U.G.L.Y (32 page)

     “Did you sleep with him?” I asked.

     “Yes, we spent most of the next two days together. The time with him was wonderful, we hadn't been together in many years and for a brief time I forgot about everything else. We shared an imaginary world with no responsibilities for those two days.”

     “Did you confront your husband when you got home?”

“No, I came home pretending that nothing had happened and he greeted me like he normally did. There was no hint that anything was going on. That went on for several weeks until I was assigned the project that took me out of town just before the first wave overran our neighborhood.”

     The truck engine droned on as we continued east. It was almost dark and to the west we could see the failing glow of the sun on the horizon.

     “We slept together one last time the night I left. I was on top of him and just as he began to climax I asked him if she had let him do that to her. He looked into my eyes and said he was sorry, then he kissed me as deeply as he had ever kissed me before. It was a final kiss. I didn't say anything else. I finished packing and then kissed the kids and I left. The next time I heard from him was when the house was overrun.”

     “Were you going to leave him?” I asked “When you said that to him, did you plan on leaving him or were you going to live with it?”

     “I don't know. I loved him very much and I couldn't blame him for is infidelity. I didn't feel like I had done anything wrong when I spent the time with my friend either. Maybe I had put us in limbo and was ready to clear the slate and erase that pain from my heart. I think I felt a little betrayed but I was willing to let it pass. I have no idea why I asked him about her or why I really wanted him to tell me.”

     “But in the next instant,” She continued, “ They were gone and this horrible mess began”. I couldn't go home, and all I could do was stay where I was and try to help figure out what was going on. I had forgotten about the rest till now, till we became intimate”.

     She looked into my eyes.

“You remind me of him, the friend I called. You even have the same color eyes”.

She reached behind my head and ran her fingers through my hair. I leaned forward and kissed her. She reminded me of someone too.

38
.

-Three Days-

    
"Is
there
any
coffee?"
I asked,
still
groggy,
as
I
stumbled
into
the
makeshift
kitchen
that
had
been
set
up
in
the
triage
area
of
the
refugee
camp.

“
Yea,
the
coffee is
cold
and
tastes
like
shit. I
Had
to
use
the
grounds
from
yesterday.
”
Sofia
said,
looking
through
her
dirty
mangled
hair at me.
She looked
as
rough
as I felt
this
morning but
  as always, she pleasantly caught my attention
.

I
had
to
look
away,
suddenly
aware
I
was
staring
into
her
beautiful
green
eyes.
She noticed and smiled, not that either of us had the energy to do anything about it. But still I felt the yearning to have her.

“
Supplies
are
running
out and we
haven
’
t
been
restocked
in
too
long
now
. There is
still
no
word
if
we
will
be
”
She
continued
with
a
sullen
tone
in
her
voice.

     It had been several days travel from the train crossing to this desolate camp in the mountains.
When
we got here
there
was
still
some
coordination
with
government
controlled
military
units across the country.

Larger
bases
further
east, in
the
great
planes,
and
some
locations
in
the
midwest
were
still
secure
and
isolated
enough
to
continue
operations
and
make
attempts
at
controlling
what was
thought
was
left of the country
.

The M
arines that were left, were still holding up their structure. They were a strong bunch,
brave
and
heroic,
set
on
wiping
out
the
scourge
and
taking
back
their
great
country.

Major
Levitt
was
becoming a more
somber
figure over the last few days.
H
e
had
scars,
physical
and
emotional,
and
when
he
spoke
you
could
hear
it
in
his
spirit.
Decisions he had made over the last few days were beginning to take their toll.

He
was
strong
but
I
think
he
began
giving
up
towards
the
end.
But
he
and
his
men
were
gone this morning
,
perhaps
foolishly
giving
themselves
to
protect
the
rest
of
us.
M
aybe
they
simply
gave
up
and
wanted
to
go
out
in
the
biggest
blaze
of
glory
they
possibly
could.
O
ne
last
“OOOORAH
”
for
all
of
humanity.
I
don't
blame
them,
they
were
hero
’
s
and
deserved
to
die
like
hero
’
s
with
purpose
and
not
for
nothing.

    
It
had
been
two days
since
a
last
communication
crackled
over
the
weathered
radio
set
tucked
away
in
the
makeshift
command
tent
.
On the table next to the radio sat a log book with co
ordinates
and
a
rough
plan
for
extraction
scribbled
down
.

T
he
radio
operator
had been killed the day before
. He was on patrol around our camp when he was attacked by a mountain lion. By the time anyone got to him he was dead. He was our first casualty of nature and it felt strange. It felt unnatural now.

We were running out of food,
Communications
stopped
and
now
all
we
had
left
to
consider
was
that
we
finished
preparing
for
our
extraction,
and
hope
that
a
transport
was
at
the
airfield we had been given coordinates for when
we
got
there.

The
plan
called
for
extraction
three days
from
that
bleak
morning.
It
will
be
a
tough
run, and
we
have
few
vehicles
left
running. T
he
ones
we
have,
would
be
loaded
down
and
slow
moving.
The
terrain
was
rugged. Little
more
than
game
trails
crossed
the
plateau
and
we
needed
to
get
to
the dirt
airfield
with
enough
time
to
meet
a
transport,
but
not
early
enough
to
allow
an
y hosts to
catch
up
to
us.

Hosts weren’t
slow,
especially
after
they
had
fed.
T
hey
could
get
up
and
moving
in
a
hurry.
Too
bad
these
guys
weren
’
t
like
living
dead
zombies in the movies
that
just
lumbered
along
blindly
eating
what
ever fell in front of them. The infected pursued their prey.

These
guys
were
active
and
well
fed,
they
may
not
be
outwardly
conscious
but
they
instinctively
fed
as
often
as
they
could.
Their e
nergy
levels
were
high
and
and
they
could
coordinate
attacks.
They
had started
hunting
in
packs
and that was making
it
more
and
more
difficult
for
the
remainder
of
us.
We
were
tired
and
stressed
beyond
our
limits and
we
were
dying.
O
ur
mental
health
was
failing.
They
were
fed,
rested and driven by instinct and
we
didn't
stand
a
chance.