Chapter Thirty-Seven - Dominic
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Dominic
WE WEREN’T SURE if we were being sent out right away, but we still changed into our heavier clothes and grabbed our weapons before meeting Julia at the field house. We left Sadie and Rhiannon in the room, Cat giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek as we headed out. Jules had filled me in on how our suspicions had been correct, with her permission, of course. He’d relayed the entire story to me because she’d said she wanted me to know, but couldn’t endure recounting it twice.
Cat was so incredibly brave and selfless. Rhiannon wasn’t even my daughter, and I found myself questioning if it was worth the risk to go out beyond the wall when we had a little girl at home who needed her family. As a mother, I didn’t know how she did it. All I knew was that she continued to awe me with her strength daily. Every time I thought it impossible to love her more, she proved me wrong.
Just as now, standing before Micah with her arms crossed, listening to the debrief on our mission objective. Julia had given her a fancy thigh holster for the hunting knife she found which was now strapped on and only intensifying the hot bad ass factor. When we got here, we’d reported to Julia, but then once we’d agreed to join were reluctantly handed over to Officer Douche Canoe. Apparently, he was in charge of all missions beyond the wall. No one went in or out without his approval.
“For your first mission, we’re giving you something small to make sure you can handle it,” he said to us. “Wouldn’t want you to go dying on us and luring an entire horde of biters to a big payload.”
He said this with a self inflated chuckle and his little minions laughed along with him.
“No one is going to die,” Julia retorted through gritted teeth. “I told you, they have experience out there. They’d been out there almost a week when I found them. They’re just as capable as any of you.”
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to see about that,” he said with a sarcastic smile. “River, your turn for back-up duty. Make sure no one comes back with any bites this time. If anyone’s compromised, put them down immediately. No questions asked.”
“ Yes, sir ,” he said, with almost a hint of the same sarcasm.
Micah stared after his brother with a scowl as he moved over to stand next to us.
“You guys are going to take one of the vans to the local hardware store and gather all the supplies on this list. It’s everything we should need to get crops ready over the fall and winter, so they’ll be ready to plant by the time we convert the stadium to a garden in the spring. Don’t forget anything.”
Then we were dismissed by him turning and walking away from us. His followers trailing behind him like the mindless puppies they were. That guy was going to be a fucking problem. I could feel it in my bones. I hated men like him. Men like him were the reason my knuckles got achy when it was due to rain. I’d spent my life getting into fistfights with dick heads just like him that deemed themselves above anyone and everyone. Nothing irked me more than being spoken down to. It was a fast track to no longer being able to settle things with words.
I was glowering at his retreating form when my attention was averted by Cat, grabbing my hand and squeezing it reassuringly. I gave her a small smile then returned my focus to our task at hand. River wasted no time going over to a supply cabinet and doling out protective riot gear for our arms and legs. Apparently, the police force had enough foresight to bring over the useful resources from their station.
“Do any of you know how to operate a firearm?” River asked us flatly.
When all of us replied no, he gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes.
“Then no guns for any of you,” he said then by passed the gun cabinet as he already had two strapped to him.
He walked over to a locker before we left and grabbed a large fire ax from it. Damn, that thing looked like it could do some serious damage. He caught me eying it and winked.
“Can’t leave home without my baby girl,” he said smoothly. “Guns draw too much attention, let off one shot and suddenly you’re surrounded by biters. They’re good to have but a last resort option.”
He walked ahead and grabbed a set of keys off a rack, then motioned for us to follow him. We went out to the parking lot to what looked like an undercover police van. The second row was a big bench seat, but other than that, the back was completely empty. River got into the driver’s seat and Jules took the passenger, leaving me to sit and the back with Cat. I don’t know how I managed to get that lucky, but I wasn’t complaining. We slid into the back and I pulled her in close, throwing an arm around her shoulder as she nestled in closer.
When we approached the gate, it slid open to allow for our passage through, and then we were out in the open world. As we drove down the road, I didn’t see any sign of any other people, alive or dead. We traveled at a slow but steady pace, driving down roads and weaving around cars parked haphazardly all over. So often it looked like they were simply slammed into park and abandoned, doors left wide open as its passengers fled to who knows where.
When we passed a car with all the doors still closed, I learned my lesson the hard way to not look too closely at those particular ones. Sealed inside was an entire family, the scene a complete blood bath with an undead toddler pawing at the window unable to free itself from its tomb. I was relieved when I whipped my head in Cat’s direction to find her staring out her window instead, completely oblivious to the scarring scene I’d just witnessed.
It only took twenty minutes for us to get to the hardware store across town and we made it there without any interruptions. We pulled around the back to the loading dock so we could load up the vehicle with ease. Once we were inside the door, River took a small can of paint off a display rack and sent it rolling loudly down the aisle in front of us. From the front of the store, we heard bounding footsteps coming in our direction.
River lifted his ax and reared it back a moment before an infected man burst out of the aisle to his left. He swiftly brought the ax down and slammed the blunt end into the side of its temple. The infected dropped to the ground and began floundering for purchase, but was unable to find any before the ax came down again. Its body went limp before River turned the ax around and severed the thing’s head clean from its body in one chop.
“What?” He rose back up and said once he found us gaping at him. “You can never be too careful. Last thing we need is him popping up and biting one of us when our backs are turned. The two of you, go clear that half of the store. Cat, you come with me. We have to make sure this guy didn’t have any friends before we start gathering what we need.”
Cat threw us a shrug before following him into the aisles, disappearing, leaving Jules and me staring after her.
“I don’t know how I feel about this guy,” I grumbled as we walked through our half of the store.
“Aside from being a tad bossy, it’s not like he’s done anything wrong,” Jules responded.
“Don’t forget who his brother is,” I sneered. “I don’t trust Micah for one second, so anyone involved with him is suspect by association. I mean, look at the company he keeps, that Duncan guy was also a total dick.”
“Just cause someone is born into a shitty family doesn’t make them inherently shitty too, look at Cat.”
I hated when Jules countered my ranting with logic.
We made our way to the front of the store, meeting back up with Cat and River without encountering another infected. Once we cleared the building, we were safe to start gathering what we came here for. We rolled open the overhead door to the delivery bay and began checking items off the list. Jules and I were tasked with finding and acquiring the items while River and Cat packed them into the van.
Everyone silently completed their task. There was no time, nor was it safe to make small talk. We tried to make as little sound as possible while moving as quickly as we could so we could get the fuck out of here. When we were halfway through, another infected shambled up slowly, giving River enough time to spot him well in advance and hand it the same fate as the other one from earlier. Witnessing it a second time wasn’t nearly as gnarly and once he explained his reasoning, I couldn’t help but appreciate his efficacy.
The sun was high in the sky and it was an unseasonably warm day for fall. All the heavy lifting was starting to cause my temperature to rise, but I didn’t dare remove a layer. I’d rather be hot than leave myself susceptible to being bit. At least we were on the last item of the list and leave soon if only we could fucking find it. Jules and I were toward the front of the store hunting down the specific fertilizer listed when we heard tires screeching across the parking lot heading towards the back of the building.
We went running across the store, trying to beat whoever was coming up on us to the back door to warn Cat and River. When we got there, they were already gone but arrived just in time to see two black trucks come blazing up to our van. Jules and I looked at each other in horror as we realized we’d been tracked down by the people who’d chased us before. And now we were seeing fucking double.
“She must have run already. She’s with River, she’ll be okay,” Jules whisper yelled. “We have to get the fuck out of here!”
So we took off running back towards the front of the store.