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it.  There were two coils of nylon rope in on the trailer , so I tied one length around the center of the bundle in case the hose slipped or loosened.  N o loud noises from Jamie so far , but I could still feel slight movement, so I knew she was alive – or at least not completely dead.   Afterward, I lashed the bundle containing my former sister to the passenger-side railing o f the open trailer using the steel tie-down rings .
    She would not be going anywhere.  I didn’t know what to do with her.  This wouldn’t do for very long, but  I didn’t have any choice, and this was all I could do right now.
    Before I could lay Jesse to rest , I had to retrieve her from the bottom of the pool, but it would not do to have her body lying exposed in case it drew more of them .   I would be better off digging her grave and getting her after ward .
    I walked around to the side of the pool enclosure to the small shed.  It wasn’t locked , and inside was everything I’d need.  There was  a tarp, but I didn’t want to wrap her body in that.  I grabbed a spade shovel and took note of the empty space that I believed once accommodated the small axe that was now inside the house – or more specifically, embedded in Jack’s flesh .  
    I walked back out and tested the earth in several spots.  It had rained earlier, so the ground was moist , to my relief.  I started digging the grave for my darling Jesse directly behind the shed.  The rear fence blocked sight of me from anybody who might still be alive, or anyone who might want to come at me for whatever reason – I still wasn’t completely sure, at least at that point, what was happening .  I would love to be as blind to the new dangers of the world as I was at that particular moment in time, but I’m no fool.  The saying used to go ‘ what you don’t know can’t hurt you, ’ but it’s changed in this world.  Now it’s ‘ what you don’t know can eat you. ’
    From my vantage point, I could look around the corner and see the cab of my truck, so that made me feel better about leaving Jamie so close to Trina.
    The grave was not too big.  Just about four and a half feet long by two feet wide.    I wanted to make it about another foot deep, but I didn’t have the time or, as it turned out, the energy.  The adrenaline had started to dissipate, after all.  Using the shovel as a support, I propped it outside the hole and leaned on it as I stepped up and out.
    “Flex?”
    The unexpected voice mad e me draw back , and I almost fel l back into the small grave.
    She stood barely five feet in front of me.  It was Gem.
    “Jesus Christ, Flex!  It is you!”  She ran to me and I threw the shovel down and took her into my arms.  I wrapped them around her and squeezed her so tight to me that I almost couldn’t breathe.  We didn’t say a word for the longest time, and when she pulled away from me, I looked into her face, her eyes.
    She kissed me gently on the mouth, then pulled back, her eyes meeting mine, a question in them.
    I broke the silence, but there was nothing awkward about it.  “Gem, I’ve been thinking about you.  And here you are.  God I missed you.”
    “ Me, too,” she s aid.  Then: “Flex, I’m scared.  Uncle Rogelio is . . . one of them , and there were so many of them in Miami that I had to get out of there.  He killed my Aunt Ana, Flex!  I can’t tell you how. . . You do know what’s happening to people, right?”  She searched my eyes, waiting for my answer.
    I nodded.  “Gem, I know.  This is the only firsthand experience I’ve had so far.  It’s fucking bad here.”
    Gem shook her head.  “I know, baby.  You were on my mind for weeks before this all happened , but once I realized something bizarre was going on , I knew I had to find you.”
    “Gem, I’m glad you’re here, and there’s a lot I need to tell you – none of it good.  Jamie’s one of them.  She killed Jack, near as I can tell, and Jesse . . .