Jason Campagna - White Ash on Bone - A Zombie Novel

"Haven't you seen that Disney movie," Jack said. "Those cats are mean; plus, they are all thin and alien looking."

"I'll have you know that’s a load of crap," Karen said. "Siamese cats have gotten a bad rap from that movie over the years. I can assure you that they are quite loyal loving cats; my aunt has two of them. Plus, the ones in the movie are bred to be all skinny and alien looking, but I'm talking about a traditional Siamese."

"Ok, so what the hell is a traditional Siamese?" Jack said.

"They’re a normal sized feline with the shape of a big housecat,” Karen said. “But they have the brown coloration with the blue eyes you would expect of Siamese."

"And you're sure they're not all alien looking?" Jack said.

"Yes, I’m sure,” Karen said. “You’re such a silly little goober."

The next day Jack found himself sitting in his car with his wife Karen in front of a Cattery sign. "What the hell is a cattery?" Jack asked his wife.

Karen punched his arm, "The first rule of Fight Club is we don’t talk about Fight Club," Karen said.

"So maybe this won’t be so bad after all," Jack said, "But I do notice that you seem to have all these little decisions mapped out ahead of time before you spring them on me."

"Nonsense," Karen replied. "If I had any such intentions I wouldn't have brought you along to pick the cat with me. Let's not waste any more time. I want to go pick out our new baby."

Walking in the door of the Cattery, Jack was greeted by dozens of pairs of deep blue eyes.

"Oh you must be Karen and Jack," a man said sitting behind a desk. "The kitties seem to like you Jack."

Jack felt a slight weight on the back of his coat.

"Oh Jack, look at you," Karen said.

Jacked turned his head back and looked down to find the source of the weight, but he could not see over his shoulder. He twisted to his left and right and looking down under his armpits to finally catch a glimpse of two legs hanging in the air.

"Oh, she's so cute Jack," Karen sang.

"That’s my little Eclipse," the man said. "She is one of my breeders, and as luck would have it, she had some of the kittens that I have for sale. You two must be good people, if she is trying to get your attention to visit her babies."

"And we know cats are a good judge of character," Karen added.

“Is that seriously the best sales pitch the two of you could come up with,” Jack said.

“Be nice Jack,” Karen said, “Or you’re going to upset Eclipse.”

The man led the couple behind a glass enclosure to Eclipse's litter.

"Pick whichever one or ones you want," the man said.

The little cats ran and played in their enclosure, barely taking the time out of their games with each other to notice Jack and Karen. The couple inspected the litter comparing temperament, gender, or anything else that could possibly distinguish between the nearly identical cats. Jack looked down at his watch and realized an hour had passed while the couple struggled with their decision.

"Karen, you realize we have spent more time on choosing a kitten then it did for us to decide to buy our house."

"Well, we have to make sure it’s the right choice, and they are all so cute, but I think I know which one I want."

"Which one?" Jack said.

"This little one by the water dish has been watching you for the past five minutes,” Karen said. She reached down and picked the little kitten up; she pulled the kitten’s tail back and smiled. "She's a girl Jack, and the way she was watching you, she will keep an eye on you when I am not at home. We'll call her Naomi," Karen said as she petted the kitten.

Jack reached out in the darkness of his house and petted Naomi. I wish you were here Karen, he thought. In the darkness, Donna had enough of the same features as Karen that he felt tempted to entertain the fantasy that she was his wife.

That wouldn't be fair, Jack, he thought to himself in his wife's voice. He often thought of his wife talking to him in his head. He recognized it for what it was. It was how a horribly hurt widower coped with the loss of his wife.

Karen's voice continued on in his head, "It's been three years since I died. I told you I wanted you to be happy and move on. This is an unusual circumstance, and she needs your protection, so don’t feel guilty about her sleeping next to you. Just watch out for my Naomi and don’t worry about any feelings of guilt you may have."

It was nice to feel a woman beside him, Jack thought.

"I won’t hold this against you," Karen's voice said in his head, "I want you to be happy, Jack, and if a girl is willing to respect and love you like I did, then don’t you dare push her away."

Jack realized the strain in his face as muscles had been holding his eyes shut against the strain behind them. He purged the thoughts from his mind and listened to the world outside while trying to focus on the day ahead of them.

Donna woke up beside Jack and his cat Naomi. She enjoyed Jack's warmth beside her until reality rushed back into her mind. They had barricaded themselves on the third floor of Jack’s home after an explosion down the street. The propane depot took out a number of buildings around it when it went and caught dozens of homes on fire. The direction of the wind saved Jack’s home from the blaze, but it attracted a number of zombies.

The explosion also took out the power leaving the two without up-to-date information.

Donna reached out and petted the soft fur of the cat. Naomi opened her eyes and purred at the attention.

“It's going to be morning soon,” Jack said, “We should work on getting out of here soon.”

“Do you think there are still people at the airport?” Donna asked.

“One way or another, we’re going to have to find out,” Jack said. “I figure we throw what we can into my car and make it as far as we can. I have an old .22 caliber rifle you can use. It’s lightweight, and I have tons of ammo for it. You're going to have to let them get real close though if you want the ammo to punch through a skull.”

“I can handle that,” Donna said, “My dad used to let me shoot his all the time.”

“If you want, I can try and get you to your family,” Jack offered.

“Thanks but they are on vacation in Mexico at the moment. I sent then an e-mail on your computer before the explosion,” Donna said.

“Donna,” Jack said, “I don’t think what is happening is going to stop; it's going to spread like a virus around the world.”

Donna thought about the impact of that statement and how it would change her life forever. There is no going home ever again she thought.

“If that is the case,” Jack continued, “Then we need to think about where we can lay up and survive for years to come. The roads are going to be a mess, but I have a pilot’s license, and we’re headed to the airport. If we can make it there, then we can fly out of the region with anybody we can fit aboard. What do you think? Are you in?”

“If it means staying alive, I’d consider just about anything at this point,” Donna said.

Donna heard a muffled thump sound from two stories below them. It was followed a moment later by the sound of breaking glass.

“Hello,” someone called out from below. “We know you’re up there, let us in before those things get us.”

“Shit!” Jack said “Grab what you can it’s time to go before we have every zombie in the city trying to eat these idiots.”

Donna grabbed Naomi and zipped her safely inside a shoulder strapped cat carrier. Jack pulled the .22 and a shotgun out of the closet and filled up a bag full of ammo.

“Follow me,” Jack ordered as noise continued to sound from below.

He moved into the bathroom, in the back of the house on the third floor, and opened the window.