There were four more patients emerging from behind vehicles. They were joined by several pedestrians that all had bloodstained clothing and irregular gashes along their arms and upper body. Eric grabbed Katie around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. He headed for the alleyway away from the approaching Recusant patients and their new victims.
“We can’t just leave her!” Katie yelled at him.
“She won’t come with us willingly, and right now she’s more of a liability.”
“But she’s going to die!”
“And if we stay and try to drag her with us, so will we!” Eric started jogging towards the end of the alley.
From her position over his shoulder, Katie could see Mia kneeling by her mother. She had pulled her mom’s head into her lap and was stroking her cheek. They made it around the corner of the building before Mia’s screams started. Katie grabbed two fistfuls of the back of Eric’s shirt and closed her eyes. After they had gone a few blocks and the screams had faded, Eric set Katie back on her feet. He leaned his gun against the nearest building. He took her face in his hands and rested his forehead on hers. “Look at me.” He said. His blue eyes stared into hers. “You can grieve later. I need you to be strong right now. Do what you gotta do, ok?”
Katie stared back at him. She was having trouble breathing.
“Katie, stay with me, ok? Think about your sister. What was your sister’s name? Kerry?”
“Kacey.”
“Alright, you have to focus for Kacey, ok? Can you do that?” He absent-mindedly stroked her cheek with his thumb and then caught himself.
“Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” Katie steeled herself. She had to think about Kacey. She could deal with everything later. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She could do this. Her eyes flew open. “Where’s my knife?” She looked around and then back the way they had come. “I must have dropped it while I was trying to stop--,” She couldn’t say Mia’s name. If she said it, it would be admitting Mia was dead, and she couldn’t do that yet.
“Here.” Eric pulled a knife out of his combat boot and handed it to her. “Use mine.”
“Thanks.” The knife was heavier than it looked. The hilt was black and ribbed to fit a man’s natural grip. The steel was heavily polished and blinded her momentarily as it caught the sunlight. Katie adjusted her ball cap. “Ahh!” She winced and pulled her hand away. Tiny shards of glass were embedded in her palms from when she fell.
“Let me see.” Eric took her hand in his and looked over the area. “We’re going to need to get that taken care of. Got any first aid kit stuff at your parents’ place?”
“Yeah. We were always clumsy growing up. Mom made sure to keep stuff on hand.” For the first time, Katie wondered if her own mother was ok. She’s out of town. She’ll be fine. Think about Kacey. “We need to get moving.” She pulled her hand away from his.
“You said Oak Hill Avenue, right?”
“Yeah. It’s just a few streets over, now.” Katie repositioned her bag again and started walking in the direction of her childhood home. This neighborhood hadn’t been as ransacked as the rest of town. It was almost eerie how untouched everything looked. Cars lined the streets. It looked like at any moment someone would walk out of their house and check the mail or get in their car to go pick up their kids from soccer practice. Eric kept scanning the area. Wind chimes rattled in the breeze. The notes sang out over the deserted streets. Katie walked closer to Eric. He looked at her and smirked.
“What’s that?” Katie leaned her head to the right to get a better look at the vehicles that were parked along the street. At the end of the row, there was a group of people with ripped clothing shoving one another. They were tugging on the door handles of a white car. Some of them were beating their palms against the windows leaving bloody handprints behind. Between the rows of shoulders, Katie saw something move inside the car. “There’s someone in there.” Her eyes grew wide.
Eric looked at the crowd milling around, “There have to be at least ten of them.”
“Right. You coming?” Katie tightened her grip on the knife he had loaned her.
“You’re insane.” Eric looked at her with disbelief and slight admiration. “You got any combat training?”
“I took karate when I was like eight, and my dad taught my sister and me how to shoot when we were growing up.”
“So not really. Ok, look, you know those zombie movies where people always say to go for the head? Well, this time, they seem to be right. The brain is affected. If you take out the brain, you take out the threat. Make sense?”
“Zombies. You know, I always thought that if this ever happened in real life I would be better prepared. I’d just grab my zombie survival kit and hole up at Sam’s Club. But now here I am, staring at a horde of zombies, about to run in like a crazy person with a knife.” Katie turned her head to look at him, “I’m the person I yell at in horror movies.”
Eric chuckled, “Or we could go with option B. Your dad taught you how to shoot? You remember well enough?” Katie nodded while he spoke. “You take the gun and cover me. I’ll take the knife. All you have to do is not shoot me. Think you can do that?”
“Yeah.” The gun felt awkward in her grasp as he took the knife and handed her the rifle.
“You got this. It’ll be a piece of cake.” He smiled lopsidedly and winked at her. Once his back was to her his bravery melted away. It was all he could do to make his legs move toward the crowd.
As Eric got closer, he could see a small girl in the back seat of the white car. She was frantically trying to stay as far away from all of the windows and doors as she could. Seeing the girl made Eric tap into his last reserves of courage. He took a deep breath and breathed out slowly. He squared his shoulders and readied his knife. He ran to the closest zombie and rammed his knife into the guy’s temple. The blade sunk in up to the hilt. He jerked the knife out and drove it into the eye socket of the next one. Behind him, Katie fired the rifle. Her first bullet ricocheted off of the car’s left fender. She cussed under her breath and adjusted her aim. Shoot on the exhale. She could hear her father’s voice in her head. She fired another round into the shoulder of one of the zombies that were now focused on Eric. Just a little higher. Her third shot went completely through its head. The bullet had enough momentum that it traveled into the skull of the zombie behind the one she had been aiming at. Both of them immediately dropped to the ground. Katie kept firing, and two more zombies fell to the pavement. Eric stabbed and twisted the knife through the back of a woman’s head. He placed his foot on the small of her back and kicked her away from him, freeing his weapon. The force of her impact knocked down another zombie. Eric lifted the knife, clutched it in both hands, and plunged it down into the fallen zombie’s skull. His lunge brought him down to one knee.
There were only two left. One charged at Eric and tackled him. Eric lost his grip on the hilt of the knife and rolled onto his back, trying to keep the zombie at arm’s length. Katie aimed and pulled the trigger. The gun responded with a light clicking sound. She was out of ammo. While Eric was struggling with one of the zombies, the other one was headed towards her. Blood was smeared across its cheek. It looked at her hungrily and smiled gruesomely as it approached. Katie grabbed the gun by the barrel. The metal seared her skin and the heat made her palms itch. She could see Eric fighting to keep a good handle on the zombie that was on top of him as it writhed in his grasp. Spit drooled out of the zombie’s mouth and strung down towards Eric’s face. As the second one got closer to her, Katie ran forward to meet it and swung the butt of the gun like a bat into its head. The zombie stumbled. Katie kicked him in the gut knocking him to the ground. She placed her foot on his chest and drove the butt of the gun into his skull with all of her strength until bits of brain matter splattered onto the hem of her pants and across the asphalt.
Katie looked up to see the zombie on top of Eric chomping at the air. His teeth were barely missing Eric’s cheek. Katie raced over to t
hem and slammed the butt of the gun into the side of the zombie’s head. Eric pushed him off and grabbed the knife that was sticking out of the female zombie’s skull. He stabbed the last zombie six times before he allowed himself to begin to breathe again. He looked up at Katie who was standing over him. She was shaking.
Eric stood up slowly and wrapped one arm around her. He pulled her into his chest and she let relief wash over her. Out of the corner of her eye she, saw the little girl move in the car. Katie pulled away from Eric and walked over to the blood smeared vehicle. The little girl looked uncertain.
“It’s ok. You can come out now.” Katie reassured her.
The girl unlocked the door and pushed it open. She stepped out of the car and looked at all of the dead bodies around her.
“Where are you, parents?” Katie squatted down to look the little girl in the eye. The girl looked towards the bushes on the other side of the car. Katie could see an arm sprawled on the lawn. She took the little girl’s hand, “You’re going to come with us, ok? We’ll keep you safe.” The little girl nodded.
“What’s your name?” Eric asked.
The girl ducked behind Katie. “Gracie,” she said timidly. She held onto Katie’s pinkie and ring finger.
“I’m Katie, and this is Eric.” Katie stood up, “Let’s go this way, ok?” The girl nodded as Katie led her away from the massacre. Katie slung the gun over her shoulder as they walked. They heard the rhythmic whirling of helicopters in the distance, but they couldn’t see them yet.
“That’s it.” Katie pointed at a light blue house in the distance. There weren’t any lights on. Katie had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. As they got closer, they could see blood smeared across the siding. Katie let go of Gracie’s hand. She ran up the worn, creaking porch steps and pounded on the door. “Kace?” She yelled for her sister as she pressed her nose to the window pane. “Kacey?”
Something moved in the shadows of the hallway to the living room. Katie’s heart caught in her throat. She backed away as the lock clicked. The door eased open and Kacey looked through the gap at her sister. Katie jerked the door open and grabbed her little sister in a bear hug. She kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tighter while she wiped the tears out of her eyes.
“Come on, we need to get inside.” Katie held the door while the others walked into the house.
Eric started pushing the couch up against the closed door once they were all inside. Katie put her back against the arm of the sofa and pushed with her feet until it slid into place as a makeshift barricade. Kacey went into the kitchen, and they could hear the screech of wood on the tile as she shoved the dining room table against the back door.
“Have you heard from mom or dad?” Katie asked her sister while Eric peered out of the blinds into the street.
“Mom called earlier. She said there are roadblocks around the city, and they aren’t letting anyone in or out. I still haven’t heard from dad.”
Katie walked over to the hall closet and shuffled around the extra toilet paper and the q-tips until she found the first aid kit.
“Here, let me do that.” Eric took the plastic box from her, and they went to the kitchen sink. Kacey and Gracie sat on the living room floor and turned on the news. From the kitchen, Eric and Katie could hear the news anchors telling people to stay in their homes. Eric turned on the faucet and let the water run over the tips of his fingers while the temperature adjusted. Once the water was cold, he took Katie’s hands and guided them under the stream. She winced a little as the water ran over the tiny shards of embedded glass and the shredded, seared skin that was already beginning to pucker. The cool water offered some relief. Eric pulled the glass out of her palms with a pair of tweezers and then applied antiseptic. While he was wrapping her hands in bandages, Gracie came into the kitchen.
“My mommy always said kisses will make you heal faster.” She swayed back and forth from her heels to the balls of her feet while she talked.
Eric smirked and looked at Katie. He took her hands and gently brought them to his lips. He maintained eye contact with Katie as he kissed each of her hands. “I think your mommy was right,” Eric said to Gracie while he smiled at Katie. Katie blushed and smiled back at him.
“Let’s go back in the living room,” Katie shook her head and rolled her eyes at Eric. She put her bandaged hand on Gracie’s shoulder and guided her back into the living area.
The mantle was covered in Marine Corps memorabilia, tiny porcelain frogs that Katie’s mom had been collecting for years, and a few family photos. Kacey was still sitting on the tan carpet on the floor. Gracie snuggled up next to Kacey and put her head in the other girl’s lap. Kacey absent-mindedly stroked Gracie’s hair.
Katie and Eric sat down beside the other two. The station was showing footage from a news helicopter as it flew over the town. From the air, you could see the piles of bodies that lined the streets and some of the zombies milling around aimlessly. The video footage shrank into the right-hand corner of the screen as the news anchor came back on.
“The government has taken swift action to contain the situation. Everyone is to remain indoors until the affected citizens can be taken into custody. The CDC would like us to remind you that this epidemic does seem to be contagious. If you are exposed to any bodily fluids of an infected person, please separate yourself from friends and loved ones until you can be reached by officials.” A S.W.A.T. team had entered the field of vision on the live footage while the reporter spoke. They meticulously cleared each building. A few team members entered each of the premises. Sometimes they came out with civilians. Sometimes they came out alone. A military man joined the news anchor. His chest was laden with medals that glinted under the florescent lighting. Katie never heard what he was saying because someone pounded on the front door. The knocking drowned out the broadcast.
“This is Sergeant Haskell. Is anyone in there?” The man’s voice boomed with authority.
“Yes,” Katie yelled as she scampered towards the door, “there are four of us!”
“Anyone bit?”
“No, Sir.”
“Alright, open the door slowly, and everyone keep your arms in the air.”
Katie and Eric pushed the couch out of the way. Eric unbolted the door and slowly turned the knob. The door creaked open.
“Gracie, honey, put your hands up like this, ok?” Katie said as she raised her hands.
Some members of the S.W.A.T. team entered the house cautiously and started checking the other rooms. Team members started patting Katie, Eric, Kacey, and Gracie down.
“Any weapons?”
“There’s a knife and an empty rifle in the kitchen.” Eric jerked his head towards the other room. The sergeant motioned for two of his men to check it out.
The soldiers who had been looking through the rooms came back. “All clear.”
“Alright, let’s move these civilians to the med tents and keep moving.” Haskell walked out of the door followed by most of his men.
“This way.” One of the soldiers pointed his rifle towards the part of town that had already been cleared.
The men escorting them formed a ring around the four of them as they made their way to the edge of town. They approached a yellow hazmat tent. The soldiers watched them enter the tent and then headed back out to rejoin their team.
“Strip, please.” A lady covered in a hazmat suit pulled a thin curtain closed between Eric and the girls. She examined each of the girls, methodically checking them for any lacerations. “What happened to your hands?” The lady looked suspiciously at Katie and gestured to someone at the mouth of the tent.
“I fell on some glass, and I burnt myself.” Katie grimaced as the woman undid her bandages to get a closer look.
“I’d like to keep you for observation,” the woman backed away from Katie, “just to make sure you didn’t get any infected fluids in your cuts.” A guard came around the edge of the curtain. “You two can put on the green scrubs over there.” The
lady gestured to a pile of clothes. “You,” she looked at Katie, “need to put on the orange ones. Officer Clifton will show you to an observation tent.”
“How...how long are you going to watch her?” Kacey was pale and panicked as she slid the green top over her head. She tugged her hair out of the collar and jerked the bottom of her shirt into place.
“The symptoms should be visible in a few hours if she’s been infected. If she’s still fine by then, she can find you outside of the quarantine.”
“And if she’s not?” Kacey’s voice rose. The woman didn’t say anything, she just looked away. Officer Clifton grabbed Katie’s upper arm and started leading her away. Kacey clutched at the officer as he tried to escort Katie out of the tent.
“A little help in here?” The woman called out. Eric pushed aside the curtain as another officer came in to subdue Kacey.
“Watch over them, ok?” Katie said over her shoulder. Eric nodded. His breath quickened, but he tried to remain calm on the outside. He adjusted the green scrubs they had given him and took the two girls outside of the tent to where the red cross was handing out food and water to the townspeople who had been cleared.
Katie was taken to another tent with clear dividers and stretchers. The orange scrubs made her feel like a prisoner.
“Lie down, please.” Officer Clifton gestured to the closest stretcher.
“Katie?” The man on the other side of the plastic sheet craned his neck to see her.
“Dad!” Katie smiled at him while the officer strapped her to the cold, metal stretcher. The tent smelled like antiseptic. Her dad was covered in a sheen of sweat. “Dad?”
Our Dead Bodies [Anthology] Page 10