Zombie Country (Zombie Apocalypse #2)

by Hoffman, Samantha

  “Does anyone wanna say anything?” Sam asks, looking at us. “Who knew her the best?”

  Todd steps forward. “Um, I don’t think I’ll be very good at this, but here we go.” He takes a deep breath before starting, and we all listen intently. “Janelle and I have known each other for about a month, and in that short time, I’m sad to say I didn’t really get to know her all that well. I only heard her talk about her family and her past on one occasion. But what from what I did know of her, she was a very kind, and very hopeful person. She believed that things would always find a way to work out, and even when she doubted herself or our future, she never let anyone see something other than hope.

  “She can’t be here with us anymore, but I know that she’s with her family right now, and I’m sure she couldn’t be happier. She’s at peace, and I hope that someday we can all find that kind of happiness once again. If Janelle were here, she wouldn’t want us to feel sad or give up. She’d want us to celebrate the fact that we still have one another, and that’s what I plan to do. I plan to live each day to the fullest, and never take anyone for granted.” Todd falls silent, and I realize that he’s trying not to cry.

  “I’m going to miss her, more than I thought I ever would, but hopefully I’ll see her again someday, along with all of the other people we’ve lost along the way…”

  We all bow our heads for a moment of silence out of respect. Then, Todd and I shovel the dirt back into the hole, covering Janelle’s body. It takes much less time to fill the hole than to dig it, and soon we’re heading back inside, leaving Janelle behind for good. Daisy is crying silently, and I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her close. “Everything will be alright, Daisy. You’ll see.”

  *****

  Aaron regains consciousness a few hours later. I’m sitting in one of the leather chairs with a book in my lap when he groans. His eyes flutter open, and he looks around. When he tries to sit up, I jump to his side, putting my hand on his shoulder. “Not so fast. You’re still weak.”

  “What happened?”

  “The helicopter went down, Aaron. Michael died on impact, and Janelle died this morning from internal bleeding. We just buried her a few hours ago.”

  Aaron looks down at his leg and winces. “What happened to me?”

  “We had to pull a shard of metal from the muscle in your leg. Well, we didn’t do it. My cousin’s boyfriend did.” When Aaron looks at me with surprise, I smile. “Yeah, Sam found the crash site and helped us all back to the cabin she and her group have been staying at. Her boyfriend pulled out the metal, and he stitched you up about an hour ago. You’ve been out of it this whole time.”

  “I don’t remember anything…” he says, getting a far off look in his eyes. “Janelle and Michael are really gone?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry, Aaron. I know you cared about Michael.”

  “He always believed in me…” Aaron says softly. “It’s hard to picture him gone. At least he’s with his daughter again. But what are we going to do now?”

  “I have an idea, but I know Todd won’t like it, and I don’t think you will either…”

  “And what idea is that?” Aaron asks, looking worried already.

  “I’ll tell you once everyone is here.”

  Sam brings everyone into the living room like I asked her to, and they all sit down where they can find room. Ryder and Sam curl up on the loveseat, Reese and Naomi grab a spot on the floor, Daisy takes the chair I just vacated, and Todd leans against the fireplace.

  “Good. Now that we’re all here and Aaron is awake, there’s something I want to discuss.”

  “This is about Montana, isn’t it?” Reese asks.

  “Montana?” Aaron asks, sitting up before I can stop him. “Maddy, you can’t be serious!”

  “I am serious,” I say, turning to face everyone in the room. “There is a chance of a cure, and I think we need to take it. We need to go to Montana, find this scientist, and help him in any way that we can. We have a chance to fix the world, to right the wrongs committed by mankind. Everything can go back to the way it was before.”

  “But we don’t know that for sure,” Reese says, acting as the voice of reason. “We don’t know for sure where in Montana this scientist’s lab is. We don’t know for sure whether he has a working cure or not. We don’t even know for sure we can make it there in one piece. Our group isn’t strong enough for that. Your guy can’t walk, and my brother’s arm still hasn’t healed properly and won’t for some time.”

  “I’m not suggesting we leave tomorrow,” I say, trying to sound reasonable. “We’ll have to take some time to rest and heal, but I think we can make it. We have to try.”

  “Even if it costs us our lives?” Todd asks, sounding angry. “Madison, we could die during this trip. Do you not understand that? We have a relatively safe place—safer than anywhere else we could be—and you want to give that up! It’s suicide! Not to mention stupid.”

  “I’m with him,” Reese says. “I say we stay here and bide our time. Who knows? Things might correct themselves over time.”

  “Guys, I think we should seriously consider this,” Sam says. “Madison is right. We have to try. Imagine living in a world where we don’t have to be looking over our shoulder for the rest of our lives. Imagine living in a world where we didn’t have to live like this,” Sam says, looking at me.

  I take over for her. “Things will never be the way they were before, but we can make a start. Right here, right now. If we do this, we could be securing not only our futures, but the futures of everyone else still alive.”

  “I’m with the girls,” Ryder says, surprising me.

  “What?” Reese explodes. “You can’t be serious!”

  “I am. Reese, I don’t want to live like this anymore. I won’t be able to protect the people I care about forever,” he says, looking at Sam as he speaks. “But if this works, we could live in a world where I don’t have to protect her from anything. I could have some peace of mind, and a semblance of a normal life. I think it would be worth it to try.”

  “Let’s take a vote,” Sam says. “All in favor of staying?”

  Todd, Reese, and Daisy raise their hands.

  “All in favor of going?”

  Ryder, Sam, and I raise our hands. I look at Aaron. “What are you thinking?”

  He sighs. “I’m thinking I’m with you, Maddy. Whatever you choose to do. I know if we decide against this, you’ll probably go anyways. I’d rather you have the support of our group than nothing. I’m for it.”

  “What about you, Naomi?” I ask. “If you vote to stay, we’re tied.”

  She sighs. “I’m with you guys. Let’s do this.”

  “Naomi, you can’t be serious!” Reese says.

  “I am. Somewhere out there, my little brother is still a zombie, wandering around with no real purpose. If we can reverse all of this…I’d give anything to have him back, Reese. I’m with them.”

  “Will the rest of you come with us, or will you all stay here?”

  Todd looks at me and sighs. “I know I won’t be able to change your mind, and I’ll be damned if I let you go off and do this by yourself. If you’re dead set on saving the world, I’m coming with you. Even though I think this is the wrong decision, I’m with you, Madison.”

  Reese groans. “I can’t let my brother go without me, not with the shape he’ll be in. I think you’re all fucking crazy, but you can count me in as well.”

  I look around at everyone, pleased that this is the decision we’ve reached. “It’s settled then…once everyone is better, we’re gonna try for Montana.”

  The End.

  About the Author:

  My name is Samantha Hoffman, and I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. Recently, I started self-publishing my stories for others to read and hopefully enjoy. If you liked this book, check out my others at www.smashwords.com.

  The Arena Wars

  War of Hearts (Arena Wars #2)

  Consumed By War
(Arena Wars #3)

  The Awakening (Daray Hall #1)

  The Protector (Daray Hall #2)

  Dark Secrets (Dark Heritage #1)

  Dark Revenge (Dark Heritage #2)

  Zombie Island (Zombie Apocalypse #2)