“They’d stripped him down to just his pants,” Blake said, “but other than that, he didn’t seem hurt. There was this fenced-in enclosure like the ones you see on prison yards where they put guys doing time in solitary. The guards put him in there with a few dozen other people. Looked like some kind of quarantine.”

“The enclosure was close to the edge of camp,” Dad resumed. “They’d made a restaurant across the street into a command center. We figured if we caused a disturbance there, we might be able to sneak in and get Tyrel out.”

“Now, you gotta remember,” Blake cut in. “This whole time, the fightin’ don’t stop. Helicopters flying back and forth shootin’ anything that moves, artillery blowing shit up, machine gun nests goin’ crazy—I’m tellin’ you, man, I ain’t never seen anything like it. And the whole time, you can hear the infected getting closer and closer. Not quickly, mind you, but slow, like the tide coming in. And those soldiers knew it, too. I could see it in their faces, the way they moved, the way they talked to each other. They were nervous. Scared. Like they knew they couldn’t hold out much longer. Saw a bunch of ‘em sneak off in the middle of the night.”

“That’s what tore it for us,” Mike spoke up, “the deserters. We weren’t about to take a chance on that place being overrun with Tyrel still in there.”

Dad nodded. “So once we had a visual on Tyrel, we moved.”

“First thing we did,” Blake said, “we caught up with a few of those deserters. Found a couple ‘bout the same size as Joe and me and took their uniforms. As you can imagine, they weren’t too happy about that. Asked us what they was supposed to do to survive. I told ‘em there’s plenty of houses to scavenge on the way to Colorado, at least one of ‘em was bound to have some clothes. Probably weapons too. In the meantime, we needed the passwords to get into the camp. We left ol’ Mike behind with ‘em as an insurance policy in case they gave us bad intel.”

“Turned out to be unnecessary,” Dad said. “The units there were ad-hoc. Mix of Marines, National Guard, Air Force, even some law enforcement types. Nobody seemed to know anybody. All we had to do was wait until the end of watch and slip in with the guys coming off duty. Walked in like we owned the place.”

“Next part was easy,” said Blake. “Joe climbed on top of a truck and found an empty room in the command center while I rounded up some materials and made a napalm Molotov. Waited until I was sure I couldn’t be seen, then lobbed it through a window. Made a hell of a mess.”

“So the alarm goes up,” Dad cut in, “this fire truck comes rolling over, everybody’s looking at the command center trying to figure out what happened. Blake and I work our way over to the enclosure and catch Tyrel’s attention, sneak him a pair of wire-cutters. He tells us to find a vehicle and come around to the west side. So we go over to a motor pool and try to talk our way into a Humvee, but the supply sergeant isn’t having it. I’ll give you one guess how we handled that situation.”

Blake chuckled. “After we dragged him behind a stack of fuel drums, we drove back to the enclosure. Tyrel, he’s got these dudes standing around him in a circle all casual like while he cuts a hole in the fence. Soon as the hole’s big enough, he jumps in the Humvee and we book it for the gate at Highway 281. The rest of the prisoners run for cover. When we start getting close to the gate, one of the guards sees us coming. Steps in front of us, starts yelling at us to stop. We don’t, and this guy manning a fifty-cal starts swinging it our direction. I yell back to Tyrel, and he gets on the sixty and sends a few warning shots their way, just enough to make ‘em keep their heads down. We bust through the gate, but by then some dudes on a guard tower start shooting at us. Tyrel returns fire, but takes one in the leg doing it.”

“I didn’t know why at the time,” Dad said, “But they didn’t bother chasing us. It wasn’t until we got back to our vehicles I figured it out.” He finished his spaghetti and tossed the empty packet aside.

“Turns out, just as we were leaving, the infected breached the south perimeter.”

*****

I told them what happened to Bob and Maureen. Dad listened, nodding sadly at the end. “I’m sorry you had to see that, son.”

“I think I should go check on Phil,” I said.

He shook his head. “Too many infected between here and there. I can’t let you risk it.”

“I’ll take Dale’s boat. All I need is one person to help with the lines.”

“I’ll go,” Sophia said, a little too quickly.

Dad glanced at her, then back at me. “Fine. Take your rifle. Clear the yard before you make landfall. If it looks too dicey, abort. I know it’s a terrible thing to say, but we barely know Phil. He’s not worth risking your life over.”

I smiled at my father. “It’s not a terrible thing to say, Dad.”

He held my gaze, eyes steady. The two of us had always been on the same page for the most part, but I think it made him feel better to reaffirm it. “Don’t take too long,” he said. “I want us out of here in an hour. We should be ready to roll out by the time you get back.”

“Don’t worry,” I replied. “I want to leave this place as much as you do.”

“As for you,” Mike said, stepping closer to Sophia. “You stay on the boat. I don’t want you getting anywhere near those infected. You hear?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Dad.”

Mike kissed her on the cheek and gave me a hard stare. “Be careful. Look after my little girl like your life depends on it.”

I watched Sophia walk toward me, a flutter in my chest and a tightening in my stomach. She stopped close enough to smell the sweat on her skin, her fingers warm and dry as she slipped them into mine.

“Count on it,” I said.

No one seemed surprised.

TWENTY-SIX

“If my theory is correct,” I said, “the last thing I want to do is start shooting.”

Sophia eyed the crowbar in my hands as she eased off the throttle and let the boat drift closer to shore. The water was deeper here, allowing us to pull in closer than at the cabin.

“I think you’re fucking crazy,” she said. “No way in hell am I letting you off this boat without a rifle.”

I shook my head. “It’ll just slow me down. Besides, I have my pistol.”

I went to the fantail and climbed down into the dinghy. After untying it, I gave Sophia a mock salute and said, “Be back in a few minutes.”

“Hey,” she said, crooking a finger at me. “Come here.”

I rowed until the dinghy’s bow was next to the fantail and stood up, putting us at eye level. When I was close enough, she grabbed me by the front of my shirt, pulled me in, and pressed her lips hard against mine. One of her hands slipped around the back of my neck, making me break out in goosebumps. After the better part of a minute, she let me come up for air. “You be careful, you hear me? I’ve had you less than a day. I don’t want to lose you just yet.”

“I’m always careful, Sophia. And for the record, you could have had me any time you wanted.” I grabbed her around the waist and kissed her again, taking my time about it. When I finally let her go, her breath was coming quickly and I could feel her heart pounding against my chest.

“For the record,” she said, “I’m sorry I waited.”

I pointed at the rifle leaning against the control panel. “Keep that handy. If trouble shows up, don’t hesitate to get the hell out of here.”

“I’m not leaving without you.”

“I’m serious. I can always get back to the cabin in the dinghy. Worst case scenario, I’ll swim.”

“You can’t swim that far Caleb.”

“Like hell I can’t. I’ve swam farther in rougher waters.” It was true. Tyrel insisted I learn to swim in the open ocean, namely the Gulf of Mexico. The farthest I had ever gone in one sitting was four miles.

“I told you I’m not leaving without you,” Sophia said. “And I meant it.”