In the Lone and Level Sands (26 page)

Two of the zombies that had gotten in
tackled Pete and began biting. Blood gushed from his face and arm,
and Pete howled. The zombies continued devouring him. Benson shot
the zombies off of Pete, but more replaced them, until the other
officers arrived.

Two zombies approached the field. Panic had
already spread among some of the closer refugees.

“Everybody get back as far as you can,” one
of the officers said. “There’s been a small breach, but we’re
taking care of it!”

“Oh my God!” someone screamed. “Stop them!
They’re getting in!”

“There’s no need to panic,” another officer
shouted. Other officers rushed in to help with the crowd and the
zombies. Shots echoed across the stadium, captivated by the
dome.

Everyone panicked. A bloody obese zombie
grabbed one of the officers and bit down. The officer screamed as
the blubbery woman ripped at his left arm, gnawing on it like a
turkey leg. Two other officers were able to shoot her. A short,
scrawny zombie with thick-framed glasses was dispatched before he
could get his partially fingerless hands on anyone.

One of the officers shot Pete and the other
bitten officer, halting their screams. Two others headed toward the
entrance. There, Benson was trying to hold the door shut. A few
more officers helped protect the refugees, picking off the zombies
that had made it through the barricade. Benson and the other
officers worked together to re-barricade the entrance. It took a
little while, but they were eventually successful, and the last of
the zombies fell, but the screams continued.

They put the bodies of their fellow officers
as far away from the living area as possible, then headed back to
the field to calm the survivors and check for injuries.

Martha’s hands shook. The possibility of the
zombies breaking in had become a reality, and the little shred of
safety she felt would not come back. Everyone’s hearts were
racing.

“It’s okay, we’ve got it all under control,”
Benson said.

“What if this happens again?” someone
replied.

“Yeah, you took our weapons away, so we
can’t defend ourselves if more get in!” Billy said.

“We’ve blocked the entrance off, and this
time twice as strong,” another officer said. This seemed to calm
almost everyone down, but there was still nervous chatter among the
crowd.

Martha’s left arm tingled as she headed back
to her cot. She didn’t pay much attention to it, but then it got
worse. She hunched over on her cot; her chest was tight. She put a
hand on it, clutching her dark blouse.

“Mother, are you okay?” Emily said. Martha
didn’t answer. She was breathing quickly, unable to get more than
short, painful breaths. “Mother!” Emily sat down with Martha.

“I… think… I’m having a… heart attack.”

“Oh my God!” Emily began crying. Angela
joined her sister and took her hand.

“We need medical help over here!” she yelled
to the nearest officer. That officer retrieved the paramedic team
from their tent. They rushed over, laid Martha on a stretcher, and
pushed her away from the dead-silent crowd into an open area.

“She’s my mother!” Emily said. “Please, I
need to be with her!”

“Mine too!” Angela said.

“We need as much space as possible,” a
paramedic said. “Please stay back!”

The paramedic stopped the stretcher near the
power cords, in case they’d need them.

Emily backed into Billy’s arms, crying, and
Phil hurried to Angela. Jesse stood nearby, nervously rubbing his
chin.

“It’s going to be okay, honey,” Billy said.
Beverly tried to comfort Francine, who was also sobbing.

Alan stood teary-eyed (though he tried to
hide it) as the paramedics performed their duties. He recalled a
conversation he and Martha had the first night in the stadium.

“
So, Alan. How did you find us,
yesterday?”

“
I’ll spare you the details, but I was
getting off work. I own a gun shop nearby, and my mother’s house is
also in the area.”

“
And when you saw this insanity, you
rushed to her, yes?”

“
I did. There was someone in her house.
She had been attacked…” Alan broke down in a few sobs. Martha
patted his back. He immediately looked back up, wiping his
eyes.
“
I’m sorry. Now’s not the time for tears.” Martha
smiled.

“
It’s natural, honey. Don’t worry about
it. The tears help us heal.”

“
Thank you, Martha,” Alan said, and
smiled.

“
I don’t think I ever properly thanked
you for all of your doing, Alan. Thank you so much. We wouldn’t
have made it without your help.”

“
No, it was nothing.”

“
Don’t be so modest. You helped us out
during our darkest hour.” She leaned in and gave Alan a hug tighter
than one would expect from an older woman. Alan returned the
hug.

Alan blinked, standing watch as the
paramedics worked. From the moment he met Martha, he had felt a
strong connection to her. Maybe she reminded him of his own mother,
maybe that’s why he helped her out in the cemetery in the first
place.

The paramedics worked on Martha for almost
an hour. After what seemed like an eternity, her heart stopped
beating.

“We need the defibs!” a paramedic said.
Another paramedic handed him the paddles. He turned them on and
shouted, “Clear!”

Martha’s body thrust upward as the
electricity charged through her. The frantic paramedic
re-calibrated the machinery, pressed the paddles to her chest, and
tried again. This time, her heart restarted. The stats on the
machine read positive, and her pulse returned.

Martha’s family and Alan stood a few yards
away, practically biting through their lower lips. One of the
paramedics walked over to the group, wiping a few beads of sweat
off his face with his sleeve.

“Is she all right?” Emily asked.

“Very good news,” the paramedic said. “She
made it through the attack. She was lucky we were prepared.”

“Thank God!” Emily turned to hug Billy.
Angela let out a sigh of relief and hugged Phil. Everyone
rejoiced.

Alan sighed. Anyone looking at him would’ve
been unable to tell, but Alan felt happier than he had in a long
time.

“Can we see her?” Emily asked.

“Yes, but she’s weak, and needs some rest.
Be quick, please.” The paramedic headed back over to the medical
tent to help his colleagues clean everything up.

The group gathered around Martha. The dome
occupants who hadn’t already turned their attention to other things
did so.

“Mother, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Martha whispered. “I’m…
exhausted.”

“I’ll bet you are,” Billy said.

“We should probably let you get some rest,”
Alan said.

Martha nodded and smiled. “Are you okay,
Alan?”

“Huh? Of course I am. You had a heart
attack, ma’am. I should be asking
you
that.”

“Now, don’t you start getting all formal on
me, dear. ‘Martha’ will be fine.”

“I’m sorry, Martha. I’m glad you’re okay.
I’m fine.”

“I just wondered, because you’ve been
crying. I can tell by the diamonds in your eyes. They’ve left
tracks on your cheeks.”

“It’s been a stressful situation… I was
scared. I’m fine now that you’re fine.”

“That’s good,” Martha said. “I actually feel
like I can take on the world! Well, maybe after I’ve rested up.
Tomorrow, perhaps.”

“Yes, you just rest up, Martha,” Alan
said.

“Can we take our cots over by her to sleep?”
Emily asked one of the paramedics.

“I don’t see why not,” the paramedic said.
“Just give her plenty of space.” Everyone moved their beds over by
Martha’s, and settled in.

Martha asked Emily to prop up the picture
frame near the stretcher. Later in the night, she reached over and
took it. She looked into the photo, and secretly wished the heart
attack would’ve killed her. She wanted to be with Charlie… but she
would just have to wait.

She couldn’t look at the picture anymore.
She put it back and looked away.

Alan was lying on his stomach with his
notebook in front of him. He wrote for a while, even after the
lights were shut off, using the light from his solar-powered
flashlight to keep going.

After a while, he set his pen down on the
pad and looked around. Everyone in his circle of friends, including
Martha, had fallen asleep.

Alan closed his notebook and dropped it into
his bag along with his pencil. He switched off the light and let it
fall into the bag with a soft thud, then repositioned himself onto
his back and tried to fall asleep. It wasn’t easy.

32

Inside the Church

Garrett barred the door after everyone was
inside. Layne looked around. He couldn’t believe they had actually
pulled it off. He almost had to check to make sure everyone really
made it. He saw Dex, Katie, Jessi; everyone was there. Layne was
overcome with joy. Katie rushed up to him and nearly tackled
him.

“I can’t believe we just did that!” she
said.

“We didn’t do it alone,” Layne said. He
looked at Garrett.

“Don’t mention it, man. You’d have done the
same for me, I’m sure.”

“For a minute, I was sure I’d be someone’s
lunch,” Dex said. Lacie was standing beside him. Frank, the small
man from earlier, was nowhere to be found.

“So how long will this place hold up?” Layne
asked. His heart was still beating quickly, but he was calm, and
that made the others calm.

“Little while,” Garrett said. “More than the
average place.”

“How long are we welcome?”

“Now that’s another story.”

“What do you mean?” Jessi said.

“It all depends on your ability to
contribute,” a voice said. Everyone turned. An old woman had
entered from the inner workings of the church. Frank was by her
side.

“I assure you, ma’am, we’re more than
willing to contribute to your efforts,” Layne said.

“Oh?” the woman said. Her tone seemed more
accusing than curious.

“We can go out there and get
provisions.”

“We have plenty of provisions stockpiled
here. And when we need more, we shall get them.”

“Then what were you referring to?” Layne
asked. The woman headed back into the church. Layne turned to
Garrett.

“She calls herself Mother May,” Garrett
said. “She runs the place.”

“What do you mean?” Katie said.

“Let’s go inside. You’ll see.”

The group entered the main room of the
church. It was well-lit by candles, no light came through the tall
windows. Layne could tell they were once stained-glass murals of
biblical events; all were now covered and barricaded. What was
David and Goliath was now iron and plywood, what might have been
Sodom and Gomorrah was now steel and oak.

The pews had a number of people in them,
probably all residents of Astoria. They stared at Layne and the
others. The old woman had taken her place at the podium.

“Today, we are delivered newcomers,” Mother
May said. “Children, where are you from?”

“We aren’t from Astoria,” Layne said. The
people in the pews looked at each other. Some whispered.

“We aren’t from Oregon at all,” Katie
said.

“We were on a plane.” The people stared like
they had no idea what a plane was. “We were in Los Angeles, flying
to Seattle. But our plane went down. We survived, and came
here.”

The whispers grew louder. Some people
covered their mouths, as if Layne could distinguish any of their
words.

“Then you are very fortunate to be alive,”
Mother May said. “Surely God has smiled upon you in these times of
tribulation.”

“Lady, I don’t know if you’ve looked outside
lately,” Kyle said, “but I don’t think God is smiling at all.”

A gasp ran through the crowd. Heads turned,
leading up to Mother May, who stood with pursed lips.

“Does it not occur to you that you survived
the crash, made the journey to Astoria, and then found safety here,
in a church? Does it not strike you that this is destiny?”

“Look, we’re tired,” Layne said. “We’re
very, very tired. We just want to find some place where we can feel
safe for a while. We haven’t had that in a long time.”

“Then you’re very welcome to stay right
here,” Mother May said.

“Thank you. We’ll rest up, and in a few days
we’ll be on our way to Washington.”

“No, you won’t. Not all of you.”

“I beg your pardon, ma’am?”

“I told you, if you want to stay here,
you’re going to have to contribute.” Mother May reached her hands
out and spoke louder, more to the congregation than to Layne and
his companions. “It is clear at this point that there are
nonbelievers among you.
They
are not welcome to stay.”

“I never said I was a nonbeliever,” Kyle
said. Mother May laughed, something Layne hadn’t been sure she was
capable of. Still, this was anything but humor or joy.

“You expect me to believe now that you have
faith in the Almighty? You want me to accept you with open arms,
now that you have told me you’ve shut yours to Jesus Christ? You
dare defile the name of our holy God with your lies, lies spread
for personal gain? You fool! Do you not understand that personal
gain means nothing? We do not matter at all. We exist to serve
God!”

“Doesn’t the Bible say to accept your
enemies?” Katie said.

“You know not of what you speak,” Mother May
replied. The whispers were growing louder, the eyes sharper.

“Enough! This is useless!” Garrett said.
Hearing one of their own seemed to calm the crowd. Garrett turned
to Mother May.

“Unless your words are wisely chosen, keep
them sealed behind your teeth, lest they lead your soul
astray.”

“Mother, a few days ago you told me you were
indebted to me,” Garrett said. “Well I’m calling in that favor. Let
these people stay here. Just tonight.
All
of them.” The
people in the crowd turned to Mother May, awaiting her verdict.