Authors: Armand Rosamilia
Jessica shrugged her shoulders as she started the motorcycle. “It’s obvious someone is out here. A large group by the way all the surrounding houses up and down Route 1 have been picked clean. But we haven’t been able to get a definite lock on where they’re hiding or who they are. Lincoln hopes they are friendly and we can join forces, but we never see them. Heath is obviously a bit wary. We were hoping it was you at first but I guess not.” They started moving with the rest of the caravan. “I’ll have to let Lincoln know. He’ll be disappointed. We still have a mystery friend or foe to contend with at some point.”
The group rode on, slower this time, watching the trees and train tracks to their right and the houses and side streets to the left. They'd only gotten another two or three miles when another obstacle presented itself.
A line of cars, bumper to bumper, blocked the road ahead. There was no easy way around them. John sighed. This wasn't going to be pleasant, because he'd survived long enough to know they were about to get attacked.
"Seriously, I need a weapon. Shit is about to go down," John said.
Jessica shook her head. "I have my orders."
"You're going to let me die out here? Really?" As soon as Jessica stopped the bike, John pulled himself off and began walking towards the cars.
"Where are you going?" Jessica said, trying to keep her voice down.
John laughed at that. As if a caravan of loud pipes coming down the highway couldn't be heard for miles. "I'm going to sacrifice myself to the bad guys since you won't give me a fucking gun."
"You curse too much," Jessica said.
John laughed. "Darlene never said that. Of course, she curses more than I do." John turned on his heels and put his hand out. "Do you not have another gun?"
Jessica looked at Lincoln, who came walking over.
Lincoln looked at John and then at the line of cars before turning back to Jessica. "Give him one of the .22's from your saddle bag."
"That's not a very manly weapon... but I'll take it," John said. "We're sitting ducks right now."
"Then why aren't we being shot at?" Heath asked as he came over.
John didn't like this guy at all. "Maybe they're waiting for us to spread out. Some of us go to the blockade so they can keep us separated and shoot us like fish in a barrel."
"I'm going to see if we can move the cars," Heath said.
"Wait..." Lincoln looked uncertain. "Maybe we should circle back."
"We'll lose a few hours that way," Heath said. "And, if we end up on A1A, it will be just as bad. These zombies are marking out their territory. We're crossing either into their turf or that of another group. Either way, we aren't going to be invited for milk and cookies. I say we barrel through and see what happens."
John was about to admit that Heath was right when Lincoln turned to him. "You go with him. And no fighting."
"No fighting if we get attacked?" Heath asked.
Lincoln sighed. "No fighting each other."
Chapter Ten
"What are you doing here?" Jeff asked Vee. "You worry about the compound and I'll worry about adding people to help you plant corn and shit."
They were at the former parking garage, now the processing area for incoming survivors.
"I came over because Claude sent for me," Vee said. She hated Jeff so much it pained her. Why did he always have to be such an asshole to everyone around him? And for no good reason, either.
Jeff smirked. "He's probably drunk in the stairwell again."
"Not quite," Claude said as he came walking up. Vee could see he was as annoyed with Jeff as everyone else was. "I released four more people just now. Sent them over to the team working on the west end to help rip down the last of the buildings we don't need." He turned to the group Jeff had led in and smiled. "Hello, everyone. I'm Claude. I'll walk you through the process. This won't be too bad. We just need you to stay here and we'll feed you. Give you fresh clothing and wash what you came in with, if you want to keep any of it."
An older man, standing in front of the large group, smiled. "Are we prisoners now?"
"I already told you what is going to happen," Jeff said.
Vee stepped in and got between Jeff and the newcomers. "No one is a prisoner. You can simply leave whenever you want. I'm Vee and I am the one you'll be speaking with each day for your daily assignments. Everyone helps out so the community grows. We have a garden we're currently expanding as well as a safe water supply. We have generators and electricity, too. We need strong men to man the walls against zombies and marauders and to help clear out areas and expand." She glanced at Jeff. "We also need fit people to go out and find groups like yourselves, as well as supplies."
"Where will we live?" someone asked.
Vee smiled. "One of the main projects we're working on is expanding from the two streets we currently occupy into a third and fourth. As we gain more survivors, we will be able to do more work and move the walls back another street."
"And the zombie master lets you do this?" the group leader asked.
Vee nodded. "He is the one encouraging it. He wants us to live and succeed. In fact, he often goes out at night and patrols the area and clears it of zombies. He will then tell us where supplies and items we need can be found. We'd never be able to do this on our own, especially at night."
"Are we going to be sacrificed?" a young woman asked.
Vee shook her head. "Of course not. No one living here has ever been sacrificed or eaten by The Lich Lord. I believe he has outgrown the desire to bite us or... do other things. I meet with him almost daily and he wants to know our progress and lets us do our own thing. There is even talk of starting mass if we can get as far as the churches in the area. Trust me. He is not going to eat anyone."
"But I wouldn't get on his wrong side," Jeff said.
Idiot
. Vee ignored Jeff. "You should be more worried about everyone else if you don't do your own workload. We're all survivors and we've all been where you just came from. We know it isn't pretty out there. We also know the dangers and we'll never forget. Our goal is to never have to go back and it should be your goal as well. If you find something you're good at or know something that would interest you, I want to know. We work together and the hope is someday we'll be able to rebuild this world... together. And make it much better than it ever was." Vee looked at the group. "Any more questions?"
* * * * *
"Hello," Taylor said with a smile as Darlene came to, her eyes fluttering. When the woman tried to sit up, Taylor put a gentle hand on her shoulder and eased her back down onto the bed. "You need to rest for awhile. Sleep. I'll bring you food and water, but you need to regain your strength. You were so close to death."
Darlene closed her eyes and began snoring softly within seconds.
Taylor left the room quietly, closing the door behind her and locking it with the key The Lich Lord had entrusted her with. Just as she slipped it into her tight jean's pocket and turned to walk away, she saw Jeff at the end of the hallway. Staring at her.
Taylor decided to go the other way.
"Where ya going? I need to talk to you," Jeff called to her as she walked at a quick pace. She didn't want to run because she knew he'd get a kick out of that and it would get him riled up to do something. Since he'd returned with Darlene and saw she was back he'd made a few inappropriate comments, but he hadn't cornered her alone until now.
Since Bri had disappeared, Taylor knew Jeff would focus on her and she didn't want the attention. She'd found her calling as a caregiver to the sick and elderly. The guy creeped her out, too.
"I'm running late. I have to feed my patients," Taylor said over her shoulder. But, as she turned into the right hallway, she began to pick up the pace and, instead of staying in the Ocean Center, thought running outside and hiding on Main Street made more sense. Here, Jeff would follow and corner her.
"I need to see you. I have something for you," Jeff said. Taylor didn't want anything he was offering.
"I can't. Busy." Taylor pushed through a side door and outside and began running, hoping to get around the building and away from him.
But Jeff was also running, laughing as he began to chase her. "I just want to talk," he was saying. "We never spend any quality time together."
Taylor ran onto Main Street, hoping there would be someone who could help or hide her. There were only a group of children kicking a ball of socks around and some older people near one of the gardens.
She began running west, at full speed, hoping to find an open building or something to hide behind. Taylor looked over her shoulder and saw Jeff, grinning, keeping pace with her. The bastard was enjoying this. Her fear was driving him.
"Leave me alone," she yelled and kept moving.
She ran three blocks, weaving around a barrier someone had set in the road in the event they were breached, and was dashing past a parking lot people were busy digging up to plant another garden. But she didn't see anyone who could protect her, and knew, even if she found a big guy, there were no guarantees he'd interfere. Jeff wielded way too much power.
There was an abandoned building behind one of the bars and Taylor ran through the wide alley, hoping to circle the area or duck inside until Jeff moved along.
Taylor could hear the sounds of someone using a saw inside the building. She could also hear Jeff gaining on her.
"Help," she began yelling as she ran. Taylor shot into the building and right into a guy using a chainsaw.
Taylor fell to the ground, a puff of sawdust making her sneeze.
"Be careful. I almost cut you or cut myself. I don't want to lose a limb," the guy said. He turned the chainsaw off. "Are you alright? And God bless you."
"She's fine and she's mine. Come with me, Taylor," Jeff said from the doorway.
"Help me," Taylor whispered to the man. It was her only hope now. If he was scared of Jeff and let him take her, she knew he'd do horrible things.
"What's going on?" the guy asked. The chainsaw had stopped but he still held it in his hands. He took a step forward and got between Taylor and Jeff.
"None of your concern, asshole. She's my property."
"I didn't think slavery was legal, even in these dark times."
Jeff put a hand on his gun at his side. "There is no law. Only what I say around here. Step aside and stay out of my business."
"I can't do that," the guy said.
"I don't remember giving you a choice."
Taylor crawled to where the guy had been working and stood up, picking up a hammer from the workbench. She'd fight Jeff until he killed her if she had to, but there was no way she was going anywhere with him.
"She isn't property and she isn't leaving this building with you," the guy said.
"Do you know who I am?" Jeff asked and his fingers pulled out his gun an inch.
"Oh, I know damn well who you are." The gun started the chainsaw. "I also know you don't want to lose a few fingers or maybe an arm over her, right? I suggest you go back to the hole you climbed out of, Jeff. Go bother someone else."
Jeff looked like he was about to pull his weapon but the guy raised the chainsaw. Taylor hefted the hammer and stood next to her defender.
"Fine. Whatever." Jeff took his hand off his gun. He stared at Taylor. "This isn't over by a long shot, though, you little bitch. You owe me something and you know I'm going to collect on it sooner than later. I'll see both you dead people around."
Jeff walked out.
Taylor went to the door and watched the jerk leave, but knew this was far from over.
"Are you alright?" the guy asked her.
She turned and smiled. He was older and very cute. "You can turn the chainsaw off now," she said.
He blushed and turned it off, setting it down on the workbench when it stopped.
"I'm Taylor. Thank you for saving my life."