Grace Lost (The Grace Series) (20 page)

“Should we wait till it’s lighter
out?” asked Emilie.  “The woods can stay pretty dark around here.”

“I think that’s a good idea,
Red.  I also want to wait till the fire’s died down.”

“I’m starving,” said Boggs with a
yawn.  “Let’s eat then regroup?”

We were all in agreement so decided
on a breakfast of canned fruit, slightly stale tortilla chips, and water. 
We ate without talking much, although Gus did ask about my hip and I happily
reported that the pain was better today.

After breakfast we went to the
living room and sat down.  The morning became a waiting game.  Gus
and Boggs went out once to make sure the bodies were burning evenly and to add
wood to the fire.  Emilie and I were getting bored, so got the decks of
playing cards out and began building a house of cards.  We made a fair
team, working well together.  We seemed to anticipate each other’s actions
well.  I carefully got up to turn the fireplace off, knowing conservation
was critical under the circumstances.  Boggs and Gus had just come in from
overseeing the bonfire and took seats, careful to not demolish our playing card
project.

As I walked over to sit next to
Boggs, we heard a familiar but unexpected noise.  Tires crunched on the
gravel out front as a car approached our cabin.

Gus and Boggs were the first to
stand, taking their positions at the peep holes.

“Holy shit,” said Boggs. 
“It’s a big step van.  Gus, come check it out.”

The men traded places at the
boarded-over front door.

“Emilie, Zoe,
please
head upstairs and get the spears?” Gus’ question sounded more like a strong
suggestion.

“What’s going on? Can you see
anyone?” I asked.

Gus answered.  “The driver
just got out. 
Male, young.
 
Probably teens.
 
Lots of tattoos.
 
He looks Latino.”

“Is he armed?” asked Boggs, being
practical.

“Ya, I see a rifle.  Looks like
a twenty-two. 
Girls.
 
Now.
 
Get the spears and bring them down,” said Gus.  Even under pressure he had
a way of staying calm.

Emilie and I walked the stairs
quickly.  We had stored the extra spears we had made in the third bedroom,
so fetched them and brought them downstairs.

“Where should we set them?” asked
Emilie.

“We don’t want to look hostile if
they come in, so set them in the corner by the fireplace where they’re not
obvious,” said Gus.  “The kid is circling the bonfire, and a woman just
got out of the vehicle.  Oh shit,” he sighed.

“What?” asked
Boggs.
 
“What is it?”

“She’s pregnant.”

“What do we do?” I asked. 
“We have to help them.”

Gus looked thoughtful for a
moment.  “One of us needs to go out and say hello, I suppose.  I’ll
go and once I feel
it’s
safe I’ll call the rest of you
out.  Better we meet them outside, I think.”

“Take the pistol, ok?” said
Boggs. 

“Ya, good idea.”

The guys explained that the
handgun would be easier to conceal, making Gus appear less hostile than the
shotgun might.

The cowboy climbed out the kitchen
window quietly.  It was the only exit he could use and not be seen from
the front of the cabin.  Boggs stayed at the peep hole to monitor the
situation. 

“Boggs?
  What’s happening?”  I asked.

I looked over at Emilie, who was
chewing on her fingernail.

We all heard Gus call out loud
enough to announce his presence, although it was impossible to hear just what
he had said from inside the cabin.

“Gus just walked out with his
hands out.  The two people from the van see him.  The kid has the
rifle out to his side.  That’s a good sign.”

Emilie spoke softly.  “I wish
we could see.”  I could tell she was worried about Gus. 

Boggs continued.  “They’re
talking.  The Latino kid has his arm around the pregnant woman. 
Things look ok so far.  The kid just relaxed the rifle and Gus’ arms are
at his sides.”   I heard Boggs take a deep breath.  “They’re
shaking hands.  Gus just signaled for us to come out.”

I took Emilie’s hand in mine and
walked with her to the window exit.  Boggs insisted on going first, so
climbed out ahead of us.  

“Stay next to me, Emilie?” I
asked. 

“I promise, Zoe.  I promise.”

The four of us had grown to trust
each other.  Changing that dynamic was not something I desired right
now.  I felt selfish and silently told myself to improve my attitude.

The sun was much higher in the sky
now.  I judged it to be near noon.  The pile of bodies was still
burning, but getting smaller.  The stench was less offensive now.  I
tried to not look at the corpses as they burned.  Boggs was already
exchanging handshakes with the new man and woman.  I agreed with Gus, they
did look young.  Emilie and I approached, hand in hand, and were
introduced to the young couple.

His name was Julio, and hers
Louisa.  She looked like she was about five or six months pregnant, but
I’ve always been a bad judge of things like that.  She had shoulder length
wavy black hair and a small nose.   She looked sweet.  I thought
to myself that I might be able to grow to like her.  They told us they had
two companions in the back of the step van. 

Julio walked to the front
passenger door of the rig and opened it.  He called to the two people
inside to let them know he was going to open the back.  He motioned for us
to step around, and I could tell Gus was instantly alarmed and set on edge.

“Don’t mean to sound harsh, but
we’ll wait here,” said Gus.  I noticed he had his hand near his pants
waist, where he had tucked the pistol.

“Sure, no problem,” Julio said
with a shrug.  He stepped behind the van and unlatched the barn-style
doors.  They opened with a squeal.  “Come on out ladies,” he
said.  I watched as he held his arms up and helped a woman down over the
bumper.  She was bald and gaunt, and appeared to be in her fifties or
sixties. 

“This is Wanda,” said Julio.

Wanda smiled at us.  “Don’t
let my appearance scare you all,” said the woman.  “I’m not one of the
dead, just on its door.  I have breast cancer, so let’s not let an
elephant sit in the corner of the room.  It is what it is.”  She
smiled warmly.

I looked at Boggs, who put a hand
on my shoulder.

“Nice to meet
you, Wanda.
  I’m Gus…over there’s
Boggs, Zoe, and Emilie.  Once we get inside we can talk some more.”

“Nice fire you have here,” she
replied. 
“Oh and nice to meetcha.”

I felt bad for the woman. 
She moved like she was in a lot of pain.

Julio held a hand up for their
last companion and a woman stepped down.  She was about my age, maybe a
bit older, with long shiny dark brown hair and tan skin.  She was tall and
slender, and had a figure most women would envy and men would admire.  She
could easily have been a model and I was growing jealous.  Once she had
both feet on the ground, she looked up.  Her gaze locked on Boggs.  I
felt his hand drop from my shoulder so I looked up at him.  He was staring
back at the woman.  Before I realized what was happening, she had run to
him and wrapped herself around him like she was embracing a long lost friend.

“Adam!” she said with a sense of
relief in her voice.  “Adam!  
Oh my God!”

My heart began to break as his
arms reached up to hold her.  “
Susan
?”  He paused while she
clung to him. 
“How?”
  He seemed in shock
over her arrival.

I took a small step back, and
Emilie had already moved to my side.  She put a hand on my back to keep me
from running.  She interrupted the reunion by clearing her throat. 
“You guys know each other?” she asked, perplexed.

           
I felt my stomach drop and my skin got cold and prickly feeling.  I wanted
the beautiful woman to get back into the step van and drive away.

“Adam and I go way back,” she
answered.  “I can’t believe we found each other, what are the
odds
?” 
Even her voice was beautiful.

“We met in college,” Boggs said
after coughing lightly.

“It’s like fate, Adam,” she
whispered.  She stood to face us, and kept an arm around his waist.

Boggs stood there, looking
somewhat uncomfortable.  He took her arm away from his waist and held her
hand in his.  “Susan, these are my friends. Gus, Emilie, Zoe, this is
Susan.  The four of us have been together since Day One.  Well,
except for Emilie.  She joined us several days into this mess.”

“We should all go inside and
talk,” said Gus.

Susan nodded eagerly.

“Miss Louisa,” said Gus. 
“We’ve been climbing in and out through the kitchen window.  Will you be
ok with that this time?  I can’t help but notice that you’re
expecting.  We can rearrange things so we can use the front door later.”

“Sure,” said Louisa.  “Julio
can help me.  We’re just so glad to have found somewhere to stay. 
New friends are a bonus.”  She spoke with a faint Mexican accent.

“Emilie?” I whispered to
her.  “Can you take me inside please?”  I was fighting back tears.

She and I quietly slipped inside
ahead of the others. 

It was hard to breathe.  I couldn’t
keep the tears in any longer and they began to fall freely down my cheeks.

“Zoe, come on.  Let’s go
upstairs and talk, ok?” suggested Emilie.  I was suddenly even more
grateful for her being in my life.

We walked up the stairs
together.  I could hear our guests climbing into the kitchen behind
us.  Emilie escorted me to my room and lit the candle on the vanity for
light, then closed the door.  I walked to the bed and lay down facing the
headboard, leaving my legs hanging over the edge.  I wiped at my tears,
trying to stop their flow.  As Emilie sat behind me, I felt her weight on
the bed.

“Zoe?  Who is she?” asked Em.

I swallowed hard.  “It’s a
girl he had an affair with in college.”

“He cheated on you?” she asked, in
disbelief.

I rolled over onto my back to look
at her.  “No, we weren’t together then. 
Just
friends.
  We’ve only been more than friends since this zombie stuff
happened.”

“Really?” she asked, with a
confused look on her face.  “I assumed you’ve always been a couple. 
He’s nuts about you, you know that right?”

“We’ve been friends my whole
life. 
Since I was a baby.
  We used to do
everything together.  Then he went off to college and his fling with Susan
messed him up.  He got distant.”  I wasn’t sure if I should mention
Susan’s abortion, so left that part out.  I figured that was Boggs’
private matter.  “We were just seeing each other for the first time in
months the weekend this all started.”

Emilie sighed.  “I’m not sure
what to say, Zoe.  I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“But did you see her?  She’s
gorgeous.  And he introduced me as his ‘friend,’ Em.”  I sniffled.

“Zoe, have you
seen
yourself?” she asked.  “She doesn’t have anything over you.  You’re
beautiful. 
Inside and out.”
  She leaned
down and kissed me on the cheek.  “Trust me.”

I wiped at my tears again.

“I’m going to slip downstairs and
heat up some tea.  Do you want to come with me or should I bring it up to
you?”

“Can you bring it back?” I
asked.  “I think I just need some quiet time. 
Time
to think.”

“Sure, Zoe.
  I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Emilie left the room, quietly
shutting the door behind her.  I turned back toward the headboard and
kicked off my shoes.  I clutched at a pillow and curled into a ball. 
After several minutes the door opened.  I felt the bed depress behind
me.  I knew it wasn’t Emilie because she was much lighter than whoever had
just sat down.

“Zoe?” whispered Boggs.  “We
need to talk.”

I didn’t say anything.  I
closed my eyes, willing myself to disappear.  It didn’t work.

“Zoe, I never would have guessed
she’d show up.  You know it was a short relationship.  It didn’t mean
anything.  I love
you
, Zoe.  Her being here doesn’t change
that.”  I felt his hand on my shoulder.  “Please, Zoe, I’m begging
you.  Don’t shut me out.  I promise I’ll talk to her, lay down some
rules.  I’ll make sure she understands.”

He leaned down and laid his head
against mine.  His hand moved to mine and he squeezed it lightly. 
“Come downstairs, Zo?  Please?”

“I don’t want to see her,
Boggs.  She was all over you and you told her I’m your ‘friend.’”

“I’m sorry about that.  I was
shocked.  I just didn’t know what to say.  Forgive me?”

I rolled into him.  “I just
can’t bear the thought of losing you now, Boggs.”