Tainted Grace (2 page)

“Zoe, is your head clear now?” asked Gus.
I knew he was referring to the presence, or lack of, zombies nearby.

“It left,” I answered simply.

“Good,” said Boggs.

“No,” I said as I shook my head side to side.

“No?” asked Gus as he raised his eyebrows.

“Well, I mean yes it’s good it left, but no it’s not good.”

“Zo, you’re not making sense,” said Boggs.

“It ran after fresher meat,” I explained.
“Not animal. Human.”

Gus sighed heavily.
“Fuck.”

“Well, all we can do is hope they made it,” said Boggs.
“And be glad whoever it was drew the bastard away.”

“Gus?” I asked.

“Yeah Zoe?”

“Do you mind if I talk to Boggs alone for a minute?”

“Of course not. I’ll meet you guys downstairs.”

Gus turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
It left me and Boggs alone in the bathroom, our only company the chill of the night and the glow of candle light.

“You ok, kid?” asked Boggs.

“Not really,” I answered honestly. “I’m really sorry I bit you.”

Boggs held his arms open for me, and I walked to him.
He embraced me then spoke softly against my head. “You didn’t know what you were doing, Zo. I forgive you.”

“What if it happens again?”

I felt Boggs sigh. “I guess I’d have to bite you back?” He chuckled softly.

“Be serious,” I said.

“Ok,” he said. “Serious. I think from now on when we sleep maybe I should handcuff you to the bed.”

I pulled back from his embrace and looked at him to see if he was indeed serious.
His chest started to heave as he began laughing.

“Knock it off, Boggs.”
I smacked him playfully on the arm.

“Come on, Zo, lighten up.”
He smiled at me. “If I handcuff you I could have my way with you every night.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s get downstairs.”

Boggs pulled me back to him, and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll be fine, Zo,” he whispered.

I nodded into his chest. “Ok,” I mumbled.

We had all gathered in the living room for the remainder of the night. We drank tea, ate leftover plain spaghetti noodles and smoked trout from the lake, and watched the propane fire cast shadows about the room. I knew everyone was waiting for me to announce a wave of the living dead nearby, but they never came. Boggs was asleep. Gus admitted that he had given him one of the pain pills we kept for emergencies. Of course knowing that he was in pain tore at my heart, so I was glad he was comfortable enough to doze.

“It should be light out soon,” said Emilie quietly.
“We should go out, set some traps, and get rid of the body Zoe saw.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” said Gus.
Emilie was on the loveseat leaning against him. “Maybe Boggs and I should head out, leave you girls behind. It’s cold out.”

“No,” I answered quickly.
“I think I should go with. I can warn you if they come back. And I can maybe find the body?”

“I think we could all use the exercise and fresh air,” said Em.

Gus nodded. “Ok.”

“I should stay here and start some laundry,” said Susan.

We tried to leave someone at the cabin at all times. If for no other reason, having someone home to open the door made it safer for those of us who wandered into the woods.

“You sure you don’t mind?” asked Emilie.

“I’m sure.”

“We’ll head out at first light then,” said Gus.

“I’ll go set out coats and socks,” I offered.

It was winter in the mountains and there had been snow on the ground for two weeks straight.
None of us had good snow boots, so we had started covering what shoes we did have with at least two extra pairs of socks. Without proper gloves, either, we also wore socks on our hands. We all hoped they’d last until spring when we could scavenge the surrounding areas again. Roads had been impassable for weeks due to the weather.

Emilie stood up to join me.
“I’ll get the snares and traps and set them by the door. Might as well try to catch dinner.”

Gus had shown us all how to set simple snares and box traps.
Rabbit had become a staple, as had fish from the lake. We avoided using our guns, both to save ammunition as well as to stay quiet to avoid attracting the Roamers, which is what we had started calling the slower zombies. Every now and then Boggs or Gus would come back with meat they had already cleaned. It was on those occasions that none of us asked what the meal was. We all knew opossum, squirrel, and nutria lived in the area. Still, supper isn’t very palatable when you’re thinking about what kind of rodent you might be eating. Maybe one day we’d get over it.

The main floor of our cabin was boarded up inside and out to keep the dead from entering. I could see daylight shining into the upstairs hallway. I gently woke Boggs, who seemed exhausted.

“Hey Zo,” he said quietly.

“Hey,” I whispered back. “You feeling ok?”

“
Yeah, just tired. Gus gave me a pain pill. I just feel drugged.” He slowly sat up and stretched.

“We’re about to head out to do some hunting and find the body from last night.
Feel up to it?”

“Sure.
Maybe the cold will wake me up.”

“I have our socks and things ready and Emilie set out trapping gear.
Get dressed and we’ll try to make it a quick trip,” I said just before leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.

He reached up and smoothed my hair with his hand.
“I love you, Zoe.”

I smiled back in reply.
“Then let’s go get it on in the woods?”

He chuckled, which caused him to wince.

“It hurts?” I asked, concerned.

“Just a smidge.”

I held my hand out and helped him up from the couch. We walked hand in hand to the kitchen, where the others waited.

Susan shut the front door behind us, locking herself in.
The sun had risen, revealing a clear blue sky. I exhaled and watched my breath float up to mingle with the surrounding tops of the evergreen trees.

“It’s cold today,” I said as I watched the sky.
I was focusing on my mind, making sure there were no intruding signatures from one of the undead.

“Holy fuck,” groaned Gus, catching my attention.

I looked out at the snow-covered clearing in front of us. The usual blanket of white was marred by bloody footprints. Hundreds of them.

“What the hell?” muttered
Boggs. His Kahr .45 caliber handgun was already out and readied by the time he finished the question.

Gus was also instantly alert.

“I don’t sense anything,” I said.

“Boggs, we need to circle the cabin.
See how extensive the tracks are.”

“I hear you,” answered Boggs.
“Girls, you should go back inside.”

“No way,” Emilie and I both said at the same time.

“Wait on the porch,” said Gus. “If you hear shots get inside.” He didn’t sound like he was asking.

“Em, knock on the door so Susan knows what’s going on?
I need to go with Gus and Boggs.”

Oddly, no one questioned me or steered me to stay behind.
Emilie gave me a quick hug, then walked to the front door and rapped quietly. As I followed the men down the porch steps, I heard the front door squeak open. The bloody footprints came to within a yard of the bottom of the porch steps. Many overlapped, some smeared, and all of them looked like frantic strides had been taken.

I wrapped my arms around myself protectively.
“They had shoes on,” I said quietly. Some prints resembled bare feet, others had the patterns you’d expect on the bottoms of shoes.

Gus stopped momentarily to look at me, and then looked down at some of the prints in the snow.
“Yeah it looks like it,” he said. He pointed to a dark spot next to a nearby print. “There’s bits of flesh and hair here.”

“My God,” said Boggs.
“It looks like a massacre.”

“Let’s go around back real quick,” suggested Gus.
“I want to get this over with.”

A breeze blew past, bringing with it a sickly sweet smell that was all too familiar.
We still didn’t know why, but when the living dead die for their final time, their rotten stench turns to a sickly sweet version of decay.

“There’s a dead one near, smell it?” I asked.

Boggs nodded. “Yeah. It must be up wind.”

“Ok kids,” said Gus.
“Let’s see what monsters are hiding out back.”

We walked solemnly around the corner of the cabin.
The bloody footprints thickened. Body parts were strewn about the area between the back of the cabin and the edge of the woods. Some were recognizable as hands, feet, arms, legs, and something that looked like mangled afterbirth. Others proved too mutilated to identify.

“Fuck almighty,” said Gus.

“How the hell did this happen?” asked Boggs. “Without us waking up?”

I shook my head back and forth, slightly in disbelief.
“I’m not sure.”

“I don’t think zombies did this,” said Gus.
“They would have eaten it, not just scattered it about.”

“It smells fresh,” I added.
“Just like…flesh. Not rotten, and not sickly sweet like the dead Roamers.”

I was doing my best to not gag or vomit.
I changed my breathing pattern by opening my mouth to avoid the smell.

“Who would do this?” asked Boggs.
“And why?”

“Ok kids, back inside.
I’ll explain once we’re in the cabin. Zoe, you go ahead of us. Boggs, stay close behind her.”

“Why?” I asked, concerned.

“Don’t ask Zoe, just do,” instructed Gus. “And be quick. Just don’t make it look like there’s anything driving you back in the cabin.”

I knew by now to not question Gus.
He had proven too many times to know what he was doing and I trusted him. I walked back around the corner of the cabin and hurried to the front porch. I heard Boggs’ footfalls close behind me. As I began knocking on the door, Gus joined us.

After a pause that lasted a bit too long for comfort, Susan opened the door.
Gus rushed us inside, and closed the door behind us. He locked it and then ran a hand through his short hair.

“Girls, I need you three to head upstairs while Boggs and I make sure all our boards are tight and locks are secure.
Stay away from the windows.”

“Gus?” asked Emilie.
“What’s going on?”

“We’re being watched,” he said without elaborating.

Boggs looked sideway at Gus. “Watched? Let’s get this done then, man.”

“Girls, best get up to the attic,” said Gus.
“Take blankets, spears, guns. One of you grab some bottles of water please.”

“I’ll grab the water,” I said.
I knew it would allow me to stay on the main floor with Gus and Boggs for just that much longer. I had grown to need to be near both of the men for my sanity.

“Susan, Em, can you please see to the rest?” asked Boggs.

“Yeah sure,” replied Susan.

As Emilie and Susan turned to climb the stairs, we heard a single shot in the distance.
It echoed off the nearby hillsides, sounding similar to thunder.

“Hurry,” barked Gus.
“Something is coming, but I’m not sure what.”

A chill ran up my spine.
A sense of urgency surrounded me. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a case of water we kept set aside at all times for emergencies. There’s another in the attic already, but we all knew there was a risk of being trapped in the small space for many days. Gus and Boggs were hustling to check locks. As much as I wanted to stay near them both, I ran up the stairs with the bottled water in tow. Emilie and Susan had already pulled down the folding stairway leading to the attic space and were scrambling up with blankets they had hurriedly stripped off of the beds.

“Do you guys have the guns?” I asked, slightly out of breath.

“Already up there,” said Emilie quickly.

“Here Zoe, hand me the water,” instructed Susan.
She looked scared.

I handed her the case of water, and scurried up behind her.
The attic space was dark, the only light coming from the hatch we had just climbed through.

“Susan, are there candles up here?”

“Crap, we forgot them.”

“Don’t worry, I packed some in the emergency bin off to the left,” said Emilie as she joined us.
“I’ll grab one.”

“Where’s Boggs?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“And Gus?”

“Right here darlin’,” said Gus.

He climbed the ladder, quickly followed by Boggs. As soon as they scurried into the attic proper, Emilie pulled the ladder up and closed the hatch. Susan had taken over with the candles and lit the first one, which cast a dim glow around the cramped room.

“Em, sweet thing, go ahead and pull the rope up this time.”

In the past we had always left the rope down. Gus had explained that if humans breeched the house, it’d be a sure signal that someone was hiding in the attic space if the rope were pulled up.

“Gus, what’s going on?” asked the redhead as she followed directions and began to bring the rope up.

“I’ll tell you all quick, and then we need to stay quiet and wait. Zoe, you’ll need to be listening for us.” Gus pointed to his head while looking at me.

I nodded.

“While we were outside I saw a reflection on the hill to the south. I’m pretty sure it was binoculars or a scope. For whatever reason we’re being watched. Susan, Emilie, behind the cabin we found body parts. A lot of them. Human, and fresh,” explained Gus.

“It’s a bloody mess,” added Boggs.

I scooted towards Boggs and clung to his arm.

“The bottom line is it looks like someone knows we’re here,” Gus took over on speaking again.
“My hunch tells me the mess outside was left overnight as bait.”

“Bait?” asked Susan.

“I think it attracted our dead visitor during the night, and is meant to attract more of the Roamers. Someone’s trying to get rid of us.”

“I still don’t sense any more of them,” I said.

“I suspect you will soon enough,” said Gus. “Boggs, we need to prep all the weapons we have. Get ready for a fight. With any luck they’ll come in a horde, take the bait, and just pass us by as they leave.”

“Sue, can you light a few more candles?” asked Boggs.

“Sure, Adam,” she said back. Her voice held an edge of fear.

“Emilie and Zoe maybe you can organize the blankets?” Gus suggested.
“If we need to move fast we don’t need to be getting caught up on piles of crap.”

“Kay,” I answered.
“No problem.” In truth I was glad to have something to keep me busy.

Boggs picked up his Kahr and removed the chamber.
I watched as he began filling it with fresh rounds of .45 hollow points.

“Zoe,” said Emilie.

I looked over at her.

“Help me fold these?” she asked with a kind smile.

I nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

I took one end of the blanket she held and we got to work folding as a team.
The ceiling of the attic was too short for any of us to stand, so working together made it much easier. As Susan lit more candles, the space in which we sat became flooded with a warm, calming glow. As we folded, the sound of guns being reloaded continued to be the loudest noise in the attic. Susan moved on to organizing the emergency supplies we kept in a corner for situations just like this.

“It’s getting colder,” whispered Susan.

None of us answered her. I’m sure we all felt the chill of winter creeping in through the roof vents.

“How long do you suppose we’ll be up here?” asked
Emilie.

“It’s hard to say, darlin’,” said Gus followed by a sigh.
“Hopefully not too long. We’ll need to talk about moving out though, considering someone out there means us harm.”

“You mean leaving the cabin?” I asked with a note of panic in my voice.

“Yeah,” was all Gus said in reply. “I’m afraid it just may not be safe here anymore, Zoe.”

Emilie took my end of the blanket for the final fold, and then set it aside.
We began working on another.

“Where would we go?” asked Susan.
“Snow’s pretty thick.”

Gus nodded.
“That it is. I wish I had answers. I think for now we need to be prepared to fight, but as soon as roads become passable we need to look for new shelter.”

I sighed.
The thought of leaving the cabin, which had grown to be our home, made me sad. Another gunshot rang out in the distance. It sounded closer this time and was followed by another shot only seconds later.

“I’m scared,” whispered Emilie.

“No matter what happens we’re together, ok?” I whispered back.

We finished the last fold of the blanket, and she leaned over and hugged me.

“Ok,” she whispered into my ear.

We both forced smiles at each other.

“Gus, what do you make of the gun shots?” asked Boggs.

“Sounds like signals to me,” answered our resident cowboy-slash-Army-man.

Boggs coughed lightly. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

“Ok, guns are all loaded.
Spears are all lined up. Four knives, two baseball bats. Looks good,” announced Gus. “Now we sit and wait. No one opens the hatch unless I say to, understood?”