Journey (Planet of Last Resort #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Melly awoke from a pleasant dream where she’d been at home in her parents’ house and lay still, wishing she could hang onto the happiness.

The mattress next to her was cold so Jeff had obviously been up for a while.

Of course he had, her significant other was on military time and he had responsibilities.

Stretching, she wished she had demands on her time aside from watching over her brother and being ready to kill swarms of the infected at the drop of a hat.

Being a doctor and healing people was her calling, her driving force, and right now it was impossible for her to use her skills and knowledge.

There was no healing possible for the infected.

She heard Mike and his dog Buddy thunder past in the hallway, descending the sweeping staircase like a herd of big bovines.

She must be one of the last people in the house to get up.

Stretching, she caught a whiff of bacon cooking and her stomach rumbled.

The guest bedroom she and Jeff were occupying had its own bathroom and Melly made her way in there, highly appreciative of the modern amenities including plentiful hot water.

So few places on Randal Four had any of civilization’s tiny (or larger) basics anymore, let alone luxuries.

The shower called to her so she decided to be decadent and quickly wash her hair just to enjoy the process.

By the time she was ready to go downstairs, she heard the murmur of voices from the dining room and knew she was late. Skipping down the last few steps, she hastened into the room. Buddy came to greet her, wagging his tail and Jeff left his chair to give her a kiss.

“You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t have the heart to wake you,” he said in a low voice.

“Dreaming of my family,” she said, repressing a tear. The loss was still too fresh.

He kissed her again and led her to the chair next to his. Cody passed along the platter of scrambled eggs as their hostess Tamsyn came through the swinging door with a platter of freshly baked rolls.

This was her ranch house, to which she’d kindly invited them as guests yesterday after they picked her up on the road.

Tamsyn had her own sad tales about the apocalypse of the infected, which she’d shared last night at this same table, while the group was discussing what they’d seen and experienced so far.

“I gathered the eggs today, me and Buddy,” her brother Mike informed Melly proudly. “Buddy made those nasty hens stay away while I searched the nests.”

“Good job, both of you,” she said, reaching out to ruffle his hair, which she knew he hated but would tolerate on occasion.

“What’s on the agenda for today?” Cody asked Jeff as he buttered another roll.

“Figure out what’s wrong with APC2 and fix it,” the captain replied with a frown. “Pleasant as this stopover is, we’ve got places to be.”

“Want to help me with the chores?” Tamsyn asked Mike. “I can always use an extra hand.”

“Are we going to ride the horses?” the boy asked with enthusiasm.

“Not for the work I need to do today,” she told him but added as his face fell, “We can go for a ride in the afternoon if your sister gives permission. There’s a stock pond about half a mile away and we could fish for dinner.”

Melly couldn’t resist her brother’s excitement and it was good for him to have things to do during this time at Tamsyn’s ranch.

Traveling in an armored personnel carrier with a group of soldiers and her was hard for an active boy, although he’d been uncomplaining.

“All right, as long as Cody doesn’t see any infected anywhere near us. ”

He looked up from his messy bacon and egg sandwich and grinned. “Got my drones patrolling and so far nothing to worry about. The infected are all concentrated in the town.” He shot a glance at Tamsyn. “Sorry.”

Their hostess shrugged and sipped her synthcaff. “It is what it is. I cried my tears over them already, believe me.”

“Did you remember to put your handheld in the charger?” Melly asked her brother. “We’re lucky Tamsyn has her own power system here.” It was possible to recharge from the APC’s power core but only one device at a time and the soldiers’ military units took priority.

“I’ll do it now,” he said, pushing his chair back and taking a last gulp of the cranna juice before he left the table in a rush, Buddy at his heels.

“What’s your plan for the day, doc?” Jeff asked.

“Not having any patients to treat,” she said, trying to keep her tone light, “I thought I’d go over those reports we downloaded when we were in the city and see if anything else pops out at me about the flu outbreak that caused all this.”

“Good idea.” Jeff pushed away from the table. “My compliments to the chef, nothing like a good hot breakfast. Let’s go, guys.”

The three men hastily finished their final bites and followed him out of the room and out the front door. Zach, the fourth soldier, was on patrol duty right now and would get his breakfast reheated for him later.

Tamsyn took another sip of synthcaff and eyed Melly. “Lotta energy there. I have to say for a bunch of supposedly retired soldiers the men sure act like Jeff’s in command.”

Melly took a moment to chew her bacon and swallow, considering her answer. “They all served together for so long I think it’s habit for them. And you have to admit the current situation calls for a military style response.”

“What are they planning to raise on this ranch of theirs?” Tamsyn asked as she began to clear the table.

“I really don’t know,” Melly admitted. “We haven’t talked about it much.

There have been…other things demanding our attention.

Cattle, I suppose. Wasn’t beef Randal Four’s big claim to fame?

” She grabbed a stack of plates and cups and followed Tamsyn into the old fashioned, huge farmhouse kitchen.

“The guys are usually better about clearing their own dishes,” she said with a frown as she set her burden by the sink.

“I guess maybe we’ve stayed in too many places where no one was ever coming back and no one cared, but we’re your guests and manners are called for. ”

“Even in an infected apocalypse,” Tamsyn said with a chuckle. “You have high standards, doc.”

The back door opened and Cody popped in, He checked a step at seeing Melly but addressed Tamsyn. “That was a great breakfast by the way. I’ll cook dinner tonight, okay?”

“Sure, I never say no to having a meal prepared for me by someone else.”

“It’s a deal.” He ducked out the door and was gone. He stuck his head back in for a second to add, “And the guys will do the dishes and cleanup.”

Melly found this byplay interesting. Was Cody developing an interest in their hostess?

She decided she didn’t know Tamsyn well enough after one day to ask, so she turned her attention to the dishes.

Eager as she was to get to the reports and examine all the details again, she couldn’t abandon Tamsyn to the mess. The reports would wait.

Evening found them gathered around the big table again, exclaiming over the pasta dish Cody had prepared, with a selection of side dishes and even dessert. Tamsyn had contributed loaves of fresh baked garlic bread.

“This is good,” Mike said to Cody, “But I wish we could have cooked the fish I caught today, up at the pond.”

“Tomorrow,” Tamsyn told him with a smile. “But we’ll have to supplement it with protein from the stasis keeper because pretty as your fish are, five of them aren’t going to satisfy these big appetites.”

Melly observed the glances Jeff and his men exchanged and her heart fell. Jeff cleared his throat and those at the table fell silent.

“About tomorrow,” he said. “We’ve determined APC2 is repairable but we need a specific part.”

“There’s a groundcar and truck supply store in Rosewater,” Tamsyn said. “If you’re willing to brave the infected swarm.”

Jeff’s response was kind but matter of fact. “I’m afraid the part we need will only be found in a military motor pool and the nearest one of those is going to be in New Damarkal, at the base there.”

“So we’re all going to the city in APC1?” Melly asked in dismay. It would be crowded and she wasn’t sure she was ready to leave the comfort and safety of Tamsyn’s ranch to go out into the perilous world of the infected.

“No, I don’t think that would be wise,” Jeff said, reaching out to give her hand a gentle squeeze.

“I’m going to impose on our hostess’s kind nature and leave you and Mike and Buddy here, along with Zach and Trent as security.

” He leveled a stern gaze at the two soldiers in question. “Not to do ranch chores.”

Zach fidgeted and Melly couldn’t help but laugh. He’d been so happy to dive into the work waiting here on the Double Comets ranch once they’d arrived. Given his background on an agri planet, he told them being at the ranch was like a vacation or a trip home. “No, sir. On my downtime maybe?”

“I don’t want to get you in trouble with your boss,” Tamsyn said hastily.

“Downtime only and don’t let it interfere with your duties,” Jeff said in a no nonsense tone.

“Actually a trip to New Damarkal isn’t a bad thing.

There are issues I want to follow up on from what we learned in the capital city and I’m hoping we can gather intel while we’re there.

Cody’s an expert at hacking into old databases. ”

“Happy to help, sir,” he said from his chair next to Tamsyn.

“I figure the ranch is remote enough from the infected in Rosewater to be relatively safe,” Jeff went on. “And you’ll have APC2 as your safe place. Nothing on this planet can get at you once you’re inside and buttoned up.”

“How long will you be gone?” Melly asked.

The ranch felt safe but she’d had too many scary experiences with the infected since they’d landed on the planet, delivered by a robo shuttle with no warning of the disaster ahead.

Melly was sure she’d never feel completely safe anywhere again.

And she and Jeff and the others had been together the entire time since their arrival so being separated set her anxiety levels soaring.

By the look in his eyes she knew he understood.

She supposed he was leaving two of his men behind principally to guard her which she appreciated.

Later, in private, she’d probe whether he ought to take at least one of the soldiers with him in addition to Cody and Trent.

She’d never question his military decisions in public but neither did she want to be the cause of his going on this mission shorthanded.

“One day to get there, one day to handle the motor pool issues and for Cody to do his hacking thing,” Jeff said.

“Maybe two days if he’s having trouble or finding more than I expect and another day on the road back here.

Four days max.” He glanced at Tamsyn. “Another day to repair APC2 and then we’ll be leaving to continue our journey to our own ranchlands. ”

Tamsyn merely nodded to acknowledge the information.

Melly saw Cody watching the ranch owner and when she caught his eye he quirked an eyebrow and shifted his focus to his plate.

She made up her mind to try to talk Tamsyn into coming with them when they left for good.

It hurt her heart to think of the woman here all by herself, trying to maintain a ranch on her own.

No backup against the infected if they ever did swarm out this way, or against human predators either.

Melly was convinced there was something sparking between Cody and Tamsyn which was even more reason to try convincing her to travel with them.

She was sure Jeff would agree to add Tamsyn to their company.

The rancher was levelheaded and competent and would be an asset.

And if Cody was catching feelings Melly couldn’t stand by and leave Tamsyn behind. This world was too uncertain right now to provide second chances or time for slowly building relationships over long distances.

Of course Tamsyn didn’t know he was a cyborg, part man, part machine. Would the fact make a difference? It wasn’t Melly’s secret to tell so she bit her lip and glanced at Cody again but the soldier was engrossed in a low-voiced conversation with Ryan.

She rose to take her dishes to the kitchen, reminding Mike he was on cleanup duty with the others tonight. Buddy would enjoy the leftovers but the plates needed a real cleaning. She’d count on whichever soldier was in charge of the tasks to make sure her brother did his share.