“Why didn’t you take off running?” Jessica asks, hanging onto everything I say.
“I thought that if I moved, the group would notice me and I didn’t want their attention turned in my direction. I just watched as he shot those closest to him and took off running downtown. What was left of the group of zombies just stood there, then they seemed to realize that the man on the ground was still alive so they finished him off.”
I take another sip of coffee to help brace myself for what I have to say next. “The man that they attacked, laid on the ground for a minute as he died. Within seconds, his body started twitching and he got off the ground to join the others.”
“They didn’t come after you when they finished with the guy?” Trish asks anxiously.
“Smell and noise seem to attract them the most. I was hidden behind the building and could see them through the glass lobby, so I wasn’t really in their range of motion. I was trying to decide if I should move back toward the edge of downtown when gunshots rang out and echoed through the streets. All the zombies’ heads shot up and appeared to listen for a minute, I guess getting their bearings. As the shots continued, they lumbered in that direction. I didn’t need to be given a chance twice and I ran until the last of the tall buildings were behind me.
“It took a long while to make it to the meeting place Martin had mentioned, but most of the area that had been deserted gave way to food chains with lines of cars outside and people moving frantically somewhere. Seeing live people was a relief from what I’d just come from, but I wanted to scream at them and warn them of what was coming.”
Trish gets up from her chair and comes around the table to slip her arms around me for comfort.
“I’m really okay, babe,” I assure her.
“You might be, but I’m not. You could have been killed, and those things are still out there. It sounds like they can spread this disease every time someone is attacked and dies. If this keeps happening, then the cities will be overrun very quickly.” Trish’s very observant comment gets me thinking, but I’m interrupted by Jessica.
“We need to hear the rest of the story before we start panicking. We’re several hours from the city, and the military will be called in before it takes over the entire place,” Jessica calmly suggests as Trish moves back to her chair.
“Continue, dear. I may not want to hear it, but I guess there’s no help for it.” Trish shrugs helplessly.
“The meet point with Martin was still further out of town, so I needed a car. With all of the confusion, I knew it wouldn’t be hard to steal one.” I ignore their shocked expressions. “The car lots were pretty empty. There wasn’t a large run on people getting new vehicles today,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood. “I took the oldest truck on the lot and drove to meet Martin.”
“How did you not get caught?” Jessica sputters. “I would have been such a nervous wreck that I’d have the police following me.”
“If you act like you should be driving it, a police car won’t look at you twice, but they were overwhelmed with calls yesterday so I wasn’t at the top of their list. I stopped a few blocks after I got the truck and traded the plates out with another truck that was similar, so if they did run it through the system, it wouldn’t ding as stolen.”
“Wow, you’ve thought this through,” Trish exclaims at my ingenuity.
“When things get sticky, you do what you have to, and this situation definitely qualifies. Also, since it’s an older truck, the car lot isn’t as likely to notice it’s missing for several days, and when things have calmed down and the police are on the alert, the plates won’t tell them anything.”
“So you think it’s going to get worse?” Jessica keeps glancing toward the kid’s rooms where all the children are still asleep.
“From what Martin and I discussed, these guys planned to cause a panic so they could steal our top-secret program. What they didn’t plan for was the real thing happening at the same time. The looks on their faces when that group of zombies headed toward them looked real to me. I think they paid actors to be zombies for the day and somehow they were infected with a real virus.”
“Is that even possible?” Trish asks, worry lacing her voice.
“Why would they just let the sick out of the hospital to walk around?” Jessica couldn’t understand how this could happen in such a modern world.
“The word that is being passed around on the government channels is that there was a virus from overseas that was deadly. The virus mutated and the dead started reviving into these undead people who attack any living thing around them. They’re certain that only a handful of people are the carriers, but when something happens to them, it’s triggering this virus so at the moment, most of the incidents are isolated.” I don’t want to give them more than they can process at the moment.
“The infected carriers are coming from only a small number of countries that have been put on lockdown. The only problem is that there is no way to know who might be a carrier and left those areas before the quarantines went into effect. Most of the hospitals and medical centers have no idea that this even exists, much less how to prepare for the fallout.”
“Did Martin have any suggestions for how to deal with this?” Trish bites her lip.
“What we’re the most worried about is what the people stealing our program could do with it, especially if our country is on the edge of collapse from a zombie panic. In just the time from when I called him until we met at the twenty-four-hour diner, there were two other cities that had outbreaks. The military is headed out to contain it and kill as many of the undead as possible, but once it hits the suburbs instead of the empty buildings of downtown, it’ll spread quickly.”
“Won’t they be able to kill them all before they infect more people?” Trish asks as she crossed over to the doorway and looks down the hall, checking for any movement from the children.
“If someone doesn’t know they have it and they die, it can start just about anywhere. There are several private labs that have been contracted to work on only this virus. I’ll be able to stay here a few days at the most, but someone is going to have to make the trip to our main headquarters in Nevada. Martin is checking with a few others that on the safe list to see what the next procedure is. He doesn’t know where I am, so he can’t give my location away since I have it all uploaded with the only version offline.”
“So, we prepare and work hard for the next two days and hope that you don’t have to go anywhere.” Trish tries to have an upbeat outlook on the situation.
“He can’t go anywhere. We haven’t gotten to see him yet,” Joy cries from the doorway.
“I’m not going anywhere, munchkin. At least, not today, but don’t wake your siblings up, okay?” I had barely spoken the words when Trevor comes toddling out of the bedroom and toward the kitchen.
“Guess, I’ll finish the story later, but you both know the main points so no need to worry. We’ll face this and do whatever it takes to survive.” I hug Joy then pick Trevor up, tossing him in the air.
“I’m just glad that you made it safely here.” Trish comes over and takes Trevor from me.
“That reminds me, we’re going to need more supplies if this goes on for too long, and everyone else is going to start hoarding and we don’t want to run out of things,” Jessica says.
“I’ll get right on that as soon as I get some sleep and rest for a few hours.” I smile through the exhaustion that has suddenly hit my system.
“Joy, why don’t you show your dad where Aunt Jessica’s room is so he can get some rest? He can get some sleep while we make breakfast.”
Our children are going to face worse in the near future, and I know they could handle it, but Trish will try to keep the worst parts of our situation from them for as long as she can. I don’t blame her. If I wasn’t so exhausted, I would be worried about nightmares, but at this point, I don’t expect to dream about anything except drifting somewhere on a soft pillow.
Trish
While I make breakfast, Jessica goes to feed the animals and make a few phone calls to check on close friends and neighbors.
I don’t want to act differently, but I know that the information Cooper had brought with him means scary times ahead.
Joy doesn’t mind telling the late sleepers about seeing Dad, and that makes Nicole jealous.
“All right! Enough! Carson, you and Nicole go and open the door. Peek in and come back to the kitchen.”
The eggs will burn if I stop to take them to the bedroom, but I’m envious as well. I would like nothing more than to curl up by myself with my hubby and block out the reality of the world.
While Cooper is really talented, he exudes this attitude that he’s got the world handled, and right now I find that really comforting.
The front door bangs as Drew and Roxanne proceed Jessica into the kitchen.
“Mom said to tell you she’ll be in shortly,” Drew informs me as he places a basket of fresh eggs onto the counter.
“I’m adding the cheese now, so she timed it just right.” I hadn’t noticed Roxanne until she dropped the empty milk bucket onto the ground.
“What on earth are you doing?” I question my niece, partly curious, but confused because she’s dumped the milk into a large tub over a separate burner.
“Pasteurizing the milk so it’s safe to drink,” Roxanne tosses back over her shoulder at me.
“We have a small one to do the process for our personal use, but we have a larger one in the barn to take care of the stuff we deliver locally,” Drew chimes in as he finishes putting the eggs into the extra refrigerator in the laundry room, off the back of the kitchen.
“I had no idea when Jessica said, “working farm” that she meant just that, a small farm.”
“Haha, I heard that, big sis. We don’t have a full farm, but there are some ways that we’re able to make money. We take the produce and extras out to the farmer’s market on the highway and it helps keep the lights on.” Jessica walks over to the big sink next to the pasteurizer and steps on the pedal for the water to come on.
“I’m afraid I didn’t pay much attention yesterday to the details, but I may need to take the tour after breakfast.” I turn the burner off and pull the eggs over to the side so I can check on the bacon.
“We have a few more chores that will need to be done, but I think your kids will love it the first few times we have them do it.” Jessica finishes washing her hands and arms, and dries them on the towel.
“Did your friends agree to a meeting?” I carry the hot food to the large kitchen table as the kids scramble around to take their seats.
“They did, but they want to meet this afternoon at the community center so that the kids can use the park across the street while we have the meeting.”
“Well, let’s eat and take a tour of the farm. How does that sound, kids?” I try to make it sound fun and upbeat.
“We did that yesterday, Mom,” Nicole mumbles.
“Today you’ll get to help your cousins with their chores and there won’t be any grumbling.”
A chorus of halfhearted, “Yes, ma’am’s” fill the room.
I’ll take it, even if they’re not completely thrilled about it.
Jessica’s farm stretches over ten acres, filled with several types of vegetables, and even a small fruit orchard.
“Not trying to be rude, sis, but this place is huge. I had no idea the scope of what you meant.” I look around at the neatly plowed fields and know that Cooper will never want to leave.
“I inherited it from my grandparents. Well, I should say my adopted grandparents.”
I stop Jessica. “They were your grandparents, and just because we’ve found each other doesn’t mean that they were any less part of your family growing up. So, don’t try to change the past. Let’s just go with what the future has for us.”
Jessica’s face brightens and I know it was the right thing to say.
“I think the thought of being a rich farmer is what appealed to Billie, but when he realized the amount of work that went with it, he really gave up trying.” Jessica keeps her voice low since the bigger kids are on the other golf cart in hearing range.
She stretches an arm out to encompass the surrounding view. “It might take a lot of work, but it’s what I’ve always known. We aren’t poor, but I don’t foresee any vacation home purchases in my future either.”
I giggle as Trevor becomes excited at the horse running along the fence separating the orchard from the rest of the field.
“Can we go pet the horse?” I ask, as holding Trevor has become more difficult.
“Absolutely.” She turns toward the gate that leads from the field to the orchard.
Drew and Carson have the gate open for us as we pull up, driving through easily.
“Have your kids ever been close to a horse before?” Jessica asks curiously, because the children all have varying reactions.
Trevor can’t wait to pet the horse, while Joy is shaking her head about getting off the cart, and Nicole is already next to the horse with a treat in her hand.
“I’ve never taken them horseback riding, but I think after they hang out for a bit, it won’t be such a big deal.”
Jessica parks and takes the squirming Trevor from my arms as I gingerly get out into the grass.
“Now, I know where they get their city ways from.” Jessica laughingly calls back to me as I try to watch every step I take so that I don’t end up stepping in a pile of horse manure.
“You wouldn’t fare any better in the city with all the noise and traffic,” I mumble under my breath, cursing my grand idea of taking a tour through the farm.
My kids shouldn’t see their mother afraid of anything, so I trudge on until I’m standing next to the horse, only to have it try to rub its nose on my face in greeting.
The unexpected action sends me stepping back only to trip over a rock so that I land on my hiney.
The sound of childish laughter rings out through the air at my expense.
“Seriously, if the horse had tried to kiss you, you’d have done the same thing.” I stick my tongue out at my kids, making no attempt to get up.
“Are you going to stay there all day?” Drew innocently asks, unsure of what to do with his citified Aunt.
“I’m very comfortable down here, thank you very much. I’m in no hurry to get up.” The little dignity I have left can’t handle another round of kissy face with the horse.
Jessica gently places Trevor on the back of the horse.
“Old Betsy wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Drew pats the horse on his neck, letting it nuzzle next to his face.
The horse doesn’t even flinch in Drew’s direction as Trevor bounces excitedly on his back.
I push myself up, dusting anything I can from my pants. Ugh! I’m so not an outdoor girl.
“Can we head back to the house now?” I watch all the children’s heads swivel around like a bad horror film.
“Really, Mom?” Joy whines. “We just got out here.”
“They can stay out here and Trevor can go back to the house with you to watch cartoons. What do you say, buddy?” Jessica asks.
“Horsey!” Trevor squeals.
“We can come visit the horsey later. Your favorite show is on, Sesame Street.”
“Bird! Wanna see Bird.” Trevor holds out his arms to Jessica. “Bye horsy.”
“Watch out for each other and listen to your cousins. They know what’s safe so make sure you obey their rules,” I admonish my other children.
“Did you get enough baskets, Roxanne?” Jessica questions her as she walks to the golf cart with Trevor on her hip.
“Uh-huh. We’ll take them over to the berry patch.” Roxanne pulls on her cousin, Nicole’s, hand. “Let’s go.”
We watch as the new cousins race to see who will be the driver.
“At least they’re getting along with each other.” Jessica smiles as we pull away toward the house, going the long way so that I can see
a few more things from the comfort of my seat.
With lunch over, I go to wake Cooper up so that he’ll have a few minutes to get ready before the town meeting.
He’s lying on his stomach and lets out a loud snore as the door closes to keep the kids’ noise down.
The white of his skin is almost too bright. He needs to get a little more sun and less desk time, but with four children it’s a hard task to stay in great shape or spend time outdoors. I can’t lay any blame on him because my body’s certainly not in shape any more either.
“Are you going to stand there and stare at me all day?” Cooper’s brown eyes sparkle with mischief. “I don’t see any children. Does that mean we can have some alone time?”
“Afraid not. We have a town meeting to go to in a few minutes.” I sigh in regret as I walk over to the edge of the bed. I’m not surprised when he moves over enough for me to lay down and snuggle up. Kid free moments are rare in our home.
“So Jessica explained to enough people what’s about to happen and they’re ready to prepare for it?” Cooper asks as he props his head on his arm.
“They’re convinced enough to come. You get to do the rest, but they’re worried and hoping that you can explain what’s going out there.” I lean over to place a kiss on his lips, savoring the sensation.
The door bursts open and four little people are standing in the doorway.
“Yuck, they’re kissing again,” Joy groans and turns to leave, but with the two cousins right behind them, she can’t get away like she’d wanted to.
“It’s safe, kids. No more kissing,” Cooper says with a wink in my direction.
“Uh, is it okay with Jessica if I wear these clothes?” he asks, pulling on the white muscle shirt, unsure of the modesty level needed in front of his new niece and nephew.
Against Zombies Box Set, Vol. 1 | Books 1-4 Page 6