Love in the Time of the Dead (6 page)

“Got orders to quarantine her for a few hours,” one of her guards explained.

“Heavens, why on earth is she to be quarantined?” the doctor asked, concern growing on his countenance.

“Show him,” the guard ordered.

Laney lifted her shirt, and the doctor’s face went pale. “Why would you let her into the colony?”

“Relax, Doc. She passed gate inspection. The wound is old. The quarantine is just a precaution. Besides, if she even looks at you wrong, we’ll shoot her.”

The guard sounded a little too eager for comfort, but Doc had already recovered and was poking around the wound.

“This could use some antibiotics.”

“You have antibiotics?” she asked.

“Nope, not since the first year,” he said through a grin. “I was just pointing out that you could use them. What happened?”

“I was shot,” she rushed.

“All right, and what about the hand?”

Laney looked down at her un-bandaged hand, which had never had the chance to close with all of the action the past couple of days had brought. “Cut it on glass.”

“And your head?”

“One of your welcoming committee threw a helmet.”

“Ah, yes. Some of our boys have a bit of a temper around outsiders.”

She remembered her rescuer’s furious eyes. Temper was a colossal understatement.

“Well, you boys can take a seat over there.” Doc motioned toward a row of chairs near the back wall. “This young lady needs some stitches.” He pulled out some antiseptic wipes and looked at her critically. “Maybe a shower first.”

The shower was glorious. Granted, it was a blue tarp with tiny pinholes poked into it that dribbled depressingly slow streams of mountain-cold water when a bucket was poured over it, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so relaxed. Well, when she could ignore the guards who watched her like hawks on a rat. The thin curtains around the shower area surely didn’t hide much. They had already seen her goods at the gate, though, so she tried her best to ignore them and enjoy the clean, fresh water sprinkling over her like a spring rain. Doc even graced her with a healthy dollop of what smelled like homemade shampoo.

Stitches were an unpleasant follow-up to her ten minutes of pure bliss.

Doc was close to being finished with stitching her hand when an older woman came in. Laney liked her right away. The woman’s laugh was infectious, and she didn’t glare at Laney as if she were a tarantula. The woman had long gray hair and laughing blue eyes that looked like they would crinkle in the corners when she was amused.

“I’m Mona,” the woman said. She handed Laney a pair of cotton pants and an old, comfortable shirt. “I’ll have your other clothes washed and dried before your quarantine is over,” she promised. She turned to leave, but paused. “What’s your name?”

Laney hesitated. Reactions to revealing who she was always varied, and she wanted Mona to like her.

The woman smiled knowingly. “I already know who you are, dear. I just want you to confirm it.”

She sighed. “Laney. Laney Landry.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Laney.”

Doc offered her a cot, and she fell asleep almost immediately, only barely able to resist the urge to zombie moan at her guards who scowled at her as she made herself comfortable. She wouldn’t miss them when her quarantine was over.

Just as Mona promised, she came through with the newly laundered clothing, along with the news that Laney could leave the medical building, on grounds that she hadn’t tried to eat anyone as of yet. “You have to keep one of your guards, though,” Mona informed her as she scurried to get redressed.

Laney grumbled but conceded. Every leader was different and every colony followed different rules. Apparently rule number one for Denver was don’t trust outsiders as far as you can throw them. And when one gets the chance…throw them.

“Can I at least pick who I get?”

“I don’t see why not,” Mona said, smiling.

Laney squinted her eyes and treated her pick every bit like the beginnings of a terrible schoolyard kickball team.

“I’ll take Chuckles over there.” She pointed to the stone-faced man who hadn’t said a word.

“Thank God,” the other guard said and left without preamble.

Laney glared after him in annoyance.

“I think it’s time you met our fearless leader properly,” Mona said, opening the door for her.

“Fantastic. I can’t wait,” Laney said sarcastically. She squinted into the bright sunlight. Damn, she wished she could have slept awhile longer. The exhaustion still pulled heavily at her injured and sleep-deprived body. She was so hungry that her stomach had finally given up on being fed, and now felt queasy instead of famished. If she knew her team, though, they were already trading and working for food and supplies for their next run. They always refilled quickly in case they needed to bolt. She just had to find one of them and mooch a meal.

“Come on, then,” Mona said, no doubt seeing the look of escape on Laney’s face. “He doesn’t want to meet with you, so we will have to be clever about it.”

“Great!” Laney said. “Neither one of us wants to meet, so let’s just not.”

Mona gave her a patient look. “I think it’s important you two talk.”

Laney bit her lip and held her tongue. She had a feeling Mona might be nice about it, but in the end this woman would still get what she wanted. Laney recognized a stubborn streak when she saw one.

She followed Mona down a gravel path between buildings. People were gathered in small groups, talking and throwing unhappy looks in her direction. Laney sped to catch up to the fast-paced older woman. She wouldn’t be much good in a fight, but one warning glance from Mona was keeping the lynch mob at bay.

They came to a tall, stone-bricked building in the middle of the colony, and Mona stopped so abruptly that Laney ran into her. “Sorry,” she murmured.

Mona glanced at her with a hint of worry overshadowing her bravado. “Do try to act normal, dear.”

“Oh, you mean like—” Laney waved her arms slowly in front of her and moaned “—
braaaaaaaains.
”

Mona stifled a giggle and swatted her hands down. “Do that in here and you’ll likely get yourself shot. Again.”

“Right. Best behavior. Got it.”

Mona arched an eyebrow skeptically but turned to nod at the guards posted on either side of a thick wooden door. “She’s with me. She’s here to talk to Sean.”

To Laney’s surprise, the guards let them pass without delay, and she looked at Mona with a renewed curiosity as they went down a long hall that boasted several closed doors. They walked until they came to one with another set of guards posted in front. The armed men quickly opened the door for Mona and stepped aside to let them pass.

Laney straightened her shirt and steeled herself. She could probably teach a class in bad first impressions. Sean Daniels had better be ready.

Chapter Four

W
HATEVER
L
ANEY
H
AD
E
XPECTED
to be behind that door, it wasn’t what she in fact encountered. The entire room was filled with jungle gyms, miniature art tables, and brightly colored bins of toys scattered all over the floor. There were strings of finger-painted pictures hung up to dry and an entire wall devoted to drawings created by children. And right smack dab in the middle of that room was a dark-headed little girl with the biggest and most compelling brown eyes Laney had ever seen on a three-year-old.

“Mona!” the child cried when she noticed the older woman. She flew up from the table where she’d been sitting with a man in military garb, and charged Mona for a hug.

The man stood and nodded respectfully to Mona before he took his post in the corner of the room.

“Thank you for watching her while I was away, Brian.”

“Anytime,” the man replied with a smile.

“Look, Mona,” the child said excitedly. “Look what Brian drawed.”

Mona examined the paper. “Oh, good. He’s teaching you how to draw AK-47s.” She gave Brian a mock glare, and he repaid her by shrugging his shoulders remorselessly.

Mona turned back to the child. “Are you ready to go see Daddy?”

The sheer amount of noise that came from the heart-happy child was almost startling. This little girl apparently had a very loving family if the noise of celebration coming from her lips was any indication. She and Jarren used to get excited like that when Dad would come home from work. The recollection was unexpected and painful and Laney shut it down. Giving those memories a voice was weakness. Nothing could be done about the people that were gone.

“This way,” Mona said as she opened the door.

Mona and the child chatted happily with the ease of long-term companionship. Laney and her guard followed behind them as Mona led them to another hallway.

“What’s your name?” Laney asked the thickly muscled guard who seemed to be trying his best to avoid her attention.

“Finn,” he said in a deep voice.

Laney arched her eyebrow dubiously. The bruiser looked like a Finn about as much as she looked like a Tiffany. His face was stern and serious. Definitely not joking then.

“Okay. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Finn.”

The
I’ll probably shake you within the hour
wasn’t said. She didn’t tend to keep guards for long, but Finn didn’t need to know that.

The hallway opened up to an entryway. She stopped in surprise. This must have been the Denver leader’s home. The walls were painted in shades of browns and greens, with lonesome landscape paintings hung in the hallways. The dark wood floors had taken a beating, but it only added to the masculinity of the home. A stairway lead to a second floor, and the furniture in the living area off the entryway was dark and functional. Mona motioned for Laney to sit in one of the chairs. The murmur of voices came from a set of French doors off the living space. The double doors were adorned with thin, ivory-colored curtains. His office.

Three more guards filed in and waited for their turn to talk to the colony leader.

“Wait here,” Mona directed Laney and the child and walked to the office doors.

The little girl stood directly in front of Laney and studied her with a curious expression.

“Hello, there,” she tried. “I’m Laney. What’s your name?”

“Adrianna,” Mona answered for the girl. Apology was already written on the woman’s face. “Sean will be with you in a few minutes. Adrianna, you stay with Ms. Laney.”

“Wait, you’re leaving her here with me? But I don’t know anything about kids!”

“Good luck,” Mona said as she retreated back to the hallway they came from.

Face down a horde of zombies? That was just another Tuesday. The thought of entertaining a child, however, brought on the cold sweats.

Another group of guards came into the sitting area, and Adrianna fidgeted nervously as the room became crowded. When one of the men shifted his weight and bumped into the small girl, Laney reached out to steady Adrianna and unleashed a verbal lashing the guard wouldn’t soon forget. The little girl’s solemn brown eyes were filling with tears.

“Oh, geez,” Laney muttered. She scanned the room in search of help, but the guards seemed to be trying to keep their distance after her little outburst. “It’s okay. Everything is okay, Adrianna,” she crooned. “Your daddy is just in the other room. You’ll get to see him any minute now.”

Adrianna’s little lip quivered, and tears threatened to spill over to wet her rose-hued cheeks. The look on the child’s face pulled at some deep, long hidden instinct.

“Come here. You want to sit with me? I won’t let them knock into you again.”

The child nodded slowly and crawled up into her lap. She tucked her head snugly against Laney’s shoulder and sniffled softly. Laney rubbed Adrianna’s back soothingly. Surely there wasn’t a wrong way to give a hug, but it had been a long time.

The sitting room was quiet, and she could make out muffled conversation on the other side of the double doors. She sighed in profound relief, both that Adrianna seemed to settle into her arms and that the men in the office seemed to be wrapping up.

“One more thing, sir,” came the muffled voice of a guard. “The outer fence on the east side has a large crack going up the entirety of it. It looks like Deads have been pummeling it, but no one has reported the incident before now. How do you want me to handle it?”

There was a short moment of silence before an authoritative voice answered him. “The repairs are to start immediately and any Deads participating in the behavior are to be put down at once. We don’t need them getting smart on us. Also, I want a list of guards who have had a post on the east side any time in the last three weeks. Someone has to have seen something, and I want to know why it wasn’t reported.”

The man’s muffled voice was intriguing. There was no waver to his orders. No pause or hesitancy in his command, but it was clear he thought his orders out with careful consideration. Sean Daniels was a natural born leader, a man who knew his place in the world.