Surviving The Dead: Heartland Zombie Apocalypse Vol. 1 (20 page)

Crystal put on a big smile, “Mr. Nordstrom we are just looking out for the safety of everyone.  You can understand that we need to make sure no one is sick or bit.  You all deserve a little privacy while the doc checks you out.  Hazel here is very nice and she will make sure nothing happens to your daughter.  If she does get scared you will be right next door.”

Nordstrom smiled back at Crystal, “Sweetheart I'm a trustin you with my baby girl”

Crystal ignored the veiled threat and still smiling took Joyce's other arm, “The Doc hasn't arrived yet Mr. Nordstrom.  Let me get Miss Carter settled and Jason can show you where you can get cleaned up a bit.”

“Call me Zephram sweetheart, once you and I get acquainted you will learn that I'm easy to get along with.”, Zephram flirted.

Before releasing Joyce's arm his grip tightened a bit, “Now Joyce honey don't you worry, I'm going to be right nearby.”

Crystal lead Joyce into the room adjoining Jillian's. As soon as Crystal closed the door Joyce began shaking uncontrollably.  Crystal put her arm around the other woman's shoulders and Joyce immediately wrapped her arms around Crystal and began sobbing.  After a bit, Joyce's sobs turned to anger and as she wiped away the tears she told Crystal of her ordeal.

“That cracker son a bitch raped me this morning in front of his own daughter.  What kind of man does things like that.  There were chompers bangin on the windows the whole time he was pawin at me and I didn't know if he was going to toss me out to them when he was done or what.  I'm also pretty sure he's been doin his own daughter to.  He told me if I told you folks any of this that he would kill me.  So whats you gonna do.”, Joyce said in an angry burst.

Crystal held the other woman's hands, “I do have some say as to what happens here and I can promise you we are not going to tolerate a man like that.  I am going to have to let the doctor know the more evidence we have against Nordstrom the better.  One question I noticed that Nordstrom kept calling the Colonel, Colonel Osbourne?”

Joyce gave Crystal a wry smile, “I just met up with those two, a day ago.  I met Colonel Osgood a day before that and the Colonel gave me directions here.  Nordstrom wanted it to look like we have been traveling together all along.  I wanted you folks to see that he was a liar and changed some things.”

“Colonel Osgood means a lot to us, how was he holding out when you saw him”, Crystal pressed.

“To be honest, he looked like he was all played out.  You could tell he hadn't slept much.  He said that every time he and his men moved the monsters would find them again.  He was worried about leading them here and said he and his men were going to make a stand where he met me.”

“I need to share this with folks here.  Do you mind if I have Bill, the man that greeted you this morning, sit with you until the doctor gets here.  Trust me Bill is one of the good ones.”, Crystal said.

Joyce nodded, “I don't really want to be alone right now.  I would appreciate him being here, but I can't promise that I would be much company.”

Crystal left the room and quickly whispered to Bill what she learned.  Seeing that Mac and Doc Linderman had arrived she shuffled them into another room to fill them in.  By the time she was finished Zephram was out of the shower and Jason had him back in the room.  Doc started the physicals with Zephram.  Crystal excused herself so she could speak to Matt, Amy and Blade about Colonel Osgood and to send Cynthia back to assist doc with Joyce and Jillian's physicals.

As Crystal took off across the compound her mind went back to the promise she had made Joyce.  In this world the options available were slim  Crystal wasn't sure she could look herself in the mirror if she took care of Nordstrom the way he felt he needed to be treated.  On the other hand she was committed to protecting these people.

Doc Linderman finished his examination of Zephram quickly.  He had seen his type many times before and always found them to cocky and to full of themselves for his taste.

“So Doc do I get a clean bill of health.  You sure you wouldn't be happier stickin your finger up my backside”, Zephram said with a callous laugh.

“No that's not necessary and yes you seem in fine health”, Doc Linderman replied in a flat tone.  “Get yourself dressed Mac will be in a minute to talk with you.”

The Doc moved next door to find Jilly and Hazel engaged in an intense conversation on Jilly's baby doll and the special care it needed.

“Sorry to interrupt ladies but can I ask Jilly some questions?”, Doc asked.

“Go right ahead Doc we can pick this up later.  Would like me to stick around?”, queried Hazel.

Doc smiled, “Please do I'll want help with the physical exam.  First thing Miss, is it okay if I call you Jilly?”

“My Mommy always said you can call me anything you want just don't call me late for dinner.”, Jilly beamed a smile at Doc pleased that she had remembered the joke.  “Mommy called me Jillian I like that best.  Daddy is the only one that calls me Jilly I don't like that name so much.”

Doc nodded, “Jillian it is than.  Jillian how did you get here?”

Jillian laughed delightedly, “Well that is easy we came in that car out there.”

Doc laughed, “Lets back up a little do you know where your home was?”

“Yes, our farm in Gilmore”, Jillian replied.

“Jillian how come you left your farm to come here?”, Doc asked.

“Chompers they came to our house and they … they ate Mommy.  Gulp, Gulp, Gulp”  Jillian trailed off into tears and Hazel slipped her arm around Jillian's shoulders.

Hazel reassured the young woman, “Take your time honey we know this is hard, but we have to learn these things about you.”

Doc handed her a tissue and after a moment Jillian continued.  “Daddy told me to run and Daddy and me made it to the Reyes house next door.  The Reyes had their car all packed and so Daddy... Well Daddy says I can't tell, but we borrowed the Reyes car.  Daddy said they didn't need it no more.”

Doc and Hazel exchanged looks filling in the blanks concerning the fate of the Reyes family.  “Jillian what did you and your father do after you left with the Reyes' car?”

“We just camped out staying away from the chompers.  Daddy said we made a good team.  When our food started running low and there were no reports on the radio Daddy said we would go visit Mommy's cousin Stacy in Kansas.  Daddy said even if Aunt Stacy was a stuck up bitch and Uncle Al was a dumb ass they had a big spread and should take in family.”, Jillian recounted.

“Jillian when did Joyce join you and your father?”, asked Doc.

“Yesterday.  She is real nice.  I'm mad at Daddy for being mean to her this morning.”, Jillian said scornfully.

Doc pushed, “How exactly was he mean to her?”

Jillian lowered her voice to mimic her fathers, “Cash, gas or ass nobody rides for free.”  Jillian continued to give a near verbatim repeat of Joyce's ordeal.

Doc did his best to hide his disgust of this young woman's father, “Thank you for sharing your story with us Jillian.  You did a very good job.  Have you ever been examined by a doctor before?”

Jillian nodded, “Mommy took me to lots of doctors to find out why I'm not smart like other kids.”

Doc smiled as he slipped on a pair of gloves, “Well I think your plenty smart.  I'll try to make this quick and easy.”

Mac went in to talk to Zephram Nordstrom after Doc finished his exam.  Mac extended his hand to greet the man in the long standing tradition of one man testing another, “Ivan Mcpherson”.

Zephram shook the extended hand and when Mac made eye contact Zephram long used to avoiding scrutiny looked away,  “Whoa there Hoss how many of you do I have to get through today.  When do I get back with my daughter and our friend.”

“Mr. Nordstrom this is a quarantine we need to make sure you aren't bringing any illness into our camp.  In the mean time I'd like to get to know you.  You're the one asking for sanctuary, but it is going to be on our terms.”, Mac stated.

Zephram whined, “The Colonel said you was takin folks in.  There weren't nothin said about no quarantine.”

“The Colonel is not here to make the rules.  It is our responsibility to keep our people safe.  I'm sure you want that for your daughter and Miss Carter.”, Mac replied.

“Alright then Hoss, what can I do you for.”, Zephram conceded.

“To start with clue me in on what you've been doing the past few weeks and how you happened to come to our camp?”, Mac queried.

Zephram paused he had given Joyce instructions as to what to say and had to hope her story matched his, “Not much to tell there Hoss.  Out of the blue these chompers come up to my farm.  They attacked and ate my Sofie.  I told Jilly to run and we headed to the neighbors.  We joined up with Joyce.  We been campin out the last few weeks hopin this thing would blow over.  When we started to run low on food I remembered Sofie's cousin over in Kansas.  Their place is a big spread in the middle of nowhere.  On the way we ran into Colonel Osbourne and he told us to come here.”

Mac nodded seeming to accept what Zephram said, “The Colonel, he was doing well when you met him?”

Zephram again chose to remain vague, “Yea sure he was just fine.  You know he was lookin for other folks to help.  We are in a tough spot.  You can see that can't cha?  Jilly misses her mom somethin fierce.  It ain't right to keep her from me.”

“We've all had losses, but you've been out there for several weeks.  We have no idea what causes the fever that killed so many.  We have to be sure your not bringing it here.  Your daughter is being well cared for and you will be with her soon enough.” Mac replied dodging the pity ploy.  “So what do you bring to the table.  How is adding you to our group going to help us?”

“Like I said I'm a farmer.   I'm also a passable mechanic.”  Zephram who had been looking around the room taking inventory of its contents suddenly leveled his gaze at Mac.  “Hoss I have no idea who you got runnin the show here, but I learned some things the past few weeks.  I can make hard choices.  I'm a good man to have on your side.  I'm the wrong man to go up against.” 

Crystal caught up with Blade, Amy and Matt, “I'm sure you heard by now that we had some people show up today.  We are still sorting out their stories, but I believe the one woman is being straight with us.”

“I'm assuming this has something to do with Bryan, uh Colonel Osgood”, remarked Matt.

“Yes it does.  It sounds like he and his men are being dogged by a herd of the dead.  His fear is if he comes here he will lead the herd to us.  He's chosen to make a stand outside of Lincoln.”, Crystal replied.

“He doesn't know we have the attractant.  He doesn't know we can lead the herd off.  I'll get a team together and leave as quick as I can.”, Blade announced.

Matt stood up, “Count me in too.”

Crystal gave Blade a sobering gaze, “I want you to go Blade, just time your departure so you get there by first light.  We can't lose you walking into a shit storm in the middle of the night.  I know the Colonel means a lot to all of you, but if it has gone bad for him, we need to keep a lid on that until after we go to Lexington.”

“Fuck Lexington the Old Man is more important”, retorted Blade hotly.

Crystal took a moment gauging her reply, “Blade ... relax, the Colonel is the mission.  Just be smart about it.”

Blade remained tensed, “Understood.”

Crystal remained detached, “Go get your team assembled.  Amy give Blade any help he needs, but I really need you here this Nordstrom issue isn't going to end well.”

Matt turned to Amy, “I owe Bryan this.  If anything should happen to me look after the kids.”

To give the two a moment Crystal pulled out a map and went over the Colonel's last location with Blade.

Amy wrapped her arms around Matt's neck and gave him a slow kiss.  “We'll be waiting for you when you get back.”