Snareville II: Circles (7 page)

Snareville was secure, the leader of the group, a young woman who didn’t look much older than Ella, told him. The gardens were going in for the year and they had seen some of the women breaking out horses they acquired in a scouting trip in the last week.

Next morning, after a quiet meal, they gathered their horses, repacked the saddles and headed out. Within a few minutes they mounted and headed south-east along the canal. Ella urged her horse up beside Dan’s.

“Wish we were driving,” she said. “We’d only be twenty minutes from home, instead of half a day.”

Dan grinned. “Anxious?”

“I miss Moms,” she smiled. “I miss Mikey and Rachel. Don’t you?”

“Hell yes,” Dan chuckled. “If I didn’t have this pack string, I’d let Cherokee run the whole way home. I don’t know how my Granddad went off for three years to fight in Europe.”

“Me neither. Wish I could have met him.”

“He was a great guy.”

“Sometimes I think about my family. You know, before all this?”

Dan nodded. Ella didn’t often talk about life before the zeds.

“I don’t know what happened to them all. My Gramps fought in Vietnam. He was a great guy, but now and then when I stayed over at his and Gram’s house, I’d hear him shouting at night. Dad said he did it long as he could remember. He died the year before the world died.”

“What happened to the rest?” Dan asked in a quiet voice. He didn’t like to pry, but he was interested in how she came to be chained in the back of a grocery store.

“I was at school when the worst of it hit. Mom came and got me.” Ella watched the ground pass under her horse. “We holed up in a store for awhile. Eddie took us in.”

That was the store where he’d found them, Dan figured.

“Eddie pimped out Mom first. Said she could pay our debt to him that way. Then Mom got bit, Eddie shot her and he started pimping me. That’s all I know, Daddy. I haven’t seen anyone else since you found me.”

“Well, you’ve got us now. There’s a lot of families like ours.”

She smiled up at him with eyes that swam with tears. “I know. When the world died, we all became family.”

Talk turned to other things. One of which was when she and Billy Jaques wanted to get married. Society had reverted a hundred years. Adolescence was a luxury humans could no longer afford. The doctors in Snareville figured that if the virus followed the Ebola Zaire pattern it was based on, more than ninety five percent of the population had either become infected in the outbreak, or been killed and eaten. Since the first year, there were suicides and deaths from other causes. Overall, there were fewer people alive than anyone had ever seen. All of whom tried in one way or another to survive against the rest of the population as it was trying to eat them.

They passed through the last cut valley and the floor opened up before them. Dan marveled again at the scene. Fields were turned for the spring. He could see the dots of people working them. On both sides of the creek and the canal, black soil was being planted. Fences and barriers had been extended out almost to the tree line to keep the zeds and others at bay. Beyond that, trees clustered around the little village began to leaf out for the year. Soon, traces of winter would be gone and the world would be green again. The steeple of the church poked through the branches, its gold cross visible even from his two miles distance.

If they’d left a field gate, Dan would have led his group across the open ground to town. As it was, they urged the horses into a trot as they headed for the road. The group rode up to the guarded checkpoint to shouts of welcome and recognition. Dan rode through the open gate as if he were a returning king. Four guards laughed and shouted questions up at him and the group. One of them radioed ahead to the base in the firehouse. Dispatch in turn radioed on to Dan’s home that he had returned.

As they rode along the asphalt, people in the fields turned and waved. The group returned the greetings. Wally pushed his stud up beside Dan as they rode in.

“Miss you much around here, Dan?”

“It’s home, Wally. Wouldn’t your people do the same?”

The young Lieutenant grinned. “Probably.”

“Long range patrol went out in March. We haven’t seen or heard from them since the third day. I reckon it’s good for morale that we made it home.”

Dan saw a white golf cart come through the second set of field gates. Another cart followed. The drivers blasted down the roadbed at top speed. He recognized the passengers in the first as the machine got closer.

“Looks like we got a welcoming committee,” he said over his shoulder to Bill.

Before it stopped rolling, Pepper and Cindy were out of the first cart. Dan swung from Cherokee in time to scoop his wives into his arms. Ella wrapped them all into a hug as best she could. Everyone made an opening and squeezed her into the middle of the embrace. Tear followed greeting. Murmured words of comfort followed by tender kisses.

Bill received the same greeting from Heather and Cathy. For long moments, the groups stood, not wanting to part. Not wanting to move. All wanted nothing more than assurance that they were alive. That everyone was home in one piece. At last the groups pulled apart into individuals.

“That is the last time you’re going to be gone that long, Mister Death.” Pepper’s brown eyes flashed. “I don’t care how long the trip is, or where you’re going. We’ll pack the kids up papoose style and come with you.”

Dan slid his arm around his wife’s swollen belly. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I love you too, Pep.” He turned to his other wife, who walked on the opposite side of him. “How about you, Cindy? Up for a road trip?”

She smiled up at him, her blue eyes twinkling. “Anytime the rest of us are. You’re not shaking us that easy, Danny.”

He wrapped his arms around her less swollen middle and kissed her as well. “How’s the morning sickness?”

“Gone,” she said. “I feel human again.”

“Good.”

They walked on into town. At various pastures they stopped and turned horses out. Greetings were bellowed through town as herd members called to one another. The pack saddles were unloaded into the golf carts. Wally’s two stallions were given separate paddocks in an equestrian farm on the edge of town where the protective walls had been extended over the last fall.

Chapter 7

The packs had been unloaded, food distributed to the central storehouse. Medicine was taken to the village’s infirmary in the fire station. Doctor Leary was on duty, as Doctor O’Shea was out helping one of the Marine Corps women give birth. They were going through a real baby boom in Snareville.

“How about you, Pepper?” Leary asked as he examined and cleaned Cherry’s wound. “You having any contractions? Baby drop or change position?”

Pepper rubbed her belly. “No,” she said, “None that I’ve noticed. This one is different than his brother.”

Leary grunted as he rewrapped the wound. He looked up in Cherry’s face. “You, young lady, are lucky that Jinks is such a good student. It’s clean, no infection and it ought to heal without much scarring.” He turned to Cindy.

“How about you, Cindy? Feeling anything out of the ordinary?”

“Feeling fat and bloated,” Cindy smiled, “But I haven’t thrown up yet today.”

Leary grinned. “That’s a good thing. You’re going into your second trimester. The morning sickness should about be over. Sounds like you’re on your way to a normal pregnancy. You’ll have something to compare your next one to.”

“Great,” Cindy chuckled. “Can we go now, Doc?”

“Yes, go, go. Go do something productive. Pepper, you’re close. Next month or six weeks I’d say. No heavy stuff. And you’re off patrols. There’s enough people in town can handle it. We don’t have the facilities if you go early.”

“Okay, Doc,” Pepper nodded, “So you’re saying to have Danny wait on me?”

Leary grinned. “You mean he doesn’t already?”

The women laughed in response.

“Funny, Doc. Put ideas in their head.” Dan grinned as he headed for the door.

“Thanks for the medicine,” Leary called as the door closed behind them.

Dan walked up the street toward his house. A cluster of younger kids played in the park on the swings and slides. Two adults who watched them waved at Dan and his little group. Ella had already rushed home, cleaned up and left to see Bill Jaques. Wally had tucked his stallions away in their stalls. He trotted across the park with one of the teenage girls that trained the horses toward Dan. He caught up to them, out of breath.

“Sounds like someone needs some more PT, Lieutenant,” Dan said with a grin. “If you like, I’m sure Corporal Cody can have you out in the morning running with his Marines.”

“I might take him up on that,” Wally gasped. “Didn’t realized how much I’d let myself go on that island. I think I’ll have to start getting my people in shape too.”

“Not a bad idea,” Pepper said. They moved aside as a small troop of soldiers, both men and women, jogged past them. “Just good practice, to keep the lungs up, but since we’ve started taking in a lot of military people, it’s become a necessity.”

Wally nodded. “I’d like to see how you do things.” He turned to Cherry. “What’d the doctor say?”

“I’ll live,” she said. “Not infected, I’m not zed positive either. I’d have gotten sick by now.”

“That’s good. That antivirus really works.”

“Yep,” Dan said. He had slid both his hands into those of his wives. “Everyone in the whole area around here has been inoculated, including Cherry now. When you walk back that way, it’s your turn.”

Wally nodded. They turned down a side street. Bill and his wives had made it home first. The door to the house was open and the group stepped inside. Dan offered the house across the street to Wally and Cherry to stay in as long as they were in town. Dan picked up one of the packs that had been left on the porch. Wally picked up another, as did Cherry. He led them across the street. The door swung open to a fully furnished home. Dan pulled the key out of the back of the lock on the door and handed it to Wally.

“We lock up after sunset. We haven’t had any zeds get in so far this year, but curfew is dark. No one goes out without at least a pistol. There’s three bedrooms in this place, two up, one down.” Dan walked further into the room. He dropped the pack on a couch, turned to the newcomers. “You get hungry, the bar’s open downtown. Tradegoods for pay normally, but just tell them you’re my guests and we’ll work it out. If you want to cook yourself, the store’s open. Same policy.”

“Wow,” Cherry said in a soft voice, “it’s almost like it never happened here. The zombies, the death, the insanity.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of Dan’s mouth. “It happened, we just decided as a group not to roll over and die like most of the rest. We’re trying.” He tossed Wally the key and let himself back out the door.

Dan walked back to his place to find Pepper in the kitchen pulling out pots and pans. Heather came down the back stairs. Dan slid his arms around his wife from behind, gave her a soft kiss on her cheek.

“I’m glad to be home,” he said into her soft neck. “I’ve missed you guys.”

Pepper turned in his arms as Heather started to find food in the freezer. “We’re glad you’re back too. But you smell like a horse. Go get a shower.”

Dan grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “You don’t like me stinky?” He tried to kiss her, pull her closer, but her belly got in the way. With mock terror, she pushed him away.

“Git, you stink,” she said as Dan headed towards the steps. “Cindy beat you. She took her shower while you were visiting.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize she stunk?” Dan said.

“She wanted to smell better for her hubby,” Pepper shouted as he was halfway up the steps. Both women giggled. He did notice that Bill and Cathy were missing as well. It was good to be home. He started the shower, let the warm water work the knots out of his muscles and washed every thing he could reach. He toweled off, ran the beard trimmer over his face quickly to even things up and stepped into his bedroom.

Cindy lay on the bed, her long blond hair tossed over her shoulder. She hadn’t had time herself to shave, but no one really bothered with that anymore. She had pulled on a pair of black thigh-high stockings. She looked up as Dan came in, gave him a wide grin and tried to adjust and get comfortable with her little belly.

Dan slid onto the edge of the bed, planted a deep kiss on her lips and rolled her onto her back. Cindy laced her fingers around his neck as she pulled him down to her.

“I am so glad to be back, little girl. I missed you,” Dan said as he brushed her lips. His fingers traveled the length of her body; his palm rubbed her belly, paused at the thick V of her womanhood. She wriggled under his attentions as he kissed her neck, then moved on to her swollen nipples.

“I’m glad you’re back too, baby. We were so scared the whole time you were gone.” Her fingers traced the curve of his back as he nibbled her shoulder. They slid to the center of the king sized bed. “The bed feels empty without Pepper,” Cindy said.

“She’s too far along to be doing this. She makes up for it when she can.”

“I know. Glad I’ve got you to myself for awhile. They’re right when they say pregnant women are horny as goats.”

Dan nipped her neck. Cindy giggled. “You gonna baa for me?” He grinned.

“Baaaa…” They both laughed as she slid a leg over his back and welcomed him home.

Chapter 8

I ran my hands across Cindy’s hip, down her leg. She’d lost her stockings somewhere along the way. I spooned her, found her belly button and gave it a tickle. She giggled. “Nope, not done yet.”

“What?” She rolled onto her back in my arms, smiled up into my face.

I ran my fingertip around the soft rim. “You’re not done yet, the timer hasn’t popped out.”

“You goof,” she laughed as she pushed my hand away. “Git.”

I grinned as I rolled over. It was good to be home. She laid her chin on my chest.

“Okay, now that I can think again, how was the trip? You brought friends home.”

“Trip was good. Productive. I think we’ll have Savanna in the alliance when Wallace goes back home. He’s got some good ideas and he’s pretty organized.”