The Last Outbreak (Book 3): Desperation (20 page)

Back in suite three-twenty-six, the group of five ate in silence. Emma had a feeling that her brief meeting with Mitchell Blake had all but convinced Cedric that saving her and Tom was a mistake. He hadn’t said much since leaving the garage and hadn’t spoken at all since coming out of the stairwell on the third floor. Emma couldn’t blame him, but she did at least want the chance to explain.

After sitting alone with her thoughts and a bowl of cold oatmeal, she began to run back through the mainly one-sided conversation she’d had with the overly-confident blond narcissist. She now realized that all he really wanted to know he could have gotten from Cedric. The only reason he had her and Tom come to the meeting was to assert his dominance. He wanted to be certain that every individual occupying space in this city knew it was his.

The more she thought about it, the more she didn’t like it. She was grateful to Cedric and his family, and she’d never take what they’d done for her for granted. She could never pay them back for all they’d done; she owed them her life. But she didn’t owe Mitchell Blake a damn thing.

Taking one last spoonful of the cold oatmeal, she slid back in her chair and moved toward the counter where the other dishes were stacked. As she did, Veronica also moved in the same direction. They met at the counter and each quickly backed away, allowing the other to go first.

Veronica smiled nervously. “Oh sweetheart, go ahead.”

“No,” Emma said, “I can wait. It’s not like I have anything else to do.”

Her attempt at humor fell mostly flat. Tom began to giggle, but quickly stopped himself when the others simply looked away.

Veronica didn’t move. She stayed frozen in place and now stared at the ground, glancing up toward her husband every few seconds, as if waiting for some sort of signal.

Stepping up to the counter, Emma dropped her bowl inside a large plastic bucket and let it bounce around with the others that needed to be washed. Turning away from the counter, she purposely stepped in front of Veronica and held out her hand.

“Hello, my name is Emma Runner. It’s nice to meet you.”

Veronica was caught off guard and began to reach for Emma’s hand, but pulled back and smiled. “I’m sorry Emma, it’s just that…” She turned to Cedric and waited. When he didn’t look up, she stepped around Emma, placed her bowl on the counter, and silently gathered her thoughts.

The meeting earlier that morning hadn’t gone as smoothly as it could have, and although Emma hadn’t gone out of her way to play nice with Blake, she couldn’t imagine what had caused the change in her new friends. Well, up to this point, she’d hoped they were friends.

Emma had never been the kind to wait through awkward silences. She needed confirmation one way or the other. If they were this upset about what had taken place in the garage, she at least wanted to try to understand their reasoning.

Not waiting for Veronica to turn or for Cedric to look up from his plate, Emma moved back to the table, but instead of taking her seat, she stood behind it.

“Okay, I realize our little meeting with Blake didn’t go perfectly, but I’m not completely sure what’s happening here. Have I done something to offend either of you?”

Cedric gently pushed his bowl aside and turned to his son seated on the fold-away sofa at the opposite end of the suite. “Patrick, can you go to the lobby and check to see how the north end of Sixth Street is looking. I want to be sure we don’t run into any trouble later today.”

Patrick gave a quick nod and then moved quickly through the door and into the hall. Cedric followed his son with his eyes, and as the door closed, he turned first to Tom and then to Emma.

“I haven’t been completely honest with either of you about Mitchell Blake. I didn’t know that he’d seen you come into town and was going to keep this quiet until you were back on your feet. Maybe help get you on your way before having to explain any of the details.”

“So,” Emma said, “this isn’t about you being upset with the way the meeting went?”

“No, it actually went better than I’d expected. I still can’t explain it, other than maybe he was in an exceptionally good mood or really did have somewhere else he needed to be. But whatever it was, it gave us a small window. A second chance.”

Tom twisted in his chair, now facing Cedric. He narrowed his eyes and bit at the corner of his lip. “I’m not sure I’m understanding what it is that you’re saying.”

Cedric looked at his wife and waited. She gave him a quiet smile, looked away, and then followed her son out into the hall. And as Veronica closed the door, Cedric paused a moment, nodded his head, and released a heavy breath.

“I’ve never seen anyone challenge Mitchell Blake before. I had doubts that he’d even allow you to stay in this building once the meeting was over. He’s done this before and the outcome was much, much different. Simply saying that he’s bad man would be a cataclysmic understatement.”

“Cedric,” Emma said, “what is it? Why are you and Veronica acting so strange? You brought us here and offered to help, but now I’m not sure what you’re trying to tell us. Are you wanting us to leave?”

“My wife and I don’t want you to go anywhere; that’s not what’s going on here. It’s Blake… he’s got problems. Problems that end with people dying. We don’t want you to go, but it would probably be better if you did.”

“Better for us or for you?”

“Better for both of us. Blake is unstable and Veronica and I are afraid of what he’ll do to you if you don’t go. He’s allowed my family to stay in this building, partially because we were here before he was and also because he knows he needs someone on this end of the city to keep an eye on things, even report to him.”

Tom sat forward. “You told him we were here?”

“No, like I said, that was something he found out on his own. We only report on the flow of Feeders around this part of town. And aside from that, we keep to ourselves; so does he.”

“Then why us?”

“It’s pretty much what he said, he doesn’t do so well with change. And I don’t think he wants to share this city with anyone else. At first I thought he’d be okay as long as it was just the two of you, but after I met with him and his brother yesterday morning, I knew it wasn’t going to work.”

Cedric paused. He stared out the window for a moment and then turned back, now focusing solely on Emma. “He’s going to come back and ask you to leave. He told me this morning. He knows you have people that are looking for you and that makes him nervous. He doesn’t want anyone here he can’t control.”

Emma’s head felt light. She couldn’t put together a single thought beyond what would be her next move. She looked to Tom and just shook her head. “What do we do?”

Tom stood from his chair and moved to the window. “Cedric, what’s Blake’s next move? I’m not sure we want to be here when he comes back.”

“I don’t know, but I agree with you. He’s not really a guy you want to push.”

As Tom began to respond, the door to the suite opened. Veronica had returned and was closely followed by her son. “Cedric, it’s Blake. He’s trying to reach you on the radio.”

Emma had already begun to move to the corner of the suite. She knelt beside the pile of blankets she’d used the previous two nights and pulled her backpack in close. Frantically digging through to the bottom, she pulled free her phone and powered it on.

As she was waiting, Emma turned back to the others and blinked away a tear that had taken her by surprise. Time slowed as she watched Veronica move to Cedric, whisper into his ear, and then move to her son.

Next, Tom hurried to the same corner and had also started to gather his things. He placed his hand on Emma’s shoulder and made sure to look her in the eyes. “It’s gonna be fine; I promise.”

Emma didn’t respond. Instead, she stood and started toward the door. And with no idea of what she was doing, or where she was going, she turned to Veronica. “I’m so sorry if we caused you and your family any trouble.”

Veronica leaned in, hugged Emma tight, and spoke quietly. “You don’t have to apologize. Cedric and I are still here to help.”

“Thank you, but I think it would be best if Tom and I—”

Pulling away, Veronica’s eyes drifted to Emma’s right hand. “Sweetheart, it looks like your phone has a new message.”

Trails of dust swirled from the rear of the oddly immaculate white sedan. Within fifty feet of the edge of the reservoir, the bearded man behind the wheel hit the brakes and rolled to a stop. With his window down, he leaned out and watched intently as Ethan and Griffin strode slowly back down the short incline.

Getting a better look, the man with the thick mahogany colored beard also wore a jagged scar that ran from the outer edge of his right eyebrow into his thick facial hair. He offered a smile and a nod, before opening the driver’s door and stepping out.

Rugged outdoorsman would have just about covered it until he reached in the vehicle and pulled out a white Stetson. Setting it atop his head and turning back toward the men, he grasped the front of the hat, lifted it slightly, and then tilted the brim forward.

Ethan had already drawn his weapon and held it at his side and as he glanced to his left, Griffin had his right hand covering his own. And with less than twenty feet separating them from the mysterious bearded man, Ethan held up his hand.

“I think we can do this from here.”

The bearded man laughed. “Y’all come into my town, walk around like you ain’t never been taught any decent manners, and now you’re trying to tell me how this is going down. Is that what’s happening here?”

“We aren’t out here to cause you any trouble.”

“You’re not? We’ll then why didn’t y’all just say so? Hell, I thought for damn sure you all were gonna be a whole heap of trouble. But I guess I must have been mistaken. So now, I got a new problem. What to do about you standing there, holding them pistols like you ain’t never felt an ounce of cold steel between your finger and thumb?”

“We’re just cautious,” Ethan said. “We don’t know you.”

“Fair enough, but how about before I give you the what’s what, you both just slide them pee-shooters back into your denim and we’ll call it even. That is until one of us gives the other a reason not to.”

He wasn’t sure it was a good idea; however, the man with the beard wasn’t armed, and had yet to give off anything resembling aggression. Turning to Griffin, Ethan raised an eyebrow and said, “You good with this?”

As Griffin had yet to remove his weapon, he simply removed his right hand from his belt and folded his arms. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Alright then,” the bearded man said. “Let’s jump straight into it, shall we? I’ll let you ask me the first question, but only one. And then I get to ask you a question. It’ll be like a give and take kinda thing. That work for you?”

The bearded man was smart. He was steering the conversation from his end. He knew that once he had them believing he was in control, that they’d subconsciously be more inclined to find favor with him, that the chances of an altercation would be drastically reduced.

Ethan offered a slight grin. “Sure thing old-timer, but I do have to tell you that neither one of us is looking to disrespect you or your city.”

“Well, thank you boys, that’s sure a relief.” The bearded man kicked his right foot back and rested it against the bumper of his late model sedan. “Anyhow, my name is Gil Walker. I am the mayor of this fine town. How about y’all?”

“Our names?” Ethan asked.

“Sure, let’s get started with that.”

The more the bearded man—who finally revealed himself as Gil Walker—spoke, the more Ethan was conflicted. On one hand, he had to have been the most sarcastic human he’d ever met, or the most unusual. He was betting it was both. On the other hand, Gil, or Mayor Walker, also dripped with copious amounts of southern charisma. But either way, Ethan was fascinated by the contradiction that was the bearded fifty-something man.

“My name is Ethan Runner and my friend here is Griffin Ford.”

“Good to meet you two. Now I’m assuming I know the first question you’re fixin’ to ask, but just in case it’s not, I’ll give you the option to ask it yourself.”

“We obviously know where the rest of the residents of Green Valley are, but what we don’t know is how?”

“Those are my friends out there, my family. I have two boys and a wife that I’ll never have the pleasure of speaking to ever again. Their voices fade with every single day that passes. The question you’d like to have answered is how I was able to get them in there? How after the infection ripped apart my town, was I able to get every single resident of Green Valley into that empty reservoir?”

“Mayor Walker—”

“It’s just Gil now I have no one to serve. Once this town comes back you can refer to me as the mayor, but for now I’m just Gil.”

“Gil, we mean no disrespect, especially toward your friends and family. It’s just that it’s only been nine days and what you’ve accomplished here is unbelievable.”

“Son, I had absolutely nothing at all to do with what happened out at this reservoir. And not every resident is here. A few took a more aggressive route to the afterlife.”

“We’re sorry.”

“Ain’t nothin’ to be sorry for. I’m sure by the looks of you two that you’ve seen your share of destruction over the last week?”

“Yes sir.”

“Anyhow, what happened here in Green Valley is really very simple. Nothing too far-fetched. We had heard on the news what was going on out there, and figured it was just something that would pass. But, I’ll be damned if that delivery driver from Colorado didn’t bring that thing here.”

“Nine days ago?”

“Yep. That kid had parked his truck over at Sammy’s and was in the men’s room when Jimmy Franklin went to check on him. The boy had been in there for over twenty minutes, just bangin’ on the inside of the door like he’d lost his mind. And when Jimmy let that young man out—covered in blood, hairline to toenail—he never had a chance.”

“So, who brought the infected up here, put them in the reservoir?”

“After Jimmy and the kid, that thing spread around here pretty quickly. No one knew what to do. We’d never seen anything like it, people were losing their damn minds. Tammy Harris called the CDC, but they were having troubles of their own. Told us to stay away from the people that were infected.”

Gil paused and looked into the sky, listening to the groans and growls of his family, friends, and his neighbors. “Eventually, less than thirty of us remained. A handful were lucky enough to get to their cars and trucks, hightail it out of town. A few others headed back to their homes to end it on their own terms. And then real early the second morning, Tommy Greenwald drove up Main Street, left his truck in the middle of the street, and started walking toward the reservoir.”

“They all followed him?”

“Yes, most did. They followed him around the back, to where there is no slope. Started dropping in there faster than you could count. Rolled around for a bit and then somehow got back on their feet. There were at least forty the first run out. Then more were drawn to the sound and eventually every single infected townsperson found their way into that pit. And since they can’t climb, that’s where they’ve been ever since.”

Griffin looked back at the graduated incline and then again at Gil. “Why are you still—”

Gil stopped him. “My question, where y’all from?”

Ethan smiled. He could see that Gil had softened a bit, but was still keeping his distance. “Mainly Colorado, but we’re headed to the coast.”

With a small break in the conversation, Griffin persisted. “Gil, why are you still here? Why haven’t you left?”

“I don’t rightly have anywhere else to go. And anyway, when they come back, someone’s got to be here. To show them where to find everyone.”

“When who comes back?”

Gil had forgotten that it was his turn to ask a question. Either that or he simply didn’t have another question to ask. He looked like he’d lost his place. Like this conversation was scripted and he’d run out of lines. So instead of allowing the awkwardness continue, he answered.

“The military. They came through on the evening of the first day. Said they’d be back with vaccinations within a week or two. Told us to stay put.”

“And?”

“And, I’ve been alone here for the last seven days. Tommy was the last to go, he went out to check the reservoir and never came back. Saw him in there a few days later. Must have fallen in with the others.”

Ethan squinted through the morning sun. “Gil, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t think the military or anyone else for that matter is coming back. I think we’re all on our own at this point.”

“Ethan, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“How’d you and your group get here from Colorado?”

“Interstate Seventy.”

“Notice anything odd?”

“Yeah, that sign for Green Valley. It was spray painted. Said, Infection free?”

“Don’t know who did that. Been there since the second day, maybe someone’s idea of a joke. You all notice anything else?”

“No vehicles on the road. Just a whole lot pushed off to the shoulder.”

“That’s our military, they did that. It’s clear all the way out to the coast. They’re coming back. And when they do, my people will be here.”

Smart, charismatic, and even compassionate, Gil Walker, the bearded former mayor, was a good man. But he was also delusional. The people he’d lived with, laughed with, and loved were gone. And they weren’t coming back, at least not in the way he was hoping.

Ethan looked back at the dirt and gravel slope and turning back to Gil said, “Where are you staying?”

“Young man, I think you know the answer to that. You and your friend came by looking in through the front door yesterday. My old office is the only place I know where the memories of my two boys and my dear Ellie aren’t hanging in every corner.”

“You lock those doors at night?”

Gil breathed out hard through his nose. He looked to be a patient man, but Ethan sensed the man in the white Stetson may no longer be comfortable with the direction the conversation was moving.

“Yes son, the offices of City Hall are locked down tight every night.” He glared back at Ethan. “You never can tell who may come wandering in off the interstate.”

“That’s probably not the only thing you should be concerned about. You do know this reservoir won’t hold them back forever.”

“You all are free to go, just the same way you drove in. No one is holding you here. And if you’re thinking about going anywhere near my family or friends, you’d better reconsider. I don’t care what you believe or what you’ve heard, but they will fix this. Maybe not now, but in time everything will be put back the way it was meant to be. Until then, we don’t need your help.”

“Again, we didn’t come here looking for trouble. We turned off the interstate just looking for a place to rest, maybe find something to eat. This is your town and we intend on leaving it just the way we found it.”

“Tonight?”

Griffin brought his right hand up to his hip and rested his thumb in his pocket. “Are you asking us to leave, or is this something else? Maybe I’m reading this wrong.”

“Son, you can call it whatever you want, but I don’t think I’m too comfortable sharing the streets of Green Valley with you and your group. This doesn’t have to get ugly. Hell, you don’t even have to clean up after yourselves. I’ll handle that once you all crack on, and as a show of goodwill, I’ll leave you to spend the rest of the day getting rested for your trip. Somehow I think you all are going to need it.”

The bearded former mayor paused. His face tightening as he pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes. “I’ll give y’all till sundown.”