Epilogue - Revised

When I came to, the first thing I noticed was how soft everything was around me. Slowly as my head cleared, my awareness sharpened. The softness was a combination of a inflatable sleeping pad under my body and a pillow under my throbbing skull. I blinked and my vision became more acute. It was still dimly lit and I could make out someone sitting on a bench above me. I could hear a low-toned buzzing noise that I ascertained were the wheels of the APC on the road. Above that I heard James calling to his mother, “Mom, he waking up.”

James got up off the bench and knelt down beside me. He gently raised my head, causing me to gasp in pain but I forgot about it when I felt the metal rim of a cool canteen against my lips. I opened my mouth and cool water refreshed my parched tongue and throat as I swallowed. I wanted more but, the canteen was lifted away before I could. “Take this” James said, holding a large white pill in front of my eyes, “for th pain” and placed the pill against my lips until I opened them again. He lifted the canteen from the floor and gently poured a little more water in my mouth so I could swallow. Gingerly he lowered my head back to the pillow.
I could feel the APC slowing down and finally rolling to a stop. Movement behind me, then Maggie's face in my field of view. She looked haggard and tired, her hair a mess in spite of the pony tail which held back most of it behind her. She gave a small smile and touched my head softly. I realized then she was checking the tightness of the bandage she had put on me. Our eyes locked when she looked at me again. Hers were red rimmed but a light within said that she was happy.

“You've been out for about two hours now.” answering my unasked question. “The bullet grazed your skull, so there's no permanent damage.” Her voice steady and calm. I gathered my elbows underneath me and raised my head. Her strong hands on my shoulders gently held me down. “Relax for a bit, we're alright and in no,” a thoughtful pause, “immediate danger.”

I wanted to shake my head to clear my thoughts which were becoming muddled again but realized that wouldn't be such a great idea. There was a throbbing at my left temple that I wished would stop and the rest of my head felt like it was held lightly in a vise. I swallowed and realized that I was still thirsty. “Can I have a bit more water please?”

Maggie smiled and reached for the canteen. She looked at James who sat back on the bench. His face tired and his eyes had that lost look of a survivor. She gave me a few sips, holding my head the same way James did before setting it back down. She screwed the lid back on the canteen and set it down. I saw her hands move and could make out a couple of signs that I had learned during our stay at Wildfire, “lie, sleep, ok” with a few signs in between that I didn't know. Not that it mattered anyway at the moment. He had a look of protest at first then just nodded, and moved to the back of the APC.

Maggie and I turned our attention back to each other. This time I managed to get up on my elbows, before she could push me back down again and I reached behind me to bring the pillow closer to me so I'd have something soft to lean on. I swallowed and asked for more water. Maggie handed the canteen after opening it and then sat down on the floor beside me, watching me as I drank. Our eyes never left each other.

When I finished drinking, I set the canteen down and began, “So, what happened? The short version. I know that I got shot, Steinberg is dead and I'm guessing our friend the sniper is responsible for that. Beyond that...” I trailed off leaving it open for her to fill in the blanks.

She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them. There was a haunted quality about them that I didn't like but I kept my mouth shut. This woman was a combat veteran and had seen stuff I couldn't possibly imagine. Our little escape adventure definitely took a toll upon her. But I felt confident that she would bounce back in time. There was a toughness that I appreciated about her. Underlying that was the softness that cushioned the harshness of all the reality that assailed her senses.

“Well, like I said, the bullet grazed your skull, lucky you, that you were closing the door just as the sniper fired and the bullet hit the edge of the metal and that prevented you from being killed. James pulled you the rest of the way in as I took off. I had to run down a couple of fences and a group of zombies ...” she swallowed, “I didn't dare stop, even for the other survivors that somehow made it to the surface.” She shook her head roughly then resumed, “got back on the main road and pushed this thing as hard as I could. Just then the sniper called on the radio. I don't know how he knew the frequency, unless he snuck in here and set it one night. The guy was very good, getting in the base and back out without anyone seeing him. He was laughing and he thought he had killed you.”

She reached across me and lifted the canteen out of my hand and took a small sip. I noted a slight tremble in her hand but otherwise she was okay. “He was laughing and laughing at us, saying how he was going to hunt us down one by one. Just then the base blew up, I heard him scream before the radio went dead.

“The whole thing went up like a road-side bomb, a huge uplifting of dirt, the concussion nearly knocked us off the road, but I managed. James did the preliminary first aid on you. We drove for about an hour before I felt safe enough from whatever fall out there might be. I don't think that there'll be much considering the main reactor was 8 stories underground and the facility collapsed in on itself. So there'll be a big sink hole that probably won't be safe to hang around for a few years. Considering the location, and how few people there are, I don't think anyone is going to die of radiation poisoning anytime soon...” she trailed off.

“What is it?” I asked gently seeing that there was something disturbing her. She shrugged and looked down at the floor. “Just thinking about the others and wondering how many people managed to get out before it blew up, or are we the only survivors. There so few of us out there now.” She wiped her hands on her pants leg before continuing. “Anyway, I found a spot to pull off and took care of that” pointing to the bandage on my head. “I was so scared that we lost you, I don't know if I ... if I could've ...” her voice broke and she sounded choked up. Oh boy. I reached out and took her hand. “Hey,” I said softly. “It's going to take a helluva lot more than a knock on the head to put me down. I'm not ready to die just yet. Maybe when I'm old and grey, I'll think about it. But,” I stressed, squeezing her hand, “I do think I want to have you with me when the time comes.” I caught her eyes as she looked up at me. “I mean that, really.” I said with all the sincerity I could feel. I'd never thought I would feel this way towards someone and it felt good.

She stared at me for a long moment and bent down and kissed me lightly on the lips. Then sat up, gave a deep sigh. “Well, you rest now, we better keep moving for a while until I can find us a place to pull over for the night. We can sleep in here. Nothing can get at us if the doors are locked and the windows are shut tight.” She raised her hand above her head and stood up slowly to prevent herself from knocking her head on the roof. I watched her by carefully turning my head, as she got in the driver's seat and turned over the engine. She put it in gear and the vehicle moved slowly, the sound of the tires crushing gravel underneath made it's way to my ears until they met pavement.

Carefully I rolled over until I could get myself to a kneeling position. My head spun a little but cleared quickly. I reached out to find hand-holds, which were plenty on either side of me and raised myself up to move to the front. I was just beginning to swoon as I reached the backrest of the passenger seat and steadied myself. Maggie slapped the steering wheel in vexation with both hands, “Will you go back and lie your ass down, you shouldn't be up. You got a nasty concussion and you'll make yourself sick!”

I gingerly moved myself into the passenger seat. “Screw that” I muttered as I buckled myself in. “I wanna ride up with you.” She sighed and shook her head, “Idiot” she muttered just loud enough for me to hear. I saw she had a grin so I knew she didn't mean it.

I reached out and grabbed her right hand and pulled it to me. “So, where are we headed?” I asked. She was quiet for a long moment and I thought she wasn't going to answer at first, then I saw she swallowed hard, “W-where-ever my father told you to lead us.”

That brought a lump in my throat. Frank. A man I'll probably never know the likes of again. He trusted me with his family and after such a short time. I hope that he read me well enough and I hoped that he was right. I promised myself to make sure I wouldn't let him down. I found myself missing him.

“Dammit!” Maggie cursed and yanked her hand out of mine to grab the steering wheel as she swerved to avoid a lone zombie in our lane. It passed on my side and I could see from my window the snarl on it's face as it reached for the APC. Soon it was in the rear view mirror shambling after us and getting smaller by the second.

“Just walked right out into the road.” she muttered, shaking her head as she steered the truck back into our lane. With no other cars to worry about she could've kept us in the middle of the road but I guess old habits die hard. “We're going to have to start treating them like we did the wolves, bears, mountain lions, way back when the pioneers were moving out west into the wilderness trying to tame the land.” She seemed to be talking more to herself than to me. “America is going to have to start over, my father told me. That the sins of the leaders will be cleansed through the rebirth of it's people and the rebuilding of our country. Just as every other country will have to do in their own way, and at their own personal costs. He said that the living and the dying had only just begun.” I watched her as she quoted her father, and could see him in her profile a little. Frank always told me that Maggie took after her mother but I could see bits of him in her face if I looked at it long enough. A single tear coursed down her cheek as she drove on.

I sat back and thought about what Frank had told her. Thought about the information that he gave me. I could sense that he was entrusting me with something valuable. I could only guess that he originally wanted to lead us all to this place. I would have to find a working lap-top to access the USB flash-drive and then use a map to figure out the coordinates in the note-book that was still in my thigh pocket of my BDU's. But for now I just wanted to rest and I made myself as comfortable as my head would allow.

Ahead of us and to our left the sun was low on the horizon, giving us at least a few more hours of daylight. The pain pill James gave me began to give my head a nice buzz. I reached out and took Maggie's hand once more and gave it a squeeze. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.




End Volume 1.