Siege (As the World Dies #3)(26)

“I haven’t seen any of them acting remotely like they have a memory of who they were. Like recognizing family members or anything like that? No. Have any of you? I mean, most of you saw friends and family turn. All they want to do is eat you.”

“No. No. I haven’t seen any of my old friends or my family members even so much as look at me as anything other than food,” the Reverend cut in. “Their souls have moved on. They’re free of this world.”



“Actually, Reverend, not to correct you or nothing, but they haven’t really moved on. They’re all around us. All the time. Some are stronger in this world than in the other, but they are all caught between the world of the living and the dead.” Rune looked at everyone steadily. “It got messed up. All the dead rising like that. The natural order of things got screwed up.”

“Kinda like that line in Dawn of the Dead when they said there was no more room in hell?” Jenni could feel that Katie’s hand was trembling and she felt terribly for her. She didn’t even want to think of her kids not being in heaven. That was the thought that made her feel better when the nightmares came.

“I don’t know rightly.” Rune slowly set down his water and rubbed his mustache with his long fingers. “All I know is that I see ’em. I see the ghosts. And everywhere I go, they’re there. Trapped.”

The Reverend looked like he was about to say something, but as he gazed at Rune’s face, he seemed to think better of it and averted his eyes.

“I think they are all waiting for something to happen so they can move on. Something big. I don’t know what it is, but they’re trapped here until it gets done.”

“I don’t know if it’s a consolation or not, thinking of our loved ones being ghosts as their dead bodies try to eat us,” Katie finally said. “But it makes me feel a little bit better than living in fear that our loved ones are trapped in those rotting things.” “I’m real sorry for y’all losing your loved ones. But y’all got a good thing going on here. And good things are rare in this world,” Rune decided.

There was an awkward silence as people pondered what had been said and slowly they began to talk amongst themselves. Maddie took Rune’s hand in her own and smiled at him softly.

“At least we know the zombies are stupid,” Jenni said at last. “Stupid is good, right?”

“And they are afraid of fire,” Charlotte added, as if the conversation had not taken a strange, metaphysical turn. “Another primitive fear of the reptilian brain.”



Jenni thought about it and imagined bonfires all around the fort. It appealed to her. Katie hesitated then, said, “So, we have a few...really weird new weapons.” Her voice didn’t sound shaky anymore.



“Uh-huh.” Charlotte took another bite of her sandwich. “Christmas lights,” the Reverend said, slowly smiling.

“Christmas lights,” Charlotte agreed.

Jenni grinned. “Damn. That’s just kinda funny.”





Chapter 6





1. Jenni’s World





“And what do you do if you see a zombie?” Nerit asked in a loud voice. “Poke it in the eye!”



The chorus of children’s voices made Jenni look over from where she helped lay cement blocks on top of the old wall. A group of twenty kids, all ages, had gathered around Nerit and a dummy made up to look like a zombie. The kids all held the fort’s makeshift spears.

“And then what do you do?” “Shake it hard!”



“Why?”

“To make their brain soup!” some little wise-ass called out.

The kids broke up into wild peals of laughter.

Nerit smiled slightly, then ordered, “Okay, line up! Let’s make zombie brain soup!”

Jenni looked over at Juan. He was sweating hard, his long curly hair slipped free from his ponytail. Feeling her gaze, he looked up at her then over at the kids.

“They need to know how to fight back,” he said finally. “Yeah,” she answered, looking back at the kids.



A young boy, about Mikey’s age, walked up to the zombie effigy and rammed the end of his spear into its cloth eye as hard as he could, then shook it hard. Again, the children laughed.

Jenni sighed and spread more wet cement with the trowel. “I wish Mikey hadn’t turned back to defend me.”



“He didn’t know, babe,” Juan said in a soft, cautious voice. “I know, but...you would have liked him,” Jenni fought back a few tears and lifted the heavy cement block into place. She rarely spoke to Juan about her kids. It was hard to speak of a piece of her life she could not ever share with him.

Juan kissed her cheek softly, causing the makeshift platform they were on wobble a little. “I know, Loca. I know.”

“If I could find a way to give you kids...”

“Loca, it’s okay. Really. I got you. I got Jason, even though he does hate me, and I got Jack. And Jack is a pretty bad ass kid. Kinda furry, but a great kid.”



Jenni laughed despite the lump in her throat.

“Besides, Katie and Travis are probably going to be spitting out kids left and right and we’ll end up with babysitting duty.” He wiped the sweat from his brow, managing to get a little cement in his hair. “I just want to be with you. Okay? If we’re together, I’m happy. Even if you are batshit crazy.” Jenni laughed and leaned against him. “Crazy is good.”