Tainted Grace (8 page)

Jack sighed.
Boggs and Gus were still standing in front of me.

“My wound healed weeks ago,” I said in a quiet voice.
“I’m just like you all - unless the zombies are near. I can feel them in my head, and see through their eyes if they are close by. I’ve been able to keep us safer because of it.”

“And what if you fucking turn into one of them?” asked Aldo in a gruff voice.

“If anything like that were to happen,” I said, raising my voice daringly, “you can shoot me yourself.” I stood and pushed my way past Boggs and Gus. For some reason I felt it imperative to stand up to this cocky young man. I needed to stand my ground and appear strong.

“No one is shooting anyone,” said Nathan.
“Aldo! Put the damn gun down and sit your ass on the couch.”

I hadn’t realized Nathan could be so intimidating.
He stood tall now, his eyes piercing as he glared at Aldo. He was gripping Susan’s hand.

After a long pause of silence on everyone’s part, Aldo finally sat.
He crossed his arms over his chest, but kept his grip on the gun. Boggs and Gus each took hold of one of my elbows, forcing me back to the couch. Weak-kneed, I sat. I was doing my best to keep from trembling, but was failing. Boggs held my hand tightly. I felt less vulnerable beside him.

“So, how does it work?” Kelsey asked me.
“I mean what’s it like?”

I looked up and blinked a few times.
I said what first came to mind. “It’s one of the most horrible things you can imagine. To feel what they feel. To see what they see. To know what they do.” My body shuddered. “It’s awful.”

Kelsey nodded.
“Sorry it’s happened to you,” she whispered.

“I’m hungry,” said Abbey.
She sounded thoroughly and utterly bored.

“Me too,” I mumbled.
I had been hoping someone would mention supper.

“The fire is almost ready to cook on,” added Kelsey.
“I can heat up some soup and we have crackers left.”

“Great, so now we’re going to feed one of them,” mumbled Aldo from where he sat sulking.

“Mind your manners, son,” said Jack harshly. “These people are our guests and of course we’ll feed them. All of them. They did the same for Nate and Bill.”

“Can I help?” I asked Kelsey and Abbey.
I needed the distraction.

“Sure, come on over,” answered the older of the two girls.

I stood, stretched, and walked quietly to the area by the wood stove. I could feel Aldo’s gaze on my back. Abbey was absorbed in her book, likely her way of escaping from our own world of danger and death. I found myself hoping the girl hadn’t seen things as horrible as the rest of us had. I wrapped my arms around myself and enjoyed the heat radiating from the old woodstove.

“Do you mind grabbing a few cans of Campbell’s from the bar?” asked Kelsey.
“I think we have chicken noodle left, and tomato. You pick.” Kelsey had a soft smile and a kind face.

“Sure,” I answered.

“I’ll help,” said Emilie as she stood.

“There’s a pot back there too, if you could bring that.
And the can opener. I have bottled water here to add to it,” added Kelsey. “Abs, can you get the crackers please?” she asked her younger sister.

“Uh huh,” answered the girl, still absorbed in her book.
She didn’t make a move to get up. I suspected she wasn't really aware of the cracker request.

Emilie and I walked together to the bar on the opposite side of the room.
Like us, they were using candles as their main source of light. The room was dim but it was not impossible to see. We worked our way behind the bar, where cans had been organized. Fruit, vegetables, soups. I was growing hungrier looking at it all. Em opened cabinet doors until she found a large soup pot with a lid.

“What do you want, Zoe?” asked my best red-headed friend.
“Chicken noodle or tomato?”

“Hmm,” I pondered.
“Tomato sounds awesome. When I was a little girl we used to eat it with fresh popcorn in it.”

“Gross,” said Em with a chuckle.
“Seriously gross.”

“Nah, it was good.
The popcorn kind of melts into it. I wonder if we’ll ever eat popcorn again?” I asked, not really expecting an answer, and not getting one.

I grabbed four cans of soup.
“Do you think four is enough?” I asked Emilie.

“Hmm.
There’s eleven of us. Yeah let’s start with four. Here, stick them in the pot. I’ll carry them,” she offered.

“Did you find the can opener?”

“Yup.”

We walked back over to the fire and spread out the goods. “Is tomato ok, Kelsey?” I asked.

“Sounds great. Abbey, will you please get the crackers?” asked Kelsey again, sounding rather irritated with the younger girl.

Abbey sighed loudly, obviously upset at being brought out of her literary world.
“Ok, ok, just hold your horses,” she sighed.

“Good book?” I asked.

Abbey nodded. “Really good.”

She got up from her perch on the beanbag and turned to walk to a corner of the room that held several boxes.
I followed her.

“What’s it about?” I asked.

“It’s about a boy in the future who lives in a city under a dome. They have computer plug-ins on their backs and stuff. He gets locked outside the dome by accident and has to learn to live in the wild, with no technology.”

Abbey’s face became animated when she spoke of the story.

“Cool,” I said.

“We keep lots of dried goods in these boxes,” explained the girl. “Crackers, cereal, oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes, dry milk…”

“Oh gosh, I haven’t had milk in ages,” I said, suddenly craving some.

“We’ll make some for dinner,” she said.
“If it’s ok with my sister.”

I smiled at her, and she smiled back gently.

Once back by the fireplace, Susan had joined Em and Kelsey and the soup was being transferred from their cans to the pot.

“Kelsey, is it ok if we make milk tonight?” asked Abbey.
“Zoe said they haven’t had any in a long time.”

“Sure, why not?” answered her big sister.
“We can celebrate new friends.”

It wasn't long before the soup, crackers, and milk were ready.
Everyone looked exhausted. We all sat around the fireplace, sipping soup quietly. The warm liquid felt good all the way to my stomach. I took a small bit of delight in the feeling. It made me feel almost like a kid again.

“This is good,” I said quietly.
“Thanks for including us.”

“Our pleasure,” replied Kelsey.
“It’s nice to see some new friendly faces.”

I noticed Aldo roll his eyes.
I found myself liking him less and less as time went by.

“Uncle Jack, aren’t you hungry?” inquired Abbey.

I looked over to the older man. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked like he wasn’t feeling well.

“Nah, I have heartburn.
I think I just need some sleep. Abbey, do you want mine?” He held his cup of soup out to the young girl.

She smiled.
“You sure?”

Jack nodded.
“Go on, Abbey. I’ll eat tomorrow.”

She took his cup of soup gratefully.
“Thanks, Uncle Jack.”

Boggs quietly held three of his Saltines out to me.
I took them, and added them to my soup. I hated eating more than my share. Once they were soggy enough, I drank the rest of the soup eagerly. I saved the milk for last. Even though it had a slightly funny taste as powdered milk often does, it was blissful and I was so grateful for the treat. I found myself wondering if we might find a goat or cow to take to our new island home. The thought of fresh milk was a welcome one.

“We need to sleep,” said Bill.
“Tomorrow will be our first scouting trip. I suggest I go, along with Zoe, Boggs, and Nathan.”

“We can start packing up food while you’re gone,” suggested Jack.
“Get things better organized here.”

“Sounds good,” said Bill.
“Sounds real good.”

“There’s a room off to the back with some mattresses and couch cushions on the floor.
Just find a spot and try to sleep,” said Jack. “Kelsey and Abbey usually sleep by the fire on the bean bags, and the rest of us have made a habit of claiming the sofa and recliners.”

“It’s chilly back there, so take a few blankets with you.
If it gets too cold, come on back in here,” added Bill.

“I’m gonna go with them,” said Nathan, taking Susan’s hand.

Bill nodded at him.

“Thank you kindly,” said Gus.

“Oh, there’s a bathroom of sorts in a storage closet. Nathan can show you,” added Jack. “We use buckets that get emptied outside when they’re full. Just keep the lids on tight after you use them to keep the stink down.”

I more than half expected Susan to make a snarky remark, and was glad when she didn’t.

The room full of mattresses was cold and dank. Six of us piled in, with blankets from the other room. There were three mattresses, which looked and felt like they had been rescued from hide-a-bed sofas and several salvaged seat cushions from at least two different sofas. Some were plaid and the others floral. The door to the ‘bedroom’ was left open, in hopes of stealing heat from the other room. Knowing the next day would be a long one, we all lay down in pairs and covered up. Tired, no one spoke. Soon, I let the lullaby of slowed breathing and snoring sing me to sleep.

I was dreaming of a field full of poppies and a pack of dark gray wolves when the sound of a gunshot woke me.
My ears were ringing and I struggled to orient myself to where I was. Boggs, who I recalled had gone to sleep beside me, was already standing. Muffled hysteria and sobbing jolted me to my own feet. We were in the basement of the other house. The gunshot had been loud. I couldn’t hear right. My mind wasn't fully right, and I a remnant of the senses of the living dead was like a dying ember in my head.

“A Runner!” I choked out.
By now I could pretty easily distinguish signatures of the Runners from the much slower Roamers.

“Oh my God!” screamed a female voice.
It came from the common room with the fireplace. Commotion commenced. I could hear bodies struggling to find their way in the dark. Sobbing that sounded like Abbey or Kelsey.

“Oh my God!” came the female voice again, strained and muddled with fear.
“Oh God, Jack ate Bill! Jack ate Bill!” The voice was cracking and full of deep despair.

“Nathan, get your gun!”
Aldo’s voice. “Sweet Jesus, get your fucking gun!”

A candle was lit by someone, casting a dim glow about the large room.
As the light from the candle flickered to life, so did a familiar ache in my hip and a buzz in my head.

“Someone just turned,” I said loudly.
“Oh God be careful…someone just woke up!”

There was a symphony of “what the fuck” and “holy shit” and “fucking shoot him” from various points in the room.

Another candle was lit, showing Abbey standing near the couch, covered in blood. Her hands covered her face and she looked like she was about to lose any shred of sanity remaining within. The next moments ran passed as if in slow motion. Boggs was at my side, his Kahr .45 caliber outstretched in his hand. Nathan and Emilie had made it to the fireplace, where Kelsey stood holding a shotgun. I surmised she had been the one who fired the first shot, waking the rest of us. Aldo was at the far side of the room, closest to Bill. Jack was flat on his back, his head blown off and no longer identifiable. Sickly blood splattered the wall behind him, bits of brain tissue, ligaments, bone, and overall human mush decorating the floor. His neck ended in a stump of spinal column and flesh, lying in a pool of deep crimson. Nathan had stopped short in the threshold to the bedroom where we had just come from, keeping Susan behind him.

Bill was covered in blood.
It still dripped from his arm. Half of his face had been chewed away. His body was twitching unnaturally. It was as if he was trying to do something but wasn't sure what. I could sense confusion, in a rudimentary sense. I could see Aldo and Abbey, both from Bill’s perspective. They were both equally close, equally tempting. The blood on Abbey won his vote, and he stumbled toward her. Aldo made a loud noise, trying to catch the dead man’s attention.

“Aldo, drop!” shouted Boggs from beside me.

Without hesitation, Aldo dropped to the floor as Boggs fired his Kahr. My hip was screaming at me as Bill’s dead consciousness grew. I watched as his corpse fell to the floor on top of Aldo. I could feel the dead man’s spark die within my head, and was glad it was over.

“He’s gone,” I said.
I could barely hear my own mumbled voice.

Aldo wiggled out from beneath the corpse, and stood.

“Fucking A,” he said, breathless. “Thanks man.” He was obviously shaken, badly.

“What the fuck happened?” asked Nathan.
“Kels? What the fuck happened in here?”

Kelsey looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks from reddened eyes.
“Jack…”

I heard Gus sigh.
“Looks like Jack must have died in his sleep. He said he wasn't feeling well. He was a big guy, and on the older side. His heart must have given out.”

Abbey was beginning to hyperventilate.
“Jack ate Bill…” Her crying turned to sobbing and she dropped to her knees on the floor.

“Abbey?” called Kelsey, who immediately ran to her side.
“Abbey, are you bleeding? Oh God, did one of them hurt you?”

Abbey continued to sob, unable to answer.
Kelsey was on her knees facing her little sister, her face gray with the realization that the younger girl may have been bit or scratched.

“Abbey!
C’mon baby girl, answer me,” begged Kelsey. “Did one of them hurt you?”

Abbey slowly shook her head ‘no,’ then whispered.
“Jack…he was eating Bill…” she broke off, sobbing again.

“I know baby girl, I know.
But did you get hurt?”

“I…I…I don’t think so.
I tried to help Bill and he shoved me out of the way when Jack tried to come after me. He was covered in blood, Kelsey. His face…”

“Shhh,” Kelsey tried to sooth the girl.

“Fuck,” said Aldo.

Boggs was standing close to me, with Emilie and Susan behind us.
Nathan and Gus had begun to approach the young girl.

“Abbey, we need to make sure you haven’t been bit or scratched,” said Nathan in a kind, soothing voice.

Abbey looked up at him, wiped away some of the tears that were splattering her face, and nodded. I could tell that she trusted this man, and looked up to him.

“I want you to go into the back bedroom honey, with your sister and Susan, and let them look you over. You ok with that?” asked Nathan.

Abbey nodded. “Ok.”

“Emilie, can you bring a few candles?” asked Susan.

“Of course,” answered Em. The four girls walked to the back of the house.

I stayed with the men in the common room.
Aldo looked ten shades of wild, his eyes wide and his hair mussed. He was also smeared with blood from Bill falling on top of him.

“I’ll add some wood to the fire,” I offered.

“Better hold off,” replied Nathan. “It’s near dawn. We don’t want to attract attention,” he explained.

I nodded.
“Right.”

“Aldo, we need to check you too.”

“I’m not fucking bit,” said the crazed-looking man.

“We just need to make sure, brother,” said Gus in a soothing voice.

“Fucking A. I’m not your brother! And no one’s fucking going to touch me!”

Aldo’s voice was rising, his anger becoming more and more apparent. I sighed, realizing he was a much bigger jerk than I had bargained on.

“Cool down, Aldo,” said Nathan.

“Fucking A.
I’m not your brother! And no one’s fucking going to touch me!” repeated Aldo. His face wore a mask of pain.

“We heard you the first time,” said Boggs, who had been quiet till now.
He sounded irritable and tired.

Aldo tilted his neck to the side, as if trying to crack it.

“Fucking A. I’m not your brother! And no one’s fucking going to touch me!”

There was a tiny tickle deep within my mind.
At first I wondered if Bill wasn't truly finally dead, despite the bullet hole that had pierced his head.

“Oh no,” I said loudly.
“Boggs, shoot him. Shoot him now.”

“Fucking A.
I’m not your brother! And no one’s fucking going to touch me!” repeated Aldo for the fourth time, followed by a scream of agony.

“Boggs, he’s turning, shoot him!” I screamed.

The room went silent as Aldo raced forward with inhuman speed, toward Gus. A shot rang out, as Boggs finally processed what I had said. The bullet hit Aldo in the chest, causing him to back up several feet, but failed to drop him. Before Boggs had time to re-aim, another shot rang out from behind us. Emilie had joined us from the other room, likely responding to my screams, and made her mark true. Aldo dropped backward, finally still.

I was trying to process what had happened to Aldo by analyzing the senses that had gone on in my head.
It was different than anything I had experienced so far. It happened in front of us, while Aldo was still alive. I hadn’t witnessed anyone turn while still alive before. I started to shiver.

“Shit,” said Gus, breathless.
“What the fuck happened?” The look on Gus’ face was strained.

“He was alive,” I said.
“He turned while he was still alive! What if it’s mutated, Gus?” I felt like panicking but knew it wouldn’t help the situation.

“Red, can you go back in and help get Abbey checked out?
This feels really off and I want to regroup as soon as possible. Frankly, I want to get the hell out of here.”

“Sure Gus.
She looks ok so far, though. Abbey, I mean.” Emilie looked shaky. I noticed for the first time her kind, young face was showing signs of this harsh world. She turned to walk back to the bedroom, then stopped and called back. “Gus? Be careful.”

“I will be, Darlin’.”

She disappeared into the back room, and shut the door behind her. I could hear Abbey crying. This whole mess was hard enough on me at twenty years old; it must be so much more difficult for someone as young as her.

“We need to look Aldo over.
Try to figure out what happened. Let’s take extra precautions to not come into contact with fluids.”

“We have some gloves,” said Nathan.
“I’ll grab them.”

Nathan shuffled through some boxes back by the bar and produced a zip-lock baggie full of latex gloves.
“We found these under the kitchen sink,” he explained. “They’re kind of small but should work ok.”

“Thanks,” said Gus.
“That’s perfect.”

Gus, Boggs, and Nathan all donned gloves and set to work undressing Aldo.

“I’ll be in the back room,” I said. I didn’t want to see the dead man naked. He had been creepy enough while alive and clothed.

“Ok, Zo.
Be careful,” said Boggs.

“’Kay.”

I walked to the bedroom door, which was shut, and knocked softly. “It’s just me, Zoe,” I said quietly.

“C’mon in, Zoe,” called back Em.

I opened the door only part way and squeezed in. I knew Abbey would want privacy, figuring she might be undressed while the other girls made sure she wasn't injured.

“Everything going alright in here?” I asked.

Abbey was still crying softly, her sister holding and rocking her.

“Abbey looks ok, no bites or scratches,” said Susan.
“What happened out there?”

“Aldo turned,” said Em.
“He’s gone.”

“How?” asked Susan.

“The guys are looking him over for wounds now,” I explained. “We should stay in here for a while. Let the guys clean up out there. Abbey, I want you to stay in here for now, ok?”

Abbey nodded against Kelsey’s chest.

I thought about how it’d be nice to be back at our cabin, where the girl could take a hot bath. Maybe I’d mention it to the others later. We’d need to regroup after this horrific loss.

Nathan knocked on the door to the room where we all huddled together for warmth.

“Girls, we found bite marks on Aldo’s arm. All we can figure is he got bit when Bill went down. We just don’t know why he turned so fast. We need to figure out where to go from here.”

“Are we still going to try to leave right away?” asked Kelsey, who had tears filling her own eyes.

“I talked to the other guys and we can salvage what we can from here, but the mess is really extensive. We all agree we should head back to the cabin and make plans from there. The step van is still packed, so we should load what we can into the Suburban and head out today. If the rest of you agree.”

“How long do you suppose we’ll stay there until we make a move to the Sound?” asked
Em.

“Maybe a week, maybe less.
If you all agree, Boggs and Gus and I will start loading up food and carrying it out to the SUV. We can be ready to leave in maybe an hour.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Susan.
“Can I help pack?”

“Sure,” said Nathan as he held a hand out to her.

“I should stay here with Abbey,” said Kelsey. “Until we’re ready to leave.” She had tears falling down her cheeks.

“I agree,” said Emilie.
“Zoe, why don’t you stay here with them and Susan and I can help get us packed up. You look a little pale.”

I shook my head.
“No, I want to help. I think we should leave as soon as we can. Get Abbey warmed up, get her a bath.”

Emilie nodded her head instead of arguing with me.
I was glad.

“Nathan?” asked Abbey as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

“Yeah Abs?” he asked back. “What is it?”

“Can you make sure you pack my books?”

“You bet, kiddo.”

“Thanks.”
Abbey forced a small smile to her lips. She looked pale. She looked tired.

I straightened the hem of my shirt and took a deep breath before leaving the room.
I wasn't looking forward to seeing the bloody mess waiting in the next room and hoped we could leave soon. Once inside the larger room where three of our new friends had just died, I recognized the sickly-sweet smell of dead zombies. It stung my nose. There was no time to mourn, no time to be bothered by smells, no time to think negatively. I walked to Boggs and wrapped my arms around him.