The Wild Ones, page 3
Sean Telle, one of the instructors, stepped forward and jabbed me in the gut. “Keep your mouth shut, Evans. When the colonel speaks, you remain silent.”
“Thank you, Sean. Okay, maybe that’s a good segue into having you guys introduce yourselves.”
Sean eyed me before moving back into line. He had this proud expression on his face as if he’d just earned another rank. There were seven instructors, barring my brother, the rest of them looked as if they’d been molded from the same lump of clay.
“Sean, can you begin?”
He gave a nod and stepped forward. “Gladly. I’m Sean Telle, otherwise known as the Commando.” I stifled a laugh. The commando? Whose lame ass idea was that? Geesh, this was not what I expected. He narrowed his eyes and glared at me before continuing. “I have four years of experience in the army and I will be your field tactics instructor.”
Okay, I’ll give the guy some credit. He genuinely looked fit but by the way he slung his weight around I could tell he was going to be a handful, maybe he thought the same about me. The next guy stepped forward — athletic in appearance, and with a patch over his eye. I hoped to God that was real and not part of his wardrobe otherwise he had some serious mental problems.
“I’m Rob Stanton. I’m your martial arts instructor. I have eleven years in mixed martial arts fighting. I am well versed in wrestling, boxing, jujitsu, karate, gymnastics and parkour.” Oh great we were going to be jumping around from building to building like a bunch of four-year-olds at a jungle gym. “They call me the Ninja.”
I shook my head in disbelief and looked at Nick. I felt like yelling… and you chose to come here? And believe me, Nick did choose to come here. Let me explain. Eight years ago our parents were going stir-crazy one summer, and they decided, like most good parents do, to send us off to summer camp. At first it seemed like a good idea. So, back then we were given a choice based on local camps. Nick was into war movies and well, anything that involved beating the shit out of people, so it didn’t seem unusual that he would opt for a survival camp. Me? Well I was more into comfort, taking it easy and females and well, after eyeing a number of websites online, I picked the one that seemed to have the best-looking females. The only downside was after I arrived I found out they’d used models for the website and the female pool at the camp was less than stellar, so the following year I decided to sign up for mixed martial arts. Turned out I had a knack for it.
Nick stepped forward looking humiliated and gave his introduction and told everyone that he would be the archery instructor. He was quick to step back into line. I had to admit, Nick was pretty damn good with a bow. Someone in the group whistled the theme from The Hunger Games which got a few chuckles before Sean the buzz killer jumped all over the girl responsible. I glanced down the line to see who he was chewing out. He was right up in her face. She was a good-looking girl, with dark hair pulled back and threaded through a baseball cap. I remembered the introductions everyone gave the day before and her name, Alexa Watson.
Once the outburst was dealt with, the next guy waddled into view. It came as no surprise when he said that he was the wilderness survival instructor. Bordering on two hundred and sixty pounds, he looked like he’d swallowed a boar. “I’m Adam Lee. I’ll be teaching you about wilderness survival, bush craft and resource acquisition. Oh, and I’m referred to as the Bushmaster.”
Yep, going by the state of his beard he certainly had mastered the art of the bush.
I cast a sideways glance down the line and could see that others were as amused as I was. Could these idiots really teach us anything about survival or was this place one big joke? Nothing more than a means for a bunch of ego-driven nerds to live out their survival-based fantasies?
“Joe Wheeler. Weapons instructor. Otherwise known as the Slasher. I have seven years’ experience in Filipino weapons, as well as firearms.” He stepped back into line and eyed everyone looking like he was stoned.
“I’m Brooke Sanders, your communications officer. I will teach you how to use two-way radios, ham radios and other means of communication when you are out there.”
Brooke Sanders. Now there was a honey if I had ever seen one.
“Last but not least, I’m Ivy Middleton, aka the Healer, and I will be teaching you first aid and trauma care because one day someone might have to place their life in your hands.”
With the introductions out of the way, Sean started bellowing at everyone to get into their group when their name was called. He stepped forward with a pen and a clipboard and started reeling off names. The teams were made up of six people, mostly those who were already in the same cabin, except we ended up with Alexa Watson. She rolled her eyes as she walked over realizing she was the only female in the group.
Everyone huddled. I must have looked spaced-out as Jamal slapped me on the arm. “You okay, buddy?”
“Yeah, just thinking of all the things I could be doing right now.”
“Tell me about it. My old man just bought me a new computer.”
The first “survivalist adventure” turned out to be tactical yoga in the building they referred to as the compound. Tactical yoga? I didn’t even want to imagine what that involved. Twenty minutes later, everyone crammed into the high-ceilinged room with lots of windows. A bright morning light bathed the room in warmth as we rolled out yoga mats.
“Okay everyone settle down,” Brooke said. “I know you’re probably wondering why I’m doing this but our other instructor Angela Chu called in sick today.”
“I hope she’s okay,” someone in the back said.
“Yep. Seems to be a lot of sickness going around. Anyway, so you might be wondering what’s this all about? The purpose of this is to work on improving your balance, flexibility and honing your mind so you can control yourself both physically and mentally in an apocalypse.” Brooke was wearing a tight top and yoga bottoms. As she walked back and forth I could start to see why Nick was interested in her, she had one hell of a body on her and with that flaming red hair and dark eyes, she was quite the looker.
“Please tell me she is going to do downward dog facing away from us,” Jamal said.
I tried not to laugh. I glanced over at Ryland who still had his hood up. He barely ever looked up. His head hung low like he was in a depressed mood. Sure, the place was a bit odd and things weren’t exactly going to plan but if we were stuck here, I was going to make the best of it.
“Guys! Pay attention.”
So you might be wondering, was it tactical? Like hell it was. Sure it might have come in handy for limbering up if you were being chased by an angry mob but that was about the extent of it. I imagined that if society collapsed, you were going to need more than yoga to keep your head. There were a few groans and aches as everyone tried to go through the motions and show some sense of eagerness to learn.
“Hey, Ryland,” I muttered as I twisted and turned myself into a pretzel. He glanced over.
“What?”
“So I hear you set the camp on fire last time you were here, is that true?”
His face went red. He might not have looked as if he gave a shit about anyone but his reaction said differently. At first he didn’t reply, like he was lost in thought, then he spoke. “You’re only getting half the story,” he muttered before moving into another pose that had all of us balancing on one leg.
“I did something similar,” I blurted out. One of the other kids nearby made a shushing noise. I spoke in a whisper. “Yeah, way back at the first summer camp I ever went to. I mean it was an accident. We were playing this game where you had to carry a lighted torch from one side to the other and… well… to cut a long story short I ended up dropping it and the curtains went up and the cabin caught on fire.”
His eyes widened, like a crack addict anticipating that next hit.
“What did it look like?”
“Like a fire,” I said, stating the obvious.
“Anyone hurt?” he asked.
“Hey!” Sean Telle was keeping an eye on our group. He was standing by a set of double doors and scribbling away on a notepad but looking up every now and again. “Any more talking and I’m pulling both of you out to go and clean the showers.”
“Isn’t he just a barrel of laughs?” I muttered.
Sean must have heard as he stomped over and crouched down.
“You better start listening, Evans, or you and I are going to have a problem.”
“Yes, sir!” I said sarcastically.
He eyed me and backed away, doing this gesture with two fingers to indicate he was watching me.
I noticed Nick went over to Sean and they exchanged a few words.
“And breathe,” Brooke said. Her eyes flitted over to Sean and Nick as their voices became a little louder. I didn’t catch what it was about but one second they were talking the next Sean pushed Nick and he reacted by lashing out with a right hook and knocking him to the floor. My eyes widened as two of the other instructors had to hold him back. He shook them off and stormed out of the room. Sean got up and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
“Everyone, just keep going through the motions, I’ll be right back,” Brooke said jogging out of the building.
“What the hell was all that about?” Jamal asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t know, but I was going to find out. From beyond the window I saw Brooke grab hold of Nick by the arm. They looked as if they were having a heated conversation. Nick then pointed towards the building with an angry expression before walking away leaving her standing there.
When she returned, she went back to leading the class as if nothing had happened and yet clearly something had rattled my brother’s nerves. Nick wasn’t like most brothers who came down hard on their youngest sibling. Older than me, he’d changed a lot in six years. That might have had to do with the fact that our older sister Gemma had died in a car crash when I was only ten. I could still remember that night like it was yesterday. It had rained heavily for two days straight, and Gemma had only been driving for three weeks when she was T-boned by a drunk driver coming home from a school dance. Though I was still young, I could recall the police officers standing on the doorstep, my mother collapsing to her knees and my father staying in his study for weeks on end after the funeral. It was like the wind had been knocked out of everyone’s sails. Six months later we moved from Los Angeles to Long Lake, New York. Mom said it was because our dad had got a job, but I’d overheard them one night discussing moving. They wanted a fresh start. Staying in the same home was killing my mother.
Anyway, Gemma’s death changed us all. Nick became overly protective of me and though at times he could quite easily fly off the handle if I said or did the wrong thing, something prevented him from lashing out. That’s why it bothered me. I would have followed him out, to find out what had happened, but I figured he needed time to blow off some steam, besides, even when he was calm he rarely opened up.
I looked at Sean. What a prick.
Yoga was short, and certainly not as bad as I expected.
By the time lunch rolled around, all of us had worked up quite an appetite. Nick didn’t show his face. Sean sat with the others nursing a busted lip. It kind of suited him. While I expected them to feed us wildflowers or dried venison, or something mad like that, I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice lunch of hotdogs and beans. The only downside was a crap load of plates that needed cleaning, and guess who got assigned to cleaning duty?
“You’d think for all the money he charges for the camp he would at least be able to afford an industrial dishwasher,” Jamal said with soapsuds up to his elbows. He was washing in one sink, Ryland was in the other and the rest of us were either scraping off remains or drying.
“Hey Eli, don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Tobias said breaking into laughter after catching Eli popping a few extra hotdogs into his mouth.
“Leave him alone, Tobias,” Alexa said drying off a plate and putting it into the cupboard. Tobias screwed up his face and walked off.
It was hot in the kitchen, sweat trickled down my back.
“So where you from?” I asked her.
She glanced at me and was about to answer when Tobias opened his mouth. “Raquette Lake, ain’t that right, princess? Father owns three of the campgrounds in the area, including this one. So she gets to come here free, don’t you?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Yeah. Problem with that?”
He turned up his nose. “Not really but maybe if your old man wasn’t so greedy my father wouldn’t have to jack up the prices.”
“It’s called inflation, dickhead.”
“Oh, is that what they call greed now?”
I felt like I was observing a ping pong match. They obviously had some history.
Raquette Lake was a small hamlet in my town of Long Lake. It was located on the west side of Raquette Lake and shared the same area with Great Camp Sagamore, one of the three her father owned. Alexa never responded to me after her spat with Tobias. We continued to work in sweaty silence. Talking only seemed to create friction.
So that was our group, a mishmash of oddballs who were thrown together into what we assumed would be two weeks of survival activities and cringeworthy summer camp moments — at least that’s what I thought until that afternoon. As we worked away, Ryland flicked on a TV in the upper corner of the kitchen.
As he surfed through the stations, several of the leading news channels were tuned into some big story coming out of New York City. Ryland banged the remote against his palm.
“What the hell is up with this thing? The volume’s not working.”
“It’s a dud,” Tobias said.
I turned my attention to the TV. Even though we couldn’t hear the sound, the words scrolling at the bottom of the screen were calling it another gun attack. It seemed as though every few weeks something tragic was happening across the nation. Terrorists were going crazy driving vehicles into people; a kid would take a handgun into school and shoot his classmates; a disgruntled employee would blow up his former workplace. It was crazy. The few snippets of video showed footage of people running out of a stadium covered in blood. SWAT and military were on scene trying to secure the area.
Ryland switched it off and tossed the remote down.
“Piece of crap.”
“Ah well, we’re not missing anything, seems the world is always in a constant state of disarray,” Eli muttered before snagging another half-eaten hotdog off the plate. That kid must have had hollow legs as he hadn’t stopped eating.
After lunch, Colonel Sanders, at least that’s what we were calling him, headed out to Long Lake to collect food supplies, after discovering that whoever had been put in charge hadn’t gathered enough to last the full two weeks. Of course he hadn’t announced that was the case, I mean, who in their right mind would inform everyone that they weren’t prepared? The slogan on the sign as we came in said: Prepare today, survive tomorrow. It would have been an embarrassment. Anyway, he ended up taking group C, the one that was led by Nick. That’s how I found out. I’d been on my way to the next activity of the day when I saw the group squeezing into the back of a beat-up Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
“Hey Nick,” I yelled as I broke away from the others. He was directing his group to get inside when he cast a glance over his shoulder. “Where you heading?”
He shuffled over, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of earshot.
“Going into Long Lake to get some supplies.”
“But I thought…”
“Yeah, one thing you’ll learn is what they say and what they do are two different things here. Look, just keep your nose clean, don’t get lippy with Sean or the others.”
“What happened earlier?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Sure looked like it. C’mon, what did Sean say?”
Nick looked over my shoulder and instructed me to catch up with the others. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”
I nodded and could tell by the expression on his face he was troubled. He hurried back to the Blazer and hopped in. Sanders stared at me and muttered something to my brother before he slammed the door. I watched the vehicle rumble out of the camp before I joined the others. We were meant to have archery next but because Nick was out of the picture, they moved us on to what they were calling Zombitsu. Lame, I know, but hey they had to come up with some name. Martial arts instruction was being held in the same location as they did tactical yoga. All the mats had been cleared away and Rob Stanton, aka the Ninja (God I hoped he didn’t ask us to call him that), was having everyone limber up and go through a series of stretches before the class began. With a dead straight face he began discussing how to survive a zombie outbreak. “Your last resort would be to manipulate an attacker’s force against itself using a series of moves.”
He demonstrated six or seven times before turning it back to us to practice. I stood across from Jamal and we took turns.
Now maybe it was just me, but I had to ask.
“Yes?” Rob asked.
“Not being funny but don’t you think that if you encountered a zombie the chances of being able to twist his arm around and not have it break off are slim to none? Wouldn’t it just be better to run?”
His eyebrow arched for a second as if he was contemplating my question. He motioned with two fingers for me to step forward. “Head over into that corner there.”
Great? He was going to have me sit this one out for speaking up. I stared at him for a second wondering if he was joking but he gestured again for me to head into the corner of the room. I trudged over and turned. He motioned to Jamal, Eli and Tobias to come over and stand either side of him.
“Right, now let’s say you are out there looking for food, maybe clearing a home and you find yourself trapped in a room with four zombies, oh, and you have no knife, and all the bullets are gone in your weapon. Now what do you do?”
He stood in front of me waiting for me to reply or take action.
“Come on. Think fast.” He tapped Tobias, Eli and Jamal and instructed them to head towards me. Now whether it was against my better judgment or the fact that I had seen one too many zombie movies, but as Tobias lurched forward, with a grin on his face looking like he was going to make lunch meat out of me, I gave him a swift kick to the nuts and pushed him into Jamal and Eli before rushing past them.
