Day Beyond the Dead (Book 1) (15 page)

     She could see the concern and shock in Gerard’s eyes, “No, I mean I don’t know, hence the pregnancy test. Don’t say anything until I know for sure, ok?”

     “I won’t. We better get out of here. Last time I checked they were three blocks down and as far as I know they are still headed this way.”

     Christa grabbed her stuff, put it in a bag and ran for the door. Damion paused as he waited for Christa at the door. “Christa please hurry.” As soon as she got to the door she was stunned to see that the herd was in the parking lot and closing distance fast, so fast she couldn’t risk getting in the truck on her side. She ran over to the driver’s side door with Damion and climbed into the truck trailed by Damion who shut the door behind them. They started up the trucks and drove off.

     “We really need to find a place Damion. I’m talking about a long term place or at least somewhere we can stay for a while without worrying about running every other minute.”

     “I know and we will. I promise you we’ll find a place Christa. We won’t just be driving around forever. Especially if you’re pregnant.”

     There was a loud gasp from Anna as she put her hands to her cheeks in amazement. “Are you pregnant?! Ooo a baby! I like babies. Is it a boy or a girl? I rather it be a girl but I like both.”

    
Well so much for no one knowing. Now that Anna knows the only one left to find out is Darren. I guess everyone will want to know the outcome of this test.
“I don’t know sweetie. I guess we’ll find out though when I take this test.”

     “Test? You have to take a test?”

     “Mhmm.”

     “Wow, I hope you pass.”

     Christa and Damion started to laugh.

     “I’m sure she will pass,” Damion said with a smile as he glanced over at Christa. “She was always good with tests.”

     Christa shook her head.

     As the hours passed by the sun started to set. Christa watched it as it descended in the sky leaving shades of bright orange, pink, yellow and blue in its wake. Something as simple as the setting sun couldn’t be taken for granted anymore and she realized that which is why she was enjoying this one. It was hard to tell how many more setting suns were in your future.

     Damion looked over at Christa and knew she was lost in deep thought. “What are you thinking about?”

     “Tomorrow.”

     “What about tomorrow?”

     “Just wondering what it will bring. Will it be the same as today? Will it be worse? Will it be better? Will this ever end? What’s the point anymore?”

     “What do you mean what’s the point? The point is survival. The point is that we’re together.”

     “But what if I’m pregnant Damion? What kind of a world is this to bring a child in? She or he will never have a normal childhood. What if something happens? I couldn’t go through that again Damion. I just don’t have it in me.”

     “Christa, you’re overthinking all of this. Stop worrying so much. I mean we don’t even know if you’re pregnant anyhow and even if you are it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. We have survived thus far and we’ll continue to do so. Just as life before was our normal we’ll get use to this and adapt and yes overcome. I have faith because I knew we will. It’s who we are. There is no other option and we’ll do it side by side.” Damion takes her hand, “I love you. Never forget that.”

     “I know baby. I just wish this wasn’t our new normal. I live for a day beyond the dead. A time for the living. Whether I’m pregnant or not we’ll make it.” Christa watched the little bit of sun that was showing totally disappear from view as the stars came out gradually.

     “You know I still remember the night I told you I loved you. I thought for sure those words were going to scare you. But they didn’t. You put your arms around me, kissed my forehead, and then kissed me. I don’t know if I ever told you but it was in that moment I knew I would never truly be happy with anyone else but you. I was stupid to ever think otherwise.”

     “I put my arms around you and kissed you because I had loved you already by that time. In fact I had loved you for some time. I waited for you to say it first not because I was scared to say anything but because I knew deep down you had to know already because I showed it in multiple ways. Sometimes things don’t need to be said to be known. They can be felt.”

     Christa couldn’t help but lean over and kiss Damion softly on the cheek. “I’m the luckiest girl in the world. I might also be the only girl in the world as well, which does not take away from the fact that I’m the luckiest.” Damion laughed at that statement.

     “Well go to sleep lucky girl. I’ll wake you if we find a place to sleep for the night.”

     Christa yawned as she covered up, “You don’t have to tell me twice baby.”

Chapter 14

     “Wake up Christa, wake up,” Damion was gently nudging Christa. “Wake up beautiful. I think we may have found a place. There was a sign a ways back about a military base not far from here. It would be a perfect place to hold up for a while and potentially longer. We’re going to check it out.”

     “Hmm, military base huh. That does sound like it has great potential. There should be weapons there, food, shelter, armored vehicles and plenty more. Well hopefully there will be. Can you pull over somewhere so I can use the restroom baby?” Christa takes out one of the pregnancy tests and puts it in her jacket pocket.

     They pull over and Christa gets out to use the restroom. After a short wait she returns to the truck with test in hand. “Now we just have to wait.” She holds the test in her hand trying not to stare at it. Running her fingers through her hair methodically in a nervous manner. Each second that passed felt like an hour. She didn’t know if the waiting or the not knowing was making her so anxious.

     “How long do we have to wait?” Damion was obviously just as anxious as she was.

     “Just a few minutes. Not too much longer baby I promise.”

     Christa sat there and glanced every few seconds at the test until she just couldn’t look anymore. She waited for a few minutes and then a few minutes longer. By that time she was scared to look at the results because it had been so long she knew it would say one way or the other. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and prepared to look. “Here goes nothing.” She opened her eyes and was speechless.

     “Well? Christa? What does it say?....Christa?”

     She turned to Damion with a straight face and started to slowly smile. “We’re having a baby Damion. Oh my God, we’re having a baby.” She said it twice as if to let it sink into her own head that they were having a baby. Damion was quiet though. He knew it was a possibility but he didn’t really think it was a possibility at the same time. He was wrong and he was coming to that realization in this moment. His face was emotionless for a few minutes before he spoke.

     “I never thought we would have any more kids. I really didn’t and now we’re having one in a zombie apocalypse. I’m not totally sure I feel about that part of it but I’m happy to create another little life with you Christa. There is no way I can be anything but happy about that. We’ll do what we have to you understand me. We’ll make it work.”

     “I know we will baby.” She wasn’t just saying this to say it either. She really truly felt that come what may they would make this work. Somehow.

     The days were wearing on them all by this time. The long days in the trucks and gas was getting low. That combination alone was forcing them to find a place they could stay for a while. It was getting harder and harder to find certain resources. Every once in a while they would find a gas station they could get gas from the reserves or the pumps were by some chance still able to work. This was an occurrence that happened less and less and they all knew it.

     They had discussed whether or not to head out west but the consensus was not to due to the lack of resources. The landscape wasn’t a desirable place for farming and that’s what the world had come down to. To survive you had to provide for yourself. They chose to stay in a more lush area that would prove more fruitful with crops when they chose to go that route.

     Christa saw a sign pass by and it gave her an inkling of hope. “Damion, Damion. Why don’t we look there? That could be perfect. If it’s not too run over with undead it could be the perfect place to go. There are a lot of areas that are barricaded, not to mention a lot of potential supplies. I’ve always thought that a military base was a great idea. I have no doubt we would have went sooner if we didn’t run into the situations we have. This is as good a time as any.”

     “I suppose we could take a look at it and see if it’s ok or not. It wouldn’t hurt and hopefully it’s not a bad situation because that would be ideal.”

     Christa dreaded the thoughts of the coming months if they were still on the road. How would she have to adjust due to being pregnant in a world overrun by zombies? Would she be able to find enough nourishment for her and her baby? Would being pregnant make it harder to get away from danger? She was hoping beyond hope that this military base would prove to be the place they could call home for a while.

     “There! I can see from here that that hotel looks like a great place to go for the evening. I have got to get out of this truck Damion and I’m sure the guys feel the same way.”

     Damion picks up the walkie talkie and radios back to the other truck, “We’re going to pull over here at this hotel and check it out. Christa is getting sick of being in the truck for so long and I’m sure we’d all love nothing more than to sleep in a bed for once.”

     “Oh my, tell her she read my mind. Tell her little D agrees with her.”

     Christa laughed, “I thought you might little D.”

     “He keeps calling himself Little D I might throw him out before we get to the parking lot,” Gerard said intently with a hint of sarcasm.

     The hotel was a five story high rise building with balconies. There were undead around the building but not enough to deter them from scouting out the rest of it.

     “Let’s park right at the entrance,” said Gerard.

     “No, let’s park in the parking garage that is adjoined with the building. That way we can have easy access to any floor we want and no one will be able to tell that we’re here. Let’s not forget that we have to worry about others as well as the undead,” Damion refuted.

     “We can go with that option but I still think pulling up to the front is the best way, but I could be wrong. I just don’t think so.”

     Damion turns to Christa, “Stay in the vehicle-“

     “Ah, ah ahh. I told you I wasn’t always going to stay in the vehicle Damion. I’m not going to sit here while you are in danger. I can’t always do that. Hell just even doing it a little bit is hard enough.”

     “Please baby, for me? I would worry more about you than concentrate on my own safety.”

     Christa sighs, “Fine, but stop doing that to me. Stop saying the right words to get me to stay in the truck.”
     Damion gave a grin and a wink as he shuts the door and walks off. Christa watches him as he walks over to Darren and Gerard. He takes out an undead on the way over, decapitating it and stomping on its head repeatedly. Her nerves were frayed every time he walked up to an undead to take it down. She didn’t know if it was her overall concern for him or the fact that her emotions were running high due to her pregnancy. All she knew is that she didn’t like it one bit.

     Darren, Gerard and Damion were walking up to the sparse gathering of undead and taking them out one by one. It is a scene that she has witnessed time and time again but for some reason this time had an ominous feel to it and she didn’t like it one bit. As they were taking out the walking corpses one by one Christa was scanning the scenery for any signs of something peculiar but she saw nothing. After they were done Damion came to collect Christa and Anna from the truck.

     They walked cautiously over to the door that lead inside to the hotel. Damion and Gerard took up the front while Darren stayed in the back behind Christa and Anna.

     “They can’t really open doors so we don’t really need to check each one of these rooms. That could take a while and I don’t think it’s a necessity,” Gerard suggested.

     “I rather make sure that every one of these rooms on this floor is free from undead. It would just make me feel better and eliminate the constant intense fear of opening the door. It also won’t enable the possibility that somehow there can be an accumulation somewhere. Sure they can’t open doors but what if one of them knock something over and that in turn does damage to the structure and a domino effect occurs. Sure it might be far-fetched but I plan on the unthinkable because as we’ve found out in the past the unthinkable can and does happen,” Damion stated adamantly.

     “True,” Darren agreed, “but if we don’t have to take unnecessary risks then why bother? I can see both points but I’m leaning towards the let’s just leave it alone.”

     Damion didn’t agree but he decided to go along with the idea. “Ok, I just hope nothing happens. I hope you’re right.”

     As he spoke those words it sent a chill up Christa’s spine. Was this what was giving her the ominous feel? She had hoped not. She tightened her grip on Anna’s hand. She couldn’t help but voice her concerns, “I really hope this is a good idea but I can’t help but feel that it’s not.”

     Damion takes Christa’s hand, “If you don’t feel ok with this we can sleep in the truck.”

     “It’s fine. It will be really nice and a change of pace to sleep in an actual bed. As long as we clear out the two rooms then I’m sure it’ll be ok. Maybe it’s just my nerves overreacting.” Christa said it almost as if she were trying to convince herself, which she did a poor job of.

     As they walked down the hallway the floor was relatively quiet which should have been comforting but it was oddly eerie. As they got further down the hallway they could hear a slight, constant banging coming from a room off to the right and as they looked at one another they walked past it. No one knew for sure what was behind the door but the general speculation was the same.

     “Are we going to be okay Christa,” Anna asked in her little voice.

     Christa stroked her hair, “Yes sweetie, we’ll be fine. None of us would ever let anything happen to you. I promise.” Those reassuring words cut her like a knife. If only she had the opportunity to make those words real for Bree. Christa wondered when the intense guilt and pain would lessen or if it would ever lessen. She always knew that pain would never truly go away but the intense twinges of pain that occurred so frequently were debilitating at times and she couldn’t afford that.

     “Here is as good as any. I really don’t want to be too far away from the vehicles. Gerard and I will go in first and clear the room. Darren you stay out here with the girls to keep them safe just incase anything happens, ok.” Darren nodded.

     Damion stood next to Gerard as he prepared to open the door. Gerard held the doorknob and turned it slightly and held it. He looked at Damion and Damion gave him a nod. Gerard pushed open the door and held his weapon at the ready as they both stormed in the room. The room was empty besides the tattered shades and curtains. Gerard went towards the bathroom door and hesitated a moment before opening the door to find blood splattered all over the mirror and bathtub.

     “Oh my God.”

     “What?” Damion entered the bathroom and was awestruck at the gruesome sight. “This will have to be cleaned up before Anna uses this bathroom.” Damion stepped back out into the bedroom just as an undead was coming out of the closet which was directly behind him. The undead latched onto Damion’s back and prepared to sink its teeth into his neck. Damion quickly moved crouched down and rolled forward as Gerard came out from the bathroom and stuck his knife through the top of its head. Damion laid there on the floor heavily breathing as he looked at Gerard. “Thanks man.”

     “Don’t mention it.”

     “I probably won’t.”

     Damion got up from the floor and went back to the door leading to the hallway. “This room is clear now but don’t go in the bathroom yet. It’s a mess.” Gerard grabbed the arm of the undead that he just killed and started to drag it out of the room. As he pulled the arm just gave way under the force and detached from the corpse.

     “Ew, gross. Hey Damion, help me with this.” Damion went over to Gerard and they both picked up the corpse and took it out as they walked past Christa, Anna, and Darren. “We can just dump it in another room or in a specific spot in the hallway, but right here is good for now.” They tossed the corpse in the corner of the hallway.

     “There are two beds in there. How about we all just stay in the same room. I would feel safer that way,” Christa suggested.

     “Yeah, me too,” added Anna.

     Damion shrugs, “I don’t see a problem with it. It’s fine with me. Gerard?”

     “Sure. It’s fine with me as well.”

     They all went into the bedroom as Christa cleaned up the bed enough for Anna to lay down for the evening. Gerard went into the bathroom to clean up the blood spatter.

     Christa went over and laid down beside Anna. Anna looked up and over Christa at Gerard. “You don’t have to do that.”

     “Huh?”

     “Clean. You don’t have to clean. It won’t freak me out as much as you think. It’ll be ok.”

     Gerard froze in place as Anna spoke those words. It was a sad truth. It was at truth he wished he never heard. The reality was that the world had become so brutal that even a child such as Anna had become use to seeing this kind of dreadfulness, as if almost desensitized in a way.

     “It’s ok Anna. I’m going to do it regardless. Get some rest.” Anna gave Gerard a smile as she laid back down beside Christa. Christa turned to Gerard and gave a sympathizing look as if the same realization had crossed both their minds at the same time.

     “Go to sleep. I’ll take the first watch,” Darren announced.

     Christa laid back and closed her eyes as she held Anna. Damion laid behind her with his arms around her. She felt safe in his arms. It was the only place she found any peace. A warm calm came over her and she drifted off to sleep. Damion laid there a while longer with thoughts swirling in his head as he felt Christa’s heart beat like a metronome. Listening to that caused him to slowly fall asleep as well, with Gerard following soon after.