Chapter 8

"Two-Three, stand by for Six." The responding voice was young and his voice broke. Eckert had switched over to speaker so she could listen, but he had turned it way down. They held their heads close together so they wouldn't miss anything. The radio had been answered promptly, they had been waiting for Eckert to call in.

A female voice came over the radio "Two-Three this is Six. Sitrep. Over."

Eckert was ready. "Secure, Half day food, two days water. Forty-Seven, I say again Four Seven rounds ammunition. One civilian, Female, age twenty-two, Medical student, one year experience as paramedic. Armed with pistol, nine-millimeter Thirty-two, Three Two, rounds ammunition. Civilian has mobility problem. Her hands are handcuffed in front of her, also no shoes. Over."

She did have socks though, After he'd recovered from her attack he had rummaged up a spare set of green wool socks. She smiled at him, and he grinned back.

"Two-Three, Try shooting the chain. Over."

"Negative, we tried that, chain still intact and civilian sustained minor injury."

"Roger, try and find some tools. We can take them off here if you can't manage it. What is your exact location? Over."

Eckert read the address off some stationary, then described the building and gave directions from the nearest main intersection. "When can we expect pickup?"

There was an uncomfortable pause. "Eckert, we have another two hundred civilians to recover today, they are out of food, and ran out of water yesterday. Their location is nowhere near yours." The implication was obvious. They'd just been triaged. "Check in at twelve-hundred and-eighteen hundred hours. Confirm, Over."

"Six, this is Two-Three, Wilco."

"We'll try and extract you tomorrow, but two hundred kids ... Eckert, remember you owe me a new truck. Six out."

He turned off the radio.

"A new truck?" Marla asked, "What's that about?"

"The first time we met, I shot up her truck. She told me that when this is over I owe her a new one. What she means is that we'll be picked up."

"You trust her?"

He nodded, and put his arms around Marla. "I went with her to look for survivors, because we lost contact with the CP. She was just as cool as could be, but the thing is I know she was just as scared as I was. She just didn't let it show. She risked her life to save some kid she didn't even know. Rappelled down to get him and if she'd slipped there were thousands of them waiting for her. She'll come for us."

She felt safe in his arms. "So ... what should we do while we wait?" She looked up at him expectantly. He seemed about to reply when her stomach rumbled.

"I think we better eat, and then we'll see." He pulled out two MREs read the labels and put one back in his pack. "Last heater, this is the nastiest cold." When he opened it, the smell of eggs was wonderful. Like the night before, he held it open so she could eat, but this time she stopped after half. He didn't refuse, but opened a tiny bottle of Tabasco, dumped it in the packet and ate the rest. They split some kind of cherry cake, and a hard chewy brownie. He reluctantly packed the rest away. "We better save it, just in case."

He looked out the window. "There's a shoe store across the street. Only a couple of walkers out there." He slitted his eyes, mouth set. "No, no telling what's on this side. They could be under the awning, and they'd see us on top of the truck. What else? Jewelry, hair salon, bank. Nothing useful. You need clothes, shoes at least. I'll check out this building, see what I can find. Make sure it's clear, maybe find some tools. I know you're anxious to get those off."

"I don't know," Marla said. "I'm getting used to them, I feel kind of safe with them on, like everything will turn out all right. Especially now that you're here." She stood and dropping the quilted blanket to the floor. "But just in case, make love to me again. It might be our last chance."

Eckert looked at her steadily. "This morning, why did you do it?"

She dropped to her knees and unbuttoned his fly. "Because I wanted you inside me, I couldn't wait any longer. Yesterday I didn't say so because I was too embarrassed." She pulled it out, and took him in her mouth. He didn't even try to pull away. A minute later he pushed her down to the floor. The tiles were hard underneath her. It hurt a little, but that felt good too. Even better than the first time.

After, she lay in his arms. "Its the end of the world." Marla whispered, "At least I'll die happy."

Eckert pushed her away so he could see her face. His hands gripped her arms tight, tight enough his fingers left marks. His pupils were dark pools. "You're not going to die. You're safe now, but you have to be smart and stay that way." He kissed her roughly, biting her lip. She shuddered with the thrill of it. "You feel that? Alive. Help me keep you that way."

She kissed him back and somehow wound up on top of him again. "Promise you'll keep me alive? That you won't leave me alone again?"

"Marla, I promise. You're going to live a long time. We'll get through this. I'll clear the building, you wait here and..." He broke off at her tears. "What?"

She clung to him, "You promised, you promised not to leave me alone."

He pulled her close and kissed her gently. "Alright, you can come, but you have to do exactly what I say, no questions until we finish. I'll explain if I can, but we can't argue, not if we're going to make it." He seemed to be waiting.

"I'll do anything you say, anything, just don't leave me alone again."

He took a long knife from his belt and slashed the faux-leather fabric from the back of the chair. He folded it, cut it in two and poked holes at intervals. A pocket of his pack produced a green cord, he cut off two lengths and fused the ends with an old fashioned lighter. What he wound up with was a cross between sandals and moccasins. She could move in them and they offered a little protection for her feet.

When she was ready, he put everything in his pack, and refilled his canteens from the water cooler. "This too," He pulled the blanket off her. "you can't hold it and fight." He folded it away, then put his pack on. "Ready to do this?"

While she'd checked her pistol, he'd put his helmet on and slung his rifle across his body where it wold be ready if he needed it fast. He carried an odd looking hammer ready in his hand. "Whats that for?"

"Good, this is the time for questions." He swung the hammer experimentally. "They're drawn to noise, shooting really gets their attention. This is quieter. If I miss, go ahead and shoot them, right in the head. You follow right behind me, no further than arms length away. I'll go slow. If I run, you follow. Don't worry about anything else, just keep up. If you see or hear something, touch me, then point. If there isn't time for that, go ahead and shoot. Any questions so far?"

"Why did you pack everything?"

"In case we need to run" He waited a moment then when she didn't ask anything else, continued. "There will probably be several rooms like this one, If they are locked we'll leave them for now, otherwise, you stay in the doorway while I check it out. You'll have to watch the hall and keep an eye on the room. When we finish upstairs, we'll check the first floor, and secure the doors. Right now, I'm going to move the desk. Cover me."

Marla moved to the side while he slid the heavy desk. She kept the pistol leveled at the door in a two handed grip. Eckert swung it open, hammer ready. It was a waiting room, with metal and plastic chairs, pressed wood end tables, and fake plants. It was small and obviously empty. Still, she did what he'd told her, watching the room from the doorway until her motioned her to follow. "Perfect" he said in a low voice.

The hall was dark and empty A small window at one end gave the only light. He stood very still and listened for a long time, carefully looking both ways. The door across from theirs was locked. From the sign it was an income tax accountant's office. Marla followed him down the hall, heart pounding. The corridor grew darker the farther away from the light they went. Stairs led down into total darkness. Eckert took a flashlight from his belt, and shone a red light down. They waited and listened, but nothing happened.