The Emissary (Horse Women of the Zombie Apocalypse) by K. A. Jordan

 

    Prologue
     
    The meteor was discovered by a couple honeymooning at the Gulf of California, December 21st, 2012. The meteor was large, round, and light for its size. They brought it home to Mexico City and sold it to an amateur collector. It stayed in his rock collection for twenty years. When he died, his kids threw out the rock collection.
    The meteor got stuck in the garbage truck mechanism and jammed it so thoroughly, three guys needed a sledgehammer to break it into pieces.
    The next morning, all three men were dragged to the hospital, raving, biting, and foaming at the mouth. It was already too late for the human race.
    The infected were called muerto viviente — undead or walking dead — shortened to 'muerto' when the disease spread to the rest of the world.
    The infection disrupted food services first. The cities of the United States went up in flames due to food riots before they became cities of muerto.
    In one summer, the infection took out 50 percent of the population of North America. When winter came, another 30 percent died from lack of electricity, clean water, and imported food.
    Those who survived the first winter were scattered in rural areas or isolated pockets. Those who survived the second winter were the rural poor, small farmers, survivalists, militias, and ruthless marauders who preyed on everyone else.
    The spring of year three of the New Dark Ages, on the edge of the Daniel Boone National Forest, two families communicated via ham radio. Clan McLeod offered to share their herb lore with clan Davidson. Twenty-year-old Alexis had the knowledge they planned to share, so along with eighteen-year-old Beth and their two younger sisters, Dani and Julie, offered to take the dangerous 110 mile trip to the Davidson compound. The battle-trained sisters were ready for an adventure.
    ***
    Ken McLeod checked the weight of the panniers before handing them off to his dark-haired daughter, Julie. He watched her load the panniers onto the pack horse. Julie, only fourteen, was his youngest child, off on her first adventure. He checked all her weapons: the bow, her arrows, the semi-automatic pistol strapped to the pommel of her saddle, and the Winchester rifle strapped to her saddle bags.
    He nodded his approval before he gave her a kiss farewell. Julie was the quiet one. She preferred the company of her pets to that of her rough-and-tumble sister Dani.
    "Be careful," he said. "Stay close to Dani."
    "I will," she said softly, smiling up at him. Her dark hair was neatly braided in pig-tails, and her hazel eyes flashed with excitement.
    He walked over to where Dani had already loaded her pack horse. Her red-blond hair had already escaped the braid. She was eager to start, like a young race horse at the gate. He gave her weapons a cursory inspection.
    "Listen to your sisters," he said. She laughed and threw her arms around him. "Don't go chasing after game when you're supposed to be on guard duty."
    "I promise." Her brown eyes laughed at him. At sixteen, Dani was lean, light on her feet, and had a red-head's quick temper.
    Ken walked over to Bethany. She was ready to go, giving the map a last look before they left. Tall, blond, and lean from a life in the saddle, Bethany looked older than eighteen. She was the fiercest fighter of the sisters, yet she had the habit of bringing home orphans and refugees. He counted on Beth to make friends every where she went.
    "The clan needs allies," he said as he gave her a hug. "I'm counting on you to be our emissary."
    "I will," Beth promised, smiling. "I also promise not to bring home too many strays."
    "Your mother will appreciate that," he teased, kissing her forehead.
    He turned to find Alexis watching them, a smile on her face. Blond and hazel-eyed like Beth, twenty-year-old Alexis was as eager to go as Dani. She'd had a crush on Tyler Davidson when she was a little younger than Julie. He worried, as father's do, that since the boy wasn't good enough for her, the man wouldn't