Only The Dead Don't Die (44 page)

“Sure, in the medical kit,” and she handed him the bottle.

“Do you mind if I close my eyes for a few minutes?” he suddenly seemed withdrawn and distant.

“Be my guest, after all, I did shoot you,” and she offered a smile.

***

Scarlett couldn’t stop herself from thinking about what Zac had said. It gave her the heebie-jeebies. Suddenly her little peaceful environment had turned upside down, and she was scared for the first time since she had called this place her new (temporary) home.

She heard shouting outside again and more gunshots, and she wished Zac would wake up. But he was out, cold. She made a makeshift bed on the opposite side and decided to take a quick nap herself.

***

She woke up screaming with Zac’s hand covering her mouth and Twila staring at her wide-eyed. A cold-and-hot sweat caused her to shiver like she had pneumonia.
I better not be coming down with the flu.
The thought startled her. And she jumped up.

“It’s all right,” he caressed her back, “Just a bad dream. Take some deep breaths before you hyperventilate,” he said in a calm, soothing voice.

Finally, she caught her breath, taking long, slow, deep breaths.

“Do you remember the dream?” he asked with a worried look.

“No,” she lied.

“Too bad, these days dreams seem to answer questions. Or, maybe it’s just wishful thinking,” he said with a wistful look in his eyes.

She grabbed a bottle of water and wiped the sweat from her brow. “So, we never did finish our conversation.” After her dream, she was ready to know more, ready to accept whatever he had to say—after that dream.

“Sure thing. Ask away. I’ll tell you what I’ve heard,” he said.

“Any signs of recovery?” she asked, hopeful.

“Nada.”

“What about Texas? I heard it’s safe in Texas,” she said.

“That’s my next venture—Texas. The stories I’ve heard about Texas are
not
so promising. Apparently, when word got out that Texas was a “Clean-Zone,” people herded there like deranged cattle and bombarded the Texan borders. I’ve heard horror stories of Texas Bordermen.”

“What?” Scarlett said.

“Mass killings—uninfected people. Mass graves sites,” he whispered in her ear, causing a new wave of goosebumps to tingle her skin.

“Impossible,” she finally said. She wasn’t sure if it was the
mass killings
or the feeling of his breath caressing her neck that caused the new outbreak of goosebumps.

“Only so many supplies. From what I’ve heard, they only let you in if you’re healthy and have a valuable skill or an
offering
, like—” he nodded at Twila. “And that’s only if you don’t get robbed or murdered at the immigration camps patrolled by the Bordermen.”

“That’s sick,” she felt queasy. “Bordermen?” she asked.

“Basically, Bordermen are the henchmen that patrol the Texan border. They were supposedly hired to maintain law and order of the immigration camps. But, you have to
pay-off
the Bordermen to get to the actual border. And rumor has it—it’s more efficient and convenient for the Bordermen to just kill-off the immigrants and steal their supplies.”

“That can’t be.” Scarlett was totally disgusted. “They actually have immigration camps?” Scarlett wanted to know more about that.

“Think Syria, only a thousand times worse. Remember all those refugees? People migrating to Texas get stuck at the immigration camps, more like World War II concentration camps from what I’ve heard. And the Bordermen do whatever is deemed necessary to keep the situation under control.”

“I can’t believe it’s that bad . . .” Scarlett shook her head in denial.

“Human nature at its worse. I’m not sure how much of that is fact and how much is urban legend. I plan to find out soon,” he seemed rather sure of himself.

“Do you have any children in your group?” he asked changing the subject.

She shook her head no. The shouting started outside again. “You think they’ll find us?” Scarlett felt the need to be reassured.

He looked at Twila. “No way Jose,” he said emphatically and gave the girl a smile. But Twila didn’t respond. She seemed distant, lost in a faraway blank stare.

“She does that sometimes,” Zac said, responding to Scarlett’s questioning expression. “She freezes up sometimes. Other than that, she’s no problem,” Zac promised.

“Do you think she has seizures?” Scarlett whispered, leaning into him so Twila couldn’t hear.

“I don’t think so. It’s more like she’s deep in thought at times,” Zac said.

Scarlett was relieved when the girl snapped out of it. Still, something did seem odd about the child.
She probably needs a lifetime of therapy after what she’s been through, poor thing.
Scarlett’s heart poured out to the girl.

Twila began playing a Pac-Man-like game, tracing a yellow M&M on the paisley-printed paper plate design until it snuck up behind the other colored M&M’s. She even mimicked the game’s silly sound effects. Funny thing—Twila played with the candy: instead of eating it.

Zac leaned into Scarlett; she felt his breath tickling her ear, causing her goosebumps to feel as if they were about to burst, “Don’t worry, she’s fine. I’ve only seen a few children since the outbreak, most didn’t survive,” he whispered.

Scarlett turned her head, face to face with him, their eyes agonizing inches away. She carefully studied his soul-searching eyes, and he seemed to be searching hers—as if for an answer. For a moment she thought he might kiss her.

“More juice, please,” Twila jolted their almost-intimate moment.

Scarlett jerked back to reality, a quite unpleasant awakening as she felt a sensation in her groin tingle and tightened.
What would I have done if he had kissed me?

“Sure sweetie.” Scarlett poured the girl another glass.

“You
smell
funny,” the girl giggled and plugged her nose with her fingers.

Scarlett’s hands rushed up to her face; she was definitely blushing now.
Dammit!
She had added a new item to her arsenal. Garlic. Before leaving the bug out, she had made it a part of her regimen to rub a fresh clove of garlic on her arms to disguise her scent from the creepers. It worked great, although it was still in the testing stages. She hadn’t tried it in a creeper-populated area yet.

“Uh, yeah, that’s the garlic,” Scarlett’s voice cracked.

“I didn’t want to say anything, you being the host and all,” Zac teased. “By the way, it’s a brilliant idea. I’ll have to try it some time.”

The garlic reminded her of the fish. “Oh, Shit!” Scarlett exclaimed a bit too loudly. “I left today’s catch in the forest. When I accidently—shot you.”

“That explains why they’re still searching this area. There’s nothing we can do about that now. We’ll just have to wait it out. Don’t worry, it’ll be dark soon. They’ll never find us here,” he winked at Twila.

“No way Jose,” Twila said, gliding a yellow M&M on the paper plate.

“What a great safehouse. I might have to make me one of these. Was this yours before the pandemic?” he asked, studying the framework.

“No. I,
we
happened to come across a set of MapQuest directions and found the place empty. I think it’s made of a lightweight plastic-like material, but it’s really sturdy,” she explained.

“What a stroke of good luck,” he said still surveying the room.

“How’s your arm?” she asked, still embarrassed that she reeked of garlic.

“What do you think? Hurt’s like a mother f—” he stopped and smiled at Twila. “I’ll take the first watch if you two want to get some rest,” Zac offered.

Scarlett rummaged through the tubs looking for the extra sleeping bags, “Sweetie, do you like slumber parties?”

“We get to sleep here tonight?” Twila giggled.

“Sure do.” Scarlett found the extra sleeping bags and carefully arranged her sleeping bag so that it was the farthest distance from Zac’s.

“It sounds quiet out there. I’ll go recon the area. Be back in a few,” and he left the bug out.

While he was out, Scarlett took the opportunity to pop upstairs to relieve herself and wash up.
Jeez, I look like death warmed-over.
She rinsed her face, did a quick comb-through of her unmanageable hair, attempted to scrub off the garlic, and even put on a fresh shirt.
Oh, stop it, it’s not like you need to impress him.
Suddenly, she felt extremely self-conscious. It had been ages since she had bothered with her appearance; lipstick and mascara were like vintage treasures from another era.

After giving up on her appearance, she decided to feed the poor guy. No telling when he had last eaten. When she returned to the storage level, Twila was already sleeping in Scarlett’s sleeping bag.
Great
! That left her the sleeping bag closest to Zac.

Scarlett put together a dinner plate for Zac: smoked fish, canned corn, canned pears, and the rest of yesterday’s homemade biscuits along with a special treat, a jar of raspberry jelly.
There, that’s a nice peace offering. After all, I did shoot the guy.
Strange, she had never even thought about killing Paxton and Nate, and yet she had ended up shooting a non-enemy.
Life’s sure funny that way.
Or had she changed?

Zac returned, “Expecting company?” he winked as if noticing her feeble primping attempts. “I’m famished,” he said, admiring the food.

They sat around the blue plastic tub that now served as their dinner table. There was a long awkward moment of silence as if neither of them knew quite what to say. Then, he picked up a side of smoked fish and started eating.

“Ah, this is absolutely the
best
smoked fish I’ve ever had,” Zac said with a mouth full. “What’s your secret?” he asked. “Good thing you weren’t smoking any fish today. They would have tracked us here.”

Scarlett had just been thinking that herself. Actually, after her last inventory, she had smoked a two-month supply, enough for her trip. And, of course, there was
enough Spam and dehydrated foodstuff to last for ages. She, however, preferred the smoked fish.

“No sign of them. I’m sure the Ravers will be scouring the valley at first light. As a rule, they don’t go out at night,” Zac said.

“Shoot, I forgot to close those blinds.” It was night; she always closed all the plastic blinds before sunset, not wanting to risk a light flickering in the forest.

“No one’s made it back yet?” Zac seemed concerned.

“Huh?” she said, not understanding.

“I’m surprised no one has made it back yet. Do they have a habit of leaving you alone?” He eyed her.

“Uh, they went on a scavenger run. We’ve got other hideouts scattered about. Besides, they’re probably hiding from the Ravers,” she added, hoping she sounded convincing.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t leave the safehouse for a couple of days. Don’t risk it. They’ll give up in a day or two—looking for me. Then I recommend getting the hell out of here, or you’re liable to be stuck here till after the harvest. This forest is backed by the Hutton’s walnut orchard. And across from that is a pear orchard, and on both sides of you are apple orchards. You’re smack-dab in the middle of orchards with only the river and a strip of National Forest land as a buffer.”

“Don’t they have trackers?” she worried. Would they be able to track her to the bug out?

“They do, but they aren’t too good at it. That’s how I got away.” He took another slab of smoked fish. “At dawn, I’ll create a false trail by the river leading them downstream. In a couple of days, follow the river up the Sierras. If you come across a horse ranch, that’s my Uncle Mario’s place. Tell him you’re a friend of mine, and he’ll let your group campout for a while. He’ll probably even feed you, knowing him.”

“Great,” Scarlett said.

“So what did
you
do back in the good ole days?” Zac asked.

“I was a grade school teacher, taught math and physical education.”

“What, I got shot by a gorgeous, school teacher? At least you aren’t an English teacher. My brothers would never let me live that one down. That would be the
absolute
worst—” his eyes flirted.

She giggled, but quickly stifled it and covered her mouth, self-conscious of her dimples. They ate the rest of their dinner in silence. It had been a long, adventurous day, and she was exhausted. And, she was somewhat perplexed, for she seemed to have a crush on a complete stranger, a man with a mysterious face. She could only imagine what he actually looked like. She put away the remains of the dinner and packed everything in a bag while he rearranged the plastic tub turned dinner table into a room divider, conveniently positioning it between their two sleeping bags—a great relief to her.

“You look exhausted. I’ll take the first watch while you get some sleep,” Zac offered.

“Sure thing,” she yawned and decided to dream about what he looked like under all the camo-paint. The thought made her smile.