Living on Borrowed Time

Chapter Sixteen

     "If we go in at night we'll be better off, the nightshift isn't nearly as amped up as the day. Probably about a dozen in total, inside and out. Everybody else should be sleeping." She explains, the redness in her eyes starting to clear up. I just look at her as she says it. It's only been about half an hour since she stepped into this office and she's ready to go take down Joseph right now.
"This is going to take some time." I tell her, "I need to heal up, but in the meantime sure... we can plan, but first I'd like to at least know your name."
"Call me Kate... but I'd rather we didn't get to know each other, getting to know someone out here is pointless." Kate says. What she says seems rude and bitter, but she speaks the truth. This world is dangerous, unpredictable, and unforgiving. Getting to know people is a waste of time to some, for all she knows I could die any second. It's not likely at this point, but... I could.
"I'm fine with that... for now." I tell her, "I'm, Bruce. Now... how did you two escape? You said he caught you after the first attempt and locked you up?"
"There was a woman who found out what he was doing to us... she let us go. Nobody was around to see her doing it, but hopefully she doesn't get caught."
My heart suddenly skips a beat, "What was her name?" I question.
"I don't quite remember... Jone? Jane? Something with a J." She replies. At first I had thought she meant Zoe when she mentioned it was a woman. What are you doing Jane? You have to lay low... just until I get there.
"There's a very good chance security will be increased." I say, "Seeing as how Joseph knows I'm still on the loose... he might think I'm dead, but I can't know for sure. And that you and your husband escaped. Plus, who knows what he'll do when those three men never return."
After that we sit in silence for a couple minutes, both of us thinking.
"Wait... I assume you've worked there long enough. You think you could draw me up a map of the place. I think I have an idea."

Five minutes later she draws up a map of Josephs place after finding a pen and a piece of paper.
"Alright. Do you know where most of them sleep? There's got to be some sort of barracks or something." I say.
"There's a bunch of cots in the back left corner of the place, that's where a lot of them sleep at night and nap during the day." She answers.
"And the armory? Where exactly is that?" I question. She points to a spot on the map.
"Okay... good. Give me some time to think about this. In the meantime could you scavenge up some water, maybe some food?" I ask as I sit down on the desk with a wince of pain.
"Yeah, sure." She replies, leaving the office.
"Kate..." I stop her, "Here." I hold out the handgun in front of me. I can tell when she grabs the gun that she is still unfamiliar with a gun. I can tell she hasn't used one nearly as much as I have.

. . .

It's been nearly a week since I saved Kate, almost a week since I came up with an exceptional plan to take down Joseph and his men.
I stand up straight, on the roof of the small convenient store. The sunshine warms my face as the cold wind chills me from the opposite direction. It feels good to stand up straight and almost pain free. Most of the bruises are gone and my ribs feel much better. Maybe they weren't broken, but I still can't know for sure, I haven't been straining myself as much as I normally would.
I look out over the neighborhood, watching the dead roam by as if it were a normal thing. Today I feel... good. Not sure why, but... today's a good day to be alive. I look down the street, peering through the scope of my rifle. I can see Kate coming back from her supply run as she dodges the dead, weaving through them fluidly like a delicate dancer. As I look through the scope, at her backpack that looks less empty than when she left, my stomach starts to growl with intense hunger, and my cracked lips beg for moisture.

Like a nimble cat, Kate jumps into the bed of the truck and onto the roof of the driver seat before climbing onto the ledge of the roof.
"You were waiting up here for me?" She gives me a questioning look, "Watching for me?"
"Just getting some air, trying to stretch out bit, relax the muscles." I tell her, "You've been practicing your free running skills haven't you? I'm impressed, you're fast and efficient."
She thanks me with a smile, then shrugs her backpack off into her right hand, releasing it onto the roof near my feet. Her black yoga pants tightening around her fit and appealing legs as she crouches to unzip it.
"Found some goodies for us." She says, pulling out a plastic bottle of water that's just under two-thirds of the way full, "Why don't we go into the office so I can sort this stuff." She adds, then hops down into the bed of the truck, absorbing the shock of her fall with her knees as she bends them upon impact.

Kate dumps her backpack out onto the empty desk that sits to the right of the desk that has our supplies.
"Swiss army knife." She holds up the first item, then tosses it to me, "A lighter, some rags, a couple cans of beans and bacon." She starts listing the items faster and faster, "...and this sadly is not for consumption." She holds up a bottle of liquor, "Instead of using gasoline we can make a Molotov cocktail." She gives me a slight smile.
I grab the bottle, giving her an approving nod of my head, "That's good... that's good." I look over at the desk full of supplies, "We're almost ready, a couple more days at most." I tell her. On the desk sits a bit of food and water, but most importantly the scoped rifle that has eight rounds left, the automatic assault rifle that has seventeen bullets left in the mag, and the handgun that has six rounds left. We must make every bullet count for something.
"You should get some rest." I tell her, "You been out on your run for a while... I'm going back up to the roof for a bit."

. . .

The night sky eats away at the receding sunset, and as I inhale the cold night air on the roof of the shop I look across the town. Looking past the nearby trees and houses I can see the dim lights of Josephs place, must be about a mile or so away. I figured Kate was still sleeping, right up until I hear the truck beside the store creak as she hops on top of it.
"You've been up here this whole time?" She questions.
I nod, "Not sure why but... it's calming for me to look out onto the world... no matter how bad it may be."
"Yeah." She agrees, "Except for the walking corpses it's quite beautiful."
For a moment we sit in silence and admire the beauty of the night, but then she asks, "Does Joseph have somebody you care about?"
"He has everyone I care about." I reply, reluctantly returning to an enraging subject, "My good friends... my sister... my nephew... my lover." When I refer to Jane as my lover if feels a bit weird, but I guess that's the technical term.
"So you have a lot to lose lose then." She points out the obvious, "I hope this works out in our favor."
"It will..." I say, "I'll make it work."