“If she reverts or…I don’t know…goes back or something like that.” Jonathan said, stepping closer into her so she could hear his whispers.

  Her eyes widened as she took a step back. “Are you saying she might go back to being a zombie? I thought this was a cure!”

  He held his finger up to shush her, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was listening. “It’s just a hunch. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But it couldn’t hurt to have a couple doses in your hands, could it? If your sister doesn’t need it maybe you’ll come across someone else out there who could use it. I consider it my good deed before they realize anything has gone missing.”

  Christine’s face softened and she smiled at the young man before her. “Thank you,” she said warmly. “You’re one of the good ones."

  He chuckled, cheeks flushing. “I just want to help. That’s why I chose this career in the first place.”

  “I’m sorry it’s not turning out to be what you signed up for.” Jonathan gave a sad smile and looked at the ground. “You know, you could always come with us if you want,” Christine offered, putting her hand on his shoulder to catch his gaze again.

  Jonathan paused and then straightened himself up, holding his head high so his chin stuck out. “Thanks, but I’m needed here. Good intentions or not, this product is going to save the world. If I’m here maybe I can influence the doctor to be more generous with it. Who knows?”

  Christine gave him a one-armed hug. “Here’s hoping. I’ll see ya around, kid.”

  He laughed a breathy laugh, patting her back awkwardly. “Yeah. See ya. Good luck.”

  She stuffed the hardy glass vials into the back pocket of her jeans gingerly and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time. When she returned to the employee lounge Zack was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, Gretchen’s head in his lap. He stroked her hair gently as her chest rose and fell in the soft breaths of a deep sleep. She paused and took in the sweet moment, grateful for Dr. Bhatt’s ingeniousness despite her bad attitude. She walked carefully over to the two and knelt at Zack’s side.

  “We have to go,” she whispered calmly.

  Zack shifted to straighten up, his hand still on Gretchen’s head. “What? Why? What about—”

  “I’ll explain on the way but for now let’s gather our stuff and hit the road. Gretchen could use a good sleep in a real bed back at the bunker, where things are calm and quiet and…make sense.”

  Zack simply nodded his head. He leaned down and pressed his lips gently to Gretchen’s temple and kissed her. When she moved he smiled. “Time to wake up,” he whispered.

  Christine wasn’t taken aback by his show of affection. She’d known all along it was going to happen, it was only a matter of time…and making Gretchen human again. Actually, she was happy they’d found each other. Zack needed some good in his life, a win for once, and Gretchen, well, she could use some normalcy, someone she could depend on to be there for her after all she’d been through. After her discussion with Jonathan, she feared it wasn’t completely behind them yet.

  V

  Back at the bunker, Carolyn warned everyone about the group that abducted her. “There’s not a lot of them and they’re not strong. They don’t seem like they know how to fight, except maybe the one they call Sir, but they are good shots with a bow. They’re smart. They shoot from a distance, mostly with arrows to not draw attention, and you’re dead before you ever knew what happened.”

  “Is that what happen to Mac?” Svend asked. When Carolyn gave a sad nod he lowered his head and said something under his breath in Danish.

  The others from the bunker were gathered around her where she sat on the couch. Olivia worked meticulously with the medical kit she found in the storage room to clean up what she could of her friend’s face. She wiped with antibacterial pads making Carolyn wince between words. “The problem is they’re always watching and they have endless patience. They’ll sit up there and wait knowing eventually every single one of us is going to have to poke our heads out and leave. And that’s when they’ll get us.”

  “Here,” Olivia said, interrupting her speech to give her the first of the antibiotics Lee had found. “It looks like infection has already started to settle in by the looks of your hands.” She finished wrapping the last one in bandages as she handed her the pill.

  Carolyn tossed it into her mouth and swallowed it dry, not missing a beat. “We need to prepare. Gather all the weapons and let’s put our head together to come up with some sort of plan of attack. We can’t just wait here for them to kill us. We need to kill them before they take this place over.”

  “Hold up, hold up,” Luke said, shaking his head and waving his hands in front of him. “Now, I think it’s a better idea to just wait it out down here. We’re safe. They can’t get to us. The hatch is locked and there’s no other way in. Eventually they’ll move on, get bored of waiting.”

  Carolyn looked to him with a cocked head and narrowed blue eyes, though one was still swollen and completely shut. “Get bored? Of what? Survival? These people have every reason in the world to stay put and pick us off. This place is a gold mine. We’ve got weapons, food, medical supplies, beds for crying out loud! These people have nothing!”

  “Under better circumstances we might have been able to invite them to come live with us,” Imani said softly as she stared at her hands in her lap.

  “Yeah, if they hadn’t decided to be such a-holes instead,” Olivia added as she packed up the medical supplies to put away.

  “When the sun comes up they’ll know I’m gone and they’ll be pissed. Who knows what they’ll decide to do, but we better be ready for whatever that is,” Carolyn concluded, her eyes glancing over every face to see if they were with her. She settled on Svend who sat on the arm of the couch next to her.

  He shifted on his seat, arms folded tightly over his bulging chest. “Look like we prepare for war then, yah?”

  “Yeah,” several voices echoed in response.

  VI

  Zack, Christine, and Gretchen crept across the countryside, the only light to guide them was the moon that sometimes peeked out from behind the thick layer of gray clouds. Blue’s steps were muffled by the long, overgrown grass and soft dirt of the farmer’s field. They were close having left the lab right at the start of the night at about seven in the evening. All through the night they kept a good pace, Gretchen riding on Blue’s back. The little horse still seemed leery of her, having not enjoyed her last ride so much, but he never showed his concern as he plodded along steadily. Ten hours later and the sun sky was just starting to turn from a velvet black to a serene navy blue.

  “There it is,” Christine said, pointing to the big red barn that appeared from behind the small hill they climbed.

  She led Blue to the barn and placed him inside his stall, removing his tack so he could fully relax and eat the hay still in his home. Hanging by a rope was a bag full of apples picked from the nearby tree. She held one out for him to munch on as she gave him scratches on his neck. “You were a good boy, Blue. You don’t know it but you’re the real hero who helped save the world.” The little blueish-gray horse snorted and took his last juicy bite.

  The three weary travelers approached the hatch and kicked away the debris that covered it. It had been windy during half the night and all the dead and dried leaves of a winter passed had created a nice camouflage. Zack bent down and yanked up on the handle but it wouldn’t give.

  “It’s locked,” he said as she tried again, banging the door up and down noisily.

  “Hey!” Christine yelled much to her companions’ surprise. She shrugged her shoulders. “How else are we supposed to get in? Hey!” she shouted again. “It’s Christine! Let us in!”

  They heard something scrape along the door and then it was cracked open just enough to see a pair of ice-blue eyes peering out. Christine lowered her face into the narrow opening and spoke to the person inside. “It’s me, Christine, and I’m with Zack and Gretchen. Let us in, please.”

  Without a word the hatch closed. Christine physically jerked back in shock and confusion. “Did he just—” she started to ask but then the hatch lifted up, all the way this time.

  Svend stood to the side, holding the door and waving them forward. “Get in. Quick,” he ordered brusquely as his eye scanned the surroundings above. One by one they climbed down the ladder back into the stale bunker they called home.

  “Zack!” Olivia yelled as she ran full speed and slammed into him, almost knocking him off his feet to hug him tight. “I never thought I’d see you guys again!” Imani and Luke walked up together slowly and stood behind.

  “We didn’t know if we’d ever be back either,” he admitted as he wrenched the teenage girl from around his neck and patted her on the head.

  “So,” Luke said, his arms folded over his chest as he eyed Zack warily. “Did you do it? Did you deliver the journal like you said you would?” No matter how much time passed or what they’d been through since, he just couldn’t let go that first time Zack called him out as a coward at the apartment complex.

  Zack looked Luke up and down, his muscles tightening in his arms as he clenched his fists. “We did,” he answered shortly.

  “Oh my gosh, Gretch, you look like hell,” Olivia interjected, unaware of what was going on between the two men. She took Gretchen by the hand and led her over to the couch to sit down. “What happened to you?”

  Gretchen looked down at her hands that fumbled together nervously. “Well,” she started to say but stopped. With a quick clearing of her throat she thought better of giving the full explanation just then and instead smiled at the eager teen. “A story for another time,” she said, wrapping her arms around Olivia and pulling her into her with a laugh. “How about you?” she asked jovially. “Why don’t you tell me what we’ve missed here?”

  Olivia pulled away and gave a sniff, moving her gaze to avoid eye contact. “I don’t even know where to begin,” she admitted in defeat.

  The others tuned into their conversation, making their way over to settle on the floor and in the chairs around the two girls. The people of the bunker, the ones not original to the small group that came together at the apartment complex, stood in the background and watched silently.

  “Um,” Olivia started, the tears already gathering in her eyes. The muscles in her jaw worked as she fought to continue. “Lee’s gone.”

  Gretchen’s hand flew to her mouth. “How?” she asked, leaning in and putting an arm around the poor child.

  “The way everyone in this world goes, I guess,” she spat. She really didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “Rowan too.” Gretchen shook her head as a tear rolled down her cheek. She looked over her shoulder to Zack who reached out his hand for her to squeeze. “And Mac.”

  “Mac?” Christine finally spoke from where she sat on the floor, legs bent to the side like a mermaid drying on an isolated rock. She shook her head to fight the emotions rising inside her. Her throat clenched in response. Memories of Mac talking to her in the barn while they cared for the animals came flooding back to her.

  Olivia didn’t say anything but simply placed a hand on Christine’s arm in comfort. Christine placed her hand on top of Olivia’s and patted, attempting a smile but failing miserably.

  “How’d it happen?”

  Carolyn jumped in to spare Olivia the job of rehashing the painful details. She came to the couches from somewhere in the back of the room and settled in. “Well, he and I went up to see about the two boys who disappeared. We were searching the area when arrows started flying. He took one and went down immediately. It was quick and painless.”

  Christine’s head nodded slowly as she took it all in. “And Lee and Rowan?”

  Silence hung heavy in the room. Olivia looked over her shoulder to avoid eye contact while Carolyn stared into her intertwined hands. “Well, Rowan…Lee…” It was more complicated to describe than she had imagined it would be. “Lee attacked Rowan, beat him up, and Rowan never pulled through.”

  Christine’s eyes bulged. “I can’t believe it! Why?”

  “Well…” she hesitated, looking to Olivia to see if she wanted to add anything. She knew better than anyone what really happened. “He thought Rowan was pressuring Olivia, forcing her…hurting her…”

  “I see,” Christine said, realizing how hard it was to talk about it.

  “And Lee went out looking for medicine,” Carolyn finished with a shrug of her shoulders. “He didn’t make it.”

  “And what happened to you?” Christine finally addressed the dismal cuts and bruises and swelling that overtook Carolyn’s face.

  “I was taken by the group of people who killed Mac. Right after, actually.”

  Christine reached out and picked up one of Carolyn’s bandaged hands gently. Carolyn winced instinctively and pulled back. She tightened her lips together, embarrassed but she wasn’t sure why.

  “All right, now that we’re all caught up on how many of us are still alive and able,” Luke jumped in, clapping his hands together and forcing a change in the atmosphere of the room, “what are we supposed to do about this group getting ready to attack us?”

  Christine gave a sniff to clear the tears stinging at her eyes and brushed away the memories of Mac and the others. “We’re going to fight.”

  “Good, good,” Luke said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. “And how do you propose we do that? Because from all I gather they don’t even show their face before killing anyone who goes up there. How are we supposed to fight that?”

  “Whether we make a plan or not, they’re coming,” Carolyn assured them as she stood up so everyone could hear her over Luke’s nonsense. “I escaped in the middle of night. It’s dawn and they’re waking up and realizing I’m gone. They’re probably on their way over right now. We have to organize quickly and fight or we stand to lose everything.”

  Zack was tired of it all. Everyone had a lot to say but none of it was helpful. None of it got anything done. Mac was no longer around to keep everyone on task and it was clear this group needed it. They were like a bunch of lost sheep without their shepherd, clueless how to think or do anything for themselves.

  He turned to Gretchen and took both her hands in his. “I want you to go in your room and lock the door,” he said sweetly, but the sternness of his eyes said he wasn’t to be questioned. “Take Carolyn with you. There’s no way she can fight in her condition.”

  “No way!” Carolyn jumped up. “These people did this to me. I need to be there when they get what they deserve!”

  Christine reached up and grabbed Carolyn by the arm. “How? You can’t even see really. It’s best if you stay safe with my sister. Otherwise, we’ll be too worried about you to give the fight our full attention and one of us could end up dead because of it.”

  Carolyn wanted to argue to get her way but she considered the logic behind what Christine said. Damn her and her lawyer tricks, she couldn’t help thinking bitterly as she flopped back down onto the couch, forgetting her body ached fiercely for just a moment. She groaned and adjusted herself delicately on the dusty cushions.

  “You’re not going to argue about staying inside?” Zack asked Gretchen with a smirk. He knew from experience it was in her nature to fight back against anything she was told to do.

  “Honestly,” she said, her shoulders sagging and her eyes closing for a moment. “I’m just so tired from it all. I don’t think I’d be much use to anyone anyway.”

  “Everyone else,” Zack said, giving Gretchen a pat on the back toward her room, “grab your weapons and follow me.”

  “Wait up,” Luke reached out and grabbed his daughter’s hand gently.

  She rolled her eyes and gave a deep, irritated sigh. “What do you want, dad? We should be getting ready.”

  “I know,” he shook his head, “I know, that’s what this is about.” He turned down his eyes, letting go of her hand and shoving his own into his pockets. He forced his eyes to look up into hers, the big brown eyes he’d drowned in as a new parent fourteen years ago. “I haven’t been there for you.”

  Immediately, Imani tried to stop him from continuing. “Dad, come on. We have to go,” she urged but froze when she saw the sincerity in his glossy eyes.

  “I haven’t been there for you and that started before all this even began but it ends now. I want to be the parent in this relationship and I need to stop putting that burden on you. That’s why after this battle, or fight, or whatever it is we’re about to do, I’m going to be better; a better father, a better friend, a better contributor, a better protector. I need to change and I see that now. I can’t keep hiding behind everyone else, especially you. You’re just a little girl and you’ve been robbed of that because of my inability to step up and be your dad.”

  Tears gathered in Imani’s eyes. Her lip trembled as she tried to contain them.

  “After today, I’m going to learn to fight…and you’re going to teach me. How about it?”

  Imani laughed as the tears broke free to run down her face. “Yeah,” she said, wiping them away. “I’d like that.”

  Luke put his arm around Imani’s shoulder and hugged her to him, and she actually let him. “Me too, sweetie. Now, let’s go kick some butt.”

  VII

  As everyone in the bunker raced around collecting weapons and supplies for the impending battle, Gretchen approached Carolyn as she stood near the doors, about to go into her own room.

  “Don’t you want to stick together?” Gretchen asked.

  Carolyn stopped with her hand on the doorknob. She looked up at Gretchen with an expression of pure exhaustion. “I think we both could use some rest after what we’ve been through.”

  “You don’t even know what it is I went through,” Gretchen reminded her with the twinges of a smile playing in the corner of her dried, cracked lips.

 

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