sense, in a way. People who were armed when the world fell apart tended to outlast those who weren’t.
It was a couple of yards before Janna spoke. “I was talking to Duncan and I wanted to say I was sorry for lying to you,” she said.
I shrugged. “I don’t blame you. You were trying to save your friend and didn’t have much choice. Although I will say had the fight gone the other way, you and your friend would not have been released.”
Janna looked down and nodded. “You’re probably right. But there wasn’t much I could do.”
“Don’t think about it. You lost a friend, but we avenged her, so from here on out its pretty much a clean slate.” I spoke casually, but we both knew that trust had to be earned.
“Thank you.” Janna was quiet for a moment, then spoke up. “Duncan says you have a wife and son?”
I nodded as I scanned the trees ahead of us. “Sarah and Jake are back at Starved Rock, waiting for me. Jake is three and full of beans.” I felt a pang as I missed my son for the millionth time.
“Duncan said this Major Thorton sent men to kill your family. Do you think they’ll be okay?”
Janna was stepping into sensitive territory, but I didn’t blame her. “Sarah is a very strong woman, a survivor. She’s not alone, there’s friends with her. There is Rebecca and Nicole, both capable and my brother Mike, Nicole’s husband.”
“Is Mike as good as you?” Janna asked.
I slowed to a stop and looked over the bait shop. It was about fifty feet away and looked quiet. “No, he’s not,” I said. “He’s good enough, but not for ten men.”
“Why aren’t you rushing back to save your family?” Janna looked shocked that I would stay on the mission.
“Because there is someone there who is as good as I am, maybe even better. His name is Charlie James and when those men from Thorton run into him, they will wish they were anywhere but there. My family is safe.” I had to believe that last statement.
Janna was about to respond when the bushes behind her burst upward as a zombie lunged out of the shrub. It had been lurking there, apparently watching us approach. It couldn’t contain itself and stumbled out at us.
I couldn’t get a shot with Janna in the way, so I started to move to the side. But I needn’t have bothered, considering what happened next. Janna ducked down and rolled to the side, drawing a pair of her scissors in one smooth motion. The zombie followed her motion and got skewered under the chin for its trouble. Janna used her other hand to draw another pair and shifting her grip so quickly I missed the maneuver, plunged the long blades into the temple of the Z.
She withdrew both blades at the same time and wiped them off on a bit of the zombie’s clothing. Sheathing them without even looking at her pouch, she glanced over at me and gave me a shrug. The attack took all of six seconds from start to finish and during the entire time, Janna kept a sober face, killing the zombie with as much emotion as taking out the trash.
“Nicely done,” I said appreciatively and Janna preened a little at the praise. “There’s a kerosene spray bottle on the back of the RV to clean your weapons with later.”
“Thanks. Shall we look over the shop?”
“Certainly. Ladies first.”
“Ah, chivalry. Sarah must love you for it.”
“More like beats it into me.”
“I see. I like her already.”
We crossed the distance and looked over the bait shop. Things looked normal from the outside, so I carefully approached the front door. The building was built like an old southern sharecropper’s house, with a sloping metal roof and wide porch. Big refrigerators occupied one half of the porch, advertising live bait in faded letters. I didn’t feel the need to open any of them.
I looked into the window of the shop, but didn’t see anything moving around. Taking that as a good sign, I opened the screen door and pushed the heavier door open with the barrel of my rifle.
As soon as the door opened a small shape flew out of the store and barreled into me, knocking my rifle out of my hands and driving me backwards. I fell off the porch and twisted, shoving my attacker away from me, trying to give me some room. Janna screamed from the porch, but I didn’t have time to worry about her, as the thing that attacked me was getting up.
I jumped to my feet and reached for my SIG, only to find the holster empty. Cursing, I faced my enemy and got a shock when it spoke.
“God works in mysterious ways. We missed you at Harrisburg and we worried the whole way here how we was going to explain to Thorton how you got away. But here you is, all gift wrapped and ready.” The speaker was a short man, maybe five feet five if he was lucky. But what he lacked in height he more than made up for in sheer muscle. The fabric of his uniform was stretched tight over large biceps and his legs filled his fatigue pants. I really could have used my SIG right now, since I figured this was probably going to hurt to do it the hard way.
He grinned an evil little grin at me and readied himself for a charge. “I’m gonna kill you with my bare hands and you know somethin’? I’m gonna enjoy it.” He looked over at Janna who was being held hostage by another man who had her by the throat and was holding her gun to her head.
I placed a hand on my knife but pistol shot sent a bullet near my ear as Janna screamed again. I felt my rage rising and thought The hard way it is. You’re going to earn this.
A glance down the road showed the truck we were seeking and it wasn’t hard to figure out they had arrived early this morning. It was just our bad luck that we came tumbling into their sleeping place.
Kazinski, as his name patch said, spread his arms wide in a rush to try and take me down. I knew I couldn’t let him get hold of me, because that would have been the end. I had to keep him out of reach and wear him down while I figured out how to beat him.
He barreled forward and at the last second, I pivoted left and planted a fist on the back of his neck, sending him crashing to the ground. In the second before he got up, I spared a glance at Janna, who surprised the hell out of me by smiling slightly and giving me a wink. The other man, a sergeant, glowered at me, as he obviously was hoping his friend would be beating my brains in by now.
The man jumped to his feet, surprisingly agile for his bulk and came at me again. This time he lunged to the right, expecting me to pivot like I had done earlier. But now I went down to one knee on the opposite side and struck out with my left foot, connecting with Kazinski’s left knee and knocking him over again. I didn’t wait for him to get up, I jumped over to where he was and slammed two punches into his kidneys. I hit him with nearly everything I had, making sure he felt it.
I didn’t stick around for his response, I jumped off of him as quickly as I had gotten on. I backed up a few feet and couldn’t resist taunting him. “Crude and slow. Your attack was no better than a clumsy zombie.”
Kazinksi snarled as he got to his feet and a hand reached to his injured back. His little piggy eyes measured me, as my punches probably had a lot more power than he expected. Twice his rushes had failed and I figured him to try something different.
He moved in close, weaving from side to side and bringing his big hands up to try and grab. I waited for an opening and punched hard and fast through his hands, mashing his lip and popping his head back. If I had expected that to take him down, I was seriously mistaken. He recovered and punched hard twice, the second blow getting past my arm and striking me in the head. He followed up with a hard left to the ribs and managed to back me up a few paces.
I stepped back with him following, tough blows raining on my shoulders and arms. I was deflecting his worst efforts, keeping him from striking a serious punch, but I was getting annoyed with the way things were going. I let a jab slip past my head and I struck from underneath, popping him hard on the chin. When his head came back, I slammed my fist forward, planting the edge of my hand right between his eyes. The punch knocked him far enough off balance that I struck out with my left hand into his solar plexus, toppling him over into the grass. The soldier clambered to his feet, shaking the fog out his eyes and glaring bloody murder at me.
Kazinski, trying for a killing blow, pulled his right hand back for a roundhouse that would have leveled me if I had stood still for it. But I took the opening and jabbed him in the face, causing his nose to bleed profusely. I followed it with a second jab to his eye, cutting him and causing blood to flow into his vision.
The pretend soldier stumbled back, trying to wipe the blood out of his eyes. I pressed my advantage, knowing I would not get another chance. I pounded his head and gut, punching with everything I had. The blows rocked him back and forth, with blood flying from his wounded face.
