Zach stood up slowly on weak knees and, in a voice thick with hope, said, “Abby?”
The person on top of the hill jumped up and then ran towards them. “Dad! I found you!” she cried.
Zach sprinted towards the hill, towards Abby, calling her name again. They both slipped on the wet grass as they ran, but they didn’t care. Zach slid forward on his knees as he got close to Abby, and she collapsed into his outstretched arms. They hugged each other tightly, laughing and crying, their tears falling like the rain from the clouds. Abby buried her face in Zach’s shoulder and hooked her arms around his neck as Zach pressed his cheek against Abby’s hair, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.
Abby pulled her head back and kissed Zach on the cheek and said, “I love you, Dad! I missed you so much! Vicky knocked me out, and took me somewhere, and tied me to a tree, and a zombie attacked me, and I was completely alone and-“
“Ssh, ssh, it’s okay! It’s okay, Bug!” Zach said, interrupting her rapid flow of words. He pulled her rain-soaked hair away from her face and put his hands on her cheeks and said, “You’re safe now, I’ve got you. I love you, baby girl. I love you so much.” He paused and then said, in a shaken voice, “I thought I lost you.”
“Dad,” said Abby as she leaned back into his arms. The cold rain still fell all around them, but they did not feel it. This reunited father and daughter were safe inside an aura of love, where they were warm and content.
Chapter Seven
The falling rain began to abate quickly, just as suddenly as it had started, until it became only a drizzle. The soft, shushing sound of the rain, free from the monstrous interruptions of thunder and lightning, had never sounded so sweet in the ears of Zach and Abby, nor had it ever felt so magical to be soaked to the bone. The rain was cold, but they were warm in each other’s arms and barely even felt the chill. Amber finally came forward after giving Zach and Abby plenty of time to themselves.
“Amber!” Abby called, and she rushed to give her a hug.
Amber kissed her on the forehead and said, “I’m so glad you’re okay!”
Zach was about to agree, but he finally noticed the cut on Abby’s arm and said, “Bug, you’re hurt!”
“Huh? Oh,” Abby said, glancing down at her arm, looking surprised. She had been so happy to be reunited with Zach that she’d forgotten about her wounds. “Vicky did that. She also did this,” she said as she parted her hair to reveal the bump on her head, then lifted her shirt up a bit to reveal the bruise on her stomach and said, “And this. But it looks a lot worse than it is, trust me. I feel fine!” But Zach was unconvinced and looked very upset that Abby had been hurt.
You’re sure you’re okay?” Zach asked as he touched the cut on her arm. It was scabbed over, and looked to be healing well, but Zach was still worried.
“I’m sure,” said Abby, smiling. “I used your bandana to stop the bleeding on my arm…but I lost it last night. The wind blew it away.”
She looked disappointed, but Zach just chuckled and said, “Well, much like yourself, the bandana seems to have found its way back home.” He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Abby, who smiled and said, “You found it!”
Abby took the bandana from Zach and was stuffing it into her cargo pocket when she heard a familiar voice.
“Abby!” called Diane. She, Ross, and Al were just returning after a short search in the torrential rain and they were talking amongst themselves, wondering how to let Zach know that once again they had found no sign of Abby.
But then they saw her with Zach and Amber and rushed forward. They all took turns hugging her and telling her how much they missed her and how happy they were to see her. Ross actually lifted her high up off the ground as he hugged her, making her laugh.
For the rest of the day, Abby was the center of attention as she recounted her adventures over the last four days. She blushed with embarrassment as everyone incessantly praised her courage, strength, and survival skills.
“How’d you kill it?” Zach asked, referring to the zombie from the other day.
Abby smiled at him and said, “With my knife.”
Zach smiled back and winked at her, meaning ‘I’m proud of you’.
“By the way, where is Vicky? Did she ever come back to you guys?” Abby asked. She just realized that she had not seen her since she had been tied to that tree.
No one replied immediately, but instead looked to Zach. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Abby the truth or not, knowing that Abby would disapprove of what he did. He had just been reunited with her, and the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint her.
“We haven’t seen her,” Zach said slowly. “I don’t think she survived out there.”
“Oh,” Abby replied. “I guess that’s not surprising. She didn’t have any supplies the last time I saw her, and honestly I think she lost her mind.”
“Yeah,” Zach said. He had cast a dark glance around the group while Abby was talking just now, silently commanding that Vicky’s death be kept secret from her. There were uncertain looks being shared, but no one could hold Zach’s gaze for even an instant before looking down and away, except Amber. She glared back disapprovingly, but held her silence.
“But if you guys don’t mind,” Abby said, “I’m gonna go to sleep. I’m exhausted.” Everyone agreed to this and they spread out on the ground. Zach slept right next to Abby, putting one arm around her to protect her. No one was ever going to take her from him so easily again.
Abby was more than happy to be able to sleep soundly again, knowing her guardian was right next to her. She had proven that she could take care of herself and that she was not a burden. But she loved Zach dearly, and she desperately needed him in her life, even if she did not really.
The next day, the group resumed their southward course, staying near the Mississippi River. They were all in high spirits, having been reunited with Abby, and she was inseparable from Zach. But as the days went by, Abby had to start sharing him with Amber. Not that she minded this, not at all. She had never seen Zach so happy as the times when he was with Amber, holding her hand and telling stupid jokes just to hear her laugh. Amber made him very happy, and that made Abby happy.
Abby’s wounds finally healed a few days after reuniting with Zach. The bruise had disappeared, her head no longer hurt, and her cut was gone, but in its place was a thin, white scar. So despite her terrible ordeal, Abby seemed to have made it out no worse for wear. And it was upon this subject that she and Zach were conversing at the moment.
“I just wish you hadn’t gotten hurt at all,” he said.
“Yeah, but I’m okay. And now I have a really cool scar!” Abby said, rolling her arm so Zach could see, but he was smiling at Amber, who was ahead and had just turned to wave her fingers at him. Abby smiled and said, “Are you gonna marry Amber?”
Zach chuckled and said, “It’s a bit early to be thinking about that, isn’t it? We barely know each other. Besides, I don’t know if people even get married anymore.”
“Well, couldn’t you just tell people that you’re married?”
“I guess, perhaps. But-”
“Do that, then! I know you guys haven’t known each other that long, but she really likes you. And you really like her, more than you show. Besides, you pinky-promised!”
“I pinky-promised that I’d keep an open mind, not marry the first woman I see.”
“Well, can’t you guys at least talk about it? I like Amber, and I think the three of us would be the coolest family ever!”
Zach laughed and said, “How about this: when we find someplace to settle down, I’ll bring it up to Amber. Is that fair?”
“Yeah, that works,” said Abby. She loved imagining Zach and Amber getting married. The thought of having a real family, of having a mother again, was so exciting. Sometimes she really missed having a mother, and she wanted to be a mother someday, too. She wanted to grow up and get married, then have kids of her own to raise. If she ever had a son, she hope
d he would be like Zach. Abby smiled at these thoughts, and then decided to tease Zach a bit.
“Zach, how old do you have to be to safely have a baby?” she asked, though she already knew the general answer. He looked down at her like she had just spoken in tongues and said, “What?”
“I mean, we’re probably gonna find a settlement soon, right? And I’m almost fifteen, and I want to have kids someday, so I figure the sooner the better,” she said, wearing an expressionless face. Zach was staring at her, trying to figure out if she was joking or not.
“You’re messing with me…right?” he asked uncertainly.
A smile slowly crept over her face and Zach breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t scare me like that,” he said shaking his head.
“You always fall for that kind of stuff!” Abby said as she laughed.
“What can I say, you’ve always had a really good poker face,” Zach replied. Abby smiled. It was true: she had an excellent poker face. Zach had figured that out years ago, when they still lived in their cabin together…
Abby stared across the table at Zach, meeting his hard gaze without flinching. Zach had just laid the flop down on the table: seven of hearts, nine of clubs, and the King of hearts. These cards came from a small poker set that they had found while out scavenging for food last month. Zach had spent the last few weeks teaching Abby all kinds of card games: war, hearts, cribbage (he had made a cribbage board out of a plank of wood), blackjack, and poker. Poker was Abby’s strongest game. As clever as she was, she quickly figured out the odds and percentages of a single 52-card deck. Zach was also pretty sure that she could count cards, though he had not taught her that.
The game they were playing right now was Texas Hold-‘Em, Abby’s favorite. Zach preferred 5-Card Draw though, so they usually switched it up. Whenever they played gambling games, since they obviously could not play for money, they would play for chips. Whoever ended up with all the chips, or whoever had the most after a certain time limit, would be the winner, and the loser then had to do all of the day’s chores. This usually entailed refilling their water jugs, preparing any food they had hunted down that day, or whatever nonsense the winner could come up with (Zach had once made Abby pick up all the acorns around their cabin and arrange them in a line from largest to smallest. Abby, in retaliation, had made Zach find her a four-leaf clover, which took hours).
“I bet forty,” Abby said, plunking down two green twenty dollar chips.
“I raise,” said Zach. He tossed a blue fifty dollar chip next to Abby’s two green ones.
“Call,” Abby replied immediately, as she threw in a red ten dollar chip. Zach grabbed the deck of cards, placed the top one face-down on the table, then flipped the next one over and laid it next to the flop. It was the two of spades.
Abby checked, tapping her fingers on the table. Zach also checked, and then grabbed the deck again to set the river down on the table. It was the ten of hearts. He glanced at his two cards: the King of diamonds and the King of spades. He had three Kings. He looked up at Abby, who was staring him down.
“Check,” she said again. Zach tried to read her face, but she had the inscrutable face of a poker champ. Her eyes, lips, and fingers gave away nothing.
“Fifty,” he said as he tossed in a blue chip.
“Raise,” replied Abby. Without hesitating, she set a black one-hundred dollar chip down in front of her.
A check-raise. She’s got something good, Zach thought. He looked at the board. He had a three of a kind, and the only hands that could beat him would be a flush or a straight, but both required Abby to have two specific cards: a six and an eight of any suit, or two hearts. He decided to try to push her out with a raise of his own.
“Raise,” he said, and he placed a black chip next to his blue, raising Abby by fifty dollars. Acting immediately once more, Abby tossed in two more black chips, raising Zach by one-hundred and fifty dollars.
Zach sighed and considered his options, but Abby seemed to be able to read his mind. “So you probably have a pretty decent hand,” she said, “maybe a straight or three of a kind. But you’re trying to figure out how likely it is that I have either a straight of my own or a flush. I’ll tell you that the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor and that you will probably beat me if you call.”
She is way too good at this, Zach thought. He looked at his own cards again. He had a very solid hand, and it was unlikely that Abby could beat him. He looked back up at her; her face still betrayed nothing. Did she have a flush, and was merely trying to trick him into calling by announcing how unlikely it was for her to win? Or did she have a weak hand and was trying to bluff her way out with a show of arrogance? She still held Zach in her stare, her silver eyes boring holes into him, out of which ran all of his confidence.
“Fold,” Zach finally said, tossing his cards into the middle. Abby smiled and began to add the chips she just won back into her own stack. “Can I at least see what you had?” he asked.
Abby nonchalantly tossed her cards into the middle: the Ace of hearts and the four of diamonds. Nothing. Not even a pair. Zach laughed as he shook his head. “I just can’t win, can I?”
“Don’t beat yourself up. You beat me that one time,” she said with a smug smile.
“Yeah, the first time we ever played,” Zach replied.
“Consider it a compliment to your teaching skills.”
“I guess that’s the best I can do, huh?” said Zach. He smiled as he began to deal the next hand.
“Zach! My dad wants you!” Amber said, waving him forward. Zach jogged up to join Al and Ross, who were ahead of the group. They were crouching down beside an old Greyhound bus, sitting broken down on the side of the road, and Ross was observing something through his rifle scope. In the field ahead of them, about two hundred meters away, was a line of four Humvees with military markings!
Zach waved back to the others, signaling them to get behind the bus. They probably could not be seen where they were at this distance, but Zach was just being cautious. He brought his rifle up to his shoulder so he could look through his 3x magnifying scope. Abby came up to Zach and said, “Who are they?”
“Hush, sweetie,” he answered.
“Zach, I count twelve guys,” said Ross.
“Yeah, that’s what I got,” Zach replied. There were eight people in camouflage uniforms on the ground around the Humvees. A couple of them looked important, and seemed to be busy with something involving maps. Four others were in the turrets of the vehicles, and the others were just mulling around. The lead vehicle had an M-2 .50 caliber machine gun, the second and fourth vehicles had M240B medium machine guns, and the third vehicle had a Mk-19: a fully-automatic, 40mm grenade launcher.
“Holy shit,” Zach whispered. Abby punched his shoulder and said, “Watch it, mister.”
“Sorry,” Zach said back. “Hey Ross, you see those uniforms?”
“Yeah, they’re military!”
“Air Force,” Zach answered, noting their camouflage pattern. And for an instant, he felt a sudden pang of sorrow. “She was Air Force,” he thought. But he pushed those thoughts back into the shadows of his mind.
“Are they legit?” asked Al.
“Most likely, with that kind of firepower,” Zach said.
“I didn’t know the military was still around,” said Amber.
“The government must still be functioning, somewhere in this country,” said Zach. If the military was still active, then so was the government, which meant that part of the country must still be civilized. And they must be close!
“We should go down there and see if we can get help from them,” Zach said. He was thinking that the military would likely be tasked to help struggling Americans wherever they could and that maybe they would even give them a ride somewhere.
“Alright, unload your weapons everyone, and don’t look threatening,” Zach cautioned them, and everyone followed his instructions as they stood up and casually walked towards the convoy below them. After ha
lf a minute the turret gunner behind the Mk-19 finally noticed the approaching group and shouted something to one of the men on the ground. That man lifted a pair of binoculars to his eyes and then said something to the turret gunners. He stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for Zach and the others.
“Hold there! Who are you and what do you want?” the man said once they got close.
“Just some wanderers looking for help. We’ve got a kid with us,” Zach replied.
“Alright, approach slowly but keep those weapons down!”
They complied and walked carefully all the way up to the convoy. The man they were talking to was a captain, and his camouflage utilities had the name Frost on them. “What kind of help are you needing?” the captain asked them.
“We were hoping for a ride to somewhere safe, sir,” Zach said.
“Negative. We’re on a recon mission, and we’re not allowed to take civilians onto our base anyway.”
“There isn’t any way you could help us?” Abby asked the man. Captain Frost looked down at her and chewed on his lip for a moment as he contemplated something, then he called for his staff sergeant to bring him a map.
When the staff sergeant approached, he did a double-take at Zach and said, “Do I know you?”
“Doubt it,” Zach said, not liking the strange tone in the man’s voice. The staff sergeant grunted and handed his commanding officer the map, but eyed Zach again as he left.
Captain Frost smoothed the map out on the hood of the rear vehicle and beckoned Zach over. He pointed at a dot on the map and said, “This is our current position. If you folks will head on a north-eastern course, there’s a pretty big settlement for survivors right…here.”
He used a super-fine tipped map pen to add another small dot on the map, right next to a small lake. “The town is called Little America,” the captain said as he capped his marker. “It was a pretty successful town of survivors that got some serious funding and materials from the government earlier this year as part of the President’s ‘Helping Hand’ campaign. You got a compass?”
His Name Was Zach Page 14
