by Lee, Raymond
“No, we need to move. Those shots probably rang out all the way to that last exit ramp and you saw how many zombies were there.” He stood and scanned the expressway, relieved he didn’t see any dark humanoid shapes approaching yet. “Janjai, why don’t you check Maura’s backpack and see what she has in there that’s useful? Be careful. She has some grenades.”
“We’re going to just leave her body here?” Janjai asked, sniffing as tears ran the length of her face. “Like trash?”
“We don’t have the tools necessary to bury her,” Hal apologized. “We have to get moving before we have company.”
Janjai gave him a dark look before picking up Maura’s backpack from the ground where she’d left it earlier. Hal bent down and started working on removing Maura’s sheath so he could take her machete. It was too good of a weapon to leave behind, even if it had nearly cost him his life.
Janjai screamed and dropped a plastic bag she’d retrieved from the inside of Maura’s backpack. She gagged before turning around and bending at the waist to vomit.
Hal and Angela quickly rushed over and looked at what had sickened her. Cat litter spilled out of the bag, rolling off a brownish red lump.
“That stinks!” Angela cried, pulling the neck of her shirt up to cover her lower face as she turned away. “What is it?”
Hal bent down and poked the object with his knife. “It’s a human heart. Now we know what Maura was doing with the cat litter. She used it to absorb the smell as she carried this thing around with her.”
“What?” Angela blanched. “What a psycho!”
“Whose is it?” Janjai asked, looking over briefly before turning away again to throw up what little was left of her previous night’s dinner.
Hal stood and walked back over to Maura’s lifeless body, the smell of the heart, no longer covered in the cat litter, too foul to stay next to for long. He recalled his previous conversations with Maura, the way she spoke of her fiancé and how a Russian mail-order bride had caused his death. He recalled all the comments she’d made about men, not being able to trust them, and the deep all consuming hatred she felt toward Russian women. It clicked.
“I’m going to take a guess here and say his name was Daniel and he may or may not have actually been her fiancé but she definitely wanted to spend her life with him. He chose a mail-order bride instead and she killed him.”
“And took his heart?” Angela frowned. “Why?”
“Because that way she won,” he explained. “The other woman may have gotten the ring but she would forever have his heart.”
“Oh that’s just twisted.”
“And sad.” He looked down at Maura and shook his head. “I hope you find peace, Maura. I have a feeling Daniel won’t be waiting for you on the other side, if you even wind up close to where he’s at.”
“Was there anything else in the pack?” he asked Janjai.
The woman glared at him, a green tinge coloring her pale skin. “You look. I am not touching her things again.”
Hal nodded, understanding. “Help Angela get everything else together. It’s time to go.”
“Look!” Jeremy pointed ahead to the two-story house, the first building they’d come across since the SUV had broken down.
“What do you guys think?” Raven asked, adjusting her backpack’s straps which had started digging into her shoulders.
They stopped to observe, watching the building for signs of activity. The house had definitely seen better days, as had the barn a distance behind it, but it was shelter and not entirely run down.
“There might be food inside,” Cruz said.
“And there might be people guarding that food,” Damian added, palming his rock hammer. “If we go in we need to stay alert.”
“I don’t think we should go in armed,” Raven said. “If there are people inside and they see us armed they’ll get the wrong idea.”
“If there are zombies inside we won’t have time to worry about anyone getting a wrong idea,” Jeremy advised, her small voice shaking. “They’ll be on us before we can draw a weapon. Best to be ready.”
“She’s right,” Cruz agreed, removing his knife from its sheath. “We stay close and stay armed. This house is just out in the middle of nowhere and if there were any zombies around they probably moved on looking for food but if there are any stuck inside, they’re going to be extremely hungry.”
“And this dark meat is not on the menu for anyone’s buffet,” Damian said, proceeding.
The others followed him, moving slowly as they constantly surveyed the area around them. They’d been on foot for a few days and had encountered a few zombies during that time. No large groups, just stragglers, but even a few were hard to deal with when bone tired and they were all feeling the effects of all the miles they’d had to walk, especially Cruz although he’d never admit it nor make Jeremy walk in her horrible blister-inducing flats.
“I hope there are shoes inside,” she said, seeming to read Raven’s mind.
“I’m going to have to put you down when we reach the house,” Cruz told her. “Can you manage?”
“Yes.”
A scream ripped through the morning air, chilling the blood in Raven’s veins.
They all stopped and looked around, trying to discern where the sound came from, Cruz lowering Jeremy to the ground and shoving her behind him.
Another scream sounded, this one filled with more agony than the last.
“Oh shit, it’s coming from the house,” Damian said before throwing his hands up. “I’m out.”
He turned to walk away but Raven grabbed his collar and pulled him back as another scream erupted, this one muffled. “You hear that?”
“Yeah, we hear a woman screaming. That’s why we need to get the hell out of here.”
“No, it’s muffled.”
“So what?”
“So, zombies don’t bother to muffle anyone’s screams. Somebody is in there with that woman trying to quiet her.”
“So?”
“So she needs help and I’m not leaving her.” Raven stepped forward but Damian quickly blocked her.
“Girl, we don’t know that woman. If someone’s doing something to her why should we go get the same thing done to us?”
“Seriously? She could be trapped in there with a psychopath or some rapist or something.” She looked back at Cruz. “We have to help her. What if it was one of us?”
“She’s right,” Cruz said. “We have to see what’s going on in there.”
“You two and your freaking bleeding hearts are going to get us all killed,” Damian grumbled, following them as they approached the front of the porch. Jeremy hobbled but managed to keep up as they climbed the porch steps and looked in the front windows.
“See anything?” Cruz asked.
“Yeah, I see my life flashing before my eyes and me whooping your ass before I go out since my death is going to be your fault,” Damian answered.
“I don’t see anything,” Raven answered, ignoring Damian’s remark as she strained to see more of what appeared to be a living room. She saw a couch, recliner and coffee table. A bowl rested on the coffee table and she wondered how old it was, if someone was living in the house or if the screams came from someone who’d run in for shelter and been chased by some weirdo. To the right she saw a staircase.
The woman’s scream came again, seeming to come from the second floor.
“There’s no one in this front room so I say we use it to gain entrance,” Cruz instructed them. “Raven, can you pick the lock? If we go in quiet we’ll have a better shot of getting out there alive. Going in guns blazing isn’t smart when we don’t know how many are inside or where exactly they are.”
“Going inside, period, isn’t smart but we’re still doing it,” Damian said.
Ignoring him, Raven went to the door and started to work on the lock. It only took her a few minutes to unlock the door. She held her breath as she swung it open.
“Behind me,” Cruz said,
pushing her behind him as he took the lead, gun still holstered but his knife in hand.
Raven wasn’t sure if he was the best to have in front since he’d been talking to himself just a few hours earlier, no longer able to hide his invisible enemies from Damian and Jeremy, but she didn’t want to argue with him when they needed to be working together to make sure everyone stayed safe.
“I need you to push,” came a female voice from the second floor.
“I can’t!” another woman cried, “I’m being ripped apart.”
Raven and Cruz shared a confused look as they moved to the stairs and slowly crept up them. The woman screamed again while a man pleaded with her to be quiet. That was three people they knew of by the sound of the voices.
“Push, Maggie, push!”
“I can’t!”
“Oh hell no,” Damian whispered. “Do not tell me someone’s up in here having a baby.”
“I think that’s it,” Cruz said, his face paling. “Not exactly something I want to intrude on.”
“They might need help,” Raven whispered back.
“What the hell we know about having babies?” Damian countered. “Let’s leave.”
“It’s a place to stay,” Jeremy spoke up. “Maybe they have clothes. We can get out of these bloody rags.”
Damian looked down at his blood-caked clothes and sighed. “Fine, but I ain’t birthing no baby!”
Raven rolled her eyes at the Gone with the Wind reference and slowly crept up the stairs, sheathing her katana. She was pretty sure having a baby outside a hospital setting was nightmare enough without weapons being thrown in.
The voices were coming from the first bedroom to the left. The door was partially open, allowing her to creep close and inspect the inside. She peered through the sliver and saw a balding man in overalls sitting on a footstool at the foot of a bed. A woman’s blanket covered legs were open before him as he checked the progress of the birth.
“You’re doing great, Maggie,” came the Asian accented female voice she’d first heard instructing the woman to push but Raven couldn’t see this woman yet, indicating she was at the head of the bed. There didn’t seem to be anyone else in the room.
Raven looked over her shoulder and nodded at her group. They nodded back, each one of them braced for whatever might happen.
Raven pushed the door open and stepped inside, hands raised to show she was unarmed and not wanting trouble.
“Holy shit!” The man jumped up and ran for the shotgun propped against the wall while the Asian woman, a pretty young woman with long silky black hair, held a pick-axe defensively. By the time the man turned with the shotgun, Cruz had his own gun pointed at the man’s head.
“Put that down,” Cruz ordered. “We’re not bad people and we didn’t come here to hurt anybody.”
“That’d be easier to believe if you weren’t covered in blood,” the man spat back, his hands shaking.
“It’s zombie blood,” Raven explained, attempting to calm the man’s nerves before he shot one of them on accident. “We had a run-in with a horde of them but nobody was bitten or scratched. We’re not infected.”
“Where’d you come from?”
“Originally? We started in California. We drove most of the way but our vehicle broke down and we’ve been on foot a few days now.”
“Where are you headed?” the Asian woman asked before soothing the woman in labor as she let out a guttural cry.
“Nebraska, to a military camp, but we have to go to Kansas first to check on someone. We just need a little help. We still have some of our own food but we could use shelter for a good night’s rest and new clothes, if there are any here. We have a girl here with really bad shoes. Her feet are a mess. If there’s any shoes here she could use that would really help us out.”
“Why should we trust you?” the man asked. “You might kill us and take everything.”
“We could have already done that if it was our plan,” Damian said. “We crept right up on you. What if we were infected? Looks to me like you could use some added security around here while you take care of your woman there. All we need in return are fresh clothes and some rest. Pretty good deal.”
The woman on the bed cried out again, her back arching off the mattress. Raven looked down at her with pity. She wasn’t a very small woman but she looked as fragile as a bird in her current condition. Raven didn’t even want to know what she was feeling.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” She asked the Asian woman, finding her more likely to accept the help.
“Do you know anything about delivering babies?”
“No.” Raven shook her head. “But if y’all tell me what to do, I can do it.”
“Just make sure no one else gets in here,” the man said gruffly as he took his place once more on the footstool. “Especially not any damn zombies. We’ve been trying to keep her quiet but it isn’t working.”
“Yeah, I can see why,” Raven murmured, earning a glare from the man.
“My mother gave birth to three of us naturally and didn’t make a peep,” the man said. “It can be done. Just gotta get yourself together.”
“Well, aren’t you a charmer?” Raven couldn’t help saying.
“Why don’t I get you all something to wear?” the Asian woman said quickly before the man could respond. “It’s best everyone is as clean as possible around the baby when she gets here.”
The woman walked over to the door, holding Raven’s gaze as she did, warning her to not say another word.
“I’m Pimjai,” she introduced herself after ushering them out into the hall. “Cliff isn’t the friendliest guy, especially under stress. Try to stay out of his way. Men, you can find clothes in that room.” She pointed at a bedroom they passed and the men broke away to find something clean. “What’s your name?”
“Jeremy,” Jeremy answered meekly.
Pimjai frowned then seemed to realize she was doing it. “Sorry. I am still getting used to American names. I thought that one was a boy name. You can find clothing in your size in here.” She opened a door leading to a pink bedroom filled with trophies and stuffed horses. “Go on. It is safe.”
Jeremy looked at Raven and she nodded her head. “I’ll be close.”
“OK.” The young girl reluctantly went into the room by herself.
“You will also find clothes your size in there. I think the room was shared by sisters, one older, one younger,” Pimjai said, closing the door.
“You don’t live here?”
“I stay here, with Cliff and Maggie. They had friends who lived here. They are gone now.”
“Gone as in they’re zombies?”
“We do not know. Cliff and Maggie found me on the road. They brought me here for my safety.”
“You were alone?”
“My husband was bitten.”
“I’m sorry.” Raven tried to think of a comforting gesture to take that pain away but couldn’t. The sorrow in Pimjai’s eyes was too much to look at so she changed topic. “Did you want to speak with me alone?”
“Yes.” Pimjai wiped away the wetness from her eyes, gathering herself. “I am glad you are here. I do not know you, but I may need your help as much as you need ours.”
“I don’t know anything about delivering babies but I’ll do all I can. The men will guard the house and make sure no harm comes to anyone. Jeremy’s just a kid but she’ll help all she can as well.”
Pimjai shook her head. “I do not think Maggie is having a baby.”
“What?” Raven’s voice came out louder than she intended so she quickly lowered it, not wanting to alarm anyone. “What do you mean?”
“The baby stopped moving three days ago. Now, Maggie seems to be in labor and hurting very bad.”
“One generally does hurt while giving birth.” Raven almost laughed.
“I asked questions. I know Maggie was in a car accident before she became pregnant. She was given blood.”
The horror of what Pimjai
was implying sent icy cold shivers skating up Raven’s spine. “You don’t seriously think…”
“I do not know but my instinct is telling me this will be very bad. I have learned to trust my instincts. They do not lie.”
The ball of dread growing in Raven’s belly doubled in size. “Why’d you separate me to tell me this?”
“Because I need your help. If what I fear is to happen actually does happen I may not be able to do what needs to be done. I have grown close to Maggie. I felt that baby kick. If her baby is fine she will need help caring for it and herself. As women we are better to do that while the men protect. If she gives birth to something unnatural, I will need you to take care of it in as gentle a way possible.”
Cruz entered the hallway as Raven struggled to process what was being asked of her.
“Excuse me, ma’am. Do you have any washcloths, soap, anything we can use to get cleaned up?”
“The shower is in the downstairs bathroom,” she answered, “and yes, the water works.”
“For real?” Damian’s head poked out of the room. “Shit, I’m first!” He edged Cruz out of the way and ran down the stairs.
“So much for ladies first,” Cruz muttered, watching him go for a moment before turning back to Raven. “You want me to drag him out so you and Jeremy can get first crack at the shower?”
“No,” Raven faked a smile, still shaking inside from the news Pimjai had just delivered. “Why don’t you guard the first floor though until he’s done?”
“Will do, and I’ll save the next two showers for you two girls so come on down when you’ve found clothes.” He took the stairs with less enthusiasm as Damian.
Raven turned toward the woman. “Are you asking me to kill that woman’s baby?”
“Only if it is not a baby.”
“This is insane.” She shook her head. “You could just be assuming the worst scenario possible.”
“I could be,” Pimjai agreed. “I hope I am, but if I am not, I will need you …”
“Raven.”
Pimjai’s eyes opened wide and she stepped back.
“What?”
“It is my dream,” she said, clutching the neck of her billowy red shirt. “For three nights I have dreamed of a black bird bringing death.”