Z14 (Zombie Rules) (14 page)

             
“Looks like all the food products are gone, but there’s still some baby’s and women’s products left.” Howard said. “I better get Lashonda some of those female things as well. She’ll have my ass if I don’t bring her a present.” He smiled and wiped the sweat off of his brow before continuing.

             
“You know, it wasn’t so long ago if you brought a woman a box of tampons as a present, you’d get your face slapped.” He erupted with his signature belly laugh at his own joke. I had to laugh as well. It was a great stress reliever. We got some shopping carts and with the aid of flashlights soon had them overflowing.

             
“Have you noticed they can’t scream or shriek anymore?” I asked Howard.

             
“Yeah, they sure sound funny.” He said. “You want to come over and visit a while?” Howard asked.

             
I looked at my watch. “We better call it for the day. I have a lot of farm chores waiting.”

             
“How are Macie and her baby?” Howard asked.

             
“Macie’s still very weak, but I think she’s going to be alright. The baby is another story. He’s so tiny. I’m worried about him. Macie has been trying to feed him, but he’s lethargic. I may know a lot, but I don’t know much about babies. Do you think Lashonda could come over one day and see what she thinks?” I asked.

             
Howard nodded. “Why didn’t you say so sooner? Consider it done.” He glanced at the sun. “We still have plenty of daylight. I’ll go pick her and the boys up, and we’ll be right over.” I shook his hand and we parted company.

             
The four of them came to the house an hour later. I was sitting on the porch when they drove up. Lil’ H and Derry ran up, said hi and started playing with Curly.

             
Howard laughed as he walked up. “You sure got those chores done quick.”

             
I shook my head as I stood and spoke somberly. “The chores had to wait Howard.” I looked at his wife. “Hi Lashonda, it’s good to see you. The girls are inside.”

             
She looked at me and frowned. “What’s wrong, Zach?” She asked.

             
“It’s the baby. You better go inside. We’ll wait out here.” Lashonda rushed inside. I looked over at Howard and his sons. “The baby died.”

             
“Oh, shit.” Howard said.

             
We sat on the porch for a while and listened to the women cry inside. I stood suddenly. “There is some wood in the barn. Howard, would you mind helping me build a coffin?” I asked Howard.

             
Howard stood. “Absolutely.” Howard, his sons, and I walked slowly to the barn. I tried to make some measurements on the wood, but was all thumbs. Howard told me to have a seat and relax. He took over and had a small coffin built in no time. It looked very nice.

             
We buried the baby on the mound beside Rick. Even though they had never met, he always seemed to like children. Everyone was somber and spoke in hushed tones. Howard recited the Lord’s Prayer and I shoveled the dirt. The boys helped me quietly.

             
Afterward, I gently picked Macie up and put her back on the ATV. She wept silently on the ride back. Julie kept a reassuring arm around her.

             
“How about I put you to bed and fix you some tea?” I asked. She nodded absently. She was able to walk for short distances now, but the stress of her baby’s death had sapped her strength. I carried her inside, and tucked her in while Julie fluffed her pillows.

             
“I don’t know what I’d do without you two.” Macie said softly.

             
“We’re all family now Macie.” Julie said. “We stick together, right?” Macie looked up at Julie and nodded sadly.

             
She fell asleep within minutes. The rest of us gathered on the porch and talked quietly. When the sun was on the horizon, the Allen family said their goodbyes. Julie and I ate a small dinner and went to bed. At Julie’s insistence, we slept with Macie. Julie said she didn’t want her to be alone.

             
I was the sandwich. I had one on each side of me. Julie settled in with her butt snuggled up against me and Macie had her head buried in the crook of my shoulder. I drifted off wondering if this was all going to work out okay.

             
Fred attempted to save time by travelling on the Interstate. He encountered chronic traffic jams, and at one point had to drive in reverse for over a mile before he could back down an entrance ramp. He finally made it to the outskirts of Memphis when the sun was in his eyes. He spent the night in the sleeper of his truck on the side of Interstate 40, at the base of the bridge over the Mississippi River, known as the Hernando de Soto Bridge. It consisted of six lanes with a concrete barrier down the middle.

             
Daylight confirmed what he suspected last night. The entire bridge, all six lanes, was a logjam. He realized with great frustration there was no possible way he was going to maneuver the Volvo rig through the gridlock of abandoned and wrecked motor vehicles.

             
Seeing no other alternative, Fred loaded a backpack, retrieved his favorite rifle, a Winchester lever action, his revolvers, and set out on foot. There were a few zombies on foot, but most of them were stuck in the vehicles.

             
Fred adeptly avoided most them.

             
Most of them.

             
It was a long walk across the bridge. Every time he passed a car or a truck, there was a zombie waiting, lunging, gnashing. He shot sparingly, running past them when he could, shooting only when there was no other choice. It was roughly ten thousand feet, almost two miles, before he reached the rest area on the west side of the river.

             
To his delight, he found an old Volkswagen Bug. It was bright yellow, dirty, but otherwise appeared to be in good condition, if you didn’t count the rotting corpse sitting behind the wheel.

             
Seeing no other option, Fred broke out the little vent window, unlocked the door, and dragged the corpse out. The keys were still in the ignition and the battery was dead, which was no surprise. But, that was the beauty of the venerable Bug. They seemed to be almost indestructible. Fred dumped his backpack in the backseat, put it in neutral, and began pushing.

             
After pushing the little car for almost a hundred yards, it sputtered to life.

             
Fred hopped in and drove on.

             
It had been two weeks to the day since my meeting with Andie. I had not planned on seeing her again, but I felt the extenuating circumstances warranted another encounter.

             
I knew it was risky. If she were a part of those idiots who tried to ambush me, I would be taking a big chance by coming to this location again. But, I wanted more information from her. Specifically, I needed to know if they had encountered any doctors. The death of Macie’s child troubled me greatly. One day, Julie and I were going to have a child.

             
I started out well before sunrise. It was cool this morning. The outdoor thermometer read fifty-four degrees. September was here and a change in the weather was close at hand. I packed the truck with a picnic basket and grill. A nice brunch might put Andie in a good mood, if she even bothered showing up. I also hid a gun under the seat and added one to an ankle holster, in case she was in a nasty mood or brought friends.

             
I used the night vision gear to drive, but it was slow going. The recent gunshot to my head, although merely a glancing wound, had nevertheless caused me some issues, one of them being if I wore those things for any length of time I’d get a severe headache. I got about five miles before I took them off and used the headlights. Again, another risky move, but I wanted my mind sharp for the meeting.

             
The problem was, the headlights tended to attract zombies. There were no massive hordes, but there were more than I was comfortable with. I stopped every so often and would wait for them to approach before saying hello with a head shot. They were starting to all look alike, the decomposition eliminated any identifiable character traits. I assumed what gender they were based on their manner of dress. I killed an even dozen before arriving at the old store.

             
Killing the lights as I parked on the side of the store, I approached the entrance and, using the night vision gear, did a quick sweep of the interior. No live people, no zombies. I went back outside and scanned the area. There was an old white wooden building behind the store. It was empty of anything worthwhile. There was no need for the night vision apparatus now, dawn was fast approaching. I sat on the front steps and waited.

             
She drove into the parking lot shortly after sun up, made eye contact with me, and smiled. When she got out of her jeep, she looked skinnier than the last time we met, but at least her hair had grown out a little more. It helped make her look more feminine. She ran up and hugged me tightly.

             
“When you didn’t show up last week, I was kind of let down.” She said.

             
I shrugged apologetically. “I had all kinds of crap to do around the farm and I don’t have any help.”

             
“You’re girlfriend doesn’t help you?” I shrugged again. I was not going to tell her Julie was busy tending to Macie and monitoring the radio in case Fred called. She scoffed. “Well, that’s bullshit if you ask me. I’d help you.”

             
“I’ve no doubt you would. Are you hungry?” I asked. “I brought some food. We can have a picnic breakfast.”

             
She eyed me coyly. “You wanna fuck before or after?”

             
I chuckled. “You know I can’t.” She grinned back at me.

             
She responded with a carefree shrug. “Your loss, I guess we’ll eat then.”

             
She helped me get the grill set up and we laid a blanket out on the asphalt. We had the steaks grilled in no time. I brought a small skillet and fried some eggs as well.

             
After we finished eating, Andie laid back, pulled her shirt up, and rubbed her belly.

             
“I’m stuffed!” She exclaimed.

             
“How are you guys doing for food?” I asked as I eyed her skinny torso. She scoffed again.

             
“The Captain eats really well. The rest of us, not so much. Some of our group had canned a lot of stuff prior to this shit going down, but they fucked it up somehow. Most of it was contaminated. We have some gardens we harvested, but not enough. We’ve been hitting abandoned houses like crazy. It’s hit or miss.”

             
“What about cattle?” I asked.

             
“Yeah, we have some. We used to have a lot, but coyotes killed some and a bunch of them developed some kind of disease.”

             
“You don’t have any donkeys?” I asked. She looked at me questioningly. “A donkey will kill a coyote.” We used to have one at the farm. It died and Rick had never replaced him. After coyotes killed our chickens, I found a couple of them one day and transported them to our farm. We haven’t had any problems since.

             
“Oh. Well, we don’t have any donkeys.” She continued. “The Captain is worried. He doesn’t say it, but he’s worried. I’ve known him my whole life, I can tell. Anyway, rations have been cut. He sends foraging crews out every day.”

             
“What area are they concentrating on?”

             
Andie looked over at me. “They’ve been working in and around the Eagleville area, but it doesn’t mean the Captain has forgotten about you. He thinks you guys are well off. By the way, he’s been talking about meeting with you again.”

             
“Did he say what for?” I asked.

             
“Yeah, he wants to have a poetry reading with you.” I arched an eyebrow. She kept a serious expression for about three seconds, and then she started giggling.

             
I smiled. “Okay you got me.”

             
“I think he wants to pick your brain about food and stuff.” She said.

             
I nodded and changed the subject. “Have you guys been in contact with any doctors, nurses, veterinarians, anyone like that?” I asked.

             
She scoffed. “We ran into a doctor and his wife not too long ago. They thought they were the shit for some reason. The doctor’s wife demanded the Captain pay for her husband’s services.” Her features darkened.

             
“What happened?” I asked.

             
“The Captain took a hammer to her. He broke a couple of her fingers. He thought it would make the doctor fall in line, so we left them at their house. When a crew went back the next day, they were gone.” She looked at me. “The Captain was so pissed, he beat a few of us. We went back to their house and he set fire to it.”

             
“Nice guy.” I quipped, and then remembered setting fire to the cannibal’s home. I found myself uncomfortable with the corollary.

             
“You have no idea.” She said quietly. She pointed at the sky. “When I was a kid I’d do this. Lay in my back yard, stare at the clouds, and imagine what the shapes were. Look, there’s a horse.”

             
I laid back and looked at the cloud she was pointing at. It looked more like a fat cow to me, with oversized bunny ears.

             
“I suppose every kid has done this.”

             
“Yeah.” She sat up suddenly. “But we’re not kids anymore, are we?”

             
I sat up as well. “Not anymore.”

             
Andie sighed and looked over at me. “You want to ask more questions.”

             
“Yep, where is the compound?” I asked.

             
She pointed. “Go that way for a few miles. There’s a road called Rocky Glade. There is a dead end road that runs off of it called Ward Road. The land has been in the family since the Civil War.” She turned back at me and grinned. “Are you going to pay us visit?”

             
I grinned. “More like I want to know where the Captain lives so I can stay away.”

             
She scoffed. “Oh, I understand all too well. So I have a question for you.” I looked at her. “Since you won’t fuck me, how about a blow job?”

             
I looked over at her and chuckled. “I can’t.” I said. “My girlfriend would be very unhappy with me.”

             
Andie rubbed her belly some more. “She’ll never know.”

             
I shook my head. “I’m a terrible liar. She’d know. Also, I’m in love with her, so I’d feel like shit if I knowingly did anything to hurt her. You don’t have anyone else?”

             
She shook her head. “Nobody would dare touch me. So, enough about me being my Uncle’s little whore. Tell me about your girlfriend.”

             
“Uh, well, she’s a little taller than you and weighs maybe ten or twenty pounds more. She has dark brown chestnut hair growing past her shoulders.” I thought of her hair and how much I loved brushing it after she washed it.

             
“She has pretty blue eyes and some freckles on her cheeks that really turn me on.” Not to mention her lithe body, I thought. “All of that is wrapped around a pert and beautiful girl with a feisty disposition. We met after everything happened and fell in love.”

             
“How old is she?” Andie asked.

             
“Same as me, sixteen. I’m turning seventeen in November.”

             
“I turn sixteen in January.” She said. “I know what you’re about to ask. Besides the baby, I’m the youngest one of our group. There was one boy my age, but he disappeared.”

             
“There’s a baby?” I asked. She nodded. “Were there any problems during childbirth?”

             
Andie shook her head. “Nope, it just popped right out. It’s a little boy.” She scoffed. “God only knows who the dad is.”

             
I thought about the baby and wondered how he was doing, if he was going to survive. It also made me think of Macie’s baby.

             
“Okay, one last question. The last time we met, did you set me up to be ambushed?”

             
Her mouth dropped open. “What? No! You were ambushed?” I nodded and related the story.

             
“Zach, I didn’t have anything to do with that, I swear. You say two people were killed and one of them was a woman?” I nodded. “We haven’t lost anyone since the last time we spoke. Why would you think I’d do something like that?”

             
I shrugged. “You seem pretty cool Andie, and I like you, but I hardly know you. And, as Julie has said more than once, I know nothing about women.”

             
She glared at me. “She’s right.”

             
Andie insisted I kiss her before leaving. This time it was not a surprise ambush kiss. I knew what I was doing. She grabbed my butt and pulled me against her when we did it. I instantly became aroused and felt guilty as hell about it as I drove away. She also gave me a present, a picture of her. It was a wallet size photo. It looked like a school yearbook picture. I stuck it under the visor.

             
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked myself out loud. Julie was the love of my life, and here I was kissing another girl. I could rationalize my actions. There was no tongue involved, but still. Plus, I had to admit to myself I was rather enjoying the sponge baths I was giving Macie.

             
“You are a stupid idiot Zachariah Gunderson.” I said and ended my conversation with myself. I put a CD in the stereo and made a point of travelling a different route as I returned home.

             
“We’ve not heard anything from Fred?” I asked. Both Macie and Julie shook their heads.

             
“It’s been three weeks now.” Macie said. She was putting on weight again and no longer had the pallor of Casper the Ghost. Still, Julie and I were concerned about her. Since the baby’s death, she had not mentioned him once and cried frequently.

             
We were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. I drummed my fingers absently, and finally looked over at Julie. “You want to go for a ride?” I asked.

             
“Sure. Where are we going?” She said.

             
“Andie mentioned a man with two kids living on Rocky Fork Road. I’m betting he doesn’t like the Captain. I say we introduce ourselves and see if he’d be a good ally.”

             
Macie held up her hand. “I want to go! I haven’t been off of the farm in weeks. I’m going stir crazy.”

             
I looked over at Julie. She nodded in agreement. “Are you strong enough?” I asked. Macie nodded readily. “Okay, let’s get ready and load up.”