Life After Z

Chapter 3 - Lucas

My entire world narrowed to the shallow rise and fall of Sebbie's chest and my desperate pleas for God's mercy. Meaning that when I was bodily pushed sideways, I did nothing to stop it or regain my balance and I tumbled off the dumpster to the asphalt below. The air was knocked out of my lungs and I struggled to take a breath as I jumped to my feet and started to climb back on the dumpster. I wasn't sure what had just happened but I did know that nothing was going to stop me from spending the last moments with my son.

When my head cleared the top of the dumpster I saw the woman kneeling in my place at Sebbie's side and saw red. How dare this stranger push me out of the way when my son needed me? He needed me, not her. I reached out to pull her off the dumpster only to come up short because strong arms wrapped around my shoulders. I fought whoever was restraining me. I didn't understand why everyone was trying to keep me from my son.

I threw my elbow backward without looking, my eyes still trained on Sebbie's white and expressionless face. When the elbow didn't work I stomped my foot down on my attacker's foot and when their grip faltered I spun out of their hold. I rushed to the dumpster and had my hand buried in the woman's shirt to pull her away from my son when the most amazing sound I had ever heard caused every muscle in my body to freeze.

I could have sworn I just heard Sebbie take a gasping breath.

Completely forgetting the woman, I stared at Sebbie's face and resumed my bargaining pleas with God. And it must have worked because he took another breath, followed by a string of coughs.

I was jerked out of my amazement when the woman twisted out of my limp grip and placed her backpack next to Sebbie's stomach. She then turned Sebbie so that he was laying on his side with his stomach leaning against her pack and his arms stretched above his head. I had no idea what she was doing or why she was making him lay that way but clearly, something she was doing was working.

I had given up hope and this woman was bringing my son back from the brink. No way in hell I was going to stand in her way and ask questions now. I moved so that I was standing right in front of Sebbie's head and tried to make sense of what the woman was doing so that I could recreate it if I needed to later.

Sebbie continued to take gasping breaths and when his eyes finally opened they were filled with blind panic. I reached out and intertwined my fingers with his with one hand and cupped his cheek with the other. Just as I was about to say something to try to calm my little boy down, the woman started talking, beating me to the punch.

She was kneeling on the side closest to the wall and bent over Sebbie so that she could see his face before saying in a calm, low voice, "Hello Sabastian. My name is Ivy. Do you remember me? We fought real-life zombies together. That means that we are going to be fast friends."

Sebbie's eyes flicked between mine and Ivy's several times before settling on hers as she continued to talk. "Alright Sebbie as my friend I was hoping you could do me a favor. I want you to think back on the last time you were on a swing. Can you do that for me?"

At that moment, I was hugely thankful that we had stopped at a park with a playground a couple of weeks back so that Sebbie had a fresh memory to think about. "I want you to think about being on that swing. Think about how it would go up and down. Up and down," Ivy said slowly and deliberately as if she were setting a cadence.

"Up... and... down... up... and... down..." Ivy continued and I watched as two of her fingers gently pushed into Sebbie's pulse point. Could it be possible that this woman was a doctor? That really would be an answer to all of my prayers. Not that she wasn't already a gift from God for all she was doing, but if she was a doctor who could help us find long-term solutions to help Sebbie; god, there are no words to express what I would do for that sort of help.

"Very good Sebbie. Keep thinking about the swing going up and down and while you are doing that do you think you can close your lips for me? Yes, just like that. Close your lips and breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Perfect, Sebbie you are doing great. Remember that the swing is going up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Now, when you breathe out through your mouth do your best to keep your lips pressed together as you push the air out slowly. Yes, good. In through your nose as deeply as you can and then out slowly through your pressed-together lips," Ivy said in a continuous stream, completely engaging and calming down Sebbie while helping him even out his breaths.

It was more than I had ever been able to do for him.

As Ivy kept talking to Sebbie about his breathing and the motion of the swing she moved her hands to his back and started to rub and press in what seemed like a very specific pattern. Cooper must have been as intrigued by this as I was because he stepped up to my side, his eyes fixed on Ivy's hands. But as soon as he moved, Ivy reared back on her heels and grabbed her gun that was lying beside Sebbie. Her eyes flew to Cooper thus abandoning the eye contact she had been maintaining with Sebbie. The entire spell was broken and I could practically feel Sebbie's airways closing up again.

"You need to back off," Ivy growled in a voice that was so different from the calm cadence she had been using with Sebbie that it took me a moment to understand that she was the one talking. "If you want me to help this little boy then you need to go back to the mouth of the alley and help your friend keep the dead away. If any one of you so much as touches me, I will fight my way out of this situation and Sebbie will be the one to face the consequences."

Cooper took a moment to study the woman who now closely resembled a territorial cat ready to attack before slowly raising his hands to show that they were empty and backing away from the dumpster. Ivy didn't look away from Cooper's retreating form until he was at least a dozen feet away. Then she turned her icy glare that was laced with fear and determination on me. That one look punched me in the gut.

This woman was terrified of us but had stayed in spite of that to help my son. I think I have come full circle and have fallen in love with her all over again.

"I won't touch you," I promised in a voice that came out more like a plea than a vow. "Please help my son."

Ivy didn't break eye contact with me or release her gun to restart her efforts to save Sebbie until a rattling wheeze filled the space between us. Sebbie was picking up on her fear and it was undoing all of her beautiful efforts from before.

"Please," I pleaded with her again. "You are safe. We will keep you safe and no one will harm you. I swear." Ivy's eyes stayed on me for another long beat before they flicked to where Cooper and Everett were guarding the entrance of the alley. Then her shoulders relaxed and her entire demeanor changed when she turned back to Sebbie.

Ivy believed me. And she was going to keep helping.

Now all I had to do was convince her to stay with us for life and that I was the love of her life. 

No biggy.