Divided We Rot (One Nation Under Zombies Book 3)

by Raymond Lee

  Hal looked at Damian and the younger man shook his head, still struggling to believe what he’d told him earlier about Raven and Cruz.

  “You going to tell them the same messed up shit you told me?”

  Hal looked around. He didn’t see any sort of listening devices in the room and the walls appeared solid. “Raven was bitten, but she will not die from the bite.”

  “Yeah, she’ll turn,” Elijah said. “Cruz is gaga over her. He won’t kill her like he needs to do, not that I can blame him. I don’t think I could do it either.”

  “She will not turn,” Hal said, catching Janjai’s eye. They’d shared similar dreams about Raven before they’d had to give up their first winter shelter. “I was given a sign that Raven would change, but not the change you think. Raven will not die and she will not become one of the infected. There is something very special about her. Raven will save all of us.”

  “She was bit,” Pimjai said. “It is not possible to survive a bite. I am sorry. I like Raven very much too, but she will die or turn. Cruz will die or turn if he gets bit.”

  “Sister, I had a dream too.” Janjai looked around, making sure everyone was paying attention. “I saw things. I saw you were pregnant. I saw Raven… turn into something beautiful. I felt so much hope. I felt safe. Believe Hal. We had different dreams, but they had the same meaning. Raven is not gone. She is still with us.”

  “How can you know this?” Pimjai asked.

  “Sister, you have had dreams that tell secrets too. I do not know why I have the dreams now but I do. Hal had a very similar dream. Two people can not dream a lie. Things have already started to happen.” Janjai met his gaze and quickly looked away, neither one of them wanting to explain that in addition to dreaming of Pim’s pregnancy they’d dreamed that Elijah’s father, Carlos, would die. The boy would not understand that although they had dreamed of his impending death there was nothing they could do to prevent it, and no way of knowing exactly when or how it would occur. Still reeling over the loss, he would not forgive them for not preventing it.

  “So you’re saying she can’t die?” Elijah asked.

  “No, we’re saying she won’t die from the bite,” Hal clarified. “Damian saw when she was attacked. She was bitten but Cruz put the zombies down and took off with her before they could do any further damage. I don’t know if the infection will run its course through her or if she is completely immune to it altogether, but it won’t turn her or kill her. She will survive whatever repercussions stem from that bite, but she will not survive any other kind of fatal wound, or starvation, thirst, anything else that would normally kill a person. We are all very aware of the dangers out there not limited to the infected. We need to find them before someone with bad intentions finds them.”

  “Cruz took her so we wouldn’t put her down,” Elijah said. “If what you’re saying is true and she survives the virus maybe he’ll bring her here, or David and his people will find them.”

  “I’m not completely sold on this place, especially when you consider we haven’t seen Leah since we were shown our quarters, and I don’t think Cruz will be thinking of finding us or a shelter like this anyway.” Hal glanced over at Damian to find the younger man sitting with his arms folded and eyebrows raised, waiting to see how the others reacted to the news he’d given him earlier.

  “Why wouldn’t he?” Elijah asked. “He’s a pretty smart guy and he’s been with Raven since near the very beginning. He loves her. That man would do anything to protect her.”

  “Oh, you’re going to love this next part,” Damian said.

  Hal shot him a dark look and scratched his head, contemplating where to begin. “Cruz by himself is probably a really good guy,” he started, “and probably genuinely cares for Raven, but Cruz is fighting something you don’t know about. He doesn’t even know about it.”

  “His mental illness?” Elijah looked between them. “I saw the pills you all were packing into each backpack when we were prepping for if we’d have to escape Wally’s Club. I looked them up in the pharmacy and saw what they were for. I saw Cruz take them every day while we were in my cousin’s panic room.”

  “Cruz isn’t mentally ill. Mental illness was the best thing doctors could come up with to explain the issues he was having. Unfortunately, people with his issue often get labeled as mentally ill and drugged up. In some cases such as his, the drugs actually do help by doing something to the brain to block out what is actually doing harm, but the drugs are just a bandage on a gaping wound which will eventually burst open and once it does…” Hal shivered. “Cruz is alone with Raven and he left his backpack in the truck along with hers. He only has what he had on him. Once the drugs are out of his system there will be nothing to hold back what’s inside him.”

  “What are you saying?” Pimjai asked.

  “He’s saying your boy is possessed,” Damian answered. “Head rotating, pea soup vomiting, poppin’ out of Rosemary’s coochie, triple sixes on the back of his head havin’ possessed.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Damian.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Damian? You’re the one who told me Cruz is possessed by a demon but I’m being dramatic just for telling them what you said?” Damian barked out a laugh clearly used for flair. “Tell them about the holy water and how you’re going to cast the demon out once we find him.”

  Elijah’s head had been whipping back and forth between the two. “Seriously? Like a for real demon? Like on Supernatural? Cruz has that inside him?”

  “I don’t know how demons were portrayed on Supernatural but they were most likely portrayed totally incorrect. Hollywood has created a mythical beast out of them, but they are real and they do possess people. Cruz is possessed and he needs to be freed of his demon as soon as possible, especially if he is alone with Raven. The demon will naturally try to persuade him to destroy anything he loves.”

  “Hold up, you didn’t say anything about him destroying her.” Damian stood from the bed. “No offense, Pim, I’m praying for you, boo, but we have to find Raven and Cruz right now. I’ll go handle this shit by myself if I have to.”

  “And how exactly will you handle the demon?” Hal asked, crossing his arms as he angled his head sideways and waited for an answer.

  “You said holy water.”

  “And what will you do with the holy water?” Hal asked.

  “Hell if I know, put it in a squirt gun and bust a water cap in his ass. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Raven’s like a sister. I can’t lose my sister, man. That was hard enough watching her get bit like that. Now you’re telling me she’s going to survive that but she might get killed by Cruz?” He shook his head. “No damn way. I can’t stay here and let that happen to her.”

  “I don’t intend to let that happen to her either, Damian. I also don’t intend to leave this place until I know where Leah is and how she’s doing. Elsie clearly didn’t like it when she discovered Leah is gay and you saw her write something on that clipboard after finding out, then you saw her discussing something on that clipboard with David and their pastor. They separated us and no one can tell us where she is or why she would miss dinner. True, we haven’t been starving while we’ve been together but Leah was nearly starved when we met her. When someone goes through a hunger like that they don’t turn away food. Ever.” He looked toward the twins. “Has anyone mentioned Leah’s name or said anything about anyone new or mentioned anything that may have been about her, anything at all?”

  The sisters looked at each other and shook their heads.

  “We have been in this room since we came here,” Janjai told them. “So far we have only seen the doctor, the woman who brought you here just now, and a nurse.”

  “The woman who showed us to your room is Gemma,” Hal told her. “She’s the doctor’s sister. What have you overheard?”

  “I am afraid we did not hear anything useful,” Janjai told him. “The doctor and nurse spoke to each other about Pimjai as they checked her. They explained
to me the best they could considering they think I do not speak English. They brought us food and water and brought in this bed for me to sleep in. The only time they talk to each other is when they talk about Pimjai. I am sorry. We are listening, but not hearing much.”

  “I know you are. It’s not your fault.” Hal ran his hand down his face, sighing in frustration. Having been up since early that morning and surviving a shootout and getting caught in the middle of a horde of infected, some of which could now run, then losing Raven and Cruz shortly before being brought to the shady compound and losing Leah was taking its toll on him. “Keep your ears open and let us know anything that sounds suspicious, anything at all. They’ve put the three of us together in a building, but we haven’t seen Leah since shortly after we left here. They claim single men and women not related by blood have to stay in separate housing here which wouldn’t have alarmed me so much if not for the incident that happened with Leah.”

  “What incident?” Pim asked, leaning forward.

  “Don’t get up, Pim.” Hal plumped up her pillows and helped her get comfortable. “When you were brought in, while you were getting examined, a woman came in to get our names and information. Her name was Elsie. She hasn’t been here?”

  “We have not met an Elsie,” Janjai said as Pimjai shook her head.

  “Well, she had a clipboard and wrote our names on it. She asked about our marital statuses to decide on our housing situation here. She’d made a comment about Leah being able to find a husband here and Leah made a joke about that. It turns out Leah is gay, which none of us knew. Elsie didn’t appear too happy about that and made a notation on her clipboard. Shortly after that we were asked to give up our weapons and shown to our living quarters and the dining hall. Leah was taken to her quarters while we were taken to ours so we don’t even know which building she is in. She didn’t show up for dinner and she hasn’t shown up here.”

  “Do you think these people did something to her?” Janjai asked.

  “I’ve seen their type before,” Hal told them. “The way they make the women wear shapeless dresses and push the idea of men protecting the women while they do nothing but have the babies and cook the food doesn’t sit well. I see crosses everywhere I look around here. If they were truly living a Christian life they wouldn’t need all the crosses to convince people. Their deeds would be enough.”

  “I’ve come across a whole lot of Christian types like that though,” Damian said. “Hell, my Aunt Boosie was like that and other than telling my mama I was going to hell for being an abomination she wasn’t that bad. She never tried to hurt me. Of course my mama just about beat the skin off her ass after she said that so she wouldn’t dare try to hurt me, but you know what I’m saying.”

  “You put a lot of zealots together and give them a corrupt leader, it’s never a good thing,” Hal told them. “I don’t have a good feeling about this place, and I don’t think Gemma is head over heels about it either, but her brother is the doctor and these people need a doctor. I imagine he stays here for the security and a sense of duty to help others. She stays for the security and for him. We may be able to get some help from her if we need it. Girls, keep your heads down and your ears open. Trust no one. Guys, we have a little time before Cruz’s meds completely clear his system, plus he usually carries some directly on him. Keep your ears and eyes open too. I’m going to assume they took your weapons too, Janjai?”

  She nodded. “I kept my switchblade and got Pimjai’s from her pants before they took them off to check her.”

  “Good. We kept our blades too. Hopefully wherever Leah is, she has hers. If you’re doing all right, Pim, we’re going to go take a stroll around the compound, maybe visit the church. We’re going to observe the people and try to discreetly figure out what exactly is going on here. We’ll be back to check in with you often. Maybe while one of us stays with you Janjai can take a walk too.”

  “Listen to the people?”

  Hal nodded. “We need all the intel we can get on this place and we can’t trust these people to speak freely, or honestly, around us.”

  Janjai stood, walked over to Pimjai’s bed and squeezed her hand. “I will do whatever I have to in order to keep us safe, all of us. Leah is a good person. Raven and Cruz are friends. We must find them all.”

  “They’re family,” Hal said, “just like we are. We’ll be back. Guys, let’s take a walk.”

  Raven shook her head as Cruz attempted to spoon her more soup. She fell back against the pillows and groaned as every part of her body ached and tears steadily streamed from her hot eyes.

  “You told me to make sure you ate,” Cruz reminded her, his voice gentle.

  “One more bite and I’m pretty sure I’ll puke all over you. Not very attractive, huh?”

  “No.” He smiled. “But I’d still like you.”

  Raven started to smile in response, but felt the tightness in her chapped lips and knew they’d crack if she did. She knew she had to look a fright but Cruz hadn’t left her side since she’d told him she had no intention of dying. “I’ll try again later.”

  Cruz set the bowl on the bedside table and removed a rag from a bowl of water he kept there. He wrung it out and wiped her face and neck with the terrycloth. “You need to at least drink more water.”

  “OK.”

  He picked up a glass and filled it with well water from a pitcher before settling next to her on the bed. He slid his arm under her back and helped support her as she rose her aching body into a sitting position. “The Tylenol do anything?”

  “If it did, I can’t tell. Everything hurts.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Not your fault.” She sipped from the glass as he held it to her mouth. The water was room temperature, but she didn’t mind. It felt good in her parched mouth.

  “If I had gotten to you sooner this wouldn’t have happened.”

  She finished drinking and allowed him to help her lie back against the pillows before she spoke again. “It’s not your fault. I fell out of the truck. The zombies were on me in a blink of an eye. You didn’t have to jump out but you did, and you did save me. This isn’t going to kill me, but those things would have eaten me if you hadn’t stopped them.”

  “I hope that’s true. About you surviving this, I mean.”

  “It’s true.” She’d told him about the dream she’d had, which wasn’t a dream. She’d been dying, going toward the light people always spoke about when they told their near-death experience stories, but her parents had been there to give her a message. “Sky’s alive and both of us are immune or something. I’m going to kick this virus’s ass and then I’m going to find my little sister and spend the rest of my life doing whatever is necessary to make up for leaving her. I just pray she’ll forgive me.”

  “You thought she was dead.”

  “I don’t know if that will matter to her. She’s only nine years old and I left her. That’s all she knows.” For the millionth time since she’d discovered her sister was alive she wondered where she’d been the past six and a half months, how she’d survived, and what she’d seen. What she’d felt, abandoned and afraid. Who had she met along the way? Tears continued to run the length of Raven’s face, not entirely due to the heat behind them. “What if she’s with someone bad? What if she’s been hurt or abused?”

  Cruz pulled her into his side despite the fact she was drenched in sweat and rested his chin on top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll find her. She’s fine.”

  “You don’t know that. She’s just a little girl. Anyone could do anything to her.”

  “We’ve met good people.”

  “We were shot at this morning and spent the past three months hidden in a panic room because a group of people killed Carlos and tried to kill us.”

  “Yeah, that’s true, but we met Hal and Janjai, and Leah. They worked out. Elijah is a good kid and Carlos was a nice man. Your parents told you she’s alive. That means whatever she’s been through, whe
rever she’s been, she’s survived. Your little sister is alive right now. Try to focus on that. It’s a good thing.”

  “You believe me.”

  “Sure.” He kissed the top of her head and gently lowered her back down onto the mattress. “I’ll believe anything you tell me as long as you keep fighting through this. I really didn’t want to have to be the one to keep you from becoming a zombie.”

  The image of Cruz standing over her, knife in hand, eyes black as tar as they focused on her swam before Raven’s eyes as she looked up at him. She remembered finding him that way when she’d come out of the dream-like near death experience. As strange as the black eyes were, the rest of his face had been even odder. She’d recognized him instantly, but he hadn’t seemed like himself at all. There was something about the way he looked at her, the set of his jaw. Even his posture had been strange now that she thought about it. He hadn’t been like himself at all for that split second. It was almost as if someone were wearing his skin.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, angling his head as he studied her. “What can I do?”

  “Nothing,” she said, blinking. Her eyes glazed from the fever burning behind them and the sheen of tears coating them. The man standing next to her bed was a movie star and a real life action hero. They’d been through some rough patches, especially in the beginning when he’d run out of his medication, then later after he revealed his feelings for her and she didn’t reciprocate, but he’d always been a good guy and he certainly wasn’t whatever the hell she’d thought he was when she’d opened her eyes to see him hovering over her with the knife. Knowing she was safe with him watching over her she let her drooping eyelids close and drifted off to sleep, Sky’s sweet face the only thing she saw as she wondered where her baby sister was and prayed she wasn’t alone, or worse, with someone dangerous.

  Richards startled awake, looking around the small room for danger before lowering his head into his hands and groaning. Raven still appeared to him in his dreams, beckoning him to her, demanding him to do something, or sometimes just pointing.