This Shattered Land - 02 (41 page)

“I’m
off to bed. Ya’ll have fun.” I said, forcing a smile.

“G’night
Gabe.” Brian said.

I
nodded absently before walking down the narrow hallway to my bedroom. My meager
possessions laid out on the bare carpet seemed small in contrast to the large
space. Double-wide trailers, for all that people used to make fun of them,
actually have a surprising amount of square footage. I shut the flimsy door
behind me and stood still for a few moments, my eyes adjusting to the dark. The
only illumination in the room came from moonlight streaming in through a window
overlooking the rest of the neighborhood. I spent a few minutes staring out
that window and watching the silent community beyond. Lighting bugs in the
yards and orange candlelight shining out from shuttered windows made a warm and
inviting contrast to the evening gloom. Seeing all these people safe in their
homes and enjoying something close to a normal life left me with a sense of
hope that I hadn’t felt for longer than I could remember. If enough people
worked together like they did in this town, maybe we really could rebuild.

Maybe.

*****

Doc
Laroux let Eric and I move into an empty house down the street from her place.
She told us her grandmother had lived there until she passed away five years
before the Outbreak. The doc stopped by to clean he place up every few weeks,
but no one had lived there in a long time. It was a small house with a wide
lawn surrounded by tall, graceful oak trees. Comfortable and sparsely furnished
inside, it boasted a fireplace, a woodstove, and a bar-b-que pit in the back
yard. It suited Eric and me just fine.

Life
was quiet for another couple of weeks as Eric continued to heal and grow
stronger. We had no choice but to rest, and it did the both of us a world of
good. I was surprised at how quickly and easily we settled in to our new
routine. Living a short walk from the Glovers let us spend most mornings
picking Tom’s brain for the news around town. People were still suspicious of
us, but seemed to trust us a little bit more every day.

I
was anxious to get back on the road, but I sensed a strong hesitation from Tom
and Sarah to continue the journey westward. In light of everything they had
been through in the last couple of months, I couldn’t say that I blamed them.
Damn near getting killed a couple of times and watching your little boy get
shot will do that to a person. It pained me to think of leaving this place
without my new friends at my side, but I had to admit it made a lot of sense for
them to stay here. There was plenty of work for Tom, Brian was finally around
children his own age, and Sheriff Elliott had let Sarah know that there was a
deputy’s badge waiting for her if she wanted to take it up. What more could
Colorado possibly offer?

Sarah
would be the hardest for me to let go. Whatever it was I felt for her refused
to go away no matter how much I wished it would. She caught me staring at her
enough times to know what was going on, but so far had been kind enough not to
call me out on it. She didn’t need to, Eric busted my chops about it every
chance he got. It was annoying, but it was also necessary. I needed to be
reminded that I can’t make a move on a married woman, much less the wife of a
man I call a friend. I kept my feelings to myself and resolved to leave both
Sarah, and this town, far behind me.

Allison
came around every day to check on Eric’s progress. That was the excuse she used,
anyway. I wasn’t fooled. Any idiot could tell she was had a crush on the guy by
the way she looked at him. Eric surprised me by acting like a gentleman for a
change, and not jumping at the chance to take advantage of the young doctor’s
obvious attraction to him. He went on walks with her down by the creek, let her
show him a few of the town’s historic sites, and even got up before sunrise one
morning to leave a bouquet of flowers on her doorstep. When he got back, I
asked him who he was and what the hell had he done with Eric. He frowned at me
and gave me the finger. I had a good laugh over that one.

The
third Saturday after arriving in town, Eric mentioned that he would like to
have a romantic dinner alone with Allison, and politely requested that I get
the fuck out of the house for the evening.

“You
healed enough for whatever it is you got planned?” I asked, not even trying to
cover a grin.

“Please.”
He said, affecting a Russian accent. “I am strong, like bull. Much vigor I
have, full of manly power.”

“Full
of something, anyway.”

He
pointed a finger and opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a knock
at the door.

 “I
got it.” I said. “I’ll let her in on my way out.”

Allison
stood waiting on the front porch. She smelled like Chanel No. 5, wore a
flattering black dress with a shiny pair of high heels, and carried a bottle of
red wine in the crook of her elbow. I pointed at it.

“Isn’t
he supposed to bring you one of those?”

She
smiled as she stepped inside. “Only if I’m the one doing the cooking.”

“Ah.
I’ll have to remember that.” I walked outside and threw a wave over my
shoulder. “You kids have fun.”

“Bye,
Gabe.” Allison smiled and waved back.

Eric
met her in the foyer and put a hand on the small of her back, kissing her cheek
and pushing the door shut. A decade ago, I might have been jealous, but the
years have a way of tempering down a man’s urges. Most of the time.

With
nothing else to do, I decided to take Cohen up on his offer and head over to
the poker game at Mike Stall’s place. I’d met most of the regular players over
the last few weeks, and felt certain I’d be welcome at the table, especially
when I started sharing the quart of Kentucky bourbon riding in my canteen. I’d
been saving the hooch for a special occasion, and getting kicked out of the
house by my best friend and his new love interest was probably about as special
as things were likely to get, so hell with it. Time to get drunk.

I
was halfway to the corner of Mill Street and Duncan when a familiar voice called
out to me from a house on my right.

“Mr.
Garrett, over here.” I turned and looked. A familiar figure in Army camouflage
was hustling down the street in my direction.

“Steve?”
I asked, not able to make out his face in the darkness.

“Yeah,
it’s me. I was just headed over to your place. I need to talk to you about
something.” He said, slowing down and stopping as he reached me.

“I’d
stay away from my place for the time being. Eric has company over.”

Steve
smiled. “Doc Laroux?”

I
shook my head. “You’ll have to ask Eric. It ain’t my place to talk about it.”

“So
it
is
the doctor.”

I
scowled at him. “You lookin’ for gossip Captain, or did you actually have
something you want to discuss?”

The
smile left his face, his expression going neutral in its wake. “The mayor is
back in town.” He said, all business. “I’m sure you’ve heard about that.”

I
nodded. “Being that I don’t live under a rock, yeah, I have.”

“I
have some information that may prove useful to you in your negotiations with
her tomorrow.”

“I
wasn’t aware that I’m meeting with the mayor tomorrow.”

“I
have it on good authority that you are.” He stepped closer and lowered his
voice. “The town is desperately short on medicine, but they’re more worried
about the Free Legion. I think you and I have similar problems.” 

A
sinking feeling hit my gut. I had a pretty good idea where this was going.

“Go
on.” I said.

“The
Legion is growing. People are quite literally coming out of the woodwork to
join up with them. As you can imagine, the people who live here aren’t exactly
thrilled about that.”

“What
does that have to do with me?” I asked.

“The
mayor is going to ask for your help, same as she did with me. If you don’t
help, she’ll probably take most of your supplies before she lets you leave this
town.”

“Then
what’s stopping me from leaving right now?”

Steve
shook his head. “Every guard on the walls is under strict orders not to let you
or any of your friends leave town until Sheriff Elliott gives the word.”

“Is
that a fact?” I said, my temper beginning to rise.

“Listen,
you and I both know they couldn’t keep you here if you really wanted to get
out, but someone might get hurt in the process. Is that really how you want
this to go down?”

I
stared at him for a moment, but didn’t reply. He took my silence as
acknowledgement.

“There’s
another way out of this mess, for both of us.” He said.

“What’s
your part in this?” I said, suddenly suspicious. “You man has to be healed up
by now. If he’s not being held prisoner, then why are you still here?” 

 Steve
lowered his voice to a near whisper. “I radioed back to Bragg after I brought
in Grabovsky for treatment. When they found out I’d made contact with the
town’s leadership, they talked it over with the Springs, and came back with new
orders.”

“And
what would that be?”

“To
secure this town’s loyalty to the federal government.”

I
frowned, confused. “Why? What difference does it make whether these people
support the government or not?”

“Because
the top brass over in Colorado aren’t the only major players on the scene
anymore. They need all the allies they can get.”

“Allies?
Allies against who?” I asked.

“The
Outbreak left behind a giant power vacuum in this country. The survivors are
beginning to organize. They’re forming tribes, towns, even armies. Now that
everyone has figured out how to fight the infection, people are slowly
beginning to exterminate the walkers and take back territory for the living.
The biggest threat to the future of the United States of America isn’t the
teeth of the dead, it’s the anger and resentment of the living. The ultimate
goal here is to reunite this country, but if we don’t start winning back the
hearts and minds of the American people, then pretty soon there’s not going to
be
a country left to restore.”

“So
that’s what you’re here for? To win these people to your cause?”

“No,
Mr. Garrett. I’m here to help them take back their country. To build a future
where their children don’t have to spend every day in fear for their lives, a
future where they can prosper and live in peace.”

I
stared at him for a long moment, searching for any sign of deception. Nothing
tripped my bullshit detector. Either Captain McCray was being sincere, or he
was a damned good liar. Nevertheless, I wasn’t quite ready to trust him just
yet.

“So
you expect me to believe that you don’t have your own agenda here. You’re just
being a good soldier, following orders and doing your duty to God and country.
I’m supposed to believe that?”

The
solder’s face darkened, his eyes turned hard and angry. “You believe whatever
you want to believe.” He said, keeping his voice calm. “I told you what you
need to know. It’s up to you to decide what to do with the information. Just
remember that you’re in a position to help these people, Mr. Garrett.”

“Help
them? After they decided to keep me captive and try to extort me? Why would I
want to help them?”

“Because
they let you in and helped you when they didn’t have to. Because Eric would be
dead now if not for these people. They’ve fed you, provided you with medical
treatment, given you a safe place to live, and now all they’re asking you to do
is give something back. Is that too unreasonable for you?”

An
uncomfortable silence stood between us for a moment. I didn’t want to admit it,
but he had a point.

“You’re
right.” I said, letting out a heavy sigh. “In their place, I’d probably do the
same thing.”

Steve’s
anger faded. “Listen, we stand to accomplish more if we work together on this. Talk
to the mayor tomorrow, then come find me. We’ll figure something out.”

I
nodded. “I guess that’s as good a plan as any. See you tomorrow, Captain.”

“See
you tomorrow.” He said, then turned and walked away.

I
stood there alone for a while, staring at the moon and feeling old, tired, and
damn near used up. I guess there really is no rest for the weary.

*****

I
didn’t make it to the poker game; the Glover’s place was as far as I got. They
could tell something was bothering me, and were kind enough to let me crash the
in the spare bedroom for the night. Allison had left for work the next morning
when I got home, and Eric was in the kitchen cooking breakfast in a predictably
chipper mood.

“Gabe-man.”
He called as I shut the door behind me. “What’s shakin’ buddy?”

I
took a seat at the bistro table. “Looks like you are, amigo. I take it things
went well last night?”

“Come
on man, you know a gentleman doesn’t talk about things like that.” He replied
as he stirred eggs in a bowl.