Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
DEZ
“Tapley, I said keep your head down.”
“And just what do you think I’m doing? By the way, barking at me every ten seconds is doing wonders for my anxiety, in the dark, while we try to hide from a Reaper drone. Wonders.”
I peered around the corner of the building, military-grade Quad-NODs on my face.
Given the way D.C. was structured, there were certain areas where it would make the most sense to erect a barrier, especially if the objective was to keep people inside the city.
It was also equally possible they’d set up roadblocks to funnel people, among others, in a specific direction.
However, high-powered assault rifles and groups of friendlies mixed with hostiles didn’t sit well with me. It all spelled mass annihilation.
A military truck was parked at the end of the street behind a “Road Closed” sign and what appeared to be standard orange and white plastic barriers. They’d tossed in a few cones, which felt like overkill considering the uniformed armed personnel stationed in front of the truck.
That meant this wasn’t the main checkpoint.
Unfortunately, my life was the only one I was willing to bet that the main checkpoint was our only way out of the city. If rules of engagement were already in place, it would be shoot on sight, regardless of infected status.
We reversed our steps.
I heard voices and started to nudge Larke into a nearby pharmacy retail store, but she was way ahead of me. If there was one thing I could never accuse her of being, it was unaware. Survival instinct alone would keep her alive, with or without me.
The pharmacy was empty and nearly pitch black, the dark made worse by the paper-covered windows.
Despite the unlocked doors, it was still fairly well-stocked, no doubt because of the military’s presence.
Unlike me and my companion, most people were probably watching the uniforms from the “safety” of their living rooms. Most people had no idea what was about to come.
On the other hand, I was familiar with levels of “extreme measures” most wouldn’t be able to stomach.
Larke, hair covered by a dark scarf with a knot at her nape, pushed the fabric off her forehead and fanned her face with both hands. It was cool out, so I knew it was more than likely anxiety-fanning rather than overheating.
I searched the store, plucked a bottle of water from a thirty-two pack, and returned to where she stood. There was no sense in tapping into the provisions we had just yet.
“Drink,” I said, handing it over.
She snatched the bottle from my hand. “Don’t talk to me like I’m a puppy.”
I bit back a grin. “Just drink.”
“‘Just drink.’” She unscrewed the cap and took the bottle to the head.
Then, she stopped mid-swig. “You know, I should probably sip this. The last thing I need is to have to pee when there’s no bathroom anywhere to be found.
And are you sure you only have one pair of…
what are your night-vision goggley things called again? ”
“Quads, Tapley. Quad-NODs. Night Observation Device.”
“They look creepy.”
“They’re not supposed to be pretty, and yes, I only have these. Just drink whatever you need. We’ve covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. If it bothers you that much, there’s probably a bathroom in here somewhere. If not, or it’s locked, just squat in a corner.”
I waited for her comeback.
She gave me a thumbs-up and continued to drink.
Two shadows appeared in front of the pharmacy’s papered-over windows, and judging from their silhouettes, they were armed military personnel.
[Unknown Soldier 1]: “What do they have us out here for?”
[Unknown Soldier 2]: “Man, I don’t know. I haven’t seen one of those things yet. I kinda don’t want to.”
[Unknown Soldier 1]: “You really think they expect us to shoot civilians?”
[Unknown Soldier 2]: “You got the same orders I did, didn’t you?”
I started to motion for Tapley to get down, but she was already on the floor.
Another “marry me” quip danced on the tip of my tongue, but after what had happened between us earlier, I didn’t want to reintroduce the possibility that we could be more than we currently were.
Over time, she would see that, although my words hurt, I was right.
Maybe she might also eventually see that she wasn’t the only one hurt by them.
[Unknown Soldier 1]: “Look, I’m thirsty. I’m gonna see if this place is open. You want anything?”
Larke crawled along the floor, in the opposite direction of the path from the main entrance, and slipped behind an “Employees Only” door.
For a moment, I forgot everything I’d only just told myself and imagined a different life where I did ask her to dinner, she accepted, and things worked out between us.
Every chance I got, I would have spent it inside her.
[Unknown Soldier 1]: “It’s open, Troy. You want anything?”
[Troy]: “No. Hell, no. That stuff’s probably poison by now.”
[Unknown Soldier 1]: “It was poison to begin with, but that poison’s the reason it’s probably still all right to eat.”
I hid behind an aisle row.
The door opened.
Before it shut, I heard a low thud, like a palm on glass.
[Troy]: Hey, Bartow. Changed my mind. Get me some Oreos.
[Bartow]: Roger that.
I didn’t want to have to open fire on “Troy” or “Bartow,” so I prayed that Bartow would grab whatever snacks he’d come to get and leave without incident.
Then I noticed what I was standing in front of.
A shelf of Oreos.
[Bartow]: “Now, where would Oreos be?”
I mentally blurted out a string of at least seven curse words, some of which I’d made up on the spot, and cleared my mind as best as I could. I needed to listen for the soldier’s footsteps to time my way around him.
The door opened again.
[Troy]: “Changed my mind again. I want Chips A’hoy.”
[Bartow]: “Do you know where they are? I can barely see anything in this dark as hell store.”
[Troy]: “Put on your headgear, then.”
[Bartow]: “For a snack? No, I’ll pass.”
Now, I had four feet to track. Hopefully, they were a pair who’d worked together for a while and were therefore more likely to move in sync.
[Troy]: “Oreos…Oreos… Shit, Chips A’hoy. Now you’ve got me thinking Oreos.”
[Bartow]: “It’s what you wanted first.”
[Troy]: “I might get both.”
[Bartow]: “Who’s going to stop you? The nutrition police?”
Troy laughed.
His footsteps sounded on my left, but I’d last tracked Bartow on my right. Although I didn’t hear anything to indicate that Bartow had moved, it wasn’t guaranteed that he hadn’t, and looking over the top of the aisle wasn’t an option.
Staying low, I made my way to the end of the row and slipped around the edge just as Troy rounded the opposite corner.
[Troy]: “Found ‘em! Haha…come to Papa.”
[Bartow]: “This is why I don’t like going anywhere with you.”
Bartow sounded closer.
Too close.
I looked down the aisle and spotted his boots in front of the endcap.
[Bartow]: “I’m gonna go look for the ‘Employees Only’ door.”
[Troy]: “For what?”
[Bartow]: “Free will.”
I steadied my rifle just as an order came through one of their radios:
“This is Bravo-2. We’ve got unauthorized movement in Sector 5. Confirm orders.”
Cursing, they rushed from the store.
I sank to the floor, Bethany falling against my chest. Without any doubt, I would have dropped them both, especially if “Bartow” had made his way to where Larke was hiding.
I trusted that she wasn’t simply standing in front of the door, waiting to be discovered, but a glimpse of her would have given me more than enough of a reason.
“Dez?” she quietly called. “Dez, the coast is clear. You can come out from wherever you’re hiding now.”
Laughing to myself, I stood. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“I peed.”
“On yourself?”
“No, no. I found the bathroom. I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
“Let’s give it a min—”
Someone shouted.
Shattered glass punctuated the shouts.
“Was there a back door in there?” I asked, moving toward her.
She barely nodded before I grabbed her hand and barreled through the employee entrance, all the way to the back exit.
The door dropped us in the middle of a narrow alleyway filled with garbage bins spilling over with refuse, abandoned cars, and the stench of rotting trash.
Waste collection operations had stopped entirely a few months ago.
The local government had attempted to set up a schedule for different parts of the city to dispose of their trash in designated sectors, but the initiative barely got off the ground.
Now that Larke and I were outside, I managed to get a clearer sense of the commotion.
From the sound of things, the civilians had decided to fight back.
Either they’d figured out that the military hadn’t come to town solely to quarantine the capital, or they’d gotten tired of being cooped up in their homes, losing access to more and more basic necessities with each day that passed.
I released Larke’s hand. “Watch your step, Tapley. If you start to get tired, hold on to me. We can’t risk stopping. Not right now.”
We raced down the alley, and I tried to keep her directly in the path behind me.
If there was something dangerous on the ground—glass, used needles, other sharp objects—staying right in front of her increased the odds that I would step on it first. The hiking shoes on her feet would protect her from the brunt of what was underfoot, but they weren’t foolproof enough for me.
A drone passed overhead.
“There’s a Metro station nearby,” I said. “At this point, if we’re going to make it out, we have to get underground.”
We paused at the alleyway opening, and I peeked around another building just as a military truck passed by on the far side, heading toward the mob. Assuming there was only one Reaper, it passed overhead again in the same direction.
“It’s counting,” I mumbled.
“Counting the people?” Larke asked. “Like…to kill them?”
“Come on. Let’s move.”
We started off again.