Frances said, "I guess it's not impossible for the undead, but I swear that ugly little monster has grown several inches in the last half hour. It's already moving like a ten month old baby.
"Well," I said, "I'll put a stop to that." The blast of my .45 caliber reverberated through the house as it ended the little monster's life cycle.
Before leaving the house, we searched the rooms and found Lindy's small stash of ammunition. It wasn't an important find, but in the right hands it could kill several hundred zombies. We entered the kitchen and found the back door wide open. The busted wood of the frame offered evidence that the door had been forced open recently. Lindy's two children didn't have a chance against the three fast running zombies. I couldn't imagine the terror they felt as they were attacked and mutilated until they died.
In the garage, there were thirteen cases of cereal, fruit, vegetables and canned meat we could use. We took a piece of heavy gauge plastic sheeting from a roll above the ceiling joist to wrap Jeff's body for transport back home for a deserved proper burial.
With heavy hearts, we lugged Jeff's corpse to the top of the truck and bungeed it in place. Our last act was to take the children's books Lindy had gathered for her kids from the front seat of her car. They would be put to good use by some of our nine children.
Our route home took us back through the Iowa State University campus. Near the Student Center, a group of zombies blocked the road a hundred yards in the distance. Several fast runners in front of the small mob approached us in a sprint. I stopped the Expedition and grabbed my customized M14 from the back seat. Through the moon roof, I pulled myself up and sighted on the lead zombie as Frances watched my back. In five shots the four lead zombies fell. The remaining sixteen or so slow stumblers took the remaining bullets in the first magazine and part of a new one.
Frances tapped my leg and said, "Off to the right at three o'clock, two more fast zombies streaking this way."
I swiveled and made sure they were zombies and not filthy humans. I took aim, but before firing I hesitated. Bile rose in my throat as I refocused and pulled the trigger three more times.
Back in the driver's seat, I laid the rifle in the back seat as the roof panel slid shut. The gearshift lever dropped into drive, and I drove ahead at fifteen miles an hour to dodge the corpses in the road.
I sensed Frances staring at me. "Are you alright?"
I shook my head. "No, but I'll get over it. One of the last two zombies I shot was Matthew Holden.”
"I vaguely recall him. He and his wife left shortly after my family arrived at Deliverance."
"Matthew and his wife, Maureen, left Deliverance voluntarily. They were drug addicts and couldn't adjust to our drug-free rule. They chose death instead. If Matthew is dead, I can only assume Maureen is, too. I still can't grasp how they placed such a low value on their lives as humans."
We arrived at Deliverance well after supper had been served and the kitchen cleaned. Kira was waiting for me, and we embraced passionately.
Reluctantly, I broke away. "I've got to talk to Marcie. Jeff was attacked and killed by zombies earlier today in Ames. We brought his body back for burial. While I talk to her, there's something you could do for me if you feel like it." She nodded. "Will you get me some food from the kitchen: a couple of sandwiches, hot or cold will do? And a piece of pie, if there is any.
"After I talk with Marcie, I need a shower and clean clothes." I keyed my radio and asked the leadership committee, plus Ira and Frances, to meet at nine in the office conference room for an emergency session. They confirmed, then I kissed Kira and left.
Forty-five minutes later, I sat at a small table in our room to eat. Briefly, I told Kira and Paige of the frightening zombie development. Shock was apparent on their faces as Kira moved to stand beside my chair.
"If large numbers of them become capable of reproduction, we'll never see an end to them. I'd hoped in several generations at the most we survivors across the country might eradicate the damned things." I nodded with my mouth full as she continued, "Now that looks highly unlikely."
"Don't get too upset. We don't know enough about what's happening to make judgments or predictions yet. Wait, learn, and see. It may not be as bad as we imagine."
She wasn't having any of my optimism. "Or it could be much worse."
I leaned over and kissed her belly. "When I finish eating, we need to go to the office. There are pictures I want to print so everyone at the meeting has a copy. Your stomach will roil at what we saw."
I patted her belly. At four months, a little mound on her slender frame showed her pregnancy. Ira had detected two heartbeats at the last checkup, and I'd been thrilled at the thought of twins to spoil. We wouldn't know their sex until the birth. Our leadership committee had declined to install x-ray machines or ultrasound equipment and had instead committed to a gradual lessening of our dependence on modern technology. Some of our people wanted to extend the way of life we'd enjoyed prior to the zombie influx, but we felt when our source of electrical power failed, it would be like stepping off a cliff. It was deemed better to give up selected modern conveniences slowly rather than losing all of it abruptly.
At eight-forty I walked into
