Epilogue
Emery
Isat out on the front porch rocking the baby in my arms. We hadn’t found any paperwork on him in the car, but Mami estimated he was about two years old when he came to us.
We decided to name him Eddie after my brother.
I hadn’t expected to be a mother quite so soon, but after the last ten months with Eddie, I couldn’t imagine life without him.
He brought joy to all of our lives that we wouldn’t have otherwise.
Mami came outside with a basket and clicked her tongue at me.
“Give me that baby so I can put him down for his nap. You’re going to spoil him if you’re always holding him.
” She set the basket down, gently lifted Eddie from my arms, and nuzzled him.
Mami wasn’t fooling anyone. I doubted Eddie would ever make it to his crib.
“Take that basket out to the guys. If they won’t come home for lunch, then lunch will come to them. ”
I stood and stretched before grabbing my knife and gun from the table beside my rocker.
Now that the ground had thawed, the guys were installing an exterior fencing system, using large stakes to keep the zombies at bay.
It had been over a year since New York, and we’d built a beautiful life here in the mountains.
We didn’t see many people, at least not the living kind.
I imagined that would start to change as the weather warmed and it was easier to get around.
As the dead pushed the living out of the cities, the rural areas would start to get more populated.
I left the yard, securing the gate behind me, and headed toward the spot Nico said they would be working today.
I stepped off the driveway and into the woods, enjoying the pretty spring day and listening to the birds singing in the trees.
I quickened my pace when I heard the guys laughing, but I had to stop when a zombie came into view and spotted me.
Damn. Two more appeared behind the first, and I set the basket down and moved away from it.
I didn’t want the guy’s lunch to get ruined with zombie guts.
I whistled the special whistle we had devised to let each other know danger is nearby, not because I needed their help, but because I knew they’d be angry with me if I didn’t.
I heard their laughter stop and smiled before whistling again to give them a direction to head.
I then stepped up to the first zombie and stabbed it through the eye.
I pushed the body into one of the other two zombies and attacked the other.
By the time I’d taken out the third zombie, the guys had reached me.
“Are you ok?” Nico asked worriedly.
I rolled my eyes at him. “Of course I’m ok.” I went to where I had left the basket and handed it to them. “I brought you lunch.”
“I could go for a snack,” Miguel said, reaching for me.
I laughed as his arms circled me. It truly was a beautiful life we lived. Far better than I had ever hoped, and if my suspicions were correct, in about seven months, it was going to get even better.