by Mark Clodi
Dora should have restrained herself from asking for the morning after pill, she knew Mary was a strict Catholic and there was absolutely no way the woman had taken any of that sort of medication from the pharmacy. To her complete surprise Mary had gone over to a cabinet, pulled something out and then returned to hand Dora a packet of pills.
“Right here is how you can end this. This is Mifeprex, 'RU-486' or better known as the morning after pill, whatever you want to call it. You can end a pregnancy up to nine weeks with it and you are probably about seven weeks along.”
“What? You? I thought...”
“You thought right. I told you, no bullshit until after we sleep. I am not condoning you taking this pill, I knew you would ask about it if the test came back positive. I am not having this baby. You can end it right now, right here and we will never discuss it again.”
“Why?”
“Why did I pick this up? First, there are actually times when saving the life of a patient requires the sacrifice of the child, if the patient dies the child dies too. I am too pragmatic to kill both, especially now. I have never, ever written a prescription for this. Or were you asking why am I offering it to you? Dora I have never given this to any of my patients. I am not an obstetrician, so it really never came up. This is the first time I even have to contemplate going against my beliefs, I knew it could happen someday and this mess with the zombies made me realize it probably would happen. People have sex, people probably do not want to have babies right now. The decision was easier than I thought it would be. As to why I am giving it to you, well I am not prescribing it. You have free will as God intended, you have to make the 'choice' to murder your baby. If you do you will go to hell, I do not doubt that for a moment. You have me pretty well convinced you are going to Hell anyway, if we are all not there already. I have put the ability to murder your own child in your hands, I will have to answer to a higher authority for that. I can only hope that I will be forgiven for this crime against God.”
“I thought this was a sin, like the biggest in some way? A mortal sin?”
“Is it a mortal sin to make a hand gun? Even knowing hand guns are made to kill people? Or is it the fault of the person who buys the gun and kills someone? Funny how religion works, isn't it? I put the gun in your hands, I created the situation for you to make the moral choice, not me. I feel bad about my part in this. I could have lied and said I didn't have the drugs, a lesser sin. I don't know how it works Dora. If there is some sort of naughty and nice list, like Santa is supposed to keep, only my immortal soul. I do the best I can and right now I am running on three hours of sleep, my only son is unconscious, my own former lover is living in sin with me and I make medical decisions every day based on the group's needs rather than the individual I am treating. I am in no position to judge you. This decision is also important to the group and I, alone, cannot make it. How many babies have we rescued? You know as well as I do that the child will give people hope as well as being a drain on our resources. I think the boost to morale will outweigh the costs. What do you think?”
A look of wonder crossed over Dora's face, “You and Alex are...”
“Stop it. This is not the time for that.” Mary held up her hands in front of her, gesturing for Dora to stop talking, “Just make up your mind, don't get sidetracked on things that are not relevant to your decision.”
Dora handed the medicine back to Mary, who put it into the cabinet and locked it back up without a word. There was a slight smile of victory on Mary's face as she guided Dora up to her to bed. After telling Paige not to let anyone disturb Dora for the day, the two women did the unthinkable; they took all of the walkie-talkies off of Roger's dresser and left. Dora had started crying again the moment they left.
Dora looked over as her door softly opened. Paige's head peeked into the room.
“Oh God! I didn't mean to wake you!”
“You didn't. I can't sleep. Too much going through my head.”
“You want to talk?”
Dora gave her a look that could have curdled milk.
“No, really it might help.” Paige let herself in, she had a purse in one hand.
“You going somewhere?”
“This? No, it is just the walkies. It is easier to carry them around in the purse than it is to try and juggle them in my arms everywhere I go.”
“So, do what I do. Dump them on a dresser and only answer them when you are around.”
Paige looked mortified at the very idea, “Dora, that might not be the best way to handle them...”
“It is the best way, none of us can handle all the crap that goes on around here, except by getting away from it. And really, where can we go?”
Paige shrugged her shoulders, not quite agreeing with Dora, but not disagreeing either. “You could delegate more of it to other people.”
“To some juniors? You know, after last night more than half the town is under thirteen years old?”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, 'fuck' is right. What are we going to do Paige? What are we going to do?”
“We got to get out of this place. We have to head to Iowa. If we don’t have the man power to stay on here, then we have to leave.”
“I don't want to agree with you. I really don't, but I can’t see how we can make it here anymore. We can't hold on with children. We have thirty people over twenty years old left in town. We have seventy kids thirteen and under and we have thirty eight, well, older kids really, between fourteen and nineteen.”
“I didn't realize it was so bad. I mean, I knew there were a lot of kids running around, but that many?”
“Yeah, I just ran the numbers before I found out I’m expecting. Last night was bad for us. Not just Susan and Leroy trying to kill me, or losing Jeff and Sarah and Sally, but all those others who were killed when they came over the fence. Damn the wonder twins! I know they set that attack up!”
“No one saw them last night. Just those other two supers, the woman that looked like Clinton and the old dude. And we got Hilary. Sure the old man was driven off, but one super for ten humans is about how it works out for us, actually that is a better than normal ratio, isn't it? I remember when we first ran into them when the horde came down from Denver, I thought we were all dead.”
“Me too. I was so afraid that night, more than any other time since this shit started.”
“Even at the restaurant? I mean that was pretty bad, we didn't even have guns then.”
“Somehow I think of that day as the time before I really knew what to expect. It is like the days of my youth or something, an enlightened time before we really lost our innocence. No, I was more frightened when I saw that super tear Vic Slater's head off and throw it into Nancy Wald. I am pretty sure if I had checked I would have found piss running down my legs at that moment.”
“You pissed yourself? You?”
“Oh don't tell me you weren't scared!”
“Want the truth?”
“Yes, if you think I can handle it.”
“You might not be able to. Here is the truth Dora. I was not scared, because you were not acting scared. You charged that fucking super zombie, ducked when he swiped at you and shot him through the chest twice, the bullets didn't kill it, but it did throw him on his ass and he couldn't get up fast enough before you shot him three times in the head. It is hard to be scared when you have wonder woman fighting on your side.”
Dora just stared at Paige and let out a laugh after a moment. “You mean it!” she said with a surprised look on her face.
“I do. That is why you lead and we follow. You don't act scared, you tell people what you think of them. You are barely in control, but your snap decisions are better than the decisions I would make if I had a week to think about it. You seem to be able to judge people moments after you’ve met them and you come up with solutions to problems the rest of us didn't even know we had. Is your head big enough now?”
“Oh my, yes love! You do say the sweetest things! How is Mike
? Any changes?”
“No, nothing really, uh...” Paige trailed off.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Dora stared at Paige, finally the younger woman flushed and looked at her hands, “Peter, he woke up downstairs in the recovery room, he started babbling, asked if the council, if you, had seen the video yet. Did you watch the video yet?”
“What video?” Dora thought for a second, “Oh god, that video! No, no I haven't really had time, I forgot I picked the damn thing up, you know?” Dora made as if to get out of bed.
Paige blocked her way and said, “You are resting, let me get it, where is it?”
“Well if your God is so great it will still be in my jacket pocket, I tossed it in the tub when I came it. Careful, it is filthy.”
Paige went into the master bathroom and over to the large corner tub that had not been used since Dora moved in. The dirty black jacket was in the tub and there were spatters of blackish red blood congealed all over it.
“Holy shit, I was with you all night, when did you get this bloody?” Paige fished around inside the jacket pockets, pulling out a loaded revolver, with the safety was off first. Slowly she engaged the safety and set the gun on the counter by the sink. Reaching in again she pulled out several different kinds of ammunition, bullets for various guns, a shotgun shell and a double bladed knife. There was nothing else in that pocket. In the other one she found a second knife struck through the lining and hanging out the bottom. The blade was streaked with blood, she decided to leave it there. “I got nothing in the jacket, are these your pants in here?” she called out to Dora.
“Yeah, but they were too tight to put a camera in one of the pockets, did you check the inner pocket of the jacket?”
Reaching inside the jacket she felt around for the inner pocket and came up with a taped black rectangle. “Found it. I think your jacket needs to be burned.”
“Oh, darling it is the height of fashion, 'blood streaked grime' I call it. It’s simply the rage in all the Midwest right now. Yes, that does look familiar.” Dora said as Paige tossed her the camera.
Paige flipped the cylinder of the revolver opened and reloaded it with spare rounds she had taken from Dora's pockets, three of the bullets had been fired. Dora turned on the video camera the two women start watching the small screen. “Dora you didn't reload this last night.” Paige scolded.
“It was a pick up from...uh, Sally I think. I didn't check it out or clean it either. Mike would be upset, so let’s just keep that between us girls now that we are all friendly and such...oh...ah Paige?” Dora asked while looking at the video on the camera screen.
“What darling?” Paige asked in mocking imitation of Dora's own voice.
“Come look at this and tell me what you think it is.”
Paige came over and sat on the bed beside Dora, together they both rewound and watched the first video on the recorder again.
“Oh fuck. That's not...” said Paige.
“Yeah, it is. You saw it too, right away. 'Oh fuck' indeed.”
Chapter 31
The council was gathered in Dora's kitchen again, only fifteen minutes had passed since the two women had watched the video. Dora had immediately called out for all the council members to “Get your asses over here like they were on fire!” Leon looked the most rested and seemed ready to get down to business. A general, pissed, grumpy mood was the order of the morning, no one had gotten more than a few hours of sleep, all of them had bags under their eyes and coffee mugs in their hands.
“What is the big news that couldn't wait for this afternoon?” asked Freddy without his usual smile.
“Freddie, you think I would get you up here for bullshit? After the night we just lived through?”
Freddie looked down, and mumble, “You? Maybe...”
“I didn't. Paige? Play the first one.”
Page had her laptop sitting on the counter; she had transferred all the video files to it and had them paused and ready to play.
The video image was of low resolution, still they knew immediately what they were seeing. An army truck. The truck was sitting beside a QuickStop gas station between the fuel pumps and the store windows. The video had panned around a little showing a street sign and some houses that Dora recognized.
“This is to the north west, just a few blocks over past the bombed area.” The video continued to linger on the truck until two men appeared around the front of it, one looked around at the surrounding buildings and they all heard a low voice that the camera barely picked up. They could not make out what it was saying. Dora volunteered, “I think it is Jeff. I think he is saying 'Don't see me. Don't see me.'”
The man, a white guy with broad shoulders paused looking straight at the camera for a moment. The other man just as tall and muscular stayed at the font of the truck. Dora gestured and Paige paused the video, then zoomed in on the face, it was distorted, but clear.
Leon was the first to see it, “That's Sargent Waller!”
Beaming Dora said, “Yes. Everyone agree?” Sargent Waller was the army national guardsmen who rode shotgun on the truck that delivered supplies to the group every week and dropped off any kids the army had found.
“Yeah it is him.” said Freddie, “Zoom back a bit to the other guy.” Paige zoomed out and he continued, “But what the hell is he doing over there? And he isn't in uniform. Is that...I recognize that other guy too. Miller or something? He drives the trucks once in a while?”
“Watch, it gets better.” Dora said she gestured and Paige played the movie again.
The video showed Waller getting the keys out of his truck and going back inside the building then the video abruptly stopped. Paige cued up the second video snippet and the audience resumed watching.
The second video was shot from the same location except the scene was much darker. After a moment the back door opened bathing the alley in artificial white light. One of the twin blond girls came out into the alley by the dumpster. Following her was Waller and a third man they all recognized after a moment as one of the soldiers who frequently visited on the supply truck. The three zombies went to a dumpster and Waller unlocked a padlock on the top of it then pushed the lid up. Reaching inside he pulled an adult man out of it, the man was naked and shivering in the cool evening air. Waller lifted the guy with one hand, as if he were lifting a loaf of bread. With contemptuous ease he tossed the man to the ground between the girl and the other 'soldier', the man did not even try to get up. The little girl grabbed the naked man by one ankle and started to drag him into the rear door of the gas station while the unnamed soldier laughed. When the man's hands reached the door sill he tried to hold on, but with a quick tug from the inside his fingers were pulled off the doorway and he disappeared. A moment later there was a brief scream. Waller was still outside, and once again his gaze seemed to find the camera lens, he stared for a moment and then went back into the building, returning the alley to darkness.
The next video on the player showed the alley again from a slightly different perspective, the camera was moving a little, like it was being operated by unsteady hands. There was a shadowy form visible on the screen in the starlight. The camera zoomed in clumsily, showing sky and then ground before getting back on a wiry man approaching the dumpster.
“That is Jeff.” Paige said, for anyone who could not figure that out themselves.
Jeff made it to the dumpster, he had his short double barreled shot gun in one hand and was keeping it aimed at the door, with his offhand he carefully examined the lock on the dumpster. After a moment he tilted the lock back down and it looked like he was talking to someone inside the dumpster. The back door abruptly opened, bathing the area in light, quick as a cat Jeff dodged to the side and put the dumpster between himself and the doorway. No one came outside at first, then there was a shadow and a naked dirty zombie shuffled slowly out of the building. When it was at the doorway it was kicked from behind and went sprawling onto the dirty pavement. It struggled to
get up briefly revealing a terrible tear near the top of its left leg, a cut so deep that it looked like a paperback book could be shoved inside of it. There was no blood, none dripping out of the wound and none obvious down the leg or on the zombie's belly. The zombie stood and looked back into the room, where one of the little girls appeared at the doorway, she was swinging it shut and called out to the zombie, something the video camera did not catch.
Paige paused the video, went back a few frames and turned up the volume, “I had the volume turned down, there is a lot of breathing. We can stomach it for a moment so you can listen to this.”
The video resumed from where the door opened and they could hear some rapid breathing from someone behind the camera. It was so fast that is almost sounded like a dog panting, the door opened and laughter was heard, then “Welcome to the Army! Time for patrol duty.” followed by more laughter, as the zombie was pushed down they could hear it scrabbling on the ground, flesh slapping on concrete. As one half of the wonder twins shut the door they heard, “Let me know if you find anything, go.”
The video showed the zombie start to shuffle around the dumpster and head towards the front, abruptly it stopped and faced the deep shadow beside the dumpster where the watchers knew Jeff was hiding. It started towards the shadow and Jeff lurched suddenly into view. He moved with an unbelievable grace and he clubbed the zombie back, then twisted past it and swept one of its legs out from under the thing, the zombie whirled around and fell next to the dumpster as Jeff sped off into the night.
The video stopped again and Paige went on to the next one. The screen stayed dark and they heard Jeff say, “I told you to go if anything like that happened.” His voice was an angry whisper.
“I know.” came the quiet reply of a young boy or girl.