“Bring it on, bitch! I like it rough!” Frank spit in Megan’s direction and laughed at her.
Things were getting out of control. Jeff gave Megan a sharp squeeze, and in an instant, the air went out of her lungs. She wheezed, and he shook her slightly. She gaped at him, confusion on her face. Jeff glared at her until she was totally focused on him. She was still trying to catch her breath as he continued to peer at her.
That was when Lydia chose to step in. She walked up and touched Megan’s shoulder, caressing it gently. As Megan tried to move away, Lydia’s grip tightened. Jeff tensed, not sure what was going to happen next.
Megan began to weep.
“It’s okay, it’s okay… ” Lydia shushed her like a baby. She kept repeating the words and Jeff let Megan go so she could move into Lydia’s caring embrace. After a few seconds, the older woman looked up, and Jeff mouthed a silent “thank you.” She nodded as she comforted Megan.
Jeff watched them move back, Megan wrapped in Lydia’s protective cocoon. Steadying his racing heart, he turned around.
When he did, he got a face full of Frank. Jeff jumped as the other man stared at him through bloodshot eyes. When he breathed on Jeff, the sour stench of alcohol hung in the air.
The fat man was smiling at him. Jeff spared a brief glance down and saw Megan’s revolver jammed into Frank’s dirty work jeans, suspended in place by his tremendous beer gut.
“You better get a rope around that bitch of yours, or someone else will do it for you.”
Jeff made an exaggerated effort to look Frank up and down as a dark grin crossed his face. The man looked strong, his solid arms ending in two callous-thickened hands. Frank clenched his fists, looking ready to take a swing.
“And I suppose you think you’re the just the man to do it, don’t you, Frank?”
Frank’s eyebrow rose in curiosity. It was clear he hadn’t expected Jeff to do much but cower in response to his snide comment. His smile began to evaporate, and the pent-up rage buried just below the surface snuck onto Frank’s face. He leaned in, his right fist rising as he did. Jeff stood waiting, his body tense and ready.
Michael’s hand landed with a loud slap on Frank’s shoulder and he pulled his henchman backward.
“Ease up, Frank.”
The smile instantly returned to Frank’s face, but he glared at Jeff as he moved out of Michael’s way.
“You’ll have to forgive Frank once again. As I’ve said before, he’s a little overzealous, but he’s a good man.” Michael turned to give his rotund crony an angry look.
Frank’s smile faltered, and his hand went to his throat, touching the scab left by Michael’s blade from the day before. He took another step back, and no longer looked interested in fighting with Jeff.
Before Michael turned back to Jeff, he took the opportunity to look at everyone else around the camp. Megan and Lydia had moved to the fire pit and had slumped to the ground, the older woman making sure Megan’s back was to the men. Ben had not moved from his spot on his chair, still appearing to be napping, while Cindy had come closer, her interest piqued. Teddy and Ray were watching the children, but Michael had the majority of their attention.
Jeff spared a glance at Jason. He had backed up some, and it was clear he was uncomfortable being the cause of the argument. The boy glared at the ground, sullen and bewildered at the attention he was getting.
Michael gave Jeff a weary look. “Jason wants to go, Jeff. I don’t see what the issue is.”
Jeff scratched his head in an exaggerated show of confusion. “Hmm. Well, let’s see. There are… ” He looked around at the camp. “One, two, three, four, five, six… yep, six men, plus two teenagers. That makes eight of us. So why on earth do we need a twelve year old tagging along on some sort of salvage run?”
“Well, with that many of us, it should be pretty safe for Jason to join in, don’t you think?” Michael asked. His voice was reasonable. “I mean it’s not like he hasn’t been out there before.” He chuckled. “I figure this is probably safer than some of the other stuff he’s done.”
“And he’d be even safer behind these walls.”
Michael’s expression didn’t change.
“Look, Michael. We’ve all taken plenty of risks getting here, and we’re going to have to take even more if we want to survive. But not dumb ones. Not senseless ones. That’s why we’re still alive when everyone else is dead. They made foolish choices and we didn’t.” Jeff moved a step closer, keeping his voice calm.
“So let’s not endanger a child for no better reason than that he wants to go on some stupid adventure. He’s safer in here, and you know it. Whatever we need to do out there… he doesn’t need to be a part of it.”
Michael’s face grew stony as he nodded in stiff acknowledgement of Jeff’s words. “So you don’t think he can’t take care of himself, huh?”
“I didn’t say that. The kid’s smart, and he can handle himself. But there’s no reason-”
“Yeah, yeah, there’s no reason to jeopardize him. I get it.” Michael bobbed his head, already looking bored with Jeff’s line of reasoning. “But what I don’t understand is how you think that you or I are any more capable than he is.”
“What?”
“Well, he did save your life, didn’t he?”
Jeff stared at Michael, dumbstruck. After a moment, a small bead of sweat formed on his forehead. He looked over at Jason. The boy still had his arms crossed with his head down, but now there was a trace of embarrassment on his face. Jeff closed his eyes and shook his head as he tried to control the anger he was feeling about Jason spilling his guts to Michael.
“Didn’t he shoot a man who had a rifle pointed at your head, Jeff? The very same rifle we found in your van?”
Michael paused as Jeff open his eyes and focused on him. There was a look of sickly sweet concern on Michael’s face, but Jeff could see the satisfaction hidden beneath it.
Before he could respond, Michael moved toward George.
“And didn’t he take care of one of the infected for you?” George stiffened when Michael placed a hand on his shoulder. “Didn’t he take a stick… ” He looked at Jason, “It was a stick, wasn’t it?” Michael turned back to George before the boy could respond. “He took a stick and beat one of those things to death with it.” He was whispering now, carefully enunciating each word. “He beat it to death while you watched, right?”
Michael lingered in front of George for a few more moments. Jeff could see that his friend was reliving what had happened back when he had escaped from the high school gymnasium with Jason. Before, there had been anger or perhaps embarrassment written on George’s face. Now it looked more like regret.
Satisfied, Michael slid away from George and faced Jeff.
“So tell me, gentlemen. Please enlighten me. Why on earth should I refuse the boy a chance to go back out there with us when he can clearly take care of himself?” He stared at Jeff. “Maybe even better than the two of you can.”
Frank snickered behind them, mumbling, “You got that right.” He moved toward Jason and grabbed the kid by the shoulder. He squeezed it, shaking him in an excessive show of camaraderie. Jeff looked on, the contempt in his eyes for the fat man hard to hide.
Gritting his teeth, Jeff forced his eyes away from Frank. He knew what he had to do. He glared at Michael, took a deep breath, and let it out in a slow hiss.
“Be that as it may, he’s still a boy. He’s not going. I won’t allow it.”
For a moment, Michael looked shocked. As he digested Jeff’s comment, his expression morphed into something closer to anger. Any trace of the smug smile he had before was gone.
“So you think you have that kind of authority?”
The words were made of gravel, rough and raspy. Michael was holding his rage in check, but looked anxious to unleash it. Jeff swallowed hard, stiffened his resolve and replied.
“I do. When it comes to my people, I sure as hell do. Not you or anyone else in this camp other than me, George, and Megan gets to decide what happens to that kid. He was our responsibility when we got here, and he will be when we leave.”