The Z Contingency

Chapter 56

As the last of the vehicles pulled into the compound of the Z Fighters, Simon reached over to Tyler and shook his shoulder. “Wake up,” he barked. We’re here.”

The convoy, with its latest addition of an old beat up Chevy pickup, had been on the road for nearly twelve hours. To everyone’s relief, there had been no other encounters, so the trip had been uneventful. All the same, everyone was tense and exhausted by the time they arrived.

A still-groggy Tyler stumbled out of the Explorer, and stood looking around. The vehicles were all parked in a square yard surrounded by tall, thick, cement walls, with a turret at each corner.

The compound was an old prison that the state had sold to a private developer many years ago. A downturn in the economy, coupled with financing that did not materialize led to the project being abandoned. Eventually, the site was sold again, and the Z Fighters were able to purchase it for a small fraction of the original price paid to the state.

After a short round of introductions between the leaders, Simon and Bubba walked back to the group of people standing in the middle of the old prison yard.

“They say we can overnight anywhere we want in the west wing,” said Bubba, pointing off to his right, “or we can camp in the yard, if we prefer. They said that since it’s already late, we can wait until morning to brief them on what’s been happening, although one of their guys mentioned reports of infected people in Afghanistan, Korea, and Russia. It sounds like it’s not just the U.S. There are outbreaks all over the world.” Bubba sounded concerned.

“Is that so?” Simon managed a casual response and didn’t elaborate further. He gave no hint of his involvement in the outbreaks. “Let’s get the group settled-in for the night.” Bubba nodded and moved on to the gang, suspecting nothing.

The group unloaded their gear and decided it might be best to stay indoors in case it rained again, so they made their way to the west wing. It was the old maximum security cell block, but the doors had all long since been removed. Each cell contained a bunk-bed, so there was more than enough space for everyone. They soon all found spots to settle in for the night.

Tyler found an empty cell and set his things on the floor. He turned to look at Natalie, Gary and Amanda who were walking down the hall. “You coming Natalie?” Tyler called. Natalie paused, not particularly thrilled at the idea of sharing a cell with Tyler, then looked at Gary and Amanda.

Amanda clutched Natalie’s leg and whispered, “Please don’t go. I don’t want to be by myself.” Natalie breathed a silent sigh of relief and smiled down at Amanda who had provided her with the perfect opportunity.

“Look Tyler, Amanda’s been through a lot and I don’t think she should be left alone. I think it’s best if I share a bunk with her.”

Tyler glanced at Amanda who was glued to Natalie’s leg, “Suit yourself,” he shrugged, then turned back towards his cell.

Natalie turned to Amanda, “Let’s go find a place to call home for the night. We can pretend we’re robbers who’ve been thrown in jail,” Natalie teased Amanda in the hopes of raising her spirits.

“Will you stay with us too?” Amanda turned to Gary. “I can share a bed with Natalie, and you can stay in the other bed,” she suggested shyly.

“Oh, well, sure I guess. If that’s what you want.” Gary turned to look at Natalie, relieved that she appeared not to mind the suggestion. They found an unoccupied cell and settled in for the night. Both Gary and Natalie were pleased to see that it didn’t take long for Amanda to fall asleep. “She must be exhausted,” Natalie commented. “I’m running on fumes myself,” Natalie yawned.

“I’ve been thinking,” said Gary quietly so as not to wake Amanda, “Who would be able to steal the samples from the lab? How would they get past all of the security? And the freezer, it has an electronic lock. It just doesn’t make any sense.” Gary shook his head in puzzlement.

“It does seem odd. I wonder if Bob is okay,” Natalie suddenly wondered what her other colleagues might be doing now. If they were even alive. Shaking that thought, “Maybe somebody screwed up in security, and allowed a breach by furloughing too many people. I don’t know,” Natalie trailed off.

“Maybe,” Gary acknowledged. They turned their conversation to possibilities for a cure, both comforted by the sound of each other’s voice. Both thankful they could focus their thoughts on something with a purpose.