by catt dahman
When Cory leaned against a wall, he looked to Dale.
“Marriage is not taken lightly. Let no man set this asunder. Do you take him as your husband?” She said, “Yes.” “And do you take her as your wife?” Dave asked. He did.
Dale took a deep breath. “You gotta stay together for better or worse or really bad, in sickness, gunshots, and in health; if you have no food or supplies or a mother-load, protect one another from Zoms until death do you part and you are shot in the head if bitten.”
“Dale!” Cory protested.
“I’m covering bases.”
“Well, stop, and do it right.”
“So you take each other, and it’s before us as witnesses and God, and by the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. The end.”
Everyone was laughing.
“Oh, do the rings: with this ring, I do wed; say it; put it on her hand, Dave. Stevie, with this ring I do wed; say it; put it on his hand. There. You’re wed, and you can kiss.”
“Not in front of you all,” Stevie blushed.
“Okay, we’re going,” Robert said. “There’s dinner to cook. And Dave, let me know about what we talked about within…no more than two hours.”
“Got it.”
They closed the door.
“That was funny, but you are so beautiful,” Dave said.
“Thank you. Ummm, Dave, I have never kissed a boy, and now I’m married of all things.”
“We’ll go slow, and if you get afraid, tell me, and we’ll stop, but I’ll show you what kissing is all about.” He took her face and brought her close to him. Very softly, he pressed his lips against hers.
He pulled away a half inch and then kissed her again, over and over, pressing a bit more each time and sometimes barely licking her lips. She opened her lips to him, and he began to kiss her more deeply.
In a short time, her nails gripped the back of his neck, and she hungered for his kisses. “I want you closer.” She pulled at his shirt, and he unpinned her toga, pressing himself against her but avoiding her injured leg.
“Are you sure you want this? I can’t stand if I hurt you.”
“Yes, I want you. Show me how; go slow, and show me.”
Dave had to arrange pillows to keep her wounded leg from being touched, and it was hard to get their bodies in a position that wouldn’t cause her pain, but he was gentle and took his time. He was so tender with his young bride that when she lost her virginity, there was no pain, but a thrill that they were able to join more closely.
They made love two times over the hour and a half. “I love you, Stevie,” Dave whispered.
“I love you,” she told him.
“We need to talk though, wife.”
“We do?”
“Robert needs a decision about our leg, Honey. I’m your husband; tell me what you want; I’ll make sure it’s done as you wish.”
“I had decided to let go, but now, I want to live, Dave. Do you want me to?”
“More than anything.”
“Can you help me through the surgery? I am scared of pain. What will I do without a leg? How will I get around?”
“We’ll get you a prosthetic. You are strong enough to handle it.”
“And you’ll get me through it? I’m so scared.”
“I can.”
Dave left her for a little while to tell Robert to prepare for surgery. Cory sighed in relief.
Robert was going to remove Stevie’s leg.
6
Hannah
Most of the time, Hannah was kept sedated because she wept for John Ponce, and Colonel Cox didn’t want to hear it. She also fought every chance she found. It was also safer to keep her docile and calm because she had already spit in a soldier’s eye and infected him, causing Cox, who was furious with Hannah, to have to put down one of his best men.
They had warnings of a huge horde of tens of thousands of zombies being led by a Buzz, so they had to avoid them and go far out of their way until the horde turned south and stalled. The wait dragged out for a month.
They drove to Oklahoma.
Hannah was taken from the truck in chains and with a muzzle over her mouth. She was no less strong, and given a chance, she could take most of the men in a fair fight. Every day she thought of John Ponce.
Had Cox not hated, and yes, feared her, he would have loved her for her fortitude.
At Fort Sill, the walls and fences, guards and the security impressed Hannah. Every soldier looked at Hannah as if she were a celebrity but was wary of her, keeping hands and body parts away from her teeth and not getting close enough for her to spit in their eyes.
They took her down an elevator to rooms that were blindingly white. Her chains were unlocked, and she was told to strip. She did.
She was now used to waiting for chances and not forcing them. She had spit on one man and caused him to be put down, broken a female soldier’s arm, and bashed in a soldier’s head so he was in a vegetative state.
She loved when Cox looked at her with a mixture of fascination and hatred. She thought he believed her to be some exotic snake he had to transport, and while she was lethal, it was their mistakes that made her able to strike.
In the first tiny room with nozzles on the floor, ceiling, and walls, she was sprayed hard with an antiseptic-smelling liquid and left standing for a full minute. It kind of burned, and it stung her nose.
Hot water pelted her next, washing away the other stuff for a full three minutes; the spray was cruelly hard but also felt good.
She was told to walk into a different room.
There she was sprayed with a foamy, pine-scent soap that clung to her skin. A woman stood on each side of her and told her to raise her arms and spread her legs. They used long handled scrub brushes with stiff bristles to torture Hannah’s skin, scrubbing violently until she felt raw. They wore clear glasses, or Hannah would have spit into their eyes.
On the other hand, it was the cleanest Hannah had ever been.
The women stepped away, and Hannah was pelted by hot water again for five minutes.
In the next chamber, she was covered by a fine mist, rinsed, and sprayed with alcohol that burned terribly, and rinsed, again.
Then she was sprayed with a fine coating of water and tea tree oil (Hannah recognized the scent) that actually felt soothing although it was a strong anti-microbial and anti-bacterial product.
Finally, she was allowed to dry with a thin but soft towel. She put on some baggy blue sweat pants and a blue sweatshirt but didn’t get underwear. She was given a rubber band and told to pull her hair back.
She did it but complained, “It’ll break my hair. No wonder all of you look so bad here.”
Barefoot, she allowed them to put the cuffs on her arms in the front.
Down the hall, she went with an armed escort and Colonel Cox. A door slid open, and the inside of this room was very white, but here and there were couches and chairs in various shades of burgundy and a few knick knacks and a desk.
A woman stood at once. She was dressed in a button up white shirt, a long navy skirt, and a pair of stylish boots. Although her hair was pulled away from her face, long and plain, and she was eight years older, Hannah remembered Elizabeth.
“Hannah.”
“Dumb bitch,” Hannah greeted her.
“Charming as always, aren’t you? You’ve given everyone a lot of trouble.”
“I didn’t like being taken against my will and seeing my friends murdered,” Hannah snapped.
“I didn’t like how you slaughtered my family, water under the bridge, Hannah. We are on to bigger things.”
Hannah glared.
“Where are the rest who were with you when you killed my family?”
“Dead. Andie was shot and killed years ago when she went crazy, Sadie was killed by zoms, and the rest have died along the way. Your idiot team killed John Ponce. I pretty well intend to kill all of for that.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
&nbs
p; “You will die for this.”
“I see. This compound is very clean, very secure, very well supplied, and impossible to penetrate, and we are very organized, hard working people.”
“I had the same before you all ruined it,” Hannah said.
“We are getting this country back on track. Part of that includes finding out what this infection is and how it works. We know it piggybacked, and prions were set free in the brains. But Dr. Diamond developed a protocol that allows you to be immune to the infection and function normally, except that you are contagious via body fluids.”
“And? He’s dead, and his notes were trashed, so were his samples.”
“Not all of his samples. We have some, and we have figured out what they are about, but we are mystified as to how they work in your body, hybrids.”
“And?”
“You slaughtered my brother and sister who were infected, and yet, there is a possibility of a cure. You killed my parent and siblings.”
Hannah chuckled. “You fed live people to zombies you kept in a dog cage,” she huffed. “That’s freaky.”
“My parents are long dead. My little brother and sister are sick, and me, I am alive and normal. And you are somehow all of the above and none of the above. I want your secret. I want to stop the infection.”
“I don’t know a secret. Sorry. Everyone wants a cure, but there isn’t one, and we know that” Hannah said as she shrugged.
“I want to understand how my little brother and sister could have been saved.”
“Elizabeth, they were zombies and infection, no more and no less.”
“My daddy said they were simply possessed by demons and could be exorcized.”
Hannah laughed. “Your daddy was a nut-job pervert who liked biting girls, and it pissed your mom off so much that when she found out, she fed herself to the Zs. Be glad we let you three go. Let me go so we’re even.”
“We’ll be even when I know your secrets. You owe it to the world.”
“I have paid, lady. I have paid and paid and paid so many times and so much. There is no cure and no help, and if there were one, I’d hide it from you. People like you deserve to be bitten and infected.”
Elizabeth leaned in to her husband. “Take her to her new home.”
“Which one?” he asked.
Elizabeth whispered into his ear, and his eyes got big. “Will do.”
Hannah sullenly walked with her guards, casually looking at some of the labels on the doors.
Small animals. Specimens. Chemical. Bacterial. Viral.
The names were random and boring. They would take her blood and urine samples and do some looking at her brain waves and observe her and run tests, and when they had exhausted themselves, she would just laugh at them. She would infect all she could and try to take this place down.
Eventually, she’d find a way out. What room could hold her anyway? There was nothing here to fear because these people thought a little blood was going to give them an answer to a cure.
When she had a chance for escape, she would kill them all anyway.
“Right down here. This is your section,” Cox said.
Hannah turned from looking at the other doors and saw the label for her room. Her blood ran ice cold in her veins, and adrenaline shot through her system, telling her to fight or go for flight. Not much scared Hannah, but right now she was terrified beyond anything. She tried to slide out of her cuffs; she pulled away, but they held her tight.
Then she began to scream, despite resolve.
The name of the room where she was going and where they would try to unlock her secrets filled her mind with pure horror and clear panic. They opened the door and took her inside. The white room was clean and bright, colored only by the boxes that people were kept in; their heads were the only things in sight.
The door closed.
The label on this room read: Vivisection.
7
A Letter
Dear Len,
I am writing this to you so you can calmly explain to the rest. If you get this letter, it has been two months since everything happened. I want you to know everything so you have no problems questions.
Bare with me because some of this is very hard to write about and I am doing the best I can. We I am going to write everything I can, even the bad.
At Jefferson, A military group out of Fort Sill, Oklahoma, attacked and killed nearly everyone the night we arrived. The ones that weren’t killed at the first were lined up and shot like an execution. They were not buried. They took Hannah, Ponce, and Bella with them and said they wanted their help with a few things. We have since learned that John Ponce and Bella were killed, murdered, and tossed to the side of the road.
Hannah’s fate is unclear. I don’t feel an attack and rescue plan is wise since this group is fully functioning as a military unit with vehicles, tanks, and more. Over the next few months, we plan to do some recon and gather information about the base and find any weaknesses they have to see if we can get information about Hannah.
It is with deep sadness that I must inform you and Mark and Misty that Lexie died at Jefferson. She was brave and valiant and died without excess trauma. We also lost Walt and Ali, so please inform their families. Pak and Max were killed, as well. Henry, Randy, and Natalie were also lost in the battle. Each of them fought with bravery and acute dedication.
Stevie and I were badly injured, and we barely made it out and to Hopetown. We were both shot.
Again, I regret to inform you that all of Hopetown is now rubble and burned buildings, and everyone except one person was killed by a massive attack of zombies in a horde led by Berserkers. The road from there to here is deadly right now, and the horde numbers several thousand. They cut fences, opened doors, and killed everyone there.
In trying to get medical help, we drove to Zoo Ville for help and found that the same horde and Berserkers had attacked that compound as well, killing almost everyone and destroying all they had. You will remember Robert and Dale. They survived and have worked diligently to heal our wounds and raise our spirits. We are safe here and have supplies. The horde has moved slightly south of us, blocking the way to Port A.
Robert is a competent and dedicated doctor and has done amazing medical work for the settlement.
Stevie is here with me. If you read above, I mentioned one person survived Hopetown, and Jet will recall this man. Hannah and Jet once aided him in rescuing John Ponce from a cannibalistic family who kept zombie children in their basement and fed the innocent to them. His name is Dave, and he didn’t join the group but went off alone for a while. Jet will remember that Dave was brave and loyal to his friends and a good person. He has become a close friend to me, Dale, and Robert and proven himself many times over as a fighter and gentleman.
I mention this because Stevie and Dave have got found a deep love between them. He treats her like gold, I might add, and makes her happy, and he obviously is wildly in love with Stevie. She is wild about him too; with the absence of her father, I stepped in, and Dave asked me for her hand in marriage. Beth will be relieved to know she had a bouquet and dress and a proper wedding. I know Kim and Beth would like this man. Stevie is very happy with him.
We will remain here for several months while we do recon and wait to see what the Zs do as a horde. We are okay. Please express my condolences to Walt and Ali’s family and tell them they went out fighting hard.
Please give Misty and Mark my deepest sympathies, and tell them Lexie was brave and strong to the last second. She was just like her parents in fighting hard; she had no fear or pain but fell and passed gracefully.
For Jet, know Bella was not tortured or abused.
I will do my work here and hope to be reunited with you within a year’s time but am remaining loyal and dependable as I was trained. Robert and Dale send their condolences as well.
Semper Fi,
Cory
He sealed the letter and handed it to men who were headed south. The men went back an
d forth, carrying mail and news from settlement to settlement, and they had stopped by, saying this was to be their last trip for a while since the massive horde of creatures was a threat. This settlement and the one at Hopetown weren’t the only ones that had been attacked and destroyed by Berserkers and their hives.
The letter was the best Cory could do.
It was best to leave out an explanation concerning who had taken Hannah. Cory surely didn’t want to tell his friends at Port A the rest: that Stevie had lost her leg while she screamed and as her blood gushed.
She had survived, and he thought that was the good part, but she was still not doing very well, was very weak, and could barely use the wheel chair they found for her before having to stop and rest a while again.[i]
Maybe it would simply take time for her to get her stamina back. But more than anything, Cory didn’t want to reveal in his letter that Stevie was pregnant.
8
Port A
“Wow, I never thought I would see the day when you sat by the ocean and watched the water while everyone else busts ass.” Kimball sat beside Len and lit a cigarette.
“Maybe, I’m praying.”
Kim tilted his head. It was possible Len was joking around with his usual wise cracks, and maybe he was being serious, but Len did have a worried look on his face. Len had shared the letter the traveling-man had brought to them as a last remaining act of postal delivery. They had read it over and over, trying to understand what it all meant.
Unfortunately, the man had been bitten the day before he arrived at Port A, the only survivor of his little team that carried news from one place to the next, and he turned and was put down before he could either hurt anyone else or give the residents of Port A more information.
That was a month ago, and the man had been six weeks getting to them, reporting that he had not seen any more survivors along his way, so the news was almost five months old anyway.
