Part 52 (1/2)
Dale just grunted, grinned, and donned his sungla.s.ses.
”I love it when he does that,” Ken whispered to Lenore.
”He's straight,” Lenore chided him softly.
”For now!” Ken then heaved his rifle over one shoulder and jauntily strode over to Dale. ”Let's be off, my good man.”
”I'm gonna punch him,” Dale said with a grin.
”Get in line,” Lenore answered and sulked.
* * * * * Katarina read over the map and the notes from their briefing. She looked nervous, but was keeping it in check. Bill looked down at his boots and sighed. His beer belly was smaller now and he didn't huff when he ran. He was becoming a fit man who was dating a younger woman. And here he was running off to lead a zombie parade. He wasn't sure whether he was brave or a d.a.m.n fool.
”I think I have this memorized now,” Katarina decided.
”You better. That's our a.s.ses,” Bill answered her gruffly. He heaved himself up into the fancy Durango and adjusted the seat.
Katarina slammed the pa.s.senger door shut. Like everyone else on the mission dubbed ”Operation Distract” she was in hunting clothes. Only a few volunteer soldiers were in their old army camouflage.
”I got it. I promise. Just do what I say.”
”Oh, G.o.d, is that what our marriage will be like?” he kidded her.
She took him seriously for a split second, then laughed and smacked his arm. ”Oh, you.”
Ahead of them Bette and Linda shared one last kiss. Behind them Ken was tapping out some obscure song on the car horn.
Dale shouted, ”Lesbians kissing, oh yeah! A good day to die!”
Maddie smacked Dale's cheek playfully then gave him a big hug. Dale lifted the older woman off the ground, hugging her tight, and kissing her cheek. She was his surrogate Mom and tears were running down her cheeks. Rune and Dale clasped hands, exchanging last words, then Dale slid into the Durango's pa.s.senger seat. Rune gently led Maddie away as the older woman wept with worry.
Juan stood nearby watching with Travis and Katie. He noted that the vehicles were ready and motioned to the gate operator. The gates began to whine open.
”Here we go.” Bill gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying not to let his nerves get to him.
”Yeah.”
They both took deep breaths.
”I wonder what twenty thousand zombies look like,” Katarina finally said.
”Dunno, honey,” Bill answered. ”But we're about to find out.”
2. Facing Death The sun burned brightly in the sky above as the helicopter flew low over the three Durangos speeding down the old farm road. Already nature was taking advantage of the fall of Man. Crabgra.s.s spread tendrils across the unused road as weeds poked through the asphalt. The elements were eating away at the structures along the road as the foliage around them rose up and shrouded them in leafy robes.
It made Curtis feel despair about their situation. How easily humankind was being erased from the face of the earth.
”Almost there,” Greta's voice said in his headset.
s.h.i.+fting in his seat, Curtis looked ahead, but saw no sign of the mobs of undead. ”I don't see them.”
”We estimate that they are about fifteen miles in front of us at this point,”
Kevin's voice answered him. ”Bring the Durangos to a stop.”
Curtis looked into the back of the helicopter where Kevin sat flipping through a sheath of papers on a clipboard. The man's forehead was beaded with sweat. These were his plans that everyone had agreed on and he had insisted on flying out with Greta to run strategy from the air.
Curtis resented him to no end. Kevin was not one of them. He was one of the others. An interloper. Just one more person to complicate things and make it hard at the fort.
With a curt nod, he sat back in his chair and looked down at the Durangos now idling on the road below. Linda was down there with that s.l.u.t. It ate at him that Linda was a volunteer, but at the same time whatever happened, she deserved it. He had hoped that she would see the light.
That he was the one for her and that she needed to be with him. But that hope felt futile every time he saw the two women together. The Southern Baptists had that right. It was just not natural.
If only he could go back to the old days, sitting at the station house, flipping through the latest catalog detailing the best in prisoner restraints, watching Linda deliver the mail every morning. Those were the days.
”Bette,” Kevin's voice said in his headset once more.
”I'm here,” Bette answered.
Curtis could feel the hesitation in Kevin before his voice said, ”You have a go.”
”Roger that,” Bette answered.
Curtis looked down to see the Durango that Linda was in began to move down the road, while the other two remained in position. The windows of the departing window rolled down and the two women stuck out their hands to wave and give the thumbs up.
Curtis felt his stomach slowly roll over, but his jaw set. Looking down at his map, he readied his pen. Time to go to work.
* * * * * Bette closed her window as she drove on, a grin on her face, her blond hair sticking up around her head at odd angles. Grabbing Linda's hand, she kissed it and winked at her.
”Let's do this!”
”Woot!” Linda shouted out the closing window on her side.
”Scared?”
”s.h.i.+tless.”
”Me, too.” Bette donned a very worn dark green cap. ”I swear my insides are quivering.”
Linda pushed up the brim of her beat up cowboy hat and exhaled slowly.
”I think my stomach exploded.”
Reaching out, Bette snagged her hand and squeezed. ”You didn't have to come,”she said softly.
Linda looked at Bette very intently. ”Oh, yes. I did. Where you go, I go.”
Tears flashed into Bette's eyes as she pressed a string of kisses to Linda's knuckles. I'm lucky to be with you.”
”Let's hope your luck keeps up,” Linda answered, her voice trembling with emotion.