by S A Ison
“We’re not thieves, we don’t want anything except to drive through. Please, let us pass.”
“I don’t know mister. I’d like to, but I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Alright. Then listen to what I’m about to say. In less time that it takes for you to try and stop me and kill me, she can shoot you and your friends over there. Now, while you’re thinking about that, think about this. I’m only three feet away from you. I don’t have a gun, but I don’t need one. I’m not a zombie, but I am more dangerous.” Xander let his eyes change into glowing gold and the man stepped back, the color draining from his face.
“What…what are you?” he stammered.
“I’m just a man who wants to get his family safely home. It’s getting late and I don’t have the gas or the will to go around. I’m going to ask you one more time. Let me and my family through or you will not like what happens next,” Xander said in a low deadly voice, his eyes burning brighter. The man swallowed. Then he nodded shakily. He fumbled in his pocket and drew out the keys.
“I’m lettin’ ‘em through. Hold off and stand down.” The man got into the truck and started it up. He leaned out the window.
“If you head straight, you’ll come to the end of the town about four miles down. There’s another roadblock. Tell ‘em Willy said ta let you through,” Willy said. Xander walked to the window and the man shrank back. He held out his hand and the man looked at it and then back at Xander. He cautiously stuck out his hand and Xander shook the man’s hand.
“Thank you, Willy. For my family’s sake, thank you.”
Xander turned back and walked toward the truck, a soft smile on his face. They had driven through the small farming town with no other problems. Xander didn’t have to relate his conversation to Willy, with her hearing, she’d heard it all and she’d sighed happily. He’d not had to kill or turn.
Zahara watched as Shay picked wildflowers around the rest stop. The day was quiet and there were no other sounds of vehicles on the road. Her ass felt numb from sitting all day in the truck. She had stretched and walked around the area with Shay, making sure there were no zombies about. She looked over at Xander. He looked tired and she smiled. She personally hated driving and knew watching out for wandering zombies was taking its toll.
“Hey, instead of looking for a hotel, why don’t we just look for a house with zombies? We go and kill the zombies, see if anyone is home and maybe just spend the night in the house. Either as guests of the grateful homeowners or as guests of the zombie homeowners who we killed?” Zahara suggested.
“That’s actually not a bad idea. Let’s get loaded up and head out. When we find a nice-looking place that have zombies, we’ll swing in,” Xander said and laughed getting up.
“Let’s go Shay, we’re gonna find a place to spend the night.”
“Okay Zaza,” she said and skipped toward them.
“She seems to be adjusting better,” Xander said as they walked toward the truck. Zahara nodded and squeezed his hand and held out the other hand for Shay.
Two hours later they found a large farmhouse, there was an inviting porch swing that moved in the early evening breeze. In the yard were three zombies that were well on their way to rancid. Zahara waited for Xander to get out of the truck. He waved his arms and got the zombie’s attention and drew them away from the house. They stumbled and lurched and when he got them far enough away from the structure, he shot them.
“Stay in the truck, honey,” she told Shay. She had picked up Rose’s lovey-dovey names for the children. Sugar, sweety, lovey, honey, and baby girl. She still felt odd saying them, but it was getting easier. She guessed it was a southern thing. She’d even heard Reggie addressing the children as such. She liked it and she had a vague memory of her mother saying such words.
Xander reached her and they walked around the area, looking in the barn. It was empty and there were no animals. Behind the barn was a large pasture and there were two cows and a horse. They moved around nervously and she and Xander walked toward them. She looked into the trough and saw that there was slightly green water, she stuck her tongue out.
“Should we open the gate? Let them out? They’ll eventually starve to death if we don’t,” Zahara said. Then she saw a zombie that was crawling around in the pasture. The lower half of him looked to have been trampled and so he was crawling with his arms. She shot him in the head and watched as Xander opened the gate and propped it open. That way, the animals could come and go if they wanted. They walked back to the house and Xander went up the steps. He knocked loudly and waited. She thought she heard something within.
“Maybe open the door and let whatever is in there out and you can do like you did with those other zombies, lead it away and shoot it.” Zahara lifted her Sig Sauer and waited. Xander nodded and knocked one more time.
“Hello? I’m going to open the door. If you’re a living person, we won’t hurt you. We killed the zombies that were out here, it’s safe.” Both waited but heard nothing but movement. Xander opened the door and both moved out of the way. Nothing happened.
“Hello?” Zahara called out. She could hear movement but didn’t know where it was coming from. Carefully, she and Xander went in. They went from room to room and found nothing. They went to the stairs and went up slowly. They opened one door after another. They found two empty bedrooms, a bathroom, and a linen closet. The last room at the end was also closed. She looked at Xander and he shrugged. As he opened the door, she swung her weapon across the room and saw nothing but an open window. Then something moved and she swung her Sig Sauer toward it.
“Shit, it’s a raccoon.” Stepping back, she slammed the door and looked at Xander and grinned.
“I think the place is ours. I’ll feed and water the chickens if you’ll start dinner. Power’s still on so maybe they have food in this place,” Zahara suggested.
“Hopefully they aren’t vegans,” Xander said and laughed. They went down stairs and looked around once more. There was a door in the kitchen and Zahara opened it. Steps led down into a dark cellar. She sniffed but didn’t scent anything, if there were any zombies, they’d have to make their way up the steep stairs. She shut the door and locked it.
“What’s that?” Xander asked.
“Cellar. Didn’t sniff anything down there. If you wanna look later for anything we might need. You know, like a radio, Wolfman, you can,” she said and sniggered. He shot her a look and they walked out to the truck. The door was open but Shay was nowhere to be seen.
Ž
Rose sat on the veranda fanning herself. It had been a hot and humid day. She was missing Shay and Zahara. She knew that Lauren was missing them as well for the girl moped about. She had taken the children out to the large garden and picked beans. Tomorrow they would can the beans and she would start on the children’s education for living simply. Ethan and Reggie were in the barn, going over Ethan’s new truck. They had also brought home a solar refrigerator, solar freezer, solar panels, converters and batteries. Behind each of the vehicles were large trailers that were packed with clothing for the children, books and other essentials. It appeared as though the men had gone to every store in the county and cleared them out.
The boys wanted to bunk with Reggie so Reggie had gotten bunkbeds for the room. The boys had squealed their delight. He’d turned bright red with pleasure and grinned. Rose had heard bits and pieces of Reg’s story and her heart broke for him. She couldn’t imagine losing her children. He had put up their pictures in his bedroom. She heard the men’s laughter drift from the barn and shook her head. She’d not imagined that her life would have gone in this direction. She saw Mike and Luke run to the tire swing and both squeezed inside and twirled around, their legs dragging in the dirt. She looked over as the men came walking toward the house and smiled.
“We’re going to reinforce the fence line tomorrow. We picked up several solar electric fence chargers and lines. We’ll see about runnin’ most of the outer perimeter but we’ll also make a sma
ller inner perimeter fence line. We got the bright yellow aluminum poly-wire so the kids will see it and stay away from it,” Reggie said.
“Looks like y’all got quite a lot done today and nice truck Ethan. Hope it didn’t cost too much,” she said and laughed.
“Naw, just a pair of shoes,” Ethan said straight face and Reggie sniggered, his face turning bright red. She looked at Ethan, but he only smiled.
“Thanks for the canning jars. We’re going to be cannin’ some of those green beans tomorrow. There’s a whole lot of them and I’d hate to see them go to waste. We dug up some nice sweet potatoes and I think in a few weeks, we’ll have lots of those to can as well.”
“My Marney used to love cannin’. She liked feedin’ our boys homemade,” Reggie said softly with a faraway look in his eyes. She looked at Ethan and he shrugged. What was there to say?
“Thanks also for putting the rice in the cellar. I’m not sure what we’re goin’ to do with three hundred pounds of rice,” she said dubiously. The bags of rice were stored in metal trashcans; Reggie had put a bead of silicon caulking around the lid and sealed the cans. They should keep for years, but she wasn’t a big rice eater. But now, things would be limited, perhaps she should look through her aunt’s old cookbooks for rice dishes.
“I know how to cook a few dishes that I’ve learned in my travels. I picked up some spices while we were at the store as well,” Ethan offered. She smiled and looked over at Reggie, he still had a faraway look in his eyes. The twins called out to him and he shook himself and got up and headed to the boys.
“You think he’ll be, okay?” Rose asked, looking at Ethan.
“I think so. He’s lost so much, but I think those boys are healing him. He showed me a photograph of his family, the twins are about his youngest’s age.”
“My sweet Lord, this world has surely gone to hell. What do you think our future looks like?” she asked. She was always afraid to know but couldn’t help but ask anyway. She was a realist.
“I think for most of the world, if this thing is worldwide and indications are that it is, will die off. Our world has become silent and I think there will be pockets of humanity, if they can survive these zombies.”
“Do you think the zombies will die off?”
“I think so, but how long, I don’t know and if they travel, more may head this way. But they are on foot and so can’t travel far very quickly. I plan to spend a few hours a night going and patrolling as the werewolf. I can cover more ground easily and I won’t need a weapon. Anything within our area, I’ll put down, you can count on it.”
“That was a selfless sacrifice you made for us Ethan; I want you to know it. I thank you, for all of us,” she said and smiled. Ethan smiled and shyly held out his and she took it and squeezed his hand. When he went to pull away, she held it and looked him in the eye.
“It’s been a minute since I’ve dated, but I’d like to see what’s between us.”
“I’ll be honest, I’ve not dated since college. In my profession, well, it never really led to relationships. I’ll ask your forgiveness now if I blunder,” Ethan said softly. A smile twitched on Rose’s lips. Her eyes crinkled as she smiled.
“Ah, so I’ll be in charge of this relationship,” she said and laughed when he blushed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’d best go get supper started. Lauren, come on and help me, sugar,” Rose said and got up. She held out her hand for Lauren, who took it as she carried a book in her other hand, and went into the house.
Ethan sighed heavily and felt a satisfied calmness wash over him. He would never in a million years picture himself sitting on a porch in the deep south, on a working farm. He liked his new truck and felt no qualms whatsoever about how he got it. That little bastard had it coming to him and there was no telling what kind of mayhem he would have caused in the future. There were all kinds of assholes floating around out there and, in a crisis, or chaos, many of them came crawling out of the woodwork. Many men also stepped up to the plate, like Reggie and helped others, not harmed them or took advantage of them.
He was learning a lot from Reggie and he was looking forward to hardening their defenses. Later, he’d head out to the barn and change and then head out into the woods. He would steer clear of homes; he didn’t want to get shot. But he would roam and kill any zombies out there. If they had souls, then they would at least be release to go to heaven, if there was a heaven. From what he’d seen in his life and in his work, he doubted it. But a small part of him kept a kernel of hope. He heard Rose talking softly to Lauren and he smiled. She’d make a good mother. He froze at the thought and sat forward in the rocking chair.
“My god, if this relationship went anywhere, we might end up having children,” he whispered to himself, shaken to the core. He’d never considered having children, why would he? He’d not dated for years and had known that chances for a family were nil. His heart thumped loudly in his chest and it filled his head and his ears. What would he do as a father? What wouldn’t he do? He’d seen how it had destroyed Reggie. Ethan wasn’t naive enough not to know what Reggie had done. If his children had been zombies, then Ethan knew the man had put them down. His heart squeezed in sympathy for Reggie. It was beyond his imaginings to have to do such a horrible thing and he was king of killing. But not children, no. Except zombie children and they were already dead.
This was definitely something to think about. It wasn’t really dating in this new reality. Because there was nowhere to go if things didn’t work out. He had made this his home and you didn’t shit where you ate. Yes, they would go very, very slow, he couldn’t afford to screw this one up on any level. He stood and stepped off the porch.
“Hey, you guys wanna go fishing?” he called to Reggie and the boys. The twins squealed with excitement and fell off the swing. Reggie laughed and shook his head.
TEN
Zahara’s heart lodged somewhere in her throat and panic seized her brain. It was such an overwhelming and foreign feeling that she could only stand there, her mouth opened in shock. Shay knew to stay inside the truck while they cleared the area. She knew if it were a zombie, Shay would have screamed and they’d have come running. She looked at Xander and saw the same stunned fear pasted on his face. She began to strip and he started to but she held up her hand.
“No. I’ll sniff her out. You might need to stay human; I will shred anything that gets in our way,” she snarled low. She scented the air and her animal was raging to get out and get hunting. Her logical brain told her that Shay wouldn’t be far, they were only in the house ten minutes, if that. No, she wouldn’t be far. She couldn’t be far. They’d heard no vehicle while in the house. She’d never been so focused that she wasn’t aware of what was going on around her. Especially in this new world of theirs. No, Shay was close by.
“Do you think she saw something and got out to investigate?” Xander asked and she looked up at him.
“No. She’s been through too much shit not to follow orders.” Zahara finished undressing and let the animal out and a low snarl and growl came from within. She howled long and loud. If Shay were close by, she’d hear it and either come back or know that Zaza was coming to get her. She scented the air and picked up a sour smell and she sneezed. It was subtle and she detected male. She began to move toward the barn and then past it, picking up speed. She could hear Xander coming behind her and her ears pricked left and right. She could only detect his movement, no one else’s. She passed by another outbuilding then moved toward dense woods.
The area was rural and there were homes scattered here and there. This house had been close to the road and was one of the reasons they had chosen it. There were other homes farther back and not seen from the road, she was sure. She caught the low of a cow somewhere but kept focus on finding her daughter.
She noted that the earth was recently disturbed but it was difficult to determine the time. The leaves were rotted and the ground was damp from an earlier shower. She slowed down and sto
pped. Xander came up beside her, panting. She scented the air again and then turned and quickly moved through the trees. Yes, there was a path. She moved more quickly and then she saw a two-story brick colonial. She moved faster and left Xander behind. She saw decaying bodies around the ground, zombies. They’d been there for a few days, some bloated, ready to burst like overripe melons. Flies were thick and the air reeked badly but she could still detect the sour male smell. She could also smell her daughter and the fear pheromones her daughter emitted.
Her daughter was near and she walked quietly around the building. Her ears twitched and then she heard it, the soft whimpering of her daughter. A snarl went through her chest and she turned as Xander arrived. She saw him cock his head and she knew he heard it too. They moved silently around the structure toward the back. Then she saw the double doors to a cellar, raised almost a foot off the ground. The doors were shut but there was no lock. She sniffed again and the scent of her daughter was stronger here. Xander had his weapon raised and he bent and opened the door and Zahara shot down the stairs. The hair all over her body stood erect and she let out a low vicious snarl.
Two women screamed; their voices raised in horror when they saw her. In a moment, she took in the scene. A man, perhaps fifty was holding Shay by both arms as her daughter struggled. The man turned and looked at the women screaming and then looked over his shoulder, now seeing Zahara. She opened her mouth and let her teeth drip and she snarled louder. The man jerked as though jolted with an electrical current. He let go of Shay and turned, then started backing up. The women, who were chained to metal frame beds were curling into small balls, making themselves smaller.
Shay ran forward and leapt into Zahara’s arms and wrapped her arms around her neck.
