Cities of the Dead: Winters of Discontent Read Free

about. If we
sit here until the weather breaks, we ’ ll have a better
chance. ”
    Jeff nodded. It was the same old argument, just
distilled.
    “ You get anything
today on the lake? ” Jeff asked.
    “ Some walleye.
You? ”
    “ A pair of geese
that thought I was going to feed them bread. ”
    Dexter smiled. “ I ’ m so sick of
goose. ”
    “ You and me both,
but there ’ s lots of ‘ em
and they ’ re easy to catch. ”
    Dexter handed the binoculars to Jeff
and nodded. “ See
you in the morning. ”
    Dexter unsheathed his machete before opening the door
and stepped out on the porch, scanning the neighborhood for any
undead that might have found their way in. Until the horde left -
usually after a half-day or so of having nothing to eat - he and
the others were stuck inside with no exit. And no food.
    He made his way quickly to his house
and slipped inside, locking the door behind him. The fire in the
fireplace was almost out, and his wife and kids were asleep in
sleeping bags on the floor near it. He threw a couple of logs on,
stoked the coals and retrieved the bottle of whisky
he ’ d
found in the original owner ’ s liquor cabinet and poured an
inch into a rocks glass. He sat back on the couch and felt the
growing heat of the fire roll over him. He glanced at the 50-inch
flat screen and wished it still worked, and, for a moment, wished
everything were back to the way it had been.
    But, as back then, he was still
happy that he at least had his family at the end of the day. Only
now, more so. He treasured his time with his wife and kids despite
the risk to his life he took every day, and he had noticed that his
relationship with Carly had changed during the course of the last
year, with her yielding to his decisions, trusting him more,
and … loving him
more. His life had felt almost hollow before the zombies had forced
him to be more than just half of a parental unit, with both he and
his wife heading out to their jobs everyday. Now that she tended to
the needs of the family at home every day, and he ventured out for
sustenance, she seemed more at ease, more loving toward
him.
    Dexter awoke to banging on the front door, a staccato
of slamming devoid of a beat. He sat up quickly and grabbed his
rifle while the rest of his family stirred. Carly stared at
him.
    “ Lemme see what it
is. ”
    He walked quickly to the front door and found Peter
on the other side, covered in the blood of the dead.
    “ We gotta get out
of here, now, ” Peter said, his voice measured panic. “ There ’ s more dead ones at the gate, and
they ’ re pushing it open, moving the car back. ”
    Dexter glanced over at the gate: there were more of
the undead, hundreds more.
    “ And
Carl ’ s
gone. So is his wife. ”
    “ What do you
mean, ‘ gone, ’” Dexter asked, stepping out onto the porch and
looking at the horde as it pushed against the
gate.
    “ He never came to
relieve me last night, so I just figured he must not have woken up,
so I waited for sun-up and then went and checked on him, and they
were gone. ”
    “ You gotta be
shitting me, ” Dexter said softly. He looked over at the gate and saw that it
had been opened about a foot, the chain stretched to maximum. The
car had been moved sideways about six inches, but if the horde was
capable of that in eight hours, it was only a matter of time until
the hinges on the gate were pulled loose and the car pushed farther
in. A day? Two days?
    “ Let me put my
boots on and get dressed, ” Dexter said. “ Get Jeff and meet me out front in
ten. ”
    Dexter walked back into the house
and looked at his family as they huddled around the fireplace. They
were all he had, and he really didn ’ t have them if he
couldn ’ t keep them safe. And he couldn ’ t keep them safe, not really, not
forever. Not when half the world was against you and organized to
kill you and your half was always hiding.
    “ Well? ” Carly asked.
    “ Same old, same
old. There ’ s a couple hundred