Myrna

by Vandam, Vivian

  Instead, she put her gun back in its holster and took hold of her combat knife. Sure, she hadn’t turned yet. Yet being the key word. She was already bitten, so what was the point of getting scratched, or bitten again? She held the knife, ready to draw blood. A woman came from the left, her breasts hanging out from her ripped t-shirt. Black gunk stained her pedal pushers. Letting her get a bit closer, she took hold of the creature’s throat and stabbed the once female through the temple.

  Blood stained her top and shorts. Her skin growing cold from the cooling blood. Mina chose mobility over comfort. Being able to move easily, to dodge and get away was better than being weighed down by a bunch of armor. This being one of those moments, she pulled the knife free from the woman’s skull watching the body collapse in a heap of death.

  She turned, doing a complete 180, she was right behind the old liquor store and the shop n save. Fuck…fuck…there were too many coming her way. Their skin all that nasty gangrene color. Their eyes blazing with infection and fever, mouths hanging open, teeth rotting and tongues a dark blue. Think Mina. Think of a way out of this. You escaped the police how many times? She kept her eyes at the dark corners, at least ten, or fifteen more came from the shadows.

  She knew the sound of her gun would draw more out, but she was backed into a corner, and more were coming—

  Mina calmed herself down by taking a deep breath, and pulled her gun out aiming at the closest one. She kept the sights right in the kill spot between the nose and upper lip. She pulled the trigger, she followed through with another.

  They dropped.

  One.

  After.

  Another.

  With each one that dropped, another filled its place. Fuck. I gotta shove through them. Vinnie’s is just down there and to the right. So…the choice is, stay and become zombie chow? Or push through and run? She lowered the gun; she didn’t have much of a choice. She closed her eyes, said a silent prayer, and went for it.

  She kept her head down, none of the undead assholes went for her hair. Instead, they grabbed at her tank top. She could feel the cold fingers of death brushing against her shoulder. Involuntary, Mina shuddered. The smell of shit, piss and vomit made her stomach turn.

  She shoulders rammed another zombie, not getting a good enough look to tell if it was male or female. This is about Nadine, remember that. You have to survive to get to her. Another thought came right after that, have you thought, that maybe, you could save someone with your blood? Mom bit you over eight hours ago, and you haven’t had any symptoms, or turned. She grunted as she kept running to Vinnie’s Gun shop. That, or my immune system is just good. That doesn’t mean I won’t turn. There’s no promising I’ll still be alive by the end of the night. She grunted, as she kept running to her goal.

  No one was going to stop her. She was going to get to her uncles’ shop, get the ammo she needed and him if he wanted to team up, save her sister and get the fuck out of dodge. I’ll force my father to make an antidote. If he doesn’t, I’ll put my fucking gun to his head and make him.

  Her calves burnt her lungs ached. She wasn’t much of a runner, but she loved working out with weights. She was strong, but not fast. Mina started to regret not taking up cardio more often. Brick zoomed passed her face till she almost face planted right into the metal door connecting to the next alley. Fuck did I pass it?! She let herself take a quick look behind her. No…fucking shit on a stick! Is it in the connecting alley?! She didn’t have time to think. She reached down and tried to open the door.

  The handle wouldn’t move.

  ◆◆◆

  Ace climbed over another broken car. Sweat poured down his face, and he could hear the rumbling of thunder off in the distance. He glanced up at the sky risking a look; dark clouds were coming in, threatening rain. He blew out a sigh, as he jumped down from the hood of the car, landing with a solid thud.

  He tilted his head, underneath the sounds of the undead he could've sworn he heard gunshots. Survivors? Standing upright, he could feel the ache deep in his bones, and his age.

  Ace was only thirty-eight, but damn he was feeling every year. He ran his hand through his sweaty hair and continued to push on. The streets were covered in trash, the cans overfilled. What happened to you Crusa…?

  He had lived in his city nearly all his life, and Ace had never seen it this bad. In the nineties, sure. There was bad gang activity, but when the police force got bigger, it was knocked down a few pegs. Sure, they still had problems, but it wasn't as bad.

  Bang.

  Bang.

  Bang…

  Three more shots, somewhere off to the east. Ace took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. I have to find Lyle…but the thought of someone else out there fighting for their life, without help or hope, made him want to find them too. Maybe they've seen him.

  Lyle…hang on buddy. He turned to the east and took off at a trot.

  ◆◆◆

  The blood drained from her face; her heart thumped in terror. She tried it again.

  It still wouldn’t move. “S…shit!” She kept rapidly looking around, back, and forth. Side to side…

  Her prayers were answered, behind a trash can was a beautiful crowbar. Wasting no more time, she grabbed it and slammed it in between the opening and the door itself. It came open at a single push. A zombie moaned, she turned and looked over her shoulder, sticking out her tongue. “I win this one, you go to bed hungry.” Mina let out a nervous laugh, going through and slamming it closed behind her.

  She giggled at herself, just a little bit as she leaned against the cold metal door. Deep inside, Mina thought she was fucked. A small hysterical giggle fit started at the base of her throat. Sweat dripped down her face. She looked up when she caught a whiff of something…not pleasant. It was the smell of burning flesh all over again. It had to be.

  She held the crowbar close to her side, her palms sweating in anticipation. From the destruction that she could see, she managed to get behind the gas tanker. It had crashed right into a line of cop cars. It was hard to make out if it was police officers from the next town over, or this one.

  She pushed her aching body off the metal door and went further down the ally. She was behind her uncle’s gun shop, but she couldn’t help her curiosity—

  “Is there anyone still in those police cruisers?” As she neared them, all but one had a burning corpse in it. The one cruiser that didn’t was empty—

  “Ah!” A male scream rang through the streets, she turned to look—

  It came from the gun shop. Her heart dropped and she picked up the pace. It was coming from her uncles’ shop. Oh god, please…please don’t let it be Uncle Vinny. She didn’t care about the cop car anymore. All she cared about was to get to the shop—

  ◆◆◆

  A male scream pierced the night air, Ace had followed the sounds of the gunshots, but it wasn't till he got near the only gun shop in town that the scream made him jump. The last human sound he heard was Lyle's small voice talking to him. He took off at a sprint from one of the back allies.

  He crossed the street, the bright orange flames from the tanker and cars—

  They were cop cars.

  His brothers and sisters.

  It gave him a pause, but another shriek of pain made him look away.

  The screaming was coming from the gun shop.

  ◆◆◆

  She ignored the rows of cop cars; she went right to the back door. Mina pulled out the key ring and unlocked it. Her hand kept shaking each time she tried turning it over. She took a deep breath and unlocked it. As she entered through the back door—

  “No!”

  It was another scream, this time right from the front. Mina took off at a sprint, running around large crates that hadn’t been opened yet. Shipments of stuff that her uncle had ordered. She kept the crowbar in one hand as she busted through the employee only door. There were still lights on in the main room, some of the guns were hung up on the walls, and the safe that held her
uncles’ personal gun, was open.

  The deep yellow carpet once comforted her, now made her body go cold. A river of blood flowed from the center of the room. As she looked up, she saw her uncle, laying on the floor his hand outstretched with his finger on the trigger of his revolver.

  “Uncle Vinny!” She cried.

  His mouth hung open, as his body twitched, his eyes staring directly at the ceiling. The undead monster was on top of him, chowing down at the contents of his stomach. Moaning, and groaning as it shoved entrails into his mouth.

  ◆◆◆

  Ace broke through the front door, nearly kicking it down. What he saw nearly broke him mentally. Another lost life to the chaos that was Crusa. An older man laid on the ground surrounded in his own blood, the creatures delving deep into his stomach contents.

  His gun twitched; his anger replaced the disgust as he shot the creature. When the door to his upper right opened, he turned his gun to noise. He was face to face with a young, but beautiful young girl. Her hair was cut short, and she was covered head to toe in blood. She was dressed like a teenager but held herself with confidence. Her eyes were yellow, green and her lips pursed.

  Her face was on the rounder side, and she was a bigger girl. But he could see the strength in her muscles. The girl had confidence in her eyes, and determination. There was something else however, he felt calm in her presence.

  He could tell she knew how to handle herself, and the first thing that came to him was that she had military experience. And she's another survivor. Someone else to help me look for Lyle. Not to mention, having another gun on my side would help a lot. His eyes went to her upper arm, his heart dropped.

  ◆◆◆

  What she was greeted with, however, was an officer coming through the front door. Sweat covering his face, his hair was cut short and the color of soft brown. His eyes were bright blue and serious, he was wearing the towns uniform. Black with white lettering. The Officer had a square jaw, tight lips, and a lightly upturned nose. He didn’t hesitate. He had his on-duty gun out, aimed at the undead monster, and fired one shot into the back of its head.

  As she was about to speak, he had the gun pointed directly at her face. His eyes were set, his jaw tight ready to shoot me at any sudden movement. She raised her hands, still holding the crowbar, “Don’t shoot!” She tried keeping her voice calm, not wanting to pressure the officer anymore.

  He lowered his weapon, only to holster it after a moment, realizing she wasn’t much of a threat. “It’s good to see another friendly face. What’s your name?”

  She relaxed slightly, keeping the crowbar tight in her hands. She lowered them. “Names Myrna. But I prefer Mina. What’s your name officer?” Mina kept her voice natural. She made note of the calmness in the officer’s eyes. He was taller than her by a solid head. Maybe more. He looked good in his uniform. Though his face was sweaty, and his uniform scorched, he seemed to be together. She straightened her back, holding tight on the crowbar.

  “Nice to meet you Mina, my name is Officer Ace Wilder. You can just call me Ace.” He seemed to take a deep breath in before letting it out. His eyes moving away from her and to the male on the floor. Who had stopped twitching? “I thought I could save him, but I came too late.” A light sigh.

  He looked back up to her and gave her a once over. “What branch are you in?”

  That taken her back, she was surprised. “I’m sorry?”

  “You look like you have military experience. The way you handle yourself.” He paused for a second before asking another question, “What are you doing out in this mess? You should be barricading yourself at home.”

  She gave him a shake of her head, “No military experience. I’m a civilian, but my uncle…” She winced at the sudden feeling of loss before looking to the corpse on the floor. “My uncle was a retired marine. I wanted to go into the military. He taught me how to use a gun, and to defend myself. That’s him on the floor with his guts hanging out…”

  Ace’s face drained, “I…I’m so sorry I tried getting here as quick as I could.”

  “It’s alright.” She gave him a light wave, “I’m out looking for my father and my sister. My father left the house as soon as he could with her. My mother—before she died—said they were headed to the police station. There’s a mandatory evac for anyone sound of mind. I’m hoping they went there.”

  Ace gave a nod and glanced to the gun at her hip, “You’re well-armed, and I’m on my way to the police department too. I rescued another child from this mess, his name is Lyle, he’s just a little kid. I picked him up and was taking him to the police department. We hid out in a house a few blocks down that way, I made the mistake of falling asleep, when I woke up, he was gone. He’s about up to my hip, black hair, brown eyes, he has a few scratches on his face and he’s wearing a black tank top, and basketball shorts with basketball shoes. Yellow. Have you seen him by any chance?”

  She felt her heart drop, another little kid, lost to his madness. She shook her head slowly, “No, I’m sorry officer, I haven’t seen any kids around here.”

  Ace’s demeanor changed as he looked at her upper arm. He pulled his gun out, taking aim at her face. “You’ve been bitten.” He lost that calmness he had before, his finger laid over the trigger determination in his eyes.

  She raised her hands again, with a deep sigh, “Listen to me please. My mother after she turned, she bit me. It’s been—” She paused, “What time is it?”

  Ace keeping the gun at her face, answered, “8:40 PM.” He replied.

  “It’s been a solid nine hours since I’ve been bitten. Please hear me out. I thought I was going to die earlier, but I didn’t. I haven’t turned. And the bites not even infected. It’s just sore and swollen. I cleaned it up and gave myself stitches.” Her heartbeat wildly in her chest, trying to keep the officer calm.

  He hesitated for a minute, the thoughts running through his head. He hesitated a moment, considering… “Look, I watched my best friend turn into one of those in less than an hour. You’re not lying to me, are you?” He ordered.

  “No sir.” She shook her head, “I promise. I’m not lying. When your friend got bit, it turned gangrenous right before your eyes didn’t it? He smelled really bad, like rotten fruit or flowers? His breath smelling like sulfur?”

  Ace again, lowered his gun, his mind already made up. “Yeah. He was freshly bitten too.” He looked over her bloodstained outfit, and the splatter that went over her neck and chest. He gave a heavy sigh, “Alright fine. If you start showing symptoms, I’m putting you down.” He gave her a cold stare.

  She gave him one right back.

  “Uhhn…”

  Turning she started to rise the crowbar, till more began to file to the gun shop. All the color drained from her face, and she could feel her blood turn to ice. More of them were coming to the front of the store. She turned her attention to Ace, “Come on. Let’s grab as much ammo as we can.”

  Ace was quick to agree.

  She went to her uncles body, closing his eyes as she knelt and took his revolver. She quickly put it in her day bag, it laid easily on her supplies. She went behind the counter and knelt to the safe. The door was open and inside was three boxes of .50 CAL. She pulled them out and emptied them into her fanny pack.

  Ace was on the other side, grabbing as much 10mm ammo as he could. He saw a shotgun in the display case. He gave her an apologetic look before smashing the glass and grabbing it.

  “Underneath it, there are shells in there. Grab whatever you can!” She shouted back to him.

  Ace was grabbing as much as he could, shoving them in his pockets as quick as he could, and some in his vest pockets.

  Crunch.

  Crunch.

  The undead were coming through the glass. Their feet running over the broken shards. She watched as one walked right into a large piece, it dug deep into its shins pulling the rotten flesh with it.

  “Out of time, come on Mina!” Officer Ace shouted from the other side
of the store, he aimed his Glock up, and started shooting. Nailing one right in the chest.

  “Stop! Shoot the head!” She screamed over the loud gun.

  He paused, fixed his aim, and shot at their heads. They fell like sacks of potatoes. One after another, landing on her uncle’s body. She could feel her heart ache for him, but now wasn’t the time to mourn. Her heart pounded from the adrenalin. They had to hurry, if not, they both would become zombie chow.

  She gave one more look around before snatching a survival knife with an attachable case. She gave him a nod; Ace took off towards the back room. Mina followed without question. As soon as the door closed, she was grabbing the corner of a crate and dragging it to the door.

  Ace came forward and helped push the other side. By the time they had it covering the door. The dead were on the other side, banging at the metal, trying to knock it down. “Do you think that will hold?” Ace breathed hard.

  He gave Mina a look, and there was surprise within his blue eyes mixed with admiration. There was something in his face that made her heart skip. She forced herself to look away from Ace and reply, “I hope so…”

  They turned and took off to the back entrance where she had gone through. I love you Uncle Vinny, I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner. She sent a silent prayer for him. Officer Ace grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the other door. The feeling of his strong hand wrap around her small wrist sent a shiver through her spine. As the door closed behind them, she reached to her key ring and locked the back door. It wouldn’t do much, but she hoped it would help.

  “I’m sorry for your uncle.” Ace barely spoke above a whisper; she could tell he was hesitating to say anything else. He was blaming himself, just like she was blaming herself for not getting there sooner. It was another reason to find Nadine and Lyle and get the hell out. Ace placed his hand on her shoulder, and she felt that shiver again.