Trepidation (8 page)

“Just do it,” Lucas said. “He’s a big boy. He can take it.”

Val pulled Nick’s shirt down off his shoulder and examined the swelling and his bruised skin. “Wow. You nailed it pretty good. There’s no easy way to do this, and I gotta warn you that it might hurt a little.”

His lips pressed into grim lines. “I can handle it.”

She blinked. “Okay. Get ready.”

Nick took a deep breath and tried to be brave, but he yelled as she popped his shoulder back into place. He began panting as the pain nearly overwhelmed him, and his eyes began to water, though he never would have admitted that he was actually crying.

“I’m sorry,” Val said. “But that was the only way.”

“I-I’m okay,” he said, gasping deeply. “Thanks, sis.”

“Here! He can use this splint,” Rita said, running over and handing it to Val.

“Thanks.” Val reached for it and adjusted the straps until it fit perfectly.

“We have a box of medical supplies in one of the rooms. Raided the hospital and took all we could get, just in case. I don’t like takin’ things without payin’ for ‘em, but it’s kind of the way of the world these days.”

“Good call,” Kate said.

“I’m so sorry I don’t have any ice for his shoulder,” Rita said.

“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s kind of hard to find ice in a zombie apocalypse.”

“Nick, do you wanna lie down on the sofa?” Kate asked.

“I would like to get some sleep,” he answered. “We need to leave first thing in the morning.”

Val looked at Rita. “Do you have a place for him to sleep?”

“Not yet. The boy’s gotta eat if he’s gonna get his strength back and recover,” Rita answered.

“I’m not hungry,” he said.

“I’m not either,” I parroted, as my stomach felt queasy as well.

The woman looked away, and tears welled up in her eyes. “I never get guests. I bought this hotel to entertain, and now I never get to do that. I just...well, what has the world come to when an old lady can’t make a nice meal for somebody and show them to one of my fancy rooms?”

Rita had been so kind to us, and I felt very sorry for her. “On second thought,” I said, rubbing my aching stomach, “I’d love to.”

“Yes,” Lucas chimed in. “I’d love to have dinner with the proprietor of such a fine establishment.”

“Great!” Rita said.

“I’m not trying to be rude,” Nick interjected, “but I really don’t have much of an appetite. I just wanna lie down.”

Rita handed him a brown mug full of water and two little white pills. “If you don’t want to eat, at least take these Tylenol and have some water.”

“Thanks, ma’am. My shoulder’s really killing me.”

“Well, darlin’, you’ve clearly been through a lot. You get a good night’s rest, and you’ll be good as new tomorrow,” she said.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Nick said. “I’ll help Lucas with your firewood in the morning.”

“You’ll do no such thing with that bum shoulder of yours!” Val screeched. “We’ll take care of that. You need to rest that shoulder.”

Nick laughed. “You’re right. I guess that’s what we have Lucas and Dean for, huh? All the hard work.”

“Hey, girls can swing an axe too,” Val said, winking at Kate.

Nick laughed again, then winced.

“I think chopping wood is more than a fair trade for a meal and shelter for the night,” Lucas said.

Rita smiled. “I’m just thankful to have company. I’ve never been more lonely. With my boys gone, having y’all here is nice.”

“We’re sure glad we ran into you,” Lucas said.

As our hospitable house-mom was grinning, I was startled by a
bang
coming from upstairs, and I looked at Rita. “Are you sure it’s just us here?”

“Oh, that’s just Harvey.”

“Harvey?” I asked, fearing that she might have a pet zombie or something. The way of the world had my paranoia constantly on edge, and I was sure no one could be as nice as Rita without having a few quirks.

“My cat. Nothing to worry about. He just hates being all cooped up, but if I let him out, I’m afraid he’ll become a zombie treat.”

“Definitely,” I said.

Rita looked at the girls. “Would you ladies mind giving me a hand with supper?”

“Sure,” Val said. “I’m way better at popping shoulders into place than cooking though.”

Rita smiled. “Honey, if you can open a can, you’ll be a gourmet chef in my kitchen.”

We all chuckled.

The girls went into the kitchen to help with dinner, and Nick took a seat on the loveseat by the fire, while Lucas and I sat on the leather couch.

“It’s homey here,” Lucas said.

I kicked my feet up on the matching ottoman. “Yeah, way more homey than gangs, turf wars, and zombie hordes.”

Nick looked at me. “I know you don’t like getting in the middle of Z and Max.”

“That’s only because Z’s crazy, completely irrational. He enjoys torturing people. It’s some kind of sick, twisted fantasy for him. You should have seen his face when he had me hanging upside down over those snapping zombie heads. He looked like a freaking kid on Christmas. How can those people follow a sadistic leader like that?”

“That’s just it,” Lucas said. “He is their leader, and from what you told me, he takes pretty good care of his own. I bet most of those people don’t even realize what a lunatic he really is.”

“I don’t think they do,” I said, “but they worship the ground he walks on, and they’re willing to die for him.”

“We’ve gotta back Max up,” Nick said, “and I’m more than willing to fight. I personally wanna take this Z down for what he did to you and Claire, not to mention all the other men, making them fight like some kind of gladiators, just for his own sick entertainment. It reminds me of Kingsville. He’s even more of a freak than the zombies, and I’m gonna rip his heart out, if he even has one.”

Lucas’s face reddened as anger consumed him. “You’re right, man. This war with Z is personal now, since he’s messed with Dean and Claire more than once and is threatening every man, woman, and child in that city. It’s time to make him pay.”

We talked for a few minutes before Nick yawned. “I’m so tired.”

Rita had enough rooms for each of us to have a room. She led Nick to his, then showed each of us to ours. Mine was a bit too country and flowery and girly for my taste, but the king-sized bed that I’d have all to myself was soft and warm, so it was like luxury accommodations for me. The boarded-up window reminded me of when we’d stayed in that nursing home, but I couldn’t blame Rita. We weren’t in Fairport, and she had to fend off intruders. While zombies really had no way to reach the third floor, thugs, drifters, and robbers could, and they’d do whatever it took to loot for supplies, even breaking into an old woman’s inn.

I thanked Rita and headed downstairs to the grand dining room. As my hand slid down the banister, I noticed some streaks of dried blood. I jerked my hand away and raised an eyebrow. “What happened?” I asked Rita.

“I cut myself earlier. I’m useless here without my sons. That’s exactly why I need help with the firewood. I want nothing to do with that heavy, old axe.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll chop you lots of wood.”

“I can’t thank you enough.”

“No, Rita,
we
should be thanking
you
,” I said when I walked into the dining room and laid eyes on the feast she’d prepared. I’d never seen anything so elegant, a huge table covered with fine linen and china and even floating candles. The chandelier was twice as big as the one in the entryway.

“This is so beautiful,” Val said, smiling.

Rita smiled. “I don’t eat in here very much, so I’m so thankful for the company. I hope you don’t think it’s too over the top.”

“Absolutely not,” Kate said. “It’s gorgeous.”

“We can’t thank you enough,” Lucas said, reaching for a silver serving spoon to scoop out some corn on his fancy plate.

We enjoyed canned meat, corn, and instant mashed potatoes, and there was V8 to drink. The mashed potatoes were flaky and not very good, and the meat was super salty, but I knew she’d done her best. Since I was already feeling nauseated, I stealthily nibbled only a few bites of the meat and sneaked the remaining scraps under the table into a large linen tablecloth. Then I smiled and told her how delicious everything was.

As she nibbled on her own food, clearly not liking it very much herself, she told us about all the parties she used to throw in that very room.

“I bet they were fantastic,” Kate said.

“So you stayed here when the zombie virus broke out?” Lucas asked. He blinked and kept his eyes shut for a moment, then snapped out of it. 

I laughed. “Looks like somebody needs a nap. You shoulda gone to bed with Nick.”

“Now look, Dean. My brother and I are friends, but even in these desperate times, I’m not gonna lower myself to going to bed with—”

“Lucas!” Val squealed before he spit out another of his crude jokes. “You know what Dean meant.”

He laughed. “Right. But there’s no way I’d go to bed before supper. Have you ever known
moi
to be a party pooper?”

Rita chuckled at their banter. “Well, back to your question. When the zombie thing first happened, the police tried to evacuate me, but I refused to leave. This is my home, so we stayed and fought.”

“Have you ever encountered a herd?” Val asked.

She sipped her V8. “Can’t say we have.”

Lucas scooped another bite of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “Count your lucky stars. But even still, you should have some sort of escape route, just in case you wake up one morning and find you’re completely surrounded.”

“A few have banged on the windows,” she said, “but we put those out of their misery pretty quickly.”

Kate excused herself to use the bathroom. A few moments later, she returned with a disturbed look on her face, carrying a taxidermied black cat. 

“What the heck?” Lucas asked. “Find a friend?”

“Yeah...a
dead
one,” she said.

“Put him back!” Rita roared as anger suddenly consumed her.

“Do you know who this is?” Kate slurred like she had a few too many drinks.

Rita stood. “Put him down.”

Kate read the gold nameplate. “Says here his name is Harvey, but didn’t you say Harvey made that crash upstairs earlier? Is Harvey a ghost?”

Rita grabbed the cat from Kate and helped her sit down. She then stomped out of the room to put her dearly departed critter back wherever Kate had found it.

Meanwhile, Kate was acting very strangely, playing with her food and laughing.

“She must’ve found the liquor cabinet,” Val said.   

“Did you do a few shots or what?” Lucas asked. “Because if you did, you could’ve invited me, ya know?”

“What? I-I don’t drink.”

“Well, you’re acting drunk,” Val said. “What’s going on, Kate?”

“If I were you, I’d be more worried about that dead cat. She lied to us!”

Rita came back in and sat down. “I didn’t lie. That was the
original
Harvey. He died ten years ago. The one you heard upstairs is the second Harvey.”

“Really?” Kate asked. “Well, I’d love to see him. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!”

“He’s locked in a room upstairs. I-I didn’t want him jumping on the table while we eat.”

“Hmm. Well, if ya don’t mind, I’m gonna go find him,” Kate insisted.

Rita shot her a glare. “I’m sorry, but I can’t have that.”

“Why? Because he doesn’t exist and because you’re a liar?”

“No!” Rita screamed, slamming her napkin down.

“Listen, Kate,” I said. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? And calling our hostess a liar—”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m no Martha Stewart or anything, but I’m pretty sure that’s not a good thing—not very good manners,” Lucas finished.

Kate yawned. “I’m too tired to walk up the stairs anyway.”

Her yawn must’ve been contagious, because I suddenly felt as if everything was catching up to me. As everyone talked, I began to feel as if my head was in some sort of fog. 

“Dean?” Val said. “Dean, are you okay?”

“My head’s spinning.” When I tried to stand, the room spun even more, as if I’d just stepped off of some kind of supersonic carousel. “Wh-what’s happening?”

“Let me take you to your room,” Rita said. “You’ve had a rough day.”

“Okay,” I said.

She led me out of the dining room, but I could have sworn she was taking me downstairs instead of up to the room she’d shown me earlier. Instead of that soft bed, I’d seen, the one with the flowery quilt on it, it felt as if I was lying on cold concrete, but I couldn’t move. I was so groggy that I couldn’t gain control of my senses, but I heard the distinct moan of a zombie, and I instantly wanted to fight. Instead, I just closed my eyes and drifted off.

“Dean!” Val said. “Wake up!”

Suddenly, I snapped out of it and glanced around. Everyone was still at the table.
Am I hallucinating? Did I fall asleep? Have a nightmare?
My head continued to spin, and I had no idea what was going on. I tried to focus on Val’s face, wondering if someone had spiked the V8.

“Dean, my head’s spinning,” my sister said.

Kate just stared at me blankly. Lucas tried to stand, but Rita easily coaxed him back down into his seat; he didn’t even question her, which was odd for him, especially when she easily grabbed his weapons. When she frisked the rest of us, we tried to put up a fight, but we were all too weak to fend the old lady off. My arms wouldn’t cooperate with my brain, and they felt heavy and numb. I couldn’t even utter a word of complaint since my throat and lips wouldn’t cooperate either.

“You’re probably wondering what’s going on,” Rita said.

“You drugged us!” Val said. “Why?”

Lucas slurred, “She’s gonna feed us to her zombie family.”

My heart raced at his words. “She’s what?”

“I’m not going to feed you to zombies,” Rita snapped. “That’s just ludicrous.”

I sighed in relief.

“Are you sure?” Lucas asked, not so quick to believe her. “Because I’m staring at a couple of zombies.”

I jerked my head up and glanced around, but I didn’t see any zombies.

“That’s just the drugs I gave you,” Rita said calmly. “There are no zombies here.”

“I knew this was too good to be true,” Lucas said.