Free This Plague of Days, Season Two (The Zombie Apocalypse Serial) by Robert Chazz Chute Page A

tore her eyes from the sight and hugged the naked girls closer, waiting for their shared warmth to save them. She looked down and saw that both girls fixed their gaze on the torrent and interplay of smoke and fog and sky.
    Dayo went colder when she realized both Aasa and Aastha were smiling. Their matching grins — spread wide over perfect, tiny white teeth — could only be described as wicked.

W RAITHS AND RAVENS STALK THE DEAD
    T he Spencer family stepped into the glare of artificial lights and roving spotlights. Helicopters buzzed in and out of the Brickyard like bees to a hive. This would not be the last tent city they would see, but it was the largest. Because of the heat and the press of bodies, people congregated near the gates. On one side stood water and aid stations. To the other side, portable toilets had been brought in. Outside each toilet, a line of people waited, shifting back and forth impatiently.
    The Spencers had to pick their way through the mob, angling to the edge of the crowd where possible. Theo held the boy close. The crowd made Jaimie nervous and he held his hands tight over his ears.
    Trying to distract her brother, Anna asked, “Why do they call it the Brickyard?”  
    “Because the Indianapolis Speedway used to be paved with bricks.”
    “Duh. Yeah, sure, but wouldn’t that mess up the cars?”
    “The old cars weren’t as fragile, I guess. Those stands could seat a quarter of a million people. Now…well, it looks like the Coliseum in Rome now. Already a relic.”
    “I’ll never see Rome, will I?” The way Anna said it, she meant it as a statement, not a question. She sighed. “Do you trust Mrs. Bendham with all our stuff and the van?”
    “She’ll be fine.”
    “What if she decides to take off without us?”
    “I gave her the key to the old car. The spare was still on the key ring. She’s not going anywhere, even if she tries. Besides, we’re her only hope.” Jack allowed herself a grin.
    “If we’re her only hope, why’d you leave her with the wrong key?”
    Jack shrugged. “I don’t know, Anna. Sometimes I can be such a bitch.”
    “So it was spite.”
    “She gave us away and she never apologized. She acts like she’s doing us a favor instead of the other way around. So, yeah, spite.”
    They found their tent assignment. It was old, constructed of heavy canvas and smelled of mould. However, it was a four-man tent so they could stretch out. A nearby sign told them it was forbidden to cook in the tents or dispose of human waste anywhere but the portable toilets. Despite that, odors, both unfamiliar and foul lay over the massive encampment like an old fetid blanket.
    Anna sat in a corner and went through her backpack searching for fresh socks. “You realize when we go out, we’ll have to go through that line again.”
    “Not a problem. This is only for tonight. In the morning I’ll find someone in authority and speak to them about Lieutenant Carron. If he is military, and I’m not altogether sure he really was, they can keep an eye out for him and arrest him. These people are the only authority left, so they should know about looters, murderers and black marketeers. Carron is all three. If he comes after us, he’ll have to come this way. Maybe a patrol can pick him up and shoot him.”
    “Shooting’s too good for him,” Anna said. “I wish I could do it myself.”
    “Me, too!” Theo said.
    “You don’t mean that, Anna!” Jack said.
    “Maybe.”
    The buzz, beat and drone of helicopters hung over them through the night, but they surrendered to exhaustion sometime in the early morning hours. Jack’s last thought before drifting off was that this had been a long, hard day and it was only the first. She’d forgotten to cry for Brandy.  

    * * *

    The Spencers didn’t have to find someone in authority. Authority came for them. Just before noon, a young officer found the Spencer family in their tent. He looked at his clipboard to confirm the tent’s ID tag