Free Revenence: Dead Silence, A Zombie Novel by M.E. Betts

somethin' to help you relax.  Weed doesn't take away the reality or the pain of what's goin' on, but it makes it a little easier to cope."
    "I guess you're right," Shari said, leaning back and exhaling slowly.  "I don't mean to be such a bitch to him, but I'll be honest--I don't trust him at all, Fauna."
    "And to be honest with you, I think you're right.  The problem is, intuition is basically the same as speculation.  It's like a guess.  You're not workin' off facts, you're workin' off a gut feelin'.  Now, I'm not tryin' to say your intuituion is wrong, any more than mine is.  But it's just awfully unfair to make a judgment on a man when there's a chance you might wind up bein' wrong.  Even if your instinct is right, you might be interpretin' it wrong.  We just need to take things real slow, and be extra careful.  But keep in mind, we're armed, he's not.  Plus--" she paused.  "I think we got a considerable mental edge on him.  I just try and be prepared for anythin'.  We don't know him, and we don't know what he'll do.  Therefore, I wouldn't put nothin' past him.  Just be alert.  We should be in the habit of bein' careful anyway, given the circumstances."
    Shari nodded.  She thought deeply for a moment, and Fauna could see the gears turning in her head.
    "You got somethin' else on your mind?"
    "You don't have anything in that barn that he could use as a weapon, do you?"
    Fauna sat silently, eyes wide open.
    "Fauna!"  Again, an admonishing tone.  But this time, Fauna understood where she was coming from, so she declined to issue another head-slap.  "What kind of havoc can he wreak on us?"
    "Not much.  But there are a couple hoof picks in there.  That's about it, in the way of anything weapon-like.  The ones I use, they're not real sharp, but sharp enough that I agree, they shouldn't be left in there with him."  She stood and put on her jean jacket.  "You wanna go for a walk with me?"
    "Definitely," Shari said. 
    They descended the ladder and exited the garage, starting out toward the barn.  They could see the faint glow from the small LED lamp they'd given him.  It appeared that he was still up in the loft.  Fauna opened the corral gate near the barn, closing it behind them.  They entered the barn, and Fauna hit the switch on the wall, bathing the lower level with fluorescent light.  She searched around, quickly finding the hoof picks, and did a quick inventory to make sure there was nothing else potentially dangerous lying around.  They heard Nick pacing in the loft above.  "You ladies miss me?" he called, peering down at them with a grin.
    "Just looking for something," Fauna responded.  "You comfy enough up there?"
    "Oh, as comfy as I'm gonna be, I guess.  Thanks for the dinner you brought earlier.  It's been a couple days since I had anything even resembling real food.  I just want you ladies to know, I...I genuinely appreciate your concern for me.  I mean, I'm not really psyched to be in this loft, but at the same time, I'm relieved you didn't turn me away."  His voice cracked slightly.  "It really woulda been a death sentence for me.  I'm sorry I went for my gun, I...I just didn't know it was your property, and I couldn't help but be a little defensive--"
    "Yeah, you and all of us," Fauna interrupted.  "There's no hard feelings, Nick.  We're all just tryin' to survive, right?  We were thrown into a shitstorm with no manual on what to do, and it  ain't easy, for damn sure.  But hey, the fact that we all made it this far shows that we got some kinda will to live.  Let's all just keep that up, and help each other do the same."
    "Yeah, sure thing," he said.
    "Alright, then.  We're gonna get some sleep, you do the same.  We'll see you in the mornin'."
    "Okay.  Good night, ladies."
    "Good night, Nick," Fauna called on her way out.
    "Night," Shari said.
    Nick sank down onto the bed as the women left, his eyes narrow slits.  Those girls are gonna be the death of me , he