{"id":357,"date":"2013-07-22T15:06:24","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T15:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/?page_id=357"},"modified":"2025-02-05T00:52:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T00:52:33","slug":"chapter-101","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/story\/chapter-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

PART X: \u00a0SEASONS TURN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter 101<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Sleep doesn\u2019t come easy in the land of the dead.\u00a0 The zombies don\u2019t sleep, so neither do we.\u00a0 We still take turns doing guard duty, keeping watch from the top of one of the towers at night, while the others get some shut-eye.\u00a0 With so many of us in the rotation now, my turn only comes around once every two weeks or so, but even on the off nights, I only sleep a few winks.\u00a0 It\u2019s cold in the castle and lonely late at night.\u00a0 The wind howls through the makeshift shutters we use to board up the windows, and it\u2019s not just the chill that makes me shiver, but the stench and sounds of zombies that are carried in with it.<\/i><\/p>\n

It helps having someone to share my bed, but not even Gretchen can keep my nightmares at bay.\u00a0 Even in sleep, I\u2019m haunted by dreams of my dead wife and daughters.\u00a0 When I wake up, I don\u2019t know whether to be relieved or disappointed.\u00a0 I\u2019m always grateful to find Gretchen there beside me, still warm and breathing, but equally devastated to realize Leighanne and Brooke and Bonnie are still dead.\u00a0 Even awake, I\u2019ll never be able to escape the nightmare, not when I live it every day.\u00a0 The best I can do is find ways to distract myself.\u00a0 Gretchen is a good distraction.<\/i><\/p>\n

I lie awake so often at night with something to read or something to write.\u00a0 In the silence, my mind is free to think of the ways that God has cursed<\/span> blessed me.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Saturday, March 9, 2013<\/b>
\nWeek Forty-Six<\/i><\/p>\n

The stub of a candle burned, casting its flickering light into an otherwise dark corner.\u00a0 Shadows danced on the stone walls of the castle, as Brian, missing the ease of electric lamps, squinted down at the notebook in his lap.\u00a0 Pen poised over the paper, he read the last words he had written.<\/p>\n

I lie awake so often at night with something to read or something to write.\u00a0 In the silence, my mind is free to think of the ways that God has cursed me.<\/i><\/p>\n

It had been another restless night, his sleep disturbed by another terrifying dream.\u00a0 Brian had woken with a start, his heart racing, and slipped out of the bed he shared with Gretchen.\u00a0 She slept on soundly as he stole away, not wanting to wake her.\u00a0 He took with him only the single candle, a pen, and the journal Riley had suggested he keep.<\/p>\n

The suggestion had been a good one; putting his thoughts down on paper was the only way he could get them out of his head.\u00a0 Writing was relaxing, therapeutic.\u00a0 In the many months since he\u2019d started it, the once blank book had become filled with entries that spanned everything from stories to sermons.\u00a0 Onto its pages, he\u2019d copied verses from the Bible and created verses of songs, but most of his writings were free verse \u2013 his own rambling thoughts, his own troubling memories.<\/p>\n

He still struggled with his faith sometimes, especially on nights like these, when he\u2019d find himself alone in the dark, the only one awake.\u00a0 He would lie there and listen to the soft sounds of slumber that surrounded him:\u00a0 a symphony of slow, steady breaths\u2026 the occasional rustle of covers as another restless sleeper turned over.\u00a0 But rather than allowing himself to be soothed, Brian fixated on the more sinister sounds coming from outside the castle walls.\u00a0 Every thump made his heart leap into his throat; every moan made his blood run cold.\u00a0 In these moments, he reached out to his god like a security blanket.\u00a0 But he never got a reply.\u00a0 It was a lonely feeling.<\/p>\n

But he wasn\u2019t truly alone.\u00a0 He remembered it just as a dull thud from somewhere overhead made him jump.<\/p>\n

Nick<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Nick was in the north tower, keeping watch that night.\u00a0 They all worried whenever it was Nick\u2019s turn for guard duty, not because they didn\u2019t trust him to do the job, but because of his seizures.\u00a0 The ominous thud sent Brian scurrying for the stairs to make sure he was all right.\u00a0 The candle shook precariously in his hand, its flame creating a dizzying strobe effect as he circled up the spiral staircase to the top of the tower.<\/p>\n

There, he found Nick climbing to his feet.\u00a0 His gun was lying on the ground, its barrel glinting in the candlelight.\u00a0 Brian looked from one to the other, putting the pieces together.\u00a0 \u201cNick?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick spun around, startled, but seemed to relax when he recognized Brian, a sheepish smile spreading across his face.\u00a0 \u201cOh, hey Brian.\u00a0 You scared me, bro.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian smiled back tentatively.\u00a0 \u201cAre you okay?\u00a0 I heard a thud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, I\u2019m good.\u00a0 Don\u2019t tell Kevin, but I may have nodded off for a sec.\u00a0 Dropped my gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNodded off?\u201d\u00a0 Brian raised his eyebrows.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure that\u2019s all it was?\u201d<\/p>\n

The sharp look Nick gave him was all the proof Brian needed.\u00a0 Post-seizure Nick just had a vacant stare.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t have a seizure, if that\u2019s what you\u2019re thinking.\u201d\u00a0 If he had, he would have seemed more confused than annoyed.<\/p>\n

Brian nodded, clapping a hand down on Nick\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 Just had to come check on you, bro,\u201d he replied, returning the term of endearment Nick had used earlier.\u00a0 They really were like brothers now, for the small group of survivors had become a sort of family, connected by a bond that was stronger than blood \u2013 though, as it turned out, they had that in common, too.\u00a0 And like brothers, they sought to protect one another from threats both outside and within the walls of their fortress.<\/p>\n

The muffled pleas floating up from the dungeon were proof of the danger that lurked around every corner, even inside the castle.\u00a0 Alistair, imprisoned in its bowels, served as a sad reminder that the dead weren\u2019t the only ones to be feared.\u00a0 The living could be just as dangerous.\u00a0 But Nick was all right.\u00a0 A little misguided at times, maybe, but a good guy nonetheless.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry if I woke you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNah, I was already awake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t stay asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick looked sympathetic.\u00a0 \u201cAnother nightmare?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cSucks, man.\u00a0 I have \u2018em sometimes too.\u201d\u00a0 A look of understanding passed between the two men.\u00a0 Although Nick rarely spoke of it, Brian remembered that he, too, had lost family members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure we all do,\u201d said Brian.<\/p>\n

Nick smirked.\u00a0 \u201cHell, the world we live in is one big waking nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian let out a humorless chuckle, nodding in agreement.\u00a0 When Nick turned and wandered back to the window, he followed.\u00a0 They stood side by side, sentry-like, staring out into the night.\u00a0 The moon was a mere sliver in the sky, doing little to illuminate the dark ground below, but the stars around it shone like diamonds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking of asking Gretchen to marry me,\u201d Brian blurted out of the blue.<\/p>\n

Nick turned to look at him, grinning like a jack-o-lantern in the candlelight.\u00a0 \u201cYeah?\u00a0 Way to go, man \u2013 congrats!\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian could feel himself blushing.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t think it\u2019s too soon?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick snorted.\u00a0 \u201cWhat, you think society won\u2019t approve or something?\u00a0 Lemme tell you something, bro \u2013 society\u2019s dead, and time is meaningless.\u00a0 It can never be too soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess that\u2019s true\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when you gonna pop the question?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian considered the question.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I guess I\u2019m waiting for the right moment.\u201d\u00a0 He had proposed to his first wife on a Christmas Eve picnic in her parents\u2019 backyard.\u00a0 It was simple and romantic, exactly his style.\u00a0 He would have to think about how to do something special for Gretchen here, in this hellhole.\u00a0 But he didn\u2019t want to dwell on it too long, for Nick was right.\u00a0 Society was dead.\u00a0 Time was meaningless.\u00a0 And it could never be too soon.<\/p>\n

He felt calmer when he told Nick goodnight, descended the stairs, and slipped back into bed beside Gretchen.\u00a0 His side of the bed was cold, but he snuggled closer to her and was warm in no time.\u00a0 For awhile longer, he lay awake, imagining how he might make an honest woman out of her.\u00a0 Then he reached for his journal on the floor beside the bed.\u00a0 His pen was tucked inside, marking his place.\u00a0 In the dying candlelight, he read the last words he had written.<\/p>\n

In the silence, my mind is free to think of the ways that God has cursed me.<\/i><\/p>\n

Glancing over at Gretchen, he crossed out the word cursed<\/i> and replaced it with a better one.<\/p>\n

Blessed<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Then he snuffed out the candle, turned over in bed, and allowed himself to drift back to sleep.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Thick clouds rolled in while Brian slept, and the morning dawned gray and chilly.\u00a0 It would have been the perfect day to spend in bed with Gretchen, but such laziness wasn\u2019t an option.\u00a0 The group was short on supplies, and Brian woke to find Kevin organizing an expedition into the nearby village.<\/p>\n

They made these supply runs every few days, bringing back only as much as they could carry without slowing themselves down.\u00a0 Speed was their greatest advantage over the undead, whose shambling pace had slowed considerably with the winter freeze.\u00a0 The zombies still outnumbered them, but as long as they could outrun the undead, the small group of survivors felt confident in their ability to slip in and out of town unscathed.\u00a0 Selena usually led such missions, though Kevin had quickly risen through the ranks to become her second in command.\u00a0 He had trained the foreigners to use the military-grade weapons he had brought from the base and taught the whole group tactical formations to use in confined spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, there you are, Brian,\u201d he remarked, as Brian walked into the kitchen, where Abby was ladling bowls of porridge out of a big pot on the stone hearth.\u00a0 A fire crackled cheerfully in the fireplace, making the starkly furnished kitchen feel cozier than any other room in the castle.\u00a0 Abby handed him a bowl of breakfast, and Brian pulled a milk crate up to the makeshift table, crudely fashioned out of wooden planks.\u00a0 Kevin sat at the head of the table with a scrap of paper and a pen.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re going into town today,\u201d he was saying.\u00a0 \u201cI want you to be my wingman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian gave a single nod \u2013 not that Kevin needed his consent.\u00a0 The former Air Force pilot didn\u2019t ask for favors; he issued commands.\u00a0 Brian knew better than to refuse.\u00a0 Ever since AJ\u2019s leg had taken him out of commission, Brian had become his cousin\u2019s right hand man.\u00a0 \u201cAdd candles to your list,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThat stub I had last night isn\u2019t gonna get me through another one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGot \u2018em. \u00a0Matches, too,\u201d replied Kevin, tapping his pen against the paper.\u00a0 \u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cJust the usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Food was always their first priority.\u00a0 It was impossible to grow anything in the frozen ground, so they survived on what little they could scrounge up that wasn\u2019t spoiled \u2013 mostly canned goods and boxed meals, looted from the pantries and cupboards of houses in the village.<\/p>\n

The original castle-dwellers had come up with a system for organizing their trips into town.\u00a0 When they\u2019d finished going through a house or building, stripping it of all useful supplies, they spray-painted an X across the door so they wouldn\u2019t mistakenly go there again.\u00a0 It would have been an easy mistake to make, for the houses in the small parish all looked more or less the same, a row of quaint, red-brick cottages with gabled roofs, located along a single, winding lane.<\/p>\n

Using this system, the survivors made their way up the street, bypassing the houses whose doors had been marked.\u00a0 They moved silently, in the T-formation Kevin had taught them, with Kevin in the lead, flanked on either side by Brian and Ashton, while Selena brought up the rear, walking backwards to cover them from behind.\u00a0 The advantage of being in such a sparsely-populated area was that there weren\u2019t many zombies roaming around, certainly not compared to the situation in Florida.\u00a0 However, it was common to have to clear a house of its undead inhabitants before it could be scavenged.<\/p>\n

As they neared the end of the lane, the houses became fewer and farther between.\u00a0 Brian wondered what they would do when they ran out of buildings to loot.\u00a0 He supposed they would have to become completely self-sufficient and produce their own supplies.\u00a0 Food wouldn\u2019t be a problem once spring came; they could re-plant the garden and grow their own vegetables, enough to last through the winter if they preserved them.\u00a0 There would be more animals around, if the undead hadn\u2019t driven them away, and they could hunt for game.\u00a0 But Brian worried about how they would manage to make all the other things they needed, things like candles and matches, soap and medicine.\u00a0 Somehow, people in the distant past had done it, and he supposed they would have to learn as well \u2013 sooner, rather than later.<\/p>\n

They passed a two-story brick house with a bright blue door.\u00a0 A charming little sign mounted next to the door named the house as Ash Cottage<\/i>, but the red X slashed across the cheery blue told Brian the cottage held nothing of value to them.\u00a0 They moved on.<\/p>\n

An ominous creak caught Brian\u2019s attention, and he froze in his tracks.\u00a0 Kevin and Ashton stopped as well, but Selena bumped into him from behind.\u00a0 Startled, Brian let out a shout.<\/p>\n

\u201cShh!\u201d Kevin hissed.\u00a0 He crept up alongside the tall, wooden fence surrounding Ash Cottage\u2019s side yard, and the others followed in a single line, pressing their bodies close to the wooden planks.\u00a0 Brian feared the noise had come from inside the fence and imagined a zombie mirroring their movements on the other side, ready to crash through the gate and attack them at any moment.\u00a0 But as they reached the corner and peered around it, he saw the source of the sound.<\/p>\n

There was a small playground next door, and a pair of swings were swaying in the wind, their chains creaking.\u00a0 Brian let out the breath he\u2019d been holding, willing his heart to stop its pounding.\u00a0 But his sense of relief didn\u2019t last long.\u00a0 It was replaced with a shivery feeling that had little to do with the cold.\u00a0 There was something eerie about the playground.\u00a0 Its equipment, painted in bright, primary colors, seemed out of place under the steel gray sky.\u00a0 The wrought-iron fence that surrounded it had an air of menace.\u00a0 Keep out<\/i>, it seemed to say.\u00a0 Children only.<\/i>\u00a0 But there were no children left to play inside.\u00a0 Perhaps that was what unnerved him.\u00a0 There was something sad and almost sinister about an abandoned playground.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t abandoned.\u00a0 Something moved behind a row of rubbish bins, and Brian\u2019s breath caught in his throat again.\u00a0 He raised his gun as he sidestepped carefully around the trash bins, his courage bolstered by the presence of Kevin, Ashton, and Selena close behind him.\u00a0 But when he saw what was skulking on the other side of the wrought-iron fence, the breath rushed out of him, and his shoulders slumped, his arms falling limply to his sides.<\/p>\n

It was a little girl, dressed in a lacy nightgown that had once been white.\u00a0 She had long, blonde hair that reminded him of Brooke and Bonnie, but her once-blue eyes were bloodshot and clouded by a pus-like film.\u00a0 In life, she had probably looked like an angel.\u00a0 In death, she was demonic.\u00a0 Her hands scrabbled between the fence posts, hooked fingers slashing like claws.\u00a0 A primal, animalistic growl rumbled from the back of her throat as she snapped her jaws, baring her teeth.\u00a0 Brian saw that she was missing the two top ones.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019S\u2019alright, it can\u2019t get us from behind the fence,\u201d he heard Selena say nonchalantly over his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s keep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sensed her turning away, heard her footsteps crunching over the dead grass as she walked back to the road, and felt Kevin\u2019s heavy hand on his shoulder, trying to steer him in that direction, too.\u00a0 But Brian couldn\u2019t simply walk away.\u00a0 \u201cWait,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cShouldn\u2019t we\u2026 take care of her?\u201d<\/p>\n

He glanced back at the others.\u00a0 Selena was standing on the edge of the road, rolling her eyes at him.\u00a0 Halfway between them, Ashton hesitated, looking back at Brian with impatience.\u00a0 Only Kevin, still at Brian\u2019s side, seemed to understand his internal struggle.\u00a0 Slowly, he raised his gun.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d Selena said suddenly, stopping him before he could take aim.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t shoot when it\u2019s just one, remember?\u00a0 It\u2019s a waste of bullets, and it\u2019ll only attract more.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should put her out of her misery,\u201d said Kevin evenly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s the humane thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHumane?\u201d\u00a0 Selena let out a derisive laugh.\u00a0 \u201cThat thing isn\u2019t human.\u00a0 Not anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut she was,\u201d said Kevin.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if she was your daughter?\u201d\u00a0 Through his tears, Brian saw his cousin\u2019s eyes just barely flicker towards him.\u00a0 Discretely, he tried to blink them away.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine, then I\u2019ll do it,\u201d Ashton interjected, brushing past both of them.\u00a0 He strode up to the fence, holding his rifle over his head by its barrel.\u00a0 Brian looked on in horror as he reached over the fence and brought the butt of the gun crashing down on the little girl\u2019s head.\u00a0 It took several blows, but finally, the child collapsed, blackened blood and brain matter spilling out of her split skull.<\/p>\n

Brian couldn\u2019t help it; he turned and vomited his porridge into the grass beside the trash bin.\u00a0 For what seemed like an eternity, he crouched there, too shaky to stand, with the memory of embedding the meat cleaver in Bonnie\u2019s skull replaying in his mind.\u00a0 Over and over again, he saw her small body collapse, the handle of the cleaver clattering against the floor as she fell into a heap next to the decapitated head of her twin, its dead eyes open and staring.\u00a0 Then Kevin sank down beside him, put an arm around him, and hauled him to his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cC\u2019mon, cous,\u201d Kevin whispered in his ear.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve gotta keep going.\u00a0 C\u2019mon.\u201d<\/p>\n

He dragged Brian down the lane, Selena and Ashton covering them both.\u00a0 At a bend in the road sat an old-fashioned, red phone booth.\u00a0 A zombie was stuck inside, smacking the sides clumsily in its efforts to get out.\u00a0 Brian wondered how it had come to be inside it in the first place.\u00a0 Perhaps it had tried to barricade itself in the booth while it was still alive and had been bitten.\u00a0 He found himself feeling sorry for this zombie, too, but not like the little girl.<\/p>\n

They kept walking.<\/p>\n

Around the bend was a large, brick house, half-hidden behind the overgrown hedge that surrounded it.\u00a0 It was a struggle just to find the front door, but when they did, they saw that it was unmarked.\u00a0 Ashton threw a rock through the front window, then boosted Selena through it.\u00a0 A moment later, she had unlocked and opened the front door for the others.\u00a0 \u201cPlace seems empty,\u201d she said, as the three men trouped in.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust becomes it seems empty doesn\u2019t mean it is,\u201d Kevin warned.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t let your guard down.\u201d<\/p>\n

They kept their guns within an arm\u2019s reach as they searched the house, starting with the kitchen.\u00a0 They raided the cupboards, filling their backpacks with as many cans of food as they could carry.\u00a0 Then they made their way down the hall, looking in linen closets and medicine cabinets for additional supplies.\u00a0 Brian added soap, batteries, and a package of tea lights to his stash.\u00a0 \u201cThose don\u2019t burn very long,\u201d said Kevin, when he saw Brian stuff the tea lights into his pack.\u00a0 Brian could tell he thought they were a waste of space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can melt some together to make bigger candles,\u201d he replied with a shrug, though he had other plans for the tiny white candles.<\/p>\n

While Selena and Ashton continued to poke around downstairs, the cousins wandered upstairs.\u00a0 At the top of the stairs was a small room that was set up as an office.\u00a0 There was a large desk with a computer under the window, bookshelves along one wall, and propped in the corner, an acoustic guitar.\u00a0 Brian\u2019s eyes lit up when he saw it, his heart lifting.\u00a0 A guitar\u2026\u00a0 It was a luxury item, certainly, and not a necessity, but it had been so long since he\u2019d played one\u2026<\/p>\n

Impulsively, he picked up the guitar.\u00a0 It felt like an old friend as it fell into position in his arms, comfortable and familiar.\u00a0 He slid his fingers over the strings and gave them a strum.\u00a0 A single chord echoed through the silent house.<\/p>\n

Kevin turned and gave him a stern look.\u00a0 Downstairs, he heard Selena squawk, \u201cAre you fucking mad?!\u00a0 Keep it down; you\u2019ll attract them!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, like you shouting through the house won\u2019t!\u201d Brian called back, rolling his eyes at Kevin.\u00a0 Kevin cracked a smile, seeming torn over whom to side with.<\/p>\n

But it turned out that Selena was right.<\/p>\n

Brian\u2019s blood ran cold when he heard the scuff of dragging feet.\u00a0 He froze, looking at Kevin.\u00a0 His own eyes were wide with fear, but his cousin\u2019s were narrow and determined.\u00a0 As they stood still, listening to the slow approach of the uneven footsteps, Kevin whispered, \u201cGimme the guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian imagined him grabbing the guitar by its neck, raising it over his head and bringing it down upon the zombie\u2019s, bashing its brains in and splintering the guitar in the process.\u00a0 He shook his head, slinging the guitar onto the safety of his back.\u00a0 \u201cNo\u2026 find something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin started to protest, then seemed to realize there wasn\u2019t time.\u00a0 He spun around, snatching a heavy-looking lamp from off the desk.\u00a0 He ripped its cord out of the wall and raised it over his head just as the undead master of the house staggered into the office, arms outstretched.\u00a0 The guitar let out a hollow twang as Brian backed into the wall.\u00a0 Kevin sprang forward, swinging the lamp like a club.\u00a0 It connected with the side of the zombie\u2019s head, knocking it sideways.\u00a0 He continued to bludgeon the zombie until it lay still in the doorway, its skull clearly caved in.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d he growled, jumping nimbly over the corpse.\u00a0 Brian followed, the guitar swinging on his back.<\/p>\n

There was a trail of dried blood in the hallway.\u00a0 The sight of it turned Brian\u2019s stomach.\u00a0 It seemed to unsettle Kevin, too.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s make this quick and get back downstairs, alright?\u201d he said, eyeing the blood.<\/p>\n

They split up to search the two bedrooms.\u00a0 Kevin ducked into the smaller of the two, while Brian found himself in the master.\u00a0 He perched on the edge of the bed and looked around.\u00a0 While he had no problem stealing food, knowing that it would just spoil otherwise, it felt wrong to go through other people\u2019s personal possessions.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t really need new clothes or anything else that could be found in a bedroom.\u00a0 But just as he was about to get up, something shiny caught his eye.\u00a0 A pair of rings lay upon a saucer on the nightstand next to the bed.\u00a0 He scooted over and picked them up.\u00a0 One was a solid, white gold band.\u00a0 The other was a matching ring, set with a single diamond.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t overly large or ornate, but its simplicity was what made it beautiful.<\/p>\n

A lump rose in his throat as he remembered picking out wedding bands with Leighanne.\u00a0 He had taken his off when he and Gretchen had started getting serious, but he still wore it on a chain around his neck.\u00a0 He kept it tucked beneath his shirt, so that it rested against his skin, right over his heart.\u00a0 Gretchen had done the same with hers, which he knew must have been difficult for her.\u00a0 The only time he could remember Leighanne taking off her rings was during her pregnancy, when her fingers were so swollen, they didn\u2019t fit.\u00a0 It occurred to him that if he was going to propose to Gretchen, he should have a ring for her to put back on her finger.<\/p>\n

With that thought in mind, he stood and stuffed the rings into his pocket.<\/p>\n

He tried not to think of the woman they\u2019d once belonged to, but try as he might to prevent it, the vision came of a sick woman on her deathbed, removing the rings from her swollen, sore-infested finger as the plague ravaged her body.\u00a0 Perhaps her husband, the man Kevin had killed in the office, had died in bed beside her.<\/p>\n

Suddenly repulsed, Brian backed away from the bed and bumped into the wardrobe.\u00a0 As the heavy piece of furniture slammed against the wall, he heard a softer thump, followed by a scratching sound.\u00a0 The door that he\u2019d thought led to a closet stood ajar, and as it slowly swung inward, he realized it opened into a bathroom.\u00a0 In the gray light, he could see that the tiled floor was smeared with dried blood.\u00a0 And then he saw the pair of bloody feet trip over the threshold.\u00a0 Unable to look away, his eyes followed the skeletal gray ankles up to the bare, mottled legs.\u00a0 What was left of the rotten flesh was covered in festering sores and streaked with blackish blood.\u00a0 The woman\u2019s nightgown was soiled with it, too.\u00a0 It hung to her knees, hugging the middle of her swollen body in a way that reminded him oddly of Gretchen.\u00a0 When she staggered through the bathroom doorway and he saw her in profile, he understood why.<\/p>\n

She had been pregnant.<\/p>\n

In the second it took him to realize this, the woman shambled into the bedroom, snarling as she reached for him.\u00a0 \u201cLord forgive me,\u201d Brian muttered as he raised his gun.\u00a0 Remembering Selena\u2019s warning, he didn\u2019t shoot, but instead used it to strike her with all the strength he possessed.\u00a0 The zombie collapsed, and Brian exhaled a sigh of relief, slumping back against the wardrobe.\u00a0 He closed his eyes, wishing he had just stayed in bed with Gretchen.\u00a0 He wanted to be anywhere but in that room with the woman he had just put down.\u00a0 But when he opened his eyes again, there he still was, and there she was, too.\u00a0 And she was starting to move again.<\/p>\n

Startled, he raised his gun again, ready to shoot her in the head and put her out of her misery for good.\u00a0 But as he took aim, he realized the woman wasn\u2019t really moving after all.\u00a0 It was something else that was moving, something that was tucked between her legs, hanging out the back of her nightgown like a tail.\u00a0 It was gray and bloody, and when he realized what it was, he gagged violently.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to look, but something \u2013 morbid curiosity, perhaps \u2013 made him take a tentative step forward.\u00a0 He peered into the bathroom, and there he saw it, writhing in a puddle of congealed blood on the floor.<\/p>\n

Its skin was gray and mottled, like its mother\u2019s.\u00a0 Its black, soulless eyes bulged from their sockets, seeming too large for its head.\u00a0 Its flailing limbs, by comparison, looked like twigs.\u00a0 It seemed so helpless, lying there on the floor, unable to hold up its head or turn its body, and yet, its toothless mouth opened and closed, rooting desperately for the blood and flesh it craved.<\/p>\n

Brian didn\u2019t want to do it, but he knew he had no choice.\u00a0 He stepped over the rotting umbilical cord by which the zombie mother had been dragging her undead fetus around for months.\u00a0 He squatted on the floor, careful to avoid the blood.\u00a0 Then he raised his gun one last time and brought it swiftly down, smashing the infant\u2019s fragile skull.<\/p>\n

There was nothing left in his stomach to vomit, but that didn\u2019t stop him from retching over the toilet bowl, the bile burning the back of his throat, until Kevin came to collect him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian\u2026 my God,\u201d said Kevin, looking down at the scene before him in horror.<\/p>\n

Brian looked up miserably from the toilet.\u00a0 Wordlessly, Kevin handed him a towel off the rack, which he used to wipe the mixture of tears, sweat, and vomit from his face.\u00a0 Then Kevin extended his hand and pulled him to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get out of here,\u201d he said in an undertone, towing Brian by the wrist.\u00a0 They stepped around the baby and over the mother on their way out of the room.\u00a0 They went straight downstairs to rejoin the others and never looked back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou found a guitar?\u201d said Ashton, looking impressed.\u00a0 \u201cBloody ace!\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian had almost forgotten about the guitar strapped to his back.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d he heard his own hollow voice agree, as if someone else were answering for him.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t believe himself capable of speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how to play?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian struggled to bring himself back from the brink of Hell.\u00a0 It\u2019s over,<\/i> he thought.\u00a0 Don\u2019t think about it.\u00a0 Think of something pleasant.\u00a0 Think of Gretchen.<\/i>\u00a0 Finally, he found the strength needed to form words.\u00a0 \u201cYeah\u2026 a little.\u00a0 I used to write music\u2026 for church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you teach me sometime?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure\u2026 sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Selena rolled her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cLovely.\u00a0 Now we\u2019ll be able to gather \u2018round the fire and sing \u2018Kumbaya\u2019 whilst the zombies moan along in harmony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite what he had seen, the comment struck Brian as funny, and he managed a hoarse chuckle.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Selena.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor what?\u201d she demanded, flashing him a sharp look.<\/p>\n

Brian smiled grimly and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNever mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The first thing Brian did when he was safely back inside the castle walls was hug Gretchen.\u00a0 As he wrapped her up in his arms and held her close, he savored the warmth of her skin, the softness of her body, and the firm little bulge of her belly.\u00a0 His baby was inside there \u2013 his living, growing, human baby.\u00a0 He felt his body beginning to relax against hers, his mind banishing the horrors he had seen to some far back corner, where they couldn\u2019t be easily accessed.\u00a0 He knew they would return in his nightmares, as such horrors always did, but for now, he tried to put the past behind him and focus on the present\u2026 and the future, his future with Gretchen and their baby.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you okay?\u201d Gretchen asked, looking him over, once he\u2019d released her from the hug.\u00a0 She seemed to sense that the supply run hadn\u2019t been an easy one.<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI will be.\u00a0 But if you don\u2019t mind, I need a few hours to myself.\u00a0 Will you meet me later, at sunset?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes searched his, but she didn\u2019t question his request to be alone.\u00a0 \u201cSure.\u00a0 Where?\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought for a minute.\u00a0 \u201cThe chapel,\u201d he decided.\u00a0 And after he\u2019d helped sort through the supplies they\u2019d brought back, it was there that he went, the pack of tea lights tucked under his arm, the guitar slung over his back, his journal in his hand.<\/p>\n

He sat down on the stone altar and wrote in the journal for nearly an hour, not about what he had witnessed that morning, but about what he felt for Gretchen.\u00a0 It helped to cleanse his soul and to wash away the blood on his hands.\u00a0 He would write for awhile, then pick up the guitar, plucking out notes and chords to accompany his voice as he sang softly to himself.\u00a0 It had been so long since he\u2019d sung, even longer since he\u2019d played.\u00a0 He had almost forgotten the effect music had on his spirit.<\/p>\n

As the gray sky slowly faded to black, he set out the tea lights and lit them, bathing the chapel in soft, golden light.\u00a0 Then he sat back down to wait for Gretchen.<\/p>\n

She soon appeared in the doorway, her smiling face aglow in the candlelight.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s all this?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled back.\u00a0 \u201cSomething special for someone even more special.\u00a0 C\u2019mere.\u201d\u00a0 He patted an empty spot on the altar, and she came to sit beside him.\u00a0 \u201cI found this guitar in town today,\u201d he said, pulling it into his lap.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve just been in here playing and writing.\u00a0 It\u2019s been so long since I\u2019ve done that.\u00a0 It felt good.\u00a0 I\u2019m a little rusty, but you wanna hear what I came up with?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gretchen\u2019s face was shining.\u00a0 \u201cSure.”<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright.\u201d\u00a0 Brian cleared his throat and slid his fingers into place.\u00a0 He plucked at the guitar strings, picking out the tune he\u2019d been humming to himself all afternoon.\u00a0 His playing was tentative at first; it had been so long since he\u2019d had an audience for his music.\u00a0 But as he repeated the progression, he found himself gaining confidence, settling into the song.\u00a0 Then he took a deep breath and began to sing the words he\u2019d put down on paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lie awake, so often at night\u2026 with something to read\u2026 or something to write.\u00a0 In the silence, my mind is free\u2026 to think of the ways\u2026 that God has blessed me.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to see how He\u2019s been so kind.\u00a0 Any proof I might need is right here by my side\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Still strumming along, he turned to face Gretchen and found tears sparkling in her eyes.\u00a0 The emotional response bolstered his courage, and he continued, \u201cYou are the grace of my life, so tender\u2026 so undeserved.\u00a0 Won\u2019t you please be my wife?\u00a0 It\u2019s so hard to put what I feel into words\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

He trailed off, chuckling nervously at the way her eyes had widened.\u00a0 The last few notes hung in the air, uninterrupted, until Gretchen said, \u201cUm\u2026 was that a proposal I just heard?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian grinned and set the guitar aside.\u00a0 Taking her hand, he replied, \u201cYes, ma\u2019am, it was.\u00a0 It\u2019s high time I made an honest woman out of you, wouldn\u2019t you say?\u00a0 For what it\u2019s worth in this weird world we live in… I wanna marry you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gretchen smiled and squeezed his hand, pressing her other hand to her belly.\u00a0 \u201cThen I say yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.\u00a0 In the midst of the kiss, he remembered the ring.\u00a0 \u201cOh, hold on!\u201d he cried, breaking away.\u00a0 \u201cI forgot one thing.\u00a0 Told ya I was a little rusty at this!\u201d\u00a0 As she looked on, laughing, he dug in his pocket and pulled out the diamond engagement ring he\u2019d brought back from the village.\u00a0 \u201cNow it\u2019s official,\u201d he said, as he slipped it onto her finger.\u00a0 It was a little loose, but it would do.\u00a0 With any luck, she wouldn\u2019t even need to remove it as her fingers swelled later on in her pregnancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d Gretchen wondered.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian flashed a big smile that he hoped would hide the horror in his eyes.\u00a0 He wagged his finger, then put it to his lips.\u00a0 Some things were better left unsaid.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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PART X: \u00a0SEASONS TURN Chapter 101 Sleep doesn\u2019t come easy in the land of the dead.\u00a0 The zombies don\u2019t sleep, so neither do we.\u00a0 We still take turns doing guard duty, keeping watch from the top of one of the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"onecolumn-page.php","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/357"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":584,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/357\/revisions\/584"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}