I swear the first and the last time I screamed when I saw one of those things was that time on the bridge. This became a joke among my friends, who made fun of "merciless Santana Lopez" for days. It's okay, I deserved it. But I had my chance to redeem myself. After we saw before our eyes that corpses could come back to life, the community began to take turns in the vigils on the perimeter of our lands. We hadn't come across reapers yet, but zombies were already a reality. The sound of gunfire was always louder at night. It was when reapers were active.
We began to become aware of these patterns by observing what was happening around us, and also by adding information from reports we had with people who communicated with us over the amateur radio system. When we put two and two together, we realized that reapers were nocturnal because sunlight drove them crazy and caused them pain for some reason. Zombies were reapers who died, or people who died in a reaper attack and became zombies. As they were already dead, they were no longer sensitive to sunlight and, therefore, was active day and night. As the body rotted, zombies lost their agility. Reapers died from gunshots to the chest, but respawned as zombies a few hours later. So the best way to get rid of the problem, reaper or zombie, was to damage the brain. Point taken.
Whenever the night attacks took place, some bodies appeared in the water when the day dawned and most of them were zombies. Our job was to shoot them in the head when they approached our shores and then remove the bodies to burn them. If we let it rot in water, the stench would soon become unbearable. Some families also went out into the middle of the lake in their boats, but community leaders on the islands established a three-days quarantine before allowing these families to dock their boats, to make sure no one there was infected. We learned that in Orchard they decided to use my uncle's shop, which was very large, as a shelter. The Lake Ridge people put these people up in the houses that were unoccupied, the ones whose owners only spent seasons on the lake. Amber said she would give up the boatel's rooms to the rescued families.
That day, I was assigned to do the Pew Island patrolling, which was a small nature reserve that basically had squirrels, small lizards, frogs, birds and a bunch of bugs. There were other people walking around the reservation both to exercise and to make rounds, and I was paired with Brittany that day. She carried a machete and I had a carbine.
"I like here." Brittany walked around holding my hand. "It's peaceful!"
"Peace is a luxury these days."
"Do you think we can make it? You know? Survive?"
"Of course we will, Britt Britt." I stopped walking at the small gazebo on the waterfront and pointed at the landscape. "We know that things out there are not very good, but we are in the best place we could be. We are the smart ones, you know? We left Lima on time and decided to come to the best place possible. Better than that, only if we were in the Caribbean."
Brittany smiled. I loved the way she smiled and cocked her head to the side, like she was embarrassed and flirty at the same time. Then she would make that adorable little hum that made my legs go silly. I looked once more at the waters, this time attentive to any strange sign. There was nothing. I could see the anchored ships waiting their quarantine pass, some smoke on the shores, and, most importantly, no bodies floating nearby.
"You know, Britt Britt. We could check one of those interior trails to see if we don't see something."
Brittany didn't understand my intentions at the time, but she accompanied me anyway. The inner trails ran through the small forest, and there was no mystery about them. It looked a lot like these trails in well-forested parks in an urban environment. I took the opportunity to listen to the environment. There was no noise from anything but birds and, if anything, the other pair patrolling the main trail. I gave Brittany the hush sign and pulled her off the trail. We went behind an area with more bushes, I leaned Brittany against a tree and kissed her in a way I've been wanting to do for a long time. I smiled when she ran out of breath.
"Wow. My legs are wobbly." Brittany smiled.
"Do you want me to stop?"
"Don't you dare!"
We kissed again. I put the carbine down and she did the same with the machete. Things got better and I always melted when Brittany dominated me in a way only she knew how to do. How can I describe it: It was a gentle domain where she took the action but totally left me room to do what I wanted as well. She unbuttoned my shirt, and I took off her t-shirt. Brittany wasn't wearing a bra. She hated using it. The same way she hated wearing panties to sleep. The fact that she had only one piece now helped justify its absence. I thought everything was perfect. I put my mouth on her breasts and sucked her nipples like a baby until they were fully erect. I didn't even see when my jeans were opened by Britt. All I know is that the next thing I knew, her fingers were inside. Brittany had long fingers that were amazing. I didn't want to draw attention from the other people patrolling the area, so I bit her shoulder as I climaxed: my first in…a long time. I hadn't had sex with Brittany since the day before we went to Columbus to compete. It felt like a year ago. When the strongest wave passed, and I relaxed my body, I smiled like an idiot. Brittany was also smiling.
"I love you."
"I love you more."
Finally, I unbuttoned my girlfriend's jeans and did it exactly how she liked it. Sweet kisses. And Brittany liked sweet kisses everywhere. The ideal would be to be in a room, in the comfort of a bed. I could have just taken one of the simple rooms at the boatel and spent the night with my girlfriend, but like I said, we were still getting used to the whole apocalyptic situation. I got on my knees, gave her the sweetest kisses right where she needed it most, on that little bottom that got hard and even erect when you played with it. My fingers slipped inside without the slightest difficulty. Brittany was super wet and it was all for me. Just for me! My fingers went in and out, but I knew this was a complement. My biggest effort was on the little button. In the sweet kisses I applied there. Brittany also reached orgasm. She had a way of shivering all her own when the wave hit. She would also let out a moan, the kind you used to hold and hold and hold until you couldn't contain it anymore, and when it came out, it was all at once, like a muffled scream.
She was satisfied. I was satisfied. We hug a little bit. There was nothing wrong with taking five minutes to regain strength. So we put our clothes on, grab our weapons, and head back to the trail. By an unfortunate coincidence, when we got back, we saw that none other than Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry were passing by. Remember the other pair patrolling? Yeah... it was the perfect couple.
"Did something happen to you? Did you hear anything in the woods?" Rachel asked in agony.
"We heard a noise and went to check it out, Berry." I took Brittany's hand and was already pulling her away.
"Were you guys having sex?" Rachel must have smelled it when we walked past her. Or it could be because our hair was a little messy, or because Brittany's t-shirt was inside out…I don't know. All I know is that pest noticed. "Santana! You should be more responsible. Our task is to only patrol the park for a few hours, which is a task of immense responsibility and necessity. But no! You put sex with Brittany above the safety of the entire community."
"Can you be any less hysterical?" I yelled back. "And why does it have to be my fault alone?"
"Because you are the leader, a bad leader who leads everyone astray."
Rachel started talking and talking, but I was no longer paying attention. Quickly I grabbed the carbine and positioned the gun towards those two assholes. Rachel was startled, Finn threatened to retaliate when Brittany screamed.
"Bow your head!"
Finn moved out of the way, Rachel ducked and I had clear sight to shoot. The first shot landed in the middle of the chest, which made the zombie slow down. The second was on the face, which made it fall. The four of us approached that thing with cautious. It was a zombie woman with little clothing left on her body and swollen from spending time in the water. It looked horrible and so did the smell. She was still moving and making a low, yet horrible, growl. Rachel was going to give the coup de grace, but Finn wouldn't let her.
"We spent two bullets. It's better to save some." He took his machete and pushed the tip against its temple. The zombie stopped moving, finally.
"That was close!" Brittany sighed, as if she could breathe again.
"This is what happens when you guys have sex instead of patrolling."
"And even?" I challenged. "The zombie was coming from the same direction you came. If anyone let this thing go, it was you two!"
"Look, nobody got hurt." Finn pondered, which was a very rare thing. "And we did our job."
"Are we going to have to carry this thing to the bridge?" Rachel asked. She was apprehensive. The place where the Dreams bridge once existed was where the bodies of zombies were burned.
"It's either that or we're going to have to dunk this thing back in the water at the risk of contaminating everything. We don't know how this virus survives in other environments..." I reasoned. "Fire is still the best way to exterminate contagion."
"You girls continue the rounds while I get the wheelbarrow to take this body to the bridge." Finn suggested and I agreed. "I need to put the gloves and ask some guys to do it."
"I don't think it's a good idea." Rachel grumbled.
"What's the worst that could happen, Berry? Throw you in the water for the zombies to eat you?"
Rachel rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Let's continue the round, but no distractions this time." Rachel said in a bossy tone. I wasn't in the mood to argue anymore.
Before we parted ways with Finn, he caught my eye.
"Santana!"
"What?" I said impatiently.
"This time you didn't scream."
I couldn't resist and smiled. It was the first time I shot a zombie. Unfortunately, it would not be the last.
...
Those islands were a safe haven for the Indian Lake community for nearly five months. It was unbelievable how we had transformed in that time. The gardens and lawns of the houses were transformed into subsistence plantations, especially corn, potatoes and beans. There was a neighbor who had planted barley for the purpose of making beer. Another managed to plant potatoes, and those were worth gold to us. Things were going well. My mother moved into a small, simple house on Seminole Island, and Brittany and I moved in with her. My friends also chose their homes. Quinn, Mike, Tina, Sam, Joe and Aisha were still in the same apartment. Burt and Carole and Blaine and Kurt too. Rachel and Finn moved in together in a condominium apartment that was vacant. It was as far away as they could get from Finn's parents. We worked all day. Sometimes I fished (but I didn't like it), sometimes I did security rounds, sometimes I helped Daniel. Everything depended on the scales organized by the community. Zombies used to show up floating around now and then, but it was getting rarer.
After five months, the apocalypse didn't look so bad. We were a community that became isolated and we practically had no contact with what was beyond the shores of Indian Lake. Nobody had seen the ruins of the great cities yet. It was only known that it was necessary to avoid them, as it was a nest of reapers and zombies that cannibalized each other. Some of the small towns have been taken over by communities like ours: some more friendly, others far more aggressive. In common, they all distrusted any and all outsiders. Most of them, however, were looted.
Despite the relative sense of security, there were problems that weren't simple to solve. We were able to solve part of the food problem by living off fishing, homegrown crops, and sometimes some of the guys would go and pick grain and fruit at some of the abandoned farms in the neighborhood. It was always a risky operation. One that I was never chosen to go to, but that Mike and my uncle attended from time to time. We partially solved the school problem for the children who lived on the island by collecting textbooks from the neighborhood. Daisy and Greta were teachers, and they invent a new system of education for the kids in which Aisha and Tina were the main assistant.
Our biggest problem was related to health. Some people took medicine continuously, and what supplies they had run out after two or three months of the apocalypse. The nearest pharmacies were in Bellefontain, Lima and Wapakoneta. The guy who volunteered to go to one of those places to get medicine never came back. Another tried to go to Kenton, and said there was a community there that traded some medicine bottles for the ammo and gun he was carrying. So the remedies became herbs and tea. We also didn't have a doctor in the community. The closest doctor we had was Daniel, a veterinarian, and whenever he needed, my mother, Quinn or even myself would help. That's because my mother and I had good notions of first aid and we knew how to suture. Quinn was interested in medicine, and she tried to learn everything necessary, whether that came from a vet or me.
Five to six months was what our story at Indian Lake lasted. And it all started when Abuela was feeling sick that day. Abuela had a heart condition and diabetes, and was off medication, just like everyone else. After all that time, she let go of her resentment of me for being a lesbian and started talking to me. She even liked Brittany, because my girlfriend made her laugh. But abuela still hated the fact that Britt and I were sexually and emotionally together. I think one of those responsible for making her open her heart a little and "forgive" me was Father Hugo, the only priest, of any religion, that existed on the island. Abuela couldn't work like the rest of us, so she did what she could: she liked to cook for Uncle Carlos, Amber and Lara, and twice a week she walked to the Marian chapel to talk to Father Hugo and help him. It was the exercise she did and, even though it was little, she got tired a lot. That's why she also spent a good part of her time sitting on the porch of my uncle's house to watch the movement. Sometimes someone would stop to have a little chat with her, and that person, amazingly, was usually Brittany. As long as my relationship with Brittany wasn't mentioned, Abuela chatted with us without problems.
The day it all happened, I was on the round with Rachel Berry. Our job was to spend the morning checking the streets and shores in Tecumseh, the island where my uncle's house was, in Turkey Foot and in Crane, where the boatel was. Rachel and I were just walking side by side with our rifles in hand, when I saw Amber running towards us. She was in a panic.
"Santana, go get Daniel. It's your grand."
I was paralyzed. Rachel was the one who snapped me out of the trance of seconds.
"Go to your grandmother. I'll call Daniel."
I thanked Rachel for her kindness with a slight wave and ran to my uncle's house with Amber. Lara was in the makeshift school at the time, thank goodness, because she would have been shocked to see Abuela pale, her eyes wide. When I held her face, I was startled by how frightening Abuelita was.
"Abuelita, can you cough?"
I asked as I knelt beside her, placing my rifle on the ground. But she couldn't answer. I checked her pulse and felt that it was very slow, as if her pressure had dropped a lot. The only thing I remembered was that I had to get her to lie down. I did it. I took her out of the rocking chair and laid her on the living room floor. I tried to make massages on her wrists while I spoke softly.
"Abuelita. Breathe with me. Slowly. Can you do it?"
I breathed heavily in hopes that Abuela would imitate me. It wasn't working. So I ran over and grabbed the foam from the back of the sofa and positioned her legs so they were higher. Daniel arrived running along with Rachel and I said a little run over.
"Her blood pressure is low. She can't answer me.
"It's okay, San. Let's take care of your grandmother." Daniel looked at me steadily, as if he were trying to convey confidence. But the fact is, without an EKG, without a defibrillator, without be able to make any exam, everything you could do was very limited.
I saw when my uncle Carlos entered the room and started to say something. I was so focused on Abuela that I couldn't hear anything else in the room. Then Abuela started breathing like a fish out of water and then she just stopped.
"San, I need you to push the air in her."
I wasn't calm enough to do CPR. Not even. It was Abuelita who stood before me. Still, I put her head back to open the esophageal passage. Daniel did heart massage and signaled for me to blow air into Abuelita's mouth. We tried to do this for five minutes, for ten, for fifteen minutes, but it didn't work. My body lost its strength when Daniel looked at me and said those horrible words:
"I'm sorry, San. She's gone."
I hadn't even realized that I had been crying the entire time. I did what I had to do, and I cried without even feeling it. Recapping what happened, it was all very odd indeed. When I heard Daniel's words, that's when my body lost strength. I know someone came to my rescue, and I didn't even realize that person was Rachel Berry. No one close to Uncle Carlos or me was more aware of the island's issues. We were mourning the death of a dear and essential person to us.
Abuela had a unique sense of humor, she knew how to give acid answers and it was with her that I learned not to take any offense. When she died, I just cried and I was held all the time by Rachel Berry. I didn't know she had that kind of strength, but Rachel held me until I calmed down enough to get up and hug my family and my girlfriend. I never said thank you to Rachel for that moment of support.
Daniel, Burt and Finn committed themselves to removing Abuela's body, where she would be veiled and cremated later that night, as had happened on two previous occasions. One with old Owen, who also died of a heart attack, and one with Lilly, who died from lack of antibiotics when we had to have emergency appendicitis surgery.
The burning of zombie bodies usually didn't bring anyone together, but the cremation of someone from the community brought a good number of people from our group of islands to the edge of the bridge that no longer existed.
Father Hugo used to visit Abuela, even though she still made a point of walking to the chapel. He must have been about 40 years old, and I think it was complicated to be the priest of a community where few were from the same religious segment. But he, Father Hugo, was the only religious authority that existed on that island, and he had just lost one of the most present and faithful follower. Knowing of Abuela's Catholic faith, he tried to argue with community leaders that she should be buried and not cremated. But Aaron, who became the local mayor, was adamant. He didn't want a cemetery to spring up on our island chain. So we had to burn abuela.
Father Hugo conducted the wake in the chapel. Not all the community attended this part of the funeral ceremony because it was more reserved for family and friends. It was hard to be there. It was very hard to dress for the occasion. Amber wanted to lend me a dress, but I refused. I thought it was silly to wear a dress to see someone I loved with all my heart burning at the stake. So I just put on my boots, jeans pants and jacket. All my friends were there with me, as well as my family, and I thanked them all for that. Brittany was the most tearful among them, and my mother tried to comfort me.
Neither I nor Uncle Carlos wanted to talk in the occasion. It was too recent and too painful for us. But my mother said a few words. She told the story of when my father introduced her to Abuela, and how it was hate at first sight. But that over time they learned to respect and love each other.
"Alma Lopez came into my life being the evil witch that was my boyfriend's mother. I remember very well the day Juan took me to her house to introduce the family. Alma looked at me with unbelievable indifference and asked: well, do you know how to peel an onion? I said yes, I knew how to cook. Then she said: well then, you'd better start now, because a lot of tears are going to fall from now on. Alma knew that I would cry a lot in my relationship with Juan, but thank God most of my tears were of joy. As I said, Alma come into my life like a wicked witch and she left my life as a great friend." My mother spoke. "I am grateful that she existed and that she was a part of my life and my daughter's."
Abuela's body was placed on a stretcher and covered with a sheet by the priest, who blessed her. We left in procession where Rachel supported by my friends led the religious chants. Rachel knew religious jewish songs, and christmas songs basically. But she could also sing Amazing Grace, and she did it divinely. I will be forever grateful to her for that. When we got to the edge of the bridge, Abuela was laid on a sort of bed of dry logs. Daniel, Burt and Mike were careful to place the wood on top of Abuela's body and then sprinkled some gasoline on it. Uncle Carlos was the one who struck the match, and the flames immediately began to burn Abuela's body.
I just walked away from the small crowd gathered, and stayed in my girlfriend's arms. Mom was near uncle Carlos and Amber, and my friends were everywhere.
It was beautiful in a way, but incredibly sad.
"I want to get out of here." I said to Brittany.
She nodded and we were the firsts to get away from there. I remember that Rachel and Finn was near us, as well Quinn, Mike and Tina.
Then the other tragedy happened.
Remember Uncle Carlos' motto? That things would go wrong because people were naturally stupid? Imagine a guy who was bitten by a zombie while collecting potatoes on farms. He killed what was already dead and didn't tell anyone, not even his wife. Imagine this guy starting to feel sick, and even he did everything to hide it. Imagine this guy kissing his wife, making love to her just to prove he was okay. Imagine this wife starting to feel sick too. Imagine, that night, this couple having the psychotic break and running into a small crowd that was saying goodbye to an old lady.
It was the first time I saw a reaper. All the zombies I've seen in my life were already weakened by the time they spend in the water. Not a reaper. It was a wild animal that attacked people without distinction. Imagine a population of just over two thousand people living on that set of islands. Imagine that a hundred people were watching the cremation. Imagine that when the reapers were stopped and killed, at least thirty people were bitten or scratched, including my mother.
In the mess and confusion, my mother got desperate, and I couldn't understand why.
"Let's go home. Now!" My mom yelled at me.
Brittany and I followed her. Our house had a light system powered by a car battery, which we used when necessary. My mother almost never turned on the lights, but she did that night. That's when I saw her bruised hand... bitten. At cremation time, the reapers didn't go on my way and my friends because we were already leaving. But my mother was in the reaper's way.
"Mom…" I started to cry.
"Santana Maria, are you hurt?"
"No... I don't think so..."
"Brittany?"
"Me either."
"Excellent!"
My mom went into our room to get our emergency bags, including hers.
"Mom… no!" I was desperate, and if it weren't for Brittany, I would have collapsed to the floor. I couldn't even feel my legs.
"You, Brittany and your friends need to get out of here. Go to the boats and watch. Respect the quarantine. I'll make sure not to hurt anyone. I will do it on my own terms. But first I need to know that you're going to be safe."
"I will take care of her, Maribel." Brittany said firmly. She was the one who went to the closet, took the canned goods that were still in our pantry and put them all in her backpack. Britt took my revolver, our ammo and the rifle I used to make the rounds. Brittany even took care to dress me in my denim jacket, which I wore underneath my winter coat.
"Santana Maria. It doesn't matter what you have to do. I want you to live. I want you and Brittany to start a family. I want you to be able to die when you're old enough, like your abuela, in a warm bed surrounded by people who loves you. I'm proud of what you've done and what you're going to do. Promise me Santana!"
"I promise, mom."
"I love you. I love you so much that I want you and your loved ones far from here now. Please!"
"I love you too."
I tried to hug her, but my mom wouldn't let me. My mother liked to wear a gold chain with a small cross as a pendant. She took the jewel off her neck, took care to rub it with alcohol, and gave it to me, as if it were the only material inheritance she had to pass on to me. I was crying a lot, but I received the gift and put it around my neck. She accompanied me, however, to the boatel. She wanted to explain her situation to Burt, when we found out that none other than Kurt had been scratched very badly. It wasn't a superficial scratch that could mean absolutely nothing. That was a werewolf kind of scratch!
"Oh my God!" I sighed. Kurt was never one of my best friends, but he was family.
"Carole is going to board. I will stay with my boy until the time come."
There was no need to warn Rachel and Finn, since they were already there. Everyone was still recovering from the scare, but everyone was hopeful that none of us would be left behind. But that was no longer possible.
Mike and the others got the emergency packs and we boarded two speedboats. The first was me, Brittany, Rachel, Finn, Blaine and Carole. On the second boat were Quinn, Joe, Mike, Tina and Aisha. Burt and my mother pushed the speedboats and as a protocol, we anchored in the middle of the island. I saw, from a distance, when Uncle Carlos approached with his sailboat that had a bedroom, a kitchen and even a bathroom. He and his family could survive a long time there. Our speedboats were comfortable, but they were speedboats. There was no escaping the cold in them. Once we anchored in the middle of the lake, we all huddled together, trying to warm each other up, right in the middle of the lake.
I didn't think straight. I didn't even feel my own pain. I didn't know anything. All I felt was an immense emptiness, a bone-chilling cold. Carole grabbed blankets, but even they wouldn't be enough. I heard the noise of other boats that were anchoring in the middle of the lake, and when that noise ended, in the silence of the waters, we could hear the sound of shots in the distance. Afterwards, all you could hear was the sound of crying. We were all crying.
That was the worst night of my life.