The Reanimates (Book 1): The Complex
Page 20
As we picked up speed we bumped along. The only sounds were that of road noise and the now spaced by a minute and a half apart contractions. I saw Jody was trying to keep her pain quiet, to not scare the kids. The increased frequency of her moans though told me I needed to do a cervix check.
It was a darn good thing I did because that baby was already moving down the birth canal. “Erin? Come on over here and hold your mom's hand. You're about to be a big sister.” Erin scurried over and sat next to her mom. “Jody? I need you to push really hard with your next contraction, OK?” Jody had already had three kids and I figured that this was probably going to move fast. Jody did not let me down on that expectation. She crowned in her first push and her next push expelled the baby's head. Trisha was waiting with towels and washcloths. I took one, wiped off the baby's face and had her push again to deliver the shoulders after I took a towel from Trisha. A wet, slick, red-faced little boy slid into the towel. I flipped him down face first patted his back and he let out a loud newborn baby cry. I put him into Jody's waiting arms. “It's a boy Jody. He looks perfect!”
She delivered the placenta and I clamped the cord with shoelaces. I felt the engine of the truck slow down its vibrations and realized we were decreasing speed. The truck was pulling over, to my great delight. When we stopped I asked Tyreese for his pocket knife and cut the cord.
Trent pulled open the trailer. “I wanted to make sure we were far enough away from the zombies before I pulled over.” He said somewhat apologetically. He took in the scene of the trailer and saw Jody with the baby. He looked for Joey to congratulate the new dad when he realized Joey wasn't there. “Cali? Where is Joey?” I shook my head no. Trent's face looked crestfallen. It didn't even occur to me that he didn't know Joey wasn't here. His loss was like salt rock in our fresh wounds.
It was then that I realized that Joey's letter was still in my pocket. I pulled it out and gave it to Jody. She read it quickly, handed it back to me and said, “Please. Read this for everyone.” Tears were rolling down her face.
“Are you sure?” I verified. She nodded her consent.
Joey's Letter
Dear Jody,
Hello my love. I have a nagging feeling that if I don't write this letter I am going to be really sorry. As these things seem to go if I write the letter everything ends up just fine, so here it goes.
I wanted to start with the sappy stuff, by telling you how much I love you. I feel like my life started over with meeting you. Told you it'd be sappy, didn't I. I think it a blessing that those zombies went and took over everything, because it led me to you.
For years and years I thought I was a zombie. I ate, I moved, but I wasn't alive. I shuffled through my life. All my falling apart wounds were all inside, eating me right on up. They were wounds from my before life, the one we all say doesn't matter anymore now that things have been turned on their ear. I never meant that I would never tell you my PZ (pre-zombie) tale, just it didn't matter.
But I guess it kinda did matter or I'd not been hearing the others in the complex saying stuff like he's military but scarred by the experience so we don’t talk about it. Was worth quite the chuckle. Questions that no one asks with answers that don’t come out, well I love those questions the most. Make people think. The imagination answers make them so much more interesting.
No. I don’t want to start there. It goes back further.
It starts with a little girl named Sally Jean. Sally and I were sweet on each other since our junior year. Almost right out of the senior year I got my Sally in a “Family way” and in Sally's family the corrective actions of a surprise baby meant a wedding with shot guns at the ready in case of a runner. Really and true.
I married that pretty little girl. We found a place with an apartment that looked like home. There was a baby, a beauty of a boy named Ethan. I was working late at my job fixing on a car one night. Since I was late my Sally went and got Ethan from her momma's house. On their way home they got hit by a drunk driver and I lost them both there on that road while I was at work. I swear I wanted to die myself but I never could pluck up the courage to do it.
I got a letter in the mail from some guy who I fixed a car for. It was asking me if I wanted a job that had a whole lot of risk and I'd get to see the world. Turned out to be a private security job that usually our marines do, but this company did when the government had no interest in having our guys on record being there. I figured, hell, fine by me if I go ahead and do this. If I got shot up in say Africa that would fix my wishing I could die thing.
As it turned out I was darn good at this job. Thinking like desperate people with nothing to lose just kinda came to me. I kicked ass at it and I would have been still doing it if I hadn't blown out my knee jumping off a landing.
Anyhow they had the doctors at UCLA fix it up just fine. But they decided that it would be a liability if I came back to my job so they started me on my retirement benefits. So here I am in California. I found me an apartment in the middle of nowhere and moved in next to this fiery red haired girl. Turned out that girl knew just what it was like to lose someone she loved.
I was trying to pluck up the courage to ask this red haired girl out to a movie when the zombies took over. Well, you know that red haired girl was you and while we never did go to the movies, I had the opportunity to talk with you and well, you were around for all that.
Point all being here, before I met you my life was over. I lost my family then I lost my career. I was a sad country song before I met you. I love you Jody. I was saved by you. I love your kids, I feel like they are my own. And we have another on the way. You gave me something to fight for and something I will always fight for, and that is love.
You just giggled a bit in your dream while I wrote that. My sappy side must be leaking all over you. Think its best then to close this here letter off.
I'll see you soon.
Joey
What's Next
I wiped the tears off my face after reading Joey's letter. I gently refolded it and handed it back to Jody. She took it in her hand as though it were delicate.
“Looks like he really did love me. I never knew he was interested before the zombies hit, cause I would have gone to the movies with him.” She looked down at her new little boy, Liam and Abigail crowded near their mother and new brother.
Abigail was the first to ask, “Mom what's our brother's name?”
“Well honey, I've been thinking on that. I was thinking before that I would name him something like Duncan or Wallace. Now I think that the perfect name for this boy is after his daddy. After all, if it wasn't for him getting all of us in the truck, we'd all not be here. Meet Joseph James, Junior..”
Everyone sighed softly over the perfect name for this baby. Erin spoke softly at first. “Momma? Can we name him JJ for short? It'll remind people that hes just a baby. Not his dad, but a way to still to honor Joey.” Jody agreed.
Trent, Drew, and I jumped out of the trailer to take a walk. The night air was cold but refreshing. We looked at the three lane freeway which was as empty as a tomb. I've never seen that before in my entire life. I bent over to touch the asphalt to see if it was really real. When I stood back up I said “Well, where to next?”
Trent looked around thoughtfully and noticed there was a miles to sign ahead. We walked over to it. The sign read “Las Vegas, 250 miles”. On the sign there was a bit of graffiti that said ZOMBIES in all capital letters. Below that was an arrow that pointed in both directions.
“Well how does Las Vegas sound to you? We're pointed in the right direction.”
I nodded my head to agree with him. “We could pass through there on the way up to Idaho to see Kristen.”
Trent nodded his head in agreement. We took each others' hands and stood there in the quiet of the night. Dawn would be soon, but for now we were all going to take a nap. It had been a long day. Tomorrow would be a whole new experience.
…To Be Continued
Acknowledgments
> I have a few people that need to have special acknowledgments because of all their time and energy that they put into this story.
To Del, Thank you so much for putting up with me as I wrote this story. I'm sure that you are very done with hearing my constant questions about this and that, especially at 2 AM, but without your input and support this story never could have been written. Had it not been for our planning for the zombie apocalypse game we do, there wouldn't have been a great many of the story lines. You were a huge source of inspiration in this. To be fair, you've been a huge source of inspiration and support for 17 years. My life is much better for having you in it.
To Wes, Thank you for kindling the fires of my zombie fascination. Had it not been for the many books sent my way on zombies munching on survivors and the many nit pick sessions we had on various story lines I'd never been inspired to jump into writing this one. Thank you for answering my many questions about the plausibility of some important details.
To Danielle, Thank you for those many shifts that we worked together in that little room and many texts that were exchanged as I was writing the story. You helped me a great deal when I was stuck on how to get point A and point B to meet. By letting me blather on about something you helped more than you'll ever realize.
To Leisa, Thank you for reminding me to not give up on writing. When I had abandoned the other story I was working on, I was stuck. I missed writing. To see you continue to write kept the light on in my brain that I wanted to start a new story and finish it.
To the RAoK'rs, Thank you for your support as the story was being written. Knowing I had you guys to listen to me at all different hours when I was feeling discouraged over the task of writing a cohesive story made it easier to keep going.
To my beta testers, Thank you for giving me a read through to make sure I hadn't added 1,000,001 beyond stupid errors. Each read through shaped the story more and more. Without you guys I'd still have a misshapen wad of clay.
I know there are so many more people that helped with the story and while I'm not naming you by name here, please don't think your support has been forgotten, that could never happen.
Thank you, you rock.
J. Rudolph
17
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
The Beginning
Threshold
Official Words
Pseudo Prep
Family Awareness
Time For Action
And Back Again
First Night/First Full Day
Looting Survival
One Down
Post Raid
Zombies At The Gate
Resource Day
The Next Supply Run
Eric Returns
Aftermath Of The Bite
The Funeral and the Fight
Barriers
Power Failures
Power Alternative
Council Planning
Return of the Guys
The Haul
Power Up
Continuing On
Learning More
Creature Comforts
The Marauders
Trent's Trench
Alexus
Jody's Test
Return of the Marauders
Water Woes
Marriage
Getting the Water
Alexus woes
Security Woes
When it Rains
Recording on Hold
The Christmas Run
Christmas Is Coming
The Revelation
And Rue We Will
The Night It Changed
Our Losses and Gain
Joey's Letter
What's Next
Acknowledgments