“Or maybe nobody has a radio on,” the sentry interjected. “Maybe they’re on a different frequency.” He gave Hatcher a panicked look. “You said it yourself; if somebody is up there flying, they’re probably going to where there are others, right?”
Hatcher gave him a solemn stare. “Right now, all we know is that there are planes in the sky and according to Doc, their exhaust looks funny in the night sky.” He shook his head slowly. “That’s ALL we know. Anything else is pure supposition.”
The sentry swallowed hard and nodded slowly. “No getting hopes up.”
“No getting hopes up,” Hatcher reiterated. He turned back to Will. “Go and check the radios. Do your level best to try to reach those planes before they get out of range.”
Will sighed then stepped away. “I’ll try, but our radios aren’t capable of operating at their frequencies.”
“Just try, Doc.” Hatcher turned back to the sentry. “And remember, mum’s the word until we know more.”
The sentry cursed under his breath. “The folks behind these walls could use a good dose of hope right about now, boss.”
“I know. But when we give it to them, it needs to be real. Not based on wishful thinking.” Hatcher lowered his voice and pulled the man aside. “It could be a poison to finish off the infected for all we know. We really need to keep this under wraps.”
The sentry’s shoulders slumped and he nodded. “I’ll pass the word to the others on watch.”
Hatcher clapped the man’s shoulder. “Hey. It’s still a good thing.” He hooked his chin toward the planes. “There ARE others alive and kicking out there.”
The sentry gave him a defeated smile. “Yeah.”
Hatcher watched him walk toward the other sentries then turned and made his way back inside. He quickly trotted down the hall and knocked on Roger and Candy’s door. “You decent?”
“Never,” Roger answered from behind the closed door. “What’s up? Trouble?”
“Meet me at Vic’s office. Pronto.” Hatcher turned and made his way to the end of the hall. He knocked on the clinic door and saw Vicky Sue’s head pop up from behind her desk.
“Stella’s in with Mike but they’re both sleeping,” she whispered to him.
Hatcher waved a hand at her. “That’s not why I’m here.” He pushed his way into her office and glanced back at the door. “Once Roger and Candy get here, I’ll explain.”
Vicky reached out and pulled his face toward hers. “Why are you grinning like that?”
“You’ll have to wait until the others get here.” Hatcher stepped past her and rifled through her desk drawers. “Where’s the hooch you took from me?”
Vicky planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Why?”
Hatcher pulled the bottle from the back of the file drawer and frowned at how little was left. “This will have to do.”
“For what?” Candy asked, still pulling her flannel shirt on over her tank top. “And what’s the commotion?”
Hatcher turned and gave them all a big grin. “You have to keep this under your hat, okay?” He reached behind Vicky and pushed her office door shut. “Have a seat.”
Kevin stared at the soldier’s remains and his hands shook. He felt the urge to throw up when he saw the gore left behind on his floor and he quickly stepped away from the carnage.
“What did I do?” He stepped into the small bathroom provided with his stateroom and stared wide eyed at his reflection.
“Oh my god….”
He turned suddenly and retched into the stainless steel toilet. A quick flush removed the bloody chunks that swirled in the bowl but it didn’t remove the body from his floor.
Kevin quickly stripped off his filthy clothes and stepped into the shower. He turned the water as hot as he could stand it and scrubbed the dried blood from his hands and face. He used far too much shampoo scrubbing every fleck of blood from his hair and body.
I gotta do something. He continued to scrub as his mind raced. How do you get rid of a body?! On a ship, no less?
He felt panic rising from deep within and he squeezed his eyes shut, forcing his mind to slow down and think about the whole ordeal scientifically.
There’s no way you can hide something that large. Eventually it WILL begin to stink. He pressed his head to the shower wall and let the hot water beat down on his body. Could I eat the rest of him? Dispose of him one flush at a time?
He pulled back from the shower wall and blinked rapidly, his rational mind confused that he could even HAVE had such a thought.
The toilet! Get rid of him with each flush…I could chop him up and…no. He shook his head rapidly and focused on the task at hand. He continued to scrub at his body until his skin was raw and he was certain no evidence remained.
Kevin stepped from the shower and wiped the stainless steel mirror off with his towel. “There’s no way to hide this.” He toweled off then scrubbed his hair dry. He quickly ran a swab into each ear to remove the water then glanced down at his bloody clothes. “Those will have to go, regardless.”
He pulled the thin plastic bag from his trash can and stuffed the clothes into it carefully, avoiding any bloody parts. He stepped into his tiny stateroom and stared at the mess. “This is too much. There’s no way I could clean up that much and…” He swallowed hard and sat on the edge of his bed.
“Think, dammit. You’re smarter than anybody on this ship. Surely you can….” He suddenly sat up, his face breaking into a smile. “Yes. I am.”
He quickly dressed in fresh clothes and pulled the pants that he’d pissed in from the dirty clothes bag. He tossed them to his bunk then glanced around the room.
He quickly donned a pair of rubber gloves, then grabbed a pair of scissors from his desk. He
