by Geo Dell
Beth kept a serious look on her face as she stared directly at him.
Bear cleared his throat. “I was kidding around, Beth. I meant the...”
She cut him off. “I know what you meant. The tough side of me. The side that would climb right up into that cab and ride with you. The kind of woman that gets restless around too many people.” She held his eyes. “The kind of woman that could put up with the constant travel, life with an edge to it.” She still held his eyes for a moment after she finished talking. She finally looked away.
Bear cleared his throat. “Exactly,” he said quietly. “I imagine you would be going with me tomorrow if you had not...” He trailed off.
She turned back to him. “If I hadn't lost my arm?”
“I'm sorry, Beth. I wish I hadn't had to take it.” He turned away, running one hand over the swell of the hood and a fresh air duct that ran from the engine up to the roof line.
“And you think that somehow that changed me? Who I am? How I am?” Her voice rose slightly. Across the barn, Candace looked over and then went back to talking to Mike and Bob about something. Beth lowered her voice. “It irritates me, I guess. That's why I've stayed away. You pissed me off, Bear. And you hurt me with your assumptions. I am no different from what I was, Bear. No different.”
Bear's face turned serious. “What are you saying, Beth?”
“I'm saying that when you leave in the morning, I want to be in that other seat,” she held his eyes for a moment and then looked away. She ran her own hand over the thick steel plating that armored the truck. She looked back up, her eyes dark and serious. “Bear,” she took a deep breath. “Bear I love you. I have loved you since I met you, Bear. I kept it to myself when I thought Cammy was in the picture. I wanted to say it... I had to, Bear.” Her voice caught at the end and she turned away.
Bear's heavy hand cupped her chin and turned her face back and up to his own. The tears she had felt threatening, slipped over her bottom eyelids and spilled across her face. He pulled her to him. “Then you go,” he said quietly. “We go together.”
New York: Central Park
The Night was black and cold. Winter was coming, there was no doubt about it. Fires smoldered in the city, but no longer burned.
Donita walked the wide, empty streets. There were very few of the living in this area. But the dead were everywhere.
There were thousands here. A scatter of wrecked and long burned out vehicles sat abandoned and strewn close to the park. The line of buses that blocked the roads and pathways into the park loomed ahead.
As she stood and listened, she heard the occasional gunshot, some far off, some closer by, none close enough to cause concern, and it was only a matter of hours before the remaining living became her own and the gunshots ceased. Hours only. Except Harlem. But once the park fell, Harlem would be next. It could not stand against her army.
She stood silently as the cool night air flowed past her and told her its story...
THE ZOMBIE PLAGUES: BOOK FIVE
Created by Geo Dell & Dell Sweet
* * * * *
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED ON SMASHWORDS BY GEO DELL
PUBLISHED BY:
Geo Dell and independAntwriters Publishing
The Zombie Plagues Book Three
Copyright © 2010 – 2015 by Geo Dell & independAntwriters Publishing All rights reserved
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your bookseller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
LEGAL
This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places or incidents depicted are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual living persons places, situations or events is purely coincidental.
This novel is Copyright © 2010 – 2015 Wendell Sweet. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, electronic, print, scanner or any other means and, or distributed without the author's permission.
Permission is granted to use short sections of text in reviews or critiques in standard or electronic print.
THE ZOMBIE PLAGUES: BOOK FIVE
Prologue
Plague Year One
The Nation
Cammy sat drinking coffee with Annie and staring down the length of the valley. It was an hour past sunrise. The sun had finally lifted past the mountain tops in the distance, and golden light had spilled into the length of the valley.
“I know you said it was this nice, but no way did you do it justice. Or I'm so damn jaded that I just couldn't believe it.”
“If you live here, you take it in stride sometimes, I guess. But, coming back this time? Being away after being here, living here... I will never leave again. I don't care,” Annie said.
The door to the main area of the cave opened, and Candace came out with Lilly and Patty. A second later Jana, Sandy and Bob stepped out. Tom followed shortly after, sipping at a cup of coffee as he and Bob talked. They both said their hellos, Tom bent and kissed Lilly, she had sat on the wall next to Annie, and then he and Bob started down the wide ledge into the valley below. Jana settled down next to Cammy.
Cammy lifted her eyes to Sandy. “How's our girl?” she asked.
Sandy smiled cautiously. “I want to say okay... I took the rest of her forearm, pumped her full of penicillin. She seemed to tolerate that well. I think she'll be okay.”
“They say anything at all about how long they think they'll be?” Candace asked. She looked from Cammy to Annie.
Annie shook her head, as did Cammy. “I think though,” Annie said, “That things were going well. It seemed like things turned up fast... maybe...”
Candace nodded.
“What was it like?” Lilly asked. “I mean, with so many dead around. How did you manage? We didn't have that to deal with, and we still barely made it here.”
Cammy shook her head. “I had no direct dealings with it. Bear and Beth... Billy, Mac, David to a lesser extent.” Her voice seemed to choke up for a moment. “Bear and Beth. Those two have no fear. I guess we owe them a lot. They lead us together. That was something I thought would be bad, but they seemed to click.”
Candace nodded.
“The city... we came from the city. It's bad there. I mean, the dead are everywhere. They're different too. When we were in Pennsylvania, Bear and Beth told us that. The dead there were not smart like the dead in New York.”
The door opened, and Arlene stepped out onto the wide stone ledge and sat on the wall.
“The radio here tells us a lot. But it's tough to believe some of it. They're stronger than us? Some people are turning without being bitten?” Lilly said. “I know I should let you be... ask another time. I don't mean to push you.”
“It's okay,” Cammy said. She sipped at her coffee and then began to talk.
On The Road
Bear and Tim
Bear sat silently with Tim as Mike talked to the young woman a few yards away.
“She's had it pretty rough,” Tim said.
Bear Nodded. He looked over at the girl talking with Mike once more. “She was one of the ones that tried to kill you guys?” Bear asked in a near whisper. They were far enough away for her not to hear, but Bear pitched his voice low anyway.
Thirty feet away, Mike stared across the fire at the young woman. She met his gaze levelly, but her eyes were still red and puffy and told a story about a long, searching night. Her hands seemed at war with each other, the black fingernail polish chipped and flashing in the muted light.
“It was back at the campground,” Tim told him. “It started in Watertown. That's where we came from, up north next to Canada...” He looked at Bear.
Bear nodded, and Tim continued
.
“So these guys tried to kill us there. They did kill one of the girls that was with Mike and Candace before I was with them. Then they all out attacked us. That was when Molly and Nellie escaped from them. We killed a bunch of their guys when that happened That put us right into it with them as far as they were concerned. Annie?”
Bear looked at Tim and nodded.
“They had made a deal with the people that had Annie. They intended to have her, but she escaped too. So they came to us to try to buy her back. The guy thought Mike would do it.”
“Christ,” Bear said.
Tim nodded. “Not long after that we got away, but they followed us.”
Mike spoke quietly. Too quiet to hear his words, but at his words Chloe's eyes began to leak once again. Bear fought back the anger that was bubbling just below the surface.
Although there were no words for context, Bear understood she was asking how the others might feel.
“If they forced her, then it's not her fault,” Bear said. He focused on a patch of scuffed dirt on the ground. Ronnie and Tim seemed to be bird watching. There seemed to be huge birds of prey everywhere now. Two of them floated high in the sky now. He turned back to Tim but there was nothing to say. They would be calling the Nation on the Radios in a short while. Let them know they were on their way back. Let them know about Molly and Nellie. It would be nice to talk to Cammy, find out about Beth. He turned back to Tim once more.
“I'm sorry that your girl had to go back,” Bear said.
“It's okay,” Tim said. “I'm actually relieved... Especially after what happened with Nellie and Molly.”
Bear nodded and the silence descended once more. He felt used up, out of words. He scuffed at the ground again with his boot heel, shifting gears, pushing the remembering out of his head, wondering what he would say to Cammy, whether Beth would be able to talk.
The Nation
“Hey,” Cammy smiled. “I thought you were just going to go on sleeping forever.”
Beth levered her arms down to scoot up in the bed and nearly banged the stump of her arm against the side of the bed before Cammy stopped her.
“Honey... Honey... Your arm. You have to be careful,” Cammy told her. She took her under the arms and lifted her gently back into the pillows.
“Oh God,” Beth whispered through her dry lips as she stared down at the stump of her arm. “Somebody chopped off the rest of my arm.” Her eyes came up to Cammy's own.
“Honey, Sandy had to take it. It was infected,” Cammy told her. She gently pushed her back into the pillows. Sandy appeared over her shoulder with a wooden cup of water. Cammy took it and helped Beth to take a sip. “Easy, Honey, just go slow,” she told her.
Beth cleared her throat and took a larger sip. “Oh my God... I have such a bad headache. Kind of sick to my stomach too.”
Sandy took her hand, and her fingers rested lightly against her wrist for a moment, feeling for her pulse. “The stomach is a couple of things, most likely. I have no idea when the last time you ate is, but I would bet it's been a few days. Pain killers and penicillin on an empty stomach are tough. I gave you a sports drink when I could get you to swallow, but you need real food. The headache is probably the morphine. You've been living on it the last few days. I can give you some aspirin for that.”
“She told me I couldn't have aspirin,” Beth said as she looked at Cammy. “Said I had to have the Morphine.” She licked her lips for what seemed like an hour and then took another deep sip from the glass Cammy still held.
“She wouldn't take it at first, true,” Cammy agreed with a laugh.
“Said I had balls... Thinks I don't remembner... Rember,” she sighed.
Cammy laughed. “Remember... Remember, Honey. Yes. I asked you if you had balls,” she turned to Sandy and her arched eyebrows. “She wanted to take only aspirin after Bear took her arm off.”
Beth nodded. “I did. She talked me into Morphine, and now look at this... I woke up with the rest of it gone too.”
“Only from the elbow down,” Sandy said. “You're lucky.”
Beth tried a lopsided smile on and then took another sip of the cold water.
“Listen, Honey, you needed the Morphine. You still do, really, and you can still have it if you want it. It just plays hell with your body when you've been on it a few days,” Sandy told her.
Beth took a deeper sip that was more like a real drink. “That is really good water,” she said.
Cammy and Sandy both laughed. “How about a sandwich, soup, broth? What do you think you can handle?” Sandy asked her.
“I think I can handle some more water,” Beth said.
“I'm sure you can. And you need liquid. I just want there to be some nourishment in it,” Sandy told her.
“Hot anything doesn't sound good. My stomach is still off,” Beth said.
“How about some cooled beef broth? Soup? Doesn't have to be hot,” Sandy agreed.
Beth swallowed, took a deeper drink of the cold water and nodded.
Billy And Pearl
“Bill, Billy... William?” Pearl asked.
“Billy's good,” Billy told her. “William makes me feel... too high class, I guess.”
Pearl laughed. “It's not wrong to think proper of yourself.”
The two were walking slowly down through the valley. Billy looked around at the valley. “You came with them? Helped to build this? It's awesome... really incredible.”
“I would love to say it is so, but no, I was here visiting family, in the states, I mean. I came across country with friends I only met them after the fact. I've been here about three months so far. I believe this place began in April. I arrived in June,” she brushed a shock of thick brown hair out of her eyes and looked up at Billy. “I did help to build the second and third barns. The rest has been catch what comes, for all of us really.”
“I could listen to you speak for hours,” Billy said. He blushed a second later. Pearl blushed too and looked up at the clear blue sky and then back down at the stone path they walked. “What will you do?” Pearl asked.
“Well, I'll wait for Bear to come back. When we left, we really didn't talk about it. I just don't know yet.” He looked up at the sky and then back down to the stone flagged pathway. “He may not want to stay.”
Pearl nodded. “And if this Bear of yours decides to go, then you will go with him, I suppose. That man thing. All for one and one for all... follow you to the ends of the Earth?”
Billy laughed, but stopped when he looked back down at Pearl. “I...” He started. She smiled up at him, and he lost his words.
“I didn't mean to do that to you,” she said. “Take away your words.”
He thought of a dozen retorts but said nothing for a second. “Well, maybe I would have said something dumb. I wouldn't have meant to. I suck at conversations like this, Pearl.”
She nodded. “Is she your girl? Jamie?” She blushed harder. “You don't have to answer; it's really not my business. I'm sorry.”
“No... No... Don't be sorry,” Billy told her. “Is she my girl?” He looked at her frankly. “No. Probably was once upon a time. In fact was... but I screwed that up, like a few other things I've done.” Billy looked away.
“Look,” Pearl told him. “Doesn't matter. I pry too much sometimes. I know that about me. Come with me if you like. I have to make a patrol. Just the valleys, foothills, takes most of two days to do. I have a truck with four wheel drive, a camping tent that I never use, and I go around and check all the perimeters. Boring, I suppose, unless you like the solitude... the mountains,” She smiled up at him. He towered over her by at least a foot. “I promise, no dead people, at least there never has been. Of course I'm looking for them though, aren't I?”
Billy laughed. “Just like that?”
Pearl stopped on the path and looked up at him. “Just like that? What did you think, then?”
“Uh... I.”
Pearl burst into laughter, slipped her arm through his and pulled
him forward once more on the path. “Rattled you. I did, no use contradicting it.”
Billy laughed after a second. “You did. You did,” he caught up, leaving her arm where it was. “So two days?”
“You'll love it,” she told him.
“Okay. What do I need to do?”
“Not a thing. No one to say goodbye to?”
“No,” Billy agreed.
“Then we go.” She pulled at his arm. “Come on. I'll show you the truck.”
The Nation
Beth sat up on the edge of the bed, got her feet under her and then stood. “Whoa,” she said as she sat back down.
“Slow, Honey,” Susan told her. Susan was on one side, Sandy on the other, Cammy anxiously standing in front. “Take a deep breath or two. Let the lightheadedness pass.”
Beth did as she was told, the lightheadedness passed, and she stood once more. This time her feet felt steady. Her stomach did not flip flop. All three of the other women hovered close by but did not attempt to help her. She laughed nervously and then walked to the door.
“Hmm. A little shaky,” Sandy said. “You feel up to an outside trip?”
“Oh, God yes. Please,” Beth said.
Cammy laughed. “She will never be any sweeter,” she said.
All four of them laughed. Sandy stepped ahead, opened the door to the room, and Beth followed her out into the main cave area.
Beth looked around as she walked through the main area. “I had no idea it was so big.” Her eyes rose to the ceiling some hundred feet above her.
“This is nothing, only the main meeting room. The passages go all through the mountain. It's riddled with them,” Susan told her.
Sandy swept open the main door, and a cool breeze came in as she did. The four women stepped out onto the rock wall edged ledge and its view of the valley below.
Beth drew a quick breath. “My God, it's so beautiful,” she said.
Cammy came up behind her and rubbed one hand across her low back. Beth turned and looked at her. “Anything else?” Beth asked.
“No. They're on the way,” she told her.
“Cammy,” Beth started.
