Treason
They trundled me down the stairs to the parking garage, where it seemed a big party had just taken place. It was very well lit, but then I remembered everyone was wearing shades but me. Red white and blue bunting was festooned all along the concrete railing for the second level, while slogans painted in white led up the ramp like traffic warnings. I read them as they walked me up, had a good laugh over a couple of misspellings: BETTER DEAD THEN RED was one, with the corrective A not quite obliterating the error. But no one caught TODAY TEXAS, TOMMOROW THE WORLD. Along the rail about two dozen folding chairs were arranged in three rows, and Big Jim instructed me to sit next to him in one near the middle. Behind the rows sat a shiny new white jeep, with chrome wheels and running boards.
The party had not ended—it was about to begin. I entertained myself huffing clouds of steam into the cold, damp air, until the geeks started filing in and gathering at the foot of the ramp. A cordon of ten young men, standing out in their identical white down jackets with red and blue trim, snaked through the crowd and made its way up the ramp, triggering polite applause with the recognition of the major’s trusted lieutenants. As they took their seats I noticed Joey was still not among them, but neither was Lieutenant Karnes. I figured he was off somewhere getting in a last-minute cigarette, and I reminded myself to ask for one with my blindfold. From the ceiling came the arrhythmic echoes of footsteps, and from stage left the major and his entourage arrived, bypassing the throng below. I was surprised to see the kid who had let Karen blow by that terrible day was with him, seemingly fatter than ever in his football team jacket. Behind him walked a tall figure with a patch over his eye, and for a heartstopping instant I thought Joey was to be my executioner. But as he moved closer I saw a bushy gray mustache sticking out almost as far as the brim of his tan cowboy hat and a gut that protruded even farther, and realized not only that I had never seen him before but that he was also the oldest survivor by far. He and the kid took their places in the back row along with four other total strangers. One, shorter than the rest, was attired as if for an expedition to the pole, in an oversized suede parka with a fur-lined hood. The face was obscured by shadow and shades, but I recognized her by the way she lowered herself into her seat—Christine Ravelle. Big Jim prodded me to stand, and presented me to Major LaMaze.
Correction. Lieutenant Colonel LaMaze. The oak clusters on his helmet and uniform were no longer brass but silver, and nicely matched the chrome accessories on his new command vehicle.
“This is your lucky day,” he said when our eyes met, and I wondered just how much he knew about Christine and me. He clarified by adding, “I was going to have you shot when we got underway, but your friend Gregg convinced me I could make better use of you alive.” At the mention of Gregg I heard a snicker from the back row, from the kid, it seemed. With a motion of his hand, LaMaze had the ten lieutenants rise and fall in before the front row of chairs, where they would be plainly seen by those below. Using them as a backdrop, he took up his bullhorn and began to speak.
“Comrades-in-arms, fellow survivors, on this holiday that celebrates new beginnings we will seize our brightest opportunity to regain what was lost to us three months ago, to firmly place our feet back on the road to civilization.” He waxed philosophic for several minutes, but the thrust of his speech concerned little ol’ me. LaMaze offered me up to the crowd as “the traitor I have spoken of,” and as he brought me forward for all to see I was astonished by the chorus of boos that resounded through the cavernous garage. I looked out upon the jeering faces. Humanity was poised to take another shot at civilization, and I stood before them an example of everything they did not want to be—foolish and unlucky, mostly. “His crime demands death, but to kill him ourselves would be a waste of a useful weapon. Therefore I have chosen him to lead our assault—yes, to take us to the very heart of the enemy stronghold, and to betray them as he tried to betray us. His evil act will then be turned back on itself, and his so-called friends will carry out the punishment we have ordained!
“We will have our revenge! We will be victorious!”
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