Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary (35 page)

She shrugged
and set the cans and bags she was holding on the pavement. “Dean, put this
stuff in the Jeep.” Not waiting for a response, and fully expecting him to
comply, she fell into step beside me.

It
wasn’t until we were very close and had been able to take a good, long look
that either of us made a comment.

“That is
so wrong.”

I had to
agree. The zombie, formerly a woman, was pregnant. We’d seen others on occasion
that looked to be in the same condition, but never so close and never one that
appeared ready to give birth. There wasn’t a mark on her, other than the normal
filth that came from being outside for days on end, and she was completely
nude. Poor thing was probably in bed when the convulsions hit her that first
night.

“I think
we should put this one down, before she’s close enough for the others to see.
Eric and his crew are probably already having nightmares. I don’t want to add
to them.”

“Do it
Jacob.”

I lifted
my pistol and fired. The round struck the zombie in the forehead, and she
dropped. That wasn’t the end of the movement though. The bloated belly was
wiggling.

“Uh,
what’s wrong with it?” asked Lizzy.

“I’m
thinking the baby is a zombie too. It probably wants out.”

“Jesus.”
The word was barely a whisper, and it was drowned out by the roar of her .45.
Lizzy emptied the clip into the thing’s midsection.

“Had to
be done,” she added, when it was over.

The
thought of an unborn zombie baby, pressing against the insides of its mother,
trying to get free was more than my stomach could stand. I twisted to the side,
my prior meal spewing forth.

“We need
to drive back the other way,” continued Lizzy. “I do not want Mary seeing this.
In fact, let’s not even mention it, at least not until we are far, far away.”

I
nodded.

“You
okay?”

“I’ll be
fine,” I stammered.

“You’re
too delicate Jacob. You need to work on that.” Lizzy took another look at the
scene before us and began to gag.

“You’re
not much better,” I pointed out.

She gave
me the finger.

“Want to
bet that little one was trying to get loose for the past month, pressing and
scraping its mother’s insides, slowly tearing its way free?”

“Enough,”
warned Lizzy. “I don’t want to talk about it right now, and don’t say anything
like that to Mary. I mean it.”

*
* *

“What
happened?” asked Briana.

“Nothing,”
I said, shaking my head.

“You
were throwing up Jacob,” she pressed, concern in her voice.

“Yeah,
tell us,” prompted Mary.

Lois
stood nearby, her face displaying curiosity as well. Our actions were
definitely beyond the norm.

“It was
nastier than usual,” stated Lizzy, in way of explanation. “Fucking disgusting
zombie trash. Done with now, so forget about it.”

*
* *

After we
returned to camp, I led a round of introductions and gave a very abbreviated
explanation of how we found them and what the newcomers had been through.
Having located more people was welcome news. Learning there were a lot of
zombies swarming about Chadron, so very close to our forest, was not nearly as
enjoyable. Still, it was good overall. We had Eric, who turned out to be a
professional builder, and we had a good idea of what was happening on our
doorstep.

Over
dinner, I explained our plans to build a wooden palisade, but Eric dismissed it
as completely unnecessary. He could lay out a foundation and put up a huge wall
using cinderblocks, rebar, and concrete. He was even capable of mortaring stone
to the outside so it looked more classic and visually pleasing. This would last
decades with minimal maintenance and would be much, much more secure. Also,
there was plenty of material in Chadron due to some suppliers having recently
received shipments. Everything we needed was there.

It would
take time to clean the city out, with a lot of people helping and a great deal
of precious ammunition being expended, but if we were going to have a chance at
organized looting, Chadron had to be purged of its non-breathing denizens. We
definitely had the guns we needed, but if we couldn’t find more bullets – I had
no idea how many gun stores or sporting goods places were around that we could
restock from – we’d be hard pressed in any future engagements.

And
Chadron would be much slower going than Hemingford had been. We would have to
lure them out of the town, one group at a time, leading the monsters to an open
field where we could put them down. That would have to be repeated over and
over. Of course, more would trickle in from elsewhere – as you know, zombies
never stop moving – but hopefully they wouldn’t arrive in such large numbers or
all at once.

Due to
the addition of Eric, the books we nearly got killed over turned out to be
unnecessary. Eric also claimed to be able to construct stone buildings. We had
no need for cabins, and the stone houses could be insulated and plastered over
for comfort. They would take the wet and snow better too. Dean was adamant that
if Eric could get them up, he could finish out the insides, complete with
lights and plugs, after we hooked up a generator. Dean and Eric were put in
charge of all building and planning, subject to review and consultation by
everyone else. It only made sense to get input from others.

One of
the new women – I think her name was Bernice or something like that – asked
about security and safety. Briana explained that we kept watch at all times,
even at night when we’re within the fence, but it turned out she was referring
more to law and order, particularly in regards to sexual violence.

“We
don’t put up with any of that shit,” snarled Lizzy. “Feel free to shoot any
bastard who tries to hurt you, but only to wound. I want to be able to shove a
stake up his ass and watch him twitch for a few hours.”

“I favor
crucifixion,” I said. “Three days to die if you do it right, sometimes more.”

“We
don’t actually crucify anyone,” added Briana, “it being a bit sacrilegious and
all.”

“A bit?”
snapped Susan. “It is more than a bit sacrilegious girl.”

“But,” I
continued, “Lizzy is correct in that, if need be, you can do anything you have
to in order to protect yourself or another person. You have an absolute right
to self-defense, no questions about it. We haven’t had any problems. I’m pretty
sure the lake camp hasn’t either.”

Timothy
shook his head. “It was peaceful there, aside from that first night. A few
arguments and tussles at most, no fights.”

“But
going forward, just so you all know, anyone who does try to rape or kill
another is going to be tied to a tree so the zombies can take a few bites.
After he dies and comes back, I’ll cut off the head and stick it in another
tree, so he can spend the remainder of his existence staring around, unable to
move.”

“Ooh,”
purred Lizzy. “I like using them as zombie bait way more than the impaling.
We’ll definitely do that but with some torture first.”

“Getting
bitten, with chunks of skin torn off, is torture,” said Mary, joining in
wholeheartedly. “Doing more seems redundant, even if it is fun.”

“Mary!”
exclaimed Lois. “Please.”

“True,
true,” conceded Lizzy. “We’ll wrap the face and neck in cloth and bare the
arms, with tourniquets in place. Since zombies go for bare flesh most of the
time, they’ll get bit and survive and bit and survive, maybe for hours and
hours.” She was grinning broadly.

“Good
idea,” I said. “That’s the new rule.”

“You
agree with this Jacob?” asked Susan, her eyes wide. “Are you kidding? It’s hard
to tell with you sometimes.”

“This
one is serious. Kill a breather, a living person I mean, without just cause or
commit rape of any sort, and you will be tied to a tree with bared,
outstretched arms and left for the zombies.” I looked around at everyone. “No
toleration for such evil, period, end of story, non-negotiable. Get it?”

There
were quite a few nods. Bernice looked satisfied. Perhaps something dreadful had
happened to her in the past. I never did find out, and she’s gone now. A few
others seemed to think the matter barbaric. I didn’t really give a shit.

“We’ll
write up a formal code of conduct later,” I added, “simple and to the point.
Essentially, the rules will be act nice, no violence, no stealing, and no
willfully endangering the community. That sort of thing. Susan can work on it.”

“Me?”

“Get
Mary to help, a few others if you want.”

“I want
the death penalty for people who double park,” said the teenager. She looked
around. “It’s reasonable.”

“Have
Timothy and Lois help instead,” I amended.

*
* *

The call
that changed everything came in the early hours of the thirty third day, just
before dawn.

“Cherie!
Jacob! Is anyone there?”

I woke
with a start. The radio was lying above Briana’s head in the tent, and I
reached over to grab it.

“Jacob
here,” I replied, surprised and worried by his tone. “Simon? What’s going on?”

“We need
help by the lake!” He was shouting in such desperation and fear that it was
difficult to make out the words. “Zombies! They’re attacking!”

“I’m
coming. Get to safety if you can. Up in trees, locked in cars. Whatever it
takes. We’re on our way.”

Briana
was awake at this point. “Zombies attacked the lake camp?”

“Get
dressed and don’t forget your gun.”

I pulled
on my pants and boots, then shirt and denim jacket, before hurrying outside.
“Everyone wake up!” I bellowed.

Faces
began to pop out of tent flaps. It reminded me of a past job when someone dropped
a stack of files in the office and dozens of heads appeared over the cubicle
walls. I really hated that place.

“You!
Back to the gate.”

Larry,
who’d been on watch, did as he was told.

“Keep an
eye out. Zombies just hit the lake camp. Simon said they needed help.”

“How
bad?” asked Cherie. She was helping Miranda out of the tent they shared. Both
were wearing long nightshirts with cartoon characters on them. Not what I’d
expect from Cherie.

Like me,
she tended to keep her radio close, and she switched it on before I could
respond. “This is Cherie. Can anyone hear me?”

Nothing.

“I’m
going to go help,” I said. “Lizzy, Briana, Dean, and Alec are coming. You each
know how to shoot. Cherie, stay with Miranda…”

“I am
coming as well,” she interrupted, her tone leaving no room to argue.

That was
even more unlike her, but I wasn’t going to waste the time. “Mary, take
Cherie’s radio and stay with Miranda. The two of you will coordinate. Lois, get
everyone else up and on watch in case the zombies come here too. Cherie, you
can ride with Lizzy.”

She
nodded, and Lizzy scowled.

“Wait,”
said Susan, “shouldn’t you take more? How many were there?”

“No
idea,” I admitted. “But no one else. We have to get there, in the dark, and
help, again in the dark. Any more people will just complicate things.”

That
turned out to be very prophetic.

*
* *

We drove
in well prepared. Cherie, true to form, had Lizzy’s radio and was keeping
everyone up to date. By assuming the communications role, she was unlikely to
be fighting. Maybe her insistence on coming wasn’t as out of character as I
first thought. But the lake camp was a mess. Zombies had come from at least two
directions, and the sentries, if there had even been any, didn’t see them until
the last minute.

“Fucking
dead shits!” shouted Lizzy. “Over here!”

A little
kid ran straight at her, coming out of the shadows. It was a miracle she didn’t
shoot the boy.

“I said
monsters!” she snarled. “Sit there and don’t move.”

Briana
suddenly shot a zombie that was coming up behind us. Damn it! They were
everywhere, and no one could see a thing.

“Alec,
turn your truck around. You too Cherie. Get the headlights shining in all
directions. We’ll put the kids and survivors in the center.”

They
hurried to comply with Alec, our resident car guy, nearly striking me in his
haste.

“Watch
it!” I yelled. I don’t think he heard me.

Two more
people came toward us. They were illuminated by headlights this time, and there
was no doubt as to their status.

“In the
middle,” I ordered. “Cherie, Alec, Dean, each of you at one of the openings
between our trucks. Face outward. That’ll cover everything. Lizzy, Briana, and
I are going into... that. We’ll send the survivors to you.”