It’s hard to say what woke me in the wee hours. Rain was falling steadily, and I could barely make out the forms of my companions in the dark. Boggs was lying beside me in a deep sleep with one of his arms draped heavily on top of me. Something was wrong, my gut told me that, but I had no idea what it might be. I listened, first inside my head for signs of the dead, but came up empty. Still, as time had passed my telepathic link with the dead had been faltering, leaving me questioning my abilities. I listened next just to the sounds of the night. The breathing of my friends. The drizzle falling on the tarp above us. The dripping of water into our collection bucket. The occasional rustle of someone adjusting in bed. The snapping of a twig brought me bolt upright, flinging Boggs’ arm from on top of me. He rolled over, snoring once as he did so. I put a hand on him, ready to shake him awake, but paused to listen more intently. Again, a twig snapping, followed by a hushed whisper that sounded like scolding. I shook Boggs gently. Not getting much of a reaction from him, I bent down to whisper in his ear.
“Boggs,” I said, as quietly as humanly possible.
“Boggs, wake up.” He stirred slightly. His breath smelled of whiskey. Finally, he rolled toward me.
“Zoe,” he said.
It sounded like he was smiling.
“Shhhh,” I warned.
“I hear someone walking around camp.”
“It’s probably just one of the others,” he whispered back.
“No, Boggs, wake up.”
I could hear someone getting up out of their bed.
I only knew it was Nathan by the direction the noise came from and the pattern of his breathing. I listened as he rummaged, presumably for his gun. I stood, joining him.
“Nathan, there’s someone in camp,” I whispered.
“I know. Get your gun. I’m not sure if Boggs or Gus are coherent enough to know what’s going on. See if you can wake anyone.”
“’Kay.”
I slipped my tennis shoes on, but didn’t bother with taking time to get dressed. My pistol was always under my pillow when I slept, so I grabbed it and walked to where Emilie would be sleeping with Gus.
“Em, Gus, wake up.”
I nudged them gently, but got no response. I was growing angry that they had all decided to drink so much.
“Susan’s out too,” said Nate from right behind me.
I was so thankful this man was here with me, awake and helpful. “Zoe, I’m headed out. I want you to stay a few feet behind me, and keep alert.”
“Will do,” I answered.
At the end of my words we heard a loud commotion. Someone had clearly tripped and gone down.
“Fuck, Sadie!” the voice was strained and the person sounded in pain.
“Sorry,” a female voice answered quietly.
“Shut up, bitch.”
Nathan had stayed me with his hand and began moving forward. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness. The faint beginnings of daylight were just barely outlining shapes around us. I stood near the bed where Emilie and Gus were still sound asleep, and nudged their air mattress with my foot in one last attempt to rouse one of them. Of course it was of no use, so I held my gun aimed at the ground and followed Nathan out from under the shelter.
“Stay right there,” I heard Nathan say, his voice cold and uncaring.
It actually chilled me to the core. He was aiming his rifle at two human figures. I assumed they were human, at least, in how they carried themselves and reacted to Nate, as well as my mind still be void of any zombie signatures. “Weapons down, hands up.”
“Fuck, Sadie, nice job,” said a hushed yet harsh male voice.
“I said hands up!” shouted Nathan.
I was standing to Nate’s side now, only two steps behind, my pistol raised and my face wet from the steadily falling drizzle.
My heart was pounding.
“Please don’t shoot,” mumbled the girl.
“How many are you?” demanded Nathan. I could also hear someone coming out of the shelter. I didn’t look back to see who it was.
“Just us two.
We’re just looking for shelter and food.”
“Shut up, Sadie,” said the male.
“Fuck you, Ron.”
“Set your weapons down,” said Gus from behind me.
“Step to your right and kneel on the ground.”
The strangers stood where they were, not moving.
“Do it now,” ordered Nathan.
“Walk, Sadie,” said her buddy Ron.
“Susan, can you get the fire going so we can see?” asked Gus. I hadn’t realized Susan had joined us.
“Don’t fucking push me,
Ron.” The pair of newcomers sounded like they despised each other.
“Sure, Gus,” answered Susan.
“Also wake Em and Boggs?”
“
Yeah.”
“Down on your knees,” ordered Nate.
“Now.”
“We’re moving,” said the man.
“Hold on.”
“You ought
not tell the ones holding a gun on you to hold on,” said Gus.
I could hear Susan rousing the others.
Jane and Abbey were awake and wanting to know what was happening. Susan told them to stay in bed, no matter what, and to be very quiet. Boggs and Emilie were soon by our sides and Susan was quickly lighting dry kindle to help us see. As the fire finally roared to life, we could see Ron and Sadie kneeling on the wet dirt about two yards from the campfire ring. They were young, maybe in their twenties or early thirties, and dirty. Their clothing was raggedy, their faces and hair unkempt. Most notable were bandages on both of their arms. The girl, Sadie, also had a large gash on her left cheek. Her eyes were a dull brown, and she looked scared. Her friend Ron was small and skinny. Two of him could have fit into her pants. They were an odd pair, to put it mildly. I could smell leftover grease from the roast eagle burning and the scent of seawater in the air.
“How’d you get here?” asked Nathan.
“We have a small boat,” answered Sadie.
“Don’t fucking tell them shit, you cunt!”
“Fuck off, Ron.” The girl looked from Ron to Nathan and began to explain. “We saw the smoke from your fire a few days ago and decided to try to find you. We just need shelter, and food.”
I was watching Ron, focused on him.
He seemed twitchy and anxious. He was obviously irritated with Sadie.
“What happened to your arms and cheek?” I asked the girl.
“It’s none of your fucking business, bitch,” Ron snapped at me.
“Hold your tone there, boy,” I heard Gus say from beside me.
“You don’t talk to a woman like that. And if you do it again I’ll rearrange your goddamn face.”
I looked back over at Sadie, and noticed she had inched back toward the fire where her gun still sat on the ground.
“Don’t move any farther,” I warned her. I had my pistol aimed at her face. These two were up to no good. Of that I was sure.
“Fuck you,” said the girl.
She almost looked feral.
“Both of you shut the fuck up,” said Boggs with great irritation.
“You best answer any questions asked of you. Now tell her what the fuck happened to your cheek.”
I could hear Jane whimpering from inside the shelter.
Emilie was closest to the shelter, so I asked her if she’d go into the shelter with the girls. I kept my eyes and my aim on Sadie. She looked vaguely familiar, and I focused on placing her. “Susan, can you please grab their weapons?” I asked.
Sadie was glaring at me.
In my peripheral vision I watched Susan pick up the two weapons that were only feet from Sadie. Ron had his hands on the back of his head.
Gus stepped forward.
“Answer the question.”
“I fell.”
I knew the girl was lying. I could just sense it from good old fashioned intuition.
“Right,” said Gus, his tone disbelieving.
“You fell.”
“Can we stand up, please?”
“No,” I said. “You may not.” The movement behind the strangers was so subtle, I at first assumed it was just the wind. I allowed my gaze to find it. Just barely perceptible in the shrubs, I saw eye-shine. I reached my hand out and found Boggs, and took his hand in mine to get his attention. Gus was aware of our interaction, likely due to his years of training in the military. I looked over and saw that his gun was raised to where we were looking.
The next moments were a blur.
Movement from farther to our right caught my attention, but it was too late. The first gunshot rang loud. Whoever fired never got a chance for a second shot, thanks to Nathan. Gus fired next, the shot deafening my left ear. The smell of gunpowder was thick. Gus shot the figure I first saw in the brush, while Boggs lunged forward to keep Ron and Sadie under guard.
Abbey was screaming and crying hysterically from inside the shelter.
My heart was racing as I held my pistol in front of me and turned in a full circle looking for more danger.
“How many of you are there?” Boggs was screaming at Ron in particular.
When he didn’t answer, Boggs raised his pistol above his head and brought it down, pistol whipping him. Blood promptly began running down Ron’s forehead.
“Don’t hurt him!” Sadie began screaming, adding to the confusion. Abbey and Jane were both crying loudly by now.
Something was horribly wrong. The sobs and screams from the shelter were escalating.
“Emilie!
Em!” I shouted as I ducked under the tarp, realizing I hadn’t heard her consoling the girls.
“Zoe!
It’s Emilie,” said Abbey in a combination of sobs and moans. She was hysterical and barely able to speak. The girls had lit a couple of candles when they first woke, and in the dim light I could see Emilie lying down at an awkward angle, halfway on an air mattress.
“Oh God,” I moaned.
“Emilie…” I walked as quickly to her as I could, and sank down beside her on the mattress. “Em,” I sobbed. “Oh God no. Em, wake up!” I flinched when I heard a gunshot from outside.
“Don’t shoot me!” screamed Sadie.
“You have no right!”
Her words were followed by another gunshot, followed by Nathan cursing.
Susan and Gus were already beside me. I was kneeling over Emilie’s body, my head on her chest. She was so incredibly still, and already so very cold. I had no idea where Boggs and Nathan were. At the moment I didn’t care. I knew already that the strangers were all dead, unless there were more hiding.
Someone was crying and I was growing irritated.
The sobbing was hurting my head, and then finally I realized it was me. I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder and knew by the feel it was Gus. His hand was trembling.
“Emilie, wake up,” I moaned.
“Wake up, please, wake up…Emilie…wake up!”
“Zoe, darlin’, she’s gone.
She can’t wake up.”
“No, Gus.
No. No. She has to wake up. Please, Em, please! You can’t go…”
Gus placed his other hand on my remaining shoulder and gently pulled me up and away from Em’s body.
I turned into him and let him hold me.
“She can’t be gone, Gus,” I groaned loudly.
“What happened? What happened to her?”
“That first bullet must have hit her, Zoe.
She died instantly. She didn’t feel any pain.” He also had tears streaming down his face.
“Noooo,” I wailed and shook my head.
“Not Em.” I closed my eyes, willing my head to remain free of any spark beautiful Emilie might cause in my mind should she wake. I couldn’t bear losing her twice.
“Gus, I can’t do it if she comes back…”
I let my thought trail off.
“She won’t be coming back, Zoe.
The bullet that hit her already took care of that. She’s at rest now, with her brother Joey. Please believe that.” He was stroking my hair gently.
I lay my head on his chest and shook my head.
I suddenly felt selfish. She was my best friend, but she was Gus’ lover. I should be comforting him now, not the other way around.
“I’m so sorry, Gus.”
“We all loved her, Zoe. We all loved her so much. We need to go outside now, and talk to the others.”
I hadn’t realized we were alone.
Susan must have taken the girls out.
“I want to bury her, Gus.
We can’t just leave her.”
“Of course we will.”
I wiped my tears and turned back to the body of my best friend. My sister. Her beautiful freckled face was marred by blood that trailed from a single hole in her temple. She was such a beautiful person, inside and out, and never deserved to be harmed like this. I felt faint, so leaned down to rest my forehead on her again. I grabbed one of her hands. Her skin was ice cold, and felt waxy. It was one of the worst feelings in the world. She was completely and utterly lifeless. I stared at her chest, and I could swear I saw her breathing. I had to feel for myself. As I kept my forehead against her chest, I felt absolutely nothing. Even in the dim candlelight I could see that she was a deep shade of blue-gray. Her eyes were lacking the sparkle I had grown to love.