The Hungry (Book 3): At the End of the World (14 page)

“I’m telling you they won’t listen,” Crosby said for the third time.

Miller was looking down at the grounds, peering out through the slats of the wooden shutters. “Will they listen to
you?
”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Crosby said. “They’re scared. We all are. No one has ever seen anything like this.”

Terrill Lee joined them. They were standing near the large second-floor window, watching the entire Stars and Stripes Brigade as it gathered down below. They were surrounded. The members were taking up what looked like very effective positions to assault the lodge. There were a lot of them and they were heavily armed. The excrement had hit the proverbial fan.

“What the hell are they doing out there in the first place?” Terrill Lee said. “Don’t they have, you know, like a Fortress of Solitude to fall back on in case of World War Three? I thought these survivalist types spent all their free time preparing for an emergency just like this. I saw a reality show on that once.”

Crosby looked pointedly at Miller. “You’ve obviously got something else they want.”

Terrill Lee figured he was a pretty good judge of character, despite what everyone else thought of him. He was starting to get the feeling that Crosby was holding out on them, but couldn’t quite put his finger on why. He knew these people better than anyone. He had to.

“Something they want? Not just the lodge?” Miller seemed surprised.

“Not necessarily. In fact, if I had to guess, I’d say what they want is
you
, Sheriff.”

Everyone turned to look at Crosby.

“You want to run that by me again?” said Miller.

“Look down there. That’s Martin LaGrange taking cover right now behind those boulders on the right. It looks like he busted himself out of my jail.” Crosby pointed down through the shutter slats.

“You lost your prisoner? How did that happen?”

Crosby shrugged, but had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Somebody must have broken in and found the extra set of keys. Sorry.”

“Let me see if I’ve got this straight, numbnuts,” Scratch said. “The crazy-assed son of a bitch who kidnapped the two of us in broad daylight and tried to rape Penny got free from your jail? And now he is outside with his own personal army, and they’re preparing to storm this lodge to get her back?”

“I wouldn’t phrase it exactly like that,” Crosby shifted uncomfortably, “but that does seem to be the situation.”

“I would phrase it pretty much that way,” said Miller, “except I doubt it is
just
me they are after. We have some other young women in here with me, and shelter, and a hell of a lot of booze. Our situation has just gone from bad to worse.”

Terrill Lee rolled his eyes. “What a shocker.”

Miller ignored him. “Okay. Gentlemen, we have problems to solve, so let’s get busy. Sheppard, I need you to go downstairs and double-check our defenses. Scratch, you and Crosby are with me. Let’s see if we can’t figure out a way out of this mess.”

“Penny?” Terrill Lee raised his hand. “What about me?”

“Terrill Lee, you head upstairs and make sure everyone else is secure in one of the suites. Oh, and keep them the hell out of the way.”

“Oh,” Terrill Lee said, clearly disappointed.

“And take a rifle with you,” Miller added. “If this turns into a shooting war, I want someone up high who I can count on.” She smiled at him to ease the sting a bit.

“Okay.” Terrill Lee picked up a nearby rifle and trudged up the stairs.

Terrill Lee found Michelle and the others in Miller’s suite. Brandy was standing near the window, looking out at something down below. Lynn was warming herself in front of the fireplace. Michelle was sitting on the sofa, watching Lex play with some toy that Terrill Lee didn’t recognize. Jimmy was sitting at the desk playing games on his worn laptop computer. Everyone but Lex looked up as Terrill Lee entered.

“What’s going on?” Brandy demanded.

Terrill Lee hesitated. He didn’t want to alarm the children. “We have some unwanted company.”

“It’s those Stars and Stripes freaks, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “Looks that way.”

“You can’t let them in here,” said Michelle.

“We don’t intend to. You’re all going to be fine. Penny will come up with something. We need to give her a little time.”

Michelle laughed. It was a sharp, short, gunshot of a sound. “I am so sick of hearing about the great and powerful Sheriff Penny Miller. You all make her sound like the Wizard of Oz. So far I haven’t seen her do anything but shoot an innocent woman in the head.”

“Relax, Michelle.”

“No, Michelle’s right.” Brandy turned to face Terrill Lee. “What’s so amazing about her, anyway?”

Terrill Lee took her question seriously. “She understands the zombies in a way that none of us could ever hope to. It’s a long story. She’s been at the front lines of the fight against the zombies since the first night. But she can’t protect everyone or be right every single time. She’s not a superhero—at least, not anymore.”

“What?”

“Never mind,” Terrill Lee said. “Anyway, she’s the leader. She gives us a shot. We have the best chance of surviving tonight, and every other night God grants us, if we listen to what she says. She’s our last, best hope.”

“Bullshit,” Brandy scoffed. “She’s as scared as the rest of us. I saw it in her eyes. She really has no idea what she’s doing, does she?”

Terrill Lee stared back. He briefly considered taking Brandy’s bait, but something about Michelle distracted him. She looked pale and had started sweating. The room was warm, but she was shivering, too. This was one of those moments when Terrill Lee wished he had earned his M.D., rather than become a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He didn’t know what to do with someone as sick as Michelle. Sheppard might know, even though he was a medical technician, not a doctor. If Michelle were a sheep or a dog, Terrill Lee would know to either cure her or put her down. With humans it wasn’t ever that simple. You had to have a bedside manner and be tactful and authoritative and wise, and manage to do a thousand other things that Terrill Lee wasn’t very good at. He thought about trying to make a joke—he was good at that, at least—but the expression on Michelle’s face reminded him too much of Penny when she’d already had about enough of his sense of humor. All Terrill Lee knew was that Michelle was sick, and he was a medical man, and he had to do something to ease her suffering.

“Hey, you,” Brandy said. “We’re having a conversation.”

“Look,” Terrill Lee said, “We can argue later. I’m really worried about Michelle right now. She doesn’t look so good.”

Brandy and Lynn instantly focused on Michelle.

“I’m fine,” Michelle insisted.

“No, you’re not. You’re shaking, pale, sweating, and,” Terrill Lee said, putting his hand on her forehead, “also burning up.” He turned to Brandy and Lynn. “Would you do me a favor and get her into the bedroom? She should be lying down and drinking lots of fluids.”

“Come on, Sweetheart,” Brandy said. She and Lynn helped Michelle to her feet.

“I’m hungry,” said Michelle. She rubbed her stomach.

Terrill Lee was surprised. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure.”

“Okay,” said Terrill Lee. “Jimmy, would you go down and get your mother some soup?”

“No way.” Brandy turned back abruptly. “Jimmy’s staying up here with us where it is safe.”

“All right. Would one of you do it? I need to stay up here and keep an eye on things.”

Brandy walked over to him. Her stance was aggressive, her tone angry. “No one in my family is leaving this room. Got that, hotshot?”

“I suppose I could do it.”

“I suppose you could.”

Torn between powerful women, Terrill pictured having to explain to Penny Miller why he had left his post. He looked up, intent on telling Brandy that it wouldn’t work that way, but the expression on her face left no room for argument. “Okay.”

“Good,” Brandy said. “And get the rest of us something to eat as well. We’re all starving.”

Defeated, Terrill Lee nodded. He left without another word. He went out into the hallway and over to the stairs. The second floor was completely deserted and almost entirely dark—the others must be elsewhere. He picked up his pace, and looked over the railing to the big room of the lodge. The ground floor was equally quiet, though down there a few lights were burning. Eventually, Terrill Lee emerged from the stairs into the main sitting area. The eerie quiet made him feel distinctly creepy, and gradually superimposed itself on the dangers lurking outside. Terrill Lee reminded himself to tell Miller about the ghost he felt certain was haunting the lodge—though he had enough survival instinct to know better than to bring that up to her until later. Assuming there was a later.

However, Brandy was sort of right. They had to eat and dinner would probably help to keep the kids calm. So he’d score some food and take it upstairs. That was his first order of business. Now, if he could just figure out where the hell everyone else had gone…

Terrill stopped walking.

“Hello?” he called quietly.

No one was there. He could see the front doors from where he stood. They were barricaded, but it was clear that no one was covering that position. That didn’t seem right. Penny had given orders. Someone should have been standing guard. Had the ghost got them while he was gone? Terrill Lee could feel the first stirrings of panic rising in his gut.

He took his rifle off his shoulder and pointed it into the darkness. “Penny?” He called a little louder. Terrill Lee paused and really tried to listen. His own voice echoed down the hall and returned carrying what seemed like vague whispers and rustling sounds. Was it just wind moving paper, or something scratching at the walls; the creaks and groans of ancient wood, or something else? Something far more sinister?

No other people. Anywhere. Terrill Lee swallowed dryly. His pulse hammered, his heart thwacked against his rib cage. He couldn’t even hear himself breathing, until he realized he wasn’t. He emptied his lungs in a whoosh, and took a couple of cleansing breaths. His panic level didn’t diminish. That wasn’t a good sign either.

Terrill Lee wondered if someone had broken in to take the others hostage. Penny and Scratch and Sheppard would certainly lie about how many people were in their party, in order to allow the others a chance to stage a rescue. Terrill Lee needed to stay quiet and figure out what was actually going on. He seriously considered going to the front door, opening it, and looking outside, just to see a face—any face. The heavy barricade he had installed barred the door. He wouldn’t be able to open it even if he wanted to.

A scratching, tapping sound caught Terrill Lee’s attention. He spun in place, searching the gloom for the source of the noise. The animal heads on the walls loomed down over him again, glaring accusingly, sneering in a menacing way. He pictured himself up on one of those walls all gutted and stuffed with a permanent grin like a fat possum with its dick stuck in a wall socket. That was one hell of a lousy way to spend eternity. The stuffed bear by the gun cabinet looked ready to move, to close the distance between them, to crush Terrill Lee under its immense weight. His panic level went up by at least three more notches, heart pounding in his chest, hot blood rushing in his ears.

“Penny?” Terrill Lee called. “Penny!”

The main sitting area of the lodge was one big room, and apart from the danged animal heads, which always appeared to be ready to leap off the walls and attack him, there was not one face in sight. He’d never felt so alone in his life. He could see every nook and cranny. Only the café and kitchen were out of view.

Terrill Lee ran to the kitchen.

“Scratch?” he called. “Karl?”

His voice echoed faintly. The whispers and chuckles of a nightmare crawled down the darkened stairs to stroke his bare skin.

“Crosby?” Terrill Lee cried. “Penny? Somebody?”

The kitchen was empty, with only one light that dimly illuminated the small room. There were dirty dishes in the sink. Someone had left crumbs on the stainless steel countertop and on the cutting board, which was weird, because they hadn’t had a chance to fix supper. Who was here? Who ate the food without straightening up? What the hell was going on?

“Penny!”

Terrill Lee spun in place. He couldn’t figure it out. The panic was now fully upon him. He didn’t know what to do. There was only one conclusion to come to. He was absolutely convinced the ghost of the lodge was somehow to blame for everyone’s disappearance. If he grabbed Michelle and her sisters and her kids to run out into the snowy night, they’d be facing pissed off survivalists and hungry zombies. If they stayed here inside… the ghost.

Something touched his arm. He jumped away and screamed in a high-pitched squeal. He backed up into the kitchen counter, fumbling for his weapon.

“Terrill Lee, what the fuck is your problem?” Miller said.

When Terrill Lee realized who it was, he was so relieved that he put his arms around her. She allowed him the hug. He held her tightly until the panic began to subside.

“Where were you? I thought something awful had happened to you.”

“Okay, cowboy, it’s all right. We’re okay. You’re safe.” Miller peeled his arms from around her body and stepped back. “What happened?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you. Where the hell were you guys?”

Sheppard spoke for the first time, startling Terrill Lee again. He was standing in the shadows, only a few feet away. “Penny and I were down in the wine cellar.”

“Well, what were you doing down there? Don’t you know there’s a damned siege on?”

“We wanted to see if we could barricade the door,” Miller said, “in case it ever comes to that.”

“But then we’d be trapped.”

“Sure,” said Sheppard, almost too casually. “I know locking ourselves in, a refuge of last resort, is a bad idea, but right now we’re a little short on
good
ideas.”