End of the Line

by Frater, Lara

  A thin white man got out of the car wearing a denim jacket and had a rifle slung on his back and a smaller gun holstered at his hip

  “Well, holy Jesus,” he said “Other survivors.”

  “Hello,” I said. “I’m Dave, this is Tanya.”

  “I’m Rick. Good to meetcha. Where you headin’?”

  I was about to tell him the whole story when Tanya kicked in.

  “We’re heading west, a bit,” she said. She talked slow when she said it.

  “Where abouts? Ain’t a lot after Queens except for lots of them.”

  “Not that far,” Tanya said.

  “I’m heading to Floral Park, just found out there’s a gun store there, can drop you anywhere in between.”

  I didn’t mention anything about Mike and his family. If this fellow seemed trustworthy, I could tell him.

  “What do you want to trade?” Tanya asked. “We got some ammo.”

  “Yeah, I’ll take that and your pussy too.”

  “What the fuck?” I said.

  “I don’t think so,” Tanya said.

  “Come on,” he said, grabbing her arm, and spun her around and slammed her against the car. Tanya kicked him but the way he held her she couldn’t move.

  “Man, what are you doing?” I asked. He whipped the handgun out of his holster and shoved it in my face before I even had a chance to move mine in position.

  “Getting my money’s worth. I haven’t had pussy in months. Then I’ll drive you anywhere you want.”

  Olive growled, enough for the man to aim his gun towards her. There was a shot and the man collapsed to the floor bleeding.

  I looked at Tanya ready to see a gun in her hand but it wasn’t. She was still trying to get the guy off. She moved around and he fell to the ground. Blood spurted from the man’s back.

  The rifle was in my hand.

  I shot him. He was going to rape Tanya and kill my dog.

  I killed a man.

  I’d killed only one zombie before, but had never taken the life of a person. Not even someone who had a zombie bite. The guy was dead and because I shot him, he wasn’t coming back. They didn’t come back unless a zombie bit them.

  Tanya rifled through his pockets until she found his keys, a pocket knife and wallet. She didn’t seem surprised to find out he had a badge. “Fucking pigs,” she said throwing the wallet next to the corpse. She nabbed his rifle and the handgun too, then looked at me.

  “Dave,” she said.

  I sat on the curb, not caring if the zombs came and killed me.

  “Dave, come on, get into the car,” she said, trying to help me up. “You saved me. You’re the big fucking hero.”

  “I can’t do it anymore,” I said. Olive saw me sitting and went into my lap. “I want my old life back, my old world.”

  “It ain’t coming back,” she said. “You gotta face reality: move on or die. Take a leap off the building like your old boss if you don’t like it.”

  I thought about Abe. No one expected it. Abe was so lively, so much into keeping us alive. Why did he leave us to Rachel?

  “I wish I had the old world back,” she said. “But I’m selfish cause I like Tanya now and I didn’t before. Tanya now wants to save Jim.”

  I took a deep breath.

  “Tanya, I think you’ll make a great leader.”

  Tanya didn’t respond. I think I embarrassed her. Instead she said, “Get in the car.”

  When we got back, I let Olive off the leash and she ran around the house barking. Annemarie was mopping Jim’s head with a wet napkin. She looked at us with big eyes. Jim was asleep. He looked pale and sweaty but he shivered under a blanket.

  “We got a car,” Tanya said.

  “Then we need to go,” Annemarie said. “Now.”

  “We should wait until morning.” I said. “It’s getting late.”

  “I think Jim developed sepsis. He needs stronger antibiotics and I want Rachel and Dan to treat him. We have to get him to CostKing now.”

  “Okay,” Tanya said. That worried face was back. “Dave, go upstairs and get some blankets. We’re leaving right the fuck now.”

  I ran up the stairs while estimating how long it would take us to travel 20 miles. It was nearing six now, I could get us to CostKing in two hours or less. It would be harder to travel in the dark. The car wasn’t as safe as the truck and the darkness made it difficult to maneuver around parked cars.

  “You okay driving, Dave?” Annemarie asked me when we entered the first bedroom, a child’s room. I grabbed the blanket off the bed.

  “No, but I’m less okay with anything happening to Jim.”

  We moved to the bigger bedroom and found rumpled blankets and grabbed them too. I didn’t have time to think of the people who lived here. I ran down the stairs.

  Tanya and Annemarie went out first. Annemarie held the blankets and Tanya was in front of her with the rifle in her hand.

  No zombs that I could see but the sun was low in the sky. I wanted to get in as much daylight as possible.

  The car we stole was a Ford Escort. I watched Annemarie spread the blanket out in the back. I turned to go back into the house.

  That’s when I saw the zombie creeping up from down the street. A man wearing a UPS uniform, his ripped up satchel still slung around his shoulder.

  “Annemarie! Tanya!” I yelled, “behind you!”

  Both of them swung around. Annemarie couldn’t do anything because she was still placing the blankets. Tanya aimed, shot and missed. She fired again and hit its leg. Didn’t kill it but it was enough to knock it down.

  I could see down the block, more zombies heading our way.

  “Help me with Jim,” she said to me. We went back into the house. Jim groaned when we lifted him.

  I wondered if the zombies came because they smelled the fresh meat of the man I killed.

  I helped her bring Jim to a standing position. He leaned on me and felt hot. I put one of his arms around my shoulders and Tanya took the other.

  More zombies were coming. Thank god they were slow.

  Jim groaned as we laid him on the back seat. I shut the door.

  “You two get the supplies,” Tanya said. “I’ll hold them off.”

  I ran back to the house to help Annemarie and get Olive.

  Olive greeted me as soon as I got in. I took her leash off the couch, and put it on, grabbed my pack and two miscellaneous ones. Annemarie loaded herself up with bags as well then did a quick search to make sure we got everything. Even if we didn’t, it was time to go.

  Tanya had the trunk already opened. Annemarie dumped the stuff in, keeping one rifle for herself.

  Tanya kept watch. The UPS Zombie had gotten back up and moved towards us. Tanya shot at him again but missed the head and instead got the chest. That didn’t even slow him down. He started to make the sound. The others behind him also started making it. I felt goose bumps rise on my arms.

  “Hurry,” I said. Tanya let loose a bunch of rifle rounds at them. I don’t know if she got them but some of them went down. It was enough to give us some time to get into the car.

  I opened the door and Annemarie and Olive got into the passenger’s side, then Tanya went into the back seat behind driver’s seat. She lifted Jim’s head and then let him lie on her lap. I slid in the front, started the car, put my seat belt on and tore out of here, smashing a parked car as we fled. I heard the moaning from blocks away.

  I managed to go about 10 to 15 miles per hour and I made it about five more miles down Jericho Turnpike when a wreck forced me off.

  We were going through tree lined streets in the dark. Trees were down, houses had burned, and branches and debris littered the road. We were fifteen miles away. Maybe twenty minutes on a normal day, one to two hours today if we’re lucky. The car had half a tank of gas. Should be enough. The car idled roughly because the gas was old.

  “How’s Jim?” I asked.

  “He’s bad,” Tanya said. “Just move it.”

 
I looked in the rear view mirror but I could only see his legs. I didn’t want Jim to die. I didn’t want to bury him at the side of the road.

  “Watch it!” Annemarie said. There was a three car pileup in the road. Any darker, I wouldn’t have seen it.

  This was bad. Not the pileup. I was able to drive around it, but that once it was dark, I would have to go even slower.

  I turned down another tree line street, going five miles per hour, it took me back to Jericho Turnpike. Dusk was settling in.

  “Are you good, Dave?” Tanya asked. “I can drive.”

  “I’ll do it,” I said. Olive was next to me, her head on my lap. I wanted to pet her but I had to keep both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

  “Dave!” Tanya shouted. “Pull over for a moment!”

  I did what she asked without question. The car door opened and I heard Jim vomiting, then coughing. It was getting darker and the road was fading. I couldn’t see the zombs.

  “Come on,” I said. I didn’t want to be an asshole, but I didn’t want to be sitting ducks.

  “Sorry,” I heard Jim whisper. I heard some shuffling then the door shut. I took off immediately.

  “Can I have some water?” he asked, his voice was low but I could hear it.

  We were getting closer. I had done another eight miles on Jericho Turnpike going around ten miles per hour or so. Now it was pitch black. The car clock said it was about 8pm. I put on the radio and ran the scan but did not get the show from Queens.

  “I found a CD,” Annemarie said, holding up a shiny disk.

  “Put it on,” I said. Music might help me relax. I only hope I wouldn’t have a fatal heart attack.

  Annemarie put the CD on, immediately loud heavy metal blasted over the radio. Olive growled. I started to laugh. Annemarie turned it down and tried to laugh too.

  I saw something in my line of vision. A zombie. I sped up and hit it hard and it flew to the side.

  “Fuck yeah!” Tanya said.

  I managed to get up to 15 miles per hour. Maybe we can get home sooner.

  I didn’t see the blackened thing lying in the road.

  Even going slow, I bashed it hard, heard the sounds of scraping and something breaking. The occupants of the car lunged forward. Tanya held on to Jim, who groaned. I didn’t hit the brakes, but let the car roll to a stop.

  “Fuck—“ I put the car into reverse but I felt it dragging something and moving sluggish. “Is everyone okay?”

  “What we hit?” Tanya asked. She steadied Jim, who groaned into the seat.

  “Don’t know,” I said. The world was pitch black and silent except for the headlights and the low volume metal music. “Probably debris, it didn’t feel like a body.” I paused. I didn’t want to go out but who best to clear the damage? I may not be a mechanic or his son, but I knew how to tinker with cars. “I have to go out and check the damage.”

  Tanya grabbed the rifle. “I’ll cover you.” I was glad to hear it. She looked at Annemarie. “Keep an eye on Jim.”

  “Promise,” she said. Although I didn’t intend to be gone long, just enough to clear whatever we hit.

  I left the car running, but closed the door. Tanya went out first and flashed her light around. Jericho Turnpike was eerie with no lights, no other cars, no signs of life and dead darkened buildings. I got my flashlight out of my pack and took a look at the front of the car.

  A fucking motorcycle, one of them tiny rice burners, was wedged underneath. It had smashed up the undercarriage good. One of the tires was flat as well. “We gotta get this out from under the car and fix the tire.” I could jack up the car, change the flat and pull the motorcycle out. “Let’s check the truck for the spare.”

  “I don’t think so, Dave.” At first I didn’t understand, but then I heard the moaning. Tanya wasn’t looking at the car. Her light had flashed onto two zombies.

  I flashed my light and saw there were more than two and in this dark there could be just the four or hundreds.

  “This may not be the best place to fix things.”

  “Get back into the car,” I said, my voice a whisper. Tanya went inside, and I got into the driver’s seat.

  In the dim light of the highlights I could see them all around. In the light they looked almost human and normal until they moaned and shambled towards us.

  “Put your seatbelts on.” Tanya put one around Jim, then on herself. Annemarie already had hers on. I put on mine. Annemarie held on to Olive.

  I put the car into reverse, and floored the gas petal. I heard the sound of scrapping then a bump. I could see the cycle in the road. We were free of it. I put it in drive and hit the gas. Because of the flat tire, I had to grip the wheel tightly because it felt hard and sluggish. The ride was bumpy. I didn’t care. Kill the rim, kill the torsion bar, kill the springs, we just had to get the fuck out of here. I knew this bumpiness wasn’t good for Jim, but no one said anything. I drove, as Tanya’s momma said, one step forward. Every once in a while Jim groaned and the car made unhappy noises. It could hear the flapping sound of the flat tire moving on the road. There was nothing I could do without lights to change the tires and zombies at every corner. I drove as fast as I could which at this rate had been 10 miles per hour straight down Jericho Turnpike which would take us right the fuck to CostKing. I prayed to God or anyone that nothing else would break down. The noise of riding on a flat tire was probably bringing every zombie in the vicinity to us.

  “Do you think we can get CostKing on the radio?” I asked. If the car broke down, they could come get us.

  “We might be close enough,” Annemarie said.

  “Try it.”

  “Care bear to CostKing bear, come in.”

  I heard the cackle of static.

  “Care bear to CostKing bear, come in.”

  I put the odometer at 0 when we started. We had gone 15 miles. We should be able to raise them.

  Annemarie repeated herself.

  My first thought was not that we were too far but they were dead. Either the zombies or people had overrun them. Everyone I knew was dead and all that was left would be us four.

  “CostKing bear to Care bear. It’s great to hear from you!” said Harlan’s voice.

  “Harlan,” Annemarie said, her voice choked up and bumpy because of the flat. “We’re coming back. But we lost the truck and Jim’s hurt. We’re in a Ford Escort with a flat tire. Please let Rachel and Dan know and have the gate open and be ready to shoot.” She looked at me. “About how long, Dave?”

  “Half hour if we’re lucky.”

  I looked at them, looked at Jim in the rearview mirror. He shivered and shuttered with every bump.

  Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the now open gated area of the CostKing loading dock. The last mile the car had been making some serious unhappy noises. I knew zombies were following us, as I heard their moans and saw them as the corner of my eye, but I just focused on the road and getting us to CostKing.

  The floodlights were on and in the distance I could see Princess shooting and Harlan next to her. I wonder how much Vicodin this cost. Harlan flagged me into the loading dock next to two other trucks, probably with better starters and behind Eric’s Camry.

  After I was in, I heard two shots and the gate close.

  We were home.

  In the light, I could see Rachel. She had that morose face on. Now I knew more about her than I ought to. Dan stood behind her with a wheelchair.

  I got out of the car and took Olive’s leash. Annemarie opened the back door and motioned Rachel to her. I looked behind her. Several zombies were at the gate now. They must have followed us. Princess went up to the gates and fired five times. Never said a word or even acknowledged us. When she was finished she vanished back into the darkened store.

  Rachel ran to the back and began looking at Jim then looked at Harlan and Dan.

  “He was attacked by a dog, ripped him up his back,” Annemarie explained. “We cleaned out the wound but it got badly infected.”
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  “Help me get him to the infirmary.” She looked at me, then Olive. “We’ll talk later.”

  I was exhausted. My adrenaline finally crashed. Rachel shooed us out of the infirmary as she set Jim on liquid antibiotics. Tanya kept a vigil outside but I headed to my aisle.

  I took Olive to my row. Everything was the same except for cat poop near the bed. I was used to it. I’d rather have cat poop than rats. Besides with Olive here now, I doubted I’d be seeing a lot of the cats.

  I put my bag on the bed as well as the rifle. I would have to give the rifle to Rachel later. Olive jumped on the mattress and curled herself up into a ball. The two boxes underneath lifted one end of the mattress up so I could sleep on an angle.

  I opened up my bag and it smelled of booze. I would have to get a new pack. I wanted a drink so bad. There was plenty of beer here. It shouldn’t matter that I wanted to numb the pain in this horrific world. I wouldn’t get drunk, some nips to keep me going. I was too exhausted to think about it.

  I took my sneakers off, but left on my clothes. I made sure the safety was on the rifle and I put it next to the bed. I laid down into my mattress and wished to never leave CostKing again. I closed my eyes and then darkness.

  “Hey,” said a voice. I woke up with a start. It was morning. Tanya was in my room. “Jim should be good, long as it don’t spread to his organs. Rachel don’t think it did, She’s got him on heavy stuff and he’s responding. He’s out of it, so no visitors for a while. She said bacteria got into the wound, could have come from anywhere. I told her what happened to Jake, Ashley, Aisha and Dot,” she paused then said. “She’s pretty torn up but while we were gone Rosa died.”

  “That sucks.”

  “I told her everything,” she said. “Except that we know about blood and what we found in her house. Can you keep it a secret?”

  “I can,” I said, then took a long pause and looked at my pack. I swallowed hard, not sure if I wanted to share. I’m not a sharing kind of guy. “Can you keep a secret?”

  She hunched her shoulders. Okay, here goes.