Quarantined in Chaos (Nova Nocte) (12 page)

             
We’ve been pushing our travel hard to cover ground. Between Sunny needing to puke or pee and Chaim being, well, a toddler the trip is frustrating. Last night we started having one vampire carry Sunny ahead with them after we clear out an area. The other vampire getting switched between trailblazing and group protection, stays to help set up our next resting spot. Sunny is less than pleased.

             
“This giant game of leap-frog the preggo is a waste of time, Squirrel!”

             
I start putting vehicles in neutral and pushing them into a barrier wall.

             
“No it’s not. It is the best way we can keep moving at a good pace without endangering your or your baby-to-be. The others will catch up in an hour or so and by then we will have a resting spot set up and some food cooked. Try to relax.”

             
A pot flew past my head.

             
“Listen to me! This is not okay. I don’t want to spend every night getting flown around and protected; I can take care of myself. I’m only five months pregnant, it’s not like I’m in labor.”

             
I walked the pot back to Sunny and placed it next to the fire she was coaxing to life.

             
“But you will be. You may even give birth on this trip if we can’t make it because of the weather or because we have too many Dead near the urban areas. Or you could lose the baby, and possibly your life in the process, because of the toll this venture is taking on your body.”

             
She went to sit and I helped lower her to the torn out Volvo seat.

“Sunny, we all know y
ou’re tough, but this is your health. Look around; it is fucking winter and we are going north.”

             
Sunny absently rubbed her protruding stomach and glanced around. I watched the understanding weave its way into her. I listened to the tiny heart beating inside.

             
“Less food ahead. Less shelter. Less heat. More Dead.”

             
“Exactly. We are doing everything we can now so that when it gets bad, we will already have things covered. It’s not that we doubt your will or skill in this struggle; it’s that we care too much to risk losing you.”

             
I knelt beside the expectant mother and warmed her hands in mine.              “I think I’ll get the fire going better.” She cleared her throat while I pretended not to see her wipe a tear. “Could you grab some more wood when you drag off those zombie bits?”

             
“Sure.”

             
I grabbed the nearest piece of dead guy and toss his ass into the woods. Literally his ass, it was the bottom of a torso.

             
              ###

             
The parade has been forced to stop and hole up in temporary shelter of abandoned vehicles and useless cargo. The plummeting temperatures and stinging winds are taking a serious toll on our companions. Our scavenging of inert traffic has escalated to new levels as we add heavy coats, blankets, thick hats to our list.

             
We’ve come across more Dead than usual along the road, bringing up the argument of whether or not we should leave the road. The only bright spot is that so far no one is sick and we’ve found a couple of decent stockpiles of unexpired cans. I’ve finally realized that I’ll never eat again; unless you count drinking the blood of my friends and allies. Even when we leave the quarantine, I’ll never have another donut, turkey leg, or even a banana.

             
The new donation schedule is penciled out and I’ve got Margot tonight.

             
If she asks to be Daemon’s donor with that grin one more time, I may overdrink and deal with her brothers later.

             
“Hey, Squirrel, can I talk to you?”

             
I shake my head and switch it to a nod midway. Hannah’s face told me I must’ve resembled a bobblehead on a tilt-a-whirl. Nurse stood next to her, Sindbad oddly absent.

             
“Sure, what’s up?”

             
She sat down under the makeshift canopy of car doors and tarps. He didn’t.

             
“It’s about the trip; I won’t be able to keep going with the rest of you.”

             
I returned my calendar to its plastic bag and pushed all the worries from my mind.

             
We’ll be okay if we only lose one donor. She can’t seriously think we can escort her back to Edith & Liam’s though. We can’t wait through the winter even if she’s willing to.

             
“It’s your choice if you don’t want to stick it out and travel with us through the weather, but there’s no guarantee you’ll make it back to Nova Nocte at the Hedburgs’ place. We can set up something here if you want, wouldn’t take us more than a few days.”

             
Hannah looked at the Nurse and her bottom lip trembled.

             
No. She’s fine. There were only a couple to put down yesterday...

             
She rolled up her pants leg and revealed an infected bite mark on her calf. The arteries around the wound snaked outward revealing the quick travel of the poisonous nip. The leg was dark and the sparks of life were dimming all over her skin. The silence of the death sentence hung until Nurse knelt and lowered the denim.

             
“Sindbad gave me the signal at dinner yesterday. That’s why I sat guard with Hannah last night; in case she turned. We talked about this all night.”

             
“It’s far too late to amputate isn’t it? I can tell it’s already spread.”

             
Hannah covered her face and wept. I placed my arm around her narrow shoulders and held her. Nurse only looked away with a sigh.

“I’m so sorry, Hannah. I really am.
”

             
We can leave her or kill her. That’s the only mercy we can offer her is the decision: die now at our hands or die later alone and turn into the thing that killed you. God I hate this place.

“
Is there anything you want, or um, what do you want to do?

             
Footfalls approached, giving our privacy a short deadline.

             
“I want you to let me do something. Something dangerous but important. I want to clear a place alone and suffer an accident after the Dead are gone. I want to die being useful to everyone but I don’t want you to tell me when it’s coming. Just when I’ve completed the task, I need...”

             
Nurse rose and walked away.

             
Don’t ask me. Please don’t even think it.

             
“...I need you to kill me. Just a quick accident so I don’t feel anything.”

             
Anger ripped me apart inside and I could hear someone yelling in my head. My arm lowered at a sloth’s pace. I cursed Hannah and Nurse for putting me in this spot.

“I wouldn’t ask, but I trust you. You kept me alive all this time and you made me feel safe; like I was with family again.”

              Her face turned towards me. The footsteps grew nearer. My hunger burned from outrage and frustration. I saw my body rise, but didn’t recall thinking it. Someone spoke, I think it was me.

             
“No.”

             
I walked away from the dying woman, my companion, my sometimes friend, a person I was responsible for protecting. The memory of my family pleading for me to spare them the gruesome death of infection, threatened to pull me inside my mind and lock me within that place of nightmares forever. I saw Paul and his loving family projected against the inside of my shut eyes. The cacophony of their echoed request brought all the pain welling up and the tug from within became tempting.

             
Breathe and push them down; the memories can’t hurt you. Just lock them away again and rejoin the others at the fire.

             
My feet trudged away from the woman I’d failed and the unknown footsteps.

             
She can ask someone else or she can leave or do it herself. I’m done. I did my best and I’m sorry, but she asked too much. Goodbye Hannah. You aren’t dead yet, but I’ll have to get used to burying all of you soon enough. Goodbye.

              Cal covered Hannah’s body after she had her ‘accident’. We’d just approached a small crew of survivors on the road. They declined our offer to travel together with a torrent of gunfire. While we vampires protected the rest of our team, Hannah charged ahead with both her Colt .45 and my Desert Eagle blasting. She took down three of the five before one of them sent a spray of her blood and brain coursing through the air.

             
When her body crumpled to the ground I could still see the steam escaping from the hole; for an instant I fought the idea that it was her spirit leaving. The four of us descended on the two unharmed gunmen and the one who lay injured and drank our fill. I gulped the vital fluid from my victim with gusto akin to that of a recently dumped woman towards chocolate.

             
We drank from the shooters with a natural savagery, tearing at the puncture wounds and pinning our prey down. The frenzy overtook me and I was stopped only after I’d ripped the face off my dinner and licked at the blood that flowed from his scalp.

             
“Squirrel, that is enough. The fellow is gone. Come back around to us.”

             
The Roman’s iron hands gently drew me from the disfigured remains.

             
But there’s more, I can see it; can’t you taste it in this dry air? It’s warm and vibrant.

             
“Cal, why isn’t she answering you?” Chase asked as he joined us.

             
“She is merely a bit...entranced right now. Too thorough a feeding for her as yet; it overwhelms the senses.”

             
I listened to the worried and doubtful voices murmuring.

“She is speaking right now, it’s just not aloud. I assure you, Squirrel is fine. Just give her a moment.”

              Daemon’s face appeared between mine and the ventilating crimson on the frosty ground. His arms were around me and he spoke with his mind only.

             
Squirrel, you need to snap out of it. Don’t look at the body, look at me. Be here with me right now, okay? I need you to come back before they get too concerned. I love you. Come back out to me. Picture me in a Speedo doing a hula if it helps, just focus on me instead.

             
I forced my eyes from the spectacle spattered across the silvery grass and willed my thoughts to be vocalized.

             
“Sorry, I just got caught up in the moment.”

             
Restrained breaths went free and the familiar ritual of raiding the dead began. Sunny maintained a suspicious eye on me for the rest of the night. I was just happy that Hannah got her wish without me. Margot and her brothers dragged the cadavers away from the camp; she watched Daemon a little less openly. I whispered in Daemon’s ear before we went to sleep for the morning.

             
“Doing a hula in a Speedo, huh?”

             
“You only have to ask, sweetie. You only have to ask.”

             
He gave me a gentle kiss and put his arms around me before dozing off.

###

              Sitting watch with Cal for an hour before we have to retreat to a separate shelter for the day; it’s too risky to stay with our cohorts until we know we can all trust one another. I miss that most about our old fort: the trust. It took a long time to build that trust, but our people survived because of it. I wonder how they are all doing and if Troy has forgiven me yet for not choosing to stay with him.

             
I hope they’re alright. Please let the kids be safe. One day I’ll get them out of this mess.

             
“Penny for your thoughts?”

             
“Not worth a whole penny. Just random thoughts.”

             
Cal chuckled while he paced around our friends. The steady breathing and snoring nearly masked it.

             
“What’s funny about that?”

             
“Last time you had a random thought I asked about you were pondering if cows ever got tipped by errant zombies walking through the fields.”

             
I smiled at the fond memory.

             
“Well, it’s a genuine puzzle. And it’s still unsolved; we haven’t seen any cows in over six months.”

             
“Are you going to bring up what you were thinking so deeply about or must I guess?”

             
He stopped his patrol and took my elbow.

             
“I was just thinking about how things were before the fire and about how they’ll be when we cross the border and about Hannah. You know the same old life and death.”

             
“I understand. I’ll admit, I’m a bit relieved that we crossed those brutes. I didn’t want to kill Hannah.”

             
My jaw fell and I tried to blink away the shock.

“Surely, you didn’t think I didn’t know about her being tainted by the Dead?”

              The truth went from play dough to blasted pottery in my mind.

             
“You saw the energy change.”

             
“Of course, as did Reggie and I think perhaps even Daemon. She died as she wished.”

             
He continued his route and I followed out of habit.

             
“I couldn’t do it Cal. She asked me, but I couldn’t.”

             
“But you could’ve had someone else give her a merciful end?”

             
I stumbled over a bicycle wheel.

             
“Yeah, I think so. I just couldn’t kill one of our people again. I know it’s what has to be done, and I’m not even particularly close to her, but it’s just too much. I doubt you understand but...”

             
“Actually I do.” He gazed at the purple sky. Dawn would be here soon. “I’ve had a few occasions in my life where I was unable to bear doing the necessary deed.”

             
“But you would’ve had to kill me if I hadn’t pulled through.”

             
“I probably would’ve asked Reggie to do that; I had to ask him to put to rest my daughter when she didn’t come across properly. Paid a severe price for it with our kind, but the torture of my body was easier to suffer than the torment of a soul that has ended the life of one they loved so dearly.”

             
I looked at Caelinus while he watched the sky shift to lighter shades and saw the weight of centuries of loss anchoring his eyes to the heavens.

             
“I’m sorry Cal.”

             
He shook his head and strode to rouse our relief before we four Undead took cover.

             
“It is fine. It was technically Daemon’s job anyhow.”

             
He laughed as though the thought was comforting and we finished our job encased in our own thoughts.

###

             
Thank God for fitness nuts! We found a SUV covered in triathlon and marathon decals; there were two bikes on the roof, one with an attachment for towing a kid -- or big dog, not really sure -- and a fix it kit for the bicycles.

             
“Good spot Garret; we can cover more ground and tow some of the gear this way.”

             
I patted the blushing Midwesterner on the back.

             
“Thanks, it was nothing.”

             
Claude and his siblings started unloading the bikes while the rest of us continued searching the nearby vehicles. Reggie added several wedding bands, gold chains, and the occasional watch to his sack of payment. I took in the surroundings: one long silent road and a bunch of trees and kudzu vine, same as the rest of the trip so far.

             
“Let’s make camp here for a day or two and see if we can’t round up a couple more bikes and kiddie carts to attach. It might cut our travel time to a few weeks instead of a couple of months.”

             
“Why do you think my brothers and I are oiling the chains?”

             
This chick is really starting to get on my nerves.

             
“Thank you, Margot. Since you, Claude, and Victor seem to know how to fix and maintain the bikes that can be your gig instead of sitting watch. I’ll join Daemon in your place and Bubba can join Reggie in Victor’s.”

             
She glared at me and put down the WD-40 can.

             
“We’ll have these fixed up before my shift; I can stand guard with Daemon. You go keep an eye on your friend with the baby bulge.”

             
The sounds of people working around us tapered off. Margot shot a half-smile to Daemon; his eyes darted to each of us.

             
“Actually, I think I’m supposed to go hunting for some game tonight. Try and find some fresh meat for everyone, well not everyone the vamps can’t eat it, but you know what I mean. Uh, sorry?”

             
Margot’s face fell.

             
“That’s right. Sorry I forgot Daemon. I guess I’ll check on Sunny and then sit watch after all.”

             
“Now that I think about it, it will take a while to rig up some extra trailers for these bikes. And if we find any others, they’ll need to be cleaned up for use. Thanks for taking my sentry detail, Squirrel.”

             
The triplets busied themselves with their task and movement increased as a camp was set up. Daemon let out a long exhale and took to the air.

             
Glad he can think quickly. I was ready to tear that grin off her face and beat her like a prison snitch.

             
Cal sidled up to me on my walk to see Sunny.

             
“A pissing match with one of our compatriots is unwise. You are aware of this are you not?”

             
“I know. She just aggravates me with her little touches on Daemon’s arm and her flirting. It makes me want to crush her face with a rock.”

             
He stops me.

             
“Yes but as before, you must control yourself. A rock is no longer necessary for you to cave in her skull; it almost takes more effort not to harm her. This is an effort you
will
undertake.”

             
I’m taken aback. My hands loosen from the choking grip I’m holding on the air in front of me and fall to my side. My shoulders slouch under the weight of his guidance.

             
“You’re right. I can’t let myself get so worked up. I’m sorry, Cal. I should’ve remembered that first lesson you gave Daemon with the steel rod. Thanks. You’re a good friend.”

             
The Roman beamed and continued our walk. I fell in beside him as we crossed the thrown together shelter of open car doors and ripped out seats.

             
“It’s in my best interest as well; we need to keep a cohesive unit if we are to successfully return to the outside world. Also, you are family. I always do my best to protect my loved ones; it’s something you and I have in common.”

             
With a peck on my forehead, he turned and strolled to help Vincent put down a fleshie trapped in a mini cooper. I sat beside Sunny and stirred the pot of canned corn.

             
“Squirrel, if you don’t slap that bitch Margot, I will.”