'That is okay.' The little girl pulled her head back over the plywood out of Tim's sight. He didn't hear her leave, but was too scared to climb out and look to see if she was actually gone. Twenty minutes must have gone by and he had just convinced himself that she was gone when her little head popped over the edge again, 'You're not asleep.'
'No, I have a hard time sleeping with you up there.'
'Did you see me? I was behind the board. Can you see through the board like me?'
'No, Andi, I cannot see through the board, I just didn't hear you leave.'
'Oh.'
'Why are you still here?'
'Sam Waller says 'never leave food that sees you alive to tell other food about you.''
Tim felt his bladder let loose inside his sleeping bags as he babbled, 'No, no, don't kill me! I can tell you things if you keep me alive! Please don't kill me!'
'Sam Waller says not to talk to your food. Jim Tiller says to ask it questions before you eat it.' said Andi leaning in closer to Tim's face and shrugging her tiny shoulders. She put one hand on the top of Tim's head and the other under the base of his chin and held him as effectively as if he were in a vice. Tim could not open his mouth and it felt like his teeth were going to break.
'Ewww!' said Andi shoving Tim back and pulling away from him, 'Now you smell like Tommy Sandburger! You made yellow and dootie in your bag!' She laughed at him quietly for a moment and then pressed a barely visible finger against her lips, warning him to silence. A moment later Tim heard a couple of people talking in the street out in front of the house, they were not being very quiet, but their voices barely carried to where he was at. For just a moment Tim considered screaming out for help, one look at the girl's pale face and he gave that idea up and cowered back into his sleeping bag.
Chapter 37
Dora woke up early the next day, anxious to get a head start on the projects that had to be finished in order to leave. After speaking with the community last night Dora found that almost everyone wanted to leave as soon as possible, which might even be today. The buses were fueled and ready, the cars, likewise were ready to go, the town had been using them on food raids for the past month and a half and all they required was topping up their fuel tanks.
The pint of blood fee struck many as distasteful, but it came down to living or dying and everyone was pragmatic on that score. Dora had circulated a list to get everyone's names, Jake had wanted that, he said he would look them up individually after they were safe in Iowa, though he would be taking a couple of pints this morning as pre-payment too.
A wave of nausea hit Dora in the stomach as she lifted herself from her bed. With some effort she turned her good morning, 'Oh fuck me' into 'Good morning little baby' as she rushed for the bathroom. The vomiting made her feel marginally better, but she was not fooled, Dora knew unless she got a few calories into her stomach the vomiting would happen again. Cleaning off her face from a bucket of water next to the sink she toweled off, took her morning constitutional and cleaned up again. A few minutes later Dora was dressed in blue jeans, a heavy shirt and gray woolen socks on her feet. Heading downstairs she smelled coffee and eggs. Paige darted in from the front door to quickly turn the pan of eggs, calling a quick 'Good morning.' to Dora as she darted out again.
Dora smiled and took over cooking the eggs, wondering what had Paige so riled up. A couple minutes later she found out as the young woman brought a dirty, struggling boy in through her front door with Mary's help. Alex brought up the rear, looking rather stern with his arms crossed and a bruised eye. Dora raised an eyebrow at him and said, 'What is this?'
'This,' began Paige, 'is a 'Willy'. He is giving us no end of trouble. Maybe you can calm him down?'
'Willy, do you know me?' asked Dora to the still struggling boy.
He stopped moving so vigorously and said, 'Yeah.' in a sullen voice.
'Then what is the problem? Why are you fighting us?'
'I am not staying here. Not with you.'
'Why?'
'This is so not fucking fair.' muttered Alex.
Turning to him Dora half smiled and asked, 'What are you talking about?'
Pointing at the group including Willy, Alex said, 'This. We have been wrestling with him after cornering him like a rat twenty minutes ago, we get him to you and you get him talking in two seconds. That is not fair. We sheltered him, we cared for him…' Mary put her hand on Alex's fore arm and he stopped speaking.
Turning back to Willy, Dora asked, 'Okay then why aren't you staying with us?'
The boy was a mass of bruises, mud and dried blood. He was missing a chunk of his hair above his right ear, that scab was oozing pinkish blood down that side of his neck. His eyes were defiant and tinged just a little bit with something Dora thought of as 'insanity'. Finally he looked at each adult in turn and said, 'You're all gonna die.'
'Well, yes, we know that Willy, but what has changed?'
'You know?' he asked incredulously. 'Then why aren't you leaving? Why aren't you at the fences?'
'Wait, wait, you mean we are going to die today?'
'Yeah.'
'Let's just back up the bus a bit here, okay? How do you know this?'
'I heard them last night, I was close, to the twins I mean. They had that one guy, Tiller with them, one of the girls, she was talking to all of them. Said you were taking the buses out of here, not today, but tomorrow. She said you knew all about the twins and Tiller and the fake army guys.'
'How could she know?' asked Mary, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.
'Yes, how, Willy?' The boy shrugged. Dora asked Paige, 'Is anyone missing from last night? The zombie's news is fresh, so they had to take someone last night.'
'I will get a head count and see if anyone is gone.' said Paige rushing out the front door.
'So why did you come back, Willy, if they are going to attack us?'
'I came to get Beth out.'
'Ah, young love! So sweet, so fresh. Can you get her out?'
He nodded his head.
'What if I told you we would be taking the buses and leaving this morning? Would you come with us instead?'
Slowly he nodded his head and whispered, 'We have to leave now. They are watching.'
'Alex, you better go get the troops out, everybody needs to get up, even those who were on watch last night, half of them on the fence and get the rest loading up the buses, tell them we plan to leave in thirty minutes because it is an emergency. See if you can contact Jake somehow.' The plan had been to pick up Jake as they were leaving.
Alex nodded and went to get people moving. Dora turned her attention back to Willy. 'You look like shit my little man, I guess that is why Mary wanted to bring you up here and clean you up?'
Mary said, 'Yes, but he wasn't cooperating.'
'Well now you cooperate Willy, you do everything she says and stop making a fuss so she can get done quick. And when she is done with you, you need to help her get Mike and Peter into the buses, got it? That is how you say sorry for causing such a fuss.'
The boy looked at her a moment before his anger turned to fear, then he nodded meekly. Dora smiled warmly and said, 'Good! See? We are all on the same side here, we love you Willy and just want what is best for you. Now scoot and let me finish cooking these eggs.'
Mary brought the boy over into what used to be the living room, she stoked up the fire and wheeled a
