Time of Zombies (Book 2): The Zombie Hunter's Wife (7 page)

“What do you mean the repel sound
isn’t working?” Michelle slid to a stop at Jed Long’s trailer. He and Beth were
with the group at the church. She took a deep breath, but before she could
talk, Aiden opened his mouth and pointed to a silver filling.

“It’s not hurting. The sound is
off.”

She inhaled and choked on the air.
No hum buzzed in a constant bombardment of her ears. The boy was right. The
sound was off. Her heart raced in a painful pace against her chest. Over the
pounding in her head she heard
them.
The moans of the undead carried
through the under-populated camp as they neared the walls. They were pressing
against the walls. Their rotting weight against the cinderblocks. Trying to get
in.

Trying.

Trying.

Trying.

Aiden grabbed her arm. “Breathe,
Mom. We’re safe in here. We were in here for months with no repel sound. I
think it’s just the generator. I don’t hear it running either.”

No, this could not be happening. She
shook her head. “No, Jed filled it before he left.”

“Well, maybe it broke.”

Broke? She knew what the word meant,
but it wasn’t filtering through to her brain. Like a hamster running mindlessly
on a wheel, her mind turned in circles going nowhere. She caught her runaway
thoughts and shoved them away. She could do this.

“Get your brothers and the rest of
the kids, Aiden. Put them in the storeroom of the office. Then spread the word
to the others. I’ll meet them on the wall. Once you tell everyone, you go to
the office too.”

She held up her hand as his mouth
opened to speak. “No, you can’t come with me. You and Bryant are the oldest
kids right now. You have to take care of the little ones.”

“Okay,” he mumbled.

Michelle grabbed the boy and hugged
him tight. “I’m depending on you.”

He smiled at her praise as he turned
and ran to do his job.

Pulling an elastic from her wrist,
she twisted and secured her hair into a ponytail. At a quick run, she reached
her motor home and retrieved Mitch’s service revolver. The moans from outside
rose in intensity as she neared the outer wall. Her feet flew up the steps to
the scaffolding against the gray barrier.

She stuttered to a stop as her gaze
swept what had been empty fields this morning, filled with random garbage and
tumbleweeds, tossed by the ever-present wind in this town. Her mind saw
thousands. Her quick count came up with a little over one hundred and fifty.
Sweat coated her palms and loosened her grip on the gun. Wiping her hands, she
closed her eyes and counted slowly to ten. As she reached the last number, a
pounding vibrated the wooden platform.

Juan Morales ran to her side to look
out over the wall. She scooted away. She didn’t know the man very well, but
what she did know wasn’t pleasant. He’d been stranded in a car on the freeway with
his wife, Lila and their little girl Selena when Jack and a scavenging party
found them a few months ago. The man was a braggart and a bully. She couldn’t
put her finger on it, but the man just irked her. He reminded her of some of
the cops she’d known who took their job home with them. They thought they could
control their families just like they had control with a gun and a badge.

“We’re here now if you want to join
the kids and women in the storeroom.”

The other men shuffled their feet
and looked away. Heat rose to her face, but Michelle refused to back down to
this asshole. Her body vibrated with anger.

“Oh, I think I’ll stay. I could use
some target practice.” Her glare held his. Silent seconds passed until he
looked away and muttered under his breath. She wanted to make him repeat his
words aloud, but it just wasn’t worth it. Something told her he would wait to
catch her unawares and alone. Bullies always operated that way.

When he started to order the other
men around, she turned and looked over the skinbags below. The scratching of
bones and fingernails on the cinderblocks made the hair on her neck rise. She
shuddered as they threw themselves into the concrete walls, the thumps ending
in a sound like an overripe melon hitting the ground. Blood and body fluids
painted the walls below and the stench of dead flesh poured over the wall in
waves. They hadn’t seen this many in months.

Juan organized the men to space them
several feet apart along the scaffolding. Since it was what she would have done,
she didn’t say a word. He ordered them to fire and the barrage was deafening. As
she shot, she wished for the ear protectors she’d worn at the shooting range.
She was rusty, she thought as one shot hit a shoulder and she needed another to
put the zomb’ down for good. Twelve shots, ten skinbags. Not bad, but no need
to pat herself on the back either.

Over the sound of yells and guns
firing came the roar of racing motors. She lowered the weapon to her side and
glanced at the road. Trucks and cars sped down the asphalt. At the red line a
horn went off in the approved signal. Juan turned to her. “Why don’t you go
open the gate and let them know what happened?”

Edward Gonsalves stepped away from
firing. He was a sweet man who played his guitar around the campfire for
special occasions and the closest thing the group had to a peacemaker. “I’ll go
get the gate.”

She glared at Juan before she turned
to Edward. “It’s fine. I’ll go do it and report to Jack. I’ll check on the kids
and the others too.”

Running down the stairs she felt Morales’
eyes on her the whole way. A shiver ran over her skin that had nothing to do
with the February wind.

Rule #4   
Don’t trust too easily
in the zombie apocalypse. Not everyone is who they appear.

End of March, 1 AZ (after
zombies)

Field outside RV yard

"See if they have any spices
this time," Michelle yelled down to Teddy. The field beside the RV yard
was awash in color. Red and blue striped awnings covered tables full of canned
goods, bolts of fabric, and a myriad of items that before were picked up
randomly at Walmart and Target. Things you threw in your cart without even
thinking about it. Socks and books sat next to moisturizer and sunscreen.
Hairbands and brushes lay tangled with disposable razors and soap. The remnants
of the disposable world they'd lost.

"You could go down and find out
for yourself," Emily huffed out after climbing the stairs. One hand
cradled her enormous stomach and the other rubbed her arched back. "Fruitful
Harvest has been setting up here for over a month and nothing has
happened."

"Yet," she replied,
tracking Teddy's every movement. Every few seconds she scanned the road beyond
the field, but the skinbags remained by the red line. Her aching fillings meant
the hum was firmly in place. Since the broken generator, her first stop every
morning was to Jed's trailer to confirm the machine was working. Her second was
atop the scaffolding to view the surrounding area to double-check that the
walls still held and the zombs stayed away.

"Since you sent him out there,
did you remind him to look for cocoa butter? Unlike Reverend Bennett, I do not
believe stretch marks are a sign of true womanhood." Emily's face screwed
up as she stared out to the field. She followed her friend’s line of vision to
spot Bennett for herself.

"He didn't really say that, did
he? He looks like a nice man."

Her friend turned away as if even
looking at the Reverend upset her stomach. "Last week at the church
meeting he smiled at me and pointed me out as the, and I quote, epitome of the
perfect woman, breeding and docile." Emily wiggled like a bug ran down her
spine. "The man gives me the creeps."

"So why do you and Seth keep
going to the church?" Michelle tore her gaze away from the field.
"You can't be enjoying it."

"Seth, Jack, and Paul feel we
need to keep up appearances. It's better to know where a snake is so it doesn't
bite you on the ass while you're sleeping."

"See what I mean?" Emily
nodded her head toward the crowd in the field.

Michelle turned and looked but she
didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Bennett strolled along the booths of
trade goods. Nodding and smiling at members of his congregation. You couldn't
miss the stern, unsmiling men and the women with their chopped off hair and
enveloping clothes. In a T-shirt and jeans she was perspiring on a rapidly
warming day.

At first she was sure the woman the
man was talking to was one of his own, but the maternity jeans gave her away.
Beneath some kind of hair wrap was Beth's beaming face as she looked up to
Bennett. Jed stood scowling behind her.

Her gaze shot right and left over
the field. All she spotted was caps and hoods and various other head garments
on every woman she saw. The few girls walking around were noticeable by their
long hair blowing in the warm breeze. But they were little girls, none more
than ten or eleven. Turning to check out the camp, she breathed a sigh of
relief when she spotted several women with ponytails and braids.

"What in the hell is going on?
Why doesn't he just demand burkas? And why are our people going along with
it?"

Emily shook her head. "He
doesn't demand anything. At least I haven't heard him do so. He just spouts all
this Scripture and makes it sound right. That women should want to be honorable
and cover themselves. He reminds me of those slick televangelists. You know the
ones," her voice deepened and developed a Southern accent as she
continued. "God has come to me. You need to give all your money to save
me. God wants me saved."

Her laugh died as she gazed on Bennett
and Beth with bowed heads and clasped hands as if the man was giving the
pregnant girl his blessing. Her skin crawled as the man reached out and rubbed
Beth's enormous stomach. Jed’s hands twisted into fists at his sides.

"Look what I found," Teddy
yelled as he tramped up the wooden steps. He stopped at Michelle and Emily's
grave faces.

Michelle's face lit up and her eyes
brightened as she looked at him. A grin broke out on his face. She put her
hands on her hips.

"Better not be another kitten.
I just got Hope eating regular food and litter box trained so he wouldn’t
contaminate anything."

"Nope. Better. Cinnamon,"
he said, handing her the familiar red and white container. Her smile and hug
made the K-bar knife he'd traded for it worth it.

"You didn't pay too much, did
you? I'll pay you back."

"The only payment I need is the
waffles you promised me. Jack not only got some eggs, but a couple of hens and
a rooster as well."

She stepped in to kiss him. Her
sun-warmed lips slid along his mouth. Her tongue rubbed along his lips and he
swept it in to tangle with his. She tasted of honey and tea. His heart pounded as
her breasts pressed against him. They broke apart at a groan from Emily.

"Miss Emily, are you
okay?"

The woman bent over, her hands
clutching her stomach. His breath caught in his throat. It wasn't anywhere near
her time and it wasn't as if they could just drive to an emergency room in a
hospital. Hospitals had been the first places to become infected. They swarmed
with zombs. Even making a scavenger run was tricky; they'd lost six members of
their group in a medical run last month.

Teddy heaved a sigh as Michelle
jumped in and took charge. The woman may be afraid of the outside, but she
wasn't afraid of much else. "I'll go get Dr. Shannon and you get her down
the stairs and to their motor home."

He let her run down the stairs first
before he moved to Emily's side. "You can do this, Miss Emily." He
wrapped his arm around her and held her up. She cried out and blood puddled on
the wood between her feet.

"Oh, the hell with this."
He scooped her up into his arms and walked down the stairs with care, stopping as
she writhed in pain. The coppery scent of blood filled his nostrils and her
cries filled his ears. His heart stopped when she lay unmoving in his arms.
With relief, he noted the shallow movement of her chest.

He planted his feet as Seth came at
a run and slammed into him. The man tried to pry Emily out of his arms. "I
have her. Go open the door."

Getting into the motor home and to
the bed wasn't easy. He was out of breath by the time he laid her down and
Michelle returned with the doctor. Shannon pulled her hair back into a bun and
shoved Teddy and Michelle out of the bedroom. He sat on the fold-out couch and
hung his head.

"Emily can't die. Not now. Not
after living through everything." His ramblings cut off as Michelle knelt
in from of him with a rag and started wiping the blood from his arm.

She started to cry and his heart
broke. He scooped her up into his lap and held her. Sobs shook her small body.
Clinging to him, she wet his shirt with her tears. They both looked up as the
bedroom door opened and Seth came out, his face wet with tears and his hands
covered in blood.

"Shannon needs rags and warm
water. She doesn't think it's the baby. She's not sure yet, but she doesn't
think so."

Michelle jumped off his lap.
"I'll take care of it. You go on back in there, Seth."

She got a pan and filled it with
water. Turning on the burner, she looked over at him. "Go find Mrs. Morales,
Lila. Petite, with blonde hair. She helps me with the laundry. She'll find you
some new towels and sheets to use for rags."

He jumped out of his seat, glad to
have something to do as Emily's screams came again from the back of the motor
home. Going out, he shut the door behind him. Spotting Rogue Vantage, he waved
them over. The boys knew everyone in camp. They would know this Morales woman.

With Dylan and Connor leading the
way, Teddy found Lila and was handed a pile of towels, sheets, and blankets if
needed as well. On the way back everyone tried to stop him for news until he
growled and they opened a path to Seth and Emily's motor home. He'd apologize
later.

He barged in and found Seth cleaning
up at the sink and Michelle out of sight. Cries still filtered out of the back
but the decibel level had gone down quite a few notches. Seth took the towels
and handed them in to the room before getting the pan of water and handing it
off as well. The door shut.

Seth collapsed onto the couch and
Teddy joined him. "It'll be okay. The doctor is with her. Right?"

"Sure, I think," Seth
replied. "She thought it was nothing big. A bunch of medical mumbo-jumbo,
but the gist of it was something like a cyst or a large blister. Man, I don't
know. Women stuff."

He laughed weakly, gagging at the
thought. "Woman stuff, huh? That covers a lot, you know."