“Yep.”
“I was in fourth grade when it went bad. Like I said to Rachel and Serena, my parents were infected and killed. Some neighbors took me in. They’re good people, but as I’m sure you know, the focus back then was survival, not sending kids to school to learn about history and arithmetic. They taught the basics for survival, but the most I’ve learned school wise in the last few years was a couple of college textbooks I’ve read. I know a lot about hunting, fishing, gardening, and cooking, but don’t give me a math quiz. Oh, and I’ve learned a lot about horses from the people who live in our group.”
“What about meteorology?” Fred asked.
“Nope, I didn’t learn anything about meteors, other than they fall from the sky.”
Fred started to inform her of the correct meaning of meteorology, but decided it wasn’t important.
“Okay, pay attention. The red sky in the morning indicates there’s a front coming in, and it looks like it’s coming from the east. Let me show you.” He stopped the truck. “Roll down the window and feel the air.”
“Feel it?” she asked. “What do you mean, feel it?”
Fred did not respond, instead he waited. Nikki did as he directed. She pulled the glove off her right hand and stuck it out. After a second, she stuck her head out for several seconds before sitting back.
“It’s getting a little warmer out,” she said. “Okay, yeah, I feel wind coming from the east.”
“Yep. Feels a little humid too, doesn’t it?”
Nikki gave a small grin. “I see where you’re going. That front’s coming from the ocean.”
“Yep. Probably a high-pressure cell,” Fred said. “A lot of rain, I’m thinking. I’m no weather expert, but conditions seem right for it to turn to ice rain.”
“That’ll suck,” she said. “If that happens, we could be stuck out here a couple of days.”
“Yep.”
“So, more time for one-on-one training. I like it,” Nikki said with a smile.
Fred glanced at her sidelong for a second. He wasn’t going to say it out loud, but he was starting to like this girl. She handled the horses with practiced ease, and while she may be ignorant about a lot of things, she seemed like she had some possible intelligence in her noggin. He took his foot off the brake and accelerated to a brash twenty-miles-per-hour.
“I’d like to ask you something,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t think anybody noticed it, well maybe the first sergeant did, but you picked out a certain area you wanted to do your recon mission. Is there a reason for that?”
Fred kept his breathing steady. “I’m more familiar with that area.”
“Oh, okay. So, I assume you have a plan in mind.”
“Yep,” Fred said. “Our first priority is to get to our staging area before the storm hits.”
“Sounds like you have a specific place in mind.”
“Yep,” Fred replied.
It was a building that once housed a construction company with an office and a warehouse. He and Zach had picked it out over a year ago. They’d made changes to suit their specific needs; a makeshift stable, a living area, and rudimentary fortifications.
“Okay, is it inside or outside?” Nikki asked.
“Inside.”
“Good, we’ll be out of the weather.”
“Yep, but we’ll need to hold off on a fire.”
“Because the smoke may give us away if there are hostiles in the area,” she said.
“Yep.”
She stared at him curiously. “You don’t talk a whole lot. Were you always that way?”
Fred glanced at her. “I used to be more sociable, back when I was a family man and working for a living.”
And back before I’d lost so many loved ones and killed so many people.
“What did you do for a living, back before?” she asked.
“I had a modest sized manufacturing company that built greenhouses.”
“You had your own business? Were you rich or something?”
Fred thought for a second. “We were comfortable.”
“I bet you’re educated. Did you go to college?” she asked.
“I had a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.”
“Wow, impressive. Is that why Sammy wants to become an engineer, because of you?”
“I suppose that’s part of it. He has excellent book smarts. Really good at math. The future will need thinkers and builders. I teach him what I can.” He glanced over at her. “So, you said you’re no good at math.”
“Nope. Is that something important to learn?”
“Yep, but we’ll go over that later, maybe. How are you with firearms?”
“I can shoot. Maybe not as good as you, but I can shoot.”
“Have you ever shot a person?” Fred asked.
“Other than a zed? No.” She stared steadily at Fred. “If you’re wondering if I’m capable of shooting another person, I am.”
Fred gave a hint of a nod.
“You know, there are people who say you’re a cold-blooded killer.”
“I’ve heard,” Fred said.
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“Nope.”
In fact, Fred had never been bothered by the whisperings behind his back. He’d killed more people than most people knew about and more than he cared to admit, so the talk was to be expected, but lately he was growing worried about how his reputation might affect his child as they grew up. He glanced at the clock on the truck’s instrument panel. It was time.
“Get on the radio. Call Mount Weather TOC and check in,” he directed.
Nikki reached for the microphone, turned the volume up, and used the proper call sign to check in. Fred was impressed; she had been listening during the mission briefing. Whoever was manning the radio back at Mount Weather, it sounded like Lois Marnix, acknowledged the call with practiced ease and without any unnecessary chatter.
Fred waited a minute and then changed the frequency setting. When he had set it on the desired frequency, he held the microphone and made a series of clicks with the push-to-talk button. Nikki watched in puzzlement.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Fred ignored her and kept driving. After a minute, he repeated the process. This time, after a few seconds, there was a response. Sort of. Nikki deduced someone was doing the same thing Fred was - pushing
