End of the Line

by Frater, Lara

  “Gonna whack it with the door,” she said. “You go out. Basement door is unlocked, you wait for me inside.”

  I didn’t want to leave her and I didn’t want to go out there. I took a deep breath trying to stop the pounding on my heart.

  Tanya opened the door and bashed it hard which knocked it over but didn’t kill it. I went out the other door, yanking Olive with me. She didn’t resist, she looked happy to be running. I ran for the garage without looking back.

  I heard shots as I got into the garage. I didn’t pause or hesitate. I imagined cold dead fingers on my shoulder.

  My goal was to get Olive and me through that basement door. I yanked it open. I released Olive who ran inside and closed it behind me. I was in a laundry room. The house seemed empty and quiet. Jim waited by the door.

  I was gasping for breath.

  “Tanya?” Jim asked.

  I didn’t get a chance to say anything because I heard the garage door slam shut. Tanya came in a moment later.

  “What?” she said. “You all worried about me?”

  We walked out of the laundry into the full but dark basement where Annemarie and Jake waited illuminated only by a flashlight. Olive came back to me and I put her back on the leash.

  “Their SUV is gone,” Annemarie said. She was at least cautious. She didn’t race up the steps screaming her parent’s names, but I could see she wanted to. Jim turned on his flashlight and revealed a large rec-room complete with TV, sofa and bar. I nearly laughed.

  “Go,” Tanya said. “Be careful.”

  Annemarie went up the steps and opened the basement door. She held one of the rifles but pointed it to the ground. Tanya and I remained a few steps behind. “Clear,” she said and moved into the hallway. She led us to a large empty living room. There was no smell of death, or sounds of zombies. It only smelled musty like no one had been here for a while. I guess that was good.

  “Hello?” Annemarie called out. “Mom? Dad?”

  I knew no one was in the house. Maybe they left a note. I let Olive loose and she ran around the house, thankfully not yipping.

  Annemarie headed upstairs while Tanya and I followed. Next to the staircase were dozens of pictures of Annemarie and another girl who looked older. There were four doors upstairs all open. I didn’t think anyone was here.

  “Mom! Dad!” Annemarie called out to empty rooms.

  She went into the biggest bedroom which I assume belonged to her parents. The bed was made, and dusty. Flowers on a night-table next to the bed had dried away to almost dust. Annemarie sat on the bed looking dejected.

  “They aren’t here,” she said.

  “At least there ain’t bodies,” Tanya said. “Maybe they left a note.”

  “Maybe,” Annemarie said, but she didn’t seem convinced. I know she was disappointed, but did she expect? Her parents waiting with open arms? I figured her parents got sick and went to the hospital where they died. “I guess I’ll look around.”

  I didn’t go with her, but Tanya did. Instead I left the room and went downstairs. Jim and Jake were looking out the windows, their heads under the white shades.

  “What?” I asked.

  “More have shown up,” Jim said, as he looked away from the window.

  “What do you suggest we do? It’s almost night. We have to stay here.”

  “We should sleep in the basement. If they break in, we can escape through the garage.”

  I left Olive to guard the house and headed downstairs with Jake and Jim. We used a stronger flashlight since it was starting to get dark and the windows were so small they already didn’t let enough light in. Part of me was terrified we would find zombiefied Annemarie’s parents down here, even though we didn’t hear or smell anything before. A quick check showed the room empty. Jim grabbed some candles from his pack and put them on the bar and began lightening them.

  “How romantic,” Jake tried to joke.

  With some illumination, I began to search some of the drawers. I hoped Annemarie didn’t mind.

  I found more candles and added them to the bar. The room lit up more.

  I looked at Jim. He was sweating.

  “You okay, Jim?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Just a little stuffy down here.”

  It was, but not that much. “Why don’t you lie on the couch?” The room had a couch and a loveseat.

  “The couch opens,” said a voice from the darkness. It was Annemarie and Tanya. Tanya had a bag in her hand. “To a queen size bed. I locked the upstairs door. We should be relatively safe here for now.”

  “I raided the kitchen,” Tanya said, “since most of the supplies are still in the truck.”

  She dumped a load of cans on the table.

  “Did you find anything?” Annemarie asked. “Any notes?”

  I shook my head. Annemarie didn’t look happy. I guess she didn’t find anything upstairs.

  “They had to have gone somewhere, the SUV is gone.”

  “I’m sure they’re okay,” Jim said. But I know he was lying. We all did.

  Jim and Tanya shared the couch, while I got the love seat. Annemarie and Jake put down a bunch of blankets on the floor near the bar and said they would take first watch.

  I had trouble sleeping both because the loveseat was uncomfortable and the apnea. Also I could hear Annemarie and Jake having sex. They probably thought we were asleep. I was pissed off not because of the sex but because they were supposed to be on watch. I hoped they used protection. I used to be against birth control, that kids shouldn’t be learning it, and women should wait for marriage. I still am but if people were going to have sex, they should make sure they didn’t get pregnant. The world has changed and I didn’t think we were ready to bring babies into it.

  The candles were still going and the light from the window was barely visible when Jim woke me.

  “Time to go,” he said.

  I got up and stretched. My back was stiff and sore from sleeping on the love seat. My legs hurt because Olive had managed to maneuver herself to take up the bottom part of the seat giving me even less room. Tanya was already up, naked, and starting to get dressed. I guess modesty didn’t matter anymore and since Annemarie and Jake were no longer behind the bar, I decided I could dress behind there. I grabbed my pack and headed that way. I could hear a light tapping against the side of the house.

  “It’s raining?” I asked to no one in particular.

  “Pouring,” Jim said.

  “Wish we could stay another night,” Annemarie said.

  Jim shook his head. “I went upstairs. It isn’t pretty outside. I think they know we’re here.” What did Annemarie expect that today her parents would suddenly come home?

  I went behind the bar. Shiny bottles greeted me.

  “How many?” Tanya said.

  “I lost count.”

  “We need to figure out a way to get to the truck,” she said.

  “Let’s check the house for supplies,” Jim said. “Grab breakfast and plan this out.”

  I looked at the shiny bottles behind the bar. I used to never turn down free liquor and no here knew I used to be a drunk. Would it matter if I had one drink? Better to die happy.

  I grabbed what looked like a nice bottle of whiskey. Instead of drinking it, I put it in my bag.

  That was a lot of fucking zombies. When we came in yesterday, there was only a few in the street, now there were at least fifty shambling along, probably wanting to know where that fresh human scent was coming from.

  We ate breakfast. Olive unhappily went in one of the bathrooms. I think she was more upset than Annemarie. I cleaned it up and tossed it in the toilet which had no water, took a pee myself then closed the lid.

  The plan was simple and stupid. Jim, Jake, Annemarie and Olive would go in through the garage. I would wait in the garage while Tanya would distract them from the porch so I could go in the cab. I would pull out to the edge of the driveway and try to block the zombies so Tanya could get in. I’m glad they trust
ed me to drive but I was terrified to be out there on my own.

  We didn’t take much from the house. Annemarie took some mementoes and left a message for her parents and her older sister who apparently lived in Tennessee that she was alive and living at the CostKing. Jim found strong pain killers in the upstairs bathroom belonging to her mom who Annemarie said suffered from migraines.

  We were ready to go and the zombies were ready to get us. I gave Olive to Jake.

  “Look after her,” I said.

  Jake nodded. He took her leash.

  I heard the sound of shots-- Tanya’s distraction. We opened the garage door. Annemarie had a rifle out.

  Hands, oh god, there were so many hands. Three of them had squeezed next to the truck on one side but there wasn’t enough room to get in. Zombies take the path of least resistance so they tried to get to the garage from the open space between houses but were blocked from squeezing in because of the truck. They shoved their hands in, probably hoping we were stupid enough to walk into their grasp. The other side had enough space for them to get in, but the truck and the house created a narrow path which so far they avoided. That might change now the door was open.

  “Get the truck door open.” Jake screamed. One reached in and grabbed his arm. He released Olive’s leash. Olive ran back inside the garage. Annemarie pulled a tire iron out of her bag and began whacking the hand. At least Jake was smart enough to pull away.

  Annemarie lifted the truck door and climbed in followed by Jake and Jim. I went back to get Olive.

  “Dave!” Annemarie screamed. I grabbed Olive, turned around and saw that one of them finally got inside. Now they were all crowding in and fighting to get to me. Others now realized they could get in on the other side. My path to the cab was blocked. I hit the one inside with my bag. I heard a crack and the zombie went down. I let Olive into the cab. Jim took her leash.

  The one that I knocked down was getting up. Others started pushing their way in.

  “Close the door!” I yelled. Clearly Tanya’s plan wasn’t working and I had to get to the front of the truck by other means. I ran back into the basement, grateful to hear the back of the truck close and I slammed the door and took a deep breath. If I didn’t get to the cab, we were done for. We only had one set of keys and I had them.

  I rushed upstairs. The door was open and Tanya was shooting at them. She looked confused to see me. The rain wasn’t coming down heavy but enough to slowly soak us.

  “I can’t get into the cab from the garage door.”

  Tanya looked out. The zombies were heading to us because of her distraction. Others were still trying to get inside the garage.

  “We gotta make a run for it.”

  I took a deep breath. If anyone could make it to the cab, she could. I should have given her the keys to begin with.

  I handed her the keys. She took them and nodded. “I’ll kill what I can and clear a path for you.”

  So this was how it ended. I would die without making real peace with Barbara.

  My pack was dripping. The booze bottle had broken. The wonderful smell of alcohol filled my nostrils. Maybe I could go back inside and finish everything off. I didn’t know why there were so many zombies here. Tanya began shooting them. I tried to line them up with my rifle but there’s a reason I’m not a rooftop shooter. A zombie, a man wearing almost no clothes began to move towards me. I raised the rifle, fired and missed. There was no way I was going to be killed by a naked zombie. Then there was a large bang and it didn’t come from us.

  Across the street and five houses down, came a group of four people with several different rifles included an automatic one. All of them wore riot gear. Two were women. They headed into our direction. Shooting down the zombies blocking our way. They got head shots every time. They could give Princess a run for her millions.

  “Fuck yeah!” Tanya shouted. They dispatched enough that I could easily make our way to the cab. I wanted to go over to them, asked them to come to CostKing.

  Instead they saluted and moved back to their house. I waved as I ran for the cab.

  Coram turned to Smithtown. We were low on gas, so I radioed Annemarie that we planned to stop at a quiet area.

  It didn’t take long. I pulled into a spot ironically next to a cemetery. Thank the fucking lord, sorry for my language, god, that those already dead when the outbreak began stayed dead. If that happened, I doubt any humans would be left alive.

  I heard the back opened. I opened the gas tank and then went outside for a quick stretch.

  “Everyone okay?” But I could tell Jim wasn’t. He seemed shaken up and deadly pale. Olive jumped down from the cab and I took her leash.

  “Jim,” Tanya said. “Why don’t you sit up front?”

  “Nah,” he said. “I don’t think I should drive and I can’t shoot.”

  Jim jumped down. He looked like he was in pain because he didn’t move that fast. Some blood stained the back of his tee shirt.

  “Not good,” Tanya said, eyeing his shirt.

  “I’ll be okay,” he said. “Rachel will fix me up.”

  “We’ll be back by tonight, maybe even sooner.” We had been on the road for about an hour. It sucked only being able to go 10-20 mph and have to go down side streets. The rain didn’t help. On the LIE, we could have been in Westbury in an hour or less. Maybe even 45 minutes if it wasn’t rush hour. Now we would probably get there in the evening. I hoped before dark.

  Tanya went to the gas tank and filled it up with canola oil. I wondered why we all didn’t have biodiesel cars. They seemed practical. I mean, cook food, use the leftover oil to run the car. I was surprised I never heard of it before.

  While Tanya filled the truck, I made myself a sandwich out of crackers and peanut butter under the overcast and gray sky. I saw dark clouds from far away. I was annoyed it continued to rain, especially after how nice the weather had been since we left. It didn’t matter, in a few hours we would be home. We did all stink but it was still better than the smell at the camp. Tanya finished putting the gas in.

  I stood with the others and let the rain clean me a little.

  When everyone was in the back, with Tanya and Olive at my side, I put the key in.

  And the truck wouldn’t start.

  Chapter 22

  It wasn’t necessarily the biodiesel or Henry messing things up. The battery or the starter or anything else could have croaked.

  “Give it up, Dave, let’s find another car,” Tanya said. I spent an hour looking over it. The rain was getting worse and Tanya had dispatched two zombs. At least we were all getting clean. She pointed her gun to a few houses across from the cemetery. “Let’s check these for cars we can use.”

  It wasn’t the end of the world. We could check each garage. Get a car with manual transmission moving and be on our way. It would be a tight squeeze, we’d have to leave everything but the food, guns, and ammo behind including Princess’ fur but that was fine with me.

  I didn’t like the way the storm was looking. It was only 11am and it looked like it was late afternoon.

  “Do you think we should spend a night nearby?” Jim said. With obstacles in the road, a bad storm would make it impossible to see.

  “Whichever house has the car we want.” Tanya said. “Let’s grab what stuff we can. We can get the rest in the morning.” The guns were most important, food second, then meds. We each grabbed a bag. I got the ammo and two rifles. Tanya already had a rifle and the other bag of ammo. She also had her handgun. Annemarie grabbed the last rifle. Jake and Jim took food and medical supplies.

  I was really looking forward to getting home tonight, but tomorrow would be okay. At least with a car, it would be easier to get around than a truck.

  It took an hour, in which Tanya dispatched four zombies, but Jake found a muscle manual car in the garage. It looked like a 70’s Camaro.

  I laughed at the idea of taking the muscle car back to CostKing.

  The house was built over the garage and had a door
to the basement, so we could close the door and go through it. Another night in a basement, oh joy.

  This basement wasn’t like Annemarie’s parents. It was unfinished. No rec room, but some old furniture. It looked like it had been used for storage and laundry. A stronger odor come from upstairs masked the smell of dust. A smell I was too familiar with. There were bodies in this house. No sounds of movement, so at least they weren’t zombies.

  I didn’t want to stay here, but I could hear the wind picking up outside. It’s for one night. We’d have to make due.

  The basement was getting darker by the moment. Jim lit some candles. He sat on an old chair, dust flew in the air and he sneezed.

  “Let’s look around for things to sleep on,” Annemarie said.

  I found a box labeled air mattress and opened it. It had a big hole in it. Why the fuck did they keep it?

  “I found an ottoman,” Annemarie said pulling out a foot rest.

  “I’ll look upstairs,” Tanya said.

  “I’ll go with you,” I was anxious to get out of this dark and damp room. “Why don’t the rest of you clear some floor space for us.”

  No one responded, so I assumed it was okay. Tanya pulled her handgun out and kept it to her side and kept the rifle on her back. I grabbed Olive, figuring we could take a walk upstairs. I followed her up the steps. Tanya opened the door allowing light and that horrible smell in. I followed her into a brighter and breezy hallway but still dark because of the storm.

  “Let’s do this quick,” I said. Tanya nodded. We discovered the source of the breeze, as we entered the kitchen. One of the back windows was broken. It was big enough for one of them to slip inside if they were really determined.

  As we searched the kitchen, I noticed most of the food was gone but I found some crackers that were probably stale and a bag of Hershey’s kisses. Burnt food was all over the stove.

  We went into the living room next. Rain hit the windows. I grabbed some cushions off the gray couch, went back to the basement door and tossed them downstairs.

  When I got back Tanya was standing at the foot of the stairs looking up. I didn’t hear anything but one of them could have gotten in through the window.