The First Days: As the World Dies (4 page)

2. A Taste of the Dead World

    

    Sometimes the world changes and you don't even notice. One day slips into the next and subtly the world around you transforms. A new building goes up. A tree is cut down. Your neighbors move out. The potholes in your street are repaired. A new elected official takes office. You gain five pounds.

    Your friend loses ten.

    And then there are the stark changes that upturn your world and leave you in shock, breathless, and lost.

    Like hearing your baby scream out and chewing noises.

    Or leaving your home after kissing your pretty wife and wondering if you should be wearing your new high heels today and then finding yourself fifteen minutes later running for your life in shoes that pinch your feet and almost make you stumble.

    Or how at eight-thirty this morning you didn't even know your traveling companion and now, at nearly eleven in the morning, you're both eating beef jerky and donuts with a stiff chaser of cold coffee.

    "I think if we keep to back roads, we'll be safer. We can keep avoiding the bigger towns if we keep turning off on these roads," Katie said to Jenni.

    Jenni peered down at the map she had found in the glove compartment.

    "Okay, I think I can figure it out." It felt good for Katie to be making choices.

    It felt good to have a role to play again. Mother and wife were gone, but she could be Katie's helper.

    Katie sat in the driver's seat, arm propped on the edge of the door, her head resting on her hand, driving along as the dog they had discovered in the back of a truck slept halfway on her lap. Jenni could tell that Katie was struggling not to let her emotions get the best of her. A few times Katie had touched the cell phone beside her and Jenni could see the internal struggle not to flip the phone open to look at the photo.

    Jenni sighed. She didn't even have photos. She had nothing. Nothing at all.

    Except for Katie, the dog, the truck and the winding road.

    Along the way they had seen other vehicles, driving fast down the road, usually toward the city, the panicked people inside barely glancing at them as they flashed by. In one small town they had seen no signs of life at all. At one point, a farmhouse on a hill was being boarded up in the distance by tiny moving figures as they passed.

    But yet, they felt very alone.

    "We can't drive forever. We'll have to stop eventually and get more gas.

    More supplies." Katie sighed. "But heading into a highly populated area will do us no favors. Back roads are the way to go."

    Jenni pursed her lips and carefully ran her finger along the lines on the map. Slowly, her eyes strayed up to the national park. She shivered slightly, her head swimming…

    How could she be such a bad mother?

    Jason, her stepson, was still up there camping out with the freshmen high school class of his private school. Far away from the city, his dead father and half-brothers…

    How could she have forgotten him?

    Tiny fingers straining under the front door rose menacingly in her mind and she felt herself shudder. Her stomach coiled and she reached out a hand to brace herself against the dashboard.

    "Hey, are you okay?" Katie's gentle hand stroked her hair. "Hey, Jenni?"

    Jenni looked up at her, shaken. "I…uh…forgot my son."

    Katie flicked her gaze toward Jenni, then back at the road. "No, hon, we couldn't bring him…he…" Her voice faltered.

    Jenni shook her head. "No, not Mikey…not him. Jason. My stepson…I forgot about him until just now…I…how could I…I'm…"

    Her zombified husband was right. She was a bad mother. Incompetent.

    Stupid.

    Katie continued to stroke her hair while trying to keep her eyes on the winding road. "It's okay. It's okay. This whole day is fucked up. It's confusing.

    It's okay."

    Jenni felt tears rolling down her cheeks. "I just…forgot him. He just came to live with us last year. But I shouldn't have forgotten him, should I?"

    Katie slowly pulled the truck over and drew Jenni tight into her arms and gave her a firm hug. "It's okay. Calm down…shhh…shhh…"

    Jenni clung to her desperately and whispered, "I try so hard."

    "It's okay. It's okay. Maybe he got out of the house," Katie said softly.

    "He wasn't in the house! He's here! Here!" Jenni drew back and grabbed up the map and pointed at the national park. "He's here! Safe. With his science class! The zombies can't be out there! He's safe and he needs me and I forgot about him!"

    "Okay, okay. Jenni, listen to me. Listen to me," Katie said firmly.

    The dog whined a little and licked Jenni's face trying to soothe her.

    Jenni tried to concentrate on Katie's face and voice. It was so hard. All she could hear was her husband's voice berating her for being such a stupid whore and a terrible mother.

    "This day and everything about it is awful. We're both in shock. We're both scared out of our minds. We're not thinking straight and that's okay. We just need to survive right now. We just need to make it through today and be safe. If we can do that, we can get our heads together and start to figure out exactly what we are going to do. But for now, we live in this moment and make our way to the next."

    Jenni sniffled and nodded. "What about Jason? I just can't leave him there."

    She just couldn't. It would be her last great failure. He was all that remained. Maybe he wasn't her son by blood, but she was obligated to take care of him and love him.

    Katie looked at the map for a long moment. "I think we can go get him.

    Maybe even stay there if it's clear of the infestation. Honestly, we need to stay away from any area with too many people. A lot of people will not know what is going on." Katie faltered for a moment. "Hell, I don't know what is going on."

    "Zombies," Jenni reminded her helpfully.

    Katie ran a hand over her blond hair. "Okay, zombies, but why? How?

    This shouldn't be possible, but I'm seeing it. And if your movies are right and the bite is how it spreads, then keeping away from major populated areas is our best bet. Less chance of infection. So going and finding your stepson and seeing what the situation is out at the park may be our best option for now."

    Jenni threw her arms around Katie and hugged her tight. "Thank you, thank you. I have to make it up to him!"

    And she did. She had to let Jason know that she loved him and that she would be a good mother to him. She would learn to do better and be better.

    That was all there was to it.

    Katie drew back, squeezed her hand tightly and gave her a soft smile.

    "We'll be okay. It will be okay. We just need to keep it together. Okay?"

    Jenni nodded, relieved. Katie was right. They had to keep it together.

    And survive. And go get Jason. She wrapped her arms around the dog and he nestled against her body. And they had to take care of Jack and each other.

    Satisfied that Jenni was calm now, Katie shifted gears and the white truck started down the road once more.

    "Jenni, I know you're scared. I am, too, but right now, we can't fall apart, okay? When we find a safe place, we can both mourn. Where we can both…deal." Katie looked at her and smiled softly.

    Jenni nodded firmly. "Okay, I can deal. I can be strong."

    "Good," Katie relaxed a little and returned her gaze to the road.

    Jenni shuffled the dog and the map and settled down once more. She had a job to do and she had to do it well. It was obvious to her now that Katie was sent to her. Katie was strong and she was going to get them through this.

    It would be okay.

    "What the hell," Katie murmured.

    The truck slowed down and Jenni looked up to see a convoy of army vehicles heading their way. The first few passed them, but then a jeep pulled off the side and they were flagged down by a solider in the passenger seat.

    Jenni felt a flutter of excitement. Maybe this is how they would find safety. The army would save them and take them to a place free of the zombies. The men looked strong and capable with their large weapons and thick armor.

    A tall black man walked toward the truck and motioned both of them to get out.

    Katie didn't look very happy and turned to Jack. "Stay down, boy. Don't bark. Be calm. Lay down on the floor."

    The dog tilted his head and his gaze followed her motions to the floor of the cab. Obediently he got down.

    "If they work anything like cops, they'll shoot him if they feel threatened," Katie told Jenni.

    "They wouldn't!"

    "Just answer them truthfully and calmly. This is a different world, Jenni.

    We don't know how it works yet."

    Jenni felt her first pang of fear, then nodded and got out of the truck.

    Katie stood next to the truck, as relaxed as possible as the black soldier approached her. He motioned for Jenni to join Katie and they stood side by side, the former prosecutor in her suit, high heels and a hunting jacket and a housewife in flip-flops, her nightgown and bathrobe. Looking back and forth between them, his green eyes were eerily intense.

    "Are you two together?"

    Jenni nodded and Katie answered, "Yes."

    "Did you come from the city?"

    "Yes," they chorused.

    "Are either one of you bit?"

    "No, no," Katie answered.

    Jenni whispered, "No."

    Without warning, he began to run his hands gruffly over their limbs, squeezing to see if there was a response.

    Jennie started to protest, but Katie gave her a look that silenced her.

    Jenni became all too aware of the soldiers standing nearby, guns ready.

    They'll shoot us if we are bitten, she thought.

    She endured the rough, large hands on her body.

    "No signs of wounds!"

    Jenni knew for sure that they would have been shot if they had shown any signs of having been bitten. The soldiers visibly relaxed.

    "Head to the town of Madison. There’s a FEMA rescue center there. It'll be secure." He looked into the cab to see Jack staring at him intently. With a small smile, he reached in and patted the dog's head. "Remember Madison.