The Outbreak Series (Book 2): Outbreak The Living

by Deausha Kristal

  “This isn’t good,” I say, jumping out of the truck. “They are closer to us than last night.” Hank comes out and walks to the front of the truck.

  “How much closer do you think they are, Sal?" Hank asks.

  “I’d say a mile maybe, not much more than that, but there looks to be more of them,” he says.

  We watch them for twenty minutes and then decide to pack it up and go home. As we make the drive home, no one really talks. We are all caught up in our own thoughts. Sal turns on our road and we stop at the gate. Watching it come open, I know we will have to reinforce all this to keep them all out. And I still don’t know if that will be enough.

  “Let’s keep what we saw to ourselves until the meeting tonight. We can meet up after dinner and discuss everything then. I’ll be in my office. I have some things to go over and get all the new people set in their own place.” Looking at the guys, they nod and we all get out. Hank goes into the back yard to start what he needs to get done. Sal walks over to me so I stop.

  “Egypt, I’d like to keep the RV I’m in now. If you can please put Sally and Tara in another one," he says. Looking at him, I think it’s best for now not to ask too many questions.

  “OK, Sal if that’s what you want,” I say to him.

  “Thanks, Egypt, see ya later,” he says. I leave him in the front yard and head into the house. Zach and Chris are sleeping in the living room, I keep walking into the dining room to I let my mom know where I will be and start to go down the hall. Once in my bedroom, I open the door to my office and go in. There is so much to do and little time to do it. First, I have to get everyone into an RV, after doing that we have two RVs left. I ended up putting Chris and Zack by my aunt so they can keep an eye on them.

  I have about an hour before dinner to come up with a plan about the zombies and fence. With what we have coming at us, I think we need to hit an armory. That is going to be our only chance, and reinforcing the fence. Putting the papers on my desk. I leave my office and go to my patio and sit with my dogs for a while. I wonder where Mack and the boys went. He never did say. I do find it weird those three going, but what do I know. The dogs are running around being silly, so I just recline back and watch them.

  Hearing the dinner bell, I must have napped a little bit. Getting up, I go into the bathroom and splash water on my face. Feeling more awake, I head to the dining room. It smells amazing. Everyone is laughing and happy. Leaning up against the wall I watch everyone. I am glad that everyone is happy, I really am. I think it is because most do not have a clue of what we are facing.

  I see Mack and the boys come in and get in line for the food. Mack looks over and smiles. Nodding and smiling back, I make my way over to the food. Hank comes and stands with me looking grim.

  “We having that meeting after dinner?” he asks.

  “Yes, I think it the smart thing to do.” Looking over at the line behind us, we are the last to go through. Grabbing a plate, I help myself to all the food. It all looks amazing. There is fried chicken and mashed potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, and salads. I can’t take everything, so I settle for the chicken, mashed potatoes, and a salad. Walking outside, Mack has saved me a place to sit down. Sitting down, he grabs my hand under the table.

  “How was your run? Get what you need?" I ask, starting on my salad. Chewing, I look over at him and he’s got this crazy grin on his face.

  “Yep, and then some. We got more supplies for everyone. Tabby will have a new list for you tonight. What did you find out about the zombies?" he asks.

  “Nothing good. We do have a meeting after dinner,” I say taking a bite of my chicken. Nodding his head, he starts talking to Todd as he sits down beside him. Sal walks over and sits down. Looking up, our eyes meet. I know he is thinking the same thing as I am. Mack stiffens a little beside me. I wonder what that is all about. Gabby comes by with peach pie. It is one of my favorites. Walking in the kitchen, I make two cups of coffee. Mom and Aunt Nancy are eating at the table with Tabby and John.

  “Dinner was great you guys. Thank you.” Hugging Mom, I walk out the glass doors, heading over to Mack I hand him a coffee and sit back down. He smiles over at me and continues to talk to Todd. Looking over, I see all the boys sitting together. Zack looks over at me, giving me a small smile. Getting up, I head over that way. The boys are laughing and having a good time. Smiling, I shake my head.

  “Hey Mom, what’s up?” Liam asks.

  “Not too much, babe, you like dinner?”

  “Yep, it was great,” he answers.

  Looking over at Zach and Chris, they look better. Still have cuts and bruises. All will heal with time.

  “Hey, Zach, how you doing?”

  “I’m OK, Miss Egypt, I’m sore, but that will go away,” he mumbles.

  “I’m good too, Egypt. Nate tells us you will give us something to do every day,” Chris says.

  “That’s right, but I’ll give you a few days to heal up and get used to the things here.” Smiling at the boys, I walk out further into the yard. It’s nice to be able to just walk around and not worry about the zombies. I head over to the fire pit and sit down on a log. The dogs come running up and jump all over me. Lying on the ground, I let the dogs jump all over me. I really did miss these little guys. Hearing footsteps behind me, I look up and it’s Sal.

  Sitting up, I look over to where he sits down.

  “What’s up Sal?” Looking over at him, he seems like he’s got a lot on his mind.

  “Did I miss the chance with you and me?” he asks.

  “Sal are you serious? You know that you did. I’m happy with Mack I really am.”

  “I just had to ask, Egypt. I miss our closeness that we had,” he murmurs.

  “Sal, you lost that right when you decided to go after a stranger, and you know it.” Getting up, I wipe off the grass and dirt that got on me. Not saying anything else, I walk back towards the others. Looking over to the table, I see Mack watching me. It looks like he was going to get up, but Pete stops him. I feel a hand wrap around my arm and it stops me. Whirling around its Sal

  “Sal, let go of my arm NOW!” I say angrily.

  “No, Egypt, you know we are good together.” I see Nate walk over and I try to stop this before it starts.

  “Just stop, Sal! It’s over and you know it,” I say.

  “You better let go of my mother, you asshole!” Nate demands.

  “Oh, what are you going to?” Sal starts to say but doesn’t get to finish Nate grabs him by the arm and pulls him away from me. I stumble backward and fall on my ass. Shit! This isn’t going to be good. Sal gets right in Nate’s face and starts to yell.

  “Little boy, what are you going to do stop me?” Sal yells.

  Nate doesn’t say anything and suddenly his fist flies. He punches Sal right in the mouth. By now they are both on the ground and fists are flying.

  “STOP!” I scream. I try grabbing Sal’s arm, but get thrown back and land hard on the ground. I see the others running over to us, and the look in Pete’s and Mack’s eyes are like ice. It goes on for a few more minutes and I don’t know why no one is stopping it. Nate is on top of Sal beating the crap out of him. Finally, Pete grabs Sal and Mack is holding back Nate. Nate’s still trying to get to Sal. I step in the middle of them.

  “Stop Nate! It’s over,” I ordered.

  “You ever go near my mom again, Sal. I will kill you,” Nate hissed. Sal doesn’t say anything and Pete takes him over to his RV. Running my hands down my face, I look over to Mack. He shakes his head.

  “Egypt, why don’t you go back up on the deck,” Mack mumbled.

  Looking at Nate, he’s got blood down the front of him. Looking away, I head up on the deck where Hank and my mom are standing. My mom comes over to me wanting to hug me. Wrapping my arms around her, I lean my head on her shoulder. I wish I can tell my mom everything that happened while I was away. I just cannot tell her all that horrible stuff. She has got enough stuff going on. Looking up at Hank, he just grins and
nods his head at me. Letting go of my mom, I head over and sit down. Gabby brings me a pop. Opening it, I look back out at Mack and Nate. They are talking and the both have grins on their faces. Mack walks him over to a table and Tabby joins them with a med kit. My son defended me, and he was holding his own. Can a mother ask for anything more? He would have made a great Marine, he has the cockiness down pat.

  Chapter 22

  Looking over at Hank, he seems to be watching everything going on. Looking out into the yard, the boys are all back together again. Laughing and talking. Punching Nate on the shoulder, Mack is sitting there listening to them and smiling. He looks up at me and smiles. Well, it is starting to get dark, I guess it’s time to have the meeting.

  “Hank, want to tell everyone it’s time for the meeting. That way we can have time afterward to do whatever.”

  “Sure can, Egypt. Where we having it?” he asks.

  “Who’s in the command center keeping watch?”

  “That would be Jim tonight,” he answers.

  “OK, let’s have it there. I’m going to run to my office first," I say walking into the house. My mom asks if I’m OK and I tell her I am. Looking into the living room, all the kids are watching a movie. I think it is Finding Nemo. I used to watch that with my boys ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.’ Grinning to myself, I head to my office. The main bathroom is open for a change. All the other doors are closed even mine. Opening it up, I see candles and flowers all over the place. Shutting the door, I slowly move to the center of the room, turning around in a circle they are everywhere. This had to be Mack. Walking over to the bed there is a box of chocolates and a note. Sitting down I unfold it and read it. ‘Tonight’ that’s all that’s on it.

  Shaking my head, I put the note back and head to the office. Turning on the light, I walk over to the desk and grab my papers, also making sure I have my pen. I turn off the light and head out. This is not a happy meeting. There is tons to do before winter gets here and we need to talk about it all. Making my way out into the hallway, I shut my door and head back the way I came. Stopping in the kitchen, I give my aunt a hug and head to the meeting. Everyone is there, including Liam and Nate. This is a first, but we will need all the help we can get. Sal is here and Pete’s sitting next to him. He is another problem we are going to have to watch. I really do not know what to do with him at this point.

  Walking over to the loveseat, I sit down next to Mack. He already has a pop waiting for me. I smile over at him. He just winks and chuckles.

  “OK, we have a lot to talk about, so we need to get started. What we say in here stays in here. At this point, I don’t think there’s a need to worry everyone.” Looking around the room everyone has the same grim face.

  “Well, first off we need to talk about the zombies. I do feel they are coming this way. And we are in trouble. I don’t think those fences will hold up to thousands of zombies pushing against them. So we need to reinforce all the walls on all sides.” I look around the room and everyone starts talking at once. I sit back and listen to what everyone is saying. Finally, it quiets down so I take that opportunity to jump in.

  “Any suggestions on how we can do that?”

  “We can add to the fences with thicker poles and metal sheeting,” Sal says.

  “OK, where are we going to get it and how long will it take to do this? You've seen the horde we’re up against.”

  “Three weeks tops, and that’s with everyone helping,” he says. “We can go to the steel yard and get what we need."

  Shaking my head, I look around the room, my eyes land on Hank.

  “OK Sal, you will have four guys to go with you. I will need at least four to go with me,” I say looking at Sal.

  “What are you thinking, Egypt?” asks Hank.

  “We need to hit the armory and get all that we can. We’re going to need it.”

  "I think that’s an excellent idea, Egypt,” Hank says smiling.

  I let everyone talk amongst themselves and just listen. There’s a lot to be done and not a lot of time to do it.

  “Hank, with what you saw, how long do you think until the zombies are on us?” I ask.

  “I’d say we have a month to do everything and then we need to behind these walls and wait it out,” he says.

  “We also have to consider the things we have to do to be ready for winter. I think tomorrow morning we need to have the whole family together for a family meeting. It’s going to take everyone to get all this done.”

  "I agree, it’s going to be a lot of work in the weeks ahead,” Hank says.

  “Sal, your team is Todd, Jim, Don, and Gary. You all right with that?”

  “Yep, sure am. When we heading out?” he asks.

  “You can go out after the meeting in the morning if you want to. That is if you guys can come up with a plan. Run it by me tonight if you can.”

  “Yep, will do,” he says as he’s heading out the door. Watching him leave I know he’s going out to find the guys and get to planning, looking at the others.

  "I’ll take Mack, Hank, Pete, and Liam. Nate, you OK staying here and running things?” I ask.

  “You bet, Mom. I’ll have Chris and Zack help me with some of the things if that’s OK?” he asks.

  “You’re in charge, so you make the decisions.” Looking over at him he has a black eye starting to form as well as a cut on his bottom lip. Shaking my head, I dismiss everyone and stay where I am at as everyone leaves. I tell Nate to let Chris, Zack and Sally know where they will be staying. With that off the list, it frees me up for the night. Stopping Pete “Hey can you check on Tabby, see how she’s doing? Let me know?” I ask him as he’s making his way to the kitchen door.

  “You bet, Egypt,” he says. With that, he heads into the house and it’s just Mack and me in the room.

  “I’ve got a few things to do before bed this evening. Meet you in our room in a few hours?” he asks grinning. Wrapping my arms around him, I lean in for a kiss. He doesn’t disappoint either. After what seems like ten minutes we lean apart.

  “I’ll be in my office. See ya later,” I say getting up to head to the house. I hear Mack laughing behind me as the door shuts. Mom and Aunt Nancy are in the kitchen. It looks like they are planning dinners for the next week. Walking over to them, I sit down and wait until they are finished.

  “Hey, can you guys get me a copy of the goods that we have, and if we’re getting low on anything. We will be going out a lot these next few weeks and we need to be really stocked. I know we're not hurting for anything, but just being safe. It’s going to be a long and cold winter.”

  “Yes, we can do that. We can have it ready for you in a few days if that’s OK?” Aunt Nancy asks.

  “Yep, that fine,” I tell them both I love them and head to my bedroom. The dogs are running around my feet as we make our way to the door. Opening it up, I get a huge wash of warm air that smells like wildflowers and clean cotton. Shutting the door behind me, I don’t need to turn the lights on because of all the candles that are burning. I love the feel of no lights on and just candles. Opening the patio door, the dogs run out. I leave it open and head to the office. Going to my desk, I start getting the stuff done that needs to be done. There is a knock on the office door; looking up its Hank.

  “Come on in, Hank.” Finishing up what I was doing I look up at Hank.

  “I think you had some great ideas tonight, Egypt. Have you figured out everything?" he asks.

  Handing him the papers, he sits back and starts looking over them. Getting up, going to my bedroom, I make both of us a cup of hot tea. Walking back in, I hand him a cup and go sit at my desk. Looking at the clock it’s already 9 pm. I’ve been in the office a little over two hours. Hank hands me the papers back and takes a drink of his blueberry tea.

  “I think it all looks good. So you planning on going to the armory the day after tomorrow? We going to leave first thing in the morning?" he asks.

  “Yeah, I think that will be best. Right before dawn
that way we have all day if we need it.”

  “OK, Egypt, I’m heading to bed. I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast and then the meeting. Hey, maybe we can make a run to the orchards to get some apples and have the ladies can them? We have tons of canning things left over from the garden,” he says.

  “Yeah, I don’t see why not. Maybe we can take the older kids with us.”

  “OK, see you in the morning,” Hank says shutting the door behind him. I hear their door open and close. There is another knock on the door and this time it is Sal. I really don’t want to be with him alone, but I need to know what is going on.

  “Hey, after the meeting we’re going to head out and start getting the supplies. The sooner we get it, the faster we can build it,” he says.

  “OK, thanks for letting me know. I’ll see you at the meeting in the morning,” I say, hoping he will take the hint and leave. But what guy ever gets it.

  “Egypt, I’m sorry about the fight with Nate,” he starts to say, but I don’t let him finish.

  “Just stop, Sal. If you ever raise a hand to one of my kids, I’ll shoot you.” I shut the door in his face and walk into my bedroom. I need a shower. Grabbing some clothes, I head into the bathroom and turn the shower on. Taking off my clothes, I step in and wash my hair and do all the things I need to. Not wanting to stay in, I hurry up and dry off. Brushing my hair, I leave it down to dry. Taking my dirty clothes, I throw them in the hamper. I walk over to the patio door and decide to go sit outside for a while. I love the sounds of the fountain. The dogs run over and jump up to sit with me.

  Leaning my head back, I just relax and listen to the sounds around me. I hear the kids screaming and playing before they have to go to bed. The soothing sound of the water hitting the other tiers and making its way down the fountain is relaxing. The fire in the back yard is crackling and hissing. The people around it are talking softly. I hear the shower in my room turn on and smile. Mack is here. Lifting my head, I watch the dogs for a while. Mack comes out with his hair all wet and in only a pair of boxers. Now that’s sexy as hell. He is carrying something in his hand. He sits down next to me with that sexy grin.