Praying for Grace (9 page)

“Sure.”

“How’s the little girl feeling?”

“Steffi? She’s sleeping. Sharron said she got her to drink a few ounces of water and a bit of broth, so that’s good. The way she’ acting, I’m starting to rethink that it’s something contagious.”

“What do you mean?”

“She only threw up twice, and she doesn’t feel feverish anymore. She already seems a lot better.”

“Well that’s good.”

“Ayup, very good. Is Emmett asleep?”

I nodded.

“Mind if I swaddle him and tuck him in?” asked Gus.

I yawned and shook my head side-to-side. “Can I borrow a shirt?”

“They’re in the dresser. Help yourself, babe,” he said as he took the baby from me.

I stood, keeping the afghan wrapped around myself, and found a large t-shirt to wear for the night. I climbed into bed, exhausted.

“It’s cold down here,” I mumbled.

“I’ll make sure the baby has enough blankets.”

I closed my eyes and curled into a ball, hoping the bed would warm soon. Once Gus settled in beside me, I fell asleep in his arms.

***

The sound of something scraping a surface woke me from a deep sleep. The room was bathed in complete darkness. I listened intently.
Gus breathing deeply beside me. The horrible scraping.
I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Gus turned over, causing the box spring to groan. For a long drawn-out moment a silence followed that was disturbingly deep.

“Gus.”

He didn’t respond. I reached a hand back to where he slept and shook him. He responded by sitting bolt upright.

“What is it?” His voice was alert and concerned.

“I’m not sure. Maybe just someone using the toilet?”

“I’ll go check on Steffi and make sure everyone else is alright.”

Subtle scraping, this time closer, followed by a wet sloshing sound.

“Did you hear that?” I asked.

“Yeah. Doesn’t sound good,” he whispered into the darkness. “Stay here with Emmett.”

I stood and fumbled for the battery operated lantern that I knew was on the floor beside the bed. I knocked it over, resulting in a crash that was louder than I cared for. Quiet was a general rule to live by in this day and age. Soon, my hand found the device and after a slide of the switch, the room became illuminated in a gentle yellow glow.

As Gus walked to the closed door of the room, he turned to face me. “Gretchen’s awake too,” he said quietly. “It’s not good, babe.”

I shrugged, my way of asking what “it” was.

Dressed only in boxers, he picked up a hatchet that he kept on top of the dresser. I knew then that something was down in the bunker with us, lurking nearby. I also stood, wanting to be prepared for whatever we were about to face. I quickly peeked into the playpen and saw that Emmett was still sound asleep, and breathing. I looked back to Gus, who held a hand out for me to stay back.

“There’s a knife under the mattress, darlin’. Near the foot of the bed. Go ahead and grab it. Be prepared to defend yourself, but also stay behind me. Gretchen’s ready for us to open the door.”

I did as instructed, locating the blade quickly. I took a position just behind Gus, and prepared myself. He looked back one more time and nodded. I took a deep breath and watched as he opened the door.

The hallway was lit by dim orange bulbs, providing just enough light to maneuver the hallway in the dark. He stepped into the passageway and tensed. I followed him.

“Aww, God…no,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Steffi…” It was Gretchen’s voice, coming from the doorway just behind us.

A low growl formed to the left and Gus took a step forward. The hairs on my arms rose. The stench of fresh diarrhea and vomit permeated the cramped quarters, causing me to gag.

My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. I saw little Steffi for the first time since arriving at the base. She had long dark hair, now damp from blood and hanging in tangles around her face. The girl was kneeling on the floor, halfway on top of the body of a woman whom I didn’t recognize. A pool of blood was quickly spreading outward, coating the floor and approaching our bare feet. Hanging from the little girl’s hands and mouth were shreds of the other woman’s flesh. Steffi’s clouded-over eyes glared at Gus, who was now closest to her. She snarled, high pitched and guttural. Feral. Evil. To my surprise, the girl shrank back as if afraid. She used the back of a hand to push a hanging shred of flesh farther into her mouth and hissed at us. She pushed off of the body that she was feeding upon and shrank back, crouching on her hands and feet. It appeared as if she were going to spring at us, but instead she reached forward with one of her hands and tore a chunk of bloody meat from the woman, and immediately scurried away into the darkness that lay behind her.

“What the hell?” mumbled Gretchen, now standing beside Gus and slightly in front of me. “Is she afraid of us?”

“Protecting her meal, I think,” grumbled Gus. “Poor Sharron.”

Gus knelt down next to the torn-apart body and looked up at Gretchen.

“She wanted to be put down,” whispered Gretchen.

Gus nodded and proceeded to raise his hatchet and brought it down swiftly against the back of Sharron’s head. The resulting ‘crack’ of her skull made me shiver.

Gus stood, his knees and shins now coated in the blood from the dead woman. He faced the depths of the hallway, holding his hatchet down at his right side. I knew without being told that he was going after the newly risen little girl. The library and kitchen beyond were bathed in darkness, and finding her might prove difficult.

“Zoe, do me a favor?” whispered Gus.

“What’s that?” I asked, hesitantly.

“Go above and find some others. Tell them what’s happened and that we need a couple guards with lights. It’s too dark down here to do this safely with just us.”

“Ok.” I didn’t want to leave, at least not without him, but quickly turned and walked the opposite direction, toward the hatch. As I ascended the stairs, I could hear the dead girl growling somewhere off in the depths of the bunker.

***

When I emerged from the bunker the air was heavy with fog again. I could see the flickering of flames from a fire pit in the direction of the gardens. I walked toward it, and the hushed voices that surrounded it. Some instinct deep within told me to tread lightly. I slowed my pace and calmed my breathing. I recognized a couple of the voices. I couldn’t yet make out what they were saying, but a laugh emerged that sent chills through me, bringing me to a stop. I knew that laugh, and I knew it came from someone evil.

I listened and was glad that the cover of nightfall and fog hid my presence. I knew that Gus and Gretchen needed help, but I also knew that I was about to hear something not meant for my ears.

“C’mon, Moe. That’s not nice.”

That laugh again.

“Tell that to Fred’s brother,” came Moe’s voice.

“We should get to bed soon. Delta Group’s due back anytime and they need to be briefed on the newcomers.”

“Screw going to bed. I can never sleep anyway.” It was a voice I didn’t recognize.

The damn laugh again.
The cafeteria. I had heard that laugh months ago, back in the cafeteria of the compound we had escaped, and again when a group of men had been feeding zombies in the shower rooms. That had seemed like a lifetime ago, but I knew that laugh. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

“Well someone has to stay up and warn Delta. Mitch has a memory like a fucking elephant and he’ll recognize the new fuckers. We don’t need a scene till we’re done with them.”

“I suppose you’re right. D’Andre’s gonna be pissed as hell that they’re here. Who’s best at keeping him calm?”

“Lance, I guess. But they’re both fucking hot heads. Maybe Angela would be best. I know D’Andre wants to get in between her legs. She doesn’t know what the plans are, or what happened back at the compound. I guess I could go fill her in and if she takes it bad just break her pretty little neck. We’re low on food for the dead anyway.”

“You crude bastard.” Moe’s voice. “Plus you know we’re taking the new teen girl and her boyfriend out to the woods tomorrow. The dead will have their fill soon enough. And now that Katie’s friend is dead you might as well take her with and get rid of her.”

“Ok. I’m going to bed. You can deal with Mitch and D’Andre.”

My head was reeling.  I forced myself to back up as quietly as possible. Someone belched loudly and the sound of feet scuffling through gravel made my heart pound faster. Without thinking, I called out.

“Gus! He needs help in the bunker!” I approached the group around the fire, forcing myself to sound winded as if I had just run up.

“What the hell, girl? What the fuck are you doing sneaking up like that?”

Several people stood.

“The little girl. Stephanie. She turned and Gus and Gretchen sent me to get help.”

“Aww fuck,” groaned Moe, looking at me with false pity. “Sharron?”

“Gone,” I said, exaggerating deep breathing and exasperation.

Two men who I hadn’t seen around the base but who looked vaguely familiar readied their pistols and walked toward the bunker. As I turned to follow them, Moe grabbed onto my arm.

“You best stay here. It’s safest.”

“My baby,” I stammered. “Emmett, I mean, he’s still inside.”

“Leave him to the others. You’ll just get in the way. I’ll walk you over to where the rest of your friends are sleeping and have Gretchen bring the baby soon.”

Getting to Boggs was my next best option. I didn’t argue, and followed Moe to one of the small mobile homes that sat near the perimeter of the base.

“They’re probably all asleep. You should join them and get some rest. It’ll be awhile till we get the bunker cleaned up.”

“Thanks, Moe.” I wondered to myself if I sounded too sweet. “Will you have Gus come as soon as you can?”

“Sure. Now go sleep.”

She handed me a flashlight and I took it. I walked up the three steps to the front door and turned the knob. As I pushed the door inward, I heard a muffled gunshot from off in the distance. I assumed that Steffi was finally gone. I slipped into the small house and quietly pushed the door closed behind me. The living room was dark, so I switched the flashlight on and swept it around the room. A handful of cots littered the area and several people were breathing deeply or snoring.

“Boggs?” I called out quietly. I wasn’t sure how many people were sleeping here, or where my friend might be. Someone nearby rolled over, their snoring temporarily interrupted. “Boggs?” I called out a bit louder.

“Zo?” I heard Boggs’ familiar voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Shhh. I’ll come talk to you.”

I saw him sit up. He looked tired and shied away from the beam from my flashlight. I changed the aim to the floor and walked toward him.

“What’s up?” he asked quietly. “I thought you were quarantined to the bunker?”

I held my finger to my lips to quiet him. His face instantly showed worry. I carefully sat on the edge of the cot beside him and leaned in to speak.

“Is there anywhere we can go to talk?” I whispered next to his ear, as quietly as possible.

He shook his head back and forth. “Full house,” he leaned in toward my neck and whispered.

“Do you remember the compound?” I kept my voice low.

“Of course.”

“Those people,” I said slowly. “They’re here.”

He squinted his eyes at me. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I overheard them. The sick little girl turned after dinner and Gus sent me for help.”

“Fuck. Does Gus know that the compound people are here?”

I shook my head side to side. “No. And he can’t know. He and that woman, Gretchen, are linked. If he knows, she’ll hear his thoughts. I’m not sure we can trust her.”

I turned when I heard a cot squeak as someone rolled over.

“Quiet down,” grumbled a husky male voice.

“Climb under the covers with me,” Boggs said in a hushed voice, barely audible.

He scooted over as far as he could and rolled onto his side. I nestled in beside him and allowed him to cover me with his blanket. The warmth from his body felt good but I had no intentions of falling asleep and enjoying the comfort. Lying face to face, our noses almost touching, he looked into my eyes as I turned the flashlight off.

“They’re planning to take Abbey and Danny to the woods tomorrow to kill them. You can’t let them go.”

“Ok.” He kissed my forehead like he used to do.

“We have to leave here, Boggs. As soon as we can.” I could barely hear my own voice.

“I know.”

“Where are they? Abs and Dan?” I asked

“Just in the next room. I’ll talk to them at daybreak. Can you get Gus away from his friend?”

“Gretchen? I’m not sure. Probably.”

“Where’s Emmett?”

“With them in the bunker. Moe told me she’d have Gretchen bring him to me soon.”

“Moe. Is she one of them?”