Authors: TW Brown
Dead: Winter (42 page)
“Don’t see how they could’ve let you go out into this crap in the first place…sick kid or no. And with just one person as back up? Not a group I think I’d be too concerned about hurting an
y
body’s feelings.”
“They didn’t want me to go,” Kevin said as he tossed another bag of anti-depressants aside. He was reaching for the next bottle when he froze. Looking down, Kevin quickly spotted the crumpled white bag. He scooped it up and stuffed it in his pack. “I even had a bit of an argument with one…”
“A woman?” Willa asked, leaning over Kevin’s shoulder with a smile on her face and eyebrows waggling like Groucho Marx.
“If you must know…yes.”
Willa clapped her hands. “I knew you had a little something going on. Didn’t seem natural for one like you to not have hi
m
self a woman. Bet you had to fight ‘em off with sticks back in the day.”
Kevin snorted. “Hardly.”
“A big, strong, handsome…smart boy like you?” Willa tossed a prescription bottle at Kevin. “That what you lookin’ for?”
Kevin saw the name printed on the label. He wondered if “Elaina Deals” had gone down thinking that the zombies were part of her delusions. That gave him a shiver. It had never really been a part of the zombie movies he’d seen. He guessed that sick people didn’t make for very exciting stuff when it came to horror movies. If you asked him…that crap was scary all by itself. He was suddenly grateful for his mind and its cohesiveness.
“This is it!” Kevin exclaimed.
“Then you were looking in the wrong place,” Willa said, motioning him over to her. In her aisle were a series of four locked drawers. She’d already popped the lock on two.
“You gotta be kidding,” Kevin breathed.
“First one was all pain stuff. This one has a bunch—”
Kevin scooted by her and looked in the drawer at the contents. He spotted three bottles of cloza
p
ine amidst the other drugs he had no idea as to their uses. “Too bad Google is down. I bet there is some stuff here worth taking.”
“Yeah,” Willa said with a distant tone in her voice. “You better get what you came for…we got company.”
Kevin looked over his shoulder to see what had her atte
n
tion. He felt his heart rate double and his mouth go instantly dry. There were dozens…maybe hundreds just wandering down the street.
“Crap.” Kevin felt his entire body deflate. The snowmobile may as well be a million miles away. Walking all the way back through this would be a death sentence. Not to mention the fact that he would be alone. He was basically a dead man.
“Problems?” Willa was already grabbing her pack and slin
g
ing it over her shoulders.
“My snowmobile,” Kevin said. He scooped a bunch of the pain medication into his bag. No tel
l
ing when that might come in handy. He figured he had about a few hundred grand worth of prescriptions in his bag now based on what people used to pay for that stuff. “I got no way home.”
“Are you really that stupid?” Willa had her hands on her hips. Kevin looked at Willa and was suddenly struck by how much she looked like Kandyse McClure, the girl who played
Anastasia
“Dee”
Dualla
from
Battlestar Galactica
. She had very pretty eyes. He shook his head when she snapped her fingers in front of his face.
“I’m sorry,” Kevin said, shaking his head.
“I said…I didn’t come all this way just to make a fire, sit beside you while you slept, and then leave you to these things.” Willa stomped out the flames and poured some water from her canteen on the embers. “I have a Snow Cat outside behind this place.”
“Are you serious?” Kevin’s face lit up.
“It even has a heater.” Willa gave him a wink as she headed for the door.
The Dead Return December 15, 2012:
Siege & Survival
Book 5 of the DEAD series
There has been a request on occasion that I provide a list of characters so that some of my readers can be reminded as to who some of these people in the
DEAD
series are (through the first three books…no spoilers!), and why they ma
t
ter. So, here it is…a cast of characters; or as I have titled it:
Who in the Hell are all these people!?!
Steve’s Group:
Steve Hobart:
A thirty-something single man from Seattle who rescues a young Hispanic girl and a teenager as he flees the city.
Dr. Francis Zahn:
A military
doctor sent with Steve and his group just prior to her outpost being overrun.
Melissa Blake (Hobart):
Found during Steve’s evacuation of a doomed FEMA center in a near cat
a
tonic state, she is now pre
g
nant with Steve’s child.
Jon Saunders:
A Marine sergeant who discovers and joins Steve’s group at a State Forest campground in northeastern Oregon.
Sunshine:
A former nature commune member
Thalia:
Five-year-old Hispanic girl who is rescued after watc
h
ing her mother being eaten alive.
Emily Smith:
Ten-year-old daughter of the late Randall Smith; the civilian overseeing the “Serenity Base” military outpost; sent with Steve’s group during evacuation.
Ian Lotherman:
Former Idaho State Prison
inmate doing life for murder. Joined Steve’s band in Eastern Oregon.
Jake Beebe:
Soldier traveling with Jon Saunders, and a “good old Southern Boy”.
Teresa Thayer:
Sixteen-year-old girl who joins Steve early and b
e
comes one of the outspoken group leaders. She is pregnante with Jamie Blossington’s baby.
Jesus Sanchez:
Soldier traveling with Jon Saunders. Can be a bit hot-headed at times.
DeAngelo Cribbs:
Former standout pro football player. Married to Melinda. Staying with Steve’s group until the weather chan
g
es, then intends to head to Texas in search of family.
Billy Haynes:
Seventeen-year-old boy joined Steve’s group du
r
ing evacuation of the fallen FEMA center in Portland. Lifelong friend of Jamie Blossington.
Fiona O’ Hara:
Lead a small group out of Central Washington and merged with Steve’s group.
Brad Peters:
A former attorney who ran marathons as a hobby.
Jamie Blossington:
Seventeen-year-old
high school boy. Helps Steve’s group escape fallen FEMA center. Romantically i
n
volved with Teresa Thayer and childhood friend of Billy Haynes.
Melinda Cribbs:
Wife of DeAngelo Cribbs. Gunshot victim of Jason Johnson, the racist and murde
r
er who also killed members of Steve’s group.
Buster:
A Border Collie puppy that follows Thalia around.
Key Players in Vignettes:
Juan Hoya:
Career criminal trying to turn his life around just prior to the zombie apocalypse. Met Mackenzie Sims and her mother Margaret while scouting Sauvie Island.
Mackenzie Sims:
Twenty-three-year-old college agriculture major. Juan’s girlfriend, and former fia
n
cé of Keith Thomas.
Joseph “JoJo” Jones:
Part of Thad Bushnell’s group from San Diego, and career petty criminal.
Keith Thomas:
Part of Thad Bushnell’s group from San Diego, and career petty criminal with an a
n
ger problem.
Thad Bushnell:
Petty criminal from San Diego; college educated but with a penchant for “recreatio
n
al” drug use.
Chad Meyers:
Did prison time as a sex offender; father of Ro
n
ni Robbins. Trying to find a safe place to care for his daughter.
Ronni Robbins:
Chad’s fourteen-year-old daughter. Even after seeing her mother attacked by child-zombies, she still has tro
u
ble understanding the situation. Feels her father abandoned her as a child (while he was in prison).
Scott Colson:
Known by local police as a brawler, one of the first to join Chad’s group as they left Modesto for Yosemite Vi
l
lage.
Brett McVey:
Childhood friend of Chad.
A
B
unch of Geeks:
Kevin Dreon:
Lifetime fan of all things zombie. Has had a plan in place since grade school. Very booksmart, but lacking in social skills and very u
n
sure around women.
Aleah Brock:
Tough but beautiful, she prizes intellect over at
h
leticism. She is very fond of Kevin.
Heather Godwin:
Sixteen-year-old girl rescued from the basement of a Heath, Ohio high school. Immune to the bite. She used to have a crush on Kevin but is now a good friend.
Shari Bergman
:
Pop music idol. Accustomed to pampering and paparazzi. She and her sister, Erin, were rescued from “The Basket” by Dr. P
e
ter King.