Zombiemandias (Book 2): In the Year of Our Death

by David J. Lovato

  The man tore his foot from Nelson’s side, and Nelson sat up, tentatively, watching the man the whole time. He was blurry, but Nelson was pretty sure his face didn’t move at all. Nelson worked his way to his knees. “Unless you have another scientist around.”

  The calm man smiled, then stared from one of his companions to another, and they laughed, though it sounded forced.

  “Turns out we don’t,” he said. He offered Nelson his hand. Nelson wanted little less than to touch it, but he did, and the man guided him gently to his feet. “All right. I believe you, for now. We’ll see soon enough whether you’re full of shit, and if you are, we’ll replace it with some lead.”

  “It’s no lie,” Nelson said, although part of it was. The dam was mostly automatic, though they’d have no way of knowing that—unless they killed him and were pleasantly surprised to find their electricity still on.

  “Well then, let’s go!”

  The others started walking, with at least two of them behind Nelson to make sure he couldn’t run. The calm man put an arm around Nelson’s shoulder.

  “Go where?” Nelson asked.

  “‘Where?’ To get you new glasses, of course!”

  17

  In New Los Angeles

  When Keely entered their bedroom, she could tell Katie had been crying. Katie made her best attempt to hide it, but it was useless, and she knew it.

  “What’s up?” Keely said.

  “Nothing,” Katie replied. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

  Keely sat down on the bed next to her. “You sure?”

  “Yeah.” Katie wiped her eyes. “Did you get the batteries?”

  “No. But it’s all right.”

  “Come here,” Katie said. She stood up and headed for the little bathroom extending from their bedroom. Keely followed her. Katie motioned to the toilet. “Sit down.” Keely sat down, and Katie rummaged through a drawer and got out some scissors. “It won’t be as short as you like it, but I can get it pretty close.”

  Katie cut Keely’s hair in silence for a few minutes.

  “How was the shopping trip? Besides the car being stolen, I mean.”

  “It was nice to get out,” Keely said. “Not much to get out to, though.”

  “Someone’s out there,” Katie said. Keely watched a lock of hair fall to the floor. “Obviously.”

  “Yeah.”

  It didn’t take long. Katie looked Keely over, then nodded. “Have a look.”

  Keely looked her hair over in the mirror. It was just as Katie had promised: Not as short as she was used to, but shorter than it was, and it looked good.

  “Thanks. It looks great.”

  Katie smiled, but then it weakened. She put the scissors down and headed into the bedroom.

  Keely followed her. She had a pretty good idea what was wrong, but there was no way of fixing it until it was out in the open, so she came out and said it.

  “Layne said no, didn’t he?”

  Katie stopped walking. She sat down on the bed, but she didn’t start crying. Keely sat next to her and put her arms around her.

  “It’s fine,” Katie said. “It was…” She sighed. “It was silly anyway. This world isn’t a place for children.” She leaned her head on Keely’s shoulder.

  Not yet, it isn’t.

  ****

  Layne was done broadcasting. Keely had been waiting outside, and he beckoned her in.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” Keely replied.

  “I think I have a pretty good idea what this is about.”

  “Why?” Keely sat in a chair across from him.

  Layne sighed. “I really wish I could help—”

  “You can. You just won’t.”

  “It’s not easy,” Layne said. He made eye contact with her.

  “I know that. Better than you.”

  “I don’t think you understand. Why it’s hard for me, I mean.”

  “It’s because you love her.” Layne looked away. The radio station was empty except for the two of them, but he still kept it like a secret. “It’s okay. Things aren’t like they used to be. Things are… so much harder now. But it’s okay.”

  “It wouldn’t feel right,” Layne said.

  “Then what about me? It doesn’t have to be Katie.”

  Layne looked at her. “I… don’t think I could.”

  “Of course not. Because you don’t love me. You love her.”

  Layne sighed. “It’s not just that. How can we take care of a child, a baby? It’s hard enough to keep ourselves alive.”

  “We can find a way,” Keely said. “I already know how to start.”

  “Garrett talked to you, didn’t he?”

  “It’s a good idea, Layne.”

  Layne covered his face with his hands, rubbed them up and down. “I can’t give you anything to leave this room with. But I can tell you I’ll think about it.”

  “About which?”

  “Both. Opening New Los Angeles and… Katie.”

  “Thanks.” Keely stood up, and Layne did the same. Keely hugged him. He was surprised, but he returned it.

  ****

  Ralph was having a dream about losing someone who meant a lot to him. He woke up and immediately lost all of the specifics. Lightning flashed, and he saw a figure outside his window.

  His first instinct was to turn on the light, and he fought it. All that would do was give him away. Instead he worked his way across the room, trying to hold still whenever lightning flashed, and headed out the door.

  Ralph went down the hall, to Layne’s room. The motel was only one floor, which some of the others thought unsafe, but at least it was easier to find people. Ralph knocked on the door. Layne answered soon after.

  “Ralph… it’s early.”

  “I know. There’s someone outside my window.”

  “You sure it’s not just the storm?”

  “Positive.”

  “We’d better take care of it.”

  “By ourselves?”

  “No. Get Garrett. And Warren.

  The four met in the main room. Warren was the last to enter. “I’m too old for this shit,” he said. Layne handed him a shotgun.

  “Can you guard the door? The three of us are going out, we need you to make sure nothing else gets in.”

  “Sure thing,” Warren said.

  Layne, Garrett, and Ralph headed into a driving rain. Lightning flashed frequently, lighting their path. They went around the building to the outside of Ralph’s window, but there was nothing there.

  “Fuck,” Garrett said.

  “I know I saw someone,” Ralph said.

  “I believe you. Which means there’s a zombie roaming around New L.A.”

  “We have to find it,” Layne said.

  “Can’t wait ‘til morning?”

  “Not worth the risk.” They headed back around the building with every intention of checking the closest streets, not even thinking to check around the corner, where a window lay in pieces on the ground.

  ****

  Keely heard a scream. She sat up, and Katie stirred. Keely listened, wondering if she had dreamt it.

  “Katie, wake up,” she said. “I heard something.”

  Katie sat up. Rain pattered against the window, and then they heard something moving around in one of the other rooms.

  “It’s probably Dex and Lacie,” Katie said.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Keely and Katie grabbed their handguns and started down the hall. When they heard another scream, they ran. They reached Dex and Lacie’s door and pounded on it.

  “Everything okay?” Katie asked.

  “Help!” Dex called. Katie tried the knob, but it was locked. She slammed against the door with her shoulder. Vince emerged from his room a few feet behind them.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, help me get in here!”

  Vince joined Katie in slamming against the door. Keely heard a shotgun go off near
the front of the building, and didn’t know whether to stay or go.

  The door snapped open and Vince and Katie poured in. Dex was on the floor, barely holding a zombie above him. Lacie was fending off another one near the window. It held one of her arms, and she was pressing her free hand against its forehead to keep its teeth away.

  Katie raised her gun, and Keely turned the light on so she could see. Katie and Vince fired at the same time, and both zombies dropped.

  “Anyone bitten?” Vince asked.

  Keely rushed toward the front door. Warren was standing with the door partially open. A zombie lay dead in the street.

  “What’s happening?” Keely asked.

  “Ralph saw someone outside, so he and Layne and Garrett went looking for it.”

  “They didn’t look very hard. We had a break-in.”

  “God! I didn’t hear anything, the rain—”

  “It’s okay,” Keely said. “It’s good you were here. We don’t know how many there are. Just stay here, watch the door.”

  Keely returned to the bedroom. Lacie was crying, and Dex was breathing heavily.

  “Everyone okay?” Keely asked.

  “Yeah,” Vince replied.

  “Where is everyone?” Lacie asked.

  “Out searching for zombies. Warren is guarding the door.”

  “Let’s put something in front of this window,” Katie said. “And I suggest you guys sleep in another room until we can get it fixed for real.”

  “Yeah,” Dex said. “Good idea.”

  The group waited in the front room, and after a few minutes, Layne and Garrett and Ralph returned, dripping wet. There was blood leaking down the side of Ralph’s face.

  “What happened?” Warren said.

  “One of the barricades fell,” Layne replied. “There were almost a dozen of them. We need to fix it before more come in.”

  “You okay?” Katie asked Ralph.

  “I slipped. Hit my head. It looks worse than it is, the rain, you know.”

  “I’ll go out, you stay here.”

  “I’ll come, too,” Keely said. Katie looked at her.

  “…Okay,” she said.

  The four headed back out with some extra wood and a spare latch. The sky was getting brighter. Near the barricade, three more zombies were already inside. Layne and the others ducked behind a car.

  “We’ll take these three out first,” he said. “You guys hold the gate shut, I’ll install the new latch. There are a few holes in the wood, someone needs to patch them.”

  “I’ll do it,” Keely said.

  Layne nodded. “Let’s go.”

  They moved together. Garrett shot one zombie and Katie shot another. Layne fired at the third and missed, fired again and killed it. Another zombie poked its head in, and Keely shot it. It dropped.

  They reached the wall, and Layne pushed the dead zombie’s head out of the way with his foot. Garrett and Katie pressed against the gate with both arms. Something on the other side pushed back. Layne got to work on the latch, and Keely picked up a small square of plywood and a hammer.

  She went to press the wood against the hole, but a zombie reached its arm through. Keely smashed it with the hammer, and the zombie shrieked and pulled its hand away. Keely held the wood in place and picked up a few nails. She used a lot of them, to make sure the wood would hold, then started on another hole.

  Layne finished with the latch and shut the gate. The others helped finish with the holes, and soon the barricade was whole again. Moans wafted in from the other side, and the zombies pounded at the wood. The four survivors waited, dripping wet, guns in hand.

  They sat around in the cold rain, keeping silent. It was nearly insufferable, but Katie held Keely’s hand, and she was happy Katie was there. By the time the zombies were gone, the rain had stopped and the sun was coming up. Finally, Layne stood up.

  “We should head back.”

  “Wood won’t hold them forever,” Garrett said.

  Layne looked at him, then at the barricade. “No. It won’t.”

  18

  On a New Route

  Georgie’s old route was hard, and the courier he switched with, a young man named Dan, wasn’t thrilled with it. But he had accepted, and Georgie was glad. He was biking his way across Utah now, avoiding zombies when he could. He avoided people as well; he never wanted to make the same mistake again.

  The sun was setting. Ahead, somewhere between Georgie and the distant mountains, he could see movement. He drew a little bit closer, then stopped his bike.

  Zombies wandered the parking lot of a little rest stop. Georgie was tired, and moving on now would mean sleeping outside by the road somewhere. But if he cleared out the zombies, he could probably stay the night in the rest stop.

  But what if any of them weren’t really zombies?

  Georgie balled his hands into fists and tapped them against the sides of his head. He had no idea what to do. He looked at the bag at his side. He didn’t know what was in the package he had, but someone somewhere was waiting for it, might even need it.

  He decided to bike around them. He went off the road and into a field, way out, until the rest stop was a small blur on the horizon. Then he turned and went parallel to the road, and after traveling for a while, he turned his bike back toward it.

  It had been dark for a while by the time he reached the road again. He kept going for another hour, but didn’t see anywhere to sleep. The grass in the field was high, and it might provide decent cover.

  Then, Georgie saw a light ahead, and it was getting bigger. Georgie hadn’t seen a working car in a really long time. Some of his couriers used cars, but none were near him. Georgie kept to the side of the road.

  It turned out to be a bus. When it caught him in its headlights, the bus stopped. Georgie stopped as well. He thought about leaving; he was pretty sure there was no way he could end up hurting these people, but he felt so bad about the man from before, he wasn’t sure anything was worth risking it.

  A man climbed off of the bus and took a few steps into the road, stopping in the headlights. Georgie thought the man looked nice, and besides, he had a bloody bandage on his hand and maybe he needed help. Georgie decided to stay.

  “Hi there,” the man said. “What’s your name?”

  “Georgie.”

  “Hi, Georgie. I’m Adam.”

  “Hello, mister.”

  “What are you doing wandering alone?”

  Georgie looked at the bus. It was full of people pressing against the windows, staring at him. “I’m a courier,” Georgie said. Adam looked down. “You okay, mister?”

  Adam looked back up and smiled. “Yeah. Well, you’re probably expected somewhere, so I’ll let you be on your way.”

  “Yeah,” Georgie said. “I just switched routes with someone.”

  Adam turned and walked toward the bus. Georgie felt a little awkward. He wasn’t really done talking, but maybe the man was still listening.

  “I used to deliver around Los Angeles. I have a friend there, you probably hear him on the radio sometimes.”

  Adam stopped walking. He stood there for a moment, and when he turned around, he looked happier than anyone Georgie had seen in a long time.

  “On the radio, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Georgie said. “He’s let me talk on there once or twice, too, but I don’t really like it.”

  Adam turned to the bus and motioned for someone. Another man got off.

  “Hey, can you come here for a second?” Adam asked. “I actually have a package I need delivered.”

  “I can’t just take any package, mister. It has to be on my route.”

  “Well, there’s a town just down this road, you can’t miss it.”

  The man who had gotten off the bus was holding something. The two of them started toward Georgie.

  “I guess I could take it, if I’m going that way anyway,” Georgie said.

  “That’s very good to hear,” Adam replied. Georgie could see the other
man was holding a pipe. Georgie held his hand out to take it, but the man raised it and hit Georgie in the head, and Georgie went out cold.

  ****

  When Georgie woke up, he had no idea where he was. He was strapped to a small table. There was a light on, and it was bright and hurt his eyes. The room around him was made of stone.

  “Good, you’re awake,” a voice said. Adam stepped into the light, along with the man who had hit Georgie.

  “I—I didn’t mean to hurt anybody,” Georgie said. “I’m awful sorry, it was an accident, I—”

  “Shh,” Adam said. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I had to hit you like that.” Georgie thought it was strange for Adam to apologize; Adam hadn’t hit him, the other man did.

  “Can I go now? I have to deliver something.”

  “I’m afraid not. I need something from you.” Adam knelt down, put his face near Georgie’s, looked into his eyes. He didn’t look different, not really, but somehow he didn’t seem nice or happy anymore. “I need you to tell me where the radio man is. I need to find him. And if you don’t want to tell me, my friend here will have to get it out of you in other ways.”

  The man from before smiled. He was holding something; Georgie had to crank his head to see it was a briefcase.

  “What do you want with the radio man?” Georgie asked.

  “I just want to talk,” Adam said. Georgie didn’t believe him. He wasn’t very nice. And Layne was Georgie’s friend, he didn’t want him getting hurt. But Georgie didn’t want to get hurt either. He decided to come up with a lie. His mom had always said lying was bad, but Georgie wondered if it could be good, if it was to keep a friend from getting hurt.

  “I don’t know, exactly,” Georgie said. “I don’t see the place, really, he sends someone out to get packages from me.”

  Adam stood up, shaking his head. “I have been kind so far. I asked so nicely. I gave you a chance. Why do you insult me with it? You said you’ve been on the radio before, I know you know where it is.”