S2E11:
The van broke down after about three days of driving and from there they continued on foot for another four. When night fell on the seventh day they found a place in the forest to camp out. They tied rope, string and shoelaces from tree to tree around their makeshift campground so any Z's that got close would be tripped and give them time to mercy them. 10K was off to the side changing out of his blue hoodie and into his black tee shirt as Addy and Bailey pulled out all the sleeping bags and blankets and started setting up camp while Vasquez kept an eye on Murphy and Doc and Warren took inventory of their food supply.
"Soooo?" Addy asked dragging out the word in a sing-songy voice making Bailey look at her with a mix of confusion and dread.
"What?"
Addy kept grinning like a fool before she asked, "Was he good to you? He treat you right?"
Bailey blushed and looked down at the sleeping bag she was unrolling as if she suddenly needed to keep her eyes on her work.
"Addy I have no idea what you're talking about." She immediately denied trying to fight off the blush on her cheeks. Damn, she thought after a week she'd be in the clear. What had tipped Addy off?
"Oh come on." Addy whined still smiling, "I'm your best friend, I know these things, and, uh. . ." she trailed off and Bailey looked up at her seeing the red head tap the side of her own neck. Getting the message Bailey's eyes went wide and she pulled her hair over her shoulder to hide the hickeys 10K must have left. Addy laughed a bit at her reaction and Bailey knew she wasn't going to get out of the interrogation that was coming. Knowing Addy wouldn't let it go she gave her enough information to keep her satisfied but didn't tell her friend everything.
"Six times?" she asked her eyes going wide as Bailey avoided eye contact and crossed her arms as she leaned on a tree. Keeping her eyes down she gave a shrug as she felt her face heat up in what she was certain classified as a new shade of red. Thankfully, Addy didn't ask her anything that led to more embarrassing answers, instead her friend shook her head and went back to her work. Just like how Addy had been able to sense something had been off about Bailey, Bailey could sense something was now going on in Addy's head.
"What?" she asked making her friend look up.
"Huh?"
"You look like you're deep in thought." Bailey told her.
"I was just thinking. . . back to when I was at the Sisters of Mercy camp."
"Oh." Bailey replied as a spark of hate ignited in her chest at the thought of that awful woman Helen. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that Helen was dead, "That boy you care for. He will die. Do you really want to be there when he does?" she had told Bailey, "You'll die long before he does." She looked across their camp at 10K again as he threw his vest on over his shirt and grabbed his rifle from where he'd rested it against another tree. Bailey took another deep breath, Helen was dead, she couldn't tear anymore people apart or send anymore boys to their death, Helen was dead and 10K was alive just like Bailey had said.
She heard Addy take a deep breath before she went on, "Helen had told me that the violence in this world triggered a violent instinct in men. This desire to fight, to kill. She said that testosterone is the most toxic chemical on Earth. For a while I thought she was right, even after I came back to the group." She took another breath and looked up at Bailey, "But seeing you with 10K, and seeing him just being so. . . I can't put my finger on it."
"Gentle." Bailey said with a small smile on her lips, "That's the word you're looking for, gentle. No one's seen that in a while, not since the outbreak. The apocalypse happened and everyone in the world tried to make themselves harder, like stone. Almost like if they made themselves tough enough they'd become so strong that they could get cut and not bleed." She shook her head and glanced over to 10K before looking back at Addy, "And even with being so strong and so tough 10K is still gentle. Like when he walks up to me and brushes his fingers on my arm and his touch is so feather light. . . " she trailed off thinking about his touch, "And it's not because he thinks I'm delicate, or that I'll break; he's just being, careful. Like he's afraid he might interrupt my thoughts or pull me out of my focus, but the truth is no matter what I'm thinking about I'm never upset when he interrupts. I actually always catch myself smiling."
Addy smiled back at her the look in her eyes saying 'Awww.' Luckily she didn't say it out loud because 10K, who had been talking to Warren and Doc, was now making his way over to them with a bandana in each hand, he was holding the corners keeping them shut in little bundles as he walked over to the pair.
"Hey." He greeted them as he turned to Addy, "They're dividing up the last of the food for dinner." He told her before turning to Bailey and passing her one of the bundles he held, "I got your ration for you." He said with a smile. She smiled back as she took it and thanked him giving him a kiss on the cheek. Once everyone else had gotten their food they all sat down and ate, when the last of their meal was gone they made a watch schedule and went to sleep. Warren took the first watch and 10K shuffled a sleeping bag next to Bailey as he laid on top of it. Bailey appreciated the warmth of 10K lying beside her as they snuggled but when the morning came the heat became too much and she wasn't the only one feeling it.
They all woke up smelling smoke and quickly realized the forest had caught fire sometime in the night. The sun was already rising and with the sunlight in addition to the flames the forest looked red as they quickly gathered their things and moved out. They couldn't tell where the fire had started and Bailey was pretty sure they were going in the wrong direction as the smoke became thicker and they had to cover their faces to help them breathe. Things only got worse when they heard the snarling of the dead.
The reddish tint to their surroundings and the fogginess from the smoke only made things more difficult as the Z's charged through the forest and their group was quickly broken apart. Addy and Bailey were fighting back to back, their fighting style mastered as they moved in perfect sync. Bailey had removed 10K's red bandana from her head and had tied it so it covered her nose and mouth to help keep the smoke from her lungs, the long shawl Addy had was now wrapped around the bottom half of her face several times for the same purpose.
"Warren!" Addy shouted after pulling the shawl down trying to locate the others in the burning forest. Bailey tapped her on the shoulder as she saw a figure in the distance swinging a weapon and making a Z's head explode in a puff of embers and ash – Warren. They ran in that direction, Bailey only stopped once when she saw Doc behind a tree with his crowbar, his flannel shirt was now wrapped around his head like a messy turban as he turned and piked a Z from around the tree. A bit further off she was just able to make out 10K with his long rifle in his hands as he leapt between two trees and perched on a boulder, bringing his scope up to his eye as he started shooting. He had a spare black bandana around his nose and mouth as well as he fired and took down four zombies with only three bullets, the last one ricocheting off the medallion around Doc's neck that he'd gotten from Kuruk.
"Four!" Doc shouted through his shirt.
"Murphy!" 10K called back pulling the bandana away from his face as he waved them over to where their mission had gone. Doc followed 10K and Bailey went to follow him looking over her shoulder and seeing Addy, Warren and Vasquez following behind. They all ran up a hill where the forest thinned out and they saw a building appear in the smoke.
"It looks like a hotel." Warren said pulling down her white bandana.
"I thought we killed all these Z's last week." Doc groaned.
"Maybe the Grand Canyon filled up." Addy said sarcastically.
"Not funny." Murphy mumbled.
"Wasn't kidding." Addy snapped back as Bailey brought a hand up over her bandana to try and ventilate more of the air she breathed in as Murphy coughed. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to 10K who had pulled his bandana back over his face so only his eyes were showing, the clear green now filled with concern, she nodded, silently telling him she was okay as they made their way for the hotel.
Warren knocked on the door urgently calling, "Anybody in there?"
"Do you think it's deserted?" Doc asked as she peered through the dirty window.
"Give me that." Warren said taking his crowbar as she tried to pry the doors open.
"Anytime now Murphy!" Addy shouted as Z's started stumbling over.
"All right! All right, I'll give it a shot." Murphy agreed as he lifted his hands and the Z's slowly turned and went away.
"Why don't we just break the glass?" Doc suggested.
"No, 'cause then the Z's will be able to get in." Warren said.
"There's somebody in there." Doc noticed and Bailey turned and saw a figure behind the dirty glass doors.
"Open up or you'll be sorry!" Warren shouted and drew her gun which immediately gave Bailey a bad feeling, if she was on the other side of that door she wouldn't let in someone who'd just threatened her, but thankfully whoever was on the other side didn't share her views as they pulled the doors open and let them in. Bailey noticed as she walked by that it was a shorter man with an afro and glasses.
"Thank you." Warren said as they stepped in and immediately saw several people standing on a landing above them, maybe a little more than half a dozen, who all aimed their guns on them, one man among them said welcome, but in a tone that implied they were anything but. Warren kept her gun drawn, as did Vasquez and Bailey reached her hand for her own as they stepped in. Warren grabbed the man who'd been kind enough to let them in and held her gun to his head.
"Lower your weapons." Vasquez demanded with his gun drawn as Addy, Bailey and 10K drew their handguns and aimed at the people too.
"Turn around and go back the way you came." One of the hotel members replied.
"Easy Travis." A man holding a large log said.
"Look! We don't want to hurt you." Warren said, "But we cannot turn around. There are way too may Z's out there."
"Not much oxygen either." Doc added from beside the shut doors as a Z stumbled up and started banging on it making several of the hotel people jump in fright.
"Who's in charge?" Warren asked and the man with the log stepped forward.
"My name is Gideon Gould. I'm the facilitator here. But we don't really have a leader. 'Cause everyone here participates in our decision making." He said coming down the steps with the log and Bailey noticed how nicely he was dressed, actually, how nice they all were dressed. The women were in pantsuits and heels while Gideon wore a button down shirt with a vest and tie.
"Great. We just need some shelter until the smoke clears and some of those zombies move on." Warren told him.
"Okay, well I think in order for us to put together a mutually beneficial agreement, we're gonna have to create a little framework of trust here." Gideon said approaching them.
"Buddy, I'd feel a lot more trust if you all pointed your weapons someplace else." Murphy said looking at the people on the landing.
"Sure." Gideon said turning to his people, "It's okay everybody."
"What have you got in mind Mr. Gould?" Warren asked letting the man with the glasses go and put her hand on her hip.
"Popcorn circle process?" a woman with short blonde hair suggested.
"You know what? That's exactly what I had in mind." Gideon said, "That's a great idea, yes ma'am come on down here."
"What the hell is it? Movie night?" Murphy muttered.
"May I?" she asked passing Gideon and taking the log.
"Yes ma'am."
"Thank you." She looked at them, "Don't worry it's not a weapon, it's a tool. We call it the talking stick. We use it to facilitate dialogue. When we make decisions we pass it around the circle like a bowl of popcorn. Only the person holding the stick is allowed to speak. It makes it so much easier to be heard." She kept going on about the stick and Dr. Gould being a world renowned something or other, Bailey wasn't really paying attention, she was more concerned with the other people around them, they were fidgety and defensive, their body language telling Bailey that her groups presence there was unsettling to them, which made her nervous. Uncomfortable people sometimes made rash choices when they felt their safe place was threatened. Then another Z slammed against the door cutting off the woman's lecture on corporate communication and Bailey had never been more grateful to a Z.
"We're gonna play a little quick game here." Gideon said taking back the stick, "It's called Honesty Inventory, I give you my first impressions of all of you without filtering anything. So let's see. . . " he said turning to Warren first.
"You, you are the leader, you're a natural. And you have a wisdom. But it's born of loss." Then he turned to Vasquez, "You are the enforcer brother, you're tough. But your scars can cloud your judgment." He said before moving to Addy, "You're the strong one right? There's a lot of loss in those eyes, I think it's more loss than you can handle." He looked back to Warren, "She relies on you." He said pointing to the Chief, then he passed Murphy and moved to Doc, "Brother sir, you've got a face that's etched with sadness and yet, somehow, you've managed to keep your sense of humor. Man I need a hug, can I have a hug?" he asked before stepping forward and hugging Doc. Bailey already didn't like this Gideon guy, he read people too well and she felt just as uncomfortable as when Escorpion had been staring at her during that ridiculous trial in Burrtown. She hid her discomfort though, she tried to hide everything as she made her expression as neutral as she could, though she kept her body language stiff keeping her hand on her gun as her fist tightened on the handle of her hatchet that was in her grasp and she let Gideon read her silent warning, letting him know to be careful with what he said about her.
"And you," he began pointing a finger at her and wagging it up and down and as his attention went to her Bailey noticed 10K – who'd had his arms crossed but his gun still in hand – shuffled on his feet and unfolded his arms subtly bringing his gun to point at Gideon from beside his hip, "You're the one with all the walls up, like defenses around a compound. But you don't keep everyone at bay." He said looking around at the others, "These people have earned their way into your heart and you protect them by analyzing your enemy, finding all their weak spots. Most people arm themselves physically these days, you take them down mentally, emotionally, psychologically. You carry those weapons but it's your mind that is your greatest asset." Then his eyes shifted over to 10K, he looked at how they stood, how much distance was between them, how they angled their bodies, his eyes shifted between both of them several times. Bailey was expecting some long teary speech about love and how hopeless it seemed in this world but then Gideon surprised her which she liked even less, instead of droning on about her and 10K willing to die for each other or something equally emotional he only said, "Interesting." Before he stepped over to 10K and gently grabbed the end of his gun and pulled it down so 10K was aiming at the floor.
"Son." he said placing his hand on 10K's shoulder and Bailey's fingers twitched toward her guns trigger, "You've got a good heart. But you're a little bit angry. You don't like him." he pointed to Murphy, "You two don't like each other that's what it is, hmm." Then he turned and looked back between Bailey and 10K one more time, "She makes you less angry." He said before going to Murphy.
"You've got the weight of the world on your shoulders don'tcha? I can see it. You do more for these people than they even realize. And you never really get the respect you deserve either. Let's everybody look around you now. I think we've all taken a really big step in solving this conflict." He said and Bailey thought it was bull, all he'd done was make them uncomfortable by reading them like open books - probably to even the field, since she could tell his people were uncomfortable about them - possibly trying to make them want to leave if they thought he could see through them all and see their secrets. They all still had skeletons in their closets, things they still hadn't shared to each other. She looked to 10K who had his eagle eyes on Gideon and she thought about how close they were but she still hadn't told him about her family, or her early years in the outbreak.
"It's all about process dialogue," Gideon went on, "and filling the pool of shared meaning. I told you guys a story and it resonated with you –hopefully. And now we have a common narrative, which is of course the basis of trust, what do you think?" he asked looking at Warren.
"Gee, maybe now that we're all friends and stuff, maybe we could get some food." Murphy spoke up, "I'm starving."
"Is he all right?" Gideon whispered to Warren.
"Vitamin deficiency." She answered.
"Okay you know what I think we should do guys? Let's do a process committee. Why don't we do two from each group, we'll all discuss specifics. Who would you like to join you in representing your stakeholders?"
"Addy." Warren said immediately.
"And I think our stakeholders will be represented by myself and Dana." He gestured to the blonde and Bailey noticed another man and woman share a look at Gideon's choice as the four left and the Z's kept pounding on the door to get in.
«»
The man who'd let them in – Iggy – offered to give them a tour of the place but only Doc, 10K and Bailey accepted, Murphy decided to lounge on a couch in the lobby and Vasquez wasn't going to take his eyes off him.
"We kept losing people all through Black Summer until we, uh. . . Voila." Iggy gestured around at the kitchen he'd led them into. "Couldn't defend the whole hotel so. . . ooh! Sorry." He said resting his flashlight pointing up as he took a rag and wiped down a metal table, "We abandoned the rooms to the zombies." He finished his original thought.
"Kinda like a zombie roach motel." Doc joked and Iggy laughed as 10K shone a flashlight around the room as they checked it out. Iggy brought a small pot over and stirred it with a wooden spoon offering them a taste.
"You guys been here the whole time?" 10K asked as Bailey savored the taste of marinara sauce on her tongue, it was just the stuff from a jar but it was still wonderful. Iggy sighed at 10K's question.
"We thought about going. At least I have, but the group always vote me down. My company sent me here for a weekend retreat to work on my people skills. That was four years ago." He said taking another jar and offering some of its contents to Doc.
"Gibson onions?" he asked cheerfully.
"May I?" 10K asked politely gesturing to a pitcher of water and Iggy quickly made to pour him a glass. "I've never stayed in a hotel before. You guys have a pool? I always wanted to swim in a pool." He said sipping from the glass.
"You're drinking it." Iggy answered and 10K paused his sip though he kept the glass to his lips as his eyes went wide. "Don't worry, we filter and boil everything." Iggy said making his way to the stove where a complex system was set up, "This is my masterpiece, and let me show you where we keep the food. We lock up all the food since we discovered some was disappearing. I do all the cooking and cleaning and. . . "
"Regular Cinder-fella?" Doc said.
"I even clean up after the janitor. Guess I should be glad I'm alive." Iggy said leading them on, "And this way we have the ballroom where you guys can relax and I'll see if I can scare up some blankets."
«»
"You're wearing your hair like Ayalla." 10K noticed looking at the braid hidden in the loose strands of Bailey's hair as she shrugged off her olive green jacket and stuffed it into her messenger bag before they plopped themselves on a couch in the ballroom as Doc looked around admiring the luxury of the place. She shrugged looking a bit embarrassed as she played with the end of the braid.
"I like her, I hope we see her again." she said honestly, "She was like a post apocalypse Pocahontas." She turned to him biting her lip, "It was my favorite movie as a kid." She admitted sheepishly. "I loved the idea of living out in the woods after seeing it. Living off the land, being so close to nature."
"Yeah, living in the forest is actually pretty cool." 10K agreed putting his feet up on the coffee table in front of them, remembering his childhood, "Peaceful too."
She stopped biting her lip and smirked, "Don't rub it in." she said playfully and he scooted closer to her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
"Hey, when we go north, I'll show you exactly how good living in the middle of the woods can be." He said smiling and she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss and he made a little humming noise in approval.
"You know, we are in a hotel. . . " he said suggestively.
"With rooms full of zombies." She pointed out, "Did you forget that part?"
"No, but come on, you've seen these people." he said raising his other arm on the back of the couch as he leaned back casually. "Compared to them the two of us should be able to clear a room no problem, it could only have what, half a dozen Z's at most? We've taken on more than that easy." When she didn't look convinced he leaned in closer and started kissing under her ear, "Come on, these rooms seem quiet." He said and it was true there wasn't too much snarling or moaning coming from them which meant there could only be one or two zombies inside each one. "We'll clear it. . ." he continued giving her another kiss along her jaw, "then do some moaning of our own." He gave her another kiss and she couldn't stop the blush that rose from his suggestion.
"Okay." She replied.
"Okay?" he repeated pulling away and seeming shocked he'd talked her into it. She smirked and grabbed his hand leading him away and down the hall to find a quiet room. They went hallway to hallway at one point passing one of the hotel members who looked at them blankly before they moved on.
They didn't get much farther before they heard a gunshot and immediately ran in the direction it had come from. It was a bit difficult running down hallways not sure if the sound had echoed but then they heard shouting.
"Help! Somebody help!" and they finally found the hall the same time the others did.
"Hey where'd that shot come from?" Vasquez asked arriving on the scene.
"It came from in here. Door's locked." Travis said and Vasquez helped him break it down. Inside they found Murphy lying face down, his shoulder bleeding heavily, another man was there too with a large bloodstain in the center of his chest and they rushed in to help them.
"Looks like he's still alive." Doc said hopefully, looking at Murphy.
"He's bleeding bad." Warren said checking him over.
"Greg's been shot." Gideon said looking at the other man, "God, right in the heart."
"He should be dead now." Travis said in shock.
"What happened?" Iggy asked rushing in passing Bailey and 10K who stood by the door.
"We've got to move them out to the bar. There's more light over there. Danny, get the first aid kit." Gideon directed.
They cleared the bar and put Murphy and Greg on it.
"10K make sure nobody leaves, Addy cover this door." Vasquez instructed.
"Who put you in charge?" Travis asked.
"I did. I was a cop for ten years. This is a crime scene. Someone tried to kill our prisoner."
"Prisoner?" another woman asked in horror.
"I can't stop the bleeding." Dana said working on Greg.
"You need to mercy him." Vasquez told her.
"Wait, he's not turning." Dana said.
"We can't mercy him before he's dead." Gideon said backing her up.
"Tie up your man and secure him before he turns." Warren said before turning to Doc, "How is he?"
"Well the bullet went clean through, but I'm more worried about this nasty head wound. He must have cracked it when he fell. He's definitely got a concussion. Maybe worse."
Doc kept working on Murphy as they restrained Greg to the bar with duct tape, Bailey and 10K watched from the door he'd been posted at, Bailey's eyes going to everyone in the room suspiciously.
Third Person POV
"What do you think?" Warren asked as they surveyed the crime scene.
"Well I only heard one shot." Vasquez said analyzing the situation. "So we have one bullet two victims. Judging by the bullets trajectory the shooter was here. He surprised Murphy, seized the food, fires once. The bullet hits Murphy in the shoulder, continues on, hits victim number two in the heart."
Bailey POV
"Now hold on, you're telling me that the bullet passed through Murphy and hit this dude in the heart?" Doc asked when they returned to the bar and told him their hypothesis.
Vasquez nodded, "Well no wonder he ain't turning." Doc said checking Greg's eyes, "He looks just like Cassandra." He said in awe as Bailey leaned against the open double doors, on the other side was 10K with one hand on the barrel of his rifle as the bottom rested by his foot and his other hand holding the handgun he had in the front of his belt. She saw him tilt his head when he heard Cassandra's name and hoped the mention of her didn't cause him to relapse back into his depression.
"You better keep an eye on him." Warren told Doc nodding at Greg.
"Damn straight." Doc agreed.
"Hey guys?" Gideon called from the center of the ballroom, "Could I ask you to come in here and join us in the trust circle?" he asked and Warren made her way out of the bar and over to him, Bailey noticed Vasquez was gone as she and 10K followed Warren over to Gideon, she also noticed 10K left his rifle leaning against the door but kept his hand on his gun, "I want to resolve this conflict peacefully, without violence."
"Well that's not going to be easy." Warren snapped at him, "Considering one of you just shot one of us." she said with Bailey and 10K now on either side of her just a few steps back but ready to flank her if this turned south.
"Do you have any proof of that?" Travis asked aggressively.
"Okay listen everyone." Gideon said calling attention, "Violence can spread like a wild fire." He said as 10K moved to Bailey's side and Addy joined them as they stood by the circle of chairs but didn't sit down. Bailey crossed her arms as 10K moved to the chair next to her leaning forward and resting his hands on the back of it. "It just takes one spark to burn down the bridges of trust between all of our fellow human beings. And once it's started, fire doesn't care who it burns. I know that we can resolve the issues between us."
"The issue between us? The –" Warren began sounding like she was on her last nerve but she was cut off by Gideon passing her the talking stick, "the issue between us is that one of you shot Murphy."
"Imvume." The woman from before spoke up taking the stick, "You said Murphy was your prisoner. Maybe he tried to escape and one of you shot him."
"Okay Meg, Meg thank you." Gideon said taking the stick back.
"Will you please sit down?" he asked, "We need to trust." Warren looked around at them and they reluctantly took their seats. Bailey sat between Warren and 10K while Addy sat to Warren's left, turning the chair around and sitting on it backwards.
"Imvume." The man who'd shared a look with Meg earlier stepped up, "I saw him sneaking around where the shooting happened." He said looking at 10K.
"Imvume." Travis said taking the stick next, "I saw him there too. Right after the shot was fired. He was acting suspicious." He claimed and Bailey's eyebrows pulled down in confusion, she remembered passing the first man in the hall but never seeing Travis which raised her suspicions, but she let them keep talking as she gathered information though it was a bit difficult when part of her was enraged that they were blaming 10K, he'd been with her the whole time, she knew he didn't do it.
"Thank you Paul, thank you Travis." Gideon said taking the stick and turning to 10K, "So clearly there's some unresolved conflict between you and Murphy."
"10K doesn't miss." Addy said and all the hotel members held up a peace sign and turned it into a fist and Bailey got the hint that this was their way of reminding someone to keep quiet unless they had the stick. Dana got up and took the log and passed it to Addy with a smile.
"If 10K wants something dead, it's dead." Her friend said and Bailey smiled as the red head stood, "And he would never try to kill Murphy, kick him in the nuts a few times maybe. But, he would never try to kill him." she said and passed the stick back to Gideon. Bailey rolled her eyes as she stood from her chair and ripped the wood from Gideon's hand.
"Scapegoat." She said looking across the circle at the men who'd accused 10K. "A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes or faults of others, especially for reasons of convenience." She read off the definition like she had a damn dictionary in front of her, then she turned to Gideon, "Majored in creative writing in college, minor in English literature." Then she turned back to the group, "More often than not the scapegoat is named by the guilty party." Her eyes flashed between the two men who'd brought up evidence against 10K, "or parties." Then she looked back to Gideon, "You were right when you said my mind is my greatest weapon." She said turning to Paul and giving him a cold stare before she turned her eyes to Travis and did the same.
"You found Murphy and Greg first." She pointed out, "What were you doing lurking in that hallway?" she asked but he only stared her down, she wasn't really looking for an answer she just needed to plant the seed of doubt in the others minds. Then she turned and handed the talking stick back to Gideon noticing that he seemed a bit impressed while others fidgeted in their seats nervously. Then she sat back down in her seat next to 10K who turned and gave her a small smile as Gideon brought the stick over to him.
"Care to defend yourself?" he asked passing 10K the log.
He paused thinking over what to say, "Murphy's not my friend. Never will be. I have more than enough reasons to want to kill him and when the time comes I will kill him. Happily. But it's not the time."
Paul got up and stormed over to him taking the stick, "Why should we believe you?"
"Because he didn't fire that shot." Vasquez said entering the room and dropping a bag of food at their feet, "One of you did."
"My God." Meg said, "Look at all that food."
"There's more than a 100,000 calories there." Paul said.
"Found this hidden on top of the cabinet near where Murphy was shot." Vasquez said providing some real evidence.
"We knew someone was stealing the food, but we thought they were eating it." Danny said.
"Sounds like someone has a getaway stash." Vasquez said his eyes going to the hotel group, "Murphy must have stumbled upon it. And got shot." The ex-cop theorized as Bailey leaned back in her seat bringing her arm over the back of it as 10K leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
"Well if it turns out to be true that one of us has been stealing food it's our agreed upon policy that the punishment is immediate banishment." Gideon said, "Now there's only one person other than myself who has access to our food supply." He continued turning to Iggy. Bailey almost spoke up and said that Gideon wasn't exempt from the suspects list but there was a part of her that made her keep quiet so long as they weren't targeting 10K anymore or anyone else in their group, she'd let them work out their problem amongst themselves.
"I didn't do this." Iggy said.
"Where were you when the shots were fired? Did anyone see you?" Gideon asked him.
"I didn't steal that food." Iggy replied louder now.
"Wouldn't be the first time." Meg added.
"That was a few candy bars more than a year ago. And I've been on lowered rations since." Iggy said turning to her.
"You sure don't look like you've been on 900 calories a day." Paul added and Bailey thought the pair's behavior was strange, since they'd gotten there Meg and Paul seemed close, it was suspicious that now they were teaming up on Iggy and even more odd Gideon was allowing it without the talking stick, he was also the only other one who had access to the food, could all three of them be working together to get rid of Iggy? And why? What would be the benefit?
"What are you talking about?!" Iggy snapped now insulted.
"Iggy. Iggy. Ignatius." Gideon said trying to calm him, "We've had these issues with you before, you're the only one with a key, and you've made it clear for a long time that you wanted to leave." Gideon said as Iggy broke down in tears and stood up standing on the outskirts of the circle.
"I wanted all of us to leave! This place is a death trap!" Iggy shouted then tried walking around the circle but Warren got in his way as Danny stood up and kept him from running in the other direction, 10K had now turned completely in his seat resting his arm on the back just as Bailey was as they watched the exchange.
"Iggy, brother, if you want people to start believing what you say, you got to start telling the truth." Gideon said as Iggy started to hyperventilate and Bailey reached over the back of her chair and tapped Warren's elbow. She looked down at her and took in her expression, it was firm but her eyes were soft, almost sad at the turn of events that was happening around her. Bailey saw Warren's stern look fall from her face as her arms dropped from her hips, her stance now becoming less hostile as she understood what Bailey was silently telling her. If anyone could have sniffed out foul play here it was Bailey and now Warren knew that Bailey was certain Iggy was innocent.
"The truth!" Gideon shouted and Iggy lost it.
"I am telling the truth you bastard!" he said lunging at Gideon and throwing him to the floor. Danny and Travis picked him up as he started sobbing, "Don't do this!"
"Washington." Gideon said addressing Danny by what Bailey assumed was his last name, "Secure the food in the kitchen. Keep it under guard." He said taking the key's from Iggy's belt and passing them to Danny. "You made your decision for us Iggy."
"Don't do this! Don't do this please!" Iggy begged as Travis dragged him to the front door.
"We cannot tolerate any violence." Gideon said as they followed him and the sobbing Iggy to the lobby.
"What makes you so sure he's the guilty one? Where's your proof?" Vasquez demanded.
"He knew the consequences." Gideon replied.
"Look if you send him out there now, that's a death sentence. He'll be killed and turn for sure!" Warren shouted.
"Oh, okay. Anything else you want to say before you leave?" Gideon asked with a harsh tone as he moved behind Iggy.
"Bite me!" Iggy shouted.
"Ohh!" Gideon yelled and kicked Iggy in the back sending him out the doors.
"At least give him a weapon!" Warren shouted.
"Wait, wait!" Travis shouted, "You shouldn't have done what you did Iggy. Take this." He passed him a mallet and Bailey pushed through the crowd heading for the door, she drew her gun and passed it through to Iggy before the others pushed him back and shut the doors. They could still hear his begging and sobbing until Z's showed up and he was forced to turn and fight or run.
The others filed out quickly not being able to deal with their guilt and the group followed them. 10K stopped on the steps as he realized Bailey was still standing in the lobby staring at the doors. He walked over to her and ran the back of his finger along her jaw.
"Hey." He said softly, "You still with me?" he asked clearly seeing she was deep in her own head.
"He's innocent." She said in a whisper.
"I know."
"And I want to put my ax in their faces for trying to pin it all on you." She said turning to him and he cupped her face in his hands bringing his forehead to rest on hers.
"Shhh, we'll be out of here soon." He said before they headed back to the bar where Doc was.
"How's he doing?" Warren asked.
"Not so good Chief. I got the bleeding stopped, but he still hasn't regained consciousness. He just keeps moaning like that, like he's having a bad dream." Doc told her.
Then there was a loud pounding and snarling as more Z's started trying to get in and 10K kissed Bailey's temple whispering about going to check how secure the rest of the place was, "As soon as he can travel we've got to get the hell out of here." Warren said looking nervously to the boarded up windows.
"Well we're gonna have to wait til the swelling goes down and he's conscious. If we try to move him now it could kill him." Doc said.
"What about this guy?" Vasquez asked gesturing to Greg.
"Oh man check this out. That thing about the bullet passing through Murphy and hitting this guy in the heart blew my mind, you know. Got me thinking. If that tiny amount of Murphy blood could keep this guy from turning, what would a little more blood do?"
"Doc. . . " Warren said sounding disgusted.
"I know I know. But it's the apocalypse! I figure go for it right? So I've been soaking this rag in Murphy blood and letting Greg here suck on it."
"Doc!" Warren said now fully grossed out.
"I know bad idea right? But check it out. He's getting better! His fever broke, he's breathing normally which, I don't know how the hell you do that when you got a hole in your chest the size of a silver dollar. And look at his skin, it's turning that pretty blue just like Murphy."
"Wow this Murphy shit is real isn't it?" Warren asked amazed.
"Sure looks like it Chief."
"Well keep an eye on him. . it. . whatever. Keep Murphy alive." Warren instructed.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go climb the corporate ladder." Warren said and Bailey was feeling just as creeped out as Warren was as she looked at Greg turning blue.
"I'm gonna go find 10K." she said needing an excuse to get away from the Frankenstein experiment that was going on here. Not long after leaving the bar she found 10K creeping through a hall again with his rifle in his hands which she thought wasn't the best idea after it had almost gotten him in so much trouble last time. He just started to make his way down a staircase when he spotted her and brought a finger to his lips. She made her way toward him being sure to keep her steps light and quiet as they both crept down the stairs. 10K kept his back to the wall and Bailey did her best to stay close to him so whoever he was sneaking up on wouldn't see either of them. She heard two of the corporates, a man and a woman, talking in hushed but urgent tones.
"I told you it was only a matter of time before they banish Iggy." She heard and recognized Meg's voice.
"Yeah I know you called it." The man, Paul she was able to identify his voice, replied. Called it? Bailey thought, they practically advocated to throw Iggy out!
"And since when has Dana started leading popcorn circle?" Meg asked, "She never even finished her masters! If she wasn't sleeping with -"
"We, we don't know that." Paul said stopping her accusation.
"Please." Meg scoffed, "It's so obvious. You see the way he looks at her." She went on but when Paul gave no answer she snapped at him, "Excuse me."
"I know, you called it." Paul said again, man this Meg chick likes being told she's right, Bailey thought rolling her eyes.
"And what about these new people? Why are we sharing anything with them? Who are they to us?"
"Iggy paid the price for that decision." Paul said.
"And he's gone. But we're still here." Meg said, "We're going to need every bite of food they take!" she said in a harsh whisper.
Then Bailey's heart leapt into her throat as she realized both of the people they were spying on where going to head up the stairs. Being a second faster than 10K she grabbed his rifle and leaned it against the rail then pushed him against the wall and kissed him deeply. She could feel his confusion but thankfully he went along with it bringing a hand up to weave his fingers into her hair after his moment of shock. Bailey heard footsteps then heard them come to a sudden halt and knew the pair must have seen them. Bailey pulled away from 10K who was still too confused to speak as she turned to the two corporates and looked as embarrassed as she could.
"Sorry, all the rooms are full of zombies." She said blushing and looking at the floor. Both of the corporates nodded uncomfortably and turned away from the stairs and headed off somewhere else.
"What was that about?" 10K asked when he was sure they were gone and he'd finally recovered from his shock.
"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable. Mainly because anything the brain registers as private or related to privacy triggers the action to look away." She said with a shrug. "Better for them to be distracted by their own discomfort than to realize we were spying on them."
"How does an English major know that?" he asked.
She shrugged again, "I had to take a psychology course as a pre req."
"You're so smart." 10K said but there was something different in the tone of his voice that made Bailey look at him curiously. He took a step toward her making her step back, "It's sexy." He said as he backed her up to the wall on the opposite side of the steps. He brought his hands to either side of her and grabbed the railing boxing her in as he leaned in and kissed her. It was just as deeply as she'd kissed him but when she felt the tip of his tongue on her lower lip she pulled away.
"10K they're already gone." She reminded him and a wicked smirk crossed his face.
"Oh I know." He said leaning back in and kissing her. He deepened the kiss and this time she let him as she brought one hand up to weave her fingers in his hair while her other hand rested on the curve of his neck as she let herself sink into the moment. It was the apocalypse after all, you never knew how many good moments you had left.
«»
A scream cut through the silence and they started running through the halls again. They turned the corner entering the ballroom where Z-Danny was on top of a woman. 10K took his slingshot out and mercied Danny before stepping over to the girl.
"You okay?" he asked crouching beside her but she opened her white eyes and leapt at him jumping on his back as he spun trying to dodge her biting, he turned left and right trying to avoid her teeth as her arms locked around his neck and Bailey took out her knife, now thinking maybe she shouldn't have given Iggy her gun. Luckily in the next second Vasquez came around the corner and shot the woman and she fell off 10K and Bailey rushed to his side putting her knife away.
"Are you bit?" she asked frantically, bringing her hands to cup his face before they traveled down his neck checking for teeth marks.
"No." he replied.
"Are you hurt?" she asked her eyes scanning his bare arms looking for fresh blood.
"No." he said again calmly, grabbing her shoulders and making her stand still, "Bailey I'm fine, I'm fine." She nodded her head and caught her breath as his hands traveled down her arms, "You're shaking." He said softly before wrapping her in a hug and resting his cheek on her head as she nuzzled his shoulder and brought her arms around him, her mind still wrapping around the fact that he wasn't hurt, he's okay, he's okay, you're not going to lose him.
"5,075." She heard him whisper to himself and she gave a small chuckle.
"You're halfway there." She said as they pulled apart and she saw him smile.
"Whoever stabbed Washington stole the food." Gideon said walking into the room.
"Maybe Iggy came back for the food." Vasquez said sarcastically.
Then two more shots were heard and they all rushed into the bar where Doc was on the ground.
"Doc, what happened?" Warren asked.
"Some zombie loving bastard took a shot at me!" Doc shouted.
"Did you see who it was?" Vasquez asked urgently.
"No but they went that way." Doc said pointing down a hallway.
"Let's go Addy. Bailey and 10K, stay with them." Warren said rushing off with Vasquez, Dana and Addy. 10K crouched by Doc to check he was really okay and when they got him back on his feet and the others left Doc went back to his Frankenstein experiment, he cut Murphy's thumb and stuck it in Greg's mouth massaging his throat to make him swallow.
"What –" 10K began but Bailey cut him off.
"Do. Not. Ask." She said before turning to the ballroom and he followed her.
«»
"We can't defend the perimeter much longer." Vasquez said joining them as a zombie charged the building so hard its head broke through one of the boarded up windows.
"It's like they're suddenly attracted to this place." Meg said frantically as everyone gathered in the ballroom and sat, silently hoping for the Z's to go away. They all still looked at each other suspiciously, knowing someone in that room was the one who shot Greg and Murphy.
Travis POV
This was turning into a shit show, he thought as he crossed his arms standing in the corner. He watched as Dana kept sending looks to that red headed chick with the tricked out baseball bat. The other morons kept twitching every time a Z banged on the windows and his own eyes kept going to the sniper. He leaned forward on the high table in front of him as he watched the kid and his girlfriend on the couch. That bitch had been onto him from the start. She was clever he had to give her that. She'd noticed he was first on the scene where the shooting happened, then noticed he was trying to scapegoat by passing it all off on her damn boyfriend. It was really Gideon who had put that idea in his head, back during that Honesty Inventory bullshit when he'd said the boy didn't like the blue guy. When the freak and Greg had found his stash of food he had to kill them, he thought it'd be easy pinning it on the boy, even Paul had been on his side. But then that ex-cop had found the sack of food and it became obvious one of the newcomers hadn't done it. He'd gotten lucky when Iggy got banished for it but then he had the problem that now he had lost his getaway stash. He didn't want to kill Washington but he was reaching his limit, he couldn't stay in this place anymore, like Iggy said it was a death trap and Gideon didn't care so long as he got all the respect, he'd even kept up the damn poster of himself from his seminar four years ago, the self-absorbed prick. And all just because he had a damn doctorate, like that shit mattered anymore.
He must have been staring at the sniper longer than he thought because that bitch turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes were suspicious and he knew she was onto him, or she would be soon anyway. Damn, he thought, another body to add to his kill count today, but first he'd have to get her boyfriend out of the way, or kill him too. He better count his bullets, he thought bringing his hands to his hips where both his guns were.
The Z's started pounding harder and the glass started to break and more pounding came from the side door as it opened a crack as the zombies pushed on it. Seemed they weren't the only ones getting restless. The sniper got up and took out his handgun going to the metal gate between the ballroom and the halls.
"The hotel Z's got out." He shouted, "This gates not going to hold!"
Meg started screaming as the glass broke and zombies poured in stumbling over each other. They all retreated into the bar and locked themselves in drawing their weapons in case the Z's followed.
Bailey POV
"This is a really small space to spend the rest of your life." Meg said weepy.
"Well thanks for the positive vibe sweetheart." Doc said turning away from Greg and Murphy on the bar.
"Hey don't talk to her like that." Paul snapped at him.
"Hey you can relax buddy." Addy spoke up pointing at him with the sharp tip of her Z Whacker.
"He's being sarcastic and rude." Meg said and Bailey scoffed, she'd love if her biggest problem was someone being rude to her.
"No I'm not. You need to chill out lady." Doc said in defense. "It's the apocalypse for crying out loud."
"Yeah if you don't like it go hang out with the Z's I'm sure they'll be anything but sarcastic." Bailey said before muttering, "Whiney little bitch."
"Don't talk to her like that!" Paul yelled turning to Bailey aggressively and making 10K step forward.
"Don't talk to her like that." he said trying to keep his calm but Bailey saw his finger twitch while he held his rifle.
"Hey boy who do you think you're talking to?" Paul snapped at him.
"Who the hell do you think your talking to!" 10K shouted his voice going deeper than Bailey ever heard it. Then chaos broke out and everyone started arguing so much that it drowned out the snarling and growling of the Z's on the other side of the door.
"Shut! Up!" Warren shouted louder than everyone else drawing their attention as they all fell silent. Then she turned to Gideon, "Now do your little stick thing."
"Thank you." Gideon said, "Okay, now more than ever we need to resolve these conflicts. Using the talking stick plus deductive reasoning, we can navigate a journey of discovery that will lead us to the true identity of the killer."
"Or we could just ask Greg who shot him." Doc said cheerfully, "Look who just woke up." He said undoing the duct tape that they'd used to restrain Greg and he sat up, his weird eyes staring blankly. "Hey Greg." Doc said to him, "Who. Shot. You?"
Z-Greg looked around then pointed to Travis who drew both his guns on them.
"Don't even think about it." He said, "Not surprised a zombie figured it out before you corporate morons."
"Who you calling corporate?" Doc asked offended.
"Shut up! Now this bitch," he turned to Bailey pointing one gun at her, "this bitch was onto me from the start." He said as 10K tried to move in front of her, "Hey!" Travis snapped making 10K pause mid-step, "Anybody moves I will not hesitate to kill all of you. Dana get over here. Come on, baby, we're getting out of here." He said with a smile as Dana hesitantly joined him.
"I never wanted anybody to get hurt." She said.
"Wait, wait, wait hold on." Gideon said, "Where exactly do you think you're going?"
"I would rather take my chances out there than die in here listening to you." Dana sneered at him.
"Okay go, go, you're both liars you're both murderers and you know what we'll ride this out and we'll live on to give you mercy." Gideon said making funny hand gestures as he talked.
"You talk too much." Travis said putting one of his guns to the back of Gideon's head.
"Travis don't!" Dana shouted then a gun went off and Travis twitched with the impact as he was shot in the chest.
"Oh my God!" Dana shrieked.
"He got my gun!" Doc shouted looking at Greg who had his gun in his hand. Travis took one last shot killing Greg before falling over the rail dead, Dana sobbed and cradled his head.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." Warren shouted holding her arms out trying to restore order as everyone cocked their guns and drew their weapons.
"Everybody lower your weapons." Vasquez said helping Warren.
"Everybody be cool be cool." Warren said but just as she was getting them all calm again Travis turned, standing straight up again as black blood spilled from his mouth. Dana screamed as he snarled and Addy marched over and mercied him with her bat. Dana cried over him then turned to Addy looking for comfort.
"I never wanted to. . . " she began trailing off but Addy shook her head and walked to the back of the room with 10K and Bailey who wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders. Then there was a knocking on the door behind them.
"Is that somebody knocking?" 10K asked.
"That's impossible." Gideon said.
"That's not a Z." Warren added.
"Somebody's out there. Somebody alive. Open the door." Dana said.
"10K and Addy on three open the door, Bailey get ready." Warren instructed. They nodded at her and counted to three opening the doors to reveal Iggy. He was covered in blood and had the mallet Travis had given him in one hand and the gun Bailey had passed him in the other. He dropped the mallet to the floor and stuffed the gun into his back pocket.
"Iggy." Dana said in awe, "You're alive."
"No thanks to any of you." Iggy said stepping into the room.
"I am so sorry." Dana said as Gideon stepped forward.
"Ignatius, you have every right to be angry." Gideon said, "The process failed you, so on behalf of everyone, I just want to say, we're sorry."
Iggy paused then started laughing semi-insanely, "You're, you're sorry?"
"You have a lot of complicated feelings right now. But we need to work through those feelings." Gideon said making more bizarre hand gestures, "Is there anything else you want to say?" Gideon asked passing him the talking stick. Iggy hesitated then nodded and took the stick.
"There is. There is something I'd like to say." He said calmly, "For all the people who, who aren't here to, to speak for themselves." Then he hit Gideon over the head with the log sending him to the floor. "They aren't here to speak for themselves because you did all the speaking for them!" Iggy shouted now being restrained by Vasquez while Meg cheered. A puddle of blood poured from Gideon's head as Murphy groaned and started to wake up.
"What did I miss?" he asked sitting up and looking around the room.
"They're leaving." Addy said turning to the boarded up window and peering through a crack, "The Z's are leaving."
"I had the craziest dreams." Murphy mumbled holding his head.
«»
With Murphy awake and well enough to travel and after the fire had died down and the smoke had cleared the others gave them a van that was under the awning out front. Warren was able to get it running and 10K took the driver's seat while Doc hopped in behind him.
"Thanks again for the food." Warren said to Iggy who had also kindly rationed them something to hold them over on their journey.
"Thank you for the freedom." He said smiling, "If you hadn't come along we'd still be right where we were under Gideon's control." Iggy rushed forward and hugged her, "Thank you, thank you thank you, thank you."
"So what are you guys gonna do?" Warren asked when he let her go.
"Take our chances out on the road like you guys." Dana said smiling.
"I've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon." Meg spoke up.
"Uh. . . it ain't what it used to be." Doc said from inside the van.
"Well we gotta go." Warren said.
"Good luck." Iggy wished them as Warren hopped in the passenger seat. "Oh Bailey!" Iggy called and she turned as he passed her back her gun. "Thank you for this, I'm sorry there aren't any bullets left but –"
"It's okay Iggy, thank you." She said looking at the gun in her hand, "A dear friend gave this to me, I'm just glad it helped you." He gave her a hug before she hopped in the van and sat next to Doc.
"How you doing princess?" Warren called to Murphy in the way back.
"I have an apocalyptic headache." He moaned as they waited for Addy as she said her goodbyes to Dana.
"I'm glad I never had an office job those people were messed up." 10K said from the drivers seat and Doc leaned forward.
"It's the corporations man." He said sounding like a true hippy and Bailey couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah." 10K agreed with a smile as Addy finished saying goodbye to Dana and got in and both Doc and 10K turned to stare at her with smiles and lifted eyebrows. Addy shook her head rolling her eyes and hopped in the back with Vasquez and Murphy.
"Do I get to interrogate you now?" Bailey asked her jokingly remembering the embarrassing questions Addy had bombarded her with the other day. Addy only shook her head.
"Don't start." She replied and Bailey laughed as 10K started the engine and they took off.