Red Queen by John L. Campbell

Author:John L. Campbell [Campbell, John L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Zombie Apocalypse
Publisher: Wild Highlander Press
Published: 2019-08-12T04:00:00+00:00

“I’m not a counselor,” Sallinger said, “but you’re going to have to deal with it. At least you’re alive to deal with it.”

“I froze,” Dean said in a low voice. “I almost got my little girl killed.”

“But you didn’t. You pushed through it, God knows how.”

Sallinger sat in an upright position in his bed, his leg stretched out before him. He’d been sealed in the cast for twelve weeks now – it had been a very bad break – but Rosa had assured him it would be coming off soon. He couldn’t wait. The damned thing itched like mad.

Dean was beside the bed, seated in a wheelchair Rosa had appropriated from the Facility’s infirmary. He still couldn’t walk, couldn’t even attempt it yet, but he had a strong upper body and he was able to lever himself in and out of it with ease now.

The gunsmith and former reality show star hadn’t been active duty for quite a while, and had left as a staff sergeant. Lee Sallinger was younger than him and a captain, but rank and age meant nothing here. They were just two men with similar experiences, talking about things not truly understood by anyone who hadn’t served in a combat area.

“You never tried to get help?” Lee asked.

“I never admitted I had it. Not even to myself.”

The Ranger captain nodded. He’d known a few men who’d developed PTSD after a combat tour (more than just a few, if he was being honest with himself), and some others who started having difficulties while they were still there, and that made sense. It was a terrible place where death came at you from every direction; IEDs, snipers, car bombs. The horrors that war left in its wake, along with the loss of friends, left a mark on a man. Although he personally believed he was okay, Lee knew there was no way of predicting a trigger, and sometimes wondered if the disorder might decide to make an appearance during his own life. Most men, whether in military service or not, would see such an affliction as a failure, a weakness within themselves and a perceived shortcoming as a man. And as a result, many men refused to seek treatment. Lee could understand how easy it would be to deny.

Dean had thought he was okay too, but now a stress situation could trigger terror and paralysis. He certainly dreamed about what he’d been through, because his vivid nightmares had awoken Lee more than once.

“The worst of it is not knowing what will set it off,” Dean said. “We all have stress, but we handle it. Everyone else handles it. I’ve got responsibilities…a wife and daughter. They need a man, not a burden.” It sounded whiney and self-pitying to Dean even as he said it, but it was how he’d been feeling for a while now.

“This has nothing to do with being a man,” Lee said.

Dean looked at the man who had become his friend during these long months of recovery.

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