by Geo Dell
“You did that,” Bob asked. “Graft? You know how?”
“Oh yeah...It's not hard at all. You can do it with different kinds of trees as well. Different kinds of fruit trees... Any kind of tree nearly... I think.. I know fruit trees. I've done it with fruit trees... Plants as well... Slips of plants to clone, same with trees... I have done both. Grafting and cloning. No big deal. Any nursery does the same thing.”
“Well then, you're elected,” Bob said.
“Okay... You got it,” Arlene said. “I'll fix them up real nice.”
~
“They sound like they had a blast,” Candace said.
“They have every rack filled already, Candy,” Janet said.
“That's a lot of fish,” Lilly said.
“Good protein for you pregnant types,” Susan said... “What's it like,” she asked shyly. She was normally so bold that it was surprising to Lilly to see this side of her.
“Like someone stuck a screaming, kicking two year old in my stomach while I was sleeping. Told them to sit on my bladder and kick me in the kidneys every once in a while.”
“Yeah,” Candace agreed.
“Ditto,” Patty added.
“You know... The other feeling,” she said with a small laugh.
Lilly nodded. She had tried to joke her way out of it. She didn't consider herself good at explaining how she felt about anything at all.
“It's like you thought you had everything in the world and then bang... You find out you had nothing at all. It's the knowledge that you are making a life... A real life inside of you... It's impossible to imagine. It's all the love you have, all of it, tied up in something you don't understand, but even so you know is real... It's like knowing how much Tom loves me when he puts his hand on my belly and he gets this look on his face.” She paused.
“It's so emotional, so pure, it makes me cry all by itself. Just out of the blue... It's hope, you know?” She smiled. “Then it kicks you in the kidneys and you go... Ow! Damn that hurt!” Everybody laughed.
“Really I can't explain it, Sue... It's like you're in the middle of a magic show, all of this is happening, and you know the science, but the reality is so amazing it just blows you away,” Lilly said.
“Yeah... That's it exactly,” Candace said softly. “And then they really do kick you in the bladder or the kidneys!”
Everybody roared.
On The Road
Zac dragged himself upright. The sun was finally sinking below the horizon behind him. His face was stiff and stinging pain.
Goddammit, he thought, fell asleep in the sun again... All day, the little voice in his head told him.
His tongue was thick and dry in his mouth and his head was pounding to a heart beat that sounded pretty scary in its own right. His stomach was queasy.
It felt like something was crawling down the back of his neck, but when he slapped one slow hand to it, it was only a greasy bead of sweat rolling out of his hairline and down to his collar to join the dampness already there.
“Manda.” He meant to yell, but his abused throat came out with a nearly silent croak instead. He reached for the bottle at his side, hot after sitting in the sun all day, spun the top off and took a long drink.
Fire burned down his throat and squeezed tears out of his eyes. He cleared his throat. Spat, and took a deeper drink.
“Hair of the dog,” he told himself. “Fuckin' A.”
He tried his voice. Spat. Cleared his throat once more and then took a longer drink. He took another drink and shouted. “Manda, you worthless, slat chested bitch!”
In the doorway of the SUV, Amanda came awake. Wha..., she thought.
“Goddamn fuckin' cunt,” Zac continued. “Where in Christ's sake are you?”
“I'm coming, Baby. I'm coming,” she croaked. She grabbed a can of warm cola, popped the top and then sniffed it before she took a drink. Sometimes they were bad. This one smelled okay though. She took a sip and then a larger drink when she realized it tasted okay. She hurried over to Zac. Her pink sparkle fingernails clicked nervously against the can. “I'm here baby,” she told him.
“About fuckin' time,” he told her. “What's to eat... I got to get something in me.”
“We got a lot of stuff, Baby... We got some chunk soups... Some beef stews, some pork and beans... Some of them little wienies in a can,” she laughed. “Some chili.”
“I want a steak,” Zac complained.
“Baby, there ain't no steaks in cans. At least I ain't seen none. We got some roast beef in a can, but the last can a that was bad, you said. You said you didn't want no more a that,” Amanda told him.
“Prolly went bad in this ever fuckin' heat,” Zac said. “Give me a couple a cans of that chili.”
He sat holding his shaggy head in his hands as he spoke. When he finished he lifted it, shook it and looked around.
Amanda padded off to get the chili and a can opener.
Zac's eyes felt too small for his swollen, aching head. A bottle of Tabasco sauce sat nearby. It worked well for hangovers, he'd always swore by it. He upended it and got nothing for his troubles.. He threw it aside in disgust and took another deep pull from the bottle at his side instead. The light was seeping out of the sky which made it a little easier on his head. He rubbed his temples, rubbed the back of his neck and then his eyes. He flexed his neck back and forth idly and looked around while he waited on the chili. That was when he noticed his bike tipped over onto the old couch.
“Jesus H. Christ and all his little disciples... What the fuck is this!” He bellowed. He hauled himself to his feet, his aching head forgotten, and walked over to the bike. That was when he noticed that the bike was not even where it was supposed to be. He had known something was wrong he just hadn't been able to put his finger on it. The bike had been moved about eight feet from where it was supposed to be.
Amanda came back with the two cans of chili and a dirty fork. He wouldn't care anyway about the fork, she thought. She sat the cans down on the table and started to use the can opener when she saw that Zac was up and staring at the bike that was toppled over onto the couch.
“I was gonna tell you about that, Baby,” Amanda said.
In two short steps he was on her and backhanded her with one hand. “You was gonna tell me! You was gonna tell me?”
Amanda had gone flying, literally lifted off her feet and landed on her bony ass in the middle of the cracked and tilted asphalt. A high pitched buzzing started in her head. Blood leaked from the side of her mouth. She sat up and swayed from side to side, shook her head and remembered who she was. It took a few seconds longer to remember the why of it.
“It was a smart ass black boy, Baby.” She told him. “He was with a bunch of them hippie type nigger lovers... They did it. I told him, Baby. I told him, but I couldn't do nothin',” she was crying now. “I tried to wake you up. Baby, I tried to wake you up! They wouldn't have tried it if you was up and awake, I know that,” she said through her tears. Her face hurt and it was already hard to move her jaw. Damn if he hadn't busted it, she thought.
“You let some....” He started, but Amanda never heard it. A little vein inside her head chose that second to burst. Starlight seemed to bloom inside her head. A second later everything went black.
Zac watched her topple over. A perfect flood of blood came from both nostrils as she went. Her head hit the pavement with a solid thunk. Her right hand fluttered like a tiny bird caught in a trap, nails clicking against the pavement and then stopped. The blood began to pool around her head. Thick and dark red in the failing light.
“Goddammit,” Zac said softly. He sagged down to the roadway. He sat there for some time as the sun continued to sink and the darkness came on; finally he heaved himself to his feet.
“A smart ass black boy,” he said to himself. “Now how many of them am I likely to find?”
He staggered over to the SUV, glancing briefly at Amanda as he went by. The pool of blood was enormous, and the ants were already on
her. He shook off the cold chill that ran down his spine, levered himself into the drivers seat of the SUV and started it up.
The back door was still open but slammed shut when it bounced off one of the couches as Zac took off down the road.
“A smart ass black boy,” he told himself again. “Now we'll see about that.”
~
It happened so fast, Mike told himself later, that no one had had any time to react. They had heard nothing. Two watches were posted, Nellie and Tim on opposite ends of the circle. Nellie facing the highway, Tim looking back towards the mall.
Molly had just stood up to walk over and talk to Nellie when the shot had come. The flat, loud crack of a high powered rifle. Mike's head spun hard as it automatically turned at the sound and tried to duck at the same time. And he saw Nellie falling and falling, and it seemed as though there were a fog around her head for a second and then it was gone, and in the silence he could hear blood pattering to the pavement.
Molly screamed and started to run, but Ronnie tackled her to the ground. Chloe and Bear were up, machine pistols in their hands, crouched low, running for that side of the circle. Mike, Josh and Tim ran behind them, crouched over as they ran for the truck where Nellie lay on the ground.
Mike made the truck, peered up over the fender, and the man was in plain sight. A fat Biker looking type standing next to an SUV pulled down onto the side of the highway.
The man began to raise his rifle once more when all four of them opened up on him. He dropped instantly but no one stopped firing. The machine pistols chewed holes through the thin sheet metal of the SUV, blew the windows out and flattened both tires on the side facing them.
The fire power lasted only a brief few seconds, but all of them had emptied their clips. They had all shot a second clip home before they had stopped to even draw a breath, but the momentum had ceased, and they all stood silently a moment longer, their eyes moving over the biker where he lay beside the truck.
Mike forced himself to look over at Nellie. The back of her head was gone. Her eyes were open and clear, as if she could see him, as if she were looking back at him. “He's dead,” he said to Ronnie.
Molly fought her way free, scratching and biting, and ran to Nellie. She stopped just short of her, looked down at her for a moment, and then collapsed next to her sobbing. She pulled her toward her and tried to cradle her head, but looked down at the blood and gore that covered her hands as they slipped off her body.
Her own machine pistol hung at her side. She jerked it up quickly and fumbled with the safety.
“Molly,” Mike said in a loud startled voice.
The tears flooded from her eyes. “Fucker killed me too,” she whispered.
“Molly,” Mike said again. He started for her.
“This whole world is so crazy,” Molly said. She finally got the safety off. It seemed like minutes to Mike as he replayed it later, but it was only a split second from the time she had wrenched the pistol free to where she had thumbed off the safety.
He had thought... She means to make sure Nellie doesn't come back. Hard, but necessary. But Nellie wasn't going to come back. That was clear. His feet were moving. Carrying him toward her. Her eyes lifted and met his own briefly, and something there told him a different story, and he knew, but knowing did him no good. It didn't speed his feet, or help the words from his mouth any faster.
Molly bought the barrel up, pulled the strap from her shoulder and just as quickly reversed the barrel, putting it in her mouth. She looked at Mike once more. Blinked.
“Jesus Christ, Molly!” Mike screamed.
She pulled the trigger.
The Nation
Candace's Journal
I've been too busy the last few days to sit down and write. This whole place has a pretty empty feeling. Mike, Ronnie, Annie, Tim, Molly and Nellie are gone into the great out there. And almost everyone else has gone to the lake fishing. The lake is out in the valley to the north. Quite a way, and it's really more of an expedition. We heard from them by radio. They are fishing the lake empty.
We also heard from two more groups that are on their way in. Both will be here tomorrow, and so I guess the empty feeling won't last long. And, one group is bringing Annie back to us. We were pretty worried about that until Annie explained it. Sandy is already worried about a woman they are bringing in. She lost her arm to a zombie. I talked to Bob about that, and Annie. It seems like any real concern is past, but Bob wants her off by herself and watched. Quarantined really. I was not surprised that Sandy agreed with him. The rest of us talked about it. We don't know what to make of it.
I wish we had heard from the others, but at least we got some information from Annie. Being honest here, it didn't make me feel any better. And the three of us, Pats, Lilly and I talked it over. It doesn't make any of us feel better. Bob was quiet. But Bob is always quiet. He'll think it over and come out with what he really feels in a few days. I guess we all will. It's scary.
It will be awhile before we see the others again. And my big news, which everyone knows except Mike and the others who went, will have to remain unshared for now. I'm having twins. Two little devils inside of me. That's why, Sandy says, I'm getting so big so fast.
Mike will be so happy. It's funny, I've never felt that confidant about a man before to say something like that. But he will be happy. I know he will. I don't have any doubt about it at all.
Me, Pats and Lilly are cooking meals since there are so few of us here. I'm kind of lonely but pretty happy despite that. At odds, I know. I don't mean I'm happy to be lonely. I guess I am missing my man even with the happiness, and more than a little worried about what they are facing out there.
When Annie gets back, probably tomorrow some time, and Molly, who knows when, there will be six of us. Six of us! I only mean those of us that are close. We came here from Watertown together. But I don't mean that is all of us that are pregnant. Counting in my head, without really knowing them all, I come up with fifteen of us total. That is a lot of pregnant power! Molly's baby will be so beautiful... A little her, a little Ronnie. Pat's too... They will be like siblings, really. It will be so cool.
I will try to write more often. This is for you. I love you, Babies.
God please take care of our loved ones. And thank you for Lilly who keeps reminding me about you.
The Dead
Amanda came awake in the road. The heat was gone from the day, and the coldness from the roadway seemed to be seeping into her body. She was cold, so cold, but her head felt better. It was strangely light, and she wondered what had been wrong with it before. The thought wouldn't hold, obviously it wasn't important. It didn't hurt any longer, and so it couldn't be all that important.
She lay quietly and listened to the absolute silence of the night. No sounds came to her ears at all. It was eerie, she decided, and unnerving. Too quiet, her mind added. She started to become concerned, but her mind shifted away from it quickly and began to wonder about what had happened.
It was a blank at first. An argument... She repeated it, as though repeating it would make the information come... An argument... Sometimes, when she got really stoned, it was the only way she could think. Slow it down and repeat it until it finally came. An argument... Was she still stoned now, she asked herself?
She didn't think so. She didn't feel she was, she just couldn't get the information to come. Maybe it didn't matter, she decided, and that was when it came. Zac... Zac had broken her jaw... No... It had felt like Zac had broken her jaw... It must not be because... Something touched her nose.
She started to hold her breath and that was when she realized her breath was not there to hold. She had no breath at all. And her eyes were closed. Did they need to be open? Hadn't they been open?
She didn't know. And, sonofabitch, they would not open, and that didn't matter because she wasn't breathing... Not Breathing! She screamed inside her head. Something touched her nose again, moved up and her eyelids were pulled apart by rough finger
s. A red film seemed to make everything look weirdly distorted. A face, inches away... Eyes glowing red in the black night. The eyes studied her and as they had her vision had begun to clear.
~
Donita was squatted before her, her feet flat on the roadway. Her body bare, breasts mere suggestions on her bony frame. Hands dangling between her thighs. Face angled down at her. Her lips pulled back from her yellowed teeth. The skin on the face was stretched tight, part of one cheekbone poked through the flesh, yellow bone bathed in blue moonlight gleamed. Her thick black hair hung over her forehead, stirred on a breeze that worked its way across the roadway, her thin, skeletal hand came up and pushed the hair away.
She had come upon the others about to take her. They had already begun, one arm gnawed, the hand missing. Donita had needed to say nothing. The army of the dead behind her filled the roadway and back into the trees. They had let her go and run. They had run because Donita allowed them to run.
She had looked down at the woman, studied her, and wondered why she had not known about her, scented her and the other dead on the air. No answer, except, sometimes it was that way. Sometimes, most times, she knew all there was to know. Others, like this time, she simply didn't.
Donita continued to work at the mass of dried blood that covered the woman's eyes, sealing them shut. The woman moved slightly, a buzzing coming from her throat, and then her eyes opened.
~
Amanda tried to scream, but she could pull no air. A buzzing came from her vocal chords instead. Angry bees disturbed in the hive. The woman leaning over her opened her mouth.
“Come,” the woman said in a rusty voice, not much more than a croak. Her fingers reached out, swiped away some more of the dried blood from Amanda's eyes. They opened slightly wider. “Come,” she said again.
On The Road
Bear looked over Nellie and Molly's bodies. He turned to Mike and nodded. “They're all right. They wont come back,” he said quietly. He helped Ronnie to roll them into a tarp.
Darkness had come down full. They could hear the zombies in the pit, excited by the fire, the smell of blood, what ever else excited zombies, Mike thought. They moaned and scrabbled against the steep embankment trying to get out. They settled in to watch through the night. Over on the side of the highway the SUV burst into flames and burned through the night.