Plague of the Dead | Book 3 | Plague of the Island

world went to hell. I guessed it had to do with us being on an island. There were only so many of us that could turn. Or it was a false sense of security. Maybe we weren’t seeing what was out there. Regardless, it seemed like being here was as much a blessing as it was a curse.
“Daniel was asking me about how I thought you were doing. He still cares about you, you know,” Luther said.
I squirmed in my seat. “I know,” I said pretending to be extremely interested in my shorts.
“You could tell him what’s going on. He’d want to be there for you.”
“I will tell him if I need to,” I said honestly.
I purposely waited to find out since miscarriages were most common in the first twelve weeks. I would be a bit past that by now. I had tried to get pregnant after Adam and I had Jackie but had issues. I’d had one miscarriage and then a number of complications after. I didn’t think I could have more children.
It drove me crazy when people would ask if we’d wanted more children. I did. Growing up, I thought I’d have three or four, but it wasn’t in the cards for me. I hated people asking. I couldn’t believe that was something they still felt appropriate to ask. It was a painful reminder that I was broken every time someone brought it up.
I know on some level that’s what pushed Adam away and into the arms of another woman. Not the not having more children part so much as my inability to deal with it. It was the wrong way for him to handle it and that I can’t forgive him for but deep down I can see how I may have pushed him away.
That was also the main source of my fear with Daniel. If I had pushed my husband away, how could I not push this man away? How would he not see me as broken if I lost the baby? Well, if there even was a baby. It was the standard push him away before he can push me away. It hurt but it would hurt less than his potential rejection.
“It could just be early menopause,” Luther said. It wasn’t the first time he’d suggested this.
“Maybe,” I said, though I didn’t think so.
“It’s going to be alright regardless.”
I nodded and gave him a weak smile.
We’d made it to the Navy Base grounds. The gate long since knocked down. It looked like an eerie ghost town now. The last time I saw it, Lasa and I were running from a hoard of zombies. Now there were one or two stragglers but not what we had left behind.
“You remember where the house was?” he asked.
I gave him the directions. Remembering it surprisingly well considering the state I was in the last time I had been there.
Lasa had been waking up crying at night saying how she was scared she was going to forget what her parents looked like. I had decided to go back and get a photo of her family for her. I cursed myself for not thinking of it when we left. I had remembered to grab a photo album when I left my house. I guess the stress we were under when we left was what caused me to forget it for her. Still, I wish I had been of sounder mind and remembered a photograph at least.
Luther pulled up into the driveway. The house felt familiar and not. I had spent a month there with Vanetta and Cal after they were kind enough to let me in their home. I missed them. They were good people. I just hoped I was raising their daughter to their approval.
I followed Luther as we proceeded cautiously into the house.
The smell inside hit me first. It was overwhelming. I instantly wanted to vomit. Which wasn’t entirely uncommon for me as of late, but it was a stronger wave than usual.
Next was the mess strewn about the place. It had been ransacked. Furniture was flipped and on its side. Dark blood ran across the walls.
There was a low growling and munching sound coming from the corner of the room. Luther made his way to the corner and put a knife through the zombie’s head before it ever noticed us.
“Let’s be quick,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll find much here.”
I nodded as I shut the door behind us.
We had been hoping to find a couple of items. Either food or medical supplies in the house so we could get back to camp quickly. But that didn’t seem likely to happen. Hopefully we could find supplies at a drug store while we looked for my test. It would help justify us leaving the camp on an unapproved supply run.
I made my way upstairs and went into the master bedroom. I found what I was hoping for as soon as I walked in the room. There was a photo of Lasa and her parents in a frame on the dresser. She was sitting on her mother’s lap with Cal sitting next to them. They all looked so happy.
The lump began to rise in my throat and my eyes began to sting. I choked back the tears as I knew now was not the time. I grabbed the frame and put it in my bag.
I looked around the room. It wasn’t in as bad condition as the downstairs. I had hope that maybe we’d be able to find something after all.
I headed into the master bath and checked the medicine cabinet. It had been untouched and was still fully stocked.
I thanked the powers above for the good luck and added the various medicines to my bag.
I then looked under the cabinet and found peroxide and band aids. Also, behind