'Til Death Do Us Part (14 page)

“
I
’
m ready to go,
”
h
e said
,
heading towards the kitchen.

“
That
’
s it? That
’
s all you want to take?
”
I asked him.
“
Paperwork?
”

“
Oh shit
,
man!
”
he exclaimed
when he turned to me.

“
What?
”
I asked looking around wildly.

“
My wife has shoes just like that! How weird is that!
”

“
Weirder than you know. Let
’
s get out of here.
”

He led the way into the kitchen which had a door to an attached garage, thank God for small favors. The garage was filled with fine soot that was coming in through a partially broken window, but even that did little to obscure the rainbow painted
VW
van sitting there.

“
Did I really expect anything else?
”
I told the gods of irony.

“
Isn
’
t she a beauty? I bought her brand new back in
‘
92.
”

I didn
’
t have the heart to tell him they stopped production
of his particular
model somewhere around the mid-
seventies. And beauty was not a word that could be used to describe what rested in his garage. The bright paint did little to hide the various rust holes or the vast number of dings, the van looked like it had been parked on the moon for a few centuries and had suffered a barrage of micro meteor hits.

“
It runs?
”
w
as all I could ask. It looked too beat up to even be considered a hippie planter.

“
Stephanie
can
’
t cook worth a shit,
”
h
e said conspiratorially.
“
Don
’
t tell her that,
”
h
e added as if she were in the next room.
“
But she has a way with tools like you wouldn
’
t believe.
”

I was now secr
etly wondering if perhaps Ship-S
ize
d-Shoe-
Stephanie
, who couldn
’
t cook but could apparently keep an ancient vehicle finely tuned may or may not be of the feminine persuasion. Again it made absolutely no difference to me, just fodder for my thoughts.

I handed the keys back to John, I wasn
’
t too
particularly thrilled with some
one of his mental state driving
,
but it was still his car.

“
Oh shit no
, man,
”
John the Tripper said
,
pushing the keys back.
“
I haven
’
t driven since
‘
88 and I just dosed.
”

“
You
’
re kidding right?
”

“
Nope.
”

“
Besides thinking that right now was a perfect time to drop acid, why would you buy a car if you don
’
t even drive?
”

“
The dealer said it fit me.
”

I shrugged.
“
It does, but that still doesn
’
t make much sense.
”

“
You feeling anything yet?
”

“
About what?
”

“
I put some in your
fire
water.
”

E
liza
&
T
omas

Tomas sat for a moment longer. H
is sister turned her gaze back towards the city that was now under attack. He had felt Michael
,
of that he was one hundred percent sure
, but then what? He could not figure it out;
it was as if someone had used the
Jaws of Life
to severe their connection. Tomas was certain that Mike yet lived
,
because the connection had not faded to black
;
it had just stopped even as it was increasing in strength. No, so
mething else was happening here. S
o when his sister suggested they go and join in the fun down below
,
he was all for it, if only to see
whether
he could g
et some clues and possibly feed;
he was so hungry.

“
Do you smell that
,
Tomas?
”
Eliza asked as she tilted her nose up.

“
I smell fire and fear,
”
Tomas said morosely.

“
Exactly,
”
s
he answered with a smile. They had just reached the outskirts of the city and were coming in from
the w
est the zo
mbies were pouring in from the n
orth.

“
What are you two doing?
”
a woman shouted from her porch.
She
was flanked by three malnourished children, all of which were carrying rifles of varying calibers.

“
We are just going for a stroll,
”
Eliza answered in a sing-
song voice, grabbing Tomas
’
arm.

“
You need to get out of the street!
”
t
he woman cried.
“
There are zombies all over the place!
”
The woman was dressed in a moo-moo that at one time may have fit
, but now billowed in the breeze.
Her
hair was pulled back tightly
,
pinching her sagging flesh against her ears.

“
Are we truly in danger?
”
Eliza asked
aghast,
placing her hand to her breast.

“
Is she daft?
”
t
he woman asked Tomas.

“
Most likely,
”
Tomas said.
Eliza shot him a wicked glance.

“
Come in here!
”
t
he woman screamed.

Eliza started heading towards the door.

“
What are you doing?
”
Tomas asked.

“
She
’
s inviting us in for dinner
, Tomas. I
t wo
uld be rude of us not to accept
.
”

“
They
’
re just children
, Eliza,
”
Tomas moaned.

“
That
’
s what makes it so special. Come on
,
Tomas.
”

He reluctantly followed.

The woman ushered her children in and began to doubt the wisdom of her graciousness as Eliza strode purposefully closer.

“
You ain
’
t dangerous or nothing are you?
”
t
he woman asked with a quiver in her voice.

“
My dear we are your worst nig
htmare,
”
Eliza said as she crossed over the threshold.

“
Please,
”
The mother begged Tomas.

“
It
’
s too late,
”
h
e said softly.

“
Don
’
t be shy,
”
Eliza said to the mother as she pulled her in.
“
Some have said I have no heart
, but I offer you this,
”
Eliza told the young mother.
“
Would you rather I kill you first or your children?
”

The woman nearly swooned.
Tomas reached out and steadied her.

“
Momma
,
should I shoot her?
”
t
he oldest boy asked. He was standing bravely in front of his smaller sister and brother.

“
Run
,
Jacob
,
run!
”
t
he woman screamed.

“
Yes
,
Jacob
, run,
”
Eliza mimicked.
“
I love the taste of adrenaline in blood it gives it a slight tang
I find pleasant upon my palate,
”
s
he said as she swept her tongue
across
her extended canines.

“
Not my babies, please not my ba
bies,
”
t
he mother begged.

“
Come
,
come. What would become of them if I left them to their own devices?
”

Eliza spun to her right a few inches as a rifle round caught her in the shoulder blade.

“
That is how you treat guests?
”
Eliza said as she traversed the room in the span of an eye blink.

Jacob was six inches off the ground suspended from his neck as Eliza gripped him tightly.

“
Please!
”
t
he mother sobbed as she fell to her knees.

“
Finish her
, Tomas,
”
Eliza barked.

“
Let us leave
,
sister.
”

“
Finish her or I will pop this boy
’
s head like an over ripened peach.
”

Eliza wrapped both her small hands on either side of the
Jacob’s
head.
She
was applying so much pressure
that
the boy
’
s eyes were beginning to bulge.

“
NO!
”
the mother shrieked.
The
small boy and his sister were screaming as they watched the whole encounter from midway up the stairs.

The sound of the oldest boy
’
s skull crushing dominated above all the other din within the room. His face fell in as bone ground against bone, his body twitched spasmodically.

“
Jakie!
”
t
he little girl screamed as she ran down the stairs. Brain matter leaked through her brother
’
s ear.

The woman collapsed. Eliza
,
in one fluid motion
,
let the boy drop to the ground and plucked
the little girl up into the air.
She
plunged her fangs deep into the girl
’
s throat and drank heavily. Urine ran in rivulets from the only remaining sibling.