“Good morning,” Simon said softly. “Did you sleep well?”
“You mean with all the shooting and shouting? Sure.” She set the ceramic coated tin pot onto the embers then turned to him. “How about you?”
Simon pulled his chair closer to the pit and sat down gingerly. “Not really.”
“I take it Trent is dead?”
Simon lowered his face and stared at the orange glowing chunks of wood. He slowly nodded, unable to put into words the thoughts and feelings bouncing around inside his head.
“Was it quick, at least?”
He inhaled deeply then released it, watching as his breath turned into a white mist of steam. “Quick enough.”
She pulled another chair closer and sat down, then tugged her coat tighter around her. “What about Jake and Tommy?”
Simon pursed his lips, unsure how much detail he should give. “Quicker.”
Veronica said little as she poked at the embers. The two sat in silence for a few moments, passed awkwardly. “So now what?” she asked.
Simon gave her a slight shrug. “I don’t know.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his booted feet in front of him. “Relax a bit and go on with life.”
Veronica lowered her face and Simon feared that she was about to cry. He argued with himself over whether he should reach out and try to console her or give her space. He sat with his hand shaking, unsure what to do next.
“How’s Lana?” Veronica asked.
Simon pulled his hand back. He had totally not expected that question. “Uh…how do you mean?”
Veronica turned and stared at him. “Just what I asked. How is she?”
“Okay, I guess.” He pulled his feet back and sat forward. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, she was infected not too long ago—”
“So was I,” he added quickly.
Veronica glanced toward their RV then back to him. “Her behavior seems…” She paused, trying to find the proper word. “Aggressive.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I’ve noticed that too.”
“Is that normal for her?” Her eyes told him that she was honestly worried.
He gave her a slow shrug. “I didn’t know her before.” He glanced back at the RV then lowered his voice. “We met each other while infected.”
Veronica nodded knowingly. “So, she could have always been like this? Easily agitated? Quick to pounce?”
Simon leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Can we talk?” His eyes pierced hers and she slowly nodded. “I mean, like doctor-patient, keep-it-to-ourselves kind of talk?”
Veronica nodded again. “Of course.”
Simon glanced back to the RV again then lowered his voice even more. “If I’m completely honest, I am worried about her.”
“How so?”
He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “How about I start at the beginning?”
4
Hatcher slammed the door to the shed and stared off into the shadows of the trees.
“I take it you didn’t find what you were looking for?”
He turned and faced Missy. “That’s just it. She could have taken half of the crap we had stowed in there and I probably wouldn’t know.” He sighed as he pulled his gloves off and tucked them into a back pocket. “I really thought I had our inventory memorized, considering how many times I had to log it all.”
“I hated inventories,” she muttered. She quickly shot him a sheepish grin. “The two whole times Mitch made me do them.”
Hatcher scoffed as he slung his duffel to the back of the ATV. “I guess I’m gonna hit the trails again.”
Missy stepped closer and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Are you certain you aren’t just chasing a dream, Daniel?”
He paused and looked at her. The concern in her voice and the expression she gave him told him that she was sincere. He lowered his eyes and shook his head. “I have to try.”
“There’s nearly thirty-five hundred square miles of this park.” Her voice was soft and even. “If she were here and wanted to be found, surely she would come back to the places she’s most familiar with.”
Hatcher’s mind accepted her truth, but his heart screamed at him to keep searching. “I know this.” His voice was soft and low, matching hers. He turned and gave her a sad smile. “If it were you, what would you do?”
She stepped back slightly and raised a brow, her mind actually trying to put herself in his position. “I don’t know.” She gave him a slight shrug. “I’d like to say that I’d let reason dictate my actions.”
“But?”
“Emotions are a hard thing to overcome.” She patted his arm then slung her own day pack onto the back of the other ATV. “Misery loves company, right?”
He chuckled as he mounted the four wheeler. “Didn’t you just say that this was a waste of time?”
“No, I suggested that it might be a lost cause.” She straddled the machine and pressed the start button. “But hey. I’ve got nothing but time on my hands now, and if the cure is working its way through the herd that was here, then they may need our help.”
Hatcher had pushed the herd from his mind. Once she mentioned it, the ramifications of having potentially hundreds of cured people meandering through the park grounds concerned him. “I have no idea what we’d do if we did discover them.”
She raised a brow at him. “I thought you were the boss around here?” She leaned on the handle bars and narrowed her gaze at him, a wry grin forming. “The Hatcher that Mitch always talked about knew everything.”
He shrugged slightly as he started the ATV. “That guy died.” He revved the engine and stared along the rocky path they were about to take. “I’m just a shadow of who he once was.”
Captain Hilliard stared at the man sitting on the stainless steel exam table. “And he’s coherent?”
“You can speak to him,” Tammy said as she handed the man a small cup of coffee.
Hilliard stepped closer, still keeping a somewhat safe distance between himself and the once infected man. “You understand me?” he yelled.
The man lowered the coffee cup and gave him a confused look. “I was infected, not deaf.”
