Jason set the drink down in front of Bruce. Neither one of them had moved while she was talking.
“They could just all be republicans. They have no souls and are pretty lifeless,” Jason said dully. He knew his attempt to lighten things up wasn’t going to work, but he felt like he had to try. The air had grown thick with despair and relying on his wit was not a saving grace, but it helped him release some of the nervousness he was feeling, at least.
He looked at Bruce, who was starring daggers into him.
Yeah, his joke definitely was not going over well. He knew that most the people who came to his mom’s bar were probably republicans, and he had learned a long time ago to stay away from talking politics. Well, he had thought he had learned, but when he got nervous, that was his go-to subject. Make fun of the crazies. It always made him feel a little better.
However, the look on Bruce’s face made him cringe and he knew just how wrong he was. “But them damn democrats who are cutting military spending that probably caused whatever this was to get out. If you don’t pay the guards to the prison, the prisoners go free,” Bruce retorted.
Yeah, but the chiefs don’t always know what all their little Indians are doing, Jason had wanted to retort, but knew he had better let the matter drop. This wasn’t an argument that anybody could win. In the end, neither side would be right or wrong.
Bruce did have a point. Was this something the government had allowed to get out?
“How do you know so much?”
Jason looked up to see that Rob had turned away from the front window and was looking at Denise.
“She’s a nurse,” Tina said. Having emerged from the bathroom, she now stood at the end of the bar. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks puffy. The left side of her hair was matted to her forehead.
Tina turned to look at Jason, and he could feel a knife stab into his chest because he knew what was coming. “Where’s Lucy?”
He closed his eyes and, for a moment, he wanted to wrap his arms around himself. He couldn’t do this anymore. He couldn’t stay out there with them. Too many people, too many strangers, and he didn’t feel like he could deal with the one who wasn’t a stranger right now.
He stepped back into the kitchen area. His chest was growing tighter. His heart was pounding, feeling like it was trying to lodge into his throat. It felt like a hundred pound weight had fallen on top of him and he felt like he couldn’t move.
He made it to the kitchen, found the nearest counter that the people from the bar couldn’t see, and rested against it. Before he knew it, he was sliding to the ground, his knees pulled into his chest. His teeth ground together, causing pain through his lower jaw, and his face was buried between his knees.
The tears felt like a tidal wave rushing out through him, down a narrow pipe.
He had been able to push it out of his mind for a little bit, and had hoped he had been strong enough to cope with it. He had to cope with it. It was Lisa, his little sister, the one who he tried to get to no longer be afraid of the monsters under her bed. Now she one of them, one of the monsters.
Lucy.
Lucy…Lucy.
He heard screaming outside, but he didn't run towards it. He didn’t care. He didn’t want to see what was happening. Let them all go. Let them stay away from him. Let them all just go to their own private hell and leave him to stay in his.
He looked up at the two monitors sitting on the counter on the other side of the kitchen. There were four images on each screen updating to a constant feed. Two of the cameras were facing inside, one over the cash register, six of them were outside.
He could see the screaming, the zombies, what was happening. He couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t know why, but he started laughing and, in his madness and grief, it just felt good.
* * * *
His truck had been halfway up the side of the bar, not more than forty feet from the back door. When he was back in high school, he used to have to run hundred meter dashes and run for miles around a track when he was on the football team. Forty damn feet. Shit, he didn’t know how many meters that was, but it was nowhere near a hundred.
Still, those forty damn feet seemed to take forever. It was harder to get through than any of the runs he ever did back in high school, and he didn’t think it had anything to do with all the cigarettes and beer he had become accustomed to. No, it was the pair of iron barbells he had attached to his feet. One barbell was named Mr. Jones; the other one, he just called “The Bitch”.
He really didn’t care if the zombie things caught the three behind him, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to run ahead just to have himself alone and surrounded by the damn things. Stay in a group, and if trouble came, he could run and leave them behind. You only have to be faster than the ones you are with. That’s all he had to do. Jaime had the kid with her, and Mr. Jones could barely walk on that peg leg of his.
At least the coast was clear…for the time being.
When they had left the bar, he had been trying to hurry them, to get them to run. It had only worked for a few steps before he realized how much damned noise that was making. Then that damn asshole inside made as much fucking noise as he could to slam down that big iron bar on the other side. After that, Travis didn’t think it was a good idea to keep hurrying. If they were quiet, the things would never know they were over there. They could just sneak to his truck. There weren’t really any around there yet, so they should be fine.
“Why don’t we just take my damned car?” Mr. Jones said as they were stopped at the hood of his car. It was a nice car. The man certainly did have some money tucked away somewhere. Yeah, he had probably been putting coal up his ass for so long, it had all turned into diamonds. Travis wasn’t a caddy person, so he had no idea how old the car was, but he knew old, and he could tell it was well-preserved. The engine probably ran like a pussy cat…nice and quiet. It would be quieter than his truck and would fit them all.
However, Travis was not a Cadillac man, and his truck was a big four-wheel drive, with the deer rails on the front for running down game. It was a man’s truck. There was no way in hell he was getting into a caddy. If he was going to die, it would not be behind the wheel of an old man death mobile.
“We’re not taking the car. If we get swamped by them damn things, we wouldn’t have a chance.”
“Son, my caddy is an ’84. Made like a tank. Whatever your shit box can take, so can my car, and we can all fit in her. How the hell are we supposed to all fit in that thing of yours?” Mr. Jones pointed to his truck.
“You can take whatever the fuck car you want. You don’t have to come. I’m taking my truck. If we need to go through fields and shit, I’d rather have four-wheel drive large ass truck tires under me.”
“Just shut up and move. Get us out of here,” Jaime said as she glared at them.
Travis looked back at his truck. There was an open gap between the two vehicles, but he thought they could make it. The closest zombie thing he could see was making its way up the front stairs of the bar. There weren’t any others for what looked like a half-block down the street. He couldn’t tell if any of them were around the front of the bar, but they would still be too far away. Once they were in and he was behind the wheel, they would be safe.
They were almost out of there.
Just take a deep breath, he thought to himself. He did, feeling the tension rattle its way through him. His right hand twitched a little. It was a nervous tick he had never had before and he hoped something new wasn’t starting. Now was not the time for his body to start playing games with him.
He took another long breath, held it, then let it out. “Okay, let’s go.”
He didn’t wait to see how close behind him they were. He wasn’t running because he knew they couldn’t keep up with him if he ran. He didn’t even want to know where they were behind him or if they were attacked. He just needed to stay focused on getting to the truck.
Slow, quiet, and safe. Slow, quiet, and safe. Stay s
low, stay quiet, and they would make it there safely.
He reached the hood of his truck and stayed low. He could hear them shuffling behind him. They were at the truck, and all they had to do was get inside. They were so close.
“Give me your keys so we can climb in the passenger side while you run around and get in,” Mr. Jones demanded. Travis shook his head. “Don’t be a fool. It would be faster.”
“Passenger door don’t work,” Jaime said. She wasn’t that far behind him. Mr. Jones must have hung back a little, expecting to grab the keys and run around quickly. Jaime had come up next to Travis.
“You mean we all gotta climb in through the driver’s side?”
“Seat belts don’t work, either. That a problem? You don’t like it, just jump in the back,” Travis said, leveling his eyes at him. He didn’t liked this old twat, and he sure as hell didn’t want to put up with his shit now. They were almost safe.
The man glared back, neither one of them looking away. He hadn’t meant it to be a macho thing, but the old man seemed to have something to prove about being the grizzled big dog he thought Travis should listen to.
Travis wondered if the old man was weighing his options, thinking about running back to his own car. He knew he was right when the old man finally flinched and turned to look back at the old caddy. He could make it there, but he would be on his own. Travis really didn’t think the old man wanted that. He tried to play tough, but the man had to know his limitations.
“Shit. Gimme the keys and I’ll run first.”
“No, Jamie and Nadine go first. That way, you don’t try taking off without us, and I know they won’t take off without me.” He glared at her and said the rest to her with that silent gaze. He knew she wouldn’t leave without him because if she did, she wouldn’t have to fear those things. He would be coming after her, and he was a lot scarier than anything they would do to her.
The old man looked at the ground…or was he looking at his leg? Travis really couldn’t be sure. Suddenly, the man started to sob. Then he saw his head bob up and down and witnessed the tear fall to the ground.
“Yeah, get the kid safe. I shouldn’t have even come out here. I should’ve just stayed in there and died.”
Travis wanted to agree with the old man. Instead, he just scowled, turned away, and took another deep breath. “Okay, well, it’s too late for that shit. Now let’s move.”
Travis quickly moved to step around the front of the truck, but he wasn’t looking and struck something hard. He wobbled back and was going down, something coming down with him. He barely saw the white flesh as he came down on top of it, but he felt it thrashing around. It growled, some form of noise like nothing he had ever heard before, and that smell… He could have sworn it reeked of someone shitting their pants. His little shit’s diaper didn’t smell as bad as whatever that was.
He quickly twisted, pulling himself away from the tangled arms trying to grab him. He could see its face. Goddamn, the thing had been an old woman. He watched as its mouth opened and closed, lunging to take a bite out of him. She didn’t even have her ventures in. He just saw gums behind dried lips.
He didn’t think about what he was doing. His arms were reacting, pushing himself away. His knees were alternating, kicking blows into the thing’s stomach. He twisted his body left and right, trying to pull himself away and keep it from getting a good hold on him.
It slipped right and he finally landed a blow. Its head rocked back, and the loose flesh that had been in pieces of what had once been her cheek was pulled farther back. It slipped more to the side and its balance was off. He was able to push against it, its head slamming down to the hard cement.
The thing paused for a moment. He could feel its limbs going limp around him, and he quickly pulled himself free.
He felt more hands around him and was being jerked away. They were grabbing him from behind, pulling at him. He freed his left hand and it connected with the zombie below him, as the old woman was coming back up to bite him. The blow glanced just off the top of its head. The zombie fell back, and he fell with her.
He felt himself pull free from the ones behind him and quickly rolled off to the side, crawling his way underneath his truck. There wasn’t much room, but he just made it.
He looked behind him. The zombie he had been fighting with was already turning to follow him. Her arms reached out, trying to grab at his ankles. He kicked back, not doing much damage. Her arms kept flailing for his boots, and he kept kicking his feet at her. It was making it hard for him to move forward as he kept having to move a couple of inches, then stop to kick back towards the thing.
He could hear Jamie screaming for him…or was she yelling at him? Hell, she was probably yelling at him since that’s what she normally did. He didn’t have time to worry about her right now. She should have fucking stayed inside. Fuck, why the hell had she come out with him?
He kicked back again. This one actually managed to catch the thing in the nose and he watched as it reeled back with the blow, then some kind of dark goo seemed to flow down the front of her face.
Shit, what the hell is that? Are zombies supposed to be oozing that shit?
He was beginning to think that if he ever got out of this shit, the first thing he was going to do was start watching a long stretch of horror films. He needed to study up on this crap. This thing behind him was taking one hell of a beating to the head, and he thought they were supposed to die with just a little tap. This shit just wasn’t right.
“Yeah, and you ain’t in no damn movie, either, dumbass,” he mumbled to himself as he started hurrying to the other side of the truck. The thing was a little further behind him now, so he could make it without having to kick back.
He reached the expanse on the other side, pushing himself up the second he was clear of the truck. Jaime was there waiting for him, her face stricken with pain. She had her hand out, and they worked together to help him stand.
He was on his feet, looking around for the old man. He didn’t see him, but could see there were more of them back on the driver’s side of his truck. They weren’t getting in over there, but the passenger door also wouldn’t be opening any time soon, not until someone did some metal work and busted out the big ol’ dent Bobby had put in it three weeks ago. The damned jackass, Travis thought briefly as he looked at the dent.
He turned and looked at the old man’s car. It was there, and there weren’t any of the things around it yet. They had to get moving. They could take the car, but they didn’t have his keys.
“Where’d you park?” Travis asked Jaime. When she didn’t answer, he turned to look at her. She was backing away from him.
He turned and saw three of the things on the ground, but one of them was walking around the truck toward them. He could see the three of them on the ground were tearing into something, and he couldn’t see the old man.
“When the slow one goes down, run faster,” he muttered as he was joining Jaime in backpedaling.
“What?”
He turned to her. “Where is your car?”
“Around back.”
“Go!”
He turned around. She was in front of him, but wasn’t moving fast enough. He needed to go. She needed to get out of his way before he moved her out of the way. He was glad when she started to move faster. Maybe he had a look to him that had gotten her moving. He didn’t care. She was moving. It kept him from thinking about what he would have done.
They rounded the front of the caddy, and he was already hurrying to get past her. “Come on!” he growled.
He looked back. They were getting away from the thing. It walked slow and sloppy, and it seemed like chasing them made it even worse. Since it was trying to rush, but not having any balance, it stumbled more and kept having to fight to get some sort of balance.
* * * *
Travis’ neck was starting to burn from looking back and forth, plus the jolt of when he fell. With the cuts and scrapes on his arms, it was all starting to
wash over him. He was stiff and sore and was tired of continuing to move. Tired and sore, it was painful to look at Jaime when she screamed. A wave of pain from the center of his back up between his shoulder blades forced him to flinch. He saw that Jaime had beat him to the end of the building and had just turned to run around to the back, but had fallen to the ground. Holding onto Nadine, she had no way to cushion her fall, and had landed hard.
“Dammit,” he cursed through clenched teeth as he rushed to her. As soon as could see the back of the building, he saw two things making their way to them.
She cried out again, which was mixed with another sound. Travis looked down to see that Jaime was screaming as more pain shot through her, and Nadine had woken up and joined in. Mother and daughter were lying on the ground, screaming, calling out for more of them damn things to come and get them.
He looked down at her, then reached out for her hand. He wanted to get her up off the damned ground so they could get out of there. The things were all coming towards them. He could see down the road was still clear, but then where would they go? That road was a dead end, so there was no way out that way. There was no place they could go.
They only had two options…her car or back into the bar.
He pulled her up and she screamed out, biting into his shoulder. A stab of panic raced through him, as he feared she had become one of them. But he had heard her scream, right? It was hard to tell as it was muffled into his shoulder. She was biting down with the pain, and he nearly dropped to his own knees as he was sure she was about to break skin. He pulled her face away from his shoulder and looked into her eyes.
Her blue eyes, though a little hazed over, stared into his own, tears running down her face. He looked around. There were more of them at his truck now. These things were multiplying fast, and the longer they stayed out in the open, the more chance they had that they were going to get eaten like the old man. They had to get inside something.
They could try for the car, or they could try for the bar. The car would get them out of there. They would be trapped in the bar for who knew how long. The military should be there soon, right? They had to know about this. Could they wait it out?
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