Marionette Zombie Series | Book 12 | Dead Reckoning

by Poe, S. B.

  Kate stood on top of the bus with the binoculars to her eyes. Tilly sat in the lawn chair with her baseball cap turned around backwards. Raj, Evelyn and Bridger stood at the bottom of the ladder.

  “They’ve been gone an hour?” Kate asked.

  “About that.” Tilly said.

  “But she didn’t say when they would be back?” She asked.

  “She didn’t say anything. Just smiled and walked out. Charlie said they would be gone a little while.”

  “You think they’ll find him?” Kate turned and spoke to Bridger.

  “Who knows?” Bridger shrugged. “We haven’t seen him in a month or more. Last time we did, he said he might be leaving anyway.”

  “What happens if she doesn’t find him?” Kate asked.

  “I don’t know, Kate.” Bridger said.

  “We’re just going to have to see what happens.” Evelyn added.

  “That’s starting to get really annoying.” Tilly added.

  “What’s that?” Kate asked.

  “Waiting to see what happens. I mean, I know we kind of have to right now, but it just feels wrong. Not who we are.” Tilly said.

  “Who are we?” Kate asked.

  “I just mean we’ve just always been, I don’t know, proactive. I mean, before I even met you, you and your husband were stealing buses from a schoolyard to get folks out of town. And while y’all were doing that, Bridger here was pulling totally awesome but complete strangers out of wrecks and saving them from the undead. And that was just the first week. Ever since then we’ve been moving forward by not backing down, by not waiting to see what happens next.” Tilly said.

  “What do you think we should do?” Kate asked.

  “I don’t know Kate. I just know this doesn’t feel right.” Tilly said.

  “I know. But my son…”

  “Yeah, I get it. Or at least I’m beginning too.” She touched her stomach.

  “How are you feeling now?” Kate asked.

  “Getting used to it.”

  “Enjoy these few weeks. As soon as it gets big enough to put pressure on your bladder twenty four seven, you’ll yearn for a quick bout of morning sickness being the worse part of your day.” Kate smiled. “But on the bright side, getting up to pee every thirty minutes kind of prepares you for the feeding, changing and rocking every few hours for the next year.”

  “Now I’m really looking forward to it.” Tilly pulled the sunglasses over her eyes.

  “Well, let me know when they show back up.” Kate turned to climb down the ladder.

  “Will do.” Tilly waved the walkie at her.

  Raj climbed up the ladder after Kate came down.

  “You worried?” Evelyn asked Kate as they walked down the street away from the gate.

  “I’m always worried.” Kate said. “But Tilly’s right. This is getting annoying.”

  “I’ll ask you the same thing you asked her. What do you think we should do?” Bridger asked.

  “I’ll give you the same answer she did. I don’t know.” Kate said.

  “Well, we need to start thinking about it.” Bridger said.

  “Sounds a little like you already have been.” Kate said.

  “Just some observations.” Bridger said. “Come on to our house and have lunch with us. I can tell you what I’ve been thinking.”

  “What are we having?” Kate asked.

  “My own special vegetable soup.” Bridger said.

  “How can I pass that up?”

  “You can’t.” Evelyn smiled. They turned the corner and started towards the little house on the next street.

  Scott looked at the half ladder going to the top of the truck. For four days in a row he had thought about making a mad dash and following Ham over the fence. And four days in a row he didn’t. He heard her clear her throat.

  “I knew you’d be out here.” He said.

  “Always watching.” Hannah stepped from the other side of the trailer and smiled.

  “Who are you looking for?” Scott asked.

  “You?” Hannah looked puzzled.

  “Not you. The one they sent to Collier. Who is she looking for?” Scott asked.

  “No one.” Hannah said.

  “Why are you lying right now?” Scott used air quotes of the last two words.

  Hannah’s eyebrows twisted then straightened. She turned her head slightly to a sideways glare.

  “Who have you been talking to?” Hannah asked.

  “No one.” Scott smiled.

  “I think it’s time for you to talk to Noah again.” Hannah said. “This evening. You’re free to roam inside now.”

  “Why now?” Scott asked.

  “Because tomorrow Noah’s going to see Naomi. She’s going to tell him what he wants to know and this will all be over for you. And you’ll never have to worry about it again.” Hannah said.

  “Somehow I don’t believe that last part.” Scott said.

  “Well, we’ll see how it goes.” She turned and walked back the way she came. Scott stood there for another minute or so looking at the half ladder. He turned and followed her.

  “We’ll be back by dark.” Jahda said. “Tell Ed and Vernon.”

  “They’ll be late. We’ll probably still be here.” Tilly said.

  “Well, this should be, uh, interesting.” Jahda said.

  Tilly looked at the others gathered just on the other side of the gate.

  “Be careful.” Tilly said.

  “We will.”

  Jennifer, Ham, Josh and Lori stood in the shade of the big tree that hung over the street. Jahda listened to the gate latch and turned to join them. Ham swung her backpack off her shoulder and started passing out leather work gloves to everyone.

  “Where’d these come from?” Josh asked.

  “Cameron. He said he found boxes full of them. Said he thinks the guy that lived in the house he lives in now used to sell them or something. Anyway, he said they should be hard to bite through.” Ham said.

  “Well, what now?” Lori asked. She pulled the axe off her back and tested the grip with the gloves on.

  “I guess we just work our way through them.” Jahda said.

  “Listen, can we not go whichever way my dad went? I’d rather not hear him complain about me being out here.” Jennifer said.

  “Are you sure you need to be out here?” Jahda asked.

  “It’s fine. He’s a dad. He worries.” She smiled.

  “Well, Tilly said they went looking for that Ramey guy.” Ham said.

  “Bridger told my mom that he was hanging out near that gas station with the red awning.” Josh said. “That’s down that road right there.” He pointed.

  “Then we’ll just go this way.” Jahda pointed down the street. “It would make sense for us to hang close to the barricade. Maybe walk a sweep all the way around it. Clear the closest ones first.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense.” Josh said.

  “Let’s go then.” Lori said. They spread out across the street and started walking.

  Tilly stood at the gate and watched them walk down the road. She swung it shut and worked the latch. She shielded her eyes as she looked up. Raj leaned over the edge of the bus.

  “You wanted to go with them, didn’t you?” Raj asked.

  “Just a little.” She walked around to the back of the bus and climbed the ladder. “But I’ll be okay.” She smiled as she stood behind the chair he sat in.

  “It’s okay to take it easy. Once our son gets here, you can teach him all the ways to, you know.” Raj said.

  “Yeah, maybe by the time he gets big enough, we won’t need to.” Tilly reached down and squeezed his shoulder.

  “So you agree?” Raj asked.

  “With what?”

  “That it is a boy.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “No, yeah, not really but you know, it's a guy thing, maybe. Having a son.” Raj said.

  “Is it?” Tilly smiled behind him.

  “I guess. Yeah. Come
on you know what I mean.” He turned and saw her smiling.

  “I know what you mean. You’re cute.” She kissed him on the top of the head.

  The five that had passed through the gates were just beyond the next street. She raised the binoculars and watched as they turned and disappeared around the corner. The sun hung just over her left shoulder. The lawn chair squeaked against the roof of the bus as she sat down beside him. She closed her eyes and let the time pass by.

  Jennifer put her foot on the things cheek and pulled. She twisted it a quarter turn and the spear slid out of its eye socket. She looked up just as Ham drove her spear under the chin of the other deadun and snatched it back out before it fell.

  “I like these things.” Jennifer held up the new weapon.

  “I told you he’d give it to you.” Ham said.

  “Yeah, thanks for that.” Jennifer smiled.

  “Two more right there.” Jahda pointed.

  “I got this one.” Lori said as she lifted the axe above her head. It took two hard swings to drop the deadun. Josh drove his knife into the temple of the other. Both of them ended up with rot splattered on their clothing.

  “Ugh. This sucks.” Josh said. “There’s gotta be a better way than this.”

  “Those spears they got work pretty good. Not as messy anyway.” Jahda said.

  “Maybe we should go back and see if old Cam has anymore of them.” Josh said.

  “Not today. Next time. But we can share them this time.” Jahda said. The group had gathered around Jahda as she spoke.

  “Share them? How?” Ham asked.

  “We can take turns.”

  “Huh?”

  “I got an idea. We just need to find the right spot.” Jahda said.

  “So, what now?” Josh asked.

  “We start looking for the right spot.” Jahda said.

  “Where’s that?” Lori asked.

  “I’ll know it when I see it. Let’s go that way.” Jahda nodded down the street where the businesses met the barricade.

  “Are you sure about this?” Jennifer asked.

  Both Josh and Lori laughed under their breath. Even Ham’s face broke out in a smile. Jennifer looked around at the others, missing the humor. They all turned and started walking the way Jahda had suggested. Jennifer hesitated then followed. Lori held back just a little and fell in beside her.

  “What’s so funny?” Jennifer asked.

  “Nothing. It’s just that, well you haven’t been out here with us.” Lori said.

  “What’s that have to do with it? Some kind of joke on me or something?” Jennifer asked.

  “No, not that. We’ve just kinda learned that when Jahda has a plan, it’s usually pretty good. She’s gotten us through a lot of tight spots is all.” Lori said.

  “You coulda just said that.” Jennifer said.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. So where is she leading us?” Jennifer asked.

  “I don’t know. You’ve never used that before?” Lori nodded to the spear.

  “Not this one. But it’s like the thing I used at the fence.”

  “The fence?”

  “When the horde came. Back at the compound.”

  “I wasn’t there.” Lori said.

  “Oh, that’s right. I forgot.” Jennifer said. She lifted the spear and looked at the tip. “Anyway, it’s about the same.”

  “Sure. Well?”

  “Well.” Jennifer smiled.

  “Yeah.” Lori said as she sped up slightly to catch Josh.

  “Yeah.” Jennifer said.

  Close to the Moment

  Josh looked back over his shoulder and slowed down. There had been six but now he only saw five. Lori slowed when she felt him no longer beside her. She turned.

  “What?”

  “We lost one.” He said.

  “We’ll come back for it.” She said. “Let’s go.”

  “Alright.” He started walking again. The dead were half a block behind. “There he is.”

  Lori looked back and saw one of the dead trying to lift itself off the car hood it had fallen over. One hand slid off and its face planted square on the hood. Bang. Josh laughed. The noise caused two more deaduns to lift themselves off the ground from against the hedges that had grown across the sidewalk and almost into the street.

  “That’s eight. Too many?” Lori asked.

  “Not if that stick she made works as well as those two spears.” Josh said as they walked a little faster.

  “It did last go round.” Lori said.

  “Next time, let’s stay and do the dirty work.” Josh said.

  “Not me. I’d rather just walk around.” Lori said.

  They turned between two brick faced buildings. One had a sign in the window “Keys Made Here”. The alley between the two was wide enough for a truck. Josh waved at Jahda as she Ham and Jennifer stood between the safety rails of the delivery dock. They headed down the alley but turned through the door to their right just before reaching the edge of the dock. They slammed it shut behind them and made their way around the edge of the counter of the store and through the other door before stepping out onto the dock behind the others.

  “Eight this time.” Josh said.

  Jahda looked away from him and back down the alley. The first one stepped into the opening. All three of them begin banging their spears on the railing.

  “Hey, over here.” Jennifer called.

  “We’re over here.” Ham yelled.

  The deadun turned. The ones behind it turned as well when they reached the opening. By the time the first one reached the dock all eight were coming down the narrow alley. Ham struck first. She drove her spear through the eye of the first one as it approached the dock. Pop. They were standing perhaps four feet above the dead, the height of the bed of the tractor-trailer. The railing wrapped around them to the wall on the sides and they stood in the opening where the pallets would be offloaded from the truck.

  “Keep your feet back. They can still grab at you.” Jahda said as the next couple approached.

  “I got it.” Jennifer said.

  She stepped forward, minding the edge, and drove her spear into the next one. Pop. Jahda took her time and lined up the tip of the sharpened stick with the eye of the third. She drove it home to an audible pop. They quickly dispatched the others as they approached.

  “Nice.” Josh said from behind.

  “Yeah. Let’s drag them to the side a little and y’all can round up some more.” Jahda said.

  “Not me. I’m staying this time. I wanna little of that action. You said we’d share.” Josh smiled at Jahda.

  “You can take my place.” Ham said. “I wanna go for a walk.”

  “Not this time. You stay with me.” Jahda said. “We’ll go later.”

  “There won’t be a later.” Ham said. “It’ll get dark. We’ll run out of deaduns.”

  “We’ve got hours yet. And plenty of deaduns from the look of it.” Jahda said.

  “Don’t worry kid, the park ain’t gonna close without you getting to ride.” Josh said smiling.

  Lori and Jahda chuckled a little.

  “You can take my place.” Jennifer said. “If Lori doesn’t mind me helping her round the next bunch up.”

  “You sure?” Lori asked.

  “Are you?” Jennifer replied.

  “Okay then.” Jahda said. “Let’s get these things moved out of the way.”

  She jumped down and grabbed the legs of the closest one to drag it to the side.

  The others jumped down and helped move the rest as Jennifer and Lori made their way back down the alley.

  The street was empty in both directions. The two trips around the block had gathered fourteen of the dead.

  “Which way?” Jennifer asked.

  “We’ve been around that corner twice already. I don’t think there are many more over there.” Lori pointed to her left. “We can walk down there and make sure and then keep going or turn around and come back the ot
her way if there aren’t any.”

  “Whatever you want. It doesn’t matter.” Jennifer said.

  “Well, yeah it does matter. If we go that way first we’ll find more. If we go the way we’ve already been, we may find more but not as many.”

  “Again, whatever you want. I guess it matters but I don’t care. Just pick one.” Jennifer said.

  “Fine. That way.” Lori pointed.

  “The way you’ve already been?” Jennifer asked.

  “I thought you didn’t care.” Lori smiled at her. Jennifer’s lip curled slightly.

  “I don’t.” She turned and started walking.

  They turned the next corner and saw the deadun. He stood in the middle of the street facing away from them. They both stopped.

  “So now what?” Jennifer whispered.

  “I hate to just bring one back. Let’s sneak across the street and see if there are more on the next block. We can catch him on our way back either way.” Lori said. “This way.”

  She ducked down and scrambled across the intersection, watching the deadun as she went. Jennifer followed her. Lori watched the deadun as Jennifer gathered up behind her. As Lori turned to move her head smacked Jennifer on the chin.

  “Ow.” Jennifer’s eyes got wide as she harshly whispered. Lori reached up and rubbed her head and smiled.

  “Don’t.” Jennifer whispered. Lori held the smile on her face but a few snickers came from deep in her throat.

  “DON’T.” Jennifer whispered louder and felt her laughter building. Lori snorted once and a snot bubble popped out of her nose. Jennifer’s eyes got even wider.

  “GO. GO.” Lori pushed her and the two of them busted out laughing. They ran across the street and pushed through a privacy fence into an overgrown back yard. Both of them doubled over laughing still trying to be as hushed as they could. Jennifer stuck her head back out the gate but the street was empty. She turned to Lori smiling and held a finger up to her mouth.

  “SHHHH.”

  “Okay, okay.” Lori said wiping her nose furiously with the back of her hand.

  The laughter gave way to deep breaths as they both regained their composure. Jennifer looked out the gate again, still nothing. She looked back at Lori.