The thought of Abby being awake reinvigorated me. We weren’t going to be going anywhere until the weather cleared, so I was going to enjoy as much downtime as possible with my family.
Chapter 8
Abbigail Norrington
I woke up groggy and in the dark. Everything was sore from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. It felt like I was run over by a tank. Looking around, I noticed I was in one of the make-shift hospital rooms down in the surgical suites, and I instantly remembered why I was here.
I reached for my swollen belly, but it was significantly smaller than I remembered, and my abdomen hurt like hell. I tried to sit up, but the pain was so intense I saw bright spots of white light behind my eyes. Not a good idea. No sitting up for me just yet. Lilly, our dog, jumped up trying to lick my hand at the edge of the bed.
I called out, “Hello? Is anyone there?”
Doc Bakers rushed into the room, whipping her stethoscope around and plugging it into her ears. “Abby! You’re awake. Don’t try and move around just yet. Let me get your vitals first. I want to be sure you’re really in the clear. We don’t need you slipping into a coma on us again. Who let the dog in here? This is supposed to be a clean room.”
“Lilly is fine where she is, she’s family too. And what do you mean by a coma? How long was I out? Are the babies okay?” I asked, feeling an overwhelming sensation of anxiety sweep through my body.
“Don’t worry, Abby. It’s only been two days, and yes, the girls are doing wonderfully,” she smiled.
“Two days? What happened?”
“Well, as far as I can tell, the stress of the birth put too much pressure on your brain, causing you to slip into a coma. You were unresponsive to any stimulation or pain, even when we stabilized your oxygen and heart rate levels. That doesn’t matter now, you’re back with us, and you get to meet your beautiful daughters. Your vitals are good, but you need to take it easy. Let me get Chris in here with the girls. He’s barely left their sides since they were born. Oh, and he went out and got some help, so there are two new doctors for you to meet.”
“Sheesh, I’m glad nothing important happened while I was out,” I chuckled painfully.
Chris walked in with Christine, Tyler, and two new people I hadn’t met yet. Chris and Tyler were each holding one of the girls, and I immediately began crying. I wished so badly at that moment that Allycia and Lance could be here with us to share this moment. I had lost two children and birthed two children within the last year. Life was undeniably cruel.
I couldn’t think about that now though, I have two newborns to take care of, so I wiped my tears away and reached out for Chris and Tyler to let me hold them. With one in each arm, I felt a sudden calm wash over me like I knew everything was going to be okay. The girls smiled up at me as they fussed and wiggled in my arms. I felt so connected to these babies. It was a bond I had never felt before, not even with my other children.
“Did anyone name them yet? I see the tags on their arms only say ‘A’ and ‘B,’”
Chris chuckled. “No, we didn’t name them yet. We were waiting for you to wake up.”
“I think we should name them after our mothers. You know, keep a little bit of the past alive,” I said, looking at my daughters fondly.
Chris laughed again, “My mother’s name was Elouise, don’t you think that’s a bit of an old lady’s name?”
“Sure, but we can call her Ella for short, and don’t try and tell me Kasey is an old lady name,” I smiled.
Tyler sat down on the bed next to me. Lilly jumped into his lap looking for attention since the new babies were getting all of it. “So, Ella and Kasey it is. They’re perfect names, Mom. Right, Lilly? You like those names too, don’t ya, girl?” Tyler smiled as he held the dog like she was a baby.
Chris introduced me to Dr. Emily Nasser and Dr. Lynn Madison. We all chatted about old times, and they shared their own stories of birthing babies before the apocalypse. It was nice to be able to forget the world outside was dying all around us. Even if it was just for a little while.
Dr. Nasser and Dr. Madison needed to get back to their community now that some massive storm I missed while I was unconscious was over. Chris didn’t want to leave my side, so Jimmy and Kamil were going to go with them to be their escorts, they were also bringing Troy as well to meet up with Dr. Stuart Dodges.
I was surprised to hear Stuart’s name, but I was glad to hear him, and a few of the decent men and women from Brigantine’s house of horrors made it out safely and were integrating well with the Wawayanda group. Troy was bringing his research to Stuart to see if they could come up with some kind of solution to the Perdition Virus. Apparently, Troy had some sort of breakthrough recently with the idea of using the shells we recovered from the bunker Peter led us to.
Troy figured out a way to use the nerve agent delivery system to disperse the antivirus serum he had made previously. This meant that we wouldn’t have to spray each of the undead, we could just load it onto the bombs and deploy them into the atmosphere. Now we just needed a way to get a large number of the infected corralled into one area.
With Troy working on the solution to the already infected, Stuart was working on an antiviral that would stop the transmission of the Perdition Virus altogether. Hopefully, with these two men working together, we were going to be able to stop this mess and make the world one where the living could not only survive but thrive again.
Chuck, my old friend who saved me from a group of degenerates, and Barry, our resident Police Lieutenant, turned Security Commander for our little band of misfits, were already at the bunker where Brigantine’s weapons were housed, and they were going to do their best to ready the shells with Troy’s zombie-killing serum.
It sounded like we were finally on the road to finding a workable solution to this entire mess.
Chapter 9
Kamil Dunbar
It was going to be a beautiful spring day. Jimmy and I were taking Dr. Nasser and Dr. Madison back to the Wawayanda compound with Troy so he could review his findings on the Perdition Virus with the doctor they had staying with them. I was hoping it would be an uneventful trip since I hadn’t been outside of the walls of our home for quite some time. I experienced plenty of what this new world had to offer the living before Abby found me and brought me here.
We had the quads gassed up and ready to go before the sun was up. Dr. Nasser and Dr. Madison were understandably excited to get on the road and get back to their people, so we weren’t wasting any time. The recent stormy weather we had made it difficult to travel, so I was thankful for the quads to get us where we needed to go.
Even with all of the mud and debris strew everywhere from the storm, it was a fairly decent ride until we hit Route 284. There was a mudslide that left staying on stable concrete incredibly tricky, if not virtually impossible. Dr. Nasser’s vehicle got stuck in the mud, so we had to stop and help push her out.
Jimmy took watch so we wouldn’t be ambushed by the undead while we were working, and I was just about finished getting Dr. Nasser on her way when I heard Jimmy yell from behind me, “The dead are coming. We have to go now!”
Everyone rushed back to their vehicles as I helped Dr. Nasser get onto hers. Everyone sped away as I jumped on my quad and realized that I was now stuck. I needed to get away from the group of infected heading in my direction, and quickly. There were at least a hundred of them heading right for me, too many to shoot or fight my way through, so I ran into the thick, dense woods hoping they would pass by rather quickly, and I could meet up with everyone else.
I found out promptly that wasn’t going to be the case. As I tried to hide in the trees, I found there were more infected in the woods than I had initially thought. They were everywhere. My only option was to run, and my only direction was whatever way the zombies weren’t coming from. My route was out of my control, but I tried to remember which way I was running to be able to make it back to my group as soon as possible.
I ran for w
hat seemed like forever, and I had seen more infected now than I had in the last few months. It reminded me of the time when Dana and I were on the road by ourselves before Abby came along. I had wanted to forget that time because of how horribly painful it was to remember everything Dana and I had been through. Especially since losing her after we had finally found the safe haven of Abby’s cabin.
My legs were tiring quickly, but I finally found a small house in which I thought I could take refuge from the infected. The doors and windows were all locked. I used some of the items strewn around the property to create makeshift steps so I could climb up to the roof. There were windows up there that I was hoping were unlocked so I could get inside and wait out the mini horde.
The house was far from stable, so I made my way slowly and carefully across the shingles to the first window I saw. Luckily it was unlocked. I slid the window open, stepped inside and was greeted by the foulest smell I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing. It smelled like cat urine was soaked into every inch of the inside of this home.
I located the reason for the smell rather quickly. There were cats everywhere. Every dresser, every table, every surface had its own cat or multiple cats sitting on it. I used my shirt, covering my nose, to hopefully thwart the smell to no avail.
The cats seemed friendly enough, though. A bunch of them came up to me and rubbed their bodies along my legs while I walked through the room as quietly as I possibly could. I heard a creek from downstairs and decided to lock the door. If I could manage it, I needed to avoid a confrontation with either the owner of this home or any undead that were trapped here. Any noise from me fighting with anything or anyone would bring the horde outside closer, ruining my chances of getting out of here any time soon.
I watched out the window as hundreds of the undead filled the lawn around the property, bumping into one another, wandering around aimlessly. Thanks to the shambling creatures, I was now trapped with these felines and either something or someone else inside the confines of this tiny house in the middle of nowhere.
I found a chair in the corner of the room, brushed away the three kittens that were using it as a bed, and pulled it over to the window so I could watch for when the infected cleared, and I could leave my rank smelling prison. I sat waiting for quite some time before there was a knock at the door. The knock was followed by the soft voice of an old woman. “Who’s in there? Are you being nice to my kitties?”
I replied without opening the door. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean to barge in uninvited, but unfortunately, the infected outside gave me no option. I’m just waiting for them to clear out. As soon as they do, I’ll leave you and your kitties just as you were. I promise you I won’t cause any trouble, and I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I can.”
“Oh, well... you’re going to be here a while, sweetie. Why don’t you come out then and have some tea with me? I don’t think the rotters will be leaving anytime soon. They normally hang around for at least a day or two when they show up if my past experience is anything to bet on. Plus, I haven’t seen another friendly face in quite some time that didn’t have whiskers and a cute little button nose. I’m all alone, so I mean you no ill will. Please come out and say hello,” she said sweetly through the closed door.
I thought about it for a few seconds. What could one little old lady possibly do to me? She had to be alone; there’s no way anyone else would be able to survive for very long with the air this heavy with the smell of ammonia. I’m surprised she even lasted this long. “I’m coming out, ma’am. I’m armed, but I don’t have my gun in my hand, and I don’t want any trouble.”
“Oh, there will be no trouble at all from me, young man. You don’t need your guns against a little old lady and her kitties,” she laughed through the wooden door.
I opened the door a small crack to confirm she was by herself before I opened it all the way to greet this sweet, adorable, elderly woman. “My name’s Kamil. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting this fine day?”
She smiled up at me. “I’m Tabatha Gendry. And I’d give you the names of all of my kitties, but I must apologize that my memory is not what it used to be, and I cannot remember all of them anymore. I apologize for the smell, as well. I’m not as spry as I once used to be, so it’s difficult keeping up with the litterboxes. Especially when the rotters are out and about. I won’t let my kitties outside when they are out there.”
Thankfully the air in the hallway was much fresher than what it was in the bedroom I had just exited. It appears the room I chose to enter through was one that was not well-maintained when it came to the cats using it as a bathroom. The rest of the house was reasonably tidy, well as tidy as it could be with the dozens upon dozens of cats who also called it home.
She led me downstairs to a kitchen area. I noticed that all of the windows were boarded up from the inside of the house rather tightly. All but one door we passed was also boarded up with nails or screws. I had to keep that in mind if we needed to make a quick exit since there was only the one way I saw that lead outside.
“Have a seat, Kamil.”
“Thank you. So, how long have you been out here all by yourself?” I asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table as instructed.
“Oh, I’ve been here ever since Harry, and I got married. I was so young back then, eighteen years old and in love. Those were the days,” she said, pouring water from a jug into a tea kettle and turning the stove on.
“Harry?” I asked.
“Yes, my late husband. We were together for fifty-four years, Harry and I. He only recently passed,” she replied, making the sign of the cross and kissing her wedding ring.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Tabitha.”
“He was old, and the rotters are much stronger than he or I. It’s the way the world works now, though. He died saving my kitties though, so he didn’t die in vain.”
Tabitha didn’t seem to have all of her wits about her, but at seventy-two, she appeared to be doing all right for herself.
“It sounds like you had yourself a good man there.”
“He was the most loyal husband any woman could ever ask for, but he was nowhere near as strong and handsome as you. So, how did you come to be out here all alone?” she asked, smiling.
That smile made me uncomfortable. Not just because of Tabitha’s yellowing teeth, but because of the way she looked at me while she did it. Tabitha just gave me an odd feeling. Like I was in trouble with her in some way. I shook it off. I was in a new place with a new person, so it was probably just the jitters of not knowing where my friends were and being unfamiliar with my surroundings.
“I was with a group of people on our way to another camp. We got separated by the rotters as you call them. I bet they’re looking for me as we speak.”
“Agh, good to hear there are more people alive out there. Do you want sugar with your tea, my dear?”
“If you have it, sure. Thank you.”
Tabitha handed me a steaming cup of tea and a bowl of sugar as she sat sipping her own mug.
Tabitha smiled at me again, petting the cat that jumped into her lap. “Drink up, honey. Like I said, you’re going to be here for a while. The rotters can’t get in, but they can still hear us, so they’ll hang around for a while until they get distracted and wander off. I can make you something to eat if you want. I have plenty of beans and rice. Harry was a bit of a prepper, so we’re pretty well stocked in the cellar. It wouldn’t be any trouble. It would actually be nice to have someone to cook for.”
I smiled back. “If you’re cooking, I can definitely eat. It is lunchtime, right?”
“It sure is. You enjoy the rest of your tea. I’ll be right back then,” Tabitha said, leaving me with the cats as company.
Tabitha returned with a pot full of dried rice and a can of beans. She began cooking on the stove and chitchatting with her cats as they hovered around her feet, nuzzling her fondly. Tabitha was definitely weird company, but I was glad to have her instead of the infe
cted outside for companionship. I finished my tea as she cooked, and I began to feel extremely tired.
Tabitha looked over to me as she stirred her pots. “You’re looking a little sleepy there, dear. Maybe you should lie down and get some rest. I’ll wake you when the food is ready.”
I yawned as exhaustion took hold of me. “I think I might have to. I’m really not feeling well all of a sudden. I slept well last night; I don’t know why…”
I woke up groggy, and I was incredibly dizzy. My head felt like it weighed a ton as I tried to lift it. I slowly looked around, and I didn’t know where I was, but it was dank and damp. My mouth was dry, I was confused as I looked down to my hands and saw they were tied down at my sides to the edge of a metal cot. My feet were tied together as well, and it was challenging to move at all. I tried to speak, “Hello… Is anyone there?”
I heard meowing in the corner of the room. I looked toward where the sound came from and saw Tabatha holding a cat in her lap, petting it gently. “You were out for a lot longer than I expected. Normally the drug doesn’t last that long. I guess you really needed a nap, or I gave you too much. I never can remember exactly how much to put in the tea, and you’re much more fit than anyone else I have had for a guest as of late. You should consider yourself lucky, though. Most of the people that come to my house don’t get to wake up. My kitties and Harry are getting pretty hungry, so I can’t tell you how glad I was to have you stumble into my humble home. But you’re making this difficult for me, Kamil. You’re much more handsome than anyone I’ve come across before. You remind me of a boyfriend I had in high school. Before I met Harry, that is. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
Z-Strain (Book 3): Fallout Page 5
