inspecting what was left of the body with the flashlight.
“Soldier. Probably from Charlotte,” Manuel said. “No way to tell how long he has been here, but can’t be longer than a month, since we were here about thirty-four days ago.” He pointed at the corpse’s hand, still holding a handgun. “Looks like he had been bitten and knew what was coming, so he took his own life.” Jude let out a string of obscenities that in other circumstances would have made me raise an eyebrow, but in this instance, I whole heartedly agreed.
“So, the question is, why was he here after all this time, and most importantly, why was he alone?” Jude wondered, out loud. Manuel shrugged.
“Maybe he wasn’t alone. Maybe he had other men with him, but they left him once he became infected?” I offered up. Manuel snorted. Jude shook his head, his lips in a grim line.
“No, if he had men, they wouldn’t have left him even if he was infected. No man left behind. They would have taken care of the situation for him, not left him here to do it himself and then rot in this office. No way.” Jude stated it as fact.
“Okay, so he came alone. Why would he risk coming all this way alone to see if you guys would be here?” I asked to no one in particular.
“He needed help,” Manuel said.
“Something was wrong,” Jude agreed. I shivered. That couldn’t be good. I glanced back over at the body and cringed at the carnage. Blood and brain matter had been blown all over the desk area and wall behind the soldier when he had blown his brains out to avoid becoming one of the undead. I frowned and stepped closer to the body against my own will.
“Flash that light over there.” I pointed to the desk behind the body. “There. What’s that?” I asked breathlessly. Manuel reached over and grabbed a piece of paper that had been pinned to the corkboard and splattered with gore. He handed it to Jude. He held the paper out and used the flashlight to try and make out what it said through the dark splatters.
Jude read the words out loud. I sucked in a breath and stepped back out of the room, the heat was stifling and the odor was overpowering. What the hell did Germain mean? Was it the soldier’s name? Someone’s name at the base? The rest I understood well enough. The Charlotte base had been taken over. But by who? It specifically said under siege , not over run . Not good at all. Jude and Manuel came out of the office just as Ghost and Big Ben joined us in the hallway. Jude related everything to the two soldiers.
“So, what’s the plan now?” I asked. The men all looked at Jude. His fist tightened around the letter he still gripped in his hand and his eyes hardened when he spoke.
“You are all going to go scout for supplies locally and then head back to base. I’m going to Charlotte.” I wasn’t the only person who had a problem with that order.
“No way,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You’re crazy, bro. Ain’t no way I’m letting you go and get yourself killed,” Manuel said as he stepped closer to Jude.
“You’ll all do what I say,” Jude barked out gruffly.
“Like hell I will,” Manuel ground out, his eyes daring Jude to try and make him. “We’ve been through too much for you to act all macho, pulling rank, and sending me home like a little bitch,” he spat. Jude grabbed Manuel by his shirt and slammed him up against the wall so quickly I let out a yelp.
“Jude, don’t,” Ghost said, his hand gripping Jude’s should tightly, to keep him from putting more pressure on Manuel’s throat. Jude loosened his grip just enough to let Manuel breath, but his face was still inches from Manuel’s.
“I will not guide you all into an over run city now that I know our contacts there have been overtaken—probably by some sort of militia. I don’t know what we’d find and I won’t be responsible for leading you all to your deaths … or worse—to your un-deaths.” The muscle in his neck thumped
“Soldier. Probably from Charlotte,” Manuel said. “No way to tell how long he has been here, but can’t be longer than a month, since we were here about thirty-four days ago.” He pointed at the corpse’s hand, still holding a handgun. “Looks like he had been bitten and knew what was coming, so he took his own life.” Jude let out a string of obscenities that in other circumstances would have made me raise an eyebrow, but in this instance, I whole heartedly agreed.
“So, the question is, why was he here after all this time, and most importantly, why was he alone?” Jude wondered, out loud. Manuel shrugged.
“Maybe he wasn’t alone. Maybe he had other men with him, but they left him once he became infected?” I offered up. Manuel snorted. Jude shook his head, his lips in a grim line.
“No, if he had men, they wouldn’t have left him even if he was infected. No man left behind. They would have taken care of the situation for him, not left him here to do it himself and then rot in this office. No way.” Jude stated it as fact.
“Okay, so he came alone. Why would he risk coming all this way alone to see if you guys would be here?” I asked to no one in particular.
“He needed help,” Manuel said.
“Something was wrong,” Jude agreed. I shivered. That couldn’t be good. I glanced back over at the body and cringed at the carnage. Blood and brain matter had been blown all over the desk area and wall behind the soldier when he had blown his brains out to avoid becoming one of the undead. I frowned and stepped closer to the body against my own will.
“Flash that light over there.” I pointed to the desk behind the body. “There. What’s that?” I asked breathlessly. Manuel reached over and grabbed a piece of paper that had been pinned to the corkboard and splattered with gore. He handed it to Jude. He held the paper out and used the flashlight to try and make out what it said through the dark splatters.
Jude read the words out loud. I sucked in a breath and stepped back out of the room, the heat was stifling and the odor was overpowering. What the hell did Germain mean? Was it the soldier’s name? Someone’s name at the base? The rest I understood well enough. The Charlotte base had been taken over. But by who? It specifically said under siege , not over run . Not good at all. Jude and Manuel came out of the office just as Ghost and Big Ben joined us in the hallway. Jude related everything to the two soldiers.
“So, what’s the plan now?” I asked. The men all looked at Jude. His fist tightened around the letter he still gripped in his hand and his eyes hardened when he spoke.
“You are all going to go scout for supplies locally and then head back to base. I’m going to Charlotte.” I wasn’t the only person who had a problem with that order.
“No way,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You’re crazy, bro. Ain’t no way I’m letting you go and get yourself killed,” Manuel said as he stepped closer to Jude.
“You’ll all do what I say,” Jude barked out gruffly.
“Like hell I will,” Manuel ground out, his eyes daring Jude to try and make him. “We’ve been through too much for you to act all macho, pulling rank, and sending me home like a little bitch,” he spat. Jude grabbed Manuel by his shirt and slammed him up against the wall so quickly I let out a yelp.
“Jude, don’t,” Ghost said, his hand gripping Jude’s should tightly, to keep him from putting more pressure on Manuel’s throat. Jude loosened his grip just enough to let Manuel breath, but his face was still inches from Manuel’s.
“I will not guide you all into an over run city now that I know our contacts there have been overtaken—probably by some sort of militia. I don’t know what we’d find and I won’t be responsible for leading you all to your deaths … or worse—to your un-deaths.” The muscle in his neck thumped
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