"God, no!" I smiled back, forcing myself to respond to her attempt at levity. "The last time I let you do that, we ended up with a hot pink bedroom throughout our teen years!"
"Hey!" She pushed me, dark eyes flaring in mock outrage. "That colour was all the rage at the time!"
After she left, I sat beside my babies for a long time. Emma crept in quietly behind me. "Go get some sleep, Lori. I'll monitor her."
God, sleep.
Reluctantly, I nodded and stood up. "Call me in a couple of hours, okay?"
She pushed me firmly out of the room. "Go."
On the way to my sister's bedroom, I checked on the other kids. Michele and Lucas were in the office, sharing an earphone as they listened to an iPod. As I passed the spare room, I saw Jessie lying tucked in the large bed, lit by a soft nightlight. Her eyes were wide and vulnerable.
"Hey." I smiled as I walked towards her. "What are you still doing awake? I thought you'd be out like a light by now."
"It's too quiet." She mumbled into the sheets, big brown eyes locked on me. I sat on the edge of the bed and brushed away the hair from her eyes. "I know, but that's a good thing! Quiet means nothing exciting is happening and nothing exciting means no trouble. So you can sleep without worrying." Jessie nodded but her eyes remained locked on me.
"Go on, move over." I jostled her gently. "I'll lie here with you until you go to sleep, okay?" She wiggled back a little to make room for me.
As soon as I lay down, a wave of tiredness swept over me. I had not realised how exhausted I was until this moment. We lay together quietly for a moment, heads touching. Just as I started to wonder if she had fallen asleep, I heard her soft voice.
"My mummy used to do this."
"I bet she was a lovely person." I whispered back, my heart going out to her. "Do you want to tell me about her?"
There was silence for a moment.
"She laughed a lot." Jessie spoke in a low sad voice. "And she liked to sing a lot. She was pretty bad at it, though."
My throat tightened. "Yeah well, in my opinion, people who sing even though they are bad at it are extra special because they are brave enough to do what they love in spite of what other people think. I tell my kids that all the time when they complain about
my
singing."
I saw a hint of a smile warm her solemn face.
"I think mummy would have liked you, Lori. And daddy, too."
"I wish I could have met them. They sure have an amazing daughter."
We lay in silence for several moments.
"Lori?"
"Yes, Jessie?"
"You won't die, too, will you?"
I closed my eyes. Then, turning to face her, I stroked her face gently. "I promise you that I will do everything within my powers to keep us
all
alive."
Trying to lighten the atmosphere, I smiled cheekily at her. "If I am forced to, I will pull out my secret weapon and destroy the zombies."
"What's that?"
"My amazing voice. Michele swears that my singing makes anyone listening want to kill themselves."
****
Not surprisingly, I fell asleep beside Jessie. A few hours later, I woke up with a start.
Sarah!
Carefully swinging my legs over the bed so as not to wake Jessie, I made my way to the babies' room. Emma and Ken sat in the corner, heads close together as they talked softly. A pleased smile crossed my face at the sight. It was nice seeing Emma interested in someone with a bit of depth and character.
Emma looked up at me approvingly. "You look a whole lot better."
"I feel it. How is she?" Even from the door, I could see my baby's colour was good and her breathing was regular. Relief coursed through me.
"She's doing well. She's going to be fine, Lori." She smiled at me reassuringly.
"We've got it covered here." Ken added quietly. "But Mike could probably do with some backup, if you're up to it."
"Okay." Taking one last look at Sarah to reassure myself, I walked quietly through the house towards the verandah. The whole house was dark, lit by a few discreet candles behind drawn curtains. The less attention we drew to ourselves tonight, the better.
Sliding the verandah doors open, I quietly walked outside, observing Mike's large frame sitting in a chair as he kept watch over the street.
"Nothing exciting to report, I assume?" I murmured as I pulled up a chair beside him. I saw the gleam of his eyes as he glanced at me.
"Nope."
We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes as my eyes adjusted to the dark. The moon was hidden behind clouds heavy with rain and the air had a cool chill to it. I kept my fingers crossed that the rain would hold off. At this time of the year, when it rained, it dropped like a heavy curtain. There were times I'd had to pull the car to the side of the road because visibility had dropped to zero.
A heavy mist lay on top of the hills surrounding us, creating an illusion of being cut off from the rest of the world. Below us, the street lay still and quiet. Nothing stirred. It was unnerving and reassuring at the same time.
"Would it be too much to hope it stays like this forever?" I sighed
"Yeap."
I narrowed my eyes at Mike. "I bet you were a real party pooper in your past life."
Grinning at me, Mike propped his rifle on his lap. "Yeap."
I laughed softly. "So what is the plan tonight?"
He pulled out a pistol and held it out to me. I hesitated briefly before taking it.
"First, some practice time." He stood up. "Might as well make the most of our time on watch."
Standing up, I joined him at the balcony. His presence beside me was solid and comforting. I turned and pointed the gun at a palm tree. "Now show me how to use this thing."
For the next half an hour, we practiced sighting, loading and shooting, although without actually firing. As we looked out over the street, I heard noise in the distance. Frowning, I strained to discern what it was.
"Gunfire." Mike stated, his voice low. "Not far away."
My heart dropped. "Maybe the army will keep the zombies at bay. They might never get here."
In the moonlight, I could see the scepticism in Mike's face. I couldn't blame him;
I
didn't even believe what I said.
We listened to the sounds of battle in the distance. It was continuous and clear now. Ken and Emma quietly joined us. I noticed Emma slip her hand into Ken's. It made my heart ache with a sudden yearning for my Charles. He had been my rock for twenty years, ever since we'd met as university students. I had always been able to rely on him to make me laugh, to reassure me and, most of all, to always love me. He would never be here to do that again. Leukaemia had put an end to that.
My thoughts shifted to Joe. I depended so much on him now, probably more than was healthy. At times it felt like he and Kaye were the only things keeping me sane.
The first few months after Charles' death had been unbearable, even though I'd known it was coming for a long time. It had only been in the last few months that I had felt like a whole person again. And that was in large part thanks to Joe's constant, comforting presence
I wondered if he was okay. Was he happily fishing right now, completely unaware of the ordeal we were enduring? And Andy? I had been so completely focused on my own dramas, that I had barely spared a thought for my sister and what she must be going through.
We stood in silence for a few minutes with our own thoughts. Sighing, Emma turned away. "I have a feeling it is going to be a long night."
5
The battle sounds disappeared as the skies opened up. The rain fell in a heavy sheet that made it impossible to see beyond our verandah. It drummed upon the roof in a hypnotic beat that soothed the spirit.
As we sat on the verandah, I had to admit to myself that I enjoyed Mike's company. His laidback personality, dry humour and quick reactions made him someone that I had come to depend on completely. I already knew that I could trust him with my life. And if I was being completely honest with myself, he was very easy on the eyes.
"A penny for your thoughts." Mike interjected. Fortunately, it was dark so I was pretty sure he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks.
"Just wondering what's going on over the hill." I lied. I had the uncomfortable feeling that he didn't believe me but he let it go.
"I doubt a bit of rain will stop the corpses," He said dryly. "but I feel sorry for the poor bastards trying to fight them in these conditions."
The sliding door quietly opened. I peered around to see my oldest daughter standing behind me.
"The rain woke me and I couldn't get back to sleep." She answered my unspoken question. She looked across me at Mike. "Hey Mike."
He tipped his head at her before pulling his long body out of the chair. "If you'll excuse me, ladies."
As he disappeared inside, Michele flopped into his chair. "Man, it's cold out here!" She shivered dramatically.
I agreed, waiting to see what she wanted to talk about. The nervously tapping fingers signalled something on her mind.
"Mum, do you think Uncle Joe is alright?" She blurted out. I sighed. Of course she was worried about Joe. He had stepped in willingly to fill the huge void left by Charles' death. When she was going through her 'I hate mum' phase, which was all too often, Joe was there to tease her back into good humor; when she needed time alone, he took her fishing and they would contentedly not talk to each other for hours. He had become as much a lifeline for her as he had for me.
"I think he's fine, honey. He is probably having the time of his life fishing."
"But what about when he comes back? What's going to happen then?"
That was the question, wasn't it.
I reached over and place my hand over hers, holding her eyes. "I'm going to do everything I can to keep him safe, honey. If I have to go pick him up myself, I will."
Michele nodded slowly, searching my eyes. She must have felt reassured because I felt the tension fade from her hand. Attempting a smile, she pulled back her hand.
"Wait till I tell him how you kicked butt at the shops today."
I laughed. "He'll never believe you."
She grinned, glancing at me. "Where did you learn those moves, anyway?!"
I shrugged nonchalantly, aiming for supercool mum rather than desperate and lucky. "You watch enough tv, you pick something up, I guess."
Michele sighed and relaxed back against the deckchair. She closed her eyes and we sat in a companionable silence for a few minutes.
"Hey, Mum?"
"Hmm?"
"You know how I always said I was never going to bring a guy around because you would embarrass me?"
I smiled to myself. At least one good thing appeared to have come out of this disaster of a day. I appeared to have developed just a little bit of credit with my daughter at last. "Yes?"
"That goes double now."
D'oh.
Around midnight, as our watch was coming to an end, the deluge faded to a steady drizzle. Michele had gone back to bed. I stood at the balcony, straining to see if I could hear or see anything unusual. Mike came up to stand beside me, little Phoebe sticking close to his heels.
"I can't hear any gunfire." Mike murmured.
"Thank heavens. That must mean it's over." Maybe it meant we would be safe tonight.
"Hmm." His noncommittal response sent a chill through me as I realised what he was thinking. Had the battle been won - or lost? Could the zombies be on our doorstep this very minute?
The heavy mist from the mountains now lay heavy at the bottom of our street, ever so slowly rolling towards us. Phoebe started to growl. Mike clicked his fingers and she stopped, but I could see her body quivering anxiously.
Across the street, Jodie's collie, Molly, started barking. A light came on in the house and the door opened. Jodie's oldest daughter, Jasmine, poked her head out cautiously and, not seeing anything, let the dog out. The black and white collie raced out and down the street towards the mist, barking frantically. My heart started to pound. I had a really bad feeling about this.
Jasmine walked down her front steps. "Mollie! Mollie! Come here, girl!"
The dog disregarded her and disappeared into the mist, barking. The barking became a panicked squeal and then - silence. My disquiet turned into full-blown alarm.
"Jasmine!" I called across the street urgently. "Get back in the house!"
She looked towards us, hesitated for a second, and then hurried back inside, closing the door behind her.
"Stay out of sight," Mike murmured, pressing himself against the thick verandah beam. I followed his lead and tried to merge myself against the building as I peered into the street. Between the darkness, drizzle and fog, I could see little more than dark shapes. Across the street, however, the house light illuminated the area around it.