The Hunger (Book 3): Ravaged (7 page)

The Vladdies roared.

––––––––

“
Well, it’s another day here in Hell. Or Heaven, I suppose, if you’re a vampire sumbitch. Or if you just hated people and wanted to spend all of your time reading, just like that squirrelly little guy in The Twilight Zone. How many of yinz made it through the night? Still kicking? It was a rough one here at the Wildman’s Super-Secret Location. Damn monsters were beating on my door all night.
”

Lance stared at the radio, his eyelids weighted and half closed. He’d passed exhaustion hours ago.

He was borderline delirious, spacing out for several seconds before his attention snapped back.

“
...not sure what they’re gonna do about it. Those Canucks have been hanging tough though, no doubt about that. Dealing with that fire ain’t gonna happen though. Let’s see, what else has the ol’ Wildman heard since yesterday? Oh yeah, I hear that there is a whole contingent of cruise ships coming across the pond from Europe. Not sure what the fuck they think they’re gonna find here that they ain’t got going on there, but more power to ‘em, I suppose.
”

Cass put a cup of coffee on the table in front of Lance. Her hair sagged to the right, looking sadder and somehow weirder than usual. “He’s broadcasting early today.” She paused and listened to the man rant for several seconds. “You’d think he would get better at this after doing it for so long.”

“The quality of his broadcast doesn’t seem to be too high on his priority list.”

“
In news closer to home, we’ve got the military moving in on yinz outside of Greensburg. Word is, they don’t have all that many men, but they’re packing quite a bit of firepower. Don’t piss ‘em off out there, eh? Did I just say ‘eh’ again? Goddamn, now I sound like a Canucklehead. My daddy would have slapped me upside the dome for that one. Anywho, I wouldn’t expect to see those military men until tomorrow, but prepare yourselves. I’m not taking sides, of course, but we don’t need to keep killin’ each other over land. In case no one has noticed, there is a lot of cheap real estate floatin’ around. In fact, I’ve got some oceanfront property in the ‘Burgh if anyone—
”

Brown pulled a chair away from the table and sat beside Lance. His eyes had the redness of a man coming off a weeklong bender. “Megan is sleeping, finally.”

The night had proven uneventful after Eifort had put the wounded woman out of her misery. The Vladdies continued their usual screeching, and they hadn’t tried any other brazen attacks.

But the mood of the camp hadn’t recovered.

The infected woman weighed on everyone.

Having another trap laid out by monsters everyone had previously assumed to be mindless didn’t raise anyone’s spirits.

Eifort took it hard. She’d held it in for a few hours, but had finally cracked while hugging Brown close to sunrise. She was a tough, inimitable woman, but she’d reached her breaking point for the night.

Most of them had.

“
...that weird-ass noise? I can’t be the only one who noticed that crazy shit those vampire sumbitches are doing lately, can I? But more than that, what the hell is that sound people are reporting? They’re seeing holes and hearing sounds. The fuck does that mean? Can someone hit me up with a bit more information? You can’t expect me to pass this shit along if it don’t make any sense. I know that a lot of you are hillbillies, living in your bomb shelters, but let’s try to—
”

“Doc, you need to get some rest.” Lance nodded at the radio. “I’ll listen to the rest of the broadcast and then talk to everyone about the military men heading our way.”

Brown sighed. “There isn’t time for rest. I have to—”

“You’re too tired to be of much good to anyone,” Cass interrupted. “You’re going to start making mistakes soon. We’re in a pinch here, and we need you running on all cylinders.”

Brown opened his mouth to argue again, but he closed it as he looked from Lance to Cass. “If anything comes up—”

“We got it, Doc. Curl up with your lady and get a couple of Zs.” Lance sipped the coffee, wincing at the bitterness. Cass was a woman of many talents. Making coffee wasn’t one of them.

The doc left the kitchen and disappeared into the hall, the rubber on his shoes dragging along the wood of the floor. His shoulders hunched to an almost comical degree, giving him a Quasimodo look.

“
...about wraps it up this morning. I got this in here early today on account of those men coming into the area. There’s no tellin’ what kind of equipment and temperament they’re bringing with them, so I’ll feel safer staying on the down low, as the kids used to say. I dunno what my schedule is going to be over the next few days, so keep your ears to the ground and eyes to the sky. Or whatever.
”

The radio fell silent.

Cass reached over and shut it off.

They sat at the table and drank their coffee, watching dust flit through the air as rays of sunlight cut through the window.

“We need to go into Greensburg and see if we can find some more of those holes,” Cass said. “If they’re getting smarter, then we need to hit them hard and fast. Give them something to think about.”

Lance could only bob his head. He wanted to help think of a plan, but he was too tired, too flustered from the week’s events, to offer any rational ideas. “I need to see what these men want with us first. If they’re hostile, I have to make sure I’m here when they roll in.”

“
We
,” Cass said, narrowing her eyes at him. “
We
have to be here when they roll in.”

“About that—”

“Don’t give me any of your shit about keeping me safe. I’ve saved your ass more times than I can count. You need me around to keep you from getting drawn and quartered again.”

“Everyone here knows what you bring to the table.” Lance rapped the table with his knuckles. “No pun intended. I need you, of course, but I’m worried about the little dude in your belly.”

“Or dudette.”

“A good blow to the stomach could take all of that away from us. We need to start preparing for your ass-kicking days to take a backseat for a while.”

Cass folded her arms across her chest and glared at Lance. “That sounds great, dumbass, but we aren’t really in a position to kick back and put our feet up, now are we?”

“But—”

“No buts. We fight, or we die. There’s nothing in between. This is Darwinism at its finest. Kill or be killed. No one is spared that decision anymore. And me? I’m not too big on the dying thing.”

Lance knew she was right, but that didn’t take the sickening sensation creeping into his gut away. The dreadful idea that he couldn’t protect his lover or his unborn child worsened with each passing day.

If a man couldn’t protect his own, what good was he?

Cass grabbed his hand, her face softening. “I know.”

“You know what?”

“That you hate not being able to take care of me.” She gave him a small smile. “But here’s a little secret—I like taking care of you.”

Lance returned her grin. “That’s so emasculating.”

“I’m a man-eater, what can I say?”

They put their dishes in the sink as the man working kitchen duty for the day came in. He was maybe forty, though his smooth face and slightly balding head made it hard to judge his age with any accuracy. Lance had seen him around the compound for the past week or so, but hadn’t met him yet.

“Rough night, wasn’t it?” the man asked. He worked his hands as he looked at the piling dishes on the counter and in the sink. “They’re saying that the compound isn’t safe anymore. Between the animals attacking us at night and—”

Cass stopped at the door and peered over her shoulder at him. “We have food, water, and guns. If people feel safer somewhere else, they’re welcome to go there.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Just keep your head up,” Lance said. “We’re doing what we can.”

They wound their way to the back of the cabin and left through the rear door. The bunker that served as a weapons cache was open. Two men stood inside, pulling boxes of ammo out of crates.

“What are you doing?” Lance climbed down the small ladder and moved inside.

“Getting ready for when those government pricks get here.” The closest man, the oldest and largest of the two, had an angry, pinched face. He puffed his chest slightly as Cass came down the ladder behind Lance. “If they come in here trying to take over, we’re going to put them down.”

The man behind him had a similar build and bone structure, though he was slightly smaller and had less gray peppered through his hair and beard. He might have been the older man’s son, but Lance couldn’t be sure. He kept digging through the crates.

“We’re planning the same thing,” Cass said. She put her hands on her hips, a stance that meant she was about to lay down the law. “But you need to keep your cool. They might not be hostile at all.”

The older man’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t take kindly to being ordered around.”

Cass shrugged. “Take it how you want. We have too many pregnant women around here for you to start shooting without knowing what the hell is going on first.”

They stared at each other for several seconds, gazes locked like two dogs feeling each other out.

Lance half-expected to see Cass’ mohawk stand on end like a canine’s hackles.

He tried not to laugh at the scene playing out before him. Whether that laughter would have been due to his utter exhaustion or the hilarity of Cass’ attitude, he couldn’t be certain.

The man Cass glared at was nearly double her size. He stood well over six feet tall and had to weigh close to two hundred and fifty pounds. Cass either didn’t notice the size difference, or didn’t care.

Lance guessed that she didn’t give two shits how big anyone was.

“We aren’t some kind of psychos,” the man said, finally. “We just like to be prepared.”

“Same,” Cass said. She proffered her hand. “Call me Cass. This is Lance.”

The man hesitated a moment before grabbing it with his catcher’s mitt of a hand. “Jim. This is my boy, Junior.”

Junior gave them a quick nod without taking his eyes from the crates. “A pleasure.”

Lance shook Jim’s hand. He tried not to wince at the pressure in the shake. If the big man wanted to break every bone in Lance’s hand, he could have done so with ease.

“Jesus. What did you do for a living, rip phone books in half for the circus?” Lance kneaded his palm.

Jim grinned. “I was a truck driver. Just always been ox strong.” He looked back at Junior. “You find them yet?”

“No. I don’t think they’re in here.”

“What are you looking for?” Cass asked.

“Ammo for a .50 caliber rifle.” Jim pointed at a large gun on the wall. “Rumor has it that those military boys have a helicopter.”

“That’s what we’ve heard,” Lance said.

“A well-placed shot with that thing will put a hurting on it.”

“Good idea.”

“Got ‘em,” Junior said. He pulled a box of ammunition from one of the crates and held it up. “It’s full.”

Jim grabbed the gun from the wall. “I’ll get to cleaning this.” He looked to Lance. “Sorry if I came across too hard. We haven’t been in this place too long, and we’re having a little trouble adapting to people who aren’t trying to kill us or steal our stuff. It’s rough out there.”

“Don’t worry about it. I have to deal with Cassie here all the time, so I’m immune to people being assholes.”

Cass slowly turned her head and glared at him. “Dick.”

“Bitch.”

Jim let out a deep, belly-shaking guffaw. “We’ve seen you two around. You’re all right.”

“I’m all right—he’s a dumbass.” Cass walked around them to the far corner and picked up an RPG from the corner. “You big boys have any experience with one of these?”

“Course not,” Junior said. “They weren’t exactly legal for target practice.”

“You think they’ll take the tread off a tank?”

Jim scratched his bearded cheek. “Maybe. Hell, I haven’t even shot a .50 cal before. You’re asking the wrong guy. Couldn’t hurt to try. If nothing else, I imagine it would give the people inside one of hell of a headache.”

Junior pulled more bullets from a crate and stuffed them in his pockets. He wasn’t as amiable as his father and he didn’t make eye contact.

Lance looked at him a little closer. He had to start thinking about who they could count on when the chips were down. Could these two be trusted if all Hell broke loose? Could anyone else in the compound vouch for the character of these men?

Cass didn’t share his trepidation. “When those men are getting close, come find us. We’re working on a plan of some kind just in case they’re less than pleasant.”

“You got it. We’re going to find a good hiding spot that’ll give us a clear view of the sky.” Jim swung the sling attached to the rifle over his shoulder. “Ready, Junior?”

“I guess.”

The two giants climbed the ladder and disappeared. The room felt wider with their bulky bodies out of the way.

Cass grabbed an AK-47 from the wall and tossed it to Lance. “We need to get as many guns in people’s hands as we can.”

“It’s a good plan, but I don’t know if it’ll work. A lot of the people here aren’t self-sufficient. If the shit hits the fan, I’m not sure that they’ll be willing to fight for what’s theirs. Most people aren’t.” Lance rolled the rifle over in his hands, appreciating its heft.

The weight of a gun usually gave him a feeling of power, of control.

Now he felt helpless, as if he was on a runaway train barreling into a hairpin turn.

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M
ost of those seeking refuge in the compound were already armed.

If they’d arrived without a gun, which was a rarity in this new, violent existence, then they’d already taken something from the weapons bunker. Some of the newer arrivals still hadn’t acclimated to the open nature of Brown’s operation and hadn’t helped themselves to the fruits of Ralph’s horde.

Cass stuffed their hands with guns and ammo, assuring them that there were no strings attached to the kindness.

A few objected based on some odd, moral principles or out of an outright hatred of guns and the violence surrounding them. Lance made note of these people, knowing that they were the ones who had allowed the atrocities committed by Ralph and his men to occur.