by Jon Schafer
Tick-Tock shook his head and said, “We can’t stop now. We might have kept the Zs at the nuthouse from following us when we blew the bridge, but we can’t take the risk of another group getting wind of us if we stop.”
Steve shrugged and said, “And it’s just as risky if we keep moving. We could run into another herd at any time.”
Tick-Tock started to argue, but Steve cut him off by saying, “It’s not just for Denise. Like you said, everyone is dead on their feet. We need to stop for a little while and rest up. It’s going to be dark soon, and no one’s had anything to eat all day, so we need to find a place to make camp.”
Seeing his reasoning, Tick-Tock said, “We could go back to that clump of trees we passed about a quarter mile back.” Looking at the black stains on his friend’s shirt caused by the blood of the dead dropping on him when the bridge was blown, he added, “And there’s a stream nearby that you can use to clean up.”
Wrinkling his nose at the rank smell of the dead wafting off him, Steve nodded and said, “That’s what I was thinking, too. It’s a good defensive position, and we can put sentries out in all four directions to keep a watch for Zs. If the shit hits the fan, we’ve got plenty of ways to run.”
“We also might want to send someone down our back trail a couple miles to make sure nothing is following us,” Tick-Tock added.
“Good idea,” Steve said. “Once we get everyone settled, I want to scout a little ways down the firebreak, too.”
Tick-Tock gave Steve a questioning look and asked, “I thought we ruled out using it?”
Steve replied, “I know when we first saw it on the map that we thought it would be too risky since we’d be exposed to anything coming at us out of the woods or from the front, but if we send a scout out ahead of us, it might be the safest, easiest way to go. When you think about it, we’ve been following the trail, and the firebreak is just another trail.”
Tick-Tock considered this for a few seconds before saying, “It does head in the general direction we want to go, but is the risk worth it?”
Steve shrugged and said, “It might be less risky going through the woods, but how long is everyone going to last if they have to keep climbing over deadfalls and crawling along old game trails?” Waving his hand to encompass the thick woods on both sides of the firebreak, he added, “And look how hard it is for us to get through this shit. If the Zs try to get through it onto the firebreak, they’ll get hung up in it just like we did. On top of that, we’ll be able to hear them from a ways off.”
Tick-Tock looked at the thick grass covering their intended path and said, “Whoever’s on point is going to have to break a trail. We’ll have to rotate point every fifteen minutes or so.”
Steve looked at him quizzically and asked, “Why every fifteen minutes? I know it’s going to be hard on the point man, but the grass doesn’t look that thick.”
“They’re going to have to be twisting their feet outward with every step to break a trail, and I don’t want anyone getting too worn out in case we have to run,” he replied.
Knowing he was right, Steve felt a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought that their only defense against the dead now was to run away.
***
Lois crouched at the edge of the stream as she tried to wash the black stains off her face and arms. Shaking her head in disgust, she said to the woman next to her, “This crap is never going to come off.”
“Use some sand mixed with water,” Connie told her. “It makes an abrasive.”
Scraping up some of the creek bed in her hands, Lois rubbed it vigorously over her forearms. It stung a little bit on the scrape she’d picked up when she’d climbed over the porch railing in their escape from the mansion, but she was pleased to see the black stains quickly disappear. Fresh blood seeped from her wound, and knowing it would cleanse it, she nodded in approval.
After the bridge had been blown, she had been worried when the black ochre the dead used for blood and parts of their bodies rained down on her. A hand that had been torn off one of the dead from the blast had landed almost directly on her wound, and she had looked on in shock at the thought that she might turn into one of the Zs. She knew that contact with infected fluids would cause her to become infected, but she quickly reasoned that her scrape had partially scabbed over, so she should be safe. Despite this, her mind started playing tricks on her as she fled down the trail and through the woods with the rest of the group. It seemed like every twitch from her overused muscles was the beginning of a seizure. After a few hours, though, her fears ebbed when she didn’t turn.
Smiling, she said to her companion, “Thanks for the tip, and now it’s time for the shirt.”
As she started to unbutton it, Connie pointed to where three of the group were cleaning up not far away and whispered, “But there’s men here.”
Lois laughed and told her, “And if any of them have the strength to do anything about me being topless, I’ll be glad to oblige.”
Connie blushed as she watched the older lady take off her shirt and bra before scrubbing herself and the garments down. Glancing at the three men a short distance away, she was astonished when none of them even glanced their way. As she watched, one of them even stripped down to his boxers and waded into the shallow creek, crouching down to splash water up onto his chest and face.
Beside her, she heard Lois chuckle and then call out to him, “How are they hanging, Hank?”
The former Congressman from the state of California stopped what he was doing, laughed and replied, “Long, loose, and full of juice.” Leering at her, he added, “Nice boobs. I always wondered what they looked like.”
As she took a fresh shirt from her pack and put it on, Lois said mockingly, “And that’s the last look you’ll get for a while.”
Connie’s blush deepened at the ribald comments, and she turned her attention to wringing out the last of her clothes. Next to her, Lois rose and said, “That’s how you deal with men, honey. Give them a taste and keep them coming back for more.” Raising her voice to be heard by the three men who had accompanied them, she added, “Now finish up so we can head back. I’m hungry, tired and the only thing I want to do is eat and go to sleep.”
As she headed back to camp with the others in tow, Lois felt clean for the first time in a long time. Not clean like she had taken a shower in her Los Angeles penthouse, but much cleaner than if she had just spent a session in Congress. Politics was a dirty business, and she never knew how much she actually hated it until after the dead came back to life and it was taken away from her.
Looking back at her political career, she felt herself alternately fascinated and appalled by her actions as a politician. She had lobbied for guns to be taken away from everyone, and here she was carrying one. She had lobbied for bigger government and less rights for the common person, and here she was relying on the man and woman standing next to her since government was incapable of helping her. With a chuckle and a shake of her head, she remembered back to when she had stood up in front of Congress and rallied for the rights of the dead after they started coming back to life.
Now she knew they only had the right to a bullet in the head.
Reaching camp as darkness swallowed the woods, she could just make out the shadowy figures of everyone sitting around what would be a fire if they could risk one. Joining them, she was handed a can of cold beef stew. She ate what was offered and was grateful for it.
When everyone was finished with their diner, Steve called for their attention. As she listened to him talk about their plan to use the firebreak the next day, Lois felt complete exhaustion wash over her. She had been tired before, but now that they had stopped and eaten, the day’s physical exercise, interspersed with extreme moments of terror, caught up to her. Thinking back, it was hard to believe that they had escaped from Happy Hallows only that morning. Since then, it seemed like she had been in constant motion. She was glad that Steve kept it brief, since all she could think of now was sleep. After he
gave out the rotation for the guards around the camp, he told everyone to get some rest.
As she rose, Lois was surprised to find Tick-Tock standing next to her. In the dark, she never saw him approach. In a low voice, she heard him say, “I want to thank you for helping me with Denise today. You saved her life. You’re one of the good ones.”
Before she could respond, Tick-Tock had vanished into the darkness that had now fully settled over the woods.
Looking to where he had disappeared, Lois felt her chest swell with pride. In a quiet voice, she said, “And it’s only because I met up with you and your group. You taught me how to be a human being instead of a human doing.”
Content with herself, Lois made her way to where she had spread out her blanket. The night was still fairly warm, so she lay on top of it. Lacing her fingers behind her head as she looked up at the stars peeking between the trees, she dreamed of the world she could help create when a cure was found and this was all over. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was actually accomplishing something. Her last thought before drifting off was that the moon should be up when she took her turn at guard. This would make it easier to see any approaching threats.
***
Unable to sleep, Hank looked at the dark forms of the others around him. Due to the chill brought on after the sun set, they were now covered in a variety of sleeping bags and blankets. Some made no sound while a few snored quietly, but everyone was completely out. Although he, too, was exhausted in both body and soul from the day’s exertions, his mind was stuck on the interaction he’d had with Lois earlier at the creek.
Rolling onto his right side, he could just make out where she was lying on her back a few yards away. She had been a colleague of his for many years, but he had never looked at her in the way he did today. Whereas before she was nothing more than a vote or someone to sway into his way of thinking, he now saw that she was a very attractive middle-aged woman.
And she noticed me, too, he told himself as he thought back to her asking him how they were hanging.
With this in mind, he slowly eased his blanket off and rose to his feet. If he was asked where he was going, he decided he would play it off that he needed to relieve himself, but there was no need. Everyone was so wiped out that they stayed deep in the arms of Morpheus.
Taking a tentative step forward, he ran a dozen scenarios through his mind on how this could end. Many of the others in the group had hooked up, so why shouldn’t he and Lois? There were a dozen good reasons he could put forth on why they should team up in this new land of the living dead, so he knew he had a counter-argument for anything she came up with as to why not.
But, he told himself, if she does end up shunning my advances, I’ll simply laugh it off and return to my blanket. If she puts me in the friend zone, I’ll chalk it up to one of life’s experiences. But if she welcomes me into her blanket…
Hank smiled and took a confident step forward.
***
Lois’ mind swam with a dozen disjointed nightmares. In one of them, she found herself immersed in a cold, black body of water. Because her body really was cold, her conscious mind woke her and the dream turned into reality as her eyes fluttered open. Realizing where she was and that she was freezing, she tried to reach over to pull her blanket on top of her but found that her limbs were locked in place. Trying to lift her head to see what was holding them, she found her neck was also immobilized.
Having woken from bad dreams like this before, she tried to relax, telling herself that the paralysis would soon pass. Counting slowly to one hundred had always worked in the past, so she tried that. When she was finished, she made to move her arm again but found she was unable to.
Suddenly, fear gripped her at the thought that she had suffered a stroke. Her eyes could still move, so she looked wildly around for someone to help her. Catching some motion, she strained to roll her eyes all the way to the left. Here, they locked onto the dark shape of a man approaching her. Recognizing him, she tried to call out his name.
No sound passed her lips.
Worried that Hank would think she was sleeping and pass by, when he stopped and knelt down, his hand reaching out to wake her, Lois felt relief that someone had found her quickly. If it was a stroke, she knew that she needed to be treated quickly.
With the irrational thought of being taken to a hospital where everything would be made right, Lois closed her eyes. In a delirium, she could feel herself alternately falling and lifting up, as if her body didn’t know which way to go. Suddenly, everything went bright white and then dark before turning bright white again. The light turned brighter as she lost all sense of self.
This was when the convulsions struck.
***
Calling Lois’ name, Hank reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. Feeling her body tremble, he smiled in the darkness. A half-second later, when what at first he took to be sexual excitement turned into a full-blown seizure, he found himself clutching that same shoulder as he struggled to keep Lois from jackknifing off the ground.
Starting to call out for help, his mind told him not to since how would he explain being here? Decorum dictated that a man did not approach a sleeping woman, and appearances were everything to the one-time politician. Looking around to see if anyone had been woken by the disturbance, his mind relaxed when he saw that no one had even stirred.
Looking back down to Lois, he saw that her tremors had subsided and her eyes were open.
Smiling, he said, “Everything’s going to be all right. You’re going to be fine.”
In the darkness, lit only by the moon filtering down through the trees, he couldn’t see the wild, feral look in his paramour’s eyes.
Relaxing his grip, but still keeping a hand resting on Lois’ shoulder, Hank started to say, “I didn’t know you were an epileptic.” But the words had barely formed in his mouth when the thing that had once been Lois whipped her head around and sank her teeth into the fleshy part on the inside of his arm.
***
Hank’s piercing screams turned the camp into a sea of bedlam as people jumped up and swung around, pointing guns and flashlights as they sought their source. His pitiful wails and shrieks, acting like a beacon, made it so the guards had no problem finding their way through the woods as they raced toward the commotion.
The first to realize what had happened was Brain. Sleeping only a few feet away, his light revealed the sight of two people rolling around on the ground, one of them with their mouth latched onto the other’s arm. Thinking that one of the Zs had somehow made their way into camp, he took careful aim at the obvious aggressor and squeezed the trigger of his .45 caliber pistol. The two figures wrestling on the ground moved as the one being bitten tried to break free, and his shot was wasted into the ground. Taking this as their cue, though, five of the group saw what was going on and also opened up with their weapons. Within a second, others joined in to create a free fire zone of exploding guns and shouts. The two bodies fighting on the forest floor were quickly riddled with bullets and lay still, but the circular firing squad had created casualties.
***
With Pep at his side, Steve entered the camp to find it a mass of confusion. He could see flashlight beams crisscrossing the area as people swung them around in their search for any new threats, while a few of them pointed downward to where figures writhed on the forest floor or lay still.
Stopping as he tried to analyze what had happened and what needed to be done, the first thing he did was look down to where Pep had halted at his side. In their forced march through the woods, he had wanted to have the dog with him on point to warn him of any imminent threats, but he decided against it. If she spotted any of the dead, she might give them away with her barking, so she was kept near the center with Cindy. With Pep’s sense of smell, though, she was perfect for guard duty. Seeing no reaction from the dog, he took this as a sign that the immediate area was free of the dead since she always went wild when any of them were near.
> For now.
Realizing that they might only have a few minutes before the gunfire brought the Zs to them, he slung his rifle over his shoulder and moved forward to where a pool of light showed a woman lying motionless on her side.
***
Entering the camp from the opposite side, Tick-Tock left his flashlight off so as to not give himself away. Looking at the chaos that had once been the group sleeping peacefully, he guessed what had happened and moved forward at a run, only making it three strides before tripping over something. Holding his rifle out so he didn’t land on it, his other hand took the full force of the fall as he stopped himself from going face first into the ground.
Wincing at the pain that shot up from his wrist to his elbow, he levered himself up and pulled a mini-mag light from the cargo pocket of his pants. Switching it on to see what he tripped over, he could see a blood wet, tousled mass of blond hair sticking out from the end of a sleeping bag. Crouching down next to the body, he pushed a glob of wet, stringy hair out of the way and felt for a pulse. Feeling a weak but steady beat, he started pulling more of the wads of stuck together hair apart as he searched for a wound. Finding a large crease in the scalp near the top of the skull, he grabbed a pack that was lying nearby and rummaged through it. Finding a pair of socks, he used them to apply pressure to the wound.
This caused his patient to shudder once and try to get up. Pushing down on his chest, Tick-Tock told him to calm down as he rolled him onto his back and asked, “Are you hit anywhere else?”
“I can’t see,” the man replied.
“That’s because you’ve got blood in your eyes,” Tick-Tock explained. “You got a cut on your scalp, and wounds like that bleed like crazy. Anything else hurt?”
The man thought for a moment before saying, “My ribs hurt something bad.”
Recognizing the man as one of the people he had trained, Tick-Tock didn’t want to explain how he had run into him by accident, so he laughed and said, “That’s because I kicked you for being dumb enough to get shot in your sleep. Now reach up here and hold this tight until the bleeding stops completely. I’ve got to check on the others.”
