K. T. Swartz (18 page)

Marleen was asleep beside him, as he laced his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. Through the window, stars twinkled in one of those clear, cold nights where the fallen snow glittered like diamonds on the ground. The glass was admittedly still a bit fogged up in places, but the cold slowly took care of that. The fireplace in their room crackled softly, kept the chill off while they’d both had a chance to put aside their worries for a little while. Maybe now he could sleep.

He looked toward the window as something thumped and slid upward. Feet scraped shingles. May was out on the roof. He slid from under the covers, dressed quickly. In bed, Marleen rolled over, pulled the covers higher. The window slid up with no difficulty. He slipped outside, closing it behind him. May was watching him.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked.

She looked at him for a moment, and then shrugged. He took that as a ‘yes’. He slid over to where she was. Her fingers kept turning something small over and over. The motion stopped when he got close. May slid her husband’s wedding band in her pocket. “Sorry about downstairs.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I probably would have done the same thing.”

Movement below attracted their attention. A solitary zombie shuffled between two cars, got stuck between them because their bumpers were smashed together. The undead, from this distance, and cloaked in midnight’s embrace, appeared to be nothing more than a late-night walker enjoying the clear, crisp evening. But it lingered too long. No puffs of breath spilled into the air. Michael glanced at May when she stood. She picked up an arrow and her bow, from where they’d been lying on her other side, and pulled the arrow back to her ear.

She took a deep breath, her eyes forward, her hands steady. Like a sniper, she held that breath, let the arrow fly. It sprouted from the zombie’s neck, and it stumbled. Only to right itself. Its face swung their way. May fit another arrow in place. This time it went through the forehead. The zombie’s head snapped back, taking its body down with it. The snow caught it with a soft crunch. May sat back down, laid the bow beside her. Her eyes swept the silent streets, only to lock on movement farther away.

“Mind if I take that one?” he asked.

She glanced at him, and then handed him her weapons. “When was the last time you used a bow?”

He smiled. “When I was a kid, my dad used to take me and my brother bow hunting. I got pretty good. Drew was a little better.”

He tested the string, and then pulled the arrow back to his ear. Eyed the arrow and the triangular piece of metal embedded in the head. “Did you make these?”

She nodded. “We needed something that didn’t make noise.”

“Your husband?”

She wouldn’t look at him. “Jeremy and I.”

Michael eased the string’s tension. “What happened to him?”

She shrugged. “We’d just finished constructing something he called a Zombie Bowl. We hung the blood bag in a sheet metal pit, spread kerosene over the ground, and left it alone for about a week. By the time we showed up again, the smell had attracted so many zombies that parts of it began to break.”

“What’s a Zombie Bowl?”

“It’s an enclosed structure of some sort – like an in-ground swimming pool or a stadium field that’s been walled up so that the zombies can climb in but they can’t get out. You hang the blood bag high enough for the smell to carry, and then saturate the floor with something inflammable. The zombies will come to you,” she said. “Once it’s full, you launch a fire-arrow or something into the Bowl and–” she spread her hands; made a ‘
whoosh
’ sound.

“And the whole thing goes up,” he murmured.

She nodded. “Hundreds of zombies all at once.”

Son of a bitch.

“It was my idea, but Jeremy took it and ran with it,” she said. “Unfortunately our first field test was a disaster. We underestimated the fire, the amount of zombies that would show, and the structural integrity of the Bowl. In the smoke and chaos, we got separated. I managed to make it to the cell phone tower we’d hung the bag to and climbed out of reach. I didn’t find Jeremy until he started to turn.”

She took a deep breath; her exhale was a large white cloud that dissipated quickly into the night. “I had to kill him. But he got the Viking funeral he always wanted. I built the raft, made the pyre, and set it adrift. Setting it on fire was… difficult. It’s funny though. If this Out-Break hadn’t happened, Jeremy wouldn’t have been able to have his Viking funeral, but it did. I’d rather have him alive.”

She nodded to the zombie that now stood on the sidewalk. “You might want to take him down before he steps on the yard.”

He stood. Fit the arrow to the string and fired. The zombie stumbled with an arrow in the gut. Michael adjusted the angle and fired again, this time the arrow buzzed by the zombie’s left ear. He cursed.

“It took me awhile to get good at it,” she said. “I usually have to wait for them to stop moving.”

The zombie looked around, following the sound made by the fletched arrow. He hit it in the back of the skull. “Wow, I need more practice.” He handed the bow back to her. Sat down. “Do you mind if I read your notebooks?”

She chewed on her lip. “Go ahead. You really think my notes will be that important?”
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I can’t wait to see this Zombie Bowl in action.”

May smiled. “You’ll have to wait til Spring, but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.”

“Your teams are too big,” May said as they broke into their usual formations. Everyone stopped, looked at her. She shook her head. “You’ll attract too much attention that way.”

“Are you kidding? What do you expect us to do, just waltz outside on our own?” Rob retorted.

Michael, Tommy, and May looked at him. The kid shut his mouth. May didn’t take her eyes off him. “Actually, yes,” she said. “One of the major reasons people are attacked is because they clump together in large groups. That sort of behavior is foreign to zombies. They only become pack animals when they’ve caught something’s scent.”

Arti stared at her. “Are you saying people are only attacked
because
we accidently look like zombies on the hunt?”

May nodded. “That and the smell. The disease in them is always hungry. When zombies discover a pack, they tag along, looking for a meal. Once they’re close enough to determine smell, they attack.”

Arti turned a slight shade of green. No one said anything, except May. “I suggest no more than two. Any more than that, and you’ll attract attention to yourself. One is even better.”

Rae sat down on the couch. “I think I’m staying here.”

Cherise’s grip tightened on her boys’ shoulders. “So are we.”

“Mom,” Ehvon protested.

“I wanna go,” Blane shouted.

“You’re staying with me,” Cherise snapped. “And that’s
final
.”

“We’ll stay too,” Marleen said, holding Max’s hand. Michael looked at Arti and Liz. The two women glanced at each other.

“We’ll go,” Arti said.

“Me too,” Tommy chimed in. Michael nodded.

May looked at them. “Ok, then I’ll go by myself, but before we do, we need to disguise your scent. What weapons do you have on you? You’ll need long range and short range weapons. I have extra axes and baseball bats if you need them. Do you have any backpacks?”

“Um,” Tony started. “I want to go.” He looked at May. “If you don’t mind, can I go with you?”

“Hell, I’m not staying here,” Rob said.

Tommy rolled up on him. Rob stepped back into the wall, had to look up to meet the man’s narrowed gaze. A thick finger stabbed Rob in the chest. “Yeah, you are,” he murmured, “because ain’t nobody wanna watch out for your ass.”

Rob stared at him; then looked to Michael. When nobody said anything, he shoved past the man and disappeared upstairs. May looked at Tony. “You can come with me, but you have to do everything I say, ok?” He nodded and she turned to the others. “We’re looking for a location large enough to hold several hundred zombies at once. Preferably it needs to be partially or all the way enclosed. Some sort of scaffolding or unassailable ledge needs to be over it. Open air, if you can find it, so the smell and their voices will travel faster. I have some ideas for locations for when we split up. Don’t take chances though, and above all else:
do not panic
.”

In silence they suited up. Michael glanced back at his wife, who hovered in the mudroom’s door. Max was on her hip, watching. Michael pulled on the extra layers May suggested and tightened his collar. Marleen set Max down to zip up his coat. She leaned close to his ear. “Please, be careful.”

“I will,” he said.

Marleen tried to smile, but only succeeded in grimacing. “This just feels so wrong, you only going out with Tommy.”

“I know,” he said. “But I’m more inclined to trust her in this. I’ve been reading her notebooks, Marleen, and you won’t believe everything she’s done – what she’s seen. We’re lucky to have each other.”

“I don’t want to think about having to survive without you,” she said. “I…”

He kissed her. “Same here. I promise I’ll be back. Keep an eye on Rob.”

She grimaced but nodded. Buttoned the top button of his coat. His wife stayed silent as he followed Tommy out the back door. May unlocked the garage door, let everyone out. But on the concrete pad, nobody moved, just looked at the ground.

May crossed the strip of grass between the garage and the sidewalk without looking where she walked.

The others glanced at Michael, who cleared his throat. “Before we get started,” he said. “Where are the safe spots to avoid the mines?”

May’s eyes roamed across the B&B, the section of visible front yard, and then to the backyard partially concealed by the garage. Finally she looked at him. “You’re standing on it.”

Well, that was good to know.

May shrugged. “I set mines all over the front yard. That’s why there’s sheet metal over the porch, and why the windows are boarded up. The mines are usually spaced about four to five feet apart, but they stop about ten feet from the house. There aren’t any on the walk, though.”

“And you made all of them?” Tony asked.

May nodded. “They’re the best thing against a horde of zombies. While a zombie can survive without limbs, one that loses too much fluid can’t. They’re easier to pick off that way, particularly when they show in large numbers.”

She looked at them. “There are a few places I’ve looked at as potential spots for the Zombie Bowl: the train station below the overpass; the jail down the hill from Roger’s; and the amphitheater in the Playhouse across town. I’ve got the directions for all three. We’ll pick the best one and start work on it.”

“What’s stopping us from shooting for all three?” Liz asked.

May frowned slightly, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. I guess nothing. I’m just so used to thinking about myself that I didn’t consider it.”

“If these Zombie Bowls are as good as you say, three’ll definitely clean Danville out quicker,” Arti commented.

May nodded. “All right, we’ll consider all three. Thank you.”

Michael took the directions for the train station; Arti, the jail. And May held onto the one for the Playhouse. She looked at Tony. “You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to. This one’s farther away. I understand if you want to stay where it’s safe.”

Tony hesitated for a moment, glanced at the B&B. For him to have volunteered at all surprised Michael. At the best of times, Tony was nervous, with an unsteady hand when spooked. He followed, instead of led. Maybe the attraction was that May knew what she was doing, but still, to team up with the only person who wouldn’t think twice about wandering through a zombie infested building was enough to give him pause. Tony probably had his reasons though.

The young hairdresser nodded, his eyes flicking from face to face. “No, I want to do this.”

May didn’t say anything at first, only looked at him. Tony averted his gaze, a faint blush creeping under his skin. She shifted her pack’s weight. “All right.” Her attention moved off him. “Remember to disguise your scent. And when killing a zombie, stay quiet. Since you don’t have silencers, use your guns as little as possible.”

May nodded to Tony, and the guy fell in beside her. Arti gave Michael a mock salute, and the two women headed down the street. He glanced at the B&B before consulting the directions. Tommy kept his axe in his hand as they walked.

“Lookin’ forward to smearing zombie shit all over my clothes,” he commented.

Michael snorted. “Same here, but I’m not going to argue with somebody who’s survived as long as she has on her own.”

Tommy shook his head. “I can’t get over that, man. One girl did all this? She’s experimenting on them, making explosives, and racking up a body count in the tens of thousands? That just ain’t right.”

Michael shrugged. “This is revenge for her. I’ve seen it do crazy things to people.”

“Don’t I know it,” Tommy grunted. “Hey, how much farther is this train station?”

“Less than a half mile.”