After eating their ice cream and cleaning up the dessert dishes, the rag-tag group head up to the second floor. CR helps Emily as she follows Lily, Sammy, and Taylor to their room. CR rejoins the others as they search the rooms on the floor.
Chloe was right, it didn't take long at all. Some of the rooms were clean, like people checked out like it was any normal day. Others had most of the occupants stuff left behind. None of them wanted to think about why. In one room CR scores. The room must have been occupied by a pharmaceutical representative, because there was a case of meds. Looking to the sky, CR says a silent prayer of thanks.
With an air of excitement and hope, they all return to Lily's room to find Emily sitting up on the bed with Sammy tucked in next to her and Taylor sitting on the other side of Sammy. They were giggling about something when Lily answered the door to let the others in. They came in carrying the medicine case, several laptops, a couple of phones, and clothes.
"We found some clothes that might fit the girls," Aubrey said handing Lily a bag.
"We also found a case of medications," CR said holding up the black case.
"Set it over there," Lily said and pointed to the end of the bed, "and open it."
Cynthia Rose does as she's told. It's an impressive collection of medicine bottles. Lily starts looking through them, checking names, reading the descriptions and glossy brochures. She smiled as she reads one. "This is great! CR, could you get a bottle of water for Emily?"
CR smiles and races over to get a bottle of water. She comes back and hands the bottle to Emily.
"Thank you," Emily said as she took the water.
Lily breaks open a medicine container and takes out a large white pill. "Here Emily, take this," she said as she handed the pill to the injured woman. She pointed to the water bottle and said, "And drink the whole bottle."
Emily looks at her questioningly. Lily smiled to reassure the younger woman. "It's an antibiotic. It'll protect against infection." Emily smiled as she took the pill and then drank down the bottle.
As this was going on, Zeke had taken the laptops to check them out; he finds most of them are dead, though he does open one that had been found still plugged in and charging. He was immediately frustrated because it needed a password to open. Aubrey takes the laptop and turns to Lily.
"Lily?," was all Aubrey said.
Lily takes the laptop and less than five minutes later had it unlocked. Zeke looks at her with a raised eyebrow causing Lily to shrug her shoulders.
"Don't ask," Stacie said.
"Let's check it out," Zeke said and sets the laptop on the desk. He types in the URL for the Defense Department and said, "Here goes nothing," as he hit enter.
The DOD website came up and everyone got excited. On the front page of the site were some links to emergency messages.
One of the messages caught all their eyes. It said "Attention Survivors" and Zeke clicks on the link.
ATTENTION ALL SURVIVORS OF THE INFECTION: If you have survived the outbreak that has befallen the United States, please make your way to the nearest military base. We have food and accommodations to keep you comfortable and safe. Bring whatever canned foods and bottled water you can to help replenish our food shelves.
Click here to find the bases nearest to you.
"So, the military bases are the real survivor camps?," Beca asks.
"Looks like it," Zeke said. "We had a few people show up at Ft. Benning. I didn't know it was because DOD identified our base as a safe place. We were just told that any survivors that came to the base were to be allowed on."
"There's a message from two days ago," Stacie said, pointing it out on the screen. Zeke clicks on the link and Chloe reads the message out loud.
Military aircraft will be flying over the Eastern United States beginning in four days time. It is requested that all citizens remain calm and stay indoors. The aircraft will be spraying a vaccine mist over the entire area to stop the spread of the infection that has taken over many of our citizens. Please be advised that this vaccine will not harm those not infected. In the unlikely event you should have any adverse reactions to the mist, please seek medical assistance at any military base in your area. They are equipped to handle any and all your medical needs.
"Well, it looks like you were right, Zeke," Aubrey said. "They're going to start to administer the vaccine."
"Do you think we should find a military base for safety?," Emily asks.
"I think our best bet is to stay here for now," Zeke said. "I have a feeling that the bases may be overloaded if any survivors were able to get these messages. We only got a few while I was still at Fort Benning, but they may have stopped accepting folks because of the testing they were doing to find a vaccine."
"Why didn't we know about this earlier?," CR asks.
"We didn't know we had internet access," Aubrey said. "I know I didn't bother checking my phone after the first day when I wasn't able to get any kind of signal. I guess I succumbed to what I saw in movies where the zombies attack and kill everyone, power is out everywhere, and all forms of communication are knocked out leaving the world in total chaos."
"The military made sure all forms of communication were operational as soon as they could," Zeke said. "As far as I know, they have control over all the communications satellites and power companies. They want to ensure that communications remain open across the country."
"This is pretty funny," Emily said, emitting a sad laugh. "I keep waiting for zombies to just pop up and start trying to eat our brains or something. Or the lights to suddenly go out." The others nod their heads in agreement. "This really is nothing like the zombie movies I've seen."
"Let's just hope this vaccine mist works," Beca said. "If any of those infected had transformed beyond those that we saw, we could still be in for a long road to getting back to what could be considered normal."
"Hey," Chloe exclaims. "It says Contact DOD at the bottom of the message with an email address. Do you think someone is monitoring the In Box for mail? Should we send a message? Let them know we're out here. Maybe find out if we're in an area where they're going to do the flyovers?"
"That's a good idea, Chlo," Aubrey said.
"I agree," Zeke said having already clicked the link. "I'll send it under my military email." He proceeds to type the email as the girls read it over his shoulder, often suggesting some edits or changes. Once they all seem satisfied, Zeke hits send. "Well, I guess now we wait to see what happens."
Sammy and Taylor start yawning, causing one or two of the adults to follow suit.
"Maybe we should all turn in," Chloe suggests. "It's really late and it's been a long and eventful day."
"That's putting it mildly," Beca mumbles. "We need to have a watch."
The others agree.
"I'll take the first watch," Zeke said.
"I'll take over in two hours," CR volunteers.
"I got next," Stacie said.
"Then I got next," Aubrey said.
Chloe held her hand up. "I'll take next…"
Beca raises a hand to cut her off. "We'll take next."
Chloe smiles. "We'll take next."
With that decided, everyone gets up to head for their rooms. Before Emily can get up from the bed, Sammy stops her.
"You sleep here?," Sammy asks quietly. "With us? We can take care of your boo-boo."
"That's probably a good idea, Em," Lily said. "I'll be here to keep an eye on you in case, you know, you need some help."
"I'd love to stay with you guys," Emily said with a smile.
The other were bidding each other a good night when Aubrey stopped them. "Beca, Chloe, you should wake the others at the end of your watch," she suggests. "That way we can have breakfast together before we start checking the rest of the rooms."
"Sounds good" and "Okay" was thrown out by the group. Beca and Chloe enter their room, Beca carrying some of the clothes that had been found in their earlier search.
"Here," she said to Chloe, handing her a long t-shirt. "You can wear this to bed."
"Thanks," Chloe said taking the shirt. She starts pulling off her shirt and Beca turns her head away.
Just as they were done changing, there was a knock on the door. They both went to see who it was. Chloe pulls the door open to find Stacie standing there.
"Hey," Stacie said. "Lily found a bunch of toothbrushes and other stuff in a supply closet. Here." She hands Chloe a bag. Chloe is surprised at the weight. Stacie said, "It's also got shampoo and soap, as well as clean towels and stuff in it."
"Thanks," Beca said. "I usually like a nice shower in the morning to wake me up."
Stacie just smiles and says good night. Chloe closes the door and Beca says, "Why don't you use the bathroom first. I'll change and can brush my teeth when you're done."
Chloe thanks her and takes the bag into the bathroom. She comes out about 15 minutes later and Beca goes in. Chloe takes off her jeans, opting to sleep in just a shirt. She pulls back the blanket and top sheet and lays down on the bed to wait for Beca to finish in the bathroom. She falls asleep in seconds.
Beca exits the bathroom and a small smile came to her lips when she saw Chloe asleep on the bed. She turns off the bathroom light and makes her way to the bed. She climbs in and pulls the sheets up over them. She clicks off the bedside lamp and lays on her back next to Chloe. She too falls asleep almost immediately.
Chloe woke from a deep sleep when she felt Beca thrashing around next to her. She sat up in the bed and clicked on the light. Beca was flailing about yelling "No" and "Stop." She has tears streaming down her face and Chloe grabs her to try and calm her down. Chloe strokes Beca's hair and gently calls her name. "Beca. Wake up, sweetie. It's Chloe. You're safe. Please wake up, okay? It's okay. You're safe. You're safe. I'm here." She smoothes a hand over Beca's head and she finally starts to calm down. Beca practically melts into Chloe's arms. "It's okay," Chloe whispers.
Beca holds onto Chloe and continues to cry for a few minutes. She finally calms down and was just sniffling and wiping her tears.
"I'm sorry," Beca whispers. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"Don't apologize, Becs," Chloe said. "It was a nightmare. You're safe now. I'm here and no one's ever going to hurt you. I promise." She pauses for a moment. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really," Beca said and sniffles again. "Can you just hold me for a while?"
"I'll hold you forever," Chloe said and pulls Beca tighter to her.
"Can we just go back to sleep?," Beca said. "It's still early and I'm kind of tired."
"Absolutely," Chloe said. She lets Beca get settled before she gathers in her arms. Beca turns on her side and lets Chloe spoon her. "Better?"
"Much," Beca said and sighs. "Thanks."
Chloe kisses Beca's shoulder and said, "I love you."
"I love you, too, Chlo," Beca said and drops off to sleep.
Chloe snuggles in closer and goes back to sleep as well.
*0*0*0*0*
Beca and Chloe are still snuggled together when they are awakened by a knock on the door. Chloe sees the bedside lamp is on and remembers Beca's nightmare. She makes a mental note to ask her about it later. The knock comes again and Chloe stretches as Beca burrows back under the covers. Chloe smiles and gets up and goes to the door.
"Good morning, guys," Chloe said seeing Aubrey and Stacie standing there. She opens the door wider and motions for them come in. "Is it our turn?"
"Nope," Stacie answered.
"We decided to let you both sleep," Aubrey said.
"What? Why?," Chloe asked.
Stacie looks down at the floor as she answered. "I heard Beca last night." She looked over at Aubrey. "We talked and decided she needed to sleep, which wouldn't happen if you were on watch."
"We were worried about her," Aubrey said.
Chloe feels the love of these women. "Thank you, both."
Aubrey and Stacie looked relieved.
"Is everyone else already up?"
"Zeke is the only one so far," Aubrey told her, speaking louder. "We started here because we know how long it takes the wake the hobbit."
"I heard that," Beca mumbled from somewhere in the bed.
"You were meant to," Aubrey said with a laugh.
Beca gets one arm out from under the blankets and flips Aubrey off. Stacie and Chloe laugh at the indignant expression on Aubrey's face.
"Rude," Aubrey muttered. "Anyway, since you and Beca made dinner, Stacie and I volunteered to make breakfast this morning. Come down when you're ready."
"Okay," Chloe said. "Thanks. We'll be down after we shower and change."
Stacie and Aubrey leave and get the rest of the group up telling them to meet downstairs for breakfast. The first thing Stacie does is start the coffee. Aubrey looks through the freezer and brings back some sausage patties, bacon, and hash browns. She sets everything on the counter and finds Stacie in what looks like a pantry.
"I found some powdered milk and eggs," Stacie said, holding up the bags. "I'm not sure how the eggs will taste but it's worth a try."
"Sounds almost palatable," Aubrey said. "I've got frozen hash browns, bacon, and sausage. I think we'll be good."
Stacie and Aubrey go back to the kitchen and get things started. Zeke and CR are the first to make an entrance. Stacie notices Zeke carrying the laptop they were using the night before.
"Coffee's ready," Stacie said pointing to the pots she made.
"Do you think there's any kind of creamer here?," Zeke asks as he pours coffee into two cups.
"Check the pantry over there," Aubrey suggests. "I think there's some of that non-dairy stuff. Oh, Stacie found some powdered milk if you'd rather have that."
Zeke goes into the pantry and comes out with a box of non-dairy creamer packets and some sugar. He sees Aubrey looking at the box of powdered eggs and chuckles. "I thought I was done with military type rations."
"Do they really taste like scrambled eggs?," Aubrey asks.
"Actually, they're better than you think," Zeke tells her.
Aubrey shrugs and reads the directions and reconstitutes the eggs. While they soak a bit she starts the hash browns. Stacie is handling the bacon and sausage.
CR and Zeke are watching the food preparations when Sammy and Taylor come running into the kitchen. "CR, CR!," Taylor yells. "Lily needs help with Emily."
CR immediately jumps up and runs for the stairs. Aubrey and Stacie look concerned and start to follow only to be stopped by Zeke. "I'll go. Taylor, you and Sammy stay here with Stacie and Aubrey. Okay?"
The little girls nod and Zeke rushes out. He gets to Lily's room to find Emily apologizing to CR. "I'm so sorry," Emily said looking very apologetic. "We just needed someone to help me downstairs. I'm fine, just still really weak."
"The way those girls came running in saying Lily needed help with you," CR said, "I thought for sure your wound had opened up or something."
Zeke smiles at them and offers to help get Emily downstairs. As they come out of the room, Chloe and Beca are coming out of theirs. "Good morning, everyone," Chloe said with a grin.
Beca mumbles some kind of greeting causing CR, Lily, and Emily to laugh. "Typical morning Beca," Emily said.
"She told me a shower in the morning helps wake her up," Chloe said with a grin. "She lied."
*0*0*0*0*
Breakfast is done and everyone thanks Stacie and Aubrey. "You were right, Zeke," Aubrey said. "Those eggs were better than I expected."
"Hey," Stacie said nodding at Zeke. "I noticed you brought down the laptop. Did you check to see if we got a response to our email?"
"Not yet," Zeke responds. "I thought I should check while everyone was together."
"Well, we're together now," CR said. "Let's check it."
"I'm with CR," Beca said. "Let's do it now before we start searching the rooms."
"Actually," Lily said. "I have some questions before we proceed."
"What kind of questions?," Aubrey asks.
Lily is looking at Zeke and Zeke sees her. He looks down at the floor. "I think she has questions for me."
"Lily?," Chloe said tentatively. "What's this about?"
"I feel like." Lily stopped and looked around at the girls. "I mean no disrespect to you, Zeke, but I feel like you were holding back last night. That there's more you're not telling us."
Lily and Zeke stare at each other. The others look at each other and then back and forth between Zeke and Lily.
"Ask your questions, Lily," Beca said causing Zeke to look at her. Beca looks back at him. "I trust Lily's instincts, Zeke. If she has questions then I think it means you owe us some real answers, don't you?"
Zeke let out a heavy sigh and nodded his head. "Go ahead, Lily."
The tension is thick as the girls settled back down in their seats. Lily sits directly across from Zeke and leans her arms on the table.
"Yesterday," Lily said. "Stacie drove the van by those things and they didn't pay any attention to us. But when the truck was close to them, they suddenly attacked. Why? Why did they attack the truck and not the van?"
Zeke sighs and takes a deep breath. "They were a group of the 'super' infected and their hearing is exponentially more fine-tuned than those earlier infected. Part of what I left out last night was that we knew the super infected were more advanced with regard to hearing, way more advanced. I can only assume they honed in on the sounds of our weapons being made ready. Or even our voices when we were talking. They were a bit higher than normal from fear, anticipation, and anxiety."
"So, you lied to us," Beca said. "Why? What purpose does it serve to not let us know what we're really up against?"
"I am a soldier," Zeke said. "I am given orders and I follow them. We were ordered not to discuss anything we saw on base. I only told you what I was able to without fear of repercussion."
"Bullshit!," Beca said her anger flaring.
"Beca," Chloe said putting her hand on Beca's arm.
"You didn't go back to your base when you and Chicago were in the clear after your squad was attacked," Beca said. "Why not?"
"Because they knew they were being lied to," Lily responds before Zeke can. "They knew the base was identified as a safe place and let everyone in. And, I think they found out the survivors they were supposed to be protecting were being used for their research."
A collective gasp is heard around the room. Beca looks at Zeke and asks, "Is this true?"
Zeke looks down and nods his head. Beca stands abruptly causing her chair to fall over. Everyone's head snapped over to her as she rushed out of the dining room. Chloe immediately ran after her.
"What the hell, Zeke?," Aubrey yells. "Did you just make up the story about using prisoners because it sounded better?"
"No," Zeke said looking at Aubrey. "Look, Chicago and I didn't like what they were doing, but it was working. They actually developed a cure for the infection. We really didn't have that large a group of survivors on base. Maybe thirty or so. When there were no more survivors the researchers wanted to use the soldiers but DOD wouldn't let them. The prison was discovered on one of our missions and we started bringing them to the base in small groups to use as test subjects. If the scientists hadn't done what they did to those people, we may have all become one of those things by now."
"That doesn't make us feel any better," Stacie said quietly.
"It didn't make us feel any better when we found out either," Zeke said.
*0*0*0*0*
Chloe rushes out of the dining room after Beca catching up to her as she reaches the door to the stairwell. Chloe reaches out and grabs Beca by the arm to stop her. Beca leans back against the door and is shaking her head.
"Beca," Chloe said and stops when she sees how angry Beca is.
"I hate this fucking infection," Beca cries. "I hate the fucking military. I hate the fucking zombies. I hate Jesse for dying. I hate-" Beca breaks down crying and slides down to the floor.
Chloe sits next to her and gathers Beca in her arms. She's cradling Beca's head to the chest and just sits and holds her while she cries, a few tears sliding down her face as well. Beca's cries become sniffles and she wipes at her face.
"I got your shirt all wet," Beca said softly.
"It's okay," Chloe tells her. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Yes, no," Beca said with a sigh. "I don't know. We've been through so much lately and just when I think things might actually get better, we hear this stuff about what the military is doing. And sadly, even when this is over, what they did will probably be swept under the rug. I can see using the already infected, but to purposely infect someone not knowing if you could cure them. That's just wrong."
"You know it's not Zeke's fault," Chloe said.
"I know," Beca said. "But he's the only one here to yell at."
Chloe gave a little chuckle and Beca smiled at her. "Maybe we should go back and see what we missed."
"Okay," Beca said and stood up. "I want to wash my face first. You should probably change your shirt as well. You've got a Spring Break wet t-shirt thing going on there."
*0*0*0*0*
Beca and Chloe have been gone about twenty minutes before they walk back into a quiet dining room. Everyone looks up when they hear them enter. Chloe looks at Beca and nods her head to her. Beca sighs and walks over to sit next to Lily and looks across the table at Zeke.
"Zeke," Beca said. "I'm sorry I lost my temper. I know none of this is your fault. It's just that so much has happened in the past 48 hours and there is a breaking point in all of us. I guess you not telling us everything you know was mine."
"Please," Zeke said. "Don't apologize. I should have just been honest with you from the start. The military doesn't even know if I'm dead or alive so there wouldn't be any repercussions if I told you everything. I've been trained to think like a soldier for so long, it's hard to think like a civilian."
"Okay," Aubrey said. "Tell us everything. How did you find out what they were doing?"
Zeke took a breath and started talking.
The base was not affected by the infection. We were fully operational and hadn't lost a single soldier. Chicago and I were on routine watch around the base one night when we heard a noise near one of the buildings that had restricted access and was supposed to be secure at all times. We looked around and found one of the doors sitting open so we went inside to check things out. We had our guns ready and we both entered the premises. We went down a hallway and didn't see or hear anything so we started thinking someone just didn't close the door completely. We had turned to leave when we heard a sound, it could have been a door closing or someone bumped into something. We didn't know so we continued further into the building to see if we could find the source of the noise.
"Do you hear anything?," Chicago asked me after we had gone a few more feet.
"No," I responded. "You?"
He shook his head no. Just was we were thinking of just chucking the idea of continuing the search, we noticed some light coming from behind the double doors ahead of us. Of course we went to investigate. I looked through the gap between the two doors but couldn't really see much. We each grabbed a handle and on the count of three we pulled the doors open and raised our weapons. The hallway was lined on on one side with glass panels and the light was coming from them. We made our way over and quickly looked through the glass. We were shocked because standing on the other side of the glass were about thirty of the infected. They were shuffling around but not really doing anything. This was the first time Chicago and I had seen one of them up close. Their skin was kind of pale gray looking, like someone who'd been sick for a while. That was weird enough, but when we saw their eyes they were milky white looking. It was disturbing to see them that close.
"What the hell?," Chicago said. "Are those the infected?"
"Sure looks like," I said. "Where did they all come from?"
"I heard they were sending out patrols to see if they could catch any," Chicago said.
"Why?," I asked.
"Based on what I heard, they have scientists here who want to use them for research," Chicago replied. "To see if they can figure out how the disease spread so fast. Maybe then they can find a cure."
"That's messed up," I said.
A door suddenly opened and Colonel Samuels came through. He looked up surprised to see us. We stood at attention and saluted and he saluted back.
"What are you boys doing in here?," Colonel Samuels asked. "This is a restricted area?"
"Sorry, sir," I responded. "We were on routine patrol and the door was open. We came in to check to see if everything was in order and secure the area if needed."
"Good job," Colonel Samuels. "I'm going to have to order you to not tell anyone about what you saw in here. We are getting close to figuring out how this disease works, which means we are close to hopefully finding a cure for it. You two do understand the importance of keeping this to yourselves for now?"
"Yes, sir!," Chicago and I both said.
"Good," Colonel Samuels. "You are dismissed. I'll walk you out to make sure the door is properly secured.
"And that was it," Zeke tells them. "That was how we found out they actually had some of the infected on base."
"When did you find out they were using the survivors for their research?," Lily asks.
"It was about a month later," Zeke responds. "A week after we found the open door to the building, Colonel Samuels called us into his office and put us on duty in the restricted building. He knew we would keep whatever we saw to ourselves. About three weeks after our new assignment we were watching the monitors in the security room. We saw four of the survivors being brought into the building at gunpoint by some of the researchers. We were shocked. Then the camera went out. By the time we were able to get to that part of the building, they were nowhere in sight. Chicago and I looked around the base for those survivors the next day but we didn't find them."
"Didn't you think that was weird?," Chloe asks.
"Of course we did," Zeke said. "We had always wondered why they only had four of us assigned to watch the building. Seeing that gave us our answer. You see, normally we would be on duty for 12 hours and off for 24. That wasn't so bad but there were only four of us assigned to the building and our schedule was on for 12 off for 12. Also, part of our new duties during our 12 hours off was to go out on patrol to see if we could catch any of the infected and bring them back. Chicago and I, and the other two, were the only ones ever allowed to take them into the building."
"How were you able to do that without them attacking?," Stacie asks.
"They weren't violent at first," Zeke responds. "We used these little clicker things to get them to follow us. They were just loud enough to attract them without agitating them into attacking. Once they were secured in the building the testing would begin. We would strap them down so the researchers could draw blood and get CAT scans of them. After that we led them to the room we had seen earlier. One night we saw the survivors that had been brought in a few nights before."
"Where'd you see them?," Lily asks.
"In the room with the infected," Zeke said. "They had some speakers in the room. They would send different sounds through the speakers to see how the infected reacted to each sound. Some of them got agitated with some of the lighter sounds, but nothing too bad. Then as the sounds got higher pitched the infected would start get very agitated and try to get to the source of the noise. Some even got aggressive toward each other but didn't really cause any damage."
"That's like what we saw at the school," Beca said. "They didn't even notice us when they were trying to get to the fire alarm."
"On the night we saw the four survivors in the room," Zeke continues, "we saw firsthand how they used the sounds to provoke the infected into attacking the survivors. The survivors were freaked when they were put in with the infected and started banging on the door. The were yelling and screaming and that seemed to agitate the infected. Suddenly, loud obnoxious alarms started coming through the speakers. This set the infected off and they attacked the survivors. It wasn't long before they all had been bitten and started turning."
Everyone was quiet as Zeke stopped to compose himself. He could still see the four turning into one of the infected and reminded him of seeing Chicago after he had changed. He cleared his throat.
"Chicago and I asked to be taken off the duty but our request was denied," Zeke said. "Colonel Samuels told us they were trying out new vaccines to cure the infected. He needed us to stay on so they wouldn't have to train anyone new to look after things. Like I told you earlier, the vaccines didn't work at first. Then they noticed a serious change in the infected. That's where the super-infected came from. They finally got to the point where they were actually curing the infected. That part is not a lie. The day before our squad was attacked, the scientists were going to give the cure to some of the super-infected to see what would happen. When the went to get them, they were gone; they somehow got out. We don't know how because the monitors were totally blank when we checked them. Early the next morning we were sent out to track them down. We found them and they were in a fight with the survivors I mentioned."
"So, the survivors didn't attack you?," Aubrey asked.
"Oh, they did," Zeke said. "But only after we helped them fight off the infected. We thought we were in the clear when most of them went running off. They were fast and we knew we were going to have trouble catching them again. One of our guys started yelling about catching them and getting them back to base. The civilians heard this and put two and two together and attacked us. They wanted us to take them to the base. Our sergeant told them our orders were to capture the infected and we didn't have time to take them to the base. That they were more than welcome to get there on their own. They started yelling at us about the power and how the infected were being kept safe while they were left on their own to die. One guy punched Sergeant Madden and then the fight broke out. We were getting our asses kicked. One of the survivors pulled out a gun and Chicago and I managed to get away from them and hide. Neither one of us wanted to kill any of the survivors. I think that's when we made the decision not go back to base. We remained in hiding for about 3 days, living off the few rations we had with us. We finally came out and found one of the humvees abandoned but we weren't able to get it started. We didn't see any of our guys or the group that attacked us, so, we grabbed everything we could carry from it and set off on foot."
The room was quiet as the girls let what Zeke said sink in. Beca looked at Lily and Lily turned to Zeke.
"I believe you and thank you for being honest," Lily tells him. "I understand that in times like these we do what we have to do to survive. I only ask that from here on out you continue to be honest with us. No more lies or holding back. I trust you, Zeke, I really do. You just need to trust us."
Zeke nods his head. "For what it's worth, I do trust you. All of you."
"Good," Lily said. "Now, if no one else has any questions, I think we should check to see if we have a response to our email."
The others readily agree and Zeke pulls up the laptop. "I wasn't completely honest before," he said sheepishly. "I did try to check the email but don't know the password to get onto the computer."
Lily chuckles and pulls the laptop over to her. She types something in and turns the laptop back to Zeke. Everyone moves to stand around and behind him so they can see the laptop as well. Zeke gets onto the DOD website and enters his email.
"I have a response," Zeke said loudly, sitting up in his seat. "It's from my buddy Tommy Gallagher."
The girls are excited as Zeke pulls up the response and they start reading.
Zeke! Dude, I thought you and Chicago were dead or one of those things. It's been a mess since you guys have been gone. The big guys at the Pentagon found out about those infected escaping AND that they had become some kind of super-infected. We've had them up our asses ever since.
Good news: The cure actually works. The flyovers they talked about will be happening in your area tomorrow. You will still need to be vigilant. The mist can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin but it takes a little while for it to work. The infected will look like they are dead at first; it somehow knocks them out. Then they wake up. They still have this grayish look to them but that goes away after about a day. They actually look pretty healthy, almost like they'd never been sick.
We have several trucks ready to go out and start picking up the cured folks and bring them back to the base. There are some doctors here and they will check them out and make sure they are really okay.
Bad news: They still haven't figured out how to help with the blindness. They think it will be permanent but they have some specialists trying to come up with some ideas. There are a lot of them out there.
Glad to hear you're still alive. I saw your email and wanted to let you know what's happening. You'll probably get another one tomorrow with the standard military BS about how things are good and not to worry, blah, blah, blah.
Tommy G.
PS - The military thought you and Chicago were dead. You sending an email tells them otherwise which means you guys may be court-martialed for desertion or being AWOL when (if?) you come back. Maybe, since you're helping a group of survivors they'll give you a break and you can come help with the cleanup. Whatever you decide, hit me up when this is over and we'll all grab a beer.
"Wow," Chloe said. "This could actually be over in a matter of days. Then we just have to start the healing process."
*0*0*0*0*
Everyone was overwhelmed by some of the things they learned. No one was in the mood to search the other rooms so they all went their separate ways for a bit. Stacie and Aubrey were still in the dining room with Zeke. They felt bad for the guy and stayed to just talk with him, to learn more about him. Beca and Chloe were in the lobby of the hotel playing with Sammy and Taylor. Lily had helped CR get Emily back to their room so she could check her wound and change the bandage.
"It's coming along nicely," Lily tells Emily as she secures the clean bandage. "I'd try and use it a little bit so it doesn't tighten up. Just do some arm lifts but don't overdo it. You don't want to pop your stitches."
"Thanks, Lily," Emily said. "I think I'm going to take a nap. I didn't get much sleep last night. Those girls kick in their sleep. I was worried they were going to somehow kick my injury."
"They both wanted to help you with your boo-boo," Lily said, chuckling. "I didn't have the heart to make one of them sleep with me."
"It's okay," Emily said with a smile. "They were so sweet to want to help."
"Lily, if you want to go downstairs and be with the girls, I'll stay with Emily," CR said. "I found a book so I can read it while Emily's resting."
"Thanks, CR," Lily said. "I actually want to talk to Beca and Chloe about something."
Lily left Emily sleeping and CR reading. She made her way downstairs and heard Sammy and Taylor laughing as soon as she came through the door from the stairwell. She smiles as she watches Beca and Chloe playing with the two young girls. She walks over to them
"Lily," Taylor screams when she sees her. Taylor goes running over to Lily and grabs her around the waist. "Me and Sammy beat Beca in the tickle war."
"You did?" Lily asks as she walks over to the group.
"They cheated," Beca said wagging a finger at Taylor, causing the young girl to laugh.
"No, we didn't," Taylor said. "You're just a sore loser."
"Chloe, tell Lily they cheated," Beca whines.
"Sorry, Beca, can't help you," Chloe said. "They beat you fair and square."
Taylor and Sammy laugh and do a victory dance. Lily watches all this and then looks at Beca and Chloe.
"Hey, guys," Lily said causing Beca and Chloe to look at her. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure," Chloe said. "I'm going to take the girls in and see if Stacie will give them some ice cream."
"Ice cream!," Taylor yells and grabs Chloe by the hand. "Let's go!"
Chloe laughs and takes the girls into the dining room. She leaves them with Stacie with the promise of joining them after she talks with Lily. She walks out to find Lily and Beca talking.
"I know Chloe will say yes," Beca said.
"I'll say yes to what?," Chloe asks as she reaches the two.
"I was asking Beca if she thought the two of you might want to take care of Sammy and Taylor," Lily tells her. "After what Zeke said about the cure and the blindness being permanent, I'm more determined to go out and help people. It wouldn't be right dragging the girls all over the place. They need some place stable with people who will love them and take care of them. I've been watching you with them. They trust you and they like you."
"I think that's a great idea," Chloe said.
"We'll talk and get back to you," Beca said.
They look at each other in surprise.
"What?," Chloe asks. "You don't want to take care of Sammy and Taylor."
"I think we need to talk about it before we decide," Beca tells her.
"They need us," Chloe said.
"What if their parents come back?," Beca asks.
"What if they don't?," Chloe counters.
The two sit and glare at each other. Lily shakes her head and then calls both their names so they'll look at her.
"Look, I know it's a tough thing to ask," Lily said. "But, if the mist works and the infected are cured, I'll want to leave as soon as possible. I need to know that someone is going to be there for them. I think you two are the best choice. I'm just asking that you to think about it. Just let me know your decision in the morning."
Lily got up and went into the dining room. Chloe looked at Beca with a hopeful sparkle in her eyes. Beca just stared blankly back at her.
"Fine," Chloe said as she stood up. "I don't need to think about and I don't need your permission." Chloe turns and walks toward the dining room.
"What the hell does that mean?," Beca whispers. She jumps up and follows Chloe.
"I'll take care of them, Lily," Chloe said as soon as she sees the girl.
"Chloe!," Beca said catching up to her and grabbing her arm. "I thought we were going to talk about this."
"I don't need to talk about it or think about it," Chloe tells her. "I am more than capable of taking care of two little girls. If you want to help, fine. If not, that's fine, too. It's your choice. I choose to take care of them."
The tension in the room was palpable. Chloe stood resolute while Beca's uncertainty was on full display.
"Hey, Beca," Stacie said putting her arm around the tiny brunette. "Why don't we take a little walk? Maybe check out some of the rooms on the upper floors, see if we can find you a new pair of shoes. What do you say?"
Beca gives Stacie a small smile and mutters, "Okay."
Stacie leads Beca out of the dining room. Aubrey turns to Chloe and looks at her. Chloe just shrugs her shoulders and goes over to Sammy and Taylor.
*0*0*0*0*
Stacie takes Beca up to her and Aubrey's room. Once inside they sit on the side of the bed and Stacie looks at Beca.
"So, what's going on?," Stacie asks.
Beca gives a heavy sigh and says, "Lily asked if Chloe and I would take Sammy and Taylor and take care of them. She wants to travel around and help the people who are cured since they'll be blind. She doesn't think that dragging the girls around with her is what's best for them."
"Why don't you want to help take care of them?," Stacie asks.
"It's not that I don't want to," Beca said, her voice quivering. "I'm just scared because I don't know how."
"Don't know how to what?," Stacie asks. "Take care of kids? It's just like taking care of the Bellas only they'll actually do what you tell them to do."
Beca lets out a small laugh. "I'm sure it's not that simple."
"It's as simple as you want it to be," Stacie tells her. "Plus, you'll have Chloe there with you. She'll help you figure things out as you go."
"She would make a great mom," Beca said with a smile. "And, I do want to be with her, like, forever."
"There's your answer," Stacie said. "I think you should let her know before this gets out of hand and you two end up not talking to each other. I don't want to be around a cranky Beca and no one wants to be around a cranky Chloe."
"Fine," Beca said. "I'll go talk to her now."
"Come on," Stacie said. "Let's check on Emily first."
*0*0*0*0*
After watching Stacie and Beca walk out of the dining room, Lily looks at Chloe. "Chloe, I didn't mean to cause problems between you and Beca," Lily said. "I just really feel like they you two would be good to them and for them."
"I get it, Lily," Chloe tells her. "Don't worry about it. I think Beca's just nervous and thinks she can't do it. We'll talk later and everything will be fine."
"Hey, Chlo," Aubrey said getting her attention. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Okay," Chloe said. "You girls save me a picture to color. I'll be right back."
Chloe followed Aubrey out to the lobby and they both sat down. Chloe looks at Aubrey expectantly. "Well?"
"Do you think it's a good idea to push Beca into something like this?," Aubrey asks. "Being responsible for the care of two young girls?"
"I'm not pushing her into anything," Chloe said. "Those girls need to know that someone wants to take care of them. They need to know that things are going to be normal again. I can't just not help. Beca knows it, too, she's just scared."
"Being scared is what usually has Beca running away from things," Aubrey said. "What if she decides to run away from this? From you and those little girls?"
"She won't," Chloe said full of confidence. "She's been through so much that anything normal sounding is a bit overwhelming for her. She'll come back down and she'll apologize for being so awkward about it and I'll apologize for being stubborn. Then she and I will talk to Sammy and Taylor to see if they want to stay with us when this is all over."
"You sound sure of yourself," Aubrey said.
"Not really," Chloe said with a smile. "I'm just sure of Beca."
*0*0*0*0*
After chatting with Emily and CR, Beca suggests they check some of the rooms on the upper floors. She wants to talk to Chloe but she also wants a little time away to get her head on straight. CR and Emily decide to join them and they take the stairs to the 6th floor. They go off in pairs and start going from room to room. Stacie and Beca have checked about three rooms when they hear Emily yelling.
"Guys! Come quick," Emily yells.
They rush out and run to the next room. They walk in to find Emily and CR staring out the window so they rush over to see what they are looking at.
"What the hell is that?," Stacie asks.
"I don't know," CR responds. "But we should get downstairs and tell the others.
"I think we're about to have some company," Beca mumbles as they rush out of the room.
Hey, guys and gals: Just wanted to let you know we're getting close to the end. Probably one or two chapters and then an Epilogue to see how everyone is doing down the road. Thanks for staying with me on this journey. And a special thanks to RJRMovieFan for all of his great ideas and help in writing this.