Writer's Notes:I apologize for taking so long to update. This story is still alive. These last few chapters are important which is why it's taking so long to get them out. If I don't like something I end up rewriting more than I intended to. Anyway I like this version, hope all you subscribers do too.

30 Days Later by Lastlegolife

Chapter 9: Planning Ahead

The mansion had never been attacked after supper. Once the candles were out and the house settled down the Infected tended to ignore the property and went in search of other meals. Still, it was wise to keep one pair of eyes open all night just incase. Clifton slouched back in the Major's chair on the patio, his legs perched up on the carved stone railing. He stared up at the stars wishing for a cigarette. Smoking wasn't permitted during the night watch. Though no one yet fully understood the intelligence level of the Infected it didn't seem too unlikely that they were able to associate the scent of burning tobacco with people as they did with lights.

Whatever. He just wanted a damn cigarette.

The sound of boots dragging across the floor caused Clifton to sit up with a start. Private Davis emerged into the moonlight.

"Jesus, mate," Clifton said settling back into his chair. "That's a good way to get your head blown off." The private produced a pack of chewing tobacco and dropped it into the officer's lap. "You jammy bugger! Where'd you get this? I thought we were all out."

Davis folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "I found Mitch's stash. I figured you'd get the most use out of it." He paused. "I still can't believe he's dead. Old Mitch was as tough as nails."

Clifton peeled the plastic from the package and opened it. "He wasn't too tough to be outsmarted by a scrubber. A Yankee scrubber, no less."

"Well she sure gave you a good beating."

"Shut it before I put a bullet in your other cheek!" Clifton snapped. "What are you doing up anyway? You know it's your turn to be at the blockade tomorrow."

"I couldn't sleep," he admitted. "I've been thinking a lot lately."

"Don't hurt yourself mate," Clifton smiled through stuffed jaws.

He didn't think he'd care that much for the conversation but it beat staring off into space for the next four hours. It was Bedford's night with Selena and the rest of the residents were in bed, or at least, they were supposed to be. With the Sergeant out of the picture, most of the men took advantage of the relaxed rules under their newest officer who seemed to enjoy the power behind his title more than the work involved.

"If the girls are up the duff at the same time, what happens after that?"

"Does it really matter?" Clifton said jokingly.

"I'm serious! Wouldn't you want to know if you're the father? They'll all be mixed so it's going to be impossible to tell. And we have to teach it, raise it, and even train it. It's kind of startling when you think about it."

"You're alone there. That's the woman's problem. As long as I get my share of them I don't care what they do with it." He boasted.

"Confident you're shooting blanks then?"

"Heeey!" Clifton warned and Davis smirked and back down. "You're wasting your energy mate. There will be other girls. Prettier ones, I hope, and not so annoying. And it will be the same thing all over again. We'll eat when we get hungry. We'll sleep when we're tired. We'll shag when we're horny. And we'll die when we die." He continued. "Worries and regrets are a thing of the past, mate. Just enjoy life while we still got it."

Private Bell appeared on the patio using the moonlight to fasten his belt around his waist. He greeted the other soldiers silently with a nod of his head and turned to Davis. "The girl's all yours."

Davis nodded and disappeared into the darkness of the mansion as Clifton quietly settled back into his chair now in deep thought.

"Hey Bell," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever had milk from a pregnant woman?"

"Uh. . . no I haven't."

"I did once," Clifton smiled at the memory. "It was one of the best shags I've ever had. Every man should try it at least once."

"I see," Bell raised an eyebrow.

"It's too bad Lucy's the only one with the best tits for it," he said sloshing the tobacco around in his mouth.

"I'm going back to bed." Bell announced and sank back into the shadows, leaving Clifton alone on the patio mumbling to himself.


*****

Rapid movement and a rush of cool air pulled Henry out of his sleep. He opened his eyes and stretched his arm out to feel around for his companion. Instead of touching flesh he only felt Lucia's warmth in sheets where she'd been laying. He sat up sharply as his ears picked up noises coming from the bathroom. Quickly lighting a candle, he marched across the room in the nude and peered into the doorway.

He found Lucia's naked form squatting on the bathroom floor hugging the toilet bowl.

"Waverley?" He asked.

"I'm fine," she heaved. "Just give me-"

She vomited.

The Major held his breath. "Are you feeling ill?"

"Just give me five minutes," she demanded keeping her face away from him as he watched her. She ran her fingers through her hair and balled them into fists. "I said I'll be there in a minute! Go back to bed!"

West obligingly returned to the bedroom, blowing out the candle on his way. He lay awake listening to her frequent sighs and movements. Finally the toilet flushed and the water ran for a while. Ten minutes later Lucia emerged and crawled back into bed. He wrapped a comforting arm around her waist but she refused to meet his eyes.

"Was it something you ate perhaps?" He said hoping it wasn't. She wrung her hands around the bed sheets anxiously.

"I guess," she replied quietly.

"Are you sure? It may be something else."

"It's just a stomach ache," she said and laid down.

The Major simply settled in beside her and shut his eyes. When he opened them again a few hours later, the sun was rising. He rolled over to find Lucia still awake where he'd left her. He threw his leg over hers and pulled a thin bedspread over their heads. The light in the room seeped through the cover allowing them to see each other underneath it.

"You're upset," it was more of an observation than a question.

"It took you this long to figure that out?" Lucia said acidly.

"Are you going to talk to me about it or just be bitchy?"

"Don't pretend to know me. We're not friends. You don't know anything about me."

"I know you better than anyone in this house."

"You don't know shit!" she snapped. "I'm just a somebody that missed the fucking plane. I'm nothing more to you than one of your goddamn sex slaves. You don't know a fucking thing about me!"

It was the first time he'd heard her swear so much in one breath. He paused a moment and pitied her for all of two seconds then spoke calmly. "I know you're having trouble letting go of the guilt over killing your best mate."

She shook her head. "This isn't about her. It's about being put into a role I didn't ask for."

"But you agreed to it."

"How dare you! As if I ever had a choice! I'm not dumb. You fucks had this planned from the beginning."

"Not quite, but who knew we'd get such a fiery lot." West bobbed his head in thought and started over. "You're worried about what happened last night."

"It's just proof that being this close to you makes me sick. You should move me back to my own room," she said avoiding his eyes.

"So much venom," he commented. "Don't be afraid of it Lucy. It's only natural that this should happen."

"Not when it's rape," she muttered. "And it was only a stomach ache for crying out loud."

"Whatever it is, I don't want you to be afraid of what the future might bring. A baby right now would be the best thing for this house."

"Please shut up."

"It would be good for you too."

"You just don't get it do you?!" Lucia snapped. "I didn't ask for this! I don't want this! I don't want to be here! It's my choice, my terms. Not yours."

She flung the covers away and slid a leg off the bed with the intent to slam the bathroom door in his face but strong arms pulled her back to the mattress. Before she knew it, the Major had straddled her and used his weight to pin her body down. She swore at him and demanded her release.

"I don't care if you don't want to hear this, but nothing will ever change what we have Waverley. No matter how pissed you are or how much you don't like it, this is what life is for us now. Infection destroyed everything so we could start over."

"I can change it," she promised. "And I won't let anything stop me."

"We can change it." He leaned forward and kissed her. "We didn't make it this far for nothing Waverley. We've been given a second chance to carve out a new future for ourselves... create and civilize the world as it should be."

Adolf. "You're insane."

"You're pregnant."

"I AM NOT!"

That's right, it's too early to have symptoms. These things don't start showing up for a few weeks right? It's too soon dammit. It's too soon!

"If you believe that then why are you crying?" West wiped the moisture from her cheek and held it up to her face.

Lucia fell silent as he started to plant kisses along her neck and whisper soothing words in her ear. She ignored them while her mind gave into reality. She suddenly remembered a report one of her classmates presented in college on teen pregnancy and STDs. Being a virgin at the time, she didn't care to pay attention to the information. The only fact that caught her interest was that some women were so convinced they were expecting that they would sometimes physically develop the symptoms. Two weeks ago should she could tell herself that and believe it, but now there was no telling what was happening inside her body. She struggled to remember her last menstrual cycle and drew a blank. Did she even have one this month? Her heart sank into her stomach.

The Major released her arms and began to give her a body massage. Lucia reached up to claw at him futilely as he positioned her. It dawned on him that it was also the first time she'd ever attacked him. Why hadn't she done it sooner? Perhaps it was better that she got it out of her system now than later. Angry women retaliated. Scared women usually did something stupid. Hopefully this would be her last stupid act of the season. She cursed at him in between sobs as he proceeded to make love to her.

"I hate you," she whispered.

"I know."


****

Activity around the breakfast table was the same as usual. Hannah set the places while Selena poured the drinks. The soldiers gabbed amongst themselves as they stuffed their faces with hot instant oatmeal, powdered tang, and the last of the eggs in storage. Everyone had learned by now not to wait for the rest of the house to show up and began eating right away. This morning however, the Major came to the table alone, earning awkward stares from the women. Selena noted the two thin pink scratches along his neck. It sent an icy chill down her back and then a streak of anger.

"What happened to Lucy?" Hannah asked as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"She's resting upstairs," he said to her in a conversational tone. "She wasn't feel well this morning. Selena, why don't you run upstairs and take her some breakfast. Jones will go with you."

Biting back an outburst, Selena nodded and went to the kitchen to fetch a spare serving tray. She tried not to seem too eager to know what had become of her American friend. The look in the Major's eyes left her feeling uneasy. Had he done something terrible? Would she find Lucia broken and bloody on the bedroom floor? She prayed silently that it wasn't true. The pretty private escorted her upstairs to the master bedroom and unlocked the door for her.

"Five minutes," he told her. Being the most lenient of all the subordinates, he allowed her to go into the room alone.

Selena was briefly in awe at the size of the room. These accommodations greatly surpassed her little two-person hole in the wall. The bed was still unmade with the linens tossed about. No sign of blood. The remnants of a smoldering cigarette butt lay in an ashtray on the bedside table. It appeared she was alone in the room.

"Lucy?" Selena called. "Are you in here?

"In here," came a voice from the bathroom.

"I brought you breakfast," she announced as she entered.

Clad in only a red silk robe, Lucia sat curled up on the bathroom floor with one hand cuffed to a pipe lining the wall. With a gasp, Selena set the tray down and kneeled before her.

"My God! What's he done to you?" She started to tear up as she examined the fresh bruises on her neck and arms. "Are you hurt?"

"We had an argument," she drifted off. "I guess I lost."

Lucia closed her eyes and shook her head. She shivered from the chill coming from the open balcony. Selena graciously closed the doors before ripping a comforter from the bed to cover her up.

"I'm so sorry I said you were only looking out for yourself," Selena sobbed and began to babble. "I had no idea. What was I thinking? Damn them all! I mean, when he came down alone I knew something was wrong and then I saw the marks I thought for sure he'd done something terrible to you. Are you alright?"

"No I'm not," Lucia swallowed hard and stared her friend in the eye. "Selena, he's done something terrible."


*****

Lucia glanced at the kitchen window carefully judging the time by the fading sunlight. She put together a vegetarian pasta salad while Hannah started on a graham cracker crust. Selena was busy nearby preparing a chunky soup from an old family recipe. She opened another can of broth and set the tattered metal lid on the table. Jones watched closely as Lucia mixed together canned pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, sugar and spices and turned it into a pie. He couldn't believe there were so many combinations of cuisines sitting in the old pantry that he never knew about. He swore to himself that he'd bring her back a fancy set of kitchenware and cooking machines the next time they went out shopping.

"Do you promise to be a good girl?" West asked when he'd returned to release her. He helped her to her feet and gave her a soft kiss. "Let's not fight again."

After washing up Lucia rejoined the others downstairs as if nothing had happened. No one said anything nor asked her any questions. She tended to the daily chores with the girls and started dinner on time as usual.

"Are you sure you've never been to culinary school?" Private Jones asked her again for the third time.

Lucia twisted the corner of her mouth into a half smile. "Nope."

At the other end of the room, an underwhelmed Bedford sat back on a stool with his head resting on the wall trying to stay awake. He could care less about what was cooking as long as it was edible.

Lucia set her pie in a cool place and peeked at the window. "Can you help me light some candles?"

Jones nodded and went over to fetch the matches from the shelf. Lucia glanced back at Selena with a knowing look then joined him.

The older woman nodded slightly and scooped some of the soup into a smaller bowl, stuck a spoon in it, and went to Bedford. "I want to take this to Major West to taste."

"Just let me taste it." He said reaching for the spoon but Selena moved it away.

"No, it's for him." She declared.

"Why? Is it poisoned?"

Selena rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid. If I was going to I'd have done it A LOT sooner. I just want to know if he likes it. If not I'm going to make something else."

Bedford just didn't care anymore. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll be right back Jones."

He stood and walked her up the steps and out of the room.

Selena slowed to a stop as Bedford made a left instead of a right at the junction in the hall.

"Isn't West usually over here?" She asked.

Bedford shook his head and motioned for her to come. "Nope, he's by the courtyard."

She let him lead her down the long corridor, carefully balancing the warm soup bowl in her hands. The glass doors leading out into the garden at the end of the hall hung wide open. Outside Major West and Clifton were at the edge of the steps going over plans to secure the far wall.

"Sir," Bedford called getting their attention. "A little taste of tonight's supper."

Bedford turned around just in time to see Selena fling the bowl at his head. His reflexes kicked in but all the days spent lowering his guard finally paid off and he failed to block it. His face and hair were drenched with hot soup. The spices stung at his eyes and nose. He screamed and wiped at them viciously.

Selena raced back to the junction point and ran towards the front of the house. The soldiers gave chase.

"Selena, my love! Come back my little dumpling!" Clifton called after her.

She lead them back to the foyer and bolted for the front doors. Just as she reached the patio Private Bell appeared at her flank and grabbed hold of her shirt. The crafty Selena swiftly yanked the blouse over her head and kept running. Bell was so surprised that he paused for a moment to stare at her in shock.

"Bell!" Clifton growled.

"What in the hell is she doing!?" He asked.

Outside, Selena glanced over her shoulder to see how far away her pursuers were. Much to their surprise she did not make a break for the gates and suddenly changed her course toward the mine field. She flew over the sandbag border and kept going with her arms outstretched like an Olympic runner.

"Oh my God!"

"Selena!" Clifton cried after her. "Have you fucking gone mad! What the hell are you doing?"

Back inside the house, sounds of the commotion had carried down into the kitchen. Jones paused in the middle of lighting a candle and looked towards the door.

He handed the box of matches to Lucia. "Here, keep lighting them."

Jones picked up his gun and hurried down the hall, glancing back only once at the two girls before heading into the hall.

Back at the front of the house, Selena sprinted across the lawn hard and fast as the helpless soldiers watched from the barricade. Remarkably, she managed to reach the center of the yard unscathed. She listened to the soldiers pleas as they began to fade away. Jim hadn't returned in all this time and they were all foolish to think he would. The soldiers had him outnumbered and if their defenses didn't keep him back the Infected surely would. She didn't blame him for leaving them behind. The only thing she regretted was not telling him how she felt when she had the chance.

Jim.

The blast sent parts of Selena's body flying in all directions. Shocked, the men could only stare in disbelief, slack jawed and wide-eyed. Clifton leaned over the sandbags and cradled his head in his hands.

Bell shook his head. "Wha... why'd she do it?"

West closed his eyes to contemplate it for a few seconds before realization struck him. Turning on his heel, he rushed back into the house in time to hear:

"JONES YOU FUCKING IDIOT! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING THEM!"

No sooner than he stepped into the door, he heard the shouting. Jones was calling for him. With the others following behind he raced towards the kitchen passing Bedford on the way. His ears picked up sounds of a struggle ahead. The men flew into the kitchen and took in the scene. In one corner of the room Davis sat on the floor holding a tearful Hannah down against his chest. The gashes on her wrists covered her pale arms with crimson blood. Jones caught one of them and pressed a towel firmly against the wound as she flailed angrily in protest.

"What's happened?" West asked.

Davis readjusted his grip. "These two were shoving handfuls of pills down their throat when I came in. This one started slashing her wrist when she saw me."

Standing quietly on the opposite end of the room, Lucia washed the dishes as if oblivious to the chaos happening nearby. On the table sat a bloody can lid and the satchel the late Sergeant had slipped to her in secret. West examined a few of the empty medicine bottles scattered around it while Bell went over to help Jones with Hannah.

The Major calmly came to stand next to Lucia. "How many did you take?"

"Enough to destroy the future you're so eager to push on me," she smiled proudly and turned so she could stare into his blazing blue eyes. "I told you I could change it."

"Why'd you do it Lucy?" Jones looked as if he were going to burst into tears soon. "Why did you have to hurt yourself?"

"She emotional because she's pregnant," Major West announced, "and still very much in denial about it."

A silence fell over the room.

"Really?" Davis asked first.

"Of course not. He just wants it to be true," Lucia clenched her jaw and raised her chin defiantly. "Well you can forget about that. We're already dead, and soon you'll be dead too."

"We'll see about that," He went to the sink and washed his hands. "Hold her down."

Bedford and Clifton seized Lucia forced her to her knees while West kneeled before her. He squeezed her jaws to force her mouth open. She frantically tried to pull her head away but Clifton held her still. West pried her jaws open and stuck two fingers into her mouth. Lucia whimpered helplessly as he reached her uvula. Any attempt to bite seemed to make it easier for him. Within moments she began to heave. He pulled his hand away and she vomited a small sea of foaming mucus and pills. Lucia's eyes started to tear and her neck muscles tightened outlining every vein near the surface of her skin. Some of it started to drip from her nose.

"The girl too," West called to the other group.

Realizing what he meant, Hannah started to cry and fight. "No just let us die! Just let us die!"

Davis couldn't believe his ears. "Do you even know what you're saying girl?"

The unmistakable rumble of a mine exploded outside causing a second hush over the room.

"No fucking way!" Clifton said as another mine went off.

"Fuck me!" Bell breathed.

West went into combat mode. "Davis grab the girl and come with me. The rest of you get to your posts! Move!"

The men scrambled to their feet and hurried outside. The automatic flood lights revealed a horde of Infected racing across the yard. Alerted by the explosion that killed Selena the roaming plague-bearers followed the sound all the way to the mansion lights.

West lifted Lucia over his shoulder and headed to the basement followed by Bedford with Hannah cradled in his arms. Both girls had strangely calmed down and said nothing when they were tied up again.

"Do you think it'll still work?" Hannah asked when they were alone in the dark.

The gunfire and explosions echoed through the house.

"It is so far." Lucia replied.

"I mean your drugs... did you lose them all?"

"Most of them I think... damn him," she swore. "I could always just bleed out my tongue though it's going to hurt like hell."

Hannah was silent for a moment. "I hope it happens soon. I don't want to be around when they get in."

"We won't," Lucia assured her. "Now try to rest."

"Do you think the Infected killed Jim?" Hannah continued. "Do you think he's still out there? As one of them?"

"I don't know Hannah."

The explosions outside sounded closer. The firing became more intense. More Infected scaled the walls. The soldiers showered the sky with bullets, dropping bodies everywhere. Had any of them taken a moment to glance at the sky, they would have noticed a slow moving object passing overhead.