Jeff paused as he gritted his teeth and forced a smile onto his face. “I guess I just don’t see it as my place to tell a man he can’t try to save his family.” He glared at Michael. “Even if I do think it’s a suicide mission.”
“Well, that’s where you and I differ, Jeff.” Michael scooped up his drink and downed it. Standing, he began pacing around the RV.
“I haven’t… no, strike that, we haven’t come this far without stepping on a few toes. Some people don’t realize what it’s going to take to stay alive out here. I do. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let another fool run off and get himself killed because he wants to be some kind of hero or has some sort of delusions about his wife, kids or even his best bud from college still being alive somewhere out there.”
Michael turned and slammed his hands down on the table. “I won’t do it, Jeff! Not again.”
Jeff inched back in his chair as Michael’s jaw twitched and his eyes burned with fury. His knuckles grew white as he gripped the edge of the table.
Suddenly, a change came over Michael’s face and his eyes widened in desperation. Jeff watched the transition in silence.
“You don’t understand. We need you. All of you. There aren’t enough of us to screw around anymore. We have to rebuild, man. This… ” He waved his hand furiously all around him. “This camp, fortress, or whatever the hell you want to call it, isn’t going to last. We might have a month, maybe two before things go south.”
He moved back to his chair and slid into it, his eyes never leaving Jeff’s. “But before that happens, we need to find more people and, more importantly, we need to survive.”
Michael slumped in his chair. Jeff tried to absorb what he had said, but was puzzled by the other man’s wild swings of emotion. He ran his fingers through his thick hair, scratching his scalp in frustration.
“So let me get this straight. You’re telling me that George can’t leave… and none of us can? Does that about sum things up?”
Michael tilted his head, an impassive look on his face. “If that’s how you want to look at it, then yes. But it’s not as if you are our prisoners. We’re welcoming you as members of our team.”
“Team Michael, huh?”
Michael ignored the sarcasm. “Call it what you will, Jeff, but this world is a pretty screwed-up place, and I don’t think you’d like trying to make it out there on your own for very long. In here, you have a fighting chance.”
He extended his hand across the table. Jeff just stared at it.
“So what do you say?”
Jeff continued staring down at Michael’s open hand. He pressed his tongue against the top of his mouth to avoid speaking, because he was fearful of what he might say. Finally, he reached over and shook it.
“Good man, Jeff.” Michael’s face lit up while Jeff’s remained sullen. Michael stood as they shook and tugged on the other man’s arm until he stood as well. He patted Jeff on the shoulder and led him toward the door.
“I’m really glad we’ve had this talk. I think it cleared the air between us.”
The expression on his face made Michael’s meaning clear. There would be no compromise on the subject of leaving. They were here to stay… at least for as long as Michael felt he needed them.
At the door, Jeff turned to go, but Michael’s grip tightened on his shoulder. Jeff looked back at him.
“Why don’t you guys just get a good night’s rest? We can chat more in the morning.” He paused and seemed to remember something. “Oh, and one more thing. We’re going on a salvage run tomorrow. We’re going to hit the town for some supplies. You up for that?”
Jeff smiled wearily at the man who had imprisoned him and his friends. “Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 5
The next hour was gloomy for Jeff as he did his best to explain to Megan and George how the conversation had gone with Michael. George was dejected, as Jeff had expected, but he sat quietly as Jeff spoke.
Megan, on the other hand, had to be prevented from storming from their RV and scratching out Michael’s eyes. Her rage was not only for George, but for the trip the men planned to take the next day. After witnessing how things were in Milfield and Gallatin, she had no doubt that it would be no better in Manchester.
After Megan calmed down, Jeff worked to convince her and George that their best course of action for the moment was to try to get to know some of the camp dwellers better. It took some effort, but Megan agreed to play nice for the time being, though George didn’t seem to care one way or another. They stepped back out into the courtyard and mingled as best they could.
Jeff spent some time trying to befriend the two teenage boys. Ray and Teddy seemed like fairly nice kids once unarmed and safely behind the walls of the RVs. He tried to strike up a conversation with Ben, who seemed civil enough, but the big man wasn’t interested. Ray was willing to chat, and Jeff learned a little bit about what had led him and the others to this place.
They had moved into the area a couple weeks before. They spent some time clearing out the “slugs” as Ray had dubbed the infected, from the immediate area and brought in the RVs, which they snatched after fleeing a factory they had claimed as their first hideout. Ray alluded to several deaths along the way, but did not go into detail. He just seemed happy to speak to an adult who didn’t spend most of his time insulting the kid. Jeff got the distinct impression that Ray was a whipping boy for Frank and Marcus from the way he shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he spoke about them.
Teddy joined in and also seemed willing to talk about the others. Frank had apparently been with Michael since near the beginning, and together they had accumulated different folks as they moved farther out from the city. But it wasn’t until Ben joined them that they seemed to have a plan. He was the one who had found the place for the RVs and spent much of his time beyond their walls, foraging and scouting. Frank was Michael’s second in command, but both boys agreed Ben was the most valuable person in their little community. As they spoke, Jeff kept glancing over at the colossal man, who was once again quietly whittling in front of his RV.
He saw Marcus walking along the rooftop of one of the RVs and asked the boys what he was doing. He was on patrol, they told him, scanning the surrounding area for any slugs that might fumble through the woods and discover the camp. That explained the pitchforks, shovels, and rakes up on the roofs. Though Marcus carried a shotgun, firing a weapon and alerting the stiffs in town to their presence was strictly forbidden. In fact, loud noises in general were frowned upon. Something a bit quieter was used to silence the ghouls when they wandered into the clearing. Jeff understood now why everyone was so quiet when they had clapped for Michael’s speech.
Teddy also told him something else about the camp. After dark, almost every night, a few of the infected would somehow find their way through the woods. No one could explain it. The camp went deathly silent after dark. The shades were pulled, and no lights were allowed. The moans of the infected were enough of an alarm for those on patrol to zero in and take them out before they alerted other ghouls to the camp’s location.
“You won’t have to do a shift up top tonight,” Ray told Jeff. “But starting tomorrow, I’m sure you and George will be up on the wall like the rest of us.”
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Megan spent time with Lydia and the children. The older woman was the mother hen, caring for the kids as well as everyone else. Jason tried to also chat with Teddy and Ray, but kept getting pulled into various games by Joey and Nathan.
George stayed by himself for the most part. He only emerged from the RV to collect the modest dinner of hot dogs and beans that Lydia prepared in the early evening. Jeff watched his friend sullenly eat and decided not to try to talk to him any further. He knew Michael’s decision had to be gnawing at the man.