Life Among The Dead (Book 3): A Bittersweet Victory (24 page)

“I… I really don’t know,” Vida admits. “I had
plans before. I had a boyfriend and a band. We were going to go to
college. Well, maybe not Lloyd. But we were going to make it big. I
lost it all in one night. I was turned away from my home and have
no idea what happened to my family. I was chased and attacked by
zombies and men. But above all that, I saw real heroes out there.
Underdog survivors banding together to help, like here in
Ruby.”

“I lost both of my brothers in the first
week,” Lady Luck says. “I saw my daddy claw his way out of his
grave. I joined the team for the payback. I keep fighting because
we’re truly making a difference. It doesn’t matter how we get our
start. Eventually we all realize we can turn the tables if we stand
together for the greater good.”

“Moleskin… Moleskin,” Vida mutters to herself
as she searches the shelves of the store. She had trouble sleeping
last night. Too excited and nervous about beginning her training.
Lady Luck had her walk around in her full gear to get used to it,
and then she helped her out of it and packed it all into an olive
sea bag along with a roll of duct tape that she is to bring with
her to the armory this morning. “What the fuck is moleskin?”

“It’s on this side rack,” a voice startles
her as its owner passes by the aisle.

Vida goes to the end of the rack and finds
moleskin hanging from pegs. She takes one then glances to where the
helpful voice came from. Near the front, Brass arranges and
re-arranges the canned goods. Abby had mentioned avoiding the man
so early in the day. She’s alone in the quiet store with him.

“So you’re the one that keeps moving stuff
around in here?” she says on her way out.

“No one else will do it right,” he says. “We
have to move certain products that we have too much of, or are
nearing their expiration dates. We have to take out what’s going
too fast, stash some of it before it’s all gone. Then there’s the
goods that no one wants.” He points to a dusty pyramid of cans that
Vida’s perused before: artichoke hearts, water chestnuts, and lima
beans. “What’re you doing up so early? You should be resting up for
boot.”

“I couldn’t sleep. Lady Luck said I should
stock up on Motrin and moleskin.”

“That’s a good idea. Get them now before
you’re too sore to go out when you really need it.”

“What should I expect today?” she asks. His
sentiment about being ‘too sore’ has her worried once again. “Is
the training that hard?”

“It’s as hard as you make it on yourself.
Really, it’s all about trust. If you trust in yourself, your team,
in us, it’ll be cake.” He loads items onto a flat cart to squirrel
away from customers. He leaves a few of each, but places new
products among them. “You know what one of the biggest sellers is
today?”

“No.”

“Cake mix,” he tells her. “Frosting too, and
all the ingredients to make cakes from scratch. Sure, the factory
made snacks cakes go fast--the candy, and junk food--but it’s the
cake mixes I really have to keep an eye on.”

“Oh.”

“There’s a lot of celebrating in Ruby these
days. Many birthdays and anniversaries that require cake.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“The guests of honor aren’t always there to
blow out the candles. We celebrate their memory,” he says sadly.
“No birthday boys and girls. Anniversaries minus a bride or groom.”
Brass turns away and places a few boxes onto his cart. He pushes it
down the center aisle, its wheel squeaking rhythmically. “I’ll see
you in few hours.”

Vida is no stranger to tributes to the
deceased. Every year her family celebrated the Day of the Dead with
an altar decorated with bunches of marigolds, and skulls made of
sugar.
It
isn’t
that
far
off
,
now
that
I
think
about
it
.
Almost
an
entire
year
since
the
world
itself
died
.
Before leaving, she grabs one of the few remaining boxes of cake
mix and a can of icing.

As instructed, Vida puts on her armor after
making sure she used the bathroom first. There wasn’t much need,
since her nerves haven’t allowed her to take in any food or drink
since last night.

The recruits must meet behind the store in
the motor pool in full gear, with the exception of their helmets.
With her roll of duct tape in one hand and her helmet in the other,
she walks slowly, as if heading for execution.

She is the first to arrive, other than Brass
and Lady Luck, who both stand by the Gunship. Brass is in his
armor, but curiously Lady Luck is not. She wears a one piece flight
suit. The beige coveralls match the bus she leans on, and they’ve
clearly been altered by her own hand. The waist has been taken in
to accentuate her curves. She has it partially unzipped to reveal
her cleavage. Ringlets fall from within the brown leather aviator
helmet she wears.

Abby emerges from the store’s back door with
several men in tow, all dressed as Vida and all looking as nervous.
She wonders if they are thinking the same thing she is,
What
the
hell
am
I
doing
?

She nods to her fellow recruits and to Abby
as they line up and are told to put their helmets on. Vida stares
at hers for a moment before doing so. Once she squeezes her head
into the confining gear, there’s no turning back. She wishes Gabe
had been awake this morning to try talking her out of it again. He
may have succeeded this time. But her name scrawled in white above
the face shield steels her conviction.

“Morning, baby girl.” Lady Luck smiles once
Vida has adorned her helmet. She takes the roll of tape and begins
to wrap Vida’s ankles.

As instructed, Vida tucked her pant legs into
her boots before tying them tight. Where her pants meet the tops of
her boots is sealed with a thick layer of grey tape. Her waist is
next, and then her wrists where her cuffs overlap her gloves.
Finally, the helmet itself is secured. The faceplate is sealed
around the edges, then Lady Luck fishes a series of small chains
from inside Vida’s blouse to attach to the helmet and prevent
removal.

“Can everybody hear me?” Brass asks the
assembled volunteers. He receives a nod from all five. “Good. Thank
you for volunteering. We can always use help out there. Today will
be the hardest day of training. Do not feel bad if you don’t wish
to continue after today. A lot of people opt out after the
introduction. There’s no shame in it. We have many jobs that also
need to be done, and we can find a more suitable use of your
time.”

He
does
sound
different
, Vida thinks. She recalls Abby’s discretion
regarding Brass and his mood swings. This morning he was morose and
his voice held such deep sadness.
Now
he’s
downright
chipper
.

Dissecting Brass’s tone has caused her to
miss a few of his words. She focuses on the instructions being
issued, “…let’s do it, then! Everyone on the bus!”

“Just relax,” Lady Luck whispers to Vida as
they head for the double decker. “Day one is the hardest, but it’s
also the shortest. Just be yourself.”

Many seats have been removed from the Gunship
to make room for olive crates of ammo. It was too dark the night
she rode in it to see she had actually been sitting upon the wooden
boxes, the lids of which have been padded with upholstery that
matches the remaining bolted benches. Vida surmises that the upper
deck has been modified similarly as she looks out through the
barred windows between two unmanned machine guns. She recalls the
day she had to wield such firepower to cover Brad.

Lady Luck drives the Gunship out through the
simple maze. The .50 caliber weapons swing with every turn as if
phantoms control of them. On the main street of Rubicon, they take
a right and head through the devastated town. For the recruits,
this is the first time they’ve gone beyond the walls since
arriving.

Some areas of Ruby haven’t been leveled in
the name of protection. One street is blocked off and marked as
‘off-limits.’ Down the main drag, heavy artillery is positioned.
Here, soldiers from camp walk along and in and out of the
businesses. Each wears a different degree of protective gear, and
some are as padded as Vida is, while others are completely exposed
in civilian attire. Lady Luck had said it’s up to the individual’s
confidence as to how much they wear, and how close they plan on
getting to the dead. The armed figures wave to the bus as it
cruises out of town.

###

“Welcome to Jasper,” Brass says as the bus
enters a new town, a bit smaller than Rubicon but with the same
show of force. Ruby soldiers walk the streets. “Jasper is our
nearest neighbor and one of our outposts. We keep it open for
training purposes.”

Another shift in tone has turned him from
‘downright chipper’ to a no nonsense drill instructor. He walks
down the center aisle of the bus, his hands going from one vertical
bar to the next to maintain his balance. The bus turns into a chain
linked area that surrounds a high school. Vida can tell many of the
fences have been erected after the plague struck. Their placements
would make no practical sense before. The lot is enclosed, and the
walls of crisscrossing steel wire prevent access to the sidewalks
and roads that lead around the building.

They come to a stop at the front door. The
recruits follow Brass and Abby off. Lady Luck remains behind the
wheel with her feet up, filing her nails. “Have fun kids,” she says
as they disembark, without looking up from her cuticles.

Through a set of glass doors and down dim
halls, the five recruits follow Brass and Abby. Vida can’t believe
how similar this school is to her old one, and it gives her a sense
of misplaced deja vu. Not only does her mind play tricks on her,
her bladder does as well. She nervously travels through the halls,
wishing for another bathroom break. She and the other recruits jump
at shadows.

They come to a halt near the back of the
building, outside the gym doors. A banner announcing a dance hangs
above the entrance--Jasper High’s Peach Harvest Festival. Vida
stares up at the bold, glittering words and tries to make sense of
them. Gabe and her were picking peaches months ago. She has to
assume the decoration was added by Brass’s army after the
plague.

“Who’s ready to party?” Brass asks, as he
pushes the double doors open wide.

The seven enter an empty gym and proceed to
the half-court circle. Only the court is lit from the lights above,
leaving heavy curtains of shadow along the walls. Above them,
between the wide lights, jerseys of alumni hang from the rafters,
along with banners depicting stats and records that, like the
trophies displayed in the hall, are no longer relevant.

“Welcome to Zombie Prom!” Brass says.

Music issues from the gloom, light and slow.
The tune builds as a door clangs opposite from where the recruits
entered.

“This is a test of confidence--in yourself,
in your armor, in us. You must trust that we won’t allow any harm
to come to you. Why else would we put you in the armor? More
importantly, this is a test of how well you stand up under
pressure.”

His voice drifts farther and farther away
until Vida and the others are left alone in the middle of the gym.
Daylight spills in from an outer entrance and moaning figures
enter, drawn to the sounds of life.

“You are not to fight them. Just go with it.
Anyone who can’t handle this can head for the bus now. For those
who can, find a partner,” Brass calls from the shroud of darkness.
“Let’s see how well you dance with the dead. 5,6,7,8!”

Peaceful chamber music shifts into a fast
paced techno beat as the zombies draw closer. The recruits brace
themselves, with the exception of one who bolts for the door. Vida
finds it hard to breathe in her helmet, but she’s happy to wear it
when one of her fellow recruits is taken down by a pair of
corpses.

A cadaver in overalls approaches. He reaches
for her, but she counters, seizing his forearms and locking on to
his stiff limbs.

“Good, Vida! Don’t fight him. Let that good
ole boy lead,” Brass says. “Malcolm, don’t be a wallflower!” he
tells another recruit who backs away from an undead woman that’s
zeroed in. “The moment that pretty thing set her eyes on you it was
love at first sight. Don’t go breaking her heart.”

“Learn how they move,” Brass instructs his
group as the zombies manhandle them.

Vida keeps her partner at bay, circling the
floor with him. The dead man’s face is a mess. His lips are
tattered rags of flesh that wiggle as he attempts to lean close
enough to bite her. Vida gets the hang of it until another recruit
bails and his zombie comes at her.

These two ghouls overpower Vida and she hits
the floor hard. The dead wrench and roll her in their frantic
search for flesh. Their jaws clamp around her arm, an ankle, and
one nuzzles her neck like a lover.

The three remaining recruits also fall to the
floor as they battle with corpses, but the harder they fight the
less headway they gain. Helmets are repeatedly cracked against the
hard floor as they gasp for breath. Their suits of armor are
saturated with sweat.

Brass and Abby watch and wait.

“This part of training always reminds me of
those dancing shows on TV,” Abby says.

“Gross! Reality shows were the worst!” Brass
says. “I remember when television was about rich people we could
look up to, instead of the spoiled, useless offspring of the
wealthy, or the skid marks of society that we made into false
idols. All of ’em airing their filthy laundry on camera. I’m glad
it ended.”