Live Another Day by Baileigh Higgins (finding audrey .txt) 📕

whose bodies were never recovered. The list was too long to remember, though a few stood out and lingered apart from the rest. Lilian, Johan, Mannuru, Armand.

Julianne dashed a delicate hand across her tear stained face and turned away. She buried her face in his jacket and clung to him. He drew her close, pressing a soft kiss onto the top of her head. “I'm so sorry, my love.”

“I'll miss her.”

“I know.”

Around them, the crowd thinned as each returned to their various duties. Breytenbach's eyes burned from lack of sleep, but he knew there'd be no slumber for him anytime soon. There was too much to be done. In an unconscious gesture, he massaged his left arm. It had gone numb again, a niggling problem that continued to plague him ever since his illness. That and occasional shortness of breath, and feelings of faintness.

“Is it your arm again?” Julianne asked.

“Yes, but it’s not too bad.”

“Have you been to see Jonathan about it?”

“I have.”

“And?”

Breytenbach remembered the conversation he’d had with the young doctor that day. After an extensive examination, Jonathan had sat him down and said, “I think the problem is your heart.”

“My heart?”

“It’s not functioning at full capacity.”

“Why?”

“It’s difficult to say for certain without further tests, but I think your recent illness damaged the muscle.”

“How bad is it?”

Jonathan hesitated. “Again, without further tests that I don’t have the equipment for―”

“You can’t say for sure.”

“That’s correct.”

The news opened up a pit of despair in Breytenbach’s stomach as he thought of Julianne, Megan, and Sam. They need me.

Jonatha hastened to reassure him. “While I can’t fully determine the severity, I can tell you it’s not that bad. Though it might worsen over time, for now, you’re still fairly healthy. You don’t have high blood pressure or cholesterol either which is a bonus.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

Jonathan sighed. “The usual. Eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, keep your stress levels low, that sort of thing.”

Breytenbach snorted. “Easier said than done. We live in a zombie apocalypse.”

“I know, but you have to try. Also, I’ll prescribe some medication for you to take every day.”

“Like what?”

“Nothing serious. Just something to help prevent blood clotting and to smooth out the rhythm of your heart. If you start to swell, you’ll have to use diuretics, and you might benefit from a calcium supplement.”

“Nothing serious?” Breytenbach said with a tinge of disbelief.

“Trust me, this is nothing compared to most heart disease cases,” Jonathan replied. “Also, I’ll need to see you for regular check-ups to monitor your condition.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

Breytenbach had left the infirmary that day feeling defeated, but also determined not to let anyone know. Heart disease. Condition. The words rang hollow to his ears, so he chose to ignore it. He drank his pills and followed Jonathan’s advice, but other than that, he pretended nothing was wrong.

Now he looked at Julianne's worried face and said, “Don't worry, sweetheart. It's just a pinched nerve, Jonathan says. Nothing a good rub won't sort out.”

“Oh, good. I'm glad to hear that.” She punched him lightly on the affected arm. It's because you stress too much. You should learn to relax.”

Easier said than done, he thought with dry amusement.

Max approached them with slow steps, his face drawn with exhaustion. “Sorry to interrupt, Mom, but I need to speak to Breytenbach.”

Julianne sniffed and pulled away. “It's all right. I need to get to work anyway. It's kitchen duty for me this morning. Besides, I think I need to speak to Elise and make peace with her. She shouldn't have to carry this burden alone.”

Breytenbach nodded. “That's a good idea, my love. See you in a bit.”

She walked away, and he turned to Max. “What's up?”

“Well, as you know, Lisa's gone,” Max replied. “Chasing after Kabelo.”

“I know. There's not much we can do about it, though. I'd send someone after her, but who? We're short-handed as it is.”

“I agree. Painful as it is to say, she's on her own.” Max sighed. “I hope she catches the little shit. He knows everything about us now. Our numbers, layout, everything. If he gets back to Ke Tau, he'll tell them everything.”

“Ke Tau already knows everything. They've been watching us for weeks, but yes, I hope she catches the maggot.”

“What about the fence?”

“Joseph's done a good job of shoring it up. There's a veritable wall of earth covering the gap.” Max shifted from one foot to the other. “He's gone out with a team now to clear out the site and empty the moat.”

“I find it curious that there were so many infected in the area last night. Why there? Why that spot? They just about poured in through the gap.”

“Not so curious. It was deliberate.”

A ball of ice formed in the pit of his stomach. “How so?”

“Abe returned half an hour ago. He went out with Philip and Sean to search the reserve. Make sure there are no lurkers. In their search, they stumbled across something interesting,” Max replied. “An abandoned bucksaw. A big one.”

“So the tree was cut?” Breytenbach shook his head. “I should have known.”

Max nodded. “By a two-man team. They must have planned the whole thing, drawn the infected there.”

“So Ke Tau's back to his old tricks. I was wondering how long he'd wait.”

“I think the failed ambush on Ronnie and the team made him wary, but I guess he's ready to resume hostilities.”

Breytenbach chewed on this. “What do you want us to do now?”

Max shrugged. “I don't know. We haven't heard from Michael yet. If we ever do, and if we attack now without more information...”

“We'll most likely lose,” Breytenbach summed it up. “Especially with Tallulah out of commission. When can we get her back?” The armored vehicle was an integral part of their attack plan.

“I'm putting all extra hands on that fence, so we're working on it.”

“What about supplies?”

“That's the thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Max said. “We're running very low. The harvest was sparse, and the winter crops aren't near ready yet. We've got the goats