moment Stewart thought he was talking to it, but he waved and smiled at her.
'What's up Ruben. You gave me a scare when I didn't see you in the truck.'
'I had to water the horses. I decided to check on the bomb when I got back, because, like a darned fool, I left it there instead of taking it with me or locking it in the cab.'
'Oh.'
'So…no Max?'
'We walked in circles. I'm not a good bloodhound.'
'I am sorry to hear that. What are we going to do now?'
Bill and Javier walked up and both grabbed fresh water bottles out of the cooler in the pickup bed. The cooler didn't have any ice in, so the water was warm, but fresh.
'I don't know what to do. I thought, maybe when we were gone, someone would come along and drop Max off. Or at least contact us to tell us what they wanted. This feels more like a kidnapping than a bunch of zombies out for a snack.' Bill said.
'You were hoping they would contact us, you mean.' Ruben said, 'Look I'm just going to throw this out there, so don't be mad. What if he's dead?'
'No!' Stewart and Bill said simultaneously.
Raising his hands before him, Ruben said, 'It has to be said. How long are we going to sit here before we move on? Another few hours? A few days? Another week? A month? C'mon Bill, how long will it be?'
'I don't know…I can't…'
'Well, they pinned the bars on you, so you have to decide, even if you listen to us first. If I am going to die fighting zombies, I'd rather do it in Iowa defending my town, not where ever the hell we are now.'
'So we give up the mission entirely?' Stewart asked.
'Max was the mission. Without our hunting dog we can't find the animal, can we?' Ruben countered.
No one said anything to that right away.
Finally Bill shrugged his shoulders and turned away. He brushed his arm across his face and then spoke without looking at the others. 'I'm still going to Florida. Max knew he was in Florida. How hard can it be to find him? He's their leader.'
Stewart said, 'I'm with you.'
'Well I think that's horseshit and you two know it. No Max, no leader, this bomb is big, but it's not like we can plant it in the middle of the state and it'll wipe all the bad guys out. I think the military could use it in some other manner, to help shore up the state's defenses.' As he spoke Ruben's old, weathered hand stroked the backpack containing the bomb.
'You said it Ruben, I've got the bars. I'm going. You and Javier can take the other truck and head north if you want to. I'll head south and try and find this guy. If you cut the head of the snake off, the body dies. I think we'll do more good taking this leader out than killing a few thousand zombies near Iowa.'
'What about your family?' Ruben countered.
'This is for my family.' Bill said firmly, 'So they have a better chance. I knew this was probably a one way trip. I would've thought you had figured that out too.'
'But it doesn't have to be.' Persisted Ruben, 'We can turn now and head for home. We don't have to throw our lives away like….'
'Max?' suggested Stewart.
Ruben's response was a slight nod.
'First, we don't know that he is dead. Second, if he is, he died trying to do the right thing. Third, we were air lifted halfway across the country, do you really think the four of us have such a good chance to make it back to Iowa anyway?' Ruben conceded the point by shaking his head slightly, 'We're closer to our original goal than home now, even if we don't have much of a chance.'
Bill looked at Javier, 'What do you want to do?'
The young man smiled, 'I'm with you Bill. You and Ruben.'
'That doesn't help much.' Bill said wryly, 'But is it good to know you like us both.'
'You think the old man would leave you?' Javier shook his head, 'He'll go with you, he's just trying to make you decide and do it. Don't you get it?'
In a flash Bill did understand that. They had already spent more time than they would have if, say, Ruben had been taken. So now it was time to shit or get off the pot. 'I guess it's shitting time then.' He said softly.
'You got that right. I can't tell you how sorry I am about Max, he was a good guy and we needed him. He would have made our job easier, but wishing he was still here isn't going to change anything.'
'I got it. Stewart, do you want to drive the diesel? I'll take the Ford. Javier you ride shotgun with me, Ruben you and that bomb you're so fond of can ride with Stewart.' Inside Bill was wondering how he went from determined to find his friend to leaving him behind, '
Without another look around the four of them got into the trucks and drove out of the campgrounds.
Chapter 24 — Max
'You actually want me to believe this crap?' Max said to Aubrey.
'You have to believe it, I can provide you with some proof, but I need…assurances Max that you won't reveal anything to any of our kind. I'm barely holding it together this close to Sentry, I don't trust anyone else. You saw the guys who brought you in, do you think they were with him?'
'I thought they were with you.'
'I contacted them. I can still do that, and they were hard to find. There are some of us who have fallen off Sentry's radar, he is a busy…entity, and some people he never knew about, others, like me, he thinks are incapacitated. And then there is that third class, who figured out some way to avoid being subjugated altogether.'
'And it can be taught?'
'More like, they can give other zombies a bit of a vaccine against the compulsion. It isn't a full vaccination either. I don't think I would do well against Sentry if we were in the same room. This guy with Red gave me the basics and that was at a great distance. He wasn't willing to meet me either, which tells me something.'
'Red? In Nebraska?'
Aubrey's mouth turned into a small 'o' of surprise, but she nodded, 'You know Red?'
'He helped me out. But he killed some people who didn't deserve it.'
'That club has a large membership these days, Max.'
Shrugging his shoulders Max nodded. 'So what did he tell you?'
'First, his actions told me a lot in and of themselves. We might not be of the same lineage, but he was afraid to get too close to me. The closer I am to weaker zombies, those that haven't consumed enough flesh and blood, the easier it is for me to control them. That guy who brought you in? I had to ask him to help me. I couldn't make him do it.'
'Does that matter, you are all working together.' Max said bitterly.
'You really think so? It might surprise you that we aren't. I had to convince him. And it was not easy. I had to share something pretty important to get his help.'
'How to avoid being controlled by stronger zombies?'
Aubrey nodded, 'Yes. Something I don't want to become common knowledge.'
Max grimaced and said, 'Oh, no we wouldn't want that would we? I mean that might mean people get to do what they want again!'
'You don't really understand what you're talking about. When we are…freshly made, we are hungry. But I think Jimbo stumbled on this technique of his when he was still hungry, it could be taught to others, with no one to control them humanity is doomed.'
