DEAD: Reborn (10 page)

Just before Chad turned in to get some sleep, he had the strangest thought that this was where he belonged. He shook it off as his mind being wacky from fatigue and the emotional d
rain of the situation between him and his daughter.

***

Jody moved a little to his left. The small pack of walking dead was not that much to get very worked up about. However, he had never seen the likes of what was on the heels of that small mob.

“Are those…?” Selina’s words died on her tongue. She felt her stomach lurch and turn over just a bit.

“Rottweilers,” Jody finished.

From the looks of it, somebody here had owned a dozen or s
o of the big dogs. They probably roamed the grounds as an added measure of security. At least that was his guess.

The dogs were no more sure-footed than their human cou
nterparts, but their appearance was very disconcerting. Jody found himself praying that these things were as clumsy
and
slow as the human version. In his mind, there was only one way to know. He stepped in front of Selina and brought his bow off from his shoulder. Nocking an arrow, he sighted in on the closest one and drew back on the string. After a slight readjustment, he let go and the arrow hissed though the air.

“You are a lousy shot,” Selina said with a snicker as she stepped up beside him and repeated the process he’d just done. The only difference, although a big one, was that her arrow plunged into the eye socket of the dog he’d missed by a good two feet.
It dropped just as instantly as a human version.

A few seconds later, George and Danny saw the first of the canine zombies limp into view. Both men glanced over at Jody and Selina who nodded and gestured with their bows; although Jody felt sort of silly since he hadn’t actually been the one to confirm that the dog version of the zombie had the same procli
vity for dying after suffering a grievous head wound.

It was really no different than putting down the humans, but it still creeped Jody out. When they finished, the two pairs split up. George and Danny vanished into the expansive driveway of the first house on the street and Jody and Selina went into the one across the way and up just a bit.

“They never even put the grass down,” Selina observed as the headed up the driveway.

The house was enormous and Jody was beginning to think that perhaps it would have been smarter to stick together. So far, they had managed to only search a half a dozen homes and it would be dark soon. That meant that they would need to make camp in one of the homes
before long.

The front door was a huge double-doored entrance that opened into a massive entry hall with spiral stairs wrapped around both sides. The upstairs was darker which indicated to Jody that the doors were all probably shut. He looked both ways and ventured deeper inside in search of the kitchen.

“Why can’t we just get everybody from Cash and move here?” Selina said wistfully as they passed an enormous sofa that looked like it could hold at least ten people comfortably and without anybody touching the person beside him or her.

“For one,” Jody continued to creep forward as he spoke, “there is no sort of wall
or fence around this place. Judging by what we have seen, this development is enormous. At the very least we are talking about a mile per side. Plus, these residences are very spread out.”

“Exactly!” Selina exclaimed. “No more having to bite the pillow at night because there are people on the other side of a wheeled divider wall.”

“Yes,” Jody agreed.

He certainly understood her point. It was difficult at best to get some quality time alone for any sort of intimacy. All the homes in Cash, the few there were, had occupants. The apar
tments were just now under construction, and they would be Spartan studios at best.

“However, being that spread out would make it difficult for us to be able to help one another in the event of an emergency. Right now, at least in the foreseeable future, we have to rely on strength and safety in numbers.”

“Still…” Selina paused as they passed through the dining room that she was pretty sure had to be larger than her entire two bedroom apartment back in Bald Knob. “It sure would be nice.”

Jody could not argue her point. Privacy was sorely lacking in the post-apocalypse. That was a concern he would have never imagined before when this stuff—this “stuf
f” being zombies—was just a bunch of cheesy books, movies, and television shows. Being in the Army had almost broken him of any sense of modesty or privacy; and that had worked fine until he met Selina.

“Well, the good news is that we are at the top of the list for first choice when the apartments are built.” Jody walked into the kitchen. It looked like it was going to be another bust. All of the cupboards were open and displaying a lot of empty space.

“Doesn’t look good,” Selina sighed.

She walked over to the pantry door and readied her machete in one hand while placing the other on the door. Jody nodded his approval and she yanked the door open and jumped back. When nothing lurched out, they stepped in to take a better look.

“Not even a stinking can of garbanzo beans,” Jody said as he toed around in the garbage left on the floor.

“Oh my G—” Selina started, but quickly turned and threw up in the
conveniently close sink.

Jody knelt and held out his glow stick. In the corner
, under one of the shelves, was perhaps the saddest and most grizzly sight he had yet witnessed. A half-eaten child was almost plastered to the wall and floor in the corner. An emaciated and long-since-dead dog was sort of melted into the mess. Jody felt his gorge rise and he had to struggle not to join Selina at the other side of that double sink that she was still bent over. He stepped out of the pantry and shut the door.

“Let’s check out the upstairs,” he suggested after Selina was done being sick.

Together they went up the left staircase in the entry hall. Every single door was shut. That raised a yellow flag of caution in Jody’s mind. He went to the first door and had Selina step back before he slung it open and prepared himself for whatever might be inside.

Sure enough, a dead female body was on the bed. Jody guessed the age to be early teens. There was what had to be a prescription bottle on the night stand and the corpse had a plastic dry cleaning bag over her head.

As they went from room to room, the scene was the same. They found what had to be the child from the pantry’s room. The bed was rumpled but empty. The decorations were all pinks and yellows and the largest doll house either of them had ever seen was on one table.

Jody went over to get a closer look when he realized that it was a replica of the home they were currently searching. It had a hinge and was open slightly. He saw small figures in several of the rooms—all laid on the toy bed
s within.

With one exception.

In one of the rooms, instead of a human figure, there was a hideous blue monster. Jody took a moment to get his bearings and realized that it would be a room just around the corner and at the end of the hall.

He held the monster toy up for Selina. “Looks like we might have a zombie in here if my guess is correct.”

He moved past her and headed to the room. He put his hand on the door knob and prepared himself. Just as he was about to throw the door open, the sound of breaking glass came in a discordant crash.

“That’s George and Danny!” Selina breathed.

6

Geek in the Grave

“Wake up, babe, Heather is gone. We gotta go back and get her.”

“She said for you not to worry…she will be back before midday,” Catie’s voice called from her place between the seats.

Kevin hobbled over to where Catie appeared to simply be rolling back over and going back to sleep. He stood over her for a few seconds and waited for her to acknowledge him; when she didn’t, he nudged her with his toe.

“What the hell do you mean ‘she’ll be back’ and for me not to worry?” Kevin finally asked.

“Just what I said,” Catie actually sounded as if she was, in fact, almost back to sleep.

“Why didn’t you say something or try to stop her?”

Catie made an over-exaggerated sigh and sat up. “Because she is a grown woman able to make her own decisions. She told me that she didn’t want you guys woke up because you would probably try to stop her…it seems she nailed it.”

“Look,” Kevin fought to keep his voice even, “I don’t know what you people did back in your little group of soldiers, but in this group, we are a team. We watch out for each other. And if one of us is about to make a stupid decision, we talk that person out of it.”

“And who decides when something is, as you say, a stupid decision?” Catie challenged. “I have only been with you guys for a
little while, but it seems to me that
you
are the one making all the choices. You say when we camp…where. Who we help, and who we don’t!”

“I simply make suggestions, but we are always free to
discuss them if anybody has an issue or a better idea,” Kevin retorted. “I don’t see you offering much of anything so far. You hunt, that is what you do. You don’t ask anybody if they want to go, you don’t tell anybody where you are going or when you plan to come back. We are simply making camp, turn around, and you are gone.”

“Excuse me,” Aleah interrupted from behind, “but none of this is going after Heather.”

Kevin turned to find her already in her gear and ready to go. He glanced back at Catie with his lips pursed. Obviously there were some kinks that needed to be ironed out in their group dynamic. However, Aleah was right; nothing he was doing right now was helping to get Heather back.

Kevin grabbed his stuff and plopped down on the musty s
ofa that was on one side of the private jet’s cabin. He only grew more frustrated when both women had to wait for him as he finished getting ready. He hoped that he eventually got good enough at securing his prosthetic so that it didn’t become such a frustrating operation.

By the time the three of them climbed out of the aircraft, a light rain was beginning to fall. Between his growling stomach reminding him of how little he’d had to eat in the past two days
, and the single rivulet of water that managed to snake down his collar and trace a frozen line all the way down to the small of his back, Kevin’s day was not starting off good at all.

The three moved as
quickly as they could back along the highway and in the direction of the cemetery. The entire time, Kevin was puzzling over just what Heather thought she was going to be able to accomplish. As they drew close, he became cautious. He told himself that he would indulge in enjoying the irony of the situation later. Here he was, in a world overrun by the undead and he was creeping along worried about a pack of
living
children between the ages of about ten and fifteen.

When they reached their destination, Kevin saw no signs of Heather or anything that indicated trouble. He stopped and knelt beside an abandoned truck. Turning to face Aleah and Catie, he gave himself a quick reminder to try and not be confrontational. He and Catie obviously had some things to iron out, but now was not the time.

“I don’t think going over the fence in front is the way to go,” Kevin whispered. “Perhaps if we circle to the back and each side and come from all three directions—”

“I see what you are saying, but I don’t think that
it’s a good idea,” Catie interrupted. Kevin held his tongue and nodded for her to continue. “If we split up, we have no real way to communicate if anything goes wrong. I also believe that you are a bigger threat in the eyes of the children. I think that it might be best if we stick together. I do think you have a point with coming in from the back or sides. I think that is where they will be focusing their attention.”

Kevin considered Catie’s plan and had to admit that it held merit. He nodded his agreement and the trio got up and moved down the far side opposite of the one that they had approached. It might be something small, but the hopes were that, if they were watching out, that their focus would be from the dire
ction that they expected the threat to come from.

Kevin went first with Aleah behind him and Catie taking up the rear. Instead of simply walking across the grounds, they all got down and made their way on their bellies. With the rain starting to come dow
n a little harder, it was a thoroughly miserable experience. The ground was a mix of black ash and an oily substance that turned the mud into a pasty sludge that soon had them coated from head to toe in its petroleum scented filthiness.

They reached the top of a rise and were now in the middle of the cemetery when Kevin heard what he was positive had to be—

“Singing?” Aleah whispered.

“That is what I hear, too,” Catie chimed in.

The strange thing was that it seemed to be coming from beneath them. Kevin looked around and his eyes fixed on that stone shed that he had noticed the first time. In the darkness it was easy to see just the smallest crease of light in the outline of some sort of door or access point.

He pointed it out and they retreated
just a little ways in case there might be some sort of sentry. Once they felt comfortable with the distance, Kevin turned to Aleah and Catie. “Well? What do we do?” he asked.

“If we simply barge in, we might get killed…or get Heather killed. They did not seem too scared to use those weapons, and from what
I saw, their numbers alone make any sort of attack, one that would fail. Not to mention, I am not all that keen on killing a bunch of children,” Catie offered.

“I have to agree,” Aleah added.

“Those children won’t think twice about killing us,” Kevin said. “And what the hell is with the singing? If Heather is down there, and we have no reason to think otherwise, are they performing some sort of ritual?”

Catie threw her hands over her mouth to stifle the laugh. “Did you not recognize the song?”

“I wasn’t really paying attention,” Kevin admitted. “I just recognized it as singing.”

“
Puff the Magic Dragon
,” Aleah said with just a hint of a laugh in her voice.

Kevin pinched
the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
Okay, so they were singing some hippie song, big deal.
The fact remained that he needed to put eyes on Heather before he would be able to relax or see levity in anything.

“I say we turn ourselves in and ask to be taken to their lea
der,” Catie spoke after several seconds of silence started to become uncomfortable.

“They were so receptive last time,” Kevin grumbled.

“Then maybe you just let me and Aleah go in. They don’t seem to have done anything terrible with Heather…if we can take anything away from the sounds of singing.”

Kevin considered the possibility that Heather was not in any danger, but he simply could not convince himself that that could be the case. There was something wrong here…he just knew it. However, he also knew that his best chance might be to stay back and let the women deal with this their way. If nothing else, he would be in reserve. If it came to it, he would come with a vengeance that would justify the fear and distrust the children seemed to hold for him.

“I am going to give you five minutes,” Kevin finally agreed. “I will count to three hundred alligator. When I hit it, I am coming in, so talk fast and make them understand that I don’t want to hurt anybody…but I will.”

“Three hundred alligator?” Catie sniffed.

“Best way to keep me from counting too quick,” Kevin said with a shrug. “You got a better idea?”

“Yeah…we need to find some watches. There are plenty out there to grab…don’t even need batteries.”

“And what would we use to set them to the correct time?”

“Who cares if it is right according to whatever it would have been in the days when we had that sort of luxury? We just decide
when the sun is at what would be close to midday and then set all of our watches to noon straight up.”

Kevin had to admit, that was a pretty good idea. Sometimes he was frustrated at how his mind worked. He was always trying to look at something with such intense analytical ability that he often looked right past the easy and the obvious.

He agreed and gave Aleah a quick hug. After his third warning of how they needed to be careful and how he would not count one more alligator than the three hundred, the two women finally pulled away and slipped into the darkness. Kevin began to count.

***

“…you really need to get to know him better,” Aleah was whispering as she and Catie moved down the hill and towards the razor-thin outline of light in the stone shed or whatever it was. Catie only grunted noncommittally and continued walking. Her lack of any sort of response kind of annoyed Aleah, so she pressed on. “And you are the one who joined us and asked to come along. I think it is pretty lousy for you to come in to our group and act like anybody needs to change. We have been surviving just fine so far…
because
of Kevin.”

“Don’t let your feeling
s for the man cloud your mind,” Catie whispered. She stopped and turned to face the woman at her side. “I am not saying he has not done some great things…that he hasn’t done what it takes to keep you and the others alive this long. However, he has made some very sketchy choices that have put you in needless danger more than once.” Catie paused for just a moment before adding, “This is a perfect example.”

“WHA
—” Aleah almost yelled, then clamped her mouth shut and tried to speak in a whisper through the rage building inside her. “What in the hell are you talking about?”

“Heather knew what she was doing. She made this choice…and Kevin insisted that we
go after her in the middle of the night into a situation that, if it turns bad, will cost us all our lives. He says we can’t help everybody and how we can’t do everything, but here we are…in a freaking cemetery, in the dark, about to walk in to the camp of who knows how many kids that just might kill us first and not bother with the questions.”

Aleah let all those words roll by. She heard what Catie was saying, and she could even admit that there was some merit to what the other woman was
pointing out. However, she was missing what Aleah believed was the real key. Yes, they were risking their lives, but it was for one of their own. If you were not willing to put your life on the line for those you claimed to care about…what was the point? She knew without a doubt that she would give up her life to save Kevin if it ever came to it. She had seen, on more than one occasion, him do just exactly that for her.

They reached the stone building and Catie felt around for a moment. Aleah stood back and kept her eyes open for any sign that there might be sentries posted. She heard Catie make a slight grunting noise behind her, and then heard the distinct sound of stone grinding on stone. That was also the instant that the singing stopped. For a brief few seconds, there was almost perfect silence. Then the sounds of scuffling feet were heard.

“We are just here looking for our friend,” Aleah called out. She ignored the dirty look that Catie flashed her.

They were looking down a set of stone steps. The walls were also made of stone and there were torches mounted on them. It made Aleah think of old Dracula movies. That was when realization struck.

“This is a tomb!” she breathed just as several of the children came into view at the bottom of the steps. Most had weapons in hand, and none looked happy…or at all friendly.

“You should not have come here.” It was the boy from ea
rlier who had held Kevin, for all intents and purposes, hostage.

“Our friend disappeared,” Catie said in a very even and measured tone. “We have reason to believe that she came this way. She is only a bit older than you…we are worried about her.”

“Being out in the dark is a quick way to die,” the boy said, not acknowledging her comment. “Snappers can get you if you aren’t careful.”

“Snappers?” Aleah asked.

“Just the heads,” another young boy spoke. “Lots of people were chopping off heads early on thinking that was enough. Those heads are like snapping turtles now. They clamp down and won’t let loose until it thunders.”

Several heads nodded vigorously. It made Aleah think of
the park that she and Heather had crossed.

“The Bullies use snappers in a lot of their traps,” a girl said. That earned her quite a few dirty looks from the others;
including the young boy who was the apparent leader.