by S A Ison
“Would you mind if these two come along as well? I hate to impose strangers on you,” he said, nodding toward Reggie.
“I got a place to go, up near Oxford,” Reggie said.
“I want to keep Shay,” Zahara said, her eyes beginning to glow gold and her shoulders beginning to broaden. Reggie’s eyes widened and he nodded and he swallowed. Xander almost smiled. Apparently, Zahara had a deep maternal side to her. He’d never seen her in that light and perhaps with a regular human child she might not be this way, but with a werepup, he thought maybe that triggered her. Her eyes shifted to him in challenge and he smiled and shrugged. Who was he to stand in her way? Shay would need to learn how to be the creature she was in a few years and she’d have the two of them to help her through.
“Can I tag along to Rose’s place? In the morning, I’ll head to Oxford. I just don’t want to travel at night, with these creatures here,” Reggie asked hesitantly.
“Of course, Reggie. You’re more than welcome,” Rose said. Xander thought that Ethan wasn’t very happy. He’d seen the bumper sticker too. Ethan eyed the man with distrust and it was stamped all over his face.
“I’ll get Shay’s things,” Zahara said as she went over to the Jeep and took out numerous bags. Xander unlocked the cargo storage box and she squished the bags inside. She then went to her things on the seat and put her weapons away. The ambulance down the road was still going and the shadows were lengthening.
“Let’s get to a gas station and Ethan, you can lead the way, we’ll follow behind,” Xander said and walked to the driver’s side of his truck and got in. Zahara helped Shay into the cab and buckled her in and then beamed over at Xander, her face glowing with an inner radiance. He shook his head, he’d never imagined Zahara could be this way, this soft.
Ž
Bobby moved the shopping buggy about the store, edging around body parts and piles of gore. Avery was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The young man jerked and squeaked at every sound. Both men had been staggered by the implications of werewolves in their world. As if zombies weren’t bad enough. Bobby snorted in derision at the thought. It was almost laughable. What an ignorant fool he’d been. But one of the biggest surprises was when he’d seen Reggie walking out with a woman, who clearly wasn’t Marney and a little black girl. The world was now completely crazy.
Never in a million years would he have seen Reggie anywhere near a black kid, not willingly at least. What in the hell was going on? Where were his wife and boys? A frisson of guilt moved through him but he tamped it down and buried it. Reggie should have gotten home. Not his problem. Clearly, the man had poor decision-making skills as was evident with the company he chose.
He and Avery had waited for a long time in the vehicle as they watched for the werewolf to exit. Obviously, the werewolf hadn’t killed the three people exiting the store. Had they seen the animal? He knew he’d not imagined it because Avery was a babbling fool when he said they needed to go into the store for supplies before more zombies came.
“We can’t go in there! That werewolf didn’t come out yet,” Avery whined. They had waited for nearly an hour and still no werewolf. Finally, Bobby got out and started walking toward the store. Avery had gotten out and ran to catch up. He’d seen the AR-15 hanging from Reggie’s shoulder so he’d been the one shooting inside the store. He’d also heard the kid screaming. So, the only explanation was that the petite lady with them was the werewolf.
When they’d gone into the store, he’d seen the destruction but there wasn’t a sound. They’d moved quietly about the aisles but saw no werewolf. Bobby shook his head again. The werewolf had to have been that woman. He wondered if there were more of the creatures out there and laughed softly. What he could do with a werewolf, damn.
Ž
The caravan took off and Xander weaved behind Ethan’s ambulance and Reggie was behind. They headed away from the abandoned ambulance and the growing number of zombies that gathered around it. there had to be thousands now and he shivered at the sea of death things that moved and undulated around the screaming ambulance. They stopped at two gas stations, filling the tanks but also picking up fuel cans. On his way home to North Carolina, Xander planned to pick up more cans and fill the back of his truck with them. He didn’t know when, but he knew that soon, the power grid would fail because more than likely there was no one at the switch.
When that happened, he didn’t fancy sucking on a hose to get gas out of a vehicle. Once they got to the cabin, he’d head out and gather supplies. Whatever they could gather would have to last them because he didn’t see the country bouncing back anytime soon. He looked down at Shay, who was asleep, nestled up against Zahara. He looked into her emerald eyes and he smiled.
“You look mightily pleased with yourself,” he said softly.
“I am. I can’t believe I have a kid. I’ve never liked the crumb crunchers. But something about her calls to me. I can’t seem to help myself,” she said apologetically.
“Same here, but we’re a rare breed and she’s one of us. We have a duty to raise her right.”
Ahead, he saw the ambulance slow down and he slowed down as well. Ethan stopped and got out of the ambulance and walked over to the truck.
“You need to come see this,” Ethan said, his face filled with a troubling look.
“What’s going on?” Xander said, putting his truck in park. He left the engine running and got out, drawing his weapon. He looked behind as Reggie got out and caught up to them. They saw a group of zombies surrounding an SUV.
“So?” Xander asked, looking back at Ethan.
“Look who it is.” Ethan pointed.
Xander looked but still didn’t get it until one of the zombies turned around and he groaned. Jess. A woman turned around as well and Xander cursed. Beth.
“How in the fuck could he have done this? Fucking idiot.”
“He was already dead when he didn’t take his family away from here when it first started,” Ethan said softly.
“There’s kids in that SUV,” Reggie said, raising his AR-15.
Xander placed his hand on the man’s weapon and lowered it.
“You’ll draw more zombies if you shoot that thing. When we get to Rose’s uncle’s house, we’ll see if we have a suppressor that might fit that,” Xander said.
“We can’t just leave those children,” Reggie said, his voice becoming agitated.
“We won’t,” Ethan’s voice was harsh and he looked at Reggie with dislike.
“You take out the parents, I’ll get the others. I hate that we have to kill them in front of their children, but there’s nothing for it. We can’t get to the kids without dropping those things,” Xander said and brought his weapon up. He began shooting and Ethan walked beside him doing the same. The children in the SUV had been crying but were now screaming. Their small hands beat on the windows and their heads shook with denial. Xander hated it but if they were going to get the children out safely, they needed to kill the creatures that surrounded the vehicle. He felt rage fill him. Jess had been an idiot and an incompetent guardian. He had failed his family miserably and now his children would be traumatized for the rest of their lives.
Reggie reached for the door and the children backed up, their sobs nearly vibrating the windows.
“It’s okay kids, it’s okay,” Reggie said, his hands out in supplication.
“You killed our parents,” Lauren screamed, her face red and she was hysterical.
“Baby girl, your folks were already dead. We just put them out of their misery. I know they wouldn’t want to hurt you, but they would have, trust me,” Reggie said gently. Lauren stopped screaming and seemed to fall to pieces as she fell to the floor, crying. Mike and Luke held onto each other, their eyes wide with shock and tears. Xander again cursed Jess. Reggie helped Lauren up and picked her up in his arms. Xander leaned in and grabbed the boys as Ethan covered them. Around the corner came four zombies. Ethan shot them in quick succession as the group moved tow
ard the vehicles. Reggie led the way, going to his Jeep. He set Lauren in the front passenger seat and Xander put the twins in the back, buckling them in. The twins looked up at him with large eyes and his heart broke. He sighed heavily and patted each head gently and shut the door.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he growled to Ethan, who nodded vehemently.
SIX
It was silent in the Jeep as the miles sped by and Reggie looked over at Lauren who was staring out the window. His glance drifted to the rearview mirror and he tilted to check on the boys. They were clutching each other, sound asleep. Good, sleep was good. He knew that the boys and their sister would grieve for a long time. He understood that and knew that he would care for these children. He would help them. His life was going through a woodchipper and he kept getting thrown out into different situations. Shay was a werewolf, just like that lady. He’d seen the blond man’s eyes and knew that he was one of those creatures as well. The other man, Ethan, didn’t seem to be, but he wasn’t totally sure. He’d seen the hate and resentment in the man’s eyes. He did understand that.
Behind him he saw smoke in the early evening sky. He wondered if it were the fires he’d started? Huntsville was fading quickly in the distance and he couldn’t get away from it fast enough. It had been one hell of a day; with things he’d never thought in a billion years he would witness. His whole concept of the world and himself had done a massive shift. At the gas station, he’d taken his knife and had scraped off the bumper sticker. He wasn’t sure if Ethan might shoot him anyway. From the look of the man and his weapon, he thought Ethan was some kind of military or police. It was the same with Xander and that Zahara, though she seemed on the verge of crazy. They all had expensive weapons and were deadly accurate. The suppressors were illegal, yet all their weapons had them.
No, those three were some sort of military, government or police. He looked again in the mirror and looked into his own eyes. He was not the same man he was a week ago, a day ago. His whole world burned around him and he had to become a new man and make a new life. He was given a gift of these children and though he knew he would miss Shay; he knew she was where she was supposed to be. Werewolf. She had touched his heart and he’d never once thought someone like her could. Besides the werewolf thing, was Shay so different from the children in his Jeep? From his own children? They were all afraid and innocent of the horrors that were out in the world and he shrank inside thinking he might have been one of those horrors. At least to Shay. He’d only wanted what was best for his family, his boys. He wanted them to grow up to be proud white men. Was that so wrong?
Perhaps it was just the way he’d gone about it. His father, grandfather and as far back as he knew, his family had been with the KKK. They had protected each other and stood up for themselves. He’d never been a violent man, but he would protect his children. But what had it gotten him? He had been too late and he’d had to kill his own babies for what they’d become. Little walking zombies and he’d had to kill his wife. Was that some kind of karmic justice? Would karma be so cruel as to sacrifice babies? He didn’t know, it was beyond him and he was still so heartsick he couldn’t think straight. He just knew he had three children who needed protecting and the way Xander and Ethan spoke, their own father had failed them as miserably as he’d failed his own family.
He turned the Jeep when the caravan headed west and the sun was edging down in the pale sky. He saw a haze of smoke in the distance as well as buzzards flying lazy circles that sprinkled the sky. Tomorrow, he’d head for his cousin’s home toward the east. He had a big spread and there was plenty of room and now that he had these babies, he’d need it. He wondered what Rose’s uncle’s home was like. Anywhere away from the city was a better place, he was sure. If the world was filled with zombies, then he planned to hit up as many gun stores as he could. He shivered at the thought of all those zombies in that store. He’d have been ripped to pieces with Shay if that werewolf hadn’t come. He guessed having werewolves around was okay. Better than zombies, he was sure.
Ž
Ethan’s gaze slid over to Rose, who had fallen asleep. She’d been looking out the window and seemed to drop off. How terrifying to fall asleep when you needed to be awake. There had been little conversation during the drive. He wasn’t even sure how to talk to a woman. It had been so damned long since he’d even been around a civilian. He could talk to Zahara or rather spar with her. He and Rose had talked about the crazy situation they now found themselves in and the poor children. She’d been amazed that the little girl was also a werewolf. He’d agreed. They had talked a little more and then gone silent.
He was usually a very taciturn man, quiet and thoughtful. He’d dated a few times in his life but he’d been so painfully shy around women, he had essentially given up. The women at work were nice but none had ever interested him. There was something about Rose that did. He slowed down and saw that there was a gridlock ahead, several vehicles had crashed and there were zombies scattered in and around the abandoned cars. He pulled his phone and called Zahara.
“What in the hell do you want? I finally get a break from hearing your ugly mug and now you gotta call?” He felt heat rise up into his cheeks when Rose looked over at him, a slender eyebrow up in question. He smiled slightly and shook his head.
“Tell Xander there’s an impasse ahead and biters roaming around. If he wants to get through, we’re going to have to move those vehicles aside.”
“You’re on speaker. Let’s stop; if Rose can drive those vehicles off to the side of the road, we can put down the threat, then help her,” Xander said, his voice raised.
“Pulling over now,” Ethan said and hung up. He looked at Rose.
“I’ll get out and go ahead with Xander and Zahara; we’ll get rid of the threat and if we can move those four vehicles over there, we can squeeze by.”
“I can do that,” she said and smiled. He thought she had a very pretty smile.
Ethan got out and pulled his weapon. He had several magazines in his pockets; he knew now to have plenty on hand. Once more he was thankful for the suppressor. He heard Xander and Zahara shooting and Rose went past him to the first car to be moved.
“Ethan, there are two zombies in here,” she said, eyeing the car nervously.
“Open the doors and step back. We’ll let them climb out and then I’ll put them down. I don’t think you want to sit in zombie juice,” he said and made a face. She laughed nervously and nodded. Stepping forward, she tapped on the window to get the zombie’s attention and it slapped its hands against the window. She opened the door and it fell out and Ethan shot it. He turned as he heard something from behind and brought his gun up just in time to kill a zombie kid. The boy looked to be three years old and it tore at Ethan to shoot him, but if the kid would have bitten him, it would have been game over. He turned back to see the sorrow in Rose’s eyes. He shook his head and then nodded for her to open the other door. Like the first, the zombie fell out and when it got up, he shot it.
Rose got into the car and tried to start it but the engine wouldn’t turn over.
“Just put it in gear and I’ll push,” Ethan said and looked around to make sure there weren’t any more zombies nearby. Reggie came up from behind and placed his hands on the trunk of the car. He nodded to Ethan and both men pushed as Rose guided the car to the side of the road. She got out and shut the door. Xander and Zahara came over and they went to the next vehicle and this one was empty. It started and Rose drove it over to the side of the road. Twenty minutes later, the way was clear enough for all to drive through.
“I think having to shoot the children zombies is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Ethan said softly. He could feel Rose looking at him and he hoped she didn’t think he was some kind of heartless bastard. He was actually, his job had made him that way, but he’d never hurt a child before. He’d had to kill targets and thankfully, none had been children. At least the CIA didn’t cross that line or at least not that he knew of. Kill
ing some kid would make him a monster, he was sure. But he had to look at the situation as easing the child’s pain and suffering.
“There was nothin’ else you could have done, Ethan. That poor baby was long gone, bless its little heart. Whoever let this virus out was the monster. Truly.” They were silent once more and Ethan concentrated on driving. Along the shoulders of the road were zombies, wandering aimlessly along the road. He saw children and adults alike, hundreds if not thousands. Was this their world now? He didn’t have enough ammo to put them all down. Just the immediate threat. What happened when he did run out of ammunition? What then? Was becoming a werewolf an option? Shay’s mother had been a werewolf but she’d been bitten and turned into a zombie. Had she been bitten before she could change into a werewolf? Was that it? Zahara and Xander seemed to suffer no ill effects after this morning’s slaughter.
Was it only this morning? It seemed like he’d lived a lifetime in just a few hours. When Zahara had transformed at the hospital, all the bite marks and scratches were gone. Her skin had been clear. She had healed that rapidly. The more he thought about it, the more he thought it might be a good idea to be turned into a werewolf, if that were even possible. Xander said they were born that way. Xander said turning someone into a werewolf was bullshit, but he’d not been so certain about it. Rose was a doctor and they had a whole ambulance full of supplies and meds. Perhaps tonight, he’d ask Xander to bite him. He shivered at the remembrance of those vicious looking fangs. If he did this, it was really going to fucking hurt. And if it didn’t work, he was going to be hurting for a long time or he might even die from infection. He sighed and tried to concentrate on getting them to Rose’s Uncle Richard’s farm.
Ž
In the Chevy, Zahara shifted in her seat, Shay was heavy on her lap as she stroked the girl’s hair. She had undone the braids on the other side and promised to fix her hair once they got to the farm. Shay moaned and whimpered in her sleep and Zahara patted her back. She understood what the child was going through. She’d not had anyone to help her during those horrible years after her parents’ deaths. No one had cared and she’d been questioned relentlessly about her father, whom the police said had gone missing. She had to say she didn’t know where he was. She told the authorities that she heard her mother screaming and she hid in the closet. She didn’t know how the big dog got in her house.
