Dead, but Not for Long
Date: 2012-01-02 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Zombies; Horror; Fiction; Apocalyptic; Science Fiction; Post Apocalyptic; Action; Survival; Paranormal
Description: When the first outbreaks occurred, the reports were quickly stifled. By the time the dead began to walk in Lansing, Michigan, it was already too late to stop the plague. In the heart of the city, a child with cancer and her caretaker risk their lives to help a security guard and a nurse secure an old hospital. As the survivors struggle to stay alive, the grid begins to fail. All the while, the dead fight to get inside. ~*~ Stay tuned for the sequel. Coming soon!

Pestilence and Promise

Dead, but Not for Long II

~*~

Lesa Kinney Anders

Matthew Kinney

Copyright © 2014 Lesa Anders and Matthew Kinney

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the authors except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the authors’ imaginations or used in a fictitious manner or are used with permission.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead or living dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Cover photo and illustration Copyright © 2014 by Lesa Anders

ISBN: 1496005090

ISBN-13: 978-1496005090

Published in the U.S.

First publication date May 15, 2014

DEDICATION

To our brother

John Wesley Kinney, who first got us interested in zombies

and

To our sister

Mary Jo Kinney Strouse, who hates zombies but reads our books anyway

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To Steve Serkaian, Director of Communications at Lansing Board of Water and Light, and Peggy Roefer, Microbiologist, Regional Water Quality Manager at Southern Nevada Water Authority, thank you for answering our technical questions. To David Daigle of the CDC, thank you for suggesting ways for us to examine the impact of a plague on public health. To Larry Karr, thank you for talking to us about your personal experience with a punctured lung. To John Kinney, thank you for your help with weapons questions.

Any mistakes are our own.

Font used on cover was Bad Grunge from Jaydefonts

Tanks to our Beta readers: Annette, Ariel, Cindy, Dian, Kim and Mark.

GO TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

~Prologue~

Lab in the Colombian Jungle; February

The sound of an engine broke the quiet of the evening and caused Javier to turn his head.

“The doctor’s leaving early,” he said to Carlos, the young guard on duty with him. “It’s barely dusk.”

Javier knew that Dr. Petrov wasn’t the only one working in the lab at the time, but he was the only one there with a vehicle. Most of the other thirty or so employees walked to work from the local village, as did the guards. There was also the doctor’s guest, but he was always dropped off and picked up by a driver from the city.

A flash of lightning lit up the laboratory as Carlos turned to look. His automatic rifle was slung over his shoulder. “Is the doc going on another trip?”

Dr. Petrov had to leave on occasion to deal with patients in other places; normal patients — not like the ones he kept at the lab.

Javier shook his head. “Not for another week. He won’t go anywhere while his guest is here.”

Neither of them knew the visitor’s name. He came to check on the doctor’s progress every now and then, but he never spoke to anyone else. The others seemed to be invisible to him.

“Maybe the doctor’s just sick of this place,” Carlos said, frowning. “I would be. He must spend eighteen hours a day in there.”

The engine grew louder as the Range Rover appeared from behind the laboratory and started down the dirt road toward the two guards. The doctor, who rarely exceeded five miles an hour on the bumpy road, was moving fast.

“What the hell?” Javier frowned, gripping his rifle a little tighter. The vehicle had to be going at least forty, maybe more.

As it got closer, the SUV began to fishtail, and both men had to jump away from the road to avoid the vehicle as it raced past them. There was no sign of brake lights as Petrov approached the sharp turn that would take him to the village.

“He’s not going to make it,” Javier hissed, already taking off at a run.

His words proved true as the Range Rover skidded off the road before slamming into a tree. The crunch of metal was swallowed by the sounds of the jungle as brightly colored birds took flight and filled the air with their raucous cries.

When the guards reached the vehicle, the branches of the tree were still shaking from the impact. Leaves fluttered down around the two men as Javier struggled to open the door. He finally went around to the passenger side where he had better luck.

The doctor was slumped over the steering wheel with his eyes closed. Blood ran down his face from a nasty gash on his forehead.

“Are you okay?” Javier asked, slowly reaching a hand out to touch the man’s arm.

There was no movement at first, but the doctor finally lifted his head.

Javier pulled his hand away, watching as the wounded man’s eyes opened.

“You scared me, doc. I thought you were dead.”

Petrov seemed dazed as his head swiveled toward Javier, his gaze coming to rest on the guard. After a long moment, he reached down to unfasten his seatbelt and got out of the SUV with some assistance.

“Are you all right?” Javier asked.

The doctor’s response was a tirade in his native Russian. His words were incomprehensible to the Colombians, though the urgency was evident.

He is terrified, Javier thought, glancing toward the gray building that could barely be seen through the thick trees.

“We must leave,” the doctor said, switching to Spanish. His attention was fixed on the lab as he raised a shaking hand to touch the wound on his forehead.

“Hey, man, is that a bite?” Carlos asked, staring at the doctor’s hand.

The mark looked as though it had been made from a human mouth, round and jagged where the flesh had been torn.

“Yes, a bite,” the doctor said quietly, his eyes never leaving the lab for a moment. “What has he done?”

The words came out an anguished whisper, making the hairs stand up on the back of Javier’s neck. He glanced at Carlos and saw apprehension that mirrored his own.

“Did one of your patients decide he didn’t like being locked up in that dungeon?” Javier asked nervously. He’d never actually seen the patients, but he’d heard stories; stories that made it difficult for him to sleep at night.

“We must go,” Petrov said again, grabbing Javier’s arm.

Javier caught a sudden glimpse of color in the trees just outside the lab. Probably just one of the workers, he thought, but the guards had to be ready for anything. He lifted his rifle and watched.

Petrov’s eyes grew wide, and he began to back away. “He has set them free,” he said, trembling with fear. “We are doomed.”

When the first of his patients came into full view, the doctor turned and ran.

~*^*~

~01~

Malibu, California; Early August

“It’s time,” said the voice on the other end of the phone.

West walked over to look out his office window at the Pacific Ocean across the street. It was hard to believe that the world would likely be ending soon, at least as they knew it. The traffic appeared to be normal, and there were several pedestrians and skateboarders out, enjoying the beautiful day. West’s eyes lit on a truck with two surfboards in the back. The passenger turned with a grin and yelled something to a couple of young women walking by in bikinis. The women laughed, and one of them said something in reply. It could have been a typical summer day, West thought, but he knew that it wasn’t.

He finally replied into his secure cell phone. “I’ll make the calls. Are we enclosing all six areas?”

“Seven,” the voice said. “There’s been a change. We’re adding Yucca University Medical Center.”

West sat down at his desk and unlocked a drawer then pulled out a map. Most of Malibu was marked off, including his office. There were similar markings around other areas of the valley, and these locations had all been carefully chosen. The walls would create small, but very comfortable communities in a sea of chaos.

“I’ve got the map out,” he said, keeping his voice low though his office was swept for bugs regularly.

The man on the other end of the phone started to name streets and intersections as West carefully used a red marker to outline the area on a map. It was an odd shape, meant to exclude certain undesirable residences and include the more affluent areas. It was how the selected areas were laid out all over the world.

Yucca had never even been discussed, and while he’d heard of it, West knew that it wasn’t a major institution.

“Why Yucca, of all places? How does it fit in? The property values in that area are nothing special.”

“It’s not the properties we’re interested in with Yucca. We chose it for two reasons. It’s going to take some time to secure UCLA since it’s in a heavily populated area, and there’s a doctor that we need at Yucca.”

“You could just move him.”

“He has an office at Yucca, and we may need access to it. Just do your job, and let us worry about the locations.”

West didn’t reply.

“Also, you need to know that there’s been a problem. I’m sure you recall the immunizations we were each given to keep us safe after this, uh, little bug was unleashed?”

“Of course,” West replied impatiently.

“Apparently the parasite mutated or . . .”

“How?”

“If you would let me finish,” the voice on the other end snapped. “Either it mutated or, more likely, the vaccine was a placebo. We will probably never know since the doctor has disappeared off the face of the earth, and our friend isn’t admitting anything.”

“Are you sure the immunizations don’t work?” West asked, gripping the phone a little tighter.

“We lost some people to bites.”

The blood drained from West’s face. “Who?”

“We sent in teams as soon as we heard about the outbreaks in Salt Lake City and Lansing. They were supposed to contain the problem, but both teams lost people. They had all been given the vaccine.”

“And they’re dead?” West asked.

“I’m not sure dead is the term I’d use, but they’re certainly not alive. There are several who are missing, too. They didn’t check in today, and we fear the worst. This is why it’s critical that we start getting the walls up in your area immediately. This plague is spreading quickly.”

“I’ll get moving on it as soon as I get off the phone,” West said. “I knew that nutcase was going to be a problem, but you had to have his money, didn’t you? I hope it was worth it. We’re screwed now.”

“That nutcase’s money purchased the walls that just might save our asses. His money also paid off the right people to get things moving. Now quit your damn whining and do your part. We need to get some top minds ready to work on this at Yucca. We’re doing the same with Mayo Clinic in Rochester and a few other locations. The CDC was always on the list, of course, so that’s been enclosed already.”

“And you’ll be sending someone over to Yucca to run things?” West had been put in charge of the Malibu compound, and a leader had already been appointed for each of the other walled communities.

“He’s on his way,” the voice said. “We’re sending Robert Burnell.”

“He’s a complete idiot,” West complained.

“We realize that, but he’s good with the public. I’ll be there to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Anybody else you want over there?”

“Yes. I have a few names to add to the list. The first one is critical. It’s the doctor I mentioned, and his name is George Rayburn. If he’s not at Yucca, he might be at his office in Malibu. We also have his home address if you need it.”

West jotted down the information.

“Will the Governor cooperate?” the voice asked. “Everyone else that we need is on board, though most had to be persuaded.”

“The Governor wasn’t pleased,” West admitted, “but he has two small children, and I made it clear that we have someone watching them. He’s scared, and he’ll do whatever we tell him to do.”

“Perfect,” the voice said.

The line went dead.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing, Michigan; Mid-August

“Get the gate!”

Wombat rushed outside into the walled parking lot along with several other armed men. Gunner, one of the oldest in the group, climbed up onto a cabinet that was being used as an improvised tower. He was joined by Moose, one of the younger bikers.

Peering through his scope, Gunner yelled down, “I see three live ones coming our way, and they’re gonna need some help!”

He and Moose began to pick off the dead that were between the refugees and the hospital.

Pulling out his machete, Wombat waited until the others were ready. They all carried firearms as well as other handheld weapons that could be used in silence. When he gave the signal, the gate was pushed open, and the small group raced into the street. The two snipers carefully continued to pick off targets, trying to clear a path.

One of the survivors was being flanked by a man and woman who appeared to be supporting him. They weren’t alone, either. The infected were moving in from side streets and would soon have the trio surrounded. As Wombat fought his way down the street, he noticed that the man in the middle seemed to be having a hard time staying on his feet, slowing the others down. The woman begged her companion to keep moving, but he pulled away from her and told her to run. The blood on his shirt looked fresh. Before the bikers could reach the trio, the man in the middle was swallowed up, though the other two fought to pull him free.

“Go!” a biker named Hawk yelled to the other two survivors. “It’s too late for him. He’s been bitten! Go!”

“No!” the woman screamed. She struggled to reach for the man again, but her friend pulled her away. When she began to fight him, one of the bikers picked her up and ran with her toward the gate.

Wombat lifted his pistol as the dead began to rip the wounded man’s flesh from his bones. The bloodcurdling screams ended with a gunshot, and the biker turned to run back to the hospital, fighting alongside the others to carve a path back to the gate.

“Everybody okay?” asked one of the gate guards as the woman was put back onto her feet.

“We lost one,” Hawk replied.

“We saw the lights and have been trying to get here for days,” the man said. “One of those things attacked her husband about an hour ago, so we knew we had to get help.”

“There’s no cure for this,” Wombat said. “He would have died anyway. What about you two? Have either of you been bitten?”

“No bites,” the man said.

Both of the newcomers looked like they had been through hell. The woman was sobbing, but her friend said, “Thanks for letting us in.”

“You’ll be safe here,” Wombat said. He told the woman, “Sorry about your husband.”

The two survivors were taken inside where their arms and legs were checked for bites.

“You’re clear,” they were told once the inspection was done, “but you’ll still have to go through quarantine then get a blood test.”

“That’s fine,” the man said, exhausted.

Lindsey walked over and introduced herself to the two refugees. She was trailed by Autumn, a nine-year-old girl who had become her ward in recent days.

“You can have a seat in the ER for now,” Lindsey told them. “It’s our quarantine area for the moment. We’ll get you something to eat and some water.”

“Thank you,” the man said. “We’ve been drinking from puddles for the last two days.”

Autumn made a face but didn’t say anything.

Lindsey left to arrange for food and water for the two survivors, but before she left the ER, Wombat walked over.

“What happened out there?” she asked him quietly.

“They got her husband,” he said, keeping his voice down.

“That poor woman,” Lindsey said, glancing toward the distraught survivor. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll talk to her friend later, and we’ll be sure to keep an eye on her.”

“Thanks, Lindsey,” Wombat said, squeezing her shoulder before walking away.

When Theresa, the cook, heard that they had some new residents, her eyes lit up.

“I’m on it,” she said, moving across the kitchen in her wheelchair. Theresa had broken her leg in a skydiving accident and had been in surgery at the time of the outbreak. As a school cook, she’d been the perfect choice to run the kitchen. “Grab some water for them, and here’s some bread to get them started. I’ll warm up some soup.”

Autumn returned to the ER with a couple of glasses and some slices of homemade bread, while Lindsey carried a jug of water.

“There’s soup on the way,” Lindsey said as she handed over the water and bread, “but take it easy so you don’t make yourselves sick. Once you’ve had a chance to rest, I’ll come back and run you through our orientation.”

The man thanked her and poured himself a big glass of water, though the woman just continued to sob into her hands.

“Will you make sure she eats and drinks something?” Lindsey asked the man quietly.

“Sure,” he said, taking a long drink of water before turning his attention toward the woman.

~*~

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” said Jack, who was head of hospital security.

“I know it isn’t, but that’s not going to stop me from doing it,” Keith informed him.

“Have you missed the fact that the city is under attack?” Jack asked. “Not to mention that there are about a hundred thousand zombies out there. You’d have to make it all the way across town on roads that are choked with cars or that have been outright destroyed by the bombs. How are you planning to do that?”

“I’ll manage. Snake’s guys do it all the time,” Keith said. He worked at the hospital as a registered nurse, and he’d helped Jack clear the upper floors of St. Mary’s when the outbreak had happened, just nine days earlier.

“That was before the bombs started falling,” Jack pointed out. “They barely made it back alive last time.”

“My mind is made up. I need to see for myself that Shanelle’s building was destroyed. For all I know, she could still be there, waiting for help that’s never going to come.”

“Keith, you’re not thinking straight. Lt. Reynolds already verified that your wife’s building was destroyed.”

“I need to see it. You know you’d do the same thing.”

Jack frowned, looking away for a moment. His wife had been murdered years earlier, and she had meant everything to him. He would have done exactly what Keith planned to do.

“That’s not fair,” he finally said.

“Sure it is,” Keith replied.

Snake had been silently following the conversation as he leaned against the wall. The burly, gray-bearded man was the leader of a group of local bikers who had helped to secure the hospital.

“Keith,” the big biker said, “just hold off until the jets stop pounding the city. We’ll need to do some recon after the bombing stops, anyway, so I could send a few guys out with you. It’s a lot more dangerous out there alone.”

Keith shook his head, “We have no idea how long the bombing will continue. I’ll take a bike, and I can probably get there and back in a few hours.”

“Can you ride?” Snake asked.

“A bicycle,” Keith clarified. “I’ve seen how the dead follow you when you take the motorcycles out. I need to do this without attracting a bunch of attention. Besides, I don’t need anybody slowing me down. No offense, but most of your guys are out of shape and couldn’t keep up with me.”

A heavily accented female voice said, “I will go. I will not slow you down.”

The men turned to look at Helga. The Ukrainian woman was six foot tall and almost solid muscle. She could handle herself in combat with the dead better than most.

“Thanks, Helga,” Keith said, “but this is my battle, and I don’t want anybody else getting hurt.”

“I go with you,” Helga said, frowning. She continued in her broken English, “I am tired being stuck inside this building.”

The look on her face said that she dared anybody to tell her she couldn’t go. She looked at each of them then nodded her head in satisfaction.

“Good. It is settled.”

Nobody argued.

~*^*~

~02~

Demolished Office Building near St. Mary’s

Chuck opened his eyes, hoping that it had all been a dream. The pain that was shooting through his body let him know that it was real. He groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position, though it took considerable effort to do it.

He didn’t know how long he’d been out, but it seemed that the periods of unconsciousness were getting shorter each time. Maybe that wasn’t all good, he thought. Being trapped under a collapsed twelve-story building was something that a person might want to sleep through. In fact, the unconscious periods were almost a relief for him. His best guess was that it had been several hours since the jets had bombed his building. It could have been longer, but he really had no way of knowing. The darkness of his tomb was absolute, and he didn’t know if it was day or night.

During the times he’d been awake, he’d managed to move around enough to explore the boundaries of his vault. He seemed to be trapped in a small area about half the size of his apartment. The fact that he’d come across some of his furniture and other belongings had led him to believe that the building had pancaked with his penthouse suite landing on top. Some of the walls had obviously fallen in on top of the penthouse, covering it completely in rubble.

Since his apartment was somewhat intact, then he knew it was possible that his stash of supplies was also near. Hoping to find food and water, he’d been spending most of his waking time searching the area. His entire body was covered with scrapes and bruises, and he was sure that he had a broken rib or two. More than once, he had wondered about internal damage that might have been done.

His injuries had made it difficult to move around, but he had done so anyway, knowing that he would need food and water to stay alive. He had even found a small tunnel in his explorations. Though the pain had been almost debilitating, he’d dragged his battered body through the tight space as far as possible before he’d gotten stuck. He’d been certain that he was going to die, wedged between a collapsed wall and a piece of furniture that had once adorned his living room. The panic he’d felt had taken his breath away, and darkness had encompassed him beyond the physical lack of light he’d already been experiencing. Once he’d calmed down, he’d finally managed to free himself, and had made it back to the open area where he now lay resting.

The worst part of his situation was not the pain or even the knowledge that he was trapped. It was the sounds of the moans around him. Though he couldn’t see the dead, he knew that they were near. He wasn’t sure if they were somewhere in the rubble with him or if they were outside, waiting.

Having prepared for almost every catastrophe except for the one that had actually happened, Chuck had thought he was ready for anything. Who would have ever guessed that the end would come in the form of the living dead? When the outbreak had occurred, he’d been prepared to stay holed up in his luxury penthouse suite for as long as was necessary. He’d been told that the jets were going to steer clear of the hospital, so his natural assumption had been that his building would also be spared. He’d been dead wrong.

There had been others in his building for a while; people who had worked in the offices on the first eleven floors. He had been communicating with a woman named Claire through the vents. When she had told him that they were going to be rescued by those at the hospital, he had not answered, hoping they would think he was dead. He’d had no desire to leave when his penthouse suite had held everything he’d needed to survive. Now, with his building collapsed, he lamented over his decision to stay.

His fingers brushed against a wooden corner, and he frowned, trying to figure out what it was. A cupboard, maybe? He moved his hands over the wood, trying to find a way to get it open. He was ravenous, but the thirst was worse. The thirst was killing him. After several minutes of futile effort, he leaned back against the wall again in frustration. A loud crash outside made him jump, and for a horrible moment, he was sure the building was compacting even more. It took him a few minutes to figure out that it was a thunder storm. At least it would drown out the sounds of the dead, he thought. Closing his eyes, he drifted off into unconsciousness again.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Two men opened the gate, allowing Keith and Helga to slip outside on foot as others distracted the undead. Before the gates were even closed, heads began to turn, but the two warriors were fast and deadly. Using a sledgehammer as his weapon of choice, Keith plowed his way down the street, picking off anything that got too close.

Just yards away, Helga made short work of the dead with her crowbar, careful to stay out of Keith’s way. Once they cleared a path, they quickly left the small horde behind, though more began to emerge from the side streets and alleys to greet them.

“I don’t want to lead them to my house,” Keith said, pausing to slam the hammer through the head of a particularly gruesome-looking dead man. “We’ll cut through a few yards then take the alley to my place.”

They made it another block before they encountered a problem. There were several zombies lingering in the street, though they hadn’t noticed the two live humans yet.

Helga began to move forward, crowbar raised, but Keith stopped her with a hand on her arm.

He picked up a rock and flung it at the stop sign at the end of the street. It took him three tries to hit his target, but once he was sure that he had diverted the attention of the dead, he and Helga hurried across the road and into another yard. Behind the house was an alley, and he was glad to see that it was empty. They quietly made their way down to a house with a small wooden fence around the back yard. The grass was already beginning to grow long.

Keith eased open the gate then used his key to unlock the back door, shutting it quietly behind them. Before doing anything else, he checked the other rooms to make sure that they were alone.

“This is a good house,” Helga said, giving her approval.

“Thanks. It’s been in my family for a long time,” Keith said, walking toward the garage. They stepped inside, but he kept the light off, knowing that it might attract attention. Peeking outside through the windows in the top of the garage door, he could see at least one figure in the street outside, though it was several yards away. Still, the slightest noise would probably be heard through the garage door and would bring curious parties toward the house.

Keith motioned to Helga with a finger to his lips, letting her know that they had to be silent. He made his way to the back wall where two bicycles hung on hooks. Carefully, he lifted one down and pushed it to her before taking the second one off the wall. He also took a small loop of wire from his workbench.

When they were back inside the house, Helga looked at the bikes warily.

“You do know how to ride a bicycle, right?” Keith asked, concerned.

“Yes. Like riding a motorcycle, except with pedaling. I rode bike when I was a child in Ukraine,” she assured him.

“Do you know how the gears work?” he asked her, pointing to the handlebars of the bike.

Her curious stare told him all he needed to know.

“Why don’t you take this one?” he said, trading her for his beach cruiser. “It only has one gear so all you have to do is stay on it, steer and brake.”

She looked it over. “It is much like the one I had as a young girl. My mother took it from me because I hit a boy with it.”

“Intentionally?”

“Over the head,” she explained.

“Oh,” Keith said. “Well, I suppose we should get going.” He checked the tire inflation on both bikes and looked over the small repair kit that hung from his bike. Everything seemed to be in order. Taking the wire he’d brought inside, he twisted it around his bike frame, making a loop for the sledgehammer. He checked to make sure the hammer wouldn’t be in the way while in the makeshift holster.

“This bike — it belongs to your wife?” Helga asked, throwing a leg over the bar and carefully lowering her weight onto the seat. “It may break.”

“No, it’s mine,” Keith said. “It’s got a heavy-duty frame, and if it’ll hold me, it’ll hold you.”

Keith weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, though it was almost all muscle. It was the main reason nobody ever teased him about being a nurse, at least not to his face.

“Wait,” Helga said, looking at him. “Your hair.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Keith asked, reaching up to touch his long braids.

Helga reached over and grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled it. “This is why I am wearing hat.”

“Ouch! Okay, I get it,” Keith said.

Helga pulled her baseball cap off to show him how her long, blond hair had been braided and pinned up on top of her head. She put the cap back on.

Keith went into his bedroom and came out a few minutes later wearing a knitted cap.

“My grandma made this for me,” he said, stuffing his braids up beneath it. Helga checked it to make sure none of his hair was hanging down.

“You sure you want to do this?” Keith asked. “I’ll never forgive myself if you get hurt.”

“Me? You worry about yourself. I lived on streets for days before I came to hospital,” she scoffed.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s go.”

~*~

Lindsey carried a tray to a table while Autumn followed with a cup of coffee and a glass of milk.

“Is this table okay with you?” Lindsey asked the girl.

“I guess a window view is out of the question,” Autumn said, setting the two cups down.

Lindsey laughed. There had once been a large window in the cafeteria, but it was now filled in with cinder block, just like all the other windows and glass doors on the first floor. The overhead lights were on in the room, but the generator was on its last legs, so about half of the tables were adorned with lanterns.

“Maybe we should paint a mural there, so we could pretend to have a view,” Lindsey said. She sipped her coffee and looked around the room. The cafeteria was filled with at least two dozen people, as it was most early mornings, though few of them were hospital employees. Little remained of the hospital staff. There were a few doctors and nurses, one CNA, and Jack, the head of security. The rest had either been killed or had chosen to go to the shelters when they’d been given the opportunity.

Like some others, Lindsey was wearing scrubs, but not because she was on duty. There was little need for a physical therapist with only a dozen patients left in the building. Many of the survivors were wearing scrubs because there was nothing else available.

It was hard to believe how much had changed in such a short time. It hadn’t even been two weeks since the plague had hit the hospital, though it had been brewing in the jungles of Colombia for several months. From the little information they’d been able to get on the TV, they had learned that many large cities had been hit, from Canada all the way down to Argentina.

The plague was far worse than any pandemic previously experienced in recorded history. Besides having a 100% mortality rate, the parasite caused its victims to get back up after they died. Once reanimated, the corpses attacked other humans, spurred on by the tiny parasites that were driven to produce more of their kind. They were extremely efficient and managed to control their human puppets well, though the dead were not as agile as they’d been in life.

Autumn had taken it all in stride. The girl had already been through a lot, having lost her parents to a car wreck a few years earlier. Since that time, she’d been shuffled from one foster home to another. To make things worse, she suffered from a rare form of cancer. The good news was that she had been given an excellent prognosis. The other bright spot in an otherwise dismal situation was that she had found her niche in the new world. Dr. Doune, who was researching the parasite responsible for the plague, had taken Autumn on as an unofficial assistant, and she loved the work.

“Can I have my own room now that we’ve got some empty ones?” she asked, adjusting her beanie over her dark brown hair that was just starting to grow back.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Lindsey said to the girl. “We’ll go see what we can find after we eat. My only stipulation is that your room needs to be next to mine.”

Autumn rolled her eyes.

“Look, you may be way more mature than any nine-year-old I’ve ever met, but you’re still a child, and you still need some adult supervision.”

“Why did they move the patients to the fifth floor?” the girl asked, changing the subject.

“That’s where the ICU is,” Lindsey told her. “They have a lot of specialized equipment up there that would have been hard to move, so it made the most sense.”

“I’ll bet the patients like all that gunfire from the snipers up there,” Autumn said, clutching her chest as she pantomimed someone having a heart attack. “Most of these guys are pretty sick, right?”

Lindsey laughed at Autumn’s comment. “Don’t worry. They already thought of that,” she explained. The location that had been chosen on the fifth floor gave the snipers the best vantage point of the parking lot. It had been quickly dubbed the crow’s nest. “The snipers are in the west wing, overlooking the parking lot, so we’ve moved the patients to the back side of the building, mostly in the south wing. The gunshots won’t be any louder to them than they are to the rest of us. And if any shooting has to be done on the other side of the hospital, it can be done from the roof.”

The remaining patients were all on life support, except for one. From what Lindsey had heard, it was expected that most of them would not survive much longer. The hospital had a limited supply of medications, and those on life support were constantly in danger because of the faltering generator. They’d already lost several patients due to the power outages.

Autumn made a face after finishing off her glass of milk. It was powdered, and Lindsey knew that the girl didn’t like it, but it was all they had.

“Dr. Doune is doing a surgery this morning, so I’m bored, but I’ll bet he’s more bored,” Autumn said. “He hates being away from the lab.”

“At least he’s in surgery,” Lindsey said. “He could be keeping an eye on the patients like Dr. Sharma and Dr. Martinez are doing.”

“He has to do that sometimes, too, so they can have a break. He hates it, and he says that his talents are wasted on babysitting bedridden patients. He thinks someone else should do that,” Autumn said.

“Why am I not surprised?” Lindsey asked, standing.

Autumn walked with her to drop their tray and dishes off at the counter.

“Let’s go see about that room,” Lindsey said to Autumn.

~*^*~

~03~

Keith’s House, Lansing, Michigan

One look out the window told Keith that the front door wasn’t going to be an option. He checked the kitchen window before quietly easing the back door open. The alley was clear except for a single zombie that was making its way toward the house, and Keith knew that it wouldn’t be a problem unless it made noise.

Helga’s eyes narrowed, and she quickly rolled her bike out to meet the creature. Before Keith could even get the door locked, Helga had taken care of the problem.

“I hear others,” she said as Keith approached on his bike.

“I was afraid of that,” he replied. He rode past her and sped down the alley toward the connecting street, not happy to see it crawling with the dead. Since most of the action was to the left, he went right, with Helga following. She appeared to be having some trouble adjusting to the bike, so Keith rode slowly until she was able to catch up. They rode around the neighborhood in a haphazard pattern until they lost their followers. Keith finally slowed down and watched Helga as she pedaled.

“Are you going to be okay with that bike?” he asked.

She nodded and kept riding, looking a little steadier than she had before. When a ghoul stumbled out from behind a car and grasped for her, she swatted at it with her crowbar, sending it tumbling to the asphalt. A small smile touched her lips as she turned her attention back to the road before her.

The bikes made little noise, yet in the post-apocalyptic world where silence reigned, even the sound of the tires on the pavement was louder than Keith would have liked. The saving grace was the speed of the bikes. By the time the dead noticed the noise and turned toward the source, the two riders had usually already moved past them.

Keith and Helga managed to make it two miles before running into trouble. They rounded a corner, only to find it teeming with the dead. Both bikes did a quick 180 degree turn, but they had trouble getting through the next two streets as well. The whole neighborhood seemed to be cluttered with walking corpses, and Keith realized they were going to have to go the long way to reach their destination.

“We might have to get on the freeway and go around,” he told Helga. “I have no idea what kind of crap we’re going to be running into, so if you want to go back to the hospital, I understand.”

“And miss out on all this fun? No chance,” Helga said.

With anybody else, Keith would have assumed that the words had been meant in sarcasm. With Helga, he took them at face value. He got the bike moving again, this time heading toward the freeway. When they finally took the on-ramp, he stopped and stared at the mass of traffic. Had it not been for the eerie silence, it could have almost been a normal rush hour, except the cars were not moving.

Keith lifted his head when he noticed some movement from the corner of his eye. His hand lingered on the sledgehammer that he had fixed to the bar of his bike, though he didn’t pull it out. He watched as a figure in the distance scampered over the hood of a car then over the center divider. Keith opened his mouth to call to the person, guessing him to be a young teen, but he stopped himself.

“So we’re not alone,” he said to Helga.

“There are many others,” she said. “Not everybody is stupid enough to be killed by those dead things.”

“I wonder how many have good setups like we do at the hospital,” Keith said, “and how many of them are just barely staying alive out there.”

Helga shrugged. “Who knows? If they are not strong, they will die. It is nature.”

Keith sighed, having no desire to get into a philosophical discussion with her at the moment, though he disagreed. Strength was not the only trait that was worth passing on to future generations, but Helga would probably argue that point.

“I’m going to talk to the others when we get back,” he said. “If there are survivors out here needing help, I’m sure we can do something about it.”

He started to move forward among the cars on the freeway, but Helga stopped him.

“What?” he asked, looking around for any sign of trouble.

“These zombies in the cars,” she said, pointing to an SUV just ahead. “They will grab when you walk by.”

“Thanks for the warning,” he said, not having even considered that the dead would still be trapped inside their vehicles. He let out a breath and started forward, watching not only for signs of the dead outside the vehicles but inside them, as well.

He moved slowly down the freeway, having to stop often to close doors that blocked his path. Heeding Helga’s advice, he steered clear of all open windows, until he came to a place where there was one on each side of him. He didn’t see anybody inside either car, so he made his way between the two vehicles but was startled when an arm suddenly shot out and grabbed for him. He stepped away, not realizing that he was backing up against a ghoul in the car behind him.

Helga was suddenly there, shoving him aside so that she could put the dead man to rest with her crowbar. She turned to finish off the one in the opposite car.

“Those mistakes get you killed,” Helga warned him, wiping the blood from the crowbar onto the cloth seat of the car.

“Yeah, I see that,” Keith said, his heart pounding. “Thanks again.”

Since the start of the plague, Keith had spent almost every minute inside the hospital, trying to keep the few remaining patients alive. The only exception had been the day he’d found out that his wife’s building had been bombed by friendly fire. That night, he’d gotten drunk and had gone on a zombie-killing rampage in the parking lot. Helga had joined him. Now he was beginning to realize that while he was in excellent shape and stronger than almost anybody at the hospital, that wasn’t enough to prepare him for what he was facing. His strength would be an asset, as would his cardio fitness, but he would also need to be alert, quick and agile - skills that he’d never tried to hone but could mean the difference between life and death. With these thoughts in mind, he made his way more carefully down the lane, dodging quickly to the right when half a zombie started to crawl out from beneath a truck. Helga finished the creature off, and they continued on, carefully avoiding any more problems for the next ten minutes.

Keith lifted his head when he heard the tell-tale sound of jets. They were hidden by the thick, white clouds, but within a minute or so, he finally caught a glimpse of them crossing the sky through the gaps of blue. He watched as the bombs fell across the city, throwing up clouds of dust and debris and setting off a cacophony of car alarms. He hadn’t been too worried about the bombers since they’d already done their damage to the part of the city where he and Helga were, but the noise was going to make it a little harder to listen for the dead.

When they reached an off-ramp, Keith stopped and pulled a cell phone out of his backpack. He looked at the GPS on it for a moment then rode silently down the ramp. He made a quick turn after finding the street crowded with the dead. He could hear their moans and knew that others of their kind would be drawn to the sound.

“This might be a problem,” he said quietly as Helga moved to ride beside him.

“How far?” she asked.

“Two blocks.”

“Just do it.”

Keith began to move faster, hoping they could lose the crowd of zombies before they reached their destination. When he rounded the final corner and found himself at the location of Shanelle’s building, he let his breath out in a rush. Seeing the devastation hit him like a physical blow. Though he had known that the building would probably not be standing, he hadn’t expected anything of the magnitude he was now observing. There was little left of the structure besides small bits of debris. For a moment, he could do nothing but stare at the ruins until he finally found his voice.

“There’s no way she survived this,” he said, trying to keep his words even. “My wife is dead.”

“Yes,” Helga agreed, looking around. “She is dead.”

Getting off the bike, Keith walked around, searching for something that would prove him wrong, but there was nothing. It looked as though several buildings had been taken out and reduced to the smallest pieces of rubble.

When there was no place else to search, Keith stopped and looked down at his phone, hoping it would tell him that he’d gone to the wrong location, but he had no such luck.

Helga joined him and said, “We must go. The dead will be here soon.”

She was right, he realized. The moans in the distance were growing closer and louder as more of the infected were added to the ranks.

“I guess we should get back on the freeway,” he said.

“That is a very bad idea,” Helga replied, watching as a mass of bodies began to move toward them from the direction of the off-ramp they’d taken.

“I’ll trust you on this,” Keith said. “You’ve spent a lot more time out here than I have.”

“We go this way,” she said, moving down the road, deeper into the city.

Keith followed, dodging the ever-increasing number of zombies that were making their way onto the street. The next block was completely clear, but the one after was filled with the dead and they were forced to make a hasty retreat.

“I wonder why they seem to be in large groups like that sometimes,” he said as they left the horde behind.

“That’s where people are,” she said. “The live ones.”

Keith glanced back, surprised. He wondered if help was needed, but he knew that he and Helga were drastically outnumbered. “Maybe we’ll lead them away, at least,” he said.

Helga didn’t reply. Instead, she kept moving ahead, trying to find a safe path that would take them home.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Do you want the room next door?” Lindsey asked. “Or if you want to keep our room, I could move. We could also go look somewhere else.”

Helga’s name was carved into a door just two rooms down from theirs, and Lindsey wasn’t happy about it since the other woman didn’t like her. Helga had somehow gotten the impression that Lindsey was interested in Snake, whom Helga considered her man. It was likely that any woman who got near Snake would receive the same treatment, but Lindsey and Helga were the only two women helping Snake with rescues and supply runs.

“I like having a view of the parking lot,” Autumn said. “The view on the other side is just a bunch of streets filled with zombies.”

“I was kind of thinking the same thing,” Lindsey admitted. “We could look at rooms on the fourth floor if you want. The view would be the same, but we’d be a little higher up.”

The hospital was L shaped, so it had been a simple matter to add two walls and enclose the parking lot in front of the building. The back of the hospital had no such protection, though the first floor windows had been covered with brick or block.

“That’s just one more flight of stairs to climb.”

“You could take the elevator,” Lindsey said.

“Sure, as long as the generator is working,” Autumn replied. “It seems like it’s shutting off about ten times a day lately. I’ll take the room next door.”

“All right,” Lindsey said. “I’ll help you move your things.”

“That’ll take a whole five minutes,” Autumn replied. Though the girl was a cancer patient, and she often stayed in the hospital for long stretches, she’d only been at the hospital on the day of the outbreak for physical therapy. Her foster mother had dropped her off, planning to pick her up an hour later. It hadn’t happened, and Autumn had been left with nothing but the clothes on her back, like many of the others at the hospital.

~*~

Yucca University Medical Center, California

Alexander Madec walked into the conference room with a thick folder, which he placed on the marble table.

“This is the one we want,” he said, sitting in one of the leather chairs. “His name is Dan Hixson.”

Robert Burnell leaned over to open the folder. On top of a stack of papers were several photos. Burnell picked up the first one and studied it. Hixson appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with short brown hair and green eyes. The next picture showed him in uniform.

“Why this one?” he asked. “He looks like a soldier. I thought we were looking for one of Rayburn’s colleagues?”

“If you’d look the file over, you’d see why,” Madec said, “but I’ll save you the time. Hixson has a history with Rayburn, and since he’s a soldier, we can assign him to protect the doctor.”

“I like that,” Burnell said. “That’s even better than bringing in a colleague.”

“Especially since they all seem to be dead, as of this morning,” Madec added. “And Rayburn doesn’t appear to have any close friends or family that we could use.”

“If you’re sure about this guy, I suppose we should bring him in.”

“He’ll be on his way soon, along with the rest of his team,” Madec said, frowning as he brushed a piece of lint from his suit jacket. “I made the call ten minutes ago.”

“Where are they now?”

“They’ve been fighting in Long Beach. Hopefully they’ll make it here alive.”

~*~

Dr. Rayburn stood up from his desk and stretched his back. It was hell getting old, he thought, but considering the alternative, he wasn’t about to complain. He had been spending a lot of time on the internet, trying to find out as much as possible about the plague that was wreaking devastation upon the Americas. There had been several new outbreaks over the previous week, and the rest of the world was holding a collective breath as they watched and waited.

Walls had gone up around the Yucca University Medical Center where Rayburn worked. They looked like the sort of barriers that one would see along the freeways, meant to keep the noise of the traffic away from housing developments. He’d asked about them, but had been given no answers. The military had been swarming through the area for the last five days, and nobody was shedding any light on that, either.

He checked his watch, disappointed at how little time had passed. All his life he’d been able to stay busy, and it was difficult for him to adjust to the recent change. He’d enjoyed puttering around the house and garden when his wife was alive, but since her death a few years earlier, he’d found it difficult to be at home. He’d recently begun to get involved with some cancer-related charities which took up much of his free time. Now, for the first time in years, he was bored.

Since the walls had gone up around Yucca, all of his patients had been flown out to other hospitals, and Rayburn wasn’t even sure what his purpose was anymore. He had absolutely nothing to do. Well, almost nothing, he thought, staring at the foot-high stack of papers on his desk. He looked around the office and realized that he’d let the clutter get out of control. He knew that it wouldn’t kill him to organize it while things were slow, but if the world was ending, as many had predicted, why spend his last few days doing something he hated? Looking at the pile of papers again, he decided to take another walk. He could sit at a desk for just so long before having to get up and move around.

Those who were now living in the medical center were used to seeing Rayburn wandering around, and he was starting to know many of the soldiers by name. Most of them were friendly, and since they were comfortable around him, they were also more likely to talk in his presence. He had surprisingly good hearing for a man in his late sixties, and he thought that maybe others didn’t realize it because they were spilling all sorts of information. He had learned a lot more that way than he had by asking questions.

He walked into a room with a large picture window, greeting the two soldiers who stood by the door. When Rayburn went to look out the window, the two men returned to their conversation, obviously trying to keep their voices down.

“. . . said that the city could be completely overrun in days. My wife and kids are out there.”

“Same here. I heard that Peterson and Garcia both bailed during the night.”

“How’d they get out?”

“Ropes. Over the wall.”

“That explains the new outdoor lighting.”

Rayburn looked around and finally saw the spotlights that the soldiers had been discussing.

He had seen people leaving the neighborhood in droves before the walls were finished. Curious, he had kept his ears open, and he’d learned that most of those who had left had happily agreed to rent their houses out for tens of thousands of dollars for a one-month period. The story they’d been given was that a movie was going to be filmed in the area, though that was never mentioned in the contracts they had signed. Rayburn wondered how many of them had believed the story and how many had just taken the money, planning on finding a safer place to wait out the crisis. From what he had overheard, the same walls were cropping up in other areas.

As the exodus had continued, people had begun coming in before the walls had even been completed. Some had brought along moving vans full of their worldly possessions while others had been flown in by helicopter with nothing but the shirts on their backs. One thing they all had in common was that they were checked thoroughly for bites and put through a 24-hour quarantine before being allowed into the newly created sanctuary.

“Dr. Rayburn?”

“Yes?” George said, pulled from his thoughts. He turned to regard the soldier who had addressed him.

“I don’t know if you remember me, but my little girl was one of your patients.”

~*~

Streets of Lansing, Michigan

A few blocks later, Keith heard a scream and instinctively turned that way.

Helga followed him, but said, “We cannot help them, Keith, unless we want to die, too.”

Ignoring her, he rode on, wanting to assess the situation. When he rounded the next corner, he saw that the scream was coming from a woman who was trapped on a fifth floor balcony of a tall building. She was struggling to keep the door closed as she held a child who didn’t appear to be more than a year or two old.

“We’ve got to help them,” Keith said, moving toward the building.

“No time!” Helga reminded him. “We have zombies in front of us and zombies behind us. The screams will bring more.”

“Then you go back to the hospital, and I’ll do what I can,” Keith said. He jumped off the bike and approached the building on foot, carrying the sledgehammer in his right hand.

“Help me!” the woman screamed, finally noticing them.

Keith fought his way closer, knowing that every second counted. He heard a thump to his right and turned to see Helga, still fighting alongside him.

The woman screamed again as the balcony door gave way. She stumbled to the railing, the dead beginning to force their way through the door behind her.

“Oh, my God,” Keith said, risking a look at the balcony before turning his attention back to the crowd before him. He worked his way toward the building as quickly as possible, with no real plan in mind.

The woman turned to try to fight off her attackers, and Keith could hear signs of hysteria in her voice as she alternated between crying and screaming.

“You’ll never make it, Keith,” Helga said quietly. “She’s dead. They’re both dead. It’s how it always happens.”

“They aren’t dead yet,” he said. He found an opening in the crowd and ran for the building. With several feet still to go, he looked up at the woman again, only to realize that she was holding the child out over the edge of the railing. Keith watched in horror as she was grabbed from behind. The ghoul sank its teeth into her shoulder, tearing away a chunk of flesh. As the woman looked down at Keith, he could see the resignation in her eyes. She let go of the screaming toddler.

~*^*~

~04~

Demolished Office Building near St. Mary’s

When Chuck woke again, it was to the sound of dripping water. His eyes flew open, though he could make out nothing in the inky blackness of his prison. He listened carefully, trying to determine the source of the sound. After crawling a few more feet, he stopped to listen again before changing directions and moving toward the left wall. Several minutes passed before Chuck finally stopped, feeling a tiny stream of cold water hitting his forehead. He tilted his head up and opened his mouth, taking in the precious liquid. The water was tainted from the debris of the building, but Chuck didn’t care. To him, it tasted better than any pure mountain spring water he’d ever had. He stayed on his hands and knees for several minutes until his thirst was finally quenched. Knowing that the rain might not last long, he began to search for something in which he could store more of the water. He found it the hard way, by slicing open a finger on the bottom half of the broken champagne bottle he’d opened just a few days earlier. Maybe it had only been a day earlier — he couldn’t be sure. Carefully picking up the jagged bottle, he crawled back to the drip and let his container begin to fill. He would have preferred something bigger, but the little water he could store just might keep him alive another day, maybe more if the rain kept up.

~*~

Streets of Lansing, Michigan

It happened so fast that Keith didn’t have time to think. He ran forward and reached up toward the child who was falling through the air. Five stories, he thought, with concrete below. He had one shot at catching the child. The sound of the woman’s screams and the moans from the undead faded, leaving him in a void where the only noise was the blood rushing in his ears. Time seemed to slow as he took two more steps, praying that he was lined up correctly. His eyes never left the falling child whose arms flailed in the air as he tumbled downward. When the small body hit Keith, it was with much more force than he had expected. The momentum pressed his arms down, and he struggled to get a grip. His hands came to a stop inches from the concrete at his feet, barely keeping the toddler’s head from slamming into the ground.

Keith was shaking as he stood with the screaming child. He stepped back far enough to look up at the balcony and almost wished he hadn’t. He could see an arm hanging through the railing, blood dripping down and running off the tip of a painted nail. The arm twitched as the dead feasted upon the woman’s body, and Keith quickly looked away. He and Helga were almost surrounded.

“You hold on to me,” he told the child, who clutched him tightly. Keith jumped onto his bike and followed Helga as she plowed her way through the thinnest section of the crowd.

One of the ghouls managed to get a hand on the back tire of the woman’s bike, though its fingers were instantly mangled by the turning spokes.

Keith stuck the sledgehammer into the wire holster, knowing that there was no way he could fight off the dead while riding a bike and holding a child. Any zombie-killing would have to be left to his Ukrainian friend.

He looked up as he heard the jets again. This time they passed directly overhead before disappearing into the clouds once more. The roar of the engines grew quieter then faded completely.

Keith and Helga made it a couple more blocks before the clouds finally opened, pummeling them with rain. The dead showed no indication that they even noticed the change in weather, but the rain was obstructing Keith’s vision and also deafening him to anything happening around him.

They finally managed to leave the dead behind, but they were deeper in the city with no easy access to the highway.

“Maybe we should try to find a working car,” he finally said, raising his voice to be heard over the storm.

“Roads are too bad!” Helga yelled back. “We maybe should find a place to wait ‘til that baby stops screaming. It will call all the zombies in city to us.”

“Not sure they can even hear him over the rain, but if we go into a building, the crying is going to get us surrounded in no time.”

“Can you make him stop?”

“I doubt it. I haven’t had much experience with kids. How about you?”

“Bah. Kids,” she said, frowning. “This is reason why some animals eat their young.”

The child started crying louder at the comment, and Keith wasn’t sure if the reaction was due to Helga’s words or the scowl on her face.

“Hey, it’s going to be all right,” Keith told the boy, not knowing what else to say. As they continued down the street, he kept quietly talking to the child, remembering how his mother and his grandmother had always done the same thing when he was upset, and it had usually calmed him. It seemed to work because the child finally grew silent, resting his head against Keith’s chest.

~*~

Yucca University Medical Center, California

Rayburn turned to look at the man who had addressed him. He was about six feet tall and obviously in good shape. The green eyes looked familiar, but the military cut of the man’s brown hair threw Rayburn for a moment. The last time George had seen him, his hair had been a little longer and he’d been wearing civilian clothing.

“Dan! Of course I remember you,” Rayburn said.

“It’s good to see you,” Dan said, taking the doctor’s offered hand.

Dan Hixson’s daughter, Brittany, had died several months earlier from cancer. The child had been six years old when she had finally succumbed to the ravaging disease, but it was two years more than they thought she’d have. More importantly, the methods used to treat the girl had not been as rough on her as traditional treatments would have been, so her quality of life had not suffered. Dan had taken some time off from work during the last few months of his daughter’s life.

“I see you’re back to work. How is your wife?” Rayburn asked.

“I’m not sure. She moved out and filed for divorce,” Hixson admitted, glancing at the floor. “She won’t even talk to me anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rayburn said. “I’ve seen a lot of marriages fail after the death of a child.”

“And in our case, Brittany was the reason we got married in the first place,” Hixson said. “Once she was gone, my wife decided that we had nothing in common and nothing to talk about. That’s the way it goes, I guess.”

“I guess so,” Rayburn said. He could see pain in the man’s eyes, but he decided not to pursue it. If Hixson wanted to talk about it, he would. Changing the subject, George said, “You know, I’m surprised I didn’t run into you earlier. I’ve been all over the hospital. I walk around a lot, and I thought I’d seen just about everybody here at least a dozen times.”

“They just flew my squad in,” Dan explained. “I was kind of surprised to end up here since we were in the middle of some pretty heavy action in Long Beach. I guess some guys went AWOL, and we’re the replacements.”

“So, what’s it like out there? I’m reading all kinds of mixed reports online,” Rayburn said, “and it’s a little hard to tell what’s true. Of course, I tend to get sidetracked when I get on the computer. It’s just amazing how many times these celebrities get arrested. You’d think they’d learn, but they just get out of trouble, and the next thing you know they’re getting arrested again. Maybe it gets to be a habit. What do you think?”

“Well, I . . .”

“Sorry,” Rayburn said. “I got off track there. I was asking about the plague. How bad is it?”

“I’m not allowed to talk about that,” Hixson said, quickly changing the topic of conversation to ask Rayburn about his recent clinical trials. After a while, the two guards at the door were called away, and Hixson turned back toward Rayburn.

“I shouldn’t be telling you this,” he almost whispered, “but I figure I owe you. You gave me a couple years with Brittany that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

“I don’t want to get you in trouble,” Rayburn said.

“It’s all right,” Dan said. “This morning, we had our first outbreak here in LA. It’s a nightmare out there. It’s spreading here much faster than other places.”

“So why aren’t we letting more people inside the walls?” Rayburn asked. “Look at all the extra room we’ve got here. Are there other shelters out there? I mean regular shelters, not places like this?”

“Lots of them,” Dan said. “They’re setting some up in schools and churches, but that’s what they did in Galveston, and they were quickly overrun. They’re trying to do a better job of checking people before they let them in now, but there are problems with the screening process. Some people are getting infected through scrapes and tiny cuts, so it’s hard to weed them out.”

“I’ll bet all those people who rented their houses out wish they could cancel the contracts,” Rayburn said. “They’d probably give just about anything to be back home inside these walls.”

“I guess there was almost a riot,” Dan admitted. “Some of them were happy to be out of the city, but a few of them were outside the walls with their lawyers this morning, demanding to be let back in. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

“That’s crazy,” Rayburn said. “There’s room for all of them and all of us. We could probably take in a thousand refugees, too, and not even notice it.”

“We were told that critical research is being done here, so we can’t risk having anybody come in that might be contaminated. If the scientists working on this are compromised, it could be the end of the human race.”

“And do you believe that?” Rayburn asked. “I’ve seen a lot of people inside these walls who aren’t working on a cure, including me. Besides, I heard they have UCLA, Mayo and the CDC. What makes Yucca so special?”

Dan ran a hand over his short hair. “Doc, that’s all I know.”

“Are you okay with what’s going on here?”

“They don’t tell us everything that’s going on, and I have to believe that they know what they’re doing since they have the big picture and I don’t.”

“So does that mean you’ll look the other way if these people out there start dying because they’re not allowed inside?”

Dan let out a sigh. “Can’t say that I would, Doc, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Maybe it won’t be as bad up here in the foothills.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“I see two bikes!” said Hawk, who was on guard duty in the crow’s nest.

“Get the gate ready!” Fish radioed down to two men who were sitting on the ground near the wall. “Might need some firepower, too!”

Within a few seconds, more men and women ran out to help. There was a large group of the dead behind the bikes, and more were coming from the side streets.

“What the hell?” asked Gunner, after he’d climbed up onto his makeshift tower.

“Keith’s carrying something,” Moose said, taking a couple shots before looking through his scope. “Looks like a kid.”

The two men were able to open a path for the riders. The gate was flung open and Keith and Helga were ushered inside. Others fought to close the gate again, and they were finally able to lock it.

“You guys okay? Anybody bitten?” asked a biker named Wrench, whose nickname had been based on his mechanical abilities.

“We’re both okay, but we don’t know about the kid yet,” Keith said. “I want to get him checked by one of the doctors.”

They entered the building and waited in the ER until Dr. Martinez came down to examine the child.

“He seems fine,” the doctor pronounced. “No signs of physical trauma. I don’t see any bites, either. We’ll get him some food, and he can stay in quarantine with you.”

“Wait . . . with me?” Keith asked, glancing at Helga. “Maybe Helga can . . .”

Helga backed away, a frown on her face.

“Look, I know you don’t want to babysit,” Dr. Martinez said, “but you’re going to be stuck here for three hours. Why drag someone else away from what they’re doing to come in and sit here with him if you’re going to be here anyway?”

Keith had no good answer for that. He looked down at the child who was still clinging tightly to him.

“Besides, he looks perfectly comfortable where he is,” Martinez grinned.

“Yeah, whatever,” Keith said. He sank into a big chair and laid his head back to rest, still holding the toddler against his chest.

~*~

“Time’s up,” Dr. Martinez said, walking back into the ER. He eyed Helga warily before adding. “I need to take a blood sample before you can leave. Are we going to do this the easy way this time, or do I need to call the guards over?”

He crossed his arms when she didn’t reply. “Well?”

“I’m thinking,” she said. She muttered something in her mother tongue then thrust her arm out at him, smiling when he flinched. “Here. Take my blood. I won’t even feel that stupid needle.”

Dr. Martinez did his best to keep his hands steady as he took the blood sample, and once he was done, he approached Keith and the child to repeat the procedure with them.

“Take his blood first, while he’s still asleep,” Keith suggested.

The boy started to wake up when he felt the needle, but he fell back to sleep almost as soon as it was over.

Dr. Martinez took the samples into the lab next to the ER, returning just a few minutes later.

“Everybody’s clean,” he announced. “You’re free to go.”

“What about the baby?” Keith asked, standing.

“He’s fine.”

“I mean what do I do with him?”

“I have no idea. Maybe ask Lindsey.”

Keith went to find Lindsey, finally tracking her down to the cafeteria.

“Hey, Keith,” Lindsey said, regarding the child with curiosity. “Any luck today?”

“No,” he said glancing away. “The building was demolished, just like Reynolds said. I guess I had to see it for myself.”

“I’m sorry. I was hoping there had been a mistake.”

“You and me, both.”

“I see you didn’t come back empty-handed,” she said, nodding toward the child.

“Any idea what I should do with him?” he asked her, keeping his voice down so he wouldn’t wake the boy. “Poor little guy just lost his mother.”

“What happened?”

Keith related the entire story while Lindsey listened.

“If you hadn’t been there right at that moment . . .” she said, shaking her head.

“I know,” Keith said, “but it makes me wonder how many others are dead out there because nobody came along at the right time to help.”

“You think there are a lot of people still out there?” she asked.

“Helga seems to think so. She says that the dead congregate in certain areas because they know there’s someone alive. I can’t tell you how many times we saw a bunch of the dead swarming all over a building. Then there were other times where we saw live people in windows. They didn’t dare call out to us, and if they had, what could the two of us have done? Even if we could have gotten them out of the buildings, it would have been tough to bring them back on the bicycles. We did all right as long as we kept moving fast, but it was a little tense once we had a passenger.”

“I had no idea there were so many people left,” Lindsey said. “Every time I’ve gone out with the bikers to get supplies or do a rescue, the streets have looked pretty dead. Maybe that’s not the best wording, but you know what I mean. I was under the impression that there weren’t many more people alive out there.”

“Maybe that’s because you were riding with a bunch of bikers,” Keith pointed out. “People might be intimidated by them.”

“And not by you and Helga?” Lindsey laughed. “You’re both a little scary too, you know.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he admitted with a smile. “But there were only two of us, and we were on bicycles. They probably didn’t even hear us coming most of the time.”

“We should talk to Snake and Jack about it,” Lindsey said.

“Good idea. And the baby?”

Lindsey thought about it. Most of the children had gone to a shelter in Iowa when the hospital had been evacuated. Besides Autumn, there were now only two remaining children. Their mother had been forced to shoot their father after he’d been infected, and she was still suffering from the trauma she’d experienced.

“I wish Cheri could do it, but she’s barely able to take care of her own kids right now,” Lindsey said. After a few more moments, she asked, “What about Marian?”

Marian was also an RN. She was in her forties and, while she had no children of her own, she had a niece and nephew that she doted on.

“We’ve only got about a dozen patients now, and we still have five nurses, if you count Marla. I’m sure we could handle things without Marian if she’s willing to take care of this guy,” Keith said.

“I know she loves kids,” Lindsey added. “It might even take her mind off of worrying about her sister’s family.”

“I’ll go look for her,” Keith said. “Thanks, Lindsey.”

~*^*~

~05~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake looked up to see Marian hurrying his way with the toddler who had been rescued the previous day. There was a look of concern etched on her face, which worried Snake. The woman had been an ER nurse at St. Mary’s for twenty years, and she wasn’t easily agitated, except when she was forced to work with Marla.

“Snake!” she said, out of breath. “I’m glad I found you. I just came from the ER, and there’s quite a commotion going on. Some of your guys, well, they seem to be a bit angry at that little girl, the one who helps Dr. Doune.”

“Autumn?” he asked. “I know she can be a bit mouthy, but these guys aren’t exactly thin-skinned. What’d she do?”

“I’m not sure,” she replied. “You’d better get down there, though. They’re not too happy.”

Snake shook his head and sighed. He knew that some of the men were getting bored with being stuck in the hospital, but he had hoped that a couple days of rest would do them some good.

When the outbreak had happened, Snake and most of his crew had been helping to build an addition on a shelter downtown. There had been seventy men with Snake that day. While he hadn’t known all of them well, there were some he’d known most of his life. Wolf had fought with Snake in Vietnam. Others had been with him during his days as the leader of a biker gang. When Snake had turned from his old lifestyle, he had formed a group called God’s Grunts. Determined to spend the rest of his life making amends for his past transgressions, he’d started putting his efforts into helping the less-fortunate. Along the way, he had recruited others like himself, mostly men who had been living destructive lifestyles and had been headed for disaster. Of the original seventy men, only thirty were still alive, most having died in the first few days of the plague. Since that time, Snake had gotten to know the remaining men well, and he trusted most of them with his life. While many of them had questionable pasts, they were trying to mend their ways, and so far they had been coexisting with the others in the hospital without too many problems. Still, old habits die hard, and there were times when Snake had to step in and defuse a situation.

Hurrying to the ER, he could hear the sounds of chaos as it filtered throughout the corridor. When Snake arrived, the men quieted down and found their seats at a large table.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, slightly confused.

“Nothin’, Boss,” Moose said. The big, blond biker looked down at the table, straightening his cards. “Just playing a game of hearts.”

Snake saw a large stack of bills piled in front of an empty seat.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, boys, but since when do you play hearts with money?”

“Well, we started playing hearts,” Gunner replied, “but we kind of progressed to poker. It’s no fun without a little change involved. Besides, what else is there to do?”

“You know how I feel about gambling,” Snake scowled. “Starts out innocent enough, but eventually somebody gets their panties in a bunch, and I end up having to thump someone.”

He surveyed the room. “By the way, where’s the girl?”

“What girl?” Gunner asked.

Snake thought he heard a muffled pounding coming from somewhere nearby.

“You know who I’m talking about,” Snake said, impatiently.

“We ain’t seen Autumn,” Moose said.

Gunner gave him a sharp elbow.

“I see,” Snake said.

The blond biker took a sudden interest in his cards again.

Snake looked around the table until his eyes landed on Mouse, a small, nervous man who had ridden with Snake for years. As Snake walked over slowly, he could see that the anxious biker was already beginning to sweat. “So, Mouse, you seen Autumn?”

Mouse looked to the others for help, carefully avoiding Snake’s probing gaze. When nobody jumped in to help, Mouse’s eyes dropped down to the kitten in his arms, his almost constant companion since he’d rescued it a few days earlier.

“Uh, she was here a minute ago,” he said, swallowing hard. “I think I’d better go feed the kitten.”

“And where might Autumn be now?” Snake asked, putting his face inches from Mouse’s. The pounding got louder, and Mouse’s eyes darted toward the closet.

“You didn’t,” Snake said, stepping back.

“She was cheating, so we gave her a time out!” Mouse explained.

Snake scanned the room, but every eye refused to meet his.

“You guys locked a nine-year-old girl in a closet for cheating at poker?” Snake asked.

Almost on cue, the men slowly lowered their heads in shame.

“Dr. Doune was busy with something else, so we let her play a couple hands with us. We didn’t know she was going to cheat,” Mouse protested. “We had to do something.”

“We were only gonna leave her in there for a minute or two,” another one added.

Snake threw his hands into the air and walked over to the closet. Opening the door, he saw a very annoyed-looking Autumn.

“Those guys are a bunch of poor losers,” she said, stomping out of the closet.

“I apologize for my crew,” Snake said. “Sometimes their manners ain’t the best.”

As Autumn moved past Snake, a card dropped out of her sleeve.

“Hey!” one of the men yelled, pointing to the Ace of Hearts as it fell to the floor. “See? She’s cheating!”

Autumn quickly looked down at the card on the floor, her face turning red. She scooped it up and put it on the table.

“Wonder where that came from,” she said.

While many of the bikers were skilled poker players, they had managed to play fairly. Autumn, on the other hand, obviously had no problem with cheating. Snake knew that the last couple of years had been tough on her, and it had undoubtedly changed her. He’d seen it happen before to kids who learned the hard way that life wasn’t always fair. Some of them tended to skew the luck in their favor when they could.

“Dudes,” Snake sighed, “you shouldn’t have been gambling anyway, let alone with a nine-year-old.”

“I’m almost ten,” Autumn pointed out.

Snake nodded toward the pile of cash on the table in front of the empty seat.

“I’m guessing this is yours?”

“Yes,” she said, scooping up her winnings, though she did look a little guilty about it. She glanced at the bikers as she stuffed the money into her pockets. For a moment she stood by the table, slightly embarrassed. “Maybe I can talk Theresa into making brownies today or something,” she said, as a peace offering.

“You gonna just let her keep that?” Moose asked, ignoring the girl’s comment.

“I’m good with brownies,” one of the other men said.

Another nodded in agreement.

“Yep,” Snake said to Moose. “Unless you want it to get out that you locked a nine-year-old girl in a closet after she beat you at poker.”

“Probably no place to spend it anyway,” Moose rationalized. “She can keep it.”

“Thought so,” Snake said, turning to leave. “Guess I gotta find something to keep you guys out of trouble.”

~*~

Nick Doune poured himself a cup of coffee and walked over to the table where Jack was sitting.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Doune asked, nodding toward the empty chair.

“Please do,” Jack said, surprised that the doctor would actually take time out of his day to mingle with the regular people. “To what do I owe this honor?”

“I wanted to discuss something with you,” Doune admitted. “I need a bigger lab, and I was thinking about the library on the second floor. It’s right across from the physical therapy room, which would be a better quarantine area since it has a locking door.”

They had set up quarantine in the hospital’s ER, and the bikers had been using the waiting room as a general purpose area. While anybody leaving quarantine would have to get past the bikers in the waiting area, it could probably be done fairly easily, due to the open layout of the two rooms.

“Well,” Jack thought for a few seconds. “I don’t think anyone will argue the importance of figuring out this virus.”

“Parasite,” Doune corrected him.

“Parasite,” Jack replied, rolling his eyes. “If none of the others object, I have no problem with it. I think Snake’s men are getting a little antsy. It may actually give them a project to keep them busy until the bombs stop falling.”

The military had been bombing the city for days in hopes of destroying some of the buildings that had been completely overrun. Jack wasn’t sure how they had made this determination since they’d obviously been wrong in the case of Keith’s wife’s building. At least a dozen survivors had died in the collapse of the apartment building, and Jack wondered how many others had been sacrificed in Lansing. Killing the infected in that manner made no sense to Jack. The destruction of the roads was also making it difficult to move around the city. Of course, the city was supposed to have been evacuated, so Jack guessed that nobody was too concerned about its current condition.

Those in charge of the bombing campaign had promised to stay away from the hospital and a small area around it. Snake and his crew had managed to get in a “shopping trip” just before the bombs had begun to fall on the neighborhood, but since that time, most of the residents had been staying close to the building.

“There’s Snake now,” Doune said, spotting the man heading their way.

“Just the man we’re wanting to see,” Jack said. “Mind if we have a word with you?”

“I already talked to my guys,” Snake said. “And I think all that money will go a long way to help Autumn get over any trauma from being locked up.”

Jack looked at Snake in confusion.

“Uh, unless that’s not what you want to talk about,” Snake said.

“What happened?” Doune asked, frowning. “I don’t need a traumatized assistant.”

Snake gave them the summary of the gambling incident, apologizing for the behavior of his men.

“It doesn’t sound as though any harm was done,” Doune said, “though it does raise concerns about how things might go this winter if the snow has us all confined to the building.”

“I’ve been worried about that,” Snake said. When he asked what it was that they wanted to talk to him about, Doune told him about his request for a larger lab.

“I’d say the fact that you need something done and my guys need something to do is a good coincidence, but I don’t believe in coincidences,” Snake said, smiling. “When would you like to start?”

“As soon as possible,” Doune said. “Some of my equipment is being stored in the basement, due to lack of space in the lab. I’m finding it difficult to proceed with my research without it.”

“Maybe we should have a short meeting first,” Jack suggested. “We’ve had some other requests for rearranging, so we may as well get this all figured out at the same time.”

“I have no desire to sit through another meeting, but I suppose it would help to get things moving more quickly,” Doune said.

“I’ll have someone make an announcement. Right after lunch, okay?”

“Fine,” Doune said, standing. “I’ll use the time to draw up a floor plan for the new lab.”

~*~

After lunch, Jack stood up to speak at the front of the cafeteria.

“Can I have your attention, folks?” he asked, holding a sheet of paper containing some hastily scribbled notes. “As you are all aware, the military will no longer be able to offer its services.” He paused as a bomb exploded in the distance, causing a slight tremor throughout the hospital. “At least not in a helpful way,” he added.

Some nervous laughter could be heard as he continued.

“Those of us who are still here, with the exception of our bedridden patients, are here by our own free will, and we’re here with the understanding that this could be our home for quite some time. We’re hoping that, once the bombing ceases, we will continue to be a beacon of light to any survivors who may be left. In the meantime, we’ve had some suggestions on rearranging to make our surroundings more workable.”

“Let me guess,” said Thomas, the last remaining CNA. “Dr. Doune wants his own floor.”

Snake, who was standing next to Jack, couldn’t help but grin.

Doune looked at his watch, ignoring the comment.

“Dr. Doune has pointed out the benefits of using the physical therapy room for quarantine, and I can’t argue with his logic. This way, those who we suspect to be infected can be moved to the adjoining room so they won’t be a danger to others. We’d like to move his lab to the library since it will be in close proximity to the quarantine rooms.”

Jack held up a hand when he heard some murmurs.

“The exercise room and the library will be moved to the first floor. We also want to set up a TV room in the ER and maybe set aside a few rooms for reading, playing games and things like that.”

“We need more books,” Marian said.

“Once it’s safe, well safer, to move about the city again, we’ll pick up some video games and books,” Snake said, “though I’m still not thrilled about the idea of looting stores. We’ve been leaving IOUs in case things get back to normal, but I don’t want to go nuts just taking anything we want, either.”

“I’m not so sure it would be considered looting if Lansing has been written off as a loss by the rest of the country,” Dr. Doune pointed out. “We may as well take the things that can be put to use here since anything left will be in danger of being destroyed by the attacks.”

Jack looked around and saw that most were in agreement.

“The military knows that we’re doing some scavenging,” Lindsey pointed out. “Lee even had them hold off on the bombing for a day so we could pick some supplies up. I’d consider that approval.”

“I still don’t feel right about risking lives over a TV or books,” Snake said. “So far we’ve just gone out to rescue people or to pick up food or materials for the walls. These were things that we needed to stay alive. You’re talking about luxury items now.”

Wombat finally spoke up. “I know you want to keep us safe, mate, but we’re going to go bonkers being locked up in here. I’d rather be doing something useful out there than to be stuck inside this building all the time. Sure, it’s dangerous, but so is riding a bike, and that was even before there were zombies out there. It looks like we may be here for the long haul, and it’s my guess that we’re going to be bringing in more people. If we don’t make this place livable, we’re going to be at each other’s throats in a very short time.”

Snake mulled over the Australian’s words then looked around the room.

“Not sure I’d put riding a bike in the same category as fighting off the living dead, but I do get your point. Where do the rest of you guys stand in this? Moose? Wolf?”

“I’m okay as long as I’ve got something to build,” Moose said, “but I’ve got to keep moving, or I’ll go nuts.”

Wolf shrugged. “I don’t need to be out there all the time. Getting a little too old for that, but I also don’t mind getting out now and then.”

Most of the bikers, as well as Lindsey, agreed that they were willing to take some risks to be out of the building.

“I do think we ended up here for a reason,” Snake said. “We were meant to help others, and that isn’t going to be accomplished by hiding away inside the building. Shopping for furniture isn’t quite what I had in mind, but these supply runs do give us a chance to look for survivors while we’re out. I don’t suppose it’ll hurt to pick up some things that’ll make life a little easier for everybody here.”

As the meeting progressed, Theresa brought up the issue of food. “We’re okay for now, but it’s not going to last forever, especially if we bring in more people.”

“Last time we went to the grocery store, the supplies seemed to be dwindling,” Snake said.

Dustin, the only teenager currently at the hospital, raised his hand. “My parents have a big farm outside of town, and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind sharing their crops. I’ve talked to my dad on the phone a few times and they’re doing okay out there.”

“Glad to hear it,” Snake said. “Maybe we can do some trading with your family or other farmers. You want to mention that to your dad next time you talk to him?”

“I will,” Dustin said.

“It would be good to know how things are outside the city, anyway,” Snake added.

“It sounds like the roads are bad,” Dustin said. “My dad said he tried to come and get me when everything first happened, but there were roadblocks up, and the traffic was jammed up on the highway. I told him I was safe here, so he shouldn’t try to come into the city.”

“For sure. Tell him we’ll take you home once we can get through.”

Wolf had a suggestion. “There’s lots of deer out in the country, too. Maybe we could bring in fresh meat while we’re out there.”

“If we can bring in some food, I can preserve most of it,” Theresa said. “What can’t be frozen or dried can usually be canned.”

“Everybody, make a list of what you need, and we’ll try to get it,” Jack told them, adjourning the meeting.

As he went to leave the room, he noticed Ernie, the janitor, sound asleep in his chair.

“Meeting’s over, Ernie,” he said with a grin.

Startled, Ernie looked around. “Hope we figured some stuff out,” he said, wincing as he got to his feet. At seventy-five, Ernie was the oldest employee at the hospital, and he had arthritis that made it difficult for him to even walk when he didn’t have his meds.

As Jack watched him hobble away, he wondered what would happen when the meds ran out. There were others in similar situations, but even if Snake and his men hit every pharmacy in town to collect the drugs needed, eventually there wouldn’t be any more. Jack shook his head, knowing there was nothing that could be done about it.

~*~

It was decided that Keith would be in charge of getting the exercise room moved to the administrator’s office on the first floor, which was the largest office. Snake quickly volunteered his men to help dismantle and transport the equipment.

Marian approached Snake as some of the others were leaving.

“I was kind of hoping you could check on my sister and her kids. I heard from her a few days ago, and they were getting short on food. I talked to her about coming here, and she said she’d consider it, but I haven’t been able to reach her since then.”

Snake took down the information, promising Marian he’d do his best.

“And if you happen to come across any books . . .”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Snake told her.

“Good. That should help keep some of us out of trouble,” Marian said, looking pointedly at Moose.

Most of the bikers scattered, deciding it was time to start helping with the move.

“I was thinking,” Lindsey said. “Maybe we should put out flyers letting people know we’re here.”

“Can’t hurt,” Snake said.

“I’ll help,” Autumn offered. “We can make them on the computer.”

“Great,” Lindsey said, walking off with the girl. “Let’s go do that.”

A big biker named Bull approached Snake after the others left.

“Boss, can you talk to the docs for me?” the man asked. “They won’t give me anything for pain, and my arms are killing me.”

Snake took a closer look at the man.

“That’s funny, Bull, because Dr. Sharma told me she gave you something.”

The biker had been thrown from the top of the truck on a supply run, and he had managed to grab a chain to keep from going over, but the momentum had pulled both of his arms from the sockets. His left arm was in a sling, though his right hand was free so that he wasn’t completely helpless. Dr. Sharma had told Snake that Bull would be in pain for a while, but mentioned that she had given him some pain pills.

“Yeah, she gave me something, but it wasn’t enough,” Bull said, not meeting Snake’s eyes. “Look at me, Boss. I’m a big guy. I need a higher dosage than the average person. She didn’t give me enough.”

“I think she’d know all about dosages since she’s a doctor,” Snake pointed out.

“She’s one of those student doctors,” Bull said. “Maybe they didn’t teach her that part yet.”

“She’s an intern, and she’s been through years of medical school. Dude, you finally kicked that habit. Do you want to get hooked on that stuff again?” Snake asked.

“It’s not like that,” Bull insisted. “You got it all wrong, Boss. My arms are just hurting. Feels like they’re being ripped in half.”

“Let’s just find something to keep you busy,” Snake said, not sure what to believe. He thought about it for a few moments. There wasn’t much the man could do without the full use of both arms.

“Why don’t you join the guys up in the crow’s nest?” Snake suggested. “I know you can’t hold a rifle right now, but you can keep an eye on the gate in case anybody needs to come in.”

Snake also knew that the guys tended to talk a lot while in the observation room, and he hoped that shooting the breeze with the others would keep Bull’s mind off of wanting more drugs.

“Yeah, sure,” Bull said, walking away.

~*~

Demolished Office Building near St. Mary’s

Chuck woke to a chorus of moans, and he felt his pulse begin to race. He realized immediately that the noise was louder than it had been earlier. Swallowing hard, he tried to determine the location of the sound. He’d checked every inch of space for openings and had not found any, except for the small tunnel. He crawled toward the source of the noise, finally stopping to put his ear against the flat piece of wood he’d tried to move earlier. His heart skipped a beat when he heard another low moan on the other side of the board. Just one, he thought, but it was under the rubble with him. The others were outside, their voices muffled by layers of debris. He pushed lightly on the board to make sure it hadn’t moved. He was relieved to find it firmly in place. If he couldn’t move it, hopefully the dead thing on the other side couldn’t move it either.

He made his way along the wall until he found the broken bottle that held his water. Drinking greedily, he grew frustrated when he realized that he’d drained it. It sounded as though the rain had stopped, and Chuck wondered how long he could live without water. Quietly, he returned to his resting spot. He had found a couch cushion in the debris earlier and had dragged it over. Lying on it had not been an option with his damaged ribs, but he had propped it against the wall to provide some comfort for his back. He leaned back against it and closed his eyes, though he did not sleep. He didn’t dare, not with a zombie so close.

~*^*~

~06~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Most of the residents of St. Mary’s Hospital were busy for the rest of the day as furniture and equipment were moved and construction projects were started. Snake grinned as he watched Moose start to tear down the wall between the ER and the waiting room. The big biker was using a sledgehammer and had a look of glee on his face.

In the afternoon, a few of the bikers ran out of work, and Snake decided that maybe it was time to check on some family members. There had been no sign of the jets for the last several hours, and it was late enough in the day that they shouldn’t be coming back out.

“We’ve only got a few hours before dark, but we can at least get out there and check on a few people,” he said to the small group in front of him.

Moose walked over to join the others.

“You going with us?” Snake asked.

“Might as well,” the big biker said. “There’s nothing else to tear down.”

“Xena will want to go, I’m guessing,” Wolf said, using the nickname that Snake had given Lindsey.

“I’m sure she will,” Snake said. “Why don’t you give her a heads-up?”

Helga walked over and announced that she would also be going.

Snake didn’t argue with her. He knew how hard she could hit since he had been the target of her ire recently. He also knew that he had deserved it. Years earlier, Snake had left Helga at the altar and had disappeared from her life until fate or karma had brought them together again. He was torn between being relieved that someone with her fighting skills had his back and being nervous that he had made such a volatile person so angry. The fact that she carried an AR-15 only added to the angst.

“We’re taking bikes this time, boys,” Snake started, then caught Helga’s scowl, “and girls. We’re going to check on some family members of people here, and I also want to do a quick trip around the neighborhood to see what kind of world the bombers have left us. Hopefully there’ll still be some stores standing. We’ll probably want to do our shopping later, once we give everybody a chance to make their lists. You know the drill. I want some people doubling up with shooters on the back of the bikes, but leave a few empty seats just in case.”

They’d learned quickly that a mechanical problem with one of the bikes could easily leave someone stranded. In other unfortunate cases, they had needed someone to take a bike back when a rider had been injured.

Mouse hurried over, the kitten sleeping soundly in his pocket.

“Mouse, why don’t you stay here today?” Snake asked. “You don’t want to be bringing that kitten along, and besides, it’s smoky outside. That ain’t good for your asthma.”

“You sure you don’t mind?” Mouse asked.

“Go ahead and take a break today,” Snake said. The small biker tended to be impulsive and often acted without thinking. He’d almost gotten a group of men killed because of his actions, and Snake had been trying to come up with excuses to leave him behind when they went out.

~*~

When Lindsey came to join them, she tucked her long, light brown hair up into a hat that had been left in one of the lockers. She quickly donned a leather jacket that she’d borrowed from Mouse and a pair of gloves that she’d found. As she slung her crossbow over her shoulder, she caught Helga staring at her with narrowed eyes.

Wombat walked up next to Lindsey and she jumped, startled.

“You scared me,” she said.

“I noticed that,” Wombat said. “I found out why Helga keeps giving you those looks. Snake told her that you were his new girlfriend.”

“He what?” Lindsey asked, trying to keep her voice down. “Well, that explains a lot. He started calling me honey, and winking at me when Helga was around. Is he trying to get me killed?”

“I think he’s trying to make it look like he’s unavailable,” Wombat said.

“I figured he was trying to give that impression, but I never realized he actually lied to her and told her that I was his girlfriend. Now I have to face her wrath because he doesn’t want to tell her the truth? That’s not right. I’m going to go talk to her.”

“She won’t listen. Besides, I’ve got a better idea,” Wombat said. “She’s watching, so smile.”

“What do you have in mind?” Lindsey asked while trying to keep a smile on her face.

“This,” Wombat said, pulling her into an embrace.

“Oh, good idea,” she said, slipping her arms around his neck. “Is Helga still watching?”

“She’s riveted. Of course, so is everybody else. In fact, I see several jaws hanging open. I may have some explaining to do later.” He gave her a quick kiss once he was sure that Helga was watching. “Why don’t you ride with me today, just to be safe?”

“I’ll do that,” Lindsey said. “Thanks, Wombat. You may have just saved my life.”

As they walked to his bike, Lindsey noticed that Helga’s attention was focused back on Snake.

“Thanks a lot,” Snake grumbled as they walked by.

“Don’t mention it,” Lindsey said with a smile.

~*~

Yucca University Medical Center, California

George was almost done eating his lunch when Dan Hixson walked over.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Please do. I don’t have anybody to talk to.”

Dan took a seat and lowered his voice. “I’ve been asked to keep an eye on you, just to make sure you don’t run off. Apparently you’re a VIP here.”

“That’s what Bob told me, and I just don’t understand it,” Rayburn said, making lines in his mashed potatoes with a fork. “My name was first on the list, and it was even highlighted. In yellow! My patients are all gone, and I haven’t had to lift a finger since they left. Why am I even here?”

“I don’t really know,” Dan admitted. “All I know is that it’s of utmost importance to keep you safe. And you didn’t hear that from me.”

“So is there anything new outside the walls?” Rayburn asked, eyes darting around to make sure nobody was within earshot. “I can’t get on the internet anymore, and now we don’t have any TV reception, either.”

“It’s gotten worse since I talked to you earlier,” Hixson said. “I’ve heard that there have been new outbreaks.”

“How bad?” Rayburn asked.

“The plague finally reached the east coast and spread like wildfire,” Dan said. “The cities were hit the worst, of course, so everybody wanted out. A lot of those who managed to leave were already infected, so they took the disease with them.”

“I heard some of that before they cut off the internet,” Rayburn said. “I can’t even contact my friends now. Then again, I’m not sure how many of them are even still alive.”

Dan had no reply. There was no point in telling Rayburn that things were going to get better because he didn’t believe it.

“Dr. Rayburn?”

George looked up from his meal to see a young soldier over the rims of his bifocals.

“Hi, Natasha. How are you?”

“I’m good,” she smiled. “Bob would like to talk to you.”

“Sure. I just finished my lunch,” Rayburn said. He chatted with her for a few minutes before excusing himself and leaving to go to Burnell’s office. Halfway there, he ran into one of the janitors and stopped to talk with him for a while.

Almost a half-hour later, Dan found Rayburn in the hall.

“Dr. Rayburn, Bob is still waiting to talk to you if you have a minute.”

“I have thousands of minutes,” Rayburn replied. “I have nothing but time these days.”

They walked down the hall to a large conference room where Bob waited with another man whom Rayburn had seen around the hospital.

“George,” Burnell said. “I don’t know if you’ve met my . . . assistant, yet. This is Alexander Madec.”

Madec frowned at Burnell’s choice of words, but he shook Rayburn’s hand and waited while the doctor took a seat.

“I figured there wouldn’t be any more staff meetings since I don’t have any patients left,” Rayburn said, looking slightly confused. “In fact, the last time I checked, every single patient in the building was gone and their rooms seemed to have become apartments or something. Aren’t we a hospital anymore?”

Bob smiled and leaned back in his chair. “The patients have been moved to other hospitals so that we can concentrate on finding a cure for this plague.”

“I see. Then why am I here? I’m a doctor without patients.”

“I’m sorry, George. I’m afraid that the current crisis has forced all of us to adjust our routines somewhat.”

“Unfortunately,” Rayburn replied, “my routine added a bit of sanity to my life. I’m at a loss as to how to spend my time, lately. I can’t even take my daily walk. Is it really necessary to keep me locked up? I mean, it’s safe outside as long as I stay within the walls, right? I’m wearing a path in the hallways around here . . .”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Bob interrupted. “We’re just worried about your safety, but I do see your point.”

Looking more serious, Burnell leaned forward and steepled his fingers on the table. He appeared to be deep in thought for a moment before finally speaking again.

“Dr. Rayburn. I’m sure that you realize that we’re desperately seeking a cure or a vaccine for this plague. We have top people working on it everywhere, and we hope to include you as part of this team.”

“I’m flattered,” Rayburn said, looking no less confused, “but this is not my field, so I’m not sure how I could help.”

“You’re one of the top oncologists in the country,” Bob pointed out, looking at a printout that Madec handed him. “You graduated from medical school with honors. You’ve made amazing advances in your clinical trials, so you’re familiar with medical research. You’re exactly the kind of person we need.”

Flustered by the compliments, Rayburn took off his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on again.

“I’d love to help in any way I can,” he said. “It’ll give me something to do, besides walking around the building. You know, I’ve climbed up and down these stairs so many times, I can tell you exactly how many steps there are on each staircase. Did you ever notice that the railing between the second and third floor is a little wobbly? Maybe someone could fix that. I’d do it, but I just don’t have the tools.”

Bob blinked and glanced at Madec before looking back at Rayburn. “We’ll have someone look into that, George, but I have a few questions.”

“Of course,” Rayburn said, taking his glasses off to clean them again.

“As I said, we have a team here researching the plague, and we have reason to believe that a former colleague of yours might be of help in figuring some of this out. You worked with a man named Igor Petrov.”

“Sure, we’ve done several clinical trials together,” Rayburn said. “Great guy. I’ve known him for years. Really nice, you know. He likes his vodka, but I don’t hold that against him. I kind of like my Scotch whiskey, so I’m not one to point fingers.”

Impatience flashed across Bob’s face. “Have you heard from him recently? He seems to have disappeared, and we fear the worst.”

“The worst being that he may have been eaten by zombies?” Rayburn asked. “That’s probably a good guess since half the population of LA has been killed so far, from what I understand.”

“Dr. Rayburn, have you heard from him?” Madec asked.

“Not lately,” Rayburn said.

“But you did get an e-mail from him several months ago, asking you to keep a package for him. Is that correct?”

“How did you know about that?” Rayburn asked, leaning forward.

“We have our ways,” Madec said, smiling coldly.

Rayburn looked back and forth between the two men for a moment before speaking again.

“Igor said not to tell anybody about it, but since you already know, I guess it’s not a big deal. He wanted me to hold onto it until he could pick it up. He was working down in Colombia, and I guess he worried about people breaking into the room he was renting since he was gone most of the time. He was doing some kind of research in a lab in the jungle. He said the birds used to drive him crazy with their constant chatter.”

“You’d think he’d be used to that,” Madec said.

George ignored the comment.

“We know about Dr. Petrov’s work,” Bob continued. “We’re particularly interested in the package he sent you. He told us about it and asked if we could retrieve it from you.”

“He did? Well, that’s great. Then he’s still alive. You had me worried for a minute there.”

“This was a few days ago,” Bob said, eyes shifting down at the papers in front of him. “We haven’t heard from him since that time, so we don’t know if he got out safely or not. We’re hoping to have him brought here.” Looking up and meeting Rayburn’s eyes again, he said, “Take my word for it, we’re doing everything we can to bring him in alive.”

Rayburn was lost in thought for a moment. “What’s in this package that’s so important?”

“A DVD,” Madec said. “We have reason to believe that it contains the key to a cure. It’s critical that we find it. Do you remember getting the package?”

“Sure. I got it in the spring. I remember because when I went to get the mail, there was this mud puddle around the tree out front and the flowers had fallen. . .”

“Then you still have it? Is it here?”

“No. They make me keep my desk clean here, so I keep most of my stuff at my other office. I’m sure it’s still there, somewhere.”

Bob let out a low whistle, glancing at Madec again. “What’s that area like now?”

“The office is near Pepperdine, outside of our Malibu . . . shelter.”

“Ah, a shelter. Like this one?” Rayburn asked.

“We’ll have to send someone in,” Madec said, ignoring the question to glance at a map on his laptop. “Can you tell us exactly where the package is?”

“Well, I don’t remember exactly,” Rayburn said, rubbing his chin. “I have a pile of mail next to my desk, but then there’s a box it could be in . . . lots of boxes actually. I think I know which one it might be in, but I’m not sure I could describe it. It’s brown cardboard, but so are the other ones.”

“There won’t be much time to look around once we have a team in the building,” Madec said. “Just how many boxes are there in the room?”

Rayburn thought about it for a minute then finally said, “Maybe ten.”

“Ten?” Madec looked up. “That’s too many to bring out.”

“I’d have to go with you,” Rayburn said. “You’ll never find it because my office is kind of cluttered. Someone told me that I need an intervention, but I think he was joking.”

“Not necessarily,” Madec said. “I saw your ‘clean’ office upstairs.”

“Can we get him in safely so he can retrieve the package?” Bob asked.

“We can clear the building then send him in with Hixson to make sure it’s done quickly,” Madec replied.

“Let’s do that,” Bob said. “Go ahead and set it up.”

A look of irritation crossed Madec’s face. “It’s already been arranged,” he said, closing his laptop.

~*^*~

~07~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

A couple of the bikes went ahead of the rest, scouting the area before returning to let Snake know which roads were navigable. While they made their way down the streets, Lindsey did her best to note the destruction on the map. With the slow progress, it took almost a half-hour to reach the address where Dr. Martinez’s parents lived. The house was in an upscale neighborhood, and it had obviously been well-cared for, with a recent paint job and a nicely manicured lawn. A small wrought-iron fence had once lined the property, though it apparently hadn’t stopped the infected from plowing through the yard. The twisted metal lay on its side, and the flower beds had been trampled.

The front door of the house was closed, which might have given the group some hope, except for the large picture window that was broken almost completely out. Sheer white curtains fluttered out the window, not making Snake feel any better about their chances of finding the couple alive.

“Doesn’t look good,” he said to Wolf, who had ridden up next to him.

“Two cars in the garage,” Wombat said, after running over to check.

“More bad news,” Snake sighed. “I think we know what we’re going to find in there, but we should check it out.”

“I’ll go in,” Wombat said.

Hawk and Moose also volunteered.

“Okay, we’ll let you youngsters handle it this time,” Wolf said.

“Shut the bikes off,” Snake said. “No need to ring a dinner bell. The rest of you guys, stand guard but use silent weapons.” He turned toward Wombat and the other two, who were getting ready to go in. “Be careful in there. You know the routine — don’t get yourselves cornered. If it looks bad, get out.”

Wombat approached the house cautiously, the others close behind. He carried his machete while Moose brought along a bat. Hawk had sharpened a piece of rebar into a weapon similar to a pike. The point, when thrust through a zombie’s eye, usually stopped it in its tracks.

“Anybody home?” Wombat called, listening carefully for a response from either the living or the dead. His words were met with silence, and when nothing came out to greet them, the trio quickly made their way through the first floor. Finding it clear, they checked the basement to discover that it was also unoccupied. It wasn’t until Wombat had taken a few steps up the stairs to the second floor that he heard a scraping sound coming from the upper level of the house. He motioned to the others, who nodded. A quick check of the second story told them that the noise was coming from the master bedroom at the end of the hall. After checking all the other rooms, the three men approached the door and prepared to enter the room.

“Anybody alive in here?” Wombat asked through the door. His words were greeted with a moan.

Dr. Martinez had made it clear that if his parents had been infected that he wanted them to have peace. Wombat didn’t look forward to the task at hand, but he knew it had to be done. He motioned to Hawk, who pulled the door open. Wombat rushed in, machete in hand.

Mr. Martinez was waiting for them, and they quickly ended his post-life existence, as his son had requested. Walking around to the far side of the bed, the biker looked down at the floor where he noticed several drops of blood near the French doors. He reached out to push the thin curtain aside, wondering if Mrs. Martinez had gone through the doors to get away from her husband. The blood that was smeared on the glass told him it was a possibility, but Wombat could see the entire balcony from where he stood and there was no sign of the woman.

A hand suddenly shot out from under the bed, grabbing his boot. The biker tried to kick his foot free but wasn’t able to do it. A bloody arm reached out to wrap around his calf, and Wombat could see the woman’s head begin to emerge from beneath the bed as she pulled her body forward. Wombat couldn’t get a clear shot at the head so he leaned down to slice the woman’s left hand off at the wrist. With another swing of his machete, Wombat took Mrs. Martinez’s other arm off at the elbow. He kicked the severed limbs away and stepped back, trying to catch his breath.

“You okay?” Hawk asked, walking over since he wasn’t able to see what was happening on the other side of the bed.

“Yeah,” Wombat said. His attention was soon brought back to the floor where the woman was crawling from beneath the bed, pulling herself with what was left of her arms. Wombat took a step toward her, but before he could finish the job, Hawk drove his pike through the woman’s eye. The body shuddered twice before going still.

“Thanks, mate,” Wombat said.

“I don’t think we should tell Dr. Martinez about this part,” Moose mentioned.

“Right,” Wombat said, bending down to help Hawk lift the woman’s body onto the bed. They put Mr. Martinez next to his wife, and Moose said a short prayer over the couple. The three men left the house, hoping that they’d have better luck with some of the others.

~*~

The next several stops provided no better outcome. A dozen friends and family members of those at the hospital were put to rest. Evening was approaching, and the group was running out of time with four houses left to check. When they reached Marian’s sister’s house and saw the front door ajar, they almost moved on, but decided to give it a quick look.

Three zombies were killed on the first floor, but none of them fit the pictures in the snapshot that Marian had given them. Wombat decided to do a quick check upstairs, hoping it wouldn’t take long.

“Anybody alive here?” he called. When there was no reply, he added, “We’re friends of Marian.”

This technique had netted them no results, so he’d done it as an afterthought, but almost immediately, noise could be heard from the attic above them. Moments later, the small door in the ceiling opened to reveal a face. The boy, Wombat guessed, was in his early teens. He took one look at the three bikers and started to close the door again.

“Hey, it’s okay!” Wombat said. “Your aunt is alive at the hospital. She sent us to look for you. We won’t hurt you, I promise. Marian would kill us if we did, believe me.”

Slowly, the door opened again, and the face reappeared, looking down warily at the bikers.

“I have a gun, so I hope you mean it,” the boy said, trying his best to look tough.

“I promise,” Wombat said. “But we need to hurry. We’ve got other houses to check.”

“I don’t know. I’m supposed to take care of my sister. Why should I trust you guys?”

“Hang on,” Wombat said, hurrying over to a window that looked out over the front of the house. “Can you send Lindsey up?” he called down to Snake.

Within a minute, Lindsey joined them.

“Hi, I’m Lindsey,” she said, giving the boy a smile. “I work at the hospital in physical therapy, and I know your aunt. In fact, she gave us this picture so we’d recognize you.”

She held up the wallet-sized photo so the boy could look it over. Moments later, another head appeared next to his. The boy turned, trying to push the girl away.

“Let me see!” she said, arguing with him. She appeared to be a few years younger than the boy.

“Hey, you guys,” Lindsey said, “we’ve got three more houses to check, and we’re running out of daylight. Can you please just come with us? I promise it’s safe. We have food, too.”

“Food? I’m going,” the girl said, sticking her head out again. “I’m hungry.”

There was more arguing as the boy tried to keep his sister from leaving.

The girl finally squeezed past her brother and dropped through the opening in the attic floor. Once she was out, he had little choice but to follow. He made sure the others could see that he wasn’t lying about having a gun.

“How did you guys get up there?” Moose asked, looking up into the square opening in the ceiling.

“There’s a ladder,” the boy said. “We pull it up behind us.”

Wombat didn’t want to ask the question, but he finally did. “What about your mom? Marian thought she’d be here, too.”

The boy shook his head, his action telling Wombat what he needed to know.

“I’m sorry,” the biker said.

When they got outside, Wombat asked Snake what he wanted to do.

“I’ll take a small group to do a quick check of the last places on the list, and we’ll send the kids back with the others.”

Lindsey wanted to stay and so did Wombat, Hawk and Wolf. Snake felt comfortable with the group, and he knew that the others would get the kids to the hospital safely.

“Give me a call on the radio once you get back,” Snake told Moose.

The next stop on the list was an apartment building, which was obviously overrun. It would have been risky for that reason alone, but the building was in an area where several fires were raging. The smoke was thick, making it hard to see much of anything.

“That’s the apartment, right?” Wolf asked, pointing to a window.

Snake looked at the paper in his hand. “That’s got to be it.”

“Let’s try this,” Wolf said, picking up a handful of pebbles. He began to toss them at the glass as the others kept the infected back. Within a minute, a dead woman appeared in the window, her long, dark hair matted with blood.

“That looks like the picture that Amelia gave us. It’s got to be her friend,” Snake said, looking at the photo. “Let’s move on.”

They had no better luck at the next two homes they visited, but Snake hoped that at least closure would be found for some of those who needed it. Almost half of those they had sought had been found dead or undead, while the rest were missing. It wasn’t the news he’d wanted to bring back, but at least they’d done everything they could.

“Let’s roll,” he said. “It’s getting dark.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

After quarantine, Snake stopped by the cafeteria and joined Jack for dinner.

“I heard you found Marian’s niece and nephew,” Jack said. “She was thrilled.”

“We were pretty happy to see that someone on our list was still alive,” Snake said.

After eating, the two men walked over to the ER to look at the progress. Since the room was still in the remodeling phase, the sofas and chairs were lined up in the hallway, ready to be moved in when the work was done. The old wall between the ER and the waiting room was gone, and the debris had been cleaned up.

“If we can pick up some drywall and supplies, I can make this room look nice again,” Hawk said as Wolf walked over to join them.

“We’ll add that to the list,” Snake told him, jotting down the items as Hawk named them.

“Sounds like there’ll be a lot of painting to do upstairs when there’s time, too,” Jack added, holding up a small notepad. “We got requests from almost everybody.”

Snake squinted and looked it over before handing it to Hawk. “You know anything about mixing paint? I don’t even know what some of these colors are. Sage? Isn’t that something you put on a chicken before you cook it?”

“Believe it or not, that’s a popular color,” Hawk said with a grin. “I can try mixing the paint. I watched them do it at the DIY Depot enough to have an idea how it works, though it’s all computerized now.”

“Did you do this stuff for a living?” Jack asked.

“Sure did,” Hawk said. “I was a contractor. Did mostly small jobs, remodeling and stuff like that.”

“Great,” Jack said. “Those are the kind of skills we need.”

“Wombat worked for me, and he’s pretty handy, too,” Hawk said.

“Just think, Jack,” Snake said, “you could’ve ended up stuck here with a bunch of stockbrokers and lawyers.”

“I think I’d rather be out there with the zombies,” Jack said.

Hawk looked down at the notepad still in his hands. “I don’t recognize some of these colors. We may just have to mix up a bunch of paint the old-fashioned way and let everybody take what they like.”

“We might have to do that anyway,” Snake said. “We’ve been running on generator power for the last day or so, and I haven’t seen many lights around town lately. I’m guessing the grid is finally down. Probably nobody left to feed the furnace.”

Wolf shook his head. “I don’t get how people can be worried about what color to paint their rooms when we’re in the middle of a crisis. I mean, seriously, shouldn’t they be more concerned with how we’re going to survive?”

“They probably would be if we had the dead banging on our door right now,” Snake pointed out. “But now that we’ve reinforced this place, stocked up on supplies and have a plan to do some harvesting, I think they’re starting to feel a little more secure. They want to feel like life is normal again, even though one look outside would tell them it ain’t.”

“I guess I can’t say I blame them,” Hawk said. “They’re living in hospital rooms. If they can do some painting and fix their room up a bit, it’ll feel more like home.”

“Right,” Snake said. “The more normal we can make things around here, the better it will be for everybody. Plus, it gives us stuff to do to stay busy.”

Debbie, one of the younger nurses, stopped by looking for Hawk. “I’m going up to the roof to get some air if you want to join me,” she told him.

Hawk patted the pocket where he kept his cigarettes and said, “I’m ready.”

He turned and grinned at Snake and Wolf before leaving with Debbie.

“Ah, to be young again,” Wolf said, watching Hawk walk away with the nurse. He yawned and turned back to Jack and Snake. “I think I’m heading to bed. I’m getting too old for these late nights.”

“I’ll be doing the same after I check on the progress upstairs,” Snake said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Wolf,” Jack said.

After the others had walked away, Snake lowered his voice and said to Jack, “I was just talking to Jackson, the computer guy, and he was telling me that he saw on the internet that suicides have skyrocketed all over the world. I can’t imagine living through something like this and then wanting to end it all. I’m worried that it might happen here.”

“It won’t surprise me if it does happen,” Jack said. “A lot of folks probably feel like there’s nothing left to live for. They’ve lost their families, their friends, their homes and their jobs. And I’m sure right now that a lot of them aren’t seeing much of a future for themselves or the world.”

Snake pulled on his long beard, deep in thought. “We’ve already got everybody working, so that’s a step in the right direction. There’s not much we can do about the grief they’re feeling, except to listen when they want to talk about it. Maybe they’ll make some new friends here, and that might help to ease the pain, just a bit.”

“It does,” Jack said. “When my wife died, my friends and family were there to keep me sane. We also need to make it clear to everybody here that we’re doing something worthwhile by providing a haven for survivors. I don’t think it’s going to be enough for most people to just stay alive. I think they’ll have to feel needed.”

“Exactly, dude,” Snake said. “I’ve known a lot of people who have pulled themselves out of a bad funk by helping others.”

While Snake didn’t like to talk much about his early years, as a young man he’d worked hard to earn a PhD in psychology. He’d had a promising career before volunteering his services in Vietnam. What he’d seen there had caused him to question the status quo, and had led him to find comfort in drugs and alcohol. He’d also come to the conclusion that he didn’t want to spend his life sitting in an office. Over the years, he had learned that he could do more good by going out and talking to people in real world settings. The pay wasn’t great, but he got by, and he was a lot happier. Now he thought he might be able to use some of his education and experience to help some of those who were having problems coping.

“That’s all we can really do,” Jack said. When the lights began to flicker again, he said, “I’d better go check on the generator.”

“Good luck,” Snake said. He made his way up the stairs to the second floor to check on the progress there.

~*^*~

~08~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake walked into the lab, where Doune and Autumn were taking turns looking through a microscope, engrossed in an animated discussion over what they were seeing. Two small rooms adjoined the lab on either side of it. One had become Doune’s office, and the other room would be used for first aid.

Not wanting to interrupt, Snake left and walked across the hall to the old exercise room. He saw that about half of the equipment had been moved out.

Keith walked over to greet him. “It’s going faster than I thought it would,” the RN told Snake, “but we moved the smaller things first. Some of this equipment is so old that it’s breaking when we take it apart.”

“Maybe we can get you some new stuff. You said yesterday you were starting a list?”

Keith pulled out a piece of paper and held it up. “I’d like to go along when you pick it up. I’m kind of picky about my exercise equipment.”

Snake looked at the list, not sure what half of the items were. “It’s a deal,” he said. “Once everything is up and running, how would you feel about doing some training with this stuff? Most of my guys are either way past their prime or out of shape, and if they’re going to be out there fighting zombies on a regular basis, I’d like to see them have the odds in their favor.”

He thought about one of the bikers they’d lost recently, a man that he had dubbed Smiley. A combination of poor fitness and expired meds had done him in.

Snake knew that he wasn’t going to end up with a bunch of guys built like Keith, who seemed to border on obsessive with his workouts, but he would settle for what he could get. If a few hours a week on the treadmill would give his guys the stamina to climb a dozen flights of stairs to help in a rescue, it was worth it.

“Sure, I can do that,” Keith said. “Things are pretty slow now that we only have a dozen patients, so I was planning on spending more of my time running the weight room anyway.”

“Awesome,” Snake said. “I’ll give you a heads-up when we’re ready to pick up the new equipment.”

“Thanks,” Keith said, turning his attention back to the task at hand.

When Snake reached the computer room, it was a hive of activity. The room was in the process of being rewired, and several new electrical outlets were being installed.

The electrician was a man who had often worked with Hawk on his construction jobs. While not a regular part of Snake’s group, Spencer had been helping out at the shelter on the day of the outbreak, and he had been with the group ever since. He was standing in a pile of drywall chunks, running wire down a stud in the wall.

“Where’d you find that?” Snake asked him, motioning toward a spool of wire.

“Jack got it from the maintenance room,” the electrician said. “It’s going to be close, but I think I’ll have enough.”

“Great,” Snake said, looking around the room. Desks and tables had been moved in, along with several computers. Dustin and a petite woman with straight, black, shoulder-length hair were setting up computers at a long table. At a desk nearby, a tall, thin man named Jackson sat at a laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he stared intently at the screen. He had shaggy, light brown hair and about a week’s worth of facial hair.

“How’s everything going?” Snake asked.

“Good,” Jackson said, without pausing in his task. “Spencer said that he should have the wiring done within the hour.”

“Sparky,” Snake said. “His name is Sparky.”

Spencer laughed. “You know, that’s the nickname that every electrician gets, but I’ve always hated my name, so I’m fine with it.”

“Well, glad to hear everything’s going well,” Snake said. “If you guys need anything, get me a list in case we happen upon the right kind of stores next time we go out.”

“I’m not sure where to start,” Jackson said, shaking his head. “Most of these computers are complete crap. I had to cannibalize a couple of them for parts, but now we have some that work, at least for the moment. It would be awesome if we could get some new machines.”

“Can I add a few things?” asked the dark-haired woman who was helping Jackson.

“Sure, Claire,” Snake said.

Claire had worked as an engineer in the same office building where Dustin and Jackson had worked. Along with a handful of others, they had managed to get to the eighth floor of the building and had made a stand there. They’d been rescued shortly before the building had been bombed. The others had all gone to the shelters when the opportunity had presented itself, though Jackson, Claire and Dustin had opted to stay at the hospital.

“Just make sure you both make it easy for us to understand what we’re looking for. We won’t be able to spend a lot of time looking for part numbers, if you know what I mean.”

“Maybe I should come with you when you get the parts,” Jackson said, his fingers finally coming to a stop on the keyboard. “Some of this stuff is going to be hard to describe.”

“That’ll work,” Snake said. “We’ll let you know when we go.”

~*~

Yucca University Medical Center, California

“Anything new?” Burnell asked.

“Dr. Rayburn told me you want a DVD that he has at his office,” Hixson said.

“Yes, and we need you to go with him to pick it up,” Bob said. “The guy is a walking disaster, and odds are he’ll get sidetracked and won’t remember why we sent him in. Can your team keep the building clear long enough to do that?”

“We’ve cleared several buildings without a problem, so I don’t see why not,” Hixson said.

“It’s near the Malibu compound.”

“That should be easy compared to some of the other stuff we’ve had to handle.”

“We want to do this now before things get worse. There’s something else we need you to do,” Bob said, hesitating as he appeared to be searching for the right wording.

“Rayburn needs to have an accident,” Madec said bluntly.

“An accident?” Hixson asked, certain that he must have misunderstood. He was a soldier, not a hit man.

“Yes,” Madec said slowly, as if speaking to a small child. “He needs to die.”

Hixson looked back and forth between the two men.

“The man is a danger to all of us,” Bob said, almost apologetically. “He has to go, Hixson.”

“George Rayburn,” Dan replied. “Short, older guy with messy gray hair . . . confused a lot. Are we talking about the same person?”

“We know how he acts,” Bob said, “but it is an act. He’s brilliant, though he plays dumb to get people to trust him. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen that yet.”

Dan shrugged. “I don’t understand why you think he’s dangerous.”

Bob slid a folder over to Hixson. “Rayburn’s friend, Dr. Igor Petrov, is the one who sent the DVD.”

Dan opened the folder. On top was a grainy photo of a building in a jungle. Several other pictures followed, showing the same middle-aged man in each of them. Most of them were taken inside a building that looked like a lab.

“I know Dr. Petrov. He helps Rayburn in his clinical trials,” Hixson said.

He flipped two more pictures over then paused to observe an 8 x 10 photo. His eyes narrowed as he looked closely at the patients who were strapped down on beds.

“This was taken inside Petrov’s lab in Colombia,” Madec said.

“Are these what I think they are?” Dan asked.

“They’re infected subjects,” Madec said.

Dan looked through several more photos that showed the infected locked in cells, their arms reaching through the bars.

“Dr. Petrov is doing some testing on the dead?”

“Look at the dates,” Madec said, pointing to the bottom right-hand corner of one of the photos.

“February,” Hixson said, checking a few more. “These were taken months before the first outbreak was reported.”

“Exactly.”

“So Dr. Petrov was testing the infected way back then? How long has this plague been around? Has the government known about it all this time?”

“You’re still not getting it,” Madec said. “Petrov wasn’t just studying these subjects.”

“Unfortunately, we only gained access to these photos recently, or we may have been able to stop him,” Bob added.

“Are you saying he’s responsible?”

“Sgt. Hixson, we’re sorry. We know you trusted this man, and that makes this hard to take, but believe me, he started it,” Bob said. “We have recorded phone conversations and e-mails. Trust me. He did it. We can show it all to you if you want to see for yourself, but it’s going to take time, and we’re a little anxious to get that DVD. We think it may tell us the location of the vaccine, and every minute we waste means more deaths.”

“I understand,” Hixson said, shaking his head. “How could someone do this intentionally?”

“Since Rayburn isn’t talking, we’re hoping the DVD has some information.”

“This is why you want Rayburn dead? You think he was involved?”

“We know he was,” Madec said. “Dr. Rayburn has worked closely with Petrov for years.”

“In fact,” Bob added, “we believe that they were using their patients in these trials as test subjects for this disease. I wonder just how many of these poor people didn’t even have cancer.”

“I don’t believe that,” Dan said, darkness moving across his face. “I didn’t get to know Dr. Petrov well, but Dr. Rayburn would never have done anything to hurt my daughter. There must be a mistake.”

“Look at the rest of the pictures and the documents if you need to,” Bob sighed. “They were both involved. There’s no doubt.”

The next pictures knocked the breath out of Hixson. Dr. Rayburn was cutting into an obviously infected patient as he stood beside Petrov. Rayburn was talking, and Petrov seemed to be laughing at something that George had said.

Dan looked the photos over closely then stood, shaking. He began to pace the room, his jaw clenched and his eyes cold and dangerous. “He’s a dead man,” he finally whispered.

“We appreciate you handling the problem,” Bob said.

“I only have one request,” Hixson said.

“What’s that?”

“I want to spend some time with Rayburn before I kill him. I have questions that he needs to answer.”

Burnell’s eyes flicked toward Madec, who shook his head and said, “There won’t be time.”

Bob added, “Your team’s going to be keeping that building secure, and I don’t think that you want to risk their lives for even an extra minute.”

“They don’t need to stay. They can leave me there with Rayburn.”

“No, Hixson, I’m sorry, but you’re too valuable to our community,” Bob said. “And you’ll be well rewarded for your loyalty. We need more men of your caliber around here.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“I made a log so people can sign for anything they take,” Doune said to Autumn when he returned with a small stack of papers he’d just printed in the computer room. “You’ll just have to list the supplies and have people sign the log.”

He handed her a clipboard, and she stuck the papers under the clip.

“Good thinking,” Autumn said. “I guess that’s why you have that BHD. I’ll organize the room a little.”

“You mean PhD, but I’m an MD,” Doune said. “Maybe you can make a sign for the door that says First Aid. You’ll just need to find some tape since mine keeps disappearing.”

When he turned to leave the first aid room, she yelled after him through the adjoining doorway. “Am I getting paid for this?”

“Of course. You get a free pass to the snack bar,” Doune said as he returned to his microscope in the lab.

Autumn sighed.

Doune turned in his chair and looked at her for a moment, as though debating something. Finally, he spoke. “You’re doing a good job, and I do strongly believe in rewarding good work.”

He got up and spent some time in his office before returning with a hand-written document, which he handed to her.

“This wouldn’t be legal in the old world with our child labor laws, but things have changed. Official letter of hire,” he said, handing a paper to her for her signature. “Ten dollars an hour, which is not a bad starting wage for someone with no experience. Keep doing a good job and you’ll get a raise quickly, though the money is probably worthless.”

Autumn smiled as she signed her name at the bottom of the document. She thought about demanding cash, but decided against it. If anything beneficial had come from her shuffle through the foster system, it was her ability to judge people. She had an uncanny knack for knowing just how far a person could be pushed, and she knew that Dr. Doune was the type who wouldn’t budge. Besides, the doctor had a point. If things did get back to normal, she had the beginnings of a pretty good lawsuit for violating child labor laws. She wrote her age in large numbers so there would be no question.

Dr. Doune raised an eyebrow as she filled in her age. “Have you ever considered going into politics?” he asked her, taking the paper.

Autumn imagined herself in the courtroom while the judge awarded her millions of dollars. She could almost see Doune’s dry smile. Maybe she would even share some of it with him.

~*^*~

~09~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Are you riding with me today?” Wombat asked Lindsey the next morning.

“That would probably be the smart thing to do,” Lindsey said, noticing that Helga was watching her.

“Be careful out there,” Jack said as the bikers prepared to leave. “We don’t know if the jets are still flying or not.”

“We ain’t going far,” Snake said. “We’re just mostly doing some recon on the bikes. We’ll probably stay close enough to the building so we can hightail it back if we have to.”

He looked at the sky. “Glad to see we have a clear day for a change. Maybe the fires have stopped.”

While the bikes were being warmed up, a handful of those who were staying behind began to lure the dead away from the gate, finally allowing enough breathing space for the bikers to get out. The group carefully made their way down the street, dodging not only the infected but the craters in the pavement that the bombs had carved out.

The dead were out in force on the next street, and the first bikes had a little trouble getting through. Lindsey tucked herself close to Wombat’s back as one of the ghouls grabbed for her. She winced when a small, dead boy lunged at them, only to be flung back by the force of the bike’s momentum. There were some things that she thought she’d never get used to seeing.

“Hang on,” Wombat told her as he sped up to race through a mass of infected that were making their way onto the street.

Once the bikes were through, she relaxed a little and straightened again. There was a long stretch of buildings that appeared to be untouched, and Snake slowed down as they looked the area over. They found a strip mall that seemed to be intact, and Lindsey pulled out a piece of paper to make note of the stores that would be available to them. Of particular interest was a large furniture store. As they continued their scouting, she saw that there were also several restaurants still standing. She jotted down the locations, hoping they might have some canned or dried food.

When they started to turn down the next road, they found it blocked by rubble, and they were forced to go around. They took several more side streets and finally came across a large building on a corner lot. This time Snake came to a sudden stop. At first Lindsey wasn’t sure what had caught his attention. When she peered around Wombat and saw the Motorcycle Mega Warehouse, she laughed. Most of the bikers looked like kids at Christmas, and when Snake motioned them toward the building, there were whoops of joy. The parking lot was fairly empty, and they were able to kill off the few staggering zombies with ease.

“Okay, boys and girls we don’t know what we’re going to find here, so be careful,” Snake said. “Let’s get in, check it out, and see if it’s worth coming back with the truck. I think leather jackets and gloves would be a huge help to anybody that’s going to be getting up close and personal with the dead.”

“It would be nice to have my own jacket,” Lindsey admitted to Wombat. “Mouse is probably getting tired of having me borrow his.”

“Let’s see what we can find,” Wombat said, pulling out his machete.

Lindsey loaded an arrow into her crossbow and followed, fighting back a grin when she saw Helga shadowing Snake.

A couple of the men took the first shift in the parking lot after making it clear that they wanted a few minutes inside the store once the others were done.

Snake approached the double glass doors and tried the handle with no luck. He looked around for Wolf, who was already digging through his saddlebags for his tools.

Moose walked over with a large sledgehammer, watching as the other biker carefully picked at the lock. “I could get the job done a lot faster with this,” he said as he brandished the mallet. “I doubt anyone would care.”

“We’ll save that for when we need a rapid entry,” Snake said. “It’d be nice to be able to lock the place back up when we’re done to keep the riffraff out, in case we need to come back.”

Moose breathed a heavy sigh and dropped the hammer to his side.

“Sometimes it ain’t about the size of the mallet,” Wolf said with a smile as he worked his magic. Once he’d gotten past the lock, he grabbed the door and waited for a signal from Snake.

“Ready, boys?” Snake asked.

When he gave the signal to Wolf, the biker yanked the door open quickly. Nothing rushed out, so Moose and Wombat stepped inside, only to be met by a spray of lead from a shotgun that blasted a hole in the glass.

~*~

Yucca University Medical Center, California

“Are you ready?” Hixson asked, sticking his head inside Rayburn’s office.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” George said, looking over at Dan. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Why?” Hixson said, the words coming out short.

“I don’t know. You seem tense. Are you worried about going to my office? If you are, I’m sure they could send someone else with me.”

“I’m not worried,” Dan said. “In fact, I’m looking forward to it. We just need to get going.”

Rayburn looked around the room then placed a hand to his shirt pocket. “Where’d I put my phone?”

“Right on your desk where you always leave it,” Dan said, grabbing the small cell phone and handing it to Rayburn, “though I’m not sure why you need it.”

“Bob said I had to bring it,” George said. “I guess they might need to call me.”

“Let’s go. They’re waiting for us.”

Hixson did his best to hurry the doctor up to the roof, though twice Rayburn paused to greet someone and had to be urged on. When they finally reached the landing pad, there was a group of soldiers already in the helicopter.

Rayburn sat down next to one of the men and started to chat with him immediately.

“Dr. Rayburn, you need to buckle up,” Dan said, sitting across from him.

“Oh, sure,” Rayburn said, trying to figure out where the belt was and how to buckle it. The soldier next to him reached over to help.

Rayburn thanked the man then started talking about seatbelts as the helicopter lifted into the air.

Dan listened as the older man rambled on, but his mind was elsewhere. He looked out the window as the walls disappeared from sight, revealing chaos in the streets below. Long Beach had been a nightmare, but it had not prepared Dan for what he saw as they moved over Los Angeles. As they transitioned from the idyllic charm of the walled community to the worst of nightmares, he realized that the fortifications not only protected the residents physically but also sheltered them from viewing the horrors that were ravaging the rest of the world.

As long as the chosen ones remained hidden behind their walls, they could pretend that everything was normal. They wouldn’t be bothered by the images of people fighting for their lives in a city that was owned by the dead.

Dan wondered if any of the residents thought about the friends and family members they’d left behind to die. Surely the price for entrance into the community had been high enough to require it.

His thoughts turned darker as they moved on to his daughter. Had she been a victim of Petrov and Rayburn’s grand plan? Had the cancer even existed, or had Brittany been a pawn in a diabolical scheme by the two doctors? Were they responsible for her death? His hands started to shake, and he quickly turned his thoughts elsewhere, knowing he had a job to do.

The flight didn’t take long, and before Dan realized it, the helicopter was landing on another roof. The squad quickly prepared to leave, and when the doors opened they all jumped out except for Rayburn and Hixson.

“We’ll wait until they have the building secured,” Dan said.

“That might take a while,” Rayburn noted, moving to where he could watch through the open door.

“Hopefully not,” Dan said. They’d have to clear several floors, but it didn’t appear that the front door had been breached so there shouldn’t be an influx of dead from the outside. Gunfire could be heard almost immediately, and it continued. Rayburn tried to talk to Dan, but Hixson closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. It was easier than trying to hide his hatred and anger toward the doctor.

After almost an hour had passed, the others returned.

“It’s clear, Sgt. Hixson,” one of the men said.

“Good,” Dan said, checking his weapons. His hand lingered on the knife that was strapped to his leg. He knew that he’d need it later. “Let’s make this fast.”

He and Rayburn entered the roof exit door and hurried down the stairway to the second floor.

“Aren’t they coming with us?” Rayburn asked, looking behind him.

“No,” Dan said. “They’ve done their job. Now it’s time to do ours.”

“Sure, that makes sense,” Rayburn said, digging for his keys.

“Let me open it in case someone’s inside,” Hixson said, taking the keys.

“How would someone get inside without the key?”

“Who knows? Let’s just play it safe,” Hixson said, opening the door. He handed the key back and stepped inside, his weapon ready.

“Holy shit!” Dan said, looking around the office. “Looks like someone beat us to it.”

“What do you mean?” Rayburn asked.

“Look at the place,” Dan said. He checked the office quickly and found it safe. “I wonder if the person who looted your office was looking for the package.”

“Oh,” Rayburn said. “I don’t think anybody looted it. This is how I left it.”

Dan blinked but said nothing at first. There were books strewn everywhere. He saw piles of papers that looked like they were going to topple over and boxes that were stacked almost to the ceiling in some places.

“Well . . . that’s good, I guess,” Hixson said, shaking his head. “Okay, let’s find this DVD.”

Rayburn walked over to the far side of the room and pointed to a box toward the middle of a stack. “I think it’s in that one.”

Dan moved three boxes to reach the one that Rayburn wanted. Within seconds, George had the package.

“I’ll take that,” Dan said, holding out his hand. Once he had tucked the DVD safely away, he reached down to pull out the knife. “Now, I have one more thing to do.”

~*^*~

~10~

Lansing, Michigan

Wombat ducked back out the door while Moose dove inside behind a store display that offered little protection.

“We come in peace!” Snake called out.

“That sounded like a line from a bad sci-fi movie,” Wolf said, grinning.

Trying to pinpoint the source of the blast, Snake added, “We’re just looking for some stuff to keep us alive a little longer. You know, some jackets, maybe some gloves. We’ll even pay for them.”

A woman’s voice finally came from somewhere off to Snake’s right.

“I don’t want any trouble,” she yelled. “I’ve got my kids here, and I’ll kill anybody that even thinks about looking at them wrong.”

Snake motioned to Lindsey from his crouching position, and she carefully made her way over to him.

“I think she may be a little more reasonable if she hears a woman’s voice,” Snake whispered.

Helga, who was standing within earshot of Snake, replied in her thick Ukrainian accent, “I talk to her.”

“No!” he blurted out. Feeling Helga’s scowl, he thought quickly. “She might not understand your accent.”

Helga grunted her displeasure, but seemed to believe Snake’s excuse.

“Ma’am,” Lindsey called out, “I promise that nobody will hurt you or your children. My name is Lindsey, and I’m a physical therapist at St. Mary’s Hospital. We’ve got a large group of people there, and we’ve reinforced the building. If you and your children would like to join us, we’d be happy to have you. Now that your door has a hole in it, I’m not sure how safe you’ll be here.”

A head finally peeked around a shelf to look them over. The shotgun was pointed in their direction, but it was obvious that the woman was listening. Her eyes moved to the cross that was stitched onto Snake’s jacket, and she visibly relaxed.

“You’re part of that group, God’s Grunts, aren’t you?” she asked. “You’re the guys who help at the homeless shelters. We usually have a booth set up at rallies and races, and I’ve met some of you there.”

“That’s us,” Snake said. “But it seems our job’s gotten a lot more difficult recently.”

She finally pointed the 12-gauge down at the floor and stepped out. The woman was thin, but her clothes seemed to fit her, indicating that it was her natural state. She had shoulder-length, dark brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail.

“My name’s Kristine,” she said, “but you can call me Kris.”

Snake introduced himself, Lindsey and Wolf. “And that’s Moose, hiding behind the display,” he pointed. “Dude, you can come out now.”

Moose stood up and walked over, eying the shotgun warily.

“Do you own this place?” Snake asked.

“No, I just work here,” Kris said. “When things got bad, my ex-husband dropped the kids off here, along with some food and water.”

“Where’d he go?” Snake asked.

“He and his new wife were heading out of town,” Kris replied. “He wanted us to go with them, but I was afraid the roads would be jammed, and I thought we’d get stuck out there. The manager’s office here is pretty secure.”

She glanced toward the back of the store before lowering her voice and continuing, “I don’t think they made it. He called me on my cell phone and told me that I was right, the roads were packed, and they weren’t moving. He said they were going to try to walk out, but I never heard from him again. The kids don’t know.”

Snake gave her a sympathetic nod. “We’ve been hearing a lot of stories like that.”

“So you’ve got food and a safe place to sleep at the hospital?” she asked.

“Sure do, and you’re more than welcome to come back with us.”

“Let me think about it.”

“No problem. You mind if my guys do some shopping? We’ll leave an IOU in case things ever get back to normal, but we really need some of this stuff.”

“Help yourselves,” she said, waving a hand to indicate the merchandise. “I was worried about someone breaking in to loot the place in the beginning, but it’s pretty obvious now that life isn’t going back to normal anytime soon. We’re on our own, so you may as well take what you need.”

“We’ve come to the same conclusion,” Snake said. He turned to the open door and yelled, “Come on in, boys.”

Helga walked in with the others but growled when she saw Lindsey still standing near Snake.

Wombat reached over and took Lindsey’s hand, leading her toward the jackets.

“I suppose we’ll go with you,” Kris told Snake. “We’ve only got another day or two of food left.”

“Good,” Snake said. “We’ve got plenty of room.”

“Do you think we could check on a friend of mine?” Kris asked. “She was with a group at an elementary school not too far from here. I lost contact with her yesterday.”

“A lot of the roads are pretty busted up, so I can’t promise anything, but we can give it a shot.”

After ten more minutes, Snake called out, “Boys, let’s get moving. We’ll come back later with the truck and get some more of this stuff.”

Lindsey walked out with leather pants, boots, gloves and a new racing jacket. The jacket had plastic panels on the front, back and up the arms to the shoulders. Wombat had found one just like it while a couple of the others were now wearing hard plastic vests that snapped into place on the side. Some of the men had opted for thicker leather jackets rather than body armor.

When Snake started to write down a description for the IOU, Kris shook her head.

“Seriously, don’t bother. The owners aren’t coming back. I’ll go get my kids,” she said. “Can someone help me carry the food?”

“Sure,” Snake said, “but let’s just get it ready to go and we’ll pick it up later. Moose and Fish can help you with that.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Jackson says he’ll have the internet up on the rest of the computers soon,” Doune told Autumn after another visit to the computer room. “Maybe we can get an update on the rest of the world.”

Autumn listened to Dr. Doune with excitement. They’d had very little TV reception for the previous few days, and only one laptop with internet. Jackson had a satellite hookup of some sort, but Autumn knew nothing about it, except that he hoped to use it to get them all online.

If they could get online, Autumn hoped they could find out how many others were still alive. Since Lansing had been virtually cut off from the rest of the world, she had started to feel like she and the other survivors at St. Mary’s were alone. After the death of her parents, loneliness had been a scourge that had continued to plague her. Her caustic personality was hard for people to handle. When foster parents took her in, they always seemed to expect her to play the part of the fairy princess, whereas her personality better fit the ogre. The family she had been with before the crisis had already been showing signs of giving up after two short months. She wondered if they were still alive, and she hated that she didn’t care. Although she had only been in the foster system for a little over two years, to her it had seemed like an eternity. The more she had been shuffled from home to home, the farther she had distanced herself from other people. She was afraid that one day she would awaken in a world where no one else existed.

“I’m going over there if you want to come with me,” Doune added, picking up his laptop.

Autumn smiled as they left the lab. For the first time in her life, she was being treated like an adult. Dr. Doune not only seemed to treat her in a less condescending manner than the rest of the adults, but he seemed to understand her and possibly even respect her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that a part of her was glad that the world had been turned upside down.

The computer room was still in a state of disarray when Doune and Autumn walked in. They waited by the door as Sparky coiled up some extra wire.

While Claire and Dustin moved from computer to computer, Jackson pointed to an empty table. “Come on over here,” he told Doune. “Let’s see what we can do.”

The doctor walked over and handed the laptop to Jackson, who immediately got to work.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

“Hey, uh, sorry about shooting at you,” Kris said to Moose as they walked toward the office.

“No problem,” he said. “It’s not the first time and probably won’t be the last.”

She opened the office door, revealing two young boys who were playing with Legos on the floor.

“Boys, we’re going for a motorcycle ride,” she said as she made her way toward a crib in the corner of the room.

“Really?” one of them asked, excited.

“Pick your toys up,” Kris said.

She quickly stuffed a few things into a diaper bag as the two boys competed to finish first.

“How are you going to carry the baby on a bike?” Moose asked.

“With this,” she said, picking up a cloth sling. She held the baby out to Moose. “Can you hold her for a second while I put it on?”

Having no other choice, Moose took the infant, holding her at arm’s length.

Kris quickly put the sling over her head and got the sleeping child situated without ever waking her.

“I won!” one of the boys said, jumping up.

“No, I did!” the other said, trying to slip one last toy into his bag without being seen by his brother.

Kris grabbed her purse and handed the diaper bag to the bigger of the two children. By the time they reached the front door, the dead were starting to wander into the parking lot.

Snake knelt down to the two boys and introduced himself.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” he said. “No playing around. Some of those crazy guys are out there.”

“You mean the zombies?” one asked.

“Uh, yeah, some of those zombies will try to grab us, but we won’t let them get you. Just don’t freak out and jump off or anything. We’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

The older boy nodded while the younger one started to go off on a spiel about how he could shoot the zombies and make them die.

“Well, buddy, let’s wait until you’re a little older before you do that,” Snake said, grinning at Kris. “For now, let us handle it, okay?”

“Too many video games,” Kris said. “I don’t think they really get it.”

“Maybe that’s good,” Snake said, standing. “Wolf and Fish, take the boys with you. Kris, you and the baby can ride with Moose.”

“Looks like the road’s getting a little crowded back the way we came,” Wolf pointed out.

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Snake said. “We’ll just finish the route we planned, minus any stops.”

“Come here, buddy,” Wolf said to the older boy.

“Go ahead,” Kris said, giving her son a smile.

“What’s your name?” Wolf asked.

The boy eyed the biker warily and said, “Jared.”

“I’m Wolf,” the biker said, lifting the boy to sit in front of him where he’d be easier to protect on the ride.

“That’s an awesome name,” Jared said.

“Maybe we can give you a cool name like that, too,” Wolf grinned.

“Justin, you go with that man,” Kris said, pointing to Fish, who was motioning him over.

The younger boy hurried over, and Fish lifted him onto the bike.

“How far away is this school where your friend is?” Snake asked Kris.

“Not far at all,” she said, giving him the directions.

“That’s close to our route,” Snake said. “We’ll swing by there and check it out.”

Kris climbed onto Moose’s bike and held onto his jacket with one hand, while she kept her other arm around the sleeping child in the sling.

The bikers began to move out, dropping the dead with their firearms to clear a path. There were shooters riding on the first two bikes and the last two, with a couple more scattered throughout the group. They concentrated on only taking out the targets that were truly a threat. Making a head-shot from the back of a moving bike wasn’t easy, so there wasn’t much point in trying unless the target was close

The bikes made their way down the street, dodging stalled cars along the way. When they arrived at the school, Snake stopped to take in the scene. He could see about two dozen people standing on the roof. Some were waving frantically, but others watched the bikers with obvious apprehension.

Snake pulled up next to Moose and asked Kris, “Which one is your friend? These guys look a little nervous so it might help if she sees you.”

Kris scanned the small group on the roof and said, “I don’t see her up there.”

The dead were thick around the school, and at the sound of the bikes, they began to turn away from the building.

“We can’t stick around,” Snake said. “But we can come back with the truck.”

“If they’ll even want to come with us,” Wolf pointed out.

Snake motioned to the others to turn off their engines. Once it was quiet, he yelled to the survivors on the roof. “We’ve secured St. Mary’s Hospital. If any of you want to join us, we’ll try to figure out a way to get you there. We’ve got plenty of food and water, too.”

Snake glanced at Lindsey, who called up. “It’s all right. These guys are harmless. I work at the hospital, and we have several doctors and nurses still there as well. If anybody needs medical attention, we can take care of them.”

There was some discussion amongst them, and someone loudly asked the others, “What choice do we have?”

“You don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to, but we’ll help however we can. Gotta go now, but we’ll be back!” Snake yelled up to those on the roof.

The bikes roared to life, but as they turned to leave, Snake saw Kris motioning frantically, so he stopped.

“That’s her!” she yelled pointing at a dark-haired woman by the gate. “Jennifer!”

The woman appeared to be alive from the back. She was wearing a flowered skirt and heels, and her white blouse showed no sign of blood or gore. She was also completely surrounded by the dead.

Kris was already off the bike and running toward her with the baby.

“Moose! Get her!” Snake yelled. “That woman ain’t alive!”

~*^*~

~11~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Would it be possible to get a computer for Autumn to use in the office?” Doune asked when Jackson finished with the laptop.

“I need it for filing and stuff,” Autumn added, not revealing her true intention of downloading music and playing video games.

“I can give her one of the older computers once I get a few more of them running. It might not be able to do quantum physics, but she could play games or check e-mail on it once we get it hooked to the network.”

“That would be fine,” Doune said.

“I’ve got a list for Snake, and if he can pick up some wireless cards, I’ll try to save one for Autumn’s computer. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait until Sparky can run a cable to the lab.”

Sparky paused what he was doing long enough to tell them, “I can try to get to it tomorrow.”

Doune thanked him.

“Listen to this,” Claire said suddenly. “There’s a place in Montana that is supposed to be safe. It’s in a valley with steep mountains, and they’re working night and day to build massive gates at both ends.”

“Did you get this from a reliable source?” Doune asked, skeptical.

“I don’t know, but there are several people discussing it, and some of them are supposedly at the place now. It sounds like it might be real.”

She read a bit more then said, “They insist on quarantine, of course, but there’s a lab already there and they’re studying the plague.”

Doune stepped a little closer. “Is it run by the government?”

“No, the land belongs to a rancher, but he was leasing some of it to a private university, which is why the lab was there.”

Claire followed a link and was soon in a chat room where the Montana facility was being discussed. She broke in and introduced herself when she had the opportunity and was able to get quite a bit of information. She passed on some questions from Doune about the lab, as well. The conversation continued for a while before her internet went out.

“That’s the fifth time in the last twenty minutes,” she said, sitting back in her seat, annoyed. “What do you guys think about this place? Did it sound legit to you?”

“They seemed to know what they were talking about,” Doune pointed out. “As least as far as the lab goes and details about the university. It could be legitimate.”

“I’m glad to hear about this place, but Montana is a long way from here,” Claire said.

~*~

Autumn livened up a bit when she heard about the group in Montana. She had assumed that other survivors around the country were either holed up in cities, waiting to die, or packed into concentration camps. The news about the place in Montana meant that there might still be freedom and safety somewhere on the planet. As the others discussed what they had heard, Autumn interrupted.

“Isn’t Montana close to Yellowstone? I hear the wolves are making a comeback there.”

She ignored the strange look she got from Jackson, and she turned to Dr. Doune.

“Who do you think would win; a pack of wolves or a pack of zombies?”

Doune regarded Autumn for a moment then said, “Wolves, unless they were badly outnumbered. They’re too fast for a zom . . . an infected person to catch otherwise, I would think. My question is whether or not animals can become infected. And if so, would they be slow like the humans are?”

Autumn pondered Dr. Doune’s answer. Wolves had always fascinated her, but she knew they rarely attacked humans. The thought of a pack of infected wolves, the perfect killing machines, obsessed with consuming any living thing, actually frightened her. She wondered if the wolves would inherit the same clumsy gait with which the infected humans were cursed. The voices of the group seemed distant as she imagined the carnage that would ensue.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

“Jennifer!” Kris yelled again, running for the gate where her friend stood with her head bowed toward the ground.

When Kris got within a few feet, Jennifer lifted her head. A slight scratch ran down the woman’s cheek, milky white eyes telling the rest of the story. The dead woman slowly lifted a hand, reaching out toward her friend with a moan.

Kris seemed stunned, backing away when the baby woke and started to cry.

Moose reached her and grabbed her arm to guide her back to the motorcycle as the dead began to move their way.

“She’s gone,” he said.

“No,” Kris said, looking back as tears began to fall.

“Sorry,” Moose said. “We need to get out of here, now.”

When they returned to the bike, Wolf said, “Lady, think about your kids. That was a stupid move.”

Snake opened his mouth to chastise Wolf for the harsh words, but he knew the biker was right. Kris and her daughter could have been killed.

Kris looked down at the child in her arms, paling as she finally seemed to realize the danger in which she had put her daughter. She got onto the bike in a daze. As the motorcycles rolled away, Kris turned her head to watch Jennifer, who was still reaching for her.

Snake glanced back at the dead woman, too, wondering just how they had come to live in a world where a scratch could be deadly. As they made their way back toward the hospital, he made mental notes as to which buildings were still standing. When they reached the remains of the office building from which Jackson, Claire and Dustin had been rescued, Snake stopped his bike and motioned for the others to shut down their engines so that he could talk to them without yelling. The street ahead of them ran straight to the front of St. Mary’s.

“It looks like the gate is clear,” he said, “so I want you guys to take Kris and her kids to the hospital. Bring the truck back with more of the guys. We’ve got a rescue to make.”

“You staying here, Boss?” Wolf asked.

“I want to look the park over real quick. I think if we could find a way to close it in, we could put the space to good use. Moose, you stay so I can talk to you about it. Kris can go with one of the others.”

There was some quick rearranging, and soon three of the motorcycles raced down to the gate which was opening for them.

When Moose fired off a shot at an approaching zombie, Snake waved his arms to get the man’s attention.

“Silent weapons, dude,” he said. “We don’t need to draw every zombie for miles around.”

“Sorry, Boss,” Moose said, sheepishly. “Guess I forgot.”

~*~

Malibu, California

The six soldiers stood on the roof, waiting as patiently as possible. Hixson’s second-in-command, a man named Wood, finally said, “We’re going back in. They should have been here by now.”

As he started to follow the others, a call came through on the radio from Robert Burnell at the Yucca compound.

“Hixson and Rayburn still aren’t back,” Wood said, motioning for the others to keep going.

“We need that package, and we need it now!” Burnell yelled.

“We have the package,” the soldier said. “Hixson brought it up, but he had to go back down for Rayburn. I guess the doctor is having some trouble with all the stairs.”

“Forget them,” Bob said. “Hixson had a little job to do, and it may be slowing him down. He’ll have to catch up with us later. Just get that DVD back here. Are you sure it’s the right package?”

Wood didn’t reply at first. Burnell was not his superior, and he bristled at the thought of taking his orders, as did most of the others. He wouldn’t leave his sergeant behind if he had another choice.

“I already sent the others in after Hixson,” Wood said. “We’ll leave as soon as they return.”

“I want you out of there in two minutes!” Burnell yelled. “With or without them!”

“I’m not leaving my squad behind!” Wood snapped.

There was a long pause before Burnell’s voice came through again, sounding calmer.

“Okay, you’re right,” he said. “Check the package and make sure it’s what we’re looking for. We probably won’t have a second shot at this.”

Wood picked up the package and looked it over. “It’s addressed to Dr. Rayburn and the stamp looks like it’s from Colombia. There’s a DVD inside. I can feel the edges.”

“Open it to be sure.”

Wood tore the envelope open. “There’s a blank DVD case inside . . .”

“Open it.”

Wood stuffed the manila envelope under his arm so that he could use both hands on the case, but his attention was diverted by gunfire. Stuffing the DVD case back into the envelope, he ran to the roof exit and started down the stairs but was stopped moments later by his men who were hurrying back up.

Wood ended the call with Burnell and tried Hixson again.

“Hixson! Are you down there? What’s going on?”

Unlike the previous four times, Wood finally got an answer.

“Get out of here!” Hixson’s voice could be heard on the radio, gasping for breath. “The door gave in. We’ve both been bitten, and I think Rayburn’s dead. You need to leave right now!”

“We can’t leave you there!” Wood said, watching as the others rushed onto the roof, the last of them still firing down the stairs.

“This is an order! There’s nothing you can do for me, and I won’t have your deaths on my hands. Get out of there, now!”

For a moment, Wood said nothing, but when he looked at the others, he knew that Hixson was right. The sergeant was already a dead man, and bringing an infected body back wasn’t an option. Wood yelled a command and followed the others onto the helicopter. He looked out his window to see the dead beginning to emerge onto the roof as the chopper rose into the air.

~*~

Yucca Compound, Southern California

“I don’t get it,” Bob said. He stood and began to pace as the credits of The Sound of Music played on the large flat-screen TV. “Why the hell would Petrov send this? We watched the whole damn thing, and there was no secret message stuck in the middle of the DVD. Nothing. Why would he send it?”

“The package was taped shut,” Madec pointed out. “I would guess that someone tampered with it.”

“Someone in Colombia?” Bob asked.

“Not likely. Not unless they knew about it. My guess is that it was Hixson or Rayburn.”

“Before they died?”

“At least one of them is still alive,” Madec said, “obviously.”

“You heard what Hixson told the others,” Bob said, confused. “They were both bitten. And he’s not answering his radio.”

Madec sighed deeply and looked at Bob.

“You think that he faked that?” Bob finally guessed.

“We’ll try to track them through Rayburn’s phone,” Madec said, “but I’m not holding my breath.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Rather than returning to the lab, Doune sat at one of the empty tables with his laptop, wanting to be nearby if there was anything else from the settlement in Montana.

Thomas, the CNA, walked into the room. “Any luck getting online yet?” he asked.

“We’re online,” Jackson said. He pointed to three computers that stood on a long table. “We’re saving those for people who want to check mail. I’d get your messages out fast. Sites are going down all over the place.”

“What do you mean?” the CNA asked.

“The internet is essentially just a series of computers, but those computers are all connected through cables and wires and satellites etc. Cables break, computers shut down, and lots of other things could happen. I doubt there are many people out there right now to fix them. Once some of the bigger hosting services lose power, we’re going to see sites dropping off like crazy.”

Thomas hurried over to the computer and began to type.

“I need those bigger hard drives,” Jackson said to Dustin. “I’m going to download as much information as I possibly can while we still have internet. Now that the plague has spread to the rest of the world, I think we’re going to be losing sites a lot faster.”

“It’s spread to the rest of the world?” asked Doune. “I thought it was still confined to the Americas.”

“Take a look,” Jackson said, turning his laptop so the others could see. “The plague hit Los Angeles, San Francisco, and most of the eastern coast a few days ago. Today it’s in other parts of the world.”

Doune moved closer to look at the cities that were marked in red on the map. There were red dots scattered across Europe, Asia and Africa, but the biggest concentrations were in the Americas on the coasts. Central America was awash with red.

“Why on the coasts?” Doune wondered out loud.

“I don’t know,” Jackson said. “Claire thought that it might be because of the refugees coming by boat from Central America.”

“Maybe,” Doune said, looking at the pattern, “but I’d think they’d look for the nearest land. This seems to indicate that they’re landing all over the coasts, not just in the obvious places.”

“It’s doubtful that they’d have sophisticated equipment to help with directions,” Claire pointed out. “These are probably people grabbing a raft or a small boat and hoping for the best.”

“Still, he’s got a point,” Jackson said, frowning. “How do you accidentally bypass Florida and end up at Canada?”

Doune felt a cold chill roll over his body.

“What if it’s not refugees?” he asked. “If the infected are truly dead, as they appear to be from all my testing, water may not be a barrier for them.”

Jackson grew thoughtful as he mulled over the doctor’s words.

“Let me get this straight. You think the dead just wandered into the water down in Central America, and eventually ended up on other beaches?”

“Either walked or washed up,” Doune said as he looked over the map. “I think it’s likely.”

“I guess I never thought about it, but there’s no reason to assume that wouldn’t be the case,” Jackson said.

“It’s not like they’d die from drowning,” Claire added. “They could just keep on walking or floating until they reach land again.”

Autumn couldn’t help but visualize one of the infected, arms outstretch as it lumbered through the water with hair and clothing flowing behind.

“I imagine the ocean currents would push them along,” Doune replied.

“All this time I thought that an island might be safe,” Jackson said.

“I could be wrong,” Doune said.

“Do you think sharks would attack them, or would they know better?” Autumn asked.

“It’s hard to say,” Doune replied. “I’d be curious to learn more about interactions between the infected and animals.”

“Can we try turning an animal into a zombie?” Autumn asked.

“Maybe later,” Doune said.

Autumn knew what “maybe later” usually meant. She’d heard it from her foster parents often enough. Based on how involved Dr. Doune seemed in his current conversation, she had the feeling he was going to be busy for a while, and he probably wouldn’t want to try her experiment any time soon. She wondered if he’d be less likely to put her off if she went ahead and got the animal, so he wouldn’t have to bother with it.

“What I wouldn’t give for a rat right now,” she said quietly to herself.

She knew that the doctor kept vials of infected blood in his lab, so it would be a piece of cake to infect a specimen, if she could just get one.

“If I’m right,” Doune said, “the blockade that was set up to contain the plague from Central America was pointless. All the infected had to do was go around it through the water. It might have slowed the spread, but it certainly wouldn’t have stopped it.”

“Then this means that there really is no way to stop the spread,” Claire said quietly. “It means that eventually the dead will be everywhere.”

“I’m afraid so,” Doune said.

~*^*~

~12~

Demolished Office Building near St. Mary’s

A shot rang out, jarring Chuck out of his semi-conscious state. He often heard shots coming from the distance, but this was much closer. His body ached from the damage that had been done to it when the building had fallen. To make matters worse, he could feel rubble poking into his leg. He had tried several times to twist himself into a more comfortable position, but it seemed that no matter how he turned, a jagged piece of his dingy tomb always found its way to press into his skin. As he listened carefully, he thought he could hear voices. He tried to yell, but he was only able to drag a raspy moan from his parched lips. With a new sense of urgency, he searched his surroundings again for an opening that he may have missed. He had all but given up hope when he heard the voices, closer this time.

Inhaling deeply, he exhaled a hoarse cry for help. He waited for a response. Unfortunately, it came in the form of a low moan. It was there on the other side of the barrier, still waiting for him.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

The remaining bikers got out their silent weapons and began to fend off the dead while they waited for the truck.

Wombat had his machete, his usual weapon of choice, while some of the others preferred blunt instruments such as bats. Helga had grown fond of her crowbar, and she raised it high as she approached her first target at a run. She dropped the undead man with a single blow and turned to look for her next victim.

While the others held the dead back, Snake and Moose walked the length of the park, discussing what it would take to build a wall big enough to enclose the whole area. Math wasn’t Moose’s strong point, so Snake did some calculations for him, getting an idea just how much area they were talking about. As they moved back toward the bikes, they both turned their heads toward the rubble of the building.

“Did you hear something?” Snake asked.

“Sounded like someone calling for help,” Moose said.

They approached the huge pile of debris, and Snake called out. When he paused to listen, he could faintly hear a male voice responding to them.

“Someone under there?” Moose asked in disbelief.

“Sounds like it,” Snake said, moving even closer.

Lindsey and Wombat ran over with a few of the others, and Snake apprised them of the situation.

“We could pull some of that stuff off,” Wombat said, “but it’s going to take a while, and I don’t see our undead friends standing by while we do it.”

“For sure, dude,” Snake said. “If he’s in the middle where it’s piled high, it probably ain’t gonna happen. Let’s figure out where he is and see if we can clear the area around him.”

They spread out, trying to pinpoint the survivor’s location while still fighting to keep the area clear of the dead.

“Right here,” one of the younger bikers finally called, pointing at a spot in the pile of rubble. “I can hear him!”

Snake hurried over to where the man was standing. The debris was still thick at that point, but it wasn’t piled as high as it was in other places.

Moose and Wombat began to dig into the rubble, but the chunks of concrete proved to be either too heavy or jammed too tightly together to move. The twisted rebar that snaked throughout the destroyed building only added to the difficulty.

“We ain’t gonna get this done by hand,” Snake said. “We need some demolition saws and maybe a jackhammer at the very least. Mark the spot and tell him we’ll be back once we find some equipment.”

The younger biker directed his voice toward the rubble, repeating Snake’s message.

Snake thought he heard a faint reply, but he couldn’t make out the words. He looked up to see the truck finally making its way down the road. Just in time, too, he thought. The dead were starting to move in.

There were four bikers with rifles on top of the truck. On each side of the roof was a length of chain that had been bolted down to give them something to hold onto, though some repairs had been done since Bull’s recent mishap.

When the truck came to a stop, Lindsey ran over to the arriving group and handed Mouse his leather jacket.

Snake let out a sigh and motioned for Wolf to pull up. “What’s Mouse doing here? I thought we were going to leave him home?”

“Sorry, Boss. I tried,” Wolf said with a sigh. “He looked at me with that sad puppy-dog face he makes.”

“Oh, yeah, I know that one,” Snake said. “That always gets me.”

“Same here. What could I do?” Wolf asked. “Besides, he pointed out that it was a clear day, so he won’t have a problem with his asthma.”

“Hmmm, I’ll have to think of something else now,” Snake said. He pointed down the road. “Let’s roll!”

~*~

Demolished Office Building near St. Mary’s

Chuck closed his eyes, relieved to know that help was on the way. He had all but given up any hope of rescue and had been concentrating on just staying alive, one minute at a time.

He wondered what the others from the building would say when they found out that he was alive. He had lived in fear that they would try to reach him and that they would find out about his large stash of food and water. They would have expected him to share it, and he hadn’t been willing to do that.

Then the bombs had dropped, changing everything.

The others would be surprised to see him alive, he was certain. Perhaps they would even guess the reason behind his silence. Maybe they’d want to dig through the rubble of the building and find his food. The thought still sent a feeling of panic through him. He decided that he’d tell them that he had grown weak from hunger and thirst and hadn’t been able to crawl from his bed to speak through the vents. There was no reason for them to know that he’d been celebrating their exodus with a bottle of champagne at the time. That would be his little secret.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

The streets were like a battlefield, filled with holes and debris along with the usual shambling dead. Snake worried more than once that the truck wasn’t going to make it through. Often, side streets were taken, but eventually the group managed to reach a rental store that Snake had remembered seeing a few days earlier.

“We need jackhammers or something that’ll dig through that mess,” he said, “and a generator large enough to power it.”

The rental store consisted of a small office with some larger buildings behind it. A chain-link fence with privacy slats was connected to the front building, and it encompassed the entire lot. Trees and shrubs had been planted all around the perimeter to improve the looks of the property, but they made it difficult to see what was on the other side of the fence. There was a large double gate in the front with a padlock on it.

Wombat volunteered to climb the fence and survey the scene.

“Watch your fingers,” Snake said. “No idea what’s over there.”

Wombat held up his hands to show Snake the leather gloves he’d picked up that morning. He grabbed the fence as high as possible to avoid any teeth that might be on the other side, and he quickly climbed to the top. The rest of the group abandoned their rides and worked to keep the dead back.

“Boss, we may have something better than jackhammers,” Wombat said, looking over the yard. “I see a couple of garages and a bunch of heavy equipment, including rental trucks. I think we just hit pay dirt.”

“Any dead in there?” Snake asked, walking over.

“Not as far as I can see,” Wombat said, jumping back down. “Could be something behind the buildings.”

“All right,” Snake said. “Boys, let’s go in and check it out, but be careful. We’re not sure what’s in there. Moose, why don’t you take some of our dead friends here for a walk?”

The bikers began to scale the fence while Moose walked back to his bike. Snake had to be given a hand, and he struggled to make the climb. He thought about taking a breather halfway up, but decided against it when several creatures seemed to take interest in him and staggered in his direction. When Snake’s head disappeared behind the wall, Moose pulled his throttle, causing a roar that made the creatures forget about the others. The diversionary tactic worked beautifully as the mindless minions followed him away from the building.

Once inside the fenced yard, the others evaluated the equipment. There were several backhoes, some Bobcats, a couple of large rental trucks, and a large front-end loader. Snake smiled as he approached the machine.

“Suppose there’s a key in here?” He motioned for someone to check it out.

One of the men jumped onto the machine and looked into the cab.

“No go, Boss. Want me to try to hot-wire it?”

“Let’s look for a key first. No reason to risk frying it if we don’t have to,” Snake muttered. “I guess we’d better try the office. Hopefully the keys are labeled.”

“The yard’s clear, Boss,” one of the men said, as a group returned from the back of the garages.

The place gave Snake an unpleasant feeling, probably because the trees around the lot reminded him of the yard where they’d lost one of the younger bikers, Monkey, just about a week earlier. The death of the biker, who had been like a son to Snake, still weighed heavily on his mind. Shaking away the dark thoughts, he told one of the men to try the back door of the office.

The man ran back a few minutes later. “It’s locked,” he said.

“Want me to pick it?” Wolf asked.

“Nah, you’d have to climb over the fence again to get your tools. I guess we write an IOU for a window,” Snake said as he picked up a landscaping rock and threw it through the glass.

Mouse joined them at the window and immediately jumped up to climb through.

“Careful!” Snake warned him, the incident with Monkey still fresh in his mind. “Could be anything in there.”

The words had barely left Snake’s mouth when Mouse howled in pain and dropped back to the ground.

“My shoulder!” Mouse was grimacing while holding his arm gingerly. “I’ve been shot!”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Doune began to download anything useful he could find on the plague, as well as medical documents that he wanted to archive. He came across several discussions on the cause of the plague, but ignored most of them since the content was mere speculation and not worth his time. When he happened upon a conversation that caught his interest, he scrolled down to read the whole thread. One of the participants was a doctor, and there were a few others who seemed to be capable of intelligent conversation. Debating on whether or not to say anything about the nature of the plague, he finally jumped into the conversation without using his real name. He was normally not a paranoid person, but he also didn’t believe in giving out more information than was necessary.

We aren’t dealing with a virus. It’s a parasite, he typed. Then he waited.

The conversation came to a screeching halt. Doune only had to wait a moment before the questions started flying. He ignored the inquiries that dealt with whom and where he was, and simply told them that he was a surgeon and had access to a lab. He typed a short summary of what he had learned about the parasite, which was similar to Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a parasitoidal fungus.

Zombie ants? Someone wrote back, after a couple minutes. I remember reading about them a while back.

The parasite that we’re dealing with is similar, Doune replied, though quite a bit smaller and much more complex.

As the conversation continued, Doune learned that none of the others had access to a lab and had been flying blind in their speculations. They were interested in hearing everything he had to say about his research on the parasite, and he was enjoying every moment of it. He was in the middle of typing another reply when his surgical nurse, Amelia, showed up.

“Hey, mister genius brain surgeon,” she said, hands on her hips. “Those other doctors need help upstairs if you’re not too busy playing computer games.”

He kept typing as he replied to the nurse. “Amelia, have you ever known me to play a computer game?”

“No, but they still need help.”

“Is it critical? I’m in the middle of a discussion about the parasite. This is rather important.”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “You ask them. I’m off duty now, and I’m going to get some sleep.”

Before he could reply, she was gone. He clicked the mouse to send off his reply, getting another question almost immediately. The last thing he wanted to do was to interrupt the conversation to go upstairs and babysit.

“Look at this,” Claire said, suddenly. “They’re saying that London is almost completely overrun as well as several other European cities.”

“I’m not surprised,” Doune said, walking over to look at the report on the screen. Claire clicked on a map and it enlarged, showing an even grimmer picture than what they’d seen just an hour earlier.

“Autumn?” Doune asked, seeing the girl standing by the window. “Would you mind running upstairs for me?”

“I don’t mind,” she said, walking over. “It’s better than standing around here.”

“Will you please ask the other doctors just how urgently I’m needed? I’m in the middle of an important discussion with some people online. They need to know about the parasite.”

“Sure,” Autumn asked.

“Thank you,” he said, returning to the laptop. “Also, please explain to them what we’ve learned about the research facility in Montana. I’m sure they’ll want to know about it.”

Autumn smiled, loving the responsibility she was being given. “I’ll get right on that,” she said, hurrying off.

~*~

Malibu, California

“There’s a whole mass of the dead converging on an alley below,” the pilot said into his headset.

After a short conversation on the radio, he told Wood, “Madec said this is the place.”

A few minutes later, the squad was dropped down onto the street. As the helicopter lifted back up to observe the scene from above, several of the dead tried to grab for it. The distraction allowed the armed men to move in and thin the numbers before the remaining zombies realized there was fresh meat on the ground.

“Take that one alive!” Wood yelled, pointing to a dead man shambling toward them in a lab coat.

“A little late for that,” one of the men said.

With controlled bursts from their weapons, the soldiers were able to rapidly eliminate most of the not-quite-dead. The ground was soon littered with corpses, and more of the dead were moving in from the surrounding streets.

“Is it Rayburn?” another asked as they moved in around the lone, snarling zombie with a pair of handcuffs.

“Sure looks like it. That’s the same messy gray hair, and that looks like the lab coat he was wearing.”

“Watch his teeth!”

“I’ve got this,” one of the soldiers said, stepping forward with a roll of duct tape. “It’s him all right. He’s still wearing his name tag.”

Reaching into the ghoul’s pocket, the soldier pulled out a cell phone and checked it. “This is his phone. It’s Rayburn.”

“Wood, I hate to tell you, but you’re attracting a crowd.”

“We’re ready.”

“Clear me a spot.”

The men formed a large circle and moved outward, killing anything in their paths.

As soon as the chopper landed, the zombie was loaded onto it, and the soldiers followed, the dead quickly filling in the space around them.

“Go!”

As the chopper lifted into the air, some of the undead managed to grab on. A few carefully placed shots took care of the problem, and the aircraft was on its way back to the Yucca compound.

~*^*~

~13~

Yucca Compound, Southern California

“It’s got to be him!” said Bob, looking at the zombie that was strapped to an operating table. “Look. He has Rayburn’s name tag. He’s wearing those dark blue slacks that Rayburn always wears and the white lab coat.”

“It’s not him,” said the janitor, shaking his head.

“How do you know? The guy’s got no face!” Bob yelled.

“He’s also got no scar. The doc had a scar on his arm,” the man said, pointing to a spot on the zombie’s forearm, “right there. I’ll bet every person who works here has heard his story about the weasel attack.”

“Weasel attack?”

“Yeah, you know, they look like a ferret, but they’re a lot meaner.”

“I know what a weasel is. How in the hell . . .?”

“Hey, Clara, come here for a sec,” the janitor yelled.

The nurse started to walk over, but hesitated when she saw the faceless zombie.

“Don’t worry. He’s strapped down, but listen, these guys think this is Dr. Rayburn. What do you think?”

“W-well,” she said, stepping a little closer, “it looks like Dr. Rayburn. Look at the hair.”

The gray hair on the still-moving corpse was in desperate need of a trim, and it was sticking out all over.

“I always have to remind him when it’s time for a haircut,” Clara said, getting a little teary-eyed. “He forgets. He usually doesn’t comb it, either.”

“But what about the scar on his arm?”

“Oh, from the weasel attack,” she said, looking closer. “No, it’s not there. It’s not him, thank God.”

“It’s not the doc,” the janitor told Bob, shrugging.

Bob sighed and shook his head, dismissing the janitor and the nurse.

Madec waited until they were alone to speak again. “We have to assume that Rayburn and Hixson are still alive and that they’re out there somewhere with the real DVD.”

“Why both of them?”

“Rayburn didn’t transfer his clothing to a zombie without help. And if Rayburn had actually been bitten or killed, Hixson would have just left the phone on him. They’re both alive.”

“Okay, fine, now what are we supposed to do about it?”

“We need to retrieve that DVD at all costs. If it gets into the wrong hands, we could have trouble like you can’t even imagine.”

“What exactly do you think is on the DVD?”

“I think it contains information that could send us to our deaths.”

“Most of the world’s population is already gone,” Bob pointed out. “If anybody finds out about this, what are they going to do? It’s too late to point fingers.”

“Order will eventually be restored,” Madec stated. “If that day comes and word gets out that we had anything to do with the near-annihilation of our world, we’re all going to hang. People will search the ends of the earth to find us and destroy us.”

“I don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon,” Bob said, “but maybe you’re right. I don’t want to face a war-crimes tribunal when I’m an old man. Let’s bring them back.”

“There also may be information about a vaccine on the DVD,” Madec said.

“Do you think so?” Bob asked.

“If Petrov made a vaccine, I would think that he would have wanted to let someone know where it was, in case something happened to him. If that’s the case, it’s even more critical that we find the DVD.”

“So how do we find them? Helicopters? They’ll probably try to find a vehicle,” Burnell said.

“We’ll start with that,” Madec said, picking up a radio.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

After Autumn spoke to the doctors, she started for the elevator but did a double-take as she walked past a room. The patient didn’t appear to be alive. Quietly, Autumn made her way over to the side of the bed, watching the man’s face intently. After a few moments of no movement, he took a deep breath and began to snore. Relieved, Autumn stepped away, but as she turned to leave, she noticed through the window that the sky was a beautiful blue that day, though it looked like clouds were moving in. She crept past the sleeping patient to the window and watched in silence as the undead staggered aimlessly in the streets. Almost mesmerized by their random patterns, she jumped when she heard a thump. A dazed pigeon fell for a couple of feet and regained its composure, flying away from the window.

A slow smile began to creep over Autumn’s face as an idea formed. She turned and hurried to the elevator.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

“Let me see,” Snake said, grabbing Mouse’s arm to examine it. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw what was causing the pain.

“Don’t shoot!” he hollered through the window. He yanked the nail from the wincing biker’s shoulder. “We’re on your side.”

A young man cautiously peered through the window, still holding the cordless nail gun.

“What do you want?” he asked.

Snake could see a mixture of fear and desperation in the man’s eyes. His gaunt features and shoulder length hair, which stuck out in every direction, gave him a slightly unbalanced look. He appeared to be no more than twenty and was shaking uncontrollably.

“We need to rent a loader,” Snake said with a smile. “You open for business?”

“Take whatever you want,” the young man replied. “Just don’t let those flesh-eaters in.”

“Flesh-eaters,” Snake grinned. “I like that. You get us the keys to that loader, and we’ll take you somewhere safer if you want.”

“You got food?”

“Full cafeteria,” Snake answered.

The young man disappeared around the corner and returned a few seconds later with a set of keys. “Might as well fill it up. There’s a tank out back.”

“I’m Snake, and this is my posse,” Snake said, pointing to his men, as well as Lindsey and Helga. “Relax. They’re not as bad as they look.”

“Billy,” the man said, hesitantly shaking Snake’s hand. “Nice to meet you, I think.”

“Anyone else in there?” Snake asked. “We’ve got plenty of room.”

“Just my boss,” Billy replied, “but he’s dead. He’s got about thirty nails in his head.”

“Did he go zombie on you, or did he just short your paycheck?” Snake joked, trying to ease the man’s anxiety.

“No,” Billy answered without cracking a smile. “He went zombie.”

Fish stuck his head in and looked around the small room. There was a large desk with what appeared to be some sort of stereo equipment on it. A set of headphones lay nearby on the floor. He was about to comment about someone taking their music a little too seriously, when he realized what it was.

“Is that a radio setup?”

“Yeah, my boss is . . . was an amateur operator. What do they call them, HAM operator? He had a lot of fun with that thing.”

“It still works?” Snake asked.

“I guess. I don’t know how to use it, but before he got bitten, my boss was trying to reach other people on it. He’s got a couple different kinds of radios. One you can talk on and one is just for listening.”

“They could both come in handy,” Fish said.

“How would you feel about us taking this stuff back to the hospital with us?” Snake asked. “Maybe someone can figure out how to use it.”

“Fine with me,” Billy said with a shrug. “Anything we leave here will probably get looted anyway. Take whatever you can use. My boss sure doesn’t need it anymore. You might need the antenna on the roof, too.”

They loaded all of the radio equipment into one of the large rental trucks, which was slightly longer than the linen truck they already had. They also took a second truck, knowing they’d need the extra space to transport all the survivors from the school if the rescue went as planned. The new trucks would make a useful addition to their small fleet back at the hospital.

Wombat climbed up onto the roof of the building and took down the radio antenna, which was small enough to fit in the back of the rental truck. While he was busy with the antenna, the rest of the group added some other smaller equipment from the yard that might come in handy. One of the bikers mentioned that they needed flashlights, and Billy directed them toward several construction-type lights. He also had a couple flashlights tucked away in a drawer, and he pulled those out, too.

Since Snake’s last operator had carelessly let the machine go up in flames, and Billy seemed to know how to operate the loader, Snake let him drive it.

As soon as Moose returned from leading the dead away, the caravan left for the school, letting the loader go behind the bikes. Each time he came across a car in the way, Billy simply moved it to the side, clearing a path for the trucks behind him. By the time they got back to the school, Billy had a nickname; Wild Bill.

When he heard it, he did something he hadn’t done in quite some time. He smiled.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Dr. Doune!” Autumn exclaimed, out of breath. “I’m going on break.”

Doune glanced over, and Autumn could tell that he was suspicious. She had done her best to remain calm, but she was anxious to get up to the roof and that excitement had obviously shown through. If Dr. Doune found out what she was up to, he’d never let her do it, so she quickly tried to think of a cover story. Before she could say anything, the laptop made a beeping sound, meaning that Doune had gotten a reply to his last post.

“Go ahead, Autumn,” the doctor said, turning his attention back to the discussion online.

After running back to the lab to get a small box and a few other things, Autumn returned to the fifth floor and went to the snack machine, hoping to find a small bag of potato chips, but the machine was empty.

“Are you kidding?” Debbie said. “I think Eric had every one of those vending machines cleaned out within a couple days.”

Autumn checked the machines on the other floors, too, but the RN was right. They were all empty. She finally went down to the cafeteria, hoping to sneak out with some bread without having to answer a lot of questions. When she reached the kitchen, she was happy to see a fresh batch of cookies on the counter.

“Take a few,” Theresa insisted. The cook was determined to help put some weight on Autumn, who was still thin from her cancer treatments.

“Thanks. Don’t mind if I do,” Autumn said, grinning as she grabbed three cookies and headed immediately for the elevator.

The roof was littered with vents, air conditioning units, and pigeon droppings. A small utility room was in the center of each of the two wings, and a parapet lined the perimeter. The largest part of the roof was at the junction of the two wings, which was where the helicopters normally landed.

Autumn looked around, trying to find the perfect spot for her trap. She set the box upside down, and it immediately blew over, prompting her to move the box closer to the parapet wall to shelter it. Propping up one side of the box up with a tongue depressor that she had acquired in the lab, she placed a couple of cookie crumbs under the box so that they could be reached from the open side. She stood back and surveyed her trap. Tapping it a couple times, she finally got the box to fall on top of her hand. It was too light, she decided. Pulling a loose brick from the wall, she placed it on top of the box and reset the trap.

Knowing there was no guarantee that her prey would trip the wooden trigger, she pulled out a roll of dental floss that she’d stuffed into her pocket. She tied one end around the stick then ran the floss across to the utility shed, breaking it off when she was sure it would be long enough. Satisfied with the second test, she reset it and quickly went to sit where she could peek around the corner as she held the other end of the string, waiting for her prey.

~*^*~

~14~

Lansing, Michigan

As the caravan made its way down the street toward the school, Billy continued to push vehicles out of the way, sometimes flipping them onto their sides when it was necessary. Besides clearing the road, they were creating a makeshift wall to keep the dead back. There were gaps, but Snake began to wonder just what it would take to create walls along most of the roads they used. He decided to bring it up to the others later.

As the school came into sight again, Snake could see that it was still surrounded by a mass of the dead. After finalizing a few details of the rescue plan, he motioned for the people on the roof to drop down out of sight. The drivers of the trucks and the loader did the same, leaving those on bikes as bait.

Crouched down in the cab of one of the rental trucks where he couldn’t be easily seen, Snake peeked up now and then to check on the progress of the dead parade. When there were only a few stragglers left, he finally signaled for Billy to pull the loader as close as he could get to the school building. The trucks pulled in behind him.

Wolf was lifted to the roof in the loader’s bucket to help with the evacuation. The first two people were carefully lowered to the ground, and once the others saw how it was done, it went quickly. By the time the bikes returned, everybody was on the ground.

“Get these guys some water,” Snake said. “Then we’ll load up.”

At Dr. Martinez’s suggestion, Snake had started carrying a first aid kit and bottled water in the truck, enabling them to start getting the survivors hydrated immediately.

“Thank you for helping us,” said an exhausted-looking woman. She offered Snake her hand. “I’m Crystal.”

“Snake,” he said, shaking her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

The woman took a long shaky breath and said, “There might be more people in the building.”

“Do you know where they’d be?” Snake asked.

“No,” she said.

“Any idea if they’d be together or scattered around the building? I just want to know what to expect if we go inside.”

“There was another group, but I’m not sure what happened to them,” she explained. “We had been barricaded in the gym since the beginning of this whole thing. A helicopter landed on the roof one day, and we were able to talk to the pilot through a vent. He didn’t have any way to get through the roof to us, so the plan was for him to come back in the morning with help. That night, there was an outbreak, and half of the people in the gym were attacked before we could do anything.”

“I saw Caleb bite Brianna,” one of the little girls said.

The woman bent down and gave the child a hug then said, “Cara, why don’t you go see Mrs. Martin while I talk to this gentleman?”

The little girl hurried over to a woman who was helping to hand out water.

“How did someone get infected if you were barricaded inside the building?” Snake asked.

“We’re not sure,” the woman said. “Everybody had been checked for bites, and there hadn’t been any contact with those . . . things, for days. Apparently Cara, the little girl who was here a moment ago, may have seen the whole thing. I guess she was too terrified to wake anybody up, but she said one of the boys attacked another child, starting the outbreak.”

“So he may have been infected earlier, but it took days for him to change?” Snake asked, surprised to hear it.

“Yes. It happened in the early morning, close to dawn. All we can figure is that the first ones who were attacked never even woke up, or weren’t able to scream if they did wake up. Most of them had their throats ripped out.”

She began to cry, and Snake gave her a couple minutes to compose herself before she continued.

“I was on guard duty that night. All I could hear was the usual snoring and people rolling over in their sleep. There was nothing unusual. Then I heard something that just didn’t sound right. I got up and walked over with a flashlight.”

She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky for a moment before continuing.

“I heard horrible noises as I got closer to the far corner, and I knew . . . but I didn’t want to believe it. I had to be sure before I woke everybody, so I shined the flashlight on the corner of the room. There were eight or nine of them. They were hunched over the people who were lying on the mats, and they were feeding. I saw one little girl chewing on an arm. It was so small.”

She paused to pull herself together again before picking up her story.

“It was a bloodbath,” Crystal said. “I can’t even begin to describe how terrible it was. I’ll have nightmares for the rest of my life. I screamed, and the others woke up. The ones that had turned suddenly seemed to realize there was a whole roomful of prey. They got up and began to move around, attacking others. By this time, more of the victims had changed, and it was chaos. We couldn’t fight them all off, so we had to leave the gym. We got about halfway down the hall and ran into more of them. We got split up in the confusion. One group eventually made it to the roof, just as a helicopter was landing. The pilot evacuated them, promising to come back for the rest of us. I only know this because one of the teachers refused to leave. Instead, he came back to help us get to the roof. Once we were up there, he and two other teachers went back down to try to find the others, but we never saw any of them again.”

“So they might be in the building, or it could be full of infected,” Snake said, “or both.”

The woman nodded. “I’m praying that they made it to one of the rooms, but there were so many screams.”

“Okay. We’ll check it out,” Snake said. He looked around and saw that some of the dead were starting to wander back. “We’re going to have to make it fast.”

He looked back at Crystal, whose eyes seemed distant.

“This isn’t your fault,” he told her.

“It most certainly is,” she said, walking away.

Snake watched her go, knowing he’d need to talk to her again later. The guilt was coming off of her in waves.

~*~

Snake picked a handful of people to go in with him, leaving the rest to keep things clear outside. Pulling Fish aside, he said, “You’re in charge out here while we’re gone. Go ahead and hand out any extra silent weapons to anybody that’s willing to use them. If the dead come back, load everybody into two of the trucks, and get out of here. Just leave us one truck and keys, in case we come out with more survivors.”

Snake led the way to the front door then stood back as he motioned for Fish to open it. When nothing rushed out at them, Moose went in first with Helga, Wombat and Wolf close behind.

The lobby was empty, but the moans echoing throughout the building let the group know that they weren’t alone. While there was some light coming in through the front windows, it didn’t extend far down the two hallways that ran off the lobby.

Moose checked the left corridor, and in the gloom of the darkened building, the hulking shadows indicated that there were several infected wandering the halls.

The bikers turned the other way, taking out anything moving as they went down the right corridor. As they made their way deeper into the building, it became more difficult to see, though some light seeped beneath the classroom doors. The walls were lined with drawings that had been created in a happier time, and Snake had to look away from the brightly colored pictures of the children with their stick-figure families.

Rounding a corner, he was glad to see dim sunlight coming from a window at the end of the hallway. It wasn’t much, but it was better than what they’d had. A crowd of infected was gathered at a closed door, clawing at it in a vain attempt to get in. Some of them turned when they saw the bikers and began to stumble their way through the shadows.

Wombat let out a breath. “They’re almost all kids,” he whispered.

“I know, but don’t think about it,” Snake said. “And don’t use guns unless you have to. We don’t know how many live people we’ve got in the building, and we don’t want anybody hit by a stray bullet.”

The moans from the other hallway told Snake that their presence hadn’t gone undetected. They were going to be sandwiched between the two groups of ghouls in a matter of minutes.

“We need to do this fast,” he said.

Using their silent weapons, the bikers were able to take out about a dozen of the dead quickly. The rest of the crowd at the door started to stumble over the prone bodies, allowing the group to finish off the last of the infected as they crawled over their fallen comrades. It didn’t take long, but the dead from the other hallway were getting closer, and Snake knew that every minute counted.

He knocked on the door while the others waited to pick off the dead that were still headed their way.

A young voice on the other side of the door asked, “Can you talk?”

Snake was relieved to hear a voice, but the question seemed strange.

“We’re the good guys,” he replied. “We’re gonna get you out of here.”

A loud scraping sound came from inside the room as a heavy piece of furniture was apparently moved. Moments later, there was a click as the door was unlocked. It slowly opened and a boy peered out.

“Can you all talk?” he asked, warily.

“Our grammar ain’t the best,” Snake said, “but yeah, we can talk.”

“Good,” the boy said, looking relieved. “Mrs. Tyson said not to let anyone in who couldn’t talk, even if it was a police officer or a firefighter.”

“Or even Mr. Rodriquez,” a little girl said from behind the boy.

“Who’s that?” Snake asked, glancing down the hall to see how the others were doing.

“He’s the principal,” one of the boys said, looking at the biker as if he were stupid. “Everybody knows that.”

“Uh, Boss, we have company,” Moose said, as the first of dead from the left hallway finally rounded the corner.

“Don’t mess with them,” Snake said. “Get in here.”

The other four bikers rushed into the room behind Snake. Wombat came in last and shut the door. Inside the room was a group of about twenty children.

“Where’s your teacher?” Snake asked.

“Mrs. Tyson? She’s in there,” said the boy that had let them in. He pointed to a door in the corner of the room that looked like it probably belonged to a closet.

“She said if anyone lets her out, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Yeah,” another child added. “It’s like a test. If we let her out, we’ll get an F.”

“Did everybody in your group come in here, or did some go to another room?” Snake asked.

“Some people went up to the roof, but we couldn’t get there,” one girl said. “Mrs. Tyson brought us here.”

“Okay, but is everybody that was with Mrs. Tyson in this room?” Snake asked, not wanting to take the time to search the entire building unless it was necessary.

“Everybody except Alex and Kayla.”

“Where are they?”

“I think they got eaten,” said a solemn-looking little girl. “We heard them screaming. Mrs. Tyson tried to help them, but one of those bad people bit her.”

“Ah, man, sorry to hear that,” Snake said. He looked around the room and saw a door on the opposite side from where they had entered. “Where does this other door lead?”

“Outside,” one of the boys said.

They would have to take the children out the back door and around to the front of the building, Snake decided. He didn’t like it because he had no idea what might be waiting outside. He looked at the kids and noticed that they seemed frightened.

“Hey,” Snake addressed the children. “That big dude over there, we call him Moose.”

They all looked at the big biker who had wandered over to the closet door.

“Know why we call him that?” Snake asked.

A boy raised his hand.

Snake pointed at him.

“Because he’s big!”

“No,” Snake said, “because he’s smelly, like a moose.”

The classroom erupted in laughter. When Moose lifted an arm up and smelled his armpit, the laughter increased.

“You need to take a bath,” another child yelled to Moose, which only added to the laughter.

“Everyone who thinks Moose should take a bath, say so,” Snake said to the class.

Every hand shot up, and the children began to make other comments, usually followed by laughter. When the chatter subsided, the moaning in the corridor had gotten louder, and pounding could also be heard from behind the closet door.

“Okay, guys,” he said, getting the attention of the children. “There’s going to be some big trucks outside. We need to sneak through the back, and when I tell you to run, I want you all to hurry to the trucks, as fast as you can.”

Snake got on his radio once the children were ready.

“How’s it look outside?” he asked Fish. “Can you check around the back?”

He got a reply within a minute. “Looks clear.”

Snake opened the door and looked around. “Okay, kids, you’re going to go out now, but wait right there. Don’t run until we tell you to.”

He turned to Wolf. “Keep them there for just a minute. Gotta take care of something.”

Helga and Wombat led the way out the door, with the children close behind.

~*^*~

~15~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“What kind of stuff should I be downloading?” Dustin asked.

“I think we need to assume that everything online will eventually be lost to us forever,” Doune said.

“You really think that’ll happen?” Claire asked, surprised. “This information isn’t just floating around in space. It’s on computers all over the world, so it won’t necessarily be gone.”

“Right, but we have no idea where most of these computers are located,” Jackson said. “And how would we get to them if we did know?”

“What about libraries?”

“Again, if we can get to them, that’s great. But who knows how many of them are even still standing? This city is a war zone, and I’m sure others probably are, too. Besides, we can store a lot more information digitally than we can in printed form.”

“That’s a good point,” Claire admitted.

“I think Dr. Doune is right,” Jackson continued. “Let’s look at a worst-case scenario to be safe. Imagine that we’ll be starting over almost from scratch someday soon. What will we need to do that?”

“I’ll concentrate on medical reference materials,” Doune said.

“Can you spare the time from your research?” Jackson asked.

“The research can wait a few hours,” Doune said, not quite trusting the others to handle the responsibility. “It’s absolutely critical that we download as much as possible while other computers are still online.”

“True,” Jackson said.

“We’ll need dictionaries,” Claire suggested, “including foreign ones. We’ll also need encyclopedias and maps . . . lots of maps.”

“Right,” Dustin said, grabbing a pen and starting a list. “And music.”

“No, Dustin,” Claire said. “I don’t think we can consider music as a top priority.”

“But think of all the songs that could be lost forever,” the teen replied, distraught. “Classics from groups like the Half Broken Craniums.”

“I can’t believe you used the words ‘classic’ and ‘the Half Broken Craniums’ in the same sentence,” Jackson said, “but Claire’s right. Those are the kind of things we want to worry about after we get the stuff that is vital to survival.”

“But dictionaries and atlases aren’t vital to survival. Isn’t music just as important as those things?”

Jackson shrugged, “I think we need to look at this in tiers of importance. First is survival; weapons, fighting techniques, food production, water treatment, medical resources, and any other skills that will keep us alive. Second would be things we need for rebuilding the world if it comes to that; basic carpentry, generation of power, automobile repair, production of gasoline . . . things of that nature. Finally, we’ll need history, art and music etc. These are things that are important to us and we don’t want to lose but that aren’t necessary to keep us alive.”

“I guess,” Dustin said, obviously not convinced.

Jackson grinned. “Dustin, there are houses and music stores full of CDs with pretty much every song ever recorded. It’s the same thing with movies on DVDs. We don’t need to worry about that right now, but if things don’t get better, we’ll make sure we collect as much music as we can. We just have to get these other things first.”

“What about farming?” Dustin asked.

“Do we need instructions on that?” Claire asked.

“It’s kind of complicated, actually,” Dustin said. “There’s fertilizer and pest control. You’ve got to know what grows in your climate and when to plant each crop. Some will handle frost, some won’t. Sometimes you have to rotate them, too.”

“Wow,” Claire said, amazed. “I guess food is something I’ve always taken for granted. If I want to eat, I go to the store and buy something or grab some takeout. I mean, I know where food comes from, but I just never thought much about it. I was born and raised in the city, so I’m clueless about farming.”

“I don’t think you’ll be grabbing takeout anymore,” Jackson said, typing as he spoke.

“No more pizza,” Dustin said, looking depressed.

“Dustin, since you know something about farming, why don’t you handle it? Look up everything you can about food production and archive it,” Claire suggested.

“Sure,” Dustin said, returning to his computer.

Doune’s mind drifted as he began to do his searches. He’d never been much of a history buff, but how strange would it be to have a generation of people growing up with no history books and only learning by word of mouth? Would bits and pieces of the world’s history end up lost forever, along with skills and technical knowledge? Would leaders emerge from the ruins or would anarchy prevail, sending the world into a new dark age? The thoughts were depressing and he quickly turned his attention to his work.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

The bikers waited outside with the children while Snake and Moose went back inside. Snake went to the door of the closet and grasped the knob while Moose readied his knife. As the door was pulled open, the two men found themselves face-to-face with the teacher turned creature. She lurched at Moose, and he responded by planting his knife in her forehead. She fell back into the closet into a large pool of dried blood.

“That’s a lot of blood,” he said. “She must have got bitten real bad.”

Snake knelt down and looked her over, checking for wounds. When his eyes lit on her left wrist, he stood then moved her other arm with the toe of his boot. The insides of both wrists were coated with blood, and a large shard of broken glass lay on the floor.

“Oh. Maybe she thought she wouldn’t turn if she died first,” Moose said.

“She did tell the kids not to let her out,” Snake reminded him. “Maybe she was just hoping.”

He shook his head after one more glance at the teacher. “We’d better get going.”

Moose joined Wombat and Helga at the front of the group while Snake fell to the back with Wolf. They began to move the group of children along the building. It was going well until Wombat almost slammed into a zombie that suddenly appeared around the corner.

Some of the children began to scream, and a couple even turned to run back into the classroom, though Snake intercepted them and told them to wait.

Pulling his machete, Wombat finished off the not-quite-dead man while Helga and Moose jumped in to help with others that were coming their way.

“Doesn’t look too clear to me,” Wombat said. “I think Fish miscounted again.”

Snake left his position to run ahead and check out their route. He quickly found that the dead were coming through a hole in the fence, and he sucked in a breath when he saw just how many were on the other side of it.

“We’re going to have a big problem here in a minute,” he said, trying to keep calm for the sake of the children. “Let’s go.”

He hurried back to the children, urging them forward, though several of them began to balk as they spotted the zombies coming through the fence. “Come on kids. They’re slow. We need to hurry and get past them.”

When one of the little girls refused to move, Helga threw her over her shoulder and hurried ahead with her as Snake encouraged the others to run. Once they could see that the rest of their route was clear, Wombat and Moose fell back to fight the dead while Snake and Wolf quickly escorted the children to the trucks. Most of the other survivors seemed overjoyed to see the children, but Snake had to rush their reunion.

“We gotta get moving,” he said, glancing back at the bikers who were holding the dead back.

A few of the survivors asked if they could ride on the bikes instead of in the trucks. Snake agreed, knowing that the survivors might feel better if a couple of their people were on the outside. He pointed to three bikes with single riders.

Wombat and Moose hurried to join the others as the trucks began to pull away. There were some close calls as the convoy left the school since the dead were coming from all directions by that time. Once they put a few blocks behind them, it was smooth sailing, and the trip back to the hospital was made without any further problems.

“I guess I’d better stay and get these guys into quarantine,” Lindsey told Wombat as she got off his bike. She had taken on the responsibility of getting newcomers settled in since there was little need for a physical therapist.

“You don’t sound too happy about it,” Wombat noticed.

“I’d rather be out there with the rest of you,” she admitted.

“Snake’s got his radio. If you get done soon, give me a call, and I’ll come and get you.”

“All right,” she said, giving him a smile. She hurried inside as he turned to follow the others.

As soon as the survivors were dropped off, most of the bikers returned to the site of the office building. The dead were coming out, drawn by the sounds of the engines, and Snake knew that this rescue wasn’t going to be any easier than the previous one had been.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Autumn tensed, the dental floss held tightly in her fist as she watched a pigeon finally land on the roof near her trap. Silently, she urged it to take the bait and step beneath the cardboard box. Instead, it pecked at the cookie crumbs and was soon joined by a second bird and a third. They ate the crumbs and tried to chase each other off, but they did not step under the box. She waited as patiently as possible, and the first time one was halfway under the trap, she pulled the string. By this time, other birds had joined the group, and they all took off in a startled flurry of wings.

Autumn hurried over, certain that she’d trapped at least one of them, maybe more. The box seemed unusually still when she approached it, and she wondered why it wasn’t moving. She carefully lifted it enough to take a peek. Nothing.

She knew she’d wasted at least ten minutes already, but she decided she could wait a while longer, especially since Dr. Doune was preoccupied. She settled down to wait.

~*~

The newcomers were escorted to the second floor, where Dr. Sharma and Dr. Martinez were waiting for them. Each person was checked for bites before being sent into the new quarantine room. A couple of them were pulled aside for minor medical treatment, but overall, the survivors were healthy.

By the time Lindsey arrived with the last group, the room was crowded. She let everybody know that more water was being brought up, and food would follow as soon as Theresa could put something together. By the looks of relief on some of the faces, she guessed they’d done without the basic necessities for a while.

“You’ll be in here for three hours,” she told them. “We’ve found that the parasite shows up in the blood by that time, so we’ll do a blood test and if you aren’t infected you’ll be free to move about the building.”

“What if we don’t want our blood drawn?” one woman asked, crossing her arms. She was blonde and beautiful, and Lindsey had the feeling that she was used to getting what she wanted.

“Then you can stay in here for twenty-four hours until we’re sure it’s safe to let you out,” Lindsey informed her. “It’s your choice, but that’s the rule. It applies to all of us.”

“Not much of a choice,” the blonde said.

“Nobody is making you stay here at the hospital,” Lindsey pointed out. “But if you do choose to stay, we have some rules. We’re pretty flexible, except when it comes to putting others in danger. Quarantine is one of these rules. Also, if you stay, you’ll be put to work.”

The woman laughed at the comment. “Doing what?”

“Helping in the kitchen, cleaning, guard duty, maintenance and soon we’ll be needing farm hands. I’ll be passing out questionnaires so we can get a better idea of what sort of skills everybody has.”

“We have a few teachers among us,” said a middle-aged African-American woman. “Do you have any sort of schooling going on for the children? If you do, we’d love to help.”

“No, we don’t,” Lindsey said. “At the moment we only have a few children. If you’d like to set something up, that would be wonderful. We’ll just let the teachers handle the details. But also, since the parents aren’t here, we’re going to need to figure out sleeping arrangements since we won’t want children in rooms by themselves.”

“A few of the parents came to the school when they first heard about the outbreak,” the teacher said, pointing out a couple of families. “I’m sure some of us would be willing to work something out with the other children.”

“Count me out,” the blonde said, rolling her eyes.

“I take it you’re not a teacher,” Lindsey said.

“Not hardly. I’m a model. I was out talking to a friend when the shit hit the fan. I went to the school because I thought it would be safe.”

Lindsey turned her attention back to the others. “A few of the rooms are big enough for 4-5 people, though most are smaller,” she said, mulling the problem over. “We’d need a lot of adults willing to help out with this many children. I’m just wondering if we could find a couple big rooms that would fit several bunk beds. We could put a couple adults and several kids together.”

“That would be perfect,” the teacher said. “Then as time goes on we can maybe place the children with families. I’d rather not split them all up in the beginning. It might be hard on them. And I’d be happy to be in one of the bunkrooms.”

“That would be great. What’s your name, ma’am?” Lindsey asked the woman.

“I’m Roxanne Martin,” the teacher told her.

Some of the children giggled, and one whispered, “I thought her name was Mrs. Martin.”

“I’ll help, too,” another woman said. She was younger with long black hair. “I’m Nadia Flores.”

There was more giggling as a few of the children whispered among themselves.

A woman in the back spoke quietly to the man beside her and finally raised her hand. “My husband and I are willing to help out. We’re both teachers, and our two children are with us.”

“Great,” Lindsey said, taking their names. Two other male teachers, named Mike and Sean, volunteered as well. “This would give us three rooms. I think this will work if we can find some large rooms.”

Soup, bread and water were brought up. As people started to eat, Lindsey talked to several of them about skills they had that could be helpful.

When Lindsey got to the blonde, the woman said, “I have skills. I already told you I’m a model.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder with a shake of her head.

“They always need help in the kitchen,” Lindsey said, making a note on her tablet.

“Oh, please,” the woman said, rolling her eyes. “Me? Work as a waitress?”

“I was thinking more like a dishwasher. We don’t have waitresses, but we could use more people to clean tables and wash dishes.”

“That’ll be the day. I’ll just find a man to support me,” the woman said, smiling sweetly at Lindsey.

“Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way,” Lindsey replied. “Everybody works. We’ll find something for you.”

“What a bitch,” the woman muttered loud enough for Lindsey to hear.

Ignoring her, Lindsey excused herself. When she left the room, she let out a long breath.

“What’s wrong, Lins?” Hawk asked. The biker was leaning against the wall outside the room with two other guards.

“I just need to shoot something. If I stay in that room another minute, it might end up being that blonde chick.”

“Mandatory quarantine after being outside the wall. Sorry, Lins,” Hawk grinned.

“Not if I go back outside,” she pointed out. “Would you mind calling Snake on the radio and see if Wombat will come get me? Please?”

“Sure,” Hawk laughed, making the call.

~*^*~

~16~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Autumn sighed and stood up, having had no luck luring any pigeons into her trap. It made her wonder how detectives could do surveillance, since she was bored to death after only a few minutes. Checking the wooden trigger on her trap, she decided to leave it and come back later. If nothing else, maybe the birds would get used to having it there and she could try again another time. She brushed the dirt from the knees of her jeans and headed back inside the building.

~*~

Lindsey hurried over to the loader with bread and water for Billy. He took it, gratefully, though he set it aside for the moment and continued clearing the debris around the area where the man was trapped.

“Done with orientation already?” Snake asked when Lindsey walked over with her crossbow.

“More than done,” she replied. “I think I may turn over those duties to someone else and just stick to killing zombies in the future. It’s a lot less stressful.”

Wombat laughed and turned to take out a walking corpse with his machete.

The noise from the loader seemed to be drawing the dead, and Snake finally motioned for Billy to stop.

“Take a little break and eat something,” he said.

While Billy dug into the food, Snake made his way over to the front of the loader. “Hey, can you hear me?” he called into the pile of debris.

“Yes,” came the reply, but it sounded weak.

“We’re about to get overrun here, so we’re going to try to thin the crowd,” Snake told him. “It’s going to take a little while. Will you be all right?”

“Do I have a choice?” the voice asked.

Snake stepped back. He knew that the extra time could cost the man his life, but Snake had almost twenty of his crew outside, and he wasn’t about to sacrifice them, either.

“Hey, guys!” he yelled. “Try to lead some of these goons off. I’m going to have Wild Bill here build us a quick wall when he’s done eating.”

As the others started up their bikes, Snake climbed up into the cab of the loader and told Billy to duck down so he couldn’t be seen. While they were hiding from the dead, Snake told him what he wanted.

“We’re gonna block off this area with cars,” he said.

“You just want me to put them around the area we’re working on?”

“No, because the dead will surround us and we’ll be penned in,” Snake said. “We need to have a clear route back to the hospital. We wanted to fence in the park anyway, so might as well kill two birds with one stone. Didn’t plan on including the office building property, but I don’t see much of a choice, at least for now.”

“Oh, I get it,” Billy said, nodding. He stuck his head up high enough to get a quick glimpse at the two roads on either side of the park. There were cars lining the streets already with only a few empty spots.

“All I’ll have to do is push the cars together,” he said, ducking his head back down. “I can include the street that runs down to the gate.”

“Exactly,” Snake said.

“How will the bikes get through when they come back?”

“We’ll find a car with keys in it and we’ll use it to block the entrance,” Snake said. “We can move it whenever we need to. Once the cars are in place, we can take our time building our permanent wall.”

“Works for me,” Billy said.

They waited several minutes until most of the dead were far down the road before Billy started the loader again.

Expertly navigating the large piece of equipment, the young man began to push cars into place all the way down the length of the park. It took some maneuvering at times, but Billy knew how to operate the loader, and he was able to figure out any problems he encountered.

The bikers returned after a while and killed off some more of the dead, but eventually were forced to lead a second group away. By the time they returned once more, Billy was done with the wall. Snake was waiting in a large SUV that blocked the entrance to the park. When he saw the bikes returning, he backed up to let them in before closing the makeshift gate once more.

Once the bikes were shut off and everybody could hear him, Snake told a few of the men to help with the digging since some of the work would have to be done by hand.

“The rest of you can do guard duty along the car walls,” he told the others.

The loader went back to work, pushing away some of the debris while a couple of the bikers waited with shovels and picks.

“Careful with those picks, boys,” Snake reminded them. “I don’t think he’s too far down.”

~*~

Demolished Office Building near St. Mary’s

Chuck could hear the rumble of the heavy equipment working to dig him free. He’d waited patiently as they had worked on walling in the area, though it had taken every bit of fortitude he could muster to keep from screaming at them to just get him the hell out. Now that they were back, he grew more anxious, knowing that his imprisonment in the tomb was almost at an end. When debris began to fall on his head, he almost panicked. The walls shifted, and he was afraid for a moment that it was all going to come down on him.

He turned his head when he heard a low moan somewhere in front of him. It’s on the other side of the board, he reminded himself, though the sound was less muffled than it had been earlier. He heard a loud thump nearby, and he felt the blood drain from his face. The cabinet, he thought. That dead thing has broken through. He took a deep breath, trying to keep from panicking as he silently urged his rescuers to hurry. When the loader moved away once more, he strained to listen. He could hear the moan, and it seemed to be just a few feet away. The putrid smell that followed confirmed his worst fears that the creature was close. Chuck quietly edged his way into the small tunnel he’d found earlier. He lay motionless, hoping he could stay hidden from the creature until his rescuers managed to get to him.

The slap of a dead hand on the ground behind him got Chuck moving forward until he reached the spot where the tunnel narrowed. The cramped space would not even allow him to cover his mouth to mask the horrid stench since his arm was now pinned tightly under his stomach. He could feel concrete wedging him in from above, and he knew that it was the spot where he’d become stuck before. Not knowing what lay ahead, he didn’t want to move forward unless he had to. When a hand grabbed his ankle, he quickly changed his mind. Desperately jerking his foot out of the grasp of the crawling ghoul, he felt his slipper come off, leaving nothing but bare flesh between him and the hungry creature.

With most of his remaining strength, he shifted enough to move forward, dragging his arm beneath his body. He tore bits of flesh on the jagged rubble with each inch of ground he gained. Probably due to the weight that he’d lost since his first attempt to explore the tunnel, he was able to get past the tight spot. He kicked his foot wildly while the creature continued to try to grasp his leg. Chuck feared that a searing bite wasn’t far behind. When he was finally able to pop his arm out from beneath him, he felt the warm blood begin to flow from his wounds. Feeling the beast behind him still grasping at his legs, Chuck frantically felt in front of him for anything that he could use to pull himself forward.

After a couple of seconds that seemed like an eternity, his hand touched a wooden leg that he guessed was from his coffee table. Grasping it tightly, he was able to pull his way out of the concrete trap into a slightly wider space. His arms and shoulders stung where the skin had been scraped off, but the relief he felt far outweighed the pain. The extra room allowed him to pull his legs closer to his body, buying him a few seconds of comfort. He hoped the creature pursuing him was large enough to get stuck in the concrete sandwich from which Chuck had freed himself.

The loader roared nearby once more, drowning out all other noise. Again, the rubble shifted and began to fall around him. For the first time, Chuck could see a pinpoint of light ahead, and he was desperate to be out. He reached in front of him to find another narrow opening. He would have to squeeze his body down the length of it, knowing that if the end was blocked, he would likely suffer the fate of being slowly eaten from the feet up. Crawling through the tight space, he was relieved to find that not only was the end clear of debris, but it opened into a larger cavity which allowed him to stretch out a bit. Exhausted, he turned onto his back and rested. His heart pounded in his chest as he gulped the stale air, unaware of the monster that was slithering through the opening to join him. Chuck stared into the darkness as he felt his heart begin to slow, and his breathing become less labored. The room grew a bit lighter as he began to hear the tell-tale sound of shovels. He turned his head to see a glint of light seeping in from the rubble above him, not too far from where he lay. A smile crossed his cracked lips as he realized freedom was only a few feet away.

The smile quickly faded as a rotting face appeared above him, the milky white eyes illuminated by the dim light. The snarled lips pressed toward Chuck’s throat, and he quickly raised his hands, grasping the creature’s neck before the ghoul could clamp down on his flesh. He slammed its head forcefully and continuously into the jagged ceiling, just inches above its head, until it finally stopped moving. Juices dripped from the wretched creature’s mangled head, and Chuck pushed the body to the side with what little strength he had left. Closing his eyes, he tried to catch his breath. The voices outside began to grow clearer, and the brightness of the room increased when a large piece of concrete was moved, opening the hole further. Blinded by the bright light, Chuck closed his eyes and dragged his battered body closer to where the men had broken through. With the last of his waning strength, he managed to crawl to the opening.

“We see him!” someone yelled.

“He still alive?” another voice asked.

Chuck reached up to grab a ragged piece of concrete, but he couldn’t get a decent grip. His arms were suddenly grabbed, and he was pulled from the tomb into the daylight, which caused excruciating pain to his damaged ribs.

“Careful! My ribs are broken,” he wheezed. He tried to stand, but found that he couldn’t put weight on his right leg without pain. One of the men helped to steady him.

“Have you been bitten?” Chuck was asked as the two bikers helped him limp over to where the others were.

“Hell, no,” Chuck said. He had no intention of mentioning his close call, either. The last thing he needed was for the idiots to refuse to let him into the hospital. In fact, they’d probably just shoot him on the spot. “I haven’t been anywhere near those things. I was up in the penthouse suite until it collapsed.”

“Good,” one of the bikers said. “Can you ride on one of the bikes? You feel up to it?”

“Sure, whatever,” Chuck said, frowning at the sight of the motorcycles. Gangsters, he thought. He took two steps toward the bikes and collapsed.

“Get him into the loader,” he heard a voice say before everything went gray.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Doune looked up to see a couple of the bikers arriving at quarantine with a patient on a gurney. The room was still full of the survivors who had been brought in earlier, so he knew it was going to be a problem. As he walked over, he overheard Dr. Sharma telling Snake, “He’s going to need to stay in bed, and the other quarantine room isn’t ready yet.” She nodded toward the window where Keith and a few of the bikers could be seen taking the equipment apart.

“Do you have any suggestions?” Dr. Sharma asked Doune when she saw him. “This man needs a bed and IV fluids, but there is no extra space for the bed.”

“How long do these guys have left?” Snake asked, nodding toward the quarantine room.

“Thirty minutes, but where will we put him in the meantime? And your men must also go in there since they’ve been outside.”

“He needs to be where we can treat him,” Doune said. “He’s going to have to be monitored, and we haven’t moved any of the equipment down here yet.”

“He says he hasn’t had any contact with the infected,” Dr. Sharma added.

“Is that true?” Doune asked the patient. “No contact?”

“No! I already told them that,” Chuck said, his words slurring a bit.

“He said he was in the penthouse, alone,” Snake said. “He’s been trapped under the rubble for days.”

Now that they had established the stricter quarantine rules, Doune was reluctant to make an exception so soon, but he didn’t see another option.

“Unless anybody has a better idea, I think we’re going to have to take him upstairs and put him in a regular room,” Doune said, “but I want two guards on him at all times for the next three hours, and he’ll need to be strapped down.”

Snake and Dr. Sharma both agreed that it made the most sense.

“I’ll take him up,” Moose said.

Snake shook his head. “We need guys up there who weren’t with us today. You need to do quarantine, dude.”

When he saw the dejected look on Moose’s face, he added, “Look, once you’re done with your three hours, you can do guard duty upstairs for a while. Bull and Wrench can take him up.”

Moose grinned and headed into the crowded quarantine room.

~*^*~

~17~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey went with the others into the quarantine room but had to stand since it was filled with the ten adults from the school and over thirty children. Almost immediately, the blonde began to flirt with the younger bikers, paying particular attention to Wombat and Moose.

Lindsey leaned against the wall, hoping the next half-hour wouldn’t drag too badly. Within a couple of minutes, Wombat surprised her by coming to stand beside her. She turned and gave him a smile. The time always passed more quickly when she was able to lose herself in conversation with the biker.

Snake looked into the quarantine room and shook his head. “Looks a little crowded in here.”

“It’s like a sardine can,” Wolf said, from somewhere in the back of the room.

The teachers were doing their best to keep the children calm, but they had their hands full and the room was noisy.

“I think I’m gonna go back out and get some shopping done,” Snake said. “Haven’t seen any jets today and it’s kind of late in the day for them to be starting. Quarantine should be empty by the time we get back. Anybody want to go along?”

“We’re in,” Wombat said, grabbing Lindsey’s hand and making a path through the crowd. Most of the bikers followed.

The blonde shot a look at Lindsey as she passed by, but Lindsey ignored her.

“So what was up with that?” Wombat asked after they went downstairs.

“Up with what?”

“You and that blonde chick were glaring at each other. I half expected a fight.”

“Really?” Lindsey asked, surprised. “I thought I was ignoring her. She and I had a little run-in during orientation. Apparently she doesn’t think she needs to have a job here.”

Wombat grinned. “So that’s why you were upset earlier?”

“That’s why,” she said. “Maybe I’ll tell Helga that the blonde model is after Snake. I could take care of two problems at once.”

Wombat just laughed as he got on his bike. It took a few tries before he was able to start it.

“Does it do that a lot?” Lindsey asked, worried.

“Not often,” he said. “It’s a piece of junk, but my bike got flattened by a truck on the first day of the outbreak. I had to take this one, but I’m keeping my eyes open for something better.”

~*~

“Careful,” Chuck growled as the two bikers began to wheel his gurney down the hall. “This hurts like hell.”

“Chuck? You’re alive?”

The bikers stopped rolling the gurney for a moment, and Chuck turned to see a dark-haired woman standing in a doorway.

“Oh, hey, how are you?” he asked, recognizing the voice. “Eighth floor, right?”

“Right, I’m Claire,” she said, stepping over. “I’m so glad to see you alive. We thought you were dead, or we would have tried to get you out.”

Which is exactly what I was trying to avoid, Chuck thought. He’d been certain that if they’d known he was still alive, they would have come up to try to rescue him, and they would have learned about his large stash of supplies.

“I heard your voice through the vents, but I was too weak to get over there to answer,” he lied.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again. “We should have gone up and checked.”

“It’s fine,” he told her. “You probably wouldn’t have had time. The bombs hit shortly after you spoke to me, so if you’d come to get me, you’d probably all be dead.”

“Still . . .”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, giving her a weak smile as he was wheeled away. “Everything is fine now.”

~*~

“Let’s take all three trucks,” Snake said. “Maybe we can fill them with supplies while we’re out. The fewer trips we make, the better.”

He picked up some more of his crew on the way down, hoping that a large group would speed things up. Billy led the way with the loader again. Snake hadn’t been sure about taking him back out so soon since he hadn’t had much to eat or drink yet, but Theresa had come to the rescue with a couple of sandwiches and a large bottle of water for him to take along.

“Xena, you want to ride in one of the trucks?” Snake asked.

Lindsey heard a growl escape Helga.

“No, thanks,” she said. “I’ll just ride with Wombat.”

“I will ride with you,” Helga told Snake after shooting a dark look at Lindsey.

Lindsey had to turn away to hide her grin after seeing the look of desperation on Snake’s face.

The truck at the end of the street and the car next to it both had to be moved to get the loader out of the park area, but it didn’t take long to do the job and replace the vehicles. As the bikers made their way down the streets, Billy pushed the vehicles aside as he had done earlier. The Motorcycle Mega Warehouse was their first stop. They had piled a few boxes against the doors before leaving, and the boxes were still in place.

“Let’s make it fast,” Snake said.

Besides bringing out the belongings and supplies that Kris had left behind, they picked up leather clothing in various sizes for those who hadn’t been able to join them. Snake decided that it wouldn’t hurt to have a stockpile on hand. By the time they were done, the guards outside had their hands full.

Moving on quickly, they checked the grocery store where they had first run into Helga. There hadn’t been much left before, but this time the shelves were almost bare.

“Guess we’re going to have to find a new grocery store soon,” Snake said as they returned to their vehicles.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Wish I could help you with that,” Bull said as Wrench helped Dr. Sharma pull the gurney out of the elevator on the fifth floor. With his left arm in a sling and little strength in either of his injured arms, physical labor was out of the question.

Wrench grinned at the other biker. “Sure you do, buddy.”

Dr. Martinez met them near the nurses’ station.

“Where do you want him?” Wrench asked the doctors.

“Let’s put him right there,” Martinez said, nodding toward an empty room. “I want him close to the nurses’ station.”

Once Chuck was taken into his room and moved into a bed, Debbie hooked up an IV and got him started on some fluids. Dr. Martinez came in and did the exam, agreeing that there were probably a couple of broken ribs.

“We’ll need to do some x-rays, but the generator’s acting up, and I’m not going to drag you all the way downstairs again until I’m sure it’s worth it. We’ll let you rest and rehydrate first.”

“Fine with me,” Chuck said, closing his eyes. “I just want to sleep.”

“He is supposed to be strapped down,” Dr. Sharma said.

“There’s no way we’re going to be able to put straps on him,” Dr. Martinez said. “We can’t do the chest straps because of his ribs. We can’t restrain his ankles and wrists because of other injuries. I’m pretty sure he’s got some other broken bones, and he’s covered with scrapes.”

“Dr. Doune will not be pleased,” she said.

“Well, Dr. Doune has never been known for his compassion,” Martinez said. “If he doesn’t like it, he can talk to me about it. I’m not doing the restraints. We’ll have two armed guards, and the door will be closed.”

When the generator sputtered to a stop again, both doctors began to move at once.

Dr. Martinez yelled over his shoulder as he hurried off, “That door is to stay closed.”

Wrench walked over and lit the lantern on the desk. Candles and lanterns had become a common sight all over the hospital since the generator had been going out so often. While dim light seeped in from the windows, it wasn’t enough to dispel the darkness that filled the halls.

The biker disappeared into an empty room and returned with a couple of chairs, which he placed outside the door. Less than a minute later, the lights came back on as the generator started up again.

“I hate guard duty,” he sighed. “What could be more boring than sitting here outside a door, guarding someone that’s stuck in bed?”

“Standing guard outside Dr. Doom’s lab,” Bull replied. “I’ve pulled that duty a time or two.”

“At least it was down on the first floor at that time. There was some action going on,” Wrench said. “Up here? Nothing.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Bull said, fingers drumming nervously on his knee. He glanced over at the nurses’ station, wondering where they kept the meds.

One pill.

He told himself that it was all he’d need to take the edge off his pain. It would also relax him and help to get rid of the jitters.

“Turn that light off!” Chuck yelled as Debbie started to leave the room.

The RN flipped the switch off and closed the door. Bull watched her carefully as she entered and left a couple of the rooms, but she didn’t seem to be taking any meds with her.

Bull had spent some time in the hospital, back before the world had ended. He didn’t remember a lot about the accident that had put him there, except for suddenly seeing a minivan coming into his lane. He’d been told that he’d been run over by two different vehicles before traffic had finally come to a stop. He’d been stuck in a hospital bed for a month, though much of that time was a blur. It was when he’d first learned to like pain pills.

At St. Mary’s, the pharmacy was no longer in use. It had become a storage room, meaning the meds had to be somewhere else. Bull thought that they might be on the fifth floor where all the patients were. He just needed to figure out where.

When the nurse returned a while later, she dug through a drawer and produced a key, immediately getting Bull’s attention. He watched as she went down the south corridor, though he quickly lost sight of her. Standing, he pretended to stretch and finally walked to where he could see her unlocking one of the doors, though he couldn’t see the number. A few minutes later, Debbie appeared again, making her way down the hall with a tray full of small cups.

Bingo, Bull thought. He just needed to figure out how to get into the room. There was no way to do it with others around, and Wrench wasn’t likely to leave his post.

Almost half an hour later, Bull still hadn’t come up with a plan, and he was growing more anxious as thoughts of taking a pain pill or two were consuming him. Debbie had come back and was talking to Wrench, but Bull was only half-listening to the conversation.

“I figured Hawk would be up by now,” Debbie said. “He’s pretty regular with his smoke breaks. I join him when I can.”

“It’s been kind of crazy today,” Wrench pointed out.

The lights flickered then came back on. It happened two more times.

Debbie shook her head. “That’s getting annoying.”

Wrench’s reply was drowned out by the buzzing of the radio. Bull was so edgy, he almost jumped.

“Yeah?” he said, answering the call.

“It’s Jack. Is Wrench there with you?”

“He’s right here,” Bull said. “You need to talk to him?”

“Can you just send him down? I think the generator’s finally going out for good. I was hoping he could do something to keep it running until we can get the parts.”

Wrench frowned, having overheard Jack’s message. “I was afraid of that. Pretty sure it’s the injector pump. Tell him I’ll be right down.”

He asked Debbie, “Can you let the docs know that the generator is going to be down for a while?”

“Sure, I’ll warn them,” she said, taking off down the hall.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

The group moved on to the home improvement store to see if they could find supplies for the fence they wanted to build around the park as well as other supplies on their list.

There were a couple dozen dead wandering around the parking lot of the home improvement store, but not enough of them to cause Snake much concern. Once the vehicles were shut off, the bikers began to clear the lot with their silent weapons. Helga stayed close to Snake, and Lindsey almost had to laugh at his expression. He looked like a trapped animal.

“I almost feel sorry for him,” she told Wombat, nodding toward Snake.

“Sure you do,” he laughed, pulling out his machete.

Lindsey readied her crossbow and carefully chose her shots. She tried to remember to stand and breathe correctly as she released the arrow. Her first shot skidded off the skull of a dead man, but the second one brought him down. She was able to put three of the dead to rest before the parking lot was clear. Retrieving her arrows, she cleaned them off before returning them to her quiver.

“Is that starting to feel more comfortable to you?” Wombat asked her, nodding toward the crossbow.

“It is,” she said. “I’m no expert yet, but I hope if I keep practicing, maybe I’ll get good enough to keep up with the rest of you.”

“It wouldn’t hurt for you to learn how to use other weapons, too,” Wombat mentioned.

“I have my gun,” she reminded him.

“I meant other silent weapons.”

“I’d rather not fight them that way,” Lindsey said. “I had a close encounter when we cleared the office building, and that was enough for me.”

“But what if it happens again, and you don’t have your gun or crossbow handy? You need to be able to take them out with a crowbar or a pike. And it would be good for you to know how to fight, so you can push them away or get out of their grip. It could buy you a little time to get your weapon ready.”

They began to walk toward the building as he added, “We also don’t know what kind of living people we might run up against. So far we’ve been lucky, and everyone’s been decent, but that might not always be the case.”

“That’s true,” Lindsey said. “As things get worse, I’m afraid we may see people growing a little more desperate than they’ve been so far. Do you know how to fight?”

“I had my share of brawls when I was younger,” he admitted, “and I could teach you some basics.”

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared, if you don’t mind teaching me,” Lindsey said as they reached the entrance of the building.

Helga and two others stayed outside to keep the parking lot clear as the rest of the group got ready to go inside. Snake called into the store before making an attempt to enter. The yell brought two zombies from the depths of the building, and Snake stepped back to let a couple of the men take care of them.

“Now, remember, it’s a big place so be careful,” Snake said as they entered the building. “They could be anywhere in here. Don’t get cornered.”

“Got a crawler over here,” Fish yelled from behind a counter. He grabbed his bludgeon and made short work of it before going to look for more.

Lindsey and Wombat rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a ghoul. With a quick whip of his machete, the biker relieved the dead man of his head. He stepped back as it bounced on the ground, teeth still snapping. A fast jab through the ear finished it off.

Lindsey had her crossbow, but she knew she probably wouldn’t be able to use it inside the store. With the aisles blocking her view, there was too much of a risk of hitting a live person. Wombat was right. She needed to learn to use other weapons.

Within ten minutes, the store was cleared. Snake pulled out his list and tore it into segments.

“Electrical,” he said, holding up one of the pieces.

One of the bikers grabbed it and took off with a few of the others.

“Lumber.”

“Got it,” Wombat said, taking the paper.

Lindsey decided to tag along with his group as Snake continued to hand out assignments.

With all the extra people they’d brought along, they were able to fill two of the trucks quickly. They took all of the wire fencing that they could find, though it wasn’t going to be enough to do the whole job.

“Time’s up!” they heard Snake call from the front of the store a while later. “Everybody out!”

By the time they got outside, Helga already had a pile of bodies in the center of the parking lot. Others were jumping in to help, but there were a number of dead who were still on their feet.

“Where’s Mouse?” Snake asked, looking around. He let out a long sigh. “Someone better go back in and get him.”

~*^*~

~18~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Bull let Jack know that Wrench was going to come down. With the other biker gone, Bull hoped that he could get the pills before Debbie came back. He stood up, ready to move down the hall.

“Don’t let Wrench leave until someone else gets there,” Jack said. “I’ll send someone up to take his place.”

Bull swore silently, squeezing the radio a little tighter until he remembered the conversation that the nurse had just had with Wrench.

“Can you send Hawk up?” he asked.

There was some muffled conversation in the background then Jack said, “He’s on his way. Have Wrench come down as soon as Hawk gets there.”

“Will do,” Bull said, setting the radio down. The seconds seemed like hours as he waited.

Within a few minutes, Dr. Martinez returned with Debbie, who was telling him about the generator.

“It’s going to get crazy as soon as that generator goes off,” the doctor said. “I’m going to check on our new patient while I can.”

Bull frowned, hoping the doctor wasn’t going to be there long enough to screw up his plans. He listened as Dr. Martinez entered the room, only to be met with a tirade from the patient.

“Damn it, I just fell asleep!” Chuck yelled. “Are you guys going to be waking me up every half-hour to see if I’m sleeping?”

“We’ll leave you alone for a while if you’re feeling better.”

“I’m feeling fine, just tired.”

“Still lightheaded?”

“No, just tired, damn it!”

“Okay, Debbie’s going to have to change your IV bag in a while, but she should be able to do it without waking you. You can ring the bell to call someone if you need anything,” Dr. Martinez said, pointing to a bell on the table. “The call buttons are only working about half of the time.”

“Believe me, I will,” Chuck said.

“Let’s let him rest for now,” Dr. Martinez told Debbie after they left the room.

“What about his pain meds?”

“If he wants them, he’ll ask for them. Just check his IV and change it if you need to, but try not to wake him up.”

As Dr. Martinez left to walk back down the hall, Bull bit the inside of his cheek, waiting as the minutes ticked by. When Hawk finally arrived and Wrench left, Bull spoke quickly, knowing that the doctors could return at any moment.

“You need a quick smoke break before going on duty?” he asked Hawk. “If you and Debbie want to run up there, I won’t say anything.”

Hawk’s hand went to the pocket where he kept his cigarettes, but he shook his head.

“Better not. Snake will have a fit if I leave my post.”

Bull wanted to scream when Hawk walked over to the nurse and started flirting with her.

Maybe someone’s trying to tell you something. Maybe you don’t need those pills as badly as you think you need them.

Just one, Bull promised himself. And maybe a couple for later, since the docs won’t give me what I need.

When Debbie finally went to check on her patients again, Hawk wandered back over to where the other biker was sitting.

“That nurse is pretty cute,” Bull said.

“She’s got a good sense of humor, too,” Hawk said, his hand moving toward his pocket again. “I’d ask her out, but there’s nowhere to go.”

Bull forced a laugh, though it took effort. His nerves were ready to snap.

“What are you going to do when you run out of cigarettes?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Hawk said, pulling out the pack and holding it in his hand. “There’s got to be a ton of them out there in stores and houses. I’ll go out on my own and find some if I have to, but I know someday they’ll all be gone. I wonder if we could grow tobacco here.”

“I doubt it,” Bull said. “Don’t they grow it where it’s warmer? I think I remember something about Virginia.”

“I think you’re right,” Hawk said, pulling out a cigarette and smelling it. “I ought to quit anyway. I’m smoking about once an hour when I’m awake, and I get up twice during the night. It’s bad.”

“You go up to the roof at night?” Bull asked.

“I open a window.” Hawk rolled the cigarette between his fingers then said, “I wonder how long they’ll expect us to be on duty here.”

“At least a couple more hours,” Bull said. “Maybe longer. Everyone knows the guy wasn’t near the deadheads, but Dr. Doom’s got to waste our time on a stupid rule.”

“I should have taken a smoke break before Wrench left,” Hawk said.

“Go ahead and run up there now,” Bull suggested, keeping his voice down. “Debbie will be gone at least ten, fifteen minutes. I’m sure not going to say anything.”

“I shouldn’t,” Hawk said.

“Do you really want to wait a couple more hours for that smoke?” Bull asked.

“No, I don’t,” Hawk said, standing. “Okay, I’ll hurry.”

The second Hawk was through the door, Bull ran for the nurses’ station and dug around until he found the key. Less than a minute later, he was trying doors down the south hall. He found the room quickly and ducked inside, pulling out a flashlight so he could look around.

Shelves had been set up inside the room, making it look like a miniature pharmacy. All of the bottles were in alphabetical order, and he quickly found the Vicodin bottle. It was almost full, so he grabbed a handful and stuffed them into a pocket before putting the lid back on and retreating to the door. Now that he knew where to find the meds, he could easily come back at night and get more. He eased the door open, but paused when he heard voices in a room not far down the hall. His heart was pounding as he closed the door as quietly as possible then hurried back to the nurses’ station. Glancing around to make sure nobody was looking, he sneaked the key back into the drawer, certain that someone was going to show up and catch him in the act. He quickly closed the drawer and made it back to his chair without being seen. He pulled one of the tablets out and swallowed it dry, just before Debbie showed up around the corner.

“Where’s Hawk?” she asked, looking around.

Before Bull could reply, the other biker came through the roof-access door.

“Hey, sorry,” he said, sheepishly. “I needed a smoke.”

The nurse gave him a smile and said, “My lips are sealed.”

The lights went off again, and this time they stayed off.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“This is the culprit,” Wrench said, showing Jack the injector pump. “It’s probably never been replaced. Might as well put in new injectors while we’re at it. If Snake’s still within radio range, maybe he can pick up the parts.”

Jack tried his radio several times, getting no response.

“He’s probably either too far away, or he can’t hear it over the noise of the bikes,” Wrench said. “I’ll head up to the roof. Maybe I’ll get a better signal.”

Jack handed over the radio. “I’ll try to find a model number on this dinosaur. It’s got to be at least a couple decades old, so finding parts for it won’t be easy.”

“Good luck,” Wrench said, watching Jack rub the years of grease and oil off of the neglected generator in search some kind of informational tag. He left the room and hurried up the stairs to the roof to make the call.

Snake immediately answered.

“Jack needs you to make another stop,” Wrench said. “The injector pump on that gen is shot.”

“Where am I gonna find something like that?” Snake asked.

“I don’t know,” Wrench answered. “Jack’s trying to find you a model number. I seriously doubt you’ll find it at your local auto parts store. That machine’s pretty old. I’m sure you’ll have to find a diesel shop.”

“I don’t reckon I’ll just run into one on our shopping trip,” Snake said. “Try to find a phone book. Maybe there’s something close.”

“Will do, Boss,” Wrench said. “Hopefully, you’ll still be in range.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Snake said. “Radio me back in half an hour.”

~*~

Malibu, California

“I need pants,” George said.

“I know. You’ve told me that thirty times already.”

“Well, I still don’t have them, do I?”

“If you weren’t so picky, you could have gotten some at that last place,” Dan pointed out.

“Did you see the stuff they had? Jeans with holes in the knees? I like to wear out my clothes myself. I don’t need to pay money to have someone else do it.”

“Since you’re not going to be paying money, it shouldn’t matter. And wouldn’t it have been better than walking around in your boxers?” Hixson asked.

“Not really,” Rayburn said.

Hixson steered the other man around a small group of zombies before taking a few minutes to finish them off with his knife.

“I don’t believe I’m looking for a clothing store while we’re being chased by a mob of flesh-eating corpses,” he muttered, cleaning off his knife before sheathing it again. He checked the next corner and found it clear. “This way.”

They’d barely escaped from Rayburn’s office alive. Hixson guessed that the massive crowd of dead that had been surrounding the building had been drawn by the noise of the helicopter. It had been difficult to fight their way out of the building since Dan hadn’t wanted to draw the attention of his squad by using his firearms.

The alley had been the worst part. It had taken almost five valuable minutes to transfer Rayburn’s clothing to the zombie while more of the dead had been moving their way. They could have done it faster if they’d killed the creature first, but Dan had wanted the zombie to be mobile, so it could move around with the phone, which undoubtedly had a tracking device on it.

After transferring the phone and clothes to “Zombie George” as Rayburn had called the ghoul, they’d had to fight their way through a growing horde, finally gaining access to a building through an unlocked door in the alley. The area in front of the building had been clear, and they’d left without being seen, leaving the crowd of dead in the alley. Dan had made himself a promise to avoid populated areas in the future.

“Can we try that place?” George pointed to a sign for a men’s store.

“The glass is still intact,” Hixson said as they got closer. “You’ll have to be fast. Five minutes.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

Dan broke the glass then peered into the shop, unwilling to put his hand through until he knew that there were no teeth waiting for him on the other side. The store was dark inside, but Hixson saw nothing coming toward them through the shadows. He reached through the broken glass and unlocked the door. As they made their way through the gloom over to a rack of dress pants, Dan said, “Jeans would be harder to bite through.”

Rayburn hesitated. “I guess you’re right.”

“I’m going to go grab a few things,” Dan said.

A loud bell began to ring, startling both men. Dan swore quietly, realizing that he hadn’t checked for an alarm.

“I should try these on!” George yelled to Dan, holding up a pair of jeans.

“There’s no time! Grab some shirts and underwear. Just hurry!”

Dan pulled down a couple of backpacks that he found hanging on a display on the back wall. He ran over to Rayburn and shoved the second pack at him. “Here.”

Dan stuffed some clothing into his own backpack and turned to help Rayburn do the same.

“I found some shoes. Can I put them on?” Rayburn asked, holding up a pair of athletic shoes. “I might need to run.”

“Put them on later. We need to get out of here before that alarm calls every zombie in the neighborhood this way.”

Rayburn stuffed the shoes into the backpack and zipped it up as he followed Dan outside. The dead were everywhere.

“Where are we going?” Rayburn asked as they began to run down the street. “Do you have a plan?”

“We’ve got to go west. The whole LA area to the east is swarming with the dead, and I’m sure they’ll be spreading out.”

“We’re on the eastern edge of Malibu. Do you want to go through town?”

“No. There’s another compound nearby. It covers most of the city.”

“Can we go around it?”

“It’s bigger than the Yucca compound, and it starts near the water. We’ll have to go north of it. It’ll be less populated there, too.”

“Okay,” George said.

“We need to find a place where we can lay low for a while,” Dan said. “I know they’ll be looking for us once they find your phone.”

“What makes you so sure that they can track my phone?”

“There was no other reason for Bob to insist on you bringing it. We communicate with radios.”

“That makes sense,” Rayburn said. “I’ll just follow you, since you seem to know what you’re doing. You’ve kept us safe so far.”

“I hope it stays that way.”

“I still can’t believe Madec and Bob wanted to kill me,” George said.

“They’re looking out for themselves,” Dan replied, checking a street before hurrying to cross it.

“Well, even if I die out here, at least I didn’t die at their hands . . . or yours,” Rayburn said pointedly, not looking at Hixson.

“Are you going to hold a grudge?”

“Probably not, but you really did scare the hell out of me, threatening to kill me with that knife.”

“Do you blame me? I thought you were responsible for my daughter’s death.”

“I’d never hurt anybody, and I really liked Brittany,” Rayburn said.

Dan was unable to reply for a moment. “Let’s just put it in the past and concentrate on staying alive,” he finally said.

He’d wanted to kill Rayburn after talking to Burnell and Madec, yet he’d needed to give the man a chance to explain himself. When Dan had accused him of helping to create the parasite, George had seemed genuinely shocked. A short conversation with the doctor had convinced Hixson that the photos might have been faked. The clincher had been the DVD, which they’d started to watch on the computer in Rayburn’s office. Petrov had admitted creating the plague that had been unleashed upon the world, but it had been obvious that Rayburn hadn’t been involved.

They hadn’t had time to watch the whole video, but Dan had heard enough. He had traded the DVD for a movie on Rayburn’s desk, and they’d taken off, hoping they could figure out a way to get copies out to the public, or what was left of it.

~*^*~

~19~

Lansing, Michigan

Snake didn’t like the idea of dragging the three big trucks all over the city, and he hoped that Wrench would get back to him with an address that wasn’t too far. He began to grow more anxious as time passed, and he realized that the men he’d sent back into the building had been gone for at least ten minutes, probably more.

“If they’re not out in five more minutes, we’re going to have to go in after them,” he said to the others who were waiting outside. The group returned a couple of minutes later with Mouse and another biker who had his arms full of carpet scraps and lumber. He didn’t look very happy as he dumped the materials into the truck then walked away to talk to Wolf.

“Sorry, Boss,” said Mouse, whose arm was wrapped and in a sling.

“What are you doing, Mouse?” Snake asked. “Didn’t you hear me say that we had to go?”

“Well, sure,” the small biker said, “but I was getting some stuff to build one of those, you know, scratching posts for the kitten.”

Snake opened his mouth to give Mouse a scathing reply, but he closed it again, shaking his head.

“Guess we’re going to need to start doing a headcount like they do in preschool,” he muttered.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Once Jack gave the model number to Wrench, he went to check on the newcomers, knowing they’d be done with their three hour wait. At the quarantine room, a couple of the bikers were reading over the list that Lindsey had left with the room assignments. Most of the people had already left quarantine, but there were a few still waiting to find out about their rooms.

“This isn’t going to work,” Gunner said, shaking his head.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked.

“Lindsey has this family going into room 410,” he said, “but someone’s already grabbed it.”

“Another family?” Jack asked.

“No,” Gunner said, glaring at a biker who was known as Dumbo for his unusually large ears. “Some blonde chick sweet-talked Dumbo here into giving it to her.”

“Well, that isn’t going to happen,” Jack said. “That’s a big room, and single people get the small rooms. I’ll let her know.”

Jack addressed the people that were gathered around. “Who is the family that was going into room 410?”

A woman in the back of the group lifted her hand. Jack noticed that she had a grade-school-aged son. Hit with sudden inspiration, Jack spoke with Gunner and did some rearranging, putting a different family into 410 and choosing a new room for the woman and her son. Jack asked both families to come with him so he could take them to their rooms.

The hospital was still undergoing the changes that had been settled upon earlier, and the rescued survivors only added to the chaos as they left their rooms to explore the building. Jack strolled down the hall with the two families, dodging one of the teachers with a group of children along the way. He stopped at the door marked 410 and told the blonde woman inside that she would not be moving into the room.

The blonde told Jack what she thought about it on her way out, but he ignored her, sending in a couple with a baby and a girl of maybe five.

He led the other family down the hall and opened a door to reveal a room with two beds.

“I think this should work for you,” Jack said.

“It’s perfect,” the woman said. She turned and offered her hand to Jack. “I’m Jessica, by the way. And this is Michael.”

“I’m Jack, and it’s nice to meet you both.”

“Good, there’s a TV,” the boy said.

Jack followed the boy’s gaze to the television that was mounted to the wall.

“Well, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get a signal for a while, Michael,” Jack sighed, “but we’re turning our emergency room into an entertainment room. We hope to have it set up shortly, and we plan to get some DVDs. There’s also going to be a game room once we get everything we need for it. In the meantime, I’d like you to meet your next-door neighbors.”

Jack excused himself and went to the next room. A couple of minutes later, he came back with a boy and a girl who were close to Michael’s age.

“Michael, this is Jon and Marie. They’ve been here for a while so they can show you the ropes.”

Marie smiled at Michael, and he nodded halfheartedly.

“What do you do for fun around here?” he asked.

“Have you ever ridden a rolling bed?” Jon asked.

Michael stared blankly at the other boy.

“C’mon, we’ll show you.”

The two siblings ran out into the corridor, and Michael followed.

“Watch for pedestrians!” Jack yelled.

“Is that okay?” Michael’s mother asked, concerned.

“Some of us try to give kids a little leeway around here,” Jack said. “Most of them have been through hell.”

“Do they have family here?” the woman asked.

“I wanted to talk to you about that,” Jack replied. “Their mother’s recovering from some sort of breakdown. She was in pretty bad shape for a while, but she seems to be snapping out of it. She just recently moved into our general quarters, but we’ve been trying to keep an eye on her, just in case.”

“What’s her story, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Her name is Cheri, and she had to empty a clip into her infected husband’s head to protect their kids.”

“I can see how that would stick with you for a while,” Jessica said.

“She’s been through a lot,” Jack said, “and to make it worse, she had an ex-boyfriend who was bothering her, though that problem has been resolved. She was at one time the fiancée of one of my employees, a man named Eric. She dumped him more than a decade ago, but Eric never seemed to get over her. I guess he was hoping to get back into her good graces by rescuing her. At least he had the sense to bring her back here for treatment.”

“Is Eric helping with the kids?”

Jack laughed. “Eric doesn’t help with anything. He’s a pain in the ass; excuse my French. Fortunately for us, his mouth got him a one-way ticket out of here with the military. Apparently he convinced someone high up that he knew a lot more about aviation than he really did. They took him away, thinking he was a pilot.”

“You didn’t tell them any differently?” she asked.

“Lady,” Jack said, “if you knew Eric, trust me, you would have done the same thing.”

The woman smiled and said, “I’d be happy to keep an eye on Cheri. It’ll give me something to keep my mind busy.”

“Come on. I’ll take you over to meet her,” Jack said, leaving the room. He knocked on the next door, and when Cheri answered, Jack introduced Jessica to her.

Cheri was polite, but distant, which seemed to be normal for her since the incident.

“Well, I guess I’d better get settled into my room,” Jessica said after it was obvious that Cheri wasn’t going to say anything more. “I’ll be right next door if you need anybody to talk to.”

“Thanks,” Cheri said, managing a small smile before going to look out the window.

Jessica and Jack walked back out, and Jack thanked the woman.

“It’s good to know there will be someone nearby at least,” he said to her.

“I’m happy to help,” Jessica said. “I won’t smother her, but I’ll make sure to check on her now and then.”

“Perfect,” Jack said, thanking her again before heading back downstairs.

~*~

Bull leaned his chair back against the wall, feeling calm after taking a second pain pill.

Hawk, on the other hand, was getting anxious for another cigarette. He got up to pace then talked to Debbie for a while, his hand unconsciously going to his pocket again. Pulling out a cigarette, he began to roll it between his fingers.

“Do you know what time it is?” he asked the RN.

She told him and added, “Just about time for me to go on break. Marla should be here any minute.”

“That’s too bad,” he said. “At least I had someone to talk to with you here.”

“You don’t want to talk to Marla?” Debbie asked. “Most guys love to talk to her, though they mostly just stare at her.”

“I tried talking to her,” Hawk said. “It hurt my brain.”

Debbie laughed. “Try working with her sometime.”

Marla had only kept her job at the hospital because she had been dating the administrator. Rumor had it that she’d used similar tactics to get through school and to pass the exam needed to become an RN. It was a bone of contention with all the other nurses who had worked hard to get their degrees. Since Marla knew less about nursing than the CNAs did, it was rare that she was allowed to handle patients on her own. Normally, the other RNs handled anything difficult and just allowed Marla to keep an eye on the patients when it was her turn.

Hawk and Debbie both turned to look when they heard the stairwell door open. Instead of Marla stepping out, it was Moose.

“I’m here to take over,” he told Hawk, glancing at Debbie before looking down the hallway. “Marla’s not on duty?”

“Any minute now,” Debbie said, barely refraining from rolling her eyes.

“I’m going to go have a smoke,” Hawk said.

“I’ll meet you up there when Marla shows up,” Debbie told him.

“I’ll wait for you. I’d love the company,” Hawk said, giving her a smile.

A few minutes later, the stairwell door opened again, and Marla stepped out, looking confused.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” she said, flustered. “I totally forgot that the patients are on the fifth floor now, and I got off on the third floor. I walked into a room, and there was no patient, but this guy was in there and we chatted for a while, and then I remembered, oops, I should be on duty now, so here I am.”

“Here you are, and here I go,” Debbie said. “I’ll be back in half an hour. You shouldn’t have to do much unless the new patient calls for you.”

“We have a new patient?”

“In there,” Debbie said, pointing toward the room that the two big bikers were guarding. “I’ll change his IV bag when I get back, so don’t bug him. We’re trying to let him sleep.”

Marla turned to regard Moose and Bull. “Why are you guarding him?” she asked the bikers.

Bull’s eyes had started to drift shut, and he jerked awake at the sound of the woman’s voice.

“They found him under that collapsed office building. They couldn’t put him in quarantine because he’s all banged up,” Bull said.

He stood to try to shake off the drowsiness, but he wasn’t having much luck. Hopefully he could pass off his stupor as lack of sleep, but he was worried that Moose would see his eyes and know that he was on something. Then again, Moose wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Hawk, on the other hand, would know, but if he could catch a quick nap while Hawk was gone, he thought he might be all right by the time the other biker returned.

“I’m going to sit inside the room for a while,” he told Moose, knowing that it was dark. “I can keep a better eye on him that way.”

“Good idea,” Moose said. “I’ll stay out here so we’ll have the inside and the outside of the room guarded.”

Bull blinked, not sure exactly what that meant, but he dragged his chair into the room and placed it against the far wall. Sitting down, he closed his eyes immediately.

~*^*~

~20~

Lansing, Michigan

It was almost forty-five minutes before Snake got the call from Wrench.

“Dude, where you been?” Snake said, impatiently. He was watching the dark clouds that were moving in, and he didn’t want to be stuck outside in the rain.

“Sorry, Boss. Would you believe we couldn’t find a single phone book in the entire hospital? We finally had that computer geek get us some directions online, and there are actually a couple generator stores that carry our model. The closest one is about six miles west of here. Hopefully they’ll have the parts because the other one is just as far, but it’s to the south, and you’d have to go through the most populated parts of the city.”

“How’d Jackson get online with no power?” Snake asked.

“He’s got some kind of a back-up device that he attached to his satellite modem. I guess it runs the system on a battery or something and gives him enough time to save what he’s working on. He was able to surf the net for a parts store. Pretty slick, if you ask me. Lucky we found these guys,” Wrench said.

“Luck,” Snake scoffed. “Ain’t no such thing.”

Wrench gave the directions to both places, along with the information on the injector pump. He also included a short shopping list for other parts that he thought may come in handy for future repairs.

After ending the call, Snake gathered the others together. They were in the parking lot of an electronics store where they hoped to pick up some equipment for the computer room, as well as a TV and some DVDs. They decided that it was going to take too long to cross town if they brought the trucks and the front-end loader along.

“Someone trade me vehicles. I’m gonna take a small group on bikes,” Snake said. “I want the rest of you to finish up here then take the trucks back. You know the drill. Don’t take any stupid chances, especially not over video games and crap like that.”

One of the bikers got off his bike and took the truck keys. Snake hadn’t even gotten the bike started before the first raindrops began to fall.

“Figures,” he muttered.

Snake and his small crew traveled for miles without incident, although a steady drizzle made the roads slick and hazardous. The clouds seemed so heavy that they threatened to swallow the city. The path they had chosen consisted mostly of highway, and the bikes were maneuverable enough to weave around the abandoned vehicles that cluttered the road. As they got closer to their destination, Snake noticed that the highway had actually been cleared. Vehicles had been pushed to the sides, leaving a wide path down the middle. Unlike in the heart of the city, the few dead they encountered posed little threat. The wide roadway gave them ample time to react when the occasional zombie was enticed their way by the rumbling of the engines. As they neared the western edge of the city, the rain turned to fog, giving the bikers reason to slow down. When Snake got close to the turn-off, he stopped and motioned for the others to gather.

“We’ll take the next exit,” he said pointing ahead. “Don’t know how bad the dead will be around here, but we’ll be entering into an area of residential and some commercial, so it could get hairy.”

“Lead the way, Boss,” Wolf said, as they all checked their weapons.

After leaving the highway, they found themselves on a tree-lined street with large homes that sat back in the mist. Snake stopped to look at the directions he’d written down.

“Isn’t this area kind of rich for your taste?” Wolf joked, noting the affluence around him.

“I don’t know,” Snake smiled. “I hear property values are plummeting. I just may be able to find something in my price range before long.”

Snake pulled the throttle and continued on, turning at the next road. A few high-end shops lined one side of the winding road while a row of upper crust homes graced the other. If it were not for the vehicles scattered haphazardly about and the occasional flesh-eater turning their way, Snake would have thought the area untouched by the apocalypse. Weaving around the serpentine route, he slid to a halt as an imposing, gray, concrete wall appeared out of the mist, bringing the road to an abrupt end. Dismounting his bike, he stared intently ahead. The others walked over to join him.

“What the hell?” Wolf asked.

The ends of the wall seemed to disappear into the fog, and Snake wondered how long it was.

“What do you think it is?” Lindsey asked.

“Looks like a freeway barrier,” Snake said, looking the structure over.

“I think they had the same idea we did,” Wolf said. His gaze moved down the wall to the chunks of asphalt that littered the ground. “Except they had better equipment.”

“It’s good to know that there are other survivors around here who have managed to make a stand,” Lindsey added.

“Problem is we need to be on the other side of the wall,” Snake said, looking at the map.

“Maybe we should make sure,” Wolf suggested. “The wall might not go that far.”

“All right, dudes,” Snake said, “but let’s shut off the bikes and do it on foot, just to check it out. Keep a close eye out for the flesh-eaters. As thick as this fog is, we won’t have much warning if we come upon a mess of them.”

“Flesh-eaters?” Lindsey whispered to Wombat.

“He heard Wild Bill say it, and he’s been using it since then,” Wombat whispered back with a grin.

Lindsey smiled then grew more serious as she looked around in the thick fog. The dead could be anywhere.

They walked along the wall for a couple hundred feet until they were stopped by a chain-link fence sitting perpendicular to the wall. It was a few feet shorter than the concrete barrier, and it stretched out into an intersecting road for about sixty feet. Large pieces of sheet metal were welded to the posts inside the fence, concealing what was on the other side. They followed the fence until it turned a corner, revealing a large gate.

“Looks like they ran the walls right down the streets,” Wolf said. “Closed in the whole area. I wonder how big it is.”

“Hard to tell without going around the whole thing,” Snake said. “This could be the opening. The fenced-off section might act as some sort of a staging area. Wombat, think you could climb that fence and see if anybody’s home?”

The Australian grasped the fence, but he wasn’t able to get a foothold. He began to pull himself up with his arms, but he was making a lot of noise in the process as his boots banged the fencing into the sheet metal.

“We need to get you some climbing shoes, dude,” Snake said. “We’ve got to do this quietly. Xena, you’ve got the smallest feet. Maybe you can get a foothold.”

“I’ll give it a try,” she said, grabbing onto the fence and pulling herself up. She was able to get the toe of her boot into the diamond on the chain-link fence, but not much more. She slipped once or twice, but she was able to regain her grip and pull her way to the top with little noise.

“I don’t see any openings in the wall,” she called down quietly, “but there is a huge fuel truck parked inside the fenced area.”

“Hell of a place to park a truck,” Wolf said. “Why wouldn’t they just drive it inside?”

“It looks like there’s a good-sized hose that comes from the truck then goes over the wall,” Lindsey continued. “If I could just see . . .” A bullet ricocheted off the fence, and a shot echoed throughout the neighborhood.

“Get down, Xena!” Snake shouted, but Lindsey was already on her way, jumping the last few feet.

“Son of a bitch,” Wombat said, pulling his pistol out as he looked around.

They all moved away from the gate and hurried down the wall toward the bikes.

Another shot was fired, missing Snake’s leg by a couple of feet.

“Guys, let’s get the hell out of Dodge,” he said as he ran the rest of the distance to the bikes. “I can’t tell if they’re firing warning shots or just can’t see us in the fog, but I ain’t going to stay here to find out.”

“So much for hospitality,” Wolf said, stomping on his kick start.

“I think we’ll take our shopping elsewhere,” Snake commented as the bikes started with a roar and disappeared into the fog.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Dr. Martinez frowned and covered the patient with a sheet.

“That’s four today,” he said, shaking his head.

“We did everything possible to keep him alive,” Dr. Sharma pointed out.

“I know, but these people shouldn’t be dying,” he said. He kept the curtain pulled shut around the deceased man since there was another patient asleep in the room with him. “I never realized how dependent we’ve become on technology.”

“There are so many things we take for granted,” she said, in agreement.

“I’ll see about having someone take the body down to the morgue,” Dr. Martinez said after they stepped away from the room. The patients they’d lost that day would all be buried in the cemetery down the street after Snake and the others were back to handle it. Before he could contact someone about removing the body, the sound of a bell could be heard, letting them know that there was another emergency. Both doctors hurried that way.

~*~

Moose watched the two doctors run down the hall before turning his attention back to Marla. He wanted to start a conversation with her, but he couldn’t come up with a good way to do it.

She finally spoke first. “Did you help rescue those people this morning?”

“Sure did,” Moose said. “I’ve been on most of the rescues. I almost died the other day.”

Marla gasped. “I want to hear all about it!”

Moose walked over and stood by the desk, telling her about the close call he’d had when they’d trapped a large number of the dead in an old warehouse.

“You’re so brave!” Marla said when he finished telling his story. “I wasn’t sure we’d be safe here with the zombies outside and all, but now I’m not so worried. I figure with a brave man like you on our side, they’d be crazy to mess with us.”

Moose looked her up and down. “Speaking of figure,” he said in the most romantic voice he could muster, “if you don’t mind me saying, you’d look even hotter in leather.”

Marla smiled and leaned closer. “Do you think so?”

Moose indulged himself in the thought of Marla in leather. Despite his recent conversion to Christianity, Moose still had a weakness for women. Drugs, alcohol, and smoking had been a cinch to quit, but when it came to the opposite sex, Moose struggled with his convictions.

“I could make you a leather nurse’s outfit,” he suggested.

Unlike all the other nurses, who wore scrubs, Marla wore retro nurse’s uniforms that were tailor made for her.

“You can do that?” she asked Moose.

“It’ll look just like the one you’re wearing but shorter,” he smiled, “and tighter.”

~*~

The front-end loader stopped just short of the SUV that served as a gate. One of the men jumped off his bike and moved the vehicle so that the trucks and bikes could get through. Billy followed with the loader, though he left it just outside the hospital gate in the walled park area.

“Long day,” one of the men said as he watched the first truck back up to the loading dock.

“Sure was,” another replied, “but we got a lot done. I think everybody’s going to be happy to see all the supplies we picked up today.”

“Of course, we’ve still got to unload all those supplies.”

“Why’d you have to remind me?”

One of the men knocked on the door and requested some assistance with unloading the trucks. Before long, most of the available residents were helping to bring in the supplies. The trucks were full of furniture, clothing, food, and other items that the residents of St. Mary’s might find useful.

Marian was thrilled when she saw the large number of books for the library, though the children weren’t quite so happy when a portion of the load turned out to be schoolbooks.

“We’re going to go get more if you have room,” one of the bikers told her. “A couple buildings are on fire, just a block over from the library, so I don’t know if it’ll be standing in another day or two. We think we’d better get what we can now.”

“Just be careful,” she said. “The books aren’t worth dying over.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “We have this down.”

~*~

Inside Chuck’s room, Bull had fallen asleep. Chuck had been growing weaker by the moment as fever began to rage through his body. He had tried to convince himself that he was just sick from being trapped in the wreckage of the damp, cold building, but deep down he knew better. He had scrapes and scratches all over his body, and when the dead man had grappled with him, he’d left a slimy substance on Chuck’s hands and ankle. Worse yet, the corpse had oozed something all over Chuck’s face. Odds were good that the virus, or whatever it was, had found its way into his body through at least one of his open wounds. He’d done his best to wipe the slimy substance from his flesh on the way to the hospital, terrified that his rescuers would kill him on the spot if they knew the truth. Fortunately, the idiots had believed him when he’d said that he hadn’t had any contact with the dead. He trusted the doctors not to do anything stupid, but he was worried about the bikers. He knew their type, and they’d probably kill him rather than try to help him. He was tempted to talk to the doctor, though he wasn’t sure there was anything that could be done if he was infected. It’s what he’d heard on the TV before the signal had been cut off, but that had been days earlier. Maybe they’d figured out a way to treat it in the meantime.

Chuck faded in and out of consciousness, alternating between chills and fever. He wiped sweat from his face once more as his temperature rose. Minutes later, the chills came back, causing him to shake as he wrapped his blankets tightly around himself.

Maybe I should call for the doctor, he told himself, reaching out for the bell.

He looked over at the sleeping biker, and he just knew if he rang the bell, the biker would wake, and he’d walk over to see what the problem was. The doctor wouldn’t even have time to get there before the biker finished Chuck off.

He moved his hand away from the button and closed his eyes again, drifting off into unconsciousness.

~*^*~

~21~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Where’s the other guard?” Dr. Martinez asked, coming to a stop at the nurses’ station.

“Inside the room,” Moose said. “He’s watching the inside of it, and I’m watching the outside.”

Dr. Martinez looked puzzled but said nothing more about it.

“Would you mind calling Jack on the radio to see if he can send someone up with a few gallons of water?” he asked. “We had some stockpiled, but we’ve used it all.”

The building had electric pumps to bring water to the higher floors, which had been an ongoing problem since the power had been going out. Moose had been the one to haul water to the higher floors on more than occasion.

“Sure, Doc,” he said. He made the call as Dr. Martinez left to go back down the hall. Everybody was busy unloading the trucks, but Moose was told that someone would be up with water as soon as possible. When he put the radio away, Marla reluctantly said, “I should do my rounds.”

“Maybe I can go with you, as long as I can still see the room I’m guarding.”

“That would be great,” Marla said, giving him a smile.

Moose walked with her to a patient room, though he stayed outside so he could technically say he was still guarding the door he’d been assigned to watch.

The patient in the first bed was covered with a sheet.

Marla uncovered him and saw that the man’s eyes were open, and his mouth was twisted into a grimace of pain. One hand clutched his gown tightly over his heart, but he wasn’t moving.

“Does he do that often?” Moose asked, glancing inside the room.

“Only when he’s dead,” Marla replied. “I guess I don’t need to take care of him, after all.”

She walked over to the patient in the next bed and said, “This one won’t be around much longer, either. We’re running out of oxygen in the tanks.”

The man was awake, and his eyes grew big at the news.

“Huh?” he asked, the word muffled because of the oxygen mask.

“Oh, nothing,” Marla smiled.

Moose’s eyes followed Marla around the room, though now and then he glanced at the dead patient.

“What’s going to happen to the dead guy?” he finally asked. “I mean, do you think he’ll turn into one of those . . . things? Is someone going to take him to the morgue?”

“I don’t know,” Marla said, frowning at the corpse as the other patient began to hyperventilate. “I guess I’d better call for a guard. Oh, wait. You’re a guard! You can take care of him.”

She looked at Moose expectantly.

Moose looked at the corpse again and then at its nervous roommate.

“Maybe if I wait, I could take them both at the same time,” he suggested. “You know, kill two birds in a bush or something like that.”

He approached the bedridden man, who was now trying to sit up.

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but how are you feeling? I mean, you think you might last a while?”

“I-I . . .” The patient began to speak through his mask, but Marla interrupted.

“Just ring the bell if your roommate starts to, you know, get up or something.”

She turned to Moose, “Let’s just finish our rounds and come back later. Maybe he’ll finally decide what he’s going to do by then.”

As Marla and Moose turned to leave, the patient forced himself to his feet, his face ashen. He grabbed at his chest with hands that looked more like claws. Moments later, he plunged face down onto the bed, stone cold dead.

“I knew it,” Marla said. “I didn’t think he’d make it much longer.”

“Well, that was convenient,” Moose said with a bit of surprise in his voice. He picked up the body and piled it atop the other. Looking toward the floor, he stepped on a lever at each wheel on the bed and started to roll it out of the room. It was bulky and he had a little trouble getting it around the second bed.

Marla watched as he struggled to get it out into the hallway, where he hesitated.

“Should I wait for more, or just come back after I take care of these?”

“You might as well get rid of those,” Marla said, “just in case they turn into zombies.”

“Oh, wait,” he said, “I’m supposed to be guarding the other room. I’d better stay.”

He glanced down at the bed with the two bodies on it, not sure what to do with them in the meantime. Finally, he rolled them to the door he was supposed to be watching, pushing a gurney out of the way to make room.

“They should be fine here until Hawk comes back,” Moose told Marla.

They both looked up when Dr. Martinez walked around the corner and came to a dead stop.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, hurrying over to look at the two bodies.

“Well, these patients both died,” Marla explained, “so I was going to have Moose take them to the morgue, but he’s on guard duty.”

“You don’t send a body to the morgue until one of the doctors examines it, Marla,” Dr. Martinez said, rubbing his forehead. “I’ve told you this so many times.”

He checked for vital signs and finally stepped back with a sigh. “It must have been his heart. It’s been touch-and-go with him for the last two days.”

He debated a moment then said, “Moose, why don’t you just go ahead and take them to the morgue. As far as we know, they don’t reanimate unless they’ve been infected, but I’m not comfortable with having them here, either. Did anybody bring water up yet?”

“No. They’re unloading the truck, so it could be a while.”

“Could you grab a couple gallons while you’re downstairs? We really need it. One of us will watch the door until you get back, but hurry.”

“I will,” Moose said, before rolling the bed to the elevator. He stood at the door for a full two minutes before he remembered that the power was off. Sighing, he flung one of the bodies over his shoulder and started down the stairs.

Another bell began to ring, and Dr. Martinez turned to Marla.

“Watch the door, and come get me if anything happens,” he said before hurrying down the hall.

~*~

When Chuck opened his eyes again, he had changed. His head turned slowly toward the door where voices could be heard from the hallway. He forced his stiff body into a standing position, a quiet moan escaping his lips. As he shuffled toward the door, the IV stand began to roll along behind him, one wheel squeaking each time it made a revolution. Though momentarily distracted by the noise, Chuck’s attention was soon caught by the sound of Bull’s snoring. Slowly, he turned toward the back wall where the big biker was asleep in the chair. The dead man lurched forward, dragging his bare feet across the tiled floor. The neck of the big biker was exposed, and Chuck’s hunger surged. Overtaken by his need, he leaned over and bit down hard, tearing into the flesh of Bull’s throat with a growl.

Bull woke with a start, trying to shove his attacker away, though his injured arms were of little use. The pain was immediate, yet it took him a moment to realize that the warm liquid he felt seeping into his clothing was blood, spurting from the open wound in his neck. He opened his mouth to call for help, but all that came out was a wet gurgle.

Chuck’s blood-covered face moved in closer again, and Bull pushed back with his unrestrained arm, ignoring the pain. He knew he had to get to his sidearm, but to do it, he’d have to let go of the ghoul that he was managing to hold back. The biker continued to struggle as his vision began to go gray, and once Bull was too weak to fight back, Chuck settled down to feast on him.

~*~

Marla looked up, thinking she had heard something in the room that was being guarded. She stepped closer, reaching a hand out for the doorknob but stopped when Debbie and Hawk came down the stairs.

“Hey, where are Bull and Moose?” Hawk asked, noticing that the door was unguarded.

“Bull’s inside the room, and Dr. Martinez sent Moose to take a couple of bodies down to the morgue.”

“A couple of bodies?” Debbie asked. “I was only gone for half an hour, Marla. What happened?”

Marla shrugged and said, “One was dead when I went into the room, and the other one died a few minutes later. Just one of those things, I guess.”

“I’ll stick around until Moose gets back,” Hawk said.

Debbie smiled at him and said, “Good. The time goes faster when you’re here.”

“I was just going to check on the patient,” Marla said.

“No. I’ll do it,” Debbie told her. “I’ve got to change his IV bag, but the patient in 527 needs his incision checked for infection. He’ll need a new bandage, too. Can you handle that?”

Marla started to protest, but Debbie added, “I’ll check on this patient then take care of the catheters and the colostomy bags.”

“Oh,” Marla said, making a face. “Sure, I’ll go change the bandage.”

“And check for infection,” Debbie reminded her. “If it’s red and puffy, tell me.”

She started to open Chuck’s door, but Hawk said, “Let me check it, first.”

“It’s okay, Hawk. Bull’s already in there,” Debbie reminded him, opening the door.

She stepped inside the room, closing the door quietly behind her. There was a little light coming through the window, but it took her a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the darkened room. The first thing she noticed was that the patient was not in his bed. Her eyes darted toward the restroom. The door was open, but it was possible that he’d left it that way to allow in what little light was in the room.

“Chuck?” she whispered, stepping over to the restroom.

Her attention was caught by movement near the window. She was able to make out a human form silhouetted against the dim light that was seeping through the blinds.

As she stepped closer, she could see that it was the patient, and he seemed to be bent over, grasping Bull who was sitting in a chair near the window. It appeared to Debbie that the man had stumbled against the chair on his way back from the restroom. She could see the long legs of the biker sticking out, and she assumed he’d accidentally tripped Chuck. Hurrying over, she touched the patient on the shoulder.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

When he straightened his body and turned his head, the sight that met Debbie’s eyes paralyzed her. Chuck had a handful of intestines, which he tossed away when he saw the nurse. He came at Debbie before she could make herself move. She let out a bloodcurdling scream, but it didn’t stop Chuck from taking a bite of flesh from her face as she tried to turn away.

~*^*~

~22~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

The door flew open, and Hawk raced in, the lantern light from the hallway illuminating the scene for him. He immediately pulled Debbie away from her attacker and rushed her out of the room, realizing that there was nothing he could do for Bull. He pulled the door closed behind him then turned to help Debbie.

“Oh, my God,” he said, when he saw her face.

“Betadine,” she said, touching the ragged wound on her cheek with a shaking hand. “I need Betadine!”

“Where?”

Without answering, she turned and ran for a patient room, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

Hawk grabbed the radio and yelled into it that there was an emergency on the fifth floor. He hurried to catch up with Debbie, reaching the room just as she pulled a plastic bottle out of a drawer and shoved it at him.

“Pour it on!” she told him, leaning her head over the sink. “Hurry!”

“How much?” he asked.

“All of it,” she said, her voice quavering. “Soak it.”

Hawk poured the brown fluid over the wound on Debbie’s face as she gritted her teeth against the pain.

“Hawk,” Dumbo’s voice came over the radio, “I couldn’t understand your message. What’s going on?”

Ignoring the radio for the moment, Hawk kept pouring the solution over Debbie’s cheek, watching as the brown liquid mixed with her blood and ran down into the sink.

When he told her that the bottle was empty, she said, “I need a pressure bandage.”

Following her instructions, he found the gauze and placed a large amount of it against her cheek.

“Hold that,” he said while he grabbed the roll of adhesive tape from the drawer.

~*~

The door to Chuck’s room, which had not latched completely, slowly opened a crack. Moments later, dead fingers reached through the gap, finally managing to get the door open. The dead thing that used to be Chuck stepped out into the hall, still dragging the IV. Behind him, Bull’s eyes sprang open. Within in a minute, he also found the open door.

The two newly risen corpses stood and looked around as though not sure which way to go. When Marla’s voice was suddenly heard down the hall, Chuck’s milky white eyes swiveled that way. He immediately turned toward the sound, with Bull shuffling behind him.

~*~

Hawk tried to tape the gauze on Debbie’s face, but the woman was crying, and the adhesive wouldn’t stick to the wet surface. He dried her tears and tried the tape again. Once he got it to stick, he told Debbie, “I need to go take care of those guys before someone walks into that room.”

“Please don’t leave me,” she begged, her tears soaking the bandage on her cheek.

“Okay, you’re right,” he said, slipping his arm around her shoulders. He grabbed the radio. “Just let me call Dumbo back.”

He called and explained what had happened, giving Dumbo the number of the room where he’d left Chuck and Bull.

Dumbo promised to come up and take care of it and let the others know.

Once Hawk was done with the call, he helped Debbie over to the bed so that she could lie down. He leaned over to kiss her forehead then stood beside her, taking her hand.

“I’m going to die,” she sobbed, reality finally hitting her. “I’m going to die.”

Hawk wasn’t sure what to say. She was probably right, and there was nothing he could do about it. He’d never felt so helpless before.

“Maybe not, Debbie,” he said, sitting on the bed and pulling her into his arms. “Look, maybe that brown stuff we put on your face will kill the disease, like you said. Maybe we got it in time.”

He knew that the odds were against her. Not a single person who had been bitten had survived, as far as they knew, but he wasn’t going to take away the only thing she had left — hope.

~*~

Autumn sat at her desk, bored out of her mind. Dr. Doune had been busy organizing the new files that he’d downloaded onto his laptop, and she knew that he was hoping to finish before his battery ran out. He’d made it clear that he didn’t have time to talk, and there was nothing for her to do in the lab. After a trip to the kitchen to get more cookies, she finally decided to climb the several flights of stairs to check her trap again. She’d been up twice already, but hadn’t caught anything yet. She made it to the fifth floor without stopping, but she finally had to pause for a short break.

She looked up when she thought she heard a muffled scream. She paused to listen, but the noise was not repeated. Autumn decided that maybe she should alert one of the guards, but when she stepped into the crow’s nest, she was surprised to find it empty. She let out a sigh when she remembered that most of the bikers were out on a big shopping run. That meant she’d have to go downstairs and see if she could find someone to help. She turned to leave, and found herself face-to-face with the dead thing that had once been Chuck. She let out a surprised yell as he lurched forward and reached out, grasping for her.

As Autumn stared at the ashen, blood-covered face, she stepped backward, coming up against the window. The paleness of the face was accented by lifeless, sunken eyes and a gaping mouth that suddenly became a snarl. As Autumn turned to run, the creature stepped forward and grabbed her at the same time, his grip surprisingly strong. The girl screamed in octaves she had no idea she possessed, but the scream had no effect at all on Chuck, not in his new undead form. He opened his mouth wide, eyes on Autumn’s neck.

~*~

Ernie, the janitor, had been napping in the room next to the crow’s nest. The first scream woke him, and he stood as quickly as his arthritis-riddled legs would allow. He arrived in the room just as Autumn shrieked for the second time. Rushing forward, he slammed his body into the ghoul just as Autumn’s arm went up to protect her neck. The creature loosened its death-grip on the girl long enough for her to scramble for safety. As it regained its footing, it directed its malice toward Ernie, lunging forward with a growl. The old janitor slammed his boot into the dead man’s knee with all the strength he could muster.

“Take that!” he said, growling right back.

As Chuck stumbled against the wall, Ernie took advantage of the opportunity and left the room to go find Autumn, closing the door behind him.

Out in the hallway, the girl sat on the floor, cradling her arm in her hand.

When Ernie saw blood begin to seep through the girl’s fingers, he felt as though he’d been punched.

~*^*~

~23~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Dumbo entered the stairwell just behind Moose.

“There’s been an outbreak,” Dumbo told his friend. “Bull’s dead, and one of the nurses got bitten.”

“Which one?” Moose asked, eyes wide.

“I don’t know.”

The big biker didn’t even wait for the rest of the explanation, but began to take the stairs two at a time.

When Dumbo stepped out of the stairwell on the fifth floor, the first thing he saw was a gurney by the elevator door with a body on it.

“What the heck?” he asked.

Two more bikers burst through the stairwell doors right behind him. A loud shriek caught their attention, and they started down the hall as Dumbo went to look for the room number that Hawk had given him.

The door was wide open, and a trail of blood led down the hallway.

A groan to the left caught Dumbo’s attention, and he headed that way, the sound leading him to one of the patient rooms where he found Bull. The big biker looked as though he’d been hollowed out. The front of his body was almost solid red, and his intestines dragged from the hole in his midsection. He had already killed one of the patients in the room and was chewing on an arm he’d torn off. Dumbo wasn’t sure if the other patient was alive, at first, but when he stepped closer, he saw the glassy stare of death in the man’s eyes.

“Ah, Bull, why?” Dumbo asked quietly. As with the other bikers, the man had been like a brother to him.

Bull lowered the arm slowly, finally dropping it to the ground as his eyes became fixed on the other biker. A growl issued from his lips and became a long moan as the bloodied biker stepped forward, arms outstretched. Dumbo leveled his pistol on Bull’s forehead, sighing deeply before pulling the trigger. A hole punctured the big man’s head as his brains sprayed out behind him, and Bull crumpled to the floor.

~*~

Ernie tried to tell himself that he was wrong, that there was another explanation for the blood on the girl’s arm, but as she lifted her eyes to meet his, he recognized the hollow stare of a person who has just been sentenced to death. He scooped the child up and hurried down the hall with her, stopping to grab a towel out of one of the rooms. He wrapped it around her arm as two bikers rushed by.

“Zombie in the crow’s nest!” Ernie yelled to them.

“Thanks, Ernie!” one of the bikers yelled back.

Ernie headed for the stairs with Autumn. Once inside the stairwell, he said, “I’ll take you to Dr. Doune if that’s all right. Maybe he can figure out a way to fix you up, and nobody else needs to know what happened just yet.”

~*~

Another child would have been hysterical, but to Autumn, this was just another chapter to a tragic novel. She had yet to rise from the blow of her diagnosis with cancer when both parents had been killed in a car wreck. Although nobody had actually told her, Autumn had known that the doctors hadn’t held much hope that she would live a long life. When chemo and radiation had failed, she had resigned herself to passing on to something better, hoping that maybe her parents would be waiting for her. Then, as a last resort, she had been offered an experimental treatment at a clinic in Mexico. The pain and nausea hadn’t been as severe with the new treatment as it had been with the chemo, though she had lost her hair. She had been ready for either a cure or death. When the treatments had ended, the cancer appeared to have gone into remission. It had been far too soon to consider her cancer-free, but she had been in the process of regaining her strength via physical therapy.

Now it all seemed to have been in vain. She was given some solace that Ernie was taking her to Dr. Doune, who could be convinced to let her die peacefully.

~*~

When the battery in Doune’s laptop had finally died, the doctor had gone down to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee. He looked up when he saw Ernie approach.

“Dr. Doune, you need to come to the lab. It’s important.”

“What is it, Ernie?” he asked.

“It’s about the wee lass,” Ernie said.

“What has she done this time?” Doune asked, realizing that it must be bad. Ernie had come from Scotland as a child, and it was usually not very obvious in his speech unless he was upset.

“Just come with me,” the janitor said, keeping his voice down so others in the room couldn’t hear.

Doune turned to follow, and he noticed that Ernie seemed to be having a harder time than usual with his legs as he struggled to climb the flight of stairs.

“Ernie, if your legs are bothering you, you don’t need to . . .”

“I’m fine. I just had to walk down from the fifth floor,” he said. He stopped just before they reached the lab door, and he turned toward Doune. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Autumn’s been bitten.”

“No. Not Autumn.”

“Yes.”

For the first time in his life, Nick Doune’s blood ran cold.

“No. There must be a mistake,” he said, shaking his head. He lifted a hand to point at the lab. “She’s been right here . . .”

No, she hadn’t been there, he realized suddenly, dropping his hand to his side. She had left twice to take breaks and had seemed excited both times.

He looked away from Ernie, blinking. After a moment, he went into the room and grabbed a pair of rubber gloves before kneeling down beside the chair where Autumn sat.

“Show me,” Doune said, already trying to distance himself emotionally from the girl as he always did with his patients. People accused him of having no compassion, and maybe it was true, but it was how he managed to do his job without getting distressed every time he lost a patient.

Autumn’s expression was stoic. She lifted the blood-soaked towel to expose the fresh wound. She sucked in a breath at the movement of the towel, and Doune knew that the girl was in pain. A trickle of blood started to ooze down her arm and drip onto the floor.

“Tell me exactly what happened,” Doune said as he began to clean the wound.

~*~

Dr. Sharma was jotting down some notes on a chart when she heard a scream. She hurried to the nurses’ station where Moose was trying to comfort a hysterical Marla. Two bikers rounded the corner from the other hallway and walked over to let the others know that they’d taken care of Chuck.

“What happened?” Dr. Sharma asked, eyes darting from Marla to the blood on the floor.

Dumbo explained everything he knew, with the others adding bits of information.

“The two patients who were attacked will be infected,” Dr. Sharma said.

“I took care of them,” Dumbo assured her.

She thanked him then asked, “Where did Hawk take Debbie?”

“I’ll find out,” Dumbo said, getting on the radio.

“And where is Dr. Martinez?” Dr. Sharma asked.

The other bikers looked at each other and shook their heads.

“We need to tell him what happened,” she said. “Does Jack know?”

“He’s on his way up.”

“I’m going to go find Dr. Martinez,” she said. “I’ll see what I can do for Debbie when I get back.”

“We’ll check the rest of the rooms up here,” Dumbo said. “We need to see if any of the other patients have been bitten.”

As the four bikers left to check the floor, Dr. Sharma went to search for Dr. Martinez. She finally found him in an empty room, staring out the window. Her instincts told her that something was wrong, but there was no sign of blood on the doctor’s scrubs or anything else to cause alarm. Still, there was something odd about the way he was standing that made her wary. As she walked around the bed, she wondered if he might be suffering from shock. It was very possible he’d seen the dead patients and had not handled it well. She took a couple more steps, approaching him cautiously.

“Dr. Martinez, are you all right?” she asked, still keeping her distance.

He turned toward her slowly, revealing the obliterated right side of his face. There was nothing but muscle and exposed bone. While the back of his scrubs had been unstained, the front of his body was soaked in blood.

Horrified, Dr. Sharma stepped back, but her legs hit the bed, causing her to stumble. The reanimated Dr. Martinez was fast, and he was on her before she could get away. She let out a scream as she struggled to keep the deadly teeth away from her neck. Even in death, Martinez was strong, and Dr. Sharma had no doubt that he was going to overpower her quickly. Her arms strained with the tension of trying to hold him back while he worked just as hard to try to sink his teeth into her flesh. Freeing herself partly from his grasp, she was able to take another step back, but she quickly found herself against the wall with nowhere to go. Her dead colleague moved in closer, grabbing her in a sickening hug. With her arms restrained, there was no way she could fight back.

Tears of fear and regret began to run down Ankita Sharma’s cheek as she watched Martinez’s blood-stained mouth open. She closed her eyes, not wanting the horrific sight to accompany her as she left this life to move on to the next one. Rather than feeling the searing pain of a bite, Dr. Sharma was pulled to the ground as Martinez’s body fell.

Moose leaned over and pulled the knife from the deceased doctor’s head then pulled the body roughly away, helping Dr. Sharma to her feet.

“Th-thank you,” she said, looking down at the crumpled body on the floor. “I thought I was dead.”

“I heard the scream and got here real fast,” Moose said, blushing. “I thought you were Marla.”

Dr. Sharma wasn’t sure how to respond to that at first. “Well, thank you for saving me, even though I’m not Marla.”

~*~

In a slow, methodical voice, Autumn told Doune what had happened. When she got to the part about wanting to infect a pigeon, he shook his head.

“You can’t do things like that, Autumn,” he said. “Do you realize how dangerous . . . ?” He stopped mid-sentence, knowing that it didn’t matter anymore. There was no point in lecturing the girl when she was going to die. He swallowed hard and walked away to compose himself before returning to her side.

“Let’s finish getting that cleaned,” he said, his voice unsteady.

“Are you crying?” Autumn asked, looking closely at his eyes.

“No. Of course not,” Doune said, blinking rapidly. “I don’t cry.”

“Must be allergies or something,” she said, still studying him.

“Probably.”

The wound was deep, but at least the flesh wasn’t completely torn away, which was a minor miracle. Doune was reminded of the time that the female biker, Helga, had come in with a bite. She had gotten it from a healthy human, though they had watched her carefully to be sure. For a moment, Doune wondered if this could be a similar bite, though he saw no reason why anybody would bite the girl. Helga, he understood.

“Are you sure it was one of the infected?” he asked.

“He looked like the others,” Autumn said.

“It was the man that they rescued from the building,” Ernie added.

“He didn’t appear to have any bites, but he was covered with open scrapes and scratches,” Doune said. “He could have become contaminated just by touching an infected surface. I’ll have to do some tests to see how long the parasite can live outside a host.”

He felt a wave of guilt, knowing he’d been the one to give approval to having the man moved upstairs.

“I should have insisted he stay in quarantine,” he snapped, furious with himself.

“Want to hear the rest?” Autumn asked.

“Yes,” Doune said, pulling out what he needed to suture the wound. He hesitated then got out Steri-Strips instead. There was no reason to subject Autumn to the discomfort of stitches if her hours were numbered. He listened as she related the rest of the story, with Ernie adding a few parts.

“Don’t let me become like him,” she begged when she was done. “Put me to sleep, or something.”

Doune made a quick decision not to sugarcoat it for Autumn. They all knew what was going to happen. Pretending otherwise would seem condescending, which the girl would not appreciate.

“Ernie, I am not going to make her spend her final days in the quarantine room. I’ll keep her here in this room, but I’ll lock the door. She will not be a danger to anybody except me, and that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

He would destroy her brain quickly when the time came. He would do it before she had a chance to rise again.

“My lips are sealed,” Ernie said. “How about if I bring meals to the two of you, so you don’t have to leave to go eat? Nobody else will need to know.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Doune said.

Ernie looked at Autumn once more and left, sadness apparent on his face. “I’ll go get a mop to clean that up,” he said, nodding toward the blood on the floor.

“Thank you, Ernie,” Doune said. He turned his attention back to the girl. “I won’t let you change, Autumn.”

Autumn, trying to hold back her tears, quickly wiped one that escaped and ran down her cheek.

“You can dissect my brain if you want,” she said, her voice trembling, “but wait ‘til I’m dead.”

Doune said, “I promise that you will not be treated as Harold was. That was different.”

One of the doctors had become infected, and when he reanimated, Doune had taken him to his lab to learn what he could. Dr. Winston had been disliked by most everybody that knew him, and it had given Doune great pleasure to dissect the man’s brain. He would not subject Autumn to similar treatment.

“Autumn, I need to run some tests on your blood. It’s something I have to do when someone is infected.”

“I know,” she said. “It’s fine.”

Doune tied a long strip of rubber around her arm and had her clench her fist while he searched for a good vein. He noticed how quiet Autumn was, and he wasn’t surprised. She had just received a death sentence. She was handling it well under the circumstances, but she’d been facing death for quite a while. She certainly wasn’t a stranger to the idea.

~*^*~

~24~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Autumn didn’t flinch when the needle entered her skin. She had been poked and prodded so much during her fight with cancer that she thought of herself as a human pincushion. Besides, she trusted Dr. Doune. With the exception of Lindsey, he was probably the only adult she did trust. He seemed to empathize with her view of the world, or at least understand it. Since her parents had died, no other adult had been able to relate to her the way he had. Lindsey liked her and watched out for her, but she treated Autumn like a kid. Her foster parents were even worse. They gushed about how much they loved her but when she shaved the cat or painted the dog, they lost patience with her. Dr. Doune, she thought, would have appreciated her creativity. At least she would die under the care of someone who understood her. She was glad she’d lived long enough to meet Dr. Doune. Maybe she wasn’t meant to die alone. Maybe the bikers were right, and there was a God.

She watched as Dr. Doune filled a test tube then put a small sample of her blood on a slide to look at it under the microscope.

“Can you see it without the light?” she asked, knowing that the microscope light used electricity.

“This one has a battery-operated light,” he said.

She already knew what he’d find, so it wasn’t a surprise, merely a disappointment, when he slowly straightened and shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Can I see?” she asked, having expected the same results.

He moved aside so that she could see her infected blood under the microscope. She looked for a long time before stepping away.

“Does it hurt?” he asked. “I can give you some pain medication if you want it.”

“No,” Autumn replied. “I mean, it hurts, but I don’t want painkillers. Not strong ones, at least. I don’t want to be a zombie any sooner than I have to.”

“I’ll give you a mild painkiller. Tell me if you change your mind and need something stronger,” he said, taking down a bottle from one of his shelves. “These will take the edge off of the pain.”

He put the two pills down in front of her along with a glass of water. After she took the pills, Dr. Doune lifted the bandage, and Autumn bent her neck to look. So far, it looked like an ordinary wound, though she knew that would change soon. From what they had seen so far on bite victims, the wounds seemed to change quickly, probably as soon as the infection made its way through the body.

“How long do you think it’s going to take?” Autumn asked as Doune replaced the bandage.

“I don’t really know,” he said, not meeting her eyes. “It could be a day or two. The survivors that came in today said the outbreak at the school was caused by a boy who hadn’t had any contact with the dead for a couple days, at least.”

“That’s kind of weird, isn’t it? Dr. Winston just had a tiny scratch, and he was dead in a few hours.”

“He wasn’t very healthy,” Doune pointed out. “When I did the autopsy, I found heart disease and other issues.”

“I’m not all that healthy, either, remember?”

Doune had no reply for her.

Autumn knew it was true. Because of the cancer and all of the treatments she’d been through, her body was still struggling to repair itself. Within an hour, the wound should be appearing infected, and she would start feeling ill.

“You are too crying!” she said suddenly, pointing to a tear on his cheek.

“I am not,” he said, wiping it away. “It’s the allergies.”

“I think it’s cool that someone is crying for me. I’ll bet Lindsey will cry, too, when she finds out.”

“I’m sure she will,” Dr. Doune said.

“So why don’t you want to admit you’re crying?” she asked.

Doune sighed and sat down beside her.

“I haven’t cried for anybody since I was a child.”

“Then I guess I should feel honored.”

“If I were crying,” he said.

“Right. Allergies.”

“I intentionally do not form emotional relationships because they only lead to pain. I have made a point of keeping myself distant from others.”

“What about your wife?” Autumn asked. “Aren’t you married?”

“Especially her,” he said. “I decided that if I didn’t get too attached, I wouldn’t get upset if she divorced me.”

“What happened to her?”

“I don’t know. I need to go check the house one of these days, I guess.”

“That’s kind of messed up,” Autumn told him.

“You’re probably right,” he said.

“Okay, so I still want to know why you’re sad about me dying, then.”

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?” he asked.

“Not a chance.”

“I guess it’s because you’re a lot like me,” he said. “Maybe you’re a representation of that child I never had.”

“Did you want to have kids?”

“No. I assume you don’t want to waste any time resting right now,” he said, looking like he desperately wanted to change the subject. “Would you like to play a game of chess or Monopoly?”

~*~

“Dr. Sharma will be here to check on you soon,” Hawk told Debbie, still holding her hand.

“What’s the point?” she asked through her tears.

“She can at least make you comfortable,” Hawk said.

The doctor arrived a few minutes later. She told Debbie how sorry she was then asked if she could see the wound. It was already beginning to darken around the edge, and there was a hint of the green slimy fluid that the living dead seemed to bear.

“Do you want morphine?” she asked.

Debbie nodded. “I don’t want to feel it,” she said.

Dr. Sharma carefully hooked up an IV and got the morphine going before turning to Hawk. “She’s going to have to be strapped down. We can’t risk a repeat of what happened earlier.”

He started to protest, but she said, “This is not negotiable. Straps and a locked room.”

“I’m staying with her,” Hawk told Dr. Sharma, “and that is not negotiable.”

“That’s fine as long as she’s strapped down,” Dr. Sharma said. She squeezed Debbie’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Debbie. I hope you understand.”

“I do,” she said. “Straps are fine. I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

Dr. Sharma fixed the restraints in place, touching the nurse’s shoulder once more before leaving the room.

Hawk reached over to take Debbie’s hand again. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said, her voice starting to slur from the morphine.

“I should have gone into the room first to check it out.”

“Bull was in there. I thought it was safe,” she said, turning her head to look at him. “Are you going to kill me?”

He let out a long breath and looked away before replying.

“I won’t do anything while you’re still alive,” he said, “but I won’t let you revive.”

“Thank you,” she said in a whisper.

He sat with her as she dozed off. No matter what she said, he blamed himself.

When she woke again she wanted to talk, and he listened to stories about her life that would be lost forever unless he remembered them. He listened intently, knowing that it was all he could do for her. When she fell asleep again, he lifted the bandage and checked her wound. It appeared to be getting worse.

~*~

Autumn smiled at the doctor’s suggestion. She was quite the chess player and preferred playing adults, as she hadn’t met any kids that could compete with her. She knew that Dr. Doune was intelligent and would be a worthy adversary. It would sure beat lying in bed and waiting to die, she thought.

“Let’s play chess,” she said.

“I should have known. You don’t seem like the Monopoly type.”

A gruff-looking biker opened the door and stuck his head in.

“We’ve had an outbreak on the top floor. We’re going to have to lock down the stairs until we’re sure it’s under control.”

The biker quickly closed the door, opening it again to free the tip of his beard.

Doune and Autumn watched silently as the biker closed the door again before Doune went and got the chess set out. He cleared a place on the table then pulled his rolling office chair over and began to set up the board. The first game went slowly as they studied each other’s techniques.

Autumn knew that Dr. Doune was watching her when he didn’t think she was looking, but he hadn’t made any comments so far. She wondered if she was getting dark circles around her eyes yet. She imagined the parasite multiplying in her body, and at times could swear that she could feel them. In her mind, every itch was a microscopic creature burrowing through her flesh, working its way through her bloodstream with the goal of hijacking her brain. A shiver passed through her, and she tried to bury her thoughts in the game, trying to make the best of what little time she had left.

~*~

Snake finally began to see the familiar streets that meant they were almost home. It had been difficult getting across town, and they’d finally given up on the planned route, opting instead to circle around the outskirts of the city. They’d had a close call when Wolf had been pulled off his bike by a small mob of the undead. Fortunately, Snake and the others had made short work of them before they could infect or kill the biker. It had taken them a while to find the shop and even longer to locate the right parts. They had picked up everything on the list, and even a few things that weren’t listed, knowing they didn’t want to ever have to make the trip again.

They’d been gone for hours and were all exhausted after the grueling day. Snake hoped they wouldn’t need to make another trip out for a few days because he’d had enough action to last him a while. When they finally saw the hospital, it was a huge relief.

Lindsey jumped off Wombat’s bike and moved the truck that formed the end of the car wall. Once all the bikes had passed through, she moved the vehicle back into place and rejoined the others.

The gate was unmanned, which surprised Snake, since someone should have heard the bikes approaching.

When Moose finally answered the radio and promised to be right out, Snake knew that something was wrong just by the tone of the other biker’s voice.

“Boss, we had an outbreak,” Moose finally said, once everybody was safely inside.

“How bad?” Snake asked.

“We lost Bull,” Moose said, as he walked toward the building with Snake.

Snake felt a stab of pain at the thought of losing another of his men. His next thought was to wonder just how it had happened, but he wanted everybody together before he started piecing together the details.

“Anybody else?” he asked.

“Dr. Martinez and a couple of the patients. One of the nurses got bit, too.”

“Which one?” Snake asked.

“Debbie,” Moose said. “The one with the red hair.”

“She still alive?”

“So far,” Moose said. “Hawk’s with her and she’s strapped down. Dr. Sharma insisted this time.”

“What do you mean ‘this time’?” Snake asked.

“The guy we rescued from the rubble couldn’t be strapped down. He had broken ribs, and his wrists and ankles were scraped up.”

“He should have been strapped down anyway,” Snake said, frowning. “They could have put some padding under the straps or something.”

“I guess Dr. Martinez said not to do it,” Moose shrugged.

“Bad move,” Snake said. “I take it the guy was infected?”

“Must have been. Bull was in the room with him, and they were the only two that turned.”

“Has it been contained?”

“Yes,” Moose said.

Snake stopped near the elevator to address Moose and the others who had joined them. “After quarantine, I want to talk to anybody that was on duty on the fifth floor when this happened. Let the others know.”

“That’s going to be like 2:00 in the morning, Boss,” Fish pointed out.

“It’s 6:30 now, dude,” Snake said, shaking his head. “It’ll be 9:30.”

Jack and Wrench walked over. As soon as Wrench got the parts he needed from Snake, he hurried off to the generator room. Jack escorted the group up to the quarantine room, giving them a few more details on the incident.

“It happened fast,” Jack said. “By the time I got up there, it was all over.”

“I told Moose I want to talk to him and the others once quarantine is over,” Snake said. “I want to know how this happened.”

“You and me, both,” Jack agreed.

~*~

Several minutes and a few captured pieces later, Autumn realized that not only was the doctor not going easy on her, but he was beating her quite badly. It was time, she thought, for plan B. Grabbing her arm, she winced in pain.

“I-I think I may need some stronger aspirin or something if you don’t mind.”

She buried her head in her hands and peeked out through her fingers.

When Doune left for the painkillers, Autumn did some quick rearranging. She knew that the doctor would notice if his pieces were out of place, but she doubted that he had memorized hers. All she had to do now was switch her rook for her bishop, and Doune would be in check in a couple of moves unless he noticed the change. If she distracted him with whimpers of pain, she reasoned, he would fall into her trap. When he returned, she held her arm and gritted her teeth, trying not to be overdramatic.

Doune placed two caplets and a cup of water on the table. “Let me see your arm,” he said, expressionless.

Autumn watched as he carefully peeled back the tape and pulled the bandage away. She knew that the wound should be turning colors by now, but she was surprised to see that it hadn’t changed.

“That’s odd,” Doune said. “If anything, it looks better than it did before, but your pain is obviously worse. Perhaps it’s moving a little slower in you than it did in the others, Autumn.”

He did a quick assessment. “No fever. No change in skin color or in your eyes.”

“They aren’t all dark yet?”

“Not at all.”

“I’m okay,” Autumn said, popping the caplets into her mouth. “Let’s just finish this game, and maybe I can rest while the painkillers are starting to work.”

She waited anxiously to see if Dr. Doune would notice the minor adjustments she had made.

“It’s your turn,” she said, still rubbing her arm.

Doune sat down and studied the board for a moment before lifting his head slowly and regarding Autumn with one raised eyebrow.

“Perhaps I forgot to mention that I have a photographic memory. I don’t remember everything I’ve ever seen, but I tend to remember some things in almost photographic detail, like the position our pieces were in before your little emergency. Now, tell me, Autumn, are you truly in that much pain or was that a ploy to distract me?”

Autumn sighed and spit the soggy pills onto the table before leaning back in her chair.

“You don’t miss much, do you?” she asked. “Actually, I feel pretty good. I just don’t like losing.”

“I don’t blame you,” he said. “I don’t like losing, either.”

~*~

Jack left the group at quarantine and made his way down to the generator room to see if Wrench needed any help.

“Did they get everything you needed?” he asked.

“Everything I put on the list and then some,” Wrench said, wiping some grease from his hands. “Haven’t had time to check part numbers, so I’m hoping they’re right.”

He held up the new injector pump, comparing it with the old one he’d removed. It was a match.

“Can you handle the filters while I put these in?” Wrench asked Jack.

“Yeah, they’re pretty much idiot-proof, aren’t they?” Jack replied, smirking.

The duo went to work.

~*~

As time passed, Debbie grew delirious with fever. Dr. Sharma came to check on her, and the look that she gave Hawk said it all. The woman wasn’t going to last much longer.

When Debbie woke again, she smiled at Hawk, but he had the feeling that she wasn’t really seeing him. She called him Chad and told him she missed him. He just squeezed her hand and said that he was glad she was there with him.

When her eyes opened again, she looked past Hawk to a spot somewhere above his left shoulder, speaking to someone or something that was visible to her eyes only. Hawk turned to glance over his shoulder, though he was certain that they were alone in the room.

“I’m ready,” she murmured, eyes still fixed on something he couldn’t see.

She squeezed Hawk’s hand tightly and closed her eyes, letting out a long, rattling breath. When her grip on his hand loosened, Hawk dropped his head. After a long moment, he pulled his hand away from hers and called for Dr. Sharma, who checked the woman’s vitals.

“I’m sorry, Hawk. She’s gone,” she said, touching his shoulder before leaving the room again.

Hawk dreaded the task ahead of him, but he couldn’t allow Debbie to become something terrible. He pulled out his pike and looked at it. Normally, he would pierce the eye, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that to Debbie. He rolled her over and placed the pike at the back of her skull then drove it up into her brain with one hard shove. When he turned her onto her back again, there was no sign of trauma, yet she looked nothing like she had looked in life. Her eyes were dark and sunken, and her skin had a gray tint to it. He hoped that he wouldn’t remember her that way.

Letting out a long breath, he sat for a moment with his head in his hands. Was life ever going to get better, or was this just a sample of what it was going to be like from now on? He stayed for a few minutes before standing again and covering the body.

“Goodbye, Debbie,” he whispered, turning to leave the room.

~*^*~

~25~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Are you any good at poker?” Autumn asked the doctor after they’d played two more games of chess. She had lost all three games, but the last one had been close.

“Poker?” Doune asked, standing up. The room was beginning to darken with the dimming daylight, and he pulled out a pack of matches from a desk drawer and lit a lantern. As he carried it back, Autumn watched the shadows in the room grow large then shrink again with the swaying of the lamp.

“You’ve heard of poker,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s a game . . . you play it with cards.”

“I know what poker is. I’ve just never played it,” he said. “I guess I could try it if you wouldn’t mind teaching me how to play.”

Doune had just placed the lantern on the table when the lights went back on.

“I think I’ll leave it on for a while, just in case.”

Autumn saw his eyes drift to her arm again and then to his watch.

“How long has it been?” she asked.

“Almost three hours,” he replied. “I’d like to take another blood sample if you don’t mind.”

“Sure. It’s kind of weird that I’m still feeling so good, but maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m like that boy at the school.”

He got a new test tube and took the sample, fixing a slide while Autumn grabbed a deck of cards from her desk drawer. They had come in handy during her long hospital stays, since playing her handheld video games and reading had gotten boring after a while. Besides, her dad had told her that too many video games would turn her brain to mush. She had become quite good at most variations of solitaire. Her poker skills, on the other hand, were a little rusty. Once again, her Dad had been her teacher, and he had taught her, along with the fundamentals of the game, the fine art of bluffing. Maybe this was a game in which she could top the doctor.

While Autumn got the cards ready, Doune looked through the microscope and switched slides a couple of times.

She could see him frowning, but he remained silent as he walked back to the table. He picked up a notebook and read through some of his notes. After a few minutes, he said, “Let me see your arm again.”

He unwrapped the bandage and began to take some notes, measuring the wound and taking a picture of it as well.

“It still doesn’t look bad,” Autumn noted.

“No, it doesn’t,” he said as he replaced the bandage.

“All right, I think I’m ready for this game,” Autumn said. She knew that she should be feeling the effects of being bitten. She had seen bite victims, and she knew how quickly they spiraled into death . . . then worse. She dealt the cards and rearranged her hand.

“Maybe the guy who bit me wasn’t really a zombie,” she said aloud. “I mean he sure looked like one. He was all pale, and he moaned, but some of my foster parents did that.”

“They did?”

“No.”

She looked at Doune and grabbed the deck.

“You want to draw?”

“Why would he bite you if he wasn’t a zombie?” Doune asked.

Autumn rolled her eyes. Dr. Doune was smart, but he wasn’t always very good at telling when she was kidding.

“It was a joke,” she said. “The guy that bit me looked just like all the others.”

“I see,” he said, setting down two cards, though his mind obviously wasn’t on the game. “I’ll take two.”

Autumn discarded four cards and picked up four more from the deck. When she saw that Dr. Doune seemed preoccupied, she grabbed two more cards and slipped them onto her seat, sitting on them to hide them.

There was a knock on the door, and Autumn made sure her bandage was tucked beneath her sleeve before Keith walked in with a tray full of blood samples.

“I’ve got another group ready to come out of quarantine,” he said.

Autumn stood to help fix the slides, but Doune shook his head and asked Keith to help instead.

“Autumn is a bit under the weather tonight,” Doune explained.

“No problem. I can help,” Keith said, following Doune over to the table across the room. He fixed the slides and marked them while Doune began to check them under the microscope. After just a few minutes, Doune announced that all of the samples were negative.

“I’m heading up to the fifth floor after I tell these guys they can go,” Keith told Doune. “I’ll be back down at 9:30 to get the others.”

“Before you go,” Doune said, checking to make sure Autumn was still in his office and out of hearing range, “can you tell me about the outbreak upstairs? Was anybody bitten?”

“Yes,” Keith said. “We lost Dr. Martinez, Debbie, one of the bikers and two patients. It was bad.”

“Are they all dead?”

“Debbie just passed on,” Keith said. “The others are all dead, too.”

“It was the survivor who was brought in from the office building site?”

“Yes. I still haven’t heard how it happened,” Keith said. “The room was supposed to be guarded.”

“And the patient was supposed to have been strapped down,” Doune added. “We have rules for a reason.”

“Hey, I’m with you,” Keith said. “This shouldn’t have happened, and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I’ve got to run, but I’ll be back down at 9:30.”

“All right. And would you please see if you can find out anything else about the outbreak while you’re up there?”

“I’ll do that. I’ll let you know when I come back down.”

“Thank you, Keith,” Doune said.

~*~

After getting beaten at poker several times in a row, Doune stood up to take a break. He was fairly sure that the girl was cheating, but he had yet to catch her in the act, so he hadn’t said anything. Glancing at the clock as he got himself a glass of water, he was surprised to see how many hours had passed since Autumn had first been brought in.

“Let’s check that arm,” he said, walking over to unwrap it. Once again, he expected the worst and was surprised to see that the wound was showing a definite improvement.

“Autumn, something is just not adding up here,” he told her. “Don’t take this wrong, but you should be on death’s door right now. Instead, the wound seems to be healing.”

“I know what you mean,” Autumn replied, looking at the bite mark. “I should be feeling pretty rotten by now, but I feel okay. Maybe that guy was just nuts or something, like a zombie wannabe. A little makeup and some moaning. Bite the first defenseless girl you see, and voila, you’re not a dork anymore. You’re a scary creature.”

“You tested positive, Autumn,” he reminded her.

She stood up and turned to scoop up a handful of cards from her seat, placing them back into the deck.

“I knew you were cheating!” he said, pointing at the cards. “I knew it!”

“So maybe the test was wrong. Why couldn’t the guy be a fake?” she asked again. “Either way, it’s still an on-the-job injury, and I should be getting paid, right?”

“You’ll get paid. Not that money is worth anything now.” He hesitated before finally adding, “He wasn’t a fake.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“Keith said that others were attacked.”

“Who?” Autumn asked, growing solemn.

Doune listed the names that Keith had given him.

“Are they all dead?” she asked quietly.

“Yes,” Doune said.

“Then I guess I am going to die,” Autumn said. “It’s just taking me longer.”

Doune opened his mouth to speak but closed it again when he had no reply.

~*~

When the quarantine period was up, Snake went to the cafeteria to talk to Jack and a small group of those who had been on the fifth floor during the outbreak.

Jack asked Dr. Sharma to speak first, so she could get back upstairs. With input from Moose, Marla, Hawk and a few others, they were able to piece the whole story together. When everybody was done speaking, there was silence for a while as Jack pondered the situation. He finally spoke.

“It sounds to me like there were a lot of little slip-ups that added up to a huge disaster. I don’t think we can point fingers at any one or two people. I think that Dr. Martinez made a bad call, but there were other contributing factors, too.”

“And Bull was supposed to stay out in the hall,” Snake added. “There was no reason for him to be in that room.”

Dr. Sharma sighed and said, “One of your men found several pain pills in Bull’s pocket. I was only giving him a couple at a time because you warned me that he’d had a problem before.”

“Where’d he get them?” Snake asked, frowning.

“We keep the meds in a room down the hall from the one he was guarding,” Dr. Sharma explained. “I’m not sure how he would have gotten the key with another guard right there.”

Hawk let out a long breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“I took a smoke break when I first got there,” he admitted. “Bull kept trying to get me to go. I’m not trying to push off the blame — I’m responsible for leaving my post, but maybe he wanted me out of there for a reason. Now that I think about it, he was a little glassy-eyed when I got back, and I don’t remember him being that way before.”

Moose nodded in agreement. “He was nodding off. I think he went into the room to get some sleep.”

“I think Bull had a bigger problem than I thought he did,” Snake said, “and I’m holding myself responsible for letting him pull guard duty.”

“I don’t understand why we didn’t know this guy was infected,” Keith said. “Didn’t anything show up in his blood test? He should have tested positive.”

“I assumed he was tested on the second floor,” Dr. Sharma said. “I never even thought about it.”

“And I’ll bet Dr. Doune didn’t, either,” Jack said, “since the patient was going upstairs. Dr. Martinez probably also assumed it had been done. This is what I mean — there were a lot of little mistakes.”

“It will be easier when the other quarantine room is ready,” Dr. Sharma said. “We can have more protocols in place. But I am at fault as much as anybody. I knew that there were no straps on the patient, and I did nothing about it.”

Jack said, “You’re an intern and you’re used to letting the doctors who are in charge make the decisions. Now that it’s just you and Dr. Doune, you’re going to have to take on more responsibility. That means from now on, if you don’t feel right about something, you need to make the call.”

“He still has seniority over me,” she pointed out.

“He has also made it clear that his priority is the lab,” Jack said. “You’re in charge of the patients now. That doesn’t mean you can’t go to Dr. Doune for help, but the final responsibility will fall on your shoulders. Are you okay with that?”

Dr. Sharma let out a long breath, thinking it over. She was twenty-five years old and would be fully responsible for the remaining patients in the hospital. There weren’t many left, but that could change. It was a lot for her to take in.

“I will do my best,” she said, finally.

“Thank you,” Jack said. “I just hope we can learn something from this and put some safeguards in place to keep it from happening again. I think we all realize now that we can’t let our guard down, no matter how safe we think we are.”

~*~

“We need some of you to help unload the last truck,” Snake called to his men. He stopped Lindsey and Wombat when they started to go outside. “Maybe you two could help me take Dr. Doom’s new test tubes upstairs. “Not sure I trust some of these guys to carry glassware.”

“Sure,” Lindsey said, taking one of the three boxes. Wombat took another, and Snake got the last one.

“I hope we don’t have to do any more shopping for a while,” Snake said.

“We shouldn’t,” Lindsey said. “We brought in a huge haul today. I’ll bet we’re set for winter.”

“Apparently they made three more trips while we were looking for generator parts,” Snake said. “I wasn’t happy to hear that they went back out, but I guess there was no harm done, and they did get a lot of stuff.”

When they reached the lab, Lindsey pulled the door open and carried her box inside. She spotted Doune and Autumn in the office, playing cards. As she walked over, she caught a glimpse of a bandage on Autumn’s arm, but when she opened her mouth to ask about it, she caught a look from Doune that made her remain silent. He’d barely shaken his head, but it was enough to get his point across, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. Lindsey managed to keep her face expressionless as the others brought their boxes in. Once Snake and Wombat were inside, she slipped back out into the hallway and leaned against the wall, knowing there was no way she could remain in the room and act like nothing was wrong. She took several deep breaths, trying to keep control of her emotions. Moments later, Wombat stepped outside to join her.

“Are you all right?” he asked, after taking one look at her.

“I-I’m okay,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Just a long day, I guess. It’s finally all catching up with me.”

“I know what you mean. We lost a lot of people today, and on top of that, you had your own brush with death. I’m just glad that whoever took the shot at you had poor aim.”

For a moment, Lindsey couldn’t remember what he was talking about. Her mind was on Autumn, and she had to think back to earlier in the day when she’d climbed the fence.

“That happened so fast I hardly had time to be concerned over it,” she admitted.

“You shouldn’t have had to climb up there,” Wombat said. “I should have just pulled myself up.”

“Why? Because I’m a female?” Lindsey asked, turning to look at him. “You can’t think like that, Wombat. We’re all in this together, and we all have to pull our weight. I appreciate that you’re looking out for me, but you can’t be worried about protecting me when we’re on a supply run or a rescue mission. You’ve got to be able to do your job, and I have to be able to do mine.”

He looked away for a moment then said, “My parents raised me to respect women, and it was drilled into my brain from an early age that girls were to be protected. I had three younger female cousins, and it was my responsibility to watch out for them. I kept on doing that until we moved here. I’m sorry. I guess it’s just a hard habit to break, but you’re right.”

“It’s all right,” Lindsey said, giving him a half-smile. “If I’m ever in a bad situation, I’ll be more than happy to have you jump in and help, and I’ll do the same for you if you’re in trouble. I just don’t want anybody distracted by worrying about me, okay? Do you know how I’d feel if you got hurt because you weren’t paying attention, and it’s because you were looking out for me?”

“Okay. I’ll try not to do that. That doesn’t mean I have to like it, does it?” he asked with a smile.

“No,” she said. “But do you worry about Helga? She’s a female.”

“Helga can take care of herself, probably better than most of us. You do a great job out there, too, and I’m impressed by how much you’ve learned in the last couple of weeks. It’s just different with you . . .”

“Why?” she asked.

He held her gaze for a moment then started to reply, but Snake stepped out of the room. He looked at Wombat and Lindsey with obvious curiosity on his face.

Lindsey stepped away, worried about what Snake must be thinking. He had talked to her the first time she went out with the bikers and had explained to her that he didn’t normally let women ride with them because they’d had problems in the past with a co-ed group. Some of the female bikers had been particularly relentless in their pursuit of Wombat. Lindsey had assured Snake that she wouldn’t cause any trouble if she rode with them, but Snake seemed to give her looks at times that made her feel like she was betraying his trust.

“I’m going to check on Autumn,” Lindsey said, looking away. “I haven’t seen her all day.”

“All right. I’ll see you later, Lindsey,” Wombat said, turning to leave with Snake.

Lindsey nodded, her thoughts back on Autumn. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

~*^*~

~26~

Malibu, California

Hixson and Rayburn continued to work their way around the Malibu compound, often having to change directions when a street was filled with the dead. At one point, they had to duck inside a hardware store to avoid a large crowd. Dan found a crowbar, and George picked up a baseball bat from the sporting goods section, telling Dan that he had played third base back in high school. A short time later, they broke into another building to avoid an encounter. When the dead started closing in on them for a third time, they heard helicopters overhead.

“We need to hide,” Dan said, quickly looking around. He saw an office supply store that looked fairly large and didn’t appear to have any broken glass. He pried the door open with the crowbar, immediately hearing a beeping noise when they got inside.

“George, push the door shut!” Hixson yelled, searching for the alarm box. He knew that he probably had only a minute or less to disable it. The seconds ticked away as he moved down one wall then the other. He finally found a locked metal box behind a customer service counter. Using the crowbar, Dan pried the box loose then used his hands to tear it free, breaking the wires in the process. The beeping stopped. Dan took a moment to catch his breath then hurried back to where George was just getting the heavy glass doors closed.

Dan scanned the parking lot outside to see if they’d been followed. A couple of the dead were within sight, but they seemed to be looking around, not moving in any specific direction.

Two helicopters could be seen slowly moving over the buildings a few blocks away.

“If the zombies start to gather outside the door, they’ll lead those birds right to us,” Hixson said, looking at the dead outside.

“I don’t think they saw us come in, so maybe we’re safe.”

“I don’t know, George. They weren’t in the parking lot a few minutes ago, so they must have followed us. Hopefully they’ll lose interest and wander off. Just stay back where they can’t see us.”

Both men sank farther back into the shadows, though Dan kept looking around in case they weren’t alone. He swore softly when a couple more ghouls moved into the parking lot. One of them started staggering toward the building. The sound of the helicopters got louder, and the dead in the parking lot turned to watch, arms reaching toward the sky. One of the choppers suddenly dropped into sight, and Dan hissed, “Don’t move.”

They stood perfectly still as the helicopter hovered in place for several long seconds. It finally had to lift up again when the undead began to grasp for the landing skids.

“Let’s get out of sight in case they come in,” Dan said, moving toward the back of the store. “I’m going to change. They won’t be looking for me in street clothes.”

“I should get dressed, too,” George said, pulling off his backpack.

After Dan changed, he checked the front of the store again and noticed even more dead in the parking lot. The helicopter could still be heard nearby.

“George, pick up your trash,” Dan said, pointing to the ground were several tags lay strewn about, along with the plastic that had held the shoes together. “We don’t need them finding this if they come in.”

“Okay,” George said, stuffing everything into his backpack. “Should we try for a back door?”

“No, they might be watching for that,” Hixson said. “We need to find a place to hide inside. Just pray that they aren’t using infrared.”

He spotted two swinging doors in the back wall, which they moved through to enter a large storage room.

“Perfect,” Dan said, looking around the room to see boxes of all different sizes. He quickly cut open two of them with his knife and dragged them across the room.

“What are you doing?” George asked, as he watched Dan dump out the office chairs along with bags of nuts and bolts.

Dan brought the two empty boxes back over to where the others were stacked before he answered.

“If we hear them come inside, we’ll hide in these,” Dan said. “The open end will go on the floor, but we’ll have to tuck the flaps in so they don’t notice them.”

“Then what?” George asked.

“Then just stay very still until I tell you to come out. If you make any noise at all, they’ll find us and kill us.”

“Okay, sure,” Rayburn said, looking nervous.

Within five minutes, the muffled sound of voices could be heard in the main part of the store.

“Get in the box,” Dan whispered.

Once Rayburn was under the box, Dan tucked the flaps in since George had forgotten to do it.

“Sorry, I forgot to . . .”

“No talking, George,” Dan whispered, getting into his own box. “Not a word.”

Dan crouched down, ready to move at a moment’s notice. He sighed when he heard Rayburn’s voice.

“Do you think they’re coming back here?”

“I don’t know, but no talking. Seriously, George, I don’t want to die.”

“My lips are sealed,” Rayburn said.

Dan held his breath, hoping that Rayburn could actually manage to remain silent for a while. He cringed when he heard George’s box shuffle closer to his.

“Shhhhh,” Hixson said.

“I really need to go to the bathroom,” Rayburn whispered. “How long do you think they’ll be here?”

Before Dan could reply, the doors swung open, and light slipped beneath his box.

“Take that side,” a voice said, from just a few feet away.

Dan listened to the footsteps as they moved around the storeroom. He kept his pistol in his hand, though he didn’t want to use it against live humans unless he had no other option. He heard a box being moved, and he tensed up until he realized it was too far away to be the one that George was in.

“What’s up with this?”

“Looks like someone started putting some chairs together but didn’t finish.”

“Would they just leave the parts sitting out like this?”

“Maybe they would if a zombie was about to take a bite out of their ass.”

“Looks clear back here.”

“Someone definitely broke in and disabled the alarm.”

“Probably looters. There was plenty of that before the dead ate them all.”

“True. Someone probably picked up a new laptop for free. Let’s get out of here before we get trapped inside.”

The voices began to fade, but still Dan waited several more minutes. Finally, he made his way out from under his box and checked the store before telling Rayburn it was safe to come out.

“That was close,” George said.

“Too close,” Dan replied. “We might be smart to stay here for the night. We got lucky this time.”

“What about food and water?”

“I saw some lockers in the back. Let’s check them.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey walked back into the room and pulled the door closed behind her. Autumn couldn’t help but wonder how she would react once she heard the news. Lindsey had been there with her through thick and thin, and Autumn had learned to trust her, not out of emotion, but out of necessity. Lindsey wasn’t the nurturing and motherly type, and Autumn liked that about her. But how would she react to knowing Autumn had been bitten? Or maybe she already knew. The look on her face told Autumn that it was likely.

“What happened?” Lindsey asked, making an obvious effort to keep her emotions under control.

“Autumn was bitten,” Doune said calmly.

“That’s it?” Lindsey asked, unable to keep from raising her voice. “She was bitten? You say it like it’s no big deal, Dr. Psychopath!”

“She was bitten several hours ago,” Doune said, not reacting at all to Lindsey’s tirade. “Look at the wound.”

Lindsey frowned at Doune but turned toward Autumn.

“I’m so sorry, Autumn. Can I see it?”

“Sure,” Autumn replied, glad that Dr. Doune had been the one to spill the beans. She unwrapped the bandage to expose the bite mark.

“What am I supposed to see?” Lindsey asked. “The skin’s obviously been broken, so what else matters?”

Autumn tried to reassure her. “All the other wounds we’ve seen just got worse. Mine seems to be getting better.”

Lindsey glanced over at Doune. “Is she infected or isn’t she?”

“Her first blood test was positive for infection,” Doune replied.

“And . . . ?”

“Let’s not get her hopes up, all right? As we’ve recently learned from those who were rescued from the school, the parasite may take longer to spread in some hosts than it does in others.”

Lindsey sighed, having forgotten about the outbreak at the school.

“Do you mind if I take another sample of your blood, Autumn?” Doune asked.

“Go ahead,” she said, holding out her non-injured arm.

He drew some more blood and labeled the test tube before fixing another slide. He looked at it under the microscope for a long time, before saying, “Incredible.”

“What?” Lindsey and Autumn asked, almost in unison.

“I see no sign of the parasite. The blood looks normal.”

“Then you just made a mistake the first time,” Lindsey said. “She must not have been infected.”

“No. I don’t make mistakes like that,” Doune said, “ever.”

“You did this time. You must have.”

“Her blood tested positive the first two times, and there’s no doubt that her attacker was infected. He infected others.”

“I watched him draw the blood and make the slide,” Autumn said. “He let me look at it under the microscope, and it was infected.”

“You can tell the difference?” Lindsey asked the girl.

“Of course,” Autumn said. “I’ve been helping Dr. Doune for ages now. I know exactly what infected blood looks like.”

Lindsey and Autumn both looked through the microscope and could not argue with what Doune was saying.

“Then she’s immune?”

“Or it’s just moving more slowly in her than in the others, though that wouldn’t explain the blood tests. I’m going to want to talk to someone from the school. I need to verify that this is what happened, because it would mean that the parasite can linger inside a host for a while before taking control of the body.”

“I’ll see what I can find out,” Lindsey said. “It’s kind of late, so it may have to wait until morning.”

“I suppose it can wait,” he said. “It’s not going to change anything, but it might help to answer some questions.”

~*~

Doune and Lindsey stayed with Autumn that night to watch her in case she took a turn for the worse. They took turns sleeping, and by early morning the wound looked even better. Lindsey waited until 6:00 before finally deciding it was time to go talk to some of the survivors from the school. She returned almost an hour later and sat down in a chair next to Autumn.

“I had to talk to about ten different people to piece the story together,” Lindsey said, “but it doesn’t sound like the infection smoldered in the boy after all. One of the girls was playing with him by a door that led to the outside. They found something seeping beneath the door, and they both touched it before figuring out that it was blood mixed with that greenish stuff we see on the infected. The two children were afraid that they’d get in trouble, so they cleaned their hands with paper towel and didn’t tell anybody about it. It turns out that the boy had a scraped knuckle. He showed it to one of the teachers, but they didn’t have any bandages to put on it.”

“And when did he come into contact with the blood?”

“It was in the late afternoon or evening. The girl couldn’t remember exactly.”

“With a wound on the knuckle, it wouldn’t have taken much to break it open again,” Doune said. “The tiniest opening would have allowed access for the parasite.”

“It makes sense to me,” Lindsey said.

“And if this is what happened then we’re back to assuming that infection follows the pattern we’ve been seeing in everybody else so far.”

“If you’re sure that you didn’t make a mistake, and her blood samples keeping coming back clear, then she must be immune, right?” Lindsey asked.

“I’ve been running some tests, and I would say that it’s a definite possibility,” he said.

“She could be the key to a cure, then,” Lindsey said, after hugging the girl.

The door opened suddenly, and Snake walked in as Autumn quickly attempted to hide her bandage.

“What’s going on?” the biker asked, crossing his arms. “I’ve been hearing some things around the hospital that have me a little curious.”

“Autumn has been bitten,” Doune said.

Snake looked stunned when he heard the news. For the first time since Lindsey had met him, the man was speechless.

“But the good news is that she may be immune,” Doune added.

“How sure are you?”

Doune told Snake about the tests he’d run, and Snake listened carefully, taking it all in.

“That’s awesome if it turns out to be true, but I still think the girl needs to be in quarantine for a few days, just to be safe.”

“She’s staying here with me,” Doune said, firmly. “It’s critical that I keep her here so that I can continue running tests. The regular quarantine room is just meant for short stays, and the exercise room isn’t ready yet.”

Snake threw up his arms in exasperation. “Dude, have you forgotten what went down yesterday? What if you fall asleep and she turns? The rules need to apply equally to everybody. You, of all people, should get that!” He glanced at Autumn and said, “Nothing personal. I’m just worried about another outbreak.”

“Don’t worry. I promise I won’t hurt your biker gang,” Autumn said sarcastically.

“What do you want us to do? Keep her in the regular quarantine room for two days? Keep her in the other room while they’re moving the equipment out? I don’t think we have a choice,” Doune snapped.

“I’ll stay here to help watch her,” Lindsey volunteered.

“We had two guards yesterday,” Snake pointed out. “I’m going to run it by Jack since he’s the guy in charge, but I think we need guards outside the door until we’re sure she’s all right. I also want two people in the room with her at all times. When you two need a break or need to sleep, you let me know, and I’ll find someone else to come in and sit with her. And I want the guards to check her every few hours to verify that there’s no change.”

Doune agreed to Snake’s terms, knowing that it was the best deal they were going to get.

“One more thing,” Doune said.

“What?” Snake asked.

“I’d like to keep this as quiet as possible for now.”

“I’ll tell Jack, but I won’t let anybody else know just yet,” Snake promised.

~*^*~

~27~

Malibu, California

Hixson and Rayburn left the office supply store just before sunrise. It took them the rest of the day to fight their way around the Malibu compound, which encompassed most of the city south of the Pacific Highway. They moved north into the foothills where large homes overlooked the city and the Pacific Ocean. By that time, Hixson had used up all the ammo in his rifle. Debating the wisdom of keeping the heavy weapon when he’d have trouble finding more ammunition for it, he finally discarded it. They cautiously made their way to a neighborhood that was out of sight of the walled community.

“This will do,” Hixson said, eying the house in front of them. It was an average-looking home in a neighborhood that had large, enclosed yards. It was also currently for sale, giving Dan hope that it might be empty. The view of the Pacific Ocean was impressive, but more importantly, the property also offered a glimpse of the highway below and a clear view of the street leading up to the neighborhood. With the forest directly behind them, it wouldn’t be difficult to disappear into the trees if they saw anybody approaching from the street.

Hixson walked over to peer through the front window. “Empty. No furniture or anything.”

He climbed up to the balcony and managed to get a patio door open on the second floor. After searching the house, he went back upstairs with a pair of binoculars he’d picked up along the way. Rayburn followed and stood beside him at the window.

“See any zombies?” George asked.

“Not up here, but they’re still swarming the highway.”

“Hopefully they’ll have a tough time climbing these hills.”

“That was a bit of a workout,” Hixson said. He turned to look at Rayburn. “You’re in pretty decent shape for an old guy. You never even got out of breath. You were talking the whole time.”

“Quietly, though. I was whispering.”

“I know, but you were keeping up with me. I was worried about that when we first started out.”

“I walk a lot,” Rayburn shrugged. “I try to keep busy, you know? Gardening, tennis, sometimes I even golf if I have to, but mostly I like to walk.”

“That’s going to be a huge help,” Hixson pointed out. “We may end up having to put in some miles on foot.”

“How long should we stay here?”

“I don’t know,” Hixson admitted. “I’m torn between wanting to get the hell out of here, and thinking we should lay low for a while. There probably aren’t many people who know the truth about this plague, which means that this group will do anything in their power to shut us up.”

“I know what you mean,” Rayburn said. “Even the new people who paid to get into the compound didn’t seem to know much. I overheard a couple of different conversations. Not when you were with me. People seem to shut up when you’re around.”

“You don’t.”

“Very funny. I heard a group of people talking about what was going on, and they seemed just as scared as the rest of us. It sounded like some of them had paid a lot of money to get inside the walls, but others were allowed in for free if they had valuable skills. I heard one woman say, ‘Do you think they knew about the plague ahead of time?’ I wasn’t sure who they were, but someone else said no, that they had been preparing for all kinds of disasters, but nothing like this.”

“So most of them probably had no idea,” Dan guessed. “I had a lot of people ask me what was going on, and they seemed scared, too.”

“So, if this group has all these resources available, where does that leave us?”

“We’ll have to assume that they have surveillance equipment at their disposal as well as manpower, weapons, etc.”

“What about satellite pictures and things like that? Do you think they can see us anywhere we go?”

“Even if they have satellite images of the entire world, we’d be needles in a haystack unless they can narrow down the search. Now that we got rid of your phone, I don’t think they can track us, or they would have had us by now.”

“And that facial recognition stuff?”

“Same thing. They’d probably need a fairly accurate idea of where we are. I’m betting if they had seen us outside today, they would have been able to identify us.”

“So we need to get out of the area.”

“Here’s the thing, George. When we leave, we’ll be putting ourselves at risk by being outside where they could spot us. We may have to pass through some fairly open areas where there aren’t good places to hide. Yet if we stay here and they’re able to narrow down our location, they just might find us. My instinct is to keep moving, but I’m not sure that’s the best choice.”

“What would you do if you were with your squad? Would you go or stay.”

“We’d go,” Hixson said without hesitation.

“So, you’re just worried about me.”

Dan shrugged.

“I think you’ve got pretty good instincts, so we should go. Can they see us in the dark?” George asked.

“Most helicopters have FLIR cameras on them; forward-looking infrared imaging systems,” Dan explained. “They can see in the dark, through body heat. If they’d had infrared goggles today in the store, they would have seen us hiding in the boxes.”

“That’s not good,” Rayburn said. “So if they’re close to us, they can probably see us in the dark, but if they haven’t really figured out where we are yet, it’s probably safe for us to move at night?”

“Safe? There are still millions of zombies out there.”

“And they probably can’t see us in the dark, so maybe we can move at night if we’re careful. If we can put in a lot of miles in one night, maybe that’s all it would take to get us out of here.”

“How far do you think you can walk in one day?”

“I’ve done fifteen miles in a day, but it’s been a few years. In the dark, we wouldn’t be moving as fast.”

“Even if we could make it five miles while it’s dark, that might put us out of their range. The choppers have mostly been concentrating on the areas to the east, so I don’t think they have a clue as to how far we’ve already gotten.”

“Five miles would get us well away from Malibu,” Rayburn pointed out.

“Maybe you’re right, George,” Hixson said. “I think we should get some sleep tonight, since we both need it, but maybe we can leave tomorrow night.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake found Jack in the ER, where a small crowd was gathered around a large flat screen TV. Looking around, Snake saw what looked like speakers from a surround-sound system on the wall. There was some furniture, too, including sofas, chairs, and bookshelves that were filled with DVDs.

“You guys picked up all this stuff after we parted ways yesterday?” he asked.

“Sure did, Boss,” Fish grinned. “There’s some in the game room, too. The kids are having a blast.”

“Oh,” Snake said. He’d been ready to lecture his men on taking more than they needed, but he began to have second thoughts. The mood had been somber the previous night after the outbreak, and the kids had been scared. He reminded himself that the supplies they’d taken would have probably sat in the stores forever, eventually becoming worthless.

“We picked up some dressers for the bedrooms, too,” the younger biker told Snake. “We’ll need more, but we didn’t have enough room.”

“Okay, we’ll make a trip for more furniture one of these days,” Snake said. “Not today. We’ve got church at 10:00, and I always feel funny about killing zombies after church.”

Snake had started a non-denominational service on Sundays, as well as a Bible study one evening a week. Most of the bikers usually attended, as did some of the other residents, though Snake never pushed anybody to go.

He made his way to the cafeteria, where he found Jack and told him about Autumn and the arrangement that he had made with Doune.

“I told him you’d have to approve it first,” Snake said.

“It’s going to have to do,” Jack said. “If the exercise room isn’t ready yet and Doune can’t do his testing in the other quarantine room, I don’t really see another choice. Hopefully, they’ll get that room emptied today or tomorrow.”

“That’s what Keith’s hoping,” Snake replied. “They’re pretty close to being done with the move, then Hawk’s going to do a few things to the room and we can get the equipment Doune wants moved in there.”

~*~

Malibu, California

Dan sat on the kitchen floor across from George while they ate their dinner from cans. Hixson had done some scavenging earlier and had brought food and water back with him.

“I want to go to a different house once it gets dark,” he said, setting his can on the tile floor. “I found a place that’s empty but furnished. It has a TV and DVD player, so maybe we can finish watching the DVD while we’re there.”

“Why can’t we go there now?”

“Because here we have a perfect view of everything below, and I want to take advantage of that as long as possible. It won’t matter once it’s dark.”

“We can’t just start going through people’s houses like we own them.”

“Sure we can, George. You do realize that most of these people aren’t coming back, right? If they’re gone, they’re probably dead, or they’re safely behind those walls down the hill. If they’re in a safe place, it’s not likely they’ll be coming back.”

“What if the zombies die off soon?” George asked. “I mean, they’re dead so they’re decomposing, right?”

“I guess,” Dan said. “But even if that’s the case and the zombies all die off soon, I doubt that everybody will be returning to their homes. It’s going to be chaos for a long time. My guess is that those who are safely living in the walled communities are going to stay there for a while.”

Rayburn looked into his can and scraped the bottom with a plastic spoon. “Maybe they left town to go somewhere else,” he said.

“And if that’s the case, they’re not coming back for a while. Look at the roads. Nothing’s moving.”

Dan watched George continue to scrape the can for another full minute. “Take another can if you want one.”

“No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”

“Then why are you scraping that can like you’re starving?”

“I just don’t want to waste any of it. Does this other house have beds? I’d rather not sleep on the floor if we don’t have to. My back’s still sore from last night.”

“Yes,” Hixson said. “It’s got everything we need.”

The sound of a distant helicopter drew Dan to the window. He watched as the chopper passed over the highway and then out over the water.

“They must be worried about us trying to get out of here on a boat,” he said.

“Hey, that’s a thought.”

“That’s their thought. We need our own ideas.”

They waited until it was almost dark before leaving the house. Dan began to move down the road quickly with Rayburn close behind. They were a couple hundred yards from their destination when Hixson thought he saw some movement through the twilight.

“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered to Rayburn, pulling his knife. “Stay behind me.”

He quietly made his way down the road another hundred yards before coming to a stop and turning his head to listen for the slightest noise. The sound of a shoe scraping across the pavement brought his head around in a different direction, and he focused on a dark shape in the shadows. Whether it was living or dead, he was pretty sure it was human, based on the size of its silhouette. The sound came again, along with the smell of death, and Dan envisioned a rotting corpse slowly shuffling forward. One more step brought the dead creature almost close enough for Dan to touch. He couldn’t make out its features, and that was probably a blessing, though he hesitated to put a knife through the head of something he couldn’t see.

“Hey, buddy, over here,” he said, needing to be certain before he made his move.

The eerie moan that began to seep from the dead thing’s lips gave Dan his answer. He moved quickly, aiming for the creature’s face in the dark. The knife was yanked from his hand as the body dropped suddenly to the ground. Using his booted foot to search for the weapon, Dan leaned over to pull it from the corpse’s head. They listened in silence for almost five minutes before Hixson told Rayburn they needed to hide the body behind a brick wall.

“Why?” Rayburn asked.

“In case they come up here looking for us. Dead zombies are going to let them know that there are survivors nearby. I haven’t seen any other corpses laying around up here, so this one would stick out like a sore thumb.”

After they dragged the body behind a wall, Dan led the way to the house he’d chosen. He noticed that the front porch light was on, though he was fairly certain it had been off earlier. After ringing the doorbell, he waited for a couple of minutes before walking in. Dan’s penlight cut through the inky darkness of the house as he looked around. The place was still empty, and he guessed that the outside light was on a timer. In the bathroom, he washed a few spots of blood off his hands, checking carefully for open wounds. He didn’t see anything, but he decided that finding gloves would be a priority.

“Can we turn on the lights?” Rayburn asked, standing outside the bathroom door. “I doubt that anybody will be looking for us in the dark.”

“Make sure the shutters are closed first,” Dan said.

“What are you doing?” George asked.

Dan pushed the door open with his foot. “Cleaning my knife and the flashlight. I handled them both after killing that thing. I’d hate to contaminate one of us accidentally.”

“Maybe you should use bleach. That’ll kill just about anything,” George said. He found a laundry room and brought back a bottle of bleach for Dan.

“Thanks.”

“It looks like some of the other places had their lights on,” Rayburn noted, as he went toward the kitchen.

“I saw that,” Dan said. “I wonder if they’re on timers.”

“Maybe,” Rayburn said, opening the refrigerator, then the freezer.

“Hey, rocky road ice cream,” he said, pulling out a container. “Want some?”

Dan was about to decline, but he knew that ice cream was going to become a rare commodity before long.

“Sure,” he said, going to find some bowls in the cupboard.

~*^*~

~28~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Do you think you can make a vaccine to fight the parasite?” Lindsey asked Doune.

“I don’t know,” he said, honestly. “I’m going to have to do a lot of research before I even decide how to approach this. It’s not my field, but I’ve downloaded quite a bit of information that might be helpful. I just hope it’ll be enough.”

“How long does something like this take?”

“Months, assuming I can even find the supplies and equipment I need, which is doubtful.”

He seemed to be debating on whether or not to say something, but he finally continued. “Lindsey, I know you’re not going to like this, but I really think we need to try to get Autumn to Montana.”

“Are you serious?” Lindsey asked, her eyes shifting back and forth between Autumn and Doune.

“He’s serious,” Autumn said. “I’m okay with it. They might be able to figure out why I’m immune so they can do something about it, or you know, use my blood or something.”

Lindsey shot Doune a look and said, “It sounds like you’ve already talked her into it.”

“We discussed it,” he admitted. “Look, Lindsey, I realize that making a cross-country trip would put her at risk, but I’m trying to look at the big picture. It sounds like the settlement in Montana is much safer than what we have here. If we could get her there, not only could we possibly do something to end this plague, but she would be safer long-term.”

“If she makes it there alive,” Lindsey said. “That’s a huge risk.”

“We won’t do it unless we can find a safe way to get her there, or if it becomes too dangerous to keep her here.”

“We’ve been doing fine here, except for the outbreak we just had, but that could happen anywhere. This building is secure, and nothing’s broken through the walls.”

Neither Doune nor Autumn replied, and after a few moments Lindsey relented.

“Okay, maybe you’re right,” she finally said. “If taking her to Montana could bring an end to the plague, I guess we have to try, as long as we can do it safely. I’ll be going, too. There’s no way I’m going to let her travel that far without me.”

“I assumed you would say that,” Doune said. “We’ll both be going, in that case.”

Lindsey was a little surprised that the doctor was willing to make the trip, but then again, he did seem to have a warm spot for the girl in his ice-cold heart. He also probably wanted to be involved in creating the vaccine in Montana.

“Do you have any idea why she’s immune?” Lindsey asked.

“No,” Doune admitted. “It’s possible that it’s genetic. I’ve also considered that it could have something to do with her cancer treatments, but I don’t think it’s likely.”

He paced for a while then said, “We had several cancer patients who were infected that first day, so that’s probably not it. I just don’t have the resources here that I need to continue the research properly.”

“But . . .” Autumn stuttered as she tried to get a word in edgewise.

“If it’s genetic, we’ll probably never know,” Doune continued, “since Autumn has no known living relatives.”

“But,” she tried again, “I think all those experimental things they did to try to kill the cancer had something to do with it. They changed me, or my blood, somehow. Or maybe whatever they gave me to fight the cancer is still in me fighting the zombie thing.”

Doune said, “That’s doubtful. Normally something that works well for lowering high blood pressure, for example, may have no effect or a detrimental effect on someone with a different disease. Every now and then, the medical community gets a surprise, and that could be the case here. It just seems very unlikely if the other oncology patients were not immune.”

“My treatments were different,” Autumn said. “The chemo and radiation were just part of it.”

“That’s true,” Lindsey said. “Her case was unique.”

“Unique in what way?” Doune asked.

Lindsey and Autumn looked at each other then back at Doune.

“I assumed you knew. It was groundbreaking. She was even on the news a while back because of it,” Lindsey said.

“Yeah,” Autumn said, “the doctors and everybody used to get all excited about my results, and they even had other people come in to see a, what do they call it, a PowerPoint presentation.”

Doune stared off into space for a moment as he searched his memory, finally bringing his attention back to them.

“I had to go to London to give a paper a while back. At the time, I remember someone asking about one of the cancer patients at St. Mary’s. I didn’t know who they were talking about, and I assumed they had gotten the wrong hospital. When I returned, I had a backlog of surgeries to do, and I just never thought about it again.”

“Well, that little girl was Autumn,” Lindsey said. “Her doctor from LA took her to Mexico to participate in a clinical trial there. She had nothing to lose by that time, and her doctor was convinced that he was on to something. She not only survived, but there was some serious excitement in the oncology world over the case. They thought this was a major breakthrough.

“I’d like to know exactly what the treatment was,” Doune said. “This could be important. Who was your doctor here, Autumn? Did he or she have an office outside of the hospital or was it here?”

“Sometimes I went to his office across town,” Autumn said, giving Doune the man’s name. “But he used to come to the hospital here, too. He and my foster mother tried to time it so I could see him when I was here for my physical therapy.”

“Then his records are probably at his office,” Doune replied.

“Don’t count on getting any information from him,” Autumn said. “Last time I saw him he was being torn apart by the guy that chased us into the exercise room the day this all started. If he says anything, it’ll probably sound like uuhhhhggg!” She held her arms out while staring blankly ahead.

Doune glanced toward the window that looked out at the hallway. “You might want to be careful about doing that around here if anybody finds out about your bite. Some of those bikers may shoot first and ask questions later.”

Autumn quickly dropped her arms to her side, looking around for security.

“They’re not trigger-happy,” Lindsey said, bristling at the comment. “And they’re all really great guys.”

“I just wish they would bathe more often,” Doune replied.

“They all shower after being outside,” Lindsey said. “Snake insists on it. Eric was the only person here who didn’t like to bathe often.”

“That guy reeked,” Autumn agreed.

“What about the doctor in LA?” Doune asked. “I heard that LA was hit with an outbreak a few days ago, so I’m not getting my hopes up, but I’d like to try to reach this doctor.”

“It can’t hurt,” Lindsey said.

“His name is Dr. Rayburn,” Autumn said. “I think his first name is George, and he works at Yucca University Medical Center.”

“That’s outside of LA,” Doune said. “I was considering a position there at one time, and I remember it being in the foothills outside of the city.”

“Right,” Autumn said. “It was kind of deserted around there.”

“Maybe there’s a chance that it’s still operating, in that case. If I could talk to Rayburn, we might at least be able to determine whether or not we’re on the right track. There are just so many unanswered questions. I’ll talk to Claire or Jackson and see if they can reach anybody at Yucca.”

~*~

Malibu, California

When dawn came, Dan went back to the house where they’d been the previous day. He spent a half-hour at the upstairs window but saw nothing that made him nervous. When he was convinced that they weren’t in any immediate danger, he returned to the other house where George was just waking up.

“Where’d you go?” George asked, rubbing his eyes.

Dan explained then said, “I think we ought to watch the DVD now.”

“Okay, good idea,” George said, yawning. “But I’m making some coffee first.”

Dan got the DVD ready, and George brought out two cups of coffee for them. They sat close to the TV so they could keep the volume down, replaying parts that were difficult to understand.

As they had already learned, the doctor had brought the parasite into the world against his will. He said that he had no time to explain the science behind what he had done but that he would try to send his notes later, detailing everything.

“They took my family,” Petrov said, looking at the camera. The quality of the picture was mediocre, but there was enough detail to see the anguish on the doctor’s face. “I was allowed to speak to them once a week, but it was made clear to me that my wife and children would be killed if I did not cooperate. I am taking an enormous risk by sending this out, but someone must know the truth now that the plague has been unleashed. The man responsible for this is part of a group called the Vigilarre, George. He didn’t hide that from me, and he seemed to have some disdain for them. His name is Clarence R. Gayne, and I only found that out because I obtained access to his laptop when he was here once. I copied all of his documents onto an external hard drive, which I put in a safe place.”

He walked over to the door and listened for a moment before returning.

“The parasite was intended to be used for mind control on living humans. The reanimation of the dead was a terrible side effect, and I considered the whole project a failure when we saw the results. Clarence, on the other hand, was elated. That was when I began to understand that he was a madman.”

He looked at the camera again. “I owe you an apology. There were times when I wasn’t able to leave the lab because we were at a crucial point with the parasite. I feel as though I left you with far too much of the work, but I hope you understand.”

Rayburn shook his head. “Such a nice guy. Here he was with his family being held hostage, and he was worried about me working too hard. That’s the kind of person he is.”

Petrov continued on for a while, explaining what had happened at his lab while Rayburn interrupted several times to explain things to Dan.

“This is where we left off last time, I think,” Dan said, hoping Rayburn would quit talking.

“I think so, too,” Rayburn said, finally becoming quiet as he listened to what Petrov had to say.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake returned to tell Doune that Jack had agreed to let Autumn stay in the lab.

“We’ll be checking on her often,” he added.

“All right,” Doune said, yawning.

“And I’m going to send someone in so you can get some sleep. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be tired while you’re watching her.”

“That’s fine. I’m ready for some sleep.”

Wombat came in to relieve the doctor a few minutes later. Doune told him about Autumn, but asked him not to let anybody else know.

The biker promised that he wouldn’t say a word.

“We’re going to play Risk if you want to join us,” Autumn told the biker after Doune left.

“Sounds like fun,” he said, pulling up a chair.

After a while, Lindsey noticed Autumn watching them both carefully, and she finally asked about it.

“I was just wondering if you guys are, you know, together,” she said.

Lindsey glanced at Wombat and back at Autumn. “No. Why would you think that?”

“I saw him hugging you,” Autumn said, grinning.

“Oh,” Lindsey laughed. “Wombat was just helping me out with Helga. Snake told her that I was his girlfriend, so now she wants to kill me. Wombat thought that if it looked like we were together that maybe she’d back off, and so far it seems to have worked.”

“Why did Snake tell her you were his girlfriend?” Autumn asked.

“Apparently he and Helga were engaged a long time ago, and he’s afraid that she wants him back. He thought if he told her that he was involved with me, she’d leave him alone. Instead, she just wants me out of the picture.”

“Oh, too bad,” Autumn shrugged.

“Why is it too bad?” Lindsey asked.

“You kind of look good together.”

“Me and Snake?” Lindsey asked.

“No, duh, you and Wombat,” Autumn said.

“Well, thanks,” Lindsey said, glancing at Wombat again to find him watching her. He’d become a very good friend in a short time, and she wondered if it might have become more than a friendship had Lee not been in the picture. Of course, Reynolds had been reassigned, and it wasn’t likely she’d see him again.

“I think you’re right,” Wombat told Autumn with a grin.

“I think we should just play the game,” Lindsey said, wanting desperately to change the subject. They continued to play, but Lindsey found Wombat watching her often, and she wondered what he thought about Autumn’s comments.

“You don’t sound very Australian,” Autumn told the biker.

Lindsey had noticed the same thing. Wombat’s Australian accent and vocabulary seemed to come out more when he was under stress. She’d noticed it more than once when they had been in tense situations with the dead.

“I’ve been here in the states since I was sixteen,” Wombat told her. “When you’re a teenager, you quickly learn what you have to do to fit in.”

“Is your family in Australia?” Autumn asked.

“My parents came over here when I did,” he said, “but they went back to Australia about five years ago. I wanted to fly back there and check on them when the first outbreak happened, but all of the flights out of the US had been grounded by then.”

“Have you heard from them?” Lindsey asked.

“Not lately,” he said. “I gave them as much information as possible the last time I talked to them. My dad’s pretty tough so they might be all right.”

“My dad’s the same way,” Lindsey said. “He grew up on a farm not too far from here, and he knows how to take care of himself. He can hunt and fish and live off the land, but I’m not sure that’ll be enough.”

“We’ll just have to hope for the best,” Wombat said, reaching over to give her knee a squeeze.

Lindsey saw Autumn fighting back a grin, and she knew she was going to hear about it later.

~*~

Yucca Compound, Southern California

“Not a single sighting of Hixson or Rayburn,” Madec said, walking into the conference room. He’d just finished speaking with the helicopter pilots via radio. “They’re hiding out somewhere.”

“Or they’re dead,” Bob said.

“Maybe,” Madec replied. “Rayburn wouldn’t last two minutes out there on his own, but Hixson is good. He might be good enough to keep them both alive.”

“I was sure Hixson was going to kill Rayburn for us. He was furious. I wonder what changed his mind.”

“I would guess that he watched the DVD, and Petrov said something on it. Right now, all I’m concerned about is picking them up, alive or dead.”

“If they’re alive, then why haven’t we seen any sign of them? Every time we think we have a lead, it’s a dead end.”

Madec looked up to see if Bob had intentionally made the pun, but the expression on the other man’s face told him that he hadn’t.

“Hixson’s not stupid,” he said. “He’s got to know we’ll be looking for them, so he’s going to be careful.”

“Okay, so if they are alive, they’ve got to be nearby. We just have to flush them out.”

“Unless they left town on foot,” Madec pointed out.

“Not with an old man,” Bob said, shaking his head stubbornly. “I’m telling you, they’ll be within a mile or two of where we dropped them off, and if they do move, they’ll attract attention, and we’ll find them.”

“If not, we should consider offering a reward to the one that brings them in,” Madec said. “We can spread the word to every one of our communities in North America.”

~*~

Malibu, California

Rayburn turned off the TV and sat back on the sofa to stare blankly across the room.

“I can’t believe he did that,” Rayburn said, shaking his head.

Dan was silent for a few moments longer before asking, “Can you promise me that this didn’t kill my daughter?”

Rayburn glanced at Dan’s leg, where he carried his knife. “I’m sure it didn’t. I don’t think Igor would lie about that part since he’s admitted everything else. I remember the last weeks of Brittany’s life well. Never once did I feel that there was anything out of the ordinary happening. I swear to you, I’d tell you if I even suspected that was the case.”

Dan let out a long breath and got up to pace. “I guess it doesn’t make much difference anyway, does it? If she hadn’t died when she did, odds are that she’d have been killed by those things out there. I’d like to think I could have kept her safe, but I may not have been able to do that.”

Rayburn remained quiet, letting Dan talk.

“As hard as it was, at least she died peacefully, with me and her mom there. It wouldn’t have been that way if the dead had gotten her.”

“If it’s any consolation, she wasn’t in any pain at the end,” Rayburn said quietly. “I made sure of that.”

~*^*~

~29~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

The vigil continued the next day, and Autumn was watched constantly. Lindsey and Wombat stayed with her again for a few hours while Dr. Doune got some sleep, and then Lindsey had a chance to take a break when the doctor returned.

Shortly after Lindsey came back, Claire stuck her head into the room. “Dr. Doune? I got through to the medical center where Dr. Rayburn works. They’re paging him now.”

Doune took the call, returning to the room a short time later. “I spoke to Rayburn,” he said.

“Did you ask about Autumn’s treatments?” Lindsey asked.

“No,” Doune said. “I didn’t even say who the patient was. I wanted to see if I could get any information from him before saying too much over the phone. I don’t want to sound paranoid, but I think this situation needs to be handled carefully.”

“What did he say?” Lindsey asked.

“He thought we should try to get the patient to the medical center there. Apparently there is a massive wall around the whole area.”

“Do you think it would be better than Montana?” Lindsey asked. “I don’t see how the LA area could be very safe with so many people there.”

“It’s outside of the city, in the foothills,” Doune said. “He thought they might be able to provide an escort to their facility.”

“If they can arrange air transportation, it might be safer than traveling to Montana,” Lindsey said.

“Possibly,” Doune replied. “I gave Rayburn my cell number, so if he gets any ideas on why she might be immune, he can contact me.”

“Did he talk your ear off?” Autumn asked. “I’ve never seen anybody talk as much as he does.”

“No, he was fairly short and to the point,” Doune said.

“You lucked out. Did you tell him about the zombie ants?” Autumn asked.

“He said he already knew about the parasite,” Doune said. “They have a lab, so I’m not surprised.”

“Zombie ants?” Lindsey asked.

“The parasitic fungus that our parasite resembles normally lives in tropical forests,” Doune said. “It finds a host, usually a specific type of ant, and it sends spores into the ant’s body. The fungus will start to eat away at the soft tissue and will actually change the ant’s behavior. It’s not entirely clear how this is accomplished, but the ant will move to a certain position on a tree and bite into the vein of a leaf. At this time, the ant is still alive, but it has given over control of its body to the host, which will reinforce the body and use it to grow more of its kind.”

“But the ants are still alive while they’re being controlled,” Lindsey pointed out, “and our parasite doesn’t leave the host in one place. I’m also guessing zombie ants don’t go around attacking and eating other ants, so what caused these changes? Did it mutate somehow?”

“Definitely not,” Doune said. “O. unilateralis has probably been around for millions of years, and I seriously doubt that it suddenly changed this drastically. There are also similar parasites that affect caterpillars, snails and grasshoppers, but something that has been on earth for so long doesn’t just mutate overnight, especially this significantly. It had help. I know that a lot of studies were being done on this fungus, and I doubt that this research was just to learn more about the parasite. There was talk about medicinal use.”

“Do you think that something went wrong while it was being researched?” Lindsey asked. “They made a mistake, and this was the result?”

“Maybe,” Doune said, sounding skeptical. “I think it’s more likely that someone saw potential in a parasite that could take over a body and control it.”

“As a weapon,” Lindsey said, a cold chill moving through her at the thought. “But who would do it?” she asked, not really expecting an answer.

“I can think of a number of people or organizations that would kill for something like this,” Doune said, shrugging. “It could be any one of them.”

“That’s sickening,” Lindsey said. “It’s bad enough to think that this could be some sort of pandemic that happened on its own, but the idea that it may have been engineered intentionally is unthinkable.”

Doune said, “I wonder just how long it took to accomplish it. This parasite is much smaller than O. unilateralis. They look very similar, but this new organism is able to move freely in the bloodstream, multiplying at an alarming rate. It’s quite incredible.”

“I’m surprised that Dr. Rayburn didn’t want to talk about it,” Autumn said. “He loves that kind of stuff.”

“When I mentioned what I’ve learned about the parasite, he cut me off and began to ask more questions about the immune patient,” Doune said. “But this is the first hope we’ve had of a cure, so it’s understandable. The cure has to be the priority.”

~*~

The hospital was in a state of semi-chaos as the rest of the moving and remodeling was finished. The second quarantine room was finally completed, and beds with restraints were moved in along with the equipment that Doune had requested. Blinds were put in the windows of what was now being called the high-risk quarantine room. Anybody who was forced to spend their final hours in the room would be able to do so in privacy.

Because of the need for dorm rooms, it was decided to let some people take rooms on the west wing of the fifth floor since the patients were on the south wing. With rooms freed up on the 3rd and 4th floor, walls were knocked out, and three large dorm rooms were built, each meant to hold a dozen beds.

In Doune’s lab, Autumn was still being watched. All of her blood tests had come back negative for the parasite, and Doune was certain that she was immune, but Jack wanted the girl watched for one more day. Autumn and Doune were happy to comply since they normally spent their days in the lab, anyway. Lindsey, on the other hand, was getting stir-crazy after being confined to the room for so long. She finally called down to Snake and asked for a break. Minutes later, Jack came up to take over for a while.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Lindsey asked him. “I know you’re busy.”

“I don’t mind at all,” he said. “It’ll give me an excuse to sit for a while.”

She thanked him and hurried outside where almost every available able-bodied person was working on the gabion wall that was being built around the park. The physical labor was difficult, but it felt good to her to be working muscles that had been idle for the previous couple of days. It was also a beautiful day, and she was enjoying the light breeze and the sound of the birds, though there was also the ever-present moaning of the dead.

Inside the wall of cars, large wire cages were being built and filled with rubble from the demolished buildings. Once filled, the tops were wired shut. The wall would be eight feet high when it was done and would give the hospital’s residents a safe place where they could spend time outside.

Lindsey was working with Wombat, and they were deep in conversation when the sound of a helicopter filled the air. She saw the smile drop off Wombat’s face as he looked up toward the roof of the hospital.

“That might be Lee,” she said, wiping dirt off her hands.

“Back to try to steal you away from us?” he asked, resting on his shovel as he regarded her.

There was something in his eyes that made Lindsey pause.

“You don’t like him, do you?” she asked.

Wombat shrugged. “I don’t even know the guy, so I guess I can’t say that I don’t like him. I just don’t want him taking you away.”

She smiled at him and said, “And give up all this fun? Not a chance. I guess I’d better get up there.”

She leaned her shovel against a tree and turned to go.

“Lindsey, wait . . .” he started, but when she glanced at the helicopter again, he said, “Never mind.”

“I’ll be back in a while,” she promised.

Wombat watched her for a few moments then went back to work, throwing himself into his shoveling.

~*~

Malibu, California

“You gave them my Sound of Music DVD?” Rayburn asked, looking stunned. “Why that one? That’s one of my favorites. I had a whole pile of movies on the desk, and you gave them my favorite?”

“How could I have known it was your favorite?” Hixson asked, holding Petrov’s DVD in his hand. He’d just copied it to a couple of thumb drives they’d found in a desk. He gave one to Rayburn and told him not to lose it.

“Well, you should have asked me,” Rayburn said, stuffing the thumb drive into his pocket.

“No, you’ll lose it there,” Hixson said. He found two zip-lock bags and put the thumb drives inside them then put them into the backpacks.

“It’s in that little zipper compartment toward the back, but I’m sure you’ll forget that,” Hixson said.

“Not now that you told me, I won’t,” Rayburn replied. “I’m an auditory learner. I remember things that I hear.”

“Not me,” Hixson said. “I tend to zone out when I’m listening to something, unless I find it interesting.”

“That explains that vacant look you get when I talk.”

“Some of what you have to say is actually interesting. You just talk a lot. Did you ever get in trouble for it when you were in school?”

“Once in a while, but mostly I . . . hey, did you just change the subject on me? We were talking about The Sound of Music.”

“Can we just drop it?” Hixson asked, his frustration starting to show.

“Fine,” George said, crossing his arms. “But you owe me a copy of . . .”

“Yeah, I get it! If we find a movie store, I’ll get you a damn copy of The Sound of Music, okay?”

“Promise?”

“I’ll do my best, but if the store is filled with zombies, I’m not risking my life to get your stupid movie.”

“Have you even seen it? If you had, you wouldn’t call it stupid. And that Julie Andrews . . .”

“Okay, you know what? It’s bedtime.”

“It’s not even 7:00.”

“If we’re getting up at 2:00 a.m. to get out of here, you should get some sleep.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll take the first watch.”

“I’m not tired, and I wouldn’t mind staying up a while to watch a movie. Maybe they have . . .”

“Don’t say it.”

“Say what?”

“Anything about The Sound of Music.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“Then what were you going to say?”

“Never mind. I’m watching movies until I get tired. I’ll wake you up when I’m done.”

“All right, but please don’t fall asleep without waking me up first.”

“I won’t. Hopefully I can find a movie that’s good enough to keep me awake.”

Dan rolled his eyes and headed off to one of the bedrooms, closing the door behind him.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Quarantine!” Wolf yelled after Lindsey as she hurried down the hall toward the elevator.

“I’m just going up to meet the helicopter,” she said, returning to where the gray-bearded biker was standing. “I’m going back out once I’m done.”

Wolf made a quick call to Jack to see what he had to say. Quarantine was being taken very seriously since the breach.

“Just have someone escort her up there and stay with her until she comes back down,” Jack said. “She can do quarantine when she goes in for the day.”

“Thanks,” Lindsey said.

Hawk had been standing nearby, and he quickly volunteered.

“Thanks, Hawk,” she said, starting to walk with him to the elevators.

“Needed a cigarette break anyway,” he told her.

“I’m sorry about Debbie,” Lindsey said, having heard the story from Wombat. “Were you close to her?”

Hawk shrugged, pulling a cigarette out of his pack. “We took a lot of smoke breaks together, and we seemed to hit it off, so I thought it might go somewhere. She was a lot of fun to talk to, you know?”

“It almost doesn’t pay to get attached to anybody these days,” Lindsey said.

“It’s a tough world now,” Hawk agreed.

They stepped out of the elevator and walked across the fifth floor lobby to the roof-access door.

“You thinking about going with the pilot?” Hawk asked.

“No,” Lindsey said. “I’m staying here.”

“Good,” Hawk said. “All the guys like having you around, especially Wombat.”

“Wombat’s become a very good friend,” Lindsey said, following him up the stairs.

“That’s all?” Hawk asked, turning to give her a grin.

“Yes, that’s all,” she said. “Hawk, you’re starting to sound like Autumn. This whole thing is a charade for Helga’s benefit.”

“Sure it is,” he said, opening the door.

Lindsey laughed, but she grew more serious when she stepped out onto the roof. She found herself a little nervous about seeing Lee again. When she looked up, she saw that the helicopter was still hovering far above the building.

“I wonder what they’re doing up there?” Lindsey said. “It seems like they should have landed by now.”

Hawk lit up a cigarette immediately and turned his head to exhale a cloud of smoke away from Lindsey.

“They’re sure taking their sweet time,” he said.

After a few more moments, the helicopter finally dropped down to just a few feet above the roof, but still it didn’t land. A door opened and someone was pushed out, kicking and screaming. A shriek preceded a thud as a heavy body hit the roof and rolled.

Lindsey gasped and rushed over to see if she could help.

“What the hell?” Hawk asked, joining her.

They looked down upon a portly man who was blindfolded.

“Eric?” Lindsey asked, recognizing their former hospital security guard immediately. She removed the blindfold as Hawk helped Eric to his feet. “Are you all right?”

Eric, looking slightly embarrassed, regained his composure and brushed the dirt from his clothing. The uniform he wore was torn in several places and was so dirty that it was hard to tell what color it had been originally.

“I’m fine. Your boyfriend’s a jerk,” Eric said, heading toward the door. He glanced over his shoulder to scowl at the men in the helicopter.

“I can’t believe they did that to him,” Lindsey said, watching the helicopter as she spoke to Hawk. “I mean, it’s Eric, so there’s probably a good reason for it, but still . . .”

When the helicopter finally landed, a man who Lindsey didn’t recognize jumped out. Her first thought was that he wasn’t military. Though his clothing looked similar to what Lee usually wore, his hair was longer than what was allowed in the military. The man was tall and blond, and he wore an arrogant grin.

“That was a pretty mean thing to do,” Lindsey said. “The poor guy was probably terrified.”

“Believe me, he got off lucky,” he said. “He wasn’t even hurt.”

Before she could reply, Lee stepped around the chopper with a broad smile on his face. Rather than closing the distance between them as he normally did, he stood where he was and held his arms open, a slight smirk on his face.

The moment seemed to freeze time for Lindsey, and many thoughts rushed through her head as she regarded Lee. Eric was the most obnoxious, self-centered man she’d ever known, but even he didn’t deserve what had just happened, and it bothered her to think that Lee was capable of such cruelty. She realized that while it hadn’t even been a week since she’d last seen him, he’d changed. Or maybe she just didn’t know him as well as she thought she did.

These thoughts took place in a flash, and she was left wondering what to do about this new knowledge. After a slight hesitation, she walked over, but she stopped a foot in front of Lee.

~*^*~

~30~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“What was that all about?” Lindsey asked Lee as the co-pilot walked away to bum a cigarette from Hawk.

Without replying, Reynolds pulled Lindsey into his arms and, for the first time since they’d met, she felt uncomfortable with him. When he tried to kiss her, she turned her head, and his lips just brushed her cheek. She pushed against his chest, stepping back once he let go. She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t pleased.

“Lee, what just happened with Eric?” she tried again.

“We were told to drop him off on the roof. He pissed off some very important people who wanted him gone permanently.”

“How permanently?” she asked, wondering if she was reading too much into his words.

“Let’s just say that we were supposed to drop him from more than a few feet.”

Lindsey tried to determine whether or not he was kidding, and she found that she couldn’t tell.

“I hope that’s a joke.”

Lee’s face remained expressionless for a moment until he finally smiled. “Of course it is. He just needed to learn a lesson. You have no idea the damage he did while he was with us.”

Lindsey relented a little. “I can imagine.”

The co-pilot returned, looking bored.

“Hey, I’m going to go in and check out some of those babes I’ve been hearing about,” he said, turning to take a drag on his cigarette.

Lee shot him a look, and the man quickly said, “Uh . . . just kidding. But I heard I could maybe get a hot meal here.”

“You’ll probably have to be escorted to the cafeteria since you were outside,” Lindsey said.

“That’s what biker boy said,” the man replied with a smirk, nodding toward Hawk. “I guess someone’s coming up to get me.”

Lindsey hadn’t even officially met the man, but she already disliked him.

The door opened moments later, and Fish came out to escort Lee’s friend inside.

Lee glanced over at Hawk, who was working on his second cigarette. “So, what’s up with this guy? You’ve got a bodyguard now?”

“I do today,” Lindsey said. “It was the only way they’d let me come up here without going through quarantine.”

“With all those fat, old bikers in the building, they happened to pick this guy to be your watchdog?”

Lindsey blinked, surprised by the jealousy. Like Moose and Wombat, Hawk got a lot of attention from the women at St. Mary’s. He was a handsome man, with dark, thick hair and a goatee. She could see why Lee was threatened by him, but she had no interest in Hawk other than as a friend.

“He wanted a cigarette, so he volunteered,” she said.

Reynolds looked at her for a moment as though he was trying to read her face.

“I hope that’s all it is,” he finally said.

“That’s the whole story,” Lindsey said, wondering why it even mattered. When they’d parted ways a week earlier, she honestly hadn’t expected to see him again. Now suddenly he was back, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it after seeing the changes in him. “We had an outbreak and lost several people, so they’re tightening security.”

“Did you ever stop to think that maybe this is all just nature’s way of cleaning up the mess that humans have made?” Lee asked. “Think about it, Lindsey. The strong are surviving, and the weak are being killed off. Maybe some good will come from this. It could give mankind a chance to strengthen our species. Maybe our future generations will be better than we were.”

His words sent a chill through her.

“Are you serious? With so many lives lost, how could this be anything short of the greatest tragedy in history? And you’re wrong about just the strong surviving. Look at the dead out there. They weren’t all weak. There were plenty of strong, smart people who were infected because they were caught off-guard. Do you honestly think that we’re superior to those who died just because we happened to be in the right place at the right time?”

“Things are changing, Lindsey,” he said. “You just don’t realize it yet. For those who can’t adapt, life is going to be miserable and probably very short. You need to worry about staying alive, instead of wasting your time on everybody else.”

“Lee, this just doesn’t even sound like you,” she said, concerned. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but you were out there helping people, and I thought you cared about them. It was one of the reasons that I was drawn to you. Was that an act put on for my benefit, or has something changed?”

He studied her for a moment before looking away. “Everything has changed, Lindsey. We used to worry about nuclear wars. The old enemies don’t even exist anymore. They’re in the same position we are. Crime, the economy, pollution, and politics have all taken a back seat to what we’re dealing with now. We’re going to be lucky to survive, and if we’re going to make it, we may have to do some things we don’t like.”

“I’m already doing things I don’t like,” Lindsey said. “Every time I kill one of those infected people out there, I can’t help but think about the person they used to be.”

“I’m not talking about them,” Lee said, pacing. “Society is collapsing. Governments are dissolving all over the world, and the military here is falling apart.”

“But aren’t you still flying your missions?”

“No,” he said, running a hand over his short, dark hair. “The plague has spread too far to contain it. They won’t be bombing the city anymore, either. I’m one of the few people left at the base, and we don’t even know who’s in charge anymore. It’s chaos out there. We have people go AWOL every day, and who can blame them? They have families to worry about, and there’s nobody around to tell them they have to stay.”

“Yet you’ve stayed.”

“I’ve stayed so far,” he corrected her. “I’ve got a decision to make, and I want you to help me make it. I need to know if you’ve changed your mind yet. Will you come with me, Lindsey? There’s a place we can go where we’d be safe.”

“I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not going to a shelter.”

“It’s not a shelter,” he said.

“Then what, the base?”

“No, it’s nearby, but it’s much safer. I can’t tell you much about it, but I want you there. This place . . . you almost wouldn’t know what’s going on in the rest of the world. You could forget about the chaos outside and start living again.”

“No, I couldn’t,” she said, shaking her head. “Not with so many people dying out there.”

“I think I’m going to go there, but I want you with me. I’m tired of seeing death everywhere I turn. I’ve had enough pain in my life, and it’s time for something different.”

She sighed and looked away, knowing that he’d been through a lot. He’d lost his wife to cancer a few years earlier, and he’d recently had to kill two of his friends who had turned. She didn’t completely blame him for wanting something better out of life, but he would have to live that life without her. He felt like a complete stranger to her.

“I’m sorry, Lee,” she said. “I need to be here where I feel like we’re doing something to help. I think it would be best if we just go our separate ways.”

He looked shocked, then angry. When he spoke again, there was desperation in his voice.

“Don’t do this to me,” he said, grabbing her arms. “I want you to share this new life with me.”

“A new life that involves letting everybody else die while we hide away from the horror? No thanks.”

His fingers began to dig into her arms, almost painfully.

“You okay over there, Lins?” Hawk called to her, watching them closely.

“I’m fine, Hawk, thanks,” she said, not sure it was true.

Lee let go of her arms, but not before shooting the other man a dark look.

The roof-access door opened moments later, and Lee’s partner came out with a grin on his face, breaking the tension.

“You’re done eating already?” Lee asked.

“I didn’t see anything I liked,” he said, making a face. “But we might have a new recruit. This one’s a model.”

“Oh, please take her,” Lindsey said quickly.

“She said she has to think about it,” he said. “Sounds like she’s got her eye on someone here, but I may have changed her mind.”

“I’ve got to run, Lindsey,” Lee said. “I’ll see you again soon.”

Before she could reply, he pulled her close and kissed her, though he stepped back before she could push him away. She guessed that he was just trying to save face in front of his friend, so she decided to give him that much, though it wouldn’t happen again. Whatever feelings she’d once had for him, they were now gone.

As the helicopter rose into the air, Hawk walked over to stand beside her.

“What was that all about?” he asked. “I thought I was going to have to kick the guy’s ass for a minute there.”

“I was about ready to ask you to,” she told him. “He’s really changed, and I don’t like it.”

The biker shook his head as they watched the helicopter grow small in the sky. “Ready to go back down?”

“More than ready,” Lindsey replied.

~*~

When Lindsey returned to the park area, Snake walked over to talk to her.

“I heard Eric’s back,” he said. “Hawk gave me a call on the radio to warn me.”

“Did he tell you they dropped him, blindfolded, from several feet off the ground?” Lindsey stated. “I was pretty upset with Lee over the whole thing.”

“That’s messed up,” Snake said with a frown. “Of course, I had to stop my guys from tossing him out a window once.”

“They wouldn’t have really done it . . . would they?” she asked.

“Probably not,” Snake said, though he didn’t look too sure.

“Lee said something about being told to drop him from much higher, and I’m not sure he was kidding. I guess Eric made some enemies at the shelter.”

“That doesn’t surprise me at all. Hopefully Reynolds wasn’t serious, but a stunt like that could have given the dude a heart attack.”

“Exactly,” she said.

“So did Reynolds have any news about what’s going on out there?”

“Both good news and bad news,” she told him. “He said that the jets aren’t going to be flying anymore, so we should be a little safer to move around the city, but it sounds like the military is starting to crumble as well as the world governments.”

“I guess that doesn’t surprise me, either,” Snake said, “though it does worry me.”

“Me, too,” she said.

“And what about Reynolds? Hawk said that things looked a little tense between the two of you, and he thought he was going to have to step in.”

“He’s changed, Snake. Some of the things he said really bothered me. He talked about taking me to a safe place near the base where I could pretend that none of this was happening. I tried to explain to him that I couldn’t do that, and he didn’t get it. He said that maybe this was nature’s way of cleaning up the mess that man has made, and maybe mankind will improve because of it.”

“Reynolds said that?” Snake asked, surprised.

“He really did. I know he’s been under a lot of pressure, but haven’t we all? Maybe it was just talk, and he’ll snap out of it.”

“I hope so,” Snake said. “The dude seemed all right to me.”

“That’s what I used to think. Now, I’m not so sure, but I’m not giving up hope.”

“Good,” Snake said. “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that people can change. Unfortunately, it’s not always for the better. I’ll let Jack know what you told me. We may need to keep our eyes open. I’m afraid we’re going to see some groups vying for power, unless they’re too busy just trying to stay alive.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Lindsey said. She noticed that Helga had stopped working to watch them. “I’d better go before Helga kills me.”

“She does have that look on her face right now,” Snake noted.

Lindsey laughed and walked away, feeling Helga’s eyes on her back. When she approached Wombat, she gave him a long hug and said, “Damage control.”

“Glad I could be of service,” he said, smiling. He finally let her go once Helga looked away.

As they worked on the wall, Lindsey noticed Wombat looking at her with curiosity several times, but he didn’t ask her how things had gone with Lee, and she was glad for that.

The three hours in quarantine passed fairly quickly that night since dinner was brought up to them, and a new TV had been installed. After they ate, they watched a movie and by the time it ended, they were free to go.

Snake stood up and stretched, saying, “Now if we just had some comfortable seating in here, I wouldn’t mind quarantine at all.”

“That furniture store was packed full of stuff, Boss,” one of the bikers said. “We can get some more chairs and sofas.”

“Might as well,” Snake said. “We’ll put it on our list.”

“Once we get the new gate installed, can we drop quarantine for the park area?” Wombat asked.

“I’ll have to run it by Jack, but I don’t see why we’d need it. As long as the dead can’t get over, we should be able to come and go without having to do quarantine.”

“The teachers want to start taking the kids out when the weather’s nice,” Lindsey added. “I can’t imagine having to put thirty kids through quarantine every time they go outside.”

“No, that wouldn’t work,” Snake agreed.

“I can hardly wait,” Lindsey said. “I miss being able to run. I can do laps around the park once the wall is done.”

“Probably wouldn’t hurt me to do some laps,” Snake said. “Maybe between that and training with Keith, I'll finally lose my baby fat.”

Lindsey laughed, parting ways with the others so she could check on Autumn.

She found the girl talking to Doune, and she seemed to be doing well. The bandage was the only sign that anything had happened to her.

“Is her blood still showing negative?” she asked Doune.

“Yes, it is,” Doune said. “There is no sign of the parasite.”

Starting that night, Autumn was allowed to sleep in her own room, but Lindsey had to lock the door and keep the key. Jack had stipulated that the routine would continue for a full week, and Doune would continue testing the girl’s blood at regular intervals.

New doorknobs had been put on all of the bedrooms so that doors could be locked from the inside or outside. Jack kept a spare set of all the keys, but he kept them safely locked up so that he was the only one with access to them. Nobody was really concerned about anything being stolen, especially since they had little to call their own, but with new people coming in all the time, privacy would become more of a concern. Jack had pointed out that he’d rather take precautions immediately than to wait until they became necessary.

~*~

Malibu, California

Hixson stepped out of the house into the dark, feeling the cool, damp air against his face. There was not even a hint of a breeze, and when he turned his head to listen for any unusual sounds in the thick air, he was met with only silence. When he deemed it safe, he began to make his way down the driveway with Rayburn right behind, but they had only taken a few steps before Hixson sighed and stopped.

“George, what shoes are you wearing?”

“Well, see, the guy that lived here had a really nice pair of Italian shoes that fit me perfectly so I . . .”

“Let’s go back inside,” Dan said.

“Why? You said yourself that these people aren’t returning. It’s not like I’m stealing them if the guy is dead or isn’t coming back, right?”

“That’s not the point, George. The shoes are loud.”

For a moment there was silence then footsteps could be heard as George tried the shoes out on the pavement. Every step echoed loudly throughout the neighborhood.

“George!” Dan hissed. “Seriously?”

“Okay, okay, I guess they’re kind of loud. But can I bring them along to wear later?”

“No! Your backpack is full, remember? You can pick up a new pair if we find a place to stay for a while.”

“If?”

“When.”

“Okay.”

The next step that George took was followed by a wet squishing sound.

“What was that?” Dan asked.

“I think I just stepped in one of those piles the dead leave,” Rayburn said, disgust embedded in his voice.

“Why do they do that?” Dan asked.

“You’ve never seen one of them have a bowel movement, have you? I guess that’s how they expel their waste. I’m just happy it’s too dark to see it very well.”

“Still want to wear those shoes?” Dan asked.

“I’ll change.”

A few minutes later, they were moving again. The neighborhood they were traveling through was not well lit, though the streets down the hill glowed with lights that barely made it through the early morning mist. As they passed a pair of antique-looking street lamps that bracketed a long driveway, Hixson could see trails of vapor moving through the light. He knew that it was likely that the highway would be thick with fog as was often the case near the ocean. It would help to hide them from searchers, but it would also cloak the dead.

“Quit doing that,” he said quietly.

“Doing what?”

“Shuffling your feet. You sound like a damn zombie.”

“Maybe it’ll throw them off if they hear me,” Rayburn said.

“Because they’re smart enough to hear the shuffling and think it’s another zombie?”

“Whatever,” Rayburn said, trying to pick up his feet as he walked. With a little effort on George’s part, the two men were soon able to move almost silently through the winding roads. They made their way westward through the quiet neighborhoods, pausing whenever they heard a moan or noticed any movement in the shadows. Hixson had to stop several times to dispatch a zombie or two and hide the bodies before they could continue on, but the encounters were sporadic. The mist drifted low to the ground as they walked, and by the time they reached the edge of the city, it had become a thick fog. The sound of the ocean waves crashing on the beach let Dan know that they were close to the section of the Pacific Highway that turned to hug the shoreline. He decided to stop and take a short break, knowing they’d need to be alert and rested before taking on whatever horrors the highway might hold.

“I’ll bet you’re glad my office was near Malibu and not in downtown LA,” Rayburn stated.

“Very glad,” Hixson said. “I kind of doubt we would have made it out of LA.”

He took a swig from his water bottle, and gave George a few more minutes to rest before they moved on.

As they approached the highway, Hixson began to have second thoughts about his plan. The thick fog was starting to worry him.

“I’m not sure this is going to be a good idea,” he whispered. “I can barely see my hand in front of me, and I’m betting the highway is filled with the dead.”

“Do you have a backup plan?”

“Not really.”

“Let’s try the highway, and if it gets bad we can just veer right and go off-road. If we can’t see them, they should have a hard time finding us, too.”

“I guess we don’t have much choice, but I have a bad feeling about this,” Dan said. “We’ll need to be absolutely silent. I know the waves are making noise and that’ll help, but no talking. If you need my attention, tap my shoulder or something.”

“You won’t shoot me?”

“I’ll try not to. We also have to be looking around all the time. Don’t let anything sneak up on you.”

Hixson took a dozen steps into the mist before his sleeve was grabbed. He jerked his arm away, his hand moving toward his weapon, but he relaxed when he saw that it was Rayburn.

“You disappeared,” George whispered. “Don’t walk so fast.”

Hixson stepped toward the highway again, seeing nothing but fog in front of him. The only noise he could hear was the crashing of the waves off to his left. Staying to the shoulder of the road, he continued on, constantly checking his surroundings. He came to a stop when he saw a figure in front of him. Rayburn slammed into his back, but Hixson was expecting it. He turned and grabbed Rayburn’s arm, leading him carefully around the infected woman. Within another ten feet, Hixson stopped again, moving sharply to the right once more. Again he pulled Rayburn away, though this time it was to avoid a dead hand reaching from an open window. The next time he had to dodge a figure in the road, he turned to the right just in time to see a face emerging through the fog.

~*^*~

~31~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake and Wolf approached Jack, who was sipping a cup of coffee at the table.

“You wanted to see us?” Snake said.

“Yes,” Jack replied, “thanks for coming. Coffee?”

There were cups and a carafe sitting in the center of the table.

“I never turn down caffeine in the morning,” Snake said, smiling.

While the two men took their seats, Jack poured them both a cup and pushed a container of creamer and sugar their way.

“No, thanks,” Snake said. “I never liked that foo-foo stuff.”

Wolf grabbed the container. “French vanilla. Awesome.”

“Dude, you’re embarrassing me,” Snake said as Wolf poured a good portion of creamer into his cup and stirred.

“There’s some hazelnut in the refrigerator if you’re interested,” Jack said.

Wolf stood up, and Snake pulled him back down.

“I’d love to sit here and watch you guys ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee, but my laundry’s soaking in the wash basin.”

“I’ll get to the point,” Jack said. “I’ve been talking to Eric about what he experienced while he was away. I think you may be interested.”

Snake raised an eyebrow. “I don’t mean to rain on your parade, Jack, but from what I know about Eric, you can’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth.”

“Normally that’s the case,” Jack said, “but I think he may have learned a bit of a lesson. He seems to have gained some humility during his leave of absence. You might want to hear him out.”

“I guess you know him better than we do,” Snake admitted. “Won’t hurt to listen. What time does he wake up?”

“We lucked out there,” Jack said. “He’s been up playing video games all night. He’s supposed to meet us as soon as he slays the dragon. Of course, that was supposed to be about ten minutes ago, or so he promised me.”

A couple of minutes later, Eric arrived.

“Late again,” Jack sighed. “I thought you were turning over a new leaf?”

“I would have been here on time, but I threw my socks in the laundry basin, and someone already had their stuff in there. Now I don’t know which socks are mine.”

“They’re all yours now,” Snake sighed.

“Eric, tell these men what you saw this last week,” Jack said, quickly changing the subject, “and please resist the urge to embellish.”

“Right,” Eric said, nodding his head, “just the facts. Hey, is that French vanilla?”

Wolf poured him a cup of coffee and handed him the creamer.

“Well,” Eric started, “you are all well aware that the military drafted me because of my superior piloting abilities.”

“Your alleged piloting abilities,” Jack interjected.

“I did get the high score in . . .” Eric started.

“Eric, get to the point! Nobody cares about your video games.”

“Anyway, they took me to this place that was completely untouched by the plague. It was amazing. It was like an island paradise surrounded by a world of chaos. These people weren’t lacking for anything.”

“So this was one of the shelters the military was taking people to?” Snake asked.

“No, this place was run by civilians. This old man, Henry, was the big cheese. Everybody did exactly what he said. Honest to God, he was like an emperor or something.”

“This isn’t making sense,” Snake said. “You left with the military, and a military chopper dropped you back off, but you said they aren’t involved.”

“Well,” Eric explained, “the military chopper took me to the shelter in Iowa, I think, but from there a couple scouts saw my potential and brought me to the colony.”

“Colony — that’s an interesting choice of wording,” Snake said. “Your term or theirs?”

“Theirs,” Eric shrugged.

“Any idea why they called it that?”

“Nope.”

Snake ran a hand over his beard. “This must be the place that Reynolds was telling Lindsey about. Is it near the base?”

“I think so.”

“Why’d they bring you back?” Snake asked.

“Lee began to see me as a threat, so he and his buddies kidnapped me and shipped me back here.”

“Why would Reynolds see you as a threat?” Wolf laughed.

Eric leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. “The old man saw that I had exceptional DNA, and wanted me to start a harem so I could help to create a superior race of people to help replenish the Earth. I was like second in command in the entire city and . . .”

“I think I’ve heard enough,” Snake said, standing up.

“Glad I wore my boots,” Wolf added, shaking his head.

“Damn it, Eric,” Jack said, pushing away from the table. “This is serious. When the hell are you ever going to grow up?”

Eric protested, “I’m telling the truth this time, really.”

When he saw that no one was buying his story, he stomped off.

“I’m sorry to have wasted your time,” Jack said to the bikers. “I should have listened to his whole story before calling you down here. Eric’s always been into conspiracy theories. He swears that the Amish were responsible for sinking the Titanic, so I’m guessing he has a hard time distinguishing reality from the crap he creates in his head. I guess we won’t know what really happened until we talk to Lt. Reynolds.”

“No biggie,” Snake said. “Thanks for the cup of java. I think I’ll go burn my clothes now.”

Wolf quickly poured himself another cup and addressed Jack. “Which fridge is the hazelnut in?”

~*~

California Coast

Dan moved fast, ramming his knife through the eye of the creature that was reaching for him. He’d barely pulled the blade free when he heard Rayburn yelling a warning. Disembodied arms reached through the fog before two more bodies became fully visible. Not having time to take care of both of them before they reached him, Dan shot his foot out, destroying the knee of the closest one. When it crumpled to the ground, he lunged for the second ghoul.

“Careful, George, there’s one on the ground!”

As Dan dealt with the second zombie, he heard several thuds behind him and hoped it meant that Rayburn was putting his bat to use. Trading his knife for the crowbar, Dan began to search for the crawler. It found him first and grasped his leg tightly. He tried to kick it away, but he finally had to use the crowbar to pulverize the skull until the corpse released its grip. By this time, moans could be heard all around them, and Hixson knew they were in trouble.

“George, we need to head uphill, right now!”

“Where are you?” Rayburn asked, from a few feet away.

“Right here but watch out. . .” Before Hixson could finish the warning, Rayburn stumbled over the prone body. Dan helped the other man to his feet and urged him to follow. There were several shapes stirring in the murky fog, and Hixson didn’t even want to know how many others were moving their way.

“Dan!” George yelled.

Hixson turned to find the doctor struggling with one of the dead, and more were becoming visible through the fog. Swinging the crowbar, Hixson snapped the woman’s neck and watched her head flop uselessly against her shoulder. One more swing finished her off.

“Go for the hill!” he yelled. “I’ll catch up with you. Just keep going west!”

After he heard George scurry off, he called, “Over here! Fresh Meat!”

More of the eerie moans could be heard through the early morning mist. When Hixson thought that he’d given George enough time to get away, he turned to follow but found his way blocked by a wall of the dead. A curse escaped his lips as he turned back toward the highway. He jumped up onto the hood of a car, having no other alternative. Dozens of arms grasped for him as he made his way to the trunk of the next vehicle, almost slipping on the slick, dewy surface before he caught his balance. As he carefully worked his way to the next car, he had to wonder if he’d made a terrible mistake.

After almost twenty minutes of being on his own, Hixson was beginning to realize that he might not see George again. They had no phones and no other way to contact one another. He hoped that the bat would be enough to keep Rayburn alive, though Dan knew that the doctor’s odds weren’t good on his own. He wasn’t a trained soldier, and while he was in decent shape for someone his age, the dead had the advantage of never needing to rest, and they were relentless. George could never out-walk them, and he probably didn’t have the skills to lose them.

Hixson paused when he saw a light through the fog ahead of him. Moving from car to car as quietly as possible, he watched as a brightly-lit convenience store emerged from the fog ahead. Quietly jumping down onto the pavement, Dan made his way into the parking lot, pausing each time he thought he saw the shadows shift. There were no dead within sight, unless he counted those that were trapped in their vehicles. He took two steps toward the building then froze when he heard a human voice.

“Dan?”

Trying not to attract any more attention than necessary, Dan remained silent as he hurried over to George.

“Did you get bitten?” Rayburn called, starting to back away. “Are you one of them?”

“No,” Dan whispered loudly. “I’m just trying to be quiet, and you should do the same.”

“Sorry, I’m just glad to see you. I made it through a couple of neighborhoods, but I ran into a lot zombies on the way.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help,” Dan said, feeling guilty.

“I killed a few with the bat. I wish I had a gun. It would have been a lot easier.”

“Just remember, you don’t need to reload a bat. Besides, the noise would have drawn more of them to you.”

“What happened to you, anyway?” George asked.

“I had a little trouble getting away from our buddies on the highway, but I think we’ve left them behind. I want to go into the store and try to find a map, but we’ve got to be quiet. Then we need to get away from here,” Dan said. “It’s already been a long day and the sun isn’t even up yet.”

“You’re telling me,” George said.

Dan whispered. “There should be a back door. Let’s go in that way.”

“Whatever you think,” Rayburn replied, turning to follow Hixson.

Using the crowbar, Dan got the door opened quickly and looked inside. Though the parking lot was lit up, the store was dark. Dan called out to see if anybody or anything would answer. When nothing stumbled out, they both stepped into the store, and George eased the door shut behind them. They appeared to be in a small back room, and Dan used his light to make sure they were alone. Opening the door that led to the front of the store, he looked around then called out again, quietly. This time his words were met with a low moan and the shuffling of feet.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey finished off her coffee quickly, knowing that Autumn was anxious to get to the lab.

“Are you going to hang out with Wombat today?” Autumn asked as they left the cafeteria.

“I’m going outside to work,” Lindsey said as they took the stairs up to the second floor. “I’d rather be outside than inside while the weather is still decent. It has nothing to do with Wombat.”

“Right. It’s all pretend, and you have your heart set on Lee,” Autumn replied with a grin.

“Not anymore, I don’t,” Lindsey said as they approached the lab.

“Great, then you and Wombat can get together,” Autumn said, opening the door.

Lindsey laughed and shook her head. “You don’t give up, do you?”

“Never,” Autumn said.

“I’ll be back later to see how everything’s going,” Lindsey told the girl before going downstairs.

Out in the parking lot, the stench from the undead filled the air as always. Their moans could be heard on the other side of the walls, and Lindsey wondered if she’d ever really get used to the sound. Still, it was better than being locked up inside the hospital all the time.

“Wow, you made a lot of progress,” she told Moose, who was working with two of the others on building cinder block watchtowers.

“It’s coming along pretty good,” he said, slapping some mortar on a block. “If all goes well, we’ll have them finished today.” He placed the block on the bed of mortar and lightly tapped it with his trowel.

“No more climbing up onto the wall, Gunner?” she asked with a grin.

The older biker shook his head. “Getting too old for that stuff. We’re going to add some stairs if we can get the materials.”

Lindsey laughed and waved goodbye to them before crossing the parking lot to the gate. The biker on guard duty climbed a ladder and looked over the wall.

“All clear,” he said.

“Thanks,” she told him, pushing the gate open. It felt strange for her to walk out without worrying about what was on the other side. She guessed that it was probably the same way for the others after getting used to fighting their way out each time they left the hospital.

She crossed the street to the park, surprised to see how much progress had been made on the wall. It seemed to be going much faster now that they had a routine down. The west wall was done, and the east wall was over halfway finished. Snake, Helga, Wombat and several others were already at work, though the sun had only been up for twenty minutes.

“Can I help?” she asked.

Helga’s eyes narrowed, and Lindsey made a point of stepping closer to Wombat.

“Sure, Xena,” Snake said. “You can either help with the wall or you can help keep the zombies from crawling over the cars.”

“I didn’t bring a weapon down, so I’ll help with the wall.”

“You need to carry a weapon anytime you step outside the hospital,” Snake told her. “I tell all my guys the same thing.”

“I’ll go up and get my crossbow,” she said.

“Here,” Wombat said, handing her a crowbar. “Use this for now.”

Lindsey took the weapon and thanked him, though she was hoping she wouldn’t have to get close enough to the dead to use it.

Taking a shovel, she walked over to where Wolf and Sparky were building wire cages for the gabion walls.

They stepped back after getting the next segment together then Wild Bill moved in with the loader to fill the cages with rubble from a nearby pile. Most of the workers were spaced out along the new wall, scooping up the excess rubble with shovels and putting it into the cages. Each time a cage was filled completely, it was wired shut.

Lindsey flinched when she saw Helga pick up a large rock and toss it into one of the wire cages.

“That could have been my head,” she whispered to Wolf.

“I don’t think she’d actually kill you,” Wolf said, glancing over. “Maim, maybe. But we’re all keeping our eyes open, just in case.”

“Thanks,” Lindsey laughed, getting back to work with the shovel.

The labor was tedious, but it felt good to be doing something active. She enjoyed working with the bikers and the others who were helping, and as long as she kept her distance from Snake, everything was fine.

She looked up again when she heard someone yell. Some of the dead were piling up in a low spot between two small cars, and three of them fell over the vehicles at the same time. Within moments, the bikers had taken care of all of them. The bodies were dragged to a growing pile to be dealt with later.

At lunchtime, food was brought out so that the group didn’t have to worry about quarantine. While most of the others took a short break after eating, Wombat spent some time teaching Lindsey to use the crowbar as a weapon. After working with her for ten minutes, he had her try it out on a dead man that had just made his way over one of the cars. Lindsey didn’t like the sound the skull made when the crowbar cracked it, but she knew she’d need to get used to it. She killed off two more before their break was over, and Wombat promised to work with her more when they finished for the day.

~*~

California Coast

“Hold the light,” Dan said, jamming the flashlight into Rayburn’s hand, “but don’t shine it in my eyes.”

Hixson lifted the crowbar, ready to meet his foe head-on. The dead man wore long shorts and a jersey from a local basketball team. Dan wondered if the zombie might have been recognizable as a player, had its face not been chewed off. The ghoul was close to seven feet tall. Whether he actually played the sport or not, he appeared to be extremely fit.

“Careful, Dan,” George said, adding needlessly, “he’s a big one.”

“No kidding.”

Dan was six feet tall, and he had to swing the crowbar up to get to the man’s head. The ex-basketball player had a long reach, and when he grabbed for Dan, he blocked Hixson’s swing. Dan stumbled back and tried again, with no better luck. Realizing he had no other choice, he ducked under the dead man’s arms to get behind him.

“Don’t let him see you, George,” Dan said. He lifted the crowbar to swing it again, and was blinded by the light of the flashlight, which was now bouncing erratically all over the inside of the store. For a moment, Dan couldn’t see anything, but he soon felt a dead hand brush his face. He staggered back blindly, blinking to try to clear his vision. When he could see again, he slipped behind the zombie once more, this time hitting it in the head before it could turn around and grab him. It took three hits to drop the man, and once the body lay still, Hixson leaned against a wall to catch his breath.

“Is it safe to come out?” Rayburn called.

“Yeah, George,” Dan said, pushing away from the wall. “Remember that part about not shining the light in my face? You almost got me killed.”

“Well, you also said that I shouldn’t let him see me. I was just doing what you told me to do.”

Dan didn’t bother answering. He did a quick search of the store but found nothing more to concern him.

“Let’s make this fast,” he said. “I’m going to look for maps. Will you grab some more food and maybe some water bottles, assuming we have room?”

“The packs are still pretty full, but I can fill a plastic bag with some light stuff.”

By the time Hixson returned with an atlas, George had filled two plastic bags and was putting his pack over his shoulders. Hixson reached down to grab his pack, but was startled by the sight of dead faces pressed against the glass.

“Really?” he asked. “We’re just not getting a break today, George. Can you carry both bags for now? I’m going to need my hands free.”

“Sure,” George said, picking up the second plastic bag.

They went back through the office, and Dan paused at the door, not sure what they’d encounter. He switched weapons, pulling out his pistol since he could drop the dead faster that way. They’d just have to be gone before they drew a crowd.

“Stay behind me,” he said, opening the door quietly.

Dan found himself face-to-face with a woman who had no lower jaw.

~*^*~

~32~

California Coast

At least she can’t bite, Dan thought, putting a bullet into the dead woman’s face.

“Get up the hill, but stay there. I don’t want to lose you again,” Hixson said. He fired off a shot at a ghoul that was only a few feet away then he sacrificed another bullet to finish off one more that was coming around the corner.

Dan quickly climbed up the hill then crouched next to Rayburn, watching to see what would happen. Within moments, the dead began to flood into the area behind the convenience store, milling around. None of them moved toward the hill, to Dan’s relief. Leaning close to Rayburn, he whispered, “Let’s sneak out of here.”

The two men retreated, one step at a time. Once they were a safe distance away, Dan took one of the bags from George, and both men turned on the flashlights they’d picked up in the store. Dan thought that the light would allow them to move a little faster, but Rayburn was beginning to lag behind.

“What’s wrong? Do you need to stop for a while?” Hixson finally asked.

“No, I’m just watching out for rattlesnakes,” Rayburn said, eyes on the ground.

“Well, shit, George, it’s slowing us down.”

“Getting bitten by a snake would really slow us down,” Rayburn said. “We can’t exactly go to a hospital.”

Hixson exhaled loudly. “We’ll try to pick up some hiking boots along the way.”

“They’re hard to see, even in the daylight,” Rayburn said, shining his light on the ground in front of him.

Dan looked down, frowning. As they continued west, the sky began to lighten, making travel a little easier. Rayburn shut off his flashlight, though his attention was still focused on the ground in front of him.

“At least they’ll be sluggish since it’s cool this morning.”

“The zombies?” Dan asked.

“No, the snakes.”

“Let’s go this way,” Dan said, pointing toward some houses. He folded his map and put it away. They moved through the streets until they came to a dead end, where Dan stopped to look at the map again.

“It looks like all these neighborhoods run off of the highway,” he said. “They don’t really connect to each other, so we’ll have to go through the brush to get to the next one.”

“Great,” George said, looking concerned. “There’s a lot of chaparral, running up and down the canyons. You know how many snakes could be hiding out there? We’d never even see them until it’s too late.”

“Like you said, the air is cool this morning. I don’t think snakes come out until it’s warm.”

“I think you’re just saying that so I won’t worry.”

They stopped for a break when they found a small park. Rayburn pulled out a couple of bottles of mocha flavored coffee and handed one to Dan, keeping the other for himself.

“I’ve never tried this stuff. Is it good?”

“Very sweet, but it’s good,” George said, digging out a bag of beef jerky to share.

Dan pulled the map back out and they looked it over together, choosing a route that would take them northwest toward Oxnard. He’d also picked up a large atlas at the convenience store, which they would need once they were out of the area covered by the map.

“There’s not much out there,” Dan warned. “We’ll be sitting ducks if they come looking for us.”

“What other choice do we have?” Rayburn asked with a shrug. “We found out the hard way how bad the highway is.”

They finished eating in silence then packed up to continue their journey.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Boss!” someone yelled to Snake. “We’ve got a problem.”

Snake glanced over to where the fencing was being rolled out.

“Only you, Mouse,” he said to the small biker who had managed to get himself tangled up in the wire. “How did you even do this?”

“Not sure, Boss, but I think it attacked me when I wasn’t looking,” Mouse said, glaring at the fencing.

“The fence attacked you?” Snake asked, trying to find the end so he could help the others unwind it.

“Why not? The dead are coming back to life. Maybe other stuff is coming alive too.”

Snake rolled his eyes, but he didn’t reply.

Once they freed the biker from the wire, Wolf said, “Mouse, why don’t you take a break and go work on that scratching post you wanted to make?”

“You guys don’t mind?” he asked, brightening.

“No. Go ahead,” Snake said. “You look a little scratched up from the wire so you probably shouldn’t be out here with the flesh-eaters, you know? In fact, you shouldn’t be out until that hole in your shoulder is healed.”

“That’s true,” Mouse said, checking his shoulder and the light scratches on his arm. “The kitten doesn’t like it when I’m gone long, anyway. He gets pretty lonely.”

“I’m sure he does,” Snake said, letting out a long breath when the biker scurried off.

“What are we going to do about him?” Wolf asked after Mouse was out of earshot. “He’s a walking hazard. If he isn’t hurting himself, he’s hurting someone else. He slows us down, too.”

“I know, dude,” Snake said. “Mouse is pretty much an all-around screw-up, but I just haven’t found anything for him yet.” He looked around at the park, thoughtfully. “Then again, he does seem to have a knack for handling animals.”

“He sure has a way with that kitten,” Wolf agreed. “The guys said that it was completely feral. They didn’t think Mouse would be able to get it out of the car where they found it, but he grabbed it, and it calmed right down. It was asleep inside his shirt when he showed it to me.”

A few of the men had been trapped outside the walls because of the rescue of the kitten, but nobody had been killed. Still, it had been a foolish risk to take over a kitten that had been surviving just fine on its own. Snake had pointed out to Mouse that they could have gone back out later to rescue it when the streets weren’t crawling with the dead. Mouse hadn’t even considered the option. He’d just seen the kitten and had known that it needed to be rescued.

“He’s got a good heart,” Snake said. “He just doesn’t have a lot of common sense. I’m thinking that maybe we can find some chickens and bring them in here once the wall is done and put him in charge of them.”

“He’d never let you kill them,” Wolf pointed out.

“We can use the eggs,” Snake said. “We can get more chickens for meat and keep them at a farm outside of town or something. It would keep Mouse busy and provide fresh eggs for the kitchen. Dr. Doom was asking about eggs, too.”

“What for?”

“It’s one way to make a vaccine. He’d need a ton of them, though.”

“Anything that’ll keep Mouse from ‘helping’ us is fine with me. We can tell him how important the eggs are,” Wolf said. “Maybe that’ll solve the problem.”

~*~

Southern California

“I wish we could have found something a little sportier,” George said, looking out the window of the old sedan they were driving.

“Really?” Dan asked. “After walking so many miles, I’d think you’d be happy with anything, as long as it runs.”

“It stinks, too,” Rayburn said, glancing into the back seat, which was still covered with gore and blood. Dan had tossed the body out, but the stench remained.

“I’m just glad this road isn’t as bad as the highway was. At least we can drive on this.”

Dan suddenly turned his head, listening as he brought the car to a stop.

“Chopper!” he yelled.

They’d already had a helicopter fly past them earlier and had been able to hide in some shrubs. This time, they were in an open area, and there was no place to hide except in the car. He quickly rolled his window up as Rayburn flung his door open and flattened himself on the ground.

“What are you doing? They’ll see you! Get back in the car!”

“I’m playing dead! I don’t think there’s room for both of us to hide in the front, and I’m sure not getting in the back.”

“You’re smaller than me. You hide on the floor of the passenger seat, and I’ll play dead!”

“Wait! Don’t go outside. You look too alive,” Rayburn said, struggling to push the seat back as the sound of the chopper grew louder.

“Running out of time here, George,” Hixson said, grabbing a baseball cap from the back seat. He slapped it onto his head and opened the door. “Where am I supposed to hide, then?”

“Your pant legs are covered with blood from all the zombies you killed,” George said. “And so is the right arm of your shirt. Lay across the seat with your legs and arm out the door. You’ll look dead enough, I think.”

Dan pushed his door open.

“I hope you know what you’re talking about,” he said, positioning himself across the seat as George had suggested. “If they use FLIR cameras, they’ll know we’re alive.”

“They detect heat, right? So will they see us in the car?”

“I’m not in the car, George,” Dan pointed out.

“Oh, right. Your arm’s too stiff,” Rayburn said, still pushing on the seat.

“Is this better?” Dan asked, letting his right arm lay next to his leg, palm up.

“Sure. That looks good.”

“George, hurry up,” he said. “They’re close!”

“I’m trying!”

“I just hope to God there aren’t any zombies out here,” Dan said.

“There!” George said, finally getting the seat moved back. He curled up on the floor as well as possible.

“Hide your hair,” Dan hissed, as the chopper started to come into sight.

Rayburn did some maneuvering and managed to pull his shirt up over his head.

“That’s better,” Hixson said, the side of his face flattened against the seat. “Now don’t move.”

The thumping of the rotor grew louder as the chopper slowly moved down the road, apparently checking out each vehicle along the way. As the seconds crept by, Dan wondered if the noise of the helicopter was drawing the dead their way. His head was turned toward the back of the seat, and he couldn’t see anything that might be approaching the vehicle on the ground. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly as his mind provided him with images of mangled, rotting corpses converging on the car. The noise of the chopper and the putrid stench inside the vehicle ensured that he wouldn’t have any advance warning if something were creeping up on him. More seconds ticked by, and Hixson finally took a chance and turned his head the other way, shifting just slightly so that he could see out the door. It was several more minutes before the sound of the helicopter completely faded and the two men were able to move.

“That was close,” Dan said, looking around.

“We’re going to run out of luck eventually,” George said, moving his seat up again.

“I know.” Dan got back into the car. “I think we’ll be okay once we’re out of the area, but we’re obviously still in their search range. My guess is that they’re just scanning the area with their eyes for now, but if they start looking for heat images, we’re screwed.”

They managed to drive a few more miles before running into a pile-up that they couldn’t get around. The two men got out and walked, staying close to the road in case they had to hide again. Once they reached the vehicles at the front of the line, Dan began to search for a car with keys. He found one, but the battery was dead.

“Well, that’s no good,” George said, disappointed. “Can we find another battery?”

“We can try,” Dan said, looking through the car for tools. He came across a small crescent wrench, which he stuck in his pocket before heading toward another car. The vehicle was locked and getting the hood open required the use of the crowbar, but Dan managed it quickly and had the battery moved and installed in the other car within minutes.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

The group worked until dark before most of them went inside, exhausted from the long day. Fortunately, they were almost done with the wall. They also planned to make a parking area for the big trucks and the loader near the gate. This area would be fenced off with chain-link, also ensuring that anything getting in through the main gate would be stopped before reaching those in the park area.

Wombat stayed outside with Lindsey for an extra hour, giving her a chance to hone her skills with the crowbar. She kept going until her arms were too sore to do any more, then they went inside. She hadn’t been looking forward to the three-hour quarantine, but she was happy to see that new furniture had been brought in.

“Nice,” she said, sinking down onto a sofa next to Wombat.

“Some of the guys made a trip to the furniture store today,” Snake said, from a comfortable-looking recliner. “They may not get me out of here when my time is up.”

Two hours later, Snake managed to drag himself from the recliner and went to find his welders and a few others.

“We need to get a gate put up,” he said to the small group he’d called together. “Without it, the wall doesn’t do us much good.”

“Can we just move the gate that’s on the wall around the parking lot?” Carmen asked.

“I want to keep that as a buffer. Besides, it’s too tight of a squeeze for the loader. What about one of those heavy-duty gates that slides on rails?”

“It won’t stand up to a bunch of zombies pushing against it,” Carmen said. “They’ll knock it right off the track.”

“What about a big, heavy gate that drops down, like you see in castles?” Wolf suggested.

“With the pointy ends that will impale anything in the way?” Gunner asked, grinning.

“How would we lift it?” Snake asked. “We’d need electricity or a hell of a crank to pull it up.”

“What about a tow truck?” asked Wolf.

“Not exactly the newest technology, but it should work. Could you build something like that?” Snake asked the two welders.

“It would take some time,” Gunner said with a shrug, “but we could do it. I’m thinking that the pointy ends may be a problem. We might be better off with a heavy, solid gate that can drop down into an indentation in the pavement.”

“That’ll make it sturdier,” Carmen agreed.

“I like that,” Snake said. “We’d have to keep it cleaned out so it would work right, but if the whole thing is set into a groove like that, it’s not going to give as much if the dead push on it. It’ll still be dangerous if it falls on someone.”

“With the heavy cabling on a tow truck, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Gunner said. “You do realize that we’d need to be able to lift this gate high enough to get the trucks beneath it. They’re what, maybe ten or twelve feet tall?”

There was silence for a moment as they contemplated the latest snag in the plan.

“Moose, can you make posts tall enough to support the gate when it’s up?” Snake asked.

“We could go fourteen feet on the pilasters, but that’s about it,” Moose said.

“Claire’s a civil engineer,” Wolf said. “Maybe she could help figure this out.”

The group went to the computer room where they found Claire.

“I think you’re talking about a vertical lift gate,” she said when presented with the problem. She did a quick search online and pulled up a picture of a gate that was similar to what they had described.

“Would something like this work?” she asked.

Snake and Moose both leaned in to get a better look.

“That’d be perfect,” Snake said, “except it’s too wide. It only needs to be big enough for the trucks and loader to get through.”

“It can be modified,” Claire told him. “I think it would be sturdy enough with the fourteen foot pilasters and some steel beams.”

“This is going to be a lot more work than I thought,” Wolf said, after they discussed more details with Claire.

“I know, but I think it’ll be worth it. Besides, it’ll keep everybody busy for a while. We still need to harvest some crops, but we can’t do that until Wild Bill’s done clearing a route for us out of the city.”

“So, it sounds like another trip is in order,” Wolf said.

“Afraid so,” Snake replied. “We’ll go first thing tomorrow. We’ll take all three trucks and try to do it all in one day.”

“I’ll have a list of what you need by morning,” Claire said.

“Thanks,” Snake said, stepping out into the hall again with the others.

He looked at Gunner and Carmen. “I need one of you to come along to help find a gate, but I don’t want you both going, just in case something happens. Wrench welds, too, but he’s coming with us to look for some tools. Probably not smart to have all three welders on a supply run.”

“I’ll go if Gunner doesn’t care,” Carmen said. “I haven’t been outside the walls for a while, and I’m kind of getting stir-crazy in here.”

“Fine with me,” Gunner said. “I’m helping Moose add stairs to the towers, so I’ve got plenty to keep me busy here.”

“Are we going to put stairs on the wall around the park, too?” Moose asked.

The gabion walls were fairly wide so that shooters could stand on top without having to worry about their balance. They were also high enough that they weren’t easy to climb.

“I think ladders will be enough,” Snake said. “Then we can move them if we need to.”

“I’ll add it to the list,” Wolf said, pulling out a piece of paper.

~*~

Cheri was sitting in her bed, her eyes glued to the pages of a small paperback. A knock on the door made her jump slightly.

“Who is it?” she asked, warily.

“Housekeeping,” a voice on the other side of the door answered with a hint of a Scottish accent.

“Come in, Ernie,” Cheri said, looking back at her book.

A man in a pair of brown overalls opened the door and backed into the room, rolling a bucket full of water and a mop along with him.

“Beautiful morning, isn’t it, Lassie?”

“It is. I see the sun’s actually trying to poke through the clouds,” Cheri said, looking out the window. Turning to the man, she said, “I really do appreciate you cleaning up for me, but I want to start pulling my weight around here. It’ll probably help me to keep my mind off things.”

“The sun always seems to bring a wee bit of romance into the day, if you ask me,” the man said, ignoring her comment as he pushed a dry mop along the floor.

“Eric,” she sighed, “Ernie doesn’t have that thick of an accent. You sound like Shrek. How did you get Ernie’s stuff?”

“I’m volunteering,” he replied. “You know how I am about wanting to help out.”

“The problem is,” Cheri said, reaching for the call button, “you’re not allowed in here.”

“Wait!” Eric turned toward her and held his hand up. “I just wanted to check on you. Nobody will tell me how you’re doing.”

Cheri hesitated a moment, debating on whether or not to press the button and call one of the nurses.

“Look,” Eric said, clasping his hands together as if he were pleading, “I did bring you and the kids here. Why can’t I at least make sure you’re okay?”

Cheri thought for a second then set the call button down.

“Well, no matter how self-serving your motives may have been, you did get us here. As hard as it is to admit it, I guess I might owe you a thank you.”

Eric was torn between feeling guilt and relief. He tried to convince himself of his own nobility in rescuing her and her children, but deep down he was well aware what his sole motivation was behind his heroics. Now that Cheri was single, he hoped to rekindle the years-dead relationship they’d once had. Now he was certain that she was on to him.

“So, are you getting better?” he asked, infusing as much concern into the question as he could.

“I’m learning to count my blessings,” she said, putting the book face down on her night stand. “It’s not easy watching the man you love die, and it’s even harder when you’re the one killing him.”

“Cheri,” Eric paused, trying to find the right words, “he was already dead. You were just killing whatever was controlling his body.”

“I understand,” she said, “but somehow it didn’t make shooting him any easier.”

“I was hoping to relieve you of that burden by telling everybody I shot him,” Eric said, humbly, “but I guess you remembered everything.”

“Wow, that was so thoughtful of you,” she said, rolling her eyes, “and here we thought you were just trying to make yourself look like a hero again. Glad you’re over that.”

Eric smiled as the sarcasm completely escaped him.

“Eric,” Cheri became more serious, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. There are a lot of people in here who have lost more than I have. I still have my children, and for the time being, they’re safe. They have shelter, food, clothing, and they’ve even met some new friends in here. I admit I’ve been selfish, laying here wallowing in self-pity. I want to help out as much as I can around here, but Snake suggests I ease into it. He’s especially worried that you are going to do something to mess up my recovery.”

Eric looked down and shuffled his feet. “I don’t blame him,” he mumbled. “I’ve been a little selfish, too.”

Cheri looked as if she were a bit skeptical of his sincerity.

“I’ve learned a lot in the last few days,” he continued. “You heard the military drafted me because of my piloting abilities?”

“Yeah,” Cheri chuckled, “everybody got a good laugh out of that. We were taking bets on how long it would be before they brought you back.”

“Anyway,” Eric continued, ignoring her comment, “it wasn’t really the military. I was taken to a top-secret facility where I was the personal pilot for the leader of the entire community. Not only did they want me for my flying ability, but they also wanted my DNA to help enhance the new race of humans they were developing.”

Cheri reached for the call button again.

“No, wait!” Eric protested. “I may be embellishing a little, but most of it’s true. The point is, I loved it at first, until I saw how the place was filled with people who were completely devoid of compassion, to the point of being cruel. I saw a man and his wife torn apart by zombies, just to create a distraction. There was no value on human life. Everything was for the good of the community. They had certain goals, and they didn’t care how many people died to accomplish them.”

Cheri once again put the call button down, searching Eric’s face for the truth.

“I’ll admit, I saw a little bit of myself in them. My whole life, I’ve been willing to do anything or hurt anyone to get my way. But when I saw how brutal that way of thinking could be, I vowed to change. I’m different now, Cheri, and I want to prove that to you.”

Eric watched as Cheri studied him. He had always been a master manipulator, but something had changed inside him. The expression on Cheri’s face told him that she was also aware of the change. The look of disgust that she usually wore when he was around had seemingly evaporated into pity. Maybe it would be possible for her to see him as a human being again, or maybe even a friend.

“What do you want from me?” she asked.

Eric walked toward her and leaned over her bed. “Do you think we could, you know, do it, just for old time’s sake?”

Her eyes widened at the comment, and she quickly lifted her knee, which was positioned precariously beneath his groin.

A thud preceded a loud wheeze coming from Eric’s lungs, as he fell backwards into a fetal position on the floor. The high pitched squeals coming from the injured man brought footsteps toward the room. The door opened and Ernie hobbled in.

“Whatever she did to you, lad, I’m sure you deserved it,” Ernie said, frowning when his eyes came to rest on his mop and bucket. He turned his attention to Cheri, ignoring the squeals of pain coming from Eric.

“Are you all right, miss? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Actually, I’ve never felt better,” Cheri said with a smile. “I think that was the best therapy I’ve had since I’ve arrived.”

Ernie grinned and walked over to Eric, grabbing him by the ear. “Let’s get you out of here before you cause any more trouble.”

He pulled Eric to his feet and led him unceremoniously from the room, closing the door behind them.

~*~

“All right, I’m going to grab a snack then I’m hitting the hay,” Snake said, yawning.

The group began to go their separate ways once they hit the lobby, but Fish stopped them.

“Hey, check it out,” he called from the door of the ER. “Jackson and Sparky were able to get us some reception on the TV.”

Snake decided that the snack and sleep could wait a few more minutes, and he went with the others to the ER. They gathered around to watch the newscast. Even though they’d come in halfway through, it only took an instant to understand the situation throughout the Americas. A map showed new outbreaks in Phoenix, Las Vegas and several other western cities. The east coast must have been completely overrun because there were so many spots marked on that part of the map that they all blended together into a mass of red. Mexico, Central America and South America looked just as bad. Canada, which had previously only had outbreaks in Vancouver and Toronto, now showed hot spots scattered across the country.

To make things worse, there were reports that the parasite had hit other continents as well, verifying what Jackson had already told Snake and Reynolds had insinuated as well. The reports painted an ugly picture, with the situation degenerating all over the world. There was a lot of finger pointing over how it had all started and who was responsible for the rapid spread of the plague.

“It’s everywhere,” Dr. Sharma said quietly. “It is in India now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Snake told her.

The picture changed to show a shot of Chicago, taken from a helicopter. Traffic was gridlocked as people attempted to flee the area. The reporter stated that with the large number of refugees moving into the suburbs, the traffic congestion was almost as bad there as it was in the metro area. As the camera zoomed in, the dead could be seen roaming the highways and pulling people from their cars. The video changed to show clips of other cities, but the scenes were all remarkably similar.

The video disappeared as they lost the station they’d been watching. The way that sites had been dropping off the internet, Snake wasn’t shocked to see the same thing happening with the TV. It was almost more surprising that there were any stations still operating, but some members of the media apparently took their jobs very seriously, and Snake was glad for it. While the information that was being passed on was dire, he found it somewhat comforting to have the small bit of contact with the outside world and to know that others were still alive.

~*~

Yucca Compound, Southern California

“We found something,” Madec said, his eyes never leaving the laptop as Bob walked into the room. “One of the teams discovered an infected body hidden behind a wall. It was the only one in the area, and it had been dragged from the street, which struck them as odd.”

“Was it Rayburn or Hixson?” Bob asked.

“No,” Madec said, “but the team did a thorough search of the neighborhood, and they found signs of break-ins at a couple of houses. There were still a few people in their homes, and one woman saw both men. She saw Hixson break into a house then return that evening with Rayburn. She never saw them leave.”

“But they’re gone now, I assume?”

“Yes, they are, but they did make copies of the DVD on a computer and we have the files,” Madec said, nodding toward a small external hard drive that was connected to his laptop. “When we’re done watching it, it’ll go into the safe in my office. I’m the only one who has the combination.”

“Was it wise to make a copy?” Bob asked. “We don’t want anybody here seeing what’s on the DVD.”

“I realize that. They brought the computer here, and I had our IT specialist go over it. I was sitting beside him the whole time, so there’s no chance that he saw anything. When he was done, I watched him destroy the computer.”

“What about at the house? Could someone on the team have seen the video there?”

“They had no idea what we were looking for. We had them bring both computers from the house, just in case. We got lucky.”

“Excellent,” Bob said, looking relieved. “At least we’ll know exactly what’s on it. Let’s watch it.”

“You’re not going to like it,” Madec said, turning the computer screen so that Bob could see.

~*^*~

~33~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“You going with us, Xena?” Snake asked Lindsey. The sky was just beginning to lighten as the group gathered by the door.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she told him. “You know how I love shopping.”

“Bah, shopping,” Helga muttered.

Lindsey said, “I don’t really like shopping. I just like to be outside.”

“You said you like shopping,” Helga frowned.

“I was kidding.”

Lindsey turned to Snake and said, “Autumn and Claire made up some flyers for us to put around town.”

She held up a thick pile of the papers, and Snake took one and looked it over. It wasn’t exactly professional quality, but it wasn’t bad.

“Better than I could have done,” he said, noticing that there was even a picture of St. Mary’s on it. The message said that shelter could be found at the hospital. “Let’s just hope it works.”

“We were thinking that Wombat, Hawk and I could put these up,” Lindsey said. “We’re all pretty fast, so we can jump off the bikes and get the posters up before things get too dangerous. Maybe we could just stop every time we come to a reasonably clear spot.”

“That should work,” Snake said. He knew it would slow them down, but bringing in survivors was an even bigger priority than procuring supplies. “Maybe you guys should double up with someone else, so you don’t have to park the bikes every time we stop. One of you can ride with me in the truck.”

He saw the glare on Helga’s face and quickly said, “Hawk, you ride with me. We haven’t talked in a while.”

Wombat had his back to Helga, so she couldn’t see it when he grinned at Lindsey. “Well, I wanted to ride with you, sweetcakes, but I guess we can’t do that today,” he said.

“Next time,” Lindsey said, slipping her arms around Wombat’s neck to hug him. “Sweetcakes? Seriously?” she whispered.

“I thought you’d like that one,” he whispered back before she pulled away.

“You two are having way too much fun with this,” Snake muttered to them. He noticed Helga moving toward the truck and realized she was planning to ride with him, too.

“Uh, Carmen, why don’t you ride with me and Hawk?” Snake asked quickly. “We need to talk about that gate.”

When Helga let out a growl, Carmen rolled her eyes.

“Hey, don’t worry, lady. I’m not into men,” she said.

Snake watched Helga stomp off to get her bike, but at least she no longer looked as though she wanted to kill someone.

“Why’d you have to tell her that?” Snake grumbled to Carmen.

“Because it’s true.”

“Yeah, I know that, but Helga didn’t need to know it.”

“Sorry, Snake, but I’ve seen what Lindsey’s been going through,” Carmen laughed as she climbed up into the truck.

Lindsey got on Wolf’s bike while Wombat hitched a ride with Fish. Keith, who was going with them in hopes of picking up new exercise equipment, rode in one of the rental trucks with Dumbo.

~*~

Yucca Compound, Southern California

“No luck with the shoes, but they found a pair of Rayburn’s socks at the same house, and the bloodhounds were able to pick up a trail,” Madec said, hanging up the phone. “We have several helicopters in the air and over a hundred men on the ground around the area.”

“Are we sure they’re Rayburn’s socks?” Bob asked.

“We showed a picture to the janitor, and he was fairly certain that they were Rayburn’s.”

“The guy knows what Rayburn’s socks look like?” Bob asked, skeptically.

“Apparently it was always a topic of conversation around here,” Madec said. “Rayburn’s socks rarely matched, and they were usually either checkered, or had a bizarre pattern. That’s exactly what was found under the sofa. The bloodhounds are moving down the Pacific Highway as we speak.”

“I hope we find them before they start talking to someone else,” Bob said.

“My biggest concern is that they’ll put the video on the internet,” Madec said. “If that happens, we could be screwed. At least our names weren’t mentioned.”

“I never even thought about the internet,” Bob said, frowning.

“I’ve been keeping my eyes open and haven’t seen anything yet,” Madec said. “I’m hoping that they won’t have the opportunity to do it.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“I need to think about it,” Madec said. “This needs to be handled carefully. Also, I made it clear to all of our teams that Rayburn is to be taken alive. I sent the message out the moment I finished watching the DVD.”

“Do you think he may have any information on this in his office?”

“Based on what his office here looks like,” Madec said, “it would probably take months to find anything.”

“By the way, we lost two more choppers,” Bob said in disgust.

“They went down?”

“No, the pilots went AWOL. They took the choppers and a bunch of soldiers with them.”

“They’ve finally begun to realize what’s going on,” Madec said. “We knew this would happen eventually.”

“And it’s hard to gain cooperation now that many of them have already lost their families,” Bob said. “We don’t have much left to use as leverage if they don’t want to live in our communities.”

“I’ll send a team over to the airport to pick up a few commercial helicopters. We wanted more of them, anyway. They just won’t have all the equipment we have on the military aircraft,” Madec said.

“It’ll have to do.”

~*~

Near Oxnard, California

After spending the night in a barn near Oxnard, Hixson and Rayburn got up before dawn and continued their trek. They saw signs of life as they made their way down the road in the dark. Houses had been reinforced, and many of them were surrounded by fences that appeared to have been hastily erected. Hixson wasn’t surprised since he’d expected to see more survivors in the rural areas.

A loud click caught Dan’s attention, and he turned to see Rayburn easing a car door open in the pre-dawn light. Hixson had been so intent on watching for the dead that he hadn’t even noticed the vehicle on the side of the road.

“Any keys?” he asked.

“I’m looking,” George said, leaning inside.

“Did you check . . . ?”

“Hey!” Rayburn yelled, struggling with something in the dark. “It’s got my arm!”

Moving quickly, Hixson yanked the back door open. One glimpse told him that he wasn’t dealing with a living person, and that was all he needed to know. As the dead creature pulled Rayburn’s arm toward its snarling mouth, Dan stopped it with a knife to the brain.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he wiped his weapon off on the clothing of the deceased man.

“I think so. He didn’t bite me, but he did kind of have scratchy nails.”

Hixson checked George’s arm with a flashlight, but he saw nothing.

“It doesn’t look like it broke the skin, but I’m not sure exactly what it takes to infect a person, either. It’s possible you could have a tiny scratch we can’t even see.”

“I have so many scratches and scars on my arms, it’s kind of hard to tell,” Rayburn admitted before pointing to a large scar. “Did I ever show you this one?”

“No keys,” Dan said, not really paying attention.

“It’s from a weasel.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Dan said. He took two steps then stopped to look at Rayburn. “A weasel? Seriously?”

“Yes. It was a mean one, too.”

“Aren’t they all?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only been attacked by one, so it’s hard to say.”

“Why would a weasel attack you?”

“It’s kind of a long story.”

“Okay, let’s save it for when we don’t need to be quiet.”

They walked in silence for a while then Rayburn looked down at his arm again. “I guess you’ll have to keep an eye on me. If I start doing anything strange . . .”

“Really? If you start doing anything strange?”

“Yeah, whatever, but if I do, you’ll have to shoot me. Well, wait ‘til I die then shoot me, so I don’t come back, okay?”

“Okay,” Hixson said, eyes darting around as they continued down the road.

“Okay? Just like that? You’re not going to argue, or tell me you could never shoot me?”

“No,” Hixson said. “Now we need to be quiet.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Autumn, I’ve been thinking about what you said about Dr. Rayburn,” Doune told her.

“What did I say?” she asked, looking up from her computer.

“You were telling me that he talks a lot and asks questions.”

“All the time,” she said. “I’ve never seen anybody talk as much as he does.”

“Didn’t you also say that he was an older man?”

“He’s like a grandfather,” Autumn said. “Gray hair and everything.”

“I couldn’t see him over the phone, obviously, but this man sounded younger, and he wasn’t talkative. I want to call him back and see if you recognize his voice.”

“Okay.”

“It’s critical that he doesn’t hear you or realize that you’re listening. I’m not comfortable with having anybody know about your immunity except for the handful of people here who are already aware.”

“I’ll be quiet,” she said.

Doune dialed the number that he’d been given for Dr. Rayburn’s cell phone. It was answered almost immediately by the same man he’d spoken to earlier.

“This is George.”

“Dr. Rayburn,” Doune said. “This is Nick Doune.”

“Dr. Doune, how are you?”

“I’m fine,” Doune said. “We’ve been discussing your offer, and some questions have arisen about security. Would you mind giving me more details on how you plan to keep this person safe during the trip to California?”

He tilted the phone so Autumn could put her ear against it as the man began to speak. Almost immediately, she frowned and shook her head, handing the phone back.

Doune listened for a while then finally told the person on the other end of the phone that they’d think about it. He ended the conversation as quickly as possible.

“So that wasn’t him?” he asked.

“No,” Autumn said. “That guy had a deep voice. He didn’t sound anything like Dr. Rayburn. You’re not really going to let me go there, are you?”

“Of course not,” he said. “Especially if that wasn’t even Dr. Rayburn.”

~*~

Near Oxnard, California

Dan and George stood at an edge of a vineyard that claimed to produce the best wine in the area. Dan had his doubts, since the vines looked like they hadn’t been pruned in a while and were growing wild. Fortunately, that meant that they were tall enough to hide the two men.

“We’re going to have to cross the field,” Dan said. “We should be okay unless a chopper goes directly overhead.”

They’d seen a couple of helicopters that day, but for the last hour only one had been in sight. Dan was keeping an eye on it, but the pilot seemed to be concentrating on an area to the west of them.

“This place is kind of creepy,” Rayburn said. “What if there are zombies in the field?”

“They’d have a hard time getting past the vines,” Hixson said, pointing. “Look how they’re planted with some kind of string or wire running down the rows.”

“Wire, I think. The vines wrap around it,” Rayburn said. “I took a tour of a vineyard once and . . .”

“Not now, George,” Dan said. “My point is, they’d have to break through the vines and wires, so I think we’ll be all right.”

“Okay, let’s do it,” George said.

Dan found a spot where they’d be hidden by trees as they crossed the road, and he took off at a jog. They made it to the other side of the road without a problem and were halfway across the field when Dan stopped suddenly, holding up a hand.

Rayburn froze in his tracks, listening.

Something was moving through the rows, snapping vines and wires in its path. A low moan reached the ears of the two men, leaving no question as to what pursued them. Other voices joined in the chorus as Hixson turned slowly, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the dead.

“I thought you said they couldn’t break through the vines easily,” Rayburn hissed.

“They shouldn’t be able to,” Dan said, “unless there are a lot of them.”

“We should run,” Rayburn said.

“I think they’re directly to the west,” Dan whispered. “We’ll keep going north. Maybe we can get out of the field before they intercept us.”

“I hope so,” Rayburn said, his eyes darting one way then the other as he searched for signs of the dead.

They began to run, anxious to leave the field and find shelter on the other side, but moments later the sound of the helicopter grew louder as it began to move closer. The soil beneath their feet was muddy, and Rayburn’s shoes got stuck twice, costing more valuable time.

As the sound of the breaking vines grew closer, Hixson realized that they weren’t outrunning their pursuers as he had hoped. He envisioned an army of the dead just yards away, marching forward on a collision course with them. Both men put on a burst of speed and didn’t stop until they reached the end of the vineyard. Hixson paused to take in the scene beyond the field. There was nothing but more farmland as far as he could see, and the crops growing there would do nothing to hide them. As he scanned the area to the right, then the left, his eyes lit on a possibility. He jumped down into the ditch and hurried toward a culvert that ran under the road. It was going to be close, but it was their only hope. He pushed himself, sights on the round metal cylinder ahead, but when he looked back, he saw that Rayburn was falling behind. Turning back, Dan took the other man’s backpack and kept running. Without the heavy load, Rayburn was able to keep up with him. Moments later, they hit the culvert. Hixson threw one of the packs inside the metal drain pipe then motioned for Rayburn to go first. The seconds seemed to last forever as the doctor got on his hands and knees and crawled into the tunnel, pushing his pack in front of him. Hixson crawled in backward, dragging his pack in after he was in place. Just seconds later, the helicopter could be heard directly overhead.

Breathing hard, Hixson arranged his backpack to provide some cover then told Rayburn to do the same on the other side. If cameras were being used, Dan hoped they wouldn’t pick up a heat signal through the tunnel. When there was no response from Rayburn, Hixson remembered that George was facing the other way and probably couldn’t hear him over the sound of the helicopter. Reaching back, Hixson tapped Rayburn’s foot to get his attention and pointed toward his backpack. The light coming from Rayburn’s end of the tunnel faded moments later, and Hixson knew that Rayburn had gotten the message.

Hixson held his breath when the dead began to emerge from the vineyard. The first one almost looked alive, and Dan guessed that it was a fresh kill. The blood on the man’s overalls still looked red and wet. He had the look of a farmer about him, and Dan wondered if the horde had caught him while working the fields. Then again, maybe they’d found his home and forced their way inside.

Others emerged from the vineyard to stumble into the ditch then crawl back up the other side. They seemed to have a goal in mind, and Hixson hoped they’d stay on their path, ignoring the culvert.

Dan felt Rayburn slapping at his foot, and he turned his head enough to see glimpses of clothing on Rayburn’s side of the tunnel. Suddenly their shelter was beginning to look more like a deathtrap to Hixson, but he was still certain that their odds outside wouldn’t have been any better. He knew that they could have probably avoided the horde by running up the road, but the soldiers in the helicopter would have quickly cut them off.

Dan ducked a little farther behind the backpack when one of the infected stumbled into the ditch and landed hard on the ground, just inches from the edge of the culvert. The woman started to reach for the other side of the ditch to pull herself up, but she stopped suddenly. Slowly, her head swiveled toward the metal pipe where the two men lay hidden. As her milky eyes looked their way, she shifted her body, turning to crawl toward them, her long, filthy hair dragging in the dirt. A low moan escaped her lips, and Hixson reached down to pull his knife, knowing he needed to shut her up before she drew others their way.

She grabbed the edge of the corrugated metal, breaking one dirty nail off in the process. Her prey in sight, she let out a low growl and lunged forward, reaching over the pack for Dan with her free hand.

~*^*~

~34~

Yucca Compound, Southern California

“They lost the trail,” Madec said, setting down the radio he’d been using. “The dogs were able to track them to a convenience store, but the trail disappeared a couple of miles down the road. Apparently, the dogs didn’t work out as well as we’d hoped.”

“Why not?”

“Because they make a lot of noise and draw the infected to them,” Madec sighed. “It sounds like it took a large team of men to keep the dogs safe, and they had to keep them on leashes.”

“But it worked?”

“It took a lot more time than expected. At the rate the dog handlers are going, they’ll never be able to catch up as long as Hixson and Rayburn keep moving.”

“I’ll bet they’ll stop once they find a safe place.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Madec said. “Then maybe the dogs will be useful. The trail just ended in the middle of a road, so I would guess that they found a vehicle.”

“So we need to watch the roads,” Bob said.

“We are. We also sent the helicopters to the west, since we know they were heading that way. There’s no point in wasting time here.”

“I was sure Rayburn would slow Hixson down,” Bob said. “I thought we’d have them both by now.”

“They’ll slip up eventually, and we have people watching for them now,” Madec said. “It’s just a matter of time.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Eric’s face was chiseled with determination, his whole being consumed with the mission at hand. Although those around him were being obliterated, retreat was not an option. With a fearless resolve, he arrived at the checkpoint, eying his target. Smiling, he squeezed the trigger, only to feel the sting of death from behind.

“Damn it!” Eric shouted, throwing the controller across the room. “The L button is broken on this one. If I had a controller that worked, I’d have beaten this level an hour ago.”

“It worked fine for me,” Marie said. “Besides, you’re not allowed to cuss in front of us, remember?”

“Sorry,” Eric said, “bad habit I learned in the Special Forces. Did I tell you about the time I was in Iraq surrounded by the Taliban?”

“I’m hungry,” Jon said, ignoring Eric. “Isn’t it lunch time?”

The thought of food quickly made Eric forget about his story.

“I think you’re right,” Eric said. “Hey, I’ve got an idea.”

Jon and Marie both looked worried.

“What if we bring some food up to your Mom? She’s got to be hungry, too. Maybe we could even bring the Xbox up to her room. It might cheer her up to watch something other than a bunch of empty walls.”

“You know you’re not allowed to go in Mommy’s room,” Jon said, crossing his arms.

“Yeah,” Marie added, “just because we’re kids doesn’t mean we’re stupid.”

“Fine.” Eric stood and stomped toward the door. “You can get your own lunch.”

“What a dork,” Marie said under her breath.

Jon nodded in agreement.

~*~

Snake’s group worked as quickly as possible to get the gate installed. Moose started on the pilasters at dawn, knowing he’d want at least 24 hours for the grout to cure. Gunner and Carmen started doing their modifications on the gate around the same time, working around the clock until the job was done. Others had gone out to find a truck with a flatbed trailer and had used it to transport the I-beams to the hospital. They’d also made another trip to the rental store where Billy had worked, bringing back a forklift with a telescoping boom. They’d picked up a tow truck along the way, as well. Once the beams had been lifted into place, Moose finished the job, making sure the supports were sturdy. With Claire’s help, he was able to get the cables installed in a way that would allow them to lift the gate with the use of the tow truck’s winch. Most of Snake’s group had stayed outside to help during this time, and it had been a couple of long, hard days for all of them as they’d fought to keep the dead from climbing over or under the two vehicles that were serving as a temporary gate. Twice, the dead had managed to push one of the vehicles far enough to make a gap, and it had taken some effort to kill off the ones that had gotten through and to get the vehicles back into place.

After quarantine, Snake was ready for a hot meal. Before he and Wolf could sit down at their table, Jack showed up and let him know that Doune wanted to talk to him.

“As long as I can eat my dinner while we talk, I’m fine with that,” Snake said.

Lindsey, Doune, and Autumn joined them a few minutes later.

When everyone was seated, Doune said, “We may have a problem.”

“Go ahead,” Jack said.

“I think you all know that I spoke with Dr. Rayburn, Autumn’s doctor in Los Angeles,” Doune began.

“Right,” Jack said.

“Autumn said something later that made me start to wonder about the call. I called back and let her listen in. She said it wasn’t Rayburn’s voice.”

“You sure about this?” Snake asked.

“Positive,” Autumn said. “This guy sounded younger than Dr. Rayburn. He’s pretty old.”

“How old?”

“You know, like a grandfather. Maybe sixty?”

Snake raised an eyebrow at the comment, and Jack said. “Hey, watch it.”

“I mean . . . what do they call it, middle-aged?” Autumn asked, having forgotten that both men were over sixty.

“Good save,” Lindsey said.

“Well, besides that, the guy on the phone had a deep voice, and Dr. Rayburn doesn’t. Dr. Rayburn also talks all the time and this guy wasn’t like that. It wasn’t him,” Autumn said.

“So someone passing himself off as Rayburn knows that we have an immune person here?” Snake asked, after making sure nobody else was within hearing range.

“Exactly,” Doune said. “And they want her there, desperately.”

“I’ll bet they do,” Snake said. “Do they know who it is?”

“No. I was very careful about that.”

“They’re in California, so we may have nothing to worry about,” Jack pointed out.

“If they were willing to fly out and pick her up, I would guess they have some resources at hand. I’m very concerned, personally,” Doune said.

“So we may have someone come knocking on our door,” Snake replied.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Doune said, sipping his coffee.

“What are we going to do about it?” Lindsey asked.

“I think we need to seriously consider getting Autumn to Montana,” Doune said.

“What makes you think she’d be better off there than in California?” Lindsey asked.

“I’ve spoken to the people in Montana several times,” Doune said. “I’m convinced that they’re legitimate, and I’ve been in contact with some of the doctors who are studying the parasite there. They know that I want to be involved, and they understand that I will get a final say on anything pertaining to Autumn. They also intend to offer the vaccine to everybody. The man who owns the property in Montana has insisted on it, and I looked up everything I could about him. He has money, but he’s been generous with this wealth. Trust me on this - he’s not someone that we need to worry about. I’ll print up what I have on him if you want to read it.”

“I’d like to check it out,” Snake said. “I think we need a lot more information before making a decision.”

“I agree,” Jack said.

“Maybe the place in California would be just as good,” Lindsey said. “And they’d have Autumn’s medical records.”

“I don’t like the idea that they lied to me,” Doune said. “Why not admit that it wasn’t Rayburn on the phone? It made me uncomfortable, but if you’d like, we could possibly set up meetings with this man and with the Montana group then make a decision.”

Snake shook his head. “I wouldn’t mind talking to the Montana people before we make a decision, but I agree with you on this guy from LA. If he started out with a lie, I’m not interested in talking to him. We’d never know where the truth ends and the BS begins.”

“That’s a good point,” Lindsey admitted.

Jack nodded his agreement.

“If you decide to go, you might need to leave soon if you don’t want to risk getting stuck somewhere over the winter,” Snake said.

“It’s not even September yet,” Doune pointed out. “We have lots of time to make plans and leave before winter.”

“The snow comes early in the mountains,” Lindsey reminded him. “Since we have no idea what the roads will be like, I think we’d be taking a big chance to leave this time of year.”

“She’s right,” Snake said. “It can take hours to make it a mile down the road at times. You could try to bypass the cities, but who knows what the other roads are like?”

“It’s too bad you can’t take a plane,” Wolf said. “You could be there in a day.”

“I wish Lee could help, but I’d be nervous about that,” Lindsey said.

“For sure,” Snake said. “It sounds like the dude’s changed, and we probably don’t want to tell him what’s going on.”

“I think we need to wait until spring, unless we figure out a way to fly. That would give us several months to put together a plan,” Lindsey said. “And I don’t want Autumn going anywhere without knowing that she’ll be safe.”

“What if someone comes looking for her?” Jack asked.

“Only a few people here know about her immunity, and we’ll just be sure to keep it that way,” Doune said.

“Who knows besides us?” Snake asked.

“Ernie was there when she was bitten,” Doune said.

“I’ll talk to him,” Snake offered.

“Wombat,” Lindsey said. “He helped when we were keeping an eye on her.”

“He won’t say anything,” Snake said, pulling on his beard, “but maybe you should talk to him and let him know, just in case.”

“All right. I think Keith knows something is up,” Lindsey admitted. “He does most of the blood testing at the quarantine room, so he was in and out of the lab a lot. He never asked what was going on, but I could tell he was curious.”

“Can he keep a secret?” Snake asked.

“Absolutely,” Doune said. “He and Amelia are the two nurses that I always trust with confidential information.”

“Then why don’t you talk to him and tell him what the story is,” Snake suggested. “I think it’s safer if he knows what’s going on, in case someone shows up asking questions. Better to keep him in the loop.”

“I agree,” Doune said. “And then we need to start working on a plan to get Autumn to Montana in the spring. If someone does show up looking for her, we may need to leave on short notice, so I’d rather not put off the planning until the last minute.”

“I agree,” Snake said. “I’m sure some of my guys might be willing to help escort her there. We’d all go, but I think we’re still needed here.”

“A smaller group may have an easier time avoiding detection anyway,” Lindsey said.

“We can all do some thinking about it and meet up again in a couple days if anybody comes up with an idea,” Jack suggested.

~*~

Near Oxnard, California

Hixson thrust his knife into the eye of the dead woman and gave it a hard twist. The body dropped silently in place, and Dan gave himself a moment before reaching over to retrieve his knife. From behind his pack, he could see the dead still spilling into the drainage ditch. Some actually made it down the slope without falling, though most did not, and they began to pile up, putting them in direct sight of the tunnel. He slowly turned his head to look behind him, and he saw that things weren’t any better on Rayburn’s side. Taking a deep breath, he tried to clear his head enough to make a decision. It was possible that he and Rayburn would avoid detection and that the dead would pass by. Many of them seemed to be looking up into the air, grasping for the helicopter that lured them on. If their attention turned toward the culvert, Dan could easily envision the grisly death that would follow. The dead would fight each other to get into the tunnel from both ends, wedging the two men in tightly. He and Rayburn would die there, either from the teeth of the dead or from suffocation as the bodies packed the tunnel to reach their prey. Dan decided that he wouldn’t allow himself to die that way, even if it meant taking his chances with the humans in the chopper.

He closed his eyes, asking himself if he was about to do something stupid that would get them both killed. The darkness helped to calm his nerves, and he tried to think logically. The dead woman in front of him was going to have to be moved before he could get out, and that couldn’t be done without attracting attention. He knew there was a good possibility that by the time he moved the body and crawled out of the tunnel, he’d be overwhelmed. His other option was to have Rayburn go out first, but that plan wasn’t any better. Even if he was able to communicate the instructions to the other man, Rayburn would have to crawl out and stay alive long enough for Dan to back all the way out the other side of the culvert. Unless something changed, their best option was probably to stay where they were and take their chances. He closed his eyes and waited.

Gradually, Hixson became aware that the helicopter was slowly moving away. While that news was welcomed, the downside of it was that the dead that had been piling up in the ditch began to lose interest in the aircraft once it was out of sight. Dan could see them beginning to look around, and he knew that the tunnel was very apt to become a tomb. He gave Rayburn a light kick to get his attention then Dan began to push his pack forward against the corpse that shared his end of the tunnel.

“Get ready to move,” he whispered to Rayburn.

“Move? Where?” Rayburn asked. He sounded close to panic.

Hixson didn’t reply. Instead, he pushed the body the rest of the way out of the tunnel and tumbled out after it with the backpack. He quickly got to his feet and grabbed the pack, only taking a moment to check on the helicopter’s progress as he ran up the side of the ditch. The ground was still wet, causing his feet to slip, but he was able to gain traction and reach the road in a matter of seconds. Rushing over to the other side, he saw that Rayburn was in trouble. One of the walking corpses had noticed George trying to get out, and the creature was crawling into the tunnel after him. Hixson could hear Rayburn’s shouts, which echoed in the metal culvert. The sound was drawing those on the other side to investigate as well.

Hixson dropped his pack and jumped down into the ditch, grabbing the zombie by the feet and yanking it out. Others were moving toward him, and he had to turn to fight.

“Get the hell out, now!” he told Rayburn, turning to thrust his knife into the ear of a dead man who had come too close. A few others were still spilling into the ditch, but more worrisome was the fact that some of the ghouls that had already crossed the road were also turning around to come back.

Hixson’s attention was fixed on the creatures that were beginning to surround him, though he could still hear Rayburn struggling to get out of the tunnel.

“It’s got my foot! Help!”

“Kick it!” Hixson said, pausing to finish off two more of the dead with his knife. “Slam it against the wall or use your bat. Hurry up or you’re not getting out!”

He heard the thud that followed, and so did every zombie within hearing range, Hixson was sure.

Moments later, Rayburn pushed his pack out then followed it, muttering some choice words for Dan.

“It’s not like I had a lot of room to swing a bat. . .” The words died on his lips when he saw the horde that was closing in. “Oh, my God.”

“Get up. Get up!” Hixson said, taking a moment to kick one of the ghouls back into the crowd that was still steadily advancing.

Rayburn scrambled to his feet, flinging his pack over his shoulder as he stared at the sight before him.

“Get up the hill!” Dan yelled, though he could see that the road was filling with the dead.

Not needing to be told twice, Rayburn crawled up the embankment, grabbing Dan’s pack as soon as his feet hit the road.

Dan followed, retrieving his pack from the doctor. He started off down the road at a trot, dodging the dead who grasped for him along the way. Rayburn was right behind, doing his best to keep from being penned in or grabbed.

“What about the helicopter?” George asked, seeing it still hovering in the sky not too far away.

“I’m hoping they won’t look back,” Dan said, knowing that their luck could turn bad at any second.

“What are we going to do?” Rayburn asked.

“I have no idea. I’m making this up as we go.”

~*^*~

~35~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake finished eating his dinner and went to do his nightly check of the building. He kept his eyes out for Ernie along the way, since he needed to talk to the janitor.

More survivors had come in that day, alerted by the flyers that had been put up. So far, the newcomers seemed to be fitting in well, relieved to have found shelter.

A few of the residents were worried about the hospital getting crowded again, but most were happy to be bringing in refugees. Someone had brought up the idea of taking a couple of buildings near the hospital and walling them all in together. Another suggestion had been to move outside of the city where they could find some vacant farm houses and build a community. The group seemed to be divided over the two options, and Jack made the point that if some of the residents moved, there probably wouldn’t be a need for more buildings near the hospital.

New playground equipment had been picked up, and some of the residents had installed it in the park area. Between the new playground, the growing library, and the large gaming room that had been set up inside, Snake didn’t think that boredom was going to be a problem for the children when they weren’t busy with their schoolwork and chores.

Outside the walls, work was being done, too. With the first frost usually occurring in mid-September, they knew that time was running out if they wanted to harvest crops before it got too cold. Billy had been working daily on clearing a route and moving cars to the sides of the road, creating a car wall to the edge of the city. A group would be heading out to check out the farms and bring back any produce they could find. Theresa had gotten her canning supplies and was more than ready to get to work.

They had found a large tank that was suitable for carrying fuel, and had made a couple of trips to the rental store to obtain gas and diesel for the vehicles and the generator. Snake knew that eventually the supply would run out and they’d need to find a new source for fuel. Of course, there was plenty of gas sitting in vehicles around the city. It was just going to be an ordeal to siphon it all out. He wondered if they could use some type of pump to make it a little easier.

Snake found Moose in the ER, showing off a new leather jacket and pants to some of the others. Clothing had been brought in by the truckload, and one of the newcomers had taken the job of sorting it out and making sure that everybody got something. Cloth and sewing machines had also been appropriated since there were a few people who preferred to make their own outfits. Moose was one of them. After procuring the necessary tools and materials, he’d spent several evenings working on the leather nurse’s uniform that he’d promised Marla. The RN was usually with him, looking over his shoulder as he created new garments. Just the previous night, he’d finished a jacket and a pair of pants for himself.

“Pretty fancy threads you’ve got there,” Snake said, looking at Moose.

A couple of the other men whistled, making comments about how sexy he looked. Moose just grinned and turned around to show them where he’d embroidered his name on the back of the jacket.

“Where’d you learn to do that?” Snake asked.

“My dad had an upholstery shop,” Moose said. “When I was a kid, he’d take me to work during the summer and let me help out. The man could sew anything, and he was big like me, so no one ever gave him any guff about it. After a while, I got pretty good, too, especially with leather. I can pretty much make anything out of leather.”

“Masonry’s a far cry from upholstery,” Snake said, scratching his head, “what made you change vocations?”

“When I was 16, my mom discovered Dad was doing other things besides sewing while he was at work. She found out about his girlfriends and divorced him. I didn’t want anything to do with the cheating bastard, so I moved away with mom and dropped out of school to work full time. The first job I found was packing mud for a bricklayer, and since then I just never found a better offer.”

“Well, I’m glad you’ll have something to do once you’re done building walls and stuff for us.”

“I’ve still got that garage to build, Boss,” Moose replied. He had finished building the two guard towers in the parking lot, and he’d added stairs to both of them. One was in the corner of the two walls, and the other was near the gate. Moose’s next project was to build a small garage for the bikes so they wouldn’t be forced to leave them outside in the elements.

“You guys are all working too fast,” Snake laughed. “I’m having a hard time thinking up new projects to keep you busy.”

“Without having to get permits and inspections, it gets done a whole lot faster than in the old days,” Moose grinned.

~*~

Near Oxnard, California

Hixson moved along at a quick pace, and Rayburn seemed to be keeping up well, though he was unusually silent. As they made their way north, the helicopter moved farther away, but not far enough to give Dan peace of mind. They finally spotted a farmhouse with a barn and a few other outbuildings. Unfortunately, there were a number of figures lurching about the yard and the road.

“I thought we could hide out for a while until the chopper moves on,” he told Rayburn.

“I’m not speaking to you,” George said, sulking.

“What was I supposed to do?” Dan asked. “We couldn’t stay in that tunnel.”

“I don’t know why not. We were doing just fine in there.”

“Maybe you were doing fine on your end, but I wasn’t doing so hot on my side.”

“You probably made noise or did something to attract them,” Rayburn said.

“Right, I made noise,” Hixson said, his attention on the farmhouse across the road.

“Well, I sure didn’t,” Rayburn said. “I was perfectly quiet.”

“I didn’t say you did,” Hixson said, in growing frustration.

“You insinuated it.”

“No, I just meant . . . never mind. Let’s just go. We need to get to that house.”

“Is this another one of your brilliant plans? It doesn’t look like a very good place to hide out,” Rayburn noted, peering around him.

“I know,” Dan said. Besides the numerous dead in the area, the front door of the house had been broken down, taking away some of the appeal. He was about to comment when he heard a muffled sound behind him. Turning quickly, he saw that Rayburn had been grabbed from behind and was fighting to keep a set of deadly teeth away from his neck.

“Could use a hand here!” Rayburn gasped, fighting to keep the ghoul back.

Dan finished it off easily, but he was shaken by another close call.

“I never even heard that one approaching,” he admitted.

“I’m starting to wonder if the day will ever come when we don’t have to look over our shoulders constantly,” Rayburn said.

“I kind of doubt it,” Dan said with a sigh. “Let’s go check out that barn. We won’t stay long enough to get trapped in there, but maybe we can find a knife or something for you to use besides the bat. You need something for when you’re fighting up close.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rayburn said, glancing over his shoulder.

Hixson took off across the road while Rayburn hurried to catch up. Before they even reached the other side, they’d already caused a few heads to swivel their way.

“Aren’t you going to kill them?” Rayburn asked, trying to keep up.

“If the helicopter comes back this way, and the pilot sees a trail of bodies leading to the barn, it might look a little suspicious.”

“And you don’t think that a trail of live, well, sort of live, zombies leading to the barn will get his attention?”

“That’s another reason why we have to hurry,” Dan said, weaving around a couple more of the dead.

When they reached the barn, Hixson had to kill two ghouls, but he dragged the bodies inside. His plan to find Rayburn a new weapon was forgotten as his gaze stopped on an older model Ford pickup that seemed to be in decent condition. There were no keys, but he wondered if he might be able to find them in the house. He didn’t want to waste more time, but if they could procure a running vehicle out of the deal, he thought it might be worth it.

“Back outside,” he said, moving past his bewildered friend.

“Now what?” Rayburn asked, hurrying to catch up. “More surprises? What stupid thing are we going to do this time?”

“I liked it better when you weren’t speaking to me,” Hixson said. He approached the house with his knife pulled, having no idea what to expect inside. The screen door was still intact so he closed and latched it, hoping it would at least buy them a few minutes.

“Kitchen,” he said, moving through the house. “George, just keep your eyes open and let me know if we get company.”

Rayburn pulled a butcher knife from a wooden knife block on the counter.

“Might want something a little smaller to take with you,” Hixson said as he glanced at the kitchen walls, hoping to see the keys hanging there. When that netted him no results, he began to search through the drawers, but had no better luck.

George picked a smaller knife and went to the living room to look out the window.

“Dan?” George called, a short time later.

“Yes?” Hixson said, moving to another drawer.

“There are about ten of those things in the front yard.”

“Yell when they hit the porch,” he said, leaving the kitchen to run upstairs. He took the steps two at a time.

Dan closed two bedroom doors, having no time to check the rooms. The master bedroom was empty and he hurried over to the nightstand, finding no keys on top of it or inside the drawer. There was a pair of jeans on the floor, and he checked the pockets but found nothing. Shaking his head, he hurried back down the stairs.

“Can’t waste any more time looking,” he said. “Go out the back, George. Head for the barn.”

The two men almost made it to the building without being seen. They were entering the barn when they heard a loud moan coming from somewhere near the house.

Hixson let out a huff of air as they ran inside. “Back where we started,” he said. “This is getting old.”

“Should I close the door?”

“No, we’re not going to be here that long, and we don’t want to end up trapped inside.”

“Check under the truck for a key box,” Rayburn suggested.

“Good idea,” Hixson said, kneeling down to start his search. He stood up again when he heard the door of the truck open.

“Hey, guess what?” Rayburn asked. “I found the keys. They were right here under the floor mat.”

“See if you can start it,” Hixson said. “I’ll try to hold them off.”

By the time Rayburn got into the truck and began to turn the key in the ignition, the first of the shambling corpses were entering the barn. Dan rushed forward toward his first target. He dropped four corpses before realizing that he wasn’t going to keep them all back. The barn was filling up with the dead.

“Forget it, George! We’ll go on foot!” Dan yelled. There was a back door, and they were going to have to use it.

Seconds later, the engine roared to life.

Hixson ran to the passenger door but found it locked. Not wanting to wait for George to unlock it, he jumped into the bed of the truck, yelling, “Gun it!”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey found Wombat and walked with him to the roof so they could talk privately. She explained the situation with Autumn to him, and he agreed to keep it quiet.

“I haven’t said anything to anybody,” he assured her.

“Good. I doubt the others have, either. Hopefully it will be all right.”

“It’ll be fine,” he said. “I know you’re worried about her, but that isn’t going to help.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I guess all we can do is to have a plan in place in case someone does show up, but there’s no point in worrying.”

He smiled at her and didn’t say anything.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re worrying, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she admitted with a laugh. “I can’t help it.”

“Maybe you need something to take your mind off of the problem,” he said, stepping a little closer.

“And what exactly do you think would help?” she asked. Her heart was beating faster than normal, and when his hands moved to her shoulders, she sucked in a breath.

He started to lower his head toward hers, but the roof access door opened suddenly. Wombat dropped his arms with a sigh.

“Am I interrupting something?” Hawk asked, lighting a cigarette. He grinned and looked back and forth between Wombat and Lindsey. “I can go to the other side of the roof if you want to be alone.”

“We were just talking,” Lindsey said. “I guess I’d better get inside, anyway. I promised Autumn I’d help her do something.”

“Good night, Lins,” Hawk said.

She waved at him and gave Wombat a smile before turning to walk away.

~*^*~

~36~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

A couple more refugees came in the next morning. Once they were out of quarantine, Lindsey showed them to their room. She was on her way to the stairs when she happened to notice Eric outside of Cheri’s room.

“Eric, what are you doing?” she asked, arms crossed.

The security guard jumped, moving quickly away from Cheri’s door.

“You’ve been told to stay away from here,” she reminded him. “Do I need to call Jack?”

“No, I was, uh, waiting for the kids. They’re supposed to be going with me to play video games downstairs.”

“Really? Because I could swear I saw them down in the cafeteria with Jessica and Michael.”

“Oh,” he said, stepping away from the door. “That explains it. They must have forgotten.”

“I’ll walk down there with you,” Lindsey said.

“You don’t have to . . .”

“Yes, I do,” she said, “because you’ll just go back to Cheri’s room. You know the routine. Let’s go.”

They walked down the hall to the elevator since Eric didn’t like to use the stairs.

“You know,” he said, after they started their descent, “Cheri and I aren’t all that serious. Maybe you and I could . . .”

“Not going to happen, Eric,” Lindsey said. She stopped when they reached the cafeteria. “Now please don’t go back up there.”

She knew it wasn’t likely, since she was going to ask one of the bikers to keep an eye on the elevator for a while, and Eric would never take the stairs.

“So if you want to hang out sometime . . .”

“No, thanks, Eric, I’m interested in someone else.”

The comment came out before she even had time to think about what she was saying, but it was true. Unfortunately, she had no idea if Wombat felt the same way or if she was reading more into it than was actually there.

“Well, I know you’re seeing Lee,” Eric said. “He and his buddy were talking on the flight over here. He called you his girlfriend, and he said he was going to be bringing you to live with him once you finally got tired of the hospital.”

“I didn’t mean Lee,” Lindsey said. “Just do me a favor and stop stalking Cheri. Maybe if you’d back off a bit, she’d want to spend time with you again. Just don’t push her. That’s only going to scare her off.”

She turned to walk away, but as she did, she heard Eric say to someone, “Yeah, Lindsey’s got it bad for me. Coming on to me big time.”

Shaking her head, Lindsey just laughed and kept walking.

~*~

Near Oxnard, California

Rayburn began to pull forward in the truck, very slowly.

“No, George! Go fast!” Hixson yelled. “Go!”

Rayburn nodded and gave the truck some gas while Hixson did his best to hang on. When the dead began to reach for him from the sides of the truck, he stood as close as he could get to the back window, clinging to the top of the cab.

“Faster!” he yelled as Rayburn carefully made his way out of the barn.

The truck lurched to the side as the tires moved over a body, then another, and it was difficult for Hixson to hang on, though he managed. When Dan felt that they had enough of a lead, he banged on the top of the truck and told Rayburn to stop. He jumped out and ran around to the driver’s door.

“Move over.”

Rayburn complied, and Hixson slid into the driver’s seat, very aware that the helicopter was still in sight though it was now little more than a speck in the sky. He kept his speed just low enough so the truck wouldn’t kick up a cloud of dust on the dirt road. Once he turned onto a paved, tree-lined road, he was able to speed up.

Hixson and Rayburn managed to make it most of the way to Ventura without being spotted or running into trouble, but as they got closer to town, the road became too congested for them to find a way through. They ended up abandoning the old truck to travel on foot for about a mile, skirting the city. Like the area near Oxnard, it seemed that many of the homes had people still living in them. Hixson spotted several observers before a truck finally stopped to see if they needed help. The vehicle had people with rifles in the back, which made Hixson a little nervous until they explained that they were on zombie patrol.

“You might not want to be walking around town,” the driver said. “If someone mistakes you for one of the dead, they might shoot first and ask questions later. We’d be happy to give you a ride to the edge of town if you’re going that way.”

“We’d appreciate it,” Dan said. They were taken to the western edge of the city, where Dan thanked them as they parted ways. He waited until the truck was out of sight before turning toward George.

“I’ve been thinking,” Hixson started.

“Oh, no.”

“I think we have a good opportunity to throw off our searchers.”

“I’m listening,” George said warily.

“I’m pretty sure those choppers were looking for us back near Oxnard. I’d bet money on that. Several people just now saw us walking west.”

“I saw a lot of curtains open and people peeking out,” George admitted.

“And the guys in the truck who gave us the ride know we were heading west, so maybe we’d be safe to go east. I wouldn’t want to risk being on those open desert roads near Barstow and Las Vegas unless we’re pretty sure they’ll be looking the other way.”

“You think east is better than west?” George asked.

“I don’t know. I just know that they’re going to be looking for us heading west now.”

“Does that mean backtracking?”

“We’ll take a more northern route, through Fillmore, then we’ll head toward Barstow.”

They circled back around the city toward the east and were fortunate to find a four-wheel drive truck with all the extras.

“Wow, look at that,” Rayburn said. “It’s even got an extra seat.”

The bed of the truck was filled with boxes and garbage bags, which led Dan to believe that the owner had packed up and tried to move out. The blood on the inside of the door and on the side of the truck indicated that it hadn’t ended well for him or her.

After checking the bags and boxes, George said, “Mostly food, clothes and some personal stuff. I kind of feel funny taking the truck, but I guess the owners aren’t coming back.”

“No, they’re not,” Dan said.

The rest of the day was spent in a circuitous eastward trek as they did their best to avoid the most populated areas. By the time night fell, they were close to Victorville.

The sound of the tires crossing the rumble strip brought Dan’s head up quickly, and he swerved to avoid a car that was stopped in the middle of his lane.

“What happened?” Rayburn asked, looking around in a daze.

“I nodded off,” Hixson admitted, rubbing a hand over his face. “We need to find a place to get some sleep. I’m exhausted.”

He took a turn-off that was little more than a dirt road, and he found a spot where the truck couldn’t be easily seen from the highway. He hoped that it wouldn’t be too obvious from the air, either, but it was hard to tell in the dark. Shutting off the engine, he leaned his seat back as far as it would go. By that time, Rayburn was already snoring. Hixson closed his eyes and listened to the ticking of the engine as it began to cool down. Every muscle in his body ached, and he hoped that they wouldn’t be walking so much the next day. For a moment, he was worried that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep since his adrenaline was still high from the near collision, but within minutes he was out.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey was on her way into the cafeteria as Jack was walking out, and he stopped to tell her that he’d put some newcomers into one of the vacant rooms. She made a note of it and thanked him for letting her know. Before she could continue into the cafeteria, Snake joined them, trailed by a visibly perturbed woman and a crying child.

Lindsey recognized the woman and child as recent newcomers.

“Jack,” Snake said, looking frazzled, “we have some sort of an issue here.”

He motioned toward the woman, who was muttering something under her breath.

“Ma’am,” Snake said to the woman, “this is Jack. He’s head of security. He’ll be glad to address your concerns.”

While the woman turned to quiet her son, Jack silently mouthed a sarcastic thank you to Snake, who grinned as he made his getaway.

“What can I help you with?” Jack asked.

“You’re head of security?” she asked with a tone of pure disdain. “So I can thank you for that asinine rule.”

“And what rule might we be talking about?” Jack asked, trying to keep his pleasant disposition.

“The rule that children aren’t allowed to have handheld game systems. My son got that game from his grandmother, whom, I might add, is no longer with us. I’m sorry that some of the other kids don’t have games, but that belongs to my son, and I want it back.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Who took your son’s game?”

“Your security guard,” the woman said. “The fat one. He said that all electronics have to be confiscated and kept in the game room. I think that’s ridiculous, especially after everything that these children have been through.”

The child started to cry even louder, and his mother turned once more to comfort him.

Jack pulled Lindsey aside. “Would you please explain to this woman about our ethically challenged security officer while Eric and I discuss his job performance?”

“Gladly,” Lindsey said. While Jack left the room to search for Eric, Lindsey assured the woman and her child that Eric had acted on his own and that they would get the boy’s game back.

Once the crisis was resolved, Lindsey got her food and stood with her tray, looking around for a table.

Wombat waved at her from the corner of the cafeteria, finally catching her eye. She smiled and walked over to join him, Hawk and Dumbo.

Hawk was telling Dumbo a story about something that had happened to Wombat on the job, years earlier. When he was done, Lindsey asked, “How long did the two of you work together?”

“Since he was a mere lad,” Hawk said.

“I was in my early twenties when I met Hawk and Snake,” Wombat said. “They saved my life.”

“I think it’s been around eight or nine years,” Hawk added, looking down into his glass of water.

“How did you meet?” Lindsey asked.

“I was living in a truck,” Wombat said. “I worked part-time, washing dishes at a diner. Every penny I made pretty much went into booze, pot or other drugs. I was lucky I didn’t get fired because I was usually drunk or stoned all the time. Snake, Hawk, and a bunch of the guys came in one day. They parked out back where my truck was. I walked out there on my break and tried to sneak a drink, but Snake saw me and came over to talk to me.”

“Did you get a lecture?” Lindsey asked.

“No, and it’s probably a good thing because I wouldn’t have listened to him,” Wombat said. “He just talked to me without being judgmental. Eventually he told me about this homeless shelter where they’d been volunteering, and he said I might want to look into it since winter was coming, and it was going to be too cold to sleep in my truck.”

“I think his exact words were, ‘Dude, you’re going to be a Popsicle if you’re still sleeping in this thing when winter rolls around’ or something like that,” Hawk said.

“How’d he know you were sleeping in it?” Dumbo asked.

“His sleeping bag was kind of hanging out the back, and he had all of his worldly possessions in there,” Hawk said, grinning. “Even his guitar.”

“I didn’t even know you played,” Lindsey told Wombat.

He laughed. “One of these days maybe I’ll find another guitar. Anyway, I went to the shelter, and I ran into these guys again while I was there. They were there a lot, helping with meals, fixing things, doing whatever needed to be done. Hawk was always doing little repairs on the building, which was old and falling apart.”

“I wanted to tear the building down and start from scratch, but we couldn’t get the funds to do it,” Hawk added. “So I had to keep patching it instead.”

“I started helping him,” Wombat said. “He took me under his wing and taught me carpentry.”

Dumbo laughed. “Hawk took you under his wing.”

Hawk and Wombat just looked at the other biker before Wombat continued.

“Hawk told me he’d hire me if I could quit drinking. I don’t think he would have had a problem with me partying on my own time, but the booze had a pretty strong hold on me and we both knew it.”

“A lot of my guys drink after work,” Hawk said, shrugging. “I don’t care what they do on their own time, but I won’t let them work that way. It’s just too dangerous for everybody.”

“And I couldn’t drink in moderation, so it was all or nothing,” Wombat said. “It took me a few weeks to decide I wanted something better than being homeless and working a dead-end job. I was also tired of feeling like crap all the time. I quit the stuff, and I went to work with Hawk.”

“Turned out he had a knack for it,” Hawk said. “He ended up being my best worker.”

“And I also realized that I wanted to help others like me,” Wombat said. “I joined Snake’s group and haven’t looked back since.”

“What about you, Dumbo?” Lindsey asked the younger biker.

“I’ve been with the group for a couple years,” he said. “Same kind of story, but I was doing some heavier drugs.”

Lindsey nodded, having a new respect for Snake and what he had done.

“Anyway, I’ve got kitchen duty tonight, so I’d better run,” Dumbo said, picking up his tray and leaving.

Lindsey stayed to talk with Hawk and Wombat for a while until Hawk stood and said he had to go.

“I’ve got some painting to do. I promised it would be done by morning.”

“I’ll come up and help you for a while,” Wombat told him.

“See you tomorrow, Hawk,” Lindsey said. She caught herself yawning and added, “I’m going to head to bed, I think. It’s been a long day.”

“Are your arms sore from using that crowbar?” Wombat asked.

“Definitely,” she said.

“You’re getting good with it,” he told her. “Can I walk you upstairs before I go help Hawk?”

“Sure,” Lindsey said. When they got to her room, Wombat stopped and leaned against the door. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”

Autumn came flying around the corner with a pile of books.

“Lindsey!” she said. “You’ve got to see the books I found in the library. Marian let me check them out.”

“Oh, nice!” Lindsey said. “I’m glad you found some you like.”

“Yeah, but one is a book I had as a kid. I mean, a little kid. It used to be my favorite book.”

“I think you told me about that one,” Lindsey said.

“You’ve got to see it!” Autumn told her, excited. “Marian said I can keep that one.”

“That was nice of her,” Lindsey said with a smile. “I definitely want to see it. Can I talk to Wombat for just a minute, first?”

“It’s okay,” Wombat said. “Maybe we can talk tomorrow.”

Lindsey was disappointed that he was leaving, but she knew he was right. When Autumn got something in her head, she normally wouldn’t let it go. Until Lindsey looked at the book, the girl would be hovering nearby.

Lindsey turned to watch Wombat walk away then followed Autumn into her room.

~*~

Wolf found Snake and Jack in the cafeteria, discussing something around a cup of coffee.

“Is this a private meeting or can anyone join?” Wolf asked.

“We’re just trying to fix the world’s woes, but we’re not getting very far,” Jack said.

“It’d be nice to know exactly what’s going on in the rest of the world,” Wolf sighed, “but I can never seem to find an open computer so I can get online.”

“Funny,” Snake said. “That model never seems to have a problem.”

“That’s because she talks the guys into giving up their computers when she wants to use one,” Wolf said, shaking his head. “I guess I just lack her charm.”

“Among other things,” Snake said, smiling.

“What about that shortwave radio you guys found at the rental shop?” Jack asked.

“Sparky was going to play with that when he had some spare time,” Wolf told him.

“That could be a while,” Snake said. “Maybe we could set it up. How hard could it be?”

The trio headed to the basement where the pillaged items were stored. After some searching, Jack found an antenna leaning against the wall. Around it was a scattering of wires and electronic equipment. The men stared at the tangled mess of cables and electronic hardware in silence until Snake finally spoke.

“I guess the guys were in a bit of a hurry when they packed this stuff up.”

“Maybe we should wait for Sparky,” Wolf suggested.

“Good idea,” Snake said.

“My thoughts exactly,” Jack added.

~*^*~

~37~

Near Victorville, California

Hixson was yanked abruptly from his sleep by the slapping of dead hands on the window. He woke with a start to find himself staring at a woman who was missing most of the flesh on the side of her face. He could see her exposed gums and teeth in the moonlight as she bit at the window, and Hixson realized that the thin piece of glass was all that was keeping him alive at the moment. He sat up quickly, unable to look away as the woman’s filthy fingers clawed at the window in hopes of finding a meal inside. With shaking hands, Dan turned the key in the ignition, wondering if he’d ever get used to the sight of the bloodied corpses. His heart was pounding as he turned the truck around. He watched as the dead woman desperately tried to hang on to the side of the vehicle. When she finally let go, she bounced off the pavement and rolled twice. In the glow of the streetlights, Dan watched as she got to her feet again, moving forward relentlessly with her arms outstretched. He expelled a breath and muttered, “Hell of a way to wake up.”

In the dark of the early morning, he made his way back to the main road. He noticed that Rayburn hadn’t even stirred in his sleep, and the man’s snoring hadn’t changed through the entire ordeal.

Traveling the back roads was much easier than moving around the LA area had been, yet it wasn’t without problems. Dan was continually forced to find new routes around clogged roads, causing him to have to backtrack several times. What should have been a short drive to Barstow ended up taking hours, and by the time they saw signs of the city ahead, he was ready for a break.

“Once we get through town, let’s stop and eat something,” he said to Rayburn, who readily agreed.

They decided to skirt the center of the city and travel along old Hwy. 58. The road consisted of cracked asphalt surrounded by a patchwork of desert, empty lots and a few older commercial buildings, with some residences thrown into the mix. Eventually, they were forced to abandon the truck when an unmanned roadblock made the route impassable. As the men continued on foot, Dan surveyed their surroundings constantly while Rayburn continued to talk.

“Rattlesnakes like to stretch out on the road in the morning because the asphalt is usually the first thing to heat up. Maybe we should be sticking to the desert,” Rayburn said, stopping to adjust his pack. He hurried to catch up with Hixson again. “Then again, they might be easier to see in the roadway. It can be extremely difficult to see a rattler in the dirt since they’re very good at blending in. Did you know that the rattlers that exist near civilization are learning not to rattle?”

Dan pretended not to hear him and continued walking, eyes constantly scanning the properties that backed up to the old highway. He was extra vigilant when they passed fences that appeared to have been knocked over recently.

Rayburn continued, “The ones that rattle tend to be killed by humans, leaving the ones that are more likely to stay silent to pass on their genes. In essence, by killing these magnificent creatures, we’re making them more dangerous to us.”

Dan stopped suddenly, and George nearly bumped into him.

“It’s not a snake, is it?”

“Will you be quiet for a second?” Dan asked, not trying to hide his annoyance.

There was a low rumble, which became a roar as a chopper rose above a ridge about a hundred yards in front of them.

“Get down,” Dan yelled as he scurried into a wash on the side of the road. When he looked up, Rayburn was crouched in the middle of the street.

“Get over here,” Dan hissed, beckoning him with his arm.

“You said to get down,” Rayburn protested, “you didn’t say to run, then get down.”

The chopper hovered across the top of the ridge for a few seconds then started toward the two men.

“Damn it,” Dan cursed, “they’ve spotted us. Now, run!” He sprang from his crouching position and began to sprint.

Rayburn followed. “Maybe it’s not the same people,” he gasped has he tried to catch up.

When the road ahead of them was suddenly pockmarked by a spray of bullets, Dan said, “I don’t think it matters. This way!”

They ran up to a home with a low wall around the front yard. Turning the latch on the gate, Dan was relieved to find it unlocked. The two men raced into the back yard, which held several large shade trees. The chopper was visible through the leaves, and Dan guessed that the pilot was trying to get at a better angle to see them.

“We need to hide,” Dan said, looking around. The next few yards also had trees, and he ran to his left, climbing over a fence before helping Rayburn to do the same. When he thought it was safe, he helped Rayburn over another fence, watching the chopper through the leaves as it moved slowly over the homes. Looking around, Dan saw that a large covered patio spanned the entire length of the house.

“Follow me,” he said, making a run for it when the helicopter was momentarily out of sight.

His luck ran out when he found the back door locked. Backing up, he raised his foot and slammed his heel into the door. It took two more tries before the door finally sprang open, the lock broken. Dan rushed in, followed closely by Rayburn.

“You really think we can lose them in here?” Rayburn asked, eying the interior of the residence.

“Our chances are better in here than out in the open,” Hixson said. “At least well be able to see them coming.”

“Uh, Dan,” Rayburn interrupted.

Hixson turned to see a man standing in the hallway. He was wearing camouflage pants and was pointing a rifle in their direction.

~*~

Lansing Compound

“Reynolds, we really need your help,” the old man said. “We need the immune person brought here, no matter what it takes.”

“Believe me, I understand how important a cure is,” Lee said. “I talked to Lindsey, and she didn’t volunteer anything. I didn’t push it, but she just wasn’t opening up to me like she did before. She seemed distant. Something’s changed.”

“I told you, it’s those bikers,” the old man said, leaning closer. “They’re warping her mind. You need to get her away from there. If you bring her here, you could actually converse with her like you used to, without them around, listening to your every word.”

“I tried. She doesn’t want to leave the hospital. I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Lee, I don’t think you realize quite how important this vaccine is,” Henry said. “People are dying out there by the millions. Every minute counts. While you take your time thinking about how to handle the problem, lives are ending.”

Lee stood and paced, frustrated. They’d had the same conversation before, and he was feeling guilt and pressure.

“You’re sure they have someone who’s immune?” Reynolds asked.

“I was told that,” Henry said. He hesitated for a moment then added, “They called a doctor at one of our other colonies. The person was a patient of his.”

“But they didn’t say who this person was?”

“No. It could be anybody.”

“I could talk to Lindsey again, but I have my doubts that she’ll be any more receptive than she was the last time we spoke.”

“I’d make it worth your while if you could get this information,” Henry added.

Lee turned to look at the old man. “You’ve given me a house I never could have afforded in the old world, and I have hired help to take care of everything for me. I appreciate everything you’ve done, but I accepted this piloting job with you because I thought I could bring Lindsey here and keep her safe. Without her here, it all feels kind of hollow.”

“That’s what you want, more than anything?” Henry asked, a slow smile moving over his face. “You just want her here?”

“Yes,” Lee said, sitting back down. “That’s the only thing I want.”

“I think we just may be able to work something out that will be beneficial to both of us,” Henry said.

~*~

Barstow, California

“Our apologies,” Rayburn said. “We didn’t realize anyone was home.”

“Hands on your heads,” the man said, alternating the attention of the barrel between Rayburn and Hixson. “Interlock your fingers.”

When both men complied, he asked, “Why is a military chopper after you?”

“It’s a long story,” Rayburn said, unconsciously lowering his hands to speak.

The man raised his rifle to Rayburn’s chest, which reminded the doctor to comply. Turning to Hixson, the armed man asked, “You a soldier?”

“I was,” Dan replied, assuming that the military haircut he was sporting gave him away.

“He’s a deserter,” Rayburn blurted out.

“I’m not a deserter,” Dan said, indignant.

“Technically, you are,” Rayburn corrected him. “You disobeyed orders and left your post.”

“Yeah, and if I had obeyed those orders, you’d be dead right now,” Dan said, his voice rising.

“That may be true, but it doesn’t negate the fact that you deserted. Why are you so defensive about that?”

Their captor’s eyes shifted back and forth as each man spoke. “Wait,” he said. “So they’re shooting deserters now?”

Dan shook his head. “I don’t even know who they are anymore. It’s hard to tell who’s in charge. It seems that some of the top brass have relinquished their authority to a large civilian group, to whom I owe no allegiance.”

“We have some information that could really damage them,” Rayburn interrupted. “That’s why they’re shooting at us.”

Hixson shot Rayburn a look.

“What? Wasn’t I supposed to say anything?” George asked.

“I hate to be rude,” Dan said to the man holding the rifle, “but we need to get the hell out of here. If those guys catch us, we’re dead.”

“It sounds like they left,” Rayburn said.

“Not likely,” Dan told him. “If anything, they’re looking for a place to land.”

The man hesitated for a moment then motioned to the back door. “Name’s Ryan. Follow me. I’ll take you someplace safer.”

“Dan and George,” Hixson said, following.

There were voices somewhere outside the house, followed by the sound of boots on pavement. The men quickly slipped out the open back door into the yard. Ryan opened the back gate and led the others into the desert. “Watch for snakes,” he said, “the brush is crawling with them.”

Rayburn stopped in his tracks.

“Come on, George,” Dan said, grabbing the doctor by the collar. “Snakes are the least of our worries right now.”

They ran past several residences until they came to a rundown mobile home.

“Here we are,” Ryan said.

Dan looked at the dilapidated double-wide trailer. “I don’t mean to be picky, but how is this better than the place we just left? The rounds they’re firing will punch right through these walls.”

“You’ll see,” Ryan said, opening the flimsy back door. He hurried to a corner of the room and lifted up on an end table. A section of the floor came up with it, revealing a small shaft leading underground. “Hurry,” he said pointing to the hole. “Get down there.”

Having little other option, the duo followed, climbing down a ladder which opened into a small concrete tunnel. Ryan descended behind them after closing the hatch. When he reached the bottom, he illuminated the space with a small flashlight which he pointed toward a door at the end of the tunnel.

“Pull the lever,” he said.

Dan complied, exposing a dimly lit room. Crawling down another small ladder, he turned at the bottom to find himself staring down the barrel of another gun, this one held by a very nervous-looking woman.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Most of the bikers had spent the day picking crops. Taking Dustin’s advice, they’d started at the edge of the city and moved from house to house, raiding gardens where it was obvious that the property had been abandoned. They still planned to move deeper into farm country, but while Billy continued to work on the road, they’d been able to fill the three trucks with sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and other vegetables. They had brought the produce to Theresa with the promise of getting more the next day. They’d worked hard from dawn until early afternoon, so Snake had told them to take the rest of the day off. One of the bikers suggested a movie marathon and most of the others liked the idea.

“Are you going to watch the movie?” Wombat asked Lindsey.

“I might,” she said, yawning. “I don’t have the energy to go all the way up to my room right now.”

She was about to sit down when Snake stopped her to ask about having Claire and Autumn make some more flyers. He wanted to add more information, and they talked about it for a while. As they spoke, Helga spotted them and began watching with her usual unbridled hostility. When Lindsey turned to sit down, Wombat pulled her onto his lap.

“Helga’s been giving you death-glares,” he whispered. “You owe me for saving your life again.”

Lindsey gave him a smile. “I’d talk to her, but I don’t think she’d believe me,” she said, “or maybe it just doesn’t matter to her. Maybe any female that ever talks to Snake is going to get the same treatment. Thanks for the help, anyway.”

She was about to move to the seat next to him when it was taken by someone else.

“I guess you’ll just have to stay where you are,” Wombat whispered.

She shivered as his lips brushed her ear, and she wondered if he even realized that he’d done it.

“I guess I will,” she said, laying her head against his shoulder. It had been a long day and Lindsey found herself nodding off almost as soon as the movie started. When she woke a while later, it was to the feel of Wombat’s hand rubbing her back. That could only mean one thing.

Lindsey opened her eyes slowly, saying, “I take it we’re still being watched?”

“No,” Wombat replied.

Lindsey looked around and saw no sign of Helga, but Wombat’s hand was still on her back, keeping up the charade. “Helga’s not here?”

“She left,” he said.

“Then why . . .” Lindsey wondered if the feelings she was having toward him were being reciprocated. There was no doubt that she and Wombat enjoyed each other’s company, but sometimes she got mixed signals from him that left her confused. When they’d been together on the roof a couple of nights earlier, she’d been certain that their friendship was going to change into something else, but since that time he’d gone back to treating her as a friend. She assumed that he’d acted impulsively that night and had second thoughts later. Now she wasn’t so sure.

“Wombat?” she said, not sure how to even begin to ask the question that was on her mind. She lifted her head to look at him.

“David,” he said quietly. He reached over to brush a strand of hair from her face. “Look, I know it’s not me that you want, but . . .” he started.

Swallowing hard, she opened her mouth to tell him that he was wrong, but she was stopped by the sound of a helicopter in the distance. As the noise grew louder, Wombat’s eyes shifted upward, and he frowned before looking at her again.

“It’s probably Lee,” she said, sitting up straighter. She was not looking forward to seeing him after their last encounter. It would be even more difficult to talk to him now.

“Don’t go, Lindsey,” Wombat said.

“I have to go talk to him.”

She glanced up toward the ceiling, knowing the helicopter was almost at the roof.

“He’ll try to get you to leave,” Wombat told her. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I won’t go,” she said, her eyes shifting back to his. “This is where I want to be.”

His eyes stayed fixed on hers for a moment longer then he pulled his hand away so that she could stand. She stopped at the doorway of the ER and glanced back once more before leaving the room.

~*~

Snake walked over to Wombat as he saw Lindsey leave the room.

“Is Xena going to talk to Reynolds?” he asked.

“Yes,” Wombat said. “She said she’s not going to go with him, but who knows?”

“I don’t think she’ll go,” Snake said. “It don’t take a rocket scientist to see you two have taken a shine to each other.”

Wombat glanced at Snake. “It is that obvious?”

Snake grinned. “We’ve been taking bets on how long it takes you to both quit being so dang stubborn and admit it.”

“I’ve been kind of reluctant to put myself out there when she’s still got a thing for the pilot,” Wombat said.

“What makes you think that?” Snake asked.

“Just a few things I’ve heard,” Wombat said.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Snake said, giving him a grin before walking away.

~*^*~

~38~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

By the time Lindsey reached the roof, the chopper had already landed. Lee got out and walked around to her, though the usual smile was not on his face. Again, he stopped before reaching her, forcing Lindsey to walk to him. She stopped a few feet in front of him.

“How are you, Lee?” she asked.

“Come here,” he said, motioning with his hands for her to come closer.

She shook her head, staying where she was. “Look, Lee . . .”

“Are you ready to come with me yet?” he asked, cutting her off.

“No. Nothing’s changed. This is where I need to be. We’re still bringing in survivors almost every day, but there are more of them out there.”

“So don’t tell me the others can’t handle it without you, Lindsey,” he said, frowning.

“I’m sure they could,” she said, “but we all do our part. I’m smaller than most of the others, and I can run. There are times when I’m needed for those reasons.”

“Oh, yes, I remember,” he snapped. “They had you act as bait to lure zombies out of the office building shortly before it was bombed. They obviously don’t value your life, Lindsey. I do. Come with me.”

“It’s not like that,” she said, needing to make him understand. “We all care about each other. We’re a team. But we all take some chances. That’s just part of it.”

“It shouldn’t be. I hate thinking about you being in danger out there!” he said, running a hand over his short, dark hair. “Look, I get it that you feel like you’re helping here, but there are things you could be doing at the place where I am, and it’s so much safer than this hospital.”

“Would you have room for everybody?” she asked, knowing that a few people might consider it.

“Everybody?” he repeated, as though he didn’t understand.

“All of us in the hospital. Can you take us all in if we decide to go?”

“Oh,” he said, looking away. “Probably not. It seems to be an invitation-only kind of situation.”

“I see,” she said.

He sighed and looked away. “What are they supposed to do? They can’t save the whole world, so they bring in the ones who will be helpful in keeping us all alive and rebuilding the human race.”

“And you don’t have a problem with that?”

“I’m not happy with all of their policies. I agreed to go there because I hoped you’d be going with me,” he said. “It’s perfect, Lindsey. People like me, who can be of help to them, are treated like kings. I have everything I could ever want, except you. I want you there with me. We even have a minister, so we can get married legally. They’re encouraging us to have children, and I’d rather have them with you than someone else. You’re young, healthy, and intelligent; just the kind of person they want me to choose.”

“Marriage? Lee, no, that’s not going to happen,” she said. “I’m not ready to get married.”

And he wasn’t the one she wanted to be with. She knew that now. So much had changed in such a short time, but she realized that whatever they’d once had, it was over.

“I’m sorry,” she added. “This just isn’t going to work between us.”

“You can’t just throw away our relationship. I’m doing this for you, for us,” he insisted.

“What relationship?” she asked. “We’ve only spent a few hours together over the last few weeks. We’ve barely had a chance to get to know each other.”

“I know you well enough to know this is what I want,” he said. “I thought you felt the same way. What changed?”

“You did,” she said. “I’ll admit that I thought there could be something between us, but you changed. Now I understand that we don’t have the same priorities.”

The roof-access door opened, and Hawk walked out, nodding to Lindsey briefly before going to light a cigarette.

“Him again?” Lee asked, eyes narrowing. “I guess you’re going to tell me it’s a coincidence.”

“Please don’t start this. He’s up here almost every hour for a cigarette when he’s not working outside,” she told him. “I’m going back in. This conversation is over.”

“No!” he said, stepping closer. “Don’t do this to me, Lindsey.”

“I’m sure you won’t have a problem finding someone who wants to live in this place you’re talking about. It sounds great, but it’s not going to be me. I’m sorry.”

She saw a mix of anger and desperation on his face.

“Watch your step, Lindsey,” he said, keeping his voice low. “You have no idea just how powerful these people are where I’m living now.”

“I know they’re powerful. We already had a visit from some of them, remember? They wanted to take all our weapons away when your rescue missions ended.”

“That was the military. This has nothing to do with them. There is no military. There is no government. It’s all gone. We’re the ones in power now, and you’re either with us or against us. Which is it?”

His words gave her pause as she wondered about the group he was with. Just how powerful were these friends of his? Would they retaliate if they felt that she and the others at the hospital were not on their side?

He looked away for a moment, and when he turned back, his face was hard.

“I’m going to give you a little time to think about this,” he said. “I’ll be back in a week to pick you up. It’ll be in your best interest to come with me.”

“Don’t count on it,” she said.

“Be here, same time, one week from today. Have your things packed and ready to go.”

He turned and walked away without another word.

Lindsey folded her arms, mainly because they were shaking. She stayed on the roof as the helicopter left, but she didn’t watch it. Her mind was miles away.

“Everything all right?” Hawk asked, walking over.

“I’m not even sure,” Lindsey admitted. “I think I’d better go talk to Snake and Jack.”

“And Wombat?”

She turned to look at him with a question in her eyes.

“What about Wombat?” she asked when he offered no further explanation.

“He seemed a little upset when you came up here to meet Reynolds,” Hawk said, putting out his cigarette.

“I know,” she sighed. “It’s complicated. You’re right, though. I need to go talk to Wombat.”

“He was in the ER when I left,” Hawk said with a grin.

~*~

Yucca Compound, Southern California

“Idiots!” Madec said, slamming down his cell phone. He rubbed his temples before finally turning to Bob. “One of our choppers may have spotted Hixson and Rayburn in Barstow, but the morons shot at the two men. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like they hit them. I don’t know how many times I told them that we need Rayburn alive.”

“Well, this is good news,” Bob said. “Barstow is kind of in the middle of nowhere. We should be able to grab them easily if they leave town.”

“It’s big enough that they could also hide out there for a while,” Madec said. “I’m going to send the bloodhounds over there, but I’m not getting my hopes up.”

“You don’t think it’s them?”

“I think if the morons in the helicopter started chasing a person and shooting at them, that person would run. That doesn’t mean it’s Hixson and Rayburn, especially when so many people saw them heading west. It’s a long shot, but we’ll try the dogs anyway.”

Madec was interrupted with another call. Covering the phone, he asked Bob, “Will you make the call about the dogs? I’m going to be tied up for a bit.”

“Sure,” Bob said, picking up his cell phone. Before he could make the call, his phone began to ring.

He listened to the speaker on the other end for a moment then turned to find Madec, but he’d already left the room.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey’s thoughts were spinning as she walked down the stairs. She needed to talk to Snake and Jack. She seriously doubted that Lee would get his friends to retaliate against those in the hospital, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a plan in place, either. She wasn’t sure what would happen when he returned in a week.

In the meantime, she was anxious to talk to Wombat. She hurried to the ER, her thoughts racing and her face flushed from the jog down the stairs. The room was dark when she entered, and another movie was playing. It took her eyes a moment to adjust enough to see Wombat in the same seat where she’d left him, but he wasn’t alone. He was with the blonde from the school who had given Lindsey problems during orientation. The woman was dressed in one of the shortest skirts that Lindsey had ever seen and one of the tightest tops. Wombat’s hand was resting on the woman’s hip as she leaned over him, showing as much cleavage as possible. From Lindsey’s angle, it looked like they were kissing, or the blonde might have been whispering something to him. It was hard to tell.

Lindsey stepped back toward the wall, wanting to get away before they noticed her. Easing the door open, she slipped out quietly. As she hurried down the hall, she passed Hawk, who turned to call after her.

“Did you find him?”

“I did, but he’s a little busy,” she said. She reached the elevator and started pushing buttons, not sure where she even wanted to go. When the doors didn’t open fast enough for her, she took the stairs.

She hurried to the roof almost as quickly as she had made her way down not too many minutes before. When she got there, it was beginning to sprinkle so she moved to stand against the wall where she’d be sheltered from the rain. How could everything have changed so quickly? Maybe Wombat had never seen her as more than a friend. He had asked her not to leave, but it could have been because he would have missed the friendship. It was possible that she had been blinded by her feelings toward him and had read way more into it than was there. At least she hadn’t made a fool of herself by confessing her feelings to him. Then again, maybe he’d actually been interested until the blonde had come along. Or maybe he was a player, and Lindsey had just never seen that side of him.

The gloominess of the cloudy sky reflected the torment inside her. There was no point in trying to compete with the blonde because Lindsey knew that the woman was way out of her league. And, honestly, she didn’t want to play games to try to get Wombat’s attention. If he wasn’t interested, then that was the end of it. Maybe she’d continue to be his friend if she could do it.

As she looked at the other buildings across the city, she could hear the dead below, still wandering in the streets as they’d been doing for weeks now. They were never going to go away, and the thought was enough to make her mood even darker. For the first time since the start of the apocalypse, she began to feel the utter loss of hope. She began to wonder if there was any future for mankind and if life in the new world would be one of day-to-day survival and nothing more.

~*^*~

~39~

Barstow, California

When they had all entered the room, Ryan closed the small door, bolting it from the inside.

“They’re okay, Emily,” Ryan said. “They’re on our side.”

Dan breathed a sigh of relief when the woman lowered her pistol.

“This is my wife,” the man said.

“Dan Hixson,” Dan said, offering his hand to Emily then to Ryan, “and this is Dr. Rayburn.”

“Oh, a doctor,” the woman said, smiling. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Just call me George,” Rayburn said, returning the smile.

“So what made you change your minds about us?” Dan asked.

“I’m a marine,” Ryan said.

“Ex-marine,” Emily corrected him.

“Once a marine, always a marine,” Ryan said, glaring at his wife, who rolled her eyes. “I’ve been in touch with some of my buddies who are still serving, and they pretty much echoed what you said. I guess there’s not much left of what we used to call the armed forces.”

“Some of us are realizing what’s going on,” Dan said, surveying the room. “Do you think they’ll be able to find us in here?”

“Not without some high-tech equipment,” Ryan said. “I’ve made this bunker foolproof. If they do happen to find their way in, I have a maze of tunnels snaking out into the brush.”

“As you can see, my husband’s quite proud of his project,” Emily said, sighing. “The upstairs has suffered a bit while he spent every penny we had on his little hobby.”

“My little hobby saved our lives,” Ryan said, smugly.

“I thought he was nuts,” Emily admitted. “After we sold our home in LA, we spent over a hundred grand digging holes and pouring concrete, and he plopped a used double-wide on top of it.”

“That was intentional,” Ryan interjected. “I assumed no one would take any interest in it if it was in poor condition.”

“I’m curious. What were you doing at your neighbor’s house?” Dan asked, hoping not to sound too nosy.

“Watching you,” the man answered. “Your movements have been monitored since you entered town.”

“Ryan has cameras set up around the neighborhood,” Emily said, “just like some of our other friends in town. We notify each other whenever someone or something enters the city.”

She showed them a computer monitor which sat on a large oak desk. She clicked a mouse and several windows came up, each offering a distinct point of view.

“It’s kind of a neighborhood watch type deal. Evan, who lives on the edge of town, told us you were heading our way, so when you entered our neighborhood, we took over. Emily kept you on the screen and let me know where you were.”

“So the phones and the internet still work?” Rayburn asked.

“Nope, we lost phone service a week ago. The internet was off and on for a while, and we haven’t had anything for a couple days, but we do have these,” Ryan said, holding up a handheld radio. “We’re all on the same frequency.”

“It sounds like you were prepared for an event like this,” Dan said.

“I knew this day would come,” Ryan boasted.

“You did not,” Emily said, placing her hands on her hips. “You thought the banking system would collapse, and we’d all fall into anarchy. You never said anything about zombies.”

“But I came pretty close,” Ryan protested.

“Either way, it worked out,” Dan said, trying to defuse the argument.

Ryan gave his wife a smirk.

“I guess it was dumb luck that we found this neighborhood,” Dan said.

“Oh, you’d be surprised at how many people have underground shelters,” Emily said. “Ryan dragged me to a convention in Vegas last year. There were thousands of people just like Ryan. It was frightening.” Emily fabricated a shudder.

“I know of several families in Barstow alone that have shelters,” Ryan said, looking smugly at his wife, “although most of them are pre-fab. As far as I know, I’m the only one who built one from scratch.”

“You have some beautiful furnishings here,” Rayburn said, noting the décor.

“I figured if I was going to live beneath a dump, I might as well feel high-class,” Emily explained.

Dan looked around, taking in the details of the underground dwelling for the first time. “It looks like you have quite a bit of room here. This has to be about the size of a studio apartment.”

“Oh,” Ryan smiled, “this is just the living room. We have a dining area, two bedrooms, a large bathroom, and a huge storage area. We have sixteen hundred square feet down here, not including the tunnels.”

“What about power?” Hixson asked.

“The entire roof of the trailer is made of solar sheeting,” Ryan said, “and we’ve got a 1000-gallon fuel tank buried for the generator, which we have in a separate room. There’s over three feet of earth above us so the sound won’t carry, and it stays cool in here, year round. The ventilation system is filtered so that whatever affects the atmosphere outside won’t affect us down here. Want to see our water storage?”

Emily leaned toward Rayburn, “I think he just brought you guys down here so he could brag.”

“Sure,” Dan said, “but aren’t you a little nervous that they could find the hatch and be crawling down here as we speak?”

“Not a chance,” Ryan said. “I set the alarm when I closed the doors. We’d know it if they penetrated the shelter, or came into the trailer, for that matter.”

Ryan showed them the rooms, going into detail about how he constructed each element of the shelter.

While Dan was interested in learning more about the shelter, he had the feeling that George was getting bored with the lecture. Emily must have noticed it as well since she urged Ryan to move on several times when Rayburn started to look distracted.

When they reached the last room, which was a reading room doubling as a home theater, they sat down on comfortable leather sofas. Ryan brought out a couple of cold beers, which Rayburn and Hixson happily accepted.

“I see you have quite an extensive DVD collection,” Rayburn said as he glanced at some shelves lining the wall. “Would you happen to have The Sound of Music? Someone carelessly gave my copy away.”

“Don’t start,” Dan said.

“Sorry,” Emily said. “I have some classics, but they’re either Ryan’s war movies or my comedies. I have a lot of Cary Grant movies. My mom got me hooked on him.”

“Well, he’s not Julie Andrews, but I guess he’ll do,” Rayburn sighed.

“Before we settle in, I think we should show our hosts what we’ve learned,” Dan suggested. “I think the more people who know about this, the better.”

“Good point,” Rayburn agreed.

Hixson filled the couple in on what they knew while Rayburn readied the DVD.

When the recording ended, the group sat in silence.

Ryan finally spoke, “I knew it was a parasite.”

“You did not,” Emily said. “You said it was something from jet trails or something like that.”

“No,” Ryan shook his head, “I said it was a virus released from contrails. I wasn’t that far off.”

“You can see why they wouldn’t want this information to get out,” Dan said, trying to change the tone of the conversation. “Do you have the ability to copy this? It would be good to know that there’s another copy around in case something happens to us.”

I could burn it to a DVD on my laptop,” Emily said.

“Perfect,” Dan said with a smile. “Might as well make several if it’s not a problem.”

“No problem at all,” she said.

After burning the DVDs, the couple treated Dan and George to the first home-cooked meal they’d had since the crisis had begun.

“I guess I was expecting MREs,” Dan said through a mouthful of roast beef.

“We have plenty of those,” Ryan said, “but we also have enough real food in our walk-in freezer to entertain guests, and I have a feeling we won’t be entertaining very often.”

“I’d be careful about that,” Hixson said. “You were taking quite a chance letting us in.”

“I’m a pretty good judge of people,” Ryan said as he opened a bottle of beer. “George seemed like a pretty nice guy.”

Dan chuckled, feeling the dig.

“And Dan seems to be a perfect gentleman,” Emily said, smacking Ryan on the arm.

“It’s okay,” Dan smiled. “It’s an army-marine thing.”

Ryan smiled and lifted his bottle to Dan in a toast. “Here’s to what’s left of the military.”

Dan lifted his own bottle. “And here’s to retired jarheads with amazing foresight.” At his words, the others raised their beverages.

Afterward, they adjourned to watch a movie. The relaxed atmosphere made it difficult to believe that the world just a few feet above them was in chaos. When the movie was over, the guests were shown their room.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Look, I’m sure you’re a really great person and all, but I’m seeing someone,” Wombat said, pulling his hand away from the woman. She had approached him and asked if he wanted to go party with her. When she’d taken his hand and placed it on her hip, she had made it pretty clear what she had in mind. Then she’d leaned over him and whisper into his ear, removing all doubt.

Wombat saw something in her eyes that reminded him of himself back in the days when he’d been a user, and he knew without a doubt that the woman was on something. Where she’d gotten it, he had no idea.

Even if he hadn’t been interested in Lindsey, he’d given that life up and never wanted to go back to it. This woman was someone who would drag him there.

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” she said, flashing a smile. Her teeth had a brown tint that made Wombat think she was probably using meth. He knew that some of the others had used it and had gone through hell to kick the habit. It made him wonder if the woman was going to have problems when she used up her supply. Wombat gave her a slight smile as she walked off, but he remained silent. After she left the room, he walked over to the cafeteria where Snake was eating some freshly-baked pie.

“What’s up?” Snake asked, motioning for the younger biker to have a seat.

Wombat relayed the story about the woman, stopping to thank Theresa when she brought him a piece of pie.

“Not sure where someone would pick up drugs now, but maybe you’re right and she has a stash on her. I’ll try to talk to her and see if she’ll open up to me at all. I’ll just have to do it when Helga’s not watching or things could get ugly.”

“Thanks,” Wombat said.

“Hey, I’ve got something for you,” Snake said, after eating his last bite of pie. “Wolf and I were talking, and we think you ought to be the one to have Smiley’s bike.”

Wombat’s eyes lit up, though he felt a pang of loss over their friend who had recently died.

“That’s an awesome bike, mate,” he said. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Snake said. “You’ll take good care of it, and I know some of the others wouldn’t. Let’s go have a look.”

Wombat quickly finished off his dessert and carried both plates over to one of the bins. He walked outside with Snake, and they picked Wolf up along the way.

The bike was a Harley Road King, and the three of them spent some time looking it over, ignoring the rain that was drizzling down on them.

“This was Smiley’s pride and joy,” Wolf said. “He named her Roberta after an old girlfriend.”

“Roberta,” Wombat said. “Good name for her.”

“Well, she’s all yours now,” Snake said. “It’s a heck of a lot better than that piece of crap you’ve been riding.”

“It sure is,” Wombat said. They spent some more time looking the bike over, and then Wombat took it for a spin around the parking lot, grinning at the others as he came to a stop.

“This is awesome,” he said to Snake and Wolf.

“I feel a lot better knowing you and Xena will be riding on something reliable,” Snake said.

“Speaking of Lindsey, I need to go find her,” Wombat said. “I thought she’d come and talk to me after the chopper left. I hope this doesn’t mean she went with him.”

“I guarantee you she didn’t go,” Snake said, as they walked back into the building.

~*~

It was beginning to get dark, and Lindsey knew that the sun was setting somewhere behind the thick gray clouds. When the rain finally turned to a light sprinkle, she stepped closer to the edge of the roof to look down over the streets and the parking lot. The dead were still out there, oblivious to the rain as they clawed at the walls, shredding their fingers on the wire of the gabion walls and the concrete block around the parking lot. She watched the rain water running off the rotting bodies and down into the gutters, and she wondered if the water supply was becoming contaminated.

When the door to the roof opened, Lindsey remained still, not ready to face anybody just yet.

“Lindsey?” Wombat asked, walking over to join her. “What are you doing up here? It’s raining.”

“It was getting a little warm in the ER,” she said, trying to keep her tone level. “I just needed some air.”

“I didn’t see you come back.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t leave,” he said, looking over the parapet at the parking lot below. “So, did you see my new toy?”

“Your toy? Really, Wombat?” Lindsey asked, surprised that he would refer to the blonde that way. “Yes, I couldn’t help but notice.”

He seemed confused by her response. “She’s a beauty isn’t she? Her name is Roberta.”

“Roberta,” Lindsey replied, voice strained as she tried to keep her emotions in check. “Yes, she’s beautiful. I can’t argue that. I wish you both the best.”

Again, he looked confused by her reply. “I’m sure you’ll like her, too, once you get to know her.”

Lindsey laughed, but there was no humor in it. The last thing she wanted to do was to be around to see the two of them together.

“I don’t plan on getting to know her,” she said. “I’ll be giving you some space.”

Wombat looked surprised, and she felt like asking him if he’d seriously thought they could all spend time together while he was in a relationship with Roberta. Lindsey had never liked the woman, and she certainly didn’t want to be around her now.

“What’s going on? Did Reynolds try to talk you into going with him?” he asked.

“Well, yes. In fact, he wants me to marry him and have his children. He gave me a week to think about it,” she said, her thoughts turning even darker as they returned to the conversation she’d had with Reynolds.

“I see,” Wombat said stepping back. “Well . . . good luck to you, then,” he said, turning to walk away without another word.

~*^*~

~40~

Barstow, California

Without natural light to wake him, Dan slept late. Only the smell of bacon roused him from his slumber. As he entered the kitchen, he could hear George saying something about rattlesnakes.

“Dang, if you had slept any longer we were going to have to shoot you,” Ryan said, sipping a cup of coffee. He seemed happy to see Dan, which probably meant that George had been bending his ear all morning.

“That’s the first good night’s sleep I’ve had in quite some time,” Hixson said, rubbing his eyes.

Emily handed him a cup of coffee, and he thanked her.

“Ryan and I were talking last night,” she said, “and you’re welcome to stay with us if you want to.”

“I appreciate it,” Dan said, “but since there’s a strong chance that they know we’ve reached town, it’s probably not a good idea to stay here long. I don’t want to endanger you, either.”

“Dan’s right,” George said, reluctantly. “If we wouldn’t have had the run-in with the guys in the helicopter, it would be another story.”

“It seems that they’d be putting more effort into a search if they knew it was you,” Emily pointed out. “They had a few men looking around and that was it.”

“The fact that they shot at us tells me that they assumed it was us,” Dan said, “but there’s no way they could be sure. We were both wearing baseball caps, and I doubt that they saw our faces. I’m just sure they’ll pursue the lead, as persistent as they’ve been so far.”

“I’ll keep watching for them on the monitors,” Emily promised.

“Thanks,” Dan said. “When we go, we’ll leave them a trail away from here then we’ll disappear.”

“Any idea where you’ll go?” Ryan asked.

“We have no concrete plans yet,” Dan said. “At the moment, our goal is to put some distance between us and them, then to find a place to lay low for a while, though we’re thinking about heading toward Vegas to start.”

“From the little bits and pieces I’m gathering on the radio, Vegas was hit yesterday, and it’s pretty bad. You probably don’t want to go through there.”

“I figured we’d have to loop around the city. From there we might go on up into Utah and then head east. Any idea if our friends are still in town?”

“Emily’s been checking, off and on,” Ryan said. “They disappeared about dusk and haven’t returned. You guys want to hide out here for a couple days to make sure they’ve given up?”

“I don’t think we dare. I’m hoping we can take off at dark and try to find another vehicle,” Hixson said. “We had to abandon our truck coming into Barstow.”

“It looked like a twister hit a couple of miles outside of town,” Rayburn added, stabbing another piece of bacon with his fork.

“You can count on seeing the same thing when you leave,” Ryan said. “When things started to get out of control, a bunch of us got together and blocked every route into the city. We hoped we could slow the spread if we kept out the riffraff.”

“Obviously that didn’t work,” Dan laughed. “We still got through.”

“All I can suggest is to hoof it past the roadblock then find another truck,” Ryan said, “and keep your lights off. It should be a pretty clear night, so if you take it slow and easy you’ll be fine.”

“I was thinking that maybe we should try to pick up a couple of bicycles, just to get us out of town,” Hixson said.

“That would speed things up,” George agreed.

“My neighbor has a couple of bikes that he won’t be using anymore,” Ryan said. “He left town last week and said he’s not planning to come back.”

“Perfect,” Dan said. “We can pick them up when we’re ready to go.”

“Well, I guess that gives us the day off if we’re leaving tonight,” Rayburn said.

“Make yourselves at home,” Emily said. “We’re enjoying the company. When you leave, Ryan and I will probably be at each other’s throats again.”

They spent the rest of the day relaxing. Rayburn and Emily passed their time watching old movies, although George seemed to do more talking than the characters on the screen did.

Dan, intrigued by what Ryan had accomplished, soaked in all the details the ex-marine could give him about the construction of the shelter. He even took some notes, thinking they might come in handy once he found a place to stay more permanently.

When evening came, Hixson was anxious to get moving. Rayburn, on the other hand, was in no hurry.

“We were just about to watch Arsenic and Old Lace,” he protested. “Can’t we leave in the early morning?”

“I’ll buy it for you when we get settled down somewhere,” Dan said, tension in his voice. “We need to get moving. Ryan said that a couple of military vehicles were just spotted at the edge of town.”

“Which direction?” Rayburn asked, worried.

“The way we came in, and they have bloodhounds,” Hixson said. “We need to get going the other way as soon as possible.”

“So they do know we’re here,” George said, stuffing his freshly-cleaned laundry into his backpack.

“If they’re here with dogs, they’re following up on their lead,” Dan said, “but I think if they were positive that we were here, there would be a dozen choppers overhead and troops on the ground all over the city.”

“That’s exactly what I think,” Ryan said. “They’re fishing.”

“I’m worried that they might track us here and find your shelter,” Dan said. “The dogs can track dead skin cells that we leave behind, but maybe we can confuse them and make it look like we stayed at the neighbor’s house. I don’t want to take too much time, but we could open a couple of cans or something.”

“Good idea,” Ryan said.

Once George had his pack ready, he and Dan said goodbye to Emily and Ryan, thanking their hosts for everything they’d done. Emily checked the monitors and let them know that it was clear, telling them exactly where the bloodhounds were. Dan worried that the dogs might go straight for the hidden hatch to the shelter, so the two men spent a few minutes walking around the trailer in hopes that they would throw the dogs off.

Heading out into the dusk on foot, they hurried across the street to a neighboring house where Hixson forced the door open with his crowbar.

“Rub your face or something,” he told George. “Leave some dead skin cells for the dogs.”

Rayburn complied, rubbing his face and arms and shaking out his clothing before following Dan into the house.

George opened a couple of cans and quickly polished off some ravioli. Dan found the bicycles then came inside and shoveled down some stew. They left the empty cans on the counter, along with their forks. After spending a couple of valuable minutes walking around the house, they finally left, pushing the two bikes as Hixson studied the street. Once he was certain that they were alone, they began to ride toward the edge of the city.

“Can the dogs still track us on the bikes?” George asked.

“Yes,” Dan said. The moon was up and it illuminated the road slightly, but not enough to make Dan happy. There were far too many shadows for his liking. “We need to be quiet.”

Moments later, the sound of a helicopter could be heard, and Dan quickly motioned for Rayburn to follow him as he parked his bike under a carport. The chopper passed by, illuminating the streets below with a bright searchlight. Dan and George dove beneath a truck and hoped that their body heat couldn’t be detected through all the metal. As soon as the chopper moved on, the men crawled out from beneath the vehicle.

Dan’s eyes darted around constantly as they moved down the moonlit street. George wasn’t talking, for a change, and Dan found that a blessing as he tried to listen for any unusual noises. They passed by walking corpses more than once but the dead didn’t seem to notice them until the two men were already gone. The road they were on was a residential street that paralleled I-15. When it came to an end, they had to move onto the freeway. Dan grew tense as they approached the roadblock, and he stopped suddenly, motioning for George to do the same. Up ahead, several lights could be seen moving through the dark. If the roadblock was being watched, they’d almost have to go around it through the desert. The bikes wouldn’t move through the sand easily, so they’d have to be pushed, and the men would be vulnerable to being spotted if a helicopter shone its searchlight their way. Then there was the problem with George’s aversion to snakes. Dan couldn’t imagine him walking through the desert without a light.

“This isn’t going to work, George,” Dan whispered.

“What are we going to do?”

Dan thought about it for a moment, trying to recall the map they’d studied with Ryan.

“There was a frontage road running along I-40, wasn’t there?”

“Right,” Rayburn said. “We’d have to cross over I-15 to get to it.”

“We’ll have to do that fast,” Dan said. “I don’t like the idea of being on an overpass when the chopper goes over.”

“Me, either,” Rayburn said, pondering the problem. “I think the road ahead of us leads that way, but it dead-ends on the map. We should backtrack and take the other one.”

“I’ll trust you on this,” Dan said. “You have a better memory than I do.”

They turned their bikes around and took the street that Rayburn had mentioned. Dan dodged a dark shape ahead of him, but George wasn’t paying attention and almost slammed into the zombie. He let out a cry of surprise, but managed to swerve around the creature at the last moment.

“Are you okay?” Dan asked in a whisper, after putting his knife through the ghoul’s head.

“I’m fine,” George said.

When they reached the overpass, Dan paused to check it out, but saw nothing to cause him alarm. The helicopter was currently on the other side of town, and he hoped it would stay there for a few minutes, at least.

“Let’s go,” he whispered, starting out on his bike. He quickly realized that they were going to have problems because the overpass was cluttered with cars. He got off his bike and began to push it between the vehicles. When an arm reached out to grab him from an open window, he jerked to the side, and turned to warn George. Heart pounding, Dan continued moving through the cars, careful of open windows. When he saw the chopper start to move their way, he swore quietly.

“George, we have to move faster, but be careful,” he said, his eyes on the light in the distance. He shook his head. “We’re not going to make it to the other side in time. Let’s find a car.”

“No,” George said. “If we open the door, the light will come on. They’ll see it.”

“Damn, you’re right,” Dan said. “We need to find something we can hide beneath.”

As the lights got closer, the men frantically searched for a suitable hiding place. Dan finally found a truck that had enough clearance under it for them. As they waited for the chopper to pass by, Dan turned his head to see someone standing on the other side of the truck. In the moonlight, he could barely make out the two legs, but as the light of the chopper finally hit the overpass, it illuminated tattered pant legs that could only belong to one of the dead. Hixson hoped that the ghoul couldn’t smell them.

The light seemed to stay in place for a long time, and Dan guessed that the pilot was trying to get a better look at the figure by the truck to make sure it wasn’t a live person. Then again, maybe it was the two bicycles that had caught his attention. After an unbearably long time, the helicopter moved on and took the light with it. Dan let out a long breath and finally crawled from beneath the truck, pointing at the zombie on the other side. George’s eyes grew wide, but he remained silent as the two men continued their trek across the overpass.

Once they were on the road that ran parallel to the freeway, the traffic was lighter. They had a couple of close encounters with the dead, but were able to get by. When Dan noticed a jumble of cars and debris on I-40, he tapped Rayburn on the shoulder and whispered a warning to him. There was a quick flash of light, followed by a red glow. Cigarette, Dan thought, moving as quietly as possible on the frontage road.

The men managed to get by undetected and eventually were able to move onto I-40 once they were well past the roadblock. The stalled traffic wasn’t as bad as what they’d seen on I-15, and they were able to make good time. They rode the bikes almost ten miles before Dan found a four-wheel drive truck. It was an old, beat-up vehicle that looked like it might not make it very far, but it had keys and wasn’t occupied. They took it, hoping for the best. It took hours to travel the first hundred miles, though they were able to increase their speed by cutting through the Mojave National Preserve. There were only a few cars stopped along the way, and Dan was able to make good time once he dared to put the lights on.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake was talking to Wolf in the lobby when Wombat burst out of the stairwell, moving at a fast clip.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” Snake asked.

“Everything,” Wombat said, clenching his jaw. “I need to go hit something.”

“Keith’s got some punching bags set up in the exercise room,” Snake said, concern on his face.

Wombat headed down the hallway, leaving the two older bikers watching him until he disappeared inside the room at the end.

“I wonder what that was all about?” Wolf asked.

“He was going to look for Xena, so I hope she didn’t change her mind and decide to go with Reynolds.”

“You think she’d do that?” Wolf asked.

“I’m going to go find out,” Snake said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

When Snake reached the fourth floor, he found Lindsey talking to Jack.

“Hey, Snake, you need to hear this,” Jack said.

A young couple rounded the corner and stopped outside one of the doors, laughing as they chatted together.

“Maybe we should go somewhere more private,” Lindsey said.

The trio went down to one of the small living rooms on the first floor where Jack closed the door and they all took seats on the sofas.

“Tell Snake what you told me,” Jack said.

Lindsey repeated her story, telling Snake about the conversation with Reynolds. She told him about the deadline he’d given her and the barely veiled threats. When she was done, Snake sat back, running a hand over his beard.

“I don’t like it,” he said. “I mean, the guy sounds like he’s losing it, but if he’s telling the truth about these friends of his, there could be trouble brewing.”

“I’m sorry. I feel terrible about this,” Lindsey said.

“It’s not your fault,” Jack told her.

“I wonder if he’s bluffing or if he’s really got the clout to have someone attack the hospital,” Snake said. “I think we need to be ready for it, just in case.”

“If he’s not bluffing and something does happen, we may need to get out of here,” Jack said.

“I hate the idea of letting anybody chase us off,” Snake said, “but I’m concerned about the kids. I wonder what sort of weapons this group has at their disposal.”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Jack said. “If the military is gone, what happened to all their equipment?”

They were all silent for a few moments as they pondered Jack’s question.

“Should we have a meeting?” Snake asked. “I’m thinking that this is something that everybody might need to know about.”

“We should let them know that we’re going to be tightening security,” Jack said, “and maybe mention that there has been a threat, but I don’t want to get everybody in a panic, either.”

“I think Lindsey should have a couple guards with her when she meets up with Reynolds next week,” Snake said.

“I’m not sure she should meet with him at all,” Jack replied.

“I think it would be worse if I don’t,” Lindsey said. “He’d probably flip out. I’m hoping he’ll have some time to think it over, and maybe he’ll have calmed down by then. Honestly, I think he’s bluffing. I can’t imagine him getting someone to attack the building, just because I won’t go with him.”

“Even if he was upset enough to do it, I don’t see anybody else going along with it,” Snake said. “We can play it by ear, though. If we think there’s going to be trouble after you talk to him, it might not hurt to get people out of the hospital for a while. In the meantime, we’ll check out the farms and see if there’s a good place to hole up if it comes to that.”

~*~

Mojave Preserve, California

“Cholla Ridge, two miles,” George said, reading the sign by the light of the dawn. When they reached the edge of the small town, they found a roadblock set up with two armed men standing guard. It looked like the area had been enclosed with wire fencing, and a gate had been erected across the road. Dan slowed down, debating on whether or not to try to find a way around the town. Since they’d already been spotted, he continued on, knowing it might look suspicious if they turned around. Approaching slowly, he kept a close watch on the two men while trying to appear relaxed. The fingers of his right hand brushed over his pistol as he eased the truck forward, but he hoped he wouldn’t need to use the weapon.

The man on Dan’s side of the truck was clad in jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat that had seen better days. The one on the right was dressed in similar attire, though he wore a Dodger’s baseball cap. They obviously weren’t military, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be a problem.

“See the cowboy boots?” Rayburn asked, nudging Hixson. “That’s so the rattlesnakes can’t bite their ankles.”

Ignoring the comment, Dan rolled down the window when he was even with the man in the cowboy hat. He reluctantly pulled his hand away from the pistol, not wanting to appear threatening.

“How’s it going?” the man asked, looking Dan and George over carefully. On the other side of the truck, the Dodger fan was doing the same.

“Good. We’re just passing through,” Dan replied. “Couldn’t make it on the freeway.”

“That’s what we’ve been hearing,” the cowboy said. “We just want to make sure nobody’s going to bring the plague to our town. Have either of you been bitten?”

“No,” Dan said.

“Can I ask you both to step out so we can check your arms and legs? You can refuse, but you’ll have to find another way around town.”

Dan opened the door and stepped out, hearing George’s door open at the same time. As he pulled up his sleeves, then his pant legs, Dan could hear Rayburn’s voice going nonstop.

“You’re fine,” Hixson was told once he was checked. “We’re going to give you an escort through town. Nothing personal, but we had a family sneak in some out-of-town relatives, and one of them was infected. We’re not going to let anything like that happen again.”

“I understand,” Dan said, relaxing a little. “I hope you can keep your town safe. It’s bad out there.”

“We’ve heard that from a few others,” the cowboy said. “We figure we’ve got a good setup here since we’re in a fairly remote location. We’ve got a natural spring for water, and we can grow crops, though it’s going to take some work.”

“What about electricity?” Dan asked.

“We’ve still got power, but I doubt it’ll last long. Most of us are off the grid anyway so that won’t be much of a problem.”

“I think you’ll be fine, in that case,” Dan said. He watched as the man turned and motioned to a woman in a blue pickup.

The truck started up and pulled onto the road.

“You’re free to go. Just follow that truck. Be careful if you plan to go into Vegas. They got hit hard a couple of days ago.”

“Thanks for the warning, and good luck to you,” Hixson said, getting back into the vehicle.

The man tipped his hat as he stepped away to open the gate.

Dan rolled up his window and fell in line behind the blue truck. As they made their way through the small town, they saw a few people, though the sun was barely up. A middle-aged man and woman were digging up their front yard, and Dan saw seed packets on the ground near some gardening tools.

“Planting a garden in late August?” Dan asked. “Isn’t it a little hot here for that?”

“A lot of people plant winter gardens around here,” George told him. “Cool weather crops like lettuce and root vegetables do well unless it freezes. I knew a guy from Las Vegas who told me he always had a garden all winter long when he lived there.”

“I guess that’s one good thing about this area,” Dan said, “though I’m not sure I’d like the heat.”

They passed a small park where a few children were already awake and playing. Two armed adults stood nearby. Life wasn’t exactly going on as normal, but at least it was going on.

There was another gate on the other side of the small town, with two more men guarding it. The blue truck stopped, and the driver spoke to the guards who opened the gate.

Hixson lifted a hand in thanks as he drove through then watched in the mirror as the gate was quickly closed again. When the town was nothing more than a dot in the rearview mirror, he finally felt himself relax once more.

“Glad that turned out okay,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Rayburn asked. “Were you worried?”

“You weren’t?” Dan asked.

“No. Should I have been?”

Dan shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. “I thought of about a dozen bad scenarios before we even reached the roadblock.”

“Like what?”

“The military could have already been there, waiting. These guys could have been robbing people for their food and weapons . . .”

“Wow,” Rayburn said. “I never even thought about that.”

“We’re going to have to think that way from now on,” Dan said. “Not everybody is going to be like Ryan and Emily. There are going to be others who will be looking out for themselves, or worse.”

Rayburn was quiet for a moment, but he finally spoke. “I guess you’re right, but I like to think that people are generally good, and that will show through.

“I hope you’re right, George,” Dan said. “Just be prepared in case they aren’t.”

It was almost noon by the time they finally hit US 95. Like I-15, there was a river of unmoving traffic as far as the eye could see. They were forced to take the shoulder of the road and eventually even that didn’t work since other vehicles had done the same thing and had become stuck in the sand. Dan finally backtracked and found a power line road, which he took. They eventually made it to Boulder City, driving into the town past a small airport.

~*^*~

~41~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey walked down to the ER where a group was already gathered to go harvest more crops, though it was barely dawn. Wild Bill was still working on clearing the way to Dustin’s family farm, but he was having a tough time whittling a path through the miles of congested roads. Since time was running out for the harvest, they’d been picking what they could along the way while Bill worked on the road. They’d found that many of the fields were full of field corn and soybeans, so they continued to concentrate on the private gardens and orchards of abandoned homes, where they were getting a better variety of produce.

They’d managed to bring home a few truckloads of produce each day, which had pleased Theresa immensely. The woman had been putting in grueling hours as she worked with several others to get everything processed and canned, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Lindsey had been going along to help out with the harvest, though it was difficult for her to be around Wombat. She loved being outside the city, and it felt good to breathe air that didn’t stink of the dead, but she remained lost in her own thoughts while the others talked around her. When the name Roberta came up, as it seemed to do every day, Lindsey usually walked away and found another location to pick vegetables so she wouldn’t have to hear about Wombat’s girlfriend.

Now, as everyone gathered by the ER, there was a discussion over whether or not they should cancel their plans for the day since it was starting to rain again. The general consensus was to go, since they were running out of time to bring in more produce.

As they got ready to leave, Lindsey overheard Wombat say, “I’m bringing Roberta today. I was hoping the weather would be better, but I haven’t had the chance to take her out yet, and she’s feeling neglected.”

Wolf grinned and said, “Can’t have that. You’ve got to treat her right if you want her to take good care of you.”

The comment stung Lindsey badly. She didn’t understand how the men could tease Wombat about his new girlfriend when Lindsey was standing right there. She turned to walk away, knowing that she couldn’t go with them to the farms. It was hard enough to be around Wombat, but to spend the day watching him with the obnoxious blonde was more than she could handle.

“Hey, Xena, aren’t you going with us?” Wolf called to her.

She stopped and turned back to look at him. “No, I’m not. But don’t worry. Roberta’s going in my place.”

“What’s wrong with me taking Roberta?” Wombat asked, confused.

Lindsey turned to face him.

“You can’t possibly think that I can be there today, watching you with her,” she said. “I understand that your feelings have changed, but mine haven’t.”

Wombat stared at her in utter confusion, obviously at a loss for words. In fact, the only sound to be heard was the banging of pots and pans coming from the kitchen. Lindsey looked around, realizing that every single person within earshot was looking at her with a mixture of surprise and confusion on their faces. Some of them were even whispering to each other as they looked her way.

Realizing that she had just made a complete fool of herself in front of everybody, Lindsey turned and left for the stairs, humiliated.

~*~

“Lindsey?” Wombat asked, watching her walk away. He turned and looked at Snake. “What the hell?”

“I have no idea,” Snake said, baffled.

“Women are a complete mystery to me,” Wolf added, scratching his head.

Wombat said, “She told me she was going to be giving me some space after she talked to Reynolds the other day. I’ve been getting the cold shoulder ever since.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Snake said, recalling the conversation he’d had with Lindsey.

“And what’s her problem with your bike?” Wolf asked.

“Maybe I’ve been talking about it too much,” Wombat shrugged. “I was pretty excited to get it.”

“There’s got to be something else going on,” Snake said.

“She must have made up her mind to go with Reynolds,” Wombat said, shaking his head. “She told me he gave her a week to decide. I was kind of shocked that she was even considering it, because she had just told me she wasn’t leaving. In fact, I was hoping we were going to get together, but then she met him on the roof and everything changed.”

“She can’t be considering it,” Snake said. “I talked to her that night, and she told me about the threat he made. Wait . . . do you think she’d go with him to keep him from retaliating?”

“What are you talking about?” Wombat asked, frowning. “He threatened her?”

“Dude, you didn’t know that?” Snake asked. “I thought that was why you wanted to punch something the other night.”

“No, that was because she was thinking about going with him. She never said that he threatened her, but she did seem really upset when I went up there.”

“I don’t want her sacrificing herself to keep us safe,” Snake said.

“I’m going to go talk to her,” Wombat said. “And I’m not letting her walk away this time.”

“Now you’re starting to use your noggin,” Snake replied. “We’re going to take off. You can just hang out here and help Hawk and the others with guard duty today.”

“I’ll do that,” Wombat said.

~*~

Boulder City, Nevada

“There’s a park. Can we stop? I need to go to the bathroom.”

Dan drove around, seeing a large soccer field, but no restrooms.

“There it is,” George said, pointing to a brown building that lay to the right of a pond.

Dan drove forward, but sped up when he saw another truck in the parking lot. The last thing they needed was to run into even more people who might remember them later. He passed the restrooms, wanting to leave before they were spotted.

“What are you doing? I really need to go.”

“I don’t want anyone to see us,” Dan said, continuing down the road. “Maybe that truck’s been abandoned, but I’d rather not take a chance. I’ll park somewhere else, and we can walk back.”

“Uh, Dan?”

“What?”

“Too late. Someone saw us, and I think she needs help.”

Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Dan stopped and looked in the rearview mirror. Now that they were on the other side of the small pickup truck, he could see a spare tire on the ground next to a jack. A petite blonde woman was watching them warily from where she was crouched down near the tire.

Dan backed up into a spot near her, noticing that she was probably a few years younger than he was. She wore shorts and a tank top, so he was fairly certain that she wasn’t armed. That didn’t mean that she didn’t have friends waiting in the trees. He’d heard stories recently of people ambushed for their food or weapons, and a beautiful damsel-in-distress was the perfect bait.

“Need some help?” he asked.

She hesitated before answering.

“If you wouldn’t mind. I’m not sure how to use this type of jack,” she admitted. “I’ve only used a bumper jack before.”

“I’ll be right back,” George said, getting out and hurrying to the brown building.

“Be careful,” Dan called to him, still worried about an ambush.

The woman’s gaze was constantly shifting as she kept watch around her.

Dan realized she was probably watching for the dead, and he relaxed a little. When she finally looked at him, he saw pale blue eyes that seemed to be regarding him warily.

“It looks like I ran over a nail,” she told him, pointing to a spot on the tire.

Dan got out and checked the tire. “You sure did.”

“If you could just show me where this jack goes, I can do the rest,” she said.

“I can change it for you,” he told her. “It won’t take long.”

“I was just thinking that it might be good for me to know how to use it, in case it happens again.”

“Sure, I’ll show you,” he said.

“Thanks.” She gave him a smile but was still looking at him in a way that said she didn’t trust him.

Dan showed the woman where to put the jack, and then watched as she took over. Within a few minutes, they were finished changing the tire, and she put the jack away.

“Thanks,” she said. “I feel a lot better about being out here now.”

“You know, it’s none of my business, but you shouldn’t be out here without a weapon,” Dan said.

“You’re probably right,” she said. “I heard on the radio that Vegas had been overrun, and I just wanted to drive around a bit and see how it was here. I didn’t even plan to get out of my truck until the tire went flat. I’ll bring something with me next time.”

“Even that tire iron would be better than nothing,” Dan pointed out. “How bad is it in town?”

“Not bad at all. We even have a few stores that are still open,” she told him.

“You’re lucky,” he said. As he looked around, he caught a glimpse of the pond that lay just past the sidewalk. There were several ducks floating around in the water, and he watched as a drake Mallard went after another duck, chasing it across the pond. Their wings skimmed the water as they took off, causing a loud splash. Moments later, it was almost quiet again except for some faint quacking as the ducks settled down. There were others resting on the sand in small groups or in pairs. On the far bank, turtles were sunning themselves just inches from the water so they could make a quick retreat if necessary. A bird of prey drifted overhead on the thermals, circling the park in large loops.

“Life almost seems normal here,” Dan said.

“I guess to the ducks and the other animals it still is,” she replied.

“I envy them,” Dan said.

“My name’s Miranda, by the way.”

“I’m Dan,” he said, taking her hand with a smile. He glanced over when he saw some movement from the corner of his eye, but he relaxed when he realized that it was Rayburn walking down the hill from the restroom.

George made it about four steps then jumped, startled. His foot hit a rock that marked the edge of the path, and he fell.

Hixson ran over, pulling his sidearm as he scanned the area. Reaching the other man, he asked, “You okay? What was it?”

“Rattlesnake,” Rayburn said, sitting up and pointing at a rock. “Right there.”

“What? On the rock?” Hixson asked, reaching down to pull the other man to his feet.

Miranda joined them, still looking around cautiously.

“George, I don’t see a snake,” Dan said, thoroughly searching the area.

“Did you get bit?” Miranda asked.

“Please don’t encourage him,” Dan sighed.

“No, it didn’t bite me,” George said.

“I see rattlers sometimes when I walk in the desert,” Miranda said.

“He didn’t get bit by a rattler. There was no rattler,” Dan insisted.

“I just saw a sidewinder a couple of weeks ago,” she told George.

“That’s what I keep telling him,” Rayburn said. “He doesn’t listen to me.”

Dan sighed and pointed to a rock. “That’s what he saw. It kind of looks like a coiled-up snake from a distance, but it’s not. No snake.”

“You might want to check for marks,” Miranda suggested to George. “They can be deadly.”

“I give up,” Dan muttered, walking over to look at the pond while Miranda and George discussed rattlesnakes.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey went to her room to put her jacket and weapons away since she wasn’t going to leave the building after all. She stood at the window for a few moments and watched as the others rode off. As badly as she didn’t want to see Wombat with the blonde, she found herself searching for him in the mass of bikes as they rode through the gate into the walled park area. Unable to pick him out of the crowd, she wondered if he and the blonde were riding in one of the trucks.

She turned away from the window, unsure of what to do with her time. She knew that Theresa could probably use some help, but the group that was doing the canning tended to be chatty. They loved to gossip, and Lindsey wasn’t sure she wanted to be around them until she cleared her head and was able to put on a cheerful face. The last thing she wanted was for them to see that something was wrong and try to drag the story out of her.

Grabbing the jacket she’d just taken off, she put it back on and left the room, locking the door behind her. She made her way quickly to the roof, needing some time to think. Lee would be back in five days, and she hadn’t decided just how to handle their meeting, though she knew that she would need to tread lightly when she spoke with him.

When she got to the roof, Hawk was already there, having a cigarette. He was doing his best to try to stay dry under the overhang of one of the utility sheds.

“Hey, Lins,” he said. He looked at her a little closer and asked, “You okay?”

“Not really,” she said, walking over to stand beside him. “I just made a complete fool of myself in front of everybody.”

“It’s okay,” he said, slipping an arm around her shoulder in a brief hug. “Cheer up. I’m sure whatever you did, I’ve done worse.”

He pulled his arm away after a moment, blowing smoke in the other direction.

“I doubt it, Hawk,” she said. “I’m not sure I can face anybody again.”

“What did you do?”

“I can’t tell you. I’m too embarrassed. I’m sure Wombat will tell you later.”

Hawk put out his cigarette and said, “I’ve got to get back inside. I’m on duty in the crow’s nest. If you need to vent, just come find me, okay? I’ll nod my head at all the right places.”

“Thanks,” she said managing a smile.

~*^*~

~42~

Boulder City, Nevada

“George’s knee is bleeding pretty badly,” Miranda said when Dan walked back to join them. “He should probably have some ice on it.”

“I ripped my jeans, too,” Rayburn said.

“Do you have a first aid kit?” Miranda asked.

“No,” George said, “and I guess going to the local drug store is out of the question.”

“They’ve been closed for a few days,” Miranda said, appearing to be deep in thought for a moment. “Maybe I could go home and get you some gauze and stuff.”

“I’d hate to put you out like that,” Rayburn told her.

She hesitated for a minute longer before coming to another decision. “I can’t believe I’m suggesting this, but maybe it’ll be easier if you just follow me to my place. You guys seem okay. Please tell me that you haven’t been bitten.”

“No. We’ve had some close calls, but not in the last day or so. We’re harmless,” Dan said.

“Just don’t follow Dan into any tunnels,” George said. “You might not get out alive.”

Miranda’s eyes darted over to Dan.

“Really?” Dan asked. “What would you have done, George? The dead were going to find us there. If we hadn’t gotten out when we did, we would have both died in that culvert, in a very horrible way.”

“Maybe,” George said, obviously not convinced. “The zombies on my side weren’t looking at me, so I think we would have been fine.”

“If you’ll recall, I’d already had to kill one on my side,” Dan pointed out. “If any more had tried to crawl in, I would have been trapped. I had no choice but to get out fast. And we’re both alive, right?”

“No thanks to you.”

Dan crossed his arms and looked at George, one eyebrow raised.

Miranda was silent as she watched the interaction between the two men.

George broke first. “Okay, okay. Maybe you did help me get out of there.”

“And?”

“And maybe, just maybe, we would have died if we’d stayed. But we don’t know that.”

“So, since we don’t know, let’s just drop it. Can we do that?”

“Fine,” George said. “But I think you owe me one. We should definitely go to Miranda’s house and fix up my knee.” He lifted his leg, wincing in pain.

Dan relented. “That’s fine. I’d like to make sure she gets home safely anyway since that spare seems a little soft, and yes, we can take care of your leg. Now are you happy?”

“Yes,” George said. He turned to Miranda. “I promise we’re harmless, even Dan.”

“I hope so,” she said, walking back to her truck.

Dan waited for Rayburn to limp over to their vehicle before starting the engine. When Miranda pulled out, he followed her.

“Is your knee really that bad, or is this some kind of scheme to get a break?” Dan asked.

“My knee really hurts,” Rayburn said. “Miranda seems nice. Pretty, too.”

Dan glanced at his friend, surprised. “She’s kind of young for you, George.”

“Me? No, I meant for you.”

“Oh, please tell me you’re not trying to play matchmaker during a zombie apocalypse. There are so many things wrong with that.”

George shrugged.

When Miranda turned off onto a side street that appeared to be leaving town, Dan said, “I wonder where she’s going.”

He followed her truck as she weaved in and out of cars on a road that was clearly leaving Boulder City. Within a couple of miles, they could see another town in the distance.

“What is this place?”

“Whispering Springs, I think,” Rayburn said. “I remember checking it out a while back, maybe ten or fifteen years ago. It’s one of those planned communities, and my wife made me drive through it to look at model homes when we were visiting Las Vegas once. The population was around 4,000, but it looks like it’s grown a bit.”

“Small population. That’s good. Shouldn’t be too many of the dead around,” Hixson said. “Were you thinking about moving here?”

“No, she just hated the whole gambling thing in Vegas, so after I’d play some Keno, we’d go for a drive or something. She liked to come out here where gambling isn’t allowed.”

“No gambling?” Dan asked, surprised.

“I guess Boulder City and Whispering Springs are the only places in Nevada with no gambling,” Rayburn said. He shrugged. “Well, then there’s Panaca. It’s the only place in Nevada that’s dry.”

“Looks like it’s all dry to me,” Dan said, glancing around at the forbidding desert.

“I mean dry as in no alcohol,” Rayburn explained. “It was a Mormon colony back in the 1860s. It started out as part of Utah then they shifted it to Nevada.”

“Where do you learn all this stuff?” Dan asked.

“I read a lot,” George said, looking out the window.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

Two people crouched behind a structure on a roof that was half a block away from the hospital. The man lifted his head when he heard the sound of motorcycle engines. Careful to stay out of sight, he checked to see three trucks leaving the hospital along with most of the bikes.

“Right on time,” he said, looking through binoculars. “I don’t see her. The only woman is the big, blonde one.”

“There she is,” the woman said, pointing to the roof.

They watched as Lindsey walked over to where Hawk was standing. The woman took several shots with her telephoto lens. “Oh, my God, that’s perfect,” she laughed as Hawk put his arm around Lindsey.

After Hawk left, the woman checked the photos and found one where the biker had his arm around Lindsey. They looked intimate.

“Will that work?” she asked the man who was with her.

He smiled when he saw the image on the camera. “Absolutely perfect. Henry was just hoping to get a picture of her riding with one of the bikers. This is much better. Give me the memory card. We need to do this fast, because I have the feeling he’s going to want to move now, while the others are gone.”

When the woman handed the card over, he quickly inserted it into the laptop and logged onto his e-mail account, using his smart phone as a mobile hotspot. A tarp covered everything to keep it dry. “Cross your fingers. It’s been working about half the time lately.”

“It had better work. I’m sick of being out here in the rain,” the woman said.

After a few minutes, the man said, “It went through. Henry said you can go now. Someone will be waiting for you on the ground.”

She hurried over to the fire escape and began to make her way down.

~*~

Boulder City, Nevada

The road they used to enter Whispering Springs was a small one, its only purpose apparently to connect the two towns. As Dan followed the woman, he noticed that the town seemed to be deserted. They turned onto a residential street then took a couple more turns. Up ahead of them, Dan could see a garage door starting to open. When they reached the house, Miranda put her truck into reverse and backed into the garage while Dan parked in the driveway.

“I didn’t see any dead on the streets,” Dan remarked as they entered the house through the garage. Miranda locked the door behind them.

“We have people who patrol all day long,” she said. “They take care of the infected. We’ve also been told to stay inside our houses as much as possible, so there aren’t too many live people on the streets, either.”

“It’s a lot different than LA. The whole area was in chaos,” Dan said.

“I saw that on TV,” she told them, walking into the living room. “We haven’t had anything like that here.”

Dan noticed that the large picture window was covered with bars and that the front door was reinforced from the inside with two heavy boards placed across metal brackets. He walked over and got a closer look.

“The brackets are fastened to the beams inside the wall,” Miranda said. “I had a hard time finding them.”

Dan smiled, seeing several holes surrounding each of the brackets.

“You could have used a stud finder,” he said. “Or you can usually tell where the studs are by knocking on the wall.”

“I finally figured that part out,” she said with a wry grin. “I’d rarely even used a hammer until recently. My husband always did that sort of thing, even hanging up pictures for me.”

Something in her tone made Dan look up. “Is he . . . ?” he began to ask, not sure what to say.

“I don’t know,” she said, her tone making it clear that she didn’t want to talk about it. She turned away from him. “George, why don’t I get you a pair of shorts, so we can take care of your knee?”

“If you don’t mind,” he said.

“Not at all,” she told him, leaving the room. She returned a few minutes later with medical supplies and a pair of basketball shorts. Dan noticed a distant look in her eyes as she handed the shorts over to George then pointed him toward the bathroom down the hall.

While they waited for him to change, she told Dan, “He kind of reminds me of my dad.”

Dan opened his mouth to ask about Miranda’s parents, but he held his tongue, not sure if he should ask after her reaction to the question about her husband.

“My parents are doing all right, so far,” she said, apparently realizing his dilemma. “They’re in Oregon.”

“So you’ve talked to them recently?”

“Yes, just a few days ago,” she said. “They’re retired, and they have a place out in the country. The neighbors have been helping each other to get all the houses in the area fortified.”

“That’s great,” Dan said. “I just hope that’s happening in other places, too. The human race might actually stand a chance.”

They stopped talking for a moment as gunshots sounded in the distance.

“I hear that off and on, all day long,” Miranda said quietly. “It seems that it’s gotten a lot worse since Vegas was overrun.”

George limped down the hall, and Dan had to fight back a grin at the sight of his friend in the long shorts.

“Have a seat, George,” Miranda told him. As she began to clean Rayburn’s knee, she asked, “Are you two staying in town or just passing through?”

“We’re trying to find a safe place to stay,” Rayburn said, wincing when Miranda dabbed some antibiotic cream on the wound. He yawned and added, “Sorry. We drove all night, and I can’t stop yawning.”

Miranda carefully taped some gauze onto George’s knee. When she finished, she glanced at the clock and said, “If you’d like to get a little sleep, I could cook you dinner before you leave. It’s the least I could do to thank you for helping me with the tire.”

“We should probably get going,” Dan said. “I’d like to get a few more miles in before we have to stop for the night.”

George sighed. “Are you going to make me sleep in the truck again? It’s going to be uncomfortable with my knee messed up.”

Dan crossed his arms. “I know what you’re doing, George.”

“Why don’t you just stay here tonight?” Miranda suggested. “You could get an early start in the morning.”

“That would be great,” Rayburn said, not looking at Dan.

Hixson shot Rayburn a look, but he relented after considering it. “I guess it might not be a bad idea. I’m not sure George will be in any condition to walk if we have to ditch the truck and go on foot.”

“Definitely not,” Miranda said, pausing with adhesive tape and scissors in her hand. “He’s probably going to be hurting for a few days. I’d think that walking would be out of the question.”

“I agree,” George said, wincing as he lowered his leg from the chair.

“I’m no doctor, but his knee is already swollen and bruised,” Miranda pointed out.

“I am a doctor, and I can tell you I won’t be running from zombies with this knee for a while,” George said. “I could use a good night’s sleep after what we’ve been through the last few days. It’s been exhausting.”

“You poor thing,” Miranda said, patting his good leg with a look of concern on her face.

Dan rolled his eyes. “You win, George.”

~*~

Yucca Compound

Madec hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

“Well?” Bob asked.

“The dogs picked up a scent in Barstow. It looks like Rayburn and Hixson were there, after all. They apparently hid out in a dilapidated trailer for a while then spent the night in a house across the street from it before leaving town.”

“How did they get out of town?” Bob asked. “I thought the exits were being watched. Why didn’t anybody see them?”

“They slipped past the roadblock. The dogs followed a trail out of the city for several miles before it disappeared. There were a couple of bikes nearby, so I would guess that’s how they left town.”

“And the chopper didn’t spot them on the road?”

“They weren’t seen anywhere along the highway to Las Vegas. It’s possible that they took another road,” Madec snapped. “If we’d gotten the dogs there immediately, Hixson would be dead, and Rayburn would be in our custody by now.”

Bob looked embarrassed. “How was I supposed to know? The handler wanted to know where to take them, and you were dealing with something else at the time. I thought the tip we got saying that they had been spotted in Santa Barbara made more sense.”

“It was a bad call. I told you to send them to Barstow,” Madec said. “Your poor decision cost us far too much time.”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault that the handlers were out of radio range for so long.”

“It’s your fault that they went in the wrong direction in the first place.”

In an obvious attempt to change the subject, Bob asked, “Have you learned anything new on the immune person in Michigan?”

“Nobody is talking yet. I’m concerned about Henry, though,” Madec said. “He’s becoming a problem.”

“In what way?”

“We’ve received some disturbing reports out of Lansing. The others aren’t pleased with the way he’s running things there. Unfortunately, we need his help. If Doune isn’t willing to turn the immune person over to us quickly, we’ll need Henry to handle it from there.”

“Was that him?” Bob asked, nodding toward the phone.

“Yes. He wanted to go in, guns blazing, from the sounds of it,” Madec sighed. “He’s become a bit unstable, I’m afraid. I explained to him that it would be unwise. He finally admitted that he has a pilot with ties to a woman who works at the hospital. He’s going to try to convince the pilot to see what he can find out.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“If it works,” Madec said. “If it doesn’t, he may do something foolish and blow our chances to retrieve this person.”

~*~

Lansing Compound

“You wanted to see me?” Lee asked.

“I was wondering if you’d made a decision yet,” Henry said, without turning around. He was looking at a cell phone as he spoke.

“I just don’t feel right about what you suggested,” Lee admitted. “It’s crossing a line that I don’t want to cross.”

“The world has changed, Reynolds. We can do almost anything we want now, and there are no consequences,” Henry said.

“What about this group that you mentioned? The Vigilarre,” Reynolds said. “You told me that they don’t always approve of your tactics. Would they condone this?”

“I’ve made it clear that they are not to concern themselves with the day-to-day running of this colony,” Henry snapped. “So far, they have been obliging me. They certainly will understand that the end will justify the means, in this case, since they are the ones who requested I bring in this immune person.”

Henry held up his phone, showing Lee a picture on it. “This might encourage you to change your mind.”

Lee’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the photo. “Is that Lindsey?”

“Yes.”

“It’s the same guy that was on the roof with her last time. I think she called him Hawk,” Reynolds said, staring at the picture. The biker’s arm was around Lindsey and he was smiling at her. “Son of a bitch.”

Henry fought back a smile. “Oh? You’ve seen them together already? So is she dating this hoodlum?”

“She said that he was just a friend, but it doesn’t look that way to me,” Reynolds said, the words coming out short.

“Then maybe it’s too late to try to talk to her if she’s already involved with someone else,” Henry said with a sigh. “It’s too bad. You know it’s only a matter of time before that hospital is overrun. They just don’t have the safety measures in place that we do. I doubt that either Lindsey or the immune person will survive much longer if they stay there.”

Lee knew that Henry was trying to manipulate him by using the photo, but his points were valid.

“I need to talk to her. Maybe if she comes here and sees this place she’ll change her mind. It’s got to be soon, before she gets any more involved with this guy.”

“Shall we go pick her up?”

“Now?” Reynolds asked, surprised.

“No time like the present.”

Lee thought about it for another minute. “Okay, let’s do it. I hope it’s not too late.”

“Let me handle it,” Henry said, turning to tell one of the maids to bring him his coat. “I can be very persuasive when I need to be. And if she doesn’t agree, just think of it as an intervention. Now, go get the chopper ready. We’ll need the big one.”

~*^*~

~43~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

The rain was coming down from the gray clouds in a light drizzle as Lindsey huddled beneath the overhang on the small utility shed. She hoped that the weather would keep everyone away from the roof for a while. When she heard footsteps on the stairs, she moved around to the back of the small building, having no desire to talk to anybody.

The sound of the door flying open was followed by the thud of heavy boots. One of the bikers, she guessed. Moments later, Wombat found her.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“I think it’s a little late for that, don’t you?” she asked.

“It’s not too late until you leave.”

“Leave?” she asked. “I’m not going anywhere. I told you that.”

“I thought you changed your mind,” he said.

“Not a chance,” she said. “Lee’s not the person I thought he was. I told him it was over when he came back to drop Eric off.”

“Then what was this all about?” he asked. “You said you were going to be giving me some space, and for the last two days you’ve refused to ride with me and have barely said a word to me. I don’t get it, Lindsey.”

“I just can’t be around you anymore,” she said. “I thought I could do it, but every time I hear Roberta’s name mentioned, it’s like a stab to the heart.”

“Why?” he asked, looking bewildered.

“Because of how I feel about you,” she sighed. “I thought maybe you and I were going to get together, and then Roberta came along. I get it — things change. And I really do hope that you have a fantastic life. You deserve to be happy, even if it’s with her instead of me.”

“What is this problem you have with my bike?” he asked. “You almost sound jealous.”

“Your bike? What does your bike have to do with anything?” she asked.

“That’s my question,” he said. “You’re the one who keeps bringing it up.”

“I never said a word about your bike,” she replied.

“You just did,” he said. “And downstairs you said something about Roberta going in your place.”

“What does Roberta have to do with your bike?” she asked.

“Roberta is my bike.”

For a moment, Lindsey stared at him while she replayed scenes from the previous few days in her head.

“I thought Roberta was that blonde from the school.”

“What blonde?” he asked.

It was Lindsey’s turn to look confused. “You were with her in the ER. After I talked to Lee the other day, I went to find you. You had your hand on her hip, and she had her chest in your face.”

He groaned and shook his head. “It figures you’d walk in right then,” he said, “that wasn’t what it looked like.”

He explained the situation with the blonde to her. When he was done, she closed her eyes, not able to look at him right away.

“You came up and asked if I saw your new toy . . .”

“I meant the bike,” he grinned.

“I know that now,” she said, her face reddening.

“You should know me better than that,” he added.

“I was very surprised by the comment,” she admitted, looking down at her feet.

“And then I said something about her being a beauty.”

“You sure did,” she said, managing a slight grin. “I feel like such an idiot. I was sure you’d found a girlfriend.”

“Lindsey, I want to be with you. When I finally tried to tell you that, I thought you ran off to Reynolds.”

“I only went to talk to him,” she said. “Whatever it was we used to have, it’s gone now. Maybe it was never really there.”

“I could have told you that,” Wombat said.

“Oh? Please enlighten me,” she said with a smile. “How did you know that it wasn’t meant to be?”

He placed his hands on the wall on either side of her head and leaned closer. “You didn’t go with him. If you had really liked the guy, you would have gone with him when he first asked you to.”

“Possibly,” she said.

“And he didn’t try hard enough to get you to go with him,” he added. “I would have thrown you over my shoulder and carried you to the helicopter.”

Though completely unnerved by his nearness, she laughed. “You would not,” she said.

“Yes, I would have. I would have let you go if you’d insisted, but at least you would have known how I felt,” he said, his face just inches from hers.

“How do you feel, David?” she asked quietly. She held her breath as she waited for the answer.

“Why don’t I just show you?” he asked. He closed the distance between them and kissed her.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

Miranda gave them a quick tour of the house once Rayburn’s bandage was in place. After showing them most of the inside, she took them outside through the French doors in the family room. Dan saw a fairly large yard that was in the process of being dug up. There was also a pool.

“Do you still have running water?” he asked her.

“So far,” she said. “I’m keeping the pool full so I’ll have that if the water stops.”

“Do you know how to treat it?”

She hesitated then shook her head. “Not really. I’m not exactly a prepper. I have been starting to read up on this stuff, but I haven’t gotten to the water yet.”

“I can give you some tips,” Dan said. “I’m not an expert, either, but I would be happy to pass on what I do know.”

“I’d appreciate that,” she said, looking a little relieved. “I know I can get a lot of this online, but it seems like I spend too much time digging for answers.”

“When we go back inside, I’ll go over it with you in case you want to write any of it down.”

“Thanks,” Miranda said. She led them around to the side of the house and pointed to a solid-looking cinder block wall.

“I tore out the gates and built that wall. It isn’t pretty, but it keeps the dead out,” she said. “The rest of the yard was already walled in, like most of the houses in the neighborhood.”

Dan nodded, noticing that the blocks weren’t all exactly in line, and there was some extra mortar between them, but he pushed against the wall, and it felt as sturdy as it looked.

“So, when did you put up the bars on the window and build the wall?” he asked her.

“I got the bars installed about a week after I heard about the outbreaks in Lansing and Salt Lake City,” she said. “We got the materials for the wall shortly after that, but I didn’t start building it right away. I hoped that I wouldn’t need to. I started stocking up on supplies and bought some survival items online.”

“You didn’t think it was a hoax or anything? Seems like nobody believed it at first,” he said. “At least the people I talked to didn’t.”

“I just had a bad feeling about it,” she admitted. “I have a couple of friends who are into dystopian fiction, and they love to talk about all these scenarios. We used to get together once a week at the local wine bar and have a few drinks. Sometimes we’d talk about things like nuclear war or a supervolcano eruption. I think we covered just about every possibility except this one.”

“Still, discussing it in a hypothetical way is a little different from actually putting a plan into action,” he said.

“When the reports came out about Lansing, people were laughing about it,” Miranda told him. “I remember seeing something on the news one night. The newscasters were joking and smiling about the zombies, but I got online and found some things that made me think that maybe it wasn’t a joke. It almost seemed as though something was being covered up. I didn’t think that there were actually flesh-eating zombies running around, but there were reports of people attacking each other, mostly in Central America and Colombia. I also noticed that a lot of these reports weren’t there when I went back to the bookmarks. Just to be safe, I started getting ready. I figured that if I was wrong, I’d tear the bars out later, and we wouldn’t have to buy groceries for a while, but I wasn’t wrong. I wish I had been.”

When they walked back into the yard, Dan nodded toward the pile of dirt and grass. “Planting a garden?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “I already had a small one, but I’m expanding. If this thing lasts for a while, I’m going to end up running out of food.”

Dan and Rayburn glanced at each other.

“What?” she asked, catching the look that passed between the two men.

“It’s just that we don’t think it’s going to end,” Rayburn said. “I mean, the zombies and the parasite could die off, but the world is probably going to be changed for a long time.”

Miranda was silent for a moment. “I guess you’re right,” she finally said. “I just keep hoping that someone is still in charge out there that can pull things together.”

She looked up at them suddenly. “Wait, why do you say it’s a parasite? I haven’t heard that.”

“It’s something we learned when we were in California,” Dan said, intentionally keeping his answer vague.

They went back inside, and George finally pulled Dan aside when Miranda went to get some laundry out of the dryer.

“Should we show her the DVD?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” Dan said, having asked himself the same question. “It might put her in danger if anybody ever comes looking for us.”

“We left a copy with Ryan and Emily,” George pointed out.

“I know,” Dan said, keeping his voice low, “but Ryan and Emily are well armed, and they know how to stay hidden. I think they can take care of themselves. I’m not so sure about Miranda.”

“That’s true. They might kill anybody that knows too much.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Dan said.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

It wasn’t until they heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter that Wombat lifted his head. “He has the absolute worst timing ever. I thought he said he’d be back in a week.”

“That’s what he told me,” Lindsey replied. “He’s early.”

“I’m staying up here,” Wombat said, still not letting go of her. “If the guy threatened you last time, who knows what he’ll do when he finds out you haven’t changed your mind about going with him.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” she asked. “I don’t want him freaking out because I didn’t come alone.”

“I’m staying. Period. Just tell him I’m on guard duty if he has a problem with me being here.”

He reluctantly stepped away before the helicopter came into view. Zipping up his racing jacket, he wandered over to the edge of the roof and looked out over the city.

~*~

“Helicopter?” Moose asked Hawk, who was in the crow’s nest with him at the time. Most of the others had gone to help with the harvest. Snake had been nervous about leaving the hospital so unprotected, so he had left the best two shooters, Moose and Gunner. Fish, Dumbo, and Hawk had also stayed.

“Sounds like it,” Hawk said. “The guy wasn’t supposed to be back for a few more days. I’ll head up there and check it out.”

“Maybe I should go, too,” Moose said. “I know Snake’s worried that Reynolds might do something.”

“He also wants us to keep a low profile. Too many guys up there might make Reynolds nervous, and things could escalate,” Hawk said, sticking a cigarette into the corner of his mouth. “I’ll go alone. Let me have the radio in case there’s trouble.”

“I don’t have it,” Moose said, looking around. “I think I left it downstairs.”

“Can you run down and get it, or see if Gunner can give Snake a call? I need to get up there.”

“All right,” Moose said, leaving the room.

~*~

Hawk walked out onto the roof, nodding at Lindsey before he walked over to join Wombat.

“You’re nuts, mate,” Wombat said, looking at his friend who was just wearing a t-shirt. The rain had let up, but the morning was still chilly.

“I was in the crow’s nest,” Hawk said, cupping his hands to light a cigarette. “I didn’t want to go to my room to get my jacket. Lindsey’s buddy is a little early, I see.”

“I don’t like it,” Wombat said, keeping his eyes on the city, rather than the helicopter.

“Did you talk to her?” Hawk asked before taking a drag on his cigarette. “She was pretty upset about something when I was up here a while ago.”

“It was just a misunderstanding,” Wombat told him.

“Good,” Hawk said.

“She thought Roberta was a woman.”

“She what?” Hawk laughed.

Keeping his voice low, Wombat explained the story.

~*~

Lindsey walked to where she could see the helicopter as it touched down on the roof. She noticed right away that the aircraft was larger than the one that Lee usually brought, and she wondered if it might not be him after all. Once she could see the co-pilot, she realized that it was the same man that Lee had brought along when he’d returned Eric to the hospital.

She glanced over at Wombat, and their eyes met briefly before she looked away again.

It was a few minutes before Lee finally stepped out and walked over to where Lindsey stood.

“You’re a little early,” she said.

He looked over at the two bikers who were standing near the edge of the roof. His eyes narrowed when he recognized Hawk. “Him again?”

“Smoke break,” she said with a shrug, trying not to let her nervousness show.

“You must think I’m stupid, Lindsey. He’s up here every time I come to see you. Do you have something going on with him? Is that why you don’t want to go with me?”

“I already told you why I don’t want to go with you,” she said.

He watched the bikers for a moment. “How long will they be up here? I want to talk to you privately.”

“They can’t hear us,” she said. “Not with the helicopter making so much noise.”

He looked at her again. “So you’re not going with me?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I had a feeling that’s what you’d say.”

Lindsey was aware that Wombat was watching them closely, and she hoped that Lee wouldn’t notice it. Fortunately his attention seemed to be fixed on Hawk.

Raising his voice to be heard, Reynolds yelled over to the two bikers, “Hey, why don’t the two of you go inside for a while so we can talk without an audience?”

“Can’t do that, mate,” Wombat said. “We’re on guard duty.”

“Stay here,” Reynolds told Lindsey, walking over to the helicopter.

Lindsey grew tense as she saw him speak to someone inside. When an older gentleman stepped out, she relaxed a little. He had white hair, a neatly-trimmed beard, and a general grandfatherly appearance about him. They approached Lindsey together.

“This is Henry,” Lee said. “He runs things at the place where I’m staying.”

“And you must be Lindsey,” the man said, though he didn’t offer his hand.

“Yes, I am,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I would much rather handle this without any unpleasantness,” Henry said, glancing at the two bikers before turning his attention back to Lindsey. “Perhaps you can answer a question, and we’ll be on our way.”

“What’s the question?” she asked.

“We’ve heard a rumor that you have an immune subject in your possession. I’d like to meet this person.”

Lindsey’s breath caught in her throat, though she did her best not to react.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said quickly.

“Oh, I think you do,” Henry said, all vestiges of the grandfatherly image now gone. “Give me the name.”

“I’m sorry, I . . .” she started.

Henry lifted a hand up into the air, and several armed men piled out of the helicopter, four of them racing to surround Hawk while one of them pointed an AK47 at Wombat.

Reynolds grabbed Lindsey and held her tightly in place.

“Lee, please don’t hurt them,” Lindsey begged. “I’ll go with you.”

“I know you will,” he replied, watching as the men moved toward Hawk.

The biker put up a good fight but the men were able to restrain him after a short time.

Henry nodded toward a large, well-dressed Samoan man, and said, “Go ahead, Loto.”

The big guard entered the building through the roof access door, with four other men close behind.

Lindsey could see Wombat’s hand move toward his machete, but his captor must have seen it, too. Lindsey couldn’t hear what the man said, but Wombat lifted his hands into the air.

As Henry walked closer to the men, Reynolds dragged Lindsey along.

Wombat took a step forward, but the guard in front of him made it clear that he would shoot. Lindsey could see in Wombat’s eyes that he was weighing his odds of grabbing the rifle.

“I wouldn’t advise it,” Henry said to the biker. “You make a move, and I’ll kill Lindsey. I have no reason not to, except that I know the noise will bring your friends running if anybody’s even still here.”

A muscle twitched in Wombat’s jaw, but he remained silent.

Henry stepped closer and looked at Wombat then Hawk. “Now, who is the immune person?”

“They don’t know,” Lindsey said. “Please just leave them alone.”

Henry turned toward Reynolds. “What are their names?” he asked.

“The one with the dark, curly hair is Hawk,” Lee said. “I don’t know about the other one.”

Henry began to speak into the radio. “I need a name. He’s a biker and he’s about six feet tall, with straight, medium brown hair that’s a bit on the long side. No facial hair. He’s fairly young.”

After a moment, he turned toward Lindsey. “Is his name Wombat?”

She didn’t answer at first.

“Tell me, or I’ll have him shot!”

“Yes, that’s Wombat,” Lindsey said.

Henry stepped away, continuing his conversation out of hearing range. He returned a few moments later, still speaking on the radio.

“You’re sure it’s not either of them?” he asked. “Okay. You’d better be right.” He put the radio into his jacket pocket and approached Hawk. “I need the name of the immune person, and I need it right now or you’re going to die.”

“I don’t know it, and I wouldn’t tell you if I did,” Hawk said, defiantly.

“Well,” Henry said, “that’s going to be a problem. Let’s see if this hawk can fly.”

Reynolds sucked in a surprised breath, tightening his grip on Lindsey.

The guards seemed unsure what to do, and one of them turned and looked at Henry with surprise on his face.

“No!” Lindsey yelled. “I’ll tell you!”

“Sir?” the guard asked.

Henry quickly pulled his pistol, leveling it at the man. “Do it!” he yelled, fury on his face.

In one fast move, the men flung the biker over the edge of the building as Lindsey screamed, horrified.

“Shut her up,” Henry said, turning to aim his gun at her. “If you won’t, I will.”

Lee quickly covered Lindsey’s mouth. When she struggled to get away, he held her tighter.

The men moved toward Wombat next, eying him warily.

“Are you going to answer my question, or will you join your friend?”

Wombat glanced over the edge of the roof then turned his attention back to the men who were closing in on him.

“What’s the point?” he asked. “If I knew and I told you, you’d just kill me anyway.”

“You’re absolutely correct,” Henry said, smiling.

Lindsey managed to pull Lee’s hand away.

“Please don’t hurt him,” she yelled. “I know who it is! He doesn’t. Let him go inside, and I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me, and I’ll let him go inside,” Henry countered, turning toward her.

“I don’t believe you,” she said.

“You have no choice,” Henry shrugged. “Tell me or I’ll kill him. It’s that simple.”

“It’s me,” she finally said, hoping he couldn’t see through the lie. “I got infected when we had an outbreak. They put me in quarantine, but I never changed.”

Henry stepped a little closer, pointing the gun at her head.

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” he asked.

“No,” she said, shaking.

Henry looked down at the jacket she was wearing then turned back to look at Wombat.

“Oh, look Reynolds, they match. Isn’t that cute?”

Lindsey could feel Lee tighten his grip.

“No! Don’t hurt him!” Lindsey begged. “I can prove it’s me! I’ll let you infect me, just please let him go!”

Henry got back on the radio. “And what about Lindsey?” he asked. “Could she be the one?”

He put the radio away and said, “Let me see your arms. Show me where the bite is.”

“Leave her alone,” Wombat said, through gritted teeth.

“The bite,” Lindsey said, heart pounding. “It-it wasn’t a bite, just a tiny scratch. It barely broke the skin, and there’s not even a scar, but I tested positive.”

“Where?” Henry asked.

“On the index finger of my left hand,” Lindsey said. “You can’t even see it now.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that,” Henry said, looking over one arm, then the other. “We heard that it was a deep bite, and you look clean to me.”

“You heard wrong,” Lindsey said, wondering where he’d gotten the information.

“Get rid of him,” Henry said, turning to look at the biker again. “He’s been no help at all.”

When one of the men lifted his rifle, Henry added, “Silently!”

“No! Please don’t!” Lindsey begged.

“Shut her up!” Henry said, his eyes still on Wombat.

Lee covered Lindsey’s mouth again, as she struggled to free herself.

One of the guards grabbed the biker’s left wrist. Moving fast, Wombat twisted his arm, grasping the other man’s wrist in his own hand and effectively locking them together.

“Shoot him!” the guard yelled, panicking as he fought to free himself. “He’s got my arm!”

“No guns, I said!” Henry snapped. “There are five of you. You can handle him.”

As the others moved forward to grab him, Wombat eased his machete out, holding it close to his leg. When the biggest of the guards reached for him, Wombat let him get close then reached around to plant the machete deep in the man’s back.

Wombat looked over at Lindsey and mouthed the word “Goodbye,” then pulled both men over the side with him.

~*^*~

~44~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

When Dan woke after his nap, it took him a moment to remember that he was in Miranda’s home office. He sat up and stretched before getting up and folding his bedding. He could smell food cooking, and he could hear the light clatter of pots and pans. Making his way to the kitchen, he found Miranda there.

“I hope you were able to sleep,” she said. “I’m making some lunch.”

“From your garden?” Dan asked, noticing scraps of onion and peppers on the cutting board. There was a pot filled with boiling water and another one that contained what appeared to be spaghetti sauce.

“The onions, peppers, basil, and oregano are all from the garden,” she told him. “The tomatoes were canned.”

“You didn’t need to do this for us, but I’m really glad you did. It smells great.”

“I’m just glad I was able to buy a lot of food before things got bad here,” she admitted, adding some pasta to the boiling water.

“I noticed you had quite a bit stockpiled in your office,” he commented.

“And in both bedrooms, the garage, and the shed,” she said, as she cleaned the vegetable scraps up and put them into a container. “I bought a lot of canned food, dried pasta, flour, and all kinds of other staples. I even cooked up a ham and a couple of turkeys and froze the meat. Now I just pray that the electricity stays on so the frozen food doesn’t all go bad.”

“I was kind of surprised to see that the grid hasn’t failed yet,” Dan said, looking up at the kitchen light.

“It hasn’t been as bad here as other places,” she reminded him, stirring the sauce. “And we get our power from Hoover Dam. I remember hearing once that the dam could keep on running without human assistance for quite a while. I hope it’s true, but I’m not holding my breath.”

“It would sure make life easier,” Dan said. “I guess George is still asleep?”

“I think so. He looked exhausted when he finally went to lie down.”

“I’m sure he was. I can’t even tell you how many miles we’ve walked over the last few days, up and down hills, sometimes through the desert. He did a great job of keeping up with me. I guess he walks a lot, but I was still surprised.”

“He seems very nice,” Miranda said.

“He is. Sometimes I want to put a gag on him, but in general, I can’t complain about having him as a traveling companion.”

When the pasta was ready, Miranda dished some of it onto two plates and added sauce.

Dan carried the plates over to the table while she brought over two glasses of water and some silverware.

“Haven’t you had any outbreaks here?” he asked. “Are the dead just coming in from the highway?”

“We’ve had some outbreaks over the last few days,” she said. “I can hear what’s going on around town with my police scanner. A lot of people went to the shelter after the first outbreak.”

“And why didn’t you go?” he asked, curious.

She looked at him in silence for a moment, and again he was struck with the uniqueness of her pale blue eyes.

“A couple reasons,” she said. “I don’t like crowds, and with something like this going on, the last place I want to be is in a building full of people.”

“I agree with you, there,” he said. “I’m just surprised that more people don’t understand that.”

She shrugged. “For some people, it’s easier to depend on someone else than to try to take care of themselves. I’m not quite so trustful of others.”

“I had that feeling,” Dan said. “I was kind of surprised you let us come to your house.”

“I almost didn’t.”

“You said you had a couple reasons for staying here.”

“The other one is personal.”

“Okay,” Dan said. After a while, he finally brought up the question that had been on his mind since he’d first seen Miranda’s house.

“We just spent a day in Barstow with a couple who are survivalists. They had quite a setup, like they’d been waiting for something like this to happen. I’m not sure how to ask this since my ex-wife always told me I tend to talk before I think,” Dan said, hesitating.

“Go ahead,” Miranda said, a quizzical expression on her face.

“Well, you don’t strike me as the survivalist type. I’m not even sure what that would be, but I mean, you look like someone who probably has an office job, not a person who knows how to build a cinder block wall and stay alive during an apocalypse.”

Miranda smiled and said, “I’m a paralegal, or I was one, anyway. My husband is an attorney, and I worked for him. I was never into the whole survivalist thing, though I regret that now.”

“What about the block wall and the bars and everything? How did you know what to do?”

“I paid someone to install the bars. I looked the rest up on the internet,” she said. “It’s amazing what you can learn if you look in the right places.”

They were both silent for a while as they ate.

“Do you think I’ll be safe here?” she asked, after a while.

“With the people patrolling the area and the reinforcements you’ve made, I think your odds will be better than average.”

They both looked up when George limped into the room, his gray hair sticking out all over.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Lindsey screamed into Reynolds’ hand, trying desperately to free herself while Lee struggled to hold her. She was able to get her right arm loose, and she slammed an elbow into his ribs, forcing him to let go long enough for her to escape. Her anguish narrowed her vision to the old man who had ordered the deaths of Wombat and Hawk, and she flew at him. Time seemed to slow as the old man turned, raising the gun as she approached. Lindsey realized that she could not reach him before he could pull the trigger, but Henry stood close to the edge and she hoped that her momentum would carry them both over. Her death would spare her from the torture she’d be forced to endure if she didn’t give up Autumn’s name willingly. She lifted her hands, intending to push the old man from the roof. She saw his grip tighten on the gun and, for a moment, she relished the look of fear in his eyes.

She was grabbed suddenly from behind when she was just five feet from the old man, but that didn’t stop him from firing his weapon. The blast from the pistol was loud, and the pain was immediate.

~*~

“We’ve been trying to get a hold of you, Boss. I think we’ve got a problem,” Gunner said into the radio. “Reynolds is back.”

“I thought he gave Xena a week.”

“That’s what I thought. Hawk went up there . . . hey, was that a gunshot?” Gunner asked, pulling the radio away from his ear.

“Sounded like one,” Moose said. “I’m heading up there.”

“What’s going on?”

“We just heard a shot,” Gunner said. “Moose is going up there.

“We’re turning around. Be there as soon as we can. You guys be careful.”

~*~

“You ruined my shot,” Henry said, looking annoyed.

“It looks to me like you got her,” Reynolds said. There was blood running down Lindsey’s left arm.

“Barely. She’s lucky I didn’t blow her damn head off.”

Henry turned to look at his three remaining guards. “Why the hell was she able to get that close to me? In case you haven’t figured this out yet, your most important job is to keep me safe.”

Two of the guards looked shell-shocked. The third one answered.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the red-haired young man said. “I was trying to get a clear shot. I stopped once I saw that Reynolds had her.”

Henry nodded, but his eyes lingered on the other two for a long moment before he turned his attention back to Lindsey and Reynolds.

“Let’s get her out of here. She’s got some questions to answer.”

“Sir, you told me she wouldn’t be hurt,” Reynolds said.

“I lied.” Henry’s eyes narrowed as he regarded Lindsey. “Normally, I find these interrogations a bit unpleasant to watch, but I believe I’ll enjoy this one.”

“I’d be happy to help,” said the red-haired guard.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Wayne,” Henry said, “but I may have Loto do it.”

Moments later, the roof access door burst open, and the rest of Henry’s guards came out, dragging Dr. Doune with them. One of the men hammered a wedge beneath the door to keep it closed. The doctor was shoved into the waiting helicopter with Lindsey, and they were both blindfolded.

“We temporarily disabled the elevator,” Loto said. There was a large red mark on his forehead.

“What happened to you?” Henry asked.

Loto started to answer, but the old man waved a hand. “Never mind. What about the doors?”

“We put wedges in the doors at each floor in the stairwell.”

“Good,” Henry replied. “That should slow them down a bit.”

~*~

They were still a block from the building when Snake saw the helicopter rise from the roof. He started to increase his speed, but found that the back of the hospital was crawling with the dead. Unlike the front of the building, the back wasn’t walled in, and the infected tended to gather there, just never in the numbers he was seeing.

The radio crackled to life again, and he stopped to answer it.

“Boss, there’s nobody on the roof,” Moose said, sounding out of breath. “Don’t know what happened up here, but they disabled the elevator and blocked the doors. I had to take the fire escape.”

“Was it Reynolds?”

“I don’t know. I see blood on the roof.”

“Stay there and keep an eye on the chopper, so you can tell me where it’s heading,” Snake said. He turned to look his group over, pointing at a handful of the faster riders. “I want you guys to try to follow that bird. I know it ain’t going to be easy, and I don’t want you taking chances, but do what you can.”

Wolf tossed his radio to one of the men, and they took off with a loud roar of engines. When the bikes left, some of the dead began to follow, though more of them started to move toward the bikers who had stayed behind. Helga and several of the men pulled out their silent weapons and began to thin the numbers.

Snake’s radio came to life again, and Snake glanced up to see Moose on the roof, looking over the edge.

“Boss . . . I can see Hawk.”

Snake felt sick to his stomach. “You mean down here?”

“Yeah, Boss, looks like they tore him to shreds.”

“You sure it’s him?”

“It’s his hair, and that’s the t-shirt he was wearing. I think I see the sleeve of Wombat’s racing jacket, too.”

“I want every person that can shoot a gun to get to the back windows and clear us a path,” Snake said with a sigh. “I’m not leaving them out here.”

He put the radio away. “Boys, we’ve got a couple of bodies to retrieve, but this is strictly volunteer,” he said, checking his weapon. He climbed off his bike, not surprised when the others joined him. Windows were already opening as shooters in the building began to take out the dead that were gathered around the fallen men.

By the time Snake and the others reached the pile of bodies behind the building, there were only a few of the dead still standing. Most of the shooters in the windows pulled back so they wouldn’t risk hitting anybody with friendly fire. Moose and Gunner continued to keep the area clear so that the men on the ground could retrieve the bodies.

Snake looked down at what was left of Hawk’s body. The man had probably died instantly when he’d hit the pavement. His head had been badly crushed which also meant that he shouldn’t revive.

“We’re going to need two body bags,” Snake called up to Fish, who promptly disappeared from the open window.

While two of the men gathered Hawk’s remains, Snake looked around for Wombat. He saw a large corpse covered in fresh blood, but he didn’t recognize the man. It looked as though the dead had been chewing on the body for a while. The machete that was imbedded deeply in the man’s back looked like the one that the Australian carried, and when Snake walked closer, he could see the arm of Wombat’s racing jacking sticking out from beneath the large body. Snake pulled the machete free, and when he moved the heavy body aside, he saw Wombat. Beneath him, there was another man who looked like he had died recently. It seemed odd to Snake that they’d all fallen in the same spot, but it didn’t really matter, and he knew it. He was just desperately trying to think about anything but the two men he’d just lost.

The body on the bottom had a crushed head, so Snake wasn’t worried about him turning, but he grabbed a pike to finish off the others. The eyes sprang open on the big corpse, and Snake moved fast, thrusting the metal pole into the man’s skull before turning to deal with Wombat. He looked down at his friend, dreading what he was going to have to do.

“Sorry, buddy,” he said, lifting the pike up once more.

~*^*~

~45~

Lansing Compound

Lindsey sat in the helicopter, numb. She had no idea where she was being taken, and when it came right down to it, she really didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was to remain strong enough to keep from giving them Autumn’s name. She knew that it was likely that she’d be tortured and killed, but she would do her best to take her secret with her to her grave. She remained silent on the flight, tears soaking her blindfold as she replayed Wombat’s final moments over and over in her mind. When the helicopter landed, she was pulled to her feet and led outside by the guards. The blindfold was removed, and she was taken to a large van and shoved into a seat near the front. She saw that Doune was already sitting in the back between two guards. The man that Henry had called Wayne took the seat to her right. After Lee turned the helicopter over to the co-pilot, he hurried over to join the others at the van.

“Sir, can we talk about this?” he asked, sitting on Lindsey’s left. “We had a deal.”

Henry turned in his seat to look back at the pilot. “We’ll talk later, in private.”

From the back of the van, Doune asked, “What do you hope to gain from kidnapping us?”

“We are aware of the phone call you made to Los Angeles,” Henry said, “and we know that one of your residents is immune. We just need to know who it is. I realize that our methods for arranging a meeting were a bit barbaric, but we have no intention of harming anyone.”

Lindsey was shocked by the lie, and she started to reply, but Lee quickly slipped an arm around her shoulder and clamped his other hand over her mouth, leaning close to speak to her.

“Doune doesn’t know what’s going on, and Henry wants it to stay that way,” he whispered. “If you want to keep him safe, don’t say anything.”

Henry’s smile never faltered, and Lindsey realized that Lee was right. Doune probably had no idea what had happened on the roof. From where he sat in the back of the van, it wasn’t likely that he could tell that Lindsey was being hushed, either. It might even appear that she was with Lee by choice. The thought bothered her, but at the same time, she didn’t want to do anything to endanger the doctor, so she nodded, letting Reynolds know that she’d cooperate.

Lee pulled his hand away from her mouth but left his arm around her shoulder.

“We knew that it wasn’t likely you’d be allowed to talk to us,” Henry continued, “so drastic measures were taken. I apologize for that. All we ask is that you spend a little time with us, familiarizing yourself with our colony. Once you’ve had a chance to do that, you may decide for yourself whether or not this person would be safer in our community than at the hospital.”

“The decision wouldn’t be mine to make,” Doune said.

“Oh, I’m sure you could convince the others,” Henry said. “You must realize that this could be the only hope for finding a cure; the only chance to save mankind. And, of course, we’d need your help. We’re more than happy to provide you with a lab and any equipment you would need.”

Doune didn’t reply, and Lindsey wondered if he might be considering the offer. She hoped that he wouldn’t be swayed by the smooth-talking madman.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

As Snake mentally prepared himself to use the pike again, he looked down at Wombat’s body and realized that the dead hadn’t gotten to it yet. The body had been covered by the larger man, so only one arm had been exposed. Snake knelt down to check Wombat’s bare hand and found it free of bites. He could see marks in the racing jacket, but the teeth hadn’t made it through the thick material to the flesh. If Wombat hadn’t been infected, there was no reason to put the pike through the man’s skull, though there were small cuts on the biker’s hand that concerned Snake. He knew that he should destroy the brain, just to be safe, but Lindsey and some of the others would probably want to see Wombat’s body to say goodbye. Snake really didn’t like the idea of anybody viewing it with a hole through the head if it could be avoided. An image like that could stick with a person for a long time.

After pondering the problem, Snake decided that he’d use the pike on the back of the skull where it couldn’t be seen. He reached down to grab Wombat’s jacket, but stopped when he heard a groan. Letting go of the body, he picked up the pike again. He raised the weapon and was about to bring it down when he stopped suddenly, thinking that he’d seen Wombat’s chest rise and fall, almost imperceptibly.

“No way,” he said, considering for the first time that the biker might have survived the drop from the roof. Wombat had landed on a pile of bodies, which may have buffered his fall. Unlike the body upon which Wombat had landed, the biker’s head hadn’t been crushed. Holding his breath, Snake leaned down and felt for a pulse, watching Wombat’s eyes carefully for movement.

“Get a gurney out here, right now!” Snake yelled. “He’s still alive!”

As shots continued to rain around them, Wolf hurried over to check for himself.

“You’re right, Boss. His pulse is weak, but it’s there.”

“I came so close to putting that pike through his head,” Snake said. “I should have checked, but . . .”

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Wolf said. “I don’t think any of us would have checked after a fall like that.”

“I should know better than to assume,” Snake said, kneeling down to say a quick prayer over the injured biker as they waited.

A stretcher was lowered from the second floor window, and Keith came around the corner a moment later to help transport Wombat.

“You’ll probably want to put him in one of the trucks,” Keith said. “I came over the wall.”

Snake hadn’t even thought about that, but now that they’d walled in the park, it was a long way from the back of the building to the front door. The trucks had returned shortly after the bikes, and all three of them were parked in the street.

“Let’s do that,” he said.

“I’ll take one side,” Keith said as Snake took the other. “Careful. He’s probably got all kinds of injuries.”

They lifted the stretcher into the back of the closest truck, and Keith climbed in with him.

~*~

Lansing Compound

When the van came to a stop in front of a home that could only be called a mansion, Lee opened his door to get out, taking Lindsey’s hand in his. Loto came to stand beside them, and when Lindsey began to look around, Loto lowered his voice and said, “Don’t even think about running.”

The two men stayed with Lindsey while Henry escorted Doune up to the house, speaking pleasantly to the doctor as they walked. There were guards behind them, but they kept their distance, adding to the illusion that Doune was a guest, rather than a prisoner. Once Henry and Doune disappeared inside the house, Loto turned to Lindsey.

“Don’t try to talk to the doctor. It’s going to cause you both problems if you do.”

She didn’t acknowledge the warning but simply stared straight ahead.

Eventually, a man appeared at the door and motioned with a thumbs-up.

“Let’s go,” Loto said.

Lindsey tried, unsuccessfully, to free her hand from Lee’s grip. The house was an architectural masterpiece, but she didn’t notice any of the expensive furnishings and valuable art that they walked past. She was taken to a large room with tile flooring, where Lee had her sit down. He asked for some towels, and after pulling the racing jacket off, he checked her wound. The bullet had gouged a channel of flesh from her upper arm, and it was bleeding badly.

The maid returned quickly with towels and a mop and immediately began to clean up the blood on the floor. Lee held a towel against Lindsey’s arm, doing his best to slow the bleeding.

When Dr. Chan arrived, he seemed surprised to see Lindsey. He checked her arm and told her that she’d have a scar, but the wound wasn’t going to kill her unless she’d been infected.

“It’s going to need stitches, but I can’t treat you until a blood test has been done,” he told her.

Henry walked in to join them. “You’re lucky I wasn’t shooting to kill,” he said.

“You weren’t?” Lindsey asked. “It looked to me like you were shaking in your boots when you pulled the trigger. I assumed it screwed up your aim, but maybe you just can’t shoot well.”

Henry’s eyes grew cold, and both Dr. Chan and Lee quietly urged Lindsey to stop.

“Perhaps you’d like to find out how well I can shoot at point-blank range?” Henry asked, pulling his pistol out and jamming it under her chin.

Dr. Chan froze.

“Please, Henry,” Lee said, reaching a hand out then pulling it back, as if he wasn’t sure what to do. “Please don’t kill her.”

“Go ahead,” Lindsey said, staring at Henry with hatred in her eyes. “Do it, you coward.”

For a moment, Henry’s eyes blazed with rage, and Lindsey could feel the tremors in his hand as the muzzle dug into her flesh. She took a deep breath, hoping the pain wouldn’t last long once he pulled the trigger.

“Ah,” Henry said, pulling the gun away. “I see. You’d rather be shot than face an interrogation. That’s understandable. I’ve watched a few of them, and they aren’t pleasant. Yours will be worse than usual, I promise.”

Lindsey didn’t bother to reply.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

The truck backed up to the door, and Fish hurried out to help Keith with the stretcher. They moved Wombat to a gurney then took him to the fifth floor where Dr. Sharma was waiting.

“I’ve got a pulse,” she said. “Are you sure he fell from the roof?”

“No idea,” Keith said. “But they found him out back behind the building, so it’s likely. He’s been in contact with the infected, too.”

“That’s a long fall,” Dr. Sharma said, beginning to cut away his clothing. “There’s probably a lot of trauma.”

“I’ve seen ER patients who have survived falls that should have killed them,” Keith said. “His legs don’t seem to be broken, so he probably didn’t go feet first.”

“That’s not pretty when that happens,” Dr. Sharma said. “Let’s see what we can do for him.”

~*~

Lansing Compound

Lindsey was taken to the second floor where Loto stopped in front of a room and unlocked the door.

Henry said, “I’d give you Eric’s room, but we’re still trying to get the stench out of it. I hope he didn’t make too much of a mess on your roof when he was . . . dropped off.”

Lindsey glanced at Lee, who had tensed up. So he had been telling the truth when he’d said that Eric was supposed to be dropped off from much higher than he was. Maybe that bit of information would come in handy if she needed Lee’s help.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Henry said. “I’m sure you have plenty to talk about. Remember, Lindsey, you can either talk to Lee, or you can talk to me with Loto’s assistance. I don’t care, as long as I get the information I want.”

Lindsey looked at the big guard, who crossed his arms over his massive chest. He looked as though he could crush her with one hand.

“There will be someone posted outside this door at all times,” Henry said.

The guard named Wayne arrived with a set of restraints. He handed them over to Reynolds.

“Use those,” Henry said to Lee. “I don’t want her getting away and missing out on all the fun we have lined up for her.”

Lee took Lindsey inside the room and closed the door behind them before letting go of her hand.

She immediately went to the window, disappointed to find it covered with bars on the outside.

“Lindsey, I’m sorry,” Lee said. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Which part?” she asked, staring through the bars. “The kidnappings, the shooting, or the slaughter of my friends?”

“None of it,” he said, after a slight hesitation. “Henry said that he wanted to talk to you, and I thought that we could convince you to stay with us.”

“I had already told you that I didn’t want to come here.”

“I thought if you saw how it was here, you’d change your mind,” he said. “Henry promised me that nobody would be hurt.”

“But you did know that he might bring us here by force?”

“I knew that it was a possibility, but he promised me that we’d only bring you here for a short visit to show you around. He said we’d talk to you and take you back.”

“It was still wrong, Lee.”

“I know.”

“How can you still trust him?” she asked.

“I just think it’s best for everybody if the immune person is brought here.”

“And why is that?” she asked, turning to face him.

“Like Henry said, this place is safe. It’s much more secure than the hospital, and we have medical facilities that have more advanced equipment than what you have. We can fly in specialists who can help end this plague if we have access to this person. Or we could even fly him or her somewhere else if it makes more sense. We just want to be able to make a vaccine.”

“Do they want a vaccine for everybody or just for those of you who are worthy of living inside the walls?”

He was silent for a moment, mulling her question over. “I guess I never asked myself that,” he admitted.

“I think I know what the answer is.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “If I could take it all back, I would.”

“But you can’t,” she said quietly. “There’s nothing that will bring Wombat and Hawk back.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake found Sparky near the cafeteria.

“Can you fix the elevator?” he asked the electrician.

“I’ll try.”

“Good. I ain’t running up all those stairs.”

It only took Sparky a few minutes to get the elevator running again.

“Thanks,” Snake said. “Why don’t you give me an escort upstairs, since I haven’t been through quarantine?”

Within minutes, he was standing on the fifth floor, talking to Amelia.

“Let me get this straight,” he said. “A buttload of soldiers came out of the stairwell with Dr. Doom and took him up to the roof.”

“What’s buttload?”

“Uh, a lot,” Snake said.

“Not soldiers,” Amelia said. “Men with uniforms, but not army. They looked different. Four or five of them, not a buttload. You need to go find him! Bring him back.”

“Amelia, we’re doing our best,” Snake said, frustrated. “I’ve got guys out on bikes trying to follow the chopper. Problem is those birds can move a whole lot faster than we can, even when the roads are good.”

The tiny, dark-haired nurse put her hands on her hips, and Snake prepared himself for another tirade.

“You know why they took him?” he asked quickly before she could start.

“No, they didn’t tell me. I told them to leave him alone, and they just acted like I wasn’t even talking.”

“Okay, thanks,” Snake said, turning to leave.

“I got one of them. A big guy,” she said, lifting a heavy stapler off the desk. “Got him with this.”

“You nailed one of them with a stapler?” he asked.

“Not nailed,” she said. “I threw it at him.”

“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Snake grinned as he headed down the hall. He went to the room where Dr. Sharma was checking Wombat over.

“Is he going to make it, Doc?” Snake asked, worry on his face.

“He has a good chance,” she said, looking up. “He punctured a lung and broke his arm, as well as a few ribs. There could be other damage I haven’t found yet, but his vitals are good. I am mostly worried about trauma to his head. We’re going to move him down to the high-risk quarantine room. I did find some open cuts and scrapes that could be a problem.”

“All right,” Snake said.

“Boss,” Wolf’s voice came over the radio.

“Yeah,” Snake said, stepping out into the hall.

“Xena’s gone.”

~*^*~

~46~

Lansing Compound

A knock came at the door, and Lee opened it to speak to Loto. After a moment, he turned to Lindsey. “I’ll be back in a while.”

“Chain her up,” Loto said. “You heard Henry.”

Reynolds walked over with the restraints. He fastened them around Lindsey’s wrists and ankles, making sure that they were tight enough so that she couldn’t slip free. After locking them, he put the key in his pocket.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

When she didn’t reply, he left the room, and Wayne locked it from the outside.

Lee made his way to the library, where he was invited in and told to sit.

The expression on Henry’s face was much less friendly than it had been the last time they’d met in the room, and Lee knew why.

“It will behoove you to remember your place here,” Henry spat. “Never question me in front of others again. Your services as a pilot may be valuable to me, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be replaced. As you well know, besides the other two pilots currently residing in our community, we have several more in training at the moment, and most of them would probably kill to have your job . . . literally.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Lee said, “but this wasn’t the way things were supposed to happen. You told me that you might apply some pressure and use some scare tactics, but you assured me that nobody would be hurt.”

“And you believed me,” Henry said. “I thought you were smarter than that.”

“You gave me your word,” Lee said, tersely. “I thought that meant something.”

“It doesn’t,” Henry snapped. “You military types are all alike, still believing in foolish notions such as honor and integrity. Nobody gets ahead in this world by worrying about such things. Haven’t you learned that, yet? This is especially true now. If you want to survive, you need to be able to do whatever it takes, however unpleasant that might be.”

“What’s going to happen to Lindsey?” Reynolds asked, knowing that it was not only pointless to argue with the man, but dangerous.

Henry lifted a crystal glass, and a scantily-dressed young woman hurried over from the other side of the room with a bottle of liquor. She was clumsy, almost spilling the liquid, but she was just as beautiful as every other woman Lee had seen working in Henry’s lavish home. It was obvious that the woman had not been hired for her skills as a server.

“Leave us now,” Henry said, pointing at the door.

The woman quickly complied, and once the heavy door was shut, Henry asked, “Have you gotten the information we need?”

“No,” Reynolds said. “She’s being stubborn.”

“We’ll find out what we want to know then we’ll dispose of her. If she is cooperative, it can be done humanely. I’ll have Dr. Chan give her something to stop her heart.”

“Sir, please,” Reynolds said, “I want her with me. You told me that wouldn’t be a problem.”

Henry took a sip from his glass then looked at Lee, pursing his lips. “You seriously can’t expect me to let her live after she tried to kill me.”

“In her defense, you had just killed two of her friends,” Lee pointed out. “She reacted out of passion. It’s not as though it was a premeditated assassination attempt. And you know she was intentionally provoking you when she called you a coward. She wanted to die.”

“Then I’ll give her what she wanted,” Henry said, giving Reynolds a look that should have made his blood run cold.

“Please give me some time to get an answer from her. I promise that you won’t ever have to see her if that’s what you want, but please spare her life.”

Henry remained silent for a moment as he considered the request.

“I’m not without compassion, Lee, and I see how much she means to you. I’ll consider letting you keep her if you can get the name from her. If you aren’t successful, we’ll do this my way.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I had hoped that Dr. Chan could give her something to make her talk, but he says he doesn’t have access to the drugs he would require. I told him to find them, so he’s checking with other colonies. I have the feeling that the doctor may have been stalling for time, but I hope not, for his sake.”

“There would be no need to have Loto interrogate her if you can use the drugs to make her talk,” Lee said, relieved.

“We’ll have Loto do an interrogation, regardless,” Henry said. “She’s earned it.”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Gone? What do you mean, she’s gone?” Snake asked.

“Fish went to tell her about Wombat, but he couldn’t find her. Gunner and Moose both think she was on the roof with Wombat when the helicopter landed.”

“Of course she was,” Snake said, pulling on his beard. “What was I thinking? She would have gone up to meet the chopper. We need to go check those bodies behind the building again. I hope to God we don’t find her there, but if not, it probably means they took her along with Doune.”

“I’ll grab my stuff and meet you at the door,” Wolf said.

Snake, Wolf and a handful of the others rode their bikes around to the back of the building and searched the pile of bodies. When they found no trace of Lindsey, they rode around the neighborhood, doing a thorough search.

“I’m guessing they’ve got her,” Snake said after they’d scoured the area. He was relieved that she wasn’t dead, but fearful of what might happen to her.

“I think you’re right, Boss,” Wolf said as they waited for the gate to rise.

Before they had a chance to lower it again, the other group of bikers appeared down the street, returning with the message that they’d lost the chopper.

They all headed inside, where Snake went to find Jack.

~*~

Lansing Compound

Lee had spent hours trying to talk to Lindsey, but she had refused to give him the information that Henry wanted. After a while, he tried to talk to her about other things, but she had nothing to say to him. She lay in bed, staring at the wall, just wishing he’d leave her alone.

There was a knock at the door, and Lee answered it to find Loto there again.

“Henry wants you to bring the woman to dinner, but if she tries anything, he’ll have her shackled in front of everybody.”

“I’m not hungry,” Lindsey said, keeping her back to them.

“It wasn’t a request,” Loto said, handing a garment bag to Lee. “Make sure she wears this dress.”

When the door closed again, Lindsey said, “It’s not going to happen.”

“Lindsey, please,” Lee said. “I’ve convinced Henry to give you some time, but it’s not going to take much for him to change his mind.”

Lindsey sat up and turned to face him. “I just don’t care,” she said. “I know he’s going to kill me, no matter what I do, so what’s the point?”

“I don’t think he’ll hurt you if you cooperate,” Lee said, unzipping the garment bag. He pulled out a dress that probably cost a small fortune.

“I’m not wearing that. The last thing I want to do tonight is to dress up and go to dinner with that horrible man. I just want to be left alone.”

Lee sat down next to her and pulled her close. When she tried to push him away, he whispered, “Relax and just listen to me for one minute.”

She quit pushing him away and he lowered his head to whisper into her ear. “This room is bugged, and there’s a camera. He hears everything you say and sees everything you do.”

Lindsey tensed at his words, but she forced herself to appear more relaxed. Lee’s face was hidden by her hair so it wouldn’t be obvious that he was talking to her.

“Play his game, Lindsey,” Lee continued. “Stall for time, and maybe he’ll change his mind, but if you provoke him, it’s all over. Understand?”

Maybe he had a point. At the moment, her world was a dark, suffocating place, and it took effort to simply keep breathing. Looking past the grief that was clouding her judgment, she knew that she wasn’t ready to die. There was Autumn to consider, too. The girl had already lost so much, and now both Lindsey and Doune had been taken from her as well. Lindsey owed it to the girl to try to survive and return to the hospital. If she could buy some time, an opportunity for escape might present itself. Maybe she would be able to avoid the torture Henry had planned for her.

“Okay,” she whispered.

He pulled back to look at her. “Won’t you please wear the dress, for me?” he asked.

“All right,” she said, for the benefit of those who were listening. “I’ll wear it, but I’m not changing here.”

“There’s a restroom down the hall,” Lee said. “I’ll take you there.”

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

“Have a seat and I’ll get you some spaghetti,” Miranda said.

“Wow. Thanks,” George said, limping over to join Dan at the table.

“How’s your knee?” Dan asked.

“It’s sore as hell,” George admitted. He peeled the bandage away to show them. It was swollen and several shades of purple. “I can hardly stand on it.”

“It looks terrible,” Miranda said, glancing down as she handed him his food and a glass of water.

“It feels pretty bad, too.”

“Did you get some sleep?” Miranda asked.

“I slept great for a while,” he said, “until I started having nightmares.”

“Zombies?” she asked, returning to her seat.

“No, garden gnomes,” he said, not elaborating.

Miranda and Dan exchanged a look, but Rayburn just said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay,” Miranda said, fighting back a grin.

Dan updated Rayburn on the conversation he and Miranda had been having.

“I’m mostly worried about the electricity going out before next summer,” she told them. “I’ll have no air conditioning, and it’s miserably hot here. If the water quits running, I’ll have no way to keep my garden alive.”

“You may have to raid the stores and even houses to find food,” Rayburn told her.

“George!” Miranda said, surprised.

“If it gets as bad here as it is other places, people aren’t going to care if you take their things, because they’ll be dead.”

“Maybe that won’t happen here,” Dan said. “This town is kind of secluded.”

“Boulder City has over fifteen thousand people, and Whispering Springs has almost five thousand,” George pointed out. “Things could get much worse if twenty thousand people end up infected here. And that’s not counting the dead on the freeway.”

“I worry about the ones coming from Vegas,” Miranda said. “There are almost two million people in Las Vegas and Henderson.”

“What will you do if they start coming this way?” Dan asked.

“I need to stay for now, but eventually I’d like to go up to Oregon to be with my family.”

“Why don’t you just go?” George asked.

“I have my reasons,” she said.

“Miranda, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to travel all the way to Oregon alone,” George said.

“I may not have a choice,” she told him.

Dan lifted his head when he heard a vehicle pass by the house. He went to look through the blinds and saw a truck drive past. There were two people in the cab and a few more in the back. They all had rifles.

“That’s one of the trucks that patrols the area,” Miranda said, coming to stand beside him. “There are several of them, and they drive up and down the streets all day long.”

“So they’re the ones who are keeping the streets empty?” Dan asked.

“Yes,” she said. She turned away from the window. “I’m going to go get something. I’ll be right back.”

~*^*~

~47~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

The bikers stayed in the hallway near the front door while Snake spoke with Jack in private. There was no sense in putting everybody into quarantine when Snake planned on sending them right back out.

“If it was just Xena who was missing, I’d say it was Reynolds, and he was doing it for personal reasons,” Snake said.

“We don’t even know for sure that Reynolds was involved,” Jack reminded him. “Just because it was a helicopter, doesn’t mean it was him.”

“It looked like a Blackhawk, in fact,” Snake said. “That ain’t what Reynolds normally brings.”

“Lindsey might have gone up to the roof thinking it was Reynolds,” Jack suggested. “It’s possible that Doune was the only target, and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. In which case, it’s got to be about Autumn.”

“It’s just odd that Xena was kidnapped a couple days after Lee threatened her. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

“But why would Reynolds take Doune?” Jack asked.

“Who knows? Maybe he just needed a good brain surgeon with a bad bedside manner.”

“I guess it is possible that they wanted a doctor. If his friends are as powerful as he says they are, maybe they just take what they want. And it’s more likely that Reynolds would have known where to find him. Only the people who are currently living here know that Doune’s lab was moved to the second floor, but it wouldn’t shock me if Lindsey mentioned this to him in passing.”

“Right,” Snake said. “If it was the LA people, they wouldn’t have a clue where to find him. Moose said they did it fast, too. They didn’t take the time to search the building.”

“Maybe they asked someone,” Jack said. “I think we need to talk to everybody that was here at the time and see what we can find out.”

“I’d like to sit in on the interviews if you don’t mind.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Jack said. “Two sets of ears are better than one.”

“I’m going to send the guys out to start searching. I’m just not sure where they should start,” Snake said. He thought about it for a moment, then asked, “When Lindsey talked to us about Reynolds, didn’t she say he wanted to take her someplace else? It wasn’t the temporary base they were using or one of the shelters.”

“Right, though he did tell her that it was someplace near the base,” said Jack.

“If someone’s still at the base, they may know where this other place is,” Snake added.

“It shouldn’t be hard to find the base. Something like that’s got to be pretty good-sized, even if the buildings aren’t permanent structures,” Jack said.

“Maybe once we talk to Reynolds, we’ll know if he was involved or not, and it’ll at least give us a place to start.”

“Exactly,” Jack said. “I’ll make an announcement and we can get started with the interviews.”

“Sounds good. I’m going to talk to my guys and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

George waited until he heard Miranda’s bedroom door close then he turned to Dan. “Do you get the feeling she’s not telling us something?”

“I noticed she doesn’t want to talk about certain things, but she hardly knows us. I don’t blame her for not wanting to confide in strangers.”

“Where’s her husband? You don’t think he’s here, do you?” George asked, leaning closer. “Maybe he got bit and she’s keeping him locked up somewhere.”

“That’s really creepy,” Dan said. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”

“Well, it makes sense doesn’t it?”

“No,” Dan said. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’d have heard or seen something by now,” Dan said. “The dead aren’t exactly quiet.”

“Maybe she’s got him gagged and chained up in her bedroom since we know he’s not in the garage.”

“We’d have heard the chains rattle.”

“Then he’s tied up. Maybe he’s outside, in the shed.”

“Do you think she would have taken us outside if she’s got her husband tied up out there?”

They both grew quiet when they heard the bedroom door open again. When Miranda returned, she was carrying a rifle.

“See? We know too much,” George whispered.

“Stop it,” Dan muttered through clenched teeth.

Miranda leaned the weapon against the wall. “I usually keep it out here during the day,” she said, “but I forgot and left it in my bedroom.”

“We should probably be going,” George muttered nervously. “We need to get on the road as soon as we can.”

Miranda looked disappointed. “I was going to suggest that you stay a few days until your knee is better.”

Dan debated. While he was anxious to get George farther away from the Yucca compound, he also thought that Whispering Springs might be an ideal place to hide out while George’s knee healed.

“What do you think, George?” Dan asked.

The man appeared torn, but he finally blurted out. “I want to stay, but not if there’s a zombie in the house!”

Miranda stared at George for a moment then burst out laughing. “Why would there be a zombie in the house?”

“Dan thinks that your husband turned into a zombie, and you have him tied up in the bedroom,” he said.

“I do not!” Dan said. “You’re the one that said that.”

“Well, you said he might be in the shed.”

“You said that, too, George.”

“You agreed that she’s not telling us something.”

“Yes, I did, but that’s her business,” Dan said, rolling his eyes. “Give it a rest, George.”

Miranda had grown silent as her eyes moved back and forth between the two men. She finally sat down at the table.

“All right,” she said, looking down at her hands. “I’ll tell you about my husband.”

“He’s in the shed, isn’t he?” George asked.

“George! Let her talk.”

“He’s at the shelter,” Miranda said, not looking at them.

“He went to the shelter without you?” Dan asked, frowning.

“That’s why I didn’t want to say anything,” she said, looking away. “It’s kind of embarrassing. My dad went ballistic when he heard.”

“I can see why,” George said. “Wow, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she said. “It was my choice to stay and his choice to go. We both thought we were doing the right thing.”

“But he left you here thinking you’d be in danger,” Dan said.

“He thought I’d give in and follow him,” she said. “I’m hoping that once he realizes that it isn’t going to happen, he’ll come home. Then we can go to Oregon together.”

“Do you think that’ll happen?” Dan asked.

“I kind of doubt it,” she said quietly. “He’s never given in on anything before. I just know that if I leave, I’ll probably never see him again. We had a huge argument about going to the shelter. He slammed the door and walked out, and it bothers me that we left things like that.”

“Can you call him or text him?”

“He doesn’t answer. There are probably more phones than plugs at the shelters, so I doubt that his phone is even charged.”

“I apologize for what I was thinking, Miranda,” George said. “We’d love to stay for a few days.”

“Good,” she told him, managing a smile. “You can give your knee a rest.”

“That’ll be a big help.”

“And I have a favor to ask,” she said.

“What is it?” Dan asked.

“Would you mind giving me some survival tips while you’re here?”

“I’d be happy to do that,” Dan said. “I’ll try to get your tire fixed, too.”

They talked for almost two hours, with both men jumping in to give her pointers that they’d picked up along the way.

Dan finally mentioned, “You might want to wear heavy clothing when you’re out there. Try not to leave any more skin exposed than you have to. George thought he’d been scratched by one of those things the other day, and we were sweating it for a while.”

“He was going to shoot me,” George told her.

Miranda gasped and looked at Hixson, who turned to Rayburn.

“You asked me to shoot you!” Dan said. He looked back at Miranda and said, “He said I should shoot him if he started acting funny, so I told him I’d do it. Then he got offended.”

“Wouldn’t you be offended if someone said they’d shoot you without even arguing about it?” George asked Miranda.

“Hmm, I might,” she said, noncommittally, “but if it’s what he thought you wanted . . .”

“See?” Dan asked Rayburn. “I was just agreeing to do what you asked.”

They all grew quiet as the sound of a helicopter could suddenly be heard in the distance.

~*~

Lansing Compound

Lindsey donned the dress, wondering if the long sleeves were meant to hide the bandage on her arm. She didn’t bother checking her reflection, because she didn’t care how she looked. After returning to her room with Lee, she sat deathly still while a young woman fixed her hair, putting it up in a style that Lindsey would never have worn by choice. When asked if she liked it, she nodded and even managed a smile for the woman, though she felt numb inside. It felt so wrong to be dressing up for a formal dinner on the day that Hawk and Wombat had been killed, and she hated the thought that she would be forced to dine with their executioner. All she wanted was to be left alone so that she could mourn her loss in private. That could not happen in a place with cameras that followed her every move.

Walking down the hall with Lee, she forced herself to take one step after another until they finally arrived at the dining room. They took seats at a long, ornate table where several others were already seated. When Lindsey was introduced as Lee’s wife, she didn’t even react until Lee’s tight grip on her hand prompted her to produce a smile.

Play the game, she told herself. Buy some time. It was just one more surreal moment in the hell that had become her life.

Doune was seated at the other end of the table, deep in conversation with another guest. Obviously he wasn’t quite as distressed about their situation as she was, and that bothered her. Then again, he probably still didn’t know what Henry had done to the two bikers. Lindsey wondered how long it would take the doctor to give up Autumn’s name.

She did her best to keep control of her emotions during the meal, though it took considerable effort. While normally not a violent person, she would have put her steak knife through Henry’s heart if she could have gotten away with it. She had the feeling that Lee realized it, because he watched her carefully whenever she picked up the utensil.

Eating was the last thing she wanted to do, but she forced herself, knowing that she would need the energy to escape if the opportunity arose. She found Doune watching her, more than once, though his face remained expressionless. She wondered what he was thinking.

When dessert was brought out, Lindsey declined.

“Ah,” Henry said, winking at Lee, “I suppose you and your new wife are anxious to get back to your room and spend some time alone.”

Lindsey’s hand tightened on the steak knife, which Lee quickly pried from her fist.

“Yes, we are,” he said, taking her hand. “So if you’ll all excuse us, we’ll be on our way.”

There was some light laughter around the table, and Lindsey wondered if the guests would still be amused if they knew the truth. Were they innocent bystanders who would be shocked to learn what Henry had done, or would they simply look the other way, deciding that his actions had been for the good of the community?

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Jack stood and cracked his back. He and Snake had talked to almost every person who had been in the hospital when the helicopter had landed. So far, they hadn’t learned anything useful, but Jack had taken notes, just in case.

Eric walked in. “You wanted to see me?” he asked.

“You were here when the kidnapping happened, so yes, we need to see you. What can you tell us?”

“Nothing. I was sleeping,” Eric said with a shrug.

“You were sleeping?” Jack said, frowning. “You were supposed to be on duty since most of the bikers were out helping with the harvest.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” Eric said. “Well, I guess we can call it a sick day, since I . . .”

“That isn’t the point, Eric,” Jack snapped. “I needed you on duty. Everybody was working yesterday. Nobody was supposed to be sleeping in.”

Eric just shrugged. “Can I go now?”

“Might as well,” Jack said with a sigh.

Eric left the room, and one of the newcomers walked in.

Snake recognized the blonde woman immediately. She was the one who had thrown herself at Wombat. She’d also offered herself to several of the other bikers, hoping to get drugs. When that hadn’t happened, she had tried to get them to do her work in exchange for sex. As far as Snake knew, none of them had taken her up on it, though Dumbo had being doing some of her work. Snake had tried to talk to the woman once, but she’d just flipped him off and walked away.

“Brandi, right?” Jack asked.

“That’s me,” she said. “Wait, you’re the guy that kicked me out of my room, aren’t you? That was bullshit.”

“Oh, right,” Jack said. “You’re the one who wanted a double room. Well, I’m sorry, but all the single people get smaller rooms.”

“Whatever. So, who got kidnapped, and why do you need to talk to me?”

“Dr. Doune and Lindsey were both taken,” Jack said.

Brandi laughed. “Good. I hate that bitch.”

“Excuse me?” Jack said with a frown.

“Lindsey wasn’t very nice to me. I’m glad she’s gone.”

“Do you know anything about this?” Snake asked.

“Of course not,” she said, looking at her nails.

“Where were you at the time?” he asked.

“Sleeping,” she snapped. “Not that it’s any of your business. You’re way too concerned about what I do in my free time. Now, if you’re done harassing me, I need to go check my e-mail.”

“You’re free to go,” Jack said. “Have a nice day.”

Brandi left the room without another word, but she slammed the door on her way out.

“And that’s another issue that may have to be addressed eventually,” Jack said. “Apparently, she’s still on the computer a lot, and she doesn’t like to share. Jackson’s talked to her about it twice already. Her response was to ask him if she could have her own laptop if she made it worth his while.”

Snake shook his head. “I’m kind of surprised she hasn’t tried to talk Dumbo into picking one up on a supply run. He’d probably do it. He seems to have a thing for her.”

“She’s getting him to do her work,” Jack said.

“That’s what I’ve been hearing. I’m going to talk to him.”

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

“Do you get helicopters around here normally?” Dan asked, going to the window again.

“No,” Miranda said. “They fly into the airport and hospital in Boulder City, but not here.”

“They might be looking for us,” he told her. “I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but we’re being pursued by some really dangerous people.”

Miranda only hesitated a moment before asking, “Do they know what you’re driving?”

“They might, if they talked to anybody in Cholla Ridge. The California plates would be a red flag, too,” Dan said.

“We could put your truck in the garage and leave mine out,” Miranda told him, grabbing her keys from a hook.

“We’ll have to do this fast,” Dan said. “If they see us moving the vehicles, it’s all over.”

Miranda ran to the garage with Dan right behind her. While she started her truck, Dan went to look out one of the small windows on top of the garage door.

“I don’t see anything,” he said.

Miranda opened the garage door with her remote, and Dan ducked beneath the door to slip outside. He checked the sky as he hurried to his truck and started it. As soon as the spot in the garage was vacated, Dan took it. Miranda parked in the driveway and rushed into the garage, hitting the button to close the door. Before it was completely shut, Dan could see the chopper above the houses a few streets away.

“I hope they didn’t see us,” Miranda said as she stood on her toes to watch through the window.

“I think if they had, they’d be over here by now. They look like they’re still searching.”

Moments later, a red Toyota pickup full of men with rifles drove down the road.

“Shit,” Dan said.

“Don’t worry,” Miranda said. “Those are just more of the people who are patrolling the town. I recognize that truck.”

“Thank God,” Dan said. They stayed in the garage as the chopper moved up and down the street, finally passing directly overhead.

“Keep going,” Miranda whispered to herself, urging the helicopter on.

The sound began to grow quieter as the aircraft continued down the street.

“I think we’re okay,” Dan finally said, relieved.

They went back into the house, and Miranda turned to look at the two men with a question in her eyes.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” she asked.

“We’ll tell you if you want to know, but it could put you in danger,” Dan said. “These people have been trying to kill us. It’s probably best if we just leave.”

“Do you think they’ll find you here?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “They haven’t found us yet, though we’ve seen them searching several times.”

“There’s nothing around here but desert,” she pointed out. “If you drive out of here, you’ll probably be spotted on the road, and George is in no condition to walk. Personally, I think you should stay for a day or two until they move on.”

“I don’t want to put you in danger, Miranda.”

“You think I’m not already in danger?” she asked. “I’m living alone in a world filled with the cannibalistic dead. I’m not worried about some men in a helicopter. Can you promise me that the two of you didn’t do anything wrong; that those are the bad guys out there?”

“I promise,” George said. “They want us because we know too much. That’s why it’s best if we don’t tell you anything.”

“Okay,” Miranda said. “Then I really think you should stay.”

Dan debated for a few moments, but he finally gave in. Miranda was right. They’d be sitting ducks as they drove through the desert unless they left at night, and George wouldn’t be able to do any walking.

“Thank you, Miranda,” Dan said. He went to go get their packs from the truck since they’d be staying a while.

Rayburn waited until Dan was out of hearing range then said to Miranda, “I noticed you had a lot of DVDs in the family room. You wouldn’t happen to have The Sound of Music, would you?”

“Sure I do,” Miranda said with a smile. They went into the family room at the back of the house, and she pulled the movie off the shelf just as Dan entered the room. “My dad always said it was Julie Andrews’ best role.”

Hixson froze, eyes shifting toward Rayburn.

“It’s my favorite movie,” Rayburn said, ignoring Dan, “but someone gave my copy away.”

“Seriously? I have to defend myself over that stupid movie?”

“I like it, too,” Miranda said. “My parents always loved it, and we used to watch it at least once a year.”

“Can we watch it tonight?” Rayburn asked.

“Sure, George,” Miranda said. “I’d love to. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it.”

“While you two watch the movie, maybe I can catch some sleep. I’ll pull guard duty tonight.”

“I just push a dresser against my door at night,” Miranda said. “The dead can’t get into the side yard, and I don’t think they could get past the bars on the front door and window.”

“I think the overhead garage door is the only weak point,” Dan said, “but they’d have a hard time with the door leading into the house from the garage.”

“See, Dan? You can watch the movie with us,” George said, way too happy about it for Dan’s liking.

“Fine,” Hixson said.

~*~

Lansing Compound

“Has she told you anything yet?” Henry asked Lee after Lindsey finally fell asleep that night.

“Not yet,” Lee said, “but she’ll talk. I just need a little more time.”

“I’m not going to wait forever, Reynolds. If you can’t get her to cooperate, I’m sure that Loto or Wayne can.”

“What if she’s the one?” Lee asked, changing tactics. “What if she’s immune and you . . . hurt her.”

“She’s not the one,” Henry said. “But she knows who it is, and she’s protecting them. I’m certain of that.”

They were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the library door.

“What is it?” Henry asked when Loto stuck his head in.

“Sir, there’s been a problem. The woman locked herself in the bathroom.”

“So unlock it,” Henry said the words slowly as if Loto might have trouble understanding them.

“Wayne already did it, but he hit her when he pulled her out.”

Lee was already on his feet and moving for the door.

“She’s got a split lip, and her eye looks pretty bad,” Loto said. “Brett’s with her now, since I didn’t want to leave her alone with Wayne.”

“Let’s go see how bad it is,” Henry said with a sigh.

“Should I go get Dr. Chan?” Loto asked.

“I suppose so,” Henry said, waving him off.

By the time Henry got there, Reynolds had Wayne against the wall, and the guard had blood running down his lip.

“Stop!” Henry yelled before the pilot could take it any farther. “Let him go. He’s simply doing his job.”

“Doing his job?” Lee asked through clenched teeth. “Did you see what he did to Lindsey?”

“Obviously not, and it doesn’t really matter,” Henry said. “I don’t know what she thought she was going to accomplish by locking herself in the restroom, but this sort of thing will not be tolerated. She was told to keep that door unlocked.”

Reynolds reluctantly let the guard go.

“She was trying to get the window open when I finally got in,” Wayne said, wiping blood from his lip. “It’s a small window, so we never put bars on it, but I think she might fit through it.”

“That will be remedied immediately,” Henry said. “Go take care of it. We’ll talk later.”

Reynolds’ eyes followed Wayne as he walked away. He wanted to believe that there would be a punishment for what the guard had done, but knowing Henry, a reward was more likely.

As Wayne disappeared around the corner, Dr. Chan appeared with Loto.

“Let’s go take a look at her,” Henry said, walking into the room with Reynolds and Dr. Chan. Loto stayed outside the room.

Lindsey turned her head when the door opened, but she quickly looked away again.

“Let me see,” Henry said.

Lindsey reluctantly turned to face them, but she wouldn’t look at Henry, fixing her eyes on the wall.

The area around her left eye was red and swollen, and there was a gash on her eyebrow. Her lip was also split and covered with blood.

“My, my, that’s going to be quite a shiner,” the old man said. “I hope you learned your lesson, young lady.”

“Learned her lesson?” Lee asked, turning angrily toward Henry.

Dr. Chan also reacted to the comment. “Beating people into submission, Henry? Is that what your community is about?”

Henry looked at the doctor coldly. “Of course not, but we can’t have her getting away, now, can we? She is probably our key to finding a vaccine. I would say it’s imperative to keep her here at all costs, and if you don’t agree, you can be put outside. We do have another doctor now.”

Dr. Chan turned his attention back to Lindsey as Henry walked out the door with Lee.

“Bringing her here was a mistake,” Reynolds said, once they were in the hallway. “I never should have done it.”

Henry laughed and patted him on the shoulder in a condescending manner. “Well, lucky for me you didn’t realize that before you agreed to our deal.”

Lee’s hands clenched into fists, but he remained silent.

The smile dropped from the old man’s face. “Like Dr. Chan, you need to remember your place, Reynolds. I will not hesitate to feed you to the deviants if I begin to question your loyalty.”

~*^*~

~48~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

The next morning, George watched movies while Dan helped Miranda dig up the rest of her grass. By the time they finished, it was unbearably hot outside, and they were both ready to be back in the air-conditioned house. They were surprised to find that George had lunch ready for them.

“You know, Miranda,” Dan said as he took his seat, “even with the extra space you’re adding, I’m afraid this garden probably isn’t going to be big enough to provide all the food you’ll need.”

“I’ve been wondering about that,” she said. “I read that it takes an acre of land to sustain one person, but I think that might include raising animals, which I’m not going to do. I’m planning on doing some vertical gardening, too.”

“You might also want to think about planting some crops in other yards, besides your own.”

She laughed. “I’m sure my neighbors would love to come home to that.”

“They’re probably not coming home,” Dan said. “If they do, maybe they’ll be happy to have a garden already started for them. Things are not going to be like they used to be, not in our lifetime.”

She nodded, much more somber than she had been moments earlier. “I have to keep reminding myself what it’s like in other places. It’s hard to imagine that it’ll ever be that bad here.”

“Maybe you need to see it for yourself,” Dan said. “We could take a drive, and I can show you what it’s like a little closer to Las Vegas, and maybe I could teach you some fighting techniques with live zombies.”

“That’s really risky,” George said.

“Right,” Miranda agreed. “I don’t know if I want to get that close. Maybe you could teach me the techniques in a more theoretical way. You know, like ‘Okay, Miranda, let’s pretend this empty space is a zombie. Now stab it.’”

“I know it’s dangerous,” Dan said. “But it’s something you’re going to have to do if you stay here. If you ever need medicine or more food, you’re going to have to fight them off to get into the store, or possibly even to go into other houses. I want to know that you can take care of yourself. I don’t want you to go out there alone for the first time.”

She looked at George for his opinion.

“He might have a point,” George said. “I’d be dead if Dan hadn’t been with me. He taught me a lot, and now I think I could maybe even hold my own out there, for a while anyway.”

“Have you killed one?” she asked. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

“Yes, I have. The first one’s hard, but it gets easier, especially when they’re trying to kill you,” George told her.

“All right. I’ll do it,” she said, obviously still nervous about it.

“Okay,” Dan said. “But before we go out there to face the real thing, I’m going to show you some moves you might need.”

“Dan’s going to show you his moves,” George said with a grin.

Hixson turned to look at Rayburn. “Why don’t you go watch a movie, George?”

“I want to see this,” George said. “Maybe I’ll learn something, too.”

“All right, but you can’t talk.”

They cleared some of the furniture out of the living room to give them space.

“I’m no martial arts expert,” Dan told Miranda, “but I’ve picked up a few things over the years, both in regular training and from some of the other guys on my squad. Pain doesn’t seem to affect the dead, but you can immobilize them by breaking a knee, or you can buy yourself some time by knocking them down. Killing them is best, but there are times when you’ll have two of them coming at you at once and . . .”

“That happened just the other day,” George said. “Remember, down by . . . sorry, I’ll be quiet.”

“You’ve got a few options,” Dan continued. “One, you change your position, so you’re closer to one than the other. Then you can deal with them one at a time. If that’s not possible, you bring one of them down then move on to the other one.”

He showed her how to do a side kick to break a knee. After fifteen minutes of practice, he said, “Good, you’re getting better. You’ll need to work on this every day. When it comes time to use it, it’ll be automatic.”

“I hope so,” she said.

“Now I’m going to grab for you. If I reach high, your arm is going to go up and over to knock my arm away. If I reach low, your arm will go low, too. Try to use the inside of your forearm, since there’s more padding there, and you won’t get so many bruises that way.”

“She’s probably more worried about getting bitten than getting bruised,” Rayburn said.

“I realize that,” Dan replied, “but she’s going to be able to practice more if she’s not covered with bruises.”

Miranda had trouble at first, but the more they practiced, the easier it became. By the time the session ended, Dan knew that she had a good feel for the blocks and kicks he’d taught her. At least she’d have a few of the basics and would improve with more practice after he and George were gone.

~*~

Lansing Compound

After Henry walked away, Lee turned to go back into Lindsey’s room, almost bumping into Dr. Chan on the way out. They both stepped out into the hall.

“Is she going to be all right?” Lee asked.

“She’s going to be in pain for a while, and I’ll need to give her a few stitches above her eyebrow.”

“Can you give her something for the pain?”

Chan replied in a low voice, and Reynolds knew that the doctor was hoping not to be heard by the guard or the microphones that were planted everywhere.

“I’m sure Henry won’t let her have anything. He told me earlier that he thinks she’ll try to kill herself if given the opportunity. After seeing how she tried to provoke him earlier, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“She saw two of her friends thrown off the roof today. She’s understandably upset.”

“Who?” Chan asked, shocked.

“Two of the bikers,” he said. “One was named Hawk. I can’t remember the name of the other one. And Henry’s threatening to torture her for information. She may be desperate enough to do something.”

“How can you be a part of this?” Chan asked in a whisper. “I heard that you came here by choice.”

“I was just asking myself that,” Lee admitted. “Didn’t you choose to come here?”

“No, I wanted to stay at the shelter, where I was needed. I wasn’t given a choice. I guess we’re both stuck here now.”

“Unfortunately, I think you’re right.”

When Chan walked away, Reynolds went back into the room. He found Lindsey lying on the bed, facing the wall again. He watched her for a moment, certain that she couldn’t be asleep already. When he heard her trying to stifle tears, he sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, “for everything.”

She turned to face him, wiping her eyes.

Reynolds was quiet for a while. He finally asked, “The second guy. He wasn’t just a friend, was he?”

“No,” Lindsey said. “His name was Wombat, and he was more than a friend.”

“All I wanted was for you to be with me, and I screwed it up,” Lee said. “I thought this place would be somewhere that we could have a life together. Instead, I drove you to someone else.”

“You didn’t drive me to him. You drove me away from you. You and I don’t want the same things,” she said.

“I know it’s too late to fix it now, but I’ll do whatever I can to keep you alive.”

“I appreciate that, but I think Henry’s already made up his mind. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me. He wants me dead.”

“Tell him what he wants to know, Lindsey. I think I can convince him to let you live if you do.”

“No,” she said. “If he wants information from me, he’ll have to torture me to get it.”

In an office on the first floor, Henry smiled as he watched the monitor. “Oh, I intend to,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

The next morning, Snake hurried to Wombat’s room after getting a message from Dr. Sharma.

“He’s awake,” she said, when Snake stepped into the room, “but he hasn’t been able to say anything yet.”

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Snake asked, keeping his voice down.

“He made it through the night, so I think he has a good chance,” Dr. Sharma said. “I’ll be watching his punctured lung closely. He needs to do breathing treatments every day until it heals. His broken ribs will be bothering him for a while. He has a serious concussion as well, so he’s going to have to take it easy.”

“Thanks for taking care of him, Doc,” Snake said.

“I was happy to do it,” she told him.

Wombat had spent several hours in the new high-risk quarantine room the previous day, but he’d tested negative for the parasite each time. He’d been lucky, considering the fact he’d been laying in a pile of infected bodies. Fortunately, the parasites hadn’t found a way in.

Snake took a seat next to his injured friend.

“Can you hear me, buddy?” he asked. “Wombat?”

The reply was impossible to decipher, but it gave Snake a little hope.

Jack stepped into the room, greeting the others before going to stand by Dr. Sharma at the foot of the bed.

The Australian tried to speak, but his words were still coming out garbled. He appeared to be frustrated, but he finally pointed to a pitcher on his tray.

Snake poured some water into a plastic cup for him and helped him drink.

After getting about half of the water down, Wombat closed his eyes again.

“Hawk,” he finally said. “Dead?”

Snake sighed, “Yeah, he is. We found him behind the building.”

Wombat gave a slight nod.

“Lindsey?” he asked after a moment, though the word was slurred.

“We’re not sure where she is, dude,” Snake told him. “Looks like someone took her and Dr. Doom. We were hoping you might know something.”

Wombat opened his eyes again and tried to say something else, but none of the others could understand him. Frustrated, the biker kept trying, finally getting out two words.

“Old man?” Jack repeated.

Wombat nodded then winced in pain.

“What old man?” Snake asked.

Wombat pointed to the ceiling.

“Do you mean God?” Jack asked. He looked at Snake. “Maybe he wants you to pray for him.”

“I think he means there was an old man on the roof,” Snake said.

Wombat gave a “thumbs up” sign, but his eyes were closed again.

“Old man,” Jack repeated, deep in thought. His eyes lit up suddenly. “Eric was talking about an old man at the place where he was staying. I wonder if it could be the same one.”

“Wombat, was Reynolds involved?” Snake asked.

The biker gave them another thumbs-up.

“Reynolds is the one that dropped Eric off, so this could be the same old man,” Snake said.

“Let’s go talk to Eric,” Jack said.

“We’ll be back later,” Snake told Wombat, but this time the biker didn’t reply.

“He’ll probably sleep a lot,” Dr. Sharma told them.

“Okay,” Snake said. “Do me a favor, and let me know if he wakes up and says anything more.”

“I’ll do that,” she promised.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

Miranda and Dan trained again in the early morning, and Dan was pleased with the progress.

George hobbled out to watch them. When Miranda asked him how he felt, he said, “Not great. I hope I didn’t tear a ligament or something. It’s still hard to walk.”

“I’ll go get some fresh gauze and tape, so we can change that bandage,” Miranda said, leaving the room.

“You’re a doctor. Can’t you tell if the ligament is torn?” Dan asked.

“No,” George said.

“Is it really that sore or do you just not want to leave?”

“I don’t want to leave, but it really is sore.”

Dan stared him down, knowing that he could usually get the other man to break.

“Really!” George said. “It hurts like hell, and it feels like it’s going to give out when I put any weight on it.”

Dan remained silent, still watching Rayburn, whose eyes were darting around.

“Okay, I’m also worried about Miranda,” George blurted out. “My knee hurts a lot, but I could probably hobble away from zombies if I had to. I don’t want to leave Miranda here when she can’t defend herself. Do you honestly think she’s ready to take them on?”

Dan finally looked away with a sigh. “Alone? Probably not.”

“So what’s the rush? You said yourself that we might be safe here. She could even come with us when we go,” George said.

“I’d be fine with that,” Dan said, “but I don’t think she’ll leave her husband here.”

“He’s a jerk,” George said.

When she entered the room again, both men became silent.

“What?” she asked, looking back and forth between them.

“George was just telling me that his knee is still hurting.”

“You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you want,” Miranda said. “I’ve really enjoyed the company.”

“Thanks,” Dan said. “It’s been a nice break for us. I just don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not imposing. You’re teaching me how to defend myself, so the longer you stay, the better for me.”

Dan told Miranda that he thought it was time to test her new skills on a live target. She looked nervous about it, but she agreed to try it and went to change into jeans and hiking boots. Dan also had her wear gloves, and as an afterthought, he secured towels around her upper and lower arms with duct tape. He made sure that her elbows were free to move, giving her the flexibility she’d need.

“They’ll protect your arms since you don’t have thick sleeves,” he said. “I’d suggest finding a leather jacket or something similar when you have the opportunity.”

“What about the helicopter?” George asked.

“We haven’t seen or heard it lately, so I’m hoping it’s gone,” Dan said. “I know that it’s a risk, but they also won’t be looking for a man and woman. They’ll be searching for two men.”

“Be careful out there,” George told them as they left.

“Let’s go out near the highway,” Dan said, once they were in Miranda’s truck. “I noticed there were other bodies, so we won’t be attracting attention by adding more of them.”

“I know some of the patrols go out there to thin the numbers now and then,” she said. “Hopefully they won’t be there today.”

“If they show up, we’ll leave,” Dan said. “I’d like to get a look at the road coming from Las Vegas, too. And maybe we can fill your tire up while we’re out.”

Wanting to avoid the men who were patrolling the streets, they waited until they heard gunshots then went the other way.

“We’ll take the back road so we can avoid the roadblocks,” Miranda said.

“I must have missed those.”

“I think they’re more for show than anything since a person could just drive through the desert to get into either town.”

“It’s probably a small show of force, too,” Dan guessed.

“That’s what I thought,” she said. “Anyway, these back roads aren’t watched at all. You lucked out when you drove into Boulder City that way. You would have been stopped at the main roads.”

“That was kind of a fluke,” Dan said. “The highway was jammed, so we turned off on a power line road, and it’s where we ended up.”

Miranda drove into Boulder City then continued on to the highway using the same route that Dan and George had taken. Dan cautioned her to watch for soft sand since she didn’t have four-wheel-drive. Once they found an area where the ground had been cleared away and leveled, he said, “This looks like a good spot. We’ll try to stay in this open area, so we aren’t tripping over plants. Why don’t you turn the truck around so we’ll be facing the right direction when we’re ready to leave?”

Once the truck was turned around and parked, they could see a handful of the dead coming their way, lured by the sound of the engine. The first one was getting close, and Dan saw that it was moving fairly fast.

“This is a fresh one,” he said as he exited the truck. “And it looks like he was in good shape before he died. He’s fast, so don’t let him get too close. Can you do it, or do you want me to take care of him?”

Miranda hefted the crowbar in her hands, but she didn’t reply right away. After a few moments she said, “I’m not sure I can do it. What if there’s a cure? If I kill this guy, that’s it. He’s dead forever.”

“If you don’t kill him, he may kill you or someone else. If a live person was coming after you with the intent to kill you, wouldn’t you try to protect yourself?”

“That’s different. We came out here intentionally to do this.”

“Look at his neck,” Dan said, getting ready to step in since the ghoul was getting uncomfortably close. “His throat’s been ripped out. That can’t possibly be fixed.”

“No, I guess it can’t,” she said, adjusting her grip on the crowbar, but still looking uncertain.

“Would you want to be like him, walking around after death, killing people and eating them? Do the poor guy a favor and end his misery.”

“You’re right,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll try.”

“Remember, he’s got long arms. You’ll probably need to get him from the side or back so he can’t knock your weapon away.”

“Right,” she said, eyes riveted to the snarling zombie only ten feet away.

~*^*~

~49~

Yucca Compound, Southern California

Madec leaned back in his chair. “I’ve contacted the heads of each region in North America. They’ll pass the word on to the individual communities and also to any local law enforcement agencies in their areas that are still up and running. Rayburn and Hixson will soon be the most wanted men on the planet.”

“Let’s just hope this works,” Bob said, “if they’re even still alive. The way the trail just stopped makes me wonder.”

“It’s possible that they’re dead,” Madec agreed. “But I don’t want to assume it’s the case. We’re checking out several possibilities, but if they are alive, they won’t have any place to hide before long.”

“What do we do now?” Bob asked.

“We wait,” Madec said. “We let the search teams continue their work, and we wait.”

~*~

Lansing Compound

Doune sat on an overstuffed chair in the exquisitely decorated library. He couldn’t complain about the way he’d been treated. He’d been fed gourmet meals and given a lavish room in which to stay. He’d even been offered the company of a woman for the duration of his stay, though he had declined. The Scotch he was sipping would have cost thousands of dollars in the old world. His hosts had provided him every luxury a person could want, in hopes of winning him over to their cause.

A tall, thin man, who happened to be one of Doune’s colleagues, paced the room as he did his best to explain himself.

“Don’t you see the logic?” he asked, wringing his hands in frustration. “Every so often, it happens. It’s nature’s way of strengthening the species. If mankind hadn’t experienced these near extinctions, we never would have found our way to the top of the food chain. Now we are in the perfect position to take advantage of these circumstances.”

Doune had known the other doctor most of his adult life, yet he felt as though he was staring into the eyes of a stranger.

“Have you gone mad, James?” he asked. “As a doctor, how can you condone any of this?”

The other man continued. “This restructuring of our world has been carefully and painfully thought out. We have some of the best scientific minds working with us. They’re all in agreement. If this hadn’t happened, mankind might not have survived its next crisis. We were way overdue.”

“You’re talking about the violent deaths of possibly billions of men, women, and children. How can you possibly justify that?”

“Nick, we didn’t cause this plague. Most of us were opposed to doing anything outside the normal channels, in fact. We thought we could eventually fix the world’s problems through public awareness or changes in our laws. Even those who pushed for a purge, of sorts, would have preferred something more humane. Hell, strategically administered vaccines to keep down the population would have worked just as well, with none of the mess. But the fact remains that when this parasite made its appearance, we were ready for it. We had leaders who were willing to step in, and they had the guts to make tough decisions. Now, we must follow it through to its conclusion, no matter how unpleasant that might be at times. We can turn this tragedy into triumph. Now is the time to prune the human tree.”

“By saving yourselves while others are left outside your walls to die?” Doune asked.

“There isn’t room for everybody, so difficult choices had to be made,” James said. “Those who will help to create a better society have been invited to become a part of our community. Others who were deemed of no benefit to us were not included.”

“What gives you the right to decide who lives or dies? You’re playing God.”

“We’ve been playing God for hundreds of years, Nick. How many of us are alive now that God had already condemned to death?” he asked, throwing his hands in the air. “How many people are passing along traits that weaken our genetic makeup? Would nature have allowed the weak to survive during the Stone Age? Would a blind man have been able to pass along his DNA ten thousand years ago?”

Doune was taken aback by his colleague’s words. “Listen to yourself, James! You’re talking about building a society that is comprised of people with only the specific traits that you deem worthwhile. Don’t you see how wrong and how dangerous that is?”

“We disagree,” James said, becoming more animated as he continued. “Humans are no longer relying on our own strength and skills to survive. We’ve become dependent on tools and technology, which in turn have weakened our species to the point where the next pandemic could have wiped us out, all of us.”

“We’ve advanced,” Doune said. “Our species may be physically weaker now, but it is stronger in other ways.”

“That’s the beauty of what we are trying to accomplish,” James continued. “Only the incredibly strong will survive outside those walls, and eventually many of them will earn a place amongst us, genetically mixing their strength with our mental superiority. Think of mankind as a giant forest. We’ve been putting out the fires for thousands of years. Nature hasn’t been able to cull the diseased trees, the overgrowth. The next fire would have annihilated the forest. We have to do the job we haven’t allowed nature to do. Think of this as a controlled burn. We will be able to make sure our species will survive. The next major event would have chosen its victims at random. A person’s intelligence or good breeding wouldn’t have mattered. The most elite, productive, and intelligent humans would have been thrown into the same pool as the dregs of society. We made sure that those who have the greatest potential to contribute to society will survive. When this thing plays itself out, mankind will be stronger. It will be an evolutionary leap never seen before. We’ll be assuring our place as the top species on the planet for thousands of years.”

He paused, looking at Doune.

“We’re not monsters, Nick. We’re philanthropists,” he said, shaking his head before he returned to his chair. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. “What were we supposed to do, watch and wait as mankind drives itself into extinction? You can’t deny our logic. The question now is whose side will you be on?”

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Eric, I’ve been looking for you,” Jack said. “Why haven’t you been answering your radio?”

“I was tired, so I took a nap,” he said.

“You’re supposed to be on duty,” Jack reminded him.

“Well, it’s not like I’m getting paid anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ve still all got jobs to do.”

“What are you going to do, fire me?” Eric asked.

“That’s exactly what I’ll do,” Jack said. “You may not be getting paid in cash, but you have a roof over your head and food to eat. If you stay here and you eat the food we provide, you work.”

Eric frowned. “Well, I think that rule sucks.”

“Too bad,” Jack said. “Now, your options are to keep on doing your job, or you can leave the hospital and do whatever you want outside the walls.”

“I don’t have to do security. I could work in the kitchen once they’re done canning all that food.”

“You mean once the heavy work’s done, you could have a job where you have easier access to the food? I doubt Theresa would give you a kitchen job.”

The cook had little patience for Eric, having caught him going through the pantry and refrigerator on several occasions. A lock had finally been put on the door to make sure he didn’t sneak in when the others were sleeping.

“Okay, maybe not the kitchen,” Eric said.

“You could scrub toilets for a while,” Jack said. “They’re always looking for help with that.”

“I was thinking more like administration. I can help run things around here and maybe have one of the offices that. . .”

“We don’t have administration jobs,” Jack said. “The people in charge of different areas all have regular jobs, too. Admin is just a small part of what they do. You know, you and Brandi seem to be the only two here who have a problem with working.”

“It’s not that I’m lazy, it just seems like a waste of my talents to . . .”

“Whatever, Eric,” Jack said, cutting him off before he had to listen to any more. “The reason I was looking for you was that I wanted to talk to you about something. You said that when you left here, they took you someplace, and there was an old man in charge.”

“Right. His name was Henry.”

“Wombat woke up, and he was saying something about an old man being on the roof when everything went down.”

Eric grew pale. “Henry was here?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure there are other old men around, but I’m not sure how many of them would have a close connection with Reynolds.”

“Henry did, for sure. I think they brought Lee in to replace me.”

“So they are connected with the military?”

“No. I told you guys, this place has nothing to do with the military.”

“You told us a lot of stuff, Eric, and it’s hard to weed out which parts are true. So Reynolds left the military? Seems like Lindsey said something along that line, too.”

“I guess. And if he showed up with an old man, it had to be Henry.”

Jack paused in the conversation to send a radio message to Snake, asking him to join them. When Snake arrived, Jack summarized what he’d learned.

“That’s got to be where they are, then,” Snake said.

“So where is this place, Eric?” Jack asked.

“I’m not really sure,” Eric said.

“You don’t know where it is?” Snake asked, incredulous.

“No, they blindfolded me when they brought me in and took me out.”

“I thought you worked for them as a pilot,” Jack said. “Didn’t you fly out of there?”

“Well, just once,” Eric admitted. “I didn’t actually take over the controls on the bird until we were pretty far from the colony.”

“But you weren’t blindfolded when you left that time, right? You must have seen something.”

“I was kind of busy,” Eric said, turning red. “You know, getting ready to take the pilot’s seat.”

“Eric, my bullshit meter is going off,” Jack said.

“Okay, I was sitting in the back with my wife, Kelli. . .”

“Eric!”

“Right. We weren’t legally married, but they called her my wife. Anyway, I was kind of distracted because she was talking to me.”

The look on Jack’s face said he still wasn’t buying it.

“All right, so I just wasn’t paying attention, okay?” Eric admitted.

“Now that I believe,” Jack said with a sigh.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

Dan stepped closer, ready to intercede if he had to.

Miranda surprised him by lunging forward then sidestepping to move behind the dead man. Before the ghoul could turn around, she cracked him across the head then did it again. When the body fell, Miranda stepped away and dropped the crowbar, her hands shaking violently.

“Good,” Dan said, surprised. “That was perfect. You just need to stay calm.”

“That was horrible,” she said, bending over with her hands on her knees. Her pale blonde hair hung free, almost covering her face. She took a deep breath. “I just committed my first murder.”

“No, you didn’t,” Dan said, turning to see how close the others were. “He was already dead, just a shell that was being controlled by a parasite. You did him a favor by putting his body to rest.”

“I guess that’s a good way to look at it,” she said, straightening again, “but I’m still shaking.”

“Walk it off,” he said. “I’ll handle the next few if you’re not ready.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Maybe I can pick up some pointers from watching you.”

Hixson picked up the crowbar, but rather than waiting for the dead to arrive, he took the offensive, moving forward to drop the closest ghoul with one swing. He put the second one down with a kick to the knee, allowing him to move on to another. This was a woman with long hair, which was held back in a band. Tossing the crowbar aside for a moment, Dan grabbed the dead woman by the ponytail, holding her head back so she couldn’t bite him. It didn’t stop her from clawing at him, but his thick clothing protected him from her nails.

“By the way, you may want to wear a hat when you’re out here,” Dan said to Miranda. “They’ll grab your hair just like this, and they won’t let go.”

He took his knife and drove it into the woman’s eye, stilling her at once.

“Come over here, Miranda,” he called, walking back to the zombie whose knee he’d broken.

Miranda approached cautiously, standing next to Dan over the writhing body.

“Here’s a chance for you to stab one in the eye, so it’s not a shock when you have to do it later.”

“Do I have to?” she asked, looking unsure.

He handed her the knife and put a large boot on the creature’s chest to hold it down.

“I want to know that you can do this if you need to,” he said.

She hesitated, but when she looked up and saw others coming toward them, it seemed to give her all the incentive she needed. She plunged the knife deep into the semi-dead man’s eye, then pulled the weapon back out with a sound that even Dan found sickening.

“Disgusting!” she yelled, handing him the knife back.

Hixson noticed that she wasn’t shaking anymore, and he pointed to the crowbar. “Get to work.”

Miranda went after the next two with a little less hesitation. Since more were moving their way, Dan jumped in to help with the knife. When a woman about Miranda’s size approached, he traded weapons with Miranda and told her to try the knife. She paused for a few moments then finally moved forward with the weapon raised. When the woman grabbed for her, Miranda stumbled back, unable to get close enough to take her shot.

“Knock her arms away like I showed you!” Dan yelled.

Miranda circled the snarling zombie, looking nervous about moving closer. Finally, she made her move, knocking the left arm aside and lunging forward to slam the blade into the woman’s eye socket. She managed to keep a grasp on the handle as the body dropped, and she quickly turned to prepare for the next one. This time it was a male, and he was slightly bigger than Miranda.

Dan watched carefully, once again ready to step in. “Can you handle this?”

“I’ll try, but if I have problems . . .”

“I’ll be right here,” he said. “Just be sure to hold him back with a straight arm so he can’t bite.”

When the infected man reached for her, Miranda knocked his arm away and stepped in close with the intention of driving the knife into his eye. Before she could do it, he grabbed her with his other arm, and she panicked, dropping the knife as she struggled to free herself.

Dan was there in seconds, grabbing the knife and driving it into the side of the dead man’s head.

When the corpse hit the ground, Miranda went with him, but she quickly managed to untangle herself, and get to her feet again.

“Damn,” she said, breathing hard. “That was terrifying.”

“Their bodies don’t work quite as well as they did in life, but some of them are still strong, especially the fresh ones that aren’t too damaged. You’ll have to really watch out for those.”

“What should I have done differently with that one?” she asked.

“If they’re bigger than you, take them down before you kill them. Or use the crowbar. Don’t get close to them with the knife unless you start to feel more comfortable.”

They stayed another hour so that she could learn as much as possible in a real-life setting. By the time they’d killed everything within reach that needed to die, they were both ready to leave.

“I want to check out the pass, if you don’t mind,” she said.

“Sure. I’m curious to see how well they blocked it.”

Miranda crossed the highway and followed the power line road that paralleled the highway toward Las Vegas. Eventually, the highway and power line road were both blocked by a mass of vehicles jammed between a mountain pass. She stopped the truck, and they got out to walk a little closer.

“I don’t even want to know how many dead might be on the other side of this mess,” she said.

Dan thought there must have been hundreds of trucks and cars, metal twisted together to form a massive roadblock. The dead might eventually be able to climb over, but it wouldn’t be easy for them.

“I hope this will hold them back,” Dan said.

“There are other passes,” Miranda told him. “They can get around, but maybe it will take them a while to stumble upon another route.”

“Is there someplace that might have air for your spare?” Dan asked her, after they’d spent a few more minutes looking at the wreckage.

“We can go to the shop where I usually go for repairs,” she said, walking back to her truck.

They drove back into Boulder City, again avoiding the roadblocks. As they drove through town, Dan wasn’t surprised to see empty streets and closed businesses.

“It seems odd to see this street so bare,” Miranda said. “There were always people here during the day.”

Dan saw what appeared to be a couple restaurants, with tables and chairs outside.

Miranda pointed toward a place that said, “Milo’s.”

“I used to come here once a week with a group of friends to have a beer or a glass of wine. We had some good times here.”

“Have you spoken to your friends?”

“They all went to the shelter or left town. I haven’t heard from anybody lately.”

She turned a few corners, making her way to the road that led to Whispering Springs. The auto shop was on the edge of town, and Dan waited in the truck while Miranda ran up to the door. To his surprise, someone answered when Miranda knocked.

Dan had assumed the place would be empty, and that they’d just fill up the tire. Since it was too late to keep from being seen, he got out and walked up to join Miranda.

The young man explained to them that he lived in an apartment above the shop and had been worried about looters. He had decided to stay instead of going to the shelter.

“You’re the first customers I’ve had today,” he admitted.

“I’m not surprised,” Miranda said. “There aren’t too many businesses in town still open.”

“I noticed that,” he said.

He fixed the flat quickly and added air to the spare. Within fifteen minutes, Miranda and Dan were on their way home.

~*^*~

~50~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake rubbed his hands over his face then took a deep breath. “We need to find this place, Eric. How long did the flight take, and where did you end up? Maybe that would help narrow it down.”

“Well, we ended up in the ocean,” Eric said, “but I don’t know how long it took to get there.”

“The ocean?” Jack asked. “That’s quite a distance from here. Are you sure it wasn’t one of the Great Lakes?”

“Positive,” Eric said with certainty. “I couldn’t see the other shore, and Henry said we were heading for Canada.”

“Canada’s before the ocean, Eric,” Jack sighed. “You said you were in the water. Was it salty or fresh?”

“Come to think of it, it wasn’t salty,” Eric said, “but it wasn’t very fresh either. It smelled like fish.”

“You don’t get out much, do you?” Snake asked.

“He’s never even been out of Michigan,” Jack said.

“That’s not true,” Eric protested. “I was born in Waterford.”

“Waterford is in Michigan,” Jack sighed. “And from what I saw on the internet, there’s not much left of it. Looks like the jets may have paid a visit over there.”

“Okay, you ended up in one of the lakes, either to the north or the east of Lansing,” Snake said, “but I’m guessing you made your way back since Reynolds dropped you off here.”

“Right, we walked for days to get back. I had to guide the others out.”

“Drop the bullshit, Eric. Just stick to the facts. Which direction did you take?” Jack asked.

“Um.”

“If you led the others out, surely you know which direction you took.”

“Well, this other guy, Frank, kind of helped since he had a compass.”

“Okay, this is getting us nowhere,” Jack said. “Did you go through any cities or was it rural?”

“There was a lot of farmland,” Eric said. “Oh . . . wait. We didn’t go back to the same place we started. We walked to another compound that was near farmland.”

Jack stared at the ceiling in frustration.

“So there were two places?” Snake asked. “They could be keeping Xena and Dr. Doom at either one. That’s going to make it tougher.”

“They’re probably at the main place,” Eric said. “The other one was just for running the farms, I think. The main place was near a city. I remember seeing a city from Henry’s balcony.”

“Did you recognize the city?” Jack asked, leaning forward.

“No,” Eric said. “But I wasn’t paying that much attention.”

“So this place was outside a city, like on the outskirts?”

“Maybe,” Eric said, trying to remember. “It was pretty big, though. I mean, the place was like its own city. I remember seeing miles of parks, lakes and mountains.”

“Mountains? So it wasn’t around here?”

“I guess they could have been hills.”

“You’re sure about the hills? That might help.”

“Pretty sure,” he said, after a long pause.

“I keep thinking about the walls we came across when we went after the parts for the generator,” Snake said. “At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I just figured it was a bunch of people like us, throwing up barriers to keep themselves safe. But this place couldn’t have been nearly as big as what you’re saying. It was inside the city.”

“Not a chance,” Eric said. “This place was huge, probably bigger than Lansing.”

“What were the walls like?” Snake asked.

“It had huge, rock walls, like a castle, and these big guard towers all over the top.”

“I didn’t see any guard towers,” Snake admitted. “There was a thick fog that day, so we couldn’t see a whole lot, but the walls were definitely not rock.”

“This had to be on the edge of a city, somewhere,” Eric reiterated. “It was massive.”

“I don’t want to waste my time checking this place out again if you’re sure,” Snake said, “especially when my guys and Xena got shot at last time.”

“I guarantee you it’s not the place,” Eric said.

“With the hills, it’s probably in a different city, but I’ll have my guys keep their eyes open when they look for the base. If it is nearby, it shouldn’t be difficult to find if it’s that big.”

“It’s huge,” Eric said. “I don’t see how you could miss it.”

“I’ll give them a call and update them,” Snake said, getting up to leave.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

“How did it go?” Rayburn asked as soon as they came in. “I’ve been worried sick. You’ve been gone for over two hours!”

“It went fine,” Dan said as Miranda left to go shower.

“Tell me everything,” Rayburn said, sitting down at the table. “Did she do okay?”

“Yes, she did,” Dan said, filling George in on all the details.

“You look worried,” George said, staring intently at Dan when he finished talking.

“She did really well for a person with almost no training,” Dan said, keeping his voice down. “In fact, she did a lot better than I expected, but there were still a few times when I had to step in and help her. I think she can do this, but she’s going to need to build some strength so she can handle the bigger ones, and she’s going to need to keep training. I’ll work with her while we’re here, but I’m a little worried about her being on her own.”

“If we stay a while, you can do a lot of training with her,” Rayburn pointed out.

“I know,” Dan said with a sigh. He was already anxious about the time they’d spent at her house. His instincts were telling him that he and George needed to get farther away. Whispering Springs was just over two hundred and fifty miles from the Yucca compound, and that wasn’t far enough to make Dan feel comfortable. The group that was after them was not going to give up easily, and Dan wasn’t going to relax until he knew that they were someplace safe. But now he felt responsible for Miranda as well as George. Since Miranda wasn’t willing to leave her home, the only way to protect her was to stay with her, which could put George and himself at risk. He couldn’t argue this with Rayburn since George was willing to throw caution to the wind to keep Miranda safe. Dan knew he might have to make a choice, and it wasn’t going to be an easy one, especially after seeing the DVD. He had to keep George safe at all costs.

“I’m going to go clean up now,” he said quietly.

“Sure, go ahead,” Rayburn said, watching Dan walk away.

Miranda came down the hall to the kitchen just as Dan left.

“Dan said you did a great job,” George told her.

“I was a nervous wreck,” she admitted, walking over to the refrigerator. “Want a beer? I need one.”

“I don’t want to drink all your beer,” Rayburn said. “It’s not like you can run to the store and get more.”

“I have a ton of beer,” she said. “I stocked up. I also have wine and about twenty other different types of liquor, so name your poison.”

“Do you have any Scotch?” Rayburn asked hopefully.

“I do,” she said, pulling out a bottle.

When Dan came back out, he gladly accepted a beer before sitting down to join them.

“How’s the knee doing, George?” he asked.

“A little better this afternoon,” Rayburn said. “I can walk pretty well. I just have to be careful not to bump it.”

They retired to the family room to watch a movie. Miranda got two more beers out of the refrigerator and brought the Scotch out for George. She handed a beer to Dan and sat down with the other one. By the time they were done watching the movie, Dan was the only one who was still sober.

Miranda made nachos for a late dinner. To accompany it, she brought out a bottle of tequila, three shot glasses and a salt shaker.

Dan didn’t say anything, but he lifted an eyebrow at the sight.

“Sorry. No lime,” she said apologetically, “unless you want lime juice, but I just don’t think it’s the same.”

“I’m going to regret this tomorrow,” George said, taking the shot she offered him.

“It’ll help the pain,” she said, winking.

“Not me,” Dan said, when she offered him a shot.

“Why not?” she asked. “We’re celebrating my indoctrination into the zombie killer’s club.”

“Dan likes to stay alert in case there’s a breach,” George explained.

“Loosen up, Dan,” Miranda said, handing him a shot glass full of the clear liquid.

“We still haven’t seen more than a few zombies on the streets here,” George pointed out.

“It’s not just zombies I’m worried about,” Dan said.

“And we haven’t seen the helicopter lately,” Miranda reminded him. “Maybe they’ve moved on.”

“That’s what we thought in Barstow,” he said. He checked all the doors and windows then he joined the others, determined to let himself relax, at least a little. “I’ll have one shot, but that’s all.”

They discussed about all sorts of topics, but as the night wore on, the conversation grew more serious. George talked about his wife, whom he still thought about every day. Dan finally told Miranda about his daughter, Brittany, and her short life as well as her death. When he was done telling his story, he stood and said, “That’s it for me. I’m off to bed.”

“Good night, Dan,” Miranda said as he walked away.

She poured herself and George each another shot, and they continued talking until the sun came up.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Boss, I think we found the temporary base that Reynolds and his group were using,” Wolf said over the radio.

“Just a minute,” Snake said. He hurried over to the cafeteria, looking around for Jack. He spotted the security chief at a table, going over some notes. Walking over, he sat down.

“They found the base,” he told Jack then picked up the radio again. “Go ahead.”

Jack put his pen down to listen.

“It’s not good,” Wolf replied. “The place seems to be completely overrun.”

“How sure are you?” Snake asked.

“We checked several of the tents, and they were all empty. The chain-link fencing outside has been torn down. There aren’t many vehicles or aircraft, either. I don’t know if it was overrun or if they packed up and moved out.”

“All right,” Snake said. “Xena said that she thought the place Reynolds was talking about was near the base. It may or may not be the same place where Eric was. If it is, it’s got to be around there somewhere, and it’s huge, so spread out a bit outside the city.”

“We’ll do that, Boss. Sorry it wasn’t better news.”

“Now what?” Jack asked after Snake put the radio away.

Snake shook his head. “I was hoping someone would be at the base to give us some answers. Times like this, I almost wish I were a drinking man again, Jack. Almost.”

“Except we both know that doesn’t fix problems. It just makes us forget about them for a while.”

“There’s a whole lot of stuff that’s happened the last couple weeks that I wouldn’t mind forgetting, but you’re right,” Snake said, staring across the room. He stood again. “I guess I’ll go up to the roof and think for a bit. I can’t shake this feeling that something’s not adding up.”

“I guess it can’t hurt,” Jack said. “And I’ll keep going over my notes from the interviews.”

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

“How are you feeling this morning?” Dan asked with a smile when Miranda finally stumbled out to the kitchen.

She looked at the clock with one eye closed then poured herself a cup of coffee before answering.

“Not great,” she admitted after taking a sip.

“I haven’t had that much to drink since . . .” Dan started. “Well, in a long time.”

“I wish I could say the same,” she said.

“Do you do that a lot?” George asked, concerned.

“More often than I should,” she admitted, sitting down at the table. “I guess I don’t do it often, but once I start, I have a hard time stopping. I’m not real good with moderation.”

“You might want to be careful with that,” George said. “You need to be alert if you’re fighting zombies. It’s not something you want to do with a hangover.”

“Now you tell me,” she said, taking another sip of coffee.

“Promise me you won’t do that when we’re gone,” George said. “You might end up doing something stupid if you’re here alone.”

“I promise I’ll try not to do anything stupid,” she told him.

“I think you should come with us,” he said.

“You know I can’t.”

“I know you don’t want to. Why don’t you go to the shelter and talk to your husband and see if he’s willing to go, too?”

“He won’t go until he’s ready, and he’s not ready,” she said.

“How do you know?” George pushed.

“I just do.”

She changed the subject, making it clear that the discussion was over.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Boss, there’s nothing out here like the place Eric described,” Wolf said. “Honestly, we’ve driven all around the perimeter of the city on this side, and there’s nothing. It’s bad out here, too. The dead are everywhere.”

“You guys might as well get back here. We’ll have to figure out what to do next.”

Snake put his radio down and shook his head. “Could be anywhere if it’s not on the outskirts of Lansing. I think we’re back to square one. I’m going to kick myself if it turns out that it’s the place we found with the walls, and we’ve been wasting our time scouring half the county.”

“Well, since our information is coming from Eric, it wouldn’t shock me,” Jack said. “Let’s talk to him again.”

“If you think it’ll do any good.”

“Maybe I just need to bring the questions down to his level,” Jack said.

“I guess it can’t hurt,” Snake admitted. “I’m game if you are.”

~*~

Snake drummed his fingers on the table, growing impatient as he and Jack waited for Eric.

“He said he’d be right here,” Snake said, looking around.

“Eric doesn’t have a great grasp of time,” Jack said. “There he is now.”

Eric walked in to the cafeteria, his arms full of doughnuts. Crumbs dropped on the floor behind him, and his face was stained with chocolate.

“Right on time, as usual,” Jack said sarcastically, glancing at his watch. “I see you brought lunch.”

“Theresa said these were going to get stale if nobody ate them, so I thought I’d see if anybody wanted one.”

Snake eyed the half-dozen doughnuts, most of which were stuck to Eric’s arm and shirt.

“Dude, I’ll pass.”

“Me too,” Jack said. “They’re all yours.”

Eric smiled and dumped the doughnuts onto the table. He grabbed a chair and sat down, wiping at the chocolate that was smeared across his shirt.

“So, Eric,” Jack began, “Snake’s guys couldn’t find this place outside of Lansing. Now, I realize it could be a different city, but we just need to get some facts straight so we can figure out where to go next.”

“Sure,” Eric said, stuffing a doughnut into his mouth.

“You said this community where you were staying was huge. Just how big was it?” Jack asked.

“Oh, I’d say about ten miles across,” Eric said, “give or take.”

“Are you sure about that? That’s massive, and it’s not something that could be put together quickly.”

“Well,” Eric thought about it, “maybe more like five miles?”

“Let’s try something else,” Jack said. “Is it about the same distance as the 7-11 is from the HandiMart?”

“Oh,” a look of realization came over Eric, “a little farther than that, but not much.”

“It’s about a mile and a half across,” Jack said to Snake, “maybe less.”

“Glad you’re here to interpret, Jack,” Snake said. “Something that size could actually exist in the city.”

“How big was the place you saw?” Jack asked Snake.

“Hard to tell,” Snake said. “It was really foggy that day, so we couldn’t see the whole thing. The wall we followed was probably only a half-mile, but that doesn’t mean much. It wasn’t necessarily square.”

Eric said, “The compound wasn’t square. The walls seemed kind of random, you know, like it was an odd shape.”

“But you said they were made of rocks, like castle walls?” Jack asked.

“Seemed like it,” Eric said, thinking. “I’m not sure I ever saw them up close, actually.”

“Okay, so it could be the same place. But wouldn’t you have recognized Lansing when you looked over the wall?” Snake asked.

“It’s not like I spend a lot of time driving around the city,” Eric said, defensively.

“That’s right,” Jack sighed. “When you do leave the house, it’s on a bicycle, so it probably would look foreign to you.”

“What about the hills?” Snake asked. “You said this place had hills, parks and lakes.”

“It seemed like there were hills,” Eric said. “I know it wasn’t easy walking up the streets.”

Jack stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Let me ask you something. Was it just as hard to walk back?”

Eric’s silence gave Jack his answer.

“Okay, so no hills.”

“There were some big houses around it that were pretty nice,” Eric said. “I remember that. I asked Henry why they weren’t inside the walls, and he said they were older homes, and not quite up to the standards of the community.”

Snake shook his head. “This guy is really something.”

“He’s used to having the very best of everything,” Eric said.

“Hey, do you remember seeing a fenced-off area outside the walls?” Snake asked, suddenly.

“Sure, that’s where they keep the fuel tanker,” Eric said.

“That’s it! There was a big tanker behind chain-link.”

“Right. I saw that when we took off.”

“That’s our place,” Snake said. “I’m sure of it.”

“It’s got to be,” Jack said pulling out his notepad. “Okay, Eric, we need you to describe the layout of this place in detail. Please leave out anything about you being a god or a king.”

Eric replied but the doughnuts packing the inside of his mouth made his words unintelligible.

“Swallow first, please,” Jack said in disgust.

Eric chewed for a moment and swallowed.

“I worked for Henry, the old guy I told you about,” Eric started. “He rules the whole colony. He says there are a lot more of those walled communities around the world.”

“Interesting,” Jack said.

Eric added. “These people are powerful. They’re everywhere.”

“So what kind of defenses do they have?”

“They have some sort of a militia,” Eric answered. “Some are military, or I guess they’d be ex-military, but most are civilians. They weren’t trained really well. My platoon in Iraq could have . . .”

“Eric,” Jack cut him off, “you were never in Iraq. Just answer the questions honestly, if that’s possible.”

“Anyway,” Eric continued, slightly embarrassed, “I saw a lot of uniformed militia types roaming around.”

“Do you have an idea where they’d be keeping Lindsey and Dr. Doune?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know about Dr. Doune, but if Lindsey’s been assigned to Lee, she’s probably somewhere on Henry’s property.”

“Assigned to Lee?” Snake asked, not liking the way that sounded.

Eric shrugged.

“Can you draw us a map?” Jack asked, sliding the pen and paper over to Eric.

By the time Eric was done, there was almost as much chocolate as ink on the paper, but at least they had a decent idea of the layout of the compound.

“I think that’s all we need for now,” Jack said.

Eric stood and tapped the radio clipped to his belt. “You know where to find me if you need me.” He stuffed the last doughnut into his mouth.

As he left the room, Theresa met him at the door.

“There you are, Eric,” she said. “The kids are waiting for those doughnuts. Did you get sidetracked?”

“Sorry,” he said wiping crumbs from his mouth, “those guys just finished them off.” He nodded his head toward the men still sitting at the table. “They’re pigs.”

~*^*~

~51~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“You get back in that bed,” Amelia told Wombat, shaking her finger at him. “Right now!”

The Australian muttered something under his breath.

“I’ll call Snake if I have to,” the little RN said. “You’ll be in a buttload of trouble.”

“Buttload?” Wombat asked, not sure he’d heard her right.

“It means ‘a lot’ of trouble,” she said. “Snake told me.”

“Trying to leave again?” Dr. Sharma asked, stepping into the room.

“No fair ganging up on me,” Wombat said. “I’m weak right now.”

“That’s why you need to be in bed,” Amelia pointed out.

“Or a wheelchair,” Dr. Sharma added.

“The guys would never let me hear the end of it.”

“It’s the only way you’re leaving this room,” she said. “You don’t want to hit your head while you still have a concussion, and I know you’re still dizzy, aren’t you?”

Wombat took a moment to reply. “All right. You win. I’ll take the wheelchair.”

“Good. I’ll call one of your friends to come get you.”

“Don’t do that,” he said. “I don’t want them to see me wearing this thing.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Amelia asked, tugging on his hospital gown.

“Hey!” he said, pulling it tighter around him.

Amelia grinned and went to get the wheelchair.

A few minutes later, Fish showed up. As Wombat had guessed, the other biker laughed at the sight of his friend.

“Nice outfit you’ve got there.”

“Just get me to my room so I can change, all right?” Wombat said, taking a seat in the wheelchair.

“I want you back here in a few hours for your breathing treatment and X-ray,” Dr. Sharma said. “You still have a hole in your lung.”

“I’ll be back,” Wombat said, not looking happy about it.

As soon as they were out the door, he asked Fish, “When are we going after Lindsey?”

“You aren’t,” Fish said. “Snake made that pretty clear. They were still trying to figure out where she is, last I heard.”

“I want to be there when you go.”

“You aren’t in any condition to be out there,” Fish said, wheeling him to the elevator. “You heard the doc. You’ve got a hole in your lung.”

~*~

“Eric had this information all along while we were out there searching for this place?” Wolf asked.

“I’m going to kill him,” Moose said, standing up.

“Not if I get to him first,” Wolf said, moving toward the door.

“Moose, Wolf, take a seat,” Snake said.

“Do you know how many close calls we had out by that base?” Wolf asked. “That place was crawling with the dead, and we risked our lives searching out there because that moron was too stupid or egotistical to give us some straight answers!”

“Look, I know that you’re all frustrated,” Jack said. “I am, too. Keep in mind, though, Eric didn’t withhold the information intentionally. He’s just got kind of a warped perspective on things that made it difficult for us to weed out the facts and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Please, let’s just move on now that we’re fairly certain where Lindsey and Dr. Doune are. You can kill Eric later.”

“We know what this guy, Henry, is capable of,” Keith said. “He killed Hawk, and if he’d had his way, Wombat would be dead, too. I don’t think they’ll hurt Dr. Doune, since he can be useful to them, but who knows what they’ll do to Lindsey. I don’t care what the rest of you do, I’m going in there.”

“Dude, I admire your enthusiasm, but we’ve got to think of everyone else in the hospital. We don’t know what kind of firepower these guys have. If what Eric says is true, they could blow us off the map in a heartbeat,” Snake said.

“I highly doubt they would do that,” Jack said. “If they don’t know who’s immune yet, they won’t chance an all out attack. They obviously need this person alive.”

“I don’t see why you can’t tell us who it is,” one of the bikers said.

“The less people who know, the better,” Snake said. “You know I trust you guys, but we think we may have a mole in the building, and something could slip out accidentally in front of this person. We just can’t risk it.”

“I say we send these guys a message,” Moose said. “We can’t just have them come in here whenever they damn well please and have their way with us. We’ve got guns, we’ve got explosives. It’s time to draw a line.”

“I’m with Moose,” Keith said. “We’re holding the ace now, and it’s time to call their bluff.”

“You got a point there,” Snake said, rubbing his beard. “It’s not like pissing them off is going to make a difference. Maybe if we make an impression on them they’ll think twice about knocking on our door, uninvited.”

“As long as we don’t leave the hospital vulnerable for too long, just get in and get out, you have my blessing,” Jack said.

“Anyone got any ideas on how to do this?” Snake asked.

“Yeah, Boss,” Moose said, “I say we light a truck on fire and ram that tanker. Those walls aren’t made to withstand an explosion like that. They’ll tumble like dominoes.”

Snake shook his head. “Moose, there’s a lot of innocent people behind those walls. We don’t want a bunch of casualties. We just want to get Xena and Dr. Doom out of there and send these guys a message.”

“You know,” Jack interjected, “Moose may have something there.”

“You can’t be serious,” Snake shot Jack a look of surprise.

“Not the part about blowing up the tanker,” Jack said, “but we have some of that blasting material your guys found in that DOT building. If you strap some to the front of a pickup, just enough to punch a small hole in the wall, you could create some concern on that side of the fortress. If we can believe Eric, he says Henry’s place is on the opposite side of the community. You could have a small group waiting over there.”

“I like it,” Snake said, pulling his beard, deep in thought. “When everyone runs to see what the fuss is all about, we go in. We just need to figure out how to get the truck close enough to the wall to blow a hole in it without getting shot, or blown up.”

“If we stay away from that tanker, we should be okay,” Wolf said. “We can point the truck toward the wall from about a block away, jam the accelerator, and slam it into gear. We’ll have it done before they know what hit them.”

“You know,” Sparky joined in the conversation, “I could unhook the air bags and make it so the sensors trigger the blasting agents.”

“Good thinking,” Snake said.

“So when do we go?” Keith asked.

“We need to work out all the details so this goes as smoothly as possible,” Snake said. “Let’s plan on leaving at first light tomorrow. I’m going to go talk to Wombat and see if he knows anything else that might help.”

“Don’t tell him when you’re leaving, Boss,” Fish warned. “He wants to go.”

“He ain’t going,” Snake said. “If I have to, I’ll get Dr. Sharma to give him something to knock him out. He ain’t in any condition, physically or mentally, to be out there with us.”

~*~

“How you feeling?” Snake asked Wombat, surprised to see him in regular clothing instead of the hospital gown.

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck,” the Australian said. He was a mass of bruises, and he had his arm in a sling.

“That’s how you look, too,” Snake admitted. “I see Dr. Sharma finally got a cast on you.”

Wombat frowned, looking down at his arm. “She tricked me. I came back for my breathing treatment, and she knocked me out and did it while I was asleep.”

“It’s the only way I could do it,” the doctor said, arms crossed. “You have not been a good patient, Wombat.”

“You could have just wrapped it. You said it wasn’t a bad break.”

She shook her head. “You would have ended up making it worse.”

“Look at it this way, dude,” Snake said. “The flesh-eaters ain’t going to be chewing through that.”

Wombat looked at his arm thoughtfully. “It might make a good weapon, too.”

“You need to rest!” Dr. Sharma said. “You cannot go out and fight zombies if you want to heal!”

“I need to go find Lindsey.”

“I give up,” Dr. Sharma said, throwing her arms up as she walked out of the room.

“Dude, it ain’t going to happen,” Snake said. “I’m taking a small team with me when I go in there, and you’re not going to be part of it.”

“What the hell, mate?” Wombat said. “I need to be there!”

“You need to worry about healing,” Snake said. “We’re going to be climbing over that wall, and there’s no way you’re doing that with busted ribs, a broken arm and a punctured lung.”

“You know what it feels like to be sitting here doing nothing?” Wombat asked. “Eric came up a while ago to talk to me, and he told me that Lindsey’s probably been assigned to be Reynolds’ wife! I can’t stop thinking about that. It’s making me crazy. And who knows what that psychotic old man might do to her if she doesn’t give him the information he wants.”

“I don’t think Reynolds would let him hurt her, but I agree that the sooner we get them out of there, the better.”

“Eric also told me there was blood on the roof and that someone heard a gunshot. None of the guys will tell me what happened.”

“They don’t know,” Snake said, making a mental note to have a talk with Eric later. “Nobody knows. There was a single shot fired, and there was some blood.”

“How much?”

“I didn’t measure it, dude,” Snake said.

“None of us had guns,” Wombat said, “and Hawk and I had already gone over the roof before the shot was fired. If it wasn’t one our guys doing the shooting, it almost had to be Lindsey who was hit.”

“Look, if they’d killed her, they would have left her body,” Snake pointed out. “She must have been alive when they took off.”

“But she was shot,” Wombat said.

Snake hesitated before nodding. “We think it’s likely. Look, we’re going to go as soon as we possibly can, and you’re going to have to sit tight. We’ll bring her back. In the meantime, you need to tell me anything you can that might help.”

“I’m not sure it’ll be helpful, but I remember more than I did before.”

“Okay, start at the beginning,” Snake said, “from when you went to the roof the other morning. Don’t leave anything out.”

“All right,” Wombat said, telling Snake everything he remembered.

Snake listened carefully, taking in everything the other biker said and sometimes stopping to ask questions.

“Something else, though I’m not sure it matters,” Wombat said, after he’d told the whole story.

“What?”

“When Henry told his men to throw Hawk over, most of them looked surprised, and one of them even questioned the order. The old man stuck a gun in his face and told him to do it. This one red-haired guy was grinning when they threw Hawk over, but some of the others looked a little shaken up. I had the feeling that none of them knew it was going to happen. Even Reynolds seemed shocked. I had the feeling that none of this was planned, and the old man just reacted when we wouldn’t give him the information he wanted.”

“That fits with what Eric’s told us about him,” Snake said. “The dude seems to be a bit of a nutcase.”

“He was like a kid having a tantrum.”

Snake thought about that and realized that it made the man even more dangerous.

“Do you remember falling?” Snake asked.

“I do now,” Wombat said. “It happened fast. I had time to shift my position a bit, and that’s the last thing I remember.”

“Shift your position?”

“All I could think of when I started to go over was that I was going to bang heads with one of the other guys, and it was going to kill me. I kind of twisted on the way down so my head wasn’t near either of theirs. I guess it worked.”

~*~

Lansing Compound

When Lee entered the library, Loto was already there with Henry.

“Reynolds, we’ve had an interesting development,” Henry said.

Lee remained silent, waiting for the old man to continue.

“It seems that our friends at the hospital have figured out our location and are planning a little rescue mission.”

“I’m not surprised,” Lee said. “I assumed they’d try to find Doune and Lindsey.”

“I didn’t think they’d succeed,” Henry admitted. “Apparently the intruders whom we scared off a while back were people from the hospital. The guard recognized Lindsey when he saw her.”

“So what are we going to do?” Lee asked.

“If this were a serious threat, I’d be evacuated to the settlement near the farms.”

“And the rest of us?” Lee asked.

“You’d stay and defend the colony, of course. I’m just wondering if it might be worth paying them a visit to let them know how foolish retaliation would be.”

“You’ll send a messenger?” Lee asked.

“I’ll go myself,” Henry said.

Lee glanced at Loto, whose face remained expressionless.

“Sir, that’ll be dangerous,” Lee said. “They’re armed, and they aren’t afraid to fight.”

“Once these people understand that their friends will be killed if I don’t make it back unharmed, they won’t dare lift a finger toward me. I want to leave in fifteen minutes,” Henry said, looking at his watch. “Be ready.”

~*^*~

~52~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“Hey, Brandi,” Dumbo said, smiling at the blonde as she approached.

“How are you?” she asked, placing a hand on his arm.

“Better now,” he grinned. “I was wondering if I’d see you today.”

“Of course,” she said. “I wouldn’t ignore my favorite biker, would I?”

Dumbo blushed, his large ears turning bright red.

“Hey, thanks for taking kitchen duty for me again,” she told him. “I really didn’t feel good last night.”

“I don’t mind helping out,” he said, looking concerned, “but I wish you’d talk to Dr. Sharma. It worries me that you’re sick so much. Maybe she can give you something.”

Brandi kept the smile firmly in place. “It’s fine. I get migraines, but once I get some sleep I’m all right.”

“But you get them almost every day,” he said. “Maybe it’s something else, like a brain tumor. You should really talk to the doctor.”

The smile slipped on Brandi’s face, but she quickly put it back.

“Look at you, all worried about me,” she said, placing a hand on his chest.

Dumbo sucked in his breath. He had a hard time even thinking straight when Brandi was around. He knew that she flirted with most of the men at the hospital, but he was the one she talked to the most. He felt incredibly lucky to have gained the attention of such a beautiful woman, and a model, no less.

“I-I was thinking maybe you’d like to watch the movie with me tonight,” he said in a rush. “Maybe you could even pick the movie. I didn’t see anything listed for tonight yet.”

“I’d love that, Dumbo,” she said, her smile widening. “I’m going to go out and get some fresh air then take a little nap before the movie. I’ll see you tonight.”

He opened the door to let her outside, a goofy smile on his face as his eyes tracked her across the parking lot. He didn’t close the door until she was through the gate and into the park.

~*~

Eric walked slowly down the hall, casting an occasional glance behind him. Stopping at a closed door, he turned the knob then hesitated as if he were enduring some sort of inner turmoil. Closing his eyes, he began to push the door open. He jumped as he felt a hand grasp his shoulder in a Vulcan-like grip. Wincing in pain, he turned to see Wolf standing behind him.

“You’re not planning to go in there again, are you?” the biker asked with more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I thought we told you Cheri’s room is off limits. In fact, we told you several times.”

“No. I mean yes,” Eric stuttered. “I promised the kids I’d take them to play Super Mario Brothers down in the gaming room. I wasn’t going to bug Cheri, I swear.”

“Jessica took them down to the cafeteria,” Wolf said. “She said you were going to meet them there, so you have no business being anywhere near this room, but I’m guessing you already knew that.”

“Oh, yeah,” Eric said. “I guess I forgot.”

“Sure you did,” Wolf said, crossing his arms.

Eric shot Wolf a dark look once he was out of reach, but he kept walking. A couple stepped out of the stairwell, both carrying a fresh-baked blueberry muffin. Eric paused to sniff the air in their wake then turned to hurry for the elevator.

Wolf waited, knowing that Eric often tried to sneak back to Cheri’s room after they chased him off. He was about to walk away when he heard the sound of a helicopter approaching. He ran to the fourth floor lobby area and grabbed a phone at the desk, punching in the numbers to broadcast the warning over the entire hospital.

~*~

Roxanne Martin walked quickly down the hall, reminding the children not to run.

“But basements are scary,” one of the little girls said, grabbing her teacher’s hand.

“It’s all right, Emma,” Roxanne said, hoping her words wouldn’t prove to be a lie. “We’ll be safe down there.”

The other teachers were bringing their own groups down, and some of the adults were joining them. Many had chosen to stay upstairs so they could fight if it became necessary.

“Who are we missing?” Roxanne asked as Sean did a head count of the children.

“There’s a group still in the park with Mike,” Sean said.

“The biker at the door is trying to get them on the radio,” Marian told them as she hurried along with her niece and nephew. She was carrying the child that Keith and Helga had rescued from the city. The little boy had taken to her immediately, and she’d unofficially adopted him.

There had been some concern that the younger children would cry and alert the intruders as to the whereabouts of the group in the basement, but Jack had made the decision that all the children needed to go to the basement.

Kris, from the Motorcycle Mega Warehouse, carried her daughter in a sling and urged her two sons to keep up with the others.

“I don’t see Autumn, Jon, or Marie,” Sean said, checking his list.

“Jon and Marie were in the cafeteria with Eric,” Michael told him. “My mom went back to get them.”

“Thank you, Michael,” Roxanne smiled at the boy. She began to get the children settled inside what had once been the morgue. Heavy-duty brackets had recently been installed so that a large beam could be placed across the door. They would wait until the last minute before barring it.

Sean called Wolf on the radio and told him that they were missing Cheri’s two children and Autumn.

The biker said he’d go look for Autumn, knowing that she was probably still in Doune’s lab.

~*~

Autumn sat at her computer playing a game with her headphones on. She’d been at a complete loss as to what to do since Dr. Doune had been taken away. When the men had come into the lab, she’d been sure they had come for her, since Dr. Doune and Lindsey had let her know that she might be in danger. But they had pointed their weapons at Dr. Doune and had told him that he was coming with them. He’d calmly taken off his lab coat and gloves. She’d been surprised at how cool he’d been with the guns pointed in his face. The slight tremors in his hands had been the only sign that he’d been afraid.

Autumn had thought about telling them that she was the one who was immune, in hopes that they’d let Dr. Doune go, but she’d made a promise to him and Lindsey not to tell anybody. Now she wondered if that had been the right decision. Maybe they’d never let him come back. Maybe they’d torture him and Lindsey to make them talk, and it was all because of her.

Since Dr. Doune and Lindsey had been taken, Autumn had wandered aimlessly around the hospital, watching TV for a few minutes or visiting the cafeteria or the library. Nothing held her interest for long. She had tried not to let the dread she felt inside work its way through her skin for the world to see.

Just a few days earlier, she had felt fairly safe. She had cheated death twice in her short life, and had been starting to feel invincible. She had also started to feel at home for the first time since her parents had died. Everybody in the hospital knew her, and some even appreciated her. Now, not only had Dr. Doune and Lindsey been taken away, but Autumn had started to realize just how much the world had changed. The hospital seemed to be impenetrable to the mindless creatures that hunted them, but the living had become a problem. If a handful of armed men had been able to swoop in and take Lindsey and Dr. Doune, what chance did any of them have? She had heard that Lee might have been involved, and that had surprised her since she had thought that he was one of the good guys. Maybe there wasn’t good and bad anymore. Maybe there was just lucky.

Autumn looked up as movement at the hall window caught her eye. She shook her head as she saw Moose and Marla walk by, holding hands. They were the perfect couple, she thought, both dumb as rocks.

A short time later, Wolf rushed into the room.

Autumn pulled off her headphones, realizing something was wrong.

“We’ve got to get you downstairs,” he said, looking back down the hallway. “They’re back.”

She stood to leave with him, but the sounds of footsteps on the stairwell made them both pause. Autumn reached over and flipped off the lights, closing and locking the door.

“We can hide in here. Maybe they’ll think the lab’s locked because Dr. Doune is gone.”

“I guess we don’t have much choice,” he said. “We need to keep you safe at all costs.”

~*~

Snake, Keith, and three of the bikers rushed onto the roof, positioning themselves around the landing pad, rifles raised.

As soon as the chopper touched the roof, several armed men jumped out. A large dark-haired man stepped out and looked around as the rotors slowed to a stop. He looked vaguely familiar to Snake, but the biker didn’t have time to dwell on it as his attention was quickly drawn to the old man who followed. Henry looked nothing like what Snake had expected. He had a white, well-trimmed beard and was wearing an expensive overcoat. He could have been arriving for a business meeting, but Snake didn’t let the old man’s appearance fool him. Henry was responsible for the death of one of his friends and the kidnapping of Doune and Lindsey. He was dangerous.

Lt. Reynolds exited last, and the pilot refused to look Snake in the eye.

“Well that’s not very neighborly,” Henry said, looking at the weapons that were pointed his way.

“Neither are kidnapping and murder,” Snake said. “I suggest you have your men lower their weapons. We’ve got five rounds with your name on them, ready to blow some fairly large holes in your chest.”

“Well now,” Henry said, smiling, “an intelligent man would have a contingency plan for such a situation. If you wouldn’t mind taking a look down at your lovely park, I believe you may want to rethink your lack of courtesy.”

The confidence in Henry’s voice told Snake that the old man was unimpressed by the firepower that was concentrated on him.

Keeping his gun trained on Henry, Snake made his way over to the edge of the roof. He looked over the side and spied several children sitting together on the ground along with Fish, Gunner, and Mike. Four armed guards surrounded the group, one waving to Snake as he looked down.

“Now, I suggest you have your goons throw down their weapons before I’m forced to do something that I have no desire to do.”

Snake stood silent for a moment as if he were weighing his options.

“Nobody wants any more bloodshed,” Henry continued. “We simply want you to understand how important it is that we gain possession of the immune person. We may have the means to create a vaccine. Even Dr. Doune has admitted that this hospital doesn’t have the facilities to properly study this plague, let alone make a vaccine. Surely you can see why we have gone to such drastic measures to find this person. The fate of mankind could rest on it.”

“Why’d you kill Hawk and Wombat?” Snake asked, his finger still on the trigger.

“That was a tragedy,” Henry said. “They attacked my guards and ended up dead in the ensuing struggle.”

Nobody replied, though they all knew that the old man was lying.

“That is precisely what I’m attempting to avoid here,” Henry continued. “Now, please have your men lower their weapons. I would hate to see one of the children get hurt.”

Snake knew that standing his ground would most likely end in a bloodbath, whereas allowing Henry to disarm him would leave the rest of them vulnerable to whatever fate the old man had planned for them. Still, he couldn’t risk the lives of the children. Even unarmed, Snake had the upper hand since it was obvious that Henry still didn’t know who was immune, and probably wouldn’t chance killing the person by randomly shooting people without provocation.

“Boys,” Snake said, “drop your guns.”

One by one, the men lowered their weapons to the ground, and Henry’s guards quickly collected them.

“Thank you,” Henry smiled. “Now if you would please use your radio to tell the others, who are undoubtedly waiting on the other side of the door, to stand down, we can get down to business.”

Snake keyed in his radio and filled Jack in on the new developments.

Jack agreed that they could not risk the lives of the children.

Henry turned to a man who was wearing an earpiece. “Let the men know we’re going inside, but tell them to be ready.”

“Yes, sir,” the man said.

“Now,” Henry said, addressing Snake, “let’s go find a TV so I can show you some information that you may find interesting.”

“We can talk here,” Snake said.

“I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands,” Henry said.

Snake opened the door to find Jack and Moose on the other side. They held up their hands up to show that they were weaponless.

“I suppose you would have me believe that you were waiting for me, unarmed, the entire time,” Henry scowled.

“Sir, shall I look for their weapons?” Loto asked.

“Don’t bother,” Henry said. “Let’s finish this. I’m beginning to lose my patience.”

~*^*~

~53~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

When Snake opened the door to the gaming room, he was surprised to see Jessica inside.

“Snake,” she said, “I was looking for Jon and Marie. They should have been here by now. I left them in the cafeteria with . . .” She stopped when she saw Henry and his men following Snake.

“You’d better leave,” Snake said, motioning for her to go.

“On the contrary,” Henry said, “I think she should join us. The more, the merrier. Please sit.”

Jessica sat down on a couch, watching the armed men warily.

One of Henry’s men pulled out a small laptop and connected it with a cable to a large flat-screen TV in the room. Slipping in a DVD, the man stepped away so that everybody could see the TV. He clicked a couple of buttons on the remote, and an image came on the screen of a large research facility, where over a dozen people were busy conducting experiments and looking at monitors.

A man who introduced himself as a doctor at a well known hospital addressed the survivors at St. Mary’s directly. He spoke at length about the urgency of finding a vaccine, and he stressed the important role that the immune person played. He assured the viewers that this person would be treated gently and humanely. As Snake listened, he wondered if the people on the video knew the extent of Henry’s treachery, or if they were just as devious. When the presentation was over, Henry surveyed the faces around him.

“As you can see,” he said, “we aren’t the bad guys. We simply need your cooperation. Please tell us who the immune person is.”

“It seems to me,” Jack said, “that returning the people you kidnapped, if they’re still alive, would go a long way toward gaining our trust.”

“You know I can’t relinquish my leverage,” Henry said, “but I can prove to you that they are still very much alive.”

He nodded to the man with the remote, who pulled out a cell phone and enabled an internet hotspot before typing on the laptop.

“Ah, isn’t modern technology wonderful?” Henry asked, smiling.

A few seconds later, an image of Doune showed up on the screen. He seemed to be relaxing comfortably in an overstuffed chair.

“Doctor,” Henry said, raising his voice a little, “your friends at the hospital are concerned about you. They need assurances that you are being treated humanely.”

“Besides the obvious lack of freedom, I am being treated quite well,” Doune replied.

“Thank you,” Henry said. “Satisfied?”

“No,” Jack said. “Let me ask a question, so we know this isn’t a recording. Dr. Doune, what’s your first name?”

“Nicholas.”

“Now I’m satisfied,” Jack said.

“What about Lindsey?” Snake asked.

Henry hesitated then nodded to the man at the computer.

A right profile of Lindsey’s face appeared on the screen, and Henry asked her if she was being treated well.

Snake’s eyes narrowed when Lindsey didn’t reply at first. After a moment, she gave a quick nod, though her eyes stayed fixed directly in front of her.

“See?” Henry said. “They’re both fine.”

Lindsey suddenly turned toward the camera, revealing a black eye and a split lip. Stitches could be seen over her left eye, and there was a large bandage on her left arm. The image quickly disappeared.

“You son of a bitch,” Moose said, rushing toward the old man.

Loto grabbed Moose from behind as the others raised their rifles, stopping him in his tracks.

“Another unfortunate accident,” Henry said, glaring at Moose. “She fell while trying to escape.”

Snake glanced at Reynolds, whose fists were tightly clenched at his sides. This time, the pilot looked Snake in the eye and shook his head, no, just slightly.

“Then let us talk to her,” Snake said. “You ain’t getting anything from us unless you bring our people safely back here.”

“I agree,” Jack said.

Henry’s face began to turn red. “Again, you are in no position to negotiate,” he said, gritting his teeth.

The door suddenly opened, and two children walked in, followed by Eric, who took one look at Henry and turned pale.

~*~

Lansing Compound

Lindsey’s head snapped to the side as she was backhanded by the guard.

“Stupid bitch,” Wayne said. “I knew you were going to pull something. You just can’t be trusted at all, can you?”

She didn’t bother to reply, and she remained silent as her hair was grabbed and she was yanked to her feet. She had already learned that the guard had a short fuse. He was the same one who had hit her when she’d locked herself in the bathroom.

“Cool it, Wayne,” said the other guard whose name she thought was Brett. “Henry wants her alive. He won’t get any information from her if she’s dead or in a coma.”

Wayne let go of Lindsey’s hair and looked her over slowly. “I had something else in mind. It would teach her a lesson she wouldn’t forget.”

“Bad idea,” Brett said. “She’s Reynolds’ property, and he outranks you.”

Lindsey bristled at the word “property” but she remained silent, knowing that it wouldn’t take much to push the guard into doing something stupid. She desperately wished she had a weapon that she could use against the man, and that thought bothered her. The last thing she wanted to do was to lower herself to the level of the animal before her. She took a calming breath and turned away, not looking back until Wayne stormed out of the room.

“That wasn’t a smart move,” Brett told her after Wayne left. “You’ll be lucky if Henry doesn’t kill you as soon as he returns.”

“That’s what he’s going to do anyway,” she said, “after he has me tortured.”

“Look, I’m sorry,” the guard said, “but if you’re not willing to share the vaccine with us then maybe it’s the way it has to be.”

She turned her head to look at him.

“We all know about the immune person,” he said. “We know you guys want to keep the vaccine for yourselves and let the rest of us die. We want the cure just as badly as you do.”

“We’re not the ones who would hoard the vaccine,” she said. “Henry is. We’d make it available to everybody. Ask yourself who is excluding people from their community. It isn’t us. We allow anybody in that needs shelter.”

“That’s not what we heard,” the guard said.

“Well, you heard wrong,” Lindsey told him. “We’re out there almost every day trying to bring in more survivors. Ask Lee.”

The guard had no reply. He turned to leave, but Lindsey’s eyes followed him as a plan began to form.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“You!” Henry looked stunned. He turned to his men, seething with anger. “Why is this idiot still alive?”

Lee took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by one of Henry’s men, who was pointing a rifle at Eric.

“That female pilot was supposed to take care of that, sir. As far as we knew, the mission had been carried out.”

“Let me guess,” Henry said. “The same pilot who left with one of my choppers a few days ago?”

“Yes, sir,” the man said.

Jessica had been making her way over from the sofa. When she reached the children, she stood in front of them.

“Can we play Mario now?” the boy asked.

“Not now,” Jessica said, trying to keep them quiet.

“But Eric promised!” Jon said, disappointment in his voice.

“Who might this be?” Henry asked, smiling at the boy.

Jon grabbed Jessica’s hand, appearing to realize that something wasn’t right.

“Is this your step-son?” Henry asked Eric with a bit of a diabolical smile.

“No,” Eric said, fear in his eyes.

“I disagree. I believe your fiancée’s name is Cheri.”

Henry addressed Jon again, kneeling down to talk.

“Young man, is your mother’s name Cheri?”

Jon hesitated then nodded.

“Loto,” Henry said as he stood up, “please make sure there are no more interruptions.”

Loto nodded and left the room, blocking the door.

Henry’s eyes grew cold as he turned to face Eric. “These people have the nerve to hide you here after you wrecked my helicopter, got three of my people killed, and damn near killed me?”

Eric began to shake with fear.

“You don’t know how many times I regretted not killing you myself,” Henry said. “By having someone else do it, I always felt as though I had cheated myself out of an experience I would have savored for years.”

Eric closed his eyes and began to weep.

In one quick movement, Henry pulled a small pistol from the pocket of his jacket and pointed it at the head of his victim then pulled the trigger.

There was stunned silence as Jon’s hand released Jessica’s and the body hit the floor. When the echo of the gunfire subsided, it was replaced by Marie’s scream.

~*^*~

~54~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

“If any of you so much as looks like you might do something stupid, every one of those children outside will die. All I have to do is send the message.”

Jon stood frozen for a moment then began to back slowly away from Jessica’s body as if he wasn’t sure what to do.

Most of the men had already started to move, but they stopped at Henry’s words. The rifles pointed in their faces were extra incentive, though unnecessary. The threat against the children was enough to keep them in their places.

The man with the headset let out a slow breath when he saw that they were going to comply.

Henry looked Eric in the eye. “I believe that makes us even.”

He turned and regarded the others.

“I’m through with playing nice. If anyone in this pathetic little group of outcasts ever crosses me again, I guarantee they’ll wish they’d been lucky enough to have gotten a bullet to the head,” he said, nodding toward Jessica’s body. “This town belongs to me now. I’m not your Mayor. I’m not your President. I am your King. You will do exactly as I say. If you don’t release the immune person to me, I will come back and infect every man, woman, and child in this place until I find the one I’m looking for. Henry pulled a knife from his pocket and reached down to Jessica’s body, severing her pinky and throwing it to one of his men.

“Test this,” he said, “and they’d better pray to their so-called God that she wasn’t the one.”

“Shall we put this one out of his misery?” one of Henry’s guards asked, motioning to Eric.

“No,” Henry said. “Let him wallow in his grief for a while. Besides, the man’s a walking menace. It won’t be long before these losers either throw him to the deviants or allow him to bring them down with him.”

Without another word, he turned to walk away.

“Reynolds!” Snake said, grabbing the pilot by the shoulder before the man could leave with the others.

“I’m sorry,” Lee said, pulling Snake’s hand away.

Henry turned and locked eyes with Lee, who quickly departed without another word. The old man stared at Snake for a moment then continued on his way out the door.

When the men were a safe distance away, Snake opened his closed fist, revealing a small, folded piece of paper.

“What’s that?” Moose asked.

“Something Reynolds stuck into my hand,” Snake said, opening the note to read it.

“Boys,” he said after a moment, “looks like we’ll be leaving early. Xena may not last the night.”

~*~

As the helicopter lifted into the air, Henry stared out the window, smiling as he recalled the shock he’d seen on the faces around the room. Even some of his men had looked surprised. Good, he thought. He had heard once that being feared was almost as important as being respected. He disagreed; being feared was better. Fear led to subordination. Once he made these people realize that he was in charge, his job would be much easier. The look on his face turned to one of disdain as he thought about the people who were living in the hospital. Maybe one of the doctors or nurses would show some promise. The blue collar hospital workers and security guards served a purpose, as long as they remembered their place. Bikers, on the other hand, were the dregs of society. They were part of the reason that civilization needed to be destroyed and rebuilt. Henry would choose the people he wanted then the deviants could claim the rest.

~*~

Jessica’s body was removed and placed in one of the patient rooms where her son wouldn’t see her. The children were brought up from the basement and in from the park. Jon and Marie were taken to Cheri, and Snake spent some time talking to all of them. Cheri felt horrible guilt over Jessica’s death, and Snake worried that it would push her deeper into the depression which had been consuming her. Instead, she surprised him.

“I want to help with Michael,” she said. “I owe that to Jessica.”

“We’d sure appreciate it,” Snake said. “The teachers have their hands full with the other kids right now. He’s with Marian in the cafeteria, and she just broke the news to him.”

“I’ll go down there,” she said, hugging both of her children tightly before following Snake to the door.

Snake walked with them as far as the cafeteria, where he watched Cheri and her children join Marian and Michael at their table.

After dropping them off, Snake went to the ER where several of the bikers and a few other residents were discussing Henry’s visit.

“We should have done something,” Moose said.

“Like what?” Snake barked. “This dude has no conscience. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’d have started killing those kids if we’d done anything.”

“So we just let him come in here any time he wants to, and we’ll sit back and watch as he kills us off one by one?” Moose argued.

“Snake’s right,” Jack said. “We were outnumbered and outgunned. It wasn’t the time to make a stand.”

“So when is the right time?” Keith asked.

“We’ll be knocking on Henry’s door tonight,” Snake said.

“All I ask,” Jack said, “is that you leave enough bodies here with us so we can defend ourselves if . . .” Jack paused, “if you don’t come back.”

“Understood,” Snake said.

“That’s crazy,” Eric said. “You’re going to get us all killed. If I couldn’t beat this guy, no one can. He’s got an army the size of the Michigan National Guard. We need to give him this person he wants and . . .”

Eric’s soliloquy was cut short by a right hook from Moose’s huge fist. The rest of the group watched in stunned silence as Eric fell to the floor, unconscious.

Snake’s eyes slowly drifted from Eric up to Moose.

“Sorry, Boss,” Moose said sheepishly. “I couldn’t take him anymore.”

Keith reached down and checked for a pulse, cursing when he found it. He checked the security guard’s pupils next.

“He gonna be okay?” Snake asked.

Keith stood and shook Moose’s hand. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do that?” he asked, smiling.

“So I guess that’s a yes?” Snake asked.

Keith said, “He’s going to have one hell of a headache when he wakes up, but he’ll survive.”

Snake turned to Jack to apologize for Moose, but the ear-to-ear smile that Jack was wearing told Snake it wasn’t necessary.

“Well,” Snake said, stepping over Eric, “I’m going to spend a few minutes on the roof, talking to the big man upstairs. We’re going to need all the help we can get. When I come back, we’ll get rolling.”

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

“I can’t wait to see this place,” Brandi said, smiling. She handed a radio over to the man in the passenger seat.

“You’ll fit right in,” the driver told her, dodging the dead and the cars along the road.

“I’m sure I will,” she said. “Anything’s got to be better than living at that hospital. I mean, seriously, I had to sleep on a hospital bed until they could get some furniture, and even then it was cheap crap that I hated. They wouldn’t let me pick my own things out.”

“Just wait ‘til you see the colony,” the man in the passenger seat said. “It’s better than you can imagine.”

“Will I get my own house?” she asked.

The driver shook his head. “You’ll be assigned to someone.”

“Assigned?” she asked, looking back and forth between the two men.

“You’ll be a cook or housekeeper or,” he grinned, “maybe there’s something else you can do.”

“I thought I was getting away from having to work,” she snapped. “They said I’d live in luxury.”

“Oh, you will,” the driver assured her. “Who knows, maybe Henry will even keep you for himself.”

Brandi leaned back in the seat, mulling this new information over. She was torn between being upset that she’d been lied to, and wondering how she could use her talents to get the best deal possible. She remained quiet for most of the trip to the walled city.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Moose waved as he left the park area, watching the gate drop down behind him. When he was out of sight of the guards, he smiled. “You can get up now,” he said.

Marla’s head popped up from the back seat. She climbed into the front, sitting close to the big biker.

“This is so exciting,” she said, hugging his arm.

“I hope it wasn’t a mistake, letting you talk me into this,” Moose said. “It’s going to be dangerous. The car is full of explosives.”

“But they won’t go off unless you hit something really hard, right?” she asked, having already gone over it with Moose several times.

“Yup,” he said. “Snake says the impact has to be hard enough to activate the air bag, which will trigger the explosives. Not sure if hitting a zombie will set it off, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Well, I’m sure you’re a great driver, so I’m not going to worry,” Marla said, laying her head on his shoulder.

~*~

Lansing Compound

Henry sat on a sofa with an attractive young woman next to him. She giggled as he picked up a cracker with caviar and placed it into her open mouth. Closing her eyes, she chewed slowly as if she were savoring the morsel.

“I’m guessing you didn’t eat like that on the outside,” Henry said, watching intently as she swallowed, opening her mouth for another bite.

“I hate to interrupt sir, but we have a problem,” said Loto, who was standing in the entrance of the room.

Henry ignored Loto for a minute, stabbing a shrimp and lifting it to the woman’s mouth. She gently clamped down on the fork and slid the piece of seafood into her mouth, smiling as she chewed.

“As you can see, Loto, I’m a little busy getting my young friend here acquainted with the cuisine. This damn well better be important.”

“Very important, sir,” the big guard said, a look of concern on his face.

Henry sighed, dropping his fork onto the table.

“I’m sorry, my dear, but duty calls,” Henry told the girl, apologetically. “It’s one of the disadvantages of being in charge. If you wouldn’t mind giving us some time, I promise I’ll come and check on you later.”

The woman grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth, smiling at Henry as she left the room.

“Now, what is so important?” Henry asked, making no attempt to hide his frustration.

“Sir,” Loto started, “one of our men on the roof near the hospital just called in. They said that a vehicle just left St. Mary’s and appears to be heading this way. We think they may still be planning the attack, despite your warning.”

Henry began to laugh. He’d had people watching the hospital and reporting back to him for days. He had never dreamed that the idiot bikers would be foolish enough to actually retaliate after he had shown them that he was deadly serious.

“You bothered me for a one-vehicle assault on our colony?”

“We don’t have all the details, sir, but our informant told us that they have some explosives. Some of the survivors are ex-military so they may have been able to rig up some type of delivery system for the explosives. We don’t think that they can do much damage, but with your old pilot knowing the ins and outs of the community, we’re worried that they may create enough of a disturbance to get inside the walls.”

“I probably should have killed that fat idiot then and there,” Henry said through clenched teeth, “but I sure enjoyed watching his face when I killed his fiancée. I just wish the organization would let me destroy that building and everyone in it.”

“Shall I call and have your helicopter prepared for an evacuation?” Loto asked.

“For one vehicle? Hell, no,” Henry said, visibly irritated. “But I would like a bird’s eye view of whatever these jokers are planning. And bring our informant along. I’d like to know more about this planned assault. ”

“Yes, sir,” Loto said.

“And make sure Reynolds is piloting. I need to have a word with him about his taste in women.”

~*~

Lansing Compound

“Lindsey, don’t do this,” Lee pleaded. “He’ll kill you! He knows you’re not the one who’s immune, so he has no reason to keep you alive.”

“He’ll kill me no matter what I do,” Lindsey said.

“Just tell him what he wants to know,” he said, reaching out to take her hand, which she promptly pulled away. “He said he’d let you live as long as you give him the information he wants.”

“And you believe him?” she asked. “You should know better by now, Lee.”

“He’ll kill you for sure if you don’t talk. And I don’t want to see you tortured, either.”

“Then don’t watch.”

He let out a long breath. “Lindsey, I just got a call, and he wants me to take him somewhere. When we return, he plans to turn you over to Loto.”

“If you ever truly cared about me, you’d let me go,” she said.

“You know I can’t do that,” he said. “He’d kill us both.”

“Then I guess this is goodbye.”

The door opened, and Loto stuck his head in. He looked at Lindsey for a long moment before telling Lee that Henry was ready to leave.

“I’ll be right there,” Reynolds said quietly, his eyes still on Lindsey’s.

“Chain her up,” Loto said.

Reynolds reached over to pick up the manacles and chain. When he realized the bodyguard wasn’t leaving, he said, “I’ve got it.”

Loto crossed his arms. “Quit wasting my time and do it. Henry wants to leave now.”

Lee fastened both ankle restraints then he attached the others to her wrists.

“Last chance, Lindsey,” Lee said. “Please give me the name.”

“Sorry,” she told him. “I’m not talking.”

“Oh, you’ll talk for me,” Loto assured her.

With his back to the big guard, Lee took her hand again but wouldn’t let her pull it away.

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way,” he said. “I’ll try to talk to him, but don’t get your hopes up.”

As he spoke, he slipped the key to the manacles into her hand, quickly closing her fist around it.

Surprised, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, whispering, “Thank you.”

“Goodbye, Lindsey,” he said, standing. He followed the guard out of the room, looking back one last time.

~*^*~

~55~

Lansing Compound

For a moment, Lindsey was certain that Loto had seen Lee give her the key. The guard seemed to be looking right at her closed hand. His eyes met hers briefly, and she held her breath, sure that he was going to tell her to hand the key over. Instead, he turned to follow Lee out of the room. Lindsey let her breath out in a rush once she heard their footsteps moving down the hall. She hoped that Brett was on duty outside the room, or her plan would probably fail. She would have to try, regardless.

Stepping to the window, she watched as the Escalade pulled away. She could see Lee looking up at her from the back seat before the vehicle disappeared through the gate.

Lindsey didn’t waste time searching for a weapon. She’d already been over every inch of the room and knew that there was nothing that could be of help. Approaching the door, she knocked, praying that Wayne wasn’t outside. When the door opened a crack, she was relieved to see that it was Brett.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, “but I need to use the restroom.”

“You’ll have to wait until Loto gets back. Henry said they shouldn’t be gone long.”

“That’s going to be a problem,” she replied. “Henry’s planned his little torture session for me when he gets back, so I should probably go now.”

Brett sighed and looked away.

“Please?” she asked.

“Okay. I’ll take you, but don’t try anything, or I’ll call Wayne,” he said, opening the door. He checked her restraints then led her down the hall. “Make it fast.”

“Thank you,” she said, stepping inside. She didn’t bother trying to lock herself inside the room. As she’d learned the first day, the guards had no problem getting past the lock. She couldn’t imagine what price she’d end up paying if her plan failed, but it probably wouldn’t be any worse than what Henry already had in mind for her. Using the key that Lee had given her, she quickly loosened the cuffs around her wrists and ankles, hoping it wouldn’t be obvious at a glance. She flushed the toilet and ran some water in the sink then stepped out into the hall.

Walking alongside the guard, she took a few steps then stopped, closing her eyes for a moment.

“Just a second,” she said, clutching his shirt sleeve. “I feel dizzy.”

“Good try,” Brett said, rolling his eyes.

“No, seriously,” Lindsey said. “Ever since Wayne hit me, my balance has been off.”

The guard frowned but said, “Okay, you can lean on me until we get to your room, but I’m not taking you to see the doctor or anything.”

“I don’t need to see the doctor,” she said. “I just need to lie down for a while. You know, keep my strength up for the torture and all.”

“It’s not going to work,” he said as she slipped an arm around his back to hold on to him.

“What’s not going to work?” she asked, wondering if he had figured out her plan already.

“You’re not going to guilt me into letting you go,” he said, stopping at her door.

“I know that,” she said, stretching her arm a little farther to reach the gun that was on his hip.

He spun around, ready to grab her, but the pistol was already pointed at his face.

“I had no intention of using guilt,” she assured him.

Keeping her eyes locked on his, Lindsey found the safety and only glanced down long enough to make sure it was off.

“Go ahead and try to leave,” the guard said. “You won’t get out the front door.”

“We’ll see. I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t plan to let anybody torture me tonight. I hope you understand.” She nodded toward her room. “Get in there.”

She could see him weighing his odds. Henry would not treat the slip lightly, and they both knew it. “Look, I’m sorry,” she said, “but keep in mind that I’m just as desperate as you are right now. I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.”

“I know that,” he said, “but if I go into that room, I won’t be coming out alive. Henry doesn’t tolerate mistakes.”

“If you don’t go into the room, you’ll alert everybody, and I won’t get out.”

“So one of us has to die?” he asked.

“Now who’s using guilt?” Lindsey said, frowning.

“Listen. Let me go with you,” Brett said, lowering his voice. “Use me as a hostage. I’ll leave this compound, and I won’t come back.”

She looked at him skeptically. “Why should I believe you?”

“I’ve been planning on it anyway. I’ve got a wife and kid out there, and I need to get to them. I’ve got a friend here who has a truck outside the walls, and we’ve been waiting for the right time. Looks like this is it.”

Voices could suddenly be heard down the hall, and Lindsey knew she had to make a fast decision.

“Take my right arm,” she said. “Make it look like you’re escorting me somewhere. But if you try anything, I’ll kill you. I can shoot well with either hand, in case you’re wondering.”

She slipped the gun under the baggy T-shirt she was wearing.

“Let’s go,” she whispered.

~*~

The Escalade pulled into the parking lot, and Loto got out, brandishing an Uzi. He opened the door for Henry as Reynolds hurried over to get the helicopter ready. Loto escorted the old man to the chopper and slid the door open to reveal a blonde woman sitting comfortably inside.

“This is Brandi,” Loto said.

“I must say,” Henry smiled, “your description didn’t do you justice. It’s quite the pleasure to meet you.”

Henry took her outstretched hand and met it with a kiss.

Brandi returned his smile and crossed her legs flirtatiously. “Pleased to finally meet you,” she said, batting her lashes. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Loto took the co-pilot seat as Henry sat down beside Brandi.

“I can see why men would be inclined to talk to you,” Henry said. “Just what is all this nonsense about an attack?”

“Well,” Brandi started, “I was only able to get bits and pieces, but . . .” the thump of the rotors forced her to raise her voice as Lee brought the engine to life. “I guess they’re going to try to break the wall down with some dynamite or something. There’s this big, dumb guy called Moose, who’s going to try to create some kind of a diversion on Woodcrest Street, but the real attack is going to happen on the opposite side of the community.”

“This Moose, is he blond?” Henry asked, recalling the large man at the hospital who had tried to go after him, earlier that day.

“Yes.”

“I have a score to settle with him. How is he planning on creating this diversion?” Henry asked.

“He wouldn’t tell me,” she said. “He’s got the hots for one of the nurses, so I wasn’t able to use my full assets to get all the information, if you know what I mean.”

Henry smiled.

“He did let it slip that explosives were involved, but since he’s just the diversion, I’m thinking those will be used for the main attack. He said that he wanted to blow the walls up, but the rest of the guys wouldn’t let him.”

“It appears that they may have changed their mind about the time of the attack. A car just left the hospital,” Henry told her. He addressed Loto, raising his voice above the pounding of the rotors. “I’m assuming we’ve adequately prepared for such an attack.”

“Yes, sir,” Loto shouted. “I understand that we’ve got a few snipers on Woodcrest where we expect the diversion to be, and we have ten on the north side where we expect the main attack to happen.”

“What if they try to take out the walls?” Henry asked.

“Even if they do have enough explosives, the snipers won’t let them get that close.”

Henry nodded, satisfied with the guard’s answer.

“Lt. Reynolds, let’s head toward the hospital,” Henry said.

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s see if we can figure out what those fools are up to.”

Lee lifted the chopper into the air, heading toward St. Mary’s.

~*~

Lindsey walked with Brett down the stairs to the first floor, her heart pounding the whole time. She had no idea whether the guard was serious about leaving or if he’d turn on her at the first opportunity. The moment of truth came when they reached the front door.

“What’s up?” the door guard asked, his eyes darting back and forth between Brett and Lindsey.

“I just got a call from Henry,” Brett said. “He wants to take her with him to the hospital. I guess he thinks people will be more likely to talk if they see this one being questioned first.”

“Let me call and verify . . .”

“You go right ahead and do that,” Brett said, opening the door, “but I’m not making the man wait. He told me to hurry.”

They walked out as the other guard lifted his radio to his mouth. Brett pulled the door shut behind him and hissed, “Run!”

Lindsey quickly slipped the shackles off and tossed them into the shrubbery before running for Henry’s front wall at a sprint, Brett close behind her. While the wall was much shorter than the one around the community, it was still a good six feet tall, and they needed to get over it without being seen by the guard at the gate. Lindsey and Brett crouched down, waiting for the guard in the booth to turn the other away.

“How’d you do that?” Brett asked Lindsey.

“Do what?”

“Get out of the restraints.”

“Oh . . . just a little trick I learned,” she lied.

When the guard manning the gate picked up a radio and turned away, Brett said, “I’ll give you a boost.”

Lindsey stepped into his hands, but she needed both arms free to get over. She tried to tuck the gun into her jeans, but Brett said, “You don’t want it going off while you climb over. Just give it to me. I’ll hand it to you once you’re on the other side, then I’ll join you.”

She wondered if she could trust him, but when the front door of the house burst open and bright lights came on, she knew she had no choice. She dropped the gun to the ground near Brett’s feet and reached for the top of the wall.

“Shit,” Brett said when he saw the others come out.

Lindsey could tell that he wasn’t sure what to do. Knowing that the guard was probably having second thoughts about helping her, she quickly threw her leg over the wall. She didn’t make it over before he reached up and grabbed her hair, holding her in place as she straddled the wall.

“Sorry,” he told her, hanging on tightly. Raising his voice, he said, “I’ve got her!”

Lindsey attempted to pull her hair free as Brett tightened his grip and tried to pull her back into the yard. His eyes darted to the gun by his feet, which he obviously wanted to pick up. Seeing several men running from the house, Lindsey twisted her head as far as she could and bit Brett’s forearm. He instinctively let go of her hair.

A bullet whizzed past her shoulder as she dropped over the wall, landing in a heap on the ground. Ignoring the pain from the awkward landing, she got to her feet and ran. Behind her, someone yelled a command to open the gate.

Lindsey pushed herself, racing down the street as fast as she dared. She’d probably be no match for the men with their longer strides, but she intended to make good use of the head start she’d been given. She glanced back once to see someone climbing over the wall as the gate slowly began to open. She rounded a bend and didn’t look back.

The neighborhood had streets that curved and houses with large lawns. Most of the properties either had a wall or a fence, but nothing like the one around Henry’s house. She quickly opened a gate to go into a yard, heading immediately for the wall behind it. This one was easy to get over, and she continued on to the next yard. She was surprised by a dog, but she was over the next wall before the animal had time to do much more than lift his head and look at her. She knew she’d have to be careful because she might not be so lucky the next time.

~*^*~

~56~

Lansing, Michigan

“Sir, there’s vehicle movement on the ground,” Reynolds said, indicating a point below them.

Henry looked out the window at a car that was edging its way slowly through the obstacles in the road.

“That must be your Moose man,” Henry said with a smirk. “Follow him.”

~*~

A few blocks into the ride, Moose heard a thumping sound. He looked out the window to see a chopper high in the sky. Grabbing his radio, he made a call.

“Boss, you there?”

“I’m here,” Snake’s voice could be heard on the radio.

“There’s a whirlybird above me,” Moose said, earning a giggle from Marla. “I think I’m being followed.”

“Better find a place to hide out and sit tight for a bit,” Snake said. “We’ll wait a while, and if you don’t see them again, we’ll head out.”

“10-4 boss,” Moose said. “Over and out.” He found a spot under a carport and parked the car. A couple of minutes later, the chopper disappeared.

“So I guess we just wait now,” Moose said, tapping on the steering wheel.

“Well, I think I know how we can kill some time,” Marla said as she pressed her lips against his.

~*~

Henry watched as the vehicle pulled under a carport and parked.

“Looks like we’ve been spotted,” he said. “Obviously they don’t teach stealth in the military.”

Lee frowned at the comment but remained silent.

“Might as well continue on to the hospital to see if the biker brigade has taken off yet,” Henry said, winking at Brandi.

The blonde responded with a smile.

“You know, Reynolds, one would think that killing that idiot’s fiancée would have sent them a very clear message, but I see they’re not quite getting it. It’s probably time to send them another one. I hope you aren’t too attached to Lindsey. I’m afraid we may have to make an example of her.”

A muscle twitched in Lee’s cheek, and his hands tightened on the controls, but he didn’t respond.

“On the bright side,” Henry continued, nodding toward Brandi, “I’ve already found you a replacement.”

Henry turned to Brandi. “There’s quite a bit of prestige in being married to a pilot, especially in our little community. Isn’t that right, Lieutenant?”

Lee nodded silently.

Henry thought he saw a look of disappointment cross Brandi’s face. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully before she finally answered.

“He’s very handsome,” she said, leaning forward to expose a bit more cleavage, “but then, so are you.”

Henry smiled, knowing that Brandi sought the power that she could have by being with the man in charge. He’d already noticed the marks on her arms and the glassy look in her eyes. She obviously had a habit that he’d never tolerate from one of his wives, but she was beautiful enough to be suitable for Reynolds and would undoubtedly fit into their society better than Lindsey ever would. He was certain that the pilot would be satisfied with her as a replacement.

“Although I appreciate the compliment,” Henry said, “my position allows me to set the bar to a height that you could never possibly attain.”

The plastic smile on Brandi’s face only faltered for a moment at Henry’s words.

“Regardless, I think you will enjoy the perks of being a pilot’s wife,” Henry told Brandi. “You’ll have maids, cooks, and even a chauffeur.”

She looked out the window at the disintegrating world below her.

“It sure beats being out there,” she said. “What will I have to do? I mean, they tried to make me work at the hospital. Will it be the same in your fortress back there?”

“Your job,” Henry said with a chuckle, “will be to help rebuild civilization by simply contributing your DNA. I think you and the lieutenant should produce some superior offspring.”

Brandi wrinkled her nose.

“I can’t stand kids. I think I’d puke if I had to change a diaper.”

“The collective is more than happy to assist with raising children,” Henry replied. “As I’m sure you are aware, the old world was filled with people who had no business being parents. We like to help ensure that all of the children are being raised to our standards, and in the cases where the parents are unable or unwilling to take on that responsibility, we raise the children for them, allowing them time to do other things that they find more important.”

“Sign me up,” Brandi said, smiling, “but, just out of curiosity, what’s going to happen to Lindsey?”

“I’m afraid that when the cavalry arrives, there won’t be much left of her. I just haven’t decided whether to drop off her remains at the hospital, or to leave them on display for her would-be rescuers.”

Brandi smiled. “Good. I hate that bitch.”

“Perhaps I’ve assumed too much,” Henry said, directing his attention to Lee. “You seem to be a little quiet, Reynolds. Since your current love interest had to be dragged to the community, kicking and screaming, I would think that being married to a gorgeous model would be quite the step up.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Lee sighed. “I gave Lindsey plenty of chances. I guess she can deal with the consequences.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Henry said. “Now if I could use the radio, I’ll let Wayne know that he can begin the interrogation. He’s been begging me to let him do it. If she hasn’t cooperated by the time we get back, I’ll let Loto give it a try. I have yet to see him in action but, judging by his size, I’m sure he can be very persuasive.”

Loto nodded his head solemnly.

“The radio isn’t operational in this unit,” Lee said. “I have a hand-held, but it won’t work inside this metal beast. We’ll have to land and make a quick call outside. He spied a park in the distance and headed for it, setting the chopper down.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

Dan walked inside with Miranda, soaking wet from a cloudburst that had caught them unprepared. They were deep in conversation as they entered the kitchen.

“I was starting to worry,” George said. “There’s a thunderstorm going on . . . with lightning!”

“You always worry, George,” Miranda said, kissing his cheek. “And we noticed the rain.”

“Well, you’re the only family I have,” he told them. “Now go get cleaned up so we can eat.”

“Yes, Dad,” Miranda teased.

Dan grinned and hurried off to change into some dry clothes.

“How did the training go?” George asked when Dan returned. He put three bowls of stew on the table.

“Very well,” Dan said, “until the rain started, anyway. I think she’s going to be okay as long as she keeps practicing.”

“I hope you’re right,” Miranda said, walking back into the room. “I do feel more comfortable than I did yesterday.”

“We’ll keep working on it,” Dan said. “As long as you practice and keep working out, you’ll be fine.”

“And don’t make any mistakes,” George added. “You could be the best zombie killer in the country and still make a mistake and end up dead.”

“She knows that, George,” Dan said. “She’s very careful, and I’m going to keep working with her.”

Miranda gave Dan a smile and sat down at the table.

When they were done eating and had finished washing the dishes, George asked, “Can we play a board game tonight? I saw a bunch of them in the closet.”

“Sure, George,” Miranda said. “Are you getting tired of movies?”

“I am,” Dan said. “I’ve never watched so many movies before in my life.”

“I’ll never get tired of them,” George said. “I just like games, too, especially on a stormy night.”

“Well, the rain’s died down,” Dan said. “But I still hear thunder.”

“That’s how it usually goes here,” Miranda told them. “We don’t get light rains in the summer. We get storms that dump a ton of water on us all at once. Flash flooding is a real problem.”

Dan opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when they heard the police scanner suddenly start squawking. It had happened several times since they’d been at Miranda’s house, but the previous times it had only been someone checking in or updating the others on the zombie kill for the day. This time, Dan distinctly heard someone mention California, and he hurried over to turn up the volume. George and Miranda joined him, and they listened to the announcement.

“That’s the Chief of Police,” Miranda whispered. “Walt Roberts. I recognize his voice.”

Walt went on to announce that there were two men who were wanted for questioning and that they were thought to be in the area.

“These suspects may be the ones who started the plague,” he said, causing both Dan and George to mutter quiet comments. He proceeded to describe them both perfectly, down to Dan’s green eyes and George’s messy gray hair.

Dan glanced at George, who was frowning as he ran a hand over his hair.

“They were seen in Cholla Ridge, and they were driving an older model pickup at that time. There’s a good chance they’ll pass through here if they haven’t already. Their trail has ended, so we think they may have found a place to hide out for a while.”

Dan swore quietly.

“People, listen up,” the voice continued. “These men may appear to be harmless, but if they’re the ones who have unleashed this plague upon us, then they’re the most dangerous men that the world has ever known. I think that we’d all like to get our hands on them, but if you find them, please use caution because the doctor may be immune, and he may be the only person on this earth that can stop the plague. It is critical that he be taken alive for this reason. I cannot stress this enough. The man with him, the soldier, will do everything in his power to protect Dr. Rayburn, so you can understand how dangerous he is. From what we’ve learned, the plan is to sell the vaccine to the highest bidder and keep it from the rest of us. I’m sure you can imagine what a powerful weapon the vaccine would be in the wrong hands.”

There was some static, and then the voice came back. “Once it’s light tomorrow, I want every street in this town searched, and if that truck is here, I want it found. There is a reward for anybody that brings Rayburn in alive. That’s all.”

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

“Can you turn that thing off? I can’t hear myself think,” Henry snapped as he took the radio and stepped out the door.

“Sorry, sir, but we don’t dare,” Reynolds said. “We need to be able to take off the second we sight any infected. If they grab onto the chopper, they could keep us from lifting off.”

“Loto is fully capable of keeping the deviants away,” Henry said.

Loto stood in the distance, holding his Uzi like it was a long lost friend.

“Sir, I’d feel better . . .”

“Fine,” Henry barked, as he strolled a few feet from the passenger door, one hand covering his left ear.

“Oh, my God, I can hardly wait to get back into some designer jeans,” Brandi said as she unbuckled her seatbelt. She moved to sit in the copilot’s seat, leaving the door open as she watched for any sign of movement near Henry. “I am so tired of the rags they forced us to wear at that hospital. Just wait until you see me dressed up. You’ll forget all about Lindsey. You know, I think she’s doing those bikers. It would explain why they let her hang out with them when they won’t even give me the time of day. Well, Dumbo does my work for me, but he’s a moron. I don’t even have to put out.”

Lee inhaled slowly, trying to ignore Brandi’s incessant chatter while he kept his eyes fixed on Henry. The old man seemed to be frustrated as he pulled the radio away from his ear and looked it over.

Loto had his attention on several of the dead that had undoubtedly been drawn over by the sound of the helicopter. After a couple short bursts from the gun, they dropped, but were quickly followed by more.

“Come on, old man, move away,” Lee whispered under his breath.

Henry stared at the radio for a moment longer then slowly lifted his head, eyes narrowing as realization began to set in.

“And maybe I can finally get my hair touched up,” Brandi said. “Those pricks wouldn’t even get me stuff so I could do it myself. I really hate . . .”

“Just shut up,” Lee said, grabbing the controls as Henry ran for the chopper. As it started to lift up, Henry was already there, reaching his arm out to Brandi.

“Help me!” he yelled.

“What are you doing?” the blonde turned her head to scream at Lee as she reached out for Henry.

The minute the old man had a grip on her arm, he yanked hard, pulling her from the helicopter as he grabbed onto the frame to pull himself in. Brandi managed to grasp his jacket, and when she tumbled to the ground, Henry went with her.

As Lee looked down, he saw that Loto was too busy eliminating an ever-increasing slew of predators to notice the scene unfolding behind him.

Henry got to his feet, yelling in rage as the chopper lifted high into the sky.

~*^*~

~57~

Lansing Compound

“We need to find her before Henry returns, or there’ll be hell to pay,” the captain told the other guards.

“We have people scouring the streets,” one of the men said.

“I want more. I want every available guard searching for her.”

“We’ve got ten people on the walls, captain,” said a man who was holding a radio. “Shall I call some of them in?”

“Go ahead. Henry’s keeping an eye on her friends, so we don’t need to worry about them just yet, and the woman’s not stupid enough to go over the wall. She doesn’t have a weapon, so she wouldn’t last ten minutes out there with the dead. She’ll be hiding inside the walls, hoping for a rescue.”

Nodding, the guard lifted the radio to give the order.

~*~

Lindsey could see the wall ahead of her, but she had no idea how she was going to get over it. There were guard towers, and they all appeared to be manned. She was still trying to come up with a plan when a guard hurried down from the closest tower. Lindsey flattened herself against a fence, praying that the armed man wouldn’t look her way as he ran past. Thankfully, he hurried down the street without even a glimpse in her direction. Wasting no time, Lindsey ran up the stairs but hid inside the tower when she saw two more people run past with guns. She waited until she was sure there was nobody else in sight then she looked over the wall. The streets were filled with the dead, many of them clawing at the concrete barriers that enclosed the community.

The drop to the ground was going to be a long one. Trying not to think about what she was doing, Lindsey climbed over the top of the wall and lowered herself until she was hanging by her hands. She looked down once more to make sure that her intended landing spot was clear then she let go, hitting the ground hard. She fell backward and found herself looking up at a dead man. He leaned over to reach for her, but she rolled away and got to her feet before he could grab her. Already there were others shuffling toward her, moaning loudly. Lindsey ran, dodging the infected as she wove through their ranks.

It wasn’t long before she was spotted by a tower guard who began to fire at her. A few of the dead around her began to fall, and one bullet hit the ground close to her feet, but Lindsey was able to make it across the street unharmed.

~*~

Instead of putting the chopper back in the lot where it was normally kept, Lee dropped it down into his front yard. He jumped out and hurried over to Henry’s house, already trying to concoct a story to tell the guards. He had decided that, whatever it took, he was going to get Lindsey out of there. They’d go somewhere safe, and maybe he’d even be able to redeem himself.

The guard at the gate was listening intently to something on his radio, barely looking up as the pilot used his key card to get through the gate. The front door opened before Lee even reached the house.

“Where’s Henry?” the door guard asked, nervously looking past Lee.

“He decided that evacuation wasn’t a bad idea after all,” Lee said, hoping the other man would believe the lie. “We saw several vehicles coming this way, and it concerned him a bit.”

“Good,” the guard said, looking relieved.

“He told me to come back for Lindsey and take her to the farm compound. He’s afraid that her friends might succeed in their rescue attempt, and she’ll be taken away before she gives him the information he wants.”

“That’s going to be a problem because she escaped.”

Lee swore silently. “How long ago?”

“It’s been about twenty minutes,” the guard said. He told Lee everything he knew. “I’ve been listening on the radio, and they haven’t found her yet.”

“I’m going to go look for her,” Lee said. “I’ll take the chopper back out.”

“I hope you find her.” The guard looked worried. “Heads are going to roll if she’s not here when Henry gets back.”

Lee ran to his house and grabbed his handheld radio which he put on the kitchen table. He quickly stuffed some food and water into a duffle bag along with clothing since he knew it wasn’t likely that he’d be coming back. The only personal belonging he owned that meant anything to him was a photo album containing snapshots of his parents and his deceased wife. It went into the bag with the other items. He gathered up everything he was taking and started for the door, but stopped when he heard voices speaking on the radio.

“She’s over the wall!”

“You sure, captain? You said she wouldn’t do that.”

“She sure as hell did. One of the tower guards spotted her running down the road. I want five men out there now!”

“Out there?”

“Yes, dumb ass. That’s where she is! That’s where you need to be. Take Brett and Wayne, since they were supposed to be watching her.”

“Shit,” Lee said, dropping the bag to the floor. He had hoped to find Lindsey while she was still in the compound and desperate to get out. Now that she was already outside the walls, it wasn’t likely he’d convince her to go with him.

Deciding that it would be best to wait until she was brought back, he sat down at his table. Once she was back inside the walls, he’d take her away from the compound. She’d have no option but to go with him.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

Lindsey noticed that the wall of the compound seemed to follow a road, at least on the side where she had gone over. Large, older homes lined the far side of the street, and most of them had open back yards. She darted between two houses then made her way to the next yard, moving quickly across the open expanse. The sniper on the wall shifted his rifle toward her, but by that time, she had sprinted across to another yard. Each time she moved between properties, she got a good look at the wall across the street, and there was always a shooter in sight. She guessed that the ones who had been called away to search for her had been sent back.

Some of the houses had sheds or garages behind them, and Lindsey considered breaking into one to see if she could find a crowbar or something else that could be used as a weapon. Realizing that it would take time that she probably didn’t have, she moved on, feeling vulnerable in her unarmed state.

She easily made her way to the next intersection but was discouraged to see several lurching figures moving down the cross street toward the compound, presumably drawn by the gunshots. As long as the gunfire continued, she knew that even more of them would be lured in by the noise.

Emerging from the last yard on the block, Lindsey found herself looking down the street at the wall again and wondered just how far the compound stretched. As she looked around, she realized that she had been there before. The place had looked different in the fog, but she was certain that the walls were the same ones that she had encountered when she was with Snake, Wolf and Wombat. She wished there was a way to contact Snake to tell him where she was, but she’d need a radio, and even if she could find one, she wouldn’t know what channel to use. She figured she’d probably end up contacting someone in the walled city by mistake.

She took a tentative step into the street, but a guard on the wall spotted her and quickly picked up a radio. Ducking back behind the house, Lindsey began to wonder if the guards had been intentionally missing her with their rifles since Henry wanted her alive. She wasn’t quite willing to risk her life to test her theory, so she began to carefully make her way up the street, hiding behind cars as much as possible. She flinched when she heard the report of a rifle, but the dead began to drop around her. There was no way that Henry would have a sniper who couldn’t hit his target from such a close distance. The shooter had to be taking out the dead to help keep her alive. A slight smile touched her face. She hadn’t planned on the extra help from the snipers. Of course, someone would need to retrieve her if they wanted to make her talk, so she knew that she could count on having live company soon.

~*~

“I should have known better than to trust another pilot,” Henry ranted as he flung the useless radio into the street. It hit the ground hard and bounced before coming to a rest, the antenna landing a few feet away.

“You pulled me out, you jerk!” Brandi said. “I don’t believe you did that!”

Henry’s hand shot out fast, slapping Brandi before she even finished speaking. “On the contrary, you pulled me out,” he snarled. “You were supposed to pull me in! It’s not my fault that you weren’t strong enough to do it. You should have let go!”

Stunned, the woman took a step back, her hand moving to her stinging cheek.

“Sir,” Loto said, still trying to thin the crowd of dead around them, “we’ve got problems.”

Henry turned to see that they were completely surrounded by the dead.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

“Miranda, please don’t look at me like that,” Dan said, stepping closer to her.

Miranda took a step back, scared, and Dan thought she looked like she was ready to bolt.

“I promise that none of what you just heard on the radio is true, and we can prove it,” he said.

“He’s right, Miranda,” George assured her. “I know the man who’s responsible for the plague, but neither Dan nor I had anything to do with it. We’ve got the proof on a DVD if you want to see it.”

She didn’t look quite as terrified as she had a moment earlier, but Dan still hated seeing the distrust on her face.

“Please, Miranda, just give us a chance to explain,” he said.

“I want to believe you, but I’m scared,” she told him, still looking like she was ready to run at the slightest provocation.

“I understand,” Dan said, “but do you really think that either of us could have done this?”

“I don’t know what to think,” she said. She paced the room for a few minutes then shook her head. “No, I don’t think you did it. We’ve spent a lot of time together the last few days, and I think I know you both well enough to believe that you’re telling me the truth. I’m sorry. I just panicked when I heard the broadcast. Please tell me what’s going on.”

“The reason we didn’t tell you earlier is that it might put you in danger,” Dan said, after getting the thumb drive out of his backpack. “I want you to think it over before we tell you everything. If someone comes looking for us, they may ask questions, and they might not be nice about it.”

“I want to know,” she said, without hesitation.

“Can you copy this?” Dan asked, handing her the thumb drive. “If we’re going to tell you what we know, you might want a copy, so you can pass the word on to others.”

They went into her office, and she copied the contents of the file onto an external hard drive.

“Don’t give it an obvious name,” Dan said.

She renamed the file The Sound of Music and saved it with some movie files.

George smiled when he saw it.

“Let’s go watch it,” Dan said. “I have a DVD if that’s easier.”

“I have a computer hooked up to the TV,” she told them. “We can use the thumb drive.”

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

“Loto,” Henry said, thinking quickly, “punch a hole in the crowd here. We’ll head for that restroom.” He pointed toward a small building in the middle of the park.

Loto sprayed a few bursts of lead, dropping bodies until it was clear enough to run through. As Henry distanced himself from the mob, Brandi followed closely behind him.

Loto, on the other hand, was falling back. He not only had to keep the path ahead clear, but he had to pause to take out the ever-growing number of dead that were closing in around him. When Henry and Brandi reached the park restroom and hurried inside, Loto was well behind them, fighting for his life. Henry watched the man’s eyes grow large as the steel door began to close.

“What are you doing?” Brandi asked.

“I’m saving our asses,” Henry said. “Loto will have no choice but to run, and the deviants will be drawn away from us by the gunfire.”

“What if I hadn’t kept up with you?” Brandi asked.

“Then you’d be dead, too,” he said, callously. They waited silently as the gun shots diminished in volume then stopped all together. Henry smiled when he thought he heard a scream in the distance. A few minutes later, he cracked open the door to find that his plan had worked. The dead were gone.

“Now what do we do?” Brandi asked.

“We walk back to the colony,” Henry said. “Keep your eyes open for a weapon.”

“Like what?” she asked. “It’s not like we’re going to find a gun just lying in the street.”

“A board, a pipe, hell, even a rock would be better than nothing,” Henry said, rolling his eyes. “Something tells me you’re not very street savvy.”

“Oh, I know how to get what I want,” Brandi said. “I just use my ass . . .”

“Your ass means nothing to these deviants,” Henry interrupted. “You’re just a five minute meal to them. If you want to increase your already minuscule chance of surviving, you’ll keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. And if you see a zombie, let me know, quietly. I don’t want you shrieking and bringing the entire infected population of Lansing to us.”

Brandi said nothing as Henry plodded along, searching the ground for a weapon. The area was residential, and it looked fairly normal except for the overgrown lawns and a few boarded up windows.

Several minutes into their walk, Henry spotted a scattering of bodies, all showing evidence of massive head injuries. The rotten stench persuaded Brandi to give the corpses a wide berth while Henry chose to walk through them. Bending over, he picked up a metal bar and wiped it on the clothing of one of the cadavers. He hefted the bar in his hand, giving a satisfied nod before heading away from the grisly scene to where Brandi was standing.

“You almost looked like you knew that was going to be there,” Brandi said, noting the heavy pipe in Henry’s hand.

“Something killed all these deviants,” Henry said, “and fortunately for us, the killer became the victim.”

“So one of those dead guys is the one who killed all these zombies?” Brandi asked.

“No. He or she is probably still around, half eaten, looking for fresh meat. That would be us.”

Brandi shivered at the thought, hurriedly following Henry as he continued down the street.

~*~

There was no doubt that the gunshots had been heard. As Lindsey fought her way down the street, she found herself heading toward a mass of the dead. She would have had a difficult time fighting her way through such a large crowd with the best of weapons. Unarmed, her chances of survival were slim. To make matters worse, she could hear voices behind her, maybe just one street over. They were coming for her.

She hesitated for a moment, debating on whether to take her chances with the growing horde or to face imprisonment and torture at the hands of her human pursuers. As two men raced around the corner in her direction, she made her decision and turned to face the dead.

~*^*~

~58~

Lansing Compound

Lee lifted his head when he heard the radio again.

“The woman just ran into a horde,” one of the voices said. “Looks like she’s trying to get herself killed.”

“Don’t let her do it!”

“We’re going after her.”

Lee stood, wondering if there was anything he could do. He considered going out on foot to help bring her back, but the others would probably already have her by the time he got over the wall. There would be no benefit to taking the chopper out because they already knew where she was, and the sound would only draw more of the dead to the area. He sat down again in frustration when he came to the same conclusion that he’d reached earlier. There was nothing he could do until it was time for Lindsey to be extracted. After that, it would just be a matter of convincing the others that he was supposed to take her to the farm compound to join Henry.

Reynolds knew that he’d sold his soul when he’d agreed to the old man’s plan in a moment of jealousy. Now he only hoped that he could do something to make up for his mistake.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

“How far away do you think the walls are?” Brandi whispered loudly enough that she may as well have been talking.

“A couple of miles,” Henry said. “We’ve been really lucky not to have run into any . . .”

Brandi screamed, which turned the heads of several creatures that had been clawing at a boarded-up home. Losing interest in their previous endeavor, they began to stagger toward the duo.

“I told you not to scream,” Henry growled.

“I didn’t mean to,” Brandi explained. “I didn’t expect to see them there, and I was startled.”

Henry jogged across the road toward a line of trees that followed a gentle slope down to the river, and Brandi followed. When they reached the trees, Henry ducked down, motioning for Brandi to do the same. A few feet behind them flowed the river.

“Why don’t we just jump into the water?” Brandi asked.

“Because we can’t see what’s in the river,” Henry snapped. “I know from experience that water is not a barrier. Now shut up.”

They waited quietly as the lumbering dead searched for the couple, eventually losing interest and returning to the boarded-up home.

“We’ll follow the walking path along the river as long as we can,” Henry said. “At least we’ll be fairly hidden. And if you decide to scream again, I’m going to leave you to die.”

Brandi remained silent, but the look she gave the old man told him what she thought.

~*~

Lindsey was well aware of the risk she was taking, but she didn’t feel that she had a choice. Certain death at the hands of Henry or one of his underlings was not an option she cared to entertain. At least the dead were slow, and they didn’t shift mental gears quickly, if at all, so she had a chance against them. She easily dodged around them, and by the time they grasped for her, she was already out of reach. She had spent enough time outside with the dead to know how to stay alive. The key was to keep moving, but with a large crowd like the one she was in, that was easier said than done. The nearby voices of the guards gave her the nudge she needed to push on. The two men behind her were helping by dropping some of the walking corpses around her, though Lindsey hoped she’d never get the opportunity to thank them.

She ducked under the arms of a tall ghoul, wincing when her bandage brushed against the dead flesh. She was sure that she’d broken some of the stitches loose while climbing over the walls, and she didn’t think it would take much for her to become infected through the long gouge in her arm.

She swerved around a dead man in a suit, and once she saw that her path was a little clearer up ahead, she risked a glance behind her. The men were getting closer, so she put on some speed in hopes of losing them. She could run for miles without tiring, and that was exactly what she planned to do.

As she got close to the next intersection, Lindsey realized that something was wrong. The dead were turning away from her and focusing their attention down the cross-street.

“Damn,” she muttered, guessing that someone was trying to intercept her. She cut over to the far side of the road, ducking down a little as she hit the intersection. Being of average height, it wasn’t too difficult to lose herself in a crowd under normal circumstances. In her current situation, it was impossible. The closest of the dead began to turn toward her, quickly drawing the attention of her human pursuers. She only made it halfway across the street before she heard a male voice off to her left, causing her to break into a run again.

The sound of footsteps behind her urged her to go even faster, which wasn’t easy while dodging moving bodies. A quick look back told her that most of the others were falling farther behind, but one man was breaking through the dead and gaining on her. When she saw the red hair and realized that it was Wayne, she knew that she was in trouble. She put on a burst of speed, but within moments, her right arm was roughly grabbed. She spun around and shoved at the guard as hard as she could with her injured arm, but he quickly locked his arms around her and yelled for the others to hurry. The dead were moving in.

“I’ve got you now, you bitch,” he seethed.

~*~

Lansing Compound

“Wayne’s got her,” the voice said over the radio.

The words gave Lee a little comfort but not much. His fists were clenched as he thought about the damage that Wayne had already done to Lindsey. It wasn’t likely she’d escape more abuse from the man on the trip back to the compound.

Lee shook his head, wondering just what the hell he’d gotten her into. He picked up the radio and told the others he’d be doing the extraction. Duffle bag in hand, he headed out the door.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

Lindsey fought to free herself as Wayne tried to hold on to her and keep the dead back at the same time.

“Quit struggling, or I’ll choke you unconscious,” he growled.

When the others arrived, they jumped in to help clear out the dead, but there were too many for the small group to handle easily. Lindsey noticed that the guards were all using firearms, and she wondered if they hadn’t learned yet that silent weapons were often better around the dead. Maybe they didn’t spend much time outside the walls.

“How the hell are we going to get her back?” Wayne asked. “She won’t cooperate.”

“Carry her,” someone said.

“I can’t carry her and fight at the same time,” Wayne snapped, “and I don’t trust you assholes to watch my back.”

“Drag her ass,” Brett said. “I don’t care, but let’s move!”

“Screw this,” Wayne said.

He wrapped his hands around Lindsey’s throat as she continued to try to fight him off.

“What are you doing?” Brett asked, eyes going wide.

“We’re not getting her back as long as she’s conscious,” the guard said, tightening his grip.

Lindsey’s lungs began to burn as she desperately attempted to pull Wayne’s hands away. She tried to knee him in the groin, but he saw it coming and twisted his body, never letting go of her neck.

Brett glanced at one of the other guards who shook his head.

“If you kill her, Henry’s going to do the same to you. He wants her alive,” Brett said.

“She’ll be fine by the time we get back,” Wayne said, squeezing harder.

“Sorry, but we’re out of here,” Brett said, turning away.

His friend hurried to join him.

“Get the hell back here!” Wayne yelled.

Growing lightheaded, Lindsey continued trying to pry away the man’s hands, but he had a death-grip on her neck. The world began to grow gray, and Lindsey closed her eyes as her hands fell to her sides.

Wayne let her fall to the ground, turning to look at the two men who were running off. He lifted his sidearm and aimed carefully, firing off two shots.

“What the hell, Wayne?” yelled one of the remaining guards. “You just shot Brett and Seth!”

“No shit,” Wayne snapped. “They’re traitors. The dumb asses told me they were planning on running. I let Henry know, and he was going to kill them. This way they can make themselves useful and buy us some time.”

~*~

Lansing Compound

Lee was sitting in the helicopter, preparing to leave, when the next message came in.

“We lost her,” Wayne’s voice said. He sounded out of breath, and it quickly became obvious that he was running.

“Find her!” the captain snapped back. “Don’t come back until you do.”

“No, I mean she’s dead.”

Lee told himself he’d heard the words wrong. Cold fear washed over him as he grabbed the radio, holding it closer to his ear.

“What happened?”

“We got overwhelmed,” Wayne said. “They got Brett and Seth, too. You need to get us out of here.”

“Bring the woman’s body. Henry will insist on it.”

“There isn’t enough left to bring back. She’s in pieces. Right now there must be two hundred of those deviants huddled around her.”

“All right . . . we’ll get a chopper out there to pick you up.”

Lee dropped the radio, numb. It was all for nothing, then. All of his plans to bring Lindsey to the walled community and protect her had only led to her death, and it was his fault. He pulled out his pistol and held it to his head, closing his eyes.

~*^*~

~59~

Lansing, Michigan

On their journey through the trees, Henry and Brandi encountered more of the undead. Fortunately, two of them were floating down the river, and the current kept them safely away. Three more came at them, one at a time, and Henry had no trouble dispatching each one with a blow to the head. When a bridge over the water blocked their path, Henry abandoned the river and trudged up the bank, peering through the trees into the neighborhood.

A slow smile came across his face as he recognized the golf course. He had wanted to include it inside the community walls, but the higher-ranking members of the Vigilarre had denied him his wish in the interest of saving time.

“Where are we going now?” Brandi asked. “I’m lost.”

“I’m not,” Henry said. “I believe your friends stopped just a couple of blocks down this road. I’m hoping they’re still there so we can catch a ride.”

“Are you serious?” Brandi asked. “You do realize that you’re not their favorite person, don’t you?”

“They won’t see me,” Henry said. “They’ll see you.”

~*~

Marla sat curled in Moose’s arms. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” she said. “Most guys would have had my clothes off within a minute.”

“I was like that before,” Moose said, slightly blushing. “Snake says that if you really respect a girl, you won’t push her.”

“So you respect me?” Marla said, lifting her head off his shoulder.

“Sure,” Moose said, “you’re a nurse, so you’re really smart. You’re really pretty, you have a hell of a body, and you’re fun to talk to.”

“I like you, too,” Marla said, placing her head back on his shoulder.

Snake’s voice came over the radio, dousing the glow of the moment.

“Yeah, Boss,” Moose said.

“Your bird still snooping around?”

“Nope. Haven’t seen him for a while. I think we’re clear.”

“How far are you from the walls?”

“Not far. Probably just a few blocks.”

“All right,” Snake said, “we’re going to get ready to saddle up and head on out. You might as well hang tight. We’ll give you the signal when we’re in place. Wrench is heading out to the pick-up point now. He’ll be waiting for you when you’re done.”

“10-4, Boss,” Moose put the radio down and turned to Marla. “Once Wrench shows up, you’ll have to run to his car. After I do my thing, I’ll meet you there.”

“All right,” she said. “You just tell me when.”

Moose looked out the window, squinting at something in the distance. His first thought was that it was a zombie, because of the way it was walking, but it was moving too fast.

“Can’t tell if that one’s dead or not,” he said. “Can you?”

Marla lifted her head and watched for a moment. “Oh, my God, it’s Brandi. What’s she doing out here?”

“I don’t know,” Moose said, watching as the woman hobbled along, favoring one leg. “Looks like she’s hurt.”

He opened the car door, but Marla put a hand on his arm. “Be careful, Moose. She might be infected.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s why she’s limping,” he said. “I wonder if she got bit. I’ll be careful.”

He turned and kissed Marla. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’m coming too,” Marla said, jumping out of the car to join him.

“Okay, but stay close to me,” he said, eyes still on the approaching woman. As Brandi got closer, Moose watched her cautiously, looking for blood or other signs of a bite.

A scream erupted behind him, followed by a disturbing thud. When moose turned to the sound of Marla’s cry, he saw Henry holding a bloodied pipe. Before the biker could react, the old man swung the weapon, and Moose was swallowed up by darkness.

~*~

Lansing Compound

Lee dropped his pistol down into his lap, unable to carry out his intended act. As terrible as he felt at the moment, he realized that killing himself wasn’t going to solve anything, although if Henry managed to make his way back, he would reconsider. It would be better than the death that would await him at the hands of the old man. He shut down the chopper and dragged his duffel bag back inside, no longer having any desire to leave. Maybe in the morning he’d change his mind, but at the moment, he just wanted to get extremely drunk. Pulling down a bottle of Tequila, he took a long swig and sat down at the table.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

Moose began to rouse to the sound of shuffling and moaning. His head throbbed in agony, and a sharp pain was shooting through his leg. He forced his eyes open and tried to pull himself up, but his leg was being held down by a crushing weight. As he turned, his eyes focused, and he realized in a heartbeat that no matter what he did, his life was over. A myriad of emotions rushed through him as he stared at the half-rotted creature that gnawed on his leg. When defeat gave way to anger, Moose used his good leg to kick the dead thing away. A second, harder kick sent it flying as the big biker staggered to his feet, only to be met by another ghoul. A hard punch sent the zombie falling backwards, and Moose looked around to regain his bearings. His eyes came to a stop as he saw even more of the dead nearby. They paid him no heed because their attention was fixed on something else. Moose let out an anguished wail when he realized what it must be.

~*~

Lindsey had quickly regained consciousness after being dropped to the ground. She’d managed to crawl away while Wayne’s attention was fixed on stopping the two escaping guards. As the dead around her had begun to move toward the wounded men, Lindsey had gotten to her feet on legs that felt as though they wouldn’t support her. Moments later, Wayne’s shout of rage had given her incentive to move faster.

“The bitch is gone!”

“Are we going after her?”

“Screw it! We’ll just tell them she’s dead,” Wayne had said. “We’ll blame it on Brett.”

It had now been an hour since she’d left her pursuers. She’d been doing her best to put some distance between herself and the compound, though she was constantly forced to change her route upon encountering large groups of the dead. She had briefly considered finding a running vehicle, but the streets in the neighborhood had not been cleared, and she knew that she could make better time on foot.

After about an hour of walking, she spotted a large, older car. She didn’t bother searching for the key. It was the open trunk that had gotten her attention. She did a quick search and triumphantly pulled out a tire iron, just in time to use it on a ghoul that had approached her in silence. She put him out of his misery with one hard swing, but immediately felt pain in her left arm. She guessed that more of her stitches had torn open, but she wasn’t about to lift the bandage to find out. Weapon in hand, she continued her trek toward the hospital.

~*~

Moose roared with rage, rushing into the huddle of creatures. He pulled them away, one by one, flinging their rotting bodies aside. He had a sick feeling that he knew who lay on the ground, holding the attention of the mob. As he worked to clear the dead away, he hoped he was wrong, that it was someone else he was going to find. Maybe it would even be the old man.

When he had pulled away enough of the ghouls to reveal the body beneath, his hopes were crushed. Numb with pain, he took in the scene before him; Marla’s half eaten body framed in a pool of blood.

In his trance-like state, Moose didn’t notice the two ghouls staggering toward him from behind. The first one to reach him bit down on his back, easily ripping through the t-shirt he was wearing. As Moose spun around, the second corpse sank its teeth into his shoulder, tearing a chunk of tissue from his collarbone.

In a maniacal rage, Moose grabbed the dead thing and slammed its head into the pavement. As others surrounded him, a primal scream emerged from deep within him, and he rushed the lumbering beings, stomping their heads into oblivion as they fell. He was inflicted with painful bites from behind as he pulverized the ones on the ground. Each time, he turned with a blind fury and ended his attacker’s miserable existence in the same manner that he had dispatched the others. When the horde had been decimated, and the big biker stood, a tattered bleeding mess, one more form rose behind him.

~*^*~

~60~

Lansing, Michigan

Hearing the scrape of a shoe on the pavement, Moose turned slowly, his energy fading quickly. This time, his rage turned to tears. He backed up as the thing that had once been Marla stumbled toward him, her lips twisted into a snarl. He grabbed her shoulders, keeping her snapping jaws a safe distance away. Closing his eyes in anguish, he lowered her to the ground. He sobbed as he slammed her head into the unyielding pavement. The body went slack beneath his hands, and he stood, his face hard and expressionless as he limped toward the walled city, leaving a spotted trail of blood behind him.

~*~

Henry eased Moose’s car up to the intersection then turned the engine off. The street was clear except for the wall that rose up at the end of the block, partially obscured by a fence. Picking up the leather jacket he’d taken from the biker, he looked it over disdainfully, but he donned it anyway.

“Why are we stopping?” Brandi asked.

“Think about it,” Henry sighed, “there are snipers on the wall expecting an attack. Do you think it would be wise to drive up there?”

“But they’re expecting Moose to be coming from Woodcrest. That’s like a block or two over.”

“We also park our tanker full of aviation fuel behind that fence,” Henry said. “We usually try to keep it guarded against scavengers. They may have diverted the snipers to Woodcrest, but I’m not taking any chances.”

“Are you sure they’ll recognize you?” Brandi asked.

Henry stopped and turned toward Brandi, making no attempt to hide his frustration.

“Every man, woman, and child in that community knows who I am. They live and die on my word. Of course they’ll know who I am. Now if you’re able to keep your mouth shut for a few more minutes, we may just make it out of here alive.”

Brandi mockingly repeated his last few words.

Henry stared at her for a second, his eyes narrowing. Taking a deep breath, he got out of the car and began to walk. A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the chain-link fence. The front of the fenced area was about twenty feet wide, with both sides stretching back almost sixty feet to butt against the wall. The tanker was hidden by sheet metal that lined the inside of the fence, which was going to make it difficult to climb. As Henry gazed at the wall, assessing the situation, Brandi cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Hello!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Henry asked, clamping a hand over her mouth.

Brandi pushed him away.

“Someone’s got to let us in,” she said. “We can’t just climb the wall.”

Henry shook his head. “I had a plan, and it didn’t include calling every deviant within miles to us.”

“Okay,” she said, impatiently. “What’s your plan? I’ve had enough of this shit out here, and I’d like to get inside.”

“Since it’s obvious that there is no one up there to drop us a ladder,” Henry said, “you will be climbing the fence. You will have to jump across to the tanker. Once there, you will climb down to the ground. Then you will open the tanker door and reach under the seat to retrieve a key. Using that key, you will open the gate and let me in. Once I’m in, I will honk the horn until somebody sees us and drops the ladder down. Do you understand this, or do I have to speak more slowly?”

“Why do I have to climb the fence?” Brandi protested.

“Because,” Henry said, his patience wearing thin, “you’re younger than I am. Besides, if I get over the fence before you do, I will be tempted to leave you here.”

A look of realization came over Brandi’s face, and she began to climb. She was about halfway up when Henry heard a noise behind him. Turning, he saw that several zombies had made their way onto the street and were staggering toward him.

“Hurry it up!” he said, stepping forward to swing his pipe at the closest one. “Your ill-conceived greeting has already attracted some attention.”

“I’m going as fast as I can,” Brandi said. “I’m not the kind of girl that climbs fences.”

“Just so you know,” Henry said as he smashed the pipe into the head of another ghoul, “they won’t let you in without me, and that wire fence won’t hold for long if these deviants pile against it in numbers.

The new information seemed to make Brandi step it up a notch, and she pulled herself to the top. Looking down, she hesitated.

“I don’t know if I can jump to that tanker. It’s a few feet away.”

“The fence is only ten feet high,” Henry said, pausing to use his weapon again. “Even if you miss the tanker and fall, the worse you’ll do is to twist an ankle.”

“But, I don’t know . . .”

“Do it!” Henry shouted as he watched the number of creatures increase around him.

Brandi closed her eyes and pushed off from the fence, flinging herself at the tanker. The top was slick, and she screamed as her feet slid down the round edges. She tried to grasp at the metal hull with her hands, but they also slid down the curved exterior. Her feet hit a small landing at the bottom of the tank with a thud, but she had no time to regain her balance before falling backward onto the ground. She lay on her back for a few seconds before sitting up with a groan.

~*~

The tire iron saved Lindsey’s life again a short time later. She paused to check her wound and didn’t realize that she was almost surrounded until it was too late to slip through the crowd. She fought her way out but brushed her bandaged arm against at least one dead body during her escape. Deciding that long sleeves were a priority, she was able to find an oversized plaid hunting jacket in a nearby vehicle. She kept it unbuttoned so that she could shrug it off if something grabbed it. A short while later, she found a baseball cap and tucked her hair up into it, solving one more problem.

By the time twilight descended, Lindsey was exhausted and was having a hard time staying alert. She guessed that she had probably only covered a few miles, but she’d often had to stop and fight off the dead, and it was wearing her down. She wasn’t going to make her way back to the hospital in the dark, so she needed to find a place to stay for the night. She decided to try to walk a little farther before stopping so she could take advantage of the last of the fading light.

~*~

“I’m all right,” Brandi called to Henry as she got to her feet.

“I’m not,” said Henry, breathing hard as he continued to fight off the growing horde. “Get the damn key!”

Brandi brushed the dust from her clothes and walked to the cab. Climbing the step, she paused. “Driver side or passenger?”

“Driver!” Henry yelled, growing desperate as even more of the dead began to move in from the side streets and alleys.

Brandi felt around on the seat for a while then called back to Henry. “Did you say on the seat?”

“Under the damn seat!” Henry bellowed. “The damn key is under the damn seat!”

“Got it,” Brandi replied a few moments later.

“Unlock the gate!” Henry shouted as the ghouls closed in around him. He heard the latch rattling, and relief washed over him.

“There’s one more thing you need to do for me,” Henry said, as the gate opened.

“What’s that?” Brandi asked.

“Keep these deviants occupied for a while,” he said. He grabbed her by the arm and flung her in to the hungry horde of walking corpses. Closing the gate and locking it, he paused for a moment to bask in her screams.

“Try mocking me now!” he yelled to be heard over the shrieks.

When the screaming ceased, Henry smiled. Climbing into the driver’s seat of the tanker, he honked the air horn continuously. Within a minute, a man with a rifle peeked over the wall, aiming the weapon at Henry.

“Do you realize who you’re pointing that at, young man?” Henry asked.

The man’s eyes grew big, and he quickly lowered the rifle. “Sir, how’d you get over there?”

“You just need to worry about getting me back on your side,” Henry demanded.

“Yes, sir. I’ll get the ladder!” The man disappeared from sight, though Henry could hear him shouting to the others.

~*~

Moose staggered toward the wall, barely outpacing the massive crowd of dead that were gathering behind him. He had stopped long enough to tear off his shirt and wrap it around his mangled leg, slowing the inevitable. The loss of blood had not only made him weak, but had seemingly set the infected predators into a frenzy, which in turn had attracted more of their kind. Only the thought of Marla being feasted upon by the dead gave Moose the strength to keep pushing on. Every drop of blood that leaked from his body was replaced with the desire for revenge.

When Moose saw the car that he’d been driving earlier, he thought he might be hallucinating. Only after he touched it, feeling the hard metal against his flesh, did he believe it was real. He painfully slid through the open door into the driver’s seat, quickly slamming the door just before the first of the frenzied crowd reached the vehicle. Moose closed his eyes and sank into the seat, fighting to stay conscious as bodies slammed against the car. Blood and green liquid oozed from his wounds with every movement and soaked through the shirt he’d wrapped around his wounded leg. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed the radio on the seat that Marla had recently vacated, sending a fresh wave of pain through his heart. He worked to reach for it with muscles that were growing stiff.

“Boss, you there?” The words came out slowly and painfully.

“Moose,” the voice came back, “where the hell have you been? We’d almost given up on you.”

“Marla’s dead, Boss,” Moose squeezed the words out as a crowd began to gather around the car. Some of them climbed onto the hood in an attempt to reach their prey.

“Marla?” Snake asked. “What was Marla doing with you?”

“Henry killed her,” Moose said, ignoring Snake’s question, “and I’ve been bitten bad.”

Moose heard Snake reply, but his attention was diverted elsewhere as he glimpsed something of interest at the end of the road. He shifted his head, peering between two zombies that were doing their best to eat him through the windshield.

About a block ahead of him, masses of the dead clawed at the chain-link fence around the tanker, but that wasn’t what had caught his interest. Visible above the fence was the upper body of a white-haired man who was apparently using the tanker as a perch.

“Henry,” Moose sneered, rising in his seat. Motion caught his eye and he looked up at the top of the wall where someone was trying to position a ladder into place.

“Oh, that just won’t do,” Moose said, shaking his head. He picked up his radio one last time. “Boss, I’m going in.”

“Moose,” Snake said, sorrow in his voice. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

Moose turned the key, and the engine roared to life. The sight of Henry made his heart pump wildly, giving him the strength to shift the car into gear and slam his foot down on the accelerator. The corpses began to slide off of the vehicle as it lurched forward, though some managed to cling to it as it gained speed. Moose raced toward the fence, swerving wildly to avoid the bodies that littered his path. He knew that even one well-placed hit could end his mission prematurely.

With the car still twenty feet away, Henry stop climbing and turned his head. Moose smiled when he saw the fear in the other man’s eyes.

“This is for Marla, you son of a bitch,” he said, gunning it.

~*~

When the vehicle impacted the tanker, the explosion sent a shockwave throughout the community. Before the smoke even cleared, the mangled dead began to find the gap in the wall. Most of them crawled, though others moved forward in various states of dismemberment. The noise, of course, drew others, who began to emerge from the alleys and side streets, all moving toward the walled compound.

~*~

Lindsey lifted her head when the sound of an explosion filled the air and shook the buildings around her. Looking back the way she’d come, she saw smoke rising into the sky and wondered what had caused it. When she almost tripped over a crawler, she knew that she was pushing her luck. She was far too tired to be outside with the dead. She desperately scanned the houses and apartments for something suitable.

Before long, Lindsey found herself walking in the dark. The moon illuminated her path when it wasn’t hidden behind a cloud, but she was disheartened to realize that it was already setting. It was going to be a dark night very soon and she needed to find safety before then.

The thought had barely left her head when the moon disappeared behind a cloud and Lindsey found herself in almost complete darkness. Terrified, she had no idea whether or not the dead could smell her or sense her in some way, other than visually. She and Autumn had discussed this with Doune before, but he’d had no answer. The moon peeked back out seconds later, preventing Lindsey from walking into a dead man. She froze, not sure what to do. As she slowly turned her head, she caught sight of more of the dead. Her hands began to shake as came to realize she was standing in the middle of a small horde.

~*^*~

~61~

Lansing Compound

Snake had carefully chosen the group to accompany him on the mission. He trusted Wolf with his life, and hadn’t had to think twice about including him. Gunner was better with a rifle than anybody Snake had ever met. That also meant he was valuable at the hospital since he could pick off targets at a long distance. Snake had thought long and hard about it, and had finally decided to include him, knowing they might have to take out some snipers if it became necessary. The rest of the choices had been even more difficult. He wanted some young, strong fighters to balance the group. With Hawk dead and Wombat out of commission, there weren’t too many others that had come to mind. Out of Snake’s thirty or so remaining men, only about a dozen of them were under forty, and most of the younger ones were recent additions to the group. Snake knew them all, but bringing them on a mission like the one they had planned was a little different than taking them on a supply run.

Dumbo was too softhearted, and Snake wasn’t sure the young biker could take out a live human, even if other lives depended on it. Fish was in his thirties, and he could fight, but Snake had to leave someone behind who could help delegate tasks to Snake’s remaining posse if an attack happened. Jack was the man in charge, but he’d be busy getting the rest of the residents to safety. Fish had good intuition and could make fast, smart decisions, as long as they didn’t involve doing math in his head. He handled pressure well and had a knack for strategy.

Snake had briefly considered Helga since she was one of his best fighters, but she was also volatile. He also didn’t think she’d be an acceptable choice on the mission considering how she felt about Lindsey. Snake had finally settled on two men who were in their early thirties, but had proven themselves to be strong fighters. Keith would be going along as well. He hadn’t dealt with the dead as much as the rest of them had, but he was a quick learner and he had skills that the others didn’t have. His experience as a climber would be helpful when they had to scale the wall. If there were any injuries, Snake knew that Keith’s medical skills might also come in handy.

As the group waited, an explosion rocked the neighborhood. The billowing cloud of smoke that rose into the sky told Snake all he needed to know.

“Boys,” he said, swallowing a lump in his throat, “let’s do it.”

The small group left their hiding spot behind a garage and followed the road to the wall, watching carefully for any snipers still in the towers.

Keith arrived first, throwing a homemade grappling hook over the wall a couple of times before finally making it catch. Yanking the rope twice for good measure, he began his ascent.

As Snake noted the ease with which Keith scaled the wall, he wished he’d taken better care of himself. Not only was Snake no longer a young man, but the extra pounds he carried would make the feat more difficult for him. He watched as Keith pulled himself to the top then surveyed the other side for any signs of danger.

Standing on the wall, Keith walked precariously several feet and stopped next to a tower, pointing at what Snake assumed was some kind of egress down the other side. The RN moved the rope over then motioned for the others to come up.

Wolf, Gunner and the two younger bikers followed Keith up the wall, ascending more slowly and clumsily than Keith had done, but making it to the top, nonetheless.

When it was Snake’s turn, he eyed the wall warily. It seemed much larger than it had when the others were climbing. Tugging on the rope, he swung back, planting his feet against the hard surface. Pleased with his progress, he pulled his leg up higher, which caused him to loosen his grip and fall flat on his back. When he regained his breathing capability, he looked up to see the others staring down at him with a mixture of pity and amusement.

Keith pulled the rope back up and tied some knots in it before lowering it back down.

Snake looked it over, seeing one large loop and two smaller ones.

“The big loop goes around your waist, and the smaller ones are for your legs. We’ll pull you up,” Keith said, still glancing cautiously around.

“He’s got company,” Wolf said, pointing to several walking corpses emerging from the trees.

One of the bikers raised his rifle, but Wolf pushed the barrel back down, shaking his head.

“You do that, and it won’t just be the dead we’ll have to worry about.”

Snake turned to see the flesh-eaters walking toward him and quickly slipped into the harness.

When he was done, Keith and the others began to pull on the rope.

“Now get your feet on the wall,” Keith said.

“Better hurry,” Wolf said, looking concerned.

Snake once again lifted his feet to the wall, this time staying above the ground. He couldn’t see the dead, but the sound of shuffling told him they were not far behind him. Unwilling to waste a second to look back, Snake lifted his legs, one by one, rising in an agonizingly slow climb up the vertical surface as the others strained against his weight. A few feet up the wall, he felt a hand grasp his head. Fortunately, the ghoul only succeeded in removing Snake’s skull cap. Had his hair been exposed, Snake was certain he would have been pulled to a slow, painful death. When he finally crested the wall, he was relieved to see a platform with stairs on the other side, next to the tower.

“Glad somebody works out,” Snake said as Keith helped him over the top of the wall to the landing.

“If we survive this,” Keith said, “I’m putting you on a workout regimen.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Snake agreed. “I guess a diet wouldn’t hurt either.”

The descent down the stairs was easier, much to Snake’s delight. Finding themselves in a small park-like area, they set off in search of Henry’s house.

~*~

Henry’s eyelids fluttered open as he lay on his back, trying to make sense of his surroundings. A repugnant smoke filled the air, obscuring his vision and causing his lungs to burn. His world existed in silence, as the explosion had undoubtedly ruptured his eardrums. Involuntary tears tried in vain to wash the caustic haze from his eyes. Despite this, Henry smiled. He was alive. Once again, nature had chosen him for survival. He had proven himself worthy of this new world that only the strong, the smart, and the deserving would inherit. The absence of pain told him that not only had he survived, but the explosion had left him, surprisingly, intact. As he attempted to rise, an invisible weight seemed to be holding him down. Frustrated, he lowered his eyes, shocked to find himself bathing in a pool of his own blood. Where his legs had been, there were mangled stumps wrapped in tattered clothing. As his eyes strained to examine the rest of his body, he could see that an exposed bicep hung from a bloodied bone on an arm that was severed below the elbow. His other arm was unnaturally twisted beneath his back. Again he tried to move, and again what was left of his body refused his request. Through dancing layers of smoke, a head appeared, its milky eyes staring at Henry as it slithered toward him on the ground. Henry watched helplessly as the rest of the body came into view. Like Henry, the corpse was not complete, but it was able to creep toward him as it pushed its tortured remains forward using the stub of a leg. In a serpentine manner, it lifted its head as it inched toward its meal. The old man could only wait in silent terror as the ghoul finally reached his torso. Henry could feel nothing but fear as the creature began to feed. Slowly, other figures emerged from the murk, their hollow eyes intent on the dying man. Paralyzed, Henry watched as the mindless deviants stripped the flesh from his body and placed his soul at the gates of Hell.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

Lindsey felt herself start to panic, but she managed to stay still. Though two of the ghouls were just a few feet away, neither of them had made any indication that they’d noticed her yet. She debated on turning around and going back down the street, but she knew there were apartment buildings ahead that might provide shelter for the night. Very carefully, she took one step then another, moving in silence through the shadows in the street. She glanced up to look at the moon and realized that it was going to be covered by clouds again before long. If she hadn’t gotten past the last of the horde by then, she’d be in serious trouble. Increasing her speed just a bit, she continued to weave her way through the dead. When she started to move even faster, one of the creatures moaned and turned her way, causing her to slow her step again. She held her breath and carefully sidestepped a dead woman in a bathrobe. Moving past a group of three zombies, she finally began to see a clear path ahead. Heart pounding, she forced herself to keep moving at her current pace until she reached the open space. Even then, she continued to walk for another two minutes before breaking into a run. Moments later, the moon disappeared. Lindsey ran four more steps before tripping over a crawler and tumbling, head over heels, onto the pavement.

~*~

Lansing Compound

The streets were eerily empty, unlike the buzzing community that Eric had described. Snake hoped that the explosion in the distance and the black smoke still billowing on the other side of the community were keeping most of the residents safe within their homes. Then again, maybe they were busy trying to keep the dead from funneling through whatever openings the explosion had made. The sound of numerous gunshots in the distance lent credence to this theory. The small hole that they had planned to make as a distraction would have been little more than an inconvenience, but when Moose had rammed the tanker, that had all undoubtedly changed.

It took them a while to find the sprawling estate that surprisingly fit Eric’s description of Henry’s house. To Snake’s disappointment, it was surrounded by six-foot high walls.

“I’m not sure I can do this,” he said, shaking his head.

“I think you may be in luck,” Keith said, pointing to the adjoining property, which had a helicopter parked on the front lawn. “Isn’t that Reynolds’ chopper?”

“Best part is I don’t see any walls around it,” Snake said, smiling.

“What are the chances that he has Xena in there?” Wolf asked.

“It’s worth a shot,” Keith said as they left their hiding places to hurry across the street.

When they approached the residence, the open front door suggested that nobody was home. They moved quietly through the house to the kitchen, where Lee was sitting at the table. When Snake saw the pistol on the table, he lifted his rifle in the pilot’s direction, but Reynolds didn’t even flinch.

“Where’s Lindsey?” Snake asked.

Lee glanced up at the men with no expression. Lifting the remains of a bottle of Tequila to his lips, he took a long swig.

Keith reached over to grab the pistol, and Lee made no attempt to stop him.

Reynolds finally broke his silence. “I wondered if you guys would show up,” he said, his words slurred. “Drink?” He held the bottle up to the others.

“Swore the stuff off,” Snake said lowering his rifle. “Lee, where’s Lindsey?”

Reynolds stared at the table for a moment then said, “Gone.”

“Gone where?” Snake asked.

Reynolds looked like he was struggling to find the right words.

“Do you mean she’s dead?” Keith asked, voice rising in concern.

Lee closed his eyes and nodded in affirmation.

Keith looked away for a long moment before asking, “How did it happen?”

“It’s my fault,” Lee said, carefully pronouncing his words in an attempt not to slur. “I just wanted her here with me, safe, then Henry . . .”

“Henry killed her?” Snake asked.

“He had his heart set on it,” Lee said, taking another swig, “but I let her go. I figured she’d have a chance, at least. I came back to take her away from here and found out that she’d already made it over the wall.”

“Then how do you know she’s dead?” Snake asked.

Lee pointed to the radio that lay halfway across the room on the floor.

“I heard the whole thing. They chased her into a horde of the dead. By the time they reached her, there wasn’t much left. It’s my fault.”

Snake let out a long breath, looking away for a moment. He’d lost Hawk and Moose, and now Xena, who had become as much a part of his team as the others. Snake hadn’t been there to help any of them, and he hadn’t been able to save Jessica or Marla, either. The guilt weighed heavily upon him, and the burden was threatening to crush him as he asked himself what he should have done differently.

Keith swore quietly, shaking his head.

“We should have been here sooner. We could have saved her.”

“We wouldn’t have gotten over the walls without Moose doing his part,” Wolf pointed out. “And it took a while to get everything ready. There’s nothing we could have done that would have changed the outcome.”

Lee nodded and lifted the bottle to his lips and finished it off. “On the bright side,” he said, dropping the empty bottle onto the table, “your diversion worked like a charm. The guys on the radio said that Henry rode the tanker into oblivion. Honestly, I never thought he and Brandi would make it back to the walls.”

“Brandi?” asked one of the young bikers, surprised.

“Wait, Henry’s dead?” Snake asked at the same time, his mind filling in the pieces of the puzzle that had been missing.

“Yes. I dropped his ass off on the outside, along with his bodyguard and Brandi. That little bitch was feeding him your every move.”

“That explains her interest in Dumbo,” Wolf said. “I thought it was just because he was doing her work for her.”

“She used to talk to most of us,” one of the younger bikers said. “She asked a lot of questions, now that I think about it.”

“Why the sudden change of heart,” Snake asked, his eyes still on Reynolds.

“I looked in the mirror,” Lee said. “I didn’t like what I saw. I sat there twice while the old man slaughtered innocent people. When it came to Lindsey, I couldn’t let him do it.” He reached for the bottle, frowning when he saw that it was empty. “Not that it made any difference.”

“What about Doune?” Snake asked. They still had a mission, and he was determined to see it done. He would mourn his fallen friends later, in private.

“He’s safe,” Lee said. “They need him. I can take you to him if you’d like.”

Snake shot Wolf a look, wondering if he could fully trust Reynolds.

Wolf shrugged his shoulders. “Do we have a choice?”

Lee swayed as he got to his feet.

“Try anything, and you’re a dead man,” Keith said, making sure the pilot had a clear view of his rifle.

“Don’t do me any favors,” Lee said, keeping a hand on the table to steady himself. “But a word of warning; the doctor may not be exactly on your side anymore. They’ve been working on him since he arrived, and it looks to me like he’s settling into the community.”

~*^*~

~62~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

Miranda sat next to Dan after getting the computer set up. Eventually, the picture appeared on the TV screen, and Petrov explained how he had been forced to create the parasite.

“I knew I couldn’t let Gayne release this plague on the population. I told him that I would trade him the parasite for my family, but I gave him a placebo instead. Once I received the call that my family was safe, I went out to destroy the infected test subjects and every remnant of the parasite. I thought that Clarence had left the building, but when I opened the door to the lab, I heard screams. He had set all of the test subjects free, and they were killing the workers. I tried to stop him, George, but he had a gun. He told me that he couldn’t let me live since I knew who he was. He tried to kill me, but I didn’t get close enough to give him a clear shot. I was able to slip out the back door after fighting off several of the monsters that I’d created.”

He glanced down at his arm before continuing. “Some of the workers had been given the vaccine and were immune, though Clarence didn’t know this. Most were not. I think about them often, and I feel like a coward for leaving, but I knew that the majority of them had probably been infected by that time. When I looked back, I saw that Gayne had opened the doors. Some of those leaving the building were running, and I would guess they were all infected. He would not have let them out otherwise . . .”

He dropped his face down into his hands for a moment then looked up again.

“I called the local police and explained as much as I could. I told them they needed to find everybody who worked at the lab. They said they’d look into it, but I don’t think they believed me. They wanted me to come in, but I wasn’t about to do that. I had to run, and I just hoped that they would handle the problem. I didn’t know what else to do.”

He looked away for a moment before returning his eyes to the camera.

“George, I’m so sorry that I created this thing. I’m also sorry because I’ve done something unethical to our patients, though I feel it was justified.”

Dan stood and walked outside while the others continued to watch the video.

On the TV, Petrov continued. “I gave the vaccine to our patients in that last clinical trial we did together in Mexico,” he said, the words coming out in a rush. “I injected all of them.”

The doctor quickly went on to explain. “Before you jump to conclusions, I know that most of our patients in the trial have died, but the vaccine is not what killed them, as I’m sure you must realize. I tested the vaccine several times on volunteers and workers in the lab, though I was careful not to let anybody else know what I was doing. There were no side effects, but they were all immune. It worked perfectly. I also injected it into . . .”

Miranda strained to make out the next sentence, but she couldn’t.

Petrov had dropped his head and was rolling up one of his sleeves as he spoke. The words came out garbled.

“I couldn’t understand that part,” Miranda said.

“He said he injected the vaccine into his own body as well. There was more, but we couldn’t make it out, either,” George said. “There was something about me forgiving him, and the rest was impossible to understand.”

Petrov held an arm up to the camera. There was the distinct mark of a human bite on it.

“As you can see, I’m immune,” Petrov continued. “Maybe the test subjects will even die off before spreading the disease to others, and nothing will ever come of it. If that happens, I hope to find you and retrieve this DVD. I hope to stay alive long enough to be reunited with my family, but this group has eyes everywhere.”

He glanced at the door, looking startled. Finally, he turned back to the camera again.

“This is how I live now,” he said, motioning toward the door. “I know they are searching for me, and I jump every time someone walks by my room. I know it isn’t safe to stay in one place for long, and I will be moving on as soon as I send this to you. I guess I will not see you again, but I hope that you are still alive, and I pray that you can help to end this terrible thing if it spreads. I must go now. Goodbye, my friend.”

The picture disappeared, and Miranda clicked a couple of buttons on the remote before leaning back on the sofa, eyes distant.

“You’re an oncologist, right? How does that tie in with creating a parasite?”

“It doesn’t,” he said. “Igor, Dr. Petrov, is brilliant. He knows a little bit about everything and a lot about a few things, but his real expertise is microbiology. The cancer study was mine, but I involved him because he can sometimes see things that others can’t. He’s a problem solver.”

“And that’s why they chose him?” Miranda asked.

“That’s my guess,” Rayburn said.

Miranda glanced outside. She could see Dan walking around the pool.

“Dan has a hard time watching the video,” Rayburn explained. “His daughter was part of the clinical trial, and she was probably injected with the vaccine.”

“Oh, wow. No wonder he’s upset,” she said, shaking her head. After a moment, she got up to pull the thumb drive out.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

Lindsey got to her feet quickly, moving out of reach of the crawler. Her right ankle hurt, but it held her weight, so she continued to make her way down the street. She scanned the area around her each time the moon emerged from the clouds and finally noticed an older apartment building up ahead of her. It had an exterior fire escape that went all the way to the roof. Unlike many of the buildings she’d seen, it didn’t have counterbalanced stairs, which would drop to the ground when a person put weight on them. Instead, there was a metal ladder that pulled down from the lowest level of the fire escape. It didn’t extend all the way to the ground, but she thought she might be able to reach it if she could find something tall enough to stand on.

A quick search netted her an old metal trash can that stood behind the building. She could see at least one human shape in the street nearby, so her task would require complete silence. Easing her way over to the metal can, she lifted it carefully and carried it to the fire escape. As she flipped it over, she almost dropped it, but she was able to get a grip on it before it touched the pavement. Still, the metal handles clanked against the side of the can, and she heard a loud moan in reply. Holding her breath, she waited. After a few minutes passed, Lindsey carefully set the can in place. Climbing onto it without making any noise was going to be difficult. She needed a step.

After spending another ten minutes searching, Lindsey found a wooden flower box below a window of a nearby house. Upending it, she dumped out the contents then hurried back to the fire escape as quickly as she dared. About halfway there, she heard the tell-tale sound of a shoe scraping the pavement. Squinting into the dark, she saw a figure lurching toward her, dragging one foot. Having spent almost twenty minutes getting everything into place, she had no intention of starting over somewhere else. She quickly made her way over to the trash can and set the flower box beside it as the corpse drew closer.

The can felt unsteady when Lindsey lifted her foot onto it, but she knew she couldn’t spare the time to brace it better. The dead man was maybe six feet away at the most. She stepped up, but the can was wobbling beneath her, and it started to fall over. Having no other choice, she reached up to grab the lowest rung of the ladder with both hands. The trash can hit the pavement with a sound that could probably be heard for blocks. Ignoring the pain in her arms, she struggled to reach the second rung. She felt fingers brush against her left ankle, and she quickly pulled her legs up. Within a few more minutes, she finally managed to make it up to the platform. A number of loud moans told her that a crowd of the dead was moving her way, and she hurried up to the next level, no longer concerned with being silent. The dead couldn’t reach her now.

As Lindsey passed each of the six floors, she checked the doors, relieved to find each one closed. She had no intention of going into the darkened building at night, and she wanted to be certain that nothing would be coming out of it. When she got to the top of the stairs, she checked the entire roof, stepping carefully since she was not able to see the edges well in the dark. Once she was certain that she was alone, she found a sheltered spot next to an air conditioning unit and curled up in her borrowed jacket. She closed her eyes, hoping she’d be able to sleep.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

Hixson walked back in, closing the door behind him.

“Are you ready to talk?” he asked.

“Yes, and I’m sorry for not trusting you. Will you both forgive me?”

“Of course,” Dan said. “I don’t blame you at all.”

“I would have been just as worried,” Rayburn said.

Sitting on the sofa again, Miranda listened as the two men took turns telling her parts of the story from the beginning. When they were done, she took a few moments to digest it before speaking.

“I saw some footage of these walled cities on the news, but they never said who had built them. There were towers on the walls, with armed guards.”

“They’re all over the world,” Dan said. “This group, the Vigilarre, has managed to gain control of just about every powerful person that could be of use to them.”

“But how?” she asked. “How could so many people just roll over and submit?”

“Most people will do almost anything to ensure the safety of their own families,” Dan said. “I overheard Madec say that everybody had their price. It looks like the Vigilarre did well at finding each person’s price. They targeted top government officials, military officers, and other people in power. By the time the rest of us started questioning what was going on, it was too late.”

“But you left,” she said, looking at Dan. “You didn’t follow their orders.”

“I don’t have a family for them to use against me,” Dan said. “And I didn’t want to be part of their community. A lot of other soldiers feel the same way. We swore an oath, but it wasn’t to the Vigilarre. I think that once the smoke clears, you’ll see the men and women of our armed services ready to fight to take our country back from this group.”

“I think you’re right,” Rayburn said. “A lot of them left the Yucca compound while I was there. They’d had enough.”

“Will it make a difference if these compounds don’t have military backing?”

“I don’t know,” Dan said. “For every soldier who walks away, there will probably be a civilian willing to step in and take his or her place. They won’t be as skilled, but I’m sure they’ll get some training.”

“Is it true that you’re immune, George?” Miranda asked.

“Not unless Igor gave the vaccine to me in my sleep or something,” George said.

“I’ve seen you sleep,” Dan said, his face serious. “It’s a real possibility.”

Hixson turned to face Miranda. “As long as we’re in your house, you’ll be in danger, Miranda. We’ve got to leave.”

“If anybody comes to the house, we can show them the DVD,” she suggested. “They’ll have to believe you.”

“I’m not sure I want to stake any of our lives on that,” Dan said. “Maybe you could drop off a copy where they’ll see it once we’re gone.”

“I could do that,” she said, looking away with a sigh. “I know you’re right, but I just don’t want you to go. I’m being selfish, but I’ve become very attached to both of you over the last few days.”

“I don’t want to leave you here, either, Miranda,” Dan said. “I had really hoped we could escort you to Oregon once you were ready to go.”

“Why can’t we?” George asked. “She could go with us, and we could drop her off in Oregon.”

“She doesn’t want to leave her husband, George. You know that,” Dan said. Reluctantly, he added, “She also wouldn’t be safe with us.”

They both looked at Dan, who explained, “We’ll be on everybody’s most-wanted list.”

“Where will you go?” Miranda finally asked.

“I don’t know. Someplace far from here where we can hide out for a while,” Dan said.

“How are we going to get anywhere without being seen?” George asked. “They’ll be watching for us everywhere. Are you sure we can’t just hide out here until they forget about us?”

“They’re not going to forget about us if they think you’re immune. I think that the search will grow bigger around here. We need to leave tonight before they start looking for the truck in the morning.”

“We could hide in the attic or something.”

“You know better than that,” Dan said. “You know if they can narrow the search down to this city, they’ll find us. It’s just a matter of time. One of the neighbors may see us if they haven’t already. We have no way of knowing how many other people might be holed up in their homes.”

“I’m starting to think they’re all gone,” Miranda told him. “I haven’t seen so much as the flutter of a curtain from any of the houses around here lately, except for the two families that we saw drive away.”

Twice they’d heard a vehicle and had gone to the window to watch as neighbors had left. One had been an SUV with luggage on top, the other a truck pulling a loaded trailer.

“The guy at the auto shop saw me,” Dan said. “I have no doubt that he could identify me.”

“I forgot about that,” Miranda said, looking concerned. “And he knows me. He’d have my address in his files.”

“Then we definitely have to go,” George said. He added reluctantly to Dan, “I guess you’re probably right about it being dangerous for Miranda, too.”

“If that was the only issue, I wouldn’t let that stop me,” she said.

“Then maybe you should at least think about going,” George said.

She didn’t answer right away, but eventually she shook her head. “What if he comes home and I’m gone? I just can’t do it.”

“I think we should go tonight, after dark,” Dan said. “With the thunderstorm going on, we may be able to slip out unnoticed on the power line road.”

“What about George’s knee?” Miranda asked.

“I can walk on it,” George said.

“Are you sure?” Miranda asked, surprised.

“I think it wasn’t quite as bad as George led us to believe,” Hixson said.

Miranda looked at George, not understanding.

“I wanted to stay longer, so Dan could spend more time training you,” George admitted. “I was worried about leaving you here if you couldn’t defend yourself.”

“That was very sweet of you,” she said, giving him a smile.

“Let’s plan on leaving around ten, George,” Dan said. “Hopefully, by the time they start their search, we’ll be long gone.”

~*~

Lansing Compound

The group followed Lee, who slammed into the door on the way out. Rubbing his head, he walked down his driveway to the street and staggered toward Henry’s house while the others followed, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. The gunfire in the distance had not abated, letting Snake know that the dead were being persistent.

When they approached the gate, Lee stopped.

“Please don’t tell me we have to climb over this,” Snake sighed.

Reynolds pulled his wallet from his back pocket and fished through it until he found a card. He waved it in front of a scanner, and the gate started to move.

“Perks of being a pilot,” Lee said with a drunken slur. He looked around. “Usually there’s someone manning the gate. Wonder where he is?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Keith said, urging him on. “We don’t want to talk to him anyway.”

When they reached the front door, Lee seemed surprised to find it open. They stepped inside and looked around.

“Must have left in a hurry,” Reynolds said, entering the foyer. He led them down the hallway, warily eying the staircase as he approached it. Grasping the railing, he pulled himself up the steps, wobbling a bit at the halfway point before regaining his balance. When he reached the top, he stumbled down another hall until he came to a closed door. As he twisted the knob, he was again surprised that it was unlocked.

Snake was glad to see Doune unharmed, standing at the window. The doctor turned when he heard the door open.

Well, Doc,” Snake said with a grin, “I bet you’re happy to see us, for once. We’re here to take you home.”

“I don’t think so,” Doune said, expressionless.

Loto emerged from the shadows with an Uzi trained on Snake and his men, who quickly dropped their weapons.

Lee’s face fell as he mumbled, “Oh, shit.”

~*^*~

~63~

Lansing Compound

“Unfortunately, I seriously doubt that any of us are going home,” Doune said.

“I was kind of hoping I’d never see you again,” Lee said to Loto with an air of resignation.

“Oh, I’m quite resilient,” Loto replied, “considering the dead fall a lot easier than an offensive line.”

“Wolverines,” Snake said, snapping his fingers. “I knew I recognized you! You were a hell of a linebacker.”

“And people said my skills would never be useful in the real world,” Loto said, almost managing a smile.

“So, you were once human,” Lee said, steadying himself against a wall. “With Henry dead, there’s no reason to hurt these guys. It’s me you have the beef with.”

Loto stared at Lee for a second then at the others.

“Henry was an asshole, bro,” he said, lowering his weapon. When he put down the rifle, he also seemed to drop the uptight manner in which he’d carried himself while in Henry’s employ. “You did what the rest of us didn’t have the balls to do.”

Doune had remained expressionless as he followed the conversation. “I assume you’re not going to kill anybody?” he said to Loto.

“No.

“Does that disappoint you?” Snake asked.

“Of course not,” Doune said, “you serve a valuable purpose at the hospital.”

“We weren’t sure you’d want to come back,” Keith said to Doune.

“I prefer not being told how to do my research,” Doune said. “And while I know you may all find this hard to believe, I am deeply disturbed by most everything that is happening in this compound.”

“That does surprise me, Doc,” Snake said. “I thought you’d fit right in.”

“What about Lindsey?” Doune asked, walking with the others toward the door. “She’s being kept here, too.”

Reynolds shook his head but said nothing.

“Xena didn’t make it,” Snake said.

“What happened?” Doune asked, surprised.

“She escaped over the wall, and the dead got her,” Lee finally said.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Doune said.

Loto looked surprised, too. “I was hoping she got away.”

Lee looked up at him.

“I saw you give her the key, bro,” Loto said. “I know we need this vaccine, but torturing someone for a name isn’t the way to go about it.”

“Torture?” Doune asked, frowning. “What are you talking about?”

“They didn’t want you to know what was going on,” Loto said. “You were being handled very carefully because you were valuable to them. They just wanted a name from Lindsey, and they were going to get it however they could.”

“We need to go,” Snake said. He looked at Doune. “I’ll update you on everything later.”

“Grab your guns,” Loto said. “We’re getting out of here.”

~*~

They made it about five steps from the house before Loto came to a dead stop.

Snake wasn’t sure what the problem was at first, but as he looked around Loto, he saw two armed men coming toward them.

“What’s going on, Loto?” asked a young man with red hair. “Who let these guys in here?”

“Don’t worry about it, Wayne,” Loto said. “It’s all over. Henry’s dead.”

“Wayne?” Lee asked, stumbling forward to get a better look. When he saw the red hair, he let out a growl and flew at the guard surprisingly fast for someone in such an inebriated condition. Reynolds slammed into Wayne’s mid-section and drove him to the ground. The guard’s gun spun away as Reynolds began to pummel the man with his fists.

For a moment, the others stood in shocked silence until the second guard started to lift his weapon.

“Bad idea,” Keith said, leveling his rifle at the other man. “Drop it.”

“Screw this,” the guard said, putting down his weapon and turning to run.

Blood flew from Wayne’s lips as Lee continued to hit him.

“I can’t watch this,” Loto said, turning away.

“If you ever even think about hitting a woman again,” Reynolds raged, pulling his arm back for another punch, “I’m going to hunt you down.”

“Hitting a woman?” Keith asked. “He’s the one who hit Lindsey?”

Loto nodded. “He bruised her up pretty good and gave her a black eye.”

“Kill the asshole,” Wolf said.

“He’s kidding . . . I think,” Snake said to the others. He reached down and pulled Reynolds to his feet. “If we do that, we ain’t any better than they are. Maybe he’ll learn something from this.”

“I hope you’re right,” Keith said.

Reynolds looked down at the unconscious man then walked over to where Loto was hunched over, breathing deeply.

“And what about you? You were going to torture her.”

“Wouldn’t have happened, bro,” Loto said, pausing to take a breath. “I get sick when I see blood, at least on living people.”

Snake raised an eyebrow. “You seemed to be okay with Henry killing Hawk and Jessica.”

“I wasn’t there to see any of that,” Loto said. “If I was, I probably would have hurled. Henry told me your bikers attacked him first. I was outside the door and I heard the gunshot when the woman was killed, but I didn’t hear the details until later.”

“This is a first,” Snake said. “A hit man who can’t stand the sight of blood.”

“I was just supposed to be a bodyguard,” Loto said. “Honestly, I’ve never hurt anyone, well, off the football field. I’ve never needed to. My size usually scares people away.”

He looked down at the battered guard. “Wayne was going to do the interrogation. Henry just told Lindsey I was going to do it because he thought it might make her talk to you. I think she was more afraid of Wayne than she was of me, though. He terrified her. I could see it in her eyes.”

“I tried to stay with her as much as possible for that very reason,” Lee said.

“How’d you get mixed up with this bunch anyway?” Snake asked Loto.

“I was working in Ann Arbor when all this happened,” Loto started. “I had to check on my parents, but the roads were all choked up, so I had to walk all the way to their home in Southfield. It took a couple days, but somehow I made it there without getting bitten. The house was full of those things, so I figured they were dead, but when I cleared the place out, they weren’t there. Luckily, I found them alive and well in the basement. We boarded the house up and stayed there a couple days until we heard a chopper. The military evacuated us and a few of our neighbors to a shelter, which wasn’t much better than being in the city, but at least there was food.”

Loto straightened himself up and shook his head as the blood returned to his face.

“One of the officers recognized me from my Michigan State days and took me to this place where they asked me a bunch of questions and did some medical tests. They even did an IQ test. For some reason, they seemed really happy that I had my degree. When they were done, they said I could come to a better place and work as a bodyguard. I told them I would, but only if my parents could come along. They agreed and said they would bring them later.”

“Did they do it?” Snake asked.

“No, that never happened. By the time I found out what Henry was really like, it was too late. They constantly reminded me that they were watching my parents and would protect them as long as I cooperated. I don’t even know if they’re still alive.”

Snake watched the man closely as he told his story. If he was acting, he was doing a convincing job of it.

“I guess if you wanted to kill us, you would have done it when we went to get the doctor,” Snake reasoned.

“No, way bro,” Loto said. “You know what that would have done to my stomach? Look, we were all told that the hospital was overrun by a bunch of gangsters who wanted to keep the immune person for themselves. I guess it just took me a while to see that Henry was full of shit.”

Reynolds looked at him for a moment, and finally nodded, satisfied.

“Let’s get you guys out of here,” he said, moving toward the helicopter.

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

Reynolds fumbled with the controls, and the chopper roared to life.

“You sure about this?” Keith asked Snake, who had a death grip on the seat.

“No,” Snake said, “but it can’t be any worse than going over the wall.”

“I’m not so sure I agree,” Keith said as the chopper began to move, lifting suddenly then dropping again.

“Stupid power lines,” Reynolds muttered.

“Maybe I’ll walk,” Keith said, looking out the window.

“I know right where I’m going,” the pilot promised, correcting when the chopper started to drop again.

When they finally landed on the street a couple blocks outside the walls, the dark night and occasional flesh-eater seemed like a welcomed relief compared to the bumpy ride Lee had served them in his drunken condition.

Loto staggered out of the helicopter and ran ten feet before bending over to vomit.

“You sure you don’t want me to take you the rest of the way to the hospital?” Lee asked.

“No,” Snake and Keith said in unison while Gunner, Wolf and the other two bikers scampered quickly out of the chopper.

Lee stepped out to where the others were standing, and Loto finally walked over to join them, wiping his mouth.

“What are you guys going to do now?” Snake asked. “You going back to that place?”

“Not me,” Loto said. “It seemed like paradise when they first brought me in to replace Henry’s old bodyguard. I was tired of struggling to stay alive outside, but honestly, I’d rather be fighting for my life out here than to be part of something like that place.” He nodded in the general direction of the walled city, where gunshots could still be heard.

Snake turned and said something to Keith and Wolf under his breath. Both men nodded.

“We could use a good linebacker on our team,” the biker said. “You’re welcome to join us. Can you ride?”

Loto looked like a kid on Christmas morning. “Sure can.”

Snake looked at Reynolds, who smiled sadly.

“I guess I’ll be going back,” Lee said. “I wouldn’t dare show my face around the hospital after everything that’s happened. I’ve got some penance to do, so maybe I can help get the community on the right track. If that doesn’t happen, who knows? I don’t want to be part of it unless something changes.”

Snake looked up as a few of the dead began to wander their way, caught in the light of the chopper. Keith and the bikers began to take care of them while Snake wrote something down on a scrap of paper and handed it to the pilot.

“You can reach me privately on that channel with your radio. If you need help here, let me know, and I’ll see what we can do.”

“I’ll do that,” Reynolds said, trying to focus on the writing on the paper. Finally, he just stuffed it into a pocket.

“When you get a chance, let me know how things are going,” Snake said.

“I will. I’m sorry about everything,” Lee said. “If I could trade my life for Lindsey’s, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

“I know you would,” Snake said, believing him. He watched as Lee turned and walked back to the helicopter. As the pilot took the machine back into the air, toward the chaos of the walled community, the men hurried over to their bikes. Keith rode with Gunner while Wolf invited Loto to sit behind him. When Loto mounted the bike, the suspension was maxed out.

“You might as well ride with me, Doc,” Snake said to Doune.

Doune looked at the motorcycle warily, but when more of the dead began to filter out of the alleys and buildings around them, he quickly climbed onto the seat behind Snake.

“Boys,” Snake said, “it’s going to be a long ride home.”

~*~

Lindsey felt herself drifting off to sleep almost at once, but her eyes blinked open when she heard the rumble of motorcycles in the distance. She sat up quickly, trying to pinpoint the location. They seemed to be coming from the direction of the walled city, which made her wonder about the explosion she’d heard. Had Snake and his posse come after her and Doune? Probably not, she thought. It wasn’t likely they’d have known where to look. This was a different part of the city, and there was no reason to think that they were the only ones getting around on bikes. It was easier than navigating a car through the streets.

The roar of the engines grew louder then began to fade away, finally smothered by the moans of the dead. It was one of the loneliest sounds she’d ever heard. She felt a lump in her throat as her thoughts moved to the others at the hospital. She wondered if they had buried the two dead bikers at the cemetery down the street, yet.

Lying back down, she wrapped the jacket around her a little tighter, feeling more depressed and alone than she’d ever felt in her life. With the moans of the dead in the background, Lindsey closed her eyes and let pleasant memories of Wombat fill her mind and eventually carry her off to sleep.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

By 9:30, the truck was packed and ready to go. Next to their packs, Miranda had placed two boxes of food and water.

“You don’t have to do that,” Dan said. “You’re going to need these supplies.”

“If it gets to that point, I’ll start going into other houses or maybe even the stores,” she said.

“I think you’ll be fine, Miranda,” he said, “but promise me that you’ll keep training, even if it’s just inside the house. Keep working out. Work on building endurance and strength.”

“I will. I’ve got the treadmill and weights, and I’ll use them every day. I’ll practice those moves you taught me, too,” she added, turning to grin at George.

“Right,” George laughed. “Don’t forget Dan’s moves.”

“Thank you for everything,” Dan said, pulling her into a hug.

“Thank you, Dan. I have a fighting chance now, which I wouldn’t have had without your help.”

He held her for a long time, and when they finally parted, Miranda gave George a hug, too.

“Take care of yourself, George,” she said. “Listen to Dan. He knows what he’s talking about.”

“Except when it comes to snakes,” George said.

“Right. Well, ignore anything he has to say about snakes,” she said.

She walked to the garage with them and got ready to open the door. “I’m going to miss you both, more than you know.”

“I’m going to miss you, too,” Dan said, his eyes lingering on hers.

Rayburn glanced back and forth between them, and finally said, “Maybe we’ll see you again someday, Miranda.”

“You never know,” she said, forcing a smile as she walked over to the garage door.

Dan looked outside and saw that it was clear, but Miranda kept her crowbar ready, just in case. When the door rolled up, there was nothing to greet them except the dark.

They drove out of the garage and waited until the door closed behind them again. Dan started down the road slowly, with the lights off.

“You kind of like her, don’t you?” Rayburn asked.

Remaining silent, Dan kept his attention on the road ahead of them. After a while, he finally answered. “Yes, I do.”

~*~

Lansing, Michigan

Lindsey was jerked from her slumber once more. Her heart raced as she strained to listen, trying to determine whether the threat was real or just imagined. A creaking noise caught her attention, causing her to envision dead feet trudging up the metal stairs to the roof. She carefully crept over to the fire escape and peered down through the darkness, unable to make out any movement.

Moans drifted up from the street below as the dead continued their siege of the building, and the pounding of rotting fists against the fire-escape doors did nothing to quell Lindsey’s anxiety. While it was doubtful that they could break through, it was still a concern. After several minutes, she decided that the creaking sound was coming from across the street. Crawling back to her spot next to the air conditioning unit, she closed her eyes again, desperately needing sleep.

When the dawn began to lighten the sky, Lindsey stood, stretching to take the ache out of her muscles before risking a peek over the edge of the roof. The scene below caused her to suck in a breath. There had to be over fifty walking corpses at the bottom of the fire escape. Dropping down into such a large crowd would be a huge risk under the best of circumstances, but in her exhausted state, it would be suicide. She had no idea what horrors the building itself might hold, but it couldn’t be much worse than what was waiting below. Picking up her tire iron, Lindsey swung it a few times, dismayed to realize how sore her arms were. She’d crushed more heads than she’d been able to count the previous day, and her muscles needed time to recover from the grueling workout. A glance at her shirtsleeve let her know that the blood had soaked through the bandage. She didn’t bother checking the wound since it would be pointless until she could find a clean bandage.

Using the fire escape to make her way down to the second floor, Lindsey knew she needed to keep her time inside the building as short as possible. There was no way to traverse the stairs quietly, and she immediately drew the attention of the dead below. Some of them reached up to grasp for her, and by the time she got to the second floor they were ravenous for her flesh. It was disconcerting to stand on the landing with only bars of rusty metal protecting her from the deadly predators. Doing her best to concentrate on the task at hand, she peered into the window to look down the hallway. There were only a couple of zombies in sight, but that didn’t mean anything. The corridor was full of doorways, and several of them were open. As she began to pry at the door with her tire iron, more of the infected begin to emerge from the apartments.

Lindsey paused to rethink her strategy, knowing that the narrow confines of the hallway would make it difficult for her to take on too many of the dead at once. From what she could see, there had to be at least seven or eight of them, and there could easily be more inside the rooms. A quick look at the street revealed even more ghouls moving toward the building. She was running out of options.

Lindsey grabbed the metal rail at the end of the fire escape and tested it to see how strong it was. Keith had kicked away the end of the railing back at the hospital to help clear the second floor, but it had been difficult, even for him. It would probably be impossible for Lindsey to repeat the move, so if she opened the door and let the dead out, there would be no place for them to go but up the stairs. Then again, maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. The roof was fairly open, with plenty of room to move around. While she wouldn’t dare fight the dead in the narrow hallway, she wondered if she could lead them up to the roof and make a stand there. Once the door was opened, there would be no turning back, but she didn’t see another choice.

Lindsey looked down at the crowd again and felt despair as even more of the dead came toward the building. Even if she succeeded in clearing the second floor, she would still have to make it down one more level and get past the crowd on the street. Her ankle still hurt from when she’d twisted it the day before, but she could walk on it. Running, on the other hand, might be a problem. Closing her eyes, she debated on whether or not to wait another day to see if the horde would eventually wander off. After some deliberation, it became obvious that it wasn’t an option. She was already dehydrated, and going without water for much longer would make it even more dangerous for her to be out on the streets with the dead. She needed to be as alert as possible, so it was now or never. She would either kill them all on the roof, or her life would end in the same manner that Wombat’s had ended. Becoming one of the mindless undead was not an option.

Before she could change her mind, she used the tire iron to break the lock. The crush of dead bodies against the door forced it open with a bang, and Lindsey stumbled backward to avoid the grasping arms. Fingers brushed her back as she turned to hurry up the fire escape. At the top, she watched the dead begin to climb the stairs, causing her to wonder if she had made a huge mistake. If too many of the corpses crowded onto the fire escape, they just might overload it and pull it from the wall of the building. While it would solve the problem of clearing the second floor, it would also leave Lindsey stranded with no way down.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped onto the roof and waited, weapon ready as each footstep up the metal stairs was punctuated with a loud clang. When the first of the dead reached the top, Lindsey waited for it to come to her, and she finished it off in the middle of the roof. The second one arrived just seconds later, but it also met with a quick final death. There was a slight gap as an old, dead woman in a bathrobe held the next group up. Lindsey used the time to drag the two bodies aside, not wanting to trip over them while fighting. When the robed woman finally made it up, there were two others right behind her, and they were both large males that didn’t appear to be too damaged. Knowing they’d be fast, Lindsey went for the biggest one first, but the other male managed to come at her from the side. She quickly moved back, but before long they’d pushed her almost all the way to the edge of the roof as more ghouls began to emerge from the fire escape.

Breathing hard, Lindsey wiped the sweat off of her hands and got a better grip on her weapon. She charged the old woman, who was between the other two, and dropped her with a single swing of the tire iron. When Lindsey tried to step over the fallen body to get away from the male on her right, he lunged at her and managed to get a grip on her shirt, bringing her to a sudden halt. Lindsey spun around and hit him in the face twice, finally dropping him. By that time, she could smell the rancid breath of the third corpse, and hear the clicking of its teeth just inches from the back of her neck. She stepped away quickly, almost tripping over the body of the robed woman. It took her three tries to drop the large male since his long arms kept blocking her swings.

Lindsey turned to assess the situation behind her. There were four more already on the roof and probably others on their way up. She ran to the zombie that was closest to her and put him to rest. Circling around the next two, she got one in the back of the head then turned to face a dead woman whose white blouse was soaked in blood. Lindsey’s right arm was aching horribly, but she didn’t dare switch hands since there was already blood running down her left shirtsleeve, and she didn’t want to make the wound worse. As she swung her weapon, her wrist was grabbed from behind, knocking the tire iron to the ground. Lindsey was able to slip her arm free before the dead thing got a good hold of her, but it was necessary to lead the ghouls away before she could go back for her weapon. Two more walking corpses had reached the roof by that time.

Lindsey managed to grab the tire iron just before one of the creatures reached her, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. She struggled to free her good arm as the snarling beast opened its jaws to reveal a mouthful of blood-crusted teeth. While she managed to get a hand on his neck to hold him back for the moment, he was too strong for her to fight, and she began to realize that she was probably not going to be able to free herself. The dead woman with bloodied white blouse was moving in, and Lindsey could see the other two moving her way as well. One was missing half of his face, while the other dragged entrails from a gaping hole in his midsection.

So this is how it’s going to end. She wasn’t even going to have the option of jumping from the roof. Instead, they were going to kill her and make her one of them. Lindsey would spend the rest of her days on the apartment roof until time and weather took its toll and allowed her to rot away into true death.

“No!” she said, realizing she had one move left to try. Earlier, Wayne had dropped her because he’d been unable to hold her up once she began to lose consciousness. She relaxed her body and dropped her weight, pulling the ghoul down with her. As they fell, the creature loosened its grip, and Lindsey turned to slam her weapon into its head. Penned in by the others, she didn’t bother trying to stand but quickly crawled between two of them as they reached for her. Fortunately, she was faster than they were and she was able to get to her feet.

Lindsey was glad to see that nothing else had come up the stairs, but she was exhausted and wasn’t sure she could handle the small crowd that was still on the roof. Taking out the easy ones first, she managed to thin the numbers then concentrated on the others. Moving constantly, she managed to kill off the rest, one at a time, though, it took several minutes to do it. When she was done, she dropped to the ground, trying to catch her breath while keeping an eye on the stairs.

She lay on the roof amongst the corpses for almost ten minutes, not sure she had the strength to get up. Had there been any more of them, Lindsey was certain she would not have survived. Eventually she pushed herself to her feet again, checking to make sure that the stairs were clear before making her way down to the second floor. There were only a few crawlers, and it wasn’t worth expending the energy to put them out of their misery. A quick check revealed five open doors. She closed all of them except one, making a mark on each one with the tire iron. There was no way to be certain that the rooms were empty without checking them, but they were a better bet than the apartments with closed doors.

Lindsey entered the first apartment cautiously and did a thorough check before returning to the kitchen. She was thrilled to see that the water was still running, and she drank from the faucet, trying to do it slowly. A quick check of the kitchen for food offered no results, but she had better luck at the second apartment where a cupboard was stocked with cans of soup. Exhausted from her ordeal, she collapsed on a sofa after eating and slept for an hour, waking to the sound of moans from the street below.

The stairwell to the first floor was empty, giving Lindsey some hope that she’d get out of her predicament alive, but when she looked through the window into the lobby, her heart dropped. It was filled with the dead. Knowing there was no way she could take on that many of them in her exhausted condition, she made her way back up the stairs to the apartment she’d found earlier, closing the door behind her.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Wombat stood in the crow’s nest, staring out the window at the park. He heard someone enter the room behind him, but he didn’t bother to turn to see who it was.

“You hanging in there?” Snake asked.

“I’m just kind of numb,” Wombat said. “Right now, I almost wish I hadn’t survived the fall.”

“I’m sorry, dude,” Snake said, knowing the younger biker wasn’t talking about his physical pain. “You know we all miss her.”

“I know.”

Wombat watched out the window as a lone figure came into sight, limping down the road toward the hospital.

“There’s another one,” he said, picking up the binoculars.

Survivors had been trickling in from the walled community. Apparently, many of them hadn’t been there by choice and were now seeking refuge elsewhere. Everybody in the hospital understood the risk, and the decision had been made not to turn anybody away unless they appeared to be a threat. So far, every refugee had been invited to stay.

This one was wearing a checkered hunting jacket and a baseball cap and was carrying a tire iron. There were several dead behind him, closing in.

Snake picked up the radio to call down to the guards who were manning the gate. “Got another one coming toward the gate. Looks like he could use some help.”

Wombat stepped a little closer to the window and watched as the man turned to swing his weapon at the closest of the dead.

“That’s Lindsey.”

“No,” Snake said, putting the radio down. “Don’t do this to yourself, dude. I wish it were Lindsey, but Reynolds says she’s dead, and I don’t think he was lying about it. That looks like a guy to me, anyway.”

“Look at the sleeves,” Wombat said, handing Snake the binoculars as he started to walk toward the door. “See how they hang past her fingers? It’s a woman wearing a man’s shirt. I know how Lindsey looks when she swings a tire iron. It’s her.”

He headed for the elevator as quickly as he could manage, but when it didn’t come fast enough, he went to the stairs instead.

Snake knew he couldn’t reason with his friend, so he followed him instead. At the first floor, Wombat pushed through the door and limped into the parking lot with Snake still behind him.

~*~

Lindsey could see the hospital rising up above the gabion walls that she’d helped to build. The gate was less than a block away, but she was beginning to wonder if she’d make it that far.

The final leg of her trip had been an ordeal. Many of the dead had wandered off by the time she had returned to the first floor, but she’d still had to fight her way out to the street. Her body had been pushed to its limit by then, and each step had taken effort. Still, she had kept moving, killing the mindless dead as she walked the last couple of miles home.

Her injured ankle hadn’t been much of a problem until she had turned to take out a ghoul just a few minutes earlier. She wasn’t even sure what she had done, but now each step was agony and she worried that her ankle was going to give out before she made it to the gate. If she stumbled now, it would be the end of her. More dead were moving in from the streets and alleys, and Lindsey knew that even if she made it to the wall, she’d have to get someone’s attention to open the gate. By then, it might be too late.

Keep moving. She kept her eyes on the gate, dodging the dead when they got too close, killing them when there was no other choice. Keep moving.

When the gate began to lift, she thought she was seeing things.

Fish and Dumbo rushed out, weapons in hand as they began to fight their way toward her.

“Hurry up, buddy!” Dumbo yelled.

“I can’t,” she yelled back. “I twisted my ankle.”

Fish squinted, looking at her a little closer.

“Xena?” he asked, turning to take out a couple more of the creatures. He and Dumbo ran to meet her, flanking her as they made their way back to the gate.

“Yes, it’s me,” she said. “I am so glad to see you guys.”

“We heard you’d been killed,” Dumbo said.

“Almost,” she said, walking as quickly as possible with the two bikers as they continued to fend off the dead.

“Someone really did a number on you,” Fish added, looking at her battered face.

“Yes, he did,” she said, slowing to take out a ghoul who had gotten a little too close.

Helga and Keith ran out to join them, making short work of the small horde as the group made their way back inside the gate.

“Lindsey?” Keith asked when he got a better look. He looked just as shocked as the two bikers had been.

“Let me guess,” she said with a smile. “You thought I was dead.”

“Reynolds heard it on the radio,” he said, giving her a quick hug. “Glad to see it’s not true.”

Helga even managed to nod in agreement, which surprised Lindsey.

“Lee probably thought it was true,” Lindsey said. “The guard that beat me reported my death so he wouldn’t have to bring me back.”

“Wayne,” Keith said.

“How did you know?” she asked, surprised.

“We went after you and Doune. Reynolds found Wayne and beat the crap out of him,” Keith said.

“Good,” she said. “Did you find Dr. Doune?”

“Yes, he’s back.”

“Voluntarily?” she asked.

“Yes,” Keith grinned. “He was happy to come back, believe it or not.”

As they approached the gate to the parking lot, she saw Wolf, who wore the same look of astonishment that she’d seen on the faces of the others.

“Xena!” he yelled, pulling her into a hug.

“Good to see you, Wolf,” she said. “I never thought I’d see you guys again.”

They waited for the second gate to open, and when it did, Lindsey came to a dead stop. Standing in front of her was Wombat, looking even more battered than she was, but alive. She tried to say something, anything, but nothing would come out. She reached out a hand toward him, but she was afraid to touch him, knowing he must be in great pain.

“You’re alive,” she said, still having a hard time believing it.

“That’s what I was going to say to you,” he replied. Leaning down, he pulled her close with his good arm and kissed her, not stopping even when the others started cheering.

~*^*~

~64~

Western Oregon

“She should have left him behind and come with us,” Rayburn said, for at least the fiftieth time since they’d driven away from Miranda’s house.

“George, that’s something she’s got to figure out for herself,” Dan said, repeating the answer he’d given George many times already. “Besides, we had no idea what we were going to be up against once we left her place. It’s easy to say in hindsight that she should have come with us.”

It had been a long, grueling trip from Whispering Springs, but their journey was almost over, at least for a while. There had been legions of the dead along the way. George had been keeping track, and he thought they’d killed three hundred and eighty five during the time it had taken them to reach Oregon. Dan didn’t care how many kills they’d made. He was just glad that they were almost to their destination.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” George asked.

“I hope so,” Dan said. “She did really well out there the last day. As long as she keeps practicing, I think she’s got a good chance.”

The sun was getting low in the sky as Hixson and Rayburn pulled down the dirt road that was exactly where Miranda had told them it would be. She had given them directions in case they ever happened to make it up that way, and Dan had made it his intended destination from the moment she’d told him about it. It had sounded perfect. He hadn’t mentioned his plans because he knew that if anybody came along asking questions, it would be best if she didn’t have the answers.

Hixson got out to open the gate then closed it again after driving through. He noticed that the fence needed some work, which he would be happy to do if given the opportunity. Hopefully Miranda’s family members wouldn’t shoot first and ask questions later if they were still on the property.

Berry bushes lined both sides of the drive, almost forming a tunnel, and when the truck emerged on the other side, Dan stopped to take in the sight. The house was up on a hill with a barn and other buildings behind it. There was farmland all around, framed by thick woods. A large creek ran through the middle of the property, pausing only to empty itself into a pond before continuing on its way out the other side. The scattered clouds gave color to the setting sun, and Rayburn seemed to be in awe as he whispered, “It’s beautiful.”

“It sure is. I can see why Miranda wants to come back,” Dan said before continuing up to the house. He saw some signs of life, though not of the human variety. Chickens wandered around the yard, and Dan could see that the fence around their pen had been ripped out. He sighed, knowing it wasn’t likely that they were going to find the family alive.

He laid his weapon on the seat, so he wouldn’t cause any undo alarm if there did happen to be someone in residence. Both men got out and approached the house, making no effort to be silent.

“Look,” Rayburn said, pointing at traces of blood on the front porch.

“Not good,” Dan said, raising a hand to knock on the door.

Only silence greeted their ears as Dan knocked again. After a few minutes, he finally walked around the house, hoping to see signs of life. When he returned to the front door where George had waited, he shook his head.

“I wish there was some way we could let Miranda know that she shouldn’t bother coming up here,” he said. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for her to go through so much, just to find her family home abandoned.

“She’ll be devastated,” George said.

Both men tensed up when they heard the click of the lock. The door opened, just a crack.

“Did you say you know Miranda?” a male voice asked.

“Yes, we do,” Dan said, holding up the note she’d written. “If you’re her father, she wrote a message for you and the rest of the family, just in case we made it up this way.”

“She’s alive?” he asked. The door opened a little wider, revealing the face of a man with round glasses. Though the man’s hair was graying, Dan could see that it had once been the same color as Miranda’s, and he had the same pale blue eyes as his daughter.

“Miranda’s alive? We haven’t heard from her in almost two weeks.”

“She’s alive,” Dan said with a smile. “And she’s planning on coming up this way eventually.”

The man turned away for a moment. “Miranda’s all right!” he said to someone behind him.

Moments later, the door opened wide, and the two men were ushered in. As the door closed behind them and the sun finally dropped below the horizon, lights were turned on inside, illuminating the cozy living room as the family gathered around, all talking at once.

Dan smiled, knowing that he was going to have a hard time dragging George away when it was time to go, but he wasn’t going to worry about that just yet.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake had heard from Reynolds several times over the previous week, and the pilot had been keeping them updated on the happenings at the Lansing compound. It hadn’t been a surprise when a meeting had been requested by Al, the man who was running the compound in the wake of Henry’s death.

Al had come to the hospital without bodyguards, which had been a huge step in easing tension between the two groups. Once the meeting was over, Jack and Snake walked their guest back up to the roof. Lindsey followed, since she’d been told that Lee wanted to talk to her before they left.

When Reynolds saw Lindsey, he seemed unsure as to what to say. It was the first time they’d seen each other since she had left the compound.

“You look good, Lindsey,” he said, though his eyes drifted to the long scar on her left arm.

“Thanks. I’m finally feeling human again,” she said.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Lee finally said, looking at her for a moment before continuing. “When I heard Wayne on the radio saying you were dead . . .” He shook his head.

“If you hadn’t given me that key, I probably would be dead. I never would have gotten over either of the walls,” she said.

“It wouldn’t have been necessary,” he said. “I came back to take you away from there, but you were already gone.”

“I heard that you came back for me, and I appreciate it. It just might have been too late. Loto talked to one of the guards from the compound the other day and was told that Wayne had been planning on starting the inquisition right away. He wanted to surprise Henry with the name when he got back. I guess he came up to get me about the time I went over Henry’s wall.”

“I never should have agreed to Henry’s deal,” Lee said. “I’ll live with that for the rest of my life.”

“What exactly was the deal?”

“Henry wanted to talk to you. I knew he might have to bring you back to the compound to do that without others around, and I agreed to help. I kept thinking that once you saw the place and once you talked to Henry about his plans, you’d understand that we could make the vaccine easier than you could do it at the hospital. He called it an intervention and I guess I kind of saw it that way, too, though I realize now that it wasn’t that at all. And he never even mentioned Doune to me.”

“And what were you supposed to get out of this deal? You could have kidnapped me on your own. You didn’t need Henry’s help for that.”

“I had him promise me that everybody from the hospital would be allowed into the compound to live. I told him that it was probably the only way we’d ever get the immune person there. He also promised me that nobody would be hurt. Obviously, he had no intention of keeping his end of the deal.”

“We all make mistakes, Lee,” she said. “You thought you were doing the right thing at the time.”

“Partly. But it was jealousy that finally pushed me into agreeing to the deal,” he said, explaining about the photo that Henry had shown him.

“Henry was an expert manipulator. It’s not your fault that Hawk is dead. I hold Henry and Wayne responsible for that,” she said, “and Wombat survived the fall.”

Lee said, “I’m glad he lived. I wish you were with me instead of him, but I screwed that up. Now, I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy,” she told him.

Lee glanced over and saw Al getting into the helicopter. “I’ve got to go,” he said. “If you ever need anything, Lindsey, you know how to reach me.”

She nodded. “Goodbye, Lee,” she said, watching as he ran over to the chopper.

Snake and Jack walked over to join her as the helicopter lifted into the sky.

Wombat had been told that he couldn’t be on the roof when Reynolds was there. He hadn’t been happy about it, but Snake had insisted, worried that the biker would go after Lee.

“What did you think about Al?” Snake asked the others, after the chopper grew small in the sky.

During the meeting, Lindsey had brought up several issues with Al, based on the time she’d spent in the walled community. Besides the fact that Henry had tended to kill people who hadn’t cooperated with his agenda, there were several other problems. Quite a few of the residents had been kept in the community against their will, and many of the women had been treated as possessions. Al had assured Lindsey that his first order of business had been to make it clear that those who wanted to leave were free to go. Quite a few of the residents had left the community, and housing arrangements had been changed for others. Al had said that his goal was to have a community that more closely resembled the pre-apocalyptic world, not Henry’s warped version of utopia.

“He seemed . . . normal,” Lindsey said. “Maybe he really will fix things there.”

“I hope so,” Jack agreed. “Sounds like he’s going to try. And I’m all for the idea of doing some trading with them.”

The Lansing compound had workers who were skilled in certain areas, but they were lacking a mechanic, among other things. They had a dentist, which was something the hospital didn’t have.

“I like the idea of working some trades between our groups,” Snake said, “but I’m not quite willing to trust them completely, just yet.”

“They’re going to have to earn our trust, after what happened,” Jack agreed.

“Still, it would be great if we could all work together,” Lindsey said.

Snake nodded. “This guy seems to be a huge improvement over Henry, so I think there’s a chance that’ll happen.”

~*~

As Reynolds guided the chopper across the city, his passenger leaned back in his seat. He had temporarily taken on the duty of running the Lansing compound because he knew he was the best man for the job. So far, everything was going very well. With a little luck, he’d finish what he’d set out to do and would be back in California before winter hit.

Alexander Madec turned to look out the window as the hospital grew small in the distance.

~*^*~

~Epilogue~

Western Oregon

Dan walked the fence line one last time before dark. Everything seemed to be in order as he returned to check on the two homemade smokers outside the barn. He and Miranda’s father had shot three deer the previous day, and some of the meat was in the process of being smoked. The rest of it had been cut up and put into large chest-type freezers in the barn, though several steaks had also been set aside for dinner. George had quickly volunteered to handle the grilling. Once Dan checked the barn and closed the doors, he went inside the house.

“Looks like everything’s okay out there,” he said.

“Thanks, Dan,” said Carolyn, Miranda’s mother. “I don’t know what we would have done without your help.”

Dan smiled and said that it wasn’t a problem. It was a routine they went through on almost a daily basis. Since he and George had shown up, they’d spent much of their time helping to ready the farm for the winter months. The fence around the property had been reinforced, and Dan thought it would hold unless a large group of the dead came through.

He’d been concerned about the neighbors at first, worried that one of them might give the men up for a large enough reward, but he soon grew to trust them. Several families lived in the area, and they’d formed a small but tight community over the years. They had all welcomed Dan and George with open arms, thrilled to have a doctor amongst them. They had been equally appreciative of the help Dan gave them whenever needed. After seeing the DVD, they’d all assured Dan and George that they’d do anything possible to help keep the location of the men a secret. Dan had no doubt that they’d all meant it.

The neighbors had started taking turns patrolling the area, watching for both the living and the dead. On more than one occasion, intruders had been scared off when they saw the vehicles moving around the area.

Since his arrival, Dan had helped to harvest crops and had contributed to the food supply by hunting and fishing. He’d also done all sorts of repairs on the house, the barn and the vehicles. There was little free time for anybody during the day, though evenings were spent together in the living room, telling stories, playing games or just talking.

“I think we’re almost ready for winter,” Miranda’s father, Jeremy, said as he stepped over to join Dan by the fire. “We’ve got enough meat to last a while, and most of the crops are in.”

“My biggest concern is that there won’t be enough to do this winter,” Dan said. “I’m not one to sit inside all day.”

“Don’t you worry about that,” Jeremy said with a wink. “We can always use fresh fish.”

Dan loved to fish, and he knew that Miranda’s father did as well. “Jeremy, don’t tell me you use fishing as an excuse to get outside.”

“Shh,” the older man said. “You’ll get me in trouble. But, honestly, I’d go crazy if I had to stay inside all day.”

George walked by with a plateful of marinated steaks, and Miranda’s sister hurried over to open the back door for him. The grill was set up on the deck, which had its own gate in case the dead ever breached the fence.

“We might want to check with the neighbors, too,” Jeremy said after George went outside. “I’m sure some of them could still use some help.”

“Good idea,” Dan said.

“Can someone get the door?” George called a short while later.

“I got it,” Dan said, walking over to let his friend back in. As George carried the plateful of steaks to the kitchen, Dan stepped outside for a moment, enjoying the brisk, damp air. It was quite a change from California, but so far he loved everything about it, even the weather. He just wished that Miranda could be there with them. Her family worried a lot, and though Dan tried to reassure them that she’d be fine, he still had his doubts. Odds of survival in this new world were not good, but he hoped that she had the skills and tools she needed to beat those odds. Maybe, just maybe, one day they’d look up to see her truck pulling up to the gate.

He spent a few more moments outside, enjoying the silence before going in to join the others for their meal.

~*~

Whispering Springs, Nevada

Miranda glanced at the sky. She knew that she didn’t have a lot of time before dark, but she wasn’t concerned. She had a routine when she went shopping and she stuck to it. The bed of the truck was almost full, and the dead were starting to trickle back in to the parking lot. It was time to go. She had used abandoned cars to block off the area around the grocery store entrance. When she needed to stock up on food, all she had to do was to move the car at the end and back her truck into the gap she’d left, closing it. Sometimes she had to kill a zombie or two that had gotten over the cars, but she’d gotten good at it.

Dan would have been proud of her, she thought, jumping into the truck. She’d kept her word to him, and had practiced the moves he’d taught her, almost religiously. She spent hours in training every day, and she’d managed to get into the best shape of her life. It had kept her alive. There had been some close calls, but she’d learned from them, honing her skills and finding safer ways to do things. Much of her time was now spent preparing for her trip to Oregon, since she had no longer had a reason to stay in Nevada. Just days after George and Dan had left, her husband had returned, along with a horde of his dead friends. Miranda had wanted to die, and she’d come very close to giving in and just walking outside to join him, but she hadn’t done it. For several nights after her husband’s return, she’d only been able to get to sleep by drinking herself unconscious. After about a week, she’d finally figured out that she wanted to live. She would do what she had to do to stay alive, and when the weather turned warm again, she’d go to Oregon. Hopefully, she’d find her family alive and well. She didn’t even want to think about the alternative, but she’d still be better off in a place where she could live off the land than she would be in the desert.

She glanced at the dead faces around the truck then looked away quickly, recognizing too many of them. Pulling away from the store, she ignored the thumps as she knocked over more than one of the walking corpses.

Time to go home, she thought, heading back through the empty town.

~*~

St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

Snake stood on the roof as Madec and Reynolds left again. There was a chill in the air that hadn’t been there a week before, and he knew they were running out of time to finish harvesting crops before the first frost hit. Theresa was working furiously to keep up with everything they were bringing in. Most of the residents worked from dawn until late at night, helping with either the harvest or the processing of the food. They would all have some time off once winter arrived.

Snake watched the helicopter grow small in the sky. They had just had their third meeting with Madec, and they had worked out a deal to set up some trading between the two communities. A large group from the hospital had gone to help reinforce the compound walls as a sign of good faith. So far, things seemed to be going well, though Snake was still wary of the others. Any group that could put something together as quickly as had been done at the Lansing Compound had a little too much power for Snake’s liking. Still, there was no sense in borrowing trouble.

More survivors had come in. Some had chosen to stay, and others had been taken in by the Lansing Compound. Snake realized that Madec’s group was being choosy about who they took in, but Snake didn’t let that bother him. St. Mary’s welcomed the rest of them with open arms, as long as they agreed to follow the rules.

A funeral had been held for the people they had lost, though they had not been able to retrieve Moose’s and Marla’s bodies. Hawk had been buried next to Debbie in the cemetery down the street. Bull, Jessica and Dr. Martinez had been laid to rest there as well. While St. Mary’s had lost several people, there had also been some miracles as far as Snake was concerned. While Dr. Doune had been quick to tell them that Wombat’s survival of his fall had not been a miracle, but simple luck in landing just right on the pile of corpses, Snake had disagreed.

The doctor had yet to come up with a reason why Autumn was immune, but plans were being made to get her to Montana in the spring once the snow melted. They had all decided that trying to make the journey in the fall would be foolish with such a long trip ahead of them.

Looking down at the park, Snake saw Mouse holding his kitten while supervising the work on the chicken coop that was being built. Not too far from him, Wombat and Lindsey were walking together. The biker’s arm was still in a sling, and Dr. Sharma had already replaced the cast twice. She had tried to explain to Wombat that casts weren’t meant to be used as weapons, but the biker wouldn’t listen to her. He’d refused to stay behind when the others went on rescues and supply runs, and he had found the cast very handy at times.

There was always a bit of tension when Reynolds showed up, but Snake did his best to keep everything under control. While Snake didn’t think the pilot had played a major role in what had happened, he’d definitely been involved, and some of the residents weren’t willing to forgive him, at least not yet. There had also been talk about going after Wayne. Madec had explained that Wayne would have been killed if he hadn’t cooperated with Henry’s wishes, and while that might have been true, Wombat had seen the grin on the man’s face when Hawk had been thrown off the roof. For that reason, and because of what Wayne had done to Lindsey, Wombat had made it clear to Snake that if he ever got his hands on Wayne, the man would die. Snake had decided it best to keep Wombat away from the Lansing Compound.

Cheri had finally started to become a part of the community. With Jessica gone, she had also taken on the responsibility of raising Michael. She carried the guilt of Jessica’s death, though Snake had tried several times to reassure her that she wasn’t responsible. He knew it might take years for her to come to that realization herself. Maybe she never would.

Snake frowned when he saw Helga looking up at him. Once it had become obvious that Lindsey and Wombat were together, the Ukrainian had become even more determined to win Snake back. He let out a sigh as he looked away, but a small smile touched his face when he saw the children running around the park. Though the dead still roamed the streets with only a wall of rock to keep them away from the living, life appeared almost normal. Maybe someday it would be, Snake thought. He turned to walk back inside.

~The End~

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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STAY TUNED FOR NEWS ON PART III OF THE SERIES

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For Eric fans: Eric the Zombie Slayer

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If you enjoyed Dead, but Not for Long and would be interested in reading more about Eric, Matt has written a novella that chronicles Eric’s adventures between the first and second book. If you aren’t an Eric fan, you’re really going to hate him in Eric the Zombie Slayer.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 00 Prologue

Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Chapter 03

Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Chapter 09

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Epilogue