by Kate Morris
Roman took a sleeping bag and curled up on the sofa in the den connected to their bedroom. He could hear the back of the house and the windows and doors there should someone try to break in. He slept a lot better knowing her father, the Ranger, was also guarding the house. A feeling of relief came over him as he realized he had a partner in keeping Jane and Connor safe, as long as her father didn’t become infected.
Chapter Twenty-six
When she woke, Connor was gone, which made her panic. It was nearly ten. Roman was also not in the room. She gingerly tiptoed with the gun in her hand from the bedroom and went downstairs. Clatter in the kitchen and the smell of breakfast being cooked awoke her appetite. She needed to make sure it was just them, though, and not some evil pervert just released from jail who would rape a seventeen-year-old girl.
“Hello? Roman?” she called tentatively.
“Yeah, we’re here, Jane,” he called back. “It’s okay. Come down.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the kitchen.
“Jane,” someone said behind her in the living room, scaring her. She jumped and spun.
“Dad?” she exclaimed and ran to him after she placed the gun on the counter. “Dad!”
He picked her clean off the ground and held her to him for a long time. Jane cried. She didn’t care who saw. She cried hard. It was as if all the stress and sadness of the past few weeks were melting from her and into him. He just held her and tried to soothe her. He didn’t understand. Him being there was the best medicine she could’ve received this morning.
“Let me look at you, darlin’,” he said and finally placed her on her feet and away from him. She wiped her tears on the sleeve of the sweater. “Oh, my Janie. You’re a mess. Look at you.”
“I’m okay,” she said, trying to allay his worries.
“Roman told me what happened,” he said and explained how they met. She was glad Roman hadn’t shot him. “I’m real sorry about Nana Peaches, baby.”
Jane nodded, incapable of words or speech about the subject yet. Then he sat her down and explained that they needed to leave and why.
Roman’s phone rang in the kitchen. “Hey, Brian. Yeah. Uh-huh. Sure. That’s smart. See ya’ then.”
He put his phone back in his pocket and said, “My phone’s working today. That’s good, I guess. Brian’s with Destiny and her mom. I talked to him already this morning about leaving. Your dad said it’s cool if they wanna’ go with us. I think that’s a good idea, too.”
Jane sniffed and said, “Yes, I don’t want to leave them behind. They literally have nobody but Brian to protect them now.”
“He’s only got a crossbow. That isn’t going to be much help if this neighborhood gets overrun. We’re going to try and leave first thing tomorrow morning. Your dad said he thinks it will take us that long to pack everything up and evacuate. He said the freeways are jam-packed, so we’ll have to go the long way around.”
“Right,” her father confirmed. “We don’t wanna’ run outta’ gas halfway there.” Roman left again.
“To your place, Dad?” she asked.
He nodded and touched her head lightly. Jane leaned into his hand.
“I need to do something before we go,” she told them. “I can’t leave the horses at Mrs. Goddard’s like that. They won’t be able to get away if the infected attack them. Also, once their feed runs out, they’ll just sit in those pastures and starve with no water and no food.”
“Let’s eat,” Roman announced, returning just to say this.
He’d made them all breakfast.
“Wow, this is a feast,” her father noted.
“I figured most of it wasn’t going to transfer well. Hey, why don’t I call Brian and tell them to come over and join us. There’s plenty.”
“Sounds good,” her dad said.
A few minutes later, Dez, her mother, and Brian showed up. None of them looked well, but it wasn’t from being sick. Their hearts were broken. Everyone’s parents or children were dead. Jane knew the feeling all too well now. Brian didn’t seem so bad, but Dez and her mother were in the bowels of despair, total wrecks.
After quick introductions, they all sat in the dining room and ate breakfast. Jane noted how Roman had to keep prompting Connor to eat. The little guy was also depressed. She wasn’t sure if he even knew yet that his mother was also dead. Jane didn’t envy the conversation that would have to take place if Roman hadn’t told him.
He’d made cinnamon rolls that came from the cooler department of the grocery store, scrambled eggs, and bacon and sausage. He also laid out orange juice and milk on the table. She recognized the orange juice container from Nana Peaches’s fridge. Roman must’ve taken their perishable foods last night.
“We’ll help you get packed, ma’am,” her father said to Mrs. Bradshaw.
“Mom,” Dez said, knocking her mother out of her thousand-yard stare by bumping her with her elbow.
“What? Yes, thank you. That would be helpful.”
Jane had never seen Harper this way. She was always so youthful and carefree, a happy little spirit. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she wore drab clothing. Jane was pretty sure the hoodie she had on belonged to her husband. She felt so sorry for Harper. She’d lost her husband and both twin boys. Everyone was losing their family members. Maybe her dad was right. Getting out away from the cities was going to be their best chance for survival.
After breakfast, Destiny and her mother volunteered to wash the dishes, although Jane found that a strange notion since they were getting ready to abandon this house.
Her father and Brian got straight to work packing food and supplies from Dez’s house, while Roman agreed to take her to Mrs. Goddard’s farm. Her father made sure her gun was loaded and gave her a few short instructions on its use so that she’d better understand it. Then he told them both if they weren’t back in one hour, he’d be coming to find them. It wasn’t one of those moments where the father in the movie threatens the boyfriend to have his daughter back by curfew. She knew her dad was just concerned about them being attacked again by one of those non-human humans.
She sat next to Roman in his father’s BMW and held his hand. When they arrived at the farm, the hay from the semi’s trailer was gone. Someone must’ve stolen it.
“That hay’s missing,” Roman also noticed. “There was hay on there the other day.”
“I know. I was thinking the same thing.”
“Be careful. Don’t leave my side. Got your gun?”
“Yes,” she answered.
As they approached the barn, someone came out of it with a shotgun pointing at them.
“Stop where you are! Get away from here! Stay back!”
Roman stepped in front of Jane in a protective manner and said, “Jane, get back in the car.”
They backed up together as the man approached.
“Keep going!” he yelled.
There was something familiar about him, and when he came within twenty yards, Jane recognized him.
“Noah?” she called out.
“Jane, get back,” Roman requested as she attempted to step around him to better see.
“Jane?” Noah asked as if he couldn’t believe it was her and lowered the gun. “Jane Livingston?”
“Yes, it’s me. Don’t shoot. This is my friend, Roman.”
Both men lowered their guns, and she walked forward with Roman right beside her.
“Sorry, Jane,” he said apologetically. “Damn, I could’ve shot you.”
She embraced him in an affectionate hug and stepped back.
“Roman, sorry, this is Noah Goddard, Mrs. Goddard’s grandson,” she introduced. “Charles’s son.”
They shook hands, and she felt bad for thinking it, but Jane was glad that he had on leather work gloves and Roman had on his black leather gloves just in case Noah was infected.
“I’m sorry about your father and grandmother,” she said as the wind picked up. “We saw them.”
T
hey went into the barn to talk.
“Yeah, I buried them both. Used the tractor to do it. I never could’ve dug both graves myself.”
He looked different. He’d grown a beard since she last saw him.
“I’m so sorry,” she said and glanced furtively at Roman, hoping he, too, would not tell Noah that they’d killed his father in self-defense. It would be a hard pill to swallow since they were friends. “How is Marilyn?”
He shook his head and said, “She’s gone. She couldn’t beat it. RF1. She died two days ago. Your grandmother? Is she okay?”
Jane inhaled and held it, not able to speak of it.
Roman said, “Jane’s grandmother was killed yesterday in a home invasion.”
“Oh, Jane,” he said and hugged her close. “I’m so sorry.”
When she pulled back, she noticed Roman regarding them strangely.
She told Noah of their plans of leaving, and he confirmed what her father told her about the evacuations, freeway closings, and burnings of cities. He said that they’d already burned many areas of Cleveland.
“What are you going to do?” she asked her friend.
He shrugged. “Don’t know. I came to get my family. Now they’re gone. You know my mom died a few years ago, and my sister is married and living in San Diego. At least she’s okay. I’ve just been here since last night. What are you doing here?”
“Actually, Noah, I came to free the horses. I felt so bad knowing I was leaving and knowing I was the only one taking care of them. They’ll die in those pastures without food and water. The grass is dormant now. They’ll not have any food left. I figured it was more humane to let them go free. Not a single owner has come to take them elsewhere. Mrs. Goddard didn’t even know what we were going to do with them eventually.”
He nodded, touched her arm, and said, “You always had a big heart, Jane.”
“You should come with us,” she burst out.
Roman looked down at her as if unsure of this decision. She nodded at him.
“You should. Where else are you going to go? Your family’s gone. Marilyn’s gone.”
“Marilyn and I broke it off two weeks before it all happened. I just hadn’t the heart to tell my grandmother yet. We were planning on telling our families, and then she got sick.”
“Oh,” Jane said with surprise. He used to talk about her all the time. “I’m sorry, Noah. Then come with us. My dad says we’ll be safer if we stick together.”
“He might not go for that,” Noah said.
“No, no, he will,” she said and dialed him up. She walked away to explain it, spoke with him for a few minutes and went back. “Plus, your grandmother has a ton of home-canned food you could contribute. My dad said he thinks we should take a few of the horses. I’m not sure why, but he said there’s a farm about a mile’s walk through the woods where we could keep them.”
“I’ve got the gooseneck,” he said, referring to the long trailer. “I could transport at least five.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” she agreed. “I’ll help.”
“You can do more than that. You know these horses better than I do. You’ll come with me and pick which ones to take.”
She nodded and tried to smile, which hurt from the bruising. Noah reached out and touched her bruised cheek.
“Poor Jane,” he said with concern. “You look like you’ve been through the wringer.”
“She has. Let’s get moving,” Roman interrupted. “We’ve got a lot to do before tomorrow morning.”
He took her hand and started walking away.
“I’ll fill the water troughs one last time,” Noah volunteered and went the other way.
“I’ll start loading tack into the front of the trailer,” she called after him, getting a thumbs-up over his head. “Is everything alright, Roman?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s just get done.”
“You seem mad. Are you sure?”
He stopped and looked down at her. The frown line between his brows dissolved, and he smiled instead.
“Everything’s fine,” he said and bent to kiss her softly, quickly on the lips.
“Ouch,” she said and jerked back.
“Sorry,” Roman apologized and gave her a hug instead. “Let’s sort out which horses you want to take.”
It took them a few hours, but they managed to load five horses, their tack, remaining grain, and ten bales of hay into the trailer. They figured they could come back in a few days to load a lot more. Then Noah said he’d meet them all at Roman’s house in a few hours because he wanted to pack. Jane knew she’d have to tell him someday that they took his grandmother’s guns and jewelry and the truth about what happened to his father, but not today. The final thing they did was tie open the gates on the paddocks so that the horses could get out of their own free will. They’d taken a lot of the hay in the barn and stacked it all in the pastures so that they could graze on it until it was gone. Jane had teared up. She’d spent a lot of time with these majestic animals. She hoped they all survived in the wilds of suburban Ohio.
They returned to Roman’s house to find Stephanie on his doorstep. She had two pieces of luggage resting beside her.
“Steph, what’s going on?” Roman asked as he got out.
She started crying and threw herself against him. “They’re all dead, Roman. My step-dad…he…I had to get out of there. I didn’t know where else to go. Everyone’s…”
He looked over her head at Jane a few feet away and scowled with displeasure. She could tell he was clearly not happy about her arrival, but Jane shot him a testy look.
“We’re leaving tomorrow, Steph,” he said and stepped back, distancing himself from her.
“Where? What do you mean?”
“We’ve got to evacuate. They’re going to evacuate the city anyway and burn most of it.”
“What the fuck?”
Roman stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded. Jane stepped forward and said, “You should come with us.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” Roman repeated loudly. “What?”
Where?” Stephanie asked, turning toward her. “Why would I go anywhere with you?”
“Because if you don’t have anyone, you’ll, well, you’ll probably not make it. It’s just not safe,” Jane said.
“What the fuck happened to you? You look like shit,” Stephanie insulted. “You two been getting a little too rough maybe? Huh? Bring out the ole paddle, Roman? You were never that fun when we went out.”
“No way,” Roman said to Jane directly and continued as if Stephanie wasn’t standing there. “She’s not going with us, Jane.”
“Going where? So, you’re gonna take her and not me, Roman? We’re supposed to be friends!”
“Not anymore. You should leave…”
“Roman!” Jane exclaimed. Then she looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. She didn’t want to judge him, but that was just plain cold. “She can’t survive. Nobody can. Not without weapons and food and support people around them.”
“I’ve got my step-dad’s gun,” she said and pulled it out of her pink purse.
“Whoa,” Roman said as she waved it around without caution. “Give that here! Jesus, Steph!”
He snatched it away, checked it was loaded, and kept hold of it. There was even a round in the chamber.
“She’s not going to make it. You should go with us. We’re going far away from the city. It’s not safe here anymore. And, no, Stephanie, this is not from Roman. This,” Jane said pointing to her bruised face, “is what happens when someone gets in your house.”
“Or what happens every night your whore mother’s out of town with her girlfriends on a girls’ fucking trip,” she said, confusing Jane.
“Come with us,” Jane implored softly. This girl was her mortal enemy at school, but Jane couldn’t possibly leave her behind to become the victim of a rapist, murderer, or one of the infected. She couldn’t do that to anyone, especially not a girl. Stephanie woul
dn’t last a week. She didn’t even look like the same person from just a few weeks ago at school. Her hair was a mess, her nails were chipped and missing polish, she wore no makeup, and her clothing was more practical, less revealing and fancy.
“Wait,” Roman said. “If you don’t have anything to contribute other than your Louis Vuitton luggage, then no way.”
Stephanie thought a moment before saying, “Hey, we have like a lot of food and shit at my house. My step-dad’s always bitchin’ about the pantry not being stocked, so he just ordered everything online and it came automatically.”
Roman squared up and crossed his arms over his chest as if he were his father negotiating some big corporate deal. “What about meds? Got any to contribute?”
“Meds? You do know my mother, don’t you, Roman? Or did?” she added sadly because her mom was dead, too.
“What’ve you got?” Roman prompted as he tapped his forefinger against his lower lip.
“Whatever you need. I guarantee it,” she answered.
“Let’s go,” he said decidedly.
“Where?” Jane asked him.
“Her house. If she doesn’t have a lot of food and meds, she isn’t going with us.”
“Roman, I do. I’m not lying. Jesus!” Stephanie swore. “Don’t be such a prick.”
“I’ll tell my dad where we’re going,” Jane said and went into his house. She found him and Brian sorting everything from bottles of medicines to food products into plastic tubs. She explained the situation, and her father said he was going, too, and that it was too far to go somewhere without him. Jane agreed and told Brian to keep an eye out for Noah. He said he had the remote for the gate to let him into the community. Then she drove with Roman, Stephanie, and her father in her father’s extended cab pickup truck to her mortal enemy’s house. They left the red, convertible BMW of Stephanie’s at the curb in front of Roman’s house. She sat up front with her dad, and Roman sat beside Stephanie in the back seat.
Her neighborhood was not faring as well as Roman’s. Homes had been looted, clearly. Her father got out and told Jane to stay back until he had the house cleared.
