"He’s a friend of ours. His dad is a gun collector. He must have dozens of firearms," Rakan said. "His place is not far from here.”
"I hope they're all well and willing to spare some," Faisal said.
"It’s worth a check," Rakan replied. "Any of you ever shoot a gun?"
"Mm-mm well," we grunted and avoided eye contact.
“May’s dad taught her how to shoot, but she doesn’t seem to be capable of holding a gun now. For the rest of us, we have been to a few shooting ranges in Kuwait and the UAE.” I shuffled my feet, feeling useless.
"That's good enough," Rakan said, glossing over me then at May before turning away. "It's settled. We'll get weapons and hit the road.”
“Plumpy,” I remembered.
“What’s a Plumpy?” Rakan asked.
“My bird. I can’t leave him here,” I said.
“Where is he?” Rakan asked.
“He’s in my room.”
“I’ll go in and get him.” Faisal shook his head and adjusted his gun. He turned around, heading to the front door.
“You’re not going to ask me which one is my room?” I asked. He said nothing. “Third door on the left.” He nodded and disappeared.
Faisal appeared less than five minutes later with Plumpy alone in his cage, door flapping as he moved.
“Why is he alone?” I asked.
“You have two Plumpies?” Faisal asked.
“Never mind.” I held the cage’s handle and brought it to eye level. “Hey, you!” Plumpy jumped around, excited to see me. I wondered where that other bird went.
"We'll take my car," Faisal said and walked toward the front door. "This way."
"We know where the front door is. We live here," I said, "and, we're taking my car. The Bentley."
"That Bentley parked out front is yours?" Rakan asked.
"No!" said Deema and Malak in unison.
"Let's not get into technicalities," I replied, rolling my eyes, then turned to Rakan. "I sorta borrowed it. For good.”
"Can I drive it?" he asked.
"Nope, sorry," I said jokingly.
We proceeded toward the door. I walked next to Malak and slipped my fingers in her hand, overwhelmed with happiness to be able to hold her once more. The warm touch of her palm brushed mine as Plumpy sang.
“I couldn't have gone on without you,” I said. “You know that, right?”
"I'm not going anywhere." Malak smiled, squeezing my hand. But what if there is something wrong with her? I shoved the idea aside and returned the smile.
"We need to be quick and careful," Rakan said and advanced to the front door while observing us, "the fire might have drawn some of those things this direction."
"Zombies," I said, looking straight at Rakan.
"What?" Rakan asked.
"You’re calling them things, but they’re zombies," I said.
"Why does it matter what we call them?” Faisal said.
"I think it would make all the difference to know exactly what we’re up against," I said.
"Zombies." Rakan nodded, his gray eyes darkening. "We'll go out first to make sure it’s safe."
We took in the instructions. Rakan opened the door, walking into the darkness outside. Faisal shadowed him. We filed out to the exit. I was the last one to go through the doors. The thought of us abandoning the house discouraged me. I reached out and closed the door behind me. My hand lingered on the knob for a second longer. This might be the last time I saw my house. I closed the door, not only to my home, but a chapter in my life.
Chapter 28
The hot, humid air carried an aggressive conversation coming from Rakan and Faisal; a muffled explosion sound in the distance. Rakan placed his hand flat on Faisal's chest like he was blocking him.
"What's going on?" I asked, walking closer. "Is there something wrong?"
"I'm not riding in that car," Faisal said, his jaws clenched.
"Why? Are you allergic to luxury?" I asked sarcastically and looked at Malak who stood in front of Faisal, wearing her pissed-off face. "You okay?" I asked her.
"Fine," she said, glaring at Faisal. The warmth drained from her face.
"And you hide it so well," I said. Was I missing something?
"I'm not riding in a car a girl is driving," Faisal said, his lips narrowing.
"And there it is," I said. I came across people with his mentality every now and then. His kind are more than common, but I was surprised how it still surprised me. Men with that macho, frigid attitude that believe women cannot be equal to them in anyway, and operate on double standards, refusing to entertain the idea that women can do things that men do.
"You’re not serious, are you?" Malak said, her face reddening.
"You should be sitting in the back," Faisal said.
"Like a princess?" Malak air quoted and enunciated every letter in “princess.”. “Or is it a flower? Is that the word?”
"Well, why don't we treat you like royalty today or a garden plant, and let you set in the back," I addressed Faisal with a grin, not helping to diffuse the situation.
"I will drive my own car," Faisal said, taking a step forward then back. “You all will come with me.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw his lime-green Toyota parked behind my Bentley. "Figures," I said.
"Excuse me, ladies," Rakan said gently.
"Faisal," Rakan said and gestured for him to step aside. They both walked away and argued quietly, standing in plain sight, but out of earshot.
"We are not letting that guy come with us!" Malak said.
"He's his cousin," I tried to justify.
"He’s also a solider," May said.
"You know he’s not entirely wrong," Deema said. "Most women still haven’t gotten the chance to properly drive. So he thinks he’s putting himself at risk by letting one drive.”
Speak for yourself, I thought but chose not to say it. Two armed men were better than one, I rationalized. The air smelled of burnt wood and reeked of tenseness. "I'd hate to admit it, but May is right. He is a soldier," I said.
"Sara, if you drive, one of the guys will sit in front with you, and the other will have to sit in the back,” Deema said.
“Okay?” I said, understanding the mechanics of the arrangement but not the point.
“Might not be a good idea if a guy sits in the back with us," Deema said, "he'll be too close to us.”
"Are you saying I should let him drive my Bentley?" I asked.
"Are you saying we should let him win?" Malak asked.
"This is not a competition." I lied to calm Malak down because it was a constant competition with women and men regardless of the circumstances. "However, it is a sucky arrangement.”
"I guess Deema has a good point," May said, switching her opinion immediately. "I mean, how about if my brother sees us with guys and sitting next to them too!"
Although I doubted that was Deema’s intention, she did successfully use it to play on May’s fears. Deema is old-fashioned. She believed order will only become if men are superior and took charge. But it was May that drew my attention. I found it interesting how even in the worst of situations, people will still stick to their values. I had to come to terms with this. I couldn’t make a decision and veto the group. If that was something they were not comfortable with, I couldn’t do it.
Both Rakan and Faisal walked up to us. "Let's go," Rakan said with a plastered-on smile.
"Is the princess okay?" Malak asked Rakan. "Sorry, I mean the prince?" Malak was not normally sarcastic or aggressive, but something about this guy was getting to her. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he tried to shoot her.
"He is," Rakan said, locking his gaze on Faisal. "We'll all go in one car. Sara will drive."
"Thank you for granting me permission. But, no. You’re driving," I told Rakan. I unlocked the car and threw him the smart key. In a quick reflex, he caught it. I opened the back door and slid all the way into the other side, placing the cage on my lap
. The girls followed in from the same door.
"Can you not push the seat back all the way. There’re people in the back," Malak snapped at Faisal, who occupied the passenger seat.
“I didn’t. I found it like this,” Faisal muttered.
"Fun," I said, looking at Malak and back at Faisal’s army-shaved head.
"We're four people squished back here," Malak complained.
"There's space back there," Faisal said, rotating his head back and checking the distance between the seat and Malak’s knees. The car was spacious. It was Faisal’s presence that was taking up her space.
"Adjust your seat." Malak rolled her eyes.
"This is gonna be a long drive," Deema said.
"Don't you just love road trips?" I asked. Plumpy chippered.
Rakan adjusted the rearview mirror; my eyes met his silver gaze. He dropped eye contact and started the car, the engine roaring softly. The high beams turned on, and we drove off. I turned around, taking one last still-memory of the house, then settled in my seat next to the window. Malak at my right, next to her Deema then May. We were safe and together, and that's what mattered.
After what felt like a lifetime of hearing Faisal and Malak going back and forth at it, arguing about something, anything, everything and nothing—with the occasional remark from Deema and May—I couldn’t wait to get out of the car. I softly tapped my head on the glass window. People with opposite opinions should not be stuck together for long periods of time. There should be a warning for this kind of thing. “Arguments and fights might erupt without notice.”
"We're almost there," Rakan said. He took his gaze off the quiet streets and observed me for a few seconds as if he was trying to read my thoughts. That short duration was enough to send tingles rushing through me. I couldn’t deny the attraction. For those few seconds, I got lost in him and managed to block the sound of the two arguing. But they found a way to snap me back.
"That is your opinion and not a smart one, may I add," I heard Malak say. "You’re not sure the undead are dead.”
"Dead-er," Faisal corrected.
"That sounds stupid," she snapped back.
I did not want to ask what this fight was about. We drove down 16th Street. The street cut through two old cemeteries, on the right the first Aqrabiyah cemetery and on the left the second. Behind the walls lay the undistributed dead. Would they regain consciousness? Could they dig their way back to the surface? We took a left turn then another, then another. Mansions came into view, surrounded by thick, gated walls with long, straight trees sheltering them. The neighborhood was full of mansions, an upscale area with decorative fountains centered in each roundabout. I felt something on my thigh next to the cage. I looked down and saw May’s phone lit and opened to the notes. I picked it up.
“There is something wrong with Faisal.”
I turned to May and handed the phone back. I mouthed, What? She mouthed back, Later. I nodded. What did she mean? What did she see or hear?
"That’s it." Rakan pointed to a mansion. "The dark brown."
A massive old building stood still in the opaque night, with the lights off. We drove past the closed main entrance. A big green piece of cloth hung on the door. I looked closely. It wasn’t a piece of cloth; it was a flag. The Saudi flag. Why did they have the flag hanging on their door blocking the main entrance? We drove to the garage. The mansion had three garage doors. The one in the middle was halfway open.
"I think we should pull into the garage. It’s safer," Rakan said.
I didn’t like that the garage was left open. That could mean danger. Nothing but the sound of gravel crunched under the tires as we went up the concrete ramp into the garage. The car went all the way in, blocking the exit, or entrance.
"Rakan and I will go in, check if anyone’s home. We’ll get the guns and get out," Faisal said.
"Sounds like a good idea," May agreed.
“I need to…ummm,” Deema said, “go the bathroom.”
"What? No. I'm coming too," I said. I also felt the urge to go. But there was something else. I didn't know why I insisted on putting myself in harm’s way, like I was being driven by this impulse.
"You’re not going alone," Malak insisted, agitated. "We all go or we all stay. We shouldn't split up."
"You got bit. I don't think it’s a good idea to put you at risk,” I said, “again!”
"Chances are I'm immune," Malak declared. "You on the other hand—"
"We don't even know what another bite would do to you," I said, "or him for that matter.”
"Probably nothing." Deema voluntarily donated her opinion. I shot her a glare. Rakan shrugged, not saying a word. He knew not to come between sisters arguing.
"It would be faster if Rakan and I go," Faisal said.
"Are you saying we're slow now?" Malak turned on him.
"Alright. We'll all go," Rakan finally said. "We could use the hands. Plus, I don’t want to leave you out here alone.”
“Hippo stays in the car.” Faisal opened the door.
"Plumpy," I corrected. I pointed my index at Malak. "You stay behind me.”
"Both of you will stay behind me," Rakan said sternly, opening his door.
We stepped out of the car, placing us behind the walls within the mansion. We made our way past the front yard, between trees that moaned with the soft breeze. I looked up at the countless windows spread through the dark brown building that seemed to stretch taller over me. They must really like windows, I thought. We continued to the front door.
"Stop." Rakan lifted his left hand up.
We stopped. I poked my head to the side to get a view of what made him stop. A shadow peeked back. I narrowed my eyes to focus. I couldn't believe my eyes; I had never seen anything like it before. A hairless beast hung on a leash. It stood there on four legs, growling back at us through bloodshot eyes, foaming mouth wide open, jaws hanging and swaying at every direction as it moved, exposing its deadly sword-sharp canines. The movement was strange. It spasmed and crackled like a wooden statue coming to life.
"Is that… a dog?" May asked.
"It was," Rakan replied. "Bullet."
That was the dog’s name. Bullet groaned, trying to bark but no sounds that mimicked a bark was released from its throat. Choking, high-pitched sounds escaped the delirious creature.
"Try to not provoke it," Faisal said.
"We're a mobile buffet. What do you mean don't provoke it?" I said.
"We can go around," Rakan said, "the leash is short. It’ll hold him.”
Faisal prowled around Bullet. What shared a few features of a Doberman locked its flaming eyes on Faisal and struggled to snap its jaws at him, but the jaws just dangled. Rakan passed shortly after, and the dog gave no attention to him. It kept a solid contact and a steady growl on Faisal. Why wasn't it noticing Rakan or trying to bite him? Faisal stood next to the slightly open front door. "It’s open," he whispered and nodded for us to proceed.
I tiptoed around Bullet, Malak in front of me and Deema with her arm wrapped in mine. The dog sharply turned its gaze from Faisal to me, his eyes lit like coal. It tried to jump at us but tugged on the leash. The leash was the only thing holding it back; the leash made it more determined. We needed to move faster. The leash might not keep this feral predator for too long. May jogged past us with both her eyes shut and darted toward Malak and the boys. Faisal pushed the huge mansion door open, his phone and gun entering before he did. The front door led to an open-plan cavernous living room suited only for a mansion that size. The living room was divided into a two-part living room. It was a well-appointed viewing room. All the windows had their curtains drawn open, allowing for the moonlight to come through, but we used our phones to navigate. The furniture was covered with a white cloth, like they were in the middle of renovating. The air was thick and sour. If death had a smell, I think now I would be able to distinctively identify it. The smell spread through the living room. A reflection from the ceiling caught my eye. A huge chandelier hung
in the center, reflecting our movements.
“Hello,” Rakan said, “is anyone here?” His voice echoed in the house. Were they hiding? I hope they didn’t accidentally shoot one of us, or on purpose.
“The house is huge,” May said. This was coming from a girl that lived in a three-floor villa.
"I know where the safe room is," Rakan said. "It’s on the third floor. Head to the staircase.”
“We’re just gonna stroll around their house?” Malak asked scanning the area.
Zombies In Saudi Arabia Page 21