Walking With The Dead | Short Stories | Interludes With The Dead [Walking With The Dead Universe] by Dziekan PJ

Author:Dziekan, PJ [Dziekan, PJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Zombie Apocalypse
Published: 2022-03-05T05:00:00+00:00

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When they walked into the cafeteria, a handful of people were already having breakfast. Jenny, Jack and Alan were together at a table, along with Annie and Claire. Annie saw them first and waved them over. They wove between the tables, nodding greetings to the others sitting around the tables, before they sat down at the last two seats, Josey on Mick’s lap.

“Good morning,” Annie said. She smiled widely at Josey. “Hi, Josey! Aren’t you pretty this morning?”

“You’re coming with us?” Jenny asked Sarah. She was a tall woman, with a beautiful face marred by an ugly scar.

“Yes, I am.”

“Are you ready for this?” At Claire’s gasp, she continued. “I mean, you’ve been off runs for a while.”

“I’ll be fine,” Sarah said. “Don’t worry about me.” Jenny shrugged.

Alan eyed Jenny, then turned to Sarah. “Troy gave us a map, based on where the last group went. We’ll be out three to four hours. That good?”

“Fine, Alan.” Sarah wished they wouldn’t make a big deal of it. She was ready to get back to work. “Pair me with Jack; we’ve always worked well together.”

Jack smiled. “Sure do.” He held his hand up for a high five and grinning, Sarah gave him one.

Donna came in, carrying a pan. She set the pan on the table against the wall with a heavy sigh. “Oatmeal is here,” she said. “You’ll have the fixings in a minute.” She turned and left, jogging down the steps.

They waited while others got their oatmeal, watching the steam rise from the plates. By the time everyone had settled down, Donna came back up hauling a small soft-sided cooler on her shoulder. She walked over to the dumbwaiter and pulled the cables until the contents of the box were visible: a container of raisins, a container of dried apples, a squeeze bottle of honey, and a tin of cinnamon. She heard grumblings from the people who had already gotten their bowls. “I told you I was coming up with fixings. You should have waited.” She gathered the items from the dumbwaiter and placed them near the oatmeal.

She walked over to where Sarah sat. “Here.” She pulled the cooler from her shoulder and placed it on the table in front of Sarah.

“What’s this?”

“I found an old ice pack in the back of one of the freezers. Mick can use that to keep your milk cool. Plus there’s some pears in there for Josey. I saw how she loved them yesterday.”

“Thank you, Donna,” Sarah said, smiling at her friend. “But you really shouldn’t put things aside for Josey. It’s not fair.”

Donna shrugged. “I don’t care. She deserves the very best.”

Sarah couldn’t disagree. “I’m sure she appreciates them.”

“She sure does, don’t you, Josey?” Donna tickled Josey’s foot and she gurgled a laugh. “You want to grow up big and strong like your mother, don’t you, girl?” Josey gurgled again.

“I don’t want her to be like me,” Sarah said, remembering when she wasn’t strong, when Donna took the punishment meant for Sarah.

Mick knew the look in Sarah’s eyes.

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