She pulled back and shook her head at him. “No, I’m glad you did.” She swallowed hard and stared at him, fear still painted across her features. “It’s like…you flipped a switch.”
She tried to sit up and he helped her to the mattress. “What are you saying, Lana?”
She reached for the thin cover on the bed and covered herself. “I could…see.” She turned to him as she searched for words. “I could feel…everything. I just couldn’t stop what was happening.”
He slowly shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
She sat back and took a deep breath, her hands shaking. “It was like something else took control of my body. Made me…do things. Say things.” She looked up at him through tear filled eyes. “That poor rabbit.”
Simon gave her a confused stare. “Honey, that was you.”
“I know!” she sobbed. “But I didn’t want to!” She wiped tears and snot from her face on the corner of the covers and he could see her chest heaving as she sobbed. “I don’t care if you are in charge here. I don’t…I don’t…care.” She choked on the words. “But something inside me wanted it.” She turned and stared at him with tear filled eyes. “It wanted to be in charge.”
“I’m not following you.” He wiped her tears with the back of his hand, his mind refusing to understand.
“It’s like…” She choked and took another deep breath. “It’s like something inside me wanted you to be the alpha.” She met his gaze and her face puckered, ready to cry again. “So I could take over once you were…were…”
“Shh.” He pulled her close and cradled her. He rocked her slightly as she sobbed and he found himself even more confused. “It’s gonna be okay.”
She pulled back and shook her head at him. “No, I don’t think it will be.” She wiped her face on the back of her arm again then peered into his eyes. “I can’t guarantee that it won’t happen again.”
Simon chuckled and shook a fist in her face playfully. “If it does, I’ll cure you with a right hook.”
She tried to laugh; snot and spit shot across her chin. He pulled her tightly to him again and rocked her. “It’s gonna be okay. I promise.”
Lana nodded, her body still shaking. She stiffened slightly as a cold smile crossed her face. “I know it will. You’re here.”
14
“You’re sure?” Missy asked cautiously.
Hatcher nodded. “That mess doesn’t change anything.” He held a hand up to stop her from replying. “Those clothes could have been scattered out there for weeks. Maybe even months. If they were hit by the cure and it took, then maybe that was when they gathered the clothing.” He inhaled deeply and stared toward the mountain peak. “But if they did, odds are that they tried to leave. Either on foot or with any number of cars that were still here.”
“But you’re sure you want to give up?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
He nodded solemnly. “You were right.”
She gave him a shocked look. “Seriously?”
He nodded as he grabbed the few things in the outpost worth taking and stuffing them into a duffle. “I was running on a hunch anyway.”
She sat quietly and watched him. “Before we take off, I want to play off my own hunch.”
He looked up at her and raised a brow. “What’s that?”
“There’s a creek not far from where the clothes were scattered. I want to go by and just see.”
“See what?”
“If it was like you suggested, then they’d want to clean up before they put on fresh clothes.” She shrugged. “I just want to go by and look.”
He studied her a minute then shrugged. “Go ahead.”
“You’re not coming?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Whether they did or not, doesn’t change anything.” He stood erect and sighed. “Maybe some got the cure, maybe some didn’t. Regardless, if anybody was still in those woods and wanted to be found, it would have been much easier for them to get our attention than to walk out.” He hefted the duffle and stepped toward the door. “I’m thinking you were right and those who could have already left.”
She stood and followed him out. “But…we can’t be certain.”
He tossed the duffle into the back of the pickup and turned to her. “No, you’re right. I can’t be sure. But I know that if it had been me out there? Wake up one day and be able to think again?” He slowly shook his head. “I would have come back here, changed clothes, packed a bag and left.”
Missy lowered her head and sighed. “I just don’t want you to get halfway back and realize you made a mistake.” She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. “Because of me.”
“It’s not because of you.” He stepped closer and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “The only other people we’ve seen out here were these new and improved snappers. I really think that anybody more normal would have reached out to us.”
She nodded solemnly and turned back to the outpost. “I have a few things I’d like to pack up, too. I won’t be a moment.”
Hatcher climbed into the pickup and took another look around. Although he had rarely come to this outpost in the past, he felt a certain melancholy nostalgia as he eyed the building.
His mind drifted back to Rio Rancho and the people there. Vicky and Coop, Candy and Roger, Buck and Leslie, Hank and Wally…even Will. All of the friends he’d made since he’d come home. The new families that had looked to him to help make things better.
He smiled to himself as Missy trotted out of the shack, a small bag in her hand. “Home really is where the heart is.”
Andre jerked his hand away, stumbling backward and splaying on the hard concrete floor. Captain Hilliard, President Walters, and Vice President Harrison all burst into laughter.
“What a card, Bill!” President Walter’s guffawed.
