“Me too. I like my cousins, but I like the chickens the bestest. How come there isn’t a Donald on the farm? Did he die and Aunt Jessica took over his farm?”
“What?” I asked, startled, until I remembered that he was thinking about the kid’s song.
“You mean McDonald. Aunt Jessica’s parents have always lived here. I think McDonald’s farm is somewhere else. Maybe when you get a little older, we can go looking for Old McDonald’s farm, but I think it will be just the same as Aunt Jessica’s.”
“Mmm…k. Then maybe we can find my friend Jon’s doggie. His parents had to take it to Donald’s farm so it could get better.”
I swallowed the laugh that started to come out. “We just might find that doggie. You never know. Now, close your eyes and let’s just sit here for a few minutes.”
He settled in and I looked up at the stars, thankful that in this moment in time, my baby was still alive. I didn’t need to borrow trouble, because the future had plenty of it waiting for us.
Trevor wasn’t still very often. I held him until my arms were ready to collapse, and I needed to find a way to stand up without dropping him.
After a little bit of trial and error, I finally made it and laid him in my bed. It wouldn’t hurt if he slept in Cooper’s spot for just a little while. My eyes closed wearily, and I didn’t even hear the door of Carson’s room open.
It was mid-afternoon when we realized that Carson was gone, but he wasn’t the only one that was missing. A group of about six teenagers had snuck out during the night and taken one of the trucks. They’d also taken a few of the guns with some ammo.
“Linc, we have to go find them,” I protested.
“I understand, Trish, but they can’t get far. One of the lookouts will let us know if they get to the blocked-off roads.”
“What if they don’t use one of the regular roads and instead take one of the dirt roads that we’re not guarding? We have to find them,” I yelled in frustration.
“I’ve already radioed the other towns, but none of the lookouts have seen them yet. We’re going to do a search of the surrounding area, but remember, we could go right past them and have no clue they were in the same spot.”
Jessica started to give me a hug when I spied Roxanne standing over to the side, listening intently to what was being said.
“Roxanne, do you know something about Carson? Where he went, or if he mentioned something in the past few days?”
She started to inch back out of the kitchen, but saw that all three of us adults were watching.
Rolling her eyes and giving us a big sigh to show that her cooperation was under duress, she came into the room.
“They went to go find the liquor store that sells to teens over in the next county. They figured if they raided it now and brought back the stuff, then they could sell it to the other town’s kids when they went to install their electricity.” Roxanne shrugged, like we were making too big of a deal out of it.
“Was that the only place they were going?” Jessica motioned her to the chair.
“Yes. They didn’t think it would take more than a day, and the adults wouldn’t miss them until they were back and had hidden everything.” Roxanne crossed her arms in a show of defiance. “They weren’t hurting anyone or anything.”
“Jessica, do you know where this place is at?” Linc apparently thought she knew, since this didn’t appear to be the first time she’d heard it mentioned.
“No. They move the location every four years. The seniors are the only ones who know where it is, and the juniors move it so that no one can snitch on it.”
“Roxanne, how did you know about it when you haven’t started your freshman year yet?” Jessica asked.
“Mom, come on. Everyone knows about it, we just don’t know where it’s at. I’ve been to a few parties that had alcohol there.” Roxanne quickly added, “I didn’t drink, but it was available.”
“I’d say you’re grounded, but since you can’t really go anywhere, it won’t mean much. I’ll come up with some extra chores once we find your cousin, though,” Jessica angrily threatened.
“Now I wish I’d gone with them so at least I could have had some fun before being punished,” Roxanne mumbled quietly.
“She’s right,” Linc agreed. “She told us what was going on, and those parties were months ago.”
“Stay out of it.” Jessica turned her anger onto Linc. “You’re not her parent, so you don’t get to decide things like this. That said, I’m going to calm down before this gets crazy.” Jessica turned back to Roxanne. “Is there anything else you can tell us about what direction they went in?”
“The other kids were saying it’s over in the next county, toward the mountains. They didn’t say where it was, and I can’t believe that they invited Carson to go with them. One of the junior, or I guess the senior girls, has a crush on him.”
“What? That means she’s way older than he is, and…” I sputtered.
“He did tell her that he was older. Everyone thinks he’s fifteen, not thirteen. When he had his birthday right after you guys got here, he told everyone he was older. I wasn’t going to out him. It didn’t seem fair since we were all going to die anyway,” Roxanne explained.
“Oh my God. This is just getting worse. She’s out there with my kid doing who knows what.” I sat down in a chair, all of my anger draining because this was way more than I could take in at the moment.
“I know you ladies aren’t going to like it, but guys do it all the time to impress a girl.” Linc glanced at Jessica. “If you don’t mind, Trish, I’ll have a talk with him when he gets back and make sure he understands the ramifications of lying about his age.”
“Yeah, and he’s more than grounded. He’s going to be doing chores until he’s so tired, he can’t find ways to sneak out,” I groaned. “This is so much worse than if he’d done this before things went to crap. Now, the dead are after him, as well as a cougar teen.”
“Hey, it’s not Tina’s fault. She thought he was older, and with all of the muscles he’s gotten from working on the farm, she’s not the only one interested in him. Even if they do it, it’s not like he had ID that she could check, you know.” Roxanne tried to help us understand where they were coming from.
“Roxanne, while I appreciate that you’re trying to help, you’re not. Even if this Tina hussy didn’t know better, Carson did.”
“Carson’s too scared to do more than make-out with her. He’s not ready for that. I’m sorry, Aunt Trish.”
“I can’t believe you guys are talking about this stuff already. I’m not mad at you, Roxanne. It’s just really frustrating.”
“He’s a thirteen-year-old boy. Of course he’s talking about stuff like this, and the things he’s already seen since you guys got to the farm tend to make a kid grow up faster. He’s smart, and won’t do anything stupid, but we do need to find them before it gets dark. We’ll worry about his reputation when he gets back.” Linc turned and began walking out the door to go with the team trying to find the kids.
“I hope they find them.” I placed my head in hands, feeling helpless.
“They will. I have faith in Linc and the others. They have a few hours before dark, and I’ll bet the kids left a trail behind without knowing it,” Jessica surmised, trying to comfort me.
“Actually, I was starting to feel really sorry for myself, but instead, I’m just going to give Cooper a piece of my mind when he gets back. It’s his son he’s left behind to languish while he ‘saves the world.’ To be honest, I don’t see the world becoming a better place, and this superhero complex needs to be over with now.” I got up and started pacing.
“Let’s go outside so we can keep an eye on things while we wait for them to come back.” Jessica didn’t even try to talk me out of waiting, even though we both knew it would be hours before they could possibly be back, and it might be tomorrow if they had to stay someplace holed up.
“Roxanne, it’s time for you to make yourself usef
ul and keep the kids from finding out about this. Play some games out back on the swing set, then cereal for dinner so we don’t burn anything because we’re worried and not paying attention,” Jessica ordered.
I smiled gratefully, because at this point, my mind could only focus on one thing, and that was getting Carson back safely.
It had been dark for about an hour and the kids were already in bed when lights turned up the driveway.
I squeezed Jessica’s hand, because at that moment, I wanted to shout and scream at Carson for doing something so stupid. Yet, at the same time, I just wanted to hold him and cry because he was safe.
The truck doors opened and Linc, Josh, and Sam got out, but Carson didn’t.
“Where is he?” I ran to the truck and frantically looked in the back seat. Empty. The truck bed was also empty.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t find them, and it was pointless to continue searching in the dark with infected out there,” Linc conceded.
“No! You should have kept looking!” I yelled as I started hitting the side of the truck, before collapsing to the ground, too exhausted to keep fighting.
Linc crouched down in front of me.
“We’ll go back out first thing in the morning and look again. We’ve also kept in touch with the other blockades, and they didn’t try to come through there. We’re checking out all the dirt roads into the other county, but until we can get to city hall over there, we have no access to where there might be a shack or building they could be using.”
“Instead of going out for more solar equipment, I’ve talked to a few of the other leaders, and they’re going to send men to help, and we’re going to work toward moving our area out farther so we can accomplish two things in one sweep. It’ll put us closer to the city and keep the dead from making their way down here,” Tyler informed Linc, as well as the others standing around helplessly.
“It doesn’t matter. That won’t find them because it took us weeks to make the kind of progress you’re talking about. The closer to the city you go, the more dead you’ll find.” I hugged my arms around my body, keeping everything together-ish.
“We’ll find them,” Tyler promised.
“Don’t make promises that you don’t know you can keep. They could all be dead, and we would have a hard time identifying them after just a few days. I’m going to go inside now.”
I had only walked a few feet when I realized that these guys had also spent a day dealing with the dead for me.
“Thank you. You guys did try and I appreciate that. Did you tell the other families?”
“I radioed Wade, and he’s letting the families know that we’re going to try again tomorrow.” Linc nodded at the others so they could leave if they wanted.
“They needed to know. Thank you for not keeping them in the dark about it.” I hurried into the house and closed the bedroom door, thankful that we’d already put the kids to bed and I’d have the room to myself.
The lock clicked, and while I was sure Jessica had a key somewhere, at least it gave me some privacy. I took the pillow from the bed and sat on the floor, holding it over my mouth to quiet the sobs that just wouldn’t stop.
Numbness set in, as my body had no more energy. I had no idea when sleep took me, but I didn’t remember losing consciousness.
Weeks passed with no word, and I knew that Linc hated coming back to the farm empty-handed.
The town had acknowledged that they couldn’t keep using resources to find the missing kids. Before the infected, the entire world would have been looking for them, but now that the dead were the problem, they had to assume they were also dead.
Every morning, I wanted to get up and set out by myself, but I knew that my other children didn’t need to lose their father, mother, and brother. So for their sakes, I tried to put on a happy face and do things to keep our small part of the world running properly. But every night, I spent hours just looking at the stars and hoping Carson was still alive and could see them as well.
Two months after the zombies hit…
Cole
When the grate closed over our heads, I knew the situation was messed up. The lights and music threw me off, and I was unsure what kind of looney bin I’d landed in when someone cut the spotlight.
“Gerald, what have we said about greeting guests with your theatrical flair?”
“I’m Lee Robinson. Sorry for the dramatics. Gerald is used to being on stage and is having a hard time without an audience. So what can we help you with?”
I frowned, wondering what these people were playing at. “We’re looking for their roommates.” I nodded at Andi and Stacy, who were standing behind me. “They were supposed to be at the movie theater, but it was empty when we arrived. The girls’ names are Sam and Jennifer.”
“Oh, yes. We rescued them yesterday. I’m sorry you came all this way. Let me radio them and let them know you’re here. Who should I say is calling?” Lee held up the radio in his hand like it was normal to greet people in the sewers, as if they’d rang the doorbell on a house.
“Um, Stacy and Andi are their roommates,” I offered, exchanging a look of distrust with Darren, Stacy’s boyfriend.
“Certainly. Hey, Sarah Beth? Can you have Jen and Sam come down and greet our guests please?” Lee motioned to a few old benches that were placed against the wall. “Do you want to have a seat while we wait for them?”
“No, thank you. I prefer to stand. How many people are you taking care of here?”
Lee glanced at the obvious display of weapons those in our group were holding, ready to use if necessary.
“I prefer not to say since we have no idea what your intentions really are.” Lee seemed to appreciate the irony in the situation.
Andi threw a dirty look in my direction and came out from behind me. “Look, I got a message that Sam was in danger, and we got here as quickly as we could, trying to get through all the ZITs. I just want to make sure she and her group are safe.”
“They had done a wonderful job of staying out of the…what did you call them? ZITs?” Lee rubbed a hand over the stubble on his face.
“The Army named them Zombie Infected Things, or ZITs,” River informed him, with her bat slung over her shoulder.
A girl that could take care of herself was something I didn’t see every day. So sexy. Dammit! Focus on the suspicious leader, Cole.
“I want to make sure the girls are okay, and then we can get out of your hair.”
“Nonsense. If the girls know you and say that you’re safe, we’ll have you stay and eat dinner with us. We just want to do a little vetting before inviting you into our secret lair. I’m sure you understand,” Lee advised.
“Now who’s being dramatic?” Gerald snickered.
“You know what?” I glanced around at our little group. “I think we’ll just get them and start back so we don’t get caught in the dark.”
These guys were giving me the creeps, and it wasn’t because they wanted to vet things, either.
“We’ll just let the girls decide for themselves…oh, and here they are. Jen, Sam, do you know these people?” Lee motioned to us like we were up for inspection on the auction block.
He shouldn’t have even tried to speak, because Jen and Stacy raced for each other, crying, while Andi gave Sam a high five.
“I see. If you would like to come with us, we have warm food ready to be eaten.” Lee just took their emotional reunions as normal, and his suspicious nature was suddenly gone.
“What makes you think we won’t see your setup and take it over for ourselves?” Darren questioned.
“You could, but then you’d have to kill us in the church, and I’m pretty sure that God frowns on that.”
“Are you part of a church or something?” Andi asked, puzzled.
“Sort of. If you’ll follow me, I’ll explain as we go.” He turned and began to move at a brisk pace.
“Our church’s family center is considered a Red Cross station when there is a disaster, but we also h
elp house the homeless when there is an imminent weather threat. We were setup for the overflow from the hospitals and ready as a first triage area where the super sick could be sent to the ER. Thankfully, things got crazy before the sick arrived, or we would have had a mess on our hands.
“I was one of the extra staff, but my brother was the associate pastor. He didn’t make it that first week, before we knew what was going on. I was able to get my nieces and bring them back here for safety.” Lee’s face held a hint of sadness, but he continued past the pain. “We’re also a food pantry, so there were quite a few supplies here, but not many members actually showed up when things went from bad to worse.”
The sewer ended at a door that could be sealed up to keep the water or other things from getting inside. It was already open, and a guard was standing outside with a gun.
At least they weren’t completely stupid about this, I thought as we walked inside with our weapons. Were guns allowed in church?
A short hallway walk and we were in the basement, guarded by another person on lookout. It wasn’t a complete setup like the army would have done, but at least they were giving it a try.
“The ZITs, as you called them, made it almost impossible to move between the larger and more secure church building, and the showers over in the family building. I checked for several ideas and ran across the plans from the early days of the church, back when prohibition was in place.”
“You’ve got to be shitting us? The church was holding onto a secret speakeasy? From those days? I thought churches were against alcohol.” Darren glanced at me, and I shrugged.
“I uncovered the plans hidden in one of the old closets. We literally took the place apart to fortify it and to find anything that could be useful. I’d remembered some stories from my days up in Bethel about the moonshine, and how the town first got built by my ancestors,” Lee informs us.
Against Zombies Box Set, Vol. 1 | Books 1-4 Page 41