continued to moan and cry. They still made her shudder and feel just a bit sick every time she looked at them.
“No, I did not get a look at who…or how many. I was ru nning down Easy Street when it happened.”
This received nods from everybody. It had been something that each of them had seen as ironic and humorous when they had first ventured out to get an idea of the surroundings. From the looks of things, it had been anything but easy for the res idents of this area. Most of the houses were burned to some extent; many were little more than black skeletal husks hinting at their former grandeur.
From what they had seen from an overlooking hill as they arrived, there was a small town just northwest of where they were currently holding up. It appeared to have suffered from a catastrophic fire and held little promise that there would be an ything worth scavenging.
“I had just passed Playboy Mansion…” she referred to one of the residences by the nickname Mel gave it when they had first spotted the expansive abode with its gated entrance, “…and was cutting down between that rock wall and the trees when I heard a popping sound. I think I took a handful of steps before my leg buckled and I felt pain. I had to ditch my pack because I could barely move…much less run.”
“I’m going back there,” Glenn growled and moved for the rope ladder. Kyle grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“And what do you intend to do? First you have to get past those.” He pointed to the gathered cluster of zombies below. “Then what? We haven’t had bullets for how long?”
Glenn jerked away and moved over to squat next his wife. She leaned into him and patted him on the arm.
“I need the kit,” she announced.
The one thing they had in their favor was the fact that Cy nthia was a veterinarian…at least she had been before the dead began to walk. Her medical skills were better than most doctors who worked on humans. One thing she had stressed any chance they got, was the need to gather medical supplies. Sometimes those came at the expense of food.
“We can skip a meal…but if somebody gets an infection, they can die quick,” was her credo anytime they approached civilization.
Mel fetched the black backpack with the hand -painted red cross on it and set it down beside her sister-in-law. She had become one of the first converts to Cynthia’s way of thinking after Xander became horribly ill one day. She watched helplessly as Cynthia hovered over the child, checking him hourly and administering a variety of antibiotics.
Of course, while the women were caring for the child, the men had to fend off countless zombies who were drawn by the noise of Xander’s crying. Mel had found an entirely new version of love for her family that week. Not once had anybody co mplained. There were a few times when it looked as if they might all die, but nobody flinched. Cynthia continued to stay at Xander’s side and the men fought like fierce animals.
“ Okay, Glenn…sweetie, I need you to go be with the baby,” Cynthia said through a wince of pain. He started to protest and she hushed him with a finger over his lips. “I know you could and would help, but this is going to be ugly and it is really gonna hurt. You need to be out of the room.”
With visible reluctance, he stood and ran his hands through his shaggy dark hair. Gone were the days of his clean, close-cropped and perfectly styled hair. She found his new look strangely appealing and had let him know one day when he was contemplating on how he might just try and shave it all off.
Once he had gone inside the treehouse, she looked up at her brother; Kyle was doing his best not to look upset. “I need you to get your knife as hot as possible. Mel, rip something into strips for me that are about an inch or so wide. Also, bring me something that we can use to elevate my leg.”
Once everybody had run off on their assigned tasks, she took another glance down at the pack of
“No, I did not get a look at who…or how many. I was ru nning down Easy Street when it happened.”
This received nods from everybody. It had been something that each of them had seen as ironic and humorous when they had first ventured out to get an idea of the surroundings. From the looks of things, it had been anything but easy for the res idents of this area. Most of the houses were burned to some extent; many were little more than black skeletal husks hinting at their former grandeur.
From what they had seen from an overlooking hill as they arrived, there was a small town just northwest of where they were currently holding up. It appeared to have suffered from a catastrophic fire and held little promise that there would be an ything worth scavenging.
“I had just passed Playboy Mansion…” she referred to one of the residences by the nickname Mel gave it when they had first spotted the expansive abode with its gated entrance, “…and was cutting down between that rock wall and the trees when I heard a popping sound. I think I took a handful of steps before my leg buckled and I felt pain. I had to ditch my pack because I could barely move…much less run.”
“I’m going back there,” Glenn growled and moved for the rope ladder. Kyle grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“And what do you intend to do? First you have to get past those.” He pointed to the gathered cluster of zombies below. “Then what? We haven’t had bullets for how long?”
Glenn jerked away and moved over to squat next his wife. She leaned into him and patted him on the arm.
“I need the kit,” she announced.
The one thing they had in their favor was the fact that Cy nthia was a veterinarian…at least she had been before the dead began to walk. Her medical skills were better than most doctors who worked on humans. One thing she had stressed any chance they got, was the need to gather medical supplies. Sometimes those came at the expense of food.
“We can skip a meal…but if somebody gets an infection, they can die quick,” was her credo anytime they approached civilization.
Mel fetched the black backpack with the hand -painted red cross on it and set it down beside her sister-in-law. She had become one of the first converts to Cynthia’s way of thinking after Xander became horribly ill one day. She watched helplessly as Cynthia hovered over the child, checking him hourly and administering a variety of antibiotics.
Of course, while the women were caring for the child, the men had to fend off countless zombies who were drawn by the noise of Xander’s crying. Mel had found an entirely new version of love for her family that week. Not once had anybody co mplained. There were a few times when it looked as if they might all die, but nobody flinched. Cynthia continued to stay at Xander’s side and the men fought like fierce animals.
“ Okay, Glenn…sweetie, I need you to go be with the baby,” Cynthia said through a wince of pain. He started to protest and she hushed him with a finger over his lips. “I know you could and would help, but this is going to be ugly and it is really gonna hurt. You need to be out of the room.”
With visible reluctance, he stood and ran his hands through his shaggy dark hair. Gone were the days of his clean, close-cropped and perfectly styled hair. She found his new look strangely appealing and had let him know one day when he was contemplating on how he might just try and shave it all off.
Once he had gone inside the treehouse, she looked up at her brother; Kyle was doing his best not to look upset. “I need you to get your knife as hot as possible. Mel, rip something into strips for me that are about an inch or so wide. Also, bring me something that we can use to elevate my leg.”
Once everybody had run off on their assigned tasks, she took another glance down at the pack of
Similar Books
