“I think all agents are stubborn, that’s what makes us so effective. Agent Vector was no different. After we bury him tomorrow, I really think we need to think about heading to North Carolina and home. The power grid will be going soon, maybe another week or two but it’s gonna go. I want to be home before it does.”
“I feel bad for leaving Rose, she’s been so nice. She’s the first woman I’ve ever liked. But she does have Reggie and Lauren is a big help as well. Alright, after we bury him tomorrow, let’s start making our plans and pack the truck. We can divide the ammo and just hit stores on the way home,” Zahara said softly and she patted the dead man’s shoulder and got up.
Xander turned off the light and they went to their room. As they walked past Rose’s room, they heard her soft weeping. Xander felt bad for her. He wasn’t sure he would have done it any other way. Ethan was well aware of the risks and wanted it anyway. Zahara wrapped her arm around his waist and they went to their room and softly shut the door.
It had been a solemn affair and quick. Reggie and Xander had dug the grave and the men had started digging right after breakfast. Xander had made toast and the others just sipped coffee, no one had an appetite. It took the men nearly three hours in the humid morning to get the grave deep enough that animals wouldn’t dig it up. She and Rose had washed Ethan’s body and had wrapped him in an old blanket. Reggie and Xander had lowered the body into the grave and Xander had said a few words. The children watched on silently, but there were no tears this time. Then the dirt had been thrown back into the hole and that had been the end of Agent Vector.
Zahara wasn’t sure how she felt about it and it was an odd feeling. She wasn’t even sure if she liked the man, especially because he’d been sent to kill her. But he hadn’t and that had said a lot. He’d also fought beside them and it had been fun harassing him. Now he was gone and Zahara just didn’t know how to feel about it. It was so weird, because she’d never had any friends and the death of others had never bothered her. Now she had Xander, he was her friend and her lover and her animal thought of him as her mate. Had Ethan been her friend? Could they have been friends? She sighed and sat back in the rocker.
The others sat around her, staring into space. Rose had gone upstairs to lay down. She looked torn up and Zahara felt a twinge for the woman. She had all these feeling swimming around in her and she was having a hard time processing them. Before the zombie apocalypse, her life had been fairly simple. Go to work, kill. Go for a ride, kill. No real interactions with people. No getting to know them. Now her life was tied to Xander and Shay. She was now understanding the feelings as some form of love. She didn’t love Ethan, but she did like him, after a fashion. Now he was dead and it was just weird.
The boys were over at the swing and she heard a giggle from time to time and she smiled. Little by little, the twins were becoming children again. She’d seen Shay smile and that lightened her heart. Reggie and Xander were talking over at the end of the porch. They were planning their strategies and later, they would haul out all the ammo and see what they would keep and what they would give to Reggie. They would also divide the weapons. They would leave Ethan’s weapons here and that was good because Reggie would need the suppressors. Noise from the shots drew the zombies and they needed it quiet when it came to killing.
Tomorrow she and Shay would say goodbye to this place and Xander would take them to their new home. She smiled at the thought. The cabin boasted a small loft and she thought that would be a nice place for Shay. They would make stops and pick up more supplies along the way. Maybe she would suggest a small U-Haul and pack that up with what they needed. She picked up her glass of sweet ice tea. She’d never drank it before coming here and she was quickly becoming addicted to it. She nearly dropped the glass when she heard a sound. She got up and she looked over at Xander.
“What?” he asked, looking at her funny. Her mouth opened and closed and she shook her head and walked to the edge of the porch. There it was again, that sound. She turned her head this way and that. What in the hell was it? Then her eyes grew large and she screamed and ran, she looked back over her shoulder and saw Xander and Reggie following her. She screamed again and ran to the grave. She flung herself to her knees and started digging.
“What in the hell is going on?” Reggie asked as Xander picked up the shovel that was leaning against the tree. He began to sink the shovel in and flung dirt out like a mad man.
“I think I hear Ethan!” Zahara screamed and kept digging with her hands. She allowed her claws to lengthen and her arms to become powerful. Reggie dropped down beside her and began to move fresh earth out and away.
“Hold on Ethan, we’re coming, we’re digging as fast as we can,” Xander bellowed and they all turned when Rose came running up with another shovel. Reggie got up and grabbed the shovel and began to dig like a machine. Four feet down they saw the earth
