Chapter 15

Crack! "Got him!"

"He's still twitching."

"He went down, it counts."

They made a game of it. It made sense, they were still children even if they were in the Army now. What surprised Marla most was that it didn't bother her at all. They were enjoying themselves. They took turns with Jenny's .22 rifle. As the bus passed a zombie, whoever had the rifle took a shot. If they missed, they passed the rifle. Otherwise they got another shot. She wasn't clear what the one with the highest score would win, but the competition was friendly. Zombie killing, a wholesome childhood game, fun for the whole family.

The Hum-Vees rejoined the convoy before they left the city limits. The one with the .50 cal, the big machine-gun, took the lead. It sounded single booms and an occasional short burst. Zombies hit by the bullets tended to fall apart. The other, with its smaller gun brought up the rear. The radios chattered, mostly Jeremy talking to the girl at their camp. Their conversation was inane, nothing they said was of any importance, but there was clear affection in their voices.

Marla giggled. The world had ended, and still boys and girls went on unchanged. The age old dance of life went on no matter how the music changed. Three hundred kids, she wondered if they should have packed the condoms. But no, probably better in the long run that they hadn't. She looked across at the black haired girl. She seemed to be asleep, still clutching her sister to her skinny chest. If she didn't have that responsibility, the girl might have shattered completely instead of only cracking. Babies would give everyone something to live for, each one a unique reason not to just fold under the pressure.

Babies. She'd always wanted children someday. She would probably have one now. Might even already be pregnant, she hadn't brought her pills with her, and she'd done it often enough with Eckert. It was a comforting thought. She put her hand on her bare stomach and wondered, even hoped.

The kids kept playing even after the convoy pulled onto the freeway, but the pace of their game slowed. There weren't as many zombies on the interstate, and they missed more often. They crossed over to the wrong side of the road to pass a tangle of wreckage, hundreds of cars. They picked up a few followers, but quickly left them behind. At another tangle they stopped for a few minutes while the captain pulled some bags out of a stalled car, then they pulled up the wrong way to an overpass and headed into the mountains.

It was dark when they pulled in. The camp, really an old mining town, was set back in the forest at least a mile from the blacktop. Gravel pinged off the undercarriage of the bus as they pulled up the winding trail and past the barricades. A solid looking gate rolled back and the convoy roared into town, past century old buildings. The convoy pulled into a gravel lot and parked in formation. A crowd of children gathered around, excited voices yelled questions.

Captain Hansen moved to the front of the bus. "Everyone wait, you know the drill, no one gets off until the quarantine team comes for us."

Marla watched as a small team of soldiers went to the lead Hummer and moved the occupants into a small modern building nearby. They had weapons ready, but didn't actually point them. After a moment Marla realized what it was. Bathrooms, and the road leading into a forested area was campground access. There was even an RV and a few tents in the campground, and both the building and the campground were surrounded by an eight-foot wire fence ... The other military vehicle was next, then the farm truck and the semi. Teams of kids unloaded the vehicles, into wheelbarrows and handcarts. Some teams were supervised by adults, but most were led by older kids.

Something about the scene was odd, there were too many girls. She did a quick count, about twice as many as there were boys. Most of the adults were women as well. One of them, a short blonde soldier, knocked on the front door. Captain Hansen motioned to Zoe who opened the door, then he waved the soldier in.

The blonde soldier climbed up the steps and saluted. "Glad to see you sir. Everybody came back, good mission."

The captain returned her salute, then took her by the hand, a distinctly nonmilitary gesture. "First Sergeant Corbett, This is the Doctor Marla you've been waiting to meet, also Lin-Tai and her daughters who've kept all these children safe until we could reach them. If you've got a place ready, detail someone to get them settled in." He looked at Marla. "Stay a moment Doctor."

Sergeant Mel turned a bright cheerful smile on the women. "We've got a place for you to stay tonight, and tomorrow we'll make permanent arrangements." She waved up a teenage girl in camouflage. "Bobbi-Jo will take you in to get cleaned up, then get you some dinner." she turned to the girl. "Check Jenny and Miss Simpkins first, then they can help you check everyone else. All the kids can go with you to the womens showers, get them cleaned up, then take them to those rooms we cleaned out today. I'll send someone over with food."

All the girl soldiers filed off the bus, helping with the children. Another soldier came over and led away all the boys and the three survivors that had been picked up before the convoy reached the pharmacy. After the last of the boys filed out, Sergeant Corbett moved back to where Marla sat. She put out her hand. "Welcome to Sulfur Springs Doctor." Marla reached out, but was brought up short by the cord attached to her collar. The blonde woman's face fell. "You've been bitten." It wasn't a question.

Marla tapped the side of her knee and winced at the spike of pain She also felt an anticipatory tingle between her legs. "Not sure, it seemed safer to act like I had."

The captain cut in. "No symptoms. Either the cutting she did was effective, or she wasn't bitten."

"Cutting?"

Marla explained what she'd done, along with her theory that it was a blood borne pathogen. "There really wasn't any other choice." she said. "It was a long shot, but better than doing nothing at all."

Mel quizzed her about her experience, while the captain checked the bus, looking into each isle. He found the black haired girl asleep under the pile of sweatshirts. He nudged her gently. "Wake up, we're home."

She didn't react until he shook her, then she shot up out of the pile, kicking and screaming. The girl's eyes were wide with terror as she attacked him with desperate fury. The baby joined in with a high pitched wail. He backed off, talking to her gently. The change hit her eyes first, then she flew into his arms, weeping nearly soundlessly. He asked her a question, and she answered, face still buried in his chest. The baby screamed again and she pulled a bottle from her bag and gave it to her. The captain pointed to Mel, and spoke softly. The girl nodded. Only then did Marla realize she didn't understand not because he spoke too softly, but because he wasn't speaking English.