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

the stale crackers she brought me, but I was touched by the effort. I would have been friends with her even if the deadly circumstances hadn’t thrown us together.
Molly was teaching the kids how to shoot as well. Diana wasn’t a fan of it, but it was necessary. We needed to be prepared for anything. I sometimes watched as Lasa wanted me to see how good she was getting.
Despite being surrounded by the plague of the island, things were going well. Life felt strangely good. Still, not being able to speak to my sister Cate was weighing on me heavily. I missed her more than ever. I didn't even think that was possible. I became obsessed with my cell phone. As if my desperation of missing her would make bars magically appear on it.
I was reluctant to talk about it, but Daniel encouraged me to share it with him. So, I did. I told him so many stories about Cate. About growing up in Ohio. About the horrible cake Cate baked for me on my 14th birthday. She was 11 and baked it on her own, insisting my mother not help. It was truly awful. But I ate every bite so she wouldn't feel bad. I drank about half a pint of milk to do it, but I still ate it.
Cate was hardheaded. Too hardheaded to be beaten by this plague. I knew she was okay. I worried of course but deep down I knew she was alright. I needed her to be.
After I had found out for sure that I was pregnant and given my previous complications, Luther and Daniel didn’t want me doing a lot and insisted I rest.
Though, I was allowed to go on short walks on the beach. Lasa sometimes joined me for these but not often. It was usually me, Diana, and Molly if the ladder wasn’t on a run at the time. We usually had some girl talk and a few laughs.
“I’m so excited for you,” Diana gushed. “You and Daniel make such a great couple.”
“Don’t let Laura hear you say that,” Molly joked.
“Does she still have a thing for him?” Diana asked.
“Oh yeah. Totally does,” Molly said and then added to me, “Though you have nothing to worry about. It’s clear Daniel is head over heels for you.”
I smiled even though I wasn’t worried. That petty high school mess didn’t fit into a world like ours, not in a time like ours with what we were dealing with on a daily basis.
As we walked along the beach, I noticed some dead fish floating in the water near the shore. There also appeared to be decaying flesh floating in the water. The sight of it made me want to gag. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was pregnant or if it would have had that effect on me anyway.
I pointed it out to Molly and Diana. They both had a gag reaction too.
“What do you think caused that?” I asked.
Molly shrugged, “Probably an attack near the water or something and it floated near us,” she suggested. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
I wasn’t so sure but didn’t dwell on it for long.
After months of bed rest and only allowed the occasional walk, I begged for something to do to help. Daniel and Luther agreed but wanted to keep me on something that was not stressful. No runs and no guard duty. That left either food counts or watching the kids. Since I did not want to step in on Diana, I took the food counts.
Laura was not happy with that, since taking care of the food was her thing. She was then put on runs and guard duty. She never said anything to me directly about it but gave me dirty looks and made snide comments. I, however, couldn’t care less what she had to say.
I didn’t understand her system. Her inventory was a joke and it took me a few days to get my own system. However, the counts seemed low to me. I counted several times and made sure I wasn’t missing anything.
I was in the process of writing down my findings when I heard a knock at the entry. I looked to see Holland in the doorway.
“Hey,” he said and lifted his hand showing a bag full of stuff. “Found these on a run,” he said.
I was going to tell him to set them down on the counter when he proceeded to place them on the counter next to food I had out and managed to knock everything over. There was a loud clanging as cans hit the floor and rolled in every direction.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said but his tone indicated he was not sorry in the slightest.
“It’s fine,” I lied. I was more than a little irritated by him knocking over everything, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.
“Let me help,” he said.
I had begun to pick up the cans, which wasn’t easy with the baby growing inside me, but I wasn’t far enough along for it to be completely impossible.
“I got it,” I said.
“Oh, no, you shouldn’t be doing that by yourself,” he said sickeningly as he grabbed me tightly by the wrist. “You’re pregnant. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to Daniel’s love or precious offspring.”
“Let me go now!”
“Or what?”
I pulled my knife out of my holster and put it to his throat. Which made him laugh but he let my wrist go. He stood up and walked a few feet away.
“You know, Shelly, I can’t help but like you. You’re feisty as hell and don’t know when to back off even when it would be good for you. I can see what Daniel sees in you. Hell, in another world I might have been chasing you myself.”