by Bonnie Dee
Back to the holding cells, Jake had returned with big bowls of oatmeal with plenty of raisins. I told him and Maureen that Daylon would work on getting Maureen free as soon as he could. She wasn’t too disappointed and said she’d finish her Lusty Wench book while she was waiting.
By the time Jake and I got to the meeting hall, the place was packed and comments were flying fast and furious. The people had been informed that a honking big herd of zombies was headed this way and that Topeka might have fallen. One group was very vocal about getting the hell out of Dodge, while others were ready to fight for their homes rather than take a chance on finding anyplace safer in the toxic new world.
When Brian stood up at the front of the room and raised his hands, everybody fell silent and listened. He had an aura about him that made people trust that he had something worth saying.
“I think we all agree there’s no perfect choice, no guarantee of safety. Those of you who feel strongly about leaving should go. But first I hope you’ll listen to a plan I have to try to eliminate a bunch of the undead. We learned setting them on fire is pretty effective, incapacitating them enough to make them easy targets. We need to intercept this new wave, divert them away from town and finish them off.”
“How?” someone asked, and a questioning murmur rippled through the crowd. People could be so dumb. They’d rather bitch or listen to their own voices than pay attention to the answer to their question.
Brian waited a few seconds for the talking to die down before resuming his explanation. “Some of you have already met the visitors who arrived this past week. Daylon, Carl, Tanesha, Jake and Ashleigh will you stand so people can see you?”
My cheeks burned as dozens of pairs of eyes turned toward me. I hadn’t been this embarrassed dancing half-naked on a stage. I sat down quickly.
“These people returned here to tell us what they’d seen on the road and brought us a tanker full of fuel which is parked outside the gates. We should all thank them for their generosity.”
A polite spatter of applause picked up steam and became an ovation that made me blush even more. I gave a princess wave and a sheepish grin.
When the applause faded, Brian continued. “The tank contains diesel oil not gasoline, so we can’t use it for our vehicles but can power some of the generators. I propose we take some of the oil and create a slick in the Grove reservoir, attract the undead there with human bait, then slaughter cattle to lure them into the water. We’ll pick up the people, leaving the zombies to go for the fresh kill. After we get a good number into the reservoir, we’ll light the oil and let them burn. There’s a steep drop off and no easy way out. We’ll kill any that make it out and if this works, we’ll repeat the process as needed.”
There was complete silence as everyone searched for flaws then people began to throw darts. “What if they won’t jump into the water? What if they aren’t attracted by the dead cows? Who’s going to act as bait and how close will they have to let the zombies get? What if a bunch of them attack the town instead? Who’s going to be here to defend it?”
“People, let’s have some order,” Janice Myers’s voice cut through the noise with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. Immediately the voices died down. She’s mastered crowd control. I could imagine the hundreds of teenagers she’d cowed over the years as she stalked the halls of the high school. I knew I was being unfair. She brought a sense of calm and stability to these people that they needed. But I still didn’t like her.
Myers had patiently heard out Brian’s idea, but now she took control of the room. “You all have doubts and concerns to air, but let’s take them one by one. Mr. Pasman’s idea has some merit. I’ve asked him to think outside the box and come up with possible solutions to our problem. We’re a town under siege and likely to be more so in the coming days. We must consider all ideas no matter how preposterous they sound.”
She managed to applaud Brian and condemn his idea in the space of two short sentences.
“These strangers have brought us fuel which could be the difference between our surviving the winter or not. I’m not sure using the oil in the way Mr. Pasman suggests would serve our best interests. It’s my opinion we should fortify our position and wait out this siege. At some point government aid will reach us.”
“You should stop counting on that,” Daylon said. “No one’s coming to the rescue. If you plan to stay here, you’re going to have to fend for yourselves, take the fight to the undead and stop sitting back trying to outlast them.”
“We don’t need much oil,” Brian added. “There should be more than enough for our needs for a long time to come. We can’t use it for many purposes other than running generators anyway—or maybe trading with other towns. I know things could go wrong with this plan. There’s no guaranteeing the undead will be lured into the water, but I believe it might work. Our wall can’t be reinforced enough to hold up against hundreds of bodies trying to push through it. We either try this, or evacuate before they get here.”
I wanted to applaud. Brian managed to sound even cooler and more reasonable than Myers. People couldn’t help but believe in him. He wasn’t hot-tempered like Daylon or arrogant like Myers. He was a sincere leader and a voice to be trusted.
“How long do we have to prepare?” someone asked.
“The group we saw was a day’s drive away. If they keep walking steadily, I’m thinking a good twenty-four hours,” Daylon answered. “It’s possible they’ll shift direction and never reach here, but I wouldn’t count on it.”
“I say we get started then,” the man said. “Could be some cows at the Schroeder place. I’ll check it out if someone wants to come with me.”
Fes raised his hand. “I will.”
Janice called an end to the meeting but people weren’t really listening to her as they discussed what they were going to do. Some were organizing a caravan to hightail it out of town, while others broke into committees to follow Brian’s plan. Myers looked pissed as hell about being ignored and that made me smile.
I sat and listened to the talk around me. Thought I’d wait until the dust settled and see how I could be the most useful. I overheard some dude trying to sway others to leave with his group. I could see the manpower we needed for the town’s defense trickling away and decided the best thing I could do for Brian would be to stop that trickle from becoming a river.
I joined the group. “You’re right to be scared of what’s coming, but I can tell you it’s tough being on the road, not knowing what you’ll face every day. There are zombies, but other kinds of danger too, thugs who’ll attack you for your stuff, accidents, injuries, sickness from the decomposing bodies. It’s hard to find water, food and gas. You don’t know how lucky you guys have it here. Your town’s like heaven and definitely worth fighting for.”
I didn’t add anything more. I was the last person to lecture anybody about leaving when things got tough. If they wanted to go, they’d go. But as I walked away from the group of townies, I hoped I’d planted some seeds.
After that, I set about making myself useful. I didn’t know squat about building but I could fetch and carry supplies for the workers who did. I helped remove the legs someone’s kitchen table and haul the heavy wooden slab to one of the construction sites. I was sent to the hardware store for screws and nails and carried back a message from the store owner that his stock was almost gone so they’d better re-use what they could. After that, I was sent to bring food to the workers up and down the line.
In the kitchen of one of the local restaurants, several older ladies cooked vats of stews and soups. The restaurant owner, Becky, baked loaves of bread from scratch. I helped another woman load food into the back of a van and delivered it at various spots around town. When we returned with empty pots and dishes, we got the honor of washing them.
Halfway through the afternoon, Maureen found me in the kitchen scrubbing one of the oversized pots. “Hey, girl. How’re you doing?”
“Busy.” But surprisingly cont
ent. I dried off my hands and gave her a hug. “I see Daylon got you sprung. Now what?”
She gave me a sad little smile. “Jake and I are heading out. We’re going south along with a group from town. I know we promised to help, but I’ve got to try to get someplace where there’s vaccine and we need to travel with a group. You understand.”
I absolutely did. It would be terrifying to carry the possibility of turning zombie in your blood. I gave Maureen another hug and breathed in the vanilla scent she always wore even when we were filthy, hungry and homeless. That homey smell would always make me think of her. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too. Maybe we’ll run into each other again someday when we all get to Dallas.”
“Maybe.” Dallas was starting to sound like El Dorado, a made-up place no one would ever really reach.
“I got something for you.” She reached into her bag and handed me the romance novel she’d been reading that morning. “The best stuff’s on page two-hundred and three. I marked the corner for you.”
I laughed so hard my chest hurt as I took the dog-eared paperback. “Thanks. I’ll treasure it.” Tears stung my eyes as I gave her one last squeeze. “You be careful out there.”
“We will. And you be careful here. Stick with Brian. He seems like a good guy, one who’s actually worth your time.”
I knew how she’d felt about Denny. Even though she hadn’t known him long before he got killed, she’d called him on being a selfish prick.
“I’d better go. Jake’s getting a few things and I told him I’d meet him outside. The caravan’s leaving soon so there’s not much time. He said goodbye from him, too.”
“It’s just you two going? Not Tanesha or any of the others?” I would’ve expected Tanesha to blow this town.
“Just us. Daylon’s gone with some others to check on how close the zombies are. Aaron’s resting. Carl’s building flamethrowers, and I don’t know where Tanesha is. You tell her goodbye from me when you see her.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I offered.
“No. Let’s just do this now.” Maureen’s eyes glistened as she gave me a final hard hug then fled from the restaurant.
I went back to the kitchen and finished the pots because I didn’t want to leave the task for someone else then hurried outside to watch the caravan drive away. I was too late. They were already gone. Instead I spotted Brian walking and talking with Councilman Santa.
I hurried to catch up and grabbed his hand. “What’s up? How are things going?”
“They’re going.” He gave me a little smile that made my insides glow. “Ashleigh this is Barry Jensen. I don’t know if you’ve been introduced yet.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
Jensen did a double-take back and forth between us as if adding numbers that didn’t equal the right sum. “Good to see you again and thank you for bringing Durbinville the fuel truck.” He cleared his throat. “Well, I guess I’ll go take care of what we talked about.” He hurried off, leaving us alone.
“What’ve you been doing today?” Brian asked.
I filled him in on my many jobs as a gofer. “What about you?”
“I’ve sent some people to scavenge for supplies and more weapons. Daylon’s taken a team to scout the zombies’ movements. And I spent some time figuring out how to release the fuel from the tank.”
“Have you had any chance to rest? Never mind. I know you haven’t. I’m going back to your house and do some laundry for both of us. Then I’ll make a meal and I expect you to come home to eat and sleep. You’re running on fumes and you’ll do nobody any good if you collapse.”
With that Betty Homemaker scolding and a quick kiss, I left Brian and headed back to jail to get my things. After that, I hiked to his house and was ready to collapse by the time I got there. But a housewife’s work is never done. I collected our dirty clothes, basically everything we owned, and stuffed them all into the washing machine in one big load so as not to waste water or electricity.
Walking through the kitchen on my way to the laundry room, I looked away from the spot behind the center island where I’d killed Lainie. The room was scoured clean and smelled of bleach, but I knew if I looked at the floor I’d only see her bloody corpse. But I could hardly prepare food without facing the kitchen so after filling the washer I steeled my nerve and got a can of beans from the cupboard. After that, I was able to go through the motions of preparing a meal without thinking of Lainie too much. By the time the load of laundry finished , I’d gotten over my unease at being in the kitchen. I put the damp clothes in a hamper and carried them to the backyard to hang on a line.
I was struggling to pin a cold, clammy sheet that the breeze was twisting around me like mummy wrappings when a voice came from the other side of the sheer fabric.
“Who’s winning?” Brian asked.
“Gravity,” I answered dryly and jammed on another clothespin before walking around the flapping sheet to face him.
“What are you doing out here?”
“What’s it look like? Hangin’ the warsh, Paw,” I drawled.
“You could’ve used the dryer. My generator can crank out enough juice for a load or two.” He picked up the half-empty basket of wet clothes and carried it toward the back door.
“You told me to conserve electricity. I’m just following orders.” But I was glad to get a reprieve from laundry duty and worshipped the purr of the machine as the clothes tumbled dry. Sweet, blessed electricity.
I served up homemade burritos and some nasty canned corn. But it was food, we were both hungry so we gobbled it up. We didn’t talk about zombies at all. I kept the conversation light, telling Brian stories about my time in Vegas—not the seamier stuff but anecdotes about a horrible roommate I used to have. Then he shared some college roomie memories with me. While we washed dishes, we discussed favorite movies and music and afterward we each took a shower, although I would’ve been fine sharing one.
Clean and dressed in a fresh tank top and shorts, I waited for Brian in his bed and when he came from the bathroom, all damp and warm and soap-smelling, I tossed back the covers and welcomed him between the sheets. I snuggled down beside him, stroked his damp hair away from his forehead and kissed it. “You look like shit. You need to get a solid eight hours.”
“Of sleep?” he asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.
“Yes, sleep. Nothing more than that.” I did my best to sound prudish but doubted he bought it.
“My mind’s spinning. I can’t relax.” He slipped an arm around me and nuzzled my neck.
I moaned a little then squirmed away to reach for something on the nightstand. “Then you need to be distracted. I’ve got just the thing.” I opened to page two-hundred and three of The Lord’s Lusty Wench and began to read aloud. The scene started with a blow by blow account of a blow job and after about a page I stopped reading to act out the material. Warm skin slid like silk beneath my hands and into my mouth. Brian looked down at me with hungry eyes begging for more. Needless to say, we never got back to the story.
When I lay back, took him in my arms and he thrust inside me, I closed my eyes and opened up to the sense of unity, of two bodies becoming one. For a few elusive moments, I experienced pure joy. Everything else faded away and we became a sum much greater than its parts. But even after we separated, I felt the closeness continuing. This was a new feeling for me. I wondered if Brian felt it too. But I couldn’t ask without sounding like a needy, emotional chick so I didn’t. Instead I made a smart-ass remark about the Lusty Wench getting her groove on with the Lord.
“Wonder if she files a sexual harassment suit later in the story.”
Brian chuckled at my weak joke and I felt as warm and as cozy as a basketful of kittens as he pulled me close to snuggle. I could so grow used to this, given time and the opportunity to stay alive for a while.
Later, after his breathing grew slow and deep, I remembered the clothes hanging out to dry. I rose, dressed and went out into the frosty n
ight to snatch them off the line and throw them in the basket. They were crunchy with frost and my fingers quickly went numb. The stars were sharp points in the black sky despite the glow from the perimeter lights. A gunshot went off and I jerked. At last the lines were bare. I snatched up the basket and ran shivering into the warmth and safety of the house.
* * * * *
Chapter Fifteen
I thought I’d slip out of the bedroom before Ashleigh awoke, let her enjoy the oblivion of sleep a little longer before having to face another day. But her voice stopped me as I was putting on my jeans.
“What’s that big bruise on your leg?”
I’d almost forgotten about the zombie bite even though my thigh ached from it. I’d been focused on more important things yesterday and more pleasant things last night. I paused with my pants around my knees and looked at the ugly black and purple mark about the size of my palm.