Lockey vs. the Apocalypse | Book 1 | No More Heroes [Adrian's Undead Diary Novel] Meadows, Carl (book recommendations for teens TXT) 📖

the rest of the house, switching the power back on so we could do it properly, moving the captives to a part of the house away from all the bodies. Nate stepped outside to put down Bert and Ernie for the second time to make the grounds safe, then returned to the group that we had moved into the kitchen, getting everyone a drink and anything sugary we could to ease any shock or fear. I think most thought they were swapping one captor for another to begin with, as Nate looked like a fucking death machine all in black with his tactical gear, black face paint, uplifted NVG’s, massive Crocodile Dundee knife, etc.

That all changed though when one of the captives sat peering at me. She was a black woman, mid-forties, dishevelled as hell, hair a tangled mess. I hadn’t really had a chance to really ‘see’ any of the captives, just trying to get them away from all the mess and make sure the kid Charlie was okay, when the woman spoke.

“Is that really you, Erin?”

Hearing my name snapped my head round, and I looked at the woman more closely. Her eyes were shining with tears and she looked so happy to see me.

“When Mark told us of you two and said your name, I didn’t really believe in my heart of hearts it was my Erin.”

And then the thunderbolt of recognition struck.

“Maria?”

She nodded, coughing a half-sob, half-laugh, then flew towards me, encircling me in a crushing embrace.

Maria Williams. Deano’s wife. The woman who had taken me in as if I was family, who between her and her policeman husband, had set me on the straight and narrow.

This obvious familiarity settled everyone right down as Maria and I had a tearful reunion. When Nate returned to find this scene unfolding before him, and then I introduced him to Maria and everyone else, the teary nurse crushed the old dog to her as well. It was awkward as hell, as Nate was dripping in gear and she couldn’t really get near him because of his tactical vest, but it still brought a smile to his war-painted face.

Maria looked me up and down again, noting the rifle slung round my shoulder, the Glock now strapped to my hip and the pick hammer sticking out my belt with dried sniper goop on the spike, and raised her eyebrows.

“You always find a way, Erin,” she said, laughing and shaking her head as she moved a loose lock of hair from my face. It was a weirdly comforting gesture, something she did all those years ago out of habit, and the familiarity of it warmed me. Despite my joy at finding her alive and well, there was still one burning question I had to ask.

“Dean?”

“I don’t know is the truth,” she said. “He was working the day it all started. I never heard from him, and he never came home.” She sighed. “If he is alive, I don’t know where he could be.”

I didn’t say it, but my heart broke. If Deano was alive, he would have fought through hell itself to get back to Maria. She was his absolute world, his safe little harbour in a stormy existence. Without children of their own, they were all each other had.

I put on a brave face, hugging her again, forcing myself away from the dark thoughts and just revelling in finding someone I genuinely cared about alive and well. Also, she’s a frickin’ nurse. Medical skills, yo.

The thought of Deano out there somewhere, among the mass of the undead, has ruined my victory mood a little. I think I’ll end this entry here and tomorrow I’ll introduce you to the new residents of our little community and bring you up to date with what we’ve been doing these few days since our victory.

But, Maria is alive and well, and for that I am so fucking grateful.

August 27th, 2010

NEW ARRIVALS

Okay, so after a day of resetting my emotions, allow me to introduce you to our new crew, my dear reader.

This name thing for my journal is really starting to bug me. I still need to sort that out, but I just can’t find anything that works. I could write it to Dean, but I’m not doing that while there’s still the chance he’s out there somewhere. Anyway, I digress.

So, you know Maria Williams is still alive. She’s a mid-forties black woman (I don’t think I mentioned in my first entries that she was black, but then, who gives a shit? We all bleed red.) As I’ve said before, she’s a nurse and has been for twenty years, so this woman knows her shit. Go past the fact that she’s the closest thing to family I have (from the “before times” at least, as Nate, Freya and Particles are my tribe now) her medical skills are absolutely amazing to have on board. She can tell us the kind of stuff Nate and I should look for that are crucial to the health and wellbeing of the whole tribe now. I’m so happy she’s here, I can’t even describe it.

It was Maria’s day off when all the shit went down, which I’ve now confirmed was the 23rd June from everyone’s stories. Dean was on nights and called her to say he was doing some overtime because, “shit was getting really weird,” and it was an all-hands-on-deck scenario at the local station. That was the last she heard from him. I’m just so glad the last words they exchanged before the end of that call was, “I love you.” If they were Dean’s final words to her, then they’re the best ones for Maria to remember him by.

Remember early on that I said my phone was out of power? Maria tried calling me but just hit voicemail. She’s been thinking these past few months that I’d succumbed to the apocalypse as well. Makes me mad at myself for drifting away and losing touch with them, but you