Wake the Dead 2 (Wake The Dead Series)

by Vanucci, Gary F.

  “Shit,” Alex muttered. He sat in quiet contemplation alone in the boat for a long while, intent on doing some soul searching of his own.

  Chapter 10

  The next morning, Alex got up early, pulled on a pair of jeans and a pocketed black tee shirt, laced up his boots, and went outside to spend some time with Shadow.

  After his chat with Selina last evening about Hannah, and that she seemed to be doing better, was quite a relief. He felt much better about things and where his relationship with her was headed. But, he did want to explore their pasts a bit more, and maybe even tell her about Sara. He just felt like being open about that would maybe help them both get closer to one another.

  He watched the wolf go about his business for the most part, and then wrestled with him briefly, rubbing his face against Shadow’s head and snout as they had in the past. The wolf seemed even bigger today than ever before, admiring his musculature as he took a seat beside the wolf, rubbing his head. They had hardly spent any time together these past few days and Alex was not satisfied with that realization. They needed to leave, not for Selina’s sake, but for Alex and Shadow’s sake, too. He also considered the very real possibility that, despite the food they’d just acquired, that they still might not have enough to go around.

  Alex glanced up to see the undead flesh amassed against the doorway, bringing his thoughts to the here and now.

  The droves of zombies continued to persist at the gates, reaching for them, but Shadow hardly paid them heed. He guessed that he had gotten used to them being there by now, and no longer considered them a threat.

  There were a few partially eaten zombie arms lying around the outskirts of the large courtyard, and perhaps Shadow had lost his taste for their flesh. He heard something behind him and instinctively reached for the knife strapped to his hip. He relaxed upon hearing her voice.

  “You escaped my bed without a sound, did you?”

  “I did. Don’t hold it against me. Just wanted to spend some time with my buddy here.”

  Selina sat beside Alex and looked sympathetically to him and then the wolf.

  “You wanna bring him with us today?”

  “I dunno. I'm not sure how he’d fare on a boat. But I do really miss being with him.”

  “Well, he’s gonna have to ride in the boat eventually, once we find a car.”

  Alex looked at her with interest. He really hadn’t thought that far ahead, but she was accurate in her statement.

  “You wanna come with me today, bud?” he asked, rubbing the top of Shadow’s head. The wolf rubbed his snout against Alex’s face and licked his a few times before wandering off. “Guess that’s a yes. Wanna get ready and we’ll go?”

  “Yeah, all I gotta do is get dressed. And I'm going to use that toothbrush I just found. You might wanna do the same!”

  “Yep. Good idea. Bucket of water still inside?

  “I’ll bring it out here along with a bottle of water for you,” Selina said, striding back into the chapel.

  Alex looked around and decided to climb up and onto the wall-walk. The inside of the fairgrounds, along with the parking lot, were still covered by the undead. It was like something out of a movie to Alex when he took it all in.

  As he climbed back down the steps and into the courtyard, he believed that leaving was the right choice, even though this castle s safe a place. It had solid walls and a steel gate, a moat and a drawbridge, which was not terribly designed. It seemed strong enough.

  Although, what if that gate gave out?

  There was a lingering thought in the back of Alex’s mind however, again reinforcing the desire to go south, namely thoughts of his family. He hadn’t really given them much thought since the first few weeks in the cabin last winter, and he wondered if they were even alive.

  He also considered that the home where he’d been raised, was a beachfront home, and might be as safe a place as this one, considering that they would only have to guard to the north, as the south was oceanfront.

  Heading south was certainly not going to be a picnic, but all signs were pointing to that end. Besides, if they weren’t going to let Shadow into the castle, because they were understandably concerned about Ben’s cat—or even the others’ safety—then he really didn’t have much choice at all. The wolf was an important part of his life, and they needed to respect that.

  Alex considered this long and hard. He tried to see that point from Nick’s perspective, not wanting to take a chance with a wild animal inside the castle, even though Shadow had saved lives on more than one occasion. He understood why Nick did it, but it still stung every time he had to go inside and leave Shadow out here. They did feed him well, which was a nice thing, but it still wasn’t right to leave him confined like this.

  The more Alex thought about it, the more irritated he became.

  “You okay?” Selina asked while brushing her teeth, still in her slinky robe.

  “Yeah. Let’s just get this moving along,” he said, taking the toothbrush that she handed him and squirting some toothpaste onto the bristles. She also handed him the razor, a small travel-sized can of shaving cream, and a tiny mirror.

  He nodded his consent and brushed in silence.

  He spat blood out of his mouth, unconsciously, until Selina stopped him by grabbing his arm.

  “I think you got it. Need to go easy at first. Your gums aren’t used to it.”

  “Oh shit. Wasn’t even paying attention.”

  “All right, Lancelot, get that beard gone, and then we’ll get dressed and get going. We’ve got a car to find and a new life to start.” Selina smiled, all too excited by the visions of their future.

  “Not sure I mentioned this before, but I have family down south,” he stated.

  “No, you hadn’t. I suppose you wanna see if they’re alive? Right?”

  “Would be nice, yeah,” he said as she sat on the ground and watched the shaving process, Alex using the clippers to get everything as close as possible first. Then, he spread the shaving cream on his face and carefully shaved all around his face, leaving a goatee.

  “I like it, Lancelot. And you’ll have to tell me about that family of yours.”

  Alex watched her get to her feet and slowly walk away. She glanced over her shoulder, smiling as usual, and catching him looking after her. Alex could not help but take note as her shapely figure was made even more evident from beneath a sheer robe by the sunlight encroaching on them from the east. It aroused him abruptly, taking him by surprise as an urge washed over him.

  Alex followed her into the chapel to gather his belongings, but was further overwhelmed by lust upon seeing in her sheer robe, partially open and revealing her centerline to him. He raced over to her and grabbed her from behind as she turned around, pulling her close to him and grinding up against her. He kissed her neck many times over and she moaned, the robe dropping to the floor.

  She leaned against the wall with her hands and spread herself as Alex dropped his pants, an animalistic instinct guiding him, taking her from behind.

  She had to have been a bit surprised based on her initial expression, but quickly fell in step with him. it was over in a few minutes, neither of them saying a word. When it was over, Alex spun her around and kissed her deeply, which again seemed to take her by surprise, but she returned the kiss, deepening it in kind.

  “Wow,” Selina said with wide eyes when Alex finally relinquished his grasp on her. The left side of his face turned up in a smile.

  “Yeah, I dunno. You looked…well, I just wanted you.”

  “I'm more than fine with it, lover-boy,” she said, retrieving her robe from the ground, dusting it off, and tossing it over her shoulder.

  “Lover boy?! I think I liked Lancelot better.”

  “All right, I’ll think of something else then.”

  Selina tossed her robe into her pack on the floor, mentioning something about washing them before they left. She quickly dressed into a pair of short boots, khaki shorts, and a slightly soi
led, off-white tank top with an olive green button down shirt overtop that. Then she strapped on her sword and tucked the .45 caliber—or at least she tried, as it was a huge weapon—into the loose rung of her belt.

  “Hey, why don’t we swap that thing out for something smaller?” Alex asked her, moving right over to Bryan’s pack, unzipping it.

  He reached inside and retrieved the gun in there, inspecting it thoroughly. It was a 9 mm Beretta M9. The M9 was a common or more popular choice, of the 9 mm family if Alex recalled, along with several others, including the Glock 17, 19, Beretta 92, and the CZ 75. He had been familiar with all of these a few years back, having fired them all at one time or another. Alex held the pistol in his hand and rifled through the pack to retrieve a few extra clips. He offered it to her, along with the extra clips.

  “Gimme that cannon and try this on for size. Much less kick.”

  She took the weapon and easily found a place for the smaller weapon in her belt. Selina handed him the M&P45, which he carefully handled, ensuring the safety was on, and then tossed it into the pack, placing the backpack onto the floor beside where they slept.

  “We’ll probably need to round up some more ammo before we head out,” Alex mentioned as Selina waited from him at the door. As he approached, she stared into his eyes, kissed him again, and then pulled back.

  “Ready, tiger?”

  “Tiger, huh?” she nodded and slapped him on his backside as he exited. “I can live with that. C’mon, Shadow!” Alex called after the wolf that trotted right up to him and sat.

  The trio wandered right over to the boat where it was tied to the post in the courtyard, and unhooked the loop.

  “Need any help?” asked a gruff voice from above. It was Nick standing on the parapet, looking down at them, his shirt was off and his pants appeared to be loose, too.

  “We’re all good,” Alex said, trying to recover from being startled, and unsure of what he was doing up there.

  “Well, there’s that, there ya go. Safe travels then,” he said, dropping out of sight once more.

  “Yeah, safe travels!” called the familiar voice of Liz, also from above.

  “Looks like I wasn’t the only one gettin’ lucky this morning,” Selina said, holding a smile that captivated him again. He nodded, returning her perceptive grin.

  Alex waited for Selina to get into the boat and then called Shadow to him. The two of them spent the next ten minutes or more coaxing the wolf into the boat. He eventually decided to stay this last time, and sat beside Selina who rubbed his head and sat silently as Shadow licked her face. Alex climbed in after and started the motor. Shadow snarled at the engine at first and then became silent.

  “Let’s only take it as far as we have to, then walk the rest of the way!” Alex shouted to Selina over the sound of the motor. She nodded and then rubbed Shadow’s ears, which seemed to calm him down. Since the boat was small, there wasn’t much place for the big wolf to maneuver around, so Alex wanted to hit land as soon as possible.

  As they pulled away, he noted once again that zombies remained, lingering around the outskirts of the Renaissance Faire parking lot, which provoked a sigh from Alex. He shrugged away the melancholy and steered the boat upstream for a mile or two and saw a place to stash the boat, but as he neared, zombies stirred along the road, heading toward the riverbank and striding right into the current. It was becoming an oddly familiar sight.

  He continued along until, a few minutes later, they were at their usual landing area. Alex steered the boat up to the riverbank again, docked it, and allowed Selina and Shadow to exit. The wolf, finally free of his containment, meandered about, sniffing the area and relieving himself. Selina took all of their gear except Alex’s pack, which was on his back still, and followed Shadow.

  Alex got out and pulled the boat out of the water entirely, lifted the motor off the back, and dragged the boat behind a thicket of bushes.

  Selina, watching after Shadow, could not help him. He lifted the motor and began the trek back up to the ambulance, slowly making headway as the motor was heavy. Once he arrived at the top of the hill, Selina made her way to him, seeing that he was struggling.

  “Gotta be an easier way,” Alex said, bent over, trying to catch his breath. He had her wait there with the motor while he retrieved the ambulance. He made it around to the back of the tree line and saw a lone zombie feasting on what had to be human remains. He stopped moving immediately and felt for his bow, which Selina had. He instead removed the gun from his belt, quietly chambered a round, and stepped out into the open.

  He immediately noted three more zombies in the wooded area, huddled around a corpse, feasting on its flesh. Alex stepped back behind the ambulance and waited.

  Selina began to make her way toward him, Shadow leading her. Alex quietly moved toward them and pointed to Selina excitedly. She removed her sword from its scabbard, and waved it through the air a few times. Alex noted her arms corded under the movement and admired the way in which she handled the weapon. She was a true warrior. He couldn’t help but wonder how well she would have handled herself during the actual renaissance.

  Shadow followed her, sniffing the air and growling.

  The closest of the zombies stood, Alex noted, staring at them through the ambulance windshield from the side.

  It began to wander their way, likely sensing their presence.

  Alex waited for it to come around the corner and waved Selina over as he backed away. She gave herself some space with which to swing the weapon. The zombie rounded the corner of the ambulance and Selina sliced its head clean off at the neck. It was a perfect strike.

  “Follow me,” Alex said, taking the lead as the first zombie body hit the ground.

  He maneuvered out into the open and padded over closer to the trio of feasting undead and put a bullet into the first one’s head. The others didn’t even notice right away, consumed by their meal.

  Finally, one of the remaining two saw Alex, stood, and raced toward him. he held his ground and waited for the zombie to close the gap, then ran back toward Selina. But, before either of them could react, Shadow pounced on the zombie, taking it to the ground and snapping at its arms as it flailed about.

  Selina strode right over to the undead male, and drove the tip of her sword through its skull. She removed Alex’s bow from her shoulder, then the quiver, and handed them to him. He tucked the Glock back into his belt and fished through his quiver, finding the right arrow. He only had a dozen shafts left that weren’t split or damaged, and would need to add some of the ones they’d recently acquired to his arsenal. He removed an arrow, one that was fitted with a broad head, pulled the string back, and whistled.

  The last remaining zombie stood and upon seeing him, raced at him madly, its arms flailing as it ran, blood spouting from its mouth.

  Alex pulled back on the string, slowed his breathing, took aim, and let it fly.

  The arrow penetrated the zombie’s skull as it stopped moving and fell back and to the left under the momentum.

  “Nice shot, tiger.”

  He stared at her and chuckled. “I'm kinda likin’ ‘tiger’.”

  “Better than Lancelot?”

  “I’m gonna say yes on that one. Let’s get the hell outta here.”

  “Don’t forget the motor,” she called to him from the back of the vehicle where she opened the back for Shadow.

  Alex then pulled the rig up and onto the street, hopping out and carefully placing the boat motor once more into the back of the ambulance, securing it in the passenger side corner before hopping back into the driver’s seat.

  “Where to now?” Alex asked, hands on the wheel.

  “I have no idea. Just drive.” Alex did just that, heading westward, trying some places where they had not frequented.

  “Think we’ll run into our undead pursuers?” Selina sked him, glancing from him, back to the wolf, who stared out the window, and then back to him again,

  “I’d say that’s a very likely thi
ng,” Alex replied, knowing she referred to the zombies that had chased them out of the Home Depot parking lot, for that was the direction in which they were headed.

  Alex absently started banging on the wheel of the ambulance as he drove, recalling the beat from ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen, and began doing it over and over again. He started chanting the chorus and Selina looked at him queerly at first. but, as he kept repeating it, she eventually joined in and the two of them passed the next dozen or so miles repeating the anthemic chorus, along with the verses they could remember.

  Alex watched in the rearview mirror as Shadow bounded from window to window while the pair continued their brief participation in what was a much needed and all too infrequent act of complete inhibition.

  “Man, I could really go for a goddamn radio!” Alex shouted once the momentum of the chorus faded.

  “That’s somethin’ we abso-freakin’-lutely need!” Selina agreed.

  “Hey, is Hannah really gonna be okay?”

  “Of course,” she said, staring back into his eyes. “And I’m gonna miss her.” He noted the sincerity with which she spoke the words, and also the expression on her face, which profoundly reinforced the emotion. She was so open with him that, in that very moment, her expression reminded him of Sara.

  Another great quality to put on the list of ever-growing reasons I am falling more in love with her.

  “Just like you’ll miss Nick, right?” Selina said after a moment of silence, bringing his focus back to the conversation.

  “Yeah, you’re right there. I’ll miss them all, really. But, it’s the right thing to do for you, and for Shadow, too,” he said, looking at the wolf who now lay down in the back of the rig

  “Actually, truth be told, I'm not really sure that Hannah is cured,” Selina said, which took Alex a bit by surprise.

  “How so?”

  “Well, for one, she is exhibiting the same signs as Tom. She slept in the same room as him and shit knows, we don’t have the disinfecting products that we should have, right? I just have a bad feeling about it.”