Journal of the Undead (Book 1): Littleville Uprising (32 page)

“We chased after you,” Rachael confided. “After Evan said all those mean things we drove to your house. I totally bawled him out for saying such horrible stuff.”

Emma unpacked the few personal items she had brought as her new friend chattered on. Her pictures had survived the journey without any damage. Emma wished she had frames but for now she would have to be content with propping the pictures up on the nightstand. Looking at the pictures, Rachael remarked how much Emma resembled her mother. Everyone always said so but Emma couldn’t see it. A knock at the door interrupted their conversation.

“All settled in?” Kate asked from the doorway. “Is your room okay, Emma? I thought you might be more comfortable with Matt right next door.”

“Yeah, everything’s great. Thanks,” said Emma, though her mind was miles away.

“We’re having a family meeting in the rec room in five minutes,” Kate announced before disappearing to round up the rest of the gang.

Feeling even more alone, Emma flopped down on her bed and sighed.

“What are you doing?” Rachael asked. “C’mon. We’re having a meeting.”

“A
family
meeting.”

“If you’re here, you’re family!” Rachael said, pulling Emma to her feet.

Most of the others were already there by the time Emma and Rachael reached the doorway. Evan and Matt were hovered nearby waiting for the girls. Without hesitation, Evan and Rachael crossed the threshold and found a seat with the others. Emma and Matt lingered at the doorway, still uncomfortable with the idea of crashing a family meeting.

“What are you two waiting for, engraved invitations?” Doc joked.

He came up behind the twins and gave them a playful shove into the room. Evan smiled broadly and beckoned the two to join him. Snuggling close, Emma rested her head on Evan’s shoulder and waited for the meeting to come to order. Ray rose and called for everyone’s attention. The chatter ceased and Ray began by welcoming the ‘latecomers.’

“My sister was born late,” Jimmy interjected.

Doc was the one who insisted on hearing their story and finding out why they had been so late.

“So, what happened? We were expecting you on Tuesday.”

In her defense, Kate explained that they’d run into issues on the turnpike.

“What the hell were you doing on the turnpike?” Doc grumbled as he whacked Evan on the back of the head. “Don’t you use this thing for anything more than a hat rack? First you went to Walmart—which was the worst decision ever—and then you got on the turnpike. I gave you that book last year. Didn’t you read it?”

Kate admitted that Evan had tried to warn them not to take that route but that she’d overruled him. Doc resisted the urge to say any more on the subject; some things are better said in private. Continuing, Ray lectured them on acceptable behavior outside of the cabin. With R.J. as the prime example of what
not
to do, Ray reiterated that clowning around could get them killed. It was sheer luck that Emma’s shot hadn’t killed R.J. Again, Emma apologized but she was quickly interrupted.

“Are you kidding? We’re just jealous,” Tara quipped. “We’ve all wanted to shoot him for years!”

The titters of laughter were silenced with one glaring look from Bev. Ray repeated his admonitions with promises of swift and severe punishment for offenders. With that being said, Ray moved on to daily responsibilities. There was plenty of work to be done and everyone would be pitching in.

“This isn’t vacation. This is survival and everyone needs to pull their own weight. Evan, your dad volunteered you for quite a few jobs so we’ll put you on rotations. And R.J., thanks to your little stunt earlier, you’ve been moved to dish and garbage detail.”

R.J. was crushed but said nothing and opted instead to sulk in silence. Major Stone had also volunteered Emma to work with Doc, and Lucy to help wash dishes. At Ray’s suggestion, Matt was enlisted to rotate along with Evan. They would also fill in as hunters to round out that team. The others had already signed up for their duties so there was a roster for everything from meal preparation to surgery. Now that Ray had concluded his part, he opened the floor for any further topics.

“I have something to add,” Louise, Doc’s wife interjected. “First, I’d like to thank Kate and Rose for volunteering to be our chefs. For those of you who have tasted my cooking, you should be thanking them too! But seriously, this isn’t McDonald’s. They are not cooking twenty-four hours a day. Meal times will be strictly enforced. Breakfast is from 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM. Lunch will be noon to 12:30, and dinner from 5:30 to 6:00. If you don’t make it on time, you don’t eat. It’s that simple.”

“I second that,” Ray announced. “Also, take as much as you like but you eat what you take. We’re not going to be wasteful.”

With everyone in agreement, the rules were set. Since there were no other topics on the floor, the meeting was adjourned and the lights out order was issued to occur in fifteen minutes’ time. Emma glanced at Evan’s watch and was amazed that it only read nine o’clock. Never in her life had Emma been so glad to hear someone order her to go to bed. Walking hand in hand with Evan, Emma’s thoughts were on her soft mattress and thick blankets.

***

“Emma, I have something for you,” Doc said as he dropped a heavy stack of books into Emma’s arms. “If we’re going to make a doctor out of you, you’ll need to start studying. You’ve got Anatomy, Pharmacology, and my Medic Field Manual here. There’s plenty more for you to study during our down time.”

Emma’s eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. It sounded like Doc planned to teach her practical applications in addition to the bookwork. Suddenly invigorated, Emma couldn’t wait to get back to her room to start studying. Kate stepped forward and lifted the books from Emma’s arms.

“Starting tomorrow,” Kate insisted as she gently cupped Emma’s chin. “Tonight you need your rest. Go on now, get yourself to bed.”

Before Emma could protest, Doc was already siding with Kate and Evan was guiding her to the door. Emma’s scowl remained until they reached her room. Evan escorted her inside and sat beside her on the bed.

“You’re pouting,” he observed. “You’re so cute when you pout.”

Emma glowered at him; she hated being told she was pouting when she wasn’t—looking cute while pouting was even worse. Evan kissed the back of her neck where he knew she was ticklish. Emma tried to remain stoic but soon a giggle escaped and then they both were laughing.

“You have no idea how beautiful you are. Do you?” Evan murmured in her ear.

He could feel Emma’s skin flush as he kissed the contour of her neck and up to her lips. Emma gave up and returned Evan’s kisses, pulling him closer. He felt her resistance waiver and her kisses grew more passionate. Suddenly, she stiffened and pulled away.

“We have an audience, don’t we?” Evan grumbled.

Sighing, he turned around and there was a crowd hovering at the doorway. Evan had fully expected to see his cousins Rachael and Tara; even Matt was not a shock; but he had not expected Mike to stoop to their level.

“Et tu, Brute?” Evan sarcastically asked his favorite cousin.

Shrugging, Mike flashed a huge grin and then flopped onto the bed next to the lovebirds. Taking that as an open invitation, Rachael, Tara, Laura, and Matt filed into Emma’s room and sat down.

“So, could my dad have been any more dramatic?” Tara laughed, mimicking her father’s voice. “
This is survival
. Just a little over the top, don’t you think? He’s blowing this
way
out of proportion. There weren’t any reported cases of the flu at Georgetown, but next thing I know my dad shows up at the dorm, packs us up, and here we are. He practically kidnapped Laura for God’s sake!”

“No, he’s definitely not overreacting,” Evan’s tone was serious. “If there weren’t any
reported
cases, it was only a matter of time. You’re lucky you got out when you did. They’re everywhere.”

“Who’s everywhere?” Laura asked.

“Seriously?” Matt blurted out. “You really haven’t seen any yet?”

Evan explained about the zombies. At first, he could tell that Tara and Laura didn’t believe him, but when both Matt and Emma corroborated his story, they listened closely. Laura’s face grew pale as Evan told them about their journey from Littleville. She was listening so intently that she nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice in the hallway called out to them.

“Hey! Aren’t you kids supposed to be in bed?” Dave shouted from just outside the doorway.

“You’re not Dad so knock it off,” Mike demanded.

“And for your information, we have exactly eight minutes and fifty-three seconds until lights out,” Rachael spat back before slamming the door.

“What’s with him?” Evan asked.

“He’s been like that since we got here. He thinks he’s all grown up now or something; bossing us around all the time. But if you ask me, he’s being a total douchebag.”

Evan scowled, wondering if Lucy felt the same way about him. He had been pretty hard on her earlier. Lucy had sobbed bitterly when he’d said it was all her fault R.J. got shot. As if sensing Evan’s thoughts, Emma gave him a playful swat.

“Yeah, Lucy feels pretty much the same way about you. Only she didn’t word it quite so
eloquently
.”

Evan resolved to speak with Lucy first thing in the morning to clear the air.

***

After tucking Lucy into bed, Kate joined the rest of the adults in the kitchen. Rose had brewed a pot of herbal tea and Kate added a touch of honey to her cup. The warm tea was soothing but Kate’s thoughts were miles away.

“So Kate, tell me about Emma,” Doc began. “You know Frank, all he said was she was a very bright kid who wants to be a doctor. What do you think of her?”

Hearing her husband’s name pulled Kate back to reality. Ignoring logic, she had hoped her husband would have arrived before them.

“When did you last hear from Frank?” she asked.

“Sunday. He called and said we needed to get out here A.S.A.P. He said he was sending you and the kids ahead and that you would be here Tuesday night. And that you had the Wexley kids with you.”

“Well, we should have been here Tuesday night.”

“You know, Kate, one of these days you’re gonna have to let your baby be a man,” Jimmy said gently.

He knew from watching his own wife that it was harder for a mother to let go. Ray and Doc nodded in agreement. It needed to be said but neither of them wanted to be the one to say it. They both knew that Kate could be as ferocious as a momma bear when her cubs were threatened. Kate sighed, knowing that her brother was right. Evan was mature for his age and a natural leader. She needed to let him stand on his own, especially now. Since they didn’t have Frank, Evan would need to step up and take on more responsibilities. Bev gave her sister-in-law a sympathetic hug and assured her that Frank would be fine.

“I’m sure he’ll be joining us any day now,” said Bev.

“Of course he will. Besides, even a filthy zombie wouldn’t want to gnaw on Frank’s tough, grizzled old ass!” Doc insisted in his usual jovial way.

They all needed the laugh and Doc was more than happy to oblige. With the mood lightened again, Doc appealed to Kate for some background on the twins. She began with the broad strokes.

“Well, I know they lost their mother when they were around Lucy’s age, and because of their father’s work they moved around a lot. Their stepmother was nothing short of a nightmare but she’s gone now. Both Alan and Jillian were infected,” Kate confided. “Poor Matt had to put down his own father … that’s when Evan brought them home.”

She added that she found both of the twins to be bright, hardworking, caring, and loyal.

“Evan and Matt hit it off immediately,” she continued. “And, obviously, Evan and Emma are dating. That’s pretty much it.”

Laughing, Bev added that she remembered seeing her brother look at Kate the same way Evan looked at Emma.

“I want you guys to go easy on those twins,” Kate demanded, pointing at Ray and Doc. “They’ve been through so much already. Remember, they were raised differently. Alan, their father, was a civilian and a bit of a softie. They’re undisciplined and, to be honest, they can be a bit mouthy at times. They could use a strong father figure but you’ll have to ease them into it. Especially Emma. If you’re too hard on her she could be a flight risk.”

Doc chuckled.
Momma bear is at it again
, he thought. It was a credit to Kate’s character that she would take the twins in and love them like her own. Doc threw his hands up in mock innocence, but Kate was not fooled.

“I’ve heard stories from Frank and Ray about what it was like serving under you so don’t try that ‘innocent as a lamb’ routine with me!” Kate scolded. “Emma may come off as being tough as nails but she’s very vulnerable so go easy on her. She is not a new recruit and this is
not
boot camp!”

Doc assured Kate that he wouldn’t be too hard on Emma. Both men promised that they would bear in mind that the twins were civilians and unaccustomed to military discipline. Kate smiled, gave Doc a peck on the cheek, and bid everyone good night.

On the way to her room, Kate noticed that Evan’s room was empty and Emma’s door was closed. Kate grabbed a pair of clean pajamas and hurried to Emma’s room. Hoping that her son wasn’t doing anything inappropriate, Kate tapped on Emma’s door. Immediately the door flew open and Kate was surprised, but pleased, to see the room was full of kids.