by Brown, TW
“Rose Tinnes,” she said by way of introducing herself once everybody had climbed in the car with Erin and Jason up front and her in back with this stranger.
“Cheryl O’Hara, but just call me Cherry.”
And then they were moving. The buildings whizzed by and it was not long before she was absolutely lost. She didn’t come downtown if she could help it, and this was just on the outskirts of the heart of the city.
Eventually they were back on I-5. That was when they passed the first military vehicle. Actually it was a six-truck convoy headed north to their south as Jason made for I-84. To the right, they passed the Rose Garden Arena. She knew it had changed names when some company had jumped in and bought the rights, but that had never seemed right. It had always been the Rose Garden. Smoke billowed up, pouring from the massive glass panels that were apparently missing in several places. The once-white exterior was smudged with black.
“So much for the FEMA centers,” Cherry sighed, looking out of the window past Rose.
“I can’t even imagine what hell must have happened inside that place,” Erin added.
“Probably worse than the hospital,” Cherry said. “With all that open space and the thousands of people who were already scared. Toss in the military, and I can’t fathom how anybody could make it out alive.”
The conversation continued, but Rose leaned back and shut her eyes. She could not shake the terrible headache. Also, she was probably being paranoid, but it seemed like everybody was looking at her funny. Erin’s friend Cherry was sitting with Erin’s machete in her lap for some reason.
She swallowed and tried to clear her throat a bit. That nasty taste had not gone away from the zombie slobber that had dripped into her mouth. She actually got a bit nauseous just thinking about it, but the massive pounding in her temples and behind her eyes was even worse.
As they continued to drive, the conversation started to sound funny like her ears were stuffed with wet cotton. She began to shiver. The next minute, she would be burning up.
Maybe I will sick up that horrible slime that I swallowed and then feel better, Rose thought as she fell into a fitful sleep.
***
“I don’t see so much as a scratch on her,” Ken insisted. Still, he could not deny the signs of the dark tracers in her eyes when they peeled up her eyelid.
“I checked her from head to toe and back again,” Erin insisted, sounded annoyed. “I did not find anything. It doesn’t make sense.”
Jason stood across and was pinching his lip in deep thought. He had carried the woman in and laid her on the couch when he had arrived with Rose, Erin, and her friend. Ken noticed the man’s limp right away and called him out, asking if he’d been bitten. Of course, when Jason denied it, Ken had pushed the issue. He had been more than a little surprised when the convict began to strip off his clothing.
“You want a closer look?” Jason taunted as he dropped his pants to his ankles.
When he was told that it was Rose who actually needed checking, Erin had insisted that he and Jason wait out on the porch while she, Cherry, and Juanita inspected the unconscious woman. He’d been more than a caught off-guard when the black and white Border Collie had scooted out the door with them.
The dog had shown reluctance to return inside even after the inspection was complete and everybody now stood in the living room. The red Border Collie had reacted in quite the opposite manner. She had jumped up on the couch the moment that Rose had been laid down and was nestled in between the woman’s legs with her head peeking over and resting on one knee. The Golden Retriever seemed completely aloof and neither shied away from, nor paid any special attention to Rose.
“I think I might know,” Jason said. Every head swiveled in his direction. He seemed a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden and clasped his hands together in front of himself, his head rolling back so that he was looking up at the ceiling.
“Well?” Erin pressed after he had remained silent for several seconds.
“The gas station.” Jason let that statement hang in the air. Ken saw realization dawn on Erin’s face as she apparently recalled what had happened.
“What about a gas station?” Ken finally asked.
Jason went on to describe what had happened during the fill up, and how Rose had gotten a mouthful of slobber from one of the zombies. Ken listened and had to admit that the kid had a point. Nobody knew for certain how this stuff spread beyond a bite or maybe a scratch. So why wouldn’t it also be transmitted through something like getting a mouthful of zombie drool?
“That sucks,” Cherry finally said with a shake of her head.
“So what do we do?” Erin asked.
Ken was a bit surprised. Up to this point, the woman had been a freaking warrior. All of a sudden, she sounded tentative and…like a woman? He scolded himself mentally before he opened his mouth.
“We tie her down. Maybe she won’t die. Hell, maybe she will wake up in a few hours and be fine. Wouldn’t it be crazy if this worked like some sort of inoculation?” He knew that he was hoping for too much, but, to be honest, he had just gotten used to the idea of riding this thing out with these people.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Juanita said, leaning down and putting the back of her hand against Rose’s forehead. “And maybe some rags with cool water to help bring down the fever.”
“You women deal with that,” Ken said, hitching his pants and turning to Jason. “You and I need to deal with that hole in the fence.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Ken was actually a bit surprised when the convict didn’t pitch a fit. In his experience, most convicts hated being put to work. Most of them would be happy to simply while away the days, months, and years, sleeping or watching television.
“Oh!” Jason pulled up and turned to the women. “When are your friends supposedly showing up?”
Erin shook her head. “Probably not for a while…if ever. They want to secure things at my house first before expanding. They think it would be foolish to try and defend more area than we are able.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Jason admitted. “I understand how this place has a lot to offer, but maybe we shore up one dyke before trying to build another.”
“What did you say?” Cherry snarled.
Jason flushed and began to sputter. Erin’s scowl only seemed to fluster him more. Ken did not say a word and took in the whole situation. He knew damn well that the kid had not meant it as a nasty remark to the two women. He’d simply been trying to illustrate a point. He was actually considering the option of opening his mouth to defend the young man when Cherry broke out into a laugh.
“Ease up, convict,” she snickered, shooting a wink at Ken for good measure. “We ain’t that touchy. Bigger things to be worried about if you know what I mean.”
“So, are we leaving here?” Juanita asked.
“I think perhaps we should.” Erin gave a nod and looked around. “I think we should take everything we can load up, and make a few trips to transport what we can.”
“Umm…” Jason stepped forward and seemed a bit hesitant. Erin gave him a “go ahead” motion with her hands to get him to continue. “If you are suddenly so eager to ditch this place, how come you have stayed this long? You even came back with Ken after he took you home.”
Now it was Erin’s turn to look embarrassed. She glanced at Cherry and then turned back to Jason. Ken did not think that he was going to like the answer.
“The God’s honest reason is Cherry.” Everybody stood silently, waiting for her to continue. Now it was Ken’s turn to give the rolling hands gesture. “I went after her because I knew in my heart that she was alive. However,” she looked over at Jason and gave a sheepish bow of her head, “I also knew that I couldn’t do it alone. I’d have to have somebody there with me—”
“We were cannon fodder?” Jason exploded. “You just used us and put our lives in danger like that for your own selfish reasons?”
“You weren’t
just cannon fodder,” Erin corrected. “You were back-up and support. I could not have done this without your help.”
“That’s bullshit,” Jason retorted. “You didn’t have to leave and come all the way back here. You could have stayed put and waited…you could have gone in after her.”
“When I lost contact with her, I had to assume that she was gone for good.” She looked at Ken. “When I got home, my friends told me that Cherry had gotten through to one of them and told them that she was doing her best to escape. When she called me—”
“You said to hell with us and put our asses on the line to save your friend.”
“She’s not JUST my friend,” Erin insisted.
“That girl…Rose?” Jason stepped up to Erin and glared down at her. “She is infected and probably won’t see the end of today because you needed to rescue your girlfriend or whatever the fuck you want to call her. That’s some messed up shit, I don’t care how you want to justify it.”
“I just—” Erin began, but this time it was Ken who cut her off.
“You need to leave.” Ken folded his arms across his chest. He did not have much common ground with the convict, but he was actually on the man’s side with this one. Sure, he had stayed at the house, but that did not excuse the woman’s actions.
She could go to her friends and do whatever it is they thought that they needed to do. He would get to work with the convict and shore up this spot. If nothing else, at least he would know who his neighbors were on one side. They could perhaps be there in support.
Or not.
After all, if this really was the end of the world and the zombie apocalypse was a reality, then there was no need to feel bad about taking care of number one. Hadn’t that Erin woman just displayed that in no uncertain terms? Her motives were completely self-serving.
“Hit the bricks,” Jason snarled. He pushed past Erin and flung open the front door.
***
Jason stood on the porch. Erin and Cherry had left about an hour ago. He’d watched them leave. Despite his anger, he was torn. If some man had done the exact same thing to rescue his wife, Jason would have probably understood. He might have been a little miffed. If a mother had done it to save her child, he likely would have had absolutely no problem with it.
So why was he so mad? Why was Erin’s desire to save Cherry any different? Was he being a total hypocrite?
“We got a lot of work to do,” Ken’s voice called from somewhere deep inside the house. “I already checked the garage and that barn they have. We have some supplies, but we are gonna need to go out and find a few things.”
“We need to get busy,” Juanita whispered, causing Jason to jump. He hadn’t realized that the woman was right beside him.
“Was I out of line?” Jason asked as he turned to face Juanita.
She seemed to consider his question to the point where he was braced for an answer that he might not like. He’d certainly dragged enough doubt into his conscience.
“Not really.” Juanita gave a shake of the head, but then she levelled a gaze at him that let him know there was more to come. “However, she was only doing what she felt she needed to do. She wanted to save her loved one, and it is hard to find fault with a person in such matters.”
Jason gave her words some serious consideration. After all, hadn’t he been basically telling himself the exact same thing?
“How is Rose doing?” Jason asked, changing the subject.
“No real change. She opened her eyes and kept mumbling stuff about Violets or something.”
“That was her sister.” Jason had recalled hearing something like that when Erin had been around.
“And that brings up another issue. When are we going to do something about that poor woman and the little boy?”
Jason nodded. He’d actually sort of forgotten about them. His mind drifted for a moment as he reflected on how none of this was working out like it did in the books or the movies. He was discovering, much to his chagrin, that he didn’t really have the answers. In fact, if he was being completely honest with himself, he was beginning to wonder if he would survive the first week.
Just then, Ken came into the living room.
“We can’t stand around all day, con…err…Mister Edwards.”
Jason knew well enough that the use of “mister” in this sense was the man’s way of continuing to address him like he was an inmate. Correctional officers often referred to their charges as “Mister So-and-so” when engaging them in conversation. Still, he had to acknowledge that it was an improvement.
“So what do you suggest we do?” Jason asked.
Ken laid out his plan while Jason and Juanita listened. Both admitted openly that the ideas were solid. They did indeed have some serious work ahead, and they would also be forced to venture out to gather some much needed supplies. That was perhaps the riskiest part.
“So, what about Erin and her people?” Jason finally asked once Ken’s plan had been discussed and everybody knew what they would need to do in order to make it happen.
“What about them?” Ken raised an eyebrow and gave a shrug.
“Are they friends? Enemies?”
“They’re just people. I doubt they are going to stage any sort of raid or anything. Let’s just focus on what we need to do in order to get this place shored up and zombie proof.”
Juanita couldn’t help but chuckle. The statement in and of itself was just too incredible to believe. The fact that it was being said with such sincerity only made her laugh harder.
It didn’t take long for her laughter to catch. Pretty soon, Jason could not help himself and joined in. Then, much to both his and Juanita’s surprise, Ken began to laugh as well. The three of them were roaring heartily when the sounds of a dog whimpering came from up the hall.
A low moan silenced them completely.
“Dios mio,” Juanita spat. “I didn’t secure her after giving her that soup.”
A snarling flash of black and white rocketed past and actually skidded to a halt at the entrance to the bedroom. The dog that the woman called Imp skidded and stopped at the doorway, the fur around his neck standing up straight, his lip pulled back in a menacing snarl with teeth barred in accompaniment to the low growl that rumbled in his throat.
“Of all the irresponsible…” Ken let the reprimand die on his lips as he drew his machete.
“Damn,” was all Jason said as he and Ken headed up the hallway towards the bedroom where Rose had been laid down.
11
A Terrible Thing
Rose felt horrible. The chicken soup had been warm, but there was a sourness to its flavor that made her want to throw it all back up. She kept it down only by sheer force of will. At least she managed to do so until Juanita left the room.
Almost as soon as the woman had stepped outside the door, Rose had managed to turn her head enough to be sick. The bile-laced mixture burned her throat and brought tears to her eyes as her stomach twisted and heaved until every last drop had come back up. She had to actually pull a long noodle from her nostrils as she let her head fall back onto the pillow.
Through it all, Circe hovered and stuck by her side. The little red and white Border Collie nestled in as soon as she collapsed onto her back.
In all her life, Rose could not recall having ever been this sick. Her body ached. At least that nice woman had untied her hands and removed those straps that held her down on the bed. They’d been so tight that she could barely breathe. Unfortunately, now that she was free, her breathing did not seem to be getting any easier.
Something soft nuzzled her under the chin and Rose felt the soft tongue of Circe as it lapped at the hollow of her throat. For that brief moment, Rose remembered how often the little female Border Collie had done the exact same thing when they would return from a run.
“You’re a good girl…” Rose managed to mutter before her eyes fluttered and then shut. With one final gasp, a pause, and then a slow exhale, her body convulsed twice and th
en went still.
***
Circe nudged the woman. She could smell the wrongness, yet, this was her person. More than once she had tried to remind the one she called Imp that they owed all that they were to this human. She was the bringer of food and that made her important.
“Master?” Circe whined softly.
No reply came and the feeling of wrong seemed to grow and become overwhelming. Every fiber of Circe’s being screamed for her to get away. Imp and the useless Golden Retriever had vanished long ago, leaving her to tend to The Master all by herself. Even the other humans had apparently all but forgotten about the woman on this bed who was everything in Circe’s small world.
Her time as a puppy had been magical. She remembered all the days that they would run together; just Circe and The Master. And the treats for doing such simple things as playing! At times, she almost felt guilty for taking them. She would have gladly chased the ball and returned it for the pleasure of the run and the way she was stroked, ruffled, and told how pretty and good she was by The Master.
Circe loved her human. She would stay at her side no matter what happened. And everything had been perfect until the wrong ones had first appeared. The smell was confusing. At first, they smelled like something that would be perfect to roll in. Only, there was something else under that scent. It was…wrong.
And now…now that smell was coming from The Master. Another whine escaped the frightened Border Collie’s muzzle.
“Get back!”
Circe turned her head and discovered Imp standing in the doorway. He looked angry, and his eyes were almost solid black as they looked right past her and to where The Master was beginning to stir behind her.
“The Master needs us.”
“The Master is no more,” Imp snarled. “She is now one of The Wrong. Get away from her before she hurts you.”
