The wind had been knocked out of me. I reeled, trying to breathe. I had landed in a stall. A stall full of dirty bedding and uneaten hay. I never thought I’d welcome a stall full of frozen horse poop and urine soaked wood shavings. The debris had prevented me from breaking something.
The guys yelled, frantically, outside the barn. Someone banged on the door. It caught the attention of a few of the zombies. The smell wasn’t as bad as it should be. They could barely move since their limbs were frozen.
“I’m ok,” I tried to shout. My voice was only a weak wheeze. I pulled myself up, grasping onto the metal bars of the stall. There were five zombies, all in the gummy stage or worse. Brushing the glass from myself, I slowly moved to the front of the stall. I drew my gun and fired four times.
The big thing I saw was nowhere in sight. The barn was still fairly dark. I wished the guys would stop yelling and trying to break through the boards; it would make it a hell of a lot easier to hear where the bastard was hiding.
The stall was locked and there was no way to reach through to let myself out. Sticking my M9 back in the holster, I climbed over the stall, my cold feet stinging when I jumped down. My hands trembled with adrenaline as I rushed over to flip the metal latches on the sliding door. It flew open. Ivan and Brock rushed inside, rifles at the ready. Hayden’s arms wrapped around me.
“Are you alright?” he asked, letting me go.
“Yeah. Well, I’m sore. But nothing is broken.”
“That scared the shit out of me. Don’t do it again.”
“Trust me, I don’t plan on it.” I looked up. “I don’t know why it broke.”
“The glass is cold. It weakens it. I-I should have thought of that before.” Hayden shook his head, looking guilty.
“Me too. And I should have been smart enough not to sit on it, but we live and learn, right?”
His hazel eyes were still filled with worry, making his attractive face appear older.
I put my hand on his chest. “I’m ok, Hayden. Really.”
“Orissa, I—” Three shots rang out. We rushed inside. The big thing and one more gummy lay dead on the ground.
“Look at that big mother fucker!” Ivan exclaimed. The big thing had been a huge person at one point, standing well over six feet tall. Broad shouldered and built like a bull, he would have looked intimidating as a human. As a zombie, he was downright terrifying.
“I don’t think they do well in the cold,” I said. “Which would explain why we haven’t seen very many.”
“It makes sense,” Brock said, nudging Fatty’s leg with his boot. “He’s frozen in some parts.”
“You ok, Penwell?” Ivan asked.
“Yeah. Frozen horse shit broke my fall.”
“You’re cold. You might not feel it right away but you could be hurt internally.”
“I don’t think so,” I stated, though, come to think of it, I didn’t feel anything.
The zombies didn’t start off as zombies trapped in a barn. By the looks of it, six guys bunkered up in here, thinking it was safe. One of them must have been infected. A tent lay in ruin, covered with blood stains, and moldy food was frozen to the cement floor. When we went into a room full of feed, I felt the pain shoot through my hip.
“You’re limping,” Hayden observed.
“No I’m not,” I brushed him off. The adrenaline gone, my hip hurt so much it nearly brought tears to my eyes when I moved.
“Yes, you are. I can see it,” he insisted.
“That’s just my pimp walk.”
“Very funny, Orissa,” he said, unable to keep from laughing. “You’re really something, ya know.”
“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure what he meant. Instead of thinking about it, I went to the feed room. I shined my flashlight around, trying to look busy so I wouldn’t have to lift any heavy bags.
“Hey,” I said, when the light hit a stack of papers. “Look at this vet bill.”
“What about it?” Ivan asked.
“The address. It’s on Mill Road. We passed a Mill Road only five miles back.”
“Sweet. Let’s get the cows, get the medical shit, and go home.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Brock gladly agreed.
The guys loaded up all the feed. We got into our vehicles and drove to the pasture. Not bothering to close the gate, we drove in. The cows looked up hopefully at the sight of the trucks.
Going with the pretense of being a lookout, I stayed in the truck while the guys opened a bag of feed. It was slow going. The cows didn’t recognize us, though they were familiar with trucks that came through with food.
Finally, we had the trailer loaded with cows. I felt a little bad for the long, cramped ride they would endure. I made myself feel no guilt when I remembered that they would be going to a new, better home.
I stayed outside, guarding our trailer full of livestock while the guys went into the vet’s office. I thought it was strange how Fuller told us to go north in February. He was a smart man; he would know that this was one of the coldest months for many states and that we would most definitely run into snow. And it didn’t take a genius to figure out that no humans meant no one to plow the roads. Yeah, Hayden’s truck was big and had four-wheel drive. But that did no good on ice and didn’t make us invincible to big drifts or sliding off the road.
We drove straight back to the compound, taking turns driving. We stopped once to refuel; finding diesel was a pain in the ass. Hayden lied about not being tired, thinking it wasn’t right to make me drive since I was hurt. I gave him crap for going easy on me just because I was a female and he let me take the wheel for awhile.
The A2s and a few Cs in charge of the animals greeted us around midnight when we entered the compound. They would handle getting the cattle settled into their new home. Ivan and Brock piled into the back of the truck and Hayden sped to the shelter.
I turned the water on in the quarantine bathroom. It was painful to strip out of my layered pants. A huge bruise had formed on my right hip. Stupidly, I pressed it, wanting to measure the pain.
It was a lot.
I pulled my three layers of shirts off to reveal a bruise on my shoulder as well. My neck was stiff and it hurt to walk. This was just effing great. I stepped into the steamy shower, feeling my muscles relax almost instantly. We hadn’t collected Padraic’s blood samples this trip, but we’d be heading out again soon. There was still plenty of time since Dr. Cara was still setting up for the tests.
* * *
The next morning, Hayden and Ivan were eating oatmeal while watching a movie. They informed me we had run out of milk, butter, and brown sugar. They added syrup to their breakfast to help with the taste.
I took a bowl, heated it up in the microwave and sat between the boys. Their eyes latched onto me.
“What?” I asked Ivan.
“Sorry,” he said, suddenly flustered. “I’m not used to seeing that much feminine skin.”
“And I’m not used to seeing it all bruised up,” Hayden added.
“Oh.” I looked at my shoulder. “My side is even worse. Even the pressure from my waistband hurts.”
“Want me to inspect it?” Ivan joked.
“It’s fine. It’s just a bruise. Ugly, but nothing threatening.”
“Maybe you should have it looked at,” Hayden commented, concern in his eyes once again. “You know, to make sure you didn’t crack your bones.”
“It’d hurt more if I did,” I assumed.
“Suit yourself. You could at least get something for the pain.”
“Actually,” I said. “That isn’t a bad idea. I bet Padraic would give me something that would knock me out for the rest of the time in here too.”
“You think he’d do that?” Ivan asked.
“Sure. He has before. Well, not in the same situation, but close enough.”
“How did you two meet up? Was he your friend from before like Raeya?” Ivan questioned.
I found myself telling Ivan the whole story, everything from my appendix to being gassed to the horror that had befallen the hospital’s basement.
“Gassed?” Hayden asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Padraic told me that some sort of law enforcement agents—he couldn’t tell what kind—came through to save the healthy people. They had knock out gas. He thought it was for crowd control, but that doesn’t seem right to me.”
Hayden and Ivan exchanged glances.
“I suppose,” Ivan said, though he didn’t sound convinced.
“You’re kind of crazy; you know that, right?” Hayden asked me, smiling.
“Yeah. Always have been.” I smiled back and our eyes met. I felt that thing again, this time I didn’t want it to go away. Ivan loudly cleared his throat, and Hayden dropped his gaze.
“Do you still want some pain meds?” Hayden asked.
“Sure.”
He got up and stood under the camera, waving. After a minute, he was still waving. “I thought someone was watching us at all times,” he huffed, annoyed. It took five more minutes before a voice came over the intercom. Hayden explained the situation, and assured the voice that none of us were feeling infected.
Padraic came in mere minutes later. He had bags under his eyes and looked pale.
“You need a vacation,” I told him with a wry smile.
“So do you,” he said when he saw the bruises. “What happened?”
“I fell. Slipped on ice. Nothing too bad. I’m just sore and wanted something to help me sleep, if you could do that for me.” I smiled an innocent smile.
“Of course. It’s, uh, the morning though. Do you want it now?”
“Yeah. What else am I going to do?”
“We need to talk about your drug addiction,” he joked. “I’ll get you something.”
“Ok, thanks. Oh, and Padraic,” I said before he could turn to leave. “Thanks for saving me at the hospital.”
His eyebrows pushed together as if he couldn’t quite figure out why I had brought that up. “You’re welcome. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be alive.” He smiled, his blue eyes as bright as a clear sky. “I’ll be right back.”
Whatever Padraic gave me was disgusting. I think it was some sort of cough medicine that failed at trying to taste like grapes. Half an hour later, I was feeling sleepy. The guys were watching The Simpsons on DVD. I took a blanket from the bed and curled up next to Hayden, careful not to put any pressure on my bruises. Ivan and Brock were in armchairs set at an angle in front of the couch. If they turned around, they would see us. Since we were out of their line of sight as they stared at the TV, Hayden put his arm around me.
I stayed drugged up on the horrible cough medicine the next day. I really didn’t hurt that bad. I was impatient and hated being held back by a stupid injury. Hayden told me Raeya threatened to drag me to dinner if I didn’t get my lazy ass out of bed. I got dressed, braided my messy hair, and followed him down.
“I’ve been waiting!” Raeya said impatiently. “I have something for you. It’s not as good as designer purses or diamonds, but it’s something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s at your spot on the table. There’s one for you too, Hayden.”
A little, white laminated card was upside-down in my spot. I picked it up and read aloud, smiling. “ ‘Zombie Kill Squad: killing the undead.’ I like it Ray!” My name, class, and division were under the title.
“I thought you’d like it better. Maybe you’ll actually wear it like you’re supposed to,” she said brightly.
“I will,” I promised. “But I don’t have one of those string things.”
“A lanyard,” she informed me. “I’m working on making some.”
“Then I’ll always wear it.”
* * *
The next day Fuller pulled Hayden and me into his office after training. Two detailed lists were on the table. One was alphabetized and the other ranked items in order of importance. That would be Raeya’s doing, for sure. He told us that the compound was running very low on vitamins. Since we had a craptastic diet that consisted of mostly canned food, it was important to take vitamins every day. Other things were needed, mostly hygiene items, that we could get at the same place we found the vitamins.
“Now,” he said, folding his hands. “I’m going to leave this up to you two. I know you just got back and I would never send you out again. However, those samples are important. It will not be held against you if you decline this mission.”
I looked at Hayden. He shrugged, telling me he didn’t care. Great, now the decision was up to me.
“It’s fine. But I have one condition,” I stated.
“Name it,” Fuller said and crossed his arms.
“We get to go somewhere warm, like out west.”
Something flickered across Fuller’s face. Was it fear? “How about Texas? That’s not so far and it’s a hell of a lot warmer than it is here.”
“Good enough,” I agreed.
“Is leaving tomorrow too soon?”
“No, sir,” Hayden said automatically. “Oh, Riss—”
“I’m fine,” I replied quickly.
“Fine?” Fuller questioned.
“I fell on ice,” I smoothly lied, though I had no reason to keep the truth from Fuller. I had already lied about it once, might as well stay consistent. “It’s nothing major.”
“Rest tomorrow,” Fuller ordered. “No training. Then leave the following day.”
“Sounds good,” I said over Hayden’s formal ‘yes, sir.’
* * *
Raeya met with the other overseers. She told me that the supplies needed to be better inventoried so we wouldn’t run out of things again.
I didn’t tell her that eventually we would run out of things. The world would run out of things. There was no one left to work in factories. We would have to go back to an old-fashioned lifestyle, harvesting our own food and hunting. The compound had solar and wind powered generators, but we still relied on gas for transportation.
Jason stopped me on my way back to our rooms.
“Hey, Orissa,” he said shyly. “Tomorrow is my first day on duty.”
“Yeah, I’m excited.” I smiled, proud of him for making it into the A group. “I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“I hope so,” he said, returning the smile. “Can you teach me how to use the bow and arrows?”
“I would but I don’t have any arrows,” I said bitterly, still upset over losing my arrows.
“Oh, never mind then,” he said, dejected.
“We’ll get more,” I assured him. “And then I’ll give you lessons. Just the two of us.”
“Awesome!” Jason exclaimed. “Thanks!”
“No problem.”
* * *
Later, Hayden and I visited with some of our friends. Parker drew pictures for us, and the kid was a pretty good artist for his age. He gave me a picture of a girl in a tree, shooting arrows down at a pile of bloody zombies. Hayden’s picture was of everyone on the porch with Hayden in front, blocking everyone from harm.
Hayden and I stayed together for the rest of the day. We played with Argos. We drove to the fields to see how the new cows were settling in, and Hayden attempted to teach me how to play poker. After dinner, we went up to our room to watch a movie.
Hayden munched on potato chips while I chose the movie. I was really getting tired of watching movies. I was looking forward to our mission, though. It was simple, just the two of us, and we would go somewhere warm.
“Since we don’t have to get up early tomorrow,” I said and shook the bottle of tequila in the air. My stomach churned at the thought of taking a shot of it. I traded it for a bottle of Captain Morgan and sat at the foot of Hayden’s bed. Unscrewing the lid, I pressed the bottle to my lips and took a swig. Hayden took a drink and passed the bottle back to me. I took another drink, accidentally swallowing too much. I coughed and reached out for my apple juice.
I didn’t realize I was drunk until I got up to pee. The room spun and I almost fell.
“You alright there?” Hayden asked, not affected by the alcohol.
“Yeah. I’m, uh, fine.” I staggered down the hall, running my hand over the wallpapered drywall for support. I decided to wash my face and ended up splashing water down my front. I didn’t think to dry it.
“Fall in?” Hayden asked when I crawled over him. I must have looked confused because he added, “You’re shirt is wet.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s just water.”
He laughed. “I figured so.”
I had a tank top on under the brown, long-sleeved hooded sweatshirt. I pulled it off, the hood getting caught around my head. Hayden laughed again and helped me take it off. I felt incredibly tired and really wanted to snuggle up next to him. My drunken mind was thinking very inappropriate things about the muscular Marine.
To distract myself, I unbraided my hair. I shot the elastic hair band across the room and smiled when it landed on my bed. I tipped my head over, shaking out my hair. I pitched forward, losing my balance. Hayden grabbed my arm, catching me. I sat up and fell against him, my head on his chest. He brushed the hair out of my eyes. I stared up at him, feeling something warm travel through my body. He moved his head toward mine. Without thinking, I parted my lips, wanting to pull him to me.
Somebody slammed the dryer closed, the noise echoing throughout the hall and making me jump. I moved away from Hayden, laughing. I blinked several times, pushing all romantic thoughts out of my head…for now.
“You kinda look like Elle Wilson,” he said. His eyes went to my breasts. “Well, with better, uh assets then her.”
I sat up, pushing my hair back. “Who?”
“Elle Wilson.”
I shook my head. “No clue who that is.”
“Oh. She was on The Voice a few years ago. Didn’t win, but was in the finals.”
I burst out laughing. “You watch that show?”
Hayden smiled, reaching for my hand. “What if I did?”
“I wanted to be on it, you know. Well, thought about it, really.”
He pulled me to him. “You do have a beautiful voice.” I nestled up against him, finding comfort in the beating of his heart. I think he said something else. I didn’t catch it before I fell asleep.
* * *
The next day, I spent time with Raeya, who wasn’t happy about us leaving again. I assured her it would be an easy trip. Hayden and I would avoid places that were too crowded with the undead and we wouldn’t risk anything for the samples.
Hayden and I left right after breakfast. The other A1s hadn’t known about our second mission. I wondered how Fuller would explain that one.
“Have you ever taken blood before?” Hayden asked once we started the drive.
“Nope. You?”
“No. How are we gonna know how to do it?”
“It can’t be hard. Especially if they’re dead. Oh, maybe we can cut them open and suck up the blood that pours out.”
“Do you think that would work?”
“Maybe. I can find a vein on a crazy, but I’m not sure about the zombies. Do their hearts even beat anymore?”
“Yes.”
“What?!” I don’t know what surprised me more: the answer or the fact Hayden knew it.
“Very, very slowly. Medically, they are dead. A human couldn’t survive with a heartbeat that slow. Their blood is thick, as you know, but it still goes through their system.”
“How the hell do you know this?”
“Dr. Cara told me.”
“So are they technically alive?” I asked.
“No. It has something to do with the central nervous system and random firings of neurotransmitters or something that makes muscles spasm. I didn’t follow everything she said. It sort of makes sense.”
“In what way does that make sense?”
“If you had no blood flow, your tissues would die. And they wouldn’t be able to move. They’d crack apart,” he said.
“Too bad they don’t.”
“Yeah, that’d be too easy.”
Parts of the highway were deserted. If we came to a blockage of stalled cars, we’d exit, turn around, or go off-roading. I was loading magazines when Hayden suddenly jerked the wheel. We were about five hours into our journey, and it was time we saw some action…