Caldera | Book 12 | Kingdom Come Read online

  Glancing at her reflection, she “tsk’d” at what she saw. “I won’t win any fashion shows, but the black will do what it’s supposed to do.”

  She grabbed the faux leather jacket she had found when she and Simon first “woke up” and pulled it over the t-shirt. “Time for take out.”

  Jedidiah paced nervously through the lobby, trying to ignore the grunts and growls in the theater beside him. He knew that his soldiers were growing hungrier and more anxious, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep them pacified.

  He paused and stared at the brass door handle leading into the darkened theater. He felt torn; he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Part of him felt that even a single sacrifice would placate them another day or two without satiating their hunger, but another part of him was too afraid to go against the angel of light. He knew that they needed to feel enough desperate hunger that no amount of resistance would prevent them from leveling the unclean. They would strike the heathens like a living wave and wash over them with the glory of the Lord. For that, they must be primed.

  He chewed at his cheek nervously and paused at the glass doors, his eyes staring up into the heavens for answers. “Your will be done, Lord.” He swallowed hard and dreaded the answer to his next question. “But can you please help your humble servant? Calm the beasts? Stave their hunger long enough to do your bidding?”

  He felt his chest tighten and he shook, fearing the intense light that he was certain was about to sear his corneas. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt his entire body tense in anticipation.

  He held his breath, waiting for the arrival of the Lord’s herald…

  Nothing.

  Slowly Jedidiah opened his eyes and cautiously looked around. He could still hear the soldiers scuffling and howling, and he feared that his prayer would go unanswered. He let the out the breath he’d been holding and stepped away from the glass door. “You know what needs doing, Lord. I am the clay in your hands. Make me what you will.”

  He stepped back towards the theater and froze when the cries and moans suddenly stopped. He held his breath and strained his ears, sure that at any moment the Lord’s army would begin fighting amongst themselves again.

  When no sound came, he began to fear the worst and crept towards the doors. He gently pulled one open a crack and listened intently.

  He could hear gentle snores, light grunts, and even a distant fart as the beasts all lay down and slept.

  Jedidiah gently closed the door and crept back to his office. He stepped inside and knelt, smiling to himself. “Thank you, Lord.” He then lay on the couch and sighed as he closed his eyes. “I knew you would provide.”

  12

  Buck sat quietly in the small dining area of the RV and listened as the men tried to describe Lana. Although he’d only caught a glance of the woman with Simon, he was certain he’d be able to tell if the two were the same person.

  “And she was batshit crazy,” Herman added.

  “Well, she was a female,” Hammer muttered.

  Roger stifled a chuckle and waved the men on. “We meant more of a physical description. Buck here only saw her once.”

  “Barely,” Buck said as he leaned back. “Please, go on.”

  Hammer sighed and shook his head. “What can I say. Skinny. Pale.”

  “Bald headed,” Herman added. “Mouthy little cuss, too.”

  “Ballsy.” Hammer leaned forward. “Bitch killed a rabbit or a coon or some such and nailed it to Vee’s door. Wrote a threat in the animal’s blood, too.”

  “Whoa. Batshit crazy’s an understatement,” Roger replied.

  “Yeah, there’s a difference between crazy and psycho,” Hammer crossed his arms, “and this bitch is psycho.”

  “And your guy, Simon…he just put up with it?” Roger asked.

  The two men glanced at each other then shrugged. Herman’s voice was low as he responded. “We don’t know what might have happened behind closed doors, but…” He looked to Hammer.

  “Word is that she wanted Simon to take over and be the king of the RV park. He told her to pound sand, so she found the biggest and dumbest guy she could and screwed him silly until he started listening to her. He tried to step up, and Simon…” he trailed off.

  “He ran them off,” Herman finished for him. “They came back later and stuck him.”

  Buck looked to Roger and shrugged. “Skinny and pale. That could be any woman who was previously infected.”

  “I’m sure the bald would as well,” Roger added. He sat down next to Buck and eyed the two men. “What about Simon? Did he drink a lot or threaten people?”

  The two men exchanged glances again. “I don’t think I ever saw him so much as touch a beer,” Herman replied.

  “Me neither.” Hammer sat back and gave the man a grave stare. “And the only people he ever threatened was to protect other folks.”

  Roger took a deep breath and shook his head. “I dunno. It doesn’t sound like the Simon we know.”

  Buck turned to him and nearly whispered, “But he did tell me that he’d changed. That he missed us on purpose when he shot at us.” He gave a slight shrug. “Maybe he wasn’t lying.”

  “I want to know what all of this means in the end,” Hammer stated flatly. “If our guy ends up being the fella you got a hard on for…what do you intend to do?”

  Roger opened his mouth, but Buck placed a hand on his arm. “It wouldn’t be up to us. We have a leader too.” He averted his eyes and sighed. “Look, there’s a lot of bad blood between us and the Simon that attacked us.”

  “Numerous times,” Roger added.

  “Yes, numerous times. And a lot of really good people were hurt or killed because of him.”

  “Not to mention all of his own people that he treated like slaves,” Roger added. “He had laborers and sex slaves and—”

  “Then it can’t be our guy,” Hammer lied. He knew of Simon’s reputation before he’d showed up at the camp, and he knew exactly what the man was capable of. “The guy we had in our camp protected the weak and the innocent.”

  “He didn’t come in guns blazing and take over.” Herman quietly added. “He asked nicely if they could make camp with us. You know…safety in numbers.”

  Roger’s brows rose with the expression. “Really?”

  Herman nodded. “He was just like any of us except…when somebody else tried to do us an injustice.”

  “Then he became judge, jury and executioner, right?” Roger asked.

  Herman shook his head. “No. Not at all.” He cleared his throat and looked to Hammer. “We had these fellas…they started out nice. Used to hunt and fish and…” he trailed off.

  “Your basic country boys,” Hammer finished. “They provided for a lot of the folks. Supplemented our food supplies.”

  “And?” Roger asked.

  “And…” Hammer looked away. He held his hands out. “They decided that they was owed. They picked one of the younger women and beat her man black and blue and was about to rape her when Simon stepped in. He spanked them publicly and sent them packing.”

  Herman scooted closer to the table. “Except they wouldn’t stay gone. And…Simon held court. Kind of.” He glanced to Hammer and shrugged. “Kind of. He had everybody come out and vote on whether them boys should be killed for what they tried to do.”

  “Except nobody had the balls to vote yes,” Hammer finished. “Instead, they was let go, and damned if those idiots didn’t come right back and try to kill Simon.”

  “Then he killed them,” Roger stated.

  Hammer nodded. “But they was warned. Leave and you live. Come back and they were dead men walking.” He shrugged. “The dumbasses came back.”

  Roger nodded and came to his feet. “Thank you gentlemen. You’ve helped clear things up for us.”

  He tapped Buck on the shoulder and the two stepped down out of the RV. Buck looked to Roger. “It’s him, isn’t it?”

  Roger nodded. “I’d bet on it.”

&n
bsp; The pair started walking up the street towards Hatcher’s home. “So, what are we going to do?” Buck asked.

  “We tell Hatcher and let him decide.”

  “Try it now,” Davis called out from under the hood.

  Carol twisted the key and the big V-10 engine turned over a few times then revved to life. “Woo-hoo!” She slapped the horn and caused Davis to jerk away, banging his head on the hood.

  “Dammit!” He stepped away from the truck, rubbing the back of his head. “That wasn’t cool.”

  She held a hand to her mouth and gave him a wide eyed stare. “I’m sorry. That really was an accident.” She slipped out from behind the wheel and reached for him. “Let me see.”

  “It’s fine.” He stepped away from her. “But I owe you.”

  She opened her mouth to argue then closed it. “Understood.”

  He gave her a confused look. “Grab your gear and let’s get it stowed. How’s it doing on gas?”

  “Half a tank, but it’s old. I’m sure it could use something fresher.”

  “There isn’t anything fresher,” Davis replied. He walked back to Molly and opened a side compartment. He fished around inside and pulled out a small box filled with red plastic bottles. “Put one of these in the tank.”

  “What is it?” she asked as she reached for the box.

  “Fuel stabilizer.” Davis handed it to her then closed up the side compartment. “Whenever we get fuel, we can add that as it’s needed.”

  Andre stepped forward and lifted a bottle from the box. “This is for the long term storage of fuel.”

  Davis nodded. “It also has other stuff that can increase the octane, prevent knock…” he looked at the man and shrugged. “It’s not gonna hurt.”

  Andre nodded and handed her the bottle. “He’s right. It won’t hurt.”

  She stuffed the box into the back of the massive SUV and pulled a bottle out. She unscrewed the fuel cap from the truck and twisted the lid off of the bottle. “Have a drink, new friend.” She tipped the bottle and dumped the contents into the tank. “Since we’re no longer in a ‘wanted vehicle’ can we slow down a bit? Maybe find real beds at night or something?”

  Davis pulled a spiral bound book from his pack and set it on the hood. “I don’t know.” He glanced to the sky and hoped to see some tell-tale sign that there was something in the air that shouldn’t be. “Possibly.”

  He opened the atlas and scanned the regional map. “If we stick to the smaller highways and try to be smart…” he trailed off, his fingers following the colored lines on the map. “We could make Mexico in a matter of days.” He looked up and met Carol’s gaze. “If we slow down, we could be adding more than just days.”

  Carol lowered her eyes and nodded. “I know. I was just hoping that we could…”

  “What?” Andre stepped closer and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “What weighs on you?”

  She shook her head gently. “I just hoped that if we were properly disguised and not readily identifiable by their drone, maybe we could slow down, and not just on the road. See how the world around us has changed. Maybe look for survivors. Make contact.”

  Andre looked to Davis and raised his brows. “Lieutenant?”

  Davis pondered the idea and blew his breath out slowly. “I suppose we could risk slowing down. But if we get even an inkling that they’re on to us, we should switch gears.”

  Carol looked up, her eyes hopeful. “I’m okay with that.”

  Davis narrowed his gaze. “I need you to understand what we’re possibly facing here.”

  She nodded stepping forward. “Tell me.”

  He glanced to the others, who had stopped moving their belongings and closed in, listening. “Depending on the type of drone they send, it could be armed. If they have reason to believe that they’ve spotted us, we might not have any indication what’s happening until we’re strumming harps and floating on clouds, asking each other what the hell just happened.”

  Carol looked to Andre and searched his face. “We run that same risk if we’re hauling ass to get out of here, don’t we?”

  Andre shrugged. He looked to Davis. “Are we not?”

  Davis threw his hands into the air and turned a slow circle. “I have no idea how they’re thinking. They could see this beast hauling ass down a highway and think we were locals running from infected or it might clue them in that it’s us. Maybe if they see it moving slowly and methodically, they could think it was locals searching for stuff to loot. On the other hand, they might know it’s just us, trying to be sneaky…or ignorant.” He sighed and closed the atlas. “I have no way of second guessing how they think or what they would do.”

  “Then what do you suggest?” Tamara asked. “You’ve brought us this far.”

  Davis lowered his face and squeezed his eyes shut. When he looked up again, he shook his head. “My gut tells me to haul ass south. Get across the border and disappear in Chihuahua or some other Mexican town, mix in with other survivors. Put distance between us and our last known location as fast as possible.”

  Andre looked to Carol and nodded. “I happen to agree with him.”

  She nodded weakly. “I’m just so tired of running.” She stepped away and gave him a tight lipped smile. “It feels like that’s all I’ve done since all of this started.” She turned and looked at the other researchers. “When the news first broke, I was called back to the office and we were sealed in until the National Guard escorted us to a military base. Then we ran to the flotilla. Then Andre and I both ran from them and were found again. Then we tried to run once the cure was released and were sent to Cheyenne Mountain.” She spun a slow circle and sighed dramatically. “I’m just so damned tired of running.”

  “You’d rather risk being found than to continue running?” Andre asked. “Even if it’s the last time we have to do it?”

  “Is it?” She didn’t mean to sound accusatory. “Can you honestly say that we’ll never have to run again once we cross that border? What if Walters discovers we’re in Mexico? Do you really think he’ll just throw his hands up and say, ‘well, darn it, they got away.’ Or do you think he’ll send a team after us?”

  Andre looked to Davis who nodded slowly. “He would.”

  “Then if we are always going to be at risk, I say we slow down and smell the goddam flowers along the way.” She realized how she came across and blushed. “I mean…”

  Irene gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, dear. We know exactly what you meant.” She turned and faced Davis. “I understand that this isn’t necessarily a democracy, but if votes count, I vote that we slow down and take a look at what’s left on our way out.”

  Randy and David both nodded in agreement. “Yeah, us too. But, only if you’re onboard, Lieutenant.”

  Davis looked to Dr. Benedict. “What say you, professor?”

  William slowly shook his head. “To be completely honest, I’m just looking to put distance between myself and our current administration.” He looked to the others and shrugged. “I hoped that we’d run across a few survivors in a nice town and maybe jump ship. Set up shop someplace that held a bit more promise.”

  Andre nodded and clapped the man on the shoulder. “Regardless of what you decide, I want you to know that we appreciate your efforts.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Okay.” Davis pushed off of Molly and stepped toward the group. “I’m nobody to call the shots for everyone,” he looked to Irene and smiled. “If you want this to be a democracy, then so be it. I’m just doing my best to get you safely away from those who would weaponize this virus. If you want to go slow and easy, we’ll go slow and easy. If you decide that the situation warrants hauling ass or hiding, we’ll do that. I’m basically your personal security detail during this op.”

  Carol stepped closer and gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to usurp your authority.”

  He smiled back at her. “You’re not, Doc. I’m not claiming any authority here.” He
glanced at the others. “I just want to keep you all alive and well.”

  “Thank you.” She leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek. “Believe me when I tell you how much we all appreciate your sacrifice.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s the least I could do.” He gave her a weak smile. “It was you folks that saved the world, remember?”

  Lana stared at the blood on her hands and began to lick the sticky, coagulating mess from her fingers. She barely remembered taking down the older woman and did her best to keep her cries muffled until she ripped out her neck.

  She dragged the body off behind another empty house and did what needed doing. She had wrapped the entrails into the woman’s nightgown and tossed it over the adobe wall behind the house, ensuring that she left no blood trail on the light colored, mud brick wall for others to spot.

  She didn’t have any real “prime” cuts to choose from, but she ripped loose the larger chunks of meat and packed them into the loose fitting t-shirt before pulling her black leather jacket back on.

  She hefted the makeshift ruck over her shoulder and snuck back to the bird shit house, being careful not to let the meat drain any blood onto the sidewalks as she crossed.

  She crept back into the house and checked the fridge. It was dead.

  She checked the sink and was surprised to find water available. She ran a sink of cold water and laid the meat gently into it.

  She hated the idea of allowing the water to leach away the flavorful blood from the meat, but she wanted to keep it moist—and cold—to slow the rotting process.

  Satisfied that she’d eaten her fill and that what she could salvage from the old biddy was as taken care of as she was able, she trudged up the stairs and sluffed off the blood-soaked clothes.

  She drew a bath and slipped into it, ignoring the fact that the water felt like ice. She used a cracked old bar of soap and a rag to scrub the brown blood stains from her arms and face then drained the tub.

  She stood in the bathroom and noted the first licks of light coming up in the east. She smiled to herself and rubbed her stomach. “I never thought I’d miss those massive biceps of yours, Tony, but beggars can’t be choosers.”