Katie felt relieved and somewhat disappointed. Maybe shewould like a date. Maybe she would like a little time to forget the last 24hours, but the man had said he wasn't interested... but maybe that was just tocover up the fact that he was interested. Men were seldom "notinterested," even when they pretended as if they weren't. Jason had beenmuch the same when they first started going out... Jason.
"I would love to join you," she said, hopingthat dinner with the man and his friend would allow her to shake the sadnessout of her mind, or at the very least smash it down into the background longenought to give her a break. Plus, it looked like the man could handle himselfif it came down to it. He had the sort of physique that spoke of a lifetime ofbeing fit. There was a little relaxation and normalcy laced over the top of it,but he had the rough thick hands of a man who could handle himself when theshit hit the fan. She needed people like that. Dread continued to gnaw at thenape of her neck, trying to claw its way inside her mind where it could explodeinto full-fledged panic.
The man smiled at her, "Right this way, lady."
Katie followed.
Chapter 20: Polite Conversation
Zeke didn't know why he decided to speak to the woman.She had that hollow look about her, that look that he'd seen soldiers get aftersomething unspeakable happened. Shell-shock some called it, though the publichad decided to give it an entirely more P.C. name. Zeke preferred shell-shockto PTSD. He had no time for acronyms. Whatever you decided to call it, thewoman had that look about her. The look tugged at something inside him,something that he had long thought was dead. Here was a situation that he coulddo something about. Instead of just sitting in the bleachers and eating histraditional military meal, he could actually do something useful. The surprisingpart about it was that he wanted to. Compassion was something that he hadthought he had lost underneath the hot sun of foreign lands.
When Louis had decided to draw the dead away from Brianand his family on the waterfront, something had awakened in Zeke, something hehad long ago buried. While they sat in the courtyard of the Coliseum strippingnaked to show they weren't bitten, he had thought about the person that he hadbecome over the last decade. For all intents and purposes, he had been committingsuicide. His house, small and utilitarian, was to be his tomb. He sat insideit, eating, drinking, and polishing his guns, waiting for the day that hewouldn't wake up.
Zeke's time in the military had been unremarkable for themost part. It was standard-issue. He had seen death in many shapes and forms,from the anonymous type to the up close and personal type. Somewhere along theway he had closed up shop. Now he found that the shop was open, and though theitems were covered in a layer of dust, they were still useful; people stillwanted and needed them. He would give them, free of charge.
They hiked into the arena, holding their trays steady andclimbing high, so they could have a good vantage point and avoid the crowd ofrefugees below. Most of them sat slumped in the arena's seats. Some were lyingon the floor, their heads buried in their arms. Some sobbed, their hands buriedin their faces.
"Lady, this is Louis," Zeke said, introducingthe man that he had gone through hell with. Zeke's legs were tight, his lowerback felt like an alien was trying to erupt out of it, and he hadn't been thatout of shape to begin with. How Louis was still walking around was a mystery tohim.
"Louis, this is..." Zeke waited for the lady tosay her name, but none was forthcoming. "This is Lady."
"Pleased to meet you," Louis said over hisshoulder as he limped up the concrete stairs to a spot that was relativelydevoid of other inhabitants. He side-shuffled a few seats into the narrow rowof plastic seats, and plopped down, a great sigh escaping from his lips. Louiswas exhausted, and Zeke knew that he would pass out soon.
The woman sat down, her curly brown hair wild butultimately attractive. Her clothing screamed "mom" to Zeke, herdelicate un-toned hands and the pale ring of skin around her left ring fingerspoke of tragedy. He wouldn't press the situation. She seemed nice enough. Shemost likely needed someone to talk to, and Zeke could tell that Louis was notlong for consciousness. Even before he ate his food, Louis bent down andstripped off his shoes, sighing in relief as he pulled off the second boot.
"You got anyone else here with you?" Zeke askedbefore spooning a forkful of once-dehydrated vegetables in his mouth. They wereflavorless, and still hard in spots, but after years of eating them, Zekedidn't mind. When he looked at the woman, he saw that she was struggling tofind a way to answer. He had started off with the wrong question.
Trying to move past the awkwardness, Zeke said, "Meand Louis here had one hell of a ride into this place. Didn't we, Louis?"Louis nodded his head, his eyes droopy, as he forked a glob of mashed potatoesinto his mouth. "Yeah, we got picked up in a boat with that guy overthere." Zeke pointed to Brian and his two daughters, Ruby and Jane. Theysat away from everyone else, the oldest daughter picking at her food while theyoungest cried softly. The father had his arm around her, but he stared offinto space, his mind somewhere else. Zeke felt for the man.
He dropped his voice and said, "When the militarystopped us, they executed his wife. She had been bitten, so he's a little...well, you know how it is." The woman looked at him, a quirk of a smile onher lips. She had that same far-off look that was clinging to Brian's face. Shit,he thought, I did it again.
In a monotone voice, the lady said, "We have to getout of here."
Zeke laughed. He had been thinking the same thing. Thedefenses were good, if you were guarding against humans,
