Free Outbreak: Better Days by Robert Van Dusen Page B

the light coming in through the window behind her. “How’s work going?”
    “I think I’m getting writer’s cramp.” Amy said wit h a small grin. A couple conflicting emotions flitted around in the pit of her stomach as they walked. He was certainly handsome and seemed interested in her and everything but…well…what would be the point, exactly? “I actually don’t mind that for some reason.”
    He snickered. “Bet you never thought you’d miss filling out paperwork.” Tommy said as he made a strange little face. His hand brushed against hers as they walked brin ging a little color to the woman’s cheeks.
    Amy jumped back as if he had zapped her with a cattle prod. “Oh, hey…um…” she said with a nervou s little tittering laugh. Frays glanced at her boots and tucked a stray tendril of her coffee colored hair behind her ear. The woman sighed and tucked her hands into her armpits. “Look…um…”
    “Hey, sorry.” Tommy said quietly. He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ m sorry.” The woman had only been in the FOB for about a week or so and had obviously, judging from her injuries and those of the rest of her squad, been in some pretty serious shit since everything went to hell. Sure he was tired a lot and such but it was tough to imagine what it was like out there. Tommy found that he could hardly blame her for being a little squirrely.
    “No…no…” Amy began as they approached the counter where a bored looking man in ACUs leaned across what used to be an information desk. “Um…I’ll talk to you later, okay? I gotta grab my stuff and get back.”
    “Oh, okay.” Tommy said with an apologetic shrug. “I’ll see you later, okay?” The medic started back towards his desk. “Have a good day. I…I’ll see you later.” The man stuffed his hands in his pockets and spun on his heel headed back towards his desk.
    Amy sighed as she watched the man slouch back down the hallway. She could not help but wonder if she had somehow screwed everything up again. Frays silently kicked herself and turned towards the dispensary.
    “Good morning, Corporal.” Frays said and gave the short squarely built man a little smile. “How are you?” The man handed the woman a small paper cup with six or seven little pills of various colors in it. Frays knocked back her vitamins and washed them down with a long pull from her camelbak.
    “Doing just fine, Frays.” Corporal Waterman said with a grin. He had administered Amy’s first ultrasound last week. The look on the woman’s face when she first laid eyes on her little boy was still fresh in his mind. “How’s the little guy? Still kickin’ up a storm?”
    “Ooooh yeah…” Amy said as she put a hand on her stomach and smiled, rubbing the lump as if it were a good luck charm. “My boy’s gonna be a soccer playin’ ninja or something.” The two of them shared a chuckle as she turned and started walking away secretly dreading walking past the front desk again.
    “Remember Lieutenant Haskins wants to see you tomorrow morning.” Waterman called after her. Amy waved nonchalantly over her shoulder as she hiked down the hall. Frays made a point of not looking at the two medics sitting behind the desk as she immerged into the bright mid morning light. She sighed heavily and put her cover back on and glanced at her watch.
    “Perfect. Way to go, Aim.” Frays scolded herself under her breath as she trudged off towards the fields in the center of the triangle of runways at the middle of the FOB. There was still plenty of time to go talk to her little brother Carl before her shift.
    Frays walked south down the street headed towards the runways using th e now defunct control tower to navigate by. A low unpleasant grumble emanated from her chest when she noticed four more Blue Diamond guys keeping an eye on a group of civilians who were cleaning up the trash scattered across the yard of a building nearby. The group of heavily armed men did not seem to be