Revenence: Dead Silence, A Zombie Novel (7 page)

"I gotta say, I don't like the idea of that.  What if something happens to both of you, and I'm stuck in that damn room up there, left to starve to death?"

"Well Nick, times like these, you gotta learn to sometimes make a tough call.  I did.  It's that, or we can put an end to this right now," she said, nodding toward the arrow she still had pointed at him.  "Besides, the sooner you can play ball, the sooner we can get a fair game goin'.  I never did like the idea of keepin' a person prisoner, not if that person gave me an option."

"Well then, I guess I don't have a choice," he conceded indignantly.

Shari led him by the arm toward the garage while Fauna followed right behind, never lowering her bow.  She took out the remote for the garage door on her keychain, and they entered.  She closed the door behind them, and the three of them ascended up to the loft.  Fauna motioned to Shari to lead him into the pantry, where the panic room door was located.

"When's the last time you ate, Nick?" Fauna asked, linking his hands together with a pair of cuffs.  He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I had a granola bar earlier, and one the day before.  Other than that, I haven't eaten since before all this shit went down."

"I'll be back in a bit with some food.  You sit tight."

"Yeah, what else am I gonna do?" he shot back as she closed the door, punching a keypad on the wall to lock the room from the outside.

"If it's a panic room, does that mean he has access to phones and radios and all that stuff I saw in there?"

"No, I would have to connect the radio down in the garage for it to function.  Phones ain't workin' and that radio ain't hooked up to anything.  Not for the time being, at least.  Only the one down in the garage is functioning."

"So what are we gonna do with him?"

Fauna shrugged.  "For now, we're gonna give him somethin' to eat.  Then you and me are gonna sit and have a long talk.  Whatever decision we come to, I don't want it to be made lightly."  She opened the deep freezer and took out a frozen dinner, popping it in the microwave.  "No matter what conclusion we come to, it might be the wrong one."

Shari rubbed her face.  "I wish he never showed up here."

"You and me both, but you can wish in one hand and...well, you know the rest.  Now come with me, this is gonna require both of us to do it safely."

"Just come over here and grab him a bottle of water," she replied.  "She's right, Nick.  Keepin' you in handcuffs just ain't gonna work.  So I got a better idea.  You left or right-handed?"

"Left," he responded, sounding dejected.  "Man, I didn't even do anything."

"Yeah, besides trying to pull that pistol on us."

"But you were pointing your bows--!"

"
Shhh!" 
Fauna cut him off.  "You were on my property, it was up to you to prove yourself, not the other way around.  When Shari here showed up, I did the same thing to her.  Pointed an arrow at her face 'til I had seen she wanted to be reasonable.  It's what anyone would do to defend themselves on their own property in the middle of a nightmare like this.  Now all this is besides the point.  What I was gonna say is, we'll keep your right hand in a cuff--"

"But--"

"We'll keep your right hand in the cuff and attach the other one to this here chain--"

"Is that a
dog
chain?! Aw man, you gotta be
kidding
me!"

"...To this here chain, and attach the chain to that pipe over there in the corner.  Long enough to give you some freedom of movement, but not long enough for you to reach the doorway.  It'll give me and Shari here some peace of mind.  And," she added, "it's like I told you.  If you show us that you can be patient and play nice, it'll work in your favor.  We really don't want to keep you in here forever.  Shari, come reach into my pocket, take out the cuff key."  Shari found the key and freed his left hand.  "Now take the chain, wrap it around the pipe, and put this deadbolt through an end link and another link on the loop, make sure he can't get it off."   Shari complied, then slid the right cuff onto a link at the opposite end of the chain, sliding the cuff closed.  "Alright, now do me a favor and take that wallet you saw earlier in his back pocket.  I want to see it."

"What the fuck?  That's my wallet!  You're already keeping me prisoner, you got no right to take my shit!  I got my rights!"

"Welcome to the new world, Nick, where everywhere's the Wild West.  You got no rights, except the right to shut the hell up.  Just be glad Shari and me is humanitarians.  Better treatment than you should expect, given the circumstances. 
Bon appetit.
"  Fauna and Shari left the room, closing and locking the door.

"Well...let's weigh our options carefully.  Seein' as we know next to nothin' about this man, I'd say forcing him back out into the world would probably be the most dangerous option we got.  We send him out there, one of two things'll prob'ly happen.  One, he'll die.  Two, he'll live and come  back with a beef, some'd say a legitimate one.  As I said, we don't know him.  But when I look at him, I see a livewire.  I can't guess exactly what a person like that'd do, and that's a variable that I don't like.  But if we keep him here, give him a chance to live, maybe we can earn his trust, and hopefully his loyalty along with it.  Regardless of what he tried to say earlier, I don't think we need his help.  He can pander to what he sees as our womanly sensibilities all he likes, but all that proves to me is that he doesn't look at us and see two strong, reasonably intelligent, survivally-inclined women.  He just sees...two women, and that don't mean much in his eyes.  In all reality, we can help him more'n he'd ever help us, but he don't see it that way.  Now, I don't like that quality in him, but bein' a chauvenist ain't enough for me to want to give the man a death sentence."

"I definitely don't trust him, but I guess I see what you're saying," Shari conceded reluctantly.  "So what do you propose?  We let him wander freely in the loft with us?"

"Hell, no!  We live in the loft, keep it closed up just like we always do.  The barn's got a loft same as here, he can pull up the ladder and everythin', keep himself safe.  We can bring him food and water, books if he's literate and wants somethin' to pass the time.  He can shower outside the barn, there's a spigot out there with hot water and everythin',  so it don't make me feel bad.  He's got all the necessary amenities that he should need.  We'll give him an inflatable air mattress, some blankets.  Bases are covered, so he can't complain.  I'm sure he will, all the same, but ask me if I give a shit."

"And weapons?"

Fauna sighed heavily.  "I don't think he needs a gun up there.  He's gonna try and raise holy hell when he realizes he won't be armed, but he don't need it, as long as he stays put up in the safety of that loft.  Hopefully it'll give us the added benefit of makin' him think twice about comin' down, not havin' anythin' to defend himself in case a zombie comes mosyin' up."

"So...I guess everything's decided.  Nothing left to do now but let him know what the plan is."

"Yeah, I guess so," Fauna said, standing.  "You come with, I'll do the talking."

"We're tryin' to help you," Fauna replied.  "You gotta understand, we want you to live.  I'm tellin' you now, ain't no zombies gettin' up into that loft.  You'll be safe up there.  And it ain't like it's filthy up there.  Ain't no animals been up there, and me and my husband take personal pride in keepin' that barn clean.  It was just two weeks ago, I cleaned and mopped that loft.  We'll give you an air mattress, blankets, whatever'll make you feel more comfortable up there.  So what do you say?"

"Well, once again, you haven't left me an option.  I mean, what do you mean, 'What do you say?'  You've made it clear that it doesn't matter what I say."  He saw Fauna's expression, saw that she was unflinching and getting a little perturbed by what she was coming to see as his argumentative nature.   "But then again, I guess I should be grateful that you're trying to help me at all.  You don't know me, and I guess you don't see any reason to trust me.  I just hope you can come around, is all.  Stop treatin' me like I'm your enemy."

Fauna shook her head.  "No, Nick.  I don't see you as my enemy."  She pointed to the road, where he had come from in hopes of finding refuge from the undead.  "
They're
my enemies, and yours too.  Don't you get it?  We share a common foe.  But I do see you as a potential threat.  Now, over the comin' days and weeks, I'd like us to get to know one other.  Survivors gotta stick together.  Shari and me agreed on that from early on.  You're a living human being, and we value life.  I'd like to see you prove to us that you feel the same.  You get to know us, we get to know you, and I'm sure before too long, we'll all see eye to eye."

Nick stood silent for a moment, thinking.  "You're not giving my gun back, are you?"

Fauna smirked.  "Let me put it this way, Nick.  Imagine you're Shari and me, in our position.  Two women, facing a man who obviously doesn't think too much of women."

"Where'd you get that idea?" he shot back.

"It shows in your words and mannerisms, fella.  Now let's not argue the fact, alright?  Imagine you're us.  Can you honestly say you'd give a man like you your gun back if you were in our shoes?"

He glared at her.  "It doesn't matter what I say, you're obviously not gonna trust me."

"No, it doesn't matter what you say, at least not right this second.  What matters is what you do and say over time.  And for the time being, we're giving you a safe place to stay.  You don't need your gun up there."

"But I can help take out zombies from up there!  You can't deny the value of a third pair of eyes."

"Yeah, eventually.  But for now, me and Shari can keep doin' what we've been doin'.  No offense, but we don't exactly need you.  We got along just fine before you showed up, and can continue to do so.  Seems you're the one who needs us."  Nick lowered his head, looking emasculated.  Fauna softened her features, and took on a more sympathetic tone.  "Now Nick, I'm not tryin' to make you feel bad.  I'm sure you'll prove to be a valuable member of our group.  I'm only tryin' to say that you shouldn't underestimate me and Shari's abilities just on account of us bein' women.  We weren't relyin' on you before, and to be honest, me and Shari shouldn't even be relyin' on
each other
.  We can't just take for granted that
any
person'll be around forever, 'cause it just ain't true.  We never know what'll happen, now more than ever.  And it's time you learned," she added, "that you should treat a survivor as a survivor, and not a man or woman."

"I see what you're saying," he said almost inaudibly, head still lowered.  "Well, let's get on with this.  This panic room's making me claustrophobic."

"You smoke?" Fauna had asked him before they left him for the evening.

"No, I hate cigarettes," he'd responded.

"I ain't talkin' 'bout cigarettes," Fauna had said, grinning.

"What, you're gonna give me weed?!"

"Well," she had joked, "I'm not too worried about you callin' the cops, turnin' me in."

"Shit, I'll take it.  God knows I could use it, take the edge off this bad feeling I haven't been able to shake since all this happened.  Maybe even get a good night's sleep for the first time since."

"You gave him some of your stash?" Shari asked later as she sat on the couch with Fauna.  The tone of her voice implied that she didn't approve.

"Keep in mind, girlie, it's mine to give away," Fauna responded, giving her a playful tap on the head.  "Besides, now that it's basically a post-apocalyptic world, I feel safe enough tellin' you that I got pounds and pounds, and I can always grow more.  Shit, I could fill my field with it if I were so inclined, without any worries.  Ain't no one around to stop me or give a shit.  And I only gave him a few joints.  I honestly hope we can gain his trust, and I figure bein' nice to him is a good start.  Besides, you know you feel better havin' somethin' to help you relax.  Weed doesn't take away the reality or the pain of what's goin' on, but it makes it a little easier to cope."

"I guess you're right," Shari said, leaning back and exhaling slowly.  "I don't mean to be such a bitch to him, but I'll be honest--I don't trust him at all, Fauna."

"And to be honest with you, I think you're right.  The problem is, intuition is basically the same as speculation.  It's like a guess.  You're not workin' off facts, you're workin' off a gut feelin'.  Now, I'm not tryin' to say your intuituion is wrong, any more than mine is.  But it's just awfully unfair to make a judgment on a man when there's a chance you might wind up bein' wrong.  Even if your instinct is right, you might be interpretin' it wrong.  We just need to take things real slow, and be extra careful.  But keep in mind, we're armed, he's not.  Plus--" she paused.  "I think we got a considerable mental edge on him.  I just try and be prepared for anythin'.  We don't know him, and we don't know what he'll do.  Therefore, I wouldn't put nothin' past him.  Just be alert.  We should be in the habit of bein' careful anyway, given the circumstances."