Z14 (Zombie Rules) (17 page)

             
“I don’t know. He’s a tough man, but I don’t know. Okay move over, I’m going to try calling the Captain.” She changed the radio frequency and we swapped seats.

             
“You don’t want me talking to them?” Macie asked.

             
“Hell no. Neither you nor Julie.” I said. I tried calling several times before I received a response.

             
“Hi, Zach!” Andie’s voice came through the radio loud and clear. Macie goosed me.

             
“She certainly sounds happy to hear your voice.” She whispered. I goosed her back and she let out a yelp.

             
“Hello, Andie. Would you ask the Captain if he would be receptive to a friendly meeting? I have some ideas I want to talk to him about.”

             
“Okay, standby.” She said. After a minute, the Captain’s voice came over the radio.

             
“Hello, Zach, it’s been a while.” He said.

             
“Yes sir. I’ve been extremely busy. I’m sure you have as well.”

             
“Indeed I have. What’s on your mind?” He asked.

             
“I’d like to meet with you. I have a few ideas I’ve been mulling over and I’d like to discuss them with you. I think they could be beneficial for both of us.”

             
There was a long minute of silence. “Okay, Zach.” He finally said. We worked out the details and signed off.

             
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Macie asked.

             
“You never know with him. It may be a friendly meeting, or he may be planning on killing me as soon as he sees me.” I stood. “I’m going to grab a snack and get back to the chores.”

I
was only in the kitchen ten minutes before I was back at it. I worked the rest of the afternoon, lost in my own thoughts. Macie walked up while I was weeding the garden.

             
“Zach, Julie hasn’t shown up yet. I think something may be wrong.” Damn, I had been so absorbed in my own thoughts I had forgotten about her. I looked at my watch.

             
“Shit, you’re right. Go grab a rifle and meet me in the barn.” She hurried inside. I got our ATV started. Macie came in a moment later carrying an AR-15.

             
“Great, thanks. You might want to wait inside, just in case.” I said.

             
Macie shook her head. “I want to go with you.” Without waiting for me to respond, she jumped on. I hit the throttle. She instinctively grabbed me around the torso and held on.

             
We found Julie at the far end of the farm sitting under a tree. Prancer was nearby, grazing contentedly. The saddle had flipped and was hanging under her belly.

             
“My ankle is fucked.” Julie lamented. I could see she had been crying. We got off of the ATV and hurried over to her.

             
“What happened?” Macie asked.

             
Julie sighed. “A snake spooked Prancer. She reared back and the saddle came loose. I came flying off and my boot stuck in the stirrup. I don’t know if it’s broken or not.”

             
I looked her over. I saw no injuries other than the swollen ankle and her scuffed hands.

             
“Okay, let’s get you loaded up on the ATV and Macie will drive you back. I’ll take care of Prancer.” Julie agreed and we carefully loaded her up on the ATV. I watched the two of them ride away and turned my attention to Prancer.

             
“Alright girl, if you’re nice, I’ll give you a couple of carrots when we get back.” I guess she understood, she calmly let me fix the saddle and took off at a gallop when I mounted her. We were at the barn within minutes. I walked her to cool her down and then gave her a good brushing before going inside. Oh, and she got a couple of carrots, along with a bucket of water.

             
I found Julie sitting up in the bed reading a book. She had stripped down to a tee shirt and underwear, and her foot was propped up by a pillow.

             
“How is it feeling?” I asked.

             
“It’s better now. The swelling seems to have gone down.” Julie said.

             
I looked at it and poked it gently in various places. Julie didn’t scream out in pain, which I took as a good sign, but she winced a little and glared at me.

             
“Yeah, I think you’re right. Hopefully it’s only a bad sprain.” I kissed her ankle before stripping and getting in bed beside her.

“There you go. It’s going to be all better now.”
I said with a grin.

             
Julie chuckled. “Your kisses go a long way.”

             
“I certainly hope so.” I said.

             
“You didn’t notice it, but when you kissed Macie earlier today, she actually blushed.”

             
I frowned. “Why did she blush?”

             
Julie slapped me playfully on the chest. "Jesus Zach, for a man who is like a fucking genius, you know nothing about women.”

             
I sighed. “You keep saying that. So edify me, please.”

             
“You don’t get it. Women need attention. They need to feel loved. Macie hasn’t had anything even close to love in a long time.” She scoffed. “You’re probably the last person to actually show her any genuine love, back when the two of you were dating. All you have to do is give her a hug occasionally, maybe a kiss, tell her how pretty she is, and you’ve made her day.”

             
“But, why me?” I asked.

             
“Because dumbass, you’re the only man around.” She paused a moment and her tone changed. “Have you thought about sleeping with her?” She asked tentatively.

             
I carefully rolled over in the bed and looked at her.

             
“With Macie?” I asked. I watched her as she nodded her head. I suddenly found myself with several spots on my body in need of scratching.

             
“No, not really.” I said. Julie wrinkled her brow at me. “I mean, I guess I’ve thought about when we were together that one time, but I’m not going to do anything to betray you. I love you too much.”

             
She smiled at me. “I love you too, Zach. I know you won’t betray me.” She kissed me and buried her head in her pillow. And then she surprised me. “You’d be surprised to know, Macie loves you as well.”

             
We decided on the location where we had first met. The same spot where Fred and I were forced to abandon the tanker. The first meeting, he was waiting on me. On this occasion, I was waiting on him. Although it appeared I was alone, in fact I had company.

             
The night before, I prepared a sniper pit very close to the same spot where Fred watched over me during the first meeting. It was near some trees in between two houses with overgrown lawns. I dug a hole in the ground large enough for a one hundred and ten pound girl to lay prostrate in. Macie was dressed in camouflage clothing, complete with strips of burlap rags tied here and there. I had her flaxen blonde hair tucked into a Boonie hat, and her face camouflaged with a combination of earth colors. I also insisted she wear a diaper. Julie would have naturally been my first choice for this endeavor, but her ankle was still too tender to walk on. Macie quickly volunteered when I had talked about it.

             
“Alright, you have a canteen of water, and some energy bars. They’re only a few months past their expiration date, but they’re still edible. Howard is going to drive up at noon tomorrow. He’s going to park right down the road at the burned out house. His instructions are you’ll walk out to meet him at noon, but he is going to wait at least four hours. Do you think you can handle it?” I asked.

             
“I think so, but I have some questions.” Macie said.

             
“Ask away.”

             
“Okay, let’s see. Why are we here six hours before you’re meeting him? Why do I have to walk so far to meet up with Howard when I leave? Why am I supposed to keep my walkie-talkie turned off unless there is an emergency? Oh, and let’s not forget, why in the world did you insist I wear a diaper?”

             
“Those are good questions.” I said. “First, we’re here early so nobody sees us put you here. Second, you don’t want Howard parked close to you. To do so may increase the risk of giving away your position if the Captain has scouts deployed. We don’t have headsets for these walkie-talkies, and there is something about the radio’s sound which carries a long way, especially at night. We don’t want that.” I inhaled. “Now, as for the diaper, at some point you’re going to have to go to the restroom. You are not to get out of your hole and go do your business, because, if you do, you run the risk of giving away your location. You may not know this, but professional military snipers just go in their pants. They’re men after all. A diaper is better.” I let it sink in for a moment before continuing.

             
“When it’s time for you to leave and go to Howard, it won’t be a casual stroll, you need to be quiet and sneak your way to him. Oh, and one other thing. If you encounter zombies, make sure they’re actually onto you and not simply walking on by. If your life is in danger, start shooting, I’ll come.” I looked at her in the darkness.

             
“Anything else?” I asked. She shook her head and sighed.

             
“I can’t think of anything.” She said. I reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders.

             
“I’m putting my life in your hands. You’re a great shot. If I didn’t think you could do it, I’d have left you at home.” I said. Macie nodded. I was trying to think of anything I had forgotten, and remembered what Julie told me last night.

             
“You look really cute in camouflage.” I said, then leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. The truth was I could hardly see her in the dark.

             
“I’ll do the best I can, Zach.” She said tentatively. I nodded.

             
“In you go.” I said. She crawled into the spider hole and lay prostrate. I covered her with tree limbs and other debris.

             
I parked at the meeting spot and tried to grab a couple of hours of sleep, but the stress of the impending meeting prevented it. Instead, I sat there, in the dark, thinking about our lives, and found myself thinking of Macie lying out there in a hole by herself. I admitted to myself I was growing fond of her and was a little worried about leaving out there by herself.

             
The sun rise caused the dew to extract itself out of the ground in a morning mist. It was going to be a nice day. I hoped Macie was not too chilled. The Captain was very punctual and drove up promptly at six. And he was alone, or so it appeared. I stood as he got out of his truck. He was carrying some type of pouch in one hand and a folding chair in the other.

             
“Good morning Zach. How are you?” He said in his baritone voice.

             
“I’m doing well Captain. How about yourself?” We shook hands. He unfolded the chair and sat down.

             
“Quite frankly Zach, I am not doing well and I believe I need your help.” I looked at him questioningly. “I have a toothache. I want you to have a look at it.” He opened the pouch. It looked like a dentist’s kit. “Would you do me the honor good sir?”

             
“You want me to look at the tooth? In your mouth?” He nodded. “Okay. Uh, hang on a second.” I went to my truck and retrieved some waterless disinfectant along with a mini flashlight. The Captain watched as I squirted the gel on my hands and rubbed it in.

             
“You see?” He said. “I knew you were the correct person to entrust in this. I don’t think any of my crew would of thought of disinfecting their hands.”

             
“Yeah, well they’ve not been trained properly then.” I turned on the flashlight. “Alright, lean your head back and open wide.” The Captain obeyed.

             
“Which tooth is it?” I asked. He pointed at the back on his right side. I used one of those little mirrors first. I saw a distinct dark spot in the middle of a molar and used a probe to poke it. The Captain jerked and grunted.

             
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s a cavity. Judging from the swollen state of the gums around it, I’d say it’s infected too.” I said.

             
“What do you recommend?” The Captain asked when I pulled my hand out of his mouth.