Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Conflict Read Free Page A

with a more
manageable nine footer. We set the base in a large bucket, filling the extra
space inside with rocks and water to make it as heavy as possible, and strung
additional wires from the upper portion of the trunk to the beam directly
above. That seemed to work. At the very least, it didn’t wobble too much when
Steph gave the tree a good shake to be certain.
    “See, I
told you it would stay up.”
    “It
better,” remarked Steph, as she headed for the kitchen. The redhead had a large
pot of stew simmering.
    “I said
I was sorry! Stop being so fucking pissy.”
    “She did
apologize,” I added, “twice, which is pretty remarkable considering the
source.”
    Mary
began to giggle, alongside Briana, and Lizzy swung her eyes between them and
me, apparently trying to decide who merited her abuse more.
    “Let’s
start decorating, and why don’t we have Johnny put the star on.”
    Briana
beckoned for the boy to join us – he’d been sitting in a rocking chair near the
fireplace, out of danger in case the tree toppled a second time. “Jacob’s
right. It’s your job to put the star on.”
    He
looked around. “Where is it?”
    “Right
here,” replied Mary. “We made it earlier, just for you.”
    The
petite teenager retrieved the decoration from its resting place atop one of the
bookcases that lined the walls. Lizzy had cut it from a piece of sheet metal
the night before with Mary filing down the sharp edges before covering it with
about a dozen layers of aluminum foil. A ribbon passed through a pair of holes
in the center allowing it to be secured to the tree. It was a sweet thing to
do, and Johnny’s eyes lit up when she gave it to him.
    “Okay
now,” continued Briana, “Jacob’s going to put you on his shoulders so you can
stick it where it goes. Mary will help tie it because we don’t want it to fall
off, do we now?”
    “Nope.”
    “No
squishing me,” I cautioned. “You’re very heavy, you know.”
    “Am
not.”
    The
slightest of smiles formed.
    “Are
too. You’re super heavy.” I lifted him onto my shoulders and made a great show
of teetering to the side and nearly collapsing. “Oh! So heavy.”
    “Make
sure it’s straight,” said Mary, her laughter mixing with Johnny’s. She was
perched atop a stool.
    “It’s
straight.”
    “Are you
sure?” asked Briana. “If it isn’t, Jacob will have to pick you up again, and he
might break.”
    “It’s
straight,” confirmed the boy, holding the star in place while Mary wrapped the
ribbon around the trunk before tying it off.
    “Close
enough,” commented Lizzy. “All right, get on down before Jacob really does fall
over. You have to start putting up the rest of the decorations anyway. Here you
go.”
    “Ooh,”
purred Briana, “a Rolex.”
    “Is it?”
    She
rolled her eyes. “Let’s see, bright gold with a huge logo right there on the
face. You should be able to recognize the things by now.”
    “I prefer
Omegas. You know that.”
    Johnny,
who clearly couldn’t care less one way or the other, was quick to loop it over
a branch. He then took another from Lizzy. You see, we didn’t have much in the
way of traditional ornaments. There were plenty in the nearby towns, both in
private homes and at a handful of small Christmas shops we’d come across.
However, our early looting priorities had been weapons, food, clothing, and the
like. Add in the chaos of the attack and the onslaught of winter and we’d been
unable to retrieve any proper decorations. Therefore, we were using jewelry,
most of which was found among the raiders’ belongings. I’m not really certain
why they were hording such things, but it meant we now had a wood chest full of
gold and platinum rings, bracelets, and necklaces, along with coins and bullion.
Mary had been telling Johnny it was pirate treasure and we’d have to bury it
sometime soon, after we made a map so we could find it again.
    “Dinner
will be ready in about an hour,” called Steph. “I think we