Strictly Business

Chapter 3

“Cassidy!” I groan as I hear Mr. Lou’s voice over the radio strapped to my belt. I grab the radio and look around for my options. The window doesn’t have a lock or a way to open it. The bed seems to be the only moveable thing in the room besides a small dresser. I look at it for a moment before looking back at the window. 

“Cassidy?” I jump at the sound of the radio. 

“Do you have a friend in there?” I hear the two at the door again. I spin toward the door as I hear the sound of wood splintering. I see the beginnings of a hole as the tip of an axe comes through another one. 

“s**t,” I mutter as I I grab a wooden chair. I take a step back and hold it over my shoulder for a moment before throwing it forward. I wince as the glass shatters. I hate making noise when I’m outside the outpost's protective walls. I hear them muttering through the holes in the doorway. I don’t hesitate and charge forward. I jump over the broken glass shards and hold in a scream as I fall through the air. For a moment, I feel like I’m floating. 

My back hits the dirty water and I immediately hold my breath as the water envelopes me. I lay floating in the warm water before kicking up toward the surface. I breathe in the warm air before paddling toward the edge. I glance up and see the two idiots standing up there and looking down at me. I pull myself out of it just as the man launches himself through the open space. I curse under my breath as I start running around the side of the building. I hear laughing behind me as I burst onto the asphalt. 

Mr. Lou starts driving before I even make it to him. I jump on the side and pull myself into the small space behind the cabin holding the front seats. The truck speaks through the small area and I turn to see a car pulling out of a garage. I take a deep breath and climb toward the side of the truck. I pull the door open and slide into the passenger’s seat. 

“We’re being followed,” I tell him as I reach into the small compartment right in front of me. I pull out the pistol and load it before glancing out the window. 

“I got that,” he mutters, “and they’re going to have an easy time catching up. Ideas?”

“I was just planning on shooting at them,” I shrug, “what else can I do? It isn’t like you can do anything. You can hardly drive in a straight line.” 

“I…” Mr. Lou starts but doesn’t finish. He knows I’m right. He groans as I roll down my window. I hoist my body halfway out of the vehicle. I hold onto the door as I aim the pistol toward the speeding car. I fire one shot toward it and smile as it pierces through the windshield. It doesn’t stop the vehicle from following, but I groan as a hand pops out with a gun as well. I push myself back in and look over at Mr. Lou. He shrugs as we start down a winding road. 

“We can’t lead them back to the outpost.” 

“Obviously,” Mr. Lou says, “I already called in backup.”

“Were you going to tell me?” 

“I tried to radio you,” he shrugs, “but you seemed busy. What happened to you, anyway? You smell.”

“Had to jump into a pool,” I shrug, “I’ll have to remember to bring a change of clothes next time we come back. No doubt these guys will be waiting again.” 

“You might not be coming back,” Mr. Lou reminds me. 

“Ah. yes, the suicide mission.” 

“If anyone can succeed,” he smiles, “it's you.”

“Thank you for your confidence in me,” I tell him, “but I think it is unwarranted. You asked me for two reasons.”

“And what are those?” 

“I have no one holding me back and I was the only person stupid enough to say yes.”

“That’s...not entirely true.”

“But it is mostly true,” I shrug, “don’t worry about it, sir. I understand. It might be fun, Zoey seems awfully excited about it.”

I wince as the sound of a bullet hitting metal interrupts our little chat session. I glance back just in time to see a truck slam into the side of the car. I watch as the car crashes into the ditch. Mr. Lou simply laughs at my shock as we continue driving, this time with the armored truck following after. 

“Great timing,” I mutter as face forward in my seat. It is at that moment that I realize how bad I smell. I groan as I keep the window rolled down. 

“Well, this trip was useless,” Mr. Lou mutters, “can’t you be better with a gun?”

“I need to remember not to be a hero.”

“What?”

“The woman screamed like she was in trouble.”

“Ah,” he nods, “and you thought you could save her?”

“Yes.”

“What are we going to do next time?”

“Literally the same thing,” I argue, “If I hadn’t been found, I would be dead right now.” 

“I thought you came to the outpost.”

“I did,” I shrug, “but I was found long before that.”

“Oh,” Mr. Lou says, “what happened?” 

“We’ve been working together for like two years, right?”

“Yes?”

“And we if we haven’t talked about it yet,” I tell him, “then we probably won’t ever.”

“Got it.”

I look toward the open window and let the outside air calm me, no matter how hot it was. It is strange to think about how far I had come from being a scared girl to who I am now. So many people have come into my life only to leave it before I can even think to say goodbye. I look over at Mr. Lou and wander what I’m going to feel when he’s gone.

Not if, when. 

The truck follows after us closely the entire way back to the outpost. I lean my head back against the chair as faces flash in my mind. People who have saved me, some who have betrayed me, and others that left before they can even make a true mark on my character. I blink back the tears and make sure to keep my face turned away from Mr. Lou. No one needs to see my pain. All it does is make it awkward. I take a shaky breath as I clench my hands into fists. 

Everything is fine. 

“You okay?” he asks. 

“I’m fine.”

I sit up as the vehicle starts slowing as we near the outpost. I pull myself up just as we stop. I jump off out of the firetruck and take a deep breath as my feet touch the ground. The truck pulls up beside me and I ignore the men who climb out of it as I head toward the inspection tent. I want nothing more than to go to my room and sleep off this weird flush of emotions I was feeling. 

“Cassidy!” I groan as the familiar voice stops me. 

I slowly turn to face Kai, who is apparently every girl’s dream in the outpost. Sure, he’s tall and relatively handsome. Sure, I may have even had a crush on him when I first arrived at the outpost. We may have even been best friends before he realized he was good looking and that I was not. I take a deep breath and turn to face him. 

“Whoa, what happened to you?” he asks.

“Nothing, thanks to you.”

“What happened to little miss independent?” he smiles as I raise an eyebrow at him. He tilts his head as he waits for me to reply. I shrug and for a moment I am lost in that wonderful smile of his. Everytime I see him, I am reminded of why I had a crush on him in the first place. It’s so easy for him to smile and be happy even when the whole world has gone to hell. His olive skin tone is unusually unblemished and his short black hair is styled up in little spikes. His blue eyes stand out against his clean shaven face, something most men have forgotten about in this day and age. Where does he find the time? Zoey finds time, I remind myself as I turn to head back toward the tent. 

"I would have figured something out," I assure him. 

"I'm sure you would have," he chuckles as we step in line. I keep my attention forward as the line slowly moves forward.as the line inches along. His very presence bothers me, “have you found anyone yet?”

Ah, yes, the question he asks every time he sees me. In the outpost, when you couple up officially you get moved to better housing. This is because couples tend to survive longer as they have something to live for. While he has been romantically linked with nearly all young ladies of the outpost, me excluded, he’s never been officially coupled off. 

“Nope,” I shrug, “and I don’t plan to anytime soon. You?”

“Just haven’t found the right gal.”

“But you’re definitely trying, right?” I ask him. I look at him with a smirk and he smiles and nods though there isn’t happiness in it. He seems sad but I can’t figure out why. I open my mouth to speak but the sharp voice of the officer interrupts me. I turn away from him and hurry toward the tent. 

I go through the whole uncomfortable experience of being checked before entering the outpost. I step into the protective walls of the outpost and take a deep breath. I turn back toward the opening and let out a groan. I head toward my apartment, ignoring the urge to sit and wait for him to question his sadness. I don’t owe him anything and I definitely shouldn’t care about his mental wellbeing. 

I shake the thoughts out of my head as I make it to my apartment building. Mr. Lou should be heading to his meeting now to get his mission approved. The question is if they'll take the bait. Mr. Lou is a great liar when he wants to be. That is how he got me to be on his team. 

I do, however, respect him for it.

Zoey is waiting outside my door as I climb up the stairs. She smiles and steps to the side as I unlock it. She makes a beeline for the cupboards and pulls out to cups. I raise an eyebrow at her for a moment before she pulls a bottle of vodka out of her shirt. I chuckle as I shut the door.

“Why?” I ask.

“We gotta party hardy before we go on a trip that may just kill us.”

“Logical,” I laugh, “get a hangover and not be a hundred percent tomorrow if it even gets approved. I’m not drinking.”

“What?”

“I’ll just make sure you don’t die,” I laugh, “but I also need to shower. Let me just grab clothes and I’ll be back in a second.” 

“Ugh, you’re no fun,” she complains as I hurry into my bedroom and grab my shower bag. She is still complaining as I hurry outside and bound down the metal steps. The showers are in the middle of the outpost. As I walk over, I can see the main building where Mr. Lou’s meeting is going to be at. I wonder how long it is going to take to get them to approve it. I sigh and face forward. Whether or not it is approved, the world will move on. If I don’t die during Mr. Lou’s mission, I will probably die scavenging. A zombie apocalypse makes business dangerous. 

“Cassidy!” I jump as I hear a voice behind me. Kai jogs up to me and stands before me for a moment before letting out a huge sigh.

“What?” I ask as I start back toward the showers with Kai keeping pace with me. 

“What are you thinking?” he demands.

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell him. The showers are a small building that is separated for females and males. I step into the female side and groan when Kai follows me inside. 

Luckily for him, we are the only ones in here. 

“The mission to Minnesota,” he scoffs, “you’re a scavenger, Cassidy, not some adventurer. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“If I die, I die,” I shrug, “that is what life is now, Kai. Now, if you will leave the women's bathroom so I can shower, that would be great.” 

He grumbles as he leaves and I roll my eyes as I turn on the water. Kai has no right to come barging into my life and thinking he has any say in what I’m doing. It has been like a year since we actually held any sort of conversation. Its been like a year and a half since we last hung out. Whenever we do cross paths, it is always awkward, as if we had never hung out at all. 

I shake the thoughts out of my head as I turn off the water. I take my time drying off and pulling on my clean clothes before stepping into the afternoon air. I start toward my apartment before a pair of feet fall in line with me. I glance over at Kai and groan. 

“Kai-”

“Just tell me why,” he says, “why would you agree to something like this. You know it’s stupid. Why did you let him talk you into something like this?”

“It is an opportunity, Kai,” I tell him, “I can move up and be more than a scavenger, okay? I don’t expect you to understand. You have one of the highest respected jobs in this outpost. You have literally nothing to worry about. If something happens or if this place gets overcrowded...who are they throwing out first?”

“So, you’d rather go get yourself killed?” he asks, “if that s**t is what you’re worried about than marry me.”

“...what?”

“Marry me, Cassidy,” he says and grabs my hands, “and save yourself the trouble.”

“I’m not just going to marry you for...this.”

“For your safety?”

“You don’t marry someone just for the benefits that come from it.”

“Where have you been these past few years? No one here marries for love. That’s an outdated ideal, some could argue that fact even before the zombies came.” 

“Kai,” I pull my hands out of his, “why are you even caring? We haven’t been friends since-”

“I don’t care how long it has been since we’ve hung out, Cas,” he groans, “I will always care about you and try to talk you out of being stupid and suicidal.” 

“By proposing?” I scoff as I head up the stairs of my building. 

“By proposing anything else,” he corrects me as he follows me up the stairs. I roll my eyes as I open my door. He follows me inside and turns his questioning and doubts toward an unprepared Zoey. I ignore their conversation as I head into the kitchen and grab a can of peaches. I plop down onto the couch and sigh when I zone back into the conversation,

“If you are so worried,” Zoey says, “why don’t you come with us? As protection, you know? Could be fun? A road trip?”

“Fun? A road trip?” he repeats, “this isn’t a game, Zoey, but I guess everything is a game to you, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you want to talk to me about playing?” she snaps back, “at least I don’t play with nearly every woman in this compound. Is there anyone you haven’t been with besides us?” 

“You know nothing about me,” he retorts. 

“Shut up,” I groan, “the both of you.” 

“Why are you even butting in?” Zoey asks him. 

“I-” he starts but is interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. He pulls it out and holds up a finger toward Zoey. He listens for a moment before sighing. He doesn’t say goodbye as he hurries out of the apartment. Zoey comes and sits down beside me as she pulls out the bottle. 

“Who does he think he is?” she asks, “coming in here and telling us what to do and shit.”

“He does have a point,” I tell her, “this mission is going to be stupidly dangerous.”

“Our lives are stupidly dangerous,” she replies with a shrug of her slim shoulders. 

“Yeah,” I chuckle as I love over at her, “he proposed to me.”

“What?” 

“Yeah, said it would be better than me going to Minnesota.”

“Well, what did you say?”

“No, obviously,” I scoff, “why would I say yes?”

“I don’t know,” she laughs, “I knew you used to like him. Some, as in me, suspect you still do.”

“Shut up and drink your vodka.” 

“I mean,” she says as she takes a chug straight out of the bottle, “he’s hot and he clearly feels something for you. Marrying him won’t be too bad. A step above any other available men here. Heck, I’d marry him without a second thought.”

“You’d marry anyone if they had the guts to propose to you,” I tell her, “you, my friend, are obsessed with what could be.” 

“And you and him could be the hottest couple,” she tells me. 

“Okay? I’m not stopping this mission of ours. For both of our sakes.” 

“Mine more than yours,” she nods, “which I do thank you for.”

“You owe me,” I tell her with a laugh, “if we don’t die during this little escapade.”

“We’re going to be gone for a long time,” she says, “do you think they’ll forget us?”

“Hopefully,” I answer. 

“How can they forget you?” she asks. 

“Very easily.” 

“I don’t think Kai will forget you.”

“He’s who I want to forget me.”