The Undead World (Book 2): The Apocalypse Survivors (30 page)

Chapter 30

Jillybean

New Eden, Georgia

We can escape any time you wish
, Ipes said, under his breath so that only Jillybean heard.
Just say the word
.

All during the ride among the zombie-clogged city streets and through hauntingly empty outer suburbs, the zebra had kept an eye out for a chance to make a break for freedom. He was dead set against the notion of a cult.

It’s a doomsday cult, just one with good timing. What would your father think
? he asked.

Jillybean refused to answer. Whenever she did, the adults would stop their conversation and glance back with worry in their eyes. They did not understand about Ipes, nor could they hear him.

The adults talked about their days apart: for Neil it was about his adventure with the cultist; Sarah told about being abandoned by an entire fortified base; and Shondra spoke about how she had left to hide some of her food and had come back to a ghost town.

Ram talked about Jillybean. He talked about how she had saved him time and again—sometimes he went quiet in the middle of a word and it was minutes before he would pick up the story again. He spoke little of his own heroics as if they were nothing.

Eventually Jillybean fell asleep as Ram was telling how they found the second boat. For her that had been a dull time. It took them an hour to rig the spare sail and then six more frustrating hours were spent trying to eat up the distance between the two boats. They were separated by only a mile, but it took them the rest of the morning, zigzagging across the ocean. Ram wasn’t much of a sailor and frequently worked his rudder and boom at cross purposes. He got so cranky that Jillybean thought it prudent not to point this out.

The find,
a fully fueled motorboat, had been worth it. From the moment they boarded it they fairly flew all the way to the CDC; first by the boat and then on the motorcycle. The closer they got the more Jillybean grew excited. Ram had been vague with the details but he held forth the promise of a family and a home.

You’ll see
, he would say. What he should have said was:
You’ll see that I don’t really want you
. It was a blow to her heart.

With the sound of the truck's roar lulling her, s
he slept for a few hours in a vague dreamless way until she was woken by Ram. “We’re here. It’s time to get up.”

For a few seconds she had no idea where they were, or what they were doing, or even who the other people were around
them, or why she was feeling an elusive sensation of disappointment with Ram. Then the baby gave a little pouty cry and Jillybean’s mind kicked back into gear.

She remembered that she was there to be traded: one human for another.

Ram shook her again. “I’m getting up,” she said in clipped tones. She kicked off the blanket she had been given and slipped out of the Range Rover into the night…or was it morning? There was an indistinct purple hue to the eastern sky, suggesting the latter.

“Where is this place?” Ram asked, taking a peek at Jillybean before glancing around.

They were out in the country with the only man-made structure anywhere around them being a grain silo. Neil gestured to it. “They’re watching right now,” he said, waving in a friendly fashion. “Also, they’re armed to the teeth so no heroics.”

Ram glanced again to Jillybean, but she refused to meet his eye, so he dropped down beside her. “I’m sorry if I mislead you about being your father. You saw m
e on the boat; I have a short fuse. And I don’t know anything about raising girls—lipstick and shoes and bras, I’m not good at that sort of thing. But Neil is and Sarah is even better.”

“But they’re not going to be my parents, are they?” He shook his head at the question. She followed it up with: “Ipes says you sold us a bill of goods
.!”

“He did, huh?” Ram asked. “Do you even know what that means?”

It means he over-represented the state of things
, Ipes told her. When she hesitated, the zebra added,
Or you can just say he lied
.

This she understood. “It means you lied…about the state of things. Now
, I’m not even going to be their daughter.”

“I haven’t agreed to any of this yet,” Ram cautioned.

“It doesn’t matter what you agreed to,” Jillybean said. “I’ll never be their daughter. If I don’t go through with this and you give me to them, they’ll always look at me as the chicken-girl who wouldn’t help save their
real
daughter. No thank you.”

“You remind me of Sadie,” Ram said. “She’s very tough and...”

Just then the door to the silo swung open showing five men armed with black weapons. One of them stepped forward and ordered: “Leave y’alls guns in the cars and come forward one at a time. We is gonna frisk y’all.”

Run!
Ipes cried.
While everyone is turned away! Now’s our chance.

“No,” whispered Jillybean. She didn’t discount the idea of running, just not yet. First she would check out the cult and if it was too crazy she would pick a good opportunity and run.

Since she wasn’t armed and she was mad at Ram and didn’t want to be near him just then, Jillybean walked up first. “Do you allow zebras in?”

The leader
of the squad was big and quite a bit scarier than she had anticipated. He dropped to a knee and asked, “Is he carrying a gun?”

“No. Me neither,”
Jilly replied.

He gave her a speedy pat down and said, “He can come in if he can pull a plow. Go stand over there.”

He pointed next to one of the men and as she went, Ipes begged her to run.
Do I look like a common plough horse? I am a zebra! Zebras don’t plough. We’re known for our beauty and quick wit. Jilly, you have to get us out of here
.

“Shh,” Jillybean hissed.

In short order they were all frisked and headed down into a well lit tunnel. Ram insisted on walking next to her, but she kept her arms folded around Ipes and tried to pretend he wasn’t there.

“This isn’t bad,” he said on more than one occasion. Despite her anger at him and her anxiety, Jillybean had to agree. Everything was clean, bright and warm—a big change from the last
eight months of her life.

Eventually, after a few turns that Ipes committed to her memory, they came to a wide double-door
which led into what was undoubtedly a church of some sort. It was a room like an inverted pyramid. Down the many stairs was an altar of white marble and next to it was a pool of water. It was clear and pretty with a shining silver base. It would’ve been inviting to Jillybean except she had the sinking feeling that they would dunk her in it. She had seen something like that on TV once—it didn’t look fun, mainly because everyone went in “backwards” with their noses to the ceiling, something she feared as much as monsters.

Down the rows was a carpeted aisle with a brass banister on one side. Ram let her take the metal in hand as they descended in an uncomfortable silence. Hundreds of people, all dressed in white, sat looking up at them.

“Come and join the family of Believers,” a tall man with gobs of silver hair beckoned from next to the altar.

What a
perv,
Ipes remarked.
Can you say child-bride?
The sarcasm was lost on Jillybean. The year before, one of her friends, Mary Greenfeld had been married to a boy name Taylor in a ceremony held under the slide at recess. Though their marriage hadn’t lasted a week it had been a fun time.

“What do you think, Jillybean?” Ram asked.

He seemed very, very tall when she looked up at him, like he had stretched somehow. As she stared, she found that her anger left her completely, leaving only a growing fear in its place. She reached out with a shaking hand to grab his steady one and said, “I don’t know. Ok, I guess.”

“I know what you mean,” he whispered. “It looks alright and the people seem ok, but I don’t like it.” Regardless he began walking down the steps. Behind them the others followed: Neil and Sarah holding Eve, behind them Mark and
Shondra.

“The Lord welcomes you to his home,” the man with the silver hair announced. “Give thanks and praise.”

The people in white cried out: “Amen!” as though they had but a single voice like a giant. All the people, save one. A girl with black hair sat somewhat apart from the rest; she jerked in her seat at the roar of the crowd. She wouldn’t take her eyes off Jillybean.

“Are you her?” the girl asked when Jillybean had run out of steps to descend.

“I guess so,” Jillybean answered after taking a deep breath. “Is it scary?”

Sadie did an odd thing then. She laughed high and loud even though there were tears in her eyes. “No, it’s not scary. At least not for you, cuz you get to go home. I think I’ll stay…but thanks for coming. Neil, thanks so much for trying, and Sarah…I love you. Ram, you too. And, can I see the baby one more time?”

This she asked of the man with the silver hair. He nodded easily, not the least unhappy with the choice. Sadie kissed Eve who ogled everything around her with big eyes and tried to grab Sadie’s nose with a pudgy fist.

Sarah whispered, “Sadie, no. We have a substitute. Come home with us.”

Sadie hugged her tight and said, “I won’t do this to a little girl.”

No one knew what to say to this, especially Jillybean. What was happening? Was she going to be able to stay with Ram after all? And did he really want her to? She didn’t think so
, but at the same time had such a grip on her hand as if he would never let go.

“I take it,
Neil, you won’t all be staying and joining the family of believers?” the man with the silver hair asked with disappointment in his words. Neil shook his head and the man smiled sadly. “
New Eden
is always open to Believers, Neil. This is a safe place for Believers, but only for Believers. Do not return unless you’re ready to join, for I now name you denier.”

Neil blanched. “But you said…”

“I said nothing!” the man thundered in a voice that shook the very water in the pool. “I am but a vessel. The Lord our God speaks through me and his word is law. He has twice now shown you his love by allowing you into our midst. You have seen, but you do not embrace his glorious gift! What is that if not denial? The same is true for these with you. Look upon the grace of our Lord and see his bounty, his love, his wisdom. It is through him that we are safe!”

“Amen,” the people shouted.

“It is through him that we are fed!”

“Amen,” the people shouted.

“It is only through him that we know the beauty of love!”

“Amen,” the people shouted.

“Come and join our family,” the man commanded with arms raised. “Or forever be hunted as a denier. And know this, the Lord our God will not be deceived. He is all knowing and all seeing! You may hide, but according to his desire you will die at the hands of the blessed. What have you to say?”

Though he addressed all of them, only Ipes answered:
I say you’re as nutty as squirrel poo
. Jillybean almost choked. She cowered into Ram’s leg and hid herself, just in case “The Lord our God” heard the zebra’s blasphemy.

The room was quiet for an agonizing minute, during which the crowd seemed to lean in toward the group. Some even moved into the aisle to block their one line of retreat.

“They have eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear. Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths!” the man intoned, low at first but with growing strength in his voice.

“Amen,” the people said—this time without the excited fervor. The word seemed more like a curse.

“Sad,” Abraham said. He shook his head to clear the gloom and brought out a fresh smile. Just like that, the mood lifted in the room. “Stand clear of the dead, Sadie, for you are most fortunate. Your friends will die in their allotted time, but you will live forever in the kingdom of God.” He came to stand behind her and to Jillybean it looked as though he would pull her throat back and slit it open with a knife. Perhaps it was the low angle that created the illusion because clearly not everyone saw it.

“Wait!” cried
Shondra. “I want to take her place.” She pushed past Neil and nearly bowled Jillybean over in her haste to get to the altar. “Will you take me instead? Please, I don’t want to be hunted. I don't want to go back out there with the zombies. I want to be a Believer.”

“That is up to Sadie,” the man said. Gone was the thundering voice, now he was pure sugar. “Will you become a denier and one of the hunted, Sadie? Or will you stay here with your true family?”

Sadie looked about to faint; she swayed like a willow in a stiff breeze. “I…I want to go with them, if that’s ok?”

It clearly wasn’t. To Jillybean it seemed as though the man with the silver hair was like a toddler fuming into a volcanic tantrum. “Go then
. Live your last days as a denier,” he said icily. “Today, we will weep for you; tomorrow you will be as the dead.”

“Yes, thank you,” Neil said lamely. He backed away and shooed the others on. Ram and Mark took positions on either side of Sadie who walked with a limp. They propelled her up the stairs, lagging in the rear while Sarah led the way at
a speed that bordered on a rude dash.