Zoey and the Zombies (A Mondamin Court Adventure)

Chapter Eleven #2

Des Moines, Iowa

"Jack! Just the man I wanted to see," Brian called from the street.

"I'll bet," Jack muttered as the man came up his steps. "We can talk from here," Jack told him, not moving aside. "And this is close enough."

Brian stopped, scowling. "You guys talk like you have such a friendly neighborhood," he said. "But half of them wouldn't even invite us in to talk."

Jack gestured at Brian's compatriots, David and a woman. They were each carrying boxes of canned goods. "And I am guessing those who did are now regretting their hospitality."

"The way I look at it," Brian drawled out, "is that we've come here to help protect this neighborhood of yours. Least you can do is help us out in return with a little bit of food."

"The way I look at it," Jack echoed, "is that no one asked you to come here and you are the one most of them need protection from."

"You might not want to be making enemies at a time like this. Bad things could happen," Brian warned.

Jack smiled, a heavy, grim smile. "You might want to take your own advice, mister." With that, he turned and went inside.

#####

Ethan wandered out onto Lydia's back porch. The girls were running to go pet the goats. It was a veritable farm back there—goats, chickens, and even a small hand-pumped well. Ethan let them go; the backyard was fenced and secure. They would be fine. Ethan was more interested in what was happening on the porch itself.

Zoey had a large canvas bag with numerous wooden shafts sticking out. Caleb and Kyle were sitting on a bench, watching her intently.

"I have been going to Renaissance fairs for years," Zoey was saying. "I went through this period from about sixteen to when I graduated high school of being obsessed with weapons." She glanced over at Ethan. "They won't let you buy swords or weapons if you are under sixteen."

She opened the bag and started pulling things out. Ethan's eyes went wide. There was a long spear, a couple of swords, a big spear with a cross between a sword and an axe on the end of it, and a couple of maces.

"I got this too," she said, pointing at a Japanese katana to one side. Ethan reached for it.

"I think you're too young," Caleb said, stopping Ethan. He took the katana and slung it over his shoulder. "Here." He handed Ethan a wooden practice sword. Ethan scowled.

Zoey took the practice sword. "Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's greatest swordsman, killed more people with a wooden sword than a real one," she told Ethan. "Seriously. This is just as dangerous. For zombies, it's even better. A metal sword cuts into the body and often gets stuck. You really have to know what you are doing then. This will crush a skull just as easily, but can't get stuck. Here, hold it like this."

Ethan took the sword from Zoey. He was a little miffed at Caleb for taking the real sword, but pleased that Zoey at least was including him. She showed him a couple of basic cuts and pointed him to an empty space to practice.

"What's this thing?" Caleb asked, holding up the weird blade on the end of the spear-like weapon.

"That's a halberd," Zoey said. "And these swords are actually for belly dancing." She grabbed the two curved scimitars. She balanced one on top of her head and began to shimmy across the board. Caleb laughed. Ethan turned his attention back to his own practice, imaging a zombie falling under each stroke.

Thanks for reading!