Free Trepidation by Chrissy Peebles

ottoman. “Yeah, way more homey than gangs, turf wars, and zombie hordes.”
    Nick looked at me. “I know you don’t like getting in the middle of Z and Max.”
    “That’s only because Z’s crazy, completely irrational. He enjoys torturing people. It’s some kind of sick, twisted fantasy for him. You should have seen his face when he had me hanging upside down over those snapping zombie heads. He looked like a freaking kid on Christmas. How can those people follow a sadistic leader like that?”
    “That’s just it,” Lucas said. “He is their leader, and from what you told me, he takes pretty good care of his own. I bet most of those people don’t even realize what a lunatic he really is.”
    “I don’t think they do,” I said, “but they worship the ground he walks on, and they’re willing to die for him.”
    “We’ve gotta back Max up,” Nick said, “and I’m more than willing to fight. I personally wanna take this Z down for what he did to you and Claire, not to mention all the other men, making them fight like some kind of gladiators, just for his own sick entertainment. It reminds me of Kingsville. He’s even more of a freak than the zombies, and I’m gonna rip his heart out, if he even has one.”
    Lucas’s face reddened as anger consumed him. “You’re right, man. This war with Z is personal now, since he’s messed with Dean and Claire more than once and is threatening every man, woman, and child in that city. It’s time to make him pay.”
    We talked for a few minutes before Nick yawned. “I’m so tired.”
    Rita had enough rooms for each of us to have a room. She led Nick to his, then showed each of us to ours. Mine was a bit too country and flowery and girly for my taste, but the king-sized bed that I’d have all to myself was soft and warm, so it was like luxury accommodations for me. The boarded-up window reminded me of when we’d stayed in that nursing home, but I couldn’t blame Rita. We weren’t in Fairport, and she had to fend off intruders. While zombies really had no way to reach the third floor, thugs, drifters, and robbers could, and they’d do whatever it took to loot for supplies, even breaking into an old woman’s inn.
    I thanked Rita and headed downstairs to the grand dining room. As my hand slid down the banister, I noticed some streaks of dried blood. I jerked my hand away and raised an eyebrow. “What happened?” I asked Rita.
    “I cut myself earlier. I’m useless here without my sons. That’s exactly why I need help with the firewood. I want nothing to do with that heavy, old axe.”
    “Don’t worry. We’ll chop you lots of wood.”
    “I can’t thank you enough.”
    “No, Rita, we should be thanking you ,” I said when I walked into the dining room and laid eyes on the feast she’d prepared. I’d never seen anything so elegant, a huge table covered with fine linen and china and even floating candles. The chandelier was twice as big as the one in the entryway.
    “This is so beautiful,” Val said, smiling.
    Rita smiled. “I don’t eat in here very much, so I’m so thankful for the company. I hope you don’t think it’s too over the top.”
    “Absolutely not,” Kate said. “It’s gorgeous.”
    “We can’t thank you enough,” Lucas said, reaching for a silver serving spoon to scoop out some corn on his fancy plate.
    We enjoyed canned meat, corn, and instant mashed potatoes, and there was V8 to drink. The mashed potatoes were flaky and not very good, and the meat was super salty, but I knew she’d done her best. Since I was already feeling nauseated, I stealthily nibbled only a few bites of the meat and sneaked the remaining scraps under the table into a large linen tablecloth. Then I smiled and told her how delicious everything was.
    As she nibbled on her own food, clearly not liking it very much herself, she told us about all the parties she used to throw in that very room.
    “I bet they were fantastic,” Kate said.
    “So you stayed