by TW Brown
Her lips moved, and when she was done, they curled up into a smile. Yes, there was a chance that somebody might have the same idea, but a lot of things would need to happen for somebody else to be on the same quest that she was on.
Carefully, she folded the paper back up and put it back in the baggy. Wrapping it in the rag, she stuffed it back into her pack.
It was funny how things worked out. Her friend Reggie had sent this flyer just two days before that first zombie had stumbled into her nurse’s station. She hadn’t even told Ivor about it yet. She was going to surprise him with a trip.
Thinking of him brought a sharp pain in her chest. Why hadn’t she just told him about this weeks ago? Of everybody she’d known, he always believed in her. He would have followed her with no questions asked. Perhaps he would still be alive.
“Stop thinking that way, you silly cow,” Vix scolded herself.
Nothing could be served by living with “shouldas, wouldas, and couldas” as her husband was fond of saying. No, she would move forward and do him proud.
Her mind drifted back to one of the conversations that they’d had over dinner. Ivor didn’t share her love of zombies, but he always entertained her interests.
“If that ever did happen,” he’d said one time in particular, “then I am certain you would be fine…with or without me.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she’d argued.
“No,” and suddenly his face grew serious, that sparkle that was always hinting at the smile that always came so easily was replaced by something else. “If something as unlikely as zombies ever happened, you would be one of the few who not only survived, but you would prosper. In fact, a bloke like me might just slow you down.”
“Now you’re being ridiculous,” she’d scolded.
“No, I’ve never been more serious. You are much stronger than you give credit, my love.” He’d taken her hand in his and looked into her eyes with something that was close to sadness. “Given the chance to put all your past behind you, I believe that there is no stronger woman in this world.”
Vix wiped at her eyes. Stupid old lummox of a man, she thought. He’d always had the right words, which was a feat since he was a man who used very few.
“I’m gonna show them, love,” she whispered.
Gemma made a noise in her sleep. Almost at the same time, a cry came from outside. It was one of those cursed crybabies. She hated those more than anything.
Well, tomorrow they would push on. London was two days away at the most. Then it would get tricky, but if everything worked out, then it might be worth it. If it worked…then the world would see what Vix Kirkpatrick was made of…and Ivor would be smiling.
***
“So the two of you were being held just up the road from here?” Danny was doing a pat down of his gear. “Little shack beside the access road, right?”
The girl glanced at Selina who fired off a series of rapid hand signals. After a few seconds, she nodded.
“You think this is such a good idea?” Selina asked Jody while continuing to sign so that Katherine could follow the conversation.
“If we hit them first we have the element of surprise. I seriously doubt if what that girl is saying…err…umm,” Jody began to stammer.
The dark haired girl grabbed Selina’s hands to stop her. She fired off some signs of her own while looking up at Jody with a smile.
“I am a deaf-mute, but that does not meant I do not have a sense of humor. And since this is how I communicate, yes, that is what I am saying,” Selina spoke slowly as she followed the young girl’s hands.
“We can worry about this later.” Danny grabbed Jody by the arm and began pulling him to the door. “Let’s go.”
The two men headed out of the room that they had set up as their camp for the next day or two. The idea was that they could use this location in the basement of what was apparently the local high school as a base and run into the town to search for supplies before continuing on.
As they reached the door that opened to the outside, a hand grabbed Jody’s arm. He turned to see the young girl looking up at him with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. The she went to Danny and did the same thing. Afterwards she made a gesture of touching her fingertips to her mouth. Jody looked up at Selina who was standing a few feet behind.
“That means thank you,” Selina said.
“How do you say you’re welcome?” Jody asked.
“Hold your hand in front of you and move it across like you are inviting her in,” Selina said, demonstrating the gesture.
Jody mimicked it, and then touched the girl on the top of her head. “Now stay here with Selina and we will be back in a few minutes.”
The girl glanced at Selina, who quickly fired off a series of gestures. Danny opened the door and peeked outside before grabbing Jody and pulling him along.
A cold rain was falling. It was coating everything with a sheet of ice. Already there was a shimmer to the power lines that still hung limply overhead, and several of the branches on nearby trees were sagging with the burden.
“Freezing rain,” Danny observed. “Might be able to use that to our advantage when we go into town.”
“How so?” Jody asked.
“The zombies are gonna have a hell of a time walking on it.”
“So will we.”
“Yeah. But we are much more able to focus on our balance. Zombies just walk wherever without thinking. There will be some busted legs when this is done. They will have a much worse time of it than us.”
Jody shrugged. As they started across the parking lot, he almost landed on his ass twice. Eventually they reached the grass that ran alongside the access road. It was much easier going from that point.
The road stretched on and made a gentle turn. It was just around that corner where they were supposed to find the people who had held Katherine and her friend prisoner. From the sounds of it, these guys were scavengers and had a pretty decent stash of goods. Since there were no plans of leaving these animals alive, Jody was actually fairly confident that they would make a good score when this was done.
He and Danny separated and went to their own version of sign language as they closed in on their target. They would strike hard and fast. Jody actually felt his heart begin to race. This was no zombie hunt. They were actually going to take out living, breathing men. He’d almost forgotten what that felt like.
They rounded the corner and Danny was the first to throw up the ‘Halt’ sign. Jody froze. His eyes tracked to where the other man was pointing. Three bodies littered the road. Their target just happened to be three men at this location. Jody did not believe in coincidence.
He flashed a signal for Danny to go wide and come around from the other side. It would take him a few minutes to get into position. Jody waited until Danny vanished behind a building before he moved forward cautiously.
When he got close, he began to notice a few details that heightened his already alerted senses. The blood was relatively fresh. The pools around two of the bodies were still a deep red. However, it was the third body that had his attention.
Jody moved closer. His eyes darting around as he sought even the slightest movement. Finally he was kneeling beside the large man. He felt around the neck and confirmed his suspicion. This man had been killed by somebody up close and personal. His neck had been snapped. That was quite a feat considering the man’s size. This was one big boy, easily tipping the scales at over two hundred and fifty pounds.
He reached down to his belt and was just about to draw his Ka-Bar when a familiar voice whispered in his ear close enough that he felt the warmth of the owner’s breath.
“If you pull that out, son, I will have no choice but to kill you.”
***
“Just keep your hands out so I can see them,” Chuck Monterro warned. “I ain’t here to cause you any trouble.”
“That knife point in my back seems to say something else,” the young sergeant replied.
“Listen, Jody, if I would have wanted to kill you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
Chuck moved back a step and then edged his way around in front of the young man. He glanced down at the dead body now in between them.
“This your work?” Jody asked.
“Yep.” He saw no reason to lie. Besides, if he gauged this kid right, he would imagine that he would probably have done the same thing given the opportunity. “They had some kids held prisoner. The kids escaped and they were just about to go hunt them down when I showed up.”
The young man just nodded. Perhaps he wasn’t buying the story. Well, Chuck thought, can’t do much about that right now.
“The thing is,” Chuck continued once it was obvious Jody wasn’t going to say anything, “them kids are still somewhere close by. Saw them myself as I was coming down the road.”
“And what exactly were you doing way out here?” Jody scoffed. “How come you aren’t back with the captain and the folks of Bald Knob?”
“Same reason you ain’t,” Chuck said with a smile. “We both know that place is gone. Too many of them things and no solid plan or defense against a group that big. Hell, we were barely equipped to deal with a few hundred. That mob had to be—”
“Thousands,” Jody breathed.
The two stood in silence for a few seconds. Chuck shrugged and sheathed his knife.
“Probably shouldn’t leave this just sitting around,” a voice called from the porch of the shack.
Both heads turned to see Danny standing there with a crossbow cocked and aimed at Chuck Monterro. Jody let a breath out that he hadn’t realized that he’d been holding.
“Nicely done, private,” Chuck made a few casual claps of his hands. He put his arms out to his sides. “Now, you gonna use that thing or keep running your mouth?”
“Danny,” Jody called, “he could have killed me. He didn’t.”
“This time,” Danny said through clenched teeth. “You know what kind of person he is. He hung two of our guys just the other day. Had us rounding up people like cattle. Who knows what else.”
“If you are gonna use that thing, son—”
Chuck “Slider” Monterro’s sentence was cut off abruptly when the shaft from the crossbow caught him in the center of the chest, piercing his heart. He was more than a little surprised, but mostly, Chuck Monterro was relieved. He would have had to kill both of those boys sooner or later. Now…now he could finally rest.
18
A Trip to the Woods
It had only been a few hours since Patton and his little flock had left. In the end it had been more Jesus and Jake standing there fingering the hilts of their swords than anything that I said or did. Dr. Zahn had pumped something into Misty that put the little girl down. We could deal with her later.
I was standing on the porch when Billy and Fiona came stomping out of the woods. I waited for them patiently, just hoping that they had news that would not involve us having to kill living, breathing people. I’d done it, but it still haunted me, and I doubted that it would ever go away.
“They headed east when they got to the road,” Billy reported. “I don’t give them a week.”
So maybe I wasn’t killing them directly, but it was sort of a moral gray area, wasn’t it? If you see somebody drowning and don’t bother to throw them a life preserver…
“They brought this on themselves,” Fiona said, obviously reading my expression. “You didn’t actually kick them out. They were leaving anyway. In fact, you did just the opposite in demanding they leave the girl.”
I tried to let that sink in, but I still felt responsible. My actions had led to their eventual decision to risk it out in the wild instead of stay here where there was food and shelter.
The two of them both went in and left me to my thoughts. There had been so much in the past several hours. I had to wonder if life would ever settle into anything like a routine. Maybe just a few days where absolutely nothing happened.
“Steve.”
I knew that tone. Hell, it didn’t seem like there was any other. I turned to find Sunshine standing in the door with Cheryl Coates. Both were in tears.
They didn’t need to tell me. I may not be the brightest bulb on the tree, but I’m no idiot. I just nodded and moved past them. I felt their hands brush me, like they could take away some of the pain or something. Or maybe they just wanted to let me know that I wasn’t alone. But that was a lie. When it came to what was about to happen, I could not be any more alone. None of them would have to do what was required of me. None of them could ‘share’ in the experience. This one would be all mine…and so would the everlasting pain that came with it.
The entry area was a sea of faces. I noticed Dr. Zahn, Melissa, Jon, and Thalia missing. Everybody else was standing on one side of the room as far away from the door that opened to where Emily waited like that distance would somehow help.
I walked to the door and took a deep breath. I knew for a fact that once I walked through it, nothing would ever be the same again. This wasn’t like a hot bath or jumping into a pool where you just plunge in and get past the initial shock. This was a shock that would last until the day I died.
As my hand clutched the doorknob, I suddenly realized just how full of crap all manner of fiction used to be. Whether it was movies or television, there just seemed to be this magic surge of inner-strength that consumed the hero of a story when confronted with something terrible. Maybe that was what I was waiting for as I stood here. I think the real truth was that I was scared.
When I turned the doorknob and opened the door, my brain did its best to shield me. The room swam and I didn’t really see anybody or hear anything except Emily. Her tiny frame was on the bed, the white sheet that was pulled up to her chin had obviously just been changed and seemed to bathe her in an ethereal glow.
“She is sleeping now, Steve, but I don’t expect her to last the night,” Dr. Zahn whispered in my ear.
I glanced at her and wondered for whose benefit she chose to whisper. Everybody in this room—Thalia included—knew what was happening and had experienced it so many times. This was not some sort of secret.
“Are you sure about doing this yourself?” Jon asked.
I had a million things that I could say to what seemed like such a simple question. Instead, I just looked at him. His expression indicated that he got the gist of my thoughts.
I moved beside the bed and looked down at her. I did my best to block out the stench. I just wanted a moment with Emily that I could keep safe in my heart for when the sun came up tomorrow. Unfortunately, whatever it was that did this was bent on ruining that possibility. Her face was a waxy shade of sickly yellow. There was a single black vein that snaked its way up from her neck and bloomed into a varicose web that marred her left cheek.
“Steve,” Melissa was at my elbow, she had Thalia by the hand, “we’ll be right outside.”
I nodded. One by one, each of them said something to Emily, and then left. I only heard Thalia.
“Bye, sissy. I promise to teach Buster to shake like you wanted.”
How could something that simple be able to break me in half? I held it until I heard the door shut, and then the tears came in a torrent. I prayed to God or whatever is in charge that I would eventually be able to stop.
I have no idea how much time passed, but eventually I was able to breathe again. I wiped the sheen of sweat off of her face with a nearby towel. When I was done, I considered that towel briefly. I was supposed to just place it over her face when she stopped breathing and then there was a spike and a mallet sitting just to my right on the table.
Could it really be that easy? I wondered.
My eyes drifted to the window. I could see the coming clouds that signaled yet another storm. More snow would mean that it would be even harder for the zombies to reach us. It also meant that we would have a rougher go of it if we needed to leave for another food run. And with each passing day, we came closer and c
loser to being wrapped in a sort of arctic cocoon with no assurances of what we might become by the time we were able to escape it.
“I’m sorry, daddy,” Emily whispered in a voice so faint that I was almost certain that I had imagined it.
I looked down to see her tracer-laced eyes looking up at me. Tears were trickling from them, but instead of looking shiny and bright, they just looked rheumy and sick. I wanted to say something, but the words all died in my throat.
“I’m scared,” Emily whispered, and then her eyes closed again.
I was certain that this was it. I still held the towel in my hand that I was supposed to use to cover her face. I watched her chest, and it continued to rise and fall, but in shorter, more agonizingly small bursts.
I looked at the window once more. A few snowflakes were already starting to fall.
I unfastened the restraints and scooped Emily up in my arms after unlatching the window. A few short minutes later I was wading through the snow and out into the woods. I kept Emily pressed close to me and could still feel her breathing.
She weighed almost nothing in my arms as I pushed myself to move faster. I needed to be as far out into the woods as I could before she stopped breathing. It was like a deadly game of ‘Hot Potato’ at this point.
My only real fear as I pushed on was that I would not realize when she stopped breathing. She would die and come back and tear into me before I knew what had happened. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.
I felt her body shudder once and then go still. My brain was trying to tell me that she would turn instantly. It always took time; maybe a few minutes, maybe hours. But it was never instant. Still, I was embarrassed when I stumbled to a halt and dropped her unceremoniously to the ground.
I drew my blade, knelt down, and pulled the sheet back. I kept repeating to myself over and over that as soon as her eyes opened and I saw what she had become, that I would end it. I kept trying to tell myself that it was an end to her suffering, but how did I know? How do any of us know?