“Let’s move.” Brad spurred his horse across the river. Sheri stayed close by.
Once on the opposite bank, Sheri paused to gaze at the carnage across the river. She closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight of the feeding. “Peace be with you. Go with God.”
The two followed the Ammonoosuc River until it crossed Route 302 again near Bretton Woods. Seeing no deaders in the area, they climbed back onto the road and continued their journey. Neither spoke for the rest of the day.
* * *
Most of the deaders that had chased the two humans did not make it across the river, either becoming stuck in the mud or washed away by the current. Three made it to the opposite bank, one following the humans and two wandering off into the woods.
Those that fed off the crippled human and her horse did not care about the ones who had escaped. They fought amongst themselves, pushing each other aside to tear off chunks of meat and stuff it into their decayed mouths. One deader, a former college professor, had noticed the escaping humans moving east along the river. Its primitive mind realized that potential food existed in that direction, so it followed. The rest of the horde did the same, more out of habit than any conscious decision.
Within minutes, a horde of over two hundred deaders shambled along Route 302 toward North Conway.
Chapter Fifteen
After dinner, as the others stayed in the cabin to rest, Nathan led Alissa down the access road to show her the progress they had made.
The group had put in a hard day. All the pilings had been dug and cemented into the ground and the chain link fences attached, stretching to the edge of the woods on either side so nothing could drive around them. The only portion not finished was the adding of the twin gates, which would be completed tomorrow.
“You got a lot done today. I’m impressed.”
“Thanks,” Nathan replied unenthusiastically.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re upset because you saw me kissing Chris today.”
“It’s none of my business.”
“You’re jealous.”
“Fine,” snapped Nathan. “I’m jealous. Are you happy now?”
“I was thanking him for finding Archer.”
“You seemed to enjoy it.” The anger drained from Nathan. “Admit it, you like him.”
“Chris is sexy and he has that bad boy element—”
Nathan frowned.
“I’d rather be with you.”
“Really?”
Alissa chuckled. “Men.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Nathan, we’ve known each other since high school, and I know you liked me back then. I thought you knew I liked you.”
“I hoped you did.”
“Why are all the good men afraid to ask out women?”
Nathan hemmed, offering no answer.
“We’re in the middle of an apocalypse. We might not have much longer to live. Now would be the perfect time to be together.”
“What if I had asked you out and you weren’t interested? I didn’t want things to be weird between us,”
“Is this weird?” Alissa moved close to him, placed one hand around his neck, and drew him toward her. Their lips met in a passionate kiss. For a moment, he seemed stunned. Then he kissed back, his tongue sliding across her lips and tongue. His hands slid around Alissa’s hips and pulled her into him. She moaned when she felt his hardness and ground against him.
“Do you want to go back to the cabin?” he asked.
“Too many people there.” Alissa took Nathan’s hand and led him to a nearby tree.
“Out here?”
“You’ve never did it outside before?”
Nathan hesitated. Alissa leaned back against a tree and, grabbing his ass, drew him against her. They fondled each other through their clothes, Alissa enjoying his erection and Nathan her wetness. Passion turned to lust. She unzipped Nathan’s pants, pausing long enough to glide her hands along him, enjoying the feel of his fullness. Unable to hold back any longer, Alissa hooked her hands around her jeans and panties, slid them off, then wrapped her legs around Nathan’s waist and pulled him close.
For the next few minutes, nothing existed except the excitement between them.
Chapter Sixteen
Alissa woke up genuinely happy, the first time she had done so since the outbreak had begun. Last night had been wonderful, the first time she had been with a man since separating from Paul. She was not in love with Nathan. Well, at least not yet. She had needed last night, not only to vent months of pent up frustration, but to be in the arms of someone who cared for her and wanted to be with her. She needed the affirmation that someone viewed her as a desirable woman and not merely a deader killer.
The only downside to the morning came from Archer who basked in the sunlight on the windowsill, glaring at her with more distain than usual because someone occupied his side of the bed.
After their tryst in the woods, Nathan had snuck into Alissa’s room after everyone else had gone to bed for a further round of love making, this time slower and more impassioned. He had fallen asleep after they finished and she did not wake him, enjoying his company. Especially now as he cuddled beside her, an arm draped across her bare chest.
Archer meowed.
“Get used to it,” she whispered.
“Oh, I can,” replied Nathan.
“You’re awake?”
“I’ve been up for half an hour.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I didn’t want to disturb you.” Nathan cuddled closer to Alissa. She became excited by the feel of his naked body against hers.
Nathan gently nibbled on the back of her neck. “Want to do it again?”
“No,” she lied. “Everyone is awake.”
“How do you know?”
“For one thing, it’s a little after nine. And I can hear them downstairs having breakfast.”
“Who cares?” He cuddled closer to her, his erection poking at her hip.
“You’re a sex fiend,” she quipped.
“I’m a man.”
“That’s what I said.” Alissa rolled over and kissed Nathan long and enthusiastically, then threw aside the covers and jumped out of bed before her own libido took over.
“You look even more beautiful in the sunlight.”
“You’ve seen me before in the sunlight.”
“Yeah, but not naked.”
Alissa blushed and slid on her panties. “I’ll get dressed and head down first. You follow in a few minutes.”
“You’re embarrassed of me.” The broad smile on Nathan’s face betrayed his true feelings.
“Don’t say that, even in jest.” Alissa donned the rest of her clothes. “There are kids here and I don’t want to give them the wrong impression.”
“How are else are they going to learn?”
Alissa leaned across the bed and kissed Nathan again. “Behave.”
Archer meowed.
Alissa crossed the room to the windowsill and petted him. He closed his eyes and pushed against her hand. “Yes, I still love you, asshat.”
As she opened the bedroom door, Alissa whispered, “Come down in a few minutes. And play it cool.”
The others were seated at the table finishing breakfast when Alissa entered the living area. Chris had dropped by. Shithead spread out in the sunlight coming through the patio doors, taking advantage of the location before Archer showed up and bullied him away.
Miriam glanced up from her plate. “I left your breakfast in the microwave.”
“Thanks.” Alissa reheated the scrambled eggs and bacon while she poured herself a cup of coffee and then joined the others. Connie stood and gave Alissa her seat.
“Thank you.” Alissa sat down.
Nobody spoke.
Miriam finally broke the silence. “Somebody had a good night last night.”
“Who?” asked Alissa, praying this conversation would not head in the directio
n she thought.
“You.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.” Kiera placed her fork on her empty plate. “The exterior of the cabin may be a fortress, but the walls are paper thin.”
Alissa felt the heat surge in her cheeks and pictured herself turning fifty shades of red.
“Why are you so embarrassed?” asked Connie. “You were only hugging.”
Alissa went from embarrassment to confusion.
Diana rubbed Connie’s head as she answered Alissa’s unasked question. “I told her that you and Nathan were hugging loudly in your room last night.”
Alissa quickly changed subjects. “How are we doing on the upgrades to the compound?”
“We’re almost finished.” Chris was more than happy to change topics. “We set up the chain link fence yesterday. Steve, Rebecca, and Miriam will finish putting up the gates this morning. While they do that, Kiera is going to help me and Nathan string extra strands of barbed wire behind the cabin. By tonight, everything should be in place.”
“Good work. Sorry I didn’t help much yesterday.”
Steve waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. You had other things on your mind.”
Alissa smiled at the thought of having Archer being brought back to her alive by Chris.
At that moment, Nathan quietly slipped down from upstairs. He tried to, anyway. The minute Nathan reached the bottom of the stairs, Steve applauded. Kiera joined in, not wanting to miss out on the teasing. Miriam gently punched them both in the shoulder. Even Shithead joined in with a bark.
Nathan paused by the end of the table. “What’s going on?”
Alissa covered her face. “They heard us last night.”
Going with the moment, Nathan jogged in place and pumped his fists over his head like a prize fighter who had knocked out his opponent. Alissa wanted to dig a deep hole into the floor, crawl into it, and bury herself.
Her embarrassment became complete when Connie, wanting to be part of the group, clapped her hands and said, “Yay. Aunt Alissa got hugged last night.”
Chapter Seventeen
The pack staggered down the road, moving with greater listlessness than usual, an indication they had not fed sufficiently for days. Even Alpha experienced it – the gnawing hunger that consumed its limited thinking and the stiffness in its muscles that slowed its movement. Alpha craved human flesh. The entire pack did. They needed it as desperately as their once-human forms needed oxygen to survive.
In a process none of the deaders were consciously aware of, the protein from living flesh and organs slowed their decomposition. For some reason unbeknownst to the few scientists who had survived the outbreak, protein significantly decelerated the process of decay. It was the reason the living dead did not rot away within a few weeks. Without protein, deaders would gradually lose their ability to function until the body eventually collapsed. At that point, with no means to obtain sustenance, the muscles would atrophy to the point that a deader could no longer move and would lie immobile until deterioration eventually broke down the body.
The first few months after the outbreak had posed no problems to deaders around the world. Food was plentiful. However, now that the dead far outnumbered the living, finding a meal had become next to impossible. Those deaders that had followed the pack had begun feasting off each other, realizing that the limited protein contained within rotting flesh also delayed the inevitable, although not as effectively as that of the living. So far, despite the moments of cannibalism, the pack had maintained its integrity.
If they did not find food soon, though, Alpha could not guarantee their survival.
* * *
Brad and Sheri were on guard to the point of being jittery. After so many weeks on the road without running into deaders, he had become overconfident about their chances for survival, which had cost them three of their team, including the love of his life. They stayed on Route 302 and did not try cutting cross country due to the mountain ranges on either side which were too steep to navigate on horseback.
They had stopped for the night at a tire store a few miles back and, after checking for deaders, set up camp inside one of the bays where nothing could see or get to them. Sleep had been impossible after what they had experienced hours earlier so, when the sun rose, they set out early, hoping to reach as quickly as possible the small road north of Conway that would take them to Nova Scotia.
Sheri stopped her horse.
“What’s wrong?” asked Brad.
“Do you see that?”
Brad stopped. The bushes along the tree line ahead of them shook, not from wind but as if something were about to emerge from them. His first instinct was to escape. Instead, he waited, wanting to know what type of threat they faced. Sheri had already withdrawn her bowie knife, ready to engage deaders.
A deer poked its head from the bushes and scanned the area for danger. Apparently, it didn’t consider the humans a threat because it steppedonto the road. Three fawn emerged from the trees. Brad’s horse stomped its foot and snorted. The family darted across the road and dove into the woods off to their left, disappearing into the underbrush.
“Jesus Christ,” huffed Brad. Then, to Sheri, “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry. I said the same thing to myself.”
“Did you want to take a break? There’s a scenic overlook up ahead.”
“No. Let’s get out of here. I feel trapped on this road.”
Brad did not blame her. Taking the lead, he headed for North Conway.
* * *
The female Beta scouted ahead of the pack. It wore a biker’s leather jacket and pants, both of which were stained from the blood and fluids of its victims. Indentations from teeth marks covered its leather jacket from numerous attempts of deaders attempting to feast on her former human form. Nothing had covered its head and, as such, one lucky deader had feasted off the entire left side of the human’s face before the female Beta reanimated, leaving an empty eye socket and an exposed jaw and teeth. That had happened days after the outbreak. Now it paused at the bend in the road ahead of the pack, using the trees as cover as it gazed down the road to its right. Something moved. The female Beta studied them through its one murky eye and rejoined the pack.
Alpha waited for a report. The female Beta motioned around the bend and raised two fingers.
The pack grew agitated. Food approached.
Alpha contemplated the best plan of attack. Turning to the others, it pointed to the two sides of the road and grunted. The pack divided and wandered into the woods, three Betas commanding one group and Alpha and the other two Betas, including the female, the second. They spread out along a two-hundred-foot stretch of road, hid amongst the trees, and waited.
* * *
The horses clopped along on the asphalt. Off to their right stood a sign announcing the entrance to the Mount Tremont Trailhead. To their left, Brad heard a river flowing close by.
“Where are we?”
Sheri withdrew the map from inside her jacket and opened it, letting the horse lead. “According to this, we’re only a few miles from North Conway and the turnoff to Route 16.”
“We’re making good time.”
Sheri slid the map into her inner jacket pocket. They rounded a bend and continued.
The tree limbs off to their right rustled. Brad thought nothing of it, assuming it was another animal. Then the horse neighed, warning of danger. Before either of them had a chance to respond, a deader emerged from the trees and staggered onto the road. Close to forty others joined it, lining both shoulders of the road to the front and rear. The deaders on either end maneuvered so that they blocked the humans’ escape. The pack closed ranks but did not move in for the kill.
Brad refused to wait to find out what they intended. He brandished his baseball bat. The deaders became agitated, swaying from side to side, and snarled. One of the deaders that appeared to be in charge, which wore the soiled and blood-soaked uniform
of a New Hampshire State Trooper, moved forward. As it did, the others calmed down. The deader approached, stopping in front of the horses. It pointed to Brad and then to the ground.
“What’s going on?” asked Brad.
The deader pointed more forcefully to the ground. The other deaders grew agitated again.
Sheri moved her horse beside Brad. “I think it wants you to dismount.”
“Screw that.”
Brad kicked his horse in the abdomen. The terrified animal bolted forward, rushing for a gap in the circle. He did not get far. The deaders closed in around him, several stopping the horse while a female deader in a leather jacket and only half a face tried to drag him from the saddle. Brad closed his legs tight around the horse and wrapped the reigns around his left hand. With his free hand, he drove the end of the bat into the deader’s face, creating a fracture along its forehead. Others closed in, yanking him off the horse and throwing him to the ground. Brad braced himself to be torn apart. To his surprise, the deaders did not feast, using their presence only to intimidate him.
The deader that had commanded Brad stumbled down the line, stopped in front of Sheri, and gestured for her to dismount. She hesitated.
“Run,” yelled Brad. “You still have a chance.”
The pack of deaders snarled and inched closer.
Sheri dropped the bowie knife and climbed out of the saddle. A few deaders stepped in to restrain her horse. She leaned back against the animal, frightened of what would happen next. None of them harmed her.
Alpha stepped forward along with the rest of the Betas. The other deaders cleared a path for them. Sheri kept her eyes fixed on the leader, shaking as it drew near.
“Sheri, don’t show fear.”
One of the deaders hovering over Brad bared its teeth, ending the protest.
Alpha moved to within inches of Sheri, examining her. It sniffed. Good. The other human showed defiance, but this one reeked of fear, fear that would make the flesh and blood taste that much sweeter. The insatiable hunger grew more intense, churning its stomach into a knot.
Nurse Alissa vs. the Zombies | Book 4 | Hunters Page 6
