Benton: A Zombie Novel: Volume One (6 page)

“Yes, I’m sure,” says Mark. “We’ll have to keep an eye on him.”

13.

WE’RE SITTING AROUND THE FIRE Gary and Mark built. Sara is still over at the tree by Eli.

Outside, at night, is one of the scariest places to be right now.

Eli’s breathing is ragged and, often, he’ll open and close his eyes. Once, he vomited.

Sara seems oblivious to it. She’s poured bottled water on a washcloth and continues to wipe off his face, trying to cool him down.

I feel horrible about what happened to Eli, but I don’t dare sleep.

I whisper to Mark, “Who’s going to shoot him?”

“We’ll worry about that later. We just want to keep him comfortable for now.”

I can feel myself getting agitated. “He can turn at any time, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m watching him.”

“Yeah, so am I.”

Just then, Katie gets up and starts stretching and doing jumping jacks. It’s very unsettling to have this girl moving behind me and having to watch someone slowly turn into a zombie at the same time.

“Katie, would you please just sit down?” I say.

“Hey, you need to relax,” says Mark.

“I’m sorry.” I sigh.

Katie returns to her folding chair. “It’s okay. I’m used to you stressed out all the time.”

My attitude toward Katie has never been great, and I’m not surprised she senses it. I do feel bad for yelling at her again. With Gary and Mark calmly staring at the fire, and Katie in her usual la la land, it seems I’m the only one worried. Even Sara, who stays by Eli’s side, seems less worried than I am.

I lean back in my chair to relax, but I can’t even close my eyes.

* * *

It’s late at night. The fire is still blazing nicely. Except for the zombie that bit Eli, we’re in an area that would be unusual for any zombie activity. There’s literally nothing out here, but Eli is getting worse and worse by the minute.

I grab Mark’s hand. “I have something to ask you.”

“What?” Mark says to me with big, curious eyes.

“We’re all fading fast. We’ll be asleep before any of us knows it. There’s that rope in the van. I think we should tie up Eli with it.”

Sara hears me. “What? Are you crazy? He’s a human being.”

“Sara, please. You’re not thinking clearly,” I say. “He’s getting worse. I don’t know if he’s going to make it through the night.”

Sara gets up and walks over to me as if she’s about to kill me. “Who put you in charge? Mark is the leader here, not you.”

Mark leaves his chair and puts his arms around Sara to calm her, but she pushes him away.

“We’re not going to do it, right?” says Sara. “I mean, what are we here? We love Eli.”

I answer before Mark does. “Please be realistic. We don’t know how much time he has. If we tie him up, it’s only for our own safety.”

Sara throws her arms up in the air. “Do whatever you want. I don’t even want to be here. I just wish I wasn’t here.” She turns and runs for the van. At the same time, Gary comes out of the van. Sara bumps against him and keeps on running.

“You agree with me, right?” I say to Mark. “Tying him up is the best thing for us to do?”

“I agree with you, Jen. We’ll get the rope.”

Eli is ghost white with hollow eyes. His breathing is even more ragged than before.

“Poor Eli,” says Katie.

Gary approaches us. “What the hell’s wrong with Sara this time?”

“We’ve decided to tie Eli up, and she’s upset about that,” I say.

“Dude doesn’t look too good, does he?” says Gary.

“No, he doesn’t,” says Mark. “I’ll go get the rope from the van. We don’t have much time.”

“No, I’ll do it,” I say. “After all, it was my idea.”

* * *

Mark, Katie, Gary, and I are standing over Eli. Sara is in the van, crying. She’s refused to come out.

“We’re going to tie you up, Eli,” says Mark, raising his voice a bit. “It’s for the best.”

Eli nods his head. He can hear us, but he can barely speak. His wheezing will have transformed into growls after he turns.

We lift up Eli. The whole time, I’m scared he’ll turn as we’re doing it. We tie him to the tree. I’m glad someone thought to pack a rope.

* * *

Hours have passed. Gary, Katie, and Sara are in the van. Mark and I, surviving on adrenaline, sit in front of the fire, staring at Eli. He’s standing and tied to the tree with his head tilted and his eyes closed.

There’s a question I’ve wanted to ask Mark ever since he said he had to shoot his sister. “What happened to your family?”

Mark looks at me. “Zombies cornered us in a store. My father, my mother, and my brother were all attacked. Only my sister Lisa and I made it out of there, but she eventually got bitten.”

“I’m so sorry, Mark. My dad died from cancer years ago, but it was my mom who turned into a zombie. Do you ever feel guilty for surviving?”

“Sometimes I do feel guilty I didn’t die along with the rest of my family.”

I grab Mark’s hand, but then Eli fidgets against the tree, which makes both Mark and me jump.

“He’s fading fast,” says Mark.

“I know. God, I hate this. Where the hell did that zombie come from? It’s so peaceful out here.”

“Seems to have strayed off a farm or something.”

“It will be nice when we get to your ranch.”

Mark squeezes my hand. “It will be paradise.”

Mark leans over and kisses me on the lips. He keeps them there, and I savor his taste. Then he kisses my nose, and my body tingles.

“What’s going on between us?” I whisper.

“I think I’m falling for you.” He leans over to kiss me again.

Then, we hear a growl. Eli’s eyes are wide open as saliva shoots out of his mouth. He’s moving hard against the rope, struggling to get out.

Mark and I dart up from our chairs, and Mark grabs his gun, rushes to Eli, points, and fires. Blood shoots from Eli’s head as his body falls forward against the rope.

I didn’t know Eli for very long, but we’ve all become close. Tears fall down my face faster than I expected.

Mark puts his gun back in his holster and hugs me.

“How are we going to survive this?” I say.

Mark doesn’t answer. He just hugs me tighter.

* * *

Mark and I buried Eli. We could have waited for everyone to wake up, but we felt it best just to get it over with.

We’re back in the van. No one has said much. Gary is driving and both he and Katie are quiet up front. Sara stares at the window with a blank expression on her face.

Mark is asleep, not surprising since we’ve been up all night. I should be too. I look like shit from the lack of it.

“Are you okay?” I ask Sara.

She doesn’t answer. She just continues to gaze at the window.

We don’t want to camp outside again. It’s much safer to be in a house. However, like before, we’ll have to find one that’s suitable. Then, we’ll have to ask permission, assuming the occupants are still alive.

Are we the lucky ones? That’s a matter of opinion. We are alive, but for how long? Mark has it in his mind that his place in Texas is our final refuge. He has faith that the zombie situation will end and humans can get on with life again. When I look into his handsome face, I so want to believe him.

14.

AS I SIT IN THE VAN, I look out my window. I see a river behind the trees. The water sparkles in the sunshine, and it looks so clean and inviting. All I want to do is get out of this van and jump into it.

I look at Mark. He’s still sleeping. I look around the van. Everyone is so quiet, and we’re all so miserable and dirty. A dip in the river is what this group needs, and I don’t think zombies can swim.

“Gary?”

“What?”

“Let’s turn around. There’s a river back that way. Let’s go swimming.”

“Hey, yeah! That would be fun!” says Katie.

“You saw a river?” says Gary.

“Yes, let’s turn this van around and let’s get in the river. I want to get wet. I want to get clean.”

Then, Sara comes out of her fog and looks at me. Then she looks at Gary. “Turn this damn thing around. I want to get off.”

“Settle down. You chicks are driving me crazy,” says Gary.

“Are you going to turn it around or not?” I say.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m turning.”

After Gary has parked the van in a secure place, we grab towels and I also bring shampoo.

Out here, I see no zombies; just trees, water, and blue sky. It’s nice to think we’re safe, but as we leave the van, we all take our weapons. We never go outside without them.

We stare at the river. Sara places her gun on the ground and then she removes her black boots. After that, she removes her black pants, followed by her black shirt. She stands only in red-flowered panties and no bra.

Gary nudges Mark. “Check it out, man!” Mark looks embarrassed and doesn’t say anything.

“Sara!” says Katie. But Sara ignores her and removes her panties, throwing them to the ground. Then she runs into the water. She swims out into the river and then just treads water with her back turned to us.

“Well, I’m going in too,” I say.

“You gonna take your clothes off?” says Gary.

I roll my eyes. “No, I’m not.” I remove my shoes and socks and set them next to my machete. Then I walk into the river until the water is up to my waist. I dunk myself under and I hold my breath as the water soaks through my clothes. When I rise, I feel renewed.

As I push the water through my hair, I see that Sara is no longer treading. She’s swimming, farther and farther away.

“Sara!”

She stops swimming and turns around. “What?”

“Where are you going?”

“I just want to be by myself for a while, okay?”

“Okay, no problem.”

Sara then does something I don’t expect. She smiles at me. I smile back.

Arms circle my waist. “Got you!” says Mark. I turn around and I’m looking right into Mark’s eyes. “The water feels good,” he says. Mark looks even more handsome with wet hair.

Then we hear Katie scream. We turn our heads, only to find Gary lifting Katie up and then tossing her into the water. No harm. She seems to like it. As I watch them play, I wish I could cement this moment.

“I want to wash my hair,” I say. “Want to wash hair with me?”

Mark grins. “I would love to wash my hair with you, Jen.”

I laugh, and Mark and I wade through the water to where our shoes and weapons are so we can retrieve the shampoo. I look over at Sara, who is still in the middle of the river, away from everyone.

“You think she’s okay?” says Mark.

“She’s fine. She smiled at me.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

We walk back into the water. Mark pours shampoo into his hand and then he starts washing my hair with it. I don’t expect it, and I try not to beam like the Cheshire Cat. Then I do the same for him.

As we’re rinsing our hair, I see a zombie wandering on the other side of the river from where we’ve parked the van. Katie and Gary are still playing in the water and don’t see it. But Sara gives it the finger.

“Come on, Sara. Time to go,” screams Mark.

Sara swims back without protest. I’m grateful for that. She walks her naked body out of the water, wraps herself in a towel, and then grabs her boots and her gun.

“What about your clothes?” I ask.

“Leave them here,” she says, walking away. “I don’t want to see them again.”

Gary and Mark stand outside the van while we girls get dressed first.

Once on the van, we grab clean clothes and a plastic bag to throw our wet things in.

“That was fun. I can’t believe you got naked, Sara,” says Katie, throwing her wet skirt into the bag.

“I don’t give a shit who looks at me,” says Sara. The smile that she gave me at the river is gone. I’m just glad she was able to get a bit of happiness today.

15.

TO OUR RIGHT IS A MOTEL. An elderly man crouches at the side of a soda machine. He hides his head in his folded arms.

Zombies shamble toward the other side of the machine. They don’t know a human is hiding from them, but soon, they will know.

“They’re gonna get him!” Katie says.

Gary stops the van, grabs his gun, and gets out. Mark rushes out with his gun as well. I follow with my rifle.

Outside the van, I aim for a zombie. I shoot it and then I shoot two more. Meanwhile, Gary and Mark are shooting.

“Stay there, don’t move,” screams Mark to the man. The man nods his head and then buries it back into his folded arms.

Eventually, all the zombies are down. We run over to the man. He trembles as we help him up. He must be at least eighty and he’s emaciated. As I grab his arm, I can feel his bones.

“Are you all right?” I ask.

“Yes. Thank you. I thought I was a goner.”

“Are you with anyone?” Mark asks.

“No. I stay here alone. I’ve been hiding out, watching the zombies from my window. It was just one or two at first, then more and more.”

“Is there anyone else here at this motel?” I ask.

“Yes, but they don’t come out. I shouldn’t have come out. Everyone is hiding.”

“Where’s your room?” says Gary.

“Over there.”

We walk the man back to his motel room. Inside, we see the room is large, with two full-sized beds that look like they haven’t been slept in.

“I’m Bill,” says the man. “You folks staying?”

“Bill, my name is Jennifer, and this is Gary and Mark. Our friends, Sara and Katie, are still in our van. Actually, we’d love to stay overnight, if we can. Sure would help us. We’re on our way to Texas.”

“If you don’t mind, Bill,” says Mark.

Bill’s face lights up. “I don’t mind at all. I could use the company. Got any food?”

“Yeah,” says Gary. “We got lots of food.” 

I smile. “Thank you. I’ll go get Katie and Sara. They must be worried sick.”

Gary and I run back to the van while Mark stays with Bill.

Back at the van, Katie is staring at us, bug-eyed. Sara is still gazing out her window, as if nothing just happened.

“We’re sleeping at this motel tonight,” says Gary. “We saved the old man, so he said we can stay in his room.”