It was almost comical to see the zombies trying to get to the tractor through the herd of cows. The undead seemed utterly oblivious to what these moving obstacles were and would bounce back and forth off of them as they struggled to get to the person driving the tractor.
The dogs, even the little Chihuahuas, seemed almost rabid in their hatred of the zombies. They would grab hold of the dead, tearing at them viciously. As the stunned onlookers on the walls of the fort watched, the pack of dogs took down a zombie with primal savagery. When a little terrier walked out of the fray with the thing’s head, Katarina began to laugh. “Calhoun,” Travis decided.
“And we thought he was dead!” Katie covered her mouth with her hands, giggling.
“Are you sure?” Linda asked, squinting, trying to see the driver.
“That cage thing’s top is covered in foil,” Travis pointed out. “Oh, yeah, it’s Calhoun.” Linda shook her head. “Old Crazy Calhoun.”
A zombie scrambled up onto the side of the tractor and began to shake the cage. It suddenly stiffened, then tumbled over dead. Another zombie, an elderly woman, tripped and fell over a dog and immediately was trampled by the cows.
“I’m going to start picking off the zombies on the outer edge,” Katarina decided. There were at least a dozen struggling to get past the dogs and cows to Calhoun. The sun was higher now, the mist rolling back as the grayish light of dawn filled the streets. The old man seated in the cage erected on the trailer was now visible as Calhoun, complete with a foil jumpsuit and cowboy hat.
Katarina and Linda began to steadily pick off the zombies as the tractor drew near. Calhoun began to slowly turn in front of the wall before the hotel. He noticed the people up on the wall and slowed down to shout up at them.
“Thems here dairy cows for milk and chickens for eggs. Nobody eats ’em or I keep driving,” he called out. Katarina could now see the pet carriers tied to the flatbed trailer were filled with cats. They were snarling and hissing and not too happy.
Meanwhile, the little dog was still dragging around the zombie head while a bigger dog made attempts to steal it away.
“Okay, Calhoun, just get inside,” Travis shouted back. With a salute, Calhoun shifted gears and the parade continued. “Leave that nasty ol’ head alone, Pee Wee, and get along little doggie,” Calhoun shouted.
The little black dog heard his master, hesitated, then lifted its leg, peed on the zombie head, then trotted after the rest of the dogs.
Katarina thought she would die laughing.
*
Travis met Calhoun in the courtyard after the old coot successfully managed to get in the gate. The snipers on the walls had picked off the zombies mingling with his herd and all the dogs, cows, chickens, and cats were accounted for to the old man’s satisfaction.
“So you went for your animals,” Travis decided with a wry smile.
“Yep. Realized feeders were about empty,” Calhoun answered. “I see.”
“Figured we need fresh milk and eggs anyway,” Calhoun decided. “Keeps your brain sharp against the aliens.”
“Yeah, right,” Travis said dubiously, staring at the grizzled old man in the foil jumpsuit.
“’sides, army has been circling my farm. Don’t need them taking my stuff,” Calhoun said in a dire voice. “I don’t take kindly to martial law. I didn’t vote for that yokel in the White House.”
“I think that yokel is dead,” Travis answered.
“And leading the messed up clone hordes? Their undead master? Damn! It all makes sense now,” Calhoun decided grimly.
“So you saw the army?” “Saw their helicopter flying around. Told you them folks were up to no good,” Calhoun said, and gave Travis a hard look.
“Yes, you did.”
“Obeying their Amazonian overlords,” Calhoun sighed. “Well, anyway. I’m back.” Travis laughed a little and said, “Yes, yes, you are and we’re glad for it. Even though we’re going to have to figure out how to deal with the animals now.” He looked down at a Chihuahua busy sniffing his foot. “We honestly thought Blanche had killed you.”
“That bitch? Hell, no! But she were up to no good right before I left. Did you know she was doing ol’ Shane back in the day? I think she got some men sneaking stuff out to her mansion and shit like that. But I’ve seen her wandering around on the roads, so I guess that plan failed, huh? I think someone dern ate her.” With a grim expression, Travis nodded. “Yeah, probably.”
“Almost feel bad for them zombies that ate her. Must have been a bad case of indigestion,” Calhoun decided.
2. The Twilight World
Jenni’s head hurt.
Rolling onto her side, she felt her brain swim around in her head before settling at a weird, annoying angle. Bill was snoring loudly in the cot next to her and the soft breathing of the others hummed around her. She couldn’t believe she was in a freaking mall. At least the damn mall music wasn’t on.
Wiping a tear away, she tried to get comfortable, but it wasn’t easy on the hard canvas cot. It was hard for her to believe she was spending another night in this godforsaken place. She missed Juan. Missed him terribly. She missed him with the terrible ache that comes with death or abrupt separation. She knew in her heart he wasn’t dead. Somehow she knew he was alive and waiting for her to go home. Staring up at the high ceiling, she sighed again. The mall’s emergency lights were still on and it was annoying. She needed pitch-black to sleep. She needed her Juan next to her, warm and slightly snoring. Again, she shifted on the cot and this time rolled over so that her back was to Bill.
Next to her, on another cot, was Mikey. He was fast asleep, his sweet face that was slowly transitioning from little boy to teenager made her heart beat faster in its innocence.
No, no, Mikey was dead. Yet, he lay next to her. He was deeply asleep, his mouth hanging slightly open.
She pressed her eyes closed, then re-opened them.
Mikey was still there.
“You see, Jenni, it wasn’t you I saved that day on the lawn. It was Mikey. He was crying and staring at the house. I saw him and pulled over,” Katie said as she sat down on the edge of Mikey’s cot. She looked thin and a little haggard. Her belly wasn’t swollen with her pregnancy and she looked like a pale shadow of herself.
“No, it was me,” Jenni whispered. “Mikey..Mikey…he was…you know what he was.” Katie sighed and shook her head. “You shoved him out the door and your husband took you instead. You slammed the door shut and it was Mikey I picked up that day.”
“No, no. I…I…” Jenni sat up sharply. Her head swam fiercely and she had to steady herself. “He turned back to defend me.”
“Mikey told me about his brother, but we didn’t know where to find him. Jason died out there at the camp. We found our way here to where my Dad is,” Katie continued. “I never met you.”