The Complex: (The Reanimates) (18 page)

             
Trent got the tractor fired up. Daniel topped it off with some of his fuel finds but it didn't seem to take much before he stopped. It seemed that luck was on our side that the tractor had been mostly full when it was parked there.

             
The three boarded the tractor to drive it home. Trent was operating the controls while Joey and Daniel had their guns drawn ready to shoot at anything that moved. The tractor lumbered down the road at a snail's pace, topping out at maybe five miles an hour. Even under the loud sounds of the tractor we could hear the telltale sounds of zombies, that ever present moan.

             
We had talked before of why zombies moaned like that. We had several theories. The most popular one though was that they moaned from that driving force they had to eat and infect. That hunger we speculated was so encompassing that they were in pain, hence the moans. The next best guess we had was that they moaned because they were not able to communicate in any other way. Speech was a higher brain function. Without a frontal cortex you couldn't communicate. Perhaps the zombies did communicate with one another, that the moan was the language of the virus. It was all just a guess anyway.

             
From the tractor I could hear the sounds of gunfire. Joey and Daniel were doing all they could to keep the tractor on its path and the three of them safe. We were definitely putting a lot of eggs in the basket here. More zombies filled the area, drawn to the loud hum of the engine. Daniel and Joey were on the ball never allowing the zombies to get very close at all. When they reached the gate, DaWayne opened both of the bike locks and ran the gate open for them. They got the tractor through and the gate was locked back up. They left the tractor right there in front of the gate to make it easier to take it back out.

             
It always amazed me how quickly the days went by. I never thought the daylight went away so quickly before. It was already nearing sundown after the day's events had transpired.

             
The next morning the building of the trenches was started. Trent started at the front corner of the complex, tearing up the grass between the complex wall and sidewalk. It was about three feet between the sidewalk and wall and we thought that was actually a good distance for the width of the trench. Zombies weren't coordinated enough to jump that distance. We figured that the wall at one side of the trench would make it difficult for our human threat to get by as well. The hole was about eight feet deep. Trent piled the dirt on the street side, making the hills that formed nice and steep and very slowing. The soft dirt would sink under the weight of a zombie slowing them even further.

             
For the time being Trent had decided to skip the driveway, knowing we needed to come up with a proper drawbridge first. He tore through the sides, appreciative that the area's upcoming development hadn't yet gotten to the complex's borders. It made the job infinitely easier that way. The trench sides connected beautifully.

             
On the first day of trench building those of us with weapons were very busy. We had to build our trench outside of the complex walls to do any good and the sound of the tractor was almost like ringing the dinner bell for the undead. It felt like we were battling a hydra right out of Greek mythology. Whenever we took one down two more seemed to pop up in its place. The sooner we got through this the better.

             
With the sides built and zombies already falling into the hole proving its efficacy we were feeling rather successful. The back of the complex was going to be a bit of a trick. There was a storm drain back there that didn't have a lot of room to work with to continue the moat. It was going to have to be more narrow than the other sides. It was a trick to keep the backhoe balanced on the ledge but somehow Trent was able to keep it there to finish building the new protective barrier.

             
When he finished connecting the sides of the moat to the back side he left the tractor where it was. We decided that pulling the ladder over and creating a bridge from the tractor to the wall with it would be the best way to get Trent back over to our side of the wall. As he made his way over on the ladder he could see in the trench he had built, freshly trapped zombies. They reached up to him trying so hard to make their arms stretch over the several feet above their heads, their potential meal lost to them because of their height difference.

             
Once Trent was back on our side of the trench we tried one of the ideas that we had in building this thing in the beginning, to light the trench on fire when there were many of them. Tyreese produced some lighter fluid he had for the barbeque. He squirted a few of the zombies with the fluid, struck a match and dropped it on them. The flames shot up beautifully and the burning zombies moved around, igniting the other zombies in the trench. It really was a beautiful sight, even if it was a bit macabre. It definitely smelled ghastly.

             
Some of the other zombies in the immediate area stumbled closer and fell in as well, not seeming to realize this was a trench of doom. Other zombies wandered off realizing that there wasn't a meal in the works for them.

Alexus

             
A couple days after the trench was built we noticed a woman walking towards us. She seemed alive and healthy. She waved her hands when she saw us.

             
DaWayne was working the gate when a lone woman approached. She was asking to come in. There was something strangely familiar about her copper hair with blonde highlights and deeply tanned skin. Her high cheekbones and slightly sloped nose shone with sweat, drawing attention to her violet blue eyes. It took me a moment to place her. It finally clicked it was Daniel's ex-girlfriend. Daniel and Alexus had a very colorful history together ending up with him getting full custody of their kids.

             
Tesla was taking a rare walk with me up to the gate. I could see those eyes flashing as she tried to explain how she fit into all with this group. I greeted her and decided that with no immediate danger to her at the moment I told her to wait until I found Daniel. I took off for build where he and Trent were working on the drawbridge project. Tesla had other plans. She suddenly left my side and went to the wall, barking loudly. I ran to get her before every zombie in California knew we were there. She stopped barking when I picked her up but she was still tense and quivering in my arms on high alert. I heard zombies shuffling in the trench and figured that was what she was upset about. Poor dog. I thought the zombies smelled bad to me and I don't have the super sensitive nose she did.

             
I dropped the dog off with the kids and went to build. “Daniel?” I started, “Umm, well, Alexus is standing at the front gate asking to come in. I know things were psychotic with you two so this is your call. Do you want to let her in?”

             
Daniel looked up at me in shock and surprise. “Humph. Her drug connections must have been turned into zombies. She only remembered that her kids and I exist when she wasn't high as a kite. Argh. I didn't want to deal with her ever again. Why couldn't she have turned into a zombie like the rest of the world.” Daniel sighed heavily. “What the hell am I supposed to do? That’s the mother to my children. If I leave her out there like I want to how will I look those kids in the eye? It would be murder.”

             
I watched him really struggle with his options. “Fine. I'll go talk to her.” He finally decided. I wondered though if it was going to make things worse.

             
Daniel shoved his hands so deeply into his pockets I was sure that they were on the verge of being ripped through. We walked with him to the gate then backed off to give him privacy as he talked to her. I remembered when she lived with him and the screaming fights they had while she was high. The more she chose the drugs over her family the more stressed he was. When they finally broke up there was an all out screaming war. She disappeared right after. He had gone to court and got full custody of the kids. She went on her way to continue the drug lifestyle that she had gotten into.

             
We watched their exchange and while we were far enough to not hear the actual conversation we could read the body language like a book. He was tense and undecided while she looked to be pleading with him. She fished something from her pocket to show him. After a moment he walked back to us, leaving Alexus at the gate.

             
“She wants in.” His inflection was almost defeated, his indecision lined his face. “She told me that she had been missing me, that she was missing the girls. She showed me her chip from Narcotics Anonymous that was for 30 days. That was 30 days before the zombies hit. She said she realized that she was missing her family and that she hated what she let the drugs do to her.

             
“She also said that she'd been trying to get across town to get to her kids since the beginning of the outbreak. She said she kept thinking about the girls and how now more than ever they needed a mom. She kept jumping from one hiding spot to another, afraid to be exposed too long. Guys, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. I really don't because right in the very moment, I want to take her back. It was the drugs that kept screwing everything up in the past and she was getting clean even before the zombies. That's like a month and three weeks of clean time. What should I do?”

             
“Daniel, that's a call only you can make. Do you want her here?” Trent asked.

             
“I think we owe it to her to give it a shot. They are her kids too. If she acts stupid we can always send her right back out, right?” Daniel responded. “Besides. The zombie apocalypse happened. Where is she going to get the drugs now?”

             
I made a mental note to make sure I kept medical locked at all times and that I needed to tell Trisha that if she is ever the last one inside that she needs to lock the doors before leaving.

             
With that, Alexus was our newest member of the complex. She moved in with Daniel. Her oldest daughter remembered her mom. She would say to everyone, “This is my momma. My momma did not turned into the bad guy. I thought my momma was gone and never come back. My momma is home and she said she never going to go away again.” Her younger sister didn't seem to have a memory base to pull from so Alexus was a stranger to her. She hid behind her dad's leg for a while, scared to peek out at this lady for a little bit. The young toddler watched her older sister dart around playing with their mother and after a bit, joined in on the play. It wasn't very long before she started babbling “Mom mom mom mom.” Alexus beamed being with her kids again.

             
She seemed to be interested in how the complex worked and said she wanted to be a part of the daily routine. Daniel was giving the tour, and he explained everything including watch rotations and the distribution of food and water. Alexus took it all in. Daniel took her up to the roof to be able to see the view of the city. It was a lovely view. I always felt a sense of pride in the complex when I saw how we were functioning well in a madly wild world. We worked hard to keep this space safe. I looked up at her from the ground to see a satisfied smile on her face. It looked like getting clean had been helping Alexus want to be a part of something bigger.

             
When Alexus asked what she could do to help contribute I was pleasantly surprised. This was an entirely different Alexus than I had remembered. She was a doting mother, something that I didn't know she was capable of. She was kind to Daniel, and now she wanted to be a contributing member of our little society. It confirmed my faith in people in general, something those marauders had shaken. I felt silly that I allowed one band of morons shake my faith.

             
I told her I would ask the council members and find out what area needed the most amount of help. Alexus nodded happily. She turned to go find her girls and settle into some play time.

             
“Hey, Alexus?” I called. “I'm glad to see you here. I know it's dumb to say but I wanted to tell you I'm proud of you. As you know apartment walls are thin and so I overheard probably more than I should have. I know you were going through a whole mess of a rough patch there. I'm proud of you for having turned it around. I'm even more impressed that you had started getting your life together before the zombies hit. Daniel told us that you got clean and were going to meetings for a little while before all this went down. You've really done well.”

             
Alexus stared at me for a minute. Her expression wasn't readable. She took in a breath to say something when Jody trotted up calling my name. Alexus' face relaxed into a happy expression and excused herself. I wondered what she had meant to say and wondered what her expression meant. There was something that shook inside of me for a half second, almost like there was something I should be seeing but was just elusive enough to be right out of my grasp.

Jody's Test

             
Jody had something on her mind. She looked like she wasn't feeling well and had a touch of anxiety over it.