Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Conflict (11 page)

*
* *

“Jacob?”

“Yeah
Mary?”

I was in
the front as we traveled south, with Sofie and the twins following along behind
Marcus’s truck. Things were going better than I anticipated, although on
several occasions we had to stop and push vehicles out of the way to make room
for the tractor trailer. With most tires now flat and gears rusting together,
this was proving to be more and more difficult. Twice, I had to use my Wrangler
and its large tubular steel bumpers to shove aside an obstruction.

“What
are we going to do when the tampons run out?”

“That’s
not really something I’ve been thinking about.”

She was
fiddling with her hair. “You should, you know. Briana cares. So does Steph and
Lizzy.”

“You
too?”

Mary
giggled. “Of course, but I don’t gush like Lizzy. I don’t get cranky either.”
She shifted about in the front seat. “I’m superior.”

“I’ll be
sure to let her know how much better you are.” I paused. “I’m going to leave
that issue to you ladies. If I can do anything to help, try to get more or
something like that, tell me. But honestly, I have no idea what to do. Wadded
up rags maybe?”

That
earned me a nasty look which was probably justified.

“We need
diapers too,” she continued, “for the baby. I bet those will be just as hard to
get soon. That elastic stuff is probably broken on most of them.”

Another
issue I hadn’t thought of.

“There’s
always cloth diapers.” Basic cloth would likely be a core, essential technology
for decades to come. Now, how do I go about making more of it? “Those work.”

She
crinkled her nose.

“I know.
I’ve had friends use them. That’ll be the case soon enough, no matter what, for
everyone.”

“It’s
not going to be that much longer, so you better get started on finding
everything Briana needs.”

My
sweetie had been saying much the same thing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if
she’d put Mary up to this. Still, we already had a cradle in the room and
another in the common hall. There were bottles we could fill with cow or goat
milk if Briana had any problems breast feeding. Fortunately, her health was excellent
so none of us expected that. Medicine and vaccinations were the big concern. We
were severely lacking, and no one knew enough to make a suggestion. What I
wouldn’t give for a proper doctor.

Mary
lifted the handheld radio from where it had been resting on her lap. “Got a
house off the road, to the left, up ahead. There’s smoke coming from the
chimney.” She pointed for my benefit, although with just the one that wasn’t
necessary. “About a hundred yards off the road, surrounded by fields.
Farmhouse.”

“Got
it,” came Lizzy’s reply.

“Jacob
said we’re going to check it out.”

I
frowned. “I didn’t say that.”

“You
were going to,” smiled Mary. “I’m just faster than you. That’s because you’re
so old.”

I
reached over to give her arm a pinch, and she squealed.

“Behave,
or else.”

“Or else
what?” she teased.

“Or else
you’ll be on two months of diaper changing duty after the baby is born.”

She was
laughing now, heartfelt and carefree. It was amazing how upbeat Mary tended to
be. The girl was just naturally happy, polar opposite of Lizzy and
distinctively different from the rest of us. Most survivors tended to be dour
and quiet, withdrawn. Kenneth and Johnny were perfect examples. Others appeared
normal on the surface, such as Briana, Steph, and Marcus. Still, you could
always tell there was something wrong, an anticipation and worry that pervaded
everything. It was incredibly rare for anyone to truly and completely relax. Perhaps
Mary had some underlying psychological issue that worked in her favor. Pity I
didn’t share it.

“More
serious now,” I cautioned, pulling to one side of the road and parking. “We
need to check the house. No telling what we’ll find.”

Getting
out, I waved the others over.

“Who’s
going forward?” asked Lizzy.

“Me and
you, Marcus too. Three is enough to get a good look. Sofie, can you stay here
with Mary and keep watch? Got a few zombies ahead of us, but they’re pretty far
off yet.”

She
nodded, pushing a wisp of bland, brown hair from her dark eyes.

“What
about Tara and Dale?” asked Marcus.

I nodded
to the pair. “You two are backup. Keep an eye out.”

They
checked their weapons but said nothing. I wondered if they really did follow
orders as well as Marcus had indicated. This would be the first time it
mattered.

*
* *

“Strange
walking up like this,” commented Lizzy.

She was
to my left with Marcus on the right, four feet between us, just enough room to
move around without worrying about colliding with one another. We had our
pistols but left the rifles and Marcus’s shotgun behind. Didn’t want to scare
anyone if we could help it.

“No
response yet,” she continued. “They haven’t warned us off or opened a window to
call out. Think someone’s really inside?”

“With
smoke coming out the chimney,” said Marcus, “someone is in there.”

“Or,” I
corrected, “they started a fire in the fireplace and then left.”

“Fire
hazard that.” Lizzy waggled her fingers. “We’ll have to lecture them.”

I
glanced back. The twins weren’t in sight, but Mary and Sofie were, with Mary
perched atop the tractor trailer, lying on her belly. She had a pair of
binoculars in her hands. I nervously ran a hand across the radio clipped to my
belt.

“Anyone
home!” I called.

“We’re
being ignored,” observed Lizzy, after we received no response. “That pisses me
off.”

“Don’t
let it bother you short stuff.”

She slapped
Marcus in the stomach with the back of her hand. “No personal comments. Only
Jacob and Briana get to do that.”

“And
Mary,” I added.

“Well,
yeah, her too.”

“Steph
sometimes.”

Lizzy’s
eyes narrowed. “Clarification for all you fucking losers. New rule. No more
teasing me, and I don’t care how good of a friend you think I might be.”

“Girl,”
said Marcus, “I grew up with four sisters. Trust me, you are not teased. You
don’t know what teasing is. Hell, you should be happy to get any attention at
all.”

Anything
else he might have been inclined to say – and it is impossible for Lizzy not to
draw attention to herself – was forgotten the instant the gunfire started. We
were only twenty yards out, facing the front porch. Thankfully, whoever was
shooting was either a lousy shot or too rushed to take proper aim. With clods
of dirt kicking up around us, we scattered.

I ended
up in a shallow ditch that ran along the gravel driveway. There were a few
inches of water in the bottom, cold and disgusting. Even so, I allowed it to
soak through my jeans. I wasn’t about to pop my head up.

“Mary!
What’s going on?”

Her
voice crackled over the radio seconds later. “Are you okay Jacob?”

“I’m not
hit, but I think I might be stuck.”

“Uh, you
look to be covered, but I don’t think you can get back without them seeing
you.”

“What
about the others?”

“I’m
good!” yelled Marcus.

I
couldn’t see him, but he sounded close.

“Got
Lizzy with me too. She’s hurt.”

“Shot?”
I called. My breathing quickened. “How are you Lizzy?”

There
was a stream of very unladylike curses.

“Twisted
ankle,” clarified Marcus.

“Get
that Mary?” I had been holding the transmit button.

“They’re
behind a big round water thing,” she said. “The people are still shooting at
them.”

I nodded
to myself. That they were still firing was obvious. My ears were ringing from
the report of their rifles. Damn noise was going to be bringing zombies too.
Any who’d heard were probably already shambling right for us. Maybe the people
wanted them to show up, have us taken care of that way. Bastards!

“I don’t
think their bullets can go through the metal Jacob. I saw some sparks, but
there aren’t any leaks.”

That was
something.

“We need
to pull back. Can you or Sofie see a way for us to do that?”

“Nope,
but Tara and Dale are almost there.”

“Really?”
I resisted the urge to take a look. “Where?”

“Well,
they were off to the side between us and you – that was when you were walking.
Then they started moving in when you were shot at. Why did they shoot at you?
Did you do something?”

Mary
seemed to be calming down. I took that as a good sign. Evidently, we were out
of immediate danger from the people in the house, and I can’t believe the three
of us hadn’t been killed outright. I also need to develop a general plan
concerning how to greet other survivors in the safest manner possible. It was
something to work on later, and something to distract me from the fact that I
nearly shit myself moments earlier.

“No
idea. Do you see any way for us to get out of here? Aside from making a run for
it?”

“Don’t
do that. Tara and Dale are almost there, I think.”

“You
think? What are they doing?”

“Okay, I
see them again. Tara just went behind the house, and Dale’s on the side, the
side opposite you. I’m not sure what they are going to… Oh!”

I heard
the rapid fire of their M-16s a second later. The bursts were short, controlled,
and there wasn’t a sound after they let off the triggers.

“Dale
gave a thumbs up,” said Mary.

“They
get them?” called Marcus.

“I’m
trying to find out,” I replied.

“Hurry
the fuck up and tell us,” snarled Lizzy.

“Mary,
can we make a run for it, back to the highway?”

“I think
so. I can’t see inside. I don’t know if there are more people or not.”

The
brief stretch of calm she’d shown was vanishing.

“Lizzy,
stay there for now. I’m going to make a break for it.”

Positioning
myself, I got my feet under me and darted off, trying to move in a zig zag
pattern as I ran for the Jeeps. I didn’t hear any gunshots, nothing hit me, and
I was soon back, standing beside Sofie.

“Mary,”
I gasped, “what are the twins doing?”

She was
still atop the truck, peering through her binoculars. “They’re out there,
staring at the house. I don’t think they see anyone else inside either.”

Sofie
grunted. “They would have shot them if they had.”

“Might
still be someone there, somebody who’s out of sight. Okay, time to get Lizzy
and Marcus back.”

“How are
we going to do that Jacob?” asked Mary. “You have the radio. They left theirs
here.”

Shit. I
hadn’t thought of that. My bad.

“God…”
Sofie shook her head. “They can see us from where they are. Just wave them
back.”

I did so
– that was far preferable to me approaching the house a second time – and
Marcus pulled Lizzy up. Her leg immediately buckled, so he slung her over a
broad shoulder. Like me, he moved as quickly as possible, and it looked as if
her stomach was bouncing into his shoulder with each step. Lizzy was going to
be bruised.

“Put me
down!” she shrieked, upon reaching the vehicles.

Marcus
did as he was bid, more gently than Lizzy deserved, while I bent to take a look
at her ankle.

“It’s
not broken,” she snapped, frustration and rage coloring her tone.

“Doesn’t
look to be,” I agreed. “You’ll be moving as slow as Kenneth for a while.”

“Twins
are coming back too,” announced Mary. “They’re circling around, not getting
close to the house.”

“We can
leave when they get here,” declared Lizzy. She poked Marcus in the chest with a
single, plump finger. “You’ll have to lift me up into the truck, and no
comments about my fucking weight!”

“We
can’t go yet,” protested Sofie. “There could be more people in there.”

“Let em
rot.”

I agreed
with Lizzy on that point.

“What if
they’re kids or babies?”

Sofie
brought up a valid, very possible, concern.

“We
can’t leave children,” agreed Mary, “and we have a zombie coming, from over
that way.”

Marcus
stomped up to it, shooting the thing in the head.

“We’ll
leave and go down the road a few miles, find a good field to spend the night.”

While
traveling, we generally parked the Jeeps in a field, several hundred yards off
the road, and slept in them. Zombies like to follow easy paths and usually
remain on the pavement. Our system meant we were rarely disturbed, and even if
something did show up, the odds were very good that we could drive off before
anything bad happened. Marcus’s semi was more complicated. We had been pulling
that off to the side, locking it down, and having him sleep inside. No zombie,
or person for that matter, passing by could see him in there. So, as long as he
was quiet and turned everything off, he was ignored.