Zombies in Paradise (Love in the Age of Zombies Book 2) (28 page)

Hours later—again he could tell time had passed by the quality of light coming through the window—he awoke, still feeling weak but much better. He shakily got to his feet and made his way to the toilet. The bathroom smelled of diarrhea and vomit. Kevin urinated, glad that’s all he needed to do, then gingerly walked through the house, wanting to thank the stranger. He was nowhere to be found.

Kevin was no longer delirious, but couldn’t make sense of what had happened. The doors were still locked, as was the window Kevin had crawled through. He double-checked every room and weakly called out “Hello? Are you still here? Young man  .  .  .  Jason? Where are you?” Silence was the only answer. Through the back door window he could see the Jeep. He gathered his blankets and jug of water, then reconsidered and dropped the blankets onto the floor. He didn’t want to give Michelle or Doc the same virus he had, and was sure his blankets were contaminated. He returned to the back door, checked for zombies, then stepped over to his truck. He was curious, so he opened the hatch. His first aid kit was closed but a bottle of ibuprofen was on top as if it’d been carefully placed there.
Did I get the ibuprofen out of the truck? I don’t remember. I don’t think so. But how could that stranger have gotten into my locked truck? He might have fished the keys out of my pocket,
he mused,
but how did he get inside the house if it was locked? Maybe he had his own keys.
He reached into his pants pocket for the keys to the Jeep and noticed with disappointment that his small Petoskey stone—the good luck charm he carried with him—was missing.
Damn, he thought, I must have lost in in the house.
He considered going back in to look for it but decided against it.
I have plenty more good luck charms back home. Two in particular,
he thought, although he wasn’t sure whether he was referring to Michelle and Doc or to Michelle and the baby inside her.

Kevin opened the bottle of ibuprofen and shook a couple caplets out. Raising the jug of water to his lips, he swallowed the pills and the last of the water, then placed the empty container on the ground near the back door. Wearily climbing into the cab of the truck, he cranked the motor and drove off, away from the house. He only had a couple of hours of driving left and wanted to get home before dark.

Nearing Charlotte, Kevin was eager to get home. He still felt weak after his bout with the flu, but was excited about being with Michelle and seeing Doc again. He had so much to tell them! He was also a bit anxious, not knowing what kind of reception he’d get. He’d assured Michelle he’d be back in just a few days, but it had taken him twice as long as he planned. He knew Doc and Michelle would be worried about him. He figured everything would be fine once he got there and told them the good news about Frankfort. Surely Michelle wasn't mad anymore. In just a couple of hours, barring complications, he’d be home.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Don turned on the penlight he’d brought and quickly looked around for the man who lived there. Matey silently scouted every room then came back. Nobody was home. But where could the man be? Even though Matey had already scouted the house, Don quietly went through every room. When he didn’t find anyone he searched for a doorway leading to an attic or basement. Once he was convinced the house was empty, he turned the penlight off and sat in the living room. Matey sat next to him, cocking his head as if to ask
What are you doing?
Don tried to figure out where the man could be. If he was sleeping at Ms. Tracy’s house, maybe she was sharing her secret with him. The thought of the man knowing Ms. Tracy’s secret made Don mad and he made a fist. Ms. Tracy should not do that. She was supposed to show Don her secret. Not here, at the school, and not with that old man. He got really mad and decided Ms. Tracy deserved the gymnasium, too. After Don learned her secret again. Even if her secret made him bloody like it did last time. Thinking about it made him hard.

As it began to get light, Don peeled back a small part of the foil covering the back door window and looked out. He could see where the man had been digging. The place where he put some plants in the ground. A flat of sprouts made him think the man hadn’t finished the job. Don always finished his job. When the man came back, Don would teach him a lesson and then find Ms. Tracy. That was his job today. He always finished his job.

He stepped back into the shadows and every few minutes looked out the window again, waiting for the man to come back. Matey prowled around the house, never far from Don.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Doc awoke to the sound of water being poured into the kettle. A few minutes later he heard Michelle pour hot water into the French press. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafted over him and he roused himself. Slipping on his jeans, he quickly folded his linens and leaned the mattress against the wall and out of the way before joining Michelle in the kitchen. She had a pensive look on her face.

“Good morning my dear,” he said, pouring two cups of coffee and handing her one. “Sleep well?”

Michelle took the cup from him and took a sip. “I  .  .  .  ” she paused and started over. “Something weird happened last night. I was worried about Kevin. You already know that. My intuition told me something was wrong. I woke up in the middle of the night and there was a man in the bedroom.”

“Someone in the room with you? That’s impossible. He would have had to break in and get past me. I’m not a heavy sleeper. And I can assure you that I wasn’t in your room!”

“He was sitting on the end of the bed. I could plainly see him even though the walls had lost most of their glow.”

“What did he look like?”

“He looked to be a teenage boy, maybe fifteen or so.”

Doc took another sip of his coffee with a furrowed brow. “What did he do?”

“He told me Kevin was okay and would be home today. He told me not to worry and to go back to sleep. I fell back asleep. When I woke up he was gone. But the strange thing is, I wasn’t scared when I saw him.”

“Sometimes we have a dream so real we believe it actually happened. But they’re just dreams. Are you tempted to think it was a vision? I’m a practical man. I think you had a strange dream. It would be unwise for us to try and make anything more of it than that.”

“But it didn’t seem like a dream. It felt real.”

“It was a dream, Michelle. A strange dream, but nothing more and nothing less.” Doc’s tone was conversational, not authoritarian or condescending.

“Normally I’d agree with you, but when I got up, this was on the bed.” She held her fist out for Doc to see and slowly uncurled her fingers. Nestled in her palm was a small and lovely Petoskey stone. “This is Kevin’s. He always keeps it in his pocket. He took it with him.”

“What do you mean he took it with him? It’s probably a different rock. He has a lot of them, right? You probably just didn’t notice it before today.”

“When I got up I made the bed. It was in the sheets. I would have felt it before now.” She looked at the fossil, trying to make sense of it.

After a few seconds, Doc said “It does seem rather odd. I hope your elusive visitor was right. We can ask Kevin about the stone if he—when he gets here today. In the meantime, I need to check the grow room and then get the rest of the plants in the ground.”

“I was thinking I’d grab a few more things from my old house today too, since you’ll be over there. I’d like to bring over the rest of the wine, more clothes and maybe some of my artwork. Kevin never was much on decorating, and this place could use some sprucing up. It needs a woman’s touch.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Doc said, finishing his cup of coffee. “Right now I’d like one more cup of coffee and maybe even a Pop-Tart if we have any strawberry left. It’s not bacon and eggs, but it’s breakfast.”

He poured himself a second cup of coffee, warmed Michelle’s cup with the rest of the pot, then went into the storeroom to look for a box of frosted strawberry Pop-Tarts.

Chapter twenty-nine

Even though Matey couldn’t see out the uncovered section of window, his other senses worked fine. His ears suddenly perked up and he gave a small growl. His tail was still and he stood at alert. Seconds later Doc entered Don’s narrow field of vision. Heart beating faster, he watched the man. He wanted to wait until the man was concentrating on the plants with his back to the door. Then he was going to sic Matey on him. He waited five, ten, fifteen minutes. He was reaching for the doorknob when he heard another low growl from Matey. Ms. Tracy entered his field of vision. Don stopped, his hand grasping the doorknob.

As Kevin drove, he fantasized about a possible romantic scenario with Michelle. Having been sick, he desperately wanted a shower; perhaps that's the excuse he could use. And perhaps Michelle could, you know, help out in the shower. Make sure he was clean. He definitely wanted to get out of his contaminated clothes before coming into contact with either Doc or Michelle.

He was cruising along, lost in thought, when he rounded a corner and ran smack into a zombie shambling down the road. As he ran over the body with a loud
thump!
he heard a scraping sound he didn't like. A half-mile later, he heard the telltale rumble of a flat tire and the steering wheel began to shudder.
Shit
, he thought,
just what I need
.

He stopped the Jeep, got out of the cab and surveyed the fields lining the road. The only zombies in sight were at least a half-mile away, and they were on the other side of the fence. He could safely change the tire long before they were anywhere near, and he doubted they could climb the fence even if they got close. He walked around the Jeep; sure enough, the right rear tire was flat. The zombie must have had a knife or a screwdriver or something in its pocket. He opened the hatch and moved everything to get to the spare tire. Fortunately Doc had a full-sized spare; Kevin hated those little temporary tires that came with most cars these days. He remembered to set the parking brake and swapped the flat tire with the spare. He hadn’t regained his strength yet; changing the tire was exhausting.

Looking around again, he saw he was right; no zombie had gotten even half-way closer. He put the flat tire back in the Jeep, then repacked and went on his way.
Another half-hour wasted before I get reacquainted with Michelle,
he thought ruefully.
If I get another flat I’m screwed—or not screwed as the case may be.

Chapter thirty

Michelle was carrying a laundry basket. She joined Doc and he took a few minutes to explain his system. “Square foot gardening makes very efficient use of the space, much more than traditional gardening,” he finished. “But anyway, what’s with the basket?”

“I thought I’d hang these clothes out. I haven’t done that in a while and it’ll be nice to let them dry in the open air. Downstairs is getting too stifling. At some point I’d like to open the house and get some fresh air downstairs. But meanwhile, once the clothes are hung to dry I’m going to go see how much stuff I want to bring over,” she said, nodding towards the house.

Just inside the back door, Don stepped back as Michelle nodded in his direction.
Ms. Tracy knows I’m here!
he thought. But when she took the laundry basket over and began to pin clothes to the line, Don sighed in relief. He didn’t want to deal with her yet, just the old man. He stepped into the shadows of the living room and kept an eye on the back door.

As Michelle hung the clothes to dry, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and a cold chill ran down her spine. She involuntarily shivered. Doc happened to glance at her just as she shuddered, and said “Getting cold? Would you like me to get you a sweater!”

Looking around, Michelle said “I’m not cold. But something feels strange. It’s probably just my imagination, but it feels like we’re being watched.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Doc replied, “I’ve felt that way several times. I’m not sure we’re alone.” Michelle took a long look around, then went back to hanging up the clothes. Even as she concentrated on the task, she stayed aware of her surroundings. As she finished hanging up the last towel, she stretched and said “I’m going to take a look inside the house. If I need you I’ll let you know.”

“Want me to go in in the house with you?” Doc said with concern.

“It was clear when we left it and it doesn’t look like anyone’s broken in, so I can’t imagine how it could be unsafe. If I have any trouble I’ll holler.” She walked towards the back deck.

Doc began loosening the soil with a spade, but his revolver kept getting in the way. He took off the holster and placed it on the grass, then spading.

Kevin was now passing through Chelsea. Other than a few zombies, it seemed deserted. The Jiffy Cornbread silos stood mute, the colors of their once-bright logos having faded a bit since it was last painted. The town’s ornate clock tower indicated the time was 3:06, which was wrong of course. Kevin figured it would be 3:06 in Chelsea, Michigan for a very long time.
Fifteen more minutes and I’ll be home,
he mused.