Candy’s brows furrowed. “The young couple he left with?” She shrugged. “I hope they find a damned cure from them.”
“Me, too.” Vicky bent and picked up the files from the floor. “But I’m not holding my breath.” She slipped them back into the filing cabinet, then slowly turned to face her. “I’ve heard people talking, ya know. They tend to think the virus was created by the government.”
“Pfft!” Candy snorted. “I think that’s giving them too much credit.”
Vicky gave her a sideways glance. “You don’t think it’s possible?”
“Oh, anything is possible. I just don’t think that even our government could create something like that without some idiot blowing the whistle on them.” She stood from the chair and offered it back. “I mean, I could see them trying to weaponize it and all, but I’d bet money that incident at the park was the first time people had ever seen or heard of it.” She shook her head as she remembered how the infected acted. “It was too gruesome, Vic. There’s no way our government would do something like that on purpose.”
Vicky raised a brow. “Have you seen some of the weapons we’ve used? The chemical agents they’ve used?”
Candy held her hand up to stop her. “I don’t want to think about it.” She stepped aside and pushed the door shut. “Look, I didn’t come here to talk about the sins of our government.”
Vicky nodded and shot her a cheesy grin. “You wanted to talk about Roger, didn’t you?”
Candy crossed her arms and raised a brow at her.
Vicky laughed. “Well, didn’t you?”
Candy’s shoulders slumped. “Am I that transparent?”
“Girl, have a seat.”
Chapter 7
Hollis barked orders to his men and pushed Hatcher back from the doorway. “We have incoming.”
Hatcher grabbed Buck and pulled him deeper into the house. “Find a safe place and lay low.”
Buck reached to his hip and pulled out his hunting knife, catching Hatcher’s eye. He raised a brow at the knife. “I didn’t know you had that.”
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know.” He stepped back toward the darkness of the hallway. “You really think I survived out here with just my wits and my swinging cock?”
Hatcher shot him a surprised look. “Easy there, Rambo. You just caught me off guard is all.”
More weapons fire had the pair cringing. Any hopes of keeping their location a secret was blown to hell.
Hollis entered the room and checked the magazine of his rifle. “I radioed for transport.” He slammed the magazine back into the well. “Don’t count on sleeping tonight.”
Buck nodded. “They’re definitely more active after sundown.” He glanced toward a window and a fast-moving blur shot past. “I’d bet money these assholes are scouts.”
Hatcher turned and faced him. “You’re telling me they know to do recon before sending the main force?”
Buck shrugged. “I’ve seen them do it when hunting and—”
“And what?” Hollis barked.
“And before they attack another clan.” Buck pointed to the window. “They’re coming from the woods!”
Hollis spun and fired wildly at the window, shattering the glass and painting the wall with holes.
Buck held his hands over his ears. “Jeezus! Did you have to do that inside?”
“Shut up and take cover, kid!” Hollis pushed past him and pressed against the wall near the broken window. He glanced out and checked both directions. “I’ve got nothing.”
Hatcher stared out the window across the room. “They’re back in the woods.” He brought his rifle up, but stopped short of squeezing the trigger. “They’re gone.”
“Did you get any of them?” Buck asked.
Hollis called on the radio for a sitrep. None of the men reported killing an infected, but there was certainly wounded.
Buck groaned at the news. “If we could have had a body…,” he trailed off.
“What good would that do?” Hatcher asked as he stepped back to the center of the room.
“After they attack another clan, they hang the dead on spikes in the ground. The others won’t come near them.” Buck shrugged as he slid his knife back into the sheath. “I don’t know if it’s just a warning or if they’re scared of it.”
Hollis radioed the men outside to look for a blood trail. If there was a body, he wanted it. He turned to Buck and gave him a hopeful look. “If there’s any chance that hanging a body off the roof will keep them at bay, I’m all for it.”
Hatcher turned at the sound of the approaching Humvee. “Gather the loot and let’s get the hell out of here.”
They rode in silence to the house they had set up as a command post. Hollis continually scanned the surrounding forest. “Eyes open, people. If you spot any of them, I want the body.”
Hatcher carried his bags inside and dumped them unceremoniously on the counter. “Buck, look in the garage and see if you can find anything we can use to hold this crap. A plastic tub, boxes, whatever. If we need to bug out, I want this stuff easy to load.”
“Got it.” He turned for the garage and Hatcher stared after him. He didn’t know why it was so important to him to get this kid safely off the mountain, but he felt it was his mission in life. Maybe it was to make up for his inability to save Mitch? He didn’t want to delve too deeply into his own neurosis.
“I’m sending a patrol out to search for Zeds. If they’re still watching us, I want a body to hang off the front porch.” Hollis stated as he began to reload his magazines.
“Do you really think that’s safe?”
He tapped the magazine on the counter, then slipped it into the pouch on his MOLLE vest. “Safe or not, I want to know if they’re out there.” He lowered his voice and checked toward the garage. “And if the kid is right, and stringing up a dead Zed will keep them away, you damned
