t mean it was the end of us all. Far from it.

“If my life had stayed the way it was, as it was before,” I said carefully, “I wouldn’t have minded, I didn’t know anything else, but now, well, we have two choices, die or fight to create our own world, our own succession, dying I am not afraid of, it’s the living that will be hard, but I am buggered if those bastards are going to win, the succession or the bloody Twice Dead.”

“Yes,” he said and he nodded his head, “So now you understand why we have do things in a certain way, you can hate me all you like Lucia, but this is HOW it has to be, you have to fight fire with fire, the New Age Succession is world-wide, and they must have planned for this for a very long time, what they didn’t plan for was the rise of the Twice Dead, that is the only edge we have, you said it yourself, and it’s a poisoned edge because the Twice Dead are as dangerous to us as they are to our enemies.”

He sounded sad and tired. I blinked. “I don’t hate you,” I said somewhat taken aback by his words, I frowned, “Why do you think that?”

“Because of what I have had to do to you all since I arrived,” he replied, and I was shocked to hear a slight crack in his voice, he covered it well, but it was there, below the surface of the man he was, “And now this, forcing Mitch and Percy back into military life, and making all of you to live by military rules and regulations, that were never meant for civilians, least of those with disabilities,” this was so hard for him I realised, he was trying to make things right with me but they had never been wrong in the first place. Bloody annoying, yes, but wrong, no.

Yes, I was pissed about certain things, but I saw the logic in them, despite the fact I was seriously pissed. Didn’t he see that? He didn’t and then it hit me. What he couldn’t say to me, what he was hiding from, even now. I was momentarily floored. I wasn’t expecting this.

When we were in the woods, when he was shaking me until my teeth almost fell out of my head, he had said he needed me, along with how much he cared about me, then tried to cover it up, I hadn’t noticed, because I was so distraught at the time. He needed me, he cared. As much as the others needed me and cared but in a different way, in a way I certainly never expected to happen in my life time.

We hadn’t just fucked in that field, oh no, we had done more than that, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Oh God.

I could let sleeping dogs lie, and he would continue to be the hard assed American Colonel giving out orders, being ruthless and cut-throat in order to ensure all our survival.

And yes, my first instinct was to turn away from him, that would be the easiest thing to do, but, you know what? Since I had decided to take charge of my own life, I did everything the hard way on a point of principal.

I took Wolf’s left hand in mine and entwined my fingers into his. I felt him go still, I stared out of the window to the side of me, aware that he was looking down at our hands.

“You don’t get off that easily Wolf,” I said, “Suck it in as Seb would say, I’m here to make your life miserable, really miserable.”

His fingers tightened around mine, “Of course,” I added, “We will more than likely kill each other before the week is out, so you won’t have to suck it in for all that long.”

I turned to look at him, and the tired and sad look, had been replaced with a combination of, confusion, hope and fear.

“Ever thought that what you feel, just might cut both ways?” he hadn’t but he did now and the grip on my hand increased and I snorted, “Not very bright are…” I didn’t get to finish my sentence because he kissed me, he leaned in and caught my face with his free hand, drew me toward him and kissed me full on the mouth and, yes, it was nice. Really nice.

I held his cheek with free hand and pressed my face against his.

“I’m still going to make your life miserable, mind you,” I reminded him, it was his turn to laugh and I kissed him this time and he closed his eyes briefly, his hand so soft against my cheek.

I took his hand and kissed the palm, letting my tongue roll briefly over the salty skin. He laughed again, shook his head and said, “You are something else Lucia Lal.”

“Disabled? Damn! I didn’t realise!” I said and he jabbed me in the ribs and I doubled up with the giggles. It was then I became aware of Elise watching us, I think her mouth was open ever so slightly.

“Yes Captain?” Wolf said without even looking in his subordinate’s direction, as he placed a hand on my leg and kept it there, “Is there a problem?”

“Erm, no Sir,” she stammered.

“I sincerely hope not,” he said and his voice was unfriendly.

“Elise has her own problems she needs to deal with,” I said calmly as I straightened myself back up, “Don’t you Elise?”

Elise’s expression was one of hostility and resentment. It reminded me of the day we first met.

“If you say so,” she said curtly.

“Oh I do say so, bonking does that to you, I guess, especially when you do it in the back of a van.”

The coach swerved and I heard a snort from Mitch in the driver’s seat, and people behind us swore and shouted for Mitch to keep his eyes on the road,"I told Seb it’s getting to be a habit with Thorncroft residents.” I didn’t mention Wolf and me and what we had done in the woods not so long ago, but Elise wasn’t stupid, she could put two and two together fast enough.

Wolf wasn’t slow on the uptake either. He raised his blonde eyebrows and then slowly turned his head to look at Elise.

She was lucky that Phoenix who was sitting beside her had his ear phones in and was lost in his own Bee-in-the-SKY world. And if those sitting behind her understood what we were talking about, they had the sense not to say anything as it was officer talk.

“Trying to be funny Major” Elise was furious with me, her using the rank I had been slapped with proved that, but she kept her voice calm.

“What are you afraid of?” I continued, as she glared at me, “Are you afraid of caring about a man in a wheelchair, do you think it makes you any less of a soldier or an officer?”

“It’s none of your business, Ma’am!” Elise was fit to burst with anger, resentment and embarrassment.

Anger because I had pushed her over, resentment because Wolf had put me above her rank wise and embarrassment because she had fucked Seb, not only fucked him but liked it, I had been there when she had done it.

“Oh but it is my business,” I said flatly, “Get over it Elise, deal with it one way or another, you think is going to be easy for any of us? I sure as hell don’t know what the futures hold, I wish I bloody did, but I don’t, so you banged bones with a man, well hello, this is the Twice Dead 21
st
century!” I suspected ears were wagging in the back of the coach but to give everyone credit, they were talking among themselves and not making it obvious.

“You don’t know what you are talking…” Elise began but I interrupted her.

“Actually I do, and you know what, bollocks, damn well sort your head out, I’m sorry I pushed you over by the way, I really am, because I like you, you treated me like a human being when others didn’t, but I know why you are actually pissed off with me right now, and you know what Elise? Resentment and jealously doesn’t suit you at all, nor does embarrassment, so here is your first order from the military drafted civilian who now outranks you, deal with it all, soon, including Seb, and that by the way is an order!”

How Wolf kept his face straight I don’t know, “Sir,” Elise said in a strangled voice but Wolf didn’t appear to disapprove of how I was sorting out not just Elise’s issues with me, but those she potentially had with Seb and he said as much.

“With all due respect Sir,” Elise began and at that moment Wolf’s head literally spun from looking straight ahead to slap down his belligerent subordinate. His facial expression made even me flinch, it certainly made Elise shrink back in her seat.

“If you ever question an order again Captain,” Wolf hissed, “You will be joining young Salter on his circuit routes every day for the next two months and your curfew will be the same as his, understand?”

“Sir!” Elise got the message loud and clear. She swallowed hard, still angry but she knew the lay of the land now. I felt bad for her. Actually I felt more bad for me.

I turned to gaze out of the window, my reflection was as clear as day and so was Elise’s, bouncing back at me, she sat stiffly in her seat.

              She brushed the side of her face, as if to flick away a hair that was bothering. I was a loss as to what to do next. Best leave it for the moment.

              Wolf squeezed my hand and I felt a bit better. I closed my eyes and tried to get a bit of shut-eye.

We drove for another hour until we got to the petrol station which was the one we had found Karma in. We were almost home. Thorncroft. Twice Dead and New World Succession free, long may it continue.

              For the third time that day we went through the safety routine, with Wolf saying this was only a twenty-minute stop so people could get out and stretch their legs, use the toilet if needed and to stay near the coach.

              Seb was happy to get out of the coach, he didn’t need the loo he said, but he wanted to breathe some sweet smelling air and that, he pointed out dryly was not going to happen until we all had showered at least twenty times.

              Phoenix wasn’t going to get off the coach but Mitch nixed that and told him he was to get out and walk around the coach a few times.

              He objected of course until Gabe who was about to leave the coach said, “Would you like to walk one of the dogs?”

              Phoenix’s eyes went to the two eager dogs, straining to get off the coach, and he said, “Can I hold the leash?”

              “Sure,” Gabe said with a smile, “and with his computer tucked firmly under his arm Phoenix got off the bus and trotted alongside Gabe.

              Karma in turn dragged Private Bryson into the shop itself, probably in the hope of finding his old Master.

              I wanted to use the loo and wash my face and hands if I could. Elise kept well out of my way, and I felt sad. I hadn’t managed to sort out our differences as I had with all the others.

              I went into the shop as I knew there was a staff toilet set in a recess behind the counter. The petrol station’s two public toilets had a queue of men, women and children waiting to use them.

              Private Bryson nodded at me as he took Karma back outside and I went into the toilet, used it and my bladder thanked me for a much needed kindness.

When I stood up and started to drag up my trousers I felt something hard pressing against my thigh in the right pocket. I pulled my trousers up fastened them and then pressed the pocket with the palm of my hand.

“What?” I muttered and I felt the shape of it through the thick cloth before pushing my fingers into the recess and touched something cold and metal.