“I’m alright; if Penny thinks it’s wise.” Than said.
Penny looked at him, and then down to the ground, she took a deep breath and then surprised them all with her decision.
“Well, I used to think that marriage was a contract and nothing more than that. I am entitled to my views, but I think, if I had to then I would choose no one over Than. So, I accept his marriage proposal, although it is not as romantic as I would have liked, but that’s how it is.” Penny said. Than looked really pleased with himself, and got up and then down on one knee. He took a keychain from his pocket, and asked Penny if she could stand up for a moment.
“Will you, Penny Wilhelm, to whom I owe my life and my very sanity, and a whole lot of love; marry me?” he said, a wide smile across his face.
“Yes, Than Rogers. I think that would be amazing.” she said and extended her hand forward.
Than put the key chain ring around her finger and got up and embraced her.
Then it was Jessica’s turn to speak up.
“Well, everybody knows that we have been together for a while now. I don’t really think a marriage is necessary, and I will stick to my opinion in this case. As for giving birth, Rick’s condoms have run out, so sooner or later you know.” She was surprisingly blushing.
That weekend, Penny and Than were officially married, and William actually went so far as to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate. The ceremony was followed by a dance, in dim lights, and then dinner.
“I assure you, this is the best wedding that has ever taken place in a bunker.” William said drunkenly, hand on Than’s shoulder.
“And I am glad you did and am thankful for it.” Than said.
He was wearing a dark blue suit and a black tie, while Penny was dressed in her regular clothes, a shirt and a skirt, which was rather odd, but still, she went way out of her comfort zone, and wore a little tiara made up of flowers and twigs that she and Jessica had fashioned. She looked gorgeously stunning with her blonde hair, and her gorgeous, face, and just a little make up to go with. After the ceremony, Than escorted Penny to their little space, and drew the curtains. Privacy was hard to come by, but everybody was already drunk, so they spent the night practically undisturbed.
Penny was still asleep when Than came into the room with breakfast; scrambled eggs and ham, with a bottle of beer for each and some bread. Penny got up, put her specs on and said, “Aww, you shouldn’t have!” but the wide grin on her face showed that she just thought that this was the sweetest thing in the world.
“Hush Now, Mrs. Than. This is on the house. Practically everything is.” He sat down beside her and gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Mrs. Than? Wow that makes me sound like 90 years old”, and they both laughed at this.
A week later, Bill and Trevor in the sentry room saw helicopters over the horizon. They informed William about the new development, and William took the rest of the men out into the pavilion to meet them. Thirty new additions were to be made. One helicopter came loaded with supplies for six months, and the director of the “Mommy programme” as the Bunker dwellers called him, assured them that more supplies would follow, which would include milk formula and other necessities.
The majority of the women guests who arrived were in their 6th or 7th month of pregnancy already. It was only a matter of time before they would give birth. Than couldn’t help thinking that this was some sort of a joke based on Aldous Huxley's character in his book “Brave new world”. But maybe the necessity of survival made it less sinister, and besides they had to keep an open mind about all this. The bunker did have plenty of space that was wasted on them. A total of 21 new additions were made in the bunker; 20 mothers to-be and a cook, which came to a sum total of 32, counting the initial inhabitants.
They only fully realised what they were in for when the first mom-to-be's water broke. William was called, and Than and Penny delivered the first child with a little panic, but in the end both mother and child were safe. What was surprising was that Than, being an anaesthesiologist had learnt much about deliveries at the hospital, administering anaesthesia to patients of c-section.
“I didn’t expect you to be so calm about it”, Penny said when the operation was done.
“I am a doctor after all, you know that, right?” Than said smiling at her.
This got them thinking that they would need another doctor for Penny’s baby, but that was almost 8 months away. Than talked to William about it, and he assured them that one would be arranged in her final month of pregnancy. The doctor would stay at the Bunker, courtesy of the government, and that was the least they could do.
The first two babies were delivered within the first year of the new arrivals taking up residence. After that, they had to deliver a baby almost every month. Soon enough, Penny’s time came too and, as promised, William arranged for a doctor. Thankfully, her delivery was normal and a c-section was not required. Only one case out of twenty had been taken away to a proper hospital, which William said was 500 kilometres from the bunker. Penny and the others just prayed that the mother reached the hospital safely.
The bunker now looked like a little nursery: 22 babies and mothers. William said it looked like a nursery, sounded like a children’s ward, and smelt like hell. The air-conditioning was set to maximum, and so were the exhaust and air replenishment systems. Outside however, things were no different. Three attacks were made on the door, and the security system had to be replaced. The zombies were somehow attracted to the little red light that blinked, so William installed a new system that was light-less.
According to the news, the majority of the population of the world had turned and the people living in the bunkers and shelters were the only ones safe. William said that the government had abandoned the idea of using nuclear weapons, on account of the possible ecological and environmental damage.
“They are counting on the cannibalistic tendencies of the zombies; they will start to tear at their own kind when they fail to find human flesh. When that happens, we’ll have to be on our guard and extra careful about the way we go about doing things. I think they will take a year to purge each other, and in the meanwhile, we cannot provide them with any temptation.” William told the guys in the bunker one day.
“I hope we have blanks for your shooting practise. Consequently, with the wood you guys could bring in, we can only but make one sentry tower, get working on that soon too. When these bastards get hungry, they can come in like waves. We have to be extra careful during that time.” William told them as they sat around in the living space.
They worked day and night on completing the sentry tower. Than had never worked shop, but he was getting along fine. Rick had been an engineer outside the bunker, in fact he had designed the zombie deterrent and he took care of the renewable energy project, which was made up of solar panels on the roof of the bunker. He was therefore naturally adept at building things. Jessica looked at them working every day, and watched their progress while reclined on a couch, sipping on apple cider, or whatever she happened upon. She would be smiling and caressing her baby bump, as Rick checked on her from time to time.
The tower was completed within a week, and erected as quickly. Now they could have fair warning before any zombie wave tried to break into their precious home. Home, a word none of them would have thought they’d be using for the bunker, but this is how things were now. The inhabitants had become so adept at living inside the bunker that a newcomer might be forgiven for believing that they had been born there. The only problem however, was the newcomers.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Everyone needs Fresh Air
The final delivery went smoothly, and now the bunker was inhabited by 22 mothers, their children and the original party. Jessica was the last to give birth, after Penny and Than's baby daughter was born. Than and Penny had named their girl Violet. The bunker had never looked happier, but soon, as with everything, dreariness took hold. The mothers demanded that they be let out along with their
children. They wanted them to walk free in the sun, and on the grass.
“You have the pavilion!” William argued as grace pleaded to be let out. She had somehow become the voice of the mothers. Penny and Jessica were against this new development from the start. They did not want their kids to be exposed to whatever danger was out there, and so it was Penny who spoke up against the whole notion.
“You guys don’t know what Grace has been through. If she wants to tell you, she can, but I am not at a liberty to tell you that. I am surprised that Grace would come up with such a notion, and why Nate is being so passive about it. They are both fully aware that having sunlight on the babies’ faces is not a risk worth taking when their life hangs in the balance.” She said.
“Children are not meant to grow up like this. It’s unhealthy, and how will they know the risks, the dangers, if they are sheltered inside here. We just want to take a walk, when it’s the least dangerous. Just up to the springs, at least. That’s not too much to ask. We could take turns.” Grace said in an emotional voice; a leader’s voice.
“The children don’t know anything about the Zombies, and they certainly don’t care as long as we are here to protect them. Do you really want a zombie to take that away from you, the little happiness that you have left; your only consolation under the circumstances?” Penny said at the top of her voice. She could not believe what she was hearing. She was a psychology major, and had some notion of why Grace was behaving in such a manner. She seemed to be taking out all her grief on these poor souls, as if they were somehow responsible for what had happened to her. She knew the risks very well, but wasn’t she the one who had hid Seth’s infection in the first place? She must have known about it. How could she not?
“Quiet down, ladies, if you please! The final word on this will be mine, and it will always be no. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t, because these mothers and their children are the future of humanity, and we owe it to the human race to safeguard them. We have to be held accountable by the ones who sent them here.” William said, now standing in front of the small group.
The mothers murmured and whispered among themselves, and then dispersed. It was uncanny how they were behaving like zombies in this matter; mindless, and determined.
It was night time when the breach alarms suddenly went off. Everyone woke up almost instantly, and the men rushed towards the sentry rooms. Bill and Trevor went out into the pavilion and climbed aboard the tower wearing their night vision goggles. They discovered the source of the breach. A mother had gone out; probably taking the security swipe card from William’s little room. She was running headlong into the maize, and soon disappeared. The most shocking part of it was that she was hanging tightly onto her infant.
“There is no safety out there, dear. You just made the biggest mistake of your life, and I hope it isn’t your last.” William said to himself, shaking his head.
“Take the Yukon and get her back here right now!” William barked the orders to Than, Rick and Nate. The three hurried out of the bunker.
“Shotguns under the seats, rounds in the glove compartment, stay safe.” Penny shouted from behind them, clinging on to Violet.
William came out of the room with three walky-talkies.
“Here, in any case,” he said, handing each a set.
Than started the Yukon, and the sliding steel door opened. They rushed straight into the maze.
“Over there!” Nate shouted, as he saw something move in the corn. Than drove the Yukon in the direction Nate had pointed. Suddenly out of nowhere they saw a zombie in the headlights of the Yukon, getting ready to jump at something, or worse yet, someone. It was probably aiming at the mother; she couldn’t have gotten very far. They got out of the Yukon; Than gave each a shotgun, and kept one for himself.
“Look around, but don’t go trigger free, make sure it’s a zombie before you shoot it. The idiot is running from us, so she won’t come back willingly. Be soft on her, gather to the headlights of the Yukon!” Than said.
They started looking for her in different directions. Than heard a low wail as he proceeded. Someone was hurt or calling for help. Than hurried to the source of the sound, only to find the renegade mother on the ground, but without her child.
“Where’s the baby?” Than asked, getting her up.
“They took him” she said, she could barely make sense.
“Where?” Than asked.
She pointed ahead of them. Than called to Nate and Rick by whistling as loud as he could. They soon came around.
“Nate, take her to the bunker, Rick and I will try to retrieve the kid, if we can. Go! Hurry!” Than ordered and signalled for Rick to follow him.
“The kid is done, they are chomping on his body; they’re hungry and not concerned about favourite bits or turning the baby. Abort mission, repeat; abort mission” This was Trevor on the walky-talky.
Within five minutes they were back in the Yukon. Nate held the mother in his arms as she kept trying to break free and out of the Yukon.
“God, not another Grace, it took a miracle for her to recover, and look now what she’s caused” Rick said. Than instinctively looked back at Nate who was glaring at Rick.
“Let’s just keep our mouths shut until we get to the bunker” Than said.
The mother was beside herself with grief. Her name was Natalie.
“Look at what you have done!” Grace scolded them all.
“You have done the worst possible thing. Separating a mother from her child; the most heinous crime on the face of the earth” she continued.
“This was all your doing, Grace. You motivated them to do this, we stopped her. Oh, we tried, but you had brainwashed them so well.” It was Nate who spoke up.
Grace looked at him in utter disbelief.
“Grace if you are to continue in this way, I believe it would be better if you left off.” William said decidedly, his arms folded across his chest.
“No,” was all she could manage. She hung herself the next day. Nate ran off into the wild, never to return again. Jessica took Tommy into her care after that. He was a year and a half old by this time, and almost impossible to console, but Penny helped and normalcy apparently returned to the bunker as time passed. The real question was how each of them would forget all the scars and the personal grief. That was the hardest question of them all, and there was no answer.
Six years passed very much as the ones before, until the day when routine and acceptance was all they had. The baby boom had caused a decided increase in shelters and bunkers around the world. Penny had three more kids, two more daughters and a son.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
All Nights must End
One day they heard what they never believed they would. William had now become known as 'the bearer of ill news'. However, on the eve of the sixth year, he cleared the slate with news that was the apotheosis of all hope.
“The zombie population, as predicted has fed on itself to the point of extinction. We are finally free. The government has decided to relocate all the inhabitants of the bunkers globally, to Australia. Australia was the first to fall, being an island and mostly desolate. It was also the first place to be decontaminated of the advanced brain function awareness disorder by the government, only made possible by an absence of a zombie populace, after last year. I knew about the developments but I wanted to be absolutely sure”
There was a general hurrah across the bunker. The kids played and danced, although no one was quite sure what this all meant. The adults joined in too.
William walked up to Penny and Than as they clapped and laughed while their kids chased each other around.
“You’d be welcome to stay here if you want to. I’ll try to be as invisible as possible. I don’t want to go to Australia. It’s so far away. Besides, this place belongs to Penny. Always has.” William said.
“We would love to” Penny said, and looked at Than.
“Of course” Than said and they kissed.
By the foll
owing week, they saw off the last helicopter, looking at the setting sun, as a family.
Jake Rothmore is young author who loves writing Zombie related fiction. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife Jessica and their cocker spaniel, Sandy.
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Other Books By Jake Rothmore - All are available on Kindle Unlimited
US LINKS
Zombie Outbreak
A Town Called Desperation
UK LINKS
Zombie Outbreak
A Town Called Desperation
If you liked this book, why not try Jake Rothmore’s other Books:
Zombie Outbreak
Roy Robertson’s life seems to be heading nowhere except down in the gutter when the world decided to turn into hell.
But Roy was a prepper, and despite being unrehearsed in other aspects of his life, he was very well prepared for this apocalypse.
Once inside his well-equipped bunker, he faces horrors of seclusion, and mental delusions, and the fear of being stranded. Is there going to be hope for mankind, or will the structure of civilization as we once knew it, going to fall inevitably?
Can Roy outsmart, outrun and out 'live' these man-hunters? Is there a future? If so, will it be a solitary, lonely existence?
Here is a Taster:
Roy Robertson woke up to the sound of what appeared to be the onset of World War 3. Sirens, loud sirens that split the silence of the night, blared nonstop, increasing in sound exponentially. As he cursed under his breath, he heard the unmistakable vroom of airplanes zooming overhead, filling the skies by the dozen, and then the chop chop of the helicopters which followed the planes.
The Golden Horde and the Zombies (Zombie Conflict Series Book 1) Page 6
