Free 'Til Death Do Us Part by Mark Tufo

Eliza! ” Tomas said forcibly as he stood after getting his fill.
    “ The mother lives , Tomas, I can smell her stench of life from here. You are doing her no favors by allowing her life . ”
    “ We have eaten , Eliza, why must you torment them? ”
    “ Two of her whelps are dead and she will be weaker than a newborn for the next two days. My zombies are destroying this entire city. They are not nearly as efficient in their feeding as we are , t he pain these two will suffer at their hands will be far worse than the end I offer. ”
    “ You don ’ t get it. You could stop all off it, ” Tomas beseeched.
    “ How did father tolerate one with such a dramatic disposition? ”
    “ I ’ m done here, ” Tomas said , heading for the door. He waited in the middle of the roadway for another five minutes before Eliza walked out . S he wiped the blood off her mouth with her fingers , then licked them clean.
    “ Don ’ t be so sad , Tomas, they now live eternally. Come , let us go see what other fun we can have, ” s he said as she grabbed his arm.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN

    BT and Gary
     
    It was long moments before any of them had calmed down enough from their close encounter of the girth kind. The city shone like a dying sun in the rearview mirror.
    “ That ’ s really the end of them, ” BT said looking back.
    Gary ’ s eyes were wet with remembrance.
    Mrs. Deneaux was subdued , but it was more out of self-preservation than from any type of respect. To her , Brian ’ s death was a necessity; he died to save her . Paul was an idiot that shouldn ’ t have made it any way , and Mike ’ s demise was more of a stroke of good fortune. She realized that he had more than a sneaking suspicion that she was in some way involved in Brian ’ s death as well as Paul ’ s disappearance , and he would have kept pressing the matter. Especi ally since Paul had been eaten— by cats no less. She smiled as she humored herself with the thought. Who dies by cats in a zombie apocalypse? That ’ s like dying from a hangnail during a war.
    “ Something funny? ” BT asked her.
    She hadn ’ t realized she’ d been displaying her mood on the outside. “ I ’ m j ust happy to be away from there. ” s he said , recovering smoothly. “ I mean safely of course. I am sorry for your loss , Gary, ” s h e said as motherly as she could. It sounded more like a pit viper before it struck a field mouse.
    Gary did not hear the tone, only the words. “ Thank you, ” h e practically sobbed. “ I...I don ’ t know how I ’ m going to tell Tracy, the kids, my father. ”
    “ I ’ ll be there with you , Gary, we ’ ll get through it, ” BT said as he turned to face him.
    “ It should have been me, BT, ” Gary sniffed heavily.
    “ Please tell me you do not plan t o cry the entire drive to Maine, ” Mrs. Deneaux said. When BT turned an evil eye on her she added. “ I ’ m merely looking out for the lad, he won ’ t be able to see the road properly and he will give himself a truly bad headache. ”
    We lose half our number and she survives, the fates are cruel and unjust , BT thought sourly . I am going to have to watch her carefully .
    Mrs. Deneaux smiled broadly as Gary looked at her through the rear view mirror.
    The Pinto may have been the ugliest thing still on the road , but it ran and that counted for a fair amount. They had just crossed over into Virginia on R oute 85 almost to the 95 interchange when Gary noticed that the fuel gauge hadn ’ t moved since they ’ d left Old Fort nearly some two hundred miles ago.
    “ I think we might have a problem, ” Gary said.
    BT , who had been lost in his own thoughts , sat up. “ What ’ s the matter? ” h e asked looking around. BT thought Mrs. Deneaux might be sleeping but he couldn ’ t tell; the old bat had one eye open.
    “ Fuel, ” Gary said pointing to the dash.
    “ It says we ’ re three-quarters full, ” BT said moving his head so he could see.
    “ Yeah… and that ’