by Lara Frater
“They have machines for that?”
Ricky laughed and his face grew bright. “There were seven billion people on this planet. Most of them didn’t pick their own food.” His brightness dimmed immediately. I knew why, seven billion people and now we’re down to a couple of million.
At least we don’t have to fight over resources.
At least for a little while.
Ricky touched my shoulder. “We can only do the best we can. You’re strong and tough Tanya. People respect you.” I wished he was right. Despite what Mike told me, I wasn’t sure people trusted me.
“You sound like Jim.”
“He’s a smart guy.” He looked over the fields then at me then he used his head to motion we should go inside. “Let’s take a break for a little while.”
I got Ricky’s message. “You sure,” I looked at his hand. He still wore a gold wedding band.
“Nothing’s for sure, but I won’t regret it.”
“You won’t be embarrassed?” I asked thinking about the conversation with Dave.
“Are you kidding me? Be embarrassed by a hot woman?”
Time to hang the bra on the door. At least one good thing happened today.
Chapter 17
It was brutally hot when Joel came with the horse. I sat outside drinking lemonade, the kind from juice boxes. It was cold at least. Ain’t warm enough to grow citrus fruits but you wouldn’t know today.
We couldn’t waste electricity but damn I wanted to stand in front of the fridge.
I expected Joel today. We gonna clean out Harbor Heights. Thought about cancelling cause of the heat but it ain’t like I can call him. I decided to have a small group, split half the people good with guns. Mike would stay here with Manny and Annemarie. Annemarie asked to come, but she got shook up by the accident. I made her sit this one out. I was glad I didn’t have to shoot her.
I was going with Grace and anyone else who wanted to come. Mike wanted to, had been looking forward to it, but I knew Hannah ain’t happy Mike was always volunteering. I made him sit this one out too. Besides Dena wanted to come and if Mike didn’t, they may not fight for a change. I told her she got a job watching the farm. I could be diplomatic.
Not surprised Frannie volunteered. Rose decided to come to get some practice, as long as she understood to remain in the back. Stan volunteered as well. Mike’s been giving them shooting lessons and said they weren’t half bad.
We tried the car cooling center but it didn’t work. It kept people cool but it used up gas like a hole. Instead Hannah used it as an emergency cooling center for medical reasons only. Everyone was encouraged to drink water, though it tasted stale and sometimes metallic. We ran it through one of them store bought filters.
Jim sat beside me, drinking powdered ice tea, looking overheated. His hair was wet because he just came out of a cold shower.
“So fucking hot in the summer now. What gives?”
Jim hunched his shoulders. “Lack of pollution could be the issue.”
“Wouldn’t that fix global warming?”
“I don’t know. I fixed computers. Maybe nature’s trying to put things right.”
I didn’t respond because I saw people leaving the fields. It wasn’t a zombie ‘cause I heard no bells and they looked happy. I thought that was way too many people greeting Joel. Even people from the camp gathered round. I got up and moved to the field. Jim wasn’t far behind me. Were we being rescued?
As I got closer I saw what was happening. Joel had shown up, and this time he had a horse. Chris and Bill were here, so I hoped Keith had made himself scarce. I didn’t see him. A SUV was parked not far. Joel was sweaty but Chris and Bill weren’t, so I assumed they drove while Joel came on the horse.
“Hello, Tanya,” he said, shaking my hand while he used the other hand to hold the reins.
“Joel, you have a horse.”
“A gift to you because I heard you have a mare. This here’s a stud. Figured we can trade for first born.”
“Sounds reasonable,” I said.
“What if they don’t make babies?” Jim asked.
“It’s a risk. Besides I got a few horses, all guys. I heard Grace was a good rider—“ he paused. “Thought she might want to ride with me.”
I almost laughed. “Joel, sorry, she’s not into you.”
He smiled. “Not even a little bit?”
“She don’t like most people.”
Joel didn’t say anything. Eric, who I saw in the crowd, walked away. I guess Jim was right. He might leave.
“Could you at least tell her about the horse?”
I wasn’t sure where she was, but Jim wandered off. He probably knew where everyone was at all times.
I petted the horse who put his head down. It must be hot. Lucy joined the crowd and made her way over. She had a bucket of water which she placed in front of him and he began to drink.
“Good horsey,” I said. “What do you think, Lucy?”
“Fine animal and tame. Where did you find him?”
“It’s kind of a sad story. We found a stable not far from a place we were staying. Someone had been taking care of them. We found a middle aged man dead. I think he fell. Good thing it was recently, otherwise the horses might have died.”
I didn’t like thinking about all the dead animals out there. The ones humans looked after. We got Idiot, Chinakitty, Olive and the mare but that was just a piss in the bucket.
Jim came back with a very annoyed looking Grace, but her eyes widened when she saw the horse. This wasn’t like the mare we got. She said it wasn’t show quality, good for pulling carts and stuff.
She didn’t say anything, moved her way through the crowd. She petted him and he nuzzled her. I wasn’t surprised she liked horses more than people.
“He’s beautiful,” she finally said. She looked around his body. “Very good shape. Looks like he was taken well care off.”
“He was,” Joel said. “Now I’m hoping you can take care of him. I know so little about horses.”
“Thank you. I’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”
“Good—would you like to go out on a date with me?”
“No,” she said, straightly. No one said anything. Joel looked crushed.
“Grace,” Jim said.
“I’m sorry,” she said and she looked pained while she was talking. “The horse is beautiful, but I’m not interested in dating—“ she looked at Jim, then added. “Anyone.”
Joel smiled sweetly. “Can’t fault a man for trying.”
Grace looked weird from this unwanted attention. I wondered if she ever fucked someone. She didn’t on the boat or with Jake at the Costking.
“We’re about to have breakfast, join us. Grace, why don’t you come too?”
Grace looked like I hit her in the face. I was thinking I can’t make her go on a date, but at least I can force them to have breakfast together. She had no excuse this time.
“I would love to,” Joel said.
“Okay,” Grace agreed, her voice low like I asked her to shoot a puppy or something.
The entire group had surrounded the horse looked at him. I think they all wanted to go out with Joel even some of the women from the camp. Frannie looked mad because she had pushed up alongside Joel and he ignored her.
Dave, Frannie, Rose, and Annemarie crashed our breakfast of a scoop tuna salad on one leaf of lettuce. We had mayo from Costking and the salad was dripping with it. I missed Maddie at meals. Damn it, I missed her all the time.
“So Joel,” I said after we sat down to our food. It was hot in the dining room and I wondered if we should eat outside. “What’s going on with Aisha?”
“I talked to her. I think she might be agreeable to meeting in a neutral location. Maybe in Greenport but it just has to be you. She’s very angry about the woman you have here but I told her you’re worried. She said she’ll think about it. I don’t want to be so pushy.”
I thought ‘bout Eric. How he changed when Maddie died
. Had Aisha changed too?
“But otherwise she’s okay?” Jim asked.
“She’s doing good. She’s not a bad hunter.”
“Hunting zombies?” Jim asked, his eyes widened.
“No,” he said, looking like he got his hand caught in the cookie jar. “She’s way too young for that. She’s hunting game.”
I still didn’t believe him.
Mike hunted game for us, some deer, some turkeys. We ate well when he did. Never thought I’d missed the taste of turkey until I took that first bite. We needed to find chickens. I would love me some eggs.
“She did kill a zombie once, at the house. An old one. Not a big deal.”
This was different than the Aisha that came on the trip with us. While self-assured, she was still a kid. Now she was hunting and killing zombs.
“I’ve killed zombies before. Ricky and I,” Frannie said, “Bashed their heads with a shovel but now I have a gun so I can kill more.”
“Grace,” Joel said, ignoring Frannie who looked pissed. “How many zombies have you killed?”
“Too many to count,” she said, as she poked at her tuna. She would eat it. We didn’t waste food.
“Hundreds?”
“I see them, I kill them, so maybe.”
“You should come hunting with us.”
“I am today.”
“I mean more than just today. I mean all the time.”
“Joel, this ain’t the time,” I said, trying not to get angry.
“Just asking the question.”
“I’m doing fine here.” She looked like she was ready to shoot Joel in the head. I used to think I wanted to see Grace uncomfortable but from Joel, I didn’t like it.
Joel leaned back. For a second, he looked mean, then that faded and his game face came back.
“What about humans? Have you ever killed any?”
“Hey,” Jim said. “This is breakfast, not a game of did you ever.”
Grace had the sly look on her face which meant Joel better watch out. “I’ve killed eight people, three had the zombie virus and five who were trouble. Do you need full details? Maybe how a person head looks after a bullet’s gone through it?”
“What about you Tanya?” Joel suddenly asked. “You ever kill a man—“ he paused. “Or a woman?”
“No.”
Joel looked at me, first time I seen him shocked. It was true. I’d messed up a lot people. Everyone I killed was a zombie.
“Really? Could you do it?”
“Yes— I could.”
“What about you, Dave?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice low. “Some guy was trying to hurt my dog and Tanya and I shot him.” He got up, grabbed his plate and left the room. I knew killing the guy was hard on Dave but I was glad he was there. That cop had me in his clutches good. I might have gotten the upper hand but probably not until after he had his way with me.
“It’s hard,” Joel said, after Dave left.
I smiled. “Have you ever killed someone Joel?”
“Yes, I have,” he said and gave a sly smile. “Flu didn’t discriminate, didn’t kill just the scumbags and leave the good people behind. Found men raping women, keeping them chained up like chattel. Killing them when they grew bored. I killed them all.”
“In self defense or on your hunts?” Jim asked.
Joel looked startled. “Both. They tried to come after women in my group, even got one. We went to find her. Luckily they hadn’t gotten far, she was just raped. They resisted and I killed them. Jim, I would love this world to just get together after the epidemic, but not everyone’s in line.”
I thought about those creeps at the Shop Smart. I wondered where they went. I hope a missile fell on them.
“Unfortunately we still have a lot of trash left over. I’m a garbage man. Of course it’s really zombies I’m after. I do keep count. I’ve killed 1264 of them.”
“I’m impressed. I don’t keep count, but we’ve all killed them.” I said. “Even Jim.”
“Really,” Joel said.
“Yes, really,” he said, a little annoyed. Jim told me about what happened on the drive to Greenport. He was becoming a good zombie hunter. Always a little worried about that white boy.
“But Grace has beaten you all. It must have been good to have her.”
I smiled. “Wouldn’t have been able to survive.”
“I killed some also,” Frannie said again, but Joel wasn’t listening.
We took separate cars. Joel, Bill, and Chris took a black SUV and we had a new van. Joel tried to get Grace to go with him but she hopped into the shotgun seat of the van. Frannie volunteered to go with Joel.
Our hunting party was almost all women ‘cept for Stan. I kinda thought that was funny considering Joel didn’t seem to have any female hunters.
We stopped at Steven’s first. His property still looked clean and swept compared to the other ones but the white panels was yellowing.
At the manor, everyone got one day a month they help clean usually an hour or two, no big deal. Jim makes up the schedule depending on people’s ability. Grace was the only exempt one ‘cause she volunteered for extra patrols. We supposed to keep our rooms clean but Jim cleans mine. Not that I got a lot of stuff: Weapons, books and clothes but I try not to be a slob.
Steven came out the door wearing a fishing hat and vest. He must have been sweating. I was dripping wearing jeans, boots, a baseball cap, and a long sleeve shirt. Thought again that we should do this in the fall, but realized it’s got to be done. More zombs been showing up.
“Hi ya, Steven,” I said, getting out of the car. Joel came out too. “This here is Joel. The one I told you about.”
“Hopefully all good,” Joel said, shaking Steven’s hand. If Steven was bothered by that conversation with Felicia and Joyce, he didn’t show it. He smiled and shook his hand vigorously.
“It’s good to meet you. Tanya said you’re a great hunter. Let’s see what you can do with this nest,” Steven pulled a hanky out of his pocket and mopped his brow, then looked at me, grinning. “Sure picked the hottest day of the year.”
“How many do you think are there?” Joel asked.
“At town center I say a good fifty but they are all over, so maybe even a hundred.”
“Sorry,” Joel said. “I never read any of your books. Always said I should. I liked the show and watched when I could. I guess I got some time to read it now.”
“I have multiple copies. When we swing back, I’ll give you a set. There are also copies in the Harbor Library.” Harbor Library was something Jim wanted to liberate. According to our map it was in the center of Harbor Heights.
“You ever been on a hunt before?” Joel asked. He leaned against the car. Even sweaty he looked fine.
Steven shook his head. “I’m good with a rifle and I take them out when I can. I’m not as spire as I used to be. It doesn’t matter. This is my town, I want it back.”
Joel smiled. He didn’t say anything else just opened the door to the car.
We stopped at the outskirts of the town at a restaurant called Revival that had two old zombies in front, both missing legs. Chris came out and smashed them both in the heads. No reason to waste bullets. The restaurant awning was torn apart and pieces flapped in the light breeze. The sea breeze made this day bearable. Outdoor tables were scattered around.
I got out of the van and opened the back while Grace covered me. I didn’t see anything but lots of high grass, weeds and bushes. Some were breaking up the road. I opened the gun case in the back. It wasn’t locked and handed out the rifles. When Grace first came to Costking, she got three rifles including her own. One she loves, one got lost ‘cause Harlan had it, I got the other one. I still didn’t trust Joel enough to know about our arsenal, so I always made sure we kept the same 5 rifles rotating with Grace always using hers. I didn’t want him to know that we had six assault rifles, 29 regular rifles, a bunch of shotguns and handguns, explosive, smoke and flash grenades, a missile launche
r and a lot of fucking bullets. Fucking happy Mike was on our side.
I figured Joel was doing the same thing. He always bought Chris and Bill, ‘cept one time he brought his electrician Gil to work with Dave. Grace told me they always had the same three rifles. She and Mike are experts on brands and sizes and stuff. I just know how to handle them safely and to shoot. Mike made sure of that. Anyone never handled a gun gotta get a safety course from him. Even people like Jim who don’t want to use guns. Mike says you never know when you gonna have to pick up one.
“All right,” Joel called out. “Gather round.” I decided not to fight with him if he took the lead unless I felt he was putting my people in danger. I thought about what Felicia said. He was a charmer, but I don’t think he was without emotion. I figured he looked after himself before saving anyone else. Not unlike Grace.
While I did some hunting, it was all pretty much kill the fuckers when I saw them. Joel had organized hunts just to kill zombies. I wanted to learn his techniques so I could follow them.
“We’re going to clean out this place first and use it as a base of operations. Then I’m going to pair people up.”
“Won’t that be dangerous splitting up?” I asked.
“We’re only going to split into two groups. We’re going make a circle around town. I want everyone to have a buddy. Someone they don’t lose sight of. Since we’re uneven, one group will be three.”
“I don’t need a buddy,” Grace said.
“Everyone needs a buddy—“
“I don’t.”
Joel didn’t look annoyed but amused.
“Let’s go inside and plan.”
I went in after Joel. The sun was the only light in the restaurant which smelled atrocious. So strong that Rose made a gagging noise and ran out. Grace never came in.
“I think we need to meet outside,” I said.
The smell wasn’t the decay of bodies but spoiled foods. Rotten milk, rotten meat. No refrigeration, no one to toss the rotting foods. When I stepped through the doorway I saw rodents running away. No zombies at least.
I left without seeing if Joel followed. He did.
“Should burn this place down,” he said.