The street was empty, and after a few seconds, she got out, followed by Lisa who carried an ax, and Nadia who’d put away her phone, gripping her t-bars in both hands. On silent feet, they slipped through the half-open gate and into the yard, heading for the front porch.
The steps creaked when Cat stepped on them, and dead leaves pooled in the corners, rustling in the slight breeze. Her mom’s homemade wind chime swayed, the soft tinkling of bells filling the air.
Cat paused in front of the door, her hand hovering above the handle. “Ready?”
“We’ve got you,” Lisa said and Nadia murmured something in agreement.
Cat twisted the knob, and the door swung open to reveal the dim interior. Faint light streamed in through the gaps in the window, and dust motes swirled in the yellow beams. She eased inside, coughing when dust assaulted her nose and lungs. Nobody had been here in a long time.
Out of habit, Cat reached for her pocket where she kept her inhaler then stopped. She’d outgrown her childhood asthma and no longer needed it. A small blessing in a time when medicine was scarce.
Her Ak47 hung heavy on her back, its weight comforting. If need be, she could blast right through a crowd of zombies and make a quick escape. In her hands she carried her spear slash walking stick, though. The silence of a handheld weapon always trumped bullets in the end. In and out without the undead knowing. That was the way to do it.
Cat moved through the small entrance foyer and into the main living room with measured steps, her ears perked for any sounds. Inside the room, Nadia and Lisa fanned out on either side of her, weapons held at the ready.
“Hello?” Cat called in a bid to draw out anything undead, though she doubted the house was occupied. When nothing answered, she cried again, “Anybody there?”
Thick silence met her ears, and she turned toward Nadia and Lisa. “I think it’s deserted, but let’s make sure.”
Her friends nodded, and Cat turned her focus back to the house. With care, she moved from room to room, clearing each one of either the dead or the living. The entire time, she kept her emotions under a tight rein, but it was hard to keep control as the familiar walls of her childhood home closed in around her.
In the end, the house turned out to be empty, but that didn’t mean it had no story to tell. Almost everything was as she’d left it that fateful day of the outbreak.
Her half-eaten sandwich still lay on the kitchen counter. She hadn’t been able to finish it while worrying over her mom’s disappearance. It was ancient and mummified now, crusty with black mold, and her dirty glass still stood in the sink. In her bedroom, her cupboard doors stood open, the clothes flung about in disarray from when she’d hastily packed a bag that distant afternoon.
What had changed was her mother’s room. Normally neat and tidy, it looked like a whirlwind had passed through the interior. Cat rushed inside and looked into the half open chest of drawers, one after the other. “Empty, empty, mostly empty…”
She moved to the cupboards and checked them, finding a few suitcases missing along with most of her mom’s clothes. “I don’t know. It looks like she came back here and packed her stuff.”
“That’s good news, surely?” Lisa replied. I mean, she was still alive then, wasn’t she?”
Cat nodded as a flare of hope kindled in her breast. “Yes. Something must have prevented her from coming home before, and she only arrived after I left.”
“Problem is…where is she now?” Nadia asked while rifling through a stack of magazines.
“I don’t know. She could be anywhere out there.” Cat shivered as old memories resurfaced, each fighting for dominance until she relived the first days of the outbreak again. The fear, the uncertainty, the horror of it all. “If she’s still alive, that is.”
“Don’t think like that,” Lisa said, placing a warm hand on Cat’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’s fine, wherever she is.”
“Yeah, we’ll find her,” Nadia added.
“Thanks, guys,” Cat said, forcing her fears aside for the moment and adopting a false sense of bravado. “You’re right. We’ll find her.”
“That’s the spirit,” Lisa said, chucking Cat on the arm.
“So…are we staying here the night or moving on?” Nadia asked.
“I’d like to stay,” Cat said before hurrying to add, “Just for one night, if you don’t mind. I’d like to say my goodbyes.”
“Of course,” Lisa said. “Why don’t we give you a minute while we pull in the car and secure the gate?”
“That would be great, Lisa,” Cat replied with a grateful smile. “Oh, and about Chris? I’d like to bury him.”
Nadia nodded. “All right. I’ll look for shovels and a sheet. Lisa, you get the truck inside and the gate locked.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Lisa said as she followed Nadia outside, leaving Cat alone in her mom’s room.
Cat’s shoulders slumped as her confidence leeched away in the sudden silence. The room was dark and oppressive, not at all the way it used to be, and she had the sudden urge to run away.
“I’ll come back later and sort through all this stuff,” Cat muttered to herself as she made her way out of the room and to the kitchen. Thirst drove her as she opened the cupboards looking for bottled water or juice. Basically, anything to drink.
She scored when she discovered a six-pack of small boxed orange juices and pierced one with its little straw before sucking it dry. With a grimace of distaste, she threw the mummified sandwich into the rubbish bin. The bin reeked of decay too, so she put it outside in the court yard. Her eyes fell on her mom’s old herb garden, and she paused for a brief second to admire the flowering patch of purple lavender with its delicate scent.
With a sigh of regret, she ducked back into the gloomy kitchen, locking the door behind her and checking that the windows and curtains were closed. Better to lie low and be safe.
So far, she’d avoided the fridge. The smelly things rarely contained anything usable and were better left alone in most cases. Now, however, as she looked for her mom’s old stash of candles, her eyes fell on a small square of paper stuck to the door with a magnet.
Nadia walked closer, her stomach lurching when she recognized her mother’s neat handwriting. With shaking fingers, Cat pulled the magnet off and read the note, one hand fumbling for a chair when her knees buckled.
That was how Lisa and Nadia found her minutes later, slumped over in the chair and clutching the sliver of paper between quivering palms.
“Are you okay?” Lisa asked, rushing over.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Cat replied, though tears streamed down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong? What’s that?” Nadia asked, pointing at the note.
Cat raised her face toward them and smiled with trembling lips. “I know where she is.”
“You do?” Lisa asked.
Cat nodded. “My mom’s alive, and I know where she is.”
Lisa laughed aloud. “Then why are you crying, silly?”
“I don’t know,” Cat admitted with a giggle. “Tears of joy? This whole time…I thought she was dead.”
“Come here you!” Nadia cried, yanking Cat out of the chair.
With shrieks of joy, the three embraced, celebrating the small victory that had presented itself. Because that’s what you did now. You took what you could, when you could, and be damned with the rest.
End of Preview - Available Here
About the Author
South African writer and coffee addict, Baileigh Higgins, lives in the Free State with hubby and best friend Brendan and loves nothing more than lazing on the couch with pizza and a bad horror movie. Her unhealthy obsession with the end of the world has led to numerous books on the subject and a secret bunker only she knows the location of. Visit her website to sign up for updates, freebies, and more!
WEBSITE - www.baileighhiggins.com
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Dead of Night (Dangerous Nights - A Zombie Apocalypse Thriller Book 1) Page 13