“Others?” Laura asked while sipping her tea.
“Yeah. They told me you’d be the first, but more would follow. In time, we’ll form a small community here in these trees, safe from the zombies,” Zee said.
“Oh. Okay,” Laura managed to say, though she was too tired to be truly surprised. Besides, who was she to argue? “So, I’m staying, huh?”
“Of course,” he replied with a kind smile. “For as long as you need to.”
As Laura drifted off to sleep, she reflected that there were worse places in the world to be and that maybe Zee was right. Maybe there would be more like her. Broken souls in need of a home. I could get used to that. In fact, I think I will. Welcome home, Laura.
The End.
Dead of Night
Prologue - Cat
Who’d have thought I could miss the smell of blood. Or not miss it, rather, but the action that goes with it. The rush. The adrenaline pumping through your veins as you fight for your life against the undead plague that now covers the land. Never thought I’d see the day I could walk down the street without a weapon…and I hate it.
Settling into their new apartment at St. Francis Bay proved more difficult than Cat had first anticipated. Yes, it was lovely. A spacious two bedroom with more privacy than she’d had in forever. She no longer had to share a bed with Juan and Tessa, just a room with Nadia. She no longer even had to look after the two children as the adults had taken over that responsibility as well. For the first time in forever, she could be precisely what she was. A teenager.
But to her surprise, she missed her old home, the farmhouse with its zink roof, sagging porch, and peeling paint. She missed the hectic mornings spent tidying up after the kids and the lazy afternoons spent on the river bank, fishing for their supper. She missed looking after herself and making her own decisions regarding her life. Hell, she even missed the raids. The excitement of facing possible death whenever she set foot outside their meager walls.
Now Cat had very little to keep her occupied. Every day, she took a stroll around the harbor and looked for pretty shells on the beach to give to Tessa and Juan. After visiting them and attending combat classes, she took her turn working in the storerooms or vegetable plots. More than that, she wasn’t allowed. Not until she’d proven herself skilled at something, and proving that to a bunch of superior acting adults was becoming exasperating.
I can’t believe it’s been so long. More than a year since the zombies took over and I lost my mom. More than a year since I saved little Tessa and Juan from death and found us a new home with Vera and the rest. When we joined up with Max’s group, I could only ever dream about a place like this, a place where we could be safe and protected…looked after. But now, it’s not the same. I’ve changed, and there’s no going back to the way things were. Not for me, at least.
“They treat us like children,” she protested to Lisa, Vera, and Nadia one night after supper. “I even overheard Max and Martin talking about putting us back into school to catch up on our missing education.”
“School?” Nadia said, one eyebrow lifted in an expression of disdain. “You can’t be serious!”
“Of course, they’re serious. That’s what you are to them. Teens. Barely eighteen yet,” Lisa replied with a shrug. “All three of you.”
“It’s easier for you, yeah,” Nadia said. “You’re almost twenty-two, and they trust you to fight. I wouldn’t be surprised if they offered you a position on the wall soon. Or even on a raiding party.”
“School wouldn’t be so bad,” Vera offered. “It sure beats raiding.”
“Does not,” Nadia scoffed.
“Just be patient,” Lisa said. “Do what they ask of you. Even school. I’m sure they’ll recognize your worth soon.”
“Soon?” Cat scoffed. “We fought just as hard as they did to get here. Hell, we fought for our survival for over a year before Logan ever found us.”
The atmosphere chilled at the mention of Logan, and Nadia’s face paled until it resembled crushed ice. Vera glanced from one to the other before excusing herself. “I think I’ll go to bed now. Goodnight.”
“I’m sorry, Nadia,” Cat said the moment Vera was gone, her heart dropping at the pain so evident in her best friend’s eyes. “I shouldn’t have mentioned him.”
Though best friends since school, Nadia’s parents had moved her away from Cat’s hometown before the zombie apocalypse hit. Along the way, Cat had joined up with a group of other kids and teens, including Vera, while Nadia found her way to Max’s group after meeting Logan. He quickly became like an older brother to Nadia, and Cat knew how important he’d been to her friend. She’d seen it with her own eyes after her group and theirs met up and joined.
Not long after joining, they’d all decided to move here to St. Francis Bay. The town was run by Martin, an old friend of Max, and it was far safer than either of their old places had been. Along the way, they’d run into trouble, though, and Logan had sacrificed himself so the rest could escape. To top it off, Caleb, Nadia’s boyfriend, had died during the same fight. A double loss, and a terrible tragedy.
Nadia blinked at her folded hands. “It’s okay, Cat. I have to learn to cope with it sometime or other.”
“Yeah, but…” Uncertain what to say, Cat trailed off, and a thick silence hung over them all until Nadia broke it.
“I see what you’re saying, though, Cat. It’s hard to be treated like a kid when all you’ve done for the past year is survive by killing zombies. We’re not children anymore. We’re different now, and trying to force us back into our old roles is a mistake.”
“For the record, I agree,” Lisa said. “Even I’m finding it hard to adjust to this.”
“This?” Cat asked.
“All this domestic bliss and stuff. I’m not cut out for a white picket fence anymore than you two are.”
“It’s worse for me. They treat me like I’m a porcelain doll about to shatter,” Nadia said. “Jonathan insists on seeing me every week, and he keeps forcing anti-depressants on me. I flush them down the toilet every time.”
“I know the feeling. They treated me the same way in the beginning,” Lisa said. “I’ll see if I can’t talk to them. Get them to back off a little.”
“Thanks, Lisa,” Nadia said.
They talked a little more until Lisa got up and hustled them to bed. “Come on. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“We do?” Cat asked.
“The double wedding?” Lisa prompted.
“Oh, shit. I forgot about that,” Cat said.
“Whoop, whoop,” Nadia said, her face a blank canvas. “I can’t wait.”
That night, as Cat prepared for bed, she caught a glimpse of Nadia stuffing supplies into a backpack and hiding it underneath her bed. With a frown, she vowed to look at it in the morning. Her friend was up to something, and she wanted to know what it was.
The next day, she waited until Nadia left the apartment to confirm her suspicions. The pack was loaded with survival gear. A sure sign her friend was plotting her escape.
“We’ve got a problem,” she said to Lisa who still lingered in the lounge.
“What is it?”
“Nadia. She’s running away.”
“What?” Lisa sat upright with a jerk. “Running away? Out there?”
“Looks like it,” Cat said.
“Crap. What do we do? Do we stop her? Tell someone?”
Cat shook her head. “We can’t stop her. You know that. She’ll find a way out, eventually.”
“What then?” Lisa asked, flicking a lock of hair out of her eyes.
Cat hesitated. “I’ll go with her.”
“That’s even worse,” Lisa said. “You know what’s out there. It’s too dangerous.”
“Maybe, but there’s nothing for me here either. I won’t let her go alone, and I won’t stay behind either.”
“What about Tessa and Juan? Vera and the others?”
Cat swallowed on the sudden knot in h
er throat. “I’ll miss them, of course, but they don’t need me anymore.”
“That doesn’t mean they don’t want you around, Cat.”
“Maybe, but Nadia needs me more now, and I can’t let her down.”
Lisa stared at her. “When is she planning to leave?”
“I don’t know, but if I had to guess, I’d say tonight while everyone is at the wedding.” Cat shrugged. “It’s what I would do.”
“Are you sure about doing this? Running away with her into who knows what?”
Cat sighed. “You said it yourself, Lisa. We’re not cut out for this anymore. Normal life? School? Who are we kidding? We’ve changed. All of us.”
Lisa leaned against the wall, folding her arms. “You’re right about that. So, we’re leaving tonight then?”
“We?” Cat asked, her head snapping up.
“Of course, we. I can’t let you kids go traipsing off on your own, now can I?” Lisa answered with a grin.
Cat felt an answering smile curve her lips. “No, I guess you can’t.”
Chapter 1 - Nadia
“Heads up, guys. We’ve hit a town,” Nadia said when a sign flashed by her window announcing that civilization was only five kilometers away. It was old and faded, the letters illegible after years of baking in the hot sun.
Cat groaned as she pushed herself upright in the back seat while rubbing her eyes. “What town?”
“No idea. The board’s impossible to read,” Nadia replied.
In the seat next to her, Lisa yawned before closing her window until only a small gap was left. “Damn, but it’s hot. I’m sweating like a pig here.”
“I know. I can smell you,” Nadia said.
Lisa glared at her. “You can smell all of us, I’m sure. None of us have had a bath in days.”
“Trust me, I know,” Nadia said with a grimace as she sniffed her armpit. “Who’s bright idea was it to visit the Karoo in summer anyway?”
“It’s spring, not summer,” Cat said. “And how was I to know it was going to be this hot?”
Lisa snorted. “It’s the Karoo, Cat. That means desert.”
“Semi-desert,” Cat protested.
“Yeah, whatever,” Nadia mocked before mimicking Cat in a falsetto voice. “Let’s visit the Karoo, she said. I’ve heard it’s lovely this time of year, she said.”
Cat pulled a face at Nadia in the rear view mirror. “Don’t be such a bitch.”
Nadia sighed. “All right, I’m sorry. It’s just, I’ve had enough of this part of the world to last me a long time. After my step-dad moved us away, we traveled all over the show until we ended up in Upington. Hotter than hell and as dry as my mouth is at this moment.”
Cat handed Nadia a bottle of water. “Sorry, there’s only a bit left.”
Nadia took a few swallows before passing the rest to Lisa. “I suppose it’s a good thing we’ve hit a town then.”
“True,” Lisa said. “We need food and water, plus I could use a good night’s sleep in a proper bed.”
“A shower,” Cat added with a longing look on her face. “With real soap and shampoo.”
“Something other than stale crackers and canned peas to eat,” Lisa said.
“Quit it, you two. You’re killing me,” Nadia said, her thoughts winging back over the past two weeks.
When they’d first set out on their grand adventure, everything had gone the way she’d planned, at first. They’d made a smooth and painless escape from St. Francis after commandeering a truck supplied with food, water, and a full tank of fuel. She’d even managed to wheedle weapons and ammunition for each of them from the guards using her stolen pass.
That night, she hit the road without any definite plan or direction in mind. Instead, she drove for hours, navigating unknown territory by the twin lights of their vehicle. Her friends dozed off, but she remained awake, her blood singing with the joy of freedom.
At last, she was alone. Sort of. Except for Cat and Lisa, but them she didn’t mind. It was all the do-gooders and well-wishers she was glad to be rid of. The sympathetic whispers that haunted her every step. The saccharine smiles she met around every corner. Thank God, I got away from there. One more day, and I’d have slit my wrists.
Finally, when she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore, she pulled over to the side of the road and slept. The next day, they continued their journey, sleeping in the car or in abandoned farmhouses. They avoided towns except to look for supplies and rarely saw any signs of life other than zombies.
Finally, Cat suggested they explore the Karoo, having just thumbed through a travel magazine depicting the area as fields of wildflowers and majestic plains. Nadia was loath to return to the place, aware of the heat and scarcity of water, but in the end, she gave in. The scarcity of people meant one thing at least. Less people, less zombies.
“Now, here we are,” Nadia muttered underneath her breath, casting a baleful look at their drab surroundings.
It was flat and brown, the mountains mere smudges on the horizon. The rains were late, and no flowers bloomed in the heat wave that had struck the entire region. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept in a real bed or eaten anything that didn’t come out of a can.
“All right, look alive, girls. We’re here,” Nadia announced when the car rolled over a low bridge spanning a dry riverbed. The town revealed itself in all its glory. A one-horse town with a single main street and a few dusty suburbs.
A lone zombie stumbled along the side of the road, swaying from side to side as it walked. Nadia eyed it with narrowed eyes, noting that it was a woman, or had been once. She was worn down by the infection and the sun, her skin peeling from her flesh in ragged strips. Yet, she moved surprisingly fast for a corpse, and Nadia wondered if she was one of the newer, hardier breed of zombie.
A sudden surge of rage filled her, and she yanked the steering wheel to the side. The front edge of the truck hit the woman on the hip and sent her flying with a loud crackle of broken bones. Cat and Lisa screamed at the impact, both turning on her the moment they were past the scene.
“What was that?” Cat cried.
“What the hell?” Lisa said.
“What?” Nadia asked with a shrug. “It’s just a stupid zombie.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Lisa said. “She was no threat to us.”
“Of course, she’s a threat. To you, to me, to anybody, and I’ll be damned if I let any of those fuckers live a moment longer than I have to,” Nadia said, her voice harsh in the confined cab.
Shocked gazes met her answering glares as silence fell over the trio. She ignored them and drove further until she reached a grocery store, but the condemnation in the atmosphere was so thick she gave in. Rolling to a stop, she switched off the ignition, and said, “All right, I’m sorry about the zombie. Can we forget about it now and look for some decent food? Maybe a fresh set of clothes? Water?”
After a few moments, Lisa said, “Okay, fine, but this is not over. We’ll talk about it later.”
Nadia rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
As she got out of the truck, she was acutely aware of Cat’s thoughtful gaze resting on her face. Evaluating, calculating…worried. Nadia shrugged it off. She’ll get over it. She can’t hold a grudge to save her life.
A couple of loitering infected had spotted them and were coming their way. Nadia eagerly readied herself for a fight but was forestalled when Lisa and Cat stepped up and took them down with swift blows.
“Oh, come on! You couldn’t leave even one for me?” she protested.
“Not with your anger issues, I don’t,” Lisa said. “Besides, you owe us one.”
Grumbling underneath her breath, Nadia opened the door to the store, hoping for some more action inside, but the place was empty. Pristine. She walked down the aisles with a basket, enjoying the sensation of a shopping trip.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting warm golden pools onto the floor and vents in the walls ensured a steady flow of fre
sh air. A thick layer of dust coated the racks, but Nadia didn’t care. Not when a veritable treasure chest awaited her.
The store was a good one, carrying a little bit of everything, even camping gear and a rack of hunting rifles and sporting equipment. A wall of clothing drew her like a moth to a flame, and she was soon followed by Cat and Lisa.
“Ooh, I like this one,” Cat exclaimed, holding up a camo vest.
“Never knew army print was your thing,” Nadia said.
“There are lots of things you don’t know about me,” Cat said with a cheeky grin as she headed toward the change rooms.
“Mm, I’m sure. We’ll have to catch up sometime.” Nadia picked out a black long-sleeved shirt and held it against her chest to size it up.
“Why the long sleeves?” Lisa asked. “It’s bloody hot outside, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Nadia’s cheeks reddened, and she turned away before Lisa could see. “I don’t like showing off my arms, that’s all.”
“Suit yourself, but for the life of me I can’t see why,” Lisa replied.
Nadia picked out the rest of her clothes with haste, her fingers tracing over the scars on her skin hidden by the long sleeves. Lisa didn’t know about her cutting habit. Cat did, but she knew better than to talk about it. It was an old shame. One better left in the past.
“Uh, Nadia. Turn around…slowly,” Lisa said, her voice low and strained.
“What? Why?” Nadia asked, her head whipping up.
She froze when she saw a pale Cat walking towards them with stilted steps. A man followed behind her holding a knife to her throat. A thin trickle of blood ran from the tip of the blade, the red an awful shade of deep crimson against her white skin.
“Hold it right there, girls. Nobody move a muscle,” the stranger warned, his deep blue eyes flitting from one to the other.
“All right. Take it easy. Please, don’t hurt our friend,” Lisa pleaded.
“Shut up, and put your hands in the air,” the man replied.
Children of the Apocalypse: Mega Boxed Set Page 119