All In A Day's Work

Chapter 3

The sound echoes from a grove of pine trees sixty yards away. Cliff and I go on full alert, listening to the next set of sounds. The crunch of pine needles under a rustling boot. Raspy breathing from a creature long past its expiration date. The mumbling groans of a Zee as it meanders through the field in search of human flesh. We've learned to decipher the difference between sounds created by a humanoid creature and that of an animal. Zees are slow and clumsy. Humans are too cautious and walk carefully. Animals scurry about and their little paws pitter-patter on the ground in a hurry.

This sound belongs to a Zee. Slow and obnoxious. Just clumsy enough to bump into a tree and rustle in the tall grass without having a direction in mind.

"See anything yet?" Cliff asks, scanning the area. He has yet to pull out the rifle to use the scope for a closer examination of the field.

My vision is better than his. Not to brag, but I've had perfect eyesight since the day I was born. Crystal clear vision is key to survival. Along with perfect hearing. One needs to hear when beasties sneak up on them in the middle of the night or day. One needs to see for miles to prepare for what's coming. My life in the Dead Zone has trained my senses to behave in ways that most others cannot. The skills run in my family. It's because of those skills that I've been able to obtain this position in the tower. Headquarters appreciates my talent and promotions come easy with that.

I stand motionless in the tower and stare at the pine trees. Cliff makes no sound as he waits for a response. I see the slight brown hint to the needles changing colors for the approaching autumn. The tall blades of grass surrounding the trees that wisp back and forth in the breeze. A boulder rests on the earth not far from those trees. At the top of that large rock, you can see a blue lake further out. I've been there. The water is clear and cool on a hot summer day. The fish make a good dinner as well.

Back to the trees.

I see nothing among them. Whatever it is that snapped the twig is either gone or hiding. I tuck the revolver into the holster on my belt and opt for the rifle instead. The high-powered scope grants me a close up view of the trees. I pan it slowly from left to right, taking my time to dissect the area. There is nothing by the boulder. Nothing to the north of the trees. Nothing hiding inside of them, but there is something to the south. A thing that does not belong.

"There you are." I breathe.

A flicker of red fabric moves in the wind. It's a torn shirt attached to what used to be a woman. Her blonde hair is stringy and stiff and matted with dirt and small sticks. I'm sure she had bright blue eyes and pearly white teeth back in her prime. Since then, her eyes have turned grey and what's left of her teeth are jagged and rotten as she gnashes them at some unseen force behind her.

I give her a life just like I did with the guy this morning and nearly every other Zee before I kill them. Some people say it's heartless to humanize them. Heartless because we're going to kill them as soon as our minds get attached to the life we create for them. Yes, it is a form of humanizing the Zees, but it passes the time to give them a story. A fun little game I used to play with my older brother. He stopped, but I kept the tradition going.

This woman was a secretary in the front office of a small company. Her beautiful face was the first thing clients saw when they walked through the door. She'd greet them with too big a smile and perk up her chest to gain more attention from older gentlemen. She was married but often cheated for the thrill of it. The adrenaline made the sex even better so she kept it going. She eventually got caught and promised to work it out, but failed miserably when the next man showed her an ounce of attention. Her husband turned Zee first and probably bit her out of spite for years of emotional abuse. It was the ultimate revenge for all of her cheating and the pain she was sure to have caused him. Soon, I'll put a bullet in her skull and she won't be able to hurt anyone ever again.

A deep breath in. I find her shriveled forehead in the scope. Her angry eyes are focused on whatever is hiding behind her. She struggles against an unseen object and can't turn around to get at what she wants. I don't take a second to look as I pull the trigger. I count three seconds before the bullet strikes her head and she flails backwards to die forever in the grass. Only her body doesn't fall. It's snagged on a low-hanging branch that had caught on her shirt. That's what she was clawing and gnashing at.

"Get it?" he asks.

"Of course."

I'm still looking through the scope to ensure that nothing else is hiding out there. My instincts are telling me there might be another one. The grove is thick and I can't see through most of the branches. The notion of another Zee is plausible and I can't let them get too close to the tower. We've been overrun before and had to call for backup. I hate when that happens. Cliff says it's okay as long as we get out alive which we always do. Still, I refuse to let our tower get overrun again and have to make that call back to base.

"What is it?" Cliff asks.

"Not sure. I think something is hiding in the trees."

"You want to check it out?"

I nod, "I think so."

He says nothing and crosses to the corner of the tower where we keep our gear. With the possibility of an outing always on our mind, we each keep a go-bag packed and ready to leave in a moment's notice. Extra ammunition and a first-aid kit are stored in two separate satchels; one for me and one for him. Medical supplies are in a box on top of the cooler with our food. On a shelf above the cooler is our communication systems. Two small earpieces provide us with the ability to speak to one another from a five-mile distance. A larger, long-wave radio sits on the shelf next to the earpieces. That's what we use to communicate with the Wall.

I sling the rifle over my shoulder and let the gun hang against my back. Cliff hands me one of the earpieces and I tuck it in place. With the press of a button, I hear one beep. He turns his on next and I hear another that syncs the devices together in an instant.

"You think you'll need the go-bag for this one?" he asks, motioning to the satchel.

I check the rifle. It's fully loaded. I have extra rounds for the Judge in my jacket pocket and I fit another clip for the rifle in as well. I won't be gone for long and I'll have the UTV to get me out of a jam in a hurry.

"I'll be fine without it."

"Even though protocol says we're not supposed to leave the tower without them?"

"I won't be gone for long."

"Okay. You're in charge." He says and steps away from the supplies. "Just make sure you come back in one piece."

"I always come back." I cross to the trapdoor in the floor and kneel down to open the hatch. I lower the rope ladder and prepare my descent.

"Hey," he grabs my shoulder and says what he always says to me before one of us leaves the safety of the tower, "All in a day's work, right?"

I'm not sure why we say this to each other. He started it shortly after we started working together. I never asked him why or what he meant by it. And then it became habit for both of us. A type of credo we live by that has been etched into our brains to give us a slight purpose.

I nod to him and start the climb down, "All in aday's work."

**I hope you're enjoying this little tale. Like always, feel free to vote or drop a comment. Have a fun day!