ZOMB-POCALYPSE BOOK 2

Chapter Fifteen

"Pull that hood down," Silas demands, and our would-be thief pulls the hood back to reveal a cascade of dark chestnut hair that falls well below her shoulders.

"Silas," I protest when he still doesn't lower his gun. He spares me a quick glance and arches his eyebrow up at me in challenge.

"What?" he demands, and I shake my head at him.

"You can't aim your gun at her!" I say in exasperation, but Silas just shrugs.

"Why not?" he demands, even though he knows damn well why not! I'm nearly speechless by his behavior, but not so speechless that I don't yell at him.

"Because she's pregnant!" I cross my arms in front of my chest and seriously think about walking over to stand in front of her so Silas will be forced to aim his gun somewhere else.

Silas snorts, and that's when I know that the semi- sensitive guy from last night is long gone this morning. "How do you know she's really pregnant?" he asks suspiciously, causing me to point in exaggeration towards the swollen belly that is straining the fabric at the front of her hoodie. "Even if that's true," Silas continues. "It doesn't mean she isn't dangerous."

I look to Ryan for help and am shocked to see that he's actually nodding his head along with Silas.

"But...she's pregnant," I mumble, wondering if I am the only sane person in this asylum.

"And Danvers was a Jesus freak, Jane. You need to be smart if you want to live long enough to be part of the new world," Silas lectures me, and I do feel a bit like a fool. However, I refuse to believe that everyone is now a psychotic maniac.

"Prove it," Silas tells the shaking woman as he motions to her with his gun, and she flinches.

"Prove w...hat?" she asks, clearly puzzled.

"Prove that bump underneath your shirt isn't some basketball you chucked under there to trick people," Silas says. It sounds so ridiculous I could almost laugh, except now I also need to know that she isn't some kind of fraudster waiting to slit our throats in our sleep.

The woman raises her chin and shakes her head. "Look, I don't know what kind of sick shit you three are into, but I'm not showing you anything," she looks angry, and if it had been me on my own, I might have folded, but not Silas. I wince when he cocks the hammer back on his pistol, and so does the woman.

"Alright," she holds up her hands again, puffing hard. "Just, please don't hurt me or the baby," she begs, and Silas gives her a single nod.

Her hands shake as she starts to pull the bottom of her shirt up. "Nice and slow," Silas demands, obviously worried she might be going for a weapon, and I'll admit, the thought also crossed my mind.

The woman shoots us all an angry look and lifts her shirt to reveal, not a basketball, but a bulging, swollen belly, all pale flesh marked by angry red stretch marks. I grimace a little; I can't help myself. The miracle of life is not a pretty sight.

"Thank you," I tell her, speaking for the group when neither of the guys says anything. "We aren't sicko's or anything, we've just been through hell and run into A LOT of not very nice people lately." I shrug, trying to show her that we don't mean her any harm.

I elbow Silas in the ribs, and he grudgingly puts the weapon down. "You could have just asked us for some food," Ryan says, finally speaking up, and I know he's like me, a bit of a bleeding heart, horrified to see a pregnant woman out here alone.

The woman snorts, reminding me vividly of Silas. "You said it yourself, there's a lot of not very nice people out here. I've learned the hard way to avoid them."