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“My gut is telling me this night will be long.” He picked me up and jumped up to the nearest roof. I settled into position as he stood over me, his eyes seeing more than I could ever dream of seeing.
We heard the first moan an hour after dark. Molev left as silently as he came. When he returned, he was bloody.
“A single infected,” he said. “I will check the fence.”
He didn’t return. Occasionally, I’d hear a moan, or the radio would softly crackle to life to report a sighting in some direction. Otherwise, the night seemed fairly calm in comparison to some of the nights I’d spent in the field.
Someone came to relieve me around three in the morning, and I returned to the housing to check on things there. The second–top–story hadn’t needed to be blocked, and the kids were out cold in their beds with their moms wrapped around them. I stared at them for several long moments and wondered if we were all idiots.
Rubbing a hand down my face, I turned away and claimed the bed Molev had last used.
I roused slightly when Molev slid in behind me and wrapped his arms around me but quickly sank into sleep again.
The sun was up, and Molev was still holding me when I woke for good. I tiredly checked my watch and noted I’d managed four and a half hours of sleep. It was enough.
Carefully easing from his hold, I left the room and found a woman in the hall outside our door. She motioned for me to stay silent and pointed toward the guards at the other end of the hall. I went to them, and they repeated the keep quiet sign and motioned down the stairs.
Once I was outside, I found Sid, who looked ready to drop.
“Molev went inside about an hour ago,” he said. “The body piles from last night seem to be keeping everything away for now. I told everyone to keep quiet so he can sleep as long as possible. Lookouts are on the roofs.” He handed me the radio and went inside to get the rest he desperately needed.
I climbed the nearest ladder and took a position with the lookout there, using binoculars to find the body piles. The number of beheaded infected stunned me. Based on what I’d heard last night, I would have guessed Molev had to deal with a few dozen. What I saw as I checked every section of the fence over the course of the next few hours was ten times that.
Katie found me as I was coming down from a roof to the south.
“We saw movement in the north,” she said.
“Why didn’t you radio it in?” I asked.
“It watched us for a bit then left.”
We both knew what that meant.
“I’ll go wake him,” I said.
Molev opened his eyes and sat up the moment I touched his shoulder.
“They spotted one that was watching and left,” I said.
He grunted and stood, stretching so that joints popped and cracked.
“MRE,” Steve said, poking his head in to toss two bags to Molev. “No red sauce. Eat and hydrate before you leave.”
Steve winked at me, causing Molev to make a sound between a grunt and a growl, then left.
“He enjoys antagonizing people,” I said, looking at Molev. “It’s his way of showing affection.”
“Does he antagonize you?” Molev asked.
I grinned widely. “He hasn’t figured out how to yet.”
“But I will!” Steve called from farther down the hall.
I sat with Molev, updating him on everything as he quickly wolfed down his food.
“Incoming!” someone yelled outside.
Molev disappeared, leaving open wrappers and a half-consumed water bottle in his wake.
