Revenence: Dead Silence, A Zombie Novel (17 page)

"I don't think she really means it," Shari said.  "Maybe after awhile of being off her meds, her chemistry'll level out and she'll chill out a little."

"One can only hope," Jon said.  "I don't want Timothy, or myself for that matter, to wind up as neurotic as she is.  After she said that shit to me, I had to get out for awhile.  I don't care if it pisses her off, she's got me to the point where I either have to get away from her when she starts in on me, or I'l wind up saying something to her that I may regret."

"That's pretty reasonable," Shari said.  "She's lucky to have someone like you.  Maybe someday she'll realize that."  She turned toward him, and they locked gazes for about ten second. 

"It's nice to feel appreciated," he said softly, bringing his face in closer to hers, "even if it's not by my wife."  The next thing Shari knew, their lips were pressed together, their teeth clashing.  She reached her hands up, her fingertips meeting his broad, firm chest. 
I've waited so long for this,
she thought.

"Uh...thanks, I, uh...I've needed that for quite some time."  She offered a self-conscious smile. 
We'll sleep better tonight, won't we?
  That voice again, the one with a mind of its own.

"You and me both," he replied.  He gazed at her for a long moment.  "I wish Cindy could be more like you.  How is it you were single, anyway?"

Shari giggled.  "I guess my standards are a little high."

"I'm glad to see I live up to those standards," he said, winking slyly at her.  "It is a shame that you and me can't be together.  I guess Cindy's right...we
are
stuck together now.  We have a son, and for his sake, we can't split up with everything that's going on."

"I understand," Shari said.  "Although if you were single," she said, smiling and snapping her fingers, "I'd snatch you up in a heartbeat!"  She looked over at Jon, who was positively beaming.

"It really feels good, just to know that," he said.  "Well...I guess we should start back, huh?"  Shari nodded, slipping into her boots.

They mounted their horses and began their southwestern trek back to the loft.  The sun was beginning to sink into the fringe of the western treeline.  As much as Shari had enjoyed what she and Jon had just done together, she was also a bit concerned. 
I can't fall in love with him,
she thought,
because I can't have him. 
She frowned, wondering how she would manage living in the loft with him and his wife...knowing that the man she was so deeply attracted to was off-limits...and no other men around to distract her from the fact.

"You really want to do this in front of everyone?" Jon said, touching the back of his hand to his mouth, looking at his hand and noting the blood that was smeared on it.  "Fine!  Let's just air all our dirty laundry while we're at it, okay?"  Stephanie ushered Timothy out to the balcony and closed the door, keeping an eye on the scene from outside.  Jon continued.  "Husbands and wives are supposed to take care of each other, and that includes
fucking
each other, alright?"  Cindy was dismayed and taken aback, but said nothing.  "And this shit of you telling me that you're disappointed to be stuck with me--it's got to stop, alright?  Stop being such a selfish bitch, and put things in perspective for a second."  Shari saw Cindy's jaw drop indignantly.  She had a feeling this was the first time Jon had ever really put her in her place.  "What if something happened to me?  What if I left here and never came back, and the last thing you ever said to me is that you regret the fact that we survived together as a family?"  Cindy opened her mouth to protest, but he continued before she could speak up.  "Some people still have needs, okay?  It's a shame that Shari does a better job than my own wife of making me feel good, and I don't mean just my dick."   He glared at her unapologetically.  "What I did...it may have been wrong, but not as wrong as your total lack of respect for me, and your lack of concern for my feelings.  How much did you think I could take?"

Cindy turned to Shari, her face twisted in a mask of rage.

"You homewrecking bitch," she spat.

Shari rolled her eyes dismissively.  "I didn't wreck your marriage, you were accomplishing that just fine on your own," she said.  "He's right, some of us have needs.  Besides, there's no way I would have done it, if you hadn't made it abundantly clear, from the moment you showed up here, how much you despise me."  She turned to walk away, then heard the click of a hammer being pulled back and felt the sensation of unyielding metal on her scalp.

"No, you're not gonna turn this around on me," Cindy said, bawling.  "I haven't done anything wrong,
you
guys did!  I'm the victim, alright?"  Jon looked at her in horror, his eyes wide.

"Cindy," he said, trying hard to soothe Cindy's rage.  "You don't want to do this.  I understand entirely if you're upset with us, but it's not worth killing her over."

Cindy stood for a moment with the barrel of one of Fauna's revolvers pressed against Shari's head, her hand trembling.  "I can't let her get away with it," she said, wailing loudly, chest heaving.  There was a second click.

"Put the gun down," Fauna said in a low growl, aiming her .357 at Cindy's astonished face.  She sank down to the floor, sobbing.

"I can't believe you're all gonna make me out to be the bad guy," she moaned.  "It's not fair."

"Jon, take her into the panic room," Fauna instructed.

Cindy protested as Jon picked up up, flailing and slapping at him as he carried her across the room.

"We'll let you out when we feel it's safe to do so," Fauna said as she punched the keycode, locking Cindy inside.  She turned to Shari, lowering her voice almost below an audible level.  "You shouldn't have been so reckless," she said. 

"I'm sorry," Shari said.  "It had just been so long, Fauna."

"For
both
of us," Jon agreed.

"I understand, you're both human," Fauna said.  "I'm just makin' a point, is all...you both knew this woman was unstable."

"I don't know how she found out," Shari said.

"She found a pair of my binoculars, she could see you from the balcony," Fauna explained.  "Those things are 12X magnification.  You shoulda went over to the other side of the treeline or somethin', made sure you didn't get caught."

"We didn't really plan on doing it," Shari said, "it just kinda happened."
             

Fauna nodded.  "Well...now we got a mess on our hands."  She turned and walked back to the balcony.

The mischievous voice in Shari's head piped up. 
I don't regret it
.  Shari grimaced in distaste at the thought.

The expression on Fauna's face was one that, Shari thought, might be more appropriate if she had said, "I'm thinking about going to the moon."

"Why?" Fauna asked, eyes narrowed with one eyebrow raised, a questioning smile on her lips.

"It's too awkward after what happened with Jon and Cindy," Shari said, scrubbing the concrete floor with a push broom while Fauna ran the hose over it.  She shrugged.  "I don't think it'll ever
stop
being awkward.  And..."  She paused.  "I'm still attracted to him."

"Aw, shit," Fauna whispered.  "Well...I can't stop you, I suppose."  She rolled her eyes.  "So where are you gonna go?"

"I don't know," she said.  "Probably to my parents house, then if I don't find them I'll probably go back home.  I've had a nagging feeling lately, anyway..."

"And what feeling is that?" Fauna asked.

"I don't feel right sitting around here, safe, while I don't know what happened to my family.  I mean, when I first got here, I was helpless.  I couldn't have ventured out into that mess, even if I wanted to.  I didn't even know how to defend myself.  But now...I think I might be okay if I left.  As long as I don't go into any major towns, anyway."

Fauna sighed, smiling a sad smile.  "So you're really gonna leave me?"

"I haven't decided for sure yet, but I've been seriously considering it.  But hey, even if I do, we can always stay in contact over the radio."

"Well," Fauna said, "you just make sure that's really what you want before you go and do it."  She shut off the water and began to coil the hose back around its reel.  "I think the barn's clean enough.  Sun's goin' down, anyway."  They started toward the garage.  Fauna looked down at the ground as they walked, hands in her pockets.  "It's gonna be lonely without you," she said.  "I feel like you and me really clicked, you know?"  She made a face.  "Cindy and Stephanie...not to be arrogant or anything, but they're not really on the same level as you and me.  Maybe I can train 'em, though...teach 'em how  to shoot, hunt, be useful and productive.  Stephanie especially, she's still young."

"And easier to get along with!" Shari said. 

"That's the understatement of the year!" Fauna agreed.  "Could you imagine teaching Cindy to use an AK?"

Shari snorted.  "I'd just hand it to her, tell her to have at it.  Let her hold it like an amateur, watch her get knocked in the face from the kickback.  Record a video of the whole thing for my amusement."

Fauna looked at her with a momentary expression of disapproval, then laughed.  "You know what, I have to admit, that'd be a little funny.  She could use a little humility, take her ego down a notch...or several."

"And every time she looked in a mirror and saw her crooked nose, it would be a reminder  that she's not an authority on everything," Shari said.

Fauna smiled, patting Shari on the back affectionately.  "I'm really gonna miss you, girl."

Three o'clock came, and she heard the rattling of cans down in the garage, right on cue.  She had set the alarm on her cell phone to vibrate at three a.m., and then carefully dropped in into a garbage bag full of cans in the garage, a bag that never made it to the recycling center before the apocalypse struck.  She had been keeping the phone charged, she claimed, to listen to the music she had stored on it.  She saw Fauna's head snap toward the sound. 

"What the fuck?"
she heard Fauna whisper.  She took out her revolver and carefully descended the ladder. 

Stephanie carefully slipped out of bed, looking around the room, hoping that the rattling cans hadn't awoken anyone else.  They all appeared to be sound asleep.  She grabbed a couple of duffel bags from against the wall, placing them, along with a couple of throw pillows, underneath the heavy comforter to give Fauna the impression that she was still asleep under the covers.  Just for good measure, she cut off the long, blonde braid that reached down to her hips and placed it onto the pillow, the top end tucked in underneath the comforter. 
That should buy me some time,
she thought, looking at the finished product for a moment.  She then slipped into the bathroom, where she'd stashed a fifteen-foot extension cord in a dark corner of the upper closet shelf.  She wrapped the cord around her neck and tied it, pulling it tight and wrapping the end around a few more times. 
Let's hope it holds,
she thought.  She opened the bathroom window, climbed out, and grabbed the balcony railing, which was just beside the bathroom window.  As she climbed onto the balcony, she saw Fauna climbing back into the loft. 
I'm glad it's overcast tonight, with no moon
.  She quietly wrapped the other end of the cord to a bottom leg of the railing, knotting it as best as she could.  She mounted the railing, sitting for a moment. 
These are the last breaths I'll ever take,
she thought.  She closed her eyes and jumped.