Dead, But Not For Long (Book 2): Pestilence and Promise

by Kinney, Matthew

  Lindsey turned her head when the door opened, but she quickly looked away again.

  “Let me see,” Henry said.

  Lindsey reluctantly turned to face them, but she wouldn’t look at Henry, fixing her eyes on the wall.

  The area around her left eye was red and swollen, and there was a gash on her eyebrow. Her lip was also split and covered with blood.

  “My, my, that’s going to be quite a shiner,” the old man said. “I hope you learned your lesson, young lady.”

  “Learned her lesson?” Lee asked, turning angrily toward Henry.

  Dr. Chan also reacted to the comment. “Beating people into submission, Henry? Is that what your community is about?”

  Henry looked at the doctor coldly. “Of course not, but we can’t have her getting away, now, can we? She is probably our key to finding a vaccine. I would say it’s imperative to keep her here at all costs, and if you don’t agree, you can be put outside. We do have another doctor now.”

  Dr. Chan turned his attention back to Lindsey as Henry walked out the door with Lee.

  “Bringing her here was a mistake,” Reynolds said, once they were in the hallway. “I never should have done it.”

  Henry laughed and patted him on the shoulder in a condescending manner. “Well, lucky for me you didn’t realize that before you agreed to our deal.”

  Lee’s hands clenched into fists, but he remained silent.

  The smile dropped from the old man’s face. “Like Dr. Chan, you need to remember your place, Reynolds. I will not hesitate to feed you to the deviants if I begin to question your loyalty.”

  ~*^*~

  ~48~

  Whispering Springs, Nevada

  The next morning, George watched movies while Dan helped Miranda dig up the rest of her grass. By the time they finished, it was unbearably hot outside, and they were both ready to be back in the air-conditioned house. They were surprised to find that George had lunch ready for them.

  “You know, Miranda,” Dan said as he took his seat, “even with the extra space you’re adding, I’m afraid this garden probably isn’t going to be big enough to provide all the food you’ll need.”

  “I’ve been wondering about that,” she said. “I read that it takes an acre of land to sustain one person, but I think that might include raising animals, which I’m not going to do. I’m planning on doing some vertical gardening, too.”

  “You might also want to think about planting some crops in other yards, besides your own.”

  She laughed. “I’m sure my neighbors would love to come home to that.”

  “They’re probably not coming home,” Dan said. “If they do, maybe they’ll be happy to have a garden already started for them. Things are not going to be like they used to be, not in our lifetime.”

  She nodded, much more somber than she had been moments earlier. “I have to keep reminding myself what it’s like in other places. It’s hard to imagine that it’ll ever be that bad here.”

  “Maybe you need to see it for yourself,” Dan said. “We could take a drive, and I can show you what it’s like a little closer to Las Vegas, and maybe I could teach you some fighting techniques with live zombies.”

  “That’s really risky,” George said.

  “Right,” Miranda agreed. “I don’t know if I want to get that close. Maybe you could teach me the techniques in a more theoretical way. You know, like ‘Okay, Miranda, let’s pretend this empty space is a zombie. Now stab it.’”

  “I know it’s dangerous,” Dan said. “But it’s something you’re going to have to do if you stay here. If you ever need medicine or more food, you’re going to have to fight them off to get into the store, or possibly even to go into other houses. I want to know that you can take care of yourself. I don’t want you to go out there alone for the first time.”

  She looked at George for his opinion.

  “He might have a point,” George said. “I’d be dead if Dan hadn’t been with me. He taught me a lot, and now I think I could maybe even hold my own out there, for a while anyway.”

  “Have you killed one?” she asked. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

  “Yes, I have. The first one’s hard, but it gets easier, especially when they’re trying to kill you,” George told her.

  “All right. I’ll do it,” she said, obviously still nervous about it.

  “Okay,” Dan said. “But before we go out there to face the real thing, I’m going to show you some moves you might need.”

  “Dan’s going to show you his moves,” George said with a grin.

  Hixson turned to look at Rayburn. “Why don’t you go watch a movie, George?”

  “I want to see this,” George said. “Maybe I’ll learn something, too.”

  “All right, but you can’t talk.”

  They cleared some of the furniture out of the living room to give them space.

  “I’m no martial arts expert,” Dan told Miranda, “but I’ve picked up a few things over the years, both in regular training and from some of the other guys on my squad. Pain doesn’t seem to affect the dead, but you can immobilize them by breaking a knee, or you can buy yourself some time by knocking them down. Killing them is best, but there are times when you’ll have two of them coming at you at once and . . .”

  “That happened just the other day,” George said. “Remember, down by . . . sorry, I’ll be quiet.”

  “You’ve got a few options,” Dan continued. “One, you change your position, so you’re closer to one than the other. Then you can deal with them one at a time. If that’s not possible, you bring one of them down then move on to the other one.”

  He showed her how to do a side kick to break a knee. After fifteen minutes of practice, he said, “Good, you’re getting better. You’ll need to work on this every day. When it comes time to use it, it’ll be automatic.”

  “I hope so,” she said.

  “Now I’m going to grab for you. If I reach high, your arm is going to go up and over to knock my arm away. If I reach low, your arm will go low, too. Try to use the inside of your forearm, since there’s more padding there, and you won’t get so many bruises that way.”

  “She’s probably more worried about getting bitten than getting bruised,” Rayburn said.

  “I realize that,” Dan replied, “but she’s going to be able to practice more if she’s not covered with bruises.”

  Miranda had trouble at first, but the more they practiced, the easier it became. By the time the session ended, Dan knew that she had a good feel for the blocks and kicks he’d taught her. At least she’d have a few of the basics and would improve with more practice after he and George were gone.

  ~*~

  Lansing Compound

  After Henry walked away, Lee turned to go back into Lindsey’s room, almost bumping into Dr. Chan on the way out. They both stepped out into the hall.

  “Is she going to be all right?” Lee asked.

  “She’s going to be in pain for a while, and I’ll need to give her a few stitches above her eyebrow.”

  “Can you give her something for the pain?”

  Chan replied in a low voice, and Reynolds knew that the doctor was hoping not to be heard by the guard or the microphones that were planted everywhere.

  “I’m sure Henry won’t let her have anything. He told me earlier that he thinks she’ll try to kill herself if given the opportunity. After seeing how she tried to provoke him earlier, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

  “She saw two of her friends thrown off the roof today. She’s understandably upset.”

  “Who?” Chan asked, shocked.

  “Two of the bikers,” he said. “One was named Hawk. I can’t remember the name of the other one. And Henry’s threatening to torture her for information. She may be desperate enough to do something.”

  “How can you be a part of this?” Chan asked in a whisper. “I heard that you came here by choice.”

  “I was just asking myself that,” Lee admitted. “Didn�
��t you choose to come here?”

  “No, I wanted to stay at the shelter, where I was needed. I wasn’t given a choice. I guess we’re both stuck here now.”

  “Unfortunately, I think you’re right.”

  When Chan walked away, Reynolds went back into the room. He found Lindsey lying on the bed, facing the wall again. He watched her for a moment, certain that she couldn’t be asleep already. When he heard her trying to stifle tears, he sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, “for everything.”

  She turned to face him, wiping her eyes.

  Reynolds was quiet for a while. He finally asked, “The second guy. He wasn’t just a friend, was he?”

  “No,” Lindsey said. “His name was Wombat, and he was more than a friend.”

  “All I wanted was for you to be with me, and I screwed it up,” Lee said. “I thought this place would be somewhere that we could have a life together. Instead, I drove you to someone else.”

  “You didn’t drive me to him. You drove me away from you. You and I don’t want the same things,” she said.

  “I know it’s too late to fix it now, but I’ll do whatever I can to keep you alive.”

  “I appreciate that, but I think Henry’s already made up his mind. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me. He wants me dead.”

  “Tell him what he wants to know, Lindsey. I think I can convince him to let you live if you do.”

  “No,” she said. “If he wants information from me, he’ll have to torture me to get it.”

  In an office on the first floor, Henry smiled as he watched the monitor. “Oh, I intend to,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

  ~*~

  St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

  The next morning, Snake hurried to Wombat’s room after getting a message from Dr. Sharma.

  “He’s awake,” she said, when Snake stepped into the room, “but he hasn’t been able to say anything yet.”

  “Do you think he’ll be okay?” Snake asked, keeping his voice down.

  “He made it through the night, so I think he has a good chance,” Dr. Sharma said. “I’ll be watching his punctured lung closely. He needs to do breathing treatments every day until it heals. His broken ribs will be bothering him for a while. He has a serious concussion as well, so he’s going to have to take it easy.”

  “Thanks for taking care of him, Doc,” Snake said.

  “I was happy to do it,” she told him.

  Wombat had spent several hours in the new high-risk quarantine room the previous day, but he’d tested negative for the parasite each time. He’d been lucky, considering the fact he’d been laying in a pile of infected bodies. Fortunately, the parasites hadn’t found a way in.

  Snake took a seat next to his injured friend.

  “Can you hear me, buddy?” he asked. “Wombat?”

  The reply was impossible to decipher, but it gave Snake a little hope.

  Jack stepped into the room, greeting the others before going to stand by Dr. Sharma at the foot of the bed.

  The Australian tried to speak, but his words were still coming out garbled. He appeared to be frustrated, but he finally pointed to a pitcher on his tray.

  Snake poured some water into a plastic cup for him and helped him drink.

  After getting about half of the water down, Wombat closed his eyes again.

  “Hawk,” he finally said. “Dead?”

  Snake sighed, “Yeah, he is. We found him behind the building.”

  Wombat gave a slight nod.

  “Lindsey?” he asked after a moment, though the word was slurred.

  “We’re not sure where she is, dude,” Snake told him. “Looks like someone took her and Dr. Doom. We were hoping you might know something.”

  Wombat opened his eyes again and tried to say something else, but none of the others could understand him. Frustrated, the biker kept trying, finally getting out two words.

  “Old man?” Jack repeated.

  Wombat nodded then winced in pain.

  “What old man?” Snake asked.

  Wombat pointed to the ceiling.

  “Do you mean God?” Jack asked. He looked at Snake. “Maybe he wants you to pray for him.”

  “I think he means there was an old man on the roof,” Snake said.

  Wombat gave a “thumbs up” sign, but his eyes were closed again.

  “Old man,” Jack repeated, deep in thought. His eyes lit up suddenly. “Eric was talking about an old man at the place where he was staying. I wonder if it could be the same one.”

  “Wombat, was Reynolds involved?” Snake asked.

  The biker gave them another thumbs-up.

  “Reynolds is the one that dropped Eric off, so this could be the same old man,” Snake said.

  “Let’s go talk to Eric,” Jack said.

  “We’ll be back later,” Snake told Wombat, but this time the biker didn’t reply.

  “He’ll probably sleep a lot,” Dr. Sharma told them.

  “Okay,” Snake said. “Do me a favor, and let me know if he wakes up and says anything more.”

  “I’ll do that,” she promised.

  ~*~

  Whispering Springs, Nevada

  Miranda and Dan trained again in the early morning, and Dan was pleased with the progress.

  George hobbled out to watch them. When Miranda asked him how he felt, he said, “Not great. I hope I didn’t tear a ligament or something. It’s still hard to walk.”

  “I’ll go get some fresh gauze and tape, so we can change that bandage,” Miranda said, leaving the room.

  “You’re a doctor. Can’t you tell if the ligament is torn?” Dan asked.

  “No,” George said.

  “Is it really that sore or do you just not want to leave?”

  “I don’t want to leave, but it really is sore.”

  Dan stared him down, knowing that he could usually get the other man to break.

  “Really!” George said. “It hurts like hell, and it feels like it’s going to give out when I put any weight on it.”

  Dan remained silent, still watching Rayburn, whose eyes were darting around.

  “Okay, I’m also worried about Miranda,” George blurted out. “My knee hurts a lot, but I could probably hobble away from zombies if I had to. I don’t want to leave Miranda here when she can’t defend herself. Do you honestly think she’s ready to take them on?”

  Dan finally looked away with a sigh. “Alone? Probably not.”

  “So what’s the rush? You said yourself that we might be safe here. She could even come with us when we go,” George said.

  “I’d be fine with that,” Dan said, “but I don’t think she’ll leave her husband here.”

  “He’s a jerk,” George said.

  When she entered the room again, both men became silent.

  “What?” she asked, looking back and forth between them.

  “George was just telling me that his knee is still hurting.”

  “You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you want,” Miranda said. “I’ve really enjoyed the company.”

  “Thanks,” Dan said. “It’s been a nice break for us. I just don’t want to impose.”

  “You’re not imposing. You’re teaching me how to defend myself, so the longer you stay, the better for me.”

  Dan told Miranda that he thought it was time to test her new skills on a live target. She looked nervous about it, but she agreed to try it and went to change into jeans and hiking boots. Dan also had her wear gloves, and as an afterthought, he secured towels around her upper and lower arms with duct tape. He made sure that her elbows were free to move, giving her the flexibility she’d need.

  “They’ll protect your arms since you don’t have thick sleeves,” he said. “I’d suggest finding a leather jacket or something similar when you have the opportunity.”

  “What about the helicopter?” George asked.

  “We haven’t seen or heard it lately, so I’m hop
ing it’s gone,” Dan said. “I know that it’s a risk, but they also won’t be looking for a man and woman. They’ll be searching for two men.”

  “Be careful out there,” George told them as they left.

  “Let’s go out near the highway,” Dan said, once they were in Miranda’s truck. “I noticed there were other bodies, so we won’t be attracting attention by adding more of them.”

  “I know some of the patrols go out there to thin the numbers now and then,” she said. “Hopefully they won’t be there today.”

  “If they show up, we’ll leave,” Dan said. “I’d like to get a look at the road coming from Las Vegas, too. And maybe we can fill your tire up while we’re out.”

  Wanting to avoid the men who were patrolling the streets, they waited until they heard gunshots then went the other way.

  “We’ll take the back road so we can avoid the roadblocks,” Miranda said.

  “I must have missed those.”

  “I think they’re more for show than anything since a person could just drive through the desert to get into either town.”

  “It’s probably a small show of force, too,” Dan guessed.

  “That’s what I thought,” she said. “Anyway, these back roads aren’t watched at all. You lucked out when you drove into Boulder City that way. You would have been stopped at the main roads.”

  “That was kind of a fluke,” Dan said. “The highway was jammed, so we turned off on a power line road, and it’s where we ended up.”

  Miranda drove into Boulder City then continued on to the highway using the same route that Dan and George had taken. Dan cautioned her to watch for soft sand since she didn’t have four-wheel-drive. Once they found an area where the ground had been cleared away and leveled, he said, “This looks like a good spot. We’ll try to stay in this open area, so we aren’t tripping over plants. Why don’t you turn the truck around so we’ll be facing the right direction when we’re ready to leave?”

  Once the truck was turned around and parked, they could see a handful of the dead coming their way, lured by the sound of the engine. The first one was getting close, and Dan saw that it was moving fairly fast.