Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Conflict (29 page)

All of
that was well received. Laura was fairly well known and popular, and people
trusted her judgment. There was some consternation that I would not even hint
at where we were going, but everyone understood no matter how good our defenses
might be or how prepared we were it was still better to avoid being found in
the first place.

Less
popular was my announcement that anyone who moved there would be staying
permanently. Plenty of wives and children, those old enough to understand, were
quick to ask about their husbands, fathers, sons, etc. My response was that
they were more than welcome to join them there, or, in the alternative, they
could go back to Wyoming now or in the future or even stay at the castle which
would be handed off to anyone who wanted it after we left. There was plenty of
time to think it over.

Selecting
the initial group was next. I’ll leave out what was said because whining and
griping and arguing gets tedious. Plus, I tuned a lot of it out and can’t
really recall too many details. Some had been selected the prior evening, and
I’d already spoken with these. There were plenty of openings though, so I asked
for volunteers with the warning that I would prevent anyone from leaving with
the first wave if they weren’t physically capable of contributing.

There
were far more raising their hands than I expected, enough that I began to
question their reasons. The general response was that I wouldn’t be planning on
sending my wife – most everyone either thought us married or close enough as to
make no difference – and son away unless I was absolutely certain this was the
best thing to do. I’m not sure how I feel about people making important
decisions based on my personal judgment. I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. I
screw up regularly, sometimes royally. Still, I felt the pride deep within
building.

All
pregnant women were told no. They would go later, after we had some basic
facilities built. Children under twelve were also excluded. Additionally, no
families would be broken up, so if one couldn’t go, then none went. That
eliminated most of the volunteers. A few others were instructed to remain
because they were tasked with caring for our livestock and it would be a while
before we began moving the animals. In general, I looked for strong men, women,
and teenagers who were capable of doing lots of hard work, labor that would be
dawn to dark, every day. I also had to ensure there were a few whom I knew
could shoot but, at the same time, without greatly weakening the castle.

*
* *

“Thirty
two people.” Briana leaned up against me. “Thirty really, with Lizzy and Marcus
coming back in a week or so.”

Our
total number had dropped to three hundred eighty one with Sofie’s death. Now it
was going down even more, but that was temporary. We’d all be up at the Black
Hills by the end of the year, if not sooner, and with a bunch of babies on the
way we’d soon top four hundred.

“Do you
think I was right in saying no long range radio equipment? If anything happens,
they won’t be able to tell us.”

Briana
began to roll her eyes but soon stopped, laughing softly instead.

“What
did I miss?”

“We only
have the one transmitter, the set Harlan uses. You couldn’t have sent it even
if you wanted to. We need it here. And if you did, we wouldn’t hear any
messages anyway.”

“Oh. Why
didn’t you mention this last night?”

She
shrugged. “I was too tired to think about it, and I thought you were talking in
general. Preventing any accidents or panicky people from calling out before the
move is completed and we’re there is a good idea.” Briana paused. “How well
will our handheld radios work, with the mountains all around?”

“There
were no issues in the valley. We could get perfect reception the entire length.
Probably won’t be able to go much further. Not even counting the short range,
if there’s a hill in the way, the signal will probably be blocked.”

“You
didn’t test it?”

“Nope.”
That hadn’t even occurred to me, although, to be fair, none of the others
thought of it either. “Shouldn’t matter too much, at least not yet.”

“How
fast do you think they’ll get settled and when can we go?”

I took
Asher from her arms and headed for one of the picnic tables. We were out in the
meadow, pleasantly removed from everyone else.

“Now
that we’re good at putting up second rate, drafty cabins, I think the living
quarters will be fast, but that should wait until the wall is done. The place
really is secure. There’s only one route a zombie could follow to get in, and
we’ll be walling that off.”

“They
couldn’t wander in from the back or anything?” she asked.

“Not a
chance. There are a couple of places that are easy to scramble up, but that
would be for a person, not a shambler. We’re going to take a sledgehammer to
them anyway, to fix that. I don’t want anyone getting inside. Can’t make it
perfect, and a rock climber could certainly do it, but I think we can make sure
no groups or ordinary people reach us, at least quickly or quietly.”

“That’ll
be good. You know…” She ran her fingers down my chest. “…we should go back to
our townhouse. Asher needs a nap.”

“I’ll
hold him if he falls asleep.”

The baby
did look tired. Ah, those little yawns are so cute.

“And,”
continued Briana, ignoring my interruption, “I’m not nearly as sore as I have
been. In fact, I’ve recovered nicely during the two weeks you were gone.”

I stood
up again, being careful not to jostle Asher, but moving fast enough that she
made fun of me the entire way home.

*
* *

Harlan
received a call several days later asking for me personally, so I hurried over
to the kitchen to see what was up. Briana followed, curious as ever, and Steph
ushered everyone else out but made no move to leave herself.

“What we
got?”

“Brent
Myers wants to meet with you. He asked personally, and it got called it in.
They’re waiting for a response.”

“Did
they say why?” asked Briana.

“I don’t
know,” admitted Harlan, “but the people out there are getting more and more
worried. They don’t say much, but you can hear it in their voices.”

“Whatever
for? Everything’s been quiet, and everyone said they expect it to stay that way
for a while yet. Did something happen?”

“Not
that I’ve heard, but Jenny, over at the fire station, says Myers wants to see
you. She wants an answer if you can give it.”

“I don’t
want you gone for your birthday,” stated Briana. “Regardless of your
responsibilities, I want you here.”

“Oh,
yeah,” smiled Steph, showing off her perfect teeth, “you do have one coming up.
And how old are you going to be?”

“We
don’t need to talk about that.”

Briana
was very touchy about our age difference.

“You
could leave tomorrow, spend a full day there, and come back the third day,”
said Steph. “You’ll still be able to wake up in your bed on the special day.
I’ll even bake you a cake, cover it in black icing, and deliver it to your
rooms so you can despair in private.”

I was
suddenly glad Mary was elsewhere. Steph’s suggestion would have had her in
stitches, and she would’ve certainly added to the teasing.

“Leave
Jacob alone,” ordered Briana. “He’s under a lot of pressure, and you aren’t
helping.”

“I’m not
hurting either,” countered the redhead. “Isn’t that right Harlan?”

“I’m not
going to comment.”

She shot
him a dirty look, then shrugged. Any sort of relationship that might have been
developing between the two faded away with nothing happening. It was just as
well. Harlan was more older than Steph than I was with Briana – that was not a
well constructed sentence – and their personalities were more suited for
friendship than romance.

“Go
ahead and tell Jenny that I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon, at the fire
station. I’ll stay for one full day and then leave the morning after, like you
suggested. Sooner, if everything can be sorted out quickly.”

“He’s
taking Mary and the twins,” added Briana. “Let them know so there are beds and
cots ready.”

“Why is
it,” asked Steph, “that you are always dragging Mary around?”

“Briana
makes me.”

“I do.
It’s true.”

“Why?
She should be spending more time with her lessons and less running all over the
country. The girl is barely fourteen.”

“Send
the message Harlan,” I had messed up his settings several times while trying to
use the radio and had been banned from touching it as a result. “And see if
there is anything else I need to do while over there.”

“You see
Steph, my plan is to keep Jacob from getting killed. That started with Mary.
She’s young and sweet, and we all love her. So, if it’s really dangerous and
she’s around, Jacob will act more cautiously than usual, even running away.”

“I seem
to recall that not happening in Oklahoma, from what everyone said. She got
stuck to the side, and he went right into the danger zone by himself.”

Briana
spun and slapped me across the back of the head. She was holding Asher, so it
wasn’t nearly as hard as it could have been. Still, I hate it when she makes
her point in such a dramatic manner.

“With
that plan having a few flaws, and Jacob still taking risks, I ordered the twins
to keep an eye on him. Between their good aim and Mary’s helpless
vulnerability, he’s probably as safe as he’s going to get.”

“Mary is
hardly helpless,” I said. “She’s pretty good with a gun and tougher than she
looks.”

“Unless
the wind blows and she falls over.”

I looked
at Steph.

“Super
skinny,” she insisted. “I’d almost say anorexic, but there’s no shortage of
food going into her belly.”

“Unfair,
unfair,” mumbled Briana.

Just to
keep everyone up to date with the weight issues, Briana had dropped several
pounds. Now, she didn’t balloon up during the pregnancy, but after delivering
Asher she was probably a good fifteen to twenty pounds heavier than before he
was conceived. Being fairly tall with a naturally athletic build, it wasn’t
readily noticeable. That didn’t stop her from wanting her figure back, nor did
it stop me from helping her. Yes, I love her and don’t care about a few pounds,
but given the choice, I’ll take the narrow waist over a slightly larger one.

“Jenny
said okay,” commented Harlan.

I hadn’t
even heard the conversation, having transferred all attention to my sweetie
instead. That wasn’t good. I should be more careful about listening to the
important things, or at least being aware of what was happening around me.

“So, no
issues with leaving tomorrow and being back the day before I get my cake, which
will not be black?”

“Nothing,”
he confirmed.

“Black
with black trim,” said Steph, “maybe black sparkles on top.”

“No
black icing,” insisted Briana. “Jacob’s not that old!”

“Sure he
is. Just look at him. He’s all wrinkly and mushy around the middle. That might
be a hairpiece he’s wearing.”

I chose
that moment to walk away. I had to find Mary and the twins and let them know we
were going on another road trip.

*
* *

“I get
to drive! I get to drive!”

“Mary,
please don’t talk on the radio while you’re behind the wheel. Hasn’t Lizzy
shown previously, numerous times, that it isn’t safe?”

“But
you’re talking on the radio while driving.”

This was
true, even if it was a completely different matter. Taking two cars, I initially
planned on Mary riding with me and the twins driving the other. However, Tara
said she doesn’t like to drive and has trouble staying within the lanes. Dale
said he crashes a lot and no longer had a license – as with Lizzy, it had been
revoked – which left Mary who has had no formal lessons, much less a license of
her own, as the second most capable driver after myself.

Now,
operating a moving vehicle isn’t hard, and I’m not too sure how accurate the
twins’ statements were. After all, they have superb hand-eye coordination.
Still, the route was straightforward and clear, and Mary was more than capable
of taking a large, four door pickup the distance. I had the twins ride with her
for the bit of extra protection that provided, and I took the lead, going
slower than normal, thereby forcing Mary to do the same. She didn’t seem to
notice, or if she did, she didn’t care enough to mention it.

“I won’t
crash,” she continued. “Hey, is that a zombie way up ahead? Can I run it over?”

“No!”

My
stomach was churning. I was either getting an ulcer or suffering a nasty case
of heartburn brought on by reckless teenage enthusiasm.