Dominion of the Damned

by Jean Marie Bauhaus

  Paula came all the way in the room. She was a plump older lady, probably about a decade older than Hannah’s mom, with white-blonde hair cut in a chin-length bob. She wore a denim vest over a button-down plaid shirt. She seemed friendly enough, a feeling that was helped by her Southern accent. She smiled big as she took in the children. “Hi!” She covered her mouth. “Oh, I need to hush, I’m gonna wake that baby.”

  “It’s okay,” said Hannah. “He can sleep through about anything.”

  She stepped closer and held out her hands. “May I?”

  Hannah remembered what happened the last time an older woman asked to hold the baby. But Paula was clearly human, and Hannah had a good feeling about her. “Sure,” she said, and handed him over.

  “Oh, my,” said Paula in a hushed voice as she cradled Noah. “We haven’t had one this small before. Oh, you have no idea how good it does my heart to be this close to a baby. Tell you what, any time you need a sitter, you just let ol’ Paula know.”

  Hannah smiled. “Thanks.” She felt a pinch at the back of her head and gave a small grunt of pain.

  “Sorry,” Zach said as he laid a small hypodermic needle on the table, “I should have warned you. That was the local anesthetic. You shouldn’t feel anything else I do back here.”

  There was another knock on the door. This time a younger woman, a brunette in probably her mid-thirties, entered the room. “Hi, I’m Sheila,” she said, and zeroed in on Abby. “Look at you. Your hair’s so pretty. What’s your name?” She crouched down to Abby’s level.

  “Abby,” she said.

  Sheila smiled and reached out to pat Abby on the arm. “Abby, would you like to come with me? I’ve got a room all ready for you, and it has toys, and books, and dolls—”

  “Wait,” said Hannah. “I thought Abby would stay with me.”

  Sheila looked surprised, and then apologetic, as she stood up. “I’m sorry, I guess I should have introduced myself first. I’m the foster care coordinator here. I arrange permanent homes for the orphans the doc is always bringing home with him.”

  “She’s human, too,” whispered Zach.

  “But Abby doesn’t have to go stay with somebody else if you’d all like to stay together,” Paula said. “I’m sure we can find a place to make her comfy tonight, and we can find a roomier house for y’all tomorrow.”

  Abby moved closer to Hannah and clutched her leg. “I like Star Wars,” she said to Sheila. “Does my room have Star Wars?”

  Sheila smiled. “It sure does. We can even watch the movie before you go to bed. Would you like that?”

  Abby looked up at Hannah. “Will you and Noah come?”

  “Not tonight,” said Sheila, and looked at Hannah. “But you’ll be able to visit her. If you let me take her, that is.”

  Abby still looked doubtful. “The man in the tank said I can have a kitten.”

  Sheila and Paula both laughed. Sheila stood up. “I’ll make sure you get first pick the next time a new litter is born.”

  Hannah was still reluctant. The last time she’d let the little girl out of her site, it had ended badly. But she had a good feeling about these people, and the truth was that she already had her hands full taking care of Noah. “What do you want to do, Abby? Do you want to stay with me and Noah, or do you want to go with Sheila?”

  Abby seemed to think it over for a minute. Then she let go of Hannah’s leg. “I want to go watch Star Wars.”

  Sheila smiled, and held out her hand. “Let’s go, then. Say goodbye to Hannah.”

  “Bye, Hannah. Bye bye, Noah.”

  “I’ll check on you tomorrow,” Hannah promised, for Sheila’s benefit as much as Abby’s. “I’ll make sure they’re taking good care of you. Okay?”

  Abby nodded, and took Sheila’s hand. “She’ll be fine,” she promised as she led her out of the room.

  “Abby will just stay with Sheila till she gets placed in a permanent home,” explained Paula. “As for you, when Zach’s all done with you I’m gonna get y’all settled into your new home. I’ve got a house ready for you, right next door to mine. And you,” she looked down at Noah and tapped him lightly on the chest, “will have your very own room, and a crib, and all the toys you could want, yes you will.”

  “A house?” asked Hannah. “Seriously?”

  Grinning at the baby, she said, “It’s just a little two bedroom bungalow, but it should have everything you need. Anyway, I figure it’ll be paradise next to one of those prison cells.”

  “It sounds nice.”

  “All done,” said Zach, and turned to Paula. “They’re all yours.” As Hannah hopped down from the table, he added, “Remember what I said about washing your hair.”

  She nodded. “Thanks.”

  Paula handed back the baby and motioned for Hannah to follow her. “Let’s get you kids home.”

  NINETEEN

  Paula hadn’t been wrong about the house seeming like paradise. Even at night, Hannah could see that it was beautiful. A Spanish-style bungalow, probably built in the 1920s, it had a big front porch fronted by wide stucco arches, and a big front yard filled with shade trees and lush greenery. It was all lit up inside, and a sconce on the front porch burned with a welcoming glow. Hannah was already in love.

  But she paused at the end of the front walk. “Who lived here?”

  Paula was already halfway down the walk when she stopped and turned back. “Why do you ask?”

  “It belonged to someone, right? Somebody who didn’t make it?”

  Paula’s smile was replaced with a look of sadness, and she nodded. “The Burrels. Nina Burrel was expecting. That’s why there’s a nursery all done up. But she didn’t make it through the siege, and Captain Burrel—that’s her husband—he left everything behind and moved into one of the apartments. It was just too painful for him to stay here. But don’t worry, he’s given his blessing for you to use the place.”

  Noah began to wake up. Hannah hurried to follow Paula inside before he started to fuss. Inside, the house was fully furnished and decorated. It looked like a Pottery Barn catalogue had mated with an Ikea catalogue, and this house was their baby. Everything was cozy and comfortable. “Tell the captain thank you for me,” she said.

  “I will, dear. Chris!” Paula called. “You still here, son?”

  “In here!” a deep voice answered. They followed it into the kitchen, where a tall guy with sandy-blond hair was putting away groceries. “Hey,” he said. “I was trying to get these put away before you got here.” He stopped what he was doing and leaned on the counter. “I’m Chris.”

  “Chris is my son,” said Paula. “He’s about your age, I think.”

  That seemed about right. Chris was cute, with a nice, lean build and floppy hair that stopped just short of getting in his eyes. Hannah shook his hand as she introduced herself and Noah. “Thanks for doing all of this.”

  “It’s no problem. People are usually pretty shell-shocked when they get here, so we do what we can to make them feel at home.” He grinned at Noah. It was a nice grin. “Your baby’s cute.”

  “He’s my brother,” she clarified.

  He nodded. “Well, there’s formula and baby food in the cabinet, and there’s milk and eggs and fresh veggies in the fridge.”

  “Oh, and we brought over some clean clothes for you, too,” said Paula. “You’ll find a few sacks in the bedroom. I didn’t know what size you’d be, so I brought a variety. Just dig out what you like, and I’ll pick up the rest tomorrow when I come to take you on the grand tour. I figure anything in there’s gotta be better than that sorry ol’ prison jumper.”

  “Thank you,” Hannah said again.

  Paula set a key on the counter. “That’s yours.” She looked around. “Well, I guess that’s it. We’ll leave you to get settled, unless you have any questions.”

  Hannah looked around at her new home, and shook her head. “This is too good to be true.”

  Paula grinned. “I know it seems that way at first, hon, but beli
eve me, this is no vacation resort. Everybody pulls their weight around here, and we’ll expect you to do the same.” She waved her hands as if to shoo it all away. “But we’ll worry about finding you something in a couple of days, after you’ve had time to recover and settle in. There’s no hurry.”

  “What about the vampires?”

  “What about them?” asked Chris.

  Hannah looked at him. “How many are there? Where are they?”

  Chris looked questioningly at his mom and started to count on his fingers. “Well, there’s the doc, and Carl, and Steph, and—”

  “There are six, counting the doc,” said Paula. “They usually spend all night patrolling the fence to make sure nothing gets in. They stay indoors the rest of the time.”

  “Are you on a first name basis with all of them?”

  Paula chuckled, and waved her hands again. “Oh, sure. Everybody knows everybody around here, and everybody’s in everybody else’s business. Don’t worry, we’ll get you caught up on the gossip.”

  Chris smiled, but Hannah wasn’t ready to yet. “What about feeding them?”

  “There’s a blood bank,” said Chris. “They eat from that.”

  “But who fills it?”

  “Well, we do, dear,” said Paula, “but don’t worry. It’s strictly voluntary. Nobody’s gonna force you to give any blood if you don’t want to.”

  “But most people are happy to,” said Chris. “I mean, if it wasn’t for the doc, we’d have all been rounded up and sent to one of those camps like the one you just came from. And you’d still be there.”

  Hannah tensed up in irritation. She didn’t need this guy to point out that she owed a debt to Konstantin. But she didn’t have to be happy about it, either. Noah seemed to pick up on her shift in mood, and started to fuss.

  “But that’s not anything you have to decide tonight,” said Paula. “Come on, Chris, let’s go. This poor girl’s probably exhausted, and she’s got her hands full with that baby.”

  Chris nodded, and straightened up to follow his mother out of the kitchen. Hannah saw them to the door. “I’ll come by in the afternoon,” Paula said as they left, “so you sleep as late as you want. Lord knows you probably need it.”

  Hannah watched them until they reached the sidewalk. As they turned for home, Chris looked back and gave them a little wave. Hannah waved back, then shut the door. She considered a moment, then locked it. Then she looked at Noah, and bounced him in her arms. “Let’s go see your room.”

  ***

  Hannah might have slept all day if the baby didn’t wake her. As she woke to find herself in a comfortable bed, wrapped in down, there was a blissful second when she thought she was home, in her old room in the house where she grew up. It was followed by the pang of grief that met her every morning, in the instant when everything came back to her. She pushed it down as she pushed herself up, just like she always did, and went to get Noah.

  Paula came for her at two o’clock. In between, she’d had time to take care of breakfast and bathe and dress both the baby and herself. She also had time to go through the bags of clothes Paula had left and pull out everything in her size. She only found a few things that were actually her style, but she kept everything that fit her, figuring that beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  She chose a simple outfit to wear that day, a fitted blue tee-shirt and a pair of denim shorts, with her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She wore her own shoes.

  There were baby clothes, too. It was the first time since outgrowing the pack of newborn onesies their dad had stashed in the shelter that Noah had worn anything but a diaper. He didn’t quite know how to take it. He squirmed and fussed as Hannah dressed him, but she enjoyed it anyway. She dressed him in a pair of tiny blue jeans and a tiny button-down shirt, and almost died from the cuteness. Until he started to cry.

  She sighed and picked him up. “I’m sorry, boo. You have to get used to wearing clothes.” As she bounced him and tried to soothe him, she remembered going shopping with their mom for baby things, the way they both cooed and sighed over all of the tiny clothes. He’d had an entire closet full of clothes back home that he never got the chance to wear. She swallowed the lump that tried to form in her throat, and went to his room to show him his toys. He’d never had real toys before, either, and something as simple as a rattle kept him fascinated for hours. They settled on the floor next to a beautiful solid oak crib, and as Hannah showed him a ring of big rubber keys, it hit her that it had only been a few days since they’d left the shelter.

  Noah was happily gnawing on the keys when Paula knocked on the door. “Oh, good,” she said when Hannah went to let her in. “I was afraid to ring the doorbell in case I’d wake the baby.”

  “He’s awake. He’s playing in his room.” Hannah looked down at the three-wheeled contraption that sat on the porch next to Paula. “What’s that?”

  Paula grinned as she wheeled it inside. “It’s a jogging stroller,” she announced proudly. “We’ve had this sitting around the store for ages and we thought it’d never get used. But it’s all yours for as long as you need it.”

  “Cool, thanks.” Hannah looked the stroller over. It was dark gray with a yellow racing stripe down the side, with big, maneuverable wheels and a canopy to shield Noah from the sun. It had all kinds of pockets, and a drink holder. It even had a built-in dock for an MP3 player. It made Hannah a little wistful knowing she’d probably never have a use for that feature.

  “I figure we can take it for a spin as I show you around the camp,” said Paula.

  Hannah smiled. “Great. Let me get Noah.”

  A few minutes later, they were strolling down the sidewalk. Hannah imagined that this had been a bustling street before, lined with cars and manicured lawns, with children running around and riding bikes, chased after by their dogs. Now it was mostly empty, and most of the lawns were overgrown and wild. Paula pointed to each house they passed, some empty, some obviously occupied and cared for. She told Hannah who lived in the occupied houses, and what had happened to the people who lived in the others. Paula’s husband had been an Army Sergeant Major, and they’d lived on the base for years. After the bulk of the base’s troops were deployed to try and contain the outbreak, the virus got in, and all hell broke loose. The uninfected holed up in the old fort that had been built back in the Cavalry days, and fought off the infected. The siege lasted for weeks, until Konstantin had arrived with a cavalry of his own.

  “I tell you what,” said Paula, “by the end there I didn’t think I was gonna make it. The officers who’d stayed behind, they’d go out in groups to bring back provisions, but it was always slim pickin’s. Everybody was worn out and hungry, and it seemed like it was never gonna end, and somehow I just knew Chris’s father wasn’t ever coming back for us. If it hadn’t been for Chris, I probably wouldn’t have fought as long and hard as I did.”

  “That sounds awful,” said Hannah.

  “That ain’t the half of it. And then! Here comes Doctor Konstantin, and all these soldiers in black, and they were killing those things with their bare hands!” She shook her head. “We couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it sometimes. I mean, real live vampires! Who would’ve ever known?

  “Anyway, they cleared out the infected and reinforced the fence to make sure the shamblers couldn’t get in again, and then stuck around to make sure they stayed out. The doctor set up his lab, and a clinic, and he helped us get back on our feet and get organized. It was his idea to start a communal farm.”

  Hannah shook her head. “Back at the prison, they tell horror stories about this place. They say Konstantin uses child labor to run the farm, and that he experiments on the children. They call him Dr. Creepy.”

  Paula threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, honey. That’s the best joke I’ve heard in a long time.” She sobered up when she realized Hannah wasn’t laughing. “Oh, but you weren’t joking, were you? Honey, did you think you were brought here so he could do experiments on your br
other?”

  Hannah looked down at the stroller, with Noah tucked safely inside. “I still don’t know why he brought us here.”

  “Well, I can show you what we do with the children. Come on.”

  They turned up a side street, and after a few blocks they came to an elementary school building. The play yard was filled with a few dozen children, just running around and being kids. She spotted Abby hanging upside down on a set of monkey bars. Abby spotted her, too, and waved.

  Hannah waved back, smiling. She thought of Phyllis, and her smile faded. She wondered what her friend would have thought of the sight of a normal afternoon recess, and wished she could be there to see it. Of course, Hannah was just paranoid enough to wonder, briefly, if this had been staged for her benefit, to put her at ease and make her more willing to give up Noah when they asked. But she quickly dismissed that notion. It was too elaborate, and why bother when it would be so much easier for them to just take Noah? Why bother bringing her there at all? Besides, these children looked too happy and healthy for this not to be a normal part of their daily routine.

  Hannah couldn’t believe it. After everything that had happened, these people had managed to make a normal life for themselves. Well, as normal as you could get, considering what was still outside the fence, and the fact that it was patrolled by vampires.

  They moved on, and Paula took Hannah to see the farm. A lot the size of half a football field was filled with row after row of vegetables. The other half had been given over to a pair of grazing cattle, along with the calf Ned had told them about. Some nearby barracks had been converted into a chicken house. “There’s fruit, too,” said Paula. “There are trees scattered all over the base. Apples, peaches, pears… there are pecan and walnut trees all over the place, too.”

  “This is where you get all your food?” asked Hannah.

  “Well, it’s starting to be, now that the crops are mature. Of course, there was already enough food on the base to feed an army, and early on the doc had his people go out and bring back everything they could find from all the local stores. Most of that food ended up going to the prison. The Doc’s doing his best to keep everybody there healthy. He’s hoping to show the others how much better it is if we’re all healthy and happy.”