Don't Dare Call Them Zombies : Books 1-4 (43 page)

I sat and talked with Jennifer and Candy. It was very reassuring to see Jennifer smiling and laughing.

Before long, Jennifer's IV bag was empty. We proceeded to help her into a wheelchair. Once we were outside, Jennifer spoke up.

“Candy, could you give me some time alone with Hank,” she said.

“Sure, no problem,” Candy responded.

Chapter Six

Jennifer and I were alone.

“Where w
ould you like to go?” I asked.

“Just take me for a tour,” she said.

“Okay,” I said. “But we don't need to keep you in the cold air for too long.”

“It's chilly, but the sun is warm,” she said.

I proceeded to take Jennifer for a tour of the relocation center. But before we had traveled a hundred feet, she began to talk.

“Once I get my strength back, we need to get on the move. We need to find your mom and my sister,” she said.

I then told her about the internet connection and how we might be able to contact the other relocation centers.

“We should put Candy on that,” she said. “She's very smart.”

I wished she’d stop talking about Candy. Every time she was mentioned, I would feel awkward.

“I hope she’ll come with us when we leave,” Jennifer said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, she’s a good friend now,” she said.

“Is there another reason?” I asked.

“Well, yes,” she said. “She has a lot of medical knowledge in case one of us gets hurt or sick.”

“I think there is another reason,” I said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I may be completely wrong here, but are you trying to hook me up with her?” I asked.

She went silent.

“I'm engaged to you,” I said. “You are the woman I love.”

We continued towards what looked like a mess hall in the distance.

“Your blood is flowing in my veins now, Hank,” she said. “You shouldn't have donated, but you did anyway. Candy told me how you even wanted to give again after she’d taken two units already.”

“I donated that blood because I love you,” I said. “I can't lose the woman who I love and
plan to marry.”

“Look, I know part of the reason you agreed to marry me is because I was dying. You wanted to encourage me to hang on,” she said. “And I want to marry you, but I know you didn't mean what you said. You don't have to marry me.”

“Jennifer,” I said. “I told you I would marry you, and I'm going to do so.”

“Hank, please shut up for a moment,” she said. “I know you have doubts about me. I want you to marry me because you can trust me, and not because you think you have to.”

“I trust you with my life,” I said.

“But you don't trust me with your heart,” she responded.

I paused.

“If you want to marry me,
that’s great. But I love you, and I don't feel right about you marrying me right away,” she said. “I want us to be engaged longer before we actually get married.”

“Because you hope I’ll fall in love with Candy?” I asked.

“No, I hope you don't. But if you can never really trust me, I don't want you to live a life with someone you think will cheat on you,” she said. “You deserve better than that.”

“I don'
t know what to say,” I told her. I wanted to break down in tears.

“Just say what is on your heart,” she told me.

“I'll wait as long as it takes until you’re ready for us to get married,” I said. “Maybe it is a good idea for us to wait a little while, but I’m not going to hook up with Candy. I'm not a saint or perfect, but one thing I won’t do is be unfaithful to you,” I said. “I've always wanted to have a girlfriend and one day get married. The last thing I’m going to do is throw our relationship away,”

“You now just have to learn to trust me,” she said.

Although there were almost no clouds in the sky and the sun was bright, it was a little chilly, and I decided that it would be best to go to the dormitory. On the way there the two of us remained silent. We had said everything that needed to be said for the time being.

I found Jennifer a room and helped her onto the bed. I pulled the sheet over her and sat in a chair beside her.

“I'm going to see if I can get Candy to use the internet to contact the other relocation camps,” I said. “I hope we can get on the road in a few days.”

Suddenly, I heard a commotion outside of the room. I ran into the lounge and saw people running out the door. I saw Meredith was one of them.

“What's going on, Meredith?” I asked.

“There are more people arriving from the church,” she said.

I ran outside with her to the fence and saw a long row of vehicles. Dozens of people were coming through the processing building.

I saw a woman I recognized and asked her what made them decide to
leave the church. She told me that the battle against the bandits had ended badly.

Ms. Teresa then walked up to me and told me the full story. She said several church members had been shot. Since Nurse Beth came with us, they
didn’t have a medic. The relocation center was the only place they could get help.

I realized that Candy would be busy now. Some of the people coming in needed medical help, so I decided to go to Captain Flint’s office and try to use the internet to find my mom and Jennifer's sister.
The church folks were organized and didn’t need me.

It took me a while to figure out how to use the internet. It was nothing like what I was used to home. I finally was able to send emails to other relocation camps asking about my mother and Jennifer's si
ster. I also read a bulletin board that had updates on the status of relocation centers. It turned out that a number of the relocation centers had been overrun by freaks. It was depressing reading – lots of message from desperate people pleading for help. I replied to some of the messages, explaining who I was, and where I was – but while I was on the computer no new replies came through.

I became so absorbed in reading these messages, and replying at length that I didn’t realize how much time had passed. I
had been away for a couple of hours, and I needed to check on Jennifer. I left the office with the computer still on and hurried back to the dormitory. When I go there it was flooded with people – many familiar faces from the church. Without talking to anyone, I went to Jennifer's room and found her sitting on the bed crying; there were scratches across her face.

“What happened, Jennifer?” I asked.

She sat there and sobbed.

“Talk to me. Please, talk to me,” I said.

A group of church members appeared in the doorway. A man who I recognized, but whose name I didn’t remember stepped into the room. “We’re so sorry. During the fighting at the church Sister June's daughter was shot and killed. She was angry at all of you for abandoning us and came in here to take it out on Jennifer. By the time we broke it up Jennifer had been scratched. I'm so sorry,” he said.

“Get out of here, now!” I shouted.

“We understand, but please don't be too angry. Sister June is just very upset – it’s natural given the circumstances.” he said.

“I've had it with you people. First you shoot Jennifer, and now you’re beating on her. Get out – leave us alone!” I ordered.

They left, and I closed the door.

I looked at the scratch on Jennifer's face. Blood was dripping from the scratch. The las
t thing she needed was to lose more blood.

“Lie down,” I said. “I'll be right back.”

I ran to the boxes in the lounge and got a medical kit. I came back into the room and started bandaging up Jennifer's face.

“
We’re going to get away from these people,” I told her.

“Don't be too mad,” Jennifer said. “The woman had just lost her daughter.”

She was still crying.

“I'm going to find that woman and strangle her,” I said.

“No you won't,” Jennifer said. “You’ll stay with me.”

I was enraged; my hands were
shaking.

“No, I'm going to find that woman...” I said.

“I want you to stay here with me,” she said.

I realized that I was talking out of my head. I was not really going to attack the woman, but I wanted to tell her off.

“You’re coming with me,” I said.

I lifted Jennifer up and put her in the wheelchair.

“Stop it! You’re not taking me anywhere!” she yelled, and slapped me in the face. “Put me back in bed!”

“I want to show everyone what that woman did to you,” I said.

“The woman just lost her daughter,” she said. “Don't you realize that she’s out of her mind?”

I sat down on the bed and tried to calm down.

“I know you’re angry, but I'm okay,” she said.

“I just can't bear to see you getting hurt – why did she pick on you, in your condition?” I said.

“I know,” she said, “but please, Hank, calm down – I don’t need any more stress.”

I lifted her from the wheelchair and put her back on the bed.

“I'm going to try to go to sleep,” she said. “I want you to watch over me.”

“I’ll be right here,” I said.

After sitting and watching Jennifer sleep for about an hour I heard a knock on the door. I opened the door and Candy was standing there. I invited her in, motioning for her to be quiet.

“I heard she was attacked,” she whispered.

“A woman who had lost her daughter came in here and attacked her,” I explained quietly

“That’s awful,” Candy said.

“I was able to send emails to several other relocation centers. As soon as I find out which one my mother is in, we’re leaving.”

“Jennifer should rest a few more days before travel
ing,” Candy said.

“
She’s well enough now,” I said. “Will you come with us?

“Yes, I will” she said.

“Thanks,” I responded. “I need you to pack up any medical supplies Jennifer may need.”

“Ok, I’ll get to work on that,” she said.

“Keep it quiet, OK,” I urged. “We don’t want the church members to get even more upset with us.”

Candy left, and for the next few hours I sat beside Jennifer. I realized I should check to see if I got an email back from any of the other relocation centers.

“Jennifer,” I said gently, “I need you to wake up.”

“Hank . . .” she murmured.

“Jennifer, I need to go to check and see if the other relocation centers have responded,” I said.

“What do you mean?” she asked, still sleepy.

“I was able to send messages to several other relocation centers,” I answered. “My mom and your sister might be at one of them.”

“I'm coming with you,” she said.

“No, you’re going to the clinic for a checkup,” I said. “While you’re there I’m going to see if I have any messages.”

I gave J
ennifer a little time to wake up, then helped her into her wheelchair. I wheeled her to the clinic and left her with Nurse Beth. I then headed back to Captain Flint’s office and checked the email. It turned out that five relocation centers responded. Four of them had no idea where my mother or Jennifer's sister were located, but one of them did. My mother and Jennifer's sister had passed through their relocation center, and they had been transported to another one.in central Alabama.

I was sent detailed ins
tructions on where each of the relocation centers were located – all were in the southern United States. On a legal pad I found in the office I wrote down the location of each, along with directions on how to get to them. This was important information that I needed to record in detail. I then rushed back to the clinic.

Before I could get there, I saw Candy and Jennifer.

“I know where my mom is, Jennifer! I know where your sister is too!” I said.

“Are they alive?” she asked.

“I don't know, but we’re going to find out,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Jennifer asked.

“They were sent to one relocation center and then transferred to another in Central Alabama. There has been nothing heard from that center in two days,” I said.

“Oh God, does that mean...” Jennifer
said.

“It doesn't mean anything,” I said.

“What if it has been overrun?” she said.

“Then at least we will know what happened to them,” I said.

For the next several hours we prepared for our trip. We loaded up the bus with supplies and provisions. Meredith and Robert would follow in another vehicle in case the bus broke down.

Several church members tried to talk to us and convince us to stay, but I told them I had to find out if my mother was alive or not.

We left that night. I drove the bus for hours.