The Complex: (The Reanimates) (22 page)

             
Drew paused for a bit to see my reaction before adding another thought. “Mom, at first this was about trying to find out who killed Tesla. I know that dog had to have been drugged. I wanted to blame someone over this right way but now I think its more than that.” I was trying to make sense of what he was saying. I was almost certain she was using again. Between the disappearing act and crappy coordination it had to be drugs. Drugs could also account for the dog's final day. My head hurt thinking that what if we have something sinister going on.

             
“Kiddo? I'm going to look into this. I believe you when you say that she isn't acting right and I'm going to find out what's going on. You have my word on that. We are going to keep this between us for right now, then I'll bring in dad, Joey, and Tyreese if I find out anything, and even if I don't. I believe you when you say something is weird right now.”

             
The next day I found things to do in the garden area, but not quite in the garden. It was Jody's day for laundry so I offered to do it for her while I watched Alexus. I saw her go behind the shed just like Drew said she did. She was gone for about ten minutes, and just like Drew said, she came out and pulled a couple weeds. She took a fist full of dirt in the process. In what was supposed to look like a dusting of hands she ground the dirt in, like she was trying to look more dirty than not. She walked up the path towards me. I had to say something.

             
"Heya, Alexus. Whatcha up to?" I tried to keep my tone light and friendly.

             
"Oh taking a walk." She held up her hands, then added, "found a bunch of weeds so of course since the garden was where I started I had to pull them. Old habits." She laughed a little.

             
"How is that fix in the wall behind the shed doing?" I asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. 

             
"You saw me go back there?" She asked. She didn't really sound like she was asking me but it didn't sound like a challenge either.

             
"I did." I said simply.

             
"You probably wanna know what I was up to?"

             
"I have to admit I am a bit curious." That was about as nice as I could think to say that. I really didn't want to tip my hand with my suspicions.

             
"I smoke. Daniel doesn't know I didn't give that up too when I got clean. Plus I don't want the kids to see me be a bad example. You know?" She looked slightly ashamed. "I found a lighter in a pack of smokes the other day. I keep it down to one or two a day but that's a vice that's just really hard to give up, especially in light of everything. "

             
"I totally understand. I smoked for years myself. No worries, it's on you to tell Daniel, or to quit. Either or."

             
Her smoking story was so plausible but something didn't sit right with me.  I just couldn't put my finger on it.

             
I relayed the story that night to Trent as we laid in bed together.

             
"I'm surprised by you." He said.

             
"Huh? Why?" I asked.

             
"Well, cause you have a sensitive nose ever since we quit. You could smell smoke on a person for hours after they had one."

             
I looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh. This is true. I don't get it. Why am I not smelling it this time? Oh God. She's lying!"

             
"Well, no. That's not what I'm saying. Maybe the constant smell of the dead all around us, both the ones burning in the trench and the ones in that dry river bed behind us is masking the smell. You also said she got dirt on her hands. Maybe it masks the smell too. All I'm saying is maybe we shouldn't just close the case because she had a decent cover story. You know what I mean?"

             
I did.

             
"Besides Cal, we are just talking food and a little extra water. Remember she was the last of us to be out there. She was probably getting pretty hungry and thirsty. If I had been out there wide exposed like that I bet I'd be looking to prepare for a return to that, stocking food and water stores. I'd be taking what I didn't think anyone would notice for our family. We got it pretty good here. We were crazy enough to see this going down but how many people actually prepared mentally like the way we did? To add to playing devil's advocate, she didn't know if we were going to let her in given her history. You know that people going through addiction issues tend to be judged more heavily on things like smoking and caffeine. She barely scrapes her way into here and still is addicted to substances. What's stopping any nonsmoker from coming up to her and getting in her face that if shes still smoking she must still be using her drug of choice. If this one person gets a big enough following then next thing she has to worry about is getting kicked out, again needing the food and water that got lifted. I'm still not saying she's innocent of anything. I am saying there are a lot of variables. We need to watch and see. You know?"

             
Damn, I thought. He made a really good point. I didn't know what it was like out there. I didn't have a clue what it was to not be behind the safety of the wall, not knowing what hid around the corner. I promised to be more sensitive about that sort of thing, that others have been fighting tooth and nail against the zombies.

             
"So what should we do then babe?" I curled into his side and felt his arms wrap around me pulling me close.

             
"Be mindful is my take. Keep an eye out but not be obsessive over it." He replied.

             
"Hey Trent?"

             
"Yeah?"

             
"Drew is asleep in his room tonight." I raised my eyebrows suggestively.

             
"Oh, trust me. I noticed." He kissed me deeply.

"Hang on love." I checked to make sure Drew was all the way asleep and closed the door. Trent was waiting for me when I came back and I fell into his arms. For a while everything else fell away. There was no Alexus, no zombies, no cares in the world. There was just us.

Security Woes

             
When Tyreese came off watch he seemed a bit off, irritated about something. I wasn't used to seeing him like that. Tyreese was always cool and collected.

             
"Cali!" He called, "Do you know where Trent is?"

             
"Yeah. What's up?"

             
"Get him. I'm going to get Joey. Meet me in the unit under mine?"

             
"On my way. Ty? What's the problem?"

             
"Later. Just get Trent."

             
I jogged up the stairs to get Trent. He looked as perplexed as I felt. He threw on a t-shirt and laced up his boots. We both walked over to where Tyreese said to meet, running into Joey on the way.

             
We walked in the door and Tyreese said immediately, "Guys we need to talk. We have got something really weird going on and my gut says it's nothing but a storm of hurt is getting ready to rain on us. Shut the door."

             
Trent and I looked at each other with long glances.

             
"Y'all know we have blind spots. A big chunk of our spots have to do with the wall and a bit of the dirt piles. If you get right up on the wall you're invisible to everyone on the inside. The trench was supposed to fix the issue of zombies getting right up against it, and it has. On the sides that the trench goes all the way up and hits the wall, its impossible to hide out unless you're in the trench but all last night I saw something on the back wall. It looked like a person, maybe people, but it only came in patches like a shoulder glimpsed here and a tuft of hair there. God help me cause I know this is crazy but I know deep in me that they are not zombies. I never saw anything proving it but I know it. My biggest clue though is when zombies stumble in our blind spots they stumble out. These things stay put."

             
"But how did they get to the back wall? Yeah there is that ledge between the wall and the trench back there, couldn't get a good angle with the back hoe there. How would anything have slid through the lots around us or in the wash with out us seeing it? The blind areas aren't that big, are they?” Trent was truly confused over this. I was too.

             
"There is no way to get across totally undetected. No way. Not unless the watchman was sleeping on the job." Joey interjected.

             
"So, that begs the question, how did people or zombies or whatever it is end up between the trench and the wall with no one seeing it go down?" Tyreese demanded. I was feeling his frustration. Security was his baby like medical was mine and if people were coming into my space and just hanging out rearranging stuff I would be more than a little irritated.

             
"Someone either was sleeping on their watch or let them over on purpose." Joey accused.

             
I caught Trent's eyes. I quickly flicked my eyes in the direction of Daniel's unit then back and raised my eyebrow. Trent knew what I was asking him, a definite perk to being married for a long time. You can ask things like 'should we tell them everything we suspect about Alexus even with no proof' without saying a word. Trent answered with a barely perceptible nod.

             
"Well guys, I have a story but I don't know if it has any bearing on what's being talked about here. Gonna tell it just in case it does." I swallowed hard. Part of me didn't want to go this route. What if I was totally wrong and I was about to start something I couldn’t take back. What if I destroyed her reputation because I was being paranoid? Bigger though was what if I was right? What if the missing stuff and suspicious behavior exactly played into what was going on?

             
“So this is the story. You guys know that we've been having food and water come up missing. I think I have a theory on who is doing it, though there is no real reason for me to think this. I think, based on some other stuff, that it's likely Alexus.” Joey raised his eyebrows at me. I continued on. “She's been acting off. She disappears behind the shed, which as it turns out, is where Tyreese is seeing activity at. She stays back there for a little bit. Then she comes out and acts like she was doing random weeding. When I confronted her on the disappearing act she said that she was smoking cigarettes. I never smelled smoke. I didn't smell the left over just-had-a-smoke smell that all smokers have on them. I don't believe her. To add to this, Drew told me that when the kids are playing paper airplanes that she brings them down paper and takes one from the middle of the stack, folds it into a plane and then tosses it. Drew tells me that every time she does the plane thing it ends up over the wall.” Tyreese and Joey looked at me with incredulous looks.

             
“I think that there is a good chance that she is tossing the planes over with messages or something like that to someone on the other side of the wall. I think that when she goes behind the shed it is to drop off the missing stuff. I think she is using the patched spot in the wall as a drop off zone for someone, and that scares the crap out of me. I'm scared that the people on the other side are the marauders that hassled us before she showed up. I'm scared that the “rue the day” guy is partnering with her on this. I'm scared that’s why Tesla was barking and is now dead. I've got a lot of theories about what could be happening and a lot of what I'm scared might be happening, but I don't know anything. I don't know that any of the things that I'm scared of actually is what's happening at all. It still could be the innocent thing that she is portraying. It could be, but the thing that is tripping me out the most right now? None of this people sneaking around was noticed before the wedding. I'm scared that they got to where they are and are being given stuff so easily because I gave Alexus watch duty. I wanted to believe that everyone is as trustworthy as the next and when she offered to do watch to give vacation time I just trusted her. I am scared that I let a monster take hold of the reigns.”

             
I felt betrayed and angry at Alexus, but honestly, I was more angry with myself. I felt major anger that I was taken in by a pretty sob story and with the 'but I love my babies' bull.

             
Joey started to speak then. “I knew the timing of her arrival was suspicious. It was just weird that we have a hit by the ass-hat squad and a poor victim who just happened to survive out in the wild all by her lonesome just happened to show up. It was suspicious and I let it go. Want to know the bitch of it all? When Tyreese came to get me just now? The very first thing that went into my head was the cards were finally on the table with her and Alexus finally showed her colors. I had no real reason to think that. Cali, you seem to be blaming yourself for trusting her with watch. Stop. If there is blame it sits on me for letting the bitch through the front gates.”