Siege (11 page)

“And then what do you do?”

“Shake it hard!”

“Why?”

“To make their brain soup!” some little wise-ass called out. The kids broke up into wild peals of laughter.

Nerit smiled slightly, then ordered, “Okay, line up! Let’s make zombie brain soup!”

Jenni looked over at Juan. He was sweating hard, his long curly hair slipped free from his ponytail. Feeling her gaze, he looked up at her then over at the kids.

“They need to know how to fight back,” he said finally.

“Yeah,” she answered, looking back at the kids.

A young boy, about Mikey’s age, walked up to the zombie effigy and rammed the end of his spear into its cloth eye as hard as he could, then shook it hard.

Again, the children laughed.

Jenni sighed and spread more wet cement with the trowel. “I wish Mikey hadn’t turned back to defend me.”

“He didn’t know, babe,” Juan said in a soft, cautious voice.

“I know, but...you would have liked him,” Jenni fought back a few tears and lifted the heavy cement block into place. She rarely spoke to Juan about her kids. It was hard to speak of a piece of her life she could not ever share with him.

Juan kissed her cheek softly, causing the makeshift platform they were on wobble a little. “I know, Loca. I know.”

“If I could find a way to give you kids...”

“Loca, it’s okay. Really. I got you. I got Jason, even though he does hate me, and I got Jack. And Jack is a pretty bad ass kid. Kinda furry, but a great kid.”

Jenni laughed despite the lump in her throat.

“Besides, Katie and Travis are probably going to be spitting out kids left and right and we’ll end up with babysitting duty.” He wiped the sweat from his brow, managing to get a little cement in his hair. “I just want to be with you. Okay? If we’re together, I’m happy. Even if you are batshit crazy.”

Jenni laughed and leaned against him. “Crazy is good.”

“Crazy is good. And fun in bed.” Juan grinned at her lovingly.

“You’re such a pervert,” she teased and kissed his salty cheek.

“And you like it.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then moved to lay another brick.

Jenni looked back down at the kids and Nerit.

“Okay, who’s next?”

A slew of kiddie voices shouted, “Me!”

2. Time to Move On

“Hey, Mom.” Jason slid into the chair next to Jenni at lunch. He peered out at her from beneath his long bangs and looked a little embarrassed.

“Hey, baby, what’s up?” Jenni shoved a couple of homestyle fries dunked in mustard into her mouth and ignored Jack staring at her longingly from Jason’s side.

“I was wondering if I could have Shelley over to watch movies tonight?”

the teenager whispered, his cheeks blushing.

“You gonna make out?” Jenni asked around a mouthful of fries.

“Mom!”

Jenni grinned at him. “Are you?”

Ducking his head, Jason looked up at her through his bangs. “Maybe.”

She playfully nudged him with her elbow and grinned. “My sexy son is getting some loving!”

“Mom!”

Jenni rolled her eyes, shrugging. “Okay, okay. Have your make out session, but she has to leave by eleven.”

“You’re so embarrassing, Mom,” Jason grumbled.

“Hey, I gotta tease you when I can. You’re always off with Roger and your crew making crazy mad scientist zombie killing stuff.” Jenni hugged him and smothered him in kisses. He squirmed with discomfort.

“Mom, fine. Okay. I get it. And thanks, Mom,” her stepson said, and quickly kissed her cheek. He ducked out of her grip and stood up. Jenni saw Shelley standing nearby and gave her the thumbs up. Jack laid a paw on her knee and looked at her plaintively. With a sigh, Jenni gave the dog her dessert, two peanut butter cookies. Graced with a doggy grin, she smiled back.

The boy and his dog jogged over to Shelly, leaving her to finish her fries alone.

* * * * *

As her best friend dug through a pile of supplies, Jenni giggled. Katie looked up at her, holding baby wipes in one hand and diapers in the other.

“What?”

“You look cute.”

Katie frowned and put her items into the growing stack beside her. Jenni remembered her own anxiety when she was pregnant with Mikey. She felt envy mingled with happiness as she watched Katie search for necessities in a large unsorted pile. The pile had been designated as unnecessary goods and was left in a storage room. It was from the WalMart truck. Baby supplies just hadn’t seemed important in the first days. Months later, Katie was desperate to find what she could.

Jenni, meanwhile, eyeballed what looked like lingerie, WalMart style, but slinky nonetheless.

“Do you want a boy or a girl?”

Katie was deep in the pile again and had to straighten to speak. “Uh, either. Travis wants a girl though. He actually offered to name her Lydia.”

Jenni looked at Katie in surprise. “Really?”

Katie nodded. “He said it was okay with him. I told him I’d think about it.”

Sitting back, she pressed a hand to her belly. “I know that if this nightmare hadn’t happened that Lydia and I would still be together and that Travis...” She hesitated and then wiped a tear from her eye. “I know I never would have met him.”

Instantly, Jenni crawled across the piles to hold Katie. She held her friend tightly, feeling the other woman trembling.

“I’m so damn emotional!”

“It’s hormones,” Jenni assured her.

Katie laughed and wiped another tear away. “I love them both, you know. Lydia and Travis. And I’m very happy with Travis, but...I miss her.” She paused. I can’t... give the baby her name. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Then if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. Travis is trying to be a good guy. It can’t be easy living in Lydia’s shadow.”

“Oh, I know that. And he’s so good about it. He really is! And I love him!

If I hadn’t lost her, I wouldn’t have him and it feels so fucked up! And I’m such a hormonal mess!” Katie was half-laughing, half-crying. Jenni kissed Katie’s cheek firmly, then snuggled her tighter. “I know, I know. If I hadn’t lost my family, I wouldn’t have you and Juan. I’m so grateful to have Jason, and it feels really weird to be happy cause the world is definitely hell right now.”

It did seem weird to Jenni. She found this world almost comfortable compared to the suburban lifestyle she had once lived. Lloyd had controlled every aspect of her life from what she wore to what she ate. She had been a trophy wife and his punching bag. Her former life was devoted to her children and pleasing Lloyd. He hadn’t even allowed her to have friends. She now had someone who loved her, good friends, and a purpose in life. The only thing that would make it better was if she could have Benji and Mikey with her. Juan would have been such a great dad to them.

Katie nodded and wiped more tears away. “We’re lucky to have each other, aren’t we?”

“Absolutely!” Jenni agreed and held her best friend tightly against her.

“Without a doubt, Katie. You saved me. And I love you.”

Pressing a kiss to Jenni’s cheek, Katie whispered, “I love you, too, Jenni. You’re the best friend I could ever have.”

“So the baby is Jenni, Jr. right?”

Katie burst out laughing and Jenni smiled with relief.

The rest of the afternoon was light and fun. By the time they left, they were both weighted down with baby supplies and Jenni had red lingerie tucked into her back pocket.

* * * * *

Jenni loved the aftermath of the lovemaking with Juan. They always lounged around in the bed, naked and tired, grinning at each other. She painted her toenails, one foot propped on his knee as he read a book, buried under the covers. A cold front had finally hit just after dark and the room was cold. The covers were wrapped around her waist, but she enjoyed the coolness on her skin.

“Blanche was giving me shit again today,” Jenni said after a long bit of silence.

“Yeah? Why?”

“She was clean up crew tonight after dinner and ragged on me for not putting my plate into the proper bin. Then she ragged on me for a bunch of other stuff. I stopped listening after the ‘stupid spic’ comment.”

Juan looked over at her and frowned. “I thought she just called me that.”

“No, no. She calls everyone she thinks is Mexican a spic. Including Rashi, the Indian guy we picked up the other day.”

“That woman is such a bitch,” Juan growled. Putting his book down, he rubbed Jenni’s leg gently as she finished polishing her toenails. “Her husband has just been sulking, but she’s on a fucking warpath.”

“Too much drama,” Jenni said with a frown. “Though, her husband actually did something nice today. He stopped trying to file a claim for the return of their Hummer. Peggy told me.”

Juan laughed and shook his head. “You wonder if they realize what is really going on.”

Flopping back on the pillows piled behind her, Jenni giggled. “Stupid people doing stupid things, huh?”

Juan flipped the book off the bed. “Yeah, but we are keeping them alive for some reason.”

“Entertainment value!”

“Are your nails dry yet?”

“Um...no...why?”

Juan looked at her toes, then said. “Eh, fuck it. You can redo them.” He leaned over and kissed her deeply, pulling her close.

With a grin, Jenni wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss.
3. Time to Go

Rune awoke with a start. His hand automatically gripped his Glock as he sat up and pointed at the figure at the end of the bed. As his brain sputtered into wakefulness, he blinked his eyes to focus them. The room was dark, but the figure at the end of the bed was a black blot. He nearly expected it to moan and reach for him, then realized he wasn’t facing a zombie.

Flipping on the lamp next to the bed, he stared blearily at the man standing at the end of the bed. Expect for being transparent, he looked just like any other person living in the fort. Setting the Glock down beside him, Rune sighed softly.

“What do you want, buddy?”

The man opened his mouth, silent words forming.

“You need to speak up. I can’t hear you.”

The room grew steadily colder as the apparition tried again. It managed one word.

“Help.”

The figure then lost its tentative hold on the physical world and vanished. Sliding his legs out of bed, Rune shivered as the room grew steadily colder. His breath turned to mist and he whispered, “Dammit.” Standing, he grabbed up his jeans and boots.

The room began to fill with shimmers of light and shadow. He felt the whispery touch of the dead as they gathered around him.

“I can’t help you,” he said shortly. “I can’t hear you. I can’t help you. Stop pestering me. Either talk to me or leave me alone.” Frustration and despair filled him as he shrugged on his leather vest and reached for his heavy jacket. The delicate touches of the dead fluttered over his skin. He tried to shrug them away, but they were persistent.

The room was unbearably cold. Cussing under his breath, he grabbed his motorcycle bags and headed toward the door of his hotel room. He had never unpacked, anticipating this moment.

Striding down the hall, he saw the air rippling around him. A few of the spirits drew enough energy to actually grab his arm, but he shrugged them off.

In the beginning, he had tried to help the ghosts he encountered. Slowly, he realized that the spirits were simply trapped. Nothing he said to guide them helped. The whole world had been filled with death, altering everything beyond the world of the living.

Ignoring the elevator, he headed down the stairs. His boots heels sounded like thunder rolling through the stairwell. The spirits were losing energy quickly, basically burning themselves out trying to hold onto him. He hit the bottom floor, cut across the lobby, and headed toward the door exiting to the construction site.

As he entered what had once been a janitor’s closet, he was startled when a hand grabbed his arm in an iron grip. Yanking his arm away, he was hit with a gawdawful stench. His Glock was already in his hand and coming up for a killing shot when he heard Old Man Calhoun mutter, “I can’t remember!”

“What the hell, Calhoun?” Rune shoved his Glock back into his holster, frowning at the old codger. He had given him a terrible fright.

“I can’t remember something important. And it’s eatin’ at me!” Calhoun let go of him and shoved open the door to the construction site. “I saw something long ago and then again a few days ago, and I know it was something important. It’s important because...” He faltered, obviously struggling to grasp a flitting thought. Plunging into the night, the old man seemed to be chasing after that thought.

Rune sighed and followed. He headed toward the stairs that would lead him over the wall into the area where the fort secured all its vehicles. Calhoun ran back and forth in front of him, hands outstretched, grasping at the air.

He didn’t feel the ghosts anymore, but they would catch up. His only real hope for any peace of mind was to head out into the deadlands and keep changing his location. Leaving the fort so soon was an annoyance. He had allowed himself the luxury of becoming a part of the community for a few days. Maybe he had even deceived himself into believing he could stay. It was a damn shame he had to go. He would miss Maddie and Dale.

Calhoun suddenly came to a stop and turned around. “The Whore of Babylon. That was what it was about. She was cohorts with the one that ended up killed in a woman’s dress. She..she...” He faltered, his eyes rolling wildly in their sockets. Clutching his hands to his face, Calhoun wailed. “I can’t remember. It was...it was...”

In the distance a rooster crowed, long and loud.

“Chickens!” Calhoun exclaimed. “Chickens!”

Rune blinked, then shook his head. The old guy was in a tizzy and there was nothing he could do for him. It had to suck to have lost your mind. He climbed up over the wall and entered the huge parking area from which the teams were launched. His bike was in one of the old newspaper garages. The doors were open and he headed inside to uncover his bike. As he pulled the tarp off, he heard a noise behind him and quickly turned. It sounded like a door opening, but he didn’t see anything through the gloom.