by Raymond Lee
The thought that zombies had gotten in struck but she quickly shot that down. Zombies ate people and there was too much of Carlos’s body left intact. There was a killer among them and she was betting on that killer being Kurt.
A scream cut through the too-quiet store, a scream that sounded all too familiar. Janjai ran toward the sound, unsure if her struggle to breathe was due to the exertion or the fear of what had made her sister scream.
Another scream sounded, this one the pure sound of agony, as she neared.
She entered the furniture area to see her sister lying on a bed, legs open as Hal ordered her to push. Damian stood nearby, gun drawn, guarding them. Pimjai reached out to her, crying as her eyes swam with tears.
“Pimjai?” She couldn’t understand. When had this happened?
Gunshots blasted from the other end of the store.
“Go check that out,” Hal instructed. “We’re a bit busy here.”
Janjai nodded and turned, remembering there was still someone on the loose who meant to harm them all. More gunshots rang out and she quickened her pace, chasing the sound.
She skidded to a stop as she found Cruz, Raven, and Elijah hiding behind a turned over refrigerator riddled with bullet holes.
Raven stood and spread her arms as blue feathers sprouted all over her body then she exploded, leaving a large raven in her place.
Janjai opened her mouth to ask what was happening when another gunshot sounded and searing pain exploded through her abdomen. She looked down as she fell to the ground, seeing the large bloody hole in the middle of her body.
“No!” Cruz screamed as he jumped up shooting. Elijah followed his lead but a horde of zombies lumbered out of the aisles behind them.
Kurt stepped into view, firing his shotgun, but the raven avoided the spray of bullets as it dove for his face and tore him to pieces.
By the time the raven obliterated Kurt’s face, Cruz and Elijah were overrun with zombies. The raven attempted to help but a zombie snatched it out of the air and bit off its wing.
Janjai cried out, knowing the bird was Raven.
Her vision started dimming as she suffered from blood loss but she kept watch as the raven started to burn. Cruz picked it up, crying as the bird turned to ash, then from that ash rose a flaming bird of many colors.
Cruz let the bird go, his hands charred, and the bird grew in size, its body continuing to morph until it was a giant ball of fire.
Raven stepped out of the fire seconds before Janjai woke up.
“We need to fill all of these backpacks and duffels with supplies,” Raven explained, gesturing toward the pile of bags she and Cruz had gathered that morning, “and leave eight at each exit.”
“There are nine of us.” Carlos stood with arms folded, a frown stretched across his tired face.
“If we need to leave, we can’t leave with Kurt,” Raven advised. “He tried to kill Damian and Janjai. He’ll do it again.”
“We can’t leave him tied up here to die.”
“So we should let him kill us?”
“I would rather die than have a man’s death on my conscience. All of you train with weapons and make decisions on who lives and who dies, using the excuse of survival, but you forget one very important thing. Our time here is just one part of existence. When we die, no matter how our end comes, we still have to face God and account for what we have done.”
Elijah rolled his eyes. “Just pack nine bags for each exit. We can deal with Kurt when the time comes, if it comes.”
“What does that mean?” Carlos asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at his son.
“It means whether we let him loose or not, I’m not traveling with that racist shit-bag.”
“Watch your language.”
“Seriously? There are zombies surrounding us, we’ve lost everything, and my language matters?”
“We have lost a lot but we are still here. There’s no need to lose our civility.”
Elijah rolled his eyes again, muttering under his breath as he turned away, seeming to collect himself before facing them again.
“We need to do this now,” Raven said, watching as Carlos clenched his jaw, his hands fisted even tighter. She continued in effort to keep the two from fighting. “An emergency can happen at any time so rather than finding ourselves scrambling for supplies later, we need to put packs together now. We need food, medicine, weapons, and ammo. Cruz and I have put together a list of everything we need. If any of you take any medicines, please add them to the list. We need to put needed medications in every backpack, that way it doesn’t matter what pack gets grabbed if we have to get out of here quick.”
The others looked at each other and nodded in agreement, even Pimjai and her sister, who still pretended they didn’t speak much English. Damian had been making exaggerated hand gestures, acting as a sort of interpreter as Raven advised them what they’d been called together for. If Carlos or Elijah could see the front of him they’d see his struggle not to laugh as he enjoyed the charade.
“Why are there birth control pills on this list?” Carlos asked, his tone and shrewd look indicating his thoughts on sex during the apocalypse.
“Taking birth control pills and skipping the placebos can help a woman not get her period,” Raven explained. “It beats scrounging for sanitary items while on the run, especially if we can’t keep clean.”
“Girl, that is enough.” Damian’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “We get the picture, and it isn’t a pretty one.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Is there anything else that needs to be added to the list?”
“A map?” Carlos suggested. “If we do actually have to leave here, where will we go?”
“Lincoln,” Hal answered. “There’s a military camp there for survivors. We were headed to it but stopped here. This place looked secure enough, but Raven’s right that we shouldn’t just relax and let our guard down. If we leave, we go to the military camp.”
“How do you know it’s still there?”
“We don’t,” Hal answered. “I’ve been listening to the radio, but nothing’s come through in a long time. However, it’s a destination and I can’t think of anywhere else nearby that’s more guaranteed.”
“Add maps to the list,” Raven instructed Cruz. “OK, so we have the list together. I figure the easiest way to do this is to section off. Cruz and Hal can grab the weapons and ammo, Carlos and Elijah grab the meds. Damian, you and I can grab the food. Pimjai and Janjai will stay here and fill the backpacks. Once we have the main stuff out the way, we’ll get what else we need, like the flashlights, matches, and stuff.”
“Sounds good,” Cruz said.
“Dad can get the meds,” Elijah said. “I’ll grab the miscellaneous stuff. I don’t know a lot about the pharmacy anyway.”
Raven glanced at Carlos, her heart aching at the hurt in his eyes. “That would be quicker, I guess. Just make sure you get everything. All right, people. Let’s do this.”
“Wait,” Janjai said in a low voice after Carlos and Elijah left them to start looking for their assigned items.
The others turned toward her.
“Did you want to add something to the list?” Raven asked.
She looked at her sister, who’d been averting her eyes all morning. “I think my sister does.”
Pimjai looked up and her fear was plain to see. “What do you mean?”
“I had a dream, sister. I know it has always been you who has the dreams that tell the future, but I dreamed of this place, and last night I dreamed of you.” She nodded toward her sister’s belly. “We will need supplies for it.”
“I had a dream too,” Hal said, looking at them strangely.
“Somebody needs to explain what the hell you’re talking about,” Damian chimed in. “I’m getting a bad feeling.”
“That makes two of us,” Raven agreed. “What’s going on?”
Pimjai placed her hand over her middle. “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh hell no.”
Damian threw his hands up in the air and turned away. “The apocalypse ain’t no damn place to be popping out babies. Don’t you remember what happened the last—”
He snapped his mouth closed as Pimjai’s eyes watered. “Damn, Pim, I’m sorry, girl. I didn’t even think what I was saying. I’m sure what happened to your friend won’t happen to you and your baby.”
The apology too little too late, Pimjai dissolved into tears as she lowered herself to the floor next to the heap of backpacks and pulled her knees to her chin. “Greg and I did not plan this. It had to happen our last time together, right before the zombies happened. I thought my missed period was stress, but I took the test yesterday and it was positive.”
Raven and Janjai kneeled next to the crying woman as the men stood nearby.
“Maggie’s baby died inside her and came back a zombie because Maggie was already infected with the virus because of a tainted blood transfusion,” Raven reminded her. “That was a horrible thing that happened and I don’t blame you for being scared. I still have nightmares of that day too, but that won’t happen to you. You’re going to deliver a healthy baby.”
“How?” Pimjai’s eyes besought a magical answer to erase her fear. “What hospital?”
“Women were giving birth long before hospitals were built,” Hal answered softly. “It may not be ideal but when the time comes, your body will know what to do. Put your trust in God and he will bless our hands to help you deliver.”
“And now that we know you’re pregnant, we are definitely getting to that base,” Cruz added. “They’ll have medics there, maybe even some sort of makeshift hospital. I say we stay here through the winter, then we find transportation and get to Lincoln as soon as possible.”
“Agreed.” Damian kneeled. “I’m sorry for what I said, Pim, but trust me when I say we all will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and healthy so you can bring that child into this world. Then we’re going to protect that kid with our lives.”
“Damn straight,” Raven agreed. “Damian and I will grab some stuff from the baby section.”
“I’m an asshole.”
“True. What finally clued you in?” Raven glanced over, catching sight of Damian’s side-eye, and snickered. “Come on. You walked into that one.”
“I’m being serious.”
“I know. Don’t worry about it. You apologized to Pimjai.”
“Not good enough.”
No, not good enough. She took one hand off the shopping cart to squeeze his shoulder. “Let it go. I was there that day and I saw that zombie baby come out of that poor woman. I know why you reacted the way you did.”
“You didn’t say anything though. I’m the jerk that opened my big mouth. Pimjai doesn’t need those negative thoughts.”
“You think she didn’t have them already? Trust me, she did. She’s going to spend the entire pregnancy drowning in her own fear so quit whining about some stupid thing you said and focus on helping her get through this. Part of that involves making sure we’re prepared for whatever happens. We need to get those packs filled with supplies. We have no idea how soon everything will go to shit and we have to leave.”
“Eliminate Kurt and we eliminate the only threat we have,” Damian said as they reached the canned goods aisle.
“If you think he’s the only threat we have here, you’re not thinking hard enough.” Raven started grabbing cans. “Get lots of vegetables and fruit. We don’t want whatever that disease is that always gets you killed playing Oregon Trail.”
“What disease?” Damian’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “And what’s Oregon Trail?”
“That old computer game. You put a bunch of supplies in a wagon and traveled the trail to Oregon, but I never made it. All my people died from all these old diseases. One of them came from not getting enough fruits and vegetables. Dysentery or something.”
“You mean scurvy?”
“Whatever it was called, I don’t want it in real life.” She grabbed more canned green beans and tossed them in her cart while Damian added corn to his. “We need a lot of beans too. Good protein or something. Spam and sardines too. Do those go bad?”
“Hell if I know,” Damian shrugged, “but it’ll take more than a zombie apocalypse to get me to eat them. What other immediate threats do you think there are besides Kurt? Pimjai should be fine until the worst of the weather passes.”
“Zombies have been piling up against the front of the store. All that weight pushing against the windows can’t be good.”
Damian paused with two cans of vegetables in each hand. “I thought they were just walking around out there.”
“Apparently no one has been paying attention but me. They quit lumbering around aimlessly a few days ago. They know we’re in here and they want in.”
“That’s why you came up with this idea of being ready to run at any given moment.”
“Yep. Everyone’s settled in here, gotten lazy.” She aimed a pointed look at the flannel pajama bottoms and slippers he wore. “We’re not safe here. Everyone needs to be fully dressed, armed, and ready to make a run for it at any hour.”
He glanced down at his attire. “Noted. I’ll change once we get the packs together.”
“Dress warm. I saw a bunch of camouflage coats over in the hunting section. I think we should put them with the packs.”
“Hats and gloves too,” Damian agreed. “Are we taking Kurt with us if we have to go?”
Raven pushed her cart ahead toward the beans. “He tried to kill you and Janjai, right?”
“Right.” Damian pushed his cart next to hers and started grabbing beans. “He’ll do it again. We can’t trust him.”
“Well, of course not.” Raven started grabbing bags and cans of beans. “Remind me to pack can openers in the bags.”
“Yeah, I will, but what about Kurt? What are we going to do about him?”
“We pack enough bags for everyone,” she said after careful thought. “If what I fear happening happens, and we have to leave, Carlos might be too panicked to even think about Kurt. He’ll be pissed at us later, but so be it. I personally won’t mourn the loss of that man, not after he tried to kill two of my people.”
“What if Carlos doesn’t panic? What if he sets him free?”
“Then we deal with it. When he attacks one of us, we take him out of the equation. What Carlos thinks won’t matter at that point because we’ll no longer need the shelter of this store. When we’re out there, we do whatever it takes to survive and if it pisses anyone off they can just suck it up.”
Damian’s eyebrow arched. “The apocalypse has made you ruthless.”
“Not ruthless enough,” she murmured. “Pimjai’s baby is going to be a dinner bell. You can’t keep a baby from crying.”
“I know.” Damian tossed a can of beans into his cart harder than necessary. “If we were real survivalists you know what we’d do.”
“We can’t do that.”
“I know.” He looked at her, his eyes speaking every fear running through her mind. “There’s like a ninety percent chance we’re all going to die protecting that baby.”
“You said you had a dream too.”
Hal looked up from the boxes of ammo he was going through. “I did.”
“Some kind of psychic dream like Janjai had?” Cruz placed another gun in the shopping cart as he observed the tall black man. He didn’t know why but just being in the man’s presence unnerved him. Of course, overly religious people had always given him the heebie jeebies.
“Yes. I have them from time to time, and no, I’m not crazy.”
Cruz’s entire body stilled as his muscles tensed.
“Neither are you.”
“You don’t know me,” Cruz replied stiffly, focusing on selecting the right handguns to pack.
“Some people say mental illness is all in the head.”
“Of course it is. Where else would it be, your kidneys?”
Hal chuckled. “Good point. No, I mean, a lot of doctors
diagnose people as mentally ill who really aren’t. There’s another issue happening to them, something doctors aren’t trained for. Then there’s the people who like to diagnose themselves after checking out Google.”
“Interesting. So about this dream you had, what happened in it?” Cruz selected another gun and placed it in the cart, hoping Hal caught on to the fact he wasn’t interested in discussing the topic of mental illness with him. He’d kept his dark secret hidden in Hollywood for years, where you couldn’t get out of the spotlight for two seconds, but these people all seemed to know all about him in not even an eighth of that time.
“I was shown Pimjai’s pregnancy, and a few other things.” Hal grabbed a couple boxes of ammo. “If you’re looking for enlightenment, the bible is the best answer book you’ll ever find. You’re more than welcome to join me for bible study any time. It would be the best way to pass time here before we head to Lincoln.”
“I already told you it’s not my thing.”
“Yes, you did, but you didn’t tell me why. Are you an atheist?”
“No,” Cruz answered quickly, his body warming. He tugged at his collar. “I’m just not into church. Is that a crime?”
Hal looked at him, eyes narrowed, seeming to search him.
“What?” Cruz’s temper rose. He didn’t appreciate the intensity of Hal’s gaze.
“Raven is very special,” the man said, stepping closer. “She has survived for a reason, and she needs to remain for that same reason. She will save us all.”
A cold chill now crept over Cruz’s skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. “What do you mean?”
“I get signs to lead the way. I was given a sign in my dream. Raven will save us all. Don’t hurt her.”
The cold chill thawed as quickly as it came. “I would never hurt her.”
“You? No, you probably wouldn’t, but your demons are another story. Control your demons.” Hal eyed him long and hard before smiling. “I’m going to grab some blades.”
Cruz watched the man walk away calmly, as if he hadn’t just said some of the weirdest crap he’d ever heard come out of a man’s mouth. Once he lost sight of him, a sharp jab of pain assaulted his frontal lobe as the voice he struggled to keep at bay screamed through his mind. Cruz hissed, covering the offending part of his head with his hand as he fished his pills out of his pants pocket.
