Deadland Rising (part 3 of the Deadland Saga)

Redemption (Chapter 33)

Easter Sunday, one year after the outbreak

"How about Jack and Jill?" I asked.

Clutch guffawed. "That's as bad as Griz's idea for Dick and Jane."

I shrugged. "Jase wanted Fluffy and Wuffy."

His eyes widened, and I held up a hand. "Don't worry, I shot those down."

"Their names are Ted and Debra Nugent," Vicki said, settling the debate.

Her words silenced the Humvee.

It took me a moment to place the male name before I remembered. Tack's real name was Ted. Theodore Nugent, to be precise. Vicki had named the twins after their parents.

My smile was bittersweet. "Those are good names."

The other Humvee pulled around us to take lead. Griz waved from the driver's seat. It was the vehicle we'd hidden in the shed before going to New Eden. It was still packed with all the gear and supplies we'd crammed into it. We'd told Justin about it and offered to share the supplies, but he'd been adamant that we needed everything we had if we were going out on our own.

I turned to make sure Jase and Hali were following us, flanking our tiny convoy. The old Chevy truck was dirty, but Jase didn't seem to mind-if his wide smile was any sign. Of course, that could've also been because Hali was sidled up next to him.

Boxes piled high to Hali's right nearly hid her. All three of our vehicles were weighted down with food and supplies we'd bartered for in New Eden. Even our Humvee, with only room for the three of us, was chock full of supplies, including a radio so we could stay in touch with the other provinces and for me to plan flights with Akio.

Clutch drove. I sat in the front seat with one of the twins and a rifle propped against my hip while Vicki sat in the backseat with the other twin.

Frost had decided to remain at New Eden with Benji, which had come as no surprise. He'd made it clear he preferred to return to Fox Park, but he decided Benji fit in with the kids at New Eden and needed stability. We promised we'd stop by for a visit every chance we got.

When it came to Vicki and the twins, we left the decision up to her. We made it clear that we would stay in New Eden if she chose to stay. Not that she'd need help raising the twins, because she'd have an entire village to help with them, but because we'd given our word. Those babies were part of our Fox family. We'd do everything in our power to ensure their safety.

Vicki hadn't given her decision for a full month after the twins were born. During that time, Justin had tried his damnedest to convince Vicki into staying with the twins. But, on the thirty-first day, she stood before us and stated that Tack and Deb would've wanted their children raised in Fox Park and not a silo.

I was relieved Vicki chose Fox Park. The truth was, Vicki and the rest of us weren't cut out for city living. We'd all been on the run for so long that being confined in New Eden's silo suffocated us. We needed freedom and fresh air.

As Clutch drove, I stared out at the fields of massive white turbines, all still. I enjoyed the scenery as it became more and more familiar.

"We should be there in about an hour," Clutch said as he avoided a zed lying on the road.

With spring, the zeds reemerged, but they'd changed. Most had freezer burn. Bugs ate at their flesh, and they seemed to be putrefying in the warm air. Most could barely walk. They would rot away, and we'd burn the corpses.

When I saw the first zeds walking after the flight back to New Eden, I was terrified of having to face the herds again. It hadn't taken long to realize that the zeds were decaying. These were only the remnants of the vicious monsters that had erupted from the depths of hell a year ago.