Fate had been cruel to so many, but spared others.
"Keep it short and sweet,” Bill said.
"We're going to stir up the captive natives again," Curtis sighed.
"Let them bust out. We'll shoot them and not have to deal with them later," Jenni said with a grin.
Bill shook his head. "Such a blood-thirsty woman. You PMSing again, Jenni?"
Pushing the door open to the mini-bus, Jenni turned to the two men.
"Yeah. Be afraid, be very afraid."
Curtis legitimately looked a little afraid, but Bill just laughed and lugged his girth up the stairs and into the driver's seat.
Warily, Curtis slid past Jenni and sat in the front seat. "Juan tells stories about you."
Jenni shut the doors and smiled back at Curtis. "Ah, really? I didn't know he still talked about me since his girlfriend showed up."
Curtis shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Uh…well..,he calls you Loca."
Jenni wagged an eyebrow and held on, staying on the steps of the bus as it rolled forward.
Bill just chuckled good-naturedly. "Well, I think Jenni is a little girl who's a killer shot and if she's loca, I can deal with that."
Jenni smiled. "Thanks, Bill."
Bill was always nice to her. Ever since he had arrived with Katie and Travis, he had been somewhat low-key. He had gone through the same thing as she and Katie had. Being outsiders to the townsfolk who had known each other all their lives, it had been hard to find their niche. Only now were they starting to feel as if they were actually part of the community. Bill had started volunteering to get to know people better and now a lot of the fort's population knew him by name.
The mini-bus slowly crawled down the street toward one of the residential neighborhoods bordering the downtown area. It drove past a burned out gasoline station, abandoned restaurants, the old cinema that had closed its doors long ago, and a car lot that stood empty of cars. It turned at the first block of the neighborhood of small early 20th century homes. Most were in good repair, but a few had fallen to the elements and leaned dangerously to one side, or had collapsed altogether.
Bill drove very slowly; giving anyone whom was alive enough time to come to a window or doorway. Of course, this meant the undead were hearing the steady hum of the engine as well. A few appeared at windows.
Jenni had gone through this before. Sometimes the zombies broke out, sometimes they didn't. If they did break out, a bullet to the head settled the situation. So far the bus had never been swarmed.
"No one alive on this street, it looks like, "Curtis said softly.
"Yeah." Bill answered sadly. He turned a corner and they started down another street.
Jenni watched the shrubbery and the houses with equal interest. Once she had seen half a man stuck in a hedge. She had wondered if he had tried to hide and had been pulled out and eaten. So far, she didn't see any zombies outside of the houses, which was a relief. There was a great fear in the fort that more swarms of zombies would converge on them. Jenni listened to all the arguments, but had no opinion. Maybe zombies would just start moving in one direction and happen upon the town. Maybe there was a real danger of them migrating toward areas of the living. Did it really matter? In the end, they just had to be prepared.
"That looks like a situation," Curtis said suddenly. He pointed to a house up ahead. Two zombies were rushing across the street toward a house where four others were banging on windows. The front door was in shambles and it looked like a piece of furniture had been shoved up against it. The second floor window was open and a teenage girl was waving her arms.
Bill slowed to a stop and the bus idled as they all stared at the situation.
So far the zombies had not noticed them. They continued to assault the house, screeching up at the girl who was so desperate to signal the bus.
"Kill em all," Jenni said after a beat.
"No choice if we are going to rescue her," Bill agreed.
"Take the ones on the left," Jenni told Curtis. "I'll get the ones on the right."
"I'll cover you both," Bill added.
Curtis took a deep breath. "Okay." He nervously fingered his service revolver. He nodded grimly to himself and stood up. "Okay."
Jenni opened the door and stepped out cautiously. All the undead activity seemed to be centered at the house. Curtis walked beside her and they took up positions near the bus so they could retreat quickly. She looked out at Bill, who had the driver's side window open and his gun ready.
"Ready?"
"Sure," Curtis said softly.
Jenni lifted the rifle and sighted the most dangerous looking zombie. It was a fully intact male. She fired and made him headless. Immediately she swung toward the next one as she heard Curtis firing as well. A faceless woman was turning to head off the porch. The bullet Jenni fired slammed through the woman's forehead and sheered off the top of her head. Curtis was firing next to her, his shots a little too wild as his nerves got the best of him.
One of the zombies he shot, went down on a useless leg, but continued to crawl toward them.
"Shoot em in da head!" Jenni's finger closed on the trigger again and another zombie fell, its brain flopping out of its head onto the sidewalk.
Curtis took a deep breath, steadied his hands, and fired quickly. This time his aim was more sure and Jenni was relieved as his shots found their proper targets and the zombies fell.
"Watch out! Behind you!"
Jenni whirled around to see an old woman, shambling toward her. To her amusement and horror, the woman had a strangle hold on a living cat.
The cat had been systematically eating the woman's arm probably since she had died. It looked skinny and bedraggled. She almost burst out laughing, but instead took aim and took out the dead cat lady. It dropped to the street, still twitching, the cat squealing and trying to get free. Jenni walked over and leaned down. As she pried the old woman's dead and decaying fingers off the cat, the cat gave her a few swats with its claws, but managed only to get her jacket. The fingers finally released the angry feline and it rushed off with an angry little house cat roar.
"Now that was fucked up," Jenni said to Curtis with a grin. Her expression grew grim as she saw what emerged from the house.
The teenage girl was first, followed by a man that was apparently her father. He was carrying a little girl in his arms, heavily wrapped up in a blanket. A young boy followed his mother. The mother was pale, gray and sickly looking.
"Thank God! Thank God," the man exclaimed. "We were hoping someone would find us! We ran out of food two days ago!"
The mother stumbled a little and her little boy helped her stand up straight.
"My wife and daughter need immediate medical attention," the man continued.
Curtis looked at Jenni and they both sighed.
"When were they bitten?" Jenni asked.
"What?" The man didn't register her words. "What?"
"When were they bitten," Curtis asked. "They aren't doing too well. We can tell they were bitten."
"Yesterday. The front door was broke into and two got into the house.
Daddy killed them, but they got Mom and Angie before we stop them. But it's just small bites. It was a little kid who jumped on both of them. Nothing major. Just little teeth marks," the oldest daughter said.
Curtis sighed softly and Jenni looked down at her boots for a moment.
"Well, that was enough," she said finally. "And they are both as good as dead. We can't take them with us."
"What do you mean? You can't leave them here!" The man's face flushed red and fierce. "They need a doctor!"
"There are no doctors alive in this town," Curtis said softly. "And there is no cure for the bite. They're as good as dead and we can't take them with us.
It's dangerous for all of us."
The little boy began to cry and cling to his mother. She looked down at him sadly. Her eyes were sunken and her cheeks hollow. Her color was very bad and Jenni was sure she didn't have much time left. The father backed away from them, clutching his ailing youngster in his arms.
"We just can't leave them behind," he protested.
"You have to if you want to come with us. We have a safe place were many survivors are staying. If you want to come and be with us you will have to leave them behind," Curtis said in his best police officer "everyone stay calm" voice.
Jenni considered just killing the mother outright, but it seemed too cruel. But they couldn't just stand here and argue.
"Let's go," she said simply.
Curtis hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."
The teenager looked at her father desperately. "Daddy? We can't stay here."
The Father was holding tightly to his youngest and backing toward his wife. "We're not leaving."
"Yes, you are," his wife said firmly. "I can feel it burning inside of me.
Cold and hot. I'm going to die here and I will be one of those things. Give me our daughter, Douglas."
Douglas turned and looked at his wife with a desperate expression on his face. "Catherine, I'm not leaving you here."
