appropriate. I mean she’s going to have it for the rest of her life.”
Cahz levered himself up on the kitchen counter and made for the back door.
Ryan gently lifted the newly named child into the papoose.
“Wait for me,” he said.
Cahz paused. “Wait here a minute.”
Ryan watched out of the rain-splashed window as Cahz walked up to the corpse of his dead comrade.
“You stupid big bastard,” Cahz cursed as he sat down next to the body. He reached over and started tugging at the straps on his body armour.
“Why’d you do it?” Cahz asked the dead man. “You could have talked to me.”
Although the fastenings came away easily, the unresponsive corpse made removing the equipment hard going. Cahz gently slapped Cannons cheek as if he was trying to wake him. The skin was already cold, drained of heat as well as life.
“After all the shit we’ve been though and you leave me in the middle of this.”
Cahz undid the neck protection and left it to one side.
He stood up and switched positions to stand over Cannon’s corpse. With a hand on each shoulder he pulled the body armour free. There was a squelch as the material slid over the raw exit wound. The limp body slumped back into the grass.
“Remember the first day we met?” Cahz asked, patting down the pockets on Cannon’s fatigues. “No you don’t, ‘cause your brains are splattered all over this lawn. I’ll remind you: I was scared shitless. There was me, the Captain and a couple of other grunts who’d made it out of Nelson. And all those fuckin’ yahoo civvies. And there you were, being ignored and avoided. You didn’t seem to care; you just kept your mouth shut and tagged along.”
Cahz stood up, the rain splashing across his face.
“I ignored you-had no idea you were ex-military. I mean, who would have? You saved my life that first night, man. I wish you’d given me the chance to repay you.”
Chapter Twenty
Shroud
“Put this on,” Cahz said, handing Ryan the body armour and helmet.
Ryan looked at the bloodstains on the neck and shoulders.
“I’ll pass,” he said.
“You’ll put it on,” Cahz said, shoving it at Ryan.
“Watch it!” Ryan blurted, shielding Rebecca from Cahz’s aggression.
“Just put it on.”
“It’s covered in-”
“I’m doing my best to keep you alive. Now put it on. It’ll protect you from being bitten.” Cahz thrust the armour into Ryan’s shoulder.
Ryan took a step back, knocked off balance by the shove.
“All right,” he gave in, laying the baby down to take the armour. “You going to show me how to use the big gun then?”
“No,” Cahz said.
“Why not?”
“Just because. You are not using it.”
“Why don’t you use the machine gun and I use your rifle?”
“Where do I start?” Cahz shrugged.
“Why not?”
Cahz wore a blank, weary expression. “For a start, the SAW is a squad support weapon. We are not a squad. We’re two men and a fuckin’ baby.”
“Well, it still fires bullets,” Ryan said.
“Second, my ‘rifle’ is a carbine and yes, they both fire fuckin’ bullets, but they both need training to use. It’s not like the nun chucks on your pissy Wii.”
“Well, that SAW thing is still better than this crappy pistol.”
“And just how the fuck will you be able to fire that with a baby strapped to your chest?”
“Aw, come on! The firepower will be useful.”
“Ryan!” Cahz snapped. “This is not a discussion. You are keeping the pistol. And you will fire it only in self- defense and as a last resort.”
“It’s not like I haven’t shot a gun before.”
“Yeah, and you wasted a mag on Peter Rabbit. The SAW weighs a friggin’ ton and you’re shattered just carrying the baby and a crowbar.”
Ryan opened his mouth to object, but Cahz cut him off.
“Look, I have spent untold hours honing my skill as a marksman.” Cahz’s voice was clipped and stern. “We don’t have the ammo to dick about like you did on the tracks back there. You pumped off half a dozen shots with a semi. God knows what you’ll waste with that on full auto. We leave Cannon’s SAW and pistol here. They’re just dead weight. I’ve replenished my mags and between my M4 and the two pistols we’ve got over a hundred rounds. That’s enough to keep us safe until we get picked up-If we’re careful. Now let’s move out.”
Ryan’s lips were tightly shut, his eyes still looking at the long hunk of black metal that had been Cannon’s SAW.
“What if we don’t get picked up?” he asked, still focused on the machinegun.
“It’s not an option,” Cahz said, opening the door to the hallway.
“What if we don’t?” Ryan asked again more forcefully.
Cahz spun round and locked on Ryan’s eyes. He jabbed a finger in the direction of the back yard. He shouted, “Then we end up like him out there!”
The baby burst into tears from the barking noise.
“Or worse,” Cahz spat.
Ryan was about to say something when they both heard a thump.
“What was that?”
The thud sounded again, this time accompanied by a long, chilling moan.
They opened the door to the hallway. Through the frosted glass of the front door, Cahz could see the shadow of someone pushed up against the window.
He marched up to the front door and pointed his weapon at the silhouetted head. Casually he pulled the trigger. The shadow disappeared.
Picking up the set of keys he’d kicked earlier by accident, he unlocked the door. He walked out of the house, nonchalantly stepping over the dead body.
“Are you coming?” he called back over the noise of the crying child.
“Shit,” Ryan grumbled.
He pulled a plastic bag from a holder by the fridge and loaded a selection of the unopened tins and the can opener into it.
“Yeah, I’m coming,” he said as he slipped the papoose into position and trotted after Cahz.
The paving slabs in the driveway were a dark grey from the rain. A trail of black liquid was being washed off the dead zombie down towards the gutters. The suburban street was grey and eerily quiet. The only noise was the patter of the thick raindrops and the gurgle of the water as it passed over the leaf-blocked drains.
Cahz pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and lit it with one of the matches from the MRE. The white edges turned brown then black before it caught. The flames licked up, obliterating the orange and blue scribbles. With the rain failing to extinguish the fire, he tossed the burning artwork back into the house.
“Why’d you do that?” Ryan asked as he watched the hall carpet ignite.
Cahz didn’t answer. He just walked off down the rain-drenched street.
