Eve couldn't help but laugh. She hadn't felt this good in too long. Well before she'd been bitten by a nurse in the hospital in Canada. Her life had been meaningless and boring, the same routine each and every day.
She was the doting wife to a man who didn't appreciate anything. Holden was verbally abusive or distant. Either late home from work each night and already lubricated with a few beers with the guys or home early because he'd begun drinking at noon. Liquid lunch, he liked to call it.
Eve wasn't weak. She'd never been a pushover and at first the two battled with words and sometimes fists after too many beers but the passion they felt was unreal.
Her mother had had a stroke and Eve was in the hospital for three straight days when the word came down to ICU there was a complication in the hospital and everyone was being evacuated.
Her husband had finally come to pick her up after three days, ranting about zombies and their safety. Her mother, too weak to move, was pushed in her bed by Holden even though nurses tried to stop him.
The rest was a blur: her distant husband suddenly worrying about her safety, trying to get her mother's bed and IVs and everything else attached to her into the elevator while a crowd of nurses, doctors and patients wanted to do the same.
In the lobby there was a major commotion and Eve remembered gunshots but she could never tell if they were inside the hospital or in the parking lot.
They'd gotten to the car, parked in the fire lane, when a sickly man, covered in vomit and blood, fell upon the bed and Eve's mother.
The rest was a rush of motion and angry colors, as something clamped down on Eve's arm and wouldn't let go even as she was dragged to the pavement.
Holden had rescued her after a fashion and she smiled at the thought of their last moments together.
Eve wondered if her mother was out there, somewhere, doing the same things she was doing. She guessed her condition had improved thanks to longevity. Eve could sense some of the others from the beginning, a quick flash of their presence in her mind. Fleeting glimpses of another moving around in this world. She knew they were all amassing a human collection for themselves. Future use.
Eve remembered reading a series of books about vampires when she was in high school and she'd gone through her dark Goth phase. The creatures had been powerful, ruling an alternate world with iron fists.
I'm not a vampire but I'm damn close, Eve thought. Standing in the sunlight didn't fry her to a crisp, but it was beyond uncomfortable at times. Sitting on the sidelines of the former football field with two canopies overhead and umbrellas in buckets nearby in case she wanted to take a stroll or cross the field, Eve knew eventually she would only be comfortable at night. She truly would be a vampire, only she wouldn't need to search the sleeping town for victims. She was growing them herself. Future use.
Her perspective had changed as she evolved. Death and love were no real considerations, only the Self. In her twenties she'd dated a self-proclaimed Satanist. She now knew he was just a selfish asshole who wanted to have threesomes with her and her friends, but at the time she was enthralled by his deep wisdom. It turned out to be shit but hindsight was 20/20.
Eve supposed her mindset was the same as his had been: nothing is more important than my own happiness and survival. Nothing.
She stroked Amber's hair again and was about to yell when the man ran up, panting, with a large hairbrush.
"Thank you," Eve said, feeling generous with her words and confusing the man. "That is all for now. Feel free to go back with the others. I'll call if I need you."
"Yes, ma'am," he said and turned on his heels, sprinting back across the field and into the tunnel. For the first time in awhile, there were no humans standing around waiting to do her bidding. Eve felt alone for a second but she had a job to do: comb the knots out of Amber's hair.
The first stroke caught so much hair Amber screamed. Eve laughed silently. She'd need to be more careful. It really hadn't been that long since she'd had actual human contact. A part of her was still human. This wasn't a shell hiding a monster. At least, not to Eve.
"I'm sorry, Amber, I didn't mean to hurt you," Eve said soothingly. She took her time brushing the hair slowly a quarter of an inch at a time, careful when she met resistance. "I wanted a little girl just like you once. I almost had her, too."
Eve sighed.
She always acted as if she'd just never been lucky enough to be pregnant or have a baby, but she'd come close. It wasn't a planned thing but it had happened and it thrilled her, even though the man she'd had a drunken three weeks with was long gone. It didn't matter and Eve had thought it would've made it all easier. Without the drunken deadbeat musician in her life, she could raise a child on her own. Get her life in order. Stop the partying and cure her depression.
Six months in she'd miscarried and it was such a devastating blow she'd been committed for a time so she didn't permanently hurt herself.
It had been so long ago. If her daughter had lived, she'd be twice as old as Amber, but it didn't matter now. Eve finally had the little girl she'd always wanted. She had a new meaning in her life.
Amber squirmed as her hair was pulled but didn't cry out.
"Wait until you see all of the cool toys and clothes we're going to find you. I think I'll move you up into the offices with me so you can have your own room. Maybe two rooms. Would you like that?"
"When is my mommy coming back?" Amber asked.
"We'll have them build you a giant closet so you can hang all of your pretty dresses. Another area for all the nice shoes you're going to be wearing. Each day we can dress you up and parade you around the field. Everyone will love it. Maybe then they'll see I'm not so bad, right? I think the main room upstairs will be your toy room. Imagine it stuffed with the best toys left? This is going to be so much fun," Eve said and continued to comb the tangles out of Amber's hair.
"When is my mommy coming back?" Amber repeated.
"As soon as she finds you everything your little heart desires," Eve said.
Amber's shoulders began to shake slightly.
Eve turned the girl around and was shocked to see her crying.
"What's the matter, Amber?"
"I want my mommy."
Eve pulled her close and hugged the little girl.
"There, there. Everything is going to be alright. It's all going to work out. You're going to be the luckiest little girl in the entire world," Eve said and squeezed harder.
"I want my mommy."
Eve smiled over Amber's shoulder.
"I am your mommy."
Chapter Nine
Hayden was staring again, this time at the stadium from their vantage point on the docks.
"What are we doing out?" Bri asked again. Even though the weather was nice, a slight breeze off the river and the sun shining, Bri suddenly felt cold.
"I needed to see something," Hayden said without looking at Bri.
She hated when he was so dismissive and rude, which was becoming the norm with Hayden.
"I'm going back to the building. The baby will get sick out here," Bri said.
Hayden laughed and finally turned to look in her direction.
"There is no disease able to penetrate this baby's immune system. You know why? He probably doesn't even have a weakness." Hayden went to Bri but turned his gray eyes to the baby, gently lifting him from her arms and holding him up. "He is a perfect little machine. He doesn't need to feed. He doesn't need to sleep. He doesn't need to pee or poop."
"Then what's the point?"
Hayden shrugged and turned back around, with the baby, to stare at the stadium.
"I'm not sure yet. He'll tell us when he's good and ready."
Bri doubted any of this logic. Then again, she was carrying around a zombie-ish baby who never made a sound or slept. Nothing made sense anymore.
"She's in there. I can feel it," Hayden said.
"Who?"
"One of us - I mean, one of me - and she's hoarding humans," he said.
"If she's eating people, she'll be distracted," Bri said. She didn't know if she was joking or not. It was a dog eat dog kinda world now.
"She's like me... beyond eating."
"I'm not. I'm hungry. We need to find some food. I'll make tacos tonight if you're in the mood," Bri said. It was too hot out and she was so bored. "I thought I saw a bookstore near the building. Can we check it out? I need something to pass the time." It wasn't like Hayden was interested in talking much lately and the baby just stared at you.
"I didn't know you read," Hayden said.
"Fuck you, asshole."
Hayden laughed and put up a hand. "No. That's not what I meant. I just didn't know you liked to sit down and read a book. I love to read."
"Maybe if you took the time to know me or ask a question about my past once in awhile you'd learn," Bri said.
"You're right. I promise tonight we'll get to know each other better," Hayden said.
"I'd like that. Can we go find some books now? This is so boring and I'm bored," Bri said.
"In a second... look," Hayden said and pointed.
Two people, a man and a woman, had come out of the stadium and were heading down the street slowly, watching as they moved.
"Is that the zombie you're interested in?" Bri asked.
"No. They're human. Did they escape? We need to follow them."
Bri shrugged her shoulders. At least it would give her something to do. The bookstore could wait. If there was anything still left inside, it wasn't going anywhere and she doubted these two people were heading over to borrow a book.
Hayden began walking; angling so he'd intercept them within a block.
Bri grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "I thought we were following them."
"I am."
"They'll see you," Bri said.
"So? From a distance I look human. I just want to talk with them."
"They're likely carrying weapons. One of them might have a gun. If they shoot you in the head, you'll die. If they hit me anywhere, I'm as good as dead, and who knows what a bullet will do to the baby. Think for a second," Bri said. She watched the couple disappear around a corner. They wouldn't get too far and it wasn't like they'd be lost in traffic.
"Then we follow at a safe distance. If we need to talk to them, you can do it," Hayden said.
Bri knew sometimes he forgot he wasn't human anymore, and anyone they encountered wouldn't immediately want to kill him. She hoped someday he wouldn't forget in front of the wrong person carrying a shotgun.
They moved along slowly, through the street clogged with debris. A zombie came out from behind a minivan with flat tires and passed Hayden, who kept walking.
"Seriously?" Bri asked as the zombie came at her.
"I'm really sorry. You know I forget sometimes you're still human," Hayden said and broke the zombie's neck, pushing it to the ground and stomping on its head.
"You forget I'm human? Wow. Fuck you, too," Bri said. That was a shitty thing to say.
"Don't get mad at me. You know exactly what I mean."
"I know what you said." Bri kept walking and Hayden rushed to stay ahead of her.
Bri glanced down at the baby and frowned. Was he smiling up at her, just for a second?
"Don't you start acting like a dick now, too," she said to the baby.
Hayden either didn't hear her or didn't feel like asking what she'd said and risk an argument. They moved around the next corner and Hayden stopped, cocking his head.
"Which way do you think we should go?" Bri asked.
"If you give me a second, I can find them," Hayden said.
Bri swallowed a snarky comment and looked around, making sure another zombie wasn't sneaking up on her. Even though they'd seen dozens of undead in the streets lately, this part of town was mostly devoid. She wondered if the big boss zombie at the stadium was clearing them out or if they could sense to stay away.
For all of Hayden's talk about the migration always heading south, Bri didn't see as many zombies as she figured she should. A large part of the population of the United States were now zombies. Sure, some people had been killed and unable to reanimate but Bri figured it was a small percentage. Survivors had figured out headshots were the answer, but how many survivors were even left at this point?
Bri imagined large parts of the country completely empty of living, breathing people. Maybe Missouri or Nebraska was just a wasteland with zombies roaming, looking for a nice human snack to munch on before waking up one day and deciding to stake a claim in the middle of nowhere. Maybe Missouri and Nebraska were already empty because all of the zombies were in the southernmost State they could find. She imagined the Gulf of Mexico packed with zombies with nowhere further south to walk to.
Hayden waved at Bri to follow.
They kept to the middle of the road so nothing could jump out at them. The only drawback was a sniper on the roof or a zombie in a window who would see them and reach out, falling and plummeting to the ground, where it could kill an unsuspecting person down below.
By the amount of dried blood and rotting corpses on the sidewalk on either side, at some point the zombies had had a jump off the roof and splatter party.
"Let me do the talking," Bri said.
"I thought we already went over this." Hayden stopped. "I'm the big bad zombie who eats people. I get it. You're embarrassed having me as your boyfriend."
Bri smiled because she thought Hayden was joking around but when he turned away she sighed. There was no time for his hurt feelings shit right now.
"Stop with the pathetic pouting. It makes your face look weird," Bri said, trying to lighten the mood. Suddenly they'd stepped into another awkward fight, and she didn't want to have it out in the open.
"I'm not pouting," Hayden said. He was definitely pouting to Bri.
She continued up the street, looking for the couple. She hoped Hayden would shut up and follow, and lead them to wherever the two people had gone.
He did, which made her happy.
"They went right at the next corner," Hayden said. "Stop when you get there. I feel someone in an upstairs window across the street watching."
Bri didn't argue. She moved to her right, stepping over a torched body and putting her back against the wall just before the corner. Hayden caught up and stood a few feet away, out of range for prying eyes.
"There's a woman. She's alone. The building is filled with zombies but she doesn't seem to care. I'm not feeling fear or panic. She's just... she tried to lure the couple into the building but they kept going for some reason," Hayden said.
"One problem at a time," Bri said. As if they didn't have enough to worry about, now there was some evil bitch in the area as well. "Let's follow the couple and see where they go."
Chapter Ten
Tosha felt like a new woman. She'd found a pair of leather walking shoes that fit and a new pair of jeans as well as three black t-shirts, in a men's department, that were baggy but allowed her room to move her arms and fight.
She'd nearly cried when she found a rubber band on the floor. She used it to pull her wild red hair back and out of her eyes. It was the simple things in life that kept her going.
At some point, survivors had holed up in the mall offices, but the door had been breached and there was so much blood covering everything Tosha almost missed the four backpacks filled with canned goods and water as well as a loaded .22 and a new machete still in the packaging.
Higher ground was where she needed to be between searching the mall for more hidden treasures. If she could find her way to a loft in one of the department stores or the roof, she'd be safer. She hadn't encountered more zombies but knew there were enough open doors it was only a matter of time before they came wandering in.
She was worried she'd settle in and never continue on her journey, even though she had no idea why she kept moving north. What was the point? It should only be survival. Yet... she wanted to find the baby and then... Tosha had no idea.
Her sister was once again AWOL. Even though she never talked back it was nice and comforting to know Mathyu was nearby and watching over her. Tosha was confident her sister was guiding her journey and offering clues even though most of the time she had no idea what the clue was.
A trip through the back corridors of the mall brought her to the electrical room but the door was locked from the inside. She knocked on the door, feeling like she had nothing to lose.
"Hello? Anyone in there? Come on out if you can hear me," Tosha said.
A thump on the other side of the door wasn't surprising. Tosha tapped on the heavy door again and heard another thump. It sounded like one zombie was on the other side but there was no way she could open the door and find out. What if the ladder to the roof was behind this door?
Duh. Tosha wanted to kick herself. While she was inside the offices of the mall, she should've searched for blueprints or even a map of the place. Had she passed a security office? It would be in the same general area.
"I'll be back. Don't you go changing," Tosha said to the door and worked her way back through the maze of hallways. She'd need to find batteries soon for the flashlight. From so much use, the thin light beam was waning. She didn't want to be trapped in a pitch black corridor with real or imagined monsters surrounding her.
The security office was on the next hallway from the mall offices. The door was open and the dormant monitors and desks were covered in blood. There'd been a battle in this small space.
Tosha didn't want to risk going into the room and slipping on blood or whatever else was lying on the floor until she spotted the .22 on the ground in the corner.
She used her free hand to keep in touch with the walls and kept the flashlight, in her other hand, on the prize as she took her time moving, trying not to think about the dried puddles of blood her new sneakers were sticking to.
There was also a locker built into the wall with the lock broken and on the floor near the pistol. Tosha picked up the .22, covered in gore, and checked to see if it was loaded. It was. She put it in her waistband and sighed. Her new clothes and shoes were already filthy and it had only taken about an hour.
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