Survival Instinct (4 page)

This is it
, Nadine thought excitedly from her perch in a nearby tree. She’d been walking for a week now, sleeping in whatever location seemed safest on the road to nowhere. But now she may have found herself a new home- at least temporarily. That was the hope, anyway. She was tired, bone tired, of living out of a few knapsacks. She was tired of sleeping in the houses of strangers that were no doubt dead- sometimes the dead part was obvious, like when she walked through a doorway and tripped over the mutilated corpse of one of the bitten. He’d been thoroughly devoured, and the wounds showed he’d probably been freshly dead when the creatures started feasting on his flesh. The good news was that he would stay dead, unlike so many others. And most of all, she was tired of sleeping in trees out in the elements when she couldn’t find a safer place to lie up for the night.

She’d
slept in that tree the night before, watching the survivor camp in front of her. Chain-link fences formed a large perimeter around several local stores, including ones selling hardware and groceries. There was even a sporting goods store reminiscent of the one she’d found so many weeks ago. The echo of where she’d been sent chills down her spine, and guilt twisted her insides as she remembered the unknown woman whom she’d failed to save. Resolutely, she shook her head. No, she wouldn’t go back- she’d keep moving forward, and if she was lucky, this could be her home.

Cautiously, she climbed down from her perch and headed for the barred entrance. Sentries were posted, as one would expect. They were nervous men with weary eyes, armed with long wooden spears that might have once been broom handles. One man
, more kid than adult, carried a shotgun while the other, older man had a sniper rifle strung across his upper body with a thick strap made from simple rope. The one with the shotgun was facing her way, so he was the first to spot her His voice shook, and she fought the urge to laugh as he called out, “Halt- who goes there?”

This kid’s been watching too many cheesy movies
, she thought sarcastically, even as she replied, “My name is Nadine Chesterfield. I’m looking for some place where I can be safe. Please don’t shoot- I’m pregnant,” she told him, hands held high with her palms out so that both of them would see she was unarmed and nonthreatening. The one with the shotgun held his weapon trained on her with shaking hands, and she was not surprised to see one finger was on the trigger.

“Jesus, Dave,” the other one said with disgust. “Put your goddamned gun down, you fucking idiot.” Turning to her, his hands at his sides but not touching his rifle, he yelled back. “You may approach, Nadine, but
if you come in, just know that you will be giving a thorough physical and will be carefully checked for bites or other sign of infection.” His tone made it clear that this had been enough to stop many people from entering the ‘community’ but she wasn’t put off by it. Hell, maybe she’d get lucky and there would be a doctor here who could make sure her baby was doing all right.

She walked forward, making sure she smiled
as she kept her hands in sight. Dave had removed his finger from the trigger but he hadn’t lowered the shotgun and she didn’t want to spook him into firing. The man with the rifle gave Dave a look of utter contempt as he opened the gate and allowed Nadine to come in. Without missing a beat, he raised the sniper scope to his eye and pulled the trigger, lowering it as quickly as he’d lifted it. She heard the sound of a bullet hitting flesh and spun, startled. There was a zombie with its head completely obliterated behind her, not five feet away. One had been sneaking up behind her and she’d been careless, completely unaware of her surroundings. That was unforgiveable, and she gave the man a look of intense gratitude. He flushed, shrugging one shoulder as he grinned at her.

Nadine ignored the smile and the question behind it. She knew that look- it was the one that asked without words if she was available and willing. At the moment she was neither, so she pretended not to have seen the question in his
bright blue eyes that reminded her so much of Graham. He was handsome enough, and if she’d been in the mood for a quick roll in the hay she might have taken him up on it. Broad shoulders, strong arms, and a narrow waist told her that this was a man who took physical fitness seriously, and it paid off in spades. There was light stubble on his rugged face that meant he’d shaved that morning but tended to scruff up quickly, and crow’s feet formed around those smiling eyes, telling her he knew how to enjoy life. Yes, if she’d been interested in sex, he might be the one for her. But she’d never been the type of woman to fall into bed just because if was convenient, and her heart belonged to someone else.

“Nadine?” He was puzzled, and she realized he’d probably asked her a question and she’d missed it completely while taking inventory of his body. Embarrassed, she gave him a cool look, waiting for him to repeat himself. “I asked you where you’d come from,” he said again, confusion still twisting his features. He gestured to the right with a
nod of his head, inviting her further into the camp and away from Dave. Gratefully, she followed him.

Sighing, she tried to bring herself to tell her story. She’d had no one to talk to in quite some time, and she found herself reluctant to reopen wounds she’d so recently allowed to scab over. She settled for just the basics. “I was a forensic pathologist on base in Delaware,” she said shortly. The man, still unnamed as he had yet to tell her anything about himself, came to a sudden halt before turning to goggle at her. “What?” she snapped, uncomfortable with the look he was giving her.

“How long have you been travelling?” he asked, not answering her question, meeting her eyes to let her know he was waiting for an answer.

She shrugged. “Everything went to Hell on March 21,” she said, sorrow lacing the words even though she fought to keep her emotions in check. “I guess that’s how long I’ve been on the road.”

He said nothing for a moment, studying her with suspicion before relaxing the set of his shoulders. “You’ve been by yourself for nearly two months?” he asked her, and watched her puzzle it out even as she nodded her agreement. “Well then, let me be the first to welcome you to the first settlement of Relief, Kentucky.”

Nadine just stared at him, unable to believe she’d really travelled so far so fast. She’s ridden a bicycle for stretches of the trip, but the packs on her back made navigating the roads treacherous and she’d fallen, smacking her head and lying there dazed for a few minutes. Had one of those things been nearby, she’d have been defenseless, and she vowed never to put herself into a situation that dangerous again. The rest of the journey had been made on foot, honing her body down to its essence, making her nothing but muscle over bone except for the ever-rounding bump of her baby belly.

“Come on,” he said, leading her on again. “I’ll take you to the man in charge- he likes to greet all new arrivals personally before sending them to Dr. Robinson.” Grimly, she followed behind, her body lagging now that she was somewhere safe. And then it happened- she felt a tickle in the back of her throat and her body tensed, releasing one loud, violent sneeze. In the blink of an eye she found herself surrounded by men and women with cold eyes and cocked guns.

“Let me out of here, damnit. I’m not infected,” Nadine attempted to shout. She’d been yelling for hours with no success, but she couldn’t just give up. She’d spent so long travelling and trying to find a place she could call home, even if just for a little while, and now this. She’d been a good person before the world had gone to Hell, and had never had so much as a speeding ticket. It galled her that now, after all she’d been through, all she’d done, she now found herself locked up in the jail cell of this town she’d stumbled into. How ridiculous it all was. What would they do with her? Did they plan to kill her? Maybe she’d get lucky and they’d just force her out. That was fine- she could handle that. She just wanted to live. She deserved to live, as did the tiny baby growing inside her.

Exhausted, she collapsed on the cot in her barred cell. There were no sheets, and only one thin, hard pillow.
Obviously comfort wasn’t what they’d had in mind when they decorated
, she thought with disgust. She was too tired at this point to drum up any anger. She supposed she couldn’t blame them- they’d obviously put two and two together and figured out that this whole damned mess had started with the common cold. Self-preservation was the name of the game these days, and she thought, in their place, she might have done exactly as they had.

It had been hours since they’d brought her here, carting her through the town quickly to make sure she hadn’t touched anyone, or even come into contact with another human being. She hadn’t been mistreated- they’d merely opened the cell door and gestured her inside. The man she’d met at the gate had even shot her a look of apology as he locked the door behind her. A doctor in full biohazard gear had come and asked her politely if he could draw a sample of her blood. He’d worked quickly and efficiently before smiling at her and leaving, and a woman with haunted eyes had locked the door and led him out without a word. Since then there had been nothing, and so she waited.

It was the middle of the night before she heard the door at the end of the hall open. She’d been dozing lightly, leaning against the wall rather than lying down on the uncomfortable bed, and the slight squeak of the hinges brought her to full wakefulness immediately. A man she’d not seen before, his hair touched at the temples with streaks of silver, his eyes a pale blue full of an exhaustion she understood all too well, was being escorted towards her by the same woman. She had a pistol in a holster at her hip, but the strap was in place so she relaxed. If they planned to kill her, surely the woman would have her gun in hand. Holding onto that hope, she stayed seated so that she wouldn’t startle them- the woman in particular- into action.

“Hello,” the man said, his tone pleasant if not exactly warm. “My name is Donald Thomas, and, well, I guess you’d say I’m the man in charge around here.” He laughed in a self-deprecating way. “At least, they all treat me like I am.”

The woman turned to him, adoration evident in her eyes. “Oh, but Don, you are the one in charge. You’ve had the most amazing ideas, including turning this place into our safe haven.” She tossed her tangled, gnarly hair over her shoulder, batting her eyes at the man as she smiled.

Nadine repressed a shudder. Apparently she thought she looked more like a super model than a street urchin. Well, if that’s how the woman wanted it, Nadine wouldn’t be the one to tell her otherwise. “I’m Nadine Chesterfield,” she replied calmly. “I was looking for someplace safe I could call home, but if you’d prefer, I’ll gladly move on. If I could just have my things…?” She made her statement into a question, letting him know she was uncomfortable with her present accommodations without being bitchy about it.

Don smiled at her, and to her it was about as real as any politician’s smile could be- she instantly decided to keep her guard up. “Why, of course we’ll get you your things, and settle you into somewhere more… pleasant than this,” he said. His smile was full of teeth, and Nadine shuddered again as she thought of crocodiles and death. “You’re obviously cold,” he continued, letting her know he was observant. She made a mental note to guard herself and her movements around this man, even as she nodded her thanks when the barred door was opened. He continued speaking, apparently liking the sound of his own voice as the woman with the knotted hair gave him her full attention.

There was silence between them as he led her towards what used to be a street of country stores. Now they’d been turned into housing, which wasn’t a bad idea in Nadine’s opinion. All the items that had been in the stores were now outdoors in what she assumed was like the town square in this new city. The grass was covered with overlapping tarps until there was little green to be seen, and a giant tent had been erected to keep the merchandise from the elements. At her puzzled look, Don hastened to explain.

“Housing was an issue- most of the places here have bodies in them,” he said, gesturing vaguely to the houses and apartments visible from where they stood. “We’re in the process of setting up some structure in the community, and one of the tasks will be a disposal unit.”

Nadine interrupted. “Disposal unit? I’m afraid I don’t understand.” But she thought she might, and it made her skin crawl. She pulled the light jacket she was wearing a little tighter around her body, trying to keep in what little warmth was left.

Don just nodded as if she’d answered a question rather than ask one. “We talked about doing mass burials, but there’s not enough room inside the perimeter, and it’s too risky to set one up outside. So we’ll do a mass pyre, and hopefully the flames will both dispose of the bodies and keep those things from attempting to breach our barriers.” Returning to the original subject, he gestured towards the storefronts once more. “In any case, we decided the stores would make good housing in the meantime, and there’s no need to steal. It’s an honor system now- everything anyone could need it available. There won’t be any thefts, as everything is right here for anyone to take.” The idiotic woman with the bad hair simpered at this, praising his forethought.

Nadine, however, was left cold at his words. People were still people, no matter the circumstances, and this honor system wouldn’t work for long. Once people got comfortable again, there’d be thefts and maybe even murders in this little community. Suddenly the idea of making this place her new home lost all appeal. She murmured her thanks when the strange couple dropped her off in her new ‘home’ in what used to be a pawn shop. Her bags were already waiting, and she quickly set up a bed of sorts using the inflatable mattress someone had provided for her. Sleep was a long time in coming, however. She decided she’d stay for a little while- enough to recover some much needed strength- but she’d be moving on before the flames were lit. She didn’t want to be downwind of this hellhole when the bodies burned.