Six Feet From Hell: Unity: 6FFH Book #5 by Joseph Coley Page B

was by four inches, standing about 6’ 1” and sporting an unkempt beard and haircut. They hadn’t let him shave or cut his hair during his four-month stay. He didn’t smell so great, either.
    “If you step out of line, I will kill you. If you try to hurt one of our people, I will kill you. If you question my orders or anyone else’s orders, well, you get the idea. If you can live with these terms, then I have a job for you, Captain White,” Joe said, getting down to the point.
    White looked to the sky for a moment before he answered. “What do you have in mind for me?”
    “No. First, you agree to our terms, and then we put you to work.”
    White folded his arms, mulling the idea over. It wasn’t as if his options were going to get any better anytime soon. Might as well play along and see what they wanted. “Fine. I agree. Now, what do you want from me?”
    Joe took a deep breath and let it out quickly. He couldn’t believe what he was about to ask the man that had tried to kill him less than four months ago, but it needed to be done. It was for the greater good. It was a win-win situation, or so he hoped.
    “I need you to help train some of my people, but you will have to prove your worth first.”
    White looked intrigued. “And how am I gonna do that, per se?”
    “You’re coming on a mission with us.”

CHAPTER 8
     
    April 18, 2022 – 1147 hours
     
    After nearly three hours of discussion, each man had his tasks and team members assigned for the day’s duties. Joe stuck with his original idea of taking Rick, Boyd, Curtis, and Captain White out to take back the LMTV supplies. Larry stayed in the jail, the Jane Doe as best he could. They had managed to get an IV started on the woman, but weren’t going to waste what little resources they had left on her if it looked like she wasn’t going to make it. The antibiotics that were left didn’t have much potency, so if she didn’t wake up on her own, there wouldn’t be much hope. Larry was going to give her 24 hours, which the others agreed. After tomorrow morning, they would reevaluate her and see if further intervention was needed, deserved, and available. From her pallor and grayish look, it looked like she would be incredibly lucky if she made it until morning.
    Larry had recruited a woman, Beverly, and her husband Roy to watch over the wounded woman. Beverly had been a CNA in another life, and her husband was a former corrections officer with some useful medical knowledge. The pair agreed to watch over the woman until the morning. Larry had arranged for the chow hall to bring them food in the evening as well as the morning meal. He tried his best to take care of the people that went out of the way to help, and this was far out of the way for the couple. After explaining the woman’s condition as best he could, he left them with her.
    Larry closed the cell and stepped out. “I don’t know how much time she has. I doubt that she’ll survive at all, and even if she did, we would waste more resources than it’s worth to keep her alive.”
    “Got any suggestions?” Joe asked.
    Larry sat down next to his longtime friend. “I do, but it’s a bit of a risk.”
    Joe chuckled. “Our entire existence is a risk nowadays, buddy. I’m all ears.”
    “You remember Kody?”
    Joe thought back to another one of his long-lost friends. Larry was supposed to have delivered Kody back to his home out in the county. Joe hadn’t spoken to Kody since that fated day when it had all started. Another person in a long line of lost contacts. Joe grinned. “Yeah, I remember him. He still alive?”
    “As far as I know, yeah. He’s only made a few trips into town over the years. He and I had a falling out that day that I took him home. I had to leave him a little short of his destination and I don’t think he’s ever forgiven me for that.” Larry looked down forlornly. Maybe he hadn’t been able to forgive himself for nearly getting his friend killed; he was just