26
Kathy headed out into the hallway and met Dwight coming out of the bedroom with his second child, grinning at her as he moved the second twin to the other room with all the other children, wanting his side of the bed back.
She whispered goodnight and padded into the kitchen for a drink of milk then realised she was still only in her nightgown. Still bloody cold. God. She would forget her head if it wasn't screwed on. This baby brain was something else.
Ghost sat in the rocking chair, staring out the window at the moonlit yard as he waited for Danni to return from her turn on perimeter sweep. They nodded to one another and she yawned.
She was padding back to the bedroom when she passed Dwight and Sierra's, the sound from in there guttural and she was embarrassed, moving faster as the mere thought of overhearing them making love was… she stopped moving.
It came again.
She turned towards the room and then heard a bellow.
.
.
.
.
Dwight had slid into the warm bed his children had been in moments earlier, cuddling in against his sleeping wife that he had tried hard not to wake. He was worried about her 'heads' as this was going too long and in the morning he would definitely talk to her about letting the docs have a look even if it meant another argument about it. They might be vets but they did have medical training. He let a hand snake aroid her waist to hug her and she moved, making a soft noise of annoyance.
"its cold baby sorry" he whispered nuzzling into her hair.
She growled again, louder this time and he was surprised as she was usually not this annoyed with him. Her headache must be bad. He kissed her and settled.
Sh growled again, a deep grinding sort of one as she started to roll towards him and he wondered if she was going to be sick with the guttural noise and by the time she had rolled to face him he ws laying still, staring at her in the moonlight.
Her eyes seemed unfocused and glassy in the half light and he frowned "Ser? You Ok love?"
She lunged.
He cried out with horror as he pushed off from her, falling from the bed to the floor and she slithered across the bed dafter him. Surprisingly quick as she snaked out her hand and grabbed his ankle while he wss trying got get up using the bed of leverage. His wrist seized with her other hand.
He cried out again, this time kicking his foot and wrenching at his wrist. "Shit, shit, shit"
The door swung open and Kathy was entering in her white nightgown, the candle stick from the hallway where Dwight had sniffed out the candle so as not to wake the kids before moving then left there, above her head as she advanced screaming.
He watched the candlestick's base slam down on his wife's head, bounce as Sierra ignored it and kept coming for him. She wiggled from the bed to the floor and he knew this was a better surface, looking up at Kathy as she tried again, this time the head not sinking into soft bedding and Kathy snarled and growled and swung.
Then there was light, Kathy gone as hands seized Dwight to wrench him away from his assailant, and Ghost slamming the poker from the kitchen fireplace into Dwight's wife's eye socket, putting his full weight into it as Sierra struggled under his body weight.
Danni stepped around him and a single bullet was introduced to Sierra's left eardrum.
Dwight flopped back tired and bereft as the woman he had made children with … a life with… finally died.
Again.
.
.
.
.
"So … from what we agree on…" Dean glanced at Douglas who nodded and let him have the floor "We think she died sometime after the evening meal. Probably before the kids even got in with her. The turning didn't happen until later. Probably, Dwight moving the children out and himself in was what fully awakened the … Biter."
"But… now did she die?" Ghost asked, still shaken.
"Well … given the headaches, the smell thing and the way she went so quietly… we think it was an aneurysm or something. Maybe even a brain tumour… no way to check with what is left of … well. Not enough intact… ya know?" he grimaced rubbing his hands on his pants as he looked at Douglas again who sighed and took over.
"Dwight would have slid in to a still warm body, snuggling in. In a … before… she would simply grow cold and rigor would set in, he would wake to the body being a real body. This… whatever… made her turn." Douglas added.
"But… she wasn't bit!" Danni pointed out, tiring from the window to stare at those at the table "She just… died?"
"That… that is the unsettling part and… we don't really know but… unfortunately, I think whatever caused these things was airborne for a length of time that night. Biters had to start somewhere and I now think it is possible that any of us that were in the town centre and exposed to the airborne …. Whatever… are infected. When we die… we will turn. Regardless of whether we die from a Biter or not." Douglas rose and started to pace "whatever this is… it is widespread and if airborne like it seems to be… well … this is not good news for us."
"Manmade" Ghost said softly to himself as he shook his head "Airborne cotangent."
"Oh god" Danni whispered with horror "we are all going to become one of those things in the end?"
No one spoke now.
Nothing more to add.