Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Conflict (46 page)

“Calm
down,” he ordered, watching as her Jeep swerved across two lanes. “I was just
thinking that Conrad would be all over himself if you did. He still looks at
you every time you walk by.”

“That
pervert can go fuck himself!”

“Probably
does.”

Lizzy
was silent for a moment; then she broke out laughing.

“Yeah,
along with everyone else. Not much time for romance, except maybe Briana and
Jacob, and those two are always apart.”

“Be more
time for everyone after we get snowed in.”

Those
familiar with the region expected the snowfall to be such that they wouldn’t be
leaving the valley, unless it was on foot or by snowmobile.

“You
find anyone yet?” she asked.

“Get
real Lizzy. My luck is about as bad as yours, and I got a way better
personality.”

“There
is nothing wrong with my personality!”

*
* *

They
were absent for only two days, yet Marcus and Lizzy were shocked at how many
new faces had arrived during that short period. What was going on in Wyoming?

“Things
are picking up,” said Briana, meeting them in the meadow and seemingly reading
their minds, “big time.”

“No
shit. When did these get here? And I want to know about Mary.”

“She’s
good – everyone is – and these have been coming in droves since just after you
left. Marcus, can you get everything put up? I need to borrow Lizzy for a
while.”

“Not a
problem.”

Briana
shot him a grin and grabbed Lizzy’s plump arm, dragging her past the corrals
and animal pens, not toward the castle but to the creek that flowed behind it.

“You
better be planning on telling me more than she’s okay. I want details. You
promised.”

“I’ll
tell you everything later, which isn’t much other than she’s fine. Now move
faster. The priest is waiting.”

“Priest?”
Lizzy was confused. “What priest?”

“Came in
yesterday, and Father Nicholas is Catholic. Jacob will love that.”

“Aside
from my missing everything because you have me wasting time driving all over
the fucking place – I will be bitching about that later – why should we care
about a priest. I don’t go to church, except a few times when Lois made me, and
neither of us are Catholic.”

Briana
smiled broadly. “I am now.”

Lizzy
stopped in her tracks. “You converted? Can you do that, this fast I mean?”

“I
explained that I wanted to be Catholic, and the world being what it was,
dangerous where I could be dead tomorrow, I wanted this done fast so my soul
wouldn’t be in jeopardy. I got baptized, confirmed, had communion, and made a
confession.”

“You
better not be talking about me,” threatened Lizzy, after she processed this
unexpected news.

“Please,
it’s about my sins, not yours. It would take a week to go over all of those,
and we don’t have that kind of time.”

“Listen
here…”

“For once
stop complaining. This is important.”

“Fine.
Where are we going?”

“Just a
bit further. I’m having Asher baptized, and you get to be the godmother.”

“I…”
Lizzy was at a loss for words, not that this lasted long. “Don’t you have to be
Catholic to be a godmother? And what about Jacob?”

“I got a
dispensation, and he’ll find out when he gets back. With all that’s happening,
I’m not taking the risk and waiting. He will understand.”

“Yeah,”
she said, slowly. “Jacob would at that.”

Chapter XIV

“Glad to
see you made it.” Alan Myers certainly appeared relieved, as if he hadn’t
expected us to return. I couldn’t fault him. “We heard about the explosions on
the radio. No one was expecting that.”

Alan was
one of the very few ranchers – by this I mean the original land owners from
before the zombie uprising – still alive. As such, and as to be expected, he
was held in high regard by many of the surviving refugees. There still wasn’t
any sort of formal leadership in Wyoming, but Alan and a few others with
similar charisma and stature were slowly taking control. It was an improvement.

I
nodded. “We needed to keep quiet so it would be a total surprise. I’m rather
shocked it worked as well as it did. So much could have gone wrong.”

“It was
absolutely wonderfully,” declared Jenny. “The raiders pulled all the way back
to Rawlins right after. I only wish someone had thought about doing that sort
of thing earlier.”

The poor
woman was undoubtedly thinking of her brother.

“Other
than the assholes withdrawing to Rawlins,” I began, “which I bet they keep or
try to keep, what else do we know about their movements?”

“What do
you mean try to keep?” injected Mary.

The
petite blonde was sitting next to me, as usual. In fact, she was with me almost
constantly. I was beginning to suspect Mary didn’t trust me not to get shot
again.

“Rawlins
is in the southern portion of the state, and we know the zombies are drifting
out of Denver and Colorado. They weren’t too far into Wyoming last time I
looked, for whatever reason, but that’s bound to change.”

“The
planes have confirmed that the interstates and highways south are full of
them,” remarked Jenny. “They seem to be lingering about Cheyenne and a few
other towns, but some were seen in the countryside, more than we used to get.”

“Another
problem,” added Alan.

“No,
it’s not, not for us.” I was convinced the war was over, at least for the time
being. “The state’s lost. We hurt them in Casper, but there’s still too many.
Worse, they will never get suckered into that sort of trap again. It’s time to
leave.”

“Some
are refusing to go.”

“True,”
agreed Jenny. “Our messengers have said several won’t leave their homes no
matter what.”

“Dumb,
dumb, dumb.” Mary made a face.

“Then, let
them die.”

Everyone
stared at me.

“You
know the raiders are going to find and kill them, eventually, and they are
going to be tortured, raped, and forced to watch the same happen to their
families. If these people are willing to face that horror, or are so stupid
that they think it won’t happen to them, then the only way we could get them to
come with us would be by force. Care to guess what would happen if we tried?”

“It
might get violent,” admitted Alan. “I can name several right off the top of my
head who would likely start shooting.”

I
nodded, figuring as much. “If you want to make them leave, you can do it.”

“People
might listen to you more than us Jacob...” Jenny leaned closer. “…especially
after your win in Casper.”

“Not
going to happen. I’m tired. I hurt. I’m going back to the castle, and very soon
I will be heading to our new place. Anyone who wants to come along is still
more than welcome, but I’m done persuading. We’re better off without the
idiots.”

That was
harsh. I didn’t care.

“But
Jacob...”

I
ignored Jenny. “I’ll mark where we are on the map, inside the Nebraska National
Forest that is, and you better be there by dawn on the twenty ninth of August.
That’s when the last of us are leaving. Or you can go to Yellowstone if you
prefer.”

“Most
going that way have already reached the park,” said Alan. “My oldest daughter
is heading there now with a small group. I should have sent her with one of the
big convoys earlier.” He mumbled something to himself. “At any rate, Carla
wants to be a veterinarian, always did. They have one who said she’d take her
on as an apprentice.”

I
planned on instituting apprenticeship programs myself for the specialized
professions. Thus far these included doctors and nurses, along with the
traditional trades like electricians, plumbers, and carpenters. With no primary
schools, although we were going to change that, and no possibility of formal
higher education, such archaic training methods would be necessary for years to
come.

“Got a
cousin out there,” continued Alan. “She’ll be staying with her, so I’m not too
worried.”

“She’s
your daughter,” I commented. “Of course you’re worried. I worry about my son
all the time.”

“Asher’s
fine,” said Mary, reassuringly. “Briana’s taking care of him, and Steph and
Lizzy and everyone.”

“And I
worry about the pipsqueak here too, more even, way more.”

“You’re
not supposed to worry about me,” she pointed out. “I’m your bodyguard. I worry
about you.”

Bodyguard?

“No
twerp, you’re family, real family.” I shot Mary a smile, and tears began to
form in her pretty eyes. She was a lovely girl, and she was still a girl, even
if I had told Lizzy she was now in the grown up club. “It’s you, me, Briana,
and Asher.”

I
received a fierce and unexpected hug, with her arms sliding around my waist,
diligently avoiding my banged up shoulder. The others present in the fire
station’s small office didn’t say a word.

“What
else have the planes seen?” I asked, after Mary finally let go. While
completely sincere, I often found myself uncomfortable with public displays of
affection, particularly the emotional ones.

“The
group in Salt Lake City is still there,” said Jenny. “That big compound looks
permanent, or at least for the winter. They’ve shot at our planes too, so we’re
only sending those by every few days and at random times. We do have some good
cameras, so they don’t have to get close, but the raiders have so many military
weapons that the pilots are worried.”

“We need
to keep an eye on them, but let the pilots do whatever they can to stay safe.
You have to move the planes as well. Might as well do that now. Whatever’s
allocated to Yellowstone can head up there. Those coming with us need to move
to the Chadron Municipal Airport. It’s only a few miles west of town. I’ll have
people guard it as soon as I get back, make sure it’s clear of shamblers. We
have several runways near the place where we intend to relocate already
selected. Right before we leave, I’ll stick someone in the planes going our way
who can lead them there.”

“Shouldn’t
be a problem,” agreed Alan. “Anything else we need to discuss face to face?”

“Not
that I see, so after a quick bathroom break, we’ll be heading out.”

“That
soon?” asked Jenny.

“I want
to see Briana, and I want to see my son. Most of all, I want Mary back so she,
whom I trust implicitly, can babysit Asher.”

“I love
babysitting… Hey! No abusing my goodwill just so you get extra alone time.”

Alan and
Jenny began to laugh. It was hard not to.

*
* *

“Why are
the twins standing outside the door to our townhouse?” asked Briana. “And why
are they holding M-16’s?”

“No
idea.”

Mary
giggled. “I made a new rule and put them on guard duty. No one gets to bother
you, not unless I say otherwise.”

“And
when were you put in charge?” inquired Briana, one eyebrow raised.

“I was
always in charge, and I say that when you come back from war, you get to spend
the first night with your family. No one can bug you, well, not unless we get
invaded or something. It needs to be put in the law book too.”

Briana
leaned in close and gave Mary a kiss on the cheek. “You’re super sweet.”

“Don’t I
know it.” She was grinning. “Super smart too.”

You just
had to love Mary.

“So, are
you going inside now?” she asked. “The sun’s going to come up eventually.
You’re wasting wet and sticky time.”

“Not
just yet,” laughed Briana. “I’m dragging Jacob over to the common hall first so
Yvonne can take a quick look at his shoulder.”

“Sweetie,
my shoulder is good. It really is.”

“It’s
been a long time since that doctor checked it.” There was no arguing with her,
not when Briana used that tone of voice. “You get the checkup, and then we’ll
all go inside. After Asher is fed, Mary gets to watch him. Right now he has a
thing for ribbons.”

“Me too!”
exclaimed Mary. “Ribbons are lots of fun, aren’t they Asher?”

My son
burped and scrunched up his eyes.

“See,”
she continued, “he’s in full agreement.”

*
* *

It was
late. I was exhausted, my entire body ached, but there’d been alone time, which
involved little more than us holding one another and talking. It had been a
long time since we had the chance to do that. Our lives were busy, chaotic,
stressful. It was so wonderful to just be able to lie there.

Part of
the news Briana shared was that we now had a priest – finally – and I was
overjoyed that Asher had been formally baptized. This was something that had
been bothering me. I baptized him myself, in private, several times following
his birth. Yet, as a matter of faith, having an actual member of the clergy do
it was far, far better. Briana converting was also wonderful, especially since
she did it to be closer to me. No woman had ever shown me that level of love
before. She was definitely a keeper. My only regret was that I hadn’t been
present. Well, that and having Lizzy as godmother. She could be rather crude at
times. She had a horrible temper, and self-control was not part of her
vocabulary. Then again, Lizzy would kill anyone who even thought about hurting
Asher. Maybe Briana’s choice was the correct one.

“I
should talk to Father Nicholas tomorrow.”

“Can’t,”
replied Briana, with a yawn. “I sent him to the Black Hills with the fifth
convoy. They left just before you got here. Lizzy and Marcus are staying only
the one night. They should be back tomorrow. You set on the August 29 date for
the final run?”

I
nodded, pulling her close. “If the planes say the raiders are moving or any of
the outer watches see something, then we leave sooner. We can do August 29
though, right? When I said that I was mostly thinking about how long it might
take the people still in Wyoming to reach us.”

“You
have noticed how quiet and empty things are?”

“I did.”

Briana
curled up beside me, getting comfortable. “The last group was huge, almost
everyone. Even if lots of people come in from Wyoming, it shouldn’t be hard to
get everything packed and sent north. We can be gone by then easy.”

“Maybe
we should load up as much as we can now and park the trucks somewhere, get them
out of the way.”

“Already
doing that.” Briana yawned a second time. “Started before the battle in Casper.
I’m way ahead of you. Think I should check on Mary and Asher?”

“Nah,
she’s good. She’ll put him in the cradle downstairs and keep an eye on him. I
think I’ll be sleeping down there after tonight too. Getting up the ladder was
awkward with my shoulder.”

“I sleep
down there myself every night, since you haven’t been around to share my bed.”

That was
just cruel.

“It’ll
be nicer at the valley. The cabins are all one story with decent sized rooms.
We’ll even be able to fit our waterbed inside.”

“We have
a waterbed?”

“Found
several of them a while back, the old kind that are real wavy and bouncy. I
took a frame, along with an extra mattress in case the first one gets a hole in
it. Setting it up might be a chore.” She paused. “You can haul the water up to
the cabin, since I have to watch the baby. Just remember to use your good arm.”

*
* *

Lizzy
and Marcus returned the following day, as expected, and we met to discuss the
final move to North Dakota.

“One
last trip, we’re sure about this?” I asked. “There’s no need for any small runs
in the meantime?”

“Nope,”
confirmed Briana. “We have more than enough trucks and buses for everything
that’s left.”

“What if
the ranchers bring in plenty of people and material?”

She set
her green eyes on me. “Jacob, if they can get the stuff here then they
obviously have the trucks or cars to move it up there too.”

That was
a good point.

“August
29 gives us plenty of time,” remarked Marcus. “We won’t be rushing to finish,
not like we were a week ago.”

“We
don’t know what the people coming in will have with them,” said Steph. “We need
to assume nothing and have plenty of flood and sleeping gear on hand, just in
case. So, all of that won’t get packed until the last minute.”