Survival

by Rhonda Hopkins

  Dana fired three shots at the approaching dead. Time was running out, but she thought they could give him a few seconds more with his daughter.

  "Maggie? Maggie, look at me, honey." He gently moved his child so she could see his face. "Your mommy and I love you very much." Sarah didn't know how he found the strength, but he held back the tears as he looked at his daughter for the last time. "But you have to go with . . . ." He looked up.

  "Sarah. That's my sister, Dana."

  He turned back to Maggie. "Sarah and Dana are going to take good care of you and make sure you're safe."

  "No! I want to stay with you and mommy." The girl wailed and wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

  "I know, sweetie, I know. I want you to be with us, too. But . . ." He caught his breath and held back his own sob. "You need to go with Sarah." Tears fell then as he hugged Maggie one last time.

  "We have to go! Now!" Dana shouted. She fired another couple of shots, but there were more zombies ambling toward them than they had bullets.

  Sarah moved quickly, taking a struggling Maggie from her father's arms. "We'll take care of her, Paul. I promise you." She pressed the curly brown head against her chest and ran for the SUV with Dana on her heels.

  Another kid ran past her and she shouted for Dana. Her sister turned just in time to grab him by the shirt. He clawed at her, yelling that a zombie had him. He kicked her shin, and punched her in the stomach, but she held on.

  "Kid! Hey, kid! I'm not a zombie. Stop fighting me or we're both gonna get dead." He finally stopped struggling and looked at her. His wide chocolate eyes were filled with fear as he took in the horde nearly surrounding them.

  Dana turned him around and pointed. "See that black SUV there at the curb? Run and open the back door and climb inside. We're right behind you." His eyes took in Sarah and Maggie. Sarah had to give him credit. He didn't even hesitate. He just took off running.

  The stench from so many decaying bodies made Sarah gag. Her eyes watered. She could barely see to make it to the vehicle as the boy disappeared inside. He tossed the blankets into the cargo area, leaned out, and helped Sarah get Maggie in the back seat, while Dana went around to the front passenger side. Dana fired off two more rounds while Sarah dispatched what once appeared to be a fireman, but now was missing both arms—one ripped from the shoulder and the other at the elbow. Bones, muscle, and tissue hung from the stumps.

  Sarah jumped in beside Maggie, slamming the door. The locks clicked into place as Meredith drove through the mass of corpses. She tried to block out the sounds of flesh rending and bones crunching. Maggie pressed herself against Sarah. The boy moved closer to them and she put an arm around him as well. Other than everyone's rapid breathing, no one uttered a sound until they were clear of the mob.

  A few street lights still burned and Sarah took a minute to assess the boy. His creamy mocha complexion was clear and he breathed easier than he had been. His clothes were splattered with blood, but not enough for her to think he had been bitten. When he realized he was under scrutiny, and had pressed himself against her, he backed away to the far side of the seat, trying to hide the fear that ate at all of them.

  "I'm Sarah. This is Maggie." She rubbed the still sobbing child's hair. Pointing, she said, "That's Dana. My twin."

  "Well, duh." He rolled his eyes and she laughed. At least some things could still be counted on to be normal.

  "And the lady driving is Meredith." She leaned toward him and whispered loud enough for it to carry to the front seat. "But don't call her Mere. She hates that. Right, Mere." She laughed again as the woman gave a weak glare via the rearview mirror. It felt good to laugh. But she was afraid if she laughed too much she might not stop. Instead, she turned to their newest passenger. "What's your name?"

  "Dexter." He looked at her with resignation. "Yeah, I know, but my mom named me that before the show. Most people call me Dex."

  "Hi, Dex. How old are you? You handled yourself pretty well back there." Dana faced them, peering around her seat.

  He snorted. "Yeah. I let a girl beat my a—" He looked over at Maggie. ". . . butt."

  "Yeah, but this girl has training. It's been a while, but I still have a few moves. My sister there, now she's awesome. She's kept up the training and can whip grown men's . . . butts." She winked. "She's already kicked a few today and saved my behind."

  "Yep. And she saved mine right back. We make a pretty good team." Sarah looked down at the girl in her arms. She had exhausted herself crying and now slept, although she whimpered occasionally. She adjusted Maggie so she sat across her lap and cradled her. Looking back at Dex she asked, "So how old are you?"

  "Eleven. I'll be twelve next month." He pulled his shoulders back, making himself appear bigger. "How old is she?"

  "Not sure yet. We'll have to wait until she wakes up. I'm guessing about five. What do you think?"

  "Yeah. I have a cousin about her age." He leaned against the seat, lost in his thoughts.

  "We'll try to get you back to your family soon."

  "My mom died when I was a baby. I was living with my grandma, but . . ." He blinked back tears. "The zombies got her."

  "I'm so sorry. We'll see if we can find any of your family as soon as we can. If we can't, you're always welcome with us." Dana reached back to pat his knee.

  The vehicle made a turn and slowed. "Look, the doors are boarded up. I guess that means someone's in there." Meredith pulled the car to a stop in front of the red brick building. "So what do you think?"

  "I think I'm exhausted. And if someone's in there, it has to be someone who has a keycard since the building wasn't open today except for a few supervised kid visits. If they've got the windows boarded, then hopefully they've cleared the courthouse, so that's one less thing we have to do. Right?"

  The running engine was the only sound for a few moments. "Yeah. I think we should try it. What do you think, Dex?"

  He looked surprised Dana had asked him. "Let's do it."

  "There's the underground garage that's restricted to Judges. Let's see if we can get in that way." Meredith eased the truck around the building and down an enclosed ramp which made it difficult to see if one didn't know it existed. She stopped outside the gate. "I put my bag in the back earlier, along with my purse. Could you find my purse for me, Dex?"

  "You have a keycard for the gate?" Sarah looked at Meredith's smirk in the mirror. "Of course you do." She watched Dex hand over the purse.

  "Franklin gave it to me not too long ago." She mentioned the name of a judge whom she had wrapped around her finger long before Sarah started work there. While the other judges loved her, she could never get Franklin Montoya to cut her any slack. No doubt he had been influenced by Meredith's dislike of her. Sarah shook her head. None of that mattered anymore. Not a lot she had deemed important previously mattered any longer.

  "Thank goodness he did. I hope the code reader is still working," Sarah said.

  Meredith lowered her window and inserted the card. Everyone let out the breath they had been holding when the large gate rumbled upward. It started closing as soon as they were inside.

  Before they could park, a door opened up and three men rushed outside brandishing assault rifles, yelling. "Keep your hands where we can see them! Stay in the car! Stay in the car!"

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A gasp caught in her throat, but she teared up when she recognized the men. "Well, I feel better already." A collective sigh filled the interior of the car. Sarah pressed the button; her window slowly lowered. "Eric? It's Sarah."

  A large man with deeply tanned skin, six-feet, two-inches and close to two hundred pounds, lowered his weapon and moved toward her. The other two stood guard.

  "Sarah?" He leaned in the window, cupping her face in his hands. "Thank God." He opened the door his gaze taking in the other passengers. He motioned to the other men. "It's okay. It's Sarah and Meredith. And someone who looks a lot like Sarah." He smiled briefly. "You must be Dana."

  "I mus
t be." She smiled back at him. "So you're Eric. The man my sister has been going on and on about for the past six months. Eric this and Eric that—" She rounded the SUV to stand beside her Sarah.

  "Dana! What the heck?" After all they had been through, and now she wanted nothing more than for the floor to swallow her.

  Eric's laugh echoed in the garage. "Six months. Really? We've only been on two dates in the last month and I had to work my butt off for those." Amusement shone in his dark brown eyes.

  "Well, one thing you can say about our Sarah . . . she ain't easy."

  "I am so gonna get you for that." She bumped Dana's hip and changed the subject. "So it looks like you guys have things under control here."

  "Took a while, but it's secure for now. Let's get you inside."

  "Good. Cause I really don't feel well." Meredith slumped in her seat.

  "Meredith? You okay?" Sarah touched her shoulder.

  "Yeah. I will be. I just need to lie down for a while."

  "Well let's get you all inside."

  The other two men came forward. Eric tried to take Maggie from her, but the girl gripped her tightly even in sleep. "It's okay, I've got her."

  He grabbed Meredith's bag and tossed the blankets, pillows and jackets to Robert, one of the other Sheriff's deputies. Theodore helped Meredith from the truck and hopped in, adjusted the driver's seat and backed the SUV into a spot near the door.

  Once inside, Eric led them down a stark cream-colored hallway and stopped at a bulky metal door. His keycard opened it quickly and he motioned them inside. Sara stood there looking from the door to the keycard. "If the electricity goes out..."

  "We won't be trapped in there," Eric said. "There's a manual override as well as keys for every room and cell."

  Once inside, the door clanged shut behind them. It was a large space with twenty cells where prisoners were held when they had court cases pending. A bulky metal door closed it off to the rest of the building. No one would be able to get through it easily. The section also housed the building's security equipment. Outside and inside views showed up on several monitors, some in night vision green.

  "We'll figure out something better later. For now, the electricity is still on here and the backup generators are in good order. We can see anything coming at us. And we can heat this area a lot more efficiently than the whole courthouse. There are beds in the cells here, too. I always wondered why they bothered to put in beds when no one stayed overnight, but I'm glad—" Eric dropped the bag he carried and grabbed Meredith as she swayed. Picking her up, he started down the hall to one of the cells.

  "I can walk, Eric. Put me down." Her weak voice didn't carry far.

  He ignored her protests, carrying her into a small cell. He sat her on the bed. "You don't have any blood on you, so I'm assuming you haven't been bitten. Is that right?"

  She sighed. "No. I haven't been bitten. Chemo's kicking my ass. I just need to rest."

  He nodded and looked her over. "Okay. We'll get you some food soon. Just relax."

  "Where can I . . . ." Sarah indicated the child in her arms.

  "Over here." He showed her into another cell.

  Sarah laid Maggie down. "I really need to clean her up a little bit. I don't suppose you'd have anything I could put on her?" She brushed the hair away from the child's face.

  "We raided the sheriff's office a little earlier. We have tees and sweats. Even the women's small will swallow her."

  "It'll do for now." She looked around. "I've only been down here once before, but I seem to recall it has a shower area. I can get some water to clean her up."

  He pulled her against him, just holding her for a minute. "She can wait a while. She's sleeping and I have a feeling when she wakes up, she's going to need to see a familiar face." He pressed against her, leaned back and looked her up and down. Pulling her back against him, he laughed. "Is that a flashlight in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

  Sarah snorted and pressed her hand against his chest, pushing away from him. "You're a nut. But I am very happy to see you." She brushed her hand down his sweatshirt. "I got your shirt all dirty though."

  Eric took her by the hand and led her to a supply cabinet where he pulled out sweats for her and Dana as well as a couple of towels. "You two look like you've been through hell. So go get showered and changed. If you're up to it, rinse your clothes while you're in the shower, so you'll have your own stuff tomorrow. Or I'll do it a little later. We've had time to rest some. When you're out, we'll see to your injuries and I'll get Robert to make some sandwiches. "

  "Great! I'm starved." Sarah whirled around to see Dex behind her.

  "Hey, Dex. This is Lieutenant Alvarez. Why don't you hang with him a minute while we go grab showers, then you can take one and we'll all eat then. Okay?"

  "Okay, but hurry. Don't be taking one of those hour-long girl showers." He rolled his eyes.

  Laughing, she hurried back to her sister. Her laughter ceased when she found Dana curled on the floor against one of the corners of a cell. She rushed to her, taking her in her arms. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

  Dana continued to sob, her words barely understandable. "I k-killed him."

  Not understanding at first Sarah asked, "Who? Who did you kill?" Then she knew. "You mean Ron? Back at that building?"

  Dana nodded.

  "Oh, honey, you didn't kill him. I checked. He was still alive when we left. I tried to finish him off, but just couldn't." She pushed her sister back and looked into her eyes. "You did not kill him."

  Dana gulped back sobs and rubbed her face. "I'm sorry. After everything you've gone through—"

  "Hush. We've all been through terrible things today. We've all had to do things we wish we hadn't and this is just the beginning. I'm afraid there's a lot more we're going to face than we ever thought possible." She hugged her and then pulled her up, handing her a towel and sweats. "I've already had a couple of meltdowns today. We're definitely entitled, but a hot shower is going to make us both feel better."

  A short time later, clean and in comfy sweats, Sarah did feel better. Sore, but better. She sat on a chair facing Eric as he disinfected the cuts to her forehead and cheek.

  "Ouch!" She jerked her head back.

  "Don't be a baby." Eric put some antibiotic ointment on the cuts and then covered both with bandages. A few other scrapes and scratches were taken care of before he ran his finger along her cheekbone. "I'm afraid this one's gonna leave a scar, but it won't be bad."

  She smiled, turning so her lips brushed his palm. "Thanks for taking care of me."

  He drew her into his lap and against his chest. "I'm so glad you thought to come here. We're planning to go look for a few family members as soon as it's light out and you were at the top of my list to find."

  She hugged him, grateful to have someone care that much about her and to know her feelings were returned. Only two dates, but they had known each other a little over a year—ever since he transferred as head ranking personnel from the sheriff's department at the courthouse.

  "You have absolutely no idea how glad I am to see you here. I didn't think you were supposed to work today."

  "I wasn't. But Malone called in with a family emergency." They both sat in silence as they thought about what the emergency may have been in light of recent events.

  "Meredith told us she saw you doing some kind of ninja stuff tonight. Where'd you learn that?"

  She snickered. "Not quite ninja. Just some basic stuff and a little martial arts. Mostly just plain dumb luck for the most part. Brian, our cousin, taught self-defense to us both as well as making sure we knew how to handle all kinds of firearms. He encouraged us to keep training over the years."

  "Your folks didn't mind him teaching you girls all that?"

  Sarah lowered her eyes and her voice softened. "Brian was only 7 years older than us when he took us in. Our parents were killed in a car accident by a drunk driver when we were sixteen. He was our only family and he fought like hel
l to keep us out of the system. He wanted to make sure we could protect ourselves, plus it was his way of spending time with us—doing what he enjoyed. I really hope he's okay."

  "I'm sorry. I didn't know about your parents." His finger lifted her chin and he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

  "It was a long time ago." She stood up. "Thanks for fixing me up. I need to go take some food to Meredith and see if she needs anything. I'll be back in a bit." She kissed his cheek and left him to ponder his thoughts.

  Meredith sat up and leaned against the wall next to the bed, making room for Sarah.

  "Here." She handed her a wet cloth. "I thought you might want to freshen up a little. And I brought you some soup. There are ham sandwiches, too. I just didn't know what you felt like you could eat." She sat, holding the bowl while Meredith ran the cloth over her face and hands

  "Thanks. Soup sounds good." She took the bowl, sipping a little from the spoon. After a few bites, she put the bowl in her lap and leaned her head against the wall. "Actually, I've been waiting to talk to you."

  Meredith said nothing for a moment. Sarah waited, giving her time to collect her thoughts.

  "I want to thank you for helping me out today. I wouldn't have made it without you."

  "No thanks necessary. I'm just glad we all got here safely. And we wouldn't have if you hadn't been able to drive us here. And get us inside. I'm afraid we would have lost the kids. So thank you for getting us through that horde."

  Meredith waved her off. "No. I know you didn't have to bring me along. I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to. I've been a real bitch to you since you started working here." Sarah started to speak, but Meredith continued. "Seriously. I know I have. And I want to apologize. There was never any reason for it. Other than my jealousy."

  "Jealous? Of me? Why on earth . . . ."