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*****
Chapter 9
The ‘safe house’ was a small wooden cabin one bedroom and a main room that held a small kitchen and an open space where mats were spread out for sleeping. There were just six people there when they arrived. There seemed to be a family; a man, wife, an eight year old boy and a five year old girl and there was the safe house keeper Justin; a large black man and his adult niece. As soon as Ridec looked at the woman he noted that she had the same ugly orange lines across her face that many of the zombies outside had.
“You two can sleep there,” Kent pointed to two mats on the floor and waved his hand at Linda including Ridec in the gesture.
“I’m not sleepy,” Ridec said.
“You sleep when you have the chance, we don’t know when we’ll have the opportunity again,” Kent advised. Linda was already dropping to the floor and dragging Ridec down beside her. She was skinny but she was still pretty strong.
“This is going to be uncomfortable,” Ridec muttered as he tried to make his right hand that was attached to her left hand feel more relaxed.
“Justin, you got anything to eat here?” Kent yelled to the Keeper.
“Not sure if I can find something; stocks are really starting to run low.” He turned away and headed into the small kitchen area. “I’ve been afraid to leave my niece Tori on her own these last few days to try hunting.”
“What’s your name?” The little girl made her way up to Ridec for the first time travelling away from the corner she was occupying with her family.
“Hold it!” Kent focused his gun at the child.
“She’s just a child,” the mother said jumping up and gripping the girl to her protectively.
“She’s an unclean, look at her neck,” Mark yelled. Ridec stared at the little girl; he could see it now the same ugly orange lines that ran across Tori’s face were running along the veins in the child’s neck. He could hear her mother’s thoughts, wearied and fearful, afraid that the little girl would soon turn, that she would soon become one of the monsters.
“Uncleans become zombies?” Ridec asked Linda quietly.
“Eventually. Most of the time a bite changes a human in minutes sometimes seconds, but for some people it takes hours, some days and some years. You never know if your one that’s going to be immune or not or how immune. Every one doesn’t get the orange lines; the illness seems to affect people differently once there is some level of immunity. It helps when they get the lines, then you can see they are unclean from a long way off,” Linda explained.
The keeper returned with what looked like a few long orange organic plants and tossed one to each of the members of the resistance.
“Sorry I don’t have much else; the garden isn’t generating much food, certainly not enough to feed all these mouths,” he muttered.
“They shouldn’t be here,” Linda countered sparing a disparaging look at the small family. “You shouldn’t be giving them our food.”
“Uncleans are people too even if they are not lackeys for the Authorities,” Justin shot back. Linda blushed but she didn’t respond. There was a time when Justin did not feel that way about the Authorities, there was a time when he was as devoted to their cause as Linda and Kent but something had happened. Ridec struggled to dig deeper into the man’s mind to figure out what had gone wrong but there was nothing; just anger.
“Who are the Authorities?” Ridec asked.
“Everyone knows of the authorities,” Linda said.
“Honestly, I don’t.”
“You really can’t be from around here.”
“You have no idea,” Ridec responded with a sigh.
“Don’t worry about it; you’ll get to meet them first hand. It’s an honor really. Only the very top members of the community and cleans get to meet the Authorities face to face,” she explained. “I’ve been working with the resistance for months now and I’ve never met one of the authorities. They only talk to Kent and the other team leader.”
“The community?” Ridec pressed.
“Yes, the Authorities are like the last existing rule of government in the earth as far as we are aware. They’ve built a facility, state of the art and almost impenetrable to the zombies and sitting on several acres of land. The community– about a hundred uncleans - grow their own food there and dig wells to get water. The Authorities are geniuses; the brightest minds in the world possibly; they’ve almost perfected automation which allows us to do simple manufacturing of clothes, weapons and fluid alternatives to power our vehicles,” Linda seemed excited at the very concept of the Authorities. “Many say they are the closest thing to the old world.”
Ridec could see her mind and noted that many said much harsher things but she didn’t elaborate.
“I guess it’s great to have a safe haven when you live in a place like this,” Ridec muttered.
“It is but you’re the lucky one.” She sounded so much more like her eighteen years now as she spoke of the Authorities. “The cleans just get to live out their lives in the buildings with the Authorities, they don’t have to work at the factories, dig the wells or anything, they simply live in the lap of luxury and are watched over by the Authorities themselves.”
Ridec could see so much thoughts going through Linda’s mind as she spoke. He could see that she envied the life of the cleans.
“That’s the way it is. Cleans and uncleans don’t mix, there mustn’t be any risk of contamination,” she said it with such force and finality Ridec could tell it must be a mantra that had constantly been drilled into her head.
“We’re mixing here, right now.”
“That’s different. We had to find you and we have to take you back to the Authorities, after that we won’t be allowed to mix with you again. Well, maybe only the very top Resistance leaders.”
“Like Kent?” Ridec asked.
“You ask a lot of questions,” Linda was yawning. “Try to get some sleep.”
“I can’t sleep,” Ridec protested. “I’m not from near here; everything here is strange to me. I just need some answers so I can understand what’s happening.”
She seemed sympathetic if only momentarily.
“You don’t have to be afraid. You’re a clean; you just have to do what we tell you.”
“Okay. One more question.” Linda nodded; fatigue was written in every line of her young face. “How much time do you think the child has?” Ridec asked.
“Once the orange lines reach the neck she can go at any time,” Linda muttered.
“What about the keeper’s niece - Tori?” Ridec questioned. “Her face was all…”
“Tori? Yeah, word had reached the Authorities about her. It’s a sad story. She used to be a clean but she must have lost her mind or something, she wandered away from the headquarters, if Justin wasn’t around she would have been killed for sure. He was able to save her but not before one of the creatures bit her. Justin was one of the top resistance members; used to bring in the most cleans, when the keeper for this safe house died some time ago I guess he just took it over, we didn’t get any orders to force him out. He brought her with him.”
“Please let me go.” Ridec could sense that she was feeling more emotional now. “If you’re really doing all of this for my sake, let me go.” He hoped that the timing of the request would meet with more support.
“You wouldn’t last a minute out there,” she said. “You’re lucky, you’re clean, people will give their lives to protect you, its people like you that are the hope of mankind. Without the cleans there would be no future for humans. Once we get you to the headquarters you’ll be given a mate, a girl that you can reproduce with. That’s what every guy wants right? A clean girl that he can raise clean children with. Any children I have will be unclean.” She lifted the side of her shirt and showed him a large bite there, the sides of it red and inflamed. “I don’t get the orange lines but the area grows darker daily, I might only have a year now before my immune system gives up the battle and I become one of those things.”
“I already have a mate; I already have a girl I want to reproduce with,” Ridec said. He felt sorry for Linda but he really just wanted to leave this world and its problems behind. “A girl I’m in love with.”
“Ha…” She tossed back her head. “The days of love are over long ago. Consider yourself lucky to be a clean and forget about leaving.”
She closed her eyes and he could feel her mind closing down on the conversation. He meant everything to them, but his happiness meant nothing to them.
“Try to get some sleep,” she said her voice strong and firm again. “Tomorrow is going to be a rough day.”
“What about the little girl and the niece?” Ridec asked staring over in the corner where the family was huddled together looking fearful.
“Kent will keep his eyes open during the night; he’ll wake us up if there’s any action otherwise I’ll take the early morning shift and Kent will rest.” She half smiled, in her own way she wasn’t a bad looking girl. “Don’t worry; we intend to keep you alive no matter what.”
“Thanks,” Ridec said dryly. Why couldn’t they understand that sometimes being alive wasn’t enough? For him there was no real life without Jessell.
“Sleep,” she said and he nodded sadly. He had to find a way to escape. He closed his eyes, she was right about one thing, he was tired, and he needed to rest if he was going to make his escape tomorrow.
I’m going home, if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going home. With those thoughts Ridec faded off to a fitful sleep.
***
‘Blam!’
The sound of the door breaking caused every eye in the room to fly open. The sound had galvanized Linda into action, in seconds she was on her feet, dragging Ridec up beside her, both guns in her hands and pointing towards the broken door. Ridec’s mouth dropped open and he rubbed his one free hand across his eyes mesmerized.
“Jessell.” He started forward towards her but Linda tugged him back. Good grief, he had to be dreaming.
“This is a restricted access house,” the keeper shouted pulling out his gun and pointing it at Jessell.
“You came for me?” Ridec couldn’t believe the princess would risk everything, her throne, her life to come to the surface for him.
“Hey, I was just in the neighborhood,” she drawled lazily and Ridec couldn’t resist just the smallest of smiles at her confident arrogance. Just seeing her made his whole world seem to turn right side up again.
“When you enter a safe house without an invitation you can get yourself shot,” Kent said but he was eyeing this tall, lean, dynamic beauty that seemed to control the world with her confidence. He very much liked what he saw. He could certainly see himself doing the hot and dirty with that one. Maybe even settling down and making a family with her. It amazed him that he was thinking like that, he was one that had tried to stay away from the trappings of relationships, they were simply too painful when one of the partners turned, or their children turned or were born as one of those creatures.
He wasn’t a clean but his immune system seemed to be working better than most, the bite he had received on his shoulder was barely more than a mark. It helped that it had only been a small scrape in the first place but he hoped it meant that he might have a few good years ahead of him.
“This is a safe house?” Jessell raised one very well shaped eyebrow. “That fence is already starting to look like its falling; it won’t be long before the zombies push it down.”
“Shoot her,” Kate said. The girl had that clean, beautiful, perfect look that the boy had. She had clearly come for him and Kate knew instinctively that Jessell was not to be trifled with.
“Bullets will draw the zombies to us,” Kent pointed out. “We don’t need them getting anxious and running the fence.”
Jessell reached to the front of the strapped on belt and pulled a pair of daggers from a harness that hung there and swung them effortlessly in front of her.
“That’s why I travel with these, very quiet.” She was twirling them about in her hand with the grace and confidence of an expert.
“If you want to stay…” Kent was saying and the way he was eyeing her Ridec could see he had no problem with Jessell staying.
“I don’t plan on staying.” Jessell nodded her head in Ridec’s direction. “I came here for him. Unlock him and we’ll be on our way.”
“That can’t happen little lady,” Linda said with just the slightest smirk on her face. “He’s a clean and he’s now the property of the Resistance.”
“I’m sorry, you didn’t hear me.” Jessell paused in her speech and flipped one dagger into the air and then the other and caught them easily, she was clearly trying to send the message to the Resistance that she was no pushover. “I said you have five seconds to unlock him or I’ll saw your hand off.”
“Restrain her!” Kent yelled and Justin moved forward. Ridec tugged on Linda’s arm fighting to offer what little assistance he could to help Jessell.
“Aaaarrrgggghhhh!” The skin crawling sound caused everyone to stop and turn around, it was Tori – Justin’s niece - and her face was turning a horrible shade of red.