Wake the Dead (22 page)

Alex suddenly overheard Phil, Liz and Bryan as they argued about what to do concerning their reanimated friend. He considered for a moment that perhaps he should offer himself as the bad guy and simply take the thing down himself.

The creature that was Ben continued to pound their shields with his own body, trying to swipe the steel aside to get at their flesh. Those assaults were met with resistance that either rejected his advances or knocked him stumbling to the ground.

Alex stood, removed his bow, but winced as the pain in his left hand mounted. He gritted his teeth against the discomfort and methodically nocked an arrow, letting it loose. He missed, however, pulling what would have been the killing shot at the last second. This drew anguished looks from the others.

“What the fuck are you doing!?” Bryan asked. “This is our friend and we reserve the right to…to kill him the way we choose!”

“All right, Bryan, I get it,” Alex began to say, nocking another arrow and taking a step back to get a clearer shot of their fallen friend. “But, I want you to understand that .he…no, it…is not what it used to be.”

“He’s right,” Liz stated warily, but sensibly. “It’s not our friend anymore.”

“We’ve all had to put down family and…spouses,” Alex said, dipping the tip of the arrow to the earth. “I had to kill my own wife, or rather, what she had become. They are not the people you once knew. So, killing this guy—this once and former friend—is something that needs to happen.” His words evidently carried weight as Phil shoved the creature to the ground, harder than he had before, screaming loudly as he did so.

“I'm sorry, buddy,” Phil added, standing over the fallen zombie. He leaned on his shield, its surface against its chest, pinning it in place as the zombie swung its arms wildly, trying to get at Phil, who removed the glasses gingerly, and looked sympathetically to Liz and Bryan. “So sorry.”

 He tossed his sword over to them. Liz eventually picked it up, and in one clean action, severed the zombie’s head.

The body went limp immediately.

Alex, seeing another zombie stumble out of the tree line, fired an arrow into the undead monstrosity, Phil barely noticing the arrow as it soared right over his lowered head. He looked to Alex with a crazed look in his eyes and then, hearing the sound of the body hitting the ground, turned to face the zombie as it fell over.

“Shit!” Phil said, rolling off Ben’s body and slowly making it to his feet. He bowed his head and mouthed what Alex believed to be a prayer of some kind. He waited for Phil to finish and moved to retrieve the arrow in the other zombie.

“I’ll be damned,” Alex said as he wiped the arrow clean on the grass. He bent low and picked up his Beretta Px4 Storm, discarded right beside the van. “He was returning the gun to me.”

Bryan, Liz and Selina all looked after Alex as he held it up, inspecting the weapon.

“Maybe he was,” Selina offered in comfort to Alex’s belief.

Maybe he
wasn’t
returning the weapon to him, Alex thought. Then again, why was Ben near the van and why was the weapon lying on the floor beside the vehicle? It was too much to be coincidence.

At least, that is what Alex believed as he unlocked the van, retrieved the bag he needed, and then locked it back up. He unlocked the driver side door and started the van, making sure it would turn over, and was lost in thoughts of his recent losses.

“Alex, let’s go,” said Selina, pulling him from his melancholy reverie as she grinned at him.

All ghosts of demons past disappeared under the splendor of that smile.

As they rounded the corner to put them on the bank of the river—the avenue taken to return them to the fairgrounds, shown them by Ben, the man who had discovered it after many solo errands—they were all dejected by the events that had recently unfolded.

Alex felt a certain empathy toward the group, and even Shadow was well behaved as they made their way back, not darting off after stray zombies and keeping close to Alex, step for step.

“That ammo do you any good?” Bryan asked Alex as they trudged through the dirt of the riverbank.

“Yes it did!” Alex said. “.45 caliber rounds all in all.”

“I guess that’s good?”

“Ammo is the same. All basically the same as what military and law enforcement are using these days. It’s a big slug,” Alex added, holding a bullet in front of his eye and scrutinizing it. “And I have plenty of it. I also have a good deal of 9 mm rounds from an old pistol, too, if anyone in your camp needs them.”

“That’s great,” Bryan said absently, not really listening to Alex, he realized, watching the man light, and then take a long drag of, a cigarette.

They said nothing to one another the rest of the way back to the gates surrounding the fair.

It was not much longer until Alex climbed through the opening in the fence, following the wolf and Selina, and staring at Phil, who held Ben’s glasses so gingerly in his left hand. Liz and Bryan waited for the others, Bryan holding the humidifier tightly and peering around the corner.

They had come back inside with no resistance from the zombies, who had mostly wandered out of the fairgrounds and into the parking lot, which was teeming with the undead, much to the chagrin of his present company.

Alex fumbled with the bow, finding it difficult to hold the handle firmly, his left hand stiffening from the wound under the stained rag that covered it.

“Dammit,” he whispered, looking up to see that his expletive did not escape everyone’s ears, Selina staring at him concernedly. He had refitted the pistol with a fresh magazine, filled completely with .45 caliber rounds once more, and removed the pistol from his belt.

“You okay?” Selina asked, Shadow sitting beside her patiently.

“I’ll be fine,” he said a little too sharply and quickly perceiving that the curt response was unwarranted. “Sorry. I guess I’m still a little shocked is all.”

“C’mon,” Bryan called back to the others. “Nothing much in our way.”

“Good thing,” Liz said, holding the camera steady as it still hung loosely around her neck. “Not in the mood for fighting right now.”

They made their way quickly and quietly back toward the gate, making it to within twenty paces, Bryan whistling to Nick, who manned the gate. As Nick acknowledged them with a wave and disappeared behind the parapets, Alex detected a horde coming toward them rapidly in the distance.

“Guys, go!” he yelled as they collectively looked back to him and then to where he was pointing. There were at least fifty of them, he guessed, they were filling the street, falling over each other to get at them. Phil removed his sword, hanging Ben’s glasses reverently from the collar of the chain shirt he wore.

“Go,” Alex yelled again, firing his Glock into their ranks, taking down one after the other as their heads exploded under the impact of the heavy rounds. Selina was suddenly beside him, firing the other pistol and hitting the mark, too.

“You weren’t kidding about the recoil,” she said, smiling at him as they heard the gate opening behind them. More shots rang out through the fairgrounds as zombie after zombie fell, until Alex heard a click and nothing happened.

Shadow suddenly ran past him and toward the zombies

“No!” Alex yelled fiercely. Shadow stopped and looked back to him. “Come!” he yelled again, very forcefully, and to his amazement, the wolf heeded his call, returning to his side.

“Let’s go!” called Nick from behind them, holding the gate open. Alex and Selina, and Shadow following closely behind them, rushed toward and through the gate as is slammed shut behind them. A dozen zombies slammed madly into the gate, trying in vain to get through the sturdy steel, perpetually pursuing their quest to satisfy an insatiable appetite.

Once inside the foyer of the castle, Shadow remaining in the outer courtyard by himself, Bryan brought the humidifier to Hannah, who threw her arms around him. “Let’s give this a try.” The pair disappeared further into the castle.

“He’s in bad shape,” Nick mumbled to the others, Phil, Liz, Alex and Selina, who stood somberly around him.

“What is it?” Nick asked. None of them would meet his gaze except for Alex and he shook his head, not feeling he was the one who should tell Nick the bad news.

Nick narrowed his eyes and cupped Liz’s chin, gently lifting her head to meet his gaze.

“Ben?”

Elizabeth nodded and collapsed into Nick’s arms, sobbing. He consoled her inaudibly, hugging her tightly as Alex hung his head, staring at the ground, feeling a responsibility for the man’s death.

“It’s not your fault,” Selina said shrewdly, as she spun him around to face her, grasped his hand, and led him away from the others. “If you are trying to blame yourself for—“

“He wouldn’t have had to do that if I hadn’t….,” he could not finish the sentence. One way or the other, someone would have died.

“If you
what
? Hadn’t done what you did?”

Selina stared into his eyes and shook her head. “Then I’d be dead, Alex. I know it sounds selfish, but I
want
to be alive! I want to be with you!” she whispered excitedly to him, holding his shoulders in her hands tightly and staring painfully back at him.

“I know,” he said. “I get it.”

“I wish there was another way, Alex. But you can’t go back in time to change his decision. If you had gone, then you’d be dead, too,” she said forcefully, coercing him to meet her gaze again. “And right now I can’t lose you.” She walked quietly away from him and into the Great Hall, taking a seat in a chair around the dining table where they’d eaten last evening.

Alex watched pitifully as Nick, Liz and Phil all shared in their collective sorrow.

He made his way out of the castle, lost in his thoughts, eventually finding himself in the outer courtyard staring at Shadow. The wolf stood at the outer gate growling at the zombies gathered there.

Alex fell to his behind and hung his head, contemplating life and lamenting his recent decisions.

***

Hours passed as the sun finally gave way to darkness.

Alex remained in that same spot, unmoving, even after Shadow had disappeared behind the chapel somewhere and reappeared, lying down lazily in front of the structure.

Alex spun as he heard the sounds of footsteps drawing near and turned to face the source. It was Nick.

“Kicking me out?” he asked the man, who bent to one knee and stared back thoughtfully at Alex.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I—“

“Let me stop you there. You did what you did and that’s that. There ya’ go. We can only move forward from here. Phil and Liz tell me you’re a good man and I believe them,” Nick said in what seemed to Alex as his best fatherly tone. “Plus, they told me that you saved Ben’s life at the store.”

“Yeah?” Alex said, tugging at his beard.

“I value their opinions. Especially since one of them is my wife.”

“Really? I had no idea. She didn’t even say.”

“No, she wouldn’t. She’s embarrassed about the whole thing,” Nick said jokingly. “I also had the pleasure of chatting with Selina, who loves Ben’s cat, Buster, by the way. She says you are worth keeping around, too. She is very fond of you, kid.”

“And?” Alex asked, still grimacing.

“
And
, she believes in you,” he stood and stared down at Alex, extending a hand. “So do I. Look, it’s a shame what happened to Ben. More than a shame, if you want the truth. He was my friend. But they told me that you offered to do the job, too. Ben wouldn’t let you. That’s just how he is.”

Alex eventually grasped Nick’s outstretched hand and he yanked Alex to his feet. Shadow came over to them and sniffed Nick who stood still, looking down at the wolf, seemingly admiring the animal.

 “I’ve got the last steak in my pack,” Nick said, removing the satchel from his back, taking out a plastic bag and pulling free the steak. He tossed it to the wolf. “He’ll enjoy that. Now, let’s get you fed. And a shower wouldn’t hurt.”

“Hey,” Alex asked, Nick spinning around to face him. “What’s the deal with Alexis and why does Liz…”

“Not like her?” he asked, finishing Alex’s thought. “She came on to me after the plague hit, knowing I was married to Liz,” Nick explained.

“And Elizabeth did not take kindly to it, I suppose,” Alex added, finishing Nick’s thought in return.

“So there’s that, there ya go,” Nick added with a wide grin.

“Ah,” Alex said, staring at Nick to see if there was more to it.

“She was never a threat to Liz and she knows it. That’s all that matters. Now, let’s see what we can do to get you fed and cleaned. C’mon.”

Alex followed Nick into the castle, looking over his shoulder at Shadow, as the wolf continued tearing bits of steak away and chewing on them contentedly.

How simple it would be to be him, Alex thought, as he joined Selina inside the Great Hall once more. She was eating a bowl full of corn and staring up at him.

He shrugged, embarrassed at the way he’d treated her and what he’d implied with his earlier statement. “I'm really sorry for that,” he admitted. Selina was clearly mindful of the subject matter as she merely nodded and patted the chair beside her.

“Come eat something. We’re more than good, Alex. I knew what you meant when you said what you did and that your heart was in the right place.”

“Right. I didn’t want anyone to—“

“Eat. Don’t talk. You just don’t get women, do you?” she asked with a smile. “I’m guessing it’s your kind heart and rugged good looks that have gotten you this far. Maybe one day you’ll get us.”

“I suppose,” Alex said, grabbing a bowl of beans and vegetables and eating quietly. She smiled warmly at him again and tapped her chin.

“And that beard is coming off tonight.”

***

It wasn’t long after their meal that the others gave the two of them some privacy. Alex and Selina had both gotten a change of clothes from their packs and made it into the private bathroom, which consisted of a shower and vanity with a sink. It had a half-wall in between this room and another much larger chamber, where a square pool sat in the middle of the space, clearly giving Alex the feel of a medieval bathhouse.

“They told me the construction workers were told to put this in, adjacent to the bathhouse and were supposed to wall this off to be more of a private shower. Who knows what for,” Selina said, removing her top and placing the beard trimmer and a pair of scissors on the vanity. “Now, let’s get that beard gone.”

She went to work right then, gently clipping larger portions of his beard and tossing them into the sink. Ten minutes later, she held up the razor and turned it on, smiling at him the whole time.

She slowly and methodically ran the electric razor over his face, gently removing the hair as it fell onto the floor. She shaved one side of his face and removed a portion of her clothes until once again she was stripped naked, except for her black panties.

Next, she grabbed a can of shaving cream, squirted a generous portion out into her hands and lathered it over Alex’s face.

“Trust me for this?” Selina asked as reached for a safety razor and held it up for him. Alex swallowed hard and nodded. Or, at least he believed he nodded as she worked the edge over his face so smoothly, that it somehow took on the feeling of something sensual. Alex could not help but be aroused at the entire experience. It had a profound sensation of intimacy that he never would have expected with regard to something as simplistic as shaving.

A short time later, running a hand gently along his face, she nodded in satisfaction and leaned in, kissing him deeply. She pushed him away playfully and twisted the showerhead, the water erupting from the spout and splashing the glass door as she kissed him again, removing her panties and stepping in, leaving him wanting more.