The Orphans (Book 5): Civil War Read online

  “Right, I don’t think he’ll be doing anything like that for a while, Aslin. Damn hard to do that since the spring thaw finally hit. I won’t feel quite as bad about sending anyone else packing if the weather stays like this. I could handle these temps year around. That frozen tundra shit when Greg decided it was optimal time to leave sucked. It makes me wonder if those who stayed in Iowa were quitters.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure the whole population of settlers were quitters,” Aslin said. “It couldn’t have had anything to do with them seeing the soil. We’d be smart to get some supplies to start taking advantage of this land. There’s plenty of farmland across the field and surrounding the base that we could have a hell of a crop if we wanted to this year. We could get fresh vegetables and freeze them. Imagine an endless supply, even the people who don’t think they need to learn about firearms could contribute. There’s little as important as food.”

  Clary struck a match, lighting and cupped it around one of his cigars, thinking about it. “So, Aslin wants to be a farmer huh?”

  Aslin patted his mid-section, which had shrunk considerably over the last year of constant training of the youths. “No, that isn’t it at all, Clary. But I want to keep the option to eat open. Probably would be smart if we rounded up what cattle we could and stick them somewhere. I don’t see any reason why the dead should be able to eat them. There are a lot of things we should be doing. Training these kids is smart and it isn’t ever going to be something I regret. But shit has hit the fan and instead of watching it slide down the walls, maybe we should start embracing the fact that there are plenty of resources available. Those lights flickering every so often don’t help me sleep. I know that we aren’t wasting electricity but it doesn’t take an engineer to know that it’d be smart to have more than one building running green.”

  Clary let a long stream of smoke rise up in circles. “So you are saying the next trip we take out is going to be to get supplies to become farmers. We want cattle that we aren’t quite sure how to deal with just yet. You’d like some solar panels, and then I’m guessing maybe a few seeds and what not, is that about it?”

  “Yeah, and I don’t think if we got a few tillers for making the land ready for planting that we would regret it. Some sort of PVC pipe for making an irrigation system wouldn’t be stupid. We still have another month or so before we need to worry about planting anything.”

  “How the hell would you know all of this? I’m pretty confident that we’ve been out on missions, and not home planting corn and beans, when prime planting season has been around in the past.”

  “The internet still works, Clary. I’ve been researching and printing everything off that I can in hard copy. Mostly because I have no idea when it will stop.”

  Clary said, “You looking for any survivors on there by chance?”

  “They’re out there, but it seems like about time you find them you see that they haven’t posted any updates in a very long time. Which means they’re either dead or gave up on someone coming to save them.”

  “So then you’d rather make a go of it here for the long haul than try and rid the rest of the land of these things? Good luck telling that plan to Shaun. At some point that kid is going to be the one that everyone looks up to. They’re already telling stories about the kid like he is some superhero, you know unable to be caught or killed by the Turned. He figured out the idea that everyone is banking on. He’s the reason why there’s so many donations. Everyone is hoping that it will end with the dead in the streets.” Clary said.

  “I think he will see the good in what I’m saying. Even if at some point he does leave, at least he will have something to come back to. The people that are saved are going to need a community. They’re going to want to have a reason to come back to something better, Clary.”

  “People saved aren’t going to give a shit if we have plants and food. They’re going to care that we can keep them safe and that we can offer to keep them alive. I can’t see having food to offer to them is going to hurt anything though.” Clary said.

  “Holy shit!” Aslin said. “Did we just agree on something without butting heads?”

  “Yeah, that just means I'm wearing on you, it was bound to happen eventually.”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to think that by the slimmest of chances that I’m rubbing off on you and you are finally starting to use the brain that God gave you, Clary.”

  “Aslin, that would be terrible, wouldn’t it?”

  “You with a good head on your shoulders could be scary. Who knows what genius things you might think of,” Aslin responded.

  Clary took one more drag off his cigar. He only allowed so many puffs before putting them out. He knew that the supply he had was impressive but he wanted to ensure that he would never want for one and that was enough reason to put limits on his smoking. Clary was confident that he would find a much braver way to die in the coming years that the health risks were the least of his concerns.

  Clary said, “The only issue that I have with getting that stuff right now is one thing-“

  “And that is?”

  “Don’t interrupt, Aslin, it makes you an asshole. No, like I said, I don’t hate the idea; it actually makes sense which is a bit terrifying. What worries me is that we’re going to leave a base unattended knowing that we have some crazy guys that are dying to get what we have and do whatever they need to do to get it. Or at least that seems to have been the impression that Shaun said he had gotten from them.”

  “So what do you want to do, Clary, wage a war?”

  “I’d like to put the idea to rest before it ever becomes an issue. I say that we take them out. We leave nothing of them to come after us after we do some more in-depth reconnaissance. God knows if they knew where we were that they would be watching us, or worse.”

  Aslin was nodding his head side to side trying to decipher how he felt about it. “If we want to go and start surveillance on them to know if we should be worried or not that is fine with me. What worries me more, though, is that we could wait forever and never see those people. There’s nothing saying they ever figured out what happened to their friends or know where we live.”

  “Oh, okay, so we’re going to do hypothetical situations,” Clary said, “You must think they’re complete morons, that when they saw the bullet holes peppering the truck that they weren’t from bullets? Is that what you are trying to say?”

  “No one would miss that display of holes in a car. What I’m saying is that we’ve waited this long, what is it going to hurt to wait a few more days. You give me a few more days so we can gather some supplies. It’s been a few months and they haven’t been an issue yet. Don’t you think they would have attacked or tried to take the gates if they knew where we were, Clary?”

  “I have no idea, maybe they’re watching us now and we don’t even know it. Maybe they’re waiting for us to leave so they can storm our gates, kill those that don’t know how to take care of themselves, and then take our shit. What do you have to say about that?”

  “That you couldn’t be more negative if you tried sometimes, Clary. Did you want to bring that up to the kids, you think that would be a good idea, or should we keep our concerns to ourselves? Maybe the best thing to do would be to bus everyone from base around every time we leave because something might happen.”

  “I'm being rational, Aslin. You kill the threat and you have none. You let them live, you realize that you have an aggressive adversary and you just let them stay around and ignore them, then you’re going to have a very serious issue on your hands.”

  “So we storm their gates after some recon? Let me ask if we all go out to check the place out, who is going to take care of our gates?”

  “So, Aslin, are you saying that either way we’re leaving ourselves vulnerable? So even though we have the same issue going on, you think it’ll be easier if we do it your way first because you are hesitant about how long shit is going to last, and you’ve been surfing on the internet for too
long and made yourself bat-shit crazy?”

  “Pretty much, Clary. Can we just agree to disagree on this and go get the shit? I have been thinking about this since Shaun and them went out to get stuff. There are so many buildings that are more than likely still packed with supplies. I think there has to be. This hit so fast, especially in Iowa, that I’m sure there is a ton of stuff left, people barely had time to pack anything. The only thing that helped Shaun and his crew was the fact that his dad was the one who invented it and he was one of the first to have to deal with it. He wasn’t ignorant and knew to get the fuck out of dodge when things went to hell.”

  “Fine, we'll do it your way but I'm not kidding when I say once we have your little fun to do jobs back here and ready to assemble that we stake out that gated community they’re holding up in. We either have words with them, or we take them out, but we do not just wait hoping that they’re going to be okay and not come after us.”

  “Wow, Clary, you actually want to give them a chance to talk? You must be getting old. I figured you’d want to blow the gates up and head straight in.”

  “I would if it wasn’t for having to worry about the innocent. How do we know how they ended up in there? They don’t deserve to die just because some assholes might have taken over the place.”

  Aslin was about to say something else when the teens came through the door but quickly closed his mouth. They weren’t out of breath but they were breathing heavier than usual. Clary saw them smiling and said, “Shaun Fox smiling. Are you okay, Shaun?”

  Shaun shrugged, “Ellie gets out of the hospital today and then she gets to come back to where she belongs. Yeah, I think I got something to smile about. You have a problem with that?”

  Clary held up his hands in surrender, “No, but it’s nice to see that you have the ability to still do it. You’re always so serious all the time.”

  “Yeah, well, there’s quite a bit of shit to be serious about. I'm good though. What did you guys want to talk about?” Shaun asked.

  Aslin sat down tossing his cap on a desk. “A lot, Shaun. Now that Ellie is out, I'm hoping that we will be able to get your full attention.”

  “You always have my full attention, Aslin, and so do the kids on the range, and people who want to know about the Turned, and others that want to know about everything else that I have absolutely nothing to do with.”

  Aslin held up his hands nodding slowly. “I get it, I get it. We’re all happy she’s getting out, Shaun, I mean that. We were thinking about going on a run.”

  Greg who was always ready to get off base immediately perked up. “Where are we going to go?”

  “I was thinking, or farmer Aslin over there was thinking, that maybe we should go pick up some supplies to make this place a little greener. We both have to agree that eventually food is going to be a problem. It doesn’t matter how many cans of corn we have, or steaks for that matter; it's going to run out eventually. Even if we could get another six to eight months on what we have, it would be smart to gather what we need now before it gets to the point that we aren’t able to safely do it. Right now we aren’t going out to do stupid shit because we’re starving. This is simply prepping.”

  Shaun held up a hand not waiting to be called on. “Wait, what do you mean about going to get some supplies? I thought today was going to be talking about the blood bags, or the others in that community?”

  Clary looked to Aslin to let him speak. It was almost as if he had a deja vu moment which made him smile at Aslin. Aslin gave him a discrete middle finger and said, “Okay, we have talked about that already, Shaun. Trust me when I say this, bud, we aren’t forgetting about them. I think that we have plenty of time before they’re really going to be a threat. It had almost been a month, we haven’t had any further issues with them. With every day that we get more blood the supplies that we need are even greater.”

  “Yeah, yet,” Shaun said. “Do you really want to wait for them to make the first move? I mean is that the smart play here, Aslin?”

  Greg said, “Dude, it's all good. First off, they might not even know where we live, and secondly, do you really think they’d be stupid enough to try and take the base?”

  Shaun didn’t hesitate. “If I needed supplies, and the people who killed part of my group were the ones in the way then I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d go in guns hot and catch them all off guard. Those guys might be watching us now. If they are, then they probably just figure we have a bunch of stupid teenagers walking around without rifles, and every so often you see an adult driving around or leading a run. I’d go in without thinking about it and I’d think that it was a good idea when I did.”

  Aslin said, “That is because you are a weird teenager, Shaun. What are you pushing fifteen now?”

  “I’ll be sixteen, and I probably have killed as many or more of those things than most people, including you, Aslin. I’m not keeping track but you get the gist of what I’m saying.”

  Clary could see the conversation going in the wrong way and said, “Look, Shaun, we talked about it, and I actually started off thinking the same way that you were. It’s just a matter of timing and what he says makes sense. We go out and get these supplies from the hardware store like Home Depot and then we come back and we stay back. Other than running out and cruising the countryside for some livestock that we could bring back to base we could be here and ready for them. If we decide after surveillance on the other camp that they’re indeed a threat, than I say that we cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  “I’d rather be ahead of the game, better to take them out if we need to than wait for them to bring it to our doorstep, don’t you think?” Shaun asked.

  Joey who’d been waiting patiently to talk, said, “Wait, those bad men are going to come here? Are they going to hurt us? Shaun said it was safe here.”

  “Nah, no way, Joey,” Greg said. “They aren’t going to do anything to us. I wouldn’t let them hurt you. Besides you have the bat man.”

  Joey held it up smiling and laughing. He said, “Batman. But this bat only works on zombies. I don’t think I could use this on a person. There aren’t enough of them left to waste. I mean, we can’t cure the Turned, right?”

  Aslin said, “No, we can’t do anything to cure them. Just remember, Joey, that just because there aren’t many of us left, it doesn’t mean we need to go out of our way to keep the bad ones alive. It is our job to help keep the good people alive and safe, at least until they can protect themselves.”

  “So when are we going, who is going, how many people do you want to take with?” Greg asked.

  Clary pointed to Shaun and Greg. “You two are on it, and pick up Hammond and McQuaig. We don’t need to take a ton of people. Greg, does Hammond have his shit under control with that rifle?”

  Greg gave a thumbs up. “We’re going to the range after this to teach another class. Did you guys know when you wanted to go?”

  Clary pointed to Aslin, who said, “You know we like to avoid both of us leaving at once. Aslin wants to be the farmer, so whenever he wants to go is when you go.”

  Aslin looked outside seeing what couldn’t have been a nicer day. He said, “We go today, the last thing we want to do is waste time. Who knows how long it is going to take to figure out how to install all this shit.”

  “You realize before Patrick was the head of patrol that he used to be a super nerd, right?” Greg said, “He’d probably be able to help you. Did you want to have him go with?”

  “No, he’s been training Bella. Don't bug him; it wouldn’t hurt to have more people know about doing patrol. Shaun is going to need to start sleeping again at night. He can’t do duty so much.”

  “I’m not old, Aslin, I can handle anything.” Shaun interjected.

  “Right, but eventually you’re going to get tired. You need to be rested, Shaun. You guys go do your class and meet me at the motor pool in an hour.”

  Clary coughed pointing to the table. “You guys check out what I have been working
on in all the free time I have?”

  He pulled back a cover showing a long line of metal tubes. Greg picked one up and asked, “Are these silencers?”

  “Well, if you want to be technical, Greg, they’re Suppressors, homemade with love by me, to make your life better.”

  Shaun asked, “And are these for the machine guns or the long range rifles?”

  Clary said, “For now I’m only able to get them to work on the sniper rifles. The dead are never going to know where you are hiding if you can keep the smell of blood and anything else that draws them in off of you. I plan on making enough for forty rifles.”

  Shaun was thinking about the blood drive and felt even better about the plan. “So by the time that we’ve collected all the blood these guns will be ready and safe to use?” Shaun asked.

  Clary pulled back a second sheet showing two already attached to separate rifles. He handed it to Shaun and said, “I’ve been testing these out all week. You will need to figure out your trajectory and if it is going to mess up your math or not, but if you aren’t shooting half mile shots you are going to be just fine.”

  Aslin’s eyes grew round at seeing this. He said, “So, who gets the second one? Did you make that for Patrick?”

  Clary said, “No, his is ready, I just didn’t bring it with. This is for you, Aslin. I feel a lot better with as much as you miss if they don’t hear where you are shooting from.”

  “Oh, blow me. I don’t miss, asshole.”

  Clary pulled back the bolt action and handed one to Shaun and repeated the process giving Aslin the second. “I know, I think that if we can get enough people going with long guns that we could sit and pick those fuckers off all day from a high vantage point. We’ll hopefully run out of the dead before the blood. I have been drunk with the idea of having a city that is clear and clean. We could live like normal people.”

  Shaun said, “Yeah, normal people living in a zombie ruined town. I like my gates here. But I would have no problems at all with clearing out enough of them that we could come and go as we please. You know there’s still more out there who can be found.”