Dead Of Winter (The Rift Book II) (30 page)

“Where did they go?” Billy asked a young man as he ran by.

“Who?” he replied with a speck of annoyance.

“The two ladies. The ones carrying the bucket.”

“Gotta drop the oil on ‘em,” the man replied, and kept on going.

“Oh,” replied Billy.

Before too long the commotion started to settle down. A hushed murmur took where there had once been sharp words. Billy felt eyes upon him. He glanced at Christopher, who fidgeted as if his clothes didn’t fit, and realized the boy felt them, as well.

A few minutes passed. High-fives were exchanged and the room emptied out until only three remained – Billy, Christopher, and the man who’d introduced himself as Jamie Forrest.

Forrest was busy packing away the riot gear he and his men had worn. He folded and stacked each article in the office behind the reception desk. The manner in which he worked bled professionalism. And when he began checking the rifles and shotguns, emptying their chambers and rubbing them down with a greased cloth before leaning them against the wall, this assumption proved true.

When he finished he strolled up to the silent pair, who hadn’t moved since they arrived in the lobby. He had a hop in his step and a smile on his face. He stuck out his hand. Billy accepted it.

“William Mathis,” said Billy.

“Nice to meet you, Bill,” Forrest replied. He withdrew his hand, twitched his nose, and wiped the mess that had come off of Billy’s palm on his pants. “Sorry we weren’t properly introduced before,” he said absentmindedly. “Always good to shake a man’s hand. Lets you know where they stand.”

“And where do
I
stand?”

Forrest measured him. “Strong grip. Confident guy. Maybe a tad crazy. Hell, you
must
be crazy to pull the stunt you just did.”

Billy nodded. “I have been called worse,” he said.

“You talk funny,” said Forrest, his head tilted.

“I think so, too,” Christopher chimed in.

Forrest turned to the boy. His smile widened. “And what’s your name, son?” he asked.

“Chris.”

He spread his arms wide. “Well, Chris and William, as I said before, welcome to the Omni. It’s good to have new folks around.” His smile melted away. “I gotta ask, though. You guys hurt at all? Anyone get bit?”

They both shook their heads. “I think we are pretty much unscathed,” Billy said, “with the exception of a few bumps and bruises.”

A relieved sigh escaped Forrest’s lips and his smile returned, albeit more reserved this time. “Thank God,” was all he said.

After a short span of silence Billy clapped Christopher on the shoulder and asked Forrest, “Are you in charge here?”

The man shook his head. His large nose wobbled as if its cartilage had the consistency of gelatin. “Absolutely not,” he replied. “I’m just the slash man. Janitor-slash-cook-slash-head of security.”

“What were you…before?” asked Christopher.

Forrest’s eyes grew weighty. “Retired. Was a cop, though. For a long time actually. Was glad to finally get out of it.” He sighed. “Looks like I’m one again, unfortunately.”

Billy nodded to him. “You performed a dutiful task out there, James,” he said. “And I thank you for that.”

“No problem. Please, call me Jamie. Or Forrest. My gramps was James, not me.”

“Fine. Now, I do not want to seem ungrateful, but I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

“What is it?”

“We are looking for someone. A young white woman. Dark, shoulder length hair.” He almost mentioned that she might be in a coma but decided against it, instead saying, “Very beautiful, in a strong way,” instead.

“Maybe. She got a name?” Forrest asked.

“Marcy,” he replied.

Forrest squinted. He bobbed his head, turned around, and heading for the stairway the ladies with the bucket of oil had entered. “I’ll be right back,” he shouted.

“What was
that
all about?” asked Christopher when the door swung closed.

“Not sure.”

“I don’t think they trust us.”

“I know.”

The boy grinned. He was beginning to look alive, more alive than Billy had ever seen him.

“Listen,” Christopher said. “When he gets back, let me talk to him.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, you looking for some girl ain’t the best story in the world. Shoot, you haven’t even told
me
why we are. Let’s face it, coming from you, it sounds a bit…creepy. Especially if she
is
here, and she has family.”

“Creepy? Why?”

“Look at yourself, Mister Mathis. You’re not exactly cuddly.”

Billy glanced down and chuckled. “I suppose you might be right.”

“That’s right I am. Trust me. This’ll work.”

“I guess we will find out,” he replied, and pulled the boy close to him.

Ten minutes later Forrest reemerged. An old man walked beside him. His skin was wrinkled and pleated around his cheeks yet his eyes were bright and alive. He walked with a cane and Forrest seemed to try and keep to his partner’s slower pace.

“Bill and Chris, this is Doctor John Terry,” said Forrest. “He kinda runs things here. John, this is Bill and Chris.”

They exchanged pleasantries. All the while the old man eyed Billy with a distrustful expression.

“I apologize for our appearances,” Billy said to the man, “and our smell. It has been a long week. We appreciate your assistance – and your hospitality – immensely.”

“Your appearances are excused,” Dr. Terry replied, “but what are you doing here?”

Christopher puffed out his chest and spoke up. “We’re looking for my sister,” he said. “When the snow stopped we left
Greensburg
and came this way to look for her. She moved here a while back. I was hoping she didn’t get killed, and then we saw the flashing light thingy, and figured this’d be my best shot.”

“
Greensburg
?” the old doctor said, raising his eyebrows. “That’s quite the trek.”

“Yeah. Wasn’t very fun.”

“And how about you?” Dr. Terry asked, turning to Billy. “Why are you with this boy?”

“He’s my tutor,” said Christopher.

Dr. Terry blinked and shook his head. “That so?”

“Yes,” said Billy, “it is.”

“I don’t think so,” the old man countered. He pointed a slender finger in his direction. “I know you. I
know
I know you. I just can’t place it. Can I trust you?”

Billy shrugged the bag from his shoulders, dropped it to the ground, and spread his arms out wide. “I have nothing to hide, sir. There is a pistol in my bag, but that is all. We had it for protection. Please, may we now discuss the whereabouts of my young friend’s sister?”

The old man snapped his fingers. There was excitement in his voice. “That’s
it!
I
knew
I recognized you. That voice, those mannerisms. Bill, is it? William Mathis?”

Billy grimaced and backed up a step. “Yes, that is me. You know who I am?”

“Of
course
I do, son,” the old man laughed. “My assistant
Leon
is your biggest fan…or was, anyway. So of course I had to check up on you. Read both your books, too. Some pretty cynical stuff, but well written.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I need to know one more thing. When did you get out of prison?”

“Well, you see…actually, may we discuss this later? Can we find out about the girl first?”

Dr. Terry eyed him suspiciously. “I suppose,” he said, and then glanced at the boy. “Let’s see about this sister of yours, shall we? We have someone who just might fit that bill.”

As they walked the halls of the Omni William Penn, Dr. Terry told his side of the story. He described how he and his wife had been there celebrating – in a hushed, somber way – their fiftieth wedding anniversary with associates from
Allegheny General
Hospital
. The old man had been a neurosurgeon, though reduced to a consulting role after arthritis made surgery impossible for him. That was okay, explained the old doctor, because he rather liked the relief of not holding the godlike power of life or death in his hands.

When the world ended they’d been in the reception hall. Explosions rocked the city. People ran scared. Luckily for all those nice folks from the medical industry, Jamie Forrest and his state cop buddies were there, as well, having drinks in the bar downstairs. When the first explosion hit Forrest did his best to keep everyone calm. He rushed about and told people to hide. Then he and his closest friend, Matt Lexington, gathered up some folks and worked on barricading the front doors. Also lucky for them, as it turned out, the Omni was positioned away from the center of the disturbance. By the time the Wraiths arrived (at the mention of their media-given name Christopher nodded, an air of recollection and shame in his youthful features), two hours after that initial blast, the place had been pretty much sealed tight.

They’d stayed holed up in the hotel ever since. They ignored the military’s pleading for volunteers to help fight the horde, thinking it safer to stay their ground. It proved to be the right call. Another battle raged, and then after a while all fell silent. No more soldiers came to their door, no more creatures tried to break in. Snow started to fall. The survivors found they could move about the city pretty much at will. Finally they placed the beacon on the third floor, to try and alert other possible survivors of their safe haven.

Dr. Terry poked his thumb over his shoulder. “And then
they
showed up.”

Billy nodded. “How long ago?”

“Two weeks, maybe more. At first, even though we were surprised as hell about the fact they actually
existed
, they weren’t a problem. One or two would wander up the front steps and bang on the barricade. They were easy enough to take care of. Jamie and the boys actually started playing games with them. But then the weather got warmer and their numbers grew. We had to reinforce the blockade you saw out front to keep them out. It was like they all just…thawed out.”

“Funny enough,” said Billy, “I think that is exactly what happened.”

“That so?”

“Yes. We watched some of them reanimate just outside of
Frick
Park
.”

“I’ll be damned.”

“How’s that happen?” asked Christopher.

“Not sure,” said the old doctor with a shrug. “We heard rumors that RF had regenerative properties the government was trying to harness, but we assumed that was a conspiracy theory thought up by a bunch of young folks who played too many video games.” He chuckled without humor. “Looks like I was wrong, at least about part of it. Oh, wait, here we are.”

He stopped before a large set of doors. Billy looked up and there was the banner from his dreams.
Happy Anniversary John and Katy – Fifty and Counting!
His anticipation built and he shuddered. Christopher noticed this and gave him a sideways glance. Billy looked at him and wagged his finger.
Don’t worry about it
, the gesture said.