by Crist, J. D.
She began to read through the information, all regarding pregnancy. She had no doctor to call for help, and she needed to figure out what was going on to keep from passing out with a zombie in her face. This particular book was about pregnancy and said it contained examples of women who had given birth alone. Emily had known when she saw it that it was one that she needed to read but didn't plan to do it just yet. However, that dizzy spell prompted her to speed up her plan a little. She turned through the pages, reading about the baby at different developmental stages and things to keep an eye out for that you may want to seek medical advice for as if that was an option. Emily paid extra close attention to the section that talked about dizzy and fainting spells. According to the book, several different things could cause it. If a mother's diet didn't contain enough iron or folic acid, it could become anemic. It states that a mother may need to take supplements to ensure that the levels stay where they are required.
Emily knew that her diet had been awful, mainly due to the lack of food before coming here, so this was a strong possibility. The book also said that dehydration could cause a mother to become dizzy or faint. A mother's body requires more water later in pregnancy. Emily knew that she did not drink much today. She was a little busy. She also knew that she had gotten used to rationing her water. She probably had not been drinking enough for quite a while. The book also said that standing for too long or over-exertion can lead to dizzy spells. Emily knew she could look for the supplements in the stores and force herself to start drinking more water. However, she could not slow down now with so much to do. She didn't have anyone to lean on. No one could pick up the slack, and it was all up to her. She reached down and rubbed her stomach.
"How about I just take more breaks and get off my feet for at least a few minutes. Do you think you could work with that?" Emily closed the book and added it to the nightstand. She would read about delivering by yourself tomorrow. Tonight, she needed to get some rest, or else this baby was going to knock her on her ass. She tucked herself below the blankets and within minutes was fast asleep.
Emily woke later than she had hoped the following day and found it difficult to climb out of bed. She moved slowly as she got dressed, and Marley grew impatient with her pace as she headed downstairs. He ran to the kitchen and eagerly waited by the back door. Emily opened the door for him, and the sight gave both of them pause, a blanket of snow was covering the ground. Marley had never seen snow before and seemed to be afraid of it. Emily had forgotten how magical it was to wake up and find fresh snow had covered the ground. She stepped out the door to admire the scene, and Marley followed behind her with caution. When the cold snow first touched his feet, he backed up into the house. But after watching Emily stand in it, he found his bravery and stomped out. It didn't take long before he was jumping and playing through the white fluff. Emily watched until she could no longer take the cold and then headed back inside. Marley was not far behind her, and soon they were both inside the warm house.
The two of them enjoyed their breakfast. Once everything was cleaned up, Emily carefully walked back downstairs to put the laundry in the dryer. She breathed a sigh of relief that the blood had come out of her overalls. She grabbed some meat out of the freezer as she headed back upstairs for dinner. She put it into the fridge and promised to check on it later if it needed to sit on the counter to finish defrosting. Emily strolled through the house and made her way to the front door. The snow was just deep enough that through the window, she could no longer see the bodies from the day before. Everything looked fresh and clean, as if the previous day never happened. Emily wanted badly to stay home today, but she knew she had to go out. She had not made it to the farm the day before, and with the cold snap, she should probably try to get the animals in the barn and close the door to the pasture. This would help provide them with some warmth, and they were sure to need food and water by now. She could only hope that the truck could handle the drive through the snow because there was no way she was walking there.
Emily headed back upstairs to find her coat and hat that she had brought from the truck. She then went into the room where she had put Ronald's clothes and was happy to find a pair of gloves. Ready to head out into the winter wonderland, Emily headed back downstairs. She was prepared to head out to the truck when she remembered what happened the night before. She went to the kitchen, grabbed a few water bottles, and then went back to the living room. She forced herself to sit on the couch for fifteen minutes to give her body a break. While sitting, she decided she would try to find those supplements after the trip to the farm. She also would not be hunting the dead today, at least not intentionally. If they crossed her path or got in her way, she would take care of them, but she would not go looking for trouble. Once her fifteen minutes were up, she was back on her feet and headed for the truck.
The world always seemed quieter after significant snowfall, and Emily enjoyed this silence. She climbed into the cab and smiled as the truck roared to life. The gas gauge showed it was nearly full. Her stalling a few days ago had turned out to be a good thing. She would not have to worry about gas now with the snow on the ground. It took a few backing up and then going forward, but Emily did get the truck to start moving. She knew better than to stop, or she would find herself stuck again. The drive took a little longer than usual, but she could make it to the farm. Pulling up to the barn, she saw that a few of the dead had found their way here. It looked like they may have been following a path they had taken in life as, based on their clothes, they were supposed to be the farmers here.
Emily pulled as close as she could before stopping the truck. She moved quickly out of the cab and grinned as the snow appeared to be slowing them down. She was able to make her way between them as they struggled to try to take a step. There were three more adults and a teenager, but Emily was sure he would have been listed as a child. Once she was done, she opened the barn door and waited as Marley ran inside. She joined him and shut the door behind herself. As always, Buttercup was the first to greet her as she came in.
"Sorry I didn't make it yesterday, Buttercup. Things got a little crazy out there, and I had to handle it. Don't you worry now. I'm back, and I'll get everything taken care of." Emily stated as she entered.
Emily set to work cleaning out the muck in the floor, no easy task as a headcount told her that all of the animals had found shelter in the barn. Emily then refilled the water and moved the truck to haul in fresh hay and straw. She spread the straw on the ground as best she could to provide some bedding and hoped it would help the animals stay warm. It was quite a task to close the big barn doors to the pasture, but Emily finally got it done after some time. With the doors closed, she could already feel it getting warmer in the barn. Emily grabbed the stool and milking bucket and headed for the cows. She considered milking a rest as she was technically off of her feet. Milking took a while as each cow gave a full bucket. This was within the normal range that the book had stated per milking. Emily would need to start doing this twice a day and start storing it instead of pouring it out. This would be another research project for tonight when she got home.
Emily put away the stool and bucket and headed towards the door with Marley. Buttercup seemed to be comfortable and sleeping. Emily opened the door quietly and stepped back out into the snow. She made her way back to the truck and followed Marley into the cab. It took several tries, but soon the truck was moving once again. Emily followed her tracks back home and parked the truck in front of the house. She decided to walk to the stores as it wasn't far and not worth the hassle of getting the truck stuck again. The pharmacy was only a few stores down, and Emily could make it there with ease. As she had not been in this particular store yet, she followed her process of yelling out and waiting. She knew the things were awake now, so they would come out if they were in here. Nothing moved, and Emily worked her way through the aisles. The prescription drug area was locked with a keypad, Emily was sure the code was in Robert's books, and she made a note to loo
k for it later. She was able to find the supplements she needed and get back home without incident.
Once inside, Emily made herself a warm drink and opened the heavy curtains in the living room. Snow was her favorite thing to see, but it never lasted long here. She decided to take the day and enjoy the view. She would go back to winning back the town tomorrow, but she just wanted to sit and enjoy the snow for today.
Chapter 20
Emily continued through the next month, much as she had done since she arrived. The cows were each producing a bucket of milk every time she milked them, and she had started the twice a day schedule. She was keeping the milk now. She had learned the process of straining it, and she found a supply of glass bottles in one of the stores. She was bringing home more than she could store in her refrigerator, so she dated the bottles and kept them at the grocery store. She had managed to get all of the horses brushed out and added that to her routine as well. Marley seemed to be adapting to life inside the wall, and as the days passed, he relaxed more and more.
Emily had continued her search pattern through the town and had found the last of the dead. She had to put down all seven of the adults, but the children were already done when she saw them. It looked like someone had tried to spare the kids from becoming zombies and had killed them all. Emily's heart was heavy when she thought about the kids each watching as someone shot them in the head. She had taken all of the bodies to the dumpsite, and they were still piled there. While the snow had long since melted, the cold in the air had not let go. She knew she needed to dig a pit of some kind to put them in before burning, but she could not sit in the wind to figure out how to operate the equipment. The smell was strong as soon as she came within a few blocks, but there was nothing she could do for now. She had opened the inner gate and picked a spot to bury Robert. The frozen ground made it hard, and she spent days digging his grave. When she finished, she placed a makeshift cross as a marker and thanked him for giving her a chance.
It was the beginning of February, and the baby was due in about six weeks. Emily watched as her new diet, which included eating regularly, began to show. Her face no longer looked like a skeleton, and her stomach had nearly doubled in size. The baby was kicking much more these days, and Emily cherished every kick. She took it as a sign that the baby was healthy, and it only motivated her to work that much harder. She had gathered all of the furniture and baby supplies she could have ever wanted, and the nursery was all ready to go. She had even hung Joe's lucky bandana above the crib. The baby could use all the luck it could get in this world. Emily had even read the information about giving birth alone. From what she understood, while it can be challenging, it was perfectly doable as long as the baby was not breached. At this point, she could only hope that the baby was in the proper position.
Emily had looked through all of Robert's journals and found all of the default codes around town. She had gained access to the back of the pharmacy and the armory. She had also learned that all of the systems were wired to work through a computer. It was hidden behind a wall panel in the office. Once she had found it, she could change all of the codes so that they were no longer default. She also brought one of the handguns from the armory to the house. She stored it in the top of her closet, just in case. The lockers in the armory each had handprint scanners on them. Emily programmed herself to locker number one and filled it with a few of the guns and ammo, again, just in case.
She felt like she was as prepared as she could be. Lately, she had taken to dusting each of the stores and keeping them clean. When she took stuff from the stores, she pulled the next thing forward so that the shelves always looked full. In the backrooms, she found pallets of extra supplies that she could use if anything ever ran low. There was a small doctor's office which she took the time to keep dust-free as well. There were only two small patient rooms and one operating room. Emily had changed the codes in here as well so that she had access to everything. While she was the only one here, she still feared that someone would try to take it from her. With the codes no longer set to the default, they would get nothing from it if they did. She felt like this information would help protect her and her child if that were to happen.
The days began to go by in a blur, and Emily continued, her condition making her slower each day. The cold finally began to give way to warm days in February, and Emily enjoyed every minute of it. It was on one of these warm days that she found herself walking the wall and looking out into a world where the dead roamed. Emily had not opened the inner gate since burying Robert, and at this point, she saw no reason why she ever would again. She was looking up the old logging road, humming lullabies and enjoying the sun. That's when she saw them. They were too far away to make out their faces or any fine details, but a group of people ran across the road. A couple were quite a bit smaller than the others. Emily knew they had to be children. A few of the adults were firing weapons in the direction they had come from, and everyone seemed terrified.
Emily continued to watch as bursting out of the wood line was a truck she would never forget. It was Jeff's truck, and from the sounds of it, that rapist piece of shit was still alive. Emily felt herself begin to hide below the railing as the truck came into view. Even in here, she still felt like he could get to her. Her eyes searched to find the people that he was chasing. She caught movement in the tree line on the opposite side of the road. The woods were thick over there, and he would never be able to chase them in the truck that way. Emily's mind began to race. If they could make it to the gate without Jeff following, she could open it. She thought back to her vow never to let anyone in the town. The sight of the children running from the same man that had terrorized her made her question that choice. Jeff turned his truck and began to drive back up of the logging road, the direction of where she had left the SUV. He would soon find it, and she could only hope that it would not put him back on the hunt for her.
Emily watched in the wood line as best she could for the people. Half of her was hoping that they would find the gate so she could let them in, and the other half prayed they didn't so she wouldn't have to turn them away. Emily looked around and tried to think of a way to signal them without signaling the rapist gang with them, but she had nothing. This place was not designed to bring people in but to keep the dead out. She looked back into the woods and could no longer find them. She knew that Jeff had gone the other way, so for now, they were safe.
Emily felt her head getting a little light and realized that it was time for her to rest and have lunch. She headed into the small control room and took a seat at the desk. She had figured out how to turn on the monitors but until now had never really used them. She flicked on the monitors for the gate and watched the small screens while she ate. Marley, who wandered around town on his own a lot, seemed to realize that it was lunchtime and came trotting into the room.
"Were you chasing the chickens again?" Emily asked without looking back at him. Marley let out a happy bark and came running towards her. "You know, one day, they are going to have enough and start chasing you. And don't you come asking me for help then." Marley let out a low whine that she learned was his way of trying to get out of trouble. Emily finally broke being stern with him and laughed as she tossed her bread crust on the floor. Marley ate it quickly and then laid next to the couch to take a nap. When Emily finished her lunch, she looked away from the monitors. The sight of Marley sleeping made her realize just how tired she was. She turned on the audio for the gate, just in case, and went to lay on the couch beside him. Emily tried to keep her eyes on the monitors, but they were heavy, and within a few minutes, she was asleep.
Emily was woken by a sharp pain that started in her stomach and wrapped around her back. The pain caused her to sit straight up and let out a cry. Marley immediately jumped up, prepared to defend her, but when he found no one else in the room, he sat next to her with concern. Emily tried to control her feelings and not let the pain consume her, but at the moment, she was losing. She had been positive th
at the baby was not due until March at the soonest. This should not be happening yet. Of all the things to worry about, this may have seemed ridiculous to an outsider, but to Emily, it was exactly what she needed. She worked her way over to the control panel and pulled up the calendar. She had not looked at one in a while. She felt a shock of surprise that helped her control her reaction to the pain. It was March 5th, and the baby was right on time. She had read in the book that the beginning stages can take a while, and it was not even close until the contractions were at least regular.
Emily stood from the console and began to walk; walking was supposed to help with the pain and get things moving along. She planned to walk to the couch and see how she felt, but Emily was forced to stop halfway. She had been prepared for her water to break, which it just did, and even some blood as things started progressing. However, as her water broke, the floor below her was covered in thick, dark blood within seconds. This had been one of the warning signs in the book that a woman could not deliver by herself. Marley knew something wasn't right and began pacing like an expectant father. Emily worked hard to get herself under control and not start to panic. As she tried to convince herself that maybe she remembered wrong, maybe everything was fine, Marley rushed past her and began to bark at the monitors. Emily turned to beg him to be quiet but instead found herself looking at a group of people staring right into the camera.
"There has to be someone in there. I heard a woman scream, and now I hear a dog barking." A tall, thin man stepped back and was looking up at the top of the wall. They had been there for a while, but Emily had not noticed.