Leann snuck out shortly after dawn.

Achilles had awakened as soon as his ears registered the purposeful movement of something large. It had turned out to be Leann preparing to sneak out. He had watched her through lidded eyes in the dim, early morning light seeping through the single window high on the wall to his left. Achilles didn't think she was a cold-blooded killer but he was ready if she came at him with her knife. His fears went unrealized as Leann crept upstairs and out of the door.

Achilles was on his feet in seconds and heading for the small window. He peaked out of the curtains and watched Leann set off toward the road at a fast jog. Low laughter, cut off quickly by a gasp of pain, caused Achilles to turn.

"I'm small, but that bitch sounds like an elephant." Claire Marie chuckled weakly from her makeshift bed.

Achilles smiled, "She is not very quiet, true."

"She's 'prolly gonna bring men back to take our guns." Achilles nodded as he warmed the last of their broth. "What are we going to do?"

"Use the bathroom, eat, you're going to rest," Achilles' mouth widened in a wolfish grin, "Then I'm going to prepare a surprise for our guests."

"Cool."


There were three of them that Achilles could see. They had driven a vehicle of some kind, it had sounded like a poorly maintained truck, close to the turn-off that led up to the long, gravel driveway. Achilles probably would have heard the incredibly loud engine even if he had been asleep.

"I don't think he's dangerous, Clem. He didn't touch me or nothin'," Leann was attempting to whisper to the largest man in the group but her words were easy to discern.

The man was wearing a green trucker cap and chewing mercilessly on a piece of tobacco. He spit out a glob, wiped his mouth with the back of the hand clutching an aluminum bat and laughed.

"I don't care if he's dangerous or not." Clem pointed back towards town. "We need those fuckin' guns he's got when Hoag and his men come back. Now, if he wants ta share then we won't have a problem. If he doesn't-" Clem smacked the bat into the palm of his other hand, "-then we'll just have to persuade him."

Achilles lined up his crosshair, centered himself, and pulled the trigger. Clem's hat flew off his head and he put a disbelieving hand to where it had been. One of the other men laughed while Leann bent to pick up the hat.

"Hey, it's an arrow!" Leann exclaimed a few seconds before Clem lowered his hand to reveal a bloody palm.

All four figures were in plan view and Achilles chose that moment to speak.

"Yes, Leann," Achilles projected his voice in a way that most would think him incapable, "-that is an arrow." Achilles lifted the sniper rifle to his shoulder and put the laser sight in the center of Clem's chest. "You see that little red dot on Clem's chest? That means I can send a round through him if he even looks as though he will spit in my direction. Also, Clem, walk about three steps forward and two to your right. See that little ball that looks like putty? That's hi-explosive and I've rigged this house to blow at the push of a button. That is the situation."

Clem shared nervous looks with the others.

"Okay," Clem spoke after a few moments, "What do you want?"

"Leann did not already inform you? The doctor is not among you?" Achilles ground his teeth when Clem shook his head. "So... instead of coming to trade honestly, you came to take, and now you're going to die."

Achilles finger tightened on the trigger, the battle-mind already settling down like a shroud, when Claire's voice stopped him.

"Wait, Achilles," Claire exclaimed weakly, "Don't kill them. They're just scared and they don't seem too smart. Give them a chance."

Achilles finger slackened on the trigger and he released the battle-mind with a sigh.

Claire Marie's right. I would have come to the same conclusion if I wasn't tired and frustrated.

"Be thankful to Claire Marie, for it is by her words alone that you live."

One man, far more brave than the others, brazenly challenged, "So what the fuck now?"

"You," the man looked at the others, "Yes, you who has the largest pair. Go back into town and bring your doctor. Do not attempt to deceive me or take this domicile by sneak attack. I will not be as merciful a second time. Now go."

The man looked to Clem and, much to Achilles's bemusement, didn't budge until he received a nod. Achilles watched as the man's slightly heavy frame moved back toward the road. Silence lasted a little more than a minute before someone shattered it.

"So you want us to just stand here until they get back?" Leann's voice and face were absolutely petulant.

"I do not care what you do so long as you remain where I can see you."

"What if we have to pee?" she asked, arms crossly defiantly.

"Then do so where you stand."

That statement brought about a momentary silence, but it was eventually broken by tense attempts at small talk. Nervous jokes were made at Achilles' expense but that also quickly ended. Eventually they all sat on the ground in various states of anxiety. Achilles settled into the wait as comfortably as possible.

Approximately a half an hour later the truck pulled up the driveway. It was a dusty old thing and had definitely seen better days. The doctor seemed barely old enough to shave. Achilles had seen stranger things though.

"Stop where you are!" Achilles shouted as the two made their way toward the house. "Come closer, doctor."

The young man stepped closer and Achilles growled softly to himself. He was dressed much like the locals in dirty jeans and faded T-shirt. The hands he had raised were smooth though.

"Point to your thyroid!" Achilles barked, "You have ten seconds!" The doctor pointed to the appropriate spot. "Your appendix."

Again the man was on point. Achilles spat out a barrage of organs that people generally only had a vague notion of the location of. The doctor knew, with startling precision, where they all were.

"What is your name, doctor?" Achilles called, keeping a close eye on Clem and Loudmouth since they seemed to think he wouldn't notice them edging closer to each other.

"Dawkins," he answered nervously.

"Then come forward and enter, Doctor Dawkins."

The doctor walked on unsteady legs onto the porch. He opened the door and entered as though it were a gas chamber.

"Look up, Doctor Dawkins. Do you see that glob with the little red dot in its center?" Achilles waited for the doctor's sweaty nod before continuing. "That is a demolition charge, small, but I have enough in the right locations to bring this house down. So, no tricks. Do we have an understanding?'

"Yes, sir," Dawkins answered, his voice distinctly non-regional.

"Clare Marie is there," Achilles tilted his forehead in the direction of the couch he had dragged directly to his right.

"What are her symptoms?" Dawkins asked, dropping a duffel bag onto the floor beside the bed.

"Low-grade fever, nausea, discolored urine, disabling lower back pain, and I am fairly sure she has a vaginal yeast infection."

The doctor ran a hand through his mass of light brown hair. It seemed as though none of the locals had spent much time grooming themselves.

"I'll need a urine sample," the doctor moved to get something from his bag but was brought up short by the click of Claire Marie pulling back the hammers of her sawed-off shotgun.

"Slowly, doctor."

Achilles smiled and returned his attention to the front yard. He ignored the sounds behind him, even Claire Marie's pained groans as she stood. There was a rustle of cloth and Dawkins began to splutter.

"What are you dong?!" he asked in obvious disbelief.

"Peeing. Slide that bucket over, doc. Thanks."

Claire Marie urinated for the doctor and sank back down with a grateful sigh. Approximately ten minutes later Dawkins spoke again.

"Uhm, I'd like to do a pelvic exam now."

Claire Marie chuckled, "Okay, doc, help me slide these pants off."

The examination took far longer than Achilles thought it should but finally he heard the doctor help Claire Marie slide her pants on. Some time later Dawkins coughed to get Achilles' attention.

"Claire Marie has a urinary tract infection, as well as a yeast infection. I have some topical creams and pills in town for the yeast infection, but I have no antibiotics. The closest pharmacy is in a town that Hoag is holed up in."

"Where's the nearest hospital?' Achilles asked dispassionately as his mind began seeking a place of clarity for the tasks ahead.

"The next town after Hoag's Fort, but that place is crawling with those cannibals. That's where they set up the evacuation center."

"That will not be a problem," Achilles said, and found he actually believed it.

"Also," Dawkins hesitated, "Raping this girl isn't doing anything for her condition."

Claire Marie barked laughter, "Don't make me laugh, Dawkins."

"But... you've got barely healed trauma to your tissues. I'd say you've been raped as recently as two days ago."

"Hmm, must have been all the running and fighting. Trust me, doc, Achilles is the last person to do something like that."

"Well, I'll have to take your word on that."

"How much would a mule's load of medical supplies be worth to them?"

"What do you mean?" Dawkins asked.

"I can not take Claire Marie to so dangerous a place in her condition. She needs a place to stay and people to help her if she needs it. Can I trust Clem and those he commands to safeguard her?"

"Yes, I suppose they'll want guns more than medical supplies."

"That," Achilles turned to Dawkins with a rueful smile, "- I can not allow."


After rearranging the placement of detonation charges, Achilles let Clem and his group inside. He had explained his proposal and they took it as well as expected.

"You," Clem winced as his laughing fit caused Dawkins to dab a little too hard at his scalp wound. "-seriously think you can sneak past Hoag's men, a bunch of those cannibal motherfuckers, and raid the hospital?"

Loudmouth, whose name was Robert, chuckled, "Maybe he can fly?"

Leann was the only one that wasn't laughing.

"You didn't see 'em take out those bunch yesterday, Clem." Leann was staring at the detonator in Achilles' hand as though it were a poisonous snake. "You woulda thought it was animals fighting', it was so quiet, and it was over so damn quick."

The man who had been silent so far chose that moment to speak, "He doesn't look like much."

Claire Marie snorted, "You ever get tired of proving fuckers wrong, Achilles?"

"No."

Clem grinned mockingly, "What kind of name's Achilles anyway?"

Achilles grinned back in similar fashion, "You are not worthy to hear such a tale."

"You sure do talk funny," Jim, the quiet one, blurted out.

"I talk as I see fit," Achilles turned to Clem, "So, can we come to an agreement?"

Clem's mouth twisted and he scratched his short beard.

"We need the guns more than medical supplies," Dawkins looked as though he wanted to say something but a glare from Clem cut any comment off.

"Medical supplies will prove invaluable if you're going to fight former soldiers. After I return, we can discuss further trade."

"How do ya know we won't just take the guns and leave Claire?"

Achilles grinned and held up the detonator, "I've put them all in one place. If Claire Marie thinks you're going back on the deal and, click, your dreams are smoke."

Clem laughed, "You don't fuck around, do you?"

"No."