Winter Apocalypse: Zombie Crusade V by J.W. Vohs, Sandra Vohs Read Free Book Online Page A

can. Tell him I said to stay by Jack’s side. I need to figure out how to break the news around here.”
    After signing off with Lori, Deb turned to Andi. “You heard?”
    Andi sat down next to Deb, unsure of what to say. “I don’t know what I heard. I think you said that Luke is Jack’s son, and that Jack has to watch him die.”
    Deb summarized the conversation with Lori, and Andi was truly speechless. The two women quietly sat together in the radio room and fought to maintain their composure.
    Andi was the first to break the silence. “How are we gonna inform everyone else about this?”
    Deb seemed to be staring at something only she could see until she finally shook her head in confusion. “I just can’t think about it right now, I really can’t.”
    “Do you think we should try to let Christy know? And Vickie and Sal? That entire group that fought their way through from Cleveland is like one big family; they love each other.”
    Deb wiped away a tear before explaining, “They all headed back to the ranch as soon as we got the news about our big victory over Barnes. Well, Vickie was still there, but Christy, Sal, and the kids left for Trudy’s a few hours ago. I think we should let them celebrate tonight and send word about Luke tomorrow.”
    Andi nodded in agreement. “It’s not like they can do anything about it. I wish I was with Jack; I can’t imagine what he must be going through. Maybe I should try to get to Vicksburg as soon as possible—”
    “Carter’s there,” Deb cut in. “I know it’s not the same thing, but those two have been to hell and back together. If you want to go, I’m sure we can arrange it, but don’t worry about Jack being alone. He’s not.”
    “I won’t do anything until I talk to him,” Andi decided. “My girls are going to be devastated, and so are a lot of other people. So many other people . . . we have visitors here from Middle Bass. Should we tell them? What about Father O’Brien?” 
    Deb shrugged, “We’ll have to tell everyone eventually. I don’t personally know the guys who just got here from Middle Bass, but I think one of them knows Luke pretty well. They almost drowned together, and Luke saved his life.”
    “What’s his name?” Andi asked.
    “Lieutenant Heder,” Deb replied, “but everyone just calls him Red.”
    “That’s right,” Andi remembered. “Gracie told me about how Luke had jumped into Lake Erie in full armor to save the guy, and all he could do after they were pulled from the water was crack about the name, ‘Red Heder.’ I think he’s hooked up with somebody Luke met when the Cleveland group was trying to get here last summer.”
    Deb stood and stretched. “Well, if Red and his buddy had gotten here a few days earlier, they probably would have been in Vicksburg themselves. I don’t know if they have good luck or bad: they might have been killed in the fighting, but I wish Lieutenant Heder would have had an opportunity to return the favor and save Luke’s life.” Deb was a soldier’s wife, and thought that she had hardened herself to the risks involved with loving a warrior, but she still covered her face with her hands for a moment as she was once again reminded that Luke was dying.
    Andi didn’t trust herself to reply without weeping, so she sat quietly and listened to the fierce wind blowing outside. Deb was wiping her eyes as the sergeant of the guard appeared breathlessly in the doorway. He was a member of one of the Utah platoons Hiram Anderson had left behind to protect the city after he and the other soldiers deployed to Vicksburg.
    “Ms. Wilson?”
    Deb pulled her hands from her face and looked at the concerned soldier. “Yes?”
    The sergeant looked from Deb to Andi and back again. He immediately realized that he’d come at a bad time, but awkwardly continued with his report. “I’m sorry to interrupt you right now, but I’ve got two guards who were pulling wall-duty unconscious in the snow—”
    Deb