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

by David J. Lovato

  “You found some water, did one better and got a whole building, and we’re close enough to visit my parents from time to time,” Annie said. “Not bad, Willie.”

  “There!” Jeremy said. Four red lights sprouted on top of the building.

  “Think that’s bright enough?”

  “Not sure,” Will said, “but that’s why Mark gave him a—”

  A green flare shot into the sky. Dozens of cries rang out, far but close enough. A shape rushed past the window, and Will dove backward. The zombie kept going toward the light.

  “How’s it feel?” Annie asked. “Not being on the front lines, for once.”

  “I’m worried,” Will replied. “But I can’t say I’m not a little relieved.”

  “I think you’ve done enough work for one week,” Jeremy said. “We all have.”

  “After tonight we can rest,” Annie said.

  Down the street, zombies rushed into the building. Mark had set up floodlights to draw them in and up the first few flights of stairs. After that, he didn’t care what happened to them, so long as they stayed in the building.

  “It’s taking too long,” Jeremy said.

  “It’s taking as long as it needs to,” Will replied. “We really want the majority of them in there.”

  “I know, I’m just anxious.”

  Will put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re okay.”

  Finally a tiny red flame fluttered across the street and into the window, and fire spread out in the base of the building. A dark figure ran along the road toward them, shuffling through zombies trying to get to the fire.

  “There’s Steven!” Will said. He slid the window open and went out.

  Zombies rushed down the block toward the fire. One was in the alley and hadn’t seen it. Will charged and slammed it against a wall, pinning it there while Jeremy shoved a knife in its eye.

  “Two more!” Annie said. She lit a cocktail and tossed it into the street. One of the zombies rushed past them, but the other kept charging. Annie raised her gun, but Will caught the zombie by the throat with his knife. The second zombie was already bathing in the fire on the ground.

  Steven rounded the corner and climbed in through the window, panting heavily. The others followed him inside, and by the time the sun rose, the fire had gone out and the old building had collapsed.

  ****

  Everyone slept for hours. Mark woke them in the afternoon to give them a tour of the apartment. There was enough room for everyone to have their own place, but most stayed in groups of three or four.

  He showed them how the water tower worked. It caught rain on its own, but he showed them how to clean it, take it apart if need be, and reinforce the legs. He led them around the block and pointed out all of the barricades. They found a zombie at one of them, but it was no match for the dumpsters or the dozen-plus people behind them.

  “You’ll want to walk this route every day until you memorize it,” Mark said. “After that, we all take turns checking the barricades every morning. Come on, I’ll show you how to feed the chickens.”

  It was all dream-like for Will. It seemed like only yesterday he had hopped a fence and slept in a swimming pool, while the days he spent trapped in a house with Jeremy and Annie seemed like years ago. That night, when he and his friends settled into Mark and Neil’s apartment for dinner, laughing and joking and resting, Will finally realized they were safe.

  ****

  He woke early in the morning, as he so often had. Rather than sit on the stairs, he went up to the roof, by the water tower. There were already some chairs up there, and he sat on one and watched the sky go from black to blue, splashed with pink and orange.

  He was dozing off when Annie said, “Pretty.”

  “Good morning,” Will said.

  “Morning. You should’ve slept in.”

  “I’ve never been good at that.”

  Annie laughed and sat in a chair next to him. She looked around at the empty city, then at Will. “You have something on your mind. I can tell.”

  “I’m just… thinking this is all too good to be true. I mean, how long can this last? Really?”

  Annie sighed. “Will… if you’re going to be hopeless, what was the point?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You left your house that day not knowing when you’d be safe again. Now you are. Why waste it waiting for it to end?”

  “I’m not,” Will said. “I’m just… cautious.”

  “That’s okay. You can be cautious. Just don’t be hopeless.”

  Will looked out at the streets. Nothing moved down there, except the occasional garbage caught by the wind.

  “Yeah,” Will said. “Okay. We’re safe right now.” He looked at Annie. “You know, I spent years in that house without ever really getting to know the others. I just kind of… lived there. We lost Kevin as soon as we set out. He was always so nice to me… I should’ve been nicer to him. When I had a chance.”

  Annie hugged him. “You’ve got a chance now, Will. Right?”

  “Yeah. From now on, every moment counts. Every single second I get with the others. With you.”

  “Good boy,” Annie said. She messed up his hair, then stood up. “I changed my mind. About being awake. I’m going back to bed.”

  “I think I’ll stay up a while,” Will said. “I mean, look at that sunrise. I wouldn’t want to waste it.”

  ~~~~

  45

  After the Battle

  “The holes are blocked, for now,” Dom said. “No more zombies inside, not that we could find. We should keep our eyes open though. There’s a lot of confusion.”

  He wasn’t lying. People were still crying, some were still screaming, some were sifting through the wreckage and the bodies.

  “How many died?” Layne asked.

  “Thirty-two, by my count. Mostly the attackers.”

  “But some of ours.”

  Dom put a hand on Layne’s shoulder. “Yeah, Layne. Some of ours.”

  “Thanks, Dom,” Layne said. “Go get some rest.”

  Dom started to walk away, then turned back. “I found Harry. He’s banged up, but he’ll live.”

  “That’s great, Dom,” Layne said. Dom smiled and nodded, then left to help a woman who was looking for her husband. Layne limped toward the living complex. He came to the alley and turned down it, sat against the wall across from Garrett’s body. His eyes were glazed over, he looked cold.

  “Where did I go wrong, Garrett? Was it when we told everyone where we were?” Layne dropped his head. No, that wasn’t it; look how many were still alive. “Maybe it was thinking we could ever be safe. Or just when I decided to sit in that fucking radio station and let everyone else do my work for me.”

  Layne pressed his head against the wall behind him. He didn’t even know which of his friends were still alive.

  “Layne?”

  It was Keely, standing at the entrance to the alley. She looked from Layne to Garrett and back.

  “I couldn’t save them. Anyone. It should’ve been me.”

  “But it wasn’t.” Keely helped Layne to his feet. “Let’s go inside.”

  “How’s Katie doing?”

  “She’s stable. Sleeping. Figured I should be out here helping.”

  “And…”

  “The baby?” Keely said. “Jenny doesn’t know. Says she’s not that kind of doctor. And we can’t exactly do an ultrasound. I guess we just have to wait and see.”

  “I’m sorry,” Layne said, and hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You can be sorry, or you can start fixing things. …Tomorrow. You should get some sleep.”

  Keely helped him to his room, and left the door open when she left. Layne wanted to go back out and help, to just be there for everyone, but he was tired and injured. He decided if he was unlucky enough to make it through the night, things would have to change.

  ****

  They only opened the door to give her food or ask her questions. Jane ne
ver ate, and she answered everything they asked, from the church to the courier to the attack, and then she would ask what had happened, but nobody ever answered her.

  Jane huddled on the bed. It had been almost a day since she’d woken up, and she’d heard the explosions and the gunfire, but she was still here, and it wasn’t the stupid church giving her food and keeping her locked up, so Adam’s plan must’ve failed. The only thing she could think was Good.

  The door opened, and Ralph entered the room. Jane stood, excited to see him, but then turned away. She couldn’t meet his eyes.

  “Is… my dad okay?”

  “He died, Jane. I’m sorry. He ran out at some point during the fight and didn’t make it. We found him this morning.”

  “…Yeah.”

  “Anything else you want to tell us?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They’re going to kill you, Jane. You don’t think they’d just let you stay, do you?”

  Jane looked up. Ralph’s arm was bandaged. “You got shot.”

  “A lot of people got shot. I’ll live through it. Doesn’t hurt as badly as…”

  “As being betrayed.”

  “I was going to say that,” Ralph said. “But you tried to tell me, didn’t you? The night Randy hit me. You were coming to warn us.”

  “Does it matter?” Jane said. “I didn’t.”

  “You should have.”

  “I was scared. He said he’d hurt my dad. My dad died anyway, and how many other people?” Jane started crying. Ralph looked like he was about to.

  “Come with me,” Ralph said.

  It was sunset, and the streets were empty, or at least the ones he took her down were. Ralph led Jane to a hole in the wall that had been patched with a temporary barricade. Bodies were everywhere, but they were concentrated heavily at the hole.

  “You don’t have to rub it in,” Jane said.

  “I’m not here to rub it in, Jane. I’m here to let you go.”

  “But—”

  “Just don’t. Look, you’re the only one we took alive. The people here, they want to see you suffer. Layne would never allow that, but… he can’t do everything. So I’ll just tell them you escaped. They’ll be afraid for a while… and then they’ll forget.”

  “Why would—”

  “Because I love you.”

  Jane took Ralph’s hands. “Come with me.”

  “You know I can’t do that. And… I don’t know if I can forgive you, Jane. I know you tried at the end, but…”

  Jane clenched a fist around the necklace Ralph had given her. That always calmed her down before, when she was still deciding whether to let everyone die. It did little to help now.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Ralph put his hands around her hand around the cross. “I know. …You should go before someone sees us.”

  “Ralph… Do you think, maybe in a few years—”

  “Someday,” Ralph said. “Just not now.”

  Ralph got in the forklift and moved the barricade, and Jane slipped out of New Los Angeles. He closed the wall behind her, got out, and stood there until the sky started to lighten.

  “I thought I’d find you here,” Layne said.

  “I let her go.”

  “I know. I was hoping you would.”

  “You trust her?”

  “I trust you, Ralph. If you say she’s not a threat, she’s not a threat. And honestly, I’ve killed enough people for one lifetime. The last thing I want to do is add a scared, unarmed girl to that list.”

  “What if there are more people like them out there?” Ralph asked.

  “More zombie-worshipping cults who want to kill me?”

  “You make it sound impossible.” Ralph picked up a piece of rubble, then tossed it away.

  “If more come, we’ll be ready next time. I’ll be ready next time.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Things have to change around here,” Layne said. “You should get some sleep.”

  ****

  Keely stared at two of the bodies. They were off to the side, where the gate would’ve swung open; they must’ve been the ones who opened it. She was far too tired to be angry, and she didn’t know that she could have been anyway. They lay hand-in-hand, one dead from bullet wounds, the other missing an arm and a leg from where the zombies had gotten her, but still their hands were clenched in each other’s.

  “We were attacked by people,” Layne said. Keely turned to look at him. It was early in the morning, the sky was starting to brighten, and no one else was out. “Not monsters. People.”

  “Some people are monsters,” Keely replied.

  “Some people do monstrous things. They’re still people.”

  “You’re up early.”

  “We need to start cleaning the bodies.”

  Keely raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to start on that? By yourself?”

  “No. I’m going to make a broadcast. Then I’m going to get to work.”

  Keely went back to her bedroom. Katie was asleep, lying on her back. Keely had pulled a pillow and a blanket from the bed and slept on the floor; she couldn’t stand to be away from Katie’s side, but she couldn’t risk hurting her in their sleep. She sat on the pillow and pulled a radio close, turned it on, and turned it down most of the way. Soon Layne’s voice came on.

  “Good morning, survivors. I have bad news this morning, and there’s no way to sugarcoat any of this, so I’m just going to say it like it is. Last night, New Los Angeles came under attack by a small cult of zombie worshippers. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s the truth. We’ve all dealt with what happened in our own way, and if you keep an open mind, it’s not so farfetched.

  “They planted bombs around our walls and set them off, then came in with guns and opened fire. In the end, we lost a few good people. I lost my best friend. But what’s important is that New Los Angeles is still here.

  “We’re fixing the walls and cleaning up. Then we’re going to make sure we have better security, not just from the zombies, but from other people who would do us harm. That said, I understand if anyone out there no longer trusts me. I have failed. Monumentally.”

  The radio emitted static for a few seconds.

  “My friend Garrett did most of the work, you know. He built this place with his bare hands, while I sat in this booth talking to myself. Garrett’s gone now, and it’s my fault. I owe it to him, to everyone here and everyone out there, to pick up where he left off.

  “I’m still going to transmit over the radio from time to time, but you’re going to hear me less often. Don’t worry, I’ll put each message on a loop until the next one comes. I just can’t sit here and let other people get hurt for me anymore. I swore I’d never let that happen once, but it happened. The only way I can carry on is to swear it’ll never happen again, and try harder.

  “We could still use some help out here. If you don’t trust us to keep you safe, I understand. There are other safe zones out there, but in time, New Los Angeles will be safe again as well.

  “I’m going to read a list of the people we lost, starting with a courier I can only assume was my good friend Georgie. After that, I’m going to sign off and get to work. From now on, I’ll be doing a lot more doing.”

  ~~~~

  46

  In the Beginning

  Adam ran until the sun came up, and when he couldn’t push himself another inch, he collapsed by the side of the road.

  He lifted his head to look back the way he’d come. He was well outside of Los Angeles, but it looked close, like it was following him. He lay his head in the dirt to catch his breath, then turned to stare at a small building a few yards away. The door opened and a figure appeared, and then Adam fell asleep.

  He woke up next to a fire. He sat up, sweating even though it was chilly. He was inside a room; it had been cleared out, and the fire was contained by a ring of stones. A young woman was sitting on the other side of it.

  “You’re the first
person I’ve seen in years. If you don’t count the zombies.”

  “Where am I?” Adam asked.

  She handed Adam a bottle of water. He took it and drank the whole thing without stopping; streams of water ran down either side of his mouth.

  “I think it was a little shop,” the woman said. Adam set the bottle down, gasping, and looked across the fire. “I didn’t clear it out, or build this fire pit. But it looked unused, so I stayed here.”

  “What day is it?”

  “November 1st.” She smiled. “All Saints’ Day, if you’re into that sort of thing. Have some food.” She handed him a bowl of chili. It tasted terrible, but Adam devoured it. “Where are you headed, stranger?”

  Adam set the bowl down and glanced across the flames. The light casted shadows across the woman’s face, but to him she looked pretty.

  “Nowhere.”

  “I’ve been headed nowhere for years, myself. Then that guy came on the radio and I figured I’d head for ‘New Los Angeles’.” She made quotes with her fingers. “And of course, my luck. One day out, he gets back on the radio and says they came under attack. Says everything will be fine, but you know what? I think I’ll take my chances out here. I’ve done okay so far, and city life has never been for me, anyway.”

  Adam stared into the fire for a long time. “I came from there.”

  “Where, New Los Angeles?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You all right?”

  Adam looked into her eyes for the first time. They were bright, unseeing of all the terrible things he had done. “No. I don’t think I am.”

  The woman nodded. Adam looked through a few boards over the window. The sun had already set. “What’s your name?”

  “Adam.”

  The woman chuckled. “I guess that makes me Eve.”

  “Is that really your name?”

  “Is yours really Adam?”

  “No.”

  Eve stood up and slung a bag over her shoulder. “Well, Not-Adam, you’re welcome to join me, if you like.”