“Manda.” He meant to yell, but his abused throat came out with a nearly silent croak instead. He reached for the bottle at his side, hot after sitting in the sun all day, spun the top off and took a long drink.
Fire burned down his throat and squeezed tears out of his eyes. He cleared his throat. Spat, and took a deeper drink.
“Hair of the dog,” he told himself. “Fuckin' A.”
He tried his voice: Spat. Cleared his throat once more and then took a longer drink. He took another drink and shouted. “Manda, you worthless, slat chested bitch!”
In the doorway of the SUV, Amanda came awake. Wha..., she thought.
“Goddamn fuckin' cunt,” Zac continued. “Where in Christ's sake are you?”
“I'm coming, Baby. I'm coming,” she croaked. She grabbed a can of warm cola, popped the top and then sniffed it before she took a drink. Sometimes they were bad. This one smelled okay though. She took a sip and then a larger drink when she realized it tasted okay. She hurried over to Zac. Her pink sparkle fingernails clicked nervously against the can. “I'm here, Baby,” she told him.
“About fuckin' time,” he told her. “What's to eat... I got to get something in me.”
“We got a lot of stuff, Baby... We got some chunk soups... Some beef stews, some pork and beans... Some of them little wienies in a can,” she laughed. “Some chili.”
“I want a steak,” Zac complained.
“Baby, there ain't no steaks in cans. At least I ain't seen none. We got some roast beef in a can, but the last can a that was bad, you said. You said you didn't want no more a that,” Amanda told him.
“Prolly went bad in this ever fuckin' heat,” Zac said. “Give me a couple cans of that chili.”
He sat holding his shaggy head in his hands as he spoke. When he finished he lifted it, shook it and looked around.
Amanda padded off to get the chili and a can opener.
Zac's eyes felt too small for his swollen, aching head. A bottle of Tabasco sauce sat nearby. It worked well for hangovers, he'd always swore by it. He upended it and got nothing for his troubles. He threw it aside in disgust and took another deep pull from the bottle at his side instead. The light was seeping out of the sky which made it a little easier on his head. He rubbed his temples, rubbed the back of his neck and then his eyes. He flexed his neck back and forth idly and looked around while he waited on the chili. That was when he noticed his bike tipped over onto the old couch.
“Jesus H. Christ and all his little disciples... What the fuck is this!” He bellowed. He hauled himself to his feet, his aching head forgotten, and walked over to the bike. That was when he noticed that the bike was not even where it was supposed to be. He had known something was wrong he just hadn't been able to put his finger on it. The bike had been moved about eight feet from where it was supposed to be.
Amanda came back with the two cans of chili and a dirty fork. He wouldn't care anyway about the fork, she thought. She sat the cans down on the table and started to use the can opener when she saw that Zac was up and staring at the bike that was toppled over onto the couch.
“I was gonna tell you about that, Baby,” Amanda said.
In two short steps he was on her and backhanded her with one hand. “You was gonna tell me! You was gonna tell me?”
Amanda had gone flying, literally lifted off her feet and landed on her bony ass in the middle of the cracked and tilted asphalt. A high pitched buzzing started in her head. Blood leaked from the side of her mouth. She sat up and swayed from side to side, shook her head and remembered who she was. It took a few seconds longer to remember the why of it.
“It was a smart ass black boy, Baby.” She told him. “He was with a bunch of them hippie type nigger lovers... They did it. I told him, Baby. I told him, but I couldn't do nothin',” she was crying now. “I tried to wake you up. Baby, I tried to wake you up! They wouldn't have tried it if you was up and awake, I know that,” she said through her tears. Her face hurt and it was already hard to move her jaw. Damn if he hadn't busted it, she thought.
“You let some....” He started, but Amanda never heard it. A little vein inside her head chose that second to burst. Starlight seemed to bloom inside her head. A second later everything went black.
Zac watched her topple over. A perfect flood of blood came from both nostrils as she went. Her head hit the pavement with a solid thunk. Her right hand fluttered like a tiny bird caught in a trap, nails clicking against the pavement and then stopped. The blood began to pool around her head. Thick and dark red in the failing light.
“Goddammit,” Zac said softly. He sagged down to the roadway. He sat there for some time as the sun continued to sink and the darkness came on; finally he heaved himself to his feet.
“A smart ass black boy,” he said to himself. “Now how many of them am I likely to find?”
He staggered over to the SUV, glancing briefly at Amanda as he went by. The pool of blood was enormous, and the ants were already on her. He shook off the cold chill that ran down his spine, levered himself into the drivers seat of the SUV and started it up.
The back door was still open but slammed shut when it bounced off one of the couches as Zac took off down the road.
“A smart ass black boy,” he told himself again. “Now we'll see about that.”
The Mall
It happened so fast, Conner told himself later, that no one had, had any time to react. They had heard nothing. Two watches were posted, Nellie and Dustin on opposite ends of the circle. Nellie facing the highway, Dustin looking back towards the mall.
Molly had just stood up to walk over and talk to Nellie when the shot had come. The flat, loud crack of a high powered rifle. Conner's head spun hard as it automatically turned at the sound and tried to duck at the same time: He saw Nellie falling and falling, and it seemed as though there were a fog around her head for a second and then it was gone, and in the silence he could hear blood pattering to the pavement.
Molly screamed and started to run, but Aaron tackled her to the ground. Chloe and Adam were up, machine pistols in their hands, crouched low, running for that side of the circle. Conner, Josh and Dustin ran behind them, crouched over as they ran for the truck where Nellie lay on the ground.
Conner made the truck, peered up over the fender, and the man was in plain sight. A fat Biker looking type standing next to an SUV pulled down onto the side of the highway.
The man began to raise his rifle once more when all four of them opened up on him. He dropped instantly, but no one stopped firing. The machine pistols chewed holes through the thin sheet metal of the SUV, blew the windows out and flattened both tires on the side facing them.
The fire power lasted only a brief few seconds, but all of them had emptied their clips. They had all shot a second clip home before they had stopped to even draw a breath, but the momentum had ceased, and they all stood silently a moment longer, their eyes moving over the biker where he lay beside the truck.
Conner forced himself to look over at Nellie. The back of her head was gone. Her eyes were open and clear, as if she could see him, as if she were looking back at him. “He's dead,” he said to Aaron.
Molly fought her way free, scratching and biting, and ran to Nellie. She stopped just short of her, looked down at her for a moment, and then collapsed next to her sobbing. She pulled her toward her and tried to cradle her head, but looked down at the blood and gore that covered her hands as they slipped off her body.
Her own machine pistol hung at her side. She jerked it up quickly and fumbled with the safety.
“Molly,” Conner said in a loud startled voice.
The tears flooded from her eyes. “Fucker killed me too,” she whispered.
“Molly,” Conner said again. He started for her.
“This whole world is so crazy,” Molly said. She finally got the safety off. It seemed like minutes to Conner as he replayed it later, but it was only a split second from the time she had wrenched the pistol free to where she had thumbed
off the safety.
He had thought... She means to make sure Nellie doesn't come back. Hard, but necessary. But Nellie wasn't going to come back. That was clear. His feet were moving. Carrying him toward her. Her eyes lifted and met his own briefly, and something there told him a different story, and he knew, but knowing did him no good. It didn't speed his feet, or help the words from his mouth any faster.
Molly bought the barrel up, pulled the strap from her shoulder and just as quickly reversed the barrel, putting it in her mouth. She looked at Conner once more. Blinked.
“Jesus Christ, Molly!” Conner screamed.
She pulled the trigger.
The Nation
Katie's Journal
I've been too busy the last few days to sit down and write. This whole place has a pretty empty feeling. Conner, Aaron, Annie, Dustin, Molly and Nellie are gone into the great out there. And almost everyone else has gone to the lake fishing. The lake is out in the valley to the north. Quite a way, and it's really more of an expedition. We heard from them by radio. They are fishing the lake empty.
We also heard from two more groups that are on their way in. Both will be here tomorrow, and so I guess the empty feeling won't last long. And, one group is bringing Annie back to us. We were pretty worried about that until Annie explained it. Sandy is already worried about a woman they are bringing in. She lost her arm to a zombie. I talked to James about that, and Annie. It seems like any real concern is past, but James wants her off by herself and watched. Quarantined really. I was not surprised that Sandy agreed with him. The rest of us talked about it. We don't know what to make of it.
I wish we had heard from the others, but at least we got some information from Annie. Being honest here, it didn't make me feel any better. And the three of us, Aim, Lilly and I talked it over. It doesn't make any of us feel better. James was quiet. But James is always quiet. He'll think it over and come out with what he really feels in a few days. I guess we all will. It's scary.
It will be awhile before we see the others again. And my big news, which everyone knows except Conner and the others who went, will have to remain unshared for now. I'm having twins. Two little devils inside of me. That's why, Sandy says, I'm getting so big so fast.
Conner will be so happy. It's funny, I've never felt that confidant about a man before to say something like that. But he will be happy. I know he will. I don't have any doubt about it at all.
Me, Aim and Lilly are cooking meals since there are so few of us here. I'm kind of lonely but pretty happy despite that. At odds, I know. I don't mean I'm happy to be lonely. I guess I am missing my man even with the happiness, and more than a little worried about what they are facing out there.
When Annie gets back, probably tomorrow some time, and Molly, who knows when, there will be six of us. Six of us! I only mean those of us that are close. We came here from Watertown together. But I don't mean that is all of us that are pregnant. Counting in my head, without really knowing them all, I come up with fifteen of us total. That is a lot of pregnant power! Molly's baby will be so beautiful... A little her, a little Aaron. Aim's too... They will be like siblings, really. It will be so cool.
I will try to write more often. This is for you. I love you, Babies.
God please take care of our loved ones. And thank you for Lilly who keeps reminding me about you.
The Dead
Amanda came awake in the road. The heat was gone from the day, and the coldness from the roadway seemed to be seeping into her body. She was cold, so cold, but her head felt better. It was strangely light, and she wondered what had been wrong with it before. The thought wouldn't hold, obviously it wasn't important. It didn't hurt any longer, and so it couldn't be all that important.
She lay quietly and listened to the absolute silence of the night. No sounds came to her ears at all. It was eerie, she decided, and unnerving. Too quiet, her mind added. She started to become concerned, but her mind shifted away from it quickly and began to wonder about what had happened.
It was a blank at first. An argument... She repeated it, as though repeating it would make the information come... An argument... Sometimes, when she got really stoned, it was the only way she could think. Slow it down and repeat it until it finally came. An argument... Was she still stoned now, she asked herself?
She didn't think so. She didn't feel she was, she just couldn't get the information to come. Maybe it didn't matter, she decided, and that was when it came. Zac... Zac had broken her jaw... No... It had felt like Zac had broken her jaw... It must not be because... Something touched her nose.
She started to hold her breath and that was when she realized her breath was not there to hold. She had no breath at all. And her eyes were closed. Did they need to be open? Hadn't they been open?
She didn't know. And, sonofabitch, they would not open, and that didn't matter because she wasn't breathing... Not Breathing! She screamed inside her head. Something touched her nose again, moved up and her eyelids were pulled apart by rough fingers. A red film seemed to make everything look weirdly distorted. A face, inches away... Eyes glowing red in the black night. The eyes studied her, and as they did her vision had begun to clear.
~
She was squatted before her, her feet flat on the roadway. Her body bare, breasts mere suggestions on her bony frame. Hands dangling between her thighs. Face angled down at her. Her lips pulled back from her yellowed teeth. The skin on the face was stretched tight, part of one cheekbone poked through the flesh, yellow bone bathed in blue moonlight gleamed. Her thick black hair hung over her forehead, stirred on a breeze that worked its way across the roadway, her thin, skeletal hand came up and pushed the hair away.
She had come upon the others about to take her. They had already begun, one arm gnawed, the hand missing. She had needed to say nothing. The army of the dead behind her filled the roadway and back into the trees. Those before her had let the woman go and run. They had run because she had allowed them to run.
She had looked down at the woman, studied her, and wondered why she had not known about her, scented her and the other dead on the air. No answer, except, sometimes it was that way. Sometimes, most times, she knew all there was to know. Others, like this time, she simply didn't.
Tosh continued to work at the mass of dried blood that covered the woman's eyes, sealing them shut. The woman moved slightly, a buzzing coming from her throat, and then her eyes opened.
~
Amanda tried to scream, but she could pull no air. A buzzing came from her vocal chords instead. Angry bees disturbed in the hive. The woman leaning over her opened her mouth.
“Come,” the woman said in a rusty voice, not much more than a croak. Her fingers reached out, swiped away some more of the dried blood from Amanda's eyes. They opened slightly wider. “Come,” she said again.
On The Road
Adam looked over Nellie and Molly's bodies. He turned to Conner and nodded. “They're all right. They wont come back,” he said quietly. He helped Aaron to roll them into a tarp.
Darkness had come down full. They could hear the zombies in the pit, excited by the fire, the smell of blood, what ever else excited zombies, Conner thought. They moaned and scrabbled against the steep embankment trying to get out. They settled in to watch through the night. Over on the side of the highway the SUV burst into flames and burned through the night.
SEVEN
Tremont
September 20th
Her eyes blinked rapidly, she drew a deep gasping breath and then came fully awake. Alice stared around the ravine at the gray light that was beginning to paint color back into the world. Rock, sand and water. Moss on some rocks. She puzzled the information over and over again in her head. Rocks and water... Rocks, water, moss, sand, rocks... Moss, water... The realization of where she was come to her as she remembered the events of the day before. She rose to her scraped and blood crusted elbows and then to a sitting position. Her back felt sprung, maybe it would hurt more later, but for now s
he could deal with it. Her heartbeat seemed a little odd. Too slow, something, but it wasn't skipping beats or anything so she dismissed that too. She sat, shaky, and let her mind come more fully back to herself before she raised her head and took in her surroundings more fully.
Hypothermia, her mind said, and she was cold, very cold, there was no heat in the ground down here. That could explain the heart beat seeming to be too slow, hypothermia did that. Her mind seemed determined to keep up a dialogue with her as she studied first one side and then the other side of the ravine.
Her eyes slipped over a dirty bundle of rags where they lay half in half out of the water and continued on before she realized they were no bundle of rags, got to her feet and stumbled the thirty feet or so to where Ronnie lay, half in, half out of the water.
Her fingers, stiff though they were, felt at his neck for a pulse. He moved as she jabbed her stiff fingers into his neck.
“Jesus... Jesus, Alice... That hurts. That hurts,” Ronnie said. His words started out mumbled but grew a little stronger as he spoke. “So damn cold,” Ronnie finished. His lips were blue tinged and he was cold to the touch.
“I know, Baby, I know. I have to get you out of this water. Going to move you,” she told him as she made her own feet, fought the dizziness that threatened to down her, and bent once more, wrapping her arms around his upper chest and dragged him backwards. Ronnie called out a second later and then lapsed back into unconsciousness once more. Alice struggled to pull him back farther away from the water and then let him go, sinking to the ground herself and breathing hard. A few minutes later she had caught her own breath and was checking herself over for injuries. Obviously, she told herself, they had both tumbled down the ravine. Him first, her as she tried to follow.
One side of her face was a ruin of scrapes and crusted blood. Her mouth was numb on that side, but that had been the side against the ground so that was no real surprise. She flexed her jaw experimentally and it seemed to work fine. One knee ached, but did not seem to be swollen. Her tailbone hurt, no way to check it now, but she assumed it was most likely black and blue. Right ankle hurt a little: Could have been the way she slept on it too. No way to know, but it was also not swollen. Bruised, a little battered, but no big deal. She needed warmth and she would be fine. She turned her attention to Ronnie.
Earth's Survivors: box set Page 89
