"Looks like it," Wayne said.
The knot that lived in her stomach since the scuffle the night before untied itself and dissolved. She was convinced that Mark was innocent, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to get back to camp so they could tell Mark he had nothing to worry about. He was probably worried sick.
"So we're done here?" Noah asked.
"Anything else that comes out of 'em is just gonna be blood," Kenny said, standing in the kitchen and rubbing shades of maroon from between his knuckles with a soiled rag.
"Let's get going, then," Noah said.
"What do you want done with these two?" Kenny asked.
Sarah looked at Noah sharply.
He caught her stare and had been about to answer Kenny, but when he saw the sad concern in her eyes, he hesitated. "Tie their wrists and take them back with us," he said.
Kenny paused, like he had to take a moment to process the instruction, but relief washed over Sarah. She was worried he might have made a harsher decision and she was glad he didn't.
Wayne and Kenny unbound the two men from their chairs and tied their wrists together. They marched them out of the room and down the stairs, the big one needing some assistance to walk with his wounded leg. Kenny shoved the front door of the hotel open and pushed the big guy down the steps onto the street, turning right toward Noah's Ark. Wayne followed right behind with the other prisoner in tow.
Just as the lanky man stepped onto the asphalt, a gray arm swung out from the left, blindsiding him and scratching him across the face. Sarah and Noah exited the building from behind and didn't know anything was wrong until the man hit the ground.
A congregation of half a dozen zombies stood next to them, drawn from the sound of the round that Kenny put through the big man's leg earlier. A few of them wasted no time starting in on the fallen prisoner, tearing him to pieces. His screams bounced around the buildings surrounding them and announced the morning to anyone who had still been asleep. Dead fingers clawed into him and peeled sheets of skin from his flesh, revealing a network of thin red veins and quickly-forming droplets of blood.
The living started to retreat from the dead as Sarah lagged behind, waiting for the men to come to the assistance of their prisoners. When she saw Noah, he just stood there with contempt on his face.
"Leave them," was all he said before they turned and ran back to Noah's Ark.
Sarah stood there, stunned, taking the odd step away from the zombies as she watched Noah leave in disbelief.
The big bald-headed prisoner tried to hobble away, but he was slow on his bad leg.
"Sarah, come on!" Noah yelled. He stopped in the field, waiting for her to join them.
Her steps quickened as she helplessly stared at the man hobbling away from the zombies. His mouth hung open, but he didn't say a word. Instead, his face held a look of pure terror. She watched the dead gain on him, a set of bobbing heads and shoulders drawing him to his doom. Before the final moment came, she broke her gaze and turned and ran for the others. She didn't look back and she didn't hear the man scream, because the screaming in her own head drowned him out.
9
THE HARD TRUTH
Mark sat at the table in the cafeteria with his hands folded together. They were still shaking, and Jenny put her hand on his arm to comfort him. He picked up his coffee and took a jittery sip.
"I can't believe that," he said at last.
Sarah had told him everything that happened the prior night with the bomb and about their encounter with the two saboteurs in the hotel.
"You know I didn't get a wink of sleep last night?" he asked Sarah. "And that was just with me worried about being accused of stealing. I had no idea that we have... have spies!"
Jenny's eyebrows tightened when he said the word. "I thought this was supposed to be a safe place," she said. "I thought we were through dealing with everything outside those walls. For God's sake, our kids..."
Sarah nodded. She wanted to say something to comfort them, but she was at a loss for words. They were right; it should have been safe in here, and she still couldn't understand why so many other groups of survivors would want to hurt them. If everyone could just be compassionate with each other and help each other out, or at least leave each other well enough alone. But she saw loud and clear in the early hours of the morning that wasn't how things were anymore.
She swallowed a tight lump in her throat. Her hands were almost as shaky as Mark's. The events of the morning played in her head on repeat, and the thing she couldn't forget were the two wide, terrified eyes bulging out of the big saboteur's face just before he was killed. The fright in his eyes betrayed his size and gruffness. It told her that he was still human—they all were—and there was no reason to keep going around killing each other.
A series of murmurs suddenly erupted near the entrance of the cafeteria. It spread like wildfire until everyone was looking toward the gates at the front of camp.
Sarah's heart dropped and she got up from the table. Her legs still felt a little rubbery, but she walked outside.
Noah and Wayne stood by the gates, talking. In front of Wayne, with his hands bound behind his back and a gag tied around his mouth, was Hank. When she got close to them, she heard Noah say, "Take him out to the woods and make it quick," before he turned and headed up to his office. He gave Sarah a quick nod as they passed each other, but he was gone before he noticed the dumbfounded look on her face.
Wayne signaled up to one of the guards on the wall to open the gates, but before they did, Sarah grabbed him by the shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she asked, emotion filling her voice.
"Not now, Sarah," he said, keeping his attention on Hank.
"You can't do this!" she said. "You can't just keep killing people!"
"Keep your voice down!" he snarled. "You really want to drag this out more than it already is?"
Everyone standing around had stopped what they were doing and whispered to each other about what they were seeing.
Even Hank took advantage of the scene she was creating, turning around and pleading under his gag. He played it up like he was the poor victim, but Wayne wasn't in the mood. He grabbed hold of the back of Hank's collar and steadied him, his eyes dead set on him.
"Open the gates!" Wayne barked at the guard. The guard swung the latch open and shoved the two heavy doors outward. Wayne gave Hank a shove, his fist still tightly gripping his shirt, and Hank stumbled forward. Wayne guided him east toward the woods with his other hand on the handgun holstered on his hip and the two of them disappeared from sight.
Sarah's mouth hung open. Tears rolled from her eyes. A swell of emotion tumbled through her and she felt everything from sadness to rage to betrayal. The bystanders still whispered to each other, and they all stared at her when she turned and marched up the stairs to the upper floor and disappeared into the building.
She made a beeline for the infirmary and yanked the door open, her feet stomping into the room like a lumbering bear.
The room was empty. Every bed was unoccupied and clean, the sheets white and fresh. Randy should have been in the room resting, but he was not. They only brought him back to camp last evening, injured and scared, and it would be days, maybe even weeks before he would be strong enough to return to Zed's camp, but yet he was gone. Noah stayed with him all night, flecks of Randy's blood stained on his clothes as they amputated his leg so he would live. But the only thing in the room that recorded Randy ever having been there was a little chair off to the side. With blood splashed on it and the floor around it.
The scene from that morning played in her head: the two men from Zed's camp tied to the chairs, getting their faces pummeled by Kenny, their fingers mangled and their legs shot. Blood had flown everywhere from the beatings: all over themselves, on the chairs, and on the floor.
All the emotion that swirled around inside her bubbled into something mean and nasty, something she never knew she was capable of. It was white-hot and spewing fro
m every pore on her body, and it built up such incredible pressure that had to be let out.
She left the infirmary and went on the warpath to Noah's office, shoving the door open with so much force, it was a wonder she didn't remove it from its hinges entirely.
"YOU!" she bellowed.
Noah sat at his desk, looking over a map. His head snapped up at her like a deer in the headlights. For the first time since she'd met him, he actually looked frightened.
"What's wrong?" he stammered out, so surprised by the anger in her voice that he could barely spit the words out.
"You filthy fucking monster! You... you animal!"
He rolled his chair back from the desk and appraised her, not sure what conclusion to come to. His mouth hung open, completely stumped for words.
"Noah's Ark," she said, "some safe haven! A place where everyone is safe and protected... I can't believe I fell for your bullshit!"
Noah shot up from his chair, cautious, but taking a couple steps toward her. "Are you talking about Hank?" he asked. "He was a spy, Sarah!" The volume of his voice went up, approaching hers.
"And what about Randy?" she shot back. "Where's Randy?!"
His face sunk, whitening a shade or two.
"Was he a spy?" she asked rhetorically. "No, he was just a kid! He was hurt and he was scared, and what did you do? You killed him! You fucking killed him!"
"Sarah..."
"No!" she yelled. "Don't you say a thing! What were you doing in the infirmary all night? Were you watching as Kenny beat him to death? Did you join in too?" Her throat became hoarse and strained. Her voice was starting to oscillate and crack as the floodgates opened and tears poured down her face. She looked like a wreck—her eyes beet-red and her face puffed up. Being in this place was tearing her apart and she couldn't do it anymore.
"Sarah," Noah said again, raising a cautious hand out to her, taking another step forward.
"I'm leaving this damn place!" she yelled. "I should've never come here!" She turned and began stomping down the hall, but Noah lunged forward with the speed of a jungle cat and grabbed her, having to wrap his arms completely around her to keep her from bucking out of his control.
A small crowd of curious onlookers had gathered in the hall, keeping their distance.
"Let go of me!" she cried, but before she could say another word or worm her way out of his grasp, he pulled her back into his office and slammed the door.
He had almost never felt someone so strong before and he struggled to contain her, but he stood his ground and just held her. She kept screaming at him to let her go, but he wouldn't. Finally, she started to tire and calm down, but he still held her just as tight.
"You can fight me all you want," he said, "but I'm not going to let you go. You can scream at me, you can struggle, but you're not leaving."
She was too tired to do any of those things, so she just stood there and sobbed.
"I know you're angry and I know you're upset. Yes, I lied to you. We killed Randy."
She roused from her defeat and bucked wildly, angry breaths whistling out between clenched teeth, but he just held her and waited for her to tire out again.
"I killed Randy. You don't want to hear that, and you want me to be nice to everyone, but I can't. I didn't want to lie to you, but I saw how you looked at him. I wish we didn't come across him at all so we could avoid this, but that's not the way it worked out. I knew you couldn't cope with the truth last night, and that's why I brought you with us this morning, because I wanted you to see what we're dealing with, with your own eyes. I don't want to pretend we're living in a fairytale. Life these days is absolutely brutal, and despite what you've already seen and been through, you still wouldn't believe some of the stuff that happens out there, but you need to see it."
"You didn't have to kill him," she said softly between sobs.
"Yes, we did."
"Why?"
"I know he seemed just darling when we found him, but what else would he say? He would've said anything to survive, but I'm telling you, he was just as rotten as everyone else from Zed's camp. Randy was no kid. He was old enough to pick up a gun, old enough to kill, and that's what he would have done to us if he was in any shape to, believe me."
"Why did you bring him back here at all? Why not just kill him on the spot?"
"We needed information from him. Anything we could get from him at all about Zed or Delroy, we needed to know. We're on the brink of war here, and the only way we're going to survive is if we be tough and take every advantage we can. This is the way it's always been and the way it always will be until we can actually make a positive change in this damn world. If we weren't strong, we would have been wiped out a long time ago. Zed, Delroy, the bandits... the only reason they respect us is because we don't ever back down from them. If we showed mercy, we'd be dead. If we falter—at all—we're dead. Say goodbye to everyone you've ever come to know in this place, because they don't share any of your compassion, that I can tell you."
Sarah stood there like a husk of a human; empty, unfeeling. She was silent and stared down at Noah's chest. She stopped struggling and her tears were gone. There was no internal conversation with herself; she had nothing to say. She realized he was right. She knew everything he did, he did for the good of everyone in Noah's Ark, including herself, but she didn't know how she could bring herself to accept it.
"I still want to leave," she said quietly.
Noah eased his grip on her a little, his eyes flitting around her face. "You can't leave," he said.
"Why not?"
He stared at her for another moment, and then he couldn't help himself any longer. He gently laid a finger underneath her chin and lifted her head, then he leaned in and kissed her.
A warm electric current ran from his lips to hers, sending a buzz from her face down to her toes. A dim light of warmth shone inside all of the negative feelings in her stomach and grew in intensity until she could hardly stand it and her heart started to flutter.
She had been shocked at first, but now she grabbed him with more force than he held her with and started making out with him, letting her tongue roll around in his mouth. It amazed her at thirty-eight-years old that it felt like her first kiss all over again: Bobby Samson leading her by the hand to the closet in the empty chemistry lab in high school, putting his hands on her hips and telling her not to be nervous. She started thinking about lots of things from her past when she was young, all tied up into a little ball, rolling through her head at the speed of light.
Noah put a hand on the side of her face, and now she felt the first twinge of warmth in her crotch as she let out a little moan. She had always taken a liking to Noah since she came to camp, whether she was always consciously aware of it or not, but this was the first time that she actually felt a strong yearning for him. She loved the feel of his lips, the roughness of his hand, the taste on his breath.
When they finally came up for air, they were both breathing heavily, smiling and doe-eyed. She almost felt betrayed with herself, still wanting to be cold and calloused to him, but her smile wouldn't go away.
"You look like you liked that," he said playfully.
As they stood there, still holding each other, she knew it went beyond liking; she wanted him—maybe even needed him. It was the first happy moment she had since she came here, the first true hint of a reason for her to stay rather than fading away into the decayed ruins of the old world. She felt the walls that she put up around herself start to come down, and in that moment, she knew she would stay.
10
DO NOT DISTURB
Things had been peaceful at Noah's Ark for the rest of the day with no sign of Zed planning anything else against them. The next day in the early afternoon, Sarah and Noah ventured out on a supply run. Noah's Ark was always pretty well supplied with food and other basic necessities, but they were starting to run low on medical supplies and some comfort items like blankets and towels.
They traveled with empty sacks ov
er their shoulders downtown to a Marriott that Noah had picked out. In light of recent events, he wasn't entirely sure it would be safe for just the two of them to go out traveling together, weighing whether all the away parties should be large armed groups or not, but he didn't want to always have to tax their best men just to pick up a few supplies, and he trusted in his own ability to keep Sarah safe and evade any attackers if needed.
They made it to the hotel without running into anyone, living or dead, and when they reached the smashed-in glass door, they slipped inside.
"You know, I've never stayed at a hotel before," Sarah said.
"Really?" Noah asked. "Like... never?"
"Stayed at a motel once," she said, "but never an actual bona fide hotel. Well, at least not before all the zombies."
"But you have stayed at one?"
"Yes, but it wasn't really the experience I was hoping for."
"What happened?"
"It was on my way here. Me and David ran into some zombies back in Roanoke and we fled into the nearest building, which happened to be a hotel. Stayed the night with... a rather unsavory man. But we got out in the morning and went on our way."
"Oh," Noah said as he looked around the lobby. "Well if you want the proper experience, let me be your tour guide." He flashed a big smile at her that would have been right at home on a used car salesman.
Sarah laughed. "Is it safe?"
"We've been here before for supplies," he said. "Pretty much any zombies that were here have probably been wiped out. It should be pretty safe."
"Well in that case, that would be lovely," she said, marveling at everything around her, which was in surprisingly good shape, all things considered.
White and black marble floors stretched across the lobby, and the walls were furnished with cherry wood trim. A large chandelier hung over the middle of the large room, and dusty flat screens hung sadly in the corners, surprisingly intact.
In the wake of the apocalypse, most every building had been ransacked, with most items and furnishings destroyed for no real reason, but this hotel still seemed to maintain some of its elegance.
Zombie Apocalypse Series (Book 2): A Rising Tide Page 9