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knocked down one braindead. What would you have done when she got up? Mosman has thousands of them.’
    â€˜I didn’t need your help.’
    â€˜You think so? When braindeads get together they tear a person apart like a pack of starving dogs. More were headed your way. Ever see them feast on a live person’s intestines? Think you could cope with a situation like that?’
    Her face blanched and for a while she went quiet. Just sat and picked at her food. ‘In the hospital we restrained them. Then things started to get crazy and the military ordered the staff to leave. I heard them shooting the patients.’
    â€˜The military saved your lives. Our orders were to close the hospital, shoot the braindeads, even our own men who were bitten.’ He watched as her hand scrunched up her napkin.
    â€˜Look I’m not asking for a thank you. I’d be happy if you wiped that ’I want to kill you’ look off your face and think about what skill you have to offer this base. My men risked their lives for you.’ He drank his beer, before he wiped his lips with his napkin noticing a spot of congealed blood where she’d hit him.
    â€˜I’m a doctor,’ she said with reluctance. ‘I can do all your bite checks. I can treat your sick and injured but I’ll work for you on one condition. You don’t ever lay a finger on me again.’
    She hated him. It oozed from every pore of her body. His life yawned long and lonely in front of him. Each day the same. Fighting a multiplying enemy. Some of the men had eaten a bullet after they’d come home and found their wife and kids dead, or worse, turned. Touching her had made his cock ache but it had gone far deeper than that. She made him want her when he’d thought himself incapable of ever giving a damn about a woman again. It was the way she stood up to him. Engaged him. Sparred with him. He admired her, even if her views were misguided. Maybe her hostility would bring him back to his senses because he didn’t want to care. He took a deep breath. ‘You behave yourself. I’ll keep my hands off you.’
    â€˜Deal.’
    When the meal finished he stood to speak. With the exception of the men guarding the perimeter and the outlying posts, all sailors were in the Mess. ‘Thank you for your hard work today. Thank you to Lieutenants Armstrong and Vassar for guiding the team and clearing Middle Head Road. Today we celebrate not losing one single man.’
    The men punched their chests and chanted. ‘Hoo-Yah.’
    â€˜Tomorrow we plan to place roadblocks on all side-streets opening onto Bradley’s Head Road right down to the zoo in order to run the surviving animals up to the grazing grounds you fenced earlier. It’ll be dangerous work because we don’t know what state we’re going to find the animals in. Even if we clear the streets, there’ll be plenty more braindeads in the mansions so we’ll need to secure all entries and exits all the way down the road.’
    â€˜Hoo-Yah.’
    â€˜Before I brief you, I want to welcome Sue, Lea and Ruth to our compound. Sue is a nurse. Lea, an immunologist and lastly, Ruth’s a doctor who has agreed to treat our men. I cannot tell you how relieved I am to find people with these important skills. Please make them welcome.’
    The sound of the men punching their chests thundered around the room.
    Lea gave a shy smile and Sue waved, turning this way and that. Ruth focused on him, narrowed her eyes and glared at him. Nice.
    â€˜This brings the total women we have on the base to eight. I haven’t given up hope that we’ll find more survivors, who will bring additional skills so that we can have a future that includes a safe place to live, enough food and water and most of all female companionship.’
    ***
    Pussy. That’s what the captain was talking about. Ruth’s senses went on high alert. Sure, he wasn’t tacky