“We aren’t going to get in trouble, there’s gotta be like a million kids here,” Timmy yelled, stomping his feet.
“That’s enough of that, Timmy, no means no. We are going to see where we are sleeping, and then we can talk to Shaun and see what we are supposed to do. I’m sure that there is some sort of normal routine. I want to ask him some questions anyways when we see him.”
“Questions about what, Brandy?” Shaun asked.
She’d not seen him coming and he startled her. “Oh well, Timmy wanted a tour, I think, so he can figure out what he thinks he is going to get into trouble with first. I wanted to know one small question if it isn’t a big deal?”
“Shoot.”
“Well…I understand that we are on an army base and I guess when you showed up armed to the teeth it shouldn’t leave me too curious…”
“What is it? You aren’t going to offend me.”
“What is with all the guns, I mean, do they really all need to carry all that stuff with them at all times?”
“No, they don’t have to, they are ordered to. We implemented it last year and never turned back. If you want to stay here, you need to do something to contribute. Not saying that they kick out the deadbeats but they don’t go out of their way if one wants to leave to try and keep them here.”
“So, are you all ordered to wear and carry all that stuff?”
“Timmy, why don’t you go over to that guy, his name is Joey, super nice guy, I need to talk to Brandy about some stuff.”
“Are you going to kiss?”
“No, I mean…”
“Timmy, would you please just listen for once. Go introduce yourself to Joey, now!”
“I don’t even know him.”
“And that’s why you’ll introduce yourself to him. Who knows, you might end up being buddies?”
“He’s like thirty years older than me though.”
“I think he is sixteen or seventeen; I can’t remember for sure. Why don’t you go ask him, if anyone around here has some sort of stash of goodies, it is going to be Joey. I can almost guarantee you.”
Timmy peered around Shaun, taking in the massive boy who was kneeling on a knee at the moment and picking through pebbles on the ground. He squeezed through in-between Shaun and Brandy and ran over to Joey, his casted shadow blocking Joey’s view. He looked up, frowning at Timmy, but like always, it didn’t take too long to turn into a very happy smile. Joey looked to Shaun who gave him a thumb up and he popped up from the ground taking Timmy with him to show him the sights.
“Thanks for sending him out if he isn’t supposed to hear whatever you look like you don’t want to say.”
“Ellie had gotten hurt when we had thought of something we thought was a good idea at the time. We just figured a road trip would be no biggie, and my god, did things go wrong. Ellie got hurt while we were out, we met a lot of new people, and she was in like a coma or something. I didn’t know if she’d ever wake back up, and I was terrified.”
“Well it would seem that she woke up, right?”
“Well, before that, I had this great idea that I’d tried out before when Ellie wasn’t doing very well. She’d been out of it for a while. I started hanging blood bags from light poles and letting them drip. I’d never wanted revenge so bad in all my life. Hanging those blood bags was like sticking a bee in a flower shop, there was nothing they could do to control them.”
“So, it was your way to kill those things?” Brandy asked.
“I did, and that was our first issue with the group that came after us. We hadn’t been opposed to newcomers. We had started taking in people, looking for survivors, trying to clear out the dead along the way. We were getting pretty good at it at one point. When we brought in someone it turned out they had been a spy, which is comical given we accepted everyone. We just asked small things like that they help and don’t cause issues. We had plenty of food, enough shelter, clothes, and space to make this place feel like a home…however dysfunctional that would be, being that it is a military base.”
“And what did the spy do then?”
“She slit my friend Patrick’s throat and helped her friends get in the gate in the back. After that, everything, and I mean everything, went to hell. They killed so many people and that is why Clary’s got the eye issue as well. It made trusting people that much more difficult. It changed about everything for me.”
“How so?”
Shaun nodded and said, “We retaliated against them.”
“Well you should, they deserved it…”
“Clary was angry, to put it lightly. We took one of the tanks over there, he and Greg bombed down on them, it was almost a complete success.”
“You guys didn’t feel guilty for what you did?”
“I hadn’t had enough time. I went with one of Clary’s SEAL Team members. We took another girl with us as well. We were going to test out some silenced sniper rifles and rain down hell on the Turned.”
“Did you three get overrun by the dead? How did you get away?”
“No, if it’d have been the dead, that would be something I could at least consider handling. When we’d bombed those with the tank, we had apparently not gotten everyone. The guy in charge made it, and while we were busy shooting the Turned, the guy sighted in and shot both of them,” Shaun cleared his throat, he shivered, he could still feel the warm blood
