Mark Clodi - Discovery

“What?” Max asked, the kids all looked towards Amelia.

“There is a pool there Max.” said Amelia pointing to the low pool wall about thirty feet away. Max could see the glimmering water from here, it looked clean.

“Oh no, I don't think that is a good idea.” Max began, but then noticed the affect it had on the kids, “Maybe.” Then he wondered, 'Why not?' and said, “Well okay. But we lock the rooms, leave the windows open and we all take guns. And you have to keep the noise down, so we don't attract any zeds.”

The children nodded as they smiled, Nick and Cory actually gave each other a high five. After opening the windows, gathering the guns and locking the doors the kids made the short trip to the pool with Amelia. The boys, opting to be 'tough' and go barefoot, were hopping on the asphalt, which was still hot, while everyone else just smiled smugly for taking the time to put on flip-flops before making the short walk. Max had gotten over telling Cory to wear shoes, his family must have been very tolerant. Nick was starting to pick up the habit too, despite Max's growing ire. He supposed it didn't matter that much, so long as neither of them cut themselves. In this new age without electricity clean water was hard to come by and the kids needed the pool as much for its cleansing properties as for fun. Just before leaving the safety of the 'U' Max turned off the grill, the spam would wait. When Amelia turned and nodded to him, Max made his way to the pool.

Once there he scanned the surrounding area. He couldn't see much. On the one side the highway rose up and blocked the view, limiting what he could see to less than a quarter mile. Max could see down the road that led past the main office to the main road through town, the road Stewart and Tom should be coming back on, most likely this was where any zeds would show up too. In the opposite direct he could see alongside the highway for quite a long way, the view was one of scrub brush and barbed wire. Satisfied he nodded to the kids who jumped into the pool with delight. They giggled loudly, then caught themselves and went into whisper mode, playing 'Marco Polo' quieter than Max thought possible. Amelia was right in there with them and her thin t-shirt revealed a rather lot more of her than Max was comfortable viewing.

He felt guilty being aroused by the sight of her, Amelia was not flirting with him, not cognizant of her effect on Max at all, she was having innocent fun. Max kept his gaze moving when he looked over the pool area, never stopping to let it linger. 'Sarah is dead less than a week and I can't control myself?' he thought furiously. He knew Sarah didn't care, any more than he would have, but the guilt was unassailable.

The boys went to the deep end and took turns jumping off the diving board, Nick lost his shorts during one fantastic dive, which made everyone laugh. The pool, Max decided, was a good idea after all. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning he saw a zed coming up the road from the street. Only one. He motioned to Amelia, who immediately shushed the kids and scrambled out of the pool. Max moved towards the gate, picking up a baseball bat and leaning the rifle he had been carrying against the white fence next to the gate. Amelia picked up the shotgun and leaned low over the fence, using it to brace the gun.

“I'll go brain it. You cover me, yell if you see any more you don't think I can see.” Max said. During this statement he was forced to look at Amelia, hunched over, near naked and Amelia's face blushed as she realized the condition her thin clothing left her in. Saying nothing else Max slipped out of the gate and headed towards the side of the office to get closer to the zombie without being seen.

Amelia didn't yell and Max glanced back a few times to make certain no other zombies were creeping up along the back side of the pool, he was proud to see Nick was already at the opposite corner with the small twenty-two caliber rifle he had been given. The office corner was all windows, Max could peer through them to see the zombie making its way up the road. He looked for a good long time before he checked his revolver and hefted his bat to go out and meet it. Because the zombie was well down the road, Max paused at the side of the building to make sure no other zombies were waiting around the corner to ambush him and to check for other zombies in areas he could not see before. Nothing else moved, just the one who had spotted Max and was now moving toward him with renewed vigor. Max made himself wait by the corner of the building. Some zombies were uncanny, they would send others of their number ahead to test the defenses and lay in wait to view the outcome, the farther Max moved away from the office, the more anyone watching could see, so he waited.

It wasn't a long wait, it took the slow zombie about two minutes to make the climb up the gentle slope of the road and reach for him. Max faked a frontal attack, which made the zombie, who was Hispanic and about Max's age, clasp his hands together over thin air. With the zombie's arms grasping nothing, Max clubbed it in the side of the head, he felt the familiar give of the thing's skull and he knew it was dead. Again. Still when it went down he hit it twice more, to make absolutely certain the thing wouldn't be getting up again. Then he hauled it into the office, which they had found unlocked when they arrived. He dumped the body on the floor behind the desk and wrapped a phone cord around its legs, something that he thought would take a slow zombie hours to figure out how to remove. His paranoia thus satisfied Max looked out the office windows for any other movement. Seeing nothing he made his way back to the pool.

“See anything else?” Max asked a shivering Amelia. It was still warm out, however there was a slight breeze and that had cooled her off quickly.

She shook her head and said, “No. No other movement.”

“Nick you or Cory see anything?” the boys were also shivering and on the opposite corner from Amelia. The girls had gone to separate sides of the pool and shook their heads before Max asked them.

Cory answered, “No.” The same time as Nick and then both boys said, “Jinx!”, which set them off to laughing.

“Well then, get back to having fun!” The girl's smiles returned immediately and they dropped the clubs back by the pile of towels and jumped in with a quiet laugh.

Tom and Steward found them enjoying themselves like that a half hour later when they pulled in from town. Parking the van corner to corner with the patrol car. Stewart walked over while Tom loosened up a couple of gas cans off the top and started dumping the contents into the wrecker, which used diesel.

“That looks nice!” Stewart commented, eying the pool and the kids playing in it.

“Get your suit on and go in. I'll watch.” said Max.

“I bet you will! Looks like you've been watching Amelia already.” Max flushed and Stewart's voice softened, “Sorry Max, that was out of line. She is a looker though, no harm in that.”

“It's too soon Stewart.”

“Life goes on. No harm in looking.” she repeated.

“Get in, you lame-o, before it gets too dark.”

“You don't have to tell me twice, but I only will if you take a turn afterwards. You been downwind of yourself lately? Phew!” she said waving her hand in front of her face.

Tom came over as Stewart walking into the pool area behind Max's back, saying “Anyone not wanting to see a naked woman look the other way!”

Max stood still, looking at Tom, who was watching the pool area. “She isn't? Is she?”

“She is. The boys are going to have good dreams tonight. I know I will. A little tummy, but overall in good shape. You going in?” asked Tom. Behind Max he could hear the kids yelling and saying 'Ewwww!' followed by a splash in the pool.