Zoey and the Zombies (A Mondamin Court Adventure)

Chapter Ten #7

There were the sounds of feet coming up the steps outside of Caleb and Kyle's apartment. Then a knock on the door. Looking out the dark window, Zoey froze. Who on the block went out at night? Between the military curfew and the fear of undead, very few went anywhere at night.

Caleb must have read the situation the same. He gave her a nod toward the back corner. He exchanged a short look with Kyle, and Kyle joined her. Since his return, Kyle had been watching her closely, as though he wasn't sure how he should feel about her gender or her presence around Caleb. But he treated her politely enough.

Caleb had taken to keeping his pistol near the doorway. He checked it, then held it behind his back before he hitched the door open a crack.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Caleb?" a man's voice said.

Caleb relaxed and straightened, but he didn't open the door. "What's up?" he said. He seemed to know whomever it was on the other end. From the sounds of it, there were several people on Caleb and Kyle's porch. Most of the voices were male.

"We're making a break for it," the man said.

"To where?" Caleb asked.

"A place, up north. We'll talk on the way."

Meaning they weren't going to tell unless they knew he was coming, Zoey surmised.

"How are you planning on getting around the checkpoints?" Caleb asked. The military had every major road blocked, and military law was in effect for the entire country.

"We're hoofing it," the man said. "We got packs and gear, food. Plan to stay off the roads."

Caleb nodded.

"Anyway," the man said, "we've got an extra pack. I told the men you were good, you'd be an asset."

"Only, I have my roommate here and—"

"We only got room for one more," another voice said. "Resources are strained as it is."

"Yeah, you know what guys? I kinda got a group here. But thanks, man. It means a lot."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Zoey listened to the sounds of feet going back down the stairs. Caleb watched out into the night for a long time, not setting the gun down.

Finally, he shut the door.

"Thank you," Kyle said in a hushed voice.

"Ahh, I don't want to be the tagalong member of their group anyway," Caleb snapped, finding a seat next Zoey.

Why be the little fish in the big pack when you can stay here and be the big fish? Zoey thought.

Kyle returned to his own chair on the other side of the room. He turned the volume up on the TV. It was the evening news. The Internet had been down most of the day, and the government was leaning heavily on the radio and television media. It was basically the only source of news, even if it was often carefully screened.

It was obvious that LA was going down hard and fast. Panic was everywhere, and the estimated number of attacks ran in the thousands. How many were infected and how many were simply panicked rioters was anyone's guess.

The current news story was the South. The KKK and a veritable army of rednecks had decided to use the excuse of "I thought it was a zombie" to settle scores that ran back to the Civil War and before. It was threatening to turn into a full-blown race war.

"I don't know why we got to watch that shit," Caleb groused. "It's only pissing me off."

Zoey looked at his profile carefully, the curly, dark hair and deep tan. With her naively liberal upbringing, she hadn't even really thought about his race. She supposed in retrospect that some part of her must have recognized that he had mixed race ancestry, but it never occurred to her that it meant anything. After all, she was a mixture of various immigrant strains as well. But the big blow-up with Brian, and then his reaction to this news, brought it home to her.

As if in answer to Caleb, the electricity cut out. He started to his feet. "If those bastards came back," he muttered, peering out the window.

Across the way, Zoey saw Mrs. Crighton turning on a small electric lamp. She looked down the street. "It's just a blackout," she said, pointing. "The rest of the neighborhood is out too." They had been having rolling blackouts on and off most of the day.

Caleb gave her a look but didn't answer. He checked the lock while she lit a candle. He sank down on the couch, and then lay across her lap, still watching the door.

She stroked his head. She agreed with Caleb, better to not watch the news. The infection was spreading fast, throughout South Florida, LA and scattered reports in North Carolina. Rioting and panic had killed thousands more. Can't they see that's only making things worse? Especially in the South, with zombies already on their doorsteps.

Thanks for reading!