Bob shook his head as he watched them all shamble out of the compound and up the road he had just come down. It was if they were in a trance. He took a chance and stepped in front of one, his rifle at the ready, but the creature simply stepped aside and continued on its path.
“Pardon me,” Bob said, a smile forming as he turned and watched them go.
Bob stood a moment longer, watching them, his eyes scanning the group, but he didn’t see her. He knew the odds of her being with this group were pretty small. Of the hundreds, if not thousands that were present at the park, going by the cars abandoned along the roads, Lucky could be anywhere.
Bob turned and looked at the ranger station. He may not have a clue what the hell was going on out here, but he was willing to bet there was a phone in there.
Hatcher bolted out the back door and stood on the cement landing. His eyes scanned the woods, but he didn’t see any sign of the boy. He cupped his hands to his mouth to yell the boy’s name, when he heard a scream off in the distance. Hatcher paused. If he yelled, he’d just attract more of the infected here for them to deal with. One look at Mitch would tell you how well that works out. And if there were infected that close, Buck couldn’t yell back even if he heard him.
Slowly, Hatcher lowered his hands and sighed. As much as he hated to admit defeat, there wasn’t anything he could do.
Candy came up beside him, her eyes pleading. “You have to find him, Hatch!”
Hatcher shook his head. “Where would I start?” He waved his hands out toward the woods. “It’s only a couple million acres out there. I have no idea which way he went.”
She grabbed his arm and squeezed. “He’s just a little boy.” Candy pulled Hatcher around and stared at him. Her eyes were overflowing. “We’ve lost too many already. Can’t you do something?”
Hatcher squared his shoulder and stared deeply into her eyes. His gaze told her how much he wished he could. “Candy,” he began softly. “I have no way to begin. With all of the infected tromping around back here, I can’t track him. I have no way of knowing which tracks are his and which are…” he trailed off, his eyes breaking away. Hatcher pointed off into the woods. “I was about to yell for him when a screamer called out. If I yell now, they’ll come running for us. If he tried to yell back, they’ll know right where he is.” Hatch shook his head. “I hate to say it, but…there’s nothing I can do.”
Candy felt her chest tighten as she realized that Buck would be left on his own against ungodly odds. She felt herself begin to sob even as she tried to hold it back. She fell into Hatcher’s arms and buried her face in his chest. “He’s too little.”
“I know,” he whispered.
“If anybody can survive out there, it’s Buck,” Skeeter said softly, taking Candy’s hand. Candy sniffed back her tears and wiped at her face. She had to put on a brave face for Skeeter if nothing else. She stared down at her freckled nose and tried to smile. “Try not to worry about him, Candy. He’s tougher than he looks.”
Candy nodded and pulled the young girl to her. “You’re pretty tough yourself, you know that?”
“Not so much,” Skeeter said as Candy led her away from the door. “It was Buck that kept us going through all this.”
Hatcher took one more long look out the door before he pushed it shut. He turned the deadbolt in place and leaned against it, sighing as he stared down at Maggie, still clutching Mitch’s hand.
“We need to get ready to go,” Hatch said mechanically. “Vickers says they’re sending bombs to flatten this place.”
Maggie lifted her red-rimmed eyes and stared at him. “What?”
“Vickers said…” Hatcher paused and stared at her. “Wait, how did you know something happened to Mitch, but you didn’t hear any of my conversation with Vickers? We were right by the door?”
“I could hear you and Mitch talking. You were practically yelling after the fight with the infected and…” she choked back a sob. “Afterward, I just sort of…” she turned away.
“You what?” Hatcher demanded.
“I stopped caring. I didn’t give a damn what Vickers had to say,” she replied quietly. “I didn’t care about any of this.”
Hatcher paused, his anger quelled. He saw the depths of her feelings for Mitch now. Apparently, her flirting with him was sincere, and his oversized buddy just didn’t know how to take it. Hatcher stepped toward her and scooped her from the floor.
“We need to go,” he whispered in her ear.
Maggie went limp when Hatcher first lifted her, but she soon found her legs. He helped her to the office where Vickers was throwing files into a satchel and violently shoved a file cabinet out of the way. “Where’s my briefcase?”
Hatcher reached into his shirt and pulled out the files he had stolen from the metal case. “Looking for these?”
Vickers eyes grew wide and he reached out with a claw-like hand. “Those are Classified!”
“These are our insurance policies.”
Vickers narrowed his gaze. “Those may well be your death warrants.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Hatcher stepped out of Vickers’ reach. “If we make it out of here alive, then you get your classified orders back.”
“And what’s to stop me from simply having my men mow you down and taking them?” Vickers asked, a wicked smile crossing his features.
“The fact you don’t know if this is all
